Archive for the ‘Entertainment’ Category
Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 |
Ok, my Circuit City gift cards are all used up. That’s until I get my next batch from my credit card points.
Yesterday, on our way to Costco up in Enfield, we stopped at Circuit City to pick up a Sony SA-W2500 Performance Line Subwoofer for downstairs. We already have four speakers hooked up and thought some nice bass would add to our experience.
Now, I am not an electronics guy. I really don’t know what 99.9% of the features mean on my Pioneer Receiver. I kind of plug it in and go.
When I was hooking up the subwoofer, I thought I had it. I heard bass and was happy. It wasn’t until later that I realized the rear surround speakers weren’t on. I fiddled with the receiver settings and realized that I had it set on the “7.1″ channel setting. I changed it to the “5.1″ channel setting and they all worked. I am not sure what all those channel settings mean. I tried to read the manual and gave up. Really, I think they can do a better job at writing. It was almost as bad as trying to read how to set your VCR.
From what I can gather (or assume), the 5.1 channel setting is for five speakers and a center speaker. As it stands right now, I can’t even tell the difference if the rear speakers are on at all…who in the world needs a center speaker?
Oh well. The system is done now and sounds good. We are most likely going to watch Star Wars tonight, so the bass will be put to good use.
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Monday, April 14th, 2008 |
Ok, I will admit it, the writer’s strike forced me into a torrid affair with reality TV. Actually, Laura started it and I just joined along. I think the only real show we watch is Lost.
My favorites in the reality sector are “Rock of Love with Bret Michaels,” “Hell’s Kitchen” and “America’s Next Top Model” to name a few. Laura is all about the last one, not me…suuuure.
Last night was the season finale for Rock of Love. I was so damn excited all day I could hardly stand it. Now, the show is so stupid and I know that. Bret Michaels from Poison is looking for love. That’s understandable. There were some decent looking girls to choose from and there were some busted up looking freaks. Why they let them through the door, I will never know.
The two finalists were Amber and Daisy. Daisy is a nice rocker girl and 25 years old. She had some issues, but I was still on her side 100%. Amber is 37 and has some control problems. It’s like she was everyone on the show’s guardian. She was always having to control everything and was always yelling at everyone. She really pissed me off.
Have I ever told you I never get my way when it comes to stuff like this? I told Laura that I wasn’t going to be able to sleep if he picks Amber. The final moment came and he picked…Amber. Wouldn’t you know it. Is he on crack? I am so upset. I am just wondering what was going through Bret’s head. Bret, if you are reading this, please post a comment.
Next week is the reunion. Daisy gets in a fist fight Springer style. Life is too short to miss stuff like this.
Yup, college educated Jay Gaulard signing off.
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Posted in Entertainment | 15 Comments »
Thursday, February 21st, 2008 |
I have been introduced to Second Life. I would like to say thank you very much. I can feel an addiction coming on.
A few day ago, my Uncle Bob suggested that I give Second Life a try. We could hang out and have a few drinks. It took me a few days to give it a whirl because I was in the middle of so many things. By the way, whenever I don’t write a blog post, it means I am busy. I usually have no trouble coming up with stimulating content. Anyway, I did manage to get online the other night to sign up for a free account. Basically, you go to the website and fill in the usual information. After that, you are brought to a page that asks for you to make up a name. They supply a list of last names, but you have to come up with the first. At first, I tried to use “Jay,” but that was taken already…with every last name they offered. Then, I tried a few more and they were all taken too. I decided to go with my initials. Every last name wasn’t taken and I was offered a list of available last names to go with the first. I decided to go with that last name, “Ulderport.” So, my Second Life name is JR Ulderport, just in case you want to stop by and visit.
After that, they sent out a verification email. Once I received the email and clicked the verification link, I was brought to a web page that had a download link. I had to download the Second Life program for my PC. Then, I had to install it and log in.
I really have to say that I am quite impressed. I didn’t know what all the buzz was about, but after logging in, I soon learned exactly why people were raving. It’s sort of like a video game that connects to the internet. From what I gather, once you are a member, you can buy land and assets…anything you want. You are able to chat with other people that are currently logged into Second Life and you can even voice chat. You are able to do so many things…it’s virtually a “Second Life.” I guess that is why they call it a virtual world.
One thing that you have to remember is that it isn’t a game. People use real money to buy things (converted into Linden Dollars). You can build assets and join groups. There are several high profile companies that have properties in Second Life.
I enjoyed my first visit into the virtual realm very much and plan to return soon. There is a lot to learn.
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Monday, January 28th, 2008 |
I am wicked excited. I just placed an order on Amazon for my soon-to-be home brewery kit. It’s the Coopers Brewery Micro Brewery Kit. My brother-in-law got me all wound up tonight when we were talking about his first batch of home brew. Do you know what kind of jealousy I have when I see a nice home brewed beer sitting on someone else’s table? For some reason, whenever I think of home brew, I always think of that nice sampler of 4oz. beers I had at Liberty Steakhouse and Brewery at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach. I had the best non-filtered raspberry beer there.
Anyway, Steve had great luck with his first batch and is now going to dive into a batch of Stout. Now, that’s what I am talking about. That’s what stout’s about, no doubt. HAHAHAHHAHA.
The home brew kit I am getting makes six gallon batches. That should be good for a while to see if I like doing this kind of stuff. Then, as soon as summer rolls around and we open the new porch back up, we can rock out to Crosby, Stills & Nash and drink beer out of the bucket all day, every day.
