And I, as a Cable Company Slave, have no motivation whatsoever to help "save" customers (since the company gives me none) and will gladly respond with, "Would you like for me to set up that disconnection now?"
It seems like, every year, there's at least one story lke this. Not always a fatality, but certainly instincts relating to pack behavior. I can't imagine ever stepping over someone in an effort to get somewhere! Can't we blame at least a little of this on the Black Friday media hype? Or the economy? Should we expect this to get worse in years to come?
I was sick to my stomach when I heard this news - sick but not surprised. For years, I've said I'd rather pay full price than deal with the Black Friday madness. My heart goes out to Mr. Damour's family.
I'm with you on this one. When I saw this story, it stirred up all kinds of emotions in me, including anger and a little bit of fear. It's baffling. Why do people in crowds do things they wouldn't normally do? And why do we create situations like this to begin with - makes me want to shop online this year.
Just wanted to let you know about another service, booksfree.com
Not actually 'free' but you can get 6 books a month on here for 21.99 a month. I read about 2 books a week, and I have found this plan works the best for me. I have two on hand, two in transport back to the company, and two enroute to me. You have to ship 2 at a time. There are other plans as well.
And if you do books-on-tape a lot, they have a plan for that as well.
I found I was spending upwards of $100 a month on books. Great program for me!!
I did this too, I'm in Australia and was using Optus Vision at the time. I asked to have the lot taken away. I wasn't after a deal, I just realised that paying for television is an awful waste of money and I wasn't watching much anyway, preferring the internet over television for my entertainment.
I ended up with about six months worth of the lot, almost every channel they had, so I had the cable until they wanted to start billing me again, at which point I had the box removed.
No amount of inane crap was going to make me keep the service, I mainly got cable for My Dad who was sick at the time.
I mostly watched the news channels and cartoon network, I don't like sports at all so opening up the sports channels too did nothing for me at all.
Damn right I'm a tough customer. ;)
Next year a new service starts in Australia called Freeview, and that looks fine to me, mainly because it's totally free
digital television... of course I still only watch news and some locally produced shows now and then, the old media can't hack it anymore.
If you have a digital video camera (or can reliably borrow or rent one), Elastic Lab hires hobbyists to shoot raw footage (interviews, b-roll) on an occasional basis. In addition to competitive pay, they also reimburse for shipping and materials.
(Disclaimer: I work for them, so I can guarantee they're awesome to work with and very reliable. Feel free to shoot me questions at marina.martin (at) elasticlab (dot) com.)
You could also use videography skills to film weddings or special events, and/or sell stock footage online at Artbeats or iStockPhoto (or your own private site).
I'm doing piecework separating catnip leaves from stalks. Not sure what it pays yet - it's based on the DRY weight of the leaves, and I'll have an hourly rate estimate next week - but I'm guessing MAYBE $3-$4 per hour.
Oh, and it's a two-hour (sub)urban bus ride each way.
I've done online piecework for less than $1.50 per hour.
Craigslist can be a good way to find misc "gigs" to earn a few extra dollars, BUT you have to respond VERY quickly, since it appears there are a number of people ready to pounce on these opportunities within a few minutes of being posted.
In other words, if you see an opportunity which was posted yesterday, it's probably long gone.
Jill Nussinow (The Veggie Queen), whom I interviewed for the article, just followed up with me in regards to the tangerine zest. She says "you can just peel the entire tangerine and let it sit to dry. It’s then ready for use, unlike the other zest which is too bitter underneath."
Thanks for the heads-up about the tangerines, Myscha. I'll give it a try and see how it goes, but won't get too frustrated if it doesn't turn out well.
I make Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas, substituting leftover turkey for chicken.
Mix:
1 sm. can grn. chilies w/ 1 can Crm. Ckn. soup & 1 c. sour crm.
Spread enough sauce to cover the bottom of a lrg. baking dish.
Put diced cooked turkey & monterey jack cheese in a corn tortilla. Roll up and place in baking dish.
Pour remaining sauce on top & add extra cheese if desired.
Bake at 350 for abt. 30 min.
(Make 2 pans & freeze one if you have a lot of leftovers)
Try adding a few sprinkles of red pepper to salads. Just don't overdo it.
Also, add raisins (bought in a canister, much cheaper and fresher than those little boxes) and various types of nuts to your breakfast oatmeal. And sweeten the oatmeal with unsweetened applesauce instead of adding spoonfuls of sugar. Not only do you get a lot more flavor, you get extra servings of fruits and less processed carbs.
