Simple Randomness

The Ultimate Cargo Shorts

Ok, so I know I’ve mentioned this site in the past, but when I saw these 5.11 Tactical Shorts I thought they were pretty cool. Yeah, they are intended for other things, but I was thinking that these would really make the ultimate cargo shorts.

It’s funny because just the other day I was thinking about getting a new pair of shorts and had to tell my wife that about the only shorts I would get would be cargo shorts. I just don’t like regular shorts. So maybe I should look into a pair of these tactical shorts… I mean c’mon, they’re made with 100% cotton tactical canvas! You can’t go wrong there!

Ever Have One of Those Days…

It seems like lately I’m just having a lot of days where I’m just dragging! I mean, some good things are happening and all right now, but I’m having a hard time staying motivated and positive about a lot of things.

Now normally I can trace it back to something, but I’m having a hard time doing that this time. Hopefully it’s just a short phase…cause I got plenty to do.

Actually, I think one of the big things for me right now is that I’m not getting enough sleep. I really need to set myself some sort of a curfew and then actually stick with it!

Anybody else have any ideas or had this type of problem before?  Any ideas on how to get out of it?

V for Vendetta

I know I’m a little behind the times on this one, but I finally saw V for Vendetta over the weekend. I’ve been wanting to see it for some time now, but just never got around to it.

So what did I think of it? I thought this movie was awesome! Honestly I’ll have to watch it again to really get all of what’s going on, but I thought it was a really good movie. In a lot of ways it reminded me of Equilibrium, at least there were some similarities with all these different things being on the blacklist.

One of the coolest things about this movie is how Hugo Weaving put so much emotion into his acting behind a mask. Just based on the way he would move his head you could tell how V was feeling, even though his face is a solid mask.

Anyway, really cool movie. I’d highly recommend it!

Help to Get Out of Debt

Debt is a huge problem in this country right now. I don’t about the rest of the world, but it seems that we United Statesians have a real problem with wanting to spend more money than we have.

I encourage everyone to do all they can to get out of debt. My wife and I have been working on this for the last couple of years and every time we pay something off it is such a liberating feeling.

The good thing is that there are services out there that can help you to stop debt from ruining your life. One such company I came across is ACA. They have a full resource guide and will give you a free debt consultation on the phone. Sometimes you just need that little bit of extra help to make the right changes, and companies like this might be able to help you.

Heading Out of Town for the Weekend!

I haven’t been out of town in a long long time, so I’m actually excited to get out…even though we’re just going to Idaho.

You see, growing up most of my relatives lived in Idaho and I never really enjoyed going up there to visit.  For that very reason my mom always called us ‘antisocial’ when it game to family gatherings.  And in a way I guess we were!

But at this point it’s sounding great, just for the fact that it’s out of town!  The last time I went out of town was to Vegas, but that was sometime last year.  And honestly, I’m not a big fan of Vegas.  It’s ok and all, but I don’t gamble and all that so it’s kind of a pointless destination for me.

Anyway, I’m leaving to go out of town.  I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

Getting the Right Credit Card

One thing I think should be considered these days if you’re going to get a credit card is what kind of rewards are you going to get for using it.  I would never recommend just getting a credit card to go into debt, but if you can use it as a tool for making money back, you’re really giving yourself a discount!

A site I just found that has all sorts of information on such credit cards is Credit-Land.com.  They have information on doing credit card transfers and can also help you to get instant credit cards.  They also break the cards down by rewards, intro APR, limited credit, students, and more.

I just found one on here that gives you 5% back on all gas purchases.  I might have to seriously look into this one…

Anyway, the idea here is that a lot of credit cards have benefits outside of going into debt (that was meant to be a joke, going into debt is not a benefit!).  So if you’re in the market for a new card, check it out!

The Joys of Not Watching TV!

So when my wife and I moved into our new place back in August, we quickly found out that the company that was supposed to connect us with cable was in no rush to actually do it.  We even followed up with them a couple of times but were never able to get a hold of someone.  So instead of complaining, we decided to just not worry about it and try life without TV.

