Would I buy an iPhone?

I've been a big advocate for the Android platform here on my blog.  I've had an Android based phone for about the last year.  In August, I got my first iPod when I bought my computer (yes, first), then in November I got my second (I realized I needed waaaaaaay more storage than I got with my free one).  When I got my iPod in November, I got an iPod Touch again and got the most recent generation that Steve Jobs himself called "an iPhone without a contact."

At first, I found the lack of personal controls on the iPod a little annoying.  I couldn't tweak every little thing about the iPod, like I can with my phone.  However, my annoyance quickly wore off, because some of my desire to tweak had come out of necessity to optimize my phone.  For example, I have several apps on my phone that help manage and control the running activities of my phone so my battery won't drain completely half way through the day.  There are certain things I eventually just got over, like being able to customize where I do and don't want icons on my home screen like I can with my phone and being able to put widgets on the screen to make my life easier.  However, eventually I just didn't care enough to care.  This is the magical key that Apple has figured out.

I realized that Apple has figured out that most people who would like to use a smartphone want and need simplicity.  Only a small percentage of us are willing to take the time to learn all the in's and out's of a phone and then put the time and effort in to optimizing it.  For most people, it's like having a camera or camcorder (or insert other complicated device) that you know does so much more than you do with.  Ever had one of those?  A device that you don't use every function that it has, or even know how to use those functions.  Eventually you wonder why they couldn't make it do exactly what you want it to do when you want to do it.

That's exactly what Apple has done with the iPhone.  They figured out the things that are most important then, as they do with their computers, made it simple.  They already optimized the battery for me.  They realized that most people aren't concerned with making pretty designs out of their icons on their home screen.  And then they through it in a tiny package with a beautiful user interface.

I now use my iPod more than I use my phone, which is basically a paper weight.  I have to think less with my iPod and focus on fun more.  I don't want to think.  Apple did all the thinking for me.  They took out features that are unnecessary and through research (I assume) figured out how I would like most of my settings.

So yes, I would buy an iPhone.  It's simpler.  More beautiful.  More intuitive.

Verizon iPhone

Rachel asked a good question:

Here's my point of view:

It's a good thing.

It means those who want an iPhone don't have to sacrifice service by going to AT&T.

It also means that Apple can put out an iPhone that can run on a 4G network, because let's face it, I bet Apple was really hoping that the iPhone 4 could have been named the iPhone 4G, but no AT&T couldn't hold up there end of the deal (during the original talk about an iPhone existing, Apple and AT&T had a little chat about how AT&T would build there network to keep up with Apple's innovation). 

It means that Apple will take a bit out of the growing Android market share, which let's be honest had a lot to do with the lack of a decent phone on various networks.

It means Apple's going to roll out one badass phone, expect your world to implode.

It means that all of us who have come to appreciate our Android phones will have some serious thinking to do.  It's easy to embrace Android when the option of iPhone isn't available.  Will Android be as awesome as we once thought it was?  Probably not.  (I have other reasons for this, but that's another blog post).

Hopefully, with network alternatives it might mean that there will be a price point competition for plans.  But don't hold your breath.  Apple has a short lesh on the price of their products and I doubt plans will drop much, if at all.

It really means we're about to see a million more iPhones and Apple will officially begin making a huge dent in Microsofts world.  With Verizon iPhones will reach the hands of millions - of Window's users who are going to get curious about this awesome Mac world and when their PC burns up (as they all eventually do), they will begin looking at our dear friend Mr. Mac.

Maybe as I'm lying in bed sick tomorrow, I'll come up with a few more things, but for now, these are my initial thoughts to help bring clarity to this very confusing world.

