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In six months, we are leaving on a Disney cruise. My good camera, however, is over 5 years old. Right now, I carry around the DSLR for still photos and a pocket-sized Canon for video (and running). I want a nice camera that does both. And since we are going on a cruise, I need some degree of waterproof capabilities. The small Canon that I use for video has been swimming in the Chattahoochee before (it survived, the iPhone did not).

I’ve been drooling over the Canon T3i, but by the time I add all of the accessories I want and the waterproof housing, it would be well over $1000. We currently have another financial goal so that is a little steep.

Flash forward to Black Friday. Old Navy’s offer was a FREE waterproof digital camera with a $40 purchase. No problem there. I needed some jeans and we needed to pick up our gifts to donate to the kid’s school as we do every year. The only issue: “quantities are extremely limited”.

I arrived at 7:30pm on Thanksgiving in anticipation of the midnight opening. Several other adventurous shoppers confirmed that there were only 40 cameras available. I was number 9 in line when I got there and about 23 by the time the store opened (thanks to some very unethical people).

Now I don’t think many people actually shop for holiday gifts on Black Friday. People pretty much just buy things for themselves. I can’t blame them. I wouldn’t stand in a line like that for anyone else.

Here are my tips for other Black Friday shoppers:

• Black Friday is not necessarily the best time to score a deal. Other than the “doorbusters”, like the cheap laptops and TVs (and the camera), the prices aren’t that competitive. Of course, the selection on Black Friday is better than the selection near Christmas when the deals are better. It’s all a trade off.
• Those aforementioned “doorbuster” TVs and laptops are usually cheap knock-off brands like Dynex, Visio, Emerson, etc. They aren’t worth even what you paid for them. Hold out for a good deal on a Samsung or Toshiba instead.
• While the coffee and hot chocolate might be great in the 40 degree weather, you will need to get out of line to relieve yourself. It’s better to go without.
• You might think you are making friends in line, but when those doors open, it’s every man for himself.
• When you arrive, count the number of people in front of you. That number is guaranteed to at least double before the doors open. Suddenly, everyone is best friends with the person at the front of the line.
• Don’t call the cops. It is private property, so unless they are invited by the property owners, they probably aren’t going to help with crowd control. Besides, it isn’t a crime to cut in line. Besides, they probably aren’t happy about working on the holiday anyway.
• If you’re too fat to get out of your car, you need to stay home. Sitting in the car doesn’t count as waiting in line.
• I’m all for equal access (OK, so not really. And I really mean not really.), but wheelchairs and handicapped people have no business trying to compete on Black Friday.
• Prank calling the store workers so that you can watch them answer the phone through the window doesn’t accomplish anything.
• Calling the cops a second time for the same reason (see above) just pisses them off.
• Don’t cut in line. It will piss people off and you don’t know what kind of rage they are capable of.
• Trying to be the line police makes you look more like an asshole than the people cutting in line.

I’m sure I could keep going, but you get the point.

Anyway, to make a long story short, I got the camera! And I got some mediocre deals on clothing. So look for some awesome water shots right here, next June!

First of all, we are NOT pageant people.

I have no problem telling people that we are frugly (pronounced FRUG-LEE). That stands for frugal-ugly. We would rather look plain and have a few extra dollars and more free time than visit fancy salons and spas and wear clothes that cost more than we make in a week.

We didn’t even own an iron until a couple of years ago when I needed to make t-shirts (and honestly compels me to disclaim that we haven’t used it since).

A hair dryer? We don’t own one. My wife doesn’t have a hairdresser. She doesn’t even know any. The only time she gets haircuts are when they are free because she gets enough cut off for locks-of-love.

To us, appearance just isn’t the most important thing. Yet, apparently during a moment of weakness, we decided to enter Mackenzie into Macon’s Little Miss Cherry Blossom Pageant.

The pageant isn’t your average Toddlers-and-Tiaras-type pageant. Only “Sunday” dresses are allowed. The kids are suppose to look like kids, not miniature adults. No excessive make-up, hair-dos, etc. Sounds like the perfect pageant for a frugly family like mine!

So first, we had to find a pink dress — in November. If you walk into any store, you quickly realize that red and magenta are the colors of the season. Finding anything pink was a huge challenge. By the way, I got the $60 dress for less than $20. Score 1 for the fruglies!

Next, it was time for shoes. We wanted white dress shoes, but again, those are impossible to find outside of the Easter season. After visiting at least 25 stores, we finally found a pair (and at a reasonable price). Score 2 for the fruglies!

Now, what to do about the hair? Mackenzie is cute in braids, pigtails, or pretty much any other quick hair style, but this warranted something special. We found a curling iron for $5.00 (Score 3 for the fruglies!). After pleading for help on Facebook, and nearly choking from laughing so hard when a Facebook friend suggested that we call my wife’s (non-existent) hairdresser, Kimberlie’s co-worker and friend volunteered to help with the task. This same person also trades Saturday shifts with Kimberlie and made a few wonderful pink bows for us.

