New video toys!
So I had a DVD recorder…. And we got the camcorder for Christmas…. So the next step, naturally, was to get a video capture system!! I went out last night to get the Pinnacle Studio Deluxe capture device and DVD/video authoring software! So now I can port all of the video I take with the camcorder, and put it on DVD!
But the problem with video like that is that it takes up a LOT of hard drive space. Easy enough to solve though. I found a great deal on a 160 GB hard drive! It’s an ATA/100 drive (if you happen to care), so with the right interface it’s very very fast. Fortunately, this great deal happened to include a free interface card ($50 value). I went to Best Buy and got the $180 card with the free $50 interface card, with one $70 rebate and one $20 rebate. So $230 worth for $90!!
Also Office Max is running some specials (including the same hard drive for $80, but without the free interface card). I got a 100-pack of blank CD-R for $20 — with a $20 rebate! So, after rebates, free. I also got a 50 pack of slim jewel cases for the CDs, also free after rebates! What a good shopper I am! 
Here’s my secret: TechBargains.com.
So now I’m looking forward to making some real DVDs. The studio software lets you create all the animated, nested, etc. menus you want, so I can literally make DVDs just like the studios make. Very cool.