Happy Thanksgiving

For a few years running now, we've enjoyed a vegetarian Thanksigiving dinner at a Chinese restaurant in the city called Ming's Diner. They serve surprisingly realistic (looking and tasting) renditions of mu-shu pork, walnut prawns, and even steamed fish with ginger.

Colin gave it a half thumb up, though that did not prevent him from eating at least half a dozen of a fried meat-substitute appetizer. Katye gave it two thumbs up, as did Cameron. Cameron insisted on using his mu shu wrapper as a hat and hand towel, though.

All in all, it was a good time, and we're thankful for the Tings who invited us.

 

 See more pics on Smugmug.

Cameron the clone trooper

My parents enjoyed seeing Cameron in his clone trooper costume, even without the helmet.

How bad is this stock market decline?

I saw this fabulous graph (well, the news that is graphs is terrifying, but the way the graph conveys the information is fabulous) on the Baseline Scenario , a blog about the financial crisis I started following a few weeks ago. 

It compares four bear markets in terms of both how far the markets dropped and how long the bear market lasted. This one is already the 2nd worst by percentage decline, but it's no Great Depression. Yet.

(Click the graph to see the bigger version.)

Posing like thier personalities

Their poses reflect their personalities in this picture, I think:

• Colin: earnest & eager to please
  
• Katye: slightly crazed
• Cameron: not sure what's happening but along for the ride so he doesn't get left out
  

Low gas prices

Who would have thought we'd see near-$2 gasoline in California again? I didn't snap the pic above, but it could have easily been me given that I filled up last over the keend $2.279 a gallon.

Gas prices are now lower than they've been since we got our Prius a little over a year ago. Some fun factoids from your OCD recorder of gas facts in the 28 times we've filled the car up:

• Highest price: $4.60 on June 14, 2008.
• Lowest price: $2.28 on November 15, 2008.
• Also yielded the lowest cost of operation: 5.0 cents per mile
  
• Best mpg on a tank: 56.9 mpg on March 26, 2008 (486.6 miles on 8.556 gallons)
• Worst mpg: 47.9 mpg on December 26, 2007 (411.8 miles on 8.6 gallons)
• Highest cost to operate: 9.2 cents/mile on July 24, 2008
• Lifetime: 52.0 mpg (though the computer shows 53.1 mpg)

Even though gas prices have plummeted, I doubt this will last long. Or at least, I hope it doesn't, since oil prices being below $60/barrel reflect a shrinking economy. Regardless of how gas prices move, I must say I still love my Prius. It's quiet, the Bluetooth works great, and surprisingly roomy.

Salt and Light Choir

We were blessed to have the Salt and Light Choir perform at our Thanksgiving Banquet. Things I learned about the choir:

• They are Korean.
• They can really sing!
• They practice at our church every other week. 
• They have lots of outfits. They must have changed 3 times during in the space of a half-hour show.

Most excellent.  See the entire event at Smugmug.

Pumpkin pies

...as far as the eye can see.

 

Thanksgiving Banquet

The two older kids ate an astounding amount at the annual FBC Thanksgiving Banquet. Who doesn't love ham and turkey smothered in gravy? And while they were slightly disappointed this year didn't feature mashed potatoes, they more than made up for it in holiday meat.  :-)

 

This post also marks the blog debut of our new camera, the Canon Powershot SD880 IS. The wider-angle lens (28mm equivalent) and improved sensor + processor (the so-called Digic 4) is definitely yielding better pics.

Party like it's 1999

Flash back to the dawn of the Internet retailing age in late 1999 and early 2000. Remember the free or massively discounted stuff, free shipping, and other crazy deals? (How many people got Pets.com to ship them a 50 pound bag of dog food for free?)

Well, those days are mostly over, but I did stumble across an impressive shopping deal, just in time for Christmas. Microsoft Live Search (tagline: "please use my search engine, pretty please, I'll pay you") is currently running a promotion that offers a whopping 25% off items you purchase on eBay using Buy It Now.

You have to use the Microsoft Live Search engine and follow the Cashback links. Read carefully and make sure the cashback badge follows you all the way to your final transaction.

Of course there are restrictions and it will take some time for your money to show up, but where else are you going to get this kind of discount on such a broad array of products? Looks like this is the year we finally get (and keep) a DSLR!

Wii boxing

It's more fun watching people Wii box than it is playing it. 

Harvest Carnival 2008

A great time was had by all. Candy and carnival-style games and tasty deserts. What's not to love? Thanks to all who labored mightily so that we could enjoy the harvest.