I Blame Amazon and Hulu

I've been a bit preoccupied recently and have inadvertently neglected my blog.  I apologize.  Hulu Plus rolled out to the rest of the world and Amazon MP3 keeps giving me AMAZING deals.  So I've been clicking away on their websites.  I have been working on a blog post - an update to my home theater one earlier.  Now that Hulu is playing nice with my PS3, an update is in order.  While you wait, enjoy my favorite websites:

By the way, Amazon is running super awesome specials right now - for real.  I'm currently surrendering my entire bank account to them.  My music collection is made up of their $3.99 and $5 album deals.  I've recently gotten the new Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Kid Rock, Kanye West, and Dane Cook albums for $3.99.  I'm fully aware this could be a problem.

Tweet On

Now that was an interesting week.  The short story is that some where in the week my body's off switch broke.  Which lead to 86 hours (+1 hour of sleep) without any sleep - not by choice.  My body broke sometime after the one hour nap, refusing to shut off.  I don't remember much from the last half of the week...but I read a lot of wikipedia articles on sleep and a few tweets.  Oh, and the New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys announcing their tour together.  That made my whole week.

So speaking of Twitter (or not).  If you're not on it, get on it.  It's what the cool kids are doing.  It's like mini-blogging.  As a bonus, you get to watch hilarious conversations like this go down if you're following the right people.

Or you can have a super fun timeline that looks like this when you follow a famous blogger, tell your friend your watching the person that makes her famous, or keep up on the happenings of your friend thousands of miles away - and her sad happenings with the Apple store:

It's especially fun if you live a funny life, but even if you don't, people still like knowing your random thoughts on the world.  So get on the bandwagon, I'm saving you a seat.

Tweet on.

Ultimate Home Theater

Since I buying my TV this summer I've been contemplating what my ultimate home theater would look like (and by look like, I mean what it would include).  My definition of "ultimate" might sway a little from most people talking about their home theater.  I define an awesome home theater as sleek, efficient, and does everything I need it to do.  So I've been thinking a lot about streamlining.  And streaming, because I don't have cable so it's my favorite way of watching a variety of television.

Here's my current set up:

Don't get me wrong.  My current set up isn't bad, in fact I really like.  But we're talking ultimate home theater.  So here's how it currently functions.  The black box on the chair to the right is my PS3.  It does pretty much everything (like the ads say) - games, blu-ray, DVDs, hooks up to the internet - but no Hulu (more on that later).  The silver cord and with white thing connected to it on the chair to the left, is how I hook up my MacBook Pro to my TV.  This is how I watch my ultra wonderful, Hulu.  The black cord going across the left chair is going to my antenna, which will hopefully find a home on the wall eventually.  I don't have cable.  I find I can meet most of my needs through my Hulu and PS3, at least while in grad school.

Other than streamlining (and streaming), I've been focusing on how I can decrease clutter.  So continually thinking of how to have as few things (boxes, remotes, cables, etc.).

Here's what I've (mostly) decided on:

1. If Hulu decides to play nice with the world and allow streaming through my PS3 (without paying an arm and two legs - as it currently is set up), then I would use my PS3 (already own) to stream my Hulu Plus and Netflix if I decide to keep it (though unlikely).

• I would digitize my entire DVD collection, put it on an external hard drive and hook it up to my PS3 via one of the usb ports.  The biggest thing lacking would be the ease of use.  To play my movies and TV shows on my PS3 I would have to do the equivalent of digging through folders on my external hard drive.
• I could also upload all of my music onto the external hard drive, however, I would have the same problem as above.  Sony really needs to add a media player to the PS3.  Then it really would do everything (besides play Hulu).

2. If Hulu (or Sony, not sure who's doing it) decides to continue to play hard ball, or I decide that the non-user friendly media center on my PS3 takes away from my viewing, then I would begin saving my pennies for the ultimate entertainment hub - the Mac mini.

