I’ve never “done” a Black Friday. Frankly, by the time this big sales day after Thanksgiving rolls around, I’m already done shopping for the holidays. But, this year I decided to see what a Black Friday was all about, so I went with a friend to the local Kohl’s at about 4:30 this morning. Yes, that’s 4:30 am, before the sun comes up.
Kohl’s - at least the one here - isn’t that big. But, the check out line started at the entrance and wound around the store to the cash registers. After my friend finished shopping and found a place in line, I went off to see what I could find. Frankly, everything looked a little cheesy to me. I looked at what other people had in their baskets - mostly toys, some clothes at half price, and a few bargains like fake Christmas trees (what store wants those around in January?). I found a Brother sewing machine for $60, and that was my big buy for the day. I haven’t owned a sewing machine since…well, we won’t go there…
Would I do Black Friday again? I doubt it. But, I’ll have to admit - that’s a different crowd that shops at 4:30 in the morning. They’re courteous and talkative (we were in line for 1.5 hours - you can’t avoid meeting your ‘neighbors’ during that time frame…), and they seem to take the wait in line in stride - it’s all part of the Black Friday ‘job’ (of course, Kohl’s isn’t WalMart). I certainly wouldn’t camp out overnight in front of a store - but then again I wonder…that might be fun, even if I wasn’t there to buy anything…I could just be a Black Friday groupie!
Photo via Wired Home.
Posted by Linda at 8:00 AM PST
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Something for Open Source fanatics to be grateful about - in last night’s episode of Criminal Minds (CBS), viewers learned that hot-shot Penelope Garcia (actress Kirsten Vangsness) uses Linux and Open Source software to work her crime-solving hack work for the FBI. Simply amazing, no?
Posted by FA Editors at 8:00 AM PST
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I learned about this project from Inhabitat, and it’s about the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. First, Matter of Trust is taking mats made from human hair to sop up the oil spill in San Fransisco Bay. Secondly, mushrooms have been innoculated in the hair mats so that the mushrooms will eventually ‘eat’ the oil (thanks to Paul Stamets’ knowledge at Fungi Perfecti). Finally, the fact that so many volunteers would go out and clean up a corporate oil spill is incredible. But, this is what it comes down to, no? The public taking care of corporate messes?
Yes, you can mail in hair, and you can make donations as well. And, if you’re in the area, Matter of Trust also need volunteers. From the photos it appears that everyone involved in this endeavor is having a great time. Visit the site to learn more.
Posted by Linda at 8:00 AM PST
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The World Clock Project is interested in collecting as many pictures of clocks as possible from as many different people as possible from around the world. The goal is to gather enough pictures to account for all the minutes of the day (that’s a bit of an obsession, don’t you think?). Upon that accomplishment, they will create a “digital picture clock” for the community.
The clock shown above is the clock at Grand Central Station in New York City. You can email your clock photos or join this group on the World Clock Project Flickr Group. Visit the World Clock Project to learn more.
Posted by Russell at 8:00 AM PST
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