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April 27, 2005

Turner Announces GameTap Broadband Service

Woooo doggy! My employer, Turner Broadcasting, took the wraps off a project which has been in the works for around two years, the broadband gaming service dubbed GameTap. Following the model which has created robust businesses from archival content like Cartoon Network and Turner Classic Movies, GameTap will be a subscription service allowing users to play hundreds or even thousands of game titles, going all the way back to early arcade classics. Reuters has this quote from my coworker Blake Lewin who created this product:

"We have a brand new network ... but Turner's in the same business it's always been...We want to program games as if they were TV shows."

The service will leverage the same infrastructure built by the team I've been working with here for years - serving CNN.com, SI.com and NASCAR.com.

In a world where new game titles are often known years in advance of their release, this skunk works project has been in development for over two years, with nary a leak, despite a team of more than 100 members.

Coverage around the web today:
Gametap's Press Release is here.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution (registration req.)
Gizmodo has a brief as well.
PaidContent.org brief here.
Reuters story on the announcement
Kenny Bunch Programming Tidbits roundup.
Jesse Warden's Blog sorta gets it.
New York Post coverage.
Hollywood Reporter coverage.
Red Herring report here.

Posted by jetrotz at 07:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 24, 2005

Tiger Geekery

Apple's new OS, codename Tiger, ships this coming Friday. I've seen it in action here and there, and word is that it's a tremendous improvement. It includes features for my Mom (ie - visually impaired assistance improvements). But this recap looks at 50 random features of the new OS any geek would love to know. Read on.

Posted by jetrotz at 01:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 23, 2005

JibJab's Passover Shtick

Meant to post this yesterday, but little Sam kept us busy. The folks over at JibJab.com (you know, the guys who created the 'This Land is Your Land' piece before Election 2004?) have created a new animated film, this one titled 'Matzah - Hip Hop Fo' Hebrews.' Featuring a Jewish rapper who looks and sounds a lot like Eminem, this is a must-see before the first Seder tonight. And remember 'Let my peeps go!'

Posted by jetrotz at 01:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 17, 2005

Sam Gallery Updates

Apologies for the absence of updates here on the blog. But newborn babies have a way of sucking all your time, energy and ability to sit down at a computer and type, post photos, etc. Hopefully, this will get better. Anyway, there are two new gallery entries featuring Little Sam. The first are more photos from our last couple of days at the hospital, then another as we headed home and Sam was able to meet with family and friends. More to come soon!

Posted by jetrotz at 11:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 10, 2005

Sam's First Photo Gallery

I've made a quick run home to take care of some errands and take advantage of the broadband connection to upload some better photos (not taken with my cameraphone like on the moblog here). As you can see, these photos of Sam from his first day in this world show just what a cutie he is. And look at that hair! More updates to follow....

Photos: View the new photo gallery here.

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April 08, 2005

Samuel Herman Trotz

Arrived at 9:30 am.
6 lbs 10 ozs
19.5 inches
Mom and baby are doing great. first photo in moblog

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April 07, 2005

Apple Store Coming to Rochester

From today's Democrat & Chronicle:

Apple Computer Inc. is to open its first Rochester-area store this summer at Eastview Mall. The Apple Store will take over the 3,600-square-foot space occupied by B. Dalton Books, which is closing, said Dennis Wilmot, vice president and regional director of leasing at Wilmorite Property Management, which operates the mall.

Now I can get my Mac fix in Amy's hometown.

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40 Weeks + 7

Today we are at 41 weeks, and more ready than ever. Yesterday featured some excitement. Amy had her weekly appointment with her OB, and the doctor didn't see enough activity to her liking on the non-stress test baby monitor in the office. So off went Amy across the street to Piedmont Hospital for a more accurate test, which might involve dosing her with petosin as they did during our version a few weeks back. Amy called me at work, so I immediately left, swung by the house in a frenzy and gathered (a) the camera bag (b) her pillows and (c) her clothes. Just as I walked into the hospital she called and said she had the all-clear! Baby was doing absolutely fine, and they were glad to see a few mild but irregularly timed contractions with no ill-effects on our baby. Just another case of better safe than sorry.

After that experience, we thought we should try another Atlanta-area restaurant with a reputation for bringing on labor - McKinnon's Louisianne in Buckhead. Amy had the fried eggplant sticks along with her eggplant seafood casserole. Here is their promise:

And speaking of dishes and traditions, Mckinnon's stuffed eggplant (a casserole with shrimp, crab and eggplant to die for) is guaranteed to get an expectant and past due mom to deliver. Billy says, "if an expectant mom is a day over 9 months and has my stuffed eggplant, we will promise baby in 48 hours or dinner is "on the house." Needless to say there is quite a parade of past due parents at the restaurant.

Yes, we are getting desperate!

So far, nothing to report, other than a very full belly for both of us.

