Eric Krassinger

I had the two rings over heating Xbox failure several months ago. I found out that only the 4 ring (i.e the Red Ring of Death) is covered under the extended 3 year warranty. Pretty worthless considering both are overheating issues. I wrote about this before but basically I tried to clean it off, inspect the fans, and put new thermal compound on it but nothing worked. I didn’t want to buy a new one but had so much invested in Rock Band songs that it was hard to walk away.

A friend suggested I give a guy a call that he saw on his work message boards and has this site. I was super skeptical because it didn’t sound on the up-and-up. The reason I thought this was because it was basically a guy picking up Xbox’s outside a local restaurant in St Charles. A second person posted on my friend’s work message board that his fix worked so I figured I would give it a try since what did I have to lose since it was basically useless.

The guy charges $35 (unless it’s unrepairable) but the estimate to fix  is free. Their main fix is to reflow the chips with a special machine. He also does a modification on the fan to keep it running at full power which cost another $10 (even thought he charged me $5). He told me it would be loud so made sure I did not use my xbox for watching movies. He claimed the change would decrease heat by 30 degrees which is a pretty bold statement.

I got the xbox and he told me he reflowed it and put in bolts for the heat sink clamps (something that makes much more sense than the stupid X clamps that MS used). I took the unit home and fired it up. The first thing I noticed is the loudness. I was expecting it to be first generation loud like some of my friends but it is 3 times louder. I don’t notice it when playing games but definitely can when it’s idle. I probably wouldn’t have done this if I knew it was this loud but then again it will probably prevent it from breaking again.

All in all, it is still working after several hours of COD Modern Warfare 2 and Rock Band.

I would make a couple suggestions to the guy running this service even though it sounds like he is running a pretty successful business and I would recommend him to anyone with Xbox 360 problems.

1. Have some kind of receipt/contract for when you turn your $300 xbox over to a random stranger in a mall parking lot. I asked him about a receipt and he said no one ever asked him about that even though he thought it was a good idea. He claimed to do a over a dozen fixes a week so business must be good.
2. Workout a better drop off process. It just makes the whole thing shady. You have a great word of mouth business but it could be better if you had more of a professional front.
3. Detail the 40 day warranty that you claim in a contract. A spoken warranty is never good for a business.

I figured I needed to post something since I have been sort of dormant lately with my blog. I need to make sure that people still think I am alive. My lack of post will change soon since I got a post brewing about my Xbox fixing experience and Lost reactions with the season starting tonight.

This weekend was somewhat laid back. On Friday, my GF and I went to a 30th birthday party for a friend from grad school. It was good seeing some of the ole group. I was more amazed by the location of the bar. We went to Llywelyn’s Pub in Webster Groves. I had no idea it was even there…it’s almost hidden in a neighbor hood/back alley. We followed that up by meeting my GF’s sister and brother-in-law at The Dubliner. The place was empty which was good because it allowed us to talk. Saturday continued my laid back weekend. I chilled around the house and ended up finally watching Inglorious Bastards. I did like it but I had a hard time following it at times. I wouldn’t mind watching it again…especially since it is up for a Best Picture. As for Sunday, I got in a good swim and workout…something I plan on doing much more now that I have a YMCA Metro pass. We followed that up a good steak dinner with some friend’s at the GF’s.

Fun

I had a pretty entertaining weekend. I went to Double D’s to celebrate a friend’s engagement. Another group of people that I knew were also there. It was a fun time. I still am surprised of the crowd and the atmosphere of the new location.

On Saturday, I got some shopping in. I bought a couple fake trees for my place. The coolest one is a 7ft bamboo tree that I put in my bedroom. It was expensive but it fits the room perfectly. The base even matches my bedroom furniture. I hung out at a friend’s that night for his 30^th b-day party. It was a great night and was the first time in a long time that we all hung out. We fit in a little dancing at Big Daddy’s and then made a quick run to Pops to round out the night.

