My Part of Colorado

Where Paul Is

2011-06-13T12:36:00.005-06:00

If you are looking for Paul Merrill, go over to Shiny Bits of Life, which is his main blog - or Greener Grass Media, which is his business site and blog. Thanks!

Christian guitars?

2009-02-13T06:18:00.002-07:00

I had to laugh when I saw this ad...

It is my belief that guitars are neither Christian nor Buddhist nor Atheist. Guitars don't have souls. (Some would argue with me on that point.)

It's the guitar player that has a spiritual life. (And it's the guitar player that adds life to a guitar - or music.)

The all powerful hospital

2009-02-12T06:24:00.000-07:00

I was greatly amused at this local hospital's claim - their ER can handle any injury or illness.

I have been expecting a swarm of terminal patients to arrive on their doorstep to be cured of that illness that has been plaguing them.

(Wouldn't the word "most" have worked better there? Where's any humility?)

Cheap coffee and trains

2009-02-11T06:02:00.003-07:00

I took a train from Washington DC to New York City when I was in elementary school. The fun was intense enough to make it a very memorable experience, even these thousands of year later. We visited the UN, took a bus through Times Square - and just the train ride alone was great. It was a also a wonderful time with just my dad.

Cheap coffee? Well, my parents drank a lot of Chock full o' Nuts coffee when I was a kid. And I was amazed to see Chock full o' Nuts coffee shops on many corners when that bus zoomed through New York City. (Long before today, the vast majority must have have been replaced with Starbucks. Apparently there are still four left.)

Safeway had a sale on Chock full o' Nuts recently - $6 for a big tin that normally costs $12. I couldn't resist the opportunity to cut my better coffee with that for nostalgia's sake - and for budget's sake. The report? The blend is not bad. Way better than Folger's or its kin.

Fun watching

2009-02-10T06:36:00.000-07:00

It's fun watching our kids grow and change.

Our daughter Rachel thinks so much like me. We go back and forth in arranging the rubber duckies and shampoo bottles on the back of our toilet. The pattern is constantly changing. This is a game we have never even discussed... we just do it.

I love seeing that strange part of me reflected in our child.

The takeaway for this post? If you are at a point in your life where you are considering whether or not to have kids - I'd say you should choose to expand your life. The costs are high, but the rewards are far higher.

Denver Art Museum - an outing

2009-02-09T08:40:00.000-07:00

Saturday we went to the Denver Art Museum. It was great!

On the first Saturday of each month, Target is sponsoring Free Saturdays at the Museum. Yay Target!! (It would have cost us $41 if Target had not paid the bill.)

My favorite part of this visit was the western art section. Normally that isn't my cup of tea, but for some reason, this time it really hit me in a positive way. That collection was very well put together - and compelling.

Seeing real art up close and personal is unbeatable. You can look at prints of art in books, but nothing beats the intensity of seeing the real colors and scale of the works.

This was only my third time to visit the museum. The most recent time before this was maybe five years ago, so it was my first time in the new Libeskind addition.

(By the way, that's Jay, our oldest, next to the trumpet player.)

I took so many pictures that I have to share more with you later.

Average shoes

2009-02-06T16:31:00.002-07:00

I had the rare thrill recently of buying a new pair of shoes. Puma. (On sale, of course.) I found out that this is their 60th anniversary. Even though they have been around for a long while, Puma has re-done themselves to appeal to Gen X and Gen Y by producing an ever-changing line with extremely varied styles and colors. (Good job, Puma!)

I was amused by this little note on the box: "Average contents: 2".

Was that a joke? Do people buy shoes without checking to see if there is a left and right in the box? What's your take on this?

Spam patterns

2009-02-05T18:17:00.000-07:00

Ah, just one of those minor observation posts...

Every once in a while, when I'm about to delete all the spam in one of our email's spam boxes, I look at what's in there (the titles, anyhow). I noticed this pattern I had never seen before - there were huge numbers of spam emails sent at exactly the same time! Several clumps of them at different times, in fact.

When I think of those spam creators, over in Nigeria, I guess a few must think, "Maybe one of them will get read by somebody," in a lonely sort of way.

I had to say goodbye

2009-02-05T06:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I didn't have to say goodbye - I wanted to.

A week or so ago, I sold about 80% of my vinyl records. My collection represented years of careful selections and purchases. It spanned genres of all types and had some rare releases not available digitally. Many audio purists say records' sound quality is far superior to CDs (or even higher-resolution digital recordings).

Sadly, I sold the collection for way less than what it was worth - but I did get my asking price. I didn't want to hassle with listing each record on eBay. The cost of doing it that way would have yielded about 50c per hour, if that!

But it all had to go. Some I hadn't listened to in ten or more years. The vast majority I would never listen to again. Space? I didn't have room. In fact, I feel like even CDs take too much room now. I rarely buy music on CD anymore (even though it can be cheaper that way - if less instantaneous).

You can't take it with you. I'm glad my Craigslist buyer did.

The Denny's Superbowl Giveaway

2009-02-04T06:18:00.002-07:00

Denny's ran an ad during the Superbowl touting a free Grand Slam breakfast on Tuesday.

Heather and I decided to check it out. I knew the line would be long - but not quite this long. We were just about to leave when Heather said we should ask how long the wait was. So as we were walking to restaurant entrance, I asked a lady who was leaving how long the wait was. She said "About 45 minutes" and then told us we could get a rain check from the checkout counter. We went there and were given five coupons for free breakfasts, even though there were just two of us!

That whole experience left us with very good feelings for Denny's.

Appreciation of niceness

2009-02-03T06:18:00.003-07:00

Sunday afternoon we went for a family walk along a very posh section of The Highline Canal. That's a trail that runs through Denver and its suburbs. We love walking or riding our bikes along various sections as a refreshing exercise and change of pace from normal life.

This particular portion has homes with 5+ acre lots and views like this shot I took. I would put forward the thought that we appreciate that view more than some who live in those homes do. Why? We don't see it every day.

I don't say this to put those home owners down. Many have worked very hard to get to that pinnacle of achievement. And I wouldn't want to trade places... vacuuming alone would take the better part of one day each week.

Taking my idea to its extreme would mean choosing to live in the worst possible place so you could appreciate a few occasional moments of pleasure. So instead, do everything in balance. But you know that already.

It goes something like this.

2009-02-02T06:35:00.000-07:00

When Paul asked me to write about things that give me joy, the first to pop into my head were naturally my kids. Followed closely by Keith Richards, puffy Cheetos and Jesus, not necessarily in that order.

