PSN Attacked Again! (05.18.11 Post Update)

Hey there. The Playstation network has been attacked again!  This morning, once everyone was beginning to feel all warm and cozy over the mass Emailing that Sony sent out to their customers, the hackers got to work and infiltrated the "new and secure" PSN.  Now, the service is down while Sony works on fixing it.

Xbox 360 Update May Kill Your Console

Hey there.  If you're a gamer, than you know what the deal is with the PS3 and Sony's PSN being hacked and all.  I guess Microsoft didn't want all the public scorn to fall on Sony so they have announced that the mandatory 360 update (set to release tomorrow, May 19th) may completely brick your 360.  What?!?!?  Yup, the new firmware update is supposed to prep the console to read a new disc format (hmmmm...) and the update may cause console's to permanently stop reading discs.  What is a gamer to do?!  Either I go with Sony and risk my personal information be compromise or I go with Microsoft and get a useless system.  Ugh... 

April 2011Give-a-way: Plants Vs. Zombies (Xbox360) Winner!

Hey there friends. We have 44 friends that all want this game and they registered 149 entries.  Thank you contest gods!  lol  I created a spread sheet to keep tabs of everyone who entered and how many entries they received.  Here's a small snippet of that:

I then jumbled the names of the entrants to randomize the selection process.  I will use random.org to select a number for me and that number will represent the winner.  So here goes! And our winning number is...

 which is...

LADYT64!!!!!!  You are our winner!  Congrats!  I will be contacting you shortly to get all the necessary info so that I can ship you your new game.  Thank you all for entering and hope you guys stick around for the May contest which will be revealed on May 15th!  Later!

PSN Hacked

Hey there.  I know that the news of the hacking of the Playstation Network has been out for some time, but it's time to throw my 2 cents in.  I think it's horrible that Sony did not act swiftly to protect the information of their users.  I understand that they're looking into it, I understand that they haven't yet figured it out, what I don't understand is why they would wait well over a week before notifying their users that their private information may have been compromised.  That includes their credit card information!

High profile people have displayed their displeasure with Sony for not sending out a notice right away about the breech in their network.  Instead, they announced that it was "maintenance".  Then the maintenance turned into "network issue".  And now, it turns out that an "unauthorized user" gained access to the network.  Unauthorized user meaning, HACKER!  If they knew from the get go that something was amiss with their network and info could have been stolen, they should have manned up and just let everyone know.

The console wars going on between Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony may have played a part as to why Sony was so hush hush about it.  They don't want the negative publicity coming with a security breech but I think they may have hurt their image more by staying quiet over a serious matter.  Over 50 million users will be affected by this and that's a lot of people to upset.  I think this will be a black on mark on Sony for some time but will most likely recover, the way Microsoft did when they had their Xbox Live snafu.  The console wars are heating up and are fierce among the players.  Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony all have an image to uphold and this incident will not only damage their PR outlook, but may damage the loyalty of their die hard fans, and that's something that will be hard to gain back.  Later!

April 2011 Give-a-way: Plants Vs. Zombies (Xbox 360)

Hey there friends.  Here is the item up for grabs: 

How do you win this awesome game for the Xbox360?  Here are the rules:

Open to US and Canadian friends only.  Give-a-way will run from the 15th of the month until the end of the month.  The winner will be announced shortly after the give-a-way ends.

Earn entries by:

Comment on the post of the giveaway (+1 entry)
Share on Facebook (+3 entries)
Share on Twitter (+3 entries)
Share on Google Buzz (+3 entries)
Subscribe to my feed (+5 entries)

For those of you that gain additional entries by sharing or subscribing, you only need to leave 1 comment for each.  I will keep tabs of the additional entries on a spread sheet so there is no need to leave 5 comments for subscribing or 3 comments for sharing.  

PLANTS Vs. ZOMBIES!!!  This popular game is now available on Xbox 360.  This awesome version also includes 2 bonus games: Peggle and Zuma.  3 games in one give a way!  Get your entries in today and score your free copy of this game!  Good luck!  Later!

Xbox 360 Repair Tech in Training

Just like my dad!

