"Juuuust More of The Same Ol'"

After three full days of rain, I believe it's finally letting up. Today what was left from Hurricane Dennis seems to be gone and we just have heavy overcast, but it's pretty muggy. Too muggy, in fact, to mow this grass which has finally gotten a much needed watering, so I'll leave it for the weekend.

Been busy loading my wife's van for her craft show this weekend. I have low expectations for sales on crafts these days, and the record has been for the past year of shows that all sales have been pretty well down. China has just about totally destroyed the craft business, what with 85% of everything Wallyworld carries these days being exported from there, China's manufactoring costs are just so low that it's nearly impossible to compete with mass produced products.

For example, our yard ornaments used to be our best sellers, especially around Halloween and Christmas, but we made and painted all of those by hand and produced a quality item. Now anyone can buy them for about 25% or less of what we'd have to sell them for, and since they're only used for a short period of time, most buyers opt' to purchase the cheap ones instead and just dispose of them yearly if they start to look worn.

So every show now it's a battle to try to do "something different" that craft buyers haven't already seen.

But with the current economy, I can't completely blame the buyers; things are tight money-wise with most folk. They think, "I can't afford the best item now, so I'll get the cheap one and maybe that'll last until I have more money." And, of course, workers have gotten spoiled to higher wages over the years as well, which is why there's a 1,000 oil wells out West capped off and not producing crude because you can't get anyone to process it for a decent lower wage so the companies can make some sort of profit. Just one of the reasons our own economy is bad these days is because we've allowed so many foreign interests to take over the production of needed goods. The general public "wants it all" instead of "just what they need". So people had best enjoy it while they can because one day they'll end up with a very rude awakening when rationing begins and they can see exactly how people made do during World War II.

In other news, I haven't gotten much new in lately in the way of comics outside of a couple of humor issues: a Gold Key Pebbles Flintstone No.1 (Gold Key one-shot from 1963), and a Sugar & Spike No.96 (DC/1971). I really wouldn't mind having more of the Mayer S&S's, but they always seem pretty popular on auctions and always seem to go for more than I want to give for them. I have been having a friend burn me sets of many titles I've always wanted in either the originals or TPBs on CD-ROM. Currently I have the first 200+ of Hellblazer, a full set of Preacher, the Alan Moore Swamp Thing issues, Watchman, the first 100 issues of Strange Adventures, Miracle Man 1 thru 25, Lucifer 1 thru 63, Transmetropolitan 1 thru 60, plus all of the Special Editions published of those titles, and some other "stuff". I've built up quite a collection of these to read and at a fraction of what it'd cost me in a different format, plus they take up a lot less space to store. I think I have something like 1,600 comics on CD-ROM now, with more I'm sure to get.

This was supposed to be my weekend off, but unfortunately, my co-worker's girlfriend has a birthday Sunday (the 17th.) and he had one of the women swap out days with him. Now that woman has come to me and asked if I'd work for her. I wouldn't mind it that much since it's extra hours (thus, extra pay), but Sunday also happens to be MY birthday as well! So, it looks like I'll have to work it. 'Peaves me in a way; not because in particular that I have to work on my birthday; done that many a time before, and, at my age, birthdays just don't mean much to me anymore. What DOES peave me? This woman that asked me, which is elderly, has already had the boss cut back the days she works per week to next to nothing. So, if she's not wanting to work, then why doesn't she just quit altogether? I grow weary of having to rearrange my own life around so many others at that place.