Scott's Wish List (Gift Ideas)

Material things that are more difficult to find...

Scott's Amazon Wish List (this should make some things easy)

Things that are easier to find:

• Clothing:
  • Hemp Jeans
    Grass Roots carries a lot of hemp and natural cotton clothing
    YLana carries Ecolution Hemp Clothing
    Blue or Natural Jeans, Size 38
    nbizz.com
    hemptwine.com
    hempsupply.com
    vintage-vinyl.com
    hempery.com
    earthrepublic.com
    ahbetterworld.com
    hempmasters.com
    hemphammocks.com
• Audio Compact Discs:
  • Butthole Surfers "Weird Revolution" (available at Surfdog, Amazon, etc)
  • Tokyo Tapes new from Amazon!
  • Tokyo Tapes (preferred, but out of print, was: RCA 07863 53039-2, 1978; sometimes shows up on Amazon for around $17.50!)
  • "Code Magenta" by Greg Howard (available at Borders at Skyline or directly from Stick $15)
  • "Lift" by Greg Howard (available at Borders at Skyline or directly from Stick $15)
  • "Escape from Noise" by Negativ Land (Amazon $8)
  • "Stick Figures" by Greg Howard (available at Borders at Skyline, Amazon, and directly from Stick $15 or $16)
  • "A Christmas Card" (also called "Jimmy Dean's Christmas Card") by Jimmy Dean (has "My Christmas Room"; sometimes this pops up on Amazon for around $5)
  • "Lonesome Crow / Action" by Scorpions (Amazon for $12)
  • "Animal Magnetism" by Scorpions (Amazon for $12)
• Movies (on either DVD or Laserdisc or VCD):
  • "The Razor's Edge" with Bill Murray (1984)
  • "More Tales of the City" by Armistead Maupin (uncut/non-rated version, available at Laser's Edge $38 or Amazon $43)
  • "Dreamscape" (available at Laser's Edge $19 or Amazon $22)
  • "Charlemagne - Charles the Prince" (1994, available at Amazon $35)
  • "The Conquistadors" with Michael Wood on PBS Home Video (Amazon for $27)
• Books (all are generally available at any bookstore, I list the Amazon so you can see the cover and get a comparison price):
  • "Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative" by DavidB Brock
  • "Endless Enemies" by Jonathan Kwitny
  • "Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America" by Firoozeh Dumas ($16 from Amazon)
  • "The UNIX Guide to Defenestration" by Paul Murphy ($29) - a book on how IT departments SHOULD be doing payroll
  • "The Art of Computer Programming, Volume 2" by Knuth (Amazon for $25)
  • "Mac OS X Unleashed" by John Ray (Amazon for $35)
  • "Object-Oriented Programming and Objective-C Language" by XXX (Vervante Books $17.25)
  • "Theodore Rex" by Edmund Morris (Amazon for $24.50)
  • "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" by Edmund Morris (Amazon for $12.56)
  • "Unsafe at Any Speed" by Ralph Nader (Amazon for $19)
  • "Taking Back our Lives in the Age of Corporate Dominance" by Ellen Schwartz and Suzanne Stoddard (Amazon for $12)
  • "Vehicle Location and Navigation Systems" by Yilin Zhao (available at Amazon $95 or at Barnes and Noble $76)
  • "Being Digital" by Nicholas Negroponte (available at Amazon $10.40)
  • "How the New World of Information Will Change our Lives" by Michael Dertouzos (available at Amazon $12)
  • "An Heraldic Alphabet" by JP Brooke-Little (Amazon, about $13 or Powell's for $9)
  • "Double Cross" by Sam and Chuck Giancana (available at Amazon $7)
  • "Venetian Ships and Shipbuilders of the Renaissance" (available at Amazon $19)
  • "The Form of the Book : Essays on the Morality of Good Design" by Jan Tschichold and Hajo Hadeler
  • "Autopsy of an Empire" by Jack F Matlock, JR
  • "As the Falcon her Bells" by Phil Glasier (available at Countryman books) 15 pounds
  • "Six Easy Pieces" by Richard Feynman, (available at Amazon $11)
  • "Knots and Splices" by Percy W. Blandford (1965, LOC number 65-25270, available at Mystic Seapport Museum Store $2)
