Also, Happy Valentine's Day for those who celebrate... and nothing says Happy Valentine's Day like a 55 gallon drum of lube.

Passion Natural Water-Based Lubricant - 55 Gallon

Regularly $2,500, now $1,495.

Or you're following the envelope system of budgeting.

Or you're not saddling a small business with a credit card fee for a small purchase.

Seriously -- I used my credit card for a $3 purchase at the Dollar Store because I had no cash on me, and felt like a douche because my tiny purchase incurred a credit card fee. (I know Dollar Store is a chain, and chains are less likely to really take a hard hit from the credit card fees, but my point is still the same.)

One thing procedurals have taught me is to pay cash for a murder weapon or for the odd components of the fiendishly clever device you use for the murder weapon.

nothing says Happy Valentine's Day like a 55 gallon drum of lube.

Last night at about 9, Tim suddenly said, "I have to go to Target!" and raced around getting shoes on, etc. And I said, "If this is a Valentine's Day thing, I don't need a card, okay? Seriously."

And he said, "No, we need other stuff, too." And I said, well, enjoy your shopping and try not to spend $100.

So this morning I woke up to a dozen roses in the kitchen (Target apparently sells flowers, at least around V-Day) and a really sweet card that made me cry.

And the reason this relates to tommyrot's post is that Tim told me he felt like the Ultimate Valentine's Day Dude Cliche at Target, because he was buying roses, a card...and the economy-sized box of condoms. "That's the 'other stuff' we needed?" I asked.

"We were totally out of them! I was trying to plan ahead...and the economy-sized box was on sale," he said.

Nothing says love like a practical guy who suits up for the big game.

Connie,

it might not matter if there are cameras in the store when you are buying the items. There was a 48 hours ep where the woman (?) bought a bunch of shit at Home Depot to clean up a crime scene and paid in cash, but the cameras got some of the things she purchased.

"We were totally out of them! I was trying to plan ahead...and the economy-sized box was on sale," he said.

He's a keeper.

Well, apparently it's better to use someone else's credit card to put together your nefarious plan, but be consistent about your identity.

I love this guide for martial arts companies/paintball providers. Half the people I took krav with flip half these flags. Sometimes people are simply crazy and obsessive with Batman compulsions. I hope they/we don't get persecuted for it.

I love that there's warning for tattoo shops. I did not know that tattoos were big among terrorists, but I guess that's what they're about--being crafty and surprising me.

I'm not sure where the entry for cafes is here, though: [link]

ION, Krugman:

The Internal Contradictions of Mitt Romney

And by “internal”, I mean in the same paragraph:

“This week, President Obama will release a budget that won’t take any meaningful steps toward solving our entitlement crisis,” Romney said in a statement e-mailed to reporters. “The president has failed to offer a single serious idea to save Social Security and is the only president in modern history to cut Medicare benefits for seniors”.

Yep, Obama has failed to resolve the problem of excessive entitlement spending; furthermore, he’s cutting entitlement spending!

It gets even better when you bear in mind that Romney has endorsed the Ryan plan, which would abolish Medicare as we know it and replace it with an underfunded voucher scheme.

Has there ever been a candidacy this cynical?

11 most expensive medications

[link]