RROD!!

Argh! So I picked up Battlefield: Bad Company the other day wanting to get my shooter comedy on. I popped the game in and BLAM--Red Ring of Death on my Xbox 360.

I've been so lucky to-date, but it finally caught up to me. Oh well...no GTA4, Assassin's Creed, no streaming from Windows Media Center...*sigh*

I even was a sucker and bought the Best Buy extended warranty with my Xbox 360--it expired in May, of course.

Not all is lost, however. Fortunately, M$ is extending warranty repairs of RROD to 3 years. So they sent me a box to return my unit and hopefully I'll get a replacement.

1st Birthday!

My Little munchkin turned one year old yesterday!

Even though he slept through the first part of the party, he came out in style later on. My father-in-law prepped all the appetizers and food and I assisted with the grill-work.

All-in-all, a very fun party and very, very tiring! I'm still recovering. :)

Make Windows Explorer Suck Less (StExBar)

Cool app StExBar adds a new and useful toolbar to Windows Explorer. You can also add custom commands to do whatever you want.

Good for those of us that spend way too much time in Explorer.

Windows Tools I'm Testing

So I'm an IT guy and I periodically try new software, hardware, etc... I normally just peruse my LifeHacker RSS feed and get my newest list of cool stuff. I figured I'd share with ya'll what I found of interest:

Windows Search 4.0 - Ew, yeah I know. I normally don't use it but I know some of you do. Anyway, it's available for XP/Vista now on Windows Update if you want it.

DVD Catalyst Free - Gotta love FREE. This rips DVDs into various other formats in a pretty simple way. If you have an iPod, iPhone, PSP, Windows Mobile, etc you should give it a look.

Windows Update Downloader - For all you IT Admins out there. This allows you download packaging Windows updates and add them to slipstreaming or imaging scripts. Very slick.

AccelMan - Hate Explorer? Try this free replacement. Annoying download registration, but the products looks like a definate improvement over Explorer. (Hmm, link is jacked--I think they got bombed by the publicity)

Opera Mobile 9.5 - It's out. And if you have a Windows Mobile like I do, you hate PIE (Pocket Internet Explorer). Get it while it's hot (and until M$ Deepfish is out).

XRecode - Converts audio formats. I've needed to do this on occasion, maybe you will need it sometime.

Microsoft Live Mesh Tech Preview - It's open to the public and allows you to sync files across computers. Looks pretty slick so far, but then, I'm not syncing much yet.

And finally, Microsoft is offering free tech support for Vista SP1 until March 2009. Wow. Interesting ploy M$. Well played.

WTF? Windows XP Does Suck...At Least with PPTP.

Well, XP is fine, I just like to grab your attention. But we've been fighting a new issue here in IT and the solution sucks. Apparently, Windows XP SP2 doesn't like to correctly use DNS when connected via PPTP (I know, why don't we use a real VPN solution).

After much gnashing of teeth and pulling of hair we found this Microsoft KB that not only IDs the problem but actually fixes it.

You win another round M$, but don't think I'll stop saving for an iPhone...

I thought I loved Portal...

Wow, this guy loves Portal. So much so that he wrote voice files for Garmins! Let GLaDOS guide to your doom--er cake if you dare!

Personally, as soon as this guy releases the TomTom pack, I'm gettin' it!

Coupons.com In The News!

It's interesting to work for a company that makes the news. Here's the latest mention.

Baby Sign Language

So my wife and I recently completed a six-week course for baby sign language.

I have to admit, I thought I was going to be bored and the only husband there and that this was really going to suck; but it turned to out to be alot of fun. Our teacher was engaging and kept things light. And also taught us words that babies shouldn't use (like fart, horny, and...you get the idea).

Anyway, I wasn't the only husband there (well, I was one of two--does the host husband count?). It was fairly mommy-heavy, but as I said, my wife and I had a good time and it turned out to be a fun distraction for Saturday afternoons.

After going through everything and seeing our 10 month old actually use sign language to ask for milk or more food, I have to say that it is very helpful. I could drone on about all the benefits; but if you are interested go look for yourself.

The Stuff I Do...

It's rare I get to see any fruits of my labor these days, but here is an article about my company regarding the infrastructure I built: MSN MoneyCentral Article

Check out Coupons.com if you want to see the EMC at work!

First Post!

Hey all! This is my blog; maybe I'll actually post on this one unlike all my other attempts. :)