Monthly Archive for October, 2005

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Desktop Screenshot

Published on 6 years, 3 months ago in Mac OS and Random. 2 Comments

I finally decided to make my desktop my own, after forever and a day of having standard everythings. I’m not usually one to have awesome looking desktops, but I think I did good. Here is a screen capture of my current desktop. Click for a larger version

The picture is from quaid60 on Deviantart, mirror flipped. I spent several hours this weekend cruising the postings on Deviantart trying to find a photo that made me stop and look at it. I went through over 1,000 photos and wallpapers, trying to find the one that I liked. I saw hundreds of really crappy backgrounds. Some were too bright. some were too anime… some were too porn… god, lots of people taking photos of porn stars and throwing it on a background and claiming it as their wallpaper to the world. Alas, I digress. I had three other photos downloaded as options when I saw this photo, and then I was done. Mad props to quaid60 for the manipulation (If you don’t notice from the picture above, they’re not straps on her skin. View the full size. Brilliant.) and his model who took the picture herself.

Anyway, the dorks will want to know all of the specifics. Icons are the Somatic set from IconFactory installed using CandyBar. I’m also using a battery and weather widget from Konfabulator on the desktop. Adium X is down there for instant message in the lower right (cut out some of the info for obvious reasons, natch.) Subtle Tunes is the music interface for iTunes (also a Konfabulator widget). Terminal.app has some transparency in the background but you can’t see it because I didn’t want to screw up the view of the awesome background.

Coffee Snobbery

Published on 6 years, 3 months ago in Life and Random. 1 Comment

I have always been a coffee snob since I started drinking coffee. Hell, I find I am a snob with anything I pick up to an extent. I like Starbucks coffee and won’t drink Folgers. I like The Republic of Tea teas and won’t drink Liptons. I like Tanqueray gin and won’t drink Seagrams. I’ve found that you can tell a noticeable difference in most products between the low end and the high end.

But, back to coffee snobbery. I don’t have a Mr. Coffee to brew up a giant tub of coffee in the mornings. No, I have a Senseo for the “running to work and need something to bang back in the car” days. I use a Bodum coffee press (french press) for the weekends, and Holly bought me a DeLonghi espresso machine for an early Christmas present. I’m sitting here drinking my third cup of the Starbucks Komodo Dragon blend. It makes a wonderful cup of coffee but it really sucks bad as an espresso. My espresso machine supports the espresso pods. Now, being a self described snob, this seems wrong (So does the Senseo, but, it’s not… trust me). But, it’s quite wonderful. They make great shots of espresso. Anyway, I’m going to go this weekend sometime probably and pick up a pound of Starbuck’s Cafe Verona coffee and plan on ordering some of the Starbucks espresso pods.

One of my coworkers enjoys drinking instant coffee. Wal-Mart brand instant coffee, no less. (Damn.. I almost gagged typing that.) It’s the most vile thing ever. The smell is generates is nauseating. We all affectionately refer to it as “hot dog water” because, honestly, that’s what it smells like sometimes. Another coworker doesn’t like Starbucks because it’s too strong.

Despite the fact that Starbucks is taking over the world, they do make a good coffee, in my opinion. They seem less evil than other large companies trying to take over the world. And, with that, I’m going to have another cup of coffee. Mmmm.

Review: NCAA Football 06 for XBox

Published on 6 years, 3 months ago in Games. 0 Comments

NCAA Football 2006 for XBox

by Electronic Arts

After an evening of running around shopping with the misses, she wants to go to Kroger to buy some stuff for me to make chili. Right next door, is Blockbuster. I think “Hmm. Maybe I’d like to rent a game!” and then she says “You want to get a game?” See, that’s what love really is about.

I drop her off, park, and go into Blockbuster. They have a itty bitty game selection, and they didn’t have Tiger Woods 06 in. So, I pick up NCAA Football 06 and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and wander around the store to decide which to get. I opt for football because the weather is good football weather. I put GTA back and go to check out. The guy rings me up… $7.99!! OMGWTFBBQ! Eight dollars?? “Yeah, they raised prices about a month ago. I’m glad I work here.” I swipe the card, and the receipt printer starts having a fit. It spits out a five foot long strand of receipt (hand to God, it really is five feet long). Apparently someone sued Blockbuster and this was the class action award for paying late fees in the past.

So, about the game… I like it… kinda. Full review below the jump.

Continue reading ‘Review: NCAA Football 06 for XBox’

Review: Jones Soda Halloween Sodas: Candy Corn and Carmel Apple

Published on 6 years, 3 months ago in Life. 0 Comments

Holly picked up some four packs of two strange Jones Sodas in little cans last time we went to Target. This is a “review” of the Candy Corn and Carmel Apple flavored sodas. Click the photos for bigger versions. First, the Candy Corn…

They use using the 8 oz baby cans that everyone finds so adorable. It appears they have made these exclusively for Target. The photo is a little yellow overall, but as you can see, the liquid is a very unique yellow. One of the reviews linked from the Jones website describes it as “capable of blinding every living creature within three miles of it.” Holding the glass to the nose, you get a very thick sugar candy smell. As you taste it, the carbonation is very light. And, like the name says, it tastes like candy corn. As Holly and I drink it, we notice that the inside of the glass is coated with a film of yellow liquid. It is a very thick (for a soda) drink, which lends to it’s exquisite feel. The yellow coats the glass and after rinsing the glass with hot water and soap, I found the white paper towel I was using had a light yellow tone to it. I would be very afraid of this soda touching any piece of clothing, as it will undoubtedly stain. As you drink it, you feel yourself gaining weight. The 8 ounce can is rated as one serving at 130 calories, 65mg Sodium (2% US RDA) and 32 grams of carbs, all from sugar. Definitely five stars (out of five) for uniqueness, however, overall it only gets a 3.

Next up is the Carmel Apple:

It looks like apple juice. It smells like apple juice. It tastes like carbonated apple juice, but with something different. Oh, wait, that’s supposed to be carmel flavoring! As the soda started to warm up, the carmel smell started to come out a bit more. Holly liked this one a lot. It’s something you can drink and enjoy regularly, whereas the Candy Corn would make you ill. It’s also less bad for you with 120 calories per 8 ounces, 50mg of sodium, and 31g of carbs, 30g from sugars.Thumbs up. Four stars.

Jones Soda Limited Edition Flavors for more information from the maker.

How Ashlee Simpson should have returned to SNL

Published on 6 years, 3 months ago in Random. 0 Comments

Everyone remembers what happened the last time Ashlee Simpson performed on SNL. I’m surprised her career didn’t end right then and there. She got booed at the Orange Bowl a few months later. It was great.

Last night, she performed on SNL again last night. The teasers leading up to it were great. “Hey, havn’t you been on SNL before?” “.. Yeah…” “How did it go?” *her staring at guy for 4 seconds before commercial ends*.

Anyway, back to the topic. What should she have done upon taking the stage last night to perform? She should have sang an a cappella version of something slow, seething with melancholy, and very vocally difficult. Something like Gershwin’s “Someone to Watch Over Me.” Think Bo Bice at the American Idol finals. Remember how you just sat back in awe of him, standing alone in the center of the stage…. the stage pitch black except about 95 ultra bright spotlights shining on him, lighting him up like the sun…. It would have been brilliant. She would have silenced every single nay-sayer by proving that she really can sing. Not only can she sing pop, but she could sing wide-ranging, emotional, serious music. It would have given her instant respect, probably surpassing what she had before the lip sync nightmare.

Alas, they didn’t ask my opinion.