Its that great shopping Nirvana again–Black Friday.  Black Friday actually got its name from being the day that the stores would go in the black from all the Christmas shopping.  In fact, during the Depression, FDR moved Thanksgiving up a week to have a  extra shopping days.  People were furious.  Thanksgiving finally became etched in stone as the 5th Thursday in Novemeber.  I personally enjoy Cyber Monday a lot more.  I hate to shop.  Shopping brings out killer rage in me.

On a not so light note, a friend of mine said there was a huge fight in one of the Walmarts  in the electronics department.

 

147 Thoughts to “Open Thread Black Friday November 29, 2010”

  1. punchak

    To me it’s scary to think that people can get whipped into such a frenzy that they’re willing to forego a night’s sleep to go and spend money – some spend money they don’t have and buying things that the recipient might not even want. Just look at the lines day after Christmas when people come to the stores to get a refund or exchange their gifts.

    Just like it’s scary to think that people can get whipped into such a frenzy over a book, supposedly written by Sarah Palin, that they start to form a line in front of the book store at 1 am in order to get her signature.

    It’s madness!

  2. Starryflights

    I don’t get what the rush is to go shopping. Being up before dawn to go shopping is nuts.

  3. Cato the Elder

    No kidding. I wouldn’t be caught dead at a store today, unless it’s the liquor store.

  4. Cult behavior, I think, Starry.

    I think it is madness also. I can also act just as foolish online without leaving my couch.

  5. 3 words…..Amazon dot com.

    Btw, Sears appears to be back in the rifle business….

    http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM1775209601P?mv=rr&i_cntr=1290736418744

  6. @Cargosquid
    YUP. Most online stores are offering free shipping and coupons. That’s what I am doing right now!!!

  7. And now, for this commercial announcement:

    Did you know…
    … every $100 spent at a local small business returns $68 to the community?
    …60%-80% of new jobs over the past decade were created by small businesses?
    … small businesses employ more than half of all private-sector workers?
    …November 27 is Small Business Saturday?

    More than a dozen organizations have declared the Saturday after Thanksgiving a special day for communities to come together in support of the local small businesses that create jobs, boost the economy and preserve local neighborhoods (for more info, see http://www.smallbusinesssaturday.com).

  8. I can’t believe people do that either. My brother-in-law who is a real bargain hunter planned as usual to go someplace at 4 AM this morning, he does it every year! I think those people are just plain nuts! Shopping online is much easier and I think probably a lot of the same bargains can be found.

  9. Same here – no way would I go shopping today! My crazy brother-in-law goes every year though and was probably out there today in the freezing cold (up in Vermont) in line at 3 AM for some bargain. You can find a lot of the same things online. And, I agree with cargosquid about Amazon! They get an awful lot of money from me every year – they are kind of one-stop shopping as far as I’m concerned.

  10. Gainesville Resident

    I also would not be caught dead shopping today! My crazy brother in law on Vermont goes every year in the freezing cold at 4AM or so! I agree with cargosquid on Amazon as I spend a lot of money ordering stuff from them as i consider them one stop shopping!

  11. DB

    My daughter went to the leesburg outlets at midnight and had to according to her “stand in line to get on the line” to enter many stores. Then she walked away in disgust, and bought nothing once she got in and found out the big sale was 30% off retail, and on line buying was cheaper. Tried to tell her…but since she’s a teenager she just didn’t listen. I did however score some cheap, less than a dollar each, tree ornaments from Michaels last night with my coupon. That was cool. Other than that, I’ve found that sales get better the closer to christmas one shops. That’s why I save my store shopping until the morning of the 24th.

  12. @Cato the Elder
    Cato, you have to get your liquor BEFORE Thanksgiving! I mean, you have to have SOMETHING to drink during the football game.

