I have to try this
Mood:  bright
Topic: Random

Long, time; no post. So what shall I do to usher my return?

I have to try this cool link/imbed thing.

I'm quite excited about the new Mario game about to arrive. Here's a video preview.

Did it work?

Buyer's Remorse
Now Playing: With or Without You - U2
Topic: Random

... or "It's Even Cheaper if You Don't Buy It."

I have this habit of buying DVDs. And Best Buy encourages it!

Every week, they have a selection of DVDs at lower prices. You know -- sales!

So, this week they have a large number of movies I enjoyed at very, very attractive prices.

I've resisted buying most of them. So far. But I did give in for "Fight Club" and "Titanic." And I'm sorely tempted for "Ocean's Eleven" and "The Italian Job."

But I pay $15/month to Hollywood Video so I can rent DVDs for no other cost. Why would I not just go pick up those DVDs every few days, and eventually watch them when I have time? What is this compulsion to own the movies? Why do I sometimes just want to buy something?




Rationalization 1: I never know when an opportunity will present itself to watch a non-Sherry DVD. Owning "Fight Club" makes it possible to watch it when the opportunity presents itself. Hey, that's how I saw "Monty Python's Life of Brian."

Rationalization 2: "Titanic" is really a "couple" purchase. It's romantic (in a tragic sense) and I bet Sherry will want to see it at some unexpected time and I'll be darned if I am going to spend three hours seeing the VHS version on our 50-inch digital TV!

Rationalization 1 might just permit me to buy "Ocean's Eleven." Rationalization 2 would let me buy "Jerry Maguire."

No, Steve! Just plan to get "Ocean's Eleven" (and "Twelve") from Hollywood when Sherry's gone in April! Suggest "Maguire" sometime when you're actually in Hollywood looking for movies to rent.

Stand firm! Save that money!

So you can waste it on Magic.......

Sub-Zero
Now Playing: Nothing yet - but soon
Topic: Random
January never happened this year. Or so we thought.

In reality, it was just waiting to pounce on its little sister, February, and steal her spotlight.

The temperature here in Rochester dropped below zero ¹ sometime last night and it's not expected to rise above that magical mark until sometime Monday or Tuesday.

That, my friends, is supposed to happen in the first month of the year, not the second.

So, it's hibernation weekend. Stay inside. Cuddle up with something warm -- a quilt, a cup of warm cocoa, a favorite person.

There are benefits to the cold, if you look for them.

And that's all I have to say about that.

¹ (degrees Fahrenheit -- I wonder how to do the little "degrees" symbol in HTML)

Newness, freshness
Now Playing: Nothing at all
Topic: Random
So, every day I check blogs to see if there is anything new from Mike or Lucas.

And every day that they post something new, it's a bonus to my day.

I suppose it's possible my blog does the same for them.

So, hmmm, what could I blog about?

Latest movies seen?

Repetition for Mike, but hey, it seems blog-worthy.

I think I'll start a new topic for it.

Strange Sources of Elation
Mood:  celebratory
Now Playing: Mannheim Steamroller Christmas
Topic: Random

I am so pumped up!

Why? You ask why?

Because we are no longer Sprint customers!

[Pause for applause ... or confused silence]

Look, the story is far too long to make it interesting, but the short version is that the person who sold us our multiple-phone Sprint cell phone plan lied (or was misinformed himself) and, as a result, I have had to call Sprint every month for the past 15 months to get our bill adjusted. Now, it finally turns out, because of the initial mis-information, all of those bills were probably technically correct, but since I would never had signed up for the plan as it exists, I was able to convince them to cancel my contract without any penalties.

Wooo Hooooo!!!!

So, each month, I spent between 15 minutes and an hour on the phone with them. This month, it was 3 hours! But finally, the answer which had eluded almost 20 Sprint representatives was uncovered, and after talking to EIGHT people this month, I am Done With Sprint!

Strangely enough, despite talking to almost 30 employees over the past 15 months, I was only treated rudely once. In almost every other case, the person on the phone was very friendly and tried very hard to be helpful. So, it is not the people who are the problem. It is the process, and apparently the lack of education of the employees.

Anyway, the Sprint bill has been a stress producer for over a year, and its removal from my life makes this a very happy day.

So what are we going to do about cell phones? Midwest Wireless. The boys have had that plan for a few months and it works well for them.

It's strange how the removal of a source of pain can be so pleasurable!

Random thoughts
Now Playing: "Curious Thing" by Amy Grant
Topic: Random
I'm listening to "King Tut" by Steve Martin as I type this. Retro-funny!

I'll cover Yosemite in another entry, I think. I wish I had a tool which easily re-sized these huge, beautiful digital pictures we took.

Tomorrow is Day 1 of vacation, and Day 1 of "Operation: Clean Sweep - Basement."

The latest Magic set can be used on-line today! I will try to play some tonight!

I stayed up too late last night -- playing Magic: Online and watching "The Princess Bride."

How do you get the job of "movie reviewer"? I think that's my new dream job.

Have I said that before?

I think if I close my eyes, I will fall asleep on my keyboard. Time for some more caffeine?

I need to find "Don't Worry, Be Happy" for my song collection.

Coldplay's latest CD has already topped 1.5 Million copies -- is the recording industry really in trouble from music downloads?

And now I'm listening to Steve Martin's "Banjo" bit -- again, so funny! "You just can't sing a depressing song while playing the banjo. You just can't go (singing) 'Oh Death, and Grief, and Sorrow, and Murder.'"

Hearing this always makes me want to get a CD of banjo music. "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" is so fun! But Martin only does a piece of it.