day 64- hanging in there

so the word is out. the whole economic stimulus thing worked... a little. not as much as was originally hoped, but still we are not plummeting into recession as was originally feared.



no, we are just slipping slower. the underlying issues of out economic plight are still hanging over our heads. the housing and banking crisis are still hanging over our heads. we are still seeing high energy prices and with it higher a higher cost of goods. corporations are still posting losses...



the money was out there, but it just did not do the job that they had hoped for. i have read that a cash in hand stimulus package is a crap shoot. i thought this from the beginning and i think now we are seeing it. things are looking ok now though. it seems that at the very least the alarmist news stories about the economy have slowed. this i think will improve at least the average person's mind on the economy. or maybe not..

till then i got these hangers... since i have no closet i have to hang my clothes somewhere. that somewhere will be the back of my bedroom door. with the door open to the living area no one will see them. i will call this area my closet. after living here at the pitt for 5 years i though it was time. at a buck40 i should be able to hang more than a few shirts on these hangers, and with the quitting smoking coming up they won't smell like smoke directly after i wash them.

wrapping up
497.08 at the start
a buck40 spent
the kitty stands at 2.28

maximum spending tomorrow

3buck92

i can spend that much

you can't stop me.

day 63-cleaning the air, or ... hot damn i have spent over a hundred dollars.

ahh the stick up. cheap, refreshing and it won't clog up your electric outlets. we all use some sort of air freshener around the house. whether it is one of those squirt-mister things, a "plug in" or potpourri- somewhere around our house we are using something to block out the smell of... well whatever that smell is.

for my house, in the summer, things can get a bit stuffy. as i have said before we live on the sixth floor. just under the roof. the summer heat beats on us and con edison loves us for all we spend to keep ourselves cool and dehumidified.

this can also make the place kind of smelly. not rancid, just sort of smelly. as i smoke in the house that is not helping things one bit. i figured these two stick ups for a buck08 would help the situation out.

i tested out the odor, it's not half bad and if i put just one in the middle of the apartment i think it will keep the pitt penthouse smelling like fresh water all the time.

this is going to be good, though as you know whenever you have visitors an they smell the air freshener they are immediately wondering what smell you are covering up. they might even go look for it.

if you are ever here at the pitt, then just know it is to cover up the stale smell of cigarettes that have long since gone out and maybe some trash that has been cooking over there in the corner.

i do wish that the smell of the cigs was not in the house, and this is really my fault. i have been a smoker for quite some time. what can i say.. i like it. i never meant to get hooked, but somewhere down the road (even with a two year break) i got the monkey on my back. he's a mean monkey.. chattin me up in the morning, before i go to bed and all times in between.

when i lived in greensboro, north carolina smoking was just what people did. now i am here in nyc. i have been here for like six years and i have seen my smokes go from five dollars a pack to the current 9 dollars. ouch!

i can't smoke in bars anymore and for the most part i am the only one of my friends who smoke. it might be time to quit.
the new taxes on a pack of 20 (coffin)g nails are huge. to pay over 8 bucks for a pack is insane in my mind, but still cigarettes are on my mind.

someone told me once that i don't want to wake up one day and realize that i have been smoking for ten years. well dean, i think that day has come and gone. now, i have to really think about what i am doing.

here i am, talking about how i am spending my stimulus package; really poking fun at it. as you look back at what i have purchased and how far my buck64aday is going you see the crunch we are in. i am in. the mission.. it's going to be long and hard, though fun.

so financially cigarettes are a bad, bad idea. spending 50 bucks a week on cigarettes is just terrible. i know if i was back in the warm climes of nc, i would not think about quitting. here in nyc where the taxes on the smoke are outrageous i are thinking. thinking hard.

not to mention that my lung capacity sucks.

i have quit before with the aid of the patch. those things provide some pretty vivid dreams, and as i cannot sadly, afford to smoke i think the lucid dreams will have to make a comeback.

the first few days of the patch suck. this is the challenge. when do i start so i don't go crazy.

i have to figure that out. this blog could become really interesting without nicotine.

though a buck64aday would really help supplement my habit.

should have thought of that before. before i started all this....

also while your down here... today is a milestone. my stimulus package is finally down a hundredbucks. it took 63 days to get here. 63 days to spend 100bucks.

100bucks... that's a night out at the bars in nyc.

wrapping up
499.24 at the start
a buck8spent
the kitty stands at abuck48

maximum spending tomorrow
3buck12

i can spend that much tomorrow

you can't stop me.

day 62-scrubbies

the dish sponge... how many do you have hanging out in your kitchen? three? four?

one for washing the glasses, one for scrubbing pots and one for those heavy duty jobs perhaps?

we all have them hanging out around the sink. i know i do. the big problem is knowing when to get rid of them. they seem to stay way past their expiration date around my house, which is expected. we are not the best housekeepers, but we do try to wash our dishes as often as we can.

my philosophy with the old sponges is to just use more soap. in my own mind the soap cleans not only the dishes, but the sponge as well.

after a while the old sponge disappears and a new one is there. hopefully it has a scrubby side. sometimes it doesn't. either way it's a new addition to the house and may be "with us" for a while.

this time i picked up the sponge tab. i did not realize how expensive sponges could be. i was thinking.. "hey, it's time for a new scrubbie. a buck64 has got to cover a good one right?"

wrong. again the buck64aday has foiled me in the big city. i am sure that if i headed out to my local evil wal-mart, i could find a nice dish cleaner for a buck64. not that i would go to the wal-mart for such a thing... or even anything these days, but it seems that the scrubbers are gonna cost me.

a couple of weeks ago i got a dobie scrubber, but that is for heavy duty jobs. we need the everyday scrubber.

best i could do was a dollar store pack of scrubbers that i liken to a kiddie chalk and eraser set. you know the kind. four colors of chalk and a cheap yellow spongy thing that "might" get the mash of colors off the surface.

not the best purchase ever but for a buck08 we got ten scrubbers to go through. i give us a few weeks to go through them.

i pray that one of the other roomies will get us a good one.


wrapping up


500.32 at the start


a buck8 spent


the kitty stands at 92cent





maximum spending tomorrow





2buck56





i can spend that much tomorrow





you can't stop me

day 61-cleaning your hands of it all.

hand sanitzers have become very popular these days, especially here in nyc. you can buy them just about anywhere and they kill just about anything where ever you put it. by anything i mean germs.. viruses.

