Attack of the Vacuum People Revisited

I just got around to researching the price of a Kirby vacuum on line, just to see the difference between the 'buy-it-NOW-damnit' sales people at my door, and on-line sales or prices on line from dealers in general.

Remember, I was offered the machine marked down from $1913 to around $1,400.Finally, after wringing their hands with despair at my refusal to buy, they gave their bottom offer of $1,100 for a used demo model.

I just got around to looking up a the price of Brand new Kirbys up on the Internet - not to buy, just for a look-see.

On line, the top of the Kirby line machine, brand new, goes for $700.

SEVEN HUNDRED! And those bastards offered to 'generously' sell me a used one for 1K!

That doesn't include the extra crap the one I was shown included, but with all the extras thrown in it is $860.

And actually I don't know that the 'extas were even included with the machine as offered to me. Those were probably add-ons they would hit the customer with when they rang up the sale. No wonder they push to sell to you before you have time to think. They don't want you to have time to research.

Daddy was right - salespeople are bottom dwelling, low life, mouth breathers.

The Quest for Fire - I get it!

Got a few things done today. Not much, but some. Mostly what I accomplished was to convince myself there is a lot more crap to muddle through, sort, store and/or toss. The back room is so stuffed I'm surprised the walls of the house aren't bulging.

But tonight peace reigns. I've got the fireplace stoked again. Log after quick burning log, into the flames! One thing the soft wood does well is form glowing coals which make fresh firewood explode into flames. And there is the lovely snap, crackle, pop of the logs. Total heaven for a pyromaniac like me.

It is amazing how the fireplace is actually keeping the front room heated. I mean, obviously that is what fire is all about, but for someone raised in a New York flat with pipes for heat, a fireplace is a miracle. Fireplaces were the stuff of old movies and fantasy for me when I was a kid. Now I can watch my red hot embers glowing, the flames leaping. I totally love my fireplace. How many more years before logs on flames are outlawed? New housing in the county have artificial gas fireplaces - standard. So I'm at the tail end of another century, surviving on wood for heat.

Reminds me of the trip to Ireland. My favourite evenings were two during which I spent my time bunging coal and turf onto a 17th century fireplace. Too cool.

I actually still have tiny cubes of peat I brought back with me from Ireland. I burn one occasionally for the thrill of smelling the peat again. In the picture below you can see the coal scuttle on the left under the little table. There was a second one full of turf/peat too.

Crisis Crisis

Holy crap. Totally in emergency mode. This past week really sucked. I'm going to attempt to reverse the unfortunate trend of going from disaster to disaster by thinking of things going well. I mean, what could it hurt.