Like a Led Balloon

I got a whole lotta love for my Led Zeppelin inflatable blimp.

I got a whole lotta love for my Led Zeppelin inflatable blimp.

     I’d bet that every nerd out there has one or two “Holy Grail” items that he or she covets but the high price tag keeps the good ol’ “Buy It Now” button from being pushed. For me, one of those items has been the inflatable Led Zeppelin blimp you see hanging in my nerd cave above.

     Yeah…it’s essentially a pool toy.  But as I’ve mentioned before, I like inflatable stuff…no inflatable you-know-what jokes please.  So when you combine that thing I have going on with the greatest Rock & Roll band in the history of the world…well, I gots to have it.

     I remember seeing one of these blimps hanging in a record store back in the 90’s and thinking “that would look kinda sweet hanging up in our apartment.”  Then about 7 or 8 years ago, I was browsing Led Zeppelin stuff on eBay and I came across two or three for sale.  I had one of those, “Oh yeah, I’m getting THAT…wait…what? four hundred dollars? I guess I’m NOT getting that” moments.  Yeah, apparently these things are rare. And I’ve never seen one for less that $300 on eBay.  Every now and then, some Zep will come on my iPod or the radio and I’ll remember to check back…with the same result.

     That is, until earlier this week.  I was, shall we say, “browsing my eBay app while otherwise occupied in the bathroom,” when BOOM! there’s one for $75 Buy It Now & free shipping to boot.  There were two others: one was Buy It Now for $395 and another was an auction at $100 with one bidder.

     I know…75 bucks for an inflatable blimp is crazy.  I’ll have to plead temporary insanity.  I guess I just had a Gollum moment.

     After running a quick cost/benefit analysis in my brain, I called out to my wife, who was halfway across the house, “Hey, would you be mad if I paid $75 for an inflatable Led Zeppelin blimp?”  Her immediate response was, “I’ll be mad if you pay $75 for an inflatable anything!”

     Yeah, so without missing a beat, I pressed the Commit to Buy button. I did go fess up but managed to defuse the situation by telling her it will count as my birthday present to myself. Hard to believe but she actually bought that.  Which probably means I won’t be getting an actual birthday present, but when you’re talking about “The Holy Grail of S**t I Must Own,” then you sacrifice.

     My blimp arrived today and despite having had my knee scoped this AM (I’ll tell you the underwear story another time), it was hung five minutes after UPS pulled away.  I still have one good knee, and that’s all I need to get up on a chair.

     As with most things in my life, there’s a catch.  The blimp of my dreams has a teeny, tiny, slow leak.  It’s not that it deflates completely or anything, but it’s enough to keep the blimp from being fully inflated so that the wrinkles in the vinyl don’t show up.  Being OCD about my stuff like I am, I took it down and proceeded to look for the leak.  Found it using a spray bottle of soapy water.  It’s around where one of the tail fins attaches to the blimp’s body.  I’d like to think the seller didn’t know about the leak and heck, the thing is over 20 years old.

     I neatly applied some silicon sealant to the area and it seems to be working.  If not, I’ll try something else cause this bad boy is going to be hanging there for awhile if I have to shave my cats and stuff it with their fur.

     Until someone explains to me why I can’t wear underwear to a knee surgery…I bid you adieu.  And as always…stay nerdy my friends.

Copyright 2013 It Came From The Nerd Cave