Weekends and Urban Exploration

Haven't felt like updating for a while..

It's been an interesting few weeks/weekends.. I'll post other stuff in other threads for separation.

2 Weekends ago, I left straight from work on Saturday to drive up to Kenosha to hang out with wooisme and stormdog. Saturday night we went to the drive-in theater in Kenosha, and saw Spiderman 3 and Ghost Rider as the ultimate geek double-feature orgasm.

Spiderman wasn't bad, and I wouldn't mind seeing it again to try to pay more attention to it, but Ghost Rider was just cheesy goodness.. I love a movie that doesn't try to take itself too seriously and can just have fun with the fact that yes, it's a superhero movie about a guy riding a motorcycle who's demonic and flamey.

Woke up early on Sunday for the drive out to Gary, IN. Met up with posicat and took his van to Gary for urban exploration. We went to an abandoned apartment building, a church, and an old abandoned factory. I'm amazed that Gary is so deserted and derelict.. It's like "Detroit-lite" or like walking around a post-apocalyptic city... or Bordertown. Anyways, I took pics, I'll put most of 'em under a cut.

But first, a group shot of us! (Yes, I look HUGE. I blame the angle.)


( And for the rest.. )

Retail Stupidity.

So a few days ago sanjikrhys tells me the DVD player has stopped working.

Yesterday I finally was able to take a look at it. I powered it up; it tried to spin the disc up but wouldn't play. It wouldn't eject the tray. It wouldn't even move. Okay, something definitely stuck or lodged. Hrmm..

So I take the lid off. I power it up. It tries to spin the disc but can't. I spin the disc manually and it comes free and spins, but I can see it hitting something. Okay, is the disc warped? Cracked? Hrmm. So I get the tray to eject and I pull the disc out and examine it.

I wish I'd taken a picture, but you'll just have to suffice with an explanation.

You think anti-piracy labels are annoying on CD Cover art? Or those RFID tags that ruin CD art?

Someone, somehow, thought it a good idea to place an RFID anti-theft retail tag on the DVD.
on the DATA SURFACE. It was hitting the laser mech on the DVD player and causing the disc to lodge.

Y'know, one of those tags that would go off if you tried to walk out of the store with it?

It was ordered from AMAZON. (What, the Amazon folks are gonna put it through the anti-theft scanners before they box it up and ship out to us?)

So I put another disc in the player, and, relieved, find that it's none the worse for wear. Thank goodness. I peel the RFID tag off the disc. Put it in the player and it boots up to the menu. I may have to clean it, and hope it isn't terribly scratched.. so it should be okay.. but still.

I know copyright protection's big, and I know anti-theft is big, but when the anti-theft measure DAMAGES my purchase, and potentially damages my home equipment, that's when it's going too far. Just sayin'.

Fuckin' ridiculous. Where's Foamy the Squirrel when I need him?

Urban Exploration Photos - mostly for stormdog

Okay.. So I decided to upload all my old urban exploration photography photos to one of the myriad photo hosting sites on the web. Mostly 'cos I don't do web pages anymore, and my hosting spaces are crap. So, anyways, for Chris (and anyone else that might be interested or care) Here are links to my photobucket galleries of Urban Exploration photos from years past:


Pictures I took in Detroit
http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z109/vurtsnake/Urban%20Detroit/

Pictures I took in Rockford
http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z109/vurtsnake/Urban%20Rockford/

My Favorite Train bridge in Rockford
http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z109/vurtsnake/Train%20Bridge/