We’ve been getting spring showers here in Florida lately, which is helping keep the temperature a bit cool. The mixture of a white clouds, a spring storm, and a sunset is shown in this video I recorded using my camera.
- 03
- Mar
Every NIN fan been dreaming of an instrumental album by Trent Reznor, and now finally we get one, and it’s consists of 36 songs spanning 2 hours! I’m going through it now and I just cannot contain my happiness at its awesomeness. Here’s more information:
Nine Inch Nails presents Ghosts I - IV, a brand new 36 track instrumental collection available right now. Almost two hours of new music composed and recorded over an intense ten week period last fall, Ghosts I - IV sprawls Nine Inch Nails across a variety of new terrain.
Trent Reznor explains, “I’ve been considering and wanting to make this kind of record for years, but by its very nature it wouldn’t have made sense until this point. This collection of music is the result of working from a very visual perspective - dressing imagined locations and scenarios with sound and texture; a soundtrack for daydreams. I’m very pleased with the result and the ability to present it directly to you without interference. I hope you enjoy the first four volumes of Ghosts.”
Get it from the official site or from Amazon MP3, which lets you preview each track for 30 seconds.
The first 9 songs on the album are free to download. The album is $5 for the complete collection, and you have a choice of MP3 (320kbps, DRM-free), FLAC, and Apple Lossless formats. You can also buy the CD for $10, or pay even more for limited-edition sets that give you the ability to remix any of these songs and distribute those songs. Since the album is under a Creative Commons license, here’s one of the songs for you to hear.
- 29
- Feb
Dreams – You mean they’re saying something?
Haven’t you always wanted to know more about your dreams and what they mean? How many times have you thought “could that dream be trying to tell me something?” Have you ever woke up in the morning and felt you had the answer to a problem, but weren’t quite sure how you got it? Yeah, yeah. We’ve all been there.
And, what about those nasty recurring dreams that are just dreadful? What are they all about? What the heck’s going on in my head at night? Now, the good news here is, I wouldn’t be asking you all these questions unless I already had the answer!
There’s an e-book you can download instantly with all the answers, plus a lot more. Just click here and sweet dreams!
- 24
- Feb
My New Site - AudioSurfBoard.com
0 Comments Filed February 24th, 2008 in Design, Entertainment, Gaming and Internet.I’ve put together a new website, called AudioSurfBoard. It allows gamers playing AudioSurf to share their videos of them playing, all on one site, using any video service they like.
If you’re not familiar with AudioSurf, think of it like Guitar Hero or Rock Band, but without the cheap, plasticky instruments, or the limited soundtrack, or even the expensive pricetag. AudioSurf’s track-like stages visually mimic the music the player chooses, while the player races across several lanes collecting colored blocks that appear in sync with the music.
Here’s a video of AudioSurf in action, click the image below to view it:
Bedouin Soundclash - When the Night Feels My Song
You can find a lot more videos over at AudioSurfBoard.
- 18
- Feb
Someone asked me just now if I’ve always loved veggies and gourmet food. Here’s my response that I thought I’d share on here:
No, I wasn’t always a foodie. In fact, I was a lot like you a few years ago. I’d eat Mac and Cheese all the time, hot dogs, and when I went out, I got the same old stuff all the time; hamburgers, pizza, subs, stuff I grew up with and knew well. I was never disappointed doing this, but I was never pleasantly surprised, either. I never explored, never ventured outside my comfort zone, never tried to be adventurous.
But then my sleeping habit went screwy, and I’d stay up all night and sleep most of the day. One night, nothing was on at 3 in the morning, I was switching around, trying to find something to watch while I ate some chicken wings. I stopped on the Food Network because they were grilling stuff, and what they were doing caught my interest. It looked so good, and suddenly I was enjoying my chicken wings more because what was on TV was making me hungrier.
I enjoyed that so much, I did the same thing the next night. Then the next night, and the next, and the next. So on, pretty much everyday, for 2 years. I would watch during the day, too. I started learning, and then I started to appreciate food I never did before. They SOLD me on everything! Their enthusiasm and passion wore off on me, on even the most simplest foods in the world. Corn? Pfftt, no big deal, I said. But no, they’d build it up and put it on a golden pedestal. They’d caress it and whisper sweet nothings into its ears. Told me why it was so wonderful, why it goes so great in certain dishes. They told me the love that went into growing it, cleaning it, cooking and then serving it.
