Fezmid

I use some minor X10 at my house - basically just the lights in my livingroom and a light in my wife's office. I mainly use them to automatically turn on/off when we're on vacation to give the house a "lived in" look (and because I got htem for about $5 during a special that x10.com was having). I also have it hooked up to my webserver so I can connect to a password protected page on my server and turn the lights on/off by clicking some buttons on the website. Alternatively, I have an RF remote control that turns them on/off as well.... There's LOTS of stuff you can do with X10, but I havn't delved that far into it myself. I wouldn't worry about the fire risk that much though. No more so than with normal things you plugin anyway... CW

Actually, I disagree here -- when you order flowers online, they just contact a local florist with the order. It's not like ProFlowers.com or 1800Flowers.com has branch offices in every city. They're just a middleman. Saving money in this way isn't the same as buying them at the corner store. CW

In case you missed it, there's this little holiday called Valentine's Day coming up... CW

Go UNIX! CW

I just got a coupon in my inbox for 20% off from dans.com if anyone wants to try it out (or give it as a V-day gift): D77ZAFA12 CW

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...m/odd_sherry_dc CW

Well, that's kinda what the guitar guy did last night. He had the exemption guy just go on the street and hand out flyers. When Trump said, "Why didn't you just tell him to get lost?" I expected guitar guy to say something like, "I pretty much did that by giving him an insignificant job once he made it clear that he didn't want to help the team." I think that would've won him some points. But he didn't say that. CW

The same could be said for the "just give it to 'em" game. Or heck, why not say "No Goal" is no big deal because if Hasek made the save (since he wasn't being interfered with), we wouldn't have lost? CW

What, I have to read the ENTIRE post?! (sorry, I must've missed that...) CW

Don't forget the Bengal in '88 who did drugs and missed the game... However, most of these examples aren't bad luck, they're lack of self control... CW

You pay for quality. Seriously, the chocolates are *that* good. CW

And people accuse me of working for DirecTV? I think you work for the flower industry Not that I necessarily disagree with what you said (although in my case, sending champaign to my wife's work -- a drug and alcohol counselor -- probably not a good idea ) CW

"To proscribe With the girls with strong chest. Strongly advised chart its and ADSL. A Selection François Ravaillac," http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr CW

Yeah, it's pricy - but VERY tasty! You deserve to treat yourself from time to time. I'll tell J hello next time I see her. She's working her full-time job, a parttime job at H&R Block, and taking two classes for her MBA, so I don't actually *see* her anymore... CW

http://www.dans.com/ I bought some for my wife for Xmas... I think I ended up eating most of it. CW

You can buy one of those... They were showing it on "Unscrewed" (latenight show on TechTV) several months ago. It looked... intersting... I guess... CW

It's possible that he took the promotion last season, realized he didn't like it at all (preferring the more hands-on work), and had to leave because his old position was already filled. I know that in my company, I was offered the chance to be lead for the UNIX team, dealing with budgets, managing the workers, etc. I asked if I could try it out but go back to my old position if I didn't like it after 6-12 months, and was told that it would be a one-way thing. I decided to stick with my current position because I wasn't willing to leave the company if I didn't like being the project manager. Similar thing could've happened with Rusty. CW

The TiVo boxes have a lot of extra features that cable DVRs don't. As you said though, if users don't know about the features, they can't miss them. (features such as season passes and wishlists). Regarding the monthly fee for TiVo service; on the DirecTV side, you're paying for the guide data which isn't free. Yes, there's stuff you can get online for free but it's not as inclusive; with a TiVo, you can record all movies that have a particular actor in it. That requires a database to get the info from. Cable can't do that. With a standalone TiVo, it costs $13/month because you have to pay for TiVo's infrastructure to actually get the data to you. With DirecTV, it's only $5/month because DirecTV beams it down with the sattelite; no infrastructure means cheaper costs. DirecTV/TiVo is much better than anything the cable companies have, but the gap is narrowing quickly. CW

I've heard about the conversion from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4, but it's all just rumor at this point. I've also heard a rumor that the current boxes can be modified with a firmware upgrade. No idea yet... Regarding the triple-LNB dish, you only need that if you want HD. Regarding the 'death of TiVo,' currently DirecTV is saying that they will offer both. The deal between the two companies goes through 2007, so the hardware will be here for awhile. Heck, Ultimate TV is still supported by DirecTV and it hasn't been available efor sale for years. So don't worry about the hardware thing. However, I do agree with you about TiVo going bye-bye. Their president screwed up big time when he didn't sign a deal with Comcast last year because he didn't feel that TiVo was getting enough of the money... Oh well... CW

Hey, that's my hometown you're insulting.... ...and I agree with you CW

No, you don't get a guide if you use your TV's internal tuner. Thus the "compare digital cable to DTV." CW

I personally love 1-800-Flowers. They might be a little expensive (heck, ALL flowers are expensive...), but their customer service is great. Whenever I've had problems, they've refunded my entire purchase price. Also, Amazon usually puts a 15% off coupon in packages they ship. Something to think about. CW

Yeah, what he said. You're also not getting as many features, such as the interactive guide. CW

Jack said it was being rolled out in Syracuse in a previous thread if I recall. I'm very curious how this will work as well. CW

Unless you have 8 TVs in your house, all that need their own receiver, it's not cheaper with cable (in most places). Cable charges you per receiver (and I know Time Warner charges $3/month for the remote alone, on top of the $5/month for the receiver). Besides, unless you're planning on watching 4 different shows on 4 different TVs at the same time, you should look into modulating the signal throughout the house and getting an RF remote. Then you only need 1 or 2 receivers. OhBF has a setup like that if I recall. Best of both worlds. CW