I voted today. I think that voting is important. It would be nice if money wasn't so important to the running for office. Hopefully who ever wins will make a differance and it won't be the same crap as allways. Some people don't vote because they think they are all criminals. I think that maybe some day that may change but I doubt it. I think it was Bill Maher who said the rupublicans are the party of bad ideas and the democrats are the party of no ideas, i thought it was kinda true and kinda funny. I think the two main party system is hurting this country. I havn't seen a 3rd party canidate who really stood a chance of winning. Hopefully that may change soon.

Every Monday I do enjoy reading the Buffalo News. They have the click section wich often has some interesting stuff in there. I had seen an article about a kodak camara before that uses wifi technology so you can send pictures with out having a computer. The camara sounds amazing it really does. I don't have that much to spend on a camara but if i did it , it sounds like a camara I might buy. The other article I posted after that is about a "Gammers" chair. I do like video games but not a gammer nor do I have a new system but if I did and I wanted to go to that next level based on this review I might get it. I thought they are both interesting pices of technology. Before I forget I also wanted to comment that I like the new theme colors of (e:strip).


new Kodak Wi-Fi camera
By CRAIG CROSSMAN
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
11/7/2005




Kodak's EasyShare-One has a 3-inch screen that tilts and is one of the first digital cameras to have built-in wireless Wi-Fi communications capability.
Film isn't dead, but I'm hard-pressed to remember the last time I saw someone taking pictures who wasn't using a digital model.
Yes, I can still buy VCR tapes, cassettes and records but why would I want to when I can buy DVDs, MP3 recorder/players and CDs?
I acknowledge that there will always be someone out there who will buck the trends and technological benefits. I figure they either derive some strange pleasure letting people know they like doing things the old-fashioned way, or they somehow feel that the old analog technology looks and sound "richer" than their digital counterparts.
Then again, it just may be that they think an old dog can't learn new tricks, which is pretty silly since these newer technologies are actually simpler to use while empowering their user with so many more abilities.
If I had to pick the most important thing one gets using a digital camera, I would have to say it's instant gratification. You immediately get to see the picture you just took on the camera's color screen.
And right in line with that gratification comes the ability to share your images with everyone who's with you. So the bigger the screen on the camera, the easier it is to let everyone around you see what you just took.
Many of the newer cameras are offering 21/2- and even 3-inch screens. It is this concept of sharing that is the focal point of Kodak's latest digital camera, the EasyShare-One. But this camera goes way beyond sharing via its 3-inch screen, which also pivots out and tilts for easier viewing. It's one of the first consumer digital cameras to have wireless Wi-Fi communications built in.
If you're near any wireless hotspot, you can transmit the camera's images directly over the Internet without a computer. Using the built-in stylus, simply select any picture you've taken that's stored in the camera's memory and want to share. You can compose an e-mail message directly on the camera by tapping your message in via the virtual keyboard displayed on the screen. Tap in the e-mail address, hit the send button and your e-mail message along with the pictures you've attached are instantly sent out over the Internet via the wireless connection.
The Wi-Fi abilities can also be used to send your images directly into your personal computer. And Kodak's newest EasyShare Photo Printer Dock Plus Series 3 also has Wi-Fi so you can wirelessly transmit any picture from your camera to be instantly printed.
Of course, you can also directly connect the EasyShare-One camera directly to the computer via a USB connection as well as docking the camera directly on top of the printer. This latter method lets you use the EasyShare-One's 3-inch screen as the printer's monitor screen so you can make printer selections via on-screen menus as well as preview what is about to be printed. This double use of the camera's screen for both camera and printer is clever and economical. A printer with its own color screen would be more expensive, as is the case for Kodak's older Photo Printer 500.
As for the EasyShare-One's other specifications, they are fairly standard, offering a 4-megapixel image, 256 megabytes of built-in memory (expandable via flash memory cards), a 3X optical zoom lens, autofocus, built-in flash with red-eye elimination, self-timer and a burst mode for faster pause times between pictures.
It can also record sounds via its built-in microphone as well as take full-motion videos with their duration limited only by the amount of memory in the camera. The 3-inch color touch screen lets you perform a wide array of editing features, such as an on-camera cropping ability via a movable crop window.
The Kodak EasyShare-One is a remarkable digital camera from one of the world's leading camera manufacturers. And while its general abilities are sufficient for most of us average picture takers, the addition of Wi-Fi and the camera's built-in software to take advantage of that wireless ability certainly makes this camera stand out in the crowd.
Windows- and Macintosh-compatible, the EasyShare-One camera sells for $599.95. The Easy
Share-One Photo Printer Dock Plus Series 3 goes for $179.95 at www.kodak.com.


