Life with TiVo, Day One. My number of billed hours were on the light side today since it was Day One with TiVo. Buying the DVR at Tivo.com seemed to be the right move. $99 dollars, no waiting for a rebate like at Circuit City, free and speedy shipping, and it came pre-activated. I replaced the Comcast DVR with the TiVo, attached the wireless adapter, and initial setup was a breeze. Getting media beyond cable wasn't as smooth as it could have been. Nothing was visible in the "Find Programs and Downloads" submenu other than "Manually Add a Server", although I had configured my account for Amazon UnBox and had installed TiVo Desktop Plus on my laptop. A good old-fashioned TiVo reboot opened up much of the world to me, and after messing with my laptop's firewall settings was able to download Internet-only content. I am still unable to publish music and photos to the DVR from the laptop, but that's no biggie. I have the main functionality I was going for, which for $12.95 a month seems superior to Comcast's On-Demand offerings that I was paying way too much money for month after month. I am expecting our Roku Netflix box to arrive tomorrow, though I am determined to work a full day even if it does. Maybe I can put in some hours on Saturday...
On Franklin Roosevelt. I finished "My Parents: A Differing View" on Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt written by eldest son James in the 70's. This was a good title, as the view of these historic figures by their first son James, also a principal aid to Franklin while he was president, was a perspective you could trust. My two main takeaways from the book were, first, how Franklin trusted an apparently crusty, unlikable man named Louis Howe to direct his ascendency to the Presidency through strategic appointments, offices and national appearances over the course of 15 years. It was a very methodical plan that thankfully succeeded. The second takeaway was how Franklin fought back from polio in the 20's, creating the appearance of being able to walk during the 1932 election, even though he was not physically capable of walking at all. Determination, courage and perhaps a sense of destiny. As for the book, you can skip much of the beginning and end where James talks about the siblings, but other than that it was a very engrossing read.
Here Comes Everybody. I'm one [NordicTrack] session into Clay Shirky's "Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations." It really is excellent. If you're in Barnes and Noble, pick it up and read the first 10 pages or so. The story of the lost cell phone will get you pumped to read the rest of the book, or maybe that's only when you're on a Nordic Track Ski Machine.
Bookmarking links are gooood. I'm definitely adding bookmarking links to DBVT2008, links to Delicious, Digg, that sort of thing. I like the AddThis button and may use it. I'm ready to go with a Delicious link, since I personally use it all the time, but I should probably extend it to accommodate others' preferences. The point is that bookmark links and widgets are important functions to have on our blogs, I think, not just for improved dissemination of our content, but as a common courtesy.
Seth is thinking about Danny Devito. I read almost every Seth Godin post like most of you do, and some of them really hit home, like this one on Danny Devito. The key phrase is "Because everyone in Hollywood is trying to be George [Clooney], there are a lot more opportunities for the few Dannys willing to show up."