donnie darko.

if you haven't, you must see this. get the dvd because the extras are out of control amazing. i've seen it three times now and each time something amazingly new pops out. the website is a pretty amazing experience (amazing count = 3) too. take some time and dink around. one random cool thing is that i went to amazon to buy the the soundtrack and discovered it contained only the instrumental songs from the film (which isn't a bad thing mind you). another person had obviously been looking for the rest of the songs because he managed to list them in order so that you can build your own complete donnie darko soundtrack. b.

best salesperson ever!

since i tend to transfer oodles of data/files/pictures/music etc between a few different computers (including a mac) i was in the market for a portable drive. i sent to best buy not quite sure what i was going to get but knew i had only three requirements: big inexpensive compatible with mac and pc i found one that looked to fit the part, but from the box i couldn't tell a couple of things. were cables included and would it def work with my mac. i asked a salesguy and in a blink of an eye he says - hey let me open the box and we'll take a look. cables found - check. then i asked about the mac issue and he says - let me look it up online. mac compatible - check. final check was a check - $150. checked out - checked at home and all was right with the world. i've never had that sort of service at a computer store before. usually an open box means a 15% restocking fee. bravo best buy. and just a wee hint to all future shoppers - find the folks with the black tech service shirts on and skip the blue shirted floor folk. b.

sunday.

blame it on frys. yes "the" computer superstore has opened its doors to the seattle (err.. renton) area. that was where i spent a good deal of my day today. not at all what i had planned. instead of being a diligent blogger i wandered the isles seeing all sorts of things i hadn't realized i so badly needed. purchase #1 - a targus lap tray for my huge toshiba - mind you no room for the mouse as depicted in their product picture since my "laptop" is 16.4" long. purchase #2 - random computer cleaning air blowing thing to keep my keys free of crumbs and cat hair purchase #3 - and i'm on the fence about this one: archos av 320. good thing they have a pretty decent return policy. b.

one day of vacation left.

and still these topics are left unblogged. i know what i'm going to be doing with my sunday afternoon - do you? segwayfest 80 gb usb/firewire drive - best salesperson ever! aibo eyes hp customer service + fujitsu customer service + canon customer service donnie darko b.

fire.

remember that band. soul asylum? they had a song "black gold" which had the line "nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd". the other night a crowd gathered in my neighborhood to see the hoopla of fire trucks, police cars, and emergency vehicles parked in front of a three story townhouse. the first floor had a fire blazing away and the crew was doing a great job of putting said fire out before it could spread further. it was all very exciting, especially since that's the most real live human beings i have seen out on the street in my neighborhood since i moved here 7 years ago. i'm not sure if it's because we live on a pretty busy street or if it's because nobody really has what could be called a front yard, but either way we are not a social neighborhood. or maybe i'm just not social. hmmm. it was nice (under horrible circumstances) to feel like a part of a larger group who all share at least a street address in common. alas a few days later and we're all safely shuttered away as per usual. remember that poet robert frost? he had a poem "mending wall" which thad the line "good fences make good neighbours". b.

gamevoice and galaxies.

so i'm playing star wars galaxies. seemed the logical "rebound" game from knights of the old republic. i miss kotor a bit, and althrough star wars galaxies is a different proposition gamewise i like the similar themes of good vs. evil in a space agey sort of way. having played xbox for the majority of my gameplaying life (all 18 mos. of it) this is my first foray into a pc game and the whole mouse/keyboard thing is a wee bit frustrating. i don't seem to be able to play as well or as fast as i'd like. a friend of mine suggested i try microsoft gamevoice and since i'm a diligant box/website reader i assumed it wouldn't work because it wasn't listed as a compatible game. little did i know with some persistance and patience it the work very well together! you can create custom profiles in which you assign voice commands to any set of keystrokes. for example one of the commands i use often is ctl + d to open my datapad and important tool in the game. with gamevoice i just say "datapad" and it both can open or close the window for that tool. very cool! especially if you're in the middle of another activity that requires typing or mousing. the other gamevoice bonus is that if you're playing a game with another person who has it you guys can chat during the game. trust me - this is the best part when playing galaxies. everytime you want to talk to a friend you have to either move between two different chat windows (a pain) or type /tell + charater name + message (major pain). by having a gamevoice buddy i just chat happily while switching back and forth between talk and command mode. hi recommendations for galaxies and ms gamevoice!! b.

aibo ers-7

it seems strange to say sony finally got it right with their latest robot dog. i mean what is the current robot dog standard? if there were one i think this would be it. internal wifi, ability to self charge, owner face recognition, touch sensor, this one even has a bone! having the first three generations already i'm pretty darn sure i'm going to have to figure out a way to add number four to the family... b.

how fun is this?

the hairstyler. i uploaded a picture, played around and then took some prints into the salon (i had scheduled an appt earlier this week). at any rate the results were interesting. i got a cut/style that i would never in my life have gotten if i hadn't "tried" on so many styles on the website. gives "web services" a new spin in my book. b.

will blog for food.

at this point it's going to take at least a week to catch up. my new favorite website new sony aibo design b.

three down. five to go and a couple of new ones to add to the list.

fire down the street. microsoft gamevoice and star wars galaxies. b.

sony dreamworld 2003

i was going to go. i really really was. i was going to buy a ticket. fly in. fly out. barely catch my breath while i was there. but i was going to go. and then i learned i would have to go alone. i would have to go to work the day after i got back. i wouldn't be able to spend any money because just the flight and the hotel would eat my pin money. so i'm not going. i do have a show entry ticket though. i did go so far as to buy one and have it express mailed to me. so here's the deal if you live in paris - if you're going to paris this weekend - if you are even near paris - will you please go? will you take tons of pictures and write about everything you saw? the rest of the world needs to see this sort of goodness!! especially the aibos. please - please - please - surely the french blog right? ok desperation is the worlds worst cologne (singles ref.), but i'm begging. please send me an e-mail if by chance you happen to stumble upon this post and you happen to be going to sony dreamworld 2003. you can find me at: bethg at microsoft dot com and i will forever be in your debt.... b.

meta reality tv.

the e! true hollywood story on sunday was about the real world a reality tv show. where do i begin with how bizarre this seemed to me? let me illustrate it this way: at some point (and i know they'll have to do this) they're going to do a behind the scenes of the e! true hollywood story's tell all of behind the scenes of the real world which shouldn't really have a behind cause it's real right? right? b.

radiohead concert

ok so he's my new official crush (besides my husband of course).... you have to see this man sing and dance - it's wonderful and delightful in a sort of i'm jumping around the stage like a happy boxer sort of way. and the music was incredibly ethereal in a really heart pounding sort of way. if robots do someday become dataesque and have hobbies and pursuits of interest - radiohead would be their band of choice i think. oh and voxbeth was there too - i technically saw her as i could see the pit easily. b.

list of things

i'm going to blog about this week while i'm on vacation: radiohead concert segwayfest e! true hollywood story: the real world sony dreamworld 2003 80 gb usb/firewire drive - best salesperson ever aibo eyes hp customer service + fujitsu customer service donnie darko i'm sure you're breathless with anticipation as i continue to randomly pen the random things that strike me as interesting. b.

free and sneaky.

finding six available (and usable!) access points from the ninth floor of a hotel just feels oh so wrong - but oh so good too. b.

and the blogrolls on.

i found two new blogs today both directly and indirectly as a result of catching up on denise's blog. the first, the trademark blog and the second, gothamist, were both commenting on the singular obsession women tend to develop over the latest fashion craze (no finger pointing btw, i think i often lead the pack). i'm happily keeping up with almost 30 blogs now using newsgator via outlook. i like it b/c of the ability to read entries offline, which i did for two hours today while flying from seatac to midway. oh, and yah i'm in chicago for this here event they've got going on over the weekend. b.

blue c sushi.

we had a great time eating sushi as it went by on the conveyor belt. and i'm already anxiously awaiting the time when their plates go on sale. each one bears the name of a tokyo subway line: ginza, todai, etc. i love the ability to control how much i eat, when my next dish is served, and see what i'm getting before i commit. funny that the two places in seattle that provide that right now are both sushi/japanese food places (the other being todai). i've said this before, i'll say it again, i have a feeling we're destined to live in japan someday. not only was i born with the wrong haircolor (blonde which i obsessively keep red) but i was born in the wrong country. b.

entertainment weekly for geeks.

i used to subscribe to entertainment weekly years ago. it was a good magazine if you wanted to keep up with the new tv shows, movies, industry buzz etc. at least from a non-industry point of view (you have variety for that). at any rate, there would only be a few items that would stand out or interest me each month so i dropped my subscription. tonight we were strolling through fremont and stumbled upon blue c sushi (more on that in a bit) and decided to have a bite. we cruised fremont news (formerly bulldog news) to pick up a couple of magazines in case there was a wait. i came across sci-fi magazine the official magazine of the sci-fi channel and was pleased to find it is in fact much more than that. with reviews and news about all sorts of movies, books, games and tvshows (not just sci fi channel related) it turns out to be entertainment for geeks. i was interested in pretty much every movie they reviewed, enjoyed the preview of some up coming shows (carnivale anyone?) and found the articles to be interesting. funny to think i would have never picked it up if they hadn't had a kick-ass picture of jennifer garner on the cover (i'm a bit of an alias fiend). happy i did, you should too. b.

best line in cinema.

