shellylh

I am trying to be conscious of the "weight issue" as I deciding but right now I have the DSLR itch so I am not sure a small camera like this will satisfy. I made a stop at the local winery out here in the So Cal burbs (Joseph Filippi Winery). Bought a bottle of 2005 Big Joe Barrel Blend #3 to take to Christmas dinner in Annapolis, MD. I am a fan a full bodied reds and this hit the spot. The Petit Sirah and Zin I tried were a little too light for me and had a bit of earthiness taste that didn't set so well with me (maybe Eucalyptus?). Cannot remember much about the Cab Franc anymore. The Velluto blend was also nice but since I will be checking this on the plane to MD, I didn't want to buy more than one bottle. Oh, and the tasting was free!

I used my friend's Modbook and they are pretty clunky. They are also missing good software for note taking (I tried installing Xournal "Windows Journal for Linux" on it via Fink but it did not, at least at that time, recognize the pen) and they don't have touch capabilities. I thought about getting one very seriously at some point but decided on an LE1700.

Dusty: The link above doesn't seem to work.

Looking forward to your impressions Wayne. After owning the 2005 990's and 770 pro's (stock and "Darth" Beyers), I am not expecting much from the T1's but I am keeping an open mind.

My condolences Miguel. Wish I could help you out.

Listening to Porcupine Tree's The Incident on my JH13's out of the Sansa Clip+ and it is good, very very good (not as good as with a GS-1 with good source or perhaps even the Ipod classic but damn ultraportable). I almost don't miss my home rig (almost). manaox2: That picture is awesome!

I first headed over to the local Ritz camera, it was no longer there. Not really knowing the area very well anymore, I decided to go to Best Buy. I waited forever to have someone open the DSLR case. The Canon 50D was too big, the XTi was too small and the Nikon D90 just right (well, something like that). After looking at those three, the sales women shut the case on me and said she had to do something else. After all this fun, I decided to head over to the local winery (small but decent) and taste some red wine (Petit Syrah, Zin, Cab, Cab Franc). Now I am having some of mom's homemade chili.

Ah, too many choices. Any thoughts on Nikon vs Canon? Maybe I should just start a new thread. Guess I better start by heading out to the store (cringe).

It \textbf{should}!

The D90 isn't that much more than the D40 if I upgrade the lens to the 18-105 VR lens with the D40. The one thing that is puling me to the D40 is that it is smaller and lighter than the D90. Guess I just need to get out and hold them in my hand to find out which feels best. The larger/brighter viewfinder does seem like something that I would really enjoy in the end.

Let me know what you decide. I probably don't ``need'' anything more than D40 and decent lens/flash but...

Spent a while today researching DSLR's. I am thinking of getting a D90 with the 18-105 VR lens. I am thinking that a D90 might be overkill for me and may end up going with a D40 though. I probably won't order it for another couple of months so I lot of time to go back and forth. Also, did my first non-internet Christmas shopping of the year - wasn't too bad.

The San Diego Zoo is fun (well, except the animals kept in cages)! I prefer the Wild Animal Park but it is not exactly in SD.

Double post

Got my second CD from Brent. I was going to wait until the official holiday opening gifts day to open both of them but gave in. Ripped 'em both to the Sansa Clip and listened on the flight home for the holidays. Excellent choices Brent - perfect traveling music (whatever that means). Gotta give a spin on a better source and amp. Thanks Brent!

Guess I'll take the laptop back home with me, load XP on it and mail it back to pops. I am not sure if the laptop I have will support 2GB of RAM and cannot find any way to run Netflix on Linux.

Good to know about the requirements of Windows 7. I will stick with Linux or XP.

I decided to give my dad my partner's old laptop (Pentium M 1.6Ghz 1GB RAM). After erasing everything and reinstalling Windows XP Pro from the original disk, the computer kept crashing. I am guessing that it had something to do with some drivers. Instead of trying to fix it, I wiped the HD clean and installed Linux Mint on it. I figured that he could do everything on Linux that he needed. So I get to my parents house today and find out that most of what my dad does on the computer is stream Netflix movies. As far as I can tell, you cannot stream Netflix with Linux (even with Moonlight). If there is a way, I would love to know. My other option is to install Windows XP Professional back on it (or Windows 7). Unfortunately, both disks are in TX and I am in CA. Is there a way that I can download a version on the web that won't have viruses, etc. I figure that this is (should be) legal since the computer has a license for XP Pro, correct or no? I also have a legal version of Windows 7 at home (bought a home premium 3 pack and only have it on one computer so far). I could take the laptop back home, install it and send it back but it would be better if I get it working from here. I am not sure if it would be better to run Windows 7 over Windows XP Pro on such an old computer. I am also assuming I cannot use the Windows XP Pro license to run Windows XP home, correct? Thanks for any advice.

I don't think Dinny really bought a pair of JH13's - he was playing pretending to shut us up.

I'll check this out. Thanks. Dinny: Sorry to hear about the bad news.

Very nice Grahame. Pictures please Monkey.

Haha, I should have known Steve would find a way to work in size. 19" CRT -> 50" plasma is quite a change! I think I need to mess with the settings on this TV. For live sports, it is great. The problem is that the people in movies look almost too detailed. I was watching the Lord of the Rings (Fellowship) last night and sometimes it seems like you are watching the filming of the movie instead of the post-production movie. For example, it is too easy to tell that the scenery in the background is fake or the characters seems somewhat disjoint from the background. Perhaps this is due to the brightness of the screen or some other settings (I haven't adjusted anything yet). Anyone have the same experience? Perhaps I am just paying attention to too many details and not enjoying the overall picture. Edit: What are your thoughts on calibration disks like this? http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B001UM29OC/ref=ord_cart_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=A2BYOPJ74A7ZRX&v=glance

I have had a 15" Macbook Pro (non unibody) for a couple of years (and a 15" G4 before that). If I were to buy a laptop right now, I would get a 13" Macbook Pro. For me, 15" is not that great for home use so I use an external monitor at my desk. I used to have a 10.6" Fujitsu Lifebook and the screen for me was too small. 13" seems just right.

My "Christmas" Samsung LN52B750 52" 240Hz LCD tv (not Reks approved) arrived this morning so I spent some time setting it up and watching it (just HDTV so far). I wanted to stay with an LCD but just couldn't convince myself to pay for the new LED technology. The picture quality is far superior to my last Samsung (from about 2.5 years ago). I am really impressed with it and I am looking forward to watching a Blu Ray movie on it! It also helps to go from 40" -> 52".

I got my gift from Brent (yesterday) and will be putting it under the tree. I cannot wait to listen to it. Thanks Brent! I hope the one I sent you arrives soon.