Happy Day After Thanksgiving aka Black Friday Shopping

[thekfc]

Any brave souls out there doing any shopping?   

As for me I did most of my shopping online - many with free shipping. 

There was only one item I need to get in the store - a $9.99 (door buster) puffer jacket for Ahya - it was not available online.
I am working today so I left home at 6:30am (a hour earlier than normal). I got to the store & the store was almost empty. The jackets were hanging on a rack with the incorrect sale sign, I picked up 2 - a white & a black one (I wanted brown instead but they didn't have any).
They were ringing up @19.99 at the register - luckier I had the sale paper & showed it to the cashier (the associates didn't even know that they were $9.99 door buster). After ringing me up, the cashier went & got some for herself. I also picked up 3 fleece throws for $1.99 each. Total time in the store lest than 10 minutes.

Since I had about 45 minutes before I need to be at work & it was nice outside - I decided to walk the rest of the way to work (about 12 blocks).

I was thirsty so I went in CVS Drug Store to get a drink. They had  Women's robes for $4.99 - I picked up two. They also had Snuggie Blankets on sale but I didn't get any as I already have some.
I passed a few opened empty stores on the way - AT&T, T-Moble, Footlocker & a few other. The associates were just there talking to each other.
 
Game Stop & Bath & Body Work had a handful of customers.
Express, American Eagle, H & M & Victoria's Secret Pink all had a good share of customers

Aeropostale & Victoria Secret was packed, while both Best Buy & Hollister had a long line outside with people waiting to get in - that is all around 8am. Good thing I did my shopping online.  ha ha

I didn't walk by Bloomingdale's, The Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic & a few other store as they were down the block from my job & it was starting to rain.

So how was your thanksgiving?
get out there & burn off those calories.

[piglett]

I myself am just not the black friday kind of shopper.
I have just about all the gifts that i intend to send to Marily & her family for Christmas already.
for her parents i went online & got them $50 worth of vegtable seeds & shipping was another $11.95
I was at walmart a few nights ago & happened to spot the knives that they had.
most were made in china so i left them where they lay. I then found a colman fixed blade knife(made in usa) with a stainless blade & sheath for $9.68 (this is for her dad) A few weeks ago they also had a huge sale in the kids section so i got Marily's niece (she is going on 4) a pink tinkerbell shirt for $5. I also found a $4 spiderman shirt for her nephew who is going to be 2 this year. I will probably also get them a card but basically that's about it for them this year for gifts.

for my new wife i got her another pint of New Hampshire maple syrup, i went rite to the guys house that makes it so it was only $8 instead of $15 or more in grocery store. I also just before halloween spotted a pair of black cat & pumpkin pants . they are rather strange looking but marily just loves black cats ( we have to get a black kitten as soon as she gets here) so i figured she could wear them to bed. I showed them to her on cam & she just loved them.

I only have a few other family members on my Christmas list & most will just get Walmart gift cards so they may pick out what "they like" instead of what i think they will like.


pig

[thekfc]

Most of my shopping was done throughout the year. There were things that I saw that were a slickdeal on BF & that I could could use them later - so I waited & got them online.

I did get her 4 sweaters & 4 scarves from Victoria's Secret - my total cost for the 8 items: $8.46 (actually I will be end up ahead as they gave me 4 Secret Reward Card that can be worth either $10, $50, $100 or $500 - I will find out on Dec 1st what they are worth).

I worked on Black Friday & the area I work (Soho) is full of retail store - it is now a booming shopping area. And any sale/specials going on - I would know.

Most of my x-mas gift to Ahya's family will be sent after she gets to NYC - she told me to hold off sending them, which I am doing.

There are a few things that I still want to get her from Express, New York & Company and The Limited but I am waiting for their clearance sale.

[thekfc]

I think that this is the first time that I didn't get any "gadgets" or anything electronics 

I got a few $5 Blu-ray movies but that do not count.

[Jedironin]

I try not to leave the house on Black Friday unless absolutely necessary! 

This is one of the few years I AM thinking of buying electronics! I think my 200 lb., CRT TV finally is due to be replaced.    There's a bunch of nice, 40" LCD TV's that can be had for only $600 or less. I'll check them out better when I get back home from Mom's house. 

