I find the concept fascinating, and it hits close to home for me. When I reached a point where I became self-sustaining, I started to adopt the philosophy that if I’m going to buy something, I might as well do it right the first time. Otherwise I know that I’ll just regret it down the line, and eventually buy it again. Since then I’ve still found myself burnt on occasion, but that’s not what this post is about. Nope – I think it’s time for a good old-fashioned meme:

• I love my iPhone. I am convinced it is the best phone in existence for me. I realize this is not the case for everyone, but regardless, something you use every day should be something that works with you, not against.
• Intel Macs are phenomenal. I can’t see a reason to go with any other brand for day-to-day computing.
• Get the biggest, nicest, highest-resolution LCD you can afford. There’s no such thing as too much screen.
• High-speed internet should be obvious.
• One year I spent my tax return on a really nice office chair. It’s a Herman Miller Mirra, and it’s awesome. I can’t say that it’s the chair for everybody, but everybody should have a chair that is equally awesome for them.
• Dyson vacuums suck so hard. In a good way, though. Especially the ones with The Ball™.
• The filtered water from our GE Profile refrigerator is the best water I have ever tasted.
• If you’re into TV, then you should have some sort of DVR. We went with TiVo, and will probably be shopping for a TiVo HD shortly. But it’s so nice not to be chained to your TV (or worse, a VCR).
• On that note, Hulu and friends are awesome, but they’re even better when you can watch them on your TV. There are a ton of approaches to this, so whatever works for you. But the ability to lay on the couch and watch the internet go by is key.
• Finally, one of the best things about no longer living in an apartment is a garage. Especially in snow country – I think I cleaned my car off a total of 5 times last season, and I can live with that.

Those are a few that came to mind as I was vacuuming this evening (ha!). What do all y’all think?

7:52 – Biscuit, hash brown, and medium Sprite are in front of me. I spent $2.51 on the group – a good value, considering the normal meal retails for $1 more and the biscuit alone is almost that much.

7:53 – Food has been debagged.

7:54 – First bite. Okay, I guess. Kind of sweet in the same way their chicken breast sandwiches are.

7:54 – No napkins were supplied. Good thing I have a supply at my desk.

7:55 – About halfway through the sandwich. I think the biscuit is the saving grace.

7:55 – Hash brown delicious as always.

7:56 – I would estimate this sandwich has about 3 bites left. But I take big bites.

7:56 – Chicken has toppled off of biscuit. I repeat: chicken has toppled off of biscuit. Why are breakfast sandwiches so delicate?

7:57 – Down to final bite.

7:57 – Sandwich eaten.

I won’t bore you with the rest of the breakfast details, but rest assured, if this sandwich had not been free, there’s no way it could dethrone the sausage (“king of breakfast meats”). But don’t feel bad. Chicken is still a shoe-in for 2/3 of the meals of the day.

We are the mice. Content is the cheese. Or maybe the desire to give our feedback on content is the cheese.

And just like mice, we often pursue that cheese without all the information and with a disregard for the repercussions.

Just one thing: mice learn. What if somebody fixes the mousetrap?

• Saab 9-3 5-door
• Ford Focus sedan
• Mazda 626 coupe

Using that as an example (because that’s exactly what I happened to be focused on today as I was leaving work), I can say that the Saab and the Ford both have 4 passenger doors; the Saab and the Mazda both have tail lights that extend onto the trunk/hatch, and the Mazda and Ford both have separate trunks. Basic? Of course, but it’s fun and simple, and expandable to as many items as you can focus on.

Along the same line, Kocourek recently (in spring 06 or so) filled their import brand void by buying Wausau Imports (Nissan, Saab, Audi, and VW – easily my favorite for window shopping). In this new arrangement, Imports moved into what used to be the Saturn of Wausau dealership, conveniently located across from Kocourek. Saab, however, was moved to Kocourek’s GM building, presumably because of being part of GM.

In the meantime, Mazda was still nowhere to be found, until this week. Fred Mueller (GMC, Buick, and Pontiac) has added an import line to their arsenal with their new Mazda franchise. Like I said, a few years ago, Mazda didn’t bring much to the table. Now though, they have quite a lineup and I’m happy to see they’ve returned because I hated having to drive 40 minutes to look at them. Furthermore, the dude I talked to there (part of the Mueller family) was super nice and very enthusiastic about their new acquisition.

