I found it ironic that the first thing I thought to do after making my internal pledge to back away from the computer, was to go on the computer and write about it. And then post it here, on my blog. Hmmm. Like a trained monkey. Or a computer junkie. 

 Like most of us these days, I spend an inordinate amount of time sitting in front of my high tech hearth. Basking in the glow of my desktop photo of the week… getting in touch with the outside world through stories on igoogle, updates on facebook and emails from daughters of displaced shahs and sheiks. 

 But that’s not all that eats up my time until I’ve surfed through dinner and past daylight and have to sign off, power down and get some sleep so I can pop out of bed before daybreak and start up all over again. 

 Turns out just about everything in my life these days is linked, or should I say wired, to the computer and its many capabilities. Beyond email, which I’ve used quite effectively to stay in some sort of touch with those who are just outside my daily circle, I have actually managed to incorporate the computer into every aspect of every one of my jobs plus a couple of hobbies as well. 

 I’m up before the sun and off to the Mighty WALK 97.5, where I co-host a morning radio show. My alarm goes off, and before I even pour my first eye-opening cup of coffee, I shuffle to my computer and fire it up. Then I get the coffee, get on line, check my personal email and what’s going on in the world so I know what we’ll be talking about today. That’s just round one. Once I get to the station, I log on to that computer, read and respond to my station email and spend the next four hours researching for the Showbiz Buzz (our morning entertainment report) and any other item of interest that we can share. Nine a.m., I sign off, shut down and move on.

 I am one of three partners who have built Gotta Go Cruises, a travel agency that specializes and excels in cruise vacations. How do we book those cruises?? On the internet. How do we stay updated on the industry? Through the internet. And how do we alert our clients to special pricing, events and promotions?? You’re catching on. 

 At the end of the day at Gotta Go, I head home where the dogs are waiting… but so is a slew of potential voiceover jobs that I am compelled to check on. There are two websites that provide work, almost always proceeded by an audition. So first I check what auditions are open, then I record (onto the computer), then I email the auditions in and you’d think then I would just sign off and walk the dogs. But no, that’s not usually the case. 

 If I can resist the temptation to check my email again (either personal or for Gotta Go) and can back away from doing any prep work for the next day’s broadcast, I can still bask in the cool glow of the monitor with my camera. It’s digital, don’t you know, which means after I take the pictures, I move on to download them into the computer. I have software which gives me great editing options, so if it’s not perfect coming out of the camera, it’ll be perfect by the time I hit save. Then I can post it on www.Flickr.com or create a slide show at www.Slide.com, which I can then post on facebook (or www.GottaGoCruises.com, if it’s from a cruise or a ship tour) or maybe I’ll just use it on my voiceover website or email it along with a quick note…

And there’s always writing for writing’s sake. Starting on stories, essays on observations of life, or just making notes for a book that I may or may not ever really get around to writing. Partly because I don’t want to commit to spending countless hours on the computer. Which is also mighty ironic. You see? And, as I said at the start, as all this occurred to me the other night, my first thought was ‘I have to write about this’…. And put it on my blog. And now, before I go to AllRecipes.com to find a great cookie recipe, or amazon.com to buy…well, just to buy anything, I’m going to sign off and… uh… go watch TV. It’s like slow withdrawal. I’ll still be staring at a screen, but at least I’ll be resting my hands.

Boycotting the Happy Face. Or Why Wal-Mart won't get my dollar

I am a girl who boycotts. I didn’t start out that way, in that I was never working to make a statement, really. It was just a natural response to not liking something.

Take Wal-Mart. Please, take Wal-Mart. And get it the hell out of Riverhead. They’re here now, in my own town where their big blue building isn’t quite big enough for them anymore. So they’re working at bulldozing the townspeople and the town board and the wide open, empty acres so they can build a Super Wal-Mart that I won’t shop at either. They’re spending a lot of money on lawyers to argue against our arguments against their plan for retail domination.

I used to look on ol’ Sam’s big idea as a stellar example of good ol’ American ingenuity. Yup, Sam saw a need and built up quite a business for himself. But at some point, after ol’ Sam passed on to his great reward, something changed. It was, I’m thinking, the point where the business went from being about people to being about profit. Not like I’m against making money but I think you have to have a little heart in the drive to succeed.

