So I went down and checked out the neighborhood bar. I was right - quite respectable. Especially on a Tuesday night. I was greeted quite cheerfully by a bartender with zero ass but a lot of flair. I got a Bud, since it was obvious they had it; next time I'll ask for something more to my liking, something rather stout and dark.

So, ESPN2 carried a Cardinals game on the telly. No thanks. The other end of the bar featured a pool table, so I picked up my watery American beer and relocated to see the action better, not that there was much. Assless was matching off against a rugged looking individual in a very jovial series of games, some of which the bartender played with an industrial broom handle. He held his own. And he treated me to some kind of red something or other with a cherry in it. Said I seemed to have had a hard day. Yummy. I think he was flirting.

I left after finishing my beer. Don't wanna operate a bicycle while too incapacitated by alcohol, ya know. Since there really isn't, for me, drinking without smoking, I'd bought a pack of cigarettes from the machine there. Upon arriving home, I stashed them in the old mailbox by the front door of the building. We have fancy new ones outside now, and the old ones are just stuck there in the wall, useless, except as a cigarette stash for someone who wants to only smoke when at the bar.

Earlier today, in the van, I dropped by the junk shop, what is far and away the best junk shop I have ever seen, living or dead. It's like a flea market, consignment shop, antique boutique, and series of garage sales all in one. You can find everything from useless scrap to very fine pieces in this place. Through conversation, hanging out, and goofing off, I wound up in the guy's office, cleaning out his computers of extraneous crap and showing him how to set up user profiles. Geez. :-) Seems we now have a soft agreement that I can have whatever I want (pretty much) for helping to get his boxes networked and business ready. He's got a rather newish Compaq Presario and a goverment Gateway jobbie that has a (gasp) 5 and 1/4 floppy drive. Which has a CD firmly embedded in it. Honest mistake, really.

I recommended QuickBooks. And we'll see what we can do to clear off the bullshit. I already spruced up the Start menus; that's a good start. And deleted some user profiles he wanted gone.

Hm. I might see if I can work a trade for that 5 and 1/4 drive. He don't need it, and surprisingly, I do.