DIY Baby Monitor

Well, our video baby monitor hit the skids and stopped transmitting, which has lead to some long nights for Susan (while I sleep away...sorry!). It will work for a few hours then "SCREEEEEECH" it loses the feed. I checked for interference, overheating - you name it, and could not find the issue. Sooooo...I'm building my own as a replacement:

1) Wireless 2.4ghz camera system - $45 via Amazon marketplace - this is a step up from the 900mhz of the old setup, but it might interfere with the Wifi in the house...it also has nightvision....sweet...

2) 22" LCD HDTV - $115 via NewEgg - not content to go with a 6" or 7" screen, we're now rolling on 22" in HD. We are going to be able to see the individual hairs on his head. I love the Viewsonic products - they are relatively cheap, well made, cool designs, although sometimes lacking in the contrast ratio....

So for about $20 less than the going rate for baby-specific video monitors ($160 versus $180) I now have a multi-use setup that can grow with more kids. When Willameana comes in a few years I can just add another camera and we can watch both of them. Will post pics of everything once it's up and running.

Update - everything is hooked up, had some interference from the wireless network, but a bigger antenna solved the issue. Here's the final product - or BabyVision as Sue calls it:

ebay selling guide

For anyone who would like to dive into the eBay world and start selling stuff, I found this guide, and it's free for download (for now, so save it to your computer). Overall, I found it to be the most realistic and practical guide to selling on eBay. It's aptly titled "The Stay at Home Mom's Guide to eBay".

One rule of thumb I will share if you are purchasing items for resale - don't pay more than 33% of the retail price, otherwise you will not make any money. For example, if the watch retails for $100, don't pay more than $33 including tax, because on eBay it will only sell for $50. This works for the vast majority of items.

Fatherhood pt 3

We're getting close to 6 months with William, and here are three more observations...

1) I almost accidentally put Mylicon in my coffee today while preparing his bottle. Then I reconsidered, then deconsidered it and went on my way.

2) Putting a breast pump together is like putting a rifle together. Always treat it with respect and keep the safety on.

3) You only taste baby food once. Then you never ever try it again.

Car rankings revisited

While watching my weekly installment of a PBS show called Motorweek, I saw a very cool opportunity to get on the race track for cheap. I have always been intrigued by amateur racing, and part of my current motivation to buy a manual transmission vehicle is to improve my driving skills. BUT, racing is expensive. Usually very expensive. After tires, gas, entry fees, and the proper equipment you were looking at $1k-$2k for a Saturday afternoon at the track. But Motorweek featured a racing group called NASA that gets you on the track for about $50. All you need is a track capable car and a helmet.

In lieu of this, I may need to add a "track-ready" factor the the fun-with-v8s spreadsheet. Here's a prime example of a car that would rank high - a 2002 Z06 for $19.5k.

Cool Stuff on DealNews

The following caught my eye this past week:

1) South Park Poker Set - when we were in college we would either a) watch South Park or b) play poker. We should have invented this. I am peeved.


2) iPod dock+toilet paper holder = the true genius bar


3) USB rechargeable AA batteries - what you say? On the road and need to power your [insert mobile device that still uses AA batteries]? Very elegant solution

Home Theater PC Installed

In the never-ending crusade for free (or near free) video content, the Home Theater PC has now been installed. Here's the list of what I needed:

1) PC with lots of USB connections, decent processor (i.e. no more than 3yrs old), and preferably a small form factor. Also check that the onboard video card supports widescreen (see the comments for a discussion on resolutions), which comes close to filling a 16:9 screen. Cost - $112 from PacificGeek.com

2) Wireless network adapter. Cost - $10 from Amazon.com

3) DV to VGA cable - my TV only had VGA available, so I had to make the adjustment. There's every cable you could ever need on ebay. Cost $4 from ebay.com

4) Wireless Keyboard/Mouse - I wnet optical, but suggest you go with a laser mouse for better tracking across flooring/coffeetables/legs AND check the rated distance. My setup said 15 feet, but I only seem to get 5-8 feet. Cost - $30 from Amazon.com

So, here are the pictures. The PC is 8x11x4 inches, very small, with a p4 2.4ghz and 256 DDR RAM. Connections were easy, and very clean looking. I could even put it behind the flat screen if needed, but figured it better to keep a Windows system within reach for any hard-resets.




Pros - lots of content from the network sites and Hulu, plus if you have Netflix (base $8.99/mo) you can stream some movies from your queue (about 12,000 titles) including full seasons of The Office and 30 Rock....very nice. Add Pandora radio and you have the full package.

