> > > As you noted, you win some, you lose some. One tries
> > > to stay above .500. Dickens said something about that;
> > > I forget the exact citation.
> > It sounds like something a baseball manager would say. 
> 
> Except baseball managers aren't generally that
> philosophical. They're more along the lines of
> "Winning isn't the best thing - it's the only
> thing." Here I am a few hundred yards from 
> Sean Payton, the Belichick of the south, who was
> suspended a year for paying his players for
> injuring people on the other teams.
> 
Ick.  Now that's a squick.

> > > > > So buyers get squicky about loupes?
> > > > Sellers can.  It can give the game away, and slows you down. 
> > > An, yes, sellers. I think that's what I meant.
> > I'd figured, but some buyers don't want to deal with them.
> 
> Some buyers use the what Drumstick or someone 
> calls the five-finger discount.

Unfortunately correct.  I generally just pull my glasses down if need 
be.  Sometimes it doesn't help. The local Ill Will has been carefully 
inspecting everything and jacking up prices accordingly, even if a 
piece is junk except for the metal weight.
 
> > Just got a Christmas card from Dave, so they're still alive at 
least.
> 
> Food. I hope when you respond you said hi from
> all of us.

I sent him one first, but I may have to go digging for a phone 
number.
 
> > > > anything especially if it pays well and is legal. I've seen 
that 
> > > > movie a few times.
> > > Even minus the legal part. I've seen that too.
> > It makes the news sometimes, what someone's gotten up to.
> 
> A good criminal is a quiet criminal.

The rare smart ones don't make waves.
 
> Speaking of five-finger discounts.
> 
Why, did someone swipe your chicken?

>       Title: Beggar's Chicken