The Big DumpTruck

Throwing Little Thought Pebbles at Your Windshield Since 1996

Tag: shopping

Enough With the Damned Changes!

People are afraid to buy things these days because so often they become obsolete within days or weeks. Usually the problem is that you buy something that in two months will cost less for all kinds of extra bells and whistles. It’s pretty heartbreaking when that happens, I can honestly say.

I’m in kind of an interesting reverse spot right now. I have had, on my list of things to obtain at some point in the future, an iPod shuffle. I know I have an iPhone, which is most awesome, don’t get me wrong. However, it’s just really heavy and not optimal for going walking (or jogging, or working out, or whatever it is that you do). I figured that I would get one for the spring or summer, when it was nice enough to start walking at work again.

I kind of had this thought out of my head, as there are other things I really should invest $50 in, you know? But Apple announced the new Shuffle, and after reading about it, I can say that I do not want this new version. I do NOT want a unit with the controls on the headphone cord. I want to be able to use 3rd party headphones more suited for walking. Lord knows the regular headphones fall out if I am just sitting still. Walking is right out.

So now I have to try to figure out how long I’ll have to buy one of the “old” (read: current) Shuffles before you can’t find them any more. Thanks Apple!

by on March 13, 2009
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Shaws Was Not a War Zone

All the locals know we’re expecting “Death Storm 2009″ tomorrow. Or maybe “Sprained Ankle Storm 2009″. Something ominous. Something that looks flashy on the news. Operation Snowflake? I’ll keep working on that.

As a rule, if snow is forecast, the grocery stores are ransacked for French toast ingredients (milk, bread, eggs – universalhub.com issues formal French Toast alerts. I use the UH warning system to determine whether or not it’s time to stock up on syrup.

As usual, we haven’t done the weekly shopping yet, and we were out of half and half, an unacceptable situation. Even though we’re at red alert, I have to have coffee in the morning or my address will be in the news by tomorrow night.

I dragged Birthday Boy to the store. On the way, he says I’m only allowed to buy 10 or fewer things so we can go through the fast line. This old game. Sure. I tell him that I will only be buying three things and then we keep picking up more and more stuff and he gets annoyed with me but I am such a great actress I can pretend that I had every intention of only buying three things when I know that is not the case. I deserve an award of some kind.

The parking lot was empty. The store was neat as a pin [what the he'll does THAT mean?] and fully stocked. Should I assume everyone got an updated weather bulletin. Oh, and for the record – 10 items exactly, and I didn’t even have to count the buy one get one free English muffins as a single item. Of course, that means I did not get to emote. Maybe next time.

by on January 6, 2009
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Okay, Fame and Fortune, I’m Ready

I declare 2009 The Year That Jody Has Enough Money to Buy Things and Go on Vacations She Totally Doesn’t Need. That’s right, I’m saying that 2009 needs to be “the year of excess cash”. So, contact me offline and I’ll give you my mailing address so the checks can start coming. It’s not tax deductible, but really, should that make a difference? Think about me, Jody. I don’t own a single pair of cowboy boots. I have never slept in a castle. Seasonal window treatments don’t just buy themselves, my friends. Any leftover cash (HA! HAHA!) will be used to pay down credit card debt. Or to buy a different pair of eyeglass frames for each day of the week.

Thank you for supporting The Year That Jody Has Enough Money.

by on January 3, 2009
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What Amazon Thought I wanted to buy

On the left are two photos I took with my iPhone and uploaded via the new iPhone Amazon App. Apparently a human looks at the photos of things you see that you might want to buy and tries to match the photo so something amazon sells. The items on the right are the things they felt best matched my photos.


What Amazon Thought I wanted to buy, originally uploaded byBig DumpTruck.

So it’s a fascinating application and use of human slaves at Amazon, but really, does my USB snowman really look that much like a cat?

No, I don’t think so. I looked myself in Amazon for the first item (I happen to know the manufacturer, which is cheating, yet) and found of of the various styles they sold: http://snipurl.com/sunbobble

by on December 3, 2008
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I’m Going to Be Part of an Extravaganza!

I got an email reminder from my very very dear friend and personal mentor, C Monks this morning, reminding me that today’s the day to order his book. Because he saw fit to make me a member of his Hall of Fame, he is one of my favorite people on the planet. And thus, I pass along the ordering info for his book, which, by the way, sounds fantastic. Go order a copy and maybe he’ll put you in his HOF. If you send him a photo and ask nicely.

This is an impersonal, yet friendly reminder about the “Order My Book
Extravaganza!” As you might remember, today, October 29th, I’m trying to get as
many people as possible to order my new book, “The Ultimate Game Guide to Your
Life” from Amazon.com. I would greatly appreciate your support. Simply follow
this link,
and you’ll be a few clicks away from participating in what is sure to be, if I
may be so bold, the most exciting book-buying extravaganza you’ve been a part of
in at least the last couple of months. Or so.

