As with all technology upgrades, getting an HDTV involves getting new cables and, for me, a new Blu-ray player to take advantage of the higher resolution. Once TiVo announces their new products next month, I'll probably be upgrading to one of those as well. But that's another post.
First, the cables. Currently, everything I own is connected by the ancient S-video cables and RCA for audio. HDTV's latest cable is the HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) that does both audio and video. In stores like Fry's and Best Buy, these are hideously expensive. $10, $20, and $30 are common prices. HDTV's dirtiest little secret: They are screwing you on the prices. CNET.COM did testing and recommends buying cheap cables off the Internet. I had several bookmarked in my browser, but last week one of the blogs I follow had a link to a site that sold three cables for $7.50 with free shipping. I jumped on that offer and they arrived a few days ago.
As for Blu-ray, I did lots of research on Cnet and other sites. Most new Blu players meet the Blu-ray Profile 2.0 specs that require an Internet connection. Most players have an ethernet cable port, but many newer ones can used USB wi-fi dongles. Some even include the dongles have have wireless built-in. Since my cable modem and router are in another room and the front door is between the home theater and said room, I wanted a player that could do wi-fi. After going through the reviews and pricing them locally, I decided to get an LG BD390. It got great marks on Cnet and has wi-fi built-in. It also can stream Netflix, another feature I wanted. After looking at other stores, I went back to Fry's and to my intense happiness, they'd dropped the price by $20 since my first visit two days before. That brought the price within the same range as my second place choice, the Samsung BD-P3600, so I splurged and spent the extra few dollars on the LG. I connected it to my existing TV via a composite video jack and within a few minutes, I was watching Dirty Harry in Magnum Force streaming from Netflix. Setup was easy and the picture quality was excellent even with a lowly composite connection.
For DVR, at least for the short-term, I'll probably trade in our Cox SD DVR for a Cox HD DVR. Once I get the TiVo equivalent, I'll just ax the Cox one.
The new TV should be here on Monday. It arrived in Phoenix tonight, though. Wish I could get delivery tomorrow.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Now (almost) in HD
Being the technowhore that I am, I've been wanting some sort of HDTV setup for years, but haven't had the spare change to piece one together. Finally this year the stars semi-aligned and I got enough money between my State and Federal tax refunds to afford a decent HDTV.
I did my usual research on screen sizes, ratings, prices, brands, ad nauseum. Since I'm replacing my old 35" Sony Behemoth, I mean, Trinitron, I didn't want to give up any size. I found that diagonal screen measurement isn't as important as the height between standard def 4:3 TVs and high def 16:9 TVs. I eventually found the simple ratio that I was looking for to determine the right sized HDTV. Take your old 4:3 TV's diagonal measurement and multiply it by 1.22 to get the equivalent 16:9 HDTV. So for my 35", I'd need a 42" HDTV to keep roughly the same picture height. So I had my minimum desired HDTV size.
Next I started looking at the various brands. I wanted to avoid the lower-end, no-name brands that I've never heard of or the store brand at Best Buy. While they are cheap, that quality usually shows in uneven pictures and early deaths. Out at various restaurants, I'd seen Vizios and Samsungs with great pictures. LG got some really good reviews as well. For slightly lower energy bills, I decided to go with an LCD over Plasma. I wasn't overly concerned with added bells and whistles because honestly, ANY HDTV is going to be an improvement over a 12 year-old CRT-based TV. The Sony still has an awesome picture for it's age and design, but time marches on.
I spent a lot time driving around the area looking at the local stores (Wal-Mart, Ultimate Electronics, Best Buy, and Frys) to get some idea of local pricing and how their pictures looked. I liked the LG sets and they were in my price range, but they lacked S-video inputs. Since ALL my current devices are S-video, this was an unfortunate deal-breaker. Vizio had some sets in my range, but I'm still a bit leary of their longevity. Ultimate had a low-end 46" Sony that had some positive reviews online but the closest store that had it was shown in Chandler. Wal-Mart had the same Sony on sale, but the only store that had it shown in-stock didn't have it when I went to check (it was only 3 miles from my house). After that, I decided to re-evaluate my search.
