May 10
Dragon Laptop Helps Save earth!
I stumbled across a technology blog that was giving away a pretty great laptop a week or so ago. The author asked everyone interested to submit a short, concise, story describing how that laptop would improve their productivity and lives. No where did he state it had to be true…below is my short story entry.
Ever since before I can remember, I’ve been preparing myself for the inevitable invasion of earth by some strange Sci-Fi creatures. Traumatized by years of media featuring creatures of all shapes, sizes, and origins has left me scarred for life.
Inventorying the weapons and weekly target practice is just a normal part of my weekly schedule, along with Martial Arts training three times a week! Plenty of food and water stored in a basement, and a four wheel drive truck/mobile command centre capable of crossing rivers, I’m ready! Or so I thought…having seen this wonderful piece of technology, I have discovered the potential benefits of its use in my preparations, and wish to procure one to integrate into my mobile command centre immediately.
No hero can fight off an alien invasion or underground monsters without knowing his enemy. My strategies and analysis of these potential invaders have come from careful study of their anatomy and weapons via VHS & DVD. However, with the aid of a high definition format, like Blue Ray, I will be capable of obtaining a much clearer and precise view of the invaders to aid my studies and refine my attack strategies. Taking out an evil ghostly pirate ship may be common knowledge in the ‘old days’, but these days one must be properly prepared using modern means.
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May 5
Kenpo, Orange Belt! Taekwondo, Purple Belt?
Having been training in Chinese Kenpo with my teacher for just a little under a year now, he finally felt it was time to test a select few students for their orange belt. Of the 15 students in class, only five were selected to take the test.
We were tested on a long list of techniques and maneuvers which most of us recalled and performed with accuracy. Sure, most of us erred a few times, but we performed effectively enough to earn a passing grade.
As a reward, the new orange belts were invited to a cook out at the instructor’s house, this past Sunday, as a chance for us all to get to know one another in a more relaxed setting, no martial arts involved.
Most martial arts styles and schools have a ranking system which normally consists of colored belts or sashes. These ranks are normally earned by students after much hard work and dedication, with the ultimate goal in most organizations being some level of black belt.
Ranks are bestowed upon students after the student has proven himself capable of performing at a particular level. Sometimes belts can also be earned by seniority, since a student who has been learning from a master for years, is better versed in the master’s philosophy and style than one who just began.
With martial arts schools operating all over the world, some school’s ranking systems have been heavily monetized. Some schools operate with the sole intent of taking their students money and giving them very little knowledge of actual self defense. I’ve heard of these kinds of schools referred to as “McDojos”, where one can walk in throw down some cash and walk out with a black belt.
Some martial arts instructors go to great lengths to become “masters” by setting up their own school/style and having other “pseudo-masters” acknowledge the new school/style as legit by giving that “pseudo-master” an additional “master” title in the newly established martial arts style. A community of pseudo martial arts masters is created which can leech off of each other for credibility, while milking their students’ money.
These pseudo-masters are ultimately hurting their students, and setting them up for extreme failure should they face an actual self-defense situation. Martial arts instills a sense of confidence and humility into a person, but should the situation arise where you must defend yourself armed with pseudo-martial arts, you are surely guaranteed to hurt yourself by using improper techniques, or getting beaten by your opponent.
The Taekwondo school I attend charges a monthly fee, and an additional belt test fee every time you are ready for a belt promotion test. The first few belt ranks in this school are actually pretty easy to obtain, but after the first three, the master decides when/if you are ready to take the next belt exam. This adds a degree of reliability to the ranking system in my school, but nothing is full proof. I myself only request permission to test, from my master, when I am 100% sure I know everything that is required for the next belt. I hate being the guy who looks at/copies others in a weak attempt to cover up my inadequate knowledge and form, I want to be the one everyone attempts to copy off of! This coming Tuesday, I will hopefully be partaking in a test to earn my Purple belt in Taekwondo!
No commentsApr 28
Seagate Hard Drive Hardships! Resolved!?
