Here is a first- Figure I would pass on some good knowledge on HOW TO do something...
THIS MONTH: Keyloggers
What's a keylogger? It's a small, virus-type program that can accidentally be installed on your computer. How might a keylogger be installed on your system?
* Visiting an untrustworthy web site. Some sites may have code in them that exploit your web browser and cause it to quietly install a keylogging application without your permission. (Note: even turstworthy sites can be hacked! The same hackers who are after your information can hack what you think of as trustworthy sites and add exploit code to them which could give you a keylogger.)
* Downloading addons (or other files) from an untrustworthy site. Any executable file you download could contain a keylogger or virus, so before you download a file, be sure you're downloading it from a source you trust!
Once a keylogger gets installed, it starts recording every keystroke you make. And when you type in your account name and password for your WoW account, it captures that, too. The next time you access the Internet, it sends your private information to the hackers who use it to log into WoW and strip all your characters of everything valuable leaving you with a penniless toon wearing nothing but his trousers. This also works for banking sites, online stores and whereever your internet habits take you.
This all sounds pretty scary, but don't worry -- there are ways to protect yourself from keylogging programs!
A WoW European Hunter, Eldariel, has written a great guide to defend your computer from keyloggers, spyware and viruses. Here's a run-down of what you can do to keep your computer safe and sound:
* Get a virus scanner. Grisoft provides one for free. Be sure to configure it to scan your system regularly and to check for updates. (Even the best anti-virus software won't do you any good if it doesn't know about the latest virus information -- so keep it updated!)
* Get a free anti-spyware program and run it. Spy Sweeper is a good one. As with your anti-virus software, be sure to configure it to scan your system regularly and check for updates.
* Install firewall software that prevents any unauthorized access between your computer and the Internet. Comodo is recommended. Again, its free and well regarded.
* Be sure to run the latest version of your browser software. Whether it's Internet Explorer or Firefox, keep it patched and up to date! Many exploits that hackers used have already been patched by the software vendors -- all you have to do is stay updated!
* On the subject of browsers, consider using Firefox. There's plenty of room for debate on whether it's more secure than Internet Explorer, but for now, at least, there are more viruses and exploits out there that target Internet Explorer, simply because it's more widely-used.
* Keep your OS up to date. Just like with browsers, many hackers will try to install keyloggers on your system using exploits that have long since been patched by the software vendor. If you run Windows, be sure to run Windows Update regularly -- in fact, I recommend setting it up to run automatically on a daily basis.
* Be careful downloading files! While your anti-virus and anti-spyware software should catch anything that gets installed, it's better to catch them before they get installed and have a chance to cause damage. Never download files from sites you don't trust and be wary of opening unexpected e-mail attachments.
FOR GAMERS / WOW PLAYERS:
* You can configure your WoW client to remember your user name. In this case, even if you get a keylogger installed, they'll find your password, but won't know your account name. The password is useless without the account name, and if you don't type the account name, a keylogger won't see it.
MOST IMPORTANT: Never share your password. You may just give it to one person, but who knows where it could go from there. (For all you know they've got it on a post-it note on their monitor where anyone can see it.)
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Olympic update and more
Hey gang,
Just the usual week for me:
Monday: 7am goto work; 4pm leave for train to Philly, 6-9pm class; get back on train 10pm get home.
Tuesday: See Monday
Wednesday: See Monday
Thursday: Work till 4:30, then get home to do whatever we need to get fixed/ finished before the weekend
Friday: Work till 4, then maybe get in a movie.
Weekend: Usually involves work or going somewhere. the weekend ends with a Sunday night WOW session with Nicole and some friends.
It gets very tiring to do every week.
This weekend its all about Da football (IFL that is..) We draft Sunday and it should be alot of fun; Good food, friends and family :D
Speaking of WOW - We did manage to get tickets to Blizzcon this fall, and now we are all set; hotel, car and airfare are done. Now I need to get the catalina trip done and we are all set :)
OLYMPIC UPDATE:
After watching some of the games, I found the true identity of Michael Phelps:
Then Jamaica revealed their secret agent Usain Bolt in the Olympics:
Just the usual week for me:
Monday: 7am goto work; 4pm leave for train to Philly, 6-9pm class; get back on train 10pm get home.
Tuesday: See Monday
Wednesday: See Monday
Thursday: Work till 4:30, then get home to do whatever we need to get fixed/ finished before the weekend
Friday: Work till 4, then maybe get in a movie.
Weekend: Usually involves work or going somewhere. the weekend ends with a Sunday night WOW session with Nicole and some friends.
It gets very tiring to do every week.
This weekend its all about Da football (IFL that is..) We draft Sunday and it should be alot of fun; Good food, friends and family :D
Speaking of WOW - We did manage to get tickets to Blizzcon this fall, and now we are all set; hotel, car and airfare are done. Now I need to get the catalina trip done and we are all set :)
OLYMPIC UPDATE:
After watching some of the games, I found the true identity of Michael Phelps:
Then Jamaica revealed their secret agent Usain Bolt in the Olympics:
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
August comes from nowhere....
Hey all,
Well, its been another few weekends, but the kitchen is now at the 95% done marker; all that is left is the floor. That is this weekends big project. Thursday we will be shopping colors and styles and unless we need to order something, it will happen.
Next up - the living room floor
8 years ago today Nicole and I met for the first time.
MORE UPDATES:
HOME: Chris is now 10 months old! WOW!! He is usually found bouncing in his crib when we go in to get him in the morning. he is too cute :D total Gerber baby coverman. Check out some new photos over on the photo link to my picasa.
Also, We didnt know he made a movie either:
It pops up alot more now and Nicole hasn't seen his movie yet, so it will be done :D
Tigger hit 8 years old today - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIGGER!
SCHOOL- not too good on the midterms; passing but not good. I need to do more on my part and hopefully it will happen since the next few weekends after this will be doing other things. Class registration is on the 14th and I can only take two classes this coming quarter- another Mon, Tues, Wed combo night that SUCKS bigtime.
GAMING: No board games recently except a settlers game a few weeks ago. Gonna mummify my collection soon unless we start playing again. WOW is well, WOW. We found another guild to play with and everyone seems to enjoy more people to quest with. This last weekend they did a 10-man dungeon run and had fun. Check out the guild site at cofguild.blogspot.com for more info on our guild.
FOOTBALL: Its football time once again. We voted out keepers, so its a pure draft league now. We just started the first round and its going very slow this year - Dave B is on vacation; Travis just had their first baby Saturday; Dave B#2 is coming out to philly on vacation. I just hope everyone is around for the draft on the 24th :P
OK- thats a good start.
Well, its been another few weekends, but the kitchen is now at the 95% done marker; all that is left is the floor. That is this weekends big project. Thursday we will be shopping colors and styles and unless we need to order something, it will happen.
Next up - the living room floor
8 years ago today Nicole and I met for the first time.
MORE UPDATES:
HOME: Chris is now 10 months old! WOW!! He is usually found bouncing in his crib when we go in to get him in the morning. he is too cute :D total Gerber baby coverman. Check out some new photos over on the photo link to my picasa.
Also, We didnt know he made a movie either:
It pops up alot more now and Nicole hasn't seen his movie yet, so it will be done :D
Tigger hit 8 years old today - HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIGGER!
SCHOOL- not too good on the midterms; passing but not good. I need to do more on my part and hopefully it will happen since the next few weekends after this will be doing other things. Class registration is on the 14th and I can only take two classes this coming quarter- another Mon, Tues, Wed combo night that SUCKS bigtime.
GAMING: No board games recently except a settlers game a few weeks ago. Gonna mummify my collection soon unless we start playing again. WOW is well, WOW. We found another guild to play with and everyone seems to enjoy more people to quest with. This last weekend they did a 10-man dungeon run and had fun. Check out the guild site at cofguild.blogspot.com for more info on our guild.
FOOTBALL: Its football time once again. We voted out keepers, so its a pure draft league now. We just started the first round and its going very slow this year - Dave B is on vacation; Travis just had their first baby Saturday; Dave B#2 is coming out to philly on vacation. I just hope everyone is around for the draft on the 24th :P
OK- thats a good start.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Quick hits on Friday
Hey guys
After bustin some chops last night all of the cabinets are now IN; all that is left for the big stuff is the counter tops, sink, and the floor. the other stuff includes the pantry door replacement and the back splash, if we want one. Pics will be posted soon :D
Chris and Nicole got a small cold last weekend, and they are coming off of it now, I hope (crosses fingers).
WOW is slowing down a tad - mainly because everyone is so busy; we hope to get the Sunday night thing back this Sunday, so that will be nice again :D
...and a last but not least note: Fantasy football season is getting ready to start! Get your notepads ready, the draft is only 3 weeks away! I haven't done squat yet, but will make up for it in CA on a trip for work over the last week of the month.
Ok - mom is visiting this weekend :) Have a fun one!
After bustin some chops last night all of the cabinets are now IN; all that is left for the big stuff is the counter tops, sink, and the floor. the other stuff includes the pantry door replacement and the back splash, if we want one. Pics will be posted soon :D
Chris and Nicole got a small cold last weekend, and they are coming off of it now, I hope (crosses fingers).
WOW is slowing down a tad - mainly because everyone is so busy; we hope to get the Sunday night thing back this Sunday, so that will be nice again :D
...and a last but not least note: Fantasy football season is getting ready to start! Get your notepads ready, the draft is only 3 weeks away! I haven't done squat yet, but will make up for it in CA on a trip for work over the last week of the month.
Ok - mom is visiting this weekend :) Have a fun one!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Its official - XBOX ROCKS!
Hey gang,
Some quick hits -
Kitchen is going good - check out the photo gallery in the links section to the right side for some pics.
Chris is almost 10 months old! He is so funny and awesome :D I could not be more proud of my family with a loving wife and wonderful son.
and XBOX ROCKS! Lets summarize
+ Netflix on xbox
+ download games to HDD and not run the DVD drive every time
+ New menus
+ Cheaper price.. and if my xbox happens to break after they run out of the 20GB versions, the only other ones are the 60gb and the 120gb versions... darn.
Datails below:
"The second year of the pared down E3 Business and Media Summit in L.A. kicked off this week with Microsoft making some big announcements for the Xbox 360. Microsoft announced a new partnership with Netflix that allows the Xbox 360 to stream movies and TV shows from Netflix directly to your TV.
