Lakers Lose

Well it's always a good day when you see the Lakers lose the chance at winning another championship. This article shows how over the entire NBA Finals history the Lakers have appeared in almost half of them (48%). That percentage is more than any franchise in any US professional sport, including the Yankees World Series appearences (only 40%).

After all, I am born and raised in San Antonio and a huge Spurs fan. They've been our natural born rival for many years. Even back in the George Gervin era, so I was born to hate the Lakers.

But I think something that satisfies me even more is to know that Joe Dumars, the Detroit Pistons GM, has become the first black GM to win an NBA championship. It's pretty hard to believe with the high percentage of blacks involved with the league, but it's true. But I guess this is still America though.

And just last year Robert Johnson became the first black owner of an NBA franchise, the new Charlotte Bobcats. I guess he was so proud of himself that he named the team after himself ("Bob").

New Photos

Well I finally posted the photos from my visit to Dallas, TX for my little cousin's high school graduation. It was cool to be back in Texas and to see friends and family. The photos include the ceremony and also the BBQ we had a few days later.

Edit: Just added two new videos as well

Aunt CeCe on Trampoline
My Cousin Vinny Getting his Diploma

New PS2 games

I know some might say I'm a little too old for video games, but I'm still into it. I just bought a new baseball game, All Star Baseball 2005 and am thinking about picking up another one, Transformers.

I may not have the spare time like I did when I was younger, but I still find a way once in a while. I find myself working late and then working out at the gym and not finding my home till about 9 or 10. By that time I just feel like checking my email, watching Sportscenter, and going to sleep. So my gaming time has definitely been slowing down. In fact with the NBA playoffs occuring the past month, I've been coming home or going to a bar and watching a different game every night as well. I definitely need to regain my focus.

Here's a few screen shots of the hot Transformers game I'm thinking of picking up later on tonight.

Back in the Chi

Well I made it back to the Chi in one piece from my long 5-day weekend down in Texas. I got a chance to catch up with some friends and family that I haven't seen since the holiday season. It was fun.

Everyone was in town since one of my little cousins graduated high school and is probably headed to Prarie View A&M. I took some pictures and videos, so look for those real soon. Actually one of the videos is pretty funny and includes one of my Aunt's falling on her face on a trampeline. Classic. :-)

Later.

New Video

I added a few video clips from my Auntie's graduation as well as a clip from a Cubs game I went to. I must be on a roll, that's two updates and three blogs in two days. Really I just have some more free time since my Spurs got bounced out of the NBA playoffs. All well, maybe it was a blessing in disguise. ;-)

New Photos

I just added some photos of my new little niece, my auntie's graduation, and a Cubs game that I went to a couple of weeks ago.

I haven't had the chance to meet my little niece yet, but I'm definitely looking forward to it. I hope the little girl forgives me for this when she gets older. I knew her pops was going to send me some messed up photos, but it's the best that I could do. :-)

New Web Design

Well once again I'll decided to update the design of the site. I just wanted something simple that would load up fast on dial-up modems. So I felt that this was sort, sweet, and to the point. I'll also be adding some additional photos to the site pretty soon. I have some photos and videos of my new god-neice, my aunt's graduation, and also a recent Cubs game that I went to in the freezing cold. I also want to add additional info on my PC Tivo and Zodiac, but also format all of the available video on the site to one format (probably MPEG2). Knowing me, don't hold your breath for these updates. ;-)

Softball Season is in the Air

Well the Major Leagues are under way. Barry Bonds has just become the third greatest homerun hitter of all time. The weather is starting to turn up. We may actually hit the 70's this weekend!!!! So it is only right that the Motorola Softball League get underway. We actually have our first team practice today. Even today is still kind of cold, I am still exited to get back out on the crater-filled diamond. Hopefully this season will turn out better than our previous two (see archives for my previous frustrations ;-)) We brought back the core of our team from two years ago, but we have picked up a couple of free agents as well as lost a few people. Actually our starting pitcher sold us out so she could get a master's degree, so that's a nice piece of the puzzle that's missing, but we'll manage. Thanks Kriste. ;-)

Anyways, as far as the site. I'm really starting to get a real good handle on video editing and I think I have found a nice format for all of my videos on the website. I decided to go with an Xvid codec, which is basically MPEG4. This codec is basically just an open-source version of the commonly-known Divx codec, but it seems to give me better audio/video syncing results. Pretty soon I will be converting all of the video over to this format.

