Things Smackie Thinks You Need to Know...

Charlie wrote:
Is your better half really into sports as much as you, and actually wants to listen to it on a drive, or are you just using "We" in the figurative sense?

It would be nearly impossible to be as big a sports fan as me, but Smackette is a pretty big sports fan for a chick (as is Mrs. Venerable, probably more so because she takes it very personally).  Smackette loves the Angels as much as I do (watched nearly as many games as I did when she was in school, much less now that she's in residency, but would definitely listen to them on the radio on long drives).

However we disagree on favorite teams in just about every other sport, so it makes listening difficult.  I like the Steelers, she likes the Rams.  When the Venerables come over nearly every Sunday for football, we have the picture in picture going with a collection of the Steelers, Rams, Chiefs (Venerable) and the Bears (Mrs. Venerable) games on.  We have spent Sundays driving from LA back to SF listening to the Rams or Steelers before.

Smackette loves the Lakers, I hate the NBA, but I have stomached listening to Laker games on the radio (I usually just gamble on the game so that I'm interested).  I love the Ducks, she's not into hockey on TV, but would go to any game (she does like the Stanley Cup playoffs though).  She also loves Kasey Kahne, I love Smoke, but we don't listen to NASCAR on the radio.

She loves the World Cup, but not so much Man U.  She's a Real fan, but no diehard.  When they play in the champions league, she'll watch it.  She doesn't mind a Sat or Sun morning watching the match and reading US Weekly though.

Venerable wrote:

Many irate Circuit City shoppers discovered the hard way this weekend that going-out-of-business sales don't always mean bargain-basement prices.

What are they irate about?  People sure are strange.  I got 10% off a video game and a ridiculous amount off 2 Xbox rechargeable batteries with recharger (I think it was $8) and was completely fine with that.  They didn't promise anything more. 

"Customers who say 10% isn't enough for me, they're free to walk out and come back when the discounts are greater," he said. "If they're lucky, the merchandise will still be there."

  I am slightly irritated that their website is down and it appears you must actually go to the store to see whats onsale.  That said, with a Best Buy downtown and no Circuit City…..for i dont even know where there is one.  I might hit it up sometime in late Feb to see if i can grab a deep discount.

Nice that you have the in common, as much as you do!

vansmack wrote:

Charlie wrote:
Is your better half really into sports as much as you, and actually wants to listen to it on a drive, or are you just using "We" in the figurative sense?

It would be nearly impossible to be as big a sports fan as me, but Smackette is a pretty big sports fan for a chick (as is Mrs. Venerable, probably more so because she takes it very personally).  Smackette loves the Angels as much as I do (watched nearly as many games as I did when she was in school, much less now that she's in residency, but would definitely listen to them on the radio on long drives).

However we disagree on favorite teams in just about every other sport, so it makes listening difficult.  I like the Steelers, she likes the Rams.  When the Venerables come over nearly every Sunday for football, we have the picture in picture going with a collection of the Steelers, Rams, Chiefs (Venerable) and the Bears (Mrs. Venerable) games on.  We have spent Sundays driving from LA back to SF listening to the Rams or Steelers before.

Smackette loves the Lakers, I hate the NBA, but I have stomached listening to Laker games on the radio (I usually just gamble on the game so that I'm interested).  I love the Ducks, she's not into hockey on TV, but would go to any game (she does like the Stanley Cup playoffs though).  She also loves Kasey Kahne, I love Smoke, but we don't listen to NASCAR on the radio.

She loves the World Cup, but not so much Man U.  She's a Real fan, but no diehard.  When they play in the champions league, she'll watch it.  She doesn't mind a Sat or Sun morning watching the match and reading US Weekly though.

I went looking for a new ipod, and they weren't onsale at all. :(

vansmack wrote:

Venerable wrote:

Many irate Circuit City shoppers discovered the hard way this weekend that going-out-of-business sales don't always mean bargain-basement prices.

What are they irate about?  People sure are strange.  I got 10% off a video game and a ridiculous amount off 2 Xbox rechargeable batteries with recharger (I think it was $8) and was completely fine with that.  They didn't promise anything more. 

"Customers who say 10% isn't enough for me, they're free to walk out and come back when the discounts are greater," he said. "If they're lucky, the merchandise will still be there."

Charlie wrote:
Nice that you have the in common, as much as you do!

Invaluable, sir.  I'm probably impossible to marry but for someone both enjoying sports and tolerating my overindulgences.

