Chris

Android

2010-06-01T21:17:00.001-04:00

Just downloaded the Blogaway apparently for my Nexus One. We'll see how this goes...

2010-05-26T11:45:00.001-04:00

My biggest driving pet peeve is people who don't drive a consistent speed on highways or big roads, thus messing up my cruise control

Sci-Fi Sphere

2010-05-22T01:08:00.002-04:00

I'm done. Nah, kidding. However, I'm not going to be talking about many more science fiction themes in this blog anymore. Since I'm a very big science fiction fan, I could easily devote an entire blog to the topic. In fact, that's exactly what I'm doing.

A while ago, a friend and I had an idea to make a science fiction blog. I would provide the content, and he the framework. For some reason, I found the inspiration tonight watching Stargate Universe, so I decided to start. As of today forward, my science fiction blogging with be at Sci-Fi Sphere, and everything else will be here. I watch far too many science fiction shows, and read way too many science fiction books not to do this. I recently took a course called Science & Fiction at school, and talking about sci-fi was so much fun that I want to continue. So if you get that science fiction craving, head over to Sci-Fi Sphere and check it out.

Stargate Universe: Subversion

2010-05-21T21:24:00.003-04:00

Interesting episode of SGU tonight. I'm glad that Rush was a central character in this episode. I really like his character. He's flawed, like everyone else on the ship, but in a rare, non-cliche way. Not every man spends years of his life trying to solve a problem, while his wife dies of an incurable illness, only to be bested by some punk kid playing a video game. Not only that, but Robert Carlyle is a fantastic actor. I've only seen him in a few things, but he is great. Definitely the best actor on the show.

Scarlett Johansson (you can't tell me TJ doesn't look a bit like her, plus they have the same last name) needs to get her act together though. I understand she's pregnant with a baby she didn't plan for, but Nicole Desjardins on Rama was in a much worse situation. Both women were stranded on an alien ship, with no way home. Two similar situations, two completely different outlooks.

Anyway, Jack and Daniel were the part of the episode that got me most excited. I'm a relatively late-commer to the Stargate universe (pun not intended), but I caught up as soon as I watched the film a couple years ago. Seeing Jack and Daniel bantering, even for two lines, brought a smile to my face. At times, SGU is so very different from SG-1 and SGA that I almost forget they take place in the same universe (I gotta stop saying that). Seeing Young in the same room with Daniel and Jack refreshed my memory.

Question though. Why is Daniel Jackson the one tailing Dr. Rush? I suppose his archeological background must be crucial for a tailing duty. Is there really nothing better for him to do?

Furthermore, why isn't Daniel Jackson regularly on Destiny translating stuff?

It was nice seeing Jack tonight though, even if RDA gained a bit of weight in his time off from acting. He deserves it though. Shame they're ruining his other famous role.

Who the hell is Telford again? It's been so long that I almost forgot about him. Somewhat weird bringing him back, although I guess it explains the attack on the Icarus base.

Clearly Young won't kill Telford. They already showed him not dead, plus they really can't kill off Robert Carlyle, the show's best actor. Well I suppose they could, but we all know they won't.

Decent episode of SGU, but I'm hoping the two part finale will answer some questions.

Syfy's Summer Schedule

2010-05-21T21:06:00.007-04:00

Being so busy with graduation-related things, as well as finales of LOST, Modern Family, V, FlashForward, and Stargate Universe, I almost forgot about my two favorite scifi/Syfy shows: Eureka and Warehouse 13.

Warehouse 13 had a bit of a shaky start, but I think they found their groove on the later half of the season. It's the exact sort of freak-of-the-week show I was looking for. Star Trek has always been great for that, but Enterprise wasn't quite the same (especially after the God-awful Xindi arch). Warehouse 13 seems like it will fit that niche nicely.

Second, Eureka. I remember when it was first advertised on Sci-Fi. I never got around to watching it until after the first season, but I was instantly hooked. Being four seasons deep into LOST, I was really looking for something relaxing. I love Eureka's quirkiness and tongue-in-cheek humor.

I was understandably very excited when I found out that Eureka and Warehouse 13 will have crossover episodes this summer. Fargo is coming to the Warehouse to upgrade security, and Claudia is taking a trip to Eureka for an episode. Both shows are so similar that this just makes perfect sense. I really can't wait to see what they do with it.

James Callis (Baltar on Battlestar Galactica) is also showing up on Eureka this season. I just saw him on FlashForward, and though he didn't play quite the same character, he was fantastic. Look up the clip of him eating a hamburger.
Despite my disagreement with the name change, their guest stars are quite awesome. Michael Shanks on Eureka was awesome, as was Dr. Fraiser.