My day was spent waking up lazy, letting Samuel mix the pancake batter while Lilly watched cartoons. By noon the house was clean - well, clean enough if you overlook the ketchup stain on the drapes, which I've been able to do for much longer than most in my social circle. Eric, my husband, fixed the washing machine while I took the kids to the retro movie theater on our corner - one of the few remaining neighborhood theaters, and the same one I used to see matinees at with my grandma. She's gone now, but the theater is pretty much unchanged, homemade popcorn and all.

After the movie, Lilly and I went to get the car washed - it was covered in bird poop from being parked under the ancient tree in the backyard. She was so embarrassed to be seen in it that she slouched way down in her seat the whole way there afraid that, gasp, we'd be seen in the poop car by someone we knew.

Eric made fried chicken, biscuits and Spiderman macaroni and cheese for dinner. We laid out a big blanket on the living room floor and ate picnic style. We talked like southerners while we ate and during a brief silence Samuel said, "Ahhh... I just love the peace and quiet". This is not something often heard from a 4-year old so it was equal parts charming and hilarious.

After baths, I put Samuel to bed. The smell of his shampooed hair makes me smile. Aha...that's what brings me joy. Contentment. There it is. I've learned in some hard ways the meaning of enough. I've learned to love that word... it's what I aspire to. And now that Samuel is asleep, I'm sitting next to Lilly writing this while she's lost in a book. Okay, it's not a book, it's her Nintendo DS - I never said we were "The Waltons". She'll be asleep soon and I'll have a glass of wine and watch a stupid late-night movie with Eric. We are old, we are content and that's enough to bring me joy.

This is a guest post by Chris Thomas, of Minneapolis. We have only met virtually. A long-time friend, Alan, made the connection. (She works for Alan's company, Cue.) I have always enjoyed her writing, and now you have too!

The 1-second ad

2009-01-30T06:51:00.002-07:00

You gotta go here.

I guarantee these will be the most talked-about ads on Superbowl Sunday.

Special thanks to Chris for pointing me there.

Update: I was wrong - no splash at all. I watched most of the Superbowl and only saw one of the 1-second ads. There is not much way for them to make an impact with just one tiny ad! (Did anyone else out there see any more than one?)

The mining cabin

2009-01-29T06:11:00.000-07:00

Andrew Hyde, Boulder entrepreneur, has a mining cabin office. In fact, if you google "mining cabin", his comes up as the top entry. (I guess mining cabins are old enough that they're not on the internet much.)

His office is part of skinnycorp, the host for Blogcamp Boulder last weekend. If you're ever in Boulder, I'm sure they would welcome a visit. And you don't need to be skinny to enter.

Anyhow, I thought it was a very creative approach to office-ness. (How can you make your office space more interesting?)

Obamicon

2009-01-28T19:38:00.002-07:00

Jenny pointed me to the most hilarious site: here.

Yes, you can do this to yourself too. (Maybe someday you can run for president.)

Bad icons and good communication

2009-01-28T06:12:00.004-07:00

For Christmas I received an item that came in a carrying case with this little tag inside.

What in the world are these little icons trying to tell me? I don't have the smallest clue.

And that brings me to the question - what are some things that you assume that others know when you're giving a message that they may not understand? Often we can be blind to the bad icons we are putting out there. So it's worth asking others if that "icon" we made communicates what we intended it to. The best "others" to ask might be those outside of our working realm.

A bit of blogging cynicism

2009-01-27T17:59:00.002-07:00

These days, there is so much information out there that the chances of someone clicking on your url when you comment on a blog and then becoming a devotee are pretty small.

Questionable space

2009-01-27T06:18:00.002-07:00

In contrast to yesterday's post, I was amused (in a critical way) of this section that added another foot to my supermarket checkout receipt... a credit card application form!!

I thought the "credit crunch" was real - we have received about 90% less mail from credit card companies asking us to apply for another card lately. And then this receipt comes my way.

Credit companies take note: doling out applications every which way is not going to help the world economy - at least in the long run.

PodCamp Boulder

2009-01-26T13:51:00.002-07:00

I went to PodCamp Boulder over the weekend. It was excellent. Rather than rewrite the book, you can go here for a great review.

Wasted space

2009-01-26T06:04:00.000-07:00

Dunno if you have been to Taco Bell in the last year or so. They have a "feel good" micro-campaign on their hot sauce packets - cute little phrases in that space.

This particular phrase always bothers me - I think they should use that little area for advertising. I'd suggest they sell that space to companies for putting only a website address. (I'll take 5% of the profits for coming up with the idea.)

I guess it's a Monk-like trait I have - wanting to optimize everything. I do get offended by advertising appearing everywhere, so I'm not sure why I am OK with it appearing on Taco Bell packets.

300 Words

2009-01-23T08:46:00.000-07:00

300 Words is a new blog that Jon Swanson created. Check it out!

Yours truly is the guest writer for today.

Connections, part 2

2009-01-23T06:11:00.000-07:00

I just finished skimming a totally boring book: Social Networks and the Semantic Web, by Peter Mika. It might be great if you're into academic language and maybe have a PhD. I don't, so it was not riveting.

The one concept that was sort of new to me is the idea that you can be a unique bridge between various spheres of interest. You might be the only person on this planet that could make an important connection between someone you know and someone they need to know! So the area of social media does have payoffs. Some are financial but the most important ones are relational.

Kenya and Obama

2009-01-22T06:28:00.001-07:00

Kenya has embraced Obama almost as if he is their president. (And I know some who wish he was!) So a big thrill awaited us on inauguration day - this lovely fabric kanga arrived in the mail - sent to us from Kenya by our friends Josh and Audra! What fun!!

A kanga is a piece of cloth that is often worn as a wrap-skirt or a dress. Or used as a baby backpack.

So, the translation: "Congratulations Barack Obama. Love and peace have been given to us by God." (That comes courtesy of Pernille.)

I was amused to see the same kanga in this video.

Finally, here is a perspective from Kenya on life after the party.

Do you make connections?

2009-01-21T06:48:00.000-07:00

As I was walking across the Target parking lot, I saw this little connector on the ground. And it got me thinking about connections.

It's always good when we can help others to connect with others. Our lives are so fractured these days that any connections that can be created or encouraged are good.

What ways are you connecting others to others in your life? Professionally? Personally? Are you making any steps to increase the amount of connection you have with others?

By the way, this is one of those posts based on an obvious concept. I know you know my point. I'm just reminding you about it. And asking you to consider doing something about it.

Welcome, President Obama

2009-01-20T06:19:00.002-07:00

Today is the big inauguration (as you should know).

Though Obama won't save all of mankind, I am hoping for positive things.

Welcome to the helm, President Obama! May God use you for the good, in many many ways.

Black is the new platinum

2009-01-19T06:24:00.000-07:00

Mercedes has a new model: the SL 65 AMG Black. It comes in at a cool $320,000. The "standard" SL model is a mere $100,000. So you pay an additional $220,000 for the 661 horsepower engine and trick suspension, etc.