The new service is designed to complement the existing Xbox Live Video Marketplace says Kotaku, not replace it. One of the best features of the Netflix streaming service is that Xbox 360 owners who already subscribe to Netflix and have an Xbox LIVE Gold account will pay nothing more for the service
The Xbox 360 will get the ability to play games from the hard drive. That means players can rip disc-based games to the hard drive, the catch is that the original game disc has to be in the drive to play them. That means the only benefit is that the games are said to load faster."
Some quick hits -
Kitchen is going good - check out the photo gallery in the links section to the right side for some pics.
Chris is almost 10 months old! He is so funny and awesome :D I could not be more proud of my family with a loving wife and wonderful son.
and XBOX ROCKS! Lets summarize
+ Netflix on xbox
+ download games to HDD and not run the DVD drive every time
+ New menus
+ Cheaper price.. and if my xbox happens to break after they run out of the 20GB versions, the only other ones are the 60gb and the 120gb versions... darn.
Datails below:
"The second year of the pared down E3 Business and Media Summit in L.A. kicked off this week with Microsoft making some big announcements for the Xbox 360. Microsoft announced a new partnership with Netflix that allows the Xbox 360 to stream movies and TV shows from Netflix directly to your TV.
The new service is designed to complement the existing Xbox Live Video Marketplace says Kotaku, not replace it. One of the best features of the Netflix streaming service is that Xbox 360 owners who already subscribe to Netflix and have an Xbox LIVE Gold account will pay nothing more for the service
The Xbox 360 will get the ability to play games from the hard drive. That means players can rip disc-based games to the hard drive, the catch is that the original game disc has to be in the drive to play them. That means the only benefit is that the games are said to load faster."
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
July is here and its been busy
Hey all,
Just a quick update about the business of the day:
SCHOOL- three night a week this quarter with a mon/wed class and a Tue class. ECEC 304 is programming a robot car to do stuff and so far its been good - and Modulation, which has the instructor that never updates the website, forgot the deadline of last quarters grade(still 3 weeks old) but seems to be a good instructor- the modulation is his area so this is a good thing. Its been busy and makes for a very long week - to top it off aside from the homework and future quizes/tests there is the other big thing...
HOME- So far, its coming together nicely, but its time to bust some chops. We primed the kitchen this Sunday and we are ready to paint this coming weekend. Nicole will be taking Chris to her moms house Thursday night and Friday when the 2nd coat goes on, we will head down to the shore when everything is cleaned up including me :P. The cabinets are done and will be sent to the delivery guy this week, which means we are still on schedule. I hope to be in business by the end of July with a complete Kitchen :D
WOW- So far things are good- Hit 60 with the priest and we PVPd for the epic wolf mount, since we didnt want the fast chicken..
Oh, and this game was announced: DIABLO 3 Announced! MAKE Sure you check out the gameplay video on the right side - wicked cool.
Details: Diablo® III Unveiled!
Twenty years have passed since the cataclysmic events of Diablo® II. Mephisto, Diablo, and Baal have been defeated, but the Worldstone, which once shielded the world of Sanctuary from the forces of both the High Heavens and the Burning Hells, has been destroyed, and evil once again stirs in Tristram....
Following the unveiling of Diablo III today at the Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational, we've launched the game's official website, with information about the places, characters, monsters, and adventures awaiting you upon your return to the world of Sanctuary. Some of the site's highlights include:
* The cinematic teaser trailer shown at the 2008 Worldwide Invitational
* A 20-minute gameplay demo video
* More than 60 screenshots and pieces of concept art
* Deckard Cain's journal, narrated by Deckard Cain himself -- stay a while and listen!
* And much, much more
Visit the new Diablo III website now to learn more about the game, and make sure to check out the official FAQ and the announcement press release.
WOOT! CANNOT WAIT!
Aside from all that, that's about it! played some xbox in BF bad company and its fun. Carlos and I get in a squad and go wreck some havoc with tanks and jeeps... lots of fun...
Just a quick update about the business of the day:
SCHOOL- three night a week this quarter with a mon/wed class and a Tue class. ECEC 304 is programming a robot car to do stuff and so far its been good - and Modulation, which has the instructor that never updates the website, forgot the deadline of last quarters grade(still 3 weeks old) but seems to be a good instructor- the modulation is his area so this is a good thing. Its been busy and makes for a very long week - to top it off aside from the homework and future quizes/tests there is the other big thing...
HOME- So far, its coming together nicely, but its time to bust some chops. We primed the kitchen this Sunday and we are ready to paint this coming weekend. Nicole will be taking Chris to her moms house Thursday night and Friday when the 2nd coat goes on, we will head down to the shore when everything is cleaned up including me :P. The cabinets are done and will be sent to the delivery guy this week, which means we are still on schedule. I hope to be in business by the end of July with a complete Kitchen :D
WOW- So far things are good- Hit 60 with the priest and we PVPd for the epic wolf mount, since we didnt want the fast chicken..
Oh, and this game was announced: DIABLO 3 Announced! MAKE Sure you check out the gameplay video on the right side - wicked cool.
Details: Diablo® III Unveiled!
Twenty years have passed since the cataclysmic events of Diablo® II. Mephisto, Diablo, and Baal have been defeated, but the Worldstone, which once shielded the world of Sanctuary from the forces of both the High Heavens and the Burning Hells, has been destroyed, and evil once again stirs in Tristram....
Following the unveiling of Diablo III today at the Blizzard Entertainment Worldwide Invitational, we've launched the game's official website, with information about the places, characters, monsters, and adventures awaiting you upon your return to the world of Sanctuary. Some of the site's highlights include:
* The cinematic teaser trailer shown at the 2008 Worldwide Invitational
* A 20-minute gameplay demo video
* More than 60 screenshots and pieces of concept art
* Deckard Cain's journal, narrated by Deckard Cain himself -- stay a while and listen!
* And much, much more
Visit the new Diablo III website now to learn more about the game, and make sure to check out the official FAQ and the announcement press release.
WOOT! CANNOT WAIT!
Aside from all that, that's about it! played some xbox in BF bad company and its fun. Carlos and I get in a squad and go wreck some havoc with tanks and jeeps... lots of fun...
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
burgers are getting closer!
Hey all -
I think there is a general conspiracy in the air. I have had several good ideas and only now are they coming to frutation. The get rich plan of opening a In N Out on the east coast and a Rita's on the west coast is slowly going away...
Burger plan fails for Joe, but good for east coast: This place is aweful for a good burger place. Yor choice is McDs, BK and Wendys - thats it. Totally sucks for the burger folks like me.... not anymore...
FIVE GUYS - one is coming to the Moorestown shopping center:
This is 10 minutes from work - lets see: Leave for lunch, get burgers, drive back and let the loving burger be eaten :P
SONIC BURGER:
They heard philly crying over lack of choices... now they come...slowly.
Limrick:
37 WEST RIDGE PIKE
LIMERICK, PA 19468
This is closer than the others 'near by', but still a small trip - Not for Dave and Allie... Id say about a 20 minute ride if traffic is nice. Sounds like a nice lunch today with those icy drinks and burgers...
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
June = Stanley Cup and Finals
Hey all,
GO PENS!!! After staying up till 1am last night watching their injured come off the bench for the 4min. penalty, I knew they were gonna score in less than 1 minute.. Gonchar came out and made a difference, even after getting clobbered in the 3rd period. 3 periods later, he sets up an awesome go to push the series back to the burgh. GO PENS!! Someone wake up Malkin please.. he is NO WHERE!
After a stressful 2 week period, things are coming back down again. Its like a rollercoaster... with all that work we have and school coming to a close, things are started to get re-geared back up over the next few weeks very soon. Lots to cover..
FAMILY: Chris and Nicole are doing excellent - we went to different websites to start shopping for new carseats and found one or two we liked. So far all the reviews are good and the time for him to move seats is very close. Chris is starting to use his legs more to move himself up off the ground to reach things. Should be time now for us to adjust the crib to lower the mattress :D Today we are getting Nicole's car windows tinted in the side and rear for him; the car is grey and gets hot in the summer, so this is a good thing, especially when that seat is baking in the back without shade..
FRIENDS: went to see Dave and Allie this weekend; had some good food and a fun game of Power Grid. Way cool :D I hope to do some more soon, but this weekend is RUSH - Dave and I are excited :D !!
HOME: Almost everything is out; the only parts left are the sink cabinet and the ones between the over and the fridge. Next weekend I will be removing those and then its up to Eamon to do the rest; should be relatively easy for him (and cheep for us), but then will be what to do with the wall. the brick was removed thanks to amy and dad and me, so that is done. now the wall has torn paper from the drywall and needs to be either replaced or re-mudded. I got some giftcards with this rebate, so free tools for me :D Last will be ordering the microwave and disposal, and that will get done this week :). The only other small project I want to do soon is to re-caulk the tub; for some reason the caulk is getting nasty again, so I will re-caulk the entire shower surround and make sure no one uses it for a full day.
SCHOOL: Project done, no finals and the only thing left to do is finish up all homeworks and labs; I will turn in what I got Thursday and that will be it. off for 2 weeks; then its back to Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday... which is always fun :P
SPORTS: GO PENS! Kickin ass finally and in the Stanley cup round - They won a HUGE game last night in the 3rd overtime... for those non-east coast, that was 1am last night....
GAMING: Made a new website for the guild and about to hit level 56, so the original 5 toons will be in outland soon. Everyone is starting to get the last regular zones with Winterspring and Felwood, so it will be about 2-3 more sessions and we will have our guys in candyland. Last night Nicole eventually got on with her bigger mage and 3 of us did some of the easy quests out there - she kept saying.. "That was it??" - yes dear, that was it :D We left her right before 2 hellpigs killed her and she died.. its hard to be a cloth wearer by yourself, especially after you rez... sorry love :(
MOVIES: Nothing since Ironman; we haven't been able to go yet to anything; I did pick up National treasure 2 and that was fun; kinda hokie but overall fun.
