So this one starts out on my school District's "Gots and Wants" page. I know the name is really dumb but the service is pretty cool. It's actually a lot like craigslist where people in the district can post classified ads for free which are viewable by other staff members. That might not sound the most amazing but you have to remember that there are several thousand faculty members who have access to this little classifieds. So far we have scored big on a Bose audio system and an iPhone both of which were priced at just about half the actual used value price.

The latest and greatest came to me from the transportation department. I was lucky enough to catch the ad only 15 or 20 minutes after it was posted and in essence I won. They were giving away an older Windows 98 laptop that they no longer used and a projector. The projector would shut off every 30 minutes or so and had been serviced by the IT department and deemed irrepairable. Score. It took several hours of troubleshooting before I found a small fan buried deep inside the projector whose bearings were going out and not giving sufficient air flow. $6.99 for a new fan from Fry's Electronics and this puppy is now in business. It's actually a pretty nice projector and gives a bright, crisp picture. Next weekend's project - to build a projector screen. I'll post pictures when the whole theater is set up.