Until later. Holla later.

Long Time No Post

I know that it's been a minute since I posted. I guess I have just been mad busy. Not a whole lot has happened since my last post. I guess that was around Super Bowl time.

Well I found a new project to get involved in. I just got a Tapwave Zodiac. This is a tight new PDA that has a few features on it to play games. I've been eying this product since last November when I dropped and broke my old Palm IIIxe. And since this device runs the Palm OS, I just uploaded all of the data that backed from the old IIIxe. The tightest feature on this device is the gaming features. It has an analog controller, shoulder buttons, and four color buttons as controls. So far I keep all my regular info (numbers, calandar, to-do listss, etc), plus an Nintendo emulator, an MP3 player, and video player. I'm looking to take this device anywhere I go for now on. It's my new best friend. ;-)

Once I finish up with this project I think my next plan of action needs to be with my car. She's starting to die on me. I'm having transmission problems, the breaks are about to go out, and I am leaking a whole lot of oil and cooling fluid. I already know that if I want to stop the leaking it's going to cost me a pretty penny. Last I remember it was around a G. The first priority will definitely be the transmission though. I think I ruined the third gear. I can't imagine how much that is going to cost to repair. I might just have to wait and see how necessary these repairs are. I can stand the fluid leaking, but I can't do nothing if my transmission is slowly dying on me. We'll see.

Chicago Auto Show 2004

I finally got the chance to add some new photos to the site. Last Sunday I got the opportunity to go to the Chicago Auto Show. It was pretty cool. I've gotten the opportunity to go to the show for the past three years. I can't say that this was one of the best, but it was still cool. This definitely had to be the year of the trucks for the show. I was really impressed with them. I was a bit disappointed that there was only one Toyota Tundra in the whole show, but I got put onto a new truck. The Nissan Titan. I was really feelin' this truck. The size. The power. This link shows how the Titan compares with some of the truck big boys, including the Tundra and Ford F-150.

You can see how the Titan can hang with the big boys. I'll definitely have to look into this if I can get the power of a F-150 for about $5,000.00 less. We'll see. Maybe one day I could be flossin' this.

Nissan Titan

Super Bowl

I'm still not too sure where I will be bowling at this year. Ever since I have been in Chicago I have always been moving on the day of the Super Bowl. The first one in 2002 is when I moved from Texas to Chicago. In 2003 is when I moved from my apartment to the townhouse where I am at now. I don't even know what to do with myself now that I am not moving this winter. I had better move next winter so that I am not in this situation again. ;-)

Anyways, I will be pulling for the Panters since they knocked off my Cowboys in the Wildcard Game. I hope they pull it out, it should be a defensive, low scoring, grind it out kind of game. I'm looking forward to it. In fact I might just meet some people at a sports bar and watch the game so that I can concentrate on the actual game. I remember back in 2000 when it was the Rams vs. the Titans. That was one of the most exciting Super Bowls in my generation and I bareley remember it because I was at a party with music and people that don't even like football talking too much.

Well I don't have any new additions to the site, but one thing that I do have on my to-do list is to convert all of the video files to mpeg2. I'll be sure to get it eventually.

New Web Design

I got kinda bored with the old design and plus I had some free time at work. ;-)

NFL Playoffs

I gotta say that this year's NFL playoffs are one of the best ever. There has really only been a couple of decisive games out the 16 that have been played so far. One of those non-decisive games being my Cowboys, but all well. They over-achieved anyways. Next year they'll be back again and even better.