Pics soon! I need to get on the main computer and update the gallery, then share a few here :D
-S
GO PENS!!! After staying up till 1am last night watching their injured come off the bench for the 4min. penalty, I knew they were gonna score in less than 1 minute.. Gonchar came out and made a difference, even after getting clobbered in the 3rd period. 3 periods later, he sets up an awesome go to push the series back to the burgh. GO PENS!! Someone wake up Malkin please.. he is NO WHERE!
After a stressful 2 week period, things are coming back down again. Its like a rollercoaster... with all that work we have and school coming to a close, things are started to get re-geared back up over the next few weeks very soon. Lots to cover..
FAMILY: Chris and Nicole are doing excellent - we went to different websites to start shopping for new carseats and found one or two we liked. So far all the reviews are good and the time for him to move seats is very close. Chris is starting to use his legs more to move himself up off the ground to reach things. Should be time now for us to adjust the crib to lower the mattress :D Today we are getting Nicole's car windows tinted in the side and rear for him; the car is grey and gets hot in the summer, so this is a good thing, especially when that seat is baking in the back without shade..
FRIENDS: went to see Dave and Allie this weekend; had some good food and a fun game of Power Grid. Way cool :D I hope to do some more soon, but this weekend is RUSH - Dave and I are excited :D !!
HOME: Almost everything is out; the only parts left are the sink cabinet and the ones between the over and the fridge. Next weekend I will be removing those and then its up to Eamon to do the rest; should be relatively easy for him (and cheep for us), but then will be what to do with the wall. the brick was removed thanks to amy and dad and me, so that is done. now the wall has torn paper from the drywall and needs to be either replaced or re-mudded. I got some giftcards with this rebate, so free tools for me :D Last will be ordering the microwave and disposal, and that will get done this week :). The only other small project I want to do soon is to re-caulk the tub; for some reason the caulk is getting nasty again, so I will re-caulk the entire shower surround and make sure no one uses it for a full day.
SCHOOL: Project done, no finals and the only thing left to do is finish up all homeworks and labs; I will turn in what I got Thursday and that will be it. off for 2 weeks; then its back to Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday... which is always fun :P
SPORTS: GO PENS! Kickin ass finally and in the Stanley cup round - They won a HUGE game last night in the 3rd overtime... for those non-east coast, that was 1am last night....
GAMING: Made a new website for the guild and about to hit level 56, so the original 5 toons will be in outland soon. Everyone is starting to get the last regular zones with Winterspring and Felwood, so it will be about 2-3 more sessions and we will have our guys in candyland. Last night Nicole eventually got on with her bigger mage and 3 of us did some of the easy quests out there - she kept saying.. "That was it??" - yes dear, that was it :D We left her right before 2 hellpigs killed her and she died.. its hard to be a cloth wearer by yourself, especially after you rez... sorry love :(
MOVIES: Nothing since Ironman; we haven't been able to go yet to anything; I did pick up National treasure 2 and that was fun; kinda hokie but overall fun.
Pics soon! I need to get on the main computer and update the gallery, then share a few here :D
-S
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Where the hell has MAY gone!
Hey gang, is it the 21st already?!?!
Just a few updates - First off, sorry once again for not updating this too much recently; this DSP class at Drexel is kickin my @SS! The instructor assumes you know EVERY SINGLE MATHMATICAL formula ever invented or thought up, so he 'teaches' theory, which means= he reads the slides, kinda of... 3 more weeks and its over!
This past weekend we went to NY and saw Beauty and the Beast. Excellent show. WBT puts on good stuff and the dinner was excellent too.
FAMILY: Nicole is doing well, but kinda under the weather - she has a small sore throat and usually wakes tired. Chris is now 8 months old and is the dancing vampire baby. HE loves to stand, but then when his teething gets bad, he decided last week that mommys neck looks like a good teether, so we got the attack of the vampire baby :D With Nicole's new moms day camera, she took some pics, so its just a matter of free time (HA! i use to know that concept) to stick them up on the website.
HOME: Decided to tackle the kitchen project once and for all- started to empty the dining room of things, then this weekend I get to move furniture to a friends house, take all the pots n pans from the wall cabinets and store them, then take down the wall cabinets :P FUN! Monday is brick removal day, so its gonna be lots of goodness and dust...
SCHOOL: Aside from the ECE class from hell, the quarter is almost done. Here is the kicker - I JUST NOW was told that there are 3 different junior level tracks in EE - telecom, electronics and electrical engineering - I THOUGHT IT WAS ALL THE SAME?!?! That means there are different classes for each track and some might not overlap.. SO its all fine until i went to contact my adviser- hes gone till mid June - that is SO my luck.
SPORTS: GO PENS! Kickin ass finally and in the Stanley cup round - starts saturday.
AND I got permission to goto the steelers - eagles game on Chris's birthday. Call it a guys day out - I'm gonna contact Dave B, Dad, me and ?? for tickets to that game.
GAMING: Wow is good so far- hit level 54, so the original 5 toons will be in outland soon. Our lvl 70 warrior is starting to get excited to run some dungeons, so i think at some point we will start having more players than the 5 man dungeons. no big deal- im sure on a given night there will not be more than 5 on, but if there is, i know its no big deal to group up differently.
MOVIES: IRONMAN ROCKED!!!!!! go see it and stay thru the credits - its gonna be worth a second look soon and was well worth it. Jones comes out this weekend and that should be excellent. I heard that Narnia was good too, so now its time to see who can watch the lil guy and when...
ok - thats it for now - I gotta finish my take home mid term and rewrite 8 lab reports...all before tomorrow afternoon - FUN!
-S
Just a few updates - First off, sorry once again for not updating this too much recently; this DSP class at Drexel is kickin my @SS! The instructor assumes you know EVERY SINGLE MATHMATICAL formula ever invented or thought up, so he 'teaches' theory, which means= he reads the slides, kinda of... 3 more weeks and its over!
This past weekend we went to NY and saw Beauty and the Beast. Excellent show. WBT puts on good stuff and the dinner was excellent too.
FAMILY: Nicole is doing well, but kinda under the weather - she has a small sore throat and usually wakes tired. Chris is now 8 months old and is the dancing vampire baby. HE loves to stand, but then when his teething gets bad, he decided last week that mommys neck looks like a good teether, so we got the attack of the vampire baby :D With Nicole's new moms day camera, she took some pics, so its just a matter of free time (HA! i use to know that concept) to stick them up on the website.
HOME: Decided to tackle the kitchen project once and for all- started to empty the dining room of things, then this weekend I get to move furniture to a friends house, take all the pots n pans from the wall cabinets and store them, then take down the wall cabinets :P FUN! Monday is brick removal day, so its gonna be lots of goodness and dust...
SCHOOL: Aside from the ECE class from hell, the quarter is almost done. Here is the kicker - I JUST NOW was told that there are 3 different junior level tracks in EE - telecom, electronics and electrical engineering - I THOUGHT IT WAS ALL THE SAME?!?! That means there are different classes for each track and some might not overlap.. SO its all fine until i went to contact my adviser- hes gone till mid June - that is SO my luck.
SPORTS: GO PENS! Kickin ass finally and in the Stanley cup round - starts saturday.
AND I got permission to goto the steelers - eagles game on Chris's birthday. Call it a guys day out - I'm gonna contact Dave B, Dad, me and ?? for tickets to that game.
GAMING: Wow is good so far- hit level 54, so the original 5 toons will be in outland soon. Our lvl 70 warrior is starting to get excited to run some dungeons, so i think at some point we will start having more players than the 5 man dungeons. no big deal- im sure on a given night there will not be more than 5 on, but if there is, i know its no big deal to group up differently.
MOVIES: IRONMAN ROCKED!!!!!! go see it and stay thru the credits - its gonna be worth a second look soon and was well worth it. Jones comes out this weekend and that should be excellent. I heard that Narnia was good too, so now its time to see who can watch the lil guy and when...
ok - thats it for now - I gotta finish my take home mid term and rewrite 8 lab reports...all before tomorrow afternoon - FUN!
-S
Friday, April 25, 2008
Monthly bleeding event gets better
Hey all...
Well its the monthly bleeding of the checking account..
Mortgage for a condo = alot
Association fee for the monthly gardeners to mow the weeds and dirt = $150
Comcast ripoff service for spotty internet and compressed HDTV = $150
PSEG power for not having any air or heating used in the month = $180
Car insurance for regular no problem drivers living in the worst state possible = $170
1 weeks worth of food for a family of 2 with a baby = $100
Tell you what, I'm not sure what is going on in the world today, but one thing is for sure - service and fees are not what they should be. Our association does NOTHING for us at all. No new grass, no new trees, no fixing the parking lots.. nothing..
comcast - dont get me started, but I will say that I will go to work for free for Verizon to get FIOS to the complex if it helps them get to the harbour faster... Total ripoff for what you get - look at the Mojo channel for a concert and you will see your 'HDTV' service from them..
Id like nothing but to stay at home and do nothing this weekend, but i know what will happen.. studying for a midterm, catching up on homework and doing the chores around the house = nothing fun.
The highlite of my morning was seeing Nicole off and seeing Chris wake up all smiles.
Well its the monthly bleeding of the checking account..
Mortgage for a condo = alot
Association fee for the monthly gardeners to mow the weeds and dirt = $150
Comcast ripoff service for spotty internet and compressed HDTV = $150
PSEG power for not having any air or heating used in the month = $180
Car insurance for regular no problem drivers living in the worst state possible = $170
1 weeks worth of food for a family of 2 with a baby = $100
Tell you what, I'm not sure what is going on in the world today, but one thing is for sure - service and fees are not what they should be. Our association does NOTHING for us at all. No new grass, no new trees, no fixing the parking lots.. nothing..
comcast - dont get me started, but I will say that I will go to work for free for Verizon to get FIOS to the complex if it helps them get to the harbour faster... Total ripoff for what you get - look at the Mojo channel for a concert and you will see your 'HDTV' service from them..
Id like nothing but to stay at home and do nothing this weekend, but i know what will happen.. studying for a midterm, catching up on homework and doing the chores around the house = nothing fun.
The highlite of my morning was seeing Nicole off and seeing Chris wake up all smiles.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
New pics of everything :D
Here are some Random pics that have been taken over the last week or so and one from the past :D
Chris and Tigger - bussom buddies! In 8 more months it will be Chris chasing tigger.. :)
Susan, Evelyn and Travis - Congratulations Guys :D
Chris enjoy some leftovers from lunch :D
Blast from the past - This is my hunter killing the bad Onyxia from 3 years ago :o
Last but not least - my favorite of the week - nuff said.
