Some early morning ramblings

It's quite early in the morning and the sun is still yet to show but
I'm awake so I thought I'd should take this time to write a blogpost.
I don't have a subject to write about but I'm hoping one will form
while I type this.

Seem my body decided falling alseep a higher priority.

Sent from my iPhone

Time to let the projector go (but not time for 3D)

It's been a while since I've posts about audio/visual gear here but
this is a pretty big decision so it's probably with a post. We've been
toying with the idea of changing our lounge room layout and some of
the wall placements for a while now and have come up with a layout
(thanks to some invaluable advice) that will make the space much more
usable. This is in no small part to make unit living work a bit longer
while Zachary is still little (but getting a lot bigger). The
consequence of all this is however there is no real place for the
projector anymore. I tried very hard to make it work in the new space
layouts but there was nothing that was going to give a suitable result.

Fortunately not all is lost for big screen viewing though, we will
probably replace the projector/LCD TV combination that we have
currently with a single 55"+ display. The front runner at the moment
is a 58" Samsung Plasma.

I thought about holding off for a 3D set but after trying out one of
the offerings for Samsung I don't think first gen 3D is going to sit
well with me. First off they are able to produce a great sense of
depth in the picture. There was a demo disk running had a staged band
performance and a beach scene. In both cases the picture felt like it
was coming out from the screen toward you but I had a few problems
with it and one of the reasons I think it needs a few more generations.

1."Sweet Spot" - I had to stand in a sweet spot to be able to "see the
image perfectly" according to the Samsung rep. The difference between
being in this spot and out was pretty dramatic though. Best way to
describe it is though the image is focused at that spot and everywhere
else was like dialing back the focus. It didn't go blurry but the 3D
depth decreased and the crispness of the edges dropped.
Why I think this is a problem - while I'm pretty picky about the sweet
spot for my surround and there is a drop in the sound imaging it
doesn't make it more difficult to enjoy the movie. The other reason is
you might be able to the sweet spot concept work for a movie where
you're probably curled up in your favourite couch but for sports and
normal tv viewing I'm often wandering around the house doing other
things (especially if you've got a few mates around to watch a big
game) there is almost no chance of being in the "sweet spot" not to
mention it's going to get very cosy in there

2. Where did all my definitions go? - the picture just didn't seem
as sharp or crisp as I've come to expect from even a mid-level HD set.
This is probably not helped by the problem in point two and also from
a fair bit of ghosting in the background images

3. Headaches - I have this problem with the colour wheel in DLP
projectors. I could always see the rainbow on every dlp projector the
slower the wheel the worse it was. It only took a few minutes and I'd
have a headache. It seems that the effect that creates the 3D image
has the same problem for me. I probably had under a minutes viewin and
had a headache for most of the rest of the day. Samsung recently
released a list of people that would have issues with watching 3D so
it certainly isn't for everyone.

4. Glasses - Last but not least you have to watch the image. It
certainly isn't watchable without. And on top of the fact that you
have to wear glasses logistically if you want someone else to watch
with you they need glasses. The set we looked at only came with two
pairs so you'd easily need another two pairs just for normal visitors.
They also make you look stoopid. Nuf said

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Disabling front row via the apple remote

This is really just a post so I remember to do this when I get home...

http://theappleblog.com/2008/08/18/disable-apple-remote-control/

I'm sick of the laptops bursting into life every time I'm trying to control the appletv

So that last post was supposed to be longer

... I was mid sentence in that post when I accidentally hit send and then after it posted I was going to finish it but STREET FIGHTER IV for iPhone somehow got started and well.... that was the end of any more blogging...

So back to what I was saying, I don't know what I would do if I didn't have the river walk to calm/occupy/put to sleep the cranky pants. I know in a lot of suburban places they have some pathways and footpaths by the road but I know from the walk to day care in the mornings this can be about as stressful as the scream at home with all the dodging of traffic crossing roads etc.
We are out on the walk almost every morning it's fine and on the weekends (or afternoons if it's light enough) we're out there as much as we can. I think if I was still with a little one I would find it very hard to get through the loud patches without a similar sort of space.

The reason it's such a topic today is it's been a week of very long nights and the escape to the river walk has probably been a little overused (in defence of the too young to blog he does have a cold/cough and is getting some new teeth all in one go). But there is nothing like a 5:30am walk to watch the sunrise and a double macchiato to cure some sleep deprivation.

I must admit that I restarted this post with something else insightful to add, but of course now I'm halfway through it I can't remember what it was....

Anyway... on to other events of the weekend, we took advantage of the waterpark at southbank after a very cruisy bike ride with a few other friends. Fortunately the off and on rain for the day meant there were only a handful of kids in the water and we could roam free the whole time.

I finally did some gaming on the Wii that didn't involve "New Super Mario Bros. Wii" and plugged away at another level of Fire Emblem. I swear the AI is targeting healers because it knows if you loose a character it's game over. It's possibly one of the most difficult games I've every played and it's not difficult in a good way... Never the less this just seems to make me want to play it more... either that or throw the controller at the TV, such a fine line.

