Fri 15 Apr 2011
Ups and Downs of the Week
Sam Adams Latitude 48 IPA – Very tasty.
Red Sox – What a nightmare. Dustin Pedroia seems to be the only player who cares about winning. The pitching has been simply pathetic.
Formula One – It’s another F1 weekend. Good thing, too, as the Red Flops aren’t worth watching.
Fri 8 Apr 2011
Ups and Downs of the Week
Red Sox – They finally won, and against the Yankmees no less, but what a horrible start to the season. 1-6 does not make them look like contenders. The pitching has been abysmal (with the exception of the 1-0 loss where Lester was superb). John Farrell must be having a good laugh.
Warm Friday Afternoons – Talk about therapy. I had a rough week ending with a depressing day, yet this afternoon was warm and sunny and I drove the 55 miles home with the top down on my Z4 and the tunes cranking. I arrived home in a very good mood. Best therapy in the world.
Mac Minis – Very cool little devices. Hook one up to an HDTV via HDMI cable and and you have a very capable HD media center/computer console. Throw in an HD webcam and you have an excellent video-phone to use for video calls to friends and relatives. The downside is the $650 price tag which does not include HDMI cable, keyboard, mouse, or the RAM needed to make it truly useful. If Apple would get off their high horse and charge reasonable prices for their cool devices, maybe they’d gain wider acceptance.
Fri 1 Apr 2011
Ups and Downs of the Week
Red Sox – The season opener today was a serious letdown. The pitching was awful. But it’s a brand new season with a long way to go. Adrian Gonzales looked great as did Ellsbury. You still gotta….
DirecTV – The Sox game looked great today. I’m seriously impressed with the quality of the image and service. Can’t believe I put up with the crappy service from Mediacom for so long when I could have been watching this.
Sky View – The Smithsonian Channel’s Sky View series is awesome, especially in HD. We’ve seen Tudor England, Emerald Isle, and Italy. Fantastic photography.
Fri 25 Mar 2011
Ups and Downs of the Week
5th Anniversary – I started this blog 5 years ago today.
Japanese Disaster – The nuke problem seems better one day, disastrous the next. And for a country with such wealth and technology, they seem to be having a hard time getting food, water, and basic necessities to the people in need.
Formula One – Started today with practice for the Grand Prix of Australia. And this year it’s being broadcast in full HD. This picture does not do it justice. Take my word for it, the picture quality is awesome. Add to that HD broadcasts of Red Sox baseball via DirecTV and MLB Extra Innings, and I’m a happy sports fan.
Formula One in HD
Goodbye to Spring – For a while at least. Temps earlier this week were in the mid-70s. Now they’re in the 30s and 40s and snow, SNOW!!, is in the forecast. Bummer.
Fri 11 Mar 2011
Ups and Downs of the Week
Japan Earthquake/Tsunami – What a horror show. The images and videos are unreal. Such devastation. And yet a surprisingly low fatality count (so far). That shows how well the Japanese were prepared and how well they build their buildings. This was the strongest earthquake ever recorded in Japan, which is saying a lot. And yet their cities are still standing. Amazing. They have a huge cleanup ahead of them and there is still a concern about the nuclear power plants, but it appears their preparation and building codes saved countless lives.
Illinois Politics – The governor abolishes the death penalty, which is a good thing, and then signs the Amazon tax bill, which is sheer stupidity and arrogance considering the overwhelming evidence that this bill will hurt the state, not help it. So we’re 50/50 on the day. One step forward, one step back.
Habs Hockey Fans – So the Montreal Canadians fans called 911 to report an assault because one of their players got checked in an NHL hockey game? What’s next, reports of speeding at the Grand Prix of Canada? Give me a break.
Fri 4 Mar 2011
Ups and Downs of the Week
Sam Adams Noble Pils – Glad they brought it back. Good stuff.
NFL – While state workers and teachers are in danger of losing their livelihoods in the name of balancing state budgets, the NFL prima donnas on both sides of the table are arguing over how best to split up their billions. Something is very wrong here.
Springtime – Still one more snow storm coming, I think. But the days are getting longer and warmer and soon we’ll be into DST.
