Who Are You Calling A Dummy?

Here's the result of a tutorial I did yesterday.
The focus of the tutorial was on designing a "dummy" of a product for a presentation, and the product in question was a Lyra MP3 player. I added my own touch by having it playing a Liz Phair song and displaying the album art (which in this case is my drawing of the original album art) rather than just showing the generic image and text that the tutorial author provided for use.



I think it turned out pretty well. The tutorial was fairly complex, and the written instructions were somewhat lacking (I find that they usually are with most tutorials, as many of them seem to be written by non-native English speakers, and the rest are written by people who are better designers than they are writers), so I had to draw on my own experience to kind of fill in some of the gaps, which is good in a way, I guess.

Call Me Mr. Junior Achiever

So I managed to accomplish a lot (for me) today.
A list of my accomplishments:

Contacted Verizon to establish FiOS, phone, and FiOS TV service.
Contacted the power company to make the account switch.
Hired a moving company.
Canceled my gas service.
Updated my address with the DMV.
Ate lunch.
Bought ice cream.

I know it’s not much, and the lunch/ice cream thing are just padding (delicious padding), but even so, it’s more than I would normally accomplish in a day.
The Verizon thing was a bit of a hassle. Because the current service is not connected it was difficult to get my order placed, so the lady I talked to said she would keep trying and get back to me once she got it entered, which she did.
Of course, she informed me that the soonest it could get hooked up is currently October 4th (My response? “Holy crap!”), which wouldn’t work for me, as I’ll be working that day, so that pushed it to October 8th.
Presumably once the disconnect order is completed that should move things much closer.
I’m hoping that at the very least the FiOS Internet will still be working when I move in up to the date of disconnect (whenever that is).
I can get by without the TV, as I can get all of the networks with an antenna, and I have my cell, but no Internet? Without phone service, I wouldn’t even be able to do dial-up.
The horror!
Of course, I could just leave this crappy Internet service connected to the end of the month and bring my laptop over to download stuff and check mail and blog and whatnot, which would only leave me with 8 days (at worst) without service. I guess I could manage, though I shudder to think what the withdrawals will be like…
The first person I talked to at Verizon was very helpful and explained the various packages and whatnot, but once we got to my address she had to transfer me, as she was for the Florida market, so I had to be transferred to the Virginia market.
I only mention this because once I got to the Virginia person I was a bit bummed, as the Florida version of the packet was slightly cheaper and offered 20 Mbps service as opposed to the 15 I’ll be getting here.
Oh well.
After eating lunch at Ruby Tuesday I swung by Staples to check out their desk selection and actually found one that would be perfect. However, there was no price, they didn’t appear to have any in stock anywhere, the whole area seemed like it was sort of a dumping ground, and there didn’t appear to be any helpful employees wandering around the store, so I left, figuring I’d go online to see if I could find it.
Naturally I haven’t been able to find it, or even anything close.
I may try going back and getting someone’s attention and asking if it’s actually available and for how much.
In any case, I think that’ll do it for this entry.

Crack 'Em Up

Having the day off and lacking anything better to do, I decided to take in a matinee of Shoot ‘Em Up, a movie that I knew I’d pretty much have to see by myself if I wanted to see it, as the R rating excludes Scott, and it just didn’t strike me as something Brian would want to see.
So how was it? Let me start off by checking off a list of action movie clichés:

Anti-hero protagonist who is a dark loner with a tragic past and nebulous “special ops training” who follows his own personal code of honor, has several eccentric quirks, a penchant for one-liners, and is unwillingly dragged into a situation that will make him rise to the heroic occasion and will wear down his hard exterior, revealing the sensitive soul that lurks within? Check.
Twisted, evil, yet oddly charming villain with his own share of eccentric quirks played by a respected serious actor who has taken the part not just for the paycheck but for the opportunity to flex his campy muscles and leave bite marks all over the scenery with his over-the-top performance? Check.
Hooker with a heart of gold who is at least 300 times more attractive and 300 times less crack-addled than any hooker in the real world? Check.
Rocking soundtrack? Check.
Everyday objects used as lethal weapons? Check.
Acts of acrobatics and marksmanship that couldn’t possibly be performed by anyone in real life, the sort of things that even attempting to do have led Jackie Chan to break his back multiple times? Check.
Thin, yet convoluted plot – with a twist – that exists only to serve as an attempt to string together various kick-ass action sequences and to allow the audience to catch its breath during the exposition? Check.
Jon buying a hot dog and consequently getting ketchup and relish all over the front of his shirt? Check.

