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Post July 4th Poll: Would you rather ...


Would you rather ...  

24 members have voted

  1. 1. Would you rather ...

    • light off $300 worth of fireworks in one night;
      7
    • buy a single bottle of 18-year-old MacAllen single malt scotch; or
      12
    • blow $300 playing the slots at a casino in Iowa?
      5


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Had to go with fireworks. Out here in San Diego. Haven't shot off fireworks in about a decade. So generally work the forth so I can knock out one of the holidays I have to work.

 

Man I miss fireworks. May seem childish, but man I LOVE parachutes! Shoot them off as a kid. Getting the big ones that go ridiculously high. Chasing them down. Hoping they didn't get snatched up by a giant ass oak tree. Have to walk by that tree for next year. Eyeing my parachute nearly every day. And when the trees didn't get them. There was a hoard of us trying to be the one to catch it 😀...Great times.

 

I try that out here...I start a fire and burn down a subdivision. Actually just had a conversation with my wife. Told her I think we are gonna have to take a few summer vacations back to Nebraska  when the children we are gonna have are old enough. Show them how I think the forth should be celebrated.

 

She was less than on board 😐

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So, kinda the back-story on this: I'd seen bottles of 18-year-old MacAllen behind locked glass at liquor store displays in the past. A year ago, that stuff was probably bringing $250/bottle. Now, it's more like $300. And I always thought that was a hell of a lot of money to spend on hooch. Really good hooch, to be sure, but hooch nevertheless.

 

As I was sitting on my patio on 4th of July, watching neighbors all around me light off half my net worth in fireworks, I recalled a time a few years back when I decided to splurge on fireworks and bought a couple of these and a few of those and, what the hell, that $50 thing would make a grand finale, etc., and my eventual tab rung up to probably around three hundred bucks. But, somehow, lighting it all off was strangely dissatisfying. Three hundred bucks didn't generate as long of a show as you might expect. Each $20-$30 item was maybe not quite as spectacular as I'd imagined it might be. And I decided I wasn't going to do that again.

 

So, as I sat on my patio watching my neighbors almost literally burning through money, I started thinking about other similar-cost purchases and what kind of utility you might get out of them.  And I ended up deciding that I could make the "fireworks" from a $300 bottle of top-shelf single malt scotch last a bit longer and be a bit more satisfying than a bunch of gunpowder that would go up in smoke in one evening.

 

I didn't buy the scotch, though, either. I'm actually thinking about buying a carbon steel Japanese chef knife for roughly the same price. Because that bitch should last for-frickin-ever and help me produce some fine eating for a lot of friends and family to enjoy over the course of a lifetime -- and then be worthy of inheriting once I pass from this life.

 

If you'd have been willing to consider blowing up $300 worth of fireworks on 4th of July, are there any other roughly $300 things you'd now think differently about buying, having read this thread? That compound miter saw you've had your eye on, perhaps? Some new fishing tackle? Upgrading your basketball seats?

 

It's the off-season, guys. Talk to me.

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13 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

So, kinda the back-story on this: I'd seen bottles of 18-year-old MacAllen behind locked glass at liquor store displays in the past. A year ago, that stuff was probably bringing $250/bottle. Now, it's more like $300. And I always thought that was a hell of a lot of money to spend on hooch. Really good hooch, to be sure, but hooch nevertheless.

 

As I was sitting on my patio on 4th of July, watching neighbors all around me light off half my net worth in fireworks, I recalled a time a few years back when I decided to splurge on fireworks and bought a couple of these and a few of those and, what the hell, that $50 thing would make a grand finale, etc., and my eventual tab rung up to probably around three hundred bucks. But, somehow, lighting it all off was strangely dissatisfying. Three hundred bucks didn't generate as long of a show as you might expect. Each $20-$30 item was maybe not quite as spectacular as I'd imagined it might be. And I decided I wasn't going to do that again.

 

So, as I sat on my patio watching my neighbors almost literally burning through money, I started thinking about other similar-cost purchases and what kind of utility you might get out of them.  And I ended up deciding that I could make the "fireworks" from a $300 bottle of top-shelf single malt scotch last a bit longer and be a bit more satisfying than a bunch of gunpowder that would go up in smoke in one evening.

 

I didn't buy the scotch, though, either. I'm actually thinking about buying a carbon steel Japanese chef knife for roughly the same price. Because that bitch should last for-frickin-ever and help me produce some fine eating for a lot of friends and family to enjoy over the course of a lifetime -- and then be worthy of inheriting once I pass from this life.

 

If you'd have been willing to consider blowing up $300 worth of fireworks on 4th of July, are there any other roughly $300 things you'd now think differently about buying, having read this thread? That compound miter saw you've had your eye on, perhaps? Some new fishing tackle? Upgrading your basketball seats?

 

It's the off-season, guys. Talk to me.

