The Riot Blog

We've moved!

2009-09-22T10:05:00.000-04:00

Check out the new and improved RIOT Blog HERE!!!

MinoHD Review and the Riot Road Trip

2009-08-20T09:10:00.005-04:00

Have you seen the videos from the Riot Road Trip yet? Our destination this time was Denny's Beer Barrel Pub. Fantastic food was had by all and the videos can be seen below. Those videos were shot with the magnificent, tiny MinoHD pocket camcorder. Here it is:

Here's the short form of the review. You can hear it in its entirety on the Riot Control podcast or in the archive of today's show here.

Liked

Size and portability- It's smaller than the standard def VADO that I have and I thought the VADO was tiny when I got it. It weighs 3.3oz which means that it doesn't feel like a brick in your pocket. It boots quickly which means the time from pocket to video is roughly 2 seconds. (Depending on how good you are at getting things out of your pocket!)

Video quality- It looks far better than I thought it would. It shoots in 720p and handles low lighting very well.

Records as mp4- This made plugging it into my PS3 a very easy way to see the video on my HDTV.

Overall vibe- The coolness factor is high. Sleek black exterior with backlit buttons insures that friends will be wondering what that is and where they can get one.

Disliked

Shakey cam- There is no image stabilization. Most pocket camcorders don't have this feature either but it is time for one to include it! With a resolution this high, operator movement becomes very apparent.

TV out- It has a TV out jack but will only display on a TV in standard definition. (Unless you can access the files directly via a PS3/Xbox 360/etc.)

Placement of zoom buttons. Zoom is an awesome feature but the video always got rougher when I used it because of the awkward placement of the buttons on the back.

OVERALL
This is a GREAT camera to carry in your pocket. Video isn't perfect but for the portability and price make it worth a look. (*NOTE*- On the show I mentioned that I had seen it running for around $129. I couldn't find that deal again this morning so it may have been a sale or a price mistake. I'm seeing them now running from $150-180.)

Here are the videos! I recommend following them back to YouTube and watching them in HD!

Buckeyes and Beauties

2009-08-07T08:12:00.002-04:00

Wanna go do some bowling with Buckeye Football Players and Beauty Contestants? Click here to find out how!!!

Giving the gift of.... water?

2009-07-29T08:16:00.002-04:00

Water. It's everywhere right? Kinda... We take it for granted here in the United States but in Central Africa it isn't that easy to come by. That's where ICDI comes in. They work in central Africa digging wells. What they do is REALLY awesome. Check out their website!

The New RadioU.com Stickers!!!

2009-07-21T12:09:00.002-04:00

Columbus Marathon and the Step by Step Challenge?

2009-07-16T08:27:00.002-04:00

Another year, another group of RadioU staff who say they will join me in the Columbus Marathon's Step by Step Corporate Challenge. I'm not bitter though... :)

What is it? It's basically a chance to get a group of people together and kick each other in the butt until you cross the finish line. :) No problem, right? You don't have to be a "corporation" to be a team. You can just be a "group" from just about anywhere.

If you're up for it, click here. You can also get info there about the Columbus Marathon even if you are running along. (Like me.)

United Breaks Guitars

2009-07-08T08:31:00.000-04:00

Not appearing on RadioU but still really funny:

Rocket Men: Obadiah reads about going to the moon...

2009-07-07T07:50:00.003-04:00

Want to read the book that I read on vacation? Click the picture. I LOVED it. We talked to author Craig Nelson on the show this morning.

Hello Seattle

2009-06-25T12:46:00.005-04:00

Hello to everyone joining us from Seattle! We're the RIOT... and we're on vacation. :) How do we welcome everyone to the network in our absence? How do we show you how important you are and yet still get a chance to have a life? EASY! This week the Riot is giving you a primer. We're running some of our favorite moments from the last six months in order to get you caught up on what has happened so far. (Jeff from Spoken supposedly breaking his hip like an old woman is one of my personal favorites.)

Jared, Obadiah, and Nikki are getting read for a road trip. Yep, I'm Obadiah and I'm an
idiot... and this photo was taken at 3:50AM.

We would LOVE to hear from you this week! E-mail us at riot@radiou.com and let us know what you think. (If you don't like us, e-mail trashbin@radiou.com.) Don't forget to join our Riot Fan page on Facebook .

Wednesday: Salvation Army and ConsumerLabs

2009-06-10T14:38:00.002-04:00

First off: FAIL. I fail at blogging. Seriously. I was supposed to come up here right after the show and get this done. Instead, I wander off on a thousand different tangents and I would have never posted the info if Nikki hadn't said something. Seriously, she remembers everything. :)

Salvation Army
This morning we had Captain Mike Laro of the Salvation Army in to chat about where they are this summer. It turns out that food demand at their pantries is up 53% this summer (some of it due to the school lunch program only happening during the school year). Also, the need for utilities assistance is especially high during the summer due to the rise in air conditioner use.

How can you help? Lots of ways. My favorite is by texting "KETTLE" to 90999. It will make a $5 donation to the Salvation Army. You can also get involved by checking their website.

How can you get help? Go to the website. From there you can find a local chapter and call them for assistance.

ConsumerLabs
This is a website that is basically Consumer Reports for vitamins and supplements. Worth a look if you purchase such things.

Photo Blog: Reese's S'mores

2009-06-08T06:37:00.004-04:00

Mr. Stay Puft asks you to join him in protesting this and other events
at which innocent marshmallows are slain purely for the enjoyment
of others. He looks forward to the day when all of us can enjoy a
campfire without the fear of being speared and roasted over open flame.

Walk a Mile in Her Shoes

2009-06-05T08:03:00.003-04:00

Human Trafficking. It sounds like some kind of a commuter joke, but it isn't a joke at all. It's big business... and isn't that odd? To think that in this so-called "modern" era where we're all so civilized people are still into slavery. Sickening.

But what can you do about it?

Good question. Aside from not directly participating (duh) you can help organizations like Gracehaven. They are hosting an event in Columbus, OH this weekend called Walk a Mile in Her Shoes. There will be lots of information and ways to get involved. Walk a Mile in Her Shoes is a nationwide organization that you can get involved with no matter where you live. Look here for information.

RadioU 5k Vlog: The Race Course

2009-06-03T06:41:00.000-04:00

Tuesday: Emery, E3, and the 5k

2009-06-02T09:19:00.004-04:00

Emery
All day long today (Tuesday, June 2) we're giving away copies of the new Emery cd! We had a chance to talk to Toby this morning about the album and some of his online alter egos. You can hear that in the archives and you can see the videos on Emery's youtube channel.

