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Why Didn't Anyone Think Of That Before? It's So Stupid, It's Positively Brilliant!

by Rainier on Feb. 23, 2010 @ 12:00 a.m. PST | Filed under MOTD

First of all I need to apologize for the late and spotty coverage yesterday morning. We were starting to feel like we were living in some third world country. First, our Internet connection kept cutting out, and then shortly thereafter, the electricity went out for a few hours. It's amazing how little there is to do without power — no TV, no Internet, no radio, no lights, no phone, and even the laptop was of no use since there were no functional routers in the area, for obvious reasons. Boring!

Another negative side effect of the matter was that when the power went down, it tweaked my iPod again, for some reason! I'm going to try one more time to get it working, but if it dies on me again, I'm kicking it to the curb.

If You're A Scottish Lord, Then I Am Mickey Mouse

by Rainier on Feb. 22, 2010 @ 12:00 a.m. PST | Filed under MOTD

This has been a wonderful weekend. I love it when a plan comes together, especially when you have nothing planned. We really didn't do much but lounge around, play video games, watch TV, cook, eat and do some errands.

This week, I was supposed to be flying out to SCEA to go and check out the finished version of God Of War 3, but on the day of departure, I have to help one of our friends pack up their big household items for a move across country, so now I have to rush to find a replacement, and no, this is not a call for submissions.

If I Didn't Know You Better, I'd Swear You Had Some Class!

by Rainier on Feb. 21, 2010 @ 12:00 a.m. PST | Filed under MOTD

Yesterday was a beautiful day. We didn't do anything. We stayed up late, worked late, slept late, and then made up excuses so we wouldn't have to leave the house all day. We put off our errands and even changed our dinner plans just so we could stay in, and what a perfectly lazy day it was.

We played some more Plants vs. Zombies on the iPod, checked out Greed: Black Border (very Shadowgrounds-like, and loving it so far) and watched some more Olympics, a few episodes of Heroes and Leverage.

Now, this only means we have more to do today, but we'll see about that when we wake up. :)

I'd Like To Spell It Out For You... Only I Can't Spell!

by Rainier on Feb. 20, 2010 @ 12:00 a.m. PST | Filed under MOTD

This weekend, we do not have anything in particular lined up. We did our taxes earlier this week, there aren't any concerts, no binge drinking, and movies we want to see. Man, what to do!?

Luckily, the Olympics and work kept us busy throughout the week so, as customary, we have a slew of TV series to catch up on.

What's with all these '80s hair bands making a return lately? I've picked up new albums from Dokken, Ratt, Tesla, WASP and Winger. Even Kiss' Ace Frehley managed to squeeze out a solo album. However, the most interesting new acquisition is undoubtedly Them Crooked Vultures, another side project from Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme, Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl and Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones.

We've Just Discovered The Most Wonderful, The Most Marvelous Poisinous Gas

by Rainier on Feb. 19, 2010 @ 12:00 a.m. PST | Filed under MOTD

After our little trip to the Apple store last weekend to fix my iPod, it died on me again yesterday. While the customer service was great in fixing the issue, I thought it was quite weird that a re-format was done so quickly — it seemed more like an erase than a clean wipe — so I decided to go into disc mode, do a low-level format it, and restore the functionality. So far so good, as everything seems to working again.

Finally managed to watch Halloween II, Rob Zombie's remake of the classic, and I thought it was better than the first one he redid. We also checked out the latest Psych, Human Target and some more winter Olympics.

I'd Like To Have Your Advice On How To Live Comfortably Without Hard Work

by Rainier on Feb. 18, 2010 @ 12:00 a.m. PST | Filed under MOTD

The Olympics are in full swing, and we got to watch Shaun White in action. The dude has his own personal half-pipe up in the mountains somewhere, so he can practice undisturbed.

We had taco Wednesday over at our neighbor's place, and it was great.

I planned on watching Halloween II yesterday but did not get around to it, so hopefully I'll get a chance to check it out later today.

