Category: Personal

I can see why blacksmiths enjoyed their jobs: you get to drink beer, get metal really hot, and hit it with a hammer until it’s shaped how they want it.
(off-stage whispering)
What’s that? They didn’t get to drink beer on the job? Oh, hell. There goes that career path.
In related news, last night consisted of drinking beer around a fire, making s’mores, fanning the coals with large pieces of cardboard, heating rebar until it was red hot, and then hitting it with a hammer until it was bent about 80 degrees. Hardly the best example of blacksmithing, but it was very fun nonetheless. I think that forge-building may be in my near future.

Holy moly, it’s December!
What the heck happened to 2008? Where’d it all go?

Gas is getting cheaper. I approve.
Total cost to fill my Camry’s tank: $23. When it was the most expensive here, I was paying about $45. Not bad at all.
Let’s see if it goes lower still.
(Hooray for Safeway having discounted gas for cardholders. $100 of groceries savings you $0.10/gal savings for one fillup, and they stack: $200 of groceries gets you $0.20/gal savings, and so on. The grocery purchases needn’t be made all at once: $100 of groceries bought over three months will net you one $0.10/gal savings per fillup. Since I buy groceries anyway, I also get cheap gas. Woot.)

MasterCard called me this evening to alert me to some suspicious transactions on my CapitalOne card. The card has been locked in my gun safe since August, and certainly hasn’t been used to buy $300 in gasoline (in three separate <$100 transactions) at a single BP gas station in Largo, Florida.
After the first two transactions went through, the card was disabled and the fraud department was notified. The third transaction was declined.
Of course, I’m not liable for any of the charges, and they’re sending me a replacement card (which will also go into the safe — I got the card because they charged no foreign currency conversion fees for my Europe trip, and now I keep it around as a backup) and an affadavit I need to fill out to attest that I didn’t actually make those charges.
I have no idea where the fraudsters got the card information, but I figured I’d let folks know so they’d be a bit more careful.
This is yet another reason why I stick to using credit, rather than debit, cards. While debit cards also offer the same consumer protections, you have to argue with the bank to get your money back (and there’s a risk of bouncing checks and whatnot during that time). With credit cards, you argue whether or not you owe the bank money, and you don’t owe them anything while the investigation is ongoing. There’s no chance for checks to bounce, as it’s not linked to your checking account.

After seeing the picture of the awesome shirt, my friends decided to buy me the shirt for Veteran’s Day[1].
Observe:

Awesome indeed.
[1] I don’t usually think of Veteran’s Day as a gift-giving holiday. While I certainly welcome the shirt (it does, after all, put off the dreaded Laundry Day by another day), I feel a bit sheepish in the face of all the attention my friends have been giving me. I did a job, got hurt, and came home. Not a big deal. Seriously, if you feel that you should honor veterans, that’s fine…but please direction such honor towards those who Went There and Did That. They deserve it, not me.

Today I discovered that Hodgdon Powder Company, manufacturer of Hodgdon, IMR, and Winchester powders, includes a blurb on their main page saying that their “purpose is to bring credit to our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Evidently Jesus likes gunpowder. That’s sort of neat.
Personally, I’m a bit put-off by a major powder manufacturer openly proclaiming their religious beliefs on their main website. I’m a very private person, and I consider religious beliefs to be a very personal topic, sort of like one’s finances, sex life, etc. It’s something one might discuss in the company of good friends on certain occasions, but not with the world at large.
On a somewhat related note, I noticed that most (all?) IMR powders are made in Canada and packaged in the US. Hodgdon-brand powders are made in Australia and packaged in the US. I’m not sure about Winchester ones. Last time I checked, neither Australia nor Canada are terribly gun-friendly nations (compared to the US, at least). As such, I’m curious why major powder-manufacturing operations are being run from these countries…particularly Australia, as it’s a very long way away, and so shipping costs would be a not-insignificant factor.
One would think that the US, a major producer of arms and ammunition for the domestic and international market, would have more powder-manufacturing plants in the US.

…by switching away from GEICO.
That’s an extra $300/year I can put into savings, or maybe spend on ammo.
Update: On a similar note, I’m curious what, if any, insurance you have to protect your firearms. All the renters insurance policies I’ve seen have a $2,000 limit on firearms. I augmented my Allstate renters policy with a “sporting equipment” rider that upped the limit to $5,000 for an extra $20/year. USAA has a similar limitation (and optional add-on rider) for firearms. Any recommendations?

Between what seems to be a nasty cold (headache, nasal congestion, sore throat, coughing, etc.) and some Happy Fun Digestion-Related Activities, today is not off to a good start.
Why can’t I have an Emergency Medical Hologram like Star Trek: Voyager?
If I start shambling about (more than usual) and groaning for brains, you know what to do.