Here's what I would do if I got a Mac mini:

• Hook it up to the TV via a HDMI cable (no converter needed!)
• Store all of my previously mentioned digitized media on it.
• Turn on home sharing in iTunes on my laptop and on the mini - allowing for my music to stay on my laptop (where it's most convenient) and my movies on the mini (where the hard drive could hold them)...but allowing each device play the media content as if it was it's own.
• Have Hulu Desktop launch on start-up - immediate access to content.
• Last, but not least, I would purchase this bad boy:

EyeTV One.  He would turn my mini into a DVR.  I could record the shows I know I'm going to miss, pause the show I'm watching to make dinner, edit the content to make super awesome montages of all of my favorite scenes to share with you guys (if copyright law allowed), AND (see diddy on iTunes sharing above) play my recorded TV shows in my bed on my laptop (sick days???).

AND if the mini becomes a part of my home theater (which would then be dubbed my ultimate home theater), I could control everything with my iPod Touch.

Did the world just stop spinning??  I think I felt it.  Clearly, I'm not leaning toward one option :)  Too bad, the mini has so much upfront cost (though by not paying for cable it pays for itself in time).  I'd better start saving my pennies.

Click. Match. Vote.

As I was poking around the internet today trying to learn about who I'm going to vote for tomorrow, I found this website.  You take a short survey about what political items are important to you and then it tells you which candidate most closely matches your ideology.  It also tells you where you are on the spectrum of liberal/conservative.

Tip: Click on the explanations of the topics.  They do a good job of explaining the topics core issues in a non-partisan way.

(By the way, it's a non-partisan nationwide website.)

Do I Purchase Apps?

Yes.

I'm asked this question often, mostly in regards to my phone (android), but I also purchase a far amount of apps for my computer as well.  Here are the last 5 apps that I've purchased...

Clean My Mac - my most recent purchase.  More out of desperation than desire.  It's the best.  Expensive.  But according to MacWorld it's rated 4 and 1/2 mice.  MacUpdate also thinks it's pretty decent too with a much more traditional 4 stars.  The reason I sprang for this software was because when it comes to "cleaning" my computer I take it seriously.  Like, I seriously don't want the wrong things cleaned off of my computer.

By the way, my total "recovered" thus far is 4+ gb.

RipIt - I use this for ripping my dvds on to my computer.  My goal is to eliminate my dvd collection and instead have it all on a computer.  Less clutter, less hassle, and way easier to search, especially when wanting to watch certain tv episodes.  I've found RipIt to be SUPER easy.  I'll specify is where I want to play it when I'm done and it determines what format it needs to be in.  Example: I say I want to play it on itunes it puts it in the appropriate itunes format.  Or if I say I want to play it on my PS3 then it puts it in the correct format for that one.  I love this app.  Seriously.

Tagalicious - My music collection would not be the same - even close to the same - without this.  This little sucker can identify (magically) all those "untitled albums" I had lurking in my itunes library.  I had no idea how much more music I had until I got it all tagged, which wasn't that hard by the way.  It has a great user interface which always makes me feel more confident in an application.  This also inadvertently helped me find many duplicate songs I didn't know existed.

Rowmote - This is an app for my iPod Touch (that I got free with my Mac - love being a student).  I use to to extend the power of the Apple Remote app to the other applications on my computer - at the time, Hulu Desktop.  It's a nice little app that let's me control my computer from my couch.  Now, I'll also admit that I had an itunes gift card, which also influenced the purchase of this.  Not sure if I would have purchased it otherwise, but I've found it helpful.  Also, I sang "Row You're Mote" (to the tune of Row You're Boat the entire time it took me to find and upload this picture).

Chronories - This was my very first application I purchased on my new Mac.  It automates my journaling.  It also has little flashing things go off in my tool bar to remind me to write a bit or snap a picture or rate my mood.  I recommend checking out their website and checking out their video.  It would take me a long time to explain why I chose to spend $29 on this.  For me, someone who is a tad forgetful, seems to always be going at the speed of light, but wants to have a record of my life, it's perfect.

Looks like I lied about not updating soon in my last post.  I've learned I can't predict when I get in my posting modes.  When the next mood arises I'll put together a post on my free apps that I use.  There's a few more of those, get a excited.  While you wait I suggest checking out LifeHacker if you haven't already.  Love reading it.

The New Bag and India?

