Bean

Drum set for sale!

2008-04-14T03:07:06Z

Anyone need a drum set?

In other news, the Rock Band pedal mod went well, will be making a post about it with pictures sometime later.

Rock Band Pedal Adventures

2008-03-28T04:23:03Z

We got Rock Band a little while ago and I've been playing the living daylights out of it. I never liked the feel of the Rock Band bass drum pedal, which is just a plastic pedal with a spring beneath it. I've strongly missed the "feel" of a real pedal, specifically the beater bouncing off the bass drum, especially in songs like Tom Sawyer.

After some googling, I found a thread about making a custom Rock Band drum pedal using a real bass drum pedal. Essentially it uses a magnetic switch from a home security system to open/close a circuit, which Rock Band detects. It's similar to how the real Rock Band pedal works, only not made out of thin plastic.

I already have a drum pedal from my real set, and I've purchased the sensor and cable for it. I just ordered a drum pedal practice pad for it to hit against. There are people who have taken the beater off their pedal, or changed the beater angle to hit the floor or some other padded surface. I considered these, but the whole reason I'm doing the mod in the first place is to get the feel of a real pedal, and having the beater angled downward (and gravity going WITH the beater when pressing downward, instead of against it) really feels different.

It's a good thing that I was planning on this replacement pedal, because tonight when I was playing Rock Band, the original pedal cracked. It didn't crack all the way through, but there are cracks on both side of the pedal on the bottom half near the base, and it's obvious that it will only take a little more pressure for it to crack all the way through.

The good news is that EA is replacing all broken Rock Band hardware for free. Just head to http://support.ea.com/rockband, describe the problem, and they'll get you the new stuff.

I'm getting a replacement even though I'm doing the pedal mod, just in case.

Now we'll see if the practice pad arrives before the original pedal fully snaps...

*EDIT*
The other thing I forgot to mention is I'm NOT rough with the pedal at all. I usually use heel down, only switching to heel up on repetitive songs like Maps and Won't Get Fooled Again. I also play very lightly for a drummer, so I'm really surprised I had this problem, and I can see how some heavy-footed players could have it in a manner of days.

Today's Twitter updates

2008-03-23T07:06:22Z

Entries from today's Twitter:

10:09 I'm hopelessly addicted to Mastadon's "One is the loneliest number" cover from the Army of Two commercial. #

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Batman Lecturing Robin

2008-03-20T20:07:54Z

Someone's collected quotes of Batman lecturing Robin from the TV show. Many funny examples of wholesome American values being shoved down Robin's adolescent throat, but one in particular struck me as funny:

Batman: "Nobody wants war."
Robin: "Gee, Batman. Belgravia's such a small country. We'd beat them in a few hours."
Batman: "Yes, and then we'd have to support them for years."

Quite the all-knowing guy, that Batman. :)

Bean's Book Reviews: Dune & the Kite Runner

2008-03-18T03:20:26Z

Both of these ended up being very short reviews, I really need to expand on them in the future.

My review of Frank Herbert's "Dune".

My review of Khaled Hosseini's "The Kite Runner".

Next up will be The Andromeda Strain...

Developing old video games

2008-03-10T17:54:12Z

I'm fascinated by stories from people who developed old games.

I should explain how Atari’s Arcade conversions group worked. Basically, Atari’s marketing folks would negotiate a license to ship GameCorp’s “Foobar Blaster” on a cartridge for the Atari Home Computer System. That was it. That was the entirety of the deal. We got ZERO help from the original developers of the games. No listings, no talking to the engineers, no design documents, nothing. In fact, we had to buy our own copy of the arcade machine and simply get good at the game (which was why I was playing it at the hotel — our copy of the game hadn’t even been delivered yet).

It's amazing how much these people could do with the old, underpowered systems.

Lawrence Lessig on Corruption

2008-03-10T17:20:06Z

There's an interview with Creative Commons founder Lawrence Lessig, where he makes a great analogy about the problem with lobyists:

So I don’t want a world where there are no lobbyists — I think lobbyists are essential. I think the message of lobbyists and the training of lobbyists is essential. Just like I think that what lawyers do before the Supreme Court is essential. But just as I think everybody would think it weird if a lawyer before the Supreme Court would send $100,000 to the Justice Roberts Retirement Fund or $100,000 to the Renovate Justice Roberts’s Office Fund, I think we better recognize there’s something perverse about a member of Congress having one of the people who is trying to persuade him what the right answer is raise $100,000 for his campaign. That’s the link we’ve got to break.

Couldn't agree more.

