TiVo and Netflix Sitting In A Tree...

Today I read the best gadget news ever. Netflix has partnered with TiVo to allow their Instant Streaming to be integrated automatically. I have been hoping for this ever since Netflix began their Watch Now option. There are currently over 12,000 titles available to watch instantly, and that number grows daily.

I had toyed with the idea of buying the Roku box or the new Samsung Blu-ray DVD player that had the Netflix options, but they were anywhere from $100 to over $400. Now all I have to do is wait a few weeks and my TiVo will magically transform itself into the Coolest Gadget Ever!

If you would like to keep up to date on the TiVo Netflix partnership, you can sign up here .

If you don't own a TiVo HD yet, you can click on the link below and get one now.

The Wordy Shipmates

Last night I went to BookPeople in downtown Austin to see Sarah Vowell read from her new book, The Wordy Shipmates. I arrived an hour early to find most of the seats already filled. I sat with Sarah from work on uncomfortable folding chairs adjacent to the Adventure/Travel Disaster book section. The entire section could fall under the heading: Idiots Out of Their Element & In Over Their Heads. By the time the author started reading, there was standing room only down the aisles and people sitting "Indian Style" on the floor.

I had seen Sarah on The Daily Show and the Late Show with David Letterman as well as enjoyed her vocal work as Violet Parr in 2004 Pixar movie The Incredibles. I have never read any of her books, but I did read the first chapter of her new book before attending the reading/signing. The subject matter of  The Wordy Shipmates, the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 is not what I typically reach for when selecting a book, but her writing style is like listening to the best history teacher not just give you the facts, but weave a tale that includes reasons behind the facts, back stories of the people involved and relating this to what is happening in today's world. She also has a great pessimistic sense of humor that makes me grin like an idiot.

After the reading she had a Q&A session that included questions about the Puritan's view on Sex: Between a husband and a wife it was a pretty good idea because God came up with it, to her views on President Bush:  Since he was once the Governor of Texas, someone in the room had to have voted for him more than twice. One audience member questioned her on a bit of minutia she had written years ago and she replied that she was unsure how to answer the question and wished that she knew more about herself.

A wave of humanity lurched forward when the announcement that she would begin signing books was made. BookPeople does not discount, so I decided not to purchase a copy of Sarah's work for her to sign (they would only allow copies purchased at this store to be signed). It will not be signed, but you can get a steep discount if you click on the link below. Buy one of her books; you will be smarter & entertained.

Livestrong 2008 - The Aftermath

I completed my 3rd 5K last Sunday. The good news is I finished with my fastest time ever:  32:34. The bad news is that I could not break the 30 minute barrier I was hoping for. I have been running at night with my dog Buffy, and got as fast as a 8:53 mile. The hills in the capitol area of Austin conspired to drive my heart rate higher than I was comfortable with, so I was forced to walk portions of the course. 

I exceeded my donation goal of $200 thanks to my Parents and my Red Cheetah Dealers:  http://austin08.livestrong.org/dblaylock 

Tawnya did great this year as did all of the people in Team Red Cheetah. After the race, my boss bought breakfast for everyone at the 1886 Cafe & Bakery in The Driskill Hotel on 6th Street.  After a 5:45AM wake up call, a 5K race and a huge breakfast we made a retreat back home for a well deserved nap.

My feet seem to have taken the worse damage this time around. They feel like somebody smashed them with a hammer. I should probably spend a few bucks and have the nice people at RunTex help me find a decent pair of running shoes.

Some day I will get this all dialed in, and Watch Out!

Igor and Shady Grove

It took a month after it's initial release, but we finally saw Igor today.

And not a day too soon. It was only playing on one screen in the greater Austin area. We were the first of only a dozen people in the theater when the house lights went down and the movie started. I am sure we could have bought the DVD in a month or two for less than half of what we spent on Gas, Tickets and Snacks, but spending a day with the family and watching a fun kids movie in the theater is what memories are made of.

I can only rate the movie 3 out of 5 Stars on the Netflix scale (I Liked It). One of my favorite things to do while watching an animated movie is try to figure out who is doing the voices of the different characters. I was able to name 8 of the 10 "stars". Apparently I am not familiar enough with Sean Hayes or Arsenio Hall to identify their talent by vocals alone. If was a fun movie, but not a classic film that requires a DVD purchase.

After the movie we went to Shady Grove for lunch. We usually wait up to 45 minutes for a table on a Saturday afternoon, but today we were seated in less than five. We love the atmosphere of the place and the food is pretty good too. Tawnya thinks the hand battered Onion Rings are the best item on the menu.

Joe and his two youngest kids are in California for the weekend, so it has been relatively quiet in the Blaylock home. Taylor & Nicole have been staying up late and "camping out" in the living room with Buffy. It is fun to just let the kids be kids.

Livestrong 2008 - Austin, Texas

For the second year in a row my employer Red Cheetah Software is participating in the LIVESTRONG Challenge in Austin, Texas on October 25th to benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Today, there are more than 10 million people living with cancer in United States, and it is estimated that close to 1.3 million more will be diagnosed this year alone. Although there is no cure, progress has been made. It is important to continue progress toward beating this disease. It is time that we make a commitment to close the gap between what we know and what we do.

