Justin Germino Ramblings

I finally received my Beta code to test out the new GameFly Unlimited PC Game play.  This is basically the ability to rent PC Game downloads and play the game as long as you want on your PC, removing it when you are finished.

The content initially is limited, but the best game by far in the RPG department would be Drakensang: The Dark Eye which is a great game if you haven’t played it and if you have a Gamefly account you can download and play the full game right now for free if you have a BETA code.

Like STEAM Gamefly also gives you the ability to purchase new and old games through their Gamefly client which will give rise to potentially really cheap deals and sales.  I am curious how Gamefly negotiates deals with game companies to allow users unlimited game play without costing more than the regular gamefly subscription membership and they must kick back a % or some other based on # of downloads/installs/plays or something of that nature.

Again, the Gamefly unlimited PC game reminds me of Netflix in that it has older titles but some are pretty good and if you missed the chance to play them back in 2008/2009 then you can spend hours playing games of a few years past on Gamefly with their unlimited PC Game play feature which is available to Gamefly members.

I think this is an excellent choice as less people are using gaming handheld’s and clients and for Gamefly to stay competitive they need to over client downloads and rentals for people who don’t have physical consoles or want something extra.

Buy One Month, Get One FREE!

Right now I can tell you that I wouldn’t get the GameFly subscription just for the Unlimited PC Gameplay, but if you already have a Nintendo Wii, 3DS, DSi, Xbox360 or Playstation 3 this is a welcome addition and yet additional game access that you can combine with your existing account.  I currently use Gamefly to get DSi, Wii and Xbox360 games that I play with my family, I mostly get multiplayer games, but now with the PC Downloads I can play some games I didn’t get a chance to play previously.

Drakensang: The River of Time and Assassins Creed would be my first two downloads with the Unlimited PC Play feature of Gamefly.

-Justin Germino

My wife is a mastermind when it comes to space saving ideas and some of the furniture she found for our small place just blow my mind at how functional and efficient they are at saving space.

The first would be a small table that folds flat against the wall, when you are ready to use it you just unfold it and voila the kids have a place to eat their breakfast or lunch.  It is ideal for two people to eat off of and doubles over as a computer desk for my son when he is using his computer in the living room.

The other is a dining table that we use on the Patio, the table when folded up is less than 18” narrow but unfolds 2 sides to fully seat a party of 6 if you need to.  This combined with nice wooden folding chairs makes for an extremely space saving patio dining set.

Note, in the 2nd picture only 1 of the sides is extended making it a 4 top.  But that 2nd side can extend for a full 6 top table.

There are tons of ways to save space when you use furniture that can compact/fold when not in use.  We have a couch that folds into a bed (not a pull out bed) but the back actually folds down so the entire couch becomes the bed which is another great space saver.

Most of these items honestly were found in Ikea and some were very time consuming to assemble.  That table above weighed over 80lb and had like 40 wooden pieces to assemble.

-Justin Germino

Don’t have an Ikea near you, here are the two closest models I could find on Amazon that are essentially the same.

[az_easel item=”B002USULCM,B0014Z5WD0″]

I am used to living in hot locations being the fact that I am a resident of Southern Arizona for over 16 years.  I was however not prepared for how few places on the pacific coast have air conditioning.  I mean they all have heaters but there is no A/C and though opening the windows and letting a beach breeze come in is nice the temperature still can reach 82-85 degrees inside a home where it feels like an oven when cooped up inside working.

Well, I think my cable modem overheated last week while working in this condition as it became so hot it literally felt like it was burning my skin to the touch.  I had to unplug the device and put it in front of a fan to cool it off for a bit before I tried it again.

The connection was intermittent and the online light solid, my laptops all got pretty toasty as well.  Fortunately the iPad always seems to run cool no matter what temp it is in the house.

I may need some type of cooler when I work out of CA, the fans don’t seem to do well enough to combat the heat build up that occurs inside the bedroom I use as an office.  Unless of course the cable modem is faulty and defective and just overheat on it’s own.  It could be fluke, because it gets to be like 81 inside my 2nd floor office in AZ as well because even with my A/C running it can’t fight against the rising heat.

-Justin Germino

The end of a busy working vacation, where the family and I spent at our Encinitas cottage (1st visit with family since we closed) and I worked most of the days remotely.  There were a ton of things to do and my week consisted of hammering out the following chores.

