TransformedPlanet

Thu, 22 Nov 2007

Black Friday 2007

So yeah, we're doing a Black Friday campout again this year. I'll try to blog about it using my Jaiku account, and any photos will be on Flickr (which should show up here). Big sales, here we come!

Update: No blog posts, no photos, because we decided not to go at the last minute. The sales this year just weren't as good as previous years', and we all decided to forget it and sleep in.

Posted at 16:37 [/misc] (0 comments) permalink

Mon, 19 Mar 2007

Last week ITtoolbox held their Meetup Arizona event. I'm not only friends with several of the ITtoolbox crew, I'm also the blog author for Wireless Device Dimension, one of their blogs covering smartphones and other wireless connected devices. This was some really cool swag, IMHO. The squishy toolbox and box full of mints were cool, but the toy magnets are the really fun prize. Everyone that has seen them since I got them has immediately started playing with them.

If you're in the IT field, you may want to give ITtoolbox a try. It's a great way to make some connections, and find some people with similar careers and/or interests.

Posted at 13:15 [/misc] (0 comments) permalink

Wed, 14 Feb 2007

Rainbow

If you had not been inconvenienced by the rain, you would not have seen the rainbow.

Posted at 20:46 [/misc] (0 comments) permalink

Fri, 22 Dec 2006

The Loot - Aftermath

Of the Black Friday loot I picked up, only 2 things were for myself: a Westinghouse 22in widescreen LCD monitor and a HP notebook computer. Both my old monitor and laptop were 6+ years old and dying, so these two items were an awesome deal at exactly the right time.

I had some worries about the LCD monitor. I bought an LCD monitor at last year's Best Buy Black Friday and was so disappointed in its quality I returned it. It took me awhile to get the Westinghouse 22in calibrated, but once I got its settings correct it has become a great monitor for the price. The 22-inch screen is enormous compared to my old 19-inch CRT. Even though it isn't an Apple Cinema Display, it works well enough for me to do some semi-serious photo editing. It has turned out to be a great bargain for only $200.

The HP notebook computer is also performing well above expectations. It has a 1.8GHz processor, 80GB drive, built-in USB and FireWire ports and a built-in MMC/SD card reader, and a dual-layer DVD burner. I still can't believe Best Buy was selling this for less than $400! The HP's screen is a 15in widescreen LCD, so it too feels expansive compared to my old IBM Thinkpad's monitor. While the HP is no speed demon, it's no slouch either, and has already played a couple of Age of Empires III games with aplomb (much to Rory's delight). The only downside I have discovered so far is a slight chintzy feel to the keyboard compared to my old Thinkpad's, but that is a bit unfair since Thinkpad keyboards are probably the best in the world, and the HP cost about 1/3 as much as a new Thinkpad.

In all, I've been really happy with my Black Friday purchases. These items could easily have cost 3 times as much (their original prices would indicate as much). All I had to do was sit out in the cold all night. ;-)

Posted at 16:41 [/misc/blackfriday2006] (0 comments) permalink

Fri, 24 Nov 2006

The Loot

3 notebook computers, 2 monitors, a carrying case and mouse. Thing is, less than half this stuff is for me; the rest is for friends. I can't believe we got in and out of the store in less than hour (last year we were there past noon); our team work really paid off!

Posted at 08:41 [/misc/blackfriday2006] (0 comments) permalink

Thu, 23 Nov 2006

Waiting in line at the Best Buy

So several of us are doing the Black Friday thing again this year. We're at the Avondale, AZ store. We're farther back in line than last year; I hope we all get what we want!

Posted at 22:18 [/misc/blackfriday2006] (2 comments) permalink