return void;

SonyXTeam announced today that they have successfully finished a firmware downgrader for the PSP. You can find out more details on their site.

I have been very eager to play with some homebrew applications since I bought my PSP. In fact, homebrew development was one main reason why I bought my PSP. The idea of turning it to a brick (aka “brick it”) is extremely unappealing. I need to investigate my warrenty with EBGames (replacement warrenty); if it has a limitation on how many times I am allowed to exchange PSPs, then I will replace my current one now (to get rid of the lazy pixels) and downgrade the PSP to 1.5.

I have been dying to get into the homebrew scene and hopefully this is my chance to do so finally.

Crystal and I went to the theatres to see “A History Of Violence.” We were rather upset when we learned that the cheap theatre did have this movie showing yet. So instead of wasting our weekend, we decided to see “The Corpse Bridge.” This movie is from the same people who brought us “A Nightmare Before Christmas.”

First, I just want to say that this was a short movie; a mere 75 minutes. The animation was chrisp and clear. The characters were classically drawn, some incredibly thin and tall, while others were short and stout. The audio track was lacking due to several moments in the film when it sounded as if it was crackling. Some of the voice-overs were well acted though.

[spoiler]

The premise is that a man and woman are to become married in an arranged marriage. The boy soon realizes (and is humiliated) that he is not ready to be wed. He runs off to practice his vows in the woods (always the best place for that). When he slipped the ring on a supposed twig, it turned out to be a creepy ghost woman. The ghost woman (or corpse bride if you will) mistakenly thinks that they are wed. He then can’t seem to decide which woman he’d rather be with until a dramtic ending in a chapel.

[/spoiler]

Through out the movie, the plot was hard to predict. It was most frustrating trying to decide which woman to root for. It was kinda creepy to root for the dead woman for obvious reasons (read: sex with a corpse, yum). However, he never actually knew the “breather” so it was kinda hard to root for her. The whole time, the movie seemed to want you to want the corpse woman to win.

I thought it was a very well animated stop-action movie that was worth the price of admission. Very imaginative and creative, with well scripted characters. I would recommend seeing this movie.

My rating (of 10): 8

I had been looking towards taking this trip of mine since I last booked it in May 2005. What better way to spend the beginning of autumn than biking you way across the state of Rhode Island, crisp mornings, warm afternoons, and beautiful scenery just about everywhere you go. A storm named Rita changed all this, so instead of being up in Rhode Island now I am remain in Texas.

I was tracking the progress of Rita since I first heard that it was going to enter The Gulf of Mexico, knowing that it could potentially affect my plans. I was going to be taking this biking trip with my sister who lives in the greater Houston area. As Rita made its way across the Florida Keys, there was wide speculation as to where it would hit. Would it hit the ravished city of New Orleans again, or head to land whose last major storm caused billions of dollars worth of damage?

The worst case scenario started to form, and my sister decided to evacuate her house Thursday morning doing her best to preserve the possibility of still making the trip. She moved her reservation from a Saturday departure to a Friday departure, however the airport became over run with people trying their best to get out of Houston before Rita hit causing huge wait times and severe parking problems at George Bush Intercontinental airport. Rita in the meantime mutated in to a gargantuan category five hurricane spinning its way towards the Texas coast line. The projected path at the time was a direct hit on Galveston, making its way towards Houston.

I received a message on Thursday evening from my sister informing me she was not going to be able to make the trip. I had to make a decision as to what I was going to do, go on the trip or forfeit the money I invested. There are a lot of things I don’t mind doing on my own, but the trip was to spend time with my sister, not specifically to bike across Rhode Island. So I decided to stay in Texas in preparation to help her out in any way possible, be it a place to stay or going to help her clean up her house.

Friday came, and I started making phone calls to find out if I could get a refund on my airline ticket. I now have a ticket with US Airways until May 2006 for a small rescheduling charge, which doesn’t bother me because I am sure I will be able to use it before that time comes. I also received a call / email combination from a shady sounding recruiter. Her email does not state her affiliation, and it was sent from a Yahoo account, which made we weary of even talking to this woman. I spoke with her none the less, and informed her that I was not an individual with eight years professional experience; I would have been in high school that long ago. I hang up with her, and continue to read about the congestion and evacuation problems of people fleeing the Houston area.

I ran out to return an item which I had purchased for the trip, and to make a copy of my offer letter for the new apartment complex I was going to be moving into. Once I was threw with the errands, and was back home I started to read the information packet about my new position. After reading through the “Intellectual Property Agreement” I sat the papers down and my phone rang.

It was an HR representative from a company which I had hoped to go to work for. I had a friend pass along my resume in the company about a month ago, but found that I did not meet their GPA requirements. I figured at that point the issue was dead, and I wrote them off, however here I was talking with them on the phone. They said they saw my profile on their webpage and wanted to set up an interview sometime next week. What freaking luck, a light was clicked off, and another one clicked on.

