Seriously, Tivo has been around for 10 years now.  Of course, I’ve only had Tivo since May 2004.  I liked our original Series 2 Tivo back in 2004, because it was so different and advanced (compared to my VCR.)   Two tuners would have been nice though!  A couple of years later, the Tivo died, and we picked up a dual-tuner version.  Dual tuners?  Great.  However, it was incrementally better, nothing more.  I know they tried to roll out the Series 3 (for an obscene what-were-they-thinking? price), and other HD Tivos.  However, nothing would really impress you.  I was impressed by the Series 3, but there was no way I was going to spend $800 on that, plus subscription fees.

Turns out I’m not the only one out there wondering what the hell the Tivo folks are doing.  Engadget sorta celebrated Tivo’s 10 year anniversary by thinking out loud about all the cool things Tivo should have, and needs to have to survive.  I agree on all the points, especially the need to innovate.  Maybe it’s because the old competition (ReplayTV of yesteryear)  is gone, but there’s plenty of competition from other vendors, including the cable and telecom companies.

Engadget: Ten years of TiVo: how far we haven’t come

I’m really 33 years old now?

I know it’s been a week since my birthday, but I still don’t even know what to make of it.  Is it no big deal?  Is it “Wow”? Is it scary? For many years, I’d traditionally go take a walk around 1am, think about my life.  It was my big tradition to think my life through.  A few years ago, I stopped doing it, and I don’t quite remember why.  I think I just got too busy.

So I’m 33.  That’s the official age of “30-something”, isn’t it?  It feels like just a number to me, much like turning 31 and 32.  Is every year older you turn in your 30′s supposed to bother you?  It’s not bothering me.  I’m actually pretty nonchalant about the whole thing.

Life is good.  I’ve got a loving wife, two great kids, a home of our own, a helpful extended family, friends to hang out with, and jobs to support our extravagant jet-setting lifestyle.  

All joking aside, I have a lot to be thankful for.  Of course, being a Taurus, there are a million material possessions that I lust after, like the big TV, fixing up the backyard, painting the house, fancy cars, lavish trips to Guam.  You know what though? 

There’s all the career stuff that my ambitious side yearns for.  I’ve always been pretty ambitious, but the sheer effort of raising two kids has taken a lot of the energy out of me.  The only reason I’m alive is the awesome teamwork my wife and I have between us.  And by teamwork, I mean she does all the heavy lifting, and I do whatever she directs me to do.  I want to get back to achieving my certifications, giving 110% at the office, and go back to climbing the ladder.

That stuff will come in time, and I have to fight my natural urges to try to get it all now. Maybe each year you turn older isn’t supposed to be this momentous “What is up with my life?” occasion.  I should be happy with every day that I get to spend with my family and friends, doing new things, learning new stuff, and helping others.

This is so cool. A 1:10 scale Saturn V model rocket launch. When it takes off, it sounds like….. a rocket taking off.  What a lame description.

I’m here.

I didn’t think I’d make the flight today.  Well, I kinda knew I would, but I started to have my doubts.  There were some family errands today — Josh’s haircut, grocery shopping, laundry.  My wife and I split the kids up and hit the county, running around.  For my 5:15pm flight, I was driving to Newark Airport and parking at the long-term economy parking lot to save money (instead of car service.)  There was traffic on the NJ Turnpike, and I had left late too. 

At least I checked in online. Somehow, I still made it to the gate with some time to spare.  Of course, the 5:15pm flight became 5:20pm, 5:30pm, and 5:50pm. I went to talk to the agent, and she said it was a mechanical issue, no time on the actual departure.  Simultaneously, I get an alert from Continental that the arriving flight was delayed.  Yeah, the arriving flight was delayed.  Total BS, since we watched the previous flight’s passengers arrive on time and disembark. 

We eventually arrived in Toronto about 35 mins late.  The thing is, it’s all okay.  It’s all in the life of being a traveller.  35 mins late?  Feh.  These days, that’s a good trip!

We’re driving an orange Ford Edge, which is actually a pretty nice mini SUV.  I like it. My coworker and I hit a nearby Applebee’s for a quick dinner.  As the server took our order, she asked what kind of gravy we wanted on our french fries.  Gravy on french fries?  Thanks, but no thanks. 

Last month, I had blogged/rambled about how I loved Futurama, and missed it so.  However, the fact that I had never bothered to rent any of the Futurama movies underscored the little-known-fact that I’m an idiot.   So I immediately threw the Futurama movies onto the Netflix queue.  First up? Bender’s Big Score.

After everyone went to sleep, it was time for Joel’s movie night.  **WARNING: EXTREME IRONY ALERT** As I was about to pop in the DVD, I started browsing the channels.  I scanned the guide, and what is playing at that very moment on Comedy Central?  Believe it or not, it was Bender’s Big Score.  Oh yeah, that’s right, the same movie I waited all this time to watch, requested through Netflix, waited a week to watch, and had just popped into the DVD player, had started 13 mins ago on TV.  For free. Because Comedy Central will be premiering all of the Futurama movies in the next few weeks on TV. How did I miss that announcement?

