Kunoichi: Doggie Ninja

I gotta say, I was skeptical about the PS3’s awesomeness. It took me a while to get one, but when I finally had my Christmas in February (thanks to Walmart for putting everything in separate boxes) one of the first things I did was to research media server software. Once it was finally working, I realized how close I was to my ubiquitous computing network dream and went to go find more.

Right now I have a PS2, a Wii, a PS3, a Tivo, 2 external drives, a PC (really, I have several, but most sit in a closet ready to be scavenged for parts. Does that make my closet a PC chop shop?), a Macbook, a DS, a Palm Pilot, and an iPhone (and an iPod in that aforementioned closet). I may be a geek, but I am still a girl and thus want all of my stuff to live in perfect harmony and have a happy ever after. Plus, content streaming over the wireless network seems a lot greener and more important for me, harder for the puppy to chew on.

Seems like a shame that I horde this information and not let you all enjoy in my PS3-media server related bliss, so I’ll share (see Mom, sometimes I am okay at sharing!). First, a quick chart and then more in-depth with stuff like supported formats:

If you have a Mac:

1. •EyeConnect for the PS3 is worth the money. Seriously, I love it. It completely brought me back to my first love of the Sony Playstation, away from the arms of that other woman…the Nintendo Wii. It has a 15 day trial and then it will run you 49.95. If you don’t feel like handing over your hard earned cash so you can watch shows you probably downloaded for free…then you can run it in audio mode only for free after the trial runs out. (It even had my playlists.)

Check with Sony for supported file types.

1. 
   

   •

   MediaLink
   

   by Nullriver seems to operate much the same. $20 after the free trial. It does seem to operate using iTunes and iPhoto rather than just folders. So far I really like EyeConnect, so other than for testing purposes I doubt I’ll be switching, even though it’s cheaper.

Supported formats: AAC, WMA, MP3, WAV, H.264, DivX, XVid, AVI, WMV, ASF, JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, BMP, MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4

1. •Connect360 says it will pull in all your iTunes, iPhoto, and video needs. Not having a 360, I can’t really test this. But ha, I gave you a way anyway. Free trial for 30 minutes I believe and then it’s $20.

Supported formats: AAC, Apple Lossless, WMA, MP3, WAV, AIFF, H.264, DivX, XVid, MOV, AVI, WMV, ASF, JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, BMP, RAW.

1. •PSPWare is the PSP version of MediaLink and Connect360. I guess connecting to the media on the PS3 from your Mac might not be quick enough for you. Nullriver’s got you covered if that’s the case. But with this, you get contacts, bookmarks and lots of other fun stuff. And it backs up your games in case you forgot to save (or are like me and get frustrated with the game and walk inot another room for hours). Oh, if only NullRiver had something for the iPhone….well…SDK’s not out yet, I’ll give it a month.

1. •MediaTomb is for PS3/Mac goodness and it’s free. However, if the folks at TUAW are saying it’s tricky, then I’d rather just shell out the $50 and never worry about it. Command-line ahoy.

1. •Wii Media Center X is old, so I question how well it will do. Still gonna try it though.

If you have a PC:

1. •If you are wanting to connect to your 360, you might be in luck. Those of you with a media center PC, no problems for you. You get it all and for the ultra cheap price of FREE. If you’re just running plain ol’ XP, then you have to settle for no video.

1. •However, I have found you 360 Media Server. Again I state, I don’t own a 360, so I can’t test this. If you try it, let me know how it goes so I can amend all the 360 sections related to it. It creates a UPnP media server on both Windows and ….wait for it…LINUX. Of course, you don’t care about that because you own a PC. Oh wait, here’s why you do…those that have Linux Skillz usually prefer their software FREE. PC users, thank your lucky stars that you have some penguin lovin’ friends.

Supported formats included: AAC, Ogg, Flac and every format supported by the 360 itself.

1. •But I want DivX to play on my 360…yeah, I’ve got you there too…check this out. Oh and Transcode 360.
2. •TVersity works on both the PS3 and the 360, so you just need the one media server to have media center love on both consoles. Make love not console wars. I’ll install this over the weekend and let you know how it went. Oh, did I mention it’s FREE? Cause it so is.