E3
If you haven't heard us talking about, the Electronics Entertainment Expo is going on this week and it is HUGE. It is the big event where all of the big game companies will be laying out their GINORMOUS game releases for the rest of the year. (Did I say it was MASSIVE?) I've been pretty excited about it and we have been talking about it on the show but we cannot begin to do it justice. Instead of clogging up your ears and the interwebs let me make a suggestion: read one of my two favorite gaming blogs:

5k
The RadioU 5k is coming up on June 12. Here's a slice of honesty: I've lost interest in training. I think it is mostly sheer laziness and/or lack of desire to run in the heat. Regardless of its source, I'm having to force myself to go out running everyday. This always happens at some point during training and is just part of the cycle.... but man. Can't we just be in awesome shape and set personal records without all the training? Seriously...

If you want in, you can register here.

Stallone will destroy you.

2009-06-01T07:04:00.001-04:00

I don't know what he's on, but he looks pretty freaking amazing... especially when you consider he is 62!!!!

RIOT Lunch at Thurman's

2009-05-28T14:26:00.002-04:00

Check out the Photo's here. Enjoy!

Red Cross: Trauma Season

2009-05-28T07:07:00.002-04:00

I think Trauma Season would make a fantastic, made-for-TV movie on the Sci-Fi Channel. I'm feeling a plotline similar to John Orr the Arsonist in which a doctor goes around causing accidents so he can "save" the patients... only to later KILL THEM!!! MWUHAHAHAHA. (that's an evil laugh)

In reality, Trauma Season is something a bit more serious: it's summer. Apparently we all go outside and engage in much riskier behavior than we do during the winter months and this lead to more injuries which then lead to a need for more blood. You can help the Red Cross this summer by giving blood.

Click here to find out where you can go to help!!

Attention bands: TuneCore and Amazon are working together.

2009-05-22T08:06:00.002-04:00

Know what TuneCore is? I didn't either, until I read this. Rather than waste space restating the article, click it and find out what we're excited about. Bottom line: this could give your not-yet-signed band a way to get some physical distribution with MINIMAL cost. Pretty cool.

Running in hot weather.

2009-05-22T07:36:00.003-04:00

This video (which I can't figure out how to imbed) has lots of tips on how to run and not kill yourself in the heat. Internet videos are usually pretty worthless but this is great information. Stay cool!

Obadiah's Reading List...

2009-05-19T10:34:00.003-04:00

So, I've been thinking for the last couple of weeks: is my brain all it should be? Am I using my mind to its potential? The answer is obviously no. Few of us are using our mind to its fullest potential, but maybe we should try a little harder.

Think about it like this: Many of us are currently spending TONS of money to have a formal institution educate us. How do they educate us? They give us a list of books to read. We read those books and then listen to authorities on those subjects lecture to us. We then try to memorize items for tests and synthesize items for papers.

What if that was taken away? What if the only way to further your education was to do it yourself?

This, my friends, is the challenge of post-college life. Once you leave the hallowed halls of your institution of higher learning you will be on your own. You can either continue to educate yourself or rely mostly on what you've learned. My concern is that I've spent too much time relying on previous learning and not enough time ingesting some new stuff. It's time to change that.

I've written all of that to say this: I'm looking for some good books. These books do not necessarily have to revolve around one subject. I'm not specifically looking for a self-help book, a guide to Christian living, or a doctoral thesis on behavioral psychology. (Though these are all acceptable suggestions.) I AM looking for fascinating reads. I'm looking for the books that you read and couldn't put down. I don't care if they are history, novel, or theology. Whatever comes to mind. E-mail them my way. I'm going to make a reading list. At some point in the future I'll post the list. Rather than be overwhelmed by a HUGE list, I may choose six or so books and then do another list at another time. I'll let you know.

None of these books will be started until I finish what I'm currently reading:

I'm thoroughly enjoying this one. If you're interested, you can learn more about it here.

Here are a few other books that people e-mailed in to recommend:

You: The Owners Manual- Josh from his iPhone

This Present Darkness- Nameless dude from his phone

Changes that Heal- Emily

The Father Heart of God- Paul

Keep 'em coming!

Cheesus!

2009-05-19T10:08:00.003-04:00

He's real!
Read about him here.

Can I Wear My Nose Ring to the Interview?

2009-05-15T07:32:00.002-04:00

So, I can't get Amazon to let me have a picture of the front cover of the book and I guess I'm too lazy to look somewhere else. If you want a GREAT book on how to do your job search and get through the interview, look no further. CLICK HERE.

Obadiah's RadioU 5k Training Schedule...

2009-05-11T10:21:00.003-04:00

Here is my training schedule for the RadioU 5k.

I knew that the 5k was coming up fast but 5 weeks sure doesn't seem like very long to train for it... of course, I could easily run a 5k right now but running this year is not about finishing but about finishing WELL. I ran a couple of times last week but the real training starts today. I would LOVE to get in under 26 minutes this year. Will I?I'm not sure if this is the training schedule to guaruntee that time. I could probably get faster if I swapped another speed workout for the distance run on Thursdays but I don't want to let my distance runs drop below 8 miles. (The fall half-marathon is looming in the distance.)

Good luck everybody! I hope you are running with us this summer! Sign up here.

Superhero videos and blog slacking...

2009-05-06T09:50:00.003-04:00

I'm not sure why we have been slacking so intensely on the blog for the last couple of weeks. We've been really busy, but should you ever allow yourself to be so busy that you can't take time to add a bunch of noise to the blogosphere? Embarrassing...

Speaking of embarrassing...

Here are two individuals who very much need to come to grips with the fact that superheroes are for films and comic books... and not much else. At least, not on modest budgets.

Riot Road Trip!

2009-04-24T08:42:00.000-04:00

The RIOT Road Trip and In Nashville!!

2009-04-18T19:48:00.002-04:00

On Monday make sure you are listening to the RIOT on RadioU. You can hear our Road Trip to Nashville. Then on Tuesday and Wednesday we will be broadcasting from Nashville with your favorite bands.

Stay up to day through our Facebook Fan Page! There we updated photo's and stories about our journey. Add us as a Fan and ENJOY!

Unleash the Music Vlog: The announcement... and some vomit!

2009-03-30T16:16:00.001-04:00

John Orr at a R.A.Y.V.

2009-03-25T15:11:00.006-04:00

This morning we had Zack from the R.A.Y.V. Projec t on the show. They are an organization that specializes in advocating for young veterans and also helping those veterans find the assistance they need when they return home. If you or someone you know could use that kind of help (or maybe you want to help them help others), click the link or the picture to find out more.

Have you been hearing a great new techno/electronica/dance/whatever song on RadioU and wondering what it's called? The band is "And Then There Were None" and the song is called "John Orr the Arsonist". Who's that? Good question. You can read his fascinating (TRUE) story on Wikipedia. You should really check it out and then listen to the song. (The album is worth buying, by the way.)

RadioU Turns 13!

