Aug
16
2010
Software doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. There are many fine low-cost and free alternatives to even the biggest and most popular software packages. I use and can recommend a number of them.
In the following table, the software on the left is perfectly fine software, but the prices may be out of your budget. The software on the right is free. (Note that much of this software is available for a variety of platforms—Windows, Linux, and Mac.)
| You Pay For This | But Instead You Can Get This For Free |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Office | OpenOffice (has a word processor, spreadsheet, a PowerPoint-like program, a database, and a graphics program); compatible with Office files. |
| Microsoft Outlook (email program) | Thunderbird. ‘Nuff said. |
| Media players | iTunes and VideoLAN (for many operating systems). |
| Quicken or some other accounting program | GnuCash (a full accounting program). I loved and used Quicken for about twenty years, but I converted to GnuCash last year to save money and am quite happy with it. |
| SmartFTP or some other paid-for FTP program | FileZilla (elegant and easy). SmartFTP used to be free. Then they decided not only to start charging for it, which was their right, but they also decided to retroactively charge for the versions they had given out for free years before. (If you didn’t pay, you could no longer play.) Exit SmartFTP, enter FileZilla, which anyway is a much better program. |
| Microsoft OneNote | WikidPad, TiddlyWiki, Zoho Notebook (an online product), Treepad Lite, EverNote (has free and paid-for versions), ToDo List, many others. I use ToDo list but have taken a look at many of the Wiki-style notebookish programs. |
| Adobe Photoshop (I use this instead of free versions, but that is because I need the full power of Photoshop for my work) | Google’s wonderful Picasa, plus ten other free alternatives, including Adobe Photoshop Express. |
| Adobe Acrobat Professional (again, I use this because I need itfor work) | A long list of free alternatives. |
| WinZip | I love WinZip, but here is a free alternative: 7-Zip. |
| Norton or McAfee or other anti-virus software | SpyBot Search & Destroy, CCleaner, AVG Anti-Virus, Microsoft Security Essentials (yes, really!). Note that you should never rely on just one anti-virus program. |
Free Anyway, But Use Instead Of…
Use Google Chrome, Google’s Web browser, instead of Internet Explorer. (Top ten power tips for Chrome.) I only use IE anymore when a Web site absolutely, positively doesn’t function with Chrome.
Not Free, But Low-Cost and Worth It
Here are a few programs I use all the time. Most of them you register for once, at a very low cost, and then you can can use it (and its upgrades) forever.
TextPad. This is THE text editor as far as I am concerned. A replacement for Notepad.
Aug
5
2010
Real men don’t help their partners with the household chores. They hire someone to do the chores for both of them.
Jun
10
2010
I recently was introduced to an online comic named XKCD. I have no idea how I have missed it all this time. (For those of you who have missed the entire Web comic phenomenon, you may well be in for a treat. Creative people completely bypass the trouble of getting syndicated and publish whatever they please on the Internet. Some of my other favorites have been Kevin and Kell, which I still love but got behind on and then never had time to catch up on, and the early years of Sluggy Freelance, before they lost me with the evil kittens from hell, though I still remember with amusement their mummy arc and their sci-fi arc.)
Anyway, XKCD seems pretty simple on the surface: stick people, simple line drawings. But it is funny and clever and wry and sarcastic and touching. And perfect for a former math/science nerd like me. (‘Oh, yeah?” you ask suspiciously. “Then where did all this woo-woo fringey occult stuff about being a psychic and a channeler come from?” “I’m glad you asked,” I say. “Let me tell you about the funny thing that happened to me while on the way to the forum.” Well, maybe another time.)
What brought me to making this post was comic #393. (Be sure to hover your mouse over each comic. There’s additional stuff there in the form of commentary.) This particular comic combines references to Gary Gygax, tabletop gaming, and Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey (plus any other fictional reference to challenging Death to a game)—granted, not quite as sterling as Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, but still good stuff.
