Times are tough, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun! Here are some resources and tips on how to find free and cheap ways to enjoy the summer days.
Community Festivals http://www.festivals.com/
Looking for city-wide festivals in your local community or in neighboring communities? Festivals.com is the best resource I’ve yet found for collecting listings of all of these festivals. While it doesn’t include everything, it does point out lots of interesting activities near your zip code all throughout the summer.
Music Festivals http://www.festivalfinder.com/
Once you get beyond mega-festivals like Bonnaroo, there are a lot of music festivals all across the country, and many are surprisingly inexpensive (sometimes free). Such festivals are a great way to hear lots of interesting music and meet people who have similar interests.
National Parks http://www.nps.gov/findapark/
A national parks pass can be one of the best frugal investments around. National parks are wonderful places to explore, camp, hike, and enjoy. The stunning beauty and majesty of nature found within many of the parks is well worth visiting.
The weather has been nice and it’s starting to look a lot like summer, but there have been some rainy spots here and there. Here’s a video to display how I feel about the weather.
And I can’t forget, Happy 21st Birthday, Joyce aka @jca19.
The recent release of the Windows 7 Release Candidate has gotten even Mac users to download it (for free) directly from the Microsoft website and try it out. You can run Windows 7 until at least June 2010. If you want to use it on a Mac, Google it and you should be able to find step by step instructions. Windows users, just download and install (back-up everything first, of course).
Browsing through the different themes and desktop images, I noticed a wallpaper that many Seattleites may appreciate. Click on the image to download the full image.
The HDMI cable market is inundated with many brand name and no name cables ranging in price from $5 to $250 for 1 cable. Some claim to have better picture quality and audio, but let’s be real; digital is digital. When your cable is transmitting 1s and 0s to your TV, as long as the signal gets there, it’s there.
A test from Gizmodo shows that Monster cables, even when marked down, are never worth the price, even if they do offer a lifetime warranty.
It never pays to buy a Monster cable first. It doesn’t even make sense to buy the “marked down” $50 cable you can buy if you don’t want Monster. Go online, order your cables, and wait.
Get your cables from MonoPrice. These cheap, high quality HDMI cables (amongst anything dealing with your audio/video and electronic needs) are delivered quickly and perform just like cables that cost 3 to 5 times as much.
Like to eat out and try new things, but hate the bill at the end? The Seattle Times has collaborated with many fine-dining restaurants around Seattle to offer a value packed three course meal for $30. Participating restaurants include 13 Coins, Boka, Garage, Ipanema, Salty’s, and Anthony’s just to name a few. See the full list at The Seattle Times. Urban Eats is good from Sundays to Thursdays throughout May (excluding Mother’s Day on May 10).
Green is the new black! For Earth Day, Jones Soda, Co. in Seattle, WA decided to go off the electrical grid on Earth Day by powering its headquarters with bicycle-generated energy. They pedaled 10 bikes throughout the day to power their computers, phones, and the Jones Soda network for the day. It’s nice to see a local company setting an example for moving towards a greener, fresher lifestyle. The festivities are over, but you can still go to their website and make an Earth Day pledge for a Buy One, Get One free coupon.
