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Step Mania

Friends of ours told us recently that they had put together their own Dance Dance Revolution game area in their house using the Step Mania software on a PC.  I contacted our friends a little while later and installed the game on our laptop and bought the dance pads and USB converter for my wife for Christmas.  We’ve been playing for the last two days and it’s been a blast.  What a great way to exercise and have fun!  I have to admit that I love the new set up in the house.  We can watch a movie, TV, hook up the iPod video, or the laptop to watch TV/movies, and now play Step Mania with the laptop.  A simple S-video cable and a two composite to 1/8” stereo jack is all I needed to connect the laptop up to the stereo receiver and to our TV. 

Now we can get some aerobic exercising in after our son goes to bed.  Just step away in playing the game and we can sweat the calories away.  Back in the summer time I put up a   picture of me playing DDR in an arcade on the boardwalk.  Sure the home setup isn’t anything like the arcade version, but I kind of like the setup at home the way it is.  The goal is to paint and get new carpets for the basement and then we’ll move all the equipment down there, but for now, the setup is fine.

So if you’re looking for some fun that’s fairly cheap, you can buy the USB adapters and some pads for about $60-$80.  That’s not too bad.  For the cost of an Xbox 360 game, you can put together your own DDR setup in your home.

Step 1:   Download and install Step Mania on your computer.
Step 2: Connect the   USB adapter to your laptop or PC.
Step 3: Connect your   dance pads to the USB adapter.
Step 4: Connect your PC to your TV via S-video and then change the input selection (Video 2 or 3) on your TV. (If your TV doesn’t have an S-video input, then simply use a computer monitor.)
Step 5: Connect your laptop to your TV or receiver for sound.  (1/8” stereo to Composite.) Apple sells a 3 composite cable (Yellow is video, red is sound, and white is sound). But you can go to Radio Shack (or a similar gadget store) and ask the salesperson for an adapter that will allow you to connect a set of composite (red/white) wires from the back of your stereo receiver’s TV/Video jack to a 1/8” stereo jack from your laptop headphone jack or a PC’s sound out jack on the sound card.
Step 6: Follow the instructions for Step Mania to   configure the dance pads.
Step 7: Play the game and look like a fool in the beginning!

Once you give it a try and need some more help, be sure to check out the   How to Play Instructions on the Step Mania site.  There’s a lot of useful information there. 

I believe that there are over 200 songs available for the game (lots of fast tech music—not my favorite type of music but it’ll get you moving!).  If you’re bored (or just don’t like) those songs, you can import your own mp3s and then   create your own song for the game.  Very cool.

Thankfully this one Christmas present went over very well.  It’s an activity that we can do together and both initially be horrible at.  I’ve been having lots of fun, we’ve been getting all sweaty, and little by little we’re getting better at the game.  Yes, it’s great to watch movies and TV or play other games, but I also like having the option of being able to play this game and get some exercise in.  It’s a good way to burn off stress and let loose. A big thank you for our friends for teaching us about this home version.

Have fun!

Happy Holidays

I'm off on vacation from writing in this blog.  If something extraordinary occurs between now and the new year, I'll post something, but I'm going to take the time to spend with my family, enjoy the holiday season, and start working on episode 3 of The Magic Sock.

May you, your loved ones, and all of those in the world enjoy peace and health in the new year.  Enjoy. And for those who have lost your homes and family in the last year due to the hurricanes, earthquakes, or war--I pray that you will find comfort and aid to help you through the rough times.

Peace.  See you in 2006.

Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

I lied.  I’m back.  Yeah, I’m back.  It’s not even the end of the year yet and already I’m making a new post.  Now that I have a few moments to sit down and collect my thoughts there are just too many good things to talk about.  And before I get into it all, I wanted to talk about religion: I believe in God, but I do not practice organized religion.  I was raised Catholic but have fallen away from the religious practices.  I just can’t stand behind a faith that has so many problems: Women cannot be priests, priests cannot marry, and officials have continually neglected to prosecute priests who have molested young boys.  I could go on and on, but I won’t.  It’s Christmas and I believe in God, his/her/its power in our lives and of the glory of being.  I believe that we’re all God (more of a Hindu belief) and all of creation is God.  We could not separate ourselves from God even if we wanted to.  It’s just not possible.