Sports

Pretty big weekend for sports. The biggest event on my mind was the MU – K State game. It turned out to be a great game and helped to ease a lot of the anxiety of the team after some tough road losses to some bad teams. MU now has a 30 game home winning steak which is extremely impressive. It was a good start to Big 12 play and hopefully it continues. I watched bits and pieces of all the playoff games. Thought I would watch more of the Dallas – Philly game but did not. The Blues won their first game under the new head coach too.

TV

Sunday night premiered two of my favorite shows. The first being Chuck which almost did not record because it lost a DVR matchup with Big Love and the Simpson’s 400^th episode special. I moved Big Love to 10:15 and it was all resolved. Chuck showed two new episodes back to back. There is another one tonight. I still do not know why more people do love Chuck. Here is a good synopsis from my favorite Lost writer on the show. All I can say is that it has drama, comedy, romance mixed with hot girls, fighting, and tons of trendy electronic callouts and references. As for the new season, it did seem that they were cutting cost since the show was basically cancelled and brought back to life by their strong fan base. It seemed like some of the CGI explosions looked a little cheesy to me. Overall, the two episodes were good and Chuck 2.0 seems like he will have some new moves. The Accord commercials with the characters were sort of weird. I didn’t know if I was watching the show or a commercial at first. I guess that’s good Marketing.

More importantly was the premier of Big Love. It has been so long that I forgot some of the major plotlines. I totally forgot that Joey killed Roman. It also looks like for now that he will get away with it. It was a very entertaining first episode and through out some very interesting twist to setup the season.

All I can about Jersey Shore is Gym, Tan, and Laundry. Everyone has to have a little GTL in their life.

I was recommended this Yahoo article earlier in the night about things not to buy in 2010. There was a couple items in the list that intrigued me thus I looked it up. Overall, I highly agree with 8 out of these 10 items but totally disagree with the other 2.

I disagree with the Smartphone logic. This articles logic seems to be that you should only buy an iPhone or a Blackberry because they are the market leader. I bet ever consumer electronic company wishes that everyone followed this ideology on market leaders. Unfortunately, that is not the case. The iPhone was once a disruptive product and earned its market share from Motorala and Blackberry. What makes new smart phones incapable of doing this? This topic is even more hot since CES is this week and Google’s Nexus One was unveiled. There are plenty of new phones out there to cut into Blackberry and Apple’s market share.

The other one I disagree with even more is their theory about SLRs. Larger and better cameras have always been around albeit more expensive. Compact camera became popular because their ease of use, good quality, and small size. This concept still holds true today. You can’t tell me that every girl in the world wants to carry around a SLR in their purse instead of a small compact! They even disprove their theory by saying “Canon’s digital compact cameras start at $110, while the SLRs start at $570.” The average consumer is not going to buy a SLR when they can get a good picture out of a $100 camera. What the article fails to call out and which also goes back to the smart phone logic is that I can see the compact camera losing popularity in the years to come as phones are starting to have standard 5MP or more cameras. With that said, I still don’t see people getting rid of the compacts in the next couple years.

5 out of the items I believe should have been on the list for 2009 or earlier. I guess this writer is out of touch with technology….or at least behind. For example, I haven’t had a friend with a home phone line in 10 years.

As with every other year, I embarked on my two week hiatus from work for the holiday break. This year was a little different since I rarely went out and instead opted for a more relaxed feeling with the people I care about.

Movies

I saw a ton of movies over my break. All the summer hits all hit my Blu ray at the right time. I am not going to go into a lot of details but I was disappointed in The Hangover. It was definitely funny but I can think of a lot more comedies that are much better. For example, Old School is 5 times funnier. Maybe it was over hyped. What I did see that was amazing was Avatar in 3D. Going into the movie, I did not know much about it except everyone kept saying how good it was. It was very impressive and would only recommend it in 3D (well worth the $17 ticket). The color, images, and plot was fantastic. It instantly became one of my top 5 movies ever and can see it being my first 3D movie since 3D TVs are already hitting the market.

Fantasy Football

I came super close to do the unthinkable and winning my league. That is a hard concept to grasp because I lost 4 out of the first 5 games but had some good mid season pickups (Miles Austin) and people returning from injury (or getting more time due to teammates injured) that made my team into a powerhouse. Unfortunately, I got distracted in the semi finals and did not manage my team that Sunday morning and loss by 2 points when all my bench people had over 20 points each. I won the consolation bracket and scored my points in the final week than both the teams in the final.

Family

I spent a lot of time with the family. What is funny (or maybe not) is that I think I spent more time in a 30 day period than I do the other 11 months combined. I really enjoyed all Christmas and New Years parties that I went to.

New Years Eve

First off, I hope to never plan a NYE night ever again. Unless it is in Vegas (something I have always wanted to do and just happened to be something one of my Wash U friends did this year but she did it way more than I ever could). After much going back and forth, we went to MoMos for dinner and Big Daddy’s in Soulard for the night. It was my first time at MoMo’s. I was most impressed by the Sea Bass. It was $10 and was equal to a $30 serving at most fine restaurants. Big Daddy’s was also good. Well worth the $55 since they had premium drinks and Red Bull included … hello Three Olives Cherry Vodka and Red Bull drinks (my fav). Like expected cabs were impossible but worst than I thought. I thought it would be easier since we went to a 1 o’clock and all the city bars don’t close till 3 but I was wrong. Thankfully a friend drove us home after a couple hours. I found out today at lunch that I could have gotten a ride immediately from a guy at work that lived next door from where we were.

Sports

I only followed two sporting events closely this break, both MU games. The MU vs IL basketball game was a surprising win. The MU bowl game was a rather disappointing one. I did watch a lot of the other bowl games but no NFL games. It is also nice that the Rams got the #1 draft. I would like to see them get Suh as the #1 then a quarterback for the #33 pick.

Various

• After a couple failed fixing attempts, my Xbox 360 is still broke.
• My friends can be complete idiots at times especially when it comes to hot tubs in the cold.
• I did not catch up on my DVR watching which is amazing since no new shows recorded. Watched a lot of movies instead. I also probably only played an hour of video games the whole 2 weeks.
• No one goes to Wash Ave during a holiday break. Important fact to remember.
• Finally went ice skating at Steinberg Park. It was fun but very cold and windy so we did not stay long. One thing to note is that place must make a killing. Very low overhead since it is outdoors and getting like $9 a person.

First off, I have always been a huge fan of Microsoft. Ive own their stock for multiple years and have always been a huge fan of their operating systems. I also was a huge fan of Xbox 360. I thought it has been ground breaking and offered more features than PS3.

Lately, I have been rethinking my stance. Enough that I haven’t installed my Windows 7 that I preordered. The reason for this spite is that my Xbox 360 Elite quit working last month. Everyone knows that Microsoft has experienced a huge problem with defective units due to overheating. I bought an elite almost 2 years ago because it had the new processor that ran at a lower temperature and was quiet. Well, I turned it on last month to watch a DVD and I got two red lights. I looked it up and saw that it was an overheating issue. I knew they extended the warranty to 3 issues for an overheating issue. 2 out of 3 people I know with an Xbox had to send theirs in to get fixed. So I filed a warranty claim to find out that I did not have the “right” overheating problem (i.e. The Red Ring of Death). What is up with that? How can there be more than one over heating issue and have different warranty periods? It cost $100 to send in to Microsoft to get repaired which I thought was totally crazy. Why would I pay for half the cost of a new one to run into the possibility that it would just fail again? My next thing was to take it apart to clean it. I did that and it still overheated. It had no dirt on the fans anyway. I also took off the heat sinks and applied new thermal compound based on possible fixes I read but that did not work either. So that leaves me with a tough decision. I really like having a Xbox and have a ton of money invested in it with Rock Band songs. I also really want to get the new Call of Duty but am struggling with the idea of buying a new one to have the same problem again. I might just buy a Wii because it rocks and a PS3 because I can play COD and also the new upcoming Gran Turismo.

All I can say is how can Microsoft have allowed such a nightmare? They have basically lost a huge fan and purchaser of their products.

Going to hit some quick highlights from my weekend.