American Express? This card is so exclusive that you can't even find it on their site. I'm sure it's available "by invitation only".

At some point, the ultra-rich will start wearing black jewelry to keep current.

What price exclusivity? A high price for sure. I'd suggest that you can be exclusive in your humility. Be proud of shopping at "The Big Department Store" (as my aunt and dad used to call The Goodwill). Be proud of re-using something that most people would throw away. Be proud of... ooops, when you're proud, you're no longer humble (as C.S. Lewis once said).

Remember - and be thankful

2009-01-16T17:25:00.002-07:00

I was clearing out emails late this afternoon. I came across a message from October 6th - just over three months ago. I noted that the cheapest gas outlet in my neighborhood had a gallon for $3.43.

Today, the same place is selling for about $1.50. Though it has gone up some lately, we have much to be thankful for, at least when it comes to filling our tanks!

Just a little reminder for your weekend...

Cold weather health tip

2009-01-16T06:11:00.001-07:00

If you live in a dry climate, like Denver, your skin may crack. Or a cut may take a long time to heal during the winter.

My big tip? Use super glue to seal up the crack or cut. This allows it to heal. It works! Try it.

(And yes, this post proves that almost anything can appear on this blog.)

Blogapalooza!

2009-01-15T18:11:00.002-07:00

Robert Hruzek offers you the opportunity to join in a blogging extravaganza extrordinaire.

Go here.

I'm doing it and so can you (peer pressure).

Get rid of the penny

2009-01-15T06:19:00.000-07:00

Yes, the penny should no longer be part of American life. Did you know that it costs more than a penny to produce one? (Heather and the kids did a tour of the Denver Mint last year and found this out.) Since this extra money comes out of the government, somewhere, it would save some money to not make them anymore.

My suggestion would be to round down 2c and under to zero and up 3c and over to 5c. Electronic transactions could continue to use non-zero and 5 cent increments.

If you love Starbucks...

2009-01-14T06:12:00.000-07:00

Yes, they have a new club. You can join for just $25.

I didn't join because I'm just too cheap. But if you're an extreme fan of Starbucks, it sounds like the way to go... 10% discounts on every purchase, a free "surprise indulgence" on your birthday - and more. It will pay for itself after about 100 grande coffees. (At the rate I visit Starbucks, I'd pay it off in about five years.)

Songsmith

2009-01-13T06:48:00.001-07:00

Microsoft came out with a hilarious new program: Songsmith.

If I had a Windows computer, I'd give it a try!

I was particularly amused that the main computers they used in the demo were Macs. (I guess they were running Windows on them. That's something I refuse to do - I just don't want to hassle with virus software.)

The Willie Nelson Museum

2009-01-12T06:11:00.000-07:00

If you are driving from Dallas to Austin (or points south), you will pass the Willie Nelson Museum. You may not even know it - there are no signs letting you know of its existence. So, my traveler's tip - if you reach Carl's Corner, exit. Tip number two - fill up with fuel elsewhere.

My kids knew Willie from his appearance on the TV show "Monk". I knew Willie from living in Texas for 14 years.

So - the museum is not very exciting, but the price is right (free). And the restrooms are clean. My brother asked the sales clerk if she got tired of hearing Willie Nelson. She said that his songs were never repeated there, because he has so many albums. She didn't really address the issue of whether she was tired of his music.

Willie staged one of his early "Farm Aid" concerts at Carl's Corner maybe ten or fifteen years ago.

The guy to the left of Willie? That's Carl, looking like a character out of "King of the Hill". (The painting is on the floor.) The album shown? Willie pays homage to an herb he loves so well. I can't say that I have heard the album, or that I'm sorry I haven't.

The dancing frogs? Carl bought them from the Dallas nightclub "Tango" back in the early 80s. He displayed them on the roof of his complex for a few years. Now they are dancing in obscurity - almost around the back of the building.

Texas within Texas

2009-01-09T06:04:00.000-07:00

Everything is bigger in Texas. And smaller.

The Gaylord Texan Hotel is pretty close to where my sister lives. One morning we enjoyed a walk over to tour the lobby. Amazing! They have their own indoor riverwalk. The fabulous ice sculpture show was too pricey for us. But it was fun to see the Christmas display above the cliffs.

It was incredible to learn that they are expanding the number of rooms. 6,000 just isn't enough.

17" MacBook Pro Review

2009-01-08T06:04:00.005-07:00

So, Apple released a new top-of-the-line laptop computer. And they're touting the battery as its outstanding feature! I guess that either shows that they are running out of areas to innovate within or they are betting super-power-users really care about that.

If you go here, you can see an interesting video about the battery and its advantages. If you don't want to watch the video, here are the highlights: it has an 8-hour charge life, 3 times the lifespan of a regular laptop battery and is not user-replaceable. There was no mention of how much the replacement cost is when it finally dies. My guess is that if you can afford the laptop, you can afford the replacement of its battery. (Update: it costs $179 in the U.S. and £139 in the UK.)

The lowest entry point is $2800. Options include a $900 256 gb solid state hard drive. Or if you want an old-style anti-glare display, that is now an option for an extra $50. Finally, a screaming 2.93 ghz dual-processor is now available (at a mere extra $900).

My buddy Jim is a 17" user. He and his wife have two. I know what he wants for his birthday. But 17" is just too big for me. I love the 15" size, so I'll just have to stick with my old MacBook Pro and my home-use external monitor. Sigh.

On another Apple tech note: iLife '09 has an incredible feature - iMovie has an image stabilization feature! That is completely amazing to me - and well worth the $79 price of admission.

Amazon is selling them for about $100 off.

And finally, go here for a hilarious look at Apple's even newer laptop.

Sports on the curb

2009-01-07T06:16:00.000-07:00

Yet another thing that I haven't seen in Colorado - one's sports preference displayed on the curb outside one's home, for all to see.

But what should the movie buff do - put a small image of their favorite scene on the curb? The music fan - a picture of their favorite band?

Texas and The West

2009-01-06T06:07:00.000-07:00

Colorado is part of the American west. But somehow cowboy culture is not as much a part of Colorado as it is part of Texas, even though we have quite a few ranchers and the National Western Stock Show. Ronald MacDonald is not sitting on any horses in Colorado. Maybe he should be.

(I spotted this particular Ronald in Amarillo. We didn't eat at his restaurant.)

10 best albums of all time

2009-01-05T06:07:00.006-07:00

Over Christmas, we visited my brother in San Antonio. He challenged me to think of my favorite 10 best albums of all time. I thought a lot - and by the end our our long drive back to Colorado, I had my list. Before reading, skip to the end for all my disclaimers & notes.

