Mrs. Mecomber’s Scrapbook

We all can use some new fonts to spruce up our documents and templates, right? I do a lot of graphic design and template tinkering, so I have quite a collection of fonts. I have never paid one cent for a font collection. And you don’t need to, either. Here’s a little list of the best free fonts I have found.

Simply the Best Free Fonts
Search Free Fonts.com
1001 Free Fonts

Most fonts sites have the same fonts over and over again, I’ve found. Those three have the best collection, IMHO, and the easiest searching and downloading capabilities. There are lots of “small time” font makers out there who have created some nice specialty fonts. a Yahoo search will pull them up.

Be careful what you download, however. Browse wisely. I use McAfee’s Site Advisor, Netcraft, and update my anti-virus software before I go searching for fonts. Sometimes creeps will include malware or trojans under the guise of “free” fonts. So stick with the well-known font sites. Also, Kim Komando’s message boards are filled with advice on finding font sites. The boards are searchable.

I found a wonderful website (via Entrecards, again!) that is a great resource for finding free software programs. It’s called Softfreebie. I really like it. It has a growing list of excellent software found for free on the Internet. It’s a good one to keep an eye on for future resources. It’s got everything, looks like, from games, database tools, firewalls, educational tools, backup tools, proxy tools, Adobe programs! I didn’t see anything about online term life insurance quotes, but hey, who knows, maybe that’s next, lol! They’ve got everything else! The categories are varied and numerous, and I really like the style. I haven’t tried out the search feature, yet.

Keep an eye on this one of you are looking for freeware on the Internet. I know I will, because i always am.

Once again, via Entrecard surfing (if you haven’t checked out Entrecards, you really should!), I discovered another very helpful blog for computer users. This one is called WatchTheTutor.com. It covers the most basic of applications, like how to StumbleUpon a website and how to start a Gmail account, and dabbles in the more complicated stuff like converting a DVD to mp4 to an iPhone and creating an ISO image from a directory. It’s a very new blog, so we will see how it develops.

If you haven’t tried Entrecards, I recommend you take a look at it. It’s a free, fun way to increase traffic to your blog or website. You essentially join the community, make a little business card for your blog, and “drop” it on other blogs. Other bloggers come by your blog to “drop” their cards. You can advertise your blog on other’s blogs, too, giving you “free” advertising. I put “free” in quotes because it doesn’t cost money, but it does cost “credits.” You get these credits by dropping your card. The entire system is designed to get you to visit other blogs while they visit yours. Some blogs are outstanding, and I never would have discovered them any other way. I love “shopping” for other blogs as I drop my card and look for blogs to advertise with. It’s almost as much fun as shopping at directbuy!

How did the time change go for you all this morning? I have noticed that with all the electronic gadgets everywhere, keeping up with something so seemingly simple as a time change can be very, very hectic. Is it just me, or does it get worse every year?!

I love this site I found, Retrevo. It is the do-all end-all place to go for everything Daylight Saving Time, and more. Here’s the scoop from the site about DST:

Last year (2007) was the first time in 20 years that new days were established for changing to Daylight Saving Time. Chances are you survived last year’s change to Daylight Saving Time on March 11th and then back to Standard Time in November. The problem is unless your device was upgraded to use the new dates your clocks will not change automatically on the right day this year, the second Sunday in March (March 9, 2008) and your clocks may then mistakenly try and adjust the clock on the old date which was the first Sunday in April (April 6, 2008).

I hadn’t considered the April “reset” settings that some gadgets might have! Gulp! I’ll have to watch for that! We are constantly accumulating more and more electronics that require specified settings. Don’t have the time to fiddle with the gadgets and *hope* that you get the time settings correct? Check out Retrevo for tons of manuals for your electronic device. I LOVE their easy search feature! This is an outstanding site to bookmark. For future reference, I have placed this site in my “Help” sidebar widget. Use this site for when you need a manual!

There’s a website up to help you see if you are owed money from old tax refunds or other unclaimed funds in New York State; it’s the State Comptroller’s Office.

For federal unclaimed funds, go here to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. Wow, that’s a mouthful of a title.

