Author: Timpane

Well, as I’ve mentioned, my 900mhz computer with 512mb of RAM and a cable modem was running like a Commodore 64, so I finally took the plunge, and reinstalled windows XP.

Now, I know more computer than the average guy, but I’m not an IT guy, and I have to say, this has been a nightmare. After 2 days backing up files, I finally went through the process of reinstalling. What did I find?

My computer had been corrupted by viruses that got killed bu left their mark, Bugs, Trojans (not just for you know what anymore), moles, mules, and I think a gremlin. Once reinstalled, I got it working.. but I almost didn’t. See, turns out that I needed a patch from autopatch.com to stop another of these things from re destroying my stuff. (Thanks to Matt for that one). Had I not, Windows would happily have charged me to get me the patch that fixes the problem caused by their faulty programming.

In addition, I discovered that so many of these microsoft programs are in bed together it might as well be an episode of Friends. I made my homepage on Microsoft Word. Turns out that half my pages don’t work on Mozilla, but will on Internet explorer, and never tell me the difference. Its maddening!

Furthermore, winamp and Media player keep fighting for the right to play my music (which I always knew was good, but.. sheesh!!), And now MSN explorer keeps popping up again and wanting to log on, and I can’t figure out how to make it stop!

Yup, Bill gates (to quote Ace ventura) should die of gonhorreah and rot in hll. Okay, maybe not, but the windos platform should. Matt has got me almost sold on the idea of becoming a Mac user.. I’m just afraid all I know abotu computers and recording will become obsolete and useless.

Till then, I’m happier with the way things are running, but I can’t help but notice I’m still dealing with this today, and its been a week.

Grr…

Las Vegas is a city of sparkling expensive gambling delight, but many of my most memorable experiences in Sin City were had not withing the chiming money pits, but in (and above) the lighter side of Vegas.

Matt Barnson has acquired a reputation for being an thoughtful, responsible adult, a father, and nothing resembling the Matt who in my younger years liked to introduce me to mortal danger. No.. this time, it would be different.

We met at the Star Trek experience, but opted against Quarks bar because their menu was expensive and non Atkins-friendly. After a diner lunch, Kelly and Christy headed to the Venetian to do some shopping while Matt and I gleefully took his three kids to Circus Circus to ride the fun rides. We departed the Hilton going the wrong way on the Monorail, just to see the sites, but soon opted against that idea, as the other passengers started shooting Cyclops powered death looks toward JJ’s insistend dissatisfaction with the tour so far. Traveling back, we consulted a map, deciding on the final stop to walk across the street to the amusement park.

After a twenty minute trip through the smoke filled casinos, Matt pushing a stroller and Sara squeezing my hand with stars in her eyes, we made it to the front door, finally discovering that this was too far to walk, and being advised that the Monorail stop we wanted was the Las vegas hilton – where we had started out.

Impulsively, I grabbed a Taxi, we piled in, and were soon in the land of Circus Circus. I couldn’t wait to jump on a few rides and glefully be a kid again. After getting lost in the video arcade, we made our way through two broken escalators, And into ADVENTUREDOME. Matt decided to let me ride with the kids, but I soon had to illegally hand over my armband to matt, when JJ vehemently insisted that no ride would be acceptable far from the loving arms of his Father.

After a few hours, we headed back to the Hilton to enjoy the Buffet, which was filled with Pasta, pizza, Desserts, Chinese food, and for Matt and Christy, lots and lots of meat. After dinner, and a lesson in slot machine odds for Matt, it was time for me to face the most fearsome part of my trip… the STRATOSPHERE.

The stratosphere is the tallest building west of the mississippi.. a tower that rises high above the rest of the casinos. On top of this tower is another 10 story tower that holds a ride that pulls you up 90 feet, bounces you as you look over 1000 feet straight down, and then drops you, weightless, toward your doom, before saving you at the last minute when you have fallen 90 feet… it is also important to note that I’m scred of heights.

After an endless wait to go to the top of the tower, there I sat, waiting for the ride to fill.. Matt screaming like he always did at 18.. the responsible father.. “Look down there.. holy crap!” – Meantime, my heart is pounding in my head.. my breaths are shallow and quick. I hear the girl in th booth start a 10 count countdown, but she launches us at number 7.. and then.. she says “Thanks for riding!” and people start getting off the ride.

Matt is laughing, people are shaking and yelling. “Wasn’t that AWESOME?!” Matt yells. I’m just calm and confused.. not afraid at all.. but wondering – did I miss something? I looked at the computer captured photo.. and my face is dead and attentionless.

I had blacked out……

We rode again, of course.. and this time, I did indeed experience the ride.. and it was fun. And we got a great picture. But it was a familiar sensation, sitting next to Matt, fearing for my life, and being a little concerned that i had bitten off a bit more than I could chew.. almost a mile up.

When we parted company that night, the barnsons and the Timpanes agreed – this must become a tradition. I hugged Christy goodbye, marveling at her patience, her family, and her ability to put up with Matt and I bringing out the.. umm.. best/worst in each other. I promised Sarah, the sole remining awake child that I would see her again soon, and I just laughed as I slapped Matt on the back. Somehow, we had conquered yet another city, and completed our mission.. “Don’t Die”.