Look for updated pics and stuff very soon - from Franklin institute, home and other games :D
Chris and Tigger - bussom buddies! In 8 more months it will be Chris chasing tigger.. :)
Susan, Evelyn and Travis - Congratulations Guys :D
Chris enjoy some leftovers from lunch :D
Blast from the past - This is my hunter killing the bad Onyxia from 3 years ago :o
Last but not least - my favorite of the week - nuff said.
Look for updated pics and stuff very soon - from Franklin institute, home and other games :D
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Sping Spring Spring!
Yep - Its Spring! Time for work... and Babies!
Susan had her 2nd. Travis Ronald Scheck; 6lb,1oz; born on the 4th in the morning. He got the maiz nose and the rest is all Eric. Pics to follow online soon :D Congrats Susan and Eric!
This weekend we took the entire attic out this weekend, basically went thru every bin and box, trashed alot of stuff and repacked things better. The only ones we didnt touch too much were the Christmas items as we will get them down this winter.. Overall, it took about 5 hours total and with help from Amy and Dad, we got er done!
KITCHEN- got a floor plan, looked at different styles and types, and I think we have a winner. The Lowes has a basic oak cabinet from Diamond Reflections Cabinets; Looks good. The bottom line price for cabinets is a tad high, but it looks like it should be a majority of the costs. The rest will be laminate counter tops, a new over-the-range microwave, and a possible new dishwasher. Aside from the new green-walls, a new vinal floor and paint, the only other thing would be to take out the grey/blue carpet in the living room and replace it with the pergo wood floor stuff from Sam's club.
SCHOOL: Started last week and is well underway. Lab3- not too tough, but has a tough instructor. should be better since I have a reliable lab partner.... makes all the differance in the world.. DPS (Digital Signal Processing) on the other hand, will be a bitch. Book showed up JUST TODAY and the instructor is not too web savvy= lost of late homework assignments online and as-i-teach assignments (" Ok, you need to do this by next week' was a phrase i heard alot last Thursday night).
GAMING: Man I miss board games.. someone needs to do something; get a BBQ going, hold a poker night.. game-a-thon.. I don't care. My dice are collecting dust and my rules knowledge is going bye-bye :P I hope to soon have something on a saturday afternoon again, but with the big projects on the horizon, who knows.. AS for online- WOW is good so far- our guild Circle of Friends, is well. WE have about 8-9 total members with 2-4 characters each..
Xbox has been good still; R6V2 is out in full force and not without their problems - check out the glitch = OPPS!
MORE QUICK HITS:
* Sunday= Franklin institute: should be good (Were gonna miss you Dave, Allie and Ashley..)
* IRONMAN: CANT.. WAIT... ANY .... LONGER....
* Comic convention NY- looks like alot of fun; COMPARE- Philly comiccon gets IRON SHEIK, they get Stan Lee.. any questions!
Have fun!
Susan had her 2nd. Travis Ronald Scheck; 6lb,1oz; born on the 4th in the morning. He got the maiz nose and the rest is all Eric. Pics to follow online soon :D Congrats Susan and Eric!
This weekend we took the entire attic out this weekend, basically went thru every bin and box, trashed alot of stuff and repacked things better. The only ones we didnt touch too much were the Christmas items as we will get them down this winter.. Overall, it took about 5 hours total and with help from Amy and Dad, we got er done!
KITCHEN- got a floor plan, looked at different styles and types, and I think we have a winner. The Lowes has a basic oak cabinet from Diamond Reflections Cabinets; Looks good. The bottom line price for cabinets is a tad high, but it looks like it should be a majority of the costs. The rest will be laminate counter tops, a new over-the-range microwave, and a possible new dishwasher. Aside from the new green-walls, a new vinal floor and paint, the only other thing would be to take out the grey/blue carpet in the living room and replace it with the pergo wood floor stuff from Sam's club.
SCHOOL: Started last week and is well underway. Lab3- not too tough, but has a tough instructor. should be better since I have a reliable lab partner.... makes all the differance in the world.. DPS (Digital Signal Processing) on the other hand, will be a bitch. Book showed up JUST TODAY and the instructor is not too web savvy= lost of late homework assignments online and as-i-teach assignments (" Ok, you need to do this by next week' was a phrase i heard alot last Thursday night).
GAMING: Man I miss board games.. someone needs to do something; get a BBQ going, hold a poker night.. game-a-thon.. I don't care. My dice are collecting dust and my rules knowledge is going bye-bye :P I hope to soon have something on a saturday afternoon again, but with the big projects on the horizon, who knows.. AS for online- WOW is good so far- our guild Circle of Friends, is well. WE have about 8-9 total members with 2-4 characters each..
Xbox has been good still; R6V2 is out in full force and not without their problems - check out the glitch = OPPS!
MORE QUICK HITS:
* Sunday= Franklin institute: should be good (Were gonna miss you Dave, Allie and Ashley..)
* IRONMAN: CANT.. WAIT... ANY .... LONGER....
* Comic convention NY- looks like alot of fun; COMPARE- Philly comiccon gets IRON SHEIK, they get Stan Lee.. any questions!
Have fun!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Easter Break... well, not really..
HAPPY EASTER!!! I know I know... it been a long time since I updated this thing.. so here we go...
HOME: Chris is now 6 months old! He is growing fast and is becoming a young boy every day. First it was awesome to get him to sleep thru the night and now he is sitting up (almost by himself) and is starting the rice cereal. This week we take him to the Dr's for a 6-month checkup; lucky us- They moved the Dr office closer to my work.. its sorta nice, but one of the reasons why we picked that Dr office was the location- The old one was between work and home so it was easy for Nicole to get there and me to go on the way home... Now she might as well throw a rock at my car since she will drive right by here.. BUT at least I don't have to take time off to goto his appointments.
We also got a surprise for family coming very soon from us.. You can guess what it is, but everyone will see soon enough :D.
The house is doing good and gonna get better. With the tax return this year we are highly considering new kitchen cabinets and a new front door; it would be about 90% of the work that needs to get done in the unit. After that, there isn't much left aside from fixing the squeaky floor upstairs and replacing the carpet - but that can wait for another year. After going to Lowe's yesterday, we saw different styles of cabinets and floors, counter tops... so on. But we will be on a tight budget for the project- we want to get the kitchen up to date and functional - thats about it. We will save the big kitchen remodel for a future HOUSE, not a condo; besides, two of our neighbors have yet to sell their units, so it just makes it harder for us to spend serious coin on the condo.
The front Door is the other PITA that needs to get fixed and now replaced; I installed a new lock, but the handle does not line up correctly and is too big for the standard door.. so we will consider getting somehting newer and fits correctly in the unit.
SCHOOL: I'm on Spring break this week; Finished Lab 4 with a B : not sure why; our project worked and we got a perfect score on it - so I might email my professor and ask her what happened... ECES 302 has not posted their grade, but it was hard a CRAP on the final. I bombed the lab final and I hope i got enough points to get a C in the class. I cannot get another D. This coming quarter I got Lab 3 and intro to digital systems (?) on Wed and Thurs nights.
GAMING: Nothing new in the board game world- no one has asked to play something and no one has called about setting up a game day at their house; I am still wondering if it will ever happen. We HAve been gaming at night on WOW with a few friends (Amy, Gary and Wayne), so we got a nice 5-man group; were hitting mid-40s now and should be approaching 50 by the end of April, so outlands will be probably the end of June/ 4th July weekend (my prediction).
There is an excellent podcast for the WOW folks: THE INSTANCE; check it out..
XBOX: Got Vegas 2 last week and after getting my cable modem replaced, was able to get back online finally; Carlos M and Eric also got it and we have been able to group up later; its awesome and has made some good improvements, but a few minor down-steps too. Now the only way it seems that you earn points is to shoot a bad guy/ other team on some of the game modes. Before you would earn points simply by playing and I liked it that way; Just because I am guarding the flag doesnt mean my job was not important. not sure why they changed it, but at least when a teammate makes a kill, you get a point in T-hunt mode.
EVENTS:
* I want to goto the Franklin institute before the star wars thing goes away; Look for an email this week to see who is up for it.
* Ironman Movie - yes please
* Indiana Jones movie - Yes please too
* Comic Convention Philly: Waiting for the guest list, but the year that Batman came out we got to go see it Free at IMAX; guess what.. Batman comes out this year... hmm..
Thats it for now - Hope to stay more active once again.. email me for questions or concerns :D
-S
HOME: Chris is now 6 months old! He is growing fast and is becoming a young boy every day. First it was awesome to get him to sleep thru the night and now he is sitting up (almost by himself) and is starting the rice cereal. This week we take him to the Dr's for a 6-month checkup; lucky us- They moved the Dr office closer to my work.. its sorta nice, but one of the reasons why we picked that Dr office was the location- The old one was between work and home so it was easy for Nicole to get there and me to go on the way home... Now she might as well throw a rock at my car since she will drive right by here.. BUT at least I don't have to take time off to goto his appointments.
We also got a surprise for family coming very soon from us.. You can guess what it is, but everyone will see soon enough :D.
The house is doing good and gonna get better. With the tax return this year we are highly considering new kitchen cabinets and a new front door; it would be about 90% of the work that needs to get done in the unit. After that, there isn't much left aside from fixing the squeaky floor upstairs and replacing the carpet - but that can wait for another year. After going to Lowe's yesterday, we saw different styles of cabinets and floors, counter tops... so on. But we will be on a tight budget for the project- we want to get the kitchen up to date and functional - thats about it. We will save the big kitchen remodel for a future HOUSE, not a condo; besides, two of our neighbors have yet to sell their units, so it just makes it harder for us to spend serious coin on the condo.
The front Door is the other PITA that needs to get fixed and now replaced; I installed a new lock, but the handle does not line up correctly and is too big for the standard door.. so we will consider getting somehting newer and fits correctly in the unit.
