Archive for November 2005
November 30, 2005 - 05:10 PM
So how hard should it be to spend $50? After college it was easy. Maybe I'm out of practice, owing to having no disposable income now. Unless it's something like birthday money that I'm not allowed to use for bills or groceries. But when I do get it, I can't seem to get rid of it.
I have the rare talent of being able to walk through a mall (twice in one day this week), look at a hundred of cool consumer goods that I'd enjoy having, without being able to spend one thin dime. Not for lack of a thin dime, just the inability to find anything I want to spend the ones I have on. It's some kind of capitalist disorder, or chemical imbalance in my Consumer Lobe.
Case in point: my mother wanted to get me a new coat for my birthday. (I'm 29 again! Woohoo!) We went to the Burlington Coat Factory first (which you can tell originated in New Jersey: navigating the racks looking for a coat your size is like trying to find the entrance ramp to the northbound NJ Parkway, once you've gotten off to take your three-year-old to the bathroom. Don't bah-thah.)
The place
seems organized; they do put the little circular size indicators on the bar, with numbers on them - in the 30s, 40s, and 50s, in increments of two. And they have stock people sorting through things and "filing" coats in various places. But it's all a ruse. All I can figure is that when new coats come in, they must throw them in a big pile then slap them anywhere on the rack where there is, or isn't, space.
Oh, the leathers, pea coats, sports team jackets, and overcoats are mostly separated, but the little size markers are completely meaningless; all the sizes are jumbled together. I imagine that the cameras and one-way mirrors overlooking the floor are there so the managers can laugh at you while you look through 200 coats in a 40 foot line, trying to find just
one that's your size.
Mind you, I'm already at a disadvantage: smaller than average weight and height. When I told the saleswoman in JC Penny what size coat I need, she looked as if I asked her for a pink & green paisley oil skin coat and hat, with a peacock feather sewn into the brim. "Well, I really don't think we have anything like that..." Yeah, so I figured.
(Actually, I'd love to have a oil skin coat; I think they're cool. But you need to be a special size, and kind, of person to wear one effectively in real life. Otherwise, they only look cool in the movies. Besides, if you wear one on the east coast, people think you're carrying a sawed-off shotgun.)
So, we gave up on the coat, and decided to look for a watch. Three stores plus a visit to Costco later... nothing. I can't believe I couldn't spend money in
Costco. COSTCO, for crying out loud. I need help.
Anyway, she just gave me the money when we got home, with the admonition that "this isn't for expenses - get something fun!"
Herein started the real problem: in the past two days, I've looked at twenty stores on the internet, including techie haunts and various searches on eBay. Every time I go to buy something, my mind floods with reasons not to. Video iPod? Waaaaay cool; drool, woohoo, etc. But... too expensive, and when or where would I watch anything on it? The Nano won't do, of course, since I want the Video version even though I don't need it, but then do I need an MP3 player at all, but they're really cool, drool/woohoo/and so on...
I looked for a PDA, which I could really use. But for the money I have to spend, I can't find one I like - meaning a keyboard you can actually type on, MP3 playing capability, 802.11 wireless, hot chocolate & cookie dispenser, automatic neck massager, etc.
Even my Amazon wish list is empty. Now that's deranged.
Before anyone sends me a nastygram about how so many people have nothing and I should stop complaining and send them my 'disposable' income... I donate a huge chunk of cash to charity every year, including humanitarian aid. Send your gripe mail to
Bono.
I'm allowed to splurge on myself once a year or so. Now if I can just find something to splurge on.
November 16, 2005 - 01:37 PM
The Daily Record has posted an
interesting interview with Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe. Looks like he's going to star in next year's
December Boys, which will hopefully broaden his career.
From the interviews I've read and seen, he seems to be one of the more down-to-earth teenagers you'd meet.
[Via
Mugglenet, which I am discovering to have more stuff than I would have imagined for Potter fans.]
UPDATE (title too): Okay, I have to throw this one in as well... having scrolled down a bit on Mugglenet, I found a
humerous interview with stage/screen veteran Michael Gambon, who doesn't seem to be too into the part but enjoys himself anyway. My favorite quote:
We had a big scene in the hall, where Dumbledore speaks about the new term, in all the films. That has become a bit standard so Mike [Newell, the latest director] changed it, I now walk among the kids at the tables. I leave the lectern. It's stuff like that that kicks it up the arse a bit.
I love it when someone with that much clout says "arse" in an interview. Only in Britain... :)
November 14, 2005 - 06:22 AM
Well, these Seuss things can be annoyin', but I tho' this 'ere was kinda, well, funny - you know.
(Full titl' fer the link so yeh know ahead a'time if yeh wan' ter skip it.)
If Dr. Seuss wrote for Star Trek: The Next Generation
p.s. Yes, that was my bad attempt at a Hagrid impersonation. No, I didn't get nearly enough sleep last night.
November 9, 2005 - 08:50 AM
You may recall a while back that I mentioned an astrologist (that's -logist not -nomist) brought a
$300 million suit against NASA for crashing a probe into the Tempe 1 comet, which "interferes with my astrology work and distorts my horoscope".
Well it seems the case
has been tossed out of a Russian district court.
I still can't find anything funny to say about this... I don't think I could do it justice.
November 8, 2005 - 04:00 PM
Well, Huzzah - the House of Representatives
did something really good (check the link for more complete coverage). I may just fall over.
