Reason #519 Why I Don't Do Public Transportation

I needed to drop my car off at the dealership for some service, so I decided today would be the day -- I would drop it off in Allston, take the bus to Harvard Square and then the Red Line to work. Easy-peezy.

As I'm boarding the bus, standing behind someone who's putting change in the newly-designed fare machine, I hear a voice from behind me: "Get a pass.... get a pass. This thing wouldn't take forty minutes if you had a pass." -- what an ass!

So the new fare machine requires you to put in each coin at a time, rather than dropping a chunk of change in and letting the machine sort it out. I assume the new machine has fewer mechanical parts -- and a lesser chance of breaking.

I barely had gotten my change into the machine when Mr. Ass reached around me to swipe is almighty pass. If my first cup of coffee had kicked in by then, I would have told him to shove his pass.

It looks like I'll have to add T-riders to my list of people with unbearable superiority complexes: T-riders, vegetarians, bicyclists, and women.

For the record, the bus took about 15 minutes to get to Harvard Square.

Eyes Wide Open

Out the door at 7:20am, second cup of coffee by 8:50am. I'm as wide awake today as I'm gonna be.... yikes.

Poor, unlucky Louis

Man, you really have to stink for HBO not to give you a second season.

If you didn't hear, HBO won't be inviting Louis C.K. over to its house on Sunday nights anymore. Methinks that production costs were not the issue. Shows such as Carnivale and Rome each got second seasons, and I'm sure a single episode of Rome or Carnivale costs as much as the entire Lucky Louis production run. The Wire averages the same number of viewers as LL, but is already slated to return for a fifth and final season.

No, methinks that it was simply an issue of quality -- of which The Wire, Carnivale, Rome, and The Sopranos have quite a bit.

Rest in peace, Lucky Louis. You will be remembered as HBO's first (and hopefully last) three-camera sitcom.

To Netflix or not to Netflix

As you can probably tell from the number of TV-related posts in the last two years, I am a TV junkie. I'd rather talk about television all day long than movies. That said, I'm considering removing most movies from my Netflix queue and going with a near all-TV diet. Is this a smart thing to do, especially since the Fall 06 season is upon us? Are there any new shows worth watching? The Nine piques my curiosity, but that's about it. I'll also probably jump on The Office bandwagon (I know -- waaaay late, but if you saw the BBC version first, like I did, you wouldn't care too much about the US show until now, either).

The math:

2005/06 (not including series airing during Summer '06)

• Lost
• 24 (January-May)
  
• The Sopranos (March-June)
  
• Big Love (March-June)
  
• The Shield (January-March)
• House
• The OC
• Prison Break
• Arrested Development
• Rome (August-November)

Arrested Development is dead and I'm also dropping the OC from my rotation.

2006/07

• Lost
• 24 (January)
  
• The Sopranos (Spring)
  
• Big Love (Spring)
• The Shield (January)
• House
• The Nine
  
• Prison Break
• The Office
• Rome (Spring)

Looks like I'll be commiting the same number of hours, just to different programs. Distribution between Fall and Spring is about the same. Looks like Autumn is the perfect time to fill in the empty broadcast hours. Why spend my time outside while the weather is still good when I can fill my brain up with even more scripted, serialized goodness?

Movies will always be there for us, it's just that once a good movie is releases, there's buzz for a week or two and then there is no more. Once a good television show is broadcast, there's buzz for a day or two... and then a week later there's new buzz for a day or two... and on and on over the course of 4-8 months. Granted, there won't be buzz over the shows I see on DVD, but I'm looking at this as pop-cultural enrichment.

Now, what should I add first?

Housekeeping

Quiet day at work + the most boring day of the week = blog maintenance!

I've cleaned up the links on the right, removing some (Megan and Joseph, tsk tsk) blog listings, creating a few categories, and adding a couple links that I think you all would enjoy.

Also, the Netflix RSS feed I had keeps breaking. I know you are absolutely dying to know what I have in my queue, but I just can't get the feed to stay consistent. If you want to know, just join Netflix and 'friend' me.

Perhaps now I'll do a little site redesign. Who else is tired of black all the time?

Adios TiVo

TiVo announced that it's new HD, Series 3 box will have an MSRP of $799. Taking off that dollar from the even $800 really takes the bite away. Combine that with TiVo's "very special" offer for existing lifetime subscription customers to transfer their accounts for $200. I understand that a TiVo is for true television lovers who want to watch TV on their own time -- but $1000 for that convenience (plus a monthly or yearly subscription) is ridiculous. Cable companies are offering the same service for just a subscription. Satellite companies are offering the same service with a subscription and a much less expensive piece of hardware. Is the wonderful, sound-effects-laden interface of a TiVo worth almost $1000?

I think not.

It was nice while it lasted, TiVo -- you never missed a show, you did your job, and you broke my heart.

Don't Ever Move

I just completed my fourth post-college move in less than two and a half years. Someone shoot me.

The worst part of it is that you think of moving day as some sort of finishing line when it's really just a marker. Every day post-move is dedicated towards "unpacking" and "settling in". Nights and weekends cease to exist, simply becoming "more time to go to Home Depot." This can go on and on until you eventually move again.

Did I mention the move took place within a span of three weddings in three weekends? Gotta love being in your mid-20's.