killerik - Why the hell not?

I finally got my hands on a Wii on Sunday, which is why I haven't posted anything since then. That and the depression that came after watching my team lose to Peyton Manning. I'm still not completely over that.

The internets gave me the inside tip that Best Buy would be restocking the Wii on Sunday. Then I checked my local paper, and there it was. They were going to have at least 20 per store. So, I decided that if I was ever going to have a chance to get one in the next month, this would be my day.

I decided to get there a little early, but not too early(it was 15°F and windy). Best Buy opens at 11am and I arrived at 10am. There were already 12 other people lined up outside the building. I was just going to sit in my car, but I didn't want to miss out. So, I froze my ass off for an hour. By the end of the hour I could no longer feel my extremities. It was my own fault. I should have worn more clothing, but I'm an idiot. I thought that an hour wouldn't be so bad, and anyone who decided to wear a hat was a wuss. Wrong. They're just smart.

After the longest hour of my life, we were finally allowed to go inside the store. We were told that there would be enough Wiis for everyone in line, which had now grown to 35. This pissed me off a little bit. I could have come an hour later and still have gotten what I wanted.

They let us in in groups of 10. For the non-mathies out there, I was in the second group(13 is three after 10). Best Buy had the whole Nintendo aisle roped off to prevent non-wii-waiters from jumping line and causing a riot. If you weren't escorted over to the aisle by an employee, you weren't getting a Wii. I was and did.

Finally I got to pay for my console. I had to tell the cashier, and the manager hovering over him, that I didn't want the service plan at least five times. Their pitch was that the Wii could get viruses, get a disc stuck inside it, go nuclear and take out three city blocks. I wasn't paying $40 so that I could return a product. What if my Wii broke tomorrow? They wouldn't even have anything to replace it with. No thanks.

Setup was a breeze. I had it up and running within an half-hour. Right out of the box there was an update needed for the console. I don't know what it was fixing, but everything is working fine.

I've only played Wii Sports so far. I do have Twilight Princess, but haven't popped in the disc, yet.

The controller is amazingly easy to get the hang of. Wii Sports is fun, even if you don't play it like a mad-man.

I'd better get back to it, before it leaves me for someone with a lower fitness age.

Posted by Erik at 3:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBacks (0)

This will, hopefully, be my last post on my 360 drama.

Microsoft came through for me and sent a new console. It was born on December 6th, 2006. It works perfectly(knock wood). They sent it out the day after they received mine. I wasn't expecting such a quick turn around time.

So, thank you, Microsoft. You did a really good job with this. I only hope that everyone gets their replacements this fast.

Obviously I had some pull with my super-awesome blog, here. They felt the power that is killerik.com and acted in a timely fashion. Smart move. I'm dangerous.

Honestly, I'm just glad that I can finally finish Gears of War. If you have the game, Epic released two new maps. They're free. So, pick them up on the marketplace.
Feel free to email me(address on the left sidebar) your gamertag(probably don't want to announce it to the world), and maybe we can hit the multiplayer.

Also, Lost Planet came out today. The demo was quite amazing. And I think that it may be the only place that I get to see snow this winter.

Posted by Erik at 12:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, they've(Microsoft) finally sent me a box to ship my incapacitated 360. It was a long ordeal that was a real pain in the ass.

If you've read the first posting on this(here) I called that Microsoft's support person was lying to me when I was told that I'd be getting a prepaid box to ship my console to the repair center. I could just tell by the way that he was talking. What a liar.

Well, I waited a week before calling back, in the event that he may have been telling the truth. Since he wasn't, I called back tech support(which has a fun computer that can understand what you're saying about 25% of the time). I told them that my return box had not arrived, and that I would like for them to send me one.

The nice lady on the other end did a bit of checking and discovered that her co-worker is about as honest as a Nigerian with a dead royal father. She apologized and put in a new repair ticket. I would have my box in about 4 days. I was happy, and I believed this woman.

