snagabag

No photoshopping here. I did indeed purchase an iPhone on the day it was released, and yes, I did indeed wait in line to buy one.

This marks the second time in the past year I’ve waited in line to buy a piece of consumer electronics. Not tickets to a once-in-lifetime concert, not even tickets to a limited-engagement movie, but to electronic gadgets that will be produced into the tens of millions until the next version comes out. What can I say… I was thrilled with my purchase in both instances. Hey, at least this time I only had to wait 45 minutes instead of 2 hours!

In case you’re wondering about the phone itself… it is amazing. It would be perfect if it wasn’t missing some features I consider pretty standard for modern phones, but hopefully most of them will be added via software updates. Nevertheless, I highly recommend it.

Well, that was uncomfortable.

Unless you speak to me on a regular basis, I realize that covers 90% of the visitors here, you didn’t know everyone’s favorite inflammation is back. Yep, I’ve dealing with another UC flare up. It’s been mild to moderate so far, and before my Dr. prescribes me any strong medication, he wanted to check things out.

Well, when you have UC, “check things out” is never a phrase you are excited to hear. Specifically, my Doc performed a Flexible Sigmoidoscopy on me (feel free to correct me if I’ve phrased that incorrectly.). Even more specifically, this meant I had to lay on my side and have not only a high-resolution camera inserted into me, but also had air blown into me as well as water sprayed inside me.

It sounds as fun as it felt. To top it all off, the procedure is done with no sedation. Just a lot of “breathe deep” and “exhale slowly” suggestions from the nurse.

To top it all off, because you’re not sedated, you’re free to watch the proceedings on the wall mounted monitor! Now, I’m not a big fan of blood and guts. I dislike watching graphic medical scenes. Heck, I even dislike watching graphic violence and gore in movies even though I know its fake. However, for some reason I found watching the inside of my own body quite fascinating. Go figure. Anyway, easily the most surreal part was when my Doc had to take a biopsy. I watched the little tool pinch my “skin” (or whatever you’d call the inside of your colon), saw my skin being stretched while the tool was trying to get a little piece, and then as soon as the tool snagged a piece of “skin”, I felt my insides spring back into place. Ok, if I haven’t succeeded in grossing you out by now, I’ve at least succeeded in grossing myself out.

Anyway, I’m happy to say it was all over in ten minutes and the procedure was a success.

It’s been almost two years since Aparna and I watched our first official movie in Moews Cinema, and during that time my home theater has been remarkably stable. HDTV via cable and DVD movies via a HTPC.

Well, I’m happy to announce Moews Cinema 2.0. I’m selling my HTPC, and I’ve upgraded to High Definition DVD! Wait! You must be thinking, “Aren’t there two high def DVD formats?” Ok, you’d only be thinking that if you’re as big a dork as me, but that’s the only segue I could come up with at midnight. Anyway, if you were thinking that you’d be right. There are two competing high def DVD formats, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray. Which one did I go with? Both!

I bought a used Playstation 3 off of Craigslist, and I bought a HD-DVD player when they had a bit of a fire sale on them back around Father’s Day. So far I can’t really tell the difference between either one, but I must say the PS3 is a very nice piece of hardware. I’m not really into videogames, so I’ll primarily be using it for Blu-Ray movies. However, the PS3 is also a Media Center, meaning it can be used to watch video, photos, and listen to songs that are on a PC (or Mac) on your home network! Nice.

I’ve used eBay off and on over the years, and I’m happy to say I’ve built up a 100% positive feedback rating of 141. It should be much higher, but so many people never both to leave feedback! I bring this up because I’m back on eBay again. This time I’m selling my Media Center PC (aka Home Theater PC aka HTPC). I fiddled with the concept of using a PC to use for watching movies for a couple of years, though this specific machine isn’t that old. I really like the concept, but the ease of use in getting everything set up isn’t quite there when compared to a dedicated movie player. So I went out and bought a Playstation 3 and am selling my HTPC.

Anyway, I’m using my blog for a little free advertising. If you know anyone interested in a ready-to-use Media Center PC, send them here! No Reserve!

How far I’ve fallen.

