Lot's on my mind........Ready? Fire............

You've read the sub-line to my blog, and this is a rare occasion that I feel like typing it all out.

For your sanity, I'll keep them to topic for each section. Bare with me as there my a few to swim thru.

Ladies and gents, what you are viewing here is my new 'addiction'. I am completely consumed with this concept of a 'connected lifestyle', screw 'connected home', I'm way past that.

Since we moved in to our new house I've been looking for a pet project. You see, I don't have many skills. If I can't do it outside of the computer, I'm pretty much screwed. I can barely keep the oil changed in my own car, that's how bad it was. I was the kid standing next to dad on a Saturday morning while he worked on cars, however, I was standing there pouting and kicking the dirt cause I was pissed off and wanted to be inside 'gaming'. Not that I am any good at gaming having spent countless hours playing as a child, it's just something that I've grown to love doing with my spare time.

I had an unacceptable absence in the 90's due to sex, drugs and rock and roll, but that's a story for another time.

So, back to the present. An opportunity presented itself during the summer where I was able to get a head start on my project.

What I wanted to do was start testing out some of these theories of connecting everything around me. Example, from the TV I wanted to be able to look at the pictures on my computer, some how, some way. Easy to start with.

At the point that I'm starting I've already done a little homework, so I know what I'm dealing with, and the roadblocks/stumbling blocks to come.

My dad get's me started with the computer system. Let me rephrase that, I saw this system my dad had started to put together and I  got bug-eyed over it and guilted him in to letting me buy it off of him at a rock bottom price. I'll break down the system for you in another post.

The purpose that I was looking at for the PC was to have it serve as the main hub for the home, naturally.

I have a big screen TV in the living room which serves the whole family. We have family over and throw 'lil shindigs here and there and I wanted to be able to provide entertainment in the room instead of just having the TV set on in the background.

Windows Media Center in Vista Ultimate was my fix for this.

I already had the 360 tied to the TV, and going over the top with my gaming habits in this instance showed an added bonus to my lovely wife.

The wife has to be key to all of your decisions with you going down this dreaded path. There is some 'incurred' expenses and with that comes monthly charges for all of the 'add-on's'. You can see where this road can lead I trust.

In my case, as is pretty much the case all of the time here, my wife gave me some leeway with the 'experiment'. As an added bonus I got a chance to build my man cave. My own little place to escape and play.

I put the system together and topped it off with a nice Dell wide screen, HDTV of course and put another HD DirecTV box in the office. With that added touch and already having Sunday Ticket I was bound to never leave from the cave. I just need a toilet, shower and a fridge in here and I just may never leave. Just wait 'til the basement is ready to move in to.

Well, with the final touch I pretty much interrupted the 'perfect' set up. I had the Media Center fine tuned and had finally wrapped up some hefty firewall discussions with the boys from Microsoft OneCare on why their products couldn't co-exist in the same eco-system having come from the same damned company. Be assured this is a topic for it's own. I'll deal with you later.

I had set up the wife's favorite programs along with a few of my own to be recorded thru the media center for viewing downstairs, on the tv when ever she wanted, ala DVR. She dug it. But once I added the HD box to the set up I could no longer capture video thru my already unstable tv tuner card.

This is the main reason for leaving that to a different discussion. I am in search of the perfect fit for just getting back to recording SD video again. Until then, I'll hold off on that subject.

So, there I was stuck with nothing left to do until after the holidays. There's this whole 'Christmas' thing that I have to buy tons of gifts for, then I can play again.

Well, I had recently reintroduced my Sony PSP and Nintendo DS to a dusting off of the portables and a good re-powering of their juices so they could be played again.

This is when I picked up on something really cool. I could share my media center content with my PSP as well. Now were talking.

For another $20 for a 2GB memory stick (thank you EBay) for the PSP and $16.95 for my Sony Media Manager software I was able to sync up and have my media content on the go, recorded TV included. Bonus.

I spent a few hours the other night loading up the PSP with some of my content and even downloaded some stuff from the new Sony Store Online, included in the download onslaught was SOCOM Tactical Strike. After it was all said and done I still had about 400mb left. I was impressed. It had compressed down all of the video and fit all perfectly.

Not even realizing, there was another pleasant surprise. I got in the car the next morning and realized that I could plug the jack from my Sirius radio in to the PSP and enjoy some podcasts I needed to catch up on. I'm just glad that after having this for almost 2 years now, I have finally found a great use for it. Oh yeah, and it plays some games too.

I'm definitely behind the times when it comes to this stuff, but it was fun learning about all of it now.

A classic example of 'They go in 3's'

Not really sure why, but the past few weeks have had me reflecting, again, on life and the possibilites of dying.

