hi-tech toys for christmas

Over the last few years I have been feeling fairly satisfied with the amount of *things* that we have in our home. We go through regular purgings every so often, and it seems to do the trick when it comes to keeping a minimum of junk in the home. While I haven't bought into the HDTV, flat panel, iPod fads yet, I must admit that my latest hobby (underground exploration) has got me eyeing some new hi-tech toys that would prove very useful.

Over at PPP, there was an opportunity to review a company called OpticsPlanet. While I don't feel like asking for a new pair of sunglasses this Christmas, some of their night vision and thermal imaging optics are really cool looking, particularly the hands-free night vision cameras. I can imagine strapping one of these things onto my head for my escapades in the darkness. It beats having to stop every so often to try and snap photos, and when I tried to use my digital camera to grab some video, it didn't work so well. Since the only light down there was coming from my flashlight, and the flashlight and camera weren't inline or connected in any way, the video capture came out dark and jumpy.

My only real concern is if I were to smack my head on some rocks I don't know how durable these cameras are, and I'd hate to spend several hundred (or up to several thousand) dollars on a high-tech camera and then break it while I'm crawling on my stomach through a tunnel. So I'll have to really dig through their site to narrow it down to the truly heavy duty products. I also noticed that they sell hand-held GPS units, which I've been looking at for some time now. I'm sure would help with finding remote caves, but I doubt I'd be able to pick up a signal once I'm beneath the earth, under several hundred feet of solid rock.

They offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee and free shipping on orders over $29.95. The sites easy to navigate, although many of the sub-pages are extremely busy with tons of links scattered throughout every paragraph to other sub-pages. It makes the descriptions kind-of hard to read, so I just skip down to the pictures below. If you know someone into caving or any type of night-time exploration and you are feeling hard-pressed on finding a gift that will truly "wow" them, check out these night vision scopes and cameras. Try to get one that can fit over (or under) their caving helmet. I'm going to do some more research and add one to my Christmas list, along with some cheaper items from the web that I feel would be useful in cave exploring like glow-in-the-dark chaulk!

music industry strikes back at deserters

Radiohead and Prince made lots of headlines over the last few months for their non-traditional album sales tactics. In the case of Prince, he offered his album for free with a newspaper subscription. He got a large payment from that newspaper instead of getting payment directly from fans. He also gave away a large number of copies with tickets to his concerts. As for Radiohead, you'd have to be living in a vacuum to have not heard their approach - selling their album via their website, essentially cutting out the middle-man (their record label). The idea of a band selling their own album wasn't groundbreaking, but allowing fans to name their own price caused quite a stir.

Both Radiohead and Prince received praise and criticism from music industry professionals, but it was fairly apparent that the big labels were not happy about them rocking the boat. So now they are striking back...

The BBC just reported that Prince and Radiohead are not eligible to be considered for the Brit Music Awards this year due to their sales tactics. Talk about sore losers. There is little doubt in my mind that the Brit Awards is just another extension of the major labels and their attempt at controlling the media and sales charts, and trying to force bands out of the mix because they don't adhere to antiquated sales-based eligibility rules sounds like sour grapes to me.

Since when did album sales have anything to do with being a stellar musician?

florida is calling to us

The winter weather has finally arrived, and although lows are only in the low 50s (for the most part), we are definitely feeling chilled to the bone. Perhaps I am no longer accustomed to the cold, like I was when we lived in Colorado and other colder climates. I remember going out in t-shirts when the weather was in the 50s and 60s, but now I feel like I have to wear a coat and cat. Either that, or this is just one of those effects that takes hold as you get older. Or maybe I'm not getting enough iron in my diet. LOL.

None-the-less, I am excited because our trip to Florida in January is only a little more than a month away. We've got everything scheduled and we are ready to go - all we'll need to do is pack our bags, drop off the dog at the kennel, and drive to the airport. We've got our airfare, hotel, travel insurance, Disney World park hopper tickets, rental car reservation - the whole kit and caboodle.

Although I used to enjoy taking unplanned trips, we find that it doesn't work out as great when traveling with young children. Their eating and sleeping schedules aren't as flexible. While we adults might get a little cranky waiting to eat lunch until 3 pm on any given day, the kids will get absolutely unruly. So we plan every trip in detail these days, and find that things go pretty smooth. It also allows me to use some of the free nights that I earn through various hotel frequent travel programs - most won't allow you to just drop in and use a free night. Either that, or they only have a limited number of free nights available for any given date, so if you wait until the last minute, those free rooms might be all booked up.

I'm wondering if this chilly winter weather has more to do with me, or if it a nationwide thing having to do with global warming in some way. Perhaps it is just more humid than usual for this time of the year, but I don't think that is the case, since my hands are feeling dry and I have noticed that lots of the kids in the area are getting those dry, chapped lips and runny noses.

None-the-less, we will hopefully be basking in some warmer weather in about six weeks.

depp and burton are at it again

Who wouldn't enjoy a Tim Burton movie about a cryptic barber with a lust for blood and revenge? Throw Johnny Depp into the mix, and you're almost guaranteed a success. I have to admit that I have always been a big fan of the Burton/Depp combination, particularly when complimented with a soundtrack by Danny Elfman of Oingo Boingo fame. It's like an award-winning recipe with all the right ingredients.

From early films like Edward Scissorhands and his non-Burton appearances in the Nightmare on Elm Street horror flicks, Depp's been around for quite some time now, and amazingly he never seems to age. Sure, he had more of a baby face when he was playing the bad boy on 21 Jump Street but you'd never guess that almost thirty years has passed. Must have been that Hollywood lifestyle, or maybe the fact that he now lives in France.

One of my favorite Depp scenes has to be his role in Freddy's Dead where he returns as a cameo in one of those "This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?" public service skits that we used to see on TV so often, where someone cracks a couple of eggs open onto a hot frying pan. But in this scene, Freddy pops in, smacks him in the face with the frying pan, and says, "What are you on? Looks like a frying pan and some eggs to me." At least that's how I remember it - it has been a long time. But it was so uncharacteristic to see Depp allow himself to be the butt of a joke that it was hilarious.

Another favorite Depp moment was from Once Upon a Time in Mexico, (a Robert Rodriguez film - another *great* director) where he plays special agent Sands of the FBI, although he's about as crooked as they come when it comes to government agents. His interactions with the "chicklet boy" are just hilarious. I also loved the scene where he's actually wearing a shirt that has "FBI" in really big letters on the front. Those FBI shirts have become popular over the least few years, but the idea of an actual FBI agent wearing one in public, while working undercover, was ingenious. It also featured the only blind shooting standoff I've ever seen in a movie. Classic.

And Depp has been extremely flexible since that time, unlike so many Hollywood actors who seem to be only be able to play the same role across different movies. There have only been a few movies starring Depp that I didn't appreciate. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was one of them. Although it developed something of a cult following, I just couldn't get into his character or the plot. The other film that I didn't enjoy was the Secret Window. I don't like movies that spend so much time developing the plot, and then just cop-out at the end with the old insanity excuse. It was like that movie Falling Down. It had such great momentum going and was making such a bold statement, and then they had to go an ruin it by making him crazy and suicidal at the end.

At first, I was skeptical about Depp's role as Willy Wonka, too. The original was one of those classic films that we cringe at the idea of it being remade in any way. But Burton managed to put his own spin on it, and managed to allow it to stand on its own two feet, quite separate from the original. We went to see Sleepy Hollow (another Depp/Burton/Elfman combo) with my parents, and they didn't enjoy it, but we loved it. We're into darker films, though, and I find that I dig just about anything with Christoper Walken in it. Depp did an awesome job as Ichabod Crane, even if he didn't match the stereotypical tall and lanky schoolmaster that had been burned into my mind as a child watching Disney's cartoon version of the famous story.

And of course, what discussion of Depp's career would be complete without mention of the Pirates of the Carribbean trilogy, perhaps Depp's best performances to date?

It's hard to pick a favorite Depp role, as he's been very good at most of what he has done over the years. Sweeney Todd should be fun, and it will be interesting to see Burton's quirky approach at such a dark and sinister film. Burton has a strength for taking evil subject matter and making it more comical and acceptable. You can visit the official Sweeney Todd movie site or visit Sweeney Todd on MySpace for more info.

It will also be interesting to hear Johnny Depp attempt to sing, as I have heard that it is something of a musical!

darn you, michael moore

You've done it again - you've made me feel like hating the country that I live in. Last night we watched Michael Moore's latest documentary, entitled Sicko, and I walked away feeling much the same way I had felt after watching several of his other films...

"We should move to Canada," I said to my wife as we settled into bed. It was the same thing I had said after seeing Bowling For Columbine. Only this time, I added, "Or France."

It's difficult to say how much of his films are based on fact and how much have been embellished. But the fact that his films appeal to so many disenchanted Americans says something about the state of our country. Those who shoot down his films and get so angry about his inferences do little to provide any sort of proof that Moore is incorrect. The news media obviously isn't going to rally behind any of his anti-establishment causes, as the media is run by the establishment and totally self-serving...or government-serving. Then again, isn't it all the same machine?

