This video had me ROLLING! It’s hard to describe, so just watch and enjoy:
Obsolete
Keith at BagOfNothing.com posted an interesting list of 12 Things That Became Obsolete This Decade.
I know people who still use some of them, such as land lines and dial-up Internet. I still occasionally use a fax machine for work because there’s no better way to transfer certain documents using the provided technology, but I find it extremely annoying to use and avoid it whenever possible. I also still call people sometimes out of necessity, even though I would rather email or text.
However, Jenny and I rarely if ever use the other items on the list, even CDs. Jenny and the boys got me a couple of audio cables for Christmas that allow me to connect my iPhone or MacBook to my car stereo and home theater. Since I have my CD music imported into both devices, I can use them as my music source instead of fumbling with the CDs. I’ve actually downloaded more music this year through iTunes than I’ve bought in CD form.
To Keith’s list, I would add:
- Full-service, high-fee brokers of stocks, options, and mutual funds
- Writing checks
- Paying bills through the mail
- VHS tapes
Can you think of any other items or practices that became obsolete this decade? Do you disagree with any of these?
Ugly Ornament Party
Last week some of our friends hosted the annual Ugly Ornament Party. The premise is simple: everyone brings the ugliest homemade or purchased Christmas ornament they can find, and the group votes for the ugliest. This year’s crop was smaller than in years past but included some HORRIBLE ornaments. Here they are:
The Winner! – Neil and Ginger made this monstrosity using a bag of plastic body parts they bought at Wal-Mart for a buck. (?) His tongue is sticky.
On the left is a homemade “ornament” made from a speaker on a home intercom system. On the right is…um…a snowman octopus?
Left: Santa riding a salmon instead of a sleigh. Right: Um…an elf sat in a cinnamon roll and got stuck?
This squirrel is a bit…nutty.
Left: the Three Little Pigs’ house with the Big Bad Wolf dangling inexplicably underneath.
Right: (our entry) a ballerina pig. Nothing like pigs to celebrate the birth of a Jewish baby.
Outer: a wreath made of tissue paper that somehow looks like a toilet seat.
Inner: I guess it was supposed to be one of those first-Christmas-as-a-married-couple ornaments, but the bride and groom look like zombies.
Brown Chicken, Brown Cow
Jonathan’s Face
I posted a Jonathan update on his page, including the first good picture of his face.
Birth Control Poll and V-Day
I hope you enjoyed my birth control poll. Thank you for all the responses. We had quite a wide variety, including some surprises. I wish all of you success in your reproductive endeavors, whether you’re trying to create babies or not.
The topic is on my mind these days as the birth of our second son approaches (four weeks from today). Two children seems like a good number to us. We’ll take up exactly two rows on most roller coasters, fit easily into any four-door car, maintain a one-to-one ratio of parents to children, have tons of fun, have time to be heavily involved with both of them, and (we hope) be able to help both boys with cars and college when they get older. Plus, after the difficulties of this pregnancy, we don’t want to go through it again. If we ever change our minds and want to add to our family again, we will adopt instead.
Our family-size decision leads us to another one: permanent birth control. It’s time for me to start thinking about the old snip-snip. I’ve done some research and watched some videos, and the procedure seems to be highly routine and very effective with only minor discomfort. Sitcoms like to joke about how the very idea scares most men, making them feel less adequate somehow. Maybe it’s just the target area for the surgery that makes them squirm. Perhaps I’m weird, (OK, I know I’m weird!) but it doesn’t really bother me. Right now we’re planning on scheduling V-Day for sometime in the spring. Sorry if that’s TMI, but if you’re a regular here, you’re probably used to it by now. =)
Heat
Here are some of my thoughts on guns. I would love to hear yours as well.
- Growing up, the only experience I had with firearms came at summer camp when we shot targets with rifles. I enjoyed it. My dad has several but always kept them locked up. Both my parents made a strong effort to tell me guns could be dangerous and to leave immediately if one of my friends ever pulled one out. I want to teach the boys the same thing.
- We have no guns in our house and never plan to. I don’t object to them in principle. However, since I have a wife and sons, I don’t feel comfortable having guns in the house due to the risk of accidental shootings. If I could somehow guarantee that only a bad guy would ever be shot in my house, I would get one for defense. Since I can’t, we look elsewhere for security.
- I will not teach my sons to kill animals for sport.
- I have no problem with legally concealed weapons. Although I have no evidence to back this up, I believe those who get concealed weapon permits handle their weapons responsibly overall. Many of my friends and relatives have permits. If they ever shoot anyone, it will probably be a bad guy who is likely to own a weapon without a permit. I’m actually glad to know there are armed good guys running around. Our “castle law” here in Texas makes me feel more secure and probably deters some burglars. Two of our closest friends carry almost all the time, and I feel safer around them. If some guy goes crazy and starts shooting people in church, Jenny and I will hit the deck, and our friends will send him to meet his maker.
- Because I want our boys to learn a healthy respect for guns and the damage they can do, I do not want them to have toy guns. Guns are not toys.
- I think it would be fun to go to a shooting range sometime.