Seasons Beatings!  It's that special time of the year when our thoughts turn to the end of the world.  It's almost 1999, that means the countdown to the year 2000 and Ragnarok!

    Some people you know and may even be friends with can be gift giving dead-beats.  They may mean well, but their gift giving skills are lacking.  Also there are some people are just plain cheap as well. Here are some tips for gift giving to help deal with people like this.

• Buy several gift in different price ranges.  Insist that the suspected deadbeat give you his/her gift first.  Note the value of the gift, then give him/her a gift of corresponding value.
• Only buy gifts that you can use.  This way if a deadbeat buys you a really lame gift, then you can keep the gift that you were going to give, and give the lame gift back to the offending party.
• Sometimes a gag gift can be used to illustrate the slacker's gift giving ineptness.  For example, a big box of dog poo speaks volumes of your opinion of a person.  And what is that one special gift that you can give someone that says, "I hate you.  If you fell off of the face of the earth tomorrow, I really wouldn't care."?  Ch- ch- ch- Chia!
• Gift giving natural selection is a good philosophy.  Why have a bunch of deadbeats around for the holidays eating all of your food and bothering you with all of their boring stories if they aren't going to properly compensate you for the effort that you put into not harming them?  If someone hasn't given you a good gift in three years, chances are that you will never get a decent present from him or her- ever.

    In a highly irregular move on my part, I've put a few advertisements on my page.  Go to Great Christmas Gift Ideas to check them out.

    Thinking about video games for a gift?  I review a few games, including the hottest new game this season, Resident Elmo 2.  Go to Games to Watch Out For to see the never before published photos of this great new game.

    Tired of crooning those same old yule tide songs?  I created some new Christmas Carols to sing around the yule fire.

    Need a lift?  Want a new poem to tell your kids before they go to bed waiting for Sado Clause to bring them presents?  Read 'Twas the Night Before Septi-mas to the little tikes to spread the cheer.