...In a small restaurant:
"You're in a good mood today."
"Got laid this morning."
"It's more than that. You have money, again. You're such a mercenary..."
Yeah, I do love me tax time. Refund came in yesterday, and I'm no longer broke.
(At least for a little while)
Now if I can just force myself to spend it responsibly instead of buying some toys.
Of course, that's easier this year than others. No, I'm not getting more mature and responsible (HA!)... it's just that the local shop already sold the Supernova and Guide Gun a few days before I got money. Bastards. And of course, no one has a Gunsite Scout anyway; what with them being the hot new toy in town after SHOT and all.
Should I happen to walk upon one of these or these, however, all bets are off.
I will say though, in the non-shooty world, that it's amazing how cheap computer monitors have gotten. I grazed through Best Buy last night and looked them over. Saw a 23" LEDHDLMNOP something or other widescreen for $239. Hard to gauge picture quality, because the staff had split the same signal to all fifty demo monitors, so the quality of the feed was terrible. From what I could discern, though, it looked fairly nice. Don't think I actually own an HDMI cable, though; so that's something else I'd have to buy. If it's like everything else HD, the cable will be fifty-friggin-bucks on its own.
And then of course there are even less exciting prospects for spending money. I'm about due for a new pair of black boots, my entire collection of jeans are worn through in various places and need replacement, and I really need a couple new long-sleeved overshirts. A spare pair of cheapo glasses probably wouldn't be a bad investment, either.
At some point, I'd still like to have a general purpose pair made. Something on an Aviator frame (remember, aesthetics aside - my prescription won't let me wear proper eyeshields no matter how much I might want to; I simply can't see out of the lens except in the exact center). I've tried "transitions" in the past, and they're a damned joke. They don't transition, most of the time; and cost 2x as much to boot. So, I've been thinking something with about a five percent tint; neutral gray, 100% UV-A/B/C blocking, with a wide lens to provide as much protection and visibility as possible. Since most of my sunglasses wearing is to block UV (which I'm very sensitive to), rather than because of the sheer brightness of the sunlight, I figure five percent would knock enough off to use outdoors without getting a headache, be clear enough to use indoors, and hopefully the aviators lenses are large enough to actually provide some ballistic protection.
Yeah yeah, say what you want about overkill for a civilian; but you work awhile around machine and power tools, and glasses that can shrug off a shotgun blast start sounding like a damned good idea. Ever been hit in the face with debris from using an angle grinder over your head? I have.
Ugh. I hate being an adult. Time was, I got money? Magic: The Gathering cards, AD&D minis, maybe a computer game or six...
Now I've got to stop and think about whether I really need a new monitor (I don't. My 17" non-HD LCD works perfectly); whether it would actually be worth the extra cost to have a digitally designed lens made for my old CQC eyeshields (since Revision says their RX carrier won't work with prescriptions outside +/- 11 - and my stupid right eye is -13) versus just going to my local Lenscrafters and having a set of Aviators made this afternoon. On that note, Lenscrafters warranty for the fucking win, as they say. Those guys are great to deal with. Just talk to an optician, and not one of the sales monkeys. Ask me how I learned that.
I've already boringly decided I don't need the guns. Want, but not need. Damned responsibility. Don't need a new computer either, at least until TESV hits. Yeah, I bitch; but we're all going to keep buying shit from Bethsoft, because there's no one else making heavily-moddable-sandbox-first-person-RPGs. Unless someone puts a combat system into the Sims, it's pretty much Bethsoft or nada for our companion fix.
Gods, I'm depressed now. Someone find me another pomegranate Rockstar...
I totally understand. I'm expecting my modest return within the next week (I e-filed but the direct deposit costs extra so I let the USPS bring it to me). After they ganked me for just over half of it to cover the taxes I owed on the unemployment (don't even get me started on that injustice) I will still have just enough to catch up a utility bill or two and then buy a couple of 2GB RAM strips for my "new" PC. That will bring it up to 6GB, which I feel is kinda necessary for gaming since Windows 7 64 bit uses like 1GB RAM just to run itself. This will also allow me to take the two 1GB strips that I raped my Dell for when I put this one together and put them back where they belong since the old rig has been struggling along on just two 512s.
