Practical Home Theater celebrates eighth birthday
October 1, 2008 -- Each year, as the leaves begin to fall from the trees, my book on home theater changes editions. The 2009 edition of Practical Home Theater: A Guide to Video and Audio Systems will be number eight. A pale blue cover (with green loudspeaker icons) distinguishes it from previous editions. The ISBN number is 978-1-932732-10-8. You can order the book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online retailers -- or through a bookstore. Click on the book above for links.
Did you know that analog television broadcasting will cease on February 17, 2009 -- to be replaced by an all-digital broadcast system? That the format war between Blu-ray and HD DVD has ended up with a Blu-ray victory, making that the next-generation high-def videodisc format? That there are two types of HDMI cable for different applications? If you need to get up to speed on these things, the book will do it.
It's the only annually updated book on video and audio, and I'm proud of that.
Happy Pig's Hot 100 site updated
September 28, 2008 -- I devoted this weekend to a thorough overhaul of Happy Pig's Hot 100 New York Restaurants, my online dining guide. It was not the first site update and won't be the last.
I called every restaurant on the list. Several had gone out of business, a few other had moved, and many had changed their hours of operation. If any users of the site are aware of outdated information, please get in touch with me via the email address on the contact page. Also feel free to nominate new ones -- one man can eat only so much and I'd appreciate your tips.
The Happy Pig started as a book with 107 entries -- I knew even then that the tumultuous restaurant business would take its toll on my favorites. Since then 18 of them have gone out of business. That's a pretty large proportion of the original lineup, and I don't want to send readers to empty storefronts, so I've reluctantly pulled the book version. There are still a few copies in the retail pipeline, and that may remain true indefinitely given the profusion of small booksellers on the net. But new copies will no longer be printed and shipped. I hope to publish a second edition -- someday.
News 2007