The iPad was available for preorder in the States yesterday and I've been trying to steer clear of the news because I know I want to buy one and the release seems like such a way off for Australia. I'm thinking that the WiFi only device is the one to get because with two iPhones and a 3G enabled MacBook Pro how often am I going to need the iPad to be online out of the house.

Lastly but not least... is one of the best things about having someone little running around the house... no one wonders why you're sitting on the floor playing with toy cars (complete with brum brum noises. Yes I'm still that much of a kid at heart)

A quiet afternoon....

It's not often I get to sit and just type out all my random musings
any longer. Not that I'm really complaining most of that time now is
filled with playing and running around like a crazy thing. As I
haven't really grown up myself it's really the perfect past time for
me. This afternoon though the little time occupier was particularly
cranky (because he's tired from running around the waterpark for ages
and going for a long ride and refuses to have a nap) so we set off for
a walk along the river. Of course after about 2 mins he was asleep and
rather than tempt fate and move him we've camped on a park bench
(obviously he's in his pram) and are watching the afternoon pass by.
This is how I've managed to have a quiet afternoon and have time to
ponder my thoughts. The wind is just strong enough to be rocking the
pram and keep him peacefully asleep.
It made me wonder "what do people in the suburbs do. The walk by the
river is really my coping mechanism and having a small child I think
you need one.

Photo by TiltShift Generator

A pointless post while on a train.

First off let's get the point of this post is to pass the time while
I'm crammed into a train (which means I can't effectively game).

It's been a long time since i've travelled on a train in peak hour.
And after all the cramming at the station and now in the train I think
I'd almost prefer the bus. The bus I catch (which I don't do much
anymore) is almost always full 3 or 4 stops after I catch it and I'm
more often than not standing but it somehow feels a little less cattle
like. I think it's all the people in the doorway of the train doing
the shuffle at each and every stop.
In either case I still think (given the distance) walking or the bike
is the best option and it makes me feel a little less guilty about the
environmental impact the rest of my gadget obsession has.

In other news it seams that many more of my childhood memories are
getting remakes. I wonder if this generation will be remembered as
"remakeorama"? Probably not but still is nothing safe from a remake.
When I see remakes for "gone with the wind" I know it'll have gone too
far. We've already had Astro boy with A-Team, Tron (ok this one is a
sequel but I do wonder) and karate kid. It seems that popular media is
just living off the remake which is sad, certainly people are thinking
of great original content.

On the gaming front I worry for the longevity of my DS. Since I've
picked up the iPhone the DS has suffered a lot in play time. One of
the major reasons I think is cost vs play time. A new DS game retails
for $70 and an iPhone release fo a lot less and with the addition of
titles such as Final Fantasy it's hard to justify the games on the ds
at the high price as I typically use it as a pick up and play
console. Obviously big titles such as Mario will always have appeal
but smaller mini game style titles will probably be an iPhone
purchase. I imagine Nintendo are having similar fears even with their
strong "we aren't worried by the iPhone" exterior.
Sent from my iPhone

February and another festival

Almost a exactly a month since we went to Big Day Out in Adelaide and
we backed it up with a trip to Future Music. First of all I'd like to
point out that it was wet and by wet I mean probably the most
saturated I've been when not swimming. It's definately the muddiest
i've ever been. So in that light I'd take any review with a grain of
salt.

Overall I was pretty disappointed. I think I was still basking in the
afterglow of Big Day Out and combined with the weather it was going to
be hard slog for it. I found the change overs took entirely too long
and the sets were too short in comparison. No one I saw (with the
exception of the fill DJ baby gee) seemed to play their full set time
and a quite a few of them started late.

Ok enough of the complaining there were highlights.
Franz Ferdinand: these guys were pretty good. Heaps of hits and some
great drum improvisation at the end of their set.
Prodigy: Great. Perfect run of songs from breath (almost opener) to
firestarter. I spent pretty much all of the set jumping. Almost felt
like I was back in highschool when voodoo people hit.

Unfortunately that was about the end of the highlights other than done
excellent crowd movement control.

Empire of the Sun: I was really looking forward to these guys and
after being very late, which was not their fault, I imagine the
continual downpours gave the set crews a major headache they were just
a bit weird. They really put on a show but it was more like a bad
musical theatre performance than a set. There was a comment that the
choreography was akin to a performance by Phoenix musical company.

I could go on and on but I think overall the stage setup, the sound
setup and the lineup were far below the standard of Big Day Out and
for the same (or more for VIP) ticket price combined with the weather
made it disappointing. While Prodigy were really good they weren't
enough to save the festival for me.

The biggest thing of note was the weather though it rained so much. We
were lucky we went late and had VIP tickets so we could hide in the
tents but by the end of the night we were all soaked to the bone and
covered in mud. When I saw the weather I chose to wear some water
proof shoes which was a great idea *until* they filled up with water
then they were not so great. For empire I was ankle deep in mud. The
shoes are all heading for the bin, hours of walking around in a horse
track filled with mud (or worse) makes them not worth resurrecting.
I'm just thankful that I came home with my shoes, more than I can say
for many other goers.

I didn't get many photos as I was trying to save the iPhone from the
weather (I had to keep it in a bag in the end because my pockets were
soaked through) but I will post some soon (mostly shoe mud progress).

Sent from my iPhone