[robert angel]

All that black Friday hoopla has gotten pretty old for me and this year, I reluctantly left the house at 5PM, whereas some places were wide open at midnight, with lines outside. Bestbuy (if ever there was a place with a wrong name, that's it---'Mediocre Buy' would've best fit--it had a 200 yard long line, w/ people in line at 10AM THANKSGIVING day.

But, as fate would have it, my wife went out and bought stuff for her brother, who lately is sailing merchant marine ships in the North Atlantic. Trouble was, she got him the wrong size thermal under wear. Anyways, she had to do 'other stuff'--so I was 'nominated' to do the exchange.

I hear it gets a little brisk this time of year in the north atlantic-with waves the size of several story houses. She got him ONE pair, extra large. I wouldn't want to be pulling watch duty above board anyways, never mind w/ my undies bunched up, so I got him two pairs, 75% off, a couple of nice knit caps and a pay as you go Nokia cell fone for $20. I guess he wanted the LG--which wouldn't ya know, went on sale today and we couldn't even find it Friday and we Fed Exed the care package to him in Philly's port yesterday....

Oh well, we squeezed in some socks and boy oh boy, will he love this--the western digital TWO TERABYTE external hard drive I got at Target--it has 700+ 4.5 on a five scale ratings on amazon--the size of a paper back book too. Pretty much all hard drives have gotten dirt cheap, but some brands will crap out on you real fast. Such a good deal, I got one too--no CD disk or software to lose--just a plug and USB. They are going from USB 2.0 to USB 3.0 connections (backwards compatible to USB 2 usable) so that's probably one reason why. Grabbed a couple 8GB Lexar flash drives for $6 too, a couple cheap Blu Rays, DVDs and CDs. The 64GB flash/thumb drives at $50 were enticing, but I'll wait for the price to drop some yet.

Imagine how much we paid for any kind of electronic memory five, ten years ago? You guys remember??

Since I was out and didn't want to waste too much gas, I got a couple Maglite LED (BRIGHT) flash lites--machined aluminum and with three D cell batteries make great, heavy billy clubs for keeping in the car--in our state , an axe handle w/o any axe head--even a baseball bat, if you don't have a base ball uniform on--is considered an 'illegal weapon' in a car--yet I can, and I'm not military or law enforcement, legally carry---concealed OR openly, any semi automatic handgun in my car OR a bar!!  Go figure.

I'd like one of those Israeli made Desert Eagle 50 caliber hand guns, but they and their ammo are a bit pricey (and they kick like mules-'A man's GOT to know his limits') so maybe if I'm real good, I'll get a new Springfield XDm (match grade barrel--adjustable backstraps, etc) with night sights, for Christmas!

What says a lot is my wife said she'd kick in probably half the cost for a gun for Christmas, but I asked if she wanted one of those snazzy LG or Samsung washer dryer sets, with the obscenely expensive 'optional' pedestals, and she said that the twelve year old washer n dryer I've fixed several times already "still works" and "more sales will come anyways"-so I  shouldn't....

[Bob_S]

Any brave souls out there doing any shopping?   

I heard rumors of a hand mixer available at Target for a Black Friday sale of $3, but after getting home from the airport that evening after a 9-hour flight, I just couldn't drag myself out again to hunt it down.

[thekfc]

I heard rumors of a hand mixer available at Target for a Black Friday sale of $3, but after getting home from the airport that evening after a 9-hour flight, I just couldn't drag myself out again to hunt it down.

I got one online from Walmart $2.97. I also got a 2 quart slower cooker for $2.97. They also had a mini chopper for the same price which I wanted but was gone by the time I came online.

[Jeff S]

I heard rumors of a hand mixer available at Target for a Black Friday sale of $3, but after getting home from the airport that evening after a 9-hour flight, I just couldn't drag myself out again to hunt it down.

We haven't seen you around for a while. How was your trip? Planning a lengthy report or was it just family stuff?

