Christmas "Geek"

Blueprints for Christmas Cheer....or....Geeking up Christmas.

I'm departing from the anime themed Christmas cheer for a quick post.

Lavie works for an engineering group and brought home a set of blueprints for fireplace, tree, and roof design to enhance Christmas planning. I don't have a scanner yet, but figured they were so good, someone had to have them up on the web. Yep. Took a bit of google'ing but I found a link over at The Computer Vet Weblog. Thank's Computer Vet! This is bound to be a classic! We always had a joke (at Dad's expense) that if you were going to put it in the ground, you better put in in concrete first. Somehow this reminds me of that.....

During the search process, I also found a link to Christmas SOA blueprints. I'm have no clue what SOA blueprints are really about (Service Oriented-Architecture), but I don't really care. These are great. The author Steve Jones shows how there are several different ideas on the whole Christmas gift requesting to Santa process, depending on your position.

I wonder if there are more of these "Christmas-Tech" gems out there. If you find some, let me know!

Alvis presented us with a very detailed list of her Christmas wishes this year. I'd post, but she would probably die with embarassment and make my life miserable like only a pre-teen girl can do to her dad. When I was growing up, Christmas wish-listing first began with obtaining a copy of the Sears Wish List book. My brother and I would go through the whole thing a hunderd times. Each had his own color marker and we would circle the things we wanted. I remember really being fascinated with this army-men battle command-post mountain play set. Never did get it. Electronics were big. Games. Musical things. Star Wars sets and figures. Legos.

(Mom and Dad will remember it different from my own childhood memory) but I don't really remember asking for specific brand-items things (except Legos and Star Wars). We always shared our general interests--race cars, space toys, electronic stuff--and they always came through with the neatest things. It was magic, every Christmas.

I reflect on this because I was sitting at a light on the way home and across the street was a Walgreens that had on it's marquee "3-Toys for $11.50". As I waited for the light to change, I wondered what the toys were, were they pretty cheap? Imports? No-names. Which kids would be happy to get 3 toys that were just standard drugstore bin fare? Geesh. I had to battle malls and try 5 or more stores to find some of the things requested on the lists I was working this Christmas--and some items are so "hot" they are just plain sold out.

Then it hit me. Wow. I bet there are a lot of kids who would honestly be happy to get those toys--heck-- any toys for Christmas. And there are probably quite a few parents out there who will get some of these toys (maybe with guilt and reluctance) because they are the only ones they can afford or find. And come Christmas day, the kids will be happy (well, most will) because they got something and were remembered by people they love. And the parents will smile inside because the child or children they love are just happy. Period. Just happy.

I think I'm going to go pick up a gift or two and donate them to a toy drive, just because of this sign.

Time to go watch the "Grinch who Stole Christmas" again.....

See you in the skies,
--Claus