Picture of the Day - Sleeping Laptop

 

Hey there. Having young adult girls as daughters is a weird time. I tend to find some of their items scattered around the house from time to time but the one item that always gets me chuckling are eyelashes. I've found them in the weirdest of places: window sills, coffee tables, kitchen counters, and on the side of a bookshelf. lol Like... is it a girl thing to leave eye lashes just about anywhere? 

Damn You Blogging Gods!!!

It's true.  Says so in the blogging codex.

Hey there.  I've been away for a bit.  I've been extremely busy getting our home move in ready.  Oh, I didn't tell you guys?!  We're moving!  I've been working feverishly to get all kinds of projects done before we move in full time.  But I degress... that's for another blog post.  I spent the last 2 hours working on a blog post.  I filled you in as to what was going on and one of my awesome Super Mario themed ideas that I was going to start working on.  And then... the blogging gods decided that my blog post was too damn good to share with the world and decided to devour it.  NOOOOOOOO!!!!  2 hours of work, gone.  Vanished.  Disappeared.  Even though there is an auto save feature in Blogger, for whatever reason, my post simply disappeared.

My Laptop is Plagued by the Black Screen of Death

Oh no!!!  Black Screen of Death!!!

Hey there. Sorry for my lack of posts these past few weeks. My time has been consumed dealing with some personal matters and I've been spending most of my free time focusing on that. Nothing negative, actually, quite positive, but nevertheless, extremely time consuming. And even when I can squeeze out some free time, I can no longer post since my laptop is suffering from the, "Black Screen of Death." Ugh! My machine won't boot up. The windows logo appears, but soon after that, I see a black screen with my mouse curser. That's it. Nothing to click, nothing to escape, keyboard is not responding so I can't get to the task manager or run anything via the command prompt. Nothing but black death!

Turtle Beach Ear Force PX22 Amplified Universal Gaming Headset Giveaway

Sweet!  Turtle Beach Ear Force PX22 Giveaway!

Hey there.  The first giveaway of the year is now live, friends!  I wanted to giveaway a headset to start the year but I noticed that many headsets are console specific.  You either need an Xbox 360 headset or a PS3 headset.  Turns out some of those headset are not compatible with the PS4 or the Xbox One.  What does that mean?  It means you can easily end up with several headsets just for your gaming consoles.  Well what if I told you there is gaming headset that is compatible with your gaming console AS WELL as your MP3 player, PC, and Mac computers?  Awesome right?!  Guess what... I found one!  The Turtle Beach Ear Force PX22 is a universal gaming headset that works with practically anything... and I'm giving one away to one of you fine readers!

Steam Family Sharing Enters Beta in Mid September

Hey there.  One of the things that many people love about Steam is the ease of being able to download an awesome game for an unbelievably low price.  Once you own that game, it's yours and will forever be tied to your account.  But what if there is one computer and multiple Steam accounts?  At this point in time, each account would need to purchase the game in order to play it.  Well... that's about to change!  Steam Family Sharing will allow game sharing on accounts that also share the same computer!  How awesome is that?!?!  No longer will your son or daughter have to use your personal Steam account to play games.  You can authorize them to access your games on thier personal account and they can now play your downloaded games.  The best part about it is that they will also have their own saved files and achievements tied to their accounts and won't affect your personal account what so ever.

Enter to Win a Kingston 240 Gig Hyper X 3K SSD Drive via Dragonblogger

Oooooo.... shiny!

Hey there. Who's ready for another giveaway! This one comes from our good friends at Dragonblogger.com so this is for all of you tech enthusiasts! Enter to win a Kingston 240G Hyper X SSD Drive! These bad boys can retail close to $500 and you can enter to win one right here on Metallman's Reverie!

Improve your load times. Improve your perfomance. Improve your gaming.  Improve your laptop or computer with this great SSD Drive by Kingston. Here are some specs on the SSD drive and a brief description:

Anker 4 Port USB 3.0 Hub Review

Hey there. Speed, speed, speed. Now a days, everything needs to be fast. Our computers need to be fast, our internet connection needs to be fast, and our data transfers need to be fast. Computer processors are now smaller and faster, fiber optic internet cables are bring the online world at blazing fast speed, and the USB 3.0 (SuperSpeed) ports is the top of the line for faster data transfer speeds. Many computers and laptops of today are equipped with at least one 3.0 USB port. But what if you need more than that? There are many USB 3.0 hubs out there that promise you efficiency and speed, but the Anker 4 Port USB 3.0 Hub delivers on every level! Our good friends at Anker have provided me with a 4 Port USB 3.0 Hub to try out and let me tell you, it does not disappoint!

Vipre Internet Security 2013

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Vipre for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there.  I've been an avid fan of Vipre Antivirus software.  As a matter of fact, I've been using nothing but Vipre since 2010.  I know, I know... it hasn't been that long but once I have commited to a company, you have gained a loyal customer for life!  And Vipre deserves it, too.  They have done such as awesome job of protecting my computer that there is no need to switch to any other antivirus or internet security software.  So what's VIPRE'S latest software to battle all things threatening to your computer?  VIPRE Internet Security 2013, that's what!

