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As we finish the penultimate week of NFL play, many of you, like me, have been declared World Champions of the World…at least in your Fantasy Football pools among your friends and office workers (ok so I won 2 of my three leagues and got taken behind the woodshed in the semi-finals of my other league…but who is counting)

Playoff Scenarios

The playoffs in the NFL are mostly set. 5 of the 6 teams in the NFC are already in. It is down to playoff seeding of most of the teams, and the steel cage grudge match in the NFC East known as the Cowboys versus the New York Football Giants to decide which team makes it to the next stage.

Dallas is a fickle beast. Their Quarterback, Tony Romo is hurt early in the game this week against the suddenly red hot Eagles, No Romo…No chance. We saw this movie last year in Big D.

The Giants made a hot early start, then fell on their sword for a few weeks, now climb back into it again.

I give the edge to the Giants. Main Reason. The Cowboys secondary is…..(say it with me….Horrible) I predict a high scoring game but the Giants will win in the end by 3.

The AFC is not quite as clear but. The Broncos, Titans, Jets, Bengals and Raiders are all still alive for playoff spots and a myriad of scenarios could potentially play out. I won’t even attempt to name all of the division winning and potential who makes the wild card scenarios here in the AFC, but suffice it to say, that if the Denver Tim Tebow’s lose to the Kansas City Orton’s this week, then the studio analysts better be on their game. The Broncos losing starts a large cascading effect of possible scenarios. Of course even if the Broncos win, there are still a multitude of Wild Card possibilities.

Playoff Favorites

As we look forward into the playoffs, right now it would appear that the Saints, and Packers are the class of the league offensively. Green Bay is beat up on the line of scrimmage, and that makes it hard to go deep into the playoffs. The Saints are clicking as long as they are at home and playing on turf. The Niners are still the Rodney Dangerfield’s of the NFL getting no respect. They are by no means flashy but they just win baby.

Everything has to go through Title Town, and I think the offense is good enough to make that happen and return to a Super Bowl for the second straight year. Bottom line is Lambeau, January, Cold. The dome and warm weather teams have a hard time in those elements compared to the local boys in green and gold

In the AFC is this the year of the Raven? I don’t see anyone else making a serious push except the old standby, Steelers. Brady and Company have not been able to win a playoff game in what seems like a decade. Fortunately he is in New England and not Dallas so no one constantly brings this us or throws him under the bus on this fact. The Ravens are my pick, but my gut tells me the Steelers will be there again.

Stat of the Week

Amazingly there are 5 quarterbacks who are likely to finish in the top 15 all time in terms of most yards passing in a season. Drew Brees already has set the season mark, passing Hall of Famer Dan Marino last night.

Tom Brady is likely to surpass Marino’s old mark as well, and Aaron Rodgers would have an outside chance if he plays and the Packers decide to try and score a bunch in week 17. Eli Manning and Matthew Stafford also will end the year likely in the realm of 4800+ passing yards.

Until Next time, stay classy Bend, Oregon!

Seasons greetings and happy holidays to all of the Soap Boxers community! I hope that each of you has had a wonderful time celebrating whatever and however. For those of you who have exchanged gifts, I hope that you received what you desired or needed and I hope that what you gave was accepted with joy. For those who have taken this time of year to volunteer for the less fortunate, thank you. For those who volunteer regardless of the season, thank you as well.

Now I will launch into a critical commentary on the holidays in general. If you do not know the custom of a holiday, please do not wing it. Two weeks ago, the President of the United States offered a heart felt recognition of Chanukah and the Jewish community by lighting all of the candles of a menorah. This was wrong in two ways. First, it was several days prior to the beginning of the celebration. Second, one does not light all of the candles on the first day, it is a progressive event spanning eight days. This faux pas lays squarely on the shoulders of the president’s protocol office. One person cannot know all of the traditions of every religion. When he announced his intention to recognize the event, the protocol office should have made all of the preparations to avoid any embarrassment; they failed.

Then there are the twelve days of Christmas. I am really tired of people calling the twelve days leading up to Christmas by this name. The Twelve Days are the days between Christmas day and Epiphany. That would be the days traditionally recognized as the birth of Christ and the arrival of the wise men to offer their gifts (western or Roman tradition). In many Christian traditions, gifts are not given until Epiphany in remembrance of this event. The days leading up to Christmas are called Advent. This is a time of waiting, comprised of the weeks including the four Sundays before Christmas. The basic idea is to build up the excitement of the arrival of the infant, similar to the excitement most children have as the big gift giving day approaches.

