Today was my first day with P90X and I have to admit I felt alittle weak, especially since I have been hitting the gym for about a year now (with no real goals other than to lose weight though).  I did “Chest and Back” along with “Ab Ripper X” at the end.  It was an intense workout but I made it through okay.  My obvious weakness is pull ups. I can barely do four overhands with a full hang in between. I have taken some day 1 photos but will post them when I have some progress pictures (you don’t want to see me with my shirt off yet) Read More…

I’m about to get a delicious sandwich and thought I would try out this app while waiting.

The Intel Mac mini is one of the smallest, sleekest, and quietest PCs on the market. It also supports surround sound and up to 1080p resolution. OS X Leopard also includes FrontRow, a sort of juke box like application that is very easy to read and navigate (if you have seen what Apple TV looks like it is basically the same thing). Front row is also controllable with a small and intuitive remote that comes with the mini. All of this makes it an ideal choice for a home theater PC (HTPC). In my upcoming articles I will go over a few things that you may not have known you could do with a Mac mini HTPC that I have done on mine to make it beyond just a conventional HTPC into a living room entertainment device.

I bought a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo mini and the wireless Might Mouse and Apple Wireless Keyboard from the Apple store at my local mall. The Mighty Mouse is ok, but I love the design and form factor of the wireless keyboard, it doesn’t look out of place in the room. You may want to use a different mouse and keyboard, which is cool, but wireless is a must and I would recommend going with Bluetooth because it saves you USB ports and more wires or dongles cluttering the back of your home theater system.

There are lots of ways you can connect your Mac Mini to your home theater system. To use DVI, VGA, HDMI, Toslink optical sound, 3.5mm audio jack to stereo… this is really up for you to decide and what your system can handle. I have a 1080p HDTV with no DVI, but it does have a VGA and HDMI input. I also have a surround sound system, so naturally I would want to take advantage of that fact.

I orginally hooked up my Mac mini to my HDTV with a spare VGA cable I had lying around through the DVI to VGA adapter that came with the mini. The HDTV easily accepted the 1920 x 1080 resolution of the mini but I was unsure if it was 1080p or 1080i. The VGA cable also cause some slight ghosting to happen that was particularly noticable around the dock. I also hooked up the audio to my reciever using a simple 3.5mm audio jack (your standard headphone jack) to RCA stereo cable. This worked also because I had it laying around but this won’t allow you to get surround sound out of your mini, which is all too important when it comes to home theater. So I jumped on monoprice.com (their site freaking rules, I will never buy cables from a brick and mortar store again… I’m looking at you Best Buy with your $80 HDMI cables) and ordered myself a DVI to HDMI cable, which will not carry audio like regular HDMI will, and a Toslink standard to mini cable for digital surround sound for a whopping $12 with shipping.

With my new cables in hand I was ready to hook them up and test them out. I had a few problems with getting the video settings right on my TV. Under display options the highest resolution was 1920×1080 (interlaced) at 60Hz. Something was all wrong, because the Mac mini most definitely can output 1080p. A bug with Leopard might be what is causing this but what really matter is that it is fixable. If you click on “Show displays in menu bar” it will add a little monitor icon near spotlight next to your wifi and Bluetooth icons. Clicking this will open a drop down menu of all the selectable resolutions, notice there are now TWO 1920 x 1080 options, click that second one and suddenly you are enjoying full 1080p goodness. You might have to fiddle with some more settings on your HDTV because not all HDTVs are made the same.

My the other slight problem I have, which is really more of a gripe, is that the only apps that support AC3/Dolby Digital 5.1 (multi-channel) on a mini are DVD Player and VLC, no Quicktime (only possible on a Mac Pro with a discreet 6 channel sound card)! So if you plan to rip DVDs to your HDD using Handbrake you will be out of luck on surround playback at least through FrontRow.

In future articles I’ll explain how to turn your mini into a DVR and break the stereotype that gaming isn’t possible on a mac.