Years ago, I found some money that was mine. It was a savings account that my grandmother had begun when I was a baby. I was excited when I heard the news! After all these decades of interest, how much money would I get? I submitted my information and a few weeks later, a check came in the mail! I tore it open to see the amount: $17.29.

Not even enough to buy HDMI switches. *sigh*

It was only a few months ago. Remember it? All those hot deals promised to us, screamed at us, bombarding us every day on the television, newspapers, and on the Internet? How did it go for you?

For me, it went… ok. I did actually line up at 4am! I was trying to nab a dirt-cheap Acer laptop. I never did get it. I will never do that again– the temperature was near zero and we waited over an hour only to have all the worthwhile stuff sold out in 15 minutes. (There was no limit to purchases, so the college kids who had camped out all night bought up all the laptops). Grrrrr. What a waste. I needed a new laptop, because my old HP was near death, and since I work from my computer (like, all day), I had to have a new one.

However, the good news is that I did nab a dirt-cheap laptop online at Office Depot! This, thanks to some great Thanksgiving deals I found at Black Friday.info, online. And all from the comfort of my very own (warm) home! I just *happened* to see a deep discount price, and got it! Woo! It was perfect timing, because things were selling very quickly. (If you are interested in deals for next year, sign up for their email alerts– that’s what I am going to do). It’s a good site to bookmark for all year ’round. For your future reference, I’ve included it in my “Shopping” widget in the sidebar.

Surfing to all these money-making blogs these days has me thinking a lot about money! lol! The websites for the buying and selling of stuff has absolutely exploded. I think in the past six months, there has been a doubling of online marketing and trading.

We stay-at-home moms aren’t always looking for a good deal. Sometimes we are trying to MAKE a good deal! I am not too fond of some of those auction-selling sites because the fees are out of this world. I stopped selling stuff online with them after the last postal rate increase, because the seller’s rates skyrocketed.

How about video classifieds? Has anyone tried them? How about video classifieds? That sounds so cool, I think! How about Listasaurus? Has anyone heard of them? I checked them out a few months ago. I haven’t tried them yet because I’m waiting for spring to start clearing out my stuff, but I hear they are becoming quite popular (they have listings for real estate and employment, too). Plus, they have the cutest purple dinosaur, lol.

Listing your ad with a video is free! As a matter of fact, you can get paid to list it! They look really good, and I think I’m going to try them out in the near future. They also give a portion of their ads profits to charity. If you check them out before me, leave a comment. I’ll let you know how it goes with me.

I cannot imagine how some people would list something like a house or a car or a computer, without a video to showcase it! I’d never buy something so big with just a little jpeg photo, no way! I think video classifieds are the way to go.

I love Clark Howard! I’ve been listening to his radio show for a few years now. He has a huge website with a terrific forum. I’ve been getting his e-zines every other week, and they are getting better and better. Frugal Hackers, if you like saving money (and we all know we do!) Clark Howard is one of the better guys to listen to. Check out his website.

I love the Internet. The whole world is open, before your eyes, on a screen! It’s a pretty amazing invention, I tell ya. I love it because everything is at one’s disposal– news, communications, entertainment, social groups, information (reams of it!), and shopping. I am a stay-at-home mom, homeschooling my kids, so we use the Internet for everything.

One cool thing about the Internet is that I can shop online, and compare prices. Not just for books anymore, either. Now it’s for groceries, car parts, clothing, tools, cars, houses, even quotes on things like home insurance and car loans! No pressure from salespeople, no pressure to please them or cut a deal– you can just look things up and there you go. Quotes are free!

Of course, it pays to be careful in this day and age. Always read the fine print, and be sure you know what you are doing when you are giving out your personal information. But there are a lot of websites whose services are outstanding!

*this is a sponsored post*

I saw this in action at another blogger’s page, and looked into it. It is SO COOL! It’s Kontactr, a free personal contact form for your blog or website. I love it! It looks so professional, is a breeze to install, and hides my email from spammers. In the early bloggy days, I left me email as a means for people to comment, and it’s probably no surprise to anyone that I get tons of spam now. Ugh.

