For the m-f'n WIN!!!

So we got a big ol' TV. Huge really. 52 inches of HD projection TV goodness. We picked this up a few months ago when we moved to this house. Got a good deal and it has been sweet watching movies on it. I mean it fucking rocks.

Well it has always had a few quirks. It would flicker when we would first turn it on. Not often and once it flickered it would be fine for the rest of the time.

Well that was until last night. I was playing music through it (I use XBMC and Boxee for media centers) and after dinner I noticed it was off. At first I thought one of the boys shut it down before dinner. That is until I tried to turn it back on. The sound of crackling and good burning stench came from the back of the TV. SHIT!!!

Well this wasn't a 10 year old Wal-Mart special. It was a relatively new, and expensive to replace, tellie. So out came the tools and I began to tear it down. Piece by piece I pulled stuff off. At first I had my fingers crossed and hoped that it was the mounds of dust and dirt inside. A dust off later, and it was still making the racket. So I finally started to look for the short and found it. It was under one of the main boards.

When I pulled it apart I found this...



So there was the source of all the trouble. Well at first I figured that I would try and find parts, no luck. Then I located a repair place, but that costs money, more than I got at least. So I figured hell with it, I am just gonna fix it myself. If I make it worse, what did I lose, I was gonna have to replace the board anyway.

So today me and the boys went off to Radio Shack and picked up some tools. $25 bucks later I had what I needed.






And I was off to work. A bit of cleaning and scraping and we were ready to work. After a few minutes I had this...



So it ain't pretty, but it works!!!



And right now we got XBMC playing some Howl's Moving Castle and the screen actually looks better than it ever has. Sometimes saying "fuck it" actually pays off.

And other times it comes and bites you in the ass, but we won't go there today.

Minor site update.

I have added a little section to my sidebar for your listening enjoyment/torture.

It's just a little music app where I will attempt to add people that I am playing heavily on repeat or think could be interesting.

Right now I have two songs in my list. Dave Alvin and X. The X song is 4th of July, and if you are a fan, you have probably already heard it. What I just found out is that Dave Alvin penned this back in the 80's. Now Alvin has some serious indie cred, though over the years he is more on the Americana side of the dial. So I also added his song, King of California. It seemed to be fitting considering our upcoming move.

Now one thing you will notice is that you actually have to start it manually. I can't stand it when a site pukes out music on me and I would never subject that to anyone that comes here. I think it is in poor taste to do that. First, maybe you don't want to listen to my crap. And second, what if you are at work? That would be a great way to keep your time-wasting activities quiet, my site music blaring over the speakers.

Anyway, if you are curious, give it a click. If not, ignore this post completely.

Ha Dad! You're an empty box!

Did I ever mention how much I despise packing? The packing of all my crap into little boxes, figuring out what needs to go in the trash and what I need to keep. It is this painful, mind numbing process.

See this isn't moving across the town, this is 700 miles. So that kinda rules out plastic bags and tossing crap in the back seat of the car. We have to carefully get things boxed, tagged and wrapped. Sucks.

Today has been really quiet so I have been packing up some stuff we won't need. So the bookcase is being dismantled right now. I haven't been reading much lately anyhow. Though I am slowly working my way through a Daniel Boone biography.



It has been cold lately. Not like Minnesota cold, but definitely not fun standing outside with a cigarette. In the mornings I have been going out and the trees are covered in frost.

It looks neat though.



Back to work. I need to pack up the Honda pieces and get the garage sorted soon. I have to freecycle two big desks, a treadmill and an old flat trailer I acquired. It is just more junk than we need.

Star Wars - Revisited.

Since I am not doing anything motorcycle related, I am using this for random videos.


Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.

Goin' back to

Cali. to Cali. to Cali.

That's right. We are heading back. Too cold too far from family and all that stuff. But there are a couple other reasons too. But anyway, I will be in move everything mode again for a while. I mean it, I am not going nowhere for a while this time.



And if LL ain't your cup o' tea.

Iron Maiden????

I have to thank Jim for this one.

Odd, wrong, but so damn fun to listen to. Then again I enjoy listening to strange shit like this. And I am a big Harpo Marx fan.



And if you are curious, he has his own youtube channel. Heavy metal harp at its best.

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard