iP3K

Today I’m so glad I never signed up with MySpace! I know that those trends never last too long, but there is something about Facebook that draws me in. Perhaps it’s the uncluttered interface. When ever I was looking through the MySpace page of some people there was always so kind of music, picture slide show, crazy background and even video clips. I could say that it’s on MySpace that you can find the WORSE designed web pages in the world.

These kind of websites are successful depending how many of your friends are on it. I always tend to resist until I get many invites and just crack. That is what happened with hi5 a few months ago, look at it now, it’s a MySpace clone and is starting to integrate all I hate about it.

On the other hand Facebook has a refreshing look. It’s structured and it got all the nice things you like about a “friends aggregator”. You can post messages for everyone to see, you can send them private messages, join groups and post pictures and events. Facebook as always been more serious concerning it’s audience because at first you HAD TO BE a student with a valid school email address to sign up. In the US, all universities’ website end with .edu and it was quite easy to create a filter for… They’ve broaden their audience by allowing anyone to join but when it comes to School Networks they bring the concept back and you can join that network only if you’re really a student there. It’s a good way to keep child predators at bay (unless they’re students there).

I’ve got high hopes for Facebook and hope it’s there to stay for a while. Unless someone else can do better.

Just a quick update on what I’ve been using. Last summer I got around to try a few of the beta versions of Windows Vista. I kept dual booting with Windows XP because compatibility wasn’t exactly where I wanted it. Whether it is support for some of my favorite video games or some software I’m used to using. Anyhow, my system was getting loaded with too many operation systems (XP and Linux) so I decided to go for a clean install. What better than to pick up Windows Vista and try living with it. To learn more about my thoughts on the software I suggest reading my overview of Windows Vista Release Candidate 2. One drawback from XP is that I cannot use my scanner (HP Scanjet 2200c) because Hewlett-Packard doesn’t value it’s customers and will not release new drivers for it. The major issue I have to deal with is related to audio playback. From time to time the sound just stops working and won’t come back until a reboot…

Now for all you people out there wondering if they should upgrade to Vista I will say: It’s a great operating system. I even believe it will be better than Windows XP ever was. However, considering the price to upgrade I would suggest waiting on the purchase of a new PC (or Mac). Rumor has that a service pack should be released by the end of the year and will most definitely improve the OS further.

I don’t know how many people like myself don’t have cable at home, nor satellite TV. I’ve been living off over the air program which gives you a fair selection of shows. None the less it’s not like there are a lot of interesting things on TV and that I wouldn’t have the time to watch it much. A while back I touted the great Open Source program called Democracy, it let’s you subscribe to downloadable shows that are completely free. There is something for every taste but here are a few that I like (as a tech savvy person) it’s mostly technology shows and game shows.

DL.TV, Diggnation, IGN Weekly, The Totally Rad Show, Lab Rats, On the Spot, inDigital, CNet TV, and X-Play. These shows are weekly editions for the most but to get a better idea of their schedule you should follow the links to their website. The best way to enjoy videos on the web is to aggregate them in one place. This way you don’t have to jump from a website to an other. In my case I use these shows RSS feeds that give a link for the download as well as information about the episode. Democracy can be set up to automatically download the shows. This way you have a free TV on Demand on your computer (if you have the right set up you can send the image to a nearby TV, like I do). The shows are usually free but they are sponsored which is a good bargain for free.

One thing I found to be unexpected is how you quickly have those models take over the Internet, just like your huge TV stations like FOX, NBC or Global, many video cast affiliate themselves to a larger brand to create the equivalent of a channel. Big networks like CNet, Revision3 or Ziff Davis are a few owners of several IPTV shows I watch. So any day you’re bored with what you have on the small screen, head over to a smaller one (relative) to get your fix.

A word of advice for anyone looking at a website today. They will make you believe anything and you’ll be a fooled by very credible sources. Google, CNET, Digg and many others. I remember when I was younger, we used to make fishes and stick it in the back of a teacher. Hoping he would not notice. But I knew they felt all those weird hugs on their backs… Today if you fool around, be sure not to be mean and always get back to the fooled and tell them it was a joke… pretty overwhelming trust me.

Read a more about this holiday on Wikipedia: wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Fools_Day

I’m not a huge fan of music, guess I never developed a particular interest. I do listen to some music but it’s mostly the big hits that come on the radio. If you take a look at what’s on my MP3 player you’ll find James Blunt, Simple Plan, Brian Littrell, Mes Aïeux, and many movie soundtracks. I’m very inclusive and refuse to affiliate myself with a specific music type and be labeled.

