I've been stuck at home for the past few days now, the snow has kept us in. 3 foot snow drifts, Portland's lack of foresight and having the 2 plows for the entire city working only the main highways does that for you.
But what does that mean for the penny-pinching gadget person? It means sweet ass deals in the new year.
I haven't bought my monster tv yet. And I haven't done so for a few reasons:
-My first thoughts about size have changed a little. After a week with a 42 inch tv at my gf's place, then a 60 inch tv at my parents, I kinda realized sometimes big can be too big. So I might rethink that. 42 is the MAX for me.
-I haven't been in a single place for more than a week. Since I plan on buying my tv online where it's cheaper, I have to be present to inspect the tv and make sure there's nothing wrong with it and that it didn't get damaged during the shipping process.
-New deals in the new year. See below.
So because all these stores didn't get the foot traffic they need in this oh-so-sad economy, and companies will be reeling from losses in 2008, expect to see a TON of cheap stuff in January. You'll see cheap things coming up in that first full week of January, starting January 4th. Tvs will be cheap I think through Super Bowl Sunday, since historically most tvs are sold during the week before and companies will want to take advantage of that time. We'll see if I get crazy and get one beforehand.
The prices, though, are getting hard to resist.
Next article hopefully as soon as I finish finding prices: Wireless Headphones. Got a request? Send me an email.
Stay smart and stay cheap.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
How to travel between NYC/DC on the cheap...
UPDATE 8/10/2010: I did a stand alone review of DC2NY: http://ppgeek.blogspot.com/2010/08/dc2ny-standard-of-traveling-from-dc-to.html
Sorry about the delay in posting. I’ve spent the past week with my ass planted on the couch at my girlfriend’s apt in Manhattan. My “office” looked like this:
So there you have it. Pretty much all of the conventional means of getting to NYC. If I missed any other than Megabus, let me know and I will update. I may add the Philly ones later as well. As a college student for either of those places (or even Philly and Boston), you can see friends in those places with little effort. It helped me keep in touch with friends all over the East Coast during college, and keeps me sane with my girlfriend now. So remember, travel smart, travel cheap.
Uber fast conclusion: DO NOT USE NON BOLTBUS GREYHOUND.
Appendix:
Pricing Breakdown (for one way unless otherwise indicated):
Jetblue: $150
Amtrak: $67-200 depending on time of day
Boltbus: $1-25 depending on when you get it. Free trip after 8 one ways or one round trip.
DC2NY: $28 nonmember/ $25 member. There is also a break on round trips. Free trip after 6 one ways.
Vamoose: $25 one way. Free trip after 4 one ways.
New Century: $20 one way. I think $35 round trip. Been a while. Don't use unless you're stupid
Sorry about the delay in posting. I’ve spent the past week with my ass planted on the couch at my girlfriend’s apt in Manhattan. My “office” looked like this:
Anyway, I am now at home, stuck in the foot of snow that has drifted into Portland. All this traveling between DC and NYC made me think that as cheap geeks, we also have to be frugal in other parts of our lives to save money for gadgets and/or food.
A little about me: I live in DC, my GF lives in NYC. Distance is a little tricky. I'm cheap, therefore, I can't afford to take the airplane or train that often (altho I do sometimes, if the traffic sucks aka Thanksgiving 2k8).
For most of us poor/college/young folk, we have the bus. We're not talking about your parent's Greyhound. Nowadays, there is a fairly large market for bus travel. Most of these buses will take you from DC to Philly, New York, or even Boston. Even other smaller companies focus on the niche locations like Richmond Virginia and various places in upstate New York. For me, I spent a good chunk of college taking the ones from Philly to NYC/DC, but nowadays it's just DC to NYC. Here's a breakdown of most of the available transportation systems that I’ve taken.
A little about me: I live in DC, my GF lives in NYC. Distance is a little tricky. I'm cheap, therefore, I can't afford to take the airplane or train that often (altho I do sometimes, if the traffic sucks aka Thanksgiving 2k8).
