Final Trading Spaces bids
Because you folks are the gotta-know type, here's the final numbers on the Trading Spaces Charity auction:| Item | Final Price | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 747508150 | $281.00 | Trading Spaces ED WALKER 3 Ornaments Charity |
| 747510809 | $860.00 | FRANK Handcrafted Box and 3 Ornaments Charity |
| 2080875273 | $1,725.00 | Trading Spaces AMY Signed Tool Belt & Hammer |
| 747516140 | $455.00 | Trading Spaces GENEVIEVE Ornament for Charity |
| 2080878423 | $411.00 | Trading Spaces TY Handmade Candle Holder |
| 1981574583 | $510.00 | Trading Spaces HILDA Paint Splat Shirt Jeans |
| 1981577524 | $255.00 | Trading Spaces KIA Magic Ornament for Charity |
| 2080883778 | $405.00 | Trading Spaces TY Signed Work Goggles Charity |
| 2080885852 | $510.00 | Trading Spaces VERN Pillow Covers Snowflake |
| 2080887534 | $480.99 | Trading Spaces LAURIE Striped Pillow Charity |
| 2080889212 | $5,400.00 | Trading Spaces VERN 2 hours Consult Charity |
| 3300276047 | $610.00 | Trading Spaces DOUG Wood Artwork for Charity |
| 1945749700 | $2,325.00 | Trading Spaces DOUG Lunch Meal for Charity |
| $14,227.99 |
Hobby photos
Some of you know that I took up beading as a hobby about a year or so ago. After multiple requests, I've finally posted some pictures. They're not a raging success, but you can get an idea of what I'm up to.Vegas Weather
We'll be in Vegas all next week, so for our own reference, it's the 10 day weather forecast. If you're there and want to get together, let us know.Big car, bigger tax break
We're both self-employed, so we're always on the lookout for new tax breaks that apply to us. Here's a scary one: In Tax Twist, Big Vehicles Get the Bigger Deductions. If we buy a behemoth, almost the entire cost of it would be deductible.Bluetooth inside
Can't wait for Apple to get around to building Bluetooth support in their PowerBooks? There's a way to do it now, if you don't mind taking the case off, soldering a Bluetooth USB adapter in, losing a USB port, and reducing your Bluetooth range to about two feet. Knock yourself out!OS X 10.2.3
Mac OS X 10.2.3 Update is out. The big deal that some readers here will care about: "Adds a Canadian English language spell checking dictionary." You can get the new version by picking "Software Update" in System Preferences.White Trash Xmas
Just to put you in the holiday spirit, it's White Trash Christmas. It's a pretty big Flash file, and the server is being hit hard, so it may take a while to load. Via my old friend Paul Music, who says he's geting married this weekend. Mazel Tov!Missile defense - bah!
The Bush administration has announced that it will deploy a missile defense system in the next two years. The US has thrown untold billions of dollars down this rathole since 1958, not just since the Reagan years, and it still doesn't work. Nothing's changed with Bush's new system. This Slate article, Bombs Away, explains why, yet again.More on SpamCop
I've complained here before about SpamCop, and here's more reasons why using their block list is a Really Bad Idea. Spamex on Spamcop (or Why Spamex does not support the use of Spamcop.net).Dean redux
Here's another article about Howard Dean, this time focusing mainly on the horse-race aspect of his longshot candidacy for president: The Doctor Is In, and Busy Hanging a Bigger Shingle.Vonage
Check this article out: Bon Vonage, Baby Bells - A new Internet service means you don't need the phone company anymore. Vonage is a service that does Voice-over-IP (VoIP), so if you have a broadband connection, you can use it to replace your local phone service. They offer unlimited local and long-distance service for $40/month. If you only need 500 minutes of long distance per month, it's $26. International rates are cheap, too; 4 cents a minute to France, for example. You get a Cisco VoIP adapter for free, and hook it up to your router, and you're off. Your phone number stays with you, no matter where you move, even out of the US. You can also do interesting things like live in New York, yet have a California phone number. Pretty cool.Synchronicity inaction
Tom finishes his latest book and Delta Tao releases Spaceward Ho! 5. It can't be a coincidence that these happened within a week of each other. And that's a darn good thing, too, as if Spaceward Ho had come out earlier, who knows when the book might have been finished.Dems in 2004