Cons - wireless keyboard/mouse don't go the distance, network could be faster - we seem to be at the end of the range

Overall, for a one time cost of about $150 you have a very cool setup that in itself nearly replace pay-to-play cable/sat/fiber options.

Fav Jan/Feb posts

A couple favorite posts from Jan/Feb

You know how Capital One let's you customize your card's picture? I had a hypothesis that they probably had to reject quite a few pics based on corporate standards, but it seems one got through...
Favorite SuperBowl ad was for the Hyndai Genesis Coupe. Good strategy showing a majority male audience 3 seconds of your new sports car. It's like getting a taste of a nice steak, and then having the entire meal removed. Well played. Most funny had to be Conan for Bud Light...





Speaking of superbowl ads - Cash4Gold did a fun spot with Hammer and the Mac ("a gold medallion of me wearing a gold medallion"). I had heard from some blogs of how this is a huge scam, and indeed consumerist has a tell-all up. Must read if you want to understand how to run a shady business

We met online?

This is how Susan and I met.....



credit consumerist

Blogging from the EU

Thought i'd get a quick blog post in before I end my trip here in The Netherlands - overall it's been a great experience. It's a lot like being in a Jason Bourne movie - weird sirens going off, people walking everwhere, sidewalks that turn into streets which turn into dangerous situations, and a covert US agency trying to kill you....or maybe it's nothing like that. I digress.

This place is a bike heaven, everyone rides their bikes to school, work, or out for the evening all dressed up. No helmets mind you.

I used a pay toilet just for the fun of it, not as awesome as I thought, although you should never get your expectaions up when using a public toilet.

Prices are out of control here. Most evident are the electronics and cars. Add up the taxes and difference against the Euro and I'm not sure I could survive.

Will post pics soon....

The eBay garage

Car prices on eBay are falling from the sky. Here's three picks:

1) 2002 BMW M5 Sedan - $12k auction - the fact that you can get a car of this caliber for under 20 large is phenomenal. 0-60 in 4.6, 1/4 mile in 13.08 (that's almost a 12 second sedan....). AND you can pretend to be Jason Statham from the first Transporter movie (the only good one in the series) and charge people to ride with you.
2) 2006 Dodge Ram SRT10 Quad Cab - $22k auction - basically you get the fastest truck on the road for under $25k. Plus you can tell your friends "yeah, I was changing the oil in the Viper engine this weekend, whew, 10 cylinders uses a lot of oil. Or Maybe it's the 500+ horsepower. Who knows...."
3) 2005 Pontiac GTO - $15k BUY IT NOW! - with 400hp, that's under $38 per horse. For comparison, a Corvette of the same model year has the same engine for about $80 a horse, and with the GTO you don't need to go into retirement, live on a golf course, and wear a wind jacket to drive it.

Fail Blog Favs

Over the past couple weeks I've become a big fan of the Fail Blog. I compare it to the cartoon strip "The Farside" where you have to think about the picture to really get the point, then you laugh. No pain no gain. FYI - best to stay on the main page, it's PG while the "Vote" pages earn a PG-13. Here's a couple favs:

Home Theater on a Budget

Here's some thoughts on creating a nice home theater on a shoe-string budget:

1) 37" HDTV - Price $500 - It's more screen than you realize. When you're in the store and the 72" DLP is staring you down, the sizes under 42" look tiny, but when you upgrade from a standard square screen to widescreen you are gaining considerable ground. Widescreen content on a 32" square TV is really only about 27" of viewable content, that means an upgrading to a 37" gives you a 10" boost. Here are the latest deals - and look for low cost 720P sets, at 37" I can't tell a difference between 720P and 1080P.

2) Upconverting DVD - Price $40 - Can't say enough about these players, they take your old movies and make them look incredible. Plus those $5 bargain bin movies at WalMart are still fair game. Just stay away from the straight-to-DVD releases or anything with Mario Lopez in it.

3) The Woo-Woo (see below) - Price $40 - 5.1 stereo surround is nice, but actually using it is rare. Basically, unless it's a Rambo movie with a Russian helicopter bearing down on you, the 5.1 rarely kicks in. The easiest setup I've found is using a nice set of 2.1 computer speakers. The key is running all your sources (Cable, Ant, Game system, DVD) directly to the TV, and then running the sound from the TV to the speakers. That way all your sources get to use the subwoofer and speakers without having to mess with an expensive amplifier and mess of wires that come with.

Total - Less than $600, and you are watching in style.