For most of us poor/college/young folk, we have the bus. We're not talking about your parent's Greyhound. Nowadays, there is a fairly large market for bus travel. Most of these buses will take you from DC to Philly, New York, or even Boston. Even other smaller companies focus on the niche locations like Richmond Virginia and various places in upstate New York. For me, I spent a good chunk of college taking the ones from Philly to NYC/DC, but nowadays it's just DC to NYC. Here's a breakdown of most of the available transportation systems that I’ve taken.
Airplane: Fast but not wallet friendly
I have a friend who works in DC and she travels to NYC to see her boyfriend and she frequently takes the plane to get to NYC. Jetblue has a flight that travels between DC and New York for $150 and there are other shuttles that travel between the two cities for roughly the same price. You gotta book it way ahead obviously. Flight takes roughly an hour and a half. You can’t even get to Philly by car that quickly!
Pros: Fastest way to get to NYC, convienient from DC (Reagan or Dulles) and JFK (Long Island Rail). No worry about traffic, and if you pack light, it makes travel a cinch. Wireless on some of the beta flights.
Cons: Compared to other traveling methods, this isn’t cheap. Also, for some people, air travel might suck due to fear of flying, small seats and such. For me, I sometimes don’t plan to head to NYC until the week of, which makes booking a flight not cheap at all. And, if you stay for a while, luggage costs start to bite into that price also. No plugs for laptops. And the wireless is limited to Amazon and email, and it’s slow as all hell. Security also very annoying.
I have a friend who works in DC and she travels to NYC to see her boyfriend and she frequently takes the plane to get to NYC. Jetblue has a flight that travels between DC and New York for $150 and there are other shuttles that travel between the two cities for roughly the same price. You gotta book it way ahead obviously. Flight takes roughly an hour and a half. You can’t even get to Philly by car that quickly!
Pros: Fastest way to get to NYC, convienient from DC (Reagan or Dulles) and JFK (Long Island Rail). No worry about traffic, and if you pack light, it makes travel a cinch. Wireless on some of the beta flights.
Cons: Compared to other traveling methods, this isn’t cheap. Also, for some people, air travel might suck due to fear of flying, small seats and such. For me, I sometimes don’t plan to head to NYC until the week of, which makes booking a flight not cheap at all. And, if you stay for a while, luggage costs start to bite into that price also. No plugs for laptops. And the wireless is limited to Amazon and email, and it’s slow as all hell. Security also very annoying.
Train: Crazy train, running on the track...
Amtrak trains are my personal fave when I want to spoil myself. From Union Station in DC to Penn Station in NYC, it puts me literally at the door of my gf’s apt and I live on the red line metro, so it’s no biggie to Union. Also, you can carry nearly as much crap as you want onto the train, as long as you’re willing to haul it. Very straight forward, and regardless of weather or traffic, the regular regional rail trains take just about 3.5 hours to get to NYC. Oh, and you can plug in your laptop, which is nice. The prices range from $67 for the off peak, late at night trains to the $200 or so for the Accela trains, which are terribly overpriced and stupid to save 15 minutes. Average price for an afternoon or so is roughly just over 100 bucks, and cheaper if you have a student advantage card.
Pros: Pretty fast, no traffic concerns. Price reasonable for the service you get. Comfortable seats, plug ins for your laptop or whatever gadget you got, space to stretch out, fairly smooth ride. If you don’t live near midtown, you’re smack at Penn Station, so you can use it to get anywhere else in NYC.
Cons: You can still do better than $100 if you’re scrapping by on cash. No wireless. Honestly, I like the trains, I just think the price is still a bit much. I guess, if you try to get DC late night, the metro doesn’t run after 12…oh, and don't ever get Accela.
The BUS SECTION
The buses are pretty much the way I travel. Cheapest way to go. There are several bus companies, but they all have their nuances, which I would like to discuss here. As a method of transportation, here are the Pros and Cons, with each bus service’s pros and cons listed in their sections. (Note: I have not taken Megabus before so therefore I did not review it this time around. I will update this again at a later date.)
Pros: Cheapest way to go. Depending on the company, you can get the same amenities found in other modes of transportation. 4.5 hours on a bus is just a full nap to some people like me. They take off all over DC and at almost any time of the day.
