Hippos from the past.

One of my favorite and most memorable toy I played while I was growing up was Hungry Hungry Hippo.  It's a simple game to play in which the objective is to chomp as much marbles as you can by pressing down on a lever which extends the hippo head and opens its mouth.  Upon releasing the lever, the hippo closes its mouth and its head retracts back to its original position taking in any marble in its mouth.  There are many iterations of this toy and this version I got was made in 2012.  It's not as well made as the one I played as a kid back in the 80's.  The marbles are now made of hard plastic instead of the heavier glass marbles in the previous versions.  The overall construction of the toy is less sturdy as earlier models which is disappointing.  Nevertheless, its a great game to play with kids with its simple objective.

 

Test if a port is opened using netcat

Here's a simple command to test for open port. 

From the destination side, run the following.  This will enable the destination side to listen on that port.

netcat -l -u -p <port number>

Then, from the source side, run the following.

          telnet <destination side ip> <port number>

All Pearl Jam's Studio Albums Ranked

Full disclosure - This is going to be a long post as I did not write this up in one sitting.   In fact this post took quite some time to write.  There was a lot of thinking and rationalizing involved.  I had to make a few ordering changes and this is the final list I came up with.  Let me start by saying Pearl Jam has not made a bad album.  They're my favorite band.  They have made some albums that are worst or better than others as it would be impossible to make the same album over and over.  It would be boring if they did.  As a Pearl Jam fan, I love all their albums.  Them and Bruce Springsteen are the two artists that I listen to on a consistent basis since I was in high school till now for some 30 years.  To date, Pearl Jam has 11 studio albums.  I ranked these albums by its replay ability, number of good songs, album art and packaging.  This was not an easy task but a fun one to dive into. I'm happy with the final order of my list.  So here goes!

**Try not to get ahead and scroll to #1 but read the rankings through in order.  

#11:  Riot Act (2002)

Well, if you're doing a ranking, something has to be last.  So happens to be Riot Act on this list.  There are a few songs I liked from this album like Save You, I Am Mine, 1/2 Full, Love Boat Captain, Thumbing My Way. These songs are good but doesn't stand out in the Pearl Jam collection.  Besides their tour to support this album, I don't believe they played much of these songs in subsequent tours.  If you want to get into Pearl Jam, then I don't recommend you start with this album. Nothing blows you away that you have to listen to it over and over again but it's nice to put on your record player once in a while.  I like the artwork on this album.  The liner note booklet that it comes with has the band's pictures and lyrics that resembles what was included in the Binaural record.

#10:  Lightning Bolt (2013)

Not a bad album but definitely not their best.  The artwork is definitely my least favorite out of all the albums but they won a Grammy for it.  Show's how much I know about art.  This album has got some good songs on it.  The songs are still rather new and it'd be interesting to see if they play some of these songs on their next tour.  Some of the songs I like are Getaway, Lightning Bolt, Infallible and Future Days.  The rest of them are ok songs.  It won't be their signature songs that they play live.

#9:  Gigaton (2020)

Most recent album that was released a few months ago.  This album starts out roaring with a rocking first four songs.  The first single Dance of the Clairvoyance has a electronic sounding feel to it.  I think many people are put off on this album due to this song being released as a first single.  My favorite song on the album is Quick Escape.  Lyrics are awesome as well as the blaring guitar solos.  After the first four songs, the album goes for a more mellow tone with Alright and Seven O'Clock.  At first I didn't like either song but after I listened to it a few more times, I understood the lyrics and came to the liking of it.  I would have to say the only song that I'm not really into in this album is Buckle Up.  Good solid album.

#8:  Backspacer (2009)

	Their ninth studio album.  My favorite song on this album is definitely Force of Nature.  Other songs like The Fixer, Unthought Known, Supersonic and Amongst the Waves are great songs that gives the album a pop album feel.  To me, Backspacer is Pearl Jam's most mainstream album.

