Ok let’s get this out of the way up front. I’m a Joss Whedon fan. More specifically, I’m a Brown Coat. I think Serenity is one of the best Sci-Fi series ever created. Period. Hell, my 14 month old has an “I aim to misbehave.” onesie. So to say I’m excited about him directing the all-star cast that is The Avengers is an understatement. I want that out there as a way of quantifying my next statement. WHO THE HELL THOUGHT THIS COSTUME WAS A GOOD IDEA?! Joe Johnston’s design team created a wholly original, functional-yet-believable Cap suit that looks amazing. What the hell is Chris Evans wearing in this picture? It looks like a kid wearing a Halloween costume that’s two sizes too big. I really do hope this particular costume is on the only disappointing aspect about The Avengers. If it’s not, at least The Dark Knight Rises and The Hobbit will be there to console me afterwards. End of rant.

Ok let’s get this out of the way up front. I’m a Joss Whedon fan. More specifically, I’m a Brown Coat. I think Serenity is one of the best Sci-Fi series ever created. Period. Hell, my 14 month old has an “I aim to misbehave.” onesie. So to say I’m excited about him directing the all-star cast that is The Avengers is an understatement. I want that out there as a way of quantifying my next statement. WHO THE HELL THOUGHT THIS COSTUME WAS A GOOD IDEA?! Joe Johnston’s design team created a wholly original, functional-yet-believable Cap suit that looks amazing. What the hell is Chris Evans wearing in this picture? It looks like a kid wearing a Halloween costume that’s two sizes too big. I really do hope this particular costume is on the only disappointing aspect about The Avengers. If it’s not, at least The Dark Knight Rises and The Hobbit will be there to console me afterwards. End of rant.

I’ve been rockin’ my LunaTik watch band since learning about it through it’s kickstarter program last year and I’ve been loving it. But after about a year, I can say that I’m a little sick of the two watch faces that Apple offers on their awesome little Nano. I have my choice of white or black with red accents, or blue if you choose the white over black setting. They’re cool and all but how about some options Apple? Well it looks like Apple listened. Last week’s Nano software update added not one but 16 new watch faces … and boy did they go all out. And adding digital faces wasn’t enough, they’ve added chronograph styles, LED faces and even Mickey Mouse and the Muppets Kermits and Animal. I hope this is just a taste of what’s to come but these faces should keep me happy … at least for the next year or so. To check out the faces on watches, head over to Apple’s Nano page and scroll down.

I’ve been rockin’ my LunaTik watch band since learning about it through it’s kickstarter program last year and I’ve been loving it. But after about a year, I can say that I’m a little sick of the two watch faces that Apple offers on their awesome little Nano. I have my choice of white or black with red accents, or blue if you choose the white over black setting. They’re cool and all but how about some options Apple?

Well it looks like Apple listened. Last week’s Nano software update added not one but 16 new watch faces … and boy did they go all out. And adding digital faces wasn’t enough, they’ve added chronograph styles, LED faces and even Mickey Mouse and the Muppets Kermits and Animal.

I hope this is just a taste of what’s to come but these faces should keep me happy … at least for the next year or so.

To check out the faces on watches, head over to Apple’s Nano page and scroll down.

So it’s Kairos time again and we just finished our 11th (my 3rd) weekend with the residents of Jefferson Correctional Institute. This is the 2nd poster I’ve designed for our weekend. This year’s theme was based on Hebrews 13:15: Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of  our  lips, giving thanks to His name. The signatures that are on the poster are from both the residents and our Kairos team members and this is how our poster ships out to other prisons having Kairos weekends. It’s our way of showing other residents that they are in our thoughts and prayers.

So it’s Kairos time again and we just finished our 11th (my 3rd) weekend with the residents of Jefferson Correctional Institute. This is the 2nd poster I’ve designed for our weekend. This year’s theme was based on Hebrews 13:15: Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of  our  lips, giving thanks to His name. The signatures that are on the poster are from both the residents and our Kairos team members and this is how our poster ships out to other prisons having Kairos weekends. It’s our way of showing other residents that they are in our thoughts and prayers.

A quick illustration I did for an article on para sailing. Makes me want to try it.

A quick illustration I did for an article on para sailing. Makes me want to try it.

