• Careerbuilder.com – Good stuff! Probably my favorite.
• Monster.com – 2nd on my list. Great posts, good interface, high traffic.
• Hotjobs.com – Not in my favorites. It is OK and they do have postings, but it doesn’t seem to have as many as the other two and there is an awful lot of “work at home” spam posts.
• Indeed.com and Simplyhired.com – These sites display Google-like results and search multiple job posting websites. I was pretty impressed with them.

There are certainly alot of “crap” job posting websites out there, that is a fact. Are there any that are among your favorites, which I may have missed?

I need to mow the lawn today and it can take a few hours to do that. With no iPod it is one of the most boring things I do. I usually listen to audio books and it makes mowing the lawn really not that big a deal. In order to try to make this a more enjoyable experience I decided to try to fix our iPods.

B&W iPod

I found a few different sites with various instructions on how to fix your broken iPod. I opened my first iPod up and tried the “folded paper method”. With the clicking sounds, it isn’t terribly surprising that it didn’t work. I might buy a new hard drive for it since they only run around $40.

Color iPod

Now that I “tested” opening an iPod on my older one, it was time to see what I could do about the newer one. The color iPod was a little tougher to open, but open it I did. I was going to try the “folded card” method, but noticed that the hard drive cable appeared as though it was not plugged in all the way on one side. I firmly pressed the pins back in, closed up the iPod, and I’m back in business! The iPod is working again!

Now, off to mow the lawn and hit up one of my favorite audio books.

Well, I’ve been working on my wife’s resume, some other web properties, some Advertising deals, and we had my wife’s parents over for a few days. She is middle school teacher and is just finishing up her permanent technology certificate, so she’s going to look toward getting a permanent position now that she’s done with school.

We built some new stairs on to my deck this week as well as chained my Grill to the deck so that it won’t be whisked away by a storm again. Big thanks to my father-in-law for doing that! He’s quite handy with a drill, whereas I’m quite handy with a keyboard. He comes over and builds things, I help them with their laptop. Tis what family is for.

I think that I will likely continue the HTML A-Z series tomorrow and go from there. I also hope to have my first Ad Network interview up as soon as possible. Just waiting for a few responses at the moment so that I can move forward with posting the first in my new interview series.

So what are some money saving tips and tricks you might ask?

Electricity

• Change The Temperature – If you raise or lower the temperature in your home you can save 1-5% on your electric bill per degree. Those are some easy savings!
• Compact Fluorescent Bulbs – They are more expensive, but last longer and save you on electricity.
• Unplug And Save – Did you know that many appliances and devices such as TVs and DVD players still draw electricity even when they are off? You can save a bundle on electricity by unplugging these devices or even by purchasing timed power strips that will cut off power for you.

Entertainment

• Cable/Satellite TV – Do you have 1000 channels? Do you really watch them all? If you over a top-tier TV package, this is definately an area where most of us can cut back.
• The Movies – Going to the movies is fun and enjoyable. Try to only go see the movies that really interest you though. Also try not to spend too much at the concession stand as this is where you’re going to get hit the hardest.
• Staying In vs Going Out – Do you really need to go out to have fun? What about staying at home with friends to play a board game?
• Restaurants – Eating out is nice, but so much money is forked out when you do so. Learn to cook, stay home, become an at-home chef! Plus, if you learn how to cook (if you don’t know much about doing so already) you can also save money by cooking over prepared/frozen meals.

Gas

• Use Public Transportation – If it is available, it can be your biggest money saver.
• Find The “Cheap Station” – Some stations lower their prices on certain days and only for a certian period of time (like a 2pm-4pm special). Find out if there is a station near you that does this and try getting gas there if/when you can.
• Carpool – Carpooling has a very obvious impact on your gas budget.
• Join A Gas Station’s Rewards Program – Get stuff for customer loyalty. Just make sure you aren’t getting a bad price at the pump.
• Use A Gas Station’s Credit Card – Some gas stations offer credit cards that give you a discount at the pump. Go for it! Just make sure to pay that card off every month.

Groceries

• Make Fewer Trips – This is sort of a gas-saving technique, but the less you go to the store, the less you end up spending on stuff that you don’t need. Try to make big trips instead of many little ones.
• Make A List – Shopping with a list is the best way to shop. Get what you need, not what you stumble upon.
• Pack A Lunch! – Buy stuff to make a lunch and take it with you to work. Eating out everyday for lunch is a huge financial drian.
• Comparison Shop – Most stores will have “unit prices” listed in small print on the shelf tags. Compare these unit prices between brands and see if you can save some money by switching brands or buy purchasing a different amount of that item (bigger bottle, smaller pack, etc).
• Buy Bulk – Find out if the items you most frequently buy are cheaper in bulk or not. Check out a bulk/wholesale store such as Sam’s Club. You may find that you can save quite a bit of money in the long run with a membership to such a store. Just make sure to only buy bulk items that you will USE.
• Drink Water! – Cut down on soda. It is bad for your teeth, bad for your wallet, and bad for your health. Drinking more water is better for you and can save you some dough.
• Cut Coupons – Especially if your store does “double coupon days” and the like. Cutting coupons on the grocery items that you buy regularly can save you a considerable amount on your grocery bill.
• Go Generic – Check out the generic brands at your local store. You’ll find that quite a bit of it really isn’t that far off from what you are used to. There are some things that you may just really prefer the name brand over, but typically the more generic you purchase, the more you save.
• Join A Dinner Group – Talk to neighbors about having dinner together on weekdays. Get a group of 10 couples and take turns eating at eachother’s houses. You can save big money if you only have to cook one large dinner and 2 small ones each week.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but a good start. I will be adding to this list in the future, so make certain to bookmark it for future updates!

Sigh.

That is all.

Congratulations Jeremy on your new addition!

A little history lesson from Wikipedia…

In the United States, Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Congress approved the wording of the Declaration on July 4 and then sent it to the printer. Whether John Hancock, as the elected President of the Second Continental Congress, or anyone else signed the document that day is unknown, because that document has been lost — presumably destroyed in the printing process. Hancock’s name and that of a witness do appear on the typeset broadside that was published within a few days. On August 2 in the following month, an engrossed document in script form was signed by Hancock and other delegates.

Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, picnics, baseball games, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States, but is often also viewed as simply a summer festival, apart from its patriotic overtones.

A while back I DVR’d the miniseries “John Adams” on HBO. I’ve been watching one episode every Monday for the past few weeks with some friends. They did a really good job with the series and while some feel that it seems a bit slow at times, I have really enjoyed it. If you haven’t seen it and are interested in a bit of a US history lesson that is fairly enjoyable, I highly recommend it. While there are a few historical innaccuracies, there are very few of them, some of them simply being “this didn’t happen on such and such a day, but rather 3 days later”.

Katie and I will be enjoying Fireworks tonight at our county fairgrounds. While I was planning on helping a good friend in building his patio on Sunday, it looks like the materials won’t be there in time, so it will be a nice relaxing weekend. I think I’ll have to kick back with a brew and enjoy the weather.

Sunday will be a bit of a workout as I will be helping a friend to build a patio with leveling sand and paving stones. My wife has been helping him with a landscaping project for the past few months and it is getting very close to completion. It will have a waterfall, a small pond, and they surround the patio we are about to build. I’ll make sure to post pics of the progress!