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Birth Photos
Jack Johnson - Rodeo Clowns (Acoustic)
Wealth Target Spreadsheet (Excel) Master Financial Spreadsheet (Excel) Master Financial Instructions (Word)
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What I Think I Know by Damien Del Russo
First call - they're speed bumps, not stop bumps. There is no reason to stop your car before proceeding over one of these dangerous mounds. Trust me, you'll be OK all the way up to 20 MPH unless you're in a Ferrari or something similarly ground-hugging. I can somewhat understand the Lexus drivers - most likely it is borrowed or leased, and you might be worried for your precious shocks. But, I'm sorry, y'all in the Expeditions and Navigators need to realize you are in a frickin' SUV here. What's the matter, your DVD player going to skip?
Not be forgotten are those bumper-hugging drivers who tail-gate no matter what speed you go. For instance, one road near my house is 30 MPH, one lane each way. I typically go 40, and I frequently see cars pulled over for speeding tickets - I'm not going to exceed 10 over the limit. The funny part is when these cars near the entry to their apartment complex - they speed up and ROAR past me, only to come to a near stop and left turn. What exactly is the point of accelerating past me only to stop within 30 feet? Similarly, I wonder about those folks that accelerate to a just-turned-red traffic light. There's not usually anyone to jockey for position - just the driver, 100 feet, and a red light. Hit the gas! Trust me folks, that's not helping your gas mileage.
OK, links. Like kittens?
Here's a great iPod article in the NYT.
Thanksgiving trip part deux. Yesterday I discussed politics, but the dominant theme of the holiday was Artemis. Artemis herself, Artemis photos, Artemis' Christmas CD, and not least Artemis' first DVD. Everyone was very pleased to see the baby, and she was very well behaved - plenty of smiles for everyone, very little crying, and all-around good demeanor. She slept well at night, and didn't cry in the car at all while traveling between locations. Even Thanksgiving dinner proceeded without interruption. She's great! And her family adores her. All of the relatives were so excited to see her, which makes for a very positive vibe - a real holiday celebration. This was further enhanced by the gift giving - we aren't going back for Christmas, so we gave out all our Christmas gifts this trip. What a relaxed feeling, December 1st (now 2nd), and all our New Jersey Christmas gifts are delivered and opened. They were modest, but involved a lot of thought and effort on my part, so I hope they were well-appreciated. One of the gifts we gave was Artemis' first DVD, which I believe I mentioned last week. The DVD includes the movies that are posted on the internet (see above on the left), however the DVD versions are much higher quality. Also included are several slideshows, which are set to music and edited down from the many hundreds of Artemis photos. As an added plus, all the photos from the slideshows are available via computer on the DVD disk, allowing one to print, email, or otherwise use their favorite photos. The first reviews of the DVD were positive - we had a couple viewings at my aunt's house, including a large viewing after the Thanksgiving dinner (on my cousins' 15" powerbook - envy! envy!). There were tears of joy and tears of laughter - damn I'm good. Not a bad disk to have, not bad at all. One other note - the middle photo at the top of the screen shows four generations of Del Russo - Artemis, father Damien, Grandfather Jon, and Great-Grandfather Al. Sweet.
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