All Entries in the "Bargain Hunter" Category
Existing Verizon customers get FREE HotSpot access
Verizon FiOS customers in the Tampa area now have yet another perk. Any customers who has Up-to-25/15 Mbps or faster connection or HSI customers with a 3MBps or 7.1MBps connection can connect to any of the new Verizon Wi-Fi hot spots at no additional charge.
The new WiFi service is not limited to new customers, but is also available to existing FiOS Internet customers with up-to-20 Mbps or faster packages and existing HSI customers who have either an up-to-3 Mbps or 7.1 Mbps package.
Verizon continues to enhance its broadband service capabilities for consumers to offer competitive advantages over rival communication providers.
Since the beginning of the year, Verizon has introduced faster downstream and unprecedented upstream speeds for its all-fiber-optic FiOS Internet service; expanded the reach of its digital subscriber line-based Verizon High Speed Internet (HSI) service; and started offering mini netbook computers to customers as part of select bundle promotions.
And starting today, the company will expand Internet connection capabilities for millions of Verizon broadband customers by providing them free access to thousands of Wi-Fi connections across the U.S., reflecting the company’s sharp focus on developing and deploying broadband and entertainment services.
“Wherever they go – across town or across the country — Internet users today want the freedom and flexibility of staying connected online whenever they want,” said Mike Ritter, Chief Marketing Officer for Verizon Telecom. “In addition to providing in-home broadband networks and the nation’s most reliable 3G wireless network, we’re now offering even more connections with fast, free Wi-Fi that customers can use in their local communities and when traveling across the country.”
Free Verizon Wi-Fi hotspot locations include hotels, airports, restaurants, coffee shops, retailers, convention centers and public locations across the U.S.
A partial list of hot spots in the Tampa Bay Area include:
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s (Cafe / Restaurant)
5025 E Fowler Ave
Tampa,Florida 33614
Grand Suites (Hotel)
11310 North 30th Street
Tampa,Florida 33612
TPA – Tampa International Airport (Airport)
5507 W Spruce St
Tampa,Florida 33607
Camden Preserve Apts. (Other Public Areas)
6501 South Westshore
Tampa,Florida 33616
Intercontinental Hotel – Tampa (Hotel)
4860 West Kennedy Blvd
Tampa,Florida 33609
Barnes & Noble (Bookstore)
11802 N. Dale Mabry Highway
Tampa,Florida 33618
Barnes & Noble (Bookstore)
213 N Dale Mabry
Tampa,Florida 33609
STARBUCKS 10065 (Cafe / Restaurant)
3619 W GANDY BLVD
Tampa,Florida 33611
STARBUCKS 13687 (Cafe / Restaurant)
13650 WALSINGHAM RD
Tampa,Florida 33774
STARBUCKS 14316 (Cafe / Restaurant)
1600 W KENNEDY BLVD
Tampa,Florida 33606
STARBUCKS 8295 (Cafe / Restaurant)
711 S HOWARD AVE
Tampa,Florida 33606
STARBUCKS 8299 (Cafe / Restaurant)
5006 E FOWLER AVE
Tampa,Florida 33617
STARBUCKS 8312 (Cafe / Restaurant)
1510 N WESTSHORE BLVD
Tampa,Florida 33607
STARBUCKS 8324 (Cafe / Restaurant)
1600 E 8TH AVE
Tampa,Florida 33605
STARBUCKS 8384 (Cafe / Restaurant)
225 WESTSHORE PLZ
Tampa,Florida 33609
STARBUCKS 8428 (Cafe / Restaurant)
118 S WESTSHORE BLVD
Tampa,Florida 33609
STARBUCKS 8438 (Cafe / Restaurant)
2223 WESTSHORE BOULEVARD
Tampa,Florida 33607
STARBUCKS 8456 (Cafe / Restaurant)
17502 BRUCE B DOWNS BLVD
Tampa,Florida 33647
STARBUCKS 8485 (Cafe / Restaurant)
401 S DALE MABRY HWY
Tampa,Florida 33609
STARBUCKS 8514 (Cafe / Restaurant)
8229 PARKEDGE DR
Tampa,Florida 33637
STARBUCKS 8538 (Cafe / Restaurant)
3400 W BAY TO BAY BLVD
Tampa,Florida 33629
STARBUCKS 9737 (Cafe / Restaurant)
502 E HILLSBOROUGH AVE
Tampa,Florida 33604
Econo Lodge – Tampa (FL470)* (Hotel)