Today I bring you an old album called Aquarius. The band Aqua was a Scandinavian dance/pop group that ended their activities back in 2001. However they had a great single back in 1997 called Barbie Girl that made me buy their album back then. I was still a kid and was still trying to figure out what was good or not. So the album called Aquarium was home and I listened to it countless times but every time I discovered a new tune that I loved. The beat was awesome; it’s like rediscovering something! I felt compelled to look for their next album and after a few weeks of research I came across and listened to it. Bottom line it’s the same flavor, if I knew the exact description of what Dance music is I could elaborate further but that’s not the case. Their music would be great in a party and since most people might not remember the band they might think it’s a new single.

Today I’ve signed up for a 1-year membership to the CEPSUM. It’s the sports complex of the University of Montreal. Since I meant business I took their complete package deal where I have unlimited access to the training room and all sports fields. The student rebate brought it down at $120 CND. I think it’s really cheap compared to other workout centers that charge you a crazy $30/month fee (thats when they have promotions). I don’t have great expectations and this will serve me only as much as I’m willing to help myself. My objectives are simple; loose weight, improve the cardio. On the other end I’ll need to make better meal choices and put two or three hours a week into it.

Look at this picture. I sure don’t expect to reach that level in one year and don’t think I’d ever go this far in terms of improving my physique. There is a thin balance between feeling happy in your body and worshiping it. Nowadays a lot of people with self-esteem figure it’s the best way to become irreproachable. In my case, over confidence and HIGH self-esteem brought me not to care what people though of me. Why change now? Why adopt a better lifestyle? Homeostasis! A well balanced system works better against infections (I have colds all the time), it also improves mental states in different situations. You are what you are, you are defined by what you do, all the choices I made in the past made me as I am and changing that means leaving a part of me behind. If I spent my afternoons playing sports instead of playing video games I would of been a totally different person! Next time you think of changing something in your life make sure that’s the way you want it. Do I hate my self to the point of becoming an anorexic? No way lol! But let’s go a step at a time and see where it leads me, better now than when I reach my 50s.

Every semester I reach the point where I know I’ve been slacking and I got a pile of work. I usually realize it during the last weeks of school and have to rush for my papers and tests. This year I realized it only two weeks after starting school! Is it good, is it bad; not sure because this means I’m already late in my work. On the other hand now that I know it so early in the semester I can speed up and focus on my homework. Now there is my blog taking about 10 minutes of my life per day (lets say one hour per week). Then there is school with 12 hours of classes (you need to add 2 study hours for every in-class time) and on top of that I have to work 20 hours a week.

As much as I feel competent to do all this, succeed every where and still find time to have fun my obligations are not easy on me. I have to start thinking about working out, since my teenage hood seems over I must compensate. So yes I’m overloading this weekend but after a good night sleep I believe I can plan my week and catch up. Hopefully still be alive this Friday!

They have done, yes the Browncoats have done the impossible. They resurrected a canceled TV Show and brought it back on the big screen as a motion picture. I know this is some old news but I never properly addressed it on my blog. The show was called Firefly and aired on FOX, it’s rebirth was named Serenity. What sets it apart from other TV shows is that the fans were not willing to let it go, especially not the producer Joss Whedon. The fans of the series created a massive movement that made the sales of the DVD sky rocket, but the even with all the pressure they could exert and the fund raising was not enough to make FOX change their minds. Months after the release of the Serenity movie and the revival of a great story a special documentary has been released on DVD earlier this month.

“Done the Impossible”
The story of the rise and fall and rebirth of the cult TV show “Firefly,”
as told from the perspective of the fans who helped save it.The creators of FireflyMovie.com (a.k.a. SerenityMovie.net) have teamed with with a group of creative professionals / Firefly fans to tell our story, the fan’s story – the story of the Browncoats. This professional quality production, shot in high-definition, will be released on DVD soon.

Firefly has grown beyond just the genius of Joss Whedon — just as he intended it to. In many ways the words Firefly and Browncoat have come to symbolize a sense of community, family, and believing that the impossible can be accomplished. These concepts are at the very heart of Firefly and of its fans.

In this documentary, the fans explain what inspired them to become passionate about Firefly, to help save Firefly, attend shindigs, participate in message boards, donate to charities, and become Serenity extras. They talk about the many ways that Firefly has affected their lives. Cast and crew also share humorous and insightful experiences with the fans.

The creators of “Done the Impossible” are passionate about charity and using Firefly as a vehicle to effect positive change. As such, a percentage of the DVD proceeds will be donated to Joss Whedon’s favorite charity, Equality Now.Source: Done the Impossible – The Fans’ Tale of Firefly & Serenity – A Documentary Website

I mentioned the show on a previous post called "Dead Series Society (Part 1)". The documentary features the story of the fans and how they lived that ordeal. Their story is my story, because I discovered Firefly only after it was canceled. However, after seeing just a few episodes I was hooked and wanted to see the complete series and was looking forward to the movie. That DVD is really interesting because as a promotional tools the main feature is available for download via BitTorrent. It’s accessible via LegalTorrents.com via this link, the movie is under the CC liscence. Enjoy the download and discover what makes this series so special.