This is a free download of a sound editing program. I don't know very much about this kind of thing, but my very geeky nephew said it was very good. I trust him.
So, here is the short and sweet of it. The name of the program is: Audacity. Click here to get more info.
Enjoy!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Instant Custom Wrapping Paper
Yes, I know... the holiday season is over. (PLEASE tell me that you DID go and buy your wrapping paper for next year at 75% off this week. They are practically giving away Christmas wrapping goods the second week of January.)
But, gift giving goes on all year long. Even with a load of holiday wrapping paper in your closet, you might find yourself in a jam and need to come up with some cute wrapping paper for some other reason. Now, I warn you, this particular link is for CUTE paper and for SMALL gifts (best if they can be wrapped in a 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper.
Alright, I don't want to keep you in suspense anymore. The link is at AmericanGirl.com. You can print custom wrapping paper and matching gift cards. This will be quite helpful when you remember it's your best friend's birthday ten minutes before you are supposed to meet her for lunch. Yikes!
(Suggestion for quick gift idea: go buy a gift card online. Almost every major chain has online gift cards. Barnes&Noble.com, Amazon.com, LinensandThings.com, etc., etc. Print out the gift card. Print out some nice wrapping paper with a matching card. And... presto... you're a social wonder.)
If you are feeling very artsy and have way too much time on your hands, then you might want to go and visit Wrap Art. This site will give you lots of inspiration. It makes me feel ashamed of my own feeble efforts to wrap presents.
If you are a "wrapping novice" and need some basic advice, then go to WikiHow to find out How to Wrap a Present.
They say, "It's the thought that counts," but the fact is that I do LOVE a beautifully wrapped gift. OK, ok, .... I'm going to practice this year and my gifts will look MUCH better next year.
But, gift giving goes on all year long. Even with a load of holiday wrapping paper in your closet, you might find yourself in a jam and need to come up with some cute wrapping paper for some other reason. Now, I warn you, this particular link is for CUTE paper and for SMALL gifts (best if they can be wrapped in a 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper.
Alright, I don't want to keep you in suspense anymore. The link is at AmericanGirl.com. You can print custom wrapping paper and matching gift cards. This will be quite helpful when you remember it's your best friend's birthday ten minutes before you are supposed to meet her for lunch. Yikes!
(Suggestion for quick gift idea: go buy a gift card online. Almost every major chain has online gift cards. Barnes&Noble.com, Amazon.com, LinensandThings.com, etc., etc. Print out the gift card. Print out some nice wrapping paper with a matching card. And... presto... you're a social wonder.)
If you are feeling very artsy and have way too much time on your hands, then you might want to go and visit Wrap Art. This site will give you lots of inspiration. It makes me feel ashamed of my own feeble efforts to wrap presents.
If you are a "wrapping novice" and need some basic advice, then go to WikiHow to find out How to Wrap a Present.
They say, "It's the thought that counts," but the fact is that I do LOVE a beautifully wrapped gift. OK, ok, .... I'm going to practice this year and my gifts will look MUCH better next year.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Great Holiday Links #1
At this time of year, friends, family, businesses and strangers send around links to some truly wonderful, beautiful, inspirational, sentimental and just plain silly websites. Here are some of my favorites to share with you:
"Straight No Chaser" men's a cappella group out of Indiana University, sings Holiday songs. Excellent!
Merry Christmas! Men's A Cappella
Make an online video of your family, friends, pets heads on dancing elves and then send it around. What could be better?
Get Elfed by Office Max
Send the gift of inspiration.
Great Quotes from Great Leaders Movie
The Way to Happiness videos. Great Holiday Message.
Respect the Religious Beliefs of Others.
Beautiful animated cards by Jacquie Lawson. For all seasons and reasons. Not free to personalize, but free to see.
The Most Elegant E-cards on the Web.
Make lovely, handmade pop-up Holiday Cards. Here is the link to the:
Pop-up Christmas Tree Card
For those of you who want your gifts to be recycled AND artistic, here is:
Wrap Art
Comedian Anita Renfroe sings all the things that a mom says in 24 hours to the tune of the William Tell Overture. A must see for all moms. OK... this is NOT a Holiday Link... but it's a perfect link at ANY time.
William Tell Overture Mom
This is List #1. Be on the look out for List #2 as I am sure I will be getting more soon.
"Straight No Chaser" men's a cappella group out of Indiana University, sings Holiday songs. Excellent!
