It’s been a little over a month and I had finally reached level 80.  Now what am I supposed to do?

I’m talking about the latest expansion to World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King.  From the the month of July to the present I’ve been playing online at least three sessions a night and a little bit more on the weekend.  I got sucked into questing and grinding to get that one more level but I always wondered, what happens when you hit the level cap?  Did everything come to an end?  Not by a long shot.

The beauty of World of Warcraft and in this case Wrath of the Lich King and perhaps the genius behind Blizzard is that it’s never over.  There is always something to do.  Now I’m doing daily quests and trying to save up for a faster flying mount.  But doing the same quest gets old and fast so you have to be creative and imaginative.  So today I decided to help fellow gamers and it was one of the best gaming sessions I ever had.  I traveled from city to village from the shores of the Howling Fjord to the mountains of Storm Peaks finding other players who were being attacked and I lent a helping hand.  If I saw they were in trouble, I swooped down and hit the enemies with a barrage of virtual sword swipes and shot many arrows from my mythical bow and then I would sit back and see what kind of responses I got.  Most people said thank you and some didn’t say anything.  Some players even accused me of stealing their kill.  But what happened nearly all the time was that no one wanted help after the fact.  I found it odd that most players would say thanks and move on even after I asked if they needed help any where else.  Perhaps even in a virtual world full of millions and millions of gamers from all over the world, some people just want their piece and quiet.  Although not scientific, it was a fun social experiment regardless. 

This brings up an interesting question: Do we play games to escape reality just to re-create a symbol of our own reality virtually?  Did that sentence even make sense?  I hope so.  But in a strange way it does.  Now I’m not a doctor of anything but for myself, in reality, I like to help people and I find myself to be a social person.  And looking at how I play games online and off, my gameplay seems to reflect how I act in real life-even when I’m an Undead Warrior member of the Horde or a space marine in the future killing Locusts who burst through the ground with unrelenting aggression.  So next time you play any game rather it be Solitaire or Gears of War 2 or even Wrath of the Lich King, take a step back and ask yourself how close to reality do you make your games out to be.  Do you play to escape reality?  Or do you in fact try to re-create your own reality in game.  But above all, have fun and play safe and remember: It’s just a game.

Do you want to play Rock Band like a real drummer?

Well the Ion Drum Rocker is pretty close to the real thing and a great start to a real quality electronic drum set.  This set came out in conjunction with Rock Band 2 a couple months back for a high price of of console itself at around $299 but was it worth the steep entry?  In two words, yes and yes.

The Ion Drum Rocker is leaps and bounds above the standard wireless drums that Rock Band 2 puts out.  The wireless drums had sensitivity issues that caused you to miss notes or even activate other pads that you weren't even hitting.  Sometimes I would be in a roll on the red pad and the blue pad would be going off at the same time.  And the there was the pedal problem.  Sure the bass pedal had a metal strip the prevent cracking but they forgot to reinforce the hinge and that's where my pedal snapped just two hours into playing during a Fleetwood Mac song.  The Ion Drums have none of these problems what so ever.  The pads are sturdy as ever with a thick layered pad of gum rubber ready to take a beating and the pedal feels like it weighs as much as the standard set itself.  The pedal is actually a converted hi-hat pedal from the Alesis DM5 electronic drum set but it does the job rather well despite sometimes sticking a bit.  But perhaps the best part of the Ion Drum Rocker is that it is totally configurable.  There really is no right or wrong way to set it up.  Just simply unscrew a couple of wingnuts and rotate a couple pads and move the cymbals up and down and you're set.  And when you feel like you've mastered Rock Band 2, you can then purchase a drum "brain" and have yourself a fully expandable drum set without using an Xbox 360 or home theater hook up at all.

So if you're are serious about drumming and got some extra scratch, go ahead and get the Ion Drum Rocker.  It's well worth the investment and you won't ever want to play the standard drums again.

How about some semi-holiday music to listen to.

  By semi-holiday I mean the soundtrack of Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack with songs remastered by artists such as Korn doing an awesome reimagining of "Kidnap the Sandy Claws" or Flyleaf performing the wistful but in this case rock and roll version of "What's This".  Don't get me wrong, I still love the original motion picture soundtrack created by Danny Elfman, but I'll definitely enjoy playing his alternative creations first for a change this holiday.