1701 E. Busch Blvd.
Tampa,Florida 33612
Sleep Inn – Tampa FL (FL078) (Hotel)
12282 Morris Bridge Rd
Tampa,Florida 33637
Tampa Airport Marriott (Hotel)
Tampa International Airport
Tampa,Florida 33607
Tampa Waterside Marriott (Hotel)
700 South Florida Ave
Tampa,Florida 33602
For a complete list of hot spot locations, visit www.verizon.net/hotspots.
NOVA 535 to Give Away a $50,000 “Dream Wedding”!
On Sunday, August 9th 2009 at their first annual Bridal Gala, NOVA 535 will be holding filmed interviews for brides who are interested in winning a free “Dream Wedding” valued at over $50,000. The decision will be made by August 31, 2009. Applicants will be screened by film producer Tony Armer and must agree to be filmed for an upcoming documentary on the bridal process. The winner’s “Dream Wedding” ceremony must be held at NOVA 535 on Sunday January 31st, 2010.
Everyone attending the bridal show should RSVP by e-mailing Kdem0827@aol.com. All brides interested in winning the ‘Dream Wedding” must fill out a “Dream Wedding” application and also sign-in at the Bridal Gala between NOON and 2:00 pm. Although NOVA 535 will have the applications available the day of the gala, brides interested in entering the “Dream Wedding” contest are strongly encouraged to fill out the application in advance. The “Dream Wedding” PDF application can be downloaded and printed out by clicking here.
ALL BRIDES MUST BE PRESENT ON AUGUST 9th 2009 WITH ALL PAPERWORK 100% COMPLETED, PRINTED OUT, SIGNED AND PHYSICALLY HANDED IN BY 2 PM SHARP IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THE GRAND PRIZE.
All brides must also bring a copy of their valid driver’s license for a customary background check that will be run if they are selected as a finalist.
All brides must be at least 21 years of age and legally able to marry in the USA.
Admission to the Bridal Gala is $2 and will include booths by Tampa Bay’s top professional fashion and formal wear retailers, entertainers, elegant printers, hair and make-up artists, florists, event planners, photographers, caterers, bakers, tent & rental companies and much more.
Like Jimmy John’s sandwiches? They’re only $1 tomorrow in St. Pete.
If you’re like me, you most likely love Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches. Fresh meats, amazing bread and a fun atmosphere make JJ’s the place I always like to eat when I have a few extra bucks in my pocket. They’re normally not cheap at $5-7 per sandwich, but tomorrow at the St. Pete location from 11AM to 3PM, sandwiches are $1 each.
The location for your $1 sandwich is:
Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches
1410 66th St N, St Petersburg
(727) 344-0100
LocalShops1: Hyperlocal shopping for the Tampa Bay Area
One of the things I’ve always found interesting about the web is how easy it is to get to powerful databases of information. What I’ve always found annoying is trying to find that information specific to a region.
For us Tampa Bay residents (and those in the surrounding counties of Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota), you may find some help in the hyper local shopping site, LocalShops1.com. They are committed to promoting locally owned, independent shops. The mission of this site is to be a place where shoppers and business owners can come to network, on social and business levels to exchange ideas, post sales, become involved in the community. Out in the “real world,” they plan lots of fun community events, charity fundraisers and store parties.
