Archive for the 'Viva la Consumerista' Category

Look at all that def!

Published
by
Jake
1 month, 3 weeks ago
in TechnoLust, Televisio and Viva la Consumerista
. 3 Comments

You may recall that my dearest mommy got me a big ol’ television set for Christmas this past holiday.

Well, I’ve finally got it running at full capacity now that I have a TiVo-HD (got a deal on a refurb from Woot!) and boy is it something.

Of course, the CableCARD install wasn’t perfectly smooth, but at least it turned out to just be a bit of an annoyance while the cable guy fiddled with it for an hour or two. It was definitely not the sort of tragedy I had read about on various TiVo forums, etc.

It’s funny what HD does to you, though. Two words to illustrate my point: Sunrise Earth. My friends (who were all way ahead of me on the HD curve) all told me about this hypnotic show, and I always pointed at them and laughed. Turns out they were right on the money. It’s just mesmerizing. Even beyond that, though, I’ll watch a nature show or rock concert in HD before just about any other option now. Good times.

The Wife’s favorite bit - aside from when I blew her mind by showing her how we can watch shows from our old TiVo unit on the new one - is the dual tuner action we get from the TiVo-HD. Now “Boy shows” don’t automatically trump “Girl shows”. Peace reigns supreme at the Lazy ‘S’ Ranch, though it does give the TiVo twice the opportunity to record one of it’s off the wall suggestions…

Baby’s New Toy

Published
by
Jake
2 months, 1 week ago
in Bits & Blips, TuneStuff and Viva la Consumerista
. 2 Comments

This past weekend The Wife and I got ourselves an XBox 360.

I say that in terms of “us” and “we”, but really the purchase was precipitated by my girl’s strong desire to rock out with a little game called Karaoke Revolution. Make no mistake, she was a dancer for good reason, but the ability to actually sing really doesn’t help you much (if at all) in this game. We were first introduced to it at brother-in-law Chris’s house the last time we went to LA to see him and his SO, Kate. Me being me, I totally douched out and refused to play. (I don’t dance in public, either.) My not-so-secret plan was to get the game and practice by myself until I was comfortable enough to do it in front of other people. I was just going to get it for the Wii, but then it turns out the XBox and PS3 version have downloadable songs, which made it worth the wait in my mind.

I’m still finding my way with the game… (I can sing just well enough to really screw things up, it seems.) “Satisfaction” from the Rolling Stones is my rock solid joint at the moment. I’ve also done passable jobs at “In the Air Tonight”, “Come Sail Away With Me”, and Haddaway’s “What Is Love” (on which I actually did better the first time ever seeing the lyrics). Songs that frustrated me so far, but which think I can rock hard with a little work: “Tainted Love”, GnR’s version of “Knocking on Heaven’s Door”, and “(Hit Me) Baby One More Time”. The wife on the other hand is a machine, scoring perfect scores (we’re playing on “Easy”, of course) after perfect scores. Our duet goal is Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”, although “Midnight Train to Georgia” is a real ass kicker, too. It’s hard to be a Pip!

Yes, there is no shame in karaoke. Point of fact: I score better if I sing the “What Is Love” lyrics like “Whuddizluff? Doanherdmee. Doanherdmee…No more.” It’s very strange.
I also picked up .skate as my “boy game”, and it’s proving to be very cool, though rather difficult for a Tony Hawk Pro Skater veteran like myself.

The only other game I have on my short list right now is Beautiful Katamari, but I’m sure that will change over time.

Needless to say, the fun times never stop at the Sutton household.

Nerd Sexy

Published
by
Jake
3 months ago
in Cinerama, Folx, The Intarweb and Viva la Consumerista
. 2 Comments

Today, Rod posted these rejected Star Wars products to our sooper-seekrit IRC channel, prompting the following:

Jake: tauntaun suit is the best thing EVER
Jake: and pants are optional!
Rod: hell yes
Rod: and then if you’re at a halloween party and some girl opens up your sweaty suit to blow you, she can say “and i thought they smelled bad on the outside”
Rod: and then you can marry her because she’s awesome

That’s gold, people. Pure gold!