"plastics." b.

tron 2.0 and ijoy 200.

mmm. happy day. bought tron 2.0 yesterday for the husband. what's crazy is it wasn't supposed to be available until today, and after we installed it there were already quite a few folks hosting networked games. i guess we're aren't the only serious geeks out there. went to the mercedes benz c-spot drive party as well. not sure how i got the invite but figured what the heck. amazing stuff on hand... like the refrigerator of my dreams and the watch i can't wait to get my mitts on. oh and i also test drove a couple of cars, ho humm. definitely not the coolest things they were showing off. they did let me strap on a helmet and ride in the front seat with a stunt driver who took us on the "dangerous curves" track. it was pretty scary - i think he took the slowest curve at 90+. inside they had a great assortment of grub, sushi... mini-cheescakes... finger food, etc. and they had all the sharper image massage chairs to relax in. three ijoy 200s were set up in front of large plasma screens where you could play xbox racing games. finally as we were heading out we were asked to take an exit survey. they were administering the surveys on both viewsonic and acer tablets - pretty cool. even though the only official ms sponsorship of the event was the msn direct watch, it was neat to see so many other ms products about. yea for the home team. all in all a fairly fun tech day with some nice sunshine and a drive home along alki with the convertible top down. b.

dissapointed.

a. if you read tsg with any regularity then you've already read/heard about any of the news they cover during the show. b. mo rocca is completely wasted as the host, being fed an assortment of banal soundbites. c. even the kansas city star gave it a thumbs down. b.

how i'm spending my weekend.

ultimate tv is housing all ten episodes. i've made it through 70-72 and am anxious to get to 78 and abba in all their full glory. i love being a child of the 70s. i'm convinced it was the last decade of innoncence for us here in the u.s.a. then again i think everyone feels that way about the years they were of single digit age. b.

i love this gal.

voxbeth is my personal hero. she can write. i started reading the life of pi the other night, and the problem is i haven't picked it up lately, because i spent a great deal of time reading my favorite bloggers. blogs are the novellas of the oh ohs (the faboo decade we're in). at any rate, beth rocks! in fact i'm hoping to run into her at radiohead next weekend and sheepishly apologize for spacing on our coffee date a couple of weeks ago. (and in case she stumbles on this post - this is my passive aggressive way of asking "will you still be my friend?") b.

missed the meetup.

looks like the gang had a great time at uptown tonight. i'm definitely going to make the sept. one. i'm a loser for not putting the work away and getting over there. now i'm blue. b.

master blaster.

no. not the freaky little guy in mad max III. it's the virus that's been zooming around the net for the last week or so. i noticed something amazing and cool as a result: a lot of people helping other people. i surf to quite a few community sites on a variety of topics (one being for gals that love purses) and the folks who run and populate these sites are helping others get their machines in order. i also bought a new laptop recently and while i was checking out, the guy ringing me up made sure i understood how to avoid the worm when setting up and getting online. dare i say it - people care about other people? i care a great deal since i work at microsoft and the folks being affected are my customers - a group of people i feel very humbled by. but other care because that's the nature of community. that's the nature of the web. at any rate - i've posted a wee .jpg in my template with a link to the page that walks people through how to secure their machines from present and future viruses. also - if you've been affected by this and have a story to help or need some personal help -- please send me mail. bethg at microsoft dot com will find me. feel free to grab this image and link for your site too: b.

a decade under the influence.

documentary on movies of the 70's. see it. fill your netflix list with midnight cowboy, last tango in paris, clockwork orange, mean streets, joe, and hi mama! they're all like fine wines that have aged well. robust and full. oh and for no other reason to see jack nicholson working his way up to stellar star status - he was incredible. incredible, volatile, intense and sexy as hell. b.

people who need people.

the segway sting is making the rounds and it's amazing how some folks think this fake. i know it's the real deal as frank is a friend. this is awesome - reminds me of how a group of folks tracked down a guy in the apple community who had been scammed on ebay - or when doc's laptop was stolen and later found. warms my heart it does. b.

