Done with XBOX 360. Next console for me will be PS4.

It is true that XBOX Live's paid subscriptions enabled Microsoft to give a richer online experience. And people saw value in that. But for me, I don't really care anymore (and I never really cared) about all the other stuff. It's just a lot of extra fluff that takes my time away from doing things I'd rather be doing. I just want to play GTA 5 online, and the fact that MS is essentially charging me to play a free game online, just makes the subscription absolutely not worth it. I don't think I'm the only person that feels this way. MS should be thinking of offering their XBOX Live Gold for free because the world is waking up to the fact that there is richer content outside of their paid services, and it can be enjoyed without having to give Microsoft any money. Their ploy on charging people for free content is up.

Why people love double entendres

A great double entendre is something of wonder. It's like seasoning to a lovely dish of phrases that adds a je ne sais quoi to the interpretation. It says something, without saying it directly. This gives the reader a chance to connect with the author in a powerful way because it's like a secret message, that is deciphered between the reader and the author. If anything, it is a clever way to deliver clearer imagery. So as in terms of human needs perspective, it is a 10/10 for connection, and maybe 8/10 for significance. That is like a magic bullet to the emotionally famished mind. It is a lethal headshot of a wide spectrum of synapses fired in the brain. Also, people just like being mentally stimulated of nothing in particular, which probably makes the brain work harder for a longer period of time rather than saying something smart that can be understood easily. It makes you look smart for coming up with something clever, and it makes you feel smart for being able to comprehend it. I wish I can infuse a double entendre in every paragraph I write.

fake crowd noise for UFC ppv events

Out of the 15 years or so of watching every UFC event, today was the first time I noticed fake crowd noise during the Kauffman Vs Eye event. I understand why they do it. It just looks really terrible when there is no crowd noise, but what is worse is people finding out that they are adding these sound clips for effect.

Wallpaper in Windows 7 looks terrible, low quality, and colors are off

Set BMP bitmap file as wallpaper in Windows 7

How to set original BMP file a wallpaper in Windows 7
I can't believe it is 2013 and we have 8 to 16GB of RAM on computers, and we're still facing these problems.

The problem is that when you set any image as your background, windows will convert the image to a JPG with high compression.  It will place the file here

C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Themes\TranscodedWallpaper.jpg

and it will just use that file to set your background from now on.  Unfortunately, you are likely to see jpeg artifacts.  Now, if you already have a JPG file, it will not do a conversion but there is an additional problem with JPG files even at the highest settings.  You are less likely to notice this with pictures, but when you are dealing with graphics with gradients, the JPEG formats are terrible handling smooth gradients.  

So the solution is to trick Windows to using a BMP as a wallpaper, not the JPG.   So what you can do is save your wallpaper to the size of your resolution.  Then simply change your extension of the file from JPG to BMP.  Then right click on the JPG file (disguised BMP file), and choose "set as desktop background".  This sounds like your computer would horribly crash, but the thing is, it is using the file extension to detect if conversion needs to be done, and it uses the mimetype of the file to read the image (your BMP file is still mime type "image/JPEG"), so it's safe, and works well.

And it's like when you put on glasses for the first time.

Video Copilot Optical Flares light flickering problem

Been learning a lot of Adobe After effects.  When I would render a video, the light flares would flicker.  It may seem normal at first, but when you see that it's a distraction, you realize it's not how it is supposed to work.  On my computer, I have a built-in Intel 4000 HD graphics.  And I had set After Effects to render using the GPU.  I changed it back to the CPU and the flickering is gone.

Adobe CC has earned my subscription

So I finally made the jump from Adobe CS6 to Adobe CC.  I hated the concept of CC, but honestly, they've earned my subscription.  Adobe is one of the only pieces of software that I can say has made a big impact in my capabilities and livelihood.  Although the changes might seem minor, I really do look forward to their smallest of updates.  Although I wish some of their programs were better integrated to suit my needs, I understand why they are not integrated to serve the masses.  Just a year ago I've become a heavy user of their video editing features of the suite, which I had never touched previously, but now it is what I spend the most time with.

Let's hope they don't come out with something like Adobe CC2 and jack the prices up every time they add a digit.

Speaking of videos, the Samsung Galaxy Note III will be announced in about 3.5 days.  Let's hope it stirs excitement like the Note II did.  Looking forward to making videos again now that I'm done with my summer Android programming class.

Icons not showing up in Windows 7.

I ran into one of the most obscure troubleshooting tips today on the Internet.  My icons weren't showing up properly, and although the instructions were obscure, it worked like a charm.  I thought I'd echo it on my blog just in case the link changes.  http://www.sevenforums.com/general-discussion/9973-icons-not-showing-up.html

Here's a cut and paste from that link:

1. Press Ctrl-Shift-Escape to get the task manager.
2. In the Processes tab, click on explorer.exe and click End Process. You'll get a confirmation dialog. Click "End Process" to confirm.
3. From the File menu (still in the task manager), choose New Task (Run...).
4. Copy/paste/enter the following command in the run box:
   Code:

   cmd /c del %userprofile%\AppData\Local\IconCache.db /a

5. Open the Run box again with File --> New Task (Run...). This time, enter this command:
   Code:

   explorer.exe

6. All should be okay now. Open the Start Menu and confirm that your icons are fixed now.