Take my blood, but not my...blood?

Went and had a blood test done, this morning. Yes. ANOTHER ONE. I actually put this one on hold for some time. Just been too gosh darn busy, lately. That, and, getting up at 6am sucks moose balls. Nothing eventful. No needles broke, sending streams of pulsating, red, viscous liquid everywhere. Though, I think a little kid crapped her pants. It sure smelled like it. There were a few older people in there. Maybe it was one of them. I don't really know, but I know the smell of soiled drawers, and someone sure as hell needs to take a trip to the cleaners. Wow, even when I don't talk about MY shit, someone else's shit somehow seems to sneak into a post. It's unavoidable, ladies and gentlemen. Deal with it.

I started adding the Spartacus Workout to my weekly health routine. Lemme just tell you that I had trouble just trying to get off the friggin' toilet bowl a day after the first routine. Sonofabitch, it's tough! If you don't know what it is, check it out here. It's a circuit of 10 exercises, each done for a minute. Being the pansy that I am, I'm just gonna ease it into my workouts and do one set instead of 3. I'll work my way up to that (I don't wanna vomit on the gym floor just yet). If the pain is any indication of success, this thing is a winner! Guess I'm just not used to these types of routines, yet. I've always just been more of a basic workout kinda guy. You know; lift this, lift that. I got a good feeling that this will help fill in the gap that's kept me from really progressing. Not that I'm looking to show up to work with no shirt on or anything, but to at least look in the mirror and actually NOTICE a difference, which in turn would mean I'm getting healthier as well.

Speaking of health... Can I just say that these last two months are the best I've felt in the last 2 YEARS! I'm knocking on every piece of wood I can, believe me. Seriously, I think Lent had a big part of it. That's both good and bad. Good because I have a better idea of what I should keep my diet as, but bad because no man should ever look at red meat and say "FUCK YOU!". It's just not right. Can you believe that I got mad that I saw red meat on my dinner plate last night? What the fuck is wrong with this picture? This is gonna take some getting used to.

Oh, almost forgot. Tomorrow I'll get to not only experience commuting into NYC during rush hour, but I'll get to put the iPad to some use outside of the confines of my room. I'm going to the Javits Center for a Photoshop seminar which should be very cool. I'm hoping that Mr. David Cross decides to give us a treat and show off some CS5 wonderment! That would make it sssoooooo fucking worth the travel. Can you believe my boss actually WANTS me to go to these things? I love my job. Sometimes. Not sure if I'll be hanging out there afterwards or if I'm coming straight home. Who knows. Might as well play it by ear. Hey, maybe I'll do a Apple store tour? I actually haven't been to a single one in the city. Yes, that's right. Not a single one! Another thing on the list I need to do. Fucking thing just doesn't get any shorter.

Stay awesome or stay down, fuckers!

- S

Damn Distractions!

Between the iPad, GOW3, Easter and work, I actually went nearly 3 days without a fucking post! Well, I got a few free minutes while I wait on some jackasses to get their shit together so, let's have at it!

I already posted enough about the iPad. Needless to say, I'm in love withe the damn thing and SketchBook Pro from Autodesk is the tits!!! I'll post some of the work I've done with it, soon. I brought the iPad into work, yesterday, and it got plenty of 'ooohs' and 'aaahs'. I bet there'll be a few more purchases on the way. One thing that having it in the office really showed me was how bad I need a case for it. Not so much for holding it, but for traveling with it. The thought of my naked iPad bouncing around inside my computer bag, totally exposed, really unnerved me. That'll be remedied later today with a quick run to the Apple store.

Ok, enough iLove. Onto GOW3. Wow. Um. Yeah, just wow! 3 years of waiting (and an extra couple weeks) was well worth it! What an incredible game. The look. The sound. The carnage! Oh, the carnage!!! I haven't played a game in quite a while that satisfied my subconscious, violent urges as GOW3 did. All of the classic features were intact: chain blades, quicktime kills, sex mini games...you name it. It's all there, only better. My favorite update (besides the obvious graphical overhaul) has to be with the quicktime events. One thing that always bothered me about these is that they tend to obscure what's actually happening on screen. I don't want to miss the action because I have to pay so close attention to the commands (I'm looking at you, Heavenly Sword!). The GOW team came up with a subtle, yet very effective solution to this. Instead of putting the buttons mid-screen, they use the sides of the screens (top, right, bottom, left) and use the corresponding buttons of the control pads placement. In other words, X=bottom so it only shows up on the bottom of the screen. That way, you can look directly at the action and respond to peripheral commands. Simple, yet GENIUS! Why didn't anyone think of that before?

