Costco & Leather Ottomans

So, the Brokehomeowners venture out to two of our favorite places to shop: Costco and Sam's Club. We're "in the market," as they say, for some inexpensive yet durable chaise lounge chairs for the deck we finished last fall. You see, last summer we built the deck, this summer we plan to use the deck. Using the deck requires a couple of chaise lounges.

So, we start perusing the aisles at Costco (isn't that the only way to shop at Costco?) when what to our wondering eyes should appear? But a leather ottoman, of course. A leather ottoman we've been looking for to use in the family room since we moved more than a year ago.

So much for the chaise lounges - at least we still have some time before Spring...

Winter Thunderstorms

You know you're a broke homeowner when...


a winter thunderstorm brings a smile to your face because all you can think about is how good it is for your new lawn and trees.

Sick Kids

Ugh!

As Forrest Gump would say, "That's all I have to say about that."

TiVo!

For a fairly technology-savvy guy, I feel a bit behind the times on the whole DVR thing. I took a crash-course last night setting up the TiVo I got as an early birthday gift yesterday and I'm already hooked!

Just ask my wife about my excitement - "Honey, wanna see me pause the 10 o'clock news?" "Hey, look, I just replayed the 5-day weather forecast!" "Check it out - Will Smith and Martin Lawrence running backwards!"

"Are you going to do this all the time?" she asks.

So, I've got "Lost" set up for a season pass - and "Friends," too. TiVo recorded "City Slickers" and "Dirty Dancing" overnight - because I told it too. :)

This thing is great - I do wonder why it recorded "Matlock" and "The A Team" overnight as well, though... Looks like TiVo and I both have some learning to do.

Desks & Tables & Fish Tanks, Oh My!

What is it about moving furniture that always turns into a day-long affair? We decided yesterday we were going to move one desk upstairs and bring another down. Of course, this also involved moving two computers, two book-cases, a 35-gallon fish tank, and - before it was all said and done, the dining room table and 6 chairs. Today, we're both sore and we still have a lot of paperwork and books that need to be put back in their respective "new homes."

So much for resting on the seventh day...

The Heater, The Garage, & The Thermostat

Heated garages are great. Until you get your gas bill, anyway. I put a big heater in our garage this fall to take the chill of the bedrooms over the garage and provide a heated workspace for winter garage projects.

We were already in the project for several hundred dollars so I went cheap on the thermostat. We're paying for it now! Back to the store for a programmable thermostat - the garage doesn't need to be 50 degress during the day!

Finger Insurance

Check out SawStop, "The World's Safest Table Saw." The blade stops and drops below the table as soon as it detects contact with your body. You'd wind up with a nasty cut, but you'd still have all your digits.

It's not cheap and the $70 safety mechanism is single-use, but how much are your fingers worth? From a guy who recently had a router "incident" that involved more than 50 stitches and 2 hours of surgery, safety seems like a real good thing lately.

My brother-in-law was kind enough to ask (in mocking fashion, of course) if the same technology was available for routers.

Google

Has it occurred to anyone else that you can probably build an entire business model around Google?

Using AdSense and AdWords, you can both recognize revenue from "selling" ad space and selectively purchase advertising of your own. Throw in Froogle as your store front-end and you're just one good product idea away from writing your own "get rich" book.

Now, about that one good product idea...

Youngin's

What's with all the high school kids posting on myspace.com? Do they really think their parents and local law enforcement agencies can't read their profanity-laden, sexually suggestive profiles? Some profiles are complete with photographic evidence of illegal drug and alcohol use... I don't get.

Plus, they're listing their phone numbers and home addresses. It's a virtual crime scene waiting to happen.

When I was a boy...

Ladders - Big Ladders

What's this? A homeowner related post? Guess it's been awhile...

Like any good homeowner, especially one with cathedral ceilings, we have several ladders. We've got everything from a 3 foot step stool to a 16 foot extension ladder and each serves it's intended purpose well. You know what the biggest bummer about ladders is, though? Storing them. I spent a good two hours finding the only location in our garage where I could hang the 16 foot extension ladder. Having just finally hung it up, you know I'll need it tomorrow for something.

Radio Showgrams

How cool is it that Johnny B has come "home" to Chicago and the Loop? For those of you who don't know, Jonathon Brandmeier was on WLUP Chicago for (what seemed like) ever in the 80s. Then he literally left the airwaves overnight and wound up living in Los Angeles for what must have been 10 or 15 years.

Now, he's back. And he still makes me laugh.

Lost

I love the show "Lost" on ABC. I missed most of the first season because it aired to early in the evening for me to be able to watch. This year, though, since it's on later, I've been able to watch and get completely sucked in.

My wife gave me the first season on DVD for Christmas and all we did for about a week was get caught up on season 1. You know what's really cool about TV shows on DVD? No commercials! You can watch a 1-hour show in 40 minutes and not lose track of the story line. How cool is that? Maybe this "phenomenon" is not news to most of the world, but it just hit me...

So, last night Lost finally airs a new episode (they were reruns or not on for something like 6 weeks) and we're so excited to watch - until the first commercial...

Boy, did those season 1 DVDs spoil us.