Review: Thermaltake Massive23 CS Gaming Notebook Cooler

Link to article (Overclockersclub.com)

Processor manufacturers nowadays are working on making cooler and more efficient processors, especially for mobile applications. However, processors still generate a lot of heat, and in the cramped confines of a laptop chassis, this heat can really build up. This is why companies like Thermaltake make mobile cooling solutions, such as the Massive23 CS Notebook Cooler. This cooler is designed to raise the laptop at an angle to allow air to circulate around the chassis, as well as make the laptop's keyboard more ergonomically attractive. The fact that Thermaltake is marketing this as a "Gaming" Notebook Cooler makes me hope that it will be able to provide me with significant cooling, as well as sleek looks.

Review: NZXT Cryo S

Link to article (Overclockersclub.com)

If you are an owner of a laptop, as many people are these days, you might have noticed that when you use it, a considerable amount of heat is generated. While it may not bother you very much, that heat is something that all computers generate, and too much of it can cause your computer to become unresponsive or start glitching. Luckily, there are several solutions out there that help laptops dissipate some of that heat by changing how the laptop sits on your desk, as well as adding fans. One of these devices is that NZXT Cryo S notebook cooler. Earlier, I reviewed this cooler's larger brother, which is designed for large laptops, but the Cryo S is designed with 15" laptops in mind.

Congratulations!

Part of my 101 in 1001 list was to write a blog post at least once a month.  However, with only hours left in May, I'm coming close to missing my deadline.  All day today I was thinking of what I could write about, but at the same time I was spending a lot of time with my family who gathered today to watch my sister graduate.  While she will most likely not read this ever, I would like to take the time to congratulate her on my small blog.  She was heavily involved with various commencement tasks, including being one of the speakers and also singing with several other people.  She did a really great job in my opinion.  It has been a fun, yet tiring day that has let me remember some of the fun I had when I graduated.  I have gotten to see many old friends over the past few days, and have enjoyed seeing all my sisters friends be so excited.

In the fall my sister will be heading to Nashville to attend Vanderbilt and I will be heading back to Ohio Northern to finish the second half of my college career.  I wish my sister the best of luck, and would like to say one more time, congratulations, Laura.

101 Things... 1001 Days

I'm not a big fan of lists, or planning things ahead, yet when I read Ben's (a fellow OCC staff member) blog, his 101 list really stood out to me. I decided that I wanted to do my own and started thinking of specific goals that I would like to obtain in the no-so-near future. After several days worth of thought, the list below is the one I eventually settled on.

One thousand and one is a weird length for something to go on for, and I was curious how long that was in terms I would better understand. It turns out that 1001 days is roughly equal to 2 years, 8 months, and 27 days... almost 3 years. If my life continues as I hope it does, I should be gone from college and into the American work force, a scary realization. As such, some of these goals are academic, some work related, some social, and some for my general well being. I hope to achieve everything listed here, but the reality is that I probably won't. Some of them are almost entirely out of my control, or are prohibitively expensive. Others are pretty easy, and some I won't be able to even start until I am older.

I plan on keeping this list as up to date as possible, as well as blog about my experiences as I knock items off the list. Encouragement is always welcome, and I hope I see some of my friends start similar lists that I will be able to encourage them on (after all, I need three to complete goal 49).

Start Date: April 21, 2009
End Date: January 16, 2012

1. 1. Graduate from the engineering college at Ohio Northern University
2. 2. Learn at least four new programming languages [0/4]
   
3. 3. Learn at least one new human language [0/1]
   
4. 4. Contribute to at least five open source projects on my own time [0/5]
5. 5. Make a bug patch that gets accepted
   
6. 6. Score par on an 18 hole round of golf
   
7. 7. Attend the Super Bowl, NBA Finals, World Series, or other championship game
8. 8. Write a web interface to keep track of this list
9. 9. Write a new blog post at least once a month
   
10. 10. Photograph at least five celestial objects [0/5]
    