some people are worried that one day the germs are going to become resistant to sanitizers. this is mostly myth. anything with a high alcohol concentration is going to kill germs. this does not of course stop the germ world from getting together to create there own super germ to kill all the humans in revenge for the sanitzer solution.

i suppose though, that the lack brains and intellect in germs and viruses keeps that possibility down to a minimum, at least for the next couple hundred million years.

nyc is a germaphobe's nightmare. i'm not a germaphobe, but i have ever touched a subway pole that was.. well kind of icky. when you think about the millions of people who are moving all around the city.. touching everything you too might become a germaphobe. all this sneezing, coughing, nose picking and butt scratching in one small place can't be good. throw the human animal's propensity to the touching of ones face (presumably to see if it still there) and you might have a recipe for disaster.

i like to use it for only when i touch something that makes me say.. "gross". apply a little sanitizer to my hands feel the alcohol cool off my skin as i rub my hands together and then i know i can go back to the touching of the face with less fear of catching a communicable.

i wonder what mr. bush will use as his sanitizer as he exits office. wiping his hands clean of yet another venture in his world that is being a bush. it seems that for the fiscal 2009 year we the people are going to be operating with a 482 billion dollar deficit (not including war costs of course). the next mr. president is going to be screwed as are we all.

our two front running candiates have there own proposals.. mccain is going to incease the decifit by 600 billion. obama says he will increase revenue by 800 billion. ok... so we will see what happens down the road with whomever is elected.

even if they both offer to increase revenue, their proposals for national health care are going to sink their lofty goals. so if we want to be like canada we are still going to be screwed.

luckily the housing bill that is about to be passed will raise our deficit ceiling to 10.6trillion. that's up from 9.8trillion. you know... just in case.

hey ... didn't the current administration inherit a surplus?

in 2000 we had budget surplus of 211billion dollars. it was predicted that with fiscal discipline it could reach 1 trillion dollars in 10 years. hmmm..

what happened?

wrapping up

501.61 at the start

a buck29 spent

the kitty stands at 36cent

maximum spending tomorrow

2bucks

i can spend that much.

you can't stop me.

day 60- sometimes she needs a new paint job.

it's been a rainy day here in the city. all our plans to go to the beach were foiled, which is probably not the worst thing as people seem to be dying a lot more at the new york city beaches than is normal. it seems the ocean is taking it's due. rip tides are sucking the people out to sea. it's kind of sad when you think about it. you go to the beach to have fun, enjoy the sun and sand. not to be worried that you are going to get sucked under like your in some sort of bad scifi channel saturday horror movie.

personally i am not a fan of the nyc beaches. they are pretty horrendous. too many people all crammed into small swimming areas so that the lifeguards can maintain watch over you. the water is usually a brownish grey which is not all that enticing to me.

neither is the diaper you see floating by in the water.

unless someone pops up from onder the water to find a new hat on their head.

it seems everyone wants to go the beach to have some fun, but no one is paying attention to how their fun is affecting everyone else.

a friend of mine, who was once employed by the dep, warned me that although the water is deemed "safe" by the city, you should think twice about heading into the water at say... coney island. her suggestion was that if any coney island water were to touch any part of your body, then said part of your body would highly benefit a dousing of kerosene. if at all possible it would also be good to light said kerosene and let it burn. this should keep you safe from anything that "might" be in the water.

this keeps me from the beaches in and around the city. the water does get surprisingly better the farther east you go on long island. you really don't have to go far, but coney island is just not going to happen for me. besides getting hot dog and some boardwalk fun-i suggest you stay away.

as for the riptides that seem to be taking people out to sea.. there really should be more education about them. rip tides are not that deadly. they don't suck you out to bermuda, just quite a bit away from the beach. when they suck you out, you are supposed to just let it take you and when the pulling stops you are to swim down the beach a bit then head back. at your leisure.

lastly.. the undertow. if you are sucked under around nyc no one is going to see you. the water is so murky that you could be swimming next to a huge shark and never see it. how is anyone going to see you?

better to just hang on the beach amongst the dried seaweed, the gulls and the cigarette butts. get some sun and enjoy the cool showers that are available. someone is going to walk by and offer you a heinekin. it's going to be cold and appear as if by magic from from your surprise waiter's suitcase, wrapped in newspaper. five bucks and your in heaven.

today's purchase has nothing to with the beach. i had originally planned to scour the beaches for buck64aday purchases that would excite and wow you. sadly i could not do this. instead a little something for the lady. she often has nicely manicured nails, but eventually the "lunchtime manicure" fades, cracks and becomes for her an eyesore. she has often asked me if i had any nail polish remover around the house, to which i have always said "uh.. no." now when she asks i can say, "why of course i do. it's in the bathroom in the secret compartment behind the mirror."

for a buck83 i think many a faded 15dollar manicure can disappear into the paper towel...

or whatever it is she uses to get that stuff off.

i think i will be soon informed that a bag of 99cent cotton balls would compliment the gift quite well.

wrapping up

503.44 at the start

a buck83 spent

the kitty now stands at 1cent

maximum spending tomorrow

a buck65

i can spend that much tomorrow.

you can't stop me.

day 59- peanut butter and chocolate.. mmmmm

mmmm reese's peanut butter cups. i love these things.

usually i stay away from candy. it's just not my thing. i like the sweet stuff, but when it comes to getting my sweet on, i usually go for a cookie or something. during the "candy holidays" most of the candy just sits there and i never finish it, but a snack pack of reese's cups will get sucked down in no time.

they call this thing a snack pack. it's a much better value then picking up a two pack a la carte from the impulse/we can see you so don't shoplift area of your market, but i think the idea is to eat them one at a time...

over a period of time.

this is something i just don't know how to do. kind of like how a ben and jerry's pint is supposed to be just one portion. (really now how is that possible?) i ate six of the eight in one sitting. the lady had one. there is one more left. this one will probably just sit there and not be eaten by me.

years ago, when my uncle worked at hershey, we would get bags and bags of the smaller cups at christmas time. those were the good old days, though since i was just a little kid my candy intake was closely watched by the mom. i did not get to enjoy as much of them as my father did.

nowadays for my candy fix i much more prefer the vosges line of chocolate bars. while not anywhere near the buck64aday range, they are definitely worth shelling out the five or six bucks per bar. the oaxaca is all about hot peppers and chocolate an my personal favorite... mo's bacon bar. think chocolate bar, but instead of having toffee bits or some other specks of goodness inside, think bacon. real applewood smoked bacon. now that's some good stuff.

there should be bacon in everything.

