len_mullen

Wearing my new shirt. May be time to update my 'avatar'. Appreciate the loot and all the company over the winter.

Used to be Staples. Then I got excited about those Walmart deals that were guaranteed. Lately, maybe, Amazon, but I have spent the most at Best Buy.

Keurig Office Pro. If I cannot use one, I give it away. I have paid from $17 to $35 after discounts and promotions for these.

This would probably make a good topic. I keep track of my spending and it's not difficult to figure out where my money goes. Not really a Black Friday thing as those purchases tend to be of opportunity -- I chase good deals promoted on sites like this rather than following my usual processes. For 2018, the GE Appliance Store is my top retailer followed by Amazon, Kohls, Walmart (mostly because I had two $300 gift cards from last BF), and Lowes. Amazon and Walmart actually included significant grocery sales. Best Buy, Staples, Home Depot, any of the warehouse stores, Newegg, Bed Bath and Beyond, JCP, and Target have all but fallen off my charts. More recently, Walmart, Amazon, and Lowes are getting none of my money. My spending has changed so dramatically that I have refreshed my credit cards to maximize my cash back. For the last 30 years, most of my spending has been via Discover Card. Right now, that is down 75% as I shift purchases to Amazon, Kohls, Paypal, and Ally Bank cards.

I'm not going to be clever. I'm looking for a 17" laptop that can play games.

Last year we got $300 gift cards with each phone and no contract from ATT via Walmart. Best deal I have seen.

Happy birthday! Next time I go to Disney, it will be the first week of November so I can celebrate Halloween and Christmas!

Happy October! As we drift into another holiday season, I just want to remind everyone to be careful not to fall for a phishing scam. Your mailbox will soon be a rich target zone. BTW, for those who use Google, Gmail, and/or Chrome, be sure to review Google's latest ToS. You WILL be shocked to learn what Google can collect. Understand too that they are collecting this data for a reason. Consider using alternative products which at least promise to respect your privacy like the Brave web browser, the DuckDuckGo search engine, and GMX email. Use good passwords (Br@d1sAwes0me!) and do not leave PII in your online mailbox. Finally pay attention in your offline activities! We call this Operations Security (OPSEC) and it is as simple as figuring out what you are vulnerable and taking actions to minimize those vulnerabilities. 'Tis the Season for OPSEC With apologies to CLEMENT CLARKE MOORE 'Twas the Holiday Season, and all through the streets Every hacker and burglar, was looking for treats; Boxes were stacked by the trash without care, Alerting the thieves to the treasures in there; Vacationers tweeted their plans and photos; While bandits were stealing their speakers by Bose; And mamma with her iPhone, and I with a map, Went off to the mall to plunder the Gap, First to the automated teller machine, Where my PIN was stolen and my bank was wiped clean. We shopped with our credit cards having no cash, Until a POS bandit ended all that. With no money for gifts we headed for home, Where my PayPal and I would the internet roam, When what to my wondering eyes did appear, But a really good offer that seemed quite sincere, With an unpleasant popup as soon as I clicked, I knew in a moment my Mac would be sick. More rapid than FiOS the popups did come, My outdated defenses could only stop some, From the click of a link with a virus attached, All the files on my disk were quickly dispatched! To another computer, I went to shop, But accounts and email were already locked. No money, no credit, and no PC too, Tax returns, photographs were all gone from view; No fav'rites, no bookmarks, no cookies, no clue, Gone were my high scores and the Christmas list too -- And then, in a twinkling, I heard in the street The prancing and pawing of very big feet. As I looked to the street, and was turning around, I saw a man escape from my home with a bound. As he covered my spare key with the mat, The thief turned to me and said, "Thank you for that!" At that very moment came a knock at my door, "I'm from DSS and I'm here to brief you some more." His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry! "Let's do this thing right, I'm not in a hurry." "Keep boxes inside until trash day, you know," "Expensive debris tells the crooks where to go." "Get your cash at a bank and keep your profile low." "Only swipe credit cards with merchants you know." "When surfing the net, be alert to the deals" "Which promise you things too good to be real." "Hover over links that might your click redirect" "Your identity to steal, or credit to wreck." "When away from home, leave shades down and lights on," "That way the prowlers don't know that you're gone." Then he seemed to accuse with a knit of his brow, "The key under your mat - go get that, right now!" And laying his finger aside of his nose, And giving a nod, from my table he rose; He walked to his car, which was locked and well lit, And looked twice in back seat before he did sit. With a wave of his hand, as he drove out of sight -- "Practice good OPSEC each day, and have a safe life!"

