Here’s a list of recent events:
Well, ignoring item number four, it looked like time for a new TV!
I picked up a Pioneer Kuro Elite PRO-111FD at my local Magnolia A/V, and am completely floored by the picture quality. I’ve never seen a better picture on any set, including the fabled Sony Qualia that I checked out in Tokyo a few years ago. Incredibly deep blacks, great color rendition, and a smooth film-like resolution. Absolutely amazing.
I almost bought the Pioneer Kuro PDP-5020 ![[B001AAPEDC]](http://www.mikeyp.com/css/external.gif)
instead. It’s cheaper than the Elite, with an identical screen, but missing the “Pro” picture tuning menu as well as an ambient light detector. It turns out that I use both features. The Pro menu lets me turn off several counter-productive picture “enhancement” settings. The light sensor lets me tune the TV for my normal nighttime theater settings, then auto-compensate during washed out daylight viewing. However, if I didn’t get a great deal on the Elite, I would certainly have opted for the 5020.
If you’re lucky enough to be able to buy a TV during these nasty economic times, check out the Pioneer Kuros. And get one while you still can.
As I prepared to settle in for a Saturday evening, I embarked on the creation of a cold beverage. But alas! The source bottle had a new, confounding screw-top design not seen on previous bottles. When I attempted to turn the screw to break it free from its base, the base turned with it.
That will never do. But a man will not let a mere poorly-designed screw-top impede an essential beverage objective. This called for a new set of bar tools.
Never let it be said that anything gets between a man and his martini. Never.
At 7:30pm, I decided that I wanted to record the new Ken Burns documentary, The War, so I could watch it later. It airs at 8:00pm. My Comcast DVR was mostly full, so I spent 15 minutes tediously clicking through the abominable user interface menus, deleting one recording at a time. As any experienced Comcast DVR owner knows, the more you diddle with the menus, the slower the box gets, and sure enough, my DVR started to slow to a crawl.
I managed to delete everything I wanted, and opened the Guide to plan the recording. I found The War on KQED's HD channel, clicked on the info button, and tried to click the "other times" button to see when all of the series episodes are airing. Nothing. The button simply wouldn't work no matter how many times I clicked it.
I decided to take my chances and set a "series recording", hoping that the DVR will pick up the other 5 parts of the series. I clicked the "record series" button, examined the useless options, and clicked "record".
Pop! Click! Whizzzz!
The DVR spontaneously reset itself, and after 4 minutes of rebooting and authorizing itself, the entire channel guide was "TBA". Which, of course, meant that I couldn't schedule any recordings. Such as The War, about to air in 10 minutes.
At 7:58pm, the channel guide reappeared showing all of the program info. I clicked at fast as possible, and managed to get the series recording scheduled just before the clock rolled over to 8:00pm.
For reference, the most basic functions that allow a DVR to function are:
I watched the Tenacious D in The Pick of Denstiny DVD last weekend. Funny flick, if you like the Jack Black rocker shtick. And if you have a dts-capable sound system, as I do, you must hear the dts audio mix. Wow! As usual, the dts mix sounds incredible compared to the DD 5.1 mix, with hefty, well-rounded bass coming from the mains and surrounds in addition to the sub.
Whenever I get a new DVD from NetFlix, I always hit the options screen with hope of finding a dts audio option. I sure wish the list of dts DVDs was longer.
Almost every time I read the webcomic xkcd, I find myself laughing hysterically… then suddenly and sheepishly scanning the room to see if anyone saw me laughing at something so incredibly geeky.