#7:  Pearl Jam (2006)

I had some difficulty picking #7 and #6.  I know these two albums fit in these two spots but it was hard to determine which goes into what.  I finally decided that their self titled album (a.k.a Avocado) goes to #7.  What led me to put this at #7 over #6 is that the lyrics are not as strong as the next album on the list.  Life Wasted, World Wide Suicide and Come Back are the exceptions.  The cover art is probably the worst out of all the Pearl Jam albums.  An avocado on a shiny cover?  I've always preferred the matte finish on a vinyl cover.  Any if anyone know the significance of an avocado, please leave a comment.

#6:  Binaural (2000)

I believe that this was the first album was produced by someone else other than Brendan O'Brien at that point in time, excluding Ten.  The first time I listened to it, it sounded a bit muffled.  But after a few times listening to it, I've grown accustomed to it.  Maybe its the way its recorded which points to the name of the album but the opening track Breakerfall is a good rocking opener.  The first single Nothing As It Seems is a good mellow song with some great guitar effects.  I can listen to this album from beginning to end.

#5:  Yield (1998)

Ok.  Now we're down to the nitty gritty.  I put Yield at #5. This one was an easy pick for me as I think it fits right in.  This is another album I can listened to from beginning to end.  Only song I'm not too fond of is the Untitled track.  However, its only about a minute long so I can deal with it.  Maybe someday I'll come to like it.  Do the Evolution, Wishlist, Faithfull are all staples in their song catalog.  A lot of people say that this was their turning point away from the grunge label and I agree. This is a very solid album.

#4:  Vitalogy (1994)

This was the follow up album to Vs, which sold over 900k copies the first week with the vinyl version being released a week before the CD or cassette version.  This is one of their darker mood albums.  It's a 14 song album with a few odd songs like Hey Foxymophandlemama, Pry To and Bugs.  I think the album would have stronger if they left those songs out.  14 songs is on the high side in terms of the number of songs for a album.  You have the popular songs that they play at most of the shows like Better Man, Corduroy and Immortality.  The packaging and artwork is superb.  The Vitalogy concept was taken from a encyclopedia book of the same name.

#3:  Ten (1991)

Yup #3.  So this is the legendary album everyone knows Pearl Jam for.  For non Pearl Jam fans, this is the album they know.  Anyone surprised this isn't in the top 2 or even at #1?  Every song on this album is quality.  Alive, Even Flow and Jeremy were the singles that came out of that with MTV broadcasting the video for each of these singles.  If you heard this album but not the next two on the list, then I would advise you to listen to it.  When I think about Pearl Jam, I don't think of Ten.  I think about all the other albums on the list mainly because I think their other albums represent who they really are a lot better.  The only thing I wish they did was better the production of it.  The songs sounded soft.  One noticeable song was Evenflow.  Years down the line, they did do a remaster version of it in the Ten box set.  I think that version on there sounds a lot better throughout the entire album.   Not taking anything away, this is definitely one of the most iconic albums of all time and will be talked about for eternity.

#2:  No Code (1996)

No Code comes in at #2.  First time I heard No Code was the single Who You Are being played on the local radio station.  The sound and tone of the song is a departure from their last album Vitalogy and I think it turned a lot of Pearl Jam fans off.   I definitely had mix feelings at the time it was released and I ranked it as their worst album in their four album history.  But over time, I began to realize how good the songs are on it.  Present Tense is a slow mood song with very deep lyrics.  Hail Hail was the second single from the album and its a rocking song.  In My Tree has some great drumming behind it.  The album closes with Around The Bend which to me, sounds like a song you listen to at your getaway island.  The packaging of this album is just awesome and very thought out.  No other album that I know of is like this one.  It came with different polaroids with the lyrics printed on the other side.  There are different sets (5 in total) of polaroids you can get that varies from album to album.  It's my favorite album packaging out of all the Pearl Jam records.  I encourage everyone to listen to this album if you never listened to it before of just don't like the album to give it another chance.

#1:  Vs (1993)

This is what I wished Ten sounded like in terms of the production.  Vs doesn't seem to be overly produced and just straight up guitar to amp to recording device.  Although the songs were not as big of hits than the ones from Ten, they are just as good.  Much to the lack of well known hits was because there wasn't any video to be play on MTV at the time so getting the word out on the songs were difficult back in 1993.  Ten had 3 videos on heavy rotation going for it.  For every good song on Ten, there's was a matching song from Vs.  This is my favorite Pearl Jam album.  I have this album in cassette tape, CD and vinyl format.  I remember listening to Go and Rearviewmirror for the first time and was blown away by the drums, guitars and vocals.  This is Pearl Jam's hardest rocking album, period.  I can listen to this album all day on a loop.

