In summary

Blogs have become the touchstone of much of the conversations I have with people. Our discourse, both online and in person, has become driven by the discourse of others.

Why isn’t there a really good solution to accessing blogs on my mobile device? Actually, why is my mobile device still trapped into feeling like a mobile device? Give me an experience that makes me feel empowered, not that makes me feel burdened.

Flat-panel TV prices are dropping fast. That leaves me with a 6 year old 40″ rear projection TV that I can’t even give away. I just keep lowering the price, but no one wants to buy it when they can buy the latest technology for not much more money. Eventually it will just go to charity if no one buys it.

I am replacing one of the TiVo boxes in my house with a DVR from Comcast. Why? TiVo can’t handle high definition TV, and that is just plain silly. So, the experiment begins with one TV and one DVR. This is a major shift for a dedicated TiVo fan like me.

Next year I want a cool new gadget. Not sure what it is, but I want it now.

Technorati Tags: blogs, Gadgets, TV

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What happened to the holidays?

The end of the calendar year is here, so we are all supposed get some time off to be with family, cook, eat, and generally support our nation’s economy. That is the essence of the holiday season.

Not this year. I have a huge project due in the next month and simultaneously working on a major event in March (which I really need 3 more months to plan, but such is life). My wife is dealing with a huge project at work. We are both beat.

We need to have a greater focus on doing nothing.

Soap Opera = Porn – Good Stuff

When I work out in the afternoon there are usually soap operas on the silent TVs in front of me (along with Oprah and Dr. Phil and ESPN and CNN). The TVs are silent because you need to tune your radio into a certain frequency to hear the sound. I don’t have either a radio or headset with me when I work out — I like the ambient noise of the gym, the music in the background, and the sound of my own labored breathing as I attempt to keep encroaching feebleness at bay.

So, I watch the soaps. I suspect that a generation will come that is so far removed from the origin of the soap opera that the term will have lost all meaning. Do people still realize that the shows were started by soap companies as a way to sell their product on radio (and then TV) by having a drama on which they could advertise exclusively? I fear not. Time leaves us with many language legacies.

As I was watching the other day — one of those endless scenes where some guy character is having some intense discussion with some gal character — I dawned I me I was watching a scene that could have been lifted right out of a high-quality porn flick (Yes, there are variations in quality amongst porn flicks. In fact, there are very specific levels of investment and the concomitant output in the porn business). The straight to video, cheesy acting, blow-dried hair, dimly lit, cheap stage scene was one I had seen a thousand times before (ok, perhaps not a thousand times). If I could have heard the sound I suspect it would have been the same simple score played behind every good porn flick.

Then it dawned on me that soaps are just porn without all the fun stuff. Or, porn are just soaps with some fun stuff thrown in. Either way, the distance between the two art forms (and I use art very liberally here, particularly as it applies to soaps) was much shorter than I ever imagined.

I am not sure either the porn actors or the soap actors would really appreciate this comparison.

Technorati Tags: Porn, TV