Category: Gadgets

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Network Printers

My nemesis, even at home.

My main printer was listed as offline this morning, so I tried to reconnect it via the setup software, and it kept telling me to check firewall settings.

I searched the internet for firewall settings and found and applied them, both on the new router and in Windows.

No dice.

I then decided to hardcode an IP address into the printer, and that’s where I found the problem: it was set to static IP, with no IP assigned to it. Whut?

So I set it to DHCP, restarted it, and it connected.

I hate network printers.

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Dell

My home desktop died on Monday, I so I went and got a replacement.

I found this one in the open box/display model section at Best Buy, for about $300 less than what it runs on Dell’s website:

This may be the first actual Gaming Desktop that I’ve ever bought.

After installing and configuring and transferring programs and files, I tried a few games that I still play to see how they look.

The results were impressive. 

So impressive that I actually forgot to take screenshots in Star Wars The Old Republic, World of Warcraft, and Star Trek Online.

I try to do that later.

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Re-Kinect

Damn, the Kinect is needed in order for the XBox to turn on the TV and receiver.

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Dis-Kinect

The Kinect has bet disconnected from the XBox.

For the longest time it was only good for turning the XBox on or off, and sometimes not even off.  It never seemed to be able to do things as advertised, like ‘watch the Giants game’ or ‘watch Netflix’.

And to be honest, I had it on there for Dad, since he had difficulty with the XBox remote and the power switch on the XBox itself.  Once he turned it on via Kinect, he could use the cable box remote to change channels.

I was the one who usually turned it off before bed.

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Best Buy Encounter

Wednesday I stopped by Best Buy on the way home from my optometry appointment.  As I made my way to the registers, browsing the movies on the way, a guy wearing an Xfinity lanyard stopped me…

Xfinity Guy: Hi, do you have Xfinity at home?
Me (smirking): No, I don’t.
XG: Who do you use for internet?
Me: Sonic.
XG: Hmmm… how much do you pay per month?  Over $50?
Me: Sorry, I just cancelled Xfinity at my house a couple of weeks ago, so I’m really not interested.
XG (now with a downtrodden look on his face): Oh.

And then he walked away.

Sorry, dude.

Oh, and I went home with a ream of printer paper and Sega Classics for the PS4.  And a bottle of lemonade.

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Wasted Day

I woke up this morning to some very familiar feelings of nausea.

Food poisoning.

I immediately went back to bed.

I woke up about 4 hours later to email work that I’d be out before I went straight back to bed.

Another 3 hours later, I got up and  took a shower since I was sweating a lot while I was sleeping.  I made some tea, but only drank half of it and went back to bed.

I woke up again about 4 hours later and made some toast and finished my tea.  Back to bed.

Got up again 2 hours later and seem to have shaken off most of the effects, though I do have a bit of a headache.

I tossed the foods that I ate the night before, though I suspect it was the milk, which expires tomorrow, but it had a faint odd smell, but tasted okay with cereal.  Never again.

Currently eating dry toast and tea.

As a result of this, I got a ticket on my car for street cleaning violation, and 3 packages (game stuff, camera accessory, Kickstarter reward) that I was expecting at work have been delivered, but I’ll wait until Monday to get them.

Wasted day.  Though in my semi-sleepy state I had the TV on to the Giants game, though I missed Bumgarner breaking his hand, and there’s a James Bond marathon on MGMHD channel.

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Space Tea

ThinkGeek is having a Pi Day sale, so I decided to get a couple of items, including a new tea infuser.

I’ll probably leave this one at work, since I also ordered some loose leaf tea online.

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Flash!

I’m not sure if I’d continue to use my camera often enough to justify getting a flash for it, let alone that new Auto Intelligent bounce model that comes out soon.

Canon Speedlite 470EX-AI

$399.99.  Flashes aren’t cheap.  Neither are lenses, but I got more use out of the two extra lenses I have than I think I would from a flash, either this one or one with less bells and whistles.

And how often do I do portrait photography, anyways?

Ah well, maybe I should get back into taking candids/pictures in general, and then decide if I want to invest in new gear.  I hardly use my monopod, for example.

As I tell people, I take pictures.  I’m not a photographer.