[robert angel]

Well,

Christmas came a little early--or Black Friday--cyber Monday was extended here, as there was a deal I won't probably see again--or at least for a while.--For $615--certainly not small change I know, I picked up a new Springfield Armory 45 caliber Xdm handgun, with a match grade barrel (very accurate if YOU are) in stainless steel and black (bitone) with an easily adjustable to three sizes pistol hand grip.

A promo from Springfield adds 3 extra full capacity ammo magazines and pouch, comes with a holster, ez loader and other goodies--I just added on night sites, tricked it out a bit and picked up some practice and home defense ammo.--Normally, all that would've cost over a $1000.

Yea, I wanted a Heckler and Koch Mark 23--that's the gun the Navy Seals and most elite special ops forces use--very nice and durable--but hey--that's over two grand as a stock model (w/o night sights) typically--and might be marginally more accurate. Plus, I don't swim with a pistol very often like those guys do.

I concede the HK's and Sig Sauers are in someways better, but any of these sidearms should last several life times--so my sons will have them. Even your average Glock pistol should shoot 150,000 rounds w/o any problems--maybe even twice that number.

So the wife can target shoot side by side with me, using the Glock 9 mm, which has a little less kick.
Lets hope it's not like fishing, where she typically catches at least as much as I do. Is that grounds for divorce?

[ignorante]

Woo hoo, Robert!   Now that's shopping!   

H&K is my favorite, and I have more than one.  If you like the Mark 23, then try out the H&K 45 USP Tactical.  It is built on their standard frame and comes with a barrel threaded for a suppressor and the O-ring feature from the Mark 23.  It is super accurate, and it is small enough to carry, even if it is a little large.  It is nowhere near the size of the Mark 23, and is less than half the price.

Sounds like your Springfield was a very good deal.

[robert angel]

Re:
>>Woo hoo, Robert!   Now that's shopping!   

H&K is my favorite, and I have more than one.<<


Yea--I was looking at that HK model and similar Sigs with threaded barrels and they are sweet.

Remember Clint Eastwood asking the perp:

 â€œYou've got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya punk?”

I got REAL lucky tonight...

Perhaps the preminent gun customizer--'smithy'--or certainly one of the best in the USA, is a fellow named Pedro Ortiz.

I had heard of him--people would sometimes almost whisper his name in reverence and I'd heard people with gun collections worth more than most homes, saying things like 'he's the ONLY person I let TOUCH my gun'. Definitely world class.

Anyway, I'm at the  gun shop and range this evening and looking to get my night sights put on, only to find out that swapping out the sights on the Xd--Xdm line, unlike w/ Glocks, is one bitch of a chore and they didn't want to do it--too difficult to do w/o screwing it up. It turned out the guy who told me they could do it was wrong--"Call Mr. Ortiz" the senior guy said.

So I did and I mentioned to Mr.Ortiz someone who is a mutual friend for many years who recommended him highly. He said-"I'd be happy to help you--I'll do it for $35."

Absolutely unbelievable price. I'm told that Mr. Ortiz was making six figures in income back in the mid 1990's as a gun smith and to have him work on your gun and initialize it greatly increases it's value.

Life and luck is funny--Mr. Ortiz walked in about 30 minutes later after we spoke, to test some guns on the range--different guns, ammo and their accuracy and penetration on different 'bullet proof' materials.

I was kind of in awe of the guy, geeked out a bit, but we still hit it off really good after I said "Hey--we just spoke on the phone!" and we had a few friends and other things in common.

He asked to see my gun and watch me firing it. Then he fired it. He said it was indeed 'match grade' already--far more accurate than I'll probably ever be able to fully utilize, but the guy was a total sweet heart about it.

He said "Robert--we'll put the night sights on--they're good ones--and I'll laser sight the sights and barrel for accuracy (redundant?--I'd never question HIM).

Then he said he'd like to customize the trigger pull based on what I said and what he saw and the way the magazines go in--just make the whole thing smoother. He watched my body mechanics, asked a few questions and made carry/holster recommendations.(Blackhawk Serpa)

This guy does Barrett 55's, AR 15's, Les Baers--all the ultra high end stuff--so what does he shoot? A highly customized, bitone Glock 40 caliber. He's just very comfortable with it, he says and he recommended that I 'find my way' and become more comfortable also with what I have--to not constantly switch.He drives a a simple pick up truck, wears jeans and a t shirt.

