PSP Remote Play Black Magic Redux.

I started off writing this from my PSP via my PS3, but quickly switched over to the more traditional laptop/Word combination. I started off on the PSP, but for some reason the PSP browser could not display this site’s admin page. So I figured I could try to post from my PSP via the PS3; if only I could connect.

I attempted to start Remote Play via the Internet option, but no dice. The Internet option did not work. I am not about to change my router connections again to get this mother to work. Been there, and played those stupid games. Next up was the Private Network option, which worked straight away.

Now that I was connected to the PS3, I decided to check on some background downloads (still downloading the big ass E3 videos), and then decided to see how well PixelJunk Eden played in Remote Play mode. The game worked fine; some lag, but controlled OK. Remote Play in general seems final, but sometimes the key presses get stuck, or lost, which makes navigation a royal pain. Maybe this all comes down to my wireless network connection. I keep debating if I should run some cable, and give my PS3 some juice straight from the wired router, instead of going wireless.

After a little while, I jumped into the PS3 web browser, headed to this site, and started typing this article. As I mentioned above, I gave up rather quickly. I put in the title and decided enough was enough. Typing with the PSP via the PS3 works, but pretty much sucks for anything more than a user name and password. I guess that goes for browsing with the actual PSP; the keypad interface works fine, but not for any serious work.

Browsing from the PSP is kind of cool, but it seems like more often than not it is too much of a hassle to navigate some of the more content rich sites such as ESPN. At least the Fox News site noticed right away that I was a mobile user, and directed me to their nifty little mobile site.

So back to Remote Play. I am not sure what gives, but it still seems like it is too damn difficult to get this feature working correctly. I should be able to access my PS3 via the Internet, but it looks like I am doomed to continue on with the Private Network option.

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PS3 HDD full, but not satisfied.

So as I slowly creep back into a semi disordered gaming jones, I started downloading some E3 content from the PS3 store plus some back issues of Qore that I have not bothered to grab. Imagine my surprise to see that I do not have enough space on my HDD! WTF is up with that? It is not like I have purchased that many games, movies, and to the best of my knowledge, there is no downloaded porn (not that I would look), so how the heck was my HDD already full?

This is sad, but I was not even sure what size HDD was in my PS3 – 40GB or 60GB? I purchased my PS3 June 1, 2007, and while I remembered that I did not have the 20GB HDD model, I could not remember what else was being produced at the time. At any rate, I remembered that it was the 60GB version.

I am still not sure why all my storage space is completely full, but I figure it must have something to do with having 10-12 Qore episodes, a few miscellaneous gaming footage videos. I deleted some 2008 E3 videos to recover a little space, but I am not sure that is going to help.

Demos? This is probably not a complete list, but I think Heavenly Sword (because every boy enjoys a little T&A), Conan (more T&A), Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, DiRT, Sega Rally, maybe a couple of others. Good grief! Do the demos really take up that much space? It is not like I am going to get rid of my paid for downloaded games, so I think my only immediate option is to back up some of the Qore downloads and remove them from my PS3.

The only problem I have is that the memory cards for the various digital cameras in the house are only 2GB, which is hardly enough to backup much of anything. I thought about picking up a new PSP memory stick pro duo, but the prices suck. 4GB will set me back $34.99, and 8GB versions are twice as much. I do not think a new memory stick is worth the price of 1-2 PSP games. Sony and their damn priority formats.

I guess that means I will have to get a portable USB HDD; I probably need one anyway for media backup. Or maybe a regular larger 8GB memory card, which I can actually use for my wife’s digital camera. The memory card would be a slower, but cheaper and useful backup option.

Of course it all begs the question on why would I even want to keep older Qore episodes? Damned if I know, but I guess since I paid for them, I want to keep them. If I can get them to my computer, I can at least burn them to DVD for future reference.

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Monday Gaming Stuff.

These days I get gaming in very small doses. The same goes for looking at videogame centric sites. Hell, I cannot remember the last time I even logged onto a videogame forum. Right now, that is just not my cup of tea. I have such little time to play games; I cannot be bothered to read about them, much less write about my gaming experiences.

What has changed over the last 18-24 months? Well, lots. For starters, I just realized that E3 was last week (maybe the week before last … not that I care). I also let my Official PlayStation Magazine subscription expire. I am not up to date on the latest Qore downloads. I have not preordered the twin football releases of NCAA Football 2010 and Madden 2010.

