ChetOS.net

Our new laptop has been having trouble connecting to our home wireless network since we got it.  Once it finally connects, it usually stays connected.  Sometimes it can take several minutes before it connects.  Very annoying.

No other wireless device has any trouble with our network, including the Wii.  I just had some friends over, and nobody reported any wireless issues.

Over the weekend, we had a Quake party, and I turned the laptop up to High Performance mode, and accidentially left it on.  Amanda noticed that the laptop was connecting almost immediately to the network whenever she turned it on.

Well, the laptop has Vista, and it turns out that in Power Saving mode, it greatly reduces the wireless performance.  We leave it in Power Saving mode even when it is plugged in to reduce the heat it produces.  99% of the time it is only being used for the internet, so we have no need to leave it in High Performance mode.  Tonight, when I get home, I am going to customize the power policy so that wireless performance is always at maximum.

Nice to have this little annoyance solved.

Glenn Beck informs us about the background of Van Jones, the green jobs czar.

This self-described radical is a top advisor to President Obama.

I was reading the Wikipedia entry for Mafia (party game).  Under optional roles I added a new one: ninja.

If the ninja is selected by mafia during the night, he is woken up (just like doctor or KGB) and he totally flips out kills someone.

Obviously, the ninja can only be killed by townsfolk.

Yesterday was my birthday.  Yea me!  It turned 27.  Oh well, it happens.

I got a mini helicopter that I have wanted for a while.  I also got Oceans 11/12 DVD, and a Barnes 'n Noble gift card.  Amanda made me Swedish Meatballs, my favorite, and German Chocolate Cake, my favorite.

Oh, she also got me a big bag of peanut M&Ms, my favorite.

So, overall, pretty great.

I haven't seen my family yet.  I'll probably get some good swag from them too.

We bought the crib for Robbie last week.  Picked it up Friday.

So, we spent a large part of the weekend "cleaning up" the office, converting it to a guest bedroom.  When I say cleaning up, I mean getting rid of a ton of books that we will never read, removing a lot of my miscellaneous decorations, and rearranging everything so we could fit a bed.  Luckily, we were able to keep the table in there, so not much has actually changed.

We realized that that room had the highest density of stuff than any other room in our house.  I don't think that the garage has as much stuff.

This is because the current guest bedroom is going to be the nursery.  We put the crib together last night, and it is so nice.  Got a great deal on it.  I have to admit that I was sticker-shocked when I saw that most nice cribs go for at least $300.  This one was well less than that.

Next step is decorating, which Amanda has already started.  She plans on painting some cute animals on several square canvases and hang them over the crib.

The next major step will be moving our bedroom upstairs.  It shouldn't be anywhere near the pain that cleaning the office was, but it will be a process.  What is funny is that just before Amanda got pregnant her grandma gave us a nice (very old) dresser and bed.  So we moved our stuff to one of the upstairs rooms.  Our "new" set is way to heavy to move upstairs, so we are just going to leave it, but we are going to be reunited with our original bedroom set upstairs.

There are 24 billion chickens in the world.  That means they out number us 3 to 1.  If they figure this out, we are done for.

I just finished "reading" The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy on audiotape (not really tape) for the second time.  This book is so funny, and its humor matches mine closely.

I think my favorite scene is when the whale is free falling towards Magrathea.  There might be another, but I cannot remember it.

I also like when the time when the effects of the Infinite Improbability Drive are wearing off.  Arthur says that there are an infinite number of monkeys outside the door and they want to discuss a copy of Hamlet that they have been working on.

My absolute favorite line comes from the dolphins, who are the second-most intelliegent species on Earth (after mice).  It turns out that all their jumping though hoops and splashing water, are really attempts to communicate with us humans.  The last thing they "said" was a double backflip though a hoop while squeaking.  It translates to "So long... and thanks for all the fish."

Someone said "crabwalking" the other day.  I don't think we crabwalk enough anymore.  We need to do this more or else this mode of transportation will become a lost art.  What ever happened to crabwalking in gym class?  Do they even do that any more?

Think of the children!

I am working on a XNA version of Descent.  If anyone owns a copy of Descent (because you need the HOG and PIG files) and wants to try what I have so far, let me know.

This requires Windows.

Also, you can buy Descent 1 and 2 for like $6.00 here.

The version you download would be for DOS.  You can get a Windows/Mac/Linux port of the executable at DXX-Rebirth.  Either way, you have to buy it to get the game's data.

I hope that next time I have a Quake party at my house (soon) we can play this as well.