I gave him my gun case, we shook hands and he said 'call me around lunch time tomorrow--it'll be ready"--No paper receipt--just like the 'old days'--a man's word and a handshake..

Maybe I'll bring my Glock in too, but maybe not--I'd be taking advantage of an awfully nice guy--a fellow definitely not in need of extra work, who seeing how my wife's at work this evening, made my night already! Woo Hoo is right!

[piglett]

Robert I'm guessing that you taught your wife how to shoot, had she ever even held a gun before arriving here?
I do some side work for a local Realtor lady (my 3RD job)
her husband is a competition pistol shooter.
last time i was over to their house i asked him if he would teach Marily how to shoot once she arrives.
he said "i will be glad to" . so i guess I'll bring a pile of guns & ammo
& the 2 of them can shoot the hell out of paper targets while
his wife & I grill up some steaks & chew the fat so to speak
I only have long guns so i guess i now have a dam fine excuse to but a couple of pistols
is there a down side to this ?? probably not


pig

what calibers do i need?
22,38,45?
all of the above?  

[Bill_McC]

Guns are like banjos, you can never have too many. Theres a sickness that I have, BAS, Banjo Acquisition Syndrome and once you have it the only known cure is more banjos. Hand guns are exactly the same. "Oh just one more then I'll stop; I swear, just one more." Once you start there is no known cure and you can never stop Pig. Tread this path with caution! 

Bill

[robert angel]

Piglett,

Joy had never held a pistol or a fishing rod before she came here. She can handle a full sized Glock Model 17, (9mm) which hold 17 rounds and still shoot 'in the black' (kill you dead zone), even though her hands are so tiny--her fingers wear a ring that's sized 4.5 and even that is still sometimes too big. Most jewelry stores sell nothing smaller than size sevens. And a 9mm kicks pretty good, is loud and blows a lot of fire out the muzzle.

There are plenty of decent, smaller guns at pawn shops for not much more than a hundred dollars, including small 22 and 38 caliber sidearms.

Hell, I'd get her a Walther PPK--that's the pricey little German masterpiece gun that James Bond tucks into his tuxedo so discreetly and offs the bad guys--a friend of mine wants to sell me one for a good price--but my wife just doesn't want us to spend or to carry--yet. I got her some boots for $28 last weekend and you'd have thunk I bought her a car or something....


Organized crime often uses 22 caliber long bullet loads for 'hits' --they're so much more deadly than people know, as they go into the body and zip around inside, causing catastrophic damage. They have very little kick (recoil) and can be handled (accurately aimed) easily.

Insurgents (terrorists) in Iraq and Afghanistan are using them with rifles, taking out our troops in urban areas, with neck shots that miss their body armor, sometimes using soda pop bottles stuffed w/ rags  on the rifle's ends, to suppress the already weak sound they make when shot. They are so quiet and mobile, that some snipers are moving fast and taking out multiple soldiers in short order and escaping.

22 and 38 caliber (32 also) pistols can be down right tiny. The police man's special--the 38 caliber revolver, is also a great pistol and like many 22 pistols, fits in a woman's small purse very easily. (My wife could put a horse in her purse--it's amazing how much 'stuff' she can fit in one)

The Taurus Titanium ultra light 38 is so small and light--it's almost like a dang toy--but with the right 38 caliber load--as deadly as a cobra. I was trying one out this evening in fact---only half my ring finger and none of my pinkie fit on the grip and it's no derringer--it's a serious firearm.


DO NOT even consider buying a High Point brand gun.


So the 380 and 22 pistols are good, easily fired by little and big people alike, with lightly used, better brand models readily available and they're effectively deadly when needed.

Joy doesn't want to keep a gun in her purse--she's pretty much always with me or with the few people she counts as trusted friends when she goes out, but I hope she changes her mind on that.

