Love Be Thy Name

As painful as it is to admit it, I'm going to share with you my boyfriend's favorite Christmas gift from last year:


Yes--a trash can. But not just any trashcan! An automatic trashcan. Sigh. And I can't even claim credit for coming up with the idea because my mother got it for him. Imagine all your relatives calling and your loved one exclaiming, "I got this really cool trash can!"

At first, this seemed like the most lazy invention ever. But it's actually very convenient and I can't imagine life without my stainless steal companion. The only draw backs are:

• Visiting children love to play with it (but on a positive note this does distract from the toilet bowel)
• Your dog just might figure out how to use it
• You will find yourself standing impatiently next to trashcans everywhere wondering in exasperation why they don't open
  

Mine came from Costco, but they have them on Amazon, too. I can't vouch for its longevity (a complaint in some of reviews) since our is obviously just under a year old but it will be a sad sad day when it finally dies and "AutoTrash 2.0" will quickly take its place. It does make a whirring noise and in high traffic areas it can be obnoxious. The boyfriend hates figuring out how to put the bag in but I think that is a small price to pay for "service."

Ideal Gift For: Your gadget loving Uncle and your gadget hating Mother. And the college kid in your life. ***Husbands, this is not a suitable romantic gift for your wife unless you normally buy her floormats.

Not Gifts By George

Hi everyone--theKK here, and I will be posting under what I can only presume to describe as "not Gifts by George."

By way of introduction, I like to think I'm offering the gift of perspective. You can think of me as a second opinion around here, a quasi helper Elf valiantly striving to help George cover the plethora of gift giving options this holiday season.

Remember, we're here to help you with any gift giving quandries: just leave a comment or shoot us an email with some details and a budget. So rock on--and go buy your grandmother a gift......

I am the Wii Hunter . . .

I cannot find the elusive Nintendo Wii anywhere. Its sold out in most stores in Los Angeles. My search will continue until it is placed in the home of my fathers on the mantle of honor.

Nintendo Wii is the best gaming system gift for the holidays. The games encourage competition and are on the whole non-violent.

Going Green as a Gift.

Like millions of Americans my friend KK put up her Christrmas Tree. She leaves the Christmas Tree Lights on all day, becasue it makes it her happy. But if you are worried about being burned by the monthly electric bill than Go Green This Christmas.

It only cost $12 to go green. Three CFL Light Bulbs can save up to $200 a year on your electric bill. I have about 7 CFLS installed all over my house in lamps, hallways, the kitchen and the bathroom. These are most commonly used lights in my home. At the present time CFL's cannot be fitted for track lighting but the savings is noticable on my monthly bill.

Inserting a few CFL's in someone's Christmas stocking or holiday gift bag is a good way of promoting Enviornmentalism while also giving the person something they didn't think they need but that everyone does. It better to have it then have to run out and waste time and gas for something so ubiquitous as a light bulb.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

Today is Guitar Hero Day. This is how I am going to survive the Thanksgiving Holiday. I will never, ever recommend a video game that involves blood or acts of violence. I would much rather have a game like Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock become the dominate genre in video games.

If you don't know what Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is then let me give you a brief description. You have to match the colors on the screen with the colored keys on your guitar controller as the music plays. Even if you do play a guitar in real life, you will be challenged to keep up with the likes of Slash from Velvet Revolver and formerly or Guns and Roses.

The Les Paul Guitar Controller bundle works on Wii, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. I am getting it for Xbox 360 because I am cool like that.

Mac Love Friday . . .

Time for some Mac love. Why? Because I still love my PowerBook G4. Its the real thing, the Titanium model. The version of the PowerBook that is drop dead gorgeous. I bought it back in 2003, but in 2005 the hard drive started clicking, and clicking and clicking and then just stopped reading from the disk. I knew then as I know now that my beloved PowerBook is no longer a reliable machine because it's hard drive needs to be replaced. Sigh.