Overall, it’s been an interesting year for the car market in Wausau.

The second you walk in the door you find yourself in line, waiting to pick up your tray, plates, and drinks. After looping back and forth several times, you finally accomplish this and are then escorted to a table that is, honestly, rather tight even for normal-sized people. While we were eating, another party was being seated and had to be moved because one of them couldn’t fit in the chair. Sadly, I imagine this is a common situation when you step back and look at the majority of their clientele.

As we alternated between consuming plate after plate of food, rushing to get more food, and making use of the “unlimited refills” beverage policy, more than one of us observed how the Golden Corral is a pretty accurate representation of the US: fat, crowded, and rushed.

This kind of environment makes It difficult to relax when compared to a “normal” restaurant. Everyone seems very focused on eating as much as they can in what can only be an effort to get the most out of the $9.95 entry fee. Except they’re so focused on eating they don’t take the time out to enjoy the food.

The most disturbing aspect was this nagging feeling as though we were animals being led into a feast and fattened up for some as yet undetermined finale. I’m not sure if that was their intent as far as atmosphere is concerned, but the name certainly fits.

Noone said we were going to her party.

Obviously there’s not much wrong with that sentence; picture one with more errors. However, I just went ahead and glossed over the word “Noone” because I thought it was a girl’s name. To me she sounded kind of pushy and not like someone I’d want to be friends with, but whatevs. I had a whole back story in my head for her, how her parents were both hippies who choose the name Noone because that’s what time it was when they met while naked at Woodstock (the original Woodstock). To each his (or her) own.

Turns out it was no one. Yeah.

Anyway, wizard on a bike:

Enjoy.

On that note, I started to wonder if there was some way to have the benefits of Flickr pro (unlimited photos) without having to pay the full $25. I figure that the brunt of the cost is for a) hosting and b) bandwidth, and I wonder if Flickr could remain profitable by offering a third choice between the free and pro accounts. It could allow people with decent hosting (like me) to upload their photos to Flickr’s service still, but instead of living on Flickr’s servers they would live on the user’s, leaving us with only one hosting/bandwidth bill instead of two.

There are only two potential issues that I’m aware of. I could see Yahoo! being concerned at the loss of too many Flickr pro customers, and I don’t know how valid that is. It depends on what kind of hosting they have set up on the side, if any. The other concern is how much bandwidth my photos actually use on a monthly basis. I can’t imagine it’s a ton, judging by the number of views that are recorded, but who knows. That’s one argument to remain a full-on pro user for some of the more popular people.

I have second thoughts about this idea already, and I know that part of me is just wanting to stop spending so much damn money. Is this a valid idea?

Things I did buy

Clipless sandals. So much better than the shoes I have because there are no socks required. Considering if it’s not warm enough for me to be wearing sandals I’m not going to be going biking either, it all works out pretty well.

Also, some parts for a thing for my car.

Things I won’t buy

For the last two months I’ve been thinking pretty hard about getting a digital SLR camera, namely the Canon Digital Rebel XT. It came highly recommended from a number of people and I really think it’s a nice camera especially compared to the others in its price range. As a bonus there’s a hefty rebate going on through one of my favorite companies. That brings the price down to under $700 for the whole kit, and it comes in black:

But I don’t think I’m going to jump on it for a number of reasons. I don’t know that I’d really use it enough to justify the price, regardless of how affordable it is. I’ve also noticed that I’m not even taking my small camera with me everywhere (even though I should). And honestly, I know that if I really wanted it I’d already own it. So that’s delayed, for now. I’m still thinking a larger one would be nicer just because of how grainy everything is with this tiny lens.

Things I saw

Finally, Cars, like every Pixar film before it, was a great movie. I can’t often say this about movies I watch, but there was absolutely nothing I didn’t like about it.

The point of the story is, I happened to drive past his house yesterday, and what had replaced the Subaru? A midnight blue 2002 Saab 9-3 SE sedan. I laughed.