Now, don't jump to conclusions, but this is something that is permanently embedded in my DNA now and I think jotting it down here makes sense, if only for me.

I haven't been feeling well the past few weeks and I'm not sure if it's that old 'Ohio' sickness that I used to get ever so often or if it's more. I've been to my oncologist and the bloods great, but over the past few weeks I've had terrible headaches (for days on end, and no, aspirin hasn't helped) and just some odd body aches. I laid in bed for 2 hours with a strange sensation in the right side of my body. Almost bone-deep was the pain.

So, as I'm going thru my week, I find out on Thursday that a friend of the family has died for a fight with cancer. Ron was a dear friend of my dad's Aunt Barb. Good 'ol Aunt Barb had the 'hots' for Ron back in high school and had recently reconnected and became good friends again.

A few months ago, Aunt Barb called and wanted me to speak with Ron as he was just diagnosed with cancer. What type, he wasn't sure of. The doctors went back and forth over simple lung cancer to a few weeks later telling him it was a terminal organ cancer. As I spoke with Ron he was just shocked, 'Aaron, I feel just fine. I wouldn't have known that I had cancer unless the doctors told me so.' Then a few weeks later in talking with me he said 'Wow, you go from our conversation a few weeks ago to them now telling me I'm not gonna make it til Christmas'

Ron was a good guy, and I'm sad that I didn't get to talk to him more in his final days. Ron, your with the Lord now and your pain is no more. Your 'reaquaintance' with Aunt Barb had a purpose. Soon, we shall know that purpose. Aunt Barb is now back in Florida with Uncle Bob. I send her my thoughts, prayers and love.

So, as the heading says, 'They go in 3's' and indirectly i saw this unfold. Sean Taylor, of the Washington Redskins, was shot in his house while there relaxing from an injury he incurred just a few weeks prior. Now, here's a guy who had a lot of issues with the law and everything, but since the birth of his child he had been making tremendous strides in becoming a better person and putting that 'lifestyle' behind him. I don't know Sean personally, but reading the stories the past few days has made me reflect. Sad to see such a tragedy like this. Just another child who will have to grow up not knowing their parent because of some pathetic piece of garbage.

And the 3rd on the list was a big inspiration to my 'Metal (rock)' roots, Kevin Dubrow, of Quiet Riot.

Yes, the classic band that brought us the 'correct' version of 'C'mon Feel the Noise' and 'Momma Were All Crazy Now' and the classic 'Metal Health' album.

No known cause of death, but it's just sad. He was 52 years old.

The reason I mention this one in particular is due to the fact that this is a part of my generation now that I'm seeing die. Wether it be from natural causes or what have you. Soon, other legends of my rock and roll lifestyle will pass on and it again makes a person reflect on life and what were all doing.

I am making sure daily that if I do pass that I have left a legacy behind that I am proud of. I want my son to know that everyday I made an effort to interact with him and be a part of his life so that, if I pass early, he remembers how much his daddy loved him.

We are just days away from Brooke giving birth to Ayden as well. So as we say goodbye to some, we are about to welcome another! Good luck sunshine! We'll be there for you.

Stupid Cancer Show

Well, just wanted to post a quick note about an opportunity that I can now confirm.

This coming Monday, November 19th, 2007, I will be co-hosting 'The Stupid Cancer Show' live via the Internet at 9:00pm EST.

Please join me for this great event.

Thanks to Matthew Zachary for the invitation!

This is really becoming a very exciting program to be a part of and I look forward to seeing just how far we can reach out and help the cancer community.

Hope to hear that some of ya tuned in! Drop a line and let us what you thought.

Stupid Cancer! Survivors rule!

  Most of you know that I suffered from a rare form of testicular cancer called non-godnal germ cell seminoma. I am in remission from it right now and everything has been going great so far.

I decided awhile back that I wanted to get involved with something and find a way to give back to a community that did so much for my family and I during this time.

I ran across a website just browsing one day and I felt the urge to sign up with them. As I was browsing the site I ran across a section for getting involved and I filled out an application for their Young Adult Leadership Council. After interviewing over the phone I was just really moved that this was going to be something special.

There are big things planned with this up and coming organization and I am glad to be involved.

You'll be seeing a lot from me on here promoting the site, discussing my disease and pretty much the same 'ol rants that have been here for almost 2 years now.

My first order of business that I want to promote here are 2 cd's put out by i[2]y. The are put together from those around the cancer community and it is a great listen. I have the Volume 1 disc and it's pretty neat to listen to.

With all organizations there are charitable events and promotions, this is i[2]y's to begin with.

