Cat Bills

We love our animals dearly, but those vet bills can be killer. We had to take Chloe and Bear to the vet today for some nagging heath issues they've been having. They're both 10 years old, and their health is likely deteriorating, so these things should be expected, right? After it was all said and done, a 20 minute doctor visit for the two cats with meds came to about $170. Think that's a lot, right? Well, the last time we took multiple cats up there, and Chloe had to have her teeth cleaned, it was over $400. Like I said, we love them to death, but that's a kicker.

Family Guy A-Ha!

My brother-in-law sent this to me in response to my A-Ha comment, and I thought I'd share. :)

Red Ring of Death

Well, this is what it looks like when your Xbox 360 has a massive hardware failure. I began having problems about 4 days ago, when the system just randomly locked up during a play session. I thought nothing of it, as this had happened before a couple times. I reset the system and continued playing. this happened repeatedly for about three days, then on the fourth, the system locked up every time I started playing, then finally bricked out completely. The warranty Microsoft provides with the system protects it against this particular problem for three years, but fortunately, I had the foresight to buy the replacement plan from Best Buy when I bought the system. I'll be able to take this brick into any store and have it replaced free of charge for up to two years. I'll be taking it in tonight, thank you.

*Edit*
I just wanted to recount my experience returning my defective system to Best Buy. Here's what I wrote on the Short Attention Gamer message board:

I've heard and read so many horror stories about Best Buy's customer service, problems returning items under the replacement plan, and general problems returning Xbox 360s, that I really expected a battle walking into the store tonight to return my defective system. What I received instead was one of the easiest, most painless return trips I've ever made for any consumer electronics. The only bad part was waiting in line, holding that heavy box.

The Geek Squad tech briefly took a look inside the box, asked me what was wrong with it, then completely threw me a curve when he asked me if I wanted to keep my original hard drive! I thought for sure that I was going to be in for a major fight to keep that hard drive. I've read all over the internet and even on these boards that more often than not, they will not allow you to swap drives. I went out onto the store floor, grabbed a new system, took it to the customer service counter, then replaced the new hard drive with my old one. Since I was still within Microsoft's warranty, my replacement plan now carries over to my new system with one more year of coverage, and since it's a new system, I'm also covered by Microsoft's 1yr/3yr warranty. I walked out of the store about 1/2 hour after I got there with a brand new Xbox, and a big smile on my face.

Overall, I really have to say how impressed I was with the experience. I really expected a fight of some sort walking into that store, but in the end I received a really great customer service experience, and the satisfaction in knowing that I made the right decision when I bought their replacement plan. The internet is inundated with horror stories from disgruntled Best Buy customers. It's refreshing to know that it isn't always going to be a gut wrenching experience capitalizing on something I paid for.

Laser Play

My Sisters Kathie and Amanda, nephew Noah, and my Dad stopped over for a bit tonight. We had dinner at the Sunrise Restuarant, then came back to the house for a little while, since my sister Kathie has never seen it, and they're leaving in a few days. I was a bit worried about keeping my 4 year old nehpew entertained, but thanks to the magic of a laser pointer and crazy cats, that was not a problem at all. He was really fascinated by the laser pointer, and really loved how the cats would chase it. It's so amazing to see something like that through the eyes of a four year od.

Playing Around

One of the coolest free apps that come bundled on the Mac is called Photobooth. I know I've talked about this and posted a pic before, but I was playing around with it again today and got this really cool looking picture out of it. It's so easy to play around with something like this and completely lose a half hour or more. I really like how dark it is. It seems very moody. the filter I applied is supposed to make it look hand drawn, and I think for the most part it does, but it also looks a little bit like an A-Ha video.

July: In Review

The summer is in full swing. The days are starting to get really hot, and it's days like today that I'm really grateful to be working 3rd shift. I feel sorry for those poor saps on first and second that suffer through the heat of the day in that place. It gets so incredibly hot in there, it's a wonder people don't drop from heat stroke. We're 7 months into the year, and at times it's shocking to me to realize how much time has passed and how long I've been doing this. It really hits home when I look at my Photo a Day album on my Flickr page, and see over 200 entries.

This was a great month for many reasons, but the best of this month was the time we were able to spend with my family from California. It really makes me sad to know that those time are few and far between, but at the same time, I really appreciate the time we are allowed together. It's so very difficult at times to have a family that's so fractured and separated by distance. It's great to have such a beautiful place to vacation, but I'd much rather have Kathie and her family closer to us.

Here's my favorites for the month:

TV Trouble

About two years ago, on Black Friday, I bought a Phillips 51" rear projection hdtv. At the time, the $799 price was unbelievably cheap, our current television was starting to die, and I was ready to move to HD. The only problem is the television if far too large for our living space. Rear projection sets are really deep, and this particular set has a massive speaker on the bottom as well. To top it off, I have cobwebs forming on the inside of the screen, and I have no idea how to clean them off. Throw in some slight burn-in from viewing a 4:3 on the 16:9 screen, and it's probably about time to get something new. Right now I'm leaning toward the Sony Bravia line. They have a really nice 1080p 40" LCD that's roughly $1500, and it's a nice small set that wont hog up a bunch of real estate in our living room. It's unfortunate that the Phillips set didn't last too long, but at least we didn't pay too much for it. I think we're going to put into storage so when we are finally able to move, I can use it for my "gaming" television, hopefully to be located in a nice finished basement!

Compact Fluorescents

Steph and I have begun to make the slow transition to compact fluorescent light bulbs. There are so many reasons to make this switch, it just seemed the logical thing to do. These bulbs may be more expensive that standard tungsten bulbs, but they last far longer, they use less energy (saving money on the electric bill!), they're brighter, and they're better for the environment. In the long run, you will save money buying these for all your fixtures. The only downside I can see to these bulbs is that the light they cast is very "cold". Tungsten light bulbs have a nice warm light, while the light created by a compact fluorescent is much less inviting. Considering the benefits, this is a pretty small gripe. I guess I'll get used to it