i just wish the bacon bars were cheaper.

wrapping up

505.16 at the start

a buck72 spent

the kitty stands at 20cent

maximum spending tomorrow

a buck84

i can spend that much tomorrow

you can't stop me.

day 58- keeping salt for the livingroom

it's been a lazy day. i have not gotten much done besides unwind from a super stressful work week.

today i went looking for something to pick up and then there it was. a sea salt grinder. the lady likes salt on her food. a lot of salt sometimes. i usually bring a bowl of the kosher stuff up to the eating area for her when we are eating. with this little grinder i can keep it right there on the bookshelf with the other random crap and not have to think about running back down to get some salt.

salt is some exciting stuff. you probably take it for granted, i know i do, but it really is vital to our lives. no salt in your diet? well your not going to live that long. how else will you retain any water?

we look today at oil at the great commodity, but if we go back 8,000 years we find it to be quite the commercial operation in china. there was even a war fought over it in the later 19th century. we have been digging it out of anywhere we can find it as well as drying up as much salt water to give us more. if ever there was a never unending resource on the planet it would be salt. if for some reason tomorrow there was no refrigeration then salt would be our guy. how else will we preserve anything?

personally i love the stuff... in moderation of course, but without it my food just does not taste the same without a little sodium chloride. in terms of the most sensible buck64aday purchase ever? i am rating this up there at the top.

if you are just one of those table salt people i highly recommend the many kosher salt varieties out there. it just makes everything taste better. saltiness is our "first" taste. it's crucial. you might as well make it a good taste.

if you are feeling really adventurous then go for the many varieties of fancy sea salt. they come in all sorts of flavors and colors. the stuff is damn good.

just remember to not forget the salt. it's been around a long time. give it it's due.

wrapping up


507bucks at the start


a buck84 spent


the kitty stands at 28cent





maximum spending tomorrow


a buck92





i can spend that much





you can't stop me

day 57- whose turn is it again to buy the paper towels?

with 365 days to spend 600bucks you know sometimes my buck64aday purchase is going to fall under mundane.

what could be more bland than paper towels? are they really all that boring. let's look that the history of the paper towel. look here.

and your back. ok.. i guess sort of boring, but we take these things for granted. until of course there are none in the house. my mom has drawers full of dishtowels, but when you live with two roomates in the lower east side the communal paper products come and go like a seasonal monsoon. the dish towels are non existant. one day someone comes home with a huge 18packer and when those are all used up "said someone" does not replace the 18 packer as they did the last time.

this is because now it is someone else's turn. usually they come home with one roll. like the one above. (not quite an 18 pack is it?)

not that this is the way it is at my house all the time. we are not the best at replenishing the paper supplies. we do pretty well, but there have been more than a few weeks where there is not a roll of paper towels on the rack and more than a few times that you sit your self down on the throne to do some business only to discover that there is no t.p. anywhere in the bathroom.

not anywhere in the house for that matter.


no one really complains though. we should treat each other better with nice soft absorbent paper supplies for wiping... everything; at least we don't yell and scream when it is our turn to be mortified at the consequences of a "sitdown action". if your out there and can relate to that then just remember if your out and about tomorrow, pick up a roll or 10 of towels. they are cheap, light and will keep you from having to use your favorite sonic youth "goo" shirt to wipe up the red wine and chili you might spill on the floor this weekend. with paper towels around you can hang on to your memories. maybe even your dignity.

today's purchase of a one roll of scott paper towels ran me a buck84. it's one of those fancy rolls with the smaller sheets for smaller jobs. it's even made by scott towels which makes them the o.g. paper towel. since 1931 these things have been available in the grocery store, and for the past 80 years they have been running out in restrooms and kitchens everyday. making you have to wipe your hands on your pants, or use "something else" to wipe up that spill.

we used to use cloth rolls for wiping our hands. ever seen one of those? i'm not a germaphobe, but gross. i'm not much for doin' laundry so cloth towels are out.

i'm sayin' it here. the next round of towels for the pitt penthouse will be on me. i give the three of us five days to go through this roll.

unless we run out of toilet paper.

wrapping up
508.84 at the start
a buck84 spent
the kitty stands at 48cent

maximum spending tomorrow
2buck12

i can spend that much tomorrow

you can't stop me.

day 56- torrential downpours, late movies but fresh breath

have you seen the dark knight yet? wow. that was intense... and long. i always go see these comic book movies with a good friend from my youth. we always head out to the new comic book movie with the expectation that is is going to suck. five years ago, that was usually the case.

nowadays things are looking up. the movie companies really seem to care about making a comic book movie that is true to the comic, not just a movie to make money.

go figure.. now they make a bunch of cash. to bad they had not figured this out like ten years ago.. 20 years ago.

since the weather was once again forcast to be poor tonight i again did not schedule a movie on the roof. i am starting to wonder if we will ever be able to have another wednesday movie on the roof. there always seems to be few thunderstorms rolling in to wash out the fun.

instead of m.o.t.r. we finally headed out to see the dark knight down at battery park only to find out that the 10pm movie will have no air conditioning. the 10:50movie will however have the cool breezes. we switched to the cool breezes of the late movie.

one thing i did not know about the dark knight.

how long it was.

holy jesus. it was brilliant, but damn it was long.

getting out of a movie on a school night at almost 2am is beyond even my limits, but damn it was good.

heath ledger captured the essence of the joker in a way i had never imagined possible. the "real" joker from the comics is one of the most twisted characters ever created (even better when recreated by frank miller).

to see a movie and not see the actor playing the character is rare. the performance heath ledger gave went beyond any expectation i ever could have had. the whole movie did in fact.

but it was long.

not that i minded.. except for the fact that i had been up since 5am.

so go see the dark knight if you have not already.

just don't go see the late show.

today's purchase i guess now becomes more of a footnote.

to the point.

i smoke. i need to keep some breath spray around.
i got it for cheap. a buck84. it will keep my breath "seeming" fresh for at least 100-150 uses. if i manage to not lose it before it runs out it becomes quite the investment, but like chapstick, breathsprays tend to get lost in the shuffle.. the hustle.. the bustle.

i once had a tube of chapstick for 1 year. it was still good. still had some left.
a miracle that.

wrapping up.
510.68 at the start.
a buck84 spent
the kitty stands at 68cent.

maximum spending tomorrow

2buck32

i can spend that tomorrow

you can't stop me.

day 55- it's miller time. high life that is.