Finally, there were logistical matters. We had a 5K scheduled in Milledgeville (and hour away) just 4 hours before we had to be at the theater. (It’s the end of the year and we are chasing points.) That gave us (all four of us) less than an hour at the house to shower, change, eat lunch, and prep my little princess. But, somehow, we pulled it off.

Mackenzie didn’t win the title, but we weren’t “in it to win it”. She did a wonderful job, however.

I think it all turned out pretty well. What do you think?

A little over a year ago, when I still worked for Mercer Law School, a student worker was cleaning out a faculty member’s storage closet.  They stumbled across a vintage Macintosh Performa 200 (by vintage, I mean 1992).  Thinking it belonged to the technology department, they brought it to us for disposal.  I decided to keep it to see if it would work.  It didn’t, but it was too cute to trash.  I remembered seeing photos and stories on Instructables.com about people turning old computers into working aquariums and I knew that this would be my next project.  I promptly took it home.

After some online research, I stumbled upon a great set of instructions by Andy Ihnatko. Like cleaning the insides out of a pumpkin, dismantling the computer required special tools and certain protruding portions of the case had to be removed as well.  Between a Dremel and a hacksaw, I finally removed the portions of the computer necessary to build the aquarium. (My apologies for using “Mercer Law” and “hacksaw” in the same blog post.)

The mac, still covered in Splenda

Gutting the mac

Out with the unneeded

Pretty chinese art from 1992

The garbage pile growing

Sawing off the protrusions

After getting the case like I wanted it, I cleaned the outside thoroughly.  When the computer was found in the closet, it was covered in spilled Splenda.  I also used black spray paint to give the insides a nice, new look.  Some vintage macs have Steve Job’s signature engraved in the inside.  This one, however, did not.

Next, I needed glass to build the actual tank.  I went to Lowe’s and learned they only carry 1/8 inch glass, which wouldn’t support water.  Home Depot had the same.  Specialty glass shops online wanted big bucks to cut the glass. At this point, I lost motivation and put the case in the attic for over a year.

At my new job, I desperately needed some sort of decoration, etc. to personalize my office.  Perhaps a conversation piece?  One day while riding down Riverside, I discovered a glass shop about 3 blocks from the office.  I printed out the dimensions I needed and took it in to see if they could do it.  Not only could they do it, but it was only about $9.00.  Score!

I came home and assembled the pieces using regular silicone and leak-proofed it with aquarium-safe silicone (which was difficult to find). I also constructed a wooden base to position the glass box on (and keep the electrical, etc. underneath).

Constructing the glass from instructions on the macbook

The glass assembly - waiting on silicone to set

Next, it was time to design the look of the aquarium. My friend/former boss Chris had an aquarium in his office at Mercer for several years and over that time I did a few different shots of the law school as the background for it. That background got rave reviews. Since I work in a beautiful building now, I thought that might be a good plan.  I also love bubble bars and Mackenzie picked out some neon-colored gravel, which I bought against my better judgement.

I also needed a light to illuminate the tank, for visibility and to make the fish think its daylight inside.  I wanted to go LED even though the price was a little steeper.  I found a great LED light that can even be submerged if I ever decide to put it under the water line for about $20.00 on eBay.

Because changing the water would be difficult, I also needed a filter.  I found an under-gravel filter online (powered by the same air pump that will generate the bubbles) that is supposedly perfect for small tanks.  Since I plan to start with cheap goldfish, a heater/thermometer isn’t necessary.  Of course, I can always add one later and go with a better filter.

Upside down case, mounting light into position

Aquarium safe silicone, found at Ace for 3x the price

Under-gravel filter, perfect for small tanks

Here’s the complete list of supplies:

Glass: 10.26 (also bought a second set, just in case — if you want it, let me know)
Silicone: 3.77
Aquarium-safe silicone: 7.41
Wood for the base (select pine): 6.84
LED light from eBay: 20.73
Under-gravel filter: 10.72 (shipping was more than the actual item)
Air pump, tubing, valve, gravel: 17.42
Fish catcher, food, and vacation feeders: 6.89
Distilled water: 1.21
Fish: 54 cents

Total cost: $85.79 (yikes!)

I went a bit over my $50.00 budget, but shipping killed me on a few items (filter, light) and I spent more to get better stuff on others (light, wood).  You can purchase a similar sized aquarium kit at a local pet store for $25 or so, but it wouldn’t be nearly as cool.

I also bought a small table to sit it on for $8.00 at IKEA so that any leaks wouldn’t damage my office furniture, but I ended up not using it because it was too small.