Cons: Slowest way to go. Depending on traffic and time of year, it could take anywhere from 4 hours for an off peak trip to even 8 hours on the day before Thanksgiving.
Amtrak trains are my personal fave when I want to spoil myself. From Union Station in DC to Penn Station in NYC, it puts me literally at the door of my gf’s apt and I live on the red line metro, so it’s no biggie to Union. Also, you can carry nearly as much crap as you want onto the train, as long as you’re willing to haul it. Very straight forward, and regardless of weather or traffic, the regular regional rail trains take just about 3.5 hours to get to NYC. Oh, and you can plug in your laptop, which is nice. The prices range from $67 for the off peak, late at night trains to the $200 or so for the Accela trains, which are terribly overpriced and stupid to save 15 minutes. Average price for an afternoon or so is roughly just over 100 bucks, and cheaper if you have a student advantage card.
Pros: Pretty fast, no traffic concerns. Price reasonable for the service you get. Comfortable seats, plug ins for your laptop or whatever gadget you got, space to stretch out, fairly smooth ride. If you don’t live near midtown, you’re smack at Penn Station, so you can use it to get anywhere else in NYC.
Cons: You can still do better than $100 if you’re scrapping by on cash. No wireless. Honestly, I like the trains, I just think the price is still a bit much. I guess, if you try to get DC late night, the metro doesn’t run after 12…oh, and don't ever get Accela.
The BUS SECTION
The buses are pretty much the way I travel. Cheapest way to go. There are several bus companies, but they all have their nuances, which I would like to discuss here. As a method of transportation, here are the Pros and Cons, with each bus service’s pros and cons listed in their sections. (Note: I have not taken Megabus before so therefore I did not review it this time around. I will update this again at a later date.)
Pros: Cheapest way to go. Depending on the company, you can get the same amenities found in other modes of transportation. 4.5 hours on a bus is just a full nap to some people like me. They take off all over DC and at almost any time of the day.
Cons: Slowest way to go. Depending on traffic and time of year, it could take anywhere from 4 hours for an off peak trip to even 8 hours on the day before Thanksgiving.
BOLTBUS- what Greyhound should be
Boltbus was started by Greyhound and Peter Pan Bus Lines (No Joke!) to try to get a piece of the DC- NYC route pie. The buses are very clean, and they have wireless on the buses with fairly decent speeds, depending on how many people are on. Also, they have power plugs, which is huge when you’re spending a couple hours of the road and need juice. Picks you up near Metro Center in DC and drops you off right near Penn Station. Also, if you get the seats early enough, you can have a seat for a buck (Good luck on that...it sometimes takes two months ahead to book a buck seat, and most buses only have two dollar seats...)! But usually, the price is about $25 bucks one way, though the prices go up from a buck until they fill up.
Pros: Solid Wireless, Powerplugs, fairly accessible pickup point for most people, clean, and decent price, with the chance of getting a really cheap seat. Get 8 one ways or 4 round trips and get a free one way!
Cons: Probably the first of the bus companies to sell out if you try to get a seat the same week. Those dollar seats go weeks ahead of time.
Boltbus was started by Greyhound and Peter Pan Bus Lines (No Joke!) to try to get a piece of the DC- NYC route pie. The buses are very clean, and they have wireless on the buses with fairly decent speeds, depending on how many people are on. Also, they have power plugs, which is huge when you’re spending a couple hours of the road and need juice. Picks you up near Metro Center in DC and drops you off right near Penn Station. Also, if you get the seats early enough, you can have a seat for a buck (Good luck on that...it sometimes takes two months ahead to book a buck seat, and most buses only have two dollar seats...)! But usually, the price is about $25 bucks one way, though the prices go up from a buck until they fill up.
Pros: Solid Wireless, Powerplugs, fairly accessible pickup point for most people, clean, and decent price, with the chance of getting a really cheap seat. Get 8 one ways or 4 round trips and get a free one way!
Cons: Probably the first of the bus companies to sell out if you try to get a seat the same week. Those dollar seats go weeks ahead of time.
