More than meets the eye

As a child, I was always entranced by robots. Whether it was in cartoons that showed us "visions of the future", Robotech, Transformers, or in video games like Virtual ON, robots were always present in my imagination. Everytime I see articles describing what new advanced scientists have made in robotic engineering, I always read over it and research where we are. But listed below is a cool piece on something the Mythbusters did with a robotics kit from Radio Shack.

Mythbusters Test the VEX Robotics Design System: Article 1

Mythbusters Test the VEX Robotics Design System: Article 2

I have seen things no one else has seen ...

Not really, but I have had a good time this past week.

At work, my training has completed. Had a good time working with some of the other departments within our IT division. I may have even learned a few things, but I try to keep them from knowing that.

Between the end of my training and the resumption of my normal work week, I had 4 days off. So I flew out to visit a friend of mine in San Jose, CA. The weather was pretty cold (at least compared to what we are getting in Florida), but overall I cannot complain. Met my friend at his work on Saturday. Learned a little about what he does, and then we went out and met his girlfriend and some of their friends for some drinks and dinner. We first went off to the Tonga Room, which is a cool Polynesian-themed bar. Had a drink or two there, then we met the rest of our group at a sushi restaurant in San Francisco. Sushi was pretty good, but they did not have a Volcano Roll of some kind so their rating is lowered a little in my book. After dinner, I realized I had been nearing about 24 hours of being awake so I felt like I should get to my hotel room and check in. It was a 40-45 minute drive over to the hotel from San Francisco and luckily I only attempted to kill myself once (I don't know what it is about driving that puts you to sleep, but I gotta stock some Full Throtle or Bawls next time). Sunday we ended up going around San Jose and hanging out. I asked him about the working environment out there, as well as what companies are where. Monday we went back over to San Francisco to Chinatown. Bought a couple of DVDs, Tom-Yum-Goong and The God of Cookery, then purchased some freshly baked pork buns from a local bakery. I always enjoy the area of Chinatown as it is so different than anything I am used to where I live. The trip pretty much ended here, as I had a full day of travel on Tuesday to get back home. I already plan on going back for at least a week next time.

God, there's really nothing else to talk about. St. Patrick's Day today, but I haven't been feeling too well so I don't know if I will do anything other than sleep.

Link time:

• Well, I guess I know some people who will never get prostrate cancer.
• For my next gaming rig setup, I would like to have this.

Hope everyone is doing well, and I will post more soon.

Still fat, just not as much

Oh, forgot to post this earlier. Had my body fat % and weight done at the gym the other day. Weighed in at 174 lbs. again (no change) but only went down to 20.8% body fat. I really wanted to be lower than that, preferably sub-20% so I am not too happy. Need to work out harder and faster I guess. Bah.

And looking back, I see I haven't posted my progression for this three-month period. I stayed at roughly the same weight, going from 173 --> 174 --> 174 lbs. My body fat % has gone from 22.1% --> 21.2% --> 20.8%. So I am losing fat, but not at the rate I would like. And don't talk to me about how it takes time and I should be happy with any loss. I'm impatient and want to work harder.

I *really* need to get out of here

I can't wait for this week to be over. This will be my last week of "training" at work and then I'll be back on my 4-day work week. Feels like I've gotten a little worn down these last few weeks, so getting back to my normal schedule will probably help. A couple of other activities will help as well. Got somewhere to be tonight. Then I will be going on vacation this Saturday, March 11 through Tuesday, March 14. I will be visiting a friend of mine out in San Jose, CA. I go out to visit him about once a year, and I always have a good time. Got some plans for my time out there, and hopefully I'll be able to speak more on that later. Regardless, it's only Tuesday and I wish it were Friday already.

Fun links for the week:

• http://chrono.ocremix.org/ -- remixed songs from the RPG Chrono Trigger. I had a lot of friends who loved this game back in the day, so this is for all of them.
• Suntory has some commercials in Japan for some kind of FF “potion” energy drinks, linked here and here.
  
• This has got to be a joke. And if not, then I worry for my German heritage. Look everyone, it's Accordian Hero!
• Rockstar, makers of the Grand Theft Auto games, Manhunt and Red Dead Revolver have now come up with their most auspicious and violent game yet. Table Tennis!
• Ever wanted to build your own Linux distribution. Well, now you can.
• And for those of us that spend time posting stuff out on the web, here's a resource about free icons for use.

That's it for now. Later!

I need to get out of here

Sorry, posting from work right now. Shouldn't be doing this, but right now I don't care.

Not too much to talk about right now. Been trying to go to the gym consistently now, and eventually I may see some results. My gym attendance averages about 4 times a week now. Sometime this week I'll have my weight and body fat % taken, so we'll see if I have continued to lose fat.

I will be out of town in a couple of weeks. I will be visiting a friend of mine in San Jose, CA for a few days. It's partly a vacation, and partly personal work. I have certain expectations I want to meet for this trip, but I won't be too disappointed if nothing comes to fruition. At the very least, I just want to go out there and get to meet some people and do some social networking.

Will probably post some new links soon. I am working on a few personal projects which I hope to have finished shortly. Hope everyone is doing well, and I'll post again soon.