Buy Local Day?

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“Forgive me, Father, for I bought something on Buy Nothing Day.”

Yes, I bought something, and I bought something rather large. In my defense, it was a new 64-bit computer that I had been planning for the past month or two to buy myself before Christmas. To top it off, it is the latest entry-level iMac and Apple has a habit of fixing their prices (in both their own stores and for resellers) and never offering discounts or sales. I got up bright and early to ensure that I was actually able to secure one, then braved the mall. Based on the business there and the 20 minutes it took to find a parking spot, I think I have had enough of venturing out on Buy Nothing Day for the next five to ten years.

The local NPR station had an interesting story today. It seems various Portland businesses (Powell's, Hot Lips Piza, etc.) are looking to turn Buy Nothing Day into Buy Local Day. This actually makes a lot more sense. People still want to find good deals and will be able to, yet simultaneously “stick it to the man.” The big, faceless chain stores (Walmart, Nike, etc.) still get no business, and the money stays local. They brought up some figures that stated that 300% (that is $3 for every $1) of what you spend stay local when you do that. I am not entirely sure how that works, as those extra $2 have to come from somewhere, but it does make sense that a good chuck of change stays locally. The local businesses tend to hire a local accountant, local shippers, and various other local services. The chain stores tend to have corporate staff somewhere else in the country, so the money gets shipped out there.

Thanksgiving was great. Thanks, all who attended! Special thanks to David and his mad turkey skillz and Kim for her various expert chef skills. I simply supplied a pair of pumpkin pies (with slightly dark crusts, if I can be self-critical) and lots of dishwashing duty. It was a good mix of Southern Californians and friends of Kim. Brandon, I am happy you ventured out and shared the holiday with the rest of us. Seriously.

When the evening was winding down, we started a game of Eat Poop, You Cat! For those unfamiliar with the game, it is sort of a cross between Telephone and Pictionary. The cool thing about EPYC is that it is not, mathematically speaking, a zero-sum game. There is no winner and no loser, no limited resources, and one person doing well does not mean that everyone else is doing worse. It is just a synergistic bit of fun for all. Anyway, the results are online for all to laugh at.

I finished Lemony Snicket's Book The Forth and have started the fifth in the series. I also finished Buffy and The New Twilight Zone. Currently, I am half-way thorough Millennium, which is sort of like the X-Files, minus all of the alien episodes, sticking strictly to the Se7en-style serial killer episodes, and is in fact produced by the same guy that does the X-Files. In the queue is the rest of Millennium, the first season of Pee Wee's Playhouse, the first two seasons of Seinfeld, and the first season of The Wire. From Neflix is the first disc of the first season of “Dead Like Me,” whose IMDB entry reminds me a lot of a more adult and modern Beetlejuice (or is it Betleguise?) and is inspired by a Piers Anthony novel (whom I sometimes like and often dislike.)

Bed…ZZZZzzzz….

Posted in: Books Dear Diary Games Television

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