Why pay the same money for a digital movie as a DVD?

If the price were cheaper I could see possibly switching.  While I am good about recycling and do bike to work, I still do get my bank statements via mail and magazines.  There is just something about getting “less” for the same price that did not appeal to me.

Sharing Movies

I have let others borrow my movies for a while now.  Having the hard media has made that possible.  If I get a digital download, I won’t be able to let others borrow them.  This is something that apparently the Barnes and Noble “Nook” can do with books that the Amazon “Kindle” cannot.  I have yet to hear of any online movie sellers / renters offering this service and really doubt we will see it any time soon.  In fact, it is probably bad that I let friends borrow my movies now.

Move toward HD

As new movies come out, I have been picking them up on Blu-Ray.  Those that I don’t think are worth the premium price, I wait until they come to the local “Red Box” for $5 previewed on standard DVD.

I do own more than 400 standard DVDs and do watch them on occasion. There are some I enjoy so much that I needed to pick them up on Blu-Ray if the price was right to experience them in High Definition.  My goal now is to reduce the number of DVDs I own, and get that smaller collection onto my computer so I can put away the obsolete DVDs.

Digital Media Receiver

So….here we go.  I really have no idea how to setup a digital library other than iTunes.  I know some people have servers where they store all of their music and movies, but I am just getting started and wanted to keep the cost relatively low.  After looking at my options, it seemed like iTunes and the Apple TV were the answer.  I have some movies already loaded into iTunes and since I am a Mac user, seemed the easiest.

Apple TV not only allows you to stream movies purchased / rented from iTunes, but allows you to access your music and movies as well.  I was originally going to just get a HDMI adapter and cable to connect my iMac to my TV, but the idea of a wireless device that can work virtually anywhere the network, ultimately made up my mind.

10% Restocking Fee

I am skeptical about the quality of digital media, and since I don’t have HD Cable, have not even considered replacing my Blu-Ray collection.  I was once told that current, and likely future, delivery systems will NOT be able to provide end users with 1080p quality video and sound due to the extremely high bandwidth required.

Apple has a 10% restocking fee, and that likely means I will need to pay for the return shipping, but buying the unit from Apple online as “refurbished.” it was still cheaper than going to my local store and picking on up.  The only downside..it just left Sacramento, CA, when I could have one right now!!

More to follow…

I will let you know more after it arrives and I have a chance to test it out to see if it is a keeper or just not enough for the discerning audio/video phile.  Well, I don’t listen to LPs, so I am not that much of an audiophile :)

There are some that watch shows on Hulu and other free sites and no longer turn on their TV, but I don’t think the quality is there.  This is probably because I have the slowest DSL available because I am cheap.  LOL.  Perhaps If I enjoy digital media I will upgrade my DSL, but with my roommates in love with TV, will likely not be able to dump cable just yet.

I was somehow under the “Horror Movie” impression going in and came out with a “Psychological.”  I thought it would fit under “Psychological Thriller,” but I cannot say it was that thrilling or edge of seat gripping.

I had a hard time discerning what was “real” and what was “created.”  Perhaps it all was created.

All in all it was a decent movie graphically, but I was not so into the plot. I enjoy true stories, and unless I missed the “Based on a true story” comment at the beginning, this one was not.

1. 400 Disk Blu-Ray DVD Changer $633 (Waiting until below $300)
2. 1 TB External Portable HD $113 (Auction, waiting until below $100)
3. 256 GB USB Key (I would like 1 TB, but can settle for this one.)  $879 from Newegg with FREE SHIPPING!!!! Glad shipping is Free, It would be too expensive otherwise ;P
4. Internal 1 TB Laptop Hard Drive just to give my laptop a whopping big drive, though I doubt the BIOS can handle it. (Does not seem to exist yet, only as a portable external in item 2 above.)

I was joking about the USB Key.  For that chunk of change I would get a fully loaded iPad!!!  Something else I don’t really need.  People have been asking me when I am going to get one, and I really don’t have an intent at this time.  I have an iPhone, and I have a Macbook Air, which give me apps and portability.  It also allows me to leave my reading glasses and tiny keyboard fingers at home. LOL

I was at my local Blockbuster Video and saw some pretty yellow signs posted all over the store.  Here are the key points of the changes…

1. As of 3/1/10, Blockbuster has basically ended “the end of late fees.”
2. Movie rentals are now all for 5 days, regardless of newness.
3. Movies kept past the due date are charged $1/day.
4. Movies kept past a certain time will be charges to your credit / debit card on file.
5. If any fees such as over draft or over limit are incurred, it is your fault.