There's an amazingly simple, yet poignant and artsy event that takes place just before you unmercifully rip Helios' head off, and happened to be left off of the demo which made it a wonderful surprise. I don't want to spoil it, but it involves blocking a light with your hand. It's actually a pretty beautiful scene, but, unfortunately, there aren't too many scenarios like this in the game. However, this is a game filled with violence and based on a violent story, so, it's understandable. The boss battles are very cool, and there are some surprises, especially when you realize who the voice actors are. Very slick, Sig!

If I had any real issues with the game, it had to do with the end. It kind of goes off in an odd direction and almost feels like it starts to overstay its welcome, a bit. Again, I don't want to spoil anything, but it involves a lot of 'wandering in darkness'. Even the very last scene kind of just 'happens' and it's somewhat abrupt. Maybe that's just me being a big fan of the series not wanting to see actual end, ya know? I will say that it is fitting and, for the most part, satisfying. I kind of want to go back in and play just to bash the shit out of people with the Nemean Cestus! I just can't stop saying, in a Russian accent, "I must break you!" before each skirmish. Good, guilty fun. Get this game. It's worth it!

Uhg, what else is there? Oh, Easter. Gotta talk about Easter. Well, actually, I don't have to since not much happened. Had lunch with the family at the Portuguese Clube. Food, wine and laughs. That's pretty much business as usual at one of those gatherings. Oddly enough, being that Lent ended, I actually didn't touch red meat, chocolate or ice cream! Imagine that? Me, free of the shackles that held me back for over a month, and I didn't even SEEK OUT the treasures I so deserved! Maybe that's a good thing. I did lose 7lbs, which I intend to keep off. Guess I gotta stay on the wagon as long as I can.

You stay awesome, intarWebbz!

- S

I'm so weak, but happy!

Before you say anything, fuck off! I got my iPad and that's that. I ended up going to Best Buy this morning just to see the crowd. There wasn't one. Well, not a HUGE one anyway. That's expected being that the BB push isn't really until the 11th, but stores that have the Apple section in them have a certain amount each for today. I walked straight towards that section and there were already a couple people checking 'em out. As soon as I picked one up I instantly fell in love. It really is something you need to hold in your hands and look upon in person to really understand how beautiful this thing is. I made my decision then and there that I wasn't leaving the store without one. I didn't wanna bother with the lines at the actual Apple store at Smithaven.

I headed over to the 8-person-deep line by the Geek Squad department - Who else would you have securing this product? Hah! - and waited a couple minutes. I held back from interjecting into a conversation two mouth-breathers were having about Macs in their total combined 6 years of experience with them. I figured it wasn't worth it. I just wanted my damn iPad and stick it down my pants tout suite! Got to the counter, had a chat with the clerk who apparently really wanted one, but was sure they'd sell out before he could get a chance to purchase one. After feigning sympathy, and completing the transaction, I decided that I should pick up GOW3 while I was there. Fuck it, right? Why not?

After walking out of the store, iPad in hand, I noticed the sun was shining brighter and the air smelled of sweet purity like I've never known. Was it the iPad? I think so. That's just how magical it is! I'm sure of it! I think I even saw a couple birds give me a thumbs up. In fact, I was in such a good mood that I decided to head over to the Apple store anyway. Call it morbid curiosity. Call it me being bored. But I just had to go. Besides, I needed a new phone case. That's as good enough a reason as any, right?

Right when I walked into the Mall, near the Macy's entrance, two people were walking out, iPads in hand. I asked them how the line was and they said there wasn't one. Really? No fucking way! That's not possible. It's the iPad launch! I told them BB was the same and they showed equal surprise, though, I doubt they were cursing out my mother in their minds as badly as I was doing to theirs in mine. That's just what I do when I talk to strangers. So I made my way over and there were plenty of guides setup, but no line. However, the close I got, the louder the buzz became. You just couldn't ignore the overall feeling and sounds of amazement coming from the store.

When I got to the entrance, a lovely, nose-ring adorned employee greeted me and asked if I was looking for an iPad. I said, "No. I cheated and got one at BB. I just need an iPhone case." She kind of looked at me funny and said something, but all I wanted to do was rip the ring out of her nose. I don't hate nose-rings. I just thought she was too cute to have one, but I digress. Another employee unnecessarily spoke to me about the cases, but I just wanted to revel in the crowd; looking at the smiles and lit-up faces on everyone fondling the iPads. It was like a petting zoo, but with better animals.