Hey there. I wanted to post this picture because I think it's awesome. lol  I haven't really had the chance to work on some Xboxes that need some repair.  They all have the 3 Red Rings and considering that I've had some moderate success in repairing them, I told my cuz I'd give it a go.  While I was cleaning the CPU and GPU chips on one of the machines, I got out of the chair to get a drink.  That's when I see my youngest boy on the chair, ready and eager to get to it.  lol  That's when I snapped the pic above.  My wife told me last night that our son grabbed his tools (toys) and placed them on top of the computer as if he was gearing up ready to work on it, just like his pops.  lol  That young one sure is something else. 

As for the Xboxes, I managed to get 1 of the 3 working.  I played some games on it and watched a DVD to make sure that it wouldn't over heat and it worked just fine.  I pieced it back together and it's ready to go back to the owner.  When I was about to work on Xbox #2, I decided to check the error code before digging in.  I find that it has error 0003, from what I've been told, may not be repairable due to a bad GPU or bad solder connections around the GPU.  I don't have the tools or the know how to even comprehend the problem, but I decided to remove the X-clamps and readjust the heat sinks.  Still no dice.  It has the same error code and considering that I'm not 100% what's wrong with it, I won't mess with it any more without the consent of the owner.  Xbox #3 will have to wait til tonight.  I haven't checked the code on it or anything but I'm confident that I'll be able to get it working.

I also picked up the Kinect for the Xbox not too long ago and I must say that it's pretty awesome.  We picked it up with Kinect Adventures and even though the games are simple enough, doing the "Adventure" really makes you move and gets you sweating.  Speaking of moves, we also picked up Zumba Fitness and even though I'm a terrible dancer, it's fun to try and do the dance moves.  lmao  I guess I'll need to do the tutorials on that one because trust me, I have no rhythm.  I'm surprised that the wife has not leaked the footage of me trying on youtube.  lol  Using the Kinect is definitely a work out on it's own and if you guys haven't had a chance to try it, you definitely should.  Until then, later!

The Mortal Kombat Ressurection

Hey there.  Remember back in the day when Mortal Kombat first came out? It was supposed to be a more gruesome version of the Street Fighter phenomenon.  And for a while, it looked like it was going to take over the world.  A few stale sequels and an awful movie (or two) later, the franchise seemed to be on it's last legs.

Pro Drums for Rock Band 3

Hey there.  Since I am looking for new and alternate ways to workout, does anyone want to buy these for me?  lol  I know for a fact that it's a killer work out once you get to the Hard and Expert levels.  I'm never tried the pro mode before though but looking at Travis Barker, I'm sure that drumming keeps you slim.  lol  Later!

If there is anything plastic that I want to bang, this is it.  lol

Working Out for a Better Me - Week 3 & 4

Hey there.  I missed last week's post.  I just got caught up with stuff and it slipped my mind to post my stats.  No worries though.  I did write them down so I'll be sharing both week 3 & 4 results here.  The numbers in parenthesis is the change from the previous week.  Some of the numbers are a little surprising.  Let's get to the stats.

Week 3

Height: 5'8''
Weight: 170 lbs (+1 lbs)
Waist: 36 1/2 inches (no change)
Chest: 42 1/2 inches (+1 inch)
Left Bicept: 13 1/2 inches (+1/4 inch)
Right Bicept: 13 3/4 inches (+1/4 inch)

I was pretty happy with the small increase in bicep circumference.  I figured that there is where the noticeable changes will occur.   The 1 inch increase in my chest was a little of a surprise.  I incorporated butterflies and didn't think it would show results so quickly.

Week 4

Height: 5'8''
Weight: 173 lbs (+3 lbs)
Waist: 36 inches (-1/2 inch)
Chest: 43 inches (+1/2 inch)
Left Bicept: 13 1/2 inches (no change)
Right Bicept: 14 inches (+1/4 inch)

The number that surprised me here is the +3 lbs in my weight.  Is it muscle?  Or is it the ice cream, cupcake, twinkie, and cookie snacks right around midnight?  Who knows.  lol  But my  conscience says it's muscle so I'm sticking to it.  lol  Another thing I may need to start paying attention to is my arm size.  Now, it's been a modest gain and I'm sure it's not even noticeable, but I do want both my arms to be the same size and as of right now, there is a half inch difference.  Either my right arm is compensating for my left arm during exercises or my form is still not perfect.  I'll be doing single dumbbells going forward.  At least until they're the same size.

