Saturday, May 3, 2014
Self-censored posts
It occurred to me that the more I use my alias (fibbef) across the internet, more and more suspicious people may think to check my blog. Although I don't post very often at all, I felt the need to edit a couple of previous posts that show my wife. This may be an act of paranoia, but I believe that my wife wants a significantly smaller internet presence than me. So if you've wandered back to my blog looking for my wedding photo or a video of my spouse and I, I have removed both.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
GameStop is Shady
There honestly won't be a whole lot of depth to this post. I do also realize that it has been more than one year since my last post. Since I last checked in, Kelli and I bought a new house which is easily twice as large as our previous place. Yes, it's very large and pretty nice, if I do say so myself. But that's not what I'm here to talk about…
GameStop is a pretty decent chain when you want to buy video games. They keep a good selection of newer games and have a modest variety of previous generation titles. But what I think is their biggest downside is just that - they're a chain. They are actually the largest video game specialty store in America [citation needed] and that means A) their motives are largely profit-driven and B) they easily overpower their competition, which usually takes the form of locally-owned game stores or smaller chains that operate only a handful of franchises.
But what's so bad about that? After all, that's just good 'ole capitalism and this is America, after all. If that's what I'm whining about here, I might as well just turn this into a Wal-Mart bashing article. What really tweaks my girdle is GameStop's operating practices. Consider the following:
Every game on GameStop's show floor is an empty case. This makes sense to me as it makes it much harder for a shoplifter to get off with anything of any great value. What doesn't make a lick of sense to me is how GS has the nerve to list half of this merchandise as "New". To collectors (of any item, not just video games), there is a great distinction between new, like new, good, fair, poor, et cetera. The moment the manufacturer's seal is broken from a piece of merchandise, it is no longer considered "new". It bothers me that GS can get away with this and still charge full price for a "new" item.
Not only do I view this as downright unethical, this also opens the door to even greater travesties which I only recently realized. In short, in addition to selling used games as "new", they can also do the reverse and sell a brand new game as used. Why would they do that? Please continue to follow me.
In the first situation - selling a used game as new - I discovered how awful this practice was when I found two copies of Phantasy Star Portable at a local GS. One copy was not in the original case, did not have the instruction manual, and the printed sleeve was missing. This copy was being sold as "used" for $6.99. Another copy included the manual and printed sleeve, but the case looked like it had sat under a teenager's bed for a year and a half before traded back in for in-store credit. This game was obviously not new, but GS could charge the "new" price of $19.99 - highway robbery.
Now in the second situation, selling a brand new game may not seem like a issue. Typically the used price of a game is lower than the new price of a game. Typically. Let me enlighten you.
Xenoblade is a Japanese-style role-playing game made that was originally released exclusively in Japan. However, a large number of American RPG fans petitioned Nintendo to bring the game to the U.S. Their campaign worked and Nintendo localized the game for American fans, but only in very little quantities and exclusively to GameStop stores. Brand new, the game cost $50. However, due to the rarity and exclusiveness of the game, used copies sell for $70 at GS and higher elsewhere online, like at Amazon.com.
I picked up a copy of of Xenoblade Chronicles (as it was thus named when it came stateside) after this Christmas. After all, if the price for a used copy is bound to go up from here, I might as well buy a copy now. I can guarantee that my copy of the game was brand new. The case was shiny and clean, the manual was unbent and unwrinkled, and the media side of the disc was spotlessly clean. I am meticulous with the care of my many games, but even I can't keep the "never-been-played" sheen on my game discs.
I understand there's little I can do about this type of shady business except not shop at GameStop. I already bought my game. All I can do is hope its value skyrockets over time. I will leave with a bit of advice though: if you're considering starting a game collection of value, or are looking to get the most bang for your buck, don't blindly go straight to a GameStop. Instead, look into smaller stores like Gamers or Video Games Etc. or "mom and pop" game stores. Many times their prices will be lower than GS just to try to remain competitive. They also have sales that make their prices even more competitive. Check in frequently because you never know when they'll start discounting games for a certain console.
Lastly, don't overlook the thrift shop. I have been fortunate enough to discover literally hundreds of dollars worth of games at thrift stores but only paid less than what I'd pay for a McDonald's value meal. Seriously, ask me about it sometime. I love retelling tales of my best game finds. Most of them don't take place at GameStop.
