Custom @ MindSay 
Pick a theme
Custom gift baskets should revolve around a chosen theme so they don't look like random pilings of gifts that don't logically go together. Brainstorm potential themes for the basket. For instance, is your dad a sports buff? Is he a diehard fan for any specific team? Does he have a sweet tooth? Any hobby he is addicted to? Hone in on one of his interests and use that as a basis for the custom gift basket.
Set a price limit
Now that you've picked the theme for the custom gift basket, it may be a good idea to set a price limit for yourself. This way you won't feel the need to buy all related products or get stressed about your total bill as you keep buying and buying. Setting a price marker will help you be more discerning in choosing appropriate products for the custom gift basket. Think about quality, not quantity, and you won't be as worried about breaking your piggy bank.
Seek professional advice
Custom gift baskets turn out well if they include unique, specialty products geared towards the theme. So if you're not an expert in the chosen concept then seek professional advice. If your father is a coffee nut then head to one of the major chains and ask an employee to help you pick out an assortment of rich coffee blends. If your father has a favorite author, peek around his library at home, see which books he has, and then head to the bookstore to fill in the gaps.
Attach a card
The final touch for custom gift baskets is a card. You don't need to be deeply profound, but you can briefly explain why you made your choices for dad's present. Explain why you think he will enjoy what you created for him. This will help pull together the gift so your dad will appreciate the custom gift basket created especially by you.
Take a look at this shop that sells merchandise for the NJ Coalition for Vaccination Choice. I set up the shop last night and the designs are all original. The prices aren't marked up at all - they are the base prices for the products determined by cafe press.
http://www.cafepress.com/vaxchoice
I ordered the pink t-shirt and the bumper sticker today. Can't wait to get them.
So I promised more chanukah info- minus the "theological muckmuck"
Why eight nights? myths grew up that while waiting for military reinforcements the maccabee boys were in the temple with only a small portion of oil. And miraculously the oil lasted eight days. A similar myth is that during the clean up and re-dedication the spot of oil ( used for the ner tamid- an eternal light always burning in a temple) lasted eight days until they got more. But the real truth is that due to religious oppression the Jews had not been able to observe Sukkot the earlier fall- remember the holiday I discussed with little booths all decorated and such?- well since they couldn’t celebrate it in the fall they would have a celebration after cleaning and rededicating the temple and it would last the eight days that sukkot lasts. Simple huh?
But why the oil myths? Ah here is where politics enters the picture. The Maccabee Boys became a dynasty known as the Hasmoneans. They were around for quite a while and a large section of the rabbinical community came to resent them. Not wanting them to continue to get credit for the victory and the celebration ( the books of macabees were not included in the Jewish canon when the tanakh was finalized) they started the oil stories to put a divine spirit in the picture and take the glory from the boys.
Early in Roman times the Jews were doing okay. Herod was appointed king of the Jews and saw over the occupied lands in the middle east but as things became rougher and rougher for the Jews they again had to go underground with many of their rituals.
This is where those chocolate coins we call gelt ( Yiddish for money? ) and little four sided tops called dreidels come into the picture. Jews took to surreptitiously meeting in minons. (ten Jewish men post bar mitzvah age) Probably to prayer but I bet to kvetch and plan their moved against the Romans and when they were inevitably discovered by some roman night watchman type they had these little coins and tops out and claimed they had gotten together for a little friendly gambling. Now personally I find that a hoot. A total hoot, because we have this holiday that celebrates a military victory infused with pretend miracles and kids reenacting gambling as a way to observe it.
But there is one more twist on this…. The chanukiah… the eight branched menorah rather than the normal six branched. Well now you know why there are eight branches and a helper candle ( the shamash) but there was some debate about how it should be lit.
Shammai and Hillel frequently had disagreements over ritual ( like should the mezuzah be vertical or horizontal- and generally Hillel won out or Shammai seriously compromised. Well Shammai thought that all the lights should be lit the first night and one fewer each subsequent night. But Hillel thought increasing light would be nicer and he won out. So each night we light the shamash ( it must look differentiated from the others) and use the shamash to light one candle the first night ; two the second and so on.
Well I have almost exhausted my knowledge of Chanukah and for a lesser holiday I sure gave it a lot of space but the Christian world has gotten it so mixed up with their holiday and presents that I thought I would set the record straight. ( I wont take on the biblical evidence that Jesus was not born in the dead of winter but that early Christians needed something to compete with pagan winter solstice celebrations)
Tomorrow night we will light a chanukiah, put it in the window and go about our business. On Friday I am having guests and will inflict latkes on them. That’s all folks. So temple, no presents, maybe some chocolate coins and I will have to wait till Purim in the spring to get dressed up, act goofy. Happy Holidays.
I think my first one will be an adult trike with a spot or two on the back for kids. It might help promote family fun!
This is a modified letter to a company from which I was going to request a quote for anew PC, however I thought i might stick it here before I ask around to see if any Mindsayer's have an input on this;
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Like many of the small computer sellers around Canberra, you offer different 'standard options', such as gamer option or family option. I am currently looking for a new pc, however my requirments for the new system are different, I do not need a 'computer package' other then the main unit and perhaps a monitor as all other components I have are of the highest quality I will ever require.
I need a custom built PC, that would eb suitable for development of 3D animation, as I am studying it next year at the Academy of Interactive entertainment and intend further study then through to uni. Obviously I need to be more then a good student to get this far.
Of all the computers I have come across, I am yet to find one I can customise, to make as powerful as possible for a cheaper price, IE; by scratching the unneeded things, such as a sound card, keyboards etc as I already have excellent quality ones.
I feel I need to focus on RAM, Video Card, CPU and Storage space if I am to be able to use my new PC for my intended purposes, any input about this would be very much appreciated. I believe that you can help me as my friend purchased a PC there not 6 months ago and is still very happy with it, and I am almost envious.
I would be most grateful for a quote and potential system details and I would be most appreciative if it could be limited to $3000 worth with focus on the above mentioned parts. Of course, compatibility is always an issue and again, I would greatly appreciate your input on this matter.
Thankyou,
Lory
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And now I want people from mindsay to post their thoughts, particularly the nerdy types.
-- Lory
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