  • "Making the Boughstave Longbow" by Don Adams (1988, ISBN: 0 946853 05 3, available at Archery Centre 3 pounds)
  • "Why we Buy, the Science of Shopping" by Paco Underhill (available at Amazon $12)
  • Brassey's History of Uniforms 212: "Roman Army: Wars of the Empire" (available at Michigan Toy Soldier Co. $30)
  • Ordinary: "An Ordinary of Arms Contained in the Public Register of all Arms and Bearings in Scotland" by Sir James Balfour Paul (Lord Lyon King of Arms) (1893, reprinted in 1903, 1969) (BigTreeBooks $35)
  • "Ride the Wind" by Lucia St Clair Robson (Amazon $7)
  • "Light a Distant Fire" by Lucia St Clair Robson (Amazon $7)
  • Osprey Books:
    Campaign Series:
    #9 Agincourt 1415 (Amazon $19)
    #13 Hastings
    #19 Hattin
    #43 Fornovo
    #46 Lake Piepus
    #53 Granada
    #66 Bosworth
    Elite Series:
    #3 Vikings
    #9 Normans
    #17 Knights at Tournament
    #35 Early Samurai (< 1500)
    #58 Janissaries
    Warrior Series:
    #25 Italian Militiaman 1260 - 1392
    Met at Arms Series:
    #317 Henry V and the Conquest of France 1416-1453
    #113 Armies of Agincourt (Amazon $15)
    #337 French Armies of the Hundred Years War
    #144 Medieval Burgundy 1364-1477
    #145 Wars of the Roses
    #166 Medieval German Armies 1300-1500
    #136 Italian Medieval Armies
    #94 Swiss at War
    #85 Saxon, Viking, Norman
    #50 Medieval European Armies
    #200 El Cid
    #287 Byzantines
    #155 Knights of Christ
    #150 Charlemagne
    #140 Ottoman
• Games:
  • Playstation Game: "Romance of the Three Kingdoms VI" by KOEI
  • Playstation Game: "Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV" by KOEI (1 to 8 players, also available for Win95)
  • PS2 Game: "Kessen" by KOEI
  • PS2 Game: "Red Faction" by THQ
  • PS2 Game: "Dark Cloud" by Sony Computer Entertainment
  • PS2 Game: "Star Wars: Starfighter" by Lucas Arts
  • PS2 Game: "Oni" by Rockstar
• Toys and Gadgets:
  • A serial to USB adaptor:
    Keyspan USA-19QW High Speed Serial Adaptor (usb -> DB9) $40 at ClubMac
    Virtual PC (I already have version 6) so I can run:
    • Suunto Dive Manager (sync the Cobra to a PC) - no longer needed; Mac DiveLog works with Suunto computers on your Mac!
    • OnQ HMS Homeowners Software (program the OnQ HMS 1050 from the PC)
    a cheap copy of Win98 to run on VirtualPC ($148 - $200 on cnet)
  • Weather Station and Computer Link:
    Ideally what we want is a weather station gadget that sits some place accessible in the house and "listens" to remote sensors to track barometric pressure, temperature, humidity, rainfall, and wind speed and direction. The device should do all that on it's own, but also log the information to a computer server (idealy Mac OSX or Linux) where we can set up software triggers on the log messages to automate some actions within the house or around the property. If no rain for a long time, run the sprinklers; if cold, close the windows and open the drapes for maximum solar gain; if hot close the windows and close the drapes to reflect solar gain away; if ideal outside, shutoff the compressor and open the windows; etc. It looks like only the Davis Vantage Pro weather station and WeatherLink for Vantage Pro will do everything desired:
    • Davis Vantage Pro Weather Station ($595)
    • Davis WeatherLink for Vantage Pro computer link and software for Mac OSX ($165)
  • A pocket portable FireWire/USB hard disk drive:
    • WiebeTech FireWire Drive Dock pocket FireWire drive bridge ($140)
  • A SCSI cable that will let me hook up my SCSI based 250mb ZIP drives to O2 workstations. The O2 has a female H-den 68 socket (Ultra-Fast/Wide SCSI or SCSI-3), and the ZIP has a female db-25 socket. The cable I need is a "Micro D 68, Male" (SCSI-3/Ultra-Wide Male) to DB25 Male SCSI (Ultra-SCSI Male) cable. CableMakers has the right cable (SCS3-1025-006) for $31.50
