Dave Garrett

How exactly does the "interference" manifest itself? Does your connection just drop out briefly and then come back online? Interference makes me think of static, and with VoIP telephony you should not be hearing any static. Since it's digital, the signal is either there or it's not, there's no "in-between" the way there sometimes is with analog telephony, and if the signal is there it should be perfectly clear. Interesting that a wifi extender appears to have helped somewhat. That would seem to suggest a weak signal somewhere in the path. Those all-in-one boxes which contain both a router and a modem are a pain in the ass to troubleshoot, because it's much harder to pinpoint which part of the device is causing problems. If you have the chance to do so, it would be better to get a separate modem that handles VoIP telephony and a separate router. I finally got tired of paying Comcast a monthly rental fee after too many years of doing so and bought my own modem. I only have TV and internet through them, though, no phone service, so I was able to use the Motorola SB6141 that seems to be the preferred cable modem these days.

And the fantastic Essential Jacques Demy set, just released this past Tuesday.

Another vote for the DVD set, if you must pick only one between it and the CD set. It's essential, and if you've only ever seen the Pennebaker film by itself before, the amount of extra material in this set is eye-opening. The set as a whole does a masterful job of contextualizing Monterey. If I were buying it now, I'd opt for the Blu-ray version, which is actually cheaper than the DVD version (the only thing that it appears to be missing that the DVD set contains is a 1968 Rolling Stone piece by Jann Wenner). Both can be had at Barnes & Noble for 50% off for another week during their semiannual Criterion sale.

I've thought about getting a MacBook Air several times, but never could justify the cost for what would essentially be a casual-use machine. In my mind there's no question that it's the best general-use laptop currently available. I wound up getting a previous-generation Chromebook late last year at a substantially discounted price ($170), and have been quite happy with it, but I was also realistic about what it could and couldn't do when I bought it. If I'd needed something for heavier use, I'd have likely opted for the Air. There's no way I'd recommend a tablet like the iPad if the intended use involves a lot of typing. For me, the on-screen keyboard is not optimal for heavy use, and frankly the iPad itself isn't particularly suited for significant text entry/editing even with a Bluetooth keyboard. I'm a big believer in using the right tool for the job. I have an iPhone 5, an iPad, a first-gen Kindle Fire, a Chromebook, and a Windows 7 desktop. Each has its place depending on the task at hand. The Wirecutter's laptop recommendations are worth reading for anyone in the market for a new one. They picked the MacBook Air as the best overall laptop and the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display as the best high-end laptop: http://thewirecutter.com/leaderboard/laptops/

I still like them, but social media has really taken a bite out of the old fashion message board. And I don't use any social media, so I guess it all makes sense. I remember when Usenet was still at the top of the heap, then message boards/web-based forums really took a bite out of Usenet. Still, it continued on albeit with reduced participation, until Andrew Cuomo's misguided crusade dealt the near-fatal blow and caused practically all of the large ISPs to decommission their news servers.

Loved this bit from the Tampa Tribune's obit (http://tbo.com/sports/rays/baseball-legend-don-zimmer-dies-at-83-20140604/):

Maybe I've just been lucky, but I've been unable to tell any difference between the Mach 3 cartridges I've bought on eBay and the ones I've bought via the usual retail channels. If they're counterfeits, then whoever is counterfeiting them is doing a pretty good job.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNFuxrxfM9c

I used to buy Mach 3 cartridges at Costco, as they used to have the best deal going of any retailer, but they kept raising the price until I finally decided it was time to look elsewhere. Since then I've been getting them on eBay. The last time I got some was almost two years ago (I think I'm going to need to replenish the supply soon). I got 40 cartridges for $69.99, and a cursory search there just now revealed that even better deals can be had. I've been curious about the Dollar Shave Club as well - I saw an infomercial touting them late one night, and was intrigued enough to do some further online research. It looks like a good deal if you are (or can get used to) using an old-style single-edge safety razor.

Gretchen passed away yesterday morning. She was at an advanced age for a GSD (12 1/2), and within the past eight months had developed an inoperable tumor on her left rear leg that ultimately forced us to make the difficult decision to amputate it three months ago. Even with that, she had no other serious health issues that our vet could ascertain, and she had adapted as well as we could have expected to life on three legs, so we really thought she would be with us for a while longer. Yesterday after my wife had gone to work, I thought Gretchen's breathing sounded a little odd, but nothing I hadn't heard before. She was lying down on her bed, and when I heard her head hit the floor with a thud, I still didn't think it was unusual as she frequently did that. But when I went to check on her, she had stopped breathing and was gone. We think it was a sudden cardiopulmonary event. Gretchen came to us when she was six weeks old and spent her entire life with us. I'm grateful that she went quickly and without apparent suffering, and that we didn't have to make the painful decision that all pet owners dread. She enriched our lives immeasurably, and I miss her more than words can say.