I initially set the tank up on Friday to give the water a few days to circulate, I ran into a few problems.  The air pump caused a loud vibration noise that was not conducive to a work environment.  I also had issues with the gang valve leaking and ruining my background print.  Currently, I have removed the bubble stone and I moved the pump to outside of the computer case. I set the filter up to run continuously, but put the LED light on a timer so that it simulates daylight for the fishies.

Today (Sunday), we added two goldfish from PetSmart: a regular orange one and a white one with an orange spot. Let’s hope they are still alive tomorrow when I get to work!

Finished product

Close up

Macquarium

The photos above as well as the video below were taken with my iPhone.  I forgot to take a camera!  I’ll try to post more shots soon.

Hopefully I don’t get fired for having this at work.  Nobody knows about it so far.  Remember my motto: It’s better to ask forgiveness than permission!

Loyal readers might remember that about 2 years ago I renovated our master bathroom.  The original plan at the time was to do both bathrooms, but since Mackenzie was still getting through potty training and Tristan was still perfecting his aim, I decided to put it off for a while.  That “while” finally came . . .

When we bought the house, Kimberlie wanted a “duck” bathroom and a “frog” bathroom.  The kids bathroom received the duck theme.  It is actually the first room that we painted when we moved in.  So imagine, if you can, a new house with all white walls inside and then you have to tinkle.  So you go into the hallway bathroom, turned on the light, and HOLY SUNSHINE!  That’s pretty much what the yellow paint did to people.

Let’s start with a few “before” pictures:

First, I painted and we chose a new shower curtain and linens. Then I ripped up the floor and the toilet.  In the process, the toilet broke:

RIP Old Toilet!

No big deal, right? Lowe’s has toilets on sale weekly for less than $100.  Except I discovered that Home Depot and Lowes only have toilets that fit a 12-inch-rough-in (distance between the wall and the flange, which is the hole in the floor).  My rough-in is actually 8-inches with an extended flange to make it 10-inches.  Not only are 10-inch-rough-in toliets hard to find, but they are also twice the price!  Oops!

After attempting to special order a toilet throught the big box stores and being hit with sticker shock, we ended up visiting a local wholesale plumbing supply store and getting a new toilet for a decent price.  Of course, in that store, I threw around the big plumbing words like “rough-in” and “flange” and “elongated” like I knew what I was talking about, just like in the paragraph above!

Anyhow, the project is now done. I added crown molding around the ceiling to make it a little more upscale and I used a nicer tile than we used in the master bathroom.  Of course, since this was my third tiling endeavor, the whole thing came out nicer.

And now, on to the “after” photos:

"After"

Flooring and baseboard!

We left Ernie as a tribute to the former ducks

Shower and crown molding

The new toilet!

We’ve been to “The Fish Store” at least 5 times this season.  I don’t really care for hunting, camping, or fishing (we stay in hotels and buy food at grocery stores) so we don’t go there often.  We do, however, take the kids and let them get the free crafts and Santa photos.

Thanks Bass Pro Shops, even though I can’t find one thing in your store that I would ever buy!

This morning, I had the opportunity to accompany Mackenzie’s class to the mall to see Santa.  Last year, they saw the jolly fat fellow at the local redneck store, which is appropriately named after a fish.  I did photo collages for them last year and was invited to photograph the class again this year.

I was amazed at how many stay-at-home-moms have nothing better to do than accompany their kids on preschool field trips.  The drive from the preschool to the mall was as long as a small funeral procession.  In an effort to stay on topic and not start ranting about how much I loathe stay-at-home-moms, that’s all I’ll say about them.

Mackenzie's class posing for the parent paparazzi

Mackenzie’s teacher had a special arrangement with Santa for me to take photos, but not in Santa’s usual chair.  Apparently, that would violate some mall contract or something.  The kids, however, didn’t seem to mind visiting Santa on a mall bench several feet away.

Mackenzie with the Mall Bench Santa

Mackenzie shares her Santa letter

Afterwards, the class walked down to the ice cream place formerly known as Baskin Robbins, which had promised to be open at 10:00 in the morning.  Unfortunately, the indian who runs the shop must have decided that nobody would care for ice cream that early in the morning when its 30 degrees outside, and decided not to open.  So down to the food court Wendy’s at the other end of the mall with 14 kids we went.  After all, a Frosty on a frosty morning makes perfect sense to a class of 4 year olds!

Mackenzie shows off her loot from Santa

A Frosty on a frosty morning

Two weekends ago, we put up our Christmas tree! Traditionally, we have always put it up the weekend following Thanksgiving. Not this year! I decided that it was too much work to do for just one month. Also, I have other plans for that weekend and I needed to go ahead and shift around some junk in the attic anyway. Besides, all of the stores have had their Christmas stuff out since August.