    On an unrelated note……(not really) GEAUX SAINTS! Though, to be honest, they should really be ashamed that the game was that close…..I thought the old Saints were back….(shudder)

  13. Lafayette

    **Disclaimer this is not for those that are easily offended**
    What the hell is wrong with the TSA? I wonder how many women sporting their muslim garb are subjected to these invasive groin searches? It seems as though the TSA has no problem with a groin search of menstruating American women. I can’t imagine what effect(s) these invasive searches must have on sexual crime victims.
    http://blog.gladrags.com/2010/11/24/tsa-groin-searches-menstruating-woman/

  14. Lafayette, you are going to attract that strange weird gross man who lives mid-county by mentioning that. ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

  15. marinm

    “I’m getting a lot of questions about the new security regime, including some pointed ones from women. Do the imagers, for example, detect sanitary napkins? Yes. Does that then necessitate a pat-down? The T.S.A. couldn’t say. Screeners, the T.S.A. has said, are expected to exercise some discretion. ” – NYTimes

    I think tampons probably look like a stick of TNT on the scanners. Interesting to see how that ‘issue’ is resolved to the TSO’s satisfaction…… Yuck.

    My understanding reading some interweb traffic was that TSA turned off a lot of backscatter systems to thwart the protest…allowing security traffic to flow quicker. Could be a conspiracy theory.. :shrug:

  16. Morris Davis

    New books out recently by George “Shrub” Bush, Jay-Z, Sister Sarah Palin, Kim Kardashian, Newt “3 Times Down the Aisle” Gingrich, and there’s one coming soon from Snooki. In addition to fiction, non-fiction, and children, the N.Y. Times bestseller list should add a “bimbo bestseller” ranking. Crayon sales must be going through the roof in this season of intellectual renaissance.

    1. Moe, you have to warn me…..not to read that stuff you write with a mouthful of ice tea. Bwaaaahahahahahaha!

  17. marinm

    Moe, I don’t have an issue with women writing books.

  18. Juturna

    Found this on Virtual Virtucon:

    Perhaps no one has written about this anywhere yet because no one thinks that this is actually going to happen. One of the rumors circulating at last weekend’s RPV Advance was that Ken Cuccinelli was going to jump into the U.S. Senate race against Jim Webb. I’ve heard this now from enough people to post about it, but tend to discount this as nothing more than a rumor started by people speculating about his future. I believe Cuccinelli wants to see through Virginia’s lawsuit against Obamacare and tackle other issues via the AG’s office for now. (Don’t forget, he has openly talked about the possibility of seeking reelection as AG in 2013.)

    So, does Ken defy expectations and jump in against the likes of likely/possible candidates including George Allen, Corey Stewart, Bob Marshall, and Bert Mizusawa? Or can this rumor be quashed here and now?

  19. Emma

    @marinm
    So we can add this to the female “Peaceful Protest” arsenal:

    1. Demand the TSA agent change gloves before laying a hand on you.
    2. Wear…errr… full-scale feminine protection prior to entering the security line (you can always take it off after you pass through the line.

    There is still a much higher likelihood of being killed on the Beltway on a weekday commute than ever being a victim of sky terrorism. These purely reactive measures the TSA is taking do not reassure me that the skies are now suddenly safer. It’s not beyond the terrorists’ imaginations to use surgically implanted explosive devices. Then what?

  20. Morris Davis

    marinm – I don’t have a problem with women writing books either and I admire many female authors. I read “A Team of Rivals” by Doris Kearns Goodwin not too long ago and it was excellent … and I bet she actually put the words on the pages without a ghost writer to do the heavy lifting. If the word “bimbo” suggested to you that I have an aversion to female authors I assure you that is not the case. I had an “oh no” moment when I saw your comment and thought maybe my understanding of what bimbo means was mistaken and I had inadvertently disparaged women. I checked and, according to the Random House Dictionary, the word bimbo has 3 definitions. One is “an attractive but stupid young woman, especially one with loose morals.” I believe that is what you thought I meant. The other two definitions are “a stupid, foolish or inept person” and “a man or fellow, often a disreputable or contemptible one.” I intended the “stupid, foolish or inept person” meaning as in people who are devoid of profound thought feeling the need to put their thoughts on paper and sharing them with others (and I guess it fits those who spend money to take in those pearls of wisdom). I don’t need someone who supported the Alaskan Independence Party telling me about her deep love for the country she wanted her state to divorce (“I loathed it before I loved it” doesn’t jibe) and I don’t see that there’s any benefit to Snook’s introspection on her search for love on the Jersey boardwalk. What Sarah and Snooki do have in common is an ability to glamorize no discernible talent and turn it pandering phenomena’s, each capitalizing on the opposite ends of the demographic spectrum. They are both strutting all the way to the bank. To link them with Doris Kearns Goodwin by attaching the label “writer” or “author” is absurd.

