Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Blu-Ray

Taking the Multimedia Modern Leap

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On January 24, 2010

In Movies, Technology

Blu-RayWell, the day finally came when I upgraded to a Blu-Ray player. As is becoming my usual custom on Sunday’s, I check the new Best Buy circular to see what movies are on sale for the week. Transformers Revenge of the Fallen was on sale and at first I was excited (I missed last weeks sale) but that excitement quickly changed to lament when it was only the blu-ray version (the 2-disc too!) was on sale. After expressing my regret to my wife she and I discussed that eventually we are going to have to upgrade to a blu-ray player and we should consider buying movies that we want on blu-ray that are on sale (i.e. Transformers). We investigated the circular further and found that a samsung blu-ray and DVD up-converter was also on sale at Best Buy.

We felt the coincidence was fortuitous so we purchased a Samsung Blu-Ray player, both Transformer movies (2-disc) and all three Bourne movies (all of these movies were on sale for excellent prices). I have too many movies to warrant replacing all of them with their corresponding blu-ray version therefore only movies we feel worthy of the blu-ray quality will get replaced and the same would go for new releases.

We have already watched Transformers Revenge of the Fallen and we are extremely satisfied with the quality of blu-ray movies. I look forward to many more movies on my widescreen television and surround sound.

Homage to Team Shake ‘n’ Bake

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On January 19, 2010

In General Cogitation

It has been over 2 years now since Team Shake ‘n’ Bake’s reign has ended and for me personally nothing has come close to what that team meant to me. I have been reminiscing about the days of Team Shake ‘n’ Bake a lot recently; how things I have been doing lately would be different had it been done by Team Shake ‘n’ Bake.

I started my homage by watching Talladega Nights, the movie that gave our team its name; we all saw it together for one of our geek’s movie night. I know that while in the movie Team Shake ‘n’ Bake comprised of two members (Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly), we were three – after all you can’t have the Shake with the Bake without the ‘n’. We accomplished a lot together and always with a smile on our face and often some sick, unscrupulous undertone with a covert codename known only to the members of the team.

We met once a week for one hour and a majority of that hour was spent covering what needed to be covered to accomplish the purpose of the team and the meeting; but a portion of the meeting was dedicated to venting our frustrations. The venting often came in forms of a top 10 list; the context of which I will not discuss here and again shall be known only by the members of Team Shake ‘n’ Bake and stored in the vaults of “The Notebook of Life”. Tier One was our Sistine Chapel; Peanut Butter Jelly Time was our vice. Candy Mountain, Charlie, Wallpaper Wars, Scoops and Shovels. We were a breath of life not only to that secluded chamber of mental prowess, but it was a breath of life for me. Team Shake ‘n’ Bake is something I miss greatly and something I will never have again – but it was a defining moment in my life.

So here is my homage. My dedication. My revere to Team Shake ‘n’ Bake. This is for you T-Dawg and B-Man:

“Dear Tiny Infant Baby Jesus; learnin about shapes and colors, watchin Baby Einstein. Thank you for Team Shake ‘n’ Bake. We were a trio of epic proportions. A force of mental adversity and intellect. We made the impossible possible. We made the world laugh. We made life epic. Dear 6 lb, 9 oz, Little Jesus, with golden fleece diapers, thank you for Pwners! and Fisters!”

T-Dawg, B-Man, hopefully you are reading this and I must remind you … If You’re Not First, You’re Last … and … touching yourself will make you sick.

THAT JUST HAPPENED!!!!

Project 2K10: The First Day

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On January 1, 2010

In Project 2K10

Happy New Year!

I will not do a post everyday reviewing my progress on this new endeavor of mine; I decided that I would do a post on the first day. I have started. I set up everything on Wii Fit Plus, set up an exercise routine that was atleast 30 minutes and I started. I am feeling a little sore. There were a couple of leg workouts so my legs were feeling a little rubbery afterward but I need to strengthen the knees.

I have to admit, I think some of the new features in Wii Fit Plus are fun. The new Rhythm Parade was pretty fun and a decent workout. It’s amazing to think that I was actually sweating pretty profusely after playing Nintendo for 30 minutes. The game did pull down all my information from Wii Fit that I had stored on there from the last time I played it … which apparently was 107 days ago.

Yes, that is one hundred and seven days ago … now you see why I’m seeking methods for motivating myself to stick to my plan.

Project 2K10: The Plan

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On December 30, 2009

In Project 2K10

I’ve never been one to make New Years Resolution because I, like many Americans, never followed through with it. I’ve decided I will try it this year. I’ve decided that I will define my objectives here on my blog and document my progress. Perhaps publicly documenting my progress will provide enough motivation for me to complete my objectives.

I’ve decided I will entitle this series of blog posts as Project 2K10 so that posts regarding my progress can be distinguished among the other posts.

So what are my objectives for this project. I have 2:

1.) The quintessential New Years resolution, I plan to lose some weight. While the arthritis in my knees will perpetually cause me pain, losing weight will help to reduce the amount of discomfort I will have to endure. I will not foolishly abide by some silly carbs diet, or liquid diet or any other inane diet fab people are claiming to be remarkable. I am going to set up a regimen using Wii Fit Plus and watch what I eat more carefully.

2.) I will receive at least one certification. I have the study guides provided to me by my firm, the software and practice exams and my firm has vouchers I can use to take the exams. I feel I need to take my career to the next level and focus on an overall improvement of skills and I believe not only will this give me that edge but I will get a certification out of the venture as well (which can often result in a raise).

I hope this endeavor will be sufficient motivation for me to actually commit and see this through to the end.

Merry Christmas To All!!

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On December 23, 2009

In General Cogitation

Although I was unable to get my decorating done this year, it has not dampened my enjoyment of Christmas. I still made sure to put my countdown calendar up and wear my santa hat all over the house and I completed the present shopping in time. I am looking forward to the next couple of days.

I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas!!

The Monk Conclusion

By

On December 5, 2009

In General Cogitation

Last night was the final new episode of the USA series Monk. It was a show Beth and I always watched together, I was sad to see it end but all good things must end eventually. I’m always nervous when the series finale airs for a show of which I have been very fond. I worry that it will be as terrible as the series finale was for Seinfeld (granted I wasn’t a fan of Seinfeld, its just an example). The series finale for Monk was nothing like that. I liked how they ended Monk. I’m going to stop here and warn you, if you have not seen the final episode of Monk and you intend to, do not continue reading, there are spoilers ahead.

You’ve been warned.

I was a little shocked to see Monk driven to the point of almost killing someone but I really like that they gave Trudy a daughter and that she is still alive. It gave a piece of Trudy back to Monk, it was perfect. I wasn’t too surprised to see Randy move to New Jersey, though I’m not sure he is a believable chief of police since Randy was a bit of an air head at times. I’m glad Monk continued to perform his duty as a consultant to Leland and the SFPD.

I will miss my Friday nights without Monk, but I have a majority of the seasons on DVD and the show is in syndication. Rest assured I will continue to watch past episodes of the defective detective. I hope the actors on the show are proud of the series they created together and I hope they move on to new and successful projects.

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