Or not TV

A few weeks ago my supermodel wife and I said goodbye to a long family friend. Craig had been a member of our household for as long as we’ve had a household.

Through five major relocations, major life decisions, career changes, new family members (and lost family members) and all of the major national events over the past 13 years, Craig was with us.

Craig is the off-brand name of the generic 19-inch television set I bought for $180 bucks through the Alco employee discount layaway program when I was in college.

We knew Craig’s time must be coming. I mean, I didn’t expect the off-brand import to last more than 5 years. Balls to Korean electrical engineers, I guess.

But alas, a couple of weeks ago a click from the ‘on’ button of the remote was met with a snap, crackle, pop and no picture.

It was a sad moment, but life goes on. It gave us the opportunity to do something we rarely do: drop a ton of money on an impulse buy.

After a quick consultation where we decided that if our TV is going to last for 15 years, let’s get some really kick-ass technology, we hit a sale at Nebraska Furniture Mart. We dropped $1400 on a 42-inch widescreen Samsung rear-projection LCD DLP high-definition television.

It took a couple of days to get the upgraded HD cable box from Time Warner. But when we did, holy crap the picture is good. I was never a huge hockey fan, but I watching hockey in HD is an incredible experience. You can literally see the details as if you’re there, but with a great zoom lens and amazing camera angles.

Baseball is the same (except when the Royals are playing). It’s a whole new level of engagement.

Movies look amazing. I can see why theaters like AMC are losing money. Batman Begins was airing on HBOHD (the HD is for High Definition—duh!) and the picture is incredible.

In fact, pretty much everything looks better and more dynamic, the news, talk shows like Letterman, movies and especially sports. Everything that is, except World Cup Soccer.

That’s still incredibly boring.

tagged: TV, television, HD, high definition, movies, theater, World Cup, soccer, Samsung

Not my cup of tea

I saw this report on ABC last night, so I automatically question it's veracity.

But since it contained information that was favorable to me, I give it the benefit of the doubt.

The report basically helps enable my drug habit by touting the potential benefits of the chemical compounds found in coffee (both decaff and the regular kind).

From the story:

"Mounting evidence suggests all those lattes and cappuccinos might not only improve your mood, they might also improve your health. Daily cups of coffee have been linked to a reduced risk of Parkinson's disease, liver cancer, gallstones, and type 2 diabetes."

Furthermore, the same studies show that the more coffee you drink, the more health benefits you get.

With that in mind, I've decided to take on a mid-year's resolution to quadruple my coffee intake. So for my daily lunch break, I'm now going to have four double espressos from Starbucks instead of just the one.

The beauty of this is that because I'm doing this for my health, I can use my healthcare reimbursement account to pay for the daily doses.

Just d-d-d-don't be surp-p-prised is I st-t-tart acting a lit-t-t-tle jit-t-t-tery.

tagged: coffee, caffeine, Starbucks, venti, drug, cappuccino, espresso, health, diabetes

YouTube Tuesday: The More You Know

In today's edition of YouTube Tuesday, we present a public service message.

The City of Omaha is only a few hours north of us, but what do we really know about it? They've got a nice zoo. You can buy a prepackaged steak.

Well, in the interest of getting to know our neighbors to the north, we humbly present this geography report courtesy of Steven Colbert (when he was still on The Daily Show).

Enjoy.




tagged: movie, YouTube, video, TV, Steven Colbert, The Daily Show, Omaha, Nebraska, humor, steaks

Damn insufferable pricks!

I often link to blogger extraordinaire Dan at Gone Mild because often makes me think. We disagree on many topics and issues, but he's a helluva good guy and a great blogger, too.

And, he would probably be surprised to see me agree with him on a recent post.

Last week Dan railed against Congressmen giving themselves a raise (or, more accurately, not foregoing their yearly automatic pay raise), while failing to issue an increase in the national minimum wage.

Congress denied a raise to the poorest workers in our country only a week after handing themselves a nice $3,300 raise.

While I don't quite agree that the government should be in the business of giving raises to workers in the private sector, I sure as hell don't agree that Congress should be giving itself anything more than a kick in the pants.

Dan seems to think this wouldn't have happened with a Liberal majority in power. Frankly, I'm surprised there are still so many people who think there is much of a difference between the two parties. Believe me the Republicrats are just two sides of the same animal.

Which is why I opted to become an early, charter member of the Insufferable Pricks Party. Essentially, we're pissed about having a government that serves the interest of government and not the governed.

Now, we can all disagree on what the "interest of the governed" is, but it's difficult to deny the culture of entitlement that has taken root in the beltway. And again, they're all in on it. From gerrymandering to fund raising to pork barreling, there's not one congress person who is above the fray.