Please leave me a comment on your thoughts on this list!

Review: Buture 300W Portable Power Station

Got my hands on this portable power station. 

It's the Buture PG100.  From the looks of the owners manual, it's a Japanese brand but I haven't been able to find much information about the company online.  I got this one from Amazon for $200.

It's very sturdy unit as its filled with batteries.  The outer shell is made of hard plastic so it'll crack if you drop it.  The entire device is about 7" x 3" x 6".  It's small for what it does so its good to take it on long road trips.   This is my first portable power station and it does as advertised.  It supplies AC and USB power to your devices.  It has a 300W capacity.   Having a portable power station that has AC output is good for road trips and camping.   There's a fan in the unit that turns on when it needs to.  This is to prevent overheating.  I was able to charge two laptops with 65w chargers and run my Dyson fan at full blast at the same time without issue.  I like the briefcase style format as it makes it easy to carry around and store away.  I didn't calculate how many times it can charge my laptop but at 72000mAh, it would probably able to charge it full 5 or 6 times.   To charge to PG100, you can either plug it into the wall or plug it into the cigarette light port in your car.  All the charging cables are included.  There's also a solar panel (sold seperately) that you can use to charge the PG100.  The solar panel is about another $150.

Specifications:

• 300W Power
• 72000mAh Battery (more than others with equal watt capacity)
• 2 AC output
• 3 USB output
• 1 DC output
• Wall charging time: 8 hrs
• Weight:  ~6.3lbs
• Life Cycle: >500 charges
• Emergency LED

Laptop's uptime.

 Just noticed that I haven't rebooted my laptop in a while.  A while as in 150 days.

Vinyl Pickup: Pearl Jam - Riot Act 2002 and Backspacer 2009

Well, I'm on a roll here.  Got my hands on 2 more Pearl Jam albums.  Riot Act from 2002 and Backspacer from 2009.  Good albums but you have to be in the mood to listen to it.  Artwork is good as usual.  Riot Act is on 2 LP's triple gatefold while Backspacer is on a double gatefold.  I prefer double gatefolds over triple gatefolds as its easier to take the vinyl out with less fumbling with the sleeve.   Riot Act is on 120g vinyl which is surprising to me because their previous album Binaural is on 180g.  Backspacer is on heavy 180g vinyl but on just one LP.   As usual, the album includes a booklet with the liner notes.  3 more albums to go! 

   

• Ten
• Vs
• Vitalogy
• No Code
• Yield
• Binaural
• Riot Act
• Pearl Jam
• Backspacer
• Lightning Bolt
• Gigaton

Vinyl Pickup: Pearl Jam - Binaural 2000

 

My quest continues with 2000's Binaural.  This didn't come cheap.  I had to sell off one of my expensive Sega Saturn game to get this one.   This is a brand spanking new copy.  I love the packaging of this album.  I like the matte finish of this album cover over some of the other shiny ones.  This is a two record LP in a triple gatefold.  It's got a booklet with the liner notes inside.  It is a very good album and one that I can listen to from beginning to end.  I'm past the half way mark with 6 out of 11 original pressings of all Pearl Jam studio albums in my grasp.  I am currently trying to decide if I should sell off some more of my retro video games to get the remaining 5 albums.

• Ten
• Vs
• Vitalogy
• No Code
• Yield
• Binaural
• Riot Act
• Pearl Jam
• Backspacer
• Lightning Bolt
• Gigaton

Review: TACKLife Paint Sprayer

If you've painted a wall before with a roller and a brush its not an easy task.  With having just replaced my back fence, I decide to purchase a paint sprayer to see if I can stain the fence more easily than rolling or brushing.  The one I got is a Tacklife SGP15AC.  I've used another Tacklife product before in their tire compressor and was very happy with the results so I decided to give their paint sprayer a try.  This sprayer retails for about $75.  It comes with 3 nozzles to match the thickness of your paint.  It has 3 spray pattern as well with vertical, horizontal and a direct focus spray.  It also comes with the cleaning needle and brush as well as detailed color instructions on troubleshooting the device if its not working properly.  The weight of it is not that heavy at around 2lbs.  But that's without paint in it and not constantly holding it as I will be spraying my fence.  It's rated at 400watts and 800ml/min flow rate.