Things are different, but you will notice that I am actually writing about gaming. What gives? I still enjoy the hobby; I just do not find that much spare time – probably has something to do with work and having three boys. Usually real life events get my gaming jones churning. Last weekend, Le Mans got me into some video game racing. I even ordered a new game. Hmmm …

Over the weekend I started looking for a new racing game. I was really curious if a new F1 game was going to be published, but the best I can tell is that the PS3 version by Codemasters is either unconfirmed or cancelled. Oh, that was when I came across Ferrari Challenge. One thing led to another, and I started reading news about this that and the other, which was when I realized that I missed E3!

There was a time and place when that would never have happed. I even attended E3 years ago when it had a two year run in Atlanta. I realize that E3 is no longer as important as it once was, but it was a sort of reality check that I was so far removed from gaming that I did not give a shit that E3 had come and gone. Strange times …

One of the E3 related spin off bits that I read about this morning was the pricy new PSPgo. My PSP does nothing except collect dust, so a new PSP seems in order. I keep debating if I should sell mine and convert over to a Nintendo DSi, but I cannot convince myself to but bait and take a loss. At any rate, at first glance this newest revision of the PSP seems ill conceived. The system price point is too high, the game downloads are too expensive, and the downloaded selections are rather limited. This commentary from Sports Legends points out all these problems and more:

But the truth is that I would consider paying that much if, and only if, I knew my long term investment would pay off in lots of cool digital-only toys. If the PlayStation store was ready to go with lots of cool applications for the PSP, a system that screams for just such products, I wouldn’t even mind paying a little more for the really premium content. But, from Sony, nothing. It’s like putting a Porsche body on a Chrysler LeBaron and selling trying to sell it for $200,000.

To be blunt,if I’m on a budget I go with Nintendo’s continued DS juggernaut and if I’m looking for a technology novelty or vanity piece of hardware, I get an iPhone or iPod touch with access to an absolutely obscene amount of applications.

Love that Chrysler LeBaron quote! I had a good friend in college that could barely keep his LeBaron going, but man was he proud of that car.

Print magazines such as the Official PlayStation Magazine are antiquated. Except for quality reading time on the throne, I am not sure what they offer, but it still feels odd no longer having any video game magazine subscriptions. Well, I suppose that is not quite right because I do have a digital subscription to Qore. I think that one runs out in July or August, which gives me plenty of time to catch up on the last seven months of downloads.

I think the biggest nut chaser has to be that I have not bothered to order a 2010 EA football game release. I am somewhat torn here. First, do I have the time to take on a new football game, much less two? Second, do I really want to spend $120+ tax just to see if anything changes? Finally, do I try to get a few bucks for my 20th Anniversary Madden while it is still worth $15-20? I got rid of last year’s NCAA Football in enough time to collect close to half price, but it is far too late for last year’s Madden. The real travesty is that I am not even close to getting my $90 worth out of the Head Coach/Madden experience.

Finally, there is the whole “will it even work” thing that I have going against me. My PS3 is as fickle as a teenage school girl. Some days it plays discs, and others it just ignores my advances (err … you know what I mean … the drive will not read games, movies, etc). Right now I do not think I am going to bother sending it off for costly repairs. Replacing it with a new version that does not have the proper PS2 Emotion Engine emulation hardware does not seem like a good option. Besides all that, money for a system repair or system replacement would be better spent of a tailgating grill for the upcoming Falcons season.

So where does this leave us? I am not really sure, but this is a start.

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Sunday Racing Stuff.

This was a great weekend of racing action; on TV (real life and the PS3). First up, congratulations are in order to Corvette for taking first in GT1 today at Le Mans. I wanted a decent amount of SPEED’s coverage, but Le Mans is not the type of race where you just sit down and watch end-to-end. Not to mention the fact that the race is 24 hours, I do actually have a life and commitments outside of watching racing on TV.

Jeff Gordon managed his fuel to a surprise (really a gift) second place finish today in Michigan. He is a healthy second in the Chase, 47 or so points back of Stewart, but only having one win is going to hurt his chances.

PS3 Gaming Update
All this racing action inspired me to try out some PS3 racing. These days I do not have a lot of free time for gaming, and my PS3 is extremely finicky with disc, randomly deciding to read/accept one. This weekend I managed to get in a few minutes with Gran Turismo 5: Prologue and Formula One Championship Edition.

Gran Turismo 5: Prologue
GT5 Prologue is an eye-candy pleasing, fun game, but to be honest, except for the graphics, I like GT4 better. Unfortunately, my two-year old son killed the GT4 disc; I assume I will buy another copy one of these days. I played around with Gt5 Prologue a little; just enough to make me chuckle a couple of times watching the lame AI race around the tracks. Good stuff.

