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It's all new!
Sep. 8th, 2010 10:10 amSo this weekend was about new stuff and new organization.
Friday night I was surprised with a brand new computer. It's an HP Compaq- quad core 777mhz...and a whole lot of other specs that I don't know. We'll have to upgrade the memory as it only came with 2 gigs (How insane is it that we consider 2 gigs too small anymore?) It's also got a DVD player that will actually play movie DVDs. Something both of the other computers in my house lacked.
This is important because of the new organization. I determined that I did not want to continue to have television (particularly cable since that's the only way I can get any channels) in my house. This doesn't save me any money because I still have to pay for my internet service (which costs the same amount) but I have to think a little bit harder about the programs/influences I allow into my home. Now if I want to watch something specific, I have to either consider buying it or use Netflix. Both of which require more consideration than just flicking on the TV and vegging over whatever is there. Eventually I plan to get rid of the TV entirely but since I still have a game system and VHS, I need to purchase a monitor with VGA inputs before I can do that. Along with that, I decided to reorganize my movies. Currently they take up an entire bookshelf which really draws attention to the fact that I have a television and it's space that I could use for books. Until I replace the rest of my VHS, I'll still have a number of them on the shelves but I have managed to pull all my DVD's off the shelf and put them into binders. I'll store the DVD cases under a bed or something but that has given me over half of the bookshelf back for books. I purchased one big binder for all my genre's, a small binder for MASH and Little House, which are the only series I have that are complete or nearly complete, and I plan to buy another binder for any TV series I decide to purchase (Which may include: Meerkat Manor, Dirty Jobs, Deadliest Catch, Swords, The new detectives, CSI...). I may decide the large binder that isn't the best for organization and expansion. I'll have to wait and see.
Because I was thinking of movies, I spent a little money and purchased some that I needed to replace some of the VHS and also ones that I could watch while I knit. My biggest bargain came from the Discovery channel. They have bundled the Earth collection- Planet Earth, Blue Planet, Life, and Earth's Most Amazing Events- for $139.99. Since Planet Earth, by itself, sells for $64.99 in stores I feel I got a steal!
I'd love to get some of the old movies that are along the lines of "White Christmas." But I don't know which ones those would be. Does anyone have suggestions? I enjoyed Operation Petticoat, Angel and the Bad Man, Donovan's Reef, and The Quiet Man which are of a similar era (Yes, I know most are John Wayne but that's what was available not a specific preference). I also enjoy Black Sheep Squadron, which was a television series from that era.
This weekend, I also finally replaced my cell phone. It was four years old and had an annoying habit of turning off at random times, sometimes in the middle of a call, for no particular reason. I wasn't getting particularly good reception but I think that has more to do with AT&T that the phone. I decided to stay with AT&T because my family is on it and we all get free calls to each other as long as we all remain on that network. It may or may not be the best choice for coverage but I rarely use all of my minutes because of the family connection. I find the experience of buying a cell phone irritating. First you go into a store and you may have to wait for 30 minutes to an hour before anyone can help you. I was fortunate this time that I hit a slow time and got good service. Then the salesman tries to sell you the most expensive phone model. I explained very quickly that I wanted a basic phone with blue-tooth and voice command capability and did not want anything more than that. That basically limited me to three phone options- which was also annoying. Then they tell you, "Oh this phone is only $9.99/19.99/29.99 but the reality is, that is what it might ultimately cost once you receive the rebate. You actually have to come up with $59.99/69.99/79.99 first and hope that a $50 check eventually reaches you (a process with which I have had no good experiences). I knew this would happen going in but I think it really borders on deceptive marketing. Then there are all the little hassles of buying the phone charger, switching the sim cards, trying to transfer images to the new phone, and losing all the ring tones you'd already purchased. I settled on a basic Nokia flip phone. I can't tell you which one because they no longer put the model number on the phones. The final annoyance of the new phones is this: They have a number of easily used features, GPS, Web service, Online shopping...but they all charge you if you use them-even if you accidentally hit the wrong app. The GPS is $9.99 a month plus the $20/month data package or minute by minute charges as they apply. It will be interesting to see what my phone bill is at the end of the month.
