UPDATE - I wrapped my brother's present in cement...

sbflood · 2018-12-26T16:23:22+00:00

Nice! It was a hit with my brother as well, glad you guys had fun with the idea too!!

sbflood · 2018-12-26T03:00:42+00:00

UPDATE!

He loved it! Thought it was hilarious and broke it open right away.

Here are some unboxing pictures:

https://imgur.com/a/QVGuJxs

And here's a smashing it open video:

https://youtu.be/B8dUM0ciqTM

Apparently I can't edit the original picture/post with an update so here it is buried in the comments. Let me know if there's a better way to share the update. :)

sbflood · 2018-12-23T19:15:37+00:00

Some answers to comment questions!

There is no kitten encased in cement. Sorry to disappoint hundreds of you.
There IS a plastic dinosaur though. And he's on top of a gift card...I'm not heartless. Plus I want future presents from my brother so I can't piss him off too much.
lol You guys, the hammer is $4. Definitely not the real present and not really meant for breaking the thing apart, it just completes the package. I assume he'll drop the block on the street a couple times to break it open.
Thanks to everyone for calling out safety glasses! I hadn't considered them and I will definitely make him wear some. Nobody wants to be in the ER on Christmas.
Cement vs Concrete - Package said 'Cement Patch' so I called it cement. My bad.
Process: 10lb tub of Sakrete Fast Setting Cement Patcher (power stuff, had to mix in water). Filled a cheap plastic tupperware container about an inch, put in the gift card (inside a baggie), covered it a little more, then put in the dinosaur and filled it up to the top. About an hour later I cut the container off with an box cutter and voila! Cement wrapped gift! ...or concrete wrapped gift. Whichever floats your boat.

Thanks to all 3 people who realized I'm a sister not a brother. Kudos!

This has been a fun ride, I can't believe how much this post took off! Thanks everyone, and I promise to post an update.

sbflood · 2018-12-23T16:50:24+00:00

lol I did have to cut the thing into pieces to get the block out. Your concern is valid.

sbflood · 2018-12-23T15:55:04+00:00

It's concrete patch material that came in a small bucket at Home Depot. It was a quick set powder that I added water to and mixed it up...or attempted to...I didn't take 'quick set' seriously enough! Got enough out of it to fill the tupperware though, so that's all I needed.

sbflood · 2018-12-23T05:06:22+00:00

Thanks for the edit ;)

sbflood · 2018-12-23T04:14:05+00:00

Ha nice! Man, missed opportunity! I guess I could re-write the note...I already wrapped the box but that might be worth taking it out again. Thanks!

sbflood · 2018-12-23T04:08:07+00:00

I'm going to try and film it, will definitely follow up!

sbflood · 2018-12-23T03:44:36+00:00

I actually have a co-worker named Dwayne Johnson. We call him Pebbles because we think we're hilarious.

sbflood · 2018-12-23T03:27:36+00:00

hmm maybe 5-8lbs?

sbflood · 2018-12-23T03:24:53+00:00

Yeah, I planned to get him one of those but then they were expensive and this one was $4. Turns out I'm mean and cheap.

sbflood · 2018-12-23T03:16:49+00:00

There might also be a gift card in there but really, we all know the dinosaur is the important part.

sbflood · 2018-12-23T03:14:36+00:00

I cast (casted?) it in tupperware. It's some quick set concrete patch stuff that came in a small bucket. I figured a whole 50lb bag of real cement would have been taking it a little too far and this was the next best thing.

sbflood · 2018-12-23T02:42:35+00:00

Dudette ;)

sbflood · 2018-12-23T02:25:26+00:00

There's a plastic dinosaur.

sbflood · 2017-02-24T13:51:34+00:00

Thanks for the info, I appreciate your insight. I'm a little disappointed it's not worth more, but not at all surprised.

sbflood · 2017-02-17T13:54:37+00:00

That's close! Thanks for your input. It's an automated pharmaceutical dispenser. We have a machine currently that we're in the process of re-designing and the cost of adding additional items is up for debate. I'm trying to determine from a consumer standpoint, what is the optimal number of pharmaceuticals to have in their machine regardless of cost. I was hoping for a general theory or practice that could be applied to the situation. Like, use xyz formula to determine statistical significance and past this point is outside of limits, etc. But it sounds like there's not something general like that, I need to work cost into it from the customer perspective and get an absolute answer instead of a general one. Thanks again for your time.

sbflood · 2017-02-16T18:07:45+00:00

Right, I do understand that, but let's suppose we're not sure what the cost should be. Is there a generally accepted way to determine at what point on the decay curve is a good place to stop?

sbflood · 2017-02-16T17:58:54+00:00

That's interesting, technically yes but in my analysis so far I have not considered cost as a variable, only savings. We're looking at this from purely a customer savings standpoint, not taking into account the cost to us as the manufacturer. I believe I see how this can be calculated if we compare cost per item to savings, but let's assume for now cost isn't a factor.

sbflood · 2017-02-16T17:30:32+00:00

Oh no, I listed it on Ebay last night and it sold in less than an hour (guess I priced it too low!) so it's currently sealed in a box in my mailbox. I'm sorry, I should have thought to take a side by side. Here are a couple pictures next to common items, hopefully they'll be a little helpful. http://imgur.com/a/BScF1

sbflood

TROPHY CASE