Author Topic: 2017 Free Crap Thread (Read 49711 times)

pbj · « **on:** January 03, 2017, 02:20:20 pm »

2016 was pretty successful, but it's time for a new thread.

The work waddle incentive program rolled 10% of my points forward, which automatically bumped me up two status levels, and I'm already sitting on $43 in Amazon.

Stay tuned...

smass · « **Reply #1 on:** January 03, 2017, 03:14:05 pm »

Maybe we should merge the dumpster dive thread with this one? lol

ChadTower · « **Reply #2 on:** January 03, 2017, 03:28:34 pm »

Ugh, the work waddle programs. My employer gives out hundreds each year to people who pledge to stop smoking. You can only get it if you are listed on your insurance as a smoker (there are valid reasons to NOT do this) and none of the people who get it ever actually quit. But the still get the money. It's basically a reward program for smoking and lying that costs the rest of us even more money on top of the hits to the cost pool they're already giving us.

Nephasth · « **Reply #3 on:** January 03, 2017, 04:54:13 pm »

People with families get 3 extra "family illness" days off at my company. But I don't ---smurfette--- about it, I just enjoy not having crumb catchers to pay for. Enjoy your non-diseased lungs and quit worrying about others.

pbj · « **Reply #4 on:** January 03, 2017, 05:10:51 pm »

That smoker thing, ugh. Thanks to a data entry error, I had insurance pop up that I was a smoker and spent months fighting it (it did something ridiculous like double my monthly premium). What amazes me is that the questionnaires don't take frequency and length of smoking into consideration - it's a "have you ever" situation. (and I answered no anyway)

Granted, I probably managed to go through one carton's worth of Marlboro Reds in college and haven't touched the things in 20 years, but I get to lie to doctors the rest of my life about it cause if that ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- shows up on my medical record again, break out the wallet and prepare to take blood tests if you want to argue it.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #5 on:** January 03, 2017, 10:29:10 pm »

Yeah the AHCA got rid of the pre-existing condition, which is great and helps a lot of people, but insurance companies are still greedy evil sobs. They've invented the concept of charging "unhealthy people" more to compensate. Funny how healthy people don't get a discount though. This crap is going to continue until we get universal health care, which we probably should have had 20 years ago.

ChadTower · « **Reply #6 on:** January 04, 2017, 09:14:44 am »

Our provider doesn't change price based on that answer. Smokers get charged the same as anyone else. The incentive program is a "cost control and health improvement reward". Practically, though, it's a discount relative to the nonsmokers. It wouldn't bother me if they were being charged more in the first place.

Won't be long before anyone over a certain BMI is paying more, too.

CCM · « **Reply #7 on:** January 04, 2017, 10:40:53 am »

Well, this derailed from free crap pretty quickly.

Quote from: Howard_Casto on January 03, 2017, 10:29:10 pm

Yeah the AHCA got rid of the pre-existing condition, which is great and helps a lot of people, but insurance companies are still greedy evil sobs. They've invented the concept of charging "unhealthy people" more to compensate. Funny how healthy people don't get a discount though. This crap is going to continue until we get universal health care, which we probably should have had 20 years ago.

It was the ACA (Affordable Care Act) that got rid of pre-existing conditions, not the AHCA (The American Health Care Association). I'm going to bet that we will never have universal health care in this country.

Quote from: ChadTower on January 04, 2017, 09:14:44 am

Won't be long before anyone over a certain BMI is paying more, too.

Is that a bad thing? People want universal health care, cheaper premiums, lower co-pays, etc... But they can't be bothered to get their lazy asses off the couch and stay healthy. They want to drink nothing but soda, eat fast food and when they end up with diabetes, they want their health care for free. Or end up with lung cancer from smoking, or cirrhosis of the liver from drinking, etc, etc, etc...

I get that some people will be predisposed to certain conditions, but it's the people that stack the deck against themselves that drive me crazy.

ChadTower · « **Reply #8 on:** January 04, 2017, 11:25:40 am »

Quote from: CCM on January 04, 2017, 10:40:53 am

I get that some people will be predisposed to certain conditions, but it's the people that stack the deck against themselves that drive me crazy.

Pretty much.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #9 on:** January 04, 2017, 02:52:32 pm »

Quote from: CCM on January 04, 2017, 10:40:53 am

Well, this derailed from free crap pretty quickly.

Quote from: Howard_Casto on January 03, 2017, 10:29:10 pm
Yeah the AHCA got rid of the pre-existing condition, which is great and helps a lot of people, but insurance companies are still greedy evil sobs. They've invented the concept of charging "unhealthy people" more to compensate. Funny how healthy people don't get a discount though. This crap is going to continue until we get universal health care, which we probably should have had 20 years ago.

It was the ACA (Affordable Care Act) that got rid of pre-existing conditions, not the AHCA (The American Health Care Association). I'm going to bet that we will never have universal health care in this country.

Quote from: ChadTower on January 04, 2017, 09:14:44 am

Won't be long before anyone over a certain BMI is paying more, too.

Is that a bad thing? People want universal health care, cheaper premiums, lower co-pays, etc... But they can't be bothered to get their lazy asses off the couch and stay healthy. They want to drink nothing but soda, eat fast food and when they end up with diabetes, they want their health care for free. Or end up with lung cancer from smoking, or cirrhosis of the liver from drinking, etc, etc, etc...

I get that some people will be predisposed to certain conditions, but it's the people that stack the deck against themselves that drive me crazy.

AHCA = affordable health care act. Sorry I added an extra letter, but I'm well aware of most health care policies here in the States.

Yes it's absolutely a bad thing that some people get charged more for the exact same service. It borderlines on being unconstitutional. The thing is the people that are typically the most unhealthy are poor people. Poor people have a hard time regaining their health because of minor inconveniences like working themselves to the bone to keep from starving to death due to their crappy wage. You know, because greedy idgits don't want to increase the minimum wage. If all men are endowed certain inalienable rights including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness then it's just common sense that we should have universal healthcare. If you are ill your right to life is being endangered. If you are constantly sick then it's extremely difficult to pursue happiness.

People will absolutely abuse the system, no matter which system is in place, that's just life. You don't punish all the good people in the world because of a few bad apples.

You want to fix the world, look at Star Trek TNG. On earth all the amenities are free. You get food, shelter, ect. If you want anything beyond that, you work.

CCM · « **Reply #10 on:** January 04, 2017, 03:35:41 pm »

Quote from: Howard_Casto on January 04, 2017, 02:52:32 pm

AHCA = affordable health care act. Sorry I added an extra letter, but I'm well aware of most health care policies here in the States.

AHCA = affordable health care act = wrong.

It's not called, or referred to as, the affordable health care act.... it is the affordable care act.

https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/affordable-care-act/

harveybirdman · « **Reply #11 on:** January 04, 2017, 03:56:59 pm »

this is the free crap thread, not the costs me 10 times as much as 8 yrs ago thread.

CCM · « **Reply #12 on:** January 04, 2017, 04:02:51 pm »

Quote from: harveybirdman on January 04, 2017, 03:56:59 pm

this is the free crap thread, not the costs me 10 times as much as 8 yrs ago thread.

haha, yea this tread got super hijacked. We need PBJ to post more of his scams to get it back on topic.

pbj · « **Reply #13 on:** January 04, 2017, 04:58:59 pm »

Took the mental well being survey and didn't get the "Call 911" pop up this year, so I've got that going for me. Which is nice. 2 more Amazon dollars in hand.

pbj · « **Reply #14 on:** January 26, 2017, 04:42:59 pm »

! No longer available

Adios Coke Rewards. It was fun.

thomas_surles · « **Reply #15 on:** January 26, 2017, 04:56:53 pm »

so do you want all these rewards I saved for you?

pbj · « **Reply #16 on:** January 26, 2017, 05:05:00 pm »

Well, yes.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #17 on:** January 26, 2017, 07:20:31 pm »

Well crap. I'll tell mom. She has a metric ton collected.

pbj · « **Reply #18 on:** February 01, 2017, 11:16:56 am »

Walmart has the Pokemon Go Plus wristbands in stock. Finally used that $10 gift card I hoarded from the Groupon deal on that hard drive.

pbj · « **Reply #19 on:** February 17, 2017, 02:13:19 pm »

And.... my local Outback is gone. Still sitting on $65 in gift cards.

yotsuya · « **Reply #20 on:** February 17, 2017, 06:01:42 pm »

Quote from: pbj on February 17, 2017, 02:13:19 pm

And.... my local Outback is gone. Still sitting on $65 in gift cards.

