A couple of months ago I dropped our Showtime/HBO subscription via DirecTV. We found that we weren't watching anything on those channels or that what we were watching we actually were DVRing and watching weeks/months later (Dexter comes to mind).
I also found we were getting a lot of movies, some old, via Hollywood Video and later Redbox. (The Hollywood Video that was near us is long gone now)
So, I got us the 1-DVD at a time NetFlix subscription. This also includes free unlimited streaming via our Wii.
We've ended up using this more than I would have expected and not in really 'bad' ways. First, the streaming to the Wii is great. Lots of kids stuff, but also older movies and TV shows that we wouldn't explicitly go looking for in a video store. (Anyone remember Heavy Metal the movie? It is on there. And it isn't nearly as good as I remember from college ;-)
The streaming can also be a to PC, so we have it setup in the 'gym' so you can watch something on the PC while working out. (Technically it is my office, but that is where the elliptical machine is) This is where streaming TV episodes is really useful 24 minutes per episode is a good workout!
We now have a 'system' for using the 1 DVD at a time.
- Saturday or Sunday night we either watch a PG movie or PG-13+ for Deb and I (closest thing we get to a date night these days ...)
- Monday drop the disk into the mail, put a PG or G movie into the top of our queue for the little guy (or something the Courtney wants to see)
- Wednesday it arrives. He watches it Wednesday or Thursday morning
- Drop it into the mail on Thursday and push something Deb and I want to watch to the top of the queue
- Get a new DVD on Saturday and repeat.
Only snag is when Courtney (12) wants to see something that isn't for the little guy. Then he misses out that week, or we get it for the weekend and I miss out.
We still have a 20+ DVD queue of things that I want to see, so this should work for a many more months. At $9/month vs. 40+ we were spending on HBO and DVD rentals it is actually a pretty good deal.
Showing posts with label random thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label random thoughts. Show all posts
Friday, June 25, 2010
Friday, August 21, 2009
Are you jealous of your kid?
Style.com has an interesting article asking if you are jealous of your child. At first I’m sure you’re thinking ‘no, stupid question’. But if you’re like me a second or two later you think ‘yeah, maybe’ (and not just about the amount of time they spend with your better half).
Part of it is being a Dad (or Mom) where you’re shouldering all the responsibilities. Your children aren’t thinking about college, mortgage payments, the economy, how Grandma and Grandpa are doing in this economy or their health. The kids are thinking about video games, TV and what they are going to get for their birthdays.
Then you read the article and realize that they are talking about the ‘my kid is better than me’ or ‘my kid is better than I was at that age’. I’m not sure I agree with that with my kids. They are different, have different skills, interests and weaknesses. Yes they get to do things that we didn't, but there are also things we did and experienced that they probably won't.
Plus I’m over 40 now so hindsight always makes you be better than you really were right?
I first read the article last Wednesday. I thought about it a little bit on the way home, but started thinking of it a lot when I got home and started helping with homework. Then I realized that while I am jealous of some of the things they have and are able to do, I have no intention of going through the ‘growing up’ again.
Meghan is now a freshman in high school. I remember that age. And I hated it. I pretty much hated everything about High School until I met Deb. Then things became tolerable. While I like to ask questions about the school and the kids and what they are doing, I really don’t want to do it again. However, I remember how important it is to have someone to talk to so I ask lots of questions. Being a young lady she has different problems than I did at that age, but Deb shares a lot of the same dislike for that age.
Courtney and Christopher each have their own challenges now. Less so for the little guy, but I know that they are coming.
One advantage of having children though, is I can enjoy some of the things they are taking for granted by doing it with them. I probably wouldn’t admit it to Courtney, but I like the ‘dug out dude’ thing. First because I get to do something with her, but secondly because I get to be part of a sports team again. I ‘dragged’ Meghan to see the latest Harry Potter movie because I wanted to see it.
Having a toddler means you don’t have to grow up right? So showing your food, making farting noises with your armpit, throwing dinner rolls at the kids are all fair game right? So for a few minutes I get to be silly and not worry about everything.
