Free 500mb data with FreedomPop

I've been on the T-Mobile no-contract prepaid plan for eight years now. $100 for 1000 minutes/year just cannot be beat. I purchased the original $100, then just topped off $50 every year after. The unused minutes rollover and never expires as long as I top up before the year is up. With the availability of a land line and wi-fi all day at my desk, I only average about 40 minutes a month, using it mainly on the road and on weekends. I'm sure I've saved into the thousands compared to a monthly plan.

Two things I miss most about my prepaid plan are:

1. Cannot buy $199 iPhone 5. I have to either buy a $649 unlocked version, or buy a used iPhone 4/4S for around $200
2. No data plan. Hotspots are available at many places like McDonalds, Starbucks, library, City of Milpitas, JCPenney, but not when I need it: in my car, at the park, in a restaurant, etc. 

To address the first problem, I have reliable germ-free friends that always sell me their used iPhones when they upgrade. They always want the best, and I'll gladly settle for second best. Thanks to them, I've owned every previous generation of the iPhone.

To address problem number two, I ordered the FreedomPop Photon Hotspot.

For the last two weeks, I've been using the Photon for my daily commute and weekends. It supports up to eight devices on it—enough for both our iPhones, iPad and Macbook. And being in San Jose, the speeds are incredibly fast on Clearwire's 4G Wimax. So far, I've been quite pleased. I reply to email quicker, text message, and use maps for traffic and navigation.

Note: In other places, like along I-880 traveling through Hayward, speeds will drop 50-75%. Also, each speed test eats up 10mb of data, so use sparingly.

500mb for FREE!

With the purchase of the Photon hotspot, you get 500mb for free every month. No strings. The cost of the Photon is $99 + $6.99 shipping and takes two weeks to arrive. They call the $99 a "deposit" because you can return it within a year and get your money back (you pay shipping). What they are hoping is that you will enjoy the service so much, you will just keep the Photon, forfeiting your deposit after a year.

The free 500mb should last about a month if you do moderate levels of email, Facebook and photo uploads. 500mb averages to about 16mb/day. Below is my usage on Friday sitting in a doctor's waiting room, and Saturday at a restaurant. 1mb for checking email, 2-6mb for Facebook updates and light surfing, and 17mb for taking pictures which I set to automatically upload to my photo stream. As demonstrated, it is about 16mb per day, and good enough for me.

If you go over your 500mb, you will be charged 2¢ per mb. Fortunately upon sign up, you are given an extra 1gb to cover any overages. This is a nice perk to relieve any anxiety you might have incurring any surprise charges. If you avoid Netflix, YouTube and other streaming sites, 500mb should be enough.

Earn More Data

You can also pay $10 for 1gb/month, or complete offers to earn additional data. But the easiest way is to just link your friends. If you sign up and find me in your address book, we both get an extra 50mb/month. Additionally, you'll get another 50mb for every friend you connect with, up to 1gb. Unlike Facebook, on FreedomPop there ain't no shame being a friend collector. This is how they try to lock you up after a year. Let's say, upon the 12th month, you have 10 friend getting you an extra 500mb/month free. You won't want to cancel the plan just to get your $99 back. It's better to just stay on for free.

So hurry up and get your FreedomPop Photon, because I just can't wait to be your friend! Yep, you and I can be buddies in the 50/50 club! Please consider it. I even penned a poem to encourage you:

All through the city I walk it alone

searching for wi-fi I can't call my own.

Discovering the Photon is such a cool treat

Too bad for me it's not all-you-can-eat.

 Now searching again for friends to connect

to build up my data, that's all I expect.

 We link up online, rewarded with fifty

Can life be this good, while being so thrifty?

Checking in everywhere, and replying to mail
Post pics from a meal, before it gets stale.
 Maps for directions, news of weather and crime
How'd we live without data for such a long time?

You long for the day to thank me face to face

But now with my hotspot, I'm never in one place.

You think of me often, but please don't lose sight

'Cause I only needed you for fifty megabytes.

