Rants From Nick

BSS in Detroit

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 00:41:00 +0000

Mona baby

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 04:33:00 +0000

RWC

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Thu, 29 May 2008 05:25:00 +0000

New shoes

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Mon, 26 May 2008 00:01:00 +0000

Pac Heights

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Mon, 26 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Birds @ Caltrain SF

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Thu, 01 May 2008 05:27:00 +0000

Diggnation SF

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Thu, 01 May 2008 05:12:00 +0000

Diggnation live from SF

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Thu, 01 May 2008 03:42:00 +0000

Leaving Raleigh

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 02:34:00 +0000

Chinatown

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 03:30:00 +0000

SF

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 03:24:00 +0000

Out of here

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 23:37:00 +0000

I really need to travel. As you can sort of see...I don't really update my blog a whole lot, but I am 100% more likely to update it when I am traveling. Or at least when I am in a rest stop bathroom with "glow in the dark" condoms. Maybe its just over exposure to the internet. Having a corporate desk job, the internet is always a click away. All day, all night, all the effing time. It's cool when there are things going on, or I just don't want to work, but there is always a new gadget or social tragedy to read up on. That's why I need to travel. Oh well, the holidays are almost here, and I will be in for another road trip to MI to see family.

Other than that, I cannot wait for the Triangle to run out of water. Literally. It is going to be mayhem.

Savannah cont.

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 15:35:00 +0000

Savannah, GA

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 13:55:00 +0000

A view from the waterfront in Savannah.

Yeah. Funny.

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 21:36:00 +0000

The Office (U.S.A.)

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 01:56:00 +0000

I am convinced that the U.S.A. ruins nearly all that it touches. Just look at any chain restaurant that pretends to be "authentic," (if you need examples, leave a comment). Or The Office (U.S.A.). Give me a break, the damn show would be funny if they just took Ricky Gervais' scripts from The Office (UK) and had American actors use "Northern American" accents. I guess I am not alone in my sentiments, but it does seem to have a prime time slot for weeknight disengaging entertainment. Ugh.

Lincoln

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 19:48:00 +0000

Zappa

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 22:40:00 +0000

Stumbled across this video the other day on YouTube. Enjoy. Makes me kind of feel the same way as watching True Stories.

Angry since 2005

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 02:15:00 +0000

If you need a refresher, keep up the hate. I know some people have forgotten. Examples here, here and here. That last one will install a rootkit on your windows PC. Call me when the PS3 is worth a damn.

True Stories: Talking Heads

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 22:21:00 +0000

If you want to experience a bit of David Byrne in 1986, get your hands on a copy of "True Stories: Talking Heads" (the movie). If you have Netflix, it's in the Watch Instantly selection. If you are uneasy about humanity today, just imagine feeling that way since '86. It is written in a musical style that I really like, a sad love story, and great commentary from David Byrne himself. Needless to say, this movie is already one of my favorites of all time. Watch it. Let me know what you think.

Welcome to the South

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 20:10:00 +0000

I'm not sure about you, but this just doesn't look like justice. I guess if this guy wasn't "retarded" he could have stood trial. Instead, he has just sat in jail for 14 years. So much for the pursuit of happiness.

The "Completed" Media Center

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 15:10:00 +0000

As you know from previous posts, and the overall buzz of this on the internet, Apple gave me $100 dollars to spend on more Apple stuff. I guess that was enough to push me to invest in another mac. Now there is a Mac mini connected to the 1080p HDTV in the livingroom. And boy is it awesome. I'll answer the first question that I wanted to know for a while. Does this thing play 1080p H.264 video? The answer. Yes. But keep in mind we got the 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo model with 2GB of RAM. It is now the heart of my entertainment center, pretty much does everything I needed, records my vinyl collection, holds the lossless music for the livingroom, streams my large library of mp3's from the den (which is managed separately for my iPod, and iPhone). Also, I am running XP on the mini, so I can watch instantly with Netflix. I don't have a tuner to turn it into a DVR yet, but I haven't been too tempted by any shows on OTA HD to really care to record it. But I have heard good things about Elgato's stuff. Maybe I'll turn into a TV fan someday, but for now, Netflix fits the bill.

There is a pretty decent selection of 720p and 1080p free video available for download now, especially since Apple doesn't force you to wait for quicktime to download the movie while you wait with the app open anymore. If you navigate to the iTunes music store "movies" section, scroll down to "Theatrical Trailers" in on the bottom left pane. Image below for better clarity of my description.

They have a good selection of HD trailers that download as Video Podcasts, and I like it.

Another good video aggregator (actually way better in my opinion as far as video for viewing on your PC) is Miro. Great interface, easy to manage media (aside from how separated it is from Front Row, maybe a different post though), and a great selection of RSS feeds with tons of great content. HD content is easily browsable from the Miro Guide, unlike iTunes where I feel like they don't really want people to find the HD stuff.

To conclude, Linux is out of my house, not because I don't like it, just because it doesn't do what I need to do. I have a few old computers that could be used for single tasks with linux, but that's about it.

Leave a comment if you have any ideas/suggestions or things you do with your own.

Old, bald and M$FT

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 03:22:00 +0000

I am having trouble thinking of anyone in such a high paid, cushy position as this dude in the photo above. With enough cash at hand to choke China, and with as little brains as a donkey, this guy is hanging by a thread. He even predicted the failure of the iPhone. I haven't heard much from him since this interview. Ugh, old dudes in the tech industry, get a clue.

How I feel.

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 02:43:00 +0000

I hate Mike Love. It's just every once in a while I get upset about his influence on music, and tonight is one of them. Every time I think about what the world could have been like if SMiLE had been released in the 1960s rather than the 2000s, I just get dissapointed. Oh well.

If I ever hear Kokomo, I bawl my eyes out.

iPod Touch Review

noreply@blogger.com (Nick) — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 15:36:00 +0000

The iPod Touch is here, and for some, exactly what they were waiting for. From my perspective, it is a bit of a let down though, especially compared to the iPhone. Ok, for starters, 16GB is small. Not bad. Just small. A HDD version? The iPod classic is a large device, and really lacks any appeal other than a huge HDD. But this isn't really the big problem with the Touch.

The big problem with the iPod Touch is the lack of an external speaker. Seriously, wtf. Yeah, maybe the device would have been 1mm thicker, or whatever the reason, this is a HUGE shortcoming. You have YouTube, Music, Videos in your pocket and the only way to show them to someone is to let them jam your earbuds into their ears. Gross. Lame. I'm sure this will probably be fixed in future models, but maybe not. Maybe iPod's were never meant to have speakers. Maybe iPod isn't meant to be used by people who want to share with others. I can't even tell you how often I have pulled up a video, song or whatever to show someone or let them HEAR something on my iPhone.

This shortcoming, along with the small storage capacity and no tactile volume controls, makes the iPod Touch a crappy choice between holding ALL of your music and video with a small screen to watch it on, or a small peared down version of your music and video with a beautiful screen that ONLY YOU can really enjoy (unless you carry large headphones everywhere with you, or don't mind other people's earwax).

Just a disclaimer to anyone who might take this seriously, I have yet to touch the Touch.