My guy friends complain that the presents they have to get for girls are expensive, what with all the gems and jewellery and all that. But hey, some of these toys cost a pretty penny. That Beautiful Game Foosball Table which has been making the rounds of design websites costs over $55,700. But there are things you can get for $100 or less, and one of them is a blowtorch. (Do I hear a “Woah”?) Doesn’t get more “guy” than that.

I guess whether it’s an indulgence or something practical, there are good gifts to be found whatever your budget is. It all comes down to what floats your Trak T-1600.

Continue drooling over at Wired’s full 100 Wish List.

One of my friends is renovating her new flat. A task that has enough complications on its own, and every day she comes by with new stories about home planning, many of which involve her better half, who’s a really sweet guy but who makes very “guy” requests. (Even the guy among us agrees to.) Things like breaking a second door so that the master bedroom can open directly into the kitchen, where bear in mind, a lot of Asian, especially Chinese, cooking would take place, thus saving the short walk to the kitchen past the living room. They just sound like things you’d find in Chandler and Joey’s apartment.

Anyway, her stories aren’t the first and they won’t be the last. It’s one of those you-snore-you-belch-in-public-you-fart-in-bed-and-we-don’t-know-why-but-we-still-love-you-for-all-the-snoring-belching-and-farting-that-you-do kinda things.

However, that doesn’t mean that you should give your wife a vacuum cleaner. (I do know one colleague who did, though; he insists his wife requested for it. But it was one of those Trilobite robot thingies, so maybe it’s cool at least.)

JC Penney tackles this issue in one of their Christmas ads, in 2008 and again in 2009. (It’s a girl thing. If you’re not a girl, or if you don’t have a sense of humour, you might want to give them a miss. :)

The crass commercialism that’s Christmas aside, I thought these De Beers countdown ads were quite good reminders.

I also remember a different set of countdown ads; not sure if they were for a different year or if they were done speculatively for someone’s book or by a student.

• 5 days till Christmas. Which, coincidentally, could also be your life expectancy.
• 4 days till Christmas. You could get out of this but single life is way overrated.
• 3 days till Christmas. That’s not the smell of chestnuts roasting on an open fire.
• 2 days till Christmas. Too late to fake your death and relocate to Fiji.
• 1 day till Christmas. A fat, bearded guy in a red suit isn’t going to bail you out.

Another cool Christmas message De Beers did was the Unbreakable Kiss in New York City’s Central Park (Awwww…). It’s a great souvenir for couples and hopeless romantics. Even the cynics would have to agree this is a cool idea.

A lot of the De Beers ads I’ve seen use headlines (accompanied by a stunning product shot, of course).

And ultimately, as usual, the best headlines capture the one thing you want to say in one sentiment, in just one oh-so-simple thought.

The magic of the Blue Box.

There’s no denying that this innocuous, innocent looking blue box with its little white silk bow wields a power unlike any other. Few women can resist. I think even the most cynical would experience shortness of breath when presented with one.

You can tell how coveted one such box is by the number of copycat brands of jewellery there are out there that also package their jewellery pieces in similar blue packaging — a feeble attempt to look a fraction as desirable (but really, probably, receiving the reverse effect).

(By the way, the colour has been trademarked by the parent company in the United States and several other jurisdictions. It is a private custom colour by Pantone, #1837, the year of the company’s founding, and is not available in the Pantone swatch books.)

And the contents of these boxes? As simple and elegant and beautiful as the thought of giving is.

Walking through the boutique, I may have my favourites. But I think most of the designs would not be unwelcomed. (Still, the store thoughtfully includes a gift receipt with each purchase. Just in case.)

However, it may not be everyone’s cup of tea. Some might consider it not bling or showy enough. Too plebian. Others just like more bling, I suppose. I remember in August when some colleagues and I visited the new mall in the heart of town, when the taxi pulled up to the driveway, my colleagues squealed in deafening unison: “Harry Winston!” — you would have thought they saw a whale shark or something. (It was August; I had just returned from my breath-stopping whale shark encounter.) 

(That said, if a guy were to give a Harry Winston something to his gal, I can’t think of many women who would toss it into the river for “not understanding her tastes”.)