I’m involved in the Kairos prison ministry through St. John’s Episcopal church and I’m gearing up for our tenth weekend trip this January 27-30, although this will only be my second weekend. As such, I volunteered to design our weekend’s poster. While there, I’ll get the forty or so residents that join us to sign the poster which I’ll then have scanned and sent out to other Kairos members to take on their weekend trips. So I just thought I would share it with you guys. Thanks to Durra Print for donating the printing services.

I’m involved in the Kairos prison ministry through St. John’s Episcopal church and I’m gearing up for our tenth weekend trip this January 27-30, although this will only be my second weekend. As such, I volunteered to design our weekend’s poster. While there, I’ll get the forty or so residents that join us to sign the poster which I’ll then have scanned and sent out to other Kairos members to take on their weekend trips. So I just thought I would share it with you guys. Thanks to Durra Print for donating the printing services.

I’m a mac addict. If Apple makes it, I need it. Ok, I might not need it but I sure do want it. I work on a G5 tower both at work and at home, my wife has a MacBook, we both have iPhones, I actually use my AppleTV and my iPad and I are inseparable. But when Apple unveiled their new iPod Nano, I brushed it off. I mean, it’s a cool little gadget but I already carry around two devices that trump it. But when I found out it could double as a watch, I wanted the hell out of it. Soon after the watch feature was announced a ton of watch bands and straps began to flood the market, but none more impressive than the TikTok and the LunaTik. But adding a $70 LunaTik band to an already $150 iPod meant I had a lot of saving to do. Since the LunaTiks aren’t shipping until late January, 2011, I figured I’d start saving and could possibly swing one by my birthday in March. But luckily, I didn’t have to wait that long. With our precious, first baby just being born in October, Christmas morning meant just one gift a piece for my wife and I. But with the new baby, who cares about gifts right? So my beautiful wife, knowing my abnormal addiction to watches and all things Apple, surprised me with a silver iPod Nano. I couldn’t believe it. Only thing now left to do, is find a band that would work as a stop-gap until the LunaTiks ship next year. I’d heard about the canvas straps from County Comm from several gadget blogs and decided that the Maratac 22mm, Zulu Coast Guard Orange would be the band for me. But with it being $17 and $8 shipping, I figured I could beat that price. A quick trip to eBay led me to Top Spec US out of Jacksonville who was selling the exact same strap for $12 plus $3 shipping. And being in Tallahassee, I got my strap in two days. Not bad. This might not be the last watch I buy, I do have my eye on a Ziiiro, but this is a fantastic marriage of two of my loves. And it looks good while doing it too. Thanks sweet for the awesome Christmas gift.

I’m a mac addict. If Apple makes it, I need it. Ok, I might not need it but I sure do want it. I work on a G5 tower both at work and at home, my wife has a MacBook, we both have iPhones, I actually use my AppleTV and my iPad and I are inseparable. But when Apple unveiled their new iPod Nano, I brushed it off. I mean, it’s a cool little gadget but I already carry around two devices that trump it. But when I found out it could double as a watch, I wanted the hell out of it.

Soon after the watch feature was announced a ton of watch bands and straps began to flood the market, but none more impressive than the TikTok and the LunaTik. But adding a $70 LunaTik band to an already $150 iPod meant I had a lot of saving to do. Since the LunaTiks aren’t shipping until late January, 2011, I figured I’d start saving and could possibly swing one by my birthday in March. But luckily, I didn’t have to wait that long.

With our precious, first baby just being born in October, Christmas morning meant just one gift a piece for my wife and I. But with the new baby, who cares about gifts right? So my beautiful wife, knowing my abnormal addiction to watches and all things Apple, surprised me with a silver iPod Nano. I couldn’t believe it. Only thing now left to do, is find a band that would work as a stop-gap until the LunaTiks ship next year.

I’d heard about the canvas straps from County Comm from several gadget blogs and decided that the Maratac 22mm, Zulu Coast Guard Orange would be the band for me. But with it being $17 and $8 shipping, I figured I could beat that price. A quick trip to eBay led me to Top Spec US out of Jacksonville who was selling the exact same strap for $12 plus $3 shipping. And being in Tallahassee, I got my strap in two days. Not bad.

This might not be the last watch I buy, I do have my eye on a Ziiiro, but this is a fantastic marriage of two of my loves. And it looks good while doing it too. Thanks sweet for the awesome Christmas gift.

