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I don't think they ever were. However, they "usually" have among the best deals on above average quality meats.
Costco has meat in several grades. Which is good. Variety. You can get Halal. You can get Wagyu. You can get Prime. Specialty butchers will have dry-aged, and craft butcher fabrication cuts like Delmonico, Flat Iron, etc.
Costco also has lesser grades, which are sold in bulk packages. If you are able to eat 40 pounds of meat, it is a good deal. Same way a case of chicken is a good deal - if you can eat a whole case of chicken. Grocery stores typically sell "commercial" grade meat - the typical bulk packages of cryovac plastic wrapped which you see at places like Smart & Final. Most markets get the commercial grade meat, then cut it into smaller retail cuts. Supermarkets like Safeway and Lucky Store seldom, if ever, offer higher grades of meat. To keep those supermarket prices low, you get something that is one step above dog food. Safeway used to advertise meat as part of the "Safeway Select" brand. They had to stop doing that. Their meat really was not USDA Select grade.
Nothing wrong with commercial grade meat. I've eaten it my whole life. Most of us did not grow up on Prime, Halal, or Wagyu. Safeway has chuck on sale. I made it two ways. A steak with stir fried vegetables. And a roast. Slow roasted, with pan dripping gravy. Chuck is actually the perfect piece for pot roast.
My Dad & I were sitting around with one of the nephews, and my cousin - the kid's Dad. We weren't planning a brothel visit. I don't think anyone does that anymore. Not like the old days, when a bunch of guys took you up to Reno, handed you a fistful of small bills, and dropped you off at The Mustang Ranch.
It was time for the kid to have his own tools.
My Dad always said not to buy those giant, generic sets. You get a ton of stuff that you don't use, and you end up buying more tools - the tools that you really need, that didn't come in the kit. Buy each piece, as you need it. Buy the ratchet that you will use, instead of getting a set with 3 or 4 that you won't use. Buy the socket in the size you need, instead of a box full of sockets that you don't need.
My cousin, like my Dad and I, who is not a professional mechanic, said that you have to get something good. Maybe not spend a fortune on Snap-On, but something with a warranty. Not just some random stuff you find at Big Lots, or some other discount store.
I don't listen. I was, and I still am, a sucker for a sale price. Sears always got me with those big box sets. When you do the math, each item in the set is only fifty cents. You can't buy any tool, not one ratchet handle, wrench, socket, or whatever, for $0.50. Well, okay, $0.56.
Just as Dad, and most of my uncles, predicted; I've lost pieces and it's always the pieces that you do want. I lonely lose the pieces I use and need. It's not like I could ever lose the items I don't need, and keep the pieces I do use.
I like a lifetime warranty. But that's really a marketing gimmick. A lot of tool companies offer a "limited lifetime warranty".
But here is what I have learned. Most of those tool kits give you duplicates of the same thing. 11 mm is the same as 7/16" So you will get that socket 8 times. You get both "sizes" in 1/4" drive and 3/8" drive. Then you get the deep version. That same scenario repeats for each and every size which SAE and metric can interchange. And then you get a 7/16" wrench, and an 11 mm wrench.
Then you have the sets of wrenches, where they skip sizes randomly. I'm looking at a set of wrenches where 9 mm, 16 mm, and 18 mm are missing.
Another thing that I've found is that most box sets have 12 point sockets and wrenches. Maybe it's just me. I think that a 6 point socket is better for hex shaped nuts and bolts.
Ford & Harley both use T27 torx screws. T27 is missing in a lot of torx sets. You actually have to buy it separately.
Always loved Craftsman tools. I can't afford Snap On, Mac, or Cornwall, (besides they don't sell them in stores, have to visit a shop where the trucks make monthly rounds) but did have several Craftsman tools over the years. In all that time, only one socket ever had to be replaced. Took it to the nearest Sears store, (remember them?) and showed it to the salesman. He told me to go pick out the same one, and that was it, walked out with a brand-new socket. Today, I don't think I have a single Craftsman tool. I have a 200-piece Stanley tool set, and then a bunch of Harbor Freight tools (pliers, wrenches locking pliers rubber mallet etc.) My mechanic days are over. I have them just in case. I can only do small repairs now, so I don't need a large assortment of tools that will mostly not get used. In the mid-eighties, before my two accidents, I was a mechanic, sort of, working at gas stations in southern California. I dreamed of owning a black Craftsman roll away full of tools. However, I had no money for such an expensive item, and I had already ruined my credit. So, it never happened. I know you can still buy Craftsman tools, but I doubt I will sine my ability to do any repair work is limited.
On a different note, Yesterday, I texted the VA rep asking about the Central California Veteran's response to my request for $700 to pay the repair shop, and he said they already paid it. He also asked me to go to the shop and verify that the check got there. So, I did, and was told the check was delivered the day before, and that my truck would be finished that day, and I could stop by today for the test drive. So, needless to say, I am excited. But also apprehensive, as he has told me several times in the past it would be done by a certain day, so I will believe it when I see it.
My Dad & I were sitting around with one of the nephews, and my cousin - the kid's Dad. We weren't planning a brothel visit. I don't think anyone does that anymore. Not like the old days, when a bunch of guys took you up to Reno, handed you a fistful of small bills, and dropped you off at The Mustang Ranch.
It was time for the kid to have his own tools.
My Dad always said not to buy those giant, generic sets. You get a ton of stuff that you don't use, and you end up buying more tools - the tools that you really need, that didn't come in the kit. Buy each piece, as you need it. Buy the ratchet that you will use, instead of getting a set with 3 or 4 that you won't use. Buy the socket in the size you need, instead of a box full of sockets that you don't need.
