Sick this past week

I was out sick this past week.  Every time I thought about writing a post saying that I was sick I just laid back down exhausted.  I was really wiped out.   Well I am feeling better and ready to get back to posting.

Thanks again to all those that have contributed to my cause.  I am now at 17.5% of goal.  I just can’t believe the generosity of the community.  It definitely inspires me to keep posting and keep the blog going.

In the next two days I plan on posting a hardware tour so folks can see how the tuners and SDV Tuning Adapters are physically connected.  If there are any specific requests of hardware you want to see in action please let me know.

It’s great to be back.

Help Me Replace My Dead Xbox

My Xbox is officially dead.  At this point I really would just rather get a new one than replace it for the fourth time.  Three strikes and it’s time to move on.  Unfortunately I did not plan for this one like I did on Launch Day back in 2005 so I am reaching out to the internet in a cry for help.

I am down an extender and the blog is suffering from my grief and attempt to fix the problem myself.  Yesterday I walked into Best Buy and found the solution.  Best Buy has a new gift card concept called “Pitch In”.  Basically they give you the gift card for free and then you register it online.  From that point anyone can add money to the card in amounts of $5 or greater.

So now instead of one person buying a big gift or getting a handful of gift cards you can have everyone “Pitch In”.  So here is my Pitch In page and I am hoping that I can crowd source my new Xbox 360.

Andres Echevarria Best Buy Pitch In Page

More Google Wave Invites

Image via Wikipedia

I have 8 more Google Wave invites.  The first 8 requests via email or comments get the invites.

Google Wave Started

Image via Wikipedia

I just started the first Google Wave for My Network Project readers.  The topic of the first wave is TV tuners and everything that goes with them (cable card, tuning adapters, guide setup, etc).  I have not really used Google Wave before so I am going to try and use as many features as I can.  Feel free to do the same.

For those that requested Google Wave invites I have already added you to the Wave.  For those that want to join and already have a Google Wave account just search for the wave using the following phrase including the quotes:

tag:"My Network Project"

Let the experiment begin.

UPDATED:  Thanks to the comments I have updated the search term.

Movie of the Week: The Punisher

 

My Movies Collection Number: 366

IMDB Synopsis: After his wife and family are killed, G-Man Frank Castle takes it upon himself to distribute punishment to those responsible for the vendetta. IMDB Link

Why it’s in my collection: One of the main reasons this movie is in my collection is that I am a big Marvel comic book fan and the OCD part of me wants to have every Marvel movie made since the original Blade. 

I also love the “Welcome Back, Frank” storyline that the movie uses as part of its basis.  Seeing some of the scenes from that story on screen just really made the Punisher fan in me really happy.

Thoughts While Watching: The bad guys in this movie are way over the top.  They are so cheesy and over the top it becomes funny.  Then you realize that John’s Travolta’s sons are played by the same actor and you know that you have to check any hopes of this being the Punisher movie you were hoping for.  And how can you be taken seriously as a mobster when your base of operations is Tampa, Florida???

As you watch this movie it feels like every decision made by first time director Jonathan Hensleigh was as an homage to 1980’s cop/action/crime movies.  The attempts at manipulating your emotions, the music, the coincidences used to advance the plot al make you say “seriously!”.

There are scenes taken directly from the comic book that I enjoyed seeing but overall the movie falls flat.  If I am going to see a movie this cheesy then I am going to watch Punisher: War Zone.  At least that movie has more of the character from the comic book and KNOWS what it is.  It does not try to put a serious face on a movie that should be fun silly action.   Of course I would love to see a real budget and a real director (like Michael Mann) make a Punisher movie.  That would be amazing.

Why it should be in your collection: The only reason this movie should be in your collection is if you have the same compulsive need as me to be complete.  I thought this movie was finally going to do the Punisher right but it made two crucial mistakes for me: taking Frank out of New York and not pitting him against the traditional mob.  John Travolta’s Howard Saint character is HORRIBLE.  I think Punisher War Zone is a better representation of the world and the character.

Similar movies from my collection: Face/Off, The Crow, Punisher: War Zone, Bad Boys, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Blade, Die Hard, Kill Bill Vol.1, The Boondock Saints

My Movies Collection Rating: 5

Time Warner Adds 10 HD Channels

Time Warner just added 10 HD channels yesterday.  You will need cable card and an SDV tuning adapter to get the new channels.  Zap2It has only updated their guide with the new HBO HD channels so you have to wait until they add they other ones before they start showing up in your guide.  I have verified that the channels are working under the TV diagnostics.

From Time Warner:

New HD Channels!

Time Warner Cable is adding 10 more HD channels to the lineup on November 23rd - just in time for the holidays!

• HBO Signature HD
• HBO Family HD
• HBO Comedy HD
• HBO Zone HD
• HBO Latino HD
• ActionMax HD
• Showtime Too HD
• Cartoon Network HD
• We HD
• IFC HD

Video: Change WMC Menus with Media Center Studio

I have had a few requests for this so here it is.  A quick 8 minute video that shows how to do a number of things in Advent’s Media Center Studio.  In this video I create a new “Movies” strip to replace the default movies strip that ships with Media Center. Download the app here: http://www.adventmediacenter.com/

The changes will show up on the PC and on extenders.

Xbox 360 Freezing When Using the Network Connection

Doh!  My Xbox hates the internet.

The title pretty much says it all.  I have diagnosed my Xbox 360 freezing problems down to the network connection.  Any activity that uses the network connection will freeze my Xbox.

At first I thought it was Xbox Live activity that was freezing the Xbox since I am always connected to Xbox Live.  I tried going offline and it seemed to be ok.  As soon as I tried Media Center it would freeze.

I tried clearing the hard drive cache based on what I found online and what Xbox Customer support emailed me.  That didn’t work either but the Xbox worked great as long as the Cat5 was not connected.

I then tried removing the hard drive and playing games.  That worked great so I connected the cat 5 and tried to connect to Media Center and it froze again.

So basically the Xbox works great with no Cat5 connected and freezes consistently with Cat5 connected.  If I cannot get on my network and on Xbox Live this thing is basically a paper weight.

There has to be something that can be done.  I am going to test my friends Xbox on the network tonight to see if it is my network or the Xbox.  There has to be something that can be done to fix this that does not involve me spending any money or sending it to Microsoft.