Paintball Epilogue
Jun/0413
Jeff and I played paintball on Saturday, and it ROCKED. We played for 3 hours, I think, and each fired about 350 rounds of ammo. Ohhhh yeeeahhhh. I had 2 highlights. 1) Me and 6 other guys were pinned down behind some barrels. The enemy was in a building firing out at us, so they had lots of cover and we didn’t. After squatting there for like 5 minutes I just decided to run right up to the building, and I took out 1 guy on my way there. I was flat up against the wall so they couldn’t shoot me, and then at a random moment I popped out quickly and dove towards a car for cover. I took out the other guy. Later in the “suiting up” area one guy pointed at me and said “That guy was doing some crazy commando shit, diving out from the building and shooting them!”. I feld hella cool 
The second time that was really fun was when I ran deep (i.e. 50 feet) into enemy territory without being seen. I stopped to look around me and to my right were 3 enemy troops who hadn’t seen me. They were in plain view so I was able to unload about 30 rounds into their backs before they could even figure out that I was behind them and not in front of them (where the rest of my team was). Ohhhh they were surprised I love paintball. It’s like First Person Shooter games on the computer, except you work up a sweat, spend a lot more money, and end up covered in welts! I only had 1 welt this time, though, because I only got shot 3 times in the entire 3 hour shoot-a-thon, which is waaay better than I usually do.
After that, Jeff and I went back to his place and played video games until late in the night. As luck woudl have it, I got to play on his girlfriend’s computer which has a 17 inch Samsung LCD. SO I finally got to actually try out a Samsung LCD for gaming, and it was awesome. No ghosting. Smooothe. We played a bit of Call of Duty, Tron 2.0, and Age of Empires 2. They were all buttery smoothe and crisp. Now I want an LCD again. Maybe when I do my taxes and get my tax return Incidentally, I found that 19 inch Samsung 193P LCD that I wanted for $300 less than it had been anywhere else. Get it at PCVillageCanada.com, at Yonge & Eglinton.
One of the main reasons I need a monitor is so that I can use the burner in my desktop computer again. Steve Cox came up with a cheaper solution — I could buy an external USB 2.0 drive enclosure for around $50 and take the burner out of my desk and put it in the enclosure. Then I can use it with my laptop Cool idea!
Microsoft is officially evil. Microsoft has been completely blocking any/all email from Gmail, and not allowing it to even get to hotmail users. Yahoo at least has the decency to pre-filter gmail into people’s spam folders — allowing them to find the gmail if they want to. This totally isn’t cool. They’re breaking the internet by doing that! Why are they doing it? Because they want to make switching to Gmail unappealing, so that they don’t lost hotmail customers. They want people to believe “I never get mail when people send it from Gmail, so Gmail must be crappy and broken”, when the truth is that Hotmail is crappy & evil. Arrrgh!
Yesterday, the first privately funded sub-orbital mission into space was successful (BUT you must be using IE6 or the video won’t work). Incidentally, the main investor in this ship is Paul Allen, Microsoft co-founder. Perhaps that’s why the video only plays in IE 
I want this phone! It’s triband, so it’ll work in europe & croatia, and it’s orange! yay! AND it takes SIM cards, so I can use my existing HT (hrvatska telekom) sim in it!
If you aren’t already, it’s time to get signed up for the GOP-NYC protests. According to this article on GuerillaNews.com that’s where the US Military & Police will be testing out their next generation stun guns which have the power to “incapacitate crowds of people by sweeping a lightning-like beam of electricity across them” (made by Xtreme Alternative Defense Systems (XADS)).
In other news – it was only a matter of time. RSS and BitTorrent are now being used together. You can now subscribe to RSS feeds of bittorrent files. What I’d like, though, is for BitTorrent to let you specify “download all torrents linked to by this RSS feed”. That’d be excellent.
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Sponsor Me!
May/045
I’ll be doing 2 things on Saturday, 1 of which is pure fun for no good reason, and the other is pure fun for a good cause. Wanna sponsor me for the good cause?
