Real men don't believe in accessorizing
Possessing a Y chromosome, I have a huge weakness for technology. I find however that even when I talk myself into spending my hard earned money on the latest and greatest nonessentials, there is yet more money to be spent on accessories.
AC adapters
cigarette lighter adapters
screen protectors
carrying cases
recharachable batteries
bike mounting brackets
car suction cup holsters
car friction mounts
memory cards
heart rate monitors
24K:1 maps
Swedish meatball attachements
When I bought a new cell phone a couple years ago, I convinced myself that my $50 phone needed $90 in accessories. A month later, all but the cigarette lighter adapter was covered in dust. Recently, I purchased a handheld GPS. To my surprise, I didn't buy the newest Garmin touchscreen model. I had myself talked into spending the extra $200, but the reviewers who performed parallel comparisons of the old and new models all concluded, "The new GPS is pretty, but it doesn't GP nearly as well as the old one." I'm a sucker for the newest mostest shiniest toys, but I guess I still have limits.
So upon purchasing the Gamrin 60CSx from Amazon, I then had to investigate accessories. Sadly, I NEEDED a memory card and the City Navigator Maps. The memory card was cheap, $5.47 + shipping for a 2GB micro SD. Not bad. The second was $96. It was inevitable as the maps have only recently become available on OSX. Now my $300 toy had cost me over $400, but I wasn't done yet. I still had to make the thing functional in my truck.
The older I get, the less willing I am to do things just because everyone else does them. Unwilling to blow yet another $60 on car addons, I decided to dig through my accessory graveyard and the nearest recycle bin to try and find a "cost effective" substitute. I found the following supplies:
Stryofoam
Milk Jug
Duct tape
Solder mounting serial cable connector
Shrink Tubing
4.5V Cigarette Ligher Adapter
00 rubber stopper
Epoxy
Here's what I built:
What can I say? Cheap as free, AND the cigarette lighter adapter can simultaneously power cellphone and gps. My homemade contraptions won't win any beauty contests, but everyone knows accessories don't get you the lady-types anyway.
$$$ does, so if I can save $60 a dozen more times, I'll be set.
AC adapters
cigarette lighter adapters
screen protectors
carrying cases
recharachable batteries
bike mounting brackets
car suction cup holsters
car friction mounts
memory cards
heart rate monitors
24K:1 maps
Swedish meatball attachements
When I bought a new cell phone a couple years ago, I convinced myself that my $50 phone needed $90 in accessories. A month later, all but the cigarette lighter adapter was covered in dust. Recently, I purchased a handheld GPS. To my surprise, I didn't buy the newest Garmin touchscreen model. I had myself talked into spending the extra $200, but the reviewers who performed parallel comparisons of the old and new models all concluded, "The new GPS is pretty, but it doesn't GP nearly as well as the old one." I'm a sucker for the newest mostest shiniest toys, but I guess I still have limits.
So upon purchasing the Gamrin 60CSx from Amazon, I then had to investigate accessories. Sadly, I NEEDED a memory card and the City Navigator Maps. The memory card was cheap, $5.47 + shipping for a 2GB micro SD. Not bad. The second was $96. It was inevitable as the maps have only recently become available on OSX. Now my $300 toy had cost me over $400, but I wasn't done yet. I still had to make the thing functional in my truck.
The older I get, the less willing I am to do things just because everyone else does them. Unwilling to blow yet another $60 on car addons, I decided to dig through my accessory graveyard and the nearest recycle bin to try and find a "cost effective" substitute. I found the following supplies:
Stryofoam
Milk Jug
Duct tape
Solder mounting serial cable connector
Shrink Tubing
4.5V Cigarette Ligher Adapter
00 rubber stopper
Epoxy
Here's what I built:
What can I say? Cheap as free, AND the cigarette lighter adapter can simultaneously power cellphone and gps. My homemade contraptions won't win any beauty contests, but everyone knows accessories don't get you the lady-types anyway.
$$$ does, so if I can save $60 a dozen more times, I'll be set.
posted by Saule Cogneur at 12:28 PM
1 Comments:
that reminds me of the scene in Apollo 13 where the engineers have to make a square peg fit in a round hole using only what they had in the spaceship. you are truly an engineer, mike! (and i mean that as a compliment!)
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