To get this phase taken care of, I am going to be taking certain steps:

1. Change my diet – no more fast food, or high calorie items
2. Change my exercise routine – well, I guess I have to start it to change it…
3. Stop Smoking

Tomorrow is when this will all start.  I will post a daily log, here, about what I have done to accomplish each step.  There will also be weekly photos about my progress to getting where I want to be.  My goal is to get down to approximately 270 pounds as well as be able to run without coughing and wheezing.

Thanks to everyone who is going to be supporting me through this.

Processor: Intel i7 Quad Core 64bit (Q720 1.6GHz)
Ram: 6GB 1333MHz
HDD: 500GB 7200rpm SATA
Video Card: Nvidia GeForce 330M w/1GB of VRAM w/HDMI and VGA outputs
Display: 16.4″ HD LCD screen (running at 1080p)
Disc Drive: Blu-Ray reader w/DVD +- RW
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium
Misc: Backlit keyboard, Multi-Touch mouse pad, built-in webcam/microphone, eSata connection, SD and Memory Stick card readers, wireless N NIC

As you can see, I picked this one out because of it’s decent specifications.  And they are great.  As you know, I like to play Everquest II, a very graphics heavy game.  I can tell you that this Laptop has NO PROBLEMS playing that game on its highest graphic settings.  I have also been able to get into Star Trek Online and the hardware kind of scoffs at it.

Pros:

1. Powerful
2. Light weight
3. Large display
4. Unbelievable graphics quality
5. Backlit keyboard comes in very handy when it’s dark
6. The mult-touch pad offers any motions that you would get on say an iPhone or iPod Touch
7. Runs Windows 7
8. Full size keyboard w/numeric pad
9. Built-in light sensor that:
   1. Adjusts the monitor brightness
   2. turns the keyboard back lighting on/off
10. The webcam is really just high quality

Cons:

1. Fan turns on very quickly when running demanding games
2. Very little productivity software included (I ended up installing OpenOffice.org on it to get my work done)
3. Hard drive makes a very high-pitched squeal noise (I have been told, but I can’t actually hear it myself)
4. The keys squeak when being pressed
5. The blu-ray drive is flimsy at best.  Several times I have felt like I was about to break it
6. Too few USB ports
7. It gets hot, so hot in fact that there is a warning label on it that says not to let it touch your bare skin…I tested it out, don’t do it!
8. The power adapter is very bulky, and they offer a slimmer one for USD 140.00.
9. Price, at USD 1600.00 this laptop is an expense that is not easily justified

Small Gripes (not enough to call a con, but definitely not pros…)

1. Volume is controlled using ‘Fn’ and ‘F2′-’F4′ keys.  I can understand this for the brightness, but the volume…really?
2. The lid doesn’t lock down.  I am used to my laptops locking closed, this laptop doesn’t seem to need this, but again, small gripe.

So, all in all, this laptop is the best one I have ever owned or used, bar none.  It does everything I wanted it to and more.  If you are looking for a good multi-purpose gaming rig, this is the way to go.

Here’s the spec sheet:

Processor: Intel i7
Ram: 6GB
HDD: 500GB
Video: GeForce 330M (1GB) dedicated card
Monitor: Attached HD LCD monitor (running at 1080p resolution)

Once I get it setup and tested, I will review it.  Thanks!

I hope everyone had a great NYE and that this year will be better than the last for all of us.

Since you can assign ‘custom’ shortcuts to pretty much any command in Alphacam now, you can use a mouse like the Naga™ to help to lessen your work load.

I use the Razer Naga™ in this example, but that does not mean that you can’t use any other gaming mouse with the same functionality

Here’s an example of what I am talking about.  In Alphacam you spend a lot of time drawing ‘geometries’ that you can then, later, add ‘tool paths’ to which will allow you to create g-code for your CNC Machine.  You end up using the following commands in Alphacam many, many, many times:

1) Geometry | Line
2) Geometry | Rectangle
3) Geometry | Circle
etc.