• Had a good lunch with some family members Friday at J Bucks Downtown along with them seeing my place for the first time.
• Went to Electric Cowboy in St Chuck. It was interesting. I like the concept but not that they just played slow dancing country songs during the country music portion. The hip hip was all the classic club songs.
• Had a good dinner at Bar Louie on Saturday. Love the dipping sauces for the pretzels.
• Couldn’t fit ice skating in due to the torrential down pours but will try to reschedule soon.
• Watched 3 hours of Jersey Shores. That show is ridiculous. I will keep watching it even though I think I become more stupid after watching it…lol. It just so intriguing.
• Watched Funny People. Expected it to actually be funny since it had so many popular comedians in it but it was not. It really dragged on too.
• Watched half of the new Harry Potter and was bored.
• Had an amazing fantasy football performance. None of my guys did amazing but all except a last minute sub put up 25 points. Got to love the consistency. I put up top points for the week and still have the top D pointer getter in the league along with another guy on D.
• Did not fix my Xbox 360. More to come on that.
• Did get my car back but not happy with the outcome.
• Did get my third patent approved. The extra bonus money couldn’t have come at a better time. Two more to go which are solely in my name so an added bonus if they get approved.

I saw a recent article in the Post and thought I would post my own opinion. Keep in mind that I love premium cable shows.

1. Lost
2. Carnivale
3. Six Feet Under
4. Sponge Bob SquarePants
5. Deadwood
6. Family Guy
7. Sopranos
8. Weeds
9. OC (I had to throw in a teen drama)
10. How I Met Your Mother

Wild Card

1. Playmakers – I loved this show but it was too much controversy for ESPN to carry.

Honorable Mention:

1. Dexter
2. Futurama
3. Curb Your Enthusiasm (probably should be high on the list because I love it but just started watching it)
4. Rome
5. Big Love
6. Californication

My first two selections were easy since both are by far my favorite two shows. The rest could be in any order.

I am probably missing something that I love on network tv but I just love the plots and mass details of the HBO and Showtime shows. What is your list?

Wow, how can a 5 day weekend go by so fast? I has so much planned for this weekend in terms of getting stuff done and feel like I accomplished barely anything. I look back and wonder what I did with all my time because I didn’t ever sleep more than 8 hours, didn’t catch up on my DVR, and didn’t play any video games (at my house).

I did watch Star Trek on Wednesday along with washing my car which took a good majority of my time. Star Trek was overrated and I think the first hour was boring because they were introducing the characters. I think the next movie could have potential. As far as my car, I spent over 4 hours detailing it. I feel like it is falling apart. I did some sweet super gluing action in the back seat. I am taking it in Wednesday to get it all figured out. As far as the biggest night to go out,  I met some Wash U friends at the new Double D’s even though they don’t call it that anymore. I knew it wasn’t going to be the same when we pulled up and they had valet. It was a karaoke dive bar so it lost some of its allure to me but it was packed beyond belief.  We finished up on Wash Ave which was also packed.

Thanksgiving was all about the Family. We all went to my aunt’s in High Ridge.  The meal was awesome and it was good to see the family.

I did hit up Black Friday but not electronics like I normally do. Instead I went to West County Mall to pick up my jeans. I was really worried about them all week since I paid so much and never had jeans custom fitted. Needless to say, they fit perfectly and I love them plus I got tons of complements all weekend on them. I also picked up a couple shirts but no real deals. We followed that up with a football game in Tower Grove park. I was more sore than I thought from our last game so I was really hurting and pretty unproductive. I also got in some awesome Super Mario Brothers on the Wii. The game is pretty awesome. Think multiplayer NES mario in semi 3d. Matt and I were kicking butt and taking names in it.

I went to the Dads on Saturday for another awesome meal. One thing is for sure…my dad can really cook. I loved seeing Pepper. He was so excited to see me. With all that fun, the best part of the day was the comeback win by Mizzou over KU. Some are calling it one of MUs most exciting games ever. I wouldn’t say that but I cant believe that KU tried passing plays 3 times in a row in the endzone as time was running out….how stupid is that? Saturday night was pretty awesome too. I had a great dinner at Drunken Fish in the CWE followed up by seeing That 80’s Band at the Old Rock House which was awesome. They combined my love of concerts and 80’s musics. I made a brief appearance at Dubliner then decided to go to Pop’s. Killing Vegas was there so got to hear a lot of awesome RATM. The place was more packed than I had ever seen it. There was probably 3 times more people than normal. I also ran into an old friend there too.

