Strange dreams

I've had a couple of strange dreams lately, and of course, by now, most of the details have been lost to me. One involved me being on some sort of trip, and at one point, I meet Betty. She waves and says, "Hey honey" to me, and then I hold her tight... even though I felt in my mind that she might have said it jokingly.

The second one involves some sort of apocalyptic event. Then I had to steer some kind of falling bus or building into a facility to make sure that the survivors continue to survive.

But I suppose all dreams are strange, in one way or another.

Newer version of Scala

The original Scala 500 that I bought suddenly developed a battery issue... or maybe it's just a charging issue... I'm not sure which. Whatever it is, I ordered a new one from Amazon, which arrived last Friday, and I've contact Cardo Systems, who will take my old one back under RMA.

This new version has some distinctive differences from the original, some of which I already know about because Johnny got a new one after someone broke his first one.

• No more charging cradle. Now the adapter plugs directly into the headset, in the area where it used to have a little loop to connect other stuff to. Which means...
  
• No more "connector loop."
• The "necklace" no longer uses the belt-clip holster. Instead, it comes with a little plastic stub that can be plugged into the charging plug, from which you can attach the necklace.
• The "necklace" has been replaced by a lanyard.
• The blue LED now seems to be of a slightly brighter blue color.
• If paired, it will automatically try to connect to the paired device when you turn it on.
• "Hard drops" by the phone no longer seems to turn the unit off.
• The volume control now seems to be independent of the phone's internal volume control.
  

For the most part, the changes are for the better. I believe my charging/battery issue has a lot to do with the cradle design, and I've read other reviews in which they complain about the cradle design. The belt-clip holster has always been a bit loose for me--that is to say, while it did seem to fit rather snugly, I would often accidently knock the headset out of the holster while moving around--so this new design should make it less likely to fall off the "necklace"; not to mention I broke the old holster about a month ago. The auto-connection function should be useful for non-Motorola users, and not having to worry about the "hard drops" issue means one of the possible down-sides from the changes is now a non-issue.

The minor downsides of the changes are:

• The plastic stub is a bit too tight--it would take me slightly longer, and possibly have to use both hands, to get the headset from the "necklace" to my ear.
• The lanyard looks a bit low-grade compared to the necklace from before.
• Because I don't get to use my own ringtones while the headset is connected on the Motorola phone, the "auto-connect" function is not helpful to me.
  

But then, the only reason I'd turn off the headset at all before was because of the "hard drop" issue, which occurs occasionally (and seemingly randomly) when I tell the phone to drop the connection to the Scala, and there's a louder "drop" tone, followed by the Scala being turned off by the phone. To get around this issue, I had previously resorted to turning the headset off, then back on.

On the whole, then, I think they did a good job with making the new headsets better. Hopefully they'll just send me the newer version for the RMA. Then I can just keep it as a spare, or give it to someone else.

不要只因為他親吻了妳

不要只因為他親吻了妳
作詞：黃舒駿　作曲：黃舒駿

發生了什麼事情　為什麼遮遮掩掩著憂鬱
請妳不要說“沒什麼”
十年的老朋友了　難道還不能讓妳相信
傾訴妳的心事小秘密…
天哪！原來如此　難怪妳會傷心
唉！怎麼連妳也會遇到這樣的問題
喔！我沒有取笑妳　只是想告訴妳

不要只因為他親吻了妳　妳就必須和他在一起
不要只因為他親吻了妳　妳就以為那是愛情
有時候所謂難以割捨的感情　事實上只是不甘心而已

還記得妳飛揚任性的過去吧？多少癡情男子為妳著迷
妳卻從不珍惜注意
但也許真正愛著妳的人　是這些對妳小心翼翼謹言慎行
不敢侵犯妳的正人君子
只是有時候愛情就是這麼滑稽　儘管有一堆美麗的道理
但多少戀曲只是因為那可笑的原因
喔！我沒有取笑妳　只是想告訴妳

不要只因為他親吻了妳　妳就必須和他在一起
不要只因為他親吻了妳　妳就以為那是愛情
有時候所謂難以割捨的感情　事實上只是不甘心而已

不要只因為他親吻了妳　妳就必須和他在一起
不要只因為他親吻了妳　妳就以為那是愛情
不要只因為他親吻了妳　妳就必須和他在一起
不要只因為他親吻了妳　妳就以為那是愛情
也許真正愛著妳的那個人　就像我…就像我十年來對妳

喔！
不要只因為他親吻了妳　妳就必須和他在一起
不要只因為他親吻了妳　妳就以為那是愛情
不要只因為他親吻了妳　妳就必須和他在一起
不要只因為他親吻了妳　妳就以為那是愛情
不要只因為他親吻了妳　妳就必須和他在一起
不要只因為他親吻了妳　妳就以為那是愛情
不要只因為他親吻了妳　妳就必須和他在一起
不要只因為他親吻了妳　妳就以為那是愛情
不要只因為他親吻了妳　妳就必須和他在一起
不要只因為他親吻了妳　妳就以為那是愛情


I came across this song while looking at other songs written by 黃舒駿; this was released back in 1988. Wow. I know exactly how it feels.