Formula One Championship Edition
Next up was F1CE. This game is still a blast! The simulation mode is far from perfect, and while it is not as brutal as a “pure” simulation, it more than gets the job done. I had a great time just running hot laps in the time trial mode. This game has held up amazing well. It is too bad that there have been no downloadable options, other than rumble support. New circuits, teams, drivers … really any bonus content would be welcome. I think I read somewhere that Codemasters now holds the F1 license, but there is not currently a confirmed PS3 release in the works.

Ferrari Challege
I decided to order Ferrari Challenge for the PS3 from Amazon for $17.99; thanks to second day Prime shipping, the game will be here Wednesday. Sure the game has been out for a year, but that goes a long way to show how much my gaming patters have changed over the last couple of years. There was a time when this one would have been on my preorder list, but to be honest, these days I am so far removed from the gaming community that I assumed this was an arcade game similar the PSP version. Hell, even if was a pure arcade racer, there was a time when I would have had the game in hand on release day, played the heck out of it, offered up some initial impressions, and then go on a 5000+ word diatribe about the game. I digress. Those days are gone.

When I saw the cheap price, I headed to metacritic to check out the game. I am guessing that Ferrari Challenge got lost in the crowded field of other arcade racers – you know the GRID, DiRT, Need For Speed, Motor Storm, and to some degree the beautiful GT5: Prologue. I am going to guess that when everyone figured out you had to work for wins Ferrari Challenge fell by the wayside. Even if I hate the game, for less than $20, I figure that it is not a big loss.

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Team USA salvages 3 points from Honduras.

Team USA solidified its hold on second in CONCACAF 2010 World Cup qualifying with a nice 2-1 come from behind win over Honduras. Last night was almost a complete disaster, but in the end, the three points brings Team USA within 2 of Costa Rica, and 5 clear of El Salvador.

It looks like the US is on solid ground, but there are some serious issues in front of them. With upcoming Confederations Cup games against Italy, Brazil, and Egypt, I think the US squad is in for some serious disappointment. They really need to get sorted out in a hurry. I would be happy with a draw with Italy, and a win over Egypt, but that may be too optimistic the way the US has played the last couple of games.

But with the Hexagonal now halfway done, there are still plenty of concerns for Bradley. The upcoming Confederations Cup was presumed to be a time where he could fine-tune things against top-notch competition. Yet now there are plenty of questions surrounding the makeup of the U.S. midfield, and with Brian Ching out for “another two or three weeks” with a hamstring injury, the forward situation remains equally unsettled.

The way the U.S. has started its recent matches is also alarming. The Americans have fallen behind early in three of their last four games, and while they’ve been able to secure a win and a draw out of those matches, it’s clear that playing with that kind of fire just can’t continue in the second half of the Hexagonal.

All this soccer talk makes me want to get a new PS3 soccer experience, but it seems like there is never time.

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Cheese and crackers! US already down 1-nil.

Un f’ing believable. Not only is Chicago pretty much a home game for Honduras, but Team USA had the indignity of going down 1-0 within the first five minutes.

This time Dempsey made a stupid mistake at midfield, and Honduras quickly capitalized on a quick counter strike. Just like that, Team USA may be done.

I am not sure what it is with this team, but they cannot hold a defensive line, they lack chemistry, and they just look a little bit bewildered at times. Good Lord, I can only hope for a tie.

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Braves screw Glavine.

As a lifelong Atlanta Braves fan, I am seriously pissed. How could the Braves absolutely piss all over Glavine, tell him he is done, and then toss him aside like a discarded bag of stale chips? WTF is wrong with this organization?

The Braves said the move was not about the money, instead insisting that it had everything to do with Glavine’s performance.

“Our evaluation was he would not be successful,” Wren said of Glavine’s major league outlook.

Glavine threw a combined 11 scoreless innings in his last two minor league rehab appearances, including six scoreless innings for Class A Rome on Tuesday night.

“Based on my performance?” Glavine asked, repeating Wren’s assessment. “Well, my bad, I just threw 11 scoreless innings. Was I supposed to throw a no-hitter and strike out 15? That’s never been my style of pitching.”

Well excuse me. What a bunch of f’ing nimrod cowards. How dare they just tell Glavine to f’off? This is just totally ridiculous and unacceptable for what was once considered a class organization.

