I recieved an email that linked to the Star Wars blog and I thought that the Vader Project was pretty cool so I posted the video here.  It is a project by an artist who painted a bunch of Darth Vader helments with different themes.  Pretty cool, I think.

I needed to hook up my Xbox to Xbox Live and, like most people, do not have an ethernet connection next to my TV.  I hate using wireless on my Xbox because it can cause more lagging during gameplay and it has interrupted downloads in the past for me.  I wanted to use a wired ethernet connection but I didn't want to run wires all the way up to the living room in my new house.

Sling Media (makers of the Slingbox) has come to the rescue.  I picked a SlingLink Turbo at Best Buy and set it up yesterday so that I can hook up my XBox and my future Slingbox purchase without running any wires.  Slinglink runs through your already existing electrical wires.

It was very easy to set up.  I just plugged in the reciever next to my wireless router and plugged the ethernet cable into one of the four hardwire jacks available on the router.  I plugged in the other end of the Slinglink turbo next to my entertainment system and plugged the other eithernet cable into the Xbox and voila, internet access.  That's it!  Here are action pics (collect them all).

I tested the speeds with my laptop's wireless disabled and here are the results.  Pretty Fast!

I have been wanting to get an OQO model 2 since they have come out.  I have finally convinced myself that I could really use one to be more productive while on the go.  Instead of just ordering one on a whim (which I often do), I have decided to get one once I finish work on Morale as a reward for myself.  That will get me to work on it harder and faster so that I can allow myself to buy a really cool gadget without any guilt.  Has anyone else tried this in the past?

I bought the new Linkin Park album, Minutes to Midnight, on Tuesday and it is all I have been listening to.  I think it is their best work to date.  The song, Bleed It Out, is my favorite on the album but there is seriously not a bad song on the album.  Having Rick Rubin (Beastie Boys, Run DMC, Jay-Z, Red Hot Chilli Peppers) as one of the producers was not a bad decision as all.  Give it the old college try if you like that type of music, you won't be disappointed.

Sorry for the lack of updates lately to this site.  I have been super busy trying to move and what not.  I wanted to give an update on my progress on the move (in case you are wondering, mom).

Well, we have gotten all of our stuff out of our old house and gave the keys to the new home owner several weeks early.  The Rambo house will be missed but our new house is a lot bigger and easier for us to live in.  The first thing we did after closing was to get a new washer and dryer and a large screen TV.  We needed a new TV since our old plasma was put into the contract as coming with the old house.  I settled on an LG 50" 720p plasma.  We mounted it above our fire place and I must say that it looks really nice.  I decided not to pay the extra money to pay for the 1080p because there is nothing broad casted with that resolution yet and I am not interested in BluRay or HD DVD right now.  It saved me at least a grand.

We are still living in boxes but we have put several of the rooms together.  Ava's room is together and Alecia's room is getting there.  We made a trip to Ikea and got her a whole new room outfit.  We also ordered some new living room furniture, dining room furniture, and a new kitchen table.  Some of it is in and our house won't look so empty once we get it in.  My office is getting there but it is far from complete.  I need to order another table from Room and Board since I now have the room.  I am going to use it for my printer and to charge different devices which do not need to be on my desk at all times.  I am also going to order a new chair since my current one is getting really uncomfortable when I use it for long periods of time.  I am also going to get a couple new monitors and the Triple Head 2 Go so that I can have three monitors for a lot more productivity.  I am going to order these once one of the contracts is complete that I am working on.  I will throw up some pictures once my office is complete.

Since things are settling down, I promise to post some more nerdy things like I have been doing.  I have been posting on my Innovativ Studios Blog as well, so if you run out of nerdy things to read here, you can read some more over there.

This post is a duplicate from the istu blog.  The original can be found here.

I want to get some feedback from all of the developers out there who may be reading this blog.  It would be very helpful on my development on Morale.  I would like to know what you would like to see on a dashboard.  The dashboard would tell you what you need to know at the beggining of your work day.  It would point in you in the right direction on where you last left off and where you need to go.

Here is what I was thinking that would help me when I start my development again.

1.)  What do I need to do today, right now?  I want to see deadlines and items that are broken down by day such as Today, Tomorrow, This Week, and Future.

2.)  What has happened over the previous past days.  I want to see what everyone has done over the past couple days and week.

3.)  I want to see how the project is doing overall.  Is it on schedule?  What is the velocity of the project?  Are there more things getting solved than those that are being added?

What do you think?  How do you get started on your day?  How do you remember where you left off in between all those useless meetings you attended and all of the interuptions you handled the previous day.  Please leave your comments.