OnLive will save us all

Hello everyone,

It has been a while and I figured you deserve an update in my life.  First off It is March so I (Meaning Fake Safety Tips) have started a March Madness: Battle of the Bands.  Not many people have participated, but it is bringing people to visit our band page.  We have gone up a total of 22300% (according to Facebook) of unique visitors daily.  That means that every one person visiting is 100% more than yesterday.  That is really good and bad.  It means that A: no one has ever visited our page even our friends and B:People just don't give a crap about my music (And yes this also means that my very own family Mother, Father, Sisters, ETC haven't even so much as opened the links to my band page in the past 6 months) .  How do I know all this?  Facebook made it so people with pages can see unique visitors with stats.  Also our page looks much cooler now and we have an official band page.  You should check the link =]

Fake Safety Tips Band Page

And here is the new Timeline that Facebook has included for us if you haven't liked the band please do so, we need more fans so Cid and I know if it is worth it to produce our second album or not.

Fake Safety Tips Timeline

Lastly Vote on our March Madness.  I can tell if you read my blog and if you click our pages cause the Internet is awesome and lets people stalk other people and be super creepy and find out every statistic (I even know whether you guys use Windows/Mac/Android/iOS/Linux and what kind of browser you used to view this page.  Also I know if you used a link from someone's blog to stalk into mine =])  So aside from the Internet being super creepy, and the fact that our band is struggling to get a fan base I have other news.

I got my OnLive controller today.  Its pretty awesome.  If you see in the picture I posted my old little 2 year old HP netbook with a crappy processor and graphics card can run Tier 1 video games thanks to the online service OnLive.com.  They allow you to stream the video game from their super awesome servers onto old devices to play amazing games without having to do hardware updates.  This means my capability to build ultimate gaming PCs is almost rendered useless.  you can go to the DI an buy some junk PC for 50 bucks, get a good bandwidth ISP, and rock out Assassin's Creed Revelations on it without a problem.  That is pretty sweet.  All you have to do is buy the game on their servers.

Also this saves money.  I have a Wii.  Its pretty awesome, but soon games will stop being made for it and they will go strictly to the Wii-U.  But with OnLive, as long as I have something that is connected to the Internet (Android tablet, Android Phone, Smart TV, ETC) I can play my games.  And to make it even more universal OnLive has created a universal remote control (Featured in the picture I included on the Blog)  You can literally hook it up to all your devices and have a seamless interaction with the gaming world.  Lastly there is no install time.  Okay that is a lie there is a 30 second install time to get the app installed on the desktop to launch the games, but besides that you get the perfect setup.  The only downside to OnLive is no support for iPad (which doesn't bother me iPads can suck it ((not to upset you apple lovers out there))) or Linux... which blows, oh well though.

Yup that is my 11" laptop with the amazing OnLive controller.  Pretty awesome right?

Next up on my list I have been working on a new color pencil drawing.  I think it looks like it is going well, I posted a pic on my Facebook the other day but I don't know how many people Facebook stalk me or Blog stalk me, so here is the pic I posted

Her hair is mostly done now, and I added loads more shading.  I think she will be finished in the next couple of weeks.  Its pretty difficult doing colored pencil art, and my style isn't much appreciated, but that is life. 

Last on the docket is my about.me page is doing really well.  If you guys out here want to know what my projects are but don't want to waste the time searching through my horrific blog posts (You entered the mind of a psychopath if you have read my blog) than you could just direct yourself to my page and read up on my current projects =]  I will include a link below

About.Me!

Thank you for reading up on me and seeing how I am doing, I figured if I don't get you updates quick enough I will at least fill you in on a monthly basis.  

Harry Potter: Childhood Books

I have to admit that I am an addict to novels, and reading.  Recently I have acquired multiple audio-books.  I have listened to thousands of these in the past, and recently I have been running into time issues, well better stated time management issues haha.  Any whom I  have recently listened to the Hobbit, and started my way into the Lord of the Rings series.  Among my wonderful audio experience I ran into a bout with other options to  listen.

