Real Progress

My wife and I got our first home! An all around sweet deal in a great part of a great town. We couldn't be happier.

As with many first homes, it's a fixer-upper. I'll do my best to keep you updated on the progress of the remodel/rehab. Here's a pic and a link to my Flickr album of the house, back before it was touched to begin any updates.


Flickr photo album

Stay tuned, I'll keep adding pictures / updates as we remodel the house.

Yes, you can

Progress has halted on the blog. Please Stand by.

No Explanation Needed

Drivers of Michigan Roads...

Read this. You will laugh and/or chuckle.


Source: Autoblog

Epic Fight

Eagle vs. Fox

A Marriage Based on a Pun

Free cars are cool and all, but would you want to get married at the Chicago Auto Show?
[read here]

How will you stimulate the economy?

The big "Economic Stimulus Plan" has passed, and it looks like all the John & Jane Q. Tax-payers out there (even those that don't pay the Fed) will be a little richer come summer time. Here's how it boils down...

(from Consumerist.com)

• Workers making at least $3000 but not paying federal income taxes: $300


• Income tax paying individuals: $600


• Working couples: $1200


• People with children: extra $300 per child


• Individuals making $87,000 and couples up to $174,000: partial rebates


• etc...

Now, I'm not one to turn down free money, nor am I any kind of economist. I may have an excel-spreadsheet budget, but I wouldn't want to begin to understand the complexities behind running the budget for you know, an entire country. I plan on putting my money directly into the bank. When we put our down payment on our first house, we'll have to send a thank you letter to the US Government I suppose. If we don't get weaseled out of the rebate by some ridiculous loop-hole. At any rate it's new TV's, PS3's, Xbox's, Wii's, Car Down Payment's, Computers, etc...for everyone! America F-Yeah!

Oh wait, what?

It could potentially double last year's budget deficit of $163 Billion.

"I am concerned that in our rush to help, we talk ourselves into a quick, feel-good hit today that will leave us with a bigger budgetary hangover tomorrow," said Rep Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the senior Republican on the House Budget Committee.

Sorry Grand kids. It just gets gloomier and gloomier for you.

Sources:
Consumerist.com
Tax Rebate Deal Could Mean Checks by May | AP
Deal Reached in US Economic Plan |BBC News

To quote Styx...

To much time on my hands! (this guy does)

Solid Friggin' Songs....

So I'm going to start out a new feature today called "Solid Friggin' Songs", enjoy.

Sitting at work today, listening to Sirius Satellite radio in our edit suite a total blast from my musical past hit me like a ton of bricks. Soul Asylum's "Black Gold." I had to stop reading what I was reading and start whistling. Good song. In hindsight, much better than "Runaway Train" or that other hit of theirs with Claire Daines in the music video. Enjoy the music video below, you have to love the early-nineties of it all.

Apple TV Take 2 - Get it?

So this year's Apple Keynote was today. The new MacBook Air looks pretty sweet at first glance, but not having a user-replaceable battery is a pretty big strike against it. With a computer this tiny however, I personally couldn't see myself doing anything on it which would have me missing it for a few days when the battery needs replacing 2 years from now. It's the total net-surfing, paper-writing-while-sitting-on-the-couch machine.

There was also an update to the iPhone, which was not all that earth-shattering. Also a "companion" to Time Machine called Time Capsule - which really is just an AirPort Extreme with a hard drive. In reality though, shouldn't I be able to use Time Machine with an external hard drive that I have hooked up to my AirPort Extreme? Lame.

What really stuck out for me was the new features / price for Apple TV & movie rentals. While it's awesome I can rent movies directly through Apple TV and watch them on my wide screen and/or HD Television (I still need to get both an Apple TV & HD set), I still wish the Apple TV worked more like a Tivo or other DVR. Record my favorite TV shows automatically, and let me watch them when I want. With the Apple TV in its current state though, there is nothing stopping me from acquiring said TV shows from the Internet and transferring them over my network to the Apple TV to watch them on our nice new couch on our future television. The Apple TV seems to be inching closer and closer to being a pretty awesome media hub for your home theater it's just not completely there yet....

To wrap it up, not a bad couple of new products/features, but nothing to write home about really. I'll have to check out a MacBook Air at a store to get a final opinion on it. If you can live without DVR capabilities AppleTV is worth the plunge.

Links:
Watch the Keynote : Apple.com
The Unofficial Apple Weblog's Coverage
Engadget