I Love Hitmen. No Matter What You Do To Them, You Don't Feel Bad

by Rainier on Feb. 17, 2010 @ 12:00 a.m. PST | Filed under MOTD

It's that time of the year, time for taxes! As we pored over our paperwork, we came across a discrepancy. apparently our Norton virus protection for the office had been automatically renewed a few months ago, even though we'd already purchased an upgraded version and we were waiting for the old one to expire before we installed it on the network.  Off to customer service we went to see if we could get reimbursed, and to our surprise, the rep did not make a fuss, reversed the charges and gave us an extra month on our new license. It's not a lot, but we were quite surprised at how painless it was. Our hat's off to you, Symantec.

People Are Frightened By What They Don't Understand

by Rainier on Feb. 16, 2010 @ 12:00 a.m. PST | Filed under MOTD

Well, that holiday is over with. Nothing special happened, just a nice excuse to do absolutely nothing. We slept late, ate late, played some Plants vs. Zombies on the iPod and watched some Winter Olympics, The Amazing Race, Supernatural, 24, and The Good Wife. Very productive day indeed ....

I'm sure today will be much busier, so without further delay, let's get to it ....

You've Been Declared Competent, Son, 'Know What That Means? 'Means You Gonna Ride The Lightning

by Rainier on Feb. 15, 2010 @ 12:00 a.m. PST | Filed under MOTD

Hope everybody out there had a great Valentine's Day. We had a very relaxing day. Ran some errands in the afternoon, watched the latest episode of House, a movie called Bon Cop, Bad Cop, and a romantic dinner for two at home to top it off.

Today will probably be a quiet news day, as most places in the U.S. will remain closed for Presidents' Day (to celebrate George Washington and Abraham Lincoln's birthdays) but we'll keep an eye on things in case anything interesting pops up.

While You Wait You Can Read My Column. It'll Make Minutes Fly Like Hours

by Rainier on Feb. 14, 2010 @ 12:00 a.m. PST | Filed under MOTD

While I was skeptical about going back to the Apple store for my scheduled appointment, I walked away pretty satisfied and impressed. I was miffed that they didn't help me last week and I had to book an appointment to get some service, fully expecting the "geniuses" to either make me buy a new iPod or make me come back again to get it actually fixed after the diagnosis. None of that, I walked in and walked back out 10 minutes later with my old iPod, fully working.

On that high note, we ran our errands, played some games (yes, CrimeCraft) and watched TV. Scratch Burn Notice, House, Lost, and NCIS off the list.

Wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Lunar New Year!

When Somebody Asks Me A Question, I Tell Them The Answer

by Rainier on Feb. 13, 2010 @ 12:00 a.m. PST | Filed under MOTD

Another busy week has come to an end! We had quite a few events to attend over the past few days, including Microsoft's X10 gig, so expect some interviews and previews in the next few days.

We have a DVR full of goodies to work through, and last night, we watched Human Target and Psych, but it's still more than 40% full of other TV series. I foresee that the couch will get lots of loving this weekend.

I'm The Chief Of Police, Not The Chief Of The People

by Rainier on Feb. 12, 2010 @ 12:00 a.m. PST | Filed under MOTD

Just got back from the Alice in Chains concert, and it was excellent. There was a cool little band as the opening act, and Jerry Cantrell and his posse rocked for nearly two hours, playing a few songs from the new album, but mostly the greatest hits. No more concerts for a month or two until Faith No More comes to town. That one's going to be "Epic."

I managed to check out the new albums I mentioned yesterday, and the Fear Factory one was the best. Rob Zombie's "Hellbilly Deluxe 2" isn't bad, but it's certainly not his best work.

I Know You Can Fight, But It's Our Wits That Make Us Men

by Rainier on Feb. 11, 2010 @ 12:00 a.m. PST | Filed under MOTD

By the time you read this, I'm either on my way home or sleeping off the alcohol. We have dinner plans with some publisher/developers, which is always dangerous, so who knows where we'll end up?

Tonight we have another concert to go to. Alice in Chains is in town, so that should be a blast. Got their newest album a few weeks back, and the new singer sounds pretty close to Layne Staley, who OD'd in 2002.

On the subject of music, I picked up the newest Fear Factory and Rob Zombie albums, so I'll have to give them a listen later today.