The term “tabletop,” for those who don’t know, refers to any variety of games you play at the table or wherever, more or less face to face with your fellow gamers. In many circles, it specifically refers to role-playing games (RPGs), of which one well-known example is Dungeons and Dragons, though that style of game has spawned a host of games similar in concept but wildly varying in content. (Mutants and Masterminds, Vampire: The Masquerade [and offshoots and descendants], and others come to mind.)
After years of being interested at a distance, I started playing tabletop RPGs a few years ago. We play sporadically, don’t take it too seriously, and have a lot of fun. My most recent character is Valentine, a sky pirate who is fond of diamonds and the color pink. She is more or less immortal and can regenerate, though she must have rum (of course—what else?) in order to do so. Otherwise, though I created her using the Mutants and Masterminds system, she has nothing superhuman about her. She’s a ton of fun to play.
But back to XKCD. Check it out! Enjoy!
Jun
8
2010
I just invented another of my delicious smoothies. This one was experimental (as most of them are), but unlike some of them, it came out perfectly delicious. Someday I’ll publish my cookbook, which is filled with original recipes for everything from smoothies to bean dishes to curries and soups. Meanwhile, here is my Pineapple Blueberry Smoothie recipe. I used Trader Joe’s Wild Boreal Blueberries and Trader Joe’s Pineapple Tidbits. Of course I retain copyright on this recipe.
Pineapple Blueberry Smoothie
Makes about 3 1/2 cups
1 cup whole milk
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
1 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup frozen pineapple tidbits
2 tablespoons maple syrup
Combine in a blender and blend until the blueberries are finely blended in. Serve immediately.
Jun
7
2010
Lots of us have suffered back pain (upper, lower, mid) and neck pain, often because we have been sitting at desks for years, maybe decades, leaning forward to see our monitors. I prefer natural remedies and have been advocating turmeric as a wonder “drug”; it is a natural anti-inflammatory and pain reliever, and has a ton of other benefits besides. I love curry (and even recipes I created myself), so there seems to be no downside to turmeric from my perspective.
In addition, I also believe that one of the natural remedies we can use is to move and hold our bodies differently. While researching back pain and how to cure it, I came across rebuildyourback.com. Among other resources, the author of this site offers three ebooks. One is for rebuilding your back (“a common sense back rebuilding program for people who don’t like to exercise. Does not involve drugs, surgery, pills, injections, supplements, gadgets or gimmicks”), a second is for rebuilding your neck, and a third is filled with natural pain relief techniques. In addition to the books, this site has a number of articles and a forum where people chan share information.
The author is trying a different approach to supporting his Web site: instead of you buying his books, he asks that you donate to his Web site, and then you can choose which book you would like as a thank-you. Donate more, get more books. (Though I am not sure how this differs from just charging for the books.) Or, you can write a review of the Web site, which I am doing. I am rather anxious to try out one of his books; once I get one, I will post a review of it here as well.
Jun
4
2010
Many years ago, I discovered a wonderful little tea shop near downtown Mountain View. I went in and browsed around, loving all the tea pots and the variety of tea choices.
One of the owners, an older Chinese man, was present. When I told him which kinds of tea cups and pots I like (I am very drawn to those made from the Yixing clay [simplified Chinese characters: 宜兴; traditional Chinese characters: 宜興), he said I must be a genuine tea lover. He said most people like me (presumably amiably clueless-looking, though I am far sharper than I appear) prefer the shiny, smooth glazed pots. Which are pretty enough, but there is something about the Yixing pots that speaks to a very deep part of me. He then gave me some sample tastes of various teas. Honored and delighted, I purchased several teas, which I carried home and enjoyed.
So that you know my credentials, I love tea of just about every kind, and have tried a lot of different teas. The teas I purchased at the Mountain View Tea Village are uniformly high quality, and are the best I have ever had.
I had occasion to visit the shop several times after that, since a company I was working for was located nearby at the time. Although I have loved every tea I purchased there, my very favorite is their green osmanthus oolong (I have tried the black, but vastly prefer the green). My only sadness about their shop, which is now right on Castro Street, is that it is a two-hour drive away and so is not convenient for me.