Also, TVersity supports web enabled devices. Do you know what that means? My console affair is rejuvenated and my Wii gets some media center loving of it’s own. Sort of…(and the PSP).

1. •Thanks to the folks at Lifehacker, you can have a rundown of Orb which uses the Opera web browser to make your Wii all media center friendly. Again, PC’s get the love of FREE software. *RUNS TO TEST*

1. •Wii Media Center X as seen in the Mac section.

If you have Linux:

1. •See the note on 360 Media Server in the PC portion of the article. Not only do I not have a 360, I also don’t run Linux. Sowwy.

1. •Wii Media Center X as seen in the Mac section.

Sorry there’s not more Linux. I’m not a Tux-junkie, so I leave that up to some of you. Let me know how your installations go so I can amend this if necessary.

I gotta say that I love the vet that I chose. Every time I bring Ichi home, I get a call in a day or two checking on her progress. Lazy thing that I am, it’s nice to have that appear on my phone as a method to tell them if anything’s wrong.

Nothing is so far. All she wanted to do yesterday when I brought her home was run and play, which was prohibited by the vet due to her abdominal incision. She didn’t like being put in her kennel most of the night, not one bit. This afternoon at lunch I even heard the dreaded Shiba Scream echo from the area her kennel’s in. Since she usually only does that when she’s in pain, I always go to check, but I never open the kennel door.

She’s a bit groggy today I think. She didn’t eat at breakfast, but did finish it by lunch. She’s playful, but not rambunctious. Hard to tell if that counts as “lethargic”. If it does, I kind of like it. It could also be that since she’s been put on “no running” orders, I’ve got the leash still on her (a lightweight one) so that I can grab her easier if she starts to run and play. She might be confused and thinking a trip outside is imminent.

However, in another “my puppy’s smart” moment, she ate her medicine like it was the tastiest treat she’d ever smelled. Seriously. Ichi saw that medicine and jumped on my leg to get me to give it to her. Must be the grape robutussin of doggie medication. I’m still amused that things I’m not supposed to work so hard on are hard for her (going to her kennel, eating) and the things that other people have to trick their dogs to do are a piece of cake (take medicine).

But that’s it. My PS3 came, so I’m using the Ichi-bed-rest moments to get acquainted with it. Blu-Ray ahoy! Currently immersed in Devil May Cry 4 and finding Nero annoying, MOAR DANTE! Up next: watching Layer Cake (DVD), Pirates 3 (BLU-RAY!) and Spidey 3 (BLU-RAY!). I’m preparing myself to never be satisfied by my parents TV ever again. Guess the PS3 will need a traveling case!

Well, I pick up my girl from the vet at 5:15 today. I dropped her off at 7:45AM yesterday. If you’ve been around me very often, you know that me up and anywhere at 7:45AM is a feat in and of itself and should be enough to prove that I love my puppy, even though I may not like her very much some days. I don’t think she knew what was going on when we left the house, but she KNEW where she was when we got out…or rather TRIED to get out of the car.

When we left the house she was all cute and adorable. She walked to the parking lot just fine, saw my car, instantly went to the tire nearest her door (thanks Ichi for not scratching up my paint with your massively long nails!) and waited for me to open it. She’s getting a little bit more independent and curious these days and thus, just as she does the papasan chair, she gave her all in trying to get in the car without my help. I think we’ve moved out of the toddler phase. Well, she couldn’t do it, of course, but with just a little help (pulling her up a little) she got in and then hopped up on the back seat as if she’d conquered the car.

Off we went. And then we arrived….much to her dismay. She didn’t want to get out of the car AT ALL. So I picked her up and carried her to the sidewalk at which point she struggled to get out of my arms, so I let her down. Apparently it wasn’t just to get out of my arms, she wanted away from that place. Much struggling later and we were in the door at like 7:58AM (cutoff for arrival was 8am). Next step: handing her off to the *gulp* surgery team. Again, she wasn’t fond of that, but I wasn’t really either. Something about the word SURGERY that bugs me about that.

