Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Do you still have a landline phone?

phonesI haven't had a traditional landline phone since I left college; in college is was provided for free where I was living, but I think the only people that called me on it were my parents. For a few years I had a phone from Vonage that was $15 per month for 500 minutes of long distance and everything else, but after reviewing the usage, the $15 was a better incremental spend for more minutes on the cell phone.
What's the value proposition in having a landline anymore? If you still have one and swear by it, let me know why.
Picture from Darwin Bell.

Friday, May 16, 2008

In memorium

So, I had to put one of my dogs down last night, which is a totally miserable experience if you've never been through it. The temptation in these situations is to think about all the things that you didn't do, focus on all of the bad stuff, all the times you didn't take them for walks, etc., so I'd like to remember a few of the good things:

  • riley1 He was never left alone overnight. Any time that everyone was out of town, there always was someone that stayed at the house with him.
  • He got to come to more concerts than many of you have probably been to -- I used to bring him to work at the amphitheatre with me. For that matter, he's probably met more artists than many of you have.
  • He got to play in deep snow.
  • He got to live in Venice, CA 8 blocks away from the beach and walk on the strand and play in the Pacific Ocean.
  • He got to watch my daughter grow through her first 2.5 years and to be her protector.
  • He got to lay on the couch (frequently) even though he wasn't supposed to.
  • He got to sleep on the bed (frequently) even though he wasn't supposed to.
  • He was fiercly loyal and protective and absolutely hated mailmen and trash collectors with a passion.
I found this great excerpt from "The Best Place to Bury a Dog" by Ben Hur Lampman:
The one best place to bury a dog is in the heart of its master.
riley2
It was my great pleasure that he was my friend for 8 years -- I can count on 1 hand the number of real friends I've had for that long.
I'll miss you.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

HBO hits iTunes, if they get Food Network, I'm cancelling my tv service

So, it's official, iTunes is now carrying HBO series programs. I would say that about 95% of my television viewing is HBO and the Food Network, so I'll cross my fingers that Food Network shows are coming (or that Food Network just starts streaming online) and that I can cancel my television service.
hbo on itunes
Link -- press release

Monday, May 12, 2008

Keep Moving Forward

Quote by Walt Disney the ending of Meet the Robinsons:

"Around Here, However, We Don't Look Backwards Very Long,
We Keep Moving Forward, Opening Up New Doors And
Doing New Things, Because We're Curious...
And Curiosity Keeps Leading Us Down New Paths."
moving forward
Actual quote from Walt Disney's 1965 presentation, "Total Image":

There s really no secret about our approach. We keep movingforward opening up new doors and doing new things because we recurious. And curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. We re alwaysexploring and experimenting. At WED, we call it Imagineering theblending of creative imagination with technical know-how.