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Ask HN: So HNers, whatd'ya get for Christmas?

39 points| colbyolson | 16 years ago | reply

I think I made out like a bandit! Lots to read now over the break.

http://i46.tinypic.com/24pmip2.jpg

174 comments

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[+] maxklein|16 years ago|reply
I got the skin of a leopard. Completely unasked for, totally illegal and now I'm feeling very guilty, but unsure what to do. It's not good to have naive family members go on safari.
[+] whyme|16 years ago|reply
I say auction it off with the donation $ given to a fund that saves leopards...

  * Some guy who wants one gets it without having to kill yet another.
  * The charity will save more leopard lives.
  * You get a tax deduction via charity donation receipt.
That's what I would do.
[+] DanielBMarkham|16 years ago|reply
This probably isn't a popular thing to say, but assuming it's legal, I'd keep it. Anything that rare and precious is worth cherishing for the rest of your life.
[+] JoelPM|16 years ago|reply
At first I thought you meant someone had burned you a copy of Snow Leopard. I guess that probably would've been better...
[+] mattiss|16 years ago|reply
That's pretty disgusting. Good on you that you are figuring out a noble way to get rid of it.
[+] vaksel|16 years ago|reply
that's a weird ass present, is it skin skin, or some garment made out of it?
[+] gaius|16 years ago|reply
I got woken up at 1:30AM for a database replication problem, which wasn't a problem at all, there was no new data because IT WAS CHRISTMAS and there were no goddamn transactions to replicate. FFS!

Anyway, Merry Christmas!

[+] portman|16 years ago|reply
At our ultrasound in October, we asked the sonographer to write the baby's sex in a sealed envelope. Instead of exchanging presents, my wife and I opened the envelope this morning.

It's a girl.

[+] harisenbon|16 years ago|reply
Congratulations! Our first girl is coming soon as well!
[+] hachiya|16 years ago|reply
Congratulations! And Merry Christmas!
[+] quizbiz|16 years ago|reply
I'm Jewish... but I got a winter break from college to spend with the family. For that, I thank you all (while my patience with my mother lasts).
[+] shaddi|16 years ago|reply
Amen from your Muslim brother. :)
[+] dmarble|16 years ago|reply
From my dad: A card that says, "This card is redeemable for cash in the amount of the cost of the Feb 2010 bar exam if you pass it." He's trying to incentivize me to study since I'm such a procrastinator. I have to admit, that's pretty creative of him.

From my two younger married sisters who each have kids: a box with a stuffed baby bunny and a handwritten sign inside urging me to "MAKE BABIES!".

FYI: I'm 30, male, single, working on a law-related software startup, and considering a New Years' resolution of flying away from the bay area to other cities on weekends to meet more women. Good idea?

[+] johnrob|16 years ago|reply
I agree there aren't as many girls here, although people on this site have argued vehemently against that conclusion (I choose to believe my own eyes, so I don't care what they say). The problem with weekend trips is that at best you end up with a distance relationship... I'd say crank on the start up, and when it's done (win or lose) move somewhere else.
[+] jamesbritt|16 years ago|reply
"handwritten sign inside urging me to 'MAKE BABIES!'."

Oh, nice; a start-up idea!

[+] shaddi|16 years ago|reply
An IR thermometer! I've always wanted one but never got around to getting it. I've been measuring the temperature of /everything/ since this morning. It's awesome to see how fast heating elements get hot, or quantify just how cold your coffee has gotten.
[+] kyro|16 years ago|reply
Rejection from a grad school and a call from a collecting agency!
[+] chrischen|16 years ago|reply
Hey I got that too, the collecting agency that is.
[+] cpr|16 years ago|reply
Hey, there are 12 days of Christmas, so I've got 11 more days to find out what I'm getting... ;-)

(Seriously, we celebrate most gift-giving on Epiphany, the traditional 12th day of Christmas, when the Magi brought their gifts to Bethlehem. Takes the "gift whammy" off Christmas itself, though we have a few minor gifts.)

[+] araneae|16 years ago|reply
Are you Russian Orthodox Christian?
[+] BrentRitterbeck|16 years ago|reply
I got Monopoly City, an old Chase Manhattan stock certificate, and a mint condition 100 trillion Zimbabwe dollar note.
[+] zandorg|16 years ago|reply
I have (though I bought it myself) a Carolco bond (which covered Terminator 2), and framed it, and I point at it and go "Without this paper, no Terminator 2!"
[+] mickeyben|16 years ago|reply
I had an arduino board and the books "don't make me think" http://www.amazon.com/Think-Common-Sense-Approach-Usability/... and "programming clojure" http://pragprog.com/titles/shcloj/programming-clojure
[+] ErrantX|16 years ago|reply
Yup I got an arduino too. Absolutely GREAT fun.

