Christmas Presents
#1
The unwrapping ceremonies are over. We have all had time to reflect on the loot we got. Some of it will be useful; some of it will be already used up; some of it will go on a shelf to be ignored.

So what is the single present you are the most pleased about now?

For me, it is a pair of music cd's that my husband found. I have fairly eclectic music tastes, and do listen to a wide variety of stuff. We have been fans of Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks for a long time. Now, this guy was obscure when he was new, some thirty years ago. Even then, it was not easy to get him on vinyl. His music is a sort of jazzy country, with remarkable lyrics and great back-up singers. Not the sort of thing I want for a steady diet, but even so, I like it. And we don't use the turntable anymore, so I had not heard him for some time.

So, under the Christmas tree, there was a package with "Where's the Money?" and "Beatin' the Heat", a new (well, fairly new) one that has Elvis Costello, Ricky Lee Jones, Tom Waits and Bette Midler helping out. WOOT!

What about the rest of you?
And you may call it righteousness
When civility survives,
But I've had dinner with the Devil and
I know nice from right.

From Dinner with the Devil, by Big Rude Jake


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#2
1976 First edition Hardback

Dragon Drums signed by Anne McCaffrey :)

Oh and a Piece of a Deinonychus limb from a friend , knowing how much I love dinosaurs :P
Take care
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#3
Howdy all,

The gift I was most impressd with was a dresser valet that my mother gave to me. It is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. I think that it's mahogany but it might be very dark cherry wood. All that I asked for was someting to organize my dresser top, and she hit a homerun with a truly wonderful gift.


Scotty
'Me not that kind of Orc' - lazy peon
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#4
Hi,

Well, christmas was the usual exchange of so-so presents, sprinkled abundantly with gift certificates and cash).

But I did receive a present last year that I treasure. I have the rare privilege of numbering among my friends a true renaissance man. Not in the watered down modern meaning of one who knows a lot of trivia, but in the original meaning of being proficient in disparate fields. Not only does this individual have a Ph.D. in physics, experience as a Boeing engineer, and served as director of one of the EU labs in Brindisi, but he is also an accomplished artist. So accomplished that he supported himself with his art alone for a number of years in Italy, where artists are common and starving.

Besides a twenty-five year friendship, we share a birthday (we are exactly nine years apart).

This year, for our birthday, he gave me a painting that might be a winter tree in a snowy landscape. Or it might be the ninth tao. Or it might simply be beauty in black and white.

Whatever it is, it nourishes both the eye and the mind.

--Pete

How big was the aquarium in Noah's ark?

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#5
ShadowHM,Dec 29 2004, 05:14 PM Wrote:So what is the single present you are the most pleased about now?
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Well,the present that makes happy to receive is a car;I had a car before that one,but it was too old to keep on with it.I didn't expect one though,and it was a surprise to have one as a gift;I am not pleased because it is the most expensive gift,I am because it is very useful,actually more useful than another gift which is a 'modem router' to share the internet connections between my 3 computers.
Sorry for my possible msitakes in this post,for I have not too much free time now..
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#6
Although it was on my christmas-list, I was thoroughly happy when I opened my aunt's present and saw my first copy of Dream Theater's "Six Degrees of inner turbulence." I never got the album before, simply because I never 'got' it. It was too weird; but lately I've been falling in love with it, and seeing the actual (double) CD unfold in my lap, was a moment of sheer happiness. I have the CD in mp3-format on my computer, and I've listened to the album hundreds of times, but there's just something about having something to hold onto; something real and genuine, that's so much better than a collection of ones and zeros.

I also enjoyed my new blazer, accompanied with a brand new pair of slick pants and a snazzy shirt and tie. It's all very chic, whatever that means.

Ask me about Norwegian humour Smile
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTs9SE2sDTw
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#7
The gift I most wanted I got. I had wanted a thumb drive for a while but never got around to ordering it from newegg. Christmas morning came along and there was a 1GB thumb drive just for me :D

I also got the money which helps feed my addiction for the Sword of Truth series (which btw, is excellent), a French press coffee maker, and a Thermaltake Volcano 9 for my CPU.
The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation - Henry David Thoreau

Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, and at the rate I'm going, I'm going to be invincible.

Chicago wargaming club
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#8
Pete,Dec 29 2004, 06:19 PM Wrote:Whatever it is, it nourishes both the eye and the mind.

--Pete
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What a fine present to receive. :)

I have a watercolour painting in my home - made by a friend who is now deceased, given to me because we loved the same place.