I’ll be bowling on the team “Bowling for Guatemala”. Any money we raise goes to “The Caravan of Hope”, a non-profit initiative (organized by a church) in response to a series of devastating earthquakes in El Salvador. 3 school buses are purchased with the proceeds, filled with a variety of donated medical equipment, school supplies, computers and other supplies, and is driven (by volunteers) ot Guatemala and donated (bus and all!) to the communities there!
Before and after that I’ll be playing Halo at Simon Racciopa’s “Halothon” lan party, where there will be 7 xboxen, several video projectors, tvs, food, and fun. That requires no sponsorship.
Last night I was invited to a “Preview Screening” of a new Book Television show called “ScrAtch”, which is about the “indy” scene. Not Indiana Jones — independent media. Ian Daffern (the director/producer) was there, and we had chicken wings, and beer. Why was I invited? Because I’m in the show’s opening credits (well, my computer screen is), and I’m (personally) in the ‘bumper’ after the 2nd commercial. A bumper is the little blip of video that leads you back into the show after a commercial. It was cool to see my room and me on a TV show Ian did a great job and this pilot episode is something to be proud of.
I got an email from my friend Sacha yesterday. He is the most graphically inclined person I’ve ever met, and he has a BenQ 17″ monitor – and he loves it to death.
Here’s a little list of requirements I’ve put together for purchasing my LCD monitor:
Must have: no ghosting, preferably sub-25ms response time, replacement if dead pixels are present
Should have: dvi input (digital), 700:1 contrast ratio (500 is ok)
Note: a dead pixel is a single dot on your screen that remains black even when the screen is on.
Dead Pixel Policies on LCD Monitors:
* Lite On, Phillips and Hitachi. All three have a zero tolerance to dead pixels but Phillips doesn’t count unlit pixels as dead.
* HP will only replace a monitor with there are 4 scattered faulty pixels or 3 clustered.
* LG will replace a monitor if there are 2 within a 10cm circle.
* NEX-NEC will replace 3 lit, 3 unlit or 6 color.
* Samsung could try harder. Six dead pixels allowed on a 15″, or nine on a 17″, are too many.
* Sony will replace if on a 15″ panel there is 2 lit, 2 unlit or 4 dead. On 17″ panels Sony will replace if there are 3 lit, 3 unlit or 7 dead.
* Viewsonic will replace if on a 15″ panel there is 2 lit, 2 unlit or 4 dead. On 17″ panels Viewsonic will replace if there are 3 lit, 3 unlit or 7 dead.
Saving Grace
Futureshop/staples/bestbuy in-house warranties against dead pixels!! SO BUY THEIR IN-HOUSE WARRANTY!
For a brief moment I contemplated getting two cheaper 17 inch LCDs instead of a single 19 because the 17s tend to have faster response times… but I think that’d be a bit too crazy. If I can find the Samsungn 193p for a decent price, I’ll get it. Otherwise the BenQ FP951. Of course, I did have a dream last night where I said “screw LCDs altogether” and I bought an Epson Digital Projector instead (same price as a 19 inch LCD monitor now!!). Thing is – I can’t really picture myself programming on a 300 inch screen, you know??
