I love summertime movies, but with ticket prices quickly approaching a Jackson, and popcorn prices making you rethink the switch to ethanol, it’s quickly becoming harder and harder to justify the cost.
However, with a bit of planning and some smart savings, Consumerist can show you nine different ways to save at the movies.
From movie ticket coupons and drive-in revivals to bulk ticket purchases and reward programs, it’s a helpful and easy to use guide to saving a few bucks.
The veteran of numerous rallies, races, and records, he recently drove from New York to Santa Monica in 31 hours and 4 minutes, beating the previous transcontinental record by over an hour. To give you an idea of the kind of speed it takes to break a record like that, think about this: Roy needed a sustained speed of almost 90 miles per hour.
For 31 hours!
So what kind of technology does it take to pilot a four-wheel rocket through 31,000 highly trained highway patrol?
Tasco 8 x 40 binoculars with a Kenyon KS-2 gyro stabilizer
Military spec Steiner 7 x 50 binoculars
Bumper-mounted L-3 Raytheon NightDriver thermal camera
Flush, bumper-mounted Blinder M40 laser jammers
Redundant Garmin StreetPilot 2650 GPS units
Preprogrammed Uniden police radio scanners
Ceiling-mounted Uniden CB radio with high-gain whip antenna
And last but not least, a Valentine One radar/laser detector
Since 1992, Valentine has been making a radar detector that refuses to loose. It’s a company that only makes radar detectors, only make ones model of radar detector (constantly upgraded with the latest technology), and only makes the best radar detector, so you know that they mean business.
On my recent trip to Las Vegas for the SEMA show, I had a chance to check out the capabilities of my newly purchased V1, and I must say, I was beyond impressed. Not only did it constantly keep me aware of what was going on around me (the patented arrows tell you with amazing accuracy if the radar is in front of, beside, or behind you), but it also saved me from at least one sure-fire ticket.
Coming down a hill with a clear lane and a tailwind, my car was more than happy to break the posted speed limit, and trusting in the powers of the V1, I was more than happy to oblige.
Suddenly, the V1 flashed Ka band, and maxed out the signal strength indicator, showing sure signs of a cop ahead. Heading the warning, I quickly brought the car down to posted speeds, and peered ahead for the awaiting cruiser. After about a mile of driving, I came upon the hidden cruiser, tucked neatly under an overpass with his radar gun pointed directly down the road that I had just traveled. Just past him though, there were three other cruisers parked and waiting to pick up what the radar gun picked off. It was a speed trap, and thanks to the V1, I had easily avoided it.
Chock one up in the V1 win column.
Though you can’t exactly call the Valentine One cheap, it’s a definite case of you get what you pay for. (And it’s also probably cheaper than getting a ticket.) Plus, if Alex Roy trusts it to drive across the country, shouldn’t you trust it to drive the kids to soccer? (Quickly.)
Also, having tested out a few other radar detectors over the years, I can confirm Valentine’s claims that the V1 is the easiest to use, most reliable, and gave the best warning time out of the bunch.
Your driving record will thank you.
(For more information about Alex Roy’s record run, check out his book, The Driver, and his documentary, 32 Hours 7 Minutes.)
On Saturday, I had the chance to go and see Formula D’s “The Finals” at Irwindale Speedway (yes, I did get stuck on Interstate 5 on the way down from San Francisco due to that massive accident), and I must say, if you’re at all a fan of the four wheeled machine, make sure you check out one of Formula Drift’s events at a track near you.
If you’re not familiar with the sport, think of drifting as two automotive ballerinas battling it out in a boxing match. It’s gracefully controlled mayhem, and in my opinion, it’s easily the best form of four-wheeled entertainment on the planet. [click to continue…]
As baseball season begins, it’s once again time to break out your negotiation skills if you want to get into a game, and you don’t want to sit in the nosebleeds. To help your quest, Consumerist sat down with a former season/group ticket representative, and came up with a list of ten tricks (and one bonus trick) to score a seat. With tips like “Buy odd numbers of tickets” and “Go alone, sit near the dugout”, these might not be good for the family outing, but for the die hard fan who just wants to watch his team play from as good of a location as possible, they’re indispensable bits of knowledge to keep in mind. Game on.
