Scratch and Dent Sale

For years and years I have heard the whispered rumors of cheap beer in bulk on Saturday mornings. Actually, I knew all along that the rumors were true. I think one of my reps from back when I was in the bar business had told me of its existance.

Each Saturday morning one of the local liquor distributors opens up their warehouse and sells all of the beer that cannot be sold. Some of it is approaching its expiration date. In some cases the cases or 12 packs don't weigh out right because of a broken bottle or compromised can. Many times it seems merely a matter of failed packaging. For whatever reason, the beer can't be sold through the normal channels.

Instead of letting the beer go to waste, they wisely sell it for cheap to the massses. A case of bottles is $15. A case of cans is $10. If you can figure out the bins, you can buy one bin for $40. One bin holds roughly 11 case of cans. 264 cans of beer for $40. That is about 15 cents per can.

The selection is limited in that they only have the beers that they distribute in Colorado, but they include such varied selections as Sam Adams, Boddingtons, Newcastle, Old English 800 (in quarts, natch), Warsteiner, Blue Sky premium malt beverage, Miller Lite, High Life, Genuine Draft, and the rest, Red Bull energy drink (which at $25 a case still seems pretty pricey), Pabst Blue Ribbon, Hamms Golden Draft, and dozens more choices including the hottest commodity of all: Tecate.

The doors open at 8 AM. By the time we arrived at 7:35, we were probably some where around 250th or so in line. The line would double again by opening. They let folks in under a controlled scramble to rummage through all of the pallets. You gather up all your beers and cram them into cases. They happily allow you to cram 30 bottles into a 24 bottle case further improving your price per bottle. When you are ready, you put all your bounty on a dolly and walk out the front door. The guy at the front does a quick scan and tells you the total. It's cash only. You pay the guy and walk out the door.

This will definitely fuel my likelihood of staying at home to drink. Hyena comes to town this weekend, and the beer is already chilling. My fridge is currently chock full o' Newcastle bottles and PBR cans with more in the pantry waiting for their turn.

Three of us ended up paying $125 for (roughly) one case of Red Bull, one case of PBR, three cases of Newcastle, nearly two cases of Boddingtons, 12 Leinenkugel Honey Weiss, and assorted Warsteiner, Sam Adams, and a few others. Take $25 and the Red Bull of the ticket, and we ended up with a ton of beer for $100. (Actually, as I do the math, I realize I must be missing a case or two... I can't remember for sure what Tom ended up with. Still, it is a hell of a deal.)

My mom will be so proud when I tell her of my great bargain find!

Jonathan 5/25/2004 05:24:00 PM

 
Omni Financial Is a Bad Company

It strikes me that I have not yet fully explained why my former employer is so horrible. I'm not going to do that tonight either, but I will soon. I need to drive some traffic to this site regarding Omni Financial so that I can tell other people not to use them for tax problems, tax advice, tax scams, IRS, 941 taxes, complaints...

Ok. So I'm just trolling for hits. For now, read what else I have written on Omni Financial and trust me that you do not want to employ that firm. Email me and I will give you the low down and recommend either a better way or another firm.

Omni Financial is a bad company. Frank Turner is a Grade-A asshole.

I will expound on why Omni Financial is a bad company in the next couple of days.

Jonathan 5/18/2004 11:38:00 PM

 
Brushes with Death

I had a pretty harrowing experience white water kayaking two weekends ago. I drafted a post on the topic, but before I was done it was already 2,000 words. I may end up posting it here anyway. I'll probably at least put up one version. I've been contemplating trying to get it published in some sort of on-topic magazine. Who knows. So far, I have been too lazy to do much other than write the first draft. (The long and short of it is that I thought I might die - twice, but eventually walked away with just scrapes, bruises, and a whole lot of ingested Rocky Mountain cold stream water - but not Coors.)

Last weekend I had a pretty close call that I didn't realize until well after the incident. You probably heard about the 40 ton girder that just fell and crushed an SUV with the two year old daughter, dad, and pregnant mother inside. According to that link, the report of the loose girder came in around 8:50 and the collapse followed at about 10:00 AM.

We left the 7-11 at 9:15 headed for Vail. My best guess is that we passed under that doomed bridge sometime between 9:35 and 9:45 AM. By then it was surely already too late to prevent the fall. It's a little bit freaky.