$1199 – Epson PowerLite S1, 800×600, 500:1, 1400 lumens, remote, 2 year, 33DB, 4:3/16:9, 30-300″ image
Good 19″ LCDs:
$1099 – Samsung 193P 19, silver, 800:1,250cd,20ms**,1280×1024, 3year, analog/digital
$849 – BenQ FPT951 19, black, 700:1, 250cd,25ms,1280×1024, 3year, analog/digital
$697 – Samsung 193s, black, 700:1, 250, 25ms, 1280×1024,3year, analog
$859 – Samsung 192N 19, silver, 500/700:1,250cd,25ms,1280×1024,3year, analog
Good 17″ LCDs:
$799 – Samsung 172X 17, 500:1, 250cd, 12ms, flawless for gaming, analog/digital
$575 – BenQ FP767-12 17″ LCD, 12ms (Black or Silver), analog***
$629 – BenQ FP767-16, 500:1, 300cd, 16ms, adrenalinevault says ok for gaming, analog
$597 – Viewsonic VE700 17, 450:1, 260cd, 16ms (typ), analog ***
$499 – NEC LCD1715-R 17 REFURB, 400:1, 250cd, 16ms (futureshop), analog
$579 – Samsung 172N, 450:1, 250cd, 25ms, analog
$659 – NEC LCD1715-R 17, 400:1, 250cd, 16ms (futureshop), analog
Crappy but Cheap 15 ” LCD:
$499 – Samsung 152N, 350:1, 250cd, 25ms, analog
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8:34 am on May 30th, 2004How about…..just fixing your old monitor…and waiting til you’re flush with moolah before buying from your wish list.Ummm,but that’s me lol.
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8:47 am on May 31st, 2004I agree with dad! Unless fixing the old monitor turns out to be financially prohibitive. Especially since Future Shop charges 28(ish) percent interest!! Unless you get it paid off in that first year, of course.
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11:50 am on May 31st, 2004I wouldn’t even know where to go to fix the monitor. There’s nowhere within walking distance of my place, and I don’t have a car, and the monitor weighs about 70lbs. Plus, it is an old monitor. It’d been on its last legs before I left. Sometimes the green would turn off and it’d be all purple. Sometimes the blue would turn off and I’d have a bloody display. Now it doesn’t turn on at all. That leads me to believe that somehow the CRT is screwed. A new 19inch CRT of this quality is in the neighbourhood of $400. Now, lets pretend you were buying something and you could choose between something that “would do” for $X or something that would be perfect for $Y. I’m inclined to believe you would save up a little extra and go for $Y, because as you always say, Dad, “There’s no point in doing something unless you’re going to do it right.” — Right?
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1:37 pm on May 31st, 2004I would buy two 17″, and you know why.
Could you please return me email, I sent you 5 emails, different addresses, no reply from you. -
10:20 am on June 1st, 2004i was more referring to taking pride in anything that you do and not doing a half assed job on anything.The tools you use to do the job relate to income and whereas i would have liked the rolls royce of anything ,practicality destined it to be between a rolls and a volkswagen and often as not something second hand or that was thrown away which i could fix and use.Doing your best with what you have is different from having the best.
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8:34 am on May 30th, 2004How about…..just fixing your old monitor…and waiting til you’re flush with moolah before buying from your wish list.Ummm,but that’s me lol.
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8:47 am on May 31st, 2004I agree with dad! Unless fixing the old monitor turns out to be financially prohibitive. Especially since Future Shop charges 28(ish) percent interest!! Unless you get it paid off in that first year, of course.
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11:50 am on May 31st, 2004I wouldn’t even know where to go to fix the monitor. There’s nowhere within walking distance of my place, and I don’t have a car, and the monitor weighs about 70lbs. Plus, it is an old monitor. It’d been on its last legs before I left. Sometimes the green would turn off and it’d be all purple. Sometimes the blue would turn off and I’d have a bloody display. Now it doesn’t turn on at all. That leads me to believe that somehow the CRT is screwed. A new 19inch CRT of this quality is in the neighbourhood of $400. Now, lets pretend you were buying something and you could choose between something that “would do” for $X or something that would be perfect for $Y. I’m inclined to believe you would save up a little extra and go for $Y, because as you always say, Dad, “There’s no point in doing something unless you’re going to do it right.” — Right?
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1:37 pm on May 31st, 2004I would buy two 17″, and you know why.
Could you please return me email, I sent you 5 emails, different addresses, no reply from you. -
10:20 am on June 1st, 2004i was more referring to taking pride in anything that you do and not doing a half assed job on anything.The tools you use to do the job relate to income and whereas i would have liked the rolls royce of anything ,practicality destined it to be between a rolls and a volkswagen and often as not something second hand or that was thrown away which i could fix and use.Doing your best with what you have is different from having the best.
