Thursday, April 19, 2007

Rush to Work, Rush to Home

I headed off to work early this morning as I always do. I'm usually out the door by 6:30am long before my family is awake. Today was no exception.
I was on my coffee break at work when I received a message that my wife was urgently trying to get a hold of me. I gave her a call and find out that my daughter is at school and has been vomiting and having serious cramps.
I quickly go to my boss and inform her that I have to leave to pick up my daughter from school. As I head out, I find out from my wife that she has contacted our neighbour to have her drop by the school to pick up our daughter. I get home just as they pull up to the front door too. My daughter looks fine when I see her, but she is physically drained. I give her some Advil, and she goes to lie down where she falls asleep in no time.
I'm sure that everyone at work is wondering what happened to me, as I left fairly quickly without saying goodbye to many there. My mind wasn't on the job at that point, but was preoccupied with all kinds of thoughts and it was flying to the school ahead of my body, as I'm sure it would have for most parents.

Beta tester post#2

If you liked my recent post on beta testing, then you might be interested in a couple of MMORPG games that have opened up for beta testing.
The first one looks like it will find a greater audience as the title needs no explanation or introduction. It's an online game based on the world of The Lord of the Rings. I've already tried out the beta and it looks like it will be an amazing adventure. Hopefully, the virtual world doesn't get spoiled by all the tweeny-boppers that inhabit these online communities these days. Part of the reason I don't play online games. I just don't have the reflexes or the patience to deal with the immaturity of most online players. The beta test download will allow you to play at least until the game goes on sale on April 23rd.
I haven't yet had a chance to install and review the second game, but I'll mention it here as it is another beta. It's based on the Conan fantasy world created by Robert E. Howard. I may give it a shot, but I have my reservations about this one.

Infrequent postings and a free gift

I find that time flies by between my posts these days. I want to post something here daily, I really do, but with other things to occupy my time I find my posts don't come as often as I like. I admire those that can commit to maintaining a daily blog.
Below is a free PC software link for a cool desk app I've installed recently. It simulates a Mac-like dock on your desktop. Have all your favorite programs and icons available for you in an attractive 3d-like window. Go to the site and watch the video to get a better idea of what it does.
Punk Software - RocketDock
I love finding interesting software online. It's an added bonus when it's offered up for free! Let me know if you come across any software that you think I might enjoy.

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Calling all Beta Testers!

Beta testing has always held a strange fascination with me. It kind of feels like being invited into a top secret club, with a special V.I.P. pass reserved for the elite. It's not the easiest thing to get invited to. I managed to a chance to beta test Microsoft Office and Vista long before they both launched. It was a lot of fun to see the changing stages of development as each new beta was released for testing. I also recently beta tested Norton Security's latest venture called Norton 360. I found the software very buggy (which has to be expected), and the early betas were not that compatible with my system. I uninstalled it and started trying it again, just before it was released. As a thank you, Norton gave a select few, (I was a lucky one as well) access to the RTM version as a free download.
I'm currently beta testing Adaware 2007. If you've always wanted to be a beta tester, then here is the link at Lavasoft, to register to be a beta tester. Not sure how long this link will be active:
Adaware 2007 beta
Adaware is a great program for scanning your system for spyware. If you've never tried it, then head over to the Lavasoft site and download the free version.
Just keep in mind that beta software can sometimes play havoc with systems and could end up screwing up your OS forcing you to do a complete reinstall. So don't blame me if something goes wonky with your PC. That's part of the fun of beta testing!
It would be even more fun to be a beta tester for console games. Anyone have any idea how to participate in that kind of testing?

Monday, April 2, 2007

Blogmarked bookmark #1

I have so many sites bookmarked, and a few that I feel that I should share with you. I'll be adding a favorite bookmark of mine every once in a while on this site.
The first one is a site that I've found called Game Giveaway of the Day.
If you visit the site each day, you'll be presented with a game that is normally a shareware/retail game that you must pay for. However, if you download and install that game on that same day, you get to keep the game for free! Granted that not everyday will offer you an exciting game, but hey, it's free. Just visit each day, and you're sure to find a few games that might interest you. They have an archive of past games so you can get an idea of what's been made available in the past. Lately there have been many varieties/versions of Araknoid/Breakout games and several childrens games as well.
If the game doesn't interest you, then have a look at their sister site, Giveaway of the Day where you can find applications and utilities to make your computing life easier.
Game Giveaway of the Day

Waiting to Wii


What does someone have to do to get a Wii these days?
It seems that they're still hard to come by at the stores..in fact, I've given up looking for them a loong time ago. I'm not the type to stand in line for hours or days to get one. If it's not in stock then I'll be patient. Last time I tried getting one about a month and a half ago, I was told that stores would have plenty of stock by April. Well, it looks like Nintendo has played an April Fools joke on those of us that don't have one yet as I haven't seen a single one in stores or even in bogus Future Shop ads. Those are the ads where they show an item in the flyer, but that item is no where to be seen within 100 miles/kilometers of any of their stores. Sorry, but I haven't fallen for that ploy for about 8 years now, since you suckered me into your store with the promise of a very low priced hard drive that didn't exist. Best Buy, you're just as guilty, so don't look so smug.
Anyway, back to the Wii. There's a contest on this website called Uneasysilence that is giving away a Wii, no questions asked. There is one catch however, which is why I'm writing about my Wii experiences. If you want to find out more, then check out the contest. You have till April 6th to enter.