-WFP

External links/reviews:

http://www.freedompop.com/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2013/02/23/freedompop-hands-on-and-unplugged-at-home/

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2410839,00.asp

http://www.biblemoneymatters.com/freedompop-review-free-4g-wireless-internet-access-can-help-you-save-on-your-cell-phone-bill/

He shoots. He scores! 11/11/11

If you're a numbers person set on having a baby with a 11-11-11 birth date, today is the day to get started. (Or, you know, this weekend. These things aren't timed too specifically.)

Personally I know of a couple that have 01-01-11 as their special number. So I KNOW they'll be rethinking their weekend plans. Hopefully she'll call me tomorrow to cancel the piano lesson :)

LINK

How To Use Multiple iTunes Libraries on a Single Computer

From Simon Blog

Chances are that you need to share your computer with other family members. Apparently you do not want to share your own iTunes library with others. You want to keep your own library and create a new one for other users.

There is a hidden feature that you may not know. iTunes does allow you to create separate library for individual user. Just hold down the Option key (for Mac user) / Alt key (for Windows user) each time you launch iTunes. You’ll then be prompted with options to create a new iTunes library or choose an existing iTunes library.

Let’s say you’re now sharing the computer with your mum and dad. Simply select the “Create Library…” option and create a new library for your mum. Do the same procedures again to create the library for your dad as well.

Later when your dad needs to use iTunes, tell him to hold down the option key (for Mac) or Alt key (for Windows) when launching iTunes. Then select the “Choose Library…” option and select his own iTunes library folder.



By using this technique, each of you can keep music, movies or apps in a separate iTunes library. You can have a complete control of your own library. You can add/delete music or sync your iPhone without affecting other’s iTunes library.

But please note that this method only works on iTunes 9.2 or up. It’s time to upgrade if you’re still using older version.

Watch movies and sports online for free

Lately I've been watching Veetle.com for the latest movies. It's a great place to find still-in-theater first run movies (Expendables, Salt, Machete), as well as older classic high school and horror flicks. The newest movies will tend to be handicammed "theater quality" but as the weeks go by, it will be replaced by a newer, cleaner HD version.

The movies are constantly running and chances are you'll miss the beginning. But after a few tries, you can catch all the parts and reassemble the movie in your head like a Tarantino film. Yeah, it's not the ideal viewing situation, but it's kind of fun when you stumble across a great film you haven't seen in ages. A few weeks ago they were showing the three Sinbad movies back-to-back-to-back. And last night I was switching back and forth between Lord of the Rings and the latest Freddie Kruger movie.

And for those of us in the Bay Area that will never be able to (or want to) see another Raider home game again, you can find it on veetle too (although I prefer atdhe.net for sports). You can also catch the latest pay-per-view fights and overseas soccer games. So be sure to catch the Raiders in the closing seconds snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in the comforts of your own home where you can cry in private.

Yesterday, San Diego ran an article about the blacked out NFL games on atdhe.net as well as a few other sites I haven't tried (channelsurfing.net, justin.tv, my2p2.eu):
Web users finding ways to evade NFL blackouts
I guess the Chargers are reaching the same woeful status as the Raiders.

Navigating around on Veetle will take some patience. The channels don't necessarily tell you what's on, so you'll need to click around. Also, you'll need to install a plugin for HD quality streams. And if you have lowband DSL like me, make sure no one else is surfing on your network or else your movie will be choppy. Veetle is also viewable on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, but not all the channels are optimized for it. Still fun though. Enjoy.

Watch movies and sports online

I recently discovered a new website for streaming sports, tv shows and movies. It's called ATDHE.NET (don't ask how to pronounce it or what it means).

As you know, we have very basic cable at home, so I only get to watch the lousy Raiders away-games during the Fall. With ATDHE.NET, I get to watch baseball, hockey, NBA and ESPN, as well as a variety of other tv shows.

The three movie channels tend to be HBO-type action-packed guy movies (no chick flicks) and the quality varies. Sometimes the picture is stretched, sometimes it's blurry, and sometimes the channel is just offline. It's hit and miss but most of the time, there's something good on and it's good enough for me (life is so much sweeter when you lower your standards). Normally it shows older movies already out on DVD, but just this week, they were showing a handy-cam version of Russell Crow's Robin Hood, followed by and excellent version of Prince of Persia. So you never know what may come on.

