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Well, what do we think?

I just got her installed this afternoon, may be a few bits missing, but I plan on phasing out my old phpBB2 system in favor of this SMF. phpBB2 is nice and stable, but this other one seems to conform better to the website in general.

I know very few people even know we had a forum, much less used it, but believe it or not it was once a happening place (before the great deadonque.com crash of 2005,) and I intend to get it back to that level once again. Take note of "Dead on Que Dot Com: The Novel" it's an ongoing tale written in turns by Mike and I. Expect new chapters all the time.

I bought an Xbox 360!

Other than the idea that getting a new $400 model for $340 was too good to pass up, I don't know why!

The only game I think I'll get right now is Dead Rising. I can't afford both a 2nd controller and DoA 4 right now, so those will have to wait a month or so. I do also plan on getting a gold subscription and some Marble Blast Ultra before too long.

Anyway, it's in the mail as I type, I expect to have it within a week or so. I'll post honest impressions after a full weekend of play.

So before my big leap over the pacific, I knew that I would be in the air for quite a long time, and my 20-pound laptop was not going to be a part of this trip. One, the battery only last 15-20 minutes, and two, it’s freaking 20 pounds with a 17” wide screen! Perfect for 6 weeks of Machinima in NY, but not for passing 12 hours on a cramped plane. (777 or not, leg-room is primo at 30000 feet) So what does a guy like me do? Takes his freaking sweet 10% off any single item teacher discount, and goes shopping, that’s what!

I wanted something that might be able to play some sweet videos I’ve downloaded off the internet tubes, something that could definitely play my entire average-sized mp3 collection, and it needed to be good for the entire plane ride. Oh, and the most important bit could probably be deduced from the above, but it had to be affordable. VERY AFFORDABLE!

Options? iPod video! Yaaaayyy! It’s so sleek, so sexy, so manly, so Apple! *looks at price tag

Booooooo! It’s for girly men! Only a sissy would need anything like that any way. Out of the way I am shopping here! *Pushes Apple rep aside

Enter the SanDisk Sansa e260 4gig model. Small, sleek, and holy crap, it has all of my desired features! Didn’t know SanDisk made anything larger than those little pocket mp3 players my kid bro uses. But here it is. Very iPod inspired design, no doubt about it, but that’s okay, it’s a good design. At under 200 bucks before my discount, I impulse purchased that sucker and never looked back.

Features that I’ve used so far:

Mp3 playback: Awesome! Using slew of collection browsing options as pre-defined by your WMP playlist, you can sort over to your favorite song, artist, or genre with ease. It also has some EQ settings, with stock headphones on a plane, I just left the EQ off, but I imagine that with powered speakers and a sub, the EQ would work wonders. It also came pre-loaded with some music, some of which was really good. I don’t have a full list, because I only discovered them after I had already loaded it with my own. Anyway, as an mp3 player, this little guy rocks. When you’re jamming hard to Blink between Classic Queen moments, the menu can lag. The music never stops or slows, but if you go nuts with the circle and pressing menu options all at once, it does need a moment here and there to catch up. This won’t happen often, but I was able to repeat it on command. Nothing that demotes the abilities of the player, but still a small annoyance, like shards of TP on your shoe. (The shoe still works, just unsightly!)

FM Radio: Well. It can play Dallas radio, that’s not much, but it’s nifty. You can also record the radio, so you’ll never miss those fancy audio ads that drove you to mp3 in the first place. Reception was okay, didn’t mess with recording, so I cannot comment on that playback.

Video: It will convert nearly any file you toss at her into whatever formant the e200 needs, and it doesn’t take too long at all! (Granted I’m converting with a fairly high-end PC) I loaded up some fan-subs and a few Machinima films. Play back is nice and smooth, but the screen is small so unless your fan-subs use monster font sizes, you will not be able to read it. Also, if your film is large, it will cut it up into segments, but the transition is nearly seamless during viewing. Fake Science looked and sounded awesome, this toy is coming with me on every trip just so I can show off my work on it.

It has a picture gallery feature, but I have not used it yet. I will update this review when I do.

Battery life: 20 hours. No lie. I used it non-stop on both flights coming and going to Tokyo on single charge with 5 days between, and the battery still read ½ when I got home. Each flight is rougly 12 hours.

Bottom line: Buddy likes his Sansa e260 4gig model, and if you’re a windows guy like me who doesn’t need the hole in your wallet the video iPod leaves, then this is the gadget for you! Keep in mind the smallish screen makes play-back with subs worthless, and the tendency for the menu to slug when you’re jamming away, and you’re left with one impressive little toy.

Pictures and a full-feature review soon.

Everything you've ever heard about this town is true.

Yes, even.... that!

Buildings rise to the sky for as far as the eye can see. Strangers on the street treating each other with... get this... respect! People everywhere appear to enjoy their jobs, no matter the position. Almost every site or attraction we hit had at least minimal English so one can at least feel his way to consumer bliss. Grown women dressed as anime maids stand at the ready to serve you a nice meal and call you 'master'. Some people simply ignore you (respectfully, mind you), while many others take pictures when they think you're not looking; as if your whiteness makes you celebrity, or a at least a small freak of nature. Countless vending machines around every corner sell cigarettes, green-tea, and Dragon Balls. Ginger Ale beats out Sprite, and for crying out loud, a large drink there is a small drink here! The trains run on time, every time, no one is ever more than a few moments late. The food comes in every variety you know of, and so much more. If there is something in this world that you truly love, I guarantee that you can find a corner in Tokyo that seems dedicated to you. You always stand to the left on escalators so those in a hurry can run up the right. And a little FYI: bowling lanes are on the 6th floor.

Cheers go out to Aya and Midori for dragging us around like the little lost puppies we were. Pepper wants to give extra “thanks” to Ayumi for hanging out, even if it was just for a little bit over some lunch.

My digital card died unexpectedly mid-way through the trip, so no pics of the famous Akihabara, or much else of the city for that matter, but here are some sweet pics of Tokyo Disney Sea, and a few from my hotel vantage point I took with my 35mm SLR.



More Pictures!

Buddy of DoQ will be stepping out of the office for the next week. Between now and the next update, he will have traveled the distance of mother earth.

Peace!

There will be pictures!