Blow That Dough! - 2020

[ERD50]

Yes she is a reasonably serious amateur and in fact we just did our 29th Audubon Christmas bird count this past weekend.
We are both so frugal that I could never imagine spending $3k on binos but I will definitely consider it and slowly work on her.

What are you saving your money for? What are your priorities?

The Swarovski 8x32 EL bins are “only” $2000 at bhphotovideo.com, a reliable seller.

BTW - I much prefer 8 power for birding - wider field of view, brighter, and most importantly, handshake is not nearly as noticeable.

+1. And this is coming from someone who doesn't do birding, and knows next to nothing about binoculars.

I understand the mental block of spending $$$ for something. But if she enjoys this hobby, and spends many, many hours doing it, then won't she get more pleasure from it with a great set of binoculars?

We often see that cartoon of the businessman passing the grave yard captioned "Time > Money". But if you spend some money (that you have!) to improve your time, that can be the greatest of all.

Well, that's how I justify my recent multi-thousand $ drops on my hobbies. Assuming you can afford it, and it's just a mental block, I say go for it. Life is short. Enjoy.

-ERD50

 

[RobbieB]

I gave away my 10 inch Dob, kinda large. Bought a 5 inch Mak for the moon.

But I'm really looking at 4 inch bino's now and 5 inch refractors. Don't tell my wife.

I like optics -

 

[G8tr]

I can afford it, and I know things have been tough for my barber. Her income has been cut in half, while mine has gone up. I know she appreciates it.

Does it matter if you can afford it?

 

[RobbieB]

I always over tip. Spread the wealth. Support the working class.

 

[Music Lover]

+1. And this is coming from someone who doesn't do birding, and knows next to nothing about binoculars.

I understand the mental block of spending $$$ for something. But if she enjoys this hobby, and spends many, many hours doing it, then won't she get more pleasure from it with a great set of binoculars?

We often see that cartoon of the businessman passing the grave yard captioned "Time > Money". But if you spend some money (that you have!) to improve your time, that can be the greatest of all.

Well, that's how I justify my recent multi-thousand $ drops on my hobbies. Assuming you can afford it, and it's just a mental block, I say go for it. Life is short. Enjoy.

-ERD50

For me, some of the enjoyment using the product can be lost if you don't see the added value or think that you spent too much. Even if you can easily afford it.

 

[Chuckanut]

I always over tip. Spread the wealth. Support the working class.

Vinnie Antonelli would be proud of you.

Vincent 'Vinnie' Antonelli: - It's not tipping I believe in. It's overtipping.

 

[Ronstar]

Not quite the $ amount of most "Blow that Dough" purchases, but I just paid $145 for a brisket.

 

[dtbach]

Not quite the $ amount of most "Blow that Dough" purchases, but I just paid $145 for a brisket.

And to think it was once a poor man’s piece of meat!

 

[O2Bfree]

Not quite the $ amount of most "Blow that Dough" purchases, but I just paid $145 for a brisket.

If you consider dollars per hour of enjoyment, I'd say that's a pretty big blow.

 

[audreyh1]

Not quite the $ amount of most "Blow that Dough" purchases, but I just paid $145 for a brisket.

Gosh, my 18 pounder from Costco only cost $47, and it was USDA Prime. Did you order from Snake River Farms or something?

 

[Ronstar]

And to think it was once a poor man’s piece of meat!

It is a poor man's piece of meat. I'm poor now after I bought it.

If you consider dollars per hour of enjoyment, I'd say that's a pretty big blow.

Exactly! But when I factor in that I'll be feeding 7 family members on Christmas Day, with some leftovers, it's well worth it. I'm thankful that I can buy a $145 brisket.

Gosh, my 18 pounder from Costco only cost $47, and it was USDA Prime. Did you order from Snake River Farms or something?

DW special ordered it from a butcher. But like you, I got one last week for $40 something at the local grocery store. We'll see if this one tastes 4 times better than a store bought.

 

[audreyh1]

DH was amazed that the Costco prime brisket was only like $2.36 per pound.

But I think that recent prime brisket was less flavorful than other briskets I’ve done. I’ve had that happen before. I accidentally bought some prime ribeye steaks once instead of my usual HEB “natural Angus”, and they weren’t nearly as flavorful.

 

[Bigdawg]

And to think it was once a poor man’s piece of meat!

