2006 so far so good.....An update I'm going for TiVo

This picture was taken by Dan with a remote viewing set up sos that he didn't frighten his prey
So here's me in a nutshell. I've been playing the eBay game for a while. My prize was to be a TiVo. My entertainment strategy is to be as miserly as possible while still having pretty high quality viewing options. So I'm going to get the TiVo. When I finally one an auction the prize was not perfect but held the promise of good things. This unit has no remote (which I think I can replace easily) but it does have a 140 hour storage capability. This means that I can watch every moment of the winter Olympics. Which is a good thing. Also I want to mess around with all of the great media center options that are available. I am excited. I have also done the numbers and realized that the lifetime TiVo service contract is the way to go because it pays for itself in 24 months. $300 is an ouch but hopefully I will live to not regret it. I don't even have cable TV which is a little crazy but I think it might be fine. The unit should arrive late this week or early next. So in the mean time I have to procure a wireless router so that the TiVo can talk to the home base. Also I've got to get my hands on a remote. Total cost of this whole couch potato saga.

TiVo including shipping $125.00
Remote for TiVo Series 2 $ 34.99
Wireless adapter for TiVo Series 2 $ 29.99
Lifetime service contract $299.00

So we are looking at a TV content one time investment of $488.98

That is a lot of scratch. But then its over no mas. I don't currently watch a lot of TV at home. That is probably a good thing. But the way I look at this is that I'll have a media center I own the Olympics and when they start the hearings that will lead the punishment GWB then I'll own the gavel to gavel coverage. What a treat. Appointment TV is dead. Long live TiVo!

In other news My camera is dead. It will still take pictures but the LCD monitor is smashed so that aint good. I will put off getting a camera until I learn how to use this one sans monitor and truly understand the range of that wonderful camera's diminished abilities.

I am also saving for a new computer. A fast one. And I am also thinking of buying a stereo with a tube amp. And maybe a turntable. The last stereo I'll ever buy. I am always into buying the last piece of electronics I'll ever need. Like for example my iriver flash mp3 player. I records radio like TiVo so I'll never miss another This American Life and when a friend is jamming on the guitar and he's inspired I just press and button and space willing I own that jam. Also it has plenty of room for a roadtrips worth of entertainment. So the iriver is hopefully the last walkman I'll ever need to buy. Now onto home media center. Stereo. Car House and so on. Consumerism rules. But not the part where you have to buy durable goods more than once.

Let's talk about the weather. It sprinkle a little sprinkle on my face last night under the full moon. It was nice. But then somebody poo poos the coolness because we'd only had no rain for like 89 days and we needed 106 days to make a new record. Boo fucking hoo.

Now onto what I've really been up to time wise. When not working that is.

Battlefield 2. It is far and away the best game I've ever played. Not just videogame. Any kind of game. It requires you to think tactically wich is the real pull. To get a good score in this game you have to be extremely aggressive. But in a nuanced sort of way. Always watching your flanks for danger, the element of drama pervades the battlespace. But the key is coordination with other real players in 32 vs 32 battles that are taking place right now en masse on the internet. The ultimate high of this game is to be cruising in a pack with your fellow gamers bent on destruction and through your cooperation you move through the maps like a storm that is ferocious and awesome.

My stats can be seen by clicking here.

As you might see there is no dearth of information there. Each hour I've played of that game has = fun.


One last little thing I'd like to point out a little used feature of this blog. It has a personalized google news page called sitrep that is chalk full of interesting tidbits about the goings on in Warziristan where certain terrorist leaders are thought to be hiding out. Just thought you might care to give it a gander. More importantly I'm very open to new sources of info that my readers might be aware of. Feel free to leave one in a comment.