Seasoned with Shoot ‘Em Up’s cast, its particularly snappy patter, and the skillfully choreographed action sequences, if you threw all of these elements into a blender, the resulting puree would be a somewhat above average generic action movie.
However, if you put all of these elements in the blender, cranked it all the way up, and never turned said blender off, the result would be something much like Shoot ‘Em Up, which was not so much an action movie as it was a black comedy masquerading as – and poking loving, though not-so gentle fun at – every action movie ever made.
The over-the-top nature is so far over that you can’t even see the top. Even the standard movie connection between sex and violence is taken to an entirely new level in one particularly memorable scene.
It wouldn’t be fair to characterize Shoot ‘Em Up as a parody, simply because it was so much better than most parodies, but rather as the ultimate action movie, a pure action movie, one in which the people behind it said, “This would never work if we tried to take it seriously, so let’s just make it beyond ridiculous.”
Clearly they drew more inspiration from the work of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck than from Stallone and Van Damme.
If you don’t have the kind of sense of humor that this movie is designed for, you will absolutely fucking hate it. The whole thing is ridiculous nonsense and you’ll want your money back and will question the intelligence of anyone who found it to have any redeeming value whatsoever and you would leave angry comments on their blogs calling them names and just generally being inappropriately angry and, oddly enough, racist, even though in this case racism would be even less called for than it is in any other situation.
If you’re a serious fan of action movies, you might pick up on the fact that the movie, while being off the genre is also making fun of the genre, and that might confuse you and make you angry (call it the Last Action Hero Effect).
As for me, I liked it. A lot.
It’s totally unrealistic action that makes Transporter 2 seem like a documentary, but it’s unrealistic action that serves a comedic purpose and which is delivered with a knowing wink.
And besides that? Motörhead! (Ace of Spades played during one of the big gunfights.)
For comic book fans, I think it could best be described as the 90’s comic Nomad if it had been written by Garth Ennis.
‘nuff said.
I ended up catching the matinee at the fancy new theater in Brambleton, simply because it was starting a little later than at Regal in Sterling, which gave me a little more time to sit on my ass before getting ready and venturing out.
Of course, I’d been considering going to Regal because I also wanted to check out the selection of desks at the nearby Office Depot in Sterling (which is larger then the Office Depot in Leesburg).
Not particularly wanting to go home after the movie I ended up driving out to Sterling anyway, though I ultimately decided that if there is a desk that I’m going to buy from Office Depot (which I’m not sure I’m going to do), it would be a desk that they actually have available in their Leesburg location. D’oh!
Given that all I’d had to eat for the day was a hot dog and a box of Junior Mints, I decided to stop somewhere to get something to eat.
I went with Uno’s.
The waitress there was a pleasant woman roughly my age or a little older, who might have been really cute at one point in her life, and was still reasonably attractive, who wrote her name and drew a smiley face on a napkin while taking my drink order:



Apparently, though I don’t really see how, it’s pronounced “Shauna.”
Owing to the combination of her being kind of cute, the little napkin thing that I found rather endearing, and the simple fact that she was actually a she instead of the he I usually get when I eat somewhere (especially Uno’s), I gave her a big tip (roughly 50%).
Oh, and for the record, I did the ring check, and yes, she was married (or was simply wearing a ring in an effort to keep guys like me from hitting on her).
Speaking of which, this morning I awoke from an odd dream in which I was taking some sort of class in which I’d met an attractive woman with whom I’d hit it off. We’d hit it off so well, in fact, that it seemed obvious even to me that I should ask her out, which I did, with complete and utter confidence, with nary a stammer and without the oppressive sound of my pulse pounding in my ears.
I was poised. I was focused. I was supremely confident.
So naturally, without even pausing to think about it, she said no and then walked away.
Not even so much as a “I’m flattered, but…” Just no.
Then, just to make things baffling, right before I left she came over and, without saying a word, through her arms around me and hugged me very tightly before walking away again in silence.
I think the obvious inspiration for the dream was the episode of The Office that I watched on TBS the other night in which Dwight was similarly shot down summarily.
The confusing hug, I think, was just my subconscious representation of my inability to understand women in any meaningful way or to recognize and decode any signals they might (or might not) be sending me (a la the Asian girl at the bookstore the other day).
In any case, waking up from a dream of failure and rejection doesn’t really set a great tone for the day, though, thanks to the matinee, things did start to look up eventually.
And that’s pretty much been my day. There’s a bunch of phone calls and that sort of thing that I could have (and probably should have) made today, like to the power company, to Verizon, to moving companies, etc., but they’ll just have to wait until tomorrow.