As I posted on our baby blog, we decided to pick up a small camera to take with us to the hospital to document our little one’s arrival but when I get to buy new gadgets, I go all out. I wasn’t satisfied with just getting the camera, I had to make sure that this would be a big-budget production.

We decided on the Flip Ultra HD 8GB model. A newer, thinner model just arrived so we were able to score last year’s model for less than $140 at Amazon. We’ve put it through the paces at our last baby shower and we are pretty pleased with the results. I love the 720p at 60fps and my wife digs how easy it is to use.

While researching the camera, I’d come across a couple of DIY vids on Youtube where people were SuperGluing wide angle lenses onto their Flips. Luckily theflip.com offers official, Bower Magnetic .45 Wide Angle lenses, compatible with all their cameras, for $50. And while the lenses are still listed as “coming in october”, Amazon already has them in stock for only $39. And it’s worth it because (and why they don’t tell you this anywhere in the description is beyond me) but it’s actually two lenses in one. Not only do you get a wide angle but you get a macro lens as well. I’ve been able to go out and shoot some comparison samples, one of which I posted on Youtube, which you can find here. In the video you will notice the rounding edges of the lens in the upper left and right corners, that’s not always visible, it was my first time trying the lens out and I didn’t have it lined up properly. Sorry.

The last part of this set is the Joby Gorillapod Video. This tiny wonder only stands 7” tall and well worth the $30, which of course, you can find on Amazon here. As standard with any Gorillapod, you get the uber-articulated legs and magnetic feet, but with the Video version you get the 360º ball-joint head and pan/tilt arm which even collapses down for a smaller fit in your bag.

All in you’re looking at about $200 but I think you get your money’s worth considering you’re getting 720p, 60fps video that as easy to download as it is to shoot, .45 wide angle and macro lenses, a tripod that’s small enough to carry everywhere, sticks anywhere and the entire setup weighs less than 10 oz.! Not bad. So get ready, with this little setup with me all the time, I’ll be posting a lot of videos. Wonder what I can find to shoot this weekend?

Apple Just Makes my Life Better

I got my AppleTV setup up and running over the weekend and it couldn’t have been easier. Setup consists of unboxing it, plugging it in and turning on ‘home sharing’ in iTunes. That’s it.

AppleTV basically offers three major services to users. First and foremost, Apple wants to push their movie and TV rentals so this box does just that. But the second major service this little box delivers, Netflix integration, pretty much negates any chance of me paying Apple to rent anything. But seeing as how both my Xbox 360 and PS3 (and even my Wii) has Netflix streaming, this is not a new service in our house. But because the AppleTV lives in our bedroom and the gaming systems reside in the living room and because my wife needs as few steps as necessary to access Netflix, having this feature available on our bedroom TV at the click of a button made the AppleTV a pretty easy sell with her.

The third and final major service the little, black box provides, is access to my iTunes library. While I let Netflix have all my rental business, I’m eager to see if Apple will begin stealing my entertainment purchases away from Amazon. Having the ability to buy a new movie from iTunes at half the price of a Blu-ray from Amazon was my main reason for picking up the AppleTV.

I was eager to put this to the test. I wanted to pick up ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ from Amazon on Blu-ray for $23 with free shipping (I have an Amazon Prime account). Seeing as how this is not a movie that I would want to delve deeper into with all the special features and such, I could settle for stripping that all away and download it from iTunes for $15, saving $8.

Now while I will not be switching to iTunes for bigger releases like ‘Avatar the Director’s Cut’ and ‘Inception’, smaller movies are ideal for saving me some cash and shelf space which both went a long way with my wife too. As far as filling up my iTunes library with content, that was already taken care of by all the DVDs and Blu-rays that have included digital copies that I’ve been slowly stock-piling over the past year or so. I’ve already got a digital library of about 20 movies that I’ve never watched.

And while the tiny, aluminum remote is nice, the coolest way to control the AppleTV is with the free Remote app for the iPad. Simply tap the app, turn on home sharing and you’re ready to swipe through your library and control playback right from your iPad and yes, the Remote app is available on the iPhone too. So if ever lose that tiny, silver remote, I won’t even bother looking for it.