Because you have to click on the Geometry menu each time, this is an, annoyingly, large amount of mouse moves.  Well, since MMO mice have an extrodinary amount of buttons on them that, either, match a keyboard key, or can be configured to be mapped to specific commands.  The Naga™ has all of it’s buttons mapped to either the number keys, or the number pad, which makes it perfect for use with Alphacam.

What I did was this, I set the Naga’s™ slider (found at the bottom of the mouse) to ‘num’ as shown below:

This allows me to let the computer know that I want the mouse ‘s side buttons to be mapped to the ‘number pad’ that, usually, sits on the far right of the keyboard.  I recommend this because if you leave it at ’123′ each time you try to enter a value in the ‘numeric entry’ boxes, you may activate a new command…not fun.

Next, you can begin to map the mouse buttons to the commands in Alphacam:

1) Open Alphacam

2) Right click on the menu bar

3) Click on the Customize… command

4) Now select the ‘Keyboard’ command

5) Select the command you want to assign, in this example, I used the Geometry | Line command.  To select this one, just change the category to ‘CAD Geometry’ and select the ‘Line’ command in the Commands list:

6) Click your mouse in the ‘Press new shortcut key:’ box and press the key combination that you want to use to activate this command and click on the  button to assign it.  I used Num 1 (which is the ’1′ key on my Naga™):

Now repeat I just repeated the steps for each command that I wanted to link.  If you want to link more than one command to a key, always remember that you can use ‘modifier’ keys to accomplish this.  I recommend using only the following modifiers:

Ctrl
Ctrl + Alt
Ctrl + Shift
Ctrl + Shift + Alt
Shift
Shift + Alt
Alt

If you use the above modifier keys, you can map a total of 84 commands to your mouse.  You can also leave the old shortcuts there, or you can highlight the shortcut and click the button to remove it (it’s also handy if you click the wrong combination for a command, :D).

Now, I want to mention, that although I am using a Razer Naga™, that doesn’t mean you have to as well.  You can still create all kinds of shortcuts and then program those mice, that use configurable buttons, to work similarly to how we set this up.  And now, I get to write off this gaming mouse purchase as a work expense…don’t look at me like that, you were thinking it too.

Product Name: Antec MX-25 Hard Drive Enclosure

Website: http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=NzA0MjIyTechnical Specs

• Supports upto a 500GB Hard Drive (I have not verified this)
• Includes a 3-Head USB cable
  • 1 Mini-USB
  • 2 Standard-USB
• Dual output interface (USB & eSata)

Pros

• Lightweight - this enclosure is virtually weightless without a HDD in it
• PnP – drop the HDD in and plug it into your computer, I had no problems from the get-go and still have no problems
• Power-On Light – an easy to see, blue light (again, blue’s the best color!) that lets you know when it’s running
• Optional Power Adapter Port - you can, when using the eSata interface, plug in a power adapter

Cons

• Rattle – the HDD rattles in this enclosure, and while I know that the majority of enclosures do this, it would have been nice if Antec would have put some kind of buffers, or foam padding to prevent this
• Blue Light – man is this thing bright, I can turn off the lights in office and read with it. You will NEVER mistake whether or not this thing is powered…ever.
• Plastic Construction – the entire thing, with exception to the circuitry, is plastic.  This means that it scratches easily, feels flimsy and I always think that I am going to break it
• Tool Required – the biggest detractor for this product has to be the fact that I need a screwdriver to open it to change the HDD.  I don’t know about all of you, but I have friends that I, constantly, have to fix computers for.  It would be nice to have a ‘screwless’ design for this to put HDD’s in more easily

Other Thoughts

While I can’t say that this is the ‘penultimate’ HDD enclosure, it has done it’s job better than expected.  When I purchased it, the packaging was nice, but too nice for what this is.  I have thrown this thing around, dropped (more times than I would like to admit), thrown in HDD of various size (the standard that is in there is 40GB, but I have run the gambit from 20GB to 300GB) and all that it has to show for all of this abuse is a few scratches to the surface.

While this product has the feel of a product that is…I hate to say inferior, so let’s go with lower quality…it is actually pretty rugged.  I plug it into my laptop day-in and day-out, as well as into Mac’s, Linux based PCs, etc.  So bottom lining it, I will buy another one, just not at a retail store.

