A cold wind bloweth

I've regaled you in the past with epic tales of the television opulence we wallow in here. But there is a new development: Digital video recorders have been introduced! For $100 plus another $20/mo. we can utilize this spectacular technology. That's for the cable company version. TiVo costs more. And they did just become available last week. You can read about a criminal getting caught trying to steal one from an early adopter here.

There isn't really anything I would record, but

I suppose I could have saved the Broncos game to

watch at a more convenient time. Because the Broncos played MNF yesterday, I got to see the game here (we only get the SNF and MNF games). It comes on live at noon, but they show a replay that starts at 10pm. So last night, I stayed up to watch. I didn't talk to anyone about the game, didn't read about it on the Internet, didn't look at any Facebook or Twitter updates. I was going to get to watch a real Broncos game! And what crushing disappointment for me. Good first half, but I could barely keep my eyes open when the fourth quarter rolled around at 1am. With the loss, no sleep, and freezing winds blowing up off Antarctica causing vicious cold and rain/sleet today, I am not pleased.

There isn't too much Christmas stuff in the stores here yet. Because the holiday falls in the middle of summer here, and everyone takes time off work to go away, I just don't think the decorations are quite as big of a deal. Many Kiwis get the whole family together, hire some caravans (rent campers) and park them on the beach for three weeks. Most caravans don't have room for many decorations.

Perin and I are heading to Sydney this weekend to meet my friend Greg. He's giving a seminar at some university in Canberra and then meeting us in Sydney.

I've never been to Canberra, but allow me to talk some smack about it. Melbourne and Sydney were fighting over which city should be the capital when they decided to found a new city halfway and make that the capital. It's in the middle of nowhere and there's nothing to do there. Or so I've been informed by numerous Kiwis and Aussies.

When we moved to NZ, we looked at the map and thought about how close Australia and New Zealand are, and pictured ourselves flying over for long weekends all the time. However, it's a 3.5 hour flight and good deals start around $500 per person. So we require motivation to make plans to go. Greg coming through means we're going to see Sydney. We're both pretty excited to check it out. Perin is also very excited about shopping opportunities that may present themselves.