Changing Demographics

As many of you know, last Sunday was my birthday.  They say that time stops for no man, and that includes me.  In addition to everything else that birthdays imply, this one had another element to it.  If you have ever filled out a survey, one of the things they typcially ask is for you to select which age group you are in.  Saturday marked the last day that I was eligible for the 25-34 bracket (*gasp*).  Perhaps the move into the 35-44 bracket is an attempt to lessen the blow of reaching 40, but I'm not sure if I like it just yet.  I guess I'll let you know in five years!

I did enjoy a few birthday celebrations over the past few days.  We had a party to kick off the choir season last Friday, and Christy arranged for a cake (chocolate with chocolate icing of course) and singing of "Happy Birthday".  Saturday we went to one of my favorite restaurants BJ's Brewhouse.  They have good pizza and beer, and what more could you ask for?  In short I'll steal a line from Bilbo Baggins from The Fellowship of the Ring, "But today of all days, it is brought home to me: it is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life."

Until next time...

PH

When Junk Mail Isn't Junk

I'm sure a lot if not most of you are in a similar situation when you go to the mailbox.  If you are lucky you have at most one piece of junk mail for every item you actually need to look at.  With our schedules as hectic as they are, you probably give it a quick glance and toss it in the recycling - you do recycle, right?

Perhaps a second glance is in order.  The other day I had what looked like a flyer from the electronics store Conns.  I was about to throw it away when I realized that there was something in it.  Curiosity got the better of me, and I found a $50 promotional gift card.  I looked it over for the catch, but I didn't find anything.

So I stuck it in my wallet and went to our local Conns a few days later.  Thinking I knew what "the catch" was, I asked a sales clerk if there was a minimum purchase required to use the gift card.  I was shocked to find that the only stipulation was that it was a one use card.  That is if your purchase only amounted to $5, you lost the remaining $45.

I thought that was a pretty good deal so I looked around to see what they had close to $50.  The answer was not much; however, for $49.99 I saw a 1 Gb iPod Shuffle.  After finding nothing else I decided that was a good way to take advantage of their gift card.  I was prepared to pay the taxes, but much to my surprise I didn't have to.  Not bad at all.

I don't know how my of these things Conns sent out, but I can't believe that they have any iPod Shuffles left in their case.

So, the next time you get a load of junk mail, make sure it's really junk before you throw it away.  You never know what's going to be in there.

Until next time...

PH

September Vine Leftovers

Yesterday was "leftovers" day for the September Vine items.  Unlike the last couple of months, there wasn't a lot of music to choose from.  So I am going to be well stocked in books as I selected a couple of new ones to read in addition to Sea of Poppies.  The first is a legal procedural called A Cure for Night by Justin Peacock.  I'm hoping it winds up being like a Grisham novel.  The second is probably the more interesting.  It is a suspense novel by James Reese titled The Dracula Dossier.  It is actually about Bram Stoker and Jack the Ripper.  It sounded pretty interesting.  Now all I need is some cold weather, a fire, and a pot of coffee!

Until next time...

PH

Fall TV Has Begun

This week has completed the end of the summer lull. The beginning of the end was the start of, what else, football season. We got around to watching the double episode premiere of Heroes last night, and I think we are in for a doozy. I won't go into specifics since you can watch both full episodes online. However, this year they are not wasting any time with slowly developing plots. Many questions from the first two (one and a half really) seasons are answered. If you like super heroes or sci-fi, you don't want to miss the boat on this one.

Until next time...
PH

What Do You Like In A Book?

An interesting question for your Wednesday morning.  For the purpose of our discussion, I am specifically referring to fiction.  Between the book stores and the libraries, there is more available to read than we could possibly hope to consume in multiple lifetimes.  What tips the scale for you to make a book move into the select group of books that you have read?

I have a few different things that grab my interest.  While there are different types of fiction that I read, the ones that I like best are the ones that have some sort of adventure to them.  I am currently reading a book about the Opium Wars of the Nineteenth Century called Sea of Poppies.  It was my other Vine selection last week, and I was drawn to it because of the travels on the sea and assortment of characters that it advertised.  It is a book that "takes you somewhere".  In this case that somewhere is different in both location and time.  Another book I read earlier this year that fit this description was So Brave, Young, and Handsome.  While it didn't go as far away in distance or time, it was still a change.

It's not always about escape.  I also like books that have strong character development.  A couple of books that I read earlier this year had good plots, but the characters were what made the books come alive.  The witty, but often salty, social commentary A Fraction of the Whole was driven by the dysfunctional father and son relationship.  The other character driven book was the dark character study Now You See Him.  Some of the content of this one might be a bit much for some, but there was a strong psychological component to it.

A final category that I'd like to mention is the mystery/suspense/thriller genre.  I haven't read as many of these, but I like books that range from Sherlock Holmes to more modern styles that track closer to Law & Order.  The most recent book of this type that I've read is Takeover.  These are the types of books that are hard to put down because they keep you wanting to know "what happens next?".

Those are the main types of fiction that I enjoy.  What about you?  What makes you choose a book to enter into the select category of books that you have read?

Until next time...