Yes, I too was a big Transformers fan when I was a kid. Man, I loved those first two seasons, especially the characters like Ironhide and Ratchet.

So, it was a shockt to me when I finally got to see Transformers: The movie. when the Bad Guys (Decepticons) show up on the Good Guys (Autobot) ship.. and kill every good guy I liked execution style within 20 seconds.

Upon closer viewing, at one point, a new character is looking on a scrapheap, and clearly the bodies of two others I liked were there. Later, we see an old favorite ripped into pieces as he is eaten.

Now I know, the death of “Optimus Prime” is supposed to be the big thing.. but he dies heroically.. it was the callous cold death of these characters that really was kind of messed up in my eight year old little world.

As I got older, I realized that these kinds of decisions are often marketing decisisions.. or actors quit. So, when everyone but ripley died in Alien3, When Tasha Yar died on Trek, when Dax died on DS9, when tessa died on Highlander, I saw the pattern.. it is made quick and “pointless” to shock the audience..

What does this have to do with the price of beans, I don’t know.. suffice to say, when you’re a kid, maybe death should be a few steps further away.

Hey.. I rarely do this, but I’ve copied this review at both barnson.org and timpane.com.. Oh.. and this review is Spoiler free.

Why?

Because everyone should get out and see this movie now. yup, thats right. Send a message to hollywood that making superhero movies with charm, wit, intelligence, real acting, and a well thought out story is ALWAYS the way to go.

Its true.. this movie is better than the (exceptional) first movie. Like X2:XMen United, this movie picks up from a flawed but good first story, and runs with it, improving on everything good abotu the first one, with lots fewer flaws.

Acting: I hated Dunst as Mary Jane in the first one, but this time she actually had me involved in her story. Tobey is a LOT less bored looking. The villian is 3 dimensional, and not as showy as Dafoe was. Aunt May has an expanded role and plays it beautifully. James Franco as harry osborn takes his character to new heights.. it is just, well, better.

Action: Less of it this time, but when it does come.. it blows away the first movie by leaps and bounds. The CG was seamless.. the scenes tighter.. and there are quite a few “wow” moments.

Story: More complex, less convoluted. It ebbs and flows nicely, and doesn’t rely on some of the contrived conventions of the first film.

Overall: It is a slower movie than the first, but thsi isn’t a bad thing. Instead of a smattering of 2 minute action sequences, it gives you big sequences with more time inbetween centering on story, LOTS of humor, and some real human drama things..

Its hard to do more without giving stuff away. So.. go out and see it.. its worth it.

In no particular order, here’s a list of what I found that I’d like to see in Vegas.

Pay Stuff: STAR TREK EXPERIENCE: $30 gets 2 different simulator rides, and access to the museum

VENETIAN GONDOLA RIDES: $15.00 with a group

CIRCUS CIRCUS ADVENTUREDOME: $22 for Adults, $14 for kids

STRATOSPHERE:Tower Admission, Big Shot and X Scream $19, Just Tower admission $9

NEW YORK NEW YORK: Manhattan Express Roller Coaster $12.50

PARIS: Eiffel tower $12 for adults, discount for kids

TOURNAMENT OF KINGS: Basically its “Medeival Times”, but it could be a fun dinner. 50 bucks a ticket.

FREE STUFF: Free acts at Circus-Circus every 1/2 hour Kids under 3 are free at the Stratosphere tower Bellagio fountains Fremont Street Experience Lion Habitat: MGM Grand Tiger Habitat: Mirage Masquerade Show in the Sky: Rio Hotel M&M World The SIRENS OF TI at Treasure island (Replaces the Pirate Show) Volcano at the Mirage

As for the day with the Barnsons: Here’s an idea:

1. – Lunch at Quarks Bar and Grill, About 11AM. (On Deep Space Nine) Cost: Moderate, we’ll prbably split a burger (called a “HamBORGer”) and get a snack later in the day. Avg. 8/person (if we get water, which Kel and I will)

2. – Trek (hee hee) over to Stratosphere (north Strip) Go to the top.. see the sites.. Matt and I can ride the 2 thrill rides (Kel may join for 1, but not for both). Cost: $19 for me and matt, $10-15 for Chris and Kel, about $6 for each kid over 3, free for each kid under.

3. – Then, hit Circus-Circus, where the kids can play for a few hours, catch a free circus show or two.. and we adults can ride more rides too(trading off with kids.. fun for all ages. Cost: $22 per adult riding adult rides, $14 per kid. This will take off hours, so it seems to be the best deal.

4.1 – At this point, if we feel like going, it will be like we’ve been at an amusement park all day.. But, if its early, or we feel adventurous.. 4.2 – We could trek to South Strip and see the Lions at MGM (free), walk the Streets of NY (maybe try the coaster), and scope out the M&M World (free), all within 1 block or so..

5. At that point, we will probably be super super tired, so we can grab a car and split.

Total Cost: About $46 per adult About $30 per kid over 3 About $15 per kid under 3

Not bad at all for a FULL ON day in Vegas including lunch..

