Month: September 2005

  • TV Wonder? Wonder why it sucks, you mean.

    The Project: See if using external USB devices for TV tuning and quality audio I/O is a viable alternative to cramming PCI cards into crowded 2U rackmount computer chassis, so we can intelligently order appropriate gear for the next batch of production studio computers.

    After several workdays during which ATI’s tech support insulted my intelligence by suggesting I try things that I already told them I’d done, they finally came through with a sensible suggestion that helped me get their TV Wonder USB 2.0 device working.

    (James Burke Voice:) Well, sort of.

    I had to dial down the USB bandwidth setting in order to get video that didn’t look like the actors on TV were experiencing severe and prolonged epileptic seizures. And then I made the mistake of actually hooking up the Digigram USB audio device. Bzzzt. That was it, no more ATI television viewing. At all.

    Believe me, I tried a lot of things to make it work (again). No go.

    My verdict? This solution isn’t even remotely ready for prime time. Once again, USB devices fail to live up to their glorious advance billing…

  • Gone Wall-Eyed.

    In a fit of getting-things-done, I’ve finally posted my slowly-growing collection of photographic computer desktop wallpapers in the gallery. While I was at it, I also posted some of my favorite collected anime wallpapers.

    Share and enjoy. Please don’t hotlink, however. I don’t want to have to start doing Stupid Apache Tricks, hmm?

    Photographic Wallpapers
    Favorite Anime Wallpapers

  • And so we meat again.

    One of those rare, if you’ll pardon the pun, joys in life is a holiday weekend during which one is allowed to consume respectable amounts of fire-grilled meat. Yesterday it was burgers at home; today it was steaks at Lil’ & Geoff’s place. In both cases, I enjoyed it to the fullest and then some.

    As a guy who’s pretty much broke, I’m considering this the feast before the famine, but you know what? It’s meals like this that see you through the days of sandwiches and ramen noodles. Heck yeah.

    On a side note, I also only have a three day work week ahead. I’m taking Friday off because someone special is coming to town. As the kids say, “Sweet!”

  • Five hours, plus another 90 minutes. Or so.

    Once again I’m at the office, this time at the tail end of my monthly Traffic server backup. It takes five hours to fill the first tape and about an hour and a half to fill the second… give or take.

    I managed to amuse myself, however, by successfully getting City of Heroes to work on the future “lobby video” computer. Hey, it was that or six solid hours of anime and Neopets.

    Hmm, wait…

  • Visitation Rites

    There are certain rituals when the kids come to my place for a visit that are becoming, if not time-honored, at least somewhat amusing. For instance: Erica must not like what’s for dinner. Alex must pace, a lot. Erica must give the kitties lots of love. Alex must gaze longingly at the Playstation 2 long enough to work up the nerve to ask if he can play on it. And so on.

    Seriously, though, it was a pretty good visit. We even got in a game of Carcassonne… during which I lost by ten points (and I only did that well because I was master of the farmland and the trade goods) and the kids had six points separating ‘em. Erica won, mind you. Maybe I shouldn’t have finished that city of hers, but I couldn’t let her tie me on textiles, now could I?

    I also talked Alex into rolling a new character in City of Heroes. I suspect his new Sonic/Sonic Defender will replace his Force Field character before too long.

    Anyway, I was glad to have them over. It’s nice to have a change of venue from time to time, you know?

  • Prescient, eerily so.

    Via Jack Bog, etc, the following article from National Geographic Magazine… dated October of 2004.

    Louisiana’s Wetlands