footjoy

Just got these in the mail today.

Totally want to hit the links…NOW!

Four-Figure HDMI Cable

As a techie I like looking for and supplying myself with adapter cables. Since purchasing our Flip Video MinoHD (which features a mini-HDMI port), I’ve been curious if I could find an adapter that will convert mini-HDMI to standard definition video, so that I can, potentially, video playback straight from the Flip to any television.

Well, I came across this lovely HDMI cable from Best Buy. Not an adapter cable, per se, but this cable will, no doubt, carry a fierce HD signal at a price of $2,200.

 

 

Granted, this cable is 39 feet long, but, at such an insane price, I decided to do some price crunching to see how ridiculously inflated the Best Buy cable compared. I searched for the cheapest, non-auction HDMI cable of similar length (which turns out to be 30-foot HDMI from Monoprice.com for $27) and compared to the above, premium HDMI cable. Then, taking the percentage inflation between the two cables (8,148%), I applied it to every-day items to see how expensive they would be. Here goes…

A pack of gum: $0.69 / $56.22

Starbucks Grande Latte: $5.50 / $448.14

174-pack box of diapers: $41.54 / $3,384.68

A one-night stay in a AAA Four Diamond hotel: $159.00 / $12,995.32!!!

By the way, I did find the adapter I was looking for.

HDD

Tonight I spent considerable time consolidating archive and media data. We took advantage of some Black Friday deals recently wherein we bought a couple of Western Digital 2 TB HDD for $69 each (normally $153 a pop). The reason being…we have this collection of smaller capacity external HDD that amount to only 35% of what ONE of these 2 TB HDD will hold.

Needless to say…2,048 GB will be a challenge to fill.

BIG steps

Logan is almost 14 months old, and he started walking late. But, once he started taking steps with some assistance, he really caught on.

CHAMPIONSHIP

The fantasy football season is over, and I won the championships in two of my four leagues! Pretty amazing, considering I wasn’t nearly as diligent and rigorous in my studying and maintaining during the season. Draft prep pays off every time!

The first league is a ten-team league that was started back in college. I finished the regular season with a 4-1 record in my last five games, securing 1st place and a first round bye.

The second league was a Cinderella story. I managed to advance to playoffs after finishing the regular season with a 6-8 record only to defeat the 1st place team with an undefeated record and advance to the championship game.

leaving 2010

So long, 2010…you won’t be missed.

This was a year of great change for me.  The year started knowing that I was going to be laid off.  Several job opportunities were pursued; one of which took us to extreme northwest Washington state.  But that, along with every other potential position, fell through.

I was laid off at the end of May, and we came to grips with moving back home to Michigan as our best option.  We attempted to sell our house on our own accord, but a slow housing market and tough economic woes left us wishing we could just pack up the house itself and take it with us.  By our moving day, we had listed the house through a Realtor, who would continue trying to sell the house.

There was a significant, unsettled humbling that took place when we moved in with my parents.  We had come so far…we had started our own life, our own family…and there we were, more or less, regressing backward. But, I will forever be grateful to my parents for taking us in.  And I know Logan will benefit from knowing his grandparents and the rest of his family better through these circumstances than if we had still been living out of state with less interaction with his family.

And that’s really where this year has taken me.  It’s stripped me of my professional intentions and my personal hopes for the sake of reconnecting with and strengthening my family.  Starting over.  Isn’t that what the new year is about?  I’m glad to see 2010 go; it certainly isn’t forgettable.  But I am a better person for having lived through it, and I hope 2011 is a season of rebounding, recovering…renewing.

iceland volcano lightning

a fire in the sky

A massive fireball was seen lighting up the Wednesday night sky. Witnesses reported seeing a greenish-blue glow in the sky that was preceded by an orange object. Even a sonic boom shook nearby houses. The event was captured on several video sources.

Even the National Weather Service in the Quad Cities captured radar echoes of the smoke trail…

London in Motion

via althani_1986

house posted on Medical Partners

I’ve got the house posted on the Medical Partners website now, too. Theirs is a group of spouses and significant others of University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC) residents, students and “fellows” that collectively “partner” with other prospective residents and students. They have a housing page where those future med residents and students can view places to live when they come to town for schooling. Thanks to @MESPy182 for the hookups.