Internet Commenters At A Business Meeting

This is funny and dead-on accurate...for other blogs. Not so much here.
One benefit of not having much traffic and seldom getting comments is that I don't have to deal with this sort of nonsense. Yay! Being unpopular is awewsome!



Update: Here's a follow-up video:

My Lot In Life

Here's the Plat of my new property. As you can see, it's a pretty sizeable lot (at least for this area).

I Knew It!

This scene from the Chick Tract The Assignment potentially explains so much about my life.
(Thanks to Enter The Jabberwock for bringing this tract - which I'd read before, of course, but had forgotten about - to my attention)

Closing Day

So today was the day; I am once again a home owner and I have the cramped wrist to prove it, what with the signing, and the initialing, and the carving into stone tablets and other low-tech activities that accompanying closing on a home purchase.
Of course, I won’t actually be able to take up residence until Sunday, but that just gives me time to find someone to actually do the moving for me.
And as a bonus I got a check for 4 days’ rent out of the former owner.
So that’s cool.
After the signing David, my realtor, walked me out (he had to stay behind for the closing on the house that the lady I bought my house from is buying; they were scheduled back-to-back), as he had some additional papers for me in his car. He wanted to know if I was pleased, as given that I’m not the type to “jump around with excitement,” it was rather hard for him to tell.
And of course, I am, though my excitement is dampened a little by the delay in moving.
He’s been reading some Threshold lately and I think he’s a bit concerned that I might write something mean about him, but he has no reason to fear; I have nothing but good things to say about him.
And even if I were going to write something mean, it wouldn’t be to denigrate his skills as a Realtor. No, I’d write something about how what a HUGE monster of a man he is and how whenever I see him I’m always a little surprised that there isn’t an angry mob of torch and pitchfork-wielding villagers chasing after him.
But I would never actually say anything like that.
(Seriously, though, the man is huge. But he’s also a great Realtor and an all-around good guy.)
After the signing I met up with Scott at the comic shop, and the we tried out one of the few remaining restaurants in the area that we haven’t eaten at yet, a place called Joe’s (as in “Eat At”). I wasn’t terribly hungry (I’d gotten some lunch after doing the final walk through at the house with David earlier in the day), so I opted for a salad (Chipotle Chicken), which was really good, as was the sample of Scott’s Mustard Crusted Chicken that I tried.
And now I’m home. As I took this weekend off, I won’t be going to bed ridiculously early (even though I should, as I’m tired), and I’m not sure what I’m going to do with my time off. I suppose I could do some shopping, picking up some necessities for the new place that can fit in (and stay in for the time being) my car.
I think I’m going to pick up a new desk, as this one is kind of trashed from having been taken apart to be moved here, and then having the hutch removed to accommodate the TV, and beyond that I’m sick of it anyway. I want to get a nice non-corner unit desk, maybe one of the kind that has a built-in USB hub.
And there’s enough nice weather left that it might be worth picking up some patio furniture. I think I’m going to hold off on buying a grill, though.
I also need to pick up a microwave, as the one here is built-in.
So there’s still a lot to do, but the biggest obstacle is out of the way at least.
Well, one of them, as there’s still the move itself.
Oh well, hopefully this will be the last one for a while.