Sadly, I decided not to get my love-at-first-sight for to shield my laptop from the world.  Though, I am considering her for non-laptop related issues.  Anyway, in the laptop arena, we have a winner.  While at Bags and Baggage this weekend I came across this beauty from PacSafe.

This picture does horrible justice.  It's actually rather beautiful.

And as an awesome bonus, check out it's safety features...

So the reason for this ultra safe purchase?  Besides, living in hit or miss safe/unsafe zone and working in probably (not probably, actually) the most unsafe area of town, I've also recently decided to apply (read: not accepted yet) for a two-week study aboard program in India over winter break this year.

I know.  Seriously.

The best part is that I could earn 3 credits (read: last class ever) and learn about how social welfare works in India.  Seriously?  I can't believe I even have the opportunity to apply.

Mr. Mac-y Pants

Sometime in August I realized I wasn't going to make it through this school year relying on my (frequently broken) work laptop and 8 year old desktop to get me through long paper writing sessions.  So one weekend I up and decided to buck up and buy a laptop.  I should note for those who don't know me all that well, that this type of rash behavior is highly abnormal for me in the purchase of items.  I like to research and think a lot (and a LONG time) before making a purchase (I give credit to my father for this skill).  Recently, unknowingly adopted a much healthier habit that appears to becoming a trend.  Research with Consumer Reports (or find other source that I trust for a recommendation), make decision, sleep on it, purchase.  I must say this is much less stressful and way more enjoyable.

Anyway, back to my main point.  Sometime in the last month I purchased a beautiful 13" MacBook Pro.  I would like to credit my friend Caroline for her seal-the-deal recommendation of MacBooks.  Once she told she loved her Mac I was half way out the door.  Then if I didn't have enough confirmation.  I found out later that the uber-hip Rachel and Victoria recently got MacBook Pros as well.  Validation station.  Add MacBook Pro to the list of cool kid things.  If you're not keeping track, we've got: Android phone (check), MacBook Pro (check), do your own laundry (...umm...).

On with the post...
I'm thoroughly impressed with the Apple Store shopping experience.  It was delightful.  Yes, delightful.  I arrived at the store excited to buy my computer and was all types of happy when I left.  Read: I did not leave feeling cheated, unappreciated, or taken advantage of - you know, the feeling you often have after interacting with a "good" salesperson (aka someone who can rob you blind and take a happy day and turn it sad).  Apple Store = good feelings.  I could probably ramble on forever about the number of things I was impressed with, like not having checkout lanes, but I'll spare you for now.  Though I'm not sure I can hold back forever.  Expect some extra geeky posts coming up.

For all the Macsters out there in the world, I'll leave you with this:

Love at First Sight

Isn't this not the most beautiful bag ever??  I was looking for a laptop bag when I came across it.  It turns out that the straps are adjustable, so it could be a purse or a messenger type bag (and all the while fitting my laptop too!).  I can't find any reason not to get it...

And now for the laptop sleeve (many more options...tough decision):

A gorgeous Etsy find.

I doubt my laptop would ever get seriously injured in this bad boy.

I know this guy isn't as pretty as the others, but he's really well known for his durability.

Wait, that's not a laptop sleeve, how did that get in here?  Oh because it is the real reason I wanted to write this post, but sadly I can't afford this guy.  Nonetheless, look how beautiful it is?  And look how good I would look with it on...

And by the way, someone should buy this and wear it to a game.  Please?

Sweet Camera Awesomeness.

So I just downloaded a new camera app a few days ago that makes artsy photos on the fly. Most apps like this really suck or are to complicated/basic for the everyday user. Camera 360 knows whats going on...simple enough that I can use it without a manual but artsy enough that I feel like I'm actually getting some that would take me forever to figure out on my own.

By the way in case you haven't already met him, this is my little man, Sawyer.  I love how his paw came out so big and distinct.  Totally couldn't have done this one on my own.

