You don't have to be Smart to eBay

Concerned that I was working too much, last December, I marked four Slow Down Weeks on my Google calendar for 2008 , one per quarter. A Slow Down Week isn't a week off, it's a week on but at 2/3s speed or less. Today is the last day of my first Slow Down Week of 2008.

One of the things I did this week, in lieu of the full normal overload of real work, was to clean up clutter around the house. When we moved in June, I set some stuff aside to sell on eBay. This is the week to finally get that stuff listed.

Two of the items I have had in my possession for a long time are a 1957 Silver Certificate, which turns out to be worth about $2, and a 1937 $20 bill, which seems to be worth $20, unless you are a stupid eBay seller. Someone actually listed a $20 bill with a $9.99 starting price! Three bids later, it is still under $20 with 15 hours to go.

Silver Certificates, something I never could understand why they existed, were news to my wife and we had a nice conversation about them. So the Silver Certificate actually turned out to some value greater than $1 for me and Maureen. She and I are now fully knowledgable on Silver Certificates. If you click this Wikipedia link, you will be too. Not surprisingly there is no Wikipedia entry as to why someone would sell a $20 bill for $9.99.

Looks like I'll be holding on to the silver certificate and putting the 1937 $20 back into circulation.

Going Scruffy for a While

After about 5 years of solid service, my Braun razor broke. Having an old Braun as back-up I wasn't in a hurry to order a replacement. For the replacement, since this is something I use everyday, I decided to splurge on their most expensive one, the Braun 9595.

On Saturday, mid shave the backup razor developed a burning smell and then kacked. I ordered the new razor that day. While I splurged on the razor, I went with Amazon's super saver shipping, which means they delay shipping it for a few days. Not out of efficiency, but out of punishment for being cheap.

For the first time since I can remember, I will be going unshaved for an extended stretch. This is unlikely to become permanent since I have no desire for facial hair, not even for a hipster partial beard.

Maureen will be happy when the new razor arrives.

Update: Here is my Amazon review of the Braun 9595 Pulsonic Razor

Overconfidence

In the 3rd quarter of our lives, some of us after many years of hard grafting have become somewhat successful, or in rare cases extemely successful. Hard earned success is one of the really fun things that can come with middle age. Success breeds confidence. Confidence, like all things in this existence, needs balance. On a personal level, overconfidence may not be as bad as underconfidence, but it can be really annoying to most everyone else. Case in point, Tom Cruise.



Note to self: never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever (quoting Tom there) do the double point thing, no matter how good I am feeling about myself.



Tom Cruise is obviously incredibly sincere in his pompousness, which makes him less of an asshat, but still an asshat.