SCHOOL: I'm on Spring break this week; Finished Lab 4 with a B : not sure why; our project worked and we got a perfect score on it - so I might email my professor and ask her what happened... ECES 302 has not posted their grade, but it was hard a CRAP on the final. I bombed the lab final and I hope i got enough points to get a C in the class. I cannot get another D. This coming quarter I got Lab 3 and intro to digital systems (?) on Wed and Thurs nights.
GAMING: Nothing new in the board game world- no one has asked to play something and no one has called about setting up a game day at their house; I am still wondering if it will ever happen. We HAve been gaming at night on WOW with a few friends (Amy, Gary and Wayne), so we got a nice 5-man group; were hitting mid-40s now and should be approaching 50 by the end of April, so outlands will be probably the end of June/ 4th July weekend (my prediction).
There is an excellent podcast for the WOW folks: THE INSTANCE; check it out..
XBOX: Got Vegas 2 last week and after getting my cable modem replaced, was able to get back online finally; Carlos M and Eric also got it and we have been able to group up later; its awesome and has made some good improvements, but a few minor down-steps too. Now the only way it seems that you earn points is to shoot a bad guy/ other team on some of the game modes. Before you would earn points simply by playing and I liked it that way; Just because I am guarding the flag doesnt mean my job was not important. not sure why they changed it, but at least when a teammate makes a kill, you get a point in T-hunt mode.
EVENTS:
* I want to goto the Franklin institute before the star wars thing goes away; Look for an email this week to see who is up for it.
* Ironman Movie - yes please
* Indiana Jones movie - Yes please too
* Comic Convention Philly: Waiting for the guest list, but the year that Batman came out we got to go see it Free at IMAX; guess what.. Batman comes out this year... hmm..
Thats it for now - Hope to stay more active once again.. email me for questions or concerns :D
-S
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Just a quick posting
hey all,
As I sit here in class waiting for the doom of the results of Midterm test2, I wanted to get a quick update on the blog site - especially when I noticed its been over a month
FAMILY: Nicole, Chris and I just came back from a trip to CA! It was alot of fun, but the weather was not great - lots of rain.. I will be posting some pics soon of us and dad, Susan, and the regular CA folks.. Lots of InnOut, CJs, and mexican food :D Chris was a champ on the flights both ways and makes a good companion - except when he pees on the mat.. oh well..
GAMING: Wow is good- we are playing our alts and now about lvl 53/54 with them; the regulars are still waiting to be used as we could not play in CA.. XBOX is good- Im waiting for Rainbow Vegas 2 now (March 18?) and should be excellent - Im tired of COD4 already, so the tactical shooter is a good game for me.
HOME: we are working on the door- got a new lock, but want to replace the handle part... that and looking at our tax return and the economic $$ for possible spring/ summer projects - kitchen?? Floors??
SCHOOL: is almost done - got one more lab4 class tomorrow, then 2 more tests in ECES302; the lab final(coding) and the final in the class (cummelative). Should NOT be fun..
Thats it! I will post some pics soon and get some more updates out there..
OH- Ironman trailer#2 - simply rocks!
JS
As I sit here in class waiting for the doom of the results of Midterm test2, I wanted to get a quick update on the blog site - especially when I noticed its been over a month
FAMILY: Nicole, Chris and I just came back from a trip to CA! It was alot of fun, but the weather was not great - lots of rain.. I will be posting some pics soon of us and dad, Susan, and the regular CA folks.. Lots of InnOut, CJs, and mexican food :D Chris was a champ on the flights both ways and makes a good companion - except when he pees on the mat.. oh well..
GAMING: Wow is good- we are playing our alts and now about lvl 53/54 with them; the regulars are still waiting to be used as we could not play in CA.. XBOX is good- Im waiting for Rainbow Vegas 2 now (March 18?) and should be excellent - Im tired of COD4 already, so the tactical shooter is a good game for me.
HOME: we are working on the door- got a new lock, but want to replace the handle part... that and looking at our tax return and the economic $$ for possible spring/ summer projects - kitchen?? Floors??
SCHOOL: is almost done - got one more lab4 class tomorrow, then 2 more tests in ECES302; the lab final(coding) and the final in the class (cummelative). Should NOT be fun..
Thats it! I will post some pics soon and get some more updates out there..
OH- Ironman trailer#2 - simply rocks!
JS
Monday, January 14, 2008
Happy New years! - Its been busy!
Hey all, sorry for the delay in the updates: Things have been busy our end.
Christmas was excellent; lots of gift exchanging and some good stuff was there for me under the tree: A new phone was a needed, some clothes and lots of games - King me, Risk 2210, five crowns and wizardology. Not sure where these came from but the only one I heard of was Risk - so I learned five crowns and played it so far; no takers on the rest.
New Years was kick back - the way I like it. nothing too exciting: went to philly to visit the family, then at 7pom, came home and put the lil guy to bed. Amy came over, watched a show, then played some WoW to new years, then she went home and called it a night. The day of new years was cold, so we stayed home, did some house stuff and I got to spend some time with Chris.
We picked the date for the baptism - January 20th, 11am. Dave and Gabrielle are the godparents since I have a feeling they are going to be good friends and family for us for a long time. I feel bad since I never got to see Dave and his family since mid-December. They got sick, then eventually got better, but we have been busy these last 2 weekends. I am hoping to get together BEFORE the event on Sunday - maybe get together for lunch.. some games, hanging out... who knows.
And so it goes: Steelers lost in the playoffs - not that I sad, but they had a good year, considering that the rothesburger got better his 3rd year, a new coach in Tomlin and Parker was the #1 rusher in the league (too bad no TDs for him). I'm all for the Packers this playoffs - not to sure of the damm pats though.. I'm not sure where the superbowl party will be this year - last year was at Dave's n Allies house - maybe we will do something at our place again -make a chili, some veggies, chips n dip... who knows.
FAMILY: Chris is getting bigger every day- he is almost 4 months old now and is a very happy baby. Easy to play with and loves grabbing things. Some more pics are up in the gallery link, so check em out. This weekend is the baptism, so that will be good :) Nicole is doing well and we seem to spend more time together not only with chris before he goes to bed, but also after he goes down too. I think the 'family thing' is the best :)
SCHOOL: Started up - I got a C in Lab 2 (whew) with one of the worst instructors there - my counselor. He was very tough to please- don't want to go there.. This quarter its the make or break- ECES 302 (Again) and Lab 4. Lab 4?? yep- they didn't offer lab 3 this quarter, so they offered lab 4. ECES 302 was a redue - I got a D last time (my first one ever) and this is the bread of EE - transforms - if I can master them the life is good.. not somehting I want to think about and struggle with later on at college. If I don't do well again, its time to reconsider my college career and direction.
GAMING: Xbox has been off for awhile- a few notes on this:
1: Nicole cannot play the same games, nor has interest in them.
2: LIVE has been suckin ASS lately.
3: I am getting tired of Search and destroy in COD4- I have more fun doing a match with friends than anything else, and since they don't get online till after 11pm, its hard for me to play on a weeknight and join them.
So, with that in mind, last month Nicole and I talked about playing Warcraft again, and we are back playing that. We have some basic rules- no playing without each other, unless its with another character (basically we play two people together all the time); No playing if there are things to do around the house; No more than a few hours a night. No massive dungeons (the big ones). Have fun and enjoy the game. After making the initial guys, we have a small group - formed a guild - Circle of Friends - and try and stick together with questing and leveling as to not outpace the rest of the group. So far, its going ok, On the server there is no PvP (players killing eachother) so leveling is good.
WE went thru Wailing Caverns, Shadowfang Keep and last night did Blackfathoms Depths. There was some good gear in them all, so that is good. We are having fun and like playing with friends after Chris goes down for the night.
OTHER STUFF:
* The Xterra is about to hit 100k miles = timing belt = $$$$$. Figure about $400 or so when its all said and done. Maybe in February or March..
*Taxes should and BETTER be nice to us this year- Nicole left her job in September and we had chris, so there is some $$$ back for us. It better be in the 4 digit range and better be something we can use to help pay off the credit cards and fix up the place...
*Told you so on Dallas - overrated. Same with Indy.. dont play good football in the last 2 weeks or the regular season and you loose it... ask the Steelers.
*The Westchester Dinner theatre was this weekend and what a show: The Phantom - excellent and better than the phantom of the opera.. similar story, but more than that.
No good sales!! I am sadden that my Christmas bucks aren't being used for something yet - maybe start saving for my camera or laptop.. hmm
OK - back to it, look for more posts this week!
Christmas was excellent; lots of gift exchanging and some good stuff was there for me under the tree: A new phone was a needed, some clothes and lots of games - King me, Risk 2210, five crowns and wizardology. Not sure where these came from but the only one I heard of was Risk - so I learned five crowns and played it so far; no takers on the rest.
New Years was kick back - the way I like it. nothing too exciting: went to philly to visit the family, then at 7pom, came home and put the lil guy to bed. Amy came over, watched a show, then played some WoW to new years, then she went home and called it a night. The day of new years was cold, so we stayed home, did some house stuff and I got to spend some time with Chris.
We picked the date for the baptism - January 20th, 11am. Dave and Gabrielle are the godparents since I have a feeling they are going to be good friends and family for us for a long time. I feel bad since I never got to see Dave and his family since mid-December. They got sick, then eventually got better, but we have been busy these last 2 weekends. I am hoping to get together BEFORE the event on Sunday - maybe get together for lunch.. some games, hanging out... who knows.
And so it goes: Steelers lost in the playoffs - not that I sad, but they had a good year, considering that the rothesburger got better his 3rd year, a new coach in Tomlin and Parker was the #1 rusher in the league (too bad no TDs for him). I'm all for the Packers this playoffs - not to sure of the damm pats though.. I'm not sure where the superbowl party will be this year - last year was at Dave's n Allies house - maybe we will do something at our place again -make a chili, some veggies, chips n dip... who knows.
FAMILY: Chris is getting bigger every day- he is almost 4 months old now and is a very happy baby. Easy to play with and loves grabbing things. Some more pics are up in the gallery link, so check em out. This weekend is the baptism, so that will be good :) Nicole is doing well and we seem to spend more time together not only with chris before he goes to bed, but also after he goes down too. I think the 'family thing' is the best :)
SCHOOL: Started up - I got a C in Lab 2 (whew) with one of the worst instructors there - my counselor. He was very tough to please- don't want to go there.. This quarter its the make or break- ECES 302 (Again) and Lab 4. Lab 4?? yep- they didn't offer lab 3 this quarter, so they offered lab 4. ECES 302 was a redue - I got a D last time (my first one ever) and this is the bread of EE - transforms - if I can master them the life is good.. not somehting I want to think about and struggle with later on at college. If I don't do well again, its time to reconsider my college career and direction.
