Money matters

I want about $1500 for something totally trivial.

At least it is only a fraction of what I needed for my coins. It still seems completely unrealistically out of reach. Since I basically have no income I would need to sell some items to raise the cash. That's when reality punches me in the face. I own nothing that is worth anything other than the few things I won't part with.

In my fantasies I dream of selling enough of my books to pay for stuff I want or need, but that ain't happening. Or, if I could get several thousand page views on my Examiner columns every day for a while, that might work. (Unless Examiner decided to change the rules if my page views got too high.) That seems as unlikely as selling hundreds of my books in the next few weeks.

So, what else could I sell...

Let's see, I have my dog tag stamping machine that cost me around $900 new. And I rarely use it anymore since I am out of the pet business. I could sell that, plus all the blank tags and stuff, but I'm not sure how much that would get. Plus, since it weighs between 40 and 50 pounds (not counting accessories), shipping would be a pain.

I could probably afford to part with some of my beloved hats, but that would kinda hurt and I doubt it would raise much money. Not everyone loves hats like I do.

I already auctioned off most of my original artwork a few years ago, and I haven't done any more recently.

I have odds and ends like an old mountain bike, lots of kerosene lanterns, and "junque". I doubt if it would add up to anything even if I sold it all.

Maybe I could offer services instead.

I doubt prostitution would be very profitable for me. A shame, that. Plus, girls would never pay for what they can all get for free anytime the notion crosses their mind.

I could give lessons in primitive survival techniques if someone has land that would work for the purpose.

I excel at sharpening knives by hand (no power grinders or anything so fast and damaging). I never charged enough to make it worth the effort, though.

My sharpest skills aren't very marketable. I'm good at sitting around and thinking/daydreaming. Oh, and I can wander aimlessly around wild places for days.

My best bet is to talk myself out of wanting what I want.

ABQ cop fired, may face charges in shooting

ABQ cop fired, may face charges in shooting

In a follow-up to a previous column, the Albuquerque LEO who shot a burglary suspect late last year, and who had the unfortunate experience of the bullet wounds apparently not agreeing with the official story, has been fired. My previous thoughts are on record here.

This is one of those extremely rare, and getting even more so, cases where a LEO is found to have not followed departmental guidelines and actually suffers some consequences after a shooting. I admit I thought this never happened anymore. I am pleasantly surprised to be wrong. It happens so rarely. (I'm joking! Give me a break!)

Now, the question remains, if you or I shot someone, would it take almost a year to decide whether it was a justifiable shooting, and if not, to press charges? Would we simply be fired from our job?