Category: Misc

I'm going to count down the 12 days of Christmas Jesser style … going from 12 down to one with stuff we love (not maids a milkin'. Here goes …

I've decided to embrace the cold weather, so last night I made a snowy skin for Jesser. I'm trying to con Matt (who LURVES Christmas with a capital LURVE) to make a Christmas theme … or two.

Enjoy the snow! Or at least my snowy winter theme.

I took this photo when we were at Grand Lake last year for the ice fishing trip. It was cold that day, when we went snow-shoeing, but I guarantee it's colder now. And we're at a much lower elevation. Yesterday on my way home from work (by way of a friend's house) the radio guys said it was -5, wind chill -15. This morning it had warmed up. A clock/thermometer bill board at a church I drive by said -1. The real kicker is that the heat seems to be out at work, so I'm sitting here with my space heater and my wool jacket. I'd love to put on my gloves, but I don't think I can program too efficiently with them on. 😛

Hope you're all keeping warm (or at least warmer than me!!!).

Honestly, with the wind we had here yesterday, I'm amazed I'm still standing. Fences, street lights, stop signs, trucks, you name it were all blown over in yesterday's wind. It was hurricane speed winds without the water.

Worst of all though, since I have a TON to get done this week, was that our power kept going out at work. In the morning we had several surges (I lost about 30 min worth of work due to one of those) and then around 10 we lost power for about an hour and a half. Then around 2:30 we lost power again. I stuck around 'til 4 hoping it would come on so I could get a few things done and finally went home so at least I could get some stuff there done.

Today, it's not windy, but it is supposed to start snowing in a bit and not let up until tomorrow morning. Oy.

Since I discovered LifeHacker earlier this year, nary a day has passed without me visiting this beacon of “lifehacks.” Some of my recent faves:

* secrets of the organized family
* the monkey calendar
* find an xBox 360 for sale near you (the nearest one to me is in Nebraska, lucky I don't care.
* color match redux
* what the font
* remove stamps with nailpolish remover
* is a hybrid worth it?
* foldershare, which allows you to sychronize a set of folders OVER the web (i.e. from home to office, etc.)

Check out LifeHacker. You're sure to enjoy.

Despite our best efforts, it seems that we are never able to give Loki enough exercise. He always wants to go, go, go. Epically on weekends and when he can’t go to Doggie Daycare. We had joked about getting him a treadmill so that he “walk himself” but never thought about it seriously. Well, today, Jess ran across these sites http://www.jogadog.com/dc5.html and http://www.colbypitbull.com/treadmil.htm which are makers of dog specific treadmills.

Evidently there are two types, unpowered carpet mill and powered ones. Maybe we’ll have to get Loki one for Christmas

My uncle sent this to me and I had to share. I also had to make comments about which of these are true and why and which are not and why.

1. You switch from “Heat” to “A/C” in one day. Totally true. Have done this many many times. Short and sandals in the middle of the winter? Definitely not unheard of.

2. You know what the “Peoples Republic of Boulder” means. Yep! This refers to all the “liberals” or “granolas” down in Boulder and the general Socialistic atmosphere.

3. Your sense of direction is: towards the mountains and away from the mountains. Absolutely true! I know where to go by streets as well (Denver is very griddy and most streets run NS and EW) but the mountains are my landmark … whenever I'm away I feel sort of lost. Continue reading “The Great State of Colorado”

Let me just say I was *floored* by the amount of cool stuff out there. And I hardly left Target's website. Pull up a chair. This is going to be a long one…

Kids

I've felt for a long time that digital cameras were perfect for kids. You get all the fun of a film camera but with instant gratification and no cost developing. They can, of course, use the family's camera, but it may be nice for them to have their own. The one pictured here is $110 at Target and shoots movies as well as 3 MP digital photos. Hello Kitty, Barbie, Bratz, and Scooby Doo also have lower cost digital camera options.

Continue reading “Jess's Holiday Gift Giving Guide Part 4”

Having covered the fairer sex, now I move on to the err … not so fair sex? Dunno.

Stereotypical Guys

I was nosing around Red Envelope one day when this “digital sound bag” caught my eye. I had dreamed up a similar invention when I was little and it was amusing to see my kiddie dreams come to life. Anyhoo, that aside, this would make an excellent gift for any audiophile. You plug your MP3 player into the built-in speakers and you've got built in sound. The pocket lets you see and press the buttons on your MP3 player. It comes in 3 colors and has lots of great pockets for your other stuff. $70.

Continue reading “Jess's Holiday Gift Giving Guide Part 3”

I wanted to do guides for guys and girls, but I didn't want to be too stereotypical. Then it hit me.

Stereotypical Girl Gifties

Maybe not as cute, but certainly more affordable, the Dell Ditty comes in at $100. It holds quite a bit of music in a small fairly cheap package and you can customize it with different colored caps (for the USB port).

I probably cannot stress this enough: bags. They always fit. They come in every color, shape, size imaginable and they're so damned practical. The one I've shown here is a laptop bag from Target that I thought was neat. Other bag sources that I dig include: ebags, Title 9 (for gym bags), and great indie designers Poise and cut+paste just to name a few.

Continue reading “Jess's Holiday Gift Giving Guide Part 2”