My ASUS Laptop Screen is Busted... but It's OK

NOOOOOOOOO!!! NOT LUCY!!!!!!!!!!  =o(

Hey there.  You know what happened after recording an episode of the Get a Life Podcast?  My laptop screen broke.  Literally, minutes after the show.  I set my laptop down, went to grab something to drink, came back to a broken screen.  My 2 youngest (3 and 7) were running around, near my laptop, so when I questioned them about it, naturally, they pointed the finger at each other.  lol  I held it in.  I'll admit that I was pretty upset and I probably reacted a lot better than what was expected.  The kids know that the laptop is Daddy's life.  lol  Accidents happen, though.  I'm not mad... not anymore, lol,  but man was I feeling down.  I practically live off the damn thing.  I do all of my online work on my laptop and to have a busted screen was a huge bummer.  Especially since I feel pretty good about the work that I've recently done.  It pained me to think that my computer could be out of commission until I got it fixed!!!  But never fear!  A replacement screen is on it's way!  YAY!!!  I'm thinking of creating a "how to replace your screen" type post.  Create a video and all that good stuff.  I'm thinking about it.  The screen gets here tomorrow and if I'm up for it, I'll do a quick how to replace tutorial.  It'll be the first one I do so bare with me if it sucks.  lol

Thoughts On... The Anker High Precision Laser Gaming Mouse with 8000 DPI

Oh yeah!  Time to get my gaming on!

Hey there.  What's in a computer mouse?  It's just a thing to click on stuff, right?  WRONG!  A great mouse is everything when it comes to gaming.  It needs to have precision, it needs to be responsive, it needs to have buttons that are fully customizable, and it needs to be easy to use.  It sounds like a lot is going on in that sentence, doesn't it?  Well, our good friends at Anker provided me with the Anker High Precision Laser Gaming Mouse with 8000 DPI and it is EXACTLY what you are looking for in a high quality gaming mouse.  After more than a week of trying out this mouse, I can honestly say that it's the best mouse that I have every used.  Not just for gaming but for every day use as well.  Let's get to it, shall we?

I Won a Season Pass of The Walking Dead on Steam from Zombie & Toys

Hey there.  I've been meaning to give a shout out to my friends over at Zombies & Toys for quite some time.  I received a small envelope some time ago of some of their awesome buttons and stickers.  One of their stickers currently resides on my laptop.  lol  Anyways, I received an Email from Zombies & Toys proclaiming me the winner of The Walking Dead Season Pass on Steam!  How freakin' awesome is that?!  The Walking Dead game is being released in episodes and I believe 3 of the 5 episodes have already been released.  The season pass will allow me to download and play all episodes as they become available!  I can't wait!  From what I hear from friends that have played them, they are pretty good.

See!  Zombies & Toys sticker in prime real estate on my laptop!

Being a huge fan of the The Walking Dead, I've been wanting to play these games but didn't want to shell out the cash to pay for each episode (Yeah... I can be a little bit of a cheapo when it comes to things I want).  The season pass is exactly what I needed to get access to all episodes.  I'm extremely excited about this win!  As for Zombies & Toys, they are an awesome group of zombie enthusiasts that you guys must check out.  You can usually find them in a booth in conventions with all sorts of awesome zombie stuff, especially zombie apparel!  Checkout their blog and Facebook page for all news zombie and awesome giveaways like the one that I won!  Thanks, friends at Zombies & Toys!  You guys rock!  Later!

Stick it to Viruses! FixMeStick Review and Giveaway

Me and my new ammo against Viruses and Malware!

Hey there.  I was recently contacted by our good friends at FixMeStick and was offered an opportunity to try out their latest product:  The FixMeStick.  Let me paint a picture for you.  You're off, browsing the web like we all do, purchased some music, viewed some funny videos, and then... your computer crashes.  Oh man...  You get it load up but you notice it's a little sluggish.  Then there are a few pop ups that don't seem to want to go away.  Worst case scenario, the computer won't even boot up anymore because of the viruses and malware that have infected your computer.  Before you even get a chance to assess the damage, the virus or malware have taken over your computer.  You now consider it "useless" and need to get your tech friend to clean out your computer and hope to have it working soon.  Now, how many times have THAT happened to you?  I can tell you right now that I have cleaned out my fair share of computers and laptops and it can be a tedious task since computer threats have been getting smarter and more difficult to find and eliminate.  The FixMeStick makes this tedious task of virus removal extremely easy!

NVIDIA 3D Vision 2 Wireless Glasses Kit Giveaway

Hey there. Who is ready for another giveaway?!?! This one for the gamers out there! Who wants to win this awesome NVIDIA 3D Vision 2 Wireless Glasses Kit???  I have partnered up with our good friend Lucy at Love, Lucy and I have managed to bring this awesome giveaway to fruition.  So what are they?  These glasses will provide you with some of the best there is in 3D technology.  With lenses at least 20% larger than most 3D glasses, you can actually wear your prescription glasses under these NVIDIA 3D glasses!  They connect to your display via it's built in IR receiver and with over 60 of battery life, you won't have to stop during your game session or movie night!  The conveniently charge through a 2.0 USB port and if you aboslutely have to, you can charge and use them at the same time.  How awesome is that!

