Random Bits
Scooba
"And I shall call it Derek."
On Black Friday, Woot.com offered refurb'd Scoobas for $100. After a quick consult with chaosloki, I hit the "I want one!" button with much anticipation. It was delivered amazingly quickly, too, for Woot. My joy was increased with the discovery that instead of having to charge the battery overnight, per the manual, the battery was already charged and ready to go. So, I read the manual, measured and filled, and hit Go.
Of course, being the geek that I am, I had to sit and watch the thing.
For a while, it would only turn left / counterclockwise, which reminded me of Derek Zoolander, so I decided to call it Derek. Then it turned right / clockwise and completely ruined the joke. It's still funny, though, and I still think it needs a name so I'm sticking with Derek.
I was a little surprised by how big Derek is. It's about 2ft in diameter. Anyway, the important bit is that it does an amazing job of cleaning a floor. The primary entry into Tir MarJai is through the kitchen and my poor beat up white vinyl floor gets dirty fast. The clean isn't obvious as the Scooba goes along but once it's done - wow. Walking on the floor in bare feet, you can feel the clean. No grit, no film, just clean vinyl. We were very impressed. I was twice as impressed when the instructions proclaimed that I could forgo the cleaning solution and use vinegar. Cleaning time is dictated by the amount of water in the tank. A full tank cleans 200 sqft of floor and takes about 45min. My kitchen floor is about one fourth of that so I'll be experimenting with smaller volumes of washing water.
Puzzle Quest
Wow. What an addictive game. Cross Bejeweled with an RPG game. Unfortunately, I lost the game to Hubby and who knows when I'll get it back. :P
You fight monsters over a Bejeweled board. You take turns matching up jewels. Different colored jewels give you different types of mana to power spells; matching gold coins gives you gold; matching up stars gives you XP; and matching skulls delivers damage to your opponent. Spells do damage, buff, alter the board, etc. Armor defends against damage and weapons help increase damage done. Both can have additional features affecting mana, spell resistance, etc. Standard fare from your average RPG.
Wonder Emporium
So what's the deal with Ms. Portman? I will accept that it's unfair to compare any of her other work to the new Star Wars movies (gag) but is she really this wooden all the time? Wonder Emporium is actually a fun movie and Portman really only falls out of the film at it's very end (Nothing in how she moved looked natural). Dustin Hoffman looked like he was having a ball. It's been too long since we've seen Jason Bateman and the development of his character was fun to watch for all that it was more or less predictable. One of the things that Hubby pointed out as something he was very please with was Mr. Magorium being very generous with praise affection. He said "I love you" often without it being mushy or saccharine. It's a fun movie and worth seeing on the big screen for the special effects.
The Retail Season
With my starting work earlier this year and the addition of the 2nd income that provides, Hubby & I have enjoyed the ability to buy things as we need them and to take advantage of purchasing things that we merely want if we see them at an affordable price (like the aforementioned Puzzle Quest. Also picked up Season 2 of the Muppet Show. I'm half tempted to wrap it and put it under the tree...). It makes buying things for each other to put under the tree problematic. I like unwrapping presents on Christmas morning. For me, the holiday is about being with friends and family, and the anticipation of surprises. Although I'm fairly satisfied with the Scooba being my holiday present from Hubby & Bean. But no way was I waiting till Christmas to open it!
Christmas Tree
Bean is old enough to appreciate a tree and we're solvent enough to get one. So we did. In my heart of hearts, I'm a tree purist. I want white lights, gold balls, strings of red beads, and my paper angel on the top. Simple, clean. Have a kid, give it up. :) All our Disney Storybook ornaments (Princesses, Villains, Nemo), the random ornaments I've picked up or been given along the years, and the ever important yearly family ornament. We also bought a spinner so each day Bean gets to pick which Princess gets to 'dance.'
Our biggest problem is that Bean wants to sleep on the couch with the tree lights on...
"And I shall call it Derek."
On Black Friday, Woot.com offered refurb'd Scoobas for $100. After a quick consult with chaosloki, I hit the "I want one!" button with much anticipation. It was delivered amazingly quickly, too, for Woot. My joy was increased with the discovery that instead of having to charge the battery overnight, per the manual, the battery was already charged and ready to go. So, I read the manual, measured and filled, and hit Go.
Of course, being the geek that I am, I had to sit and watch the thing.
For a while, it would only turn left / counterclockwise, which reminded me of Derek Zoolander, so I decided to call it Derek. Then it turned right / clockwise and completely ruined the joke. It's still funny, though, and I still think it needs a name so I'm sticking with Derek.
I was a little surprised by how big Derek is. It's about 2ft in diameter. Anyway, the important bit is that it does an amazing job of cleaning a floor. The primary entry into Tir MarJai is through the kitchen and my poor beat up white vinyl floor gets dirty fast. The clean isn't obvious as the Scooba goes along but once it's done - wow. Walking on the floor in bare feet, you can feel the clean. No grit, no film, just clean vinyl. We were very impressed. I was twice as impressed when the instructions proclaimed that I could forgo the cleaning solution and use vinegar. Cleaning time is dictated by the amount of water in the tank. A full tank cleans 200 sqft of floor and takes about 45min. My kitchen floor is about one fourth of that so I'll be experimenting with smaller volumes of washing water.
Puzzle Quest
Wow. What an addictive game. Cross Bejeweled with an RPG game. Unfortunately, I lost the game to Hubby and who knows when I'll get it back. :P
You fight monsters over a Bejeweled board. You take turns matching up jewels. Different colored jewels give you different types of mana to power spells; matching gold coins gives you gold; matching up stars gives you XP; and matching skulls delivers damage to your opponent. Spells do damage, buff, alter the board, etc. Armor defends against damage and weapons help increase damage done. Both can have additional features affecting mana, spell resistance, etc. Standard fare from your average RPG.
Wonder Emporium
So what's the deal with Ms. Portman? I will accept that it's unfair to compare any of her other work to the new Star Wars movies (gag) but is she really this wooden all the time? Wonder Emporium is actually a fun movie and Portman really only falls out of the film at it's very end (Nothing in how she moved looked natural). Dustin Hoffman looked like he was having a ball. It's been too long since we've seen Jason Bateman and the development of his character was fun to watch for all that it was more or less predictable. One of the things that Hubby pointed out as something he was very please with was Mr. Magorium being very generous with praise affection. He said "I love you" often without it being mushy or saccharine. It's a fun movie and worth seeing on the big screen for the special effects.
The Retail Season
With my starting work earlier this year and the addition of the 2nd income that provides, Hubby & I have enjoyed the ability to buy things as we need them and to take advantage of purchasing things that we merely want if we see them at an affordable price (like the aforementioned Puzzle Quest. Also picked up Season 2 of the Muppet Show. I'm half tempted to wrap it and put it under the tree...). It makes buying things for each other to put under the tree problematic. I like unwrapping presents on Christmas morning. For me, the holiday is about being with friends and family, and the anticipation of surprises. Although I'm fairly satisfied with the Scooba being my holiday present from Hubby & Bean. But no way was I waiting till Christmas to open it!
Christmas Tree
Bean is old enough to appreciate a tree and we're solvent enough to get one. So we did. In my heart of hearts, I'm a tree purist. I want white lights, gold balls, strings of red beads, and my paper angel on the top. Simple, clean. Have a kid, give it up. :) All our Disney Storybook ornaments (Princesses, Villains, Nemo), the random ornaments I've picked up or been given along the years, and the ever important yearly family ornament. We also bought a spinner so each day Bean gets to pick which Princess gets to 'dance.'
Our biggest problem is that Bean wants to sleep on the couch with the tree lights on...