Merry Christmas! Men's A Cappella
Make an online video of your family, friends, pets heads on dancing elves and then send it around. What could be better?
Get Elfed by Office Max
Send the gift of inspiration.
Great Quotes from Great Leaders Movie
The Way to Happiness videos. Great Holiday Message.
Respect the Religious Beliefs of Others.
Beautiful animated cards by Jacquie Lawson. For all seasons and reasons. Not free to personalize, but free to see.
The Most Elegant E-cards on the Web.
Make lovely, handmade pop-up Holiday Cards. Here is the link to the:
Pop-up Christmas Tree Card
For those of you who want your gifts to be recycled AND artistic, here is:
Wrap Art
Comedian Anita Renfroe sings all the things that a mom says in 24 hours to the tune of the William Tell Overture. A must see for all moms. OK... this is NOT a Holiday Link... but it's a perfect link at ANY time.
William Tell Overture Mom
This is List #1. Be on the look out for List #2 as I am sure I will be getting more soon.
Attend Free Online College Courses
Did you ever wish that you could go back to college and take just a few more classes in some subject? Do you wish that you could send your husband or kids to Tufts or MIT or Berkeley to do some studying?
Of course, we "all know" that just dropping in for a few classes at MIT, Berkeley, Stanford or UC Irvine is "out of the question" unless your neighbor teaches there or you get a kick out of sneaking into classes on college campuses (a fun, but time consuming way to obtain knowledge.)
Not so, little bird!
There are TONS of FREE online college courses! No, I'm not kidding.... there are a jillion course lectures available online,...that you can just watch for free.
Currently, my son and I are watching a wonderful Course on the Constitution by Michael Badnarik (the 2004 Libertarian Candidate for President) and also a Physics class from Professor Lewin, one of the most beloved Professors at MIT. These can be hard subjects... but we are thoroughly enjoying gaining our new knowledge. It leads to fabulous conversations and increased understanding of life.
Will you get "college credit" for taking free online college courses? No. You have to "pay" for college credit (don't get me started).... but, you WILL get the knowledge from these courses.... knowledge is FREE.
Here is a link to a site of Universities withe the best free online courses: click here.
The best thing about these classes? If the prof is boring or not worth your time .... you can make him or her disappear with a click of the mouse. Not to mention, you get to go to class in your pajamas.
Of course, we "all know" that just dropping in for a few classes at MIT, Berkeley, Stanford or UC Irvine is "out of the question" unless your neighbor teaches there or you get a kick out of sneaking into classes on college campuses (a fun, but time consuming way to obtain knowledge.)
Not so, little bird!
There are TONS of FREE online college courses! No, I'm not kidding.... there are a jillion course lectures available online,...that you can just watch for free.
Currently, my son and I are watching a wonderful Course on the Constitution by Michael Badnarik (the 2004 Libertarian Candidate for President) and also a Physics class from Professor Lewin, one of the most beloved Professors at MIT. These can be hard subjects... but we are thoroughly enjoying gaining our new knowledge. It leads to fabulous conversations and increased understanding of life.
Will you get "college credit" for taking free online college courses? No. You have to "pay" for college credit (don't get me started).... but, you WILL get the knowledge from these courses.... knowledge is FREE.
Here is a link to a site of Universities withe the best free online courses: click here.
The best thing about these classes? If the prof is boring or not worth your time .... you can make him or her disappear with a click of the mouse. Not to mention, you get to go to class in your pajamas.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Free Music Search Engine and Internet Jukebox
This is the coolest thing since YouTube!
Songza is a music search engine and internet jukebox.
I just found out about this site this morning from one of my favorite sites: lifehacker.com
You type the name of a song that you want to hear in the search box. Up comes a list of possible links to hear the song. Click on the link and viola.... jukebox!
I spent the first hour of my day challenging the search engine with obscure and half forgotten song titles.
This is going to be hot, hot, hot. Say you "heard" about it first on Bobbi's Bargains!
Happy Listening! Click here to enjoy music, music, music.
Songza is a music search engine and internet jukebox.
I just found out about this site this morning from one of my favorite sites: lifehacker.com
You type the name of a song that you want to hear in the search box. Up comes a list of possible links to hear the song. Click on the link and viola.... jukebox!
I spent the first hour of my day challenging the search engine with obscure and half forgotten song titles.
This is going to be hot, hot, hot. Say you "heard" about it first on Bobbi's Bargains!
