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Just downloaded the Blogaway apparently for my Nexus One.  We'll see how this goes...

My biggest driving pet peeve is people who don't drive a consistent speed on highways or big roads, thus messing up my cruise control

Sci-Fi Sphere

I'm done. Nah, kidding. However, I'm not going to be talking about many more science fiction themes in this blog anymore. Since I'm a very big science fiction fan, I could easily devote an entire blog to the topic. In fact, that's exactly what I'm doing.

A while ago, a friend and I had an idea to make a science fiction blog. I would provide the content, and he the framework. For some reason, I found the inspiration tonight watching Stargate Universe, so I decided to start. As of today forward, my science fiction blogging with be at Sci-Fi Sphere, and everything else will be here. I watch far too many science fiction shows, and read way too many science fiction books not to do this. I recently took a course called Science & Fiction at school, and talking about sci-fi was so much fun that I want to continue. So if you get that science fiction craving, head over to Sci-Fi Sphere and check it out.

Stargate Universe: Subversion

Interesting episode of SGU tonight. I'm glad that Rush was a central character in this episode. I really like his character. He's flawed, like everyone else on the ship, but in a rare, non-cliche way. Not every man spends years of his life trying to solve a problem, while his wife dies of an incurable illness, only to be bested by some punk kid playing a video game. Not only that, but Robert Carlyle is a fantastic actor. I've only seen him in a few things, but he is great. Definitely the best actor on the show.

Scarlett Johansson (you can't tell me TJ doesn't look a bit like her, plus they have the same last name) needs to get her act together though. I understand she's pregnant with a baby she didn't plan for, but Nicole Desjardins on Rama was in a much worse situation. Both women were stranded on an alien ship, with no way home. Two similar situations, two completely different outlooks.

Anyway, Jack and Daniel were the part of the episode that got me most excited. I'm a relatively late-commer to the Stargate universe (pun not intended), but I caught up as soon as I watched the film a couple years ago. Seeing Jack and Daniel bantering, even for two lines, brought a smile to my face. At times, SGU is so very different from SG-1 and SGA that I almost forget they take place in the same universe (I gotta stop saying that). Seeing Young in the same room with Daniel and Jack refreshed my memory.

Question though. Why is Daniel Jackson the one tailing Dr. Rush? I suppose his archeological background must be crucial for a tailing duty. Is there really nothing better for him to do?

Furthermore, why isn't Daniel Jackson regularly on Destiny translating stuff?

It was nice seeing Jack tonight though, even if RDA gained a bit of weight in his time off from acting. He deserves it though. Shame they're ruining his other famous role.

Who the hell is Telford again? It's been so long that I almost forgot about him. Somewhat weird bringing him back, although I guess it explains the attack on the Icarus base.

Clearly Young won't kill Telford. They already showed him not dead, plus they really can't kill off Robert Carlyle, the show's best actor. Well I suppose they could, but we all know they won't.

Decent episode of SGU, but I'm hoping the two part finale will answer some questions.

Syfy's Summer Schedule

Being so busy with graduation-related things, as well as finales of LOST, Modern Family, V, FlashForward, and Stargate Universe, I almost forgot about my two favorite scifi/Syfy shows: Eureka and Warehouse 13.

Warehouse 13 had a bit of a shaky start, but I think they found their groove on the later half of the season. It's the exact sort of freak-of-the-week show I was looking for. Star Trek has always been great for that, but Enterprise wasn't quite the same (especially after the God-awful Xindi arch). Warehouse 13 seems like it will fit that niche nicely.

Second, Eureka. I remember when it was first advertised on Sci-Fi. I never got around to watching it until after the first season, but I was instantly hooked. Being four seasons deep into LOST, I was really looking for something relaxing. I love Eureka's quirkiness and tongue-in-cheek humor.

I was understandably very excited when I found out that Eureka and Warehouse 13 will have crossover episodes this summer. Fargo is coming to the Warehouse to upgrade security, and Claudia is taking a trip to Eureka for an episode. Both shows are so similar that this just makes perfect sense. I really can't wait to see what they do with it.

James Callis (Baltar on Battlestar Galactica) is also showing up on Eureka this season. I just saw him on FlashForward, and though he didn't play quite the same character, he was fantastic. Look up the clip of him eating a hamburger.
Despite my disagreement with the name change, their guest stars are quite awesome. Michael Shanks on Eureka was awesome, as was Dr. Fraiser.

What is really interesting is that two characters from Eureka were already on Warehouse, although they played different people.

Either way, this should be a really good summer. I'll be sad that LOST is ending, but at least Syfy will be kicking in to full gear.

Edit: Callis' first appearance on FlashForward: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Paxeq8An0x0

Callis eating a hamburger: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKzN6ltOoMc

SteelSeries Siberia Headphones

I was making a remix a few weeks ago. In order for me to use my headphones, I had to plug them into my subwoofer, under my desk. The headphone cable isn't very long (came with my Zune), so I decided I needed headphones. The next day, I saw a pair on sale on Sellout.Woot.com. The reviews were pretty good, and the price was extremely cheap, so I picked them up. The shipping took a decent amount of time (as per Woot), but I'm totally glad I bought them. They are a bit lighter than they look. The cushions on the ear cups are extremely soft and comfortable. They aren't noise cancelling, or even noise blocking, however. It seems they are intended to use so you can hear things in the background, too. I'm fine with this though. I don't really like to not hear everything. The color is a bit too Apple-white, but it's better than black I guess. The sound quality is very, very good, considering what I paid. Came with a free sticker, too. I will probably keep SteelSeries in mind during future purchases.

Logitech G11

Last week, I purchased a Logitech G11 keyboard. My previous keyboard was a $15 keyboard I bought at Staples when I was building my desktop. Due to budget restraints at the time, price was the number one factor. Long story short, I spilled orange juice on the keyboard a few months ago. Though one key was a bit sticky, overall performance wasn't affected. However, two weeks ago, a few keys began to stay stuck down until I pried them up. For instance, the 2, 3, 4 and 5 keys, as well as left shift. As a result, I couldn't type very well.

I was looking at new keyboards for a few days. I definitely wanted a backlit keyboard. I also decided I wanted a keyboard with media keys, since I frequently listen to music on the Zune player, and a dedicated volume key. With my speakers, the only way to change volume is via a remote control, which gets quite tedious. A volume button on my keyboard would solve such problems.

I eventually found the Logitech G11 and G15. The G15 looked perfect, but was too expensive. The G11 seemed like it would fit well. It had two USB ports on top, cable management, a blue backlight, media keys, volume, and macro keys. There are 18 "G" macro keys, and pressing M1, M2 or M3 can switch what each of the 18 G keys do. You can program macros using Logitech's software, or record macros on the fly using the MR button. Finally, there is a "gaming mode" switch, which disables the Windows key.

So what do I use? I love the backlight. I also love the media keys. Being able to mute my computer without finding the remote is wonderful as well. I haven't used the macro keys nearly as much as I thought I would, but I figure they will come in handy when Star Wars: The Old Republic launches.

Oh, and the two USB ports? They are USB 1.1, so they transfer data at extremely slow rates. As a result, it's easier for me to reach under my makeshift desk and plug a flash drive into the front of my case.

All in all though, I really like this keyboard. The keys have a bit more travel than I would like, but better than my previous keyboard. The board is very wide, but I don't mind. I feel like I could have gotten a bit more bang for my buck, but the price was right.

Next up: replace my four year old Razer mouse.