Granted, Glavine was not going to jump into the rotation and be a number one or two, or even three pitcher, but Glavine could easily help the Braves by being a solid number five. Of course that is not going to happen, and the travesty of this situation is that Glavine is completely estranged from the Braves. What a way to kick this first ballet Hall of Famer in the nuts. Shame on the Braves!

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Running till I am black and blue.

I am still running like a fool; very much into my running program. The new Mizuno Wave® Ronin™ 2 ordered from zappos did not work out so well. The second toe (the one next to my big toe; does it have a name) on my left foot is pretty much done for; black and blue.

I love the shoes; I am kicking ass on my times and distance. Since I started tracking my times off and on over the last three years, I am now running at my fastest ever pace. I am also easily hitting distances that I used to serious struggle to reach. Of course we are only talking 3-4 mile runs, but still, I am happy with my progress.

Back to the Wave Ronin 2 wonder-shoes. They feel light and fluffy, but it looks like I ordered too small again. I originally ordered 10.5 which is what my other Mizuno’s (something or another Wave 3) are, but that was obviously way too small. So I exchanged those for some size 11 shoes, but apparently my left foot is just a little big for these shoes. They fit well, but about a mile into my last run I could tell that things were not going to turn out well. Of course I said screw it and kept on keeping on, much to the detriment of my whatever you call the second toe.

That sound you just heard was me flushing $95 down the commode. Sometimes you just don’t know how a shoe is going to work out until you give it a work out, but by then it is too late to return it for a refund.

I decided to try for the third time; just got another pair of these puppies from zappos. Free next day upgrade and all that jazz. Ordered yesterday; here today. This time I am going with an 11.5 pair of super shoes. Of course this size is probably going to be perfect for my left foot, but too loose for my right foot. I am not sure if I going to try to eBay the size 11 pair, go for the mismatched pair (11.5 left; 11 right), or use the size 11 pair for walking.

I was planning to try out the new shoes today, but the rain kept in the house. Maybe tomorrow or this weekend.

I am kind of surprised that I am not completely pissed off at this point because I am about $190 in on my new running shoes. Good grief. I need a cold one to wash away the pain.

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Glad I missed that one.

Not sure how I forgot that the US had a World Cup qualifier last night against Costa Rica, but I am glad I missed the 3-1 loss. Sounds like the US defense was a mess from the start.

Still, the United States remains in good position to qualify for its sixth straight World Cup as long as it wins its remaining home matches, which include games against El Salvador (Sept. 5 at Sandy, Utah) and Costa Rica (Oct. 14 at Washington).

Let’s hope this Saturday vs. Honduras in Chicago proves easier.

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Backyard weekend pest control.

For your reading enjoyment, backyard pest control is back. A weekend recap of the highs and lows ob backyard springer pest control Beeman style.

Saturday
I took out a destructive chipper at about 20 yards (maybe 23) with my .22 Beeman R1. Of course most casual readers may find chipmunks cute and cuddly types, but the fact is these varmints are plenty destructive, digging up the back yard, and under the foundation of the garage apartment.

Sunday Part 1
Earlier this afternoon, I was switching between the disappointing GA/Ohio St. elimination game, and the Dover race; periodically checking the back yard for varmints. A starling kept making an appearance, but everything I tried to get a zero on the flying rat, it always managed to fly away. So I would go back to the game, and eventually the Dover race; I see no comeback for the Dawgs.

At the first pit stop, lap 31, I decided to check the backyard for varmints. The starling was back. He looked like he was sunning himself, which I thought was a little unusual, because usually they are constantly moving, head bobbing up and down looking for food. I quickly load a Crosman Premier into the .22 R1 and figured the varmint was at about 20 yards. Lined up the crosshair of the ELITE 3200 at 12 power square on his head. Fire! Direct hit and a pass through; I could hear the resounding “thuck” of a clean hit, and then the distinctive sound of pellet on rock (some broken stonework was a few yards behind my target). The varmint dropped like a rock. When I looked at the starling, the pellet hit the top of the back of the head, and passed through at the front of the lower part of the upper breast. Lots of blood; direct hit, easy kill. The power of .22 Beeman R1 is plenty overkill for a starling.

No pictures. Dead is dead; no point in stirring up trouble.

Sunday Part 2
One of the neighbors complained about my shooting. This was the first time anyone has complained, and at the time I was shooting the Beeman R7. Apparently I am sending their dog into the nut house; neighbor complained that she has to give her dog a pill whenever I am out shooting.

