I just read on Gizmodo about this updated open source video player called “Democracy“. Sounds very promising! WMP and QT are too bloated and slow!!
Computer Upgrade Done Right…
So over the past couple of months, I’ve been scrunging to sell my older parts in the effort to upgrade my desktop PC, which is mainly used for gaming and video capturing (miniDV camcorder). I don’t mind used parts so I found great deals and hitched up! 
Here’s the rundown…
Before:
CPU: AMD Athlon64 Socket 754 3000+ (OC’ed to 2.4 GHz)
Memory: 2x 512 MB Patriot PDP+XBLK memory
Video: BFG 6800GT 256 MB AGP
Motherboard: Chaintech VNF3-250
HDD: 100 GB IDE Seagate / 160 GB IDE Western Digital
Now:
CPU: AMD Athlon64 X2 Socket 939 4200+ (OC’ed to 2.5 GHz)
Memory: 2x 1 GB Patriot EP PC3200
Video: Sapphire X1900XT 512 MB PCI-E
Motherboard: Epox 9NPA+ Ultra
HDD: 250 GB SATA Hitachi / 200 GB SATA Maxtor
All I can say is… 
Dual core helps a LOT in multi-tasking… my http://folding.stanford.edu project is now crunching out faster than ever to find the cure for cancer! 
My games both look beatiful and runs so much faster… hee… the satisfaction of building/upgrading your own rig is just a pure sensation! 
Say what you will… at least I’m a very happy nerd/geek …
Play old-school NES games on your BROWSER!
vNES brings your favorite old-school NES games (over 200) to your web browser! That’s awesome for memory lane travels and fun…
Logitech Wireless Headphones for PC Review
So after all the wire mess, I found a real good deal ($20) for a Logitech Wireless Headphone in nearly new condition! I couldn’t pass it up… so I got it… and did a review being the geek that I am…
I’m gonna have to get me the ones that you can just plug in the adapter to the mp3 player ’cause that would be real handy! 
Fold for a cure please!!
As some of you know, I’ve lost a lot of relatives and friend to cancer… my grandfather to lung cancer, my uncle to liver & lung cancer, my cousin to leukemia, my grandma to another cancer, my aunt to another cancer… Our beloved friend was lost to stomach cancer and over the weekend, I learned of more tragedies…
Soojin had already lost two uncles (on her mom’s side) to liver cancer and now the only remaining uncle just discovered he has liver cancer as well! 
Soojin’s worried that her mom will eventually also get it. So Soojin’s oldest aunt had died less than a year ago…
The list just goes on… I felt so helpless… ’cause I wanted to help in whatever I could… turns out I wasn’t too far… I discovered Folding @ Home, a distributed computing developed by Stanford professor. You basically allow Stanford to run protein folding simulations on your computer and pass on the info. If you own a computer, you can help in fighting the cancer! I leave both of my computers on 24/7! Even with increased fuel costs, it doesn’t cost that much to run them 24/7. If a PC uses 500 W, even in a day, that’s 12 kW-hr. At rates like even conservative 20 cents/kW-hr, that is only $2.40 a day, but likely about $1.80 a day (since current rate is about 15 cents/kW-hr and normal PC uses 300W or so).
I fold so that I don’t have to lose people. Do you? Please consider it!! I will even give out free tech support for it!!
Xbox360 “Laptop”!
A man after my own heart!
This is a killer mod!!
http://benheck.com/Games/Xbox360/x360_page_1.htm
Can I get one?!!
Two Woes in (less than) Two Days!
Woe #1
NTB is da suck! 
My wife’s beloved Lincoln Continental has been worsening in the alignment arena. With Houston’s roads being one of the worst in the country, it’s no surprise, and as an “investment”, I got the 3-year-warranty version of NTB’s wheel alignment. I was with kids near church then (two weeks ago or so) and decided to pop in by the NTB at I-610 and Richmond. After nearly 2 hours of wait, it’s done.
However, on my drive home, I noticed it’s the same! So I got annoyed and told my wife to take it to NTB near our home (nearHwy 3 and on Bay Area Blvd). They say they found few more issues so after another freakin’ $124, they STILL couldn’t fix it and said that it’s likely a frame damage! 
My beloved regular mechanic, Ash (of Ash Automotive on Hwy 3 near Pineloch) has been very popular lately so it’s been very hard to get him to see our cars. Which is why I took it to NTB in the first place! I tell Ash the story. He’s very nice and knowledgeable Indian mechanic, by the way, and has never wronged me! I had to schedule around HIS schedule but no matter, as I was now desperate! After few hours, I asked him if it was frame or air suspension (Lincolns still use air suspension). Neither. He just redid the alignment and it was fixed! 
Why am I mad, you ask?! ‘Cause that meant that my $250+ I spent at the stupid national chain of NTB did squat! That’s why! Those people don’t know how to align wheels evidently! Now, I am going to have to try to get my money back on their worthless service!!
Woe #2
It started again last night as my data HDD started to act up. It made my CS:S sessions near to crawl! I left it defragging the HDD last night only to wake up to frozne computer! So I restart and noticed the same SATA HDD acting up and freezing again! So I started to back up all the data (incl. the unedited movies of Pathways New Orleans mission trip!!). After hours of backing up data, I turned the computer off, disconnected the problematic drive and turned it back on but now video is acting up! 
Oh, I am mad! This is not a good week thus far!!
End Result
So what do we learn? NTB is da suck! And HDD is da suck!!