MY CHILDHOOD FAVORITES I’ve been wanting to do this post for sometime now but didn’t have all pieces to complete this set. What you are looking at is my childhood … in plastic form of course. Each one of these figures represents my favorite toys when I was a kid. All my favorite lines are represented. And as you can see, I was into pairing. For me, I was always into the bad guys (I don’t know what that says about me as a child). But a bad guy was never any fun without a good guy trying to stop him. One without the other is meaningless, so I always had to have a good guy to pair up with my favorite baddies. And these figures above, were my favorites. Ok, well not all of the figures above. Some of these are just newer incarnations of their classic counterparts that I loved as a kid. Oh, and be sure to click the headers for links to my photos of these figures on my flickr site.  Star WarsStar Wars toys were my all-time favorites when I was a kid. No other toy line had the film or TV counterpart that was anywhere as awesome as Star Wars. Nor does any other toy line hold as many happy memories as Kenner’s classic line. And my favorite characters? Bespin Luke and Boba Fett. By the time Kenner got around to ESB, the goofy early-bird lightsabers were gone only to be replaced by the less goofy (but not by much) lightsaber sticks. And the newly sculpted Luke was my favorite. This took his goofy lightsaber to any all other toys who opposed him. And no other baddie, including Darth himself, got as much play time as Mr. Fett did. And yes, kids were making up lies about having the one that actually fired the rocket from his jet pack way back then. Mine didn’t nor did I care. And this guy wasn’t afraid of battling baddies good guys from outside his line either. Nothing takes me back like Star Wars christmas’ and themed birthday parties. Good times. He-Man and the Masters of the UniverseLike the cartoon series, seldom was a battle waged in my plastic Eternia that wasn’t led by He-Man. He was my go-to guy for stopping Skeletor in his tracks. And when it came to baddies causing trouble, it was always Mer-Man. He was and still is my favorite He-Man figure. I know he was silly and seemed to always get pissed when He-Man tossed him in lake (I don’t know why, isn’t that his home?). But in my backyard he was the evilest of evil, controlled reptiles and yes, he even spoke to my fishes. G.I. JOE: A Real American HeroEven when picking good guys, I still like them bad. My all-time favorite JOE growing up was good-guy Storm Shadow. Now I loved Outback, Alpine and Tunnel Rat but that sense of never knowing when ol’ Stormy would flip his switch and run back to COBRA always made him my favorite. But when it came to COBRA, no baddy held a candle to Zartan. I mean come on, he had a bad ass swamp skier, swappable masks and he changed color in the sunlight. He had it all. I remember buying Zartan for my best friend on his birthday. After nom-nomin’ on pizza all afternoon, watching his older brother fight with his parents (resulting in his being kicked out of this house for the afternoon) and some crafty trading strategies on my part, I left the birthday party with Zartan in tow. I don’t even remember what I traded him for it, but whatever it was, it was worth it. Super PowersBatman and Robin were tops at my house. Superman was nothing. Batman and Robin handled just about any and all bank heists, break-ins and attacks that the DC universe baddies could throw their way. And when Mattel releases classic Robin next year, I’ll be one happy camper. Now don’t get me wrong, Battle Armor Lex Luthor and Darkseid were both pretty high on my list of favorite Super Powers baddies growing up but there was something about Steppenwolf that I just couldn’t put my finger on. I remember going to the store with my parents specifically to get a bad guy for heroes to battle and with no good choices on the rack, Steppenwolf was my only choice. I grabbed him reluctantly (I certainly wasn’t going to turn down a new figure) but when I got him home and started breaking him in, I realized he was pretty cool. First of all, he looks completely bad ass with all those spikes and straps, but that evil-as-hell mustache and huge ax sold me on him. I remember all my friends asking me who he was every time I’d bring him out to battle. I always answered the same way “I don’t know who he is either but I know he’s gonna win!” Secret WarsI didn’t get into the Secret Wars figures as much as I did Super Powers but they were Marvel and were better sculpted and I actually liked the fact that they didn’t have all the silly squeeze-action features the DC figures did. But looking back I guess I did have all of series one and few from series two, but no two figures were worn out more from battle than Captain America and Dr. Doom. Yeah Cap’s shield had the goofy lenticular card in it and didn’t look right and Dr. Doom was missing his trademarked cape but those facts didn’t keep these two figures from battling it out way past my bed time. M.A.S.K. Mobile Armored Strike KommandI know that I didn’t pick two bad guys this time, but in all honesty, when it came to M.A.S.K., all my favs were on the good team. Matt Trakker and Brad Turner were my team. What’s not to love about a car turning into a jet and a motorcycle turning into a helicopter? M.A.S.K. also almost cost me my best friend (the same one that I trader for Zartan with). Long story but Bruce Sato is not welcome in my house … ever. M.A.S.K. is one series I’d love to see rebooted but then again, with a baby on the way, maybe not. I want to stay married. Transformers G1Ah, good old Transformers. This was the best line as a kid. You have best of both worlds; fast and powerful cars, jets and tanks and bad ass robots. Instant awesome. And like all the rest, the bad guys were on top for me. My favorite, hands down was Soundwave. I think it was because when he transformed he actually looked and was the right size of a real tape player. I loved that. And he tapes that turned into Ravage and Laserbeak! Come on that’s killer! But there was no better good guy, probably in all of kid toydom than Optimus Prime. A huge hulking semi that turned into a huge, hulking robot. Optimus will always hold a special place in my heart and only my dearest and closest friends know why. He will always have a place on my shelf.