So far the best project I want to aim for is a UAV (http://www.diydrones.com) - either that or as a controller unit for a coil gun.

Any other suggestions for us?? :D

[+] RevRal|16 years ago|reply 

  Andrey Tarkovsky's Sculpting in Time
  Milorad Pavic's Landscape Painted With Tea
  A signed and framed picture by Will Cullen Hart
  Herzog Zwei for my Sega Genesis
  Planescape Torment for PC
  Leadbelly collection
  A brick of soft lead (I need this for swaging).Someone found it and thought of me :)
Just the coolest stuff this year. Enjoy your day :)
[+] yread|16 years ago|reply
+1 for the tarkovsky. and the landscape. and the torment. Damn I want your presents!

To stay on topic I got a Michal Palin book signed by himself! :)

[+] jcw|16 years ago|reply
Herzog Zwei is excellent. Congrats on getting that.
[+] caryme|16 years ago|reply
A WakeMate! Well, a printed email confirmation of a WakeMate preorder.
[+] SwellJoe|16 years ago|reply
Rejection letters from several banks for a small RV loan, even with a co-signer. So my Christmas gift to myself, an RV, will have to be paid for with cash, and will be a few years older than the one I thought I was getting. I'm also wondering where my tax dollars are going, if they aren't going into consumer loans for people with great credit and reasonable income. (Note to other startup founders: Getting a loan as a startup founder is really difficult, even if you have a reasonable salary and credit score in the 700s; plan accordingly.)

A Kindle. Which allows me to get rid of all of my books, making my transition to RV living that much easier.

Cash from my parents, as contribution to my RV fund.

[+] dtby|16 years ago|reply
I'm also wondering where my tax dollars are going, if they aren't going into consumer loans [...]

Is this some young geeks joke that old geeks don't get?

[+] DanielBMarkham|16 years ago|reply
I had an HN-Christmas. I got stuff that I saw other HN'ers recommended over the last year.

First was the CDs. Arvo Part Fratres. Arvo Part Tabula Rasa, Gorecki' Symphony #3, and Steve Reich Music for 18 Musicians (These are REALLY GOOD) I am enjoying the heck of of them so far this morning.

Then, from another HN thread, the ultimate nerd game, Settlers of Catan. Can't wait to try it out later today.

Finally some custom teas. Good stuff! I'm drinking a double-spice chai with milk and Splenda. Delicious.

By the way, if you haven't figured it out yet, you can be bad and Santa still brings you cool stuff. I think this whole "making a list" stuff is just a big lie. If you ask me, the big fat man is a pushover.

[+] caryme|16 years ago|reply
Hackers: Minimalist music, complicated board games, and sophisticated teas.

Yes.

[+] charliepark|16 years ago|reply
Settlers is great. It has a bit of a learning curve, though, so if you have any friends who know how to play (and who would be okay with a few "open hand" rounds), you might invite them over. Have fun!
[+] vaksel|16 years ago|reply
I just got cash. I'm impossible to shop for, since I just buy whatever I want. So about 5 years back we just agreed that I just get cash, since that allows me to buy the stuff I really want, when I get the itch.
[+] maxklein|16 years ago|reply
My rule is exactly the opposite - I have cash and I can buy anything I want basically, and I can always save for more expensive things.

So the rule is simply - I neither give nor receive cash or gift certificates. That way I get things I may not have known I wanted, or unexpected things. It also brings a lot more fun into unwrapping presents.

[+] ahlatimer|16 years ago|reply
I get the same thing, typically. I'm a starving college student (well, not really starving, but generally broke), and random gifts can't pay the rent.
[+] Flemlord|16 years ago|reply
My present was my extended family agreeing to play Werewolf for the first time. I've been dying to play ever since I heard about it, but haven't had enough people to try it. (It requires at least nine; eight players and a moderator.) It was a huge hit and we're playing it again tonight with even more people.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafia_%28party_game%29

I also got a kegerator.

[+] verdverm|16 years ago|reply
2010 scion tC... Totally sweet ride, korman book, and much needed socks
[+] ahlatimer|16 years ago|reply
I have an '07 tC and love it. I've put 40k miles on it in 2 1/2 years, and I haven't had a single problem besides bent rims. Speaking of the rims, I don't know if they've changed in the past three years (doubt it), but if they haven't, be careful with them. My dad bent one hitting in pot hole in San Antonio, and I bent two at some point (no idea how). It might not be immediately obvious they're bent, but they can suffer pretty nasty blowouts when the sidewall does finally deteriorate. Neither my dad nor I have done that in any other car, so I think it has something to do with the rims (although we can be a little rough on cars).
[+] Mz|16 years ago|reply
Four days off. :)