So there you have it.  What's new in the routine?  I started using this thing called an ab roller.  It's pretty weird but you do feel the pain... the next day.  I'm not sure if that had anything to do with the waist size going down.  I also started doing a modest 50 - 60 push ups every night before going to bed.  I'm usually tired by the end of the night so in my opinion it makes my arms work harder to lift me off the floor.  I'm not feeling as short of breath as before so that's a huge plus.  No more huffing and puffing for me when going up stairs!  lol  Starting this week, I'm going to start up with TaeBo again.  I have a 40 min workout on my Xbox 360 that I need to start doing again.  For all the crap exercise videos get, I love TaeBo.  I think it's old school and since it incorporates some kick boxing techniques, it makes me feel like such a hard ass when done.  lol  I tried doing it the first week of working out and I damn near passed out because of my poor conditioning.  I wonder how well I do this time around.  Until then, keep fit.  Later!

What's Going On

Hey there.  March 1st, that's today.  It is exactly 12 days away from finishing my 3rd year of blogging.  I can't believe that it's been close to 3 full years already!  I  was thinking of maybe doing some kind of give a away.  Maybe a game?  Maybe some cash?  Maybe some kind of prize?  I don't know just yet.  I've been thinking about it, I've just haven't decided what it will be.  Any suggestions?

Best workstation ever!

On a side note, I just wanted to fill you guys in and what's been going down on my side of computer.  My geek side has been pretty busy.  I unlocked my cousin's iPhone last night, I am working on fixing 2 more PS3s, and I have an XBOX 360 coming my way later tonight for me to take a look at.  I'm sure my wife is not thrilled about it.  I'm one those people that gets a little geeked out by this kinda stuff and will spend hours non stop working on all things tech. My wife made a comment to my cousin and his wife how she should dress up as some broken tech device so that I would pay attention to her.  lol 

Things on the blogging side have been going well.  Just not as well as I would like.  I managed to get the computer at home working but I haven't been working much at home.  My time online has been tight and I manage to churn out a post or two.  I need to get on the ball with that and spend some more leisure time on improving my online stats.  I've also made a conscience effort to provide more comments on blogs.  I've been horrible at letting know that I've stopped by so that's being improved upon.

Midnight snacks are the best!

Working out has been good to me, I guess.  I missed my exercise check in last week (damn time restrictions) so I'll make sure that I have one in this week.  Most likely be done tomorrow or Thursday.  I don't feel as winded as I have before and the wife says that there is some subtle differences in my body.  But, I don't know if I'm helping the cause by having ice cream at midnight.  lol

I also had a so called "man date" this Saturday with the compadre and a friend.  That adventure will be detailed in an upcoming post.  lol 

I know I'm forgetting some stuff but I'm sure that'll just come to me later.  So what's going on with you, friends?  What's new in the life of you?  Hope to hear from you soon.  Later!

Final Fantasy XIII - 2 Trailer

Freakin' awesome!!!

Final Fantasy XIII - 2 Announced

Hey there.  I'm giddy.  Not too long ago, there was word that Square Enix was trademarking logos and potential names for future Final Fantasy projects.  Me being a huge fan of the series, saw it as a sign that we may be getting a new Final Fantasy game soon.  Well, it looks like we will be getting a new Final Fantasy game and it's going to be a direct sequel to Final Fantasy XIII.  Check out the logo below.

Looks like we're in for another adventure with Lightning.  Well... at least the woman on the right looks like Lightning.  As with all Final Fantasy logos, there definitely is an insight to the game there.  Black and white?  Good and evil?  Maybe the reinvention of Lightning?  Who know but I'm definitely looking forward to this game!  Until then, later!

