Finally, after months of research, analysis paralysis and nagging doubt, I have an HDTV.

Words cannot describe the image produced by my new NEC 42XR4A plasma HDTV. I’ll try, but first a sincere thanks to Chris at Cleveland Plasma. He is professional, courteous, and informative. Most importantly, he executes. I placed my order last Saturday, and the only thing Chris didn’t deliver that I asked for was a Patriots win… All week, Chris kept in touch with me via email and provided tracking information on Wednesday (everyone lost a day to the Monday holiday…) and I was called Thursday to schedule delivery… for Friday between 12-3.

Like a ten year old the night before Christmas, I tossed and turned with visions of tiny pixels dancing in my head. After a quick morning in the office, I sped home wondering what time the “big boy” would arrive. As I pulled up, I wondered no more, for there he was, right at my door! It took me about an hour to set up the stand, position the panel on it and connect cables for a Comcast DVR, LG LDA-511 DVD and Yamaha receiver. If possible, I suggest attaching cables with the panel flat on a soft surface. In particular, the HDMI cables were tough to attach as they are underneath the panel. fyi, I ran digital optical audio from the DVD to the receiver and digital coax from the Comcast box. With all systems go, I turned on the DVR, receiver and panel. Wow. Like Dave, the astronaut at the end of “2001 – A Space Odyssey,” I’m sure my face was full of wonder as this amazing image overwhelmed my senses…

When I finally came to, I wanted to test every DVD I owned… I did check out “Batman Begins,” “Austin Powers – Goldmember,” and “Jaws” when my son came home. All looked very good, but I think the “upconverting” feature of the DVD is somewhat hype. I couldn’t tell much difference between 480i, 480p, 720p or 1080i… I think I’ll be investing in a higher-end DVD like a Denon. Any suggestions? Anyway, HDTV is what really rocks this panel. The INHD channels on Comcast show stunning images made for HD. I felt like I was there as the cameras raced through the canals of Venice and slowly toured the great museums of Europe. I’ve seen HD on a 42″ LG panel and on a 42″ Samsung DLP set. To my eyes, they simply do not compare to the 42XR4A. Colors are vibrant and lifelike. Black is black. Resolution is crystal clear. The glass reflection is really not noticable. Even SDTV looks great! That surprised me as I’ve seen it look less than stellar on the other sets.

All that aside, I got this thing primarily for sports and movies. Unfortunately, the biggest drawback is the lack of HD content available, even with the premium channel feeds Comcast threw in for a free teaser. I mean, ESPNHD was broadcasting a late game and it wasn’t in HD! What’s up with that? As I headlined, the Celtics game was amazing! It was like I had a seat looking out the window of a luxury box, except there was no window on the box because I could hear every sneaker squeak. I don’t think it was the HD, but the young Celtics beat the Nets, 99-96. It was the first game of the season I really paid attention to. The image is that good. Anyway, I’m hopeful HD content will increase rapidly and I can’t wait for the NFL conference championships tomorrow.

Until then, it will be last season’s “24” on DVD, “Million Dollar Baby” in HD that I recorded last night at midnight, “Son Volt in Concert” that I recorded while watching “Sideways,” and finally, shopping for a Harmony remote. Any suggestions for that?

So, after an exhaustive search, I’m extremely satisfied with my decision. Now I have to go watch TV…

I went to the gym tonight. I’ve been working out on a regular basis since high school. Back then it was to build bulk for football, but now it’s more for vanity and survival. Sure, I want to look good, but lately I’ve been thinking more about just living. Sometimes I lie awake at night or in the early hours of the morning and worry about what will happen to my children if I die. It’s not a pleasant um, exercise, so I do what I can to live right and stay healthy. A big part of that is going to the gym after work.

I often have conflicts that pit the gym against social activities, often work-related. “Thirsty Thursdays” are a weekly event that provides some stress relief toward the end of the workweek. Many Thursday’s I’ve opted out and instead gone to the gym. Why? See above. You see, drinking a couple beers is easy; doing 300 situps isn’t. Eating buffalo wings is easy; lifting weights isn’t. Chatting and laughing is easy; 150 flights of stairs in 30 minutes isn’t, but I go. It’s a commitment I made to myself a long time ago and one that is more important now than ever.

“Live in perfect harmoneeeeeeeeeee.” Uh, sorry.