  • A roughly 44" tall standard (19" wide) computer equipment rack for our O200. MilesTek has a PTRK 46" (21 eu) steel rolling rack for $426.50 (http://www.milestek.com/portablerack.htm)
  • PlayStation 2 Game Console (Sony about $300)
    DualShock 2 Analog Controller for PlayStation 2 (Sony about $35)
    Memory Card for PlayStation 2 (Sony about $35)
    S Video Cable for PlayStation 2 (Sony about $30)
    Multitap for PlayStation 2 (Sony about $35)
  • A MacAlly iOptiJr Mouse ($39 - I already have one, and want more - these things are awesome)
  • X10 Computer Interface (drives lights and X10 devices from a computer). The best device for working with Macs is no longer available new - but might still be found used in several places: the X10 (brandname) CP290 interface ($69). An alternative would be the JDS Time Commander (about $300). Another alternative is the CM-11A ActiveHome interface (very capeable at $49). X10 has a deal worth looking into - a CM-11A and three Hawkeye IR sensors for $70! They also have a deal on the Mac version: a CM-11A, a mac adaptor cable, and Mouse House SE for $70. Apparently the IBM Home Director (discontinued) was exactly the same device in a different box. So an IBM Home Director (HD-11) will do as well, can be found for $10 some places. Yet anouther choice is the LynX-10 Coprocessor ($189 and needs a TW-523 for $25) or the LynX-10 PLC ($99)
  • Xantech URC-2P/RP Universal Remote Control (about $225 list) that comes with the PCIR-1 computer interface and Dragon Drop IR software for PC.
  • Toy: Valley-Dynamo Artic Flash Air Hockey Table (~$1145)
  • More Memory for my UMAX S900: it takes 168pin Fast Page Mode DIMMs at 60ns. 32MB DIMMs are around $23 each, and 64MB DIMMs are around $47 each. I can handle up to 6 without dislodging my current memory. I usually use ChipMerchant for Mac memory.
  • Graphics Card for my PowerMac 6100: Apple HPV Card (4MB) for PowerMac 8100 (661-1027) $79 - $349, or a Apple HPV Card (2MB) for PowerMac 7100 (661-1748), $40
  • Notebook Computer: QBE Vivo notebook/computer
  • Notebook Computer: PaceBook notebook/computer
  • Laptop: Apple Titanium PowerBook G4/Superdrive (867MHz or 1GHz) ($2299 or $2799) or a slightly older PowerBook G4/DVI (667 or 800); they have builtin gigabit ethernet, ADC, can handle up to one gigabyte of memory. The newer ones use ATI Radeon 9000 cards, the older ATI Radeon 7500 cards.
    And a TiBook Tote and Tilt handle for the PowerBook ($44.95) to make it easier to carry
  • Graphics Card for my Sawtooth G4 at work: ATI Radeon 8500 Mac Edition (about $199) because it will allow the old Sawtooth to display to two monitors at once! (one DVI and one VGA) newer Radeon cards need power from the AGP slot, which is not provided on the sawtooth (only on newer PowerMacs).
  • Computer Display: 22" SGI F220 Flat Panel Display ($4000) accepts VGA, DVI-D, S-Video, and Composite Video inputs at up to 1600x1024.
  • Computer Display: 23" Apple Cinema HD Display (~$2000) for my existing G4 Cube. 1920x1200 - adc input only.
  • Computer: Apple Dual 1GHz PowerPC G4 or Dual 1.25GHz PowerPC G4 ($:! or $1700) and a 23" Apple Cinema HD Display (~$2000).
  • Efficient Linux Server: nOrhTec MicroServer GP - for about $375 you can get a tiny (size of a paperback book), ultra low power (~5 watts) PC running Linux!
    Think about it, one of these and a small LCD would make an excellent dorm computer for college students
    • I plan to use it as an always on (at only 5 watts, who cares?) home server
  • Sony DVMC-DA1 Media Converter (about $500) converts analog audio and video to DV/Firewire.
  • Sony TVR-810 DV Camcorder (low light capeable) or wait for a progressive scan ccd camera.
