Ever notice how all the carved pumpkins have bad and missing teeth! It must be from eating all that candy corn! But at least this guy is dealing with the bad teeth problem – he put braces on his pumpkin!
Touch pads and Tablets
When I get rid of this laptop computer I’ve been using for the past three years, I want something cutting edge and sexy. I’m seriously thinking about getting a new tablet PC. Has anyone got one? I’d like to hear from real people – not just a salesman – about the high lights and the low points of having a tablet PC. It seems to me that not having a traditional keyboard would be tough for writing reports and blogging. Does the screen keyboard work OK or does it slow you down? What about battery life? Does dropping one mean its dead from a cracked screen or are they tough?
Pell Grants
One of the kids has decided to go back to school. This is not the time to be asking parents for money – especially big money like college expenses. But he says that he can get a Pell grant and it won’t cost anything but books and gasoline. I somehow doubt that, but am willing to look into it.
Wrapping Gifts Was An Artform
Gift wrapping is a lost art. When I was a kid, getting a gift was a big deal. The wrapping was usually very elaborate. Fist, the gift was placed in a large square or rectangular box. Then a special patterned paper was used to wrap the box. Then a ribbon was wound around the box and a fancy bow, sometimes adorned with ornaments, was the final touch. Every gift was also accompanied by a greeting card. The best cards were Hallmark cards. The other cards were cheaper and considered inferior to Hallmark.
When we opened the gifts, we did not tear into the wrapping. We gently removed the ribbon, saving the bow, and then gently pulled the wrapping paper loose. Sometimes if the paper was in good condition it was salvaged and reused at a later date. Even the boxes were knocked down and saved for later use.
And most important, even if the gift was not exactly what you wanted, you were expected to display a look of surprise and gratitude. A proper thank you was expected and putting the item to use or shared with others with an acknowledgement to the giver was the proper thing to do.