1. Red Robin
2. Culver’s
3. Applebee’s
4. Buffalo Wild Wings
5. McDonald’s

2001 BMW 740iL XENON-NAV-XTRA CLEAN MILES 89800 – $6200
Leather Seats Cassette Player Sunroof CD Player
Passenger Airbag Driver Airbag Anti-Lock Brakes Side Airbags
Cruise Control Power Windows Air Conditioning Power Seats
Power Locks

Also included with the ad were a few pictures of a very, very nice example of the car. One little problem:

Yep, you guessed it. There’s no nav in this car. Too-low price (25% of what it should be) and inaccurate description? I smell a scam. Let’s continue.

I sent him an email, so as to leave no stone unturned (I’ve seen pricing mistakes before):

What is the correct price of this car?

Thanks,

Andy

That’s absolutely it. Furthermore I used one of my nameless gmail addresses so there was no connection to andylaub.com. His response?

Good day,

Thank you for your intention to buy my car.I tried to call you (1) but because of a thunder storm my phone is down.The thing is that I really hate to lose it but I must sell it and the part that I don`t like is that I need to sell it on the Internet.However this is the only way I can because, ,I am American, but I recently moved to London, U.K due to work and family,therefore I need a vehicle which complies with their specs here.I`m a fresh daddy I can’t find the time to drive the car anymore.I know that you will say it`s hard to complete a deal like this but my intentions are very straight and serious.I don`t have relatives anymore in the states so I had to bring it with me. (2) The car is still registered in USA and if I’ll sell it to an American it will be more easy for the both of us.I realize that the price is a little low but if I will try to sell it locally it will cost me a fortune to register and nobody will buy.I belive that this means good news for you because the car is in mint condition, no accident history,clear title,no dents or dings,no scratches and it has the original color!I want everything to be O.K. for everyone.I will take care of the shipping and handling because I understand that nobody will pay for it.I post it as being in US, just to avoid paying additional fees.Please mail me back if you think we can make a deal !!!

God Bless You…

Wow, that’s alot of writing, so I highlighted the important stuff:

1. OK. I never gave my phone number, so that’s… interesting. Maybe it was like that one episode of Family Guy where Stewie couldn’t remember the phone number and just started with 000-0000 and worked his way up. Then again, he didn’t have that thunderstorm to deal with.
2. And here we go. The car is in London. Explain how it’s more financially prudent to pay to have a car shipped with you overseas and then try to sell it back to someone in America instead of just listing it cheap before you move.
3. Finally, the nail in the coffin: The SCAM!!! listing. Yup, someone else was curious about the car as well, and (surprise!) was sent the exact same email. Hmmm.

Too bad. I really like those cars, though I’d take a 740i Sport over the long-wheelbase version any day.

Today’s weather: High of 61 degrees with a likelihood of an attack by those aliens from War of the Worlds. Low of 49.

Yep, that Sprint. No question, I really do like them a lot, but I’m a little sad at the same time. About a month ago, they sent this to my published email address:

Hi Andy,

The Sprint Ambassador Team recently visited Andylaub.com and wants to invite you to participate in our Ambassador Program.

The Sprint Ambassador Program is all about exploring our latest products and services and allows you to give direct feedback to Sprint. We recently launched the Sprint Power Vision (SM) Network and want to provide you with the full experience, at no charge. Sprint Power Vision Network enables customers to download data at faster speeds and experience new data products.

So what’s the deal?

As a qualified participant, we will send you one Sprint Power Vision phone and provide you with six months of all-access service (at no charge). You’ll have access to the Sprint Music Store(SM) live TV broadcasts, gaming and more. Yes, you will also have unlimited free calling and data service. It’s a pretty good deal and all we ask for in return is your candid feedback (you decide how much and how often).

[ Registration information deleted ]

If you have questions regarding the registration process or the program, please email us at [ Email ]

We look forward to receiving your registration!

The Sprint Ambassador Team

I was really excited about this because it was totally out of the blue. Unfortunately, I didn’t qualify because I’m not in a metro area right now. Admittedly, it makes sense that they want people who actually have access to the service to test the service, though as a footnote, I was at Best Buy yesterday and was told that Wausau does indeed have the Power Vision service. Interesting, because according to the service map, they don’t.

I see no orange in Wausau. Image from Sprint.

I’ve been trying to figure out whether Power Vision phones are backwards compatible with regular PCS Vision, and I wonder if this is the case of the salespeople just being confused. They said they used their demo A900 (dreamboat!) to browse the web all the time, but what if that just means it can get on the regular Vision network and isn’t necessarily on Power Vision? Maybe I need to stop overanalyzing?