2009-03-24T10:28:00.004-04:00

Can you believe it has been 13 years? March 22, 1996 RadioU signed on in Columbus, OH for the first time and things have never been the same.

We celebrated the birthday a day late and, of course, we celebrate with food. Happy Birthday, RadioU!
The vultures began to circle the cake...

Need for Speed: SHIFT

2009-03-24T10:03:00.004-04:00

I like racing games. For a long stretch of my gaming life, I didn't want anything to do with them but that all changed with Project Gotham Racing 2 for the original Xbox. I'm not sure if it was the custom soundtrack, the newly launched Xbox Live service, or just boredom, but I poured myself into that game. I don't know much about cars and absolutely nothing about NASCAR, but that one game turned me into an amateur racer. (Purely digital, of course.)

I had just gotten my Xbox 360 and Microsoft gave me copies of all their first party launch titles. Project Gotham Racing 3 was fun, but it didn't grab me the way its predecessor did. I started looking around for something else to play. In that first month, games were sparse and not always in stock but for reasons beyond me I decided I'd give NFS: Most Wanted a try. Ladies and gentleman, we had a winner. While some people whined about the FMV and less than realistic physics engine, I LOVED it. In fact, I played it more than any other 360 launch title and I still get it out to screw around with it from time to time.

In the past couple of years, several other Need for Speed titles have hit but none of them have grabbed me quite the way that NFS: Most Wanted did. I would say that I've even grown a bit skeptical of the franchise... but, DUDE, have you seen the new trailer? I'm REALLY excited about it. The cockpit view reminds me of GT5 Prologue while the courses are giving off a PGR vibe. I don't want to jump the gun, but I'm sold. Add in serious support for a driving wheel and its over. Need for Speed: SHIFT will be available on September 22 and you can learn more about it here.

Here is the video I'm so excited about:

Obadiah Running Vlog Week 3

2009-03-23T07:42:00.001-04:00

Riot Control: Logitech G35 headphones

2009-03-19T09:59:00.004-04:00

Note: Normally I would include original pictures with a review instead of stock pictures, but I forgot to upload them last night so I'm just throwing in a stock photo. I'm also comfortable with this on the simple fact that it is a very fair representation of the actual headphones. (This isn't a restaurant commercial with doctored food, after all.)

Last November, I went crazy for the Tritton AX Pro gaming headset so why would I be on the hunt for another pair of stellar headphones? The Tritton's only have one audio input and it makes it enormously inconvenient to constantly be swapping out audio sources as I switch from component to component. Though I still use them for gaming/videos on my Xbox 360 and PS3, I had gone back to a cheap pair of Sony headphones plugged into the headphone jack of my Logitech Z-5500D speaker system. And then....

Logitech announced the G35 headphones at CES. They caught my eye because they are specifically designed for the PC and work solely through a USB connection. This was the same amount of effort required to plug in my crappy headphones but, obviously, these are much nicer. How much nicer? Let's take a look:

Aesthetics and design- They look really pretty, don't they? Okay, maybe not PRETTY. Let's say... ummm... hot? Bottom line: I like the way they look. They also have a nice, expensive feel to them. The headphone cups swivel, which makes them more comfortable and I like the leather ear pieces. On the actual headset, you will find a switch that enables/disables the Dolby Surround setting, a knob that turns the volume up and down and three programmable buttons. You’ll also find a microphone that can be tilted up when not in use. I thought I would prefer a detachable one, but this is actually more practical.

Software

Very simple and easy to use… maybe a little too simple. I think I would have liked something with a few more options in it, especially when it came to surround functionality.

Use

I tried them with:

· Music- not much to report here. They are completely digital and the sound reproduction is EXCELLENT.

· I Internet video/downloaded video- Not bad. The surround functionality isn’t so great on things that aren’t actually programmed in a 5 channel or above surround. It sounds echo-y and tinny. This is where it is really nice to have the switch so you can turn it off without having to open the software.

· DVDs- Depending on the DVD, I thought the sound was a little on the quiet side. I just found myself wanting it to be one notch louder, but I had everything cranked as far as it would go.

· Games- They’re gaming headphones… and this is where they absolutely shine. Volume was not remotely a problem and the surround effect was quite convincing. While I mentally knew that I was wearing headphones, I still found myself forgetting about them and being immersed in the soundfield which is EXACTLY what you want.

My favorite thing?

It’s all about the one-plug fits all USB port. You don’t have to screw around with a power adapter or anything else. Plug the headphones in and you are ready to go. (Of course, you’d be wise to d/l the newest software, but that is a no-brainer.)

Biggest rough spot

Aside from not always being happy with the volume level in certain applications, the fact that these are ONLY going to work on your PC can be a huge deciding factor when looking into a pricier set of headphones. If you game on multiple platforms, these may not be the best choice.

Overall

They seem expensive but when compared to other headsets in this price-range they are actually a very reasonably priced entry into the mid-range gaming headphone family. I was thrilled with the quality of construction and the ease of use. I keep returning to the fact that they only require one chord rather than multiple cords and power sources. This gives them a solid mix of portability and sound quality.

If you want to learn more about them, click here.

Pregnancy Decision Health Center

2009-03-19T09:52:00.003-04:00

If you missed it, yesterday we had Tim Welsh from Pregnancy Decision Health Center on the show. PDHC is an organization based in Columbus, OH that helps women of any age who think they are pregnant. They offer services that range from pregnancy tests to material assistance. You can find out more, here.

This is Paige and Peyton! Click their picture to hear their story.

Tokyo iPhone, Obadiah's Half, and St. Patrick's Day Chicago

2009-03-17T12:13:00.003-04:00

On the show today, we made promise after promise of all the stuff we were going to put on the blog immediately following the show and I would just like to say that while I may have let you East Coasters down, the West Coast feed of the RIOT just wrapped up which means that I (kinda) kept my word. Off course, if it weren't for Nikki, nothing would ever get done. (Just ask her. She's constantly having to remind me of something.) Here is the stuff:

Tokyo Marathon
The Tokyo Marathon is a fairly massive event. They have over 35k people sign up but only 5k people get to actually run it. (No idea why they cap it at 5k. The Columbus Marathon has over 20k runners in it.) This means that over 30k people who wanted to participate didn't get a chance. Fear not! The experience will not be lost on the unlucky or the geographically challenged. Behold:

The dude who's melon at which you are currently staring made it into the marathon and he is going to be broadcasting his run with his iPhone. Catch details on how you can watch here.

Obadiah is running, too
I'm going to be running the Capital City Half Marathon in Columbus, OH on May 2. (Wanna join me? Click here.) As a result, I have worked with Jared to put together a training schedule. A lot of people have been asking for it so I'm posting it here. Please note, I'm in week 3. I think I'm going to do some video blogs later. Watch here to see if some appear.

