- Half.com online gift certificate from the Powells (my perennially favorite gift but not this year), which I used to purchase:
- A Different Kind Of Christmas : Various Artists (CD, 1994)
- Sun Also Rises : Ernest Hemingway (Paperback, 1982)
- Dune Messiah : Frank Herbert (Paperback, 1994)
- The Areas of My Expertise : John Hodgman (Paperback, 2006)
- Salem’s Lot : Stephen King (Paperback, 1976)
- Quest for the Well of Souls : Jack L. Chalker (Paperback, 1995)
- The Mix-Up : Beastie Boys (The) (CD)
- Regal Cinemas gift card from the Bartons
- Cash from Uncle Buddy (second favorite gift every year except this year)
- Guitar Hero 3 for the Wii from Tina and the boys (second favorite all-time gift)
- A killer party mostly organized and thrown by my lovely wife
Fitter Happier
As I mentioned earlier, Thomas has show some interest in learning how to program computers. After a discussion with some colleagues at work, I decided to introduce him to Logo, a graphics-centered language that is based on the more sophisticated Lisp.
A quick Google of “logo+mac” got me this website where you can download a free version of Logo for the Mac. I had him download it and try some of the tutorials here. He took to it immediately and it was interesting enough to keep him off of Runescape for a few hours.
Logo has been around since before I got into computers so there are many resources available to support learning endeavors. I searched for books on Half.com and Amazon and found a compelling review for this book by Brian Harvey. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a very good price for it.
On a whim, I googled the author’s name and found his website. He works at UC Berkeley now and has provided free online editions of all three volumes of his Computer Science Logo Style series:
I told Thomas that when he was through with Logo, I’d show him Java, the cross-platform language from Sun. He wants to learn Java already, but I’m holding him back for awhile. The second volume of the Harvey series has a few game examples, so I think that will keep him busy for the time being.
All I Got For Christmas
- Gift certificate to Half.com redeemed for:
- Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe
- Pearl Jam by Pearl Jam
- Letting Off The Happiness by Bright Eyes
- Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen by various artists
- Gift certificate to Borders redeemed for 7 Seconds Or Less by Jack McCallum
- The best pressure washer
- Sugar Free Creme Savers
- Sugar Free Werther’s Originals
- Sugar Free Lifesavers Butter Toffee
- Corrine Bailey Rae by Corrine Bailey Rae
- The Book of Totally Useless Information by Don Voorhees
- 2107 Curious Word Origins, Sayings & Expressions by Charles Earl Funk
- Foldable tool chest on wheels
- New gloves
- White LED head lamp
- White LED best brightest flashlight
Update 1/4: Yesterday I got two books in the mail: Metal Cowboy and Momentum Is Your Friend. Both are by bike journalist Joe Kurmaskie.
Vital Statistics
Two more Half.com gift certificates arrived after my birthday. Here’s the rest of the stuff I bought:
- The Buffalo Springfield Box Set
- Peninsula of Lies by Edward Ball
- How To Be Good by Nick Hornby
- Digital Ash in a Digital Urn by Bright Eyes
- Everything! by Tones on Tail
- The Humane Interface by Jef Raskin
- Rust Never Sleeps (DVD) by Neil Young & Crazy Horse
- Lost Dogs by Pearl Jam
Thanks a bunch to Tom & Jan and Tina, Graham & Thomas. As I mentioned earlier Half.com has become my favorite semi-annual ritual.
Bike odometer: 220 miles
Weight lost: 32 lbs.
Hours of sleep last night: 7.2
Current reading: I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe, The Prince by Machiavelli
Recent listening: Portrait: The Music of Dan Fogelberg by Dan Fogelberg, DrugMusic, Humpy’s Soul Show, It’s The Jump Off
Recent viewing: Without A Trace, Mystery of the Megavolcano, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report
Recent playing: Zuma
Recently accomplished: Installed memory in Graham’s computer
Imperative To Do: Finish old blog entries, rake, install new hard drive for Thomas, clean garage, return stuff to hardware store
Cool Link: Kittens: Pictures taken by a man in Taiwan who rescues street cats before the government collects and “disposes” of them.
Vital Statistics
Happy Birthday To Me!
Today I turned 40 years old. I’ll never be 30-something again. I guess I have to enjoy being in my 40s because the alternatives are worse.
One of the great pleasures of my birthday is the gift certificate that Tina’s sister, Michelle, and her family give me from Half.com. This morning the email was waiting for me when I awoke. All I had to do was click a button in the email to redeem the certificate. Then I browsed through my Wishlist and picked everything that I really wanted at that moment. After selecting CDs and books worth about five times the amount of the gift certificate, I removed the items from my shopping cart that were less important. I ended up with three CDs and a book:
- Uncle Charlie and His Dog Teddy by The Nitty Gritty Dirty Band
- Throw Down Your Arms by Sinéad O’Connor
- Solo by Rob Wasserman
- Steve Jobs by Ann Gaines
The past two nights I have slept very well and don’t remember any mouth-leaking episodes. Tina says that it’s still happening and has to use earplugs. I woke this morning with no alarm after eight hours of sleep. I hope this is a turning point.
Bike odometer: 201 miles
Current reading: I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe, The Prince by Machiavelli
Recent listening: Last week’s charts
Recent viewing: The Manchurian Candidate (remake), High Stakes Poker, World Series of Poker, Headline News
Recent playing: Zuma
Recently accomplished: Mowed lawn, cleaned office, finished birthday invites, cleaned up back yard and deck, stored air conditioner for the winter, setup music for party
Imperative To Do: Hair cut, new rear fender for bike, finish old blog entries, fix toilet
Cool Link: Marijuana Morals