Give it a try. You may find something you like.

Dropbox - A must have for multiple computers

Do you have multiple computer at home? Or do you always take your work home with you on a jump drive? Or do you email yourself files so you can access from another computer? Your solution: Dropbox.

I recently started using Dropbox and it's great. I can upload/download files from my computer, laptop and iPhone. And I always know where the most up-to-date file is. It is fully integrated into my operating system, so it's just listed as another folder in my home folder. Other than the first time setting it up, there's no logging in, just instant access as if it was resident on your hard drive.

This cloud-computing service is a stripped down version of Apple's $99 MobileMe, but it's free for the first 2gb of storage. After that, it's $9.99/mo. for 50gb and $19.99 for $100gb.

Learn more about and download your Dropbox here: https://www.dropbox.com/tour

Jailbreak your iPhone

This Christmas I gifted the wife and myself two unlocked iPhones, courtesy of friends who like to upgrade. An unlocked iPhone makes sense for us because we want all the features of the iPhone but want to stick to our prepaid plan with zero monthly charges. Sure, with the lack of a data plan, it's not always fun looking for a wifi hotspot, but when we think of the $30 (each) we save every month, we realize it's a luxury we rather not pay for.

Since we've received our phones, many many of you have come to me asking for advice on either jailbreaking their phone, or getting an unlocked one. Somehow, a waiting list for people who want me to find them a used iPhone has already formed... I was going to write a tutorial, but even better, I found a great all-you-need-to-know-about-iPhone post at Simon's iPhone Blog and pasted it below. I've learned a lot from Simon!

So far I've already easily unlocked three iPhones and jailbroken three iPod Touches for my guinea pig friends. And their devices are still working to this day! Worst comes to worst, you can easily restore your iPhone in iTunes back to factory settings at any time. So if you're thinking of taking the plunge, I say go for it! Who says you can't record video on a 2g or 3g iPhone? or download physical files from YouTube? or create folders to organize your icons? or have five icons on the bottom?! You can on a jailbroken iPhone! And if you're thinking of upgrading your iPhone, please contact me, I know of several people readily waiting to buy your old iPhone.

Have a Happy New Year!

Get to know your iPhone with iPhone Tips

• Download 10 Great Tips for iPhone
• iPhone 3GS Tip: Use Digital Compass with Google Maps
• How to Disable iPhone Battery Icon and Show Battery in Percentage
• iPhone Tip: How to Use Conditional Call Forwarding
• Get to Know the iPhone Headset Shortcuts
• iPhone Tip: Understand Connection Icons in Status Bar
• 10 Tips to Improve Your iPhone Battery Life

Interesting iPhone Apps to Try Out

• Dragon Search for iPhone Lets You Search with Voice and it’s Free
• Use WiFiPhoto To Transfer iPhone Photos to Computer Wirelessly
• Zosh: Sign Document Right On Your iPhone
• Running with iPhone 3GS and Nike+
• Adobe Brings Photoshop.com Mobile to iPhone
• LogMeIn: Remote Control Your PC or Mac from iPhone
• Facebook 3.0 for iPhone

Jailbreaking Your iPhone
You may heard of the term “Jailbreaking” for iPhone. But what does it mean? Check out the articles to learn more how jailbreaking can make the most out of your iPhone. [Note: Jailbreaking is not a must. So, do read through the article before you take the action.]

• Why jailbreak? Top 5 Reason for jailbreaking iPhone
• What’s the difference between jailbreaking and unlocking?
• Complete Guide: Jailbreak and Unlock iPhone 3G/3GS 3.1.2 Using Blackra1n & Blacksn0w
• Complete Guide: Jailbreak and Unlock iPhone 2G 3.1.2 Using Blackra1n

iPhone Jailbreak Tips
You already plan to jailbreak your iPhone but encounter some issues. Here are a few tips that may help you out.

