Today was the annual Halloween Parade for the kids in the neighborhood. Beautiful day. You can see the pictures by clicking HERE. One of my favorites from today was this little one as Chewie.
Don’t forget that you can see larger versions of the pictures by clicking on them.
I took a few videos with the digital camera of the birds and fish at the spillway at Pymatuning. There are so many fish that are after your bread that they get up on each other’s backs trying to get to it. There are a ton of ducks and other birds. The videos aren’t the greatest but they get the point across. Sorry about all the wind noise, it was brutal today.
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As a consumer, you have to like the Giant Eagle gas credit you get for shopping at their grocery stores. Gas had dropped to 2.399 at the GetGo in Erie, and my brother in law had a $2.30/gallon credit from shopping there so much.
Check out what his final cost was! If only it was always this cheap.
Looks like others want Front Row for the Mac Mini. This MacWorld article catches everything I asked for and even mentions the DVR function. I deliberately left DVR out because I don’t think it would replace the one you get from satellite or cable companies. I just want a home media server.
Here’s the article.
I am hoping that Apple’s announcement for the new iMac that comes bundled with the iSight camera and Front Row software is just the first step. If I was in college or getting my first apartment, this thing would be perfect since it is almost a media server.
The problem with me is that I already have a TV. A big one. Does HDTV beautifully. I have a Mac Mini attached to it and use the LCD TV as the Mini’s display. The problem I have with Front Row is it doesn’t get the picture to my TV where I want it. A bedroom solution? Maybe. Not for me though since I already have a TV in the bedroom.
Maybe for your kids. Mine aren’t ready for that step yet or I’d be all over this thing. What I want is the Front Row software so I can run it on my Mini, allowing me to watch the movies on my TV.
Actually, how about taking the latest Mini, adding optical audio out, and better support for the TV directly so I don’t have to trick the resolution with 3rd party utilities. Make the remote work against it as well. If you want, make it the same brushed metal look that the Mini has to keep the look consistent. While you’re at it, how about a separate package for anyone with an existing Mac that meets the specs to run the Front Row software? Put together an external USB 2.0 5.1 or 7.1 sound processor with optical or coax audio out so we can connect it to the home theater receiver, add the brushed metal remote, and include the Front Row software. Have another package with a faster external firewire hard drive as well. Keep the price under $400 and I bet it would sell.
Although, now that I think about it, maybe the issue is the current Mini using the G4 processor. Maybe the G5 is really something that is required. I bet my wishes will come true with either a G5 Mini packaged as a home media server or with an Intel branded Mac.
Just some random thoughts as I kill time waiting for my flight home – which is now delayed. Baby steps. This has to be the beginning of something bigger.
I took a walk down the Strip today and took a bunch of pictures at some of the sites. Mostly buildings. It was a long walk interrupted by numerous stops in Casinos along the way. I walked from Mandalay Bay to the Fashion Mall and then back. A long walk. It was light out on the way down and turned dark on my way back. The Strip comes alive at night.
Click HERE for the pictures.
I haven’t seen a live band in a long time, but tonight I got to see Jim Belushi and his band play at the House of Blues in Vegas. I was close to the stage, I mean real close. Just check out the picture. Close enough?
I took over 100 pictures and a bunch of videos with my little Canon digital camera and most came out pretty well. I’m just going to post the one picture tonight but I’ll upload all of the pictures and the videos overnight and update this site some time tomorrow so you can see them.
Belushi and his band were incredible. We were all blown away. A bunch of great musicians. I forgot just how powerful live music can be. Time to take the headphones off once in a while and go see some local music.
UPDATE: Pictures can be found by clicking HERE. Don’t forget that you can click on a picture to see a larger version of it.
Click on the following links for each video. Warning to people without cable modems or DSL, these files are all in the 30MB range, which means if you use a modem to get to the Internet you should probably pass on these videos.
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Enjoy!