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A rather fetching number isn't it? And just in time for St. Patrick's Day. I just got a cafepress dark shirt and I must say that the quality of the shirts and printing have definitely gone up since the days of yore. Anyway, if you're gonna be drinkin' this St. Paddy's Day, you might as well have a nice ice-breaker on your back :)

Man, it's been a spendy month. I'm getting all geared up to launch passivemoola.com and am on track for launch sometime by february. I'll be sharing my tools and tips for managing finances, making some extra chedda, and all of that jazz. Doubtful that it will be profound or anything, but hopefully it helps those of you from getting in too deep.

Hongyun and I are over at REI right now doing some shoe shopping. We decided to wait a couple of weeks since they're doing a clearance sale right now, not the SUPER clearance that rolls in around February where some slow sellers are heavily marked down. Anyway...we'll be back in Febraury for new shoes and maybe some odds and ends we've been needing.

As we near Christmahanakwanzakah, I'd like to reflect the mass consumerism that is at the very heart of this special time of year. Whilst shopping for the perfect gift, have you thought to yourself, "I bet they already have an ipod/charger/digital camera/wii/xbox360/whatever...there just doesn't seem to be anything really unique or interesting to buy for my special someones this year!" I know I've definitely felt that way.

Well, fear not, these will not make it to you in time for holiday 2007, but there's always 2008:

If you're cheap and you like your thrills to be short-lived affairs, why not try these on for size? They'll compliment any IT or software engineer's desk (except for your boss's boss's boss's anal-retentive "software architect" level engineer...those guys would only enjoy

Hmmm...too tame you say? How about something a little bit weirder?



Weird right? But still too small right? I mean, why not just go all out and get some really weird yet interesting (useful?) stuff?

So, as you can see, you clearly have not seen it all in this life (and definitely not in the next). Remember, to look far and wide for the next great gift that your recipient will quiet wonder what they heck you were thinking while they outwardly beam to your face. Go forth and consume!

Well, it's that time again boys and girls...get your credit cards ready. Here are the most interesting devices that have captured my very short gadget attention span:

The Amazon Kindle EVDO-powered ebook reader is a very interesting piece of hardware. The user experience is quite compelling and they almost get it all right. Yes, it's yet another thing to carry around, but if Amazon is successful, you won't have to carry dead trees around for much longer and you'll have access to their collection of books just about anywhere there is a cell signal (yes, it works off the slower and ubiquitous-in-the-US 1xRTT network for those of you in non-EVDO areas).

Would I buy it? I'm on the fence. There's a lot of very interesting technology packed in there, but they'll have to work out some of the kinks (most of them are in the business model rather than the device itself) before I have them ship me one. I'm going to hang tight until v2.0 (or 3.0) that allows for EVDO-powered library book lending and the like to come about. Nevertheless, I'm glad Amazon has taken the leap and I think it's a great gift for those of forward-looking, bookworms in your life.

The OLPC is yet another awesome piece of technology that is finally getting into people's hands. It's been a long time coming

Would I buy one? Yes, in a heart beat. I know, I know, I already have too much crap to carry around, but hear me out. This little gizmo is not really about me surfing the web and watching YouTube idiocy (although I would most likley be using the OLPC for this as well). No, this device is more about something that I believe a great deal in. It's about the ability of technology to transform societies and the world. Transformation can be good or bad, but in this case, I think the OLPC will be a force for good. Very very close to pulling the trigger on this little guy.

What's this little green thing? His name is Pleo and he's the hot little robot for the season. He's a little pricey for a toy, but who can put a price on hackable, robotic fun?

Would I buy it? I thought I would, but there really is no practical use for this except to have this thing befriend my rabbits and keep them company. While not practical, that would be very awesome, not to mention cute.

So which do I want the most? Probably the OLPC, but I'm not sure I would have enough time to really get into using it to make it worth my $400 bucks. I'll wait till they arrive on Ebay next year and scoop one up for cheap.

I just realized how much my life has changed in the past few years. Right now, I'm sitting at Cafe Strada on Bancroft, across the street from UC Berkeley, enjoying a morning Americano and working on some text parsing/database stuff for work.

I just remembered that I needed to get some Splenda and deodorant so I fire up Amazon.com, found out that I can "subscribe(?!?)" to Splenda (yes, you heard me, you can subscribe to sugar substitute) and save 15%. I also found that I not only shopped for but discovered new deodorant faster than I could at any store...about 2 minutes. I decided to give Tom's of Maine deodorant a try since we use their toothpaste and all of their materials are sourced in the US. So, not only do I not have to drive to the pharmacy, find parking, search the aisles filled with child-labor-produced-discount-fire-non-retardant-stuffed animals for deodorant, AND wait in line, but I can find what I need cheaper with 2 day shipping AND no tax on Amazon.

