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When I bought my first DVD player in 1998, I got a free offer for Netflix with the player.  At that time Netflix had not yet moved to a subscription model.  It worked a lot like any other video store (you picked individual titles and were charged for each one), except that all business was conducted online.  The utility of Netflix at the time was that most video stores had a very limited DVD selection (if they had any at all).

When they went to a subscription model I balked, since I didn’t see myself paying $23.95 per month given that I typically rented only three or four movies per month.  I also never had trouble with late fees, since I’m pretty anal about returning movies on time (I’ve only ever been late once, when I had to stay late at work unexpectedly), and since I wasn’t renting from Blockbuster.  While living in Denton I used the local Payless Video across the street from UNT, which had decent prices, a good return policy (movies due by store closing, not noon like Blockbuster), and generous rental periods (e.x. rentals on Saturday weren’t due until Monday, but you were only charged for one night). 

It was only after moving to Keller and experiencing Blockbuster’s weird return policy that I realized why so much of Netflix’s marketing was devoted to the issue of late fees.  Since Blockbuster required movies to be returned by noon, it effectively took away the last day or your rental period (i.e. if you get a three day rental you had better think of it as a 2.5 day rental or you’ll get hit with a late fee when you forget to return it on the morning of the third day).  And to top it all off, their new release rental fees were higher than Payless.  At those rates, renting only four movies per month (one per weekend), after taxes, now costs about $17.25. 

So, when Netflix reduced their subscription price to $17.99/month it finally seemed worth it.  I’ve been with them for about a month now and I’m fairly pleased with it.  They have a distribution center in Coppell, so it doesn’t take long for the movies to make it to and from my mailbox. 

But one of the interesting things about the service is that it has actually encouraged me to take more chances on movies I otherwise would have passed up.  In essence, the cost to me of renting additional movies is now zero, since I’m paying the same fee regardless of whether I watch 20 movies or none in a month.  If I have to pay $4.00 plus tax for each one, plus make sure to shlepp over to the Blockbuster to return it afterwards, I tend to be more careful about what I rent.  With Netflix if I decide I don’t like it, I can just stop it, put it in the return envelope and be done with it.

Right now I’ve got about 50 movies in my queue, so I guess I’ll have movies to watch on weekends for the forseeable future.

I found it slightly ironic that Blockbuster announced the end of its late fees about two weeks after I joined Netflix.  In a way I’m not surprised that this would happen, since everyone has been pounding them over this in advertising (not only Netflix, but the cable companies with their On Demand and DVR offerings).  On the other hand, it’s a little surprising that they’d abandon what was probably a pretty lucrative revenue stream.  I suppose in the end, though, the launch of their own subscription service signalled the end of the late fee model. 

Interestingly enough, I just saw that Blockbuster is offering their subscription service at $14.99/month (through 1/31/2006).  It’s normally $17.49/month.  What’s interesting about it is that while my cost analysis of the cost of Blockbuster per-rental pricing versus Netflix induced me to go to Netflix, the savings in cost from Netflix to the current Blockbuster offer isn’t enough to make me switch to Blockbuster.  For some reason (perhaps their late fee policies), I was just never comfortable in their stores.  I just don’t have enough good will towards their brand to go back to them, even to save $3.00 per month. 

This isn’t to say that I’m going to be burning my Blockbuster card in the street.  I’ll keep it for those times when I have friends over and I haven’t had a chance to plan to get a movie from Netflix.  But I don’t expect that to happen very often.

Tamales can be made with more than just spicy meat fillings.  Over the holiday I tried out a recipe for Pumpkin Tamales.  Given that it’s mostly ground corn, it’s probably not too Atkins-friendly.  Still, to help out a little I substituted Splenda for the sugar in the recipe.

They tasted good, despite their misshapen form.  I’m still learning how to get a well-formed tamal.  Of course, it didn’t help that I was impatient.  After a while of making tamales and the bowl of masa seeming to stay full I started getting more generous with the amount of masa added to each corn husk.  Still, none of them came apart in the steamer, so at least I wasn’t too far off.

On second thought, I may know why I liked the toothpick dispenser when I saw it.  But to explain why, I have to detour a bit.

