The computer is up and running well again, thanks to a reformatted hard drive and clean reinstall of everything. Photoshop 6 came yesterday and promises hours of fun and excitement, once I have the time to devote to it, and the other software is on the way. Now I just have to get that speaker fixed.

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I went to the Food and New Products show at Blaisdell on Sunday. The main hall was overwhelmed by mainly three things: solar systems, window systems, and gadgets to relieve back pain.

There were some cool things to see, though, between the high-pressure home improvement hucksters and the chiropractors. The grill people had a Weber kettle grill that was about five feet in diameter -- one could cook a lot of steaks on that puppy. I declined to purchase, however, seeing as it would take up the whole of my yard.

There was a woman who makes surfboard-shaped chocolates who can personalize them with pictures and/or messages for any occasion.

I had a nice conversation with the Mac Made Easy people and spent some time drooling over the G4 Cube they had on display. Propensity to crack or no, it's a sweet machine.

A guy was demonstrating a tile cutter that seemed to be a pretty clever design. I remain skeptical of the ease of use of said gadget, however, having once been reeled in to buying one of those cheap mandolines at the Extravaganza in Columbus based on a demo of how easy it is to use. It was not easy to use, and in fact was highly hazardous to my fingers.

The arena floor was covered entirely by food distributors handing out samples. In addition to the usual potato chips and cookies, I got to sample a couple of good wines and some chocolate covered blueberries, which were weird but yummy.

All this excitement and some choice people-watching for a mere $3 -- can't beat it.

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I had a revelation yesterday that Christmas is less than nine weeks away. Yes, you can count those weeks with less than your full contingent of fingers, assuming you have ten, of course. I, who am usually mostly done with the shopping thing before Thanksgiving, have to get myself in gear.
- posted by Lori @ 4:24:00 PM | permanent link | |