Spring Ahead

Tonight we set the clocks ahead. This, to me, is one of the "unofficial" starts to spring. The picture above is another. I love seeing the first of the perennials start to push through the frozen soil. I'm a big fan of tulips, and while I know these are daffodils, I still get pretty excited. The post office in our town is usually the first to have stuff like this, but we do have some ourselves. We have some tulips around our house, but mostly our perennials are lilies and irises. We also planted a lilac bush in our first (or second?) year living here. I love lilacs, but the blooms never stay around long enough. Oh, and in case you're wondering, the official start of spring is April 2nd, the home opener for the Chicago White Sox.

Packing My Wii

Well, I'm sending my Wii off for service. I bought my Wii on launch day, November 19th. The unfortunate reality of buying a launch system is that at some point, there's a good chance it may malfunction. Just ask any long time Xbox 360 owner! Luckily, Nintendo provides a 1 year warranty on all its hardware, so I'm not paying a dime to have it fixed. I'm also sending my DS Lite for the problem I mentioned previously. I'm already having Nintendo withdrawals!

New Growth

I really don't know what to write about today. Today was one of those average days that just go by without notice. I went to work, I came home, I slept, I ate, now I'll go to work again. In ten years I won't remember today. It amazes me the simple fact that as you go on, days like this slip in to obscurity, simply because they were not extraordinary. I suppose it's a function of the mind to forget these days so the important ones are remembered. It just seems a little sad to me.

You can add this shot to the daily growing series, "Random Stuff In My House". I'm actually pleased how this shot turned out. I'm a big fan of onions....

There has to be a change, I'm sure
Today was just a day fading into another
And that can't be what a life is for....

A.Duritz, Counting Crows
Amy Hit the Atmosphere
August and Everything After

I Love Shooting Zombies!

I love unique tees. One of my favorite sites for shirts like this is Threadless.com. All their designs are actually submitted by users, then voted on by customers. The most popular designs are made into shirts! Here are a few I've bought from them:
Dark Side of the Garden
Are Trees Electronic?
Shadow Bunny

Another good site for geeky tees is Thinkgeek.com. Here's one I bought from them:
Viva Miyamoto

I have about 7 or 8 really geeky cool tees. I'm always on the lookout for more!

Spin the Black Circle

We have a modest collection of records whose sole purpose seems to be to collect dust. In an age where you can fit hundreds of these large black platters on something that can fit in the palm of your hand, to say records are obsolete is an understatement. However, there is something comforting and nostalgic about the feel of music played from a record. The warm sound, the hiss and pops, it has a personality that an mp3 file can't replicate. I guess that's why we'll have these records and the player around forever, but the cassettes and 8 tracks are nowhere to be seen.

Wii-motes!

You have no idea how long I've been looking for these. Ever since I bought the Nintendo Wii on launch day, November 19th of last year, I've regretted not getting the maximum of four remotes. I've been looking in the stores for more every chance I get. Until Sunday, no one has had any. For some reason, retailers are holding the stock they get until Sunday, then they put it out for sale. This essentially means unless you go to the store on Sunday, you aren't going to fins these or the system. After reading several rumors online about possible availability this Sunday, I decided to call our local Target. As you can see they had them in stock! My wonderful wife Stephanie was kind enough to stop in and pick a couple up for me.

On a side note, Steph was quick to point out the absolute stack of clothing she was able to buy with the same amount of money spent on these two hunks of plastic....

Podcasts

Since I got my iPod, one of the things I've really enjoyed is listening to podcasts. Podcasts are audio files, created by everyday people like you and me, that are basically talk radio programs. For virtually very topic you could think of, there's a podcast about it. Here are some of my favorites:

This Week In Tech
1up Yours
Diggnation
Short Attention Gamer
EGM Live
Retronauts
NPR: Technology

As you can see, most are tech/video game related, but if you go to the iTunes music store, you can find a podcast that falls in line with your interests!