Checking In After Week 1

Completed: 3 (strike through)
On Track: 25 (Italics)
See the updated list here.


Daily Tasks:
Considering the whole idea behind keeping up with daily tasks is that I'm trying to get into the habit, I'm trying to leave myself some room for error.  I would consider completing a daily task 75% of the time would be sufficient.  Therefore, I cannot miss the task more than 250 times.  That is where I will draw the line at the end of the 1001 days.  By those standards, I would consider all of my daily tasks on track (as noted by the italics) with the exceptions of the tasks that I haven't even started yet. 

Weekly Tasks:
Weekly tasks are a lot easier to stick to as they only need to be done once a week.  I would consider completing my weekly tasks 90% of the time to be successful.  This means that I can miss 14 weeks and still be okay at the end of my 1001 days.

Overview as of January 9, 2011:

Xbox Kinect

This year for Christmas I received the Xbox Kinect (plus Kinect Adventures).  I would recommend this product to anybody.  It comes with a copy of Kinect Adventures, which is a pretty decent starter game.  It is more than capable of keeping one occupied until they are able to spring for another game.  The only downside is that there are only five mini games, and variations on those games, so it can become repetitive fairly quickly. 

The Kinect itself has plenty of interesting features.  The first of which is of course the motion sensing technology.  It works great, and was able to pick up my movements with no trouble.  Pausing the game or exiting to the dashboard is as easy as holding my left arm at a 45 degree angle.  Selecting options is easy as well, requiring my hand to hover over my choice, while a time counts up to give me a chance to change my mind or make sure I'm choosing the option I want.  I'm sure the quality of the motion control will vary based on the programming of the individual games, but so far everything has worked wonderfully.

The second feature Kinect offers is the voice recognition.  Simply say "Xbox" while in the Kinect hub and a prompt of commands appears on the screen.  If you can read it, you can say it and the Xbox promptly obeys.  I have had no trouble getting it to follow my commands so far, and have never had to repeat myself.  My only wish is that it had more command options, such as powering down the system.  Also, I've noticed that while I can open and close the tray with voice command, if a game is in the tray, the only option is to play the game.  While, no big deal, because I'd be required to get up to remove the game regardless of what voice command offers, it was a little bit of a quirk.

The final and most standout feature in my opinion is the facial recognition.  I simply wave at the Xbox after turning it on and it recognizes me and logs me in under my Xbox LIVE account.  This feature is not perfect and the level of light in the area can affect it's ability to recognize an individual user.  To remedy this, Xbox offers users the option to go through the memorization process multiple times to allow for multiple levels of light and conditions.  For example, when I originally went through the facial recognition process, it was evening and the only thing illuminating my living room was artificial light.  The next day, while the room was filled with sunlight, I attempt to log in and the Kinect did not recognize me.  I simply went through the process again and now the Kinect recognizes me day and night.

Overall, I think the connect is a wonderful addition to the Xbox, and definitely advances it in the console wars between Xbox 360, Wii, and the PS3.  While, it is too soon to tell, I believe the capabilities of the Kinect has to potential to set Xbox miles ahead of the competition.

