Do you like stamps?

I used to collect stamps as a young lad. What is so cool about collecting stamps? They are used to celebrate, record, and/or commemorate events and people. Why am I writing about this? I am thinking about collecting stamps again. It would bring back a pleasant childhood memory, and might be a wise investment. I could start with the Star Wars collection, which comes out in late May. Check them out. Awesome!

Prestige is the best ...

I have not seen a movie quite like Prestige. It is about two rival magicians. I guess this movie is very interesting to me since I am fascinated by magic. This movie is also about jealousy, mystery, suspense. I really do not want to give away any details, because I do not want to spoil any part of the movie. Prestige begins with a big scene, the movie seemed a little hohum until the movie catches back up. I am not saying the middle is not interesting, because you start to learn the background story. I don't know you can improve the movie by changing sequences, but I felt the middle was a little slow.

I have not been this excited about a movie since I watched The Station Agent. You should check out Prestige.

Undue pressure ...

When you get to be a certain age (I am not willing to share this everyone) and still remain single, people start asking questions. Why are you alone? Do you not like opposite sex? And other demeaning questions. Worst yet, people are willing to set you up with just anyone. Sometimes all these weigh on poor little moi.

What brought all this on. Well, a fortune cookie made me do it. I just got this fortune yesterday that topped any demeaning questions. Look yourself and laugh with me as I might cry otherwise.

Handyman?

I consider myself very unhandy. Is that a word? I've had a leaky kitchen faucet for about three weeks. I was first very dumbfound as I could not even figure out how to disassemble it. I eventually removed a little rubber part that revealed a bolt. Well, it was going to take an allen wrench to remove it. Darn!

I finally checked the Delta Faucet website, which is so very helpful. Did you like my Valley Girl? I went to my local ACE Hardware and pick up a Delta kitchen faucet repair kit. I had to go there two times as the first helpful clerk was not so helpful. Second time, a very knowledgeable lady clerk helped point out a part labeled "Delta Kitchen Faucet Repair Kit." I felt stupid. In my poor defense, it was one part in sea of parts.

I brought it home and took about a half hour to fix my leaking faucet. There is not double meaning. I am happy with my effort. Now I need to tackle my living room speaker wire situation. Hmm.

Chinese is bad for you...

At least Chinese restaurant foods are. According to the Yahoo article I read today, Chinese foods have too much sodium and calories. Down in my heart, I did not want to believe somethings that taste so good are bad for you. Hmm. I guess I will cut down on how often I will devour Chinese food. Darn! Check out the article yourself.

 TV is almost here ...

I have been waiting for Apple TV since Steve Jobs announced last January. Well, I have just been informed that it is on its way! It is a good thing, since I am going bonkers waiting for it. I cannot wait to stream songs, pictures, movies, podcasts, etc. to my new HDTV from my Mac. Friday, I just cannot wait.

Wow, what a picture ...

I got the above wedding invitation from Steve and Grace. Wow, what a picture! From the silhouette, I was convinced it is not a stock photo. I also got a positive feedback on the inside, where it is written, "This is a picture of us taken the day we were engaged - Maui, HI."

Steve and Grace, my heartfelt congratulations. I am very happy for you both.

Obi-Wan, you are my only hope ...

Did you know it's been thirty years since Star Wars been released? Well, the US Postal Service sure remembers, because they are releasing new mailboxes in honor of it. I just hope the new mailboxes make R2D2 noises when I deposit my mail. That would be the ultimate. Is this why USPS always raises postage?

Look Who's Writing ...

Gina sent me a photo of Ben, who recently turned one year old. I just wanted go on record and write about a pattern I detected among my friends, who are mothers. They write as their offspring when writing invitations, thank you notes, Christmas newsletter, etc. I found them endearing, but not corny like the movie, Look Who's Talking.

Will I know the difference once the kids get to an age when they can write? I hope so.

Elite Beat Agents

I've been hooked on a video game called Elite Beat Agents. This rhythmic game for Nintendo DS is like a Dance Dance Revolution for your hand. I have been playing this game for nearly two months. I have finally finished all the levels. Here is the coup de grace! Enjoy.

Vanity license plates ...

I get very frustrated when I encounter personalized (vanity) license plates I cannot decipher. Like in Seinfeld, who is supposed to know that ASSMAN is a proctologist. I recently ran into a black BMW 325i with DEL MKR on its plate. I guess she is a real estate agent who makes deals for a living? There are many others I cannot remember now, but I did not have a clue what they were referring to. I wish more people would get license plates that make sense, so I won't feel so stupid.