Rather than spending an absurd fee at the Apple Store for a replacement drive I stopped using my Powerbook as my primary computer. That all changed with the release of Leopard a few weeks back. The new OS has a feature called Time Machine that allows your Mac to automatically archive the contents of your hard drive to another hard drive by the day. All your important files are saved and you can browse through previous versions of your documents, pictures and videos.

In order to use this feature I needed a bigger hard drive. Behold! The Western Digital My Book Premium Edition 500GB Combo (USB 2.0/FireWire) External Hard Drive. It has Firewire! Because it has Firewire my Powerbook can recognize it as an external hard drive at start-up meaning I can move all my important files over to the My Book and use it as both a primary and back up Hard Drive. Best of all it is on Sale right now for $149 at Buy.com.

All you have to do is partition the drive into two logical partitions and install the Leopard OS on one partition and designate it as a the "boot drive." My PowerBook may no longer be fully portable but it is now once again a full fledged part of my life again.

Getting Things Done.

David Allen's Getting Things Done.

This is a cross post with another Blog I read daily. WoWinsider.com is a daily Blog about the World of Warcraft. The World of Warcraft (WoW) is as intense as any activity in real life. You get more out of WoW relative the amount of time you dedicate to the task at hand. Getting things done in WoW, like real life requires good planning which is a combination of time, energy and preparation. John Wooden, the famous UCLA Basketball coach has a quote, "Failing to preparing is preparing to fail."

I recommend David Allen's Getting Things Done. It is easy and no nonsense book about making lists and following through on the items on your list. If its not important enough to make it on the list don't do it and don't waste time on it.

I am writing this entry while my character is running the Daily Quests for Gold in the World of Warcraft. I came up with the idea for this entry while writing a list at a Peet's Coffee this morning. Using my time effective allows me to write a blog while making gold simultaneously.

This a great gift for anyone in business, marketing, finance and real estate. Oh it also works great for Mom's and teenagers trying to manage thier time.

"Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD" pt. 4

Blu-Ray Players do not enjoy the same deep discounts as HD DVD Players. If you want to watch Pirates of the Caribbean on Christmas morning you only have two options, they are both from Sony. Who by the way is the developer and leading publisher of the Blu-Ray Format.

Option #1 The Stand Alone Player

The Sony BDP-S300 Blu-Ray Player comes bundled with an offer for 6 Blu Ray Movies. For a limited time Sony is offering a $100 gift certificate from the following vendors online.

Option #2 Playstation 3 w/40 GB

The PlayStation 3 Console 40GB comes bundled with the Spiderman 3 Blu-ray Movie for only $399, making it the most affordable Blu-ray disc player available. It is also a gaming system so its the best baragain for the money. Now if they just had some good games, but hey there's a whole calendar year left in 2008.

Conclusion: You will pay more for Blu-ray but if you choose the Playstation you have the beginning of a good gaming system if you don'y already have an Xbox 360.

"Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD" pt. 3

The "Killer App" for HD DVD is cost of ownership. Yes it costs less to buy an HD DVD player than a Blu-Ray player. If watching Pirates of the Caribbean is not important to you then go get your HD DVD on son. Here are some examples on how easy it is to get HD DVD.

Do you have an Xbox 360?

If yes then you can upgrade your Xbox 360 with an HD DVD player for under $200. You get the movie King Kong in the box and 5 free HD DVDs delivered in the mail. One of them includes Full Metal Jacket, which is the best Vietnam War movie, ever. Here is the link to the Xbox 360 HD DVD Offer.

Do you have an PC with XP or Vista?

You can also hook up the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player to your PC via the USB port on the back. This will require you to purchase Power DVD Ultra online. I only make this recommendation if you have a large 24" monitor and an HDCP ready /DVI video card. If you only have on board graphics and a 19" monitor I think its best to use a stand alone player and an HDTV.

Sorry there is no love for Mac. But its coming soon. Click Here.

Do you have an HDTV with 720p Resolution?

Then it is time to make the jump to HD DVD. Walmart recently sold the Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player for $99, okay $120 with tax, but so what that's $300 less then the next Blu-Ray Player on the market. They will be more special deals for HD DVD players in the weeks before Christmas.

