As I had forgotten in my previous post, my second complaint with St. Louis recently has been the removal of my favorite radio station, Red 104.1. 104.1 has been a lot of different things. Alice 104.1 was an alternative station when such things were popular. eXtreme 104.1 was a rock station. At some point, they switched over to Red. Red was the entire American Songbook on one station. The Rat Pack, Ella, Dave Brubeck, Louis Armstrong, as well as a host of newer artists like Diana Krall and Stacey Kent.
I really liked it. Unfortunately, that kind of thing tends to not make enough money to keep the station alive, and so it didn't. There are two bright notes. For those in St. Louis, you can still hear it on 97.1 over the weekends. 97.1 is a conservative talk radio channel, but they've got the music, so when I'm in town, I go with it. Red is also available at RedOnTheWeb.Com, 24/7.
Lacking a subtle segue, let's just say that my spending habits have changed since I was a poor college student. Things have changed a tiny bit. In the words of Matt, "We share an apartment, cook up big meals to keep costs and work down, and we work 8 hours a day. It's a lot like college, but with real income."
I am a fan. I bought a Hoyt Ultrasport compound bow last week. I was planning on buying a BFR, but a few things held me back.
The first was cost. By all accounts, the BFR is worth the investment if you have an interest in a fine, very large, single action revolver, it's the way to go if you don't have the bucks for a Freedom Arms revolver which will set you back about twice as much as a BFR. Even then, BFR's cost 900$. Certainly not out of the realm of reason for a good gun, but still a chunk of cash.
Secondly, ammo costs for the BFR I was interested in (S&W .460) were fairly rediculous for a guy who usually shoots shotgun, .22, and occasionally buys ammo for a friend's .45 or 9mm. The .460 would cost about 2$ a shot without reloading my own ammunition. And reloading my own ammunition would cost hundreds of dollars more in initial outlay.
Third and finally, there was the question of logistics. Where would I shoot it? There aren't that many ranges here in Illinois, and when it gets cold I certainly won't want to be outside shooting it. No one in their right mind would allow me to discharge that firearm indoors. It's just too big. Add that to the fact that Illinois firearms laws are dictated by Chicago and I just didn't want to put up with the hassle.
The arguments for the BFR were quite simple. For 'only' 900$, get a firearm that is capable of hunting any land mammal in the Western Hemisphere including the Detroit Big Block at ranges out to the capability of the shooter. One stop shopping. All the gun you need forever. With the Hoyt I got most of these things with the added benefits of lesser legal hassles, and a better hunting experience. I'm going to the range about 3 times a week for the exercise and the entertainment, and should be in hunting trim remarkably soon.
So I went with the bow, which cost half as much as the BFR with a release and a half a dozen carbon fiber composite arrows thrown in. Matt gave me the sight and whisker biscuit off of his bow that he's upgrading, for about 150$ in freebies.
I've shot it two or three times since I've bought it, and I'm nothing but satisfied with it.
I'm also currently looking at a replacement for Blue Lightning. My car has been good to me for quite a while, but it's getting to the point where I'm not completely convinced that it's safe, so it may be getting replaced sometime later this week with an '06 Accord.
And now the bad news. Dr. Daniel St. Clair, Computer Science Professor and Chair of the CS Dept. at UMR passed away October 23rd after a battle with cancer. He was a great guy and will be missed by all that knew him.
