Paul Followell

Ok, so we go almost an entire winter with no snow. Then Spring officially arrives, and we get 5.4 inches of snow. It melts within a day or two. Now it's snowing again.

Oh, and I have strep throat!

OMG... so Monday I'm just sitting around thinking "Hmm... I haven't posted anything on LJ for a long time" and so I actually go and pay for a year. Then Tuesday, I find out that tomneville posted something for the first time in a couple years. WTF. There must be something in the water here or something.

Anyway, here I am. Still alive, and still annoyed that my preferred username paulf is tied up with some lame guy that hasn't been on LJ in 5+ years. *sigh*

I actually just updated my profile and uploaded some pictures. Progress, eh? Maybe I'll start posting a little more frequently.

I just spent most of the afternoon preparing an enormous dinner: Caesar Salad, Filet Mignon with a Red Wine Reduction Sauce, Potatoes Au Gratin, Broccoli, and a Chocolate Mousse. Now I'm stuffed and tired.

Tomorrow, we're going down to Louisville to look at some new BMW Motorcycles. I've got my eye on the BMW R1200RT, but suspect I'll probably end up with the Honda ST1300 because it's similar but about $4,000 less.

Off to bed . . .

I think I'm the only person that hasn't done one of these silly maps yet, so here goes...

create your own personalized map of the USA

create your own visited country map

With the noon temperature at 2F and a forecast high temperature of only 6F, I have absolutely no interest in flying today. Yes, it's true, I would rather be working.

Skylane 3552D sits on the snow-covered ramp at Mount Comfort Airport (KMQJ)

Hopefully things will improve for my IFR lesson tomorrow at 11AM.

The morning commute was a little slower today after a winter storm dumped nearly 6 inches of snow on top of several layers of ice.

Southbound Binford Blvd between 56th and 46th Street

According to the National Weather Service: "SNOW WILL CONTINUE OVER MUCH OF THE AREA THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE 1 INCH OR LESS. WINDS WILL SHIFT TO THE NORTHWEST AND INCREASE TO 15 TO 25 MILES AN HOUR WHICH MAY CAUSE SOME BLOWING AND DRIFTING OF THE SNOW."

Somehow I had managed to spend the past 4 months with no DIRECTV. I had planned to install a satellite dish once I got the basement set up, and digital cable has all the channels I need anyway. But one thing we can't live without is TiVo! We lost our TiVo in the storm three weeks ago.

So, on a whim, I went to Circuit City's website, and ordered a Hughes HDVR2 DIRECTV Digital Video Recorder and a Terk TRK-S25 18"x20" DIRECTV Multi-Satellite Dish Antenna for Express Pick-up, and stopped by on the way home to get it.

The house is already wired for a satellite dish, with several home run RG-6 coax runs from the attic to the basement. But I'm not someone that likes ladders or high roofs. I'll leave that to the professionals. But I couldn't wait to get the system up and running, so I found a heavy 2x6 at a construction site across the street, and mounted the dish to it. It's now sitting on the sidewalk in front of our front door.

The dish itself has three feed horns which receive three different satellites. I'm still not entirely sure what benefit this is to me. After scanning through all of the channels, I don't see anything I didn't already have. I'm guessing the additional satellites are needed to get the smaller market off-the-air television stations or the Spanish DIRECTV service. But it doesn't hurt to have the latest in dish technology --- I suppose it may came in handy some day and I won't have to get someone on the roof to replace the dish again. The dish also has four coax connections, allowing you to feed four different receivers at the same time. This is a great feature! My new TiVo satellite receiver has two inputs of its own.

Setting up the receiver is as easy as you would expect. You just connect the cables, and go through the menus. Once I had the dish working, it was time to call DIRECTV. I talked to one of their customer service people for a few minutes which included why they thought they needed my social security number, and why I was not going to give it to them. Then they realized that I can't even buy programming from them. I'm in a protected reseller territory, and I would need to call Pegasus Satellite Television. Oh yeah, I should have known that too. I called Pegasus and the guy I talked to was very friendly and helpful. He found my old account, and we just re-opened that with updated information. After talking about programming choices, I opted to go with the most expensive and ridiculously overpriced Total Choice Premier Package with my local channels, which will run just over $100 a month. I plan to see what channels I actually watch (and TiVo) over the next couple of months, and then I will decide what to do. He offered to turn my TiVo on, but I declined since I know I can activate it online at TiVo's website. It took only a few minutes, and every channel available was on, and the guide had started populating.

