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YouTube – Shark Vacuums Suck Balls!.

I just ordered one of these (refurbished) from Woot. We are not planning to suck any balls with it.

Have you ever checked out this site, Instapaper? It is SO COOL. It lets you save web pages to read later. You can add a bookmarklet to your browser to automatically save stuff to Instapaper, or do it manually. Then you can go there to read your articles later, or you can download them to a file, or have them sent to your Kindle. I am LOVING THIS. I think I first heard about Instapaper from the surprisingly curmudgeonly Merlin Mann. (Surprising because I know he’s about the same age as me, but seems like he’s about 100 times crabbier most of the time. Maybe that’s his schtick. In any case, he’s worth following on his blog and twitter because he totally turns me onto some cool tools like Instapaper!)

So that’s been happening, and what else? Um…I thought for a few minutes, very seriously, about buying an iPad. Then I said “naw!” Because really, why do I need one at this point? I already have all of the following:

1. several PCs
2. a Macbook Pro
3. several iPods
4. an iPhone
5. a Kindle
6. a netbook

Seriously, why would I need an iPad at this point? I’m not ruling out suddenly deciding that I have to have one later. But I think I’ve learned my lesson after being an early adopter of the iPhone: I’ll wait for the second generation at least. That way some of the bugs will be addressed, features will be added, and prices will come down.

Speaking of my Kindle, I LOVE IT. See the Instapaper stuff above, plus I have lots of books on there and since I buy almost all of my books and stuff from Amazon, the Kindle just works out great for me. It’s lightweight, easy on the eyes, hold a charge for-freaking-ever, and makes me super happy. Best gift I ever got (thanks, spousal unit!). And, not surprisingly – the one I have is the second gen. NOTICE A TREND?

Ouch my wrist hurts so freaking much. I’m driving myself much harder than any physical therapist ever could. More on that in another post. Right now I need IBUPROFEN! Is it possible to become addicted to Ibuprofen?

Happy Friday! It’s been quite a week.

- First of all, FIRST FULL WEEK OF NO CREEPY GUY! Yes, that’s right, Creepy Guy got laid off and no longer infects my cubicle area with his cookie-munching, skank-smelling, creepy-staring weirdness. Last Friday was his final day, and can I just say? Not a day has gone by this week that I and my other cubicle neighbors have not remarked on just how NICE it is not to have him there anymore. Yay!

- It snowed, and then there was freezing rain, and then it melted a little, and then there was re-freezing…most interesting weather we’ve had here in over a year. Bean loved the snow, that’s for sure! Me…not so much.

- I had an interview with a company that might hire me within the next few months. The interview was very interesting – the technology they’re working with is pretty fascinating. Unfortunately, said company also has a weird, “no jeans” office policy – almost unheard-of in IT. I’ve also heard rumors about problems with open toe shoes, which makes me wonder if they also expect women to wear pantyhose. That creeps me out to no end, so if an offer does come, it’s one factor to weigh with the others.

- Had my second laser treatment last night, and today my face is sore, dry, tight, swollen, and blotchy. How attractive! Good thing I’m working at home!

- Finally, bought some new gadgets this week and upgraded others. I upgraded the software and Bluetooth firmware on my Garmin nuvi 360 because it kept locking up on me randomly (NOT cool when you’re driving somewhere new and counting on your GPS to get you there). I bought a new external hard drive for my Macbook Pro’s Time Machine backups. I ran out of space on the 120-gig Apricon, so I upgraded to a 400-gig WD. And it’s red, which is totally cute. I tried to justify buying a Time Capsule, but just couldn’t do it yet. Maybe when our current router dies. Finally, I got my new watch, which is really nice, but the band is too long so I have to get that adjusted this weekend.

I’m hoping to spend most of this weekend just chilling. In fact, now is a good time for a little nap…

So what are you wishing for this holiday season? I guess I already bought myself a Christmas gift, although I got it at the beginning of November – my iPhone. I love this little toy and have not regretted the purchase for a second. With the iPhone, I’m all taken care of in the Christmas present department.

(Is it sad that one of the best gifts I’ve ever gotten came from…me? I’m leaning more towards it feeling “empowered,” rather than “pathetic.”)

If I had to create a “wish list” for Christmas I’d wish for lot of abstract things – at first. Stuff like perfect health for my daughter, my husband, and me; a job for my husband (now that would be a great Xmas); and the resurgence of progressive values in American society. Unfortunately you can’t fit any of that stuff under the tree, so here are the top 10 items on my Amazon wishlist, commercial and crass as they may be:

1. Blade Runner (Five-Disc Ultimate Collector’s Edition)
2. Ray-Ban RB 2113 Wayfarers with Flex, tortoise frames/brown lenses
3. Amazon Gift Certificate <———– is that cheating?
4. BioShock for PC
5. Eye-Fi Wireless 2GB SD Memory Card
6. Any set of Justice League (or JL Unlimited) DVDs
7. Extra Pentax DL-I8 battery (for my camera)
8. My Boring Ass Life: The Uncomfortably Candid Diary of Kevin Smith
9. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus (Volumes 1 and 2)
10. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Black Dossier (Alan Moore)

What’s on your wish list?

I have posted previously on my love for my sexy MacBook. Technically, I bought it for my freelance work, and I’ll be using it for a deduction on my taxes, but I have to admit I use it for my personal stuff as much as work. There’s nothing better for editing movies and photos (I have some awesome footage of my daughter from last weekend to upload soon). I also got a game for it, The Sims Life Stories, which to be honest I’ve only played once so far. (Jeez, who has time?) This past weekend I finally bought Parallels, and started installing a Windows XP VM. Once I have it up and running, I anticipate using my Windows PC even less than I do now! Maybe it really will become a gaming-only machine.

Unfortunately, the extra copy of Windows XP that I had available (from a no-longer used Dell tower that I bought a few years ago) was only SP1. So I tried to download and install SP2 from Windows Update. What a hassle! I think I really screwed the thing up, as it’s not behaving right at all. So today I bit the bullet and ordered an OEM copy of Windows XP SP2 from eBay, in order to start over again. And since I was already in the upgrading mood, I bought more RAM. The black MacBook comes with 1gig to start, which is generally enough, but when you’re running VMs, especially Windows VMs, it always helps to have more. I got a great deal from MemorySuppliers, 2 gig of RAM for only $130! As I recall, that’s cheaper than it would have cost me to upgrade when I bought the laptop!

I’m also in the process of setting up my home office again, with much help from a professional organizer (who just happens to be a friend!). Once I get it set up, I’ll be able to hook up any of my laptops to this phat 22-inch LCD that my husband got a great deal on from Office Depot (somehow he got this thing for like $200). He tried it out, but the game he plays obsessively (Battlefield 2142) won’t support the widescreen resolution he wanted to use properly…so he went back to the old 19″ that he’s been “borrowing” from me for the past two years! Is he crazy, or what?

In more unfortunate developments, the office thing is sort of on hold while I figure out how exactly to reconfigure it. It’s a large spare bedroom that I’m using, so I’m going to set it up as a combination office and craft room. I plan to have two walls full of shelving, and multiple work surfaces. However, figuring out exactly how to do that is challenging. I’m trying to plan an elfa system from the Container Store, but they are overdue getting back to me with a plan/estimate, so I’m stuck. I don’t want to just go ahead and get ClosetMaid stuff from Home Depot until I’ve seen the estimate from Container Store, so now I must wait. And while I wait, I shred…and shred…and shred. Wow, I had a lot of useless paper laying around.