The French have an interesting attitude towards government. Although revolt is never taken lightly, it's also no kamikaze act. French citizens know that they can assemble and spread peaceful dissension without being arrested as "terrorists". We no longer enjoy the same freedoms. Even labor strikes could be seen as "threats to the American economy" and therefore acts of terrorism under our current U.S. regime...

It's difficult to swallow the "United" part of "United States" anymore. How can anyone say that we are united when we fight so much amongst ourselves, when there is such a division of classes?

Moore rests most of the blame on our government, but I suspect that there are other factors at work in this country. Those enjoying great prosperity aren't going to give up their wealth and superiority without a fight. And the rest of us are all to blame for standing by and letting things deteriorate as badly as they have.

The media tries to say that all of Moore's films are propaganda with little truth behind them, and yet many of the fact stated are available from direct sources, such as the Human Development Reports issued by the United Nations. Nobody can argue when Moore questions why the supposed "best country in the world" (the United States) ranks 12th, below counties like Sweden, Australia, France and Canada. Ah, but we're Americans. We don't need (or trust) the United Nations, right? That's what our president would have you believe.

Simply bury your head in the sand and ignore anyone who doesn't agree with you, even if it means cutting off the rest of the world. Just because we have our own continent (which we reluctantly share with Canada, Mexico and the South Americans) doesn't mean that we are "an island."

It really makes me sick to see such statistics, but by looking around we know them to be true. Health insurance is a nightmare in the United States. Our citizens are in horrible health. Our lifestyles contribute to our bad health, and our crappy insurance (or lack-thereof) only compound it. It's just difficult to determine what we can do about it. Short of a revolution, what good are our phone-calls and letters to congressmen going to do when compared with the millions and millions being placed in their campaign funds by corporations? The people need to take back control of their government.

In short, we need somebody like Tony Benn to run for U.S. president!
;)

kids and bar stools don't mix

The other day, we went out to eat with the kids and had a bit of a problem. All of the tables were taken, and instead of just allowing us to wait ,they wanted to seat us at one of those fancy high tables with bar stools. I just had to laugh. "This isn't going to work," I told the hostess, and she gave me this look like I had just grown a third eye. "You're going to ave to wait, then," she told me. "That's fine," I replied.

My kids have enough of a problem staying on their seats when the are sitting on regular chairs, much less tall stools. I can't seem to understand why my daughter can't sit straight on the chair. You'd think that our chairs were lopsided with the way she always ends up hanging off the edge of the seat. Sometimes she leans too far and falls on the floor. You would think that she had learned her lesson by now, but not my kids. They sometimes seem incapable of learning from mistakes. As if gravity won't be around next time to pull her towards the ground so that she smacks her chin on the edge of the table again, and falls to the floor.

None-the-less, the moral of this story is that it is better to wait for safe seating than to be seated quicker and risk having to take your kids to the emergency room.

pushing the upgrade

I've now been running my custom built PC for over a year. That was $300 well spent! I was a little leery about some of the parts that I put into it, but for the most part I have had very few problems. My heatsink fan broke when I went to install it, but aside from that replacement, all of the bargain brand parts have functioned flawlessly. One year down!

It used to be that you had to buy the top brands for computer memory. It used to be that you got what you paid for. But not so much anymore. Contrary to what my salesman said to me when I was selecting parts for my last custom built PC, my "no name" generic RAM has been functioning just fine. I didn't have to buy the top brand memory available to get reliable performance, just as I didn't have to buy authentic Dell Memory when I upgraded my sister's Dell PC. None of the errors or memory failures that he had warned me about have occurred.

It reminds me of my very first PC purchase. The salesman at the local Comp USA had the nerve to tell me that about 50% of the Packard Bell computers that they sold don't work. This was his attempt at getting me to pay another $500 for the more expensive brands. So I asked him why a computer store would be selling a product that failed 50% of the time. He didn't have an answer to that one.

Sometimes I am amazed at the underhanded sales tactics that people use to try and force us into upgrades.

go for the chiseled ring

I got a compliment a few days ago on my wedding ring. "This old thing?" I felt like asking, but the truth is that my ring still sparkles as much as it did on the day we were married. It's pretty surprising, as I haven't ever had it professionally cleaned, and I never take it off to do any type of work. From housework to yardwork and everything in-between, my ring stays on. I'm one of those people whose finger has a permanent dent around it because the ring has become a permanent fixture. I'm not one of those loser husbands who never wears his ring because it is "uncomfortable" or because he feels like a wedding ring isn't "manly" enough. Bah!

So why does my ring still look good? I'm not really sure. Most wedding bands tend to get dull over time, either from a lack of cleaning or just because metallic finishes wear over time. Mine doesn't have any jewels encrusted in it to enhance the shine. It's just got a pattern etched into it, almost like it was chiseled into it. Then on the flat parts, it has a brushed finish. So the etched parts always seem to sparkle through the brushed finish. My wife and I are not fans of yellow gold, so we opted for white gold. I can't complain after our 10+ years of marriage.

So, word to the wise: If you want your wedding ring to still look nice and shiny after a decade or more, get yourself one with a brushed finish and chiseled patterns in it. Or if you're too "manly" and you want your ring to get dull and less noticeable over time, don't. But if you're that type of guy, you probably won't wear it anyway, so who cares?

trolley of the doomed

Here it is: the trolley of the doomed!



I knew I had seen this thing before. It was part of the "Ghost and Gravestones" tour offered in Savannah. As it turns out, the tour is run by a national tour company called Trusted Tours and Attractions. The tour includes tales of grisly crimes, ghosts and other paranormal phenomena. I've never actually been to Savannah before, but I had heard of these doom trolleys from a friend. It sounds like a lot of fun, and the ghost tour would give me the opportunity to feed my interest in the macabre, while brushing up on local history at the same time. Several historic "haunted" houses are included on the tour, as well as graveyards and the infamous Sorrel Weed House that was featured on Ghosthunters.

If you sign up for the Trusted Tours and Attractions newsletter, you'll be entered into a drawing for four free tickets and may be able to take the tour for free.

Savannah is sometimes referred to as America's "most haunted" city. I've also heard this designation applied to many other cities before though, like New Orleans and even Eureka Springs. Savannah has also been referred to as the "Hostess City of the South" for its notorious Southern charm and hospitality. It is chock full of architectural history, and has one of the largest National Historic Landmark Districts in the country.

Sounds like a fun time to me.

packaging the paranormal

I've been following a story about the Eureka Springs Underground pretty closely, that states that the mayor has been talking of opening up the area to tourists. It sounds rather exciting, and is something that should attract an entirely new demographic to town.

While the city does have ghost tours, a haunted house and several haunted historic hotels, the underground is a more factual phenomenon that wouldn't require any embellishment or suspension of disbelief. And it would compliment our haunted offerings nicely. Now the city just needs to package it accordingly. Don't just charge people for a tour - charge them for an experience! There are other cities that do this same exact thing very well. They include history, humor, tales of the paranormal, and more, to create an all-round kooky but factual experience for their visitors. The Seattle Underground tours come to mind, as do the ghost tours in Savannah. In fact, I can't remember which one it was, but one of these cities even has a special trolley that is painted up black just for the ghost tours. I'll have to do some digging to see which one it was...

why i don't like winzip anymore

Lately, a friend of mine had me download a rather large file from his web server. He's a musician and his latest album is nearing completion. He wanted me to hear it and send him my thoughts before he presses it. Unfortunately, after waiting for the 500 Mb download, I discovered that I couldn't access any of it. It was packaged in a ZIP file. I could see the contents - they were WAV files, as expected. But for some reason, when I double clicked on them, nothing happened. I tried to copy them out of the zipped folder onto my desktop, but nothing happened.

After a bit of frustration, I discovered that he had used a recent version of WinZip to compress the files. I am no stranger to WinZip - I've been using it for a very long time. However, I quit paying for it when Microsoft decided to include built-in zip file functionality with Windows. After all, why pay for software that comes as part of the OS?

WinZip is fighting back, though. As this file demonstrates, they are using some sort of proprietary encryption in their zipped files so that you can only open them using WinZip. What a joke. I can't stand it when companies pull these kind of tactics. I understand that they are trying to keep their software alive, but let's face it. Compressed ZIP utilities are now a dime a dozen, and I see no reason why WinZip is any better than most of the competition, short of their established namesake. I'm sure that I would be throwing a hissy fit if Microsoft went and incorporated my technology in their operating system, but I would figure out a way to bring more value to it to retain my edge over the marketplace.

