I like to Watch - HBO Now

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Terri and I have become fans of HBO's Game of Thrones.  Season 5, episode 1 premiered last night and I had inconveniently cancelled our HBO subscription just two weeks ago.  We had been on a 3 month free demo from DirecTV that expired.  We have watched prior GoT seasons on bootleg web sites.  I have always been willing to pay for quality programming such as GoT and Homeland if an option was provided that did not include bundles or subscriptions.

We switched to DirecTV in December due to the cable company's confiscatory and increasing monthly rate.  DirecTV is more economical, but still requires you to bundle if you want the best price on premium services.  I refuse to pay $50 a month for all movie services, or $19 a month for HBO standalone.  I have been waiting for an option that allows a' la carte, economical and non-contracted subscriptions.

HBO brilliantly released HBO Now the same weekend that Game of Thrones began their new season.  I decided to trial this new risk-free option.  The first 30 days are free and a monthly rate of $15 follows for access to all past and new release HBO content.  I suspect I was one of millions who signed up over the past weekend.

I expected to be able to subscribe over Apple TV, but could not.  Instead, I found the simpliest way was to sign up by downloading the HBO Now app on an iDevice, and setting up an account.  You can then go to Apple TV and use your new credentials to sign into the HBO Now app already present on the Apple TV home screen.

Once you are in, you are presented with a slick Netflix-style navigation menu where content is grouped by series, documentaries, movies, watch lists, etc.  It looks like all the good stuff is there going back to The Sopranos, Oz, Band of Brothers and other classic HBO series.

I sort of expected an option to view HBO live, but that isn't how it works.  HBO Now is not HBO Go that allows HBO subscribers to watch living streaming HBO programming.  Instead, content is made available on HBO Now simultaneously with airing on commercial HBO.  GoT season 5, episode 1 became available for streaming on HBO Now at the same time the program was aired on cable TV.  I think I like it this way much better.  There are no series recordings.  The content just appears when released.  Accessing the latest episode of GoT is as simple and straightforward as accessing the first episode of Tombstone.

I suspected that video quality could have suffered if the GoT premiere had enticed millions to sign up for HBO Now, but was pleasantly surprised.  The video was delivered on time, in HD and there were no problems with buffering, stalling or pixelating.  HBO seems to have gotten it right the first time.

New Loves

It's been 4 weeks since I became unemployed.  Yesterday I had lunch with a good friend and former co-worker.  He asked me if I had any regrets.  Within 2 nanoseconds I answered NO!  It has been a great 4 weeks of acclimating to a new calendar. 

My new calendar has Sunday followed by 6 not-Sundays.  The reality is that 2 of my not-Sundays are days when Terri works.  On those days I get up with her to make the bed and the coffee, and help her get out the door.  I am a swell guy.

During the 4 weeks off, I have developed a love for things that I once hated or took for granted.  One of those things is coffee.  I always liked coffee, but now I love coffee.  Getting up in the morning and fixing a steaming cup of Seattle's Best in the Keurig is something that I look forward to.  My coffee intake has not increased, but more than ever, I really enjoy the 2 cups I drink each morning.

I have also learned to love Sunday evenings.  Formerly, Sunday evening was the official end of the weekend and the unofficial return to the work week.  Anxiety and stress would slowly return starting just after Sunday noon, and build the rest of the day.  Now, the relaxed stress-free feeling of Saturday evening continues all day Sunday.  It's a great thing.

My not-Sundays continue to be busy.  I have completed about half the honey-do's on the list and taken on new tasks that were not on the list.  I have also entertained doing a side job for one of Terri's customers.  Last week I received great news from the realtor for my mother's manufactured home.  We always knew that selling the home without owning the lot would be an uphill struggle and it has been, but we received and accepted an offer.  Closing is scheduled for the end of May.

Missouri law governing manufactured homes seems to be ambiguous at best.  I learned yesterday that we could not get a duplicate title for the home because it was never titled 11 years ago after it was sold to my parents.  Having the time to develop personal relationships with the staff at the Missouri Department of Revenue has been a blessing.  I have spent the last two afternoons there and will need to return at least once more. One thing I will never learn to love is the bureaucracy of government. But at least now I have the time to navigate through it. 

I Like to Eat - Guy and Mae's Tavern

Today, Terri and I enjoyed good food and good company, traveling to Guy and Mae's Tavern for some of the best ribs in the KC area.  We have been there before.  We first went to Williamsburg, Kansas to eat at Guy and Mae's - (there is no other reason to visit the ghost town) - maybe 20 years ago?  From Overland Park it is a 45 minute trip.  From Basehor it is north of an hour.  It has been around 8-10 years since our last visit when we dined with Tom Watson - true story.  We were sitting at a table in Guy and Mae's one Saturday afternoon and a couple of hunters walked in.  As they approached, I thought that I recognized one of the individuals.  As he neared, I became certain it was Tom.  I can call him Tom because I once ate lunch with him (well I ate lunch within 20 feet of him).

From the outside the tavern appears to be a deteriorating building along a row of dilapidated structures in a town that hasn't seen much action in years.  The first visit, I hesitated before entering.  I expected there to be a gang of bikers or hillbilly rednecks gulping their long necks and waiting for the next city slicker to walk in so they could go all Deliverance on them.  Instead, I opened the door and was greeted with a couple of pinball machines and a pool table where two 11 year olds worked on their skills.  It's a tavern in a country town.  No reason to be concerned.  It's probably safer than at a mall in the golden ghetto of Johnson county.

 

The tavern is long and narrow with a seedy bar running half of the length.  A recent addition to the dining area are the hundreds of messages written on dollar bills and hung or taped to nearly every surface.  A nice touch that actually added class to an otherwise gloomy dining room.

Once seated, don't expect a waitress to stop by with a menu.  The menu is conveniently thumb-tacked to the wall at each table.  If you have a taste for French fries, pulled pork or burnt ends, too bad.  The place was built on ribs, so get the ribs.  They do offer a ham, beef, turkey and/or polish sausage sandwich, but trust me, get the ribs.  For sides, choose from a rich selection of slaw, tater salad or beans, each a buck and each served in their very own Styrofoam cup.  Want a coke?  They got those too, served in an authentic Coke can.  Draft beer is served one mason jar at a time.  Whatever combination of sides and drinks you decide on, get the ribs.  They are why you travelled to the back of beyond.

The ribs and sides come quickly.  They are wrapped in heavy foil and served on newspaper.  In the 20 years of so that I have gone to Guy and Mae's, the ribs are consistently flavorful and tender.  The meat falls off the bone - bad in a BBQ competition, but great for regular people dining.  The smoky flavor is not overwhelming, but a distinct hickory flavor is evident.  I have had better tasting ribs, but not many or often.  The sauce is typical Midwestern tomato-based, but much thinner than most others in the area.  It is served in a sealed mason jar with holes cut into the top.  The idea is to flood the ribs and surrounding foil with sauce and push the meat around in it before consuming.  I am not a great fan of the sauce, but I suspect the sauce was not intended to be the star of the meal.  The ribs are.  And the ribs definitely are.

With the rich selection of BBQ joints in the Midwest, Guy and Mae's is often forgotten.  Not because the ribs are easy to forget, but the drive is.  A full slab cost $19 and at least 2 hours of your life.  That is still a pretty good deal.

For a little history on the place, take a look at this recent KC Star article.