• How to Fix: Notes App Does Not Save My Note After iPhone Jailbreak
• How to Secure Your Jailbroken iPhone From SSH Hack
• How to Fix DiskAid or iPhone Browser Issue After Blackra1n Jailbreak
• iPhone Tip: How to Change iPhone Carrier Name Using FakeCarrier

Interesting Apps & Themes for Jailbroken iPhone
Okay, now you have already jailbroken the iPhone. Check out some of the interesting apps from cydia and Winterboard to make your iPhone stand out from the crowd.

• Beautiful SnowFall Widget to Make Your iPhone Snow
• Never Miss this Great Winterboard Theme for iPhone – Acier
• Change iPhone SMS Background with Winterboard
• How to Install HTC Hero Theme on iPhone
• Another Great Winterboard Theme for iPhone – illumine
• BTstack Keyboard Hits the Cydia Store to Connect Bluetooth Keyboard and iPhone
• Download YouTube Video to iPhone with YourTube

Happy New Year! And enjoy your new phone and have a great start of 2010!

Google Voice is soooo cool!!

Oh no, not another phone number!! YES! But this is THE ONLY number you'll ever need to consolidate ALL your numbers. For now and forever on.

I'm so excited! I just signed up and got my free Google Voice phone number. I was given about 100 phone number choices in either Oakland or San Leandro (there were none available in the Hayward, Fremont or San Jose zip codes). There were also quite a few for the San Ramon 925 area code. Hopefully they'll add more as I'm sure they'll all get scooped up quickly.

During my first week I can already think of some great situations for Google Voice:

• For your unsuspecting spouse who thinks you go to work everyday but instead you're really playing golf.
• For Craigslist transactions: After the deal is done, you can block/screen their number in case they call back complaining about how the thing you sold them doesn't work.
• For your boss, your ex, your mother-in-law... so that when they call you, you can automatically kick them into voice mail.
• For all those business (banks, Priceline, Amazon, etc.). Sure, you want them to have your real number in case it's something urgent, but at the same time you're worried that they may use your number for solicitation.
• For your kids' school or any other place where they must reach you in case of an emergency.
• For that cute guy you met at Starbucks you wished you haven't given your number to after coming home, you Googled his name to find out he's a registered sex offender.
• To that nerdy salesman at BestBuy you agreed to exchange numbers with if he lets you use his employee discount.
• For that long lost friend you reconnected on Facebook that keeps wanting to get together but you're not sure if he/she is mentally stable.
• For anyone else you don't want to give out your real phone numbers.

I'm sure you can think of many other situations where Google Voice would be handy, like free calls to continental U.S. and Canada. From what I've tested so far, the sound quality is a lot better than Skype. I think the single best feature is that all voice mails are transcribed into and emailed to you as an incredibly accurate text message! Very cool! For kicks, I tried leaving a message in Cantonese. Unfortunately, it doesn't do translatation. It just attempts to transcribe into English sounding words. Pretty funny nonetheless. I wonder what would happen if you played some rap music...

Set up is a breeze, configuring everything online like you do your email. No more "Press 1 to continue in English". You can create groups and customize who gets through and who is forever banished to voicemail purgatory. All callers are prescreened with their recorded voice before you can can accept their call. It's like having a secretary answer all your calls. You really got to try it!

Currently there is a waiting list, so sign up for your invitation here ASAP. It took about three weeks for mine to arrive. In the near future I'll be able to personally invite three lucky souls to Google Voice. Soooo, you all can start sucking up to me at any time :)


LINK: GOOGLE VOICE

DIY Laminate Flooring

There was a weekend last month where I had a free Saturday. I was already headed out early to Chinatown that morning and I needed to kill some time while waiting for my mom's dental appointment. I decided to visit Sincere Hardware and before I knew it, I was jamming 11 boxes of laminate flooring into my compact car.

Prior to this visit, I had been doing some research on laminate flooring: checking out color selections, materials, prices, and watching a lot of YouTube installation videos. I was convinced that this was something I could do on my own. I already had most of the equipment, I just needed a pullbar and a pushcut saw for the door jams.