These are not in order. I didn't want to narrow my choices by ranking them.

Mozart 40 & 41 Symphonies: George Szell with the Cleveland Philharmonic
Beatles: Abbey Road
Bach, Vivaldi - Concerti for 2 Violins: Stern & Zukerman
Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon
Radiohead: The Bends
Pat Metheny Group: First Circle
Talking Heads: Speaking in Tongues
Elton John: Goodbye Yellowbrick Road
Quasi: Featuring Birds
Fleetwood Mac: Fleetwood Mac

If you are interested in grabbing any via Amazon, I have provided these handy links below. Used CDs from this list can be had for as little as 62c! (Elton John.)

Disclaimers & notes:

Nothing later than 1998 is listed, even though I love a lot of music created since then. I just couldn't come up with anything from that category that I felt was worthy of this list.
Lyrics: I am not into lyrics. Some of the lyrics in some of these songs may be offensive (particularly Quasi!) - so if you listen to any of this music and find the words offensive, please don't think that I consider what's sung as my worldview! Nor do I advocate the lifestyles of some of the musicians. I'm just into melodies. (And I know some out there can argue with this point.)
I like music from other genres than rock, classical/baroque and jazz (such as bluegrass), but again, I didn't like anything there enough to add it to my list.
I am tired of some of these albums to the level that I can't hear them again for a long time. But each has provided more pleasurable listens than albums that are not on this list.
Taste is a personal thing - your list would or should look different than mine!

Enjoy. And I would invite you to come up with a list of your own. If you do, please put a link to that list in the comments - so that we all can discover something new and worth hearing.

Smoking allowed

2009-01-02T06:19:00.001-07:00

We had lunch at a cafeteria south of Dallas.

There must be different rules in Texas than in Colorado... I don't think there is a single restaurant in Colorado that allows smoking. I didn't see anyone smoking, however. They must have all come from Colorado, unprepared for that unexpected freedom.

The evil pink Shrek - or Yoda?

2008-12-31T06:02:00.005-07:00

Yes, I spotted the evil pink Shrek/Yoda on our way down to Texas for Christmas. Out in the middle of nowhere.

I was amazed to find graffiti on nearly every car of a very long freight train. It was exciting to see that kind of human creativity in the desolate windswept plains of west Texas.

It was also interesting to see other trains with every car looking factory fresh.

Graffiti is at its heart rebellious; most artists break the law when they whip out that spray can - particularly in the case of train car art. So I find it ironic that there is such conformity in the style of graffiti artists' work. The font selection is limited. The colors are of course limited to the palette available from the shelves of Home Depot's spray can section.

That same rebellion/conformity contrast can be seen in the Army. Many young people who enlist in the Service are some of the most rebellious people I have ever met. Yet they somehow long for the rules being ordered around provides.

By the way, happy new year! I'll be taking tomorrow off of blogging... so I'll see you next year!

ps I am back to Colorado now. I'm just sharing some of my non-Colorado time with you. (More stories to come.)

Texas pride

2008-12-30T06:19:00.000-07:00

So yes, we went to Texas for Christmas. My mom, brother, one sister and a niece live there.

Texas is different than Colorado. We all know that. One huge way it is different than most places is what I call "Texas Nationalism". Many true Texans believe that Texas is the finest place on the planet. I may not totally agree, but it is certainly good to like where you live - and take pride in it. (One Texas anti-littering campaign a while back capitalized on that - something about how since a Texan takes such pride in their state, they should keep it clean.)

Evidence of Texas pride is seen in how frequently the state outline is displayed - VERY. And the Lone Star. Everywhere. (Part of this is the distinctive shape of the state, which easily becomes part of signage and all manner of logos. However, Colorado's state outline, the rectangle, is featured on all its street signs.)

What is it about kids and the cold?

2008-12-29T06:09:00.004-07:00

Recently, my daughter Rachel, seven, was running around the back yard with a light jacket on, and it was 28 degrees (-2c).

So I was inside, huddled up next to a heater, with about five layers on. I guess the older you get, the colder you get.

By the way, she was hiding. This was the best pic I could get... probably better than a "real" shot.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-19T06:09:00.006-07:00

Merry Christmas 2008! from paul merrill on Vimeo.

I'm taking a break for Christmas. I hope you have a great one!

I'll be back on Monday the 29th.

By the way, I put this on YouTube too - and Vimeo has the quality edge. And here's what it looks like on Viddler. And on Seesmic.

Yet ANOTHER Christmas treat for you

2008-12-19T06:02:00.004-07:00

Go here for more incredible photos describing 2008.

Another Christmas treat for you

2008-12-18T18:12:00.003-07:00

My buddy Jon has an Advent Reader PDF for you, for free. Read the post and then download it at the end.

Be blessed.

A little Christmas treat for you

2008-12-18T12:41:00.004-07:00

I love good running shoes, even though I'm not a runner. They're just comfy and light.

A new-to-me running shoe company hit the market not long ago: Newton. Check out their site - pretty fun.

I can't afford to buy you (or me) a pair, so this treat is just visual. Merry Christmas!

Also, go here for a pretty cool video from Nike.

The proud dad

2008-12-18T06:02:00.002-07:00

Ben's practicing paid off.

He played piano with the Euclid Middle School Jazz band on the stage at Heritage High School last week. They were awesome! Considering their ages, I thought they played better than the lower of the two high school bands. The Band Director, Remus Vititus, is a wonderful teacher. The kids arose to the occasion under his instruction.

I already have my Christmas present.

Planned Obsolescence

2008-12-17T05:57:00.003-07:00

Another consumer tip - though this time it has to do with expectations and not giving any advice.

As you buy that whatever, don't expect it to last. Case in point - our Toshiba DVD player bit the dust this month. It started just not playing DVDs. So now it's part of a landfill.

No DVD player will last forever. But we all expect those whatevers to last longer than they do!

So merry Christmas, y'all. Look for your joy in relationships - and not things.

Candy advice

2008-12-16T05:52:00.002-07:00

As you stock up on candy for your holiday events, please be aware that chocolate is not a given... some of the candy manufacturers have quietly started substituting "chocolatey" for chocolate. It's not the same thing. "Chocolatey" can mean anything - corn syrup, thickener and a little food coloring, if you will.

If you shop around a bit, you can probably get about the same amount of candy with the real thing, for a similar price. Jut look at the label!

By the way, Charleston Chew is one of the "chocolatey" food group.

6 things I'm grateful for

2008-12-15T06:19:00.003-07:00

Carol passed a meme to me... what are six things I'm grateful for?

1. The amazing people who have been and are part of my life and the lives of my family. (My daughter Rachel is shown with her best friend Monia, who normally lives in Kenya. Apologies to Rachel - it's not a very flattering pic of her. She's beautiful.)

