November 14, 2004
Christmas List v1.0
It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Capitalism.
(Thanks to Steve Jackson Games for the image.)
I took the kids out for some wish list shopping yesterday and today. We hit a ton of different stores, and I got a lot of good ideas for the kids (and a whole lot more bad ones). I also got some ideas for me, and I'm notoriously hard to shop for. Let's see here...
Coupons. Of course, always #1 on my list. I'm talking about personal favor coupons from family members. I don't know which is more fun -- cashing them in or threatening to. I'm pretty sure if I get any this year, they will have rapid expiration dates.
Shawshank Redemption - Special Edition DVD. This is one of the few movies out there I really want to own. It's not enough to just get it from Netflix once in a while or to see it on cable. This is a timeless classic I'll watch at least once a year. I would put ROTK Extended DVD on the list, too, but we're buying that the day it comes out, so no point. We're not waiting for Xmas.
Texas Hold 'Em for Game Boy Advance. Of course, I might just get this for the kids and play it myself. I have no idea if the AI engine on this is any good, but I'm going to do some research online at the video game review sites.
Final Fantasy Tactics for Game Boy Advance. I've heard I don't know how many different people (whose gaming opinions I respect) rave about this game as one of the all-time favorites, along the lines of games like Civ II, Heroes, and other battle/strategy games. I'd like to give this a whirl, and I bet the kids would like it, too.
Costco Poker Set. Only $60 now, and it is such a nice case. This one is pretty far down on the list because I already have good poker chips, and the boys and I don't play too much poker these days. It's just that every time I see it, I drool just a little for no rational reason.
Computer chair. I'm about 3-4 years late getting a new computer chair. This one is squeaky and noisy, and the padding feels like it is compressed down to almost nothing. It is a good shape and height, so I can live without it. I may have to shop for a new one on my own just because chairs are such a personal fit thing.
Chess set. I could probably just get this for Cody. I got a set for him last year, and sure enough, he lost a pawn within a month. Now he's missing 3-4 pieces, and he likes to play once in a while. What I'd love it one of those chess sets that is an entire table with drawers for the giant wooden pieces. We play chess on one of those sets sometimes when we go to the big comic book store.
Cathedral. A classic board game that looks nice just sitting on the coffee table. Unfortunately, nobody else around here knows how to play, and Daniel + kids would ensure one or more pieces gets lost quickly if I leave it out. Maybe I'll seriously ask for this in about 15 years.
Trivial Pursuit (LOTR edition or 90's edition). We don't actually have this game, and I wouldn't mind playing it with the kids if I knew we could (as teams) answer more than half the questions so it wouldn't be a big bog-down like that game always seems to end up.
Stadium chair. At Academy, they make this mini-folding chairs (not the fabric kind -- these are two stiff pads supported by aluminum bars) for use at stadiums. They are only about eight bucks, and they are perfect chairs for the floor of the boys' room right in front of the GameCube and TV station. I'd get these for the boys, but it would sure make it easier for me to sit in there and get some gaming time in, too.
Household furniture items. I would love 4-5 giant paperback bookshelves for the computer room so that I could finally pull my whole collection out of the storage closet. I have to dig through those books it seems like every other month to find things for the kids. We also need a new couch (but we should wait until Daniel grows up a bit and the other kids are older), and we'd need a cover for it so it doesn't smell like pug-butt all the time. Oh, and we need a fridge for the garage.
Computer stuff. While I'm being unrealistic, I'd like a brand new Mac with a huge cinema display. But I would settle for a major hard drive upgrade on my G3/300. 6 GB just doesn't cut the mustard these days. I need more like 60.
Posted by Observer at November 14, 2004 07:17 PMComments on entries can only be made in pop-up windows while those entries are still on the main index page. Sorry for the inconvenience this causes, but this blocks about 99.99% of the spam the blog receives.
I built my own paperback shelves, cuz I've never seen pre-made ones for that size, for whatever reason. It was easy, I can comment further later.
Ok, I'm having a rare "what to read next" dilemma, and was considering Bear.
I've got: Forge of God, Infinity Concerto, Serpent Mage, and Tangents on my shelf for glub only knows what reason*. Which if any should I try?
*I've got a lot of books on my shelves that I honestly don't know how they got added to my collection.
If I had to pick among those Bear books, I would definitely choose "The Infinity Concerto" and follow up with "The Serpent Mage". Those are his best books to date, in my opinion. I've never read "Tangents", but that's probably because it sounds like a short story collection, and I'm not normally a big fan of short stories.
"Forge of God" is a good book but just so damned depressing. Plus the sequel "Anvil of Stars" is a good idea that is horribly botched. The way the Huskies are playing (and the Seahawks are starting to tank), you should probably avoid either book or you'll become overly morose.
Posted by: Observer on November 14, 2004 09:59 PM(Nice jab there about the Huskie-Hawks, heh)
Not a fan of short stories? That's a shame.
FF Tactics is great, assuming you know and enjoy that genre of videogames. I bought the cheapy $20 "Greatest Hits" PS1 version a few years ago because I just had to play it again.
Posted by: Polerand on November 15, 2004 04:23 PMThe Hawks aren't doing so bad, 5-4 and tied for top of our division looks a heck of a lot better than 3-6 and shellacked by the Eagles on MNF, giving up 4 freakin' touchdowns in one quarter...
My poor Huskies have had 14 players require immediate surgery or casting this season, Jesus couldn't have coached them to a much better record.
Posted by: Humbaba on November 16, 2004 09:07 AMThere is a frequently unmentioned connection between coaching, conditioning, and injury. High injury rates are not purely random. If the conditioning coach sucks, or does not have authority to enforce his demands of the athletes, you get a lot of folks lost during the season.
Posted by: Feff on November 16, 2004 12:48 PMLack of condition would sure explain why our defense can hang with #1 USC and #5 Cal for an entire first half, and fall apart after halftime.
Either that or they're busy doin' tequila shooters in the locker room at halftime.
Posted by: Humbaba on November 16, 2004 03:01 PM