GameStop is a pretty decent chain when you want to buy video games. They keep a good selection of newer games and have a modest variety of previous generation titles. But what I think is their biggest downside is just that - they're a chain. They are actually the largest video game specialty store in America [citation needed] and that means A) their motives are largely profit-driven and B) they easily overpower their competition, which usually takes the form of locally-owned game stores or smaller chains that operate only a handful of franchises.
But what's so bad about that? After all, that's just good 'ole capitalism and this is America, after all. If that's what I'm whining about here, I might as well just turn this into a Wal-Mart bashing article. What really tweaks my girdle is GameStop's operating practices. Consider the following:
Every game on GameStop's show floor is an empty case. This makes sense to me as it makes it much harder for a shoplifter to get off with anything of any great value. What doesn't make a lick of sense to me is how GS has the nerve to list half of this merchandise as "New". To collectors (of any item, not just video games), there is a great distinction between new, like new, good, fair, poor, et cetera. The moment the manufacturer's seal is broken from a piece of merchandise, it is no longer considered "new". It bothers me that GS can get away with this and still charge full price for a "new" item.
Not only do I view this as downright unethical, this also opens the door to even greater travesties which I only recently realized. In short, in addition to selling used games as "new", they can also do the reverse and sell a brand new game as used. Why would they do that? Please continue to follow me.
In the first situation - selling a used game as new - I discovered how awful this practice was when I found two copies of Phantasy Star Portable at a local GS. One copy was not in the original case, did not have the instruction manual, and the printed sleeve was missing. This copy was being sold as "used" for $6.99. Another copy included the manual and printed sleeve, but the case looked like it had sat under a teenager's bed for a year and a half before traded back in for in-store credit. This game was obviously not new, but GS could charge the "new" price of $19.99 - highway robbery.
Now in the second situation, selling a brand new game may not seem like a issue. Typically the used price of a game is lower than the new price of a game. Typically. Let me enlighten you.
Xenoblade is a Japanese-style role-playing game made that was originally released exclusively in Japan. However, a large number of American RPG fans petitioned Nintendo to bring the game to the U.S. Their campaign worked and Nintendo localized the game for American fans, but only in very little quantities and exclusively to GameStop stores. Brand new, the game cost $50. However, due to the rarity and exclusiveness of the game, used copies sell for $70 at GS and higher elsewhere online, like at Amazon.com.
I picked up a copy of of Xenoblade Chronicles (as it was thus named when it came stateside) after this Christmas. After all, if the price for a used copy is bound to go up from here, I might as well buy a copy now. I can guarantee that my copy of the game was brand new. The case was shiny and clean, the manual was unbent and unwrinkled, and the media side of the disc was spotlessly clean. I am meticulous with the care of my many games, but even I can't keep the "never-been-played" sheen on my game discs.
I understand there's little I can do about this type of shady business except not shop at GameStop. I already bought my game. All I can do is hope its value skyrockets over time. I will leave with a bit of advice though: if you're considering starting a game collection of value, or are looking to get the most bang for your buck, don't blindly go straight to a GameStop. Instead, look into smaller stores like Gamers or Video Games Etc. or "mom and pop" game stores. Many times their prices will be lower than GS just to try to remain competitive. They also have sales that make their prices even more competitive. Check in frequently because you never know when they'll start discounting games for a certain console.
Lastly, don't overlook the thrift shop. I have been fortunate enough to discover literally hundreds of dollars worth of games at thrift stores but only paid less than what I'd pay for a McDonald's value meal. Seriously, ask me about it sometime. I love retelling tales of my best game finds. Most of them don't take place at GameStop.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Introducing....Kelli!!!
*Video removed due to privacy concerns*
After filming this, I realized that I appear very condescending toward Kelli. Truth is, I love her very much and she's a great sport for even agreeing in my dumb little videos!The site mentioned in the video, in case you missed it, is www.RetroUSB.com. What they specialize in most are reproductions of Nintendo and Super Nintendo games that are either very extremely super crazy rare or were released in Japan but never in the US. I've got my eye on a copy of Super Mario Bros. 2j.
Monday, November 12, 2012
iHave an iSsue with this
I'm beginning to wonder if this is turning into an anti-Apple blog.
I hoped this wouldn't happen so soon. I actually had myself so convinced that it wouldn't happen that it stopped bothering me. I even brought myself to the point where I picked up my wife's Macbook Air to tinker around in Garageband. Let's back up a bit.