AVC-encoded PSP videos

I just tried the new AVC encoding function for PSP Video 9. They've made some updates to it since when they first made the function available (and I tried back then, too--it didn't pass the muster for me--but it could only encode at one bitrate back then).

With the ability to choose the bitrate I want, or to use a variable bitrate, now the results are much better. I've been using Final Flight of the Osiris from The Animatrix as my test file, because I wanted something (1) with enough action, (2) is widescreen, (3) is a high-resolution source video, and (4) is not too long so that I can see the results without having to wait over an hour only to find out that the quality was not good enough, or the filesize was too big.

Using the following settings, I seem to be getting a fairly decent picture quality, while the filesize seems to be reasonable enough, although I will have to test with full length movies later to see how those turn out:

Video Mode: AVC > FQ-VBR
QScale: 25
Resolution: 368x208
Framerate: 29.97 fps
Passes: One
Keyframe Interval: 250
Aspect Ratio: 1:1

Audio Bitrate: 64 kbps
Channels: Stereo
Sample Rate: 48000 Hz

Now, if Sony Computer Entertainment America would be so good as to release the 2.00 firmware update for the PSP, I'll be all set.

I wonder why...

...the wonderfalls?


I just did a web search and found out the SCEA has delayed the 2.0 firmware release to the 15th. I wonder why that is... The logical explanation would be that there's enough technical differences between the Japanese and American PSPs that it requires the extra time to get all those changes into the new firmware release.

Somehow, I don't think that's really the reason, though.

US PSP - Still no update yet

At least, not on their website (as of this posting). Even though they supposedly announced that the US update would be available on August 12th.

Since there have been reports of people having problems on their US PSP using the firmware update from Japan, I'd feel safer once I get the US version.

Guess I lucked out

I was just looking at the Japanese PSP page, and noticed that they've added a new warning to their firmware update page:

CAUTION: This update is only for customers who obtained PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) for Japan which model number is PSP-1000 or PSP-1000 K. Upon completion of preparing, we will announce update information for the other countries/areas customers via SCE Group Web Site or other channels . For these customers who obtained PSP® in the other countries/areas, please DO NOT update PSP® through this web site. There are no guarantee of proper operation of the other PSP®.

Mine still works fine, knock on wood.

And this is excerpted from Wikipedia:

Reports have shown in message boards that downloading the firmware can void your warranty or ruin your PSP. This is true because SCEA voids warranty on firmware updates that have not been authorized by SCEA since SCEA represantatives did not know anything on the 2.0 firmware when it was released, which will void your warranty. According to IGN, Sony Computer Entertaiment America will release the U.S firmware update on August 12, and American PSP users who updated their PSP's to the Japanese 2.0 firmware will be able to update to the U.S version of 2.0. Sony has announced that every single firmware update is specific for that region only.

My 1GB Memory Stick PRO Duo is scheduled to arrive via post on August 12, so I guess that's perfect timing for me.

Stealth and Doom

Went to watch Stealth today. It was better than I thought it would be--from the previews you can tell that it was just another summer movie, with a lot of special effects. But it turned out to be a slightly smarter film that I thought it would be.

As I somewhat expected, they showed the trailer for the Doom movie that's gonna be released soon. In interviews Karl Urban and the Rock have said that the film is very faithful to the game, but somehow I don't think Karl Urban has played any of the original Doom games, so one has to wonder about the validity of his claims. The original games had very little story... what little story it did have mostly came from the game's FAQ, so really all they had to do to keep the movie "faithful to the game" was to keep those same basic elements, i.e. portal to Hell on Mars.

Despite early reports making the movie take place in the far reaches of space, they have shown that the movie will take place on Mars, so that's half the puzzle. Perhaps the thing about the human genome in the trailer was more of a red herring, and they do have the same "portal to hell" elements. I guess we'll know in time. At least they did say in the trailer that "all hell broke loose," so perhaps they do keep that element.

I think the Rock knows what BFG really stands for, but is contractually obligated to say "Bio-Force Gun."

Bad UPS

Nope, not the United Parcel Service. My Uninterruptible Power Supply, otherwise known as "a large frickin' battery," the Cyberpower 900AVR, has stopped working properly. I noticed that during our last power-out, it did not keep any that it was supposed to protect on. For the past two days, I've tested with various methods of trying to get the battery (or rather, batteries, since the 900AVR supposedly uses two batteries instead of one) to charge, to no avail.

The strange thing is that none of the indicator lights shows anything is amiss, making me wonder if the batteries are dead, or if somehow the circuitry has fried. For this reason, I am loath to purchase replacement batteries for this UPS model, because I simply don't know if that would fix the problem or not.

