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The GoldChannel Project: Build a home theater PC for less than $1000.
For the last several years, I've been wanting a home theater PC. A few of my friends already had home theater PCs, through which they could play their music on their stereo, display their pictures on their TV, and play their videos on their TV. Some of these systems were based on the Windows Media Center edition OS. I didn't want a Windows-based ( Read more... ) -
Waxing Political: What do Democrats stand for?
So, the Democratic National Committee elected Tom Perez as their next chairman, and not Keith Ellison. That tells me that they are staying their course, whatever that happens to be. Why? "Because we've always done it this way." Or so it seems to me ( Read more... ) -
Christmas spirit? We haven't had that spirit here since 1989....
(In which I look back on the events of my life and try to figure out why I no longer feel any joy this time of year ( Read more... ) -
"Whatever it takes. No excuses."
(Based on a Facebook post from a few months ago.)
One of my mantras has been "Whatever it takes. No excuses." That is what I demanded of myself, and expected of others. Where did I lean this? I'm not quite sure, but I've given some thought as to where I might have learned it.
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The video conversion project.....
A few years ago, I purchased a copy of Honestech's VHS to DVD program. The software -- I can't remember if I had version 3.0 or 5.0 -- came with a "dongle" device into which I could plug three RCA jacks (for audio and video) and plug the other end into a USB port of my computer. The program served as the capture device and created MPEG files of ( Read more... ) -
Marching Band Memories - Part 2: The games....
Continuing my march down memory lane ( Read more... ) -
Marching band memories - Part 1: The music...
A few weeks ago, one of the memes I came across asked if I could still sing my high school fight song.
I remember what our fight song was -- "Mister Touchdown USA" -- but I never sang it, because I was too busy playing it along with the rest of the marching band. And we never played the bridge section; just the verse. Here's the song. . ( ( Read more... ) -
My Eureka Timberline 2 tent...
(Originally posted to Facebook on 10/20/16.)
[Backstory: Earlier this year, my friend Heather (aka maedbh7) had been looking for a "bivvy tent", and found one on Craigslist for $40. The seller was in Dayton, and had asked me to pick it up for her. And earlier this week, we finally took it on an overnight outing to Buck Creek State Park, east of ( Read more... ) -
To Darmstadtium... and beyond! (Revision 1)
"These are the only ones of which the news has come to Harvard
And there may be many others, but they haven't been discovered."
-Tom Lehrer, "The Elements"
Several years ago, I wrote about some of the new elements on the periodic table. And now I can't find that article. I looked as far back as 2008; didn't see it. So I'll write a new entry ( Read more... ) -
The soundtrack of my life, in 12 albums.....
So, on Facebook, Jeff Bonhoff asked some of his online friends about music, and what 12 albums would be the soundtrack to their lives. I don't know Jeff very well (and I'd like to change that), but two of the people who responded were Rand Bellavia and Phil Mills. I'm putting this on LJ instead of Facebook due to its length. (At one time, ( Read more... )