My cousin, like my Dad and I, who is not a professional mechanic, said that you have to get something good. Maybe not spend a fortune on Snap-On, but something with a warranty. Not just some random stuff you find at Big Lots, or some other discount store.
I don't listen. I was, and I still am, a sucker for a sale price. Sears always got me with those big box sets. When you do the math, each item in the set is only fifty cents. You can't buy any tool, not one ratchet handle, wrench, socket, or whatever, for $0.50. Well, okay, $0.56.
Just as Dad, and most of my uncles, predicted; I've lost pieces and it's always the pieces that you do want. I lonely lose the pieces I use and need. It's not like I could ever lose the items I don't need, and keep the pieces I do use.
I like a lifetime warranty. But that's really a marketing gimmick. A lot of tool companies offer a "limited lifetime warranty".
But here is what I have learned. Most of those tool kits give you duplicates of the same thing. 11 mm is the same as 7/16" So you will get that socket 8 times. You get both "sizes" in 1/4" drive and 3/8" drive. Then you get the deep version. That same scenario repeats for each and every size which SAE and metric can interchange. And then you get a 7/16" wrench, and an 11 mm wrench.
Then you have the sets of wrenches, where they skip sizes randomly. I'm looking at a set of wrenches where 9 mm, 16 mm, and 18 mm are missing.
Another thing that I've found is that most box sets have 12 point sockets and wrenches. Maybe it's just me. I think that a 6 point socket is better for hex shaped nuts and bolts.
Ford & Harley both use T27 torx screws. T27 is missing in a lot of torx sets. You actually have to buy it separately.
Excellellant post about SAE to Metric..Where exactly to girls and Brthels come in? what did I miss..lol
It used to be an SAE world. Common sizes were 1/4", 3/8", 1/2"..... Sadly, even on "American" products, we now find metric fasteners. SAE may phase out. Of course, manufacturers, hardware sellers, and tool companies must be in collusion. They could have made everything with just a handful of sizes. Am I crazy because I want 6 point wrenches and sockets?
Instead, they throw in weird, oddball things to make us buy more hardware and tools. Cap screws with hex heads. Torx screws.
Luckily, automotive and household items don't use square head and 12 point fasteners, right? Is that why our socket sets have 12 point sockets? Is that why all of our wrenches have box ends and 12 points?
Here is an "apples to apples" comparison of SAE to Metric. Same brand. You can see how the tool companies are just selling you duplicates.
.Where exactly to girls and Brthels come in? what did I miss..lol
What? Nobody else did that growing up? Take a road trip to Reno?
Originally Posted by Nighteyez
the nearest Sears store, (remember them?)
Sears was one of my favorite stores. I remember going there as a kid. The local Sears was like a big adventure for kids from Chinatown. It had everything that a little boy could drool over. Huge toy section. Sporting goods with guns. And popcorn. Fresh popcorn. You could smell it from the parking lot. San Francisco had two Sears stores. The one that I went to, became a Target Store. The other store became the unemployment office.
When I was a kid, there used to be Woolworths. Powell and Market. Where the Cable Cars turned around and BART was underground. The subway entrance smelled like fried chicken from the lunch counter.
Rob you're going off the deep end! I like Torx as it's far superior to either a flathead or Phillips. The socket head cap screw has a lot of advantages as well, especially since you can counter bore the hole. It's almost impossible to "round" a SHCS, whereas using a metric wrench on a fractional bolt head is a recipe for disaster. They're not the same size, any fractional / metrical conversion chart will show you that. Sure, you can get away with using one occasionally in a pinch but deformation of a bolt head is in your future.
It looks to be good this weekend for the Kick off of Kool April Nights. I’m thinking that it will be a good time to hide instead, since I’m not “required “ to be anywhere this year.
After work, I need to tear into the tailgate latch for the Bronco to fix P.O.’s damage
using a metric wrench on a fractional bolt head is a recipe for disaster
you can get away with using one occasionally in a pinch but deformation of a bolt head is in your future.
Yes. I completely agree. Ultimately, it's a recipe for disaster.
The only thing that I factor in, is that there are so many fractional tolerances between manufacturers, that very few sockets or wrenches could be exact, and very few fasteners could be exact. So if the bolt or nut is not exact, and the tool is not exact, then the best that I can do is find the best fit. And that's sort of what I do. Test fit a couple of different sockets or wrenches, and use the one that "feels" best.
I have a collection of tools made up of different box set kits (which I lost pieces to), various single sockets and wrenches I've bought over the years, some specialty items like a Ford Fan Clutch tool and a Ford Headlight Adjustment tool (which I think is lost), and different things that maybe a friend left behind, my Dad gave me, or I might have borrowed from someone else and they didn't want it back. Some are okay. Some items have a story. Some pieces I can't remember or explain. Some pieces are absolutely cheap, and worked just as well as an expensive item.
Today, for no reason, my Dad handed me a couple of wrenches. "Here, take these." Adjustable wrenches. Fuller Tool. Probably something he bought from Ace Hardware. Probably older than me. I know that he has regular Crescent brand "crescent wrenches". "You don't want them, then give them to that kid." Maybe these were wrenches that my Dad go from someone else. I guess that's how generational wealth is handed down in my family.
Happy Saturday all! Today might actually be the day I get my truck back. I'm so tired of hearing that, but it would be wonderful if it actually happened.
Today might actually be the day I get my truck back.
I'm surprised that guy hasn't started charging for storage.
Or maybe you should send him a bill for lease payments. After you get the truck back, see if some shady lawyer will sue him. He has had the truck for over 100 days. What's that worth? $10 a day? $20 a day? $50 a day? You also have pain and suffering. Your heart is broken. You were stressed. You woke up in the night with a cold sweat. You lost your appetite. You lost weight.
I know you can still buy Craftsman tools, but I doubt I will sine my ability to do any repair work is limited.