A butt-kickin' rumble for video gamer's chair
By RON HARRIS
Associated Press
11/7/2005





Associated Press
Buttkicker Gamer powerfully shakes center post of a player's chair when a video game emits low bass audio frequencies.
SAN FRANCISCO - In an effort to deliver the ultimate sensory experience, most top video games marry earthshaking sounds with high-quality graphics.
It's a goal that often falls a bit short.
Let's face it. Sitting in a chair playing video games feels pretty much just like sitting in a chair.
That's where a new device called the Buttkicker Gamer comes in.
It's a thick metal device ($170) that clamps tightly to the center post of most office chairs. Powered by a 100-watt amplifier and low frequency transducer, it shakes powerfully when a game emits low bass audio frequencies.
Delivering physical feedback to a gamer is not new, but previous efforts have tended to focus on gentle buzzing and making a hand-held controller vibrate.
The Buttkicker Gamer takes all that to a whole new level - the seat of the pants - and it works quite well.
The manufacturer suggests using the device to feel the gaming action without having to crank the sound. I found it fun to do a bit of both.
I tried the unit with two of my favorite action-packed PC games - "Boarder Zone," a snowboarding game, and "Counter-Strike," a first-person shooter. It took some fine-tuning with the low cutoff and high cutoff frequency buttons. Toying with those allowed me to adjust the rumble delivered to the clamp, and by extension, my seat. I turned on the high and low cutoff buttons and set the frequency knob to 40 hertz, per suggestion of the manual. Other adjustments can be made if the user is going to sit in the Buttkicker powered chair and listen to music, but I wanted to play.
The suggested settings worked well. When I cranked the Buttkicker output too high, my chair rattled at even the slightest bass frequencies, scaring the daylights of me and my dog.
On the snowboarding game, the Buttkicker rumbled as I made a hard landing. In "Counter-Strike," it was the loud blast from my weapon or a nearby explosive device that got the Buttkicker going.
Some more docile games didn't lend themselves to such feedback, and I often found myself reaching to disable the Buttkicker and re-enable my plain old 2.1 subwoofer.
But this device by The Guitammer Co. delivered quite an experience as billed, and it got me looking forward to trying dozens of games on my shelf all over again to see if it will kick new life into them.

On the Net:
www.thebuttkicker.com

and Oldhouses.com are two of the sites that I got these pictures from. I think there was another site with some pictures from Toronto I got these from a Yahoo search. Again I repeat these are not my pics and I did not take them they are from the web. I plan to put up a few more when I have more time. Hopefully if i search again I can find some from Buffalo but who knows this is a good start.



















I don't know why I like victorian houses but for some reason I do. I like around here how they make them bright or at least with high contrast. Hopefully I will get around to taking some pictures around Buffalo. I have a few but I need to go out one day and put a day in around delaware and maybe even go down to the rich part of town near McKinley and take pictures of those huge houses but for now pics from other people on the web will do. ok back to football.