After almost a month and a half of dealing with a troublesome, faulty set of hard drives, which I’ve chronicled here and again here, I’m happy to announce that the replacement drive sent by Seagate arrived in much better condition than the previous two sent out by NewEgg.
Since receiving the new drive, its been installed and functioning beautifully. The read/write times are faster than the previous one, and finally no more hiccups during video playback!
I don’t really know if this batch of drives experienced issues due to poor manufacturing by Seagate, or some horrible streak of bad luck, but what I can verify is NewEgg’s sub par packaging for this delicate piece of equipment. Having read through Seagate’s own packaging instructions, I realized NewEgg might be to blame.
As my original post describes, NewEgg shipped the drives in a cardboard box filled with packing peanuts, and the drives were in the electrostatic bag, wrapped in profuse amounts of bubble wrap and tape.
Seagate clearly states:
“Enclose the static-protected drive(s) in 2-inch foam rubber in a corrugated box. DO NOT USE foam packing pellets, bubble wrap, or newspaper.
Warranty is void if the SeaShield cover or top cover, or any seal or label is removed or damaged, if it is improperly packaged, or if the drive experiences shock in excess of its Gs rating.”
I’ve never had any issues with NewEgg, but such blatant disregard for proper packaging and care of my hardware doesn’t speak very highly of them. According to Seagate, there is a possibility of my drive having had its warranty voided due to NewEgg’s negligence.
I finally have a working 1TB drive installed in my PC, and I would gladly purchase a Seagate drive in the future. However, I must reassess my allegiance to NewEgg after this discovery, and the hassle it created.
Having paid close to three hundred dollars for this drive, I would expect to receive something in working condition, and proper packaging, despite its OEM status. Having to wait close to two months before receiving a functional drive, after paying an additional $8.43 for shipping the first drive back to NewEgg, followed by $21.24 for shipping the second drive to Seagate doesn’t sit well with me at all, especially since in my opinion, all of this could have been avoided had NewEgg properly packaged the drive the first time around.
No commentsApr 22
How To Fight Jyuuken Style
While “Jyuuken” may not actually be a real form of martial arts, at least to my knowledge, it seems to be a very popular form of fictional fighting style heavily based upon kung-fu/Kenpo and the principles of Chi/Ki energy, which are directly linked to the ancient belief of Chakra.
In many cultures and in some martial arts, it is believed that your power comes from the release/flow of Chi/Ki energy from specific Chakra points in the body. To inhibit the flow of natural Chi/Ki energy in a person is believed to cause dire effects on the physical body, such as aches and pains, depression, or even disease, and paralysis. The opposite holds true if you constantly work to improve the flow of Chi/Ki energy. It is believed that regular practice of Chi/Ki flow sustainment, “can significantly increase the strength, intelligence, and vitality of the practitioner, as well as inuring him/her to all forms of diseases.”
While some claims of the power of Chakra Chi/Ki energy may seem a bit far fetched, many resemblances, in function and location, can be found between the multiple Chakra points, and the human body’s own endocrine system.
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Apr 20
Seagate Hard Drive Hardships! Cont.
Even after all the troubleshooting, diagnosis, and tests run on the drive that came back stating the drive was perfectly healthy, it looks as if my initial suspicions were correct in regards to my new hard drive mentioned in my previous post.
*Click**Click**Click* is not suppose to be a “normal noise” on any hard drive that I’ve ever encountered, despite what I’ve read about this particular model of Seagate Drives.
SMART Detection Errors began popping up, and even Windows Vista detected the errors. I rechecked the status of my drive using Seasoft’s Sandra Lite that was mentioned in my previous post. The software concurred with Vista’s findings, displaying an enormous amount of Read/Write Errors, Seek Errors, and all kinds of issues which pointed to imminent failure.
It seems as if the Read/Write heads on the drive are failing, and they are gradually decreasing in performance, bringing about significant slow downs and hiccups during normal operation…
I’ve initiated a return to Seagate after verifying my drive’s warranty status here ; I should be receiving a replacement in the next few days.
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