Freaky Frugalite

… to ALWAYS check the Internet for coupon codes before you hit the final “Submit My Order” button!!

I had to order a computer part for one of my computers yesterday, at the Hewlett-Packard website. I went through the whole shebang, entered all my information and was THIS CLOSE to finalizing my order when it hit me: maybe I should check for coupon codes.

I really didn’t think I’d find anything– this is HP, that great big computer manufacturer, too big and too important for coupon codes…

But I found one! And I saved $7 off my order!!!!!!!!

So listen to the Freaky Frugalite now: ALWAYS check for coupon codes! I have a bookmarked stash of websites that I always check (I post them here from time to time), but a quick search for something like “HP coupon codes” will bring up a billion sites. Why pay more than you have to??

Tags: Frugal, shopping

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Heh heh, NOPE, this post is not about Elvis! Nor Michael Jackson! Golly gee, WHAT king could I be talking about?

“… the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses… For His dominion is an everlasting domainion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation.” Daniel 4:25, 34

“Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us. He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His deep displeasure…” Psalm 2: 1-5

Patrick Henry once said, “Should I keep back my opinions at such a time, through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty of treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings.”

I don’t know where it entered into our culture that we Christians felt that the gospel truth must be watered down or silenced to become more palatable to the general public. But then again, the truth has never been very popular. Just think of Martin Luther and his accusations against the pope and the Catholic Church; of Galileo brought before the Inquisition because he taught that the earth revolves around the Sun; about Isaac Newton and his belief and search for codes in the Bible; about those who dispute the kooky populist fads such as the Theory of Evolution, or the Theory of the Flat Earth, or the Theory of Global Warming. Truth has never been terribly popular. There was a familiar Roman proverb that I often quote to my children: Mundus vult decipi: the world wants to be deceived.

I’m presenting many points, scattered it may seem if you do not yet understand my point, which is: we are accountable to the higher Authority and not the current status quo, not the current worldy consensus. Truth is truth and it does not waver. There are some who have made up their minds that truth does not exist… but neglect to see that if truth does not exist, how can this be true? And why are the words of truth-disclaimers so easily tolerated, but the voices of those who accept truth are silenced? Or are made to feel like they give offense?

There is the higher Authority to which we will all give account– that Majesty of Heaven, the King of kings, as Patrick Henry related. We can be like him, or Nebuchadnezzar and Darius from the Book of Daniel, and accept this fact; or we can be like the kings of the earth who “set themselves against the Lord” and who “suppress the truth in all unrighteousness.” (Romans 1:18) I may not know everything, and I certainly may be mixed up in some things, but this I know– I should not be afraid to speak the truth for fear of “offending” someone, and I should never suppress the truth in unrighteousness.

Jesus said to him, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6

For more of The Word For Wednesday posts and participants, see Yeah, Right!

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Whoooooaaaaa!! THIS IS WEIRD!! Have you heard about this? It’s the “Brain Control Toy,” also known as the “Force Trainer.” It’s hitting toy stores this summer, expected to sell for $120. You wear a headset that monitors your brain activity. If you concentrate, the ball will levitate in the container. Toooo weird, people!

From the New York Post:

Scientists call the technology BCI, or Brain Computer Interface, and more sensitive, medical-grade versions are used to help amputees move artificial limbs and victims of paralysis communicate using a computer and software that reacts thought.

A recent episode of the medical drama “House” about a patient suffering from locked-in syndrome (a condition in which the victim of a brain injury is aware and awake but cannot move or communicate) featured a similar device.

The Force Trainer, expected to sell for about $120, is not medical-grade hardware, but it uses a headset to monitor the brain, and then transmits a signal to a base that features a fan and a ball in a tube.

The headset is calibrated to sense beta waves, a specific type of brain waves associated with concentration. When you focus, the headset reads the electrical pattern from inside your head and sends a signal to a microchip that switches on the fan in the base unit and levitates the pingpong in a clear tube.

The more intense the focus and concentration, the faster the fan spins and the quicker the ball rises. When concentration is broken or weak, the ball drops.

Bah humbug. So you can float a ball in space. I won’t be interested until my vacuum cleaner will run without me, my dishes will wash without me, and my laundry will fold itself…

Tags: Brain Control Toy, NY Post, Star Wars

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I saw this news story in the Washington Post, about frugal being the new “in.” As happy as I am about the new popularity for conserving stuff and living more efficiently and frugally, I have to giggle at the examples the journalist uses, proving beyond a shadow if a doubt that THIS is REALLY dirt-down, bare-bones frugal living.

In these recessionary times, people like Seigrid Walker are no longer concerned about keeping up with the Joneses. Now the goal is to fall far behind them.

The 33-year-old lawyer from Mitchellville once regaled her friends with tales of shopping sprees at Nordstrom and circulated photos of Caribbean vacations with her husband. Now she tells her girlfriends about staying home for pizza night with the kids. (They watch “Madagascar.” Over and over again.)

…The recession has changed the conversation in America. As the era of conspicuous consumption fades along with our 401(k)s, people are clamoring for caps on executive pay and recoiling at the idea of bosses cavorting at expensive spas. At play dates and happy hours, friends are swapping recipes instead of making restaurant reservations. Teenagers are skipping flashy block-long limos and showing up to prom in minivans. Coupons has become a more popular search term than Britney Spears on Google.

Gosh, they’re almost country hicks, aren’t they?!

Prom dates in minivans instead of limos?? (HOW much do prom dresses cost?! Freaky Frugalite says SKIP the prom, buy a month’s worth of groceries with the $$ saved). No expensive spas, just Kettlebell videos now? (Which actually, isn’t too bad).

…That change was in painful evidence yesterday when luxury retailer Saks reported May sales were down nearly 27 percent from a year ago and Nordstrom said its fell 13 percent. Abercrombie and Fitch, which has been reluctant to lower prices, was down 28 percent. Overall, sales fell 4.6 percent at U.S. chain stores, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Tut, tut, Saks sales are down! And Nordstrom! We really ARE in a recession, aren’t we? ;)

Tags: Frugal, news

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It was a beautiful day, everyone else was outside but poor, deprived Livvy. She was plaintively calling to us from the open window, scratching the screen. So I rigged her up to her harness and took her outside. The sun was quite hot, and after a few minutes of chasing bugs and sniffing grass, she crawled into one of the garden beds, seeking shelter in the shade. Here she is under the turtleheads and Rose of Sharon. Isn’t she adorable?!?!

Tags: Livvy, Olivia

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I saw this quiz somewhere while blog-hopping recently. Cute one! The questions were nice.

You Are Hot Chocolate

Your holiday personality is generous. The holidays are your favorite time to practice the art of giving. You enjoy picking out presents, sharing treats, and making everyone’s day a little brighter. And you don’t even notice if you don’t get anything in return.

What Holiday Drink Are You?

But isn’t it ironic?! I mean, hot chocolate gives me a stomachache! :-p

Tags: quiz

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