I was so confused and excited about this I called my friend who had originally passed along my resume to see if he slid it under some one else’s door there. Apparently he was as surprised as I was, and on Monday September 26 I am going to arrange travel plans to go speak with them about a possible position. This is coming on the heels of me signing an acceptance letter from another company who extended an offer to me, which I am scheduled to start on October 10.

Although I managed to lose my trip, I landed a new job, and have an interview with another company, and Rita did not make a direct hit on Houston. I will speak to these people about the position, while continuing my preparation for the position which I already have in the bag.

What a wild and crazy couple of weeks it has been.

When I started work back in March, there were two things I wanted to get as soon as I had the means: a decent car and a computer. Well, obviously the car came first as there was no way I was going to keep riding that piece of junk I had into these upscale apartments. So I bought the car (pre-owned ’04 Accord) with a loan, and began making payments on it. My goal was to make as big of payments as I could initially as the beginning is the time that interest collects the most. So I couldn’t get the computer I wanted for awhile because of the car and other expenses I had. But I still watched the Dell site to observe their behavior in posting their “extraordinary” deals, which they are notorious for having every day of the year.

Now those of you who haven’t asked before might be thinking, “Why don’t you just build a computer?” Well there are several reasons. First, for a computer guy, I know next to nothing about putting these things together and I don’t keep up with the latest in hardware news. I know some of my friends would help me to put together a screaming system, but there is one thing I am concerned about: noise level. I don’t want just a system that performs; I also want one that is quiet. Right now, my current Dell is almost completely silent, and you’d have to concentrate to hear if it was on. But if you turn on a system a friend of mine helped me build, it sounds like an airplane engine. Ok, I’m exaggerating, and maybe we could focus on reducing the noise level. But I don’t think we’d ever build a system that was nearly as quiet as the Dell systems. And when I tell some of my friends that I want a fast, quiet machine, they tell me that sounds like an oxymoron. The final reason I want to get a Dell is because I am intent on buying their 24″ LCD monitor. Everybody who has one absolutely loves it, but its standard price is $1200. If I buy it with a PC, I can get it for a LOT less. And I am dead set on getting one of these with my system.

So anyways, I observed the Dell site and picking up on their behaviors. At certain times of the month, they had seemingly outrageous deals. Even with the Pentium D dual-core processors just arriving, they still sold the systems for 30% off plus the extra 12% university discount. With that, I could have had a badass system with the 24″ monitor for about $1600 after tax.

After getting my finances settled down, I was ready to fire on the next big deal that comes along. But these deals became much more elusive. And knowing what was offered in the past, I am too stubborn to settle for anything less. So I set a goal that as soon as I can get the exact configuration I want for around $1600 or less, I will jump on it.

Without the 30+12% off deals, I have had to resort to scowering the web looking for the famous Dell coupons. I began monitoring slickdeals.net, and it has only added to the madness. You never know when a new coupon will emerge, but when they do, they are gone almost before you can blink an eye. Earlier this week, Alex pointed out that a good deal on slickdeals had been posted where I could have met my $1600 goal, but it had already expired. Then Thursday, I was checking the site about every hour at work. At one point, a deal on Dimension 9100′s had been added, soI raced over to the Dell website and frantically put together my system. I got to the end and the price came out to about $1580 after I added the coupon. But I was confused; the coupon description said “save 20% on inspiron notebook purchases $1499 and up”. Apparently Dell made a mistake; I had a desktop in my cart and not a notebook, but apparently it was working for other slickdeals users. But I made a mistake of my own. I went back to change the warranty options, and by the time I got back to the cart, the coupon didn’t work anymore. I went back to slickdeals and noticed comments stating that the coupon was dead. There was still a lingering 15% coupon, but it didn’t meet my $1600 goal, so I passed.

Today, I have again been checking compulsively. Nothing happened during the day, and when I got home nothing had changed. I went to go watch the Rita news for awhile, and when I came back, I noticed an even bigger deal had been posted. A new coupon could could be applied within the University section. In the end, it combined for 34% off of the 9100 system in addition to the 50% off they were giving for monitor upgrades (a big thing when you want a $1200 monitor!). The final price for my system would have been a little over $1400 after tax was added. But I got to my cart and the coupon wouldn’t add. I checked the comments on the slickdeals site, and to my EXTREME displeasure, I found that others had begun posting “DEAD DEAL” only 2 minutes earlier!!! I also discovered that the deal was posted only a few minutes after I had previously checked. Oh the anger and frustration that was bestowed upon me! The perfect opportunity just slipped by. But I am still determined not to give in until I reach my $1600 goal, and I’ll be stubborn to the bitter end!

A Clear Channel’s clear desperation for an audience for its fast fading morning show, may the country duo and station in general in whole just fizzle away. What tactics am I talking about you ask? This morning I received a telephone call which I managed to sleep though, if I would have answered it I would have been a bit upset as to what I heard. It was a pre-recorded message promoting their morning show and how they are going to be “helping out with high energy bills”.