(more…)

I’m not sure if I’ll put the entire LENGTHY Colorado report in here or not. I may condense it. I’ve been writing it for 2 days, that’s how long it is. Also, who else is amazed I didn’t post for 12 days?! I know the LJ crowd probably would be.

Ichi report: Over the Tennessee river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house we went on Thursday. She hadn’t had an accident since Monday, which meant she was already past the longest span of time she’d gone. But my grandmother informed me all through the weekend that she hadn’t had another while she was there. There’s still debate on whether or not she would tattle on the puppy as she prepared for her like a small child. I got the feeling Ichi was spoiled rotten while there. Case in point: I arrived to find a pink blanket for Ichi to cuddle in that my grandmother had bought.

So, back to the point. The story began to get more plausible as I became aware of how often my grandmother was taking her outside. Additionally, despite getting kind of sick, Ichi didn’t have an accidents on Monday and did pretty well Tuesday. Until 10:30 (her new bedtime is 11). It seemed to be one of those OMG SO HAPPY LET’S PLAY LET’S PLAY LET’S PLAY OMG WHOOPS” moments. I screamed No at her repeatedly, having actually caught her, and then as I cleaned told her how much I wish she had gone to the door. She had been so good all day afterall, even when I was in another room.

Additionally, I’m trying to train her to sleep through the night (aka, not need the puppy pads). She does pretty well post-work when I let her out of her kennel, which is about 8.5 hours, but post bedtime, she has problems. I don’t understand it; it’s only a half hour more. The routine is the same when she’s released from the kennel. Maybe she just needs to get older or something. But yeah, accidents last night and this morning. But, if my grandmother is to be believed (and I think she might be) that means 8 days of no accidents. By far eclipsing all previous records.

Beyond that talk, we ran into the dalmation again yesterday and Ichi was again, very intrigued. Also, Ichi and that strawberry ought to be someone’s OTP. Oh, and remember me saying how smart she’s become and good she’s doing? Well, while I was figuring out what all needed altering in the sewing room last night, I kept hearing Ichi banging against her kennel (she wasn’t in it). I go back into the living room and notice far more toys in the floor than when I’d left. Not only had she gone and gotten her teething bone and her tiger from within her kennel, she got the cupid dog from the BAG on top of the kennel. That bag was in the dead center and it still was when I checked on it. I have no idea how she got it out of the bag and down from the kennel. Regardless, she did and she greatly enjoyed playing with it. I’m all for her learning what’s hers and when she is bored and wants to chew on something, going to get her stuff instead of chewing on the coffee table (it’s right at her mouth).

(day before) Valentine’s Day Pictures

And then that mouth. I know, it’s from Miss Congeniality. I think it applies to Ichi.

(Copied from ye old LJ. )

Yesterday (Edit: Wednesday) wasn’t a good day for us. Ichi was on a destructive binge. There’s a spot on my carpet that’s now been pulled up. Although, I was thinking about that today, and she wasn’t playing with it for very long so, the chances are it wasn’t down well enough in the first place.

Additionally, she’s learned that she’s now big enough to climb into the papasan chair. I swear, her trying to climb up there (rather than jump) was about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen her do. I’m okay with her being in it, just not while I’m eating, because it makes it even harder. I think the papasan fascination was licked a little when, upon jumping up and trying to instantly jump down, she turned her back paw funny and it got caught in the chair. She squealed and hollered because her front paws were already on the ground when it got caught. It didn’t look fun so I’m sure she was in pain.

But, I’ve uploaded many a picture of her including: her with a Kong toy, her trying to decide if she should horde a treat or not, and her with a frisbee. Tomorrow or so I’ll upload the videos including “Ichi’s scared of the shredder”. It’s not as funny in the video as it was in real life, possibly because I didn’t tape the whole thing.

Here’s her anxiously awaiting a finished Cassandra:

(The sewing room/office is baby gated because she’s likely to swallow a needle, pin, or thread in there.) This is probably not the cutest instance of her doing that, but it’s still cute.

More cuteness behind the cut.
(more…)