Making it proprietary doesn't add value in my book.

dissing the digital

The other day, I discovered that my Olympus digital camera was taking fuzzy photos. It almost looked like a haze filter had been applied to a number of photos I had taken. I didn't really notice it while I was taking them, but it was obvious when I downloaded them to my PC. Aggravated, I discovered that my son had gotten his paws on the camera at some point, when his paws weren't exactly clean. Why did he feel the need to touch the actual lens of the camera? Who knows why kids do the things they do. All I know is that now I have a camera with a filthy lens.

I've tried wiping it clean with special lens cleaners, which seemed to have gotten the majority of the crud off of the middle of the lens, but the edges are impossible to clean, so I guess I'll just have to live with slight haze around the very edge of my photos.

Or I could just get a new camera. I've been unimpressed with my digital Olympus since I bought it, so it sure wouldn't bother me to be carrying around something new, and to avoid potential future hassles with Olympus tech support. My specific model is an SP-320. It could have been a decent package for the price - 7 megapixel, near-SLR adjustments, and it's a good size - not too large and not too small. I have used it indoors and outdoors, mostly while hiking or sightseeing, and for the occasional family gathering. It takes great close-up skin tone shots. But it has been a problem since day one. For one thing, low light shots are nearly impossible to get right, even with all of the built-in settings and manual exposure adjustments. The video capture feature is convenient, but if you want to use the high quality setting, it can only capture 20 seconds of video at a time - lame! When I bought a 1Gb memory card for the camera, it rendered the card useless after about a month. I can't even use it anymore. The Olympus Master software is buggy as hell, too. You're better off just connecting the camera to the PC as a USB storage device driver.

I sent in the camera and the memory to Olympus for repair, and they supposedly replaced the main circuit board in the camera, but they just sent the bogus memory card right back to me, unrepaired. I was steamed. When I called them about it, they apologized and said they would ship out the replacement memory card right away. A few weeks later, I received an email stating that my replacement card was on back order. I called and they offered me a reconditioned 1Gb card instead. I said "no thanks." I originally bought it new, so I want a new replacement with full warranty. Then they offered two new 512Mb cards instead. I said okay. They called me the next day and said that they found some 1Gb cards and were sending me one. It arrived a week later, but it was a reconditioned card. I should have called them back and complained, but I got tired of dealing with it. I should probably sell the whole kit and caboodle before it breaks again.

So at some point in the near future, I'm going to go ahead and get myself a digital SLR. Enough with this low budget approach. If you want stellar pictures, you need a stellar camera. And I will avoid Olympus like the plague. I'll be looking at something like the digital SLR Nikon cameras which have a better reputation. I'm sure that any digital camera is going to have its occasional defect or odd problem, but at least with companies like Canon or Nikon I'll know that I can get decent customer service.

jealous of travel bloggers

Sometimes I think I would enjoy being a travel blogger, lugging my laptop with me on planes, trains and automobiles, complaining about jetleg and food poisoning, pretending that I understand the culture of some town that I've only been visiting for a day or two. It sounds glamorous. It sounds like fun. It sounds like it would get old after a while, though.

Now I'm no travelpro, but I've had my fair share of auto excursions thanks to my last session of corporate employment. I didn't really like it, but primarily what I didn't like was the fact that I was traveling alone. Had my wife been with me, things would have been very different. Instead of zoning off in front of the hotel television, watching cable channels that I didn't get at home until I dozed off into the lair of the sandman, I could have been checking out the town and hanging out with my better half.

Nowadays, we've got the kids, though. And I'm not sure how travel bloggers that are parents manage to survive that balancing act. During the summer, the kids are out of school, so there are none of those scheduling conflicts to worry about, but I know how frustrated kids get when they've been in the car for long periods of time. Heck, even adults suffer from "cabin fever" while driving long trips, so it's only natural that a child would act more extreme.

And then there is sibling rivalry - something that scares me to death while on road trips. I remember how it was from when I was a kid, stuck in the back of the station wagon, fighting over who got to sit in the "big seat" by themselves, and who had to share the other one. I remember the smell, that feeling of one's hair being stuck to one's forehead and the cramped sensation in my neck and shoulders when I awoke from sleeping in the car. I remember that itchy synthetic carpet fuzz that would stick to your skin if you slept on it. I remember watching the powerlines dipping up and down, up and down, as we flew past them.

None of those exotic, high style "jet-setting" scenes come into play when you're traveling with children. So as much as I think I'd like to become a travel blogger, I can't see it happening in the near future. We'll just have to wait until the kids are a little older.

post number 503

Wow - my 500th post came and went so fast that I didn't even notice. I suppose that I should celebrate in some way, or attempt to wax poetic about how things have changed since I first started this blog. But the truth is that I haven't changed by attitude towards blogging all that much. While I am definitely more accustomed to it, I'm still not as excited about it. I don't buy the rock-star mentality that the "a-list" bloggers try to carry, and I still feel like so much of the blogosphere is a joke.

But who am I to complain, right? My blog isn't groundbreaking. If anything, I use it more as a soapbox than a place to interact with online readers. Is that so bad? Some people make art for therapy and others do it for fame and glory. For me, blogging is the same way - I do it for therapy, and to make an occasional quick buck here or there when I can do it without compromising my values or my integrity.

The paid blogging industry has changed quite a bit. New companies have come and gone. New ideas have appeared, some without notice. I've been fooled by a few of them, but for the most part everything has been self-explanatory and typical. I've been lazy about trackbacks and commenting on others blogs, but it's hard to think of longevity when it comes to a third party hosted blog. I've got a new blog that I am going to launch soon, this time on my own domain. We'll see how that goes.

reminder - artwalk in two weeks

This is a friendly reminder that the St. Augustine Artwalk starts in only two weeks, and then occurs the first weekend of the month after that. We're going to be heading to Orlando in January and may try to take a detour East to St. Augustine, America's oldest city, on the way down to Disney World. St. Augustine is an awesome little town, thick in history and bathing in beautiful beaches and winter sun. My brother checked it out when he was stationed near Jacksonville and had nothing but good things to say about the town. If you're anywhere near the vicinity, or simply looking for something culturally stimulating to do, or if (like us) you want to get away from the cold and the snow for a week or two, you should check it out.

The First Friday Weekend Art Walk is absolutely free. There is no admission cost and the trolley even offers complimentary transportation to most of the galleries.

While you're there be sure to also check out the Castillo de San Marcos, an original Spanish fort built in 1695. The city also offers ghost tours to some of the most haunted establishments in town, including the Spanish Military Hospital, Old Drug Store and Old Jail. Or if you're feeling a bit more "touristy", there's always the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum.

dangerous hobbies

When we become parents, is it our responsibility to avoid all potentially dangerous activities, to ensure that our children will have us around? Are we supposed to live in a theoretical protective bubble and give up all adrenaline junkie desires or is it okay for a parent to still take a risk here or there?

In my case, this is a dilemma that I run into quite frequently. I debate whether I should still be skateboarding at my age, and I justify my safety with a helmet and kneepads. The chances of me getting critically injured skateboarding are pretty slim, but my health insurance is crappy so that gives me yet another reason to quit.

My latest interest has been in urban exploration, something that can be considerably dangerous. It's easy for one to say that he is going to participate in urban exploration, but that he'll be sure to "play it safe". But how is that possible? Urban exploration usually involves underground and off limits areas of industrial decay. These are areas that don't see much foot traffic because the general public either knows better than to visit or doesn't know that it exists.

So should I feel guilty for being fascinated with this type of exploration? Is it wrong to put myself into harms way when I have children? In all honesty, I feel that I have balanced my chances of survival by removing other potentially dangerous activities - like driving a car. I hardly ever drive anymore, and it was a conscious decision. I've been in several car accidents in my day, and barely avoided several more. I would suspect that my chances of being injured in a car accident are far greater than exploring some abandoned building.

Ever since I was a kid, I've been interested in being an explorer. I used to venture beneath the docks when the water levels were low, hunting for washed up treasures in the shadows. I crafted my own helmet lights, safety pads and tunnel periscopes using old flashlights, duct tape, cut up cardboard and some of my mother's old makeup mirrors. The fantasy lasted a short while. But as the teacher from Truman professes to the young explorer-to-be, I was always instructed that there are "no places left to explore." So I grew up, and assumed that my exploration days were over.

But I was wrong. There are whole new worlds to explore if you dare to enter them, and for the careful father with a hint of midlife crisis emerging, I get to play Indian Jones and still feel cool for a little while. Of course, I'll leave the bungee jumping and skydiving to those without dependents.

the high cost of chameleon-like behavior

I have a good friend who has this knack for changing his whole persona when he starts hanging out with a new group of friends. It might be that he got a new job and the people he works with dress differently, so he gets himself a new wardrobe to fit in. Or perhaps it is a new girl he has started dating, and he suddenly starts to profess that he shares many of her same beliefs in politics and religion. You know the types - I call it the chameleon personality.

It would be easy for me to try and say that this guy is a lemming or a follower, and that he needs to start thinking for himself. But it wouldn't be very nice, and the truth is that this guy is just too nice. He is very sociable - perhaps too friendly. And even if you call him on his sudden changes, he claims that this is how he has felt all along. Forget the fact that we've been friends for a very long time and he's never mentioned it before.