Now: I like to take a step back and I want to share some joy and fun with you.  Am I making fun of Christians and as to what they believe?  No.  But I do not support any religion that thinks that they have the right answer about how their faith is the right one.  And that their God is THE ONE.  Everyone else is in error.  That’s bullshit.  Plain and simple.  (I could go on and on about how a priest told us in religion class that even the poor in Africa [who never heard of Jesus] couldn’t go to heaven.)  Being born into a faith or having access to it, is not the means through which salvation is given to people.  At least that’s what I believe.  If there is a God, then why would he simply show himself to the world as a white man with a beard?  Come on, let’s wake up a bit.  You’re freaking God!  You could be a cow one day, the President the next, and then a rock baking in the sun.  You’re God!  All dimensions, time, space, and existence are in your control.  You thought it up, it’s all you.  So with that said, I want to share with you my thoughts on the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (also known as   Pastafarianism) 

My wife told me about this back in the summer and I just couldn’t stop laughing.  The   Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster was created in response to Intelligent Design. Here’s the basic story: “In June 2005, Bobby Henderson submitted an open letter to the Kansas Board of Education in response to their scheduling a hearing debating whether to give intelligent design equal time with evolution by natural selection in biology classes.”  From there, people just started jumping on the bandwagon.  What do Pastafarians believe in?  Well, one of my favorite tenets is: “Global warming, earthquakes, hurricanes, and other natural disasters are a direct consequence of the decline in numbers of pirates since the 1800s.”  (You have to check out this   graph.  It’s really funny.)

In an age in which religious fanaticism has swept America, I wanted to have some fun on this day before Christmas Eve.  If God does exist and if she were to sit down with me and have a chat, I’d like to talk with her about Pastafarianism and hope that she enjoys the joke.  I think she would get a big laugh out of it all.

While enjoying Christmas (if you celebrate the holiday), remember that: 1. You’re not the only people in the world who celebrate a religious holiday at this time of year.  2. Take a step back and just enjoy life—your family and friends and what you have.  I can only hope that 2006 will be a better year.  2005 was filled with famine, war, disease, and natural disasters.  If you want to learn more about Pastafarianism, then be sure to read this   article on Wired.   Have fun!  Peace.

Episode 2 (Worlds: Then and Now)

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Show Notes
Total playing time: 9 minutes 57 seconds

--Thank you to MTGSalvation for running The Magic Sock
--Breakdown of Zak Dolan's 1994
--Comparison of the 1994 Worlds deck with Katsuhiro Mori's 2005 deck

1994 Worlds 1st Place Deck (Zak Dolan)
Land:
1 Library of Alexandria
4 Savannah
4 Tropical Island
4 Tundra
2 Strip Mine

Creatures:
1 Clone
2 Old Man of the Sea
1 Time Elemental
1 Vesuvan Doppelganger
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Ley Druid
4 Serra Angel

Spells:
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Control Magic
1 Mana Drain
1 Recall
1 Siren's Call
2 Stasis
1 Timetwister
1 Time Walk
1 Regrowth
1 Armageddon
2 Disenchant
1 Kismet
4 Swords to Plowshares
1 Wrath of God
1 Black Lotus
1 Black Vise
1 Howling Mine
1 Icy Manipulator
1 Ivory Tower
1 Mana Vault
2 Meekstone
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring
1 Winter Orb

Sideboard:
1 Chaos Orb
1 Circle of Protection: Red
1 Copy Artifact
1 Diamond Valley
1 In the Eye of Chaos
1 Floral Spuzzem
2 Karma
1 Magical Hack
1 Power Sink
1 Presence of the Master
1 Reverse Damage
1 Sleight of Mind
1 Kismet
1 Winter Blast

2005 Worlds 1st Place Deck (Katsuhiro Mori)

Land:
4 Vitu-Ghazi, the City-Tree
4 Selesnya Sanctuary
1 Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers
4 Brushland
5 Forest
4 Temple Garden
1 Plains

Creatures:
2 Yosei, the Morning Star
3 Arashi, the Sky Asunder
1 Birds of Paradise
4 Selesnya Guildmage
4 Wood Elves
4 Loxodon Hierarch
3 Kodama of the North Tree
3 Llanowar Elves