Send them to the ZapCon Eats committee, we'll put them to good use.

pbj · « **Reply #21 on:** February 18, 2017, 01:42:24 am »

Got an apology email from Wal-Mart because that filler item Kit Kat bar came a week late.... And a $5 gift card.

Also got FitBit to replace my tracker. Took a Better Business Bureau complaint but they hopped to. I've killed two of their $150 trackers in 53 weeks. Let's see how long replacement #2 lasts.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #22 on:** February 18, 2017, 07:17:48 pm »

Not long. My mom gets them for "free" via her companies incentive plan and fitbits seem to only be reliable for women who aren't hard on their stuff. My father in law had to have his replaced twice and the one I am wearing is patched together with superglue.

Not free but pretty cheap.... Charleston's Sears, which has been in business for 30 years, is closing. They are selling off the shelving units and such. I got 6 massive 2'x4' glass shelves with hardware for 20 bucks. Most of the stuff was really cheap, but their display furniture is so huge that it would be hard to fit in a normal sized room. They are putting more on sale as they empty the shelves, so once they start selling the smaller displays in the tool section I'll pick some up. Sadly no 2600 kiosks rotting away in a corner or anything.

pbj · « **Reply #23 on:** February 18, 2017, 07:38:21 pm »

So, Fit Bit uses a Filipino call center, and I work alongside a Filipino. Apparently they'll give you whatever you want if you speak Tagalog. She landed everyone upgraded models free of charge when all their Fitbit Charge units fell apart.

Problem is I have the more expensive Charge HR with the heart rate monitor, and they don't like coughing up replacements. Due to the design, it's basically impossible to repair the things. Tape covers up the sensor and I tried three types of glue and none would bond. I think the Houston heat and humidity kills them.

Sears has been a sad place for many years. You probably got those shelves for 0.1% of what they cost.

yotsuya · « **Reply #24 on:** February 18, 2017, 09:23:13 pm »

I went through 2 fitbits. Both times the damn bands just came apart. Whodathunk using glue to hold the bands together was a bad idea?

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #25 on:** February 18, 2017, 09:59:44 pm »

Yeah mine's the HR and like I said, it keeps falling apart. I just bought a 5 pack of super glue at the dollar store and I throw a dab on when the band starts to fall off again. It's a really poor design. If the rubber went on the underside of the sensor as well I think they would hold up better.

Actually our Sears does good business and is extremely popular. Things started to go a bit downhill last year when they eliminated the electronics dept. This one is the largest in the region... three floors with a bijillion square feet per floor and an auto center across the street. I talked to the floor manager. He said that Sears holdings actually own the building and they are shutting it down because the property value has went up to the point of where they can make a ton just selling the building. Forget about the people that have worked there 30 years... Sear's CEO needs a new yacht.

It's going to be hard now. That was our last major appliance store besides the dreaded Best Buy. I guess we could start buying stuff at Lowes/Home Dept. but their prices are generally pretty high on that stuff.

Anyway, I'm going to clean them out I think. They had plexi cubbie holes... 20 for 20 dollars, some computer POS terminals that they haven't put on sale yet and all kinds of junk that I really don't need but can't pass up the huge discount.

pbj · « **Reply #26 on:** February 18, 2017, 10:33:06 pm »

The newer ones are more like a watchband that clips to the ends of the sensor. Apparently some of them are actually, gasp, water resistant now. Grousing aside, they're very accurate on step counts and I've waddled my way to hundreds in Amazon gift cards.

dkersten · « **Reply #27 on:** February 20, 2017, 06:29:42 pm »

Sears was bought by Kmart in 2004, and both Kmart and Sears were smart in the early days and bought most of the property they opened stores on. They are actually one of the biggest realty holding companies in the world. It is really the only thing that has kept them in business for the last decade. We had 2 big Kmarts here, one closed about a decade ago and the land was sold off, and the other closed about 8 months ago, which is about 4 acres of some of the best retail property in the city. I am guessing that soon that area will be home to a slew of strip-mall stores (looks like the property is already sold off). The Sears is still kicking, but when you go in you wonder how they are still in business.. The shelves are barely stocked, the place is just plain dirty, and the staff acts like they are going to close the doors any minute. Their stock is way down this year and they are in the process of cutting a billion dollars per year in operating costs.

My dad has had the same problems with his fitbit, he is on his third and had an issue getting his first two exchanged. He finally just bought a new one at the end of last year and when the replacement finally came in for his last one a few months later, he gave it to my mom to replace her first one that broke. I got one for my GF at Christmas and it is still holding up, but we will see. My brother had to replace one already, but the rest of the family has had pretty good luck with them. Same problems - usually with the band..

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #28 on:** February 20, 2017, 08:31:37 pm »

Well that's the thing. Business was still booming in this particular Sears, they regularly remodeled, ect.... I think it's the largest in the State, maybe in the tri-state area. Word on the street is that two middle-of-the-road restaurants are going to buy it. That mall already has an Outback and Olive Garden... we don't really need anymore cruddy places to eat.

pbj · « **Reply #29 on:** February 20, 2017, 11:48:18 pm »

Quote from: yotsuya on February 17, 2017, 06:01:42 pm

Quote from: pbj on February 17, 2017, 02:13:19 pm
And.... my local Outback is gone. Still sitting on $65 in gift cards.
Send them to the ZapCon Eats committee, we'll put them to good use.

Won't be too embarrassed to hand a waiter a stack of emails addressed to pinballjim?

yotsuya · « **Reply #30 on:** February 20, 2017, 11:49:50 pm »

Quote from: pbj on February 20, 2017, 11:48:18 pm

Quote from: yotsuya on February 17, 2017, 06:01:42 pm
Quote from: pbj on February 17, 2017, 02:13:19 pm
And.... my local Outback is gone. Still sitting on $65 in gift cards.
Send them to the ZapCon Eats committee, we'll put them to good use.

Won't be too embarrassed to hand a waiter a stack of emails addressed to pinballjim?

For a free Bloomin' Onion? Ain't no thang.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #31 on:** February 21, 2017, 12:20:27 am »

Eh, I'm more of a Wendy's guy myself. It isn't that the food sucks, it's the waiting a frikkin' hour for them to bring it out. I'm with Yots... send them to the ZapCon guys.

Nephasth · « **Reply #32 on:** February 21, 2017, 10:41:22 am »

Quote from: Howard_Casto on February 21, 2017, 12:20:27 am

It isn't that the food sucks...

Even though it does...

pbj · « **Reply #33 on:** February 21, 2017, 04:44:20 pm »

Their wings are fine, and $65 will get you ~80 of them.

Send me a PM with your e-mail address, Yot, and I'll kick the gift cards your way.

yotsuya · « **Reply #34 on:** February 21, 2017, 06:04:05 pm »

Quote from: pbj on February 21, 2017, 04:44:20 pm

Their wings are fine, and $65 will get you ~80 of them.

Send me a PM with your e-mail address, Yot, and I'll kick the gift cards your way.

Sure thing!

