Random Art: For When You Want to Throw Stuff At Stuff, I Guess

Posted on February 1, 2015 by geelw

Nope, I did not bet on and lose a fortune on the Superb Owl and hell, I didn’t even watch that big “event” (and yeah, I know that makes me a baaaad American or whatever). But I’d rather have done that nonsense and wake up with a hangover on the moon with the next bus back not for a month than get hit on the head by a few too many stupid things that have been stabbing at me for the past few months.

Between the shitty work done in the apartment over too long a time period up to the YouTube nonsense that just fell into my lap, I’m going all Howard Beale on anyone else who messes with me. And if you don’t know who Howard Beale is, look him up, please. I’d post that familiar clip from Network here, but I can’t get into my damn YouTube page until I watch that stupid goddamn cartoon pirate cat video and take a dumb-ass quiz that’s an insult to my intelligence… Continue reading →

SCIENCE! Nintendo Helps Learn You a Lesson To-day…

Posted on December 15, 2014 by geelw

And now, a tiny little science lesson for all you boys and girls out there. Now, now. Don’t run away! This is an easy lesson. Those pics above are the results of me storing a couple of water bottles from the Nintendo World Store grand opening at room temperature for nine years. *Boo!* But also *yay!* Oh, why am I so conflicted, ladies and gents? Because it’s SCIENCE in action, folks! Okay, well… I would have stored them in the fridge here, but let’s see now… I had a few more of those bottles and DID store them in the fridge here only to find out a bit more about how people work.

You see, boys and girls, some people tend to come by to visit for a spell, look in your fridge and take stuff out to drink if you let them do so. For some of these people, small and unimportant looking bottles of water seem to be a magnet. I’d gather that some of those people didn’t want to seem greedy or imposing, so they went for the smallest thing they saw. An odd thing indeed, as I’m a pretty damn generous guy who doesn’t care what you take out of the fridge. Well, provided it’s not a bottle of water that’s hard to replace.

So, yeah… that wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had in terms of a storage solution and Plan B didn’t work out so well either. Oh well. science is fun, though, isn’t it?

Kitchen Nightmares VI: Wood Work and More Oddball Occurrences…

Posted on December 15, 2014 by geelw

So, they sent a carpenter today instead of a plasterer… but that was actually a good thing. It turns out that most of the fault lies in the overall incompetence, laziness and just not listening to what tenants are saying folks who answer the phones in the management office. According to the carpenter, they pretty much just sit around and talk about reality TV for the bulk of the day and those work orders they write up from half listening are often incorrect.

Which of course means workers showing up to do jobs with the wrong equipment or being thrown under the bus by the office because they have to deal with irate tenants who’ve been sitting around waiting for scheduled appointments that can’t be completed. There are also a bunch of newer maintenance guys and gals who aren’t very good at what they do because they’re still being trained, but there seems to be not enough of the old guard around to walk them through what they need to know. That’s how we get painted leaves and some sketchy plastering and painting jobs around here.

There’s a lot of other crap going on as well, but it all boils down to the folks who run this place wanting to keep making a profit even at the cost of current renters being given the shaft. There are also politics involved and a lot of it the usual dumb stuff that always results in the bad apples being rousted and roasted in public once their plans are foiled and the truth rises to the top. Noe of which I care much about because I just want my damn kitchen back to 100%. That carpenter made up a short list of stuff he saw that needed to be done as we chatted for about 20 minutes or so before leaving. Another call was placed to the office and they’re supposed to send what seems like the sole inspector they have in the complex here in a few days (Thursday) so he can take another look around. Yep, the notes I left are still up and will stay up so he can see what needs fixing. Hopefully this time stuff gets done right, but we’ll see. At this point, I’d be happy for at least an acknowledgement that the place is clearly in worse shape after what’s been going on, but again, we shall see…

Kitchen Nightmares V: Doing the Limbo for No Good Reason…

Posted on December 14, 2014 by geelw

Believe it or not, my kitchen STILL isn’t done and for the life of me I can’t figure out why. Well, other than the management here in Parkchester being incredibly insensitive and frankly, virtually shiftless in responding to the basic needs of renters. Being put on hold or hung up on after a time, then being put back in line for repairs that should have been done right the first time around is bad enough. But having to reschedule appointments because the workers didn’t even do the job they were contracted to to correctly is just insanity. What’s the definition of insanity, folks?

