NEW WEB ADDRESS

Yes, still alive, too much going on to even find time to blog, and yes, rather embarassed that my last post gushes about a now defunct HD media format.

Just in case anybody still bothers to check this blog anymore (I keep telling myself I'm going to get around to writing again), I do need to announce that I'm going to be changing domain names -- the URL you type in to get here.

A certified offer I couldn't refuse was made to purchase "jakegoldman.com", so in the next few days this site will no longer be available at jakegoldman.com. The new primary domain name will be... (wait for it)....

jakegoldman.net

But, just to make things easy, I've also purchased the following domains that you can use to get here:

jakegoldman.org

jake-goldman.com

jakemgold.com

And yes, I'll need to update that header at some point too.

Toshiba HD-A2 HD-DVD Player

Now that they offer product reviews integrated with their website, Best Buy is having a daily $250 gift card drawing for legitimate reviews posted to their site. I started with the idea of a short review, and then figured that since I can't do short reviews anyhow, it was at least a chance to "feed two birds with one scone" in order to get around to actually posting some content on this blog. So here's the review of I wrote of Toshiba's value-level HD-DVD player:

Investing in a high definition is a bit risky these days, given the format war. The release of Heroes and upcoming release of Battlestar Galactica on HD-DVD swung me to consider the HD-DVD format. At the sub $300 price point for the player, armed with a friend's recommendation and a 30 day return policy, I was willing to take the chance on Toshiba's HD-A2.

As far as playing HD-DVDs goes, the player works perfectly fine. Yes, it does take about 25 seconds for the player to "boot" and start the disc, but this isn't really an issue. My old DVD player took about 10 seconds to start, and in any event, I usually "fire everything up" and then take a minute to "situate" myself anyhow.

The price becomes far more palatable when one considers the upconversion of standard DVDs. Upconversion refers to the enlarging and artificial enhancement of DVDs to look better on HD displays. While many cheap DVD players advertise upconversion, few do it well. About a year ago I tried a Samsung and Sony upconverting player and could see virtually no improvement over my standard progressive scan player. The non-HD players that actually provide valuable image enhancement are typically around the $200 price point. That said, I was very impressed with this player's handling of DVDs. I could immediately see the difference: smoother lines (particularly during motion), details that previously looked soft now look sharper, more vibrant colors, and much crisper text on the menus. (More)

Taking a Breather

The past few months since my last post have been exciting, but also exhausting. Thankfully, we have a three day weekend, and I'm taking Tuesday and Wednesday off. I've already had a business dinner squeezed in Tuesday evening, but that's ok.

On the professional side, work has only gotten busier as we continue to diversify a customer base for "media development" projects. A lot of "extra 40 hours" energy has been consumed with marketing and branding initiatives, especially leading up to our hosting a booth at the AUVSI conference in Washington DC for a week. Projects like programming a demo for touch kiosks are fun and unique, but also a total time sink. Check out the new media development brochures. We're doing these for each of our four core compentencies. I did get to spend a day in Norwalk CT this past week working on projects with a startup begun by a friend, who it was nice seeing. Been mostly appreciating the upgrade to Adobe Creative Suite 3, though I still can't find how to access half the features they showed off at the launch event Brian, Carl, and I attended in Boston.

Not too much to report on what remains of the social side of the fence. Spent more weekends in RI than usual, thanks to Lisa's new found abilities. A little bit of reconnecting with High School friends: got to see an old friend, Sarah, in Boston a few times. Caught up with Kaara, and even went to dinner with an old youth group staffer, Tammi. New gadgets, as always, like the 5th gen iPod, Treo 755p (maybe that's really business category?), and just recently, a Toshiba HD-DVD player.

Oh, and did I mention I bought a car?

Is that a pig I see hovering over the parking lot... ?

(Just kidding, Lisa.)

For the rest of you who may care, my girlfriend passed her driver's test and got her license today!

I realized a couple of days ago that this statement results in raised eyebrows, as it seems it may be deemed more likely that I'm dating a 16 year old than a 25 year old might not actually drive in the United States. Let me reassure those who haven't met Lisa that its the latter. Really.

Anyways, looks like we'll be paying a visit to the Keene's Volkswagen dealer this weekend for you know what. 

Conspiracy of Fools by Kurt Eichenwald

After about four months, I finally worked my way through the 30+ hour unabridged audiobook version of Kurt Eichenwald's Conspiracy of Fools. The novel, which I'm inclined to call a "volume," tells the Enron story. Although the structure is somewhat non-linear, it essentially begins in the early 1980's with Ken Lay's arrival at the pipeline company that became Enron, and follows the story up through the beginning of the indictment period.

Written in dramatic, almost John Grisham form, it never bores. At the end of the book, Eichenwald, a New York Times investigative reporter, lays out his extremely high standards and practices for research and reliability of information in recomposing the story. What results is a truly haunting cautionary tale about ethics, competence, and greed in business that manages to be both supremely "enjoyable" and educational. 

Randy Newman: A Few Words in Defense of Our Country

Alright, I admit I thought of that Family Guy parody of Randy Newman when I saw this, but that aside, this is definitely worth a watch. Pretty simple, but its subtle sarcasm and juxtaposed instrumentation made me smile. And for that, and a generally agreeable sentiment and tone, it also earned my 99 cents on iTunes.

(Most Likely) Lisa's Wheels

If I had posted this 4 days ago, people that know Lisa would probably think this was a prank. But, in fact, she's been on the verge of taking her driver's test. To keep the momentum going we went out to "start" looking at cars this past weekend, and were surprised to find an affordable and attractive used car that she's always been interested in.

Yep, a silver Volkswagen New Beetle. And I have to admit... I took it for an extensive test drive, and I was pretty impressed with the handling and feel. 

It's a 2000, with only 49,000 miles on it, at a VW dealer. The price we negotiated includes a 3 year / 36,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty. Its as feature loaded as an automatic New Beetle gets with leather seats (with seat warmers), a tilt sun roof, fog lights, and alloy wheels. It has a 6-disc CD changer (stored in the trunk), with a tape deck in the console (making for easy iPod hookup).  It's got the standard Beetle fair, including power/automatic everything, A/C, fold down seats, dual air bags, ABS, keyless entry, yada yada yada.

Lisa has put a refundable 30 day deposit down on the car, which is where the "most likely" comes in. If she doesn't finish preparing and pass her test within those 30 days, she'll probably have to pass on the car. Personally, I think she'll be cruising around in less than 30 days.

Lots more pictures in a dedicated album.