Xbox 360 HD-DVD Player

As I mentioned in the Netflix post, we recently picked up an Xbox 360 HD-DVD player from Costco. I had a few gift cards lying around that I received from the Sharebuilder Costco bonuses so it was worth a shot. What really spawned the purchase was the fact that the Planet Earth series were available in high definition and Netflix had them. We didn't get the chance to catch the series on Discovery HD because we only have basic cable so we had been waiting a while for these to come out.

Installation was simple - just connect the HD-DVD player to the 360 via USB. It has its own power supply, and the 360 just needed a quick CD install and online update to make it work with the player. We popped in the 1st HD-DVD Planet Earth disc, and it was wow, this is awesome.

The package comes with a free King Kong HD-DVD, as well as a remote control. For a limited time there is a five free HD-DVD promotion via mail also. For $170, it's not a bad deal at all to be able to watch movies in HD, plus there's the lifetime Costco warranty in case things go bad.

Lucas' 4 Month Old Photoshoot

Click here to see proof photos from Lucas' 4 month old photo shoot taken on 8/11/07. As you can see, he's growing to be a little boy.

Lucas August Tidbits

With his second cousins Emma and Julie:

Netflix Sign-Up Bonus

We just signed up for Netflix due to a sign-up bonus that FatWallet was offering. The bonus is $28 cash back for new account sign-up (you must sign up for an account at FatWallet first and then click through to Netflix from there). We enrolled in the $8.95 per month plan, which allows for one DVD to be rented out at a time (unlimited). We usually rent movies from a local mom-and-pop store as their DVD rentals are only $1.50 per day, but we got tired of waiting for Planet Earth to be available. We are also taking this opportunity to try out HD-DVD, and I will post later this week on our experience with the Xbox 360 HD-DVD player. Planet Earth should look great on HD-DVD!

Lucas' Baptism

Lucas was baptized yesterday at St. Pancratius Church. He wore a white tuxedo outfit that we found at Babies R Us. His godparents are my sister Pam and brother in law Ben. After the ceremony, we had a reception at our home for family. We served pork barbecue sticks, barbecue chicken, grilled veggies, beef stew with French bread, macaroni salad, egg rolls, and chicken curry. It was all so delicious.

Click here to check out more pictures of the baptism and party.

Lucas Eating Solid Food For The First Time

Here's a clip of Lucas eating rice cereal for the first time on his 4 month old birthday. Seems like he doesn't really like the taste. We purchased Gerber rice cereal with DHA.

4 Months Old

Lucas turned 4 months old today! On Monday we went for his 4 month wellness check up and everything is going great. He is now 14 lbs, 4 ounces, which places him in the 50th percentile (meaning that he is lighter or heavier than 50 percent of babies his age). He also is now 26 inches long, placing him in the 90th percentile, so he is taller than 90 percent of babies at his age. We have a feeling that he will be long and lean.

The doctor also told us to that we can start supplementing his diet with rice cereal, so we will be looking into that. He also got his second round of immunization shots, which didn't please him at all. And, he's still fighting a blocked tear duct at his left eye that is causing him discomfort. Hopefully that will go away soon.

He has since moved up to size 2 diapers, so he's growing fast. He can hold up his head really well now and his favorite position is the "Superman" position in which I hold him on his chest, tummy facing the floor, like he's flying. We call him "Superboy" when he does it. He is doing really well and it's amazing how fast he's grown so far. Looking forward to his big day this Sunday!

Excersaucer

This past weekend I put together a new toy for Lucas - the Excersaucer. It's a three in one activity center for babies, and the stages depend on their age and ability. I set up Stage II, because he can now hold his head up and has pretty strong legs. He absolutely loves his Excersaucer, cause it has tons of activity for him to do. There are multiple things he can grab, press, and hit that keeps him entertained. Here he is playing with the toy.

The Inheritance of Loss

Took a couple of weeks break, and now I'm back to reading again. Picked up Kiran Desai's acclaimed second novel The Inheritance of Loss from the library and it's a great read so far. Set in the 1980s, the book tells the story of a judge living out a disenchanted retirement in Kalimpong, a hill station in the Himalayan foothills, and his relationship with his granddaughter Sai. Another element in the novel is the encroachment on their lives by a band of Nepalese insurgents. Another concern of the novel is the life of Biju, the son of Mr. Patel's cook, an illegal immigrant in New York.

Ms. Desai also authored the critically received Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard, the book that won the Man Booker Prize in 2006. She has a fresh, new style of writing that reminds me a little bit of Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Shadow of the Wind).

MagicJack

In my quest to reduce our reliance and the cost of our landline telephone service, I ran into a device called MagicJack. It's essentially a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) device that plugs straight into the PC via a USB port and connects to a regular telephone. I've been testing this device for a week now and so far I am very impressed. The service also provides a free telephone number. Here is my analysis:

Pros:

• Free local and long distance calling to anywhere in the USA and Canada
• Free calls to the USA/Canada from international locations (they will soon release rates for international calling)
• Free voicemail, call waiting, three way calling
• Extremely portable - take the MagicJack with you anywhere there is a high-speed connection and a PC and you have your own telephone number where you can make and receive calls for free

Cons:

• Device must be plugged in to a PC that is turned on (cannot plug directly into a router)
• When the Internet and power are down, no telephone service

Installation took about three minutes after plugging in the unit (the device installs a "softphone" on the PC for dialing), and after that, the device registers your location for Enhanced 911. Once that is complete, it's all set to go. I received a 702 area code (Las Vegas) but they will be providing local numbers on September 1. Anyway, I am using my local GrandCentral number to forward the calls to the MagicJack so it's a non-issue for me.

Incoming and outgoing calls are crystal clear and there were no static or hiccups. Of course, if you're downloading a large file there might be an issue but I haven't run into this yet. Also, it works under both Windows XP and Vista. MagicJack costs $20 for the device plus $20 for the annual service, so it's $40 per year for the first year, and $20 a year after that. I'm currently paying AT&T an average of $40 per month for landline that we hardly ever use so this device will save me $35 per month if I decide to get rid of the landline (although I'm considering downgrading the landline to basic service for faxing and 911 service).

If this business model sustains itself, then I think that this has great potential.

Some Random Lucas Tidbits

Lucas' Baptism Invite

Here's Lucas' baptism invite, made by Belly Bean Designs. He will be baptized next weekend!