101 things in 1001 days

Start Date: January 1st, 2011

End Date:  September 28, 2013
Last Update: January 10, 2011

Introduction

1.   Post this list somewhere I see it everyday 

2.   Update the list once a week to see where I’m at (1/1)

Love

3.   Say I love you while angry

4.   Have a weekly date night with SO (0/1)

5.   Eat dinner at kitchen table with SO once a week (0/1)

Career

6.   Get promoted to GS-12

7.   Complete all of the BOMI classes for an FMA

8.   Wake up on time everyday for a month 

9.  Use a planner to be more organized at work

10.  Earn regional recognition through work

Household

11. Set one goal and complete it weekly (1/1)
12.  Buy a house

13.  Scoop the litter box instead of SO at least once a week (0/1)

14.  Spend 15 minutes each weekday cleaning (7/8)

15.  Spend an hour each weekend cleaning (1/1)

16.  Cook at least once a week (1/1)

17.  Try a new recipe once a month

18.  Finish laundry every weekend (1/1)

19.  Buy new living room set and bedroom set for new house

20.  Make bed every morning (1/1)

21.  Start Composting

22.  Get a dog

23.  Sort through my paper pile and file weekly (1/1)

Finance

24.  Obtain $10000 in savings (not including down payment for house)

25.  Invest anything above $10000

26.  Save 10% of each paycheck

27.  Only eat out for lunch once a week at work (1/1)

28.  Clip coupons weekly and actually use them (1/1)

29.  Empty my wallet of change each week and stash it in the change jar (0/1)

30.  Be contributing 15% to my TSP by the end of 1001 days

31.  Complete my taxes within two weeks of getting the W-2

Health (Mind, Body, and Spirit)

32. Start a dream journal

33.  Exercise at least three times a week (1/3)

34.  Watch what I eat, and don’t go over recommended calorie inake for the week (0/1)

35.  Attend church weekly (1/1)

36.  Read the Bible

37.  Subscribe to dictionary.com’s word of the day, and use each word (1/8)

38.  Give at least 1% of salary to CFC each year

39.  Give up something negative or do something beneficial for Lent each year

40.  Keep a journal and write in it at least once a week (0/1)

41.  Keep up with daily beauty routine morning and night (7/8)

42.  Watch the news or read the news paper daily (5/8)

43.  Start a swear jar.  25¢ per offense.

44.  Visit dentist every six months

45.  Visit doctor once a year

46.  Complete a half marathon

47.  Complete a marathon

48.  Take a multi-vitamin daily (0/8)

49.  Take fish oil daily (0/8)

50.  Eat a fruit or vegetable with every meal (liquid form counts)(6/8)

51.  Take a relaxing bath once a week (0/1)

52.  By organic produce

53.  Pay for the person behind me at a drive-thru

54.  Drink 8 glasses of water per day (4/8)

55.  Complete P90X Lean

56.  Complete P90X Standard

57.  Eat Breakfast Everyday (7/8)

58.  Have my cholesterol tested

59.  Find my blood type

Friends and Family

60.  Keep track of birthdays and send birthday cards

61.  Call home at least once a week to catch up (1/1)

62.  Send Christmas Cards every year

63.  Find a pen pal

64.  Bake Christmas cookies for everybody

65.  Bring a homemade dish to pass to family functions

Appearance and Self Esteem

66.  Purchase a new fashionable item once a pay period (purse, clothing, etc.) (1/1)

67.  Find a beauty routine that works and stick to it

68.  Go through my closet each season and donate old clothes

69.  Find a hair salon and visit regularly.

70.  Wear jewelry

71.  Purchase armoire to keep jewelry in

Hobbies/Travel

72.    Write for the NaNoWriMo each year

73.    Take falconry classes

74.    Publish a book online

75.    Learn a foreign language

76.    Watch IMDB’s top 250 movies (86/250)

77.    Play my violin again

78.    Go to a Red Wings game

79.    Post in my blog at least three times a week (1/3)

80.    Take a trip out of the country

81.    See the ball drop at Times Square on NYE

82.    Create a scrapbook

83.    Play a board game once a month.

84.    Check out a show on Broadway Chicago at least every season

85.    Attend some sort of show a month (music, comedy, play etc.)

86.    See a movie in the theater once a month

87.    Read 101 books (0/101)

88.    Go skiing

89.    Go to Lollapalooza 

90.    Go white water rafting

91.    Attend an Autographing Signing at local theater

92.    Purchase each Classic Disney movie that is realeased from the Vault before it goes back in

93.    Participate in project 365

94.    Learn to Belly Dance

95.    Eat at a 5-star restaurant

96.    Go to Vegas

97.    See all Oscar Best Picture Winners (16/85)

98.    Only be playing one long term video game (party games are the exception) at a time on each system

Conclusion

99.          Donate $10 to charity for each task not completed

100.      Save $10 for each task completed

101.      Start a new list upon completion of this list

Since I epically failed last year...

