So, with only 2 months between the last time I went, I was in Vegas again the past weekend along with Brian, Winson (spring break), Kinson (early birthday), Jessica, Cynthia, and Hanah (birthday).
We stayed at NYNY for 2 nights with the first night spent clubbing at Risque and Jet. We paid for one of those VIP hosting companies to drive us two clubs in a limo! First time I was in a limo! Risque wasn't much of a happening place; a bunch of people were kind just standing around in in the main room while the other room had better music but almost nobody there. I thought Jet was much better but crowded, but Jet didn't seem to work out so well for the girls.
$5 blackjack tables just didn't exist on the weekends, even at O'Sheas. Hanah, learned to play blackjack on this trip and got a pretty good return on the game. Much of the day was spent walking around the casinos and eating as usual. We saw Avenue Q which was hilarious. If you liked Team America, this is the show for you! Even if you didn't, it's still pretty good.
So far, between the two trips, the Bellagio dinner buffet has not treated my friends well. This time turned out better cuz not as many of us had upset stomachs, but yeah... maybe ought to choose a different place next time.
One thing that I really wanted to do was go to Red Square. A vodka bar where the downstairs bar is made out of a slab of ice and they let you wear mink coats. The problem is that you have to buy a bottle.... which is marked up to like $200. Perhaps next time.
My laptop's warrenty expired on January 30th 2006.
A few days before, I sent it in to get a few things fixed before it expired and then had them check a few other minor annoyances in hope that if I put down enough stuff completely truthfully, they'll get fed up and give me a brand new one.
This explains why I've been idle on AIM a lot and not posting a lot.
What really needed to be fixed:
1) The power adaptor socket sometimes doesn't work because a piece of a power adapter broke off and got stuck inside.
2) The screen fades to be a little darker in the lower left hand corner.
What I probably wouldn't have cared if they didn't fix but just had to mention:
1) rubber feet missing
2) missing screw on the ram slot cover
3) DVD drive doesn't read certain crappy DVDRs
4) It crashed and corrupted a little data when I tried to use the target mode feature (most likely the real reason it crashed was because I didn't reboot it for about 2-3 months)
5) Certain keys on the keyboard are wearing off.
The guy at the Oakridge store said that's the longest list he's ever seen entered in for a repair order. It fit on one page though, the line I had to sign on ended up getting printed over the copyright text at the bottom of the page.
Incidentally, this is the first laptop I've ever gotten the extended warrenty for, and the only laptop that seems to have lasted longer than 2 years without a catastrophic failure.
Typically, my previous laptops have died a month before Apple introduces a new design. And then I buy the first version of a new design. Which usually is the one which sometimes has problems. When Apple introduced the Macs with Intel chips, my laptop didn't die a month before, signaling that *insert diety here* says I'm on to something and I should not buy the evilBook.
Of course, a few weeks ago I plug in the power adapter only to get a little spark and no charge. So my coworker hears me going "noo! this can't be happening!" as I try to figure out how to get my laptop to turn back on. (shaking it apparently fixed it, since I knew there was a piece of metal floating around the power socket, and hence why I went to get it fixed.)
Tagged by EJ
1) SARS and Bird Flu doesn't scare me. Turning into a Mad Hatter does. I'm OCD about elemental contamination because of the amount of lead, mercury, and random chemicals exist in my garage from solder work. Anything that touches anything that touches anything that contains toxic metals is considered dirty and I'm compelled to wipe it with a damp towel. It drives me nuts not really knowing whether or not I feel like I'm going nuts from a stupid habit sprung from reading warning labels as a kid or if I really have excessive exposure to toxic metals.
2) When really tired and still going out with friends and I have to drive people home, I drink alcohol moderately and early on to preparing for driving home. While it sounds counterintuitive, I found that my body processes alcohol pretty well as long as I put in a reasonable amount. If done right, I'll be buzzed during the event, by the end of the night I'll be both completely sober and wired at the same time.
3) I can't study anything without a distraction. I've tried going to a library or locking myself up in a room with just lecture notes and a book but I always fall asleep no matter what time of day and what condition I'm in. Background music helps, AIM helps, even a periodic stress relieving session of Unreal Tournament helps. Trying to study with absolute focus? Narcolepsy.
4) I think I would have been a great surgeon. I mean, check out what I can do when I don't worry about killing a lifeform? The problem? I'm somewhat empathic in that whenever I'm dealing with cutting into something that was alive, that I get the feeling that I know exactly what it would feel like even if the thing's not alive anymore. Realizing that kinda sucked when I was doing dissections in high school bio. And believe me, with all the crazy sports injuries and medical history, I can imaging quite vividly what stuff like knee surgery or whatever feels like. Doing the cadaver projects in med school would probably cause me to go insane. On the other hand, if I mess up with electronics, I have no issues ripping wires out and starting over.
5) I have a habit of tossing things into recycling whenever possible. The idea that something which has lost it's current usefulness would be useful elsewhere appeals to the inner treehugger in me. Hence the wierd energy-saving design research for when I build my dream house.
Read the 2nd to last comment on this article.
That's a wonderful "wtf" moment in the making.
Reprint incase it's removed:
11. I bought one for my daughter's birthday...of course...far in advance so I could play with it.
It only took me a few minutes to "hack" it, although it was embarrassingly easy. It shows up as a HID device, temp.inf contains a script file defining audio sequences and variables (such as child's name), and there is a directory full of audio files containing names and phrases. Each time you push the button, a random script entry is played.
Current, boring factory script:
PL_016:
PLAY ELMO_LOVES_YOU+[50MSEC]+#CHILDSNAME
RTS
If you practice your elmo voice a little bit, and create some phrase files, on could do the following:
PL_016:
PLAY ELMO_IS_WATCHING_YOU+[50MSEC]+#CHILDSNAME
RTS
or how about:
PL_016:
PLAY ELMO_KNOWS_WHAT+[50MSEC]+#PARENT2+[50MSEC]+DID_LAST_SUMMER
RTS
If you change this script, and add the appropriate audio files to link to, you can push this install onto the elmo using the standard installer and do whatever you want.
Another interesting point is that the device that speaks is a very small, removable module. You could actually voice activate nearly anything with a little creativity!
Posted at 11:44AM on Nov 11th 2005 by maokh 0 stars