I promise they're going to feed out of state guests for ZapCon

pbj · « **Reply #35 on:** February 22, 2017, 11:44:18 am »

Still waiting on that e-mail address.....

yotsuya · « **Reply #36 on:** February 22, 2017, 05:07:57 pm »

Sorry, had a second job interview today. Send good vibes my way, people, I'd really like to transition into this new position...

P.M. Sent

pbj · « **Reply #37 on:** February 22, 2017, 05:19:37 pm »

You're not going to be selling steak knives, are you?

Gift cards have been sent. I expect a photo of Nephasth putting my meat in his mouth.

yotsuya · « **Reply #38 on:** February 22, 2017, 05:43:31 pm »

No, it's still in education, but it's out of the regular classroom.

Thanks for the points, James. I don't know why people think you're an ---uvula---. Your shirt is on me. I'll even send you the non-tirekicker version.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #39 on:** February 22, 2017, 10:07:33 pm »

Quote from: yotsuya on February 22, 2017, 05:43:31 pm

Thanks for the points, James. I don't know why people think you're an ---uvula---.

Because of the words that come out of his mouth. I have a similar ailment.

pbj · « **Reply #40 on:** February 28, 2017, 03:41:40 pm »

Wal-Mart KitKat gift card stacked with My Coke Rewards gift cards and thus Pokemon Go Plus and KitKat #2 are on their merry way to my house. My wife was getting way, way too far ahead of me with hers.

thomas_surles · « **Reply #41 on:** March 03, 2017, 09:56:49 am »

One of the only benefits of managing a gas station is the free candy racks. Not sure what im going to do with it. I was thinking about putting my consoles on it. Or some other game related display.

Could also use it as a closet organizer or something.

pbj · « **Reply #42 on:** March 03, 2017, 10:02:08 am »

Start taking home 'free' candy a pocketful at a time and make your own household candy rack. Sell items to house guests for $1 each.

Duh.

thomas_surles · « **Reply #43 on:** March 03, 2017, 10:08:37 am »

Thats a thought.

yotsuya · « **Reply #44 on:** March 03, 2017, 10:55:38 am »

Wirecade.

pbj · « **Reply #45 on:** March 03, 2017, 10:56:53 am »

Yeah, use zip ties to dangle a Pi off it.

Mike A · « **Reply #46 on:** March 03, 2017, 11:00:23 am »

Zip ties are too expensive. Peel some gum from beneath the checkout counter. I know its there. My family owned and ran gas stations since before I was born.

thomas_surles · « **Reply #47 on:** March 03, 2017, 11:21:31 am »

Cant wait to see the look of hate on my wifes face when i drag this inside later.

pbj · « **Reply #48 on:** March 03, 2017, 11:30:45 am »

Isn't that the wife that spent $30k on Runescape and shacked up with her online side piece in Tennessee or something?

If so, that candy rack goes in your dining room.

Mike A · « **Reply #49 on:** March 03, 2017, 11:32:49 am »

Do you have any of those ice bins shaped like a Red Bull can or a Coke bottle? Those are good for parties. They are waist high and roll around on wheels. Women love them. They are really classy.

yotsuya · « **Reply #50 on:** March 03, 2017, 12:00:44 pm »

Quote from: pbj on March 03, 2017, 11:30:45 am

Isn't that the wife that spent $30k on Runescape and shacked up with her online side piece in Tennessee or something?

If so, that candy rack goes in your dining room.

That's why homie should be making plans to room with DeL at ZapCon...

thomas_surles · « **Reply #51 on:** March 03, 2017, 12:06:28 pm »

Quote from: Mike A on March 03, 2017, 11:32:49 am

Do you have any of those ice bins shaped like a Red Bull can or a Coke bottle? Those are good for parties. They are waist high and roll around on wheels. Women love them. They are really classy.

Had a red bull one for a while and sold it.

@pbj it was game war. And they never shacked up. Just exchanged pics and texted or whatever.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #52 on:** March 03, 2017, 02:42:32 pm »

Quote from: thomas_surles on March 03, 2017, 09:56:49 am

One of the only benefits of managing a gas station is the free candy racks. Not sure what im going to do with it. I was thinking about putting my consoles on it. Or some other game related display.

Could also use it as a closet organizer or something.

Sears has some wire shelving like that. They are putting their stuff up for sale as it empties up. I'm going to have enough to open a store when all is said and done.

I've got my consoles in wire cubes similar to that atm. Since light can go through the display looks a lot brighter, so I say go for it. You might want to paint it black first.

pbj · « **Reply #53 on:** March 06, 2017, 06:54:53 pm »

Won really, really good Alicia Keys tickets today. Contemplating going versus flipping for Switch money.

thomas_surles · « **Reply #54 on:** March 06, 2017, 07:09:48 pm »

Flip.

pbj · « **Reply #55 on:** March 06, 2017, 07:26:43 pm »

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #56 on:** March 07, 2017, 12:58:55 am »

Well I haven't checked the stock yet, but you might not be able to get a switch anyway. Reggie tweeted something about the switch outselling any console Nintendo has ever released in the US for the first 2 days. Of course that could be because they actually produced enough to have it in stock this time.

pbj · « **Reply #57 on:** March 07, 2017, 10:28:41 am »

People sighting them at area Wal-Marts and posting on Facebook here. Given as there are no games out for it I'm content to wait.

My wife wants to go to the concert anyway, so I'll post pics later this week.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #58 on:** March 07, 2017, 10:29:20 pm »

Eh the dreaded wife/girlfriend veto. I feel you.

pbj · « **Reply #59 on:** March 08, 2017, 02:55:29 pm »

Eh, she was the one griping I didn't pre-order a Switch. So.... win some, lose some.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #60 on:** March 08, 2017, 08:50:28 pm »

Quote from: pbj on March 08, 2017, 02:55:29 pm

Eh, she was the one griping I didn't pre-order a Switch. So.... win some, lose some.

Well they've sold well AND they still have stock. Nintendo learning! Who would have thunk it! It looks like, around here at least the smaller stores are out, but the larger stores still have a decent amount of stock. I saw some of the game boxes.... they are a special size which means they are going to be a pain in the butt to put on dvd shelves.

Since you have a Wii U I really don't see the rush. Unless you are really into bomber man or something.

thomas_surles · « **Reply #61 on:** March 08, 2017, 08:56:27 pm »

I wouldn't rush. Id wait until the holidays at the very least. Unlike ps4 and xbox one, the nintendo consoles arent usually centered around online gaming. (Aside from a couple games) so you dont feel like you missed out on all the fun when you finally get to play a game.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #62 on:** March 08, 2017, 09:10:05 pm »

Eh I dunno. The latest Smash Bros. Mario Kart and Splatoon were very online centric. Mind you Mario Kart 8 still has a large online presence now, so it still wouldn't matter.

pbj · « **Reply #63 on:** March 10, 2017, 01:58:01 pm »

So, this is a pretty weak hustle, but if you're around an unattended machine....

Get the Coke Freestyle app. Make a custom drink and save it. Go to one of those mix your own combination Coke fountains. Scan the QR code on the machine, select your custom drink on the screen, tap the pour button, and walk away. Every 5 times you do this (limited to once per day) you get a $5 Amazon gift card, limit of 2 cards in March.

I walk through a food court on my daily Pokemon Go route, so it's pretty quick and easy. The employees at Chik Fil A are starting to look at me funny but meh.

Mike A · « **Reply #64 on:** March 10, 2017, 02:03:53 pm »

Every bit helps.

pbj · « **Reply #65 on:** March 10, 2017, 02:12:32 pm »

Quote from: Mike A on March 10, 2017, 02:03:53 pm

Every bit helps.

Yeah, the goal is to get a Switch for $0 out of pocket and lord it over Howard.

Mike A · « **Reply #66 on:** March 10, 2017, 02:13:06 pm »

Ya gotta have goals in life.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #67 on:** March 10, 2017, 03:37:17 pm »

Quote from: pbj on March 10, 2017, 02:12:32 pm

Quote from: Mike A on March 10, 2017, 02:03:53 pm
Every bit helps.

