washers and dryers

It hasn't been all that long since my family replaced our washer and dryer - maybe five years? The washer/dryer pair before this lasted a REALLY long time - over thirty years. But they really don't make 'em like they used to, because our dryer is already behaving poorly.

Regardless, I think everyone should keep a washer/dryer repairman on retainer, so to speak. More often than not, problems can be fixed by a visit from whirlpool dryer repair. It saves money AND it's better for the environment!

metal

Many many years ago, I created an ornamental punch-metal plate that hung on the wall of my room for many years. I think it was a summer camp project, and I think it was a flower. It was a simple craft, but it had a remarkably professional look when I was done. From time to time, I think about crafting something like that again, but since I don't have the power tools for cutting & band sawing to prepare the metal, I haven't seriously considered it. I don't work in construction, so those tools are just not something I've needed before.
Today, though, it occurred to me that with the internet, I could purchase the metal and have all the pre production shearing done by someone else. Like construction guys! The would do top notch work too, like perfect laser cutting. Because you can buy anything on the internet! (Shoot, if they're smart, construction guys should be buying their metal on the internet!)
Of course, I would still need to find room to do all this. It would be a great craft project for a warm day out on the back porch, but since that's covered with a foot of snow right now, I guess it's going to have to wait until spring!

sunglasses, earbuds, and saving money

There are two things in this world on which I absolutely REFUSE to spend much money: sunglasses and earbuds. Ironically, my reasoning for both items is related to running. Running is HARD on the sunglasses and the earbuds. I have destroyed multiple pairs of both since I began running. Therefore, I buy my earbuds from BigLots (never more than $5 per pair!) and my sunglasses from Cargo Largo (especially when they have $.75 sales!). I just can't bring myself to spend oodles of money on a really nice pair of Bose headphones or Arnette sunglasses when I will almost certainly destroy them through my clumsiness! To be fair, I also don't spend any more than necessary on my mp3 players - I have a Sansa Clip, and it's served me well. Since I got an Iphone, though, I don't really use the Sansa anymore!

you can buy ANYTHING on the internet!

I've always known this, to some extent, but it still surprises me when I find a really unusual item for sale on the internet. I'm not even talking about Cheetos that looks like the Virgin Mary - those are just silly. I've found things before like an alien baby doll, or a life size statue of Napoleon. Who thinks of these things? Now you can add a school bus for sale at gregorypoole.com to that list. Crazy!