She painted my favourite swimming place. It is the aftermath of a storm, when the waves are crashing in over the rocks and it is a test of strength to swim in them. But so much fun to prevail....

It reminds me through these long winter months of the place where "I" really live. It perplexes me sometimes that there can be such places where our souls get entangled and attached. But I am very glad to have a reminder of it, given to me by someone I cared about.

It makes me glad to know that you have a friend who can reach you in the same way.
And you may call it righteousness
When civility survives,
But I've had dinner with the Devil and
I know nice from right.

From Dinner with the Devil, by Big Rude Jake


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#9
Got MOO3, which looks nice and complicated enough to keep me learning things about it for awhile.
I may be dead, but I'm not old (source: see lavcat)

The gloves come off, I'm playing hardball. It's fourth and 15 and you're looking at a full-court press. (Frank Drebin in The Naked Gun)

Some people in forums do the next best thing to listening to themselves talk, writing and reading what they write (source, my brother)
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#10
Cubes! Our current living room is pretty long and narrow, and it needs to have room for our table as well as more traditional "living room" stuff. So, we have room for a couch and a comfy chair ("you will sit in the comfy chair with no food until teatime"), but not much else. That works well, until we have more than, say, two people over, because at that point somebody needs to sit in one of the uncomfortable chairs at the table. So, my grandmother got us four upholstered cubes, and they're great. They're about 18" square, with a wooden frame. They're great because they can be a coffee table or a seat. They're comfy enough to sit on, but solid enough that I'm not worried when I set a drink on them. There's enough of them that we can move them around easily, whenever we need to.

They were a fantastic present! :)
Why can't we all just get along

--Pete
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#11
Gifts?

Hrm.

Christmas and the end of the year were pretty rotten all things considered. Don't want to go into it.

Gifts? Got a great new bead for my locks. A big fat handblown pyrex glass bead. All things considered, I think it was my favourite gift. This year I am completely letting my locks go wild, no more grooming or seperating. I no longer give a crap how they look, so I am going to let them grow into congos and hydras. Dreads they are, are dreadful they shall become. I will strike terror into the small minded and ignorant around me. My massive locks will one day make me look like a minion of Cthulhu. Small children will get lost in my locks. My lovely wife, knowing this, thought ahead and found a bead with an inch and a half thick hole, which I am going to need to grow in to. I think I will allow some of my beard locks to congo out and I will stick it somewhere in there.

I got some new cookware, a couple of new cast iron skillets, pans, and a MASSIVE cast iron dutch oven.

Oh. And I got a chicken that lays eggs with triple yolks. Don't ask me how, I dunno. But it's damn cool.
All alone, or in twos,
The ones who really love you
Walk up and down outside the wall.
Some hand in hand
And some gathered together in bands.
The bleeding hearts and artists
Make their stand.

And when they've given you their all
Some stagger and fall, after all it's not easy
Banging your heart against some mad buggers wall.

"Isn't this where...."
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#12
To me, the best presents are the ones you give to others. I know when I've given someone something to remember when that person rips off the wrapping and shines with glee, no matter what the age.

I made my sister a necklace with millefiori blue glass beads, 14K gold, and a magnetic clasp. She shone. :)

On the other end of the spectrum, 100% silk boxer shorts.

My favorite present was the roundtrip plane ticket to Florida. Not only do I get to see my boy, it's also a sign from the 'rents that they accept him. That means more to me.
UPDATE: Spamblaster.
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#13
ShadowHM,Dec 29 2004, 11:14 AM Wrote:The unwrapping ceremonies are over.  We have all had time to reflect on the loot we got.  Some of it will be useful; some of it will be already used up; some of it will go on a shelf to be ignored.

So what is the single present you are the most pleased about now?

For me, it is a pair of music cd's that my husband found.  I have fairly eclectic music tastes, and do listen to a wide variety of stuff.  We have been fans of Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks for a long time.  Now, this guy was obscure when he was new, some thirty years ago.  Even then, it was not easy to get him on vinyl.  His music is a sort of jazzy country, with remarkable lyrics and great back-up singers.  Not the sort of thing I want for a steady diet, but even so, I like it.  And we don't use the turntable anymore, so I had not heard him for some time.

So, under the Christmas tree, there was a package with "Where's the Money?" and "Beatin' the Heat", a new (well, fairly new) one that has Elvis Costello, Ricky Lee Jones, Tom Waits and Bette Midler helping out.  WOOT!

What about the rest of you?
[right][snapback]63820[/snapback][/right]

Best present was the White Christmas that Momma Nature blessed us with. A perfect and unexpected gift, over 100 years since it came here.