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My Kingdom for a Monitor!
May/042
So, I’m on the hunt for a new monitor. I was originally thinking I’d get a new 19 inch CRT, but that’s paying $200-300 for something I don’t really want. For the last 3 years I’ve been telling myself “your next monitor will be a 19 inch LCD”. They weigh less and are very sharp and small. The problem is that they ocst 3 times more than CRT monitors. Yesterday I realized that Futureshop and Staples will both do financing for monitors So, I could get one for $40/month. That might sound dumb, but this month my $200/month car payments end, so it’ll actually be like I’m saving $160/month by getting a new LCD monitor, right? Did I mention that I’m a master rationalizer?
Rules for LCD Monitors:
Must have: no ghosting, 25ms or less response time, 250 brightness (or higher)
Should have: dvi input, 700:1 contrast ratio or better
Has anyone got a BenQ LCD Monitor? I might buy one, but don’t know if they’re okay for gaming or not, and can’t find any reviews of them (they’re new). Right now it’s a toss-up between the BenQ FP951 and the Samsung 193P.
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Rogers eXtreme!
5mbps download, 800k upload, same price as regular highspeed, but you have to buy a $80 modem. Hook me up! Rogers eXtreme page
Setup a wifi hotspot in 10 minutes!
Quote of the Day: “we fall prey to the rampages of time”
Um, i think she meant “ravages”.
In an attempt to reduce my sugar intake, i bought some Splenda the other day. It’s made with modified sugar, not aspartame, so that’s good, i think. It tastes very similar to sugar — far more than Sweet N Low and the others. Now when I have coffee I put in a big spoonfull of Splenda and enjoy the lack of calories Also, I bought coffee whitener to use instead of cream.
I went to the new Low Carb Grocery store across from my house today. Salsa was $8.99. I walked out.
Half-Life 2 Case mod. Best ever!
Need some icons for your website? (like print, new post, comment, arrows, etc). Here are 300 icons for your website!
Interesting quote:
“Once you’re in an urban environment, it strips out a lot of (America’s) technology advantages,” he said. “It puts you in a fair fight. And you don’t want to be in a fair fight.” Full article new new US soldier uniforms, dubbed “Future Force Warrior“.
Cypress Hill toinght! w00t!
(i still have an extra ticket)
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6:34 am on May 27th, 2004Heya Derek, ok, with the whole monitor thing: its really a no-brainer! We’ve had benq monitors over here for quite a while and they’re considered the “lower end” of the gaming market. However, SAMSUNG are conversely the GOD of flatscreens! They’re very very good! Stu has one you might remember, and theyve improved since his like a 100-fold, i cant reccomend the samsung over the benq enough. Benq arent “Bad” as such, they’re ‘ok’ however to compare them with a samsung, is like comparing denise richards to the girl next door… its just not cricket!
Hope your well, enjoy Cypress Hill (without me damn you!)
James -
12:12 pm on May 27th, 2004Splenda is great… doesn’t taste like ass, and even better, it’s not addictive (aspartame is). I remember back when they had diet CPlus (or was it Crush? well, whichever) with Splenda, and you could barely tell the difference from regular.
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6:34 am on May 27th, 2004Heya Derek, ok, with the whole monitor thing: its really a no-brainer! We’ve had benq monitors over here for quite a while and they’re considered the “lower end” of the gaming market. However, SAMSUNG are conversely the GOD of flatscreens! They’re very very good! Stu has one you might remember, and theyve improved since his like a 100-fold, i cant reccomend the samsung over the benq enough. Benq arent “Bad” as such, they’re ‘ok’ however to compare them with a samsung, is like comparing denise richards to the girl next door… its just not cricket!
Hope your well, enjoy Cypress Hill (without me damn you!)
James -
12:12 pm on May 27th, 2004Splenda is great… doesn’t taste like ass, and even better, it’s not addictive (aspartame is). I remember back when they had diet CPlus (or was it Crush? well, whichever) with Splenda, and you could barely tell the difference from regular.