11. 11. Own an 'L' series lens from Canon
12. 12. Do a photo shoot at least once a month
    
13. 13. Hit an out of the park home run in softball
14. 14. Drink a beer with my dad
15. 15. Get a girlfriend
16. 16. Get a full time job (upon graduation)
17. 17. Visit every state [43/50]
    
18. 18. Visit Europe
19. 19. Go on a mission trip outside of the United States
20. 20. Attend church at least twice a month
    
21. 21. Save at least 10% of the money I earn
22. 22. Begin tithing
23. 23. Try a new beer at least once a month
    
24. 24. Rally for something I believe in
25. 25. Watch at least 50% of the IMDB top 100 [21/50]
    
26. 26. Watch a new film once a month
    
27. 27. Organize my music collection
28. 28. Organize my movie collection
29. 29. Organize my photo collection
30. 30. Organize my email
    
31. 31. Beat fifteen video games [0/15]
    
32. 32. Hold an EC position
33. 33. Have another 4.0 GPA quarter
34. 34. Learn to mix / DJ
35. 35. Get a little
36. 36. Increase my vertical leap at least six inches [0/6]
    
37. 37. Make a workout plan and follow it for at least six months
38. 38. Get an original blog post on the front page of Digg or Reddit
39. 39. Win a serious award
40. 40. Go camping at least four times [0/4]
    
41. 41. Go golfing on at least ten new courses [0/10]
    
42. 42. Get my pilot's license
43. 43. Drive on a race track
44. 44. Participate in a fantasy sport
45. 45. Learn to drive stick
46. 46. Volunteer to be an EMT / Firefighter
47. 47. Run at least five 5k races [0/5]
48. 48. Bungie jump or go sky diving
49. 49. Get three people to make a 101 in 1001 [0/3]
    
50. 50. Vote in every election
51. 51. Walk or ride my bike to work at least 50 times [0/50]
52. 52. Cook once a week (when I'm home)
    
53. 53. Cook a new recipe once a month
54. 54. Make my own recipe
    
55. 55. Hide a geocache with something valuable in it
56. 56. Watch a sunrise with someone I love
57. 57. Spend an entire night in Jolly Pirate with a friend
58. 58. Help people I don't know solve five problems on IRC [0/5]
59. 59. Visit two friends that are not brothers each summer [0/2] [0/2] [0/2]
60. 60. Visit two friends that are brothers each summer [0/2] [0/2] [0/2]
61. 61. See a tornado
62. 62. Keep in touch with my friends that graduate
63. 63. Stay off Facebook for a week
64. 64. Help someone who's car has broken down on the side of the road
65. 65. Attend every class for a quarter
66. 66. Randomly go to Vegas for a weekend
67. 67. Party with another SigEp chapter
68. 68. Make a major improvement to the SigEp house
69. 69. Grow a beard
70. 70. Reach level 80
71. 71. Spend no money on my credit card one month
72. 72. Pay for the person behind me at a toll booth
73. 73. Read the Bible cover to cover
74. 74. Invest in a company I don't already have stock in, and follow it
75. 75. Feed a bum
76. 76. Buy all my friends shots when they turn 21
77. 77. Exclusively use a Unix based operating system for everything except gaming
78. 78. Go to ten Reds games [0/10]
    
79. 79. Go to four Bengals games [0/4]
    
80. 80. Buy something from Woot!
81. 81. Sell ten items online [0/10]
    
82. 82. Keep a clean room for three months
    
83. 83. Video tape myself on a party night
84. 84. Grow my own peppers
85. 85. Make my blog good enough that I get 100 people to follow it [1/100]
    
86. 86. Go on a spring break trip
87. 87. Get into the habit of reading the newspaper in the mornings
88. 88. Renew an old friendship
89. 89. Visit my sister at the college she chooses to attend
90. 90. Visit a friend out of state
91. 91. Go trick or treating with a friend
92. 92. Watch an entire series of two TV shows [0/2]
93. 93. Collect a full deck of cards from Pabst tops
94. 94. Own a Blackberry
95. 95. Go on a random road trip
96. 96. Get rid of a subscription I don't really need
97. 97. Play ultimate in the rain
98. 98. Solve fifty Project Euler problems [1/50]
    
99. 99. Do something suggested by somebody else
100. 100. Do another thing suggested by somebody else
101. 101. Make another 101 in 1001 list for the next 1001 days

Progress: 0/101 (0%)

It's Sunday at The Masters!