Happy Listening! Click here to enjoy music, music, music.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Bargain Car and Truck Replacement Parts
A few years ago, my very nice brother-in-law accidentally came too close to our car while backing out of the garage (we were parked in the driveway.) Another inch to the left and he would have missed our car all together. However, as it was, he put a dent in the front door, the back door and pulled the chrome a little bit off both doors.
It didn't seem like too much damage. Seemed like any kid with a hammer and a tube of super glue should have been able to fix it. I certainly didn't want to send it to my insurance company and I refused to have my sister and her husband send it to their company. The hike in the insurance payments would have been ridiculous (the criminality of car insurance rates is another topic for another blog.) I said that I would get an estimate on getting it fixed. My brother-in-law insisted that he would pay for it. Deep down, I figured that I could swing the hundred or so bucks it would cost to fix. What would be the big deal.
So, I naively walked into a body shop to get an estimate. The guy looked at the car, went to his computer, did some math and presented me with an estimate for a little under $2000!!! What!!! Are you crazy? Did you actually look at this car? How could it POSSIBLY be that much money?
It turns out that we had to completely replace SIX components to the car!?!? BIG pieces.... like the entire doors - top and bottom! What? This is insane?
Well, I just KNEW there was a cheaper way. It was unthinkable that I, the queen of bargains, would even consider paying such a huge amount of money to fix a deep scratch and a couple of broken plastic clamps.
My hunt began.
I checked on the internet, went for a few more estimates, talked to friends and friends of friends. Couldn't really find anything much better. It was either live with the damage (which I would have if I could but the dangling chrome was dangerous. I had to get it fixed) or pay these exorbitant prices.
Finally, I figured out that I could check on Craigslist.com and found a guy who did auto body repair in the back alley of his house. I agreed to drive the car the two hours away, leave it overnight and come back for it. I was a big leery that the car would be gone when I came back to get it, but at that point there was little that I could do and I was just plain tired of trying to get this done.
We came back the next day and found out that the guy had NOT replaced the parts, but had filled the dents with some sort of "filler" and then painted and sanded the door. It really wasn't that bad.... it just wasn't what I had expected. To this day (a few years later) the paint still holds up.
The fixing of the chrome wasn't as good. Turns out that instead of replacing the broken clamps he had just glued the chrome back on. That didn't hold up very well in the Southern California heat, so we have had to reglue it a couple of times.
Nice story, Bobbi, but why are you telling us this?
Because I KNEW that there was a way to buy the replacement parts for MUCH cheaper. I just KNEW it. My bargain senses were tingling and I just knew that I was missing something and couldn't find it.
But.... TODAY, finally, the winds of bargain fate blew the location of the Bargain Car and Truck Replacement Parts my way.
It's called Pick Your Part, The World's Largest Self Serve Auto Recyclers with about a dozen locations in the Southern California area.
Essentially, this is an auto junk yard, with great customer service. The idea is that they will buy used and junked cars and trucks. They put them in a junk yard. You can go into the junk yard (you have to pay a $2 admission fee) and go find the parts you need. This might require some tools, so make sure you bring your own handyperson and some tools.... or your best batting eyelashes. Once you get your part separated from the car or truck it came into the junk yard with, take it to the front desk and pay for it. Prices for most items are listed online (a very nice touch) so that you will have some idea what it will cost.
You will save TONS of money. Of course, if you are the type that doesn't want to get their hands dirty or if you are concerned that the paint on the replacement part won't match exactly... then by all means, pay $2000 for $150 worth of replacement parts. But if you do, please don't tell anyone that you know me.
If you aren't in Southern California, then you can do an internet search for "recycled auto parts"+"the name of your town, area, state or country". If you can't find any place near you, you can contact a company in Minnesota that will ship the part to your front door - A-Abco Fridley's Recycled Auto Parts.
Hope this helps you. It surely made my day.
It didn't seem like too much damage. Seemed like any kid with a hammer and a tube of super glue should have been able to fix it. I certainly didn't want to send it to my insurance company and I refused to have my sister and her husband send it to their company. The hike in the insurance payments would have been ridiculous (the criminality of car insurance rates is another topic for another blog.) I said that I would get an estimate on getting it fixed. My brother-in-law insisted that he would pay for it. Deep down, I figured that I could swing the hundred or so bucks it would cost to fix. What would be the big deal.
So, I naively walked into a body shop to get an estimate. The guy looked at the car, went to his computer, did some math and presented me with an estimate for a little under $2000!!! What!!! Are you crazy? Did you actually look at this car? How could it POSSIBLY be that much money?