Odd Dreams, Killing Time, And A Good Start

This morning found me getting up much earlier than I wanted to in order to get to an 8 AM appointment with my insurance agent.
After signing the papers and writing a check (from next year on the insurance payment will be taken out of my escrow account), I swung by McDonald’s to get some breakfast.
For some reason the McDonalds around here have been having someone actually sitting outside to take your order in the drive through, which is odd enough, but today this one also had someone outside to take your money, though you still got your change at the window.
Anyway, I got home and ate it, finding that the hotcakes on the McGriddle weren’t fully-cooked and seemed to be lacking the dollop of maple syrup that’s ordinarily mixed into the batter.
After that disappointing breakfast I said, “Screw this,” and went back to bed, where I dreamed that, in the interim between now and moving into my new apartment, I was living in an attic apartment in the home of the doctor who doesn’t grasp the concept of sleeves and his emaciated plastic wife from E!’s Dr. 90210 (I watch it every once in a while to see the before shots of the already decent-looking chicks as they stand around in their underwear to be examined before their surgeries). Some creepy old racist conspiracy nut – a friend of the family, apparently – had invaded my space while visiting my landlords. He was convinced that I was unemployed because I was home during the day, ignored my claims to the contrary, and kept suggesting places that I should apply to, ranking them based on how committed the proprietors’ were to resisting the worldwide Zionist conspiracy.
(I’ve been visiting way too many fundamentalist/conspiracy nut Web sites lately. But they’re just so good for a laugh that they’re hard to resist.)
I woke up, briefly, at one point and saw that it was 10 and decided I should get up, but then I fell asleep and went back to the same weird dream until my mother called and woke me up.
After that I did the usual sitting around until about noon, at which point I started getting hungry.
I had to go to a meeting in Dulles at 3, and I didn’t want to go somewhere for lunch (I haven’t been grocery shopping this week because I don’t see the point of loading up the fridge just to have to relocate the food), come home, and then go out again a couple of hours later, but I knew that it would be near-impossible for me to find a way to kill nearly three hours out in the world.
Still, I resolved to try.
I went to the Dulles Town Center first and had lunch in the food court (A foot-long bacon dog – take that, family history of heart disease!), and then tried to kill time walking around.
I went into the Borders Express and shook my head sadly at the ever-increasing amount of shelf-space devoted to Manga and the ever-decreasing amount of space devoted to American comics.
Of course, the first thing I’d noticed was a big book titled Human Anatomy for Artists, which I decided to grab. I browsed for a while longer, but couldn’t find anything else of interest and went to the register, where I was, eventually, greeted by a cute-ish Asian girl who asked if the book was for me or was a gift. I don’t think she actually caught my answer before moving on to asking me if I had the rewards card or whatever they call it. She then asked me if I wanted a bag, and then if I wanted her to double-bag it, as it’s a pretty weighty tome (as well-suited for whomping kids and little people as my Absolute Watchmen), and then talked about how bags always end up ripping on her, which prompted me to say that yes, in my case, double-bagging was definitely a good idea.
Now here’s where we run into one of the (innumerable) Problems of Being Jon ™.
As I said, the girl was kind of cute, and she was considerably friendlier than most service industry people I deal with, to the extent that she may have been flirting with me.
One of the Problems of Being Jon ™ is the inability to believe that someone flirting with me is something that can occur in nature. Yet another is that, if I get past that first one, I can’t tell if it’s just generic, pointless flirting that doesn’t actually mean anything or if it serves a sign of genuine interest.
For the record, I am able to easily determine when someone is flirting with me because she wants something. In fact, if I ever do decide that someone is flirting with me, and that it is not harmless, meaningless fun, that’s usually the assumption that I make.
Anyway, getting back to the girl at the bookstore, I couldn’t really tell if she was just naturally friendly and bubbly, or if it was something more, and if it was something more, if it meant anything beyond the standard, “I’m stuck here for eight hours; I might as well make the time more enjoyable by flirting with guys – even spastic dorks like this one.”
But whatever. It’s not like any of it matters anyway.
From the Town Center I went on to Wal-Mart, and then to Best Buy, where, after finding the well-hidden display where they were located, I picked up two copies of Superman: Doomsday.
After that I swung by Scott’s pod to give him his copy and kill some time before my meeting.