On a happier note, I noticed that most of the news coverage this year was on the various celebrations. There were few stories of someone not being allowed to do something, such as a nativity or menorah on public property. To me this is inclusion. Keep adding to the displays to include as many groups and beliefs as possible, do not exclude just because it is not what you believe or like. We hear a lot about diversity, but that is of no benefit if it is not coupled with inclusion. You do not have to believe or agree with everything someone else espouses, but if you include them and accept them as people with valid points of view, you can only benefit from their acquaintance. Inclusion breeds diversity and true diversity breeds inclusion. By the tally of reports I have watched over the last few weeks, I am excited that inclusion seems to be the spirit this year. I truly hope that this spirit grows and becomes the predominant attitude in the future.

 This is a re-run from last year.  This is the third in a series of dark holiday tales.  You might also want to read What’s in the Chili (Halloween) and Friends for Thanksgiving.  This story has adult themes and is not suitable for young readers.

Chris leaned against the side of Santa’s workshop and exhaled a deep breath.  This was Christmas eve – a day when mall Santas around the world were finally taking a break from listening to kids rattle off the long list of items they wanted for Christmas.  Chris wasn’t actually a real mall Santa, but he was pretending to be one.

Chris noticed the women as they approached.  They were in their early 20s, and both were tall and slender.  One of them had shoulder-length blonde hair, while the other kept her dark hair short.

“Hey, Santa.  You come here often?” asked the blonde, winking and flashing a seductive smile.

“If you don’t have plans for tonight, you can come home with us for a Christmas eve dinner,” continued the brunette.  “We’ve been good girls this year!”

“I’m actually waiting for a friend to pick me up …”

“Oh, nonsense.  You’ll have much more fun with us, Santa.  We’ll be sure to get you home in time to deliver your toys.”

Chris smiled as he accepted the offer.  It never failed – hanging around a mall in a red suit on Christmas eve always got him an invitation to dinner.  Sometimes it was just turkey and mashed potatoes, but most of the time, there was dessert afterwards.  It was a bit of an odd fetish, but one that he was willing to satisfy.  He grabbed his cell phone and faked a call to the “friend” who was supposed to pick him up, cancelling the request for a ride.

When they arrived at their destination, Dawn – the blonde – took him on a tour of the house while Carmen escaped to slip into something more comfortable.

The owner of the house was a dot com millionaire who had hired the girls to look after the place while he was away on business.

“It’s a pretty good gig,” commented Dawn.  “We get to drive his Mercedes, charge take-out food to his bill, lay out by the pool … and we get paid for it.  And he’s hardly ever home, so we basically have the run of the place.”

When they arrived in the kitchen, Carmen was setting the table.  Chris was mesmerized at the image.  Carmen was wearing an impossibly short red dress, laced up the back.  Red stockings and heels further emphasized the fact that this was Christmas.  A Santa hat finished the outfit.

“Do you like it?” she asked, spinning around to give him a full view.

“Ah, yes.  It’s very, um,  nice.”

“Maybe Santa can unwrap Mrs. Claus if he’s a good boy,” Carmen said with a laugh as she ducked close and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

Yowza.  Chris wasn’t going to have to use much of his charm with Carmen – she was obviously quite willing to slip under the sheets with him.

The food arrived just as Chris and Carmen were finishing setting the table.  Turkey and all the trimmings from one of the nicest restaurants in town.  Surely he had died and gone to heaven.

Just then, the night got even better as Dawn glided down the stairs.  She, too, was dressed in red – just a red teddy that left very little to the imagination.  Chris pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

“Carmen gets to be Mrs. Claus, but I’m the Christmas Mistress. I’m going to get some alone time with Santa, too.”

“Not if I can help it,” countered Carmen, in a mock stern voice.  She brandished a wooden spoon at Dawn.  Dawn giggled and jumped out of range of the weapon.

The food was excellent, but Chris had difficulty focusing on the meal.  His mind was completely focused on the seductively clothed Carmen and the even more seductively attired Dawn.  It took a great deal of effort to avoid having his eyes stare in their direction.

When they finished the pumpkin pie, Carmen suggested plans for later in the evening.

“It’s a nice night for a swim … but we should really stay out of the water for an hour after dinner.  Can you think of any way to kill the time, Dawn?”

“I can think of a way to kill the time and burn off the calories from dinner at the same time.”

“That’s a great idea, Dawn.  Let’s give our guest a better tour of the bedroom.”

The guest bedroom that the girl occupied was massive – featuring walk-in closets on two sides and a pink canopied king size bed in the middle.

“We’ve already decided,” explained Carmen.  “The mistress gets you first, then you come back to the wife.”

Chris nodded slightly and allowed the girls to continue to take control of the situation.  A moment later, he had been stripped to his boxers.

“Wait,” commanded Dawn, as Carmen reached for his waist.  “That’s my package to unwrap.”

Carmen reluctantly agreed, and Dawn slid in front of Chris and pulled his boxers to the floor.

“Now, do me,” she said, wrapping her arms around him and locking his lips in a passionate kiss.

Chris didn’t have to be told twice.  He quickly extricated her from her lingerie and followed her to the bed.

Dawn proved to be a very nimble and willing lover, and Chris was exhausted by the time they finally climaxed.  They lay side by side on the bed for a minute, recovering from the exertion.

“Oh, Santa,” gasped Dawn.  “You can ride my sleigh tonight – and any other night.”

“When you’re done with your sleazy mistress, your wife is waiting, Santa.”

In the passion of the moment, Chris had forgotten about Carmen.  She had been standing by the bed watching.  There was a broad smile on her face as she anticipated her own experience with Santa.

Chris took more time unveiling her body – in small part to give his body time to recover, but mostly to build the anticipation of the moment.  He kissed her neck as he fumbled with the laces on the back of her red dress.  When he had finally freed her from it, he held her in his arms for a moment. 

When they finally arrived at the bed, Chris was pleasantly surprised to find out that Carmen every bit as exciting as Dawn.  He wondered if the girls were gymnasts.  A minute after he finished, Chris fell asleep from exhaustion.

When he awoke, he was still holding Carmen in his arms – but noticed that Dawn had also climbed into the bed and was spooning him.  The girls were both sleeping quietly, so Chris didn’t move – it was a pretty pleasant position.

Forty five minutes later, Carmen yawned and her eyes fluttered open.  It took her a moment to figure out what was going on.  When the pieces clicked into place, she caressed his cheek and gave him a kiss.

“I thought I told her to stay away from you,” she said, pointing at Dawn.  At that moment, a blonde head popped up.

“You know I can give him something you can’t,” countered the mistress.

“Ho, ho, ho.  There’s plenty of Santa to go around.”

“Howe about a dip in the pool,” suggested Dawn.  “That should wake us up a bit.  Then we can take a nice, long shower and return to the bedroom for round 2.”

Chris wasn’t sure that he could handle a second round, but heartily agreed to Dawn’s plan.

“I’m afraid I don’t have any trunks.”

Carmen pretended to take some measurements.  “And I don’t think you’d fit into any of our suits.  I guess you’ll just have to go without a suit.”

“Hey, if he doesn’t have to wear a suit, I don’t want to wear one either,” pouted Dawn.

“That’s fine with me,” Carmen replied with a grin.  “We’ll just keep the lights off and go skinny dipping.”

As they crossed through the kitchen on the way to the outdoor pool, Dawn grabbed a bottle of champagne.

“Santa, would you be a dear and grab a few glasses from that cupboard?”

Chris opened the door and grabbed three crystal wine glasses from a shelf.  When they arrived poolside, Dawn poured three glasses of champagne and suggested that they do a toast.

“To Christmas,” she said.

“To hunky Santas,” added Carmen.

“To the sexy Mrs. Claus and the breathtaking Christmas Mistress.”

They clinked glasses and drank down the bubbly before jumping into the pool.

Chris made sure to lead the girls to the deep end of the pool.  When the drug began to take effect, Carmen and Dawn had no chance to get back to safety.  When Carmen suddenly slid to the bottom of the pool, a trickle of realization entered Dawn’s already clouded mind.  She made an effort to reach the edge of the pool, but was still far from the edge when she, too, slid beneath the surface.

After waiting to make sure they were dead, Chris took a few minutes to wipe his prints from any surface he may have touched.  He grabbed the keys to the Mercedes, popped the trunk, and began loading it with valuables.  He had experienced some good years in the past, but this haul was going to be beyond his wildest dreams.  A merry Christmas indeed.

