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Post by The Captain on May 14, 2020 6:34:14 GMT -5
You know you hate beer when you deliberately water it down yourself to make it more tolerable yet it still makes you gag with every sip. There, I said it. While I don't "hate" beer, I will say that my desire to drink it has definitely lessened over time. These days, I would take a hard cider or rum & Coke over a beer, and if the former two weren't available, I might just stick to that water that you're using to thin out the beer.
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Post by The Captain on May 13, 2020 20:31:50 GMT -5
I'm in this comment, and I don't like it. Hey, no offense meant, Captain. I'm only messing about and don't mean to get on at anybody in this thread. It's just that I find the idea of wearing gloves to read comics fascinating, eccentric, sensible, and ridiculous all at the same time. That said, I do like to make sure that my hands are clean before I read my comics (or any book for that matter): it's good practice if you want your stuff to last, I think. But I've never actually considered wearing gloves; I guess because I don't own any comics that are that expensive. However, the thought of wearing gloves has crossed my mind regarding the handling of some of my more expensive LPs or CD box sets, but ultimately I decided that that way lies madness! No offense taken at all, my friend. I knew you were being tongue-in-cheek, and I was just playing along, since I was first in with a response and I do have an anal-retentive, borderline-OCD quality with my collection that I readily admit to. Also, mind you, I don't wear gloves to read all, or even 1%, of my books. Iron Man #55, sure; Iron Man #54 or #56, no. Captain America #100 or 117, absolutely; Captain America #200 or 317, no way.
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Post by The Captain on May 13, 2020 16:51:44 GMT -5
Ladies and gentleman, The Shopping Cart theory... -M I saw this yesterday and showed it to my wife. It triggered a good 20 minute discussion with our daughters about always doing the right thing, even if there are zero consequences for not doing it and zero rewards for doing it. They got where we were coming from, so I feel like that was a win.
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Post by The Captain on May 13, 2020 16:35:57 GMT -5
I think this is the most mental, anal-retentive thread that I've ever seen here at the CCF. And that's really saying something! 😂 I'm in this comment, and I don't like it.
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Post by The Captain on May 12, 2020 19:59:20 GMT -5
There is absolutely nothing wrong with sticking to a self-imposed budget. For me, it tends to run in cycles. I have given myself a monthly rough budget for comics (all back issues-- I haven't had a pull box or subscription service since 1996), and sometimes I'll go 2 or more months without buying a thing. Then, as luck would have it, I'll run into multiple sales events either locally or online and may spend that 2-months worth of budget allotment in one week. One rule I have is that I won't buy anything that I can't pay for outright... in other words, I don't used my credit cards to buy comics. Debit cards, yes, credit cards, no. But experience has taught me that when it comes to comics, cash is still king-- especially at shows. I've gotten some great bundle purchase deals at shows, where I had a wad of bills instead of asking the dealer to take plastic. This keeps me honest with myself and reigns in any wild thoughts of buying books in the $1000+ range. I'm,not saying that I wouldn't purchase a book in that price range, but it would have to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity on an exceptional "personal grail" book in order to justify it... and I ain't talking no Hulk #181 either. I am cash only for cons as well. That's how I set my budget-I have what cash I have on hand to spend, nothing more. When its gone, it's time to go home. I keep a "war chest" i.e. a place where I contribute cash to each week when I deposit/cash my paychecks-essentially my allowance out of the check. Some weeks it's $5-$10, others it's $40-50 depending on circumstances. If I buy something in an auction from Lonestar, I take the cash out of it and deposit in the account to cover the credit card payment. If I am going in person to a shop or a show, I take the cash out of the war chest, and that's what I have to spend for that trip or show. It's not just for comics, it's what I use when I go book hunting at used bookstores or toy hunting or thrift store browsing or what have you. The money is always above and beyond what is needed for us to make ends meet and contribute to savings and retirement, so it never negatively impacts our finances. I haven't been contributing to the war chest while out of work sheltering in place, so I haven't been spending what was in it (except for backing Starlin's Dreadstar Returns Kickstarter) as I want to have a little in the fund when things open up and cons start happening again. -M I'll "third" the cash-only purchases at cons, and I will say that our situations are remarkably similar, my friend. My wife and I have been giving ourselves an allowance each month since we got married, to spend on whatever we want. On top of that, I sell both trading cards and comics on the side, and my mother gives me cash for both Christmas and my birthday to this day. My "war chest", to use your phrase, is what it is at the time of the show, trip to the store, visit to eBay, whatever. I can blow all of it, some of it, or none of it, but that's entirely MY decision because it is MY money. Using the credit card would move it to the OUR money realm, and I won't do that at this point, not with one daughter in middle school and one starting high school in the fall (and college on the horizon for both), braces on one now and braces going on the other later this year, and needing to replace my wife's 15-year old car within the next year or two. The only caveat to the "no credit card" rule is if I'm out and not carrying a significant amount of cash, but I come across something that I can't live without. As long as I have that much cash in reserve at home or my PayPal account, I will use the credit card and pay back the house later.
