philipstraatsma.com – Low-Fi

A couple of months ago I did something I wanted to do for a long time but did not have the excess income until now, I picked up an Xbox 360. Microsoft dropped the price on the 360 the same weekend I picked the console. I went with the Xbox 360 Pro 60GB version with wireless controller for $300 and copy of Halo 3 (for free).
When I first picked up the console I just expected a typical gaming experience: plug it in, turn it on and play a game. What I didn’t expect was a very mature entertainment platform. Not only can you play games with the Xbox 360 you can also download movies, games, game demos and download movie rentals from your netflix account.
Microsoft has also built a very mature online gaming community in Xbox Live that allows you to easily play your favorite games with your friends. And with a recent update on the console interface they have made the system easier to navigate, tell what friends are up to and much easier on the eyes.

I’ve quickly discovered that owning an Xbox 360 is more like joining a club than owning a piece of hardware. Part of the process of setting up a new Xbox 360 is creating your “gamer tag” and Avatar (think Nintendo Mii). This unique tag is used for multiple things including tracking your achievements in every Xbox game, connecting with friends online, tracking your stats in multiplayer games, and storing Microsoft points used to buy games and movies in the Xbox marketplace.

Given my overall experience with the Xbox 360 and the sheer amount of content available I would recommend this system to anyone over the Nintendo Wii or Sony PlayStation 3.

This past month after my good friend Chad and Kellie finished Millennium Triathlon I vowed that next year I would be doing it with them. Having been on a major health kick for the past month and a half I have lost 12 pounds and a belt size and a half. Today, I picked up the last tool I needed to complete a Tri, the Cannondale R300. After my father picked up a new Cannondale titanium-framed bike he was ready to part with his old aluminum bike that he used for more than nine years. He was very excited when I mentioned that I wanted to get back into biking. So tonight after the wife dropped me off at my folks home I made the 10 mile trek back home. The Cannondale R300 is not the R300 it was when it was purchased. My father replace almost every part on the bike except for the frame. All new upgraded Shimano gears, high-end Shimano shifters, low spoke Velocity wheels, carbon fiber fork, slim Specialized seat and Performance arrow bars. The final weight on the bike is just around 20lbs. not bad considering my last bike was a 50lbs. steel Schwinn!

I like theorizing about the outcome of events, kind of a pastime of mine, and the presidential campaign is no different.

Prediction: John McCain will choose Mitt Romney as his running mate.
Did anyone else find it strange that Mitt Romney dropped out so quickly from the race? Yes he was behind and his chances of winning were dwindling, but like the smart business man he is he knew when to cut his loses at the right time. The right time to drop out while his name was still in the papers, and with a lot of conservatives backing him. And what do all the news publications say McCain needs to win? Conservatives, and Romney has them, and rugged good looks and youth that McCain does not have. Sounds like a match made in heaven to me. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Romney endorsing McCain in the next few weeks.

Prediction: Barack Obama will tap Edwards for his running mate.
John Edwards, a major voice for the poor and for those who do not have a voice. Barack Obama, voice of the middle class and African Americans. Combine the two and what do you get? An unstoppable team of youth and change. Barack Obama was recently criticized for his admiration on the Reagan era republicans, stating that the republicans of that time were the party of ideas. Sounds like Obama is trying to make the democratic party under his leadership the new party of ideas and who again to better suit that idea? John Edwards.

The time is now to get out in vote. It has been decades since a primary race has been so hotly contested on both sides of the aisle. I encourage you to go out and vote your heart and your head. I heard someone on NPR this morning who said he refused to vote because the United States was financially doomed anyway. It worries me that people are giving up on a country that is still very strong economically. There will always be rough times, but in the end only a strong spirit and a willingness to become involved will bring us through.

I spent a large chunk of time writing about business culture and values this morning for my project management class. For this project we picked a company to study and I chose Google. Having known a little bit about the unique Google culture going into the project I desired to learn more. What I discovered was a culture designed to magnify creativity and keep Google’s number one asset, their employees content and productive. Google offers 3 meals a day at their cafeteria for free, “play rooms” with pianos, video games, pool tables, ping-pong tables, on-site gym, computer and small electronic device repair, street hockey twice a week, a casual dress code and a shocking lack or cubicles. These are just a few examples of how Google tries to make their offices a welcoming place for their employees. I began to wonder why more businesses don’t have a creative and comfortable work space like this, the idea of making work a more comfortable place then home is a very new a scary idea. I think most businesses are afraid of such a lax environment and have the idea that their employees may become complacent. For most companies this concept just does not work. Could you imagine showing up at your bank and working with a bank teller in flip-flops and Bermuda shorts? I think the major problem is seeing people in casual wear makes a company come off as less professional. But, perhaps it is time for our perceptions to change in this regard. Maybe business would be better conducted if we weren’t all stuffed into monkey suits?

