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In an unprecedented show of solidarity with Axl, everyone in America, except estranged GNR guitarists Slash and Buckethead, will receive a free can of Dr Pepper if the album ships some time — anytime! — in 2008. Dr Pepper supports Axl, and fully understands that sometimes you have to make it through the jungle before you get it right.

Oh the brilliance! If they lose they get an album by their favorite-est rock star (and I can admit, I didn’t hate GnR — but I don’t really miss them either) and lots of people discover they still don’t like Dr. Pepper. If Axl fails to deliver his rock and roll gone with the wind — they appear to have run a marketing campaign.

Argh! I am falling into their trap! I guess its the Eff Yew to Slash and Buckethead that I like so well.

Dr. Pepper Press Release

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Catalog Page [Boscovs.com via Dealnews]

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I think Members Only jackets fall into the “trying too hard” category, but if you’ve been wanting to sample a little bit of that ’80s flavor, at least do it on the cheap. “Classic Closeouts” is selling some for just ten bucks, plus six bucks shipping. [Dealnews]

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Brooklyn Industries is pushing out some of their cold weather clothing on discount, like hoodies and jackets and sweaters. I used to sort of feel like BI was the Gap of New York street wear, but I have to admit that I’m loving a lot of the stuff they’ve got on sale. (I can’t afford this jacket, but I would buy it anyway if they had it in my size.)

Also, I bought a mustard-colored hoodie from Brooklyn Industries almost two years ago when a cold snap left me without a jacket and have ended up wearing it nearly every other day since as my bumming-around-walking-the-dog gear and it’s still holding up very nicely. It was something like $60, which is expensive for a hoodie, but at least they aren’t skimping on quality. And if you can one of these hoodies on sale for $40—and you can!—then it’s totally worth it.

Men’s Sale Page [Brooklyn Industries] (Thanks, B!)

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First of all, you can search their coupon database by URL. Want to see what discounts are good at Amazon today? Just type in “Amazon.com”. But since the results from that are going to be fairly scattershot—who goes out to shop with the intention to spend money at a specific store?—Retail Me Not’s tools that plug into that coupon database are much more practical, such as the Firefox extension that will alert you if the site you’re currently browsing has any deals, or a Mac dashboard widget that is updated with the greatest deals.

Home Page [RetailMeNot.com]

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If the only thing you know of comic books are superheroes and the movies based on them, you’re missing out: some of the best stories being told today are being told through comics. (Some personal favorites over the last few years include Promethia, Fables, Y: The Last Man, and Walking Dead, just to give you a few fairly mainstream examples.)

Tomorrow is “Free Comic Book Day,” one of the comics industry’s best ideas in a while: find your local comic book shop, pop in, and walk out with several free comics to whet your fiction buds. Sure, it’s the “first hit is free” school of marketing, but that’s a great way to sample some ongoing titles to see what you like. If you haven’t read any comics in years, I think you’ll be surprised how mature and creative (some of) the industry has become.

Store Locations, Titles, and More [FreeComicBookDay.com]

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One of my favorite writers Dan (of Dan’s Data fame) is really into Japanese R/C tanks. (That’s one of the many peculiar hobbies that makes Dan so charming.) He’s recently gotten his hand on a sixteenth-scale Mitsuwa T-34-95, available for about $150 US delivered, about half of its normal list price.

The big advantage of the Mitsuwa kit over everyday large-scale toy-store R/C tanks is that it has proper articulated tracks. Cheap tanks always have rubber tracks. Those are simple and durable, but they eat a huge amount of the tank’s motor power, so even big rubber-tracked tanks are generally an indoor-only proposition.

The Mitsuwa also apparently scrubs up real nice if you invest some work in it. That’s another point of difference with cheap tanks – they’re seldom very good models, scale-accuracy-wise.

Buy a tank! [DansData Blog]

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We have often wanted to come up with a list of criteria that makes a product green, but it’s very difficult because we have almost 1,000 different categories of products (and the list grows daily). For example, we focuse on products made from pesticde-free sustainable materials, such as organic cotton, bamboo, hemp, recycled, etc materials. However, we also include products that reduce your energy consumption, such as CFL light bulbs and weatherization products. A light bulb by itself is not necessarily made from sustainable materials, but it reduces our coal burning fossil fuel consumption and is the best current green alternative. The bottom line is that any products you find on this website will be the best current green alternative that we could find and as new technologies replace old ones, we update the inventory accordingly.