Aside from my concerns of him changing who he is underneath the new wardrobe and facade, there isn't too much to worry about. In most cases, it is a phase that he passes through and then comes back to being his "regular" self - particularly when he changes his base of friends or his girlfriend again. One thing that does concern me though is that, like so many of us, he is financially challenged and these lifestyle changes certainly don't help.

For example, he got a new job in retail not too long ago, and felt the need to get out and buy himself an entirely new wardrobe consisting of $300 shoes, silk shirts and a D&G watch. Forget the fact that this sales job didn't pay much more than $10 an hour. I can understand wanting to look nice in your new job position, but for the money he spent on his new shoes I could have gotten myself several new wardrobes that would have fit the bill. It's just a shame that so many of these types of people also happen to be the ones who can't really afford the frequent change in appearance.

Perhaps the hardest part for me is deciding what to say to him about this behavior. I find it rather ridiculous and although I've grown accustomed to it, I don't like having to re-orient myself to his latest beliefs and approach to life. He's still a good friend and I think we still connect underneath all of the changes, but I occasionally get annoyed when he tries to push his new agenda in my direction in any way. But what's a friend to do?

Amazon's "Kindle" - screen burn-out or sell-out?

The BBC recently reported that Amazon's new e-book reading device called Kindle has just sold out. It was introduced only a few days ago with lots of excitement from the tech gadget community.

Personally, I think it is a joke. Here are my top three reasons why...

1) It can't read PDF files. Guess what the most common file format for e-books is? You guessed it - PDF.

2) It charges you to read blogs online and to add your own e-books to the device - things that you can do for free on your laptop.

3) Screen apathy. We spend enough time behind a screen. Who wants to read books from behind a screen, too? As it is, many e-book readers find the need to print them off rather than reading them online from their PC. What makes Kindle any different?

While I can understand the concept behind having a device that can store thousands of books in one hand-held device, I doubt that most owners will use it for much more than quick referencing. It would be convenient to have thousands of book details available in a search friendly format right at your fingertips, but doesn't mobile access to the web already offer that?

freeze it contest!

I normally don't get sucked into these types of things, but in this case it would benefit my grandmother so I'm relaxing my guard a bit. The makers of Freeze It Gel are sponsoring a contest in which one blogger can win a year's supply of their muscle relief gel. We're supposed to tell the story of someone who can use the muscle and joint pain relief that their product offers. In my case, I may have an occasional sore muscle from my infrequent outdoor adventures, but I'll survive. My grandmother, on the other hand, suffers greatly from severe arthritis in her wrists and knuckles and I would love to give her the gift of happy hands.


My grandmother has been through so much tragedy already that she truly deserves to have a more comfortable and healthy time at this point in her life. When she was young, she was engaged to a young military pilot. They were in love and the future looked promising. Unfortunately, he died in an plane crash before they were wed. Her eyes still water when she speaks of him today, which isn't very often. But she does still have his military "wings" pin.

Fortunately, she met my grandfather several years later and the two of them fell in love, married and had four children. Many years later, when she was enjoying her initial years as a grandmother, she discovered a lump in her breast. She was diagnosed with breast cancer, and had to have a mastectomy. All of the cancer was removed and she lived for another twenty years with excellent health. Then she began to have heart problems and her cardiologist stated that she would have to have surgery. Although the surgery was unavoidable, we were all extremely concerned at the idea of an eighty year old woman surviving open heart surgery. She was sore and weak for a long time after the surgery, but eventually regained her mobility and strength.

Then in 2004, my grandfather started having trouble breathing. He was coughing all of the time, and he eventually was placed on an oxygen tank. Although he had quit smoking thirty years before, the twenty plus years of smoking prior to that had already taken its toll on his lungs. His condition worsened almost overnight. In a matter of several weeks he had lost thirty percent of his body weight and was placed in hospice. We were there at the very end and it was a horrible sight. It is horrible to see a person die from smoking - my grandfather couldn't breathe, he couldn't speak, he was severely dosed with morphine. He was in so much pain. It was as if he was drowning but he wasn't underwater. It was horrible to see my grandmother have to experience that after all she had already been through.

My grandmother is tired. She wishes that she could be with my grandfather in heaven. Early stages of Alzheimer's seem to be setting in. Her short term memory isn't so great, and she suffers from severe arthritis in her knuckles and wrists. Like so many people her age, she takes a candy bowl's worth of pills each day, but requires the assistance of my mother to make sure that she is taking them when she needs to. In fact, she depends on my mother for much of her mobility, as she was in two car accidents since my grandfather passed away and can no longer drive (my grandfather always did the driving).

It pains me to see her suffering so badly from arthritis and joint pain. She doesn't deserve this. She has been through so much pain already, and although she has become a bit weary with old age, she is still the sweetest person I have ever known. She's one of the few people in my life who ever understood the true meaning of unconditional love, and always has a fresh supply. She's also one of the strongest individuals I have ever met, having experienced the loss of one fiance and one husband, and having survived breast cancer and open heart surgery. She is one of two sisters left from a family of eleven children. She is truly amazing. I often wonder how my disposition would have changed had I suffered like she has. I'd rather not think about it though, as I already have a somewhat negative assessment of life and I'm only in my thirties.

Perhaps I'll change my own disposition a bit if this little essay wins her a year's supply of Freeze It pain relief gel and it provides her with some comfort in these golden years.

do you trust your stocks?

Lately, I've become a bit disgusted with the state of the stock market, and not only because it has been crashing. I hate to sound like a fatalist, but I often wonder what would happen in the case of a total stock market crash. Seeing as I am still relatively young, much of my 401k is invested in stock - the risky but most lucrative option for investments.

The problem is that things aren't looking so swell with the U.S. economy, and while we've been waiting for some sort of saving development or invention to rescue the country from falling apart, I'm not so sure that it is going to happen. It seems as though we're headed for a precipice and we're just going to have to jump and start over again to get things back to normal.

We need a new president (obviously). We need a more restricted government that follows the voice of the people - not big business. We need free media with an independent voice - not the watered down pap we are served with on a daily basis from television and radio. And while I am waiting for all of this to happen, I can't help but wonder how safe my money would be in stocks...or in any type of invisible investment. If the stock market crashes, my savings are worth zilch. Many of the top investors suggest investing in items like gold and silver, which isn't such a bad idea...but where do you store the stuff and do you trust that storage in the case of massive unrest?

So I've been contemplating buying some land instead. Seeing as I am young, my 401k will be taxed heavily if I withdraw it today, but what might I lose if I leave it in? Even the entire market doesn't crash, there's no guarantee that it's going to go up in value. Whereas if I put my money in a piece of land, even if the land value plummets I still have a piece of land that I can live on and wait with guns loaded for the next apocalypse.

Plus, the land that I buy today has a much better chance of increasing in value (thereby making it untouchable twenty years from now).

shopping cart software - just do it

Here's another example of something not worth trying on your own - shopping cart software. I've had several clients over the years who were interested in their own online ordering and payment processing system, but in most cases I've steered them in the direction of third party solutions. Why? Simple - because there is no sense in trying to reinvent the wheel. Unless their application of online ordering is so unique and specialized that an existing solution isn't available (which is extremely unlikely), it just isn't worth the time and effort to program something from scratch.

Programming is expensive. Hourly rates generally start at $30, and that's on the low "bargain" front. I know guys that can fetch as much as $150 an hour for certain projects. And with so many available solutions already in existence, the hardest part is finding one that will work for what you are needing, and making sure that the company behind it is reputable and provides reliable support.

One that comes to mind is the E-Commerce solutions offered by Network Solutions. I was recently given an opportunity to review their offering. If you've ever had anything to do with the web or at least web domains, you've probably heard of Network Solutions, or "Netsol" for short. They were the leader in domain registrations for so many of the early years of the internet that it was generally believed that they were the only registrar in existence. While they have since found themselves in considerable competition when it comes to domain name registration, their reputation is still hard to beat. Although I have registered many domains with other companies over the last year or two, I still have a number of my "top priority" domains that I keep registered at Network Solutions, because I value these domains more and know that Netsol won't do anything inadvertently to mess them up.

Simple domain registration may not mean that much to you, but when it comes to other features like web hosting and e-commerce solutions, reputation is everything. Netsol's reputation is rock solid. When it comes to shopping cart software, you don't want to play around with your customers. Unless you're some fly-by-night operation, you want to make sure that your store looks good, it functions flawlessly, and you've got immediate support when you have questions. Network Solutions offers free 24/7 support for all of their e-commerce solutions. You get advanced features like data center security monitoring, and even CISP certification.