On the day I finally order a plasma HDTV, the Patriots actually lose a playoff game and make tee times. Yeah, the Panasonic turned out to be backordered potentially for months, so I cancelled my order and opted for a 42” NEC 42XR4A. Even without the Pats, I’m looking forward to the Conference Championships this weekend. Based on what I saw this weekend, look for the Steelers and Panthers to meet in the big copyrighted game.

I’m not sure what it is about us New Englanders, but sometimes we take as much pleasure in the failure of other teams as we do with the success of our own. Case in point was my glee in seeing Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts fail once again. After being compared to the ’72 Dolphins while tearing up the regular season, the “Dolts” returned to form and spit the bit in the playoffs. If they couldn’t win it all this year, they may never… EVER! I mean, the football gods conspired with the referees to personally escort Indy to the Sup… uh, big game, and they still lost! First, their nemesis, the Patriots lost, then the refs take away a Steeler interception (today repudiated by the NFL)… Finally, the football gods intervened and Jerome Bettis coughed up the pig on the 2 yard line with Pittsburgh trying to put the game away. Only a saving tackle by Ben Rothlisberger saved a winning Colt touchdown. Ah, whatever. The Colts choked big time. After the game, Manning took it like a man and blamed his offensive line, “I’ll give Pittsburgh credit for their blitzes and their rush, but we did have some protection problems.”

As for the Patriots, there’s no reason to believe they won’t contend for another championship next season. The fires still burn. After the loss, Tedy Bruschi was asked by a Denver reporter if the Patriots still had the ability to be “competitive” next year. “Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?” asked Bruschi. “Think about what you just asked me, man. Think about who we have in this locker room. Take that question and get out of my face.”

It’s been a good year so far. Better than the end of 2005 for sure, which was, um, a trip… Recently someone posted a comment to a June post that read, “I think that misery should not be a pre-requisite for great art. Many great artists never new great misery, and many miserable people never do great art.” I don’t think I’ve ever suggested misery is a prerequisite, but it has been associated with many artists considered great. Van Gogh and Hopper are two that come to mind. In those cases, it seems art was the escape from the misery. Get lost in the creative “zone” and the demons are kept at bay for a time. I’ve been unable to channel my misery into creativity lately… at least here. Oh, I’ve created some effective visuals to convey information at work, but the old fifteenkey has been neglected. Other than my demon, who’s bound to end up in jail or dead, a couple other obsessions have really consumed huge chunks of my time. They are internet forums devoted to the Palm Treo and Flat-Panel HDTV’s.

I own a Treo, affectionately known as the “LeoTreo,” and I lust for a Plasma HDTV. This past Monday I set up a new 42” LG Plasma for my pal Barb. Man… Those things are just made for football. The Fiesta Bowl happened to be on and the picture quality was stunning. “Star Wars – Revenge of the Sith” also looked sweet playing on her new “upconverting” OPPO DVD player. Franky I’m surprised Barb even came back to work after getting that bad boy set up. Actually, with 4 new remotes to navigate, I think Barb thought work would be a safer place…

At this point, I pretty much know everything I need to know about pixels, contrast ratio, 720p, 1080i, component, DVI, HDMI and the fallacy of plasma burn-in. If you have any questions, just ask. My plan is to wait for the Christmas-SuperBowl feeding frenzy to end and then grab one of these after the 2006 models start coming out. That is unless someone makes me an offer I can’t refuse. Until then, I have to suffer the indignity of watching the Patriots on my puny 32” Sony in oh-so-ordinary standard definition. Talk about misery…

There’ll be no Norman Rockwell Christmas here this year. Actually, maybe that image is mostly the fiction of oil and bristles, with reality being that most of us celebrate in a way that falls short of that ideal. Many families will celebrate Christmas with family voids this year. Death leaves the permanent void, and I’m thankful not to be coping with that. Christmas in Iraq doesn’t sound too appealing either, yet that is keeping many apart this season. For the fallen, the span is all remaining seasons. My wish on this Christmas Eve is for understanding, and that the light of love illuminates a path back home.

It looks like Johnny Damon is getting tailored for pinstripes, and surprisingly, I’m OK with it. The Yankees can take Johnny, but we’ll always have Paris. I wonder how loyal Yankee fans will be to a guy who plunged a red dagger into them with a two-run homer and a grand slam in the Sox’ 10-3 win in Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS. We’ll see. I’m also not so sure about the hair thing. I mean, Johnny’s flowing locks and facial growth are part of his individualism. It set him apart. Clean shaven, how will we tell him from the immortal Bubba Crosby? Oh, I know. Bubba can reach second base without a cutoff man from center-field in Yankee Stadium.

