Our President

Pretty funny, found this while surfing Digg.com. I'm sure maybe the picture was taken at an angle "just so" or whatever, but he's still a man, right? So is this really out of the ordinary?

Flents Quiet Time Comfort Foam Earplugs (Purple Ones)

My wife has been using earplugs to aid her sleeping ever since we were at Northern Illinois University, circa 2000.  So she's become addicted to them and is now at the point where she CAN'T sleep without them.  Like many earplug lovers out there, she had to try a bunch of brands to find just the right fit, and Flents (purple colored) Quiet Time Comfort Foam Earplugs turned out to be the best - so she's been using them for years.  Just a couple weekends ago, she purchased another 10 pack of these earplugs and they weren't as "squishy", and actually hurt her ears so much that she would wake up a few times in the night.  What happened?

 

Well I called the company, which is actually Apothecary Products out of Minnesota, for an explanation.  I talked with a very nice woman who explained they just switched manufacturers of their foam, and this is causing an uproar in the earplug community.  Ok she didn't say "earplug community" but anyone reading this that isn't one of my friends -- you're a member of the earplug community!  The representative went on to say that they're switching back to the old formula, and the new, original formula earplugs will begin shipping shortly.  They will hit Wal-Mart stores first, then everywhere else.  She also said they will have a sticker on them saying something like "Original Formula!", so make sure you pick one of them up when they become available.

 

Fear not, earpluggers, your voice has been heard!

Xbox 360 RROD End Result

I'm happy to say Microsoft took great care of me and my faulty Xbox 360 Elite, since it was still within the 3 year "Hardware Failure" warranty period.  I received a brand new Xbox 360 Elite last week (it was manufactured in June of this year), and the total turn around time from the night I placed the call, through packing it up, shipping it out, and receiving it was less than 2 weeks.  I played Civilizations Revolution last night for hours and my sweet little 360 chugged right along, good as new...because it is!  Nice work Microsoft, now stop making terrible hardware!

 

I can't wait for Netflix online to be accessible through Xbox LIVE later this year!

Xbox 360 Elite Red Ring of Death

So I was playing Rock Band a few days ago on my Xbox 360 Elite that I received around 13 months ago, and the system froze right in the middle of a song. I just took the disk out, cleaned it, and restarted the system, and that worked fine for the rest of my time playing.

Then yesterday I wanted to play some songs on guitar before my wife got home, so I jumped in right away, and the dang thing froze towards the end of the first song. Restarted, happened again. Restarted, got through 1 or 2 songs, happened again. Got PO'd and had dinner with the Mrs., then I went back to it, same thing happens, froze in the beginning of the first song I tried. I thought "no way can there be a problem with the disc, especially if it's every song." So I shut it down and restarted it then BAM!!! RROD (Red Ring of Death, below). So then I shut it down and restarted it and it wouldn't move past the intro screen when the Xbox first turns on, but it didn't give me the red rings again. I unplugged the Rock Band guitar and started with a regular controller, and it seemed to work ok til I plugged in the guitar again. Either way I already called Xbox Customer Service last night and I'm shipping this thing in.

We'll see what happens!

Rock Band 2 Setlist

Looks like a great little video game!

 

 