  21. Juturna

    I flew this weekend. The only people I saw receiving body scans were those in wheelchairs – I kid you not.

  22. punchak

    Why aren’t we as worried about people traveling by train?
    Just look at the mass of folks at Union Station during holidays?
    Seems it would be very easy to mingle, should one have the intention of
    blowing up a large number of people PLUS destroying trains and rails.
    Would probably do more damage than blowing up just ONE air plane.

    But, scare tactics are working. BTW, do you have your “safe room” in your home, stocked with gas masks, water for a month, pail for excrement etc. – And. what was it we were supposed to close up our homes with? Duct tape, I believe.

  23. Juturna

    I don’t think these efforts will prevent attacks. I do think that someone is making a hefty profit not only from the equipment but also from leaking the images.

  24. @punchak
    Punchak, those safe rooms are useless. The zombies can wait you out. Better to go on the offense……

    Oh. You meant safe rooms from terrorism…. Nope. Same thing.

    Kill’em all.

    Oh. and have a Merry Christmas……..

  25. And the TSA hasn’t forgotten about the trains…..

    http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/30286

    They’re making a list…..just like Santa.

  26. Juturna

    Is this all possible due to the Patriot Act?

  27. Yep.

    Gotta love the government.

    No.

    Really.

    You do.

    Its a new law.

  28. marinm

    2+2=5. Believe everything that Big Brother and Big Sister tell you. They have no reason to lie. They’re protecting us, even from ourselves.

  29. Thank you, Big Sis. I know that your ever watchful vigilance and loving care will prevent all harm from ever ……..what? What do you mean, you lost the plutonium?

  30. marinm

    http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/1116/How-Stuxnet-cyber-weapon-targeted-Iran-nuclear-plant

    A colleague at mine at work has been on me for over a year to get me to write a paper on the application of the 2nd Amendment with respect to cyber space, an individual and corporations right to non-kinetic based weapons and potential use of force to safeguard cyber and RW (real world) assets. I even thought about delving into the idea of cyber militia to thwart attacks on US interests on the electronic battlefield.

    But, I’ve been too busy playing online games and wasting time on here and facebook to delve too far into the subject. Good to see that cyberwarriors are being taken more seriously. 🙂 Makes me glad I spent so much time behind a computer screen during high school!!

  31. punchak

    @Cargosquid
    Whatta ya mean? Useless?
    The Govnmint told us to do it. Could they be wrong?
    Nah!

  32. marinm :

    2+2=5. Believe everything that Big Brother and Big Sister tell you. They have no reason to lie. They’re protecting us, even from ourselves.

    You sound like a 1960-something old hippy, Marin.
    You just left off ‘trust no one over 30.’

  33. @marinm

    ahem, spending time on Moonhowlings.net is NOT WASTING TIME. I am deeply wounded.
    :mrgreen:

  34. @punchak
    Where do you think the zombies come from? DC is their natural habitat.

  35. marinm

    Point taken MH. You can change the above from wasting time on Moonhowlings to correcting the biased liberal media elite agenda on Moonhowlings. 😉

  36. Oh groan….in your dreams, Marin. :mrgreen:

  37. Wolverine, How are things going with the Leesburg Courthouse this year? Any action?

  38. Had some good reading thanks to Wikileaks last night… The first batch of leaks seemed mostly to confirm things I suspected in reguards to Iran, though I learned a little bit more about how the US is using Qatar as it’s control factor over the Arab World moslty following GOI recomendations…

    I’m more interested in communications between the US. and Embasies in South America and Africa… I’m curious as to what exactly is America’s role in the spread of HIV in Africa…

    I see on US media outlets, the comments are split on whether the release is an act of Patriotism or Treason.

