Mastodon Personal – Page 3 – Josh Hrach

Want to play Star Trek Online? There’s still a chance!

Josh on November 19, 2009

Star Trek Online is looking to be a very fun MMORPG. Being the first Star Trek game of this type, it definitely has quite a following. However, some people are already playing it! (They just have to report bugs, of course).

Are you interested in playing Star Trek Online? Well, if you haven’t already, be sure to sign up for the closed beta! It’s like joining one of those super secret online societies, where you can’t talk to others about it. At least you can be a geek and join this one!

But, we have other news, too! Even if you signed up for closed beta and have not got called, do not fear!  It has been announced that there will be a two week open beta close to Star Trek Online’s launch date of February 2nd, 2010.  So, be sure to check out their website and sign up for beta!

In the meantime, want a sneak peak at some of Star Trek Online’s game play? Check out this video.

Star Trek Online Ship Tactics:

Confirmed Star Trek Online Release Date

Josh on November 9, 2009

It has been confirmed from Cryptic, both on their website and from a tweet from a Cryptic staff member, that Star Trek Online will be released on February 2nd, 2010.

So, if you’re interested in playing it, maybe you’ll want to look into pre-ordering the game. Hopefully, by the time the game hits open beta, we’ll know more about the game mechanics and what fun can be expected from it.

http://twitter.com/CrypticZinc/status/5565154490

New Doctor Who Info: The Water of Mars

Josh on November 5, 2009

Via a post on David Tennant’s Facebook page, we have some new information regarding The Water of Mars! Specifically, we have an air date and a new trailer.

So, for all of you folks fortunate enough to live in the UK:

The Waters Of Mars will air on BBC One / BBC HD on Sunday 15th November at 7pm!

For the rest of us, how about a little trailer? Why not!

I don’t know about you, but I’m excited! What do you think?

Thanks @IntoMobile (and dad)!

Josh on October 20, 2009

This summer has been interesting, to say the least.  I’ve already talked about the free MacBook Pro I won, courtesy of SourceForge.  My dad has been enjoying that quite a bit. He’s put his customization into it already, which I expected right away. Due to him winning a free one, we also made a little deal: We’d split the cost of another MacBook Pro. It seemed like a win-win deal, especially considering that he had one for free.

Well, before I won that, I had won a $200 gift card to the Apple Store.  That was thanks to a little giveaway that IntoMobile was running. Because of that gift card, I began seriously considering buying something at Apple. At first, it was just a passing thought. Then, I began to ponder the idea of getting a MacBook Pro and an iPhone (especially as the IntoMobile giveaway was due to the release of the iPhone 3GS).

Well, those thoughts have all come to pass.  I now have my nice new MacBook Pro and, with it, an iPhone. Hopefully, the two will go hand-in-hand for me as I work on making both of them worth the purchase.

So, thanks to IntoMobile for the $200 gift card! And thanks to my dad for going along with the idea. I think he’s enjoying his iPhone, too.

Now to get used to running iTunes… and owning an iPod (of sorts)…

New Posts Coming Soon!

Josh on September 8, 2009

I haven’t blogged in a while, but I can assure you that the ideas have been floating around!  So, what can you expect to see?

As I was asked one or two months ago, I’m going to begin a series of posts about the internet, various aspects of it, and ways that you can use it. I’ll also point out potential dangers, as well as showing how you can protect yourself from those dangers.

I’ve also got some posts ready to go with regards to Apple. Those posts will be out once I finish with a few certain things.

Is there a topic that you would like me to write about? Post it as a comment to this article!

Thanks For The MacBook Pro, SourceForge!

Josh on August 22, 2009

When I first signed up for Twitter back in February, I had no idea that it would be helping me win free stuff.  Even now, I still can’t believe it.  Except, of course, for the fact that I’ve actually received the free stuff.

I also would never have expected SourceForge to ever give me something for free, either. Yet, they have. And for that, SourceForge, I definitely thank you! I am My family is glad to have a new MacBook, too.