I’m fairly picky about food hygiene and anything that might spread contamination.  I can’t stand anyone who double-dips and I shudder sometimes to think about what germs are living on the shared condiment containers in some restaurants.  A few months ago I had some friends over for barbecue.  At the time I had a toothpick dispenser that was kind of like a salt shaker.  You shook the dispenser and one would pop out of the hole at the top.  One friend of mine thought this was kind of neat, so much so that he had to shake it again just to try it.  But he ran afoul of my food phobias when he grabbed the toothpick that came out and then dropped it back into the container.  At that point I told him he could keep the whole damn thing, since I wouldn’t ever use it again. 

That may have sounded a bit harsh, but I wasn’t mean about it.  I just can’t stand the thought of putting something in my mouth that someone else has touched with unwashed hands.  When I filled the new dispenser I made sure not to touch any of the toothpicks as I poured them in (from an unopened box).

I realize that food preparation involves using your hands, but I’m pretty compulsive about hand washing while cooking (especially with meat).  It also doesn’t bother me as much, since the food will be cooked, which kills most germs.

So, perhaps this dispenser appealed to my peculiar bent without me consciously realizing it at the time. 

There’s something about the new year that makes me want to get better organized.  I spent some time over the holidays fiddling around with things trying to straighten them out. 

I completely redid my entertainment center, removing the old piers and bridge and replacing it with a single rack.  I mounted the TV in the kitchen on the wall to get it off the counter and free up space.  I also organized all my caps, which freed up a lot of space in the closet (and made it a lot neater than the previous pile).

But while I was at Linens ‘n Things yesterday I came across this neat little toothpick dispenser.  Perhaps I’ve gone a bit mad, but for some reason this thing gives me great satisfaction.  It was a total impulse purchase as I didn’t even know they had them until I saw it while walking by. 

I was somewhat appalled when I first heard about tourists still going to Thailand after the tsunami.  I understand that they will need continued tourist revenue to help rebuild, but it seems to me that the tourists might want to at least wait until they’ve gathered up all the dead bodies.  I can’t understand how someone could sit on the beach sipping mixed drinks with bodies still washing up.

I know that some of these people had non-refundable tickets, but couldn’t they have considered helping out instead of demanding their champaign reception (I heard on Fox News that some Russian tourists had arrived and were complaining loudly about not getting champaign)?  If I had non-refundable tickets that couldn’t be changed, then I’d consider checking with the relief organizations to see about helping out (I was relieved to see that a number of people are doing exactly that).

Personally, I wouldn’t be capable of going there and playing on the beach like these tourists.  At least I couldn’t do so until the cleanup is well under way.

Do not, under any circumstances, no matter how pathetically she begs, give German sausage to your dog. 

If you violate this admonishment, I cannot be held responsible for the Green Cloud of Doom™ that will likely result.

If you should happen to spray Oust into a room it is a good idea not to yawn immediately afterwards.  That crap will stick to your tongue.  Or so I’ve heard… 

I’m back and after I sort through another 160 or so emails I might have more to say.

I do have a small gift for the new year, though.  I’ve implemented comments as a pop-up window.  It was getting kind of annoying to have the comments open in the main window (or to remember to tell the browser to open the comments in a new window).

Ok.  That’s it.  I’m done for the year now.  I don’t have to be back at work until January 4, 2005. 

At some point tomorrow I’ll pack up the dog and head for East Texas.  I should return around Tuesday, but I don’t know if I’ll have anything more to say on this weblog until after New Year.  I guess it’ll depend on whether something irritates me enough or not.

This is an interesting time of the year for an agnostic.  While I’m not a believer, I suppose the secular aspects of Christmas as it manifests itself in our society still appeal to me.  And despite the religious theme, I like a lot of traditional Christmas music. 

Anyway, I’m not above wishing all of you who are reading this a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

I’ll leave you with these thoughts on the season from some character called Foamy, whom I discovered at Cinomed’s Tower.

It seems that all that is required for a TV show to be cancelled is for me to like it.  Conversely, crap shows stay on the air for ten years.

Yeah, I know Dead Like Me was kind of cheesy, but I liked it.