My new favourite gadget

[Righ]

Doesn't Comcast have "On demand" shows? What do you need a DVR for?

Everything that's not "On Demand". That service has a few dozen films, some TV series, a bunch of shorter stuff, some music videos and such. You won't find "Rebus" or the football on it for example.

[Nazrat]

On demand is more accurately entitled pay per view.  So anything that is not pay per view requires a DVR, ie., any network show or live sporting event. 

[Strazos]

Actually, I guess depending on where you live and what channel the sporting event airs on, you can see it "On Demand." For instance, I could watch Flyers' games for a day or two after they air. This may have something to do with my cable being Comcast, and the Flyers are owned by Comcast, and most of their games air on Comcast Sportsnet.

[Righ]

Good point. Who needs a DVR and sports channels when I could watch old Flyers games?

[Yegolev]

If you go to a bar at noon, you can watch old boxing matches on ESPN 5 Classic 2.

[Strazos]

Good point. Who needs a DVR and sports channels when I could watch old Flyers games?

Don't be a moron.

[Viin]

To bring back an old thread .. 



We bought a Roomba Discovery this weekend. So far, I like it. Even if it didn't do a good cleaning job on our hardwood floors (it does) it's pretty fun to watch. I think my cat likes it even more than I do. He follows it around everywhere.

HomeDepot is selling them for $197 or something like that. The Discovery kit comes with a remote and docking station and a couple other things. The only accessory I'd want is the new scheduler remote but I think I can live without it.

Since we have 2 dogs and 2 cats, Roomba has been great at keeping the floor pet hair free!

[Ironwood]

You won't find "Rebus" or the football on it for example.

The new series is good.  I wondered at the time who the hell cast John Hannah as Rebus, but bringing in Ken Stott was genius and fits far far better.

[Soln]

You won't find "Rebus" or the football on it for example.

The new series is good.  I wondered at the time who the hell cast John Hannah as Rebus, but bringing in Ken Stott was genius and fits far far better.

Threadjack:
Read every book.  Rebus is supposed to be ex-military, big, a little shuffling, covered in bits of crisps and IronBrew stains...  John Hanna is a little elfin for the role.  I shall begin the torrent search...

[Ironwood]

And young.  And not-gritty.  And far far far too damn pretty for Rebus.

Ken just works.  Check his mug here :

http://www.kenstott.info/index.html

Oh and the girl who plays Siobhan now is perfect.  Alas, I didn't catch the previous casting for that role so I can't compare.

[Signe]

I've seen them both and, although I like Hannah, I prefer Stott.  Evidently, he's quite a hit with women in Britain which goes to show... you can be a sexy ugly fuck.  John Hannah is much better cast as an arrogant, smart ass.  It suits him much better.  I haven't read the books but I believe they're still being written and I plan to start.  There is a lot more to the books than they show in the series and they're allegedly very well written.  Evidently, Ranklin is a huge music fan and passes that down to his characters.  There are interesting references to music by artists such as the Cocteau Twins and Joy Division... as well as many more traditional rock music.  Things like that in books and films are fun and really amuse me.

This is what he's been doing recently:

Music to Die For

Ian Rankin will be presenting Music to Die For a 3-part radio series
 about the role of music in crime fiction. This will be broadcast on
 BBC Radio 4 at 10.30am on Saturday 4 March and the following
two Saturdays.

I didn't know in time for the first one, but I'll try and remember to listen to the last two.  I love BBC radio.  Luckily you can get it online.  (which I didn't realise until Righ just did it a few minutes ago!    )

[Miasma]

I started reading the Rebus novels around Black and Blue I think, then I read everthing afterwards and liked them all.  A few months ago I decided to read the rest of them and started at his first Rebus book Knots & Crosses.  I have to say that was a terrible book, I'm glad he kept at it and eventually got better but his early stuff was awful.  I mean his brother is a stage performing hypnotist who formulaicly puts him into a trance and gets him to remember past events?  Come on.  Rebus is supposed to be gritty but reads Shakespeare and Chaucer and listens to eclectic jazz music.  Not to mention all of those painful references to Jekyll and Hyde in the first books.

In the last few novels I'm worried that he is slowly starting to pass the reins over to Siobhan and will make her the main character, either retiring or killing off Rebus.

I can't believe Siobhan was in the spell checker's dictionary.

[Ironwood]

Good Line in the latest episode :

"So, Siobhan, what we are saying is that this weapon was once the Sword of Dan McLeese"

Classic.

[Lantyssa]

I can't believe Siobhan was in the spell checker's dictionary.

It is too pretty a name to not have in it.

[Righ]

More derails needed. I noticed that Ken Stott had played Hitler in a TV drama (Uncle Adolph). This is becoming something of a tradition for Scottish actors. Robert Carlyle played Hitler fairly recently. Michael Sheard seems to make a living playing Hitler. Stott and Carlyle are both in The Mighty Celt with Gillian Anderson, which is apparently showing on Sundance channel this month.

Here's a list of music references in the Rebus novels.