While not officially stated, the $1/day after 5 days could be looked at as late fees, but then again they could just be automatic renewal rates.  Blockbuster spent quite a bit of money on their “end of late fees” campaign to toss it out the window.

5 Day Renter or Same Day Watcher?

For those that keep movies 5 days or like to interact with other human beings, Blockbuster seems to be a viable option.  If you are the kind of person who rents at 5 PM and watches at 7 PM the same day, check to see if there is a “Red Box” in your area.  A self-service kiosk which charge around $1/day to rent.  If you keep it for 5 days, then essentially you could have gotten the same deal at Blockbuster.

Flaws in Blockbuster’s “end of late fees.”

According to unconfirmed reports, people kept movies for a very long time and never returned them.  I personally would not be in any rush to return movies, especially when in the worst case, I would be charged a$1.25 restocking fee.  Had I been smarter, I should have gone to rent a new release, kept it for a few months until I decided if I really wanted to buy it, and if not, simply return and just pay $1.25.  It would have saved my $20 for a Blu-Ray movie that tends to sit in my library and not get watched again. :(  Alas, I am too late.  Never mind it would be bad of me to take advantage of a company already struggling.

Next Step?  Death of Media?

It will likely take a while, I bet there are still people renting VHS tapes, but as homes become more connected with broadband and network connected media players, the number of  DVDs sold and rented will fall, until perhaps someday when there will be no physical media, and a portable device to carry around movies when on the go!

After the usual commercials and previews the movie got started.  After learning that the focal couple lost their third child near the end of pregnancy, we find out that the wife is a recovering alcoholic who would have lost her daughter in their pond had her husband not been around.  This was a very sobering experience for her and she has not had a drink in a month, though temptations have existed and show up whenever she is being stressed.

The Family

Husband: Works in the construction industry if memory serves designing buildings.

Son: Daniel does the usual things boys do.  He plays Guitar Hero with friends and has a tree house.

Daughter: Max was born hearing impaired.  She apparently can hear a little, but relies on her hearing aids to read lips.  Apparently she is unable to do so without them.  This seems a little odd to me, but when they disappear near the end of the movie…don’t seem to hinder her.

Love

The parents decide to adopt another child.  They seem to be leaning toward a girl so Max has someone to play with.  Their third child was a girl and was named by them.  They have a memorial where the ashes were spread of the still born child and have planted white roses there.  The mother believes that as long as the rose bush grows, memories of her unborn child will exist and the love will help her stay sane.

Adoption

It is no surprise that they are looking to adopt and not have another child naturally.  In fact, it appears that the couple has not engaged in sexual activity since that time which leads the husband to cheat on his wife and is ultimately a touchy subject when that is brought up.  Thankfully she has come around to the idea again which makes the husband happier.

They head to a Church run school for girls to search for a child to adopt.  The husband finds a very talented girl singing in a room by herself painting while looking for the bathroom.  The rest of the girls are enjoying an annual party, perhaps an adoption event.  He is very impressed by her abilities as an artist and her manners.  While she needs a new wardrobe and looks like “Little Bo Peep,” she is well mannered and articulate.

The wife and head nun find them together and while the nun seems a bit concerned, the wife also indentifies with the talents of the girl and they ultimately adopt her.

Family

Max gets along very well with her new sister, but Daniel finds that his friends make fun of him for how she dresses and he announces to the family at dinner that “She is not my sister.”  In the end Daniel is amost killed by her for knowing too much.

While she bonds with her new sister and favors the husband, she looks to her mother for piano lessons and seems to get along…this is all a facade and ploy to drive the wife away from the family, or in this case, make the family believe that the mother is hurting her and needs to be committed.  The husband ultimately decides with the help of the family therapist that she needs to be sent away to rehab after injuries appear on the adopted girl and a bottle of wine is located hidden in the house.

