Oddball Update – Page 29 – Chief Oddball writes about tech, games, cars and family life

Samsung 206BW Triple Head

March 31, 2007September 23, 2011 Chief Oddball 2 Comments

I’ve finally retired my last CRT monitor. Today I picked up three of Samsung’s new line of widescreen LCD monitors, the 20-inch 206BW. With a native a resolution of 1680×1050, a response time of 2ms and a dynamic contrast ratio of 3000:1, these monitors are perfect for graphic design and gaming.

My Seven Warehouse Cars

March 25, 2007September 23, 2011 Chief Oddball 2 Comments

Glancing back at my “Maseratisti” post from the other day, I got to wondering what seven cars I would choose to stash away in a warehouse if I had the money and space that Apple’s uncle Preecha does. Since such musings wouldn’t be as interesting without visual aids, here’s where my rambling thoughts led me.

Maseratisti

March 18, 2007September 23, 2011 Chief Oddball 2 Comments

I’ve mentioned Apple’s uncle Preecha before. He’s the man who made a very good living in polymers and has used some of his funds to create a car collection for himself; his most recent addition, the Mercedes R171 roadster, was featured on this site back in February.

What’s This? Somewhat Current Video Game Reviews?

March 15, 2007September 30, 2011 Pooch

As I mentioned a few posts back, lately I’ve rented a few video games from the local video store. The way I figure it, it’s better to spend $5 or $6 and find out a game is crap rather than drop $50-$60 and find out a game sucks.

A Day in Ya’an

March 9, 2007September 23, 2011 Chief Oddball 1 Comment

Today was quite an adventure for us here in China. After staying at our friends’ (very nice) apartment in XinJin yesterday and basically working most of the day, we set out in the evening for Ya’an, an old-fashioned town about an hour from here that is home to China’s single largest population of Pandas — a world-renowned location.

Things Seen on the Road in Hat Yai

February 22, 2007September 23, 2011 Chief Oddball

When you venture to countries in Asia, you typically find that English has invaded popular culture, if only in some small way. Here, English words, phrases or acronyms are everywhere, particularly on cars. If you think our cars in America have a lot of badges — with identification markings for make and model, engine size, optional equipment, trim level, etc.

December is Retro Gaming Month (Mk II)!

December 16, 2006September 30, 2011 Chief Oddball 3 Comments

Hello all, and welcome to Retro Gaming Month, Mark II. I did this once before, almost three years ago (has it been that long? geesh). While my previous attempts to celebrate an entire month filled with wacky, antiquated PC gaming fun were aborted shortly thereafter, today I decided to pick up the torch and run with it again, if only for a short ways more.

Remastered TOS: “Balance of Terror” Impressions

September 17, 2006September 30, 2011 Chief Oddball

Last night our local UPN (err, sorry…”My Network TV”) affiliate aired the first of the remastered Star Trek: TOS episodes, “Balance of Terror.” Of course, I was up at 11:00 checking it out. What did I think of the upgraded appearance?

Star Trek: Remastered

September 12, 2006September 30, 2011 Chief Oddball 2 Comments

September 8th, 2006 marked the 40th anniversary of the airing of the first Star Trek: TOS episode back in 1966. Sitting here today, it’s hard to believe that I’ve been a fan of this show for more than half of that elapsed time — in fact, the colorful sets and hackneyed effects of TOS are some of my earliest (and fondest) television memories, watching syndicated reruns at 7:00 p.m.

5ive Gears In Reverse

September 11, 2006October 7, 2011 Pooch 10 Comments

Observations, annoyances, etc., from the past few days of driving around Oahu in Test Drive: Unlimited (followed by some other unrelated ramblings): I haven’t had to dodge around this many idiotic drivers on the road since…well…the last time I actually went out for a drive.