Saint Patrick's Day
What's if for? According to my 10th grade history teacher, it is just an excuse to get drunk in the middle of the week. For people in Chicago, it's a chance to dye the river green Check it out:

Care Bear Cell Phone Stare....

2009-03-16T07:59:00.002-04:00

Dublin Dr. Pepper Taste Test

2009-03-13T08:57:00.002-04:00

Can you tell the difference between sugar flavored Dr. Pepper and high fructose corn syrup flavored Dr. Pepper? With the help of Jeff from Texas, Nikki and I set out to answer this question. He sent us a case of "Dublin Dr. Pepper' which is bottled with real sugar in Waco, TX. (It is the longest standing bottler of Dr. Pepper in the world.)

It is important to label ANYTHING that goes in the fridge around here. The Riot did not misspell "your". It was someone else...

I'm also a soda nerd. I bought us some "real" Dr. Pepper and some Wal-Mart brand Diet Dr. Thunder just for... ummm.... scientific research.

Pure, unadulterated Dublin Dr. Pepper with Sugar.

The taste test cups. Filled by Erik and labeled A and B so it would be a "blind" taste test.

Bottoms up!

We started by smelling the cups. One had a strong Dr. Pepper smell and the other did not. Care to guess which one smelled?

It was the corn syrupy one. Nikki and I ended up tasting the Dublin Dr. Pepper first and were immediately aware that it was different from what we've spent our lives drinking. It was MUCH sweeter and "harder". The regular Dr. Pepper went down very smoothly and had little after taste. The Dublin stuff was more substantial and *did* have an aftertaste. From that description you would think we would prefer the corn-syrup-enhanced DP but you would be WRONG. The sugary stuff was amazing, though we could drink very little of it because it was so sweet. Oh for the heady days of truly sugary soda...

Thanks to Jeff for making it possible! The audio will be in the podcast for next week.

Dublin Dr. Pepper?

2009-03-12T10:58:00.003-04:00

What the heck is Dublin Dr. Pepper? If your angry side came out (as mine often does), your first thought is that it is some generic form of Dr. Pepper that people in Ireland sell. Your other thought is that it was some kind of Irish Ale. Both of your thoughts were completely wrong. What's wrong with you?

Dublin Dr. Pepper is DP made with real sugar and bottled in the country's oldest Dr. Pepper bottling location. We have a shipment of it coming our way thanks to podcast listener Jeff from Texas. If it arrives today (and it is supposed to) we are going to do a taste test tomorrow morning with some plain ol' store bought 2-liter DP to see if any of us can tell the difference. I would like to think it will be striking and I'll be flying the Dublin stuff in on a week-to-week basis to calm my craving. Be listening tomorrow to see how it goes.

If you want to learn more, click the picture above for the Dublin Dr. Pepper website.

The Colonel's Curse

2009-03-12T08:04:00.001-04:00

New iPod!

2009-03-11T08:59:00.003-04:00

Apple just announced it's new iPod! I could take the time to write it up for you but my laziness won't allow it! Instead, I give you engadget's story! Read on!

Coming later today, Obadiah's training schedule. I gotta get that thing hosted and posted. I'm workin' on it!

Things you overpay for...

2009-03-09T09:33:00.004-04:00

Kiplinger has a list of things that you are paying too much money for and how to save some of that cash. Here it is.

Personally, I'm paying way too much for cable... and that is easy to do. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to do. I basically need SciFiHD for two more weeks and then I may never need to watch SciFi again. What about high speed internet, though? Could I actually do without it? I don't know...

Amazon is getting in to game trading.

2009-03-05T08:04:00.003-05:00

Click here to find out more.

RIOT Facebook Page....

2009-03-05T07:38:00.001-05:00

We've moved our Facebook Group to become a Fan Page....

Join us there if you are on Facebook.

Best new web browser? and 5 hours of energy...

2009-03-03T10:11:00.004-05:00

Ever used Apple's Safari web browser? Yeah, it was pretty much the worst browser in the HISTORY of web browsers. I'd take Netscape 3.1 over that thing! (Sorry, nerd humor. Though I do miss the N with the little shooting stars over it...) Apple just made the Safari 4 beta public and they have seriously upped the cool factor. Plus, word on the street is that it is the fastest browser on the web (especially when it comes to java). Erik and I have both been screwing around with it and it "feels" faster but, in reality, the differences in the speed of web browsing is measured in milliseconds. (Roughly 6 thousand of those passed when you were reading the last sentence.) I do recommend checking it out, though. It looks pretty and runs well. Click the picture above and you're there.

That is the 5-hour ENERGY that we tried on the show this morning. I meant what I said: it tasted pretty good. I *did* experience a slight giddiness immediately following my initial sip but it quickly dissipated. I don't know that it is worth $4 but at $1 I might be up for trying it more often. Maybe it's a good thing it is so expensive...

Game with Fame: Disciple

2009-02-26T11:11:00.004-05:00

Play Halo 3? Got an Xbox Live Gold membership? Wanna finish off Disciple with a headshot? You're in luck:

Disciple is being highlighted on LIVE this weekend. For full details, click here.

Also, Israel called this morning and we talked to him about it. You can hear that in the archives, but I've got to say: was that the longest interview ever or what? I just blabbed on and on. I think I forgot we were on the air. Oh well, I guess that's why I normally schedule most interviews after 8. It was 6:20 and I was definitely still waking up. Thanks again to Israel who stayed up on the West Coast and called in. Much appreciated, bro! Go kick some Covenant butt!

Snow Trails, Roaring Lion, and RadioU Live...

2009-02-25T08:58:00.004-05:00

Today on the show we talked to Nate from Snow Trails. It seems they want to lure helpless college students into their lair this weekend by offering substantial discounts this Friday. Feel free to get sucked in. If you aren't a current student but would still like to get some ski action on, click the link and it will take you to their website where you can plan accordingly:

RadioU Live... remember that? (It was last week. You should get a CAT scan if you don't remember.) If you missed it, fear not. We saved it. Click on the picture below to find out how you can hear it all again.

Finally, below you will find a picture of the energy drink that Spoken left us that we tried on the show today. It tastes almost exactly like Red Bull, but I'm told it comes with about half the price tag. You'll have to let me know how true that is. The high cost of energy drinks has pretty much forced me to consume Diet Coke in quantity in order to get the same effects at a lower price.

The Riot Archive

2009-02-24T14:38:00.003-05:00

Behold the Riot Archive! It should look fancier shouldn't it. It doesn't look like much in this picture but it is, in fact, HUGE. It is 90 data CDs and 28 data DVDs worth of material. Oh... and this isn't all of it. Last year's show is saved on a hard drive somewhere. 7 years worth of stuff!

Right now I am going through the archives to put together a 7th Anniversary Podcast. It's more work than it sounds like and I'm going to take a break because this is taking me FOREVER.