GAMING: Xbox has been off for awhile- a few notes on this:
1: Nicole cannot play the same games, nor has interest in them.
2: LIVE has been suckin ASS lately.
3: I am getting tired of Search and destroy in COD4- I have more fun doing a match with friends than anything else, and since they don't get online till after 11pm, its hard for me to play on a weeknight and join them.
So, with that in mind, last month Nicole and I talked about playing Warcraft again, and we are back playing that. We have some basic rules- no playing without each other, unless its with another character (basically we play two people together all the time); No playing if there are things to do around the house; No more than a few hours a night. No massive dungeons (the big ones). Have fun and enjoy the game. After making the initial guys, we have a small group - formed a guild - Circle of Friends - and try and stick together with questing and leveling as to not outpace the rest of the group. So far, its going ok, On the server there is no PvP (players killing eachother) so leveling is good.
WE went thru Wailing Caverns, Shadowfang Keep and last night did Blackfathoms Depths. There was some good gear in them all, so that is good. We are having fun and like playing with friends after Chris goes down for the night.
OTHER STUFF:
* The Xterra is about to hit 100k miles = timing belt = $$$$$. Figure about $400 or so when its all said and done. Maybe in February or March..
*Taxes should and BETTER be nice to us this year- Nicole left her job in September and we had chris, so there is some $$$ back for us. It better be in the 4 digit range and better be something we can use to help pay off the credit cards and fix up the place...
*Told you so on Dallas - overrated. Same with Indy.. dont play good football in the last 2 weeks or the regular season and you loose it... ask the Steelers.
*The Westchester Dinner theatre was this weekend and what a show: The Phantom - excellent and better than the phantom of the opera.. similar story, but more than that.
No good sales!! I am sadden that my Christmas bucks aren't being used for something yet - maybe start saving for my camera or laptop.. hmm
OK - back to it, look for more posts this week!
Friday, December 21, 2007
Merry Christmas every...Oh damm, Parker is out!
Hey gang,
Well, we have had a full two weeks since the last update: where to start...
Family- We did the Christmas party at the condo on the 15th; lots of fun. I feel bad for the Brussin's as they were all sick that weekend and could not make it over. But, our friends Amy, Wayne and his boys, my friends John and Nicole's friend Michele and Quino all came by - even her parents made a cameo. It was alot of fun. We did a gift exchange where I gave Amy, Wayne and Nicole gag-gifts for the gag-gift I got as a new daddy. We played some games, ate too much food and cookies and got the seasonal pic done - posting very soon :)
Chris is now 3 months old today- he is sleeping thru the night still, and now in the goo phase of babyhood. He is using his hands more and is very funny sometimes. He also gave me his first smile and its all worth it :) I am a very happy daddy :)
Steelers - well, let me say that if by some miracle they do good in the playoffs, then cool. Parker is out with a broken leg.. they also lost a game to the Jags, which makes me unhappy - especially when they should have done better. I think they were a bit tired and not ready for that game. They did blow out the rams and have Davenport scoring 2 TDs and 140 yds - TOO BAD HE WAS ON MY FANTASY BENCH!
....speaking of which, Carlos and Rick are in the Superbowl for the IFL. I lost my week 15 game, so Im in the looser bracket. I play Dave Brenneman again, and have a feeling I will loose..who knows.
GAMING:
We are back to World of Warcraft again. Here is the story here - Nicole was upset that I would play on the xbox at 9:30 at night and not spend time with her after Chris goes to bed. We did movies but I think she wants to do something more interactive. We talked about going back to the game with the knowledge that we would only play a few nights a week and only with each other. Wayne and his boys reactivated thier accounts for Christmas and they are on a PvE server, which means that the other faction in the game cannot attack you without permission to do so. This was a huge issue with us the last time, and we spent countless hours getting ganked by higher level characters with nothing better to do.
So...with that said, we created new characters and now play. Amy made a Blood elf hunter, Wayne made a warlock and a warrior, Nicole made another mage and I made a priest. A co-worker made a rogue and might stick around.. Trever made a warrior and has a 49 priest and Tyler has a rogue and the 61 Druid. We then created a guild called Circle of Friends and have most of the characters in it now - even created a guild forum just incase.
More importantly, Nicole and I made rules for each other as to not get too into the game and keep it sane. So far, we kinda did it over board, but its new to us again and we are playing together and having fun. Xbox will still be there, just not used a frequently as before.
MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone! Next update will have some pics and gift news from the loot that we received from St Nic :)
Look for dunk-the-baby cards invitations in the mail and we wish you all a good holiday!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Tuesday - Steeler blues and some good deals
Hey gang,
Yep - Steelers lost a tough game; I think had Mr Smith not said jack squat that the turnout might have been different: Key notes on the game
1- umm if you are the 'safety' and no one is suppose to get behind you, why ON EARTH would you let a Mr Moss (Number 81 for those that dont know..) run right by you...TWICE!! WHY!!
2- Speaking of Mr Moss - he doesn't like to be touched.. so TOUCH HIM!! ITS FRIKING FOOTBALL!! If you jam him at the line, he runs a funked up route.. so push him around!
3- MR pretty boy Brady does not like pressure and folds like a girly man when you blitz him... so BLITZ HIM!! I think after the 2nd quarter, the Steelers said.. naw we dont need no stinking blitz...
4- DO NOT EVER guarantee a win. Nothing ever good has come from a NFL guarantee.. Not only did Mr Smith say on thursday 'we will win' but also on monday comes out and says 'We will see the pats again in the playoffs..' STFU!
ok.. rant over.
Some good deals going on:
1- Amazon has a buy one, get one free on HD DVDs: Check it out here
2- Disney store has some good deals on sale too (slickdeals):
Free shipping with $50 Purchase with Promotion Code FORYOU.
Disney Shopping has a few new coupons available for up to 50% off select categories. They also stack with 15% off coupon code 3199 (no additional requirements) or 20% off coupons STAR or SAVINGS (if using Disney Visa Card). Use code SHIPFOR5 for $5 shipping on $50+ orders, otherwise shipping starts at $8.50 and depends on your order value (shipping chart).
Available coupon codes:
- 50% off Snowglobes with code MERRY50
- 40% off Adult Apparel or Holiday Decor MERRY40
- 30% Off Home Collection items MERRY30
- 25% Off Kids' Apparel MERRY25
There ya go!
XBOX: Playing Mass Effect now; excellent so far - good graphics and a definite roll player. Some action, lots of laser fights.. and a fun game with the space theme going on. I dont get on much recently, but I hope to play some more with friends this week..
FANTASY FOOTBALL: is going ok- I play Dave in the Tideybowl, Rd 1. my match ups are good, so we will see what happens; The real playoffs are looking good too, so we will see who comes out ahead.
Chris is doing good; sleeping thru the night and eating like a lil horse. He is very interactive - loves to be talked to and has started the goos.. :) Happy dad :)
More pics are posted on the gallery, so check em out!
-S
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Game Rental Sites Reviewed
Hey all,
For those that have ever wondered about renting video games, let me share my experience with you in a 6 month adventure of Online video game rental websites. This experiment is real, used my money and taught me several things.
To start with, as most know, I am an avid Xbox360 gamer. I love playing games with friends online and even play some with friends and my loving wife at home (She loves to race). In the past months, when a game came out, I would look for a deal but would buy it at the store for the whopping prices of $50 or $60 only to see that the rest of my xbox friends (Some are long time friends) would move on to the next game a few weeks later, leaving me with the game that use-to-be played [see GRAW2, Shadowrun, and a few others]. Feeling like I was loosing money big time, I decided to test the rental market to see if things would improve anymore and save me some cash. Since we have and love Netflix, the online rental/mail it back option seemed to be the best and only deal around
MY Disclaimer: I live in NJ- if you live in a different part of the country, select appropriately, but know that sometimes, closer does not mean faster (See Gamerang).
PRE-FIGHT: Getting info- After doing an online search for game rental, several sites came up and a few I heard of before - Gamefly, Gamerang.. and several others. I found THIS review site that listed the websites, what they offered and their ranking based on some basic criteria:
a) Feature Set
b) game selection choices
c) website usage / searching
d) game arrival times
e) number of renting plans
At the time (May 07), one of the top rental sites was Gameznflix. They offered one game unlimited for $8.95 a month - CHEEP!! AND the had 1st class mail shipping. When I asked some clan members, 2 of them actually used it and liked it.... so if its good for them....
ROUND 1: GAMEZNFLIX: ... It must be for me! So, I went to their website, registered my email address, picked some games, and I was off and running. Within a few days, a game was in my mailbox waiting for me to play it - Command and Conquer 3; Lots of fun but I did like the fact that since it was a rental, I had no obligation to keep it for any length of time. I found it nice to be able to just send it back when I was done with it, and get the next one in the mail.
It was only after about a month of this did I find why they were not #1 on the list; Game selection. Their selection was about 30 games total for XBOX 360. 30 games. That did not include the new releases either, but I know for a fact that there are more than 30 games for the xbox out now. When Call of Juarez was announced, I thought - yea, I can rent that one - it might be like GUN, but newer.. so I made it my #1 game on the rental list. I then started up a spreadsheet with the games, dates shipped, dates received and dates returned to keep a running tab on things.
One thing I found positive with them is their turn-around was amazing. 3 days total. I would ship a game out on Monday and the next game was there by Thursday. The most I waited was over the 4th of July weekend, and that was only cause the USPS takes the day off. Simply Fast from Georgia.
BUT, I was very upset when my #1 choice was always never in stock. Not only was it never there, but other newer games were not there either - I'm talking about 3 month old games, like GRAW2 and Transformers. These games were released in the summer time and they were not even an option to rent!! The only ones I could rent were the older games - 1 year or more older; It was then I decided to go back to the rental review site and see who else was rated higher..