See, it’s just that easy! Go order one! Or five! Christmas is coming!

by on October 29, 2008
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God Wants Me to Sleep In

Saturday night we briefly lost power due to the high winds and other assorted lightening-y activity. It came back within 2 minutes or so, and everything was dandy. Except in the middle of the night, I woke up to go to the bathroom, and noted that the clock said it was somewhere in the 1:15am range. But when I looked at my watch in the bathroom (yes, I often wear my watch to bed. You never know when you might want to check the time without rolling over to look at the alarm clock) it said it was after 2am. Huh. That’s odd.
When we finally woke up Sunday morning, my watch said it was 8am. But the alarm clock said it was 4am.
Oy.
I reset it and it eventually lost 5 hours over the course of Sunday. I was thinking it might be fun to play alarm clock roulette in the morning, but I decided to go to Target to replace it. Got one that will charge and play my iPod, which means I can wake up to music I actually like!
Still, I don’t get how a digital alarm clock, plugged into an outlet, can just lose time like that. It wasn’t running on batteries, it was plugged in. I’m sure there’s some really science-y explanation, but to me, if a cheapo digital alarm clock breaks, it’s something like the alarm stops working, or the display goes wonky. Losing time? I have a wall clock my friend Kim gave me as a shower present 15+ years ago and that one barely loses time when the battery goes low.
I hope God wasn’t trying to send me a message to sleep in this morning because the new alarm clock worked very very well.

by on October 27, 2008
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My $150,000 Wardrobe

I don’t know why everyone is harassing Sarah Palin about her $150,000 wardrobe enhancement. I mean, what’s the big deal? That’s about average in 2008, isn’t it? I know that I still have $25,000 left to spend on my $150,000 wardrobe enhancement, but I’m feeling pretty good about the $125,000 I’ve spent. I mean, like Sarah, I have a lot of public appearances that I have to make. I appear in public pretty much daily.

My most recent purchase was a heavy-duty pull-over fleece top that I bought at the Blue Heron tent sale a week and a half ago. I got it for ten dollars. I mean, ten thousand dollars (*cough*) which is what the receipt I sent to the GOP said.

Really, what it comes down to is pantsuits and makeup that is not available in the cosmetics aisle of Target. That’s really where the bulk of the enhancement budget went. I will look fabu in my new pantsuits as I meet “real Americans”. And the makeup will transform me into a movie star. That’s what it’s all about, right? When I’m at the self-serve gas station, people will offer to pump my gas for me. Because they will look at my pantsuits and know that I’m somebody to worship.

Everything I own now, by the way, is encrusted in Swarovski crystals. That’s what makes the difference between being dressed and being enhanced. When people see my glittery pants, tops and underwear, they will be excited to even be near me, and declare the money well spent. No more store-brand pants for me, I’m SOMEBODY NOW!

by on October 23, 2008
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14 Feet is Maybe Too Much

I need a cable to hook up a peripheral to my Mac, and so I went to Best Buy to look for one. (I bought one last year, according to Amazon which tells you on what date you ordered something even if it was a jillion years ago, but I couldn’t tell you where it is to save my life.)

They had two. One was 52 bucks (uh, no thanks, I saw them for ten bucks on Amazon) and the other was 32. Junior told me to just get the $32 one (I had a $5 coupon, but still…) but the guy who found it for me pointed out that the reason it was so expensive was because it was fourteen feet long. Okay, picture a laptop, and picture something you want to connect to it, like, say, a camera. Do you have any need at all for a 14 foot cable? Because I don’t.

So I don’t have a cable yet, but I hear you can get one on Amazon for $10, and the only problem is that it disappears into the void at your house after a while.

by on May 8, 2008
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DumpCast Home in Flux

I didn’t have the $$ to renew my .Mac account (it expired yesterday) so the DumpCast link that used to be in the upper right hand corner has been removed. I don’t know when or where it will re-surface, but I may just host it right here on BDT going forward. I’ll make sure I let all the faithful fans know when it’s available again.

I took yesterday and today off from work because Junior is on April vacation. Yesterday I combed the back yard for dog poop, and I was thinking to myself…hunting for crap is still better than going to work. I also did a little raking (after we picked up a new metal rake…way too much thatch to use a plastic rake) and we did get the little tabletop grill I was yearning for. Cooked up some shrimp and steak to break it in and welcome it to the family. I think there may be a problem with it (flame is too low) but by the time we figured that out, we’d already started cooking on it. So now I’m not sure what to do. I guess I’ll contact the manufacturer, because I don’t think Lowes wants me to take back a used grill. Or maybe they do, because the thing we noticed might be a safety issue. Will keep you informed

by on April 22, 2008
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Unintentional Downtime

I didn’t realize you guys were bigdumptruck-less for a chunk of the weekend until I got my daily traffic report email and it said that my hits were about a third of what they normally are, making me think there was some sort of problem. Apparently, there was some sort of problem. Luckily, it appears the hosting company found their plunger and released my website, and it is now available again.

I just got paid four days ago and I’m already counting the minutes until next payday. For those of you keeping track, I only get paid once a month. It SUCKS OUT LOUD. I hate it. I’m no good with getting paid once a month. I had to set aside a chunk of change for getting the furnace fixed out of this one and there’s just no cheese money left. I suppose I shouldn’t be complaining about a lack of cheese money when some people can’t buy groceries or pay rent, but dang it, I strongly dislike not being able to spend $10 on myself without feeling very guilty.

And on that topic, we were going to look for a nice rubbish container for the kitchen, and we were at Lowe’s and the cheapest one was $79. The one we liked was $99. Hello?! A hundred bucks for a trash bin? And it isn’t even one of the “survives a nuclear blast” kind that you want to buy for putting out at the curb. This is just a bin with a foot pedal for the kitchen. I could buy a grill for less money than the trash can!

Needless to say, we do not have a hundred dollar trash bin this morning.

by on April 13, 2008
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