Anyway, back to Tiffany & Co.

A bunch of just celebrated a friend’s birthday. And guess where we bought her gift? We didn’t know how to present it to her, and she was busy texting so we simply put it on the table in front of her while she tapped away furiously on her BlackBerry. But, oh, she did look up for a fraction of a split second.

I wish I had a picture of her face when she saw the magic Blue Box.

I like the lyrics: See chameleon, lying there in the Sun. All things to everyone. Because as we all know, Ireland is free of snakes and England is full of plague-carrying rats, Scotland is practically infested with chameleons. Hee.

My Christmas list is very short. Family and some close ones, mostly. So I was out doing my Christmas shopping, but found out that the shop I was looking for had moved. I’ll have to get the gifts from a different store in another mall. That was when I passed by a Puma outlet store and half an hour later, walked out with a new pair of sneakers and a new grey hoodie. My old pair of sneakers is worn out and lets water in. And my current grey sweater-hoodie is over ten years old and falling apart and not very warm either.

And besides, they were more than 50% off.

I know, excuses.

I love this. From a few years ago. It didn’t so much make me smile as it made me laugh very loudly and got me quite a few stares (and some frowns) from my colleagues.

Music is courtesy of the Trans Siberian Orchestra. And the house is real. Not put together by stop motion photography with music added. It’s the brainchild of Carson Williams of Ohio, and was featured by Miller Lite in their holiday commercial. The full clip is below (and you can read more information in the side panel). He’s since started his own company doing this sort of thing. No doubt you’ll see more of the lights soon.

From Star Wars to Wall•E, A Trip to the Moon to Matrix, Robocop to Terminator, Close Encounters of the Third Kind to Contact, Alien, Ghost in the Shell, Gattaca, Galaxy Quest, Jurassic Park (really?), Star Trek (the 2009 one with the eye candy starfleet), 2001: A Space Odyssey, Planet of the Apes, Twelve Monkeys, Fifth Element, District 9 and dozens of others.

Read Wired.com’s Favourite Sci-Fi Flicks of All Time, Pre-Star Wars.

And their Favourite Sci-Fi Flicks of All Time Post-Star Wars. 

And in response to the previous two lists, readers’ Favourite Sci-Fi Flicks, 2000 and Beyond. May the Force be with you, live long and prosper. Hee.

I hate the holidays. Most years I’m a grouch all the way to Chinese New Year. Sure, some years are better than others. One year the dragon boat team had a kickass party; that was a year to remember. Last year I escaped and went to Phuket with my friends. This year, escape plans fell through. Need to make alternative plans. Like Bali. I love Bali. My friends know I would go to Bali at the drop of a hat. But right now, it’s an option if one is the sort to light cigars with dollar notes; the prices of flights are ridiculous this time of the year. Damnation. I could always distract myself with work. That is always an option. Only, the office is closed with forced leave from Boxing Day to the New Year. Damnation again. Need. To. Escape. Buggered.

The Shopper’s Overnight Test. Anyone who shops will know what I’m talking about.

You go shopping, see something* you like, you decide to “think about it”. (*Terms and conditions apply, such as items that don’t require a fair amount of research, items that are reasonably priced that you wouldn’t make much of a difference if you had bought it online, impulse buys, etc. In other words, girl shopping stuff.)

Sometimes you step out the store and turn right back in. You’ve thought about it and decided. But on average, an overnight test is a good gauge. The next day, if that dress/blouse/accessories/pair of jeans/pair of shoes is still on your mind, you might want to get it. Once I forgot I was thinking about something until a week later. That was good indication.

What about a year and a half of overnights?

That’s how long, almost to the day, I’ve sat on thinking about this pair of shoes before I finally got it. (Actually, I would have got it in April if the store I last saw it in had it in size 3 UK/5.5 US.) Every now and then, I would search for it online to see if it was still in the market. Until now.

In the end, I bought because I thought figured I would use it, for trekking as well as for city vacations (it was high time to retire my other pair of city vacation walking shoes). In the end, I bought it online at the cheapest offer I could find.

The best part, I’ve mini-road tested it. No, didn’t climb any mountains. Just walked across a flat city in a bit of bad weather. No regrets.