  • Computer: SGI Workstation (O2+, Fuel, or Octane2): I just wish the O2+ had USB as well as it's existing Ultra Fast/Wide SCSI (H-den 68), 10/100baseT ethernet (RJ45), twin serial (DB-9), and 1284 parallel (C miniature) ports; and a DVD instead of the integral CDROM. The new F220 Display (22" 1600x1024)
    1. SGI Octane2 (Dual V12 Graphics w/DCD on one head, Dual R14000A 600MHz/2MB cache, 2GB, 36GB 10K RPM System Disk)
       PCI-AUD-8C-ALL: PCI Digital Audio I/O board for O2/Origin/Fuel/Octane2
       24" FD Trinitron Superwide monitor
    2. SGI Fuel (RM14000A 600MHz/4MB L2 cache, 200MHz bus, V12 Graphics, 2GB DDR SDRAM, USB, up to three Ultra-160 drives, 2 PCI slots, 10/100 nic, Dual Channel Display)
    3. SGI O2+ (RM7000/350MHz/256KB SC + 1MB TC/256MB/18GB/19" CRT/6.5.13f) SGI for $7495 list (1-800-800-SGI1)
    4. SGI O2 (R5200/300MHz/1MB SC/128MB/4GB/none/6.5) SGISUN.Com for $1495 (needs monitor, more memory)
    5. SGI O2 (R5000SC/200MHz/1MB SC/256MB/4GB/1600SW LCD/6.5) James River Technical for $2567 (WOW!)
    6. SGI O2 (R5000SC/180MHz/512KB SC/256MB/9GB/VideoOption/6.5) Reputable for $1250 (needs monitor)
    7. SGI O2 (R5000SC/200MHz/1MB SC/128MB/4GB/VideoOption/6.3) B&B Solutions for $1495 (needs monitor, more memory)
    8. SGI O2 (R5000SC/180MHz/512KB SC/128MB/4GB/none/6.5) SGISUN.com for $795 (needs monitor, more memory, make sure it is an SC)
    • Internal Drives (I think there is a limit of 7,200rpm internally, though B&B Solutions will see me a 10,000rpm U160 drive); single-ended Ultra Fast/Wide SCSI-3 80pin LVD SCA 3.5" drive on an O2 Sled:
      • Seagate 36ES, Maxtor Atlas 10k III (73GB/KWO73L8/$1050 or 36GB/KWO36L4/$419 or 18GB/KWO18L2/$209) 10,000rpm, 4.5millisecond seek, 8mb buffer, Ultra160 interface (320 coming soon), warm but quiet drive. Fujitsu MAN3367MP drive?
      • 2nd Internal 18.0 GB Ultra Fast Wide SCSI Option Disk on Sled (HD-18G-O2) - fills 2nd bay from SGI $560 (I think this is an IBM UltraStar 18ES Ultra2 SCA-2 drive)
      • CMS offers 9, 18, 36, and 73GB sizes; 36GB is $1092
      • Global Micro has lots of great deals; 36GB for $209 and 73GB for $594
      • B&B Solutions will sell an 18GB U160 10,000rpm disk for $440
      • SGI will gladly sell an 18Gb or 32GB 7,200rpm drive with 7.5ms seek times on internal sleds (HD-18G-02 or HD-32G-O2) or the same capacity drives with 10,000rpm speed in an external enclosure (P-18G10K-EXT or P-32G10K-EXT). I wonder how they feel about 15,000 rpm drives?
      • O2 Drive Sleds (9210105?) (around $100 each from Reputable.com, or $180 from B&B Solutions.com)
    • PCI Cards:
      • PCI Digital Audio I/O Board (PCI-AUD-8C-ALL) - (24bit sampling to 48 KHz)
      • PCI Ethernet Adaptor (PCI-ENET-TX-1P) - $270
      • Differential Ultra SCSI PCI Card (PCI-SCSI-DF-1P) $1000
      • Single Ended Ultra Fast Wide SCSI (PCI-SCSI-SE-1P) $217
        DVLink PCI card (PCI-1394-O2) - adds three firewire ports for $520
    • Replacements for standard Analog Audio I/O Sled:
      • Analog Video I/O Upgrade (VIDEO-O2) - replaces Analog Augio I/O Sled, comes with Camera, S-Video, Composite Video, O2 Camera I/O ($700 or $350 from B&B)
      • Digital Video I/O Upgrade (VIDEO-601-O2) - replaces Analog Augio I/O Sled, comes with Camera, one DV in, two DV out ($1700)
    • Display Adaptors:
      • Simple upgrade from 19" to 21" CRT ($800)
      • Adaptor for 13" 1280x1024 LCD Presenter (ADAPTOR-1280) $206
      • Stereo Viewing Adaptor (ADAPTOR-XEYE) $230
      • Flatpanel Adaptor for O2 and LCD 1600SW display (FP-1600-O2 $1400)
      • Adaptor for FlatPanel 1600SW (030-1170-001) $? (O2/LVD FP Open LDI standard 36 pin connector)
      • Dual Channel Display Board (DCD-O2) $2100 (includes a 21" CRT)
    • Max out Memory at 1GB:
      