ReplyDeleteAnd then I'll be broke again...
Didn't buy a gun, but I did end up blowing some money this evening on something semi-frivolous.
ReplyDeleteEnded up buying some bed stuff.
Not that kind, perverts.
"Panther skin" faux-fur blanket... excuse me, duvet cover, some new sheets (since my current set is almost worn through), and a less worn out pillow.
On that note, I was looking over the good pillows while I was in Bed, Bath, & Beyond. They had Tempurpedic. Waaaaaaant. Extra firm and so nice... but not $99 nice. I don't enjoy sleeping THAT much.
I also want to know what in the hell everyone's got against twin beds. No good sheets for them. I mean, hell, the Lady and I don't even take up a whole twin mattress; why the hell would I want to waste floor space in my already too-small bedroom with a queen? To have to roll over two more times to hit floor? It's a bed, not a fucking racquetball court.
Yup. Always take a wad of cash with you if you intend to buy anything at B, B & B. Same goes for Victoria's Secret, but I don't shop there much anyway because when I ask the sales girls for certain things in certain sizes it's like I might as well have asked them for a bra with three cups. But I won't start a rant on that, at least not here.
ReplyDeleteSomewhere along the line the twin-size bed somehow became widely considered as the size for kids and single folks. I have no explanation why, and in my mind the word twin-size suggests something designed for two, but I'm outnumbered most of the time when it comes to things making sense so I just let it go.
Oh, feel free to rant away. I'm always up for a good story about half-naked women and/or lingerie. Hang on, I'll make some popcorn.
ReplyDelete...No?
Fine, be that way. No fun.
Personally, I've never set foot in a Victoria's Secret. There's one in the local mall, but... it smells funny, and the clothes they sell there look terrible. Pink lace. Ugh.
Plus, I'm a firm believer that the sexiest thing a lady can wear is nothing at all. Although there was in incident once, many years ago involving a certain someone, a tactical vest, a boonie hat... and nothing else. Mm. Who needs lace lingerie?
Anyway. On the BB&B thing: I know it's not a "guy" place to shop (and I do draw the occasional funny look, going in wearing jeans, desert boots, and a T shirt plastered with the image of a woman in a camo bikini fondling an M14), but have you looked at the sheets at Wal-Mart lately? They're horrid. It's like sleeping on rest stop toilet paper.
At least the 400 thread count set I picked up last night is soft. Wanted it in black, but noooo. Not for a twin. No satin, either. Elitist pricks. Ended up with Egyptian cotton in "taupe"; which is okay I guess. It's neutral at least, and does go with the carpet...
Oh, also: that whole "you can't have sex in a twin bed" thing? Total BS. At three feet wide by six long, it's a bit narrow for a knock-down, drag-out three way... but for one-on-one, it's plenty of space. Like anything else, you just have to pay attention to what you're doing.
heh, toys and money vs needed things - I know that feeling. I pre-spent my tax return on a Savage Mark II TR to shoot sporterrifle with at my local club. $600 is pricey for a 22LR gun, but this thing is my perfect plinker/varmint gun outside of one of the exotics.
ReplyDeleteI can't stress how much nicer (IMNSHO) a widescreen LCD with HDMI is over an standard aspect one. It pains me to work on a non-widescreen display anymore. As for cables being expensive - www.monoprice.com is your friend. The prices are insanely cheap, but the quality is top-notch. I can't bring myself to purchase from anyplace else now. I have a BenQ 24" WS monitor with HDMI/DVI/VGA inputs. I run PC to DVI, PS3 to HDMI and have VGA if I have to rebuild a computer for someone.
And so with you on the whole bed/sheets thing. I sleep on a queensize futon frame bed, and finding black sheets that fit properly is a PITA. I had to buy one of them expensive pillows, cause I get horrid neck pain if I sleep wrong, and my concentration - and shooting scores - suffer when that happens. ugh.
