I too, find a lot of items at these places. small ziplock bags, 1st aid items etc.

I get Cortisone cream, antibiotic ointment, batteries and cheap "multifunction" knives there. Not to mention all the soap, shampoo, shaving cream etc. Every once in a while they will have something usefull, like velcro ties for cords and cables or tools. The store gets 2 shipments a week , so I stop in once or twice a week.

exactly dave, alot of people just write off the $1 store as a "junk store" with nothing of real value.

i go there once a week if i can and ive gotten tons of things there each time.
usually make a list and fill most of it for disposable items there.

The light that you got is probably the same one that Countycomm used to sell, that I call the "Countycomm 1". It's a decent light, the only problem I know of is the LED's occasionally burn out, but I have to wonder whether that happens with every other type of direct drive 2x2016 light. I posted a detailed review on CPF a while back: review link

And while we're at it, I reviewed the new "super tough" version here.

Hah. Got mine yesterday and got to use one extensively yesterday as well. First of all it is a solid design as everything else that comes of that company. Now all the blinking modes, sos signals and other gizmos are good to have but probably never used, so I concentrate on the stuff that is really cool:

1)you can switch the battery without using a screwdriver.
2)light is waterproof. I’m not going diving with it but one of them will be hanging on my dog tags 24/7 from now on
3) switch is easy to operate yet not sensitive enough for accidental turn on
4) dimness control. I love it. Press it and hold it and light automatically will turn on the lowest brightness setting. Hold it and it will increase in brightness. Or you can just press it once and it is on at full power.
5) new hands free clip that came out with it is also great. It is multidirectional that can be clipped on to your visor, map, notebook anything.
6) new quick release clip. You can take it on and off in a second.

So is it worth $15? I think so.

And how did I use it already. During my break in class yesterday I walked out to get nectar of life (coffee) and while going back I see this Chinese food delivery guy doing stupid stuff on the bike in the middle of the intersection. Before light changed he got hit by a car. In a matter of minutes he had 3 EMTs (2 of my classmates) all over him, proper EMS requested (BLS bus with real date fed to dispatcher and crew), full patient assessment, etc etc... I had my Photon on my neck, gloves in my pouch, Spyderco assist in my pocket... 5 min later when Fire Dept showed up I just hopped on the Engine grabbed collar and board had him immobilized. When ambulance showed up he was just transferred over to the stretcher on the long board, I gave them my assessment/findings and that was it. Great way to break in the light. And could you believe that somebody stole the food and my coffee when we were working on the guy ? I love New York!!!

Matt