I'm restarting the 101 things list.  I've added some new items, so we'll see how that goes.

I'm going to be blogging more often this year, so stay tuned for more posts and reviews of everything and anything.

The Future of Stuff..

Forgive me for sounding old fashion, but upon discovering this article, I found myself slightly saddened by the some of the trends addressed in this article.

1. DVDs:  This is probably the easiest one the get over, assuming Blu-Ray still continues to sell.  I had no problems with changing mediums.  VHS to DVD was no problem, sure I had to by all of my Disney Movies all over again on DVD.  Those are really the only movies I own.  Disney also happens to be offering the alternative.  They sell their Blu-Ray discs with a copy of the DVD.  This way, even though I haven't quiet moved up to Blu-Ray yet, I'll have a copy when I do make the transition (not to mention Blu-Ray players are backwards compatible.  I have no concerns about the Netflix rentals either. 

This article, however, mentions that downloading movies is becoming to popular way to go.  This concerns me because when I like something enough to purchase, I would like something tangible to display on a shelf.  Files of movies on a computer would not satisfy me nearly as much.

2. Home Telephone Service:  I still have a land line, and for as long as they are available, I will continue to have a land line.  I also have a cell phone, but I try to limit my use on it when I'm in my own home as much as possible.  My land line service does not drop my calls as much as my cell phone.  I suppose if home phone service does become obsolete, then I will have to buy one of those devices that hook up to your cell phone so you can use it similar to a land line.  Cell phones are tiny, and much harder to keep track of in your own home.  I would much rather not have to wear my BlackBerry on my hip at all times even in my own home.  I keep it in my purse, and would rather not have to chase my purse down every time I hear my phone ring.

3. Newspaper/Magazine Subscriptions:  I love reading hard copies of the magazine.  Staring at a computer screen all day can be taxing. The best thing in the world is to just unplug and relax upon returning home from work.  To do so, reading a hard copy of the newspaper or a favorite magazine is great.  I do not think I will ever catch on to the Kindle thing.

4. CDs:  This is what I am saddest to see go.  As I mentioned of DVDs, I do not mind the media changes so much as I don't like to lose something tangible.  I will gladly use iTunes to download a single or two, but if I plan on buying an entire album from one of my favorite artists, I prefer to have something tangible in my hands.  This isn't the same as when Vinyl went to cassette, or cassette to CD.  It may seem like a waste of space to rip a CD to the iPod, and then put the CD on a shelf somewhere.  To mean, it doesn't feel that way.  They are like collectors items, the same way people keep their old Vinyl records.  I have had discussions about this in the past, and find that many of my peers do not feel the same way, so it could be just me.

Maybe this is just my apprehension at letting so many things of the past go.  We're moving into the digital age, and losing touch of everything tangible.  This is something I may just be having a hard time moving past, so perhaps I am just a little too old fashion.  This may be the same way future generations have felt at the creation of cable TV or moving from telegraph to telephone.

Readers:  How do you feel about the potential of these rapidly approaching evolutions in technology?  Do you think many of these items really will become obsolete?  Are you releuctant about the changes as well, or do you think I'm just crazy?  Their were a couple other items in the article I didn't mention because they aren't relevant to me.  Do you have any differing opinions on these items as well?

Review: Avatar

Avatar is a film that lives up to the hype, without a doubt.  Usually when a movie is amped up so much, and one goes to see it with such high expectations, it is easy to leave dissapointed.  I loved this movie from start to finish.  I went to see it in a regular movie theater setting, so I wasn't as taken with the special effects as those who might see it in IMAX (this is definitely on my to-do list, though).  I was suprised at how much I enjoyed the plot, as I had heard much about how it was the effects that made this film truly great, and the plot was average.  Read on.

Review: District 9

District 9 was a refreshing new Sci-fi movie that had me engaged for a good portion of the film.  The portrayal of this film as a mockumentary was an effective way of taking on the subject matter of this film.  I just wish it wouldn't have strayed away from this concept into a shoot-em up toward the end.  Read on for full review.