What is really interesting is that two characters from Eureka were already on Warehouse, although they played different people.

Either way, this should be a really good summer. I'll be sad that LOST is ending, but at least Syfy will be kicking in to full gear.

Edit: Callis' first appearance on FlashForward: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Paxeq8An0x0

Callis eating a hamburger: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKzN6ltOoMc

SteelSeries Siberia Headphones

2010-05-20T17:25:00.005-04:00

I was making a remix a few weeks ago. In order for me to use my headphones, I had to plug them into my subwoofer, under my desk. The headphone cable isn't very long (came with my Zune), so I decided I needed headphones. The next day, I saw a pair on sale on Sellout.Woot.com. The reviews were pretty good, and the price was extremely cheap, so I picked them up. The shipping took a decent amount of time (as per Woot), but I'm totally glad I bought them. They are a bit lighter than they look. The cushions on the ear cups are extremely soft and comfortable. They aren't noise cancelling, or even noise blocking, however. It seems they are intended to use so you can hear things in the background, too. I'm fine with this though. I don't really like to not hear everything. The color is a bit too Apple-white, but it's better than black I guess. The sound quality is very, very good, considering what I paid. Came with a free sticker, too. I will probably keep SteelSeries in mind during future purchases.

Logitech G11

2010-05-20T00:26:00.007-04:00

Last week, I purchased a Logitech G11 keyboard. My previous keyboard was a $15 keyboard I bought at Staples when I was building my desktop. Due to budget restraints at the time, price was the number one factor. Long story short, I spilled orange juice on the keyboard a few months ago. Though one key was a bit sticky, overall performance wasn't affected. However, two weeks ago, a few keys began to stay stuck down until I pried them up. For instance, the 2, 3, 4 and 5 keys, as well as left shift. As a result, I couldn't type very well.

I was looking at new keyboards for a few days. I definitely wanted a backlit keyboard. I also decided I wanted a keyboard with media keys, since I frequently listen to music on the Zune player, and a dedicated volume key. With my speakers, the only way to change volume is via a remote control, which gets quite tedious. A volume button on my keyboard would solve such problems.

I eventually found the Logitech G11 and G15. The G15 looked perfect, but was too expensive. The G11 seemed like it would fit well. It had two USB ports on top, cable management, a blue backlight, media keys, volume, and macro keys. There are 18 "G" macro keys, and pressing M1, M2 or M3 can switch what each of the 18 G keys do. You can program macros using Logitech's software, or record macros on the fly using the MR button. Finally, there is a "gaming mode" switch, which disables the Windows key.

So what do I use? I love the backlight. I also love the media keys. Being able to mute my computer without finding the remote is wonderful as well. I haven't used the macro keys nearly as much as I thought I would, but I figure they will come in handy when Star Wars: The Old Republic launches.

Oh, and the two USB ports? They are USB 1.1, so they transfer data at extremely slow rates. As a result, it's easier for me to reach under my makeshift desk and plug a flash drive into the front of my case.

All in all though, I really like this keyboard. The keys have a bit more travel than I would like, but better than my previous keyboard. The board is very wide, but I don't mind. I feel like I could have gotten a bit more bang for my buck, but the price was right.

Next up: replace my four year old Razer mouse.

2010-05-19T23:17:00.001-04:00

Based on this two minutes of watching Curtis play Modnation Racers, it looks like a day one purchase.

Remember Blogger?

2010-05-19T20:59:00.003-04:00

Yeah it's been two years, so what? Band related updates:

We've recorded a few songs, and written a bunch for our second album.
We have been signed to Sling Slang Records, based in Connecticut
Our last show was opening for Puddle of Mudd, at the Webster Theater.

Subscribe via your favorite RSS reader for (hopefully) more frequent PC updates. Don't forget to check our Facebook. You could always shoot us an email and say hello.

Lyricize this

2008-04-29T11:22:00.003-04:00

I realized today that I really like when bands put lyrics in their album booklets. Artwork is cool too, but isn't the point of being in a band to make music? And isn't the point of writing lyrics so that people can hear them and interpret them? There are a lot of artists out there that aren't 100% clear when they're singing. That's fine, but sometimes I want to be able to understand what is being said. So, official lyrics are a big plus in my book.

Maybe I'm old fashioned. I also still love physical albums over digital downloads. But the inclusion of lyrics seems to be one extra thing a band can do to connect to their fans.

Chevelle, Breaking Benjamin, and blink-182, three of my favorite bands, always do this. I hope the new lostprophets album does that, too, since only Liberation Transmission has lyrics in the booklet.

New Challenge!!

