Posts that make me happy

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I just finished tribute #1.

Expect it on here asap.

evdo = the best

So, blogging from the road in CA. Literally on the road sitting next to my bro Rick as we drive toward Atascadero for the memorial service.

EVDO is the best. Word.

We never change.... do we?

Blech.

I feel crappy right now... mainly because it's two am, and I've got to get on a plane in 10-ish hours bound for sunny CA.

Blech.

Also, putting together a tribute video that makes me bawl.

Blech.

And a sequence in it literally makes me sick to my stomach every time i watch it.

blech.

I've still got to write for saturday.

blech.

No biggies, but i still cant freaking stand this situation.

Blech, Indeed.

The new "real world"

So i'm still grappling with reality, and it's crazy that i'm stuck here without the same direction I had before, but now i'm going to pause mourning for a few minutes and talk about the new "real world" i'm about to come into.

So those of you who don't really know me, I work for a division of AOL, and we're launching a new website in oh say... 10 days (crazy timing indeed.) The site is still on the down low, but expect to see it when it launches here. The best part about my job? I'll be working at 8am every day! I know it sounds stupid and whatevs, but it's really exciting because i haven't had a regular 8am-5pm job ever. I've got to get my sleep schedule back down, but once that happens we'll be in business.

I'm going to write more later, like tomorrow, and also give you a preview of what's coming up for Ryan's tribute video. I've got the skeleton script done, and there's much more to come.

Lizzata,

Rizzandall

Big-ups.

Yo again. Big ups to a couple of peeps for being there, and getting the word out about the memorial fund.

Ryan Block, the managing editor of Engadget

Tom Biro, blogger at large for Weblogs, Inc.

C.K. Sample, III, who is lead of my secret (almost launched) project.

I've also set up another email address, if you see any coverage of my brother in your travels on the web, or want to send a tribute letter that might end up in a Ryan Bennett tribute video I might be putting together, hit me up at ryantribute [at] randallatnyc [dot] com

My brother on Wikipedia

Hey,

If you've got any info about my brother, and want to update his wikipedia page, someone just added it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Bennett

I'm going to write in a few days, after I get his obituary done. It's pretty much done, but i'm going to make sure to flesh it out till I like it. I'll probably post it on wikipedia afterward.

Video Tribute at some point

Hey hey again.

http://www.ifl.tv/News.aspx?i=86

If you've got a tivo or some sort of recording device, and fox sports cable channel, and could do me a favor and record this show, I'd really appreciate it. I hear they're going to do a tribute to my brother, but since I'm in a household that doesn't have cable (I know... i didn't think they existed anymore either!) I'm not going to be able to record it. If you can, pllleeasssee DVR it and put it up on youtube or something. I really want to see it.

Tributes

Linkfarm!

Press release from the fight network (Ryan's last employer)
Savage Truth from Sherdog, an MMA publication
KSL's report
MMA Forums postings about my brother
Family Fund info

Paypal donate:

I'll keep updating this post with more links, as I get them.

Clarification

So basically, let me give you a brief summary of what's happened.

Better yet, let me have google news and technorati give you a summary of what's happened.

Google News

Technorati

I'm still kind of too frazzled to write anything. I'm working on an obit, and that seems to kind of pass the time away for me, but i'm having real trouble feeling comfortable blogging on this one. I'm still in that state of shock, fear, and basically every other emotion (sans happyness and joy) you could go through.

He made a mark, on both the mma community, central california, and myself. He's the reason why I got into TV news. He's the reason why I helped start a college radio station. He's the reason I went to Weber State. He's basically the reason why I'm in New York, and he's the reason why i can't go to sleep, and don't really want to.

Ryan Bennett, my brother, my inspiration.

Without being too long of a blog post, let me get into something a little deeper. I miss my family, version 2.0. For those of you not up to date on the affairs of one Randall Bennett, let me help take you a little deeper. My sister (22 years my senior, although she'd probably not appreciate that term =) died when I was 14. 8 years ago, I went through the hell and horror of realizing that my sister was gone, and now my bro-in-law Kent would be left to raise 4 kids all by his self. It was a different situation, she had brain cancer, it was a three year process, but it was just as hard as this is right now.