I’d watch shows on Italian pasta creation, Southern grilling, Cajun seafood, anything that didn’t do with baking and sweets, I was into. I hate baking. It’s stupid. Casseroles? BORING. Anyway, I digress.
Basically, I was ignorant, and when I got the knowledge, suddenly a whole new world of happiness and pleasure and nutrition opened up to me, and I’m so, so glad it did. When I go to restaurants, I rarely order something familiar. I always try something I’ve never had, and 9 times out of 10, I’m pleasantly surprised and ecstatic.
My only complaint about this revelation in my life is that I can’t try all the good foods in the world before I die, but I sure as hell am gonna try my best to.
- 06
- Feb
How to Record Xbox 360 Gameplay Videos
29 Comments Filed February 6th, 2008 in Gaming, Technology and Video.Recently I’ve gotten a lot of inquiries from people that visit MattPlays.com, asking how I recorded the games I’m playing on the Xbox 360. With this in mind, I thought I’d write a simple little how-to guide on how to record high-quality gameplay videos of you playing. Since it records the video to your computer’s hard drive, you can do what you want with it, upload it to a video service online, convert it to any format, burn it to a CD or DVD to share with people, etc.
For the record, this method will also work on the Sony Playstation 3. I have no idea of it’ll work on the Nintendo Wii, though. I’ll be going through this guide using the HAVA Platinum HD placeshifter device. Other methods involve the use of a capture card or external USB capture device. The benefit of a placeshifter is that it has other uses (such as watch your cable or TiVo anywhere), and it allows you to record at a higher quality, namely at a resolution of 720×480.
- 04
- Feb
I thought I’d share how to properly hold a knife. This method is taught in all the professional cooking schools, and will prevent you from getting needlessly cut (or dicing a finger off), and also make cooking a more enjoyable, stress-free experience. I present to you two pictures on how to hold a knife:
Notice how my middle, ring, and pinky fingers are curled around the handle. Where’s the thumb and index finger go? It’s pinching the blade. See the thumb? It’s right on the steel part, just off the handle.
The other side of the knife. The middle, ring, and pinky fingers are still curled around the handle. Now you can see the index finger pinching the steel part of the blade.
Here’s a video if you need more than pictures, click on it to play:
This method essentially makes the knife an extension of your arm, a powerful tool at your disposal to make short, non-painful, work of your food. When pinching the blade, it doesn’t need to be a death pinch, but merely a sturdy pinch to keep the blade from wobbling from side-to-side as you move the knife around. The other three fingers hold the handle.
This is why it is essential to try out knives to see which is comfortable in your hand. You want the handle to seamlessly become a part of you. It should be comfortable, non-slip, resilient, and really attached to the blade. Another factor to consider is weight balance, you really want the knife to feel like a knife, but not too heavy that 30 minutes of slicing, dicing, and chopping is going to wear you out.
Even if you chop/slice/dice/julienne/whatever food once a week, it is still very important to throw away those set of knives you got for Christmas. No, no, don’t hesitate, do it now! That Chicago Cutlery crap isn’t going to cut it. In fact, the only knives you really need is a good chef’s knife (about $150) and a good paring knife (about $75). Some swear by santokus, and those are fine too (about $150 too). The rest is just … situational knvies. Don’t throw them in the dishwasher, hand-wash them lovingly, it only takes a few seconds. Then dry them lovingly. They will serve you well for so many decades. Have an expert sharpen them for you once every 12 months, they’re listed in the Yellow Pages. Do not confuse this with honing, which should be done at least once a week, by using a sharpening steel. They don’t sharpen, they hone. Remember that.
With this method, I went from cutting myself at least once a month to never in 5 years. I cook frequently, probably at least 3 times a week, and I love it. I wish every single person who cooks knows this method, so cooking becomes more enjoyable for everyone, no matter how good, bad, or disinterested you are.
Share this method, spread the word to everyone who doesn’t know it. The world will be a better place, and fingers will be safer.
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