The biggest problem is that I don't have an SUV or pickup and the TV won't fit in my car. I'd need to rent a truck (uHaul had cheap rates that fit my needs) but the mileage charges to Chandler would be quite high. I decided to search online and see what I could find. I found the same TV online with free shipping and no sales tax, so I just bit the bullet and bought that one. It was shipped earlier today and should be here by early next week.
I did my usual research on screen sizes, ratings, prices, brands, ad nauseum. Since I'm replacing my old 35" Sony Behemoth, I mean, Trinitron, I didn't want to give up any size. I found that diagonal screen measurement isn't as important as the height between standard def 4:3 TVs and high def 16:9 TVs. I eventually found the simple ratio that I was looking for to determine the right sized HDTV. Take your old 4:3 TV's diagonal measurement and multiply it by 1.22 to get the equivalent 16:9 HDTV. So for my 35", I'd need a 42" HDTV to keep roughly the same picture height. So I had my minimum desired HDTV size.
Next I started looking at the various brands. I wanted to avoid the lower-end, no-name brands that I've never heard of or the store brand at Best Buy. While they are cheap, that quality usually shows in uneven pictures and early deaths. Out at various restaurants, I'd seen Vizios and Samsungs with great pictures. LG got some really good reviews as well. For slightly lower energy bills, I decided to go with an LCD over Plasma. I wasn't overly concerned with added bells and whistles because honestly, ANY HDTV is going to be an improvement over a 12 year-old CRT-based TV. The Sony still has an awesome picture for it's age and design, but time marches on.
I spent a lot time driving around the area looking at the local stores (Wal-Mart, Ultimate Electronics, Best Buy, and Frys) to get some idea of local pricing and how their pictures looked. I liked the LG sets and they were in my price range, but they lacked S-video inputs. Since ALL my current devices are S-video, this was an unfortunate deal-breaker. Vizio had some sets in my range, but I'm still a bit leary of their longevity. Ultimate had a low-end 46" Sony that had some positive reviews online but the closest store that had it was shown in Chandler. Wal-Mart had the same Sony on sale, but the only store that had it shown in-stock didn't have it when I went to check (it was only 3 miles from my house). After that, I decided to re-evaluate my search.
The biggest problem is that I don't have an SUV or pickup and the TV won't fit in my car. I'd need to rent a truck (uHaul had cheap rates that fit my needs) but the mileage charges to Chandler would be quite high. I decided to search online and see what I could find. I found the same TV online with free shipping and no sales tax, so I just bit the bullet and bought that one. It was shipped earlier today and should be here by early next week.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Finally a new year
Well, 2009 left on pretty much the same note it carried all year. Tara and I both have nasty colds so no partying for us last night.
Hopefully 2010 will be a better year. Tara goes in for some elective surgery on Thursday that will hopefully make her life a bit better. And no, it's not a boyfriendectomy. Her stepmom and grandmother are flying down next week to help care for her post-op. She's very excited to get this done and to spend time with family.
We're hoping to visit my family in Maine this summer at some point. She's really only visited off-season and hasn't experienced what a true Hell tourist season is for us locals. Plus she really misses being able to see our nephews. We also have to schedule in a visit to Minnesota for the annual 5-year reunion for her family. I haven't been to Minnesota in the summer yet but I'm sure humidity and mosquitoes there are just as fun as in Georgetown.
We'll see how it all turns out. I'll keep you posted.
Hopefully 2010 will be a better year. Tara goes in for some elective surgery on Thursday that will hopefully make her life a bit better. And no, it's not a boyfriendectomy. Her stepmom and grandmother are flying down next week to help care for her post-op. She's very excited to get this done and to spend time with family.
We're hoping to visit my family in Maine this summer at some point. She's really only visited off-season and hasn't experienced what a true Hell tourist season is for us locals. Plus she really misses being able to see our nephews. We also have to schedule in a visit to Minnesota for the annual 5-year reunion for her family. I haven't been to Minnesota in the summer yet but I'm sure humidity and mosquitoes there are just as fun as in Georgetown.