2011 has been a very good year.  Hyrax Publications (the parent company of The Soap Boxers) turned a profit, as did the Soap Boxers division.  Not a large profit (the hourly rate would be absurdly low), but definitely black ink instead of red.  The number of visitors also hit an all-time high.  What lies ahead for 2012?

• The 2012 election will get a lot of coverage in The Political Observers column of The Soap Boxers.  I’ll definitely have something special in place for Election Night coverage, although details have not been ironed out.  There will be more than 40 scheduled political articles between now and election day, but you can be sure we’ll sneak in a dozen or so extra articles – and I’m sure the number of comments will increase.
• We’ll also provide ample coverage of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, as well the the US Olympic trials.  I’m also very interested in the insights of Olympic fans outside the US, as well as expanding our US-based team.  If you’re interested in becoming part of the Olympic coverage team, send me an email at kosmo@ObservingCasually.com.  We’ll also have an Olympic Fantasy league, where you pick a team and get points for medals your athletes win.
• If the world ends on December 21, 2012, we’ll be sure to provide coverage.  I’ll likely write and “end of the world” article and schedule it to run on the 22nd.  If the world doesn’t end, I’ll just delete the article.  If the world DOES end, the article will run (assuming that Dreamhost‘s servers survive to apocalypse).  “Winning!”
• I’ll continue to do some freelance writing on personal finance topics at The Digerati Life, and you may see my name pop up on other sites from time to time.
• I anticipate launching at least one Kindle novella in 2012.  Hopefully this number will be closer to six.  I have plans for a series of novellas that follow the exploits of a certain character.  I’d love to get two of these launched by mid-year.  As always, you’ll be able to find all my works on my Amazon author page.  (Hey, guess what?  My books will be FREE tomorrow and Sunday.  Merry Christmas!)
• I’ll also be working with some of the site’s other authors to aid them in launching their own Kindle books.  Tentative plans include a poetry book, a fiction book, and a lighthearted travel book.  The books will be published under the Hyrax Publications imprint.
• Will we add any new writers in 2012?  Probably.  I have no plans to add any writers at the moment, but I’m sure I’ll want to tinker with things a bit at some point in the year.  I always do.  The most likely additions would be writers from other countries, as I would love to add news and analysis that doesn’t have a distintcly American angle.

What are you – the readers – looking for in 2012?  As a non-niche site, we can definitely tailor the content of the site to reflect what you want.

If the money from your Christmas bonus is burning a hole in your pocket and you want to contribute to the financial success of The Soap Boxers, you can always  PayPal a few bucks to us (email address for contributions is payments@hyraxpublications.com).  Or you can simply continue to read for free.
 

It’s just three more days until Christmas. Where has the time gone? It seems just yesterday was Thanksgiving and my family packed up and moved to our new job in Tennessee.

On the political side of things. not a lot has changed in the horserace the last month. Newt is still enjoying his time as the anti-Romney frontrunner status anti good old Mitt still goes from every side of every view and stays at the Same levels he has for months.

However we are just moments away from the actual results part of the race starting to come through with the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary. Are you ready? I know I am. If I could have one wish granted I wish we could just fast forward to the nomination to be over and the real debate over the stark differences between what whoever the Republican nominee will be and what they will wish to do as President and what the current would like to attempt to do if reelected. The same old “my conservative credentials are better than yours” pissing contest is just getting tiresome, even for a political junkie like me.

So who will win the first two contests? My money if I were to wager would be on a Ron Paul win in Iowa with Newt in second and Mitt in third. Then in new Hampshire I see Romney taking the win with Newt in second and Huntsman making a surprise finish in third before going back into the one prevent support zone when the race goes back to states that the Republican voting base is not as sane.

Until next time I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy new year. Next time we will have some actual results to dissect and discuss!

Image via Wikipedia

Many are in awe of the technology we have today. Indeed, if you took someone from just a century and exposed them to the technologies of today (something forbidden by the Prime Directive), the person’s head would likely explode (a major reason why the Prime Directive forbids it). Cell phones, the internet, live sports on TV, microwaves ovens, cruise control, solar powered devices – previous generations would no doubt be very impressed by the technology.

However, I’m convinced that the future if we took a trip into the future, we like similarly be amazed by technological advances. I won’t try to look forward 100 years, but just 20. What will the world look like in 2031?  Here are a few of my thoughts.

Flying cars?

Flying cars have been on the drawing board for a long time.  There are a lot of advantages to flying cars.  There wouldn’t be wear and tear on roads, it would be easier to avoid collisions with other cars (since can move in three dimensions), and trips would be shorter as you could fly as the crow flies.

On the downside, planes (and by extensions, flying cars) are more difficult to operate (having a plane engine stall out is far worse than having your car engine stall at an intersection) and tend to be considerably more expensive.  Will be get there some day?  Probably – but not by 2031.

Automobile auto-pilot

Cars already have cruise control, crash avoidance systems, stability control, GPS, and some have the ability to parallel park themselves.  The next logical step is to take a page out of airplane handbook and add full auto-pilot technology to cars.  Pull up the GPS navigator, tell it where you want to go, kick your feet up, and let the car do all the work.

Electrified roadways

Researchers at MIT have developed Witricity – a technology that allows wireless transmission of electricity.

While it would be great to be able to cut the cord to consumer electronic devices, I think the real promise of this technology is related to automobiles.  Imagine driving down the road at 70 mph and have the battery in your electric car be recharged by Witricity stations in the roadway (powered by wind energy?)

iGlasses

There’s a basic rule when it comes to video screens.  As you get further from a screen, the screen needs to be larger in order for you to read it.

Conversely, the closer you are to the screen, the smaller it can be.

I wear prescription eyeglasses.  It would be great to watch whatever I wanted to via my glasses.  Books, movies, live sports, the internet, even the outside of my house could be flashed onto the lenses of my glasses.  This could make traditional videos screen redundant.

Expanded use of biometrics

I hate carrying around keys, credit cards, money, and other physical devices that do nothing but give us access to things.  I’d love to see expanded use of biometric – fingerprints, eye scans, or even implantable chips.  It would be nice if I could get into my home, office, or car just by being me – without needed to carry anything on my person.  Likewise, it would be great to buy things without having to pull out my wallet.

On a tangent … I’m a huge fan of NCIS, but they had a massive blooper in one episode.  A couple of people with high clearance were killed and their electronic chips were stolen so that some bad guys could gain access.  If this happened in the real world, you’d simply cancel the chip’s access immediately.  There are two basic components to a security system: authentication and authorization.  An id/password combination or biometric may authenticate who you are, but there needs to be authorization on the back end to actually grant you access.  Without both the proper authentication and authorization, you don’t get access.

Self-cleaning environment

You don’t have to be in the pew every Sunday to know that something’s wrong when we live in a country where we can send astronauts to an international space station but can’t get a toilet clean without getting down on our hands and knees.

Cleaning the house, washing dishes, and doing the laundry take a lot of time for the average family.  Surely there’s some technology that could allows things to be cleaned automatically, with not human interaction.

Transmogrifier

Seriously, if Calvin could invest one, why hasn’t the scientific community be able to duplicate his efforts.  Shameful.

While you’re at it, how about working on the food synthesizer from Star Trek.  It would be great to have a Monical’s pizza whenever I wanted one!
 

It is that time of year to re-cap what has happened in the sports world in 2011. Although you may not agree with some of the items here, or have your own “Top 10” Here is the Johnny Goodman Top 10 Sports Stories of 2011.

Until Next Time….Stay Classy Sergeant Bluff, Iowa.

Last night, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters formally accepted an $51.7 offer from the Texas Rangers. This gives the Rangers an exclusive 30 day window to negotiate a contract with Darvish.

But didn’t Darvish get $51.7 million?

No, his team got $51.7 million.  More accurately, his team gets $51.7 million if Darvish and the Rangers reach an agreement.  If Darvish doesn’t sign with the Rangers, the Fighters get nothing.

Why is the team getting fifty million bucks?  Because they are allowing Darvish to leave with two years remaining on his contract.  They are being compensated for the loss of his services.

How much will Yu get?

Almost certainly in excess of $50 million, as he has a strong desire to surpass the deal Daisuke Matsuzaka signed with the Boston Red Sox.  It’s quite possible that he will end up signing a six year deal worth around $75 million, bring the total cost to the Rangers to around $125 million.

I’d be very surprised if the length of the deal was shorter than six years, as six years would buy out Yu’s arbitration years.

Can the Fighters help?

If Darvish and the Rangers end up a few million dollars apart, the logical thing would be for the Fighters to kick in the extra cash to make sure the deal gets done – otherwise they’d risk losing the $51.7 million fee.

