It's a sad day....Costco gives in...

Today is a sad day. Well, yesterday actually.

Costco has changed their return policy. Before yesterday, they allowed returns for anything except computers (which had a 6 month return window) forever.

As stated on their website, the policy is now as follows:

Merchandise: We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell, with a full refund. Exceptions: Televisions, computers, cameras, camcorders, iPOD / MP3 players and cellular phones must be returned within 90 days of purchase for a refund.

I talked to them yesterday. For purchases before 2/26/07 they'll still honor their old policy, as they should. But no more.

Travie put is perfectly when he said "it feels like a girlfriend of 6 years has walked out on me without a word."

While I rarely use this return policy, this is the only reason I shop at Costco. With BJ's and Sams Club much close, I might have to make a change. Without the forever giveback policy, why would I go to Costco to pay higher prices for the same gear I can get elsewhere?

So you know, you can return your membership at any time.

Sad...sad day.

(A lone trumpet plays taps...slowly.)

Book Tag, from Elise..

My Sister tagged me.

Rules of the Game:
1. Find the nearest book to you.
2. Name the book and author.
3. Turn to page 123.
4. Go to the fifth sentence on the page.
5. Copy out the next 3 sentences and post to your blog.
6. Tag three other people.

My Entry:

Enders Game, by Orson Scott Card (returned by a friend today, who was borrowing it)

And when Mother and Father had announced to them that they were leaving the city to move to North Carolina, of all places, Valentine knew that they never expected to see Ender again. They were leaving the place where he knew to find them. How would Ender find them here, among these trees, under this changeable and heavy sky?

I taggest The U2 Girls, Richard and Jordan (and/or Amber)

xOXxOooOxoxOXXx,
Mattie

Hooray for restored power and cable...

Three cheers for the power and cable guys who have restored power and cable to our house.

More on this later.

Help! We need money!

Did I get your attention? Good, because we need some help, though not the kind you might think.


We need help finding these. Read on for the full story.

A few years ago, McJackson started a coin collection. We started putting them in coin collecting folders. We still enjoy getting out the magnifying glasses and going through coin rolls from the bank. It makes for a good DJT. See the photo of his current collection below.




Most coins are fairly easy to find, but one coin in particular is proving to be very difficult! The Eisenhower dollar, minted between 1971 and 1978 are becoming less and less common, but they're still in circulation and still worth...you guessed it...$1

What can you do? The only way to "find" these things really, is to ask the teller at the bank. They banks usually only have them if someone brings them in. So many times I hear "Oh man, I had 10 of those yesterday, but someone bought them all." We've been lucky enough to find 1 so far. (See the lower left part of the picture...the largest coin there)

When you go to the bank, if you're not already looking for these coins yourself, would you mind asking for us? I'll gladly pay you for the coins and postage to send them to us. Ask for "Eisenhower Dollars". Sometimes you have to describe them as "The old bigger coins, sometimes referred to as silver dollars." It's an exciting day when we find one of these for our collection.

We also look for Susan B. Anthony dollars, but they're relatively easy to find. Most of our coin books are well stocked, and we're starting to look for old coins there...which is where the fun begins. :)

Thanks in advance for anyone that can help us find some of these.

RacketMaster...

Check this out. I'm planning "The Ultimate DJT" (which stands for Daddy Jackson Times). Monster Jam seems like a perfect event. So I went to buy 2 tickets to Monster Jam for my son and me. Ticketmaster is the only way to get the tickets without driving to the arena in Baltimore. The tickets are reasonably priced though. $20 for me, and $5 for the boy.

But wait! Don't forget about the following fees:

Convenience charge x 2, building facility and order processing. All together making my $25 cost $40! That's over 60% increase!

Three words: For...Get...It.


Just for the principle of the thing, I'll drive to Baltimore and get tickets at the Box Office. I still pay a $2 building facility fee there (give me a break), but at it's not $15.

Driving over everything... (Jacks 100 things)

With all the Hundreds-Of-Things flying around, I thought I'd write one for my 6 year old. However, he ironically came home from school the other day telling me that he needed to paste 100 things on a paper vest for school. We let him decide what he wanted to use, and he came up with 100 cars. Mostly Matchbox and HotWheels cars.