The level progression starts out really quick.  I was at level 5 within a matter of minutes.  This gave me a feeling of elation, because I thought that this was going to be awalk in the park: I would get to level 80 in a matter of days, have all the items I want, and be able to cancel my subscription.  Oh was I wrong…

After about 14 days of playing, I finally acheived level 20.  I really only got to do this because my girlfriend has been playing this game since it was first created and she is level 80…so she power leveled me, lol.

The main thing though, is that after such slow level progression, never having gold to buy anything of any REAL value, and finding mediocre items…I am still having fun.  Something that I NEVER thought I would say about an MMO.  Especially considering that I have tried a few others with no success.

I can’t wait to play more, and will keep everyone updated on my progress through the world of Norrath.

Check out the Wikipedia site for more indepth details on Everquest.

So, let’s get on with it:

Product Name: Razer Naga™ MMOG Laser Gaming Mouse
Website: http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-mice/razer-naga/

Technical Specifications:

• Upto 5600 DPI Razer Precision Laser (software configurable)
• Upto 1000Hz Ultrapolling (software configurable)
• 200 inches/second tracking speed
• Zero-acoustic Ultraslick™ teflon feet
• 17 buttons (hardware configurable)

The technical specs for this mouse were pulled off of the Razer website.  I have owned this mouse for only about 3 days (as of the date of this posting) and am really loving this thing.

Pros

• Ergonomic fit – this mouse is contoured for ‘righties’ such as myself.  Holding it is a pleasure as it fits to the natural curve of the palm and rotation of the wrist.
• Finish - the resting area of this mouse has a great non-slip material making it easier to keep it in the place where it needs to be…my palm.  The rest of the mouse has a mirror finish on it that makes it look just as good as it feels
• Buttons - dear god!  There are enough buttons to make anyone happy.  The best part is that they are not actually ‘hotkey’ buttons.  The 12 buttons on the side are assigned to either the numbers along the top of the keyboard, or the number pad.  Since I use this mouse for gaming as well as work, this is perfect.  No need to actually muck around with some custom UI to assign buttons for each program I work with.
• Lights - this thing is lit up like Tokyo…and they are all blue, my favorite color
• User Interface – the UI designed by Razer to allow you to customize certain features of this mouse is not only aesthetically appealing, but helps to make this mouse easier to use (who really NEEDS 5600 DPI settings?).

Cons

• Buttons - the fixed ‘Back’ and ‘Forward’ buttons are not in a spot that makes it easy, or comfortable to use.  They take a little getting used to, but once you do, you start to not mind it so much
• Heat - this puppy generates a bit of heat due to the lights on it.  Because of this, you can get sweaty palms pretty quickly (this can be mitigated by turning the lights off in the software UI.
• Lack of customization – while it is nice that the buttons only work either the numbers along the keyboard or the number pad, it would be nice to have the option to change what these keys do
• Right-Handed operation – since I am right handed, this isn’t too much of a big deal, but for the cost of it, it’s unfortunate that my daughter, who is left handed, can’t use this mouse to it’s fullest extent
• Download drivers only – while I understand that this is an MMO gaming mouse, and to play MMO’s you need to have internet connection, I am an old-school player who likes to have the disc’s in hand.  When I started playing Everquest 2, I went and bought the discs, just to have them.  I don’t like to have to create my own install disc for drivers, especially when I paid so much for the product.

Other Thoughts:

This is a great product that, while costly, is well worth the cost.  Because of what it can do, I feel far more effective in work and play.  Moving from a trackball-style mouse to this style was a big move for me (used the trackball style for about 5 years now) but I have to say that it’s been worth it.

If this mouse even lasts half as long as my last one, I will see this as a good investment.  I am telling anyone that reads this that I think you will be happy with this mouse.

You may have noticed that I didn’t add the cost into either the pro’s or con’s section.  I would like to say that the cost is  a pro because of what you are getting, and a con because it’s just so expensive, but it’s really neither.  I have to say that for the price, you are getting exactly what you are paying for, nothing more, nothing less.