Over the past several days I've been very fortunate to get to attend my fourth Masters tournament in Augusta. This year has been a little different though, with the new entrance being set up, breakfast being served on the course, and different golfers. However, the biggest difference that has happened this year is who I came down with. This year I came down with several of my friends from school, instead of how it has been in past years (going with family). It has been a lot of fun being the one "in the know" this year and sharing the traditions of Augusta National with our guests.

Overall this has been a really fun year. We left at 8 AM on Thursday from Ada and drove to Middletown where we switched cars and headed out towards South Carolina. We stopped in Spartanburg for the night, getting back on the road towards Augusta around 9 the next day. On Friday, we met Aunt Vickie and Uncle Mark at the church we always meet at a little after noon and Baird and I headed onto the course. We walked the front 9, watching the golfers as we went. It was neat that we got to see Gary Player, the black knight, play part of his last round at Augusta. On Saturday, Baird and I had the morning shift while Frazer and Rob took the afternoon... we woke up at 5:30 AM to get to the course in time to place chairs at the number 12 tee, right in Amen Corner. We then walked the back 9, getting to see the entire course, and sat in the hole 4 grandstands until it was time to switch the badges.

Today, we got up early again in order to get our chairs set up, this time on the number 7 green, a beautiful spot that allows you to watch the players come up 7, and putt there, as well as watch them tee off on number 3, come in on number 2, and watch their second shot on number 8, a lot of action for not having to move at all. We are switching the badges in about an hour, and will be sitting in that spot all day, I'm pretty excited as it is a place that I haven't really gotten to enjoy much of in the past years. There are also some awesome pairings that will be coming through, including Tiger and Phil, two of my favorite golfers.

All in all, this has been a great year at Augusta National for me. We have gotten three days of gorgeous weather, gotten to see some great golf, and gotten to spend time with some good friends. I'm so thankful that my grandparents have given me the opportunity to attend the Masters, and hope I have the opportunity again in the future. I also am really thankful for my Uncle Mark who last year taught me a lot about the course the two days we were here.

Review: LaTosta Lightweight Laptop Stand

Link to article (Overclockersclub.com)

All laptops generate heat, much like every other computer. However, adding additional cooling to a laptop is a lot harder than to a desktop computer. To help cool laptops, companies have begun to produce laptop coolers. Typically they are large plastic devices with fans in them to help actively cool the underside of a laptop. The LaTosta is different, however. Instead of a plastic bed to place the laptop on, the Laptop Stand is made out of two metal clips that help elevate the back side of the laptop in a very minimalist fashion, as I will show you later in the review.

Review: Evercool Hermes Notebook Cooler

Link to article (Overclockersclub.com)

Laptops are fast becoming one of life's necessities. Many people are even beginning to use them in place of a normal desktop computer by leaving them on their desk 24/7. However, running a laptop full power day after day can really begin to wear on it. One way to help reduce the amount of wear on it is to use a laptop cooler to help whisk away some of the heat that the internal components generate. Pretty much every company that has made a cooling device for a computer or a mobile accessory has made a cooler to help preform this task. The bottom line is to reduce the operating temperatures to try and enhance the lifespan of the components contained in that plastic and metal enclosure. Manufacturers have continued to come up with innovative and functional solutions to do just that. The Hermes from EVERCOOL is one such cooler. The wing design looks appealing, but the question is how will it perform against the competition?