Tag: Things I Want to Buy

Upcoming Apple Store Visit: Do I Have To?!

Soon I will be in the presence of the iPad (runs on rainbows and unicorn tears, cures cancer, etc…) when I visit the Apple store next.  A laptop problem meant dropping the computer off to Apple last week.  With the iPads debut on the weekend, that might explain why the repair is taking on the long side of the estimate.  I’ll be curious to get my mitts on one, to see how the hype stands up.  SketchBook Pro is now on it, and I’ll be curious when something like Garageband/Logic (MIDI music creation software) arrives.  A lack of funds will still keep me from getting one, but still… to dream.

But if the insanity is still running strong, I may enter the store only to be swallowed up by it.  If that’s the case, I send love to wife and daughter safe in the knowledge that I will be in a better (and nicely designed) place.

And if I do get out alive, I’ll be going to second-best store in the Galleria Mall.

The High Price of Literacy: Windsor McCay Will Make Me Poor

Between my wife taking what little money I earn (for safe keeping) and the Houston library’s large collection, I buy few books. Which is good, because I naturally gravitate towards the pricey end of the spectrum. Not 18th century first editions, but nowhere near the cheap, used paperbacks that would be so much easier on the budget.

Examples: I already purchased last year “Little Nemo in Slumberland: So Many Splendid Sundays.”  Little did I know that a second volume was in the making.

There goes another hundred or so bucks on another Little Nemo collection.  And Windsor McCay and his surreal draftsmanship is not done with me yet.

 

Continuing the dream theme, “Dream of the Rarebit Fiend” is a complete collection of all of Windsor McCay’s fantastical exploration of what happens when one has a late-night snack of welsh rarebit before bedtime.  Like the other books, “Dream of the Rarebit Fiend” is hefty in size. Blogger Need More Coffee’s review put it this way,

“…it’s a foot tall and seventeen inches across, to give the comic strips reprinted within enough room to be reproduced at their original size. The book weighs about ten pounds. In other words, it’s only slightly sturdier than a Roman soldier’s shield and could probably be used to stop small caliber bullets…”

And it is the smallest book on this wish list.  At $133 (shipping and DVD of additional material included) it looks like I’ll have to get working before even thinking about adding these two gorgeous books to my library.

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The Comic Strip Library is scanning public domain comic strips, including Little Nemo.  Check out the archives to see what newspaper readers in the 1900’s were finding in their Sunday papers.
Sunday Press Books, publisher of both Little Nemo collections and more.
My copy of Many Splendid Sundays…

Palmer and Krisel Homes & House Hunting in Houston

Classic Las Vegas Blog recently posted about the Paradise Palms neighborhood in Sin City. While Vegas is mainly overrun with big-box stores, boring neighborhoods and one or two casinos, there are a few remaining architectural treasures to be found.

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Mid-Century Las Vegas Home, originally uploaded by Roadsidepictures.

Some works of Palmer and Kriesel can be still found in Vegas, and new versions of these homes are being recommissioned in Palm Springs and LA.

Something like those homes are all but impossible to find here. Houston has a lot to offer in modern architecture and we have had much fun finding neighborhoods that we would like to call home. When we sell our Vegas house (3bd, 2b, pool, Rancho Manor, email me for questions 🙂 we will be looking to buy in Houston. The dream of building from scratch will be a dream unrealized. But it is fun to look and see what we could have if only someone would drop off a dump truck of money for us.

Until we sell in Vegas, we will continue to window shop in Houston.

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Frame Residence – 403 Westminster Drive, Houston, Built: 1960, originally uploaded by MidCentArc.

The Houstonist posted about the Frame House and other lovely Houston homes – Flickr: MidCentArc’s photos tagged with houston


The Simple Joys of A Domesticated House Husband

What is happiness? A $7.01 Dyson vacuum cleaner. How?…

Careful labeling of
credit cards, by the missus,

detailing bonus point programs

+

Years of buying groceries and
other typical expenses,
getting lots
of bonus
points

⇒

Many dollars in redeemed
Bed, Bath and Beyond
gift cards

+

20% off
Bed, Bath and Beyond
coupon

+

$7.01

=

It has this high-design fussiness that I both like and concerned me (might it be a delicate British sportscar instead of a blander, more robust Honda?) Subsequent use has proven it worry-free. Cleans like a trooper, easy to navigate, and easy to clean.

We also recently won an eBay auction, ending up with a beautiful Danish-Modern America-made bedroom set. It had transformed our bedroom into one of the best looking rooms we now have. It’s also the last major furniture purchases we plan on. It looks like it had one owner, the nightstands still have their tags in them.

With a broken TV, the tantalizing promise of a flat screen is in the air. But I won’t push too hard on that one for now. My dream would be a flat-screen TV with a custom-made teak surround that would blend with the Danish Mod living room furnishings we have. A Craigslist replacement may be bought in the meantime.

Yet with all these purchases, no guilt. Frugal living allows for the occasional indulgence. Plus, it’s hard to feel bad when the newly-bought items look so good.

The Last New Computer I Will Ever Own

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MW07SF_ModBook-Create_web.jpg, originally uploaded by powerpage.

I’ve been told there might be a new computer for me in the near future. “My last computer,” the one that would keep me from bitching about not having “whatever” it is that I would need to be happy. I’m the kind of guy that goes, “This is great but you know what would make it better…” That can’t be the case with a big-ticket item.

So, I’m looking at the ModBook, a converted MacBook slate-style PC running OS X. Produced as an Apple-authorized product, all the Apple-made components are cover by their warranty. This lovely beast would make me quite happy. Lot of people posting about the delays in shipping, has me taking a hard look before leaping. That and my lack of money.

This is the computer and peripherals of my dreams:

ModBook (Faster model) – $2,479.00
Extra Battery -$129
Apple Bluetooth Wireless Keyboard – $79.00
MIDI Keyboard (Maybe M-Audio Oxygen 49) $189.00 new
Bluetooth Headphones – $49 and up
Laptop Carry Case – about $100
Portable Stand – ???

Total – $3,050 and that’s not including shipping or software. ‘Xpensive? yes. Happy making? YES! Only the future will tell if I have this sweet machine as the last new Apple (barring terrible technology tragedy) I will ever have.

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Axiotron – producers of the customized equipment
Other World Computing – America source for ModBooks
ModBook Blog – comprehensive site created while waiting for their ModBook to arrive.
ModBook Gallery Forums – Talk, talk, talk.

ModBook Owners. I’m reading them for reviews and opinions…

Emma
Wally
Modbook Junction