sometimes when i am getting home the only thing i want is a cup of coffee or a scotch. today i was thinking beer. ever thought that way? just want to get home from work and have yourself a beer?

sure you have. (unless your under 21 then of course you would not even think about one)

lucky for me, pitt street is a good place to get a cheap beer. i mean really cheap. situated right across from the pj's we have three cheap bodega's running from decent to "don't even think about buying any food from there". just look for the rodent scat and then you will know. one thing the cascading tiers of bodegas do have is some cheap beer.

and why shouldn't they.

all day from about 11am till 8pm the "boys" are holding court. all hanging out on the pitt sippin' on some brews; enjoying the best parts of the day while they hoot at the ladies as they walk and sayin' their hellos to everyone they know. there are about 10 or 12 regulars that you might see everyday. being one block from the police precinct you would think that this would not happen,but the cops don't bother them unless someone passes out and they don't bother anyone but themselves. that would mess up the vibe.

when your out there working the street for 7 to 8 hours a day hanging out with your friends you need some inexpensive beverages. cheap is the word. 40's for a buck50. single cans for 75cent. the liquor store has some dollar shots for when you might feel a little burned out on the beer and malt beverages. it's all about variety. that's what keeps them there. that is what brings them back. everday.

the beer i purchased today was a whopping buck25. i could have stepped up in class and spent a buck75 on something more refined but hey, i like my highlife. it's the champagne of beers.

my uncle gunnar drank nothing but the high life and i can see why. it's light but it still has a good taste. it will get you buzzed just like any other beer, but would you want any other beer when you could be livin' "the high life"? really, why would you.

at family parties the high life was off limits till uncle gunnar would go to bed, then we could have his beer. when i think back i think we really wanted to drink it because it was not allowed and as he would go to bed really late, we often we not able to partake in the highlife. nowadays though we keep some at the stugan at all times. we toast him often when cracking open a can.

the guys on the street don't seem to be drinking to much of the high life. i think they have not yet caught on. a couple of weeks ago were some scantily clad ladies all dressed up in silver for coors lite and they all went crazy for that.

i mean "walk across the street to avoid the " crazy.

the woman on the moon, i am sure, is one hell of a good time. i just don't think the guys on the pitt are ready for her.

but then again... you never know.

wrapping up

511.93 at the start

a buck25 spent

the kitty stands at 88cent

maximum spending tomorrow

2buck52

i can spend that much tomorrow

you can't stop me

day 54-latin laundry

for some reason i appear to be spatially challenged with this blog. i assure you that i in no means intend for there to be no spacing btw paragraphs. they are purely accidental and a pain in my ass. if anyone knows what i am doing wrong, then please let me know.

it's the 21st of june and i'm back in the city. the vacation is now over. back to work.

lets not talk about that.

no really. please i just don't want to talk about it.

i did though notice that since i was gone for a week and change ,it was definitely time to give the bedclothes a washing. all that heat and humidity from the past week means its time for some real detergent on the sheets and blankets.

this time i am going with "ariel" (oxi-blue). for a buck61 i think it might do me just right.

or not.

if the first ingredients are "process aids" it's a good thing right?
right?

i should get about eight loads out of it. or if i use the special instructions for guatamala i will get 16 loads. special guatamalan instructions- for small loads use 1/2 cup for every 4.5kg. right there on the label people. it's right there.

do you think that the gsa (general service administration) gave away a bunch of this stuff during their last katrina relief giveaway? if so how many cases was it? 500? valued at perhaps 500,000 dollars?

if you have not heard about this story then check it out. it seems that the gsa over valued a big chunk of unused katrina relief supplies. the error was not that big. something like 60 million bucks. so now 85 million in supplies is really just 18.5 million.

this is that stuff that "never got used" a few years back and was given away by fema to really whom ever wanted it.

hey guys i'm right over here. i could uses a life time supply of toilet paper. i mean, if no one else is going to use it. i know that many areas that we would deem in "need" did originally decline the supplies as they did not know of a need of them.

hello louisiana... your not back up to snuff yet. i would think that handing out free anything around the state would make things a little bit better. is no one paying attention?.

apparently the gsa was not. they are a government bean counting and property management agency. they manage the government and they could not even do the math.

i can see the guy who got stuck with the job of tallying the inventory. maybe he was in the men's room, maybe he was just smoking a bad cigarrette. it was an old one he found in his desk. yeah it might have smelt like weed but really.. he swears it wasn't.

all of a sudden bam. he's transfered out to the fort worth branch to oversee a couple of warehouses. easy enough right? sure. he's off the radar. out in the woods. no one likes to go to the fort worth warehouse. who is going to know if he fudges the numbers right?

apparently fema won't, and the gsa.

and how does 18 grand in toilet paper become 1.5 million. is there a magic wand you can use? i want one of those. i'd be out there on the street selling my toilet paper.

onerollatatime.

it just seems so odd to me that the agency that was created to run our government agencies and make them more efficient cannot tally up a simple inventory. it's not like the toilet paper was dived up into a thousand pallets, mixed up with cutlery and tents. it was there all by itself.

i know a guy in greensboro, north carolina. he's an audior. he could do it for you. he normally answers to the shareholders, but he might make an exception for the american people.

the other issue i have is that if the gsa did not notice, then why didn't fema notice the gsa not noticin'? notice? i would think that our uber government fema would have. after all they are the ones who are in charge when the u.s. has a major disaster.

for now i have a few points for our man "who might like to like up" out there in fort worth.

big math is not that hard. you just have to think of the big number as a small number. if 80million minus 60million looks to big on paper then try this.

