Thanksgiving Update

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I know, it's a bit late, but better late than never. It was a good holiday weekend. I got to sleep in a lot, eat good food, see a lot of family…good times. Thursday, the parents and one brother (the other, unfortunately, works at Wal-Mart and they, being evil, didn't give him the time off…though it's partially his fault) arrive early Thursday morning. It normally takes 8 hours to get from Cincinnati to Gaithersburg, but because of the weather (snow in Pennsylvania) and mad traffic…12 hours! Jersey clan arrived Thursday afternoon, sans father figure (he had to work, unfortunately). Mad credit goes to their mom and older sister, who just got in from Pakistan (17+ hour flight) and drove another 4 hours to come down.

Had fantastic turkey and many other dishes Thursday night. Slept quite well. The following morning, almost everyone decided to hit the early bird specials. It was a mad house. It wasn't as bad as news reports were showing, but man…it was crowded. I was paranoid the whole time about this pair of gloves I found…I thought someone kept taking them, only to find that I kept misplacing them. Sales overall were moderate, according to the financial gurus. It's not that people weren't buying, but a lot of electronic products had some drastic price drops. News reports showed people getting into fights, trampeling people over…chaos. The new Xbox didn't help matters either. Reports came in of some consumers having their's stolen right after purchasing them. Word to Microsoft…shortages of crappy products that people, for whatever reason, are demanding is a recipe for disaster, along with reports of technical difficulties. Bad launch. We'll see how it pans out.

Taxes…suck. Got the first paycheck from the new position…man taxes suck. I wish we could elect to choose how our money was spent, instead of blindly paying into it, but…c'est la vie. Didn't get to see the new Harry Potter flick this weekend, but in due time. It's opened to great reviews and killer box office sales. Nice time to premiere right before Thanksgiving. I think it's at over $200 million so far. Hollywood, take note…make good movies on known franchises…not sucky ones. Target is suffering from a type snaffu on their online December catalog. Savvy geeks (yours truly included) are taking advantage of the $99 Nintendo DS typo. Their December catalog (click here). Apparently, you can print the ad and Target will honor it. Some retailers are even price matching the ad, as it is in-store only, and selling it for 10% less. If you've wanted one, now's a good a time as any to get it. Pick up Mario Kart DS while you're at it…it's good.

Bengals beat the Ravens, 42-29…which should have been a shutout, but wasn't. A win is a win, but a 34-0 lead turning into a 42-29 victory is a tad disconserting. L.T. (LaDanian Tomlinson for the uninitiated) racked up 184 yards and the game-winning TD in an OT win against the Redskins…that's the 3rd straight the 'Skins have lost due to a 4th quarter collapse. Seahawks looked sharp, beating out the Giants in OT. Shaun Alexander is having a monster season. Jay Feely, on the other hand, has seen better days (3 missed field goals…all of which would have won the game for the Giants…that has to suck on the Monday after). Vikings win their 4th straight under QB Brad Johnson. The Bears (!!!) have won 7 straight and are playoff hopefuls! It's been a nutty season and it aims to get even crazier Monday night, when the Colts and Steelers duke it out. Next week, the Jungle heads to the Steel City in a game that decides the AFC North Division. Who-Dey!!

More stuff later...