Know Your Wines for the Holidays (Articles from BNET)

Almost too late for the holidays...but better late...

If you're like me, you enjoy the occasional bottle of wine; but when it comes to selecting that bottle, it can be a challenge. There are so many wineries and so many varietals of wine. Any help I can get before going into the liquor store relieves some of the anxiety. For me, it is fun to just go up and down the aisles and look at the cards that our local store (Premier Wines) has in front of many of the bottles; which list ratings and taste qualities.

BNET has a very good article summarizing all the varietals of wines available:
Wine Types: What They Are and Where They're From

While your at it look at this article on BNET for a lot more information on wine:
Hot to Survive Dinner with a Wine-Snob Boss

Web Browser Recommendation...Switch Off Of Netscape

AOL announced today that after Feb. 1, 2008 it will no longer be supporting (issuing updates for) the Netscape web browser. Myself, I haven't used Netscape in years. I'm a big fan of Mozilla Firefox (and Thunderbird for the email client). With AOL no longer supporting Netscape, if you continue to use the browser, you will open yourself up to potential security threats. Switch to one of the other available browsers (IE, Firefox, Opera, etc.) now so you can get adjusted to the 'change of scenery'. In the Netscape Blog, they even suggest switching to Firefox and installing the extension to add the Netscape theme (will give the appearance of Netscape). This is what I love about Firefox, the program is open so programmers are able to create extensions/add-ons which you can install to greatly increase the utility of the program. Maybe sometime I'll list all of them that I use just for reference (for now, visit the Squidoo lens I made which has some of my extensions).

Free Recipe of the Week at Gooseberrypatch.com

I know there are lots of free recipes out there. I just came across this one that sounded particularly good to me at Gooseberrypatch.com. Register for an account to see previous recipes of the week.

Free Recipe of the Week at Gooseberrypatch.com

Evernote Portable Free Download Today at GiveAwayOfTheDay.com

Very worthwhile download at GiveAwayOfTheDay.com for today only. This program I've heard has gotten rave reviews.
Resolve to get organized in 2008...starting with Evernote Portable. This freebie is the portable version which you install on a USB drive or memory card and carry with you. Especially with the plugins for FireFox and Thunderbird and Internet Explorer you can easily clip into a note almost anything (webpages, emails, spreadsheets, documents, pictures). It has some sort of word recognition where if you type into its search function 'thrifty', for example, it will find all notes with 'thrifty' in it including any pictures which might have the word thrifty in it. Very good categorization. Can create to-do lists, shopping lists, expense reports, etc.
I've installed it on my drive. I'll be trying it out over the next few weeks. Download it today because the free offer expires at midnight. Read more about Evernote Products on their website: Evernote

Cheap Flash Drives at Buy.com

Free Shipping! Limit one:
Kingston 2GB DataTraveler USB 2.0 Flash Drive - DTI/2GBKR $11.99

Free Shipping! No Limit:
Kingston 4GB DataTraveler USB 2.0 Flash Drive - DTI/4GBKR $22.95

The best part is they are Kingston drives. Handling the purchasing as well as the accounting for a technology company, I know the reliability of the Kingston name.

Try Feevy to Create a Dynamic Blogroll

I came across this site called Feevy which lets you create a widget containing a list of blogs to put on your blog side bar. See the Feevy in my side bar. Kind of a different way to create a blogroll (although it does take up a lot of space). It lists the blogs which I like as well as a preview of their most recent post.

Fingerhut Additional 50% Off Clearance Items

Great Deal on a Basic PC with 19" LCD only $399 Shipped Free at Dell

Save $220! Get the VOSTRO™ 200 MINI TOWER for $399!

Lifehacker's 2007 Guide To Free Software and Webapps

Lifehacker has a handy post summarizing a bunch of free software and web applications which they discussed throughout the year.

Lifehacker's 2007 Guide To Free Software and Webapps

5 Free Games at PDAMill.com

PDAMill.com (a site for games for your handheld device) is releasing 5 of its games for free to use on your PC. Go to their homepage and look at the Dec. 7th entry for the links to the 5 games. Some of them look like they could be pretty fun.

Dell Outlet 15% Off + Free Shipping Through 12/20 (or 400 uses)

Dell Outlet has a coupon code to give you 15% off any refurbished Inspirion, Dimension or XPS system. Either desktop or laptop. You get free shipping also!

The coupon code expires 12/20/07 or after it has been used 400 times.

The code is: 64?GP239SLRH0P

I hope they didn't make a typo in the email, the '?' in the code is throwing me.

The last two computers I've purchased have been refurbs from Dell Outlet. They were in like-new condition with all the accessories. I had no problems with them (not to say that you won't run into a lemon once in a while. The last one I bought (in 2006) I only paid $180 for it. It was only a basic machine, but served the purpose for a high school student doing reports and surfing.

Discover Channel Store: Today Only All 12 Deals of Christmas Available

The Discovery Channel Store was running a '12 Deals of Christmas' special where they offered a new deal each day (see my previous post). Today they have made available all 12 deals. Check them out by clicking the banner below.

Faith Wear from WearYourFaith.com

I found a new on-line shop that I like. WearYourFaith.com has a fairly large selection of Christian wear. Some of the stuff is a little much (like the way they 'Christianize' a Reeses shirt). Nonetheless, I think a lot of it would make for nice gifts.