Does anyone have any ideas for our 7th Anniversary Show? Let me know! The old stuff will go out in a podcast but I'm looking for some good stuff to do live that day.

The view at Obadiah's desk.

2009-02-17T09:46:00.003-05:00

I do not have a drinking problem.

Disturbing developments and the RIOT book club...

2009-02-16T13:59:00.005-05:00

I went to Gamestop during my lunch today. It's been a while since I've been there. I don't go often because I'm fairly certain that the people in that store hate me. I walk around, touch things, pick things up, ask questions... and purchase nothing. The last time I bought anything there was... wow. I don't know. I went in there looking for Tomb Raider: Underworld only to have them hand me an open box game that they were selling as a new. Full price despite the fact that it was covered in Gamestop stickers and had been opened? I don't think so. I went home and got it for 20% off on Steam.

Where was I? Oh yeah...

I stopped by Gamestop and saw the Ally & AJ guitar. It bothered me. Mostly because it is confirming to me on a deep level what I have known for a long time: the real money in gaming is 12 year old girls. So-called "hardcore" gamers like myself are on the path to being marginalized because the games we like take too much money to make and bring in too little whereas 12 year old girls buy Pink DS's and 400 billion copies of Barbie Horse Adventures, creating record profits. Our days are numbered friends. An army of pink has overrun us in our game-induced stupor. There is only one rational response:

And now for something literate:

Nikki has fired up the Riot Book Club on GoodReads. This is our chance to share together our literary pursuits and Nikki's chance to show you that, on a bad day, she can only read six books. Seriously, Nikki can read faster than anyone on earth. Join GoodReads and join our club! We'd love to see what you're reading!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

2009-02-13T07:32:00.000-05:00

Love,

The RIOT

Give a heart for JDRF!

2009-02-11T13:34:00.002-05:00

What the heck is JDRF? It's the Juvenile Diabetes Research Fund. (Now don't you feel bad for being so mean about it?) They are running a promotion through Boston's Restaurant and Sports Bar where you can order a hearth shaped pizza for Valentine's Day and $1 goes to the JDRF. They brought us some of their pizzas this morning. It was good... especially at 8am. We should have pizza at 8am more often!

Click here for more info!

Nikki and Obadiah on location: GIVE US YOUR BLOOD

2009-02-10T08:52:00.001-05:00

The Riot was in the streets last night for Have a Heart Week! We shot some video. Here ya go!

More coffee...

2009-02-05T07:43:00.003-05:00

Consumer Reports is talking about the best brews. Here's some info. They say Eight O'Clock coffee tastes the best. I brewed it for a couple of weeks. It is really good but it always made me a tiny bit sick to my stomach when I was done. I'm currently drinking Millstone. It's yummy.

Coffee straw

2009-02-04T08:22:00.002-05:00

I'm not sure how I feel about it, but here is the coffee straw:

It's $20 at Think Geek. I'd like to try it but not $20 try it.

What's ten times better than an iPhone?

2009-01-29T14:33:00.002-05:00

A Pomegranate.

Get one here.

Web Site Of The Week

2009-01-29T09:12:00.003-05:00

Gazelle

If you are like me you get a lot of fun tech toys often, which means you never know what to do with the old stuff. Yeah you can try to sell to a friend, ebay or craigslist....

I got a new phone for Christmas and needed to sell my old one. Was not really interested in selling it with an auction so after hearing about Gazelle I thought I would give it a try.

Enter in your item's info. Model number, condition, what do you still have with it (i.e. box, softwar, ect.) They give you a quote price. If you like what you see (which I did) you can sign up and create an account. They will send you an e-mail with pre-paid postage that you print. Box up your item and mail out!

You then wait one week. They will e-mail you the final value of your item (like where you lying when you said how great the condition was....) You can have the money sent by check, paypal or do it like I did and have an amazon gift card e-mailed to you for the amount.

I hope this site ends up working well. An update on how things end up for me will be coming in 1 week :)

from 1981

2009-01-29T09:11:00.000-05:00

RIOT Cafe

2009-01-28T07:33:00.002-05:00

5 Guys Burger and Fries. To sum up Obadiah's thoughts on this place to eat:

"The value and quality of the mean exceeded it's cost. "

We will for sure be going back!

Stimulus Package...

2009-01-28T06:29:00.003-05:00

Have you heard the RIOT's uneducated musings about the stimulus package going before congress today? Don't be like them: educate yourself! Follow this link and read all 647 glorious pages!

Remedy Drive: Behind the Scenes

2009-01-23T07:56:00.001-05:00

They're on TVU's Most Wanted this weekend!

Puzzle Quest: Galactrix or Good times are here again

2009-01-20T07:05:00.004-05:00

In case you haven't heard, I own a portable Puzzle Quest machine, also known as a Nintendo DS. I have plenty of fantastic games for the DS including Zeldas, Marios, etc. but NOTHING gets the play time that Puzzle Quest gets. I even bought it for my cell phone. I've been pondering purchasing it for my PS3.

Bottom line: I have a problem and it looks like it is going to get worse.

I know, I know. It doesn't look exciting at all, but looks can be deceiving. Play the demo for free right now by clicking here.

I'm hooked. I guess it is hitting some time around the end of February/beginning of March. SOLD.

Toby Mac and FLAME...

2009-01-16T07:42:00.002-05:00

Video: Chris brings in the deer meat.

2009-01-13T11:08:00.002-05:00

As a Blackberry Owner I Find This Funny....

2009-01-13T08:25:00.002-05:00

You can own a BLUEBERRY!

Riot Control: The Creative VADO...

2009-01-12T21:55:00.004-05:00

If you haven't been listening, I've been buying cameras lately. (Okay, one camera.) It has been an epic struggle to get that Canon to my house which is one of the reasons the Creative Vado has been such a joy: Creative sent us one a couple of days after we asked for a chance to take a look at it. Here it is:

It is a flash based, standard definition pocket camera that shoots one hour of higher quality video (640 x 480) or two hours of a lower quality video. It is incredibly thin because rather than using AA or AAA batteries it has a built-in rechargeable battery that gets its juice through the USB cord you see dangling in the photograph. (Its also the way it interfaces with your computer.)
The specs can get a little long winded which is why you can read them by clicking here. You'll note that it is also available in pink. (Yeah, Nikki, PINK.)

The Vado is basically designed for portable web video. It fits easily in your pocket (it is slightly larger than my RAZR cell phone but smaller than my iPod Classic), boots up and starts shooting video in less than 4 seconds, and allows you to upload video directly to YouTube, Photobucket, or Box when you are finished. I had my doubts about how much I would even be interested in a camera like this but spending the weekend with the Vado QUICKLY won me over. I couldn't believe how much I used it! I took it with me everywhere that I went and quickly shot an hour of video a few minutes at a time. I caught lots of stuff around the office but also got some great family moments that I would never have recorded if I would have had to get out the standard camcorder. While the quality of the video is not necessarily as good as you would get with a larger lense, the video is far better than I thought it would be and seeing as I was recording things I normally wouldn't, it was fun to capture some memories that otherwise would have been locked inside my head.

