My Last Few Weeks
If I'm not mistaken, this past few weeks has been my longest blog absence. At the very least, it has been the longest unplanned absence. And because blogs are all about oversharing, let me share with you what I've been up to (other than work - which has been unexpectedly busy, but blogging about work is off-limits):
Lots and lots of photography: I have been shooting a lot of high school basketball since mid-February. I have kept about 590 photos since 2/23, which means I've likely taken over 2000. While it hasn't yet been all that lucrative, a couple of my photos did get used in an article for the city newspaper! While it's all exciting and stuff, I won't be quitting my day job anytime soon. Unless I win the lottery.
StatCounter: I'm in love with being able to label IP addresses in StatCounter now. And when I say "in love with it," I mean love. You have all been labeled. And I'm not even sorry about it.
Thinking about turning 30: More on this soon.
Exiting the 20th century: I don't own a DVR. My computer can function as a DVR, but I don't like to use up my hard drive space for TV. Also, with my current setup, I can only get over-the-air channels on my computer. So until very recently, I have been recording TV shows on a VCR (Wikipedia link provided in case anyone isn't sure what a VCR is). DVR enthusiasts will surely be able to tell me all the reasons why I'm wrong, but I just don't think a DVR meets my needs. I want to record shows, then watch them when I want - AND where I want. I should have the option to watch my recorded shows on the TV downstairs, or the TV upstairs, or on my laptop during my lunch breaks, or on my iPod while I'm on the toilet. It should be my choice. And most (not all) DVRs I've seen make it difficult to output a show to watch it on anything other than the drive it was recorded on.
So then I set out to buy what I thought would work best: a set-top DVD recorder with a built-in hard drive. The only catch with this plan is that I'm not rich, and they're not free. Instead, I settled on just a set-top DVD recorder. So far, it has been everything I hoped it would be. And, to the point, it has allowed me to get rid of my VCRs, which means that I've finally been able to remove all traces of the 1980's from my entertainment center -- except the Billy Ocean cassette tapes. But those don't count. They're timeless.
Comments
Nadia said:
When I read 'Thinking about turning 30', I immediately thought, "Wow, that's what he does when he's free? Contemplate leaping through time and space?"
I mean, I really really thought you had just decided to turn 30. *blush*
Who's Bill Ocean?
Syar said:
The absence is over. Hallelujah.
My link to your blog actually got a breather this last week. This is not right. I must exhaust it to the point of a check into link rehab.
The StatCounter thing excites me too, although I don't quite know what it means.
cadiz12 said:
congrats getting in the paper, omar! that's awesome. sounds like you're getting a lot of practice, too, so it's only a matter of time until sports illustrated comes knockin.
i've blocked out what life was like before the dvr.
nothing makes you feel older than people who don't remember "caribbean queen." sigh,
Radioactive Jam said:
Give up VHS tapes? Never!
Okay maybe. Just not yet.
elasticwaistbandlady said:
Omar? Omar Phillips? Hmmmm, that name seems so familiar to me. Oh, I remember now. There used to be this really cool guy that blogged but now he doesn't have time to hang with the 'little people' no more.
I'm glad to see you around. I thought you were sinking into deep 30th birthday depression. I was happy because as a writer of fine poetry, thirty rhymes with many more things than twenty. Dirty, flirty, birdie, Gerdie, shirty. Okay, fine, I guess it doesn't rhyme with that much.
I said:
Nadia - Who's Billy Ocean?!? He's the mastermind behind "Get out of my dreams (and into my car)"!!!
Syar - My link could be in rehab with stars such as Brittney Spears and Eddie Van Halen?! Click it! CLICK IT!
cadiz - Yes, it does make me feel old, too. So does turning 30.
RaJ - I haven't FULLY given them up yet. Old habits die hard.
elastic -
There once was a man who wasn't dirty
He liked to wear his blue shirty
He also loved pie
though I'm not gonna lie
He's nervous about turning 30
Lia said:
Yeah, it was the VCR thing that held my attention, too. I've moved from there to just not recording anything ever.
Becky said:
i have cassette tapes that i will never part with, either, but they aren't nearly as cool as billy ocean... try wilson phillips and nelson.
Jon said:
Sigh… I guess the DVR has replaced the cell phone as the new device Omar should have but refuses to own out of sheer stubborn madness… (really though, you don’t want a DVR, you want either Tivo or MythTV, trust me.)
Histrionic said:
You know a Tivo will work with other Tivos on your network, right? :)
And now the new Toast will use the Tivo Series 2 feature called Tivo To Go to let you export specific shows from the Tivo to your iPod ...