Now, that’s what I’m talkin’ bout.
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Posted in Entertainment, Food & Drink | 3 Comments »
Friday, January 18th, 2008 |
The “Google generation” not so hot at Googling, after all
A new UK report on the habits of the “Google Generation” finds that kids born since 1993 aren’t quite the Internet super-sleuths they’re sometimes made out to be. For instance, are teens better with technology than older adults? Perhaps, but they also “tend to use much simpler applications and fewer facilities than many imagine.”
Nobel Winner Speech Canceled Over Global Warming Controversy
A climate scientist’s speech to high school students was canceled because members of the rural community were concerned the Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s message on climate change would be “anti-agriculture,” the superintendent said Thursday.
Adobe Flash Tutorials - Best of
This article provides hand-picked professional Flash tutorials which can enrich your design skills and improve the quality of your works. Most sources can serve as the entry point for further tutorials.
Colbert Portrait Hanging in the National Portrait Gallery
Video and still photo of Stephen Colbert’s portrait hanging above the 2nd floor bathroom in the National Portrait Galley in Washington, D.C.
Texas Is Biggest Carbon Polluter in United States
Everything’s bigger in Texas — Big pickup trucks, Big SUVs, Big carbon footprint. Texans’ fondness for large, manly vehicles (plus 19 coal-burning power plants) has helped make the Lone Star State the biggest carbon polluter in the nation.
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Saturday, January 12th, 2008 |
As you may already know, I listen to HGTV while I am working. I like the channel, especially the show “Ground Breakers,” because it has to do with dirt.
There are a bunch of other shows on throughout the day that I am not all that interested in. They are usually cutesy little shows with people playing with doyleys and things like that. I am not into painting little pictures and putting them into the house. I like construction.
You may have heard me rant about all the stupid words the HGTVers have made up through the years. Some of these words include, “space” instead of room, “organic” for anything earth tone, “craftsman style” for anything that exists outside of California and now “drama” for a point of interest. Let’s add some “drama” to that corner.
I really hate these words. I feel like the people on these shows are trying way too hard to push some sort of language on us normal people. Maybe it’s not even so much the words they use, but the fact that they use them all of the sudden. One week we’ll be fine and the next week we’ll have two dozen weirdos saying, “Boy, this space has really been enhanced by the craftsman style and organic flavors. I still think we need to add some draaaaama to that wonderful little snicker of cuteness.”
Man oh man.
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Posted in Entertainment | 2 Comments »
Friday, December 28th, 2007 |
For Christmas, Laura asked for a video game. She likes to shoot things and get fierce. In the past, she has shown to really enjoy Unreal. I liked that game too. It had 39 thrilling boards with great graphics and awesome sound. We would get sucked in for hours.
Since we liked that game so much, I decided to get her Unreal 2. The reviews of this game weren’t nearly as good as the original, but we aren’t freaky game junkies or anything. Some people get way too far into these things. Some of the complaints were that this version only has nine boards and the gameplay isn’t as good as the first one. I will admit there is a lot of fluff at the beginning, with the “setting the stage” so to speak.
Just last night, I got to the part where the beasts start killing me off. I already was taken care of a few times and can’t seem to get past one spot. Laura hasn’t started playing it yet, because she is still playing “Planet of the Apes.”
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Posted in Computers, Entertainment | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 11th, 2007 |
I am super duper psyched about this movie - The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. I read the Chronicles of Narnia as a kid and then as an adult. I love the books and was so excited when The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe came out as a movie a few years ago.
I rarely get excited about entertainment stuff like this, but when something with this type of nostalgia comes along, I crawl out of my shell.
Here is the trailer for Price Caspian. You be the judge if it looks good or not…
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Tuesday, November 20th, 2007 |
Laura and I went up to New Paltz this past sunday for another show. This time, the show was called, “Antigone.” Now, you may think it’s strange that I wrote it that way, but I have actually never heard of this.
Here is a short description…
“One of the great tragedies of the ancient Greek theatre, “Antigone” is the story of a young girl with the will to rise up alone against the forces of government, culture, and family to live and die for her beliefs.”
It was a good show. I think the students, as usual, did a great job. I did have a little problem this time. We didn’t sit in the front row, like we did last time, so there was no place for me to stretch my legs. I kept having to move around the whole time, because I have trouble sitting still. I think this stems from my childhood, when I was a bad boy.
Oh well. I think we are going to wait until the Spring semester to go up for the next show.
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Saturday, November 17th, 2007 |
I have been going back and forth for some time on this issue…whether or not to go video. I know I take a lot of photos for this blog and that seems to be working out well. I just think that people would enjoy video a whole lot more.
The benefit is that people can see much more through video. They can hear me talk and hear the birds chirp. They can get a real feel for things. Image watching TV as a slide show. Not so much fun. I think video is where it’s at.
I was thinking that I can get a little Sony hard drive video camera and upload the videos to YouTube.com. Depending on the software I get with the camera, I can add my URL in the bottom corner of each video to promote whatever website the video is going to be posted on. Then, I can simply pull the code for the video in from YouTube to my website. Sound good?
Ok, since I really know nothing about video cameras, I am going to have to do a little research. I saw one at Circuit City for decent price. Maybe one of these days I will go grab it. I am sure my family would like to watch these videos, or maybe I am just being a little narcissistic. Nah, I think they will like it.
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