Semi-Anual Post

Since last I posted, Here are the books that I can remember...

• Snuff - Chuck Palahniuk : Not his best work. The plot twist seemed forced. I should have reread Rant or Lullaby.
• Island - Terry Pratchett : I really enjoyed this book. It's supposed to be aimed at young adults, but it seemed completely appropriate for me.
  
• Something that escapes me at the moment
• Cryptonomicon - Neal Stephenson: Rounding the final bend on this one. Because of it's girth, you really have time to grow accustomed to the many characters and times. It's still has not brought all the threads together, but I have faith that it will eventually.
  

Follow-up to my previous post about the Grand Prix du Canada, the brain trust at FOM/FIA have canceled the Canadian Grand Prix. You know, the race that always sells out and was the only GP in North America. At least now there's room for another GP in Asia that nobody will attend. No, I'm not bitter. Really.

And I am finally entering the HDTV Era. Delivered, or on there way currently are...

• Pioneer KURO PDP-5020FD Plasma TV
• Pioneer BDP-51FD Blu-Ray Disk Player
• Denon AVR-3808CI A/V Receiver
• Dish Network ViP-722 HD PVR
• Logitech Harmony 890 Remote Control
  

So far, the Harmony is the only purchase that I've regretted at all. The software that comes with the remote that allows you configure it has some usability issues. First, it's a web-based application thinly wrapped in a Mac application skin. You can't copy or paste text to the application, and the application will time-out if left unattended. The real problem is that the only interface to adjust any of the parameters is a wizard interface that makes it infuriating to make minor changes, and frequently impossible to correct configuration problems. For instance, I set up a "Watch TV" action that sets the receiver input to satellite, turns on the satellite PVR, and sends the output to the TV on input 4. That's fine, but then I tried to set up a "Watch DVD" action (There is no option for Watch Blu-Ray). The remote software never asks me how the receiver should be set-up to receive from the Blu-Ray player, but instead insists that the receiver's input should be set to Satellite. It asks me if the setup is correct, but steadfastly refuses to let me change the receiver input.

Come to think of it, I'm not sure that I've ever been satisfied with anything that Logitech as produced. I go MS for mice, and Kensington for my favorite big-ass trackball.

-Ben