Doh!

Well, whatever, I watched it on DVD anyway.  It was ok.  It was nice to see the cast and characters again, and the jokes were somewhat funny. I think the problem was that the story was a little sprawling, and the plot wasn’t all that cohesive.  Lots of things happening over 1 hour and 28 minutes, but it wasn’t the most interesting. Hmmmmm. I’m hoping the rest of the movies are better.  To save room on the Tivo, I’ll still rent the DVDs versus Tivo’ing them. The next movie is The Beast with a Billion Backs.

FYI, Comedy Central is premiering the latest Futurama movie, Into the Wild Green Yonder, on Sunday April 26th.

Futurama: Bender's Big Score (2007)

It’s good to be home.  We got back with with just a 45 min delay (late arriving aircraft) on Friday. It was a decent week overall.  I forgot to mention one tidbit from my flight last Sunday.  I normally sit in the aisle, because I like the legroom (and more access to the overhead storage bins and easy egress.)  Coincidentally, I was sitting next to one of my coworkers on the flight in.  As we were passing over the US/Canadian border, my coworker says, hey there are some waterfalls down there. I said, “Waterfalls?”  I look down, and it was this beautiful overhead view of Niagara Falls.  Man, it was one the neatest sights I’ve ever seen from an airplane.  It was just so cool to see the American and Horseshoe Falls from that angle.

I got home in the evening, and had enough time to chill out for 30 mins.  Then I got some of the supplies ready for the sitters, and my wife and I went out for a sushi dinner for two.  Afterwards, we took a drive over to this little cafe in town that we’ve never visited before, but figured why not, for dessert.  It’s one of those little corner cafes where they’ve hired high school kids to serve food, electic couches and chairs and tables, and live music.  We sat eating dessert, chilling on a couch, and listened to these three guys play instrumental 60′s music, such as songs from the Rolling Stones.

Beautiful weather today.  My parents came over to visit in the morning, and we cleaned up a bit outside and inside. After a few of us took a short nap, we drove over to Princeton to check out Communiversity. I’ve never attended, but the Arts Council of Princeton puts together this street fair in downtown Princeton.   One of those walk around, see what people are doing and selling types of street fairs.  The big highlight? I introduced Josh to fried dough / funnel cake.  Yes, he liked it.

I’m going to do laundry Sunday morning, then I’m back on the plane for Week 2 starting Sunday evening.

This is pretty interesting news for AT&T customers. AT&T is doubling the download capacity of its HSPA 3G network, upping the speeds from 3.6 Mbps to 7.2 Mbps for 3G devices.  HSPA+ will be rolled out nationwide later this year. 

Ooooh, aaaaaaah.

First off, thanks to everyone who called, texted, emailed, or FB’d me about my birthday yesterday.  It’s nice to be loved.  Biggest surprise of all?  My friend Paul in Detroit (and I am under the distinct suspicion that “The Hand of Namita” was involved) drove up to Toronto to hang out with me Wednesday night.  Four hour drive, boys and girls. 

Paul drove straight from work, and met me at the hotel.  We hit an Irish pub, chilled out, and ate dinner together.  He crashed in my hotel room, and was out the door at 5am to head straight back to work. Normally when I hang out with friends, we pull a long night, and stumble to work.  This time around, we had to admit we’re getting older.  11pm, after working all day, we were both ready to get some shut-eye.  Especially since we had work the next morning!

I want everyone to know that I’m having a good week, albeit it is a bit cold.  Again, what was I thinking to forget my jacket?  It was such beautiful weather last Sunday back in NJ, who would be thinking about the cold?  Maybe the folks who were travelling to cooler climates that day!

It’ll be nice to see my family again on Friday, and I’m naturally looking forward to seeing them again.

I stopped by the Best Buy in Manalapan, NJ, as they had a 50″ Panasonic G10 connected and on display this weekend.  The TV is available at online retailers for a little over $1500, but I was interested in some of the special offers I saw listed online on the Best Buy.com website.  I figured maybe they’d be willing haggle, price-match, and otherwise work with me to sell the TV.  Na-uh.  A complete disinterest.  Here’s the TV, buy it if you want.  The manager I spoke to said they would price match with “an authorized retailer” like 6th Ave Electronics, but not anyone else. 

I asked him about the other specials they might be running, or other benefits to go with Best Buy.  For example, what about the special offers mentioned on their own website?  Nope, he didn’t know anything about it.  As a matter of fact, they don’t have to offer anything the website offers.  I looked at the guy incredulously, and said thanks anyway. 

Shouldn’t they be trying to work a little to get me into that TV?

I just read that Hulu is developing an iPhone app that’ll stream over 3G and Wi-Fi.  What’s more, it’s supposed to be better than good.  Actually, the comment was the app was “badass”, but that remains to be seen.  Still, good news.  I hope it doesn’t get killed like the South Park app.