

Ask HN: Christmas gift ideas? - jokull

Anyone had any awesome ideas?<p>I already got some hand printed year calendars from crispinfinn.com (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2595/3931755944_2259ef928a_b.jpg). I'm also getting A Pattern Language for an architect interested dad (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pattern-Language-Buildings-Construction-Environmental/dp/0195019199).
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patio11
If you have a voracious reader in your life, consider a Kindle. I enjoy it
more than anything I have ever bought.

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lukifer
IMHO, I think the Nook makes for a better product than the Kindle (disclosure:
I haven't used either one). But the post-Christmas ship date means that it'll
only make a good gift for a nerd who's already excited about it but hasn't
pre-ordered one for themselves.

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solutionyogi
I don't know how to take your comment seriously. You haven't used either
product and you are suggesting that one is better than other? On what basis? I
have Kindle and I think it totally rocks.

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abyssknight
Things I may buy for people this year:

    
    
      * Super Mario Brothers Wii
      * The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception
      * Forbidden Lego: Build the Models Your Parents Warned You  Against! 
      * Bluray player
      * Netflix subscription / renewal
      * Lomography film camera(s)

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jeromec
Wow, I may have to look into "The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and
Deception" myself. I remember a Discovery channel show, I think it was, where
an agent was showing the camera how to disappear. He went into a bookstore or
something and you couldn't tell he came out, because he was walking away as an
old lady.

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jason_tko
Anything from ThinkGeek! <http://www.thinkgeek.com/>

With the obvious exception of "Star Trek Cologne and Perfume". What they hell
were they thinking.

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spthorn
A Pattern Language presents a compelling way of thinking about "place". It
clarifies what so many have longed for in the way of community, and shows
clearly what's wrong and what to change to fix it. I highly recommend it for
everyone!

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jeromec
I'm thinking of getting my parents a roomba. Anyone have any experience with
those?

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nathanh
I got a Roomba 530 recently and it works great. I have both carpet and hard
wood floors, and it does fine with the transitions. I'm thinking about getting
one for my parents too. Tip: I got mine from Bed Bath and Beyond for 20% by
signing up for their email list and printing off the coupon they sent me for
doing that.

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jeromec
Awesome, thanks for the tip! I'm looking at the 530 too, and I was wondering
about the transitions. I was on Amazon reading reviews since they seemed to
have the lowest price, but your tip is better. The main concern I saw was a
frequent need to clean the brushes, especially with pets that shed fur, but
the only pet my parents have is a parrot, so it should be great. :)

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abyssknight
I have a very shedding prone cat, a wife whose long hair is deposited all over
the place, and a newer Roomba. The brush cleaning can get old, but the thing
to remember is they built them for it. Included in the box (should be) a
circular cleaning tool, though if you don't read the instructions it will look
like extraneous plastic. The brush roller pops out, and the sides pop off the
roller such that getting pet and wife hair out of it isn't all that bad if you
do it every couple of runs.

The nice thing is that if it ever does get bound, or stuck the Roomba knows
when to quit. It'll start dinging and whining until you fix it up.

Pro-Tip: Don't leave Roomba alone with cords and/or fabric. It will try to eat
it, and it will get stuck under your TV unit all while crying for help only
after running out of juice. :)

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jeromec
lol, cool thanks. :)