80-60=20. then just put your eggs back in the basket.

then again, you are probably out there managing a fema super secret supply tunnel that runs from new york to chicago. just you and that guy from tulsa who got caught in the bosses office wearing his wife's underpants. the two of you will never see the light of day again.

wrapping up
513.54 at the start
a buck61 spent
the kitty stands at 1cent short of 2bits

maximum spending tomorrow

2buck13

i can spend that much tomorrow

you can't stop me

day 53-twisterz!!!! this post could be a bit gross.

it's the last day of vacation. jen and i had a great weekend together.

somehow the last three days have felt like an entire week has gone by.

really there is something to be said for doing next to nothing for a few days.

i really don't know whats going on out there in the world other than the tropical storms (those things fascinate me) and that obama is headed out to the middle east.

i know that in the next few days i will be once again absorbed in the absurdity that is our society. i look forward to it.

i do though, wish that this weekend could last a bit longer.

since the lottery has not been my friend (ever) i guess it will be back to work and the hustle and bustle of city life.

tonight jen and i picked up some dinner

and it was alive. alive

two lobsters

from the tank.

i have not actually ever eaten lobster out of the shell before. it was always one of those meals that was for "adults only". us kids got to eat some pizza or something and the rents got to dive into lobster. i don't know why i never tried it before. tonight was the night.

my parents always did let us play with them when we were kids. i'd pick them up and put the belly in my sister's face, she would freak out and someone would tell me to put them back in the bathtub, where i would poke at them with great interest.

kids are sadistic you know?

before i get carried away.

the twisterz. it's new. it's from cheez-it.

and

they apparently did not do to well. very much on the sale rack and even cheaper with your a&p card. at a buck93 i will be willing to try some cheddar ranch twisterz. wouldn't you?

back to the lobster.

so what do i do with these things?

my folks boiled them and you could hear their little screams in the pot.

jen offered up the idea of grilling.

grilling it was and that means you need to cut them in half.

with a knife.

as they were big lobsters this is going to need a big knife. the good chef's knife that gino sharpened for me all special and deadly.

deadly to the lobster.

so cutting it was. lay mr. lobster down on the board and cut quickly through the cross hatch into the head.. or so the book said.

following the instructions i did just that. he's looking at me and i pushed down with the knife. with a crack, crunch and splatter the head is cut in half. now flip over said lobster and continue the cut all the way down the belly and the tail. right?

wrong.

this f*&ker is still alive. right through the dome piece. still flailing. continue the cut. still waving at myself and the lady.

right down the belly and through the tail.

everything stops right?

wrong again. i now have two halves of lobster flapping around. i kid you not!

put the lobster under running water to rinse out the heart, liver and etc and i think he likes it.

i did this twice. for two lobsters. they would not die. cut in half all their life parts removed and they were still twitchin'.

now i do understand that if you cut off a chicken's head it will run around for a bit. this is an established fact.

one thing they do not tell you is that you can put 4 halves of lobster in a bowl next to the grill and they will still be twitching. i think they actually liked having olive oil brushed on them.

onto the grill. 30 minutes after the last murder. still moving....

someone might say that i did it wrong. my technique was off.

to them i have to say this.

i cut them i half. through the head. by half i mean i split them do there were an even number of legs on each side. i washed out their life parts, and they were still reminding me that i just killed something.

we got pics.. we got video. i can prove it.

wrapping up.

515.47 at the start

a buck93 spent

the kitty stands at 46cent

maximum spending tomorrow

2buck10

i can spend that tomorrow.

you can't stop me

day 52-keeping it cool... forever.

it's just to hot out here. i am about ready to hook up the ac, but i think i will hope for some cool evening breezes to keep the house livable.

jen and i were all about the pool today. the pool and some tanning and then some in the pool cooling off.

the water at vasa park's pool is a bit nicer than most pools. the water comes from a spring, making it quite refreshing. these days the water temperature is somewhere around 73 degrees.

brrrr.

at least it is not 65. that's almost too cold. still on a 90 something degree day you can sit out in the sun for an hour, dip in the pool for ten minutes and be nice and refreshed for another hour. good times.

after all the ice i bought yesterday melted i picked up one of these freezer packs. for a buck81 i can keep things cool for longer, and reuse it.

over and over again.

the kitty seems to be helping out quite a bit these days.

finding useful items for a buck64 in the stix of new jersey can be a bit difficult...

the cold is about gone. it's time to have some dinner and put this freezer pack in the freezer.

maybe tomorrow i use it to cool myself down.

maybe.

vacation on.

wrapping up
517.21 at the start
a buck81 spent
the kitty stands at 75cent

maximum spending tomorrow
2buck39

i can spend that tomorrow

you can't stop me.

day 51-ice ice baby

it's friday and i am feeling better, which is good since the lady is coming out for the weekend. this means lots of time by the pool, eating some good food and of course getting to hang out with the lady.

it has gotten pretty hot out here. in the 90's or something. i can deal, but those drinks and beer are not going to get all cold by themselves.

for that you need ice. our ice making ability at the stugan is only good for one person in the late fall to winter months so i got this bag 0' ice for 2buck11. that's pretty steep for ice i think. especially since it was made in landing, new jersey. that is right down the road from here. i think no more than 8 miles.

so why am i paying 2 bucks for a bag of ice? i have no idea, but landing is right next to lake musconetcong and that lake is having a serious algae and lake plant issues. the lake is pretty large and is mostly covered in green gook.

i hope that most of the cost came from getting all the green out of the water.

if they say it's transportation costs then i am going to scream.



time to hang out with the lady.

remember, i am on vacation. the mission still stands, but the lady comes first.

wrapping up
519.39 at the start
2buck11 spent
the kitty stands at 92cent

maximum spending tomorrow

2buck56

i can spend that tomorrow

you can't stop me

day 50-playing a ball of string

so i'm still sick and i don't really feel like going to the pool. which is a shame cuz it is so nice there.

not so nice when you are sick though. i slept a lot today. probably to much, but when i got up i went out and found this ball of string for a buck61. i can use it to tie up the lilies that are growing in the garden and then bring it back to the city to be used in any way i can find.

you always need string.

don't ever forget that.

smallville season six is not that good. i have not ever watched any of the previous seasons, but i figured since i am all versed in the comic book world i could pick it up and maybe enjoy it.

it's kind of drama-ee. i keep wondering why clark has not reached his full superman potential. he always seems to be getting hurt and i think pretty much everyone knows about his secret by now. if they don't, i think they will figure it out by the end of the season

still bein sick means that i am not much into the blogging, but i think you all will think that it's ok.

it's hard to think when your head is full of snot and the wb.

very hard.

wrapping up
519.39 at the start
a buck61 spent
the kitty stands at a buck39

maximum spending tomorrow

3buck03

i can spend that much tomorrow

you can't stop me.

day 49-beating the vacation cold blues

so the big old bowl of chili did not work out so well. i woke up this morning with a bit of a cold. there was a lot of blowing of the nose, and very little moving around.

not a fan of the head cold. not at all.

not only do they make you all groggy, but the medicine you take usually makes you a bit sleepy as well.

hey! it's vacation time. not sick time.

just my luck.

luckily for me though i brought an ipod full of bad tv and movies out to the house for the week. with sick time i am sure i will be able to find some comfort in aliens vs predator 2 requiem or maybe even all of season 6 of smallville.

