Well I'm sure there are some Baffin Islanders and Svalbardians too. :) Google wasn't too helpful and I figured information from someone with direct experience might be more useful.

Looks like a nice way to get some equipment on the cheap, just keep in mind what it was likely being used for before seizure. Odds are the police didn't confiscate it because he was cheating on his taxes AND growing hydroponic tomatoes... I'd advise a paranoid-OCD type of cleaning, inside and out. Make sure there aren't any illicit residues that might be found later and blamed on you.

ogrose, email the company - don't call, you want something in writing - giving them as complete and detailed a history as you can of your dealings with them. Hopefully you have the names of the people you spoke to and the dates you spoke to them and some notes about who said what. Tell them what you want (your money back? the item actually delivered?), when you want it by and when you expect a response from them. If you don't have a satisfactory response by your deadline, email them again, tell them that if you don't have a satisfactory response by the end of the next business day, you will be calling your credit card company to dispute the charge and then, if they don't meet your requirements, do just that. Sorry, but your "forget it" email was a mistake. Don't do that again. Companies don't want to give you your money back, but they HATE credit card disputes. From an article in the NYT earlier this year on disputing charges: Merchants must carve out time to respond to each dispute. They also pay one-time fees for the privilege and may end up paying higher overall fees to accept cards if disputes are too frequent. Or they just get cut off from accepting cards altogether.

When I became interested in making jewelry, I knew absolutely nothing about it. A local bead store helped me get started with some basic tools and showed me how to string some beads on wire and crimp the ends. That got me hooked, but the internet is where I learned so many of the techniques I use today from a wrapped loop to much more complicated wire weaves and wrapping. My next goal is to teach myself how to use a torch. I've already learned how to make balled headpins and basic fold forming; fusing and soldering is on my list along with setting stones. The generosity of the members of online jewelry forums, bloggers and youtube video producers in sharing their knowledge for free is something I very much appreciate. I'm now in a position to share knowledge with others and I gladly do that to pay it forward. Another favorite past time is looking up recipes, cooking techniques and nutritional information. Like many of the rest of you, I also like to look up obscure facts and information. I love that a question can randomly pop into my head and I can instantly look up the answer. We travel a lot and the internet has made it possible to learn about the area we want to visit, plan an itinerary and book excursions, airline ticks and hotel rooms without ever leaving our house. Online selling sites like Etsy, Ebay, Artfire and Amazon Handmade, along with others, have made it possible for small crafters like myself to sell their products to a world wide market. We used to be limited to local craft/art shows and home sales parties, but now people can extend their reach beyond their wildest imaginations. Twitter, FB, Pinterest and Instagram make is possible to market products for free or little cost and reach huge numbers of people. It's possible to build one's own website if they wish to go out on their own and bypass the selling sites. Besides all of the above, the internet can bring people together to form very real communities such as the one we have here at the KT. I have met some of the nicest people online who have become friends more precious to me than some of the people I know in real life. The kindness, compassion, wisdom, knowledge and generosity of these people can be humbling. I find myself laughing at their jokes and stories, crying along with them during times of grief and troubles, celebrating accomplishments and milestones, admiring their talents and sharing advice when one hits a stumbling block. For all the negatives, and there are some, it's really opened up entire new worlds to so many of us. For those who are home bound, it can be their only contact with other people which makes it possible to have a social life. Families that are spread far and wide can stay in touch and the older generations can have very real relationships with the young generations. It's a wonderful thing for grandparents/grandchildren who live hundreds or thousands of miles apart.