October in New England

I forgot how sweet the air smelled. The smell of fresh ripend fruits in the air, the sound of nature...crickets, birds etc. I sat on the front porch watching two cats chase each other around the street. The neighborhood was pretty much how I remembered it. The school at the end of the street, an area which I never explored for reasons I cannot to this day explain why. The small gutter along the side of the road for runoff, the trees though now taller than before were still there. The fig tree in the back yard. The town was old, but still kicking. We had just returned from a day of walking around Spightstown, a small town in St. Peter Barbados. The food was probably the best I've had outside of the United States, and the waters were crystal clear. This was the third day of our cruise of the Caribbean, starting in St. Thomas (USVI) two days before and then to Dominica.

Day One
It was raining when the Desinty arrived in the port of St. Thomas, this made me remember the weather report before leaving boston..rain and 55 degree weather all week. A grin appeared on my face, taking in the fact that while it was raining, the temperature was no where near 55 and I was on a beautiful caribbean island. The day was spent browsing shops, dodging rain drops and taking in the sights.

Day Two
Dominica was hot! No rain just heat. A member of our party, and family friend had connections on the island. So we spent most of the day at her friend's house. He was from England and had a rum that would knock you on your ass! The house was on a hill that was surrounded by the most beautiful mountains I have ever seen. (pics coming soon) From the house you could look down to the harbor where the Destiny was docked. The hospitality of our host was unparallel.

Day Three
Barbados, my island of family origin, was by far the most enjoyable of the 4 islands I visited during this week. It was tighter security going through the port and the early morning was spent taking care of financial stuff. We meet my aunt and uncle in the capital and went to do a little food shopping and get something to eat. Fromt there we headed to the town where my parents were born and raised. The town was small and quite, very laid back atmosphere. We stopped by a small pub along the beach to...what else but more eating. This is where I had some of the best Bajan food I have ever had (next to my mother's :winky:) The rest of the day was described in the first paragraph of this entry. Afterwards, me, my father and his cousin stopped by a small bar on our way to the port. We put down a few Banks (beer of Barbados) while my mother was outside buying fried fish with all the fixins. The fish was rediculously good. (-_-) Man I'm gonna miss this.

Day Six
You would notice that I skipped a day...well that's cause the ship was at sea for a day. Aruba was pretty much like Barbados, cept the waters weren't that clear and the food wasn't as good. Aruba catered more to tourist more than Barbados with resturants and flashy casinos. We basically spent the day walking around buying souvienrs and ended it with a trip to the beach.

Final Day
Returning to Boston wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Yes the interior of Logan International Airport was depressing compared to the sunny environment I had just left, but a part of me was longing for home. A part of me prefered the fall air of New England over the island. If I could have both when I wanted then I would be in paradise. I can't, so I'll settle for October in New England.

My month!

My favorite month of the year is finally here, and it all started off with a bang with a hiking/camping trip to NH with a few of NU crew. While it walked away with slightly sore muscles, the overall experience was excellent. And after a night of rest and relaxation i'm more than ready for my cruise to the caribbean next week. With the abundance of pictures that I have been taking lately I realized that I need another medium in which to share them with all my friends. I think I'm going to open a flickr account and see how that goes.

Comm Blackout

I am without communication today because I neglected to bring my cell phone with me. It happens. I planned a few purchases for today. The main one was Burnout Legends for my PSP, if it is anything like the others it will be hot.

There were two last minute purchases, one being a CD! I rarely purchase cds and those I do buy I usually have a overwelming sense that its going to be good. I purchased the new Damien Marley cd today at lunch. I just finished it and it has been nothing but pure FYAH all the way through. Go get it! Whats crazy that in a few tracks he sounds very close, if not exactly like Bob Marley. Although that was expected since he is his son. The other was a case for my camera, but that hasn't happend yet looking for a camera place that has one for a good price.

There was more I wanted to write about, but I've lost the motivation to type it at this point.

Cultural Differences

So check this out. Why is it that the Chinese can't handle video games? Now the same can be said about Americans, with increasing worries from conservatives that Rockstar and it's mighty GTA army may destroy our youth. Sure violent crimes are blamed on video game violence here in the U.S. but none are never a direct result of violent game exposure. In China however many deaths are related to video games, and its just video games in general not violent ones. You all may remember the incident a while back where a couple left their infant alone to go play World of Warcraft (**looks around nevously**), which resulted in the death of the child. Well this morning I found another article which told of a woman who killed her fiance because he played too many video games. Apparently the guy was unemployed and was spending more time playing games than looking for a job. Eh.