I heard a brief little story about coke vanilla being phased out. I think it is to bad and I wonder what ther black cherry vanilla will taste like. Gross I think besides there is allready the classic Cherry coke wich tastes much better then cherry pepsi just like the vanilla did. I don't care if you call it pop or soda the full term is soda pop. An icecream soda is soda mixed with icecream ever heard of an ice cream pop, yes and it is a complete differant thing it is one of many icecream novalities. It is known as Soda because it comes from a soda machine. The stuff in cans and bottles dosn't and is a completely differnt product but most people call it soda wich is incorrect soda is more of the bubbley water stuff. Ok i'm going off point i don't care what you call it pop or soda I use both, i had to poke holes in the argument for both sides. I prefer Pepsi to Coke. But the Vanilla coke tasted better then Pepsi Vanilla. (on a side note does anyone know where to find lemon pepsi or pepsi vanilla every where I go I only see diet?, Thanks!!!!) Vanilla Coke tastes verry stongly of Vanilla and has a little bit of coke flavor. The Pepsi Vanilla is just the oposite it mostly tastes like pepsi with a little vanilla. I remember for years only coke made flavored cola in the cherry coke and pepsi fans wished and wished pepsi would come out with one and they did. Cherry pepsi is good but not as good as cherry coke. I was surprised when both coke and pepsi came out with the lemon then the lime but no lemon lime. They came out with lemon first but I thought it should have been lime first. Adding your own lime to your soda was done in my family for years and adds that something to it that is really good that is why i'm surprised lemon came out first but maybe somepeople did it that way. Putting a lime in is still better then the lime flavored pop but when you don't have limes (I never do) it works preaty good. When I go somewhere that has a fountain like Burger King I like to make Spokes. If done correctly they taste amazing. The trick is to add sprite to the bottom then coke on top. if you mix the proportions right the drink is still dark and tastes like coke but you get the lemon lime flavor. Be verry carefull if you over fill the sprite it can taste kinda icky you taste the sprite and the coke instead of just the lemonlimeyness. In any event here is an article from I think USA today's website.

Coca-Cola to phase out Vanilla Coke as sales decline
NEW YORK (Reuters) — Coca-Cola (KO) said Friday it would phase out its Vanilla Coke, Vanilla Diet Coke and Diet Coke With Lemon beverages in the United States by end of this year.

Coca-Cola says it must remain flexible as beverage landscape changes.


The announcement came a day after the world's largest soft drink maker said it would phase out Vanilla Coke and Vanilla Diet Coke in the United Kingdom early next year. The company said sales have declined.

Coca-Cola added that it plans to introduce Diet Black Cherry Vanilla Coke and Black Cherry Vanilla Coke in the United States in January 2006.

The company said Vanilla Coke, which was introduced in the United States in 2002 and Diet Vanilla Coke in 2003, could return sometime in the future. Details about whether Diet Coke With Lemon, which made its U.S. entry in 2001, would be brought back were not available.

"I don't know if we have ever taken out a flavor and brought it back to the market, but the landscape continues to change and we want to be as flexible as possible to adapt to the changing landscape," said Scott Williamson, a spokesperson for Coca-Cola.

The phase out follows declining sales for the brands in the United States.

Vanilla Coke sales slipped to 35 million unit cases in 2004 from 90 million unit cases in 2002, while Vanilla Diet Coke sales dropped to 13 million unit cases last year from 23 million unit cases in 2003, according to Beverage Marketing, a beverage research and consulting firm.

Sales of Diet Coke with Lemon have fallen to 9.9 million unit cases in 2004 from 24 million unit cases in 2001, data showed.

Analysts have said that one of the keys to the company's future is to innovate new products that will help Coca-Cola capture more consumers who have moved away from sugary soft drinks to diet versions, or to healthier low-or no-calorie beverages such as water and orange juices with reduced sugar.

Both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, the No. 2 soft drink company, are battling for the allegiance of increasingly picky U.S. consumers. The United States is the largest market for the soft-drink companies.

"It is a rapidly changing beverage landscape and it is important for Coke to move quickly to deliver on what the consumer wants," said Gary Hemphill, managing director of Beverage Marketing. "The competition for shelf space is intense."

Shares of Dow component Coca-Cola were down 31 cents at $42.27.

Sabres: Wendsday I went to the Sabres. They have been running ads for weeks about it being Hasek Vs. Miller. But that wasn't true at all miller got injuried and is expected to be out about 8 weeks. The Senators went with there back up goalie (somebody) Emery. The sabres wound up getting destroyed. Hopefully they can get a win tonight at home. I was thinking about going I was also thinking about going to see Opeth at The Showplace. That being said I still had a good time I was in the 7 row so that was cool. I would have like to got a picture of Biron but he was pulled quickly and returned in the 3rd period but that was at the opposite end from where I was. I hope to get to another game hopefully Miller will be back in net then.

Hatebreed: Hatebreed put on an amazing show last night at The Showplace. I only have on CD of theirs so there was a lot of music I didn't know. But most of the stuff I didn't know was still nice and heavy. They also had good supporting bands. I don't remember what they where all called. I think the sound could have been better for a couple of them, but maybe that is just how they sound and I don't know that since I don't know there music. I remember "Most precious Blood" I wish I could remember the names. I had a blast and was worn out by the end of the show. Watching the pit can be fun in itself. I'm not a pitter and even If I was I wouldn't at a hardcore show. In conclusion it was a great time and "Hatebreed" was amazing they have been togather for 10 years I had no idea that they had been.