A revolver is probably the best bet for someone who' wants to feel 'ultra safe' against 'accidents'-you can see the bullets in the cylinder, the cock as it goes back, no springs to possibly mess up like in a semi auto pistol--a small revolver is almost stupid proof and lasts about forever with little if any maintenance.

I just would feel better if our wives were competent and comfortable enough to carry a small gun for personal defense--they're just so cute that weirdos here will (for us ARE) staring at times and bad shyt can happen anywhere now adays... We live in a nice neighborhood, but when my wife's watering the roses out front, in modest clothing (God forbid one of her students sees her in a anything remotely 'sexy') and the same guys drive by three times, it makes ya think!!!

[piglett]

Guns are like banjos, you can never have too many. Theres a sickness that I have, BAS, Banjo Acquisition Syndrome and once you have it the only known cure is more banjos. Hand guns are exactly the same. "Oh just one more then I'll stop; I swear, just one more." Once you start there is no known cure and you can never stop Pig. Tread this path with caution! 

Bill

hey Bill do you also play the steel guitar?
my step dad used to make them back when he was alive
he said the ones in the music stores were crap so being a retired engineer he decided to make a better one
he sold quite a few & i think my mom still has 2 or 3 hanging out in a closet in their house.
(i guess i'll be the owner of them some day) not that i can play them

pig

[Bill_McC]

Pig,

No I stick to the banjo and dabble with the guitar. I've considered a dobro a few times but I've never gotten past my severe BAS. I own an instrument thats a bit of an oddball though. Its a resophoric guitar with a 5 string banjo neck thats called a dobjo. It plays the same as my banjos but it has the voice of a dobro.

Bill

[ignorante]

I just would feel better if our wives were competent and comfortable enough to carry a small gun for personal defense--they're just so cute that weirdos here will (for us ARE) staring at times and bad shyt can happen anywhere now adays... We live in a nice neighborhood, but when my wife's watering the roses out front, in modest clothing (God forbid one of her students sees her in a anything remotely 'sexy') and the same guys drive by three times, it makes ya think!!!

  When I was married, my wife carried a .357 Scandium framed 5 shot pistol.  It weighed 10 ounces unloaded, and she could shoot it with .38s just fine.  She never had an aversion to guns though, since I was a police officer when we met and carried even on our first date. 

[Jedironin]

Good to see some more shooters around! 

The .380 auto. is another good choice for ladies with small hands. I have big hands, but carry a Colt Gov't. model .380 in the summer. I added Pachmayer grip panels, too, so it fits my hands better. There's a good variety of them out these days, and with Hydro-Shocks or other good hollow-points, just as effective as many .38 loads. Just don't rely on roundball ammo for defensive purposes. 

I also like the Ruger SP 101. The grips are great, and it can shoot any .38 or .357's. It's a little heavy for a 5-hole revolver, but the weight + grips make shooting .357's very manageable! 

For ammo. penetration testing results, check out www.theboxotruth.com!!

[Jedironin]

Ooops... we seem to be getting a bit off-track here. (Imagine that!)

I managed to avoid the Black Friday madness, but get in on a Cyber Monday sale. I'm getting a Toshiba 40" LCD HDTV (factory refurb.) for well under $600!    I'm having it sent to my local Bust Buy store for me to pick up there, so I don't have to worry about it possibly sitting out on my porch. 

Now I just need to figure out what to do with my 4-yr.-old, 200 lb. CRT tv!  :p

(Anyone want me to start a "gun thread" somewhere?  )

[Jeff S]

You don't want to get me started on guns...

Here's the other board I moderate: http://surplusrifleforum.com/

[robert angel]

After I started out with this little essay (which as typical for me--spun on and on) below and sent it--I realized that yea--we probably should make this its own thread in off topic' or manage it some other way--we'll see what you guys think.--It's definitely not about pursuing love, peace and world relations....

What do you guys think of that 5.7 x 28MM ammo? The boys back at the shop were trying to sell me an imperceptibly 'used'--ie 'mint' condition FN Herstal pistol--most commonly called the 'FN Five Seven'  It holds 20 rounds in the magazine, is extremely light and precise and incredibly deadly, with hardly any recoil. Makes my 45 ACP look like a 22 short.

