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.

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.

Tall Ships in Tampa

 

This was pretty cool. We liked going downtown. We had lunch at the Greenwise Publix. I don't think that what we ended up getting was all that unusual, but we'll need to see if we can get something similar at a nearer grocery store. The Rustic Steel Creations welded artwork was pretty cool. Seeing the ships come in was fun. Paying for parking at Channelside wasn't so great, considering we were down there for 38 minutes, and we got charged $2.00, but I think there might have been a $2.00 minimum or something. They did expand the parking garage on the third level, possibly the fourth as well. It looked pretty cool. At least we didn't get soaked for event parking for $15, or whatever.

The Virginian: Obama supporters plug the damned hole.

The Virginian: Obama supporters plug the damned hole.

2010-05-10.jpg (1600�1000)

2010-05-10.jpg (1600�1000)
Newport Rhode Island had a Fort Adams, which looked like it would have been cool to walk around inside, but instead, we walked around the outside of the fort, and it was still a pretty cool experience. I guess there is a housing development just on the other side of the fort. We walked around the fort, and kind of into the housing development before we could get back to our car in the parking lot.

Newport RI

 
Part of our trip. These photos were mostly of Newport Rhode Island.
I like the sailboats. I like the process of sailing. The knowledge. I am impressed by the sound and fury of mother nature.

Walmart to focus on connected devices � MartySalo's Blog

Walmart to focus on connected devices � MartySalo's Blog Hmm, I'm not all that sure how the supposed efforts of Walmart to enhance their share of the consumer electronics market will be. But more power to them. We can use all of the competition in the marketplace that we can get. I did recently buy another ipad accessory. Actually, I got two accessories, a Car Charger, for those road trips, and a longer base charger power cord. The three foot charging cord did not work ideally.

It is a good morning.

It is a good morning, people. The sun is shining, and we should be going to spend some time at EPCOT today. I just took a look at my blogger account, and it looks like this could be a new way of doing content.
Yesterday, we saw that one of the eagles had passed away at the Boyd Hill Nature Park. That was sad, but I suppose that death is part of the cycle.
The fact that the birds who were held at the nature park were injured, and would have died otherwise if left to their own is kind of nice I suppose. Perhaps I should be more conservative with my digital camera. I want to take small pictures for including them with blog posts, but my mom wants me to use the biggest resolution, which then takes up a lot of space.
I guess I should just put my foot down and deal with the fallout from my mom and my wife at a later date. My wife will also be disappointed that we don't have the high resolution pictures for making good prints from.

Awesome, but not quite yet there.

There appears to be some issue with blogger or iPad letting me add content in the standard box, but perhaps I will be able to post this in the HTML editing mode.
Hey, that is pretty cool. Perhaps this might work with a different site that I do some publishing of content to.
Well, it is a little bit backward, but as long as I can get the information out there, that is what should be of most immediate concern.
I guess I am happy.
So, I guess I do like the smaller footprint that the iPad takes up, compared to the laptop, and I like the relatively instant on state of the iPad with the easy access to the web. While I wasn't able to get access to the rich text editors, that is okay, I guess.

Giant box close to being over oil-spewing well - Yahoo! News

Giant box close to being over oil-spewing well - Yahoo! News

An interesting read about the oil well trouble caused by the transocean drilling rig exploding and sinking.

BBC NEWS | Election 2010 | Results | United Kingdom - National Results

BBC NEWS | Election 2010 | Results | United Kingdom - National Results

Hmm, my wife said that Brown won the election. If no body will cooperate with the conservatives, then yes, perhaps it could be that way. I am not sure though. The BBC seems to have it as Cameron to try forming government.

Who knows how it's really working over on that side of the pond anyway?

David Griffin on how photography connects us | Video on TED.com

David Griffin on how photography connects us | Video on TED.com

National Geographic's take on photography, and photojournalism. I don't actively think of myself as a photojournalist, but at the same time, perhaps that is part of what this weblog is.

Jonathan Klein: Photos that changed the world | Video on TED.com

Jonathan Klein: Photos that changed the world | Video on TED.com

An interesting take on some of the points in history captured through photography.

A train on the other side of the river

While we were at the park, a train passed by on the other side of the river. It was pretty neat. I've seen the commercials how the cost of transporting something by train is much less expensive than moving goods by most other means available. But there needs to be the tracks laid in order to make use of the trains to transport the goods to other places.

train tracks

Hudson Highlands State Park

The park was a nice place to get out and stretch our legs for a little while. I liked the train tracks, and the trains. I guess New York City has alot more active train lines than most other cities. I'm pretty sure that Downtown Tampa has deactivated it's tracks. I guess there are still some trains that pass by the city of Tampa, and the fertilizer plants, phosphate mines, power generating plants still need the trains for transport.

New York

We crossed into New York on our trip. It is nice that we live in a country where movement is relatively unimpeded. The day before yesterday, coming from West Virginia into Ohio and then spending much of the day driving from one side of Pennsylvania to the other was tiring. We stayed at a hotel by Mount Pocono. I 77 to I 70 to I 79 to I 80 to I 380 to I 84 to US 9 D to I 287 to I 95 -- it was a long trip. But we made the best of it I suppose. We stopped at a park by the Hudson Highlands. Fran wanted to avoid going into the city.

The iPad Is Step 1 In The Future Of Computing. This Is Step 2 (Or 3).

The iPad Is Step 1 In The Future Of Computing. This Is Step 2 (Or 3).

this looks pretty cool, in a possible future kind of way. I know that my father really likes his ipad. My mother likes to use the ipad when she can get it.

iPad Brings the Growth of Netbooks to a Halt [CHART]

iPad Brings the Growth of Netbooks to a Halt [CHART]

Hmm, this is mildly interesting. But positive growth is probably still growth.

Americans "bombarded" with cancer causes: report - Yahoo! News

Americans "bombarded" with cancer causes: report - Yahoo! News

When do we decide that the risk of medical scans (x-rays) is too great in adding to our potential cancer risks? I think that the medical x-rays (dental too) are too much of a benefit to doctors in assisting them with diagnosing causes of pains.

Fla. officials say tourists shouldn't... - Google News

Fla. officials say tourists shouldn't... - Google News

Yes, Florida Officials don't want the tourists to cancel their trips.

Q & A for NHC

Q & A for NHC

Answers from some members of the team at the National Hurricane Center.