So, yes I am somewhat jealous of my kids. But I also understand that while I’d like some of the things they have or get to do, I don’t want to go through what they are going to do again. I'll help and support them as they do it, but no way would I do it again.
Part of it is being a Dad (or Mom) where you’re shouldering all the responsibilities. Your children aren’t thinking about college, mortgage payments, the economy, how Grandma and Grandpa are doing in this economy or their health. The kids are thinking about video games, TV and what they are going to get for their birthdays.
Then you read the article and realize that they are talking about the ‘my kid is better than me’ or ‘my kid is better than I was at that age’. I’m not sure I agree with that with my kids. They are different, have different skills, interests and weaknesses. Yes they get to do things that we didn't, but there are also things we did and experienced that they probably won't.
Plus I’m over 40 now so hindsight always makes you be better than you really were right?
I first read the article last Wednesday. I thought about it a little bit on the way home, but started thinking of it a lot when I got home and started helping with homework. Then I realized that while I am jealous of some of the things they have and are able to do, I have no intention of going through the ‘growing up’ again.
Meghan is now a freshman in high school. I remember that age. And I hated it. I pretty much hated everything about High School until I met Deb. Then things became tolerable. While I like to ask questions about the school and the kids and what they are doing, I really don’t want to do it again. However, I remember how important it is to have someone to talk to so I ask lots of questions. Being a young lady she has different problems than I did at that age, but Deb shares a lot of the same dislike for that age.
Courtney and Christopher each have their own challenges now. Less so for the little guy, but I know that they are coming.
One advantage of having children though, is I can enjoy some of the things they are taking for granted by doing it with them. I probably wouldn’t admit it to Courtney, but I like the ‘dug out dude’ thing. First because I get to do something with her, but secondly because I get to be part of a sports team again. I ‘dragged’ Meghan to see the latest Harry Potter movie because I wanted to see it.
Having a toddler means you don’t have to grow up right? So showing your food, making farting noises with your armpit, throwing dinner rolls at the kids are all fair game right? So for a few minutes I get to be silly and not worry about everything.
So, yes I am somewhat jealous of my kids. But I also understand that while I’d like some of the things they have or get to do, I don’t want to go through what they are going to do again. I'll help and support them as they do it, but no way would I do it again.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
More reasons not to leave your computer or phone logged in and unattended
If you've been around Facebook or Twitter for even a little amount of time you've seen people with very strange status updates. Some silly, some really off color. Ever wondered what happened? More likely than not, the owner of that account left their cell phone or computer logged into those applications and not secured.
So some wise-ass friend decided to point this out by updating their status. Sometimes they are funny, but I don't know about you, but I think every one has that one friend who takes it too far. So, it isn't surprising to see that a meme is quickly building around this, call the Pants Status Meme.
The general idea is when you find an open account, don't be a jerk, but do try to be funny and preface it with 'pants meme' so people know it wasn't the owner posting. Some ideas:
Pants Status: <>
- plaid
- wrinkled
- on the floor
- not wearing any
- gone clamming (for those who don't know this one, think highwaters ;-)
To see what others are doing see this.
Also, remember if it happens to you just go to your profile or home page and delete the offending statements. Don't try to apologize.
So some wise-ass friend decided to point this out by updating their status. Sometimes they are funny, but I don't know about you, but I think every one has that one friend who takes it too far. So, it isn't surprising to see that a meme is quickly building around this, call the Pants Status Meme.
The general idea is when you find an open account, don't be a jerk, but do try to be funny and preface it with 'pants meme' so people know it wasn't the owner posting. Some ideas:
Pants Status: <>
- plaid
- wrinkled
- on the floor
- not wearing any
- gone clamming (for those who don't know this one, think highwaters ;-)
To see what others are doing see this.
Also, remember if it happens to you just go to your profile or home page and delete the offending statements. Don't try to apologize.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Yeah, when I was I kid we had to go on the roof to move the antenna to watch TV!
With all the talk about over the air digital TV I had some strange memories of watching TV via an antenna as a kid today.
First, I remember my dad going to radio shack to buy one of these on the roof antennas. But not just any antenna, one that had a motor on it. I don't remember exactly why we did this, but I suspect it was because we needed to watch the Giants.
