Netflix recommends I watch ZERO 258 movies

I don't know if it's the new design of the Netflix Web site, but all suggestions have disappeared. I used to have about 200, because I've rated over 2000 titles. Maybe they've been reset. When I rated the last movie I returned, the number jumped to ten.

***UPDATED 3/30/08 I just noticed, all my Netflix suggestions are back!

VHS all gone

I found a home for the remainder of my used VHS tapes, via the Greensboro Freecycle Network (TM). Freecycling is like a Craigslist for household discards that are otherwise headed for the landfill, the dump, etc. It is stuff that might not be worth the trouble to buy or sell, but someone out there would take it off your hands for free. Like small amounts of scrap, broken appliances, obsolete technology, clothing, etc. You can request what you need, or offer what you have. Then folks reply if they have it or want it. You never know what a stranger might value that you find worthless. I think it's great that my tapes didn't end up in the trash.

Freecycling reminds me of a good documentary I got from Netflix: The Gleaners and I. Gleaning, which is picking up other peoples' castoffs and leftovers, or recycling, is one way for the poor to get what they need at the same time we protect the environment from waste. We should make more gleaning opportunities available in America.

In Leviticus 19:9 and 10, God commands us "When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God."

Peerflix is shutting down

CNET News.com reports that "The DVD swapping service Peerflix is closing, according to an e-mail sent to users this evening. The service enabled its members to request DVDs from other members. It let users print prepaid fold-it-yourself mailing containers on 8x11-inch paper, and charged a fee for each swap."

This doesn't surprise me a bit. If you don't want to keep the movie, but just watch it, then swapping movies doesn't make sense when you can rent them so much faster and easier from Netflix, and no one can compete with the selection Netflix has.

However, I am sad whenever an entrepreneur fails.

Every Movie Available From Netflix On Demand

Jon Dyer’s Blog has a list of Every Movie Available From Netflix On Demand which is very, very handy. It represents alot of work on the part of Jon Dyer. I hope he can keep it updated, but Netflix should make such a list available or at least make it possible to search for movies according to whether they are available on demand.

via Hacking Netflix

Netflix apparel turns heads

I get interesting reactions when I wear this Netflix fleece top I bought on eBay. I'm the only one I've ever seen wearing Netflix-branded clothing in public in Greensboro. Without exception, people assume I work for Netflix. The sales associate at Best Buy offered me a deal on a TV if I could get him free Netflix. I say no, I don't work for Netflix, but I tell them about my blog.

I wish Netflix would sell this stuff directly to consumers. Why don't they?

Video tapes saga

I found a recipient for many of my used videotapes. A friend of mine took all my Babylon 5 episodes and a few of the movies.