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Practically Free Things To Do

Like many of you, I get tired and irritable and just need something to do that is not one of my daily tasks or work related in any way. I usually will break out into an “I’m So Borrrred!” or something like that. Also like many of you I do not have a ton of cash for that dream vacation to the Bahamas or that short jaunt to Greece for my olive oil facial and dreamy Greek masseuse to give it. OK, dreaming aside; Heck! I don’t even have enough time or money to afford to go to El Cheap-O Spa with costs of living rising and my paycheck dwindling.

I have come up with a solution! And it doesn’t involve a ton of cash or anything too fancy at all. Something that will get our minds away from thinking about work or the inescapable tasks and duties of everyday life. DO FREE STUFF! Sound simple? It is.

What can you do when you don’t want to really do anything? Here are 10 things that don’t require you to be a Trump nor travel great distances to have a spectacular time:

1) Go on a picnic. We all have parks, neighborhoods, or yards and we all have to eat. Why not pack up the kids and significant other and go on a picnic? Remember, like the “old” days? Make a basket lunch and spend some time playing at the park or relaxing in the grass. It will not only relax you but will get you out and about in the open air.

2) Catch up on some DVR or Movies. If you’re like me, you haven’t been watching TV a lot lately. Catch up on the latest and greatest. I would highly recommend Big Bang Theory, Outsourced, and Mythbusters but that’s because I am a total geek! The last movie I saw? RED. It was very well put together and I think will hold me over until TRON arrives in December, maybe.

3) Look up some historical sites in your city. Every city has a history, why not check it out? You may be surprised! My city is full of wineries and several historical buildings along with Route 66!

4) Learn something new. The internet is full of vast knowledge and if you are glued to it, like some of us, you can “Google it” or go to the library to find some How-To books. Learn to do Origami, Crochet, Change Your Oil, Whatever you are interested in.

5) Rearrange your house. Move furniture or other things around and see how different you can make it feel. It’s amazing how much this helps. I did this about 3 months ago and my apartment feels much more spacious.

6) Read. Ok, so you are like me and don’t like to read, “War and Peace.” News Flash: You can read whatever you like. That’s the joy of reading. Magazines count too!

7) Research your Family History. Ok most of us run to the internet for this too. Why not talk to relatives and interview them? Take some time to ask about what their life was like and document or record it somehow. Put it together in a family album. My sister and I have decided its that time in our lives to start asking the grandparents about life and are working on putting together a virtual family history book.

8 ) Write. About anything. Go somewhere you are comfortable and write about anything you want. Journals, blog, draws, create poetry, whatever. Writing is not only a good therapy, it’s also neat to go back and see what your life was like on that day and time in the future.

9) Take your pet for a walk. Take a stroll outside in the open air. They will enjoy it and you can get a break from the mundane tasks. I am lucky enough to live close to a dog beach so that is one way we have fun. Dog parks are relaxing for you and you can meet new people from your area. Singles, this is a great way to meet new potential dates!

10) Exercise! Yeah I hate that word too. But really, it’s what we all need more of. Nowadays, we can play video games or just simply go for gander around the neighborhood. If you like sports, play a game or two with some friends or family.

Well, these are 10 relatively easy, mindless, and fun things to do if you need some time to get away or just can’t think of anything new to do. Let us know if you decide to try ‘em out!

Andy TaylorLeave a commentTTR Website, video games, , , ,

Bond is Back

We just recieved the latest in the Console Bond series title with a Reworking of the popular “Goldeneye.”  The Original James Bond title received an abundance of game time when it was unleased on the Nintendo 64 platform in 1997. The original game title featured the  likeness of Brosnan who starred as Bond in the 1995 film however this new title Goldeneye 007 changes the playing field for Multiplayer and Single player on the Nintendo Wii.

The latest Film Bond, Daniel Craig is featured as the British Agent in the title which allows up to 8 players in a multiplayer environment which also brings in the ability to play classic characters such as OddJob and Jaws along with some other noteable baddies. We’ll be unwrapping the title and a full review posting this week.

S!ickLeave a commentTTR Website, , , ,

Plan for the worst with MySpace

During our latest show, we had been asked about the status of Myspace. The parent company of MySpace is News Corporation.  AllThingsD.com is reporting that News Corp. might be seeking to sell MySpace…During a conference call with the Deputy Chairman, President, and Chief Operating Officer of News Corp. (Chase Carey) about earnings…
QUESTION:
How much time do you give the relaunch to figure out if it’s successful. And what if it’s not?
Carey:
We judge in quarters, not in years. Goal is to get to a place where top-line revenue is going in the right direction and “a clear path to profitability.” We feel good about the relaunch. But “our traffic numbers are still not going in the right direction” and we have to stabilize that.
(Cue the dramatic “dun-dun-DUN!” music…)
Andy TaylorLeave a commentsoftware, , , , ,

Where is Adobe Audition 4

I was sitting here tonight working on an Audio feature for TechtalkRadio thinking about the Adobe Audition program. It seems like a couple of years have gone by since the program I have recommended to several Radio Stations for Production Work was released. It would be great if some of the companies that put out these full featured programs released the new versions similar to the way Hollywood puts out movies! It seems that now when a feature film is on the way, we get to hear about it, see previews and of course talk about it with other fans of films. I remember seeing the trailer for the first Iron Man film in theaters almost a full 6 months before the release date. Even games are using this technique to really wet our appetites for a new title. With Call of Duty Black Ops which arrives next week, we also heard about it months ago with a release date and a preview.

In the Marketing sence, this can be good or bad. The most recent addition of Medal of Honor features warfare similar to what we would find in the new Call of Duty. Did they get the jump in putting out the title and taking the 50-60 bucks out of the pocket of a consumer that may have been saving up for COD? Apple seems to never talk about a product officially until it is actually available. This works for them in the sense of excitement about a product and speculation of an announcement but we really are never quite sure. I remember some years ago waiting for another version of Adobe Pagemaker  but at the same time, Adobe had this new program that worked similar to Pagemaker called InDesign. User to Pagemaker forums and chats were sounding the death knell for the program which seemed to have a huge user base but really couldn’t do more than it already was doing. That’s not good for the software industry isi it? A Product with a huge life cycle, one that does all it needs to do in a simple basic easy layout?

Generating sales is how even these large companies can continue to develop and produce solutions for a variety of products. For those that use Adobe Audition, it should be hard to argue that there is more that they could really do with it without making clutter of the program itself? The boards are beginning to talk and similar to the chatter heard during the “Pagemaker Crisis” we are hearing comparisons to Adobe Soundbooth. After careful digging I did find a light at the end of the tunnel with a Blog from Adobe Evangelist Terry White which last June he focused on the Adobe Audition package available for the Mac and gave a preview of a version he says should be avialable for both platforms. It looks like there still could be life to the Adobe Audition program and with more users taking the plunge to 64bit programs, this might be a welcome new version. 

Take a look at Terry’s blog post on Adobe Audition and visit often, he always provides some great information without the rumors. His blog for me was like seeing a trailer to Star Trek 2, Can’t wait!

http://terrywhite.com/techblog/archives/5618