The cheapest laminate flooring was 7mm thick @ 99¢/sq. ft. This is the standard 12"x48" that is most common. It has a printed pattern and plank marks. One look and you know it is laminate. I never liked this look because as time goes, the supposed invisible crevices where the planks meet will gather dirt and will become very visible. If you ever go to Ikea, look at their sample floor that people walk on. It's filthy.

I decided to get the 5"x48" individual planks @ $1.59/sf. I liked how they meet together like real hardwood planks. The grooves are real grooves so they look a lot more like real wood. Plus they were a lot thicker at 12mm, which is more warp-resistant and has better sound dampening.

I could have gone with real wood for as little as $2.99/sf., but wood dents more easier. To test the resiliency on the store sample, try digging your fingernail into it. If it leaves a dent, then it's too soft. Most hardwood would resist denting to an extent. But if you go further and dig in your car keys, laminate holds up better. In my mind I already knew laminate was the way to go in terms of durability and cost, especially when you have a house full of kids.

After a whopping six hours to move all the crap out of the office, remove the carpet, remove the carpet tacks, remove closet doors, and pop off the base mouldings, I was spent. Man, I had no idea it would be that much work... and I had not even begun installation! I guess that's the price I pay for being spontaneous. And I can't stop now. I'm at the point of no return.

Once I started, it took over an hour to lay down just three rows of planks. Keep in mind that since I got 5" planks instead of 12", I more than doubled the workload – ughh. Later as my brother-in-law came over to help, we were able to do 10 rows/hour, woohoo! I did all the sawing while he hammered away. Too bad he was only there for one hour because once he left, the workflow slowed big time. Yes boys and girls, do not attempt this by yourself, or else you'll be in for a long, looooooong day.

As I reached the final row, things got a little tricky with the door jams and that's when I realized I should've started on the door side and moved toward the window. Doh! Oh well, live and learn. So after a little bit of improvisation and ingenuity, I completed the job. And I was even able to save one unopened box for return!

I love the new floors now. Much better than the white carpeting I constantly had to keep clean. The only bad thing is now my computer chair rolls too fast and keeps crashing into the desk. But all in all a wonderful improvement and a great learning experience. Would I want to do it again? Ahh, no.

Final Stats: 11'x16' room, 6 hours prep, 8 hours install, $398, and 4 bandaids.

Removing the carpet tack strips from the concrete was a big pain
(and the cause for at least one bandaid).
Removing the base moulding wasn't too easy either (another bandaid).
And to make life even harder, the carpet pad was glued down (a little foul language).

How the bare floor looks like. The drizzle marks are the glue holding the carpet padding.

At the end of the first day.

I had to finish in time for our Friday mahjong party.

Absolute sharks! What kind of people get that many good tiles so early in the hand?

If you're not making dust, you're collecting dust.

Yesterday I spent Labor Day laboring in the garage. I recently scored a new Delta table saw on Craigslist. Dude bought it as a gift for a buddy, but his buddy ended up dying. Yes, sad. So he sold it to me at a 43% savings! Yes, good! Still sealed in the box. And delivered too! Yes, even better!

Craigslist is a great place to buy tools (because quality tools are expensive). Most people treat their power tools like they treat their gym memberships. They use it regularly at first, but then it sits around abandoned for the next few years. I would like to say I'm different, but I'm not. I too let my tools sit for a while with no projects on the horizon. But I know that if I upgraded from my portable Dewalt to a contractor's saw, I would have more ambition to attempt bigger projects. Time will tell.

Buying on Craigslist helps eliminate that guilty and wasteful feeling of overspending. Because if you bought it at a steep discount, let it sit for a few years and resell it, you will lose very little money. In fact, you may even break even or make a profit depending on how well you deal. So the only thing truly lost during those wasteful years is floor space. This also applies to treadmills, weight sets, large toys and practically anything else that's durable and not technology-driven.

For the longest time I was debating on buying a used saw. The biggest problem with a used table saw from someone's garage is the transportation, not to mention the lifting. This particular saw with the fence is about 300 lbs. I was really tempted to just order it from Amazon. But being the patient determined shopper that I am, I knew something great would come up eventually. And remember, everything is negotiable. Lowball them first. If they won't budge, then ask for delivery. Depending on location, most sellers will gladly meet because they too, just want to complete the sale.

