Thursday, November 30, 2006

Wah wah it's cold wah

As much as I love rain, I hate what usually comes after it. As soon as the rain stops, the winds pick up and blow the last of the rainclouds away. It’s a very cold wind. The sky becomes crystal clear, but it gets cold. You folks who live in snowy/cold areas (practically the rest of the country) be quiet. You will have no sympathy for me, I know. You think I’m being a wimpy whiner when I say it was 40 degrees this morning.

Well I live in southern California dammit, it’s not supposed to drop below 60, k? If I wanna complain, just let me, I’ll feel better and then go on to talk about something more interesting than the weather. Wah wah wah, poor me, poor shivering doggies who have to poop outside. Wah. There. I’m done.

I adore electronics, and coupons!

Anyone remember when Handspring was a new PDA and they were all nifty and new? I shopped round and round for one and finally decided to buy it from Staples.com because I had this awesome coupon for $40 off. I felt like such an accomplished shopper. Well I don’t have that thing anymore, but I still adore coupon codes. Anytime I’m in the market for some new gadget I will search furiously for some kind of discount, because paying full price is just stupid. And I like to think of myself as not-stupid, y’know?

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Another Die Hard movie

Politics aside, I’ve always liked Bruce Willis. He often plays the kind of cool-headed, wise-cracking smartass that I enjoy watching in movies. I really liked Die Hard. The next two Die Hard movies were pretty good too. But a fourth Die Hard movie? It’s true, they blocked off some major streets near the LAX airport to film it. I dunno, it’s kind of been awhile. I mean, it’s not as bad as bringing Indiana Jones out of retirement, but still. Makes me wonder what they’ll call it. Here are some ideas…

• Die Hard: Eh? Speak Up Sonny!
• Die Hard: Just Die Already
• Die Hard: Actually I’m Already Dead
• Die Hard: It’s Cool to be Bald

Digital radio?

It’s been a long time since I’ve actually purchased a radio. With my 10 gigs of MP3s, about the only place I’ll listen to radio nowadays is in my car.  Over the weekend my sweety switched the radio to the station that started playing Christmas music 24/7 after Thanksgiving. Gah. But we were decorating and stuff, so it was appropriate for the occasion.

I’ve been hearing about something called Digital Radio. You know how they plan on doing away with analog television sometime in the future and forcing people to use digital? (Greedy bastards, not everyone can afford to throw away their old TVs to get the new digital ones.) I guess there’s some kind of movement regarding radio. Not sure how that’s going to work though. Will they have better programming? More stations available? Can I finally have an electronica radio station??

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Obsessed with poop

Big Pest, being the stomach-driven little treat whore he is, started hanging out at the renter’s house about a month after they moved in. They constantly brought home fast food and shared it with him often, so of course he loves it there. Despite the no smoking clause in the lease, she smokes in there. Like a freaking chimney. More so now that she’s being evicted. Several times Big Pest would come back from there smelling like he rolled in an ashtray, it was disgusting. So we decided to ban him from visiting there ever again.

This meant closing up the doggy door. Ever since we’ve owned our two little furballs, they’ve been trained to use the doggy door to go out into the yard to take care of their bodily functions. Having to close off this outlet is a major pain in the ass. Now I have to make sure they out before I go to work, and again when we come home, then again before going to bed. We can’t stay out later than normal because we have to let them out. I tell ya, never before have I ever been so obsessed about dog poop.

Dog walks used to be optional, now I have to do this nearly every night to make sure they poop before bed. I can’t go to bed unless they do this or else I might find a log somewhere in the house later. Obsessed. With. Poop. I feel like one of those parents who are trying to pottytrain their toddler. “Oh look who made a poopy? Good boy! That’s a very good poopy!”

It’s a major adjustment we’ve had to make because closing off the doggy door has really limited our flexibility where the dogs are concerned. But we figured it’s a necessary step because after we move, it’s highly unlikely that the place we rent will have a pet door. Since this is so new to me, anyone have any tips or suggestions to offer?

Monday, November 27, 2006

Bah Christmas lights

I helped my sweety put up some Christmas decorations this weekend.  I’m more of a bah humbug kind of gal myself, but she enjoys the festive decorations so I put aside the humbug and helped. What I’m not looking forward to, and I’m sure no one does, is putting up the lights. I mean what about this process is enjoyable: Untangle the mess. Find a power source. Make sure all the bulbs work. Some don’t, causing others to not work. Why?? Screw ‘em, we’ll use the other strand. Attempt to put the lights where you want them without crushing plants or breaking your neck. Find a way to make the lights reach the power source without causing an electrical fire.

It’s a lot of work just to add an additional drain on the electricity bill. Some neighbors have gone absolutely nuts with their decorating. I say we just sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor.

Saturday, November 25, 2006

When you need flowers NOW

There was one time when I wanted to send flowers and have them arrive the same day, in a matter of hours. It was an I’m sorry gesture because my stupid mouth is always getting me in trouble. Anyway, I was at work and wanted to send them right away. Of course I wanted to do it online. I hate talking on the phone, so a phone book was of no use to me. The only place I was able to find same day delivery was expensive. I’m glad now there are alternatives like www.dotflowers.com to choose from. And there aren’t just flowers, I could get gourmet food and gift baskets. Yummy cookies make excellent gifts! It’s nice to have choices.

Friday, November 24, 2006

A little Black Friday envy

As mentioned previously, I have an employer who believes business should go on the day after Thanksgiving, even if you’re not in retail. Really, how many people are going to be concerned with financial services when there are so many sales going on?

Speaking of sales, I have a tiny bit of Black Friday envy. A couple of coworkers came in saying they braved the crowds before coming in to work and came away with some great goodies.  One lady said Target had 42” plasma TVs for $800, so she picked up 3 of them. (Three? Can I have one??) There were also portable DVD players for $50 each so she got one for each of her kids. She has 4 of them. Geez it much be nice to have $2600 in spare cash laying around.

Sniff. I love gadgets. I’m a geek for cryin’ out loud, I should have every cool gadget available! But no, I’m also a tightwad. Realistically, even if I did have the spare cash, I wouldn’t be keeping up with the latest technology. Still, it’s a little sad to be sooo far behind.

On a different note, to demonstrate how far under the rock I often live, do you know why it’s called Black Friday? I didn’t even know the day after Thanksgiving was called Black Friday until last year. And then for a long time I couldn’t figure out why.  Did someone die? Are we supposed to memorialize the countless turkeys that died for our holiday the next day? I mean, doesn’t Black Friday sound like “a black mark in history” or something? I had to break down and finally ask someone what it meant. When you’re this dense, pride does you no favors.

On the off chance that there are any others out there who are still clueless about what it means, I’ll tell you. Supposedly stores run with negative profits all year long, so they’re in the red. The day after Thanksgiving is when they finally make enough volume in sales to be profitable, putting their books into the black. Thus the name, Black Friday. I still say it sounds morbid. I don’t think I’m way off base though. I mean, how many people get trampled every year on that day, hmm?

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Are you a Black Friday bargain hunter?

Those of you who are crazy enough to want to go shopping the day after Thanksgiving, wow, good luck. I don’t know how you can stand those hordes of shoppers frothing at the mouth, not just for those special deals, but for your parking spot as well.

This year I’ve been introduced to a few recources for finding these special deals that people froth over. I’ve never participated in Black Friday before because, frankly, I never knew where to go. Now I know. But I still may not join the frenzy for the following reasons:

1. I don’t really need anything that badly to warrant standing in lines in the dark.
2. I haven’t sold the house yet, so I don’t really have much in the way of spendable cash to buy stuff with.
3. Those hardcore shoppers with their deal lists and sleeping bags scare me with their fervor. I suspect they will cut me for even looking at something that’s on their list.
4. I have to work.

Black Friday - According to them, they are the “official site for all of the 2006 Black Friday ads as they are reported to us during this holiday shopping season”. They list all the Black Friday deals available at tons of stores, like Best Buy, CompUSA, Circuit City, Staples, and lots more.

Fat Wallet - If you’re not into hunting through lists for a specific item, this forum might help you.  Lots of bargain hunters flock here to discuss deals they’ve found. There are threads for finding the best laptop deal, the best deals at specific stores, unadvertised specials, and free stuff. There’s even a special Black Friday discussion forum specifically for deals available that one day only.

If anyone has other resources they’d like to share, feel free to comment and let me know.  Next year when I finally have cash to spend (and the day off), I’ll be joining the Black Friday bargain hunters! Maybe. Those crowds still scare me.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Did somebody actually get paid to write that?

On the radio this morning was a commercial for the Broadway show “Wicked”. It’s coming to town and it’s “revolutionary”. Okay sure. When the “Lion King” show was here, the commercials usually said, “But you’d better hurry because they’re leaving soon.” However for this commercial they said, “The longer you wait, the longer you wait to see… Wicked!”

No shit, really? The longer I wait, the longer it’ll be before I see it?? That’s amazing insight! Why didn’t I see it before? Absolutely brilliant!

And stupid.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Barb probably knows, but does anyone else?

Not that I really care about sports or anything, but I couldn’t be a smug know-it-all if I didn’t actually know it all. So, what I want to know, and am slightly embarrassed that I don’t, is this: What the heck is a pickup game? I hear it all the time when a bunch of guys go to play basketball or something, or when my renter goes to play a pickup hockey game (and kicks some ass in the process)... what exactly does that mean?