Posted by jetrotz at 05:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Apartment Fire

Sadly, Amy and I were woken just after 4 a.m. today with the blaring of sirens down our street. Amy, 41 weeks pregnant as of today, wasn't sleeping so well in any case. My old journalistic nose kicked in, literally, as I could smell smoke from the nearby apartments. One unit appeared to be a total loss on the upper floor. Hopefully, everyone got out. I headed down the street to see what was up, and take a few photos. No news on injuries yet, but all the area TV stations arrived as I was leaving. It's really amazing to me that it's been seven years since I chased this type of news for a living. I love my job today - but sometimes miss the street.

Posted by jetrotz at 05:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 05, 2005

Masters in 3D

Although the snow mass has not even begun to melt over some areas of the Northeast, the annual Masters golf tournament begins this Thursday. The Augusta National Golf Course opened it's gates early Monday morning to those holding one of the hardest tickets in sport - Masters 'badges'. See - they are so hard to get they don't even call them tickets! Anyway, my old newspaper buddies in Augusta at The Augusta Chronicle lifted a page out of the 2000 edition of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition and have published a collection of 3-D photos from the 2004 tournament. You'll have to find your own red/blue glasses, but the effects are pretty interesting.
Photo by Michael Holahan/Augusta Chronicle

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April 04, 2005

Masters Baby?

So far, the eggplant doesn't seem to have sped this along. We have until about 7 p.m. tonight until Scalini's free dinner and t-shirt deal expire. Oh well. As I'm sure my brother-in-law Scott would attest, this is all probably just a conspiracy to make sure that our baby arrives right around 7 p.m. this Sunday, just as the Masters tournament concludes. I'm sure they have CBS on the hospital tv system, so hopefully Amy will find the azaleas and green grass have a calming effect. A guy can hope, right?

Posted by jetrotz at 08:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

PII and Your Baby

Several blogs I check out regularly (including BoingBoing and DaddyTypes) point to this posting at Debris.com telling the woeful tale of a company which has insinuated itself into the hospital L&D process, and seem to generally take advantage of a very hectic time in new parents lives by sucking your personally identifiable info (PII). They promise a 'free' portrait of your new child - but that's essentially in exchange for becoming fodder for Growing Family's list sales efforts. Growing Family's privacy policy - you know, the one you don't read 'cause your in freaking LABOR - gives them the right to share your private information with anyone.

Growing Family will use your information from time to time to promote additional products, services, rewards and special offers from Growing Family Network and its select Network Partners.

As Debris.com so appropriately notes - 'My point is not that Growing Family was deceitful. My point is that, to my dismay, caveat emptor begins at birth.

Posted by jetrotz at 08:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 02, 2005

Eggplant Update

We're getting tired of waiting. So we headed up to Smyrna for dinner tonight to see if Scalini's Eggplant Parmesan has its desired effect. We're registered there now - so if Baby Trotz comes along by 6:50 p.m. on Monday night, Amy and I get a free dinner, a Scalini's t-shirt for the baby, and our photo immortalized on the wall, right beside clippings from People, Southern Living and other area newspapers. The food was not bad at all, and the portions huge. Amy (obviously) had the Eggplant Parm, and I had the Veal Marsala. But the whole thing may actually revolve around the fluffy rolls they serve, literally doused with warm olive oil that has about four garlic cloves chopped up and sauteed. Homer says 'Mmmmmmmmmmm garlic!' (so do Joey & Amy). More reports to follow.....

Posted by jetrotz at 08:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Half-Life2 Update Released

So after having 'lost' my install disc for HalfLife2, I thought I had blown the $50 I'd spent on the game and would never get to play it on my our new Dell XPS machine. Well, in our ongoing nesting in preparation for the baby, I discovered the missing install disc in a CD case beside my bed. I'd literally torn my office (home and work) apart looking for this. Anyway, that let me install the game this morning. When I launched the game, I was expecting Valve's Steam service to apply various patches, inform me what was new in them, etc. Read on to see the amazing set of realism enhancements they added to the game in the latest release.

The copy below comes from the Valve Half-Life2 Steam client news update:

Friday, April 1 2005

An update is available for Counter-Strike: Source. The update will be applied automatically when your Steam client is restarted. This update addresses requests for more realism in Counter-Strike: Source. The changes are as follows:

Features/Additions
Doubled player speed when jumping. The effect to cumulative, so the more you jump, the faster you go.
Cut price of AWP by 50%.
Added akimbo Riot Shield to buy menu.
Removed de_dust from mapcycle.
Realism Enhancements:

Knives:
Between rounds, it is suggested that you unsheath the weapon and repeatedly press the attack key to air it out as the leather now collects moisture and creates pits on the blade, making it less effective in the next round.

Shotguns:
1. Firing the shotgun without ammo loaded will now cause it to jam.
2. When the shotgun jams, press F2 to fill out form DA-1823-00/A12-H8.
3. You should then hear a scribbling sound. When it stops, press F3 to send the request to LIDM.
4. Failure to do paperwork before pressing F3 will result in the immediate return of the unrepaired shotgun.
5. The repairs can take 1-2 rounds for completion. During that time, you cannot purchase a replacement firearm and may only use your sidearm or knife.