  You can find "Nightmare Revisited" on the Zune Marketplace from Walt Disney Soundtracks.

 Nightmare Revisited Track List:

1. Overture-DeVotchka
2. Opening-Danny Elfman
3. This Is Halloween-Marilyn Manson
4. Jack's Lament-The All American Rejects
5. Doctor Finkelstein-Amiina
6. What's This-Flyleaf
7. Town Meeting Song-The Polyphonic Spree
8. Jack and Sally Montage-Vitamin String Quartet
9. Jack's Obsession-Sparklehorse
10. Kidnap the Sandy Claws-Korn
11. Making Christmas-Rise Against
12. Nabbed-Yoshida Brothers
13. Oogie Boogie's Song-Rodrigo y Gabriella
14. Sally's Song-Amy Lee
15. Christmas Eve Montage-Rjd2
16. Poor Jack-Plain White T's
17. To The Rescue-Datarock
18. Finale/Reprise-Shiny Toy Guns
19. Closing-Danny Elfman
20. End Title-The Album Leaf
21. Oogie Boogie's Song-Tiger Army

I'm back.  But where the hell have I been?

It's been an interesting couple of months.  The economy went in the gutter, Obama was elected as our next President of the United States of America, tons of video games came out such as Gears of War 2 and Wrath of the Lich King, and I've been playing my new drums every night living out my rockstar wannabe dream.  I know that's a lot to swallow, but it's time to get back on track.

Once again there will be a few changes to nc454 Land.  It's still going to be the spot for home theater, gadget news, and video games and music, but with the 454 twist.  What does that mean?  What it means is that i won't bore you with technicalities about audio quality or what TV has the best pixel count but I'll break it down why you should tailor your electronic needs to your own taste.  I'm here to point you in the right direction. 

So the 454 will go back to basics.  In the following weeks you'll see the "Of the Week" series with something new every weekday from anything from picture of the week to music of the week.  Think of it as stuff to check out when you got a spare moment.  And don't forget about the monthly giveaways!  Next week I'll be kicking off another season of contest giveaways with a PAX swag pack giveaway from the many stickers and cool art books and random brochures I collected while in Seattle.  So hang tight everyone and keep an eye on the sight and throw the 454 blog into your RSS reader for the latest 454 coolness.

Originally I was planning on doing a full review of Rock Band 2.  Unfortunately I’ve encountered the same issues as I did in Rock Band 1-the Wireless Drum Pedal broke at the hinge that connects it to the base rendering the whole set up useless.  I thought I had fixed the problem by plugging up my old Keyboard sustain pedal to use as a bass pedal until I get my repaired one back but then I encountered a new problem.  Whenever the yellow pad is struck, the blue pad goes off causing you to miss notes and in the end fail songs.  At first it seemed like a calibration issue but after trying it on three different televisions and three different audio set ups, it’s been confirmed that the issue is the pads themselves.

Since the hardware was sold separately, I still want to play through Rock Band 2 as a game and give it a fair review.  But keep in mind I don’t give grades or percentages, just opinions.  Is it worth buying or not.  So with that in mind I ordered some sturdier drums from Ion Audio and they should be in sometime next week.  Be on the look out for a live uStream of the assembly of the drums and a play through as well.*

*Links for the demonstration will be up soon!

I had butterflies in my stomach the night before I was set to take off for Seattle.

    It was Wednesday evening and I was getting ready for the experience of a lifetime.  I was actually going to the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) for the first time.  I was scheduled to go last year but couldn't flesh out the details in time to correspond with my job.  I had everything laid out on the ground sorted by type of clothing for different kinds of cool Seattle weather and had set out every piece of electronic and power charger I had.  I was ready.  I was also going to finally meet everyone from the Gamercast Network that I had been playing games on line with for the past two years and finally put a face to their names.  So before I went to bed and then work for a couple hours the next morning, I put everyone's contact info into my phone and double checked my flight itinerary and lastly I made sure I had packed everything I needed for the cool Seattle weather...again.

  As I boarded the plane, first class I might add due to a free upgrade, I could feel the excitement and nervousness build up in the pit of my stomach which was a good thing and a bad thing: I get motion sickness easily.  But even though I felt sick to my stomach, nothing could take over the excitement I felt when i arrived at the Seattle Airport.  I ran as quick as I could to get my luggage and to a ride to the hotel because I was already running late for the Pre-Pax party held by The Blue Skittle.  (Thanks ooopy!).  The line for the taxi service was about twenty something people long so I sucked it up and took one for the team: i grabbed a Limo.  Surprisingly the Limo was only about $40 USD so riding in style didn't really break the bank.

   I arrived at the Tap House Grill around 10 P.M. and went straight to registration when all of the sudden I heard over loud music and over a hundred talking people "NC is here!"  I can't remember who exactly said it but I think it was either Chris or Heather Paladino.  I recognized them instantly from times where we have all played UNO online with Vision Camera support and gave them both big hugs and hand shakes.  It was then when the nervousness faded away.  As they took me inside i met the rest of the Video Game Show crew including Keith and his girlfriend Sue, who bought me a drink right after i met him, and Ivan  and Phil who I both play World of Warcraft with almost nightly and both of their girlfriends Mary and Jill respectively.  They made me feel like one of the guys.  The rest of the night went by as quick as it begun.  I was fortunate enough to play Rock Band 2 with everyone and we rocked out a couple of songs and then called it a night.  I walked about eight blocks to my hotel with an ear to ear smile on my face and lots of excitement built up inside me knowing that this was going to be a trip I would remember for years to come and that I would meet people whom I would never forget.

   

  It was officially day one of PAX and I woke up early that morning on what little sleep I got for a jog around Denny Park and up and down 7th Ave.  I should have worn sweats because I froze the hair off my legs in the cool 50 degree air.  But I didn't care to much.  Soon I would be in a huge cluster of thousands of gamers from all over the world and indoors.  After a quick shower I met with everyone I had seen the night before and also Chad who runs Gamercast Network (GCN) for breakfast at the overpriced yet tasty Daily Grill located directly across the street from the convention hall.  After having great conversations and killer omelettes we made our way down to the Market on Pike St. and took in the local flavor.  There were what seemed to be endless amounts of people showing there wears consisting mostly of imported flowers and trinkets and even smelly fish-but fresh smelling fish I might add.  And after we everything down to a random lady holding her crotch with a disturbing look on her face, it was time to make our way back to the convention hall and onto day one of PAX.  And when 2:00 P.M. Pacific time rolled around, so did tens of thousands of other people.

  The first booth I visited was the Microsoft booth where they had Gears of War 2 running, which I got to play later on that weekend, and a stage where Gears 2 single player was being played by one of the lead artists and watch by what seemed to be hundreds passing by.  As I made my way around the show floor with people from GCN including Andrew, Dale, Briggs and everyone else it began to sink in on how many games I was going to get see and how many I was going to miss playing because there were so many people there.  There are too many games I could list that I saw but some of them include Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero World Tour, Dead Space, Left 4 Dead, Wrath of the Lich King, and several other spread throughout the weekend.  After a few games, we were all treated to a keynote done by Bioshock creator Ken Levine which had us in stitches by the end and reassured us that being a nerd is okay.  After a long day of playing games and a hilarious keynote, we went to an after party at a hotel put on by GamerDNA.com.  They were incredibly nice.  As soon as we got in, some of us were treated to free drink coupons while others had to fork over a few bucks but it didn't matter-they had Rock Band.  As we played into the night I turned to my right and recognized the guy that had grabbed the mike right off the bat as Alex Albrecht from Diggnation and the Totally Rad Show and Jeff Canata also from the Totally Rad Show.  I introduced myself to Jeff and Alex and later on we played The Kill, a song by 30 seconds to Mars that I hadn't recognized but now am a fan of and really lit up the place. 