The project I have is staining a 60ft fence, front and back.  It took about 15mins to spray one side.  Not bad at all.  Overall, I'm happy with this product and would recommend it to anyone.

          

Summary Specs:

https://tacklifetools.com/products/paint-sprayer-3-spraying-patterns-with-3-nozzles-sgp15ac

Vinyl pickup: Pearl Jam - Lightning Bolt 2013

In continuing my quest to get all the Pearl Jam's official studio album on vinyl (original pressing), I get to cross Lightning Bolt off the list today.  This one doesn't have a repress/reissue as of today so its still the original pressing and its still quite easy to find new from online stores.  I wanted to jump on this one since its easily attainable.  Pearl Jam has always put some great thoughts on their album packaging.  And as far as Lightning Bolt is concern, it holds true as well.  It is not however, my favorite album packaging/artwork design out of all Pearl Jam albums (No Code is my favorite), but it won a Grammy for its artwork.  Now, for the downer.  The album arrived 3 weeks after I ordered it.  3 weeks!  Not sure what happened there but it was a third party seller from Walmart.  But the length of time it took to arrive wasn't the biggest issue.  The biggest issue was that it came damaged.  Three of the four corners were bent.  One of them is severely bent.  Seems like it was dropped and stepped on.  I can only attribute it to USPS incompetence.  The record itself was fine but I'm just annoyed about the sleeve.  I decided to keep it instead of returning it as it took 3 weeks to arrive.

                     

                    

Nevertheless, the album sounds amazing.  Loved the songs on it.   I don't think Pearl Jam has made a bad album yet.

• Ten
• Vs
• Vitalogy
• No Code
• Yield
• Binaural
• Riot Act
• Pearl Jam
• Backspacer
• Lightning Bolt
• Gigaton

Review: Composite/S-Video to VGA converter.

If you're into retro video gaming, you probably know that these games look better on a CRT screen vs your modern LCD TV screen.  That's because all retro games render their images using 2D sprites.  Modern LCD TV display everything in pixels and displaying 2D sprites in pixels simply makes it look like a mess.  I was looking for a good CRT TV but wasn't able to find one.  I do have an old PC CRT that I have lying around.  So I thought what would it take to display my SNES video to that CRT?  

PC CRT's are different from regular TV CRT's in being that they have much higher resolution and their input is via either VGA or DVI.   The CRT I have is a 17" SONY 200ES.  I remember picking this up at CompUSA for $400 when it was new.  It was a higher end model at that time when the standard was a 15" screen.  It has a top resolution of 1280 x 1024 and a low resolution of 640 x 480.  Even at 640 x 480, its resolution much higher than what the SNES puts out which is about 256×224.  Other consoles like the Dreamcast might be easier as it has native VGA adapter.  That's obstacle number one.  The second obstacle is how to plug it into the CRT's VGA port to a Composite/S-Video connector that my SNES had.  The solution I found is this little Video to VGA converter box I purchased on EBay for $15. 

Composite video to VGA adapter

Without knowing how the box internally works, I'm assuming it converts or upscales Composite/S-Video signal to VGA.  The end result is that it works great for me. The VGA port is a 15pin D-Sub connector with a Red, Green and Blue signal coming out of its individual pins.  Whether this little device separates the Composite/S-Video signal to its individual colors to VGA, I'm not sure.  But probably not.  That's all thats need to make it display on the CRT.  Another down side to using this method of connecting a PC CRT monitor over a regular TV CRT is that most if not all of them don't have built in speakers.  You will need an individual external speakers if you want sound.  Overall, I'm happy with the result and I didn't have to of scour for an old TV CRT from a yard sale or flea market.

Sony 200ES display SNES video