DC2NY – The Upscale Way to Travel
DC2NY is owned and run by a small group of guys. I don’t know specifics of the ownership, but I know if you want a solid bus, they offer what I think is the standard. Bus picks you up from DuPont Circle and drops you off at Penn Station NYC. They have wireless, play a movie during the trip (everyone gets to vote), prices are good and they offer a discount if you are a member, which only involves signing up with your email address. Every 6 one way trips you get a free one. The people are really nice and very helpful. Oh, you also get a free bottle of water.
Pros: I live two stops away from Dupont, so it’s a quick jump over. Wireless is decent, water bottle comes handy when you forget, I like the movies they show, and I’ve gotten to know the people pretty well. Vasily is a hoot. Member and frequent traveler program is a nice little plus.
Cons: Seats go pretty quick here also. Not the fastest bus, but not the slowest. These guys are my fave. (Update: Plugs now too!)
DC2NY is owned and run by a small group of guys. I don’t know specifics of the ownership, but I know if you want a solid bus, they offer what I think is the standard. Bus picks you up from DuPont Circle and drops you off at Penn Station NYC. They have wireless, play a movie during the trip (everyone gets to vote), prices are good and they offer a discount if you are a member, which only involves signing up with your email address. Every 6 one way trips you get a free one. The people are really nice and very helpful. Oh, you also get a free bottle of water.
Pros: I live two stops away from Dupont, so it’s a quick jump over. Wireless is decent, water bottle comes handy when you forget, I like the movies they show, and I’ve gotten to know the people pretty well. Vasily is a hoot. Member and frequent traveler program is a nice little plus.
Cons: Seats go pretty quick here also. Not the fastest bus, but not the slowest. These guys are my fave. (Update: Plugs now too!)
VAMOOSE- The Kosher way to go.
Vamoose is also very convienent, and for a while, was run by a group of Hasidic Jews (My Jewish friends refer to this as the Jewbus), but l think they may have been either bought out by someone else or management changed or just had more help. 25 one way, but every four trips you get a free trip with the coupons from the tickets. Picks you up in either Bethesda or Rosslyn and drops you off near Penn Station. The most barebones of all the buses, but works quite well.
Pros: Price-wise, this is probably the way to go. Very convienent if you live on the outskirts of DC and need a ride. If you take it from Bethesda, it puts you on the edge of DC, which makes the ride a bit quicker. With the coupons, makes traveling VERY cheap.
Cons: Bethesda and Rosslyn are a bit far if you actually live inside of the city, no wireless, no plugs, no movies even.
Vamoose is also very convienent, and for a while, was run by a group of Hasidic Jews (My Jewish friends refer to this as the Jewbus), but l think they may have been either bought out by someone else or management changed or just had more help. 25 one way, but every four trips you get a free trip with the coupons from the tickets. Picks you up in either Bethesda or Rosslyn and drops you off near Penn Station. The most barebones of all the buses, but works quite well.
Pros: Price-wise, this is probably the way to go. Very convienent if you live on the outskirts of DC and need a ride. If you take it from Bethesda, it puts you on the edge of DC, which makes the ride a bit quicker. With the coupons, makes traveling VERY cheap.
Cons: Bethesda and Rosslyn are a bit far if you actually live inside of the city, no wireless, no plugs, no movies even.
NEW CENTURY TRAVEL, and the other Chinatown Buses – ehhhh……
So here is the breakdown with the Chinatown buses. They pick you up in Chinatown DC, and they drop you off in the Chinatown in NYC. No wireless, no plugs, they pick you up, take your ticket, drop you off. The original DC/NYC/Philly bus companies and were the ones that started the price war between all the other bus companies. Fung Wa, Shung Fa, New Century, etc, etc. (Update: Warning to everyone: DO NOT USE THE WEBSITE TO BUY TICKETS. YOU WILL ENCOUNTER NO HELP IF THE TICKETS ARE BAD)
Pros: I guess if you are near Chinatown, it might be nice. I’m convinced you can go to Chinatown NYC/Philly/DC in the dead of night and there’s still a bus to DC at like 2am. The drivers are mad fast, which is both a good and bad I guess. I once got to NYC in under 4 hours using New Century…
Cons: The people are sometimes rude, the buses never really come on time, sometimes not even come at all. Occasionally you make a stop in Philly or a shady stop in Baltimore. No frills trip, this is the way to go if you decide to go on the same day all of a sudden, and everyone else is booked up.
