Here I was, thinking I was actually going to get some writing done this weekend. I’ve only been able to write a few paragraphs of Knight Commander, including a whole new plot and some other additions. There’s been a few new influences on my writing and in trying to recreate some witnessed camraderie, I had to restructure some of the scenes a little better to keep it interesting. I have no idea why, but when I write Trek stories, I really get into it, but when I write Hope Station, it feels like I’m just writing a history essay. There’s definitely a different sense about how I feel about my characters and those I create in a universe that someone else created. I think Ann Crispin described it analogously as swimming in a heated pool versus swimming the English Channel in the dead of winter. One is really comfortable while the other is not. I’d like to get at least one book out and done first, so I can use it as a foundation. But, that’s taking a lot longer and more creativity than writing Trek fanfics, I can admit to that without hesitation.

I finally got my Thanksgiving work schedule. Looks like that because of all the vacations being planned right around the holidays, we’re going to be keeping the old three-by-twelve schedule until after the first of the year. One of my coworkers is already on vacation until the second of December. I’m going to be on vacation from the second until the eleventh, and then another coworker is taking Christmas off, while the rest of us scramble to cover. All I asked was to not work New Year’s Eve/Day, because I’m planning on a little party that night, filled with anime, music, and food. I’m really looking forward to that, now that I have a place of my own in which to hold it. No more having to answer to anyone else about it. Todd’s looking forward to it, I know that much. It’ll be just like in the olden days. Hell, maybe Ken will show up… or maybe not.

Interestingly enough, I have been asked to stand ready to fill in for Christmas week, so looks like I’m not making any plans and I’m just going to stay home and wait for them to call me. I don’t want to be up in the Santa Cruz mountains and then get called… well, actually, I wouldn’t. My cell phone doesn’t reach up there, anyway. But it would suck for me to be oncall and not be reachable. So I guess I’ll have to stay within a reasonable distance.

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… with SpamAssassin. I’ve been plagued for a couple of years now. Some of my mail addresses have ended up on the mother of all spamlists, especially now since the spiders harvest email addresses as well as NSI records and other means of acquiring addresses from records I thought to be somewhat safe. My Hotmail inbox is so clogged with spam that I went EXCLUSIVE on the spamfilters and now no one other than those in my address book are allowed to mail me. Last Friday, I was sitting right where I am now, at my workstation in the NOC, and the resident on-call IT guy was in here with me. I was bitching about the fact that I was getting anywhere from 100-250 spams a day and it was starting to get to the point where I was just going to abandon my email address and get a new one from which everyone could talk to me at.

He pointed out that there were other means of dealing with the situation. I got pointed to a web site, where a set of perl scripts were ready for install that would look through each email and check the headers, subject, and body text for several hundred thousand items that could lead it to beleive that the message is spam. Based on a comprehensive script and sample tests, it grades the email on a point system. If the email has say… five points worth of spam-related properties, it will mark it as spam. Alternatively, you can have it just send the email to /dev/null or another mailbox. Right now, though, I have it set to mark-only, so I can adjust the preferences. The cool thing about this SpamAssassin is the fact that I’ve installed it system-wide on shinobu, but that each individual user can turn it on or off, set up access lists, and even adjust point scores for each successful test. After about 1,500 spams, the assassin is working much better than it did last week. I’m in love with this application, and now my inbox is looking like it did back in 1997. Clean.

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I was looking around on the net for a survey I could do to pass the time. I found one that was kind of random and interesting.

Winamp Skin: Winamp3 skin, red.
Desktop wallpaper: @work: San Francisco Giants logo
@home: redtail: starfield
spike: Otohime Mutsumi and Maehara Shinobu from Love Hina

Five Songs you know the words to, even without the music:
1. “I’ve Got You Under my Skin”
2. “Night and Day” by Cole Porter
3. “Power of Love” by aiko
4. “Give a Reason” by Hayashibara Megumi
5. “I’ve Got the World on a String”

Five Things you can’t live without:
1. Music
2. Movies
3. Anime
4. Computer
5. Air

Five things you would buy with $1000:
1. LCD screen
2. Anime DVDs
3. MP3 Jukebox
4. More Anime DVDs
5. Domestic DVDs

