What did you get for Christmas?

Here's my list:

OXX DAB radio with Wi-fi I love it, seriously good sound quality for a little box - frees up my laptop and (broadband bandwidth) because the DAB terrestrial stations here are really good.

AeroPress Coffee Maker This little gadget blows expensive espresso makers away - very simple, but possibly the best homemade cup of coffee I've ever had.

Sunbeam Conical Burr Grinder No muss no fuss - fresh ground beans on demand.

Two recent paperback from my favorite authors (*amazoned below)

So what did you get?
peggedbea says...

1. a fixed water pump for my busted old corolla
2. one of those fancy fancy amazing portable crockpots
3. a previously unpublished collection of vonnegut short stories (thank you iv!)
4. a free, impromptu, extra fancy trip to new orleans that got cancelled after my brother decided to stop freaking out and go home to his wife... maybe well use it next weekend for new years.... gotta love a crazy family and my mothers corporate perks.

tuesdays my birthday.
send money for the slot machines and bourbon.

deathcow says...

It's not Christmas here yet , you insensitive clod!

some clothes... a 5x powermate for my telescope so I can film Mars at 9000mm focal length this apparition.... something I cant mention in mixed company...

I totally applaud your coffee heavy xmas dag. My wife got me a super coffee machine several Christmas ago and the cup-counter is up over 7000 now.

gwiz665 says...

I got a pair of Dockers shoes, a new backpack, a fancy shirt with a tie, some bathroom stuff (deo, shower gel), and a nice thin sweater.

And waay too much food!

xxovercastxx says...

I don't know yet, but I'm guessing sheets. Probably gloves, too. Several of my aunts and uncles seem to buy me gloves every year. I've actually got a duffel bag full of gloves that I've never even worn yet because I just don't go through them very fast.

blankfist says...

A home beer brew kit (fermenting a pale ale right now), a gunmetal business card holder etched with my initials, a Rubiks Cube, Best Buy gift certificates, and a director's chair with my last name embroidered on the back.

Sagemind says...

Looks like you all got some fun stuff, congrats!
We had to go light this year. No presents.
My son got some Pajammas and a Lego set & my daughter got a pair of pants and a new book.
Spending Christmas at the inlaws place this year, doesn't feel much like Christmas.

I hope everyone has a great "Holiday Season" and Starts the new year off with happy times!
Cheers!

Ornthoron says...

I am at my parents' right now with no coffee of the proper grind quality, and the stores don't open until Monday, so I haven't tried it properly yet. But in January I'm moving into a flat located above a fancy coffee bar (no crappy Starbucks) that sells fresh coffee beans, so I suspect we are going to become very good friends indeed.

>> ^dag:
^Do you love your AeroPress?

blankfist says...

I really was too busy this month to buy any presents for my girlfriend, so luckily for me she was going to be out of town for Christmas and wouldn't be back until the 30th, so that bought me some time to get her some stuff. Her brother passed away five years ago, and she has these two unframed pictures of him with her and her mother, so I scanned them in, blew them up (photoshopped them a tad), and I'm having them professionally framed and mounted.

I also got her a roomba. Somehow I feel this gift is unintentionally sexist. Anyone else have one of these? I hear they're actually pretty cool.

choggie says...

BF...Getting a robot vacuum for yer hunny...not sexist. You tend to toss around those "ists" quite a bit, I blame poor education/indoctrination and being in California too long. After all, your state's governor has ties to Nazi Germany-his Austrian father volunteered for the infamous Nazi SA and became a ranking officer, and his wifes' a former news cunt and a Kennedy-clan wench.

I got a 12-pack of Modelo for xmas, external hard drive, a used, working, water-damaged Palm cell fone and a years worth of airtime pre-paid....oh and probably some cool shirts from me muddah, awaiting me new years...

Lann says...

My family isn't big on Christmas so I just got an amazon gift certificate and some cash which I used to buy a french press and a few more lbs of maté.

spoco2 says...

I didn't get a great deal this year as I really didn't want much, and was far more excited to see the kids get thrilled over their pressies.

Dag... question on the Aeropress: How do you make sure the water is the correct temp? That's one of the most important bits about making coffee... and here it shows just pouring water from a kettle.

And then it doesn't do the milk frothing etc. so... for me, useless as I'm a Latte drinker. And if I have to use something else to froth the milk, I'd rather just use my espresso machine

Still, I do like simple design, and that looks very nice from that point of view.

dag says...

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^@spoco2 - I checked my kettle once with a meat thermometer- and it looks to be just the right temp (80c) = after automatic shut-off. I'm not a frothy milk drinker, so it's not an issue for me, but yeah, you would probably need a frother.

I'm finding I like mine long macchiato style with extra hot water added and then just a dash of milk.

spoco2 says...

Seems very odd that a kettle which boils water... so at least has to make some of it reach 100c would have an overall temp of 80c... but anyway

Yeah, I can see how one of these would be great if you weren't a latte style drinker... I couldn't handle it, but it looks like it would make a better coffee than a drip filter, and faster too.

dag says...

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@spoco2 - you're right I must have misread the termometer. Just made another cup letting it sit for a while to carefully lower the temp. To be honest- I don't notice much of a difference. I think it's more important to get good oily beans. I like a light roast.

dag says...

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@cheesemoo I did read it- and loved it as usual. Varley's one of my all-time favorite authors - ever since I read Titan in the 8th grade. I think he's the real heir to Heinlein - though definitely not as well-known or prolific.

rickegee says...

I do love, love, love the AeroPress that I received last week. One shouldn't love a piece of durable plastic this much. Always loved his frisbee as well. The brilliance of the AeroPress design is in its capacity to self-clean.

If you are kettle boiling, listen for the hiss rather than the whistle. I found that water fully boiled in a kettle is far too hot. Or you can scare the family with a screaming kettle and wait about 4-5 minutes.

For easy and fun lattes (if children are involved in the foaming process), invest in a $2 IKEA milk foamer or something slightly more advanced (but cheap) if an IKEA is not nearby. Illy coffee is simply wonderful in the AeroPress.

dag says...

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@rickegee - I'm so with you. I too love my Aeropress more than I thought possible for a hunk of plastic.- I'm starting to annoy my family by praising it every morning. I'm going to have to try using hot milk instead of water as the manual suggests. Haven't tried that yet.

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