Yeah, you know the rest…

Based on the slapdash work done in the kitchen and other rooms here, it almost seems as if they’re telling the maintenance folks to do as little as possible and pass this off as actual quality work because it’s become a common thing over time and a few management transitions. Do they really want this nice three-bedroom top floor corner apartment that’s been in the family since oh, about 1976 or ’77 SO badly that they’re willing to make it look worse to the point the current tenants flee in frustration? It sure as hell seems like it. Hmmm, I guess Yelp can be trusted for fair reviews after all? If this is even the tiniest bit true about what’s taking place in this apartment, it’s wrong, inhumane and needs to stop before someone gets sued and loses somewhat badly in court.

Or at least the court of public opinion. With all the stories I have to tell about this apartment alone, I’d hate to be doing PR for a place that claims “comfort and convenience are the hallmarks of every 1, 2 and 3 bedroom Parkchester home”. Given that no one could drop by for Thanksgiving this year and this Christmas may be a bust for company as well thanks to this nonsense, my own “comfort and convenience” levels are fully drained to the point of glaring laser eyes at every maintenance guy or gal I see walking around this place smiling and laughing away… Continue reading →

I’ve Got The Power (Back!)…

Posted on November 21, 2014 by geelw

Okay, as annoying as this week has been for attempts to get work done, it almost got a wee bit too out of hand. Last night, I plugged in the laptop to tinker with a few posts (I’d forgotten to charge it the day before) and as I’m walking out of the room to make some coffee… I hear a loud “POP!” sound and turn around to see a wisp of smoke rising from near the computer. Gaaaah! Fortunately it wasn’t my laptop that fried, but the power cord on the adapter deciding to ruin my evening. Won-der-ful. Given that I only had about 9 minutes of power left, I decided to call it a night and head out in the morning to a few places around here to look for a replacement cord, hoping it wasn’t the actual power supply that blew out. Of course, being the technical ghetto up here in the wilds, the chances of finding a replacement quickly were slim, but it turns out I didn’t need to spend a dime.

I’d almost forgotten I have a duffel bag full of power adapters, AV cables and other replacement gear in a closet here and after the surprise visit from a painter this morning, I dug out that bag from a closet and spent a bit of time hoping I had the correct cord. Thankfully, I found not only one that matched that Mickey Mouse configuration, it’s also longer. Okay, now I need to get out of here and get back to work. I’m way behind schedule and I hate not being able to get work done that I need to when I want to. Oh, and that painter? Nope, it wasn’t for the kitchen at all, but the wall in my room that wasn’t exactly plastered that well and yup, she ONLY painted the spots that were plastered and not the entire wall which would have made more sense. *Sigh* Well, the entire apartment needs to be done at some point, but still…

Okay, time to get some stuff done, as today’s going to be a bit hectic with a bunch of downloads and uploads and game updates needing to be done. Back in a bit…

Busy Bee-ing Busy. Results to Follow Shortly…

Posted on November 16, 2014 by geelw

Up for air and still buried? How about that? Anyway, just a quickie note to note that I;m working on some content for this and another site today and into the coming week, so keep an eyeball peeled for updates. I suppose I could tell you what’s coming, but I like to toss a surprise or three at you and see if you can juggle a bit. Anyway, let me get back to knocking out what I need to knock out, and I don’t mean myself. It’s a wee bit warm in here and it’s a wee bit cold outside, which is normally a good thing. Except I’ve not been out all day thanks to my needing to catch up on stuff. Speaking of catching up, still no new kitchen ceiling and wall, which has gotten old already. I think they’re waiting until after the 19th when the wall in the home office gets taken care of to kick off phase two. I suppose I’ll need to take some before and after photos as a document of some sort, but I’m expecting these clowns to just make the place look exactly as it looked before they busted it up.

(Thanks, dodgybizkit!)

Well, with a fresh coat of paint on the new walls they’re putting in, of course.

Holiday Gift Guide 2014: A Few Fun Things From the UK…

Posted on November 15, 2014 by geelw

For me, there’s something really cool about a lot of products made in the UK that makes them quite desirable. No, it’s not got anything to do with my current Doctor Who fascination, folks. I think it’s the fact that you can look at them and right away see exactly what they’re used for. I call it a form and functionality sense of design and in the case of well-made gear, it’s always fun to look at items and have that “click” thing happen in your head and a smile appear on your face.

