Things I Didn’t Get for Christmas

 

Christmas Wish List

What did you get for Christmas? Was it the iPod Touch or iPhone? You lucky dogs. That is what I wanted. Or did I? Would I be just as happy with a PSP and a Blackberry? I think so. But the iPod Touch is so cool. I also want Blu-Ray DVD titles for our PS3. The BBC – Planet Earth is tops on my list. I would like a blue-tooth head set for my Blackberry. I would like to get a few games for the PS3 and the PSP. I would like a laptop computer. 

 

But more than material things, I would like to get some major things done to my house:

1. The basement leaks in 5 different areas, so they all need to be sealed. There are no dedicated circuit breakers for the basement, except for the fluorescent lights, so add at least one for receptacles.

2. The roof needs some major repairs. Remove two layers of shingles, repair 3 areas of wood damage, fix the chimney flashing, tar paper the whole roof and shingle it. 

3. The attic needs to have insulation added, especially in the north and south overhangs, where our closets are freezing in the winter. The east wall between the kitchen and bathroom needs to be selaed better because that wall is also way too cold.

4. The big bathroom needs a complete overhaul. Take it down to the studs, raise the roof over the bathtub and replace the tub, sink and toilet, along with the vanity and cabinet. It also needs an exhaust fan added with a dedicated switch, plus an additional outlet instead of the single receptacle/switch that is currently in place. The glass block window is not sealed properly. It may just need the rubber strips added to each piece of glass louvers.

5. The linoleum tiles keep falling off the stairs down to the landing, so I would like to have the top half of the stairs completely redone.  

6. I would like to see the back porch completely rebuilt, too. None of the wood left is worth salvaging, so let’s tear it down and build a three-season room with a portable hot tub. Let’s add a circuit breaker for that room and run some electricity to it for receptacles, a ceiling fan with many lights, plus some mood lights around the inside perimeter and motion sensor lights on the outside, too.  It needs a real storm door.

7. The picture window in the kitchen needs to be replaced as do many of the missing storm windows and the living room screens.

8. I would like phone and network jacks added to the living room and basement.

I know it is a lot to ask for, but I am willing to pay for it as well as do much of the work myself. Especially the destruction. That’s where I am a viking!

HDTV, Little League and Softball, plus gaming

We purchased a Samsung HDTV. The LN46A650 is a 46″ 1080p LCD with 120 Hz motion blur correction. It has a cool red accented bezel and an Ethernet port for RSS feeds.

Wal-Mart was giving out $100 gift cards when you purchase the 40 GB PS3 and we couldn’t resist. I added an HDMI cable and we watched Ant Bully in 1080p, up converted. I will be purchasing Discovery Channel’s Planet Earth in Blu-Ray soon. No plas on PS3 games, but I think we will rent those for a while.

Little League has ended and Michael begged me to play again next year. I wish he had a better finish because he started off so well. I sent out a very touching email when he earned the team’s first game ball. He really enjoyed himself this year. The Cubs lost their first playoff game against the Nationals, so the season is over. Michael was nominated, but did not make the All-star team.

Jules got her first and only hit against the Wildcats while grandfather Ed was in attendance. She earned a team-voted game ball for that. It has been her only ball in play of the year. They won their first playoff game, with the semis and World Series still remaining to be played. The Wildcats will be waiting for us, since they have beaten the Blue Bombers 3 out of 4 tries this year. My prediction is that if Jules gets another hit off of them, the Blue Bombers will be champs!

John McCain’s Growth and Upcoming Election Thoughts

I heard on the radio today that John McCain was given a clean bill of health from his doctors. Shocking, huh? Did anyone really think they were going to say this guy has less than 4 years to live? And looking at McCain, I have to ask, “What the fuck is that huge growth on the left side of his face?” He always seems to be turned a little to his left, in an effort to hide it, but I have to wonder if that growth is another melanoma, of which he has had many of.  Whether it is the result of steroids or scar tissue, which I read in my brief research, it seems to me that it is growing. That cannot be a good thing for a presidential candidate, but maybe fighting off cancer will be the story he needs to appeal to the masses even more.

I’ll go ahead and say that I hope Barack Obama wins. Not that McCain would make a bad president, but he seems overly angry at times. But Barack is black, wants to talk to Iran and Lybia, and went to Wright’s masses. That invokes so much small-minded criticism that I think some of it might come my way for admitting that I want a smart president who speaks well in the White House and is willing to buck the trend in order to bring calmness to the middle east, if possible. He might be inexperienced, but that doesn’t mean he will make bad decisions. If anything, he will be more reluctant to invade a country like Iraq, which is Fucked 10 times worse than it was before we went in. Sure, Sadam isn’t beheading people for speaking out against him, but who wants to go for a drive anywhere near Baghdad? Boom, buh-bye.

That said,  the most pressing issues in my world are education and the economy. My 4.5% mortgage is almost paid off, so interest rates do not affect my spending. But watching Illinois funded schools have to pass referendums, which my district failed to do, just to keep art & music classes, let alone not be in the red, while Blagojevich spends money on his pals makes me sick. Illinois is now dead last among the 50 United States in per capita funding for education. My prediction: a new governor will be elected in the next election. But what can be done to help the economy? How about investing in technology like battery operated automobiles? Hybrids are one thing, but there has to be a better way and corn-based fuel is not the solution. Rechargeable battery-powered automobiles would go a long way towards ending our need for Middle Eastern oil. Would it help our economy? Who knows, but it would mean that the government is investing it’s money here in researching the possibilities. Seriously, let’s start investing more in infrastructure than defense spending for a decade and see where it takes us.

Alright, that should be plenty to chew on for a while.

March 7, 2008

There is so much going on this weekend that it is scary. This afternoon, Cindy has to deliver her stuff to the CLUSTERS sale. Because she is on the committee, she will be able to shop late tonight and early tomorrow morning. I have to help in some way, though I am not sure how, yet. Michael has his last basketball game at 5:30 pm. I want to video tape it and need to charge the camera batteries, set the tape, etc. Jules has ballet at 7:00, so she needs to have her ballet stuff on when we all go to Michael’s hoops. Tomorrow morning at 9:00 am, Jules, Michael, and I are volunteering to pick up bags of goods for a food drive. We must have our ticket sales receipts in hand, as well as our own donation on the porch. Then we must go to the bank, eat lunch, play and be at the Cub Scouts Spaghetti dinner at 3:00 for more volunteer work. Around 7:00pm, I can take a breather.