CourtneyP

Happy Turkey Day to everyone! What follows is a public service annoucement:

Just a friendly reminder that tomorrow, 28 November 2003, is annual Buy Nothing Day. The day after Thanksgiving is a renowned day for big retail sales, shopping, and all around gluttony. Do yourself a favor, and participate in BND by not participating in the madness. I am more than happy to not wander into retail hell tomorrow. The only thing I may purchase would be food (yes, that includes coff-ay). Maybe we’ll take a nice drive. What are your plans for the day, if any?

Want to learn more details about this campaign? You can do so here.

This was originally a slightly off-tangent rant from the previous entry, which I thought should be its own entry. So on the heels of the previous rant…

Is it just me, or does it seem like today’s teens are more worried about image than ever? They are extremely brand-conscious, not just with their logo-emblazoned clothing, but with the television shows and movies they watch, the makeup they wear, the food they eat, and lots more. The media continues to barrage us with images of “cool”… and the younger generation (and the older ones who don’t know any better) strive to follow these rules of cool to a T.
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What was your first experience with the sacred cup of java?

I don’t remember my very first coffee experience, but I do remember one particular cup of coffee during Thanksgiving, when I was maybe a junior or senior in high school. I coolly poured myself a mug after dinner, added the appropriate levels of cream and sugar (read: lots), and sipped in it sophisticated style (or so I thought) along with the mingling adults.

I am aware that many kids in European countries drink coffee from a young age, but I didn’t start until well into my teens. I didn’t feel any real need to drink coffee. Then, again, who really needs to anyway?

I honestly didn’t drink a lot of coffee until the college years. It was one of those things that seemed required when you were pulling an all-nighter studying for the next anthropology exam. Either that, or chocolate-covered espresso beans (drool).

So began a new affinity. I would hesitate to call it an addiction.
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Yay! Rambling fangirl post! Ye have been warned.

Last night, I managed to drag my brother Brendon to The City to see my favorite twin quasars of rock (They Might Be Giants to the common peoples). They are currently promoting their new book, Bed, Bed, Bed, so they were in town to give an in-store performance at A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books on Geary.

We arrived about an hour before the scheduled appearance, to be confronted with a big crowd already milling about inside the store. A table was set up right near the store entrance, stacked with shiny new copies of Bed, Bed, Bed, so I snatched one up before braving the crowd. We managed to find a spot to stand, kinda behind some book displays, but it sufficed.

Brendon made me feel old by commenting, “Hmm, this is an… older crowd.”

Gawd. I’m old.
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Once upon a time, people wondered what the heck Bluetooth was going to be useful for.

Now, one of most drool-worthy Bluetooth devices (well, besides the Smart car) is on the horizon, and believe it or not, it’s *gasp* practical!

XtremeMac has announced the iPod Bluetooth adapter, which will enable the user to stream audio to headphones, speakers, and even your car (hmm, a Smart perhaps?). To me, this is the ultimate iPod accessory, since it gives you ultimate mobility. If this thing works (and works well), I’d buy one in a heartbeat.

FM transmitters, like my iTrip, are all fine and dandy, but I’ve had a few issues with it lately. I often fumble with it to find and tune an appropriate frequency. It also does not fit on my iPod when it is in its case (an iSee). Lately, it has also been acting a bit flaky about working at all. Long story short? I need a new drug.

More details on this Bluetooth device are available at ExtremeTech (it is mentioned near the end of the first page).

(via AkibaLive)