Insomniac's Dream Sequence

I love the Wii Fit Plus! Dreamed 37 days ago | Comment | 359 words

That said, I can’t actually use the Wii Fit Plus because I am a big over the maximum weight supported by the balance board. I need a weight-sensing phone book instead! Despite all that I did have a blast playing it tonight with Annie.

She is able to use the Wii Fit as it is intended so she did the games and Yoga and things on the board while I jogged/cycled/segwayed/Yoga’d along next to her, looking like a loon to the passerby (if we hadn’t drawn the shades).

There are some things that are kinda worthless without the board. For instance the “Lotus Focus” which is basically “sit really still on the Wii Balance Board” I could have done along side her but why?

There are plenty of things where I can stretch and jog and pretend to steer right along with her. It is these games where I too can derive the benefit of the Wii Fit experience and grow to a more normal sized human being. This excites me. I need to lose weight. I want to lose weight. I know I need to workout but every time I start it never sticks.

The Wii is taking my love of video games and using to fuel my excitement to workout. I love it. I love the Wii Fit. I love the games!

There is one that is an obstacles course which I compare to playing to Mario in first person. From the early days of playing the NES at my babysitter’s house I started out jumping when Mario did. (Admit it, you all did it!)

Nintendo has taken that to its logical conclusion of actually making your character jump when you jump. Run when you run and the plethora of other activities the disc has in store for us.

We only played about 90 minutes tonight exploring the different categories the game had to offer. But from the sampling of what we played I am very confident we will get many, many hours of enjoyment and improvement from them.

I am excited. Finally, I can mix video games with self-improvement and perhaps one day I will just be tall and not fat.

AFI (The National, Richmond VA) Dreamed 143 days ago | Comment | 580 words

AFI was great. I’ve never seen them live before and it as a ton of fun! They didn’t play too much from the new album which was for the best. Torch Song, Medicated, and Beautiful Thieves made the cut as well as a 4th which escapes me.

Girls Not Grey, Miss Murder, The Interview.. really most of Decemberunderground was played as well as some choice cuts from Sing the Sorrow like Death of Seasons including the closer Silver and Cold (an odd choice in my mind to close on.)

That being said, AFI really needs to work on their pacing. I consider Nine Inch Nails one of the best set lists around. It’s not secret I’m a huge NIN fan. However, when Trent & Co. devise a set list it goes through highs and lows. Building you up and bringing you back down in a slow wave.

Putting a couple industrial grinding tracks together to make everyone go crazy. Then transition into instrumentals or slow tracks and finishing with Hurt or something equally soothing.

The set list tonight was up and down up and down up and down. It felt like being in the ocean before a storm. It was fast song, slow song, fast song, slow song. Perhaps that contributed to the my second thought about the evening.

Part of the concert-going experience is to go on the emotional and sonic journey the band has constructed for you. Following through the highs and lows. The swaying, jumping, clapping along. Losing yourself in the lights and sound and general din of your fellow fans.

With such a turbulent set list there was no rhythm to it. The fast song you just heart was immediately followed by something slow, then sped up again, repeated throughout the night. Better pacing and thought given to the speed of songs it would have made for a better experience.

Maybe I’m just showing my age here, but when did concerts become a sea of cameras and cameraphones? I remember when going to a show meant going to watch a band play live and move around. Dance. Thrash. Two-step. Jump. Whatever.

MOVE!

Live music is meant to be moved to. The crowd feeds off the band and the band in turn feeds off the crowd’s energy. If you’re not moving, you’re not doing your part.

This is not to say you shouldn’t take any photos of a band you love. That’s fine. Take a few shots. Put the camera away and dance!

AFI tonight was nothing but a sea of gluey-footed teens wielding cell phones. I was about midway back in The National in Richmond, VA. It’s a tiny venue to begin with so I wasn’t much more than 40 feet from the stage. In front of me, a sea of flickering screens held aloft outstretched arms.

When Davey knelt down, he was totally hidden by the phones. Annoying to say the least. When did concerts become photo opportunities?

Maybe I’m just getting too old and unhip but I remember when going to a show was all about dancing around and singing along. Coming home hoarse and sore. Waking up the next morning really feeling the show I’d attended the night before.

Am I too old or has the Internet changed people?

On a side note, I did count 3 actual lighters on slow songs.

Complaints aside, I did have a fantastic time and really need to get out to more shows. AFI was full of energy and thankfully stayed away from their groan-inducing latest release.

Public Discourse Dreamed 187 days ago | Comment | 149 words

You are aware that you can listen to him speak on education AND not agree with what he says, right?

You are aware you still have the ability to think for yourself, right?

You are aware he’s not going to force ideas upon your children, right?

You are aware children can think and decide for themselves, right?

Maybe he has some good ideas.

You’d never know.

Maybe he’ll say something interesting.

You’ll never know.

Maybe he’ll give away $100 to everyone there.

You’ll never know.

I am beginning to think it’s not possible to have a public discourse in this country any longer.

I am scared for the next 4 years in this country.

As those who are living in fear continue and try to drag the rest of us into it.

And the din increases.

And the irrationalist sensationalist actions increase.