More or less it’s a giant hand-picked product list, but the sheer number of products they’ve punched into the database is worth something. Might want to spellcheck the F.A.Q., though.

Home Page [GreenShopper.com]

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Let’s say you need to put together a set of golf clubs or you want to upgrade what you have, but you don’t want to drop a mortgage payment at the golf shop on a set of shiny new sticks. No problem, thanks to the robust market for used golf clubs that now exists.

Buying used golf clubs used to be a pretty sketchy proposition. Some golf shops might have had a barrel full of beat-up old clubs in the corner, or you could go the Play It Again Sports route of general used sports gear. Either way, you were looking at limited selection, scarcely any recourse if you got the clubs home and they immediately fell apart, and usually no expertise from the sales person.

Thanks to the rise of eBay and the rapid proliferation of golf club models—the lifespan of a driver or set of irons has dropped from three years or so a decade ago to 18-24 months at the high end, and more like 12 months with drivers and putters—there’s now a glut of product out there for you to tap into. And, better yet, there are reputable resellers that can actually back the products they sell you to make sure you’re satisfied with what you’ve bought.

You can save big money if you choose to go the used route. For example, a new TaylorMade r7 SuperQuad driver will run you $399. Last year’s r7 460 driver is available as a closeout model for $299. But a TaylorMade R580XD driver from two years ago—in good condition—will only set you back in the neighborhood of $130. If you’re an avid golfer or love having the latest and greatest, you pay a premium. If you don’t mind something with a little mileage on it, going used can save a bunch of money.

Find out where to score the best deals on used clubs and how to make old beaters look like new after the jump.

On the Internet, I strongly recommend 3balls.com as the place to buy used golf clubs. The site is run by golf professionals who really know their stuff, and they have stringent standards for what they make available—and detailed descriptions of the condition of each club they sell. Another good web-only used club source is callawaygolfpreowned.com, which has good deals on clubs from Callaway Golf, one of the game’s top brands. In addition to “pre-owned” (how very Lexus of them) clubs, the site also sometimes has deals on closeout products or clubs that have cosmetic imperfections but are otherwise sound for use on the course.

Among the big box golf retailers, Golfsmith, Edwin Watts and Golf Galaxy all offer a good selection of used clubs in their stores. Their policies differ slightly, but you generally have a chance to buy used clubs and try them out for a short period of time. If they don’t fit your swing, you can usually bring them back to exchange them for other clubs. Since “try before you buy” is the rule of new club purchases, having the chance to swap out clubs after trying them is a good way to go with buying used.

Once you’ve decided where to buy your used clubs, here are my general guidelines for making smart purchases that will help you look good and play better:

Drivers – Gentlemen, size does matter. Don’t buy any drivers smaller than 400 cubic centimeters in head volume. The max size allowed under the Rules of Golf is 460cc, but you’ll be fine if you want to go with a slightly smaller model from a couple years ago. Also, look for driver that doesn’t have “idiot marks”—scratches across the top, or crown, of the club from the previous owner hitting underneath the ball. These marks won’t affect performance, but they look bad and will make you look like, well, an idiot if you’re using a club that has them. If a driver has any dents anywhere on the clubhead, avoid it altogether. Some good driver models from the last few years to look for used include Callaway’s Great Big Bertha II 415, TaylorMade’s r5, Cleveland’s Launcher 460 Ti, Ping’s G2 and Titleist’s 905 series.

Fairway Woods/Hybrids – Same advice goes for these as for drivers: avoid idiot marks. Drivers are usually in decent shape because they’re generally hit off a tee, but fairway woods and hybrids go through all sorts of abuse. If you can, look at the sole (bottom) of the club to see if there are any gouges or dents. Good fairway wood models to look for used include TaylorMade’s V Steel, Callaway’s Steelhead line (especially the Steelhead Plus models), Titleist’s 904 series and Tour Edge’s original Exotics line. As for hybrids, look for TaylorMade’s Rescue clubs, Nike’s CPR line, Tour Edge’s Bazooka hybrids and Adams’ Idea hybrids.

