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There are plenty of ways to watch TV online, either through internet sites or downloadable players. Zach highlighted Miro a few months ago. Notable downloadable players:

• Miro
• Joost
• TVU Player
• SopCast

Here are some links to sites that you can directly watch TV through your browser:
13 places to watch TV online for free
13 more links
Since it is a bit newer than the links above, OpenHulu.com has content from a couple of the major networks (ABC and FOX, I think) and is worth checking out.

All that being said, what are the major problems? Most of the above fall into one or more of the following:

• Lack of mainstream content
• Lack of high definition
• Lack of bandwidth
• Unplanned outages

I propose a solution to the above problems which will also enable you to save money on cable/satellite. This solution will only work for you if:

• You are willing to sacrifice real HD television for fake HD streaming online
• You are looking for sports that are out of your current market in the comfort of your home and don’t want to pay for a special package
• You are a nerd

Go buy a SlingBox Pro with the HD Connect (optional). Install said products at your parents house (children of divorced parents are at an advantage here). Tell them they aren’t allowed to use it.

Then, buy a video card with a HD output (HDMI would be key) for the nicest computer you own and hook it up to your HDTV. (Optional - Build a media center PC or buy a Mac Mini)
Don’t have an HDTV? Stop reading now and just give up.

A few things that may pose problems:

• Your parents don’t have cable/satellite or HD cable/satellite
• Your parents have a slow internet connection
• Your parents are unwilling to let you do this
• Your parents already have a slingbox (doubtful)
• You are a technological idiot

It doesn’t have to be your parents. My parents happen to live in the sports market I am interested in (Chicago).

The ideal internet connection for this set up (on both ends) would be FIOS or AT&T UVerse or at least a connection with 2 Mbps upload.

My parents have poopy DSL with only a 384 kbps upload connection. So, this may be a struggle, but I still intend to do it.

One last note…yes, this does cost money upfront ($300 approx). Unlike those nifty lifehacker posts, this one requires some coin. But, dropping your cable/satellite subscription will make up for it in the long run.
Also, your internet bill may go up if you don’t have cable (bundled services discount). Unless you switch to a non-cable company for internet, you can’t avoid this.

But, taking all that into consideration, you are using the existing cable and internet setup at your parents/relatives/friends place that wouldn’t normally own a slingbox. I see this as a great solution without using an (illegal) Azureus and RSS feed setup.

Listening to Don & Mike last night I heard the lovely folks from Fred Phelps’ Westboro Baptist Church will protest at Heath Ledger’s funeral (guess why). Bile rising, I wondered: “Is there anything I could agree with him on? Other than the value of a good comb over and (possibly) simple arithmatic?

The next, (hopefully) more interesting question: If you could sit down and have a conversation with some of history’s great monsters, are there topics on which you could reach a meeting of the minds? Did Stalin like baseball? Could Pol Pot extemporize on economics? Given the opportunity, would Hitler throw down on Guitar Hero [Insert “99 Red Balloons” or “This rock will last 1,000 years!” joke here).

The best Wikipedia reference posted in the comments by Friday, February 1 will receive $3 from me via Paypal. Entries along the lines of “we both like expensive cars” or “I wish I had a harem” will be read with interest, but probably not rewarded. References to obscure, especially nasty fellows will receive extra points in my (entirely arbitrary) rating system.

Alternate post title: “God is the Toughest Movie Critic of All”

This one pretty much sums it up for all of us here at VWW:

Thanks to indexed.

Since today is my usual work from home day (although breaking my future wife’s nose canceled my business travel this week), I have had ESPN on for most of the day.

I can only take First Take and Outside the Lines for so long, because they tend to repeat themselves. But, watching the Best of Mike and Mike is usually a good bet (2 PM EPSN2HD).

Today, they broadcasted live from Atlantic City in preparation for being roasted tonight. Here’s the announcement: LINK

What I want to know is, how do I watch it? Will it be on TV? HBO? Radio (seems appropriate for the format of their show)? Web cast?

Then, clicking on a link, I came to this page:
http://www.kodigital.com/espnroast08/

It has a box for a video that is currently blank. When I googled “Mike and Mike Roast Webcast” and other such similar queries, I came up with nothing.

Is this the page to watch it live over the web?

Here is the timeline for tonight. The roasting starts at 10:30PM EST.

I don’t care if some people expect lame jokes.

I just want to know if I’ve stumbled on a secret webcast to the event…

UPDATE: Here is a link for a short recap of the event -
Small White Ball: Mike and Mike Roast Recap (or why Dana Jacobson slept in until 3 pm on Saturday)

Last week, my family (present and future) went to the Dominican Republic for vacation and relaxation.