Now, I do have to point out that you WILL need a display that offers 3D capabilities.  You cannot wear these glasses and magically turn every monitor into a 3D monitor.  If being used on a computer or laptop, you will need a 3D display capable video card.  Other than that, these should work with any 3D vision ready displays.  Also, this is a single pair of glasses.  I don't want anyone to be confused by the number 2 in the giveaway.  The kit includes a single pair of 3D glasses.

So who's ready to enter?  The giveaway is open to US and Canadian residents and will run from now until Nov. 25th.  The winner will be announced shortly after that. If the winner is from our neighbor up north, the winner will have to pay all shipping costs.  Good luck friends!  Later!

Take Advantage of Kmart's Big Layaway Giveaway

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Kmart for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there.  Can you believe that we're in the middle of September already?  I've already seen halloween decorations up and at some local retailers, I've seen Thanksgiving decorations for sale.  You know what that means!!!  Holiday is shopping is right around the corner!  Oh man!  If you are anything like me, you're going to want to pick up awesome holiday gifts for your friends and family, but having to pay money upfront can cause a huge dent in my wallet.  It's one of the main reasons I take advantage of the layaway programs that are available at my local retailers.  You can set aside the gifts, a pay a little each week/month, get your gifts when you're done!  It's great!  But you know what would make it perfect???  Free.  Consumers LOVE free.  That's why I like to go to Kmart for their free layaway program.  While others may charge a small fee to hold your items, Kmart does not.  But they've made their layaway program even better.  Have you heard about the Kmart's Big Layaway Giveaway???  No?!  Well... let me tell you!

Bitdefender Total Security Antivirus Takes Next Gen Online Security to the Next Level

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bitdefender for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there.  With the internet being more integral in our everyday lives, the next gen of online security has been working hard to make sure we are protected.  Threats are everywhere.  From phishing scams to hackers.  From viruses to spyware.  We need to make sure that we are protected from all threats and not just some of the threats.  It doesn't make sense to protect yourself from only a portion of the threats out there.  Many antivirus programs offer you protection from many online threats, but I believe that Bitdefender Total Security is the only one that offer full and complete protection.  Why?  Because they offer Bitdefender SafePay.

Lenovo IdeaPad Z585 Laptop Giveaway

Hey there.  Who wants a new laptop?!  I have partnered with my good friend, Justin, over at Dragonblogger.com, to bring you this great Lenovo IdeaPad Z585 laptop giveaway.  It's a great budget gaming laptop.  Of course, you don't have to use it for gaming. The added firepower that this laptop has would make it a great laptop to have period!  This bad boy easily retails over $700 and you can score a free one right here!  Check out the specs!

• Lenovo IdeaPad Z585
• AMD A8-4500M 1.9GHz
•  6GB Memory
• 750GB HDD AMD
• Radeon HD 7640G DVD±R/RW

Additional Features

Stylish design in premium brushed gray metal
Integrated AMD Radeon HD graphics
OneKey® Theatre, with touch-sensitive hotkeys, for one-touch audiovisual optimization
Dolby® Home Theater v4, with specialized stereo speakers for crisp, clear surround sound
Intelligent TouchPad, supporting multiple-finger gestures
Integrated 720p HD webcam, HDMI
Two USB 3.0 ports, 5-in-1 card reader
AccuType keyboard
15.6” HD LED backlit display
DVD Drive
OneKey® Rescue for system backup and restoration
Lenovo Energy Management

So how do you enter?  This giveaway and all future giveaways here on Metallman's Reverie will now be powered by PunchTab.  Rafflecopter was great but it was too high maintenance.  Too many bogus entries and I spent a lot of time removing bad entries.  The great thing about using PunchTab?   Aside from them verifying entries for me, if you share the contest, the more entries YOU earn.  That's right!  Sharing on Facebook, Twitter, and anywhere else will benefit you and earn you extra entries each time someone clicks on your unique url code!  How awesome is that!!!  So share away, friends.  The more entries you score, the more chances that the giveaway gods will pick you!  Good luck!
The Lenovo Laptop Giveaway Contest is being held by Dragon Blogger Technology in coordination with the following sponsors:
Metallman's Reverie
Blog Engage

The Lenovo Speaker M0520: Powerful Sound from a Small Package

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Lenovo for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

They there.  Technology has made it that most devices have become smaller and more powerful.  Think back to the early cell phones.  Those monstrosities were big and bulky compared to the sleek designs of many smartphones out today.  Even though smaller might not always seem better, certain items are best in small packages.  It's convenient for easy storage and for mobility.  We all carry around a smart phone that plays music, a tablet that can play videos, or a laptop that can do it all.  Those built in speakers are not always of the best quality so it would be great to carry around great sounding speakers that can easily be carried with you.  That's where the Lenovo speaker M0520 comes in.