Player Models:
Several models now feature eyewear. This is a completely cosmetic enhancement with the following exceptions:

Part EP-7829-292-2 must be purchased and worn correctly at all times in order to see during the round.

In between rounds, you may purchase and use part EC-2231-833-H34 to clean your EP-7829-292-2. Note: that this does not clean the eyewear itself!

To clean the eyewear, you need to purchase and use the designated cleaner, EC-2231-233-H34, EC-2231-523-H34, or EC-2231-239-H34a respectively depending on your model's eyewear. You can determine the part # of the correct cleaner by asking someone.

Machine and submachine guns:

At least once every five rounds, press F1 to inspect the weapon:
A musical cue indicates that the inspection has started. Now press F1 again repeatedly to clean and lubricate the weapon.

Your Preventative Maintenance Status (either "cleaning" or "lubricating") is determined by the speed with which you press the F1 key and will be displayed above your head.

To accurately simulate real life maintenance mistakes, pressing F1 too quickly will lubricate either the bolt face or the trunnion block. Pressing F1 too slowly sprays lubricant directly into the buffer tube. All mistakes render the gun inoperable, though this may not become immediately apparent.

Experiment with keypress timing to avoid (and discover!) other common maintenance errors.

In order to balance the improved stopping power of a well-maintained weapon, the reloading process has been made much less reliable.

When reloading, you should listen for two or three distinct clicks over a period of several seconds.

If you hear one click or no clicks or more than two clicks, you've bent the link ejector chute and the gun will most likely explode on the next attempt to fire it, though it may not.

PS - In case you haven't figured this out - it's an April Fool's joke. Hilarious, really.

Posted by jetrotz at 10:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 01, 2005

First Look - the iPod Phone from Motorola

The long rumored iPhone, born out of a relationship between Motorola and Apple, has finally been leaked. Insider The Mobile Music Blog has details plus pics. It's so simple, it's a wonder they've waited so long to finally get this product together. Pure Genious!

Posted by jetrotz at 08:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Eggplant, Do Your Thing!

So we are +1 and counting, and we'd really like to get this thing going. So, based on what we've heard, we decided to try making some eggplant for dinner last night. We made a simple roast of the eggplant with lots of garlic, but it didn't seem to help. I think we may need to go the traditional parmesan route to get the correct effect. These rumours are all over the web - that eggplant is one way of naturally helping labor get moving. This page points out that it's probably not the eggplant - more likely the basil and oregano. Most of these stories apparently stem from a restaurant right in our backyard - Scalini's in Smyrna, Georgia. To date, more than 300 of the pregnant women customers who ordered their eggplant have given birth within 48 hours, and the restaurant dubs them the "eggplant babies." If it doesn't work in two days, the moms-to-be get a gift certificate for another meal. Their walls are covered with photos of these moms and their babies. I think we may need to head up there on Saturday night! Here is the recipe:

Eggplant Parmigiana Alla Scalini's
Ingredients

# 3 medium sized eggplants
# 1 cup flour
# 6 eggs, beaten
# 4 cups fine Italian bread crumbs, seasoned
# Olive oil for sauteing
# 8 cups of marinara sauce (recipe below)
# 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
# 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
# 1 1/2 pounds of mozzarella cheese, shredded
# 2 cups of ricotta cheese

Directions

1. After you wash the eggplant, slice them into 1/4-inch thick slices. You may choose to peel the eggplant before you slice it. However, you may want to leave the skin on since it contains a lot of vitamins.

2. Place the eggplant slices on a layer of paper towels and sprinkle with a little salt, then cover with another layer of paper towels and hold it down with something heavy to drain the excess moisture. Let them sit for about an hour.

3. Working with one slice of eggplant at a time, dust with flour, dip in beaten eggs, then coat well with breadcrumbs.

4. Saute in preheated olive oil on both sides until golden brown.

5. In baking dish, alternate layers of marinara sauce, eggplant slices, ricotta, parmesan and Romano cheeses, until you fill the baking dish, about 1/8 inch from the top. Cover with shredded mozzarella cheese, and bake for 25 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Scalini's Marinara Sauce

Ingredients

# 2 Tablespoons of chopped garlic
# 3 Tablespoons of olive oil
# 8 cups chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned)
# 1 cup onions, chopped
# 1/2 cup of fresh chopped parsley
# 1 teaspoon oregano
# 1 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
# 1/8 cup of fresh chopped sweet basil
# Pinch of thyme
# Pinch of rosemary
# One teaspoon salt
# One teaspoon black pepper

Directions

1. Lightly saute the onions in olive oil in large pot for a few minutes.

2. Add garlic and saute another minute.

3. Add tomatoes and bring sauce to a boil, then turn heat low.

4. Add remaining ingredients, stir, cover and let simmer for one hour, stirring occasionally.

Mmmm. Yummy.

Posted by jetrotz at 08:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack