Is this a good thing...or a bad one?

My electric shaver broke the other day. Nothing dramatic, I just needed to purchase a new piece and replace the broken one. It's only about two years old, but otherwise, it's in fine shape and works very well.

This being the 21st century, I went online and searched for the part. I found it quickly and it was only slightly more pricey than I would have liked it to be- about $22.00 to fix a shaver that retails for about $80.00 (I got on sale for around $55.00). Not to bad, I guess.

However, among the results of my search were many other complete shavers, so I poked around a bit... and ended up buying a brand new shaver. It's a brand I've owned in the past, has all of the same features as my current one, and was on sale for $3.00 more than the replacement part I was planning on buying.

I'm conflicted by this. Repaired, my old shaver would have been perfectly fine- it did not need to be replaced. And yet, for $3.00 I now have a brand new shaver that will likely last me that much longer than the old one because, well, it's new.

So, this is a good thing, right?

R.I.P. Fred Cusick

My apologies if this blog has seemed more like an internet obituary page as of late, but there have been a lot of deaths recently that have hit me on a personal level.

Today, Fred Cusick, the voice of the Boston Bruins for 45 years passed away at the age of 90.

Mr. Cusick was the play-by-play television announcer for the club from 1971-1997, or, from the time I was a two-year old until I was twenty-eight. Even when the team was bad, the games were worth watching because of the enthusiasm and class he brought to each and every game.

Even after he retired, he didn't really retire- he was the voice of the AHL Lowell Lock Monsters from 1997-2002.

So, one more time..."SCORE!!!"

R.I.P. Dr. Norman Borlaug (1914-2009)

I've mentioned this amazing man several times in the past, so rather than boring you with all the details again, I'll simply send you here:

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/09/13/nobel.borlaug.wheat/

If that doesn't tell you enough, think about this: only five people have won a Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and a Congressional Gold Medal and Norman Borlaug was one of them.

Penn and Teller once called him the "Greatest Human Being That Ever Lived".

They were right.

Damien Duff

Damien is an Irish soccer player who now plays for Fulham in the English Premier League.

I like him as a player- he's both talent and a bit of a "scrapper."

However, when he speaks, I find it disconcerting. There's just something unsettling about a thick Irish accent coming out of a man with naturally whitish-blonde hair.

Not as bad as David Beckham's "baby voice," but still...

Enemies List 5.0

Time for an update! Julio Lugo is no longer on the list because he is no longer a blight on my team.

• Rachael Ray: ubiquitous TV presence/schill.
• Bill O'Reilly: soulless right wing blowhard.
• Dan Brown: hack writer of quasi-historical novels.
• Kanye West: all-style, negative substance "rapper."
• Miley Cyrus: over-hyped sender of mixed messages.
• Bob Costas: increasingly self-important sports dwarf.
• Ulf Samuelsson: NHL cheap-shot artist.
• John Mayer: simpering panderer to the musical LCD.
  

"Sun Records, Memphis, TN"

After a rather trying day at work it was pretty damn cool to come home to find an LP sized package leaning against my front door with THAT return address on the outside and THIS t-shirt on the inside.