Friday night I was surprised with a brand new computer. It's an HP Compaq- quad core 777mhz...and a whole lot of other specs that I don't know. We'll have to upgrade the memory as it only came with 2 gigs (How insane is it that we consider 2 gigs too small anymore?) It's also got a DVD player that will actually play movie DVDs. Something both of the other computers in my house lacked.
This is important because of the new organization. I determined that I did not want to continue to have television (particularly cable since that's the only way I can get any channels) in my house. This doesn't save me any money because I still have to pay for my internet service (which costs the same amount) but I have to think a little bit harder about the programs/influences I allow into my home. Now if I want to watch something specific, I have to either consider buying it or use Netflix. Both of which require more consideration than just flicking on the TV and vegging over whatever is there. Eventually I plan to get rid of the TV entirely but since I still have a game system and VHS, I need to purchase a monitor with VGA inputs before I can do that. Along with that, I decided to reorganize my movies. Currently they take up an entire bookshelf which really draws attention to the fact that I have a television and it's space that I could use for books. Until I replace the rest of my VHS, I'll still have a number of them on the shelves but I have managed to pull all my DVD's off the shelf and put them into binders. I'll store the DVD cases under a bed or something but that has given me over half of the bookshelf back for books. I purchased one big binder for all my genre's, a small binder for MASH and Little House, which are the only series I have that are complete or nearly complete, and I plan to buy another binder for any TV series I decide to purchase (Which may include: Meerkat Manor, Dirty Jobs, Deadliest Catch, Swords, The new detectives, CSI...). I may decide the large binder that isn't the best for organization and expansion. I'll have to wait and see.
Because I was thinking of movies, I spent a little money and purchased some that I needed to replace some of the VHS and also ones that I could watch while I knit. My biggest bargain came from the Discovery channel. They have bundled the Earth collection- Planet Earth, Blue Planet, Life, and Earth's Most Amazing Events- for $139.99. Since Planet Earth, by itself, sells for $64.99 in stores I feel I got a steal!
I'd love to get some of the old movies that are along the lines of "White Christmas." But I don't know which ones those would be. Does anyone have suggestions? I enjoyed Operation Petticoat, Angel and the Bad Man, Donovan's Reef, and The Quiet Man which are of a similar era (Yes, I know most are John Wayne but that's what was available not a specific preference). I also enjoy Black Sheep Squadron, which was a television series from that era.
This weekend, I also finally replaced my cell phone. It was four years old and had an annoying habit of turning off at random times, sometimes in the middle of a call, for no particular reason. I wasn't getting particularly good reception but I think that has more to do with AT&T that the phone. I decided to stay with AT&T because my family is on it and we all get free calls to each other as long as we all remain on that network. It may or may not be the best choice for coverage but I rarely use all of my minutes because of the family connection. I find the experience of buying a cell phone irritating. First you go into a store and you may have to wait for 30 minutes to an hour before anyone can help you. I was fortunate this time that I hit a slow time and got good service. Then the salesman tries to sell you the most expensive phone model. I explained very quickly that I wanted a basic phone with blue-tooth and voice command capability and did not want anything more than that. That basically limited me to three phone options- which was also annoying. Then they tell you, "Oh this phone is only $9.99/19.99/29.99 but the reality is, that is what it might ultimately cost once you receive the rebate. You actually have to come up with $59.99/69.99/79.99 first and hope that a $50 check eventually reaches you (a process with which I have had no good experiences). I knew this would happen going in but I think it really borders on deceptive marketing. Then there are all the little hassles of buying the phone charger, switching the sim cards, trying to transfer images to the new phone, and losing all the ring tones you'd already purchased. I settled on a basic Nokia flip phone. I can't tell you which one because they no longer put the model number on the phones. The final annoyance of the new phones is this: They have a number of easily used features, GPS, Web service, Online shopping...but they all charge you if you use them-even if you accidentally hit the wrong app. The GPS is $9.99 a month plus the $20/month data package or minute by minute charges as they apply. It will be interesting to see what my phone bill is at the end of the month.
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