The providers HD DVD content know that content is king so there are lots of titles to choose from, making the player affordable is the best way to bring content to the users with out the premium price.

An HD-DVD player is the perfect gift for your dad, husband or boyfriend.

But what if I want to see the Pirates on Christmas Morning? See part 4.

"Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD" pt. 2

Are you a pirate? This is an important question because if you want too see Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (street date Dec. 4th) in High Definition on Christmas morning then you will have to get a Blu-Ray Player. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and all the Pirate Movies are the "Killer App" for Blu-Ray. Because Disney is a proponent of the Blue Ray foramt and the Pirates are only available on Blu-Ray.

The "Killer App" is analogous for a product that is so overwhelmingly good that it creates a reason to buy the system that supports and makes it possible to use. For example the video game HALO was heralded as the "Killer App" for the original Xbox back in 2001. If someone you know has an Xbox/Xbox 360 then they have the game HALO and it subsequent sequels.

If you are not a pirate, and don't really care for Johnny Depp, then there is another "Killer App" on the way for HD DVD. See part 3 for details.

"Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD" Part 1

I am only making this reccomendation for folks that already have pre-exisiting hardware to display High Definition movies on at least a 720p HDTV or a LCD Monitor with a HDCP ready / DVI capable video card. Now say you are using an LCD monitor as your primary HD display? Then make sure your video card can display the 1366 x 768 pixel resolution, that 720p offers.

If you still aren't familiar with these technical terms then lets just say you may not be ready for either HD DVD or Blue Ray. So here is a brief primer for you on the subject.

HD DVD and Blu-Ray are two competitng standards for High Definition movies. They each replace DVD and that Yellow (S-Video, Composite) cable format that makes DVD's look washed out and grainy on High Definition displays. The key word on any system is HDMI, you will only need one cable to your display or a Red, Blue, Green output cable with two familiar white and red audio outputs. This connection on HD DVD and Blu-Ray players make each image smooth and bright, you'll notice the difference immediately.

Availability and movie titles are the big difference between the two formats. For more technical details, you should visit the AVS Forum, the primary source for Blu-Ray and HD DVD user information. It's a war out there folks just like, 25 years ago between BETA and VHS, to the victor go the spoils. The consumer that being you and me and everyone else can play both sides against each other and pick up some equipment now are at really cut throat prices.


Conclusion:

If you do not have a Blu-Ray or a HD DVD player right now that's okay. If you save your pennies for the Black Friday Specials, on the day after Thanksgiving. I am sure you will clean up and walk away with a very, very good player in either format at a very low price.

Now on to Part 2!

Case Study #1

D is a young, single and attractive girl living in Los Angeles. She works in the fashion industry and is very hip and tuned into the culture. She is so ahead of the curve her tangents and cosines are off the charts. So what do you get a girl like this? On short notice too?

Criteria for Gift Giving.

1. Never try to wow a girl like D. She brings the wow. So expensive gifts are only appropriate if you are dating D or married to D.


2. D is hip and tuned into the culture. So we can assume she likes music and has a vast library of her own.


3. D is ahead of the curve. So we assume she already has an iPod.

Conclusion.

Give D an iPod Carrying Case. This requires someone to spy and find out which iPod she has. Usually a co-worker or the Best Friend is the best source for this level of intel. Once you have the intel move strategically to your nears electronics store, computer store, hey even a bookstore in the this case. I saw a selection of ipod carrying cases at Borders.

You can even add variety by giving her two different kinds of cases. One that's pretty like the custom color or lether cases, (see picture 1). An active hard case is good too if she uses her ipod on the treadmill and in the gym. You know you drop yours so be considerate, (see picture 2).

There a simple easy gift for under $40.

Best of all everytime she uses her ipod she will think of you.

Finding the Perfect Gift

I am writing this blog tonight because my friends say I have a special talent. That talent is the ability to find the perfect gift for a person on short notice. A situation like, "OMG I have to got to a birthday party tonight. What should I get [insert name]?"

Gift Giving should not involve too much planning. Gift giving should also never involve to much money either. A gift is a reflection of how well you know the person and your personal taste.