Sunday was a relaxing day. What else do you expect after having a late night on the East Side? I slept in really late and then watched Twilight….I know but had to see what the hype was about. I passed out by 7:30.

Wow, what a jammed packed and exhausting 3 day weekend. I could barely get myself up for work on Monday. Needless to say, I did have a lot of fun.

A group of us decided to buy tickets at the last minute to the Party Rock Tour at the Pageant. The tour consisted of LMFAO, Schwazye, Far East Movement, Paradiso Girls, Space Cowboy. Most people (my age) have no clue who LMFAO (or the rest of the groups) even is but they have probably heard their songs before. “I’m in Miami trick” was their first popular song and “La La La” and “Shots” are getting heavy radio play. I didn’t think I knew the other bands but Schwazye has a couple songs that were popular like “Corona and Lime” and “Get U home.” Paradiso Girls was a newer version of the Spice Girls. I guess they have a popular song called “Patron Tequila” but I am not sure if I had ever heard it. They were also just featured in the December issue of Maxim. The other two bands were pretty funny…that’s all I can say about them but all of the 5 groups are part of some popular 2009 songs so I guess the concert was pretty strong in party/pop/rock circuit. Overall the concert was interesting to say the least. I thought I was at a rave with a bunch of 16 yearolds. The 21 and up section was only half full (at max) while the various stages of the main floor had “one in – one out” which I have never seen before at the Pageant. I did see a lot of girls getting dropped off by their moms. What was even funnier was seeing some older regulars of the Party and the Park scene. I sure hope I am not in this scene in 15 and 20 years like them.

Saturday was a long day of enjoying some adult beverages for Mizzou’s final home football game. We had actually been planning this game for 3 months and this was the only game that everyone was available. I stayed out too late and had to be in Winghaven at 8:30 so I got very few hours of sleep. We didn’t get in CoMo and the hotel till about 11AM so we hopped in a cab from the beautiful Red Roof Inn (where we told by the cab driver that a stripper was just killed a couple weeks ago over a drug deal) to the field. We just walked around randomly for a couple hours tailgating and tossing the football. The game was entertaining but I was disappointed in the lack of people in the student section. I was reminded later that night that the students were on holiday break so that explains why there were less people tailgating, at the game, and at the bars. We went back to the hotel for a couple hours then went to Shiloh which was dead then to the Vu because the boys wanted to dance. It was a lot of fun but the Vu is definitely the Buca of Columbia.

We played a football game on Sunday and had a small bbq with some friends. I did not think I would be able to run because I still have some kind of respiratory infection but it didn’t seem to create a huge problem. The newly purchased spikes were a lifesaver. It makes it 10 times easy to play in coverage when wearing spikes. I think I only allowed my guy that I was covering to catch the ball 3 times (max). I also had a pretty good day at QB which really got me thinking about something. I use to be able to throw a great football in grade school and high school but went downhill in college and life after. I’ve had the same issue with a golf club. I could drive the ball so much further in high school than I can now. My new theory on why this is the case is that I have lost a lot of upper body muscle that I gained in college. Most people would say, shouldn’t it be the opposite? You would think but I think it is because I lost some flexibility so some of my quick twitch muscles were not performing up to par. Needless to say, I had a ton of fun at the game but I am extremely sore after a couple collisions and take downs. I can swear I was the only one that kept getting knocked down (except for the time I knocked down Courtney when she got in my way when I was gunning for the Rengler when I was trying to set a block after a pick. My legs are sore but not as bad as I was expecting. My shoulder is super sore from the Rengel take down. I also jammed a finger which is now swollen. As a side note I was told to mention that Courtney is a pretty good player. She had several catches and passing and receiving TDs.