Best of all, they throw in the domain name for free, which means you get the value and dedication of a Netsol domain without the typical domain price. Others may offer cheaper solutions, but in most cases they can only offer deals because they are cutting corners somewhere else. I know customers who have tried bargain shopping cart solutions and ended up making a horrible first impression with their new online customers. Don't make the same mistake. If you value the relationship with your online customer base, don't cut corners. You only have one chance to make a first impression.

too many irons in the fire

When I first started my business, I had about a zillion ideas for making money. I thought a few of them might take off and become my sole bread winners, but that never happened. Instead, I've been working on multiple streams of income. Although I'm sure it would be easier to track the progress and success of one or two sources of income, I must admit that I feel more comfortable knowing that my income is "diversified" - just like my 401k. You know the old saying about having all of one's eggs in one basket. I don't see why income should be any different. This explains why layoffs at corporate jobs are so stressful. How could you not be stressed about the possibility of losing your primary source of income?

Of course, now that I have been self-employed for well over a year, I've had some time to evaluate all of the different projects that I have been working on and I am going to start making some informed decisions about which irons in the fire can be taken out to cool. My first approach was to evaluate the return on my investment. Ventures that require more time and attention but result in less income need to be dropped. Anything that involves "high maintenance" clientèle is also a target for elimination. I don't want need (or want) the stress.

The other thing that I really need to work on is trying not to reinvent the wheel so often. As a web designer, this comes into play whenever I need to launch a new site with user account functionality. At first, I was leery and a bit elitist about my attitude towards web development. Where I once felt that the only worthwhile web development was custom development, my experience with content management systems like Drupal have changed my perception quite a bit. After dealing with it for half a dozen different websites, I now know how to use Drupal as a tool and make it work for my needs. In a nutshell, I can make Drupal-based websites that don't look like Drupal-based websites. And it saves me a TON of time and effort when compared to custom programming.

There's no reason why anyone out there can't take this same approach with their job, regardless of what you do. First off, eliminate anything with a poor return on investment. The obvious exceptions are tasks and job positions that give you much enjoyment. Weigh in job enjoyment heavily, as it is worth its weight in gold (and when compared to the US dollar's current value, that makes it worth even more). Then do what you can to eliminate stress. It isn't worth your time (or the time it could take off of your life - stress kills, after all). Outsource where you can. And lastly, evaluate third party resources and quit trying to reinvent the wheel when it doesn't make sense. Only customize when absolutely necessary and when it will pay off handsomely.

for me it's good enough

Here's an interesting idea - how about an Oregon Christmas vacation? We've been curious about the Oregon Coast ever since we were kids, intrigued by the beauty of areas like Astoria when they were featured on movies like Goonies and Kindergarten Cop. The beaches look awesome, and yet they also have mountainous areas. There is also Crater Lake National Park, which looks stunning. Sure, they get lots and lots of rain but I grew up in the South and I love the rain. In fact, when I was living in the Midwest I missed it. Had we stayed there, my kids would never have had the chance to see what it was like to play in warm rain puddles or pick crusty dead earthworms off the concrete after a hard storm. I know it sounds gross, but as kids we loved it.

Christmas is a time for stress. It's like a ticking time-bomb with an anticipated buzzer, and then it happens and everyone is left exhausted and reeling from the time and effort we put into it, asking ourselves why we bothered to make it so perfect when nobody ever notices. It would be wrong of us to go on a vacation for Christmas, particularly if we were to leave the kids with the grandparents. But this is a good time of year to travel to areas like the Northwest, where you won't get thronged with the same crowds you might see in the Summer time.

New Year might be a better option. We could spend New Years in a beach house rental. Or, perhaps it would make more sense to try and get the entire family out for a trip. Get the grandparents to go with us, and split the cost of renting a large house somewhere near the coast. Renting a full house makes it so much easier for everyone. We get more space, we get our own washer and dryer so we don't have to pack so many clothes. We can cook our own meals when we don't feel like going out to eat. We weren't really planning on traveling for Christmas, but New Years wouldn't be bad. That way, the kids still get to come on the vacation with us, the grandparents get to see us for "the holidays" and we get built-in babysitters for when we want to go out on our own. :)



Since the grandparents are always complaining that they don't get to see the kids often enough, they shouldn't complain when we ask them to babysit, right?

the travel bug

We've been feeling like traveling again lately. However, my wife and I are desiring a trip *without* the kids. Is that so bad? We've already got a vacation planned for Disney World early next year that is sure to be a fun-filled time for the entire family. But what about us adults? When do we get a break?

I'm thinking of scheduling a separate vacation for just the wife and me. First we'll travel to our parents' houses, where we can drop of the kids with their grandparents. While they are visiting for a week or two, my wife and I can play the part of jet-setting travelers, hopefully checking out some new parts of the country that we haven't seen before.

Sometimes we feel guilty though for wanting to vacation without the kids. Is it wrong to want some time to ourselves? Is it wrong to stick the kids with the grandparents for a week or two? The grandparents love the idea, so where's the hurt? Are our kids going to remember and resent us for not taking them? I guess they'll just have to learn to live with it. We occasionally need time to ourselves, to spend time together without the constant chattering and bickering of our children. We need to be able to take a road trip without hearing the words "are we there yet?" shouted from the rear seat every ten minutes. We'd like to be able to actually sleep on a boring airplane journey for a change. And most of all, we'd like to unwind and get to know each other a little more without the interruption of school, diapers, sibling rivalry, and chewing gum.

fake rock to the rescue

Since I'm no stone mason, we'll probably end up using fake rock when we reside our home. It sounds fairly easy to install, and they've made great strides over the years to make it look and feel real. In fact, many of the higher end homes in Denver used this stuff all over their facades and we couldn't tell the difference.

It's pretty amazing what companies are able to do now to simulate earthen building materials like rock and hardwood. Recycled products that look like anything buy recycled products top the list for those who are green-minded. For many of us on a budget crunch, though, the products that look real, are inexpensive, and easy to install and maintain are the best choice.

One new product that I recently had a chance to review was a fake address rock from Artificial Rocks Factory. These are actually big synthetic boulders with address plaques embedded into them. Considering how difficult it is to obtain an actual boulder and have it engraved or embellished with an address plaque, these 50 to 60 pound alternatives make a lot of sense.

People love rock decor. When we were shopping for homes in Omaha, we noticed many homes with Husker rocks in their garden. In Nebraska, the Cornhuskers are worshipped by all, and nearly every home for sale with a Husker rock had it listed as an exclusion. These were solid rock pieces, mostly sitting in the gardens, welcoming visitors to the home of a true Husker fan (many of these homes also had red rooms).

Address rocks are no different. In most cases, the only people who can afford the real thing are the high end homeowners, and because these fake rock offerings are relatively new, you don't see them too often. But I suspect that will be changing soon as word gets around. Their website offers a rotating 360 degree view of each rock, so you can see it fro all angles. They are molded from the real thing, and are cast in stone not some cheesy fiberglass solution that's going to blow away with a hard wind storm.

I may just have to look at these when we decide to add stone facade to our house. Trying to embed a plaque into the wall of our home would probably be difficult. As I have said before, I'm no stone mason. Having one of these address rocks made and delivered would be a lot easier.

materials and moisture

Lately, we've been having a bit of trouble with some of the wood siding on our home. It is getting wrapped in places, and it is also turning green near our back deck. This leads me to believe that it is getting moisture behind the it (warping) and that the paint isn't keeping the wood from staying too moist (green stuff). We had similar green growth on our deck, but managed to clean it off with a bleach solution from the hardware store. I'd do the same thing with my siding, but I'm concerned that the solution may bleach the house paint or even remove it. I have no idea how many layers of paint there are on the house, and the last thing I need is some glaring undercoat showing through. With our deck, it was no big deal since we were restaining it anyway.

This got me thinking about building materials and moisture. In areas that tend to be humid, why do they even try to build exterior walls with wood? Why not stick to more impervious materials like brick and stone? I guess they are too expensive, but so is replacing the exterior walls of your home. I know that there are certain types of wood (like cypress) that are supposed to be more moisture-proof but they are getting sparse. We could try residing the home in vinyl but I never really liked the way it looks. So I'm thinking that at some point we may have to add stone facade where the warped siding is now, along the lower half of the home. There are some decent priced fake stone options, some of which we may even be able to install ourselves.

One thing is for sure - if we ever decide to build our own home in this area, I'm going for the real thing, even if it costs me extra.

the gym substitute

I've been trying to get back in shape lately, but with little success. My first step was to get my own weights and a bench press, but I have found that I only get temporary results. I'm not sure if I'm not lifting often enough, or if I just need to be pushing myself more with additional weight resistance. When you live in a small town, it can be difficult to get an all-round exercise program put together. It takes so much time just to hit one type of exercise that trying to fit in multiple forms is time prohibitive and expensive. We don't have an all-in-one gym anywhere nearby where I could lift weights, run the treadmills and also play some racquetball in one setting. As a result, I'm just going to have to get more creative.

For cardio work, I'm going to have to start doing more walking and running. The hills near my home offer quite a bit of resistance, so that should also help. For my weight training, I'm just going to have to keep plugging away at what I have, perhaps doing more repetitions. I debated working out more often (every day?), but they say that it can actually be bad for you if you stretch your muscles out too frequently.