I have to say that I'm sorry that Al Gore won't be running for president next time around. He's clearly the best-qualified of the potential contenders. But the relentless pounding he's taken from the media and its GOP operatives during and since the 2000 election, coupled with his big mistakes during that election, has convinced the chattering classes that he could not win. So that leaves us with a pretty sorry lot, in my opinion. Here's my early thoughts on them:Lieberman: He'll definitely run. Depending on his organization, he could possibly even win the nomination, though I doubt it. But there's not a chance in hell that he could win against Bush in the general. Deplorably, there are too many people in this country that still will not vote for a Jew for president. There are too many problems between the Jews and blacks, who are a must-win part of the Democratic base, for Lieberman to surmount. My problem with him, however, it that he talks about God way too much for my taste. I don't believe that a politician should discuss his religion and use it as a touchstone for all of his or her positions in a secular society. I cannot imagine voting for him.So that's what I'm thinking today. Let's revisit this in about a year or so and see how much, if at all, I've embarassed myself.Kerry: He's already running. He's smart, he's a genuine war hero, and he can use his medals to beat Bush over the head. The trouble is, that's a strategy that works best on a candidate who isn't already Commander-in-Chief. He's from Massachusetts, still a synonym for "Eastern liberal," and you can bet the GOP is warming up the "too liberal for America" attack ads already. He's been working hard to court the black vote. My issue with Kerry is part of the problem that Gore has: he's so cautious, you think that everything coming out of his mouth has been pre-digested, run by a focus group, and vetted six ways from Sunday. He has that Kennedy-wannabe thing going, too, which is distasteful. I need to see more to decide about whether I could support him.
Edwards: Not this time, John. He's smart, attractive, and he's from the South, all of which helps a winner. But he's a first-term senator, and he's still finding out how things work in Washington. He's stumbled in some early speeches. He's also up for reelection in 2004. Will he potentially lose one job to run for another as a long shot?
Gephardt: He's run for president before. He lost. He practically has a second home in Iowa, which will help early on. He sucks up to labor like there's no tomorrow, which helps him in the primaries and is a loser in the general. Under his fabulous leadership, last month Democrats lost the best chance to regain the House for the next decade. He's on the wrong side of many issues for me. I would not vote for him.
Daschle: He's been a crappy Majority Leader. Period. Last week, he let Trent Lott off the hook for his racist comments, for pity's sake. He can't see a friggin' red-meat issue when it slaps him in the face. He can't fight the GOP on their terms. Yes, his troops helped Mary Landrieu win in her runoff, and he knows how to run a ground game in an election. But that's not enough. He doesn't have the vision thing. He is not presidential caliber.
Howard Dean: (who?) This guy is already running. He's the governor of Vermont. Actually, at the moment, he's the candidate with the best lineup on the issues. He's a doctor, has, by all accounts, been a pretty good governor, and is fiscally conservative and socially liberal. That works for me. He's blunt, and he loves to kick over the apple cart. He's the most likely winner of the "pundits love him, can't possibly win" award for this election cycle. I'm going to watch him; I'd rather win, but if the Dems are going to lose, I'd rather be supporting the best of the bunch than settle for warmed-over politico. Here's a profile on him. I like this quote: "I have no patience with ideologues. I think they're fundamentally disturbed."
Biden, Feingold, Dodd, Wesley Clark: Puh-leeze.
Buying Spaces
If you're a Trading Spaces fan like us, you'll be interested in seeing the Trading Spaces eBay charity auction. Lots of good stuff, but the prices are steep. The one thing that I'd really like, the two-hour consult with Vern, is already going for $2100, and the auction doesn't close until next Saturday. It's for a good cause, though, so check it out!Welcome, Gnomies!
For those folks who found their way here via today's LockerGnome Windows Daily Report—welcome! Take a look around, and come back again soon. Thanks to Chris and Meryl for the mention.All entries © 1999-2008 Tom Negrino and Dori Smith