A cursory Google search came up with nothing but ways to find pickup games, but nothing actually defined what the heck they are. Anyone care to enlighten me?

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Feelings of superhero-ness

Normally when I’m laying about the house I’m dressed in grubby old things and, more often than not, slightly unwashed. It’s all about glorious comfort and laziness. Well we were planning on meeting some friends for breakfast, so I showered and dressed into one of my favorite outfits.  While waiting for the friends to show up, I let the doggies out into the front yard to sniff around and do their business. I kept watch over them on the front porch.

So there I was standing on the front porch, hands on my hips, slight breeze blowing through my damp hair, warm morning sunshine glinting off it, a slight, confident smile on my face, feeling squeaky clean and awesome. Standing there like that, I felt like a superhero watching over my citizens. Yes, I am here to save the world. Feel my awesomeness.

It’s kind of like this photo:

Note: This was taken about 7 years ago during my vacation to Guatemala with my sweety (our first vacation ever)... I have since gained a little bit of a sense of style, thanks to her. That is most definitely not my favorite outfit. Yes, I was still wearing shorts I got in the 80s. I’m not ashamed, I just didn’t know any better. The point of the photo is that standing on a rooftop can grant one feelings of grandeur, especially when surrounded by such mountainous beauty. I was feeling my inner hero. Can you feel it? Everyone should get in touch with their own inner hero once in a while.

Friday, November 17, 2006

Must... work...

Anyone else find it extremely difficult to work when you’re in a good mood? I am so much more productive when I’m pissed off. Why is that?

Audacity

There might be a lot of audio editing software out there, I don’t know. But the one I use has three things that I love: It’s simple, compact and free. You can use it to edit WMV and MP3 files. I use it to create the ringtones I shared last week. Or was that two weeks ago? Um, yeah. Sometime in the past. I also use it to fix MP3s that have annoying things at the beginning or end that ruin the whole listening experience.  Like maybe it starts another song before cutting off suddenly, or maybe there’s too much talking going on. You can remove that stuff with a program called Audacity.

There are a few quirks of course. When you save it, it’s in some proprietary Audacity format (I think). You have to use the Export feature to save it into MP3 format. But considering what I can do with it, I can forgive.

The two features I use most are the fader and deleting parts of the track. After loading the audio track into Audacity, you can use your mouse to highlight portions of the track and hit the Delete key to remove them. You can also select a portion of the track, usually the end piece, and have it fade out nicely instead of ending abruptly. Makes for a much more pleasant track to listen to.

I currently am still using the 1.0 version (download it from my server if you’d like), but there are newer version available on their website.

And just to keep with my own personal (even if it is lame) tradition of offering music, here’s one of of my personal favorites. It’s one of the first tracks to enter my collection when I first discovered the world of MP3s. It’s from the soundtrack of The Matrix.

Rob D - Clubbed to Death (Kurayamino Mix)

Thursday, November 16, 2006

We're watching you

When we first got suspicious of the tenants in the back, long before they started skipping out on rent, we put a webcam in the window that faces their front door. It was obvious they hated it because the boyfriend (who is now in jail BTW) immediately came over and demanded to know why there was a camera pointed at them. We fibbed and said it was to see what the dogs were doing in the back yard. We both knew that wasn’t true, but we didn’t care. If they weren’t going to respect us, why should we give them any?

It even looks like a big eye, doesn’t it? We have motion detection software running on it so we can see their comings and goings all day long. On some days they have a lot of gangster-looking friends going in and out. Other days they do nothing all day long, probably just marinating themselves in nicotine while running up our utility bill as much as possible.

Shortly after the boyfriend was wanted by the police and took off, we put up a fake security camera pointed right at the front gate. It also has the added benefit of pointing at my car in the driveway so they won’t be all that tempted to do anything stupid to my car. After the trial and her little threat, we decided to piss her off even more by dragging our camcorder out of storage and posting it in a window that faces the walkway to their front door. We made no attempt to hide it because we want them to think we’re watching their every move. I can only record 4 hours at a time with this one, but I think the added fear that we’ll catch them doing something will be more effective.

It’s so funny how much they hate the surveillance cameras everywhere. I once overheard the bitch saying something about “living in a police state”. Ha! If only. When you go into a 7-11 or the grocery store or even the gym, you see surveillance cameras everywhere. Do you mind? Do you feel violated? Do you feel like someone is taking your rights away? Hell no! Not unless you’re planning to break the law, right? Only people who are doing nothing good are bothered by public cameras. This lady is so paranoid, she was at one point convinced that we had her phone tapped. I wish we did, but whatever paranoid delusion she wants to believe is fine with me. She just needs to get her unwanted ass out of my yard.

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