Pardon the long ramble...this really was supposed to be a shorter post when I started it. :lol:
I just got my "recognition packet" from work for my 5-year anniversary there. It includes a brochure to pick something from, whcih has some really chintzy stuff and some fairly nice stuff, though if I had my 'druthers I'd get cash to pay utility bills or rent with instead. I suppose I could sell the item once I receive it, but I think I will just pick something I can actually use, and keep it.
That's how I got the bike that turned into DayGlo Avenger--from my CompUSA 10-year anniversary, which took a couple months to arrive, and then tried to kill me a month later when the weld on the handlebar stem just snapped while riding normally, and left me holding handlebars not connected to the bike anymore.
It looked like this before I electrimotorificated it, but after adding a headlight and cargo baskets:
and looks about like this nowadays (different, smaller motor in the wheel), and in these pics is loaded up with lots of groceries, having just gotten home from the store:
Now to figure out which of hte 78 items to choose. Pardon my thinking "out loud".
I can eliminate all the jewelry, pens, billfolds and watches, as well as dish sets, cutlery, clocks, and lamps. Don't need any of those. Exercise equipment is out, too, as well as the foot massagers. Fishing equpment is unneeded.
The deep fryer has some interest, but the coffee maker, waffle iron, and barbeque are out, as is the convection oven as I already have these things. The Brinkmann smoker/grill (up to 50lbs of food) has possible uses. No need for a barbecue tool set or sno-cone maker, or ice-pop-maker kit. Already have a slow-cooker and a gas bbq grill, so don't need those. Rice cooker could be useful but it's just as easy to steam it in the microwave or in a doubleboiler, or just plain boil it normally. HB 3-in-1 grill/griddle for the kitchen could be useful, but I have an old countertop grill already that I don't use much.
The Vivitar Terrain spotting scope and Bushnell binoculars are interesting, but I already have some old binoculars that are probably as good or better than these (just beat-up looking), and a little telescope.
Shop-vac, B&D battery powered drill/driver, leaf blower/vacuum could all be useful, if I didn't already have several vacuums and drills/drivers, and a leaf blower.
Mp3 player, surround sound speakers, backtrack gps, paper shredder, laptop bag, pda holders, cordless phones, electronic scales, led lanterns, luggage sets, desktop pc speakers, or ipod docks are not really useful, and I already have some of those things that other people were going to toss out. Solar security light is interesting but not sufficiently so.
Of slight interest are a pair of walkie talkies with various accessories, including NOAA weather channel reception, but I dont' really have anyone I'd use them with, other than training the dogs, perhaps. Curiosity makes me ponder the battery or hand crank operated weather/am/fm radio, but I can make my own generator for any of the existing such radios I have, should power somehow be out long enough to drain all of the many many many battery packs I have around here.
That doesnt' really leave much; there are two cameras that might see a fair bit of use, though: A Vivitar Vivicam iTwist 7.1MP still, with 2gb SD card, and a Vivitar 3.1MP HD movie digicam with 4GB SD card.
I don't know the model numbers for them, but searches turn up reviews with pictures that look like the one in the catalog for the 7028, like this:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6147799&CatId=3622
however reviews everywhere for this camera arent' so good. Focus seems to be a real problem for it, and that's something I already have problems with on my old Sony digicam, whcih would be the primary reason I would want a different one if I'm getting it for free anyway. So if it cant' focus properly, and has no manual focus mode, I probably would skip it.
I can't find anything that matches the image of the movie digicam; the ones that look most similar all have higher specs than the one on the catalog, so I don't know what other people thought of them. I sent an email to the catalog company to get the actual model numbers of the items, so I can look up details, reviews, etc., but I dunno how long it will take to get an answer or if they will ever actually do so.
I just got my "recognition packet" from work for my 5-year anniversary there. It includes a brochure to pick something from, whcih has some really chintzy stuff and some fairly nice stuff, though if I had my 'druthers I'd get cash to pay utility bills or rent with instead. I suppose I could sell the item once I receive it, but I think I will just pick something I can actually use, and keep it.
That's how I got the bike that turned into DayGlo Avenger--from my CompUSA 10-year anniversary, which took a couple months to arrive, and then tried to kill me a month later when the weld on the handlebar stem just snapped while riding normally, and left me holding handlebars not connected to the bike anymore.
It looked like this before I electrimotorificated it, but after adding a headlight and cargo baskets:
and looks about like this nowadays (different, smaller motor in the wheel), and in these pics is loaded up with lots of groceries, having just gotten home from the store:
Now to figure out which of hte 78 items to choose. Pardon my thinking "out loud".
I can eliminate all the jewelry, pens, billfolds and watches, as well as dish sets, cutlery, clocks, and lamps. Don't need any of those. Exercise equipment is out, too, as well as the foot massagers. Fishing equpment is unneeded.
The deep fryer has some interest, but the coffee maker, waffle iron, and barbeque are out, as is the convection oven as I already have these things. The Brinkmann smoker/grill (up to 50lbs of food) has possible uses. No need for a barbecue tool set or sno-cone maker, or ice-pop-maker kit. Already have a slow-cooker and a gas bbq grill, so don't need those. Rice cooker could be useful but it's just as easy to steam it in the microwave or in a doubleboiler, or just plain boil it normally. HB 3-in-1 grill/griddle for the kitchen could be useful, but I have an old countertop grill already that I don't use much.
The Vivitar Terrain spotting scope and Bushnell binoculars are interesting, but I already have some old binoculars that are probably as good or better than these (just beat-up looking), and a little telescope.
Shop-vac, B&D battery powered drill/driver, leaf blower/vacuum could all be useful, if I didn't already have several vacuums and drills/drivers, and a leaf blower.
Mp3 player, surround sound speakers, backtrack gps, paper shredder, laptop bag, pda holders, cordless phones, electronic scales, led lanterns, luggage sets, desktop pc speakers, or ipod docks are not really useful, and I already have some of those things that other people were going to toss out. Solar security light is interesting but not sufficiently so.
Of slight interest are a pair of walkie talkies with various accessories, including NOAA weather channel reception, but I dont' really have anyone I'd use them with, other than training the dogs, perhaps. Curiosity makes me ponder the battery or hand crank operated weather/am/fm radio, but I can make my own generator for any of the existing such radios I have, should power somehow be out long enough to drain all of the many many many battery packs I have around here.
That doesnt' really leave much; there are two cameras that might see a fair bit of use, though: A Vivitar Vivicam iTwist 7.1MP still, with 2gb SD card, and a Vivitar 3.1MP HD movie digicam with 4GB SD card.
I don't know the model numbers for them, but searches turn up reviews with pictures that look like the one in the catalog for the 7028, like this:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6147799&CatId=3622
however reviews everywhere for this camera arent' so good. Focus seems to be a real problem for it, and that's something I already have problems with on my old Sony digicam, whcih would be the primary reason I would want a different one if I'm getting it for free anyway. So if it cant' focus properly, and has no manual focus mode, I probably would skip it.
I can't find anything that matches the image of the movie digicam; the ones that look most similar all have higher specs than the one on the catalog, so I don't know what other people thought of them. I sent an email to the catalog company to get the actual model numbers of the items, so I can look up details, reviews, etc., but I dunno how long it will take to get an answer or if they will ever actually do so.
Other issues, too, but those are the big ones. 