Sony's Playstation was released in 1995 ('94 in Japan). The Playstation 2 came out in 2000. The Playstation 3 in 2006. A little bit of first grade mental math suggests that Sony is pretty comfortable with a 5-6 year console lifespan. With that in mind, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to believe that the PS4 should be right around the corner, although Sony has expressed their desire for the PS3 to have a 10-year lifespan. That is beside the point.
The point that I'm trying to make is that as soon as a Playstation is put on store shelves, analysts and consumers are not going to immediately speculate about the gaming console's next iteration. Six years is a long time and it's impossible to tell what kind of hardware we'll have that far down the road. Cue the Apple rant:
The iPhone 5 came out on September 21, 2012. The image attached to this post is a screenshot which I took today which, near as I can determine, is the first article regarding the forthcoming iPhone on that particular news outlet. By my count, that was a whopping 52 days of whining about how the new connector doesn't work with the old alarm clock docking stations before building the hype over the new iBoughtTheSamePieceOfAluminumAndGlassAsLastYearBecauseIAmATool. Oh, did I just say that out loud?
Here's the issue: (time for slightly more analysis and slightly less rant) new iPhones - and new smartphones in general - coming out on a yearly basis is a problem. The mobile device market has become over saturated with infinite variations on the same theme. A new phone is created and released every instant the technology improves. What that gives us is something that is slightly better than what we had before. Think of the Playstation 1 (if you can remember). Imagine if Sony released the PS1.2 when they figured out how to make games load more quickly. Then the PS1.5 when they managed to squeeze in a couple more polygons to make the graphics a bit more shiny.
Instead, they waited until they had enough to truly wow their audience. For that, I am grateful. For Apple's approach, I am outraged. iPhone 5: 0.00002-inch larger screen, new controversial connection port, and new map app (which doesn't quite work as expected).
More to the story, due to the decreased lifespans of mobile devices, the price of said devices will not be cheap. Ever. Consider a brand new product: years of research and development have gone into the product and on launch day the price is the highest it will ever be. A year, year and a half down the road, the price begins to slide lower. Towards the end of the product's life, the cost is now a shadow of what it originally was. The reson for this is because the costs of R&D have been made up and the manufacturing processes have been streamlined. Churn out a new product well before the previous has been given a chance to begin to die and you lose those advantages. Anyway...
TL;DR - Chill out, Apple nuts. Don't obsess over the iPhone 6 or 5s or whatever they decide to call it. Just be content with your iPhone 5 and enjoy the feeling of pretending to be better than the rest of us.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
The long, cold, wintery wait
Kelli and I have been house hunting. We're to the point in our lives where we'd really like to buy a bigger house - a place to call our own - and settle down. Here's the great side of this story: we have found a house! It's a great 3-bedroom with a really large, finished walkout basement and a "ginormous" garage. We've agreed upon a price with the sellers and they're just about ready to hand over the keys.
Now here's the bad news: naturally Kelli and I don't want to be making two house payments, so we're not closing on the new house until my house is sold. Even worse: who goes house hunting or even buys in the winter? The way we look at it, we're stuck living in my small 1-bedroom house until spring. Now don't get me wrong, it's a great house and I like it a lot. I think the two of us are just ready to upgrade to someplace where we have a bit of room to stretch.
If you know of anyone who would be interested in a 1-bedroom house in Kalona, IA (just 15 miles from the south end of Iowa City!) give me a shout!
Now here's the bad news: naturally Kelli and I don't want to be making two house payments, so we're not closing on the new house until my house is sold. Even worse: who goes house hunting or even buys in the winter? The way we look at it, we're stuck living in my small 1-bedroom house until spring. Now don't get me wrong, it's a great house and I like it a lot. I think the two of us are just ready to upgrade to someplace where we have a bit of room to stretch.
If you know of anyone who would be interested in a 1-bedroom house in Kalona, IA (just 15 miles from the south end of Iowa City!) give me a shout!
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Wives are great for venting to
...and so, it seems, are blogs. The following is a rant from me to Kelli which was prompted by the slew of nonstop rumors and speculation regarding upcoming Apple products on tech/gadget websites such as Ubergizmo.
