apparently an overnight billing system glitch caused hundreds of webhosting accounts (including mine) to be shut down. The glitch caused the system to view our accounts as delinquent and in turn, automatically switched our websites off. I’ve been trying to contact my web hosting provider all day but since they’re located in Australia and I’m in the eastern U.S., it’s impossible getting a hold of someone there during EST business hours since it’s night time on their side of the world. So, just in case any of you were wondering, that’s why the site was down today. Everything has been sorted out, I think. The support team is still investigating why the billing glitch occurred in the first place.
It’s a sad day for gamers today. Ziff Davis is shutting down the long running video game magazine EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly). We all know the print industry has been hit hard over the years but EGM is (was) a *giant* among gamers, video game enthusiasts as well as in the game industry itself. I’ve been a subscriber for years so the news is pretty shocking. I suppose all this was inevitable since the latest news and game reviews can easily be accessed online but there just something to be said about receiving a well written print magazine in the mail and browsing through the pages each and every month. ..it’s a sad day…
The magazine as well as its talented staff will be missed.
Have you been wondering where I’ve been? Well, outside of spending time with the family during the holiday break, I’ve been fiddling around with my brand new laptop. I’ve had my old laptop (with Windows XP) for approximately five years now so I’m trying to get the hang of Windows Vista and the other new applications that came with the new PC. As most of you know, customizing windows and installing programs can quickly eat up your spare time. The thing that was a pleasant surprise to me while fiddling with the new system was using the Windows Easy Transfer utility in Vista. I wasn’t really sure what to expect with the file transfer app but it sure did make things a whole lot simpler in getting important files, photos and music transferred over to the new system. The cool thing about the whole process is that the program offered several different options to transfer my files including using CDs, thumb drives, DVDs or via the home network router. Microsoft made a wise choice in not forcing the user to purchase their specialized USB cable to use this lil’ utility. I simply connected my two laptops to my router (my first attempt was doing it wirelessly but I found that being “hardwired” was faster), ran the app on both systems and selected the files I wanted and presto, worked like a charm! pretty simple and I’m surprised that I didn’t have to pay extra for something like this.
anyway, once I get my new laptop running the way I want it to, I’ll be back posting more regularly here on Retroblog.
ugh. our house is falling apart. I can’t keep up with all the maintenance that’s needed. talk about a money pit. It’s more like, a bottomless black hole. The house is overdue for a paint job and there’s a bunch of rotted wood (mainly the trim) that needs replacing. And now we’ve been informed that our heat exchanger is cracked. and since our whole HVAC unit is approximately 11 years old, it’s recommended that we replace the whole unit instead of replacing just the heat exchanger. to make matters worse, they cut off the gas to the heat exchanger so we’ve got no heat right now.
so let’s see now…
exterior paint job
+ wood replacement
+ HVAC unit replacement
= I’m oh so screwed!
This song is dedicated to my close friends who recently lost their jobs. It feels awful to not be able to do anything to help their situation. All I can do is be supportive during this time of transition. I even feel a bit guilty for being able to keep my position while my close colleagues weren’t able to. But in the state our economy is in right now, I suppose nothing’s a sure thing. good luck, my friends. as a matter of fact, good luck to us all! Walking, stumbling, on these shadowfeet
Toward home, a land that I’ve never seen
I am changing, less and less asleep
Made of different stuff than when I began
And I have sensed it all along, fast approaching is the day
When the world has fallen out from under me
I’ll be found in You, still standin’
When the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees
When time and space are through I’ll be found in You
There’s distraction buzzing in my head
Saying in the shadows it’s easier to stay
But I’ve heard rumours of true reality, whispers of a well-lit way
When the world has fallen out from under me
I’ll be found in You, still standin’
When the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees
When time and space are through I’ll be found in You
You make all things new..
When the world has fallen out from under me
I’ll be found in You, still standin’
When the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees
When time and space are through I’ll be found in You
When the world has fallen out from under me
I’ll be found in You, still standin’
Every fear and accusation under my feet
When time and space are through, I’ll be found in You..
I guess if you’re in the entertainment biz, one of the standard requirements nowadays is to have your own official youtube channel. It’s pretty much a no-brainer since everyone and their grandma uses youtube. And when a website attracts such a wide demographic, you’d be a fool not to make your presence known on the site. The latest to succumb to the ways of youtube is Monty Python! They recently announced the launch of their official channel. I would have thought they’d come up with a funnier video clip announcing the new channel but unfortunately it comes across a bit stale and heavy-handed. Nonetheless, fans will now have access to better versions of their all time favorite skits including the Argument Clinic, the Dead Parrot Sketch and the French Taunter clip. enjoy!!
It’s obvious that some holiday shoppers need to take a step back and re-evaluate what’s most important in their lives. I mean, come on, all this chaos and commotion over some low priced electronics? The tragic deaths on black friday at the Wal-Mart in NY and a Toys-R-Us in California is just madness!! Saving a couple bucks on some products you don’t really need, just ain’t worth it people!!
I’m zeroing in on a HDTV this holiday season. Our old conventional tube TV is on its last leg. It’s not that old but the TV has gotten so dim that we can’t see any images during scenes set in the dark or at night. We’ve got the brightness level at the highest setting and we still can’t make out what’s happening during most of “Batman Begins” since the bulk of the movie is primarily in the dark. I’m looking for an LCD larger than 46″ with 1080p resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate and an upscaler that can produce good standard definition images. I’ve been reading that a lot of models that look great in high def, don’t have quality converters to properly display standard definition programming. And since I still have standard cable, finding a good HDTV with good SD capabilities is a must in my book. I’m still doing the research and haven’t found a clear answer to all this. is the general rule of thumb to go for a panasonic or sony? …and who knows, maybe a low price will just trump over all these issues anyway. expect a future post on this as I investigate this some more…
While doing some prep work for my upcoming review of This Is Our God by Hillsong Live, I came across this news item from Christian Music Today that was posted back in September. Apparently, Pastor Michael Guglielmucci, who wrote and performed “Healer” on the album, deceived thousands of Hillsong church members about his battle with cancer. He flat out lied to his family, friends and followers about having the disease. In reality, Pastor Guglielmucci was dealing with 16 year porn addiction. What a tragic fall from grace. and it’s truly sad to think about how this selfish act negatively affects the faith of thousands of believers who sincerely prayed for, put their trust in and contributed their hard earned money to this man. Hillsong reacted swiftly by pulling the song off of their website and plans to remove the song off of future pressings of This is Our God. That’s too bad since the song was one of the featured highlights on the album. Look for my review of the album in the next few days.
I’ve posted in the past about how I hate mushrooms popping up on my lawn. Well, over the weekend while raking up the endless amount of fallen leaves on my lawn, I uncovered a slimy group of mushrooms that I haven’t seen before. I just had to take a photo because it reminded me of the “Little Shop of Horrors” movie except this time around it’s with mutant alien mushrooms.
and yes I had to touch them in order to remove these unwanted growths off my lawn. And YES, they were just as cold and slimy as they look. maybe even more so. yuck.
on Amazon.com!!
by Hillsong Live, I came across 
