Christmas Eve

I’m hanging out at Books-A-Million while Maria does a little last-minute grocery shopping next door at Kroger.

Judging from the crowded parking lot, it’s going to take her a little longer than usual.

We hit Sam’s Club first and I checked out the Samsung 3D LED TV. Yeah, it’s 3D. Kinda. I was not impressed. I certainly wouldn’t pay nearly $2,000 for the 46”, let alone about $2,500 for the 55” version. The technology isn’t mature yet, and I’m not sure it will be in the foreseeable future. Our 2D 42” Sharp Aquos fits nicely in our armoire and suits me just fine. I did notice, however, that they have at least one home theatre sound system with wireless rear speakers. I haven’t hooked up our rear speakers because I’m loathe to run speaker wire under the carpet or through the walls. Maybe next year…

This is a surreal feeling Christmas Eve. The temperature is 36 and there’s a light drizzle. The National Weather Service has issued a Special Weather Statement talking about light snow accumulation overnight and tomorrow, but I suspect it’s mostly just wishful thinking among those who fancy a white Christmas – kinda like the way forecasters in Indianapolis like to pretend the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race will have good weather, even when radar shows a storm front bearing down on Indy.

The Weather Channel was asking viewers to weigh in on how far they would drive to see snow. Most of the responses seemed to be coming from the Sun Belt, except maybe the guy who said, “I wouldn’t even drive to McDonald’s to see snow.” I’ve seen enough snow in 60-some Indiana winters to know that I’m perfectly happy without it. Snow in the high passes of the Rocky Mountains in July is one thing. Snow in the winter in Arkansas isn’t nearly as interesting.

We had a fun Skype visit with Steve and Lisa this morning. She showed us her new pair of goldfish and her electric Santa Claus who dances to Jinglebell Rock. Steve wondered out loud what would happen if he plugged a higher voltage AC adapter into it. Heh heh.

Maria doesn’t have enough time off for us to travel to visit relatives this year. Las Vegas and Portland and Arizona are out of reach and a drive to Indiana would involve almost as much time in the car as we’d have for visiting. So we’ll have a quiet Christmas at home watching movies on DVD and opening the back door for the dogs whenever they decide they want out or in.

Merry Christmas to all. Especially the ACLU.