You can also used unsweetened applesauce instead of oil for low fat brownies. That's the "secret" in high-priced, low-fat brownie mixes...they just tell you to subsitute something else for the usual oil, usually yogurt. I like applesauce better myself.
speaking of the Greek Yogurt, crumbled feta cheese ( I buy it in bulk) is a make a nice addition to salads, eggs, all kinds of sauce. And I also use a lot of sundried tomatoes but buy it dry and reconstitute it with water and saute' in olive oil.
Three years ago I sold my first home without any Net resources. But it was very difficult for me. I heard that some services can publish ads about my home in the Internet. Can you help me to choose between Fizber and Trulia? Do you know anything about these services? My friend said that "Fizber" better than "Trulia". But maybe he wasn't right. So I need help.
- Preserved lemons. They sell jars of these little buggers for exorbitant prices. But a small jar (containing 2 lemons) costs under about 55 cents to make. They last forever and have a huge flavour punch. Just quarter lemons after cutting off the ends, roll them in a bunch of kosher salt and pack them into a jar, adding in another teaspoon or so of salt to the jar. Smoosh them so all the juice comes out, and if they're not covered in juice (mine always are), add a little more then seal. Shake a couple times a day for a couple weeks and use in your cooking. Just rinse well before you use.
- If you have too many lemons/limes/whatever that might be going bad soon, cut them into little bits and put one bit in each slot of an ice cube tray. Fill with water and freeze. These are perfect to put a couple in your water or tea for cheap flavouring.
And, vinegar:
I keep a bunch of vinegars in the house, and I add a splash to soups, stir fries, all sorts of things. Anytime something just needs a little oomph somewhere, a splash of vinegar will often cheaply do the trick.
When you look at how much the dried peel pieces cost, it's a huge motivator. Plus, if you don't get around to using them for cocktails, marinades and water jazzer uppers in time, you can always freeze the juice too.
To tell you the truth, I actually prefer the DIY zest. Even the frozen stuff. It's way more colorful and flavorful than the purchased variety in the spice section.
Keesha, just a tip . . . I've found (the expensive way) that the tangerines aren't necessarily as easy to zest as oranges, limes and lemons. I bought a bunch thinking I'd do exactly that, and I don't know . . . just something about the difference in the skins. Unless I got an "off" batch. Just wouldn't want you to miss out on a long term savings strategy because you accidently tried the toughest fruit to do it with right out of the gate, so to speak. Maybe you'll have different luck than I did. But I gave up on them and have been using them for marinades only, due to the seed factor.
I've been wanting to try cooking on top of my wood stove. The closest I have come is to let bread rise in the room where it is located. I'll have to get some more guts and give it a try. My cast-iron pans would be perfect! Thanks!
I love the Oobleck experiment. I did it with my 4 year old son this weekend. He learned about non-newtonian fluids, polymers, and molecule chains. Cool stuff! We found a fun site with neat science experiments like this. I will put the link below for anyone interested.
This is an awesome idea. I often buy the discounted limes and lemons in a package, but they go bad before I can use them all. This saves me mucho money!
A couple of years ago, hubby and I had two incomes and no children and ate out frequently at nice restaurants. Now we have two children, one income and eat out only occasionally, usually at some place with a play area and a dollar menu. :) While I do enjoy cooking, I miss eating out mostly because restaurant dishes seem so much more interesting than what I fix at home. Thanks for giving me some ideas for jazzing up my home cooking! Also, thanks for the link to Eating Well Anywhere--I'm really enjoying her blog. And Myscha, I'd never thought to freeze citrus zest to keep it for later. I have tangerines and lemons in the house now, so I'll have to zest 'em and stock up the freezer for winter baking.
This is a great list. I was excited to see that several of your suggestions are ones that we already use.
Regarding capers, I've always wanted to experiment with them a bit more, and noticed at the Costco here that I could get a huge jar of them for a good price. So I picked the little buggers up and brought them home. Now, I just need to start collecting cool things to try. I did see a chicken breasts done in lemon sauce and capers at a dinner party we went to. But I know they can be used for other things too. I just need to keep looking for things that grab my attention on the recipe front.
And by the way, amen to the citrus zest! It's how I feel warmer and fuzzier about buying bulk oranges when the prices go up. I make sure I zest or grate the peel before I even eat the oranges. Then I freeze it for sweet breads and such.
Thanks for putting this together. I think quite a few folks will be inspired to keep a few of these things on hand.
And I, as a Cable Company Slave, have no motivation whatsoever to help "save" customers (since the company gives me none) and will gladly respond with, "Would you like for me to set up that disconnection now?"