    Day two was fairly similar to day one.  We saw the same games and waited in the same lines but the high light of the day had to be going up on the main stage at the Harmonix booth and playing "More Than A Feeling' by Boston.  Heather Paladino, Mary, Miles (we call him White) and I must have waited close to two nerve racking hours to get up on stage but as soon as Mary hit a killer note in the song and I heard people cheering at the top of their lungs, I  smiled while still concentrating on my screen and played those newly constructed drums like I was never going to get to play them ever again.  We all felt a little bit like rock stars.  Later on in the day I was also introduced to a little card game-you might know of it-called Magic: The Gathering.  Being that a couple of us had never played before and some that haven't played in years, it took a while to set up our decks and explain the rules but it got to be extremely fun as the ball got rolling.  Unfortunately it was time to eat so we didn't get to finish our game.  The day finally wound down with a dinner at a restaurant called Mexico, or something like that, and a birthday celebration welcoming White into manhood as he turned 18 years old that night.  Some of had Margaritas and some beers but we all had great food and a bunch of laughs.  But as I made my way slowly to the hotel, I began to have a sinking almost depressing feeling in the pit of my stomach: it was then I realized there was only one day left.  Only one day to spend with my friends.

   

  I started the morning again with an early jog and met Andrew (Cypher) and Dale (E5150) for breakfast.  Brent (Zulfikar) made it too but unfortunately he had to leave due to an early flight.  I shook his hand firmly and gave him a hug and we said our goodbyes.  Sunday at PAX began with an impressive panel put together of video game podcasters including Chad from VGS, Godfree from Gamertag Radio, Natalie from Achievement Junkie and Inside Xbox, Jay from Uncle Gamer Radio, Doc from Sarcastic Gamer and moderated by Chris Paladino from the Gamerscore Blog.  They each talked briefly about how they began their podcasts and then took questions and answered every single one of them respectfully and honestly from the audience.  After a round of applause, the GCN community  got together for a series of group photos, some funny and some serious, but all memorable.  Afterwards, a few people said their good byes, some people went to lunch and the rest of us went back to the how floor.  After a few minutes playing some games with Phil and his girlfriend Jill, we met back up with the VGS crew and did a quick live recording that i was fortunate enough to have a brief but fun spot on.  I hope to hear how it turned out soon.  The day was almost over by the time we were done but there was still a few things left to do and one of those things was to play Guitar Hero World Tour up on the display stage.  It was a bit set up a bit different from Rock Band with more stations so more people could play but we played the main stage of course and did the best rendition of "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi I've ever heard.  When we finished we all got T-Shirts and made a few more rounds on the show floor.  Then in the last hour everything ended with more Guitar Hero World Tour action at the Microsoft booth where E, Jill, and Mary all sang songs while a couple time I played drums and Phil and Chris played guitar and sang as well.  We played our hearts out and I know I played with a heavy heart because PAX was officially over.  It was six in the evening and the lights were coming up.  It was time for one last dinner.

   

  Thankfully Heather P. had called the Fox Sports Grill and let them know we were bringing a big group of people and that we we waited only a mere 15 minutes.  In a way I wished we waited longer.  I had an incredibly good rack of ribs and a couple of beers and laughed and joked about the most random things with everyone there as if I've known them all my life.  Then before I knew the check came and it was time to say goodbye.  We all stood up and gave each other hugs and firm handshakes and wished each other well.  It took everything I had not to cry but I teared up instead.  I thought to myself "why am I tearing up?  I play games with these people all the time?"  Sometime during this trip I had made personal connections with everyone from GCN and from other sites that I'll never forget.  From the unmistakable laughter to the sarcastic humor of the VGS crew to the warm hearted-ness and friendliness of each and every person i met in person, I'm forever grateful and thankful.  We stood outside of the restaurant and said good bye one more time then parted ways back to each ones' hotel.  It was a tough walk back.  I kept thinking to myself about all the good times we shared over the past three or four days and all the really cool people I met whom I'll never forget for the rest of my life.  I admit it.  When I got to my room I sobbed a bit like a kid who just lost his best friend because he had to move away.  I know that I'll see everyone again in some form, whether it be online or in person  in the future, but I miss them already. 

  Going to the Penny Arcade Expo for the first time was an experience I'll never forget and for that I'm forever thankful and grateful.  I made some new friends and finally put a face to the name of so many people who I've played games with for the past couple of years and who i would give my life for.  So here's to looking forward to PAX 2009 and another great year of gaming and a lifetime of friendships, old and new.  So....does anyone want to play Forza 2?

