A Wrinkle In Time

My son and I read "A Wrinkle In Time" by Madeline L'Engle for his school book report. I read the story when I was a little older than him and recall really enjoying it, although I could not remember much. I enjoyed it all over again. It was a bit advanced for my nine year son but he did well and wound up with an A+ on his book report. Today I stumbled on a TV\direct to video release of "A Wrinkle In Time" by Disney on netflix. It's not great, but considering it was a direct to video style production, it was quite enjoyable and a nice way to finish the experience with the book, particularly for my son.

Roku follow up.

In June I purchased a roku

in an effort to cut down on my cable bill. I subscribed to Netflix instant streaming service and hulu plus. We've changed a bit from our original configuration but after nearly 6 months I'm happy to report it's worked very well and it's drastically changed how we watch television. We've also saved some money on our cable bill. The biggest problem with the roku is an HDMI handshake. You can read about how HDMI works and HDMI handshake issues here. My Phillips LCD TV and Roku XDS had a handshake problem. The result is a green screen instead of a picture. This problem can be solved by re-seating the HDMI cable or by turning the Roku on and off. Reseating the HDMI cable causes unwanted ware and tear on the HDMI port. I've read posts from people who have had a spark when doing this repeatedly and burning out the HDMI port on there TV. This doesn't appear to be common, but I didn't want to run the risk of this. The Roku is basically a mini computer, so restarting it takes 2-3 minutes, too much time when you are ready to plop down and enjoy some TV.

I solved the problem by running my HDMI cable through a manual three port switch. This resolved avoids rebooting the roku and resetting the cable. If I get a green screen due to a handshake issue, I can cycle through the three ports on the switch, causing a new handshake and the problem is gone. The cable is ugly, but the problem is fixed. There are no first run television shows on Netflix, so I though Hulu plus was going to be a must. However, we cancelled Hulu plus last month. The interface was clunky compared to Netflix and watching commercials was a drag. It wasn't awful or 'broken' but it was enough of an impediment that we basically stopped using Hulu Plus. We find enough television on Netflix alone that we barely watch standard cable. Neither Netflix nor Hulu Plus have first run CBS shows or sports, and this may be a big drawback for some. I am not a big sports watcher. I like to watch a little NFL here and there, but Illinois Football is my big passion. Dropping the big 10 network to cut back our cable bill was going to hurt. I was pleasantly surprised the Comcast's 'Economy' cable package included Big 10 Network in standard def only. It's not as fun as watching the game in HD, but it's still fun. I miss the games on ESPN but occasionally they are on one of the major networks and I can still catch the game. I would highly recommend the roku as a cheap solution to lower your cable bill, but it's important to understand what you will and won't be able to watch before making the move. On my wish list for the future is a mini\media PC. I can watch Netflix and hulu standard through a media PC, and I can watch shows direct from the network web sites, such as CBS, NBC, etc... I'll wind up watching TV with a mouse and keyboard but I think this is the best way to get the most bang for your buck. You can buy remotes for your PC, but I think the keyboard will suit me fine. If you watch Hulu and other services through your Roku, DVD player, Wii, etc.... you may find that there are some shows labelled, "Web Only". You can only watch them on your PC. Plugging a media PC directly into the TV would avoid this particular problem. All in all, the Roku has been a very satisfying and money saving experiment. The money savings couldn't have come at a better time, now that I have a teenage son driving. It really helped offset those insurance costs.

Crave Truck

A few months ago a colleague of mine at work arranged for the 'Crave Truck' to make a stop in the mid-afternoon. Last night the Crave Truck was at St Matthew's Church for this years Trunk or Treat. Crave is a family owned business started by high schooler, Zachary Ware. Zach has a passion for food and a passion for fast cars. The crave truck combines the best of both to bring Chambana the latest food trend: Artisinal Food where the people are– on the streets.

The Crave Truck specializes in Street Waffles They use their own recipe made from scratch each day. Made from a yeast dough instead of a baking powder batter, these waffles are Belgium’s other waffle. They have all the fresh ingredients found in a great brioche along with a secret Belgian ingredient. This ingredient is part of what makes the Street Waffle different from any other Belgian waffle. Take a look a there menu here:

I would highly recommend seeking out the Crave Truck. These waffles are treat not to be missed. Watch for the crave truck in Downtown Champaign, Downtown Urbana, Campustown. Friday mornings- on the corner of Hessel Blv. and Neil (actually BEHIND the Circle K) in Champaign and Saturdays 7am-Noon- at the Market at the Square, Urbana’s farmer’s market at Lincoln Square Mall. You can also follow them on twitter for up to the minute news on where to find the truck.