Preston Lee's Blog

Category: personal

  • Vudu Disc-To-Digital Review

    For those of you that just received this promo email… I decided to give it a try with stack of old DVDs. The promo pricing is totally reasonable, but I doubt it’ll last. (50% off when you “convert” 10+ discs, then $2 off your total.) Your existing DVD/BD titles are $2 to convert, or $5…

  • 10 Universal Weight Loss Tips For Men

    I’ve spent the majority of my adult life in the “obese” clinical strata, and have only in recent years taken to caring about maintaining a reasonable weight. I am an American male, 5’10”, with Koren-Caucation ancestry and have ranged between 149 and 172 pounds in the past year. My bodies individual natural comfort zone seems…

  • Preston And AT&T Give Each Other The Finger

    I made the jump the last day before Verizon stopped offering unlimited data plans. The delay for switching to Verizon was not lack of motivation–AT&T service has always paled to Verizon in Arizona and is nearly nonexistent at my summer home–but in desperate procrastination of dealing with the migration process. My longest conversation (highly abbreviated)…

  • I Bought A Grill At Walmart

    Yes, I know, so you can withhold your scorn in the satisfaction that I’ve been promptly punished by the powers that be. Upon initial assembly of my new $25 *Deluxe* propane grill, I assumed that the small Chinese boy manning the “‘L’ washer” machine at the grill factory simply hadn’t received adequate training from HR…

  • Textbooks: What Publishers Don’t Understand About The Internet

    Textbook publishers in 2011 still aren’t fully appreciating the impact the Internet will have on their industry. A reasonably forward-thinking individual might optimistically assume the industry is self-correcting towards the wants and needs of consumers, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Let’s explore: Electronic typesetting. Physical textbooks obviously can’t be reissued every time…

  • Roku XDS Streaming Media Player Mini-Review

    I’ve purchased four Roku devices so far: an XDS and XD for personal use, and several XDs as gifts. Given the relative affordability of Netflix and Hulu Plus services–as opposed to a cable or satellite television subscription–the XDS provides the missing link in the web-based television ecosystem, streaming solid commericial content across your existing broadband…

  • Makerbot Thing-o-Matic 3D Printer Print Pictures & Product Review

    I’ve had my Makerbot Thing-o-Matic working for about a month, and I have to assume it only gets cooler from here. If you’re a hardcore DIY’er, or your technical dablings tend to involve small, intricate parts required of custom robotics, circuitry, metal/woodworking etc., read on, and seriously consider a 3D printer investment in the future.

  • Kindle 3G Upgrade: Mini Review, Recommendations

    I’ve previously expressed my love for the Kindle family of devices, and on a whim decided to upgrade from the Kindle 2 to the new Kindle 3G with 3G and wifi. For others contemplating the upgrade, here’s what you need to know: Pros The new button layout is way better. Next/Previous button are on both…

  • Amazon Kindle Customer Service Experience

    About a month ago I noticed the top of my Kindle 2’s e-ink display starting to go out. Starting from the top of the screen, row-by-row slowly ceased to display “ink” until I could no longer see the battery indicator area. I could surely have lived with this, but given that the device is less…

  • TOMS Shoes

    I recently won one of a thousand pairs of TOMS shoes courtesy of a joint promotion in conjunction with Gowalla and AT&T to celebrate TOMS 1 millionth “shoe drop”. (It’s basically like the “One Laptop Per Child” program, but for shoes.) From the TOMS website: “TOMS Shoes was founded on a simple premise: With every…