The Orphan

The orphan appears to be from Russia, but when they get in contact with the orphanage there, no records are found.  After the mother sneaks around a locates an old Bible / diary in her dresser stamped with the name of an institute and investigates, it turns out she was actually a patient at a mental institution and not an orphanage.

The nun from the girls school comes to talk to the family about odd coincidences that happen around the orphan once the mother has been noticing some strange things going on.  “Something is wrong with her…”  She  mentions a number of instances where fights start or people get injured and notes that the orphan is always around.  The orphan over hears the conversation with the nun and parents and believes that she is going to be taken away from the family. 

She tells her sister that they are planning on taking her away and seeks her assistance.  It appears that they are running away but they actually plan to scare the nun to make sure she never comes back again.  After tossing Max into the snow covered road and the nun barely swerving to miss her, ending up in a snow bank off the road, the orphan proceeds to jump from the bushes and bash the nuns head with a hammer until she is dead.  They hide her and the orphan scares Max into secrecy by saying that she would be in trouble too for helping hide the nun.

Daniel

More strange things happen.  Starting with the orphan killing a pigeon with a rock and climaxing with a late night pajama wetting visit from the orphan with a razer blade held to his throat asking about what he saw her and Max doing in the tree house, Daniel along with his mother believe something is very wrong with the girl.

Daniel checks with Max to see if she notices anything strange happening after his late night visit from the Orphan to find out that Max is drawing all of the bad things that she has been keeping from her mom that the orphan has made her do and scared her to be quiet.  He knows that the bloody hammer has been hidden in the tree house.  Unfortunately the orphan is outside listening to the entire conversation.

Daniel decides to locate the murder weapon and finds the tree house unlocked.  After the negative comments he made at the dinner table, his father locked him out of the tree house until an apology was made.  This had yet to occur.  He slides the panel back in the floor where he hides his dirty magazines to find nothing.  Behind him to see the orphan who has the bag and dumps out the bloody hammer, gloves, dress, and drawings from Max.  She proceeds to cover the evidence with ligher fluid and sets the pile ablaze.  She locks Daniel in the tree house and watches as it burns and he tries to escape.  He does avoid the blaze, but falls to the ground seriously injured.  Just as the orphan is about to smash him in the head with a rock, Max pushes her over and the mother comes rushing out of the house after noticing the blaze. 

Mom of course is even more suspicious now, but the husband is not so convinced.  There are many reasons for this starting with the cutting of all the memorial roses by the orphan which was believed to be something nice done for her mother at the encouragement of the father.  The mother is very upset and grabs her by the arm shaking her.  The orphan goes into the basement and using a counter mounted vise, bruises and ultimately breaks her forearm.  She calls for “daddy” which makes him even more suspicious of his wife and closer to the orphan.

Dad

When visiting their son in the hospital after his fall from the tree house, the orphan asks to get a drink and instead goes into Daniel’s room and suffocates him.  The doctors are able to ressusitate him, but the mother gets enraged and has to be sedated.  She blames the orphan for what just happened.  Dad sees this and again takes the side of the orphan.

That night while the mother is in the hospital for overnight observation, the usband gets drunk and the orphan gets dressed up in his wifes dress and puts on makeup.  She comes down to be with “daddy” and tries to seduce him.  She reaches for something that she should not as her father is explaining the difference between adult “LOVE” and the love of a daughter.  She gets very upset at this rejection and ends up stabbing the husband to death.

Max sees this and hides in her closet hamper, but knows that she is likely next.  While this is going on the mother is racing home.  She has just heard from the mental hospital that the orphan is really a dwarf that is 33 years old has basically wants the man of the family to herself.  When she gets rejected the entire family is killed.  All of the photos of men in her Bible are likely the men that rejected her and families killed.

Mom makes it home before Max is killed and ends up crashing through the greenhouse roof landing on her.  She scoops up Max and they leave the house with the gun.  The police come and the orphan is no longer on the floor of the greenhouse.  The Orphan surprises them and knocks the gun loose.  While cutting the mother with a knife, as they struggle, Max shoots the gun and cracks the ice on the pond where they are struggling.  They fall into the water and after one more appearance from the Orphan, kicks her in the head and breaks her neck.  Mother and Max are reunited and likely survive with Daniel. 