Rock Band 2 On-Disc Track List:
Artist Song Title Decade
1. AC/DC “Let There Be Rock” 1970s
2. AFI “Girl’s Gone Grey” 2000’s
3. Alanis Morissette “You Oughta Know” 1990’s
4. Alice in Chains “Man in the Box” 1990’s
5. Allman Brothers “Ramblin’ Man” 1970’s
6. Avenged Sevenfold “Almost Easy” 2000’s
7. Bad Company “Shooting Star” 1970’s
8. Beastie Boys “So Whatcha Want” 1990’s
9. Beck “E-Pro” 2000’s
10. Bikini Kill “Rebel Girl” 1990’s
11. Billy Idol “White Wedding Pt. I” 1980’s
12. Blondie “One Way or Another” 1970’s
13. Bob Dylan “Tangled Up in Blue” 1970’s
14. Bon Jovi “Livin’ on a Prayer” 1980’s
15. Cheap Trick “Hello There” 1970’s
16. Devo “Uncontrollable Urge” 1980’s
17. Dinosaur Jr. “Feel the Pain” 1990’s
18. Disturbed “Down with the Sickness” 2000’s
19. Dream Theater “Panic Attack” 2000’s
20. Duran Duran “Hungry Like the Wolf” 1980’s
21. Elvis Costello “Pump It Up” 1970’s
22. Fleetwood Mac “Go Your Own Way” 1970’s
23. Foo Fighters “Everlong” 1990’s
24. Guns N’ Roses “Shackler’s Revenge” 2000’s
25. Interpol “PDA” 2000’s
26. Jane’s Addiction “Mountain Song” 1980’s
27. Jethro Tull “Aqualung” 1970’s
28. Jimmy Eat World “The Middle” 2000’s
29. Joan Jett “Bad Reputation” 1980’s
30. Journey “Anyway You Want It” 1970’s
31. Judas Priest “Painkiller” 1990’s
32. Kansas “Carry On Wayward Son” 1970’s
33. L7 “Pretend We’re Dead” 1990’s
34. Lacuna Coil “Our Truth” 2000’s
35. Linkin Park “One Step Closer” 2000’s
36. Lit “My Own Worst Enemy” 1990’s
37. Lush “De-Luxe” 1990’s
38. Mastodon “Colony of Birchmen” 2000’s
39. Megadeth “Peace Sells” 1980’s
40. Metallica “Battery” 1980’s
41. Mighty Mighty Bosstones “Where’d You Go” 1990’s
42. Modest Mouse “Float On” 2000’s
43. Motorhead “Ace of Spades” 1980’s
44. Nirvana “Drain You” 1990’s
45. Norman Greenbaum “Spirit in the Sky” 1960’s
46. Panic at the Disco “Nine in the Afternoon” 2000’s
47. Paramore “That’s What You Get” 2000’s
48. Pearl Jam “Alive” 1990’s
49. Presidents of the USA “Lump” 1990’s
50. Rage Against the Machine “Testify” 1990’s
51. Ratt “Round & Round” 1980’s
52. Red Hot Chili Peppers “Give it Away” 1990’s
53. Rise Against “Give it All” 2000’s
54. Rush “The Trees” 1970’s
55. Silversun Pickups “Lazy Eye” 2000’s
56. Smashing Pumpkins “Today” 1990’s
57. Social Distortion “I Was Wrong” 1990’s
58. Sonic Youth “Teenage Riot” 1980’s
59. Soundgarden “Spoonman” 1990’s
60. Squeeze “Cool for Cats” 1970’s
61. Steely Dan “Bodhitsattva” 1970’s
62. Steve Miller Band “Rock’n Me” 1970’s
63. Survivor “Eye of the Tiger” 1980’s
64. System of a Down “Chop Suey” 2000’s
65. Talking Heads “Psycho Killer” 1970’s
66. Tenacious D “Master Exploder” 2000’s
67. Testament “Souls of Black” 1990’s
68. The Donnas “New Kid in School” 2000’s
69. The Go-Go’s “We Got the Beat” 1980’s
70. The Grateful Dead “Alabama Getaway” 1980’s
71. The Guess Who “American Woman” 1970’s
72. The Muffs “Kids in America” 1990’s
73. The Offspring “Come Out & Play (Keep ‘em Separated)” 1990’s
74. The Replacements “Alex Chilton” 1980’s
75. The Who “Pinball Wizard” 1960’s

Bonus Artist Bonus Song Title Decade
76. Abnormality “Visions” 2000’s
77. Anarchy Club “Get Clean” 2000’s
78. Bang Camaro “Night Lies” 2000’s
79. Breaking Wheel “Shoulder to the Plow” 2000’s
80. The Libyans “Neighborhood” 2000’s
81. The Main Drag “A Jagged Gorgeous Winter” 2000’s
82. Speck “Conventional Lover” 2000’s
83. The Sterns “Supreme Girl” 2000’s
84. That Handsome Devil “Rob the Prez-O-Dent” 2000’s

Singing Cats Picture

 

Singing Cats

My wife and I were shopping in a Ross store the other day and came across this statue:

 

 

Every time I see it I chuckle.  Who the heck would put this in their house in a serious manner?  I love it!

Beer in Fridge Directly Related to Disposable Income

So here I am, about 3.3 months from becoming a father if all goes as planned.  Yup, September 30th of 2008 is the day our little son, Cameron, is scheduled to bring his sweet feet into this world.

 

Just like any parents-to-be, my wife and I are saving every penny we can to help pay for this terrible investment / bundle of joy because apparently, babies need to be changed more than once or twice a day, and those diaper costs can really add up!

 

So since I've buckled down and tried to spend money only on necessities like gas, food, and the occasional hoppy beverage, I've noticed a terrible occurrence.  My fridge has lost beauties like this:

 

 

And have since been replaced with the likes of this:

 

So as you can imagine, I'm not the happiest of campers.  Ah well, I guess having a son will all make up for it.  How about anyone reading this?  Have you had to spend less money on the finer things in life to save some money?

Nathan Sehl Contribution Success

My wife and I went over to the Sehl's house along with our neighbors a couple weeks ago to show them our successful collection of over $800 worth of pledges!





As you can see, Nathan is months ahead of what the doctors told him he should expect as far as walking, talking, etc...and we were very happy to see that. If you would like to help Nathan and his family with anything else, please contact me. My email address is mikepernecky (at sign) gmail (dot} com. I didn't type it because it's harder for a spam program to pick it up this way.





Thank you for all your help!

Good Weekend

I had a great weekend, my brother was in town, we went to watch the White Sox play (and lose, unfortunately) the Tampa Bay Rays...man the Rays are doing quite well, which is nice to see.  I took a picture from our horrible seats and posted them on my mobile blog (link on the right) or just http://perneckymobile.blogspot.com.  We also saw Sex and the City which was good, highly recommended if you liked the show.  Good times all together.

 

Glad to be back at work though! :)