Rock Band, Oh So Fun!

Okay, so I caved. I bought Rock Band (Xbox360) with the gift card that my brother gave us for Christmas!

Rock Band is a music video game very much similar to Guitar Hero (both developed by Harmonix) where players uses a guitar controller to simulate playing music by hitting notes in the scrolling music map on the screen. The first entry of the Guitar Hero series was released in the late 2005. Rhythm game was a genre that never attracted me. We own couple of Nintendo rhythm games (microphone and dance mat to play with) for Jackie. Since this type of game was not of interest to me, I was even unaware that people were gaga about Guitar Hero. Only when the third installment of the series was released that I have become aware of how fun this game is. Kudos to my husband for giving me (GH3) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (released mid 2007) for Christmas - the best present! I had no idea that the game is so much fun, and very addictive. If there are stuff that needs to get done that day, I have to not play because I get lost in it and the entire day is gone - once I start I cannot stop.

Rock Band was released in November 2007. I became familiar of its existence several weeks ago because of American Idol (I am a fan of the show!). Jackie seem to have some interest in singing and I have been thinking about what to get with our gift card. I remember my co-worker mentioning in the past about the American Idol game (a karaoke game) he owned, and how much fun it is. I started doing some research on it and found out that American Idol Encore for Wii is scheduled for release on February 5th. I was reading reviews on the past installments of the game when I ran across Rock Band. All of a sudden my research got diverted to researching Rock Band - LOL. And then, it was finally decided - have to get Rock Band for sure :) Again, if not for GH3 I would not have been interested in reading about it. Thank you Don, I love you!

No regrets in getting Rock Band (RB)- it's a definite hit with me and Jackie. I have to encourage my husband to play more with us :) Before Rock Band we have to take turns playing Guitar Hero because we only have one guitar controller. Jackie has trouble with the game because of her tiny fingers. The frets are hard for her to reach and press. I felt guilty (and selfish) playing the game because she could not play with me (but she loves to watch and laugh at me when I miss notes and fail the entire song - ha ha). Though, I could tell that she really wants to play, but discouraged because of her physical limitations. With Rock Band I can play with her! This is where RB comes ahead of GH3. With RB you can play as a band - guitar, drums, and vocals. The game bundle (Rock Band Special Edition) came with a guitar, drum set, and microphone. At this time you cannot buy the accessories separately so you have to buy the bundle if you want to play band. You can use GH guitar (Xbox360 not PS3) with RB game, but not the other way around.

Here is a video of my 5 year old playing drums

EA may have rushed the release of the game because since launch there were so much problems being reported with regards to the hardware. Though I bought mine this January (box dated December), the hardware version is (my guess) the same as the ones sold at launch. The blue fret (upper set) is not working on my guitar and I requested warranty replacement. We are able to continue to use the guitar because the second (lower) set of frets are working. I hope that the replacement guitar works properly. I have heard that there are people who have the same problem with their replacement guitars.

They Are From The Future

Couple of days ago, my husband sent me a link to an article about the harmful effect of too much video game.

I have always loved video games. I've had my share of many (very fun) sleepless nights because of video games - thank you Legend of Zelda. Since I came to this country I've always had some type of gaming console. My first one was the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) which I got as a birthday present back in 1989 (thanks Beth, Mel and their boyfriends for introducing me to the greatest invention). Then a Sega Genesis, then the Sony Playstation, followed by Xbox, Nintendo Gameboy Advanced, Gamecube, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS/Lite, and the Wii (what's next?). I bought the Nintendo DS as a birthday present for my husband, but our daughter (who was at the time only 3 years old) played it more than he did. We decided to get her her own so daddy can have his back. We now actually have 4 DSs (silver, pink, black, white - hmmm did't they just release the two tone crimson/black?). Anyway, the first game she ever completed was the Super Princess Peach (she was only 4 years old). The girl's hand-eye coordination is amazing (try Super Monkey Ball). Sometimes I just shake my head when I watch her play Zelda the Twilight Princess (Wii). And when I play, I sometimes have to ask her which button to press to perform a particular task. She turned 5 this past July.