Conclusion:
So here is the breakdown with the Chinatown buses. They pick you up in Chinatown DC, and they drop you off in the Chinatown in NYC. No wireless, no plugs, they pick you up, take your ticket, drop you off. The original DC/NYC/Philly bus companies and were the ones that started the price war between all the other bus companies. Fung Wa, Shung Fa, New Century, etc, etc. (Update: Warning to everyone: DO NOT USE THE WEBSITE TO BUY TICKETS. YOU WILL ENCOUNTER NO HELP IF THE TICKETS ARE BAD)
Pros: I guess if you are near Chinatown, it might be nice. I’m convinced you can go to Chinatown NYC/Philly/DC in the dead of night and there’s still a bus to DC at like 2am. The drivers are mad fast, which is both a good and bad I guess. I once got to NYC in under 4 hours using New Century…
Cons: The people are sometimes rude, the buses never really come on time, sometimes not even come at all. Occasionally you make a stop in Philly or a shady stop in Baltimore. No frills trip, this is the way to go if you decide to go on the same day all of a sudden, and everyone else is booked up.
Conclusion:
These different modes of transportation just show you the variety of available modes of transportation there are between these two cities. Always research and look into the locations for these places to find out what is best for you. Different people have different priorities, so look these places up if you want and plan appropriately. Even if you live in the boonies and want a cheap way of getting into the city, look some of these companies up and give em a shot. You might save a good deal of cash and time.
So there you have it. Pretty much all of the conventional means of getting to NYC. If I missed any other than Megabus, let me know and I will update. I may add the Philly ones later as well. As a college student for either of those places (or even Philly and Boston), you can see friends in those places with little effort. It helped me keep in touch with friends all over the East Coast during college, and keeps me sane with my girlfriend now. So remember, travel smart, travel cheap.
Uber fast conclusion: DO NOT USE NON BOLTBUS GREYHOUND.
Appendix:
Pricing Breakdown (for one way unless otherwise indicated):
Jetblue: $150
Amtrak: $67-200 depending on time of day
Boltbus: $1-25 depending on when you get it. Free trip after 8 one ways or one round trip.
DC2NY: $28 nonmember/ $25 member. There is also a break on round trips. Free trip after 6 one ways.
Vamoose: $25 one way. Free trip after 4 one ways.
New Century: $20 one way. I think $35 round trip. Been a while. Don't use unless you're stupid
Sunday, December 7, 2008
New Music Player (and why i weaned myself from apple)
I finally picked up a new portable media player. I needed three things for my player:
-I run, so I need a media player that is small and doesn't get in the way.
-I don't care about storage space because I usually don't wander that far away from my computer, and rarely do i listen to my mp3 player longer than 5 hours on the NYC-DC bus ride.
-It has to be cheap. I had an ipod shuffle 2.0 up until about two weeks ago, a nice little shuffle I got for 70 bucks back in my senior year of college. While it does hurt to have lost it, I've had a good run with it, and I know others have lost their ipods that cost much more and much frequently ::cough:: cleetus ::cough::
-I run, so I need a media player that is small and doesn't get in the way.
-I don't care about storage space because I usually don't wander that far away from my computer, and rarely do i listen to my mp3 player longer than 5 hours on the NYC-DC bus ride.
-It has to be cheap. I had an ipod shuffle 2.0 up until about two weeks ago, a nice little shuffle I got for 70 bucks back in my senior year of college. While it does hurt to have lost it, I've had a good run with it, and I know others have lost their ipods that cost much more and much frequently ::cough:: cleetus ::cough::
I was about to buy another ipod shuffle since I liked it so much, but then I found this little gem for almost half the price, and more features:
Let me list why I went with this:
1. Size: They are both very small, but this one has a tighter clip on the back that doesn't feel like it'll fall off my sleeve/pocket/backpack.