Dear freakishly obsessed people who are dying to eat up everything produced by that particular company: the iPhone 5 will look EXACTLY like the iPhone 4S with the following minor adjustments: The screen will be slightly larger but not enough to make any serious improvements in how you use your current phone; the charging/connector port will be reshaped/resized because Apple thinks that doing anything standardized means doing something WRONG and they want you to have to go out and buy new adapters and speaker docks which cost an out-of-this-world amount because they're specialized for this one device and thus haven't been mass produced like mini (or even micro) USB cables have; and lastly, the front-facing camera will shift half an inch from its previous location just to give freakishly obsessed fans something to talk about.
Furthermore, Ubergizmo posted an article last night titled, "iOS 6 and new iPhone plays your favorite song as an alarm". Is this something to get excited over? I've been doing this since owning my first smartphone, a BlackBerry Pearl, which I got around 4 years ago. The above-mentioned article concluded with the statement, "iOS 6 is certainly shaping up to be a mobile operating system not to be trifled with." Because I can finally wake up everyday to the bliss that is "Rock You Like a Hurricane"? Sorry Apple, I've been doing that for years.
Click here for an article that shares my sentiment on the suspected iPhone 5 design.
Dear freakishly obsessed people who are dying to eat up everything produced by that particular company: the iPhone 5 will look EXACTLY like the iPhone 4S with the following minor adjustments: The screen will be slightly larger but not enough to make any serious improvements in how you use your current phone; the charging/connector port will be reshaped/resized because Apple thinks that doing anything standardized means doing something WRONG and they want you to have to go out and buy new adapters and speaker docks which cost an out-of-this-world amount because they're specialized for this one device and thus haven't been mass produced like mini (or even micro) USB cables have; and lastly, the front-facing camera will shift half an inch from its previous location just to give freakishly obsessed fans something to talk about.
Furthermore, Ubergizmo posted an article last night titled, "iOS 6 and new iPhone plays your favorite song as an alarm". Is this something to get excited over? I've been doing this since owning my first smartphone, a BlackBerry Pearl, which I got around 4 years ago. The above-mentioned article concluded with the statement, "iOS 6 is certainly shaping up to be a mobile operating system not to be trifled with." Because I can finally wake up everyday to the bliss that is "Rock You Like a Hurricane"? Sorry Apple, I've been doing that for years.
Click here for an article that shares my sentiment on the suspected iPhone 5 design.
Friday, August 3, 2012
For those waiting for an update...
...this is it.
Where to begin? Since I haven't posted a single thing since November, there's a lot to run down.
First: because my previous post expressed my woes over not being able to play Portal 2, let me assure you that those feelings of sorrow have been laid to rest. I bought a brand new Xbox 360 last November and played through Portal 2. Twice.
Furthermore...
I'm married. June 2, the ceremony and reception were fantastic! It was a total blast!
Completely unrelated to the above mentioned, I've been trying to educate myself on technological matters. Using some internet assistance, I built a tiny half-watt audio amplifier out of Radio Shack components. I've also gotten back into computer programming to a small degree. My hope is to really dive deep into both fields as they're both subjects that I find interesting.
Lastly, I'm trying to get in shape by running. In mid-July I even entered myself in a 4-mile race, placing 56th in the "Clydesdales" division. At 48 minutes even, it was easily the fastest I have ever ran 4 miles.
If you're reading this, post a comment to let me know you're still alive!
Where to begin? Since I haven't posted a single thing since November, there's a lot to run down.
First: because my previous post expressed my woes over not being able to play Portal 2, let me assure you that those feelings of sorrow have been laid to rest. I bought a brand new Xbox 360 last November and played through Portal 2. Twice.
Furthermore...
I'm married. June 2, the ceremony and reception were fantastic! It was a total blast!
Completely unrelated to the above mentioned, I've been trying to educate myself on technological matters. Using some internet assistance, I built a tiny half-watt audio amplifier out of Radio Shack components. I've also gotten back into computer programming to a small degree. My hope is to really dive deep into both fields as they're both subjects that I find interesting.
Lastly, I'm trying to get in shape by running. In mid-July I even entered myself in a 4-mile race, placing 56th in the "Clydesdales" division. At 48 minutes even, it was easily the fastest I have ever ran 4 miles.
If you're reading this, post a comment to let me know you're still alive!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Still no Portal 2, and aggravation ensues
With the Xbox 360 fixed (see previous post), I took it over to Andrew's place and we managed to knock out Halo 3 in under 24 hours. I had placed a hold on Portal 2 for the 360 through the public library and after several weeks of waiting for others' checkout periods to be up, and after approximately 10 minutes of gameplay, my Xbox froze. When I restarted, the Xbox gives me a general hardware error.
