My recent lack of presence here on the boards and such is largely due to three things. 1) Very busy at work just lately 2) New TV shows starting 3) New toys The first of the new toys came Labor Day weekend. A friend of mine is moving and decided that he'd rather move a lightweight, skinny plasma TV than his big ol' clunky HDTV. As a result, I bought it from him at a ridiculously low price that I could still only barely afford. I then figured out that I could just barely afford to upgrade my cable service to get HD programming, and then discovered that due to some promotions and switching some things around I could also rent a DVR unit from the cable company. I. Am. In. Heaven. First of all, I can pause live TV. This alone would be worth all the trouble I've gone through. I seem to have a curse of some sort which stipulates that every phone call I receive at home comes at a crucial moment in whatever TV show or movie I am watching that night. No movies or shows, no calls. Without fail. Now I can just pause the show and start watching again when the call is over. Nice beyond words. Of course the whole recording without tapes thing is great too. Particularly since I was about to have to buy a new VCR to replace one which suddenly decided that it doesn't like to record anything on a timer any more. And this is just in time for the new shows. Beyond all that, however, the picture and sound quality are simply awesome. I found myself sitting at a restaurant a couple days ago, looking at the TV above the bar, and I just can't imagine how I was ever happy with that kind of picture. Does this mean I'm becoming an AV snob? ;) Anyway, speaking of those busy days at work I have to run. For all those who inquired, S'Gypsy is doing very well and is enjoying the new toys as much as I am. She also says thank you to everyone who wished her well. I'll try to hop back on today or tomorrow and post something of a little more weight. Til then, I hope everyone is doing well. Take care of yourselves! Hurdy gur, -Marc