Buy Me Stuff
This is probably not a unique confession... but I'm not particularly good at figuring out what some of my most beloved ones want for their upcoming birthday (anniversary, Christmas, Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, etc). To be specific, it's hard shopping for the wife. I've had my fair share of home run gifts, but I've also swung and missed on plenty of occasions.

I've heard the same complaint from the wife about shopping for me, i.e. it's hard to find that special something. Of course, she always manages to give me the most perfect and wonderful gifts. ;)

Actually, when I think about it, shopping for the wife is a cakewalk compared to say shopping for my mother-in-law, or even my own mother! And what about grandmothers? (Notice the theme here... I struggle to find good gifts for any of the significant females in my life... how very pathetic I am). Wouldn't it be nice if everyone had a publicly available wish list that you could just consult at one's own convenience? Well, I think it would.

And so, in order to make your experience shopping for me more stress free and enjoyable, please find below my current wish list. Consider this my gift to you... I only have your best interests at heart. Honest.

1. A late model E46 BMW M3 (1997-1999). Ok, this might be a little extravagant, but it absolutely must inhabit the #1 spot on my wish list. Should you choose to indulge me with this gift, I only have one stipulation... I would absolutely demand that it be equipped with a manual transmission, everything else (color, options, convertible) is just gravy. If you happen to find a Dinan S3 supercharged M3 (350 HP), hey, all the better. Check ebay motors for recent listings. Oh, and... thanks in advance! Cost: $5,000-$7,500 (or more depending on options).

2. Board Games. Cost: $25-$40.
   • Ark of the Covenant. Haven't played this one personally, but it is based on Carcassonne which we really like. Cost: $25.
   • Caylus. I haven't played this, but it is one of the latest published game from Rio Grande Games, the makers of Puerto Rico and Carcassone. Should be a good one. Cost: $40.
   • Ticket to Ride: Europe. We have the original version of this very fun game, the Europe version looks very interesting. Cost: $40.
   • Any other highly ranked board game. For example, see here.

3. Camera Gear. Cost: from less than $100 to over $1000.
   • Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Standard Zoom Lens
   • Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM Lens (I have the 50mm f1.8 but want the extra half f/stop)
     
   • Canon 430EX Speedlite Flash

4. Books. Surprise me.

5. Clothes. I'll always welcome a new pair of running shoes.

6. Outdoor Movie Theater Equipment. I was so impressed with the experience at the Barnes home watching Sky High on the wall that I'd like to do the same kid of thing here at home. All I need is a projector and a movie screen.
   • An Airblown Movie Screen by Gemmy. Available at Home Depot and Wal-Mart. Cost: $200.
   • A movie projector. This BenQ W500 looks adequate, but this Panasonic PT-AX200U looks even better. Cost: $800-$1100.
   • Portable Blu-Ray DVD player.

7. CDs. Now, before you go out and buy me "The Collected Works of Bette Midler", perhaps I can suggest these alternatives. Cost: $10-$25.
   • Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas. One of my favorites, but I only have it on cassette tape.
   • Sigur Rós - ().
   • Sigur Rós - Ágætis Byrjun.
   • Sigur Rós - Takk.
   • Sigur Rós - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust.
   • Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The 1979 Original Broadway Cast double-CD is preferred.
   • The Killers - Hot Fuss. Good stuff.

8. BluRay DVDs. When standard defintion just won't do.
   • Enchanted. For the musical numbers alone this BluRay disc is a must have.
   • Phantom of the Opera. Since the main female character is named Christine, I can use the songs to serenade my wife (we already own the broadway soundtrack).
   • The Ultimate Matrix Collection. Ring ring Neo.

