Recently Acquired:

Canon PowerShot SD790IS

• 10 Megapixels
• 3X Optical Zoom
• Image Stablization

So, I know that the rest of the world has suddenly come to understand the meaning of a balanced budget, thereby tightening belts and causing the global recession to deepen. But I, on the other hand, have been on a massive shopping spree since we found out that consumer confidence was at an all time low.

This was only partly my fault, as my last major shopping spree was about 3 or 4 years ago. So inconveniently enough, everything seemed to break at about the same time. First, my beloved old camera sputtered, and then died, so a new one had to be acquired. After my great experiences with the old Canon Digital Elph, I thought I’d get another one. This time, it was the Canon SD790 IS, which I purchased because of reasonable reviews on CNET coupled with the fact that it was on sale. Combine that with the bad experience with the new Olympus, and I was sold.

Little did I know that this camera would be so great. It’s easy to use, takes amazing pictures, and fits into your pocket, all at a sub-$200 price. I mean, just look at these photos! I took the second one whilst on the plane over what I think was Siberia. It’s absolutely incredible.

Now, my MP3 player is dying and I desperately need to maintain my musical connection. Is the iPod touch my next acquisition?

To be continued…

Finally Finished:

Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman

Yes, a Merry Christmas to everyone who I did not see on Christmas Day. But you shouldn’t feel left out because I pretty much didn’t see anyone on Christmas Day, except the other cranky people who also spent their holiday flying on UA.

As you might already have guessed, I have a love/hate relationship with United Airlines. On the one hand, every experience I’ve had with them in the past few years has indicated that the company has taken a deep dive downwards. On the other hand, I have a bunch of frequent flyer miles that really need to be used.

Yesterday/today*, I “got up” at 4am to go to the airport, and spent more than 24 hours on the road. Luckily for me, I received my upgrade and spent those lovely 14.5 hours from Chicago to Shanghai in business class, behind a couple that had apparently forgotten that even when 30,000 feet in the air, their baby daughter would probably still like to have her diaper changed when necessary. I say this because it was quite evident from my position as a human being with a working olfactory system that, yes, a diaper change was absolutely necessary.

This coupled with a surprising lack of snacks mid-flight made me incredibly happy to be finally here, showered, and snuggled in bed. I did accomplish a few things, however. For instance, Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs is finally on the finished list. And I finally mailed out a few very belated Christmas cards. Lame, I know.

Don’t you feel sorry for the airlines? Nothing ever works out for them. At first we only worried about repeated instances of bankruptcy. But now, a couple sues United for giving the husband too much wine, causing him to hit his wife six times before clearing the customs and immigrations area.

A husband and wife are suing United Airlines for “negligently” overserving alcohol during a flight from Osaka, Japan, to San Francisco, saying the carrier’s drinks fueled the domestic violence involving the two shortly after their plane landed.

Fortified with Burgundy wine allegedly supplied at 20-minute intervals by United crew members during the December 2006 trip, Yoichi Shimamoto became so inebriated “that he could not manage himself,” according to a lawsuit filed Dec. 5 in U.S. District Court in Tampa.

Shimamoto was arrested, accused of disorderly conduct and battery after he struck his wife, Ayisha, six times, injuring her face and upper lip as they were heading through U.S. Customs in San Francisco, the complaint said.

I know a lot of people who become grumpy after long flights, but this seems a bit extreme. I’ll definitely be on the look-out for those heavy drinkers on my next flight.

Well, you know we love to have a nice little distraction to keep us from thinking about our real problems. Not to say that a Governor trying to sell a Senate seat isn’t serious business, because it is. But just when we thought we were all politicked out, here’s another whammy. And of course, there’s the matter of who picks the replacement now? Here’s a great suggestion found in the NY Times.

“That’s the million-dollar question — what happens now?” said Cynthia Canary, director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. “Now we default to the Illinois lottery to pick the senator.”

In another unrelated case of insanity, check this out. I was always under the impression that retirement was a good time to relax and not have any more babies. Apparently, several women on this planet disagree with me. Sometimes, I just don’t get it.

My friend tells me:

I need to install matlab, stata, sas, and winedt tomorrow.

And I wonder what she actually has her computer….

In other news, I’ve been studying for my finals, and I noticed this fun professor quote about French automaker Renault:

Their stock price went from 120 to 19? That sounds like a US company.

Not that we’re prejudiced, but from the looks of the Chrysler homepage, where the automaker is basically begging for funds, American car companies look like they’re in rather bad shape, don’t they?

Also, I have a friend coming into NY this weekend, and I started thinking about whether it would be fun to go do something in Brooklyn, since I haven’t been there in months. So, what’s the best place to go to find tourist stuff? WikiTravel, of course! You know the great thing about WikiTravel? They don’t mind posts with a definite point of view. Like this bit about a neighborhood in Brooklyn.

East New York, not a tourist attraction, is still one of New York’s most dangerous neighborhoods, though crime has declined in recent years. You are very unlikely to do anything in this neighborhood except traverse it on the way from Kennedy Airport (JFK) to points west.

I just can’t get enough of this love!

You know what’s awesome? Clean restrooms open to the public. I recently stumbled upon the Charmin Bathroom in Times Square, and it was a happy and wonderful place. Ok, so the TP MC nearly followed me into my personal powder room while escorting me to my ultra-fancy stall, but besides that, everything was great. I was definitely left with a soft and fuzzy feeling afterwards.

I tried to take some pictures with my camera phone, but it didn’t work out so well, so I stole one from USA Today.