Slowly but surely I am being dragging into the 21st century. Last year my 8 year old mobile phone quit working, so I got a much more modern replacement. Now our 14 year old TV has packed it in. I certainly cannot complain with the life I got out of it...but had to find a replacement.
Fortunately, with the struggling economy and year-end deals, I think it was a good time to be in the TV market. Through my employer, I found I could get a deal on a Sharp 32" LCD model for $470 PLUS free shipping. From what I had seen, this was likely as good of a price as I could get and so I took the plunge. Also, despite a preoccupation with size (of screen) that most people seem to have, 32" was actually a perfect fit for our room.
It arrived last night, just in time to be set up enabling a great view of the 2nd day's play in the Australia v NZ cricket test. It is amazing to me how poorly both batting lineups are playing. To be fair, it is a helpful pitch and both teams' bowling attacks are doing a good job, however, the lack of application of many of the players is a worrying trend. We will not be able to get away with this when South Africa visit, so hopefully it is just a case of some early season rust. The positive is the bowling, especially Watson who is certainly a much improved player. If only he could score some runs! I will of course be there again tonight, enjoying the big(ger) screen and perhaps consuming a Tim Tam or two. Mindy will be out this evening with the kids, not that this changes much, although she will be far happier at her belly dance party than (hopefully) watching Katich and Haddin grind them into the dirt.
Next on the agenda to be replaced has to be the car...but hopefully not for a little while yet!
Friday, November 21, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Rocking East Rutherford
Last night saw AC/DC again with Tim (an old work friend) and about 15000 other rabid fans. Amazing show, certainly much better than when I saw them in Pennyslvania a month ago. Our seats were better last time but the band was more intense this time around and the crowd was much better. The set list was virtually identical except that this time around they added the classic "Shoot to Thrill", which is never going to hurt a concert.
Amazingly, the only section in the arena with people remaining in their seats was the section immediately in front of us. Tim theorised that perhaps we were in a "wheelchair section"...it was very strange.
I love seeing shows in this venue. It makes a nice addition to the back of the concert shirt and reflects the lack of large cities in NJ. You will see the tour: Chicago; Boston; New York; Washington DC; Philadelphia; East Rutherford - always strikes me as being out of place.
The band is seriously good and has not lost a step. Angus was totally wiped out as always after the show and they certainly give you all they can over the 2 hours. Try to get to see them if you can...this might be the last time they go around.
Oh yeah, purchased another t-shirt and hooded sweat shirt for my wardrobe. I think I am pretty much decked out for the next 10-15 years now, which is a great relief for Mindy I am sure!
Amazingly, the only section in the arena with people remaining in their seats was the section immediately in front of us. Tim theorised that perhaps we were in a "wheelchair section"...it was very strange.
I love seeing shows in this venue. It makes a nice addition to the back of the concert shirt and reflects the lack of large cities in NJ. You will see the tour: Chicago; Boston; New York; Washington DC; Philadelphia; East Rutherford - always strikes me as being out of place.
The band is seriously good and has not lost a step. Angus was totally wiped out as always after the show and they certainly give you all they can over the 2 hours. Try to get to see them if you can...this might be the last time they go around.
Oh yeah, purchased another t-shirt and hooded sweat shirt for my wardrobe. I think I am pretty much decked out for the next 10-15 years now, which is a great relief for Mindy I am sure!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Party Time
Saturday was quite a busy day. The morning was spent running errands and the afternoon was spent with friends visiting from out of town. They have two kids about the same ages as Naomi and Fiona and they all played quite well together. The evening brought us to a 50th birthday party for a friend...or more accurately, a friend of a friend. The kids were left with a sitter and off we went, stopping at a local bar with Holly and Gary for a round of drinks. We left and made it to the party where, other than the person the party was thrown for, we only knew two other couples - Holly and Gary and Bob and Marcie. I felt like we were the only people intent on having fun and proceeded to pound drinks, eat food and laugh a lot. By the end of the night, more drinks were being spilled than consumed, always a good sign!