Thanksgiving, A Long Weekend, and Surgery

Hey there.  Hope everyone had a blast this Thanksgiving weekend.  Nothing quite compares to a 4 day weekend!  Especially after eating some turkey and stuffing your face with... well... stuffing.  lol  So let's go to the highlights!

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving at my uncle Peter's place.  He's been the go to guy when it comes to holiday madness.  Most of the family gathers at his place and we all have a good time.  Thanksgiving was no different.  Most of the guys were ourside, hanging out, watching football and boxing, while most of the ladies were inside "cackling " (as Psycho Mike would say) and hanging out.  All in all, a very awesome experience.  Food and drinks were in abundance and you know damn well that I had myself more than a few plates of food.  And that's not counting desert!  lol  At the end of the night, the "secret santa" exchange was determined and we were on our way home, stuffed as a bird, a little after midnight.  Here are a few pics of the evening.

Serving salad from a cracked bowl cause that's how we do it.

The ladies enjoying a little bubbly

The young ladies enjoying a drink, like thier mothers.  It better be soda in them cups!

Daaaaaaaaaaam!  That bird looks delicious

So much food, they don't know where to turn!

Long Weekend

Once we semi-recovered from Thanksgiving, Black Friday reared it's ugly head.  Here my thoughts on Black Friday...  I'm not a big fan of it.  Every year, we hear about some people trampling and stomping over people because they just had to have whatever it is they're buying.  I'm more of an online guy.  If I can't find it online then I more than likely will not buy it.  I just hate hearing that a child was killed because a mob of people couldn't control themselves just to save a few bucks.

With that being said, we stated home most of Friday and didn't really do anything.  I avoided stores like the plague and just hung out with the family at home.  My son and I took advantage of the free XBOX Live Weekend (decided to let my membership end until I get my hands on the XBOX Live Family Pack) and played us some Bioshock 2 multiplayer matches.  I've always been a fan of the first person shooters and I like the way Bioshock 2 changes it up just a bit to differentiate it from all other first person shooters.  Anyways, we caught up on some gaming and decided to put up some holiday stuff.  I ended up getting a new tree, since our old tree is somewhere around 5 years old and needed to be replaced.  Also ended up getting some of that long green string type thing that people hang for Christmas, and started decorating the place.  Not bad, if I do say so myself.  I don't have any pics of that yet so I'll get on that as soon as I'm home and there's still daylight.  lol


Monday's Surgery

Monday morning, I'm up at 5:30 am.  My brother was scheduled to have surgery on his shoulder at or around 7 am so I drove to the hospital to meet my brother and mother.  I arrived shortly after 6 am and my brother had already checked in.  The nurse was supposed to let us know when we would be allowed to see my brother before his surgery was to begin and when it was 7 am and still no word from the nurses, I asked her what's going on.  She pretty much said to walk on in and look for him.  lol  We find my brother, in his "purple" mumu strapped into a bed, getting ready for his surgery.  The doc comes in and starts to give us the run down of what is going down.  He grabs a purple marker that surgeons use to mark their patients and notices that it's a little on the small side.  He then makes a comment about how "they" seem to be cutting corners everywhere.  lol  My bro and I chuckle and the doc then shows us where the incision will take place and lets us know that he will be shaving off some of his bone and remove scar tissue.  He seemed like a pretty cool guy.  Once they whisk him away, my mother and I have coffee in the cafeteria while we wait for an update.

Them magic drugs are in full effect. lol

My wife arrived soon after and the three of us waited a bit before the doc came in with some photos of the inside of my brother.  He explained the pictures to us and told us that the surgery was a success.  He also explained how the recovery process will be a long one.  6 months worth of recovery time.  My brother will also need to attend therapy sessions to strengthen his shoulder. 

