Blog – Page 2 – Oddball Update

The Hunt Concludes: Charger Three Joins Our Family

February 3, 2013February 3, 2013 Chief Oddball 2 Comments

For the three days preceding January 30th, I didn't get to sleep until 2 a.m. and was barely able to concentrate on anything except Car Matters. So when that day finally dawned and I got up ready to spend the entire day car shopping, I was bound and determined to get a right proper deal for the perfect car. All I had to do was select that car. In the end, that car was Charger Three.

The Great Dodge Hunt: Money In Hand

January 28, 2013January 28, 2013 Chief Oddball

Today I completed what has to have been the easiest vehicle sale I have ever undergone. Okay, okay: let me temper that by admitting that it’s only the second car that I’ve ever sold on the private market. But you could hardly ask for a more ideal situation: a buyer who dropped virtually into my lap, paid close to my asking price and was great to work with throughout the entire transaction.

Welcome to Chief Oddball’s Great Dodge Hunt

January 27, 2013January 27, 2013 Chief Oddball 1 Comment

Well, that came together sooner than I expected. Just days after posting that we might have a buyer for Mrs. Oddball’s Mazda6, I now have a verbal agreement and will probably have the money in hand come Monday. As I mentioned in my last post, the buyer is a coworker of mine who recently moved here from outside the U.S.

The Catch-Up Brain Dump

January 23, 2013January 23, 2013 Chief Oddball

This entry doesn’t have a central topic. It doesn’t even have a featured image, as you probably noticed. It’s simply a big, massive wall of text onto which I spew everything that’s been clogging up my mind for the past month while I haven’t been posting here.

2012: Chief Oddball’s Retrospective

December 31, 2012January 1, 2013 Chief Oddball 2 Comments

As the final minutes of Gregorian year 2012 prepare to expire here in the U.S. Central time zone, let’s take a look back at the year from Chief Oddball’s vantage point. (That’s me, in case you’re new here.) Was it a year of success or failure?

Just When I Thought I Was Out, PC Gaming Pulls Me Back In

December 16, 2012December 17, 2012 Chief Oddball

It all started with Diablo III, and from there things began to spiral out of control. From Faster Than Light to System Shock 2 and even a brand new Radeon video card [!!], this is the tale of my rediscovery of PC gaming.

Tablet Wishes Fulfilled: The Samsung ATIV

December 1, 2012December 1, 2012 Chief Oddball 2 Comments

I've found the Samsung ATIV to be a perfect fit for me: part geek-engineer type with its x86 support and work-friendly environment, and part artist with its professional-grade Wacom digitizer. Although this is a strange dichotomy, I've made it work for me, and when I demanded the same of a tablet, the Samsung ATIV answered the call.

Connor hungrily eyes the Thanksgiving turkey

A Right Proper Thanksgiving

November 27, 2012November 27, 2012 Chief Oddball

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. Partially because you get to eat yummy comfort food, partially because it’s the only national holiday where you typically get a free four-day weekend. But mostly because it’s always been a holiday marked by the quiet comforts of home, the warmth of family and enjoyment of favorite familiar things.

DOCSIS 3.0 Channel Bonding and You

November 16, 2012May 13, 2014 Chief Oddball 18 Comments

I've been a subscriber to Time Warner's high-speed Internet service since we moved to Texas, but lately that connection has slowed to a crawww-w-w-wl. In today's Oddball episode we'll learn an important lesson about DOCSIS 3.0 channel bonding and how it can be a huge benefit, even on slower broadband subscription tiers (such as our 10 Mbps line). Canapés may also be served.

Solving Windows 8 Sleep Issues

November 3, 2012November 3, 2012 Chief Oddball 4 Comments

I first installed Windows 8 when the RTM became available to MSDN subscribers in August, and on my home computer I had one serious problem that kept bugging the hell out of me and which I was never able to solve: Windows 8's sleep, hibernation and much-vaunted "Fast Startup" options just plain wouldn't work right.

Category: Blog