Five Things you love about yourself:
1. Passion
2. Dispassion
3. Logic/Reason
4. Musical Ability
5. Tenacity/Stubbornness

Five qualities of your perfect mate:
1. Intelligence
2. Personality
3. Aggressive
4. Understanding
5. Communication

1. WHAT’S THE STORY BEHIND YOUR LJ USERNAME?
Zefram Cochrane

2. NAME FIVE [5] OF YOUR FAVORITE PIG-OUT FOODS.
1. Round Table Pizza
2. Cheesburger Macaroni by Hamburger Helper
3. Chicken au Gratin
4. My father’s breakfasts
5. Century Dogs

6. ONE THING YOU’RE GRATEFUL FOR, TODAY.
A job.

7. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HIGH SCHOOL MEMORY?
I have to choose one?

8. WHAT IS THE MOST INSANE THING YOU’VE DONE FOR/TO YOUR CRUSH THAT HE/SHE MIGHT NOT/MIGHT KNOW ABOUT?
I purchased a mountain of Mountain Dew (over 25 liters) for my then-fiancee.

9. DESCRIBE YOUR DREAM WEDDING.
Anywhere but Reno, Nevada.

10. WOULD YOU EVER JOIN TEMPTATION ISLAND?
Fuck, no.

11. NAME THREE [3] TEACHERS YOU LIKED IN HIGH SCHOOL/ELEMENTARY.
Ms. cortese, Mrs. Duffy, Mr. Smith

12. DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE QUOTE? WHAT IS IT?
“There are too many mediocre things in this world, love shouldn’t have to be one of them.” Tiffanie DeBartolo.

13. MY FIRST HEARTBREAK HAPPENED WHEN I WAS:
Eighteen.

14. THE SCHOOL PICTURE YOU BURIED IN YOUR BOTTOM DRAWER?
These aren’t the picture you’re looking for…

15. DO YOU HAVE ANY WEIRD PREFERENCES? WHAT ARE THEY?
My anime DVDs must be sorted in alphabetical order by Japanese title (ie: Sailor Moon == Bishoujou Senshi Sailor Moon)

16. WHAT IS ONE THING YOU WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX?
Their capacity for illogic.

17. WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Todd

18. NAME ONE TV CHARACTER YOU’D MOST WANT TO BE?
Dan Rydell from Sports Night.

19. IF YOU WERE FAMOUS, AND WERE TO BE A GUEST ON A TALK SHOW, WHOSE SHOW WOULD YOU CHOOSE? WHY?
God, I would kill to get out of being interviewed.

20. DO YOU HAVE ANY WEIRD SLEEPING HABITS?
With music or television on.

21. WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO THIS SUMMER?
Next summer, I intend to visit Japan.

22. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SONG RIGHT NOW?
Simple and Clean, Utada Hikaru

24. WRITE A LINE FROM ANY SONG.
Night and Day, under the hide of me. There’s an oh-such a hungry yearning burning inside of me. And it’s torment won’t be through, til you let me spend life making love to you, day and night, night and day.

25. DO YOU KNOW AT LEAST ONE DISNEY SONG BY HEART? WHICH ONE?
Most of them.

26. DESCRIBE YOUR DREAM HOUSE.
Ten bedrooms, half of them devoted to watching anime on huge screens.

27. YOUR TYPICAL SLEEPWEAR:
Boxers.

28. WHAT’S IN YOUR BAG?
Five books: The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide, A King’s Commander, Jester’s Fortune, A King’s Captain, and Sea of Grey.

29. WHAT’S IN YOUR WALLET?
Money, Driver’s license, the usual.

30. HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR WALLET RIGHT NOW?
$264.

31. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PAIR OF SHOES?
Dockers dress.

32. IF YOU COULD’VE GONE TO YOUR SENIOR PROM IN A DIFFERENT OUTFIT, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Starfleet uniform.

33. HOW WAS YOUR SENIOR PROM?
Very awesome.

34. TELL US ABOUT ANY OF YOUR BIRTHDAYS.
They are all in June, and I always get morbid around them.

35. WOULD YOU RATHER BE A HOBBIT, AN ELF OR A DWARF?
Elf. I want a chance at some Arwen-goodness.

36. WHAT ARE THE FIRST FIVE THINGS YOU WOULD SPLURGE ON IF YOU WERE A BILLIONAIRE?
1. An OC48.
2. A ten bedroom house.
3. A racetrack for to use.
4. Gigantic LCD screens.
5. The most fearsome Anime DVD collection ever.