2. My family: a wonderful wife and three great kids.

3. A job working in a cause I believe in: The Seed Company.

4. Good health.

5. Great extended family.

6. Knowing the God loves me more than I can possibly imagine.

I won't pass this meme on, as I'm thinking most of my blogging buddies are burned out on having me pass memes their way. But if you want to carry this on, leave a comment. It's great to be thankful!

I can't smell

2008-12-12T06:35:00.002-07:00

I have the condition called "Anosmia". It's a blessing to enter a public restroom and not experience the wave of smell that hits most people. But then when my wife puts on some lovely perfume, I am blind to that thrill.

Here's an account of the condition.

I'm not totally nose-blind. Some days I can see light or dark. How did it happen? I had a really bad sinus infection when I was about ten. That was the end of smells for me.

A great gift idea!

2008-12-12T06:13:00.002-07:00

Buy your significant other an Amazon gift card.

Here's the link.

You can spend anywhere between $5 and $5,000. And a great side benefit? Your truly will get 6% of what you spend - at no extra cost to you. So if you have enjoyed this humble blog in 2008, consider giving this little gift that will give twice.

Thank you & happy holidays! (Merry Christmas - or Happy Hannukah - or Splendid Kwanzaa.)

It's free, and you should do it

2008-12-12T06:11:00.003-07:00

Last Sunday, we went to Wellshire Presbyterian Church. Heather's dad sings in the choir. They did their Christmas music service. It was great! Most of the singers and many of the musicians attended the many rehearsals and performed for no pay, whatsoever. They did it for love.

Part of Vivaldi's Gloria was on the program. It was exquisite and heavenly. Even if you don't believe in God, the opportunity for hearing such wonderful music for free comes around only once each year*.

I also moan the fact that WPC is one of the few churches in Denver that has traditional classical music as an integral part of its worship. (Our church doesn't.) Most people just don't care for it anymore, unless it's the background to a film. There's such depth there that you just can't get elsewhere. (And I'm a fan of some pretty wild indie rock music. So consider the source.)

My point? Carefully check your newspaper or local events website to see what's on at churches this weekend. You might be pleasantly surprised, if you go to one of the services.

*Caveat: If you live in a university town, check their music department - there is usually tons of great free stuff almost every night of the school year.

A gift from Fiana

2008-12-11T06:27:00.000-07:00

My niece Fiana did this artwork: "Music". She's about 3 years old.

Merry Christmas from Fiana!

The real story

2008-12-10T17:56:00.002-07:00

"Gov. Rick Perry's office received a suspicious envelope today, with a white powder in or on it, but preliminary results show the substance was not harmful, a spokeswoman for the governor said."

Reality? An older woman got a little enthusiastic with the talcum powder she was using to freshen up, as she wrote the Gov. a fan letter.

It's worth the time

2008-12-10T06:14:00.002-07:00

This little hole was bugging me. It bugged me for over a year. I finally spent five minutes and filled it in.

If I had done the job that when the hole first started bugging me, I would have saved countless little bugging thoughts. But I waited till I got around to it.

What little job have you been postponing - that if you just did it, you would make your life nicer? Don't even respond to this post - take that time to do that little job.

Guy Kawasaki and Alltop

2008-12-09T17:14:00.002-07:00

Liz Strauss has a great interview with Guy Kawasaki about Alltop - here.

If you already know about Guy or Alltop, you should read the interview. If you don't know Alltop, you should learn about what a great tool it is.

A smile for you

2008-12-09T11:28:00.003-07:00

Remember this guy?

Just a small smile for your day.

Vectorize that image

2008-12-09T06:13:00.000-07:00

Vector Magic is a new on-line image tracing tool. It's the first such on-line tool I have tried (excepting the Google Suite, which doesn't have anything like it). It works pretty good. I used the mug shot of yours truly as a trial. The top set shows the original image and VM's result. The lower set shows Adobe Illustrator's result. I didn't have time to experiment in Illustrator enough to get a good result; thus the diseased-skin look. That perhaps shows the value of the VM tool - you can get a quick easy decent result, and the pro aspect of Illustrator requires more experience and time spent tinkering.

Adobe Streamline was a stand-alone product that did this. Then Adobe integrated it into Illustrator.

Vector Magic "Tokens" are available to do one conversion at the rates of 5/$14 or 20/$48. You can also get unlimited access to do conversions for $7.95/mo or buy the desktop application for $295. (You get two free tokens when you join.)

Special thanks to my buddy Tom for the link.

Lose that idea

2008-12-08T06:03:00.003-07:00

In 1956, the Webster's Dictionary came out with a great idea. Or so several people there thought - an "Assemble it yourself" dictionary! The idea was to somehow save costs. Maybe back then, the bindery process cost more than it does now.

Anyhow, I'd wager that they didn't sell very many. I happened upon a box full of never-assembled pages in Heather's parents' basement (as we were moving them to a smaller place last summer). They had inherited it from her grandparents. No one ever assembled the thing. And now it's going into a recycling bin.

Your takeaway? What idea have you been working on that should not see the light of day? Be ruthless and kill it off.

I have to mention our friends at GM. They lost $38 billion in 2007. Not enough people there were saying "no" to bad ideas. (By the way, Ford only lost $2.7 billion and Chrysler $3 billion in 2007.) And now it may be too late for them. Or at least it's too late for the how-ever-many thousands of motor industry employees who will lose jobs because their bosses didn't say no.

I couldn't have said it better myself

2008-12-07T13:39:00.002-07:00

Check out Jon's post. I could say a lot of the same things about myself. (I can relate..)

The New Google Reader

2008-12-05T12:22:00.003-07:00

Yes, Google has given a new face (and new functionality) to its Reader.

If you're not a user, go here to start. It's the best RSS reader I know. Or at least my favorite.

If you don't know what an RSS reader is, go here.

The weirdness of snow

2008-12-05T06:01:00.001-07:00

Yesterday morning, it started snowing before the sun rose. It was a chilly 20 degrees F (-7c). So the funny thing is that it was sticking to the roads rather than to lawns. When it's warmer, the reverse is true.

You would need a degree in physics to explain why. (My buddy Rob could explain why, I'm sure.)

By the way, just for fun, I thought I'd show you the same scene at 5:10 pm. (The top shot was taken at 7:20 am.) The snow did end up sticking. And it's still cold in Denver.

Admission is free

2008-12-04T06:23:00.000-07:00

Have you ever visited The International Toothpaste Museum?

There have been some recent additions, so it might be worth your time to visit again, if you have not been recently.

After all, we need clean teeth, no matter where we live.

We have no accent

2008-12-03T06:09:00.002-07:00

Wherever I have lived in the world, people there think they have no accent.