And you know what, it’s actually been great!  So I haven’t really watched TV for several months now and I have to admit that I don’t really miss it.  We’ll keep up on some of the shows that we like either by renting the season on DVD or watching it online.  For example, I love the show Lost, and we’ve kept up on it by watching it online.

If you’ve never tried going without TV, you should give it a try.  Honestly, whenever I watch TV now I’m amazed at the kind of stuff they can show on TV.  I was probably just desensitized to it before…

Art of the American West

I’m blogging about this because I was actually born in Texas, so I thought this was pretty cool. Now, I can’t fully claim myself as a Texan because I moved when I was 6 and have only been back once (which was to leave on a cruise out of Galveston…so it probably doesn’t count), but I still think this is cool.

In the city of Orange, Texas they have a really cool museum called the Stark Museum of Art. If you’re into art and museums at all, this looks like one that you’ll definitely want to check out. I know for example that my Dad loves museums…maybe I’ll recommend this one to him as well!

Personally I think that museums that have a specific theme can be pretty cool. Some of the themes that are in this particular museum include: Western Art, American Indian Art, Decorative Arts, and Rare Books and Manuscripts. They have a huge selection of different types of artwork as well. So whether you like paintings, sculptures, or anything else they have it.

I was looking over the history of this museum and it’s actually quite interesting. Apparently the founder of the museum, Lutcher Stark, began building his collection of western themed art as an undergraduate at the University of Texas, when he started purchasing works from Texas artists. Then in the late 1920s and early 1930s, he began collecting American Indian objects from New Mexico. So really this collection has been building for quite awhile.

So hey, if you’re looking to make a trip down to Texas anytime soon, this might be a place you want to check out. Orange, Texas is a ways East of Houston, so if you’re down in that area you could take a drive out to Orange and see the Stark Museum of Art and other things in the area as well. Check out their website for more information!

Kids Are Great…

One thing my wife and I agreed on this weekend is that my oldest son, who’s really only 2 1/2, is already showing a lot of qualities that he’s very much like me.  My wife even said that our other son is showing signs as well.  Here’s what she means:

• Both of them will randomly just think they’re really funny, but no one else is sure why…
• Our 2 year old could be happy in a locked phone booth with a broken phone, I’ve said the same of myself at times

Well, those are the only two that I can think of right now.  But really, kids are great.  We’re lucky to have two very happy little boys that are so cute with each other.  Our oldest son Brennen will walk up to our other son and say, “Oh hi Marshall!  Marshall’s awake!  Haha, Marshall funny!!!”  Then he’ll give him a kiss on the nose or something.

I have to admit that I’m really not very close to any of my brothers.  I’m sorta close to my younger sister, but all of this really makes me hope that my kids grow up as good friends and true brothers.  I don’t have much experience with that myself, so I’m hoping that we can teach our kids to be that way.

Maybe I’ll Actually Send Photo Cards This Year

I know it’s a little early to be thinking about this, but I came across a site today that does photo cards. My wife and I have never sent one of these out for any reason. I know that they are a very popular thing to do around Christmas, in fact we get several every year from people we know. But we’ve never done one!

The cool thing about these cards is how customizable they are. You can change what the outside of the card says, what the inside says, and use your own image. It’s a great way to send out some Christmas greetings, wedding invitations, and a number of other things, too.

By the way, the site I’m talking about is CardsDirect.com. They have a great selection of designs and styles, and if you don’t like the regular photo card idea you can also just get ones that allow you to slip your photo into a frame card. Personally though, I’d rather go with the full on photo card. I think they look a lot better!

I think the key is to have a cool picture. Too many of the cards I get from other people just have the family smiling at the camera. What if instead it was a picture of the family skiing, or bungee jumping, or something else original. I think that if I was to do a card like this it would have to reflect my family’s unique personality.