Amazon Vine Review: Rambling Boy

Last Thursday was the first round of Vine for September, and one of my selections was a CD from long time jazz bassist, Charlie Haden, called Rambling Boy.  Though a jazz musician, Charlie's early roots are in country music as his family had a radio show long ago.  He has introduced his family to the musically tradition of that era with Rambling Boy, and my review is up with the details.  It's definitley for fans of the music from O' Brother, Where Art Thou?.

Until next time...

PH

Amazon Review: One Cell In The Sea

While this won't fit the description of "breaking news", it may still be something you aren't already familiar with.  A little over a year ago a new artist, A Fine Frenzy, released a CD titled One Cell In The Sea.  I picked it up after it showed up in my "recommendations" on Amazon, and I've been listening to it for a little while now.  In what is becoming a vast sea of female singer/songwriters, this CD is pretty good.  See my review for the scoop.

Until next time...

PH

Surprising Positive Experience

When was the last time you heard someone say something good about Walmart?  Regardless of what you can remember this post will soon fill that slot in your memory. 

Our VCR (yes, we are still in the stone ages) croaked a little over a week ago, and it was time to find an alternative.  It seems that you cannot by VCRs anymore that have tuners - required if you want to do programmed recording and/or watch one show while recording another.  It seems that I was able to get in on the tail end of DVD recorders that have a tuner.

I found what I thought was a great deal at Walmart for a Magnavox DVD recorder with a tuner, but it was anything but.  (No, this isn't the positive part yet.)  I hooked everything up, and tried to take the recorder for a spin.  However it wouldn't read any of the DVD +RW discs that I bought for recording.  I thought I had a bad batch of DVD +RWs.  Before returning those, I tried to play a movie that we had on DVD.  Ah, the DVD recorder could not read this either, and so it turned out to be a bad recorder.

This is where the good part comes in.  I went back to Walmart on Saturday, and I had the easiest return experience ever.  I walked right up to the return counter and explained that this player did not work.  Within a few minutes, I had a refund, and I was free of the Magnavox piece of junk.

I was shocked at how easy it was.  I figured I'd have to stand in line for 30 minutes then I'd have a big hassle with the return.  Not so.  While I wasn't please with my purchase, I can't argue with the customer service on the return.  Customer service.  I didn't know that still existed.  Who knew?

For the curious, I wound up with a Panasonic model from Circuit City that works like a charm.  The guy at Circuit City said that Panasonic is the only manufacturer who makes DVD recorders with tuners anymore because the cable and satellite companies have put on a lot of pressure in order to force people into buying/renting their DVR systems.  Sounds like the makings of a rant, but that's for another day...

Until next time...

About The Upcoming Election

I mentioned in my last post that I had some concerns about the upcoming election.  John McCain took almost everyone by surprise when he selected Sarah Palin as his running mate.  Most people were further surprised at how well she did with her address at the Republican Convention.  Obama and the Democrats have been scrambling trying to figure out how to respond, and so far they haven't been able to do more than look silly.

So what's the problem?  For me personally, not much.  I think Palin is probably more conservative than McCain although that isn't really saying much.  If people agree with Palin's politics, I think that's a great reason to vote for the Republican ticket.  However, I think that there might be a number of people who will vote for McCain and Palin for the wrong reasons.


I see a lot of Fox News while I'm at the gym, and one of the analysts relayed a discussion he had with a woman at the gym that morning.  She was going to vote for Palin because she had been a working mother running her own business for the last 19 years, and she identified with Palin.  That's great, but does that mean that she and Palin are aligned politically?

I also think that McCain made an attempt to play off of the disappointment among women that Obama did not choose Hillary Clinton for his running mate.  Most hardcore Hillary supporters know the difference between Clinton and Palin, but these are not the people McCain was after.  The indecisive middle is where the election will be won.  I think that what we are left with now is more of a popularity contest.

If you are a Republican, the silver lining is that it is likely to work.  McCain shored up his support in the Republican Party by choosing someone more conservative than he is to balance out his ticket.  Palin is also going to generate a lot of interest from the casual voter who would have likely stayed home in November.  Finally, Obama and crew still seem to be scratching their heads about how to go after Palin.

Please understand that I have every intention of casting my vote for McCain and Palin, and I think that they will be the winners.  My concern comes from the fact that they will not have won for the right reasons.  I encourage each of you to vote by your principles rather than the hype (or even marketing) that the race has become.

Until next time...

PH

Amazon Vine Review: Lucky Billy

Well, I've completed my round of Vine reviews for Augusts products. As my previous posts indicated, I did OK on CDs going 2 for 3 on finding winners. However I hit rock bottom with my book selection Lucky Billy. Check out my full review for details.

By way of announcements, I intend to put out a few posts in the coming weeks that deal with the upcoming presidential election. There's much to discuss in this arena, and I actually have some concerns about where things are headed. Stay tuned...

Until next time...
PH

Amazon Vine Review: Amparo

Have you ever had a pleasant surprise?  Of course, that is a silly question as even the biggest curmudgeon could answer with an affirmative.  My latest CD from Vine turned out to be a pleasant surprise.  Check out my review of Amparo to see why.

Until next time...

PH