hey, i'm sick.... the internets are intermittent here in the woods and when i rode my bike out to the 7-11 to pick up the cold meds for a buck57 i came back totally wiped.

it might have been the chili. i don't highly recommend the recipe i gave you all.

at the very least find a coupon for a god can of chili.

blah.

wrapping up
521.57 at the start
a buck57 spent
the kitty stands at buck36

maximum spending tomorrow

3bucks

i can spend that much tomorrow

you can't stop me

day 48- chili from a can, plus a helping hand.

well i'm back in new jersey. time for some vacation relaxation. my plans were a little delayed by the "getting out of nyc" problem. it always seems to take longer than it should.



i loaded up newman's laptop so i could have internets while i am out here in vasa park. i have found it to be very useful for the afternoon.



as a plus a few of my neighbors have not figured out how to lock up their wireless routers, so i am able to hang out in the back yard with multiple internets coursing through the old dell.



i woke up with what i thought was a slight hangover.. leftovers from the party last night, but i found that i had a bit of a sniffle building. this was made worse by the ice cold bus ride out here.

i don't want to have a cold during my vacation time so i thought i would take out some cold insurance.



this means whiskey and chili. i picked up a can of "chili" from the shop rite on my way over to the house and i will be helping it out a bit. i had 1/3rd of a pound of ground beef in the freezer from the weekend and i brought some peppers from the pitt garden. with the staples in the house i should be able to make good quick chili.



though i had purchased most of the items months ago we are looking at a pretty cheap meal.



i am getting ready to work on the "buck64aday" meals for later blogs and this is a good start.



so a buck38 for some cheap store brand chili

half red onion

one can of red kidney beans

one tablespoon of chili powder... ok 2

one espanola improved pepper(from the pitt)

one bell pepper (from the pitt)

one tomato (leftover from the weekend)

a few dashes of hot sauce

some corn chips

and some other stuff.. i have not decided.



i am looking at a good meal.

at the very least it will rip the sniffles right out of me, which is what i am hoping for. there is some serious pool time ahead of me.



and some yard construction.


coming back form the grocery store i was shocked. things seem to be getting more and more expensive. i spent 70 bucks today. while i did get a good amount of supplies i really feel like i spent way more than i should. everywhere i could i bought the bargain. i even bought store brand taylor ham. granted four slices of ham can fill a grown man for a day, but damn, food is expensive. after paying the bill i seriously thought about going back to ramen noodles.



the good kind of course.. the kind not available at the shop rite in netcong new jersey.



with wholesale inflation up 9.2 percent from last year i am not sure how i will be able to eat "fancy". at least i don't have to pay for gas right now. that would be a killer. to those of you who are out there in america feeling the brunt of all this, i salute you.



when i first noticed prices going up i thought, "ok, a dollar more for bread is alright. at least peanut butter is the same."



now they are both up a buck and if we add up all those bucks we start to realize how screwed we are. our jobs aren't paying us much more to compensate for the increase, so in the end it is us, the little people, who have to suffer.



i get the feeling people are going to be wishing they held on to those rebate checks a little bit longer. do i hear another stimulus check coming our way? i think i might.



although the fed says that they look forward to economic growth this year we are still looking at higher gas, higher food and in some places an almost 20percent increase in electricity and heating costs. that's con ed for you. the head of con ed gets paid over 5 million by the way.



i can see a tough winter ahead.



wrapping up

523.95 at the start

a buck38 spent

the kitty stands at a buck29



maximum spending tomorrow



2buck93



i can spend that much tomorrow



you can't stop me

day 47-it's the lady's birthday, happy birthday lady!

today is jen's birthday. she is one year older and so i picked up some birthday candles for her. i know it sounds cheap, but what can i get for that girl i love for around a buck64? not a whole hell of a lot i tell you. birthday presents come out of the real bank account, not the days allotment of spending plus the kitty. thanks government.

it was decided by her sister that cupcakes would be the way to go so the "birthday number" of candles was not needed. i am not a fan of the cupcakes for a birthday. i know a lot of people like to have them for the birthday celebrations, but in my mind it alters the feel and speed of a birthday party. the cupcakes are always there. they are on display, easily grabbed one by one until there are only a few left. nyc bar birthdays tend to be situations where people float in and out and so cupcakes are ideal i suppose, but i still think that the cake is the way to go.

birthday cakes are put on the side. there are plates, napkins and candles ready to be set ablaze while people sing and then a bit of blushing embarrassment from the birthday person. all eyes are on them as they lean down to blow out the candles in one big huff.

this is why i like birthday cakes. they bring the party together. the cake is the glue that makes the whole night a party. everyone who is there gathers together (finally) and the small conversational clicks are gone. for at least a few moments the party is together for the express purpose of the birthday.

the cake is not to be touched until the big birthday moment, unlike cupcakes which are nibbled on like a bowl full of cheez-its. often, with the cupcake birthday the singing is totally forgotten, the candles never lit to be blown out.

so when you are getting ready to set up a birthday party for a friend and someone has the "delightfully chiq" idea of cupcakes, think what i have said.

then ponder on this one thought.

human beings are in general selfish beings. while we do like to think of ourselves as not, we are, and we like what we like.

the way we like it. (just ask the king he knows.. then again he is not going to answer... just freak you out a little bit with his big head smiling face thing that he has going on)

we like our coffee with cream.. or black, but it is how we like it.
the same goes for the cake.

personally i am always hoping for the corner piece. there is more icing surface area for me to enjoy. some people want tiny piece, or a piece from the center. you get the picture right?

this our own id surfacing. we spent the entire birthday giving up to that one person.

now it's time for us to take it back.

i'm doing it with the corner piece.
no, no not the piece with the decorative flower on it. i don't like the flower.

i like the icing. lots of icing.

and as little cake as possible please.

how are you going to take it back?

wrapping up
525.13 at the start
a buck18 spent
the kitty stands at a buck 8

maximum spending tomorrow

2buck67

i can spend that much tomorrow

you can't stop me

day 46- pocket energy.

ok.. this is the last back post from the lack of internets.. i hope to not have to many more of these over the next 320 days of the mission.

what happened?

the jersey house has no internets. no phone in fact. we use our cells, and for the past few years i have been using my cell phone as a modem for dave's old clunker of a computer.

the idea of dial up internet via a cell phone is awesome. awesome until you get a new phone and a new service plan only to discover that the phone as modem is not available.

the phone: the instinct

the plan: simply everything

the info on the phone show that phone as a modem is an option.

me looking at the plan carefully after almost a month shows that it is not available to me.