Oil Prices – Supply and demand have been pretty stable, but the price of oil climbs by the minute, mostly due to speculator fears (read: greed). “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” Indeed.
Sat 26 Feb 2011
Ups and Downs of the Week
Verizon Home Phone Connect – Well the Bluetooth connection on the Vtech turned out to be inconsistent. If we used the phone frequently, it worked ok. But if the phone sat idle for a few days, which is often the case, the Bluetooth would lose the ability to transmit and receive voice signals. The phone would ring and could be answered, but no one could hear anything. So I went with Verizon’s Home Phone Connect device. This router-looking thing is always on Verizon’s network and has a regular phone cable to attach it to a phone system, like our Vtech base. The Vtech base doesn’t know the difference from a regular landline. It works quite well (so far). It even allows us to use the built-in voicemail system on the Vtech instead of Verizon’ voicemail. Time will tell if it continues to work as designed.
Feeling Better – Still coughing a bit, but I feel human again.
Formula One – Bahrain canceled (well, postponed, but…) the opening round of this season’s Formula One series. Understandable considering what’s going on there, but very disappointing nonetheless. Now it will be another two weeks until the Australian race. There is another Middle East race later in the season in Abu Dhabi. I hope it remains on the schedule.
Fri 18 Feb 2011
Ups and Downs of the Week
Being sick – I went to my doctor’s office for a quick check of BP on Monday and started feeling awful on Wednesday. Coincidence? Maybe. Nonetheless I’m battling the worst cold I’ve had in years. I hate being sick. We’ve had awesome weather the last few days, too. And I’ve been stuck inside feeling miserable. Thank God for Nyquil.
Nick Heidfeld/Robert Kubica – Renault confirmed this week that veteran F1 driver Nick Heidfeld will be replacing the injured Robert Kubica as their primary driver for a good part if not all of the 2011 season. It’s great to see a talented driver like Heidfeld back in the field, but it still sucks that Kubica is not because of his injuries. I wish Kubica a speedy recovery and Heidfeld an outstanding season.
Fri 11 Feb 2011
Ups and Downs of the Week
Vtech Bluetooth Phone – So we finally got our new Vtech phone system. It can hook up to a traditional landline if you have one, but it can also connect to a cell phone via Bluetooth, which is what we’re doing. My trusty old RAZR, which has an excellent Bluetooth system, sits attached to its charger full time and is connected to the Vtech base by Bluetooth. There are two other Vtech phones besides the base; one down in my office and one in our bedroom. When someone calls our “home phone” which is now an additional Verizon wireless line, it rings all three Vtech phones. We can also dial out using the Vtech phones and see missed calls and caller ID. Not bad for $80. Since we’re saving $20/mo on the line now, the system will pay for itself in 4 months. Best of all, it was a snap to set up. Took me all of 5 minutes to set up the base phone and the extensions just needed to have their bases plugged into an electrical socket.
Egypt – Glad to see the revolution was largely peaceful. Mubarak is stepping down but there is no clear replacement. Nature abhors a vacuum, so this is a very dangerous time. I just hope the Egyptians are as happy 6 months hence as they are now. This could go either way.
Spring Training – Pitchers and catchers have pretty much arrived, although the official reporting day is Monday. There’s new grass on the field. Anticipation builds.
Robert Kubica – One of the more promising Formula One drivers was badly injured in a rally car crash this week and will likely miss the whole 2011 F1 season. What a shame. He’s worked so hard to get his team’s (Renault) car into shape and it was really looking like they might be top contenders this year. I hope he recovers quickly and completely and can at least be back trackside soon.
Kindle for PC – While I’m not a fan of the Kindle device itself, the Kindle for PC software is pretty cool. I downloaded a book about my new camera that is now easy to read while I follow along with my camera in hand. Plus the book is searchable via Kindle. I don’t think I’d want to read a novel this way, but for How-To stuff, this is a great way to read a book. And in the case of the book I bought, it was several bucks cheaper via Kindle.
Tue 8 Feb 2011
A new season begins. Spring training is not far away. The truck hauling the team’s gear leaves Fenway today. Can’t wait for this season to really get going.