MY CHILDHOOD FAVORITES

I’ve been wanting to do this post for sometime now but didn’t have all pieces to complete this set. What you are looking at is my childhood … in plastic form of course. Each one of these figures represents my favorite toys when I was a kid. All my favorite lines are represented. And as you can see, I was into pairing. For me, I was always into the bad guys (I don’t know what that says about me as a child). But a bad guy was never any fun without a good guy trying to stop him. One without the other is meaningless, so I always had to have a good guy to pair up with my favorite baddies. And these figures above, were my favorites. Ok, well not all of the figures above. Some of these are just newer incarnations of their classic counterparts that I loved as a kid. Oh, and be sure to click the headers for links to my photos of these figures on my flickr site. 

Star Wars
Star Wars toys were my all-time favorites when I was a kid. No other toy line had the film or TV counterpart that was anywhere as awesome as Star Wars. Nor does any other toy line hold as many happy memories as Kenner’s classic line. And my favorite characters? Bespin Luke and Boba Fett. By the time Kenner got around to ESB, the goofy early-bird lightsabers were gone only to be replaced by the less goofy (but not by much) lightsaber sticks. And the newly sculpted Luke was my favorite. This took his goofy lightsaber to any all other toys who opposed him. And no other baddie, including Darth himself, got as much play time as Mr. Fett did. And yes, kids were making up lies about having the one that actually fired the rocket from his jet pack way back then. Mine didn’t nor did I care. And this guy wasn’t afraid of battling baddies good guys from outside his line either. Nothing takes me back like Star Wars christmas’ and themed birthday parties. Good times.

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
Like the cartoon series, seldom was a battle waged in my plastic Eternia that wasn’t led by He-Man. He was my go-to guy for stopping Skeletor in his tracks. And when it came to baddies causing trouble, it was always Mer-Man. He was and still is my favorite He-Man figure. I know he was silly and seemed to always get pissed when He-Man tossed him in lake (I don’t know why, isn’t that his home?). But in my backyard he was the evilest of evil, controlled reptiles and yes, he even spoke to my fishes.

G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero
Even when picking good guys, I still like them bad. My all-time favorite JOE growing up was good-guy Storm Shadow. Now I loved Outback, Alpine and Tunnel Rat but that sense of never knowing when ol’ Stormy would flip his switch and run back to COBRA always made him my favorite. But when it came to COBRA, no baddy held a candle to Zartan. I mean come on, he had a bad ass swamp skier, swappable masks and he changed color in the sunlight. He had it all. I remember buying Zartan for my best friend on his birthday. After nom-nomin’ on pizza all afternoon, watching his older brother fight with his parents (resulting in his being kicked out of this house for the afternoon) and some crafty trading strategies on my part, I left the birthday party with Zartan in tow. I don’t even remember what I traded him for it, but whatever it was, it was worth it.

