Tag Archives: library

Borrowing Laptops From The Library?

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I can’t believe that my local Library is actually offering to let people borrow Laptops!  How awesome is that!

Borrowing laptops

Apparently, some local company donated all of their old laptops to the library since they bought new ones.  What a great idea for a company to do!  Merry Christmas local library users!

I won’t be borrowing one myself (plus I’m sure they’ll be in great demand).  But if I were to borrow one, the first thing I would do is go out and buy a cheap jump drive (you can now get a 4G drive for less than $20).  I would use the jump drive for anything I do with the laptop because once you return the laptop to the library, everything you saved goes back too.  If you save to the jump drive, you can save your stuff (I know obvious, right…).

I wonder if the library will let people check out the laptops for a period greater that 2 weeks?  I would imagine so.

Where I work, we are constantly upgrading our user computers.  With the latest batch, they are scrapping computers that have CPU that run at speeds of 3G.  So the computers they are throwing out are faster than most of my computers at home.

Computers have truly become commodities!

I have to wonder what else some of the other libraries let people borrow?

Lemons to Lemonade Series #1 – Long Commute Drives

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I hate driving in the car on long trips!  I use to dread going on the annual vacation just because I would have to drive hours and hours to get to our vacation destination (usually Hilton Head or North Myrtle Beach).  But now, do I still hate it?  No!

I hate driving

What has changed for me?

Now I listen to audio books on long vacation trips.  I can often find a good novel to listen to during the long drive down to Hilton Head Island.  Sometimes, I even wish the drive was longer so I could finish the audio book that I’m listening to.

Does this work for commutes to work?

Yes, I believe that it would work for long commutes to work!  My commute to work is only half and hour, so I don’t get the long novel for trips to work.  I do like to listen to short comedian CD, short autobiographies (like Benjamin Franklin) and other shorter audio materials.  Long stories like Stephen King’s “The gunslinger” is too much for short commutes, but for long commutes, this series might be perfect.

How is buying audio books a frugal way to drive to work?

It isn’t, I don’t buy the audiobooks, I borrow them from the Library.  I think if you try this technique out, you’ll find that your commute is more bearable, and you’ll be increasing your wisedom, or be entertained (or at least laugh at some good jokes) in the process.

You might be wondering, What have I listened to?  I like to listen to comedians, and classics that I normally wouldn’t listen to otherwise…

  • Bill Crosby:  Bill’s comedy is great for the car, nice and slow so you don’t miss the joke
  • Robin Williams:  Robin was a tough listening to during the commute, his humor is quick and in a noisy car, you might not be able to hear him.
  • Farhrenheit 451:  A classic but still a good listen!
  • Animal Farm:  A classic and another good listen.  A bit dry though.
  • Oliver Twist: Good story, but tough to hear sometimes if your commute is noisy.
  • 1984: Interesting, but I wouldn’t listen to it again.
  • I am Legend: Good story, a bit different from the 2007 movie remake.

Library Savings

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I’m lucky, that I work close to a library (it’s about 2 miles away from work).  My work library has an added bonus!  I found a special little spot in the library, that has a peacefully homey feeling to it!  It a small nook that looks like it could be a family room with a nice fireplace as the center focal point.

Much like superman’s fortress of solitude, I go here for lunch to escape the stress of work!  I find that the trip, which is less than 2 minutes drive, often leaves me refreshed and I go back to work with new vigor, ready to get back to the rat race.

Library Fireplace

Library Fireplace

 

While I’m at the library, I typical do the following for free:

  • Read magazines that I’m interested in
  • Surf the web and enter/edit this blog
  • Walk back to the pond behind the library
  • Sit and read a book out on the patio
  • Read the newspaper
  • Check out books, CD, DVDs, Audio books
  • Play Xbox with Kinect while I’m there (not often though)
  • Request books from other libraries
  • Check out software (but it’s mostly old stuff)
  • Check out the Leapster cartridges (wish they had DS ones)
  • For the kids, I check out board games, and activity kits
  • Some libraries (not this one) even have a weekly movie night

These are the reasons I go to the library. But probably my favorite reason for going to the library is for the 3 day DVD selection!

Some libraries now offer 3 day videos!

The way this works is when the library gets new DVDs, the videos are tagged 3 day videos.  What this means is instead of people checking them out online, they have to come in and pick them up first come, first serve.  People can then checkout the videos (both DVD and VHS) only for 3 days and only 2 at a time.

I know many think that the library is nerdy, but it’s also a very frugal way to go!

Check it out!

MR