Interesting article. Kind of surprised CR provided that information outside their paywall. Not shopping for a new TV (no airsoft in the house!) but I downloaded the article for future reference.

I do not think there will be less deals. You may not be as excited by what you can pick up in a store (looking at you Staples) on Black Friday, but these days, the sales start earlier, run later, and offer more good deals. It's not as much fun, but, I believe, we are saving more. I just re-applianced my kitchen. I got 44% off retail in September. Nothing wrong with that. The last time I shopped K-mart of BF was a Thanksgiving day. Because Massachusetts did not allow stores to open on Thanksgiving and this store was just across the line in Salem, NH, the sale was made available Wednesday. Those of us in line Thursday found all items out of stock with no rain checks. I have not returned since. I have never been to T'R'U or Sears on BF. I do not think either has had an impact on BF in years. Not sure anyone would buy big ticket items from Sears given it's precarious situation. A lot of us have been saddened by the evolution of Black Friday. Expect this year to be more of the same, but it's not because of the stores which are leaving us. It is because of the relentless competition for our dollars which increasingly includes online behemoths and happens throughout the year. Also, online behemoths are, increasingly, brick and mortar stores. Kohls always has an amazing BF flyer but getting the same things online triggers cash back from some of the credit cards and ... well ... you know. Black Friday has changed every single year since I was a child but it has always saved me money and entertained me. This year will be no different.

Obviously, you have spent too much time posting to this thread.

I suggest you give the James Bond movies a ride. When I was a kid, I was not impressed with the violence or technology and the sexual innuendo went right over my head. One year my kids went nuts over Spike TV's 007 Days of Christmas. I was still underwhelmed with the violence and technology, but I really enjoyed the innuendo. We got my oldest son some of the books. I was shocked at how PG they weren't. He's 25 now and I think I am ready to give him the books.

Heard an ad for Macy's Black Friday this weekend. Can you feel it?

Harbor Freight 10/9 Mathematically, the average of the charts is 10/12, but most ads are leaked at the beginning of the week. 10/12/2018 is a Thursday. I'm falling back to the previous Tuesday.

Let's see if we can get 46 likes on this!

I need some help. While not as successful as wittenlover, I have lost some weight and have to refresh my wardrobe. For half a century, I have worn Levis. All of a sudden, I do not want to patronize the company. I am looking for a new pair of blue jeans which is durable, comfortable, and a good value. If anyone is wearing out a pair of jeans not made by Levis, please PM me a recommendation.

Great job. You look fantastic. I am, however, concerned that you will have trouble getting to those door busters. Might want to coast until after BF!

September finds me returning from Ebeemee Township -- a locale which is envious of the Middle of Nowhere. I was collecting data to build an antenna to pull in their NBC affiliate which happens to be on real channel 2. Such an antenna would be 5m long to work best. I'm going to build one out of twin lead antenna wire... http://forum.tvfool.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=2559&stc=1&d=1486829832 Before I left, I was on the verge of pulling the trigger on a kitchen of appliances. Likely going to close the deal later tonight. These appliances are the last thing on my BF2018 shopping list.

any ads leaked yet?

Don't know how I missed that! Oh, yeah, right -- I'm blind!

Ten years with no glasses seems like a good thing. What happens after ten years? Do it again? Eyesight slowly reverts (or maybe declines from day #1)? Eyesight is worse than before the surgery? How much does lasik cost?

Fun for me too. Thinking about next year, maybe draw for a prize among posters for a given month then one more for those who get through the whole calendar?

I never handle these things well. I have one son who will never need me and another one who may never not need me and I feel bad about both. Not sure we are meant to handle these things well. Take comfort in all you have done to prepare your kids for life and accept that it is your nature to regret that you could not have done more.

I would say Walmart.com for the tricycle. Are you looking for Brio, Thomas, or something else? If you haven't figured that out, take a look at this... https://play-trains.com/best-wooden-train-sets/ I'm a Brio fan. Best thing to do is add alerts on the various deal web sites and simply google Brio for the best value. About a hundred years ago, I got my kids a Brio train set. I collected interesting sets from everywhere and assembled the whole thing on a table in the attic. Once it was perfect, I took a picture and on Christmas Eve, I reassembled my masterpiece in front of the tree. My wife was suspicious of what was really going on in the attic, but impressed with the finished product. When the kids awoke Christmas morning, they were immediately drawn to the table. My youngest took every single piece off the table, made an oval track, and pushed a couple cars around that.