The Smarmy Carny

Here are some of the things you get for free (or things you aren't supposed to take, but do) from hotels. For the record this review is based on cheap hotels, not expensive hotels.

• Bar Soap: C+ Hotel soap works quite well, even if it doesn't last very long. They are particularly useful
• Towels: F Stealing hotel towels is one of those things you hear about all the time. The thing is, hotel towels are fundamentally worthless, but perhaps that's because people keep stealing them. A tablespoon of water will soak the entire towel. They don't even make a good bathmat.
• Shampoo and Conditioner: C For a guy like me, the quality of the shampoo and conditioner are just fine, but the bottles are so small you're lucky if you can get two full uses out of them. If you're picky about your hair care products, they're probably worthless to you.
• Pens: A Hotel pens work just as perfectly as any other pen. You simply have to carry around their logo wherever you take the pen. I don't think I've ever looked inside one to see if they put less ink in them, though. Maybe they're sample-sized, just like all the other hotel freebies?
• Notepads: B Hotel notepads work just fine away from the hotel, but they have a suspiciously small number of pages to use.
• Mouthwash: B Mouthwash is always good to have around, but this is yet another sample-sized bottle. Good luck getting more than a couple days out of one tiny bottle.

Please feel free to leave a comment. What do you agree or disagree with, and why? Which hotel freebies do you wish were included that I didn't cover here?

Cold Stone Creamery is giving away free ice cream tonight for their 5th Annual World’s Largest Ice Cream Social, September 28, 2006, from 5pm to 8pm. There are also "family activities" planned for the night.

What's the special event? Cold Stone is selling stars to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation®. Since you're getting a really good value with this free ice cream, you might as well donate at least that cost to Make-A-Wish®. The free product is a 3 oz. portion of Cole's Creation in a cup. The free creation is the new "Make-A-Wish Creation" inspired by Cole, a 10 year old Wish Child from Colorado. Cole’s Creation combines chocolate ice cream with fluffy yellow cake, chocolate chips and rainbow sprinkles.

I wasn't planning on posting this on such short notice, but this is to benefit Make-A-Wish®. Regular readers will remember that I blogged for Make-A-Wish® during Blogathon 2006.

Not sure where your local Cold Stone Creamery is? Head over to Cold Stone's "Nearest Stone" page to find out where yours is!

Today, Saturday May 6 2006, is Free Comic Book Day!

To find out which comic book shops in your area are participating, head over to the Free Comic Book Day site and enter your zip code. There are a surprising number of participating shops, so you shouldn't be disappointed.

Of course, you can't just walk in and snag that signed, rare edition. There are a limited set of comics available for free.

By now, the geeks have already snagged what they wanted, but you should still call and head out to your nearest shop!

Today is Get Over It Day.

Get over what? Get over:

• Failed relationships
• Ex-boyfriends or Ex-girlfriends
• Fears or anxieties
• Bad habits
• Embarassing experiences
• Insecurities
• Unrequited love
• Anything/everything you're struggling to move on from

I suppose my fear of small, shiny objects growing in size until they are large enough to eat my closest relatives would have to fall into that last category. Maybe that's what I'll get over today.

If you need help getting over it, you'll want to head to the Get Over It Day website.

The site does offer rewards for those who get over it, and even if you don't get over it, you can help console yourself with the coupon for buy one get one free classic sundae from Carvel and other printable coupons, good through March 31, 2006. Atlanta-area business have additional coupons posted, too.

Head to Arby's on Thursday, March 9, 2006 between 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. for Free Chicken Tender Day! From the looks of it, they are promising "a free Chicken Tender," so I believe you only get a single nugget-sized piece, though I could be wrong.

Head over to the Arby's Chicken Naturals page for more details. While you're there, click on "TV" and check out the fun Hulk Hogan commercial they've got.

For the latest Black Friday posts, check out blackfriday.smarmycarny.com

Black Friday Deals

GottaDeal has now released Black Friday ads for three of the most anticipated BF sales: Toys 'R' Us, CompUSA, and Best Buy.

If you want the nearly complete list of released ads or if you're not sure about what Black Friday is, just read up at my original Black Friday post or go straight to Black Friday @ GottaDeal.

For the latest Black Friday posts, check out blackfriday.smarmycarny.com

Black Friday Deals

For those of you who take advantage of the amazing sales and specials offered on Black Friday, here's a site that I have used as a valuable resource for a few years now. For those who don't know, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, when many stores offer up some amazing deals to draw the crowds.

Just head to GottaDeal
Once there, click on the "Black Friday 2005" thread. In there, you will find plenty of offers, including scans & pictures of advertisements that have yet to be "officially" released. If you're only interested in the scans or posted ads, click on the thread near the top titled "Complete List of Links to Posted Ads."

A nice new feature on the site is that registered users can click on "My Shopping List," look at text versions of the various sales, and create their own personalized list of BF deals to print out. I'm loving it!

Currently, GottaDeal has deals for the following stores posted:

• Wal-Mart
• Toys 'R' Us
• CompUSA
• Best Buy
• Kmart
• Sears
• RadioShack
• Costco
• Ace Hardware
• Walgreens
• Express
• Black & Decker Outlet Store
• Harbor Freight Tools
• . . . and more to come!

If you stay up on the forums, you'll also get the scoop on what specials are also available online so you can order those online at your convenience and show up in person for the stores with "in-store only" specials. Other great suggestions and advice are available, too!