As promised, the Woo Woo ("we does it for decorations")

Christmas 2008

Christmas this year was a whirlwind of delight - we had snow, I got a fishing knife that reminded me of this web gem (sound!), I finished Halo 3 by playing in 12 minute increments over a 3 week period, and I watched an episode of Friday Night Lights Season 1 each time I fed William (22 times in all) in preparation for Season 3. Overall a 10 outta 10.

iPhone 3G $99

New lines/service can get a refurb iPhone 3G 8GB for $99 plus $36 activation (plus $30 per month for data under a 2 yr agreement, which is the usual setup).

If you're reluctant to jump into a contract, check out this Windows Mobile phone for $50. It's GSM, so you can use it on AT&T and T-Mobile....

It's official

I am officially a Dad. Today my outfit consisted of a short sleeve polo in green, adidas shorts in black, tall white socks straight from 1998 (is it too soon to bring tall socks back?) and white Asics. And I am fine with it....

Negotiating

There are a ton of materials you could find on the web that deal with negotiating tactics -I even took a two-day class on negotiations at work. Here is a short-list on "how-to-negotiate" that combines all my recent learnings....

When you've been wronged....
1) Be clear in what is wrong, and back it up with solid, objective evidence - talk radio is full of callers who complain about XYZ but have ZERO proof of negligence or harm. You have to have something concrete - how exactly is the item damaged, what was specifically wrong about the service. And if we are dealing with warranties, always use the same language as written in the warranty.
2) Understand what they have to loose, then squeeze - you'll give them a bad review online, tell your friends not to go there or use their services, or even that you are prepared to file a charge-back from your credit card (effectively canceling the transaction).
3) Be clear in want you want as retribution - money, services, apology, whatever - tell them what it is you want otherwise you're stuck waiting for them to make a suggestion that will likely be insufficient

When you're looking for a good deal
1) Everything is negotiable - always ask "is this the final price?" or "can we get a discount on this?" - there are a number of things that can happen, even at big-box chains like Best Buy or Target. I've had the following happen to me:

• Cashier running the item through the mark-down system and applying a clearance sticker for 50% off
• Cashier opening up the register and scanning a 20% off coupon she had stashed away
• Cashier giving me a free extended-warranty

2) Bring evidence of a lower price elsewhere, and threaten to walk - works best with cars (back when cars were actually being sold), but even with places like Conn's, Guitar Center, and Discount Tire. Print out an online price and ask them to match or beat it. And never be afraid of walking out - that is the best part.

3) Use DealNews to estimate market value - if you are preparing to buy a big ticket item (iPod, camcorder, computer, fridge, etc) check Dealnews for recent deals. This will help you get a feel of the current market price on the item you want. That way you don't get ripped off elsewhere.

What not to buy

This guy is reading my mind - check out this article on the No/Maybe/Yes tech purchases for 2008

Blagojevichawhatchamacallit?

My dad sent me this political cartoon - always best to sell on eBay...


Credit - Ed Stein, Rocky Mountain Post

Anamorphababywhat?

The ever-present anamorphism associated with accessories and entertainment for babies/kids has been well documented - from Mickey Mouse across the pond to Milo & Otis. But, it was William's hooded towel which caught my eye today. Check this out...
This is actually an incredible towel - very absorbant, covers William completely, but I lost them on the curve with the Octopus. There are two options here - either Mom is the Octopus and is receiving love from the child through whom the towel is destined, or the baby is the Octopus with tentacles reaching out in a guesture of love towards an unpictured cephalopod mother. You be the judge.

Free TV Online

If you are still paying for TV, it is time to cut the cord. Seriously. You've already heard me talk about free HDTV over the air, and using Tivo service to capture it for $9.99 a month. Now, here is more info on another option:

As you know, TV is no longer on just the TV. A vast majority of shows are now on the Big Network websites, and are even in HD, all for free. Plus there is Hulu and YouTube out there. How do you get these in your living room? Buy a $100 computer, $10 wireless USB stick, and $30 wireless keyboard. Done and done. For less than $150 you're watching free online videos in your living room, and you can cut your cable bill. You really don't need The Hills, and its ok to purchase episodes of Talk Soup from iTunes. I approve.

The computer listed above is a small form factor unit that can stand behind your flatscreen, sit in the old cable box's slot, or rest in the DVD drawer. With wireless ethernet and keyboard/mouse, it just needs to be in the range of your network. ALso check your TV for the proper video/audio connections. You'll need DVI or VGA, and mini-jack audio in (or an equivalent RCA adapter)

If you want to set this up and you have questions, just drop me an email and I'd be glad to help. Will send pics when I setup mine - I've got to eat my own cooking....