• Replace Window Screen
• Replace Screen Sliding Door
• Replace locks on 2 doors
• Build Gas Grill
• Build Metal Utility Shelf
• Build Patio Table (Not as easy as it looks, tons of parts)
• Build Wall Table
• Landscape Side Yard 1,000lb of rock (20 x 50lb bags)
• Landscape Backyard (mostly leveling, adding stepping stones, hose area)
• Install 6 curtain rods and curtains
• Replace Shower Head

Yeah, was a crazy hectic week with many of my first days prepping the final touches on this place.  All in all we think we are set and future trips should be more relaxation and less work.

-Justin Germino

Fall Break ending and I return back to AZ after spending 11 days in CA on fall break but working most of those days remotely.  The kids enjoyed the vacation but when you have two kids under 10 years old a vacation doesn’t really feel like a vacation for parents, just parenting in a new location.

We topped the trip off with visiting Legoland last night for their Brick or Treat special right now which is a really great deal.  Normally taking 3 adults and 2 kids to Legoland will cost you over $300 in tickets but the Brick or Treat special has you go from 4pm to 9pm and only pay $25 per ticket (adult and kids the same).  This means you get 5 hours at Legoland for 1/3 the price of a normal day admission and you get all the Halloween activities as well.

Carlsbad was also only 7 minutes away from our CA cottage so was a quick drive and were able to arrive without issues or too much traffic along the way.

I will miss the smell of the ocean which permeated everywhere as well as the cooler temperatures at night and morning, it did get a little warm at over 80 degrees during mid day without any A/C however but was still preferable to the over 100 degrees back in AZ.

Probably will go back and stay in CA in two weeks just for a weekend and then the family is probably going to do Thanksgiving in CA instead of AZ this year for the first time.

-Justin Germino

Awesome innovative technology developed by PaveGen showcased on CNN last week for being able to convert the kinetic energy of a footstep on a tile into power.  Though each step creates enough power only to light an led bulb for 30 seconds this really adds up when you consider the amount of tiles and the amount of footsteps in a high traffic area.  Each footstep tile also contains it’s own battery which can store the unused power for up to 3 days so a backup can exist.

This really adds up and in a high traffic area just 250,000 footsteps can fully charge 10,000 mobile phones!  The initial testing was done at a school were over a thousand kids were jumping over these things for 8+ months and they had mechanical devices stepping on the pads constantly for quite a long time.

Provided the technology becomes cost effective this could be a fantastic way for subways, airports, and high traffic tourist and downtown area’s to help augment their power sources. 

I personally think this technology is fantastic and can imagine something like this around shopping malls across the states or in busy NY downtown streets which help power the street lighting at night or in metro stations providing the power to plug and charge your mobile devices while waiting for transport or more!

Read the article source for more details.

Okay as my readers and friends know I have two Boston Terrier dogs named Porky and Donut.  Donut is an 8 year old female Boston Terrier we adopted just over a year ago and she made a fine addition to our home.  Porky we adopted about two years ago and he is around three years old now. 

Porky is an abnormal dog in that he doesn’t do walks, at least he walks just fine but you can’t get him to do his business during a walk.  In fact the dog refuses to go to the bathroom ever if anyone is around and near him.  My other female dog like most will mark, crap or do whatever during a walk at the most inopportune times, but Porky will literally hold going to the bathroom for hours and hours waiting until he can be put out in the yard alone where nobody is around him.

I have never seen a dog who is so shy about going to the bathroom, the good thing is he can do a 5 1/2 hour car ride without ever going to the bathroom even though we make multiple stops for our other dog to use the restroom.

It does become inconvenient though in the middle of the night when one of us has to let the dog out and he won’t go, I get half tempted to leave him out there until morning but he would bark his brains out and disturb the neighbor.  Fortunately he hasn’t had an accident yet in the CA home and at one point he went over 8 hours without going to the bathroom which was the longest I think I ever have seen a dog not go to the bathroom.

He is just so shy he can’t go to the bathroom around humans, odd huh?

-Justin Germino

This post has been updated to include some new burgers! Every so often I crave a hamburger whether it be a fast food hamburger, or a restaurant hamburger and I have developed a list of my favorites over the years, as well as ones that are just "okay" but fill the need once and a while.  I decided to put out my opinions on some of the burger’s I have tried over the years and tell other’s my thoughts, I will be blatantly honest.  This is not a sponsored or paid review, but if you find my opinion favorable, you can sponsor me :). First I will talk about burgers priced between $1 and $3 dollars, the average fast food burger lets call it. We have the following burgers I have eaten and can recall and describe in this category.

