Missives from the 6th Floor

Got a second garage door opener on sale (one day I'll rant about the idiot who tied two wooden roll-up doors together with a bit of 2x4 to one opener on them and couldn't even make it square), and picked up a Ryobi 18v cordless drill/driver, circular saw, light and "why'd they bother" radio set for $60 at Home Depot.

My last cordless drill - a Black & Decker 12v - works fine, but it's battery is at the end of it's useful life, and a new battery would have cost me $30 or more. Out of curiosity I checked on the battery for the new kit - and until I found it at Home Depot for $30, I was going to have an aneurysm - there are outfits selling the battery back for $90!

It's sad that I'm going to freecycle a perfectly good cordless drill 'cause it's cheaper to buy a new tool than a new battery. Oh, and the battery for the new one is ni-cad, so in a couple years, I'll probably have to make the same choice again...