The Dead Know Only One Thing: It Is Better To Be Alive

by Rainier on Feb. 10, 2010 @ 12:00 a.m. PST | Filed under MOTD

It's no secret that I am a sucker for CrimeCraft, and while it has plenty of issues, I'm enjoying it greatly. Vogster has been trying to get its MMO off the ground for a few months now, and while it's certainly better now than in the beginning, it still has a really low population. At the end of this month, a new patch is expected that will add new features and a large new map for 32 players, but mainly, it'll upgrade the free trial member status to full standard access and lower the premium subscription. If you're still on the fence, then it might be the time to check it out, or if you dropped the game a few months ago, it might be worth coming back ....

They're All So Beautiful. Why Don't I Have Three Heads?

by Rainier on Feb. 9, 2010 @ 12:00 a.m. PST | Filed under MOTD

It turned out to be a rather quiet day yesterday, apart from a slew of game announcements, everybody ramping up their titles again after the holidays, and EA revealing their lineup through next year. (That must be a first.)

We have a few press events to attend this week, so some more preview and interview coverage will be coming your way. Keep an eye out.

Quiet days make for quiet evenings, so we got to catch up on some TV series: Chuck, Kitchen Nightmares, NCIS and Psych.

The Best Goodbyes Are Short. Adieu.

by Rainier on Feb. 8, 2010 @ 12:00 a.m. PST | Filed under MOTD

Today was a busy day. I used to be a big fan of Faith No More, but they split in 1998, and now more than a decade later, FNM is back on the road. They are going to be in town in April, and of course I want to go see them, and tickets went on sale Sunday morning. Oddly enough, we got a pre-order code, but the show was sold out in minutes, so a second date was added only to sell out equally as quickly. Luckily, a third performance announcement followed shortly, and with some perseverance (and a little luck), we managed to get tickets before they were officially on sale. Sweet!

Later in the afternoon, we went to see The Book of Eli, a very good movie that made me think of Fallout throughout, and as usual, it was an excellent performance by Denzel Washington. On our way back home, we stopped by the Apple store to get my iPod fixed, but apparently paying out the nose for their hardware doesn't include decent customer service because you have to make an appointment first before they'll help you. We head back next weekend to see if the iPod is salvageable. Fingers crossed!

Story Of My Life. I Always Get The Fuzzy End Of The Lollipop

by Rainier on Feb. 7, 2010 @ 12:00 a.m. PST | Filed under MOTD

We made it back home safely from the concert, and it was quite fun. The opening act was Attitude Adjustment, some hardcore/punk band that wasn't very interesting, but Anvil was good! I picked up a new t-shirt and had it signed by the band, which in retrospect is a bit whack. Now I can't wear it since I won't want to wash off the autographs.

Later today, we are finally going to see The Book of Eli and hopefully stop by the Apple store to get my ipod fixed. Listening to the radio sucks.

It's Already Mutated Into Human Form. Shoot It!

by Rainier on Feb. 6, 2010 @ 2:18 a.m. PST | Filed under MOTD

The new digital camera I got for Christmas is fully charged, ready and waiting to snap tons of photos at the Anvil concert tonight! Been listening to the latest album, "This is Thirteen," and there are quite a few songs on there that we dig.

We also got a news flash earlier this week that Faith No More is coming to town. Tickets going on sale tomorrow, so hopefully we can get score some tickets for that as well. Haven't seen FNM in a really long time, and they were one of my favorite bands back in their prime, so I'm really looking forward to that.

I Never Thought I'd Find An Answer At The Bottom Of A Pint Glass

by Rainier on Feb. 5, 2010 @ 12:00 a.m. PST | Filed under MOTD

Well, Wednesday was quite the fiasco. We went to dinner at our neighbor's place, and a few bottles of wine and various beers later, it was suddenly 1am.  Luckily, we did not have to go far, but a quick nap turned into an all-nighter. Neither one of us heard the alarm, so we woke up at 8am.

Oops ....

We didn't have any plans last night, so we decided to just play some video games and watch TV (Psych and The Good Wife).

You're A Married Man, It's All Over. Leave The Young Girls For Me

by Rainier on Feb. 4, 2010 @ 12:00 a.m. PST | Filed under MOTD

Not much time for watching stuff on the DVR last night, since we were invited to go to dinner with friends (and once again on Friday). We did manage to squeeze in the last two episodes of Dollhouse, the series finale (*sniff*), and it sure looks different from the rest of the series, much more like Terminator 4 or The Sarah Connor Chronicles.