Sometimes, thing just happen.

Like you’re shopping online for some holiday gifts, checking sales, and… well… there’s something that pops up… unexpectedly.

Something that you were looking at for a while, but was just too expensive to buy without a project it would be useful for.

But it’s on sale. Like, a really good sale.

So you kind of have to buy it.

And that’s what I did with this Blackout Edition Blue Yeti mic.

Of course, since I don’t have a project to use it for, I haven’t actually used it. So I can tell you it’s pretty. And I can go on a bit about how I’d use it… when I have time.

Watch it all in today’s vlog.

Don’t forget that you have some say over what goes on for the next 100 days… click the big green button below here to get to the page where you can submit topic suggestions and questions (so I know what kinds of things you want to see go on in these videos).

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So I did a little shopping for myself during the holiday rush.

Even at regular price, it was tough to pass up checking out the Amazon Fire 7″ tablet when my Nexus 7 died six or so months ago. But I held off. Until now.

The gist of the review is: you get what you pay for.

It’s really a step down from my Nexus (or the Samsung Galaxy tab I got my parents a year ago), but as an entry level tablet for someone who’s not too picky? Perfect. Even without the holiday sale, you can’t beat the price for what you get.

What you don’t get–decent built-in speakers (the Fire on-board speaker isn’t all that great, use headphones) and, most notably, the lack of all the standard Android Google Apps like Gmail, Calendar, and Maps–is what really kills it for me. Sure, I could side-load the things in… but I really don’t care that much. I’ve got my phone and my larger tablet.

I’ll just be using this one to consumer Amazon content… which is exactly what they market it for.

Check out the full review in the vlog.

Don’t forget that you have some say over what goes on for the next 100 days… click the big green button below here to get to the page where you can submit topic suggestions and questions (so I know what kinds of things you want to see go on in these videos).

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Now that all that shopping is done with (right?), we can get down to the business of properly celebrating the holiday… by decorating!

Unless you’re one of those people who treats Christmas decorations like I treat Halloween decorations… in which case, you probably just flipped that switch as you were digesting Turkey (if not sooner).

I really don’t do Christmas decorations any more. Mainly because I’m never here in my apartment for Christmas and I don’t really entertain anyone regularly who would care. So I leave all the decorating to my family back up North, then I just show up and enjoy it.

I talk a little about that in today’s kind of short vlog. Short because I’m tired and busy… and you really don’t want to hear me go on about crazy deadlines at the office or anything like that.

Don’t forget that you have some say over what goes on for the next 100 days… click the big green button below here to get to the page where you can submit topic suggestions and questions (so I know what kinds of things you want to see go on in these videos).

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I pay attention to advertising more than a bit. It’s one of those things tied directly to various distribution channels for stuff I like and whatnot.

Holiday seasons, specifically the Christmas shopping season, has changed a lot over the years when it comes to advertising.

Black Friday came into being a long time ago, the big shopping day right after Thanksgiving. More recently we got Cyber Monday and Small Business Saturday to round out the opening of the season. (I’m kind of surprised there’s nothing slated on Sunday… yet.)

Over the last few years, Black Friday has crept back to starting just after Thanksgiving dinner. This year, I started getting Black Friday deal ads on Monday. And Black Friday’s been extended all the way through the weekend.

It’s kind of ridiculous.

The worst has been Dell, which has been sending out multiple emails per day which all point to the same online store landing page, showing all the same deals. Super annoying.

Check out my ramble on today’s vlog.

Don’t forget that you have some say over what goes on for the next 100 days… click the big green button below here to get to the page where you can submit topic suggestions and questions (so I know what kinds of things you want to see go on in these videos).

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Apparently, I like stoner action movies.

Granted, it’s not quite a genre of its own yet as there are only two I know of: Pineapple Express and, as of this year, American Ultra.

The latter is a fun film. Not as wild as Pineapple Express, but still with plenty of wild action and creative fight sequences. It’s been described as “Stoner Bourne” and that’s completely accurate.

What occurred to me after I shot the vlog is that American Ultra also has a bit in common with True Romance, where a generally good guy gets caught up in some really wild stuff, in part because of the woman he loves. The difference, of course, being that Clarence didn’t actually have a highly trained CIA killing machine buried in his sub-conscious.

I enjoyed it. Watch my full rundown in today’s vlog.

Don’t forget that you have some say over what goes on for the next 100 days… click the big green button below here to get to the page where you can submit topic suggestions and questions (so I know what kinds of things you want to see go on in these videos).

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