It turned out that our order for the Harry Potter on Blu-Ray collection arrived on Thursday.  That meant that I have to plow through the series as quickly as possible.  So I started listening to the books again.  I forgot how many memories I have as a child with those books.  I grew up with Harry.  We aged the same time.  I know it might sound nerdy, but if you have read other blog posts I have written you shouldn't honestly consider yourself a fan/friend if you think so.  Secretly we all have nerdy habits about us, and I am willing to admit that I am a nerd.

So we have already made it through the first couple of movies and today is also writing day.  I edited my novel and realized that Baelki now has a total of 7 written chapters.  This totals us out to 14,000 written words.  Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone has a total of 72,000 words.  The books I am trying to monitor myself off of though are the Wheel of Time Series.  They have on average 300,000 words.  I have quite a way to go, but a huge dent has been made in the series.  I don't know how many people are interested in the collection, but I hope to be published someday.  Dreams are good to have though.

Well I don't have much more to say, but I did want to let you all know that I am still working on my series.  I haven't given up and a future of my novel looks bright.

SOPA/PIPA = EVIL

You are reading this post on a site that will be shut down if SOPA/PIPA passes.

I myself believe in the freedom of Speech and Press.  Honestly I thought that our own government was founded on that exact freedom.  But what PIPA and SOPA want to do is stifle my rights in this very country.  Last I Checked I am not in Communist China, or North Korea where if I don't cry convincingly enough at the death of a WRETCHED DICTATOR I will be put to 6 months of hard manual labor.  The impending doom of SOPA looming over head I feel as though I am being shut out from thousands of important things.  I research constantly online, and without that I am shut down from obtaining new knowledge.  My Technical Skills will be stopped, my music, movies, ETC will all come to a halt because some idiots somewhere feel its their right to block me a free person from doing the things I am privileged to do here in the USA.  For Freedom I stand and it seems that MORONS who run the Government don't even understand how HORRIBLE this is.  This is Heresy and I think that we need to stand more together than we already are and shut down this atrocity.


If I am a bit opinionated on this topic its because I have been following the Act since it was announced in October, I have done as many measures possible to stop this from happening.  But people out here on the web are completely blind and they need to Open Their Eyes and see how horrifying the future would be without this important asset to our society.  WAKE UP we need to rattle the cages of all these BLIND FOOLS and get out there and stop this from happening.  


DO SOMETHING TODAY
Take action sign the Petion


TAKE ACTION

A Post for the Morbidly O-Geeks

Once again I am here posting up some more info on my tablet.  I am extremely jealous of my wife.  I got her the ViewSonic G Tablet, and I flashed a custom ROM over to it.  It came Pre-Stock with Froyo, and some crazy homemade interface... so I flashed "Flashback" Honeycomb 3.0.1 custom ROM onto it and it runs like a dream.  She loves the device, and naturally she uses it all the time.  I am still using the same little guy I talked about last time.  The Velocity Cruz T103 from Borders.  I like the tablet, and it has a lot of potential.

Upon further research though I have stumbled onto some very important information on it.  It is running the JZ4760 MiPS processor, and many of the developers of apps don't write their code to run with MiPS, they only focus on ARM based Processors... and it means no Netflix, Flash, or Angry Birds.  Recently though a Chinese company called "Ainovo" made the Novo 7.  It is the first Ice Cream Sandwich (Aka Android 4.0) Tablet and it costs $99.00 USD.  Amazing steal for a 7 inch tablet, but once again it runs MiPS so many apps aren't supported yet.

Having said that I am sure the "Yet" will be resolved soon once the consumers purchase more of these tablets.  They aren't that bad, I won't buy one myself because I am looking into a 10 inch tablet myself now that I have had a 7 inch tablet.  Screen size matters to me... I love my 24 Inch Monitor on my desktop, and at work I have dual Monitors that are both 22 Inches.  So yes I love larger displays, and I love Widescreen display.

Anyway from that side note I won't complain about apps since it isn't androids fault, its the developers who don't make their apps available to all.  Also I have noticed many of the Devs out there hate responding to people when they make requests for an application to be ported to work for a device.  Netflix has made it seemingly impossible to contact, oh well though.

