Catalogs

In the past I have enjoyed flipping through the Cyberguys catalog, but now they have outdone themselves. Yesterday I got a catalog in the mail called X-treme Geek. As you might imagine, the catalog is full of truly appealing items. Here are a few items that give you the flavor of the catalog.
ERGOBEADS, EYE PILLOW, BLACK – Relentlessly crushing those foolish enough to oppose your will can lead to tired and puffy eyes. The endless targeting, the blinding flashes of exploding ordnance, the pitiful screaming…can give you a headache. The ergoBeads(tm) Eye Pillow blocks out light, spreading a gentle, soothing weight around your eyes. It can relieve sinus headaches and rejuvenate tired eyes. You’ll look and feel refreshed, ready for many more grueling hours of alien destruction, insurgent crushing and general LAN party mayhem.
ELITEMAX ETERNALIGHT, BLUE – eternaLight, the world’s first microprocessor controlled LED flashlight, features bright LEDs, encased in a durable and impact resistant case. This flashlight can provide continuous light for over 30 days without charging or replacing batteries. The built-in microprocessor offers a variety of light-effect modes and manages power usage for extended run-time.
DEATH RAIN POTATO CHIPS – Set your tongue and mucous membranes aflame with the hot snack that challenges even the most toughest of palates. Laced with Red Savina Habanero Pepper, these savory and spicy potato chips are big on flavor and are rated at temperatures from ‘Medium’ to ‘XXX hot’.
Who can resist such items?

The BeerNeck

Several weeks about, I was watching the Daily Show and on the screen came Curt “The BeerNeck Guy” Silbert talking about his new invention, the BeerNeck.
The BeerNeck is of course, irresistable to me. I am always setting my beer down and forgetting where I put it. I needed the Ultimate Drinking Tool.
I ordered the BeerNeck and forgot about it. Several weeks later, when I was out of town, the BeerNeck arrived in the mail. The same day, Curt Silbert, Chief of BeerNeck.com, actually called my home to make sure the package had arrived. Michele took the call and said, “He was very, very enthusiastic.” Now that’s what I call customer service.



Here is the BeerNeck. Note the neoprene case is for insulation.

The cap has an embedded opener for opening the bottle. Ingenious!

The bottle fit in perfectly and it was easy to zip up.

The cap then fits on top of the bottle to prevent spillage while I walked around.

The elastic lanyard is soft and the beer felt comfortable hanging there.
I did a few normal tasks around the house like cooking, taking out the trash, and sitting at the computer.
The BeerNeck never got in the way.

With a quick flip of my thumb to open the top, I was able to partake of cold, tasty beer.

The BeerNeck gets two thumbs up from me. At $10-$12 depending on style, it’s worth the money. The style points alone you’ll receive at your next BBQ are worth the price.

What’s with all this then…

Back at the family homestead.
The last night I was in Orlando, I got to ride Mission:Space. We grove up behind the park and walked on stage right at the ride. The ride was amazing. You actually pull 3 Gs when the simulated launch happens. Simply amazing ride.
Today, Michele is off at some Paul Frank clearance sale and I’m with the girls. In a few minutes Mira goes to a birthday party and Zoe and I go shopping.
We’ve agreed that a Roomba is in order here at Chez Pusateri. They are on sale and I’ve got a 20% off coupon. Obviously, I’ll post about it once the robot is in use.
Books
When I arrived home there was a stack of packages from Amazon on the table. My copy of Golden Transendence has arrived. The end of the trilogy is at hand but I am in the middle of Quicksilver. I’m on page 673 of 916. There ar worst things than be surrounded by good books.
OK, time to go. More later.

Working in paradise

Currently, I’m in Orlando for a series of meetings about dry IT topics. We just so happen to also be at Walt Disney World.
As a break in the day, we took a trip to see underneath Disney. After a quick trip on the monorail, we were soon walking down into the Utilidoor beneath the Magic Kingdom. The Utlidoor is the beneath ground aspect of the themepark that allows the cast members to prepare for work out of sight of the guests.
The complex underneath the Magic Kingdom is huge, based on a ring that is around two miles long. Places for people to get costumes, change, eat, rest, and do anything else are all in place. Seeing the rubberheads half out of costume was strange. I don’t recommened ever letting a child see it. 🙂
After the tour, we were back at work pouring over some spreadsheet. One of the guys, Paul, had a Treo 600 and I got to play with it while not paying attention. Here’s a selfportrait I took of us sitting around the table.

That’s my first camera phone picture. I don’t know if I want a Treo 600. It’s cool and all, but all I wanted to do was take a picture and make phone calls. The Treo 600 seems like a bit of overkill.
Time for me to get ready to head out to continue work on ‘business process mapping’ and ‘optimization opportunity’. I’m living in Dilbert land.

Blogging.la

A new group weblog in Los Angeles has been launched today.
Go check out blogging.la, they are good folks and this should be a good place. Events, news, gossip! Who knows what else is in store?
There seems to have been a lot of prep involved in the launch and I hope they find it rewarding.
Go forth now my LA brethren and link to blogrolling.la on your site.

The problem with Tivo

Tivo is a great thing, but there is one problem. I never know when new shows are coming.
Since I tend to fast forward through the commercial breaks, I miss the promos for new shows as well. In the last couple days I’ve realized that there are several things I have not heard about, yet want to watch. I like both Jeremiah and Horatio Hornblower, yet I was unaware that new episodes were coming. Luckily with Hornblower, I found out today, two days in advance. Unluckily with Jeremiah, I’ve already missed the first two episodes.
Tivo suggestions is good but I rarely check it, but there needs to be a companion web site that emails you info on recommended upcoming shows.
This is a symptom of the bigger problem the PVR is bringing to Television. When people stop watching promos, it’s going to be much, MUCH harder to get them to watch new things. I’m not sure what going to happen, but the way television is promoted is going to change.

Cleaning

Since Thanksgiving, I’ve been doing a little cleaning around the house. In the study here, there is a closet which is the closest thing I have to a private space in the house. That’s where I keep tools, computer bits, empty boxes, and anything else I don’t want the girls into. Over that last few months it had become full to the brim.
I cleaned it out. Below you can see all the trash I pulled out.


The old computer stuff I gave away to a bunch of people I know online from Genmay. The closet is remarkably empty now and Michele is quite happy.
On Saturday I continued to clean my desk and found even more stuff to toss out. The girls went to play at the Andersen’s during the day and Michele and I went to go see Kill Bill. Her first time, my second. Let me again stress how good this film is. Tarantino is hitting on all cylinders with this one and I eagerly await Vol. 2.
Books
I was happy to see that The Golden Transcendence by John C. Wright is now in-print. Obviously I ordered it immediately and anxiously await it’s arrival. I’m currently reading Quicksilver and I’m now getting into the flow of the book. Good thing I’m going on a business trip to Orlando this week or I might be forced to choose between the two.