Update

Just a quick update.
I finalized some loan info with Northeastern yesterday and actually picked up my guest tickets for my graduations next week. Wow time is flying, it's been a long time coming but I'm finally gonna get the hell out of this place. It wasn't all hard, I'm gonna leave this place with a lot of good memories and a lot of lessons learned.
The Phoenix Unlimited Beta aka PUB is in full swing. The site is now intergrated with Digg.com which is a social news site. The news is updated in the right column and there's also a set of highly recommended links for you to check out. Along with the daily highlights the blog section is also updated, (almost much as this site) with a top story from Digg that I find interesting. Note, the PUB is not a tech blog but more of an everything blog. Also make sure to check out the Diggnation podcast (no pod needed).

Meetro (The Location Aware IM Client) Is Coming to the Nintendo DS and PSP

It has been revealed that Meetro software is being developed for the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP. The software will allow users to access AIM, ICQ, YIM, MSN, and Jabber. Meetro could help to not only bring WiFi (gaming and otherwise) to the masses, but also help give Meetro's network the kick it needs to get off the ground and establish a userbase.

>> This is something that many who purchased the Nintendo DS have been waiting for. The DS originally came with the picochat program that was useless unless you were close to someone else who also had a DS. In that case you might as well talk to each other since it would be more efficient. If given the ability to go online via wireless access point this could be the very thing that Nintendo needs to pull the DS out of it's slump.

My apologies if this all sounds a bit one sided, but Sony has pretty much everything right when it came down to creating the next gen handhelds. The only downside I can see to all of this is that this IM program would be somewhat hard to use on the PSP. This looks like it would be Nintendo's time to shine.

read more | digg story

At least they're consistent

Ah another day, another glorious adventure on the T. I realized two things this weekend. One the commute from Lynn to Boston is a hundred times better than the commute from Chestnut Hill to Boston. Two, the commute from Chestnut Hill still sucks ass. (^-^) This morning however it was somewhat humorous, but still sucked.

So the trains on the green line have two compartments with a flex point in the middle. I enter the train from the front and head past the flex point into the second compartment because there seemed to be more room back there. Upon entering the second compartment I then realize why...the AC was only working in half of the train. On one side you have ice cold, on the other you have an oven. Other people realized this too, so by the time I get to my destination half of the train is packed to capacity and the other is near empty.

I capitalized on the situation by standing in the flex point. There I had the best of both worlds with the plus of all the extra room on one side. Space is a precious commodity on the T in the morning. So I arrive at Arlington Station to realize that the station itself was cooler than the hot section of the train I was on. That's surprising just because that station is always hot as hell.
The MBTA reinstated the 130 buses that they pulled last week because of two crashes that indicated there may be a defect in the new model of buses. The MBTA states that service should be returning to normal. I'm sure that noone noticed that the MBTA sucking more than it usually does with the buses gone.

Play ball!

Tomorrow will be the company softball game at Boston Common. Interns (us) vs the Full Staff (them). I haven't decided if i'm going to play yet. The CFO, our boss, have given us the option to sit on the sides and chill or play in the game. So far they're gonna have about 11 people in the field, yes I know that's a lot but we have a lot of employees so what r u gonna do. The plan is to go to a bar/resturant after, so I'm not sure if I want to be all hot and sweaty for that.

I'll smack a muggle up!

So everybody and they baby momma are buggin about this Harry Potter. So to see what the fuss is about I am borrowing the first book "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" from a coworker. I'll let you know how it turns out.

poor ui

i spent about a half an hour to 45 minutes trying to figure out the javascript syndication feature of textameria. in the end to only find out that the shyt was right infront of me in the form of this tiny little button that said 'syndicate'. wtf! this site gets a C- when it comes to user friendly interface and help support. the site isn't easy to use and when you try to go find out what you need to know, that too isn't an easy task. good thing this shyt is free.

also, to let you guys know, you do have the ability to comment on both my new blog (currently underconstruction) and my moblog without having to sign up.

moo?

you know at the top of certain webpages they have those banners that say "catch the robber and win a free ipod," and stuff like that? well i was on my xanga earlier today and there was one with a ufo abducting cows, and you as the farmer had to shoot down this heffer stealin ship with your shotgun. and according to the banner you win a free pda by doing it.
i sat there for a good while and thought about all the conspiracy stuff about aliens and abductions and cow mutilations...and realized...why cows?!
why do aliens choose cows and other farm animals to mutilate? of all the creatures on this planet what is so special about cows?!

just some random thought i had in my head.

now thats a sticky situation

"..life is like an icecream. enjoy it before it melts.." -secret33
ok i tried to write this entry yesterday but technology decided to have a brain fart.
damn these new england summers. normally i shower either at night or in the morning before i leave. now i have to shower at night to wash off the day's filth, and again in the morning to wash off the filth that accumulates overnight!

a bit of good news. i got back my company analysis project yesterday and i was kinda nervous cause i wasn't sure i did it correctly. i wasn't sure that i met the prof's specifications. i thought i would do poorly on it...i got a B+ sooo..fuck it! woot!

mj not guilty - bout facking time.