Once we were allowed to go see him, I asked how he was doing and what not.  Before long, we're watching America's Funniest Home videos and cracking jokes.  I know that it probably wasn't the best of places to mess around in, considering that there were other patients close by that didn't look too happy, but there we were, goofing around.  While the nurse was giving my brother his home care instructions... I interrupt her and say to her, "To give to us straight doc, is he gonna make it?"  lol  My bro and I chuckle and the nurse seemed to find it amusing.  My brother then starts to reference The Office and says that even though he had shoulder surgery, he's probably going to be going home with a limp.  lol 

Once they dismiss him, my mother grabs his clothes to hand to him.  Since he's buck naked under the mumu, I closed the curtain before he started getting dressed.  I stayed with him, just in case he needed help.  He managed to put on his underwear and his sweat pants with what looked like slight discomfort.  That's when I said, "Bro, I love you, but I'm not getting you dressed."  lol  That's when we hear my mother and a few other people outside the curtain laughing.  It's good to know that we both can laugh during something like surgery.

He then gets wheeled off to the street where we wait for my mother's car to be brought to us.  We then see a smart car pass by and my brother says to the nurse, "smart car...  there's nothing smart about that car.  Kitt from Knight Rider.... now that's a smart car."  The nurse laughed, I chuckled.  Damn you, The Office....  invading our lives like nothing else can.  lol 

I told them that we would go to my mother's place to make sure my brother was well situated.  I soon after get a text from my brother asking me to go get him FIFA 11 for PS3.  This guy... already trying to use the "woe is me, I'm hurt" thing against me.  When I said, no way, he turned his attention to food.  He asked if I'd bring him some brownies.  lmao!  My wife gets wind of my brother's brownie craving and decides to make the "baby" some brownies. lol  Oh man... good times.  We cap the night off with some Street Fighter IV.  I haven't played Street Fighter since Street Fighter II Turbo for the SNES!  I managed to kick some butt with Blanka (old school favorite) and then gave up the last game to my brother... just so that he can feel better about himself.  lmao!  Now, he's at home not knowing what to do with himself.  6 months is a looooooooooong time.  I'll try to stop by and kick his butt on Street Fighter more often.  lol  Until then, later!

Rock Band 3 Review on Dragon Blogger

Hey there. My review of Rock Band 3 is now up on DragonBlogger.com. Check out the review here and let me what what you guys think. Thanks.

RockBand 3 Rocks!

Hey there friends.  I purchased Rock Band 3 this weekend and I must say that I am definitely pleased with the song selection.  Even though there were many songs got us singing, the hits of the night were definitely Bohemian Rhapsody, Freebird, and Break on Through.  Keep an eye out on my review which should hit tomorrow.

I just entered a contest in hopes of scoring a free 12 song downloadable pack of Bon Jovi songs.  Bon Jovi is another personal favorite to play on Rock Band.  My bro and I get "the band together" and just have fun with it.  My bro can't sing for "crap" but he claims that he's not a singer, he's an entertainer so we let him do his thing.  And that's what makes it fun.  lol  If I'm a chosen winner, we'll definitely be out at my place rockin' the night away.  Serious Jovi fans (or those just like to have fun with it) are welcome!  lol  Later!

A Part of the Dragon Blogger Team

Hey there.  Not too long ago, I wrote about a gig that I got writing video game reviews.  Well, yesterday, my first review was published and now that I know for sure that I am on the team, I would like to happily announce that I am now part of the Dragon Blogger team!  I've watched Justin, the owner at www.Dragonblogger.com, since I started my site and have seen him grow his site and have used his site as my personal benchmark.  Now, I'm nowhere near as successful as he is but he does provide some awesome tips on all things tech, blogging, and SEO.  When he sent out an open invitation for writers to help expand his site, I had to jump on the opportunity.  Now, my very first article on Dragon Blogger has been published. And the best part?  It's gotten some pretty positive comments.  So check out my review of Bioshock 2 here, friends and let me know what you think.  Later!

Video Game Reviews are Coming

Hey there.  I've got a new gig doing video game reviews!  How awesome is that?!  Now I have a legitimate excuse, err... I mean reason, to play video games!  I need to go over the terms and conditions of the job to make sure that I am not violating any kind of exclusive rights of any kind.  Since the reviews are for a different site that is not mine, I don't know if I'll be allowed to post the same content elsewhere.  If not, no prob.  I'll just provide a link to my awesome review! 