  39. Hot off the NYTimes press:

    President Obama to Announce a Pay Freeze for Most Federal Workers

    President Obama plans to announce a pay freeze for most
    federal workers later Monday morning, according to an
    administration official, the latest White House move intended
    to demonstrate concern over deficit spending.

    The president’s announcement will effectively wipe out plans
    for a 1.4 percent across-the-board raise for most of the 2.1
    million federal government employees in 2011. The president
    has frozen the salaries of his own top White House staff
    members since taking office 22 months ago.

    Now can Congress be shamed into voting themselves a pay freeze?

    Will the President refuse his pay raise?

  40. Bwahahahahahaha!!!…….Congress shamed……hahahahaha…ha..ha…oh.

    You’re serious.

    Never mind.

  41. marinm

    @Moon-howler

    Now, if we can only start working on cuts…………………………………………………………………

  42. The wikileak seems to be getting more and more serious. Can this Manning character be given the death penalty for being a traitor?

    I don’t understand how the information can keep flowing when he is in the brig at Quantico?

  43. Morris Davis

    Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, Article 106a allows for the death penalty for espionage, so yes, in theory Manning could be executed. That said, the last time a military member was sentenced to death it was authorized by then-President Eisenhower and carried out by hanging in 1961. There are a few military members on death row (5 or 6 or so) for murder and some have been there for 20 years or more.

    I see that Rep. Peter King, usually one of the fastest and fiercest fear-mongers on the Hill, wants to declare WikiLeaks a foreign terrorist organization like we with al Qaeda. If Julian Assange sees a small aircraft in his vicinity he’d better duck for cover … of course if we’re no better at finding him than we’ve been at finding Osama bin Laden he’ll probably die of old age first.

  44. marinm

    MH, think of a large scale data dump that was then given over to another entity and then encrypted and saved in multiple locations to thwart a physical raid.

    An example would be.. I steal the secret formula to Coke. I then tell Coke that I’ll sell it back to them for x Millions in gold (because dollars are worthless). Coke talks to the federales and set a trap for me. Me, thinking that Coke might do this I make a few backup copies of the formula and encrypt it with a password I’ve shared with a few ‘trusted associates’. I’m captured and detained. My associates get word that I’ve been pinched and release the formula to DIGG, Twitter, etc.

    You can’t stop the signal. 🙂

    It’s a HUGE mess without an easy fix.

  45. Pat.Herve

    and the easy fix is (I must be slow today)?

  46. Pat.Herve

    sorry, I see without an easy fix – I am really slow today.

  47. Need to Know

    How could one private have obtained all of those classified documents that are being posted on wikileaks? I held a government job in the past with clearances higher than Top Secret. If I had so much as surfed databases with classified information I had no business accessing, security would have been after me like Corey Stewart chasing developer campaign money. Much less downloading millions of pages of documents I had no business seeing. Is this private playing the role of scape-goat to cover up incompentance on the part of higher-ups?

  48. e

    most likely a. it is evidence of the overall deterioration of all matters of national security in this country, like posted above, the last death penalty for treason was a half century ago, and there are other issues of national security that once were considered important, but today less so, like border enforcement for example, or b. the govment wants the release of the documents for some reason, or a & b the obama administration doesn’t really care if america’s clout and prestige are diminished, it’s being done every day through socialist economic policies. but when some obscure preacher in florida announces a koran burning, wow that sure got everyone’s gander up

    1. @e

      I think that is a very unfair statement and one that is without merit or validation.

  49. marinm

    NTK, clearances are given out like candy now a days. The guy was also an intel analyst who (according to ABC) brought in a CD of Lada Gaga to ‘listen’ to while in the vault and would delete files from the CDRW and then replace it with the massive amounts of information he was sucking off those systems.

    Seperation of duties, bringing media into a vault, removing media from a vault, not having requisite need to know… This is a massive failure of how we protect and safeguard data. There needs to be public floggings for what was allowed to occur.

    And Lady Gaga? Please. He should’ve been reamed for that… KMFDM, RHCP’s… Even Sting for God’s sake… But, Lady Gaga???????

  50. Cato the Elder

    Plus, it was a field SCIF, where security can get a little shabby.

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