On the bright side, we live near the mountains and there are many wonderful trails and lakes where I can also find ways to exercise - hiking, biking, rowing, etc. The weather is absolutely gorgeous this tie of year, but the cold weather makes breathing more strenuous. I guess I should feel lucky that I have to get my exercise in the form of outdoor activities, rather than sitting in a sweaty gym. But it isn't going to be easy to find the time to fit all of these activities into my schedule.

the downsides to franchising

I've been working with a local real estate agent lately, helping him to boost his website traffic and search engine optimization, and as a result I have started to see the ugly side of franchising. In his case, since he is with a nationally known real estate franchise, his hands are tied when it comes to the web services he is supposed to work with. He can only work with me as an "advisor" even though there are lots of changes that I could do to his existing web presence to help. Alas, he is using a company 1500 miles away. He never gets to meet them in person, has to wait for someone to return his calls, and doesn't get that personal face-to-face service that can make web design such a positive experience.

Other downsides to franchises revolve around rules and limitations that remind of home owners association restrictions - what colors you can use, how you can use your establishment, etc. While it definitely makes sense to go with a franchise in some situations, it is something that any potential business owner needs to seriously evaluate. If you value total control and freedom or the ability to change your business model at whim, you may be better off on your own.

spider-man 3

Well, as usual I am behind the curve, but I just saw Spider-Man 3 and I was impressed. I can't believe that they have managed to keep this series going with as much momentum as the first one. Part three featured three villains and yet still managed to tie up other loose ends left over from parts one and two. I'm also ecstatic that they've managed to retain all of the same actors throughout the sequels. Even the small parts have the same actors. This works so much better than movies like the Harry Potter series that changed Dumbledore and the Matrix series when they changed the Oracle. I know that in some cases, the actor died and they had no choice, but in the case of the Matrix they could have worked the doppelganger into the script a little better.

One of the things that cracks me up with the Spider-Man movies are the cameo appearances. I believe that Stan Lee even had a cameo in this one - 'nuff said. In addition, we got another appearance from Bruce Campbell, the cult star from Army of Darkness. If you didn't catch him in each Spider-Man flick, he was the wrestling ring announcer in part one, the theater bouncer who wouldn't let Peter into Mary Jane's performance because he was late in part two, and of course he was the racy French restaurant host in part three. He's hilarious. Maybe in the fourth one they'll go even further and let him don a chainsaw.

While the left the sandman's existence up in the air at the end of part three, and I thought that the death of Venom was a bit weak, m definitely give Spider-Man 3 two thumbs up. I hope they can keep it coming...

planning ahead? only in the states

Lately, there has been much discussion on the internet about planning trips at the last minute and how flexibility can result in some killer last minute travel deals. I'm unsold, though. It would appear that most "last minute" offers aren't last minute at all. Rather they are contingency plans that were already set in motion weeks before the "last minute" was approaching. As such, there is usually little room to bargain for find exclusive deals. There are also certain areas that just don't participate. Finding a last minute deal in Vegas, for example, appears much easier than finding one in Boston. So is it the platform that is missing for that last minute line of communication between merchant and customer?

In the U.S., we've got bargain based sites like Priceline which never seem to work. I've tried numerous times to get good last minute deals on airfare with no success. It would appear that certain locations just don't care whether they fly and empty plane or a full one.

In the UK, they have sites like HotelShop which specialize in last minute hotel rooms. What's really coo about this site is that the hotels aren't your typical chain hotels, which tend to have a single mindset and established rates for their supposed "last minute" rates. Instead, we get awesome little historic establishments like the Inverness Crown Court Hotel or the Barcelo Cardiff Angel that offer visitors a unique lodging experience. Why can't we have a service like this here in the States? Something that consolidates last minute offers from smaller family-owned inns and hostels would be a great asset for the more adventurous traveler who is tired of the same old Holiday Inn Express.

It's unbelievable, really. In the UK, if I booked through HotelShop, I could stay in a castle built in 1282 for only 60 pounds a night. In the states, I'd be stuck at the Econolodge. Of course, if you were traveling to the UK and were willing to stay in hostels, you'd probably find even cheaper rates, but you wouldn't get hotel service or the grandeur that you would get staying in one of these historic establishments. I truly am impressed with this site. Not only does it compile a great selection of historic hotels in one place (with ratings, details and multiple photos), but it lets you shop for last minute specials.

If you're heading to Europe at any point in the near future, and will be staying over in the UK at all, you should keep this site handy. If you're still trying to find last minute deals in the States, best of luck.

defacing facebook for fun and profit

So what's the deal with Facebook? I have read that it is supposed to be the next Myspace, but I still don't get it. First off, we don't even get a dedicated profile URL to send people to - just some facebook address with a php "id=" numbered variable. While most of us are accustomed to sharing myspace profiles by telling someone our myspace username, on facebook we'll have to provide them with our id number. Gee, that's easy...not.

So now Facebook has just launched a music / business profile option, which is also confusing. I setup a profile page for my band, but have not figured out how to login to it. I basically have to login to my regular account and then search for my band page to manage it. You'd think that it would show up someone in my profile...like "these are the profiles you have access to manage". But it doesn't. Luckily, I added my band to "my music" so I have a quick link to to it. But I still need to login to my regular account first.

If there is one thing that I like about Facebook, it is how you can update profile fields simply by clicking on them. No need to load another page and click a "save": button. It's a slick feature that makes managing my info easy. Now I'd just like to know how I can customize the appearance of my Facebook profile page. I'm guessing that there are companies out there making applications to tweak one's Facebook image. I just haven't found them yet.

One thing is for sure. Whomever comes up with a truly simple interface for tweaking Facebook and explaining how it really works is bound to make some killer profit.

the social kitchen

One aspect of Thanksgiving that will be sorely missed this year will be the socializing of the cooks in the kitchen. Seeing as we are "going it alone" or at the most having a potluck, there will only be my wife and myself in the kitchen preparing food. Many of our favorite dishes require extensive preparation, which isn't so much of a chore when you share it with your relatives. But being alone, it isn't much fun spending an entire day in the kitchen trying to get things done just right. in fact, one might even be tempted to cut corners. Is this so wrong?

Is it wrong to buy a pre-sliced smoked turkey, instead of stuffing and cooking it yourself? Is it wrong to replace hand-mashed potatoes with potato flakes to make our traditional garlic mashed potatoes? Is it wrong to buy cranberry sauce in a can? Does any of it really matter when you can't taste the difference? Or is there a happy medium that will satisfy the traditional purists and those who value their time?

For the turkey, instead of buying the pre-sliced, we'll probably opt for the smoked turkey that requires an additional hour or two of cooking. That way, we get to finish the cooking ourselves and slice it ourselves. Although slicing a turkey is still a chore, it isn't so bad, and it has become something of a tradition in my family for many of us to circle the benevolent carving-meister like buzzards looking for a sample of the feast to come.

For the mashed potatoes, instead of mashing them in a big pot by hand, we could always try using a mixer to beat them automatically. It goes against the tradition, but as long as we still use the same ingredients, it *should* taste the same, right? I guess we'll find out soon enough. Within the fist five minutes of supper, if the potatoes are "off" in any way, I'm sure we will hear of it. Our family has always been good at speaking their mind, and this garlic mashed potato recipe has been in the family for years. Even though we won't be eating with most of our family members this year, our kids have had it every year so they are connoisseurs by now, as well.

Unfortunately, our mixer doesn't work so great at such things, and the bowl is pathetic, so we'd probably have to get a new mixer. As much as I like to think of myself as a neo-luddite in a quest for old world humanity, there are certain situations where mechanical assistance just makes too much sense. Would I prefer to sit in a kitchen for several hours mashing potatoes by hand, alone? Or would I prefer to pick up a new mixer and have it done in minutes, thereby allowing me more time out of the kitchen, and with my family? It's a hard call. I've heard the saying that anything worth doing is worth doing right, but what's wrong with a little assistance? After all, we don't wash our clothes by hand with a washboard anymore.

Among all of the fancy electric mixers out there, I'm pretty impressed with the Eclectrics® Mixer by Hamilton Beach®. It won't break the bank like the KitchenAid stuff, but it looks just as nice and has the same features. Best of all, the mixing bowl is HUGE and looks like it will work fine for mashing potatoes. One of the most frightening things that can happen when you use a cheap mixer (like the one we have now) is if the mixer blades get caught on your potatoes and it sends the bowl spinning. This explains why this Hamilton Beach® Mixer has a locking bowl. It's something that, in my opinion, should come standard with any electric mixer, for safety reasons.

So am I going to get lynched by my mother-in-law if she discovers that we have "modernized" her recipe by running the potatoes through a new Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer? Perhaps, but I think she'll be too busy in her own kitchen this year beating her potatoes by hand to do anything about it.

Not to add insult to injury, but here's her recipe below. Enjoy!