However, this is not allowed.

Is he worth the money?

That’s the $125 million question.  Japanese pitchers have had a spotty performance record in MLB.  Part of this is due to the fact that it can be difficult to judge talent when they are playing against Japanese hitters who are a notch below MLB players (but still very good players).  Also, Japan uses smaller baseballs than the US, so there’s an actual physical adjustment.

There are inevitable comparisons to Matsuzaka, but I think Darvish stands to be a better pitcher in MLB than Matsuzaka.  Althought Matsuzaka’s numbers in Japan were very good (108-60, 2.95 ERA), Darvish has been phenomenal, with a 93-38 record and a 1.99 ERA.  Darvish, at 6’5″, is also nearly a half foot taller than Matsuzaka.  (If that seems really tall for a Japanese player, it might be worth pointing out the fact that Yu’s dad is from Iran).

What this all boils down to is that Darvish will likely cost the Rangers a total of $16 to $20 million per year for the duration of his contract (counting the money paid to Darvish and well as the money paid to the Fighters.)  That’s a lot of money, but there won’t be any other cost associated with the signing.  They won’t have to give up prospects in a trade, surrender draft picks by signing a free agent, or even use their own draft pick on him. 

The Rangers were trying to plug the hole left by the departure of C.J. Wilson.  With the acquisition of closer Joe Nathan allowing Neftali Feliz to join the rotation, and now the possible addition of Darvish to the mix, the Rangers should again be a force to be reckoned with – although the Angels, fortified by the addition of Wilson as well as Albert Pujols, should also be a great team.

What’s a Ham Fighter?

The Ham Fighter is a cornerstone of Japanese mythology.  The ham fighter is a pig who takes a sword and shield into battle alongside brave samurai …

Are you believing any of this?  No?

OK, let’s look at the team’s name: Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.

• Hokkaido – This is the location of the team.  Hokkaido is the norternmost of Japans four largest islands.
• Nippon Ham – This is the company that owns the team.  They sell meat, most notably ham. Nippon is Japanese for “Japan”.
• Fighters – This is the team’s name, equivalent to “Cubs” or “Yankees” for MLB teams.  Calling the team the Ham Fighters is just silly.

How much will Yu’s wife get?

Yu is in the midst of a divorce.  However, I know nothing about Japanese divorce law, so I have no idea how much his wife could get.

Can I buy a “I heart Yu” shirt?

Yes.

I Love Yu by ElectoralCollegeGear
See other Baseball T-Shirts

How do you use your spare time? I have a great opportunity over the next few weeks to really relax and get some stuff done at home. Between vacation and a plant winter shut down, I will not be going back to work until the New Year. So what to do with all of that time? First and foremost, I will be writing. I will be working on my science fiction novel that I started over a year ago and I will be putting my first book into the proper formats to allow people to download from the Hyrax store.

Next I will be making cookies, lots of cookies. My daughter came home from College this weekend and the first 10 dozen are made with the dough for an additional 20 dozen in the refrigerator waiting for morning. That represents 30 dozen cookies of 5 types so far. We still need to make 3 more types. We will not be making all of Martin’s favorite cookies this year, partially due to lake of time, and partially since I will not be able to take many into work.

A year ago, I would have talked about playing video games, but not this year. Video games are a great escape mechanism, but in the end, they only have entertainment value. This year I am taking up crocheting again. I learned to crochet at the feet of my grandmother when I was very young. It was a way of staying up late and a way to hear stories of the past. It is a comfort to crochet now that I am older. Remembering back to those days, usually at Christmas time when my grandparents would visit. Now I sit by the fire watching football and crocheting.

This year, I am working on an afghan for my daughter to take back to college with her. It is a simple design, cream-colored variegated yarn for the top and dark green for the border. No special patterns, just a simple double stitch in a rectangle. It is just as time-consuming as computer games with the benefit of producing something useful, eventually.

My wife knits, something I do not have the skill or training to try yet. She is even taking classes at a local weaving and yarn shop. She will eventually make some really complex articles from hats and sweaters to socks and mittens. You can make similar items with crocheting, but I am sticking to the easy stuff for now, blankets and throws.

