Monthly Archives: October 2012

Rain Rain Go Away

Life

Hurricane Sandy could destroy us all! That’s what the media loves saying at least. There’s a lot of envirnmental things going for Sandy that could let it cut a huge swath through the East Coast. There’s going to be a lot of damage but there is no way to tell what direction the storm is really going to take. If it does make a left tomorrow afternoon, it’s going to go right over us. I’m on a hill so flooding isn’t a huge issue, but the amount of water this thing could dump on us would overwhelm the local water ways and sewers. Hopefully it’s gradual and not too punishing. Winds could hit 70mph which is a crazy thought. Trees are going to drop like it ain’t no thing. Losng power is the greatest threat, the coast is probably going to get mauled. Can only hope we skate through this one, last years October blitzkreig did a number on us, took a good 3 full days for things to get back to normal around here. Sandy has the potential to do much worse.

At least it’s not coming tonight, there’s awesome TV on. Hold on tight.

Cornea Transplant: Week 13 or so

Life

Went to my 3 month check up and the last stitch was taken out. My vision is still very blurry, which was a surprise to Dr. Perl as the transplant is very healthy and clear. Ran some tests to check for any internal (retina) problems and they all came up negative. The theory now is that the suture that goes around the incision area is causing distortion in the cornea. The suture isn’t coming out for another 5-6 months so it’s more or less a waiting game to see greater improvement. I’m still going to be on 3 drops of lotemax a day for 2 more months and the best news is no more guard over the eye while I sleep. That’s awesome as putting it on every night had been a chore after 3 months.

Xbox Music

Games, Music, Tech, You know what grinds my gears?

Microsoft recently released their Xbox Music service to the public. At this moment the software is out for the Xbox only, in about a week it’s going to come with all Windows 8 products. It’s the second or third relaunch of their services (laying Zune to rest) and it’s good. But something really bothers me about it.

The continued penny pinching of the Xbox user base. Xbox Music is direct competition to Spotify, Last fm, Pandora and the others in the army of internet radio. All of these services are well entrenched with their users and many (namely Spotify) work on a huge array of devices. Xbox Music is going to only work on Microsoft devices for at least 6 months. It’s going to be the center of Windows 8 for music. You’ll be able to stream internet music for free, just like Pandora and Spotify with commercials (you can also purchase music), or go through the pay wall for the premium ad free, unlimited skipping service (called Xbox Music Pass). That sounds great and the software is pretty slick, no other program looks like it and it makes itunes look pretty ancient.

Here comes the stupid. Without the Music Pass, this services is gimped and useless on the Xbox. You can only listen to 30 seconds of a song. It’s an elaborate preview service. With the pass, you can actually use it the way it’s intended. You also have to have a gold membership to use this service. The money hoops for this on Xbox are completely insulting. This new service is made and run by Microsoft, why on Earth should a Xbox Gold member, who is paying upwards of $60 a year be required to pay MORE? Add it as another value to getting a Gold membership! This is a fledgling service that needs to impress people enough to drop whatever music service they already live with. That’s hard enough to do without giving people reasons NOT to use it. Anyone without Windows 8 is pretty much locked out as well…it’s not going to come to Windows 7. The loophole is that the Music Pass works with the Zune software but the amount of people using that is pretty small AND it’s not using the new design so the interface is a different experience (although the Xbox Music UI is heavily based on the Zune software).

The value that Microsoft is giving to it’s loyal player base just keeps getting smaller and smaller. The $10 hike for Xbox Gold membership was shady enough, this is just unbelievable greed. Lucky for Microsoft, Nintendo still has their head up somewhere above the clouds for their network, so that’s still no worry. They can even continue to point and laugh. Sony on the other hand just keeps making the right moves. They’ve matched many of Xbox Live’s features (for free) and the PS+ membership is a great value idea.

My plea to the powers at be in Redmond, WA: Stop trying to squeeze your fans out of every single dime, it’s going to come back and bite you. With the next generation looming on the horizon, you need to get all your ducks in a row. You better quality test that thing because EVERYONE is going to be watching for you to do a header into the dirt and you’ll be the ones responsible for a mass exodus from the Xbox platform.

Our Idiot Brother the Review

Movies

I wasn’t expecting much from this one so it was a great surpise when I watched it. Paul Rudd has seen a career resurgence lately and Our Idiot Brother is far and away the best I’ve seen him.

Paul plays Ned Rochlin, who is the title idiot brother. He was so good as this lovable idiot. Ned always means well, he just has the terrible habit of jamming his foot into his mouth. He’s got three sisters who are very busy and important people in their own worlds and it’s always Ned who screws them up.

This was really well written, they carefuly avoided making Ned a terrible person which would have killed the movie. I always felt sympothy for him and saw him as a guy who wears his heart on a his sleeve. Couple the writing with Rudd’s acting and you have a great, three diminsional character. There’s a stacked cast here too (Elizabeth Banks, Adam Scott, Rashida Jones, Zooey Deschanel, Steve Coogan, TJ Miller and an awesome godlen retriever) that was great to watch work together.

Our Idiot Brother is movie with a lot of heart that is damn funny at times. I recommend it.

Cornea Transplant: Month 3

Life

It’s been three months since the surgery! In the passed, week or week and a half I’ve noticed the biggest improvement in my vision. It hasn’t been sudden, very gradual, but the double vision effect really seems to be coming together. It’s still there, but it is definitely better. That feels great, very reassuring that it’s going to keep getting better. Despite the left eye still being very blurry, this is the second biggest improvement since the surgery. The impairment of the scar left right away, but the blurry and double vision replaced that impairment. Now that it’s really getting better this feels more like a success.

All TV All The Time

TV

I’m up to my eyeballs in TV, which means I’ve had to push movies more to the side just to keep up. That’s pretty much cut off any series viewing on Netflix Instant.

Grimm- I’ve been watching this on Hulu as it collides with Fringe in the same time slot. I like it, concept, stories, actors. It’s a unique world they’ve created. I give it one knock for the transformation effects which tend to look terrible.

Fringe- I look forward to each new episode, but that sadly means it just gets closer to being over. Solid episodes so far, but nothing too earth shattering yet.

Sons of Anarchy- Brutal season! The stakes are high in every episode, the drama and deaths keep adding up. Clay is back to making waves which is already raising hell. Clay is right back on walking on the razor edge and when he gets caught, he’s not going to get another pass.

The Walking Dead- Great season premiere, more fun and intensity than most of the last season. Got some very good pieces falling into place, so I have some high hopes for the season.

Dexter- Excellent start but I’m always wary of rampant stupidity from the writers to kick in. The last episode was rather strange, some good ideas with some questionable execution. I’m still on board with it though. The plot for this season was long over due and has breathed new life and impotance into Dexter.

Homeland- Just a great, great show. This season is continuing right on track from the last and the last episode was fantastic. Brody is just falling apart, I can’t see how he’s going to keep himself together for much longer. That’s just in his personal life with the rampant risks he’s had to take, the jig is really up for him with Saul managing to get that video out. Huge, huge win for Carrie. She’s going to be able to roll into the CIA on a chariot with wings made of gold flakes and unicorn hair on tomorrows episode.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia- Back and as obnoxious as ever.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles- I think Nickelodeon has another hit on its hands. I really like this new version, pays all the right respect to the original cartoon run while making it their own. Love how it looks, some great animation sprinkled throughout.