A new site was pointed out to me this weekend for folks looking to buy hockey supplies. HockeyShopper.com does the online comparison shopping so you don’t have to. Check out the feature products or search. You can also browse and search by catagory.

This is perfect for all of us who shop online for the best deal. I wish someone would set something up like this for brewing equipment! When I was setting up my kegerator years ago I had to make a spreadsheet to add up everything and calculate total cost! For hockey supplies its all there!

Peace,
Tony

A few weeks ago our microwave started acting up. The light would be on and the turntable would turn when the door was open. It wasn’t cooking because boiling water stopped boiling as soon as the door was opened, but it was still troubling to have it run like that.

Then one day it just stopped running all together. The light would come on and that was it. Man, now we had to get a new microwave!

Hang on there just a quick second! Marrying into a family with a brother that used to take apart stuff like this for fun once again shows its worth. My brother in law took a quick look under the case and found a switch that was corroded out, faulty. He pulled that out, showed me what I needed to go get and where to get it.

Sure enough, after waiting a couple of days for the appliance place to get the part back in stock we are back in business!

The total cost of the repair came to less than five dollars not including the bit of gas it took to drive to the store. Had we bought a new one we would be out well over $100, and had we found a place to repair it we would likely have been out at least $50.

Looking inside to see where the problem was saved us a lot of money! Before we though out things like that it pays to look inside to make sure it isn’t something relatively easy to fix, like this was.

Peace,
Tony

Man, I just can’t stand it any more. I’ve been trying to hold it in and let it go but this whole bailout thing is really frying my fritter! First that the big companies are receiving these huge bailout packages rewarding poor performance with billions of our money.

Then the politicians of both parties saying they want to help out people defaulting on their mortgages. Keep them in their homes, they say. Its not their fault, they are simply victims of predatory lending. Really?!? Those lenders forced these people to sign on the line for a sketchy loan, huh? Held them down until they signed, I’m sure.

Come on. Where is the personal responsibility? Here we sit clipping coupons and pinching dimes to make sure we stay in the black and can pay our bills when they are due. We moved two years ago to a new city. Our bank was offering us a mortgage amount that was stunning, and we knew there was NO way we’d be able to pay that much back. So we went with a house that we knew we could handle and a debt from the bank that was far less than what they were willing to lend us.

So what happens to folks like us? We see huge failing companies being bailed out, a possibility of struggling folks being helped to keep houses they shouldn’t have bought in the first place. What about us? Why the heck did we go and be responsible, budget our money and live frugally? Where is our bailout?!?

Man, it is so frustrating to watch the news. I can feel bad for some folks, I really can, but to expect our money to help folks who dug their own hole… its frustrating. Dig them out and what will they do? Turn their life around, become fiscally responsible? Yeah, right.

I better stop, I can feel my ire going higher.

Peace,
Tony

Last week I was sure that gas prices would climb as soon as the November elections were over. I was wrong. They have continued to slowly drop. I guess my cynicism was misplaced on this topic. I drove past gas for $1.89 this morning.

To think it was twice that a couple months ago really makes me wonder about the whole process though. I’ll never admit to being an economist!

Peace,
Tony

Get out and vote. Go vote today, please everyone go VOTE!

Here’s the deal, I don’t care who you vote for so long as you go and vote. I haven’t met anyone who hasn’t had something to complain about in politics, economy, the state of the nation, or the progress of the war. People like to complain about ridiculous city statues, state policies and taxes. GO VOTE! You don’t like something VOTE about it!

If you don’t vote, you have no business complaining. If you are unwilling to vote, I don’t want to hear you complain. Think about this, too: your vote at the local level carries more weight than in national elections. You want to vote for someone who will do something to affect your life directly? Inform yourself about the city council positions and other local races.

It took me maybe an hour to familiarize myself with my ballot and who is up for election.

Peace,
Tony

It is my fervent belief that gas prices will soar by the end of the week. In fact, i wouldn’t be surprised if they start climbing tomorrow afternoon. I drove by $1.98 today! The day before a major election, gas under $2 isn’t that big of a shock to me.

Watch though, it’ll shoot up back close to $3 by the end of the week. I bet two growlers of my beer on it! Any takers?

Tomorrow is voting day, no matter what your politics make sure your voice is heard. If you haven’t found out what is going to be on your ballot yet, do so. Check your county website for a sample ballot, take a quick look at who is up for election and vote your choices. Your vote at the local level carries much more weight than the national level. Do a little homework tonight before you cast the ballot tomorrow! Prove the naysayers wrong, our population can make informed voting choices!

Peace,
Tony