Today I read that I should buy Walgreens stock since they've taken a nice dive...actually I think I'll sit that one out thank you very much.

Anyway, the other thing that struck me after I subscribed to my sweetener of choice is that I am sitting here with my phone attached to my PC and actually working. I know, I know, I've been doing this for a couple of years now, but it has just dawned on me that back in the good old days, right after college, I was pretty much shackled to my desk.

Remember that old IBM commercial with a skinny dude screaming at pigeons to buy and sell stock in the middle of St. Mark's Square in Venice? That has been my dream since I found out that cell phones actually existed. I think we're getting really close. I say 5-to-10 years tops until we get to the eye-embedded screen, ear-embedded speakers, brain embedded computer days.

Wow, that's a lot of stuff. It seems that each time we head over to Costco, we end up buying about $200 worth of stuff even though we walk in for one or two items. Why? Is it that Costco offers such attractive bargains or a superior shopping experience that I just have to buy more? Some think so. I, however, have an alternative explantion of "The Costco Effect" as it is now dubbed.

I absolutely hate going to Costco. The only reason I do go is because the prices are hard to beat on some things. The famed Costco deals on non-perishables are really quite good. Plus, we use less materials for plastic bottles when we buy in bulk (can someone PLEASE tell Costco to allow refilling shampoo, conditioner, lotion, and other non-edibles?)--128oz in one container is better than 2 64oz containers. But what about the whole experience of shopping at Costco? Well let's see why I absolutely abhor it.

Parking: it's the pits at any Costco on the weekend. If you have the luxury of hitting the Godzilla-warehouse during the week, then I envy and applaud your ability to not work during the week. If you're as unlucky as I am, you have to hit up Costco on the weekends and that's generally a nightmare in the parking department. You've probably had to dodge 5 ton SUVs while trying to avoid creaming some idiot "surfing" his oversized shopping cart back to his car (no matter how much you'd really want to flatten the sucker and get 2 points on the score board).

Oversized Carts: maneuvering inside Costco is an awful experience especially with their 1960's Cadillac-sized shopping carts. I mean, they should probably offer combo Costco-cart and Cruise ship licensing courses out back for $39. Then you get the people who are oblivious to the chaos around them and park their carts in the middle of the aisle while they tackle other shoppers, vying for the last free sample of chicken apple sausage. Seriously.

Checkout: this one isn't so bad. I actually admire Costco's effort to bust out their customers as soon as possible by using two checkers to not only speed you through checkout, but also double check they don't miss the case of beer under the cart. Damn...the saw it again.

Overall, it's an awful shopping experience. The prices really are their only saving grace in my eyes. So what does this have to do with the Costco Effect? Well, the value proposition the Costco barely outweighs the negatives. This sort of dynamic basically forces me to save money at Costco at the same time hating the whole 2 hours I'm jostling with the other crazed shoppers. It makes me want to NOT GO THERE. But I have to if I want to save money. So what do I do? I buy MORE in order to reduce my Coscto visit frequency. I know I have to go there to save money, but I really don't want to go so often.

Costco Nativity Scene
The Art of Tiny
Batman Hamster House
Ants in the Pants
Xbox Core for $100!!
Like OMG
Seasons Greetings
Arm Hip Bust
Amazon Whore
Father's Day Gift
Crazy Shoe Sale
Vibrating Ring?
Hongyun's Art Featued at Etsy.com
Extra Sprint PPC-6700 for sale.
Etsy DIY shop
Rechargeable Batteries
Simple Layout for Single Product Store
Segway with Spinners on Ebay
Check IKEA Stock Levels
Surplus Stores
Einstein T-shirt
80/20 rule versus "The Long Tail"
Wheels for Sale
Ultimate Gift for Movie Buffs
Tivo Wireless Adapters
Fox TV DVDs 75% off at Amazon!
Snoop Doggy Doll
Nintendo NES Belt Buckle
Gucci Ice Cube Tray
Lowrider Bike Neon
Arnold the Governator
Jewelry on NBC
Corbin Sparrow for Sale
DealCam
Get Out Fast
Used Shoes on Ebay
Island on Ebay
AOL Gives Away Free Service
Sparrow!
Cafepress customization