We'll see how it all turns out. I'll keep you posted.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Twisted Logic
I found this recipe a while back and I don't think I posted it. I THINK I posted pictures of the pretzels on Facebook after I made them, but it's been nearly a year and a half. SOMEONE has been asking me to make her some for a while now. Why she had a craving just as I'm putting a turkey into the oven late on a Sunday is beyond me...
Anyway, this is a recipe for some nice, sweet soft pretzels, courtesy of someone's blog that I can't remember.
Soft Pretzels
1 1/2 pkgs dry yeast
1 1/2 cup warm water
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup bread flour
3 cups ap flour
1. Sprinkle 1/1/2 pkgs of dry yeast onto 1 1/2 cup of warm water and stir to dissolve
2. Add 2 Tbs brown sugar and 1 tsp salt and stir to dissolve
3. Add in 1 cup of bread flour and 3 cups of all-purpose flour
4. Knead until smooth and elastic. Place in lightly oiled bowl and let rise for at least 1/2 hour in a warm place
5. While dough is rising, mix 2 c. of warm water with 2 Tbs of baking soda. Stir until completely dissolved
6. Pinch off a bit of dough and roll to about 12-14 inches long
7. Dip the bretzels into the baking soda/water mixture and shape into pretzels. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with course salt. Bake at 450 deg. for about 10-12 minutes.
Anyway, this is a recipe for some nice, sweet soft pretzels, courtesy of someone's blog that I can't remember.
Soft Pretzels
1 1/2 pkgs dry yeast
1 1/2 cup warm water
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup bread flour
3 cups ap flour
1. Sprinkle 1/1/2 pkgs of dry yeast onto 1 1/2 cup of warm water and stir to dissolve
2. Add 2 Tbs brown sugar and 1 tsp salt and stir to dissolve
3. Add in 1 cup of bread flour and 3 cups of all-purpose flour
4. Knead until smooth and elastic. Place in lightly oiled bowl and let rise for at least 1/2 hour in a warm place
5. While dough is rising, mix 2 c. of warm water with 2 Tbs of baking soda. Stir until completely dissolved
6. Pinch off a bit of dough and roll to about 12-14 inches long
7. Dip the bretzels into the baking soda/water mixture and shape into pretzels. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with course salt. Bake at 450 deg. for about 10-12 minutes.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Series Madness
Since tomorrow is officially the "Christmas Season", I thought I'd put my dubious expertise in TV addiction to good use. If you or someone you know likes great TV, I figured I'd recommend some of my favorites that have officially ended so you can purchase the whole damn thing if you want.
Band of Brothers: HBO's awesome 10-part miniseries following Easy Company from D-Day through the end of WWII. Absolutely amazing and addictive. It's also now available on Blu-Ray.
The Wire: For five seasons, HBO's Baltimore-centric series was top of my weekly watching. From the first season that was a cops vs. drug dealers through the last season that focused on the dying newspaper industry, the writing was the best on TV. I think I've done a previous blog on it last year. One of it's great qualities is that major characters in later seasons were present in prior seasons in bit or nearly cameo parts. Second viewings lead to many "Oh look, there's X. Cool." And many of the characters themselves are positively iconic. Omar Little is one of my favorites.
Farscape: Tragically canceled after only four seasons (despite having been renewed for five after season 3), John Crichton's exploits across the galaxy were science fiction at it's finest. Deep mythology, tragically flawed characters, and some of the freakiest Muppets you've seen combined with great writing and humor. It was just recently released in a complete series collection. I want it. Badly.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Yes, it's goofy and cheesy, but it thoroughly kicks the ass of all the recent vampire-related drivel. Season 6 kinda blew despite the brilliant musical episode "Once More, With Feeling". It's one of my few favorite series that actually reached a planned conclusion, so you get a feeling of closure.
Angel: A darker spin0ff of Buffy, it got better as it went along. It's last season was it's best and it's series finale absolutely kicked ass.
Lonesome Dove: I missed this when if first aired back in the late '80s, but when I finally saw it, I loved it. Recently remastered, it still holds up.