I bought the Delta T30 Fence for $170. I couldn't justify getting the Biesemeyer at double the price. The Delta fence is very solid and sturdy. I can't imagine needing anything more.

One bad thing about buying new out of the box is the assembly (another reason not to buy new at Ikea). Over 100 screws and nuts! Even the motor had to be attached. Four hours to assemble just the saw (no thanks to the horrible instruction manual with 2 photos reversed). One hour for the fence. Although now if I ever had to assemble another one, I can do it in half the time!

Oh and another 2.5 hours to figure out how to best fit in the router table. All in all, a full day's work. Now I need to build the outfeed table...

Last second Christmas card

If you're like us. You order your Christmas cards from Costco. Then you realize you don't have any good family photos as a group. So you just throw up individual photos of the kids because you're too lazy to shoot a group photo. You upload, pickup, and barely get them off in time for delivery before Christmas and breathe a sigh of relief. Then two nights before your family gatherings you realize you don't have enough cards to pass out to your relatives. Doh!

In comes HP with their printable templates for any occasion. Woohoo!

So after dinner we dress up the kids and park them in front of the tree for a portrait session (which is what we should've done in the first place). The only incentive for them to sit still is the promise of super rich junk food afterwards (fudge). But still we had to resort to a constant flurry of yelling at the boys while trying to get Justine to smile. Hard work indeed. (This is how my kids can be the reason for me to both pursue and give up photography all at the same time!)

Then after some creative Photoshop cutting and pasting, we upload and design our card. Download the final file and print out on the color printer. Now doesn't that sound simple and easy??

LINK to HP Printable Cards

Can your Craigslist do this?

Browsing Craigslist is hard work. All that clicking and back and clicking and back... And reading all those lines and lines of listings can be real tiring on the eyes. But hang on, I'm going to show you how to improve your Craigslist experience 100-fold by using a frames template!

Yes, I know frames is sooo 90's. But frames is the perfect way to navigate through CL. Here's how you can do it:

Step 1: Dump Internet Explorer. This only works on Firefox. LINK

Step 2: Install Greasemonkey script (while using Firefox). LINK
On the right, select "Download Greasemonkey"
A new page will load and you will click on green button "Add to Firefox"

Step 3: Quit and restart Firefox
A little monkey face will show up on the bottom to show that it is active

Step 4: Install Craigslist Greasemonkey Script. LINK
Select "upgraded script locally" A pop-out window will appear and you select "Install" button. Note: This is an updated script whereas I have an older script, so yours may not look exactly like mine. But very similar.

Step 5: Quit and restart Firefox
Go to Craigslist.org and see the difference

Step 6: Install Craigslist Image Preview. LINK
Select "Install this script" A pop-out window will appear and you select "Install" button.

Step 7: Quit and restart Firefox
Go to Craigslist.org and see the difference

To manage your scripts, in Firefox under the Tools menu, there will be a Greasemonkey menu item for you to enable or disable the script. Hopefully these instructions will work for you. If you have questions, feel free to contact me.

As shown above, this script is invaluable for apartment hunting. It's also great for those ads that you MUST see a photo, such as furniture, rugs, or clothing. I've been using this script for years now and I can't tell you how much time it's saved me – but don't hate me for waiting this long to share with you all :)

Now you too, are equipped to become a professional Craigslist stalker (like myself). Happy shopping!

Save the Cheerleader. Save your Marriage.

Oh Man!! I don't know how long I've been waiting for tonight! The return of prime time television with all new shows. Tonight, the only show I'm looking forward to is Heroes. And tonight, it will be a 2-hour premier, preceded by a one-hour recap special. So a total of three hours!! 8:00-11:00. Woohoo!!

But there's a problem. Tonight I'm playing tennis after work so I'll be home late. After dinner I'll have to do homework and put the kids to bed and maybe shower (heehee). By then it'll be 9:30 and I'm so tired, I'll be in bed by 10. So in reality, I won't get to watch at all tonight. No problem, I'll record it and watch it at my leisure sometime this week.