Yeah, the goal is to get a Switch for $0 out of pocket and lord it over Howard.

Feel free. I'm not interested in one until another big game is released.

RayB · « **Reply #68 on:** March 13, 2017, 03:07:55 pm »

Quote from: pbj on March 10, 2017, 01:58:01 pm

I walk through a food court on my daily Pokemon Go route...

pbj · « **Reply #69 on:** March 13, 2017, 03:21:42 pm »

40 year old man on a video game message board criticizes a 40 year old man for playing video games.

Anyway, your post reminded me I hadn't hit them up today, so thanks for that.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #70 on:** March 13, 2017, 07:45:42 pm »

I support anything that gets pbj off his arse and moving around.

thomas_surles · « **Reply #71 on:** March 18, 2017, 02:58:02 pm »

Scored a couple more display cases from work. These have adjustable shelves and plexi fronts. Now i just need to clean them up/paint and find some collectables or sonething to stick in them for my gameroom.

pbj · « **Reply #72 on:** March 18, 2017, 03:53:28 pm »

Your water pipe collection would look good in there.

thomas_surles · « **Reply #73 on:** March 18, 2017, 07:51:21 pm »

Quote from: pbj on March 18, 2017, 03:53:28 pm

Your water pipe collection would look good in there.

I dont think an old Gatorade bottle with aluminum foil on it will display nicely.

thomas_surles · « **Reply #74 on:** March 19, 2017, 08:08:06 am »

I was thinking for the smaller one, i can get some picture frame stands and put all my hand helds in there. Gameboy/color/advance, psp game gear and ds. Maybe put som graphics on there and change them into mini World of Nintendo Cases.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #75 on:** March 20, 2017, 05:25:38 pm »

I got the last of my Sears loads the other day. That's what I'm doing essentially.... I'll make a world of Nintendo cabinet from all the glass shelves and some shelving racks I also bought. A couple of angle irons, a sheet of plywood for the bottom shelves.... no problem!

pbj · « **Reply #76 on:** March 23, 2017, 10:53:22 am »

So, I missed UPS by 10 minutes last night, and apparently they have a system of "driver discretion" where the item is now taken to a "UPS Access Point" which in reality is a seedy gas station - rather than attempt re-delivery. My FedEx buddy tells me they're doing the same with Walgreen's.

I have a Best Buy approximately 2 miles from my house, but decided to have it shipped because "shipping is free!" and "I don't want to bother with going to Best Buy!"

Now I gotta drive 10 miles to get my item.

Anyway, picture a $15 sound bar here.

pbj · « **Reply #77 on:** March 23, 2017, 03:53:29 pm »

Here's the dump where I'm headed. Smack in the middle of the prostitution tolerance zone....

Maybe I'll buy some crack while I'm there, UPS.

Nephasth · « **Reply #78 on:** March 23, 2017, 03:58:31 pm »

It's a one-stop-shop.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #79 on:** March 23, 2017, 08:10:23 pm »

I'm more curious as to what a "washateria" is. It sounds like either a food court where they hose you down afterwards, or something with a happy ending... possibly both.

pbj · « **Reply #80 on:** March 23, 2017, 10:18:34 pm »

Yep, sketchy as ---fudgesicle---. The actual inside of the gas station was fine, but I hauled ass out of that parking lot. Looks like I'm avoiding UPS for a few years again.

I got a soundbar with HDMI ARC under the impression it would eliminate the need for a second remote. Thus far no luck on that front.

Anyway, Best Buy flash sale combined with ebay coupon got it down to $115 shipped. Not too bad.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lg-2-1-channel-soundbar-system-with-wireless-subwoofer-black/4899104.p?skuId=4899104

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #81 on:** March 24, 2017, 12:04:56 am »

Heh. I used to be leery about bad neighborhoods, but then I remembered what I look like. For whatever reason a portion of the population is terrified of me. Maybe it's my sunny disposition.

What brand sound bar?

So I'm getting what I can from coke rewards. A bunch of random sized gift cards thus far.... not really enough to get anything, but enough to give a discount anyway. I'm also looking at the shutter fly stuff. Does anyone have any experience on their policy with copyrighted images? I think it'd be cool to get some game flyer canvas art or make a tapestry out of their photo blankets, ect. I mean we still have a ton of points and with the wait period between gift cards my guess is we'll have a ton left over.

Oh and heads up.... my Walmart's at least, are starting to heavily discount the Wii U stuff to make room for the Switch. I got a pro controller for 12 bucks, sensor bars are practically free and most of the amiibo are discounted, with some characters as low as three bucks. I should have picked some of the better ones up (3 dollar Ryu for instance), but I'm terrified that once I start I'll go full pokemon and start collecting the damn things.

nukie · « **Reply #82 on:** March 24, 2017, 08:40:14 am »

Shutterfly has a policy of not printing known copyrighted material. With that said, while I've never printed anything that large, I've had pretty good success with prints of box art and game maps. I imagine if you tried to print something widely known you might have an issue.

pbj · « **Reply #83 on:** March 24, 2017, 09:34:01 am »

Sound bar is LG. I woke up early this morning to dick around with it. With a different HDMI cable, the TV speakers would shut off, but no sound from the bar. Using the TV remote appeared to be doing something to the sound bar, the volume bar was a different color and moving up and down on the TV screen, and the bar turned off and on with the TV.

So I also plugged in the optical cable.... theoretically completely unnecessary.... and it works.

So, for whatever reason, the Philips TV and LG sound bar aren't passing audio information back and forth across HDMI, but everything else is fine.

Stuff like this is why I detest anything related to home theaters. Did a lot of researching and price monitoring and it's still some "shouldn't fix it but it does" situation.

dkersten · « **Reply #84 on:** March 24, 2017, 10:38:53 am »

On some TV's you have to disable the internal speakers to get it to pass audio through HDMI. A lot of older equipment, and some new equipment, will not process 5.1 and stereo at the same time either. So if the signal is 5.1 and the TV is processing it as stereo, it won't pass the 5.1 to the soundbar (and vice versa) through HDMI.

pbj · « **Reply #85 on:** March 24, 2017, 10:44:52 am »

Yeah, with "EasyLink" which is what Philips calls HDMI-ARC, it disables the TV speakers automatically once the soundbar boots up.

Anyway, with both cables connected everything behaves as it should.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #86 on:** March 24, 2017, 01:14:47 pm »

Quote from: nukie on March 24, 2017, 08:40:14 am

Shutterfly has a policy of not printing known copyrighted material. With that said, while I've never printed anything that large, I've had pretty good success with prints of box art and game maps. I imagine if you tried to print something widely known you might have an issue.

I was thinking maybe the nes Castlevania box art. For the blankets maybe something Zelda related? I could probably make a design myself on that one and dodge the copyright issue.

pbj · « **Reply #87 on:** March 29, 2017, 04:44:14 pm »

Got my second $5 gift card from Coke. They updated the app and pulsing the machines didn't seem to work anymore, I had to push the "pour" button until the screen said Enjoy! Seemed about 5 seconds.

Probably a more discreet way of doing it would have been to photograph the QR code, sit within bluetooth range of the machine, and scan the photo during peak times. I don't think anyone would notice anything that way. Oh well, I had no qualms about walking into cafeterias, scanning, and walking out so your mileage may vary.

pbj · « **Reply #88 on:** April 03, 2017, 08:53:07 pm »

Went to Walmart in search of Amiibos, wandered the parking lot gathering receipts and scanning into their app.

I made a whopping 4 cents!