Fawlty Towers: The best British comedy series I've ever seen. John Cleese's post-Python hilarity. The Rat episode is a classic and always cracks my mother and myself up.
Black Adder: My second favorite British comedy series. I used to watch these all the time during college on whatever Comedy Central was back in those days. Rowan Atkinson is truly great in all four seasons. The first series isn't my favorite, but it's still quite funny. The subsequent series are much better. Available recently in a complete series set.
The Shield: F/X's rogue cop series was spellbinding from first episode to last. Vic Mackey and his Strike Team of crooked cops in a crime-ridden L.A. district was nigh on Greek tragedy over the course of seven seasons. Once the Armenian money train plot kicks in, all else is tainted by it. The guest roles by Glenn Close, Forest Whitaker, and especially Anthony Anderson made a great drama even more riveting.
Band of Brothers: HBO's awesome 10-part miniseries following Easy Company from D-Day through the end of WWII. Absolutely amazing and addictive. It's also now available on Blu-Ray.
The Wire: For five seasons, HBO's Baltimore-centric series was top of my weekly watching. From the first season that was a cops vs. drug dealers through the last season that focused on the dying newspaper industry, the writing was the best on TV. I think I've done a previous blog on it last year. One of it's great qualities is that major characters in later seasons were present in prior seasons in bit or nearly cameo parts. Second viewings lead to many "Oh look, there's X. Cool." And many of the characters themselves are positively iconic. Omar Little is one of my favorites.
Farscape: Tragically canceled after only four seasons (despite having been renewed for five after season 3), John Crichton's exploits across the galaxy were science fiction at it's finest. Deep mythology, tragically flawed characters, and some of the freakiest Muppets you've seen combined with great writing and humor. It was just recently released in a complete series collection. I want it. Badly.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Yes, it's goofy and cheesy, but it thoroughly kicks the ass of all the recent vampire-related drivel. Season 6 kinda blew despite the brilliant musical episode "Once More, With Feeling". It's one of my few favorite series that actually reached a planned conclusion, so you get a feeling of closure.
Angel: A darker spin0ff of Buffy, it got better as it went along. It's last season was it's best and it's series finale absolutely kicked ass.
Lonesome Dove: I missed this when if first aired back in the late '80s, but when I finally saw it, I loved it. Recently remastered, it still holds up.
Fawlty Towers: The best British comedy series I've ever seen. John Cleese's post-Python hilarity. The Rat episode is a classic and always cracks my mother and myself up.
Black Adder: My second favorite British comedy series. I used to watch these all the time during college on whatever Comedy Central was back in those days. Rowan Atkinson is truly great in all four seasons. The first series isn't my favorite, but it's still quite funny. The subsequent series are much better. Available recently in a complete series set.
The Shield: F/X's rogue cop series was spellbinding from first episode to last. Vic Mackey and his Strike Team of crooked cops in a crime-ridden L.A. district was nigh on Greek tragedy over the course of seven seasons. Once the Armenian money train plot kicks in, all else is tainted by it. The guest roles by Glenn Close, Forest Whitaker, and especially Anthony Anderson made a great drama even more riveting.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
In Maine
I'm on a not-quite-a-vacation trip to Maine this week. I flew up for a Halloween party at a friend's place near Portland and I'm staying the week at my parents' house before flying back on Saturday. Since they FINALLY got high-speed Internet earlier this year, I can work from their house. The weather (except for the rain storm when I flew in) was gorgeous on Sunday and Monday. Sunny, cloudless skies and temps near 60. It's overcast today and 36 deg at this moment.
Unfortunately Tara had to stay back in Phoenix. She has her college courses, work, and is dealing with pneumonia or worse. Hopefully her doctor will be able to give her some antibiotics that work today. She was taking a Z-pak but they didn't help at all.
I played some disc golf in Sabattus yesterday. Given that I was using all disc that I literally found along courses in Dallas over 5 years ago and hadn't played in heavily forested areas in 2 years, I did pretty good. I only played 9 holes since I was running late and had to be home for our 6pm dinner reservations at Solo Bistro in Bath.