my bust.

i thought simply everything meant ... well.. everything.

the whole shebam. not so. the phone's modem has been disabled.

i will however figure out a hack to make it work.

i always do.

i like this phone i can do lots of cool things with it. i have not been able to blog with it yet as i cannot hit the publish button on the browser, but opera mini will work it all out for me in a bit.

i hope.

ok. it does seem to work.. for now. just downloaded it, and while it it seemd to work, i will have to see how well it works.

ok .. it just crashed.. there in the time you read... sometimes failure only take a few seconds.

my intention with buying the instinct was to be able to blog from my phone. this way i could buck64aday from anywhere. it can be a bit stressful to blog everyday as the lady will tell you. i am a busy guy, but i am commited to the mission and everyday it will be. doing it from my phone would give me some more freedom and not be tied to the computer for 20 minutes a day.

i am dedicated to the mission, but it's a challenge.

hopefully sprint will get it's act together so i will actually be able to hit the publish button on the blogger screen and get the blog updated. until then i am taking newman's laptop out to new jersey and i will just suck off whatever wireless router i can find out there.

there are a couple. so long as i am in the front room i should be ok.

today's purchase? the cliff bar. mini energy/nutrition in a "tasty" form. is it tasty? well not really, but it does give you a bit of a boost when you are down. i am going to save it for later this week when i am moving rocks to build a new rock garden for the stugan's backyard..

or maybe i will take it out to the "hunting" area and use it as a snack while i sit in one of the many deer blinds in the woods to take pictures of the wildlife. no i am not going hunting, but there are lots of deer, coyote, raccoons and bears in the wilds of new jersey that i would like to get shots of.

camera shots. we will see what i can come up with.

at a buck61 the cliff bar will keep me from getting to hungry while i wait.

will me smoking cigarettes in boredom keep the animals away?

i'll have to see

wrapping up

526.74 at the start

a buck61 spent

the kitty stands at 57cent

maximum spending tomorrow

2buck21

i can spend that much tomorrow

you can't stop me.

day 45- beer tastes great.. now to make it less filling.

how i got these tums for a buck38 i have no idea. well i have sort of an idea.



drugs in the workplace.



the price said 1.79, but the ring out got me to a buck38 with tax. i am not looking for handouts on the buck64aday mission, but this one will do just fine.



i don't have heart burn usually.. unless i eat peanut butter or bananas, but i did learn something very useful about the antacid years ago.



a good friend of mine, ryan, let me in on this little secret.



if you take tums while drinking beer you don't get that "filled up and ready to bust feeling". so if you grab yourself a mega box of tums and a 30 pack of miller high life you can drink all the beer you want without the need to do the "filled up beer nap".

the champagne of beers is the beer of choice at the stugan and while i do not intend to spend my vacation slugging back beers and passing out, i do need some new targets to hit with the bb gun.

empty high life cans do it every time.

wrapping up.

528.12 at the start

a buck38 spent

the kitty stands at 54cent

maximum spending tomorrow

2buck18

i can spend that tomorrow

you can't stop me

day 44- bus snacks... my favorite.. besides corn chips.

so it's time for vacation part 2. one week of doing barely anything.

which is really not all that possible on my part.

i always seem to be doing something.

i am coming up with a vacation plan for myself though. nothing that regimented, but still i do aspire to some productivity.

the lady and i are headed out to the stugan out in budd lake new jersey. vasa park. here is where i will spend my second vacation.

my grandparents built a summer home out there 50 years ago. it's a swedish summer cottage. it's heaven on earth.

at least heaven in new jersey when you live in nyc.

the combos are for the trip out. we take the lakeland bus lines out there; then cab it from the bus stop to the house as we gots no car these days. a car is not a necessity, but it would come in handy. i need to get on that. combos are great. quite possibly my favorite driving/riding snack food.

pretzel and cheese.

cheese and pretzels.

in my mind there is nothing better than riding down the road with a bag of pizzeria combos and a 20 ounce soda by it's side. no crumbs no spills.

that's some clean snacking. and pretty cheap..

the combos have however dissapointed me a bit.

it seems their new thing is the cracker combo.

i am not a fan.

my brother grabbed me a bag of combos once while we were driving down to nc a few years back. we usually drive down from nyc through the night and pick up snacks on the way.

so we are in jersey.. he gets gas.. some snacks.. coffee... (combos good with coffee too.. black coffee) and some combos for me.

as i said it's night so it's dark.

i dig into above bag of combos.. at first i am not affected. i taste the cheese.. it's good. then i realize that i am eating cracker and not pretzel. i almost spit it out. holding my composure (and keeping up with the clean car snacking) i say, "wtf is this?" i look at the bag and see the pretzel has been replaced with cracker.

a travesty i say.

i might just need to head on over to hackettstown new jersey to talk with those mars people. m and m/mars is headquartered in hackettstown. although the house is in budd lake, my mailing address is hackettstown. maybe a piece of my mind is just what they need.

this bag of cheddar combos was pretty cheap. on sale at a buck93. the buck64 plus the kitty keep me calm and help me move into snack mode when highway 80 slows down as all the nyc to poconos people are pulling off at route ten.

it's nice how the rules of the game seem keep me going.

wrapping up
530.05 at the start
a buck93 spent.
the kitty stands at .29 cents

maximum spending tomorrow

a buck92

i can spend that tomorrow

you can't stop me

day 43- what did you say? oh.. it's time to clean out the ears

i never seem to have these things around. i buy them... they run out, and i forget to buy some more. it's a good thing most people keep them out in gandy little dispensers in their bathrooms.

that's right i'm not just using your facilities when i come over. i might be cleaning my ears too.

q-tips are one of the most versatile hygiene products ever created in my opinion. not only do they clean up the yuck from the ears better than anything else ever invented, but they are good for detail cleaning of just about any small area around the house. absolute genius.

only problem with them. they should not be placed inside the ear.

it's dangerous to do so.

it could result in severe injury

or death.