My next adventure was getting the TiVo activated. I went to the website, and when I attempted to turn the TiVo on, I was told that I had to contact DIRECTV directly since this was a DIRECTV/TiVo combo unit. So I called DIRECTV. They told me I would have to call Pegasus because they aren't allowed to even look at my account. When I called Pegasus, they said that DIRECTV would have to turn on the TiVo --- they were unable to do that. So I called DIRECTV again and finally got someone that knew how to do their job. She transferred me to their TiVo activation department. I was surprised to find out that you can't purchase a lifetime subscription to TiVo if you have the built-in DIRECTV. Fortunately, the monthly cost for this type of unit is less than $5, so it would take 5 years to get a lifetime of benefit out of the lifetime subscription, and I sure hope I'm not still using this technology in 5 years!

It is interesting that this unit receives so much of it's data via satellite. I was used to my old TiVo making long calls in the middle of the night to download the program guides, tell TiVo what we watch (more on this later), download software, etc. But with this unit, apparently the only thing the phone line is used for is impulse Pay-Per-View, software downloads, and of course telling TiVo what you watch. All of the activation (even the TiVo) and program guide downloading is just done via satellite. It does take "1 to 2 days" for the entire program guide of two weeks to download into the TiVo, so I was unable to start programming my season pass selections right away. Even this morning, many shows were still not available. With the old TiVo, you had the full guide after it's unnecessarily long 3 hour initial set-up call.

Since this unit is basically recording the data stream directly off the satellite, the recorded pictures are identical to what you would watch live off the satellite dish. However, this means that all programs are recorded in "best quality" --- there is no option to record those Jerry Springer shows in "basic quality." They still claim that the unit can record around 35 hours of programming which is more than enough for me.

Since the unit has two receivers, it is possible to record two shows that are on at the same time. This is a great feature to have since many of the better prime-time programs are running back-to-back. You can also watch one show while recording something else which is nice. Apparently, you can also watch two different shows (flipping back and forth) and TiVo will record the previous 30 minutes of both shows, so you won't miss anything. I've not tried any of this yet since I only had enough coax to run one line to the receiver. Once I get it professionally installed, I'll play around with this more.

Back to my comment about TiVo reporting what you watch... We've always known that TiVo does this. I found this interesting comment in the receiver's owner's manual, in the frequently asked questions section:

Will the DVR service collect information about my viewing habits?

• At DIRECTV, we absolutely respect and guard your right to privacy. We have a privacy policy that maintains complete viewer confidentiality. DIRECTV has created a very sophisticated system with both protection and customization for our viewers in mind. It is DIRECTV's promise to you that you will always maintain control over your personal information. For more information, see the DIRECTV Privacy Promise, included in your first monthly statement.

Does this really answer the question? It's obvious a team of lawyers wrote this answer.

So far I am pretty impressed with my purchase. I still wish there was one box that included TiVo, HD DIRECTV, and an HD cable converter for my HDTV. But until such a box comes out, this will do just fine.

Perhaps I'm just bad luck, but I've now been struck by lightning twice. Well, not me but my house. The first time was around 1995 I guess. We had about $4000 worth of damaged computers, ham radio equipment, and satellite stuff. I claimed it on the insurance (what a huge pain in the ass), and then had to deal with elevated premiums for several years (as if a lightening strike was my fault).

Last night's storm was just as destructive. Here's a casualty list so far:

1. TiVo - Won't release the phone line (always off-hook)


2. Alarm System - bad expansion module


3. Jacuzzi in Master Bathroom - won't run / circuit breaker won't stay on


4. Sony TV/VCR Combo in Master Bedroom - dead


5. Polycom Soundpoint Pro 2-line phone - dead


6. Nortel Networks 450T Ethernet Switch - has bad ports


7. Sun Ultra 10 - Ethernet Port is dead


8. Axis 2100 Web Camera - dead

One thing I know I won't be doing: Filing an insurance claim. My deductible is $1,000 now anyway. Last year, TiVo was allowing customers with old equipment (like me) to upgrade to the new Series 2 stuff and transfer their lifetime subscription. I'm hoping I can still do that. The Alarm is only a couple months old - perhaps they'll fix it under warrantee? I'll try to get the builder to fix the Hot Tub for free (it's also only three months old). Hopefully these people won't know we had one hell of a storm yesterday! The TV/VCR combo was old as dirt so I'll just buy something from this century. I guess I'll just have to buy another phone to replace the Polycom. The switch still has good ports, so I will just not use the bad ones. The Sun is junk and I never paid for it anyways, so I'll just give it to someone and let them put a working Ethernet card in it. (The only thing it did was DHCP). And I guess I'll just have to purchase another camera at some point.

Well, that's enough venting for now. Hopefully I won't find anything else that's broken. :)

After six incident and accident-free months with Progressive, they have decided to increase our 6-month premium by $129! Geico would be $375 more than the new Progressive renewal. And State Farm (my homeowners insurer) wants $58 more than Progressive.

It's almost July already, and I still have two weeks of vacation time to use. I can't seem to decide where to go. Katie and I have talked about a couple of options:

• A cruise - possibly the southern Caribbean again? We both loved the two other cruises we went on.