Solo Bistro was excellent. I'd read about it a couple years ago but hadn't been back to try it. In the meantime, my sister started working there and has raved about it. I was going to go with her and her husband, but child care proved elusive, so I went with Mom and Dad. We had a great time. Everything we ordered was outstanding.
Beet and cabbage soup
Organic greens salad with balsamic vinegarette
Tomato and cheese tart
Grilled crevaille, ocotupus, and shrimp with carrots and sweet potato/yukon gold potato puree
Grilled flat iron steak with homemade steak sauce, steak fries, and salad
Corn-crusted halibut, cabbage slaw, carrots, and the same potato puree
Warm Maine apple dumpling
Molten mocha cake with candied pecans and caramel
Unfortunately Tara had to stay back in Phoenix. She has her college courses, work, and is dealing with pneumonia or worse. Hopefully her doctor will be able to give her some antibiotics that work today. She was taking a Z-pak but they didn't help at all.
I played some disc golf in Sabattus yesterday. Given that I was using all disc that I literally found along courses in Dallas over 5 years ago and hadn't played in heavily forested areas in 2 years, I did pretty good. I only played 9 holes since I was running late and had to be home for our 6pm dinner reservations at Solo Bistro in Bath.
Solo Bistro was excellent. I'd read about it a couple years ago but hadn't been back to try it. In the meantime, my sister started working there and has raved about it. I was going to go with her and her husband, but child care proved elusive, so I went with Mom and Dad. We had a great time. Everything we ordered was outstanding.
Beet and cabbage soup
Organic greens salad with balsamic vinegarette
Tomato and cheese tart
Grilled crevaille, ocotupus, and shrimp with carrots and sweet potato/yukon gold potato puree
Grilled flat iron steak with homemade steak sauce, steak fries, and salad
Corn-crusted halibut, cabbage slaw, carrots, and the same potato puree
Warm Maine apple dumpling
Molten mocha cake with candied pecans and caramel
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Rustic Cafe - North Phoenix
Tara didn't finish her bacon.
That should be a clue about how much we enjoyed our first visit to Rustic Cafe, a new restaurant just north of the 101 on Cave Creek Road. A friend let us know about a 90% off sale at Restaurant.Com and I noticed that Rustic Cafe was on there, so I grabbed one so we could give them a try.
Mistake. Big mistake.
It's actually a cute little spot, with around 20 tables or so. Service was very friendly and helpful. The menu is quite extensive. In addition to typical breakfast and lunch items, they also have Lebanese, Italian, and Mexican sections on the menu.
Since we had to order at least $20 to get $10 off, we ordered quite a bit. Tara got biscuits and gravy and a double order of bacon. I ordered corned beef hash, sausage, and a cinnamon roll for us to split. We each got a Coke. Shortly after ordering, our waitress came back and said someone had ordered five cinnamon rolls earlier and they were out. We ended up getting a chocolate muffin instead.
The chocolate muffin seemed pre-fab, like they'd run across the street to the nearby Costco's pastry section. It was exceedingly generic.
Tara's biscuits and gravy was a large serving that looked like it had waited a few minutes before it was brought out. The gravy had already cooled enough to have a skin over it. It had large chunks of sausage in the gravy which Tara liked. The gravy lacked any real flavor, however. Even after liberal seasoning with salt and pepper, it was still very bland. Her double side of bacon was a generous amount, but again, it was flavorless. She didn't finish it and this is a person who plots to steal any leftover bacon she sees restaurants, regardless of whose table it is on.
My "hash" wasn't. I've had corned beef hash all over the country. Generally it's actual hash: corned beef and vegetables that have been run through a meat grinder or chopped up finely and mixed together. Rustic Cafe's "hash" was slices of thin, fatty, and rubbery corned beef, slices of pepper, and slices of onion on top of horrendous home fried potatoes. I even asked the waitress to verify that this was the corned beef hash that I'd ordered. She said it was. It was awful. The potatoes ranged from over-cooked potato chip-like slices to pieces I couldn't get my fork through but still tasted slightly raw. There was no consistency. The corned beef was chewy to the point if being inedible. I eventually just gave up. The two eggs I'd asked for over-medium were just not good. And nothing had any flavor. I'd smelled a t0-go order of the hash as it went by me and it smelled great. The dish I got? It completely lacked any seasoning. The toasted english muffin on the side wasn't bad. The sausage? It had the uniform size and unnaturally smooth edges like it came directly out of a Jimmy Dean package. It also has no flavor and a slightly odd texture.