Decided to start shooting some photos with my DSLR.  I got this camera with the main intention of being able to shoot my projects and models.  The kits lens isn’t the best thing in the world and I am looking into getting a macro lens which should be far better for shooting scale models in the future.  The depth of field on the current lens is just a little too shallow.  I also got a tripod which will help greatly in doing long exposures to avoid having harsh shadows on my models. Anyways, I think the camera will really improve the visuals of the site, because I know for damn sure the this new camera is a hell of a lot better than the iPhone’s pathetic camera.

Hyaku-Shiki Photoshoot In The Kitchen

Here are a few example shots I did with it:

MG Hyaku-Shiki

 MG RX-78-2 Ver. O.Y.W.

I’m sorry I haven’t posted in awhile. I just wasn’t keeping up with the site. I don’t really have any excuses other than I didn’t know if people were reading.

After checking my website stats it seems that some people are indeed reading. But it is what they are reading about that surprises me. Video games and movies aren’t even on the radar. It is Gundam and DIY projects that people seem to be interested in. I guess you can get all your Video Games news from 1up or Kotaku, but there is a niche market for Gunpla and video game hardware mods. My most viewed and searched articles so far have been the Rock Band Foot Pedal Mod and the Gundam Unicorn topics. So I am going to try to give you guys, if you are still reading, what you want and post more projects and less reviews. Bring on the soldering iron and X-acto knives.

I’ve been wanting a Mac for awhile. I have also been wanting to add a (good) HTPC (home theater personal computer) to my home theater for awhile too. I waited and waited… just when I thought I was ready to buy one I waited some more for Mac World ‘08 to see if they would announce a new Mac Mini, which would fit perfectly into the role of a HTPC not only in terms of functionality, but also aesthetically. Well I did it, last night I went out and bought one to replace the archaic Dell that was attempting to fill the role (I often didn’t even use it just because it was so slow).

I haven’t finished setting it up yet, but my first impressions of it are great. This is my first Mac (I have an iPod and iPhone, but this is my first Mac OS computer). The interface of Leopard looks great and all, everyone knows that. What I am really excited about is Front Row and the little Apple Remote and how easily it turns my HDTV and Surround Sound system into a juke box, movie theater (video podcasts HURRAY), or photo viewer. I have my portable hard drive connect directly to the AirPort Extreme router to share the music library and videos throughout the house. I also have to say I am quite excited about HD movie rentals through iTunes that I can view directly on my TV.

One of my main goals is to turn the Mini into a DVR to record live HD broadcasts or even use it to… shhhh… torrent some television programs. I will do a flushed out write up on the setup and functions of my Mac when I get it all together. I am very pleased with how it is coming together so far.

I decided to goof around in Assassin’s Creed today, maybe collect some flags or stab some Templars (I often enjoy stabbing). A Live update was downloaded and I didn’t really make note of it. I noticed a few new gameplay elements that I thought I had maybe missed somehow. Altair has two new stealth blade kills, one which he kicks his opponents knee out and stabs him downward in the neck and another where he stabs them up under the chin and lays them on the grab like a sleeping child. I also noticed I can now perform counter kills with the assassin’s blade, which I don’t believe I was able to do before.

Let me know if these aren’t new or let me know if you see anything else new.

Edit: It seems the guards are less touchy about riding your house at speeds beyond SNAIL now too. 

I have been quite busy with family and friends (life outside the internet… scary) and haven’t had a chance to post anything in awhile. But, despite that I have experienced some new things that are worth worth talking touching on briefly. I saw two new movies over the Christmas/New Years season, National Treasure 2 and AVPR. Both of which I can say were not spectacular in anyway, but they were good popcorn flicks. National Treasure followed the same formula of the first movie. However, in this film, Riley, the partner of Nicolas Cage’s character was even funnier than he was in the first and really provided the comic relief. AVPR was what I expected going into the movie, cheesy dialog and gore. But it delivered on what the name implies, Aliens fighting Predators, and plenty of human bystander casualties.

For Christmas my parents got me an awesome CORE-WOrKS EX-S conversion kit. The pieces are huge and the proportions looks so much better than just the plain master grade. This one I will truly try to make my masterpiece. After I finish my Hyaku-Shiki, Zeta 2.0, and CORE-WOrKS Double Zeta.