"huh? sorry, i didn't hear that. you see my ears are all clogged and if it was safe to use a cotton swab in my ear i wouldn't have this nasty wax blocking up the works. i'm afraid to put the cotton swab in my ear because the label says it's dangerous." says scary guy wearing the tin foil hat.

that's right.. check the label. those things are dangerous. killers.

i am sure a few people over the years have died, or been seriously injured using a q-tip, but i don't think it's that dangerous. these things have been around for almost 90 years.

when was the last time you heard of a bathroom q-tip incident?

if you are afraid of the q-tip then there is always the candle wax remover. to me that is a little scary, and gross.

after i clean my ears i am going to do some detail cleaning of my remote controls and computer peripherals. many of them are getting a bit gritty. i think it's time.

for a buck83 i can use a whole bunch of them and make one of those monster faces in the mirror... just like lane in better off dead. ok not just like him.. i am sure he was using "real" "q-tips". not some store brand, but as you know a buck64 only goes so far.

i also look forward to the good feeling i get when i clean my ears.

you know you like it too.

wrapping up

531.88 at the start

a buck83 spent

the kitty stands at 57cent

maximum spending tomorrow

2buck21

i can spend that much tomorrow

you can't stop me.

day 42- harvest bags.

the summer garden is really springing up here at the pitt. for some reason my computer is not currently seeing my usb ports (probably due to some hurried video conversions for my vacation next week) so no pictures right now, but its up and its green. the peppers and green beans are exploding. the tomatoes are looking huge, but unfortunately are still green so i think i will be waiting another week for the tomato overload. these bags, at a buck51 will help me keep my harvest contained and in control in the cramped kitchen.

i have a lot of hot peppers. more than i can use for just eating so i am going to be pickling some and putting a bunch into various liquors for some extra flavoring. spicy vodka and tequila will be hanging out around my house for sometime to come. barrio chino does this and offer up some really good margaritas. i am going to do the same. if you know me and want some peppers, let me know.

or if you want some pitt tequila come see me in a few weeks when its really ready.

i was checking out the "other" stimulus site and i found this guy... burning his check.

he says he does not want the money. he just wants bush to fix everything. well guy. the money was borrowed and there you are burning the future. if we all followed your example then the economy would be in recession now instead of later this year. i do see your intentions, and the statement you wanted to make, but you could have stuck it to the man with your check in other ways.

600bucks could have paid for a lot of good things. charitable things. you may not have wanted it, but someone else could have used it. now the money is gone and you just look like a jackass. three cheers for you.

wrapping up

531.88 at the start

a buck51 spent

the kitty stands at 76cent

maximum spending tomorrow

2buck40

i can spent that much tomorrow

you can't stop me.

day 41- crankin' your ac till you're sick.

the temperature is 91 degrees with a "real feel" of 98. i usually don't pay attention to the "real feel" temp. i think the "real feel" is stupid. it's called heat index people. i think they actually jack up the "real feel" to sensationalize the weather. it keeps you coming back for the middle of the local news to see what the weather is gonna be. they give you a teaser before the drums roll and the newscast begins and tell you to "stay tuned for unaccuweatherfive" or some such.

you know what mr weatherman? it's summer. it's gonna be hot. some days are gonna be hotter than others, and if you live in the new york metropolitan area, there is gonna be at least of 20percent chance of rain from now until october.

in the summer they should save the sensationalist weather for the hurricanes or a debilitating heat wave.

nyc is not in the middle of one of those now, but it is darn uncomfortable. it's time for me to wear a short sleeve button down and leave it sort of unbuttoned while walking around the city and waiting for the train. my own personal air conditioning.

air conditioning is so choice. i highly recommend it. i know i am not being all green by swearing by it; being comfortable is one of the marks of advanced civilization, but it also brings with it the summer sniffles.

you know what i am talking about. the sniffle you get when you jack the ac up to max, go to bed and wake up all stuffy from those cool breezes.when you wake up you are genuinely cold.
cold like a february morning in minnesota.. in 1843. the fire has gone out and as there is no farming to be done so you roll over, pull those blankets around you and go back to sleep.

when and if you get the summer sniffle, it does not seem to want to go away. why? because you love your ac, and it loves you. loves you to flemmy death.

this morning i woke up cold as a mutha. while i did not have a sniffle i knew that there could be one down the road so i picked up some tissues to be ready. at a buck7 they will help me get my chilly summer mornings going with a bit of nose revelry.

am i worried about paying extra for the ac? not yet, but it seems that we are gonna see an almost 10percent increase in out power bill next year due the rising costs of fuels. time to change all your light bulbs to those fluorescent twisty bulb doo-hickeys. if you have not, then i highly suggest it. they use less power and are almost like the real thing. at the very least they don't make you look like you have the cancer like most fluorescents.

rising energy costs really should be on out minds though. if gas for the autos is rising, then our electricity is not far behind. no one wants a nuculear power plant around so we have to make do with what we have. fossil fuels. mmm fossil fuels.

luckily for us t. boone pickens has announced that he is going to front up some considerable cash to help out america and show us the way, and his way is the wind. he plans to show the u.s. that we can use windmills to provide the whole country with 20percent of our electricity. he says that if the government gets their shit together, in 10 years we could be on our way to switching over to natural gas powered vehicles and no longer be so dependent on foreign oil.

it is a good plan. it really could help us out. though i think that the person it is gonna really help is pickens. he is offering up billions to jumpstart the program and as the head of one the largest natural gas producers in america i am sure the end windfall for him will be insane.

you know what? if he wants to give this a shot and then get rich then so much the better for him. hydrogen cars are a long way off and the government's current plan of expanded fossil fuel exploration is like 20 years from having any effect.

start saving for that new natural gas-mobile. say good bye to your trunk space and hello to short distance driving. those natural gas-mobiles don't go very far you know, and there are only 1300 filling stations in the country. if you run out. your stewed.

house rep leader pelosi had a nice little solution for easing the gas price crisis for us americans. she called on bush to release of oil from the strategic oil reserve and put it on the market. at 30bucks a barrel she says it would have an effect on the prices. 40 million barrels, if put up for sale, would also amount to 4 billion bucks in revenue. this money could be used to research and implement renewable resources.

gee. great idea. it would have been nice if congress had thought about this research a decade ago. pickens, and people like him might be our only help. pickens, who also owns more water than anyone else in america might just the coming to "save" us.

really if these people are looking to get relected then they need to get their heads on straight and start thinking about the future. not the next "term". the next 20-100 years.

we use 21million barrels a day here in the u.s. selling 40million is not going to help the people. it might help fund our future, but it is just a drop in the bucket where long term oil prices are concerned. ( it will be however free gas for two days... well sort of, but not really. i think maybe the government really just wants to get in on the oil futures market.)

government, you should have allocated that money years ago.

shame on you.

wrapping up
534.46 at the start
a buck7 spent
the kitty stands at 63cent

maximum spending tomorrow

2buck63

i can spend that much tomorrow

you can't stop me.