Next I had to help my dad put it on the roof, attached to the fireplace. And not fall off.
Then run the cable, probably 1" wide, down the side of the house, in the window and to the TV. For those who remember my parent's house this is why we had those metal spikes in the side of the house until they got cable ;-)
We also had to run a ground wire. I remember Patrick joking about the ground wire for some reason, pretending to be electrocuted.
Anyway, this thing was the balls for the 1970s. When you turned on the TV, you could move the dial that went 359 degrees around and it would move the antenna the same degrees. So you'd start with the TV on the football game you wanted to watch, then turn the knob until the picture got good then turn it back when it went bad. I remember fighting over which position was 'best' for a particular channel.
In those days we had maybe 8 channels? NBC, CBS, ABC out of New York, CBS out of Hartford, Fox 5 (the original!) out of New York, PBS out of New York and Channels 9 and 11 (Mets and Yankees respectively). None of this 600 channels with nothing on. We had 8 channels with nothing on!
Anyway, as more people are trying to get HDTV over the airwaves I have to wonder if these antennas are coming back.
yeah, that was pretty random.
First, I remember my dad going to radio shack to buy one of these on the roof antennas. But not just any antenna, one that had a motor on it. I don't remember exactly why we did this, but I suspect it was because we needed to watch the Giants.
Next I had to help my dad put it on the roof, attached to the fireplace. And not fall off.
Then run the cable, probably 1" wide, down the side of the house, in the window and to the TV. For those who remember my parent's house this is why we had those metal spikes in the side of the house until they got cable ;-)
We also had to run a ground wire. I remember Patrick joking about the ground wire for some reason, pretending to be electrocuted.
Anyway, this thing was the balls for the 1970s. When you turned on the TV, you could move the dial that went 359 degrees around and it would move the antenna the same degrees. So you'd start with the TV on the football game you wanted to watch, then turn the knob until the picture got good then turn it back when it went bad. I remember fighting over which position was 'best' for a particular channel.
In those days we had maybe 8 channels? NBC, CBS, ABC out of New York, CBS out of Hartford, Fox 5 (the original!) out of New York, PBS out of New York and Channels 9 and 11 (Mets and Yankees respectively). None of this 600 channels with nothing on. We had 8 channels with nothing on!
Anyway, as more people are trying to get HDTV over the airwaves I have to wonder if these antennas are coming back.
yeah, that was pretty random.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Interesting view on Goth/Anime culture and general response
Yesterday during lunch I walked up to Subway from my office (mainly to get out and stop cursing Oracle.) While walking there, I couple of young people (late teens, early twenties maybe) were walking in front of, in Goth outfits and a couple of strange policeman like outfits. They actually looked like stormtroopers, but in Blue and Pink.
I walked behind them up the hill, for maybe 5 minutes. No big deal.
On the way back though I got behind a different group, with different, but equally unique outfits. Turns out there was an Anime conference at the Cobb Galleria by my office. I was probably 10 feet behind them and we were walking into traffic. So I was able to see everything the people in their cars were doing as these dressed up people went by.
Everything from smirks, head turns to a couple of ladies that look shocked at what they were wearing. (Nothing really risque, but you have to look a a woman in a bright pink and purple 'gone with the wind' gown.)
Nothing really interesting happened but it made me think that while I didn't care what they were wearing, the most of the people in the cars were around my age acting like they were 5.
I know, kind of random ;-)
I walked behind them up the hill, for maybe 5 minutes. No big deal.
On the way back though I got behind a different group, with different, but equally unique outfits. Turns out there was an Anime conference at the Cobb Galleria by my office. I was probably 10 feet behind them and we were walking into traffic. So I was able to see everything the people in their cars were doing as these dressed up people went by.
Everything from smirks, head turns to a couple of ladies that look shocked at what they were wearing. (Nothing really risque, but you have to look a a woman in a bright pink and purple 'gone with the wind' gown.)
Nothing really interesting happened but it made me think that while I didn't care what they were wearing, the most of the people in the cars were around my age acting like they were 5.
I know, kind of random ;-)
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