Thanksgiving, Black Friday, NEED ADVICE!

[tabbiewolf]

Thanksgiving was a success! We brined the turkey this year, using a brine mix I got free from work last year, and it definitely improved the taste of the meat. Thanks to those who gave a thumbs up to the brining method -- even with the free mix, I don't think we would have tried it otherwise! Making a gravy base the night before also vastly improved the gravy, so that's something I highly recommend doing if you're crazy like us and like doing everything from scratch.

Also, as much as I love my family (not being sarcastic there), I do highly appreciate and probably prefer the "Thanksgiving with Friends" thing we've been running for the past two years and it's something I'd like to keep up.

As mentioned, the microwave started sparking on Tuesday. On Black Friday, with help from Frosty and Riismo and Lobst, Spot pulled the microwave down. It was put in…uh…very creatively:


Yes, that's a two-by-four. And yes, it has notches taken out of it so the screws that held up the microwave would fit. And yes, ONE OF THOSE SCREWS WAS MISSING.

The shelving above and next to the microwave appears to have been held on by load-bearing caulk and/or paint. The amount of effort that was put into doing it wrong was probably more than if they'd gotten someone to do it correctly. It was a spectacular failure! Well, not an altogether failure, because I mean the microwave didn't fall down…but dang. It could've.

So currently what's there is this:


Though we took out the vent, because it just lead up into the attic and was clogged with insulation…because it just lead up into the attic. Most microwaves don't really need an exterior vent anyway, and in fact we have acquired a new(er) microwave thanks to Riismo's folks remodeling their kitchen. It's the same model, only newer, so it even fits in the same mounting bracket. So we've got our winter project: rebuilding the shelves around the microwave and putting the new one in.

Speaking of winter projects, the possibility of a much more longterm one has come up. fenris_lorsrai knows someone who is getting rid of a ginormous printer, and I am seriously pondering the idea of starting my own printing service. More info about the printer can be found here (if you are interested personally, feel free to speak up about it; I can't afford the thing outright). The thing is, I have NO idea how the heck to run a printing service -- generally my idea of running a business is what I do already (please folks by drawing for them in exchange for money; not being a douchebag). Likewise, I have NO idea if it would ever be profitable: the printer would be a major investment, something I'd have to consider getting a small business loan for, and that's a BIG step for someone who has almost no idea what they're doing.

Anyone have any advice on this? tugrik, I'm looking in your direction, since you do printing professionally :) Likewise, anyone else with small business experience! Printing is something I am passionate about (I blame working at a newspaper), and it's definitely something I could see myself doing for awhile…but money is an issue, and I don't really want to be throwing it away if the odds are slim that I will ever make it back.

Comments

[corelog.livejournal.com]

My former roommate used to have a big printer like that, and a substantial library of art to print. He had this thing going where he licensed art from the creators, and then would offer on-the-spot printing in whatever size the customer wanted at cons and such. The artist would get a royalty from the sale.

Was a good idea (I think), but I don't think he was ever really able to make it work. There's just not enough demand for HUGE prints, certainly not at a price tolerable to the customer which is also decent for the artist and is sufficient to cover the cost of time and materials.

In the end, he ended up selling the printer and all the supplies for it to somebody who shipped it overseas. That was after it had sat unused for over four years, maybe longer.

[dalesql.livejournal.com]

For the printer. For the money they are asking for it, probably not worth it. Unless you are planning on going into business as a high end print shop of some sort. I just don't see the money to support something like it in furry fandom.

[tugrik.livejournal.com]

That is precisely the model of printer I own. I'll type up some stuff for you as soon as I get home!