Once again, my favorite show from the UK is back! Season 13 started two weeks ago, and there will be (only) 7 episodes.  In Top Gear tradition, they started off wonderfully, with fun challenges (racing with a coal powered steam train), and testing fun cars like the Lotus and Ferrari FXX.

Of course, this time around they had something to say about the sad state of the auto industry.  Surprisingly, they didn’t talk about it too much.  They proceeded in doing what they do best: running cars around the test track, pushing their bodies to the limit, and causing mayhem.

And they revealed The Stig’s real identity!

Anyway, I’m going to enjoy watching whatever Top Gear put together.  I’ve also been enjoying Top Gear Australia, which is now on Season 2.  The hosts dynamics are different, but they are equally funny blokes, having fun racing and thrashing cars.

Keep up the good work, guys!

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Top Gear: Season 13

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From the pictures below,  I’ve been trying to get keep them neat and manageable.  Unfortunately, those two words don’t go together.  I always started off neat, with cables twist-tied, labeled, and grouped together.  However, as the months go by, I would be adding new equipments and peripherals.  I would end up ripping cables out, and adding more cables in.  Taking everything out just to add one or two cables are not practical.  So I would just thread them back there, and tried my best to keep them out of sight.

Part of my efforts, to keep them under control, is to remove as much unused electronics and peripherals.  For example, I just got rid of the Dish Network satellite receiver, and managed to get rid of at least 8 different cables.  I’m also converting to HDMI cables where video/audio all go through one thin cable, instead of 2 big fat ones.

If I do have to add another box, I’ll pick one that requires less or no cable.  It’s a good thing Guitar Hero World Tour guitar and drum kits are wireless.

I’ve taken a gallery of photos of my electronics’ back sides.  It looks like I’ve got some work to do.

[View with PicLens]

Note: The New York Times has an article about cable issues.  I’m not alone in this mess!

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Wrangling Cables

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Firstly, it was the week of my daughter’s 4th birthday. We had a lot of visitors in the house.  We also made a special trip to Disneyland, so she can enjoy the night parade and the fireworks.

Secondly, last Sunday was Father’s day.   My wife gave me what I’ve been wanting for quite some time: Guitar Hero World Tour - The Complete Band Kit!

That’s the groovy part!

My wife and daugther prefer to play the drums.  I like the guitar myself.  We also had guests over last Saturday, and they got to jam with us.  We weren’t able to get someone to sing because the Wii version requires a third Wiimote controller for the microphone - which I don’t have.  I also could’ve used another guitar to play bass.  It would’ve totally rock if we could get a 4-people game going!

Anyway, back to the groove thing.  I’ve been practicing a bit on the guitar, finding out some of the advance features like hammer-on and pull-off.  So far, I’m still stuck on the easy level since I’m still trying to get comfortable with the fret/strum controls.  I tried the medium level, and it totally confused me!

Meanwhile, my wife continues to practice on the drums, and she’s getting much better than me.  She has better rhythms.  She’s also able to recover quite nicely when she missed a beat, something I still can’t do.

Ok, enough blogging for now.  Gotta get back into the groove!

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Groovy Week

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It’s been a long wait.  We (us folks in America) are finally switching to an all digital TV broadcast, today!  The antiquated analog broadcast is finally starting its slow decent to oblivion.

I’ve been anticipating this day for a long time.  It was suppose to happen back in February 2009.  However, a senator decided we were not ready to do this, and delayed it for another 4 months to help the “preparation”.  That was a load of crap, and a waste of tax payer’s money.  That’s the government: inefficient, too much politics, and all about squeezing more money from special interest groups.

Now it’s D-Day, and some say we’re still not ready.  An article in LA Times claimed Southern California residents, mostly the poor and senior citizens, are still not ready.   According to the official site of The Digital TV Transition, California is only 26% converted!  So far, the entire US is only 43% converted to digital.  The politicians rely on these numbers, even though the site does note it’s only an estimate.  No one can really be sure of the actual numbers of how many TV sets are still getting analog TV.

I’m hoping this transition will be the big push that will ultimately force the broadcasters to start improving their HD service.   I do think they need to upgrade the broadcast towers.  The Over-The-Air (OTA) digital signals are poor in most places, including mine.  The only way to get a reliable signal is via Cable or Satellite Dish.  However, signals from cable or satellite are highly compressed, so the quality is not as good as OTA.

I can already see PBS starting to show Sesame Street in 16:9 aspect ratio, and putting horizontal black bars for old re-runs.  News footages are still shot using 4:3 cameras, but I noticed some are already broadcasting in widescreen, such as during sporting events/interviews.

Personally, I want to upgrade to a video camera that records in HD and 16:9 widescreen.

I want to see cheaper HDTVs such as this 55″ LCD LED-backlit Vizio VF551XVT.

It’s time for everyone to go digital!

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

The Switch to Digital TV - About Time!

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I was thoroughly embarrassed.  I’m not sure why this event is still stuck in my mind, after all these years.

After reading an io9 article on The Text Adventure Games That Ate Our Brains, I thought I should confess my sin.  I love the game, but I butchered the memory of it.  Maybe playing the Zork online game will help me redeem myself.

I’m classifying this as “Things I Rather Forget” category.  I’m halfway there - I can’t remember the novel’s story anymore!