37. WHAT IS YOUR DAILY BEFORE-GOING-TO-BED RITUAL?
Brush teeth, turn on tv/music, get in bed, close eyes.

38. WHAT IS THE WEIRDEST/FUNNIEST NICKNAME ANYONE HAS EVER CALLED YOU?
When I was on the Tae Kwon Do Demonstration team, everyone called me Spock.

39. NAME THREE [3] OF YOUR FAVORITE CARTOON CHARACTERS.
1. Marvin the Martian
2. Double D from Ed, Edd, and Eddy.
3. Buttercup from the Powerpuff Girls.

40. WHAT ARE THE MAGAZINES YOU READ ON A REGULAR BASIS?
EX.

41. IF YOU COULD BE ANY ANIMAL, WHAT WOULD YOU BE?
Human.

42. FANTASY OR SCI-FIC?
Sci-Fi. Drop the C.

43. YOUR IDEAL STORY ENDS WITH…
Death.

44. PREFERRED ELEMENT?
Fire.

46. FAV COLOUR(S)
Red.

47. GAMES
Pool, Poker,

48. IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOURSELF, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Body shape.

49. A TIME WHEN YOU CRIED?
Watching Hotaru no Haka (Grave of the Fireflies)

50. PHILOSOPHY IN LIFE
If I’m going to be damned, then let me be damned for who I really am.

51. IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME AND CHANGE THE PAST, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Nothing.

52. WHAT ABILITY WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE?
Omniscience.

53. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE IDEAL GROUP SIZE IN OUTINGS WITH FRIENDS?
As many as possible.

54. WHAT YOU LIKE ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX
The ability to disarm with a smile.

55. WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU KNEW THAT YOU WOULD DIE IN 10 HOURS?
Tell someone I would meet them in 10.5 hours.

56. YOU WOULD PROBABLY DIE OF…?
Heart attack.

57. HOW WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR BODY TO BE DISPOSED OF?
Cremation, spread my ashes at the north shore of the Golden Gate, looking over San Francisco. Do it carefully and watch out for high winds. No need to repeat that scene from The Big Lebowski.

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But this time, I am very pleased to say, it did not happen to me. While I was at work yesterday, I called home and spoke with Todd, whom I was asking if we needed groceries. While we were talking, I had remembered that the night before, I stayed up for four hours watching Sports Night, and I also recall thinking to myself that it was a series that Todd might enjoy watching as much as I do. I pointed him to the box set atop the stack of box sets sitting behind my monitor on my desk in my room, and told him to check out the first disk and give it a shot. It’s certainly not a waste of time, and if he doesn’t like it, he doesn’t like it, but I honestly figured he would get as much enjoyment out of it as he did The American President. When I got home at about nine-thirty, he was in the middle of the fifth episode on the disk and he was just sort of shrugging at it. It was not as funny as I found it, but then again, I was indoctrinated into the series about a year ago. Abbie made me tape episodes for her in the middle of the night off of Comedy Central.

Right around the end of the first disc and into the beginning of the second disc, was when I decided that it was late and I needed to get to sleep. So I said my good night, and I headed to bed. I woke up at about 6:45 to go to the bathroom and I have to pass the living room to get to the bathroom, so I saw him laid out on the couch. I didn’t have my glasses on, so I figured he conked out and was snoring, except there was no snoring. The television was still on and Sports Night was still playing, so I thought nothing of it. I went back to sleep for the next forty-five minutes. When I got up to get up and shower and get ready for work, I had my glasses on that time and he said hello in a very conherant voice. Then he said that he hated me. Why? Because he spent all night watching Sports Night and did not even think about going to sleep. He was already on the first disc of the third set, and I was laughing my ass off. Ah… another Sports Night fan is born.