destiny's child is no more - bout facking time. not that i cared.

and yes it is true...black people do play games like WoW ...dont sleep.

ok this is the last time. hehe i only need one person for this site. just do a free trial and cancel when u get credit. CLICK ME HARD

bulletproof munks

sigh...these wacky kids today. they're like a sponge, soaking up everything that comes within range. unfortunately, just like a sponge boston youth pick up a lot of shyt. over the past couple of years rapper 50 (fiddy) cent has become ridiculously popular, and without having any skill even. and with popularity you get imitation from the younger, less intelligent crowd. the style that began with him, the bulletproof vest has now infultrated boston city streets. a hit with gansta wannabes and a miss with everyone else with the least bit of common sense. my question, the and the question asked by all of those with common sense is ..."why?" one boston youth claims that the faux vest are usually warn by those who are affiliated with gangs. it makes them feel tough and thugish. she continued on to say that it really makes them a target.

now these kids have not only succeeded in looking like alvin and pals (ref earlier post) but now they lock like combat ready chipmunks.

this makes me wonder why gang members haven't started wearing big bullseyes on their chests and backs. maybe with the onset of these fake vest they are not too long off. the bullseye seems like a complementary good, dont ya think?

another thing the amazes me is the amount of clothing that these assclowns wear. currently in the city of boston its about 80 degrees. at this temperature i begin to sweat in a relatively short period of time with the typical attire (shoes, socks, jeans, t-shirt and the optional button-up short sleave shirt, and in light colors mind you). the assclown who wants to be cool wears the following:
baggy jeans, similar to mine but baggier and in black
boots, which i also wear so i let slide
oversided t-shirt (remember if hits the knees its a dress [ref earlier post])
another shirt over that
a thick leather, oversided jacket which is usually worn in the winter (in black)
and a hat, usually a baseball cap

now with all of this clothing combined with the increased temperature, it's amazing that you don't hear about kids passing out left and right from heat stroke. reminds me of when martin lawrence...ah nevermind.

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EDIT
i just realized that the post i was referencing doesn't exist.

communication is key

it seems that i'm the only one left alive on xanga these days, but that's ok cause i'm just gonna keep rollin' them out. anyways the reason why i'm posting.

Myself and a bunch of friends have been using this program for a few weeks now, and we are very pleased with the results.

Skype is bascially instant messenger but with the focus on vocal communication rather than text.

With our first test we had a 5 person conference.
3 People in Boston, MA
1 in California
1 in Plainville, MA (close to the RI, MA border)

The sound clarity is awsome, but it all depends on ur machine and mic setup. And the best part of all is that it's FREE! The program is easy enough to set up, it's just like AIM. And if you're running anything close to a pentium 2ghz then you should be fine. my sn on skype is 'm.sandstorm' so holla at me.

free?

yeah today i was reading the northeastern news (school newspaper) and found out that napster is has this free program for many colleges. the program it seems is coming full circle back to northeastern soon. it's like this as long as you have a college id at the participating school (and live in a dorm, i'm not sure) then you have unlimited downloads from napster for free. the only catch is that you have to pay to put it on a cd or mp3 player.

while this sounds cool, i'm very against being restranded in the way i can use a product that i paid for. i feel this crusade for copyrights by the riaa will get to the point where they're infringing on our rights and then the shyt is really gonna hit the fan.

anyway this entry was just to waste time before going home. gone

manga in my pocket

some of you may recall a while back when i was attempting to get a free ipod. to start off for those who do not know, i did indeed get my free ipod. however what many do not know is that i also got...

... a free IPod Shuffle and a free Sony PSP.

if you too would like a free Sony Playstation Portable, just click the link under the pic and follow the instructions.

now getting free stuff isn't the main point of this entry. i just wanted to let you guys know where i aquired the psp, so when i explain what what i did with it you won't be all, "well where did he get the psp ?"

ok! so i came across an article that showed how to put manga (japanese comics for u non-geeks) on to the PSP. i became interested and decided to try it out. now there is a program called PSPPhoto that compresses the manga images to fit the PSP screen. this is needed because this also shrinks the file sizes down so they don't take up the whole mem stick. after downloading PSPPhoto read the readme file and click on the top link to download the Microsoft .NET Framework, cause the program won't install without them. this is for windows xp users, i'm not sure what they have to the other operating systems. installing the framework was the hardest part for me, cause well i fucked up. lol

but it shouldn't be a big deal for the rest of you...whoever you are.

so i got it up and running and got the files onto the PSP.

as you can see i have Cowboy Bebop on there, however after the first time putting the pics on there i realized that before (or after it doesn't matter) putting them on the psp i had to rotate all the pics counter clockwise so they can be read when the unit is held vertically.

there are other special notes, but you can find them all in the readme file the comes with PSPPhoto.



ok i'm off to work...enjoy.