Jonathan 5/18/2004 11:22:00 PM

 
Some Reasons I Will Not Vote for Bush

I am a pretty conservative guy, and I do not care one bit for John Kerry, but Bush just rubs me the wrong way on too many different things any more.

He should support gay marriage. He should not be fighting against it especially on religous grounds.

He should reallign the 37,000 troops guarding South Korea's border to guard our southern border and should actively and aggressively enforce immigration laws and deport violators. He should not be considering, and certainly should not be wondering aloud about, potential amnesty programs and inciting a near riot to sneak into this country.

He should not be pandering to Christian fundamentalists. He certainly should not be considering their crackpot opinions.

Man that story makes me mad! Who the fuck believes the hocus pocus these morons are spouting? Scarier still is their obviously refined political savy. The mere mention of witchcraft and flying broomsticks in a children's book make the lady tremble, but she believes in prophecies and tales of old no less fanciful. And Bush takes her and her organization completely seriously.

I hope this article gets some play beyond the Village Voice. It's my hope that most Americans are likewise scared shitless that these "pro-Israeli" Christians and their literal interpretations of age old fairy tales. I worry though that the entire southeastern United States actually believes this crap.

Jonathan 5/18/2004 10:53:00 PM

 
Gay Marriage

Ok. Either support gay marriage as a civil rights issue on the grounds that all people should enjoy equal rights and treatment, or come out and say that it is not a civil rights issue because homosexuality is a disease. Then commit $10 billion over the next five years to find a cure for homosexuality.

Do it Bush. See how that plays.

I can't see that there is any in between. Either gays are people with equal rights or gays because they are suffering from this defect don't get to pick who they want to marry.

On another note, this Massachusetts marriage movement won't get really interesting until one of the couples moves out of state and requests treatment as a married couple under the laws of a different state. That should really get the judicial bal rolling.

Jonathan 5/18/2004 10:45:00 PM

 
Belle and Sebastian

The Belle and Sebastian and Devotchka show at the Fillmore was great. Devotchka plays such a fun show. They are really hard for me to describe. It's polka and belly dancing and Bauhaus and further international flair. There's the singer with his guitar, a guy on the drums, the other guy who switches between fiddle (violin?) and accordian, and the lady who switches back and forth between tuba and stand-up bass (cello?). A very strange mix that you might not expect to rock hard, but it does. They also used this thing that I kept calling (to myself, in my head) the invisible instrument. It was about half the size of a bread box, looked like an old desktop, walnut-cased radio with an antenna coming straight out the top. When he put his hand near the antenna, the device made a haunting, electronic sound. The tone, pitch, and intensity all varied as he moved his hand closer or farther, up or down, and slower or faster near the antenna. I was surprised by the apparent precision with which he played the invisible instrument.

I wasn't expecting the Belle and Sebastian set up to be so large. I think there were from 7 to 12 people playing some role in every song. Man, that guy has a beautifully delicate voice. Denver was their last stop in America before heading home to Scotland. They played for a really long time. By the time they came out to do their encore, Stuart said that it had already been their longest show of the tour. Boy were they good. At the shows that I have been to lately, I have been really impressed with the quality of the sound. Hearing these bands live is a crisp and clean as a CD.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I knew most of the songs. I didn't realize that my collection of their songs is as extensive as it has become. I think that they played music off each of their albums.

It was a darned good show. I'm disappointed that I ended up going there and then home alone, but perhaps it is for the best. The girl I initially asked was unable to find a babysitter. Like I said, probably for the best.

I tried calling a few other people and sent a babbling email to Missy offering her the ticket as I had read that she was in Denver for the week. Alas, no one was answering their phones, and Missy was only here for the business portion of the week.

Jonathan 5/09/2004 09:56:00 PM

 
Party Coming Up

Assuming, as is destined and has been foretold, that I win the Powerball jackpot tomorrow evening, it won't be long before you are all invited to my new party resort for, well, a party. I'll need some staff ready to live there for an extended period. Stu has expressed reservations about cutting grass on the roof, so I'm definitely still looking for a horticulturist. Acapulco gold and all that good stuff.

Jonathan 5/04/2004 02:50:00 PM

 
Low Fat, High Protein Oreos

I was surprised in my stupor last evening to read that one serving, three cookies, of low fat Oreos has two grams of protein. This is outstanding news for my diet.

