Archive for June, 2010
Wanna have even more FUN with loved ones? Wanna spend more time with someone, but can’t get past awkward conversations? Wanna stream movies and TV shows to your TV, as you like? Turn on the wii, baby (& get Netflix)! From canoeing with family members, to swordfighting with friends, to cow-racing with acquaintances, to watching old episodes of Fraggle Rock, wii will have you laughing, rowing, slashing, lassoing (a la Indy!), and yes, now watching for as long as you can stand it! We’ve had our wii about six months, and it just got better! We just started our Netflix subscription a few weeks ago, and we love that too! With a Netflix subscription that includes the ability to stream, if you’ve got an internet connection to your house, you can watch any one of TONS of movies and TV shows (stuff you can’t get on OnDemand!) My beau was especially excited about the 21 Jump Street Episodes 
Be prepared to spend more than just the purchase price for the wii – there are lots of fun extras that you kinda need, extra wii-motes and nun-chucks, in addition to the games (tip: always read the reviews on the games, I’ve bought a doozey or two, & if i had read the reviews here on amazon, I would have saved my $$ for a better game). But, if you have kids or you are even just a couple who goes out a lot, the wii (& now, netflix) may save you some money in the end, and you’ll spend more time together, doing fun stuff. And after all, isn’t that what life’s all about?
Thanks to wii and netflix, we eat at home more (saves money, gas, & calories); watch fewer commercials (they’re bad for the psyche AND the wallet!); are more active with our entertainment; spend more time with family & friends; spend less time aimlessly channel-surfing; enjoy more varieties of entertainment, like documentaries, old TV shows, and musician stuff; are more conservative with spending $7-15 per person to see a movie in the theatres (that we hopefully will enjoy!); and actually look forward to spending time at ho
Token Ring Principles Perspective
I highly recommend this book — you’ll be drawn in after reading the first letter. The authors are obviously talented writers and I look forward to future works.
Dear Exile The True
As an experienced cyclist who relocated to Manhattan in the summer of `04, I wanted to purchase the most theft resistant chain available. My ambition was to use my Trek 3900 for both exercise and transportation, while not having to constantly worry about it having it stolen. Having experienced several bicycle and bicycle part thefts in Boston and Chicago, I decided to thoroughly research bicycle chains and locks. Stories about the vulnerability of U-locks and the clearly stated Kryptonite null-and-void-in-New-York warranty steered me towards a hex chain made by OnGuard.
As a previous owner of Kryptonite and Master U-locks, I initially wanted to stick with a tested brand. However, lessening the appeal of Kryptonite locks was a widely publicized story in 2004 explaining how a design flaw in certain models allowed them to be compromised with a Bic pen(!), causing a recall. In Chicago, I had a frame destroyed when one thief attempted to break a Master U-lock with a long pipe. While this failed attempt slightly bent the U-lock, it collapsed the main tube of the bicycle. Hence, I thought using a chain manufactured slightly lesser-known brand without publicized vulnerabilities would be a good idea — much like purchasing a Mac would protect against Windows viruses.
After one year of use, I have been very happy with the 12mm Beast Chain. At 9.5 pounds, this chain is at the upper limit of what one can affix to the bicycle and still be able to ride it. In my case, I am able to rap it around the seat post and have enough clearance for my legs. For a typical bicycle, the chain adds about 40% to the overall weight. When I purchased this lock, I was unaware that a 14mm, 15 pound version existed. Even so, I would not have purchased this model, which is more appropriate for a motorcycle or piece of construction equipment.
The design of the Beast chain is exemplary. In addition to having very long, thin keys and complementary keyhole, there is a sliding keyhole cover, making t
OnGuard Beast 5018 Bicycle
Teenager Holden Caulfield has just been expelled from yet another prep school for failing his classes and having a really bad attitude. Here he recounts his adventures and observations during a weekend on his own in New York City.
I remember being quite shocked at Holden’s anti-social thoughts and non-stop profanity and not liking him at all when I first read this book. It was a pleasure to reread it forty years later and find that my feelings for him had changed a lot; now I find him a bright, charming, and pitiable combination of the social misfit from “Napoleon Dynamite,” the angry young man from “Rebel Without a Cause,” and a bit of Eddie Haskell, too. His penchant for vulgarity and manic emotionality remind me of a scared puppy who’s all bark and no bite; he’s in desperate need of attention and affection and luckily, he gets it.
This classic character study of a troubled boy is highly recommended for mature readers.
Buggyguard B Hook for
Usually, I consider reading a cookbook somewhat like reading the telephone book. But not “Good Things to Eat”. “Rufus” conveys his joy of cooking in a natural, matter-of-fact manner, lean of descriptive narration, lending eloquence to the food itself. Many of the dishes in his book seem quite exotic to us now – Salmi of Game, Orange Fool, Snippodoodles, Spawn and Milk, Pineapple Marshmallows (”This is a good confection for Thanksgiving.”) – but the way Rufus puts them together makes them seem eminently doable.
D. J. Frienz should be commended for making “Good Things to Eat” more than just a list of recipes by way he has interspersed Rufus’s writings with illustrations, placing in context Rufus Estes’s service as a star Pullman attendant and chef during the Gilded Age, when dining in a private railroad car was considered the height of luxury. Rufus’s was a state-of-the-art American cuisine, good enough for presidents and plutocrats, and to have this formidable gentleman of a bygone era commune with me through a medium we both love – good things to eat – is a special privilege. Hey, I’m getting hungry just writing this!
Good Things to Eat