Judie’s Gear Diary – 2003-11-26

There are two things in life that I really enjoy: a good movie and a good book. So today, I will tell you about two things that have had an impact on me. The first is the 2004 Leonard Maltin Movie & Video Guide, by Landware.

How many times have you rented a movie, only to kill it midplay lamenting the time (and money) you had wasted on what looked like a winner. Or how many times have you been stumped, trying to recall who starred in a particular flick? This little guide lists most of the movies that have come out since the beginning of time. They are searchable by title, by genre, by year, rating, stars, directors and attributes. Each movie listed has a short review complete with stars (bomb to 4 stars). Even some of the most obscure movies are here. Steve thought he could stump the guide by sugesting I look up “Nunzio.” It was there – complete with synopsis and who was in it – as well as the rating and year it was made (2.5 stars, 1978).
This program does so much more though. You can also make note of movies you have seen, own or have rented, which is a great way to keep from wasting time on duplications. If you are a movie buff, then you will completely appreciate this Palm OS application.
As most of you know, I am an obsessive reader. I read hardbacks, paperbacks, and eBooks in every free moment I can steal. One look at the shelves in my library will tell you where much of my non-gadget spending has gone over the years. The books that aren't represented in my real-world library are kept virtually at Peanut Press. I have been buying books there since 1998, and until recently, I was never forced to consider how much money I had spent. That is, until they came up with a new system of allowing you to view and redownload all of your purchased books. Not only could you do them by title, you could also view them by download. Conveniently next to each individual download was the amount of each purchase. I was too scared to add it up, so Julie decided to do it for me. The total? $3,368.96. Holy moly! I guess that comes to just $680 a year, when you divide it by 5 – so it's not as bad as it sounds…but oh, what I could do with that $3400… :0o