After being a frequent flier miles ubergeek from 1999-2004 (I really was pretty crazy about earning and using miles), I fell off the wagon after moving to Texas. The low point came last month when I found out I had committed the ultimate frequent flier sin, I had miles expire! Not just a few miles either, but almost 100,000 British Airways miles. Poof! Two free tickets to Europe gone!

Well, I immediately set about trying to get them back. I consulted the #1 frequent flier reference, FlyerTalk.com, and started contacting BA. I called them, faxed them, and emailed them. Finally, after thinking there was no way I’d get them back, they reappeared on the 21st! Quite the early birthday gift from BA.

BA has a 36 month expiration period, and I had actually gone about 3.5 years without any activity before BA removed them from my account. So Aparna & I are pretty thankful BA restored them. Now we’re thinking it’s time to use them!

Well, this officially serves as the most unusual birthday gift I received this year, and pretty much any year. I’m pretty sure I do not like the fact someone thought I needed this!

Thanks Mom, Dad, Dad, Anila, Maneesh, Irma, Manish, Rani, Tina, Tina, Shilpi, Nidhi, Garrett, Rob, Amy, Amy, Neil, Aparna, Dimple, Rahul, Herb, Sheila, Bianca, Rohan, Sophia, Sam, Tessa, Ajay, Josh, Rob, Joy, Tony, Greg, Mike, Mike, Brad, Chaitan, Taruna, Sheila’s mom and Raj for the birthday wishes!

I had a great birthday! For some reason I was pretty excited for #34. Not sure why, but I was. I suspect because life is pretty good these days, and what better day than a birthday to celebrate it?

I didn’t do much today on my 2007 birthday. Went to work, had a little birthday celebration there (yes, I told my coworkers the 22nd was my birthday! :smile:), came home and hung out with a few friends that Aparna had invited over.

In case you’re wondering what level of respect I’ve built up over 34 years, the fact that it’s me taking the picture of everyone around my birthday cake is all you need to know.

(p.s. - It’s not my 40th birthday, but if you’re thinking you’ve seen that candle before, you’re not mistaken.)

That’s me at the instant I found out about the surprise 30th birthday party Aparna threw me. I’d wish I could say that is a picture of the future, but alas, it was taken years ago.

I took my first trip to Japan last week, and I really enjoyed the parts of Japan I saw. I spent the majority of my time in Aizu, but I did manage to spend about half a day in Tokyo. I found the culture fascinating, and the people were extremely nice. Easily some of the nicest people I’ve encountered on my worldly travels.

I didn’t get to do much sightseeing, but you can see my photos from Japan here (or by clicking any of the photos). In particular, you should check out the photos of the fish staring at me and how I entertained myself most evenings.

I was only there for a week, but I’m hoping to go back and have a little more time to look around. Before going, I wasn’t sure how much I’d enjoy visiting Japan, but now I’m certain I’d like to take a vacation there. I was particularly amused by their use of cartoon characters, and I was surprised at the variety of food available (even in Aizu).

The one thing I didn’t see was Indians! Outside of the office, I didn’t see a single Indian in Aizu, Tokyo, or on the trains. Not sure if I’ve ever visited someplace and not encountered my peeps.

Did you catch me on TV Friday night? I’m guessing not, but don’t despair! Simply click the photo or right here to see my network news debut.

By now you’re probably wondering what the heck I’m talking about. In fact, you probably wonder that about everything I write about here, but I’m only going to worry about this entry.

A new home security company called uControl recently started up here in Austin, and we signed up with them a few months ago. I won’t go into their business strategy here; click the link to learn more. I’ll just say they provide a very effective home security solution at a very good price.

Ok, back to the point. One of our local TV stations wanted do to a feature on uControl, and the folks at uControl asked me if I wouldn’t mind being interviewed about their product for a segment to air on the local news. As you can imagine, I said yes. A local newsanchor, Fred Cantu, came out last Monday with a cameraman and we taped the segment. I was told it would air Friday night, and it did!

After watching it, I came to two conclusions:

1. I need to lose some weight. (this was not a new conclusion)
2. One side of my head is heavier than the other.

How else can I explain that I tilted my head the entire interview? I asked Aparna if I do that often, and she said I do! I never even knew I was a tilt-talker.

Finally, after watching the video I think you’ll agree with me that my makeup was done very well.