Today's Twitter updates

2008-03-06T08:01:33Z

Entries from today's Twitter:

00:02 G.I.Joe is having a 25th anniversary run of some original characters! I picked up a two-pack of Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow. GO JOE! #

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Today's Twitter updates

2008-03-04T08:06:02Z

Entries from today's Twitter:

19:24 Woo, local library has all of the Sin City graphic novels! I <3 Euclid Public Library. #

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Today's Twitter updates

2008-03-01T08:03:06Z

Entries from today's Twitter:

13:50 I hope urbandictionary.com is still around when we have kids and they start using hip lingo I don't understand. Handy, that. #

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Today's Twitter updates

2008-02-22T08:17:16Z

Entries from today's Twitter:

08:34 Tina's sick and I have a sore throat now. Taking a day of rest to hopefully kick it in the junk before it takes hold. #
08:38 @ttrygve It's a long-term project, although I recently made it through 954 comics in 8-bit theater archive. :) #

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Today's Twitter updates

2008-02-21T08:04:15Z

Entries from today's Twitter:

00:00 Haven't read Megatokyo in ages, decided to start from the beginning. On comic 82 of 1090.... #

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Today's Twitter updates

2008-02-17T08:03:48Z

Entries from today's Twitter:

02:34 Had a great party, lots of Rock Band. Thanks everyone for coming! #

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Today's Twitter updates

2008-02-16T08:02:59Z

Entries from today's Twitter:

09:57 Looks like there's an Obama campaign office opening on the 1st floor of my office building. #
10:02 I didn't realize how much I relied on Firefox's AutoCopy extension until I tried using a profile without it...GAH... #

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OUR torture is ok.

2008-02-15T16:21:32Z

Some of us might be worried that the "alternative interrogation techniques" our government is using, which has been used to torture people in years past, might be...torture. Well our government has let us know that it's not torture, because our waterboarding was subject to "strict limitations".

And he argued that what the CIA did bears "no resemblance" to what torturers in time past have done. "There's been a lot of discussion in the public about historical uses of waterboarding," he said. But the "only thing in common is the use of water," he said.

The Spanish and Japanese use of "water torture," he said, "involved the forced consumption of a mass amount of water." Asked by a Republican whether Bradbury was aware of any "modern use" of waterboarding that involved the "lungs filling with water," Bradbury said no.

Well, I feel totally better now. Here I thought we were torturing people, but I guess when we do it, it's ok because it's not really torture! *Phew*.

...of course, there's no way we can verify this, since the CIA destroyed the videotapes of interrogations. But I'm sure there was nothing imporant on those tapes anyway, otherwise they wouldn't have been destroyed.

Right?

As a side note, at least with the presedential race, no matter who wins (McCain, Clinton, Obama), ~~we'll definitely have an anti-torture president~~ (although Clinton previously supported it).

UPDATE: Ok nevermind, as trygve pointed out, apparently McCain vorted against a ban on waterboarding. Hrm. I want to see more details on this or at least hear McCain's side, I know voting on legislation can be packed with caveats and ulterior motives. Speaking in October 2007, McCain said that waterboarding "is not a complicated procedure. It is torture." I'd be shocked (and lose all respect for him) if he pulled a hard 180 on such a serious issue.

update update: In a statement, McCain said the measure goes too far in applying military standards to intelligence agencies and maintained that existing law already forbids waterboarding. "Staging a mock execution by including the misperception of drowining is a clear violation,'' he said." Hmm.

Today's Twitter updates

2008-02-13T08:05:10Z

Entries from today's Twitter:

09:59 Reading the Kite Runner (at Amir's birthday party), MAN that's a depressing book. My gut tells me it's only gonna get worse... #

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Book Reviews: Multiple!

2008-02-13T03:38:03Z

I finally figured out a way to post links directly to reviews of books I make on Goodreads.com, so I can start posting links of them here. The 3 reviews I posted earlier today:

My reivew of "Prisoner of Trebekistan: A Decade in Jeopardy!", by Bob Harris

My review of "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream", by Barack Obama

My review of "Less Safe, Less Free: The Failure of Pre-Emption in the War on Terror", by David Cole & Jules Lobel

All my reivews in the past (been doing the site about 6 months) can be found on my goodreads.com page. It also shows what I'm currently reading.

There are RSS feeds for by "read" and "currently reading" lists too, if you're in to that kind of thing.

Corrupt government grants immunity to corrupt ISPs

2008-02-13T03:25:22Z

tryvge has an entry going in to as much detail as I could hope to about the situation. Essentially:

Telecoms perform illegal wiretaps for government
public finds out about said wiretaps, gets angry
government grants immunity to telecoms for said wiretaps

Does anyone else see a problem with this? What the heck happened to by the people, for the people?

I don't know how anyone with a shred of a conscience could vote Nay for this bill. And Republicans opposed it, 0-49.

I'm ashamed of our government.

