I recently bought the NAS200 from Linksys as a backup device for my workstation in the office. It came as a very highly rated NAS so I chose this one.

The packaging is what you come to expect from Linksys and a neatly packaged software CD for which I only used the driver. The device itself is incredibly easy to setup, unpack the device open the drive bays and literally just slide in the drives one by one, plus in the power and LAN and its ready to go.

One detected and the drivers where installed I realized that you HAVE to format the drives using the Linksys format (Linux based) before the drives are accessible. I found this a little disheartening at first but after doing some research I decided its not that big a deal to me.

The device once installed was easy to map a network drive and setup my backup tools to backup to the drive. I personally use syncBack instead of the one button as I have somewhat complex backups from multiple drives and folders. The one major drawback I found is that I only get a max transfer rate of 2MB/Second so the initial backup took a few days (over 300GB) of information. Once that was completed though backups are quick and the system is very quiet. In the admin settings of the NAS you can set the auto spool down interval of the drives and it works so well. As soon as the device detects an access via LAN the drives spool up and you have access in a second or two.

Overall I would recommend the NAS200 from linksys to anyone looking for a multiple drive NAS backup system that is small enough to sit on the desk and quiet enough to not make you turn up your speakers to try and drown in out.

It aired tonight, the new Knight Rider. I grew up on Knight Rider it was the show that created my love of cars and making them unique. When I heard that the new K.I.T.T. was a mustang I was very skeptical, I did however decide to give the movie/series a chance.

I am by no means a Ford lover and haven’t liked the mustang since it was butchered in 1993. The 2008 Mustang is a thing of beauty and if K.I.T.T. had to be replaced by a non Trans Am vehicle the Shelby GT500 was it. OK enough about the car, I know the show is all about the car but it;s time to review the show.

Plot: (warning spoilers)
The foundation is closed and the scientists is a recluse. Secretly developing a new K.I.T.T. He is attacked but his body double is killed in place of him. A quick yet believable explanation of this is given and we move on to Michael (The introduction to this character is quick and blatantly obvious. Not a lot of character development here but the show is about the coolest car on earth so we can forgive this lack of character development. The son of Michael Knight is Mike the lead character and driver, interesting little plot line here. Not really much more to say about the story of the show it was very true to the “corny” style of 80’s T.V. with a modern twist.

K.I.T.T.
Ok so we touched on the fact that the car is not a Trans AM but WOW this car has all the goodies that were in the original and some new stuff. Nano technology repairs, COOL and an obvious way to integrate some great CG shots into the show. I was VERY disappointed in the lack of “TURBO BOOST” the trademark boost that got K.I.T.T. out of so many bad situations was not present in this new rendition. The voice of the car was far less annoying than the previous but still true to the original and an excellent choice.

Well in conclusion I was quite impressed with the continuation of this classic series, the effects are cool. There is some very low budget shots that look quite bad (as an effects artist myself I am overly picky) but over all effects are pretty good. Characters are well chosen and fit the roles well, not as much over acting as we got out of David Hasslehoff in the past. This definitely a show that I will continue to watch anxiously waiting for “TURBO BOOST” :).

Side Note: I even entered to win the GT500 and I never enter those stupid online draws. There is something about that bad ass GT with the the red light in the front that just makes my spine tingle. The Trans AM was cool but the NEW K.I.T.T. is one wicked car.

Well after a 3month hiatus from playing this spectacular game that I enjoy so much I returned to the course today. Expecting high scores and lost balls I went into the round with a clear mind and no scoring expectations.

I step up to the first tee and take a few practice swings. Everything feels great, just like riding a bike. I teed up the ball and made my first swing. It was clean and solid just a little right but a safe play.

My game continued like this for most of the round with only the odd bad shot. I was a quite happy with my self until about the 8th hole when things were falling apart. During a wait at number 11 I was thinking about my swing and realized that I had started to speed up my back swing and was loosing control of the club face coming through the ball.

I slowed my back swing down again and I was flying true and straight, even getting a little draw with the irons. I guess the lesson here is after being away from the game for so long you tend to be a little more cautious when you step out again . That caution is what allows your body to swing correctly without having your ego and your brain get in the way.

Now if only I could keep myself from trying to kill the ball I would be able to break 80. As my confidence increases so does my swing speed and exponentially my accuracy goes down. On a side note a smooth clean swing will always produce a longer and straighter shot than a wild full out swing. Well at least at my playing level it will.

Golf Lesson: No matter how well you are playing or how much you want that extra 10 yards, always keep you swing smooth and easy. 10-20Yards shorter but in the fairway is better than even 30 yards extra and unplayable. Don’t let you confidence and your mind get in the way of a natural smooth swing.