Flashes ruin Basketball

I'm sitting here trying to watch the Indiana - Michigan basketball game, and the strobes in the rafters are driving me nuts. Recently I went to a bucks game, and they're 100 times worse in person. It's very much one of those things that bugs the hell out of me once I notice it, and I can't stop paying attention to it. People should stop taking photographs of basetball.

Speaking of TV, the problem with my component inputs is getting worse. The one that does work now flickers when you walk across the floor, and that flicker is getting much worse. I'm pretty sure something is cracked in there. I really hope it holds up until Tuesday, and I'm not going to be happy if the guy that shows up says he needs to take the TV for three weeks before he can fix it. I'm just warning you of this so you can brace yourself for a barrage of bitching should things not go the way I want.

And by Extension, I am Broken

One of the component inputs on my TV has broken. Specifically, component #1. I'm pretty sure that the input itself has died - neither my Xbox nor my cable box work on input 1, but both work on input 2. I don't feel like any additional trouble shooting is needed, as there are no settings to enable or disable the input. I'm pretty shocked about it, such a simple and basic piece of my expensive-ass TV failing like this. It took a lot of unplugging and plugging back in before I was convonced it had really happened.

Considering the fact that I was already short on inputs, this is bad. Luckily I do have the service plan from Best Buy so this problem will be fixed, but not until the 30th. I'm not happy about having to swap out cables until then, but things could be worse. At the moment there's also some hope that rather than repairing this problem I will be given store credit to replace the television. If that happens I'll be pretty excited, but I'm guessing there's simply a broken connection that can be fixed by a repair tech. Keep your fingers crossed, though - daddy needs a new 46" LCD screen.

Becoming a better Nerd

Sure you're a nerd, but don't you think you could even be nerdier? And wouldn't you also like to get a glimpse into the horrific mind of The Drax at the same time? Well, now you can, because Berkeley is offering a bunch of it's courses via podcasts. I know, I know, why would you want to listen to classes when you don't have to, right? Well, maybe because you spend two hours on the train every day.

1:11:11 1-11

I still haven't received my first game from Gamefly after joining over a week ago. I've also emailed them asking what's up and haven't heard back. Off to a bad start, Netflix. Meanwhile, we've already received and returned two Netflix movies. (I would absolutely love it if Netflix decided to roll out videogame rentals.) I'm hoping that there's some sort of one-time problem with Gamefly, because if I'm really looking at a 10-day turnaround time I'm not going to be happy.

I don't feel the need to expound on this too much, as Joe's already done it, but the iPhone looks amazing. It comes out in June, meaning I may have to sneak my way out of my Sprint contract this spring. I'm really excited by the prospect of having a robust wifi device in my pocket at all times. A hand-held touch screen that does just about everything you want is like magic; it's flying car kind of cool. Plus it has a proximity sensor - nothing I own has a proximity sensor in it. Not one thing! I clearly need one.

David Beckham just joined the LA Galaxy. It'd be awesome if the MLS improved over the next couple of years; I really enjoyed seeing a couple of Fire games, and I'd try to follow them more closely if the games were more fun to watch. They're just not up the caliber seen in other leagues, and often the games are downright boring. Hopefully Beckham's move will open the door for other quality players to come play. I am somewhat concerned by the roster rules in the MLS that allows each team to have one or two really highly played marquee players and then a bunch of low paid suckers. Soccer is not a sport like basketball where a team is really built around one great player, and I don't think games between teams like that will be any better. Hopefully this is just a stepping stone to attract better talent.

Finally, here are a couple of websites to checkout:

Here's a great site that's basically a skin for Craigslist. It displays all of the images from Craigslist listings, which makes it easier to find things: ListPic (Links to the Chicago page)

You can play the original SimCity online, which is sort of fun: SimCity Live

If you're making less than $52,000 per year, you can e-file your taxes for free.

Netflix Rules

First of all, let me just point out that this is the top of my Netflix homepage right now. I think it's f'n hilarious.

