Snowpocalypse 2012

Michaela prefers to observe the snow rather that actually interact with in any way.

We had our first bit of snow for the 2012 season. It was fun. The kids' schools were closed, so they played outside (sort of). They made (or at least attempted to make) a snowman and went sledding down our little hill. I believe there was even a snowball thrown at some point. You know, you're typical American snow event. Super awesome family funtime. But it got better. After the snow we had...more snow. Along with this additional snow came multiple power outages. Irritating, yes. But you know what? It was all worth it because after it all, it snowed...again -- and it kept snowing for another four swearing-goes-here days. We ended up with about a foot. Hardly anything compared a lot of places in the country, I know. But it was the worst snow storm in decades around here. It eventually came to be called Snowpocalypse 2012.

2012 TiVo Premiere: Prettier, Snappier, and 33% Appier

This sentence contains so many caveats, I don't think it exists at all.

As a long-time TiVo zealot and a regular follower of the @tivodesign Twitter feed, I was given a bit of a preview to the recent major update for the TiVo Premiere (20.2-01-2-746). Once the update was downloaded and installed, the final step was a full reboot. Now, TiVo’s don’t reboot very often reboot. My old Series 2 TiVo (circa 2006) would go months between reboots (and then only because there was a blip in the power). So, needing to force a reboot of my Premiere made me kind of nervous -- kind of like there was no going back, you know? However, I steeled myself to the danger and rebooted.

To Live and Slowly Spin in a Circle in LA

This time of year is always a bit weird for me. Due to the Christmas* and New Years** holidays occurring during the winter of the autumn and the spring of the winter (along with their corresponding 4-day weekends), I find myself with an abundance of unallocated hours to fill. To battle the onset of cabin fever, I usually start actively looking for projects around day 5. Something, anything, to occupy my copious free time. Things were especially cabin-feverish this year due to my timely acquisition of a nasty cold that kept me indoors even more than usual (the outside world is strange and frightening to me).

Go Small with Amazon Prime

Scenario:
You need a couple of SATA cables so you go to Amazon and find a  2-pack for less than $3.00.

Yep. It's a thing.

Problem:

Shipping to your home would cost more than $3.00, and you would have to wait up to a week to get them (also, you are too lazy and/or cheap to drive to the local Best Buy and buy them there for $6.00).

"Solution":
Add more stuff to your order. Let's see...what to get? Say..what's this? A 12-pack of Worthington FriChick? The premiere product in the canned vegetable-protein-and-egg-whites-based chicken-flavored food product industry? Selling for less than $60.00? SOLD! Totally worth it? Probably not. All you know is you now have enough in your cart to qualify for free standard chicken, er, shipping. Yeah, it will take five days to get here, but man, that compressed vegetable-egg product is gonna be sweet (and by 'sweet', you mean 'wet and salty').

Solution:
Join Amazon Prime and get your $3.00 cables delivered in two days for no charge. Duh.

Review: The Body Back Buddy. It's not for anything gross.

The Body Back Buddy.
Brought to you by the Letter 'S'
(but not the letters 'E' or 'X')

My friends all laugh when I show them this thing (or at least they would if they ever come over). I ask them to guess what it is and I get things like "It it a yard ornament?", or "Um......a sex toy?". Then I would say "What!? That's gross!". Then they laugh and say, "Yeah...no seriously, is it a sex toy?". That's usually when I ask them to leave. Perverts.

But for the few friends that aren't sickos, I will tell them what it actually does. They are dubious at first; at least until I let them use it. Then I see their eyes roll back in their heads and I hear groans of relief (again, I want to emphasize, this is not a sex toy). In short, they find that it really does work!

I think the hardest part is learning how to hold the thing. You look at it and think "What the flip are all these knobs for?" and "Did you buy this at the 'Lovers' store down the street? Because I am not using it if you did.", and then, "I don't think I can use this with a clean conscience.". However, it comes with this little book to show you how to use it (in a way that won't get you arrested). It's like having an LMT at my disposal. Both my wife and I are were going to a massage therapist as often as twice a month, at something like $70 a pop (though our co-pay was only $15). Not anymore (probably)! I can hook this thing over my shoulder and put pressure that spot on my back that is always tight. You know, "that" spot? The one place on your whole body you can't reach with your hands? Yeah, that spot.

My only complaint is there are a few places where the plastic molding seam creates a sharp edge. It can make those areas unusable because, you know, it hurts. I can sand them down, but that should have been done before shipping. But other than that irritation, the Body Back Buddy is the bomb (that's still a thing right?).