Also, people buy weird ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- at Walmart. One receipt was 15 bottles of chocolate syrup, ten bottles of bbq sauce. That was one hell of a party I didn't attend.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #89 on:** April 03, 2017, 09:48:41 pm »

Sorry you came up empty. I would offer to ship you some, but with shipping costs as they are it probably wouldn't be worth it. I'm going again Wednesday. Hopefully those 6-8 dollar amiibos have been marked down some more.

yotsuya · « **Reply #90 on:** April 03, 2017, 09:56:01 pm »

Quote from: pbj on April 03, 2017, 08:53:07 pm

Also, people buy weird ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- at Walmart. One receipt was 15 bottles of chocolate syrup, ten bottles of bbq sauce. That was one hell of a party I didn't attend.

Someone's getting ready for ZapCon....

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #91 on:** April 03, 2017, 10:03:48 pm »

That chocolate syrup better be for sundaes.

So more coke rewards clean up. With amazon cards and a 15 dollar mail in rebate card plus the remaining cash back from my credit card I snagged a Super Everdrive for 14 bucks.

Still got more points to claim. This will be a summer of oddball 10-20 dollar freebies.

yotsuya · « **Reply #92 on:** April 03, 2017, 10:05:53 pm »

Quote from: Howard_Casto on April 03, 2017, 10:03:48 pm

That chocolate syrup better be for sundaes.

Walking into PBJ, DeL, and Nephasth's hotel room...

pbj · « **Reply #93 on:** April 03, 2017, 10:55:42 pm »

I donated my remaining coke points to Special Olympics. I'm still waiting on those Fiesta Texas tickets I won six months ago.

No need to mail me Amiibos, if the cloning to key chains actually works I'll kick a few Howard's direction.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #94 on:** April 04, 2017, 01:06:06 am »

Yeah I know there's no way I can spend em' all so I'll eventually donate the rest, but me and mom have been saving this stupid things for so long I'm going to get what I can out of them. We had 3 buckets of caps nobody managed to input in time.

I'm hopelessly addicted to useless little statues now. R.O.B. really sold me.... a heck of a lot of detail for such a little figure.

pbj · « **Reply #95 on:** April 04, 2017, 10:05:55 am »

Groupon settlement has been awarded. I have $12.98 in my account. Might be worth a look if you still have a Groupon login.

pbj · « **Reply #96 on:** April 05, 2017, 10:34:22 am »

So, Humble Bundle people are doing PS4 games for the next couple of weeks...

https://www.humblebundle.com/thq-nordic-playstation-bundle

$1 gets you a copy of Arcania. You can use Amazon Payments. Grinding surveys on mturk can fund Amazon payments, and it should only take 10-15 minutes to make a dollar.

HaRuMaN · « **Reply #97 on:** April 05, 2017, 11:39:52 am »

I know a lot of you (including me) shop at Harbor Freight from time to time...

If you have receipts or debit / credit card statements you might be eligible for cash or harbor freight credit.

Story here:

http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2017/03/harbor_freight_tools_settlemen.html

Claim site here:

http://www.nationalsalepricesettlement.com/

pbj · « **Reply #98 on:** April 05, 2017, 11:43:45 am »

You can also get a $10 gift card without any receipts. That's how I'm filing.

EDIT - meh, nevermind. You have to mail the form in without statements, no online filing. I pulled up some old Harbor Freight charges, most of them were $20... lot of work for $2 a pop.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #99 on:** April 05, 2017, 12:41:07 pm »

So as noted in the heads up thread, I got Ryse, Evolve and Darksiders for free. Also I believe I timed the activation right to where I'll get part of next month's games as well. If they keep giving away the better tier games like they have the last couple of months I might have to actually start paying for gold. I wouldn't use it for online play though, which is why I canceled my subscription all the way back in the 360 days.

pbj · « **Reply #100 on:** April 08, 2017, 03:18:03 am »

67 surveys later, I own the $15 bundle with all the PS4 games. Not worth it.

pbj · « **Reply #101 on:** April 10, 2017, 01:13:03 pm »

The bundle is actually quite fun. There's a rough but enjoyable point and click adventure called Deponia I had never heard about before. Darksiders seems like some God of War ripoff for people that are obsessed with satanic imagery. Super Dungeon Bros is garbage.

The Coke dispenser Amazon gift card promotion is back on, so time to start pouring samples at the fountains again.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #102 on:** April 10, 2017, 01:42:23 pm »

Darksiders is a GOW ripoff for people that have an xbox. Doesn't matter anyway as all of those mechanics were stolen from ubisoft games.

I've got think that the people at that food court think you are special needs or something at this point. "Yeah I don't know what that guy's deal is but something bad must have happened. Every day he comes up and taps all the dispensers like 10 times. He must have a compulsive disorder or something."

yotsuya · « **Reply #103 on:** April 10, 2017, 07:53:59 pm »

Quote from: Howard_Casto on April 10, 2017, 01:42:23 pm

Darksiders is a GOW ripoff for people that have an xbox. Doesn't matter anyway as all of those mechanics were stolen from ubisoft games.

I've got think that the people at that food court think you are special needs or something at this point. "Yeah I don't know what that guy's deal is but something bad must have happened. Every day he comes up and taps all the dispensers like 10 times. He must have a compulsive disorder or something."

Just mumble "What is the frequency, Kenneth?" as you push the buttons, and they'll leave you alone.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #104 on:** April 10, 2017, 10:23:14 pm »

Nephasth · « **Reply #105 on:** April 10, 2017, 11:27:41 pm »

A friend won concert tickets last week to Kreator/Obituary/Midnight/others. There was another contest sign up when we picked up the tickets. Thought "what the hell"... And won 'em!

pbj · « **Reply #106 on:** April 10, 2017, 11:56:04 pm »

Aol.com?

I've heard a few of their tracks. They've come through Houston before, and again this Sunday.

But I'm already tryng to shove three concerts on my long suffering wife.. Com Truise, Set to Stun, and Corey Feldman. My friend is opening for Corey. Gonna take a lot of conversations about feelings to pay those debts off.

. Then it's Front 242 in September but she doesn't know that yet. Shhh.

Slippyblade · « **Reply #107 on:** April 11, 2017, 12:39:08 am »

Darksiders was a great game, I loved it. Replayed it a few times, even. I found the lore and the story very enjoyable, and the combat, while combo based, didn't feel like GoW to me at all.

Nephasth · « **Reply #108 on:** April 11, 2017, 09:27:16 am »

Quote from: pbj on April 10, 2017, 11:56:04 pm

Aol.com?

16 years...

pbj · « **Reply #109 on:** April 11, 2017, 09:34:25 am »

Pfft.. I've got a Hotmail account that is now 20 years old. Pre-Microsoft.

It can vote and star in pornos now.

thomas_surles · « **Reply #110 on:** April 11, 2017, 09:38:55 am »

Quote from: Nephasth on April 10, 2017, 11:27:41 pm

A friend won concert tickets last week to Kreator/Obituary/Midnight/others. There was another contest sign up when we picked up the tickets. Thought "what the hell"... And won 'em!

Hell yeah. Im going to Testament, Sepultura, Prong this saturday

Mike A · « **Reply #111 on:** April 11, 2017, 09:45:19 am »

My yahoo email account is only 14. Hands off.

pbj · « **Reply #112 on:** April 20, 2017, 03:19:01 pm »

Scanning the QR codes at the Coke machines is working again. Another $5! Turns out you can simply scan the code and walk away during busy times. I got something like 6 alerts telling me I can only get credit for 1 each day.

