Low-key Birthday

Didn't do a lot of my birthday this year, which was really nice actually. Last year I had a great time with several friends out at Dougal McGuire's pub and then off to see a movie, but this year I wanted something subdued.

I went out Friday night at 7pm to see 2012 and hang out by myself for a few hours. Disaster movies are my guilty pleasure, so I loved 2012 and would like to see it again, however unlikely the story is. After that I went to a Waffle House (first time in years) and had a Texas Cheesesteak Sandwich with Hash Browns Scattered, Smothered, Covered, and Capped. Afterward I drank coffee, smoked my pipe, and was pulled into random conversations. I didn't get home until 1:30am.

Saturday, my actual birthday, started out with me sleeping in late. Which was great. Meg and Josh went to run errands and I napped on the couch catching up on V and watching various movie halves. They got back and Megan got one of my favorite dishes for lunch - smoked gouda and bacon macaroni and cheese from Travinia Italian restaurant in Greenville. I then went out to rent Star Trek, and bought myself a new wok for my birthday. I came home and we watched Star Trek, I seasonsed my new wok with chives and pork fat, and then we watched GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra, which had fun explosions and interesting fake technology but atrocious dialogue.

All in all, a pretty good day.

31 Tomorrow

I'm fairly meh about it. I told everyone I didn't want a cake or any presents.

I'm getting out of the house tonight for a few hours after Megan gets home from work. I'm planning on going to a Poetry workshop at The Bird & Baby and then go see 2012. I'm not expecting much out of it, but I'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic movies.

Gaming Con Weekend

Well, this weekend Megan and I are going to the MACE Gaming Convention in High Point, NC. This is the third year I've gone to this convention, and although I usually have a pretty good time I think this might be my last time going to an event like this for a while.

I would just much rather play games with my actual friends than with random people at this point in my life. With MACE, ConCarolinas, and DragonCon I've gone to three gaming cons per year for the past few years. I'm sure the $1,000+ I spend at these can be put to better use elsewhere.

Maybe I'll feel differently on Monday. If so, I'll notate that here.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Back from the Dead!

Wow, my last post was in June when Megan and Josh moved in. It has been an interesting up and down road, but I think most of the bumps have settled down for now and it's just a process of getting through to the May wedding.

This past weekend several of us went camping in Hot Springs, NC. As usual, it was beautiful and we had a great time. Our friend Eric, a chef, came along and prepared steaks, omelets, roast chicken, and other foods way above par for a campout. Saturday night it was incredibly cold and I had to get out of our tent, rekindle the fire, and hang out there for an hour to warm up.

I've been playing a lot of Rock Band when I can these days...it's become my current obsession, and I'm thinking of starting a small business to host RB nights in bars and at other events. I hosted a RB party at my house two months ago, at a local philosophy club, and at our friends Cory and Lauren's wedding reception. This saturday I'm setting up RB for Warren and Laura's Halloween party. Should be a good time.

Life is mostly good. I'm constantly worried about not having enough money to pay our bills and my life has become more complicated than I generally like, but it's not bad.

Goodbye Bachelorhood!

No, we're not eloping. Not yet anyway. :)

Tomorrow afternoon, Megan and Josh are moving in full-time and I'm really excited about this. It'll be nice to not have to wake up to an empty house anymore, and I might even get an occasional breakfast. Mmm...breakfast.

I'm sure there will be a few growing pains as we adjust to this new stage in our relationship, but I can't wait to begin.

I'll do an update soon if we don't kill each other first. ;)

Picked up Rock Band 2

I *finally* got around to buying Rock Band 2. Since Adam and Joe are visiting from Louisiana for the week and I have our housewarming party the next Saturday I figured I'd rent the game from Blockbuster and have it on hand for both occasions. Immediately after I paid the rental fee for the game I noticed there were a few RB2 bundles behind the counter. I asked the Blockbuster guy about those and he said that they were being shipped back as they didn't sell even after being clearanced. I asked him how much the one remaining xBox 360 bundle was and he replied $140. I pulled out my iPhone and according to Google and Amazon.com, you can't find it from a reputible dealer for less than $190 so I went ahead and bought it.

I hooked up everything on Monday night and am blown away by the differences. Here is my take on the differences between RB1 and RB2:

1. The drums are so much nicer. The drum heads are softer so they're both quieter and you don't hit them as hard so less fatigue. Plus, they're wireless and you can plug in two bass pedals and cymbals for extra drum action.

2. Bands no longer have band leaders. This solves a lot of frustration on casual RB party nights.

3. Characters are no longer tied to one instrument. See #2.

4. No fail mode. See #2 and also great as I have a six year old who likes to play along.

5. The song selection is pretty groovy. I can't wait to get the xBox hooked up to the net (DSL guy comes by on Friday) and then upload the 54 or so songs from RB1 and download the 20 free additional tracks from Harmonix to have a total of 150 songs or so to choose from. There's a handful of DLC songs I'd like to get eventually, but this is a pretty great selection.

6. The guitar is improved from the RB1 guitar in that it is wireless and a nice wooden Fender strat head. I still like Guitar Hero guitars much better than RB guitars and prefer my GHWT guitar to all the others.

All in all, a good buy. Now I just need to get a new xBox 360 and I'll be set. (I'm currently borrowing Jacob's xBox. Hopefully a trumpet I'm selling on eBay will pay for the next one before the party)

A New Computer!

In my last entry I mentioned that I was pricing computer components to build a new system.

Years ago I worked at three locations as a computer builder/technician, so this is nothing new for me, although I haven't cracked a box in five years. For that time I've only had my laptop, which has been a faithful companion but is now starting to die of leprosy bit by bit.

I found a thread on FatWallet that priced out a decent system for less than $400 so I went with those recommendations other than a change of case.

Here's what I ended up with: (all from Newegg.com)

Item Number: Item Description: Quantity: Price:
N82E16811156098 CASE RAIDMAX|ATX-612WEBP BK 500W RT 1 94.99
N82E16820145184 MEM 2Gx2|CORS TWIN2X4096-6400C5 R 1 44.99
N82E16822136319 HD 640G|WD WD6401AALS % 1 74.99
N82E16819103244 CPU AMD|PH X4 9600 2.3GHz 65N R 1 94.99
N82E16813128379 MB GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-US2H AM2+ RTL 1 79.99
N82E16827151173 DVD BURN SAMSUNG|SH-S223Q LS % 1 25.99

So, a 2.3ghz AMD Phenom Quad Core processor, 4gb of RAM, a 640gb 7200 SATA HD with a 12mb cache, and a nicely upgradeable motherboard and case, all for a little less than $400 after combo discounts (the discounts aren't reflected in the above prices). Also, I'm getting $50 in miscellaneous rebates, so it'll be $350 once all is said and done. You'll notice I didn't put a video card on there as the motherboard has decent onboard video, but I'm sure I'll stick a video card in there in a few months, probably with another HD.

I'm currently using an old 17" crt monitor. You can routinely find a 22" LCD for $150 these days so I'll upgrade in a month or two. I also have a nice wireless desktop I picked up last year, so my keyboard/mouse needs are covered.

As far as an Operating system, I'm thinking of doing a Windows XP and Ubuntu dual-boot. We'll see how that goes.

The only thing I'm really lacking is a set of speakers. I'll probably buy something basic either in person or on Amazon.