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Post by The Captain on May 12, 2020 18:06:46 GMT -5
Paying over 100 for one comic is not something I ever want to do again. I've done it six times in my life: Captain America #100 - $160 Captain America #110 - $110 (it's VF+ and likely the nicest Silver Age book in my entire collection) Captain America #117 - $140 (bought this a little late after it started to really spike) Ghost Rider #1 - $100 X-Men #10 - $125 (oldest book in my collection, paid fair price at time but it has gone down since) X-Men #94 - $195 (most I've ever paid for a book) It's possible I will add Werewolf by Night #32 to this list. I wasn't going to get it, but with the whole coronavirus thing hitting, buying it would really help out my LCS make some cash quickly. Weird thing is that I've spent between $50 and $100 just four times.
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Post by The Captain on May 12, 2020 16:11:52 GMT -5
Might not be a big deal to anyone else, but KFC reopened here and I need my finger-lickin' good chicken. Have 3 spicy centre-breasts to munch on. I do my own crinkle-cut fries.
There, I said it.
We only get KFC once or twice a year at most, primarily because there is a little local joint that does some killer fried chicken and we try to support places like that as much as possible, but there is something appealing about a bucket of Original Recipe from the Colonel every now and then. It's like Taco Bell, which I maybe get twice a year because there is usually better Mexican food available (most of it I make in my own kitchen . There is a comic book/gaming shop about 90 minutes north of Pittsburgh that I get up to once a year to dig through the back issue bins and boxes of bulk Magic: The Gathering cards, and when I break for lunch around 3:00 or so, the closest place in the plaza is Taco Bell, so I'll hit that up before going back for the rest of my visit. May your chicken be everything you hoped it would be!
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Post by The Captain on May 11, 2020 17:52:27 GMT -5
During this quarantine I have started getting more silver age comics to complete some of my series. So can anyone recommend gloves for handling my comics? I wear powder-free nitrile medical-exam gloves to handle my Silver Age and high-grade/high-value comics. My sister gave me two boxes from her medical practice because her practice manager bought a variety that she and her partners did not like.
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Post by The Captain on May 10, 2020 5:21:41 GMT -5
I ordered some Magic: The Gathering cards from a place in Seattle WA a little while back. They sent them out on April 29 using Priority 2-Day Shipping. I got them on May 6, which is a little more than 2 days. I wasn't bothered by it, since I can't go out anywhere and play anyway, and some of the cards were only for my "artwork" binder. We all just have to get used to things being a little different now. What about prices? They're the same. If I pay $48.20 for a 29 comic shipment, I expect to get it in the 2-3 weeks it was advertised for. If it takes months to arrive, price should be way different. If this is the new way of doing mail business , I suspect I won't be the only one having trouble accepting it. Maybe I'm among the first to complain, but just wait. My order qualified for "free shipping", so it's not like I personally paid to get them faster, which I think is why I was so chill about it. However, I think there is going to be a big difference between how things are being done now ("the abnormal", as my father calls it) and the "new normal" that emerges when businesses, including the USPS, have a better handle on how to balance safety and health with customer service. Those that do it well will survive, and those that don't will go the way of the dodo.
