I’m by no means a survivalist crackpot–I’m entirely too reliant on modern pharmaceuticals–but the Eton FR1000 is really cool. It’s an FM, AM and GMRS radio (walkie-talkie) with vox activation. It’s an LED flashlight and emergency siren. It’ll charge your cell phone. And it can be powered by AA batteries, rechargeable NiMH, AC adaptor, or hand crank! All it’s missing is shortwave.
I found the fancy pen/stylus combo for my Palm V. I lost it a couple of weeks ago, and was really upset—not because I couldn’t live without it, but because it was a gift from sara. It bothers me when I lose gifts.
It bothers me even more when I feel like I really need to get rid of junk that was a well-intentioned gift. I have some stuff from my mother that falls into that category.