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4:40 pm on June 22nd, 2004
You are a good shooter, when we got new war here we will call you to shot the enemy with you wicked paint balls LOL
4:55 pm on June 22nd, 2004
Z200? eeeek! Old, girlish and lacks in features. Check this baby out: http://www.sonyericsson.com/z600/
Played with one in a store. Beautiful display, great polyphonic tunes, etc. Prices will drop soon — it goes for around 370$ (unlocked) CDN.
4:58 pm on June 22nd, 2004
See now! Vlad also thinks that phone is girlish!
5:14 pm on June 22nd, 2004
it scores “cute” points with girls though. so it might be in Derek’s interest to give it a try
5:35 pm on June 22nd, 2004
ha ha.
ok, thing is they have a special on right now where you can get the phone (unlocked) for $100 if you sign up for any of the fido plans.
i currently pay bell like $20-50/month for shit service.
fido has an unlimited incoming calls plan for 25/month (all i ever do is receive anyway) and an unlimited calling plan for 45/month.
either way it’s gonna be cheaper.
PLUS it’s *orange*.
You keep missing that fact!
6:06 pm on June 22nd, 2004
Well if its orange, there isn’t much left to say!!!!!however, fido does not cover many areas out of toronto, which is why bell usually wins out. Can’t use fido down here for instance. I have checked out most of them and even with rogers, you have to have one phone for sarnia and a different one for petrolia> go figure!!! i have unlimited night and evenings, and 300 day min, for 37.95, love ya, mom
5:04 am on June 23rd, 2004
make sure that you sign up before July 1st — FIDO has the “unlimited incoming calls” (something that’s standard in Europe) only until then. 25$ for 100 minutes anytime/1,000 minutes evening/weekend/free incoming. i’ve actually made a change from my unlimited evening/weekend plan to their new offer today.
Bell does have a better coverage, but Bell sucks. because it’s Bell. period; and they dont’t offer GSM (for tri-band phones) service.
5:40 am on June 23rd, 2004
three band phone? yuppie, so now you can “sms” with us here;))
Canadian roaming sure will be verrrry grateful
and it’s not girlish.
When they are small, you can carry them around your neck on the silver string, with lady mirrors in it, eventually pink colored as Carrie has it in Sex and the city, well then yes…;)
11:01 am on June 23rd, 2004
Ok Sandrinne, carrying it around my neck on a silver string *would* make me look girlish
Jeepers. I rarely leave Toronto, except for real travel, so it’d be fine for me. Plus this one has a feature that I really like: a clock on the outside of the phone, so you don’t have to open it for the time. See – I don’t wear a watch – so that’s really cool. I managed to find some on ebay for cheap, but I’m sure they’ll go waaay up in price before I could get them. I also saw a Z600 on there – sexy, with built in camera – but no clock. Also expensive.
1:45 pm on June 23rd, 2004
Z600 does have a clock. it’s b&w and doesn’t eat your battery.
4:25 pm on June 23rd, 2004
Don’t worry about orange Derek….i use pink in chat….nice vibrant colour and easy to follow since no one else uses it lol.I get…oh,you’re a guy and, isn’t that a girlie colour ?Being different satisfies the self!!and that’s what it’s all about.
4:44 pm on June 23rd, 2004
Funny how time changes things… I remember a time when you didn’t want me to “satisfy the self”. You wouldn’t let me wear “grunge clothing” outside the house, nor my metal-spike-bracelet, nor my mohawk, nor get a tattoo — all of which would have been ‘different’ and ‘me’ (at the time), but none of which were ‘proper’.
Anyway, I want orange because: a) my favourite colour is orange; b) my nickname through university & humber was/is “Orange”; and c) my consulting company is “Orange Consulting”.
5:37 pm on June 23rd, 2004
ericsson phones have interchangeable faceplates
you can get orange for Z600 (it actually comes with a few of those plates 