Christmas gift-buying

[RobertB]

     Just 10 more work days and then I have 3 weeks off for Christmas vacation.  I've only bought 4 Christmas gifts so far, and I have so many to buy for brothers, sisters, nephews, and nieces.  Ack!  I have to get off my duff and start buying.
     There are a number of sweet gifts I'd like to buy for myself (or suggest to my relatives to buy for me).  I saw several in the ThinkGeek catalog, like the t-shirt with the working musical keyboard on it. 

             No, I must concentrate on them... not on me,
             Robert Bernardo
             Fresno Commodore User Group
             http://videocam.net.au/fcug
             The Other Group of Amigoids
             http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/
             Southern California Commodore & Amiga Network
             http://www.sccaners.org

[Paul]

It is getting down to the wire.  We have most of our gifts bought; we usually take advantage of the sales that appear at the end of November, and also cash in the points we've accumulated with our credit card for gift cards.  My "Gift" for me this year will be building an in-wall desk system in a room in my basement to turn it into my new home office, freeing up an upstairs bedroom that will be turned into a guest bedroom.  I'm going to custom-make a little place for my Amiga 2000 and Commodore 128 systems, with storage for other retro computing items.

Earlier this year, I finished the mini desk cabinet for my Commodore 64 system:

The nice thing about building custom furniture is that I can build it exactly to the dimensions I need, so it only occupies as much space as required, and no more.  The printer can sit on top, which isn't shown in this picture.  Note the collection of magazines and disk box below.

My new home office will be a custom built-in.  I like built-ins because, like a custom piece of furniture, they can maximize the space required; but at the same time, they can also capture what would otherwise be wasted space.  I will probably build it more like the in-wall shelving system I built for my home theater:



As you can see, it's not 100% complete (still working on the finishing details), but it offers a tremendous amount of storage and utility beyond anything store bought.

[RobertB]

     Oooo, I need much more organization and shelving than that! 

          Truly,
          Robert Bernardo
          Fresno Commodore User Group
          http://videocam.net.au/fcug
          The Other Group of Amigoids
          http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/
          Southern California Commodore & Amiga Network
          http://www.sccaners.org

[RobertB]

     Yow, I just finished 99% of my Christmas gift-buying in one day!  Ah, just one more gift to buy, and then it's time to relax. 

                 Truly,
                 Robert Bernardo
                 Fresno Commodore User Group
                 http://videocam.net.au/fcug
                 The Other Group of Amigoids
                 http://www.calweb.com/~rabel1/
                 Southern California Commodore & Amiga Network
                 http://www.sccaners.org

[RobertB]

     One Bernardo Christmas celebration down, one more to go!  Then it's a New Year's Eve party at R.J. Mical's house.

          Truly,
          Robert Bernardo
          Fresno Commodore User Group
          http://videocam.net.au/fcug

P.S. When I was at the Delicato wine-tasting room the other day, looking for a bottle of fine wine for my brother-in-law and sister, I discovered the winery's Malvasia Bianca, a sweet dessert wine even sweeter than the Viognier dessert wine I discovered last year.  Wow!  Now that's a lot of sugar!  After tasting a sip, I bought it immediately.  I'll have to get one for myself, too!