The Vado captures video with the Xvid codec. It is great for compression and with the built in uploading software it poses no barrier to YouTube, but it can be difficult to find an editing program that will work with your video. Rather than purcashing additional software to put together my stuff, I just converted all of the Vado's movies into WMVs and edited them with Vista's built-in "Windows Movie Maker". Granted, it isn't the most feature rich software out there but it is FREE With Vista. If you are looking for a good conversion software I highly recommend Clone 2 Go. It is excellent and also free. :)

Despite the fact that I work in radio or television, I have never done any video production so I thought I would try my hand using the above formula. The result? It isn't that impressive but here it is:

Like I said, not that impressive BUT it was easy and came together very quickly. With some more time I could have made something more interesting but 24 was coming on so I was RUNNING OUT OF TIME!

The Vado seriously impressed me. The video looked better than I thought it would (especially outside) and the portability combined with the boot up speed has helped it graduate to yet another gadget I slide in my pocket on the way out the door. It's getting Obadiah's seal of approval though I must admit that I am now dying to get my hands on its HD big brother. It costs roughly $100 but if it is half as awesome as its kid brother, it would be worth it.

Wii Speak and a little Animal Crossing...

2009-01-08T10:09:00.004-05:00

Did you know that Nikki and I are both proud owners of a Nintendo Wii? Did you know that Nikki and I have to be in constant communication no matter we are doing? Phone, Facebook, note passing, smoke signals... and now Wii Speak.

Basically, Wii Speak is a microphone that hooks up to the USB port on the back of the Wii. Each Wii Speak comes with a card that enables you to download the Wii Speak channel which lets you enter chat rooms with other Wii friends who also have the Wii Speak mic.

How does it work? Fairly well. We did have problems with echo (I would speak and then hear myself speaking to Nikki again through her speakers) but that was the biggest issue. Oddly enough this was only an issue with the Wii Speak Channel and NOT with Animal Crossing's in game voice chat.

Strangely enough, circles emanate from Nikki's head in real life, too.

If you want to hear more about our experience with Wii Speak and Animal Crossing: City Folk, you can catch them in the Riot Control archive on the Riot Page. Also, they are both available in a bundle at Amazon.

I think this is funny....

2009-01-06T08:21:00.000-05:00

Welcome back!!!!

2009-01-05T13:47:00.003-05:00

Welcome to 2009. If you are anything like me you are practically falling asleep standing up today. Why? I don't know. I had four days off in a row and suddenly I can't keep my eyes open for an entire day? It makes zero sense. ZERO. Yet, I am sleepy.

Here are some fun items of note:

When someone tells you to put your credit card number into the Wii, they don't mean to put your card into it. Oh... you didn't know? Click the picture to find the original story.

Oh... and Guitar Hero + Destroy the Runner = Face melting.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T10:11:00.002-05:00

We just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. The RIOT will be back to normal starting Monday January 5th.

Louie Vito Rail Jam

2008-12-23T08:50:00.002-05:00

Thanks to Louie Vito for coming in this morning for the RIOT. His Rail Jam will be Saturday starting at 2:30pm at Mad River Mountain.

All ages Rail Jam and it's a chance to win lots of cool prizes.

Riot Contest... and Obadiah's monitor.

2008-12-22T14:16:00.003-05:00

Yes, indeed, we are giving away a Wii. We also have a few other things that we are going to be throwing around on Christmas Eve. Want to win? E-mail your name, address, and phone number and you might get a phone call on Christmas Eve! Please, no sob stories. We're drawing names at random.

Speaking of sob stories, I may soon be crying for joy. I ordered a new monitor. It looks to be amazing. It is not yet in my possession but I did find someone who bought one and wrote a shining review. Here it is. It's supposed to land in time for Christmas. I'm pretty pumped!!! :)

The RIOT Annual Christmas List

2008-12-17T09:32:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas from Nikki + Obadiah!
It's The R!OT's annual Christmas list!

A Betamaxmas.....

2008-12-12T10:36:00.001-05:00

Watch your favorite old Christmas Episodes of shows here....

If I had $26,000 to spare I would buy this.....

2008-12-12T10:26:00.003-05:00

It's the UltraKing Bed:

Better yet I think I would want the Extreme Ultra King :)

Tritton AXPro Headphones = Obadiah's New Best Friend

2008-12-11T10:56:00.003-05:00

It isn’t very often that we get a product that I like so much that I am willing to start throwing around the word “love” but let’s make it official: I love these headphones. It never occurred to me to look into a high-end pair of gaming headphones because I’m cheap. I’ve been using a $20 pair of Sony’s that I got for Christmas four years ago and I’ve always thought that paying more than that would lead to a minimal increase in sound quality. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The difference between my Sony headphones and the Tritton AXPro’s is NIGHT and DAY.

What do they have?

These are the tech specs from their website:

True 5.1 Digital Audio Headset
Detachable microphone compatible with Xbox Live, Playstation Network, and PC/Mac
Digital audio connection for DVD, PC, PS2, PS3, XBOX, XBOX360, and all other devices with Optical digital audio or analog 3.5mm 5.1 output
Dolby Digital and Dolby Prologic Certified
8 speakers, 4 in each ear cup
Illuminated In-line volume adjustment for Front, Center, Rear and Subwoofer controls
Separate volume control for voice chat
Inline microphone and volume mute switches
Adjustable time delay for center and rear speakers
Dynamic Range Control
Includes external 5.1 audio controller with analog 3.5mm 5.1 output
Lightweight headset with deep circumauraul (around the ears) design allows for comfort even during periods of extended gaming.

What are the best parts?

Immersion- While using them, I truly felt immersed in the sound field. Several times I forgot that I had headphones on at all and thought I needed to turn the sound down.
Comfort- You could wear them for hours without noticing them.
Cool factor- The “T” on the side of each headphone lights up while it is being used which makes you glow in the dark. If you like that sort of thing…
Forgettable- I constantly forgot I was wearing them. The sound was that good.
In-line volume control- The volume is on a small “box” that isn’t too far down the line from your headphones which makes adjusting the overall volume levels and the individual zone volumes easy.

What didn’t I like?

AC adapters- It takes two. TWO adapters. This made it a little too wirey and will make any future travel with them difficult. Despite my initial distaste, once everything was in place, it was fine and I don't have any intention on taking them anywhere.
Noise- This was a especially a problem when hooked up to my PC: when an audio source was not directly feeding audio to the headphones, I would get an annoying crackling sound. It wasn’t overwhelming and never lasted long, but I could have done without it.

