Words On Wednesday

Of all the things I might discuss for the first Thirsty Thursday Eve  post, Costco’s Kirkland Signature Original Spiced Rum seemed to be the most appropriate. I love everything from Costco anyway, and their drinks are no different. I recommend it to pretty much anyone who partakes in alcohol, and I always have a bottle up on the shelf. It may not be the single best distilled spirit I’ve ever had, but it’s really good, and really cheap. Price is the biggest selling point for this spiced rum. I can get a 1.75 L handle from my local Costco for $15. I don’t know of another liquor you can get for that cheap, let alone something worth drinking. Some quick math shows us that 1.75 L is approximately 60 oz. For a 1.5 oz shot, you can get right at 40 shots from a handle. This comes out to about 37.5 cent per shot. You get a shot of rum for less than 40 cent. This stuff is cheap. When I say cheap, though, I speak solely on price. This rum does not *taste* cheap. I won’t say the qua...

Jagex has announced  that they will be increasing the price of Runescape membership and bonds in June 2018. In anticipation of this change, I have purchased some bonds with in game currency. When I first read the announcement, I wasn’t surprised at all. Prices go up over time. When I first started playing, you could purchase membership for $5 per month. This cost has gradually climbed over the years, to the point that standard membership now is $9.49 USD per month. You can get better deals with Premier Club or other promotions, but that requires committing to the game for a year at a time. Given my spotty history with Runescape, I’m not going to pony up the cash to play for a year when I might not want to play anymore for a while after just a few months. Jagex has stated that members will keep current pricing provided their membership does not lapse for more than 14 days. That’s all well and good, but I don’t see that lasting for long. Come time for Premier Club purchases next ...

I’m considering a new blog segment about all things alcohol. The name: Thirsty Thursday Eve. You know, because it’s a Wednesday thing, and Thirsty Thursday is when people drink? Whatever, I thought it was good. This is a culmination of a few different ideas I’ve had over the years. A while back, I thought of doing something for “the economic alcoholic” or how to be frugal with your drinks. Recently, I considered that I should start recording and reviewing various beers that I try, since the selection at Ingles swaps around so much that I rarely remember what all I’ve had. In short, Thirsty Thursday Eve would be an umbrella that all of these topics fall under. Plus, it would post on the day before Thursday, so people can take my advice into consideration for their weekly ethanol-related rituals. At present, this would consist of a number of different things. Reviews on various drinks, including beers, spirits, and mixed beverages. For new concoctions that I discover or create on my ...

So many people feel pressured to buy a new smartphone every year or two, but is it really necessary? Why can’t we get a mobile device and stick with it? A common rule of thumb known as Moore’s law  will tell you that computer processors double in speed and performance capabilities roughly every 2 years. This pace has held true for decades, and has only begun to slow down in the past 5 years or so. Over roughly the past half of a decade, the progress hasn’t necessarily come to a screeching halt, but it has slowed dramatically. What does this mean for the technology industry? Well, a lot of things, but one thing in particular is that new versions of CPU chips are going to be smaller and smaller improvements over previous versions. Year over year, the latest and greatest won’t be so much greater than last year’s model. On some fronts, this is a good thing. Hopefully, it’ll force the hands of chip manufacturers into reducing prices. How specifically does this affect the mobile te...