What the hell is this? They are promoting the assistance of paying my electric bill in a desperate attempt to recruit listeners via a telemarketing scheme. Look, if I am going to be listening to the radio, and actually trying to win something from them the last thing I want is something as lame as bill assistance. How about offering something people can’t typically just purchase, like front row concert ticket packages to various shows, back stage passes, or trips to see concerts (not the national variety either). If this is the best you can come up with, you deserve the future failure and ultimate demise.

My pursuit landed me at a house party this weekend; I haven’t been to a house party since this acquaintance named Candice invited me and my friend to her graduation party. I figured this was all but the last of the house parties for me, but wait – what was that glimmer on the horizon? That’s right – a nice house party, this one was of the “house warming” variety. I am unfamiliar with housewarming etiquette, so all we ended up bringing was a refreshment contribution, of the party variety. I digress…

So yes, when I hear about this house party I am happy to attend because the individual who is throwing it is a kickboxing / ex-spinning instructor at the gym I go to. He was handing out flyers to people who attend his class, and of course I have seen this particular chica attend his class on several occasions, and of course I have an ulterior motive for attending. Yes indeed, the blind wishful thinking that some of these select women will be at the party.

You may ask yourself Why haven’t you just struck up conversation at the gym if you were interested? The reason for that is because doing so is always a long shot, gyms aren’t intended to be meet-markets, and I don’t want to invade their space when they feel unattractive (in their minds), IE sweaty, and just want to get their work in, and then get the hell outta there before another neanderthal tries to chat ‘em up. After all, the last one I chatted up never came to the spinning class again. Again I digress…

So I see the chica at the party, escorted by another woman, and no not in the lesbian sense either (yes, I broached the topic gingerly). Anyhow, me and my friend mingle a bit with some of the other attendees, while I keep watch over whats-her-name to make sure she doesn’t leave before I at the very least open my mouth to say “hi”. Next thing I know I am speaking to her friend, I find out that she is a kickboxing instructor who took over one of Mario’s classes (Mario is the home owner).

As the night progressed I was biding my time, waiting for the iron to be hot – at long last the iron was hot and I struck. So got to chat up Rafie, a nurse by day and kickboxing instructor on select nights, things went well – so well in fact I asked an received her number. So the trick again is getting the return phone call…

Apparently meeting women and job hunting are very similar, and yes very different. There is an incredible amount of time spent looking at each prospect, does she or the position offer what I am looking for? If so, you gather up their information and do your best to contact them, the common goal in both is to get a reply. If a reply is received then an interview may not be all that far fetched, and the “razzle-dazzle” can begin. After that they begin to fork in different directions.

So all in all – I’d say this was a foul. I watched the pitch, saw it was one I liked, swung the bat, and even made contact. However, it will still be a strike because of my current situation. Its all good practice though.

Changed shape to fit, in the end you just feel sick
A million love songs under anaesthetic
Hey don’t do it, don’t jump –Thom Yorke of Radiohead, Lewis (Mistreated)

I work in the group called HCI or “Human/Computer Interface.” A new effort that I have been recently working on has required me to work with CSS design on a web interface to an existing system. I unable discuss many details about the project, but they actually have little effect on this post.

I have been learning to leverage the power that is CSS. CSS is an unbelievable tool/language when it comes to design. The only thing that I can think of that comes close to CSS’s flexibility are Xdefaults. Nothing beats redesigning an entire user interface without having to recompile, reconfigure, or recode anything.

First, I discovered CSS layout designs. That is one of the more amazing things since Javascript for the web. In fact, I’d say that this is probably the most useful tools/languages in UI design. Completely seperating the content from the design is truely the future.

Then I discovered CSS Zen Garden. I looked through all of the designs there and I must say that I am extremely impressed. Here’s some of the ones that I like the most:

• Simple
• blackcomb*75
• Shaolin Yokobue
• Table Laout Assasination!
• November
• Butterfly Effect
• Moss
• Contempo Finery
• Pixelisation
• contemporary nouveau
• OrderedZen
• Bonsai
• Beccah
• Teatime
• Skyroots
• Pleasant Day
• Brushwood
• Ragged
• Switch On
• Austrian’s Darker Side
• 15 Pedals
• Japanese Garden
• Dark Industrial
• Tulipe
• Oceans Apart
• Springtime
• Lost Highway
• sub:lime
• I Dream In Color
• White Lily
• Zunflower

Since I’ve been wanting to redo my personal website, now might be a good time to get started on coming up with a design. The problem is that none of those are “free as in beer.” That means that I have to contact each designer and ask for their permission to use the design on my site. Once I have designed my new site (content will be scarce for a while), I might work on reworking the theme for this blog.

Let me know if you like any of those designs. Also, if anyone knows of some more good CSS design ideas, feel free to share with me them. I’m also looking for someone to possibly do some graphics for the site since I am fairly incapable of graphic design. A logo/banner would be all I would need but that’s kind of above my capabilities.