Overall

As someone who frequently games late at night and has to take measures to keep sound levels down, these headphones were a God-send. I can now play games, watch movies and listen to music as loud as I want without sacrificing the quality of the experience. While it cannot beat out the 12” woofer, I would say that having these headphones on nearly matches the experience of using my Logitech Z-5500D speakers. They are a bit pricey thought not unreasonable from Tiger Direct for $159.99. If you have a gamer on your list but aren’t sure what to get, these headphones receive our highest marks.

Shark Cage....this is for Obadiah

2008-12-11T09:49:00.001-05:00

How would you like this to happen?

Tinseltown.

2008-12-10T12:59:00.002-05:00

Make your season bright... while browsing the internet. How? First you gotta download Firefox by clicking here. Of course, you should have already been using Firefox because Internet Explorer is GHETTO. Once you've downloaded it, you can then add Tinseltown by clicking here.

Now you're surfing RIOT style. Congratulations.

Salvation Army: Text to give.

2008-12-08T10:58:00.002-05:00

I love the Army! Seriously, I do... and this may be one of the reasons that I feel a tinge of guilt every time I walk past a bell ringer and have nothing to give. Nothing to give? Obadiah, are you now destitute and poor? Did you lose everything in a bad investment deal? Were you swindled by a mortgage broker? What happened!?!?!?!?!

Nothing, actually. I just never have cash.... but the Army has an answer! "Text to give" How? It's easy:

1. Send the word "KETTLE" to the number "90999"
2. A response will come back confirming that you want to give.
3. Answer the confirmation and BOOM! You just gave $5. It'll show up on your phone bill.

I did it! You can, too! Help the Army help others this Christmas!

Mana - A New Energy Shot

2008-12-05T07:53:00.002-05:00

It's called Mana Energy . Small shots of large energy. :) So far Obadiah's cheeks have gotten red but that's about it.

The verdict - not bad but you might try putting it in a drink to help have it not be so concentrated. Maybe a nice glass of sprite!

---------------

3 hours later update from Obadiah:

I did a half-shot. Not bad. I think they are on to something when they call it "smooth" energy. I didn't "peak" at any point and I certainly haven't crashed. I didn't jump up and down, scream, cry... nothing. I just had extra energy and it lasted. Now, that isn't to say the sensation is perfect. I do have that feeling where I am a little sleepy but I still have plenty of energy. (If you are a caffeine person, you know what I mean) Though, it hasn't been that OVER-THE-TOP feeling. I don't think I would even notice if I wasn't desk-bound.

Overall, not bad so far. Definitely LAN-party worthy.

Advent Conspiracy

2008-12-02T12:47:00.003-05:00

Check out the video and the website. It's great stuff. Greg is going to be on the show Wednesday morning at 7:35! Of course, I'll be archiving it if you can't hear it then.

Volunteers Of America Needs Your Help!

2008-11-24T14:08:00.003-05:00

We are talking to Megan from Volunteers Of America. They need help raising money for the over 25,000 meals that they will be serving this Thursday for those who don't have enough to even get a Thanksgiving Meal.

Find out what you can do to help Volunteers Of America and go a step further and donate the $5 for a meal for someone this Thanksgiving. Maybe even get 2.......

RadioU Christmas Channel

2008-11-24T09:35:00.002-05:00

Hosted by the RIOT. that will launch at RadioU starting Wednesday afternoon!

Help Support The American Red Cross

2008-11-20T08:28:00.002-05:00

Click HERE if you want to help and donate!

Burger King's mini-things... yes, that's their technical name.

2008-11-14T06:24:00.003-05:00

Apparently Burger King has invested in a shrinking ray, because they're starting to offer their sandwhiches in "mini" versions. Why? My guess would be that it is an easy way to diversify your menu without diversifying your ingredients. Think about it: the hamburger has been getting larger and larger over the years (they offer a triple Whopper) but at some point the limitation you come up against in sandwhich creation is the human mouth. Even the biggest mouths on earth have their limitations. Thus, the minis.

I haven't bought the mini-burgers because I can't bring myself to pay nearly $7 for six burgers when I'll probably only eat three, but yesterday morning I saw their BK's breakfast minis on the menu at $4. $4 is a winning price. The ad looked amazing, here's the reality:

Nikki's raising money for the Blackberry Storm :o)

2008-11-12T08:16:00.003-05:00

By Selling a Blackberry Portfolio on Ebay :o)

Oh and for those that are getting the new hotness that is the Blackberry Storm it will be for sale starting on Monday November 24!!!!!

A comic about Mirror's Edge...

2008-11-12T07:05:00.001-05:00

I'm not trying to overwhelm you with game propaganda... but you guys know how funny I think vomit is. (As long as it isn't mine.) I think you can appreciate this:

It's here... and so are a lot of other things!

2008-11-10T19:48:00.004-05:00

So... I've been pumping up Mirror's Edge for months now... and it is FINALLY here. Okay, so it isn't THAT impressive that I got it ONE day early, but ONE day is better than nothing at all, right? I'm moments away from turning on the PS3 and giving it a shot. The big question: will the smaller monitor help me conquer the motion sickness? I hope so. If you are wondering why in the heck I would be so excited about just another game, take a look at this:

Looks pretty cool, huh? You can find some more at the official site.

Oh... and the OTHER stuff? I'm talking about the insane list of games releasing this week. Two more weeks of this and most of the holiday stuff will be out! Shop with care! :)

****UPDATE**** For those interested, I'm happy to say that I played Mirror's Edge for an hour with no motion sickness! SWEET! I'll talk about on the show tomorrow. See you at 6am. (Yuck. Why can't the RIOT be on the in afternoon?)

Awwwww......

2008-11-07T07:43:00.001-05:00

Ted Dekker...

2008-11-07T06:27:00.004-05:00

Today the RIOT is featuring Ted Dekker. Am I excited? Hugely. He's a novelist who writes some AMAZING novels. READ THEM! Why are we randomly having him on the show? There's nothing random about it, my friends. House, a novel he co-wrote with Frank Peretti two years ago, has been turned into a film and we'll be talking about that AND the "controversial" R-rating that the film received. Tedd has a lot to say! Make sure you check him out! Here is his personal website.

Nike Nintendo Classic?

2008-11-07T06:21:00.001-05:00

I think they're legit. If they aren't, they are only over the blogs... but that is the problem: I can only find stuff about them on blogs. Nothing at Nike.com and nothing at the retailers who are supposed to have it. Here is a link to one such blog.

Cedar Point for me and the Hoff for you?

