Month: August 2008

Life Update

Let’s see, what’s been going on? Not much. The usual, work, more work, more work, etc.

The notable bit of an update is that Christine had interviewed a few weeks ago at Harmonix, the company that makes Rock Band.

The great news is, she heard back yesterday, and she got the job. She’ll be starting on September 8th.   Super awesome! I’m so jealous.

That means we’ll get Rock Band 2 for free, and can get discounts for family members. Pretty sweet deal.

That’s it, for now, not much else to say.

Night Photography

I’ve been reading a lot lately about how to take photographs at night, mainly of the moon.

So, the other night, thinking I finally knew what I was doing, Christine and I went out and tried to take some pictures of the moon.   They didn’t come out right, and apparently I had my camera’s settings all wrong.

I’m going to try again once the moon’s full, and clear.

I did, however, get some cool shots with a long shutter speed of passing traffic.   I’ll upload them eventually, when I remember to do it at home.

I love my camera, I just wish new lenses and accessories weren’t so expensive.

Thank You Harmonix

I’ve been waiting for the day that Harmonix would realize that releasing a Dream Theater song for Rock Band is a good idea.   That day came yesterday, via downloadable content (not to mention that there’ll be a Dream Theater song on the disc for Rock Band 2, according to the website.)

As any good Dream Theater fan would (I’ve got 30+ of their CDs), I immediately turned on the XBox 360 when I got home from work last night, and began feverishly downloading the new track pack (as I do most every Tuesday.)

My cockiness got the best of me: “I can do this on Expert, no problem.”   After all, John Petrucci’s only one of the best guitar players on the planet. No problem.

Fail.
Saved by the wife.
Fail again.
“I can’t friggen do this, I gotta practice it.”
Quit.

Dream Theater – Constant Motion is not for the faint of heart.   If you download it, good luck.   If you’re not a full time Rock Band pro, don’t bother trying expert on any instrument.   It’s not happening.

Why did Harmonix make some of the new downloadable songs so difficult? Simple.   Because they can.   Making songs that are extremely difficult, that don’t impact the outcome of the actual “career” mode of the game, make people strive to be better without making the game impossible to beat.

Well done, Harmonix.   I look forward to Rock Band 2.   Oh, and please hire my wife for the Production Assistant job she interviewed for.   Thanks.

Looking back on life

I feel I’ve come a long way in life, and I’m pretty proud of what I’ve accomplished in it.   I’m not sure many people on the cusp of turning 30 (next year), can say the same.

I’ve taught myself how to build websites, fix electronics, work with computers, and countless other things that I’m proud of.   I sometimes feel like I’m too hard on myself, always striving to be better at things, and I get angry when I fail.

I’ve started thinking about these things lately, not sure why. I just look back on all the years that have come and gone, and wonder where they went.   Time really does fly.   Christine and I are about to celebrate our 5th anniversary.   It’s been an amazing five years, and I can’t even imagine how it went by so fast.

Time really does go by faster when you’re an adult.   I’m not complaining, having time go by faster has helped me make it to Thursday of this week already.   Though, now that I’m looking at the clock, the time’s ticking by, minute by minute by minute.