My goal is not just to participate in the LIVESTRONG Challenge, but to raise $200.00 to help further the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s mission of inspiring and empowering people affected by cancer. To reach this goal, I need your help.

If you have been affected by cancer, or you care about this cause, please consider donating toward my fundraising goal. You can donate online at:

http://austin08.livestrong.org/dblaylock

Thank you in advance for your support. Together, we can make a difference in the fight against cancer.

Capitol Idea

Now that Fall has turned the air cool enough to go outside and our grass has stopped growing, we actually have time during the weekends to begin to show off Austin to my Brother in Law and Nieces.

Tawnya was out of town for a Mini Retreat, so the rest of us crammed ourselves into Joe's Highlander and headed South. I pointed out all the important sights along our route such as the University of Texas at Austin, the Driskill Hotel and the Chuggin' Monkey on 6th Street.

We visited the 22nd floor offices of Red Cheetah Software and showed the kids where Joe would be working. They marveled at the assortment of Kid's Meal toys that line the top of my cube's walls. The office has a great view of the Texas State Capitol Building and the kids asked to see it up close.

We walked the 5 blocks up Congress Avenue and wandered the halls of the Capitol. At the time of its construction, the capitol building was billed as "The Seventh Largest Building in the World". Except for Taylor, this is the first capitol building the girls had ever seen.

We toured the grounds a bit and then went back to the car...little feet get tired quickly. I took them across the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge, pointed out Lady Bird Lake, drove past the South Congress Shopping District and through Zilker Metropolitan Park.

We could have done more, but little stomaches get hungry quickly. A great thing about young kids is that cheap pizza makes them happy.

Flu Shot

I just got my annual Flu Shot today. I have gotten Flu Shots every fall since the early 90's except for 2004 when there was a national shortage of the Flu Vaccine.

There are plenty of people who refuse to get the shot for various reasons (most seem to hate needles), but if I can sidestep a bad case of the Flu it is well worth the $25 cost, the slight discomfort of a shot and a sore arm.

The CDC says that in 1999/2000, pneumonia/influenza was the 7th leading cause of death in the US with 63,730 annual deaths, or about 7 per hour. The influenza epidemic that swept the world in 1918 killed an estimated 50 million people (one fifth of the world's population), which was more than three times that died in World War I. 

Extra Special Bonus:  Work paid for the vaccination.

We Got A Wii

Due to popular demand (by the 4 kids living in our house) we are now the proud owners of a Wii.

I have not owned a gaming system since my parents bought Atari Super PONG in 1976. Much has changed in the ensuing 3 plus decades. Out of the box the Wii was connected wirelessly to the internet, updated itself and was giving me news and weather from around the world. This did not impress the kids; they wanted to play the games. Everyone got to play for 10 minutes each before bedtime. We only had one controller so everyone played against the Wii. 

Taylor's 9th birthday party will have a Wii theme, so it is time to stock up on a few extra controllers.

Video on Demand

The contract dispute between my local NBC affiliate KXAN and my cable provider Time Warner has now affected my wallet to the tune of $1.99.

Season 34, Episode 4 of Saturday Night Live hosted by Anne Hathaway on October 4, 2008 was conspicuously absent from my TiVo when I woke up Sunday morning.

Amazon.com has a partnership with TiVo that allows me to order Video on Demand for not only Movies, but TV Shows as well. I don't mind spending less than two dollars for instant gratification once in a while, but this just might be enough to push me over the edge and bail out on other NBC shows that I am not fanatical about.




I did go running last night, so a smaller batch of shows to watch is also making me more healthy.

Goodbye California, Hello Texas

Joe, my Brother In Law, got laid off from his job in California the same week he gained full custody of his three daughters. With the economy as bad as it is, especially in California, we offered to let him and his girls stay with us until he got a job and could get back out on his own.

Our little family went from 3 people to 7 in a blink of an eye. There is more food to cook, more dishes to clean and more clothes to wash. There are also more hugs to give and receive.

I arranged a job interview at the same place I work in downtown Austin...he starts this Thursday. I was nice to hear from my boss that he thinks Joe is very qualified and will make a great addition to our team.

I Love it when a plan comes together.

Taylor enjoys having her cousins back in her life, and she now understands that having a little sister (the youngest cousin is 4) is not as idealistic as she thought it might be.

I Want My NBC

Time Warner Cable customers in the Austin area lost NBC programming at 12:01 a.m. this morning—the result of an ongoing contract dispute between the owner of network affiliate KXAN and the cable giant.

Since I do not watch football, this is not an emergency...yet.

If this goes on for much longer I will be missing:

• Saturday Night Live
• Chuck
• My Own Worst Enemy
  
• The Biggest Loser
• My Name Is Earl
• The Office
• America's Toughest Jobs
• 30 Rock

I had always thought it was a Federal Mandate that Cable Companies must carry all of the local channels. I guess that was trumped by Deregulation and Greed. Now I will have to audit reruns to make sure they were not episodes that slipped by.

On the positive side I could spend the extra time with my family.