ROUND 2: GAMERANG- I found their #1 pick to be Gamerang. Not sure why or how, but it was their top choice. After looking at their website, i found some interesting things about them that really seemed to appeal to me:
1- they have 4 shipping centers, one of which is here in NJ (By NYC)
2- good selection of new games
3- a 2 month for $20 plan offer with WIRED magazine for free. (Hey!)
So, I decided "Forget gamenflix - they offer no new games - and I never did see that Call of Juarez game..." so I opened a gamerang account in early August to test them and compare em out. M first selection was a new game - it shipped out the same day (Tuesday) and 3 days later I had it (Friday): Madden 08 football. It was excellent timing too, as we have our football draft in august at my place, and madden was a hit over the weekend. I thought - This is a good thing...
Since this was it, on Sept 11th, I closed my Gameznflix account and kept the gamerang account - single game a month plan. Since it was $20 for the 2 months, that was almost the same price as before anyways, so why not. Their selection was much better than gameznflix and since their shipping center was up the road 2 hours away, I thought 'This is it.. finally..' I made my selection list about 10 games long, and had new and old titles on it..
My first warning sign of a bad rental website was the 2nd game: Tiger woods golf. When I returned Madden back, it shipped on the 30th from my house; On the 5th of September, I emailed gamerang and reported a shipping problem - returned game not found. I asked about the next one too, but since it was over the holiday weekend, I put it off and attributed the delay to the USPS factor. On the 6th, I got noticed that the tiger woods game shipped on the 5th and would arrive around the 11th.. THE 11TH!! WTF! 5 days to ship down the NJTP?? Is a mule carring the stupid thing?? After calling their west coast, 4 hour phone number, I got hold of a guy. "Hello.."; I replied 'Yes, I returned a game on the 30th and now I show that my next selection is going to take 5 days to get down the turnpike - what gives??". He then informed me that the game was being shipped from another center and that gamerang chooses the game selection over the shipping location. Sorry - 'I gotta wait' was the response I got.
12 days later, I had the next game at my door. 12 days (sept 11th) . Yes, Labor day weekend.. but give me a break. ok- call it a fluke, I played golf for several days that week and had some fun, but found it too realistic for me. Back in the mailer it goes - Sept 17th. I figured that the next game should be faster since this one would be returned back to NJ shipping center. The next game (Call of Juarez) shipped from gamerang on the 24th and est arrival home was the 29th - WHAT GIVES!! 10 day turn around???
I called my USPS buddy and asked about shipping rates, and how it ships. Since all the mailers were deemed 1st class, there should be no reason why the games returned should take more than 3 days. So Why was I getting 4-5 days each direction??
This happened to all the rest of the games too - not only did it take 7-10 days on average to ship and return a new game to me, but at times games were listed as 'available' i had a rental at home. By the time gamerang listed my returned game back, the 'available' games were gone and I got the next option...
That was it. time to find another game rental site....and give gamerang a final test of will.
Round 3: GameFly- Gamefly was one of the first and after looking at the reviews of it found that they offered renters some good deals.
a) good intro prices - FREE!
b) excellent selection and easy to use website
c) Gamefly bucks- basically you get a discount on rentals for each month you are a member.. and so on. EX: After 6 months, you earned $20 of discount towards a used game. Not bad at all!
They now have 2 shipping centers - LA and Pittsburgh - WOOT - the 'Burgh!! (Note : this is a sign of good things..), so I took the 2 week trial offer for free, loaded 5-6 games into the game 'Q' and waited for the fun to being. This better work....
MY TEST: Since I was on a free trial period, I decided to test them out. If I rented one game from gamerang and another from gamefly, who would give me the next selection faster?? I made the game Q look identical and waited.
1)* GAMEFLY: 2 games arrived 2 days later. Assassin creed and Simpsons; Simpsons was my 'test game'.
* GAMERANG: sent me Burnout 4; This was their 'test game'.
2) On the 30th, we played both games - Simpson's and the racing game. Both were then out back into the pre-paid envelopes, and mailed out to the usual USPS box on the corner on Saturday afternoon before the pickup for the day (2pm). Now we wait and see..
*Monday, Dec 3rd: Gamefly emailed my MONDAY AFTERNOON - "We received your shipment of Simpsons.. " (WOW).
*Tuesday, Dec 4th: Gamefly emails me back - we shipped your next game: Skate. huh?? That was last on the list... guess the hot titles are still too hot...
*Thursday, Dec 6th: Gamerang - website shows that they finally received my game and shipped the next title (Mass effect); game will arrive on the 10th.. typical 5 day shipping for them..
*Also on Thursday, my mail has the Gamefly game included- Skate.
WINNER: Gamefly wins. Excellent website, good selection, coupons towards used games, and fast shipping make it worth the $15 a month.
I then went to their website, changed my plan to 1-per-month for $15, and will return a game (or both) very soon. On the 14th, I will then log into gamerang and send them a copy of my excel sheet with all the rentals.
LESSONS LEARNED:
1- KEEP YOUR LISTS SHORT: If you give the rental websites alot of selections, what you get in the mail will not always be the #1 game; keep 2-3 on your online list and keep a master list off line (Excel or Word..)
2- LOOK FOR A DEAL: coupons or free 2 month/ cheep month offers will get you started.
3- BE PATIENT: ...but not too patient. 3-5 day turnaround is what I expect, not 10-12.
I will post some screen shots of the Excel sheet and can email it to you if you want - just let me know!
Good luck!
For those that have ever wondered about renting video games, let me share my experience with you in a 6 month adventure of Online video game rental websites. This experiment is real, used my money and taught me several things.
To start with, as most know, I am an avid Xbox360 gamer. I love playing games with friends online and even play some with friends and my loving wife at home (She loves to race). In the past months, when a game came out, I would look for a deal but would buy it at the store for the whopping prices of $50 or $60 only to see that the rest of my xbox friends (Some are long time friends) would move on to the next game a few weeks later, leaving me with the game that use-to-be played [see GRAW2, Shadowrun, and a few others]. Feeling like I was loosing money big time, I decided to test the rental market to see if things would improve anymore and save me some cash. Since we have and love Netflix, the online rental/mail it back option seemed to be the best and only deal around
MY Disclaimer: I live in NJ- if you live in a different part of the country, select appropriately, but know that sometimes, closer does not mean faster (See Gamerang).
PRE-FIGHT: Getting info- After doing an online search for game rental, several sites came up and a few I heard of before - Gamefly, Gamerang.. and several others. I found THIS review site that listed the websites, what they offered and their ranking based on some basic criteria:
a) Feature Set
b) game selection choices
c) website usage / searching
d) game arrival times
e) number of renting plans
At the time (May 07), one of the top rental sites was Gameznflix. They offered one game unlimited for $8.95 a month - CHEEP!! AND the had 1st class mail shipping. When I asked some clan members, 2 of them actually used it and liked it.... so if its good for them....
ROUND 1: GAMEZNFLIX: ... It must be for me! So, I went to their website, registered my email address, picked some games, and I was off and running. Within a few days, a game was in my mailbox waiting for me to play it - Command and Conquer 3; Lots of fun but I did like the fact that since it was a rental, I had no obligation to keep it for any length of time. I found it nice to be able to just send it back when I was done with it, and get the next one in the mail.
It was only after about a month of this did I find why they were not #1 on the list; Game selection. Their selection was about 30 games total for XBOX 360. 30 games. That did not include the new releases either, but I know for a fact that there are more than 30 games for the xbox out now. When Call of Juarez was announced, I thought - yea, I can rent that one - it might be like GUN, but newer.. so I made it my #1 game on the rental list. I then started up a spreadsheet with the games, dates shipped, dates received and dates returned to keep a running tab on things.
One thing I found positive with them is their turn-around was amazing. 3 days total. I would ship a game out on Monday and the next game was there by Thursday. The most I waited was over the 4th of July weekend, and that was only cause the USPS takes the day off. Simply Fast from Georgia.
BUT, I was very upset when my #1 choice was always never in stock. Not only was it never there, but other newer games were not there either - I'm talking about 3 month old games, like GRAW2 and Transformers. These games were released in the summer time and they were not even an option to rent!! The only ones I could rent were the older games - 1 year or more older; It was then I decided to go back to the rental review site and see who else was rated higher..
ROUND 2: GAMERANG- I found their #1 pick to be Gamerang. Not sure why or how, but it was their top choice. After looking at their website, i found some interesting things about them that really seemed to appeal to me:
1- they have 4 shipping centers, one of which is here in NJ (By NYC)
2- good selection of new games
3- a 2 month for $20 plan offer with WIRED magazine for free. (Hey!)
So, I decided "Forget gamenflix - they offer no new games - and I never did see that Call of Juarez game..." so I opened a gamerang account in early August to test them and compare em out. M first selection was a new game - it shipped out the same day (Tuesday) and 3 days later I had it (Friday): Madden 08 football. It was excellent timing too, as we have our football draft in august at my place, and madden was a hit over the weekend. I thought - This is a good thing...
Since this was it, on Sept 11th, I closed my Gameznflix account and kept the gamerang account - single game a month plan. Since it was $20 for the 2 months, that was almost the same price as before anyways, so why not. Their selection was much better than gameznflix and since their shipping center was up the road 2 hours away, I thought 'This is it.. finally..' I made my selection list about 10 games long, and had new and old titles on it..
My first warning sign of a bad rental website was the 2nd game: Tiger woods golf. When I returned Madden back, it shipped on the 30th from my house; On the 5th of September, I emailed gamerang and reported a shipping problem - returned game not found. I asked about the next one too, but since it was over the holiday weekend, I put it off and attributed the delay to the USPS factor. On the 6th, I got noticed that the tiger woods game shipped on the 5th and would arrive around the 11th.. THE 11TH!! WTF! 5 days to ship down the NJTP?? Is a mule carring the stupid thing?? After calling their west coast, 4 hour phone number, I got hold of a guy. "Hello.."; I replied 'Yes, I returned a game on the 30th and now I show that my next selection is going to take 5 days to get down the turnpike - what gives??". He then informed me that the game was being shipped from another center and that gamerang chooses the game selection over the shipping location. Sorry - 'I gotta wait' was the response I got.
