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Halloween Tricks and Treats

  • Steve Bass
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This week I've got some Halloween treats that won't rot your teeth or give you a stomach ache. If you act fast, you could score a 1GB flash drive for practically nothing. But even if you miss that offer, you can still take advantage of another freebie: a Web site that helps you catalog your belongings in case of disaster.

1GB Kingston Flash Drive for Under a Buck

That's right. You can get a Kingston 1GB USB flash drive from Buy.com for under a buck--or depending on where you live, absolutely free. (As I write this newsletter, the drive's still available. But your mileage may vary.)

My buddy, Suzanne M., spotted this gem in one of her freebie group newsletters last week. She bought one and paid 92 cents (Tennessee tax). I got mine for 72 cents (California tax). In fact, I got two.

And listen, if you don't move on this--like right now--you're going to miss out. You just know they're going to run out quickly and I don't want to hear your kvetching.

Here's the scoop:

  • Head for Buy.com.
  • Add one Kingston flash drive to your cart.
  • At the Checkout page, click on the Google checkout option to get the $10 discount.
  • Make sure you choose budget shipping--which is free.

Bass International Disclaimer

  • Bass doesn't know if the Kingston Flash drive is bootable, comes in colors, or is submersible. Please don't ask.
  • Bass doesn't check to see if the offer is available outside the U.S., including Canada, anywhere in South America, Tunisia, or even Fontana.
  • If Buy.com runs out of flash drives, and you miss out on the offer and feel miffed, don't tell Bass. Instead, consider it fodder for your next psychotherapy session.
  • If the Flash drive arrives late or it doesn't work as intended, or it causes your spouse to ask for a divorce, or otherwise disappoints you, have another chat with your therapist--don't write to Bass.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Disaster Planning: Free Household Inventory Tool

A friend of mine, Marc Mann from San Diego, was caught up in the California disaster (see "Get the Latest on the California Fires."). He told me how he used the free flash drive along with a free Web-based inventory site to document his belongings for insurance purposes:

<blockquote>Thanks for your recent e-mail, which allowed me to get two of those flash drives. What I didn't mention was the fact that we were awaiting evacuation orders due to the wildfires as I'm in San Diego.</blockquote>

<blockquote>During this time our local newspaper gave instructions explaining the paperwork and receipts you should take with you in order to make a claim. One recommendation was to use Know Your Stuff, a Web site that would help you inventory all your possessions.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Know Your Stuff is sponsored by insurance companies and is a free software program that does a brilliant job helping you categorize all your possessions. It has places for you to add pictures and scanned receipts; it's comprehensive in its scope and easy to use.</blockquote>

<blockquote>My insurance agent told me pictures are good alone (he was unaware that this free program existed) and said most people needing to make a claim don't even remember what they have accumulated. So the ability to document your possessions will insure you get (most) every penny due you from a claim.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Know Your Stuff's free software lets you record a complete inventory of your possessions; it also accepts scanned receipts and photos. The site can link to a spot where you can store the data, but there's a $15 fee for that offsite storage. Instead, I stored it on a flash drive.</blockquote>

<blockquote>We dodged a very hot bullet--the fire missed us and we didn't need to flee. Unfortunately, many others did and too many of them have no records of all they owned. Of course, the records are also valuable in case of burglary, floods, or other disasters.</blockquote>

Special Halloween Edition of Dig This

You've got to try Hangman for Halloween. You'll need your speakers turned up for this game. Not to worry, nothing will scare you. [Thanks, Bob.]

Here they are, the worst ear plugs ever (from ZeFrank's Worst Evers). Okay, sure, I know, this isn't strictly Halloween related. But it is pretty scary and it amazed me to no end. BTW, did you notice the abbreviation on the guy's hat? Yep, ATF: Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. [Thanks, Charlie L.]

Having trouble deciding how to carve your pumpkin? Here's a nifty tutorial from ExtremePumpkins.com. For more carving fun, go straight to the source.

Need more ideas? Of course you do. So check out Flickr's Jack-o-Lantern gallery

Want to take great pics of the ghostly happenings? Read Dave Johnson's "Digital Focus: Take Cool Halloween Photos" for tips.

And then spend a few minutes perusing desktop decorating ideas from PC World Downloads: