by Matt | Jan 24, 2004 | Imported Entry
Ok, after complaining about not having a mail program yesterday I went and found one. After saying yesterday that I wasn’t completely happen with Thunderbird I’m now going to have to retract that statement. I hadn’t really put it through it’s paces but after really playing with it yesterday and today I think I can honestly say it’s IT. I’ve found my new program. It has all the features I need. It has built in spam filtering, whitelists and adaptive learning, not just general message rules. Plus, I can skin it. As some of you who are groaning know, this is a bit of a hobby of mine. Customization and programs (in my opinion) should go hand-in-hand. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I’m no longer searching for a mail program. I’m happy with Thunderbird for the moment. And if you haven’t seen it or given it a try, I’d suggest it. Heck, it even runs on Linux, OSX and Windows.
by Matt | Jan 23, 2004 | Culture
Ok, I know Chris is probably a die hard Outlook user and Chip probably only telnets in to check his mail, but what do the rest of you guys use? I can’t stand Outlook Express at work and I’m getting really pissed at Outlook 2003 at home. I want something thats secure, can check both IMAP and POP accounts and is completely free, meaning no ads (Eudora) or spyware. It should also not be buggy as hell (Opera). I’m playing with Thunderbird’s mail at the moment but I’m not completely satisfied with it. Does anybody have any other suggestions?
by Matt | Jan 21, 2004 | Games
Jason’s comment on the last post spurred me to actually think for a moment about the game I’m playing. ESPN NHL Hockey is probably the closest thing to the hockey game I (we) drempt of when I was a kid. “Wouldn’t it be cool if…” was always the statement, usually followed by a desired game element that was obviously too complex for the time. Playing NHL’94 on the SNES and wishing and hoping that you could check someone through the boards, or get into real looking (read: well designed) fights, or push people over the boards and into the benches. Those are things that simple 8-bit sprite based games simply couldn’t give us. I’m very proud to say that this new game make old school hockey fans very happy. Seriously, when I put someone through the glass for the first time I was jumping around the living room like a little girl. Unlike NHL 2004 (EA-Sports francise) the pace is much slower, you can still score on a wrap around, the characters react accurately, the fights make sense and it’s not a scoring free-for-all. Don’t get me wrong, NHL 2004 is also a very good game, I happen to own it. But it’s a completely different kind of hockey game. ESPN hockey is more a a purists game. It’s a simulation, complete with John Buccigross and Bill Clament giving the play by play. I don’t think I’ve had more than 5 goals in a game the entire time I’ve been playing it. That’s accurate. Rarely (read: never) would you see the Boston Bruins winning 75 to 2 in real life. Also, that’s an actual score I’ve gotten in NHL 2002. I’ve yet to top it since. Anyway, I just wanted to spread the good word about that game and say that finally, real solid hockey games are back. Oh, and by the way, the Bruins beat the crap out of the Rangers the other night. Go B’s!
by Matt | Jan 20, 2004 | Imported Entry
Well, theres been things happening all over the place and I haven’t had the energy to mention any of them… but I will now, because I’m procrastinating. First off, a big huge thanks to Chip and Dave for sending me a years subscription to Netflix. That was absolutely kick ass and we’ve already rented our first movies. At some point, once my ever-ongoing redesign is complete I’ll work in the Netflix MT plugin and, for no reason other than general intrest, you can see my rentals.
Last weekend was also Lauren’s mom’s birthday. We went to the Alamo Drafthouse and saw the Last Samurai. The Drafthouse is one of those dinner and a movie places where you order before the show starts and get to chow down while you watch movies. We had one in NH that I only got to go to once or twice, Chunky’s in Pelham I believe. The Last Samurai actually surprised me a little. I honestly thought it was going to be either another Brave Heart or another pointless Tom Cruise drama where its in his contract to get naked at least once and shoot half a million bad guys. It was not either of those, thank God. It was actually pretty good. If you try and forget what a complete moron Tom Cruise actually is it’s very enjoyable. Cool sword fights, nicely filmed, good story and NINJAS! Aw yeah. Can’t be a cool movie without ninjas. Loft kind or otherwise. (Sorry, lame CS joke).
Also, I finished Crimson Skies. Solid, kick ass game. Very pleased with it. If everyone else on the planet hadn’t already given it high marks (100% tomato meter!) I would be compelled to say more, but seeing as how most everyone agrees with me, I’ll leave it at that. I’ve now moved on to ESPN NHL hockey. Legwond is my bitch. (That one is for Jason). I’ve also hooked up the Xbox to the router and I plan to give Xbox Live a whirl (or at least the two month free trial) in the next little bit.
Lastly, for Nagle, I’m going to mention the Patriots. They beat the crap out of the Colts on Sunday and now they’re coming to Houston for the big dance. The preparation the city is going through is a bit crazy. There are 8 (!) different city wide celebrations. Parties galore. Think Savannah on St. Patricks day and you will have a vague understanding of whats about to happen around here. It’s nuts already and the teams haven’t even come into town. It’s the only story they have on the local news, it’s on the radio, it’s everywhere. I plan to sit at home and ignore most of it. I’ll probably have the game on, but lets face it, New England is going to completely destroy Carolina. There isn’t really any other way. Obviously I’m proud of the home town boys for making it, but seriously, who’s going to stop them? Not Carolina I can assure you. So, game excitement wise, I’m not that interested. I’m a hockey man remember. Commercials might be my draw this year, but that’s a little sad as well. And I’m sure as hell not watching Survior after the game like the network would like you to. They can go strait to hell with that reality show crap. Whats that new shit Fox is peddling? My big obnoxious fiance? Who the hell thought that up and why haven’t they been fired yet? *end rant*
Lets see, what else. Oh, I’ve gotten my hands on a complete Red Dwarf episode collection. Yippee! I’m thinking about transfering them to DVD (we have a burner at the office) and making my own box set. Other than that I’ve been working a lot. We’ve had a wedding every weekend so far this month. There’s always enough at the office to keep me busy, almost too much. But it’s going well. Lauren’s been working hard too and everything is pretty good. I’ve started putting our wedding album (or at least it’s layout) together. That will be our next project. It should be cool.
That’s about it, I should probably be getting back to work.
Matt out.
by Matt | Jan 14, 2004 | Imported Entry
Quote of the day… or perhaps my life:
“Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to hide the bodies of those people I had to kill because they pissed me off.”
I’ll tell you more later.
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