12 days later, I had the next game at my door. 12 days (sept 11th) . Yes, Labor day weekend.. but give me a break. ok- call it a fluke, I played golf for several days that week and had some fun, but found it too realistic for me. Back in the mailer it goes - Sept 17th. I figured that the next game should be faster since this one would be returned back to NJ shipping center. The next game (Call of Juarez) shipped from gamerang on the 24th and est arrival home was the 29th - WHAT GIVES!! 10 day turn around???
I called my USPS buddy and asked about shipping rates, and how it ships. Since all the mailers were deemed 1st class, there should be no reason why the games returned should take more than 3 days. So Why was I getting 4-5 days each direction??
This happened to all the rest of the games too - not only did it take 7-10 days on average to ship and return a new game to me, but at times games were listed as 'available' i had a rental at home. By the time gamerang listed my returned game back, the 'available' games were gone and I got the next option...
That was it. time to find another game rental site....and give gamerang a final test of will.
Round 3: GameFly- Gamefly was one of the first and after looking at the reviews of it found that they offered renters some good deals.
a) good intro prices - FREE!
b) excellent selection and easy to use website
c) Gamefly bucks- basically you get a discount on rentals for each month you are a member.. and so on. EX: After 6 months, you earned $20 of discount towards a used game. Not bad at all!
They now have 2 shipping centers - LA and Pittsburgh - WOOT - the 'Burgh!! (Note : this is a sign of good things..), so I took the 2 week trial offer for free, loaded 5-6 games into the game 'Q' and waited for the fun to being. This better work....
MY TEST: Since I was on a free trial period, I decided to test them out. If I rented one game from gamerang and another from gamefly, who would give me the next selection faster?? I made the game Q look identical and waited.
1)* GAMEFLY: 2 games arrived 2 days later. Assassin creed and Simpsons; Simpsons was my 'test game'.
* GAMERANG: sent me Burnout 4; This was their 'test game'.
2) On the 30th, we played both games - Simpson's and the racing game. Both were then out back into the pre-paid envelopes, and mailed out to the usual USPS box on the corner on Saturday afternoon before the pickup for the day (2pm). Now we wait and see..
*Monday, Dec 3rd: Gamefly emailed my MONDAY AFTERNOON - "We received your shipment of Simpsons.. " (WOW).
*Tuesday, Dec 4th: Gamefly emails me back - we shipped your next game: Skate. huh?? That was last on the list... guess the hot titles are still too hot...
*Thursday, Dec 6th: Gamerang - website shows that they finally received my game and shipped the next title (Mass effect); game will arrive on the 10th.. typical 5 day shipping for them..
*Also on Thursday, my mail has the Gamefly game included- Skate.
WINNER: Gamefly wins. Excellent website, good selection, coupons towards used games, and fast shipping make it worth the $15 a month.
I then went to their website, changed my plan to 1-per-month for $15, and will return a game (or both) very soon. On the 14th, I will then log into gamerang and send them a copy of my excel sheet with all the rentals.
LESSONS LEARNED:
1- KEEP YOUR LISTS SHORT: If you give the rental websites alot of selections, what you get in the mail will not always be the #1 game; keep 2-3 on your online list and keep a master list off line (Excel or Word..)
2- LOOK FOR A DEAL: coupons or free 2 month/ cheep month offers will get you started.
3- BE PATIENT: ...but not too patient. 3-5 day turnaround is what I expect, not 10-12.
I will post some screen shots of the Excel sheet and can email it to you if you want - just let me know!
Good luck!
Monday, December 03, 2007
Weekend of Sickness; Steelers win another and another beatdown..
Hey gang,
Just a quick post today: Everyone got sick this weekend. it started with me (I think) with me and dad seeing a movie this weekend, right before it ended, I felt it coming up..and just made it to the trashcan before my entire daily meal decided to leave the wrong direction. Least to say, it was not fun. Then Nicole got sick on Sunday morning.. so that made me feel worse. Thank God Chris is not sick....and Amy was able to come by and help us for the afternoon.. Thank you :)
I'm doing better, but still have this chest cold, and Nicole is doing better too.. call it a 24hr stomach flu.
DEAL OF THE WEEK: Call of Duty 4 for Xbox360 is $40 at Circuit City; Go get it! Cheapest it will ever be for a long time...so time to price match it!
FANTASY FOOTBALL: Another Week, another beat down. This week was Carlos Young. He lost his game by Friday morning, thanks to my high scoring Dallas/ Green Bay WRs and RBs :) Next week its the last divisional game, then the playoffs :)
STEELERS: Won another one; It was funny to read about the 'improving' Bungals offense, but like every year, two games and two losses for them. Eventually they will figure out how to win vs the Steelers.... NAW. They did better with the field, just hope the weather hold out long enough for the Jags in two weeks... This week we goto Foxboro for a good match up vs the Pats. (upset??)
I'm loving my new phone - the Dash; I still haven't figured out how to get the addresses on it yet, but I know it will be done. Figure it will be nice to have everyone on the same thing once and for all.
XBOX: Scott and I did some R6 on Thursday; good stuff. I hope to catch them online soon.. Eventually :)
As for the rental sites, I think Gamefly will be the winner; I got an email today about them receiving my game I shipped back on Saturday. WOW - 2 days?? :) finally!
Ok - back to it.. Look for more updates in the week !
Just a quick post today: Everyone got sick this weekend. it started with me (I think) with me and dad seeing a movie this weekend, right before it ended, I felt it coming up..and just made it to the trashcan before my entire daily meal decided to leave the wrong direction. Least to say, it was not fun. Then Nicole got sick on Sunday morning.. so that made me feel worse. Thank God Chris is not sick....and Amy was able to come by and help us for the afternoon.. Thank you :)
I'm doing better, but still have this chest cold, and Nicole is doing better too.. call it a 24hr stomach flu.
DEAL OF THE WEEK: Call of Duty 4 for Xbox360 is $40 at Circuit City; Go get it! Cheapest it will ever be for a long time...so time to price match it!
FANTASY FOOTBALL: Another Week, another beat down. This week was Carlos Young. He lost his game by Friday morning, thanks to my high scoring Dallas/ Green Bay WRs and RBs :) Next week its the last divisional game, then the playoffs :)
STEELERS: Won another one; It was funny to read about the 'improving' Bungals offense, but like every year, two games and two losses for them. Eventually they will figure out how to win vs the Steelers.... NAW. They did better with the field, just hope the weather hold out long enough for the Jags in two weeks... This week we goto Foxboro for a good match up vs the Pats. (upset??)
I'm loving my new phone - the Dash; I still haven't figured out how to get the addresses on it yet, but I know it will be done. Figure it will be nice to have everyone on the same thing once and for all.
XBOX: Scott and I did some R6 on Thursday; good stuff. I hope to catch them online soon.. Eventually :)
As for the rental sites, I think Gamefly will be the winner; I got an email today about them receiving my game I shipped back on Saturday. WOW - 2 days?? :) finally!
Ok - back to it.. Look for more updates in the week !
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Steeler game review; deal of the day and some other random highlites
Hey gang, just a few things for the last few days:
Steelers: What the hell! Lets see... rain and ice in the forecast, so lets... replace the sod! what a disrespectful way to show colors on MNF. At least its a win... and lets hope the ground crew gets next week right when the bungals come to town..
DEAL OF THE DAY (week??): Best buy has HBO series DVDs on sale for 60% or more.. ROME: $32.. (hint hint- Xmas gift for Joe..), and all the others...Band of brothers(We got this one..), Sopranos.. all of em are on sale.
Got the T-mobile DASH: It comes with a free BT headset, so I can give one to nicole to use for her phone now. It should arrive in a few days, so that will be good. Maybe now I can remember all the plans Nicole makes for us and also use the calender for other stuff too.. Also, having mobile web and email isnt too shabby either :)
DEAL OF THE DAY (Bonus): Xbox live for $38 on buy.com. List Price: See Details $49.99
You Save: $11.00; Our Price: $38.99; Shipping: FREE
Buy.com Total Price: $38.99 Use the 5% coupon too:)
Christopher is doing well - he had his 2 month visit yesterday; 3 shots and he was good to go. he cried for about 10 minutes and then he was good :) Also, he is starting to sleep thru the night :) :D :D the last 3 nights we put him down around 9ish and he sleeps till 6am or so. He is maintaining 6 oz bottles too :)
Nicole has her Birthday next week! Look for an email invite today or tomorrow! (Big 3-0)
XBOX: Still on COD4; Scott finally got online and now has R6 Vegas, so we might be going back to that for some excitment :) I love R6 and always will be willing to give it a go (until R6 vegas 2 comes out..
FANTASY: Beat down Rick.. look for my next victim Sunday :)
See ya tomorrow!
Steelers: What the hell! Lets see... rain and ice in the forecast, so lets... replace the sod! what a disrespectful way to show colors on MNF. At least its a win... and lets hope the ground crew gets next week right when the bungals come to town..
DEAL OF THE DAY (week??): Best buy has HBO series DVDs on sale for 60% or more.. ROME: $32.. (hint hint- Xmas gift for Joe..), and all the others...Band of brothers(We got this one..), Sopranos.. all of em are on sale.
Got the T-mobile DASH: It comes with a free BT headset, so I can give one to nicole to use for her phone now. It should arrive in a few days, so that will be good. Maybe now I can remember all the plans Nicole makes for us and also use the calender for other stuff too.. Also, having mobile web and email isnt too shabby either :)
DEAL OF THE DAY (Bonus): Xbox live for $38 on buy.com. List Price: See Details $49.99
You Save: $11.00; Our Price: $38.99; Shipping: FREE
Buy.com Total Price: $38.99 Use the 5% coupon too:)
Christopher is doing well - he had his 2 month visit yesterday; 3 shots and he was good to go. he cried for about 10 minutes and then he was good :) Also, he is starting to sleep thru the night :) :D :D the last 3 nights we put him down around 9ish and he sleeps till 6am or so. He is maintaining 6 oz bottles too :)
Nicole has her Birthday next week! Look for an email invite today or tomorrow! (Big 3-0)
XBOX: Still on COD4; Scott finally got online and now has R6 Vegas, so we might be going back to that for some excitment :) I love R6 and always will be willing to give it a go (until R6 vegas 2 comes out..
FANTASY: Beat down Rick.. look for my next victim Sunday :)
See ya tomorrow!
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