Now that that's out of the way, I am dog sitting this weekend. Not just one dog, but two whole, separate, live dogs. One dog's name is 'Lou Lou' and the other's is 'Rocky'. However, once they enter my house, they become 'Lou Bega' and 'Stinky'. They'll have a great time, as I really don't want to do anything other then pet dogs all day long and I'll have plenty of free time. If anybody is interested in dogs, my house is the place to be from Friday afternoon until Sunday evening. After that you can go back to Ben and Lindsay with Mambo and Stinkzilla.

Sitting dogs is always a somewhat odd experience. I love dogs and someday I hope to own one; she will be small enough for me to pick up but large enough that people may be surprised that I can lift her above my head. Which I will prove. But having dogs in an apartment is a whole different game from having them in a house. In a house the dog has room to roam, you may have a yard for the dog to get outside in, and even just having a first-floor exit makes things better. Living in an apartment makes going out for walks or finding room to play much more difficult, and generally makes everybody feel crowded. I've noticed a similar phenomenon when moving; even if you're moving stuff upstairs inside your house, it feels better than moving upstairs to get to your apartment. F those stairs, right?

A while back we dog sat a small balloon of lightning that Maria identified as a dog. That thing was nuts, but also adorable. She stayed with us for a week and by the end, even though I liked watching her try to bury bones in the couch, it was good to go dog-free again. It's the apartment phenomenon - a great dog is less great when its crammed in your face for an extended period of time. This time around we're only keeping Lou Dobbs and Stinker for a couple of days so I'll probably be sad to see them go.

Another interesting aspect of this dog sitting is the multi-dog effect. In a house, two dogs is great. Basically, the cuteness and fun of two dogs is greater than two times that of one dog while the work and responsibility of two dogs is less than twice that of one, making it a great deal. However, in an apartment I think you may end up greatly increasing the apartment phenomenon; there just isn't enough room. We'll have to see how it all plays out.

Blarg

Things have slowed down again after a busy couple of weeks, so I think it's about time for a little tomato-point recap. Sit back, grab something warm, and sip it as you read...

What I've Been Up To
The holidays were great. Maria and I spun a web of cheer across three states as we shook hands and kissed babies along the way. My favorite gift? Clearly my giant tennis ball ala House, MD. Thanks to Maria's giant tennis ball my hands are never bored.

I've canceled Gameznflix and switched to a subscription to both Netflix and Gamefly. Gameznflix was great right up until they mysteriously stopped sending me games a few weeks ago. The two new accounts added together are about ten bucks more than the one was, but with our cable bill going down I figure it all washes out. Also, the websites for Netflix and Gamefly are sooooo much nicer, which I enjoy.

Fox has also done some canceling - they gave The O.C. the ax. Last episode is supposed to be February 22, which is probably a good thing. I will always fondly remember watching this with Laura and Dan spread across several couches, eating cookie dough and drinking Spotted Cow. Good times.

Speaking of TV, everything is about to start back up again, and I'm forced to cut back on the shows that have filled in the mid-winter gap. I've been watching the Real World / Road Rules challenge, which will probably stay in the lineup because it's so short, but I've also been watching the Real World, Car and Driver TV, Eyes of Nye and a few others which will need to go.

We've also been watching back episodes of Grey's Anatomy and Veronica Mars, which are good. Veronica Mars season 1 is easily the best, while Grey's Anatomy is getting better as the show goes on. I'm going to start watching Battlestar Galactica, as I keep hearing good things about it. I'll know more after watching the pilot miniseries.

Oh, and to be fair, I should mention that Comcast has been working great. I actually changed all of our DVR recordings to HD, meaning I actually expect HD channels to work now. Something tells me that the return of Lost would be a good time for everything to break again, though.

Remember way back when Mike (AKA The Hero) told you to go open a savings account with ING or some other high-yield savings account? Yeah, well, we should have all listened. I just did so a few weeks ago, and I'll tell ya; it's quick, easy, and pays out quite a bit. Seeing your savings account accumulate even just a couple of bucks per day feels good.

That's about it. This last tomato contains my hopes and dreams and he represents all the good things to come in 2007. Maybe I'll look back at this in 2008 and I'll own my own home with an ice cream fountain in the kitchen. If I do, I'll have this little guy to thank.