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There’s only been a single night this week that I’ve woken up feeling rested and ready for the day. It was not this morning. As I write this, it’s almost three in the afternoon, and so far it’s been kind of a shitty day. This makes the second weekend in a row where I walk in the door and the day has gone by in such a shitty pace that I was begging people to take the rest of my shift for me. Of course, only fools work in the NOC, it seems. Last weekend, we were one day post-full version push, so it was pretty much expected that the entire weekend was a load of suck. It usually is, because the ninety hours following a full version push are spent helping every engineer chase down bugs and push out patches to the code that we use on the site. This can or cannot be fun, depending on your point of view. From a NOC monkey’s perspective, this generally means you sit and watch as the site goes down around you while engineers shout instructions at you. This, to me, is not as fun as actually lending a geniune hand beyond answering the age old question, “Okay, is it up, yet?”

This weekend has already started out much like last weekend. I got a little surprise coming in the door, though, as the new guy was on shift and looking like Death. He’d been sick all night and made regular phone calls on the big porcelain phone, if you know what I mean. Absolutely not in any condition to work, but he did it anyway, risking infecting the whole office. I’m all for diligence in the workplace, but when your presence risks taking out other people, you have to draw the line there and go home. This is why we have sick leave on our pay checks, for shit’s sake. Instead, he was hovering around me and I was trying not to be a dick, but let’s face facts, I am a dick. I told him to get the fuck away from me if he was sick, plain and simple. He’d screwed up all night so badly that I had to spend the first three hours of my shift cleaning up what he had missed and opening new tickets for issues that were still pending. And now, here in the afternoon, I’m still feeling the aftershocks of the dropped issues. Problem is, I can’t blame him too much for having to combat both an illness and carry out his responsibilities in between all of that. I can’t imagine how I would handle it, but I think I would not risk it and actually go to work. The other side of the coin is that even if he did stay home, there’s no one to cover the shift. One of our guys is on vacation for a week beginning yesterday and ending on the first of the month. This sucks.

I finally got my copy of Sports Night last night, the entire series compiled onto a DVD collection of six discs. Abbie introduced this show to me last year, and to my surprise, it was written by Aaron Sorkin. Sorkin was the writer responsible for A Few Good Men, The American President, and The West Wing. He’s an amazing writer and incredibly good with dialogue, so when I saw Sports Night, I immediately took to it and began investigating the brains behind the comedy. If you have not yet had a chance to watch it, see if you can’t go over to Netflix and watch the first disc, which is available for rent there. You won’t be disappointed. Disc One kept me up four hours past my bedtime last night.

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Does that just suck or what? I’m not entirely sure how my sister copes with it, though I guess she’s got no real choice over the matter, but having to celebrate a birthday on the anniversary of a tragedy makes you wonder. How will all those children born on September 11, 2001 handle it, or perhaps January 28, 1986 or December 7, 1941? Life goes on, though we’ll always remember (more to the point, the media will never let us forget even if we do). Point is, I always felt a little bad for those coincidences, in the same vein that I think it absolutely sucks ass to have been born within 14 days of Christmas. How many kids get jacked out of separate presents every year? My old friend Ken’s birthday is on the 22nd of December, and he used to tell me all about growing up with “combined” gifts every year. Not that he was a materialistic type of person, it was just one of those gripes you sometimes hear from friends. I thought about it and I decided after that that I would try my best to make sure that people that I knew well enough to buy gifts for, whom also happened to be stuck with a birthday near Christmas, would get a separate gift. In Ken’s case, I loved to go out of my way to make sure he had a separate birthday party. By the way, Ken celebrates his twenty-ninth birthday every year.

My sister Anna’s birthday is today and we have kind of an unusual relationship. We happen to really like each other. I can’t really say that about my other sisters. Tina lives in Germany with her husband and I hardly see her anymore, let alone correspondence, even in the age of the Internet… no matter how many times I write or give her my email address. After a while, you just let it go. Susie, the youngest of the three older sisters, is still something of an enigma to me. We have never been close, and we don’t talk at all. In fact, I don’t think I’ve spoken with her in over seven years, but I do hear about her from time to time. Danyel, my youngest sister, is next closest to me. We grew up together when the older three move out and began living their lives outside of my dad’s house. Danyel lives in east Texas with her husband and three kids, and I only talk to her when it’s convenient to her and/or she needs something from me. After a while, you kind of resent or get annoyed at her, but I’m unable to really hang up or ignore her or any of them for that matter. Despite their faults, they’re still family, and I’ve always tried my best to be as steadfast to those ideals as possible. I’ve faltered from time to time, enjoying a few selfish periods, but for the most part, I’ve tried my best to be there.

