Archive for November, 2005
November 27, 2005 at 11:15 am · Filed under Lifestyle
This year I’d like to try something different. Instead of giving me some corporate sponsored product, I’d like some delectable tea. The task I ask of you is to find some unique elegant teas: black, green, oolong, white, flavored,…whatever. I only ask that it not be
1.Gimicky. I dont want anything that will make me “last all night” or make my toots smell like ginger bread.
2. Conventional Name brand. No, Lipton garbage. I’d like to try some Mom & Pop or Whole foods blend.
Unlike my 4 enchiladas, I’d like to share these with you guys. So get something that may want to try. If you’ve already got something in mind for me, then never mind this. Go ahead with your intuitions and just combine my X-mas and B-day gifts. But remember, I’ve been a good boy this year.
November 26, 2005 at 3:35 pm · Filed under News Events
November 22, 2005 at 3:22 pm · Filed under Books, Games, Lifestyle
I arrived back in Chicago today. Just a reminder to CJ and Claire on your computers. When you see a yellow shield in the bottom right corner, that means you have Windows updates. Install them. Ughh…derr…CJ. I also use McAfee Anti-virus, with Ad-aware, and Spybot Search and Destroy. Anytime you run these, check for updates on them too. Firefox 1.5 now has an automatic update feature, so upgrade to version 1.5 if you’re not using it.
After getting back, I went on Amazon and bought an Anime DVD, QOTSA-Through the Woods…, and Dragon Quest VIII for the PS2. Typically, I dont agree with paying $50 for a game. I got all my XBOX games for free with a mod, but I cant do that with the PS2 (or could I?) I’m just going to plan on putting it on ebay after I’m done. I’ll see how much I can get for a used game when I’m done. But, I’ve read the reviews and I have some high expectations for this game. That’s why I thought the price was worth it.
I had finished Slaughterhouse Five before we met for the weekend. I wasn’t sure what to make of the book, so I didn’t really talk about it. I read the Sparknotes Themes and Symbols. That helped piece the story together for me. The book is supposed to make a statement on the destructiveness on war, and question “the illusion of free will.” Overall, it was kind of a depressing read, and not as forward as Fahrenheit 451. If you didn’t notice, I’m now reading a biography on Warren Buffet. I’ll try “Kim” after that.
…and now a little Calvin and Hobbes.
November 16, 2005 at 12:08 pm · Filed under Books, Lifestyle
It’s definitively freezing, here in Chicago. Winds got up to 32MPH and the temperature dropped to 29°F, which makes it feel like 19°F. I went around the apartment and closed every crack in every window. I , now, sleep with my space heater on at night, and I dont even notice how cold it gets in my room.
I paid a visit to the CPL (Chicago Public Library), yesterday. They told me that I hadn’t returned a book, but I assured them that I did. They gave me a serial number of the book and I went to it’s section in the aisles to check. Sure enough, it was on the shelf, so I took it down to the counter for proof. I think they took care of it, but I guess I cant blame them. They must check over a thousand books everyday, so maybe they would miss-scan one.
Before, I’d been attempting to read Slaughterhouse-Five. The first chapter just wasn’t enthralling. It forshadowed maybe 10 different events that would happen and there was no cohesiveness between them as it jumped around. But I had time to kill at the library and I willed myself to get past it. The second chapter is really where the story begins, and it gets interesting. You get use to the jumpyness as you understand that the narrator is “time traveling” through his life. It gets stranger as you learn that he is abducted by an alien race, the Tralfamadorians. They have something to do with understanding life and his “time travel” experience, as in this quote
“Welcome aboard, Mr. Pilgrim,” said the loudspeaker. “Any questions?”
Billy licked his lips, thought a while, inquired at last: “Why me?”
“That is a very Earthling question to ask, Mr. Pilgrim. Why you? Wy us for that matter? Why anything? Because this moment simlply is. Have you ever seen bugs trapped in amber?”
“Yes.” Billy, in fact, had a paperweight in his office which was a a blob of polished amber with three ladybugs embedded in it.
“Well, here we are, Mr. Pilgrim, trapped in the amber of this moment. There is no why.”
So, there is some message in here, and I dont want to make any assuptions til I’m done. I’m also going to go back and read that first chapter, again. 
November 11, 2005 at 11:37 am · Filed under News Events
Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving in the United States, is historically one of the busiest retail shopping days of the year. Many consider it the “official” beginning to the Christmas shopping season.
http://www.blackfridayads.com/
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