Duffman X18 from the Gamercast Network forums!  Congratulations to Duffman X18, your code for the Too Human pre-order Armor Set is on the way.

A big thanks goes out to Gamercast Network and for everyone who entered.  Once again every single person that entered got all three questions correct.  Another successful contest is in the books so keep a lookout early this September for something "special".

  The exclusive Armor Set available to those who only pre-ordered the game can be yours.  And like previous nc454.com contests, you must answer three questions correctly in order for your name to be thrown in a hat and then later drawn.  I know a lot of people are hesitant to pre-order games so I took one for the community and for the simple fact that I can't wait to play Too Human this Wednesday!  So with out further adieu. here are your three questions:

1. What date is Too Human scheduled to release?  The current date, not the original scheduled date.

2. What is the name of the main character?

3. What is the name of the company that created Too Human?

  So there are the three questions-short and sweet.  Now for the details: To enter, just send me an email at jradebaugh@hotmail.com with your name and the three correct answers.  In the subject line type in "Too Human" so that I can filter all the answers into one folder and essentially make it easier to find a winner.  You have until August 21st to enter and the winner will be drawn on Friday August 22nd.  If you win, you'll receive the code for the Too Human Pre-Order Armor set by email or IM.

Thanks for playing!

Tomorrow, July 23rd, is when I go to jail for the first time.  But not for anything bad of course but for a great cause.  About a couple months back I got a phone call by an event coordinator from the MDA and Jerry's Kids to see if I was interested in helping raise money to send some kids to camp and help feel like normal everyday kids again.  I didn't hesitate to say yes but here in lies where I need the help of the community.  So the gist of it is is that I, along with others in the Greensboro, NC business area, are being "locked up" at the Doubletree Hotel July 23rd for around a couple of hours and I'm tasked with raising as much money as possible.  And the best part is that it's real simple to donate.  All you have to do is go to my home page with the MDA by clicking this link and click the donate button.  You can donate a pre set amount or any amount as you so choose.

I would greatly appreciate anyone's help in the community and it's time we give a little back to those in need.  Thanks for all your support,

-John "nc454" Radebaugh

*Click here to donate to the MDA and Jerry's Kids!

I've been playing games with mostly the same group of guys over Live on the Xbox 360 for over a year now and it was a year ago when Zulfikar from Married Gamer and  the Gamercast Network Community stepped up and organized a Friday night and some times Saturday night game night where new and old gamers would feel welcome and overall have a great time.  There were times when game night would start around 10pm and not end until the sun came up.  Some of the most popular games played were and still are Gears of Wars, Call of Duty 4, and Burnout Paradise.

So I guess it's more than appropriate that week 53 is going to be a fun filled night of Gears of War.  If this Friday is going to be anything like last Friday then we're all in for a multi-room 8-hour marathon night of gaming.  But most importantly Zulfikar and everyone involved in game night always stresses that everyone of all ages is welcome.  You can get into game night a couple of ways: simply go to Gamercastnetwork.com and sign up or send anyone one including myself a friend request and a little message saying you want to participate. Hope to see you all there!

*If you want to send me a message via Xbox Live, my gamertag is nc454.

GCN Game Night Fridays around 11pm est.  See site for details.

It's time to announce a winner for the first ever E3 Giveaway brought to you by nc454.com.  There were over 20 entries from MSN Spaces and the Gamercast Network.  And the best part is that everyone was 100% correct. 

So onto the winner.  I wrote down all the names of the winners on the back of business cards and asked a co-worker to randomly draw from a fish bowl.  And the winner was......

PENGUIN KING from the Gamercast Network Forums!  Congratulations to Penguin King, your code for 2000 Microsoft Points is on the way and thanks again to the everyone in the Gamercast Network Community and to everyone that participated.

Be on the look out for the next nc454.com community giveaway coming sooner than you think!

