Finishing touches are the little differences that elevate the merely good into the great - things like the blue-cheese-stuffed olives at the bottom of your Grey Goose martini, or rolling in that curling birdie putt on the 18th hole at Pebble Beach.
Years ago, a friend of mine qualified to play in the California State Amateur Golf Tournament, and he asked me to caddy for him. This was a big event, held at two difficult courses against the toughest competition in the state, so having a good caddy by his side was important.
The simplest things in life often yield the most pleasure. A cold beer after a hard day working in the yard. A parking space with time left on the meter. A funny fortune cookie at the end of a Chinese dinner.
This past winter, my wife and I spent three wonderful weeks touring Italy. Although traveling abroad always provides interesting experiences, we stumbled across some peculiarities that really showed we weren't in America anymore. For one, the cost of a cappuccino is directly related to where you drink it. Stand at the counter, and it might be $1.50.
While it's relatively easy to find good components, it's a lot harder to find ways to get them to play nice with each other. And that challenge has only gotten greater as components have become more complex and setups more elaborate.
Forget about DLP vs. LCoS or Blu-ray vs. HD DVD. The biggest battle heating up in the home-entertainment world right now is over who's going to rule the next generation of gaming. And Microsoft just launched the first strike - 100 megatons worth of silicon known as Xbox 360.
With HDTV, 6.1-channel digital audio, and streaming audio and video files now theoretically at our fingertips, we truly have a bonanza of entertainment options! But let's face it - more often than not it's the fingertip part that becomes a system's Achilles' heel.
Remember back in high school? It seemed like everyone went to the Senior Prom. But as the party started winding down, the cool kids pulled away in rented limos and headed off to hotel rooms around town to continue partying the night away.
My grandmother, Thelma Perkins, passed away at the end of December. I was her eldest grandchild, and we were very close. I believe that the time I spent with her helped make me the person I am today. My Gram spoiled me, keeping her house stocked with my favorite junk food, taking me on trips, and staying up all hours playing cards with me.
My friend Jon is a wiz with pretty much anything mechanical, and he has a Rain Man-like gift for motors. Whether it's a pool pump, a lawn tractor, or a car, Jon is the man to call. What amazes me is that he can often diagnose my motor problems over the phone with only the most basic description.