Here are the notes about the cd:

The I'm Too Young For This! Cancer Foundation For Young Adults (i[2]y) is a global support community for young adults affected by cancer who get busy living and rock on – and we use music and the arts to make it hip to be a young survivor and talk openly about stupid cancer.
Nearly 70,000 young adults between the ages of 15 and 39 will be diagnosed with cancer this year, a number that increases each year. That said, we're not here to scare people. Seriously, we're not. This compilation CD (and educational toolkit) was a labor of love 3 years in the making and what it represents is not only hope, but a united community of survivors who often feel they're the only ones out there. Well, this album is changing the rules.
100% of all net proceeds benefit the foundation, For more information visit http://ImTooYoungForThis.org.
Stupid cancer, Survivors rule. Rock on!

No pressure friends, but I'd like to encourage you to help out if ya can and pick up one of these discs. Now the music may not be for you, but knowing that purchased it can make ya feel good! Pass the cd on to a friend who may like it.

You have my thanks and appreciation friends! Enjoy!

Keeping it real......

Here we are, another week past and looking forward to another weekend.

I've been keeping myself really busy lately. I've got all of my irons in the fire right now and I can tell it's a bit much, so I plan on approaching it a bit different now.

I am just in love with some of the activities I've got brewing up right now and the excitement I think is what is getting the best of me. There is some real potential for a few of the projects and I just think that it's really going to lead to big things.

I am being a bit coy and teasing you here, but its all for a good reason. Lots of i's to dot and t's to cross before I say anything official.

One thing that I want to mention right off the bat is that it is now 5 years since my beloved XBox Live service launched, and I got that killer 'Welcome to the Beta' email from Microsoft. It was a rush that I'll never forget and am glad to be a part of it. XBox is making it special by posting over on their website about it, see it here.

I want to talk about just how special this is. When I first got online I gamed with a few classy cats on the beta. I was just stunned by how the gaming world was transforming right before my eyes. I quickly thought back to how horrible multiplayer gaming was on PC's. YUCK! And now we had Live, and a voice to go with it. We would run around in Re-volt for hours having a blast and shooting the shit with each other. The forums that Microsoft had at the time were just plain horrible. So there was another group that eventually formed later on called XBox Live Friends. Also a part of this group were the founding members of Gamertag Database, now known as Gamertag.com. Let's just say that I have never met a cooler group of people. I don't have many friends here in Ohio, the friends I have are mostly from this community.

To this day I still hang out with quite a few of them and even visit them, at least once a year. Mr Silverblood, Ram2600, Keg O War, Vitamin B, Headgamer, Team Binky, Chado, and Antek718 are like my brothers. They are just world class individuals. Not just limited to guys either, you close-mnded knuckle heads, no-no, there's also LonestarGal and Lulu, and even my lovely Mrs Scary Aaron. These girls got game too!

So to see the LiveIs5 page and see our names blazed across the site it just makes it that more special. Happy 5th XBox Live!

I'm taking a trip in a few weeks to New York City. I will be making an announcement about this trip in a few days. Why would I be making an announcement about my trip? Tee hee, because it's gonna be something that YOU my friends may be taking part in. Stay tuned for my big surprise!

All this going on around me, you may wonder where the heck is the family and how am I spending any 'quality' time with them when I'm burning the candle at both ends. Well, I do make time for them and they are all doing wonderful.

Brooke is coming along quite well now. She is due the 12th of December. The baby and mommy are both very healthy. I'm still trying to get used to the fact that I'm going to be a grandfather, but I'm dealing with it. She's learning the hard lessons of life at a young age and she knows it. She doesnt need the stress of my freaking out and creating an uncomfortable environment. We all know the wrongs of this, we now have to deal with it. We will provide the best environment for her and the baby, count on it.

Tiffs doing wonderful. I am just so happy to be with her and have her by my side. She is my everything. I make stupid, dumb mistakes in my life and sometimes I'm just struck by how she just accepts me for who I am. I'm a jerk at times and this woman tolerates it. For everything that she went thru with me, to helping raise my children in the end she is my hero.

Big Al is doing great! The kid is growing so damn fast. I stop his ADHD (my analysis) ass every day to slow him down for 2 seconds so I can enjoy that day of him being that small. It's going by so fast and I'm trying to keep up. Now if my damned lungs would just get back to healthy so I could do just that, that would be super! We had our first Halloween that meant something this year. He dressed up as Spiderman and we walked him 3 blocks. It was just a fun time.

See that, I take so long to post and then you have a ton to read. Let's do our best to keep this pace up a little more.

Thanks for stopping by! More real soon, I promise!