Where does it take us?

At what point do I become afraid to have my own thoughts and my own opinions?

Medium over Message Dreamed 199 days ago | Comment | 485 words

The medium doesn’t matter. Ever.
You could be furiously scribbling into a notebook fueled by black lights and caffeine.You could be typing frantically into Xanga, LiveJournal, Myspace, Wordpress, Tumblr, Twitter, Textpattern, or some home-brewed app. The medium isn’t important. It’s the message.

As a geek I tend to get distracted by the newest, shiniest blogging platform. Some new way for me to get my thoughts out of my head and onto “paper” to be shared or just to get released. To a degree I’ve cared too much about where and how my words were displayed.

Writing was always my release. All through school from 7th grade, where I had a teacher who introduced me to the power of my own written words. All through high school and some of college. I wrote.

I wrote poetry. Rambling prose. Techno-laced metaphor mind trips into my deepest fears. In college, humor was the refuge of my passion. I wrote an anonymous humor column for a few years. Until my time ran out as did the funny.

Nowadays, there’s such stigmas about certain places. Livejournal is seen as a wasteland of whiny teens penning complaints to their peers. Xanga is practically the lower caste. Not to be spoken of by any “serious” writer. Myspace is… well… simultaneously the meeting place of musicians and artists and a place I actively avoid due to its eye-bleeding graphics and pages. It’s the worst of Geocities/Xoom/Homestead 1990s reincarnated.

Then there’s Facebook, the college public square. Now infested with the same skeevy corporations who push credit cards for T-shirts online as they do on campuses.

And of course Twitter, the medium quickly becoming the goto spot for…. everything. Promotions. Announcements. News-sharing/gathering, inane breakfast lists, and anything else you can possibly think of.

It’s not where you write, it’s what you write.

I started a blog in 1998 as a badly-coded HTML page on my members.xoom.com page. After they were turned into nbci.com and killed the hosting I moved to Xanga where I wrote for a few years. Then LiveJournal when I was able to secure an invite. (Remember those days?)

Then I experimented with Wordpress/MovableType/Textpattern/Expression Engine and a hand full of others until finally deciding to live in the Textpattern camp.

And now, I’m more in favor of Tumblr’s simplicity and ease of posting and sharing. Mix in a bit of twitter and it’s a delectable soup of inane banter and commenting.

My blog withers away while I try to find my voice and my focus. As this piece wanders haphazardly along so does my writing.

What I’m trying to say is it doesn’t matter where you write or how your words make their way into the world. Just write. Just let out the feelings and stories locked inside your head.

Find a lovely font to type in or a comfortable pen and favorite notebook and let the words flow.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter the medium. It’s the message that’s important.

Finding Religion Dreamed 212 days ago | Comment | 268 words

I am becoming Mormon.

I’ve been going to church with Annie for the last few months. It’s been a good and positive thing in my life. I’ve met some really nice people and the belief system is right in line with my own (no alcohol, drugs, smoking, tattoos). There is also a huge emphasis on the family which I really like. And there is a belief in “sealing” a family together forever so even after death you are with your loved ones. There is also an overwhelming positivity that comes out of the Sunday mornings I attend.

It’s interesting getting to listen to different people speak every Sunday on a given topic. The perspectives are always fresh and the messages are always heartfelt.

I’ve always considered myself Christian and lived by those basic tenets and ideals. This is just a solidifying of those beliefs into something more concrete.

I realize this may seem very sudden and out of the blue. But I’ve given it a ton of thought. And it’s what I want.

I see Annie as the girl I want to marry and spend the rest of my life with. That being said, I am not doing this for her. She is not making me. She has flat out told me she doesn’t care if I am Mormon or not, as long as I am me.

The beliefs of the church are pretty much in line with how I’ve lived my life and what I believe. There are certain things I will never see eye-to-eye with a church over but I recognize that is not a reason to reject a religion outright.

Finding Religion Dreamed 212 days ago | Comment | 342 words

Why is it so weird emailing my parents to tell them I am converting to Mormonism from…. nothing? I don’t expect them to have issues with it. And even if they did, it’s not their life. Religion is a personal thing and different for everyone. It’s not something I talk about often nor and that’s how it will stay. It’s an exciting time though. Another chapter of a book to be opened and explored.

I am becoming Mormon.

It’s interesting getting to listen to different people speak every Sunday on a given topic. The perspectives are always fresh and the messages are always heartfelt.

I’ve always considered myself Christian and lived by those basic tenets and ideals. This is just a solidifying of those beliefs into something more concrete.

I realize this may seem very sudden and out of the blue. But I’ve given it a ton of thought. And it’s what I want.

The problem of "why" Dreamed 255 days ago | Comment | 522 words

The journey into why is a frightening one. For most of my life I have lived by the 10 Commandments. Not on a conscience level but as a general rule for how I conduct myself.

Most importantly, I have lived by the golden rule do unto others as you’d have them do unto you.

Treat people how you wish to be treated. I never really considered why I lived this way. I credit it to good parenting and upbringing. It always seemed like the right way to live. Why should I hurt others when I could work for the greater good? That way everyone benefits. I live for the greater good. I never really questioned why. Until now.

