Trick or Treat

Years ago, small children roamed the streets on Halloween night, going door-to-door seeking candy. But, kids these days just aren't trick-or-treating the way they used to. It seems like fewer youngsters partake in this time-honored practice. Why is that?

Maybe it's because trick-or-treating is such a strange concept. Kids put on costumes, wander around town pretending to be people (or things) that they're not, and beg for food from strangers. Is this some kind of welfare? Sounds a bit degrading - No wonder it's a practice that's going out of fashion.

Random Emails from Africa

Sometimes, I get emails from West African businessmen. Or psuedo-businessmen. Or maybe psuedo-West-Africans.

They seem to think that I should either (1) help them with their import-export business; or (2) make a claim as the rightful heir to a fortune that some British expatriate with my last name left behind years ago. All I need to do is contact them, and provide them with information about my bank account. Sounds like a good idea, right?

I've never replied to any of these emails, but sometimes I'm tempted. Of course, I would never give them my bank account information, or any other personal information that I'm sure they're going to ask for, but I'm kind of curious as to who is on the other end of these emails, how they're running this little scam (assuming, of course, that it is a scam), and who falls for it, and how they get away with it....

Miniature Golf and Pirates

It seems like most (or at least a good number of) miniature golf places are pirate-themed. Why is this?

Did pirates have a particular affinity for mini-golf? Maybe back when the pirates roamed the high seas, they played mini-golf on deck, or below deck, or in the caves where they would hide out. At least, that's the impression we get from playing mini-golf nowadays. No pirate treasure was complete without a collection of colorful golf balls.

Or, maybe miniature golf has a strong connection with piracy. Mini-golf uses only putters, which is the golf club most like a sword (especially when you hold it backwards/upside down). Plus, there's all that water and sand. And pirates surely loved fake grass and artificial rock structures ... and windmills.

Socket Wrenches

Do socket wrenches vary in quality that much?

Up until recently, I've never needed a socket wrench. But, I needed to install a hitch onto my car, and this called for a socket wrench. I needed a ratchet, and an 18mm socket.

When I got to the store, I saw that you can buy ratchets and sockets separately, or as part of a ratchet set.

The one ratchet that I'd need cost about $30.00 as a single ratchet. Plus, the socket would cost another $5.00. I'm thinking to myself, "this is awfully expensive for a relatively simple (yet, admittedly very clever) tool."

However, on the other side of the aisle - there's ratchets and full socket sets (including the 18mm) being sold for only $20.00. Now, I'm thinking "how much better can that first ratchet be?" I ended up buying the cheaper one, and now I have a full set of sockets for my 1/2 inch ratchet.

But back to the original question: Just how much better is one ratchet than another one? Is a $30 ratchet (which comes with no sockets) really worth the money? or can you get by with the cheap one that comes with the sockets?

By the way, the cheap ratchet-and-socket set worked out fine.

Random Observations

Hello.
This is a new blog that I will fill with some random observations. No promises made about content. Nor will I promise that you will be entertained. But, please give it a look.