Of course, none of this is set in stone.. but still, not bad at all.

Okay.. here’s a pinch..

Matt has always been the man to turn to if I had a computer problem.. And I just emailed him about this.. but, just for fun (since I know Matt is not the only computer guru who reads this site)I thought I’d put it up here and see if anyone had a solution.. Official No-Prize to anyone who can solve this.

I have a computer with XP. It doesn’t have an XP disk but rather a restore disk that slaps XP back onto the hard drive.

I shut down that computer yesterday, but it wouldn’t close.. so I had to turn it off. When I tried to turn it back on, it loaded up.. the XP thingy with the green bars scanning across like KITT came up.. it looked ready to go to the desktop.. and..

“click” – it shut down. Did it again.. asked me if I wanted to reboot in safe mode.. said yes.. “click”.. did it again.. this time chose “older configuration”.. “click”, did it again… and again.. and again.

So, I slaved the Drive, which worked fine in that capacity on another computer, copied my files, and reformatted it. Ran the restore disk.. started up.. “click”, did it again.

Thinking I must have a bad hard drive, I took an old HD, reformatted it, installed.. “Click”, did it again.

So, thinking.. “okay, must be a non HD issue”, I brought the two HDs to a working computer.. made them the master.. “Click”, did it again – on both of them.

Tried an old win 98 installed HD on the computer with the problem.. worked fine.

So, I’m thinking there must be a fixable software prblem here.. any takers?

Okay.. please, Sam, Ben, Jon, Paul, Matt.. everyone..

In exacly 4 weeks, Kelly and I will be spending 3 days and nights in Las Vegas. Lodging is taken care of. I need activity suggestions.

On Day one.. Star Trek Experience until dinner. After that.. Old Vegas… but nothing more specific than that. Any thoughts on what to see there or where to eat? Some gambling will be done here. Budget: Low not including gambling.

On day 2.. 7 hours with Matt, Christy and Kids.. no gambling here. I’ve heard about shows and rides.. what on the strip is fun to do during the day and doesn’t involve gambling? Budget: Moderate.

On Day 3.. All day is free after we return the car. What sights, foods, casinos, activities are not to be missed.. what will I kick myself for not seeing?

Any help will be supremely appreciated.

Yup.. thats right.. I have officially gotten old.

I donned my first pair of glasses yesterday. They are a simple, weak prescription in simple wire frames.. but still.. the difference is noticable. I can see leaves on trees.. suddenly the world looks like a photograph again, not an amalgam of crisp details (foreground) with an oil painting background.

I am excited (.. and scared ..) I know i have crossed over into new territory. How should I feel about this, y’all?

Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban is good!

Okay.. thats what you wanted to hear.. here’s why – spoiler free.

I didn’t care much for the last Harry Potter movie, and I mildly liked the first.. but I thought they were both well, perfunctory.. like they were just casually going from scene to scene in the book with no sense of urgency, artistry, or emotion. Sure, they were fun, but not a lot of substance.

Of course, I also feel that about the first two Harry Potter books.

This movie, like the third book, is richer, more emotional, darker, more complex, more interesting, and just, well, leaps and bounds better than the last two movies.

Cinematography? Beautiful.. and we spend a good amount of time off the school campus and on the outlying grounds.. and it is shot beautifully.. but notably, the mood is set by a sort of permanent storminess that echoes the tone of the story.

Acting? Again, much better. I didn’t like Harry’s performance in the last movie, and really, really hated Malfoy’s performance.. they were both kind of wooden. This time around, all the performances are solid (including Malfoy and Harry), with exceptional performances by Hermione, and Michael Gambon (making his debut) as Dumbledore. Oh yeah.. Snape rules my world. (Thrreee Hunndred Ninnety Fooor)

Music.. better too, darker.. like John Williams has decided to channel Danny Elfman. Effects? Top notch, finally, I believe the quidditch match.. it doesn’t seem fake at all.

Screenplay – This is where the movie really shines. It takes slight cuts from the books, and instead makes you really care about Harry’s plight..

So, yeah.. if you’re a fan go see it right now before you do anything else.. if not, you might be a little confused.. but see it for the very cool cinematography and for Alan Rickman, who, again, rocks out.

Well, usually it is Matt who talks tech, or Sam or Ben who talks music..

But I am having such a blast discovering the many uses for soundfonts.

Basically, a soundfont is a collection of sounds, either recorded or synthesized, placed into a font – like a letter font for word processing. The difference here is that the keyboard used is a musical one.. Ostensibly, what this means is that a guy can record his piano – so that when you hit middle C your computer plays the sound of his piano hitting middle C, make it as detailed as he wants.

It took me a while to get the hang of this.. but I’ve found real live sounding drum recordings, perfect pianos.. and other great stuff.. and a lot of it is free homemade stuff by music enthusiasts. It is going, I think, to revolutionize the way I do music.

I remember Sam’s (I think) M1, or the HS’s Ensoniq SQ80, and both of those are pretty easy to find, every sound.. for free. Its pretty darned cool.

I do think its funny how it took this long, with this much technology for me to finally be able to make music that doesn’t sound like I’m using a lot of technology.

Ironic, dontcha think?