So, Wal-Mart lost its heart and started moving, uninvited and often unwelcome, into towns and cities, putting up their gianormous blue store fronts and running local businesses into the ground. And often then leaving themselves, if it turned out that target community couldn’t buy enough discounted clothing, kitchen tools and seasonal supplies to beef up the bottom line.

There was a story years back on ’60 Minutes’. That’s what kicked off my big boycott of Wal-Mart. A focus on a tiny town with a bustling, neighborly Main Street that turned to a dusty road lined with boarded up shops when they couldn’t compete with the initially super-low discounts that Wal-Mart brought to town. But when it turned out that this particular slice of Small Town, USA didn’t generate as big a bottom line as Wal-Mart had hoped for, they pulled up stakes and hightailed off in search of the next town to pillage.

Were they sorry? Not according to the smug exec who sold his soul on camera admitting that the heart of the town, the people of the town, nothing about the town really mattered at all to them. It was about profit.

After that, how could I possibly give them a nickel?

Interestingly enough, it turns out they’re even worse than that. Documented stories of sweat shops, abuse of the social assistance programs and a refusal to pay people what they’re worth or give them the promotions and opportunities that they’ve worked hard enough to earn. You can see it all in a fascinating documentary peeking in the back door of Wal-Mart. It’s called “The High Cost of Low Prices”. And even if you take it with a grain of salt, there’s so much there you can’t help but see a different side of Wal-Mart. Different than the warm, fuzzy commercials are trying to show, different than the happy face logo and different enough that maybe you’ll get why I’m a girl who boycotts.

Saving Money on Shopping!

According to a recent article on CNN Money, one survey says 65 percent of consumers would not complete a purchase if there was no deal involved. But how many of those 65 percent were willing to make that deal happen?

Surprisingly, it's not that hard. All it takes is a little time and, sometimes, a little nerve. Before you get overwhelmed with guilt or an over-riding sense of cheapness, remember that whether it's brick-and-mortar or an on-line store, they're in business to sell and if they don't, they won't stay in business.

AOL asked their readers: Do you search for coupon codes before you order online? Nearly 6 out of 10 of the 1430 voters said no. Leaving 4 out of 10 (and you bet I'm in that category) nodding their heads yes. And why not! (The exact numbers were: No 59%, Yes 41%)

You're already on line, so why not spend a couple of minutes doing a Google search for websites that'll do the work for you. Or just read on.

3 EZ Steps to Saving In Store or OnLine:
1) Find the best price on checking comparison sites like Pricegrabber.com, MySimon.com or PriceScan.com
2) Search for discounts and free shipping offers at coupon sharing site like CouponCabin.com, Couponcodes.com (get printable coupons too, at Printable-coupons.blogspot.com and Wow-coupons.com) and my recent favorite, RetailMeNot.com (who say they had 4 million visitors in May, up 260% from a year ago. Guess I'm not their only new visitor.)
3) Watch for future price drops with a price protection service like PriceProtectr.com. Plenty of retailers will refund the difference if the price of a product is reduced within a certain amount of time after the purchase.

Now when it comes to old-fashioned face to face haggling, nearly 6 out of 10 in that same AOL poll say they've never tried to negotiate the price of an item in a chain store.

That's just crazy! On behalf of the nearly 4 out of 10 of us who have, I can tell you that I've almost always gotten a better deal. Like your Momma always said "If you want you something, you've got to ask". Unless your mom never told you that, in which case you'll just have to take it from me. (exact results were No 56%, Yes 44%) So get up your nerve and try these:

Three steps to big savings in stores
1) Price Matching- Many big chains advertise extra savings against a lower advertised price. So easy. But if they don't, then it's up to you to try...

2) Haggling - once restricted to flea markets and car dealerships - has become acceptable in the retail marketplace. A good place to start is to speak with a manager and ask if the listed price is the best possible deal. Remember, he's there to help you buy!

3) Asking for a discount on slightly imperfect merchandise - Here's the least known shortcut to savings on items that have been on display or clothing that's missing a button. Electronics sold "out of the box" are also a source of great bargains, though they might be missing instructions, which you can find online.

Ultimately, everyone wins. You win because you've saved some moolah, the store wins because they've moved merchandise and the economy wins thanks to your selfless contribution. And it was so easy! Good going.