Bayan Soundbook GO

Bayan Soundbook

Bayan Soundbook X3

Meeting Bayan Audio’s Cameron Wilson and Taylor Whittamore at the #getgeeked show a few weeks back was one of the highlights of my trip downtown. As soon as I saw their Soundbook line of wireless speakers, I smiled because they nailed the form/functionality thing perfectly right down to the name. Each model (Soundbook, Soundbook GO and Soundbook X3) features a simple open to play design and all are portable and ready to get your favorite music just about wherever you want it.

While each unit sounded fine up close and personal, it was a bit tough to hear how they performed at range thanks to the cacophony of noise from attendees and other exhibits (including a few competing speakers blasting away nearby). Still, what I did hear made me grin because I could only imagine how they sounded in a quieter room or outdoors on a fine day where they could be played at the perfect volume…

While it wasn’t at the event, Bayan also makes the Streamport Universal, a nice and compact device that allows users to turn any audio system with a 3.5mm or RCA audio input into a wireless audio system. I’ll just let you consider the possibilities there for a minute…

My finding out about this little wonder while poking around the Bayan Audio site really made me want to give one a try at some point. But we’ll see what the review deities say in a bit, I suppose… Continue reading →

Oh, My Aching Saturday…

Status

Well, today was the big moving day… but not for me. I’d be posting up a storm right about now, but I had to assist in the “getting a ton of stuff out of the elevator” part of a big move and I’m just about BEAT. I’m actually polishing up a quick post from yesterday evening now and it will hopefully get up in about half an hour or so, but if I decide to pass out on top of my keyboard, you’ll all hopefully forgive me. Okay, enough stalling – off to tweak and post. Someone want to pour a cup of coffee on me (room temperature, of course). Eh, I guess it could be worse… a LOT worse (cue the over-obvious movie clip):

(Thanks, Henrique Tomé!)

Uh-huh. We don’t need a bigger boat, that’s for damn sure. Unless it’s coming to store some of the stuff that’s packed in here, ha and ha…

Almost Back on Track… Well, Almost…

Status

Well, the kitchen is still a mess and next week another room is getting a wall repaired, but at least I feel a but better thanks to the folks at Pepcom and CES Unveiled this week. I saw some fun stuff to wrote about and you know I’m needing to get some proper work when the most exciting things I’ve seen in a while were a VERY cool raincoat, a baking scale, some lovely plant-growing kits and a phone from a company most Americans probably haven’t heard about but need to check out for a really cool phone that won’t break their wallets (or itself by bending into improbable banana shapes). Back with some plugs later today.

This Month Better Not Be Turkey Month…

Posted on November 1, 2014 by geelw

(Thanks, tuxthemagicpenguin!)

Oof, it’s November already? Crap. Well, October was definitely both a bust and boom month for me. I won’t talk about the bust part because it’s none of your business and I’m not a TMI guy who confesses all then complains when people babble and squeak about what’s been written. I believe in plenty of privacy and hell, still recall when people kept personal diaries and journals and such. Granted, if you’re a sharer and don’t mind tattling all your secrets to the void, go right on ahead and be happy. Anyway, on the good news front, more work has come in thanks to a fellow editor-type wanting to expand his own site’s reach. While it’s still unpaid work, the goal here is building that site up more so it becomes a paying gig down the road (whee!).

Let’s see now, in other news… Yeah, the game backlog is still an issue, but I’m knocking stuff down bit by bit. I have a bunch of drafts to turn into reviews, so those will get done over the month. I’ll be doing a Toy of the Day or Week feature just to get to some of the more fun stuff I saw way back at Toy Fair and a few other events and yes, I’m adding some of those to a Holiday Gift Guide which should appear later in the month. More movie, book and tech reviews are coming (more drafts to complete!), with an overall goal this month of being a bit more well-rounded. Well, I’d gather Thanksgiving may take care of the more complete rounding part. That is, is I decide to participate in that huge calorie festival this year. I’m trying to be a healthier guy, so cutting the fat and a few other things may be on the plate instead.

As always, we shall see…