Bless my sweet fiancee: for my birthday two weeks ago she was going to give me Portal 2. First for Xbox, until she discovered that my 'box was dead. She returned it and picked it up for PS3, until I informed her of my PS3's inability to play that game (see previous post).
Now I am utterly frustrated at not being able to play this one game. How long have I been waiting? Now I have to buy a new Xbox plus the game. Target currently has a pretty good deal on the system, but I took a look at my finances and realized that I had better do the responsible thing and hold off buying. Just more frustration. I was hoping for some good Black Friday deals, but most early predictions are that the 360 will sell packaged with the Kinect, which would probably end up being more than I care to spend. Alas, wait until Christmas?
Bless my sweet fiancee: for my birthday two weeks ago she was going to give me Portal 2. First for Xbox, until she discovered that my 'box was dead. She returned it and picked it up for PS3, until I informed her of my PS3's inability to play that game (see previous post).
Now I am utterly frustrated at not being able to play this one game. How long have I been waiting? Now I have to buy a new Xbox plus the game. Target currently has a pretty good deal on the system, but I took a look at my finances and realized that I had better do the responsible thing and hold off buying. Just more frustration. I was hoping for some good Black Friday deals, but most early predictions are that the 360 will sell packaged with the Kinect, which would probably end up being more than I care to spend. Alas, wait until Christmas?
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
No Portal 2...yet
I was saddened the other day when I took Portal 2 home and put it in my Playstation. Upon startup I was told that my PS3 required a system update in order to run the game. So, close the game, connect to the internet, and run the update. There's one small problem with that: I don't have internet at home.
Now, unless I were so bold as to take the Playstation and a small tv into the public library to jump on the free WiFi, I was up that particular creek without a paddle, if you see where I'm coming from. Took Portal back to the library without a minute of playtime. Needless to say, I was disappointed.
Onward to more recent dates - I purchased an Xbox 360 from an online auction rather cheap. I say 'rather' only because the system was barebones: no controllers, power adapter, video cables, hard drive. Its one redeeming quality was its HDMI output slot. This meant that the proprietary video out was superfluous. I'll try to sum up what happened since then as quickly as possible.
I acquired the necessary accessories for the 360 but it only worked partially. It 'red ringed' (this is bad) and over a series of attempts, finally managed to make it functional. Today over lunch I purchased a 120 GB hard drive so tonight I can finally save my game progress. What this all means is that I should be able to play Portal 2 on the Xbox. This has me once again quite excited.
In other news, I fixed an Xbox 360! Call me for your video game repair needs!
Now, unless I were so bold as to take the Playstation and a small tv into the public library to jump on the free WiFi, I was up that particular creek without a paddle, if you see where I'm coming from. Took Portal back to the library without a minute of playtime. Needless to say, I was disappointed.
Onward to more recent dates - I purchased an Xbox 360 from an online auction rather cheap. I say 'rather' only because the system was barebones: no controllers, power adapter, video cables, hard drive. Its one redeeming quality was its HDMI output slot. This meant that the proprietary video out was superfluous. I'll try to sum up what happened since then as quickly as possible.
I acquired the necessary accessories for the 360 but it only worked partially. It 'red ringed' (this is bad) and over a series of attempts, finally managed to make it functional. Today over lunch I purchased a 120 GB hard drive so tonight I can finally save my game progress. What this all means is that I should be able to play Portal 2 on the Xbox. This has me once again quite excited.
In other news, I fixed an Xbox 360! Call me for your video game repair needs!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Tonight
I'm going to be playing soooo much Portal 2 tonight! The public library in the big city allows you to check out current generation video games - for FREE!!!! I was stoked to see they had Portal 2 in their inventory. Of course it was checked out when I saw it in their catalog, so I placed a hold on it. They put it on the hold shelf for me yesterday and I'm going to pick it up in about 2 hours. Yay Portal!
Engaged!
An update: since I haven't posted since December or so, here's the big news - I'm now engaged to my super awesome fiancee Kelli. We're thinking of setting the ceremony next June, but nothing is set at this point. There will probably be more details on that on a later post.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
This guy the musician
Today I estimated on how long it's been since my last post. With a guess of 8 months I was nearly right on the money. I hadn't intended to give up on my blog. In fact, I'm not sure what made me stop posting for such a long time anyway. Part of me didn't think there was much of interest to share. Another part of me realized that most likely none of my readers paid any attention to this anymore anyway.