H & R Block

Just get your shit together and let me e-file my state returns. I’ve been waiting for 2 months now.

TiVo

Much to the chagrin of many, many TiVo enthusiasts, TiVo is raising their monthly fees (to include free boxes) and dropping their beloved lifetime subscription. I am a firm believer that a lifetime subscription (meaning you receive unlimited TiVo service for the life of your TiVo unit) is the only way to go. I know several people who’ve saved hundreds of dollars already by buying it outright.

If you are considering a TiVo, now is the time. Lifetime subscriptions are still available for all boxes purchased through tomorrow (according to TiVo’s sales department) so I recommend biting the bullet and just getting one. Otherwise there is eBay, which is a viable alternative because the subscription is attached to the box and not the user. However, we all know how eBay gets when it comes down to supply and demand, and I have a feeling that demand is going to be up there in this case.

Abe and I have been back and forth on the TiVo thing for nearly a year, so I guess instead of calling TiVo a bunch of jerks (which they are), we should thank them for finally giving us the kick in the ass we needed to just go and buy one. We picked up an 80-hour model yesterday at Best Buy. Total cost: $220 box + $300 service + $50 wireless adapter = $570.

1. Ben Sherman Cheetah, white/red/navy
2. Converse Jack Purcell Slip-on, moss/dark chocolate tweed
3. Nike Free 5.0, yellow/black/green
4. Puma Mostro Classic L, white/black
5. Vans Classic Slip-on, black/red/denim

And some to acquire in the future:

1. Le Coq Sportif Race Metallic, white/navy/red
2. Nike Considered Tiempo, black/glacier blue/black
3. Nike Free Trainer 5.0, grey/black/white/green
4. Nike Shox Cog, silver/yellow/black/white
5. Puma Lab II, online lime/gold fusion/ white

Two antennas met on a roof, fell in love and got married. The ceremony wasn’t much, but the reception was excellent.

A jumper cable walks into a bar. The bartender says “I’ll serve you, but don’t start anything.”

A dyslexic man walks into a bra.

A man walks into a bar with a slab of asphalt under his arm and says “A beer please, and one for the road.”

Two cannibals are eating a clown. One says to the other “Does this taste funny to you?”

An invisible man marries an invisible woman. The kids were nothing to look at either.

I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day but I couldn’t find any.

A man woke up in a hospital after a serious accident. He shouted, “Doctor, doctor, I can’t feel my legs!” The doctor replied, “I know you can’t – I’ve cut off your arms!”

What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh.

Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says “Dam!”.

Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can’t have your kayak and heat it too.

A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse. “But why,” they asked, as they moved off. “Because”, he said, “I can’t stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer.”

A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named “Ahmal.” The other goes to a family in Spain; they name him “Juan.” Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal.Her husband responds, “They’re twins! If you’ve seen Juan, you’ve seen Ahmal.”

Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him…

Wait for it…

A super-calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

And I know that I haven’t even come close to my allocated bandwidth for the month so without further ado, here’s the 2400 x 1200 version (716K). Or, you can view it on flickr with the super-sweet little notes. It *almost* makes me want to put more pictures there, if I had any.

I know, I know. You can’t even see anything. View at hi-rez (2400 x 1200, 350K).

EDIT:
Check. Out. That. Living Room.

Paul made the argument that Apple being responsible for not just their hardware, but their OS, software, and peripherals may be another example of that unnecessary convergence. I beg to differ. I think every time Apple starts to tap into a new market (which, when compared to others, doesn’t seem to happen often) they do it with good reason. There’s a logic in adding a music player that works with your jukebox software that runs on the operating system that makes your computer go. Apple’s main intent is to have as much control over the end user experience as they can – they want to ensure that when you use a Mac everything just goes. The only way they can really make this possible is by being in the markets they’re in.

Does this negatively affect the consumer? I guess that depends on whether or not you mind having your OS and certain peripherals predetermined for you when you pick up your shiny new iMac. I don’t, personally (have you noticed?), because what Apple has to offer works for what I need. But just as there are people who feel their amps and preamps should be separated and weigh 50 pounds each, there are those who want to have control over each and every bit of their computing experience. Apple is not the choice for them. A Mac is what you get when you get frustrated as to why your amp and preamp aren’t playing nice with your SACD player (you bought one of those?) so then you can hop on Safari and find the answer in a forum.