Check out the contact form in action! I have it at my New York Traveler.net. Isn’t that cool?! Now, click the button in my sidebar that says “contact me.” A contact form will pop up. Isn’t that cool?! I love this thing!

Got a blog and want one? Go here: Kontactr.

I have discovered the great benefit of WiFi (wireless fidelity) these days. My daughter is spending more time at the Hamilton College library, and we often go to our local library for research. I am able to bring my laptop and continue to work while they do their research. I love free WiFi!

Places where you can connect online for free via wireless are called “hotspots.” I’ve discovered that most libraries are “hotspots.” I’ve also learned that most McDonald’s restaurants offer free WiFi, too. I am no frequenter of McDonald’s, but I would be hesitant to connect there because I am overly cautious about the clientele. As always, you should take security measures when connecting to a WiFi hotspot (have a firewall running, etc).

I found a few websites that will find WiFi hotspots for you. I checked out my local area and a few others, and did not see any libraries listed. I would prefer to connect at my local library than, say, a hotel, but it is always nice to know one’s options. And I think a library is more secure and accountable than an Internet cafe.

The first link is a website that will search your area for local libraries–a great resource when traveling!

RoadLibrary
Mobile Broadband
Wi-Fi Hotspot List
WiFiFreeHotspots
EZGoal WiFi Hotspots

PDF-XChange Viewer
This is another quality PDF viewer I’ve found. As I have said before, I can’t stand that bloatware Adobe Acrobat. I am very happy with my Foxit Reader. PDF-XChange Viewer claims it is more functional than Foxit, but I really didn’t notice much difference. Nonetheless, it is another alternative PDF viewer, and for that I am glad.

The download was lengthy (for my DSL connection, anyway– I waited almost 10 minutes). The program runs well. Check it out if you are looking to be free from Adobe.

A backup software is the only reasonable solution to the risks associated with online file sharing. Many think of a data recovery group being just as effective. However, the perfect computer backup solution requires the presence of a data recovery software nevertheless.

Here’s a handy-dandy list of tools found at websites that are very helpful for web- and blog-building. It’s a list I’ve kept tucked away for my own work, but I’ll leave it with you if you promise to take good care of it.

HTML with Style
All About.com Web Design
CSS Basics
Color Schemer Online
HTML Color Names
WebMonkey
Browser-safe Web Palette
Visibone Color Lab
Official Seal Generator
Cool Text Graphics Generator
Brilliant Button Maker
Adam Kalsey’s Button Maker
Flooble.com
Better Fonts.com
Fontica.com
Javascript Kit
Free Stock Photos
Free HTML Editors
Design Meme

You might want to bookmark this page or the links that will be helpful for your projects. I use them frequently, and in the next few posts about customizing your blog, I’ll be referring to these tools from time to time. Enjoy!

I’ve seen a lot of ugly templates out there in the the blogosphere. It ain’t pretty. The Blogger default templates are OK… but boring. In preparation for my upcoming series on How to Customize Your Blogger Blog, I’m going to assign you a little homework. I’ve presenting you with a list of websites that offer free Blogger templates. There are a lot to choose from. Some are better than others, of course, and not just in style. Some are easier to use, easier to customize, and some are in other languages. Here’s my list:

Gecko & Fly
Free Blogger Skins
Blogcrowds
Final Sense Blogger Templates
Template Panic
50More Beautiful Blogger Templates from Mashable
Free Blogger Templates
Blogger Templates Directory
Blogger Templates.org
Free Blogger Templates

I personally recommend the great choices from the first three links.

Tip: if English is your first language, get a template in English.

I had once downloaded and installed a template made by a Spaniard. It was a beautiful template, and I can read Spanish. Mostly. But after playing with it, I decided I didn’t want the template anymore. When I went to a new (English) template, I found some traces of Spanish still in my widgets html. So my date read “lecha” for a while until I finally noticed it, lol.

Anyway, look around at the templates in the lists below. Get a plan and I’ll soon show you how to fix up your boring, default blog into something that says you.