From there today Steven J Hill released the first ever custom ROM for a Velocity Micro Tablet (I emphasize tablet because there has been one out for the reader for a long time now)  Sadly the Rom is only for the T301 Series, which means I have to wait a little bit longer to get one for my tablet... but his Rom comes with a custom Kernel, and all the bloatware removed.  That is pretty exciting for anyone out there who wants more from the tablet they originally purchased.  I wouldn't suggest it for the faint of heart because there can be bugs.  As of yet it hasn't been tested enough to find out if there are any.  Here is a link to the Rom if anyone is interested in checking it out.  Also if you aren't using Slate Droid and you have a tablet, I highly recommend using it.  My ID Tag is "FeyerBrand" so feel free to look me up there.

From there I haven't had much of anything else going on in life, just the usual job.  My computer is now running on a laptop hard drive because mine crashed, so my music writing has been postponed until I find an alternative for recording music.  I will keep you posted on Fake Safety Tips progress though, and also A Paper Heart Parade is currently working on a song also.  Once the Hard Drive issue is remedied you will hear more news about that.

Oh and I made an About.Me profile.  Feel free to read up on my personal Bio My About.Me  On this Bio you will find likes to my Facebook, Twitter, and other social media out there.  Happy Creeping!

Christmas in September???

Well I haven't posted for a while so I will post a more technical post this week.  It has been a rather enjoyable "Christmas Like" Weekend.  On Friday I was able to obtain a piano from a friend named Holly.  I haven't missed a day of playing since it entered our tiny apartment.  it nestles up in our kitchen and almost makes the spacious room seem cramped, but it is well worth the space to get my creative flow working.

Secondly I have a tablet that seems a bit outdated now.  It is the first generations of "MID" [meaning Mobile Internet Device] so it sadly weighs around 1.6 LBS which is hefty for a tablet, and it was stuck with Eclair 2.0 Android ROM.  Now for any of you who know anything about Android operating systems you know that is outdated.  For those you don't have a clue what I am talking about let me give you a break down.

Android consists of different versions of the operating system.  Its like Windows or Mac [and for the techies like me Linux].  They have had different versions of the OS[Operating System] available since the first release to today.  The older the OS the worse the operating system ran.  So for Example if you were to sit down at a PC with Windows 7 installed and mess around for a bit and get used to the operating system and the look and feel of the computer, and then someone were to pull out an old white chunky box that ran windows 95 you would hate the old machine and rather want the newer one for its capabilities.

Here is the old windows 95 Computer [sorry I couldn't find a picture of a real life one so enjoy the google image searched one =D ]

Here is the windows 7 Beastly Alienware computers of awesomeness.

Like Mac fans out there, if you Remember the old computer that was combined with the monitor that ran I can't even remember the name of the device.  It was not even called a "Mac" back them but an "Apple" or "Macintosh" [not a single person now days even calls them Macintosh thats too long of a name] verses the new hip and loved devices that society has embraced and deemed "You aren't cool unless you own a Mac" or if you enter any major production studios [Film, Music, Art, ETC] there will always be a mac present.

Old School garbage Mac

New age weighs nothing smooth Macbook

And I am sure you think I am rambling and posting garbage info, well its your fault for reading my blog.  Any whom the point boils down that my poor tablet was running an outdated version of the OS. Here is a list of android operating systems so you can become familiarized with the names and why this is important

1.5 Cupcake
1.6 Donut
2.0, 2.1 Eclair
2.2 Froyo [Frozen Yogurt]
2.3 Gingerbread
2.4 Ice Cream Sandwich [not yet released]

well my device came with Eclair 2.0.  This operating system didn't support anything. Also another issue is my  processor on the tab is known as "MIPS" which isn't the standard for tablets and phones with the android OS.  So that means I don't get Adobe Flash due to a non supported platform, and Netflix won't even think about making a port because they are Netflix.  But I couldn't even access the Google Market because Velocity Micro didn't make support for the OS and submit the info to Google to have them give us access.

