PJ Trader

OK, I’m a sucker.  HP, those computer people, have put together 50 prize packages worth over $6000 and given them to various tech blogs to GIVE AWAY. 

The geek in me couldn’t help but get excited.  A Touch Screen computer, THREE laptops, plus other goodies, all for the winning.  Not that I could use all of them, but hey – I have friends.  I have needs.

Here’s a link to HP’s website about the contest with all the rules and such: http://www.hp.com/united-states/campaigns/blogger-magic/.  Now, I’m just posting this because it’s an extra chance to win on one of the blogs, not because I want you all to run out and enter too!

One of the blogs requests that you share the contest package with someone else.  I thought that was an intriguing idea.  I mean, there’s already five working computers in my house – I don’t need four more.  So I think I could share.

The Lish would want the HP Mini 1000, but I don’t know – I’d be thinking about giving her the current Mini Note I have since I’d prefer the 10″ screen for myself.  But I’d think about it.

I’d like the big Touch Screen for my own use, I think.  But I would give it up to a church or some good charity.  Probably.

I know the 18″ HDX they’re giving away could find a new home.  I certainly won’t use a laptop that weighs 9 pounds and is bigger than my dachshund.  On the other hand, I suppose I could set it up in the kitchen as a sort of permanent computer there…

I’d definitely look at keeping the Pavilion DV4 for myself, but that would be a good replacement for The Lish’s aging dv1000.  Or my friend Carrie might enjoy it.

See, it’s harder than it looks, giving away computers!  And OK, this post was a requirement for one of the contest entries.  But seriously, if you won a new HP Touch Smart computer and three laptops (10:, 18″, and 14″) who would you share with? 

Gear Live Link:  http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/q408-hp-magic-giveaway-enter-our-contest-to-win-over-6000-in-electronics/

At 9pm tonight, there The Dawson and I were…him under the afghan I was putting the final row of border on, and me with a box of Kleenex and a bottle of cold medicine at my side.

The remote control was primed and the credits for ER rolling.  Oh boy, I thought.  The episode with Dr. Greene…I’d been waiting a week for this one.

Apparently I’d been waiting two weeks, since that episode aired last Thursday.  Where does time go?

I’ve enjoyed the TV show ER for nearly all of the 15 years it’s been on TV. This final season bring back fond memories of dedicating many a Thursday night to watching the boys and girls of County Hospital do their thing. (And a few not so fond ones when The Lish critiques their procedures. It’s entertainment – not reality!)

So I was really excited last week, sitting in a hotel room in Germany and Slinging ER from my Tivo in Illinois, watching the preview for tonight’s show. Anthony Edwards, aka Dr. Greene, is coming back for an episode that will reveal the source of Angela Bassett’s character’s angst. In a little trolling this afternoon, I also read this from Zap2it.com:

As for Thursday’s episode, Edwards appears in a series of flashbacks that connect County General’s newest attending physician, Dr. Cate Banfield (Angela Bassett) with Mark Greene’s time. The scenes are set near the end of Greene’s time at the hospital — when he’s undergoing treatment for the cancer that eventually caused his death — and feature several other former ER regulars as well (whose identities we won’t spoil here).

Other former ER regulars? Alex Kingston, perhaps? Noah Wylie, maybe? Oh, the choices!

What about you? Happy to see Dr. Greene one more time? Any ER favorites from the past you hope might make it on tonight’s show?

Well, I’ve completed a week of training over here in Europe.  Amazingly enough, even here it’s the same old thing …  get up in the morning, go to work, work all day, go home, sit in a traffic jam, eat dinner, goof around for a couple of hours, go to bed and get up and do it all again the next day.

However, the eye candy in this country makes up for it.  I don’t think I’ve seen an ugly man yet – young or old!  Han, our waiter at ‘t Fust tonight was well worth watching!

On Saturday, the weather here was cold and rainy, so I jumped the tram to go to a yarn store.  They didn’t have anything interesting, but I’m such a sucker that I bought three balls of a sale fiber to be polite.  Ten euros for a little American/Dutch hospitality is a worthwhile investment.  It was more fun just walking up and down the narrow brick streets, looking into the windows of the sex shops at the displays, watching the people hurry through their errands, and finding the bakery just by following the scents.

A young clerk practiced her English on us, and we did well except for translating the almond filling of the pastry she talking me into buying.  Even their sugared donuts are lighter and fluffier.  (I know because she gave me one!  It would have been rude not to eat it.)

On Sunday we took a road trip and drove down to Schinnen where there’s another US Army installation with more facilities then we have up here.  I forgot my military ID card, but they let me on the base anyway.  We visited the PX and the commissary – our main purpose for driving 2 1/2 hours was to buy single serving Crystal Light drink mix.  (When we teach, we talk a lot and so we have a bottle of something with us.  The Crystal Light makes it taste better.)

At least that was our excuse for going down there.  My coworker really wanted to go down and scout around where he used live when he was stationed here 27 years ago.  He finally found the house he lived in and we took a picture to send back to his wife.

Here’s some shots of our sightseeing:

Looking Down the Maas River

A classic Dutch windmall, of course!

I wish we’d stopped at the Kasteel but we didn’t.  Go visit it with me by clicking here for a virtual tour (in English).