When I moved to New England and started junior high, Bryan quickly became a new friend. His mom was born in Quebec and grew up speaking that brand of French. My dad was born in Waco, Texas and grew up speaking that brand of English.

I always thought his mom had a thick accent. He always thought my dad did. Both of us thought our parents had no accent whatsoever. It's all about perception - and exposure. We get so used to hearing or seeing something that we no longer hear or see it. (Or if we grew up hearing or seeing it, we may never know it's different than others' experiences.)

So just remember that if you think it looks like that, it may not look like that to others.

Don't buy that new TV

2008-12-02T06:04:00.004-07:00

Notes before you read this post:

1. If you have cable TV, it won't be relevant for you.

2. If you just bought a new TV, enjoy it! This post is not designed to make you feel guilty.

So, the big push for this Christmas season from retailers and manufacturers is for you to buy a new TV. Part of their reasoning is that your current TV (if it's older than two or three years) will not work after February 17th.

Here's big news for you (if you haven't been reading the news much during the past year) - you can make your current TV work with a $10 box. The catch? You have to go here to apply for a $40 coupon and wait 3-6 weeks for it to come in the mail. Then you can go to almost any store that sells TVs to pick up a converter box at the (heavily) discounted price. Note that you have to apply for the coupon by Dec. 31!

So I would urge you to avoid the pull to buy that slick new TV. Your current TV will probably work just fine with a box.

p.s. I know this post will not be popular with those who want our economy to be stimulated by spending.

If you're into social media...

2008-12-01T06:15:00.001-07:00

Look at my report on a recent conference here.

VW's mistake

2008-12-01T06:11:00.003-07:00

VW made a mistake. They are trying to sell a Chrysler as a VW. It's not. The vehicle in question? The Routan.

See this video to view a very lame Brooke Shields trying to sell you the minivan. It's a good example of bad social media*. The Routan is a Chrysler Town & Country.

Jamie Kitman, a writer for Automobile magazine states it is an, "epic stinker of a brainstorm..."

Avoid at all costs. If you gotta have one, just buy the Chrylser for $1,300 less. (Just buy a used Honda Odyssey instead.)

My prediction? They will sell 5.

* Disclaimer: the credits at the end were funny.

Thanksgiving break

2008-11-27T06:10:00.001-07:00

Hello dear readers.

I'm taking a few days break from blogging for Thanksgiving. (I'm thankful for you!)

I'll be back on Monday, December 1st.

Happy thanksgiving! If you're not in the USA, take a moment to be thankful.

A new place to put it

2008-11-26T06:15:00.000-07:00

A rare thing happened in the Merrill household - on Halloween, we bought takeaway pizza for the evening meal.

A new spot for advertising showed its face to me - ads were pasted on the box. I'm very used to seeing self-promotional ads on pizza boxes, but this was a new one on me - a real estate concern was featured.

The takeaway for you? Though it is quite annoying to be surrounded by advertising in every possible nook and cranny of our lives, we need to be creative in how we get our message out. What are some creative ways you can communicate your message today?

Repetition

2008-11-25T06:23:00.001-07:00

Our son Ben has made piano his instrument. He's the piano player for his middle school jazz band. The result is that I hear a few pieces over and over. Practice is essential to get it right. The fallout is that I get to hear those musical themes enough that they become part of my dreams at night.

I have a difficult time filtering music out of my consciousness. It's front-and-center, whether I like it or not.

What noise is there in your life and how do you deal with it?

You can make a difference

2008-11-24T06:11:00.002-07:00

(In my small little world...)

If you do a Google search for "Paul Merrill" and see my stuff, just hit that little arrow next to the result to bump me to the top. (This is a new feature that debuted last week, and I think it only works if you are signed into your Google account - if you have one.)

If all of you do that, I will be at the top for all Google Paul Merrill searches all over the world.

Thanks for your love and support.

For the richest

2008-11-21T06:36:00.000-07:00

We have all heard a lot about the economic downturn and this newest recession.

I did want to remind you that some are not feeling any pain in their pocketbook. In last Sunday's Denver newspaper, there was a full-page ad for Tiffany & Co. They were advertising rings priced from $2,750 to $14,750.

Why is it that we always want to be somewhere else?

2008-11-20T06:04:00.002-07:00

We rarely wear "I'm here and I love it" t-shirts. In other words, when was the last time you saw an Alabama resident wearing an Alabama t-shirt in Alabama? Far more common would be an Alabama dweller sporting a t-shirt featuring New York City. Beach dwellers have t-shirts of the mountains.

At the Thin Air Summit conference, I saw a neighbor's computer desktop with a photo of her daughter on the beach. It was a great reminder of a fun family vacation. We'd prefer to look at those memories, rather than at what's outside our window, no matter how beautiful that view might be.

Fiercely monolingual

2008-11-19T06:10:00.002-07:00

In the USA we speak one language. English.

Yes, in reality, there are literally thousands of language that are spoken in the States. But our governments recognize only one.

This is changing - I see more and more packaging that is in Spanish and English.

I would suggest that we should be open to more languages being OK here. It is just part of accepting other cultures.

(The envelope is a return from Canada - note the words on the label. I sent some goodies to some friends in Vancouver, and I forgot that they had moved. Anyhow, even though Vancouver has few French speakers, all of Canada is bi-lingual in the eyes of the government.)

5 photos

2008-11-18T06:04:00.004-07:00

Jon Swanson tagged me. (5 things is the meme. 5 pictures is my particular assignment.)

From the top:

a) Littleton, Colorado - the sunset out our front door.

b) Grave marker in England.

c) Pancakes.

d) Reno, Nevada.

e) The 2003 Denver snowstorm - that's our picnic table!

I tag Eddie: 5 most memorable restaurant experiences. Marti: 5 most relaxing vacation moments. Barb: 5 best home-schooling moments. Richard: 5 best grandparent times. (All - don't feel like you have to participate.)

6 random things about me

2008-11-17T20:11:00.003-07:00

1. I lived overseas for eight years.

2. I sang for Edward Kennedy, when I was in high school. (It was a choir tour. He met us on the steps of the Senate.)

3. I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and reached the summit: 19,340 feet (5,895 meters).

4. My mother was an aerographer's mate in the Navy.

5. I had tickets to see Miles Davis, but it turned out to be the same weekend as my dad's funeral.

6. I wanted two kids and Heather wanted three. Heather won. I'm so glad, as Rachel has been part of our lives for the last seven years!

This is a meme from Richard. I'm not passing the baton, as I'm tagging a few friends tomorrow morning with a different meme.

Information: give them shishkabob

2008-11-17T06:02:00.004-07:00

Information is like steak and shishkabob. In the old days, we were all used to sitting down for a big meal. Now everyone just eats snacks.