The Departed & Little Miss Sunshine review...

I have not written about any movies, because I have not seen good movies in some time. Well, I recently saw two good movies, Departed and Little Miss Sunshine. After watching Little Miss Sunshine, I understand why Eddie Murphy was so upset. I did not think Alan Arkin performed Oscar worth role in the movie. That is not to say Little Miss Sunshine is a bad movie, because I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. You should rent this movie about a dysfunctional family traveling to enter a little girl into a beauty contest. This movie is very touching on many levels. I can relate to shortcomings of all the characters, which makes them believable. I also related to family troubles in the film, which made the film sympathetic. Little Miss Sunshine is funny above all else, so you will be entertained.

The movie I want to whole hearted recommend is The Departed by Martin Scorsese. I am not sure if Senor Scorsese received an Oscar for the body of work or for The Departed, but it is an awesome movie. It is about a mob and police in Boston. Each side plants insiders and tries to bring down the others by staying a step ahead. The Departed starts a little slow for my taste, but you have to tell the story and build up so I understand the pace. What really makes the movie for me was the fact that no one in the movie, protagonists or antagonists alike, is safe. Within the last thirty minutes, I had no idea who dies and why. I also love the fact that it does not have a Hollywood ending. I mean what is the chance of a happy ending with a mob story. I highly recommend this one!!!!!

Do you ever self diagnose?

When I was younger, I never thought I have any kind of illness or disease after reading about them or their symptoms. Well, I am a little older now, and I self diagnose now and then. I think self awareness is a way to prevent or to ease one's own illness. This might have started when I used to run many miles per week and experienced pain on occasions.

I was recently reading CNN.com about binge eaters, which is the most common eating disorder. I think I am a binge eater. Only thing offsetting the disorder maybe my regular runs. I would be much bigger otherwise. Sometimes I eat even though I feel full. I don't know if I eat when I am stressed out, but this is possible. I overeat when I am alone more than when I am with others. Since I am aware of binge eating symptoms, I will conscientiously watch out for my behavioral issues regarding eating. Hopefully, I am not a binge eater, but I could be.

In that note, I think I may be mildly depressed. I am working on this as well as I am aware of this possibility. My regular runs, which has not been as regular lately, is also helping me in this regard.

Or this could all be false positive. Maybe I am a hypochondriac!

I am such a technophile ...

I have been holding out on HDTV. I just did not want to spend a fortune on a TV. Luckily, the prices have been declining steadily. I decided to buy a HD LCD TV last October. I have been keeping my eyes peeled on a bargain set since then. When Apple announced Apple TV last January, I realized that I need to get one soon as it only works with a HDTV. Well, Amazon dialed a right number with $1200 for a Samsung 40in LCD 720p set (pictured above).

I am pleased with the TV and the service minus how long it took to get here. Eagle, Amazon's delivery service, took nearly two weeks to deliver. What irked me the most was that the TV arrived in Phoenix about four days ago, but for some reason it set in the warehouse for a couple more days before making an appointment for a delivery. To their credit, they did a great job of setting the TV up for me and taking the packaging away.

You may be thinking what I might do for HD content, now that I have a HDTV. I am going to get my HD content from over the air tuner. You know local free broadcast. I am forgoing cable and satellite as I really don't want to pay every month. Lucky for me, digital signals are strong and there are local HD channels although not every program is in HD.

I am amazed at the picture quality of the TV. I know I need to calibrate it, but it still looks pretty good in Movie mode. One thing I don't like about HD is that pictures look too sharp. I do miss the soft outline of the analog.

Only down side to upgrading is the money that must be spend on the big equipment and other ancillary equipment. I decided to spend $90 to get another DVD player as the old one could be only hooked up to S-Video. The picture was awful. I also spend $40 dollars on two cables. One to hook up Nintendo Wii via component and DVD via HDMI. Now, I am happy with the setup. If only Apple TV was here already, then my digital entertainment life would be grand.

In preparation for Apple TV, I also bought an Airport Extreme (802.11n), super fast router, from Apple for $170. I've set up a wireless network just like the picture below.
Here is my break down of the cost as I wanted Apple TV for my living room.

• Apple TV: $300
• Airport Extreme: $170
• HDTV: $1,200
• Upconverting DVD player:$90
• Misc. cables: $60
• iMac (in the future?): $1,500

Wow, that is so much money to support a $300 contraption.