Amazon has all of the Gunsmoke half-season sets on sale for $9.99-$10.99 (with the exception of the 8th and 9th seasons, which are $13.99): http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&field-keywords=gunsmoke

Check the last message in this thread: http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks/samsung-dvd-c500/11033 Don't see that specific model listed at VideoHelp but you may want to look through the search results for Toshiba players to see if you run across the correct one: http://www.videohelp.com/dvdhacks?dvdplayer=Toshiba&hits=50&Search=Search

35Mb down and 12Mb up with Comcast. For all of their well-documented failings when it comes to customer service, I've never really had reason to find fault with the speeds I get from them, and at least in my area the service has been relatively stable with the occasional short-lived outage. Still laughably slow, I'm sure, for those in many other countries where gigabit internet is commonplace.

Not really music-related (OK, there's always Lalo Schifrin's classic Mannix theme), but I have these up for sale at That Other Board and thought I'd list them here as well before they head off to eBay. Prices include shipping within the US; international shipping will be at cost. Mannix (all five sets are new and sealed): Mannix - The First Season $20 Mannix - The Second Season $15 Mannix - The Third Season $20 Mannix - The Fourth Season $20 Mannix - The Fifth Season $20 Or take all five seasons for $85 Route 66 (first and second season are new and sealed, third season is opened but unplayed, with a 2" split on hinge affecting case and artwork; these are the earlier sets released by Roxbury Entertainment, now out of print): Route 66 - Complete First Season $25 Route 66 - Complete Second Season $20 Route 66 - Complete Third Season $25 Or take all three seasons for $60 Barney Miller (both sets are new and sealed): Barney Miller - The Complete Second Season $10 Barney Miller - The Complete Third Season $10 Or take both seasons for $17

If you're going to be streaming any full HD (1080p/1080i) videos, I'd be wary of going any slower than 6Mb (megabit, not GB). My dad still has 1.5Mb DSL with AT&T, and trying to watch an HD movie trailer on YouTube streamed via WiFi to his TV resulted in lots of pixelation and buffering.

That group of discs is largely divided between silents and comedies from the 30s. If you're more than a casual Ford fan, there are some hidden gems there (and if you're not, you might be by the time you've made it through all of the films in this set).

Short notice as this deal is only good today, but Fox Connect has the huge and comprehensive "Ford at Fox" mega-box on sale for 80% off with coupon code GRAPES. Not sure if the 80% off is calculated using the full retail price of $300, or the currently-discounted price of $195, but either way it's a serious deal. If I didn't already have this set I'd be all over it. http://www.foxconnect.com/ford-at-fox-the-collection.html

I think you meant "Only HDMI output is available on the Roku 3". HDMI output is also available on the earlier (Roku 2, etc.) models, but those also have composite video outputs as well for analog TVs. A wi-fi network is preferable but not required for the Roku 3, as it has an Ethernet port, so it's possible to connect it to a router using a standard Cat5 cable.

I thought there was no way this could be what I thought it was, but I was mistaken. Leave it to Deadspin to sum things up nicely: http://deadspin.com/atlanta-braves-pitcher-had-surgery-on-his-dickhole-1531194222

I was familiar with M-Audio through their PCI sound cards, which usually tend to be among the recommendations for those looking to upgrade their computer's sound. Wasn't aware that they also manufacture a lot of other things like speakers and keyboards. The Wirecutter's usually my first stop when researching a possible electronics purchase. My 15-year-old 36" CRT TV just gave up the ghost recently, and their piece on the best $500 TV (http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/the-best-500-tv/) was an invaluable aid in narrowing down the possibilities for a new set (although I disagreed with their conclusion that 720p was sufficient for the screen size in question and opted for the 1080p model at a slightly higher price).

The Wirecutter's take on computer speakers: http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-computer-speakers/ For those who aren't familiar with The Wirecutter, an article from The Atlantic posted yesterday covering them and their sister site Sweethome: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/04/how-to-stop-wasting-time-comparison-shopping/360757/

My previous car (a 1990 Honda CRX which I sold in 2008) only had a cassette player, so I used one of those adapters in conjunction with a portable CD player to play CDs in it.

That's a tough one. It was $80 when it was still available new from Rhino Handmade, and the going rate jumped up quite a bit once it sold out. Only thing I can suggest is setting up a saved search on eBay, and being very disciplined when it comes to knowing your max bid and sticking with it. That's what I did, and it took several years but I finally got a copy for barely more than the original retail price.