Month: May 2007 Posts

Yesterday Apple released verison 7.2 of iTunes which finally gives users the ability to download DRM free versions of songs from iTunes. The added bonus is that you can also download 256 kbps AAC versions of the files instead of the 128 kbps AAC versions. So, before I actually go into the experience, I’d have to say I was slightly hesitant about this. When people think 128kbps, they automatically think of the old MP3s. And at 128kbps, MP3 files are fairly close to CD quality (for most people), but on my stereo at least, I can notice slight distortions. However, AAC is part of the MPEG4 standard (used in IPTV and some of the HD DVD specifications), which is a big improvement over MP3. While it varies based on the material, MP3s at 128kbps sound similar to AAC files at around 96kbps due to improvements in the underlying technology. So, […]

I remember back around Christmas, Sony announced that they were unable to meet the holiday demand for the PS/3. I suspect part of this may have been artificial, since the resulting huge line-ups across the country showered the company with press everywhere. Unfortunately, those events lead to the deaths of a few people in incidents that occurred while in the long line-ups in sometimes cold, outdoor conditions. During that period, I had passively walked into whatever electronics store I could find, and asked if they had a PS/3 for sale. The answer was always no. So here we are, nearly six months later, and I’m still completely surprised that I can’t find a PS/3 in the city. Is it really because the demand is outpacing the supply? I find this hard to believe since nobody I know owns one yet. However, several of my friends own Nintendo Wii’s. While I’m […]

In the last year I’ve attempted, on several occasions, to put together a few internet-type sites that interest me. Unfortunately, I haven’t really gotten that far with any of them, mainly due to lack of time and an underestimation of the time involve for these projects by me. So, instead of completely adandoning some of them, I’m going to put out a call for help on a few and see if there’s any interest in teaming up to finish a few of these off. So, if you think any of these would interest any of your friends, let me know. I think we have plenty of technical help (although if you want to lend some, let me know), but would love to have some designing help. So, here they are, in order of interest by me. 1. HDRCore (www.hdrcore.com) For those of you who check out my flickr photos, either […]

On Friday, I met up briefly with Rebecca down at the Six Acres in Gastown for a few drinks on a patio. It was a good way to start a Friday afternoon, and since I had only woken up a few hours prior, I was definitely in the mood to drink and grab something to eat. Afterwards, we went down to the west-end for some pizza, and to hang out with John, who was busy playing with Dave Olsen’s new microphone on his computer. A bunch of my new blogger-type friends (most of which I originally ran into down at Northern Voice) were down at DemoCamp the other day, but unfortunately I wasn’t feeling up to venturing out of the house, so I stayed home and checked out Rebecca’s live blog of the event. Apparently for short notice, there was great interest and turn-out. Rebecca, obviously excited I’m taking her […]

After I broke up with my ex-girlfriend, I decided that for the first time in a long time, I wanted to live relatively close to work. Some people argue that if you had to choose, you should always choose to live where you play (as opposed to living where you work). But, I spent the last few years having nearly an hour commute in each direction to go to work, and I was just sick of it. So, I found a place downtown, and here I am, after nearly two years. I have a pretty sweet deal down here – I pay $1200 for an 800 sq. ft. apartment about 20 steps from the water, in a relatively nice area of downtown. But to be honest, I’m not a big fan of living downtown. I’m a very light sleeper, and a usual night for me involves waking up to sirens, […]

Last night I ventured out for dinner briefly down to Granville Island with Jason, and managed to enjoy a bit of the sunshine. I haven’t really been sleeping that well lately (yesterday I didn’t get to sleep until 8am, waking up sometime around 3pm), so I think my lack of sleep has finally caught up with me (I was up at 5am this morning after only sleeping a few hours). Maybe it’s the drugs leaving my system, or maybe just some stuff on my mind — I’m not sure. The good news is that in about three hours I’ll be down at UBC getting my stitches out. I’m excited because I’ll finally be able to see myself without a pile of tape on my face, and will be able to shower properly and not worry when I put a shirt on that I’m going to hurt myself. My first impression […]

I realized this morning that I haven’t really written a blog entry in quite a few days. Truth is, I’ve just been feeling a little under the weather with the surgery and everything. I’m definitely healing, even though my face is a weird shade of yellow now. I don’t really feel that much pain since the left side of my face is still completely numb, but my eye socket hurts from time to time. The last few days I’ve woken up in the morning with extremely itchy eyes, and have spent the better part of 20 minutes just trying to get them to stop watering. I’m not sure what causes that (probably the body’s natural response to suddenly having a foreign body implanted in it). The drugs are keeping me rather level, although I don’t really have any mental capacity right now (I tend to drift in and out of […]

So tonight John and Rebecca stopped by for some moral support, and we spent the night hanging out, eating BBQ food, watching Trailer Park Boys, listening to music, and of course, having some drinks. It was a really awesome night, and I laughed enough that my face really, really hurts now. I’m definitely chewing two T3’s before bed. I’ll be spending the rest of the weekend close to home, watching movies and hopefully relaxing.

Ok, so this is super geeky, but as a kid I used to love playing Transformers. For those of you who don’t know, Michael Bay (Armageddon) has been working on a full length action movie about the transformers, and it’s coming out July 4th. The new exclusive trailer was just released a few minutes ago on Yahoo, and it looks pretty wild. It will probably suck as a movie, but it should be entertaining. Check it out here. ** Update — I have a new posting up about The Transformers Movie, so check it out.