I agree to a certain extent on the topic of monitors. I'm not so sure HD is required, but I have a 16:9 monitor and I will say that looking at my Dell's 4:3 afterward is pretty bland by comparison. Sometimes it's hard to get the more ancient of my favorite games to work on the 16:9 without resorting to windowed mode, but for today's newer games I'd definitely recommend a widescreen monitor.
ReplyDelete@darksong:
ReplyDeleteHow in the holy HELL did you manage to find a MarkII that cost $600? I hope it had a scope on it, at that price. I thought the $350 I dropped on a Mako MarkII a few years ago was bad...
Even the threaded-barrel MarkII-TRR-SR only has an MRSP of $569.
Still, I guess it's at least got more style than one of those 10/22-based abortions.
Seriously: the only rimfires worth buying are the old Savage/Stevens ones. Even the store brands. Even at five and six decades old and costing a princely C-bill, most will still shoot circles around all but the most heavily matched-up modern production rifles.
I can agree on the sleep thing, as well. You just haven't lived until you've tried to shoot for groups on two hours of half-assed sleep; only still upright because your blood has enough caffeine in it to give a horse an arrhythmia.
Not quite as much fun as Kalashnikov-derivatives and FALs on a Vodka hangover... but still an experience.
They don't make enough ear plugs for that one, oh no.
And on the monitor thing (consolidated into one post to save time):
ReplyDeleteI'd like to upgrade, really I would. But that unexpected jaunt through Bed, Bath, and Beyond set me back two hundred bucks.
Have to do some fund-re-plotting to see if I can still afford a new monitor. Since the 17" works, a new one unfortunately cannot be a high priority.
...Even if it would look really nice...
Yeah, I live in New York, we get gouged on firearm prices all too often. Was $433 without a scope, $533 with before tax. I picked up one with a Tasco Silver Antler 6x24 scope on it, $608 after tax. Looking on gunbroker.com I see listing for them without a scope from $399 to $499, and that scope I see online for like $65.
ReplyDeleteYeah it's a pricey for a mere .22LR, but it's going to be my main "fun gun". And have you ever picked up a weapon and put it to firing position, and get that feeling of "this is it" ? What I got when I looked at this one. Didn't get it from the 10/22's and Marlins I was looking at, and wasn't even going to look at an Anschutz or that insane Magnum Research one they had. :|
It's only money. ;P
"It's only money. ;P "
ReplyDeleteHey, I'm not sayin' don't buy it if you feel like it. You're talking to a guy that once willingly purchased a 300WSM, quite possibly one of the most pointless chamberings in the history of the metallic cartridge.
I just personally don't get a kick (oh, the wit!) out of pop-guns. Though I do have to say, the stock on that TR is strongly reminiscent of a McMillan A5, which if you've gotta have a bolt gun, is definitely an approved way to go.
Have I ever run across the one? Well, yes. I have. Of course, I had to build mine my damned self... but you do that kind of thing when you're a gunsmith and not steadily employed.
I've used AR-15's in several chamberings, AK-derivatives in a half dozen calibers, match grade and sniper-grade bolt actions, H&K and AR-10 and XCR and even SIG. Hell, I even rocked a 45-70 for a couple years. None of them compare to that 21st century rebuild of the M14. And it's not just another pretty face, either: this is a 2-3/4" 20ga hull, speared on the first try from 104 meters out (you gotta love laser rangefinders).
So, yeah. I understand meeting the one. It's just that my one will turn a four inch thick block of cement into gravel from a few hundred meters out.
Also: Anschutz is nice, but I doubt you'd have touched even a used one for $600. The last Anschutz I saw went for like $1200, as I recall. Entirely too much money for any rimfire, unless your intended purpose includes the word "Olympic" in it. And you should know the Magnum Research rifles are still 10/22s; just in fancier stocks and at 3x the price.