Summary

Wow did I write a lot.  I could write a novel at this point! LOL.  Very good movie with an interesting twist that being her age.  While it was over 2 hours, I did not find myself falling asleep or bored which says a lot!  There are some movies where an hour and a half is too much.

Now that I have totally spoiled the movie, I hope you will still check it out if interested.  While I am not sure I will buy this when it comes out on DVD.  I would recommend renting it if you don’t see it in the theatre.

Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, and Alan Bean Signing Books 11-2.

The daily brief for volunteers indicated a book signing today.  Usually there is a current Airforce pilot, or a previous White House Chef, but no, there were 3 Apollo astronauts signing their own book today!

Slightly reminiscent of “Jerry Maguire” where the Baseball star would only sign “Upper Deck” cards of himself per contract.  These guys were only signing their book, and in some cases where more than one book had been written, a specific book!  To make things more fun, all three were to be lined up at a table which of course means, you have to buy all 3 books in order to not make one feel bad.  LOL.   Not really, but that is the reason I shelled out $40 for Alan Bean’s book :)  which by the way is full of his amazing artwork!

Book Buying and Signing

Okay…so you need to have the 3 books.  You were discouraged from bringing in them from outside vendors as “they had the right to limit the number of outside books that were signed.”

Line 1 (Purchasing – 2 hour wait)

This is the line to get books.  The line grew past the center of the museum before 10:10 AM and extended to the other end before too long.  Not sure when they opened up the sales, but the line seemed to move at a snails pace.

Line 2 (Signing – 2 hour wait)

Okay…so you have your books.  If you at the head of the line you likely did not have to wait in the signing line too long, but by the time I was ready to get my books signed, at the end of my shift, the lines were almost even :(

There was no personalization going on, so I had no idea why signing books would take so long.  You would think in the time it took to pay for your books, someone could have had all 3 signed.  Alas, that was not the case.

If you buy a book now, you will NOT be able to get it signed.

This announcement was made at 1 PM, an hour before the end of the official signing.  As you might expect, the sales line dwindled.  I originally was past the end of the line which meant I was not going to get my signatures.  I was really upset at myself for not getting my books signed earlier, but I wanted to volunteer as much as I could not expecting the line to get so long and get advance warning of line closure.  Thankfully there were some visitors behind me that were thowing a fit.  Many of them had just bought their books and were told that “Yes, you will get your books signed.”  So, when the coordinator came down and recognized those folk behind me, Barbie moved the back of the line which thrilled myself at those behind me.

Finally, Signatures!

Just before 3 PM I was able to get my books signed.  I was in my volunteer garb and mentioned to “Buzz” that he was the reason I was here volunteering.  I have a love of space and he was one of the first explorers.  I was hoping to get some kind of response from him, but instead got nothing :(  Quite disappointing.  His designated spokesperson seemed to hear my comments though and thanked me.

Perhaps the unwillingness to talk was because it was close to an hour after the signing was supposed to end, or just that he has done so many of these that he no longer has the “spark” to talk.  He also is getting a little old, so perhaps he had already had his share of conversation before I arrived.  In any event, I now have 3 more signed books for my collection.

I did notice some water on the ground and while it was wet, did not appear to be frozen.  It did not feel like it was cold enough outside, but when coming inside after, noticed that the current temperature was 32 degrees.  I had just changed my tires a few weeks ago and this was the first time I had ridden in wet conditions.  The tires I purchased were Hutchison Equinox which promised good grip in wintery conditions.  Not to blame the tires, but with over 2000 miles on the OEM bike tire without a problem, I am a little skeptical.  

As I laid on the ground with pain in my leg and arm, I was thankful that I had long pants and 3 long sleeved shirts on.  My fear was to crash with a lot of exposed skin and scraping along the ground picking up stones and other debris under the skin.  At quick glance I did not have any holes in my clothes and did no notice any bleeding.  My ankles seemed to be okay and my Crank Brothers cleats and pedals separated as expected and I was thankful I did not have any broken bones.  

Initially I was a little in shock….I think I blacked out for a brief moment as I focused my eyes and checked out the scene.  My leg was a bit stiff and seemed quite painful along with my arm.  I finally got myself up and limped into my building.  I was trying to walk off the accident.