And as eirias pointed out, the voting on this bill by the presidential candidates:

McCain: No (grant immunity for illegal activities)
Obama: Yes (deny immunity for illegal activities)
Clinton: Not present ( argh! )

This is a big plus for Obama in my book.

Political Rhetoric

2008-02-08T20:32:54Z

I'm amazed that even as he resigns, Mitt Romney is still spewing the same political rhetoric.

"If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror," Romney told the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. (emphasis mine)

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1710864,00.html

A surrender to terror? Yes, we should all be afraid of a democratic nomination, because that means the TERRISTS win! I'm not intending this as any kind of "democratic support" statement, but do people actually believe this crap? Is anyone really suckered in by this blatant fear mongering?

Game Night / Birthday Party!

2008-02-05T01:33:21Z

Sat, Feb 16th, starts at 4pm

We'll be hosting this month's Game Night, which will also be a combination early Birthday Party for me (just an excuse to have cake there, really). Board games, video games, music games, all kinds of games! Of course playing games isn't a requirement, feel free to just come and hang out (and eat cake!) if you wish.

If you're planning on coming, please let us know in either here or Mika's thread, just so we have a general idea of how many people will be here. 2? 20? 200? (eek!)

Today's Twitter updates

2008-02-03T08:04:27Z

Entries from today's Twitter:

01:40 We have verified, with the help of Froggy & Tyger, that 4 player Rock Band is awesome. :D #

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Today's Twitter updates

2008-01-25T08:07:52Z

Entries from today's Twitter:

20:31 I got the final Jeopardy answer, and none of the contestants did! (Although one of them only mis-spelled it "Rockerfeller") #

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Today's Twitter updates

2008-01-24T08:05:09Z

Entries from today's Twitter:

17:31 Yay, blood donation gave out free t-shirts today, not too shabby looking either! #

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Which D&D Character are You?

2008-01-19T22:54:11Z

Results aren't surprising at all. Stolen from evilmonk

I Am A: Lawful Good Human Wizard (2nd Level)

Ability Scores:
Strength-12
Dexterity-13
Constitution-12
Intelligence-15
Wisdom-11
Charisma-12

Alignment:
Lawful Good A lawful good character acts as a good person is expected or required to act. He combines a commitment to oppose evil with the discipline to fight relentlessly. He tells the truth, keeps his word, helps those in need, and speaks out against injustice. A lawful good character hates to see the guilty go unpunished. Lawful good is the best alignment you can be because it combines honor and compassion. However, lawful good can be a dangerous alignment because it restricts freedom and criminalizes self-interest.

Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.

Class:
Wizards are arcane spellcasters who depend on intensive study to create their magic. To wizards, magic is not a talent but a difficult, rewarding art. When they are prepared for battle, wizards can use their spells to devastating effect. When caught by surprise, they are vulnerable. The wizard's strength is her spells, everything else is secondary. She learns new spells as she experiments and grows in experience, and she can also learn them from other wizards. In addition, over time a wizard learns to manipulate her spells so they go farther, work better, or are improved in some other way. A wizard can call a familiar- a small, magical, animal companion that serves her. With a high Intelligence, wizards are capable of casting very high levels of spells.

Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)

Fishies!

2008-01-14T05:07:32Z

When we were visiting mikaiyla's mom for Christmas, we found out her brother had a 10 gallon fish tank he wanted to get rid of, including the lamp, pump, etc. We'd been entertaining the idea of fishes for a while, so we decided to take it off his hands.

After some cleaning and letting the water cycle a bit, we finally got some fish on Saturday. We got two zebra danios, two black angelfish, a cory, and a dwarf frog.

We got the fish as much for the cats as for us, and they're already enjoying the entertainment.

Bean

Drum set for sale!

Rock Band Pedal Adventures

Today's Twitter updates

Batman Lecturing Robin

Bean's Book Reviews: Dune & the Kite Runner

Developing old video games

Lawrence Lessig on Corruption

Today's Twitter updates

Today's Twitter updates

Today's Twitter updates

Today's Twitter updates

Today's Twitter updates

Today's Twitter updates

Today's Twitter updates

OUR torture is ok.

Today's Twitter updates

Book Reviews: Multiple!

My reivew of "Prisoner of Trebekistan: A Decade in Jeopardy!", by Bob Harris

My review of "The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream", by Barack Obama

My review of "Less Safe, Less Free: The Failure of Pre-Emption in the War on Terror", by David Cole & Jules Lobel

Corrupt government grants immunity to corrupt ISPs

Political Rhetoric

Game Night / Birthday Party!

Sat, Feb 16th, starts at 4pm

Today's Twitter updates

Today's Twitter updates

Today's Twitter updates

Which D&D Character are You?

Fishies!

Cats enjoying the fishtank