Random

"12 days" ruined by Xbox

Jeromey Balderrama

Well my original hope of the 12 days of blogging has already been wrecked – due in large part that I’ve acquired an Xbox 360.  Currently owning (and loving) the Wii, as well as the PS2 (which pretty much is only used for Guitar Hero) at this point, getting a 360 a tough internal sell. However, I finally managed to push myself over the fence and buy myself a little Christmas after considering the following:

  • The games on the Xbox 360 are gorgeous, and I love taking in HD content.  Some of these games are unreal in their quality.  The Wii games are a blast to play, but their graphics aren’t anything to write home about.
  • The single-player games: Xbox has an awesome lineup for single-player adventure games.  I realize that Wii has a decent catalog building up, but right now I primarily consider the Wii a party game machine (with the exception of a few games like Super Mario Galaxy).
  • I was looking for a Media Center extender, so that I don’t need to burn content to DVD in order to play them.
  • The 360 offers a cheap way to get an HD-DVD player, if I decided to go that route.

Right now my desktop machine doesn’t have Windows Media Center, so I’m upgrading to Windows Vista (gulp) to try to get that experience.  After my failed beta attempt over 1 & 1/2 years ago, I’d like to see if Vista SP-1 would stack up.  More to come on this experience.

Break time = blog time

Jeromey Balderrama

After what’s been a crazy last few weeks between finals and big projects ramping up at work, I’m thankful to be on a 12-day break from work.  I can’t remember a time when I’ve needed a break more.  Aside from spend time with my loved ones, I have absolutely nothing planned!  Being that I can’t sit still, you’ll probably find that I’ll be blogging a little more consistently during this time.  The song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" come to mind, which makes me think about the Twelve Days of Blogging – that may be too much commitment. We’ll see.

Watch here for more posts!

Sheriff decks his halls in protest of the "lights" policy

Jeromey Balderrama

From Slapstick Politics: Larimer County Sheriff Decks The Halls With Nativity, Menorah

Sheriff Jim Alderden led an old fashioned tree trimming celebration Saturday in protest of the City of Fort Collins’ decision to remove religious symbols from city property.

The tree trimming was originally organized in response to a holiday task force that recommended the Fort Collins City Council vote to remove all religious references and colored lights from the city’s display. Because the sheriff’s tree is on county-owned property, it is not subject to any decisions the Fort Collins City Council makes.

BEST SHERIFF EVER – proud that he’s living in Fort Collins

Been lying low (recovering) for the last few days

Jeromey Balderrama

Sorry that it’s been a week since my last post.  With the Thanksgiving 4-day weekend I spent the holiday traveling to Durango with Bethany.  I had a really fun time and ate some really awesome food.  Unfortunately things took a turn for the worse when I came down with the flu and had one of the worst days (heath-wise) I’ve ever had in my life.  I realize many of us want to shed the holiday pounds after Thanksgiving, but this wasn’t the way I was planning on discarding my weekend meals.

I’m on the mend now, trying to get better. Bethany is about 3 days ahead of me on this illness and I’m watching her flu-like symptoms turn into cold-like symptoms.  I’m hoping to avoid that fate, but right now it seems inevitable.  Right now I’d just be happy to do away with this virtual vice that’s inflicting pressure in my head.  Hopefully another good night’s worth of sleep will help with that.

Holiday Lights Update – the public speaks

Jeromey Balderrama

I know I’ve been hitting on this topic quite a bit lately, but with this going on in my back yard I can’t help but comment.  Bethany clued me in on this latest story on the latest developments and the current version of the Holiday Lights policy.  Apparently the policy has evolved to now include input from City Council members, as well as from public input.  In the new policy, the “white lights only” has now expanded to allow colored lights and Christmas tree displays on the outside of buildings.

Apparently the spokesperson from the task force objects to people outside of the task force offering input. 

From the Coloradoan:

“My primary concern is that the (hybrid) recommendation includes aspects that were neither in the original policy nor the task force recommendation,” task force spokesman Seth Anthony said. “I am concerned that some of the things were not thought all the way through and carefully (vetted) like the task force recommendations were.”

Awwww, is the ACLU guy upset that the public can’t be circumvented in the vocal minority’s attempt to promote their own agenda?

Anthony, who acknowledged the task force recommendations may not be directly in line with what a majority of the community favors, said the city’s hybrid policy risks being too restrictive, not inclusive, by its wording.

I do find myself agreeing with Anthony in one part: I think the modified indoor-building policies, which state that only secular decorations may be used is too limiting.  My hope is that at the meeting tonight they’ll defer back to the “manager’s discretion” indoor policy, while maintaining an expansive outdoor policy.  Should be an interesting meeting tonight.