Super Powers
Batman and Robin were tops at my house. Superman was nothing. Batman and Robin handled just about any and all bank heists, break-ins and attacks that the DC universe baddies could throw their way. And when Mattel releases classic Robin next year, I’ll be one happy camper. Now don’t get me wrong, Battle Armor Lex Luthor and Darkseid were both pretty high on my list of favorite Super Powers baddies growing up but there was something about Steppenwolf that I just couldn’t put my finger on. I remember going to the store with my parents specifically to get a bad guy for heroes to battle and with no good choices on the rack, Steppenwolf was my only choice. I grabbed him reluctantly (I certainly wasn’t going to turn down a new figure) but when I got him home and started breaking him in, I realized he was pretty cool. First of all, he looks completely bad ass with all those spikes and straps, but that evil-as-hell mustache and huge ax sold me on him. I remember all my friends asking me who he was every time I’d bring him out to battle. I always answered the same way “I don’t know who he is either but I know he’s gonna win!”

Secret Wars
I didn’t get into the Secret Wars figures as much as I did Super Powers but they were Marvel and were better sculpted and I actually liked the fact that they didn’t have all the silly squeeze-action features the DC figures did. But looking back I guess I did have all of series one and few from series two, but no two figures were worn out more from battle than Captain America and Dr. Doom. Yeah Cap’s shield had the goofy lenticular card in it and didn’t look right and Dr. Doom was missing his trademarked cape but those facts didn’t keep these two figures from battling it out way past my bed time.

M.A.S.K. Mobile Armored Strike Kommand
I know that I didn’t pick two bad guys this time, but in all honesty, when it came to M.A.S.K., all my favs were on the good team. Matt Trakker and Brad Turner were my team. What’s not to love about a car turning into a jet and a motorcycle turning into a helicopter? M.A.S.K. also almost cost me my best friend (the same one that I trader for Zartan with). Long story but Bruce Sato is not welcome in my house … ever. M.A.S.K. is one series I’d love to see rebooted but then again, with a baby on the way, maybe not. I want to stay married.

Transformers G1
Ah, good old Transformers. This was the best line as a kid. You have best of both worlds; fast and powerful cars, jets and tanks and bad ass robots. Instant awesome. And like all the rest, the bad guys were on top for me. My favorite, hands down was Soundwave. I think it was because when he transformed he actually looked and was the right size of a real tape player. I loved that. And he tapes that turned into Ravage and Laserbeak! Come on that’s killer! But there was no better good guy, probably in all of kid toydom than Optimus Prime. A huge hulking semi that turned into a huge, hulking robot. Optimus will always hold a special place in my heart and only my dearest and closest friends know why. He will always have a place on my shelf.

So I’ve ordered an AppleTV and for some sort of practical reasons too. We are about to have our first child in just over 4 weeks. And right now, anything that can be considered “for the baby” is deemed necessary. So what does a baby need with an AppleTV you ask? Nothing. It’s for mommy. Mommy will be home for the next three months and a good portion of that time at home will be spent in or around our bed. We have a modest 30” flat-screen in our room that only pushes 720p so I’m pulling out our receiver, which we never use in there anyway, and replacing it with Apple’s little Netflix on-demand box. And also having it wirelessly linked to my iTunes account and the 20 or so films I have on there is a bonus too. I wonder how much it will get used compared to our Direct TV receiver. At this point, I just hope that Apple just does software updates for next year instead of dropping a new box. $99 wasn’t a big sell for my wife, but buying a new one every year is another thing altogether. Oh, and just to let potential buyers know, AppleTV orders are currently backed up about three weeks. I placed my order two days ago and it’s scheduled to ship on October 22, about one week before are little one is scheduled to arrive.

So I’ve ordered an AppleTV and for some sort of practical reasons too. We are about to have our first child in just over 4 weeks. And right now, anything that can be considered “for the baby” is deemed necessary. So what does a baby need with an AppleTV you ask? Nothing. It’s for mommy. Mommy will be home for the next three months and a good portion of that time at home will be spent in or around our bed. We have a modest 30” flat-screen in our room that only pushes 720p so I’m pulling out our receiver, which we never use in there anyway, and replacing it with Apple’s little Netflix on-demand box. And also having it wirelessly linked to my iTunes account and the 20 or so films I have on there is a bonus too. I wonder how much it will get used compared to our Direct TV receiver. At this point, I just hope that Apple just does software updates for next year instead of dropping a new box. $99 wasn’t a big sell for my wife, but buying a new one every year is another thing altogether. Oh, and just to let potential buyers know, AppleTV orders are currently backed up about three weeks. I placed my order two days ago and it’s scheduled to ship on October 22, about one week before are little one is scheduled to arrive.