Apparently so was lobster

https://knowledgenuts.com/lobster-was-once-a-poor-mans-food/

 

[Gumby]

DH was amazed that the Costco prime brisket was only like $2.36 per pound.

But I think that recent prime brisket was less flavorful than other briskets I’ve done. I’ve had that happen before. I accidentally bought some prime ribeye steaks once instead of my usual HEB “natural Angus”, and they weren’t nearly as flavorful.

I only ever smoke brisket, which tends to obscure any differences in the underlying meat itself. I smoked a 1.7 lb piece of brisket on Tuesday. So far, we've had brisket street tacos and and brisket and grilled cheese sandwiches. Still a few little crispy pieces leftover in the fridge to snack on today.

I got a 2.5 lb piece of filet mignon at the butcher counter yesterday (special order). We'll cut off and freeze a couple of steaks, but the young wife will use the majority to make chateaubriand for dinner today.

 

[audreyh1]

That’s what I did - smoke the brisket. But this last one didn’t quite have as intense a beef flavor as I’m used to. I think because it had a higher fat content.

 

[G8tr]

+1

Just had this discussion with DW over the purchase of Peloton Tread+ treadmill ($4,300 + $39/month). She already uses the app for $13/month and has a spin bike (not Peloton) that is nearly identical in resistance and cadence tracking (bought it at her request).

After a lengthy discussion over weeks and lots of research, we ended up buying another treadmill that isn't tied to Peloton. Unfortunately, she's now hearing about fellow Peloton users that they got a Tread+ for Christmas and she has FOMO. We could easily afford the Peloton Tread+, but 2 months of delivery delay, a bad warranty (only slightly improved recently), expensive repair cost $1,500+) with a delay in parts, and being usable only for Peloton really turned me off.

Maybe I'm getting curmudgeonly in my "old" age, but I still look for value and utility in everything that I buy.

For me, some of the enjoyment using the product can be lost if you don't see the added value or think that you spent too much. Even if you can easily afford it.

 

[GravitySucks]

Apparently so was lobster

https://knowledgenuts.com/lobster-was-once-a-poor-mans-food/

And chicken wings.

If you consider dollars per hour of enjoyment, I'd say that's a pretty big blow.

That's got to be a good 10 hours of smoking and 10 minutes of eating. So better than a night at the movies.

 

[38Chevy454]

Good brisket is hard to beat. But for an easy good on the grill option, I'll take a tri tip. Not as popular here in Ohio, but I can find it. Marinade and then cook low heat, longer time on the grill.

 

[audreyh1]

Love tri-tips!

Once I smoked one to almost rare, then did a quick reverse sear on the gas grill. It came out awesome!

 

[Sunset]

Apparently so was lobster

https://knowledgenuts.com/lobster-was-once-a-poor-mans-food/

And chicken wings...

When I was a kid, we were so poor, I'd be sent to get free chicken wings from the butcher and we ate BBQ chicken wings nearly every night all summer.

It would have been nice if the butcher had lobster as well

 

[mpeirce]

Love tri-tips!

Once I smoked one to almost rare, then did a quick reverse sear on the gas grill. It came out awesome!

I discovered tri-tip while living in California. Yum!

I too want to try smoking it. Gotta get to that this summer.

 

[braumeister]

I discovered tri-tip while living in California. Yum!

I too want to try smoking it. Gotta get to that this summer.

Same here. I lived for a while in the central coast area, where "barbecue" pretty much always means tri-tip. Google "Santa Maria barbecue" for detail. Smoking them is also wonderful, and I personally prefer mesquite wood for that.

 

[audreyh1]

We spent a lot of time on the Oregon coast when RVing and enjoyed it there. The best was picking up freshly grilled tri-tip from the grocery store parking lot. Ask for medium rare and they’d poke around and find you a soft one. Best sliced beef sandwiches ever!

Fortunately HEB carries the cut down here, so I cook it now and then.

I’d done it several ways, but my last which was to try out smoking and reverse sear was just so delicious.

 

[finnski1]

What are you saving your money for? What are your priorities?

The Swarovski 8x32 EL bins are “only” $2000 at bhphotovideo.com, a reliable seller.

BTW - I much prefer 8 power for birding - wider field of view, brighter, and most importantly, handshake is not nearly as noticeable.

Well I just bought her a new Subaru Outback yesterday.
Does that count?

 

[Markola]

DW gave me some cash in a gift card and told me I had to promise her that I would buy something for myself “and not save it!” She knows me too well.*[emoji319]