I got my hands on a copy of Microsoft Office 2007 this weekend, and so far, I’ve been fairly impressed. But what I didn’t like was the new default font in Word. It just does not seem appropriate for papers that I hand in. So, here’s the easy way to switch back to 12pt Times New Roman, just like the good ol’ days. Read More »

It seems as if Scorsese is going to be directing a sequel to the Oscar-nominated The Departed. I’m not too sure how he’s going to pull this off—he ended up killing pretty much everyone important in the movie, so it seems like nothing more than a way to make more money off the success of the first.

Just a quick note—I just added a sidebar item on the right that shows the movies I currently have at home from Netflix. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have my ratings, but I’ll see if I can tweak the plugin to get that working (I’m using Albert Banks’ WP Netflix Plugin)

Well, I guess Peyton’s going to be going to the Super Bowl, although he really should be thanking the Pats’ defense for their second-half collapse.

Looks like we’ll have to go for 4 Super Bowls in 7 years instead of 6.

Go Red Sox!

Just a note—I’m playing around with tags for my posts, so they probably won’t be working perfectly for a little bit. So, if things seem to not quite be working (with regards to the tags), just try to ignore it until I get everything sorted out.

Hardcover Economics book with MyEconLab subscription: $171.43
Online/eText Economics book with MyEconLab subscription: $80.00
(Apparent) cost of materials for physical Economics book: $91.43

You can guess which option I chose. And yeah, I don’t get it either.

I noticed, through using Wordpress a bit, that it does not correctly replace double dashes (––) with the correct em-dash (—). I quickly put together a plugin that you can use to do just that, along with single dashes. Go to the plugin page for more information.

UPDATE: After a helpful email from theddy, Nice Dashes is now 0.2–check the plugin page for more information.

According to ZDNet, as well as many other sources, Netflix is beginning to offer a movie streaming service for its users. While right now the service is only offered to a limited number of customers, it will eventually be available to everyone who uses Netflix. Each user, depending on what plan they have, will get a certain number of hours to watch movies streamed through their browser.

So, is this going to work? The internet already has several movie download services, such as Movielink and CinemaNow, but, as far as I know, they are largely unsuccessful. Netflix, however, has a chance to become successful. Why?

• Large customer base – Netflix already has a large and loyal customer base. Because customers are are getting the service for free along with the typical rental plan, the service will most likely be used, unlike if you were to go with an existing service.
• Generous viewing time – with the 3 at a time plan, users will be able to watch 18 hours of movies online. While this isn’t unlimited, it means you’ll be able to watch roughly 8-9 movies online every month, which definitely adds a lot more value to Netflix.
• Already included in the plan—no extra cost – Many users probably don’t want to try out sites such as Movielink because they have to pay more for a service, such as Netflix, that they already have. Therefore, the users of Netflix will be much more likely to try out the service, for the sole reason that they don’t have to pay extra for it.
• Easy to use – Judging by Hacking Netflix’s demo of “Watch Now”, users will find it very easy to view the movies. You don’t have to download anything other than a simple plugin, which looks easy enough to install.
• A large selection of movies – Right now, Netflix is offering around 1000 titles to be viewed online. As they begin to roll out the service, I’m guessing more and more movie studios will agree to have their content available this way, which means a higher percentage of Netflix’s extensive catalog will be available online.

All-in-all, this seems like a great move on Netflix’s part, and it will be a good way to retain customers. They needed some way to keep up with Blockbuster’s Total Access program, and this looks like it could (potentially) be it. I’m looking forward to this being enabled on my account, and I’ll let you know how it goes once I use it.

What a game last night! It had everything a good Patriots’ playoff games should: a nail biting finish, moments of uncertainty, and, of course, clutch kicking. I must admit I was pretty nervous when Gostkowski was preparing for the kick; he certainly doesn’t inspire the confidence that Vinatieri did, but he’s been a great replacement this season, and he definitely proved his worth last night.

We’ll see what happens next week—the Patriots have never lost an AFC Championship Game, and they just know how to play playoff football. Manning is going down!

Tomorrow marks the unofficial end of my winter break. I feel as if break almost didn’t happen, which probably is because most of break I was somewhere other than home. Just for kicks, here’s a list, in no particular order, of what I want to accomplish this semester:

• Be more productive. Last semester, it seemed as if I never really did much of anything. Sure, I did my homework and did well in my classes, but I feel like I really wasted a lot of time (when I wasn’t napping, of course!). This semester, I’m going to try to utilize that empty time a little better, maybe by working on a new song on piano, or even (gasp!) going to the gym.
• Meet more new people. For the first half of the year, I mostly just got to know the people in my 40-person dorm. And while the people in my dorm are all great, I want to make sure I keep making new friends. Being on the ski team will definitely help.
• Read a few books. This sort of goes with the first goal, but is a bit more specific. I read absolutely nothing the first semester, apart from required reading, and I really want to make sure to read more this semester. I’ve always loved a good book, and I want to get back into the habit of reading.
• Explore Bethlehem. I really have not wandered too far off the Lehigh campus, and I really want to know what sort of places are around. A trip across the river is definitely in order, so some weekend I need to just do it.
• Have a good time. I guess this goes without saying, but I want to keep having a great time at Lehigh. My first semester was a blast, and the second semester looks to be even better.

So that’s my late night, I-don’t-want-to-finish-packing list of what I want to get done in the coming months. I’ll let you all know (whoever out there is reading this) how I fare.