There are a bunch of things I’ve been thinking that I’d like to get, whether or not I’m laid off next month. It’s eleven o’clock in the morning; the mobs (if any) will be in full force at the stores by now. Do I want to go out and see if I can get stuff at a discount?
Lemme think… Here are the items I imagine I need:
- A small HDTV-ready television to sit on top of the refrigerator, to replace the tiny portable I have up there that’s too old to make the conversion.
- A pair of nightstands large enough to accommodate a book and a glass of water without pushing the lamp off onto the floor.
- A small occasional table for the living room, to replace a table that’s pretty much worn out.
- A Macintosh laptop
- Apple’s Airport gadget
Do I really WANT to run out and search for these things? Let us consider…
A small HDTV television
Televisions are stupidly overpriced these days. It’s unlikely that I can touch what ought to be a $60 gadget for much less than $350. Do I really need to spend $350 to watch the PBS NewsHour while I’m fixing dinner?
Verdict: Naaahhhh! I’ll miss Jim Lehrer come February, but there’s a perfectly fine radio in that room. I can turn on NPR News instead. Also, with the HD service, you can catch the NewsHour later in the evening on one of KAET’s three HD stations. It’s not like there’s anything else to watch during prime time, most evenings.
A pair of nightstands
Hmm. I would like a better pair of nightstands. The ones I have won’t accommodate much more than a lamp. The phone has to sit on the nightstand that’s on the other side of the bed from where I normally sleep. With Cassie having taken up residence on the bed, there’s now a dog as well as a broad expanse of mattress and a tangle of bedding between me and the telephone. In an emergency, climbing out of the nest and over the dog to dial 9-1-1 in the dark could pose a problem. Plus I hate it that I have to throw books and magazines on the floor under the bed when I’m ready to go to sleep, and that I have to be e-x-t-r-e-e-e-m-e-l-y careful not to bump a glass of water onto the floor if I have the temerity to bring such a thing into the bedroom.
The only pieces I’ve seen that appeal and that are anywhere near my price range are at Ethan Allen. Three hundred fifty bucks is on the high side of the price range, and when you consider that I need two of them, I’d have to get a significant discount to afford them. On the other hand, such a discount might be available today.
But…just to find out whether a discount is available, I’d have to consume a quarter tank of gas traipsing to Scottsdale through murderous traffic and then fight for a place to park. Ugh. This is not a pleasing prospect. I’m not sure it’s worth the effort. I have a perfectly fine pair of nightstands that will do. I just need to quit putting a glass of water on the nightstand and quit complaining about having to store reading material on the floor.
Verdict: probably nix
A small occasional table
Pier One apparently has been having trouble moving the junk off its floors. Those stores have sales all the time, and some of their stuff is sorta cool. I’ll bet I could get something comparable to the cheap Indian inlaid table my father rescued off the docks in Ras Tanura back in the 1950s and preserved for the ages in polyurethane.
On the other hand, probably I could spiff up the Indian table with the application of some cleanser, a bit of steel wool, and another coat of polyurethane.
Verdict: Go buy some mineral spirits, a small can of polyurethane, and a paint brush.
A Macintosh laptop
At first blush, the comment on that proposition is har har har har har!
On the other hand… I’ve been getting some ominous error messages from the iMac—yesterday even M’hijito couldn’t figure out what its problem was—and my Quicken records have been converted to Mac format and can’t be unconverted. If I’m to keep my Quicken archives with any continuity, I’ll have to stay with Apple.
On the other other hand, I could start anew on January 1 with a much, much cheaper PC. The MacEmperor, after all, has few if any clothes. Both platforms have their shortcomings and their annoyances. It’s easy to store all of one’s Quicken files in PDF format, so at least I’d have records in case of an audit.
But on the other hand, Windows is annoying as hell; Dell’s customer service varies from nonexistent to excruciating; and all the antivirus, antimalware, and firewall software clogs the operating system to the point where it barely runs. Ugh. Do I really want to get another one of those things?
Verdict: If I don’t buy any tables I could probably afford a small Mac laptop. Maybe.
Apple Airport
Do I need this?
No
Do I want it?
Yesh.
Can I afford it?
Sure.
Verdict: Probably. Maybe. Get this. Yeah. Get this.
Well, you can be sure that the Apple Store won’t be offering any discounts. They never do…’cause they don’t have to. So there’s no hurry to race out and get these highly optional pieces of gear.
Think I’ll stay off the streets today. It’s time to do the laundry, anyway.
Moral of the story: Weigh each purchase before running out to buy it on sale. You may save yourself not just the mark-down, but the whole marked-down price. 🙂