It all goes back to one month ago… I had heard about SourceForge’s 2009 Community Choice Awards and some live feeds they were going to do for the event. But wait! There’s more?  They were giving away four MacBook Pros during the live coverage. Wow!  Of course, what are the chances of me winning one, right?

Well, winning one required tweeting answers to trivia questions.  I was shocked when the first question was one that I actually had an idea about.  “What movie did Apple use to hype its new QuickTime4 format?”  I won’t give the answer, so have fun figuring it out!  But, being the first to tweet @SourceForge with the correct answer, I soon learned I was right.

And so that started the journey of the new MacBook!  It took some verification of personal data, some FedEx transit, but in the end, it made it here one month after that fateful night.  Tuesday, I received an email with the FedEx tracking number and, thankfully, within two days, it was here.

Here are some photos from the grand opening! (Sorry for the lack of thumbnails… WordPress is giving me some issues with uploading photos.)

While it’s such a sweet looking piece of technology, I decided that I would not keep this.  Nope, this MacBook is now my dad’s newest toy. I still have plans for a MacBook, but it wasn’t going to be this one.  So, there you go, dad!

Again, a big thank you to SourceForge!  I come to your site often for open source needs.  And now I can we can thank you for this shiny new MacBook Pro, as well!

Some New Blog Features

Josh on August 11, 2009

While I’m finishing up several new posts to put up in the next fews days, I thought I’d mention a couple features on the blog.

First, I added in the ability for users to rate my posts. So now, not only can you leave a great comment, but you can also rate posts. I do hope some of my latest ones, and ones coming up, will be of use to many people!

Secondly, if you haven’t already seen, I’ve added a few small Twitter things to my sidebar.  If you’re a Twitter user and feel like following me, go ahead!

I had added in a little comment box to the side bar, but I have since disabled it. If you think you would like me to have that back on, let me know, and I’ll restore it.

Hope you all enjoy some of the things I write! 🙂 I do like feedback, so please feel free to leave me some!

Blog Updated, And I Need Your Help!

Josh on July 11, 2009

I recently upgraded this blog to the latest WordPress version.  I had such a pain with it as I tracked down some issues I was having.  I’ll write more about that later.  But, for now, I’ll just say that, with that upgrade and troubleshooting, I had to change some things around.  Many plugins were reinstalled from scratch. So, to ensure that all is working right, I’m calling on all of you!

If you could, take a look through my blog and test things out.  If you find something broken, let me know!

Thank you!

Billy Mays Dead? What Next?

Josh on June 28, 2009

As reported by Fox News, Tampa Bay Online, the Tampa Bay Business Journal, and the Associated Press (via MSNBC), TV pitchman Billy Mays was found dead in his Tampa home.  They say he was found unresponsive and was pronounced dead early this morning.

Wow, this makes for quite an interesting week!  The month had started off in a weird way with the announced death of actor David Carradine on June 3rd.  But the past week has seemed weirder than all of the speculation put around Carradine’s death.

June 23rd, Ed MacMahon, the voice of the Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, passed.  He was definitely a big name in the entertainment world for many decades.  He and Carson both made for a great late night show which I would love to see more of.

Then, two days later, on June 25th, we first heard of the death of Farrah Fawcett from cancer.  Her looks, and her time as one of Charlie’s Angels, made her an international star.  Then, later that same day (and pretty much stealing the headlines, even to today), Michael Jackson died from cardiac arrest.  All you have to do is look at how the media is still covering his death, as well as see all of the tributes that have gone up to him (and, to a lesser extent, Farrah Fawcett) to see how people reacted to their deaths.

Now, the crazy news for today.  In less than a week since Ed MacMahon’s death, Billy Mays is found dead.  It seems so crazy to hear about yet another big named celebrity to die.  Granted, time and unforeseen occurance befalls everyone, but it still is making for an interesting week.

So, goodbye, Billy Mays.  OxiClean, Orange Glo, Kaboom, Handy Switch, iCan, Steam Buddy, Tool Bandit, Gopher, and every other product you were the front man for will never be the same again.

Well, maybe the same, but just quieter.

Now… I wonder what news we’ll be seeing this week.