In other news, school is in full swing for the summer. It makes me want to puke...someone should have shot me when I thought working full-time and going to school part-time was a good idea.  Oh well, only a few more months and papers until I never have to do school again.  No words can describe the joy I have toward finishing school...again.  Only 160ish days.

Cool Kids Club - AnDROID Style

This post was initially inspired by my friend Rachel who recently got a Droid, but I can almost safely say that Rach has already become well acustomed to many of the apps and all fun stuff that goes with it, being the tech saavy and internet guru that she is.  So, this post is now for all the new Android phone loving owners out there.

Things you need to know:

1. Go crazy with downloading apps.  That's 90% of the fun in owning a phone with a HUGE marketplace.  However, download one at a time and get a security software first that will scan each download. I use MyLookout.  I really like, because it also backsup my phone each night and does a virus scan while I sleep.  There's tons out, so take your pick.  When you decide you wouldn't actually use an app just uninstall it (from the market place or the settings menu).

2. Don't get a home replacement app yet. Don't know what that is, even better (e.g. OpenHome, pandahome, GDE, Home++,aHome, etc).  They SUCK your battery like a kid deprived of food.  Only after you've had your phone for awhile consider looking at one...others may disagree on this, but the user interface is really fine for a bit. But that's all opinions.  I've had some awesome home replacement apps that I loved, some cool themes, but found they made my phone slow and battery drain.

3. Get a task killer.  There are tons.  Your battery will thank you.  Advanced Task Killer is probably most popular, but there are losts of other great ones.  Word of caution: be careful what you kill.  Kill the alarm, your alarm clock probably won't go off.  Also, there are some process (that most task managers will ignore anyway) that are critical to the system and your phone will go crazy if you kill. Don't panic if it does. Simply reboot your phone then kill them one at a time until you figure out which one not to kill.  Also, there are some programs that will start themselves again right after killing them, making them extra annoying.  If you have some that do this and are really draining your battery, I have a app I use to take care of this and the annoying boatware that comes on when you boot...StartupAuditor, it cost money, and be careful when using it.



4. More on battery life. Be aware of what your doing on your phone. Live wallpapers look super cool, but totally drain your battery.  I recommend finding either a picture you like or getting on flicr and finding a good wallpaper.  Also, widgets drain power too. However, not as much, so just don't go insane with them.  Other big battery killers are any apps that will update itself for you...think a twitter app for instance, in order to notify you of new tweets or mentions it probably has a default setting for how often it will check for updates.  Almost all of these setting can be disabled.  For an everyday phone user, I'd say just check these settings for each app to make sure no one is sucking your battery without your permission.  For tech saavy people, like my friend Rachel, I would recommend downloading Spare Parts.  It's an app that can tell you the history of how your battery has been used among other things.  What's unique about this app is that this app is from code google wrote for the Android OS, so it brings to life settings you didn't know you had.

5. Read user comments.  Before downloading an app, check out the first 10+ comments to get a good idea if this app will work with your phone or is worth it.

6. Yes, you can totally customize.  You can change up all your icons if you want.  CAUTION: hours of your life may randomly disappear while customizing the look of your phone. :)  Try the app AnyCut (I went straight for BetterCut the paid app in the beginning, so I'm not sure the differences...but their made by the same people).  You can dowload icon packs from the market, just search "icons."

7. Oh yes, also make sure you find a good "if your phone gets stolen" app.  I use Mobile Defense, mostly because this app "hides" itself so someone doesn't know you have it on there and try to uninstall it.  Plus, some other cool features.

8. Alright, so here are a few of my personal favs when it comes to my apps.  For Twitter, I use Twicca, I really like the interface and that you can lable use a certain color, so all my friends come up with a purple bar next to them and my politcians a green one...it's however you want to set it up.

FeedSquares is another personal fav for an rss reader (aka google reader).  It's really neat how it displays them, but there are some other great apps for this out their too.

I almost forgot, Blogaway, the app I'm currently using to post this blog post from my phone.

There are many more apps and bits of knowledge to share, but I should probably go to work, so I'll leave you with that for today!