the long story.

so there was an internal contest at work and i won one of the prizes. it was a new laptop. first i chose the sony tr1a which i had written about early this week. i was really happy with it. and then i had a flash of the past. i think i've mentioned a few times in how much i wanted this. the problem was it exceeded the value of the laptop i was able to choose. then i discovered there was a non-media center edition version of the tosh - which actually cost a little bit less than the sony. no brainer. it was easy to get back up and running with the toshiba, except i had lost the integrated webcam. so then another google/e-opinions/pricegrabber search later, i ended up with the creative webcam ex something other other - which is working great. just realized very few people probably care about all these goings on. but those of you who are technophiles like me can probably appreciate the sheer stress/delight of discovering you can go out tomorrow and get a new laptop of your choice.... b.

woo hoo.

a trip to best buy & $89.99 later and b. webcam is back up and running. it's fairly late so i'm going to turn in, but i plan to tweak picture quality etc. tomorrow. oh - and i'll share the long story as well..... b.

webcam blues.

long story, but no updates today. b.

white is the new black.

i'm convinced that for many white is the new black heading into 2004. the color is showing up everywhere and in many different permutations. the imac in early 2002 sparked it for me, and when i saw this microsoft keyboard/mouse combo today in compusa and i knew white is well on it's way. b.

the perfect case.

i'm always on the hunt for the perfect laptop case. have yet to find it, though. today i picked up this one. i like it for a couple of reasons - i can put either my tablet pc or my new little vaio in it - and there's a swell little pocket on the inside that fits both my pcmcia adapters (4 in 1 dazzle/smartcard reader) and my bluetooth dongle. add a neoprene pocket on the front that houses a charging brick and i'm good to go. b.

question.

how can 2001 be so good and 2010 be so bad? about two weeks ago we watched 2001 and i was completely drawn in. twenty minutes into 2010 and i'm already reaching for the laptop. i'm definitely a candidate for short attention span theater. i'm usually a "willing suspension of disbelief" sort of gal and i give most of the movies i see quite a bit of leeway. but i just couldn't get over a few things in 2010, the frontrunner being: why do all the furniture/clothing/sets etc look more modern in 2001 than in 2010? i mean not even one egg chair anywhere?! b.

webcam.

i'm currently toting this around. it has a built in camera that swivels and with the included software: network smart capture, you can set up an easy web cam solution for your blog/website/etc. i gave it a try and voila! i have it set up as a manual operation so that i can control when/where i'm sending pics. at the mo, you'll see a lovely view of our fireplace. the plan is to turn it on when i'm at interesting places, sort of a like a random cam. planning on working on some stuff tomorrow and thought it might take a field trip to a starbucks to grab wifi and "people watch". tune in tomorrow kids. b.

back from hiatus.

beat kotor at 3 a.m. pdt. last night/this morning. yea - i have my life back. boo - i already miss being a jedi. i checked on feedster to see if others feel the same mixed feelings once the game is over. you can too. it's sort of all over the place, but one theme seems to emerge over and over - folks find themselves addicted. i'm not sure how i feel to know that almost 40 hours of my life were spent sitting motionless in an egg chair (behind the cat) staring at a big screen while my muscles atrophied. oh - back to feedster search - this was my favorite find. you gotta love a gal who can multitask. b.

help i've been kidnapped.

by my xbox. seriously. hi my name is beth and i have an xbox problem. or rather a knights of the old republic problem. if you're playing the game you may know why this has happened to me. it's like reading a page-turner or watching a nail biter ~ you can't wait to see what happens next. it's taken me 33 hours to get to the final battle and it's not looking good sportsfans. if anyone has managed to best darth malak - know that you have my upmost admiration (and i hate you at this moment). hoping to be "set free" by the end of this weekend so life can return to normal. b. ps_ johnny rotten just showed up on jimmy kimmel live. this seems wrong to me. just wrong.

so what was afoot?

it goes like this. we took the plunge and bought a 42" plasma from gateway. (yea yea i know the videophiles all poo poo it) we hooked up our xbox, our ultimate tv and our hp media center. then we get all kinds of crazy switchers and cables so that we can have whatever is going into the gateway back out to a 15" flat screen monitor that we used to use with said media center. then we hooked up a crazy japanese infrared tennis game to an av switcher box and a wireless mini cam which is pointed at our front door. needless to say since then there has been a lot of dinking going on around the house. b. ps_ see i told you my definition of something big was pretty lame in the grand scheme of things...