Falling off the honeywagon

This evening I was looking through Gemplers catalogue and learned an interesting agricultural slang term: a special tank used for spreading liquid manure is also known as the “honeywagon”. :)

Why was I reading Gemplers? Because I hate shoddily designed and constructed things. Face it: clothing, cooking utensils, furniture and everything else made for industrial or military use is tougher and better designed. Yuppies are very much into restaurant quality gas ranges and refrigerators. I like these things too, and I am not ashamed.

My father is very fond of saying “poor people can’t afford to buy cheap things”. Well, this is completely true. I’ve had three espresso machines. The first crappy steam powered gadget cost me about $50. I am still amazed at the fact that it did not make me hate espresso. The second was a pump driven machine from Starbucks costing $150. It was better, but espresso quality was very uneven. 1 shot out of 5 came out almost right. The next machine was a $600 Ellimatic. It served me well, but broke after 3 years of service. Because it’s not a commercial machine I am having a horrible time finding a place that will repair it. Meanwhile it sits in a cardboard box, which my cat is ripping to shreds. Well, guess what. The next machine I am going to buy is a 1 group La Marzocco Linea. It costs about $5K new, $1.5K used (I am going to buy a used one). The only thing that’s preventing me from buying it now is that it needs a 220 Volt outlet. It’s going to be the first thing that I am going to purchase when I move into a new apartment. (See my apartment hunting rants in nyc_real_estate).

So, back to Gemplers. I am going to need some foul weather gear for this season’s winter fishing. And they have it in abundance. Grunden’s stuff looks awesome. And if it’s good enough for commercial fishermen, its good enough for me.

I am also considering buying some IDF gear. Dubon parkas and this IDF sweater seem to be promising.