Now, I'm on the hunt for a good video game renting system...  Should I go with Gamefly?  Which I've heard good and bad things about?  Or should I go with that "Red Box" thing that I have seen pop up on super markets everywhere?  Or should I just borrow them from friends and return them when I see fit?  lol  Since I will be reviewing the games, I figured that it would be an expensive job if I were to have to purchase a game a week so I'm sure it's best to rent them out for a few days to get a good feel for the game.  So what do you guys think?  Any suggestions?  Once I go live, I'll provide more details on where I'll be posting my reviews.  Until then, I'll keep you guys in the dark.  =oP  Later!

No TV Day at Home

Hey there. Yesterday was no TV day at home. And by no TV, I mean no TV, no PSP, no DS, no computer, no nothing with images on it. Why? Because 2 nights ago, the kids were playing Wii and didn't bother to go to sleep until 11PM. That's pretty late when their bed time is closer to 9:30 (now that they're on vacation). It was my fault for not keeping tabs of the time... I was online working. By the time I noticed it was pretty late, I told them to turn it off and go to bed and declared the next day, No TV.

I thought the kids would have died... lol They live off of TV and games. The girls can't get enough of the Nickelodeon and Music channels and the boy is either playing Wii, XBOX 360, PS2, or has a handheld game glued to his hands. They needed this time to just go out and play with the dogs or do other activities that do no involve a gaming system. To my surprise, they did fairly well. A lot of reading and a lot of interaction with each other was pleasantly welcomed. I'm wondering if my maybe no TV day should come by more often... Later!

Problems with an iPod Touch

Hey there.  I'm usually the guy people turn to when their electronics are busted.  Busted XBOX 360? sure, I'll look at it.  Whacky computer?  I'll clean it out for you.  Electronic gizmos acting odd?  I'll figure it out.  It's been like this for as long as I can remember and you know what?  I don't mind.  I can be such a tech geek that I enjoy working on electronics for hours on end.  My latest project has been an iPod Touch that seems to have crapped out on it's owner.

I was first shown the iPod when it was stuck in recovery mode after it was synced with some questionable software.  After explaining the dos and don'ts of the iPod use... I went to work on it.  None of the traditional methods of resetting the device worked, iTunes refused to recognize it and the drivers on the machine were corrupted.  I spent a few nights trying different methods and different versions of iTunes in hopes of getting it to work and only after I downloaded the driver, restarted the apple mobile device support and many re-installs of iTunes, did I finally get the iPod to register under DFU mode.  I directed it to install the driver and iTunes finally recognized it and I was finally able to restore it.  YES!  Or so I thought...

I turned on the iPod and everything seemed well.  You can sync it to iTunes and can generally use the iPod now.  Yesterday, I find out that the guy cannot sync his iPod to their iTunes and when plugged in, the computer "sees" the iPod as a camera.  What a pain...  So I checked that out yesterday.  I reinstalled iTunes and tried to direct the iPod to the correct driver but I had no success with it so I decided to take it home and check that out.  When I got there, I went to work on it right away and after a few minutes, it synced up with iTunes without a problem.  Hmmm....  I went ahead and reset the iPod to factory settings any and took out a flash drive and copied some of my iTunes files and iPod files on it and plan on replacing the user's files with mine, since I now believe that the problem may lie in their iTunes install or the user might have corrupted windows files...  If that's the case, I'll try to repair the windows installation while trying to preserve their files but I'm hoping that it wont come to that. 

I plan on visiting later today to check that out.  Wish me luck friends.  Later!

Project Natal is Now XBOX Kinect

Hey there.  I'm pretty excited about stopping by the Galen Center later tonight to check out the "Project Natal" XBOX Experience.  Well, it was announced today that the "project" will now be called Xbox: Kinect.  I'm looking at this as a show and a show.  lol  I'm not exactly sure what part Cirque du Soleil has in all of this but their name is written all over the invitation.  Here are some of the pics that were posted on the XBOX Facebook page.  If you ask me, this looks pretty awesome!  I can't wait.  Later!