Upon inspection I noticed a hole in my bottom long sleeved layer and a scrape on my arm and under my pants and shorts which were not torn, a large bruise and a few scrapes on my leg.  It is very sore to the touch and hoping that by tomorrow I will be walking normally :)

So…..I had been afraid of falling off my bike and envisioned it would involve a flat tire, broken chain, frame….something that failed and did not expect to fall on a small patch of water.

An innocent photograph turned into a money making experience.

I was in central park, saw a entertainer and was going to take a picture as it was cool to see that.  Not too often in DC do you see that.  He looked at me and said..”This is Art and requires compensation.”  I did not take a photo and moved on.  WOW.. not like I was going to sell it.

Best in show winner!  It must be very hard to choose a the best of the best especially when they are all different breeds.  Best in Breed seems to be easier and more equitable.  In this case, the long haired hotdog trotted around the ring and won the 133rd show.

I was rooting for the Sussex Spaniel as soon as I saw it.  Something about how it waddled around the ring made me favor it.  I was happy that the strangely shaven Poodle did not win.   

This trip was a surprise for my Partner who while showing St. Bernards and Alaskan Malamutes, had never been to Madison Square Garden to see the acclaimed event.  So needless to say I had a lot to learn and had no idea what to expect.  Firstly, we had assigned seats, but were allowed to sit anywhere until you were bumped by he seat holder.  Also, you were able to go onto the judging floor!  It was so cool sitting by a ring feeling the breeze as the handlers and dogs ran by.

The Benching Area…

AKA “Back Stage” for most events, you are allowed to be in the area where all of the dogs are crated.  Dogs are required to be in the Benching Area in order to compete so it was cool to be able to see the dogs and be able to talk with the handlers and owners.  

Grooming also took place in this area.  Besides being a great photo op, some handlers let you pet the dogs.  Was cool seeing them get trimmed, washed and blown dry.  

Dog vs Bitch

When Patrick mentioned that they were showing dogs, I was like duh, we are not at a horse show.  I then learned that “Dogs” are males and “Bitches” are females.  That seems a bit sexist to me…but then again, that is also tradition.  I believe the equivalent ought to be “Stud” as in other animals.  

Spending 2 days at the show I got to see so many dogs and especially enjoyed the Working Group.  The St. Bernards, Bernese Mountain Dogs, Komondor (Mop Dogs), Alaskan Malamutes, and New Foundland’s were my favorite from this Group.

I also liked the Irish Water Spaniel from the Sporting Group, the Old English Sheepdog from the Herding Group, and the Soft Coated Wheaton Terrier from the Non-sporting Group.  

The ugliest dog I saw…the Chinese Crusted.  Matt Lauer from the Today Show was showing one as the cast was featured last evening as a crowd pleaser.

Check out my photo gallery next week.  I have about 1800 photos to go through and will post the best ones online with information about their breed.

My choices for a pet are…..

• Soft Coated Wheaton Terrier
• Irish Water Spaniel
• Old English Sheepdog
• Komondor
• Tibetan Mastiff
• St. Bernard
• Alaskan Malamute

As you can tell I really like the big dogs.  This was fine when I owned my own house, but living in an apartment which currently does not allow dogs and many having a 50 pound limit will pose a big problem.  Hmmm…think I need to look into buying a house again.  Perhaps playing the lottery will help!

Opening a can of worms..

Patrick was surprised and thrilled by the trip, but did warn me that I opened a can of worms.  He signed up for the AKC Gazette and 2009 should be filled with trips to local dog shows and tickets to the 134th show!

So the other day I have the privilege to speak with someone who worked for NASA.  We talked about a lot, I attended Space Camp and love the idea of Space exploration.  Here are some cool facts…

• The Space Shuttle can both take off and land unattended.  This would allow the use when inspection reveals some potential flaws which may cause an accident.  With that said, in order to save costs until a new space vehicle has been produced, may spend less time getting the shuttle cleaned up and simply launch it unmanned with the eventual destruction of the aging fleet.  The only problem with this…..the Smithsonian is supposed to get one :)
• The American Flag on the Moon is plastic!  I guess it should be expected since there is 1/6 gravity on the Moon.  I used to think that since there was not any gravity and therefore by “molding” the flag, it would just stay that way.
• The blast off of the lunar lander likely knocked the flag down.  This being said, the first person to commercially visit the moon will likely swipe the flag.