My box arrived in 6 days, as UPS doesn't like to ship on Saturdays, because they're very, very, very lazy. No work ethic. Well, unless you want to pay extra for their special Saturday shipping. Obviously Microsoft, with its financial ineptitude would never shell out another dollar to show their customers how much they care. Unlike Apple, which I've stated before, where they do all of their shipping one day each way.

They box arrives with a smaller box inside. This is where you put your console. Be sure that you don't include your hard drive, controllers, face plate, or any other accessories in your return box. You will not get them back. Then you slide it back into the original shipping box. All you have to do is slap a new label(provided in the box) over the old one. Then you call UPS to arrange for a pick up. According to the insert that came with my shipping box, I shouldn't have had to pay for any pick up fees. UPS wasn't having this. I ended up shelling out $10.90. The UPS lady said that I could avoid any fees if I were to flag down one of their brown trucks and hand the package to the driver. Personally, I didn't feel like sitting outside all day waiting for a truck that may never drive by. Then I'd have to hope that the driver would even see me and stop. They should play music, like an ice cream truck. Then I would have considered that option.

Now my 360 is somewhere in Texas, on its way to some repair warehouse on the Mexican border. It's traveled more than I have in the past year.

I probably won't get it back(or a replacement) for another month. So, I'm at a loss as to what I should be doing with my free time. Any suggestions?

How about some pictures?

I was trying to get a picture of the UPS guy taking my console away, but he wasn't having it. I guess that they have to deal with the paparazzi a lot. So, I understand.

Posted by Erik at 9:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBacks (0)

This article from BBC's website is a look into the future. It's a future where robots have feelings ,dreams, and demand rights from their very unomnipotent creators.

If you've ever watched the Animatrix(animation that tells the backstory of the Matrix movies) you'll know that this will end badly. Well, at least until Neo finally figures out how to save Zion and the human race.

Personally, I don't want to be used as a battery in some robot-run human farm. So, I now officially propose that we(the human race) break out the heavy objects and start bludgeoning all electronic devices. It's the only way to stop the inevitable end of times.

"I'm sorry Erik. I'm afraid that I can't let you do that."

/end transmission

Posted by Erik at 3:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

My 50th post is a sad one. My precious Xbox 360 is broken. It was one from around the launch and it lasted just shy of a year. Poor thing was born on December 15th, 2005. It died on November 30th, 2006, due to an update from hell.

Microsoft is supposedly sending me a box to ship it back in, but I don't believe them. I had to call twice to get them to send me a return box. The first "support" technician wouldn't let me have one. Don't know why? The second support guy, a nice Indian man, told me that I'd be getting one in four days. I'm a bit skeptical that I'm actually getting one. If that's the case, I'll just have to take my console and shove it into a random box that's lying around my house.

This is completely different than my experience with Apple when I had to return my iPod nano. They sent me a box the next day and I had my new nano within a week. I didn't even have to pay for shipping. Also, I was able to do the whole support thing online. A lot less interpretation goes on over the internets.

I haven't been able to play games for two weeks. I was almost done with "Gears of War".

Quite frustrated.

I think that I may have to go out and grab a Wii, or buy one.

Goodbye my first Xbox 360. I hope that your replacement doesn't get sick and die, too.

What a shitty 50th post.

And I just realized that this is two Microsoft related posts in a row. Bill Gates should pass me some of his billions for the publicity.

Posted by Erik at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBacks (0)

Over the past couple of days I've been reinstalling Windows on my computer. My PC had been chugging too slowly for my liking, and startup and shutdown were taking far too long. When that happens, I like to reinstall the operating system. There are two reasons for this. One, it allows me to remove any programs that I may not use any longer, and they're completely gone. Two, I lead a very boring life, and this gives me something to occupy the vast amounts of time between sleeping sessions.

The downsides of reinstalling your operating system are that things can go wrong, and if you're not organized, you'll have a hell of a time getting your computer back to where you feel comfortable using it again.

So, here are some tips that you can use to be up and running again, with a bit less hassle.