Anna’s different, though. She reminds me so much of our father, it’s not funny. Same sense of humor, same stubborn streak, same temper. I like spending time with her because beyond my parents, she’s the only other person who actually accepts me for who I am and listens without judgement or reservation. Which is to say, that she can listen without trying to solve my problems. Sometimes, I don’t need anyone to solve anything for me, but listening to a rant or a rave is a good quality to have and she taught me that at an early age. Every time that I’ve needed support, she’s been there for me. Likewise, I’ve tried to be there for her, too, but sometimes I’ve not been able to do it. Last month, she up and moved herself to Wyoming to live with her current boyfriend, having found no job in the Bay Area and also having to look after my nephew Tim. He offered her a place to live and a new life with him, so she decided that was the best move for her to take right now. My parents both expressed their misgivings about her decision, but I know she’ll be allright. Even though I don’t really have her nearby anymore, and I miss her like crazy, she’ll be fine.

So, here’s to a very happy thirty-sixth birthday, Anna. You’re still my favorite sister.

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Todd had an interview today over at the Mervyn’s in Cupertino. One of our old bosses from Software Etc is a manager there; not the manager, mind you. He turned in his application, did his interview, and found out that they were offering way below than what he was looking for. But, if he wants the job, it’s his, which is a good thing from where I’m sitting. Having that kind of option is something most people don’t have these days, and especially with the job market being so damn dry. Todd’s shooting for something similiar to what he was making at Software Etc, but I don’t think he realizes that wherever you start at a new retail place, you’ve got to work your way from the bottom rung. There are no caches in the retail industry, unless you were a store manager for at least two years. Managers can laterally move, but assistant managers and associates cannot. It’s a harsh truth, but he’s considering the minimum wage position because it’s far better than what he’s making right now.

Anyway, since they did offer him the position, I decided to take the three of us out to Jody’s favorite place to eat: Kyoto Palace. Kyoto Palace is this Benihana-wannabe place with better food and higher prices. Jody’s been sort of in a funk that he has not been able to shake, and so I figured what with Todd’s job offer and his funk, we could kill two birds with one stone and feed everyone. Todd hates Benihana-type restaurants, but there’s an expression my grandfather used to tell me: you can’t be too choosy about free food. It seemed to lift Jody’s spirits a little bit, but he’s still pretty closed up about what’s been bothering him. He went home tonight and I’m sure he’ll be able to talk to his older brother about it, at least I hope so. On our way back from dropping Jody off at home, I stopped by Fry’s and Tower to see if I could find Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown. These, in reverse order, are my favorite Quentin Tarantino films. I like Jackie Brown far better than Pulp Fiction, though I can appreciate Pulp Fiction’s message. Jackie Brown is better, because I’ve always like Pam Grier, and I was happy she finally landed a role that really proved her true range as an actor. Not to mention that the story was penned by Elmore Leonard, who wrote another of my all-time favorites, Get Shorty. All in all, I had a fun night, and now that I’m done watching Jackie Brown, I’m going to try and see if I can’t get a good night’s sleep before tomorrow’s shift.

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I enjoyed an entire day of scuzziness, thanks in whole to a cancelled appointment. I hadn’t had much of a chance to really be lazy over the course of the past two days, and with the upcoming work schedule changes, this will mean that I will be cut from four days off to three days off, just as it was back when I first started working at PayPal. I needed an entire day to simply lay back, not worry about having to go anywhere or do anything. Like I said, even though I get time off, it seems as though my off-time is promised to someone or something. Not being at work does not always mean I am not working on something. Bleh. Anyway…

I started watching Taiho Shichauzou last night and continued on into today. I had forgotten how good this series is and how much fun it was to watch it. In the middle of getting through the first box set, though, Todd and I finished up Princess Nine. The ending, without giving anything away, was a typical Japanese ending. I was disappointed at one part, but I enjoyed the series overall. Back to more Taiho!

