What I’m Currently Enjoying

Short Blog this week so I can get back to mass consuming Battlestar Galactica on Netflix.

Books

Currently reading the “A Clash of Kings” from the “A Song of Fire and Ice” series.  This is the second book in the series.  The Game of Thrones show on HBO is based on the first book (which I’m not watching until it comes out on Blu-Ray).   I’m trying to get the first four books read before book 5 comes out in July.  I’m on book 2 at the moments which is 784 pages long. Book 3 and 4 combined is another 2000 pages.  I have a lot of reading to do in June.  I’m really enjoying the book as the world and the politics are extremely brutal.  It is amazing anybody survives to adulthood.

Video Games

Currently playing Portal 2 on the PS3 and Witcher 2 on my PC.  Portal 2 is a puzzle game shooter at its simplest.  The games is very humorous and I recommend to anyone and everyone.  I burst out laughing while playing quite a bit.  The difficulty ramps up slowly introducing new concepts as you go.  Witcher 2 is a Polish RPG.  The game is beautiful and extremely difficult.  I died 8 times in the tutorial.  Most games I don’t die 8 times the entire game.  I’m loving the way is forces you to make hard choices as opposed to the Good/Evil paths most games force upon you.  You’ll need a monster of a PC to run it well, but it still looks good on the low setting.

 

My Favorite Tech Podcasts

Back when I first got DIRECTV (dark ages, world was still flat, etc) there was a channel called TechTV which I watched way too much. In 2004 TechTV was bought by Comcast and summarily executed.  Luckily you can still find quality tech shows on the internet.  Here are a few of my favorites.

TWIT  – http://twit.tv/

My favorites Shows are Tech News Today (weekdays) and This Week in Tech (Sunday).  Tech News Today recaps the tech stories to the day while This Week in Tech recaps the weeks stories.  Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Iyaz Akhtar and Jason Howell host Tech News Today.   Leo Laporte hosts This Week In Tech.  Leo has three guests on each week from all corners of the tech media.  I listen to both these as mp3s, but they can also be viewed on Itunes or Windows Media Player.  I also enjoy watching Framerate which airs on Tuesday.  They air a lot of video during so I got a script to watch these on my big screen TV through my PlayOn Media server and my Xbox360/PS3.  You can also watch TWIT live at http://live.twit.tv/.  It is not my favorite way to watch, but it may be interesting to some.

Revision3 – http://revision3.com/

Revision 3 is another internet website.  The revision 3 shows can be watched through the companies website, YouTube or Itunes.  My favorite show on this network is Tekzilla.  The show hosted by Patrick Norton and Veronica Belmont covers a variety of tech interests.  I  watch it mainly for there computer hardware insights, but they also cover televisions, web solutions, and many other topics.  Revision 3 has a wide variety of shows.  Be sure to check it out.  I’m sure you’ll find something that fits your interests.    I found a Windows Media Player plugin that allows me to watch Tekzilla on the big screen.  Its a bit slow, but serves its purpose.

First Blog/3D, Is it really necessary?

I went to see Thor on Friday (opening day) in 2D. I loved the movie. I liked it so much I decided to break down and go watch in IMAX 3D. I hadn’t seen a 3D movie since I sat the headache inducing travesty that was Avatar. Avatar caused my first and only migraine. I was incapacitated for 24 hours so my decision to go see Thor in IMAX 3D was made with trepidation.

THE IMAX EXPERIENCE

My only previous IMAX experience was watching a Harry Potter movie in an IMAX dome.  An actual IMAX theater is a much better experience. I arrived and sat dead center in the theater..then took a nap while waiting of the movie to begin.  I was a little worried when my eyes started watering during the previews, but I adjusted and sat comfortably throughout all 2 hours of Thor.   I have to wea the 3D glasses over my actual glasses which is a disorienting at time.   There seems to be split second between the 3D image appearing and my processing it as such.  The best part of the 3D was the snow in Asgard….yes, the snow.  I spent 6 extra dollars to watch snow drift toward me.  They attempted to use the 3D to add depth to many scenes, but it was just distracting.   I really didn’t need 3D to tell my brain that one tree was closer to me than the other.  I don’t know how other brains work, but I figured that out on my own.  I may just be an old fogey, but I don’t see the value added of 3D.

IMAX sound was wonderful. It was rich and booming.  I could hear the thunder clapping all around me.  I would pay extra $2 for that kind of sound in all my movies.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience.  It just not that much better than watching the movie in 2D.  3D can be cute at times but that’s about it.  I’m not going to take it home and start feeding it.  In the future I will not be wasting any more money on 3D screenings.  I’m scared they’ll stop showing the movies in 2D at which point I’ll have to stop going to the theater.

RANDOM STUFF FLOATING AROUND BETWEEN MY EARS

Don’t but a 3D TV even if you like 3D.  You are a guinea pig.  They are using you for testing.

Speaking of testing.  Bought Portal 2 on my PS3.  PSN went down before I registered Steam copy.  Can’t play co-op.  Will smash things soon.

Went to a book signing on Friday night (May 13).  My friend Justin Fisher wrote a book called I Can’t Even Walk Without You Holding My Hand.  You can buy on Amazon. That means now!