1. Go through your computer and save every file that you think that there is any chance that you may need/want to keep. These can include music, video, picture files. Don't forget to save your bookmarks for any browsers that you might use(different browsers have different bookmark formats and may not be compatible with each other. Save them all). Anything that you would be upset to find deleted from your system, save. There is no going back after a clean install. Everything left on your disk will be gone.

Hopefully you have an extra hard drive, or a DVD/CD burner to copy your files to. If you only have a floppy drive, good luck(and how's 1991 treating you?)

2. Make a list of all of the programs that you'll need to function once the reinstall is complete. Get together all of your program CDs that you have strewn about your desk and put them in a neat pile. Toss aside any that you no longer use. There's no need to put them back onto your computer. Act like that dick bouncer at your local discotheque. Kick any useless trash to the curb. If it turns out that you need it later, you'll always be able to dig around for the disc and install it then.

Don't forget to find the installation discs for your drivers. You'll probably have separate ones for your modem, video card, sound card, and random other hardware. Without these drivers, you'll be unable to use these components.

You may want to download the driver for your ethernet card, if you have one. I learned this the hard way yesterday when I had to try really hard to remember the type of card that I had. Then I had to use my laptop to download and transfer the file to my fresh install. It should have been on my list.

3. Make a list for any add-ons that you may have for your browsers(Firefox). You'll want to reinstall these so that your web browsing experience will be just as smooth as it was prior to your install. You don't realize how much you miss those extensions, until they're no longer making your life more productive.

4. Be sure that your DVD/CD drive is functioning properly. Mine wasn't and it made my reinstall more of a bitch than it needed to be. Luckily it wasn't dead, but would just decide to sporadically pass out and stop reading the disc.

5. Find your Windows key. If you bought your PC with Windows preinstalled, it might be on the computer itself. If you bought your OS separate from the machine, it is most likely with your disc. If you pirated the software, then it is probably on your pirate ship. AARRGH!

6. Make sure that you know what you're doing. Read the manual and maybe print out a tutorial on doing a clean install of your operating system. I know that in Windows XP it's as simple as inserting the disc and clicking on a couple of buttons. Other OSes may vary.

7. Double check everything. I can't stress enough that everything that you don't save, will be lost forever. If you enjoy your picture of a bunny with pancakes on its head, you'll have to save it to view it again. If your N*Sync mp3s are your most played and rated five stars, you'll most likely miss them once they're gone. Save them.

8. Enjoy your peppier system. It's all gravy once the whole process is over. Everything tends to load faster, and startup and shutdown happen in a blink of the eye. I can't wait for my machine to get bloated again so that I can start this whole damn thing over.

I hope that this helps someone. I know that these steps helped me. But even with all of these precautions, you might miss something. That's just the way life goes.

Posted by Erik at 9:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

After a day and a half of trying to configure my cell phone's internet settings I'm finally able to use Opera Mini 3. I have to say, it's a hell of a lot better than my default cell web browser. I'm actually able to go to just about any site and view it. Before I would end up with 413 error messages constantly.

I don't know why it was such a bitch to get running through my Cingular service, but I finally found the solution staring me right where I should have seen it the whole time...on Cingular's website. Sometimes I tend to make things way too difficult for myself.

If you want to see what Opera Mini looks like after you get it to install, check out this super hi-res screenshot. Bonus: It's in German.

If you wish to install this on your phone(Java enabled phones only), just click on the picture to the right and enter in the information needed. You'll get an SMS sent to your phone with the download link. If you need help setting it up, don't look at me, I'm somewhat useless.

Source: Lifehacker

Posted by Erik at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I've just purchased one sexy beast.

It's the Logitech MX Revolution Cordless Laser Mouse.

Damn, it's hot. I can't wait till I can finally see it in person. I'll invite it into my house, and offer it a nice pad to settle itself on. Then I'll put out one of those fake yawns while I covertly sync it up to my PC. After that I'll ease into it by gently caressing it's supple buttons. Then it all comes down to fondling it's sleek scroll wheel. Pure bliss will overcome me while I run it all over myself while testing out its wireless capabilities.