Also, free PS4 game here if you have a Power Up Rewards number:

https://www.powerupbonus.com/DigitalCode

(I managed to get 2 PS4 codes....)

pbj · « **Reply #113 on:** April 22, 2017, 10:59:31 am »

Round 2

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #114 on:** April 22, 2017, 02:43:37 pm »

Can't see your pic man.

pbj · « **Reply #115 on:** April 22, 2017, 08:46:26 pm »

. Wrong thread.

harveybirdman · « **Reply #116 on:** April 23, 2017, 12:03:50 am »

---fudgesicle--- yeah salted meat ftw. I wish you were comimy to Zapcon pbj... ---smurfin--- everyone is pusing out and I'd lime to buy you a beer

pbj · « **Reply #117 on:** May 01, 2017, 02:26:44 pm »

Coke -> Amazon gift card thing has been working well. Got my second $5 gift card instantly today.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #118 on:** May 01, 2017, 04:59:51 pm »

Yeah after I got a bunch of small denominations over the course of the last few weeks they open the flood gates. I probably could have gotten twice as much eCash. I've got some points left over... not sure what I'll do with them, maybe donate it.

pbj · « **Reply #119 on:** May 07, 2017, 02:49:06 pm »

First of two Famicom Minis arrived today. One will be passed through at cost to a friend, the other is for me.

10 minutes after opening it, it was flashed to English and every NES game ever was put on it.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #120 on:** May 07, 2017, 03:27:03 pm »

I've been avoiding that actually. After you throw them all on the good ones get lost in the shuffle. I want to put some tg-16 games on there as well.

pbj · « **Reply #121 on:** May 07, 2017, 05:04:45 pm »

There isn't a single TG16 game worth playing.

thomas_surles · « **Reply #122 on:** May 07, 2017, 05:51:53 pm »

Quote from: pbj on May 07, 2017, 05:04:45 pm

There isn't a single TG16 game worth playing.

Neutopia if you like legend of zelda rip offs

harveybirdman · « **Reply #123 on:** May 07, 2017, 06:02:57 pm »

Pattendly false. Lots of cool ass shmups on TG16

pbj · « **Reply #124 on:** May 07, 2017, 10:32:35 pm »

Meh, ---fudgesicle--- all shmups besides Galaga.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #125 on:** May 08, 2017, 01:04:03 am »

I spit up my drink a little on that one. That's like saying ---fudgesicle--- all sports games except pong.

I'm not going to pretend that the tg-16 library is great, there is a reason they lost the console war, but there are some great shooters on there and a fun game or two. Bonk comes to mind. It's kind of like the Neo-Geo with fighters... if you love them then you love the console... otherwise it's crap.

My goal on the NES classic is to mainly put on titles that are appropriate to play on two-button gamepads. So just my favorite NES, TG-16, Gameboy, ect..... Hell I might throw some Atari on there.

I'm glad you finally found a console though... now I can stop checking brickseek.

knave · « **Reply #126 on:** May 08, 2017, 12:00:23 pm »

I really enjoyed Military Madness on the TG16 the PS1 version (nectaris) but I prefer the shorter cutscene animations.

pbj · « **Reply #127 on:** May 08, 2017, 12:06:25 pm »

Back in the late 90s when I first started having real jobs and no supervision, I went back and revisited those also-ran systems. Thankfully, a guy I knew had a TG-16 with an extensive library so I dodged that financial bullet. The controllers were terrible and felt cheap and the games are basically bad NES games with slightly better graphics. I'd like to blame emulation but the real thing has that slap dash feel.

Blazing Lazers and Military Madness are decent games, but I don't care to revisit either of them.

Sadly nobody was around to warn me about the Atari Jaguar. Oh well, it was kind of neat ordering games from a cave in Missouri.

ChadTower · « **Reply #128 on:** May 08, 2017, 12:32:19 pm »

There is a tennis RPG on the TG16 that sounds really stupid but turns out to be fun. I loved that game.

And the CD had a LOT of great games on it if you go there.

pbj · « **Reply #129 on:** May 08, 2017, 02:20:39 pm »

So I flipped those Coke points into a couple of Wal-Mart gift cards. That combined with scrounging in the parking lot for receipts had me at a balance of $12 or so. Occasionally they'll put a used game on their website really cheap, and ship to store is free, so I'll take a look every now and then. I got Alien Isolation and some other random crap for like $5 each awhile back. (Alien Isolation was so delayed they just comped it to me free)

Anyway, last week this was on their website at $3.90, free shipping:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Birthdays-the-Beginning-Limited-Edition-PS4/55397219

Wal-Mart's generally a few cents cheaper than everyone else, so it was probably meant to be $39.90 for the regular edition.

After I got confirmation that the first one had actually shipped, I immediately put in a second order.

Second order was canceled this morning and the price corrected....

So now we wait to see what's in that first box... and promptly flip it to Amazon for gift cards.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #130 on:** May 08, 2017, 03:59:14 pm »

Yeah I've still got Walmart cards from coke rewards. They'll probably go towards something boring and practical like groceries. This whole needing food to live thing sucks.

pbj · « **Reply #131 on:** May 08, 2017, 08:51:01 pm »

Got a weird email from them saying the post office lost the package, they weren't replacng it, and here's your refund. I suppose time will tell regarding that tracking number.

This arrived...

Obviously an open box return, but mint condition and $75.

ChadTower · « **Reply #132 on:** May 09, 2017, 09:01:54 am »

Nice. And I dig Alien Poker. Good game.

pbj · « **Reply #133 on:** May 11, 2017, 02:56:35 pm »

So, when PSN puts something on sale, submit the lower price to Amazon. They'll match it within a couple of hours.

Everybody's Gone to the Rapture got down to $5 in free money, so I finally bought a copy.

Beat Deponia last night. That game.... just don't do it. It became an exercise of self mortification by the end of it.

ChadTower · « **Reply #134 on:** May 11, 2017, 03:32:47 pm »

Self mortification?

pbj · « **Reply #135 on:** May 11, 2017, 03:40:16 pm »

Okay, Chad, thanks. Let's get my eyebrow twitching.

I got about 40% through it before I gave up and got a walkthrough. Then I'd force myself to try and solve a puzzle for at least half an hour before I consulted it again. If the game actually used consistent logic and controls I might feel self conscious about it.

Turned out my first roadblock was not going through the same dialogue tree two times, which elicited a different response the second time around. What does that encourage? Saying the same ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- over and over to the same characters to see if it works again, and you were frequently stuck in 20ish second long banter over...and over... and over. It was never a solution to a puzzle again.

I suspect that it was a better experience on PC, but the logic problems, weird pronunciations in the voice acting, and occasional lapse in the text into German probably permeates all platforms.

It turned into a quest to beat it, just to say I did it.

I was going to post an amusing image of self mortification here, but I google searched it and saw some of the most disturbing ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- I've seen in my life. Just like Deponia.

ChadTower · « **Reply #136 on:** May 11, 2017, 04:32:19 pm »

I can relate to not using guides. I hate having to resort to looking up a solution. Pisses me off.

pbj · « **Reply #137 on:** May 18, 2017, 12:59:18 pm »

Remember when I used to get $1,250 in Outback gift cards? Well, now, I'm lucky to get this.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #138 on:** May 18, 2017, 02:47:50 pm »

So is that so you don't burn your hand when drinking your boiling hot coke? Bad marketing is bad.

ChadTower · « **Reply #139 on:** May 24, 2017, 03:48:45 pm »

That's his new alternative to sitting on his hand for 15 minutes.

pbj · « **Reply #140 on:** May 24, 2017, 04:11:25 pm »

Meh, nothing wrong with a ghoster.

thomas_surles · « **Reply #141 on:** May 24, 2017, 05:39:21 pm »

Quote from: pbj on May 24, 2017, 04:11:25 pm

Meh, nothing wrong with a ghoster.

Notice the pleasure bumps on that thing

pbj · « **Reply #142 on:** May 25, 2017, 03:37:24 pm »

Amazon has been steadily dropping the price on the Famicom Mini imports. I'm still within the return window. Fire up the chat, $13.10 refund in 2 minutes.

