...wow, today IS Friday!

You just HAD to post this while I was still at job #2, which actually requires my time and attention.

and nice wootoff kitty... i'll start off the pet pictures thread!

Woo hooo!! Open thread!! And Woot off!! Havent slept in 72 hours!!! And I am over caffeinated!!!

But overall it was a good week. Got a bunch of things done. My project entered the "implementation" phase, which means the things are moving fast and I got to knock a bunch of stuff off the list as well. Last week was sluggish.

Lets see, my car reached 11111 miles. And I promptly got a flat tire AND the "check the fraking engine" line came up last night :/

Sold off both my TVs. Was selling only one right now, and the other one later next month, but some lady was a bit disappointed that she missed out by a few minutes. Her tv had blown out the night before. So I was like "well, what the hell" and said I had another smaller one for half the price. And she bought it. So I am TV-less right now.

@katstermonster: Ouch. How long are you there on?

Okay, so what happened to the Dannon Activia post from Monday? Will you have to kill me in a non-pro-biotic way if you tell me?

@MostlyHarmless: Only until 1:30, but then I have a grad seminar (zzzzz) from 2-3. I can get Consumerist on my phone, but not the comments. SO LAME. Get Javascript, BlackBerry!

Obnoxious clockwatching coworker went home at noon, as usual. How is it that I get here earlier than she does every day, we leave at the same time, I skip lunch and she doesn't, yet she gets to skip out early every Friday? LAME.

At my second job in retail, I see a remarkable number of people who don't keep tabs on their debit/credit balances. I hear a lot of "If that card doesn't work, I have another one that will." It disturbs me.

The BP nacho cheese dispenser was overzealous with me today. And now I smell like cheese.

And that takes us to part 2...

I am in the market for a TV. 32" maybe 37". Something in the neighborhood of $400-$500. COULD go up to $600 if it is a major step up. I am not a videophile, so I do not really care about having a huge tv with resolution so high that you can see the goosebumps on Summer Glau's skin.

Any suggestions?

I am looking at a couple of LG ones on amazon:

[www.amazon.com] That is 32" with 1080p

[www.amazon.com] This one is 32" with 720p, for $80 less. I am leaning towards the 1080p one. Though my videophile friend tells me that at 32" it wont matter.

Also, the 1080p one is available for $25 less at Circuit City. Worth the risk or a monumentally bad idea?

@katstermonster: (That's all EST...I kind of forget that other timezones exist because we are CLEARLY THE BEST!)

@MostlyHarmless: I had a root canal. So bite me. I can't yet reciprocate.

@katstermonster: Go to the seminar with a lappie?

@MostlyHarmless: Being TV-less isn't so bad when you get used to it. I lived a few years without a TV. Provided that I had a computer capable of playing DVDs, I think I'd be okay without a TV again.

@MostlyHarmless: Left my good one at home, and the 4.5-year-old Dell is use occasionally is on its last legs. :(

@gStein: I'll counter with a picture of my Cynder:

@h3llc4t has a slow work day: I only use mine to watch DVDs and play games. I'd get rid of cable if it wasnt already included in the rent. And they probably will refuse to drop it.

@floraposte: Yeah, I am also curious about the other "child porn found" post. Though I suppose that one had better legal and journalistic reasons to be dropped.

Does anyone with an iPod Touch have iTunes use the term iPhone int he sync screen, or is it just me?

@h3llc4t has a slow work day: think about it this way:
their stupidity (and subsequent overdraft fees) help pay for the "free" accounts of smarter people like us

@MostlyHarmless: Also, I realized that most of the 20something cabal on consumerist is younger than me. (Duh, considering I am at the mid point)

@MostlyHarmless: I am LOVING the three day woot off.

Except I told myself not to buy anything since i'm going on vacation next week and really would like to just spend money on consumables (i.e. beer and food) and souveniers without feeling bad about it.

My roomba I got last friday is kicking ass and taking names. I know a 670 sq. foot apartment isn't THAT much to vacuum, but i'm not going to do it every day. the carpets have been really nice. I am pleasantly surprised that the new roombas are really pretty good at their job. It's crazy how much dust it picks up every single day.

It is the 560 so it has all the neat features like onboard scheduling and the dock (I am doing my part to stimulate the economy). the only dumb thing it has been doing is locking itself in the bathroom by getting in there and shoving the door shut. Every time. Need to set up one of the virtual walls.

On a brief break from work and get to sit through 4 hours of meetings today. I did the same thing yesterday and barely could keep my eyes open. It's tough. :/

I just wanted to say I just bought an awesome e-book reader and its not a sony OR a kindle. They sell them on newegg too! Astak Reader - woot!

@GitEmSteveDave_SaysHappy40thJesus: i move to block with a much newer picture of my puppy:


(i'll upload one from this year later)

@floraposte: A day you cannot bite back is when people around you take a breath...

@MostlyHarmless: I used to work TV production, and I agree that 1080p isn't really necessary until you hit 42" or larger. My 42" is 720p and it's just fine.

