blog
Contactless
5/26/2008
I never realized how weird I feel if I go out without my glasses until this past weekend. I went the weekend without wearing them because I've been experiencing discomfort in my left eye. When I went out to Best Buy on Saturday it definitely felt like I was missing something. It's odd how those things matter so much when you don't have them.
I will be starting work this week, so that should be exciting. It will be good to start again because I'm starting to get a little bored just sitting around the house doing random tasks.
As promised, here are some pictures of the view from my place. Click the picture to make it bigger.
The webcam also points in a different direction than both of these new pictures, so take a look there too to see that view.
I will be starting work this week, so that should be exciting. It will be good to start again because I'm starting to get a little bored just sitting around the house doing random tasks.
As promised, here are some pictures of the view from my place. Click the picture to make it bigger.
The webcam also points in a different direction than both of these new pictures, so take a look there too to see that view.
New home
5/21/2008
As many of you know, I've been moving to Rochester, Minnesota over the past week for my new job. I've come to despise moving after doing it so many times over my college career for co-ops and internships in Minnesota. Thankfully, this should be the last move for a while... at least I hope so!
My townhouse is pretty cool and I'm convinced I probably got the unit with the best view. It's a corner unit (8 in each building) so I have windows facing two directions. One direction looks off into darkness where Rochester basically ends. The other direction looks out over some rolling hills of a farm. Each unit also has a small patio area outside which allows you to look out over the city. I'll have to post pictures of the views when I find all of my camera stuff in all my junk. The only downside to these views is having some pretty strong winds all the time since I'm on a hill. Since Rochester is windy all the time I guess it doesn't really matter anyway.
I'm pretty much done unpacking now and it comes at a good time since I start my job next week. I fly to New York for a few days for some orientation stuff and then come back to work in town. I don't know exactly what kind of stuff I'll be working on but judging from the previous times I've worked here I'm sure I'll enjoy it.
Normally when I move I only bring my LCD monitor which I got when I first started college, but since I was moving almost all my stuff this time I decided to bring my old CRT monitor along too. I have them setup as dual monitors right now and I think I'll really enjoy it. I don't really know what to put on the other monitor though. So far I just have my buddy list over there and if anyone messages me I'm sure I'd put that over on the second monitor as well. Two monitors almost seems unnecessary to me at home but it's funny how I can't live without two screens at work.
The way my living room is built, there is a hole cutout in the wall above the fireplace which is made for a TV. The hole is reasonably large so you can fit a decent size TV in it, but they really didn't design it for doing things other than watching TV. There is a small shelf at the top of the hole for things like cable boxes or small DVD players, but game consoles or speaker equipment just won't fit at all. I have been thinking about the situation for a long time and decided I'd try and get one HDMI cable to go through the wall in the hole down to the floor outside the wall and plug all my stuff into a receiver there. My dad is a pretty handy guy so I suggested that we try the project ourselves. I'm sure a professional could have come in with his/her fancy tools and done the job in 10 minutes but I really didn't want to pay or setup the appointment. My dad and I ended up getting the job done, but it took several days since we weren't really sure where in the hole to make the hole. It's going to look very nice once I get my receiver (this Friday) and the cabinet I ordered to put the electronic equipment in. However, currently it looks weird since there are a ton of wires coming out of the wall and they don't plug into anything.
My dad has always enjoyed using X10 stuff in our homes to automate lights so that they go on and off at certain times during the day. Now that I have my own place I think I might try and do the same sort of stuff. I'd love to replace all the light switches in the house with X10 (or Insteon, I guess it's newer?) switches so I can put things on timers. Since my place is obviously not as big as a house I really don't have that many things to automate though. I think the thing that really matters the most would be the outside lights. I never remember to turn it on so having it on a timer would be nice.
The webcam will be back eventually. I just setup the computer that it normally plugs into about an hour ago and I still need to figure out how to get the camera pointing out the window. The shades I have are sort of heavy and may be provide a challenge while trying to put the webcam in front of them. The webcam I currently have really works pretty poorly anyway, so maybe if I can think of a better solution using a new camera I'll try that. Stay tuned.