Irons – Irons also have a hard life, getting hit out of bunkers and other less-than-perfect areas of the course. But most of the cavity back-design irons I would suggest you try are made from durable stainless steel. A few nicks on the edges of the clubs—called “bag rash,” since this type of damage usually comes from clubs banging together in your bag—are OK, as are wear marks on the face. You’ll want to avoid irons with a lot of rust on them, though it is usually superficial and can be scrubbed off with an good brush. Also check the shafts: steel shafts can become bent, and graphite shafts can have nicks and gouges. Either way, you’ll looking at a club that could become a projectile, so stay away. There are several good user-friendly iron models you can check out, including any of Callaway’s X-series (X-12, X-14 and X-16 models can be had for great prices), TaylorMade’s 300 series, Titleist DCI Gold or Black models or Ping’s i3 or G2 irons.

Wedges – I wouldn’t recommend buying used wedges. A big part of wedge performance is the spin imparted to the ball by the grooves on the clubface, and a significantly worn wedge can short you on spin. If you can find wedges that have been very gently used, they may be worth taking a chance—ask a sales person to check out the wedges and give you their opinion. Also, focus on wedges that have been made of more durable grades of steel through a casting process instead of softer forged wedges, as cast wedges will stand up to more abuse and maintain their grooves longer. Good examples are Cleveland’s 588 series, Titleist’s Vokey wedges and TaylorMade’s RAC wedges. And if you happen to see an old Ping Eye 2 wedge while shopping, snap it up. These wedges are enduring favorites, but hard to find. Some tour players hoard them because even after 20 years, they are still among the most versatile, easy-to-use wedges out there.

Putters – Since visual appeal is key to putting, avoid any used putters with a lot of bag rash or scrapes and scratches. Also watch for rust, as many putters are made from carbon steel, which is very susceptible to oxidation. Otherwise, the used putter bin is a great place to find bargains. Some players go through putters like Paris Hilton goes through Greek shipping heirs, and you can pick up their castoffs like you’re Lindsay Lohan. Anything from Ping or Odyssey is a good buy, and finding a used Scotty Cameron by Titleist putter is the easiest way to get into ownership of that expensive putter line. And if you come by a really beat-up Cameron that you really love and have some extra scratch, you can send it in to Scotty’s Custom Shop and have it restored to original condition and even customized with your initials. That’s a premium investment, but starting with a rusted out old putter is cheaper than buying one new and doing the same thing.

If you do buy used clubs, I also suggest the following steps to make your sticks look and play like new:

• Get a grip: Have your clubs regripped by a club repair specialist. This service is usually offered by any golf shop that would have used clubs on hand, and costs anywhere from $3-$8 per club depending on what style of grip you like (I like the Golf Pride New Decade multicompound grip, which goes for about $7 each). Old, slick grips can hurt your swing by causing you to hold onto the club with too much pressure, and they can hurt other people when your 7-iron goes flying out of your sweaty hands. Some used club outlets do include regripping in the cost of a club.

• Protect your investment: If you’re buying a driver, fairway woods, hybrids or a putter, check to see if the clubs come with headcovers. If they don’t pony up a few bucks and buy your own. They’ll cut down on bag rash and random damage, and there are some fun designs out there (college mascots, cartoon characters, old school sock-style covers with tassels on the end).

• Keep it clean: When you get your clubs home, fill a bucket with warm soapy water and let your clubs soak for a few minutes. Then give them a good going-over with a toothbrush or towel to get caked-on dirt or grass out of the grooves. Mr. Clean Magic Erasers do a good job of getting other marks off your clubs, and Turtle Wax can help make the painted crown area of drivers and fairway woods nice and shiny (and protect them against any idiot marks you might accidentally make).

(Photo: S2 Art’s Flickr)

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Instead, we should have given this stuff away. Or at least swapped it for something else we wanted!

I’ve assembled a small list of sites that exist to help you get rid of your old junk. I haven’t used all of these, so be wary.

• Freecycle is the granddaddy of the gifting web community. It’s likely there is a Freecycle group in your town. Freecycle is best for giving away, although the frugal junk collector will enjoy keeping an eye on the local lists. You don’t get anything from giving away your stuff besides good feelings.

• Craigslist is the internet’s free classified ads. You’d think everyone would have heard of it by now, but I continue to trip over people who have not. Craigslist is a great place to sell your stuff or give it away for free.

• Bookins lets you trade books for $4 apiece including shipping.

• BookMooch lets you trade books as well, but uses a points system. (Get points for trade ins, use those points to order new books.)

• Lala allows you to trade CDs, those strange discs with magical inscriptions.

• Game Trading Zone is a site for trading games.

• So is Goozex.

• As is Switchplanet, which also lets you swap DVDs.

• What does I Trade Video Games (dot com) exist for, I wonder?

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