Geektacular: Android Apps

(I heart Android)

This post is in celebration of my new Geektastic page, where I'm now putting my super geeky posts and links so you'll have no need to hunt for that super awesome link I once told you about that could magically make your computer turn into a flying saucer.  My boss recently upgraded her well loved phone to a very awesome Droid (an Android phone)...which got me thinking about what I would recommend as my "must have" apps.  (Maybe I should mention that I have a Samsung Moment, another Android phone).  So for your viewing pleasure here are the apps I think rock (in no particular order)...

(It turns out that after spending the time deciding which apps I thought were most awesome, I'm now so tired I have to take the easy way out and just cut and paste my list instead of making it look all pretty.  So I apologize for the not pretty formatting).

Yelp

Robotic Guitarist Free

CraigsNotifica craigslist

ASTRO File Manager

Alarmed Lite Alarm Clock

Screebl Lite - Save Power!

TimeCatcher

Handcent SMS

Lookout Mobile Security FREE

Opera Mini 5 browser

Tap Dialer

PicSay Pro - Photo Editor

Key Ring Reward Cards

BetterCut

Bar Control

Button Shortcut

aContacts

Rings Extended

Mobile Defense (BETA)

ShopSavvy

Shazam

View this app list on AppBrain

Ninja!

.

Look at that window sparkle!  I was surprisingly in the mood to do some spring cleaning today, which was really spurred by the massive quanity of cat hair I was finding around the house and spending a little bit too much time on Apartment Therapy.  So cleaned the cat (first priority) and the clumps of his winter coat.  Then I went fancy and decided to clean the windows and the blinds.  Well, most of them...I still have two sets of particularly gross blinds in the bathtub.  Let's just hope these don't end up like the dishes I had in the tub for a month and showered around... (one of my best ideas for my kitchen with no dishwasher).


On the subject of easter eggs, apparently there is a secret Ninja Blue theme in Google Reader.  The guy who enlightened me, Ilidio Martins, says this is how to crack the code and get the Ninja's:

"When you enter Google Reader you can activate the Ninja Blue Theme. 
To activate Ninja Theme just press the followings keys:
up | up | down | down | left | right | left | right | b | a
To undo this repeat sequence :) "


Confirmed.  It works.  And is ninjatastic.

Easter Egg

No, not that type of Easter egg.  This type of easter egg.  If you'll reading in Google Reader, you'll have to hop over to my actually site to appreciate this post.  First, to understand the "easter egg" part of this blog trick I did, you may want to know (if you haven't discovered this on your own) that my blog contains no identifying information.  This extremely intentional.  The people I work with are frequently seeking to find out as much personal information as they can about me and if they were find out any such information (aka this blog - and know it was me) it would be very damaging to the work I do.  I've had some awkward and scary situations that I hope to never repeat, thus why I'm super stealth.  (Of course, I could never give in and just not have a blog, that's why I go all CIA on it).

On with the show, after getting tired of looking at the blogger icon (the orange "B") in all my tabs, I decided to figure out how to replace it.  And to my amazement it worked!!  Check out my new icon!

I'll admit that it was a little tricky, but I found that using Google Sites and then right clicking on the image I uploaded and "copy image URL," solved most of my problems.

Also, I recently did a test to see which browser gave me faster internet.  Google Chrome won.  In light of this win, I decided to change my "theme" to a wood one so it would look like a wooden desk.

By the way, after my recent discovery of the speediest browser, I now officially endorse Chrome.  Check out my videos page for an awesome Google Chrome video that I am currently hand selecting from the millions on YouTube that adequately explains my love for it.  :)

Not Jury Duty

According to this very official letter I received yesterday, I am not being called for jury duty...yet.  Rather it's my qualification survey. So it looks like there could a jury duty summons in my future.  I suppose one of the bonuses to living in Jackson County is that I have a better chance of getting something interesting...silver lining.