But wait, there's another problem. Chrissy wants to watch Heroes too, but she also needs to record Dancing with the Stars, Prison Break, Terminator, and Boston Legal – ALL of which falls into the Monday 8-11 time slot too. And I was hoping to catch some Monday Night Football... What to do? What to do?

Sure, multiple televisions may help, but it's hardly the ideal solution to catching 3 shows at the same time.

Enter the digital video recorder (DVR). Problem solved.

We got our first ReplayTV five years ago and I've been preaching to my friends about it ever since. It has single-handedly made the biggest improvement in our entertainment life! For the last five years, we've never had to watch the clock waiting for a show to start. We've never had to endure commercial after commercial, after hearing Ryan Seacrest say, "...after the break." We've never had a boring evening surfing the channels looking for something – anything – to watch. We always have a backlog of prerecorded shows ready at the press of a button.

According to a recent survey of 1000 DVR owners, they ranked the DVR as the 3rd most important appliance in the house, behind the washing machine and microwave. In terms of technology, it ranked second behind the cellular phone. "Intriguingly, the vast majority of respondents would rather give up their landline phone, dishwasher, radio and MP3 player than their DVR,"

And 79% of them claimed that the DVR improved their relationship with their spouse or significant other! I don't doubt this one bit. I would totally hate anyone who would make me sit through an episode of Brothers and Sisters or Ugly Betty.

If you're like me, underprivileged and still living in 2004 without an HDTV, and subscribing to basic analog Comcast cable tv at $16/month, a ReplayTV (with free built-in lifetime subscription) is the best low-cost solution. However, if you subscribe to HD or digital cable, most likely a DVR option is included at a sometimes-additional monthly rate.

It's hard to describe the peace of mind we have not having to chase down shows anymore. Chrissy's Our biggest dilemma now is to juggle and distribute the above 5 shows onto the 3 networked ReplayTV's we have. And each of our machines can hold 120 hours so they'll be working like mad this fall season. I know most of you don't have the same obsessive viewing habits that she we have, but still, even recording a few shows here and there will forever save you from watching junk television.

As parents, we always look forward to the best times to vegitate, like after the kids go to bed, or for you stay-at-home moms – when they go to school. That's the time when you'll always have the shows YOU want to watch, ready and waiting. That's much better than channel surfing the crap talk shows and soaps during the middle of the day. And when you blow past all the commercials, you're actually saving 20 minutes per hour-long show! So essentially, those 3 hours of Heroes will only take 2 hours to watch! (And I won't have to watch those crappy "I'm a PC" ripoff commercials from M$)

Watch in peace, watch in succession, watch on your own terms. You watch your shows, she watches hers. Your marriage is happy once again. What's not to love?

So if you haven't hopped on the HDTV bandwagon yet and you're interested in getting a ReplayTV, the prices range from under $100 for a Showstopper model to $300 for a 5000 series with auto commercial-skip (talk to me before you buy). Look on Craigslist or Ebay for a used one (they don't make them new anymore). The only tricky part is that you'll need either a phone jack or ethernet jack near your TV. Other than that, it's super easy to program, even a second-grader can do it.


Source:
Survey: DVRs more important than dishwashers, iPods

Find Hookers on Google Maps

View Larger Map

Is this cool or what? We already know the Google Map's Street View was freakin' awesome, but now you can even find the best places to pick up prostitutes! And in broad daylight too! – Hmm, gives new meaning to Afternoon Delight. Yes this is real. Look up 3186 San Pablo Ave in Oakland (actually it's listed as Emeryville). Google lets you embed the interactive maps directly on your web page. You can scroll inside the photo to zoom in and/or get different angles of the chicks. It's really neat!

And look, here's a couple more in front of a church on 3244 San Pablo Ave.


View Larger Map

I tried cruising up and down the surrounding streets to see if I could find their pimp, but no luck. There were quite a few other questionable characters hanging out in front of another church.


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Those of us who grew up in Oakland know all about San Pablo Avenue. Apparently some things never change. It will always be the hot spot for hoochie mama's. Hey, doesn't Stu live somewhere around there? :o

LINK to Google Maps

Thriller!

