marcelk.org

Bring up the home page for this shopping retailer:

http://producten.hema.nl/

Yes, it is in Dutch, but just look at the web page for 10 seconds (after it finishes loading, you don’t need to scroll) and determine what you can see…

I had been listening to the podcasts that had only “the call of the week” highlight, but now the entire hour-long episode is online for free from NPR. Woohoo! Not only can you learn about car repair, but you can laugh out loud while you do it. This is one of my favorite shows on radio. Thank you, NPR. No more having to schedule my Saturday around the scheduled airtime. I’ll have to increase my contribution to my local public radio station.

I found what I’d like for a Father’s Day present. If that is a little too pricey, I also have second and third choices. Mmmmmmm.

I am selective about what technologies I use, because I recognize that everything has a cost. Everything. Some things are worth the cost to me, some things aren’t.

One of those things that aren’t worth the cost is cable tv. Part of it is that I am involved in enough things that I don’t have the time to watch much tv, but it boggles my mind why anyone would pay $60/month (a.k.a. $720/year) for the purpose of watching tv shows that are still full of commercials. With all the chatter about free Wifi spots has everyone forgot about a mature technology that allows for free tv reception? It’s called an “antenna”. Hook up an antenna to your tv and you can receive sometimes a dozen channels at no monthly cost, ever, with no contract, for an unlimited number of tv sets in your household. It doesn’t always need to be on a 30-foot-high pole in your yard, a regular pair of rabbit ears in your living room may suffice. Yeah, I don’t get the Discovery channel or HGTV, but if I did it would probably introduce sufficient strife in my household anyway. Outside of that, generally it seems that even with 100 channels, there still isn’t anything worth watching.

Here are some sites that a friend gave me that you may find helpful:

• Consumer Electronics Association AntennaWeb: shows the distance and orientation between the broadcasters and your residence (this is cool)
• Plain Money: answers some basic questions about antennas
• HDTV Info Port: more answers to basic questions

That said, one of the things that is worth the cost is my Tivo. For the few things I do watch on tv, I never watch live so everything is time shifted. Not having to deal with a stack of tapes is wonderful. I’m on the $12/month plan with Tivo. (I’m not a fan of subscription services, but I understand that is how the hardware cost is amortized since I paid only $100 for the device.)

So while talking with a friend recently about my Tivo, they were aghast to learn that my Tivo was hooked up to an antenna instead of cable or satellite tv. “Is that even possible?” they asked. “Sure it is,” I replied. “Works great.” I have full functionality with my Tivo hooked up to an antenna and a broadband connection. The Tivo box has a coax connector on the back that actually is labelled “Antenna”, and it has a tuner inside. You don’t need satellite or cable tv for Tivo. Just connect it and go.

A relative recommended Little Manhattan to me. The title and the jacket were unimpressive, so I didn’t expect much. But when the closing credits rolled, I had a much different opinion. The idea of watching an 11-year old boy have his first crush may not sound appealing at first, but the dialogue and acting hit it spot on for an adult audience. It is funny and heartwarming without being stupid or sappy or too predictable. The part of the young boy, including the frequent narration, had great comedy acting while still being believable. I wanted my daughter to watch it so she could understand the anguish that young males go through as they have those feelings for the opposite gender, even through they leave a wake of destruction as they try to figure it out.

I definitely recommend this one.

Let me first explain a bit. I am not your average entertainment consumer. I don’t watch R rated movies period. I’m selective about the PG13 movies I watch. I don’t want to pay money to be subjected to profanity, sexually explicit content, gore, etc. I like characters and a story line. I would rather rent a DVD for $4.50 than go to the movies for $20 not including popcorn. All the media I have at home is legally purchased, even though an increasing amount of the music is from iTunes. I don’t care what is popular, I like what I like. And yes, I’m a male and my favorite genre is romantic comedy.

Bottom line, this isn’t going to be the same comments you are likely to see somewhere else. But I suspect I’m not alone.