Fast forward eight years, brother has 4 kids, dies tragically, leaves the kids behind with sis-in-law Tonya. What's different? I am. I have this eery sense of overmind about how i'm greiving, and how i look at myself through some sort of lens. It's probably wrong, and i'm probably sending all sorts of different vibes to others, but i feel like i'm going crazy. I just want to be a normal person, grieving normally (is that possible?) but instead, I'm looking at myself and my family with this sense of disconnect, and I don't really like it. I'll get over it soon, maybe when i go to sleep.

Thanks for your concern, especially Alex and J. You've never met each other, but you guys have a ton in commmon. I hope this makes more sense now.

As for the technorati and the google news stuff, it is really comforting to see everyone's outpouring of support. I really appreciate everyone who's sent support our way, and who continues to do so.

Guess i'm not too frazzled afterall.

Expressing the inexpressible

To try to sum up my feelings right now would be a definite exercise in futility.

In brief: the man who helped me realize my dreams is gone.

I will devote my life to his memory, as well as my living family.

That's all i've got in me for now. More to come, as i get toward utah.

hawt.

uno = runing my life

Note the timestamp on this post.

That's right, its 2:51. I've been up, playing UNO for the past few hours.

It's simply ruining my life. If you'd have told me my favorite xbox 360 games would be 5 bucks or less, i'd have laughed at you. Geometry wars and Uno are undoubtedly some of the best gaming experiences i've ever had, and they're both cheap.

Also, of note, Tiger Woods golf is as fun as ever, Tony Hawk is also a blast (as usual) and for the xbox exclusive games, PGR3 is amazing (probably the best racer i've seen, and while not quite on par with every other racer i've played, pretty good none the less.) Also, two noteworthy games i haven't played: Metroid Prime Hunters -- still in the shrinkwrap due to addiciton, and same with Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. I basically want to ruin my life with Uno, and don't need an awesome first person shooter for the DS or a great RPG for the 360 to do it for me. They're staying in the shrink wrap, till I decide I want my free time consumed with those great games.

Later,

Randall

QoD!

I really don't like Valleywag, because they usually (almost always) get the story wrong, but I don't mind their commenters. Case in point:

http://www.valleywag.com/tech/cory-doctorow/kazaa-sues-p2pnet-for-libel-gets-cory-doctorow-in-a-lather-176072.php

KaZaA, the P2p company who sued the RIAA for copyright infringement, while they were getting sued, is suing another company for libel. Bloggers are kind of mad, and Cory Doctorow posted this message:

This is about as bogus as it comes -- real crybaby stuff, wah, someone said something nasty about me, I'll sue the site on which it appears -- and P2PNet deserves better. They're raising funds for their defense, and I'll pitch in a hundred bucks once it's live.

For the non tech folks: Cory Doctorow writes for a blog that runs neck-and-neck with Engadget as the biggest blog in the world.

Nick Douglas, the internet's biggest leech, then posts

The lesson we can all learn: Do not make Cory Doctorow think you're an asshole, or he will hurt you with words and money.

A little funny, but more of the irony and the "DRM 4-eva" easy route on Doctorow.

Then, an awesome commenter comes back with something ACTUALLY funny.

Let's hope he keeps throwing words and money at stuff so that he will eventually run out of both.

by Anonymous

Yeah, I'm definitely not a Valleywag fan, and not really a Gawker fan in general, but I do care for their commenters, which is something I can't say for WIN commenters.

Joystiq, TUAW commenters, I'm looking in your direction. Shut up already.

Best Photo Evar!!1!1!!!!

[Redacted, out of my deep respect for my dogg.]

Best.

Photo.

Ever.

Ballmer!

Hey, I just heard that ballmer could be getting fired. That bums me out, since that'd mean less of these awesome moments:



not to mention the best part:

Xbox 360, a modest review

I've had my xbox360 for a couple days now, and I'll say it's some of the best graphics i've ever had in my home. While i feel pretty for playing it, I definetely don't think that the Xbox has the best gameplay of any console. I think Nintendo is on to something with their new Wii console, but i'll get to that later.

