NLT...

33.  Don’t wish friends happy birthday just because Facebook told you to.

34.  Just dance. (This is one I’m working on)

See them all…

The Oaks was fun today.  Didn’t win any money overall, but only lost $17 and bet $66.  Won money on the first race I bet and the last.  Sun was out in full effect.  Got burnt on the arms a bit, but otherwise it was nice to be outside.  Lots of great people watching today.  A lot of drunk frat type boys and middle aged folks.  Lots of cute ladies in sun dresses and big hats.

Tomorrow it’s supposed to rain all day during the Derby.  Definitely a downer.  I think my family is still planning on going, but it will likely be only in the afternoon rather than the whole day.  I’m hoping the rain blows in fast and tapers off the rest of the afternoon, but it probably won’t.

Finally, good luck to LynLake Fitness tomorrow (Saturday) on their Grand Opening Open House.  If you’re in Minneapolis and have time, stop by LynLake Fitness just south of the corner of Lyndale and Lake Street.  I love working out there and would recommend it to anyone.

First win! 33 dollars! Off to a good start

Bourbon balls and a string duo in the terminal. Roses and silks everywhere. Definitely Derby time.

Tonight I discovered how my 20 year old diswasher works and burnt my hand at the same time.

Basic operation:  The dishwasher pumps in water to the bottom of the washer.  This “basin” at the bottom of the washer is probably a couple inches deep.  There is a heating element down there that I never really understood.  Turns out that heating element heats up the water stored down in the basin.  That heated water is then pumped up through nozzles to wash my dishes.  It’s not pumping in fresh water but rather the stored water in the basin.  Then when washing done the dirty water is pumped out and clean water is pumped in to rinse.  I suppose it’s very efficient to not pump in clean water continously, it just never occurred to me that it was that simple.

Oh and I burnt my hand when I accidently touched the HOT heating element when I couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t washing.  The problem was that the washer wasn’t pumping in water to the basin.  Apparently all I had to do was pour water in there from the tap and it reset itself or something.

All I know is that I don’t have to wash my dishes by hand tonight.

DISCLAIMER:  Rant ahead.  Additionally I fully admit that I watch too much television.

Recently Comcast informed me via message streaming across my TV broadcast that they would be switching their broadcasts from analog to digital.  In general it sounds like a solid plan.  However, much like the OTA switch that occured last year, this will require that I install a small converter box between the wall and my TVs.  Why is this such a problem?

1.  It adds another piece of hardware to my setup and another small remote.  Both of the TVs in my condo came installed with digital tuners.  What good are they?  The fact that TVs still come installed with tuners directly is seemingly beyond me.  The only people that would really need them are those that rely on OTA broadcasts, which I would imagine is a smaller population that it once was.  Another remote to my setup is not helpful.  I have too many remotes as it is.

2.  This little box is an always ON piece of hardware, meaning that if I want to turn it off I need to disconnect it from power.  I should probably do this anyway for my other entertainment devices.  I might need to rerun my power strip for easy access.

3.  I don’t use a DVR supplied by Comcast, but rather a Media Center PC that I’ve become quite fond of.  In fact I am typing this post using that very PC.  The problem here lies that I have two hybrid TV tuners installed in that machine.  One half of each tuner is an analog tuner and the other half a digital tuner.  My own electronic foresight should have seen the folly in buying these a year or so ago, but they were cheap and have worked brilliantly so far. I have four tuners because this allows me to record a number of programs at once and still watch TV.  Overkill probably, but also very slick.  If I have to use a cable box, I lose the ability to change the channel from the Media Center PC reliably and therefore my DVR loses some of it’s functionality. (There is a little device called an IR emitter/blaster that I can use, but it’s an incredibly “analog” solution.)

The reason I’ve got Comcast is for their cable internet.  DSL doesn’t interest me.  I’d be interested in FIOS, but it doesn’t seem that they’ve made it to my area yet.  I would consider Dish Network or DirectTV, but they’re no better, I’d have to have full on cable boxes for each TV or tuner.

After doing some research one solution is the Ceton, but it’s an expensive one at nearly $400.  Which if I remember correctly is more than I paid for the PC.

In my opinion I would like Comcast to stay the way it is right now.  It works fine for me and I have plenty of channels.  I also have a digital cable box that I no longer use.  OnDemand and Pay-per-view doesn’t really interest me unless it’s in HD and that costs more per month. 

Bottom line, what I would like is a reliable cable signal from the wall that doesn’t require special Comcast hardware. 

I was just told by a parent that in all of his conversations with other colleges he’s never encountered someone like me.

Loosely translated, “You’re a dick.”

If you use LinkedIn, do you ever add anyone using a category other than friend?

I hate cable boxes.  Why can’t Comcast just let me watch my TV without adding a bunch of external devices into the mix?  With every device comes a new remote.  It’s fucking annoying.  I know they think they’re doing me a favor by adding “Digital” picture and sound, but unless you’re going to add free HD, I’m not interested.  Digital just means more expensive.

Seems fishy, but also seems as if they’ve done their research.

nerdology:

Likely The New iPhone

I say likely because it hasn’t been confirmed yet but Gizmodo got their hands on (and tore apart) the above device which was found in a bar in California.  They have concluded that it is a product close to final production, though they could not get it actually working because it was ‘killed remotely.’

The new features found upon disassembly are:

Front-facing video chat camera

Improved regular back-camera (the lens is quite noticeably larger than the iPhone 3GS)

Camera flash

Improved display

Secondary mic for noise cancelation

The back is entirely flat, made of either glass (more likely) or ceramic or shiny plastic in order for the cell signal to poke through. Tapping on the back makes a more hollow and higher pitched sound compared to tapping on the glass on the front/screen, but that could just be the orientation of components inside making for a different sound

16% larger battery

3 grams heavier

The weird seams along the aluminum and the separated buttons don’t really jive with Apples design atheistic but this isn’t necessarily the final design of the case.  Gizmodo has a complete rundown of everything.  If you’re interested (and i know you are) you should hit them up for way more information. 

[Gizmodo]