I just had to share this video with you. I was a huge MJ fan back in high school, back when he was still ebony and not ivory. I ran across this video (don't ask me how) and just about died laughing! The performers are real inmates in a Philippines prison. This is what I call rehabilitation!

I grabbed this video off of YouTube and posted it back onto YouTube but under my account. Now why would I do that? YouTube freely allows you to embed other people's videos onto your website. But the problem with that is that the video displays all the pages that are linking up to it. So if it's a popular video with a million visitors, those million people may see your link and visit your page. Some people might like that but I don't want the extra traffic.

YouTube to my computer
So how did I get the video off of YouTube? I found this awesome website called vixy.net. If you go there, you can just enter the URL of the video you want, then select how you want the file converted (mp4, mov, avi, 3gp), and voila. It will convert the video and then download to your computer. The above 5 minute video took about 5 minutes total for me to download my own personal copy. Real fast. Real easy. No software needed. No account to register. I wish everything was this simple.

Capturing the Moment

This past Saturday we attended Hailey's 3rd birthday party. Unlike other kids' birthday parties, there was no junk food (except cake), just lots and lots of meat. Short ribs, steaks, sausage, and plenty of it. So much in fact, we had to invite ourselves over for dinner to help them eat the rest! And I heard a rumor that there's more uncooked leftovers to eat again this weekend! Woohoo!

As with any party, all the parents come equipped with cameras to capture the occasion. I'm no different. Thanks to my job, I have access to a digital SLR, a miniDV camcorder, and 3 point and shoot cameras. In the past I used to bring at least 2 of the cameras for maximum flexibility. But with all the kid and baby gear we now have to pack, I'm always looking for ways to downsize on the equipment.

The camcorder is great for video, but absolutely horrible for still pics. I have a pocket point and shoot camera which can record video, but you can't zoom and it's mono. The SLR is great for photos (especially fast motion), but no video, and it's HUGE to lug around.

Recently I discovered the perfect compromise to an all-in-one solution. The Canon Powershot S2IS. A 5 megapixel point and shoot with an incredible 12x optical zoom lense. My new best friend.

The S2IS is larger than typical cameras, but smaller than most camcorders. It shoots video at 640x480, 30 frames per sec, which is standard television resolution. And unlike other cameras, the large 12x zoom is actually operable while shooting video. (Smaller cameras disable the zoom during video because of motor noise.) Also, with its separate buttons for video and photos, you can both shoot and film simultaneously at any time. In video mode you can take a full 5mpix photo and vice versa. All the photos shown here were taken while I was filming. In the video you'll hear the retro shutter sound and display a momentary still. Really cool!

Of course nothing is perfect. Video can take up tons of space quick. Unlike a MiniDV tape holding 90 minutes of video, the size of your memory card will dictate space. A 2gb SD card ($22) will hold 12 minutes of video at 640x480 or 48 minutes at 320x240 (perfect for YouTube). So I would say recording a concert is not its best use. But following your kids snapping and recording the funky stuff they do – it's downright perfect. Most of my video clips rarely exceed one minute. It's just to capture the essence/goofiness of the moment. And besides, people's attention span is short so it's nice to keep the clips short anyway. Once all the clips are downloaded, I easily assemble them in iMovie (sorry, PC users), editing out all the boring parts, and output to a Quicktime movie which I can either upload to YouTube or burn on a DVD. Yes, the quality is that good.

The S2IS has been replaced by the S3IS which is 6 megapixel. Click on the highlighted links for specs and review. The S3IS sells for about $300, but you can find a S2IS used on ebay for about $150-$200. It's a bit chunkier than your typical pocket camera, but I guarantee you'll LOVE the 12x zoom! Hey, good excuse to buy a new bigger purse ;) Shooting video is very addictive. You'll especially love it at amusement parks where it's hard to get a good pic of your kids on the rides. And unlike a camcorder, getting the videos to your PC is super easy as it downloads the same way the photos do. Give it a try and send me links to your latest vids. Just remember to get a large memory card.