• A road trip - I through about doing the whole "Route 66" thing.


• Vermont Bed and Breakfast trip - One of my favorite places!


• Ireland - We've been talking about going here for years. My dad would love to go - and there are some pretty good off-peak travel deals out there right now for late fall.


• London? Katie wants to go back, and at one time we even talked about a group of people going out including nugget but I'm not sure whatever came of this plan...
  

While thinking of all the places I'd like to go, I gave some thought to all the places I've already been: Antigua, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Canada, Cayman Islands, England, France, Germany, Italy, Jamaica, Liechtenstein, Martinique, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, Puerto Rico (US), Saint Martin, Switzerland, United States of America (46 states - haven't been to ND, SD, MT, AK), Vatican City, Virgin Islands (US). It's kind of hard to believe...

I guess I'll keep flipping through Frommer's BudgetTravel looking for a good deal.

Well... back to work...

After riding my bike for the first time this year, I remembered all the things that I don't like about riding a bike --- the lower back pain, the sore arms, and the numb palms. Yeah, I am sure some of this can be attributed to poor posture while riding. Nonetheless, the discomfort certainly makes it difficult to start a daily cycling regimen which is critical to my weight loss goals (and the fact that I simply enjoy riding.

So, last Saturday, I very impulsively purchased a used Greenspeed recumbent touring trike from a dealer in Carmel. I added Shimano SPD pedals and some decent cycling shoes, along with another water bottle cage, and it's now all ready for riding!

Last night was the first "official" ride. I was amazed at how comfortable I was. When I was done, the only thing that hurt were my legs, and even they felt fine after an hour or so. No pain in my back. No pain in my arms. My hands felt fine. Although the ride was only 9.5 miles, I felt like I could have gone 20 or more, which is good considering this was the first *real* ride in a year!

Tonight, I plan to ride home from work. I'm going to start at the bottom of the Monon Trail, make a brief stop at the shop to get the parts needed to mount my headlight, and then head home after I reach the north end of the trail. It should work out to be about 25 miles or so.

I have already registered for the N.I.T.E. Ride, something that I do every year. (It's only 20 miles so it's not really a challenge.) Now I'm giving some thought to registering for the Hilly Hundred. It's in October, so I have plenty of time to prepare. This would be an excellent goal. Perhaps I'll see where I am in a month from now. The furthest I have ever ridden in one day is 50 miles. This would require 50 miles a day, on back-to-back days, over very hilly terrain.

I got the bicycle out for the first time this year tonight. In fact, it's probably the first time it's been used in nearly 11 months. Yeah, I think my last ride was last year's N.I.T.E. Ride. The N.I.T.E. Ride is really cool --- it's a 20-mile loop through downtown Indianapolis around Midnight on a Saturday. A nice SAG stop at the 1/2 way point serves much needed carbohydrates in the form of tasty cookies, and the end of the ride features some Fazoli's Italian and a live band. But it's not the route, the time, or the food that makes this experience so incredible. It's the nearly 3,000 other crazy people that are out there with you. There's really no way to describe what it's like. Anyway, Katie, Tom, and I rode around the neighborhood for about 15 minutes until my hip started to hurt (I fell a week ago and bruised it pretty bad).

I really do enjoy bike riding, but I just never seem to find the time for it. I joined the Central Indiana Bicycling Association about 20 years ago, and I have never been to an official club function or ride except for the N.I.T.E. ride. I really do enjoy a long ride that pushes me to the edge of my endurance, and hope I can find the time to do more riding this year. It would certainly help with my dieting efforts.

I'm really looking forwarding to flying this Sunday. I'm taking my dad to Barrington to a benefit concert for Hopeful Heart. I'm not really a big fan of theatre organ music, but the Sanfilippo 's home is spectacular, and their collection of "stuff" is amazing. But the best part will be the flight to the Schaumburg Regional Airport. I've been there a couple times before. It's fun to work through the busy Chicago airspace. Hopefully the weather will hold up. Right now, the forecast calls for partly cloudy skies with a 10-20% chance of precipitation.

I stumbled across an interesting site in the vermonters community called Find Your Spot. It takes you through a series of questions about your lifestyle, and then picks communities that look like a good match for you. I've always thought I'd like to live in a rural area (or small town) in the Colorado Rocky Mountains or somewhere in Vermont. 8 of the 24 spots were in Colorado -- many of the others were in Idaho, Montana, and Utah. It's interesting that nothing in New England came up even though I selected that region. I suspect it may be because I set the home price desired too high. The ranges were pretty small and it appeared to be a required field.

Well, I had to post something. So, here is journal entry number one. I'm just too lazy to write much --- I've spent a good deal of the afternoon adding interests, friends, and other profile entries. I've also been playing around with the various themes, but can't find one I like. Oh well... maybe later?