Between refunds, temporary price drops, and the ol cancel pending order and rebuy my order of 2 Famicom Minis that started off at $215 has come down to $160.46.

pbj · « **Reply #143 on:** June 14, 2017, 11:45:35 am »

Well, if you want an almost 'free' copy of Mass Effect Andromeda, buy 3 copies with promo code cag16 from Gamestop, and flip two of them to Amazon for gift cards. If you consider Amazon gift cards to be same as cash, you're down to basically $4 for a copy of a game that's like a week old.

Oh, and you can also use Amazon gift cards to buy Gamestop gift cards.

EDIT - Dead.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #144 on:** June 14, 2017, 12:59:32 pm »

Quote from: pbj on May 25, 2017, 03:37:24 pm

Amazon has been steadily dropping the price on the Famicom Mini imports. I'm still within the return window. Fire up the chat, $13.10 refund in 2 minutes.

Between refunds, temporary price drops, and the ol cancel pending order and rebuy my order of 2 Famicom Minis that started off at $215 has come down to $160.46.

Which is practically retail. No excuses people, get yourself a mini!

pbj · « **Reply #145 on:** June 14, 2017, 01:42:25 pm »

Admittedly, the controller mod is an extreme pain in the ass. The connectors are unavailable at any reasonable price from an American vendor. And the system is very difficult to play 2 players with the standard cords unless you REALLY like your friend and put the system between the two of you on a couch.

So factor another $10 for the cables, $2.50 for the connectors, and a month of waiting for a mod I consider mandatory.

Firewatch is on sale on PSN, so I'll be doing an Amazon -> PSN wallet flip and purchasing that. I think there's going to be a ton of stuff at $10 this holiday season....

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #146 on:** June 14, 2017, 03:01:22 pm »

Isn't everything we do in this hobby a pain in the ass though? If a person wasn't hell bent on doing the mod the "right" way they could just take an old controller cord and splice in an extension. I wouldn't recommend that, but still.

Anyway if a person wanted this as a replacement for the NES classic, the NES Classic still needs controller extension cables and a Spare gamepad. So there is added cost to it as well.

yotsuya · « **Reply #147 on:** June 19, 2017, 01:48:47 am »

Neighbors are moving to Chicago and decided to get rid of a ton of stuff. I scored a bunch of free cordless Ryobi tools - drill, circular saw, jigsaw, flashlight, site radio, even a chainsaw. Sad to see them go, though. They've been good neighbors.

pbj · « **Reply #148 on:** June 19, 2017, 04:44:07 pm »

Wrong thread.

yotsuya · « **Reply #149 on:** June 19, 2017, 06:31:46 pm »

Quote from: pbj on June 19, 2017, 04:44:07 pm

Wrong thread.

It was free crap, dude. None of it was VR, either.

pbj · « **Reply #150 on:** June 19, 2017, 07:20:32 pm »

I am envious of your haul and hope few innocent victims were left in their wake.

yotsuya · « **Reply #151 on:** June 20, 2017, 12:24:44 am »

Quote from: pbj on June 19, 2017, 07:20:32 pm

I am envious of your haul and hope few innocent victims were left in their wake.

It's bulk pickup week in the alley and I saw scrappers going through what was left. I also picked up this big-ass axe that was in the pile because who needs kids/tweakers picking up stuff like that.

pbj · « **Reply #152 on:** June 23, 2017, 10:45:19 am »

Metal Gear Solid V finally hit my $10 impulse buy price point.

Free Amazon money -> PSN Wallet Code -> Metal Gear Solid V.

thomas_surles · « **Reply #153 on:** June 26, 2017, 08:12:15 am »

Free crap of the day. Somebody was just going to throw this out. Works perfectly fine.

ChadTower · « **Reply #154 on:** June 26, 2017, 09:29:03 am »

Cool! What is the box mounted on the side?

Mike A · « **Reply #155 on:** June 26, 2017, 09:56:26 am »

That is where they store the souls they harvest from people who play slot machines.

ChadTower · « **Reply #156 on:** June 26, 2017, 10:12:42 am »

Casino by my house has a new program where you can preset spending limits on your membership card (no cash involved, of course) and it will warn you when you are approaching the limit and when you have hit it. Of course, it won't STOP you...

thomas_surles · « **Reply #157 on:** June 26, 2017, 10:40:13 am »

Quote from: ChadTower on June 26, 2017, 09:29:03 am

Cool! What is the box mounted on the side?

Thats actually just a 19" crt monitor sitting behind it.
Im not interested in slot machines and the thought of playing it at home with no real reward bores me to death. But free is free and i will pay it forward and not sell it, but give it to my mother on law for chtistmas.

BadMouth · « **Reply #158 on:** June 26, 2017, 01:25:54 pm »

pbj, did you get the Amazon jerky sampler box deal?

I had Jack Links breakfast sausage and coffee at my desk this morning and it left me with a feeling (and aftertaste) like I had a real solid breakfast at a diner.

pbj · « **Reply #159 on:** June 26, 2017, 01:28:53 pm »

Nah, I missed that one. Jack's Links is just about my least favorite jerky, but I can't find anything else in 1lb bags anymore.

ChadTower · « **Reply #160 on:** June 26, 2017, 01:34:14 pm »

Just so you never want Jack's Links again.

pbj · « **Reply #161 on:** July 01, 2017, 11:06:57 pm »

Hustled some surveys, picked up Knack and QUBE Directors Cut.

The backlog grows. Metal Gear is flat out the weirdest game I've ever played.

Nephasth · « **Reply #162 on:** July 01, 2017, 11:39:18 pm »

Quote from: pbj on July 01, 2017, 11:06:57 pm

Hustled some surveys, picked up Knack and QUBE Directors Cut.

The backlog grows. Metal Gear is flat out the weirdest game I've ever played.

So do you have like an excel spreadsheet for your backlog? Or is this something you keep mental tabs on?

pbj · « **Reply #163 on:** July 01, 2017, 11:52:40 pm »

I finally gave in and made a spreadsheet with the ~250 PS4 games that were on sale. I then thumbed through a bunch of gameplay videos, eliminating instantly anything that looked retro-indie or weeabo crap. (This was probably 200 of them, to be honest)

This spreadsheet was then itemized into "own", "maybe", and "buy."

Ordinarily, I just have a running list in my head and instantly buy when it hits $10 or less. Should be quite the flood this holiday season.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #164 on:** July 02, 2017, 12:29:17 am »

I can never pull the trigger on heavily discounted games. I guess in my head if they get too cheap there is probably a reason. They've been begging xb1 users to buy MGSV... so much so that one offer was buy the game for 30 and get a free gamepad... which is really buy the gamepad for 10 dollars off and get this cruddy game.

pbj · « **Reply #165 on:** July 02, 2017, 08:23:49 am »

Previous generations, yes. This generation, no. Games are $35 within a month, $25 after 2.

thomas_surles · « **Reply #166 on:** July 02, 2017, 08:28:52 am »

Check out that summer sale though. Got how 2 survive 2 for 3 bucks. I really enjoyed the first one with my wife.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #167 on:** July 02, 2017, 12:39:20 pm »

Quote from: pbj on July 02, 2017, 08:23:49 am

Previous generations, yes. This generation, no. Games are $35 within a month, $25 after 2.

Ok there's the problem. I don't consider that heavily discounted. If you know where to look it's been that way since the start of the 360/ps3 generation..... except for Nintendo games of course.

pbj · « **Reply #168 on:** July 02, 2017, 01:58:35 pm »

Keep moving those goal posts....

ChadTower · « **Reply #169 on:** July 03, 2017, 09:50:28 am »

That is definitely discounted relative to prior generations. And the drop is much, much faster than it used to be. Strangely enough digital delivery drops slower than physical. Weren't we always told it would be the other way around?

pbj · « **Reply #170 on:** July 07, 2017, 12:03:44 pm »

Coke doing $3 gift cards if you scan their app on the dispensers and get Mello Yello. $1 a day.

thomas_surles · « **Reply #171 on:** July 07, 2017, 12:46:36 pm »

Until dawn is free for ps plus today! Not enough memory to download. So it's actually gonna cost me $100 when i go get a 4tb hdd.

pbj · « **Reply #172 on:** July 07, 2017, 01:01:50 pm »

Excellent game. Go in blind and just enjoy the ride.

thomas_surles · « **Reply #173 on:** July 07, 2017, 02:07:06 pm »

Quote from: pbj on July 07, 2017, 01:01:50 pm

Excellent game. Go in blind and just enjoy the ride.

