Ready for me to stop talking about my lack of electric power and digital entertainment?  Good, because it's time to go off on a rant again.  The Obama administration, which has been in power less than two weeks, has already made its first mistake.  They pressured Congress into delaying the analog to digital television transmission change-over. Again.

I understand the reasoning why:  protecting the most vulnerable members of society.  From what, exactly?  Television isn't a right, it's a privilege.  More importantly, as of February 17, 2009, that signal no longer belongs to the federal government.  It was sold at auction to cell phone companies, communications groups, and (most importantly) will be used to improve the quality of communication between police, firefighters, and ambulance crews.  That's infinitely more important than Granny not missing her soaps and Grandpa not missing the rasslin'.

Public safety is more important than any rerun of Three's Company ever aired over analog broadcasting signals.  Improving cell phone signals and boosting public safety frequencies is crucial to already hard-pressed cities.  Another four months of analog TV isn't going to make that much of a difference to most people, but it makes a huge difference to emergency dispatch crews who'll have to negotiate one of the most dangerous weather seasons (yet again) on mediocre equipment with bad reception. 

It's time to let it go.  If people haven't been prepared for it by now, they won't be prepared in a month, a year, or five years.  Most people, myself included, don't prepare.  We just react.  Dragging your collective congressional feet for another few months won't change anything.  It's like ripping off a bandage at this point. 

Just do it and get it over with.

One of the hazards of leeching someone else's Internet is that, even if you have your own computer like I do, you might not be able to remain wireless. 

For example, I'm at my cousin's house right now using their internet, but because their only computer is a desktop and they just have one, they don't have a wireless router.  So that means I had to rearrange the stuff on her desk so I could plop my 20lb. laptop up there, hook up the required wires, and it's still not exactly right.  The angle is all wrong!

One of the best things about MAKE is that they have stuff that even I can do.  Things like the DIY laptop stand that's made from stuff most people just throw away.  In this case, a shoebox and some cardboard.  The directions, handily, are right here from the man himself.

Unfortunately for me, I don't see any stray shoeboxes laying around, so I'm going to have to suffer.  I guess I should just be grateful that SOMEONE I know has access to the tubes (believe me, I am). 

You know, normally I love when it snows.  No matter how the wind howls or how much ice clutters up the roads, my home is always a safe, warm little haven.  That is until the transformers blow in the area and even those of us with underground lines lose our juice.  Then the crazies set in.

If it wasn't for the friendly folks at Sister Bean's Coffee House, I'd be sitting at home huddled around the kerosene heater.  The very same heater on which bacon, eggs, and biscuits were cooked this morning.  The very same heater that's going to be the only source of light once 5:30 hits and the sun goes down. 

It's very rare that I ever wish I could have made it into work, but today is one of those days.  I've been so cold and bored that braving the horrors of the roads this morning (and all the broken trees littering said roads) might have been the better option.  At least at work I could have been warm while sniffling and sneezing my head off.  Thanks to nature's fury, I've both had my cold and been cold, and that's absolutely no way to live. 

It's amazing (and sad) how quickly cabin fever sets in.  I've read my friend Craig's new book in a matter of hours, and since then I've been… well, staring at the little circle of gas-powered flame inside the heater and listening to branches snap off trees. Maybe I'm just a product of the internet generation, but without SOMETHING to take my mind off of how bored I am, I'm practically bouncing off the walls.  At least I get a brief, caffeinated respite from the cold.

Normally, when a video game system overheats, nothing actually catches fire. All that really happens is some internal soldering comes loose, or a fan motor burns out, and all your expensive components inside the big black case melt down. However, for 400 MS Points, you too can have your Xbox 360 turn into a roaring fire without having to replace any of your video games!

Video: XBox 360 Fireplace

Yeah, I know it’s just a simple little fake video fireplace, but it’s pretty warming. On a frigid, snowy night like tonight you need all the warmth you can get. Even if it’s just psychological, it has to help a little bit to look at a fire. Just put a portable heater under the television and you can pretend you’re warming your tootsies by a real stack of burning tree.

I’ve heard lots of friends of mine say that Dell laptops are excellent. I wouldn’t know, as I’ve never owned one. However, I do love me some Devo, and that’s why I pulled this commercial from the archives to use as a Musical Monday. Do you have anything to say, good or bad, about Dell laptops? Or perhaps any recommendations for Musical Monday? Let me know!

When you work from home, one of the hardest things you can accomplish is actually getting enough peace and quiet to get something (anything!) done.  There are constant interruptions, even for me.  The phone rings, someone needs you to fix something for them, the pets are looking for attention, company comes by… it seems like I can find peace and quiet all the time, except for when I want it most.  I think I need some camouflage, like, for instance, this command center hidden in a cabinet!

It's funny, I've tried to create this same thing myself.  My desk is behind a divider.  The left side is against the wall.  The right side is open, but I've been thinking about moving the filing cabinet over.  If I got a lot of food traffic, rather than just verbal interruptions, I probably would do that.  I can't work with someone watching me, nor can I work with a lot of people wandering by. 

How do you like your desk located, Shakers?  Do you need to be hidden away to get your work done, or can you be in the middle of the action and still nail your deadlines? 

Like most people, when history was happening, I was stuck at my desk working.  Now, I'm a model employee who would never do something like listen to the inauguration speeches at his desk while working, but there are a lot of people out there who weren't so upstanding and who snuck in a little celebratory speech-watching.  One of the easiest ways to do this was to dial up the video on demand service Hulu.

Now Hulu is ordinarily awesome.  I swear by it, in fact.  I've come to love all the free TV shows and movies that they stream, especially when I oversleep and miss The Office on Thursday nights.  However, in this instance Hulu was overmatched.

Everyone I know who tried to watch the inauguration stream live online said it was horrible.  Pretty much across the board the attempt was for naught.  The video froze up, the speeches skipped, and several times the whole kit and caboodle froze up, forcing repeated browser restarts and repeated viewings of the trailer for Paul Blart:  Mall Cop.  Or should I say, Paul Blart:  Inauguration Cop.

It was worth a try, Hulu.  Maybe next time you'll be prepared for this level of insanity.  I don't think anyone expected crowds like that in Washington, or crowds like that online.  I still love your service, but next time someone asks me how to watch X event live, I'll tell them to find a TV. 

WANT! Photo: MeganMorris on Flickr

It's simple, it's clean, and it's effective.  In fact, you can say that this wooden MacBook case from German designer and craftsman Rainer Spehl is pretty much like Apple computers themselves.  Even if you don't have a MacBook, this is a pretty sweet laptop shell.

I spent a pretty good amount of money on the aircraft-grade aluminum briefcase that I use to carry around my laptop.  I don't imagine it's as much as this kind of hand-crafted specialty item would go for, but everyone's got a briefcase.  How often do you get to slide your laptop into a custom-made leather-lined wooden case with a magnetic closure?  Very rarely (unless you already have one of these or made one yourself).

I really like the simple wood grain and unobtrusiveness of the whole thing.  Plus, being made of wood, being custom-fitted to your computer's dimensions, and being leather lined means that it'll definitely protect your precious and delicate electronics from the abuse that comes with travel. 

This ad makes me smile. It’s wonderful. What started out as 350 random dancers spreads throughout the crowd. There should be more things done like this.

Especially in times like these, people need to just have more fun.