A week ago, I attended the Thin Air Summit conference. One of the major highlights was a keynote talk by Jeremiah Owyang, a luminary in social media (and beyond). He urged us, as communicators, to package the information we give into bite-sized chunks, so that the public can get our point quickly. Or at least we need to use newspaper-like hierarchy in saying our main point right up at the top - and then trickling down to the finer points.

This is true more for the Gen Y and Gen Z people, as they are so completely used to getting information that way. Digital immigrants, such as myself, don't mind a steak every once in a while.

Here is the slideshow of his talk. Here is a great summary by Carol Ross.

What are some of the ways you can make your information more digestible?

First snow of the season

2008-11-14T08:39:00.002-07:00

It was lovely to wake up this morning to see snow falling. (You can watch here.)

The career I never did

2008-11-14T06:02:00.000-07:00

In college I was a DJ. Back in those days, that meant I worked at a radio station and played records - as in vinyl.

It was great. I did the Friday morning shift - 6 to 9 am. I turned the transmitter on. It took about 20 minutes to warm up.

On Sunday afternoons, I played Christian rock with my buddy Craig (and later with John and Jeff). We interviewed all the stars that came through town. It was fun to meet Amy Grant, who was at the top of the charts back then.

So I never went in that career direction. Radio was fun but not how I wanted to spend my life. Also, I discovered that after I spent three hours playing all the music I loved, I got "music-ed out" - I didn't want to hear anything for a day or two. I decided that if I made my career out of something I loved that much, it would take the love out of it for me.

(The letter is from a radio station I applied to.)

Helvetica, the shoe

2008-11-13T06:21:00.002-07:00

Heather and I recently saw Helvetica, the movie. If you're a designer, it's sort of a must-see.

Heather's comment was that it reminded her of some of the reasons she fell in love with me - the quirkiness of the designers and their perspectives made her think of me.

My old Adidas Rom shoes made me think of Helvetica. They are a classic and timeless style.

Adidas no longer makes them anymore. Back in about 1985, I somehow knew they were going to be discontinued, so I bought about three pairs. The last pair is still going, though they are worn in places that sadly can't be repaired.

Adidas was originally a German company. Swiss design and German design are sometimes related. In the case of Helvetica, the type designer was Swiss, but he worked for a German company.

As to Helvetica, I must side with the designers who are bored with the typeface and pretty much ban it from any use.

Sieze the day

2008-11-12T06:11:00.006-07:00

Time magazine came with a luxury living supplement recently. I love those sorts of things, maybe for the vicarious pleasure they bring.

Some of the luxuries mentioned are so far from my reality that they are laughable. (A crocodile men's bag from Dolce & Gabbana for a mere $45,695 - that has a waiting list of those wanting to buy it?! And then there were the $5,400 casual driving shoes.)

Famous industrial designer Karim Rasid said flying on a Concorde jet was his best travel experience - three weeks before they ended service in 2003. While we lived in England, we could have flown on a Concorde for a short hop from London to Finland for (almost) cheap. We didn't. So I will never get to fly on the Concorde.

People are way more important than flying on a Concorde. Some people will only be in our lives for a short time. What person do you need to spend time with that you may never be able to again?

Photo courtesy of Air France.

Just a little perspective

2008-11-11T11:05:00.001-07:00

In the spirit of blogging and those who don't blog, I'm blogging for my friend Tracey, who works with disabled children in Kenya (among other things). She recently wrote:

"I was able to take Mark to a clinic today for his clubbed foot that has been swollen. I was definitely the only white person within miles and did not do very well waiting for hours in line ... until a guy came to stand next to me and he had no legs, so he was actually kneeling with plastic cups on his knees. I felt so convicted that I was irritated about waiting in line to see the doctor when this guy probably traveled a great distance to get into the clinic. God is always ready to show me things when I least expect it!"

(By the way, the lady shown works with Tracy and is with one of the disabled kids.)

Social media is the new graffiti

2008-11-11T06:09:00.002-07:00

Dave Taylor spoke at a conference I attended over the weekend, the Thin Air Summit. He basically said that social media (blogs, video blogs and podcasts) is the way people can express themselves in a rebellious way without defacing public property.

It's true!

A million new blogs are started every minute and few are actually read by very many. One of the reasons for this is the "seed on shallow ground" paradigm - people start with a lot of excitement and then fade away after a few weeks or months. The "hot sun" of life's busyness kills off their desire to keep it going. Or they simply lose their passion for posting stuff.

It would be fun to find a statistic about how many people start blogs and quit within the first six months. And it would be fun to see how many blogs have lasted more than three years. (I have been blogging since August 2005, which makes me a grandaddy in the world of blogging.)

Why do you keep blogging, if you are still out there? Why did you quit, if you're done blogging?

By the way, the photo is from my buddy Josh in Kenya - he shot it in a remote canyon in a national park there! Obama is well-loved all around Kenya.

How to teach responsibility?

2008-11-10T06:14:00.000-07:00

I went to a seminar at the University of Denver on the morning after Halloween. There must have been some party - plastic beer cups were scattered along the edge of the road for blocks. (I picked some up to recycle them.)

This got me to thinking - how would it be possible to teach these college students how to put their waste into trash cans that are all over that area? Which begs the bigger question - how can we change our society to teach people responsibility? Many of the parents of these students don't litter, but they were not able to pass that value along to them.

Any ideas??

You can tell them by the car they drive

2008-11-07T06:02:00.004-07:00

I'm pretty good at spotting whether a man or a woman will be behind the wheel, just by looking at the type of car. A new Nissan Altima Coupe is usually driven by a woman aged 35-55. On this example, you can tell by the license plate - a pink plate promoting the type of cancer that only strikes women.

I hate the fact that these stereotypes are usually true. I'd much rather drive a Nissan Altima Coupe than a Ford F-350 diesel 4x4. And a Mazda Miata than a Toyota Tundra long-bed.

Finally, to further prove my point about predictable car demographics, if you go to any JoAnn Fabrics store, you will find at least one 4-8 year old Cadillac in the parking lot.

Go see this movie

2008-11-06T06:09:00.000-07:00

Fireproof.

It's good. If you're married, I would almost go as far as saying it's required viewing.

The acting is a little uneven - some of the actors are great and others are stiff - and the directing might be a little shallow. But its potential impact on your marriage makes it worth wading through.

If it's still playing in your area, and if you can get discount tickets from your local grocery store it will be a relatively cheap date!

The Kenyan response to Obama, part two

2008-11-05T18:47:00.002-07:00

The President of Kenya, Mwai Kibaki, declared Thursday the 6th as a national holiday, in honor of Obama winning the US election. (This photo is from Kenya's The Nation newspaper. More photos here. And thanks to Josh for the idea.)