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Post by The Captain on May 9, 2020 17:28:48 GMT -5
I work in the USPS and I have seen an increase in parcels of all sizes in the last few weeks. Almost but not quite, to Christmas levels. Even books that I have ordered on eBay are taking a bit longer to get to me , and I live in the states. I ordered some Magic: The Gathering cards from a place in Seattle WA a little while back. They sent them out on April 29 using Priority 2-Day Shipping. I got them on May 6, which is a little more than 2 days. I wasn't bothered by it, since I can't go out anywhere and play anyway, and some of the cards were only for my "artwork" binder. We all just have to get used to things being a little different now.
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Post by The Captain on May 9, 2020 7:01:10 GMT -5
There is a lot of overreach by the leaders of some states. This is a bad time for the US. On the flip side, there are some state leaders who aren't "reaching" far enough, either out of ignorance and sheer incompetence or in an effort to please and curry favor with a certain individual who lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC.
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Post by The Captain on May 9, 2020 5:43:00 GMT -5
It's May 8th and it's snowing in Pittsburgh. (...) Huh. That reminds me of this bit I saw in one of those Pittsburg Dad YouTube videos, in which he talks about the four seasons in Pittsburgh: winter, more winter, construction and stinkbugs. Looks like you still haven't moved on to construction... That's funny, but it really isn't accurate. Winters around here have been relatively mild for about the past decade, so while I get the sentiment, when people complain about neverending winter, they really mean "it isn't hot like summer". Outdoor activities (biking, hiking, soccer, baseball, etc.) start to ramp up in late March/early April, and they can sometimes be done comfortably up until Halloween. Construction "season" is definitely a thing, however. Usually starts in April, runs into November. It's why they joke that the Pennsylvania state flower is the orange rubber construction cone.
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Post by The Captain on May 8, 2020 16:06:19 GMT -5
It's May 8th and it's snowing in Pittsburgh.
2020 is one messed-up year, and we haven't even hit Memorial Day yet.
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Post by The Captain on May 7, 2020 17:42:44 GMT -5
I generally try to eat healthier than this on a whole, but I would be lying if I claimed to never slum it and indulge in a Twinkie on occasion. I usually have to get a box because they are not commonly or conveniently sold individually, and the cost difference between a box at the grocery store is negligible next to a solo cost at a convenience store, nor worth the extra trip when I'm indulging my impulsive sweet tooth. So it usually goes something like this. "Man, I want a treat as a reward for buying groceries. Oh, look, Twinkies! I haven't had those in years. $2 for a box? sure." First Twinkie: "Oh man, that was so good. So much sugar." Second Twinkie: Strikingly less satisfying than the first, but still enjoyable. It's cake after all. Third in a row: diminishing returns, leaden weight in stomach, self-loathing commences. "Ugh, I'm not having these again. So gross. What was I thinking." A few years later... "Hey, Twinkies!" This is exactly how I am with Snowballs, those coconut-covered chocolate-cake domes filled with marshmallow fluff. They come in packs of two, and while I should only eat one of them at a time, I just can't put the second one in a sandwich bag for later. So I devour the first one and think that it was really good, but by midway through the second one, I am regretting getting into the second one completely. I indulge about 3 times per year, once in the spring and then usually twice in the fall when I'm putting on my extra pounds for winter.
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Post by The Captain on May 7, 2020 6:47:05 GMT -5
I like mayonnaise. Miracle Whip however, is an abomination. -M My father feels the same way. He once refused to eat something my wife had made because she used Miracle Whip instead of mayo. She was very upset because she thought she'd done something wrong, but it was really my fault because I didn't give her a heads-up about it.
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