So, my friend Tiffany and I had a discussion last night about being bored. She says that she gets bored pretty often because she travels a lot and isn’t home. I thought about my own situation while I drove back up to Berkeley from San Jose, and realized that I am and have been pretty happy and most of the time un-bored, so I thought that maybe I could come up with a list of ways that I keep myself occupied and roll it out to other bored people out there.

1) Google Reader - For those of you who use Gmail, Google Reader is another awesome Google application that allows you to keep up with your day-to-day blogs and websites without having to spend the time to visit all of them because they take all the blogs and put them on one interface. If you want to visit the actual website, you can click from the reader and go directly to it, but it saves you time because it’ll show you when blogs have been updated or new news has been added. If you’re bored, just subscribe to a few blogs that you read or browse and find a few that you want to read, and it’ll keep you entertained for at least half an hour. Sometimes I get behind on my blog reading (I think I have at least 30 blogs subscribed) and can easily spend an hour sifting through entries that I haven’t read yet.

2) Blogging – Duh. Haha, in an effort to try to keep in touch with people that I don’t see very often without picking up the phone to call (it’s hard when you work 8am-9pm on some days) I have found blogging kind of a fun way to get news out about things that you find cool, things that you have been doing, or just getting ideas out there. I’ve set up my blog so that when I post, the posts are sent to Facebook as well, so that those who check Facebook more often can read if they choose to. It’s also a journal/diary of sorts since you’re keeping your thoughts in one place which you can eventually refer back to.

3) eBay, half.com, Bookmooch.com - I like browsing these sites every so often because eBay is my way of seeing how much things are valued at these days. It may seem like I’m always buying new technology, but really, I trade in things that I’ve used and use the money to upgrade. If you think about it this way, it’s kind of like renting a gadget for a year or two and then getting a new one. Let’s say I bought a digital camera for $175 and after using it for two years, I see one that is the same price but a newer model. I check on eBay and my current camera is being sold for $130, so if I sold it, I would have paid $45 to rent a digital camera for 2 years.

I browse half.com mainly for books that I see at bookstores and want to read, but don’t want to pay for a new book. Today, I went with my sister to Barnes and Noble and found about 10 books that I was interested in. I used my phone to take pictures of the covers of the books and came back home and looked for them online. Half.com has many sellers that have thousands of books in their inventory and I was able to find a seller that had a few books that I was interested in getting, which will save me money on shipping. I found a few books at $0.75 (shipping is usually about $3.49 a book via media mail) which is a steal compared to the $10+ that you would have paid at the bookstore. Of course, libraries are cheaper as well (i.e. FREE).

So, what do you do after you’ve read those books? Bookmooch them or put them back on half.com to sell. Selling books is easy on half.com and is a great way to get rid of old textbooks. I like Bookmooch because since the books that I’ve bought are paperback and not worth very much, putting them into my Bookmooch inventory allows me to trade it with others who may have a book that I would like to read.

4) Fantasy football - This makes Sundays and Mondays much more fun. Unfortunately I understand that not EVERYONE likes football, but to tell you the truth, I’m not really that into football either except for the fact that I’m playing fantasy football and I kind of want to win. You basically put together a team of players via a draft and you get points for how well your players do during their games for the week. I like it because there is no way to predict who is going to do well or what is going to happen, yet you can still do research and pick the  better match-ups based on information that you can find. I’ve got a league going with my sister, my brother, his friends, and some of my friends so there are 10 teams in our league which makes it pretty fun. We use Yahoo Fantasy Football because it’s easy to set up and manage and is also free.

5) Stock market - I like to keep up to date with news on companies that I am investing in or can eventually invest in.
6) Read the news - seriously, I think we don’t do enough of this on a daily basis. I always browse, find a story, and then find another story connected to it, and so forth.
7) Twitter & facebook (reconnect with old friends) - a random message to someone you haven’t spoken to in awhile may make their day, or actually make yours.  You could also take the time to stalk a few of your favorite celebrities on twitter.
Read a magazine or a book - (amazon usually has cheap magazine subscription rates) Blast back into the past (just kidding) and pick up some reading material. I have internet multi-tasking disorder which makes me feel like I need to be doing/keeping track of a million things at once. Doing some old-fashioned reading definitely makes you feel human again.
9) Organize your digital pictures/your music/your LIFE - You know you’ve been meaning to do it, NOW DO IT! haha, even just the folders on your computer.
10) Find someone whose day you can make happier – this one is on you.

Hi, I’m a Mac.

Those of you who know me and my love of digital items also know that I love REFURBISHED items. At stores such as the Apple Online Store, you get the same 1 year warranty and usually about $200-$400 off items. Refurbished items go through a strict inspection process as detailed by Apple below:

Each Apple Certified Refurbished Product:

• is fully tested (including full burn-in testing).
• is refurbished with replacement parts for any defective modules identified in testing.
• is put through a thorough cleaning process and inspection.
• is repackaged (including appropriate manuals, cables, new boxes, etc.).
• includes the operating software originally shipped with the unit and the custom software offered with that system. See each products “Learn More” for more details.
• is given a new refurbished part number and serial number.
• is placed into a Final QA inspection prior to being added to sellable refurbished stock.

Refurbishment procedures follow the same basic technical guidelines as Apple’s Finished Goods testing procedures.

(2) What should I expect when I purchase an Apple Certified Refurbished Product?

• Substantial savings
• A fully functional unit with complete documentation
• The assurance that the unit meets Apple’s premiere quality standards, and that its defective components have been replaced by genuine Apple components

I was able to purchase my Macbook Pro about a year ago, for over $500 off, which was pretty amazing. They usually have refurbished items regularly, but a good time to look is usually right after they have launched a new line of products or a few months afterwards, depending on what you want. If you think you want one of the newest macs, give it a few months and refurbished items will soon pop up. If you want a good deal on a mac from the previous generation, you’ll usually find them discounted right before the launch and even afterwards until they run out.

All of my Macs have been bought refurbished. I have a Macbook, which my brother is using at the moment and a Macbook Pro that I bought last year. I’ve also bought quite a few ipods refurbished; a few for presents and a few for myself, and they’ve all worked great, and you can get quite a hefty discount at usually $50 off ..which is about 25% off the original price.

Hi, I’m a PC.

For PC users, Dell has an Outlet shop online where you can get refurbished items. I have a tiny 9″ Dell Mini 9 which I bought for about $270 that I will often take on business trips instead of my 15″ Macbook Pro since it weighs next to nothing, but still has great wireless functionality, let’s me surf the internet, type emails, and has a webcam and a good mic/speakers that allow me to dial into conference calls through Skype. Like Apple, their refurb items also come with the same warranty as new items.

DIGITAL CAMERAS

If you’re looking for a digital camera, refurb is also the way to go in my opinion. Of course, you have to pick the right refurbished retailer. I’ve bought two Canon cameras from refurbdepot.com and have been very satisfied. My refurbished items came in the same retail box, and have been fully functional and work flawlessly. You can end up saving close to 50% on them.

I’ve got a few more money saving tips for tech-y items up my sleeve, but I’m going to save them for a later post.

I’ll leave you with this though….

When buying through a major company such as Apple or Dell, check eBay and see if you can score a gift card for less than the gift card is worth. For example, when I bought my Dell Mini, I found a $100 Dell gift certificate on eBay for $70, which saved me $30! Usually people can email gift card codes so you can also get it right away without needing the physical card. Be careful though and make sure that the person you’re buying from has had good reviews for similar products. If you pay by Paypal though, they usually cover you when it comes to seller fraud so you can breathe a little easier.