The Microsoft Press Conference is over and I got to say it was awesome.  A lot of stuff was announced that we kind of knew about already but there were some definite surprises.  And that brings us to the three give away questions:

1. What is the name of the new movie service coming to Xbox 360 in the Fall?

2. Name one of the new Bands or Artists announced for Rock Band 2.

3. What was the very last game announced by Square Enix?

There you have it!  Good luck to everyone and don't forget to email your answers to jradebaugh@hotmail.com with the subject line "E3 Giveaway".  If your answers are correct, they will be placed in a hat and the winner will get 2000 Microsoft Points!  The winner will be announced July 15th at 8pm est.

That's right, it's giveaway time!  And the prize is 2000 Microsoft points to use with the Xbox 360 or Zune.  And the rules are simple:

E3 Giveaway-Simply watch the Microsoft E3 Press conference and after it's all over, I'll post three simple questions about what happened at the conference.  If you get them right your name will be entered into a hat and the the winner will be randomly drawn.  It's that simple.  The questions will go up soon after the conference and the final drawing will be July 15th at 8pm est. so there is plenty of time to enter.  Don't forget to put "E3 Giveaway" in your subject line so I can filter the answers and prevent them from going into the junk folder.  So get to watching because the conference starts shortly!  Good luck to everyone who enters!

The email address to enter is jradebaugh@hotmail.com.

That's right!  I purchased my first domain name and what better one to have than nc454.com.  When you enter nc454.com into your browser of choice it will automatically redirect you to nc454 Land and the old address of nc454.spaces.live.com.  Same site-easier name to remember.

Thanks goes to Go Daddy.com for the help on getting everything forwarded correctly.

It's an oldie, but a goodie.  The Xbox Live Vision Camera, Vision Cam for short, came out sometime ago and was set to change the way people interacted message wise with each other on the Xbox 360.  Instead of just leaving typed messages you could now send pictures and perhaps most importantly  video chat.  I had maybe used the video chat client once before but I don't even remember doing it.  Fast forward to the present and now I have a reason why. 

I have an older sister and brother in law, a couple nieces and now a cousin living in Kentucky and I hardly get to see them except holidays.  My cousin Mike moved this summer from his hometown in Wisconsin to live with my sister and his dad for the summer and senior year of high school and he brought his Xbox 360 with him.  I was in voice chat with him last night and the topic of the Vision Cam. came up.  Mike had mentioned he had one as did I so an hour later we were to have our first family video chat over Live.  It was an absolute blast to see my family in Kentucky.  It felt as if they were just a few blocks away instead of a few states.  I got to see how much my nieces have grown and they got to see my other niece and nephew and my parents.  So after about an hour of talking and the nieces showing each other their toys, we called it a night.  I have to admit I got a little choked up and emotionally overwhelmed on how cool and how easy it was to video chat and see my family again.  So now instead of calling each other every so often over the phone, we're planning on having regular video chats.  It's also my understanding that the Playstation 3 has a pretty sweet vision cam as well.  I urge you PS3 owners, if it hasn't been done already, urge Sony to make video chat possible.  It's a service that's been available for some time but is made so much easier through your console onto your television. 

**You can find the Xbox Live Vision Camera at any local electronic store or Target store for around $39.99

After months of reorganization and cutting over 200 ft. and Velcro tying everything, I'm finished. 

This little project started a couple months ago when I bought a new stand to put my DVR and Receiver and Xbox 360 on.  I had all my components lined up on the new stand with my receiver left to go.  As I ran the plug from the receiver through the stand and to the wall something hit me like a ton of bricks.  I just realized the existing speaker wire was too short to reach my receiver.  So with a freshly smacked forehead from my own hand, I ran to Wal-Mart and grabbed 200 ft. of 14 gauge speaker wire for $25 per 100 ft. and ran back home to begin what would be the longest re-wire project I had ever done.

I started by stripping the ends of the wire and plugging them into the receiver in their appropriate slots.  I did the center channel first and then the left and right front speakers because they had the shortest cables and didn't require a lot of hiding.  Next was the left rear channel and subwoofer.  Those two cables were the longest and each ran around 30 or so feet around my baseboard.  And then it was time for the dreaded right rear channel speaker.  I call it dreaded because I have to make to under the carpet passes in my closet and the entry way to my room.  The first time I wired the right rear channel I had to cut the carpet and use a wire coat hanger and a swift hand to pull the wire through.  This time I just tied the new wire to the old wire and yanked it through.  Then with carpet repair tape (stick the tape under the ripped carpet and heat with an iron to piece back together) I fixed what would have been a nasty looking and unprofessional carpet cut.  And after about 4 hours of work i was done and my theater turned on without a hitch. 