I went to E3, the electronic Entertainment Expo in LA last week, and it basically convinced me to buy an Xbox360. I decided that it was going to be the next gen console of choice, next to the Wii, and since I'm not waiting for the PS3, the time was right to plunk down the cash, and get the 360. I've got to say that I'm satisfied with PGR3, Tony Hawk: American Wasteland and Tiger Woods 06, but as for Madden 06, NBA Live 06 and Quake 4, I'm taking them back tomorrow. The games were obviously rushed out the door, with an emphasis on pretty graphics and not gameplay. While I appreciate the effort of those EA artists, I'd appreciate more forthought from EA management, and I'd hope they'd realize that graphics can sell a game, but not make me happy. The controls, animations and overall feel of the games feels like an E3 demo, and not a finished product. If Microsoft wasn't breathing down their backs, and EA wasn't in such a rush to get the games into the marketplace before the hoidays, Madden 06 could have been a great game. Same goes for Live (although Live is infinately better than Madden.)

I've been enjoying my time with the 360, and haven't started playing oblivion yet, mainly because I know it will ruin my life. I think that life ruining will take place on saturday, and i'll be a slave to the game.

Later,

Randall

This photo makes me look like i have cool hair.

Good times, good times indeed

Word to your moms, and since it was mom's day last week, I gave a bunch'a people a call and kind of caught them up with what's been happening in my life, sans you, the loyal blog reader.

So first, with the boring news, my blog is going to migrate over to the most advanced blogging platform in the near future, so it'll look all crazed in the very near future.

I haven't written in this blog in about a month, which seems to be the standard. Gone are the days of daily, neigh weekly, posts. Now, you've got to be able to stick with me through my crazy times, and what crazy times they've been.

I've been to LA three times in three months. You know how many times I flew before I moved to New York? Once. (Twice if you count the year later round trip from Tampa, FL.) Now that I've moved to New York, my life has changed in a lot of key areas. I think when one makes such a bold statement, it needs to be followed with bullet points. Here goes:

Money

I've always had to pinch pennies in the past, and while that's definetely paid off with how I plan financially, now I can be kind of a New Yorker in the way I spend. When I left KSL, my pay more than doubled, but so did my cost of living. I've got a pretty posh standard of living, even though my rent is $1015 a month. Yes, that's how much my rent costs... and it's a deal.

Socially

While i've always considered myself quite the little social butterfly, in New York, I find it easier to talk to women. Maybe its the new job, maybe its the money (see reason 1) or maybe its the new found freedom i've aquired with a fresh start. In any case, it's definetely positive. I've gone on more dates since I moved here four months ago, than I did in my last two years in Northern Utah. (maybe like three, but hey, it's a start!)

Career

So this little Project X thing is getting down to the wire, and soon we'll take the wraps off what is going to be a huge deal. Right now, I can say my bosses are pretty awesome. Jason Calacanis is a pretty visionary man, and while he kind of skips over the logistics sometimes (visionaries can't be constrained!) I've already learned a lot from him, and am looking forward to learning more. When we're just hanging out, sometimes I think to myself, "This crazy dude is my boss?!" but then when we have big meetings, he gets up and can answer every question and leave the room completely excited and satisfied all at once, that's when I realize how good business people stick to making profits, and great business people stick to making killer products for consumers. Sounds very dot-com bubbly to say "get the idea first, and we'll make money second," which isn't Jason's philosophy at all. He says, "get your users happy, make sure you're on the same team, make sure you're making money from day one, and you'll be fine."

Enough about Calacanis, since you could just google his name and find any number of blogs and rumor sites talking junk about the man. Let's get to the two people behind the scenes that shock and awe me: Brian Alvey and C.K. Sample.

Brian is the sort of guy that a lot of people don't necessarily get at first glance. The guy is wicked smart, wicked witty, and wicked.... awesome[?] (sorry, reaching for another adjective, came up blank.) He's thinking so fast, figuring out problems so fast and anticiptaing user reactions so fast that he can't help but make something awesome come out of his skull. He created Blogsmith, the platform that weblogs, inc. publishes on, and it's a really amazing peice of software. He also oversees project X, and makes sure that it's on track, and doing what it should be doing. Read his blog for his full history, but basically the guy is a genious, and I wish we got to hang out on a more regular basis.

Now, for the guy I hang out with on too regular of a basis (joking!) C.K. Sample. While his name oozes prestiege, Clinton Kennedy Sample, III, M.A., he's quick to point out he's a regular mortal just like the rest of us. The fool with the degreez hits me on AIM daily, and we figure out problems with Project X, he's my travel buddy (we've gone to every event together) and basically someone I really look up to. He's done pretty well for himself, as the author of PSP Hacks [By O'reilly... so buy it!] and as the lead for TUAW. His sarcasm and ability to help me with my weaknesses is much appreciated, and his ability to deal with people (and parrots) is on the scale we need for a manager.