You could argue that the Rebublicans have been better at it over the past 8 years. But that's just admitting that the whole game sucks.

So join us in our unofficial third party. Elect an Insufferable Prick in '08.
Here's a brief outline of the platform so far (h/t to Six Meat Buffet)

Platform Positions

(Feel free to help us develop our platform)

Gay Rights
What makes you think we care where you stuff your man-yams? With the $700 million we won’t earmark to move railroad tracks, you will be able to buy a locking door. Go nuts.

Climate Change
There is nothing more sanctimonious or arrogant than a polar ice cap. We say bring back aerosol spray cans and freon so we can show the planet who’s boss.

Education Reform
Teachers must be capable of passing the same exams as the students.
We'll leave behind "No Child Left Behind".
Vouchers aplenty… and they can be used to escape inner-city hellholes.

Gitmo
A length of rope with every Koran and prayer rug.

Gun Control
Don’t make me shoot you.

Death Penalty
Chair, needle or noose - pick one. (Firing squads are very appealing, and cheap.)

Energy Policy
Enough windmills in Kennebunkport to make the Dutch blush.
Enough oil wells in ANWR to make the caribou mush.
More people died at Chappaquidick than Three Mile Island

War in Iraq
The Insufferable Pricks vow to end this PC war. Our goal is to fight a real war. Get the troops out of Iraq and Afganistan. Invade Iran.

First Amendment Rights
This right must never be impinged upon, even in cases of flag desecration or "protesting" military funerals. In fact, we will extend the First Amendment to include administering a "beat down" on funeral protesters as a legitimate expression of free speech as well.

Chickweed
Definitely against.

tagged: Iran, humor, politics, Republican, Democrat, Repbulicrats, minimum wage

KGB Carnival for June 12

The bloggers are restless... Here's the KGB blog round up for the past week:

• LadyGunn considers a major life decision with Hair, Hair Everywhere.
  
  
• John B. celebrated Bloomsday with A stretch of river XII: Cottonwoods in bloom(sday) at Blog Meridian.
  
  
• Kevin Surbaugh presents Springtime in Kansas at Becoming and Staying Debt Free.
  
  
• Dan wages war on Minimum Wage Hypocrisy at Gone Mild.
  
  
• Josh reports on the Candidate forum in Iola at Thoughts from Kansas.
  
  
• J.D., much link HAL, has some advice for Dave at Evolution (Just what do you think you're doing, Dave?)
  
  
• Pat Hayes fires a few shots at Kay O'Connor at Red State Rabble.
  
  
• Tim is back at blogging after a month-long hiatus at Burger's Business, Investing and Politics.
  
  
• Mellisa reflects on her first year of motherhood at Space and Time.
  
  
• Phil Dillon at Another Man's Meat calls out the Emporia city council for being laughable, but not funny.
  

And the honorary Kansas Guild of Bloggers entry for this week is:

• Next week's host of the KGB Carnival, Joel Matthis at Cup O' Joel, who is taking a YouTube sabbatical after overdosing on Hasselhoff (I told you to be careful with that stuff, Joel).

As usual, a great group of posts from a great group of people. I think it really showcases the diversity of our little blogmunity (okay, I'm just trying that word on for size. Maybe it doesn't quite fit). Thanks to everyone who participated.

As I mentioned, Joel Matthis at Cup O' Joel is hosting next week's KGB Carnival, so make sure to submit your favorite blog post early and often. You can use the submit link, or email Joel or myself.

The due date is Sunday at 3 p.m., but extra credit will be given to those who submit before Thursday.

Spread the word

Again, if you haven't done so yet, add your pin to the KGB Frappr map. Oh, and you can also add the KGB Blogroll to you blog by copying the code (posted here) and pasting it to your template. Help get the word out!

Thanks for reading. Have a great week!.

tagged: Kansas, blog, blogger, carnival, KGB

This just in...

Okay, I've got some breaking news about the Kansas Guild of Bloggers, but first, a quick reminder.

Don't forget to submit your favorite post(s) from this week for Monday's weekly KGB Carnival. Check back here on Monday to see with the KGB operatives are saying. The best part is that you don't need a Little Orphan Annie secret decoder ring, just a good Internet browser.

Remember, try to get your submission in by 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Okay, now the big announcements.

1) Joel from Cup O' Joel has graciously volunteered (heh, sucker!) to host the KGB Carnival on July 3. Yeah! Let's hear it for Joel. I know everyone will be eager to submit posts and help Joel have a great carnival. I'll have more details Monday.