It seems like, every year, there's at least one story lke this. Not always a fatality, but certainly instincts relating to pack behavior. I can't imagine ever stepping over someone in an effort to get somewhere! Can't we blame at least a little of this on the Black Friday media hype? Or the economy? Should we expect this to get worse in years to come?
I was sick to my stomach when I heard this news - sick but not surprised. For years, I've said I'd rather pay full price than deal with the Black Friday madness. My heart goes out to Mr. Damour's family.
I'm with you on this one. When I saw this story, it stirred up all kinds of emotions in me, including anger and a little bit of fear. It's baffling. Why do people in crowds do things they wouldn't normally do? And why do we create situations like this to begin with - makes me want to shop online this year.
Just wanted to let you know about another service, booksfree.com
Not actually 'free' but you can get 6 books a month on here for 21.99 a month. I read about 2 books a week, and I have found this plan works the best for me. I have two on hand, two in transport back to the company, and two enroute to me. You have to ship 2 at a time. There are other plans as well.
And if you do books-on-tape a lot, they have a plan for that as well.
I found I was spending upwards of $100 a month on books. Great program for me!!
I did this too, I'm in Australia and was using Optus Vision at the time. I asked to have the lot taken away. I wasn't after a deal, I just realised that paying for television is an awful waste of money and I wasn't watching much anyway, preferring the internet over television for my entertainment.
I ended up with about six months worth of the lot, almost every channel they had, so I had the cable until they wanted to start billing me again, at which point I had the box removed.
No amount of inane crap was going to make me keep the service, I mainly got cable for My Dad who was sick at the time.
I mostly watched the news channels and cartoon network, I don't like sports at all so opening up the sports channels too did nothing for me at all.
Damn right I'm a tough customer. ;)
Next year a new service starts in Australia called Freeview, and that looks fine to me, mainly because it's totally free
digital television... of course I still only watch news and some locally produced shows now and then, the old media can't hack it anymore.
Wolfie!
If you have a digital video camera (or can reliably borrow or rent one), Elastic Lab hires hobbyists to shoot raw footage (interviews, b-roll) on an occasional basis. In addition to competitive pay, they also reimburse for shipping and materials.
(Disclaimer: I work for them, so I can guarantee they're awesome to work with and very reliable. Feel free to shoot me questions at marina.martin (at) elasticlab (dot) com.)
You could also use videography skills to film weddings or special events, and/or sell stock footage online at Artbeats or iStockPhoto (or your own private site).
Another idea is to POST on Craislist any services you can offer, and have people call or email you.
I'm doing piecework separating catnip leaves from stalks. Not sure what it pays yet - it's based on the DRY weight of the leaves, and I'll have an hourly rate estimate next week - but I'm guessing MAYBE $3-$4 per hour.
Oh, and it's a two-hour (sub)urban bus ride each way.
I've done online piecework for less than $1.50 per hour.
Such is life when you're poor and broke.
Craigslist can be a good way to find misc "gigs" to earn a few extra dollars, BUT you have to respond VERY quickly, since it appears there are a number of people ready to pounce on these opportunities within a few minutes of being posted.
In other words, if you see an opportunity which was posted yesterday, it's probably long gone.
Hey guys!
Jill Nussinow (The Veggie Queen), whom I interviewed for the article, just followed up with me in regards to the tangerine zest. She says "you can just peel the entire tangerine and let it sit to dry. It’s then ready for use, unlike the other zest which is too bitter underneath."
Hope this helps!
Linsey Knerl
Thanks for the heads-up about the tangerines, Myscha. I'll give it a try and see how it goes, but won't get too frustrated if it doesn't turn out well.
Garlic roasting on an open fire
Shallots wafting up your nose
I make Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas, substituting leftover turkey for chicken.
Mix:
1 sm. can grn. chilies w/ 1 can Crm. Ckn. soup & 1 c. sour crm.
Spread enough sauce to cover the bottom of a lrg. baking dish.
Put diced cooked turkey & monterey jack cheese in a corn tortilla. Roll up and place in baking dish.
Pour remaining sauce on top & add extra cheese if desired.
Bake at 350 for abt. 30 min.
(Make 2 pans & freeze one if you have a lot of leftovers)
Serve with corn or cornbread.
Try adding a few sprinkles of red pepper to salads. Just don't overdo it.
Also, add raisins (bought in a canister, much cheaper and fresher than those little boxes) and various types of nuts to your breakfast oatmeal. And sweeten the oatmeal with unsweetened applesauce instead of adding spoonfuls of sugar. Not only do you get a lot more flavor, you get extra servings of fruits and less processed carbs.