Recently, they have established a Web presence, and that is the main point of this post: to tell you about a wonderful tea shop whose teas are now available for purchase online. I have corresponded with their Web master with various questions, and have had nothing but excellent, immediate, personal responses. Please go take a look and order some tea! Their Web site is http://www.mvteavillage.com/.
May
31
2010
Recently, as part of my ongoing series on ways to save money, I made a post concerning reducing your costs for cosmetics (focusing primarily on makeup). During my research for that post, I came across the Cosmetics Safety Database. Since then, I have spent a considerable amount of time there, investigating various cosmetics (makeup, shampoos, hair conditioners, soaps, and so on). It has been an eye-opening experience. Some of the products you might think are perfectly wonderful (because the manufacturer has told you they are) are not necessarily rated the safest. Even some of the “organic” and “natural” products can have pretty high hazard levels.
I highly recommend that you spend some time at the Cosmetics Database yourself, to re-evaluate what you use and perhaps find a suitable (and safer) replacement. Here is a simple three-step process for replacing hazardous products with safer ones.
- Use the Search box to look up your favorite cosmetics one at a time or by brand. If something is rated 3 or under (low hazard), you might choose to consider that an acceptable risk, and move on to the next item, or you might wish to find a replacement as described in the next two steps.
- If something you use is rated as hazardous (above 3 is not good), or if you simply want all your products to rate 0 only, then the next step is to look at each ingredient to see which ones are the culprits. (Scroll down on the page for the product.) Think about what the hazardous ingredient is and what they say about it. Do you want to stop exposing yourself to cancer or other hazards?
- If so, do a search for the type of product. Was it a shampoo? Enter “shampoo” in the Search box. Then sort the resulting list by safety by clicking on the hazard score link. That displays the safest ones first. Look through the list to see what appeals to you, and then try that product.
For example, I looked up the shampoo I had been using and found it rated a 3. The main offending ingredient was something called phenoxyethanol. After reading about it, I decided I didn’t want to continue exposing myself to the potential hazard, so I looked up safer shampoos. I noticed that several of the safest shampoos (rated 0) use castile soap as a base, with a few extra ingredients thrown in (usually essential oils). I have Dr. Bronner’s liquid peppermint castile soap on hand (I use it in my hand soap dispensers), so I have switched to it. (A tiny amount foams up an amazing amount.) You may decide you want to do the same, or that you want to try another product. It just takes a few minutes to find something safer.
May
24
2010
Many of my recent posts in this series have been on the longer side, so I am taking pity on you with this shorter post. When purchasing vitamins and other food supplements, as well as soap, shampoo, and other personal bath needs, if you buy locally, you are almost certainly paying far too much. You can get the exact same brands, same quality, and possibly in a fresher state, by purchasing online from a reputable Web site. My personal favorite is VitaCost.com. And no, I am not an affiliate. I am not even sure they have an affiliate program. I am just happy to share what I have discovered.
VitaCast.com started out as a place to purchase your vitamins, minerals, and other food supplements online. They’ve expanded into a number of areas; think of your local hybrid regular/health food store, and you might have an idea of what they carry. I’ve purchased soap, shampoo, conditioner, vitamins and other supplements, and, more recently, canned cat food. They have organic products, herbs, diet items, some cosmetics, homeopathic items, Rescue Remedy, and a lot more. They don’t carry everything, but chances are high that they will carry what you need and use, and you will pay less—sometimes a lot less—for it.
But what about shipping, you ask? They have a flat $4.99 shipping fee, no matter how much (or how little) you order. So mosey on over, take a look, and see what you think.
More on the Cat Front
Later, I will be making a post specifically for places to buy a wider range of cat supplies. But since I am speaking of VitaCost.com, I want to mention that I’ve recently discovered that they carry Cosequin for Cats, which used to only be available by prescription for an exorbitant sum of money. Fortunately, this wonderful supplement for aging cats is now available for purchase over the counter. My oldest cat, Merlin, has been getting stiff in the joints and was having trouble jumping up onto things. He wasn’t playing much anymore and he was neglecting his coat, especially on his back legs. Continue Reading »