Weekend/30 Min. Project: White/Light Box

This weekend I worked on a few projects around the house.  A few were completed, a few were not.  The cornhole boards did not get finished, but don't worry, I will have plenty of photos posted when they are done.
    One of the projects I completed was making this white box for shooting photos of objects.  So far I've spent a total of .69 on materials, the rest was stuff found around the house.  I basically used a cardboard box, some paper, tape, a box cutter, scissors, and 1 white poster board.
    The lighting I used on these shots was simply a lamp bulb from which I removed the shade.  I plan on using some better lighting in the future (clip on desk lamp possibly) to make these shots even better.
    The apple is a red delicious we got from a trip to the mountains.
    The bullets pictured below are just some FMJ .40s I had lying around.
    This will hopefully be a fun little inexpensive toy to keep around for shooting random objects.

5 Months, College Football, EPL, Champion's League

It's been five months since we cut the cord.  The time of year that concerned me most about making this move has arrived.  College football season and the beginning of the European soccer leagues had me concerned about making the move initially.  I have to say that so far I still have no regrets.  Between the major OTA networks (NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox) and ESPN3 I can honestly say that I haven't missed anything I've wanted to see yet.  ESPN3's new Xbox app is amazing.  I actually feel sorry for those on Time Warner because they're unable to use it.
When I did have cable, I didn't have any extra packages. My current setup allows me to watch way more soccer.  ESPN3, Telemundo, or other streaming sites for specific games has been great for catching up on some futbol.
I just wanted to make a quick post updating my cord cutting situation and how pleased I have been with the available content.  I'm very excited to hear that Netflix and Discovery have inked a new deal this week as well. If only Hulu Plus could step up the game a bit and offer more device streaming for more programming.

Gmail.

Like many people, I love Gmail. There are many reasons to. However, I do think there are some very simple ways this already great mail provider could be even better.

One of the most unique features of Gmail is the way messages are grouped into conversations. Although this idea is a very nice way to group messages for easy browsing, it lacks one major feature. There should be buttons added allowing the user to add & remove messages from conversations. This seems simple enough but would add a whole new level to e-mail organization.

Multiple account login would also be very useful.  Even if you cannot use multiple accounts in one inbox, the feature to have new mail notifications from other accounts would be extremely useful.

Finally, another idea that may not be quite as popular, paid Gmail.  Gmail does a great job of making ads very unintrusive.  However, it would be nice if there was an ad-free paid version available.  I can't even say that I would use it unless the price was very minimal, but it would be a nice added option.

Those are just some thoughts I had on this e-mail service.  Overall it is great and I will continue to use it.  I'm also looking forward to seeing how Google+, Voice, Android, Docs, and other google service will continue to improve and integrate.

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Cutting the Cord

Recently our household has made a major change, we cut out cable tv.  I had grown tired of dealing with the increasing prices and lack of customer care at TWC.  This seemed like a great oppertunity to make some changes and save some money.  We already had a Netflix (link for 1 free month) account and had been watching the streaming service a good bit.  Below is a list of the process that I went through in switching over.

• Get household approval.  Everywhere you look on the internet will suggest this as the first step, and it's an important one. My wife was completely on board so this was a simple step for me.
• Decide on equiptment & services you plan to use.  This is probably the step that requires the most pre-planning.  There are a wide variety of devices designed to get content into your house. 
  • When it comes to services, there is free and paid content.  The two services I pay for are Netflix and Hulu+ (link for 2 free weeks).  Between these two we have tons of television and movie content available instantly. 
  •  I decided on using a Roku XDS for our bedroom tv. I liked the Roku device because of it's simplicity. It is probably one of the easiest electronic devices to use that I own.  The XDS is the most expensive of their models, but the only one with an SD card slot for playback.  In addition to Netflix and Hulu+ the Roku has a great deal of built in free content.  Crackle, Revision3, CNetTV, AlJazeera, HGTV, Food Network Nighttime, NHL, UFC, and Pandora are just a few of the available channels.
  • The Xbox 360 could be one of the best media center boxes available for cord cutters.  With the recent addition of Hulu+, you also have access to Netflix, and it's one of the only devices that supports ESPN3.  I have my Xbox on my living room tv along with a media pc.
  • Speaking of ESPN3, TWC does not allow non-cable subscribers to use ESPN3. Nor do they even allow subscribers to use ESPN3 on the 360.  Therefore I also got rid of TWC High Speed and moved over to Windstream DSL.  It is not as fast but is actually cheaper and we have had no trouble with using the Xbox and Roku at the same time. I get about 6.5mbps with Windstream vs 12mbps I had with TWC.  FiOS is not available where I live and Comporium hasn't made it to my side of town yet either.  
• Research & set up an antenna for over the air channels.  This for me was the most difficult part of this process.  I was able to get some great help over at TvFool.  Their site is very helpful for seeing what channels are available for your location and the site Forums are extremely helpful.
  • My setup includes a 12ft antenna that was left by the previous owners of this house.  Instead of placing it on the roof of the house, I have put it in the attic.  The cable running from the antenna actually goes directly to the TWC box ouside of the house where it splits off to all of the TVs in the house.  This amp is need in order to pick up everything throughout the house.  Some basic cable management was also very helpful.  The 4 diffrent cable splitters used by TWC were replaced by a single 8-way splitter.  I also picked up some F-Terminators to put on any unused outlets.
  • I now pick up about 17 digital channels. 15 of those are in HD. NBC, CBS, FOX, ETV, ABC, MyNetworkTV, & CW included.

If this process is something you're interested in there are many great resources all over the net for good info.  A google search will provide a great deal of information.  Don't be afraid of forums and online communites for help as well.  I used the above mentioned TVFool as well as Reddit's Cordcutters.  I will also help with whatever I can, but I'm by no means an expert.
The one thing many people have concern with is sports programming.  ESPN3 is a must.  Also think about the sports you watch and how many are available free anyways via OTA network channels.  When it comes to watching sports for me, I mostly watch soccer.  So the adjustment for me is not hard at all.  Football season will be interesting, but if nothing else it will give me a reason to find a decent sports bar to watch the games in.  I don't think I will miss much during that season either though.
Overall, the initial setup process ran me somewhere between $200 and $300.  My monthly savings is around $85.  The process does have an additional added benifit as well.  We don't find ourselves watching as much crap television.  We watch what we want to watch and don't find ourselves watching junk just because it's on.

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New Camera!!!

The return of an old hobby. This time a bit more digital.

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