It turns out that we had to completely replace SIX components to the car!?!? BIG pieces.... like the entire doors - top and bottom! What? This is insane?
Well, I just KNEW there was a cheaper way. It was unthinkable that I, the queen of bargains, would even consider paying such a huge amount of money to fix a deep scratch and a couple of broken plastic clamps.
My hunt began.
I checked on the internet, went for a few more estimates, talked to friends and friends of friends. Couldn't really find anything much better. It was either live with the damage (which I would have if I could but the dangling chrome was dangerous. I had to get it fixed) or pay these exorbitant prices.
Finally, I figured out that I could check on Craigslist.com and found a guy who did auto body repair in the back alley of his house. I agreed to drive the car the two hours away, leave it overnight and come back for it. I was a big leery that the car would be gone when I came back to get it, but at that point there was little that I could do and I was just plain tired of trying to get this done.
We came back the next day and found out that the guy had NOT replaced the parts, but had filled the dents with some sort of "filler" and then painted and sanded the door. It really wasn't that bad.... it just wasn't what I had expected. To this day (a few years later) the paint still holds up.
The fixing of the chrome wasn't as good. Turns out that instead of replacing the broken clamps he had just glued the chrome back on. That didn't hold up very well in the Southern California heat, so we have had to reglue it a couple of times.
Nice story, Bobbi, but why are you telling us this?
Because I KNEW that there was a way to buy the replacement parts for MUCH cheaper. I just KNEW it. My bargain senses were tingling and I just knew that I was missing something and couldn't find it.
But.... TODAY, finally, the winds of bargain fate blew the location of the Bargain Car and Truck Replacement Parts my way.
It's called Pick Your Part, The World's Largest Self Serve Auto Recyclers with about a dozen locations in the Southern California area.
Essentially, this is an auto junk yard, with great customer service. The idea is that they will buy used and junked cars and trucks. They put them in a junk yard. You can go into the junk yard (you have to pay a $2 admission fee) and go find the parts you need. This might require some tools, so make sure you bring your own handyperson and some tools.... or your best batting eyelashes. Once you get your part separated from the car or truck it came into the junk yard with, take it to the front desk and pay for it. Prices for most items are listed online (a very nice touch) so that you will have some idea what it will cost.
You will save TONS of money. Of course, if you are the type that doesn't want to get their hands dirty or if you are concerned that the paint on the replacement part won't match exactly... then by all means, pay $2000 for $150 worth of replacement parts. But if you do, please don't tell anyone that you know me.
If you aren't in Southern California, then you can do an internet search for "recycled auto parts"+"the name of your town, area, state or country". If you can't find any place near you, you can contact a company in Minnesota that will ship the part to your front door - A-Abco Fridley's Recycled Auto Parts.
Hope this helps you. It surely made my day.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Free Food - Wild Food Plants
Believe it or not, there was a food supply before McDonald's. Hard to believe, but true. Not only was there food before the Big Mac, but there was FREE food. And, that food supply still exists. It is right outside your door. If you know which plants are edible and how to prepare them you can survive in the wild.
Here is a wonderful place to start: Sunny Johnson's Wild Food Plants website.
Her site includes short videos that show you what the plants look like, how to harvest them and how to cook them.
Unfortunately, it seems that Sunny has lost her videocamera, so it might be awhile before there are more videos. I hope she gets a new one soon, because I love the ones she has done so far. I'm planning on making False Dandy Balls for next Sunday Brunch.
Here is another lovely site to help you grow your own edible plants: How to landscape with edible plants.
For more sites and books, just search the term "edible plants" in your search engine.
Warning: some plants are poisonous. It is important that any plants that you eat are positively identified and you know they are safe to eat. For more information on how to do this, click here.
Now, go weed and eat.
Here is a wonderful place to start: Sunny Johnson's Wild Food Plants website.
Her site includes short videos that show you what the plants look like, how to harvest them and how to cook them.
Unfortunately, it seems that Sunny has lost her videocamera, so it might be awhile before there are more videos. I hope she gets a new one soon, because I love the ones she has done so far. I'm planning on making False Dandy Balls for next Sunday Brunch.
Here is another lovely site to help you grow your own edible plants: How to landscape with edible plants.
For more sites and books, just search the term "edible plants" in your search engine.
Warning: some plants are poisonous. It is important that any plants that you eat are positively identified and you know they are safe to eat. For more information on how to do this, click here.
Now, go weed and eat.
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