About to celebrate their 1st anniversary, Local Shops is focused on highlighting high quality businesses in and around Tampa. This site does what other yellow-pages style sites do, but in a cleaner format and each business is hand selected and reviewed for inclusion instead of an across the board inclusion that many directories do. Signing up is FREE, and can be done here:
http://www.local-shops-1.com/LocalShops1/membership-options.html
There’s lots of good news coming out of this organization. They recently began embarking on a $250,000 advertising campaign with the Tampa Tribune, WFLA, tbo.com, Tampa Bay Magazine, Tampa Bay Business Journal and Genesis radio stations 1040 and 820. They are in the midst of a complete redesign of the website to make it easier to use. In August, they are launching “1Card”, the ultimate discount card for local business.
Restaurant.com has Tampa food gift certificates for 80% off right now
People ask me all the time how I can afford to eat out constantly for the reviews I do. I use restaurant.com when they offer 80% off on gift certificates. Basically, for $2, you can get a $25 gift certificate. For $4, a $50 gift certificate. It’s a pretty sweet deal.
Here’s a list of every restaurant offering a certificate in the Tampa Bay area:
http://www.restaurant.com/rdc_site.net/listings.aspx?StateID=&zip=33605&x=0&y=0
You can change the zip code and range (5 miles, 10 miles, etc.) to suit your needs.
When making a purchase, put in promo code “PRESENT”. This will trigger your 80% off. This is only good for a limited time, so stock up on certificates and use them for the next year.
Get rid of your junk on Tampa Freecycle
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. That’s the premise of the Freecycle Network. The concept is simple. Instead of throwing away items that might still be useful such as furniture, knick-knacks, clothes, tools or just about anything else, you put it up on a message board and people can claim it. Alternatively, if you’re looking for something, and most anything is perfectly acceptable to ask for, you can post a wanted ad and people may respond. With over 4,675 groups with 6,365,000 members, this is a community that grows daily and has helped so many people.
I’ve been a freecycle member for many years. 5 years ago in Michigan, I was a moderator for a few of the groups there. I saw the efforts of freecycle help many families who had nothing and were living in squaller to get on their feet. I also saw many people with garages full of junk able to find new space without filling landfills. It was very rewarding seeing the process at work. This is the re-use portion of the the reduce-reuse-recycle movement, and it’s making a big impact.
When I was down on my luck and trying to get my life together, freecycle helped me furnish my entire house. Couches, beds, tables, even a computer all just for asking for it. When I was able to afford nicer things, I freecycled the old stuff back out, as well as some other things I had gathered along the way. These days, I pick up a few nice things if I see them, but I seem to give more than I ask for. Last night, I picked up a 55 gallon fish tank from a very nice local freecycler. A month ago, I gave away 3 computers that I refurbished and a bunch of tech gear to needy families. The give and take is a thrill in and of itself.
Every city has a Freecycle. The Tampa Freecycle is here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecycletampa/
As of this morning, they had 15,122 members. Feel free to sign up and post your offers or wants.
Free Food @ Five Guys Burger and Fries Today
This taken from the Daily Loaf:
To celebrate the official opening of Five Guys Burgers and Fries at Skypoint (777 North Ashley Drive in downtown Tampa), they’re giving away a free burger, hot dog and fries (at that location) to anyone who befriends them on Facebook.
Offer good today from 11 a.m. to 1p.m. and from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. tonight.
Free Beds at a hotel that’s renovating @ MLK & Falkenberg
I was a bit skeptical about this, but it sure paid off. This hotel is doing a complete renovation and is bringing in all new beds today. Thus, all the old beds must go. Most are kings, but they have some queens and fulls too. Most are in good shape. You can pick and choose what you like, and can take up to 6 beds if you’d like them.
These are first come/first serve. We scored 4 beds out of the 500+ they had available.
http://tampa.craigslist.org/hil/zip/1001846681.html
From 9:00am to 4:00pm
10007 Princess Palm Ave
Tampa, FL 33619
Site-to-Store at the Westshore Sears
I love the Site to Store concept. Online prices, in store pickup, no shipping costs. When Walmart did it, it was cool. Place your order, wait 10-14 days, get an email, pick it up. Sears in Tampa brought it to a whole new level.