I must say that I love this app on my phone (Blogaway) that lets me write blogs on the go...or from my bed on days off work. :)  I should probably stop sleeping in and get up.  I took the day off work to write my paper as I didn't have any other free time to do it.  So maybe I'll get on that.

For Your Viewing Pleasure...

So I'm waiting at the office for traffic to clear up, so I can head to Kansas Sampler to grab a new K-State t-shirt.  It seems like the perfect time (and excuse) to get a new shirt.  Especially since I want to have an awesome one to wear to my class at KU (Edwards Campus) tomorrow.  The level of pride the boys in purple have brought out in me recently has almost reached the level of graduation day.  I can't ever think of time when I was more proud to be a Wildcat then that...so this whole basketball thing is pretty awesome.

On that note, last weekend I was a little disappointed at the selection of K-State graphics when I did a google image search, in particular, the very few old school willie's available.  So I took it upon myself to play with my new insanely enhanced photo editing software on my phone and create a few more options (color, texture, size, etc).  I then uploaded them to my Picasa web ablum.  So for your viewing pleasure, here are a few of the ones that have proven to be the most popular (from their view count atleast):

  

Cheap Living...

Here's are some of the cheap things I take advantage of to make my life a little bit more awesome for not much money...

TV

I have a great set of "bunny ears" (and I also live close to a lot of the stations), however let's be honest unless it's prime time, there's not a lot of good shows on. So my solution - I hook a S Video cable from my computer to my tv, along with a simple maybe $5 or $10, "Y Audio Cable".

<----"Y Audio Cable"

This audio cable plugs into the headphone jack and then to your tv...easy as pie.

So why do this? As most of us know, almost every network - including cable stations- show full length episodes online. So I bring up the website, hit full screen icon, then hit the presentation button on my computer and like something only God created...the tv show appears in all it's glory on my tv. If your tv does not have a S Video input or your computer does not have an S Video output you'll need to take a few extra steps (I did), but they're simple, don't be discouraged...go to radio pick there brains and tell them you want to do it for cheap even if it means a few more steps. They're smart.

My favorite websites for finding tv shows and movies outside of the network sites...hulu.com and http://video.tvguide.com/.

The library (in kansas city at least) has free checkout for all tv shows and they have a TON of shows on DVD (i.e. Friends, Alias, The Office).

READING

-The library...I know crazy concept.

-Also, I pick up all the free magazines I can get my hands on. Some of the best in KC are Urban Times (monthly), The Pitch (weekly), and Ink (weekly). You can find most of these on street corners in the downtown and westport area.

-Magazine subscriptions are also a great idea...figure out what your favorite magazines are and most likely getting a subscription is WAY cheaper then buying them at the grocery store. A handy trick with getting the best price...look for the little cards in the magazines - those seem to have better deals then looking online.

-Also, the library is great for magazines as well...I like to go to the Plaza library get a magazine sit by the huge windows that look out over the plaza...AWESOME.

-A really simple idea...swap magazines with friends. We stock pile our old magazines as if we're going to reference them again later, but do we ever?? I only have one friend that does, and she's a designer...so for normal human beings...we should give our old magazines to friends.

-When I want to buy current magazines I go to Half Price Books, they sell used magazines for either half of the cover price or $1 if there is no cover price. I very very frequently find current magazines...people who get subscriptions as we know get them the month/week before they hit the news stand, once they're done reading they bring them in...and are there in time for the month or week they're scheduled to hit the stands. The one in westport has a HUGE selection.

OTHER

I play board games...love it. A couple options I've taken for acquiring board games, graciously take the ones off my parents hands they don't want any more, garage sales, and shop sales. Also, borrow friends games...sharing is a good thing. I like to play at my apartment or coffee shops. On that note, I order tea when I go to shops for a cheap drink or buy a really cheap thing of food like the dollar bagel at one of the shops I go to.

I like to go to parks, play catch, walk around the plaza, hangout at Barnes and Noble, shop at thrift stores, shop on craigslist.com...the list goes on.

As I remember all the other little things I do, I'll try to remember to put them on here to share!