As for my day to day job, I still haven't found out what it's going to be like. I've been helping with Weblogs, Inc. as a preperation for the real stuff I'll be doing on the road, but for now i've got to wrap that crap up and get some sales presentations ready.

While I don't know what my daily job will be like yet, I do know I've got an AOL assigned 17" monitor, 24" monitor, and there's a MacBook Pro with my name on it headed toward the Upper East Side. Yay!

Gear

As an extension to point number one, my gear library has grown extensively. Yes, I'm wasting money on consumer electronics, but you know what? I'm 21, and I get the privelage of wasting my salary on consumer electronics. I'm working on my stock portfolio strategy, and i figure within the next year, i'll start saving for retirement. Till then, i'm going to keep blowing cash the old fashioned way.

Gear I've picked up since NY:

1. Shure E2C headphones [lost]
2. Shure E3C headphones
3. Treo 650 [lost with the headphones in JFK airport last week...]
4. HTC Wizard (Cingular 8125)
5. 60 GB iPod
6. Xbox 360
7. Sweet bed frame / desk thingy
8. Linksys Router
9. Company Assigned gear

So i'll go through the list fairly rapidly. I had some E2C headphones, which i strongly recommend if you want to spend some money, but the E3C replacement ones aren't really worth the extra cash. Word of warning.

Treo 650 was pretty cool, but with the loss of it, I knew it was time to ditch Palm. You see, I haven't had the best luck with Palm. First, I broke something in the screen of my Zire 71 (digitzer or the LCD or something....) and replaced it successfully. Then, the Zire winds up missing. Fast forward to the Treo, lost in an airport. It's not Palm's fault, but I don't like the streak of luck i've had. The HTC Wizard is a really sweet phone (if I can figure out how to transfer my Verichat Lisence, that is)

I've had a 3g iPod, and I've always said that was my favorite iPod design. The 5g iPod, however, was a work related necessity. I was really holding out for the Toshiba GigaBeat S series, but some crafty fast talk from the higher ups, and I was forced reminded that it is the most popular player, and I should test my podcasts etc on it. Why the 60 GB? Because i'm a consumer whore.

As for the Xbox 360, realistically, it serves no useful purpose. In fact, to the contrary. I gaurentee i'll waste more time playing Project Gotham Racing or Geometry Wars than I should. Gaurentee. (Side note, I bought that yesterday, the same day as the 8125, and basically spent way too much money all in one day.)

The other stuff isn't important for their own paragraph, so I'll sum it up: my router rocks, my loft bed is basically where I live, and AOL is giving me some awesome equipment to do video with (FX1, Quadcore G5, MacBook Pro, 2x24" monitors at the office, 1x24" monitor at home, etc.)

Half an hour later, I'm only to the end of gear? BLAST! I know if I stop now, I won't post for another month. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to stop. I'll post more.... probably after the site launches and i get some down time. In the mean time, to bed I go.

Later-o,

RB

Coming up on the next post:
Nintendo World
E3
Milken
The Nintendo Wii
Why I bought an Xbox 360 (and initial impressions!)
Why I won't buy a PS3 (basically the same as why I bought a 360)
Shout outs to Ryan Block and Peter Rojas (seriously, I shoulda included it on this post, but outta time!)
Anything else you fools comment on.

Yorkville, NY!

So, a couple interesting points about my current abode:

Technically, I don't live on the Upper East Side, I live in Yorkville.

Check the wikipedia entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yorkville%2C_Manhattan

Sadly though, Yorkville has the highest robbery rate in Manhattan (due to its deserted streets and pockets of wealthy residents).

HAHAHAHAHA. I totally saw some dude trying to break into a car outside of my apartment. Totally called him on it, and called the cops. Go me.

Update: Yorkville is a subset of the Upper East Side.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_East_Side

Also of note: going to the gym everyday, well except today and tomorrow, due to the fact my Gym is closed for the first two days of Passover. I've literally gone every other day the last three weeks (sans Sundays, natch.) Interesting times indeed.

I'm going to write more posts in this here blog, probably on a daily basis. I'll give it a shot and see how it turns out.

Yeah, so update #2, I really live in Carnagie Hill.

I'm stupid.

I really don't know where I live.

Later,

Randall