I could have called it quits right there because from dead on the home theater project looked complete.  But if you were to look at it from the side, you would see the tangled mess of speaker wire and video and audio cable or what I like to call the wire medusa.  But fear not, there is a simple yet effective fix: Velcro ties.  Velcro ties, unlike zip ties, are reusable.  If you have to take one of your components on the go, you don't have to cut them but only have to un-Velcro them.  Now what used to look like the head of medusa looks like...well it looks cleaner. 

So the total time it took to re-wire my theater set-up, put together the new stand, and reconfigure the receiver ended up taking about 8-10 hours.  What I've learned from this is that it might be a smart idea to invest in some quality wire strippers and ditch the little $10 ones I currently own.  Another good tip for those looking to tackle a wiring project is to keep yourself organized.  Go out and get yourself a tool box just for home heater stuff and get at least one extra cable for all your components.  You never know when you might need to replace one.  And check your retail stores like Target and Wal-Mart for good deals on speaker wire and audio and video cables-you don't have to buy Monster Cables because they claim to be made from the best gold in the world.  Cables made by Monster are damn good and well made, don't get me wrong, but they are also damn expensive. 

*If you have any questions about the re-wire project just shoot me an email.

As some of you might have noticed, the format at nc454 Land is changing a bit.  I'm going back to a few hobbies and things I love to do and leaving things like in depth movie reviews to the pros...that is until Dark Knight comes out.  But I did want to give an update.

Recently I've been working on a massive re-wire project with my home theater system which stemmed from me getting a new stand to put my receiver and DVR on etc... and in turn caused me to re-cut over 100ft of 14 gauge speaker wire-an upgrade form the previous 18-24 gauge wire.  And let me tell you it's not easy.  14 gauge wire is thick and hard to cut when using standard wire splitters.  I highly recommend shopping around high end theater stores for better tools.  The re-wire was worth the time and blood and sweat.  The sound going through my speakers is a tiny bit more crisp and doesn't drop out like it used to.  Now that that's done, including wiring under the carpet and under the base boards, the last step is organizing the cables.  Right now the cables are in a complete mess but have no fear.  I, like many theater buffs, have invested a few bucks in some Velcro ties.  Why Velcro?  Because they are re-usable!  I used to used plastic one use ties and they're great if you don't think you'll ever unplug any of you cables, but if you're like me and you move stuff around every so often, you want to go with Velcro.  The only draw back is finding them is one color.  If you go to your local big box store, you'll find that Velcro ties usually come in several colors in one package.  And once everything is cabled up, all that's left is to put all those wires into a tube or sheath and the massive re-wire will be done.

Look for pics of the new organized system this weekend!

Track List

1. Indestructible
2. Inside the Fire
3. Deceiver
4. The Night
5. Perfect Insanity
6. Haunted
7. Enough
8. The Curse
9. Torn
10. Criminal
11. Divide
12. Facade

A lot of you out there use Firefox as your main browser as do I.  And most of us know that you can find an add-on for just about any kind of application you can think of.  But have you ever been to a site like Flickr and wanted a quick way to browse all of your contacts' photos?  Then you  have to download the add-on Piclens. 

Piclens has been out for quite some time and now runs on Firefox 3 RC2 and presumably Firefox 3 when it's officially released in mid-June.  What this add-on does is pretty simple: as soon as you install it to your Firefox browser, a little icon will appear in the upper right hand corner.  If you go to any site and that icon lights up blue, you want to click it.  You'll be instantly taken to a 3-D wall of picture that will allow you to zoom in and out of and quickly flick through.  If you find a picture you like, you can double click it and Piclens will frame the picture so you can see every detail.  It's a really simple yet useful way to sort through pictures at a quicker pace on the net so if you are running Firefox and even IE7, then give it a try.

Congrats Breego!  For winning the first ever Zune song giveaway on nc454 Land.  Thanks for everyone who tried but fear not.  There will be more chances to win very soon.