Excuse Me While I Geek Out Department:
I watched my Superman: Doomsday DVD shortly after I got home and I have to say it was pretty damned cool. Honestly, it’s the movie that Superman Returns should have been. Good story, some actual action, good performances by the voice actors (Adam Baldwin made a good Superman, but made an excellent twisted Superman, delivering his lines in that role with a creepy flatness and quiet menace that made you appreciate just how utterly terrifying a Superman who isn’t safely guided by his unerring moral compass could really be).
Anne Heche did not initially wow me as Lois, and I’m not entirely sure that she ever won me over, as I think that it was the overall portrayal of Lois – her dialogue, her behavior, and her skillfully animated mannerisms – that I warmed up to, making the voice almost irrelevant. Still, I do think Heche put forth a decent effort.
Speaking of creepy, James Marsters really laid on the creepiness as Lex Luthor, particularly in the unapologetically homoerotic sequence that added an interesting layer of complexity to the Superman/Luthor dynamic without being too cliché or tacked on. I don’t necessarily buy into that interpretation in general, but in this instance, it worked, in a skeevy sort of way.
And peaking of skeevy, John “Bender” Dimaggio made the Toyman into one of the skeeviest, most disturbing villains I’ve seen in a while. In the early 90’s Toyman in the comics was reinvented as a psychopathic child-killer. It was a disturbing interpretation of a classic, albeit mostly harmless, villain, but it had nothing on the interpretation of Toyman in this movie.
Toyman provided just one of the many “Holy Shit!” moments in the movie.
(There were even a couple “No Fucking Way!” moments as well.)
I really liked the style of the animation (though I question the wisdom of the whole cheekbones thing on Supes), as it had elements of some of the animated versions that have preceded it while still creating a look that was unique to this production.
The story presented in Superman: Doomsday, while following the basic plot, differed wildly from the comic storyline on which it was based, but honestly, there was no way to take that story, which had so much going on and so many intricate webs of continuity, and which was able to run for upwards of half a year, and actually fit it into a 70 minute movie without making radical changes.
So it’s not so much a question of if it would be changed, but whether or not the changes worked. And I think they did.
Overall, I think this effort bodes well for DC’s line of direct to DVD animated features and servers as an excellent start, and based on the sneak peek at Justice League: The New Frontier, the next movie in the queue, things are only looking up as we move toward the third project, The Judas Contract.
I hope that DC has many more in the pipe, and if they don’t, I would humbly suggest that they consider adapting the oft-mentioned Great Darkness Saga, Selina’s Big Score (like Frontier, a wonderful story by Darwyn Cooke, and is the story that godawful Catwoman movie should have been based on), Batman: Hush (I am so fucking kidding about that; please, please, PLEASE don’t make a Hush DVD), pretty much any one of Gail Simone’s Birds of Prey story arcs (though the one in which Black Canary trades places with Lady Shiva would be a good choice), a JSA story (maybe the relatively recent one, the name of which escapes me, in which they square off against Per Degaton as he attempts to destroy the JSA in the past), and something focusing squarely on Kirby’s Fourth World (seeing as how you’re going to be killing The New Gods off it could serve as a fitting obituary). Oh, and the first Generations story that Byrne did (the two follow-ups were okay, but that one was the best of the lot, and the one that I see as most adaptable).
But seriously; you’ve got plenty of great stories, new and old, to choose from, so keep them coming.

Wait A Second..."Zork" Rhymes With "Dork!" Coincidence?

For Ultimate Geeks Only: Hand Drawn Zork Map From 1982

Two Words: Dildo Factory

So far today has been incredibly uneventful. I got up, I sat around, I made breakfast, I sat around some more, took a shower, took out the garbage, and then sat around some more.
Tomorrow I have to get up early and meet with my insurance guy, then I have a meeting in the afternoon, and of course on Wednesday I close on the house, though I’m still not sure on when I’ll be able to move in.
Taking advantage of the over the air HDTV capabilities granted me by my new antenna, I watched Anchorman last night on the HD ABC station, which probably comes in the clearest of all the stations I get, which is to say, really, really clear. I’m really impressed by the clarity, though, unrelated to that, I have to wonder about the decisions that ABC made when editing the movie for broadcast.
If you haven’t seen the movie, the following spoilery bits won’t really mean much to you because they require context to be understood, but even so, they are spoilery, so consider yourself warned.
The first odd bit was cutting out the scene of Jack Black punting the dog off the bridge. We see him pick it up, hear a splash, and then see Jack walking away from the railing after the punting had been accomplished. Later, the direct reference to the dog having been punted is left in. So mentioning the punting is okay, but actually showing it wasn’t. Probably trying to avoid pissing off PETA.
Another odd bit is that they edit out the shot of Tim Robbins cutting off Luke Wilson’s arm, but they leave in the later scene in which a bear rips off his remaining arm.
And instead of just leaving the line in and muting the “fuck,” as in “Go .... yourself, San Diego,” they actually spliced in different dialogue and had Ron, awkwardly, say “You’re a dirty bitch, San Diego.”

Good (Un)Clean Blasphemous Fun Department:
One new show on Adult Swim that has yet to disappoint has been Lucy The Daughter of The Devil, a blasphemously hilarious show focusing on a rather ambivalent young Anti-Christ, her loving, and generally befuddled father, who just happens to be the Devil, her boyfriend, a DJ who just may be the Messiah, and the crack (or rather, cracked)Vatican black ops team out to kill her.
Last night’s episode featured one of the best parodies of the “Pure Imagination” scene from Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory that I’ve seen in a long time. What made it so funny? Two words: dildo factory.
While the show would be funny enough on its own, what puts it over the top is the fact that the voice of the Devil is provided by none other than H. Jon Benjamin. It’s not a name you’re likely to know, but if you’ve ever watched an animated sit come within the last 12 years or so, you’ve probably heard him. He’s got a great voice and perfect delivery and comedic timing that ramp up the humor of pretty much any project he’s involved in; I honestly think he could read the phone book aloud and make it funnier than a good 80% of the comedy out there.
I’ll say no more, and simply link to the episode itself, but be warned, while it’s extremely funny, and sometimes strangely heartwarming, it’s also really, really offensive, even if you aren’t easily offended. But if you can get past that you’ll be in for a laugh. (My favorite scene: the Devil, tired of her constant suggestions for new dildo designs, sends Lucy an e-mail saying, simply, “Leave me alone.”)

