Our holiday wish lists and a chance to win $25 in Amazon cash!

It's that time of the year again. Last time we checked, there were something like 10 holidays in December -- some of which involve the exchange of gifts. Full disclosure -- the authors of this blog all celebrate at least one of these holidays. Below you can find our wish lists for the holidays just in case you want to throw a little something our way. *wink* You can also find a way to get yourself $25 in cold, hard, Amazon cash


Ed's List:
Each holiday season, I like to receive gifts that represent the whole spectrum of practicality. My first choice would be the Nikon P7000 camera. I've always wanted to get into photography, or at least graduate from taking crappy point-and-shoot shots. The P7000 gets high marks from Consumer Reports and is on sale for roughly half the retail price. People who know me, know that I enjoy cooking. Ever since my days slinging hash in my College's cafeteria I've had an appreciation for a good meat thermometer, and the thermapen is the Rolls Royce. Alas, it's near $100 price tag has always prevented me from throwing it in the ol' cart. The Holidays also usually represent somewhat of a break for me as I work for a University and usually have a little free time to catch up on my leisure activities. This break I plan to read a few books including Steven Pinker's "The Better Angels of our Nature" and Chuck Klosterman's "The Visible Man" and to brush up on my guitar learnin' with the same basic text used in the Berklee school of music's guitar class. Finally, when I get back to work I'd like to keep my shirt collars in place with the power of magnetism (how do they work?) and to adorn my desk with these Woody Guthrie approved # 2's.

Dean's List:
I always have trouble with wish lists, mostly because if it's something I really need, I just go get it. But, here it goes: I don't read books much; lots of news and magazines, but not many books. I did however, read a book this summer on my smartphone and found it much easier to handle. So a few e-books would be great, like "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall and "Bossy Pants" by Tina Fey. I know they aren't new, but they're new to me, back off! Lately, I've been writing more and would like to have an easier way to do so than sitting at my desktop, so a netbook like the Toshiba Mini Netbook would serve me well. No need for computing power, just word processing and net surfing on the couch. Plus, this one gets high marks in Best Buy's customer reviews. I like to blow off steam from time to time by pluckin' on my four-string, but I'm terrible so I'd love to take a ukulele class at Old Town School of Folk Music. Maybe I'll finally figure out just how to strum and sing at the same time. To top off this list, I'll go to a old staple: clothes. I like to look good, but I'm a skinny dude and department store clothes make me look like I'm a kid raiding his dad's closet. I have found though, that the Express 1MX shirt fits me like a glove. And a Brooks Brothers tie fits anyone.


Jordan's List:

I'm a bit of a scrooge for the holidays, so I don't think about gifts too much. I've been able to get a pass for the better part of my life by playing the "poor student" card. That being said, I'll see if I can get 4 gifts representing our 4 blog categories. For my science wish list gift I'll go with "Neuroanatomy through Clinical Cases" by Blumenfeld. It's been on the wish list for a while, just haven't gotten around to ponying up the cash to add it to the reference library. On the entertainment side I'm going to have to go with M83's new album "Hurry Up We're Dreaming," narrowly beating out Nicky Minaj. Yeah, I went there, don't judge me. But, if you want a good sample of the M83 CD, give a listen to "Midnight City" or "Wait" to get a listen. For my sports-related pick, I need some new wheels for my skates to be a little faster in derby, so I'll go with these Heartless 94's. For my political present, I want enough signatures on petitions to force a recall election of Scott Walker. And, just because I'm still stuck in the early aughts, I want one of these print tees.

Stuff Smart People Like has in no way benefited from making the above lists. We are not popular enough for anyone to pay us to promote their products. We've provided these lists and suggestions for the sheer enjoyment of our small but fervent audience.

This post also represents our first blog giveaway *Cheers* -- a $25 Amazon.com gift card! What's more? We give you four ways to win (you get one entry per method, with for a potential of four entries a person).

Here's how to enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling us what smart thing you plan to purchase should you win the gift card. (Make sure you link the comment to an email address, so we can notify you should you win, you can do this without displaying the address publicly).
2. Like us on facebook (If you have already liked us, you are already entered to win)
3. Follow us on Twitter (If you are already following us, you are already entered to win)
   Follow @smartppllike
   
4. Tweet this: "@smartppllike is giving away $25 in Amazon money to buy something smart for the yourself. Enter here!: http://bit.ly/uoVZaC" (without the quotes; make sure to include @smartppllike in the message so we can keep track)

While you're at it, please also subscribe to the blog and the podcast (iTunes | RSS). We believe you will benefit from these actions, but they not help your chances of winning the Amazon cash.

***You have until 11:59 Eastern time on December 24th to enter. One lucky member of Smarty Nation will awake on Christmas morning to the best present $25 can buy: a $25 card to the Walmart of the Internet!***

Good Luck and Happy Holidays!

-The Editors