How My Phone Helps Me Shop

I like to do much of my gift shopping online, but I still spend plenty of time in brick and mortar stores too. On a good day of gift shopping, I'll find several gift ideas--so many that I can't remember them all. Rather than carry around a piece of paper for writing down items and prices, I just take pictures with my camera phone. I try to get the price tag in the picture too; with one picture, I can have the item, its original price, and its sale price. Much of the time, you can tell a store by its price tags, so I kinda have the store name captured in the picture as well. When I go home, I have a picture album of gift ideas. I can show those ideas to my wife or whoever needs to see them.

My phone happens to be a Windows Mobile Smartphone, so I have other options as well. For example, I use a cool tool called ShopEdge--a free program that allows me to shop Amazon from my phone. Why is that so cool? Because I have access to prices and consumer reviews when I'm in the store. Let's say I see a coffee maker on sale for $50 at WalMart. Is $50 a deal that I shouldn't pass up? Is the coffee maker a good one, or is it junk? Having quick and easy access to that information is great. You may not have a Smartphone, but you may still be able to do some of this kind of research if you have Internet access on our phone. (You won't be able to use the cool ShopEdge tool though; that's designed for Windows Mobile.) Just be aware of the charges you'll incur under your current service plan.

2 Things You Should Know About USB Keys

USB keys have enjoyed tremendous poplarity since they hit the market. They're an incredibly convenient way to transfer data. Before USB keys (or "memory keys" or "jump drives," if you prefer), we had to choose between the floppy disk and the CD. The former didn't have enough capacity, and was very slow. The latter was slow, and didn't allow direct editing/saving of files.

Today, many USB keys can store more data than a CD, and many people are using them to store much of their critical data. However, there are two things you need to know about these great little devices so that you can protect yourself:

1. They don't last forever. Although USB keys get corrupted less frequently than floppy disks, some do become corrupted. If your USB key holds the only copy of some of your files, you're taking a significant risk. Back up your USB key regularly! The frequency of your backup is up to you; you should make your decision based on how critical your data is, and how often it changes.




• For pure backup purposes, just copy and paste the contents of your USB key to your hard drive on occasion. If you have the ability to copy the contents to a network server instead, that's even better.


• If you want to synchronize your data, you'll need a synchronization tool. This type of tool is useful if you are making some of your changes on your USB key, and some of your changes on your hard drive. (For more information on what file synchronization is, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_synchronization.) There are plenty of free synchronization programs, including one from Microsoft called SyncToy.


2. They're not secure. Well, that's not entirely true; some USB keys have built-in security features. But many or most USB keys in use today have no security features. Because of their diminutive size, they're prone to being lost. If you need to carry sensitive data on a memory key, take action now to avoid problems down the road:




• The non-geek solution: buy a USB key with built-in security. They're easy to find; just search Amazon for "secure usb" and you'll find plenty of results, such as this one.


• The geek's solution: use an encryption technology like TrueCrypt. Consider this tutorial for creating an encrypted volume on your USB key.

I'm not trying to deter you from using USB keys. Just be aware of these two limitations so you can use them safely. Oh, and you'll notice that these problems aren't exactly limited to USB keys either, so take caution no matter what method you use for storing and transporting your data.

Shock and Awe for $4

By BNICK
Appreciated Press writer

Wisconsin (AP) -- After months of failed efforts, the BNick household dealt a decisive blow to the squirrels who were eating too much expensive birdfood. The cost of the action is estimated to be in the $3.90 - $4.00 range.

BNick took action after intelligence revealed the squirrels' plan to develop weapons of mass consumption.

"Something had to be done," said BNick, who looks more like your next door neighbor than a maniacle squirrel-foiler. "Their nervous body language and their beady eyes made it clear that they were up to something big."

Previous attempts to stop the squirrel offensive were weak and ineffective. BNick located the feeders in places where he had hoped the squirrels couldn't reach. When he finally built a tray feeder and mounted it on a metal pole without a baffle (admittedly trying to save money), he was surprised at the ease with which the squirrels still reached the food. He admits that he underestimated them. "They use unfair tactics, so it's difficult to fight against them," BNick complained. "Their fuzzy, round bodies make it difficult to decipher whether they are enemies or not."

BNick tolerated several days of vexation before launching the "shock and awe" campaign. One day, after seeing yet another squirrel smugly eating atop the tray feeder, he took action. The result was a baffle comprised of less than $4 worth of parts. BNick is happily sharing his plans with the world because he believes it's the right thing to do: "The war on birdfood pilfering is a global war. We all need to do our part for the sake of future generations."

