Andy Laub

The other day Kottke pointed out this thing on MetaFilter that basically talks about quality of life and how it can be dramatically affected by some of the things we use every day.

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?

So, I got my tax return which means that it was finally office chair day today. We went to check out what the store had in stock, and in lieu of custom ordering (5 weeks) we bought the two remaining MIRRAs in the store. Mine is all black and Abe’s is tan on black. It is so comfortable and I may never buy another chair again. Seriously, though, I can not recommend the MIRRA enough. It is fantastic, and even better when you consider the huge discount when compared to the Aeron (my original favorite). It’s surprisingly comfortable as well. I am very happy with it, and the fact that I got it today, and the fact that it was about $100 less than what I would’ve paid at Room & Board.

We also decided to give the cat a bath. He was surprisingly tolerant of this, and doesn’t seem traumatized by the experience at all. He’s happy as he ever was, and a lot fluffier too.

We just watched Matchstick Men and I’m not sure whether I liked it. It was clever, nonetheless. We’re planning to watch Confessions of a Dangerous Mind tomorrow in what has turned out to be a Sam Rockwell (hot!) themed weekend. Last weekend we saw Pirates of the Caribbean and I’m happy to say it was awesome.

I am also excited because our housewarming party is coming up – an event I have looked forward to since October. That said, we need to focus on hanging the rest of our pictures this weekend. And maybe finding a bookshelf / room divider. And cleaning up the huge mess of LEGOs on the floor.

Ok, I think it’s due time for bed, since it is actually technically early morning on the 27th.