That's hot.

Don't tell my current mouse. It doesn't know that it'll be pushed aside by the newest girl on the block. I'm sorry, Logitech MX500. It's just that our relationship isn't that exciting any longer. Your wire is a hindrance to our love. Goodbye. You'll be forgotton in a week.

I'm a weirdo.

Posted by Erik at 2:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

I've been trying to get back into shape. The only problem is that I lack any sort of motivation to get off of my ass.

Well, all of that's changed for me. For about the past two weeks I've been running, without interuption in my "running schedule".

The Nike+ iPod kit (for use with the iPod nano only) has been my great motivator. The reason why this works, while looking at myself in a loathsome manner didn't, is because I love stats. Anything where an average can be figured out, or an increase/decrease is calculable, I'm there. This is why I'm addicted to baseball(the sport of stats). It's also why I check on my website's stats on a constant basis. I just can't help immersing myself in numbers.

All you have to do is attach a little reciever to your nano and plop a sensor into your sneaker. Supposedly you need to buy special Nike+ sneakers, but according to Podophile, you can just attach it to any shoe.

Once you finish running, you plug your nano into your computer and it updates your stats via iTunes. Then all you have to do is log onto the Nike+ site and track your progress.

You can see how far, long, or fast you've run. You can set challenges to other Nike+ runners. You can even set personal goals. Good stuff.

Here's the link to buy it from Amazon.com, but you may want to get it directly from Nike, as they're already shipping the product. Amazon has a wait of 1-2 weeks for shipping.

So, if you like stats and getting into shape, pick one up.

Edit: Nike.com is taking 5 days to ship. Which is still faster than Amazon.

On a side note. Don't click on the Google ads, on my site, for Multi-Level Marketing. I don't know which blog Google is reading, but I said that you'd want to avoid them, not sign up for one. Bastards.

Posted by Erik at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

Today is a sad day. My beloved iPod Nano decided that it no longer wished to live. It commited suicide this morning after refusing its latest update from Apple.

It was less than a month old, but had lived a lifetime.

I like to remember all of the good times with it. Like running at the track, or driving me to deafness.

Nano is survived by my iPod mini, which will be getting some me-time until my replacement comes from Apple. That should give it a little over a week as my #1 companion. Then it'll be all about Nano 2.

You will be missed.

Posted by Erik at 1:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm quite trendy and I'm about to prove it. I'm not sure if this means that I'm with the times, or just some kind of wannabe. Either way, I'm riding the wave of modernness.

First off. I have a cell phone. Not just any cell phone, but a Motorola Razr v3i.
Now I can make phone calls in style. I hear that Paris Hilton has one. So, it must be the coolest thing ever(and have herpes).

I have an Ipod Nano.
It's so small that I'm surprised that I haven't lost it yet. Not that the police couldn't figure out that it was mine. It has my greasy, very visible fingerprints over ever nanometer of it. CSI would have a field day.

Probably my favorite trendy item is my Xbox 360. Its sleek, white, sexy form leave me breathless. Not to mention the games. Because it's not about the status symbol. It's about actually using the device. Right?

What would my 360 be without my HDTV? No modern entertainment center is complete without one. At least that's what the very honest salesman told me. Why would he lie?

Any self-respecting TV owner needs a Tivo. Something needs to record your favorite shows while you admire all of the great gadgets you have lying around. Fast forwarding allows you to get back to them sooner, as well.

Sadly, all of my tech-toys have left me with a negative balance in my bank account. Which will help me with at least one of my "Trends To-Do's".

Trends To-Do List:
1. Hybrid Car
2. Anorexia
3. Drug Addiction(Preferably Meth)
4. Robotic Family
5. Laser Beam Eyeballs
6. Blog

Posted by Erik at 2:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (10) | TrackBacks (0)