Sunday involved drinking a lot of water and taking a lot of headache medicine (for both of us). There was a meeting of the "humanist family" group which went well, followed by having to do some work from home to prepare for a meeting for next week. On Sunday night I decided to try to find a companion to attend another AC/DC concert with me, right here in NJ. I found some reasonably priced tickets on the web and so will be going to see them once again on Wednesday night with a work friend from a previous customer. I am certainly psyched about this prospect...a nice bonus splitting the PA and Charlotte shows that I already had tickets for. I think I will have to buy another t-shirt to mark the occasion!
Sunday involved drinking a lot of water and taking a lot of headache medicine (for both of us). There was a meeting of the "humanist family" group which went well, followed by having to do some work from home to prepare for a meeting for next week. On Sunday night I decided to try to find a companion to attend another AC/DC concert with me, right here in NJ. I found some reasonably priced tickets on the web and so will be going to see them once again on Wednesday night with a work friend from a previous customer. I am certainly psyched about this prospect...a nice bonus splitting the PA and Charlotte shows that I already had tickets for. I think I will have to buy another t-shirt to mark the occasion!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Tim Tams
Tim Tams are far and away the best Australian biscuit (or cookie to any American readers). A chocolate centre, chocolate wafers and wrapped in chocolate, what could possibly be better? It was always something I would bring back with me from my trips to Australia and also, any visitors were requested to stash a few packets for me when they came over. Mindy and the girls are also both converts - these things truly are amazing. So much so, that we had always wondered why they were not being marketed over here.
Well, now they are! Through the company Pepperidge Farm, Tim Tams (still retaining the name) are being sold exclusively at Target stores in the USA, starting on November 1. I think that if the sales go well, the program will expand. On my way home from work, I stopped in to grab some...still kind of expecting something to go wrong...that they would not be stocked at my local stores or that they would not be exactly the same in some way. However, my fears were unfounded! They are being sold in the USA and they are identical to the Australian version.
On a press release I saw, I found out an interesting fact about Tim Tams:
They hold the title of "world's most popular biscuit" based on per capita consumption. Nearly 1/2 a billion Tim Tams are eaten each year in Australia alone, not bad for a 20 million population.
Now the one concession to the American market is them being marketed as "cookies" over here. In fact, the tag line of "Australila's most popular cookie" appears on the packet. I am willing to overlook this blasphemy figuring that whatever keeps them in the American market is a good thing. Any Americans reading this, go out and grab yourselves a packet and spread the word...you will be glad you did!
Well, now they are! Through the company Pepperidge Farm, Tim Tams (still retaining the name) are being sold exclusively at Target stores in the USA, starting on November 1. I think that if the sales go well, the program will expand. On my way home from work, I stopped in to grab some...still kind of expecting something to go wrong...that they would not be stocked at my local stores or that they would not be exactly the same in some way. However, my fears were unfounded! They are being sold in the USA and they are identical to the Australian version.
On a press release I saw, I found out an interesting fact about Tim Tams:
They hold the title of "world's most popular biscuit" based on per capita consumption. Nearly 1/2 a billion Tim Tams are eaten each year in Australia alone, not bad for a 20 million population.
Now the one concession to the American market is them being marketed as "cookies" over here. In fact, the tag line of "Australila's most popular cookie" appears on the packet. I am willing to overlook this blasphemy figuring that whatever keeps them in the American market is a good thing. Any Americans reading this, go out and grab yourselves a packet and spread the word...you will be glad you did!
Halloween
The girls had a great night on Friday. Fiona had her first real trick-or-treat experience after spending last year hiding inside after seeing a scary mask early on in the evening. This year they both raced around with some friends, quickly figuring out that the faster you go, the more free stuff you get! Naomi was dressed as Jasmine from Aladdin and Fiona was Wonder Woman.
After about 30 minutes, Fiona was done so we went home and sat outside to give treats to the kids who came by our house. I really think Fiona enjoyed this more than she enjoyed collecting herself. By the end of the night, both of them had quite large piles of candy and I think fully expected to be able to simply devour it all right then. We have been rationing it out to them over the subsequent days but you can be sure they are getting quite enough sugar to keep their energy up.
After about 30 minutes, Fiona was done so we went home and sat outside to give treats to the kids who came by our house. I really think Fiona enjoyed this more than she enjoyed collecting herself. By the end of the night, both of them had quite large piles of candy and I think fully expected to be able to simply devour it all right then. We have been rationing it out to them over the subsequent days but you can be sure they are getting quite enough sugar to keep their energy up.
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