      256MB High Density Memory Option (MEM-256HD-O2) - fills 2nd of 4 banks (get 3 of these, each is a pair of 128mb DIMMs) $350 from B&B or
      Does the O2+ really use 288 bit wide DIMMs? The regular O2 uses 144 bit wide DIMMs that are up to 128MB each in an ECC config.
      Bundled with: InPerson, IRIS Annotator, IRIS Showcase, Netscape 4.77, CosmoPlayer, CosmoCreate, Apache, Acrobat Reader, InfoSearch, SGImeeting, Teleffect, NFS, Xinet AppleTalk, Samba
  • Projector: either a NEC LT-85 (SVGA, $5300), or NEC LT-150 (XGA, $7300) or an InFocus LP-130 (XGA; $6600) projector for doing presentations from a PC. All of these are less than 3.5 pounds!!!
  • Projector: Sony VPL-CS1 (SVGA, $2800) projector for doing presentations, weighs in at 6.4 pounds.
• SCUBA Gear: (Earth Adventures has informative online catalog and good pricing). Diver Magazine has excellent online reviews, as does Rodale's Scuba Labs.
  Spare Parts Kit (see pg 184 of the Open Water manual)

  Apeks Mini Pressure Gauge accessory to check tanks quickly without firing up the computer ($40).

  In Line Apollo bio-filter fits more regulators ($195). Whacky colorful dive skins:

  DiveSkins Caribbean Blue Fleece
  Dive Goddess Deep-Z, Dive Goddess
  Aqua Angel
  Liquid Fit, specializing in fitting odd body types and sizes.
  Sport Diver Interactive Review of Skins

Author: Scott Nolan, (How to send me email)
Last updated: November 8th, 2004