Setting up new TV (our first dealings with HD), 'Star Trek', 'Lake Tahoe', 'Californication', 'Humboldt County', Black Friday patrol, 'Stranded', 'Dead Like Me', 'Long Way Down'

(posted from home)
(This post covers 17 – 30 November, 2009)

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Monday, 30 November-

Today I had some office work to do and calls to make. I also spent time checking out the Cyber Monday deals and did find a good deal on iWork for my MacBook Pro ($55 for the normally-$99 Family Pack). I'm working on the longer-range plan of converting from Windows to Mac in our household and so I'm spending lots of time on the Apple website and in various Mac forums.
No walk today because of my toe. It's going to be a few days.
I started watching Disk One of 'Long Way Down', a motorcycle adventure-touring tv series. Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman ride BMW 1200GS bikes from the north tip of Scotland to Cape Town, South Africa.

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Sunday, 29 November-

Today I did my regular Sunday thing. I rode the motorcycle to the Tollgate Starbucks for a nice, long, leisurely read of the Sunday paper accompanied by a cappucino and an iced passion tea.
I then took a walk-jog at Rocky Ridge Park. My regular route has changed slightly but if anything it's a tad longer given that a trail closure forces me to take a more circuitous (though pleasant enough) route to rejoin the route on the other side of the closed segment.
My strategy for the last several visits has been to walk the uphills and jog the downhills. If I jog the uphills, I end up slowing down to the point where I can walk that fast. Walking gives me a break from the pounding and a bit of variety.
The strategy allowed me to set a new record for my course today--- a 1:18 total. I did have a problem, though. On the last segment of the course I accidently kicked a rock very hard. I didn't break my toe. By the time I got home I had to limp into the house and that evening the toe was throbbing so I had to take Ibuprofen.
I watched two more episodes of 'Dead Like Me'-Season One. Love it!


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Saturday, 28 November-

I spent the morning on the web, still trolling for uber-bargains without luck. Around lunch time I rode the Concours to town to return videos, then drop in to Starbucks to read the Times.
Back home I spent the better part of an hour talking to Labashi (at her Mom's house in Michigan) via Skype. Her Mom's knee replacement went well and recovery seems to be well underway.
I spent the latter part of the day updating the blog. I decided to skip the walk today and push a bit harder tomorrow.

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Friday, 27 November-

I took a quick spin around the Webosphere 'bargain' sites but again saw nothing interesting. I also restarted our Netflix membership and rebuilt our movie queue. I had cancelled last August just before leaving for the Oregon Trail trip. Since returning home we've been picking up movies from our local California Video store and sometimes from Blockbuster but the pickings are getting thin and Blockbuster raised prices. I can get a month of movies from Netflix for the cost of a weekend of movies from Blockbuster.
As part of my Netflix restart I wanted to try Instant Movies on the Mac (looks good!). I think I found a new series for us. I watched the pilot for 'Dead Like Me' and loved its wit.
That afternoon I took along a few Wal-mart bags on my walk and picked up roadside trash. I filled eight bags and dropped them along the road as they filled, then went back later in Mocha Joe and picked them up. I still have more to do.
That evening I watched 'Stranded' on DVD. This is the story of the 1972 plane crash in the Andes where the survivors were forced to resort to cannabalism to live the 72 days to their rescue. The story was told years ago in the book 'Alive'. The documentary-film version relies heavily on recent interviews with survivors.

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Thursday, 26 November -


I spent the morning looking for Black Friday bargains but didn't find anything interesting. Late in the morning I drove to Maypo's home in Chambersburg for a traditional Thanksgiving meal.
No walk today.


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Wednesday, 25 November -

After reading about Black Friday specials, I spent much of today web shopping and researching Netflix-capable devices (like Roku). It soon became apparent that the good stuff isn't making the Black Friday list. You can get a Blu-Ray player on sale but not one that streams Netflix instant movies.
I went in to Blockbuster to return DVDs coming due this weekend (in case I want to stay over) and then walked-six.

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Tuesday, 24 November-

This morning I walked up to the garage to pick up Mocha Joe. Ol' Joe needed brakes, rotors, and front shocks and could use a set of tires. It seems like I just bought that set of tires but come to think of it that was July 2008 and I put 16K on them going to Alaska, 6K to Florida last winter, and 12K to Oregon and Texas since then. Still, it seems early for tires, particularly given the replacements along the way. I might get another 10K if I push it to the wear-bars but I don't think that's wise given some of the conditions I get into on the road.
I spent a few hours on the Web researching tires. I also have been reading about routers since I'm thinking of replacing my ancient g-router which is giving us some hassles.
I walked-six before dark and that evening finished 'Humboldt County' on DVD.


