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  • Netflix and X-Box 360: Match Made in Heaven

    Now that the Netflix add-on has been upgraded it’s safe to recommend. To begin, the X-Box 360 came to our house as a Christmas gift in 2007. Hooked it up to the 62″ HDTV 1080P and geeked out. Now we know the video games enjoyed back then were just scratching the surface of what this console can do.

    xbox360

    Discovering X-Box Live was fantastic. Go online and demo the latest games for free? Sign me up. Some of the games that where the most engaging actually ended up being puzzle games as opposed to first person shooters. Braid and Puzzle Quest are two household favorites.

    Extremely inexpensive (approx $13.00 per month) and dependable, one can pick from 17,000 movies and television shows, all commercial free, and on demand. To begin, setup a Netflix and X-Box Live Gold Membership and connect your console to your home network. Login to your X-Box Live account, download the Netflix app on your X-Box, and start watching!

  • US Open Tips

    A few weeks ago my wife and I, accompanied by her mom and dad, made a trip to New York City for the US Open Tennis Championship. It was a blast. Here are a few things worth sharing that we learned during our three days.

    1. Go the first week. The tournament is two weeks long. The first week I think is best to see live. You’ll see a lot of quality tennis in just a few days. We saw almost all of our favorite players and became fans of several others. We were there about ten to twelve hours each day.

    2, Buy General Admission Tickets. Save your money on the expensive tickets. General Admission cost around $40. What you get for your money is access to every court in the place with the exception of Arthur Ashe. The super big stars play on Ashe but they can’t all play there at once! This means that some of the big names play on the smaller courts including Louis Armstrong and the Grandstand.

    3. Download the iPhone app. Yes, there’s an app for that. Save your $7.00 for the days scheduled and download the free application.

    4. Visit the side courts. We got to see a lot of tennis in just three days. Most of the best tennis was either in the Grandstand or Armstrong. However, it’s worth checking out the side courts just for the fact that you are so close.

    5. Getting around in Armstrong. Up until a few years ago, this was the main stadium. I would also note that it is connected to the Grandstand and most night matches (besides Ashe) will be here.

    • Start with taking the stairs to the very top upper deck.
    • Check out the bathrooms up there; the aren’t crowded. Can’t say that about elsewhere on the grounds.
    • Easier access to refreshment stands. Cold beverages, good, etc.
    • From the upper deck one can come and go during sessions. Otherwise you have to wait until the change overs to be seated.
    • Once you’re In the upper deck you can  work your way down to better seats.
    • On a hot day there is a breeze up there which is oh so important when it’s really hot.
    • When you do venture down, remember that the west side seats have less legroom, east side more legroom.
    • The west side offers more shade on a sunny afternoon.

    6. Tips on getting there. I should mention here that we stayed in Times Square. Wherever you are, take the subway. The gates at Flushing Meadows open at 10:00 AM. Play starts at 11:00 AM. The smart money (for us at least) was on leaving at 9:00 AM. There’s an express train from Times Square so visit mta.info.com before your trip and get familiar with the route. Each ride on the subway is $2.25 each so plan ahead and get your MTA card loaded with as many trips as you will use. When you read a subway map in the tunnels note that they read down. So, if you are on Wall Street and are trying to get to 34th Penn Station, 34th needs to be below Wall Street on the map.

    7. Essential gear.

    • Hat.
    • Sunscreen.
    • Water bottle (& refill). Pay $10 for it there? That’s about as much as dinner for one on the grounds.
    • Cash and Credit.
    • Shoulder Bag. One strap only. Leave your backpack at home as they are banned. It’s not so odd. If you think this is weird, just think about all the rules at the airport.
    • Cliff Bars.
    • Camera with a good zoom.

    I’m sure I left some good stuff out. Let me know if you have any questions.

  • Love My New Mac

    I just bought my first Mac Computer since college! That would be around 1996. You’d have to be living in a cave not to know how much has changed since then. Back in the day we used dial up and your modem was a separate box that connected to the phone line. High-speed wireless internet and home networking? Forget about it. It is now 2009 and the game has completely changed. What will we be saying about all of this in 2022?

    My new machine is a Mac Mini 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo. More importantly, it is one sexy little machine.

    Now that I work from primarily my home office I wanted to have a central hub for all my music. After work I have also been enjoying all of the other applications that came with the mini. I am learning how to use the simple but powerful iLife apps. My first foray has been with the iPhoto app which is proving fruitful. I’ve been able to easily upload, organize, and even share some of the pictures I took during my trip to the Grand Canyon with my Dad directly from the app to Flickr. More news as I learn more.

  • Grand Canyon 2009

    [I originally posted this on my father in law’s blog back in May of this year. I know it’s been since December of last year since I’ve written anything but trying again to make this a habit; and getting a jump of my NYR for 2010.]

    A few months ago (early 2009) my Dad informed me that he and his greatest friend Larry had plans to hike the Grand Canyon. Their plan was to hike it “Rim to Rim”. Sounded great and I was in! The details revealed themselves over the coming months. We would start by driving the four hours from Phoenix to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and spend the night at a Lodge there. The next morning we would take a van to the North Rim and spend the night in a cabin. The following morning we would get up well before dawn and start our hike from the North Rim back to the South Rim! That is just how it happened.

    Dad and Larry arrived at our house in Maricopa on Wednesday, May 13th, enjoyed a home cooked meal prepared by Linda, and spent the night. On Thursday May 14 we got up at the crack of dawn and made our way first to Sedona, Arizona. We toured around a little, met up with the other four members of our seven-person hiking team and experienced a Pink Jeep tour; after which we headed out of town, making our way to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon!

    The entire hike was approx 25 miles. The hike started at 4:45 AM and for me ended at around 9:00 PM. This means it took me approx 16 hours. This included walking very slow in 115 degree heat (which lasted a few hours during the afternoon), breaks, and an hour long lunch. I estimate having drank between thirty and forty pounds of water and sports drinks, consumed four power bars, six sports gels, ten little oranges, no less than a dozen fig newtons, one organic peanut butter and honey sandwich, and a handful of wheat crackers

    I should also note that not only did Dad and Larry decide this would be a fun time to come see me and Linda in Phoenix and hike in the Grand Canyon but they took it a step past and made it a massive road trip too. During their entire trip they road 4,600 miles through twelve states. In order of travels: Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky. All very impressive for two guys in their mid to late sixties!

  • Summertime Almost Over

    Summertime is almost over here in Phoenix, Arizona. Finally! Yes, I understand that in most parts of the country people look forward to the summer. For those of us who live in the (so called and often feels like literally) Valley of the Sun, where the temp can hit 120 and not drop below 100, day or night for weeks on end, not so much. In the coming posts (I know, I know) I’ll be writing about “what I did on my summer vacations”. Can’t wait. Talk soon.