Last Thursday, the whole clan went out in Sea Kayaks to brave the choppy ocean. After my parents were thrown off their kayak by a big wave, I should have gotten a clue. But, while going over the crest of another big wave, I happened to hit my future wife in the face with my paddle. Obviously, it was an accident. Needless to say, I broke her nose. Because of a protein deficiency in her blood, a few extra steps were taken to ensure she didn’t continue to bleed (like during our flight home). So, she ended up walking around the resort with gauze up her nostrils for the last 3 days of the vacation. Not so fun for her.

Here’s where the staring comes into play….

While walking around with a broken nose, gauze up her nose and a bandage over her stitches, I was surprised at the number of people who would just blatantly stare. I’m talking about turn the head as you walk by type of staring, not just a glance or two. Maybe it was because the clientèle were more European and Latin American and less North American.

So, because I got sick of people staring, I started staring back. I figured this would deter them from continuing their rude tractor beam eyes.

I was wrong.

My staring was very obvious and most of the time, people didn’t even notice me looking. Sometimes, they would notice me and then stare right back at me. Only occasionally would someone realize they been caught slippin’ and look away in shame.

It was just a broken nose and some bandages. I’m sure everyone has seen a broken nose before. I saw ACOM’s nose broken on the rugby field (watched it happen 4 feet in front of me) and it was quite messed up. Reconstructive surgery style breakage…

As a side note, while engaged in a game of volleyball with my future brother in law, someone from the land of Canadia happened to sit down next to me. I had just rotated out (we had 8 people on each team). He wanted to join, even though we were only a few points from the end of the game. After explaining to him that I did not approve of him just jumping right in the game, he said, “You must be from the US.” I acknowledged that fact and inquired as to why he asked.

“We don’t talk like that in Canada.”

Apparently, Canadians aren’t direct when they speak and won’t tell someone like it is. My response was “The truth is hard sometimes.”

Unfortunately, for my bride to be, there will be beauty from pain…

This Engadget article features a DIYer who created a portable turntable controller for Guitar Hero 3.

I recently posted about how Rock Band has paved the way for Turntable Hero.

This may just fuel the fire for the creation of Turntable/DJ/Hip-Hop Hero. Hopefully, Harmonix is paying attention.

Video of the portable turntable in action:

Although it isn’t exactly hip-hop/rap music or the same concept as DJ-ing, Harmonix should hire this guy to help develop Hip-Hop Hero.

I will give the guy his propers for his creativity and ingenuity.

Here’s the link to the original blog post: LINK

UPDATE:
Taking the Guitar Hero series in the WRONG direction: Air Guitar Rocker

It is basically a huge scam. Strangely, it’s only virtue (simplicity) makes it even easier to identify as a scam.

Situation 1: You make $25,000 per year. Your effective income tax is about 10%. You lose another 10% to other withholding (state taxes, medicare, Social Security etc). So, you save ~$2,500 per year. Because you are a poor scum bag, effectively all this money is spent buying things.

• Old way: $25k - $2.5k in taxes - $2.5k in other witholding - $5k in rent/mortgage = $15k buying power for the year.
• New way: $25k - $0 in taxes - $2.5k in other witholding - $5k in rent/mortgage = $17.5k buying power. However, everything you buy now costs your 30% more. So your $17.5k only buys $13.4k of pre-flat tax goods.

Situation 2: You make $75,000 per year. Your effective income tax is about 20%. You lose another 10% to other witholding. You’re a not-so-poor working stiff so maybe you save 10% of your income.

• Old way: $75k - $15k in taxes - $7.5k in other witholding - $15k in rent/mortgage - 7.5k in savings = $30k buying power.
• New way: $75k - $0 in taxes - $7.5k in other witholding - $15k in rent/mortgage - 7.5k in savings = $45k buying power ($34.6k adjusted)

Situation 3: You make $225,000 per year. Your effective income tax is about 27%. You lose another 10% to other witholding. You’re doing rather well and can put away 20% of your income.

• Old way: $225k - $60k in taxes - $25k in other witholding - $25k in rent/mortgage - $45k in savings = $75k buying power.
• New way: $225k - $0 in taxes - $25k in other witholding - $25k in rent/mortgage - $45k in savings = $130k buying power ($100k adjusted).

These are clearly estimated numbers and they may have some fundamental problems. However, the things I’ve ignored make the flat tax an even dumber idea for low- and middle-class humps. For example, deductions for children, mortage interest, or higher education can greatly reduce income tax on the middle class and virtually eliminate it for the lower class.

I’ve also ignored the fact that if I’m making $225,000 per year, I’m going to buy my Porsche/racing sloop/walk-in humidor in another country or online. So there are plenty of ways of avoiding the new tax burden.

So, at a glance we see that the poor guy gets rogered (10% less buying power), the middle class guy does OK if he’s smart enough to save some money (15% more power), and the rich guy makes out like a bandit (33% more buying power). ‘Twas ever thus.

Fortunately for the proponents of this plan, poor people can’t do teh maths, so they’ll probably jump in with both feet.

What else did I miss?

*Updated to correct typos/errors.