Pin the tail on the donkey or whack a piñata.

It's a pity they banned Jarts. Those were a great way to keep the kids occupied back in the day.

Wait, America doesnt have pass the parcel? That game killed at all the kids parties I went to as a kid and my brother's too.

The trick is to put prizes in a few layers, like a pack of sweets (candy) or a small toy etc.

Thinking about it Britain doesnt have pinatas, so maybe our version of a pinata doesnt involve hitting a wrapped up prize with sticks but instead involves carefully unwrapping it to music. This may say a lot about our cultural differences?

You're game being dumb doesn't mean anything.

In USA#1 the kids would be smart enough to just hang onto the parcel and wait for the music to stop.

That isnt a positive reflection on your culture ldo.

Also funnily enough that wouldnt fly over here, the other kids would group together against the outside who tried to exploit the game - we teach statism from a young age.

I wouldn't say big parties like that are standard, but they're much more common than they used to be. A planner though..

We had a few years of exorbitant birthdays (nothing that would require a planner though, wtf?) Wife wanted to do this, and do that, and have it here or there. And the themes. My god, the THEMES!

I shrugged and accepted my mission of keeping things from getting -too- ridiculous.

Each year the parties got a little less fancy, until we're finally back to what I consider a seemly celebration. Ironically we made the biggest deal over the parties at an age where they didn't even know they were ****ing HAVING a party, and certainly don't remember any of it now.

Parents aren't logical sometimes.

You should tell him you'll manage his money for the low, low price of a car a year.

We have musical chairs, which is similar, except there's usually not a prize involved. It's just another way to take a group of 10 kids and declare 9 of them losers at the end. I guess there is a prize. Shame.

I'm considering, for no real reason, buying a portable saw mill.

Somebody talk me out of it. Please.

Sounds awesome to me. How big we talking? I hope it's something that comes with its own trailer rather than some Harbor Freight gadget you clamp to a chainsaw.

Can I borrow it?

Literally "no real reason", or just like "this could be a fun toy to chop trees in the woods out back of my house" kinda deal?

I'm divided. It's would either be a cheap deal where I can strap a chainsaw in and cut up trees around the house with much cursing and exertion, or a high dollar hydraulic pull behind rig like a woodmizer or something. There is no in between.

Keep in mind, I don't do wood work. I'm not in construction (not that kind anyway). I don't NEED this ****, but I can't get it out of my head.

And you're not helping.

Absolutely, literally, no real reason. I don't even have that many trees.

But I have watched about 10 hours of youtube videos of people cutting trees into boards. I think I have real mental problems.

You definitely have mental problems but I don't see what YouTube has to do with that.

Someone ITT received a contract today as a torture tester for a big name holster/duty gear manufacturer.

Pays not that fantastic but it's not much work and it will very likely result in TV time and trade show appearances.

Phill?

Ok, in an effort to convince myself I'm not insane, here's my thought process.

If I wanted to get a large, juicy oak tree taken down and sawed into boards on my property, I don't think there's anyone within 50 miles of me that can do it. If there is, they don't know how to advertise for ****. There's an obvious market here for somebody with one of these rigs. I've read the costs and the profit potential, and I think there's something there. I've also read the nightmare scenarios.

Plus, we've debated on moving into some land clearing / right of way clearing a couple of times in our business. This could be a nice fit for that.

It's just that as of this moment, I can't see it being a good idea to drop 15 to 40 thousand dollars on "maybe." Plus, why am I do I even care about this ****?

Do you go to these appearances and torture equipment in front of crowds?

Whoa, I told no one about that maxpud deal, how did he know?

Err, just buy a chainsaw and rent a woodchipper and go wild for a weekend imo.

But dont make this weird so I have to testify to this post in court claiming I wasnt advising you to do that.

It's a complete waste of money, you're never going to make a business of it, and you'll be ebaying the thing for a huge loss in 5 years. But you're going to do it anyway.

I understand. It's the exact same reason I'm going to be buying a 5x10 CNC table in the near future. We simply can't help it.

The big question, of course, is does it blend?

Probably. The crowds seem to enjoy it.

Whatever else happens, you should definitely get that table.

of course you shouldn't spend that kind of money on just a "maybe" and "I don't know how to use a phone book"

you should conduct testing of some kind to see if there'd be any interest in your service, if it doesn't already exist in your area.