New photos

I just added some new photos to the site. I added some photos from my first Bear's game here in Chicago. Man I gotta tell you that it was cold. We had seats in the second to last row on the side of the new Soldier's Field facing Lake Michigan. By the second quarter I could not feel my fingers or my toes. But you know what. I would do it again in a second. The game is so much slower and easier to see than it is on television. I just have to conserve and get ready for that $65 hit. That's a far cry from a $5 ticket at the Alamodome. ;-)

Well it's just been too long since my last blog. I still haven't updated the website with my new photos yet. I've been slacking. Maybe because I woke up today and the temperature outside was -3 degrees. And I'm not talking about Celcius either.

Anyways, at least I completed my TIVO PC the week I got back from Christmas. It's cool. I already have a few recordings that I have. The next step is to purchase a DVD recorder so I can start archiving some movies and Spurs games. I also want to get some of the other modules working as well. There's a music jukebox, video player, web server (program recordings on the web), game emulator (to play old SNES and NES games), weather monitor, news feed, and image viewer. I'll get to it eventually I guess. Just like the photo updates. ;-)

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well we are finally in a new year. Time to start up those resolutions once again. One of mine is to stay in better shape. I work out once in a while, but I need to become more disciplined and also eat alot better. Time to minimize the trips to Mickey D's and reduce my carbs intake. Another resolution of mine is the leave all of the extra baggage that accumulated from 2003 in the year 2003. The past is the past and there is nothing that we can do about it. It's all in God's hands now. All we can do is just look to the future and try to make that better.

Well I have some new photos from my Christmas vacation that I will be posting, so I'll have to get to that. Later.

I've been contemplating on what I was going to get my family for Christmas. I think I've narrowed it down to these items:

Sister: Additional money on Visa Buxx card
Mom: ??? (maybe CD's)
Dad: Motorola V70
Grandma: ??? (ask mom :-). Probably household items)
Momo and Mr. Melvin: ?? (Just found out they were coming for Christmas yesterday. Don't have anything yet)

As you can see I definitely have some work to do. And it will probably wait until X-mas Eve like I always do. Hopefully kid sis' can help me out with some of the needs of my Mom and Grandma around the house. But then again maybe not, she is a teenager. :-) Well wish me luck.

Headlines:
100 years of flight:
Lauren Hill puts the Catholic Church on blast.
Bush wants to off Suddam, but where's Osama
Now the the French and Germans want to help out in Iraq
I have a new bossman here at Motorola

I finally have had some free time to put together my Tivo PC. I am still having a few issues with the sound driver, but I'll be purchasing a cable wire from Radio Shack this evening to give it a good test. Hopefully I can get this thing running before I leave for Christmas vaction back in TX.

I really haven't had alot of time to put everything together since I have been out of town so often the past two months. By the way, I have a few pictures from my second visit to Halifax, Nova Scotia and also my first Chicago Bears game. Who knows when I'll get time to upload them, but I'll make an attempt tonight if I can figure out my Tivo PC issues. Later.

New Pics

I finally got my computer together and had an opportunity to add some new pics to the site. Most are from my trip back home in early November. Another set are from a farewell dinner we had for my friend Karis as soon as I got back.

There is some new video as well, but I need to compress them a little before I post them on the site. Holla later.

I forgot to mention that I am another step closer to completing my MythTV "Tivo" box. I just ordered the motherboard and case today and I am planning on picking up my wireless keyboard/mouse on the way home. After this I plan on picking up a new item every pay day till the end of the year. By that time I should have everything I need to get the project underway.

Actually I have co-worker who is attempting the same thing. He just told me today that the process is painless and he already has a number of the modules downloaded and functioning. So I guess I will find out soon enough.

Asus Pundit::Includes the motherboard, sound card, video card, DVI output, composite output, 4-in-1 card reader, and other junk

Gyration keyboard/mouse combo::Wireless RF keyboard and mouse which allows mouse movements in mid-air. Wild Stuff!!!!!!!!