I think I lost my focus ten minutes ago. Maybe I’ll revisit this later on.

AMENDMENT 1 : 03 November 2005

See Paul’s (PDF’s) comment at right first. I now understand what he was saying and I totally agree. I don’t know anybody who uses an Apple with no third-party software on it and I wouldn’t expect them to. What I would be surprised at is if they were using non-Apple software in place of what Apple provides, like the iLife suite or even Safari or Mail. The point being that Apple provides you with pretty much all the necessary “lifestyle” software that you would basically use a computer for (music, movies, internet, photos), which leaves you to spend your money on more specialized applications like Adobe CS or Macromedia Studio.

Maybe I should check my posts next time. Sorry for the briefly broken image.

Well, it’s happening again. Macys’ parent company is planning to change all Marshall Field’s stores to Macy’s stores. This is not a totally illogical decision considering the similar (in my mind and obviously theirs) positions of the two brands.

But as the post title suggests, this decision isn’t sitting well with everyone, or more specifically, with the citizens of Chicago. We ended up watching WGN last night, and boy am I glad we did because I don’t think I will ever see another 20 minutes filled with as much meaningless and petty whining as I did last night.

I just cannot believe how ridiculous the whole situation is. People everywhere, threatening never to shop at the store again if they change its name. There was a survey on WGN’s website last night, and out of somewhere around 13,000 people, a whopping 90% said this affected their decision as to whether they would continue to shop at Marcy Field’s.

This is an astounding number, and I just have to laugh a little. I guess a similar reaction resonated from Minneapolis when Dayton’s gave way to Field’s, and this kind of uproar will continue to occur time and again as long as corporations continue to be corporations. But wow, if you really want to rile up some Americans, change the names of their stores.

I wanted to get a picture of him, but couldn’t didn’t. Nothing to show for meeting a man who is arguably one of modern music’s most influential figures. Crap.

A new question that fall brings for this site is that of content – do I have to start showing fall-ish pictures? Is there a grey zone where I can show both, or can I show an obviously summer picture in October? Just wondering.

PDF was confused by yesterday’s post because it didn’t involve any depth-of-field blur and wasn’t a macro shot, two things which are admittedly very prevalent on this site. I am not sure whether this example proves him right or wrong.

My 50th post was 5 days ago.

That’s what she said.
A classic. Works for pretty much everything, and is even funnier if backed up by a recent viewing of the America’s Next Top Model skit on SNL. Probably the best one if your goal is to irritate the hell out of the person you’re interacting with.

Did your mom tell you to say that?
Probably also a classic – perfect for that personal touch; intersperse with with the aforementioned “That’s what she said” and you’ll be winning the argument in no time.

You don’t know (said in an accusatory tone).
For a new-wave twist, try this one, developed and tested right here in Wausau. You’ll be surprised how well it works.

Any other suggestions? Speak up.

This is, of course, an example of quantity over quality. If I had $70,000 to spend on a car, my first choice would not be a giant SUV (the Range Rover is in the top ten, though). I don’t need a massive land yacht for driving around town. The 911 is high on the list – perhaps a gently used Carrera 4S, but an even better option would be a really great sedan like that CLS that has me smitten. Those are admittedly still way more than I’d need, but I don’t think it’s possibly to spend that amount of money on a car that is not excessive in some way. But I am still choosing cars based on whether I like them rather than just buying the biggest one available.

The problem with that is while the big cars seem to be the icon of the well-off, it’s the families in the lower classes that could really use them. I’m not trying to imply by any means that all one does when they’re strapped for cash is pop out some kids, but in a country where low-income families have on average twice as many kids as a normal to high-income family, it’s an easy mistake to make. Just as it’s fairly easy to (correctly) assume that the average Escalade owner neither takes his/her car offroad nor has more than two passengers on most days. Which means it’s (surprise!) the wealthy family (again, generalized), if that, using and wasting the majority of resources while the low-income family is stuck in a fourth-hand, 1988 Taurus wagon.

But I need to digress, badly. This is merely an observation, and while the things we drive and live in are getting bigger and heavier, the things we like to carry with us are getting smaller and lighter, and the things we like to watch are getting thinner and wider.

When will it reach critical mass?