I left the store and went straight home. All I wanted to do was play with this thing. Oh, I forgot to mention that I'm typing this all out on my iPad. It's not difficult to type long entries at all. Well, as long as it's not flat. That can be a pain, but placing it on your lap, on an angle, works extremely well. Some quick things I'll note:

Like
• VERY snappy. Things move and happen smoothly and quickly.
• Keyboard is easy to use. You can type in portrait mode with both thumbs ala iPhone typing.
• HD screen is gorgeous. Everything looks so crisp.
• Resists smudges. You can actually clean smudges WITH your fingers!

Dislike
• Synching seems to be slow to initialize. Quick when it actually gets started. Maybe just an iTunes issue.
• No USB. I guess that's minor, but it'd be nice to access files that way without constantly synching.
• Mail takes a while to setup. Stupid verification screen!

So, that's really it. I haven't gotten to do much with apps. Just tested some out, but haven't purchased any iPad specific ones but I did get a couple free ones (NYT is bueno). After I use this some more I'm sure I'll have more to love about it and more gripes, too. Stay tuned!

- S

The iPad Cometh

Oh, iPad. You shiny, gleaming, wonderous, polar icecap-saving, God-defining, tastes like chocolate and awesomeness, piece of technology birthed from the mating of Steve Jobs and a unicorn. How you call for my attention...and wallet.

So, we're here. The wait is over. The iPad is available for purchase. Can you feel the shift in the Earth's magnetic field? I can. It makes my weenie tingle. Now all that's left is to decide whether to buy one now or later? I'm still on the fence and that fence is pretty sharp. It's just begging me to jump off and pick a side before I get a second crack in my ass. I know what you're thinking: "Surely, you can't really expect us to believe you'd wait to buy one?" I can't deny that there's a really strong possibility that I'll be at the Smithaven Mall Apple Store tomorrow morning, waiting in line with the other drooling Apple fanboys. I was able to hold back with both iPhone launches, but there's just something about the iPad.

I can't quite put my finger on it. Maybe it has to do with the possibilities that the iPhone created and begged for? You know, like, how the only thing better than an iPhone is a BIG iPhone? I've tooled around with quite a few apps in different categories like productivity (don't laugh!), games, entertainment, etc. but, the prospect of using these on a bigger screen with the ease and intuitive touch screen interfacemeltingness just makes me wanna do a happy dance! I've been around long enough to know to stay away from first gen, but how can I do that now? It's the iPad! How much more can they change to it that can't be fixed with software? Ok. Ok. Software won't make it widescreen (maybe) or add a forward-facing camera. So what? Three generations of iPhones have gone by without similar features (and others), and we're all still here. Still complaining, too.

eBook reader. Art canvas. Game console. How can you beat it? Well, I'll tell you how. You make another one a year later, which is exactly what Apple will do. However, I am not waiting a fucking year! Either I plunk the money down on 4.1.10 or I do it on 12.1.10. What's the fucking difference? Maybe from a money perspective it's best to save a few ducets right now. Perhaps I should wait to get another side job out of the way to pay for it. Or maybe get it and it'll push me to get another side job sooner. Or maybe I should beat up a little kid and take his/hers. Uhg... decisions, decisions.

What's a guy to do? What can actually happen, in a beneficial way, if I wait? Could the price actually (gasp!) DROP? I doubt it. This is not a subsidized product like the iPhone. No one else is giving Apple money to sell this product and the parts, for the most part, are a result of everything already being miniaturized for the phones and laptops and they haven't changed all that much, price-wise. I think Apple wants to avoid another hiccup like what happened with the first iPhone. Hardware-wise, this iPad will not change for at least a year, and even then what the fuck could they really do? Actually, that's a dumb question. They could do A LOT. Never underestimate the power of Apple and it's flock of vocal sheep (myself included).

I wonder how my opinion will change when I'm molesting the shiny, glass surface of an iPad in the store. I have to at least do that before I can make a decision. Fucking hell this is going to be tough.

Stay tuned to find out what happens. WIll I or Won't I? Heh...

Oh, and Happy Easter!

- S

ipad now available for pre-order

Looks like the Apple iPad is now available for pre-order. I told myself I was going to wait a generation, but, man is it getting tough! This thing, the more I think about it, is just so damn appealing (of course, it's an APPLE PRODUCT!). This would definitely get me back into reading actual literature without clogging up the precious little space I have left in my room.

Order one and help my stock go up!