Tag Archives: wishlist

You know your needs are met if..

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…all you can come up with for gift ideas are toys. I figure people would start asking me what I want for Christmas soon, and it seems a good idea to sum up for myself what I’d like to acquire in the next few months. That being the case, a few of these things are specifically for me to buy, and I lay absolutely no obligation on anyone to spend $5000 on me (I feel bad when people spend $20 on me). In fact, if you did, I’d be worried and would probably have to refuse your gift. Owing to lack of ideas, and some things I still don’t have (and/or want more of) since last year, I’ve copied some across from last years list.

  1. Remote control car. Full function! None of this “Straight forward, turn right in reverse” nonsense 😉 Fun to play with dogs and cats, I’m sure.
  2. Remote control boat. No idea where I’ll use it though..
  3. Model trains/accessories. For reference, I’m working with HO and N scales.
  4. Misc. tools. I’d like a cordless drill, but anything else that can be used for general handy-work would be useful. I have screwdrivers, and all kinds of drill/driver bits. Maybe a saw?
  5. Something from ThinkGeek (or a similar site).
  6. Something geeky.
  7. Xbox 360.
  8. Wii.
  9. Xbox imported from NZ/Australia.
  10. PAL in/NTSC out converter. I have a PAL DVD player to convert to NTSC output for US TV’s. Make sure it’s the right way round!
  11. Clothing – Pants: about a 32-34in waist, top half is L or XL. Extra points for geek-themed clothing.
  12. Something from the XKCD store.
  13. Something from http://www.cafepress.com/ial Also, consider purchasing from the Cafepress store for others also 😉
  14. Just money. I can put it towards other other things with other money received, or my savings.
  15. Gift cards. Gamestop and Walmart are ones that come to mind. Maybe Paypal? I dunno.
  16. Anything computer or guitar related if you think I’ll use it. Was going to provide an example of things I would and wouldn’t use, couldn’t think of any. Flash drives (larger than 2GB), guitar cables (longer than 10ft). Extra points if it can tie musical and computer together – I’d like to be able to record music using the computers.
  17. A cheap keyboard to play around with (recording etc, as above).
  18. Lego
  19. DVDs: NCIS, The Office, Fringe, House, etc.
  20. A UPS. I know, I already have one, but I need a second..
  21. Dog/Cat stuff.
  22. Books: Computer programming languages (Perl, C, C++) Terry Pratchett (Johnny and the Dead, Johnny and the Bomb), Face, and I am Not Esther.
  23. Book: Perl for Dummies, C++ for Dummies, C for Dummies, and any other relevant Perl/C/C++ books that could serve as a kickstart for learning the languages.
  24. Blank DV tapes.
  25. Music CDs. (Queen, Christian music)
  26. Guitar amp.
  27. Bass guitar.
  28. Acoustic guitar case/bag.

I’ll update more over the next few days. That’s probably the majority though. Hopefully this gives those of you who will be asking me what I want some ideas! Because I really don’t want to know what I’m getting until I get it.

I Love eBay. Perhaps a Little Too Much…

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Today I have a headache. It has been growing since Christmas day, but a sore throat emerged yesterday and I’ve spent most of today in bed pretending I didn’t exist. It didn’t make it go away 🙁

I’m growing to like eBay a lot. Having started in New Zealand with Trademe, eBay had a lot to live up to. Especially having used it once or twice from outside the US and not being able to buy anything useful – be it due to shipping costs, or sellers not willing to ship overseas.

That being said, I’ve bought 10 items in the last 6 months. The first was a power inverter, to take 110V current that is standard here, and convert it to 240V for my imported DVD player from New Zealand (I brought it with me). Surprisingly cheap, works really well. Now I just need to find a cheap PAL to NTSC converter so I can utilise it.

In the last week, however:

  • A Pentium 3 933MHz, due to arrive Tuesday. This will comprise a new firewall/router for this house, and will leave with me and Kelly when we move out. It also is physically identical to my P3/866MHz server, so they should look nice stacked together.
  • Two additional identical network cards to allow the router to route.
  • A CompactFlash -> IDE converter, to go in the above PC and allow the router information to be stored on a compact flash card instead of a hard disk. This will use less power and be quieter also.
  • A 1GB Compact Flash card, to use as described above.
  • A 4GB Compact Flash card, to use in my digital camera (upgrading from the current 1GB xD card – don’t worry, it supports both formats).
  • A capo for my guitars.
  • A small loop of Atlas N-scale settrack, to use in my coffee-table railroad project (probably some time this year).