Over a year ago my husband established the "No TV and video games before noon" policy. Of course this rule only applies to our daughter. And about a month ago we cut back even more - she can no longer bring her DS with her when she goes to bed. The DS has to stay in the living room to charge overnight. It definitely improved her demeanor. Now she is not like a "zombie" when she kisses us goodnight. We always want to be vigilant and make sure she gets plenty of non-electronic stimulation. She loves to read, do crafts, coloring, and play with her kitty. We take her to the library every other week.

I sent the article to my co-worker and after he read it he told me to tell my husband that he has it all figured out.

Co-worker: "Do you know the grays?
Me: "No"
Co-workder: "You know, the aliens like ET?"
Me: "Oh yeah. I've never heard that before."
Co-worker: "Well, you know how they have slender limbs, big eyes, and big head, and gray?"
Me: "Yeah"
Co-worker: "They are not aliens as in aliens from outer space."
Me: "What do you mean?"
Co-worker: "Well, they are from our future. They are the video game kids who have come back from the future. They have evolve to looking like the aliens that we know now - the grays. That's also explains why they only have 3 fingers. They do not need all 5 fingers to play video game.

I suppose they are gray because they have lost their skin pigmentation from being inside the house all day playing video games.

Goodbye Christmas Tree

We took down the tree today, Sunday. Taking down the tree is so much easier than putting it up. There are still a few Christmas decorations that needs to be put away, including the gingerbread house that we built from scratch. My daughter Jackie helped decorate the house and she also picked the color. It turned out to be a nicely decorated house.

I enjoyed my Sunday morning watching a few episodes from the first series of "Jeeves and Wooster" on DVD. "Jeeves and Wooster" was a British comedy TV series. Bertie Wooster was played by Hugh Laurie ("House" on Fox) - I am a fan of Dr. House. The urge to watch comedy this morning was motivated by going through many clips of Robin Williams (I spent at least couple of hours) on YouTube last night. Robin Williams is hilarious.

Mental Feng Shui

I am sure that, like me, you receive numerous chain emails. This one I received today was nice and I thought to post it here.
---------------------------------------------------------
One: Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
Two: Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.
Three: Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
Four: When you say, "I love you", mean it.
Five: When you say, "I'm sorry", look the person in the eye.
Six: Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
Seven: Believe in love at first sight.
Eight: Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams don't have much.
Nine: Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt, but it's the only way to live life completely.
Ten: In disagreements, fight fairly - no name calling.
Eleven: Don't judge people by their relatives.
Twelve: Talk slowly, but think quickly.
Thirteen: When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"
Fourteen: Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
Fifteen: Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.
Sixteen: When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
Seventeen: Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and Responsibility for all your actions.
Eighteen: Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
Nineteen: When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
Twenty: Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
Twenty-one: Spend some time alone.

Non-replicating DNS

Yesterday, I finished setting up a second domain controller -- with difficulty. The dcpromo completed without a hitch. AD objects from the other DC (DC1) copied to the new server (DC2), but when I checked to see if my logon scripts replicated, the NETLOGON and SYSVOL folders were missing. I proceeded to setup DC2 as my secondary DNS. I added it in the Name Servers list on my primary DNS server. The FQDN resolved which confirmed connectivity to DC2, and DC2 was able to successfully pull the Forward Lookup Zones from the master server. This still leaves me the mystery of the non-existent SYSVOL and NETLOGON folders. Some people suggested to demote and repromote the server. That seemed too much work for me. When I ran repadmin/showreps the report returned DNS errors. Hmmm... it's always DNS..... DNS, DNS, DNS. I double checked my DNS settings and all looked fine, but why in the world could I not replicate my servers?!?

