While catching up on Secret Diary of a Call Girl, and inspired by Engadget’s periodic Screen Grabs column, a few bits of tech caught my eye last night. Season 2 is just getting started (in the US, anyway), and the first thing that struck me is the opening sequence resembling the (former?) Zune desktop software - colors and swirls. Episode 2 also pretty prominently features a Nokia phone and a Macbook Air.

TiVo programmer Ryan Rose has hacked his washing machine to send text message notifications over Twitter when his clothes are done. He did this for a practical reason, to prevent forgetting about his laundry which might sit in the damp washer and mildew. You can follow the washing machine’s activity on Twitter (412 people, including myself, already do) to be instantly informed when Mr. Rose’s laundry is done. Why would you want to? More on that later… Here’s video of “PiMPY” in action:

A periodic roundup of relevant news… from our other blogs:

SageTV HD200 HD Theater GeekTonic Review
After putting the HD200 through the paces for about a month at the GeekTonic House, it’s finally time to share how the new SageTV HD200 performs compared to the earlier SageTV HD100 and how it stacks up as a HTPC extender and Stand-Alone Media Player.