I admit, the addition of “Johnny Christ” to the Yankee lineup is troubling… Let’s see… Damon, Jeter, Sheffield, Ass-Rod, Matsui, Giambi, Posada… Uhhh… OK. Still, this year will be no different than any other, and it’s “pitching, pitching, pitching” that will rule. The Sox added Yankee-killer Josh Beckett to their rotation and have some fabulous young arms ready to join the fray. The Yanks? Not so much. Plus, Beckett can play center-field or shortstop when he’s not pitching, right? Right, Theo? Theo?

I got some feedback that my last post, now two weeks old, was kind of lame… a no brainer. Yeah, but it was better than nothing, which is what I’ve posted since. A search of “life as a blur” turned up some interesting images, including this, this, and this.

I guess I’ve been kinda busy with stuff… Lots of meetings… Business trips… New employees… Personal trips… Holiday celebrations… Internet shopping… Furniture shopping… Treo tweaking… A garage renovation in my basement… I’ve nary the time to respond to emails, let alone write here. In the past two weeks I’ve received and failed to respond to about 475 personal emails… Sorry. Oh, there has been some beauty in the blur.

So… A recent article in Scientific American links creativity to sexual success and schizophrenia. Hmmm… I guess i’m only half as creative as I thought…

Richard Pryor RIP

The funniest comedian EVER died last week. The strange thing is I thought about Richard Pryor the day before he died. My Uncle Dave turned me on to Rich back in the late 70’s, and I still own his vinyl recordings of that era, including “That Nigger’s Crazy” and “Bicentennial Nigger.” Mr. Pryor turned pain into laughter and integrated biting social commentary into his routines. I’d say he probably influenced my sense of comedy as much as any comedian except Johnny Carson, not to mention what he did for Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock. With Richard, I learned almost anything can be funny. Johnny added the key ingredient of comic timing.

NPR did a nice tribute to his career and Salon did the same, including some Pryor audio clips. If you’ve never heard or seen Richard Pryor perform, his 1979 “Richard Pryor – Live in Concert” is a must.

Being one of the 3 people left in the world sans iPod, I manage with a 64M Nomad IIc mp3 player. It holds about an hour of music and is perfect for my workouts. In fact, that’s the only time I use it. Here’s a sampler of what’s been going through my head lately:

1. Holiday – Green Day
2. Human Touch – Bruce Springsteen
3. Coax Me – Sloan
4. Jet Pilot – Son Volt
5. Who – Son Volt
6. Six String Belief – Son Volt
7. Gramaphone – Son Volt
8. She’s the One (Cool video from 1975!) – Bruce Springsteen
9. Whatshername – Green Day
10. Note to Self: Don’t Die – Ryan Adams
11. Burning Photographs – Ryan Adams
12. Rock Your Ass – Supersuckers
13. Waiting to Derail – Whiskeytown
14. Wonderwall – Oasis cover by Ryan Adams
15. Respect – Aretha

On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon bolted from the Likud Party, one that he helped found and finance, the latter by selling two tons of hay from his ranch in 1973. He split because he believes the right-wing hard-liners in the party were presenting too many obstacles for a lasting peace with the Palestinians. Mr. Sharon’s new “Freedom” party is more centrist, and has gained instant credibility in Israel, indicating popular support for a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Polls indicate Mr. Sharon will win re-election as Prime Minister and that the Likud party is crumbling. This move took extraordinary courage, but the size of the risk may result in a huge reward… security for Israel.

I’d love to see this type of courage and boldness from an American politician, say Arizona Senator John McCain. He’s probably too moderate to win the nomination of the Republican party, but I think he’d make a great president. By 2008, we’re gonna need that.

My latest gadget is a Palm Treo 650 and it is the best thing EVER! Yes, EVER! Check this out… In addition to keeping me tethered to my corporate network 24×7 and giving me access to the WICKED WIDE WEB, it has all kinds of cool accessories like a Global Positioning System (GPS) for golf courses! This will really help my game. I’ll never get lost in the woods looking for an errant drive again, but I digress… The coolest accessory today is the TreoTurkeyTimer.

Yep, you just shove this bad boy into Tom’s nether region and using state of the art, “bluetooth” wireless technology, it will notify me it’s done and dinner can be served!

Happy Thanksgiving!