Archive for October, 2006
Halloween Fonts just in case you need to make any last minute posters in creepy fonts.
Ghosts of Halloween is a site for a pretty elaborate yard haunt. It is very impressive, but I am happy with my much smaller one night haunt. He has a really nice grave yard which is a new addition to my yard this year. Maybe I should have visited there before to pick up some tips. Anyway, I did one thing I like better, I left some grass unmowed around the grave markers to make it look a little more unmaintained. I bet the neighbors though we were nuts with a bunch of unmowed spots in the yard.
Spirit Halloween Online Store has a 50% off sale on whatever they have left until midnight tonight so you can stock up for next year cheep. I ordered a few things and I am lucky to have a physical Spirit store located nearby so will be shopping there tomorrow to see if there is anything left worth picking up that I couldn’t get online.
October 31st, 2006
LiveScience.com has a mathematical attempt to debunk vampires. It is pretty convincing. Basically, assuming vampires started several hundred years ago, and that a vampire bites someone every month which creates a new vampire, the spread of vampires would grow exponentially and there would be no living humans left to feed on by now.
That of course does not take into account the fact (as shown in movies and TV) that not all bite victims become vampires, many just die. It also neglects slayers, hunters, death dealers, and accidental exposure to sunlight.
Anyway, I don’t think kids are going to believe the vampire living in their closet doesn’t exist just because of a little math.
October 26th, 2006
Here are a few more desktop wallpapers from photos I took that can be used for Halloween. They were taken early on a really foggy the morning last November when the spider webs were full of dew. My favorite is the one you can see the reflection of the tree upside down in the large dew drop. These webs were not by the same spiders as my previous post, these webs are much smaller, the biggest was maybe a foot in diameter.
Only seven days till Halloween!
October 24th, 2006
I have talked a lot about digital cameras on this blog. Well, here are some shots taken with my Cannon PowerShot S2 IS that I think make great Halloween desktops. I have been using them. They are golden silk (banana) spiders taken in Louisiana. Maybe not the scariest spiders if you are familiar with them, but no one wants to run into their huge webs.
October 13th, 2006
Believe me, you don’t want to know. Bugs, and not how you might imagine. Details here. Not that bad I guess since I have been eating the stuff for years, but I wish I didn’t find out.
October 9th, 2006
Last weekend I ordered an ATI TV Wonder Elite from Amazon for $77.99 for transferring some home videos. That was near the lowest price I found and was still cheaper than many after I upgraded from FREE Super Saver Shipping (5-9 business days) to Standard Shipping (3-5 business days) for $6.17 more. It was shipped Monday at 11:30pm. If you count that last 30 minutes of Monday, we are at five business days and it is still 400 miles away. But once I realized it was PM I guess I can’t be that upset with DHL. But Amazon’s delivery estimate said October 5, 2006 - October 16, 2006. October 16 is ten full business days from when it was shipped. It is hard to believe it won’t be here Tuesday (Monday is Columbus Day) since it is already in Texas, but if that estimate turns out true, I will have waited half a month for shipping less than 2,000 miles.
Looking into this a bit further I have discovered shipping begins with DHL, but through their DHL@home service, the package is actually delivered by the local post office. And of course, the post office is known for their speed and reliable delivery. DHL’s webpage says Standard Delivery is 2-4 business days and Deferred Delivery is 2-7 business days whatever that is. It appears DHL handles shipping up to your nearest (major?) post office so assuming you live anywhere near the post office, it should only take a day or two to make it the last bit to you.
I think we can assume DHL is including postal service delivery time in their estimate. So how does a max of seven days (for Deferred Delivery) turn into a possible eleven? I am not very good at math so I will let you figure that out. Even if the estimate doesn’t include the time it takes the postman to deliver it, once it has reached your city, it should not take four more business days which would get you up to the Amazon estimate.
And for those who think the Amazon estimate is just being safe, read “Why DHL Sucks” about 3-5 day shipping taking 7 business days. When I pay for 3-5 day shipping it better arrive in five business days. If I was willing to wait that long I would have chosen free shipping like usual. When I order on the weekend and actually pay for 3-5 day shipping, that means I want to use the item the next weekend.
I remember back when 3-5 day shipping meant you often would get your item in three days and sometimes it might arrive in two days. Those days are long gone. When I track non-DHL shipments, they often reach my city pretty fast and then sit there for a day or two before they do final delivery even if it is Friday so they don’t over shoot their low arrival estimate.
October 6th, 2006
Do You believe in Ghosts? I have never seen a ghost. I don’t know if they really exist or not. But this video shows some really compelling evidence. You really must see this for yourself.
October 4th, 2006
