Friday, August 13, 2010

The background image was distracting

I changed it to a relatively simple water mark layout.

In other news, I guess my Father has gotten a 2011 Subaru Outback Limited in Ruby Red Pearl. The vehicle looks nice. It appears to be larger than what I remember his previous Outback as being. But that was a while ago. I guess my Father rationalized this as my mother's car. For when they are up in the mountains of North Carolina. Just like he rationalized the previous car, a Mercedes Benz 320, or whatever as her car.

The Ruby Red is fairly dark. It is not Fire Engine Red.

Supposedly, my dad saved some $2500 by buying the car from a dealer over in Clearwater, as opposed to a dealer in Tampa. I was not really aware that the difference would be that significant.

I think Dad does a pretty good job of negotiating with car salesmen.

We are happy that our car is still running pretty good. We've had some rather big expenses lately, but it is still running pretty good, we hope to keep it several more years.

New cars are nice, but I guess we are seriously happy to not have car payments at present, and we like being able to pay off our balances during most months. We'll probably keep looking at getting a new bedroom set.

Listening to the times Cast for Today, part of it was about how various brands were trying to tie in with the movie "eat, pray, love" and make it into a pro-consumerism movie, even though it is more about a spiritual journey and shunning the consumeristic nature of the modern world.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Retail Therapy

I saw something on Discovery Channel, or TLC, or somewhere about Hoarding: an obsessive compulsive disorder. I guess there are people who have very crowded houses full of stuff. My grandmother's house was like that when we visited a few years ago.

I suppose that she would buy stuff from QVC, or Home Shopping Network, or one of those TV sales channels.

I'm sure that the number of people who buy stuff in order to feel better, happier is probably significant. I kind of wonder why people get caught up in that cycle. Maybe some of it is just to have interaction with others.

Perhaps some people going out shopping can be pleasing. Making a purchase is a way of rewarding the sales people, but it should be for stuff that actually gets used.

I guess my father's desire for an SUV could be thought of along similar terms. There isn't really a need for an SUV, but maybe living up in the mountains will be more comfortable if he gets an SUV.

Hmm, I guess background images are cool.

I think I want some downtown-y like pictures. I looked on that istockphoto site, and they appeared to be selling photos. Maybe using a background photo would be too busy and take away from the blog. I can try this for a little while, and maybe if I later decide that it's not working, I can change my mind.

Yesterday, we went looking for bedroom furniture, a bedroom set. We currently have my parent's old bedroom set mostly with a somewhat newer mattress and box springs. Even that is older than 8 years, and as such, probably should be replaced. There are commercials on the radio station about how after eight years, the weight of most mattresses practically double due to dead skin cells, dust mites and sweat, etcetera.

I guess we have good taste. We went to Ethan Allen and we liked a couple of styles of the furniture, the sales lady/interior designer was pretty good while being enthusiastic about how much quality goes into their furniture.

We also went to Scan Design and some of their stuff looked pretty good as well, but both were kind of expensive. Still, on an expected lifespan basis, I guess the furniture isn't that unreasonably expensive.

Friday, August 6, 2010

My father is looking at different cars

We are still driving the 03 Honda Accord. It recently had the air conditioner go on it, so we paid to have that fixed. In Florida, the A/C is pretty important. We had the oil changed and other fluids and maybe some belts changed (engine mounts fixed) recently as well. It is paid for, so we can afford to spend money on other stuff.

My Father is looking at Accuras and Lexuses. Life is good. Perhaps my father will get a newer vehicle. The economy should start recovering, people may continue buying vehicles.

I guess many of my co-workers have greater debts.

Maybe I tend to be cautious, concerned about what could go wrong. I try not to focus on what could go wrong very much, but peerhaps some might call it a healthy dose of realism.

I like our house.