Placed an order for my mom’s belated Christmas Present today. Placed the order at 9:18 this morning, thinking I could pick it up in a couple of weeks. At 10:23, I get a note saying, “Your order is ready to pick up.” That fast? Really? Wow.
I called Sears, thinking there’s now way this could be. Apparently, they keep some inventory on special hold in their site to store, not for retail floor sales. They do this for about a hundred items that are popular, making it a very quick turnaround. He says that even for non-inventory items, delivery to the store is usually 1-2 days at most.
So, I’m impressed. I go to get my drill, and what I find when I get there is even more impressive. Special parking for pickup orders. No walking through the store. No lines. No bullshit. You just pull your car up to the door and that’s that.
This is the store I’m talking about, if any of you want to see this process in action:
Sears & Westshore Plaza
347 Westshore Plaza
Tampa, FL 33609
(813) 288-6000
I walk inside and I’m greeted by a computer. I’m expecting the worst. “Please scan your printed receipt from the email.” OK, easy enough. Hold it there, it scans. “Mr. Baldwin, thank you for your order. Please slide your credit card to login.” OK, seems easy enough. Sure enough, it was easy. “Mr. Baldwin, please wait. Our employee will be there in a moment. Please look at the screen to check progress of your order.”
I look up and associate CHARLES had already picked the order and was walking with it. Total transaction time from the time I put my credit card in until the box was in my hand was only 19 seconds. NINETEEN SECONDS.
I’m really impressed. I never gave Sears a lot of credit because I always found their stores to be crowded, overpriced and generally distracting. In the last couple of years though, that image has really turned around.
I’m so blown away by both the good deal I got and the great customer experience that I’m going to order one of these drills for myself next week.
Green Fairey spotted at OK Liquor on Nebraska
I’ve been a lover of absinthe for as long as I’ve been acquainted with it. While the hallucinations are much milder than I’d been told, the liquor is stronger than I’d been told and the experience, as a whole, is different than I’ve been told… it’s a good experience to have.
The problem with absinthe is the legalities and trouble that once surrounded partaking in it. Up until a year ago when it was unbanned in America, you had to buy it in europe through some clandestine means, have it shipped in some inconspicuous box marked “not for human consumption” and hope it arrives unbusted, unalted, undrank and at all. I can say that I’ve ordered about a dozen very expensive bottles of Abstinthe from Europe (La fee, Route 66, etc.etc.) and only about half have shown up. Of them, 2 were broken. The other 4 survived the trip and customs. Even if they DO survive and make it to your hands, the cost is outrageous. For even a small (1L) bottle, you’re looking at $80-120, including shipping. That’s a small price for the experience, but a large price if you plan on making a regular habit of it.
Then, everything changed. About a year ago, I started hearing of people in New Orleans an New York both receiving shipments of “Lucid” into their stores, and you could procure them legally. When asked about the consistency and contents of this brand, everyone who tried it assured me: “It’s the real deal.”
I’ve yet to try it, as I didn’t want to bother anyone in either NOLA or the Big Apple to send me one. I was still worried that somehow, somewhere, I’d end up paying a fortune and not having anything to show for it. Then, quite by accident, the doorway to the Green Fairey was opened again for me yesterday.
Not even a mile from me, at my corner ghetto liquor store, it stared back at me while buying an 18-er of Miller Light. It’s dark bottle with bright green eyes, celebritory glass and finely crafted box instantly distinguishable. I asked the clerk, a man I now know relatively well because I’m in there quite often, if it was the real deal. He confirmed it. For $70, you my Tampa consumers, can have your very own bottle.
When I get paid next week, I’m going to try it out. I’ll give you a full report as the events unfold. For now, go get your bottle here:
OK Liquors and Spirits
3607 N Nebraska Ave
Tampa, FL 33603
(813) 224-0362