So, we had a good time watching him pick out his favorite 100, and then arranging them while I took the pictures. Looking at them up close is a special, almost sacred thing to me. I feel like I'm looking into my sons soul. I think this is how he sees them...down on the level of the carpet, with his eye 2 inches away from them while making the sounds. I can remember me doing the same thing as a child (and today actually, with him.)

Above you can see the collage of the cars that Picasa produced, which I think is neat. But below you'll see a few that are definately worth 1000 words. A few of them have had me laughing all day. If you skip the rest of these, check the yellow and red trucks. They are something.

My Man with "The Three Herbies."

Click on this one to see the large image. It says: "Griffin. Where Eagles Will Not Dare". How great is that? They will not DARE! Read this with a Monster Truck announcer voice.

Ok, the other hillarious one. Click this one too, to see the enlarged one. On the side it says "Power Panel. " On the Door it says "Ride Hard Race Fast' and near the wheel it says (are you ready) "Real Trucks Drive Over Everything". I can't take this one. I'm laughing right now. This should also be read with the announcer voice.

Given to McBlackson by my dear friend Eric while I was in School. It's been through doublehockeysticks.

Look at this one up close. It's the math police. Check yourself.

Another one that's seen better days. It's a bit rare to find these cars with opening parts these days. I brought this one back from England a few years ago.

Those are just a few. After seeing these like this, I think I'll photograph the rest of the cars and his favorite toys, and him with them. Who wouldn't love to see their old toys 20 years later. What a trip that would be.

I'm totally looking for more trucks with sayings on them tomorrow in his cars box.


#105: I have been to where the Eagles Will Not Dare, and I lived to tell about it.

Say the word, and be like me....

Some time ago, I was asked by a good friend to create an essential Beatles playlist. I thought about it for a few days and decided that the only way for me to do a fair job is to actually listen to each song. Below is the result.

I'm basing these on the US cd's, which are actually made from the British LP's. So, the included tracks may be different than those included on the American LP's.

Please pardon the images. I'm linking them straight from Amazon.com, so some have sales pitches on them.

Album: Please Please Me
- Twist and Shout

Album: With the Beatles
- It won't be long
- All my lovin

Album: A Hard Days Night
- If I fell
- And I love her
- Tell me why

Album: Beatles for sale
- Baby's in black
- Rock and Roll music
- I'll follow the sun
- Mr Moonlight

Album: Help!
- You've got to hide your love away
- Ticket to ride
- It's only love

Album: Rubber Soul
- In my life
- Norwegian Wood
- Girl

Album: Revolver
- Elenor Rigby
- I'm only sleeping
- She said, She said
- Good day Sunshine
- And your bird can sing

Album: Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band
- Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
- Fixing a hole
- Lovely Rita
- A Day in the Life

Album: Magical Mystery Tour
- I am the Walrus
- Your Mother Should Know
- Baby You're a Rich Man

Album: The Beatles (The White Album)
- Dear Prudence
- Oh bla di, Oh bla da
- While my guitar gently weeps
- Happiness is a warm gun
- Blackbird
- Rocky Racoon
- I will
- Julia
- Sexy Sadie
- Helter Skelter
- Cry baby cry


Album: Yellow Submarine
- All Together Now
- Hey Bulldog








Album: Abbey Road
- Come Together
- Something
- Because
- You Never Give me Your Money
- She Came in Through the Bathroom Window
- Her Majesty






Album: Let It Be
- Two Of Us
- Across The Universe
- I Me Mine
- I've Got A Feeling

Others:
These are some tracks that didn't appear on the albums above for one reason or another, but are still included in my favorites
- Lady Madonna
- Don't Let Me Down
- Free As a Bird

In addition, the new album entitled "Love" (2006) is fantastic. It's a cool mix of a lot of their songs. Not to mention all the Anthology and outtake Cd's etc. But those mostly don't belong in this list.

#104: I once had a girl, or should I say she once had me.