Garlic and Basil Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:
2 pounds of peeled potatoes, sliced or diced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and mashed
3/4 cup of 2% milk
5 Tbsp real butter
2 Tbsp sour cream
2 Tbsp crushed basil

Directions:
Boil potatoes until tender.
Drain potatoes and mash them up in your mixer (or by hand).
Reheat pan and add butter and garlic.
Lightly brown garlic on medium heat, then add milk and sour cream.
Bring to a boil and add potatoes and basil.
Mix well, lower heat and add salt and pepper to taste.

Thanksgiving potluck - aka "why go it alone?"

Since we've moved to a new town and none of our family live close by, we're going to start our own tradition for Thanksgiving this year. We considered returning "home" to be with family, but the cost of airfare (or gas) is prohibitive and traveling with kids across country is not much fun, particularly at this time of the year when the roads are prone to ice storms.

So we've decided to do our own thing, perhaps celebrating with friends. Another idea would be to go to the local food bank and serve dinner of the homeless. Thanksgiving is overrated anyways, and it has become yet another holiday to use as an excuse to gorge yourself and eat way too much fattening food. My wife and I also get tired of spending all day in the kitchen for a single meal, eve if we are serving loved ones. Last year, e picked up a smoked turkey from the local grocery store, which was awesome. All we had to do was heat it up for a couple of hours - no rep work involved.

This yea, we were thinking of getting together with friends and perhaps having a potluck. That way, no single family is strapped with the burden of preparing dinner for everyone. It's not only more cost effective, but it makes for easier cleanup and much less preparation.

product review: QuickTrophy Dog Tags

A couple of weeks ago, I was presented with an opportunity to review a product from QuickTrophy, an online store that offers custom trophies and plaques for sports teams and social organizations. At the time, I had been having some trouble with my toddler. His older sister has started to wear jewelry around the house, and he has managed to break just about every one of her bracelets and necklaces in an effort to be more like "big sis."

So I figured that doing a product review for a customized dog tag might be just the thing to cure his sibling possessiveness. After all, dog tags are strong - strong enough for the army and to accompany soldiers into battle. They ought to survive my toddler, right?

Ordering the product was fairly straight forward. You go to the Quick Trophy homepage and click on the "What's New" category to see their new line of customized dog tags. You select a sport to get a small graphic printed on the tag, along with your personal engraving. Since this wasn't for sports or a team, I decided on the pinecar derby image, which was a set of racing flags. Then I borrowed a passage from one of his favorite movies (Cars), and personalized it. It turned out great:



Overall, I was pretty pleased with the transaction. My only complaints had to do with their shopping cart sequence and the shipping charges. Once you have entered your engraving, there are two buttons at the bottom of the page - one for checkout and one to continue shopping. I kept clicking on the continue shopping button by accident. I'm not accustomed to seeing that button until you've seen the item placed in your cart. Maybe it's just me, but I like to know that the item has been placed in the cart before I am given the option to continue shopping. Otherwise, I feel like it didn't "stick". I also never received an email confirmation for my order. If this wasn't for a product review, I would have been on the phone with them asking if the order went through or not.

My only other concern is that the cheapest shipping option is USPS priority for $8.70, which seems a bit steep for a single dog tag. In my case, since this was for a product review, they simply stuck it in a 55 cent letter-sized envelope and I paid no shipping. But I'd be interested in seeing why they charge that much to ship a dog tag for a regular order. I guess part of it must be "handling" charges.

The price of the tag was reasonable - $3.50 each, with discounts for ordering in bulk. It was cheaper than a custom engraved dog tag at the local pet store, if you don't count the shipping. It appears to be of good solid quality. The edges weren't sharp, and it's been taking a beating from my toddler already. Even the necklace has survived so far. If they combine shipping for bulk orders, this would be a great little inexpensive morale booster for sports teams. I may even have to get a pink one for my daughter, as she is now jealous of my son's.

government holidays

Today was Veteran's Day - one of those government holidays that few people are allowed to celebrate, unless you happen to be a government employee. As much as I don't really like government fingers in everybody's business, I sometimes wish that the government would regulate holidays for all employers. In other words, if it is a holiday, then every business should be closed. That way, everyone is able to celebrate accordingly, and nobody is stuck with the unfortunate burden of working the closing shift on Christmas Eve.

Then again, I'm also a supporter of the four hour work week, so what do I know?

Thanksgiving and Christmas are on the way, and it looks like we'll be spending the holidays here in our new home town, away from family. This bums me out a little, but I suspect that we won't be alone and I was talking to my wife today about putting together some sort of pot-luck dinner for other transplanted townies. Should be fun.

the return of horror

Watching Shaun of the Dead made me think of the state of the horror movie industry these days. It seemed like the 1980's were an awesome time for horror movies. Heck, we even had films like Friday the 13th, Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street producing half a dozen (or more) successful sequels. These days, we're lucky to see one sequel to a horror film, and the excitement around the is noticeably weak. I wonder why that is...

Perhaps it is the fact that regular action and drama films have begun to incorporate gore and horror aspects into their scripts, so we've become desensitized. Another theory is that may of the big horror writers have ceased to produce new works of fiction to base new movies on. People like Wes Craven, Stephen King and Clive Barker had their heyday in the 1980's film industry and few have made waves since.

Just as I am pondering these possibilities, I was presented with an opportunity to talk about a The Mist by Stephen King. After a long wait, we are being treated to a new film that has the potential to bring the horror and psychological drama genre back to the mainstream. The trailers look promising, and while King has produced some rather forgettable TV series in the not too distant past, I can't forget that this is the same fantastic writer who brought me favorites like The Shining and Kujo.

Kujo is one of my all time favorites, and what I really like about it is that I can watch it with my kids. It's rated R for its fear, language, and a little bit of gore but it's something that my kids can handle. Sure, that may seem cruel, but I have no problem teaching my kids to fear strange animals and be wary of large dogs. Since we live near the forest, I think it is important for our kids to learn about the dangers of rabies. And yes, we've shown them Old Yeller, but it doesn't seem to drive the fear home like a good Stephen King film can.

So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this new King movie will be a phenomenal return to the hey dey of horror. We've already seen a return to the musical styles and fashion of the 1980's, so why not the horror film industry?

movie review - shaun of the dead

I know that it has been a few years since this movie Shaun of the Dead came out, but we just picked it up at the local library, and I felt compelled to share my thoughts. Ever since I had seen the previews for it, I was curious to see it. I don't think it lasted very long in the theaters, but don't trust that as an indicator of its quality.

I'm a BIG horror movie fan, particularly zombie movies. The "night/dawn/day of the dead" trilogy by George Romero are some of the favorite films, which this movie plays off of a bit. Based on the previews and the name, I originally assumed that Shaun of the Dead would primarily be a spoof of Dawn of the Dead. Fortunately, it isn't. This is no ridiculous horror spoof like Scary Movie. Instead, we're treated to a very funny British comedy that combines walking dead ala Dawn of the Dead with the dry wit of the comedy series The Office.

There's no Ricky Gervais on this one, but a couple of his costars appear in the film. Shaun, in fact, has a few Gervais moments here and there. The film takes a very matter of fact approach to the zombie concept, reminding me a bit of Fright Night's approach to vampirism. The makeup and special gore effects are top notch, the acting is decent, and the plot is sensible. The movie has a good flow from beginning to near the end. I was a bit disappointed in the ending, as it seemed to lose momentum, but it wasn't bad.

I don't want to give much of it away, but I seriously recommend that you see it if you are a horror fan, especially if you are a George Romero fan. There are scenes that are obviously dedicated to George Romero ("We're coming to get you, Barbara"), and it even uses some of the same music. Shaun's tubby flatmate is a hilarious slob with some obscenely comedic one liners. It had us rolling out of our seats in laughter. Check out the special features for some great outtakes, too.

suffer a little longer, pay less?

One of the biggest problems with health insurance has to do with timing. We pay a premium for inconvenient illnesses. The human body is oblivious to time constraints and apparently has no reservations about breaking down when the emergency room is the only source of resolution. Fortunately, the internet can assist from time to time in letting us know if what is happening is truly an emergency or something that can wait until Monday morning. From a dental standpoint, there are also products that can help dull the pain of a bad toothache or lost filling until the dentist has assumed his regular hours again.

Back when I lived in Omaha, one of my coworkers lost a filling one day and was absolutely miserable. He wanted to go in an have it fixed, but the dentist wasn't available and it was going to cost him an arm and a leg for an after hours emergency appointment. He ended up dosing his tooth with Orajel for as long as he could stand it. If this were to happen today, he'd have a number of products to help tide him over until his dentist was available (and more affordable). One of these products is a temproary dental repair kit called Dentemp OS. It's like a do-it-yourself filling kit. It's like a little bucket of putty that you stick into the cavity and it sets within thirty minutes. You don't have to mix it or anything, as it is ready to use right from the container. Pretty neat stuff.

