Cutting the Cord, 2 weeks in

Ok, so we're firmly committed to cutting the cord. Ironic since there is no cord because it's satellite that we're doing away with, but so perhaps we're dissing the dish.

Netflix - We signed up for the Netflix free trial and we've been loving it. Watching TV on my iPad has totally changed my habits, though not always for the best. I watch TV while doing a lot of my chores now, but sometimes I don't move as quickly because I've been watching the screen. I discovered and watched all of The IT Crowd and have started watching Battlestar Galactica and Archer. The profiles are pretty neat.  Netflix on our Blu-Ray player doesn't work because it doesn't support the resoluton of our TV.  Thanks for that Samsung.  Netflix on the Wii works well, but earlier today there were too many devices connected to the Airport Express and it couldn't connect to Netflix. Had to put some stuff in Airport Mode before it would connect. Will have to keep an eye on that see if we need to move the Airport Express and hardwire it.  We've also encountered the issue where Rachel watching something in the living room and Lori watching something in the kitchen and I couldn't watch something on the iPad because you can only do two streams at once.

Hulu Plus - I haven't really used it, but Lori has. She complains that there's still a lot of commercials in The Voice.  They give you an entire week of free trial.  How magnanimous of them.  Apparently all children's shows are commercial free, that's cool. So the trial's already over so we got our first charge for that.

Amazon Prime - haven't used it much even though we've had it for over a year now.  We just save money on the free shipping and discounts on recurring shipments.  It's difficult to find things and it's a mix of free and paid and even if it's free to stream, it shows purchase options so you have that "wait... am I about to buy something" panic that comes with having one-click purchasing turned on.

DirecTV - we're deleting stuff we know we won't get to before we cancel. And that is becoming a bit of a challenge in and of itself. The contract ends 10/23 but the next bundle payment to CenturyLink is 10/20.  So we have to pay for another month of DirecTV and then call and cancel and wait to get a refund.  So might need to wait on the Roku box so as not to destroy the budget.

What we haven't done yet is sat downstairs together to watch stuff in a non-DirecTV way except for the few random things via the laptop, usually when the DirecTV DVR fails to record or corrupts the recording. It'll be interesting when we do make the switch-over.  Bought an extra power cord for Lori's laptop so we can more easily move it.

After that, then we'll take a hard look at cheaper cell phone options. And then the security system nd local phone line - you're next.

Worth Repeating: Robert Gupta (@guptaviolin87)

Video:


Music is medicine, music is sanity -- Robert Gupta, violinist with the LA Philharmonic, talks about a violin lesson he once gave to a brilliant, schizophrenic musician -- and what he learned. Called back onstage later, Gupta plays his own transcription of the prelude from Bach's Cello Suite No. 1. More on TED.com...

Why I posted -- A wonderful and sad story.

Feed Sift

Five things I wanted to share.

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Words Are Hooks, Words Are Levers - Another good reminder that words mean things, better if we agree on what. (Seth Godin)

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The Last Stand of Walter White - A looong look at Bryan Cranston and his role on Breaking Bad and his life before, during and after. (GQ)

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LEGO Brooklyn: Artist Recreates Borough with Plastic Blocks - man, to have that kind of time and that many Legos... dang. (Web Urbanist)

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Five Ways to Do What You Want When You Want - a great skimmable reminder that we do have control over the chaos of our lives and that we can easily optimize and improve things. (Unclutterer)

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Freeze and Explode by Cassettes Won't Listen (h/t Zen Musings)

On What Planet?

Ok, two questions prior it asked me my salary. And then offers me these choices?

Published!

Woo hoo, I'm in print again! My letter to Rick was published! That can only mean one of two things...

Trader Joe's Hates Canada

There are no Trader Joe's in Canada.

But there is definitely plenty of demand. The store closest to the border regularly sees 40% of its receipts from foriegn (mostly Canadian) credit cards.  And it suffers from long lines.   So much so that there's a guy who regularly travels from Canada to the U.S., visits a Trader Joe's, buys about $25,000 worth of stuff and then drives back.

He adds a small mark-up and sells it all rather quickly. Why? He's a fan. He used to live in Emeryville, Calif.

Trader Joe's got mad. They posted photos of him in the stores and tried to keep him from buying from them. He had to resort to hiring people after his other idea (of cross-dressing in a mumu) almost got him arrested.  Someone even (hmm... I wonder who?) once put in an anonymous tip that he was smuggling wine - that got him held up at Customs for a long time.

And eventually they sued.  And they lost.

This bothers me. On one hand, ignoring a customer base... that seems un-American.  On the other hand, using lawyers, alienating your fans and acting like a big bully... that seems very American. Like THE MAN.

But is Trader Joe's now THE MAN?  Here's what SHOULD have happened.

Feed Sift

Five links I wanted to pass along.

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Oxford Dictionary adds “twerk,” “derp,” “selfie,” “phablet,” and more voguish vocabulary
I've heard the Oxford Dictionary described as a mainstream version of the Urban Dictionary. One wonders if maybe they're just a delayed version? (QZ.com)

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Scuff-Proof Shoes - How do you make scuff-proof shoes? This really isn't about shoes. (Seth Godin)

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