2. Storage Space: For its comparative price, the 2gb Sansa is a better deal than the 1gb Shuffle.
3. Features: In addition to playing stored music, Sansa has FM Radio, Voice Recorder, a Screen, Equalizer for sound, mini-usb for charging/loading, and I can interface with any computer's Windows Media app or Windows Explorer drag and drop for more music. Shuffle, on the other hand, does not have radio, voice, screen, or equalizer and requires itunes and will only work with my own machine. Also, it requires the use of that little cradle thing, which is small, but a pain in the ass when I lose it.
4. Price: A 2gb Sansa goes for 40 bucks at Best Buy (I've seen it online for as low as 30), while a 2gb Shuffle is 69 at apple.com (as low as 59 elsewhere.)
The few things that the Shuffle has over the Sansa?
-Bright colors: I don't give a damn
-itunes support: This is arguably a benefit, but I don't see it that way.
What's wrong with itunes? Among other things, I hate DRM. If I had a different player that I use, can I load itunes songs on it? No. I can't use any of my music in anything but apple supported products. And even then, it's not unlimited and I can't share songs. And while people say it's to protect your music, it only protects it from being used by you in the way you want it to. This is why I would rather buy mp3s from Amazon.com. At least, I can use those songs on both my ipod AND my sansa/zune/whatever else I want.
If I lose this player again, oh well. I can always grab another. At 40 bucks, it's not as painful in the long run. Especially if I can beat the crap out of it.
I picked up a new copy of Grand Turismo Prologue for 30 bucks. Not bad for an extended demo, but oh well. I like racing games. I'll go more into games and travel in my next few posts. Till then, stay cheap.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Why I hate Black Friday (and long ass lines)
So this year, unlike previous years, I decided not to do the whole Black Friday thing and fight the crowds to save myself 50 bucks on some gadget, or maybe pay half price on some games.
One of my most memorable experiences was trying to go to the Walmart in South Philly. It was black friday of 05, and my friend Tony gave me a ring and asked me if I was interested in going to walmart to pick up a laptop for 250 (i think). Mind you this was 3 years ago, when laptops that cheap were almost unheard of. This was after the post Thanksgiving dinner coma, so it was about 1-2am that we got up and took the bus from 40th street down to the waterfront. It was your normal philly weather in november, ie. fucking cold as hell and we walked from the waterfront roughly half a mile over to the walmart. No one was on the streets. it was dead quiet. Tony wasn't sure i was going to go so he brought a pair of nunchucks. We made it to the parking lot at around 3am and lo and behold we were not the first in line. There were about 8 of us maybe from 3-4:30. Everyone was in good spirits and we were all having fun talking and freezing our asses off. The cops that showed up (all two of them) were nice and we all chatted. One had worn a balaclava to keep warm, but then had to take it off because apparently he wasn't supposed to be wearing it and gave it to us.
At any rate, everything was cool until about 5am, when the rest of jersey and philly decided to start lining up. The line became ridiculously long, and the pushing began. It started off as a gentle nudge, but then became a constant pressure up against the front of the line. Up until then the first maybe 10 of us were having fun, but soon it wasn't fun anymore, as we were being pushed. The cops saw that and tried to tell the crowd to quit pushing, but it was to no avail. Also, I don't know if it's a Philly thing or what but people started to think that they could just WALK up to the front of line and skip everyone. The cops had to tell the idiots that if they didn't walk to the back of the line, the crowd will be very, very angry. Eventually the idiots backed off. Soon the pushing became thrashing, and fights started to happen behind us. Tony and I were anxious to get in, if only to get away from the crowd.
Once the doors opened, it was a mad rush to the electronics section and we got there pretty quick in a dead run. I got clipped by a falling woman who couldn't turn fast enough and I recall hurdling over someone once we got past the door.
I've camped out at an Ikea, a Gamestop, a Walmart, a Movie theater (star wars episode I), and a few other stupid places. But I find standing in line for Deals is the worst. Overall my experiences in camping in line for stuff is this:
-The first maybe 10% people: generally really cool people, either unemployed, students, or die hards, willing to make conversation with you and chat about stuff. Let's face it, if you get there early enough to be the first few in line, you've suffered a bit. My favorite group.
