Small Town Tech

If I had an online dating profile it might read "High energy, creative homebody with a love for the outdoors seeks..." better not go there. I've sought and found. A great one. A technologically advanced one that keeps me on my toes when it comes to technology. If I got a problem, yo he'll solve it. If anyone relatively close to me has a problem, he'll solve that too. I guess what I'm trying to say, amidst meandering rambles about my personality and Vanilla Ice references, is that I am a technology junkie, amongst other things, and fully intend to share any bits of knowledge I can garnish from my spouse or the hundreds of blogs I read.

In an effort to provide you with some consistency, I'm going to try to make this a regular Tuesday trend. If you hate it, please comment below, and I will reconsider. I just enabled my comments to open in a pop-up window, thus making it much more user friendly. Nifty, huh? That's where the junkie part comes in handy. Yes, new technology, the Internet, Facebook, this blog can take a little time out of your day. It can also enhance your days. Think of the many smiles and smirks you've already enjoyed by reading this post. No, but really, there are some amazing tools, sites, and more that can make your life less complicated. Or more fun. Or both. Do you use the computer late in the evening and feel like the screen is giving off an eerie blue glow? Did that sound like an infomercial introduction? Yes. Anyway, I couldn't handle the bright screen at night, so I downloaded f.lux. My computer screen is now "warm" and not so harsh, so I can blog to you each evening without accosting my eyes and losing sleep. It's an easy download--just go to the site and select the operating system you use and it does the rest.

Now let's talk food. Recipes to make food, that is.

A Facebook friend turned me on to Google Recipe search. It's amazing, and you don't have to install anything on your computer. And it's free. Here's what you do. Google search whatever it is you may be craving. You don't have to be specific. You can do "shrimp pasta recipe" or "fruit appetizer recipe" or whatever you have in mind. Then, in the left panel, click on Google's "Recipes" tab. I don't know if it's a tab or link or tool. It has a little icon, so I just click on the word.



Google will pull up some links with pictures and ratings. Here's the best part. On the left panel, you can focus your search by checking which ingredients you want or don't want, or only search recipes with a certain cook time or caloric value. What an efficient way to find a recipe for ingredients you already have. My days of magazine scouring are over. Maybe.

Before I leave you, let me give you one last link. It has nothing to do with crafts or cooking, but it could. Head over to fiverr.com. People are promoting their services and sharing their talents for five bucks. There are some outrageous ones, but it's worth looking. I am going to try it this week, but can't disclose what yet. I'll keep you posted.