Pictures that I took at the sabres game. #39 Dominick Hasek. I hope everyone enjoys them. I ran into trouble with my batteries so getting great pics became diffacult but I think most of the pics of the game and the arena came out good.

A church near where I work, might be in West Seneca close to the border

I forgot to mention a good Kung Fu movie I saw over the weekend. It is really more then just that it has spies and love and fighting all mixed in. I don't want to tell to much about it cause any thing else I say would give it away. It was also visualy stunning and had great color to it. "House of flying Daggers" was really good, you might even like it if you arn't into Karate movies cause there is a lot of story to it also.

I plan on going downtown on wendsay and go buy a Sabres ticket. I want to see the battle between Miller and Hasek as it is being billed. This assumes that I have the energy to go. I also hope to take some pictures at the game and hopefully post them soon. Then On Thursday It is off to see Hatebreed. I forget who is opening up for them a know there are a few bands. I was supposed to look them up, to late now I guess. I don't have any plans for friday but I would like to see Opeth but I don't think that is going to Happen. I'm allready looking towards the weekend hope it is great for everyone.

I admit I did enjoy the party and had a verry good weekend. I would have been there sooner but I got into the sabres game then nooded off when the game was tied, woke up saw the highlites that we won. But when I woke up on sunday I was very tired. I came here and posted the pics and watched football. I have to admit I fell asleep on the eagles and woke up on the second quarter of the Bills game. I watched the end of that game, and saw them blow the game or maybe New England was really that good. But what I don't understand is why I woke up tired. I understand during the week when I have an alarm. I know there is this internal clock sord of. But with leaving so late that should have been thrown off and my body should have rested. The other weird thing is I felt kinda lonely all day. Lonely isn't really the right word to describe it. I have felt this way in the past after big events Like Warped tour and Edgefest. Events where there are tons and tons of people. It is a kinda let down and by yourself kind of fealing but not really lonelyness. Does anyone else know what I mean and had that or Am I alone on this one? (still fealing that way a bit today but not as much)

On a seperate note The Steelers are on tonight. I hope I can stay awake during Wrestling so I can check in on commericals and catch the end of the game. Go Steelers. Hey My Raiders and 49ers won and that dosn't happen to often in the same week anymore. At 8 i'll watch wife swap. I think that is a great reality show. There is no sex invovled it isn't that kind. Wives switch familes and see how other familes live for a week. Then after a week each wife gets to change how the family they are staying with lives. I think it is a cool way to see how differant people live in there familes and the culture of families. Most of the time both families at least change a little bit from the experance but there are a lot of bumps along the way.

I hope everyone is having or had a great Halloween. I can't chat cause I don't want to bump that dancing picture of TK down. Happy Halloween!!!!!!!!!!

I had fun last night at the Halloween Party. I admit I may have been a bit on the silent side. But over time as I get to know people better I will get louder. Not that I go to verry many parties but this was a differant kind for me. There are the family get togathers for graduations, then the house party with dancing and BBq's some time. Then there are those parties after a college sporting event. Where games of asshole (no idea how to play it but funny to watch) and all out wrestling have broken out.

I know if I list people that I meet for the first time I will forget someone not on purpose or anything but here goes, (e:jim) , (e:alison) , (e:Paul) , (e:Matthew) , (e:Drchlorine) , (e:terry), (e:Leetee), (e:joshua) and TK. Some quick Observation everyone there seemed cool that I meet. I don't know how to describe everyone and it really wouldn't be fair since it is my first time meeting them with the exception of (e:Jason) and (e:ladycroft) (she rules by the way). I will say this though Paul seems like a very cool mellow guy, I don't know what I was expecting but I wasn't that. Matthew (from what I over heard) is very smart. I can say that it was a verry positive experance.

In terms of costumes I liked Comic themes like Joker and Posion Ivy, and Aqua man. But I think the best one was Timeka's from metriod. Alltough I have to admit Marilyn was verry hot. I have a bunch of pictures I took below. Hopefully I will be at the next party to and get to know everyone a little better.