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I promised my mother yesterday that I would have lunch with her and my grandmother today. I got up at ten in the morning. Not because I had a lunch date with them, but because I just cannot sleep past ten no matter how tired I am or how much I just try to close my eyes and go back to sleep. If my body knows it’s past ten, it’ll get up and remind me that I have things to do. When I stay up late on my days off, it’s pretty much a done deal that I’ll be without sleep. So on Thursday nights, I try to get to sleep as early as possible, so that I’ll be rested for the first twelve-hour shift on Friday morning. I arrived at my grandmother’s house at around noon, and we decided to go to the Rock Bottom Restaurant at the Pruneyard. I caught up on the recent family events and details. I’ve been pretty much out of the loop insofar as my mom’s side of the family is concerned, having been somewhat neck-deep in my dad’s side over the past few months.

My mother and father are driving together to Wichita Falls, Texas, to see my sister and her family, to spend Thanksgiving with them. My grandmother has opted out of spending Thanksgiving with anyone, including my aunt Yvette and uncle Bob (same uncle from yesterday’s post). My aunt and uncle are going over to my uncle’s brother’s house for the holiday weekend and will eat over there. Much to their dismay, Grandma has just decided to not go with anyone. Though, I think she did talk about going down to Fresno to visit relatives, but that’s not set in stone, and knowing her, she’ll probably just decide to stay home and watch television all day long, as that’s just what she wants to do. Me? I’ll either be working, or relaxing. I would just love to do the latter, because with the recent work stresses, relaxing sounds just about right. I think Todd’s going to try his damndest to get me to go with them to his family’s Thanksigiving, but I have my qualms about doing that. I have other invitations I could pursue, as well, like going over to ’s place, but again, I’ve not made any firm plans right now. I still have a week to figure it out.

Following the lunch, I called my aunt Yvette to ask her what she was up to. Turned out that she was on her way out the door because she needed to pick up Ashton (the third child) from her high school and take her to a doctor’s appointment, and also pick up Alyssa (the fourth child) and take her to dance class. Since I was in the general vicinity of Ashton, I offered to pick her up and take her to wherever she needed to go. I haven’t spent much time with them, and they’re growing up pretty fast. She got into the car, and we went to the doctor’s, Starbuck’s, and then my place where she procrastinated in true sophmore style, and we went to go play DDR for two hours. When we got back, she pumped her Spanish homework through babelfish.altavista.com, and she was done for the night. I took her home, but she had a lot of fun, or so she admitted. I talked with Alyssa and Andrew (the second child) when I got up there, just visiting and making sure they remembered who I was. I forgot how much fun it was to spend with the kids, as well as talking with Yvette and Bob. It’s too bad our schedules don’t mesh well enough to allow more time together, but I guess that’s just the way things are for right now.

When I got done dropping her off and going home, it was already ten to ten… I’m about ready to drop into sleep, now.

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Last Thursday, I completed my uncle’s father’s computer with minimal stress. This morning, however, I had to return to his house to do an install of Office 2000, as he’s the secretary of the board for the company my uncle owns, and he needs Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to compile the meeting minutes and view some fot he presentations the vice-presidents make and distribute. While I was there, though, his mouse was having some problems making the transition from Windows 98 to Windows XP Professional. He’s a trackball fan, like me, so I told him about the latest trackball optical that Microsoft put out, and off we went to Fry’s.

While at Fry’s, we picked up the mouse, as well as an impulse item. It’s utterly impossible to go to Fry’s and not look at some of the other stuff they have there. Window shopping in that kind of store just doesn’t not happen unless you’re in a real hurry and you need to get what you need and then get the fuck out of Dodge. Otherwise, you’re stuck either in the video card area, or the hard drive area, checking out prices and figuring out what the going price for various parts are these days. I usually keep my finger on the the pulse over at http://www.pricewatch.com, but actually seeing the box or part in front of you makes a big difference. Anyway, my uncle’s father did buy a couple of impulse items on his way out of the store. A 40 inch Sony Trinitron television and the matching stand, along with the 715 model Sony DVD Player. All told, he spent multiple thousands of dollars in the blink of an eye, once he figured out exactly what he wanted. It was pretty impressive.

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