For a excellent photo essay by Time magazine follow this link.

I’ve sat myself down in front of photoshop these past couple days staring at my layout in progress and I can’t find inspiration anywhere. This really bugs me because I used to be all about the design flow. But now none of my ideas seem good enough for myself. I have this massive content hole on my website that I cannot fill. I’ve tried a few things here and there, but nothing seems to work. To top things off I think the color pallet I chose for my website is too washed out and I wonder if it is to late to inject some bright colors. le sigh

ugh I say! Just when you think things are settling down they pick right back up again. For the past 4 days straight I have spent almost every waking hour working on homework or studying. The good news is the end is in sight. After today things will be much less busy. This weekend I am having the first semi-annual LANFest at my condo. Looks to be a larger then expected turnout for the first time with 9 people attending. In my the half hour break I took this weekend I whiped up a little promo flier for the event:

Big changes are a-brewing for philipstraatsma.com. Long gone is the funeral procession look and feel.
Incoming is a clean, bright and easy to read style that will generate a more creative location for my random written entries.

Expect the site to look like mismatched step child for a while during the change over.

Update:
The menu bar and title splash are more or less complete. The photograph at the top will rotate randomly each time you visit the site to something or another I have taken throughout my life’s journey.

The problem is, once I start I can’t quit until I am finished.

Tonight I added the recent posts side-bar-item-thingy. I also spruced up the graphics a bit on the right side as it was quiet plain.
Look for the footer to return sometime soon when I receive a “graphical inspiration”.

Short life update (in no particular order):
Job is great
Condo is great
Wife is great

Sleeping is great, night all!

A couple of nights ago I watched my all time favorite movie, fight club, down the street at the Kettner’s condo. There is this great scene where “Jack” is visiting the doctor complaining of insomnia and ways to ease his nightly struggle. The doctor suggests he visit the testicular cancer survivors group at a local church, “to see real men in pain”. He discovers that being with others who are suffering more then him allows him to sleep like a baby. He quickly becomes addicted to these so called “survivor groups” faking various conditions all in the name of a good nights sleep. Along the way he runs into another “faker”, Marla, who imitates the lie he is living. From there things fall apart and he is no longer able to sleep. What isn’t clear in the movie is the point at which Tyler Durden comes to full fruition in Jack’s head, though I assume this is the point. For those who don’t know Tyler Durden is a ultra-masculine alternate personality that Jack “dreams” up to do all the things that he wishes he could do himself but is not manly enough to handle. What most people don’t understand about fight club is that it is more then just a brutal movie about men destroying each other with their fists. Rather it is a movie about generation X, specifically men from generation X. Men who had no “great war” to fight in, no way to prove themselves as men, men looking for a way to define themselves by something other then what marketing execs believe they should be. I bring this up because I worry about my generation, “generation why?”. We have a “great war” but a war that no one believes in, a war that most men of my generation only watch in news bites from the sidelines. Are the men of “gen why?” doomed much like those of “gen X”? We are constantly being bombarded by advertisers telling us what we should own, what we should wear, drive, be, eat, etc. This is something that the men of “the greatest generation” would never let fly. Men of the greatest generation smoked cigars, drank, didn’t take crap, built things with their hands, fixed things around the house, mowed the lawn, hand shoveled the drive-way, fixed their own car, etc. I think you get the picture. In my generation we want things handed to us, problems fixed for us, and no responsibility. What happened to manliness? When did it die? We are taught to fear our surroundings rather then master them. We have this culture that has had all the hardship gutted from it. Our heroes are overpaid athletes, celebrities with no morals and corrupt politicians. We believe everything the loudest voice throws at us. Since when did we become a bunch of scared sheep? Perhaps we just need something to believe in.

Well, I am going to lie down and try to fight my insomnia.

A new leaf is about to turn. Life has taken a step forward for myself and my wife. This next week heralds many changes in our life, good changes. For starters Maria and I both officially start at the Van Andel Research Institute on Monday. Her as a full-time Administrative Assistant/Receptionist and myself as an Information Technology intern. Monday also brings the close date for the condo, which will make Maria and I first time home owners, woot!
Who said Mondays were a bad day?

However as you might have noticed by the pictures in my flickr feed the condo needs some serious updating. First thing will be to paint it head to toe with some nice pastel colors, replace the light switches and go from there. So don’t expect any work on this site for a while. Though you can expect some nice pictures now and then and a short update from time to time.