Then there's the part of me that hopes and dreams that maybe something in this internet gig will be significant enough to be worthwhile. Could my writing or videos give me some fun and interesting direction for my life? Could it impact others? Two guys who made it doing something as nothing more than a pasttime are the creators of XKCD and Questionable Content. I commend these guys for doing something they enjoy creating, I enjoy reading, and they can actually make a living off of it. Plus I like their webcomics. Check them out.
I think what I was about to hint at was that in order for this blog to snare any kind of following it needs to have focus. I don't see too many people taking up reading my blog on a regular basis unless they know me personally or have identical interests as myself. Oh, and my quality should probably need to improve. Especially on the videos. Sorry, but my camera is crap.
NEW TOPIC
In other words, if you started zoning out, this paragraph is different and therefore offers new prospects at being interesting. I recently bought a violin for the cheap, bringing my instrument count up to 7 (2 trumpets, a cornet, clarinet, piano, guitar, and now violin). After practicing on it for a few days I've come to the conclusion that it's a really fun instrument to play.
At first I was daunted by the 4 strings, comparing it to the guitar. I started on trumpet, so I'm used to treble cleff, one note at a time sheet music. Sure, I'm able to wrap my mind around chords and song tabs, but it hasn't been quite so easy for me to implement. Despite the 4 strings, my practice material for the violin only has me playing one note at a time. It's actually one of the easiest instruments I've played also; not needing to know how to blow into the mouthpiece or remember tricky fingering positions.
It's a much more visual instrument; I can see what note I will play based on where my fingers are positioned, whereas on a trumpet multiple notes can take the same fingerings. And unlike the guitar, the sheet music is presented on a staff which is much more familiar to me and I can more easily relate those notes to positions on the fretboard of the violin.
On a completely unrelated note, I tried out Disney's Epic Mickey last night, and was really disappointed. It's been some time since I've tried an action/adventure/platformer like this. Does my memory fail me or are they usually this bad? The graphics are as typical as you can expect from Wii/PS2 type of graphics. Also, I'll admit that the game is supposed to take place in a "dark world" of sorts, but it just wasn't fun to look at.
The paint/thinner concept of painting in or removing certain items in the environment is an interesting gimmick. But while I wanted to run loose exploring this quirky gift, the story presentation or annoying guide character kept tripping me up to explain something that I either already knew or would have figured out eventually.
The last thing I'll complain about is the story. This game takes place in a Disney "mirror world" of sorts. In a nutshell, a land where all of Disney's rejected ideas come to live. Rejected, meaning that most of the characters are unknown. The only reason I picked up the game in the first place was because it featured a character I knew well and I was interested in where the game might take the Disney universe. In fact, that's why I play most over-hyped games, like Zelda, Mario, and Donkey Kong (don't get me started on DKC Returns!).
Play the game if you want. Tell me what you think by leaving a comment. Play the violin!
Then there's the part of me that hopes and dreams that maybe something in this internet gig will be significant enough to be worthwhile. Could my writing or videos give me some fun and interesting direction for my life? Could it impact others? Two guys who made it doing something as nothing more than a pasttime are the creators of XKCD and Questionable Content. I commend these guys for doing something they enjoy creating, I enjoy reading, and they can actually make a living off of it. Plus I like their webcomics. Check them out.
I think what I was about to hint at was that in order for this blog to snare any kind of following it needs to have focus. I don't see too many people taking up reading my blog on a regular basis unless they know me personally or have identical interests as myself. Oh, and my quality should probably need to improve. Especially on the videos. Sorry, but my camera is crap.
NEW TOPIC
In other words, if you started zoning out, this paragraph is different and therefore offers new prospects at being interesting. I recently bought a violin for the cheap, bringing my instrument count up to 7 (2 trumpets, a cornet, clarinet, piano, guitar, and now violin). After practicing on it for a few days I've come to the conclusion that it's a really fun instrument to play.
At first I was daunted by the 4 strings, comparing it to the guitar. I started on trumpet, so I'm used to treble cleff, one note at a time sheet music. Sure, I'm able to wrap my mind around chords and song tabs, but it hasn't been quite so easy for me to implement. Despite the 4 strings, my practice material for the violin only has me playing one note at a time. It's actually one of the easiest instruments I've played also; not needing to know how to blow into the mouthpiece or remember tricky fingering positions.
It's a much more visual instrument; I can see what note I will play based on where my fingers are positioned, whereas on a trumpet multiple notes can take the same fingerings. And unlike the guitar, the sheet music is presented on a staff which is much more familiar to me and I can more easily relate those notes to positions on the fretboard of the violin.
On a completely unrelated note, I tried out Disney's Epic Mickey last night, and was really disappointed. It's been some time since I've tried an action/adventure/platformer like this. Does my memory fail me or are they usually this bad? The graphics are as typical as you can expect from Wii/PS2 type of graphics. Also, I'll admit that the game is supposed to take place in a "dark world" of sorts, but it just wasn't fun to look at.
The paint/thinner concept of painting in or removing certain items in the environment is an interesting gimmick. But while I wanted to run loose exploring this quirky gift, the story presentation or annoying guide character kept tripping me up to explain something that I either already knew or would have figured out eventually.
The last thing I'll complain about is the story. This game takes place in a Disney "mirror world" of sorts. In a nutshell, a land where all of Disney's rejected ideas come to live. Rejected, meaning that most of the characters are unknown. The only reason I picked up the game in the first place was because it featured a character I knew well and I was interested in where the game might take the Disney universe. In fact, that's why I play most over-hyped games, like Zelda, Mario, and Donkey Kong (don't get me started on DKC Returns!).
Play the game if you want. Tell me what you think by leaving a comment. Play the violin!
Monday, April 26, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Outdoorsy Work
I decided to grab a pair of work gloves and have a go at a bunch of dead stuff around my house. I may be a single guy who doesn't care about the way his stuff looks, but that doesn't mean I don't care about the way my stuff looks.
First off, here's a rose bush that's gotten severely out of hand. It was out of hand when I bought my house. I decided to hack away at some of the dead stuff still clinging to the rest of the bush and I still think it's out of hand. Ridiculous!
Behold my miracle tulips! I didn't do anything to make these babies grow. I don't even know who planted them, they're just a pleasant surprise. I didn't notice them last year because I didn't move in until June/July. It's strange to think that a year ago this time I was house shopping.
Most of the work I did today involved hacking up a big dead bush that you don't see in the upper-left quadrant of this photo. It's gone now.
This is Tommy's all-time favorite spot: on the back of the couch sitting in the window. Of course, he could see me outside taking pictures and I assure you he was trying his darndest to break my heart with all the whimpering and whining I could hear through the window.
Just a better shot of the tulips. Why not, right? Clearly I still have plenty of work, getting rid of a bunch of dead grass and whatnot. Want to come over and help?
Shameless photograph of Tommy.
First off, here's a rose bush that's gotten severely out of hand. It was out of hand when I bought my house. I decided to hack away at some of the dead stuff still clinging to the rest of the bush and I still think it's out of hand. Ridiculous!
Behold my miracle tulips! I didn't do anything to make these babies grow. I don't even know who planted them, they're just a pleasant surprise. I didn't notice them last year because I didn't move in until June/July. It's strange to think that a year ago this time I was house shopping.Most of the work I did today involved hacking up a big dead bush that you don't see in the upper-left quadrant of this photo. It's gone now.
This is Tommy's all-time favorite spot: on the back of the couch sitting in the window. Of course, he could see me outside taking pictures and I assure you he was trying his darndest to break my heart with all the whimpering and whining I could hear through the window.
Just a better shot of the tulips. Why not, right? Clearly I still have plenty of work, getting rid of a bunch of dead grass and whatnot. Want to come over and help?
Shameless photograph of Tommy.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Donut day
Today in the office we had a meeting to be introduced to our new head of office. I showed up to the meeting a couple of minutes early and there were plenty of seats to choose from, so I took one right in the front row. I figured the room would be packed and people would crowd around me out of necessity. I figured wrong. It was the slightest bit awkward sitting in the front row by myself.
On the plus side, this occasion was a good excuse for the company to buy an excessive amount of donuts. I got two and am calling it lunch.
On the plus side, this occasion was a good excuse for the company to buy an excessive amount of donuts. I got two and am calling it lunch.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Monday, December 14, 2009
Weekend Review
Last weekend I didn't do nothing. Use of a double negative there was entirely intentional. Because I did do something. I merely stated it as such to emphasize that this past weekend was different from others, during which I may do absolutely nothing.