9. Standard Def DVDs. Isn't it a shame that I don't own some of my very favorite movies (and TV shows) on DVD? Yes, it's a terrible shame. Cost: $20-$55.
   • Accidental Tourist. Cluck cluck cluck.
   • Big Fish. Great father/son tale.
   • Empire of the Sun. One of my all-time favorites.
   • Excess Baggage. I know this got bad reviews, but Benicio Del Toro, Christopher Walken, and Harry Connick are all hilarious in this movie.
   • Freaks and Geeks - The Complete Series. The complete series is actually only one season, it still makes me mad that NBC canceled Freaks and Geeks. It is one of the best shows ever to air on network television.
   • Run Lola Run. "What's in the bag?"
   • Seinfeld - Seasons 1 & 2. Incomparable.
   • Seinfeld - Season 3. Unrivaled.
   • Seinfeld - Season 4. Superlative.
   • The Matrix. Ring ring Neo.
   • The Sound of Music. The hills are alive.

10. Playstation 3 Video Games. Cost: $40-$60.
    • Assassin's Creed.
    • Battlefield: Bad Company.
    • Bioshock.
    • Hot Shots Gold: Out of Bounds. Berkeley and I love playing the demo together.
    • LittleBigPlanet.
    • Resistance.
    • Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.
    • Warhawk.

11. Camping Gear. Cost: moderately expensive.
    • An "outdoor" watch. Any of the Casio Pathfinder products or something in the Suunto Outdoor product line would probably suffice. (Hint: The high end Suunto GPS-capable X9i sells for $500.)

12. Electronics. Cost: more expensive.
    • An Apple Macbook. The black one.
    • HD Camcorder. The Canon HG21 looks like a nice option.
    • iPod shuffle. I currently have an adequate MP3 player (a Rio500), but it is a little cumbersome to use while jogging... it flops around in my pocket and sometimes my hand will hit it or I'll just look at it funny and it will stop playing music. In a word, it's fragile. My sister-in-law just recently became an owner of an iPod shuffle and she gave it a very positive review. Cost: $99.
    • A Digital SLR. We bought our Canon Powershot G2 in December 2002. It still takes decent pictures of a fairly static scene. The problem is that our kids very rarely stay static. The G2's AutoFocus mechanism is just too slow to capture a lot of the kid's activities, therefore we need to upgrade to a DSLR. I'm very interested in the Canon 30D; I haven't asked my sister-in-law Jess her opinion, but the 30D seems like an adequate first venture into the SLR world.

13. Tools. Cost: moderately expensive.
    • Heavy Duty Steam Cleaner. To use to clean things as well as inject steam into the oven while baking bread.

14. Kitchen Items. Cost: $25 and up.
    • Box Grater. I've need a good box grater for a long time. The Oxo Good Grips Box Grater gets high marks in reviews.
    • A digital scale. Something in black, chrome, or maybe even in warm red.
    • Fry Daddy (or a more expensive equivalent... like this one). Very handy for preparing fried foods like fish-n-chips.
    • OXO Salad Spinner. I think one of these for my salads would be nice, it doesn't have to be OXO... I just saw the OXO spinner on a cooking show and it looked to be pretty handy. Cost: $25.
    • Digital Thermometer Fork. My wife got me a digital thermometer fork a few years ago (I presume from Williams-Sonoma). It is an absolute must have if you are grilling anything other than hamburgers and hot dogs. Unfortunately, my digital fork stopped working a couple of summers ago and I've been missing it ever since. Cost: $25.
    • A set of Beer Mugs. To properly sample the variety of gourmet root beers I keep chilled, I require a good quality, sturdy, and heavy set of glass root beer mugs to keep in the freezer. Something like this looks very nice. Capacity per mug must exceed 16 oz, so something in the 17 oz range would be ideal. Cost: $25.

15. A kite. Wouldn't it be fun to go fly a kite with the kids? Yes, it certainly would. A nice, simple, one-handed kite that the kids could hold on to would be ideal. Cost: $30.

16. An outdoor firepit. I'd love to build a firepit in the backyard with pavers, but we don't have much room. A portable firepit (something like this) would allow us to have a nice warm fire right on our patio.