I hope you fill your spare time with whatever is enjoyable to you. I also hope that you actually get some spare time, if not during this holiday season, then sometime in the near future. I am a Catholic, so I will wish everyone an early Merry Christmas (we are still in Advent after all). I have many friends and relatives who are Jewish and I wish them a happy Chanukah. My hope is that every person around the world has a chance to prosper, experiencing joy and happiness, during this holiday season and every day.

Image via Wikipedia

For those of you that do not know what Amazon Prime is, let me tell you. To be honest, I had no idea what it was until about somewhere around a year ago. At a cost of $79 per year (or $6.58/month for you math junkies), Amazon Prime members enjoy “free 2 day shipping, instant streaming of movies and TV shows, and instant access to thousands of Kindle books”. It truly is what it says, too. As a member I have not noticed any hidden “catches”. The 2 day shipping? It’s really true. In fact, in many cases, you get the package(s) that you ordered the next day. Now, don’t quote me on that because I don’t want any angry readers! But I can’t recall a time where a package did not come within the 2 days, unless the item was on backorder, unavailable, etc.

Free 2 Day Shipping

One of the main reasons we opted to join the Amazon Prime club….for those of you that are frequent Amazon shoppers, you know that to avoid shipping costs your order has to be from Amazon itself (not one of the “sellers” that just sell on Amazon) and also has to be $25.00 or more. In many instances, we found ourselves filling orders to meet the $25.00 requirement and avoid shipping. Why not just pay the shipping? Well, if I’m going to have to pay the extra either way I’d rather actually get something for the extra money, right? Yes, I’m right! So, since joining Amazon Prime, I can’t even imagine how much money we’ve saved from filling orders with stuff that we really weren’t intending to buy. Maybe not a TRUE benefit of the program, but definitely very helpful.

Another very minor (or major, depends on what you think) benefit…..if you’re like me at all, it’s kind of nice to be able to order something and get it within a couple of days, versus waiting 5/7/10 days to receive it. Again, minor, but the somewhat instant gratification of receiving what I ordered that quickly is nice.

For those of you that are rushing out now to join Amazon Prime, be careful. Only products that are Amazon Prime eligible will qualify for the free 2 day shipping. That being said (because I have to say it), in the past several months since joining Amazon Prime I have yet to come across an item that I wanted to order and it was NOT “Prime” eligible. So don’t let that stop you from joining. In fact, they have a free one month trial of the program. We did it, and that’s what got us hooked. It’s a way to verify that everything I’m telling you is in fact true.

Free Video Streaming

I spent a lot of words on the shipping aspect alone, because that is the greatest benefit for me. They do have unlimited instant videos and movies. This is secondary to me because the movie selection is nothing like what you’d find on Netflix or in the video store – it’s just a subset of the entire Amazon Instant Video collection.

The streaming includes a lot of older movies, but nothing of the new release nature. They also include a decent selection of TV shows, but again, nothing that is extremely new.  One thing I’ve noticed is that they include the first few seasons of a show, but not the later seasons.  It seems like they’re trying to get you hooked on a show, then charge you to get the later seasons – a pretty smart strategy.

The movie/show playback and video quality is good … not great, but not horrible either.  You do need a compatible device in order for the streaming to work.  You can read more details about the program here.

I just don’t see the movies/shows library as the main reason for somebody to join.  Nonetheless, it’s a nice bonus if you were going to join Prime anyway.

Borrow Kindle Books for Free

Amazon recently added a Prime feature that benefits Kindle owners.  You can borrow one book per month from the Amazon Owners’ Lending Library for free.  This is similar to the feature of being able to borrow books from your local library, except that there’s no due date.  You can keep a book for a year if you want … but you can only check out one book at a time (and a maximum of one per month), so you can’t borrow another one until you return the one you have borrowed.

The lending library is a subset of the entire Kindle eBook collection, but just on the teaser page, I see recognizable names such as Michael Lewis, Suzanne Collins, and Stephen Covey.  Don’t worry – the authors (and publishers) are being paid.  Amazon is creating a pool of money each month, and this will be split based on how many times a book is borrowed.  If The Cell Window is borrowed as often as Moneyball, Kosmo will get as much money as Michael Lewis (and his publisher).

Like streaming, it’s probably not worth it to join Prime just to take advantage of the ability to borrow Kindle books – but it’s a nice added feature.

Worth the cost?

So, is Amazon Prime worth the $79/year? Yes, it definitely is. But, to prove that to yourself, join the club for a month for free and see for yourself. You’ll be happy you did.