The House of Representatives voted 376-38 to pass HR 4128, the Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2005, which will deny federal funds for two years to any state or local government that tries to use eminent domain for economic development purposes.
Hey, local government: "legally" steal some fella's personal land to build a mall? There goes your federal economic development funds for 2 years.
I hope this bill gets all the way through whatever it needs to go through, because this needs to be law.
I covered the eminent domain problem back in July in the
karma department.
November 8, 2005 - 12:49 PM
Ah... the season is upon us! Let us sit back and enjoy the warm glow of the fire, the sound of chestnuts roasting, and the merry tide of Christmas wish lists.
The tide is coming in, so I thought it was time for a round-up of what's on for 2005, so far. Then I'll offer up my own list as well.
First post earns first mention of course, so we start with
Kirk's crew, where the favorites are sports, ponies, chocolate, and wearable things that are for the most part decidedly not brown.
Next up: Justin, standing at the wrong end of the barrel, is forced to
furnish a list including computer games, music, several things
not to get him, and five bucks. (If anyone is interested, I prefer a five pound box of money.)
Kailin
adds a musical flair, tapping heavily into the category called "Albums Jeff Has Never Heard Of"; then adds the coolest animated movie in ten years, a jazz orchestra Louis Armstrong would feel comfortable in front of, and shoes.
Last so far, Tara brings us a
delightful collection of goodies including travel to Ireland, a yummy chocolate tart, pens, and some herbs from the dark ages (I think); and reminds us that, if anyone is paying attention, her Amazon wish-list is
still there, thank you very much.
Okay! My turn... here's my list, which I will add to at my will and pleasure:
* Aforementioned box of cash
* "Business casual" clothes, since I will no longer be a shirt & tie guy as of January (woohoo!)
* CD repair gizmo that removes scratches
* Cookies of the month club (is there such a thing?)
* Prisoner of Azkaban DVD (widescreen)
* Chocolate - preferably British or Belgian
* British tea set: tea "buscuits" (cookies), scones, clotted cream, jam, shortbread, and Blueberry Bliss - that last one being a fruit infusion from the London Fruit & Herb company. (It's illegal in the UK to call that 'tea', I think.)
* iPod Nano and one of them doodads what makes it play in your car over the radio
* Some Art - a Picasso or Garfunkel
* A better ending for the Matrix trilogy (please!)
And (last but not least)
* An extra day in the week
Actually, I'd trade everything else for the extra day in the week.
Happy November!
UPDATE (that was fast): I'm adding another Larsen family reunion in Maine to my list.
UPDATE: Okay, I definitely
don't need
one of these, but
this would be just dandy!
November 7, 2005 - 05:02 PM
Wasn't sure I'd do this well, actually... 9 out of 10, not too shabby!
Thanks to
Kirk for the link.
You Passed the US Citizenship Test
|
Congratulations - you got 9 out of 10 correct!
|
November 6, 2005 - 08:01 AM
We went with my mother & dad to help them pick out their Christmas tree at a local farm. It's one of my favorite family traditions for the holidays... it's definitely been higher on the list than putting lights on the tree, but that's all in the past and another story.
Reilly told the man who runs the place that "We're getting a Chismas tee!" He got to pet the doggies, and we had a nice chat with Joncie.
And we did find a tree. :)
It's quite a beautiful farm.
(click for larger versions)
This is pretty exciting!
Even the smallest ones here are bigger than me
Catch me!
Panoramic shot of the farm
November 4, 2005 - 04:51 PM
for...
* Fridays
* Tara's art
* I got a lot of work done today
* Christmas tree shopping, even if I'm not buying
* Fall. Best time of the year.
* Free software - always something cool to try out
* The guys who built
Nucleus CMS - the software that this blog system is based on
* Our wood fireplace. May we use it this year...
* Cowboy stew (100% real Cowboy!)
* Chili that lasts through a week of lunches
* The fact that Reilly likes
this Rush, as opposed to
this one (And the fact that the former is 1st listing in a Google search for 'Rush' and the latter is the 2nd) :)
November 2, 2005 - 10:10 PM
Hehe
November 2, 2005 - 10:08 PM
Seems like a good thing to do, so...
I am grateful for:
- Maren and her diligence in bringing the spirit into our home
- My son Reilly who teaches me every day
- Having more patience with him lately
- The Internet, which connects us to so many cool things and people
- Having a broadband connection which makes it nice & speedy
- Family financial support of the blog server
- Neat technology stuff like VoIP (phone over broadband)
- Learning cool new things at work
- Opportunities at work to get my name in front of our new ownership
- Enough income to handle our needs, seemingly no matter what they are
- The miraculous ability to afford pre-school for Reilly without going into debt. I don't know where the money is coming from, but there it is.
- Cell phones for emergencies
- Getting to bed early (9pm!)
- Reading the scriptures every day, hopefully
- Our dishwasher, clothes washer & dryer
- A clean kitchen
- Listening to Rush on the way to pre-school and having Reilly say "Rush! Yay!" and "More!"
- Kailin, Justin, Jon, Julia, Zoe, and Lizzie
- My sister & friend Kathy
- Late October in West Chazy with the Tabers
'S'all for now. G'night...
November 2, 2005 - 10:21 AM
Thought I'd share this that I ran across yesterday--a
Harry Potter fan site reader submitted her h'ween decor in her hallway: the
Portrait of Mrs. Black from Grimmauld place - screaming and all. Nicely done. :)