I’m also trying desperately to get my hands on one of these (5 or 8 port), and one, possibly two of these (A G, a GL or a GS, just not a Gv7. Would take a WAP54G too, they’re just typically more expensive). I’m trying to get us to a point where when Kelly and I move out we can take the equipment we have and set up straight into an internet connection, not bothering with buying another wireless access point or anything on top of all our other expenses involved with moving – in addition to putting this house back the way it is now. Also wanting to utilise the 2 gigabit network cards I have (one in the Macbook and one in the desktop).

The last things I’m looking out for are a clip-on guitar tuner, a radio scanner, cheap video cameras (the tape isn’t important, so long as it can output composite/s-video), and a cheap video mixer.

Christmas Wishlist

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People keep asking me what I want for Christmas and I keep saying I don’t know, but this is not always entirely true.

I want a lot of things. Unfortunately, the list of things is broken up into two categories: things I can afford, and things I can’t. The things I can afford are easy, I buy them for myself. No problems. The things I can’t afford are usually things that are beyond the financial budgets of most people buying for me, and especially more than I would expect people to spend on me for Christmas gifts (considering if they spent that much multiplied by the number of people they buy gifts for their bank balance wouldn’t last long).

I also like surprises. I don’t like to know what I’m getting, however awesome it may be. It totally destroys the mystery of holding a wrapped gift and having no real idea what is inside it. I have elected therefore to make a Christmas edition of my wishlist for family and friends to view and consider. Estimated prices are given where possible, and I’ll try to provide links to examples also.

  • BB gun – I had a couple in NZ, and left them there to save complications with customs etc, but I would like another. Have seen at Walmart for cheap with CO2 making them semi-automatic, rather than pump action. (Approx $30 last time I looked.) Example 1 (would prefer a semi auto) Example 2 (would prefer a pistol shape) – can’t see the exact one I wanted online, though I have seen semi-auto BB pistols at both the 42 Walmart, and the 33 Walmart.
  • Clothing – Mostly in the realm of sweatshirts and pants. I have an abundance of T-shirts, am mostly good on underwear and such. Not sure on pant size (about a 92cm waist, not sure what that translates to in inches..), top half is L or XL. Extra points for geek-themed clothing (t-shirts permitted).
  • Kinda ties in with Clothing (though not required to be), but just about anything from http://store.xkcd.com/
  • Also ties in with Clothing (though not required to be), but just about anything from http://www.thinkgeek.com/
  • Also ties in with Clothing (though not required to be), but anything from http://www.cafepress.com/ial Also, consider purchasing from the Cafepress store for others also 😉
  • Plain and boring money. I can put it towards other other things with other money received, or my own spending money.
  • Gift cards are also welcome. Gamestop, Circuit City, and Walmart are the ones that come to mind.
  • Anything computer or guitar related if you think I’ll use it. Was going to provide an example of things I would and wouldn’t use, couldn’t think of any. Flash drives (larger than 2GB), guitar cables (longer than 10ft), Capos. Extra points if it can tie musical and computer together – I’d like to be able to record music using the computers.
  • A cheap keyboard to play around with (recording etc, as above). Actually, this one looks really ideal ($35) and plugs into the PC directly.
  • A toolbox and some basic tools. Would like to be able to work on the car or the computers or house stuff as necessary without having to constantly borrow the tools to do it. This was the best example I could find, but would like one with a tray insert and maybe some small-part storage on top (screws, nails, rulers, etc)? I’ve seen them at Walmart, don’t recall prices. They’re probably at Lowes or Home Depot too.
  • A battery drill/screwdriver. Needs to be able to drill well, which should make it ideal as a screwdriver also.
  • This wireless card from Linksys (~ $50, depending where purchased)
  • A 4GB+ Compact Flash card. Example from about $11 up, depending what brand and where purchased. The Compact Flash part is important, as you’re probably aware memory cards aren’t interchangeable.
  • A 2GB+ xD memory card. Example from about $20 up, depending on brand and place of purchase. The xD part is important, as you’re probably aware memory cards aren’t interchangeable.
  • A UPS, this one at Circuit City seems to be the best deal at $30 (with free shipping!) Cancel that. The price appears to have gone back up (Checked 15 Dec)
  • NCIS Seasons 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 on DVD
  • Lego – Technics is preferred but any is fun. Example – $20