Spells:
3 Pithing Needle
3 Umezawa's Jitte
2 Congregation at Dawn
3 Glare of Subdual
2 Seed Spark

Sideboard:
2 Greater Good
1 Kodama of the North Tree
2 Naturalize
2 Carven Caryatid
1 Seedborn Muse
1 Wrath of God
1 Kodama's Reach
2 Yosei, the Morning Star
3 Hokori, Dust Drinker

Closing:

Magic: The Gathering is trademarked and owned by Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. The Magic Sock is not affiliated with Wizards of the Coast or Hasbro in any way. To send feedback, send an e-mail to themagicsock@gmail.com. Audio feedback is welcome but please keep the mp3 file to under 45 seconds and be sure to mention your name and city/state/country.

Shopping

Only a few days left for Christmas shopping before the big day arrives!  You better hurry up.  Am I into all the consumerism that’s running rampant this time of year?  You bet I am and I’m not afraid to admit it.  I really like going out and getting gifts for friends/family.  It’s a lot of fun to get caught up in the holiday spirit and forget, for a while, the problems of the world.  It’s easy to forget about the war, survivors from the hurricanes, and a host of other problems.  But since I’m a pretty cynical guy when it comes to life (I like to think of myself as a realist, but I think my wife would call me a complainer), I do like to see the Christmas lights, hear the caroling, and just try to have some fun.

My wife and I wrapped Christmas gifts last night while watching the film “The 40-year-old Virgin.”  I like to keep an open mind, but I didn’t really enjoy the flick.  It was boring.  While watching the film, I felt really sorry for the main character, wondering why he was being portrayed as such a loser.  Some people choose to live a celibate life and reducing a man to the worst possible of everything (he doesn’t drive a car, he has a crappy job, he collects action figures, etc.) was a bit unbelievable.  Yes, there were some funny scenes, but give me “American Pie” over “the 40-year-old Virgin” any day.  Hands down.

Again, I’ll watch all sorts of flicks.  I’m definitely not a prude. 

So my Christmas shopping is mostly done, presents are wrapped, and about half of our cards are out in the mail.  The tree is up with lights, but no decorations outside.  I still have to find out what my family is doing this year.  In years past, my family would come to our house and we would hold Christmas Eve dinner (the seven fish Italian dinner—but don’t tell anyone—we didn’t always have seven fish), all opening our gifts up after the kids went to bed.  What will we do this year?  I believe we’re going up to my brothers and hanging out there.  Plans aren’t definite yet, but that would give us time to relax and not have to worry about moving unpacked boxes out of the way.  With Christmas only a little more than a week away, we’ll be finalizing all our plans soon.

Speaking of unpacking, I’ve been having a blast in finding old Dungeons & Dragons rule books, modules, and back issues of Dragon magazine.  I’ve opened some of the issues of Dragon magazine and they’re 22 years old.  Man, that makes me feel old.  I can’t believe that it’s been that long since I used to subscribe to the magazine.  Time passes by quickly.  I still can’t believe that it’s been over 12 years since I started playing the card game Magic: The Gathering.  Speaking of which: I finished episode 2 of the Magic Sock and am waiting to see when/if MTGSalvation.com will be running the video blog on their site.  Hopefully, it’ll be before Christmas.  We shall see.  I also submitted the Web blog to iTunes, but it’s not showed up there yet.  My thought is that I could obtain some traffic via people looking for Magic: The Gathering podcasts via iTunes.  I’m hoping that iTunes will list my video.  I don’t know if they will or not, I’ll have to see.  I think it would be great if they did, but it’s out of my control.

From the stats on the first episode, I had over 560 people download it.  I don’t think that’s too bad.  Will I find an audience or not?  I’m not sure, but it’ll be fun in trying.  I like tinkering with the technology to put The Magic Sock all together, but it does take a lot of work and time.  Both of which I don’t have much of these days.  However, it’s my goal to work on episode #3 around Jan. 1st.  Again, we’ll see how much time I actually have.

Well, I’m off.  I’ve stuff to do.  Take care and have fun.