My townhouse is pretty cool and I'm convinced I probably got the unit with the best view. It's a corner unit (8 in each building) so I have windows facing two directions. One direction looks off into darkness where Rochester basically ends. The other direction looks out over some rolling hills of a farm. Each unit also has a small patio area outside which allows you to look out over the city. I'll have to post pictures of the views when I find all of my camera stuff in all my junk. The only downside to these views is having some pretty strong winds all the time since I'm on a hill. Since Rochester is windy all the time I guess it doesn't really matter anyway.
I'm pretty much done unpacking now and it comes at a good time since I start my job next week. I fly to New York for a few days for some orientation stuff and then come back to work in town. I don't know exactly what kind of stuff I'll be working on but judging from the previous times I've worked here I'm sure I'll enjoy it.
Normally when I move I only bring my LCD monitor which I got when I first started college, but since I was moving almost all my stuff this time I decided to bring my old CRT monitor along too. I have them setup as dual monitors right now and I think I'll really enjoy it. I don't really know what to put on the other monitor though. So far I just have my buddy list over there and if anyone messages me I'm sure I'd put that over on the second monitor as well. Two monitors almost seems unnecessary to me at home but it's funny how I can't live without two screens at work.
The way my living room is built, there is a hole cutout in the wall above the fireplace which is made for a TV. The hole is reasonably large so you can fit a decent size TV in it, but they really didn't design it for doing things other than watching TV. There is a small shelf at the top of the hole for things like cable boxes or small DVD players, but game consoles or speaker equipment just won't fit at all. I have been thinking about the situation for a long time and decided I'd try and get one HDMI cable to go through the wall in the hole down to the floor outside the wall and plug all my stuff into a receiver there. My dad is a pretty handy guy so I suggested that we try the project ourselves. I'm sure a professional could have come in with his/her fancy tools and done the job in 10 minutes but I really didn't want to pay or setup the appointment. My dad and I ended up getting the job done, but it took several days since we weren't really sure where in the hole to make the hole. It's going to look very nice once I get my receiver (this Friday) and the cabinet I ordered to put the electronic equipment in. However, currently it looks weird since there are a ton of wires coming out of the wall and they don't plug into anything.
My dad has always enjoyed using X10 stuff in our homes to automate lights so that they go on and off at certain times during the day. Now that I have my own place I think I might try and do the same sort of stuff. I'd love to replace all the light switches in the house with X10 (or Insteon, I guess it's newer?) switches so I can put things on timers. Since my place is obviously not as big as a house I really don't have that many things to automate though. I think the thing that really matters the most would be the outside lights. I never remember to turn it on so having it on a timer would be nice.
The webcam will be back eventually. I just setup the computer that it normally plugs into about an hour ago and I still need to figure out how to get the camera pointing out the window. The shades I have are sort of heavy and may be provide a challenge while trying to put the webcam in front of them. The webcam I currently have really works pretty poorly anyway, so maybe if I can think of a better solution using a new camera I'll try that. Stay tuned.
Labels: computers, davecam, home theater, house, insteon, job, rochester
Hello world!
4/03/2008
As requested by Ryan and others, I guess it's time to post again.
Quite a few things have changed since I last posted. I spent part of my spring break in Rochester looking for a place to live. I decided that I'd buy instead of rent since it's obviously a good market for buyers right now. My dad went with me to help me out and we took a look at about seven townhouses. Most of them I really didn't care for though and would rather rent instead of buy them. It's amazing how different places look in person than they do online. I ended up finding a few that I thought I would like and ended up buying one! It's been a pretty weird experience so far. There is so much paperwork and a lot of stuff that seems unnecessarily confusing. Anyway, here's a picture of the kitchen with pretty nice appliances.
I'll be going there to close on the place in early May and then going back in mid-May to move my stuff. Finally, I'll be starting work at the end of May. It's pretty exciting.
I've been watching a lot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which is probably obvious to those of you who come to my site often as you have probably seen the Netflix list on the side contain a lot of Buffy discs. I never would have watched this show but after Justin got so into it and then Jackie started watching it, I pretty much had to give it a chance. After the first season the storyline really starts to pick up and it's really hard to stop watching. I think my favorite season so far is season 5, which had a lot of good episodes. I still have the last season to go through so don't put spoilers in the comments! I've also been watching Angel, the spin-off of Buffy. I'm only on season two but it's pretty decent so far. I really like the darker tone of the show compared to Buffy.
I've been working at the Computer Science Learning Center at school this semester. It's basically a place where people in the first two years of computer science classes can come in and get help on their assignments. I wasn't sure if I would like it or not, but it's actually a pretty interesting job. It's nice when you see repeat students and they have learned a lot from what you've been helping them with.