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Monday, 23 November -

Maypo must have over-loaded my head yesterday. I woke in the wee hours and couldn't get back to sleep. I got up shortly after 0300, dressed, and went to the new Giant supermarket to pick up a few items. (I ought to do that more often. There wasn't any problem with crowded roads nor was there a line at the supermarket!)
I stopped in for a cappucino at McDonald's (not bad!) on the way home and felt good. When daylight came I drove Mocha Joe up to my local garage for today's inspection and walked home (it's only about a mile).
I did catch a short nap before lunch and that afternoon did my six-miler. That evening I started 'Humboldt County' on DVD but faded out quickly. I ended up abandoning the movie about a third of the way through.


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Sunday, 22 November -

I spent the day with Maypo today here at my house. We drove in to Panera for lunch and then worked on my electrical problem with the front pole light (looks like I've gotta run a new line out to the pole). We covered a lot of ground in our conversations as we worked. It was great to have him here and get his opinions and tap into his expertise.
No walk today.


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Saturday, 21 November -


This morning I spent a few hours cleaning up the house for my visitor tomorrow, then drove into town to continue researching Blu-Ray players and home-theater systems, trying to find a good mix (not to mention a good price).
The sound on the new TV is tinny. Consumer Reports rated it 'Fair' and it's okay with the sound set to 'Clear Sound' but not when it's set to 'Dynamic'. I don't think I really want a home theater system, just a decent set of stereo speakers. I pulled a set of powered computer speakers out of storage and after running down an RCA-to-1/8”-plug cable at Radio Shack I have at least a temporary solution but if I found the right deal on something fancier I might jump on it.
I also learned this morning that my cheapo Sony DVD player is the source of an edge-lighting problem on the screen of the new TV. Thank goodness. I was afraid I'd have to return it and then what do you do if the new one does the same? In the meantime I had signed up for High Def Forum to start posting questions to others with some experience with these units but that now appears not to be needed.
That afternoon I walked and jogged the five-mile course at Rocky Ridge Park, then dropped in at the nearby Texas Roadhouse for ribs.
That evening I finished the first season of 'Californication. Yep, I like it.

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Friday, 20 November -

I continued researching and adjusting the HD tv today and figured out how to connect-up the other TVs in the house. The trick was to use the component connections rather than the HDMI connections.
After my regular walk I watched 'Lake Tahoe', an interesting little Mexican film. The New York Times reviewer gets it right (IMHO) when she says of it: “So different from the usual fare that it might have arrived from a different galaxy.” Indeed.
I also watched the first disk of 'Californication'- Season One. I don't know yet. I THINK I like it. It's a morality tale in an immorality/amorality wrapper.

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Thursday, 19 November -

This morning I had my somewhat-dreaded appointment with my urologist, Dr. Baselli. The dreaded part is the thought of what it will mean if the latest CT scans show any significant change to the growth on my kidney. But it turned out there's no significant change. I will have to come back in eight months for a follow-up scan but otherwise, there's no reason for concern.
While in town I picked up some DVDs at Blockbuster; 'Californication', 'Lake Tahoe', 'Humboldt County', and the new 'Star Trek'.
Back home, I fired up the new tv for the first time and began the process of finding the right combination of settings to suit me, taking a break late in the day for my six-miler.
That evening I watched 'Star Trek' and was disappointed, both in the movie and in my new tv. The movie plays in a super-wide-screen format which means there's quite a lot of black space above and below the picture.
The movie is too much a JJ Abrams knock-off of 'Lost'. The plotline had some interesting twists but at one point Spock uses the old Sherlock Holmes line: “Eliminate all other possibilities and the one that remains must be the truth, however unlikely”. Do they think nobody reads Sherlock Holmes any more?

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Wednesday, 18 November -

This morning I drove to Mechanisburg for my routine dental checkup and cleaning. Afterwards I went to the Best Buy to look for Apple gear and a Blu-Ray player capable of connecting to Netflix. I left empty-handed, though. Since we're so close to the Black Friday sales, I thought I should wait until next week.
On the way home I stopped in at the Blue Ridge Cable office to swap my set-top cable box of an HD-capable version and to sign up for additional HD channels on a six-month special offer.
I walked my six-mile loop late in the day and that evening picked up some cables for the television installation from the local Radio Shack. I spent the rest of the evening reading about the installation and trying to figure out how to avoid losing any of my existing capabilities while gaining the new HD capabilities.

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Tuesday, 17 November-

I spent much of the morning catching up and posting the blog update. In the afternoon I drove in to Sears to pick up our new television set (a smaller flat-screen) while Labashi prepared for her trip to her Mom's house tomorrow. She helped me unbox and install the television on its stand but we won't be connecting it up until tomorrow.
I walked-six late in the day, just before dark.


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