... because RACECAR!

I (pre)purchased Forza 4 last week and boy am I happy with that decision. This game is great. The car dynamics are awesome, the sound is a definite step up (engine sounds change as you change things like exhaust, bore, turbos and also match engine load like when bogging down and F class 3 cylinder going up a hill) and the graphics look like they belong on a next gen console, not the same Xbox 360 I play Forza Motorsport 2. It doesn't feel as aloof as Gran Turismo 5 and is still fun if you aren't a gear head (although it does lack in the "just drive around and try not to hit too many things" mode category). If you are a real petrol head though.. a little bit of scratching reveals that just under the surface is big rabbit hole of tuning options to allow you to squeeze every millisecond out of your lap times. The partnership with Top Gear brings a bit of lightheartedness into some portions of the game.. especially the otherwise mildly boring Autovista feature that lets you explore highly detailed 3D renderings of some select vehicles.
In the spirit of expensive feats in engineering going wicked fast.. I bring you the WORLD'S GREATEST DRAG RACE!

Action Packed September

September was a pretty full month. House guests, homework, weddings, baseball games, etc. etc. I should talk about all that stuff but honestly.. I am just to tired and too much of it is a blur (only some of which is caused by alcohol).

I did finally get the device I have been waiting years for (literally). This means that my obstinate refusal to allow a Cox cable box into my home or pay service fees to use a device I already payed for *cough*Tivo*cough* is no longer preventing me from enjoying a full HD lineup. I am now using the Silicon Dust: HD Homerun Prime. It is a small device (about the size of my cable modem) that accepts a cable card (rented @ $2 a month instead of the $8-$20 for HD decoder or DVR) and decodes digital cable. This device plugs directly into my network and can by accessed by any computer on my network. With a Windows media extender or a Home theater PC already on every TV this is a very convenient solution. The device has 3 independent tuners so 1 computer can be recording a show while playing another show and I can have the extender playing a second show in a different room.
The only draw back is that thanks to the evils of DRM there is a small restriction in playing back recorded TV. The computer that records it is the only one that is authorized to play it.

I can see myself sliding down the rabbit whole of technical talk here so I am going to cut it short. The point is I now have high def TV available in all my rooms without having to add another box to each TV. Its not quite the integrated dream I have but it is pretty close and I am very happy to be able to watch Monday Night Football in full 1080A (that is 1080 awesome).