back…
so I haven't posted in a while, primarily because I have been busy, and I rebuilt my laptop and didn't put the software back on it...
So what has happened since thanksgiving? Hmmmm... work is going ok, selling lots of stuff on ebay. The ebay thing is getting old, but we do need to move the stuff, and it is my job, so that is that. The boss is out of town tomorrow through end of the year, so hopefully I will catch up on all the little things that haven't been getting done. Not that it is huge, but I have little things I would like to implement that I haven't had time to work on...
I have a website project that I need to get working on... It is a site for a company that does something (I honestly am not sure what) but I am hoping to have the skeleton of the site done soon. There are some admin pages to control the content, so that will be kinda cool to work on.
Car related... the Jetta hasn't been touched, but the Suzuki Throttle Bodies came. Those are cool. I need to order the standalone engine management too. Oh and start building the engine. I have been thinking about painting the car myself, although we need a bigger compressor for that. The Audi is doing fine. Al got me a great deal on the AC compressor that I need, so that will be fixed by summer. I also put snow tires on the Camry, although I didn't replace the valve stems, so they leak air. awesome. Now I have to pay to get them fixed since we are driving to detroit this weekend and I am not risking that...
Mason related... I will post more on his blog, but he is doing good, although nothing super notable. He is smiling more, which is cool, but it is usually when we engage him. Soon it will be in general, which will be neat. He had some shots the other day, but he did quite well, barely cried and was fine since then. I am still waiting for him to be more exciting. It will come quickly.
Christmas is NEARLY here, which is kinda freaking me out cause I am not ready. We put the tree up, and there are pics posted of course... I also built shelves into the wall, which I still need to sand and touch up, but they came out pretty nice. I like them. Pretty modern looking.
I haven't got my shopping done, which sucks cause I haven't had time to think about what to get people. Time is slim now. And I am getting late in the season to shop online as I usually do. Grrrrr.
The xbox is cool. NES and SNES and Genesis games are cool. Old. But cool.
So there are more pics of Mason that everyone should check out. We are ending month 2. Word. He rules.
xbox…
so I hacked my xbox. Yes, it allows me to play xbox games without buying them. Eh. I don't spend that much time gaming, although I am sure Rebecca would argue. And I do buy games if I actually play them. But there are cooler parts.
The first cooler part is the xbox media center, XBMC. It it basically a fancy media launchpad. Videos I have downloaded or have on disc. MP3s. Pictures. I can load all those on the xbox or access my computers on the network from the xbox and watch those on the big screen. Slick. No more watching dumb videos on the laptop. Now I can watch dumb videos on the big screen easily. I could have hooked up the laptop to the projector, but that is too much work.
The second cooler part is emulators. All the old video games I had played as a kid I can get running on the xbox. It rules. Of course I only play games I own. But it is fun to relive those old games. It really drives home how much video games have changed in such a short period of time. Play mario brothers. Then play GTA:San Andreas and the level of involvement is so much more. The free roaming ability, the non player characters, the options for the user. It is great, and is much more enjoyable then constantly running to the right side of the screen. They are more complex, and some would argue unnecessarily violent, but that is a conversation for anther time. Lets agree they are WAY more kick ass today.
So I would recommend all you xbox owners, breath some new life into your xbox. Order up a chip and play around. It is pretty cool.
Busy Busy
So amazingly enough, life with a baby has created a time crunch of sorts... So I will attempt to recap things... I will be random, forgive me...
this weekend rebecca took mason to the burbs with her and they went to get paper for the birth announcements. They done chose good stuff. I went out the garage with dylan to hang out and work on cars. In typical Dylan/Bryan fashion, we spent more time driving around and eating then working, but it was a nice break none the less. We got work done on the rabbit, I cleaned out the Honda, reseated the stereo, and finally got the CD changer magazine out (rebecca hasn't seen those CDs in a long time). Then we picked up Sarah and went back to our house.
We hung out a bit, then Dylan and I went to pickup Robs as well as Mr. Salsa and Thai. We all hung out at the house for a bit, it was nice. We ate at the table. It was cool. In hindsight, it is really funny. Like we haven't ever had that many people over and eaten at the table. I think we should have more things like that. Not even dinner parties, but just people over and then we eat. Perhaps we could throw in a game of some kind as well. I love Cranium. That could rule. I may be on to something here. I need a card table or something though if we are going to play around the couch. or a coffee table. hmmmmmmmmm....
We also sold the Honda to Dylan for Sarah's folks, so that car is no longer in our arsenal.
Sunday we stayed in for the most part. I ran a few errands. I installed the timer control for the front porch light. It is pretty neat. It occupies the place where the switch was and it is fully programmable as well as has a full look up table for sunrise/sunsets. I have it set to on at sunset and off at sunrise. It is pretty cool.
Monday I installed the projector to the wall and set that up. I forgot how nice it is to have a huge TV and video games. I played some Burnout-Takedown until Rebecca got annoyed. It was dope. The xbox mod chips come this week too, and I picked up a 160gb HD for it. Micheal and I are going to mod them up and I am all over installing xbox media center on mine. It will make watching all the tv and videos I have on the computer way easier. It will be nice. And I love tinkering with things.
We also stopped by the wabansia house and saw the kittens. Damn kittens are cool. They are so playful and entertaining. Michael needs to take more pictures. Michael's dad built this incredible cat castle. it is insane. HUGE! totally cool, although it makes them look kinda dorky, but that is certainly ok with me. It would actually get bonus points in my book!
Mason is doing great, check his blog for more updates. He is still eating and sleeping and pooping, but he is awake more now than ever. He is also a bit fussier, not such that we can't get him to be quiet, but it is still kinda annoying. He still grunts and groans as he tries to move around and use his muscles and whatnot. It is funny. But you can tell his vision is improving and he can focus better, which is neat. His dexterity is also improved, as he now actually will hold onto things, like a blanket, etc. It is cute.
I am sure there are other things that have happened, but I forget things.
Tonight we are going over to Robyn's to see the new place, have dinner, hangout, etc. It is gonna rule. Mason will get to see a new place and new cats.
Interesting Video Game/Child Development Article…
I have been thinking, now that I have a child coming, how technology, video games, etc would play into the child's developmental life. This is an interesting article that I tend to agree with... (article below as well, in case you don't want to hit the link)