I will. It's in my library, just waiting to get the hard drive. She thinks it will be cheaper on prime day on Amazon so we'll see.
Ps4 now supports 4tb external hard drives, and the one I'm looking at fits the ps4 in case I decide to do an internal swap.

pbj · « **Reply #174 on:** July 07, 2017, 02:10:10 pm »

I paid like $10-15 for it months ago. Well worth that.

I stuck a 750GB internal in mine, so long as you're willing to delete games you will never, ever play again, it's been sufficient. Beware crap like Assassin's Creed - 50GB down the tubes. Beat and delete. I've got a couple redundant backups of P.T., just in case.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #175 on:** July 07, 2017, 02:52:29 pm »

Quote from: pbj on July 07, 2017, 12:03:44 pm

Coke doing $3 gift cards if you scan their app on the dispensers and get Mello Yello. $1 a day.

The diabetes and potential prostate cancer are free!

ChadTower · « **Reply #176 on:** July 09, 2017, 11:51:46 am »

My son beat Until Dawn VR a couple weeks ago. Says it's pretty intense. I haven't played it yet.

pbj · « **Reply #177 on:** August 01, 2017, 04:29:30 pm »

So... not free.. but decent.

Go to Google Express, put in your address, search for PS4 and sort low to high. You might have a bunch of $10 games from Fry's pop up...

Then buy this:

https://www.groupon.com/deals/google-express-nat-42

Pretty decent way to get 4 games for ~$5 each if you don't already own them.

http://www.frys.com/search?search_type=regular&sqxts=1&cat=&query_string=8525019+8365007+8297346+8118855+8492908+7721718+8897482+9077467+8741021+8584499+7721708+8957493+8547059&site=sa:adpages%20page:P121%20date:073017

pbj · « **Reply #178 on:** August 02, 2017, 01:13:48 pm »

Well, thanks to a little Groupon action on this forum, I'm now the proud owner of Tearaway Unfolded, Drive Club, the Uncharted Collection, and a pile of AA and AAA batteries with guaranteed delivery tomorrow. God, I love America.

thomas_surles · « **Reply #179 on:** August 02, 2017, 01:20:07 pm »

Looks like you missed out. Tearaway was free in june.

pbj · « **Reply #180 on:** August 02, 2017, 01:22:49 pm »

Quote from: thomas_surles on August 02, 2017, 01:20:07 pm

Looks like you missed out. Tearaway was free in june.

Yeah, if you have Playstation Plus.... Sony nailed me for a year on that and it was a complete waste of money. I think I played Diablo 3 one time for all of 20 minutes with someone on this forum.

Anyway, I'll console myself that I spent a survey dollar.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #181 on:** August 02, 2017, 01:35:21 pm »

Quote from: pbj on August 02, 2017, 01:13:48 pm

Well, thanks to a little Groupon action on this forum, I'm now the proud owner of Tearaway Unfolded, Drive Club, the Uncharted Collection, and a pile of AA and AAA batteries with guaranteed delivery tomorrow. God, I love America.

Don't you mean China? That's where all that stuff came from.

pbj · « **Reply #182 on:** August 02, 2017, 02:56:21 pm »

It sure would kill the two of you to just let me have this. Go be jealous somewhere else.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #183 on:** August 02, 2017, 04:08:43 pm »

I'm all for Chineese stuff... they make the best stuff. The US hardly makes anything good anymore. Weather tech car mats come to mind, but other than that I'm drawing a blank.

dkersten · « **Reply #184 on:** August 03, 2017, 12:36:35 pm »

Quote from: Howard_Casto on August 02, 2017, 04:08:43 pm

I'm all for Chineese stuff... they make the best stuff. The US hardly makes anything good anymore. Weather tech car mats come to mind, but other than that I'm drawing a blank.

And yet if it weren't for American consumerism, China would still be a country full of a billion peasant farmers and no industry. PBJ can thank America because it is directly responsible for the ability to buy a bunch of cheap crap we will never need so we can be happy for another week.

pbj · « **Reply #185 on:** August 03, 2017, 12:45:39 pm »

I really don't care where the 8 year old that makes my stuff lives, so long as I get it delivered in 24 hours.

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #186 on:** August 03, 2017, 01:16:07 pm »

When did they put Donald Trump on the 1?

pbj · « **Reply #187 on:** August 03, 2017, 01:59:09 pm »

There certainly is a resemblance...

JDFan · « **Reply #188 on:** August 03, 2017, 02:16:19 pm »

Quote from: Howard_Casto on August 02, 2017, 04:08:43 pm

I'm all for Chineese stuff... they make the best stuff. The US hardly makes anything good anymore. Weather tech car mats come to mind, but other than that I'm drawing a blank.

True - even the stuff you specifically order from a U.S. supplier is just stuff they ordered from China and doubled the price on - plus adding in the USPS postage which costs more to send across the street than it does to have it shipped from CHINA.

pbj · « **Reply #189 on:** August 03, 2017, 08:09:41 pm »

Yes.....yessssss...

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #190 on:** August 03, 2017, 09:20:29 pm »

Can't see your pic in the last post.

pbj · « **Reply #191 on:** August 03, 2017, 10:38:15 pm »

...sigh....

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #192 on:** August 03, 2017, 11:40:17 pm »

So what'd you end up paying?

I've still got gift cards to burn, so I might take a weekend to see how much crap I can squeeze out of these babies for free.

pbj · « **Reply #193 on:** August 04, 2017, 10:30:20 am »

$15 -> Groupon -> $40 Google Express Voucher

pbj · « **Reply #194 on:** August 13, 2017, 01:24:36 am »

Amazon has price matched Sony on a digital game sale... Picked up Murdered Soul Suspect for $5 in survey bucks.

Stole it a few years ago on 360 and didn't play it much. Trying to level this back up to 1 game a week...

pbj · « **Reply #195 on:** August 17, 2017, 02:25:57 pm »

$5 Amazon gift card for scanning a Coke fountain.

Murdered Soul Suspect has turned out to be a much better game than I remembered. The combat is absolutely terrible, but thankfully very limited. This one and Sleeping Dogs are definitely tops on the, "Hm, should have given this more of a chance" list for me lately.

jdbailey1206 · « **Reply #196 on:** August 17, 2017, 03:45:56 pm »

Speaking of free crap. Someone should give me a free copy of They Live because its the best movie ever made.

pbj · « **Reply #197 on:** September 05, 2017, 11:52:12 pm »

Remember when I used to get cool ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- like belt buckles and outback gift cards.... Here's the last hurrah from Coke.

Malenko · « **Reply #198 on:** September 06, 2017, 09:17:30 am »

Quote from: pbj on August 17, 2017, 02:25:57 pm

This one and Sleeping Dogs are definitely tops on the, "Hm, should have given this more of a chance" list for me lately.

I actually enjoyed Sleeping Dogs a lot more than I thought I would. You dont have a WiiU you wanna get rid of do ya? I kinda wanna play through Zelda again without sitting in front of my PC.

gamepimp · « **Reply #199 on:** September 06, 2017, 08:37:39 pm »

Quote from: pbj on July 01, 2017, 11:06:57 pm

Hustled some surveys, picked up Knack and QUBE Directors Cut

Have you played thru Knack yet? Just picked up a PS4 and thought about getting this one for it. Looks like a pretty unique concept for a game. They already have a sequel for it which usually means the first one must've done pretty decent I think.


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