New Years Eve was a heck of a party over at Nate’s, my co-blogger on Spoylr, house. Friends, alcohol, and Rock Band were present, which in my book is the formula for a good time. The new DLC for Rock Band is pretty good, particularly Limelight by Rush. New Years day I was playing some Mario Galaxy with Nate (who is almost TOO good at collecting star bits) when I decided that my Wii needed something fresh, so we decided to go get Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles. I didn’t buy a zapper, but the game is fun without it. Using the Wiimote doesn’t quite capture the feel of a true lightgun shooter like House of the Dead, but it is pretty close. The game doesn’t really need the nunchuck, so perhaps with one of those gun attachments it would be a little better.

Overall it was good holiday season. As a New Year’s resolution I would like to blog more often. Happy New Year everyone from the writer’s of Spoylr.

Is your Rock Band pedal shattered like mine? Want something a little more sturdy that feels just like the real thing? Want your drums to stop sliding across the floor when you use them? Then use the real thing. I will tell you how. This project can cost you anywhere from $2 to $100 depending on what you have already and if you are willing to cannibalize your broken pedal. Do some searching online, you can probably find this stuff for pretty cheap, especially if it is used.

Materials You Will Need

- drum pedal (preferably with a base)
- kick practice pad
- magnet*
- reed relay*
- 3.5mm mono jack*
- 24 gauge copper wire*
- small project enclosure
- electrical tape
- some kind of padding (I used crumpled toilet paper, but cotton balls or whatever soft would work)

*you will not need these if you are willing to take the parts from the pedal that came with Rock Band

Tools

- Philip’s head screw driver
- Soldering iron
- Dremel, drill, or hack saw

Skip this paragraph if you going to use parts from the Rock Band foot pedal. The reed relay has four pins, the two on the sides are useless for are needs, you can been them out of the way or cut them off if you want. The two we need are on the ends. If you don’t have much experience soldering, don’t worry, this isn’t very difficult. If you don’t have ANY experience soldering, I suggest reading how to solder first. Strip about 1/4″ of wire and solder it to one pin on the relay, then the other wire to the other pin. Unscrew the sleeve of the mono jack and slide it over the wires. You should see two tiny holes on the solder points of the mono jack. Strip and loop the wire through the tiny hole and solder. Do the same for the other wire on the opposite contact on the jack. Screw back the sleeve back on the mono jack. This would be a good time to test if your connection. Plug it in to the drums, get to the song selection list and get a magnet in close proximity to the relay. If you wiring is correct the sorting of the list should change.

Next, we will mount the switch in the box. If you want to use the parts from the broken pedal, now would be the time to disassemble the pedal. Pry out the magnet if you don’t have one of you own and unscrew the flat that holds in the reed switch and remove it from the controller. Drill or cut a “U” shape into the side of the project enclosure large enough for the wire to fit through and the lid to close all the way. Then, using your padding, fill the enclosure. If you made your own switch, tie a knot in the wire near the switch so that you cannot pull the wire knot through the “U” shape cut in the box. This will stop the switch from having and stress on it. Grab your electrical tape and attach the switch the the lid of the enclosure. Close the box and screw the lid shut.

Switch Enclosure Mounted to the Foot Pedal

Now is the easy part. Attach your drum pedal to the practice pad. Finding the sweet spot is the hard part. I would suggest taping the magnet to the bottom of your pedal with electrical tape then moving around the box (lid up) the base of the pedal until you find that perfect spot where the bass hit activates just as the hammer hits the practice pad. Tape it to the base with a few pieces of electrical tape and you should be set. This should give you the most legitimate feeling of a real bass drum.

My Setup

OH SNAP!.. or should I say SNAPS?

Your Rock Band foot pedal snaps in three places. This however is only slightly upsetting, more disappointing that EA allowed and Harmonix would allow such shitty hardware to be made. Oh well, it forces me to take the initiative to make one out of a real drum bass pedal, which I wanted to try anyways.