Charlie wrote:
I went looking for a new ipod, and they weren't onsale at all. :(

Apple sets the prices for those (and most Apple products).  Retailers have very little leeway in changing the prices of Apple products but for using gimmicks (free non-apple accessories is usually the hook).

All other MP3 players were 10% off though.

vansmack wrote:
the Director

why doesnt he post here anymore? is he just lurking these days???

num wrote:

vansmack wrote:
the Director

why doesnt he post here anymore? is he just lurking these days???

He's hanging out with Tom Waits, working on some new material.  I'm pretty sure, but can't be positive, that The Director is the inspiration for Tom's next project.  I'm not saying it's going to be the next Tommy, but I don't think Quadrophenia is out of the question.

vansmack wrote:

num wrote:

vansmack wrote:
the Director

why doesnt he post here anymore? is he just lurking these days???

He's hanging out with Tom Waits, working on some new material.  I'm pretty sure, but can't be positive, that The Director is the inspiration for Tom's next project.  I'm not saying it's going to be the next Tommy, but I don't think Quadrophenia is out of the question.

  on the homepage, it says  he's online in this forum…….come out come out wherever you are!!!

num wrote:
  on the homepage, it says  he's online in this forum…….come out come out wherever you are!!!

Nice.  How time consuming can this page be?

vansmack wrote:

num wrote:
  on the homepage, it says  he's online in this forum…….come out come out wherever you are!!!

Nice.  How time consuming can this page be?

ha. i never noticed it before.  creepers.

vansmack wrote:

  I've tried to spread out my processing power and have started to purchase less powerful computers in an attempt to utilize my other more powerful devices. 

The Economist has finally written an article that I should have written back in January or July.  It succinctly sums up my thoughts on the death of the desktop, spreading out processing power, and my newest adventures into virtualization.

Less is Moore
Jan 15th 2009
From The Economist print edition

There is strong demand for technologies that do the same for less money, rather than more for the same price

"Suddenly there is much more interest in products that apply the flip side of Moore?s law: instead of providing ever-increasing performance at a particular price, they provide a particular level of performance at an ever-lower price" and the rise of "good enough" computing.

from the footie thread

godsshoeshine wrote:
i picked spurs precoffee this morning, completely forgetting that it was a second leg, after completely forgetting that the man u match yesterday was a second leg too

i was all set to go out on a limb and pick the wiz to win on the road too. watch them do it

it worked and i was right. awesome

vansmack wrote:
I stumbled on these brilliant videos from MarketPlace explaining some of the how and the why using very simple examples.  Enjoy.

Crisis Explained (or what exactly is a CDO ; Why "Fallout" for the Financial Crisis ; Untangling Credit Default Swaps ; Leveraging and Deleveraging ; How Credit Cards become Asset-Backed Securities ; Getting Naked in Short Selling ; Margin Calls and the Financial Markets Decline ; Over the Counter, over the top

Toxic Assets explained like bad wine...

vansmack wrote:
I've discounted all tangible media in my equations, so I won't pay a premium for Blu-Ray (or HD-DVD).  I haven't purchased a DVD or CD in over a year, maybe two, relying solely on rental models and downloads.  The first company to allow for a $20 license for unlimited downloadable movies that expire (a Netflix meets Xbox Live Marketplace model) has my allegiance for the next 5 years…I agree with Sony, Blu-Ray's dead in 5 years.  It's already dead to me. 

Streaming video cannibalizing DVD rentals, says Netflix

Netflix says that DVD rentals are down for subscribers who make use of the company's online streaming service. Though it doesn't hurt Netflix's bottom line, the trend certainly spells bad news for physical media, including Blu-ray.

"We are seeing early signs of less DVD usage with some subscribers who are also watching instantly as compared to subscribers who only receive DVDs," said Hastings. "Time will tell whether this substitution effect is an attribute of early adopters or a mainstream behavior."


As Smackie so eloquently pointed out - it will be mainstream behavior soon, so work to drop the DVD model, or at least create a cheap online only subscription model and put your resources behind increasing your online catalog.

I'll stick with the dvd thanks.

The image on my pc sucks compared to what I get on my tc screen.

Charlie wrote:
I'll stick with the dvd thanks.

The image on my pc sucks compared to what I get on my tc screen.

Whatever floats your boat, Rhett, but just to be factually correct, the rest of us are watching the downloaded stuff on our TV's, not our PC screens and in better quality than a standard DVD (1080 or 720 vertical lines per screen as opposed to 480 lines, which is the limit of a typical DVD).

That sounds like too much work.

i think rhetts been drinking