How To

68 posts

Lord of the Geeks: How I Fixed My HDTV

My one year old HDTV recently bit the big one about a month out of warranty. This sucks for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that it’s a one year old TV that’s the second most expensive thing I own after my car, and it crapped out after slightly over a year, the exact length of the manufacturer warranty.

Now, I’m an industrious fellow, and I prefer to fix something rather than either replace it or throw it away. Considering my TV was out of warranty, and having it professionally fixed was going to cost $500-$800, which isn’t far from what I paid for it to begin with, I figured I’d see if I could fix it myself.

This is the story of how I fixed my TV.

Continue reading →

Fantasy Football 101: The Basics

Now that the lockout is finally over and players are reporting to training camps across the land, fans can start to think about what really matters this coming season – their team’s chances to win it all. It’s not uncommon to see football fans immersed in NFL Network programming while also researching players, schedules, and bye weeks on their laptop. But look carefully and you’ll notice how seemingly uninterested they may be in their favorite actual team. A diehard Giants fan looking up the Cowboys’ bye week? A Patriots fan combing over the Jets’ wide receiver depth chart? A Raiders fan reading, intently, a report of how Denver quarterback Tim Tebow has prepared this off season? These things 20 years ago would’ve been blasphemy, enough to warrant a CAT scan and possibly a permanent relocation out of the rabid fan section. These days, they’re musts for any fantasy football manager with a shot to bring home the title.

In preparation for fantasy football drafts, we’re going to do a quick course in all things fantasy. We’ll start off slowly, with the basics, before getting a bit more into team setup & draft strategy, and weekly transactions. Continue reading →

I Hosted an Eating Competition

Watch the first Kalbi Burger Challenge and listen to me read the rules.

On Sunday, July 24th, I was drafted to be the host of the first annual Kalbi Burger Challenge. Six competitors at my favorite Koreatown burger place were going to try to eat 4 Kalbi burgers in ten minutes for glory and the potential to be in a plaque on a wall. Since I was the Foursquare mayor of this fine establishment (seriously guys, I love food) I was asked to be the emcee and judge. Continue reading →

How Not to be a Jerk at Comic-Con

Comic-Con how-to guides for what to see and where to go abound.  A lot of them will give you great advice for food, clothing, sights and sounds. This is not that kind of guide.

You see, one of the things people never address is the behavior of some of the convention goers.  The vast majority of the people at Comic-Con are excited fans and are genuinely enthusiastic about the presentations given. Continue reading →

What’s Up, Doc? How to Choose a Personal Physician

Well, he or she should be hawt, like clueless wolf cub Dr. Karev from Grey’s Anatomy or Dr. Robin Scorpio from General Hospital.  Kidding! I kid! By ‘hawt”, I mean that he or she should take your health plan as payment, and accomodate the preposterous rules about using Flexible Spending Accounts for co-payments.  If you have neither insurance nor an FSA, the general principles below apply anyhow. Continue reading →

Kooks N’ You

Our urban centers – especially New York City – have a reputation for being Crazytown. One minute you’re giggling at an Italian comic opera, and the next you are being accosted by a toothless hobo screaming obscenities with his hoo-hah out. Then, glancing at the Playbill clutched in your white-knuckled hands, he bursts into an aria from The Barber Of Seville.

Continue reading →