https://david.gardiner.net.au/tags/Muppets.xmlDavid Gardiner - Muppets2026-05-19T00:35:57.695ZBlog posts tagged with 'Muppets' - A blog of software development, .NET and other interesting thingsCopyright 2026 David Gardinerhttps://www.gravatar.com/avatar/37edf2567185071646d62ba28b868fab?s=64https://www.gravatar.com/avatar/37edf2567185071646d62ba28b868fab?s=256astrojs-atomDavid Gardinerhttps://david.gardiner.net.au/2010/12/christmas-20102010-12-26T21:38:00.002+10:30Christmas 20102010-12-26T21:38:00.002+10:30It's been a big Christmas season in the Gardiner family this year.<p>It's been a big Christmas season in the Gardiner family this year. Last week we dressed up as New Testament-era characters in Aberfoyle Uniting's re-creation of Bethlehem in "The Road to Christmas". Thursday evening Narelle and I joined some friends for carol singing at a local hospital, then Christmas Eve we attended church as a family. It was a good service, and included this thought-provoking modern-day take on what Mary and Joseph went through:</p>
<p><img src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sghwe4TYY18" alt="Link to a video titled 'A social network Christmas'" /></p>
<p>On Christmas day we were hosting immediate family at our place for lunch, and were then joined by some extra friends for tea. <a href="http://relliemaus.blogspot.com/">Narelle</a> had a thought a few weeks back that to cater for this many people, a second fridge would be useful. After checking out some second-hand stores, I ended up bidding (and winning) one on eBay.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It has been a great fridge. It fitted all we needed to fit in it, and saved all those minutes of "angst" when trying to fit the leftovers in it after lunch and tea.
I must say that Narelle did an amazing job – the meat and veggies were perfectly cooked...and the pudding was out of this world.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>(Narelle added the above two paragraphs while I was playing Kinect) But I agree, the fridge was a great idea.
The day started at not an unreasonable time. We'd been to Church the previous evening, so things weren't so rushed in the morning.
The XBox 360 + Kinect has proved a big success. Our family present this year, and all the family has been having a go - even our youngest (though sometimes to the frustration of other players!) – she can play some of the games, though some of the finer controls are too tricky for her yet.
We've had a lot of fun playing:</p>
<ul>
<li>Kinect Adventures – a great intro to Kinect and physical fun</li>
<li>Kinectimals – very imaginative game</li>
<li>Dance Central – funky dancing</li>
<li>Kinect Joy Ride – fun car driving – 2 players at a time</li>
</ul>
<p>(Kinectimals and Kinect Joy Ride were presents, the other two titles came with the bundle).
So far I'm totally impressed. The only thing I could wish for would be some family-friendly titles to be published that can have more than two players at one time (I've heard Kinect can track up to 6 people, though I think you'd need lots of space for that).</p>
<p><img src="https://www.amazon.com/Sesame-Street-Celebration-Years-Life/dp/1579126383?&linkCode=li2&tag=flcdrg0e-20&linkId=000f29c6a681fc7ef623341886bffb88&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_il" alt="Sesame Street: A Celebration of 40 Years of Life on the Street" /><img src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=flcdrg0e-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=1579126383" alt="Sesame Street: A Celebration of 40 Years of Life on the Street" /></p>
<p>One of my other favourite presents had me up far later than I should have been Christmas night. I was only thinking the other day when we were watching "A Muppet Christmas Carol" that one of the best things to ever come out of the USA is Jim Henson's Muppets. That thought was reinforced by me getting a copy of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sesame-Street-Celebration-Years-Life/dp/1579126383?&linkCode=ll1&tag=flcdrg0e-20&linkId=f1c76484da942d2ab469b305f973cb85&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl">Sesame Street: A Celebration of 40 Years of Life on the Street</a>. A fascinating read so far.</p>
https://david.gardiner.net.au/2009/12/two-cool-christmas-presents2009-12-30T22:34:00.002+10:30Two cool Christmas presents2009-12-30T22:34:00.002+10:30Christmas has always been a special time for me, and now it's also special for the kids too.<p>Christmas has always been a special time for me, and now it's also special for the kids too.
This year my sister generously bought me a new car…
<img src="../../assets/2009/12/p1040142%5b1%5d%5b5%5d.jpg" alt="Super Grover in his convertible car" />
Pretty neat huh?
Carson got given this electronic robot.
<img src="../../assets/2009/12/p1040145%5B1%5D%5B4%5D.jpg" alt="Electronic robot" />
It came as a kit, which meant I had to pull out my trusty old soldering iron and solder all the components onto the PCB then assembly all the gearbox bits. I seem to recall my success rate for soldering electronic kits wasn't very good, but I'm pleased to report I managed to get this one working first time. Probably a good thing as I would have no idea how to fix it if it hadn't worked!
When you turn it on, it runs around the floor, and changes direction when the IR sensors detect an object in the way.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone.</p>