This turn of events sort of sucks. Not sure what to do next. I will probably lay off shooting for a week, and then talk with the neighbor to come up with a good time to shoot that would not bother her dog. Good grief; the things I do.

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Georgia now has a tough road to advance.

The Dawgs fell into the losers’ bracket, so now they have to go up against a dangerous Ohio St. squad at noon today. I say dangerous because the Buckeyes will surely want revenge after their drubbing at the hands of the Dawgs a couple of days ago.

If Georgia manages to win, they will still have to beat Florida St. twice in order to advance. Things are not looking all that rosy.

Go Dawgs!

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Saturday Pot Luck.

Better than a Sunday church pot luck dinner; a scrumptious serving of Saturday random nonsense, Recycle Bin style. Enjoy!

Doing the needful.
Oh yes my friends. Rejoice! For sex, and plenty of it is in your future. After all, your wife does care about you, right? Thanks to this article, now you have six damn good reasons for a romp in the hay with your better half. No more “not tonight honey, I have a headache” – what a crock of crap; this excuse is no longer going to fly.

Believe it or not, sexual intercourse burns off 150 calories every half hour. Although the average couple engages in sex for approximately 25 minutes a session only three times a week, it still accounts for 450 calories that are better taken off than put on.If you’re more active than average, then that will only make things more beneficial for you and that lucky gal. A health benefit of sex, particularly a rigorous hour of sex, is that it may burn even more than 300 calories depending on how rigorous you get.

“Honey! Time to exercise!”

Be vewwy, vewwy quiet…I’m hunting wabbits!
Well, at least I would like to read about wabbits, but Amazon has not been able to fulfill my order. I have had “Air Rifle Shooting for Pest Control and Rabbiting”? by John Bezzant (2009; Hardcover; $31.50) on order for a while, but no dice yet. Too bad; the book sounds interesting. Amazon keeps sending me “we are still trying to locate this book emails” – I may just have to cancel and order from their UK store.

Paul Tracy’s Blog
What a pleasant surprise to find (A) an athlete that can put pen to paper (B) a racer that is down to earth (C) an entertaining blog by none other than Paul Tracy.

Over the last week I have linked to a few RACER.com stories. Their new site has a few interesting tidbits including Tracy’s blog.

He [A.J. Foyt] was mid-story-telling of how their race went at Indy, and suddenly I blew a driver’s-side tag-axle tire on the RV. It just exploded on me, and got chewed up and hung up on the Jeep, so it started rocking around all over the place too. So I’m trying to drive something that suddenly felt like a giant sprint-car, trying to keep it out of the ditch. I’ve got one hand on the phone, one hand on the wheel, both feet on the brake pedal trying to get the freakin’ thing slowed down but not wanting to interrupt A.J. mid-sentence or cut him off. But eventually when he paused to take a breath, I said, “A.J., I’ve got to take a break, I just blew a tire,” and he said “OK,” and hung up.

College World Series Regionals
Georgia gets Florida St. today at 4PM. Follow all the action here.

PS3 Stuffs
I think my PS3 is still alive and kicking. It has been randomly accepting and rejecting discs, with no particular rhyme or reason. The only constant is that Blu-ray movies would spin like crazy with a horrible sound. Thankfully, the PS3 did not scratch any of the discs.

Just for the hell of it I wondered if the drive was out of alignment. I turned off the PS3, took a disc that I could a crap about, and forced the disc into the PS3. After all, that is more or less what my two-year-old son did in the first place. Of course I stopped at one disc; he went for three, but that story has already been told.

I turned on the PS3, and now all is in order. Strange. Could have just been a random coincidence, but I was able to watch Spider-man 2.1, so I am not complaining. Will have to give a game or two a go today to see if things are still on the up and up.

If the PS3 is still working I am going to have to finally get Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. It has been a long time coming getting this one to Greatest Hits status. $29.99 is a good deal.

The bad news is that I was thinking about throwing my unopened copy of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots on eBay, but I may as well open it up and play it now.

It is about time for my yearly Madden and NCAA Football purchase. Am I going to do the double again this year? Sure. It is tradition!

Mmm … amber liquid goodness
Because sometimes you have to do what you have to do. Pour you a sipping glass full of some delicious Knob Creek, and settle in for a great weekend.

I’m drowning in a whiskey river bathin’ my memoried mind in the wetness of its odor.
Feelin’ the amber current flowin’ from my mind, a warm and emtpy heart you left so cold.

Happy Saturday!

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