As I'm sure a lot of you know there is a new "shitrag" as (e:jason) might call it called BUFFALO CURRENT. (I assume it is new and not the beast repackeaged, if you want to find out where there are a lot of strip clubs pick up nightlife magazine they have a lot of strip clubs listed in the back) I picked one up for two reasons there is an article I havn't read about Buffalo getting a stripclub or would that be not getting one. Plus my former bosses brother is a basketball coach and it might be interesting to read about him. Here is the part that I don't get. Why can't there be a Strip Club in Downtown Buffalo. I heard it wasn't the type of entertainment or venture that they are looking for. The same people who say this think A casino is Ok and and all the chipewa bars. For those of you who don't rember there used to be strip clubs there. I wasn't old enough to go. There is a strip club called the Colony in north buffalo. Not sure if Club Chit Chat is techniquly in Buffalo or not. But I think there is nothing wrong with having a strip club above a localy owned downtown restruant. Yes plays, galleries,sports, gambiling, drinking and finding a girl to take home with you is all fine and I don't have a problem with any of it. But I think it is hypocritical to say it is ok to get crazzy on the chip strip and bet all your money away but you can't look at topless girls dancing as you eat or drink. I think that what makes an area of a city or town is diversity. I will use Downtown toronto as an example. I don't know a lot about it so this is all just from personal knowledge. To me China town is part of downtown. You have small shops, places to eat, adult bookstores, various places to eat chains and non chains, drug stores, stripclubs, Theatre, movies, sports (leafs, raptors, blue Jays, the rock, The Argonots), The Eaton Center, and things at Dundas Square. I think that is what get people to come someplace. I have never been to NYC. But if I went to see {don't remeber the exact name of it} the stage verision of Monty Paythons Holy grail I would want to do more then just that. I would like to Visit Fuze, MTV, Hardrock cafe, Statue of liberty, maybe a rangers game and some fun at night. I don't think a city should turn down something down because it isn't part of what they think fits the city. Maybe some people who normally go see hot young girls in falls would go see the tamer Downtown version. Plus who is to say that once the casino is bulit that the Indains won't put a strip club on there land, who knows. It just pisses me off when everyone gets overly political and they wind up stopping things from happening. I don't think I'm ever going to see a new bridge built to canada. If this was a little ranty sorry, just wait untill I read the article maybe it will change my view a little.


I hope that the pictures I added to the post help to show my point. Since I have gotten the digital camara I do have Toronto pics but not as many diverse places as i would like. But I think that some of these pictures help to show what I mean. Yeah so one of the places I thought had a funny name. I don't think I have posted any of these pics before if I have sorry

I admit that this post my wind up sounding kinda wacky but I appoligize for that in advance. Something ladycroft said in her post got me thinking. I forget what the comment was and I'm not sure what she meant entirely. It was something about how ladies don't have to look like clothes hangers. That got me to thinking about how I like some really thin un healthy looking girls like Fiona Apple and Paris Hilton (looks wise). But those are not the only type of ladies I like from a physical perspective. That got me to thinking about people who suffer from Body dismorphia, wich is basicly not matter what size you are not seeing how you really look. I know it is more complicated then that it is a disorder or maybe even a condition or mental illness. That got me to thinking about gender and how confussing that can be to somepeople. Someone can be born a man anatomicly and feal like they are a women. Then once they are a women still date women. That seems odd. Why not just be a guy and date them instead of being a lesbian. But it is more complicated then that. Just because your sex organs and your gender does or doesn't match is what makes you gay or stright those are two differant things that over lap. I know Jerry Springer wasn't the only one to say this "I'm a lesbian traped in a Man's Body" it was said jokenly because he was a stright guy. I think that if I was a chick instead of a guy I would still want to be with chicks. Ladies look so much nicer then guys do. I also think I would do guys to and do as many of them as I could, but I'm just guessing. Again I don't really have a point other then gender and sexuality is more complicated then a lot of people think. I'm a guy who likes ladies and find differant ones atractive for differant reasons and I'm lucky. Going up to someone to talk to them is hard enough. I can't imagine trying to tell if someone of my own gender is gay or stright. maybe I just watch to many educational shows and dramas like queer as folk and the L word. I did have sord of a point when I started this but I completely lost where i was going. Thanks for bearing with me, maybe I'll see you guys and gals around soon.