Tanjectory.com

Leaving Las Vegas

wallruss — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 07:47:35 +0000

I spent a few days in Vegas last week with friends, sort of a last getaway before things really get moving in my life. I had a nice room with a king sized bed all to myself for 5 days and it was great. Outside it was pretty warm, often over 100 degrees and nearly as hot in the evenings but I wore very little and drank lots of liquids so it wasn’t so bad. I didn’t gamble much so while I lost money, the amount was carried no weight. Mostly I walked, slept, ate (a lot and well) , and shopped though very little of the latter. As with all my vacations I left relatively well rested and had learned a few things and accepted a few more.

First of all, I eat too much. I eat like I did when I was younger and while I have been making adjustments in what I eat, I’d made no changes in how much I eat per sitting so I have decided to change that effective immediately. Besides, there were a lot of mirrors in my Vegas hotel room and it has become quite clear to me that immediate changes must be made.

Secondly I’ve come to realize on how much I love my friends, regardless of how much of a friend they have been being to me. My SOP has been to just drop the ones that are negative or not really being my friends at all. Relationships are work. I get that some people are just bad friends. I also realize that some people just can’t maintain the amount of relationships they want outside of Facebook. What I’ve decided to do is only put energy into relationships that uplift my life and let the rest go. What I mean by letting the rest go is just that. I just won’t put any energy into them and that means no feelings whether good are bad. Life’s too short. There will be a few exceptions like out-of-town friends and married female friends. Those type of friends you just see when you can and it’s all good. Everyone else, I can just see on Facebook.

Artichoke Hearts

wallruss — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:07:34 +0000

Artichoke Hearts is another great student film I found. This one is by someone named Kazimir Iskander. It kind of looks like a Nickelodeon cartoon. Enjoy!

My Dog Is Going Blind

wallruss — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 19:40:21 +0000

It’s not like I didn’t see it happening. It makes sense though right? He’s over ten years old. He’s that kind of breed that has bugged out eyes anyway. They’re over-exposed. It wasn’t that I often caught him heading in the wrong direction. It’s mainly because he strays less and when he does, the distance is shorter. He doesn’t jump in the car anymore. He runs up to easily enough but waits to be lifted. It’s also easier for me to sneak up on him.

It was his groomer that confirmed my suspicion. I didn’t even bring it up. She put her hand on my shoulder and said, “You know he’s loosing his sight, right?” I sadly nodded my head. Like every summer, I was rededicating myself to be a better owner and now it is even more clear that some of that special time is gone. Up close, he’s the same old dog. He’s active, affectionate, … fiesty. He can still see, just not as well. I really did take him for granted and now I am faced with his mortality. After he loses his sight, what will happen next?

He doesn’t seem to be suffering though. Like most animals, he seems to take it all in stride. It’s just part of life to him. It’s me that’s unhappy about it. It feels like I’m in the last days of my greatest relationship and I guess in some ways I am.

Black Thought Outclasses Clipse On Their Own Song

wallruss — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 19:00:09 +0000

Let me preface this by saying I’ve never really been a fan of The Clipse but I don’t hate them. I am a big fan of Black Thought and the Roots so I may be a bit biased. Check out this video shot on the Jimmy Fallon show where they rhyme live. (For those who don’t know who is who, Black Though is the one that rhymes second and hangs back the rest of the song.)

More Music Monday Madness

wallruss — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 07:53:41 +0000

Another weekend has been completed and a new week has come so fight the tired and dive in to this weeks’ Music Monday Madness. Get it while or maybe even before it’s hot.

Conya Doss – What We Gone Do
Quik Grooves: DJ Quik Instrumental Mix
Shafiq Husayn – En’ A-Free-Ka
Marsha Ambrosius – Hope She Cheats on You
Trek Life – As The World Turns (prod. Oddisee)
Lauryn Hill – Repercussions
The Doo Doo Funk All-Stars – The Chronicles of Dookie Green
Alison Carney – The Ep
De La Soul – The Return of DST

Food Hype or Food Fact

wallruss — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 07:50:14 +0000

I have known for some time that much of the fare offered in fast food and supermarkets is poison. I educated myself and made major adjustments but when the recession hit, out of economic necessity, I returned to many of my old dietary habits. I’ll get it all together when my personal economics get back to where they need to be. I still keep my eyes and ears open to new information however. Recently I ran across this video. How much of it do you think is true?

Funky Short Films

wallruss — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 08:07:56 +0000

Here are some short films you should check out. I think you’ll like ‘em:

Tarboy

Red

The Internet & The Television: Part Deux

wallruss — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:27:06 +0000

With the addition of Netflix to my life, my Internet actions have become more legal. There’s no need to download movies anymore because my queue is so long that I can’t watch it all anyway. I still don’t have cable so the few things I like to watch on television have been accessible through Hulu. The quality has been pretty good though I have had some challenges. Watching the Internet on my HDTV is problematic. My computer operates at 60Hz and my HDTV works at 120Hz. This means that the video, while tolerable, is a bit choppy; this added to the inconvenience of having to operate the computer by getting out of my chair and walking over to it, (in the absence of a wireless mouse and keyboard.) All of this is minor really or at least it was until Hulu started its pay service.

With Hulu Plus you get a deeper library of shows, all streamed at high quality, though still with commercials. It costs $9.99 a month & I’m not paying for it. If I do that, I might as well go the extra mile and get cable TV. Normal Hulu is still free but all the shows have been cut back to ‘medium’ quality which magnifies all those minor inconveniences I’ve been having. So I’ve chucked Hulu and gone back to downloading my favorite TV shows. The quality is better than Hulu and they’re commercial free. I found that if I put the shows on my Flash Drive & insert it into my Blu-Ray player I can control everything completely from my chair and watch without booting up my computer.

All of this has got me thinking about the next device I need. I want a box that connects to the Internet and my home network wirelessly while also connecting to my HDTV with an hdmi cable. I want it to be able to tap into my Netflix account but also stream media from my other computers over the wireless lan. Of course the only device that does all of that is a full blown computer which would take time to boot up and need a keyboard and mouse. I’m looking for something that works with a multimedia remote. The closest thing I have been able to find is the Boxee Box which isn’t available yet. It’s either that or I build a fully HD computer system that does it all.

Some Urban Webisodes

wallruss — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 09:21:50 +0000

I’ve got a couple of new web series for you to check out. I love a good webisode and I know a few of you may identify with some of these characters so take a look and tell me what you think:

Here’s the trailer for Celeste Bright. If you like it, come back and click here for episode one.

Here’s the trailer for another web series called Left Unsaid. If you like it, head over to the series’ home page to see more.

Captain Kirk Stole Spock’s Bike

wallruss — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:45:30 +0000

It really happened. Check the video: