Due to scheduling difficulties with my family, we celebrated a day before we usually do. My family's not loaded or anything, but we all have pretty much everything we need, save for a few little things here and there. Despite hard times though, we always find a way to muster up some fun gifts for one another.
The mother-lode of my evening was a little gem that I've always drooled over since it's introduction... I scored an AirPort Express from the parents! Talk about a lot of goodies in a small package at a modest price point.
Among other things, some much needed clothies and sleepwear and a percussion back massager (pummels you so nice it hurts) from the wife, some gift cards for wallyworld and best buy, some old obscure episodes of Flash Gordon on DVD, and a few other interesting and fun things.
My wife wanted a new "boom box" stereo because she's been joining me in boycotting stores and buying all her music through iTMS lately, but her burned CD's don't play well on the old system. It was nice about 7 years ago when I bought it, but it's lacking now.
I surveyed the prices of new stereo systems that can play MP3's and all of them either seemed like junk or were about the same price as middle-of-the-line home theater systems but lacked the flexibility (and surround sound) of the home theater setups. Sooo I just picked up a nice 5.1 home theater that as well as having a tuner built in, also does CD's very nicely with just the remote and on-board display and you don't need to turn the TV on. Also does DVD's, MP3's on DVD or CD, has a photo viewer, most of the typical things any newer DVD player can do, but with a tuner, more speakers, more inputs, and a sub to boot.
Can you say "AirTunes over the home theater?" - I knew you could. The AP Express plus the new audio setup will rock. I'm missing the optical cable I need to finish it off, but believe me, it will come to fruition before the new year.
My wife scored some nice new 500TC sheets and some blankets for our bed, so I'll benefit from that as well. I also gave her a humidifier to help her sleep at night. The dry air in our place makes it hard for her to breathe.
I got the rest of my family a lot of the smaller things that they needed and finished it off with gift cards for places I know they love.
All in all, great times and a lot more than I expected.
I know a lot of my stuff was techy and could go in Other Tech, but honestly it's more about the holidays and giving and telling what you got, than it is about the techy geek stuff. So post it up!
Merry Christmahannukwanzaayulidays everyone!
chrismahannukwanzaayulidays broken into substrings so it'll format better. - Tom
...and Merry Christmas!
So... is it too geeky that I bought my wife a domain name and a years hosting for Christmas?
... it probably is... damn... oh well...
That's nerdcore right there. I was hoping to have my co-lo rackspace set up so I could drop my wife's BBS/MUD server out there. Geek girls own me. Will your wife do her own web work?
- edit cuz it's stupid to quote what's right above your reply -
My Mum got me a Mighty Mouse, which is certainly interesting and different. I'm trying it out now.
I haven't finished Christmas yet, but I'll post the beginnings of a story about ax0ns wife... She was disappointed one time when he gave her a computer loaded with DOS 6.22 and Win 3.1, back in the day. So, she demanded his Redhat 5.x? CD and proceded to install Linux for herself. And she has admin'd and run her own MUD. Her geekitude is quite high.
No computer stuff for me, but the geek factor was there. My wife gave me a double-action airbrush to replace my aging Paasche, and a Hawaiian shirt so I can dress like Wash on Firefly.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
Well... part of the gift is going to be a tutorial on HTML and FTP. She'll eventually take over it, but I'll be doing most of the initial setup work. My wife, she's not too geeky...
...but she's geeky enough to get me two copies (one to keep, one to read) of the "Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk #1" that just came out! Woohoo!
... but is that for you or for her?
I got my wife some shoes. She offered to buy me a laptop! Which I'm taking a raincheck on, because a) I don't think we should spend the money and b) there isn't anything out there that is really what I want and c) I'm waiting for any announcements in January that might push down prices of existing stuff. We also disagree about buying new or used (I want something I can hack around with, she wants, for once in my life, to have something that is up to date; she's a little tired of having a house full of obselete computers), so we have to work that out.
But the best present is that my wife is well after a surgery a few days ago. It was pretty rough for a couple of days but she's doing great today.
That's right... nada.
I was a very naughty boy this year...
but, you know what?
It was so worth it.
Yes, you heard me right, i've been a very good(?) boy and got an iPod Video. I've been waiting for this day for months, and i've already converted all of my DVDs and TV show DVDs to iPod format. I'm watching it right now. And it's not over yet, tomorrow's my birthday
.
a $30 gift card top CompUSA. a GIANT bag of candy, and some $ (about $190), And I was able to m,ove into a bigger bedroom when my brother moved out (3x the size of my old one)
sadly, I didn't get as much stuff as I would have gotten, as if our family had not fall apart over the last year. I lost my cousin last year, my Aunt is going to live with her fiancè and will be married soon, My grandpa dies this last year also. So, we had 4 people to celebrate with. Myself, my brother, my mom, and my Great Aunt. If my dad was not a Jehova's Witness, I woulda gotten something from him, But I don't even remember a time when he was with us for christmas. 'tis sad about him really. But then, he gets me some toys thruout the year. Luckily, my Birthday is on January 9th. I will be 21 then, and I can't wait to go to the Bohemian Cafè and get a nice tall Cheq Beer.
I've been giving and getting stuff for months... where to begin??
There's the Wacom tablet for the SE/30 ((and maybe an iMate to make it work on iBook as well...))
Batteries!!! YES!!!
Nothing to do with technology, I got one of those desktop chi-fountain things. The light-up kind. The real bonus here is the rocks... it came with twice as many as could fit on... I like rocks...
More stuff to come ((I'm promised, from the camera shop...))
And I got myself a set of Tarot cards*.
And I always seem to get one ((or four)) books. This year's was "The darkroom handbook 4th ed."
I guess between that, a college education, my entire darkroom, getting the camera cleaned, and not dealing with certain people, I'm set.
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*Yes, I know what you're thinking. The original thought was to irratate the aunt with them, or to play the actual ((French, I am told)) card game, but they're fairly honest as an oracle, and dammit, I like them. They go well with the rocks.
All I got was a T-shirt with Brian the dog from The Family Guy show that says "Doggy Style" and I am Stylin'.......
I'm not sure if that means I was bad or not.
I was really surprised to find an iPod video under the tree from my wife.
And guess what, its 9:40pm here and the iPod is still shrinkwrapped. I can't tell you how much I wanted to open it and at least caress it (oh wait that's another thread, and it would cost me $29 fee for an open box return).
But the first thing that popped in my head was all the problems with iPods etc., etc., Than the second thing was the $299.00 price tag.
45 seconds after I gleamed from ear to ear I decided I wouldn't open it and it would be returned on Monday at my Apple Store.
I just don't trust Apple's quality anymore and $300 might as well be $3,000 in my house.
So I can hold my brand new shrinkwrapped iPod Video in the box for another twelve or so hours.
MaxTek
Nah, that's just those damn Nanos...
Peace on Earth and goodwill for all men!
...but I seem to have misplaced it...
- or, alternatively -
I got a nice new Sony-Ericsson HBH-602 Bluetooth headset for my Treo yesterday, as well as A Certain Chemestry (Mil Millington) and Fifty Degrees Below (Kim Stanley Robinson). I've wanted those books for the longest time, and I love having a bluetooth headset. It's fantastic.
Today, I got a bottle of Armani Black Code (mmn!), $150 worth of Vaja gift cards.. I've already got my new Treo case on order! Animal Crossing, Phoenix Wright, and Trace memory all for my DS, The Dresden Dolls, Ladytron's Witching Hour, A Clockwork Orange, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, a few sweaters, and a sore arm.
I'm not one for making friendly lists, I suppose.
I got a new DVD burner and a bunh of DVD's (Amongst other stuff)
My fiancee and I had a good Christmas together. She got me an iHome for my iPod (it's awesome), a Motorola bluetooth headset (ironically enough, I got my fiancee the exact same one as well), Airplane on DVD, and Family Guy Volume 3 on DVD. I also got the Obsessive Compulsive Action Figure (one of the most amusing things ever). I got my fiancee some goodies - the belkin pink leather case for her iPod mini, $100 worth of clothes, a hickory farms gift basket (one of her favorite things), So far, it's been a good holiday. On Tuesday, I head off to Philadelphia to meet up with my brother and parents who are up from Florida. It'll be fun. I'm giving my 12 year old sister my old indigo iMac to replace her bondi iMac (which still runs without issue).
- iantm
No frlappin' way! *I'm* gonna be 27 that day. Heh, but I guess we can share the same birthday anyway. It seems there might be others in the world who already do too...
As for my Christmas haul, it's not quite over, and my birthday and the early Jan. Apple updates being so close might help with some other things (miniminiminigofastermini).
- Gift cards to MicroCenter to bring the Mini fund to $500 in G/Cs alone.
The 19" is currently doing duty with my Ubuntu Dell until I get the mini, replacing the old 21" VeiwSonic CRT.
- Cash, of which $249 was spent for me by my wife to get a BEAUTIFUL ACER AL1916s 19" LCD display which also has a 1-day only $50 rebate! $199!!! They also have a 17" one for $249 with a $60 rebate until the 1st, but who is gonna buy that over the 19", until they run out?
- "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" on DVD
- The "A Christmas Story" T-shirt I mentioned in RDs post.
- A Duluth Trading workshirt (a couple more on the way too, I guess) A DT hat, and a small wallet.