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Dorky Memory: Zork - The Novel

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Now, it looks like Activision is going to bring back memories for me with their latest game DJ Hero.  It’s like Guitar Hero but using turntable and mixer instruments.  I’ve been anticipating this for a while.  It looks like it has the “fun” factor in it.  However, just like a serious guitar player would laugh at Guitar Hero,  I’m also laughing at this setup.  It’s marketed to gamers, I suppose I can’t put it down too much.  I’ll just roll with it, and enjoy it as pure fun & games.

Here’s the demo from E3 2009.

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Hey DJ (Hero)!

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Also, I don’t even get HD programming.  I like to get them, though.  I know some people have told me to go the easy way: pay the extra $15, or so, and get it off cable or satellite.  But that’s defeats the purpose of trying to cut cost in the first place.

So, my goal now is to get it off-the-air (OTA).  And that requires, a terrestrial TV antenna.

I remember back in the 70’s where my parents sell TVs for a living.  We had a trained staff who could go up to roofs and install those big ugly antennas.  They were also able to do the cable work from the roof to the main floor.  Those guys would leave in the morning to do 2-3 jobs, and wouldn’t come back until late at night.  It was hard work.

Now, here I am, thinking about doing the same thing.  I don’t have any experience in running cables to the roof (or attic, in my case).  Actually, I’m kind of afraid of messing things up there in attic.  I’m not keen on punching holes on the drywall either.

Instead, I’m going to try my best with “rabbit ears“, or set-top antennas.  Originally, after checking with AntennaWeb, I thought this area would never get a signal.  I’ve tried by getting a cheap antenna from Radio Shack.  That didn’t work.  Recently, I had a chance to buy a $15 AverMedia card for my laptop, with a small antenna.  I thought I should try it in other locations, like Irvine, where I might get a better signal.  To my surprise, even in my house, I managed to get HDTV channels!   I only get 3 channels, but it’s a small victory.  All is not lost.  I’m hopeful.

I’m now going trying to find the right desktop antenna to get more channels!   Otherwise, I’ll have no choice but to be brave, and venture into the attic, and install one there.

Speaking of getting a good TV reception, I recalled a hilarious skit by Mr. Bean where he was trying to use himself as an antenna.  I felt like Mr. Bean when I was fumbling around with the rabbit ears to get a proper HD signal for my TV.  Here’s the video:

Hat tip to CK for reminding me of the Mr. Bean episode.

Photo Credit: fladrifscorzapelle

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Rabbit Ears

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I used to think a vacation is overrated.

But after spending 6 days off, it feels exceptionally recharging.  I spent time with the family.  I traveled.  I went swimming. I got to sleep late (and sleep in).  I even got some gardening done.

I feel rested and relaxed.

So now work will get easier this week now that  I have a clear head, and calm nerves.  That’s always a good thing.

I need to schedule another vacation, or I’ll end up not having a life.

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Rest and Relaxation

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Now, they’ve upped the ante with the latest Star Trek movie.  The director, JJ Abrams, rebooted the series by giving it over the top special effects, high energy music, shiny new (and expensive) sets, and fresh young faces.  Topping it off, it’s presented in glorious IMAX sight and sound in the theaters.

SPOILERS ALERT BELOW!

I tried my best to lower my expectation, but I can’t help but hold the movie to a higher standard.  Overall it’s not a bad movie, but it had too much energy.   It was pretty much non-stop action.  There were also too many “lens flares” on the screen, which JJ Abrams admitted overdoing it.   The camera work jitters too much, and with the big IMAX screen, it gave me a little motion sickness.  Also, it looked like the movie was upconverted to IMAX resolution, so it was kind of blurry during fast camera pans.

Then there’s the story itself.  It’s clever that they made a “reboot” as an “alternate universe” story.  As far fetch as it is, I have to forgive it because it’s Star Trek , where time travel is always the best story to tell.  The story flowed quite well from beginning to end.  A minor exception with Montgomery Scott plot hole:  How the heck did he know how to fix the Enterprise’s engine, when he spent most his time stranded in an icy outpost before?

Of course, the main attraction is the new set of actors playing the famous original series cast:

• I give kudos to Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Karl Urban for their superb job emulating Shatner, Nimoy, and McCoy, respectively.  It’s a good thing too because The Original Series is pretty much about this trio.  They must work, otherwise the new franchise won’t go anywhere.
• I didn’t find the new take on Uhura, Sulu, and Scotty particularly good.  Uhura was too slutty.  Sulu became a ninja.  Scotty just became too darn annoying with his one-liner quips.  And what’s up with the alien sheep dog accompanying him?  They could use a rewrite, or at least a more dignified character development.
• The new Chekov is amusing because of the way he speaks.  The inside joke is the mispronunciation of words with “V”, made famous from Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home, such as  “Wictor” and “Wessel”.  This character has potential, but ended up as a side show - which is too bad.

Overall, the new series is going to make many people happy.  Some of my friends, who are not Trek fans, enjoyed it as an action movie.  For me, a mild Trekker (as much as I want to admit), the movie has enough tie-ins with the Original Series, it’s fun to watch.  The IMAX screen & sound enhanced the experience.  So I’m glad to have watched it.  I’ll most likely watch it again on DVD.

[View with PicLens]

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

Star Trek in IMAX (Spoilers Alert)

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Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen
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GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra
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G.I. JOE trailer in HD

Meanwhile, here’s hoping JJ Abram’s doesn’t disappoint with the reboot of the Trek series.

Star Trek 2009
(Release May 8 2009 - in IMAX)

This article was posted on Rudy Amid's Blog:

IMAX Year

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