Well this boils down finally to my point.  Velocity Micro finally released 2.2 Froyo for my device, and with the update I was able to follow the step by step guide on www.slatedroid.com to Root my device [which gives me super user commands and also the ability to work around the firmware, and OS]  and of course GET THE GOOGLE MARKET WORKING!  I was so excited I downloaded at least 40 apps within the first hour.  So now I am living a bit more in the fancy life with my tablet.  Though as stated its still a MIPS processor which means still no Adobe Flash, Adobe Air, or Netflix, but I am one step closer to having a semi normal Tablet instead of people mocking it as a good paper weight.

Velocity Cruz T103

And lastly I finally got a new Power Supply for my computer due to a radiator leak which burned out my old one.  Well I have a new Radiator and a new power supply so I am back up to gaming.  I just got Deus Ex Human Revolutions.  If you Haven't Heard of the Deus Ex [God Like] series you are completely missing out.  CHECK IT OUT NOW AND BUY THE GAME.  Its completely epic and I love it to death.  Part 3 is more like a part 0 so you can understand the original story "better".  Personally I think it was just a desire to make a new CyberPunk game.

Here is the Cover of the PC Game

Also I got F.E.A.R. 3.  Another classic series. Though I do have to warn this is a horror game and isn't made for the feint of heart, I would have to say I am an addict.  Oh how I remember staying up til 3 in the morning playing the game just to get it over so I didn't have nightmares.  Now I am onto part three and I still get the chills when little Alma pops up here and there with your flashlight flickering out and Phantoms attacking you in the dark.

And the Cover to this game

As for that, that is my update in life.  I will get some more posted soon.  I think I am going to push myself to at least update you guys once a week instead of once every two months or so.

With a starry brush, paint the dusk venetian blue

Well I decided its time for people to get to know my desk mates for the first time.  I have been stationary in my job for almost two years now.  I started September 8th 2009, and I have no further plans as of now for change.  So with small purchases and stocking stuffers my desk has been spruced up enough for me to at least crack a smile every now and again from the little buddies hanging around.

Lets start from left to right.  On the left I have a photo gallerium of my dating days with my wife.  We haven't printed new pictures yet, but the nostalgia that these photos produce is still worth having them on my desk.   Eventually I would love to exchange that for an electronic picture frame so I could have more photos with me.

Next up we have the quote of the day office calendar.  I love that series.  My wife and I have watched they first six seasons 5 times through beginning to end.  It can always lead to people asking if its appropriate to have at my desk until they read a quote and walk away laughing.  Almost everyone here can appreciate the series.

Next on the list we have our desktop dart board complete with magnetic darts.  Its rather entertaining to have someone walk over and start trying to play a quick game with me between calls, until of course I start getting too many calls or when they realize they burned a good five minutes standing by my desk.

And then we have the dead Fred pen holder.  People steal my pens.  Whether they mean to or not it happens quite frequently.  So I brought in my own gel pen since it seems that no one here appreciates how much darker a gel pen writes.   This is also insurance for my pen since no one really likes it.  Secondly I have a special pen holder which would make someone take a conscious effort to remove my pen.  Plus its good stress relief when I get frustrated with people to stab the little Guy over and over with my pen.

Panning right on my L shaped desk I have my Lego calendar.   No I have no need for two calendars, but the fact that I was a Lego fiend as a child doesn't help much. I love building this every month and often times people have to swing by the cubicle just to see how it looks this month. Lastly we have the dismember me zombie plushie. He is a gag to have at the desk. People can't figure out why there are extra parts just lying around my speakers until I pull him out and show them the grotesque display of internals strewn across the desk. Rather entertaining if I do say so myself.

Biking to work

Well as you know I bike to work everyday for the most part.  So much money on gas has been saved.  Its been about two full months now and I feel so much better about my day when I roll in to work.  The bike to work month was rather difficult due to weather issues but June and July have been wonderful. 

For the most part I felt like updating for the first time in a long time.  Things are always fluctuating like normal.  We have our ups and Downs but I think that is just how our lives are supposed to be.