Category: Diversions

Zune 2 + 1 Day

Well…its official.  The Sun Devils, even in a tie for the PAC 10 title with USC and a fabulous 10-2 season, were snubbed from the BCS.  Oh well…you can’t control it, so you’ve got to roll with the punches.  We take on a very respectable Texas team on December 27th in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego.  I’m trying to get a party bus together to drive down (and when I say party bus, I mean several 30-something dads who have to get permission from their wives to rent an RV an drive to San Diego right after Christmas).

Tickets are available now.  ASU and Texas have, believe it or not, never played each other…ever.  That’s something like 105 years of football…and they’ve never met.  Should be a great game…and a win in this bowl game will be a perfect cap to an unbelievable season for the Devils.  Could have gone better…but we’ve gotten used to much worse over the past 5 years.  String a couple seasons like this together…and Dennis Erickson will have earned his money and his accolades.

Great job this year, Sun Devils.  One more to go.  Go Devils!

sparky

From the “Those Crazy Parrots” File

Snowball, a cockatoo, dances better than any bird I’ve seen.  This isn’t your standard head bobbing, either.  Check it out.


Funniest Dancing Bird Ever!!! – Funny video clips are a click away

I think this may be the original blog post.

I’m interested because of my own bird, Cosmo, who is a wild and crazy guy in his own way.  Cosmo is a caique, a species well known for its antics and athleticism.  Here is an old workout video from Cosmo to go along with the bird theme.

Forza2 to Release in May

So, the best auto sim on a gaming platform, IMHO, is going to be released in May.  Since they missed the Holiday ’06 target, I’ve been waiting on pins and needles.  I’m not much of a hardcore gamer, but this is a cool game!  Here is the info.

Forza2SS

From ForzaMotorSport.NET, where the release info was posted.



Sticking it to the RIAA

So, the group Barenaked Ladies (BnL), whose music is very decent, are joining what seems to be a trend these days…self publishing albums.  They’ve released their latest studio release album, “Barenaked Ladies Are Me”, for download on their website.  Not very unique, right?  Well, here is the kicker…there are two types of downloads…mp3 at 192kbs, or for a couple dollars more, lossless FLAC.  Also, there is no DRM at all.  Rumor has it that they are selling a lot of these while going around the RIAA, Apple, and the other Juggernauts in the DRM space.  Here is the link to the shopping page to buy this album, and if you look around, you can even get a whole bunch of live performances, not just the studio releases, since they are recording their shows and making the tracks available.  Great job, BnL!  Don’t get me wrong…I’m all for protecting intellectual property, it’s just nice to see some of the content owners trust their fans a little bit, and give them a good consumer experience in the process.

And, for good measure, here is a fan-produced video for “Wind it Up”.



Help for new Xbox 360 owners

 

I’ve got a couple of friends who are new 360 owners after the holidays, and I’ve realized that there may be some confusion on the best way to set this up, compatibility, etc.  For that reason, I’m gathering some info here.  There are probably quite a few new owners that I know now that we are past the holiday season.

First and foremost, while the 360 is generally compatible with original Xbox games, there are some that won’t work on the 360.  Xbox.com has a comprehensive list here.  Moreover, to get any of them to work, you must download some updates from Xbox Live.  Also, because many 360 games get updates, and because there is a lot of downloadable content (free and for fee) from Xbox Live, it is very important to hook the box up to the Internet. Note: the compatibility layer for older Xbox games is updated on an ongoing basis as new old games (get that) are made compatible.  As you can see, it is best to make sure the Xbox is always connected to the Internet, even if you only have a Silver Xbox 360 Live Account.

To alleviate confusion or concerns, there are two types of Xbox Live subscriptions; silver and gold.  The silver subscription is free, and entitles the subscriber to download free and for fee content, game updates, Xbox game compatibility updates, etc.  If nothing else, get this one.  The Gold Subscription, generally $50 per year, allows online gaming in addition to all of the other features.  Either way, be prepared to have a Microsoft Live ID for your email address (www.passport.net) or to sign up for one during Xbox Live registration right from the Xbox 360.  Also, you will be choosing a unique gamertag when you register for either level of subscription; this is how you will be known in the Xbox Live world.

But, before I get to far ahead of myself, let’s talk about networking the Xbox 360.  I’ll start by saying this; if you can, hard wire your Xbox 360 using and Ethernet connection.  If not, wireless it is.  Alleviate possible headaches by using an approved wireless home router that is listed on this page.  You’ll then want to get the Xbox 360 Wireless Adapter.  This should work fine.

The 360 is turning into quite a media hub for gaming, movies, TV, Media Center, DVD’s, HD-DVDs, etc.  IPTV on the 360 was also just announced by Bill Gates at CES this week.  You might as well kick off Xbox ownership with a bang, and make sure it is well connected, updated, and groovin’ in High Definition.

That leads me to my one last tip; make sure, if you are using an HDTV to monitor your 360 that you do two very important things.  First, use the correct connection to get HD (either component or VGA HD connections, both analog).  Second, make sure, if using the more common component HD connection, that you have set the physical switch on the connector to the HD setting (it comes from the factory set to SD, I believe).

This should be a good start.  Happy gaming/viewing/communicating.

 

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