-The middle of the pack: These people want to be in the first group but didn't make it early enough for their own reasons. They heard about whatever sweet deal it is and they have interest in it, but only enough to buy the item then sell it for profit. I don't like these people as much, and they tend to be the pushy ones, as some of them have the idea that they can push their way to the front. They also aren't into the experience as much as they just want to get it over with so they can make money.
-The back of the pack: These generally are the younger people, the kids and less mature. These bastards will push and cut the line to try to join either the middle of the pack or the front. I hate these bastards.
Before Black Friday, I figured that people were going to get hurt this year. With a rough economy, cheap deals, and really cool gadgets to be had this year, it's going to get crowded. So far from what I've been reading on cnn it looks like the season is up 3% from last year. But last year people didn't get shot or trampled to death as far as I know. So this year I managed to get some sweet ass deals online without having to step out of the house(tho i did have to leave with my gf eventually, and got trampled by New Yorkers. gotta love it), and I look forward to cyber Monday, as awful a name as that is. We'll see what good stuff is online. Specifically, I'm concentrating on Amazon.com and Newegg.com for computer and gaming stuff.
Recommendations for shopping:
cheapassgamer.com- their front page usually has the most up to date info on cheap deals, you'll find a list of cyber monday stuff from everywhere.
dealhack.com- has a list of stuff from both amazon, but also the newegg stuff i want to get
I'll talk about where i plan to buy my games and gadgets in the next post. take care.
My Black Friday results and current to get list
Black Friday 2009
So Black Friday has come and gone. I got a number of deals but the only thing of significance is 2 Playstation 3 Zero Wireless Controllers for 5 bucks
http://www.amazon.com/PlayStation-Zero-Wireless-Controller-colors-3/dp/B000LD3S5K
I have two dual shock3 controllers already but I doubt i'll be using more than two that often. For five bucks, even if they look like crap, does it matter?
I also picked up a Wii Component Cable. The GF is getting an hdtv and needs it for her wii. That was 10 bucks.
There wasn't much else I wanted to get during Black Friday. I've already planned what to get for my parents. Mom gets a day at the spa with my cousin, and dad gets a new suit because he hasn't bought one since the late 90s. I got a few trinkets here and there. The only person I haven't quite figured out to get is my brother, but that won't be too difficult, since he's pretty geek himself.
At any rate, here is my list of things I still need to get. Consider it a list of topics that I will be talking about during the rest of the course of the blog:
-HDTV- 1080p, 42 inches or higher.
-Portable Audio Player
-Pants (you'll see)
-Cell phone accessories
-PC parts
-PS3 gear and games
-Gift for girlfriend related to tech. Her birthday happens to be a week before Christmas, which means two gifts....
We'll see how it goes.
So Black Friday has come and gone. I got a number of deals but the only thing of significance is 2 Playstation 3 Zero Wireless Controllers for 5 bucks
http://www.amazon.com/PlayStation-Zero-Wireless-Controller-colors-3/dp/B000LD3S5K
I have two dual shock3 controllers already but I doubt i'll be using more than two that often. For five bucks, even if they look like crap, does it matter?
I also picked up a Wii Component Cable. The GF is getting an hdtv and needs it for her wii. That was 10 bucks.
There wasn't much else I wanted to get during Black Friday. I've already planned what to get for my parents. Mom gets a day at the spa with my cousin, and dad gets a new suit because he hasn't bought one since the late 90s. I got a few trinkets here and there. The only person I haven't quite figured out to get is my brother, but that won't be too difficult, since he's pretty geek himself.
At any rate, here is my list of things I still need to get. Consider it a list of topics that I will be talking about during the rest of the course of the blog:
-HDTV- 1080p, 42 inches or higher.
-Portable Audio Player
-Pants (you'll see)
-Cell phone accessories
-PC parts
-PS3 gear and games
-Gift for girlfriend related to tech. Her birthday happens to be a week before Christmas, which means two gifts....
We'll see how it goes.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
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