Get a real one with a real motor, because it will let you make things like this:

Pretty strong piña coladas:

2 cups ice
1 cup rum
1 cup pineapple juice
1 cup coconut milk or cream

Put it in the blender and blend it. Then drink it.

I feel it necessary to admit we used a piña colada mixer instead of coconut milk and juice. This worked, however, because we bought a real one with real ingredients instead of the kind that are all corn syrup and red flavoring.

This amount makes about 3 drinks to overflow 2 big tumblers. Put the rest in a little glass and stick it in the fridge. Or, you know, serve three people.

Very strong daiquiris:

2 cups ice
1 cup rum
as much lime juice as you can get out of 8 or 10 limes
1 pint strawberries
maybe a little simple syrup if it's too acidic for you

This also makes a bit too much for two people, especially since it's all rum oh my god. But it's all rum disguised with LIME LIME MORE LIME and tiny bursting bits of strawberry and several suspended layers of strawberry seeds. This is certainly the drink to have if you've been feeling susceptible to scurvy in any way. We made a version with much less rum later; the amount of alcohol was practically indistinguishable, at least by taste.

Jasmine tea squidgy ice:

less than 2 cups ice
strong brewed jasmine tea
some sugar

This one requires some advance planning, since hot syrup is no good for frozen business. Take two cups or so of strong tea and bring it to a boil. Add sugar. I used several handfuls. Boil and reduce a little until it's flavored simple syrup.

Then COOL THE SYRUP COMPLETELY.

Later you can stick the ice in the blender with the syrup and maybe a little more unsyruped iced tea and make it into squidgy ice. You may have to poke this around to get all the ice pulverized, since the small amount of liquid makes it more difficult to get everything done at once. Eat it with a spoon. Good for sore throats, which developed on sunday morning after a saturday full of trains and waiting around and the bus not coming and eventually deciding what to do in the middle of Folsom Street.

We were also very interested in freezing various things into cubes and then blending them. Pineapple juice cubes worked exceptionally well with just a little rum and lime. Then there were the ginger ale cubes which we made from a small-run ginger ale from Wisconsin. Go midwest! This worked out exceptionally well to fulfill slurpee cravings late in the sore throat period.

Ginger slush:

ginger ale ice cubes
the rest of the ginger ale

Freeze some ginger ale. When it's ready, stick it all in the blender with more ginger ale. Use a little more liquid than ice to make an actual slush texture.