So yeah, we were thoroughly unimpressed with the food. Which is a shame, as we love Mom and Pop local joints, especially ones this close to home. Tara said that the sandwiches we saw other diners eating all looked really good, and said maybe she'd try those sometime.
That is, until both our stomachs started to feel queasy within 10 minutes of us leaving the restaurant. Mine was unsettled for the rest of the afternoon and Tara's is still not quite kosher. She said she felt like she was going to throw up all afternoon. I wasn't that bad, but I definitely was under the weather.
We still have another $10 gift coupon, due to a snafu when I was ordering them. Luckily it was only $.40.
That should be a clue about how much we enjoyed our first visit to Rustic Cafe, a new restaurant just north of the 101 on Cave Creek Road. A friend let us know about a 90% off sale at Restaurant.Com and I noticed that Rustic Cafe was on there, so I grabbed one so we could give them a try.
Mistake. Big mistake.
It's actually a cute little spot, with around 20 tables or so. Service was very friendly and helpful. The menu is quite extensive. In addition to typical breakfast and lunch items, they also have Lebanese, Italian, and Mexican sections on the menu.
Since we had to order at least $20 to get $10 off, we ordered quite a bit. Tara got biscuits and gravy and a double order of bacon. I ordered corned beef hash, sausage, and a cinnamon roll for us to split. We each got a Coke. Shortly after ordering, our waitress came back and said someone had ordered five cinnamon rolls earlier and they were out. We ended up getting a chocolate muffin instead.
The chocolate muffin seemed pre-fab, like they'd run across the street to the nearby Costco's pastry section. It was exceedingly generic.
Tara's biscuits and gravy was a large serving that looked like it had waited a few minutes before it was brought out. The gravy had already cooled enough to have a skin over it. It had large chunks of sausage in the gravy which Tara liked. The gravy lacked any real flavor, however. Even after liberal seasoning with salt and pepper, it was still very bland. Her double side of bacon was a generous amount, but again, it was flavorless. She didn't finish it and this is a person who plots to steal any leftover bacon she sees restaurants, regardless of whose table it is on.
My "hash" wasn't. I've had corned beef hash all over the country. Generally it's actual hash: corned beef and vegetables that have been run through a meat grinder or chopped up finely and mixed together. Rustic Cafe's "hash" was slices of thin, fatty, and rubbery corned beef, slices of pepper, and slices of onion on top of horrendous home fried potatoes. I even asked the waitress to verify that this was the corned beef hash that I'd ordered. She said it was. It was awful. The potatoes ranged from over-cooked potato chip-like slices to pieces I couldn't get my fork through but still tasted slightly raw. There was no consistency. The corned beef was chewy to the point if being inedible. I eventually just gave up. The two eggs I'd asked for over-medium were just not good. And nothing had any flavor. I'd smelled a t0-go order of the hash as it went by me and it smelled great. The dish I got? It completely lacked any seasoning. The toasted english muffin on the side wasn't bad. The sausage? It had the uniform size and unnaturally smooth edges like it came directly out of a Jimmy Dean package. It also has no flavor and a slightly odd texture.
So yeah, we were thoroughly unimpressed with the food. Which is a shame, as we love Mom and Pop local joints, especially ones this close to home. Tara said that the sandwiches we saw other diners eating all looked really good, and said maybe she'd try those sometime.
That is, until both our stomachs started to feel queasy within 10 minutes of us leaving the restaurant. Mine was unsettled for the rest of the afternoon and Tara's is still not quite kosher. She said she felt like she was going to throw up all afternoon. I wasn't that bad, but I definitely was under the weather.
We still have another $10 gift coupon, due to a snafu when I was ordering them. Luckily it was only $.40.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