2008-04-24T14:43:00.004-04:00

So here's the deal. Positive Chaos is offering up a challenge to all of our fans. Basically, all you have to do is take a picture. That's right, a picture. The picture requirements:

A stop sign. Or other traffic sign.
A sticker on said street sign.
You.

So take a picture of yourself, and a stop sign with a PC sticker on it. That's it. Here's a sample picture to the right.

But, you might ask, what's the prize? If you can send us a picture that meets these requirements, we'll ship you a brand new demo. The songs on the demo aren't finalized yet, but they'll include at least some previously unreleased songs. If I had to guess, I'd say probably Regret, new Sore, and maybe some other fun songs. Stay tuned.

Here's the best way to show us a picture. Join our mob, and then send it to us! To join, just text "positivechaos" to 66937 on your phone (without the quotes, of course). From there, follow the simple directions to join our mob. Then, all you have to do is take a picture of you with a stop sign and a sticker, then send it to positivechaos@mozes.com. You might not even have to join the mob to send the picture (but hey, what's it gonna hurt?) Alternately, you can also upload it to Photobucket or something, and send it to us through email, MySpace message, or even FaceBook. Give it a shot! Maybe the first challenge winner will get a SPECIAL prize...

Multimedia message

2008-04-22T17:12:00.001-04:00

Old vs new...weird huh?

website, things

2008-04-22T10:37:00.003-04:00

Few things we're kinda half-working on, even if no one knows but me.

I don't know what to call this, its kinda like a challenge. More details to come soon, but complete the challenge and you'll receive a free cd.
I'm thinking of redoing the website again. It seems like its completely changed every few months, but to be honest its really hard to update a flash site, and I just don't have the time to learn enough flash to make it easier. I'm thinking about doing a normal HTML site, though I haven't told anyone else yet haha.

Actually, I guess there's only two updates. Intro to Comm Theory sucks, btw.

I must really hate Economics...

2008-04-21T14:53:00.002-04:00

...because I'm posting another one during class. God my eyes hurt. This class sucks.

Multimedia message

2008-04-19T14:55:00.003-04:00

Brawl tourney. More to come

Update: So I lost. I lost to a freakin NESS. I could have beaten him, too. Meh, whatever.

FW:

2008-04-19T12:17:00.001-04:00

Wow its been over a year...

2008-04-17T14:13:00.005-04:00

I completely forgot about this, haha. Alright so anyway, its now April 2008. We have an amazing show lined up less than a month away. Positive Chaos is hitting up the MAIN STAGE of the Webster Theater in May. That's right, May 12, we're opening for Finger Eleven on the main stage. Tickets are really cheap, just $15. Finger Eleven was supposed to play a few months back, but the show was postponed. Last time, we nearly sold out of tickets, so expect them to go fast; get them early.
In other news, I saw The Used last Friday night in Taxachusettes. It was an absolutely amazing show. They only played 12 songs, but I'm guessing it's because Bert had a node on his vocal chords last summer? I'm just glad he can still sing. So yeah, it was great, they even did a medley of The Taste of Ink, All That I've Got, and Buried Myself Alive. They put on a great show, but the best part was that their bassist, Jeph, had the exact same bass that I use. That was pretty freakin cool.
Another band I like was there, too. Army of Me, based in DC. I heard about them through Burnout Paradise. They're featured on the sound track. Anyway, they were very, very good too. The people I was with didn't seem to care much for them, but I thought they played very well. I actually found their YouTube channel last night, and it has this awesome video of their singer, Vince, playing guitar with a bunch of kids. Check it out here. Yeah, I know it seems to conform to a certain stereotype, but whatever, its still cool regardless.
I should probably get back to my Economics class, but this teacher speaks such poor Engrish that its extremely hard to understand what's going on. Sometimes it takes me a few days worth of thought to figure out what he's trying to say.
I like how off-topic this has gotten. Cool. Well I guess that's it for now, for the two or so people that end up reading this. Ideally we'd all post on here, its a really easy way to keep up with the band. I also just figured out you can email posts and pictures, so I'll probably try that out with my phone, to see how it goes. Could be cool.

I guess that's all for now. I'll see everyone at the show on May 12th.

intro

2007-04-04T14:59:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone, Chris from Positive Chaos here. I'll be your bassist for your musical experience. Uhm, yeah so really you can check out personal rants here and not have to blame the whole band on one asshole's beliefs (though we usually will all agree on everything anyway...). I'm gonna try to get the other guys posting as well, but we'll see how that goes. As for news, we're gonna be playing the Webster Theater on May 13th, opening for Soil. Email us for tickets! It'll be so worth it. Trust me.

Thanks