Heather and I were highly amused when we saw a video on CNN.com featuring a Kenyan man in western Kenya declaring that it would be very soon that Obama would fly Air Force One there [to join in their celebration]. (Obama's grandmother lives near there.)

Mercedes to lay off 4,000 in Alabama

2008-11-05T06:09:00.002-07:00

The reason? The plant makes nothing but SUVs.

I have the answer - there's a wonderful car they already make - the A-Class. It is sold all over the rest of the world. (I even test-drove one in Nairobi.) It's about the size of a Honda Fit - small. America is totally ready for this car. The Fit is selling like hot cakes.

Mercedes should just re-tool the plant to make A-Classes. Expensive? Yes. But it would pay off in the long run. I guarantee.

The A-Class is just as safe as their larger cars. Of course it gets way better fuel economy and is cheaper than the rest of their line. You would be surprised at how much luggage space and passenger room there is inside.

I also heard that Mercedes is planning to stop building the A-Class. Hello, wake up!

ps Of course everyone's writing about Obama winning, but I thought you might enjoy reading a post that has nothing to do with that. Election results are more important than my post, but I thought you could use the break. The image is courtesy of the Mercedes Germany website.

Consumer tip, no. 371

2008-11-04T06:19:00.001-07:00

Yes, it's the big election day, so here's a post to give you a break from Obama-McCain.

So here's the tip...Wait to fill up your tank till the warning light comes on.

Reason? If you wait another day, the price will probably drop a few more cents per gallon.

This is probably obvious - but maybe a few of you you hadn't thought of this.

Notes: 1) If your range to empty at that point is very small, be careful. 2) One buddy never does that, as he says there is sediment at the bottom of the tank that will foul up your motor. I believe him, but not strongly enough to heed that advice. 3) If the car is shared, discuss this with your fellow drivers. (They might get stressed if the fuel gauge gets anywhere close to the light coming on.)

The Kenyan response to Obama

2008-11-03T19:09:00.003-07:00

Go here for my friend Claire's perspective on what Kenya thinks of Obama and the election.

Sometimes the big guys make mistakes

2008-11-03T18:06:00.004-07:00

For work, I have been reading about SEO (search engine optimization), which when done properly is vital for successful marketing via the internet.

Apparently, Google's computers have been doing some reading too - this headline from Google News was not supposed to be the headline!

(I have written about Google News' mistakes before, here.)

Coffee, the best way

2008-11-01T06:09:00.001-06:00

Yes, even Starbucks says the best way to make coffee is with a coffee press. That is the way I do it. That is the way you should, if you can spare the time. I make time for that each morning, somewhere around 6:15.

As faithful readers will know, I am too lazy to grind the beans. (That would mean starting at 6:08, unless I got one of those coffee makers that does everything but put a hot cup in your cold hands.) I just buy them ground.

A warning however - the caffeine content is a bit higher when a press is used, compared to a filter.

Happy halloween!

2008-10-31T06:09:00.003-06:00

This lovely artwork is from my daughter Rachel.

We both hope you have a very happy halloween!

This year, it is not supposed to snow here, like it does sometimes.

About praying

2008-10-31T06:03:00.000-06:00

A little action I have done over the years is to use objects to remind me to pray for people I know.

This little guy's head was part of a carving of a man playing a cello that my uncle carved. The kids destroyed the rest of him, during various kid-like throwings of balls across the living room, etc. But we decided to keep his head, rather than throw that away with the pieces that remained.

Recently, I stuck him to the inside of our medicine cabinet in the half-bath that Heather and I share. So now whenever I see him, I try to pray for my uncle and aunt. He had a stroke not long ago. She has lots of arthritis-related problems. So this little guy tells me to pray for them.

The problem with Myspace

2008-10-30T06:13:00.002-06:00

Load times!!

I have a pretty fast connection, and the music player takes forever to load.

If and when I have the opportunity to go to an artist's website instead, I'll always choose that option.

The bizarre package

2008-10-30T06:11:00.001-06:00

My son bought Spore, via eBay. It came, about two weeks later - from India! The "envelope" was cloth, hand-stitched and sealed with wax. Amazing!

It worked fine and was a totally legitimate copy for the Indian market. Ben didn't like the game in the end, and we sold it on Amazon Marketplace.

The middle of that story was a huge hassle. The game requires an internet connection to install, and the computer we tried installing it on is not hooked up to the internet. I spent the better part of four hours that Saturday, trying to get it on-line. I would have thought that an HP computer that is about a year old would have no problem getting on-line. Wrong. Qwest, our ISP, were no help. After each of my three hours on the phone with them, they ended up saying I needed to talk with HP. I refused to do that, as the computer is long out of its warranty period, and it would have cost a huge amount to have HP maybe help. So we installed it on another computer - only to find that Ben didn't like the game.

Oh well.

ps The Amazon user reviews average 1.5 out of 5 stars for the game. I'd say you would do well to not buy the game.

You gotta try some

2008-10-29T06:00:00.001-06:00

Goetze's Caramel Creams, that is.

Go here if they're not available in your area. It's actually a pretty cool website (the home page, anyhow.)

I ate them growing up and rediscovered them during our east coast trip, this past summer. During my recent visit, they were at Big Lots!

The white cream/sugar mixture in the middle is electric in the small buzz it gives. It melts away all too quickly. But the caramel that remains is pretty good. And I'm not normally a big fan of caramel.

Introvert vs. extrovert

2008-10-28T06:17:00.000-06:00

One day I went to iGoogle and saw this little story. (I saw it but did not follow the link.)

Yes, in America, extroversion is a valued commodity. In the UK, it is the opposite; if you are extroverted, you are not normal.

I'm introverted. Maybe I should move to the UK! Well, we did, back in 1995. But I'm too much of an American - in other ways - for it to have become home enough for us to have stayed.

I find it amusing that some people make money changing others' personality characteristics. Having said that, however, it is a good thing for us to work on our rough edges to move closer to the center from some of our extremes. I appreciate the Meyers Briggs test and how it has helped me understand myself and my spouse better. (If you haven't taken the test, you might consider doing so.)

And by the way, I never did find out what a "belt flip" is.

Empty is sad

2008-10-27T06:13:00.005-06:00

Rhonda and Mickey live in Texas. During their visit, we discussed the wonderful "Hell on the Red" salsa and how I can't get it here in Colorado.

Low and behold, a few weeks later, in our mailbox there was a lovely package with some of the wonderful substance inside. What an excellent surprise!

Alas, sadness seeped into the corners of my soul when the last jar was empty.

Aren't friends great?!

ps Hell on the Red has its own humble website, where you can get some shipped to your door, even if you live in Australia. So yes, technically, I can get it here.