Another ideas to save yourself from the emergency room is super glue. Yes, you heard me correctly - you can use super glue to temporarily seal a bad cut. In fact, doctors have started using a product that looks like super glue on cuts that might normally require stitches. One evening, my daughter fell out of her bed and hit her head on her nightstand. We rushed her to the emergency room where we were sure she would, need stitches. Instead, the doctors "glued" her head back up and said that no stitches were required. Several years later, her forehead looks fine and you can barely see a scar.

Granted, there are cases when not going to the emergency room can be more risky and I certainly don't advise that you ignore serious symptoms just to save money, but little things like cuts and toothaches can usually wait another day or two as long as you have something conveniently on hand to deal with the pain and can keep the area clean and contained.

i hate health insurance

As nice as it is to know that I have some sort of financial benefit in the case of a health crisis, dealing with my health insurance company is hell. My latest complaint has to do with (drum roll please) a bogus bill. The billing office of our local doctor has been trying to bill the wrong insurance company for the last several months, and although we've provided them with our correct information a half a dozen times, they still can't get it right. Now they've got the nerve to send us a threatening letter stating that they will send our claim into a collection agency if we don't pay.

Here's the real rub. On the bill, it states that insurance company x denied our claim. Big surprise, since that is the company that we don't have insurance from. But it also states on the bottom of the bill that "our records indicate that your primary insurance provider is company Y" which is the correct company. So they've obviously got it correct somwhere...just not on this bill.

Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be worth it to just drop the insurance and finance our own health care - medical, dental, vision, etc. The amount of time that I have spent dealing with these morons has probably cost me much more than I have saved. After all time is money. Short of some catastrophic illness, it seems like insurance is just getting ridiculous. I have NEVER had an insurance company that could get the billing correct. It seems like they're always screwing everything up and then making us jump through hoops to get it fixed, all the while threatening us for not paying.

The other alternative is to just not go to the doctor. This is one that I naturally gravitate towards, because I don't like doctors. I can't stand dentists, either. Sometimes I think that I'd be happier (and better off) just trying to buy my own health products and reading online how I might treat myself. Maybe I'm just overreacting, though.

I left the doctor's billing office a scathing voicemail, so we'll see how they respond this time.

when moving away is more difficult

With our last relocation, we moved pretty far away from "home". But then again, we moved so many times before then that "home" has proven to be a rather elusive word. I can't really decide what was "home" for me anymore. Is it where I grew up? I guess, but I moved may times during that time period as well.

We now live a hefty distance from our last "home" which also happens to be where our parents live, as well as my grandmother. Our relationship with our parents is typical - we miss them when we haven't seen them for a while, but spending any more than a few days with them reminds us of why we had no problem moving away. On the other hand, my grandmother is the sweetest lady on Earth, and I feel so bad that the kids are growing up not knowing her very well.

She's getting pretty old now, and her memory has started to go, which makes things more difficult when trying to plan visits. I wanted to see if I could get her to come out and visit us, but it sounds like having her fly by herself won't work. She has gotten to the point where she is dependent on my mother for just about everything. She can't remember to take her medication. She doesn't remember to eat if not reminded. It's heart-breaking for us to see her this way.

One of the latest opps at PPP reminded me of her, because it is for the Alzheimer's Foundation of America. While most of us feel quite helpless around our again loved ones that have afflicted with alzheimer's, it is good to know that there are foundations out there that are doing their best to investigate the illness and hopefully find a cure, while at the same time they aren't forgetting the treatment and care of those already suffering.

Of course, donating money is one of those things that many people place on their "to do list" but rarely get around to doing it. Fortunately, the AFA has taken it a step further and created an online store that people can shop at, with their purchases benefiting the AFA. This way, they take advantage of the fact that everybody remembers to do their Christmas shopping, and they allow people to show their support by purchasing a holiday gift for their loved ones.



While I find it rather sad that people feel like they have to have some sort of incentive to donate to these types of charitable organizations, I applaud the AFA for realizing that there are consumers out there who like the idea of their money going towards a worthy cause, but prefer not to send cash.

anniversary was great

So our little anniversary dinner was great. We ended up eating at a little Indian food joint at the last minute, and had a nice time just relaxing and chatting. Then we returned home so that we could talk some more without the interruption of the kids. Sure, it seems silly to take the kids to a babysitter just so that we can sit at home and talk, but seeing as we have very little time to do just that it was just what we needed.

It just goes to show that you don't have to plan some elaborate expensive outing to have a nice time, particularly when you're so unaccustomed to spending time alone without the kids.

a bit of silliness that won't break the bank

So for our anniversary, we've decided to try out a small Italian restaurant downtown, and spend some of the evening strolling the historic district. Then we'll go home for a few hours and enjoy the evening alone. We thought about dressing up in our finest duds and jewels but my wife somehow lost her beautiful new wristwatch when we last went out for a classy stroll, so we're a bit more cautious now. We try not to carry too much jewelry with us - at least not the expensive or keepsake stuff. But that doesn't mean that she has to look plain. There's always costume jewelry and semi-precious stones that can be picked up rather cheap at online wholesale fashion jewelry stores.

And I can wear my old wingtips with a fresh shine and feel like I'm "Puttin' on the Ritz" with little reservation. Heck, I could even sport a top hat, tails and a cane if I was so inclined. I'm sure that with all of the post-Halloween clearance sales, there are some fun and silly "dress-up" costumes to be had for cheap.

It may not be luxurious and it may not be as classy as one would like. But it makes me feel much better about riding around in the back of a horse drawn carriage or walking dimly lit downtown streets where one could easily misplace one's finer jewelry or trip on a sidewalk crack and rip my suit. That's where second hand stores shine - you can get someone else's finest duds for cheap. It may have a few battle scars from weddings past, but nobody is going to notice and it leaves you with more money to spend on the meal, or on something intimate like lingerie for her.

new anniversary ideas?

On a more positive note, my wife and I have a big anniversary coming up, and I am trying to come up with some truly new ideas on how to celebrate. Sure, we could do the typical dinner and a movie, complete with roses and champagne, but its all been done before.

I could cook her a dinner myself, but I've done this before, too, and I could our dinners quite often so it wouldn't be as special. My wife had the forethought to arrange for a babysitter so at least we don't have to bring the kids along to wherever we decide to go (if we decide to go anywhere). I thought about booking a night at a fancy hotel in town, or I could use a bed and breakfast gift certificate that we had received some time back, but our babysitter is only watching the kids for a few hours, so that won't work.

Sometimes I think that I'd like to just stay at home and have a long evening of intimacy, but you know how most women will react if they hear that form their husbands..."all you want to do is have sex?" Haha.

But I do feel like we would enjoy the time alone and away from the kids. My wife gets away when she goes to work, but when it comes to alone time for just the two of us, we've only got late nights after the kids are in bed, and one (or both) of us is usually too tired to stay up at that point.

So what to do? What to do? I am open to suggestions...we could take a carriage ride in town, although it is a bit pricey. I could get her a nice gift but she doesn't need or want anything that I can think of. We've done massages before...maybe I'll look into that and see what kind of specials they may be offering.

screen rehab

My last post has got me thinking. Is screen apathy going to become a major problem in the near future? Am I the only one who is tired of yet another part of my life being stuck behind a screen? And can we ever expect some sort of commercial treatment for those of us suffering screen apathy, similar to a ten step program like you would find in traditional drug rehabs?

Perhaps this is a new business idea that I should investigate. We spend our work days behind a computer screen. We communicate and shop behind a screen. We get our directions behind a screen. They're adding touch screens to our refrigerators and washing machines. And while our primary source of entertainment (television) has always involved a screen of some sort, it is definitely getting more and more involved and requiring more of our attention (and our dollars). How long before we have a mass feeling of apathy towards all screens?

internet addiction?

Lately I've been feeling a fair amount of apathy towards the internet. I know that it is my primary source of income and that it allows me to keep in contact with distant friends and family, but it also seems to suck my time.

The creation of all of these social media sites doesn't help, either. Talk about wasting time. It is very difficult to hop onto the internet, do what I need to do, and logoff. Instead, I always get sidetracked into reading blog posts, news articles or the latest local bulletin board gossip. Sometimes I feel like I can't help it, almost like I am addicted. I check my email several times a day, and often feel like I can't sleep if I haven't checked for messages right before bedtime. What a joke.

So I've decided to try and find a cure. While my blogging frequency isn't likely to change that much, I'm going to try and cut down on the amount of time that I am spending online. I can't think of a better internet addiction treatment than that. By staying away from the internet, I'm ramping up my health, too. Getting outside more often and getting more exercise is something that I've been putting off for too long. I made the self-employment mistake of working without a set schedule, and now I am paying for it.

Part of my problem is that I spend much of my free time on the computer, and many of my hobbies revolve around the computer. It makes life difficult, but I would rather spend my computer time doing what I enjoy than getting sucked into all of the meaningless pseudo-social outlets that are taking the net by storm.