Saturday, June 27, 2009

SiriusXM - The Loft

One of my newly-discovered favorites on SiriusXM is The Loft, channel 29. It plays a very interesting mix of music, which I like when I really want something different. On a recent drive into work, I heard the following artists:

  • Randy Newman
  • Duncan Sheik
  • The Temptations
  • Ben Harper and Relentless 7
  • Coldplay
  • Rolling Stones
  • Muddy Waters
  • Wilco
  • Bobbie Gentry
  • Jill Sobule (song: "Where is Bobbie Gentry?")

15 years and 168,743 miles...

and we're still going strong in 2009.

1994 Chevy S-10

Yep, this is me in 1994 with my newly-leased truck:

1994 Chevy S-10

My truck has probably provided the most utility of anything I've ever owned. Innumerable moves, both my own and others, a trip halfway across the country to Minneapolis and back, transport of a stranded motorcycle, commuting to work, and I believe my brother Brian used it to move an engine block once.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Xbox 360 RRoD #1


Xbox 360 RRoD
Originally uploaded by arukasa
[UPDATE - Xbox returned! See below]

I am now a member of the club, I guess.

My Xbox 360 finally gave in yesterday. It had been freezing more and more frequently with distortion and pixellation on the screen, and finally after taking the hard drive off and turning the unit on, I saw the three quadrants lit up and blinking indicating ... death.

Unfortunately last night Xbox.com's support page was virtually inaccessible it was so slow, so I have been doubly frustrated at not even being able to print out a shipping label to send my box back. It is still loading like molasses tonight...

Well, it lasted one year, nine months (I bought it just prior to the Halo 3 launch). That's pretty sad considering my original Xbox, PS2 and GameCube still work fine. At least it's still under the 3 year RRoD warranty.

Don't get me wrong, I love my 360 and think it offers the best online console gaming experience currently. I'll have it repaired and play again, it's just frustrating.

FYI, my box was manufactured 7/19/2007, has a Zephyr mobo and chipset (with supposedly improved heatsink) and HDMI port.

UPDATE: My Xbox arrived on July 6, 2009, exactly two weeks from the day I shipped it off. Not a bad turnaround time. This new box is a replacement and not a repair of my old box. It shows a "service date" of June 28, 2009. From some searches online, this appears to mean it is a repaired/refurbished machine, just not my original box. I set it up and everything seems to be working ok, so it looks like I'm back in business.

Thursday, June 04, 2009

Stern on Letterman next Monday, June 8, 2009

Howard announced on the show this morning that he will be on Letterman next Monday, so be sure to set your VCRs or DVRs. He's always entertaining.

One insider bit of info if you don't listen to the Stern show -- watch for Howard to ask Dave whether Dave will have Jay Leno on the show now that Leno is not really a competitor anymore.