Like a Yard Sale Only Freer

It is the first day of summer break and some teachers are back on campus clearing out their classrooms. The giveaways are waaaay too numerous to even estimate much less count.

I've been able to score some pretty good stuff for my boys including a box of Big Legos, some excellent books, a stuffed dinosaur, a pop up sun shade, a beat box for drumming and a neat little crocodile guy.

I tells ya, if I didn't have a totally stuffed full garage, I'd probably load up the trunk of my car. Or not as I know my wife would be rather annoyed at a trunkload of stuff we don't need.

But we're going to have a yard sale in a few weeks and anything we decide not to keep can be parceled out there.

I've also gotten some ice cream cake, pizza, snack packs and a SpongeBob yogurt tube. This could be a really fun week if this keeps up!

The 99 Cent Burger Myth and the Myth of Free

You know what grinds my gears (aside from branches and leaves picked up on the trail)? When fast food places advertise a burger that costs ninety-nine cents when it does not actually end up costing ninety-nine cents, it ends up costing a buck seven with the tax.

A dollar and seven cents is definitely not ninety-nine cents.

You want to make me happy? Charge ninety-one cents for your burger and then, with the tax, it comes to the ninety-nine cent deal you promised. When they make the claim that they have ninety-nine cent burgers when they really have a buck seven burgers makes me distrust them from the start. Not that it matters, of course, but it would be a nice change and a good precedent to have the advertised price reflect the actual out-the-door or drive-thru price.

Which brings me to my second gripe of the morning. The Myth of Free.

Free is free, it isn't free plus shipping and handling. Especially not shipping and handling that is grossly overpriced to recoup the loss on giving away the product. Free is free, free is not taking a single penny out of my pocket. If you are offering something for free and then charging for shipping and handling then it is not free. Cost to the consumer makes it not free. Please stop lying and pretending that it is free. This Oprah recommended Free Popcorn costs almost six bucks. How is that, by any stretch, free? And if you live in New Jersey, they'll charge you thirty-one cents tax. On Free?

I hate such blatant, stupid and overt lying.

Mark Your Calendars! Feb. 20 is National Pancake Day

National Pancake Day is February 20th and the International House of Pancakes is giving away one free short stack of pancakes to everyone who wants one.

And free pancakes are totally kickass! They'd like you to donate the money you would have spent on the cakes to the Children's Miracle Network and they are shooting for $500,000 this year.

Need help finding an iHop,? Don't forget to bring your iPod to the iHop.