 

I don't understand why you can't buy all 3 off your options plus the knife, miter saw, fishing tackle and the upgrade in basketball seats.  Just live the American dream and purchase all of them on your credit card, make the bare minimum monthly payment, and then leave all of these great toys to your family when you pass along with the remaining debt.  Seems like a win-win for everyone!!  Well, maybe its more of a win for you, but when you're dead, at least you've lived a hell of a life.  😀

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I personally wouldn't buy the $300 bottle of hooch, but that's simply because you can get one that's 95% as good for about $70 and one that's 90% as good for about $35.  So, for consumer items like that I would probably not get it (unless it was for some very special occasion and I wanted to have the experience of it).

 

Given the choices listed and gun to my head having to choose one, I'll take the scotch all day every day and twice on Sunday over the others.

 

But for a durable good like your knife, and if it's something you know you enjoy and will use a lot, then absolutely I say buy that.  Get yourself a nice bottle of Templeton Rye to go with it and that's a good day in my mind.

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3 minutes ago, 49r said:

I personally wouldn't buy the $300 bottle of hooch, but that's simply because you can get one that's 95% as good for about $70 and one that's 90% as good for about $35.  So, for consumer items like that I would probably not get it (unless it was for some very special occasion and I wanted to have the experience of it).

 

Given the choices listed and gun to my head having to choose one, I'll take the scotch all day every day and twice on Sunday over the others.

 

But for a durable good like your knife, and if it's something you know you enjoy and will use a lot, then absolutely I say buy that.  Get yourself a nice bottle of Templeton Rye to go with it and that's a good day in my mind.

 

I'm debating between a full-on carbon steel Japanese knife with HRC of 63-64 for about $285 vs. a blade with a carbon steel core and clad with stainless in a Kurouchi finish at an HRC of 60-61 for about $215. The cheaper blade would be easier to maintain, for sure, and less subject to chipping. But the more expensive one would be an absolute laser and fly through onions like they were pre-cut.

 

If anyone on here has experience with these kinds of blades and can make recommendations/suggestions/just offer thoughts, feel free to PM me.

 

Thanks

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This is a fun off-season topic.  And $300 is a good price point -- expensive enough that you really have to think for a bit before buying something for that much, but also low enough that it's realistic.  Addressing the three initial options:

 

1. fireworks - not a chance.  I don't enjoy fireworks, and before kids I never spent any money on them.  Now the budget is about $10, just enough for some poppers and parachutes.

2. Good hooch - maybe.  I'm a bourbon guy, not a Scotch guy, so that makes it easier to stay under $100 for some really top notch stuff.  I do procure a good (>$80) bottle maybe 1-2x per year.  The only bourbon in the $300 range is so hard to find that I've never even had the option to get it.  But if theoretically I saw a bottle of Pappy 23 just sitting on a shelf, then yes I would probably grab it.

3. Casinos - nope.  I'm not a gambler.

 

I'm having a hard time thinking of other possible options in that price point.  I don't like gadgets or collectibles and my hobbies are all pretty affordable...so $300 is a price point I really only consider for essential items, not the fun stuff.  Maybe I'm just a boring guy. 

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1 hour ago, Art Vandalay said:

Go to the casino turn $300 into a grand and buy them all and keep the original $300

 

You must have more luck than me. The couple times I went to a casino, I limited myself to a certain amount of losses, played slots and hit my loss limit within about 20 minutes. Hung out in the bar and watched TV from there until my group was ready to go. Decided that was no fun and wasn't ever going back to a casino. To this day, I'm just astonished at all the cars/semis pulled into casino parking lots at like 11 a.m. whenever I pass places on the highway that have them.

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21 minutes ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

You must have more luck than me. The couple times I went to a casino, I limited myself to a certain amount of losses, played slots and hit my loss limit within about 20 minutes. Hung out in the bar and watched TV from there until my group was ready to go. Decided that was no fun and wasn't ever going back to a casino. To this day, I'm just astonished at all the cars/semis pulled into casino parking lots at like 11 a.m. whenever I pass places on the highway that have them.

You and me both, Norm. You and me both. 

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6 hours ago, atskooc said:

You and me both, Norm. You and me both. 

 I'm not sure people realize how much money they are losing. Whenever I ask someone how they did in Vegas they always say how much they won.  All those new casinos are not going up because people are beating the house.

Edited by Navin R. Johnson
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5 hours ago, Norm Peterson said:

 

You must have more luck than me. The couple times I went to a casino, I limited myself to a certain amount of losses, played slots and hit my loss limit within about 20 minutes. Hung out in the bar and watched TV from there until my group was ready to go. Decided that was no fun and wasn't ever going back to a casino. To this day, I'm just astonished at all the cars/semis pulled into casino parking lots at like 11 a.m. whenever I pass places on the highway that have them.


rule #1 never play slots, they are boring and I never win. Black jack and craps is all I play. I’m sure I lose more than I win but I remember the big wins a lot more than the loses. Maybe that’s why I love husker hoops so much.

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