• McDonald’s Big Mac & Double Cheese Burger
• Burger King – Whopper and Whopper JR.
• Dairy Queen – Cheese Burger
• Wendy’s – 1/2 Pounder
• Jack in The Box – Jumbo Jack
• Sonic’s – Sonic Burger

Out of the above list of burgers, my two favorites in this category are Burger King’s Whopper and Jack in the Box’s Jumbo Jack.  The flame broiled Whopper does have a signature barbequed taste that gives the meat a charcoal type of char flavor that my taste buds really find satisfying.  The Whopper JR tastes just as good and is by far the best $1 dollar burger out of any of the "Value Meal" burgers.  The Jumbo Jack is my 2nd favorite in the above category, though it doesn’t have the "Flame Broiled" flavor it does have a nice size slab of meat that is well flavored and Jack in the Box has very good buns and lettuce/tomato…etc which add to the flavor of the burger. Big Mac’s though small thin patties that barely taste like beef in my opinion are still quite good.  The dressing on a Big Mac is what makes me come back to them time and time again, the combination of triple bun, sauce and pickles really goes together as a nice package, but the meat itself in a big mac in my opinion isn’t that great. Wendy’s have always been just okay in my opinion, nothing special but nothing bad.  Double Cheese Burger’s from McDonald’s are better than Wendy’s for flavor and at $1 at most stores in Arizona are actually a deal, they have more meat than the Whopper JR, but don’t taste quite as good, but still better than some of the others. The worst meat burger I have ever tasted in the past few years goes to Dairy Queen, I have tried their 2 Cheeseburgers for $2 deal and the burgers were barely edible, the flavor was terrible, quality of meat just left an aftertaste in my mouth. I would rather peel the patty out of a big mac and eat it plain than eat a burger at Dairy Queen again.  Sonic’s Burgers are just alright, nothing special in my opinion.  I go to Sonic I don’t ever get a burger, I get a coney, or other item on their menu, I just don’t like their burger’s there. Now, lets talk about premium burger’s or "Restaurant" quality burgers.  I will compare some of the "Fast Food" premium burgers to real restaurants and see how they stack up.

• Burger King – Loaded SteakHouse Burger
• McDonald’s Angus Mushroom Swiss Burger
• Carls JR – Six Dollar Burger
• Jack in The Box – Sirloin Burger
• Chili’s – Chipotle blue Cheese Bacon Burger
• Red Robin – Avacado Bacon Burger
• Ruby Tuesday’s – Triple Prime Burger
• Culver’s Butter Burger
• In and Out Burger

Out of the above list of premium burger’s my favorite hand’s down is the "Chili’s Chipotle Blue Cheese Bacon Burger" the meat size is just right, the blue cheese crumbles, slightly tangy and spicy chipotle sauce make this a winner for me.  Red Robin has my 2nd favorite restaurant burger’s and they are all very very good, every type of burger is very good there.  The Ruby Tuesday’s Triple Prime burger was a disappointment because I didn’t think it tasted as well as the regular burger’s at Ruby Tuesday’s. Now, for Fast Food Premium burger’s Carls JR’s Six Dollar Burger is the winner by far.  This burger is actually better than every other burger on the list except for the Chipotle Blue Cheese Bacon Burger at Chili’s in my opinion.  This burger is massive, and is almost the same size for like $2 cheaper, and they get you in and out of the restaurant much faster than Chili’s.  Ironically I only tried the Six Dollar Burger for the first time back in July of 2008, and I literally loved it when I had it.  The flavor, size and taste was exquisite and I crave them now usually once every two weeks or so.  Jack in the Box’s Sirloin burger is no sloucher, but it isn’t as good as Carl’s JR.  The most disappointing of the bunch was Burger King’s Loaded SteakHouse Burger, whereas their regular Whopper is delicious their premium burger tasted worse than a whopper and was actually one of the worst burgers I have eaten by far.  The meat quality and flavor was worse in my opinion than their Whopper JR, and the fact that the Loaded Steakhouse Burger came with Mash Potatoes, Onion Strings, Bacon, and what tasted like steak sauce only worsened the experience, the cold clammy mashed potatoes made me want to gag when I ate it. The McDonald’s Angus burgers which I tried very recently are terrible, a thick globby nasty paste of Mayonnaise on a very bland beef patty that takes the spot as the worst one on the list for me.  In and Out Burgers are very good as well, but I would give a slight edge to Culver’s Butter Burgers as being right up there as one of the best from a fast food type restaurant. So in review: Best Inexpensive Burger goes to Burger King – Whopper Best Restaurant Style Burger goes to Carl’s JR – Six Dollar Burger There you have it. If anyone has tried other burger’s that they think are really good, better or equal to some of the burger’s I have mentioned please let me know.  I have never tried In and Out burger’s and there is one opening in the next two months in my area, so maybe that will be good.  Let me know what your favorite burger is, whether you agree or disagree with my reviews, let me know what you like or dislike about your burgers. But, if you haven’t tried the Six Dollar Burger from Carl’s JR.  I highly recommend it, I literally was shocked at how enjoyable the flavor was for a fast food burger. -Dragon Blogger

