Technological Obsessions

Riverchasers - out after some horrid play and trying to right the ship too late. I kept saying, "play tight." but just couldn't. Great, now I sound like Hoy. Of course playing tight worked for the resident tiltmonkeymegadonklucksac as he took down a TOC seat.

While I'll be eating slimy Chinese food for a friend's birthday dinner tonight, I suggest you all check out Kat's Donkament tonight at 9 at Full Tilt. $1 rebuy and it gets the tilt out. Password, as always, is donkarama. Seriously, this place has OKAY food, but it's so covered in slippery sauce that the chopsticks are practically useless for picking anything up.

That's it for poker.

I've railed against various technology and its users in the past. My Facebook rant got more response than I expected. Ditto my rants against iPods, Monster Cables, Bose, etc.. So now I'll talk about what I keep stopping myself from buying.

First - the iPod Touch. That is one nice piece of machinery. Yes, it still has the problems of the other iPods (iTunes lock-in, battery replacement, etc.), but it's just fun to play with. But, I already have my Archos, and now my new phone, and still almost ZERO need for a portable music player (I'm just not in transit long enough since moving downtown).

Then there's the Scooba. Roomba's wet brother. My condo currently has two carpeted rooms, and I have a kickass vacuum for them (Bissell Healthy Home = highly recommended). The rest of the place is either tile or parquet. The only time I clean them is when they (a) get really disgusting or (b) company's coming over. It's a pain in the ass. I can either sweep or vacuum (hardwood setting), but still need to mop afterwards. The Swiffer Wetjet is okay, but I can MAYBE get through the whole place on one cleaning cloth. It's a lot of floor. The mop is a pain in the ass, and inevitably leads to paw prints being left somewhere. The cats necessitate thorough cleaning. So I'm thinking the Scooba 580 meets my needs. If it meets specs, it should be able to cover most of the hard floors on one charge. Plus, it will freak out the cats. I'm also planning on tearing out the carpets and laying down more wood. Downside? $500. Although it comes with a free Roomba at the moment.

How about the Yamaha YSP speakers? One big long bank of speakers that bounces sound around the room from its 42 drivers to create surround sound from a single source. I love the concept and the simplicity. Of course, I already have a full 7.1 surround setup in my main room (2 Klipsch towers and 5 Polk satellites), so it would be a waste of money. Then again, I have two other TVs...

A flat panel in the office would look pretty nice. Of course, then I'd have a 27" CRT that I'd have to put somewhere. Maybe a small flat one in the bedroom instead. I can find a place for the little TV that's there currently easily enough.

I just bought a food processor. Do I need more kitchen gadgets? Always. How about an electric griddle? I still can't find a suitable waffle maker to replace my broken one (which was awesome). I keep thinking a breadmaker would be good too. Then again, I use my cast iron grill all the time now, and my electric grill gathers dust.

I recently caved and did a full computer upgrade, which I totally don't regret. I also have a week-old LG VX8700 phone which is pretty awesome. So I've been feeding the technology monster inside me bit by bit.

Bonus time is around the corner, and how Vegas turns out could also contribute to some decision-making. I may be all over the Boxing Day sales.