Ride with me...

So.

Who wants to go for a ride in my Subaru?

I just replaced the front brakes. Myself. Outside. And I swore a lot, too, because no matter how much I hit them with a hammer, the pads wouldn't go in.

Anyone? Anyone?

Decided on a mod for my XBox - I'm going to get the Xecuter 3CE with X3CP (front panel with USB ports, switches to choose the BIOS, LCD display etc) and LPC rebuild PCB - a little thin PCB that goes under the XBox motherboard and does the same job as wire replacements. Once I've got it, fitted it and it works, then I'll buy a 250Gb HD and install XBox Media Center.

I'm going to justify it by selling my PS2 games that I don't play, like GTA:SA (much as I like the scope of the game, I got so bored of it). I would sell the PS2 but I want GT4 because it has the Sera in. And it has EyeToy.

DeathBoy t-shirts arrived. Yeay! But, a distinct lack of other parcels!

Yes. I know SmartXX is technically superior, but it is also more expensive and less polished.

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I hate online ordering of things I don't understand/can't see!

I have the mod kit in the basket. I've researched everything. But i don't want to click checkout!

I'm also really torn on whether to get the £14 solderless adaptor to avoid total XBox stripdown. Dead XBox doesn't phase me as they're dirt cheap now. However, killing the mod chip would piss me off greatly (though one of the reasons I want the Team Executer kit is that I've read so many stories of proper newbies messing up the install, having done something really stupid, and yet the modchip just keeps on trucking regardless).

How cool is the modded XBox in theory? Well, I have Miracle on 34th Street as an AVI. Macs being what they are, getting this onto a DVD is not as easy as if it were a QuickTime movie, even with QuickTime Pro. Modded XBox with XBMC? No problem.

Has anyone used XBMC? How good is the AVI playback, from HD or from network server?

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I just opened my Xbox to double check the version (it is a 1.6, Samsung RAM, Samsung DVD drive).

Argh,

The places the modchips hook up are so TINY! I decided to get the Xapt3r 1.6 solderless thingy as a: I didn't realise just what a tiny scale XBox stuff is inside, and b: it has little LEDs that tell you if the connections are made correctly. That's the kind of feedback I like.

*fear*

BAH! All that, and my Christmas Shopping has caught up to me and I was a fiver short for the kit! DENIED!

Good thing I get paid tomorrow, anyway (it should have been today, but it wasn't raining, so I prioritised fixing the Subaru's brakes instead).

Also tomorrow, I get to test drive a BMW 116. I'm still unsure if I'll be getting a car to replace the Beetle, but as the opportunity has arisen to test one of the cars I considered, and I have told the dealer I'm still unsure and not had them say "Well, come back when you are" but rather "Well, try it, and then you can forget it if you don't like it".

It is very unlikely I'll replace the Beetle, but after the job I had on the Subaru's brakes, I don't want THAT to be my 'normal' car next year, and relying on the Sera seems a bit much for me; it is an unknown quantity. Mostly I'm considering the sense of getting a super-cheap new car on contract, like a Yaris (something under £100/month) which will be 100% reliable, economical, but will be much cheaper than the cabriolets I prefer. I'm starting to go off Cabriolets anyway; sick of the damn things leaking. The Smart Roadster is still in consideration because it has a glass targa roof (and even when it doesn't, it doesn't have the complicated folding mechanisms that seem to cause so much hassle).