Posts from — August 2006

Before we moved to the apartment, I hadn’t used the Tivo DVR for a long time. I relied on the Comcast DVR to record all my shows and left the Tivo for Pam to use. Now I have the chance to use it again and I see there are a bunch of new features. The online scheduling, TivoToGo and the Home Media options are really cool. I like the idea of downloading podcasts and RSS feeds and then transferring them to my video iPod to watch later. It’s also neat to schedule a recording over the internet from work.

By far my favorite feature is still the ability to fast forward through all the damn commercials. I can catch up with my shows in a fraction of the time it takes to watch them live.

Next I have to get back into Netflix. You’ll remember I dropped them after they started throttling my movie queue to stop me from getting unlimited movies each month. Now I’m reading in Wired they are becoming quite a power player in Hollywood and are even producing their own independent films. I hear there are a few new features with the service too. So I’ll sign up for a new account using Pam’s name and a different credit card. Then we’ll see how long I can go before they start limiting the movies.

A few weeks back I bought a Samsung LCD monitor for my computer. I selected the particular model because it was on sale and met all the specs I needed. The 19″ size is the perfect size and I have reclaimed lots of desk space. Since I did have all this new desk space, I attached an old 15″ flat panel I got from Dell I had in the closet. My new monitor offered a digital input and luckily my video card supported that HDMI interface.

I never thought having two monitors would be so helpful. With a program called “Ultramon” I can configure each monitor to open certain windows and to easily swap open apps from one screen to the other. I also found a bunch of wallpaper images optimized for dual monitors that stretch across the two desktops. It’s very cool.

Actually I would have preferred to get the Grand Canyon display but I knew it was a little too much. For now, the 19″ and 15″ screens are working great for me.

Pam and I went up north for her tribe’s annual Pow Wow. It’s a fun even where her entire tribe meet for dancing contests, great food and weird music. The drums and chanting all sound alike to me but the grass dancers have fun dancing in tune to their “favorite songs.” They are dressed up as you would see traditional Indians on television and it’s a lot of fun to see the different outfits. Every outfit right down to the feathers all have a special meaning.
The best part was Pam visiting with her family. The Pow Wow is a great way to get them all together in one place.

Work on the condo is proceeding nicely. The builder is very happy to help us customize the place any way we like. Some of our requests seem strange to him but he always takes care of them right away. They are finishing the basement for us and I’m told our unit will be the first they’ve done. Ours will be the prototype from which others will be modeled and my input into the process is cheerfully acknowledged.

We will be recreating our media room from the old house in the new basement. We’ll also have a large storage area and a third bedroom. Our future plans may include a pool table, cedar closet and exercise area. The framing for the basement is starting very soon and I’ll be excited to see the finished product.

As the condo gets closer to completion, I’m getting antsy to get out of the apartment. At the same time I’m not looking forward to the packing and moving again. We’ve planned everything to have some overlap where we’ll occupy both places for a few weeks. This way we can take our time painting and getting the condo ready while it’s empty.

Hey Mike. Nice hearing from you. Congratulations on the wedding. The pictures were great.