I figure I could've picked it up for around $700--$750 and they go for a lot more than that in weird color combinations. Like in the two grand neighborhood on line. Lot's of ammo available too, for not too expensive either.

It was a paradox--a jet black beauty of deadly precision--plastic and light and exquisitely well made, but as many have said--it's basically like an assault rife in a pistol, firing over 2000 FPS and sending a bullet that looks like a miniature AR 15's -- a bullet missile that almost guarantees a sure kill with any shot--if from nothing but massive blood loss.

I hear in Mexico--the cartels will gladly pay $5000 for a single "FN20'---it's as good as it gets to them..

A guy here was accidentally shot in the upper body last Saturday from across a shop counter with a standard (non hollow point) 45ACP. He's going to be fine--no vitals--no head shot. An unlucky, yet lucky guy.

But if it had been that 5.7X28 shot from that FN20 pistol, he'd have almost certainly dead--those loads leave a 3 inch hole in you. And yet, it's not as likely to penetrate walls--it tumbles once it hits you, ripping you apart.

Yes--if I'm going to shoot someone in my house, I'm almost certainly going for the head, if I HAVE to shoot. I'm not buying hollows for home defense to 'wing or sting' somebody, pissing them off so they have a chance to come at me or my family, use our weapons back on us, or live to get bottom fishing lawyers, who'll repeatedly sue me for a 'contingency fee', harassing me for years.

But honestly--that pistol and it's capabilities scared even me, and I'm still thinking it through.  Even the guys at the shop offering me a deal on it seemed a bit wary of its capabilities.

They weren't in any hurry to swap out their swank, capable Les Baers or Kimbers for it.So small, concealable and deadly effective. Really--imagine something akin to an AR15, but one that you could conceal and carry. It felt so light and precise--I thought back to the days when I'd shoot out clothes lines with pellet guns and thought--wow--this feels lighter than those old Crossman CO2 'guns'...


Yes--we play to win--and if you're going to use deadly force with deliberate intention, you want to get the job done. How much is too much? Yes--we need to be wise, keep our weapons from unsafe hands, but accidents do happen--and the one I referred to actually happened in a gun shop--with the gun I'm referring to, he'd be dead.

So again--and you guys might want to look this bad ass pistol up before responding:

How much is too much?
 

[Jedironin]

Well Robert... I really don't recommend a .22 for personal defense, and the 5.7 is smaller... faster, yes, but smaller. I don't know where you read about 3" exit wounds, but that just isn't gonna happen. The soldiers in the deserts were using their .223 carbines in CQB work, and found it just wouldn't knock the bad guys down ALL the time, EVERY time. They did not choose a smaller round, they chose the venerable .308 and developed the 6.8 SPC. I have never been convinced at all that the 5.7 is a "good idea". It was developed as a personal defense weapon for people behind the lines, in place of a pistol.

I'm just not a supporter of this round. It "might" penetrate body armor, depending on what round is used, but it probably won't STOP the bad guy NOW. Same with a .22. It can kill someone, but it won't kill them NOW unless you're VERY good under stress. A .45 "may" not penetrate body armor, but 2 in the chest and 1 in the head generally solves all the problems, NOW.

[piglett]

well do to the fact that this has turned into the gun tread  
I'll ask this question, what do you guys like for home defence??
my first thought is a 12GA pump, maybe add one of those fancy surefire lights & laser pointer?
i keep my old mossburg in the bedroom closet. it needs to be up on a couple of beefy steel pins screwed into the wall rite up over the top of the door opening. that's what i intend to do, I'll get some of the vinyl rubbery dip kind of stuff so those steel pins don't scratch up anything. maybe back up that baby with a good old 357 revolver that's residing in an old attached holster mounted behind the nightstand?

what do you have for a setup at your house?

pig

    

[Ray]

what do you have for a setup at your house?

Double-barrel 12 Ga in the bedroom closet.

1st trigger... Bird shot

2nd trigger... 00 Buck magnum

If the first barrel in the face doesn't scare him off, the second barrel will either take his head off or leave a hole big enough for Phillip Rivers to throw a football through... 

My backup to that will remain anonymous...

Ray