Second best, by a hair, was my brother and his son visiting for a few days just after Christmas.

Best on I gave, IMO, was the gold leaf piece of jewelry that I found in Doha in July, bought for Mrs Occhi, and kept a secret until XMAS morning.

Occhi
Cry 'Havoc' and let slip the Men 'O War!
In War, the outcome is never final. --Carl von Clausewitz--
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum
John 11:35 - consider why.
In Memory of Pete
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#14
.... Ninja Turtles :wub:
R.I.P. Pete! I can't believe you're gone. Sad
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#15
Occhidiangela,Jan 3 2005, 07:12 AM Wrote:Best present was the White Christmas that Momma Nature blessed us with.  A perfect and unexpected gift, over 100 years since it came here.

Second best, by a hair, was my brother and his son visiting for a few days just after Christmas.

Best on I gave, IMO, was the gold leaf piece of jewelry that I found in Doha in July, bought for Mrs Occhi, and kept a secret until XMAS morning.

Occhi
[right][snapback]64203[/snapback][/right]

Your welcome. We in the great lakes area are sill waiting for the shipping&handling payments. :) It's been either rain or very little snow for the past few weeks.
I may be dead, but I'm not old (source: see lavcat)

The gloves come off, I'm playing hardball. It's fourth and 15 and you're looking at a full-court press. (Frank Drebin in The Naked Gun)

Some people in forums do the next best thing to listening to themselves talk, writing and reading what they write (source, my brother)
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#16
Minionman,Jan 3 2005, 09:45 PM Wrote:Your welcome.  We in the great lakes area are sill waiting for the shipping&handling payments.  :)    It's been either rain or very little snow for the past few weeks.
[right][snapback]64263[/snapback][/right]

I had to laugh. The guy in the office next to mine is married to a lady from Canada. She went home to see the family, and on Christmas day, in Edmonton, was considerably warmer than we were down here in South Texas.

Will you settle for a +1 Mana ring?

Occhi
Cry 'Havoc' and let slip the Men 'O War!
In War, the outcome is never final. --Carl von Clausewitz--
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum
John 11:35 - consider why.
In Memory of Pete
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#17
:lol: C'mon now , we can get rings like that from Akara anytime :P !

Minionman , better test that water from the Great Lakes , I'm still getting rocksalt and road dirt splashed all over my car windshield ! :P The only snow worth mentioning here has been the after-Christmas snow .... :(

My best present so far has to be the baby PlayStation 2 I got :D Now I can play Rygar and a pile of old MidWay games !!
Stormrage :
SugarSmacks / 90 Shammy -Elemental
TaMeKaboom/ 90 Hunter - BM
TaMeOsis / 90 Paladin - Prot
TaMeAgeddon/ 85 Warlock - Demon
TaMeDazzles / 85 Mage- Frost
FrostDFlakes / 90 Rogue
TaMeOlta / 85 Druid-resto
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#18
Occhidiangela,Jan 4 2005, 09:08 AM Wrote:I had to laugh.  The guy in the office next to mine is married to a lady from Canada.  She went home to see the family, and on Christmas day, in Edmonton, was considerably warmer than we were down here in South Texas.

Will you settle for a +1 Mana ring?

Occhi
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We also take cash, check, credit card, debit card, money order, IOU slips, IOU written on a piece of paper, or monopoly money. :)
I may be dead, but I'm not old (source: see lavcat)

The gloves come off, I'm playing hardball. It's fourth and 15 and you're looking at a full-court press. (Frank Drebin in The Naked Gun)

Some people in forums do the next best thing to listening to themselves talk, writing and reading what they write (source, my brother)
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#19
Minionman,Jan 3 2005, 09:23 AM Wrote:Got MOO3, which looks nice and complicated enough to keep me learning things about it for awhile.
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Sirian speaks the truth
</Exit Grinch>
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#20
whyBish,Jan 4 2005, 10:12 PM Wrote:Sirian speaks the truth
</Exit Grinch>
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A lot of the fun for me s figuring out how the games work, so I have different opinions of this kind of stuff. Horrendously complicated=fun for me, as long as I can get a hold on some of it. Right now I have a notebook with stastics for a horrendously complicated mixture of a civ type game, a combat type game, and a simcity/caesar type.
I may be dead, but I'm not old (source: see lavcat)

The gloves come off, I'm playing hardball. It's fourth and 15 and you're looking at a full-court press. (Frank Drebin in The Naked Gun)

Some people in forums do the next best thing to listening to themselves talk, writing and reading what they write (source, my brother)
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