2008-11-03T10:48:00.005-05:00

I went to Cedar Point over the weekend. It was pretty great. I really like the fact that the Peanuts gang figures in to their park presence so heavily. Who was the bird guy? I have NO idea... he was kinda cool looking though. Well, in a "I-hope-I-never-meet-you-in-a-horror-movie-kind-of way. I also realized a life long fear of being squashed by a giant marshmallow.

Oh... and the Hoff? He's out pimping Red Alert 3 in one of the strangest ways imaginable. Click the link to see what I mean. It definitely made me laugh.

Halloween Candy Code :o)

2008-10-31T13:52:00.001-04:00

So this is really funny :o)

Fall back... and change your smoke detector?

2008-10-31T07:47:00.002-04:00

Today, Battalion Chief Doug Smith from the Columbus Fire Department was on our show to discuss YOUR smoke detector. It might sound lame but think about these two disturbing facts: almost two children die each day in a fire and nearly all fire related deaths take place between the hours of 10pm and 6am. (You know... when the RIOT hasn't woken you up yet....) the CFD wants you to change the batteries in your smoke detector and they will GIVE you one if you don't have it. How do you get the free batteries? Where do you go? Simple. Call this number:

614-724-0935

Enjoy that extra hour!

Guitar Hero's KFC bucket. Wow.

2008-10-29T18:03:00.003-04:00

This morning we found out about this:

We think it is scary and compelling... Nick thought it looked amazing and wanted ALL of us to go over lunch. Only he went.
Yeah, we're so nerdy that we ALL piled in to check out Nick's lunch.

Doesn't really look like the ad, does it?

Nick, five minutes in:

Nick, one hour later:

KFC - Yummy

2008-10-29T09:16:00.001-04:00

Gosh this looks so good. I want to see a photo though of what the box you actually get from KFC looks like though. Lets just say it won't look as nice as this.

The Video....

2008-10-28T14:16:00.001-04:00

Obi's Caffeine Challenge

2008-10-24T08:07:00.002-04:00

Obadiah drank a lot in a short amount of time. He wanted to see how caffeine affects the heart.

It does - went from around 68 to a resting heartbeat around 82. The sugar also hurt him a lot. He's shaking and can't stop talking :o)

Happy Obadiah Before shot....

Marvin with the Lifepak Defibrillator....

beep beep beep.....

He drank a Monster, Code Red and Mountain Dew....

So I think later today Obi should blog how he feels later :o)

Oh and while I was typing this there was another nasty burp from Obi......Smells like Monster in here.

Obadiah's new 320gig PS3

2008-10-07T15:33:00.007-04:00

It's hard to believe but as of January, I will have owned a PS3 for TWO years. Yeah... TWO years. Remember that Christmas? Everyone thought Wii's would be piled high on store shelves and PS3s would be impossible to come by? Wow. How could we feel so right and yet be so completely wrong? Here we are 2 years later and Wiis are still hard to find while PS3s are... well... abundantly available. (Not that there is anything wrong with that.)

I had a bizarre attitude toward the PS3 when I bought it. I wanted it but it had more to do with being a completist than it did with actually wanting it on its own merits. Sure, my new HDTV needed a blu-ray player... but another game system? I already had a Wii and 360 but Riot Control needed to be able to cover every platform and off to the store I went. I came home with this:

Yep, that's the PS3... but I got "the cheap one". I paid $500 for the 20 gig model because "who needs a big hard drive and wi-fi"? Seriously? As noted above, this is definitely not the first time I was wrong about the PS3. Now that it has been relocated to my loft I REALLY wish I had wi-fi. And the hard drive? Oh man... Unlike the Xbox 360 the PS3 manually installs games to the HD ALL THE TIME. Every time I grab a new game I have to delete OLD game data before I can play it. I have no room for videos or music. It's no good... but it's FIXABLE.

Enter the solution: Seagate's Momentus hard drive. It's 7200 RPMs, 320 gigs, 2.5" and the answer to half of my PS3's problems. Here it is:

I can't help but wonder what is living in there that requires a "breather hole"...

Small? VERY. Expensive? Not so much. If you dig around a bit you can find this Seagate drive or one like it for around $100 or so. Why go with Seagate? Sony did:

In reality, you can use almost any 2.5" drive, but Seagate were the ones that were kind enough to provide the drive on the left (that came in the PS3) ... and the replacement on the right (that came by UPS). You can get an off-brand, 5400 RPM drive for less cash, but this high-speed, high capacity drive is the one that is getting the nod from me.

After you purchase your replacement drive, make sure you that you also snag the right tools for the job. I got my little PC Repair kit on sale at Microcenter for $5. You'll need the tiny screw drivers.

If you want, you can go the extra mile when replacing your PS3 hard drive and back up the current drive. All you need is an external HD and a few extra minutes. First, plug the external drive into your PC and go to the Disk Management Tool. Using it, create a new partition on the external drive and format it as a FAT32 drive. Then plug the external drive into the PS3, click System Settings on the XMB, and choose Backup Utility. Select Backup. It will then recognize the external drive and create a backup image on it. Sound complicated? It's not! The backup took about 20 minutes and I didn't lose a single game save! It's worth it!

With your backup complete, you are ready to remove the existing drive. This is by far the trickiest part. Remove the plastic cover from the left side of your PS3 marked "20 gig" (or "60" or "80"... whatever you HD size currently is). Then you will encounter the dreaded blue screw. IT STRIPS INCREDIBLY EASILY!!!!!! I finally opted for a pair of needle nose pliers. This is by far the easiest way to get it out.

With the blue screw removed, slide the drive to the right and it will lift out. Then you can remove the drive mount (see the two drives pictured above, the one on the left is in the mounting). Four screws are holding the drive into the mount. I HIGHLY RECCOMEND USING NEEDLE NOSE PLIERS TO REMOVE THOSE SCREWS!

Now take your brand new drive and reverse the above instructions. Viola! Your new drive is in your PS3! Turn it on and you'll see this:

Allow the drive to reformat. If you did not back up your PS3's original drive, you're done! If you're like me you've got 320gig spinning inside your Playstation. If you did back up your HD, go back to the System Settings on the XMB but this time select Restore under the Backup Utility. About twenty minutes later, you'll be good to go... and your screen might look something like this:

Am I excited about LBP? HUGELY. Is a bigger hard drive worth all this effort? ABSOLUTELY.

Another great video to watch....Concering the DTV Switch Over

2008-10-06T09:04:00.001-04:00

Humans vs. Zombies

2008-10-06T08:12:00.002-04:00

YOU NEED TO PLAY THIS GAME ON YOUR CAMPUS. Oh... and you need to invite me to participate. It looks AWESOME! :)

Humans vs. Zombies.

I was going to post a picture with this but I thought it might be too disturbing. :) Just pretend I did a GIS and posted an amazing Marvel Zombie picture.

Digital Television Transition...

2008-10-03T07:46:00.002-04:00

If you're here for more info on it, you can snag it by following this link!