Best Buy Deals of the Day

Best Buy has a list of 21 items (at least for today) which they have specially priced for on-line only purchase (I don't think store pick-up is an option). Looks like they are going to have new 'Deals of the Day' every day this week. Worth checking daily for that last minute (not quite last minute) electronics gift. Click on the Deals of the Day link on their home page:

eToys $5 off $35 Coupon

eToys has a coupon code good for $5 off $35. I found it in a Google search and it said that it was only for Visa card purchases. It worked for me with a Mastercard, though.
The code is: VISA47ET
It expires 12/31/07.

Free Weekly MP3 Download at Amazon.com

Click the link below to get to Amazon's MP3 page and check the left sidebar toward the bottom for their weekly free MP3 download.

Free Weekly MP3 Download at Amazon.com

eToys Has Some Great Specials...Found R/C Car Deal Here.

I'm ordering a couple of the X.P.V. Terranator R/C Cars for only $29.99 (with free shipping) from eToys.com. Our local Toys R Us ad had this vehicle for $79.99! Some of my other favorite sites like Buy.com and Amazon weren't even competitive.

I settled on this one after the Terrainiac R/C car turned out to be too expensive everywhere I looked ($69.99)...that would throw my Christmas budget out of whack! Sometimes even the most determined bargain shopper just can't find the deal on the item they want. I'm satisfied with this Terranator, though. One orange (27MHz) and one green (49MHz) for my two sons. They'll love it (Dad too!). This thing is fast; can run on pavement, sand, grass, mud, water and snow. It's waterproof and seems to be very durable. I watched a few videos on an r/c car site and they gave it a pretty decent review. Let's see if it can stand up to my kids.

Anyways, it might be worth your while to check out eToys (especially for the sale items with free shipping).

Woot.com is having another Woot Off Today

Woot.com has what they call a WootOff for today. New deals throughout the day, one sells out, then a new one starts.

PetSmart 21 Days of Saving Through Dec. 21 and $10 off $60 Offer

PetSmart is doing some daily specials this month also.
Check out their specials at the link below:



Also, get $10 off a $60 order through this link:

Been Out of Town...

I've been out of town since Sunday for work. That's why there haven't been any posts. Will get back to it once I get caught up.
John

Discover Channel Store: 12 Daily Deals Through Dec. 12th

The Discover Channel Store is also having a 12 Deals of Christmas daily special like Fingerhut (mentioned in a previous post). They'll have a new special every day from Dec. 1 through Dec. 12. Worth checking each day.

Has Anyone Tried The Amazon Kindle?

I have a Palm TX and love reading eBooks on it. Amazon came out with their appliance for reading books called the Kindle. Thing is, it runs $399 (significantly more than I paid for my Palm...which I store a lot of other info in too...contacts, log-ins and passwords in an encrypted program, spreadsheets and word docs, memos, appointments, etc.).

From what I'm reading, it looks like it connects through some free wireless service so you can download books, blogs, newspapers, etc. According to the description, NY Times bestsellers cost $9.99.

The nice thing about reading eBooks on a device like this or my Palm is that you don't have to worry about booklights when reading in the dark, the screen is backlit. Although it doesn't look like the Kindle is backlit, it's hard to tell from the product description whether you are able to read it in the dark; they mention a 'paper-like' quality to the screen.

Another benefit of devices like this is that they are easy to carry. I have several translations of the Bible and dozens of eBooks stored on my memory card (you would need bags to carry that many books around).


Does anyone have experience with the Amazon Kindle?

Here's where you can find the product:

Amazon Kindle $399.00

Fingerhut Deal of the Day Dec. 1-Dec. 12, 2007

Starting tomorrow Dec. 1 and running through Dec. 12, Fingerhut will be running a daily special. Knowing the products they offer here, there may be some good gift ideas. Might be worth checking the link daily.

Christmas Cards and Holiday Cheer!?

While I'm on the subject of the holidays...it's getting close to Christmas card writing time. I'm debating whether to send any out this year. I suppose it's contrary to what this blog is about...being thrifty and productive.
Stamps are $.41, so it will probably run about $25 to send to everyone (if you do one, you've got to do them all). Furthermore, 2007 was probably one of the worst years of my entire life. I'm not feeling particularly festive this year. Part of me wants to put up the false front and do as I always do...send the cards, fill the front yard with 3000 watts of Christmas cheer, etc. The other part of me just wants to curl up in the fetal position and let the season pass by.

Good Enough to be Lettermans Top 10

I'm really beginning to appreciate the blog at What Works For Us. She has an absolutely hilarious post up today titled What Not To Put In Your Holiday Letter. While I've never sent a holiday letter myself (and from what I'm reading on this list...thankfully have never received one), I can see how comments like those on her list can easily make it into a letter.

I guess my comment (to focus this post on this blogs purpose of thriftiness and productivity) would be to manage your time properly and think twice, write once (applied from the wood shop adage measure twice, cut once). That's the scary thing for me writing these blog posts...avoiding the verbal vomit as I fly through a post or two whenever I get the opportunity and rush to click the 'Publish Post' button. Something I'll try to keep in mind...step back, proof read and put yourself in the place of your readers...maybe I should re-write this paragraph.