I opted for the 95 instead of the 93 for my trip to Phoenix. On the way, I spotted a canal that came out of nowhere. It shocked me enough to stop the car and take a pic.

I met up with my old roommate to continue this tradition. We set sail for the Old Chicago pub in Glendale, AZ. The pizza itself was reminiscent of BJ’s Brewhouse of Las Vegas. Not a bad thing, whatsoever.

Instead, my complaints revolve around the alcohol. Unlike BJ’s, this establishment does not brew any original beer. The atmosphere fell short of average, but we still managed to have some good times.

If you are in the Glendale area, make sure to pick a pie up.

Jerry’s Nugget is one of the few casinos that still use casino coins at slot machines, it still has a GREAT “Midnight Owl” section, and it still has that classic Vegas feel.

Steve Wynn certainly changed the feel of the town for the better. However, old traditions are hard to let go of. I really miss the Key Largo, the Westward Ho, and the Klondike.

Next time it’s midnight, swing by old Vegas.

This is, in my opinion, the definitive greatest hits collection. The tracks were chosen by Robert himself to showcase the band. While “Galore” gets better reviews, I find this release to be more complete.

Orbital - Don’t Stop Me/The Gun is Good

After six years, Orbital is back with a new single. The style has changed slightly and purists might complain. I feel the same with this as I do with the most recent Underworld single: I hope the album is better.

Lost 80’s Live
I plan on going to this event in August. Some great 80’s bands will play together for a series of one-off concerts. The band that sparks my interest the most is Gene Loves Jezebelle. A friend of mine loaned me a cassette eight years ago, and I was blown away. 80’s goth rock at its finest!

I had a 37 inch Vizio as part of my previous setup that was perfect. The Samsung that replaced it left much to be desired. The greatest concern with HDTV’s as part of MCPC setups goes down to the display properties.

It is not uncommon for a TV to advertise 1920×1080 (also known as 1080p) as native resolution only to not allow the HDTV to act as a primary PC display. Or it may be the case that the native resolution only works with certain video card manufacturers or not at all! As the name implies, native resolution will yield the best results. It is within the best interests of the user to buy a TV that has the highest level of compatibility.

The Samsung mentioned before refused to act as primary display. This was problematic as I was forced to keep a second monitor connected at all times. Only then would the Samsung display RGB video (through a VGA cable). I’ve worked with Sharp plasma displays that will not go to native resolution with a VGA connection. These demand a DVI or HDMI connection to achive the results.

This Vizio E420VO allows for a few resolutions: 1024*768, 800*600, 640*480, and 1920*1080. Depending on what video card you use, you may have to create a custom resolution for the higher one. I had to do this so that my Geforce 8600 GS would display correctly. Here are the settings:

In my case, I had to load NVIDIA Control Panel and use their interface.

I’m not sure how I feel about it yet.

The resolution steps are:

• Disconnect and reconnect your iPod and then attempt to restore.
• Restart your computer and then attempt to restore your iPod.
• Disable or Enable Disk Use on your iPod and then attempt to restore.
• Try connecting your iPod to a different USB port and then attempt to restore.
• Remove any third-party USB devices you have connected to your computer (it is not necessary to remove your keyboard or mouse).
• If you use Windows, re-register .dll files as described in article iTunes displays -50 error message when syncing iPod on Windows XP
• For Windows users, update or reinstall your Windows USB drivers.

Those all seem kind of hardcore. It’s only a fucking MP3 player. Instead, I ran the Windows Error-Checking Tool on the device. Everything went back to normal in seconds. I find it odd that the simplest troubleshooting step is completely missing from their Service Bulletin. I’m going to break down why their troubleshooting steps suck:

1. Disconnect and reconnect your iPod and then attempt to restore. - This won’t do anything. If the drive is in an error state, Windows will continue to see it in an error state. Most likely my issue is related to a premature disconnect.
2. Restart your computer and then attempt to restore your iPod. - What this should say is: Restart all the bogus Apple processes like Bonjour, QuickTime, and iTunesHelper. Apple software HATES coming back from suspend/hibernate.
3. Disable or Enable Disk Use on your iPod and then attempt to restore. - A drive is a drive is a drive. This does nothing. The problem is disk errors, not features.
4. Try connecting your iPod to a different USB port and then attempt to restore. - Good suggestion, but often several USB ports are on the same USB HUB. Most users won’t be smart enough to try the ports on the back/front of the PC.
5. Remove any third-party USB devices you have connected to your computer (it is not necessary to remove your keyboard or mouse). - Yeah I don’t think so, YOUR device is the issue, not MY peripherals.
6. If you use Windows, re-register .dll files as described in article iTunes displays -50 error message when syncing iPod on Windows XP - What? Maybe if I have spyware or a virus, but then I have bigger issues….
7. For Windows users, update or reinstall your Windows USB drivers. - Hahaha, no. USB is a STANDARD interface. It’s not the case that ALL of my devices are having issues. This seems like a catch-all. Don’t fix what ain’t broke.