In recent months I’ve been dipping my toes into religion. Don’t worry, I’m not going full on born again. I have been exploring Mormonism. My girlfriend is Mormon. The biggest reason is their belief of an eternal family. They believe once you die you go on living with your family forever. None of that “til death so us part” nonsense. The process is not automatic (and honestly not one I fully understand yet) and involves a temple marriage and being “sealed” to each other.

So once you’re sealed in a temple, you live with your family forever.

I’ve never given much thought to an afterlife but if there is one, being with your family sounds pretty good to me. Where is all thing backstory taking us? The questioning of WHY?

Why do we live like we do? Why do we act as we do?

I often think about introspection and try to look inward as much as I can because It’s the key to understanding yourself. Part of that is questioning why.
I have not questioned myself why in a long time. I realized this as I found myself incredibly sad one Sunday afternoon and couldn’t figure out why. I had just come from church. And I was a mental mess. I just wasn’t feeling it.

I hear all the time of people speaking of the comfort religion brings them. I didn’t see it. Maybe I need to try harder.

In my discussion with my girlfriend she pointed out how I was basically a good person as far as religion goes. I don’t smoke. I don’t drink. Never touched drugs. I’m pretty boring.

The other trigger was the message from church itself. The message was about giving yourself to God and letting him into your life. The message was presented well and in a sensical, applicable way.

However, that is a main point of contention for me because I’ve seen it taken too far to often. You can’t expect God to run your own life. You can’t look at thing and go, “God will take care of me” and not help yourself. God will only take it so far. You need to help.

God will help you out and nudge you on the right direction. He will be your guide to life and try to push you down the right path. He won’t drove the car or be your gps. He’ll ride along and suggest routes along the way.

Video Games Live Dreamed 284 days ago | Comment | 140 words

Proving my uberdorkdom, I am going to see Video Games Live with 3 friends in July at Wolf Trap near D.C.

Tickets are still available so if the thought of seeing all your old favorite games played by a symphony excites you, this is the show for you!

I have two friend who saw it in Richmond already and are seeing it again with me and they said it was completely awesome! I am so stupidly excited over this show words cannot properly describe it.

There is a high quality promo on their site in .wmv format. Or if you look in the video folder, there’s a listing of all the files including Quicktime versions of the promo and other videos.

If you love video games, do yourself a favor and go see this. I can’t wait!

Hulu Desktop Mini review Dreamed 284 days ago | Comment | 275 words

I love the new Hulu Desktop app from Hulu labs. I downloaded it last week when it was released. I’ve been enjoying it everyday since. I am in love with this application. It allows full access to the entire Hulu site with a sleek and clean navigation.

While logged in, I can do everything I can do in the site. I can add videos to my queue, rate, subscribe and of course, play. Which leads me to the killer feature as far as I’m concerned.

I can watch full screen video on a second monitor while continuing to use my MacBook normally. That’s right, full screen video on monitor 2 while using my MacBook to write this review.

Before this app was release, I watched Hulu primarily using the pop-out video feature then pulling that window full screen and enjoying the video. The app takes it to the next level. The video looks gorgeous but is not without its problems.

A couple of times at the end of the commercial break, the video would restart from the beginning. Not a show stopper but a little annoying. Every now and again the video will stop and seem to lose its place. Even after pausing it, the buffer would not refill nor would the video continue.

I filed a big report using the little bug icon from the menu and the support tech told me they’d received lots of reports of the commercial resetting video issue.

Both bugs are minor and neither really detract that much from the application. I am sure in later iterations these will be taken care of and the app will get even better.

Since the move... Dreamed 328 days ago | | 354 words

This was originally written on Feb. 23, 2009 and never posted. I am posting it now.

Let’s step back.
I moved.

I picked up my life of 8 years from Richmond and moved to Alexandria earlier this month. I lived in Richmond from 2000 when I left Berryville for college and have been there for about 4 years after graduating working a combination of design, IT Support, and printing jobs.

On a whim I went for a job interview in Washington, D.C. for a real, full-time, non-contracting job. And much to my surprise, I got it!

I am now living in Alexandria near Old Town and its beautiful architecture and river. I’m taking a subway to work everyday then a brisk walk to The Watergate Complex where I am working as a Desktop Support Tech for The Atlantic Media Company.

I no longer drive daily. I get in the car two or three times per week at most. I get to use the wonderful public transportation system to get me to and from work. I am also excited to use it to explore Washington.

I love the subway. Two weeks in to the job, I still love the subway! There’s much to be said about commuting via car or letting someone else do the driving. I love no longer driving everyday. It’s much more relaxing.

I love my job. I love having benefits, the perks (bagels and juice in the AM, popcorn/crackers and sodas in the afternoon everyday), I love paid time off. I love being part of a team and a full time employee. I love the projects I’ll get to work on. I love building my MacPro fort as I test them.

Most of all, I love the stability. It’s a major weight off my head now that I am fully employed and no longer contracting. I am now fully in control of my future and my career. I no longer get a chunk of my salary taken off the top every payday. I no longer have to worry about the contract changing hands and me being out in the cold.

And it’s been very, very cold.