Ketchup

[rickps]

Dull, busy, or exciting life, you decide...



Psycho Kitty AKA Miss Thing AKA Mocha, my six year old cat appears to be on the mend after developing a rather severe bladder infection.  Just over $700 in vet bills later, she's bouncing off of walls just like she used to.  A good thing, I think.  You haven't lived, though, until you've tried to shove a pill down a cat's throat.





After 2 years of dreaming and plotting, I succumbed to the hi-def siren call and retired my 10 year old TV in favor of a 46" LCD flat panel, Samsung to be specific.  This necessitated an upgrade to the satellite dish and purchase of an HD DVD player (yes, I'm one of the fools that purchased one of these on the eve of their impending demise).  Regardless, picture quality is incredible.





I just don't attend bear runs the way I once did.  The one exception, Fiesta de los Osos, in Tucson is my annual trek into the desert to commune with furry creatures of all types.  Like clockwork, I came down with a head cold two days before departing.  As a result, this year's event was experienced in a Sudafed induced haze.  For the second year in a row, it was inordinately cold, reducing outdoor friskiness greatly.  Still, a good time seemed to be had by all.  Kartchner Caverns is a not to be missed tour should you ever be in the area





No surprise to anyone in the western world, I have a long standing love affair - with musical theater.  At the behest of a buddy here in Bland San Diego, we ventured to the Pantages in LA to see Wicked, the fifth (and likely last) viewing of the show for me.  Thanks to the hunky soundbear69, our seats were spectacular, the show polished and refined.  And yes, they were only shoes.  I'm over it.



See, I told you it was dull.

Comments

[dr-scott.livejournal.com]

Did you say something? I fell asleep... :-)

[ricksf.livejournal.com]

Shhh, don't disturb him. He's disturbed enough as it is... :)

Mustard

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

Gee, I thought it was word association:) Any day I see a post from you is a good day!

HUGS!

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

Yay for Psycho kitty!

I hear ya on the TV front. I've put off getting a new flat panel for a long time. It's gotta happen this year. Of course, that will entail upgrading the receiver, speakers, network, the satellite... It's a never ending circle of upgrades.

The only 'bear run' I do anymore is in Provincetown. In fact, I am no longer going for the run at all, it's just the same week in order to be around friends that show up at that time.

Bear Run Out

[ricksf.livejournal.com]

Interesting that in the last couple of weeks I've spoken with a number of folk that are 'over' bear runs. Not sure if this is a natural progression of things or just my limited sampling. Or perhaps we're all just getting older and (more) jaded...

For whatever it's worth, I picked LCD over plasma even though the latter typically has a better quality picture. Concerns about the inherently destructive nature of heat from the plasma being the issue. From my in-store observations, I thought Samsung and Sony had the best picture quality and features mix. Happy shopping!

Re: Bear Run Out

[greatbearmd.livejournal.com]

I think the main reason I am 'over' the bear runs is that they have never evolved much, you've been to one, you've been to them all. The other aspect is I've noticed a far more cliquish behavior from the participants. By extension I have added to the problem by only finding social interaction mainly with people I already know. Since many people I know have moved on, I tend to know less folk at these things, and I might not be as outgoing as I've been in the past, so it's serious wallflower action.

LCD has made a lot of progress as far as image quality and refresh speed. I am on the fence as far as picking either LCD or plasma. Plasma has the benefit of the deepest black levels and viewing angles. With the odd shape of the living room, the latter is very important. The power issue bothers me, but I have done some experimenting. The typical plasma set in a store is set to produce the brightest, most stunning (and saleable) picture. Walking past such sets next to one another is not unlike standing next to a room heater. But, if you tone down the brightness to realistic levels (especially in a movie-watching setting in a darkened room), the power consumption becomes a lot less outrageous. Conversely, an LCD always has it's backlight at fuill power, even in dark scenes. A plasma screen in a near-dark scene is drawing very little power (and is not subject to burn-in) Now if all those annoying, increasingly animated 'bugs' that sit on the corners of every damn broadcast would disappear, life would be grand.