Time You Enjoy Wasting Is Not Wasted Time

“Leaf blowing is just, like, wrong. The leaves, you know, just want to, you know, pile anywhere anyway”

Karen really likes to start decorating for Christmas the weekend after Thanksgiving. So today we got the tree and decorations out and got started. We are still thinking about getting a real tree as well, but it’s too soon to get a real tree, so we put up the artificial one today. Here are some pictures of the girls decorating the tree:

It is absolutely beautiful weather here this weekend. I spent most of my day doing the stuff I’ve been putting off, but don’t want to do in the cold/rain/snow. Things like fixing the outside lights, cleaning the gutters, putting the outside stuff into the shed or garage for the winter. Really exciting stuff… But it was interesting to break a sweat while doing it instead of freezing. The girls even got some good playtime outside after their nap. It was clear and in the 60′s today and is supposed to be that way tomorrow too. No rain in the forecast all week although it looks like it’s going to to cool down by Friday. Also noticed an interesting trend in my gas bill. We used about half the amount of gas that we did this time last year. I guess being more conscious of our energy usage is making a difference.

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone. We had a good time at my in-laws. Before we went over we watched the parade in NYC online. Thanks to earthcam for streaming the parade. The girls loved watching the parade and I enjoyed not having to deal with the commercials and the constant cut-aways to the reporter with their inane chatter. It’s bad enough to have to hear the chatter, but do we really need to miss the parade to get a shot of the reporter? Stupid networks.

As a point of reference, we got rid of our tv service about 6 months ago. We still watch movies and stuff on DVD or VHS, but no network/cable channels. I actually would have been perfectly happy to watch the parade online from one of the networks, but none of them offered it. I looked and looked. So instead we got a much better show from earthcam. I was really surprised at the networks lack of vision. I would have dealt with the networks commercialism and crap but they didn’t even give me that option. How ridiculous is that? But the girls did enjoy watching the parade, the only thing we missed by not having the network view was the Laurie Berkner Band’s performance from the Fisher Price float.

So last night I had a revelation. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the guide referenced in the book, is really a giant galaxy-wide wiki. So should Douglas Adams be credited as the creator of the wiki?

In a recent BBC article I read that there is low customer satisfaction among people who have free broadband service. My take on this is it is all about perception. I have no direct experience with free internet, but my guess is that any free internet service is going to have to have reduced services somewhere. Maybe it is on actual people answering the phones. Maybe it is with a slower service. Not to offend anyone, but I suspect that people who are getting free internet feel entitled to something more than they signed up for. For example, they might expect to talk to a live person with no hold time. Or maybe they want blazing fast speeds with no latency. Things that people pay money for. It seems to me that whenever you give something away you are asking for trouble, people expect the world when they are given something for free. It would be better to offer broadband for $9.95 or something as opposed to free. I bet that the same level of service on a $9.95 plan would be tolerated more. I wish I knew what it was about that difference between the perceptions of free and cheap. If I could figure that out I bet I could make a lot of money as a consultant… ^_^

I was off this morning, so I had some extra time with the girls this morning. It was a beautiful day. We had a lot of fun. I also took a ton of pictures. I uploaded some to Flickr, which is fastly becoming my new favorite thing online. I think I’ll have to spring for the pro account soon. The new camera is working out very well. Here’s one shot of the girls, I love this picture:

The Democrats won Virginia and now have a majority in the Senate. Talk about good news! From what I read yesterday they were saying this would be a long drawn-out affair, with an answer coming in late December possibly. To have it all cleared up now is excellent! It’s a good feeling when there is hope that perhaps now the country will get back on the right track.

Very exciting times! The democrats have taken back the House, added several governors, and might take the Senate as well. It is interesting that the Republican in Virginia refuses to concede because he feels the vote is too close to call. Back in the presidential election, Kerry took the opposite stance, that it was better to concede gracefully. I still think that if he had demanded a recount he would have beat Bush. But even if Virginia stays red the Senate will be a 50-50 split (unfortunately the Dick as VP would have the tie-breaker). A major loss for the Republicans. I’m glad America is starting to wake up.

Here are some pretty maps from the NY Times.

I was voter 328 when I went to vote after work tonight. It was pretty busy there. I don’t know how many people vote at that polling place, so I don’t know if 328 is high or average or what, although it seems like a decent number.

Starting at 9:05 PM you can see Chautauqua County election results at http://chautauquavotes.com/