Even then it becomes a question of the actual resolution, the video decoding chip and scalar, which not being a videophile, you probably won't care about when you get the TV in your living room.

I'd go with the 32" and listen to your videophile friend. Save $80.

@gStein: Corgilicious!

@MostlyHarmless: Oh, I think I missed that one entirely. Probably during the Vicodin Period.

@MostlyHarmless: This is the slowest Woot-off ever. Where's the Bring it On Consumerist?!?

@h3llc4t has a slow work day: I feel you there. i really do and wish i didn't. Mine whines that we're too busy every day and ALSO whines she doesn't get enough hours. Don't ask to leave at 4:30 when we're slammed when we get in at 10, FFS. the reason she gets to is my boss is happy to unload the imcompetence.

I didn't know we had this open threads. Kick ass.

Weekend looks to be slightly boring. Tonight we're going with some friends to karaoke, and tomorrow is D&D night. Yay! It's also the UM/MSU game, so I will be glued to the TV in the afternoon.

@h3llc4t has a slow work day: "The BP nacho cheese dispenser was overzealous with me today. And now I smell like cheese. "

For some reason, I find this absolutely hysterical. So thank you for my Friday laugh.

@GitEmSteveDave_SaysHappy40thJesus: I have one. What about the sync screen?

@MostlyHarmless: When the first of our friends got a big HD, we watched some movie on it and realized that you do get waaaay too good a look at the actors / actresses on them. I was entirely uncomfortable (we were jokingly afraid HD would be responsible for the breeding of a super-race of movie / tv people with no flaws whatsoever).

But +1 for the Summer Glau reference. Firefly fan?

I'm going to view houses with a real estate agent in 1.5 hours. Is it OK to bring a digital camera?

Any additional advice, thoughts, words of comfort for this 1st time homeshopper?

@subtlefrog:
*Nods Head*

And I got called a pervert for saying I'd totally go out with her. I'm like, SHES THREE YEARS OLDER THAN ME! How the hell does that make me a pervert.

(Sure she plays a 16 year old, but meh.)

My junior hamster:

@MostlyHarmless: Serenity is why I bought an HD-DVD player... It's the only HD-DVD I own.

@MostlyHarmless: I have no clue how old anyone is, except you. I figured out from something you'd written that you're a few years older than I am. I'm 22...how old are you people??? I thought I was one of the few young ones, for some reason.

@MostlyHarmless: There was one a while ago, right after the "theater f**" post, about some Home Depot non-issue. I remember actually posting "Why is this on Consumerist?" in a non-ironic way (GASP!)...that's the only disappearance I'd ever noticed. I thought I'd imagined it at the time.

@LastVigilante: I do - especially since you'll likely not remember the houses after the 3rd or fourth - they all start to look the same.

Just make sure you get something in the picture to help you reference size, in case the houses you look at aren't furnished. Rooms can look a lot bigger than they are on camera.

@Ratty: I am so jealous. I would love a Roomba if I wasn't afraid of either our big fatty of a cat lying on it or our evil hellspawn of a cat trying to throw it down the stairs.

@Xerloq wants to...: Heart to you sir or madam (but I'm going to guess sir since I'm one of the few chicks I know who like Firefly)!!!

@MostlyHarmless: Hrm. Now I have to IMDB her to find out your age...haha!

Seriously? Summer Glau, ok. After her performance as River? *I'd* go out with her. I'm probably a pervert for saying that. Now I'd better go IMDB that.

I think I've dug myself a hole here.

@subtlefrog: Believe it or not, it was my wife who turned me on to Firefly (and Dollhouse) so there are at least two of you.

I wasn't a big fan of Joss until my wife sat me down to watch some of his stuff.

Firefly is too smart for most viewers...

Bacon Salt is quite possibly the greatest invention ever. Followed closely by the Bacon Explosion.

@LastVigilante: Bring the camera and then check with your realtor. You can always just not take pictures, but my guess is it'll be fine, and I think it's a great idea.

It's scary (and it should be, with that amount of money), but you'll be fine. You're learning the process as well as looking for a house, so it's understandable that it's hard work. Start flexibly, and let the places you see help you figure out what really matters to you, both positively and negatively, and what you're realistically prepared to put into a house; to that end it can be helpful to go to open houses even for places somewhat outside your terms. If you have security concerns, the local police station may be willing to tell you how often they're called to that block and where that stands compared to the average. Definitely check around for reports on your home inspector and lawyer--don't just take the ones the realtor recommends without shopping!

@floraposte: i love my corgi (pembroke welsh, in case anyone was wondering)

Sometime over the past week, consumerist posted about a device for ATT or Sprint which apparently emulated a cell tower, and sent the signals over ethernet

Does anyone know of a similar device for the verizon network, and does anyone know what range these devices work over? (i have 0 cell service at my house. if the cost of this device is less than the cost of landline service, i'll go with the device)