• Update:

The other day I had a new burger at Applebee’s called the Brewtus Steak Burger.  This was a nice size patty on grilled bun with 2 slices of Cheddar Cheese, Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato.  The burger was very juicy and the meat flavorful.  Though still doesn’t topple Chili’s Chipotle Blue Cheese Bacon Burger, it is very good and easily comes in 2nd or 3rd place. In addition, there is a local Hamburger company in downtown Phoenix on 38th street and Indian School Road.  This place is called "Chicago Hamburger Company" and it has some of the best burgers with cheddar cheese on the planet.  They also have the best sliders outside of the windy city.

Which is your favorite restaurant burger?

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of T.G.I. FRiDAY’S for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Wouldn’t you know it, I live over 45+ miles from the nearest T.G.I. Friday’s restaurant.  This means I don’t get to have the dining hangouts and socializing that comes along with it, but I do get to enjoy some of the great food with T.G.I. FRiDAY’S “Entrées for One” microwave entrees. 

When I look for a microwave entree, I tend to like items on the sweet side as well as the savory side.  The Sesame Orange Chicken would be one of my favorite quick nukeable food items.

Looks like a tasty dish doesn’t it?

Sizzling Chicken Fajitas and Grilled Mac and Cheese would probably be the next two items on my “must try” list from the T.G.I. Friday’s frozen food line.  I eat frozen foods fairly often, probably at least 3-5 times per week as they are cheaper than dining out and make for a quick lunch I can just pop in the microwave and enjoy in a jiffy.  Variety is the key to not burning out and these are some new choices worth eating.

Sometimes you just want to bring the food home from one of your favorite restaurants and I am all for restaurants that make frozen food lines so you can enjoy it without having to leave the house.

For fun, you can join the Fun Freezer contest and vote for one of the crazy decorated freezers entered in the contest.  Some people went out of their way to give their freezer a makeover to join this contest.  Vote for which fun freezer should win the contest and make sure you vote before the deadline on October 20th 2011.

-Justin Germino

Make up a list of everything you didn’t try or do because of one excuse for another, this could be anything from a restaurant you skipped or a trip or travel turned down to a person you rejected outright for one reason or another.

We life in a world of excuses it seems and more people can come up with reasons for not doing something than doing it.  Life is about experiences, why have a list of all the things you haven’t tried be larger than the list of things you have tried when you reach the end of the road.

Live life fuller, try to experience something new and different as frequently as possible.  Jump outside your comfort zone a little and face the unknown or change even if you are a little scared.

[easyazon-image-link asin=”B0012VL9J2″ alt=”Almond Blossom Poster Print by Vincent van Gogh, 36×24 Floral & Botanical Poster Print by Vincent van Gogh, 36×24″ src=”http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51w3wX0IFXL._SL160_.jpg” align=”left” width=”160″ height=”107″]The lessons and experience nearly always pay off.  I found myself in a lazy rut of situation last week where I was alone in our CA pad waiting for my wife and kids to come down.  I had virtually nothing but boxed food in the house and was coming up with excuses why I didn’t want to walk a mile to a nearby restaurant.  Seriously, have I become that lazy that I won’t walk a mile to find something to eat in weather that is 75 degrees?  WTF is wrong with me that I even was too lazy to consider this.

So I started writing this post and made it a point to push myself past my laziness and do something different, I spent 3 nights shelled up eating inside a house alone when I lived 5 minute walk from the beach.  I spent maybe 1 hour out of the last 36 outside at all when 2 days were perfect weather.

Can’t stay trapped inside my own laziness forever, time to get out more.

-Justin Germino