:)

But I have little surprises from Soph, the promise of driving next weekend, BMW window shopping, a hug from Alex, and the ever-wonderful Erin (I never realized I'd end up missing her) to make me feel better. Thank you people and machines! I love you all! Perhaps I will go out next year. :)

:(

After a two-hour audition with Ransom Notes, I got really excited about that group. It was a blast singing with them. And then I didn't get called back. Frowny.

The entertainment center begins!

Warning: tech nerd post.

Remember my ambitious plan for creating the ultimate home theater? Well, the first phase is halfway complete and it'll be done around next weekend.

Here's the phase one setup:
Consoles with integrated DVD player
PC
Cable TV
LCD screen displaying all consoles and PCs
2.1 sound system for all consoles and PCs

Phase two is the final design:
Consoles and wireless controllers!
PC for gaming and general PC use
Cable / HDTV
Second PC for DVDs/MP3s
Projector for displaying all systems
6.1 sound system for all systems

So here's my setup as it will be at the end of next week:
PS2 (serving as DVD player) connected to Console Switch [not plugged in yet, have to get another power strip]
Gamecube connected to Console Switch
Audio output from computer connected to Console Switch (2.1 output from a 1/8" jack through a stereo RCA Y-splitter)
Video output from computer connected to LCD through DVI
Console switch outputs to Video Processor Box (proprietary RCA connector)
Cable TV inputs to Video Processor Box
Video Processor Box outputs sound to my 2.1 speakers
Video Processor Box outputs video to LCD through VGA (I have a dual-input monitor) [Mommy's shipping my VGA cable from home, I should get it right around the start of the weekend. At the moment, we're outputting to my roommate Tim's monitor.]

And of the setup I have so far, it's friggin' cool. Super Smash Bros is obviously what we play, and I have good and bad thoughts. The picture quality is great as far as interference from the box, and there's no lag time, but it's jaggy like playing an RCA Gamecube on a HDTV. The framerate makes up for it though: a true 60fps is a gorgeous thing. Or I can just sit away from the screen. Cable TV is picture-perfect (and it's a great thing to have in the dorm for free). I'll take some pictures soon of the whole setup. By the way, I spent exactly $85 for this setup; the only part I didn't have laying around was the video box. A pretty sweet setup for that kinda cash, I say.

A few words on 9/12

So on Friday I was walking across campus to class when I had to cross the West Mall in the afternoon. For non-Austinites, the West Mall is a courtyard on campus where early in the year lots of student organizations set up booths to try to recruit people. Lo and behold, the Knighthood of Buh set themselves up out in that courtyard on September 12th, with large patriotic signs that said "NEVER FORGET 9/12" and a PA system bellowing emotional quotes over Enya music. Oh, and several Knights handed out American flags to passers-by.

I laughed.