And then there was this exchange, as well…

New Shoes

Published
by
Jake
3 months, 2 weeks ago
in Colorado Living, Getting Fit and Viva la Consumerista
. 5 Comments

Literally.

The Wife and I went to an actual running store and bought actual running shoes yesterday, so that we might continue our attempts at jogging with perhaps a bit less agony. Given that I haven’t called myself a “runner” since high school, and The Wife never has, we popped into our local Road Runner store to take full advantage of their know-how on the subject.

I had gone in with a strong recommendation from my mother, whose duck feet I was dubiously fortunate enough to inherit, so I told our friendly shoe salesman that I needed to try on a pair of Brooks Beasts and that my dear spouse might need a bit more help in finding the right gear since she’s a former ballerina and nobody really understands what’s going on with her feet.
Continue reading ‘New Shoes’

The Weekly-ish Update

Published
by
Jake
4 months, 1 week ago
in Bits & Blips, Folx, Getting Fit, Homebody, TechnoLust, Televisio, Viva la Consumerista and World Gone Mad
. 5 Comments

Random tidbits once again:

  • I’m really pleased with the results of my latest slate tile project. Now I’m itching to switch into woodworking mode. I’m super excited about the new episodes of the New Yankee Workshop: Norm is building kitchen cabinets. I plan to eventually build cabinets for the mudroom and perhaps the garage (as practice for the potential “big job” of the actual kitchen). I think I’ll go ahead and buy the DVDs.
  • I’m gradually building up my home entertainment system to match the new TV. I’ve gotten a fancy HDMI-switching receiver and a fairly cool iPod dock thingy. Next on my list is a TiVo HD. Then some surround speakers of some sort (I’m still living in stereo, folks…). And then maybe an Xbox 360, finally. (Still holding out for GTA4 on that one.)
  • On the fitness front, my weight dipped below 200 pounds for the first time in a while yesterday. It’s back above today, but we’ll assume that’s temporary. I’m going to join a climbing gym soon, I think. A great new motivator I have is the Garmin Forerunner 205 I got for Xmas. It’s not as sexy as the new 405 everyone is drooling over, but it’s pretty darned cool. Of course, now I’m obsessed with tracking the slightest walk / jog / jaunt to the mail box. When The Wife teased me about it I quipped, “Are you kidding? I’m gonna track my trips to the bathroom from now on!”
  • Lots of interesting gossip about former coworkers and new coworkers. That’s about all I’ll say about that, I suppose.
  • I’m still an Obama cheerleader, though I don’t generally like to air my politics on this site. I like the look of things right now.
  • Trent Reznor isn’t exactly excited by the results of the Niggy Tardust experiment.
  • TV sucks almighty ass right now. I know there’s a writer’s strike going, but why aren’t networks taking better advantage by replaying some of the good stuff we might have missed previously? Example: AMC’s Mad Men? (Ooh! There’s an encore starting Jan 21. Nice.) At least I always have books to read.

So yeah… What’s new with you?

4-Hour Workweek: How to Be a Huckster in 4 Easy Steps

Published
by
Jake
11 months, 2 weeks ago
in BiblioThingy, Jake's Life and Viva la Consumerista
. 1 Comment

Anyone else reading The 4-Hour Workweek?

I’m listening to the audiobook on my commute. It strikes me as incredibly meta. There’s a definite undertone of

“Here’s how you can make yourself and expert and sell information to other people — just like I did with this book! (Sucker.)”

He also explains everything he’s doing (”tricks of the trade”-wise) on the book’s companion web site.

That said, it’s also quite interesting, plenty entertaining, and disturbingly inspirational. (Lord help us…) It’s really not as slimy as I’m making it sound, but it’s in there.

Let me know your thoughts if you have read it, are reading it, or plan to read it. I actually think I might pick up the dead-tree version in order to cement my own feelings about it.

So… I guess it’s recommended…?