B) Lyn Perry, the original director of the KGB, has graciously made the java script available for the KGB Blogroll. Just copy this code:

<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript"
src="http://rpc.blogrolling.com/display.php?r=f3e19607a77e31c568a00937de564448" > </script >

and paste it into your blog template. We'll all start linking to each other and increasing our blog rankings. It'll be like a big creepy cult.

Give me a holler or post a comment if you have any questions. Get your KGB submissions in, and check back Monday for the roundup.

Until then, ciao!

tagged: Kansas, blog, blogger, carnival, KGB

Sole survivor

My feet are freakin' killing me.

A few months ago (has it already been 10 months?) I bought a nice pair of black Kenneth Coles to wear at work. I needed them to replace my black Sketchers, which I really liked.

Anyway, when I tried on the KCs at the shoe store, they felt pretty good. So I took them with me on a business trip to San Francisco. After wearing them around the city for a day, I ended up with two huge blisters on my heels, but I just chalked it up to the shoes being new and needing time to "break them in."

So I kept the Sketchers in the rotation, easing into the KCs eventually. Now they're my only black work shoes. But the thing is, even though they're broken in, they are still killing my heels. And it's not that I'm getting blisters. The actual bone and tendons of my heels are aching every day.

So I have to ask myself, why do I continue to wear cruel shoes (as Steve Martin would call them). Probably because I'm too cheap to go buy new shoes before my current ones are worn out.

But it does prove an age-old point: Time wounds all heels.

tagged: shoes, Sketchers, Kenneth Cole, heel, humor, cheap

Mission Destruction

I snapped this photo the other day at the corner of Nall Ave and Johnson Drive while picking up my dry cleaning.

According to my highly reliable inside source, Dave the Barber, the work is part of the Rock Creek Floodplain Improvement Project. Dave says all the buildings along the south side of Johnson Drive for several blocks will be removed (you might have noticed a lot of empty buildings if you drive by there).

The long-term plan is to replace the "creek" with culverts, a new bridge on Nall, Rock Creek channel improvements (including a linear park) an outdoor amphitheatre and new retail buildings.

It should be a great improvement to complement work being done as part of the East Gateway project, not to mention the environmental and quality of life benefits of having more green space

tagged: Mission, Kansas, redevelopment, Nall, Johnson, Rock Creek, environmentalist

Fair game

Blogger extraordinaire Dan at Gone Mild published a biting criticism of efforts to do away with the death tax.

In it, he gave an explanation about the inevitability of taxation. I'm here to agree with him, but I'll put a little more bluntly.

Taxes suck.

Yes, we all (well, okay, not all, actually an increasingly small number of us) have to pony up for the privilege of living in the best country on the planet.

It falls upon us to finance smooth roads (in Kansas that is, not Missouri), sewer systems and drinking water as well as the bloated, inefficient government and cable TV and telephones for the poor.

I get it. Taxes are a fact of life. And, as I said, I agree with Dan. They suck.

Where I disagree with Dan is this notion that our current system of taxation is fair. I've thought about it, and I can't really think of a way to make a fair tax system unless we institute some kind of voluntary mass user fee system.

But as Dan would say, even thinking about something so radical is for the simple minded. And, in fact, I've come to grips with taxation not being fair. After all, life isn't fair. Never has been never will be, so you'd better just get used to it.

Regarding the death tax specifically, Dan says

"I don't think that the joy of inheritance suffers unduly when the amount over $4,000,000 is subjected to a tax burden. My heart does not bleed for the rich kids who get only $4,000,000."

Very nice to be so cavalier with other peoples' money. We might not like was "rich" people do with their money, but it's still their money. Whatever happened to property rights?

I guess what vexes me most about the whole discussion is the self deception and sense of entitlement. We all know that it's not fair for the government to take from someone the result of their life's work and give it to someone else. We all know that it's not fair for me to get paid for 56 hours of work even though I worked 80 hours.

Why not a little honesty? Why not just say "Yeah, we know it's not fair, but you have money and other people need it, so we're going to take it from you and spend it on something else. Sorry mate."

tagged: death, tax, inheritance, fair, property rights

YouTube Tuesday: Mr. & Mrs. Brady

I've been getting a lot of hits from Belgium on the Robot Chicken video of Palpatine learning about the destruction of Death Star (my link to the clip got posted on a Belgian message board).

So, in an effort to further pander to the Belgians, I'm adding this clip, again from the comic geniuses at Robot Chicken. This time, they're brutally satirizing the entertainment industry (ironic, no?) by mashing up the Brady Bunch with the BrAngelina non-hit Mr. and Mrs Smith.

The results? Better than both originals.



tagged: movie, YouTube, video, TV, Brady Bunch, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Brangelina, humor, culture, Belgium, Robot Chicken