Friday, June 24, 2022

Friday 5 for June 24: Consumer Reports




Friday 5 for June 24: Consumer reports

The questions as usual come from the Friday 5 website.

1. When did you last eat or drink something purchased from a truck or other wheeled vehicle?

I used to go to a variety of lunch trucks in the past. The last time I went to one was probably in 2019, months before the COVID-19 attack happened. Since then I have not returned. Also prices for plate lunches spiked A LOT higher since the start of that darn pandemic.

2. When did you last purchase something previously owned?

A couple of $1 record albums that I bought from the Thrift Shop. New vinyl records are now WAY TOO EXPENSIVE! Thanks millennials for spiking the prices higher. Ugh! You folks should have just stayed with digital.

3. When did a purchase most recently exceed your expectations?

For any purchase to exceed my expectations, it has to 1. last longer than 10 years and 2. be affordable. That said, many of the cameras I use are older than 10 years. Some of my audio gear is old and analog. Love em. We need more devices that do not connect to the internet.

My Toyota Corolla is way older than 10 years. I certainly got my money's worth on that car, which I bought used many, many years ago. Things that cost more than $100 should last a long time. I use a 10 year time frame to gauge the quality of expensive consumer items. Long ago when you spent serious money, you expected things to last a very long time.

4. When did you last overpay for something because you needed it right away?

Gasoline! Damn that Biden. The Keystone Pipeline should be re-opened and our national policy should go to making our nation oil independent free of expensive foreign crude from the Middle East, Indonesia and Russia! Trump had that right.

Like everyone else that drives, we are severely impacted by the price of gas at the pump. Per gallon, while we are not the highest in the nation, $5.50+ cents per gallon truly bites, even if I only drive a Corolla!

5. Among recent purchases, what was the best bargain?

I got two FREE (with coupon discounts, etc.) Paul McCartney CDs from Amazon this week.... Egypt Station from 2018 and McCartney III from 2020 (see photo at top). Happy belated birthday Paul... 80 years strong and thanks for the decades of great music! Yeah!

Overall, CDs are now a way better bargain than new vinyl LPs. They cost way less, and like it or not, are more durable than record albums (which I still love, thank God I already have a big collection of many classic titles) and sound great even when bought used. Can't say that about vinyl record albums, especially when you take a chance on used titles (though I have been lucky with most).

Record albums should be $8 to $9 for a standard black vinyl issue as new. Clearly less than $15. I was cringing when reissues of LPs that I bought brand new for $8 or even less back in the day, are now selling for over $20 a pop and more recently with an industry price hike, selling for more than $30. I mean is a $30 copy of The Beatles Abbey Road worth it when a perfectly fine CD can be had for half the price? Duh! Good thing I have both the CD and a vinyl record copy of this classic album in my collection.

As for new music released this century I am more than happy with a digital download or a regular CD. Musicians of the current generation are not worthy for issuance on vinyl and the high prices that go with that.


Friday, June 17, 2022

Friday 5 for June 17: Flaming O

 

Friday 5 for June 17: Flaming O

I don't get the connection to "flaming O", but here are the answers to these fowl oriented questions. As usual the questions come for the Friday 5 blog.

1. Among stuff people have told you recently, what’s been most difficult to swallow?

"You stink". Ugh.

2. What swan thing from last week you’ll spend time reflecting on this week?

Probably reviewing this video that I produced from last Saturday.

3. What are you waiting your tern for?

Money that is not coming, otherwise nothing in particular.

4. Who do you suspect is robin you blind?

Been to gas station lately? The price per gallon is climbing way over $5. And who is responsible for this? JOE BIDEN of course. The rickety old man cut the Keystone Pipeline on the first day of his presidency. It is time to let the oil flow on through our own continent and in our own country once again. Never mind the Middle East, Indonesian and Russian crude.

The U.S. should be and could be pursuing a goal of energy self sufficiency in all sectors, including coal, oil, and nuclear in addition to all the "touchy feely" green energy that tree huggers and progressives love. 

We suffer from high prices because of the progressive agenda. We could also lose more of our freedoms because of progressives who learn horribly socialist.

5. To what cause or effort are you planning to pigeon sometime soon?

Well I do ongoing charity work for Assistance League of Hawaii if that counts.

OK. Wishing anyone who got this far, a great Friday and weekend. 

Bird photos from Wikimedia Commons.


Sunday, June 5, 2022

Friday 5 for June 3: As happy as our cruel world allows

June 5, 2022: Questions from the Friday 5 blog.


1. Who has a great voice for acting in movies?

There are way too many actors to just narrow it down to one or even a few. Off the top of my head, I've enjoyed Tom Hanks, Clint Eastwood, Charlton Heston and John Wayne through the years. Doesn't help much that two of them are dead. From women I can't remember too many from their voices... perhaps Kathleen Turner (whatever happened to her?).... I don't know who the young and trendy actors are today since I hardly ever watch new movies unless they stream somewhere. Plus my attention span for movies are not like they used to be in the past. I tend to like shorter films these days.

2. When have you recently resisted temptation?

High prices are easy to resist like last minute plane fares and big ticket items.

Just say "NO" to expensive stuff and walk away from it. It's easy!

3. When did you last cry in front of someone?

When my mother died.

4. When did you receive encouragement from an unexpected person?

I can't remember if that recently happened or if it ever did.

5. How old are some personal letters you’ve kept, and how easily do you throw personal letters away?

I have a few letters and cards from my Mom, and a few from old, long lost friends from back in the 1970s. Today hardly anyone gets personal letters. The kinds of letters I get in the mail, I usually hate, which are from businesses and government entities. Today we are more than likely to get "letters" (not saying much here) in the form of emails or even shorter by direct messaging texts, posts or tweets. Letter writing has fallen by the wayside in the digital age.

Plus to cost to send out anything in the mail is expensive when compared to email or texts. See #2 "expensive".

That said, here is a video....