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The Plans
Ok, here you go. The baffle is actually quite modest. I didn't like the traditional dome-shaped or cone-shaped baffles; I just think they're too ugly. I liked the concept of the cylindrical baffle, but with prices up to $28, I figured I could go cheaper. The parts could cost you under $4; it depends on what you have on hand.

Parts:

• Dryer vent pipe: 4" diameter, 24" length. ($3)
• 7 cable ties. Size isn't critical, but the ones I used were 4"-5" long.
• (3) 6" lengths of wire. Should be heavy enough gauge to hold its shape. An old wire coat hanger would work too, if you're able to cut through it.
• 4"x4" piece of 1/2" galvanized hardware cloth

Steps:
(See the pictures below to supplement these steps. In fact, the concept is fairly simple, so you may just want to wing it like I did once you see the picture.)

• Bend the 3 pieces of wire into an elongated "s" shape as indicated in the picture on the right. These are the "hangers" for the vent pipe.
• You'll put one cable tie around the pole, but you need three "rings" dangling from it. I made these rings out of cable ties; use whatever you want. Now strap the cable tie around the pole. You may want to put some weatherproof padding between the cable tie and the pole; without it, the baffle may slide down the pole.
• Drill 3 equally-spaced holes around the perimeter of the vent pipe, near the top. 1/8" bit should be fine; the holes just need to accommodate your wire hangers.
• Using your wire "hangers" to hang the vent pipe from the 3 rings you made. The vent pipe should dangle somewhat.
• Cut a hole in the middle of your hardware cloth piece so it fits over the pole. This is the top of your vent pipe. Secure it to the vent pipe however you see fit; I drilled a few more holes in the vent pipe and used more cable ties to secure it.

One of my favorite PC security tools

As an I.T. professional, I typically know what I should and shouldn't do on the web. However, everybody could use some help. One of the tools I like (well enough to install on both of my personal computers) is McAfee's SiteAdvisor. This tool alerts you to problems with web sites before you visit them.

SiteAdvisor does the nasty work for you. Using automated tools, they sign up their own email address on various sites and count how many spam-like emails they receive per week from that site. They also search the site for downloads that are considered adware and spyware. In addition, McAfee incorporates feedback from users and even performs some of their own manual testing. My PC performance does not seem to have taken a hit with this tool; there's no downside I know of. Give it a try yourself and let me know what you think.

Discover Card: My Reluctant Friend

Some time ago, Discover Card made me an offer that I couldn't refuse: Transfer any balances I wanted, up to my credit limit, and enjoy a 0% interest rate on that balance--indefinitely. The catch: I had to use my Discover Card at least once a month, and any purchases I made would accrue interest at 10.99% until I paid off my initial balance transfers (see John Delano's first comment on this post for more details). I typically don't use a credit card, so I decided that I'd just set up a monthly donation to some organization. With that plan in mind, I maxed out the card by transferring a couple of loans.

Then the search began for an organization that would accept monthly donations while meeting certain criteria:

1. Reliable withdrawals. This is the most important criteria; if the organization fails me, Discover would raise my rate from 0% to 10.99%. Remember, my card was now maxed out--so this is a big deal.


2. Tiny minimum. Several organizations don't want to process credit card donations unless you're donating at least $5. That's $60/year, which is fine if you're actually wanting to donate, but not fine if you're just looking to save money.


3. Easy cancellation. If I have to jump through hoops to cancel the monthly donations, I'm not interested.


4. Decent purpose. I wasn't about to donate to research on human/animal hybrids or something crazy. I needed something idealogically agreeable.

I first tried the Republican National Committee. To make a long story short: they were unreliable, and Discover ended up raising my rate to 10.99% after the RNC skipped a month. Thankfully Discover gave me a 1-time reprieve, and I got back to 0%. Now I had to find another organization.

The IRC (International Rescue Committee) has been terrific. They are reliable, they send an email every time I donate (which is nice when you need/want confirmation that you've met Discover's requirement), they allow me to see my donation history online, they allow me to edit my upcoming donations, and I can cancel anytime online. A $1/month donation is keeping my Discover Card interest rate at 0%, and the IRC's apparent efficiency makes me suspect that it's not hurting the IRC one bit. (I may be using them, but I don't want to cost them money.) If you're in a similar situation with a special rate on your credit card, consider the IRC.