The tank WAS a gorgeous centerpiece to our living room.  It was a saltwater setup, with uber filtration, protein skimming, compact florescent lit goodness with a ton of live rock, etc.  I didn’t love having to top off the water every couple of days, but it was pretty cool and when we got the environment dialed-in just right (after a year to two), it was pretty much on autopilot, maintenance-wise.

Unfortunately, the entire environment got wiped out a few years back when we had that big windstorm and resulting 6 day power outage.  Tropical salt water environments don’t survive at 42 degrees, unfortunately.  It was sad, and once we came to the realization that we’d be starting over from scratch, we put the tank and equipment into the furnace room for future consideration.  Now that we’re contemplating a long-distance move, setting it back up makes even less sense than before.  Thus, we decided to sell the whole setup on Craigslist, and a bargain price of $150 (likely what we paid for the dang light).

I got a few “nibbles” on the ad last week, but everyone wanted to bargain with me. One fellow wanted me to trade the aquarium for a paintball gun.  Not being motivated to become a paint-baller, nor to acquire more crap that I am not going to use, I refused.  The ad expired on Friday, so I re-posted it yesterday.

Today, instead of the usual email inquiries or even phone calls, I received a text message about the tank.  Conversation went JUST like this:

Craigslist Messaging Guy (CMG): Do you still have your fish tank for sale?

Me (Me): Yes

CMG: How low are you willing to go if I pick it up today?

Me: It’s still $150.

CMG: Would you take $100 if I pick it up right now?

Me: No, I’m in no hurry to sell.

CMG: Would you be interested in selling  jst (sic) the filter or the lights?

Me: Sure, how about $150, and I’ll throw in the tank and stand for free?

CMG: lol. I would, but I only have $100, so thats my offer.

Me: Give me a call if you find $50 in the couch, and I’ll contact you if the price drops.

]]> http://www.calnan-web.com/weblog/2009/09/21/craigslist-messaging-guy/feed/ 2 http://www.calnan-web.com/weblog/2009/09/07/a-cheap-home-gym-enhancement/ http://www.calnan-web.com/weblog/2009/09/07/a-cheap-home-gym-enhancement/#comments Mon, 07 Sep 2009 16:50:12 +0000 John http://www.calnan-web.com/weblog/?p=1136 Those of you who know me, know that I tend to acquire “toys”.  “Toys”, meaning stuff having to do with whatever I’m obsessed with at the moment.  Unless this is your first visit here, you know that right now I’m all about kettlebell/body weight training.  I’m also not above paying for the toys I acquire, such as my current 9-kettlebell inventory, straps, mats, dumbells, medicine balls, etc.

My trainer is all about good form, and I pay him to kick my ass about it every Tuesday night.  I work out at home other days, and I don’t have a 24/7 webcam setup so he can yell at me over the internet.  Translation: I need to hang a mirror in my shop/man-cave/gym.  If you go to Lowe’s or someplace similar, you’ll find that the largest plate-glass mirror they have on the sales floor runs about $40, and as I recall it’s about 4′ by 2 or 3′.

I have occasionally searched Craigslist for mirrors, and there are usually a pretty good assortment available.  Once you sort through the one’s with the gaudy guilded frames, you’ll find some nice big ones in various states of disrepair.  I have even seen those mirrored closet doors for sale… like the ones you had in your bedroom of that one apartment, back in ’78 (and if you set your bed up just so… but I digress…).  Something that big would be perfect, but at the time(s) I’ve seen them listed, there were distance/transportation issues to get the thing home.

Yesterday I hit paydirt with a 30 inch by 60 inch mirror that looks like it hung over a sink in a bathroom at one point.  One corner is chipped by about 1″, and there is a little deterioration in the mirroring in one spot.  Not something you’d want to hang in your bathroom, but perfect for my application.  The bonus was that it was VERY close to my house, and it was only $5.00!  So as we made our circuit yesterday to drop off Slosh Tubes (more on that later) and hit the local curry house we stopped and picked up the mirror.  A stop later in the day to throw down $3.14 for mounting clips, and I now have a mirror AND change from my $10 bill.  Not a bad day’s work.