So I went online to try and find a suitable replacement UPS, and found some nice refurb ones for cheap at Tech for Less. Shortly after I placed my order, I received my second email from them (the first was an automated "order received" message), informing me that the item(s) I ordered were "International versions," which would not work in the U.S. due to different power regulations. They said that they have to hold off shipping the order until they can confirm with me that I know this fact--which I had missed when I placed my order. So I had to cancel my order, and they were very prompt in their correspondance with me. I will happily order from them in the future if they happen to carry something that I'd like to buy.

I ended up going to Fry's for a new UPS.

Updated

According to Wikipedia, the firmware udpates for the PSP works for all PSP systems... which makes sense when I thought about it, so I went ahead and downloaded the update from Japan, and ran it through.

Sure enough, the disclaimer talks about US laws and such, leaving very little doubt that it would work just fine with my system, without messing with the regional coding. The official list of updates is as follows:


PSP™ Update ver 2.00

The following updtes will be added:

• An Internet browser was added.
  
• Go To was added as a feature under [Video].
  (This applies to UMD™VIDEO.)
  
• A-B Repeat was added as a feature under [Video].
(This applies to UMD™VIDEO and video data saved on Memory Stick™.)

• 4:3 Screen Mode was added as a feature under [Video].
  
(This applies to video data saved on Memory Stick™.)

• AVC was added as a codec that can be played under [Video].
  (This applies to video data saved on Memory Stick™.)
  
• Support for Memory Stick PRO Duo™ was added to [Music].
  
• MP4 (AAC) and WAV (LPCM) were added as formats that can be played under [Music].
  (This applies to music data saved on Memory Stick™.)
  
• Image transfer was added as a feature under [Photo].
  
• TIFF, PNG, GIF and BMP were added as image formats that can be displayed under [Photo].
  
• Korean was added as an option to [System Language] under [Settings], [System Settings].
  
• [Character Set] was added to [System Settings] under [Settings].
  
• [Theme Settings] was added under [Settings].
  
• WPA-PSK (TKIP) was added as a security method under [Network Settings].
  
• Settings for Infrastructure Mode under [Network Settings] were revised to be easier to use.
  
• Input modes were added to the on-screen keyboard.

I was going to try and post to the blog using the PSP, but got an error message of "not enough memory," so I guess that's the end of that.

But other than that, it seems to work okay... so far.

No new firmware yet

At least, not in the US :(

Who knows, maybe they'll have it later in the day. Or maybe it'll be next week. Although as promised, the Japanese version of firmware 2.0 for the PSP is now available. Most PSP owners already know, since Sony's announcement last week, that they'd have the new version available in Japan on the 27th. One of the most major inclusion for this update is an official browser for the PSP, sans Macromedia Flash support, so users no longer need to go through the complicated hack to get to browse the net with Wipeout Pure on the PSP.

I wonder if updating an US PSP with Japanese firmware would cause any problems...

Bachelor's Spaghetti

Since our college days, we've been doing this, although now I've added a bit more herbs to the process, it remains essentially the same. One of these days I'll try to make my own sauce. Until then, I'll simply add a few fresh ingredients to an existing, bottled sauce.

Since I've been cooking with Barilla pasta for the longest time, it only made sense to use their sauce, as well. I chose their "mushroom and garlic" sauce this time.


I started off with sliced mushrooms and chopped onions.


Then, half a pound of ground beef, mixed with shredded oregano and basil, plus a little bit of white wine. I should add a bit of salt next time.


Sauté the onions, along with some minced garlic.


Add the mushrooms to the pan, then "sparingly" include some parsley.


Remove from pan, and sauté the ground beef.


Add to sauce.


Simmer with low heat, stirring occasionally while I start the water for the pasta...


As I said, Barilla spaghetti. I'll probably get some fettucini and Alfredo sauce next time.


Add Parmesan and serve.


I took the photos because of Club3G's oft-repeated "What's for dinner" photo threads, and figured I might as well do one, too.

Too many wires

Just 'cause I'm bored...

It's here! Bwahahahaha

My new monitor arrived today. Finally.

The packing box looks like it took some beating, but everything inside looks fine. I hooked it up to one of the computers here at work, and it looks great. Wide viewing angle, no dead pixels as far as I can tell (even tried filling the screen with all white, as well as all black, in Paint Shop Pro).

Can't wait to get home to connect it to my own computer to see what it looks like there.


Aside from my packing list, I noticed while unpacking the monitor from the box that on the bottom of the box, there was another packing order, with items completely unrelated to my order. It must have gotten loose from the original package and got stuck to mine.

Blame the traffic

No matter how early I leave for work in the morning, it seems I almost always arrive at approximately the same time. It pretty much makes the effort worthless. I might as well just stay in bed till later and arrive at the same time.