That leaves some serious holiday confusion here. We still have two small pumpkins in our living room, only a few feet from Christmas decorations. And outside, a Christmas wreath hangs on our door overlooking two pumpkins and mums near our porch. I’m pretty sure the outside lights are going up this weekend!

You’ve probably seen the reports on tv about Coupon Queen, Coupon Mom, Southern Savers, etc. and how they play the drug store game to get tons of stuff for really cheap.  Those ladies should just hope that one day they are as good at it as I am.

Each Sunday, I wake up, grab the CVS ad and Sunday coupons, and map out my game plan.  I make it so that CVS pretty much pays me to take their junk.  What if CVS is out of something on my plan? No problem! There are 2 stores within 4 miles of my house and another 20+ stores within 15 miles of my house. 

I’m not one of those folks who usually blogs about how much I save, but this morning CVS paid me 3 cents to take a $10.00 razor, $4.00 to take $10.00 worth of body wash, and 55 cents to take $15.00 worth of cereal.

Over the past few weeks, we have gotten free deodorant, heat wraps, holiday stuff, toothbrushes and toothpaste, shampoo, expensive razors, body wash, feminine products, candy, cereal, air fresheners, and tons of other stuff.

We do use most of the stuff, but then some of it we don’t need, especially the soaps and shampoos, as evidenced in this previous post.  I don’t even know why I do it.  Maybe I’m addicted?  The razors in the center photo, for example, are some of the newest models out and retail from $10 – $15 each!

This morning, I’m blogging from Butler Toyota.  I HATE car dealerships, but Kimberlie’s car needs an oil service.  I guess the economy has really hit these folks.

I can’t figure out why there’s so many car salesmen on duty at 10:00 on a Friday morning.  I’m no rocket scientist, but I would guess that most people who buy new (or used) cars have jobs.  On top of that, it’s raining.  I would guess there is some correlation between rain and the lack of customers.  One sales guy here has been to the coffeepot like 242355 times already.  It seems like all these people do is drink coffee.  If I had a job where I only made commission, I would only go to work when I thought customers would be there.

Maybe they should just have the service department open during normal hours with a limited sales staff.  It’s like they sell good cars but they have no common sense.

Another Wal-Mart employee ticked me off tonight.  I don’t know why we continue to shop there.  The stores are a disaster, the people aren’t friendly, the lines are always long, and some of the other customers are somewhat scary.  Ahhh . . . the things we go through to save a few dollars!

Below is a letter I had published in the Macon Telegraph editorial section last September, which parallels with my experience tonight:

Dear Editor,

With the shopping season approaching, retailers are gearing up for a profitable quarter.  As a shopper, however, it is your responsibility to understand your rights and resist the anti-consumer practices becoming more and more popular among the major retailers.  These anti-consumer practices treat everyone as shoplifters by asking to inspect products, shopping carts, bags, and/or receipts – after the customer has already “checked-out”.

Some local big box retailers employ retired or physically challenged people to man the exits, while others (including a local electronics retailer) prefer a more intimidating approach by placing a large masculine male by the exit with a physique that resembles that of a strip club bouncer.  They may even go as far to tell you that the practice is in place to “ensure you have received everything that you paid for”, which is clearly not the case.

According to the National Retail Federation, only about 30 percent of retail shrinkage stems shoplifters.  The bulk of loss is the result of employee theft, administrative errors and vendor fraud, making these anti-consumer methods a waste of time and a violation of privacy.  After you leave the check-out stand, the merchandise is yours and no employee has the right to search your stuff or ask you to produce paperwork (such as a receipt) to verify that fact.  This applies to bagged and loose merchandise, as well as items that you owned before entering the establishment — such as your purse, wallet, pockets, etc.

After you pay for your merchandise, immediately place your receipt in your pocket.  As you exit the store and pass the little old lady shaking her highlighter at you, simply pass her and politely wish her a good day.  Feel free to ignore anything else she may command you to do.  Even if the embarrassing magnetic scanner alarms sound, you are under no obligation to submit to a search. 

If a store wants to accuse you of shoplifting, the burden of proof is on them to prove your guilt, not on you to prove your innocence.  A retailer has no legal basis for stopping and searching customers and any compliance on your part is strictly voluntary.  If a retailer (or a bystander who considers themselves acting heroically) physically touches you or attempts to detain you, it might be appropriate to call law enforcement on them.

Most stores have a “don’t pursue” policy anyway, making the entire anti-theft system — including the “greeter” and the merchandise scanners — a ruse.  The only real purpose of the system is to remind everyone that they are being watched.  All innocent shoppers should reject these anti-consumer practices and bypass the “greeters” without feeling remorseful.

Jonathan Brian Davis
Macon, Georgia

I included “PART ONE” on the title because I am pretty sure there will be a forthcoming part two.