Okay, so I could not ping DC2 from DC1 (IP and netbios name), or from my computer - very puzzling. Through Sites and Services snap-in my new DC was listed under Servers, but under NTDS Settings there was nothing. I was expecting to see one object there which would have been automatically generated. I added a new connection to DC1, but when I ran "Check Replication Topology" it returned an error: "The naming context is in the process of being removed or is not replicated from the specified server." What the....??? If I cannot ping the server from DC1 how can DC2 receive inbound connection for the replication to take place? I was thinking its connectivity problem, but DC2 could ping DC1! I cleared the arp table on DC1, but still no go. The only other thing I did not check was the firewall. Since I cannot ping DC2 I checked its firewall settings and found that it was enabled. With the Windows firewall disabled, Viola! everything was perfect :) Damn firewall!

Happy New Year!

It's 2008! Where did 2007 go? I can't believe that I had not posted here for the entire year of 2007. Main reason to only maintain one blog site instead of 2, 3 or more.

Wii Update:
After numerous attempts, very early morning waking hours, cold and long waits in line, I was able to get a Wii couple of days after Christmas in 2006. It was accidental. My co-worker and I decided to spend our lunch break hunting for the hard-to-find gaming system. We meant to check Best Buy, but because I made the wrong turn we ended up at Target. When we got there we saw a guy sprinting towards the electronics department. Somehow we both figured that he might be going for the same thing we were. At the electronics department there was a short line formed which we joined in. My co-worker and I were able to secure one for each of us, and the sales lady even allowed me to buy an additional system for a friend. All the trouble trying to get the system was all worth it. It really is a fun gaming system - there is nothing like it! Even none-gamers would enjoy it very much. If you don't have one, go get one :)

Technical Frustration Update:
After fighting the Dell laptop to capture my many many MiniDV videos I ended up using my Asus laptop. I completed 80% of the project in 2006 and made no progress for the entire 2007. What can I say? I am a procrastinator :)

2007 Recap:
Beginning of July I started work for a new company. May and June went by in a flash. I spent those couple of months migrating data, purchasing equipment, building and setting up new systems, and sitting in numerous boring meetings. The company that I now work for was owned by my previous employer which was purchased by another (a multi-billion dollar) company. Part of the agreement was to assist in splitting the two companies. Since all of the IT services were provided by the parent company new systems had to be purchased and setup. The system build had to be completed by first week of July. Then in August we had to move to a new building. Couple of weeks prior to moving we had to setup the entire network infrastructure. The move was a success. Day one at the new office all the employees had their phones, their computers, and had network and Internet connectivity!

Also in July we went to N. Myrtle Beach, S.C. for a week vacation. There, my daughter celebrated her 5th birthday. It was our first time in N. Myrtle Beach and we had a wonderful time. We loved it so much that we want to make a yearly trip there. I thank my college best friend, Mailah, for the idea. The condo we stayed at was a beach-front property and we loved the convenience of being able to just walk down the beach.

In November we adopted a kitty from the shelter. Our 5 year old daughter had been asking for one. But because of my allergy, my husband was opposed to having a cat in the house. A letter written by our daughter that said: "From Jackie Fox. I want a cat!" was all it took. My husband found this very sweet 9 month old male kitten from the county shelter. His name was "Chance" and our daughter wanted to keep his name. He is a medium-haired Tuxedo with a milk mustache. I had an allergy attack on the night that Chance came home. Since then I have not had any symptoms! We all love the new member of our family. He is mischievous and very sweet cat!

Christmas Present:
One of the presents I received from my husband was Guitar Hero III for Xbox 360. It is such a fun addictive game. The "Easy" level I completed in few hours of game play. The "Medium" level is another story. The more I played the better I am at it - it is all about practice :) Though some of us are just plainly gifted as this 9 year old kid who beat the hardest (Expert) level will demonstrate. Amazing! is all I can say. Can you do it? I wish I am as good as this kid!

New Year's Resolution:
I have not thought about it until just now. As in the past, I am not optimistic about sticking with it. But, I will definitely TRY this year. Maybe having a written Resolutions will help me stay on track. My main goal for this year is to get back in shape. I also would like to add reading and keeping up with my blog on the list. Basically, it is all about laziness. So my New Years resolution this year is to not be lazy. The reason I am out of shape is I am too lazy to exercise, lazy to think about eating healthy, and lazy about reading and writing.