I Figured It Needed A Logo

Happy Birthday!

Kind Of Addictive

Blogger has made available a toy they've been using internally for a while that lets you see pictures being uploaded to blogs in near real-time.
It's strangely compelling and kind of addictive.
Check it out here.

What's The Point Of Having HD If All You Get To See Are Football Players' Asses?

Last night on my way home from work I stopped at Best Buy to pick up an over-the-air HDTV tuner for my computer.
It’s an external USB tuner, which I figure I might as well have, as it allows me to pick up HD broadcasts on any of my computers, but can, of course, be of immediate use with Hugin and the HDTV.
I plugged it in and Windows was able to immediately recognize it and download and install the driver for it. Once I went into Media Center, Media Center immediately recognized that I had a new tuner and ran the configuration wizard, which included recognizing what digital channels are available over the air in this area (based on entering my Zip Code), and showing me the signal strength for each available channel. I was surprised that I could get any signal at all, given the dinky antenna that came with the tuner (roughly the size of a cell phone antenna), but ultimately I was able to get about three channels really clearly, with another one that came in, but was choppy and had a lot of artifacts.
Of course, then came the problem of actually trying to watch the channels. I knew that Media Center could support two tuners, but when I checked the guide, it was only showing the guide for the existing analog tuner, with no apparent method for switching to the digital tuner.
I did a lot of searching online to figure out how to get them to work together and ran through the setup multiple times, before discovering that I’m an idiot, and that Media Center simply appends the HD channels to the end of the analog guide, rather than creating a separate guide.
Which, in hindsight, was really obvious, and I already said that I’m an idiot, so shut up.
(I’ve just taken note of the fact that on the HDTV I can have Word display three pages side-by-side onscreen and retain readability)
Given the surprising success of the cheap and dinky antenna, I ventured out today and bought a better one (a $40 RCA amplified antenna that was on sale for $17 because it was an open box item). With it I can get even more channels and all of the channels I’d been getting are clearer (with one odd exception that actually got worse with the better antenna).
Of course, there’s nothing on today but football, so it’s not like I’m getting any benefit from the clarity of the picture, though I can see that it must be heaven for NFL fans because you can really see just how tight those pants are on the asses of the big, sweaty men as they’re bent over and the camera is focused squarely on those taut, rippling muscles in their buttocks. Hey, far be it from me to judge, football fans. That sort of thing isn’t my bag, but if you’re into staring at guys’ asses in high resolution, more power to you.
I watched Helloby Animated: Blood and Iron last night, and I can say that even an upconverted standard resolution DVD looks excellent. Can’t wait until I have actual high resolution DVDs.
Once I get moved into the new place I’ve decided that there are going to be some changes to my computer setup.
I won’t really have a space in the kitchen for Munin, and I’ve gotten to like having dual monitors, so I think that I’m going to set up the tablet PC in the kitchen, hook up Munin’s monitor as the secondary one on Hugin, and just set Munin aside for the time being.
The HDTV will be serving as just a TV until I get the new Media Center PC with the Cable Card tuner(s), which will be at least a month from now, as it’ll be custom built (and then I’ll have to have a Verizon tech come up and set up the Cable Card(s)), though I suppose that in the meantime I could hook Munin up to it for the purposes of living room Web surfing and whatnot. Even without Media Center on it, Munin could serve as a decent temporary home entertainment center.
Looks like you’ve been saved from the scrap heap, Munin.
Eventually I’ll probably either get a better second monitor for Hugin, or get a cheap monitor for Munin and turn Munin into a Linux box.
And somewhere along the line I’ll probably pick up one of the new Windows Home Server systems, whenever they finally start selling them.
When I was at Best Buy I noticed that a display featuring Weird Science on DVD, and I thought, “That’s one of those movies about which I sometimes think, ‘Why don’t I own that movie?’” so I decided to grab it, as it was only 10 bucks.
And now I think I’ll watch it. Mmm…upconverted Kelly LeBrock….