Saturday morning I drove to the city to take part in a ceremony for Wreaths Across America, an organization whose goal is to place wreaths on graves of those who have served in the American armed forces. My part in the ceremony: bugler. I was asked to play Taps along with a few other trumpeters/buglers during the ceremony as well as a couple other short military calls. It was a really interesting experience in that a) I had not touched my trumpet in a month or so, b) I had never played Taps in front of people...or loudly...or maybe I've never even played it all the way through, and c) I had never heard of the other calls before and thus have never played them. To top that off, we only pseudo-practiced before the ceremony. It was a real hodge-podge kind of deal, but we pulled it off and I think it sounded great.
Last night I drove back into town and went caroling with members of my church. There were a few reasons I went. I thought it would help get me in the Christmas spirit. I thought it would be nice to cheer up those for whom we sang. I thought it would help me get to know some people in the church, where I am still relatively new. Really, I just thought it was the right thing to do. I had a good time, but all that singing made me thirsty.
Saturday morning I drove to the city to take part in a ceremony for Wreaths Across America, an organization whose goal is to place wreaths on graves of those who have served in the American armed forces. My part in the ceremony: bugler. I was asked to play Taps along with a few other trumpeters/buglers during the ceremony as well as a couple other short military calls. It was a really interesting experience in that a) I had not touched my trumpet in a month or so, b) I had never played Taps in front of people...or loudly...or maybe I've never even played it all the way through, and c) I had never heard of the other calls before and thus have never played them. To top that off, we only pseudo-practiced before the ceremony. It was a real hodge-podge kind of deal, but we pulled it off and I think it sounded great.
Last night I drove back into town and went caroling with members of my church. There were a few reasons I went. I thought it would help get me in the Christmas spirit. I thought it would be nice to cheer up those for whom we sang. I thought it would help me get to know some people in the church, where I am still relatively new. Really, I just thought it was the right thing to do. I had a good time, but all that singing made me thirsty.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Big, busy weekend
It's a big, big, big weekend, this one is. Tonight I have plans to go to Kristel and John's house to watch the 1980's Transformers cartoon movie on their newly constructed projector. After that, we are going out to eat with Anna, another friend from work, whose birthday was yesterday. Happy birthday Anna!
Following the food, we're all going to Wildwood, some bar where there is apparently a mechanical bull. We should be meeting up with Katherine, a high school friend of mine who I had introduced to my work friends when we all went out for my birthday.
Anna told me that she's not feeling very well today. I hope she gets better because going out for dinner is for her birthday. And otherwise we're just going out to dinner. Also, she'll be bringing her friend Paul. And without Paul, I will be swimming in a sea of estrogen, which isn't all that bad I suppose.
Tomorrow the fun continues as Kristel invited me and even more friends from work (and some of their friends who I don't know) to a vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner. I'm looking forward to spending time with work friends outside of work, but I don't know about the food. Like I told Kristel, "Usually when I see something I don't recognize, I just tell myself it's chicken and I'm ok. With your food, I know it's not the case." But I know her food will be amazing. Kristel is very skilled in the culinary arts.
Sunday (whoo! I told you it will be a busy weekend!) I plan to spend the afternoon with Natasha, a new friend I have made at my [still relatively] new church. We don't know what we'll be doing yet, but we might just end up watching a movie or something.
That's it. That's my weekend. Oh, tomorrow morning I will sleep in. And it will be awesome!
Following the food, we're all going to Wildwood, some bar where there is apparently a mechanical bull. We should be meeting up with Katherine, a high school friend of mine who I had introduced to my work friends when we all went out for my birthday.
Anna told me that she's not feeling very well today. I hope she gets better because going out for dinner is for her birthday. And otherwise we're just going out to dinner. Also, she'll be bringing her friend Paul. And without Paul, I will be swimming in a sea of estrogen, which isn't all that bad I suppose.
Tomorrow the fun continues as Kristel invited me and even more friends from work (and some of their friends who I don't know) to a vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner. I'm looking forward to spending time with work friends outside of work, but I don't know about the food. Like I told Kristel, "Usually when I see something I don't recognize, I just tell myself it's chicken and I'm ok. With your food, I know it's not the case." But I know her food will be amazing. Kristel is very skilled in the culinary arts.
Sunday (whoo! I told you it will be a busy weekend!) I plan to spend the afternoon with Natasha, a new friend I have made at my [still relatively] new church. We don't know what we'll be doing yet, but we might just end up watching a movie or something.
That's it. That's my weekend. Oh, tomorrow morning I will sleep in. And it will be awesome!
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