So around 2:30 today, then, she got here. I gave her the $0.50 tour of the bunker, and we chatted for a little while; then we hied ourselves towards the dangerously unregulated state to the east of here, where there's no waiting period for handguns and fireworks are openly and shamelessly offered for sale to any capitalist swine who can pay the freight.
We did manage to leave some fireworks for the other shoppers, but the entire time we were there we saw exactly five other customers; and they were split into groups, one of three and the other of two. This was a good day to shop for fireworks!
We went to Harbor Freight. I bought a hamburger press and a flashlight to replace the one for the bike trunk that got lost. I think I paid $0.50 less for this one than I did for the last one.
The real pisser? Gas was $3.60 per gallon in Indiana. Yesterday I filled the Jeep at $3.86 per gallon. I could have saved $4.16 if I'd waited a day. *sigh* But at the time I filled the tank I didn't think I was going to Indiana any time soon, and the "low fuel" light was on. Oh well.
Anyway, daring the ire of the Illinois NKVD, we returned to Illinois with our ill-gotten gains.
I cooked hamburgers, and we had dinner; then I showed her some pictures--Luna as a kitten, con photos, and so on.
After all this, she went home, and I went to Bible study...half an hour late.
* * *
"Marco Rubio Not Being Vetted to Be Mitt Romney’s Running Mate", goes the headline of this ABC News piece. Well, he shouldn't be; Marco Rubio is ineligible to be President and therefore is similarly ineligible for the Vice-Presidency.
I won't vote for any ticket that has Rubio on it, but since Romney is the presumptive nominee it scarcely matters since I refuse to vote for "Obama Lite".
* * *
Ace: The continuing recession means the economy may be about to hemorrhage jobs again. Ace says:
I do not understand why economists kept insisting this was a "recovery" when it looked almost nothing like a recovery. Yet they kept making predictions based on the notion that we were recovering.I know the answer: because those economists are Keynesians, and Keynes said that recovery always follows recession, especially when the government spends more money than it takes in. Deficit spending is the path to prosperity, say the Keynesians.
...because they've rejected everything their prophet says about fiscal responsibility in times of plenty. The borrowed money is supposed to be paid back during the "boom" part of the cycle, something which our government has never done to any significant degree.
* * *
I disagree with WORM on this. Obama's not chewing Nicorette. He's not making America look stupid in front of world leaders by appearing to be a gum-chewing kid.
What he is doing is demonstrating sound fiscal discipline. You see, he obviously bought that gum which has the flavor that doesn't quit--you know, the stuff where they had commercials showing company executives making people spit out their piece of gum so they'd have to start chewing another one. Like the one with the goat, where it butts the guy in the stomach, he spits out the gum, and the guys in the van screech to a stop and take the gum off the street and peel out in a cloud of tire smoke, making a clean getaway as the gum-chewer looks on in confusion.
Obama is making sure to use up that piece of gum and not throwing it away before it's lost all its flavor. This is FISCAL DISCIPLINE WE CAN COUNT ON!
* * *
...I think I probably tried too hard on that one.
* * *
Borepatch makes the point about global warming yet again: the unadjusted data shows no global warming. Only the adjusted data does. I wonder why that is?
* * *
Speaking of which, people stomping around in nature causes global warming because it makes the bugs nervous or something. ...no, I really don't quite understand how that all fits together.
* * *
A bit of a ramble through Ebay has led to yet another foolish purchase.
...yesterday (or the day before) I did a search on "laserdisk player" and found one sitting at its opening bid of $20. It's been tested only with a CD, not an LD, but it worked fine with a CD. This means it works better than either of the two LD players I have. (Argh etc.)
At the time I placed my bid I thought shipping was $32; that's what the ad said--but in fact since I won the auction this afternoon I've been informed that shipping is $15. So: if it works, I've got a working LD player for $35 and can finally watch my LDs again and dub them to DVD. Whee!!
If not, the ad promises a full refund including shipping.
*shrug*
* * *
Anyway, one of the funny things about today's trip to the fireworks place: Lemonzen tried calling Sailor V to ask him what he wanted, since she was thinking of asking him if he wanted to "go in" with her on a package deal. No answer at VHQ; but as she and I were beginning to work on dinner Sailor V happened to show up at my front door. Heh.
The hamburger press--it works tolerably, and I expect that as I use it I'll learn how to make it work. The hamburgers came out well enough.
HF has a can crusher--the kind you load up with six cans and then wham wham wham until they're all crushed--for $10. I almost bought one. I still might. Mount it by the back door, and put the unused garbage can under it; then load it up with cans and squash 'em flat...and take the whole schmeer to the recycler when the can's full.
But that's a project for another day.
It's supposed to cooler later this week--temps in the 80s instead of the 90s. But I don't know how well that'll translate to me not having to air condition this place.
Oh well.