Jonathan 5/04/2004 02:45:00 PM

 
Predictions

If you see me make predictions here, you should probably bet against me. They just so often seem to just be wrong. On that note I'll take the Avs to make a dramatic recovery at home tonight: Avs 4, Sharks 2.

Jonathan 5/04/2004 02:43:00 PM

 
Music

I'm going to see Belle and Sebastian on Friday at the Fillmore with Devotchka (as opposed to The Devotchkas). Vince and I saw Devotchka play a hell of a show in Boulder when they shared the stage with Jets to Brazil. I'm looking forward to seeing both bands.

I noticed that Belle and Sebastian are playing a few days earlier - tonight perhaps - with the Decemberists in Seattle. I'd like to see them too. I think I saw that they will be in town at the beginning of June. I'll have to start looking out for information on that too.

I recently bought both Castaways and Cutouts and Her Majesty the Decemberists from Amazon. I hadn't purchased a CD in some time, but I was having terrible luck downloading more songs from them, and I really liked what I had so far.

Now to find someone to go to the show with...

Jonathan 5/04/2004 02:34:00 PM

 
Hockey

I walked over to the neighborhood watering hole last night to take in the Wings game. It was a beautiful night to be out walking. When the hockey games go extra periods I end up spending nearly as much on beer and food as it would cost me to just give in and buy cable.

The Wings were able to stand tough against an onslaught of bad calls by the refs, but they couldn't ultimately figure out Kiprusoff. Just like last year - stoned by a hot goalie. Obviously, there was a lot more to the series than just the goal tending. I kept thinking while watching the game last night that if the Flames were as smart as the Wings, they'd have won the game alot earlier in the evening, and if the Wings were as physical as the Flames, we'd be looking forward to a game seven.

I wanted Detroit to win because I wanted to see the Avs play the Wings. Now it looks as if it may be a San Jose - Calgary series. I'm not sure what that will mean to the NHL in terms of ratings, but it could be one heck of a series in terms of darned good hockey. Both teams are really tough and don't give their opponents much room to work; there is always a body on a body - everywhere up and down the ice. It's an aggressive style for young, strong teams.

Hopefully though, the Avs will find a spark with the return of Paul Kariya to the lineup tonight. I hope to watch the game, if I can get out of a HOA board meeting.

Jonathan 5/04/2004 02:24:00 PM

 
Happy Birthday

All of my siblings and half of my parents have birthdays in May. It's nearly as expensive as December but not nearly as reciprocal - not that it should be.

Happy Birthday sister!

Jonathan 5/01/2004 09:55:00 AM

 
Drinking

Well, maybe getting hammered last night was just what I needed to get blogging again. My posts are certainly random and colorful when I've been drinking. It's an afternoon of drinking at the old ball game coming up. That means I'll probably miss both the Avs game and the Derby.

Predictions: Avs win 4-3; Tapit wins.

I don't know much about most of the Derby horses. But a couple of weeks ago I watched Tapit win a prep race in which I noticed him turning and just kind of checking out the cheering crowds as he made his way down the final stretch. He seemed very at ease and very comfortable. If his mount can find him some room to run at the end, I think he can take the rose garland. He's a beautiful grey horse. Always bet the grey horse.

The Avs may be able to win if they can survive the first period in San Jose. They reminded themselves only at the end of the last game that Nabokov can be beat. If they can handle the pummelling they are taking in front of the net and keep bodies down low, they can score on him. This might be the best game yet with the Avs thinking they still have a chance and the Sharks ready to pound that belief out of them.

In the other hockey game, look for the Wings to average about 20 shots per period as they look to get the offense and power play humming. Wings 4-1.

Jonathan 5/01/2004 09:53:00 AM

 
Certain Times

At certain times
In a certain light,
With a certain look
and while drabbed in
a certain attire
...
I am terribly good looking.
...

Unfortunately,
I only ever notice this
while I am making
faces at myself

in the mirror

while taking


a piss.



What was your point?

Jonathan 5/01/2004 01:30:00 AM

 
Are You Ready for Tomorrow?

I drank microbrews all night -- O'Dell's 90 Shilling.
I never had a proper dinner -- Campbell's Hearty Bean 'n' Ham at 3 A.M.

Somebody has to sit next to me at the old ball game...

Jonathan 5/01/2004 01:24:00 AM