Category Archives: Life

I Hate CostCo

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Ok, maybe ‘Hate’ is too strong a word.

Dislike, maybe … prefer to avoid, yeah, that’s pretty close.

Mind you … I don’t hate the generally poor layout of the store, nor do I hate the fact that non-name-brand merchandise is generally garbage … I don’t even dislike the throngs of people who, while pushing a huge cart down the isle, stop (in the middle of the isle) to chat with someone.

What I don’t like about CostCo is the checkout lanes … and the fact that, on any given weekend, there is just not enough of them open.

Today I went into the Schaumburg CostCo to purchase three things. Toilet paper, A copy of Photoshop Elements 4, and maybe a portable dock-able speaker unit for Ginny’s iPod. I found what I was looking for within 10 minutes.

As I was wandering down to the checkout lanes … I realized that I would be there another 30 minutes just standing in line. I also noticed that they had at least FIVE unmanned checkout lanes (that didn’t include the two that were practically buried under junk).

Maybe I’ll stop by tomorrow on my way from work.

[tags]costco, rants, stores, crowds[/tags]

I believe in Duty?

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On this morning’s “This I believe” segment of Morning Edition on NPR, they had an essay by 13 year old Ying Ying Yu titled “A Duty to Family, Heritage and Country.

To be honest … I feel very sorry for Ying Ying Yu … she is far to young to be as jaded as she sounds.

From what I read, she considers it her Duty to be a lawyer … while I believe that it’s a fine career to pursue … she should only pursue it if she really wants to be a lawyer. “Duty” is something you MUST do. But a course of study, and career, is something that you should WANT to do.

I think the statement that made me the most sad about Ying Ying Yu’s life is this …

I don’t want any more dreams — dreams are illusions.

Ying Ying … everyone should have dreams … dreams give you something to strive for … even if you know you can’t attain it.

I dream of being a respected nature photographer … but I doubt I ever will be one. That doesn’t stop me from taking lots of nature photos and making them best pictures I can … and learning from every one of them.

[tags]npr, This I believe, dreams, duty[/tags]

Fighting Wolves

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Someone on one of the lists I run posted this today … I thought it was worth publishing:

An elder Cherokee chief took his grandchildren into the forest and sat
them down and said to them, “A fight is going on inside me. This is a
terrible fight and it is a fight between two wolves. One wolf is the
wolf of fear, anger, arrogance and greed. The other wolf is the wolf of
courage, kindness, humility and love.” The children were very quiet and
listening to their grandfather with both their ears. He then said to
them, “This same fight between the two wolves that is going on inside of
me is going on inside of you, and inside every person.” They thought
about it for a minute and then one child asked the chief, “Grandfather,
which wolf will win the fight?” He said quietly, “The one you feed.”

[tags]Wisdom[/tags]

Backup Everything

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Yes, this posting is in both the Life and Computer categories.

It’s just a reminder that you should backup EVERYTHING!

Your computer files, your insurance policies (which I have to do), AND the contact information on your internet domain registrations.

Specifically, make sure the contact information on your domain registrations has a valid email address that will work even if your normal email address isn’t working.

Case in point: I have a friend who’s internet domain has expired … and I’ve been trying to contact him about it because he has a lot of mail queuing up on my server. Unforunately, I don’t know if he’s actually receiving the mail because I can’t send to the email address he normally uses, and the email address on his domain registration seems kind of old.

[tags]email, domains, backup[/tags]

Happy New Year

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Well, another year is came and went.

New years eve in the Gibbs household was quite exciting … basically, we stayed home, built a fire, and cooked dinner.

Dinner, however, was kind of interesting. Ginny had a taste for potato latke (pancakes)…. and she found an interesting chicken recipie.

So we had a truly multi-cultural dinner … eastern european potato pancakes, greek chicken, and while we were cooking, I was snacking on edemame beans.

Tomorrow we’re going to my folks place for a late lunch with the family.

Catchup

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Oh boy … it’s been a while since I did a serious post here. Time to do some catch up.

  1. My blog feed is now handled through Feedburner. This will allow me to get some stats on my readership. I was quite surprised to see that there are 28 people reading my blog through various mechanims.
  2. The people who are promoting intelligent design are total idiots. The idea that they would want to replace science with religion is total bullshit.
  3. Work has been kind of crazy lately … the project I’ve been working on is in full swing and I’m pretty much heads down on it. I’ll be glad when it’s done … not only will it be a load off my mind … but it will be a very very cool feature. Also, I got a raise today!
  4. Last Saturday, Ginny and I went to see “Beauty and the Beast” by the Highland Park Players … a local community theater group. Our friend Earle was playing Monsieur D’Arque. He only had one significant part, but it was prominent. The show was quite good. Didn’t have the polish that the Marriott Theater production did … but it was fun none the less.
  5. Speaking of theater … we went to see “Footloose” at the Marriott two weeks ago … I was not impressed. The singing was so-so and the dancing was ‘eh’. There were a few good numbers, but as a whole it didn’t work for me.
  6. Riley loves the laser pointer. He also likes lower tech toys like a piece of string. He doesn’t seem to go for the cat toys though.

Well, that’s all the news that’s fit to print right now. I’ll try to keep more current in the future.

Batteries

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The other day I, while getting ready for our trip to SLC, I came to a minor realization.

That realization was this: Our age is determined by the batteries we use.

Well, at least for me it is … let me explain:

  • When I was young, a lot of my toys needed D cell batteries.
  • As I got older, my toys needed C cell batteries.
  • Once I started getting closer to being a teenager, my toys (and other items) needed 9 volt batteries.
  • Once I became an adult, those items (not necessarily toys now) that need regular batteries used AA. I guess Lithium Ion and NiMH could be considered for this category too, but those don’t get replaced that often.
  • Once I get older … I suspect I will need much smaller batteries … for hearing aids & the like (My parents, who went to SLC also, clued me on this).

I noticed all this when I was packing things to take with me … my bluetooth mouse, hand held GPS, and small digital camera, all needed AA batteries … and I didn’t have enough. Of course, my cell phone (who’s battery is dyeing), laptop, Ginny’s IPOD Mini (she forgot the charger for it), and of course my car, all have Lithium Ion batteries.

Ok, I admit it … this was a pretty weird thing to pop into my head … and a funny thing to have as a ‘realization’. But heck, isn’t that what blog’s are all about? 🙂