guzziguy

Yes, this entire thing was recorded on State St. and no, that's not me at 2:13. I used to see this guy downtown all the time but haven't seen him in a while. Maybe he made it to Iraq as he said.

Did you hit it with the shovel?

Only if you're Jewish.

Good news that they are interested enough to interview you. Hopefully this one will produce. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Today my wife, gardener and I went to Los Olivos. The main purpose of the visit was to pick up a Cockatiel and his gear that was going to our gardener. Recently when I was in the hospital, one of my roommates was there with a lung issue. His doctor has decided that their cockatiel was a contributing factor to his lung problem. In talking with him and his wife, they learned that Stacy and I were bird people and asked us if we could find a home for their cockatiel. So today was the day. However, first we stopped in Los Olivos. Before lunch, Stacy and I shared a wine tasting at the Stolpman Vineyards tasting room. Greg (Augsburger) has been raving about their Viognier. Of course, the Voignier was not on either of their tasting menus. We tasted (from memory), the Stolpman: L'avion (white blend) Angelli (late picked white wine) Sangiovese Estate Syrah Hilltop Syrah (Can't remember the 6th wine) The wines were good but none of them struck me as being great. However, this really isn't a valid tasting. I'm still taking pain meds with acetominophen and so was taking tiny sips. It wasn't really enough to make a worthwhile decision on their quality. I'll go back and taste again after I'm off the pain meds. In the end, we bought a bottle of Sangiovese and a bottle of their estate olive oil, which I really liked. The olive oil is young, fruity and has a wonderful peppery finish. After the tasting, we ate lunch at Patrick's Side Street Cafe. This is one of our favorite restaurants and Patrick didn't disappoint. I had his Paella and Stacy the Prime Rib sandwich. He brought out some homemade Jalapeno and Habanero salsas. Both were superb and went well with the Paella. Then it was off to pick up the cockatiel and back home. All in all a good day.

Oh boy, I can finish Christmas shopping for the family in March.

Good old New Cuyama. The ride from here to there taking SB > 192 > 150 > 33 > Lockwood Valley > Cerro Noroeste > 166 > New Cuyama is an epic street ride. Going via SB > 154 > Foxen Canyon > Tepusquet > Colson Canyon (dirt for many, many miles) > New Cuyama is a really nice dual sport ride. The Buckhorn Restaurant/Motel also makes New Cuyama a fun destination.

In researching it more, I wasn't able to find a blu-ray HTIB that supported the latest blu-ray Profile 2.0. So for the meantime, I'm going with this Samsung HTIB and will later add a blu-ray player. When I add the blu-ray player, this receiver will do 5.1 surround sound but will not be able to process Dolby True HD or DTS HD Master Audio. Can anybody tell me what I'll miss by not having this? I figure that if it turns out to be that important to me that I can also by a receiver that has it or even move this system to the guest BR and start anew with a blu-ray based system. The features and price of this one were just too good for me to pass up.

I got the same impression. He's just a bit over enthusiastic. Hopefully, he'll take this chance to read a bit and then slowly insert himself into the community instead of cannon-balling into the deep end. Congratulations on your new piece of gear Jack.

Welcome and definitely heed the PM.

That's OK. The idea is to keep the inside of the box cool.

Zach, I mentioned that exact system in my OP. Are you serious about recommending it? Have you heard it?

You mean you've never had a Champagne Depth Charge before? You're really missing out.

And then you'll bring it to CanJam for all of us to hear, right?

Very French. I love it.

Then it sounds like your decision is easy, just cancel the order. Of course, then be sure to ignore all threads about the BHSE, especially after they are delivered. I wonder if there is a way to ignore threads based on topic?

Thanks to everybody for your advice and assistance. Yesterday, I went ahead and bought the HP at Best Buy. I did find some better deals at Dell and Lenovo, but would have had to wait for 2 weeks or more for delivery. By buying yesterday, I had the computer and was able to get assistance in setting it up for work. Also, I figured it was a good idea to get the same computer as everybody else on the team. That way, I can always get help and it removes an entire set of potential problems that come with having a different computer. The HP is a bit cheesy. The keyboard is bright silver (yuck) and has a cheap feel to it. Everything else seems to have satisfactory quality. It's performance is way above the Dell Inspiron 8600 with 2G memory that is my home machine. Overall I'm satisfied with it and I'm sure it will do its job. Yesterday was my first day on the job. It was mostly just an introduction to the team and product, doing all the administrative things and configuring my computer. Since I'm paid for that, it will just about cover the new HP. So I figure that basically the new company just bought me a computer.

Happy Birthday Naaman. Sounds like you had a good time. Hopefully the hangover isn't too bad.

T.M.N. - too many neuroses (him, not you. well ... )

If you can afford it, I suggest you keep your place with Justin and get the BHSE. Then, if after listening to it you decide you don't want to keep it, you'll probably have no problem selling it for no loss. Seems like a win-win scenario to me.

I received an email today from Dell about a 24 hour sale. Prominently displayed is this Mini 9 for $199. There seem to be other deals too.

I was afraid that this would be the answer. That's why I asked. Oh well, I'm just doing initial research now and learning stuff fast. Thanks. I'll look into these things. I already have the TV. This is for our smallish bedroom and this system would totally overpower it. But thanks, I'll consider it if I ever get a large room for a HT setup. I see that my budget is going up. It's no surprise, but I still don't see it at the $5K range for a bedroom HT. Oh well, back to the drawing board. I have plenty of time.

What does Alex like? It's best to get that sound rather than something that I or someone else prefers. Do you know what kind of sound he prefers? Has he mentioned a desire for some of the headphones that you listed?

Sorry to hear this Colin. Keep at it, you'll eventually get a job you'll love.

Well, I finally got a nice job. It's half time for 4-6 months. After that, we see where we are and what the business climate is like. I know the tech-lead and this should be a fun job! I need to provide my own laptop for this job. I have a 4 year old Dell Inspiron 8600 that would probably do the job. However, I think that I'd be better off having a separate work computer. Other members of the team have recently bought this HP laptop. They did get it for $100 less but the price still is pretty reasonable. I've been pretty detached from computer hardware. Should I get this or would you laptop knowledgeable people recommend something else? This laptop will be for doing Web App and Java development. It will not be used for gaming or for any heavy duty graphics. It would be best if it ran XP, but it's OK if it runs 32 bit Vista. 64 bit Vista is not acceptable as some of the work apps won't run on it. Please suggest laptops with this basic feature set and in this price range. Thanks.

Dan, you just love to complicate my life, don't you. While you're at it, can you recommend the receiver?