This winter there was a few faculty from different schools that were here building an ice sculpture with a 1978 Chevy Nova in it. They have a blog that documented the process. It started a lot different than it ended up as, but the final product was pretty cool looking.
The reason I'm bringing this up is because I was walking by the car today and I noticed something I hadn't seen there before... a ticket! Either one of the people who give out tickets or someone who received a ticket put one on the Nova. It made me laugh pretty good so I thought I'd take a picture with my crappy cell phone camera and post it on here.
I don't get why so many people park in places which are obviously not parking spots. At any given time during the day, if I walk by the parking lot in front of the library I am willing to bet that I could find at least 20 cars who either are parked in a non-spot or parked in a legal spot but didn't pay the meter. The school could get a lot more money if they actually did their job and ticketed these people. I also think it's pretty stupid when people drive around with the ticket still under their windshield wipers. Do they think it's cool or something? Apparently a pink ticket packet on your window automatically makes you cooler. I don't get these people.
As far as games go, I've been playing Condemned 2. For those of you who don't know what the game is about, it's a survival horror type game and gives you a good scare a few times during the game. The first game was very good and this one is pretty decent so far too. I was probably half way through the game when my save file just magically disappeared. After searching online it sounds like it's a pretty common problem with this game. Talk about a big bug.
Quite a few things have changed since I last posted. I spent part of my spring break in Rochester looking for a place to live. I decided that I'd buy instead of rent since it's obviously a good market for buyers right now. My dad went with me to help me out and we took a look at about seven townhouses. Most of them I really didn't care for though and would rather rent instead of buy them. It's amazing how different places look in person than they do online. I ended up finding a few that I thought I would like and ended up buying one! It's been a pretty weird experience so far. There is so much paperwork and a lot of stuff that seems unnecessarily confusing. Anyway, here's a picture of the kitchen with pretty nice appliances.
I'll be going there to close on the place in early May and then going back in mid-May to move my stuff. Finally, I'll be starting work at the end of May. It's pretty exciting.
I've been watching a lot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which is probably obvious to those of you who come to my site often as you have probably seen the Netflix list on the side contain a lot of Buffy discs. I never would have watched this show but after Justin got so into it and then Jackie started watching it, I pretty much had to give it a chance. After the first season the storyline really starts to pick up and it's really hard to stop watching. I think my favorite season so far is season 5, which had a lot of good episodes. I still have the last season to go through so don't put spoilers in the comments! I've also been watching Angel, the spin-off of Buffy. I'm only on season two but it's pretty decent so far. I really like the darker tone of the show compared to Buffy.
I've been working at the Computer Science Learning Center at school this semester. It's basically a place where people in the first two years of computer science classes can come in and get help on their assignments. I wasn't sure if I would like it or not, but it's actually a pretty interesting job. It's nice when you see repeat students and they have learned a lot from what you've been helping them with.
This winter there was a few faculty from different schools that were here building an ice sculpture with a 1978 Chevy Nova in it. They have a blog that documented the process. It started a lot different than it ended up as, but the final product was pretty cool looking.
The reason I'm bringing this up is because I was walking by the car today and I noticed something I hadn't seen there before... a ticket! Either one of the people who give out tickets or someone who received a ticket put one on the Nova. It made me laugh pretty good so I thought I'd take a picture with my crappy cell phone camera and post it on here.
I don't get why so many people park in places which are obviously not parking spots. At any given time during the day, if I walk by the parking lot in front of the library I am willing to bet that I could find at least 20 cars who either are parked in a non-spot or parked in a legal spot but didn't pay the meter. The school could get a lot more money if they actually did their job and ticketed these people. I also think it's pretty stupid when people drive around with the ticket still under their windshield wipers. Do they think it's cool or something? Apparently a pink ticket packet on your window automatically makes you cooler. I don't get these people.
As far as games go, I've been playing Condemned 2. For those of you who don't know what the game is about, it's a survival horror type game and gives you a good scare a few times during the game. The first game was very good and this one is pretty decent so far too. I was probably half way through the game when my save file just magically disappeared. After searching online it sounds like it's a pretty common problem with this game. Talk about a big bug.
Labels: angel, buffy, condemned 2, house, learning center, rochester, winter