- Warm socks for working out doors.
- A Carhart-esq work coat.
- Candy, cookies, etc.
Luckily I've got in-laws the like me a lot, along with my own family. If it weren't for all of them, I'd just be stuck with a T-shirt and a DVD...
i got heated blanket, heated gloves, heated socks, yah, its cold in maine!! i got nothing electronic reltated but i did get $150 from relatives, so that covers me buying my powerbook. i guess you could call that a christmas present too. i hear ya on the family split up thing, i havnt had a real fun filled group gathering for almost 10 years. everyone has moved away to other places. (who wants to stay in maine their whole life anyways) i didnt even see my dad this year. i got the usual crap ton of things in my stocking though. oh yea i did get a new cell phone for myself and my brother, FREE w/$30 mail in rebate!! gotta love t-mobile, they cant give them things away fast enough. needless to say im happy with this year, i may not have gotten a ton but im happy. a few of my friends got ipods and i kinda just shruged cuz i dont wanna deal with one.
Oh, that's what I missed. Seriously, we've had to postpone it AGAIN.. we're being forced to move because the apartments we live in are income restricted, and at $40k USD, we are rich. Of course, they made it seem like they might renew at the eleventh hour, then changed their minds, leaving us with three weeks to raise the money and pack. Have to be out on the 31st.
But, I did get a few Christmas gifts from the inlaws... got a brand-spanking new HP Jornada 680e (and I mean brand new... this thing was still in the original packaging...), a bunch of Windows CE software for the H-PC, and a dead 1990 Astro van (have to go back and get that after the move)...
Merry Christmas
I heart my 680e.
Make sure to get the vibrant color update from HP. Brings it to 16 bit color (from 8 bit stock). Also, I've been able to rather successfully get my linksys WPC11v3 PCMCIA Wifi card working in mine. I use it for wireless surfing, wireless AIM, and other stuff. If you ever have questions about it let me know. I bought mine as a refurb from Tiger Direct and use it almost daily. It's everything I absolutely positively can't live without in a portable computer (a real keyboard, internet, email, calendar, note pad, and with plenty of run time) and a little more (I added apps to it for network troubleshooting, port scanning, chat, secure shell, remote desktop, VNC and stuff).
Honestly, I really can do everything I need to do (even work related) from it. In a pinch, I could probably go several weeks with just my 680e if it came down to brass tacks.
That's right; bagpipes! Nothing fancy, just a parlor set. That's what I get for making wisecracks when my wife's sister asks what I want for Christmas. It is something that I've kinda had a hankering for for a long time, but could never justify spending the money on. Now I'm in the market for a good tutorial with CD so I can actually make something other than horrid squawking noises with it.
Also got a nice new espresso machine and some Hush Puppies slippers; the floors are cold at my house this winter (just like all the other winters!)
I got my boys some fun stuff that I can also play with; the eldest son is into juggling, so he got a set of devil sticks and some juggler sacks. Middle son got a hot RC car -- the thing moves faster than any of us can run, and turns a mean cookie from most any speed! Shorty (youngest son) got a new 1:43 slot car track & cars. I'd forgotten how much fun I had with those when I was a kid!
First, I will be the first to mutter the word "bastard" under my breathe in envy...
Second, if you can find any tutorial or instructional information from Lars Sloan ( http://www.americanbagpipes.com ) , then that will be what I recommend...
I mean, where else can you find a Danish Piper who plays Highland Greatpipes and lives in Texas?
Wha? So it makes noises *other* than horrid and squawking?
Are you kidding! The list of problems since Steve-O took the helm are large and almost endless. I think we should start a new 'fritter heading for Apple settlements, court cases and recalls.
MaxTek
P.S. There have been tons more problems with the iPods than just the nano's.
iFusion iPod boombox thing. New cellphone... cheap.
My wife and I decided not to buy presents for each other this year. We spent 4 days and 3 nights in Wilmington, NC.
We had a great time, and found out just how hard it was to find a restaurant that was open on Christmas.
Highlights of the trip were the USS Battleship North Carolina and the aquarium, as well as watching the sunset on Kure Beach.
I got a new lcd screeen and now I have to put a new video card
in my pc so I can use both screens I have.I use to have to
tap the old screen (it played the rainbow game) so
I will still use it as part of the big picture
UPDATE: The $20 Target gift card one of my bro-in-laws gave us was used to finally buy a Griffin iTrip, on sale for $19.98. Now I can listen to the iPod in my GMC truck or the Escort, both of which only have AM/FM radios, and also the T&C minivan which has the nice Kenwood CD deck.
This
No, I don't remember the syntax for the image embedding module I hacked together for you guys.
I got a lovely new Ibanez bass, an iPod Nano, and a superfast DVD-RW for my PC.