You can also used unsweetened applesauce instead of oil for low fat brownies. That's the "secret" in high-priced, low-fat brownie mixes...they just tell you to subsitute something else for the usual oil, usually yogurt. I like applesauce better myself.
speaking of the Greek Yogurt, crumbled feta cheese ( I buy it in bulk) is a make a nice addition to salads, eggs, all kinds of sauce. And I also use a lot of sundried tomatoes but buy it dry and reconstitute it with water and saute' in olive oil.
Runescape is a pay-to-play website. I'm a member.
Three years ago I sold my first home without any Net resources. But it was very difficult for me. I heard that some services can publish ads about my home in the Internet. Can you help me to choose between Fizber and Trulia? Do you know anything about these services? My friend said that "Fizber" better than "Trulia". But maybe he wasn't right. So I need help.
Couple things I like to do with citrus:
- Preserved lemons. They sell jars of these little buggers for exorbitant prices. But a small jar (containing 2 lemons) costs under about 55 cents to make. They last forever and have a huge flavour punch. Just quarter lemons after cutting off the ends, roll them in a bunch of kosher salt and pack them into a jar, adding in another teaspoon or so of salt to the jar. Smoosh them so all the juice comes out, and if they're not covered in juice (mine always are), add a little more then seal. Shake a couple times a day for a couple weeks and use in your cooking. Just rinse well before you use.
- If you have too many lemons/limes/whatever that might be going bad soon, cut them into little bits and put one bit in each slot of an ice cube tray. Fill with water and freeze. These are perfect to put a couple in your water or tea for cheap flavouring.
And, vinegar:
I keep a bunch of vinegars in the house, and I add a splash to soups, stir fries, all sorts of things. Anytime something just needs a little oomph somewhere, a splash of vinegar will often cheaply do the trick.
When you look at how much the dried peel pieces cost, it's a huge motivator. Plus, if you don't get around to using them for cocktails, marinades and water jazzer uppers in time, you can always freeze the juice too.
To tell you the truth, I actually prefer the DIY zest. Even the frozen stuff. It's way more colorful and flavorful than the purchased variety in the spice section.
Keesha, just a tip . . . I've found (the expensive way) that the tangerines aren't necessarily as easy to zest as oranges, limes and lemons. I bought a bunch thinking I'd do exactly that, and I don't know . . . just something about the difference in the skins. Unless I got an "off" batch. Just wouldn't want you to miss out on a long term savings strategy because you accidently tried the toughest fruit to do it with right out of the gate, so to speak. Maybe you'll have different luck than I did. But I gave up on them and have been using them for marinades only, due to the seed factor.
I've been wanting to try cooking on top of my wood stove. The closest I have come is to let bread rise in the room where it is located. I'll have to get some more guts and give it a try. My cast-iron pans would be perfect! Thanks!
Linsey Knerl
I love the Oobleck experiment. I did it with my 4 year old son this weekend. He learned about non-newtonian fluids, polymers, and molecule chains. Cool stuff! We found a fun site with neat science experiments like this. I will put the link below for anyone interested.
http://weirdsciencekids.com/FunExperiments.html
This is an awesome idea. I often buy the discounted limes and lemons in a package, but they go bad before I can use them all. This saves me mucho money!
Linsey Knerl
A couple of years ago, hubby and I had two incomes and no children and ate out frequently at nice restaurants. Now we have two children, one income and eat out only occasionally, usually at some place with a play area and a dollar menu. :) While I do enjoy cooking, I miss eating out mostly because restaurant dishes seem so much more interesting than what I fix at home. Thanks for giving me some ideas for jazzing up my home cooking! Also, thanks for the link to Eating Well Anywhere--I'm really enjoying her blog. And Myscha, I'd never thought to freeze citrus zest to keep it for later. I have tangerines and lemons in the house now, so I'll have to zest 'em and stock up the freezer for winter baking.
This is a great list. I was excited to see that several of your suggestions are ones that we already use.
Regarding capers, I've always wanted to experiment with them a bit more, and noticed at the Costco here that I could get a huge jar of them for a good price. So I picked the little buggers up and brought them home. Now, I just need to start collecting cool things to try. I did see a chicken breasts done in lemon sauce and capers at a dinner party we went to. But I know they can be used for other things too. I just need to keep looking for things that grab my attention on the recipe front.
And by the way, amen to the citrus zest! It's how I feel warmer and fuzzier about buying bulk oranges when the prices go up. I make sure I zest or grate the peel before I even eat the oranges. Then I freeze it for sweet breads and such.
Thanks for putting this together. I think quite a few folks will be inspired to keep a few of these things on hand.