Aaron Ewer
Aaron Ewers thoughts about everything

In my search for new electronic gadgets, I came across a great site full of bargains for the new gadget hunters like me. The site is called Dealtime and it is for tech-savvy shoppers who want to save money but get the good stuff, like Dell computers. The search function lets you hunt by brand, by price range, and by category.

When I searched the site for a new laptop it came up with over 11,000 items. The brands listed include Dell, Sony, HP, Toshiba, and others that you will recognize but why should I list them all here when you can go to the site and see for yourself?

Dealtime has categories that include DVDs, video games, appliances, jewelry and lots more. All of the popular gaming systems are featured, with hundreds of games at discount prices. There are product reviews if you need more information and I really liked the like about new releases called “Product News.” If you can’t find a bargain here, then you aren’t looking!

The wife has a huge artistic talent, of which I’ve always been very proud. Her paintings have impressed a lot of people and she does occasionally take on commission work, usually portraits. I don’t see how she can draw people’s faces so accurately - it amazes me.

She wants to convert the basement into a small studio and start giving lessons, which I think is a great idea but the money to build out the basement into a studio and buy the supplies to teach small classes or individuals that want private lessons is just not in our budget.

She’s fired up about this art class idea though, so I set her loose on the internet to find a small business loan and see if she will qualify for an unsecured loan. Sure enough, she called me with the news that she has indeed found a website called EZ Unsecured that has an easy application process - right there on their website or a toll free number to call - and promises fast funding.

They offer several types of loans, but the wife is looking particularly for Small Business Loans and this is one of the categories on their website, so she is chomping at the bit to see if this might come through for her and help her launch her dream of her own artist’s studio. The website says you don’t need collateral and that they can process loan requests for up to $350,000. Although we don’t need near as much as that, this type of loan would be perfect for our needs. She could even apply for a small business credit card from the same site and have the security of extra funds available to help her through the first few months if she needs it.

Found a new electronic gadget that looks perfect for the kids, a mini laptop.

If all you need is something to get online using a home wireless connection or a free public Wi-Fi spot like most coffeeshops and many restaurant chains, libraries and other public buildings this should do the job. You do not need to buy any other cards or pay a monthly fee to use the free public Wi-Fi spots.

The mini does not come with Windows although you can install Windows if you must have it. Instead, they have the open source operating system called Linux.

You do not need Windows to access the internet.

The mini does not have Windows Internet Explorer - which is no great loss to me. It comes with the Firefox browser already installed, which is my browser of choice, so you should be able to plug it in and go without having to install anything or learn anything new.

If you want a basic word processing program you do not need Windows. This comes with Open Office, which is very similar to MS Word and MS Excel. It also has Adobe Reader already installed so you can open and read internet downloads and email attachments.

Looks like a great deal at only $300.

With both sides of my family ancestors from England, I have hundreds of cousins in the U.K. Thanks to the internet I’ve actually corresponded with about 2 dozen of them, exchanging emails and reading each other’s blogs or web sites. So I stay on top of all thing U.K. with the thought that we’ll go over to visit when my youngest is ready for that kind of extended travel.

Cousin Harold has mentioned on his blog that he was in an accident recently and missed a lot of work due to the hospital stay and recovery period for his injuries. Over here in the U.S. we would search out a personal injury attorney to help negotiate a settlement with the other party’s insurance company or possibly represent us in court. In the U.K., they retain a personal injury claims management company for help settling traffic accidents, accidents at work, and other injuries.

One of the leading personal injury claims companies in the U.K. is the Claims Squad, where Harold went as soon as he got out of the hospital. Harold likes their No Win No Fee Solicitors reputation for winning large awards.

Around here a trip to the beach is a major undertaking, as it is an 8 hour drive, one way, and with the cost of gasoline it will probably cost as much as $250 or even $300 just for gas to get there and back. The beach means Panama City or Destin to the people here, and many have regular beach houses or condos that they rent on an annual basis for their summer vacations.

On the other hand, the beach to me has always meant Virginia Beach, in the Norfolk area. And now that Southwest Airlines flies into Norfolk with direct flights every day, it makes sense for use to just fly to Norfolk, rent a car, and enjoy the familiar beachfront of my childhood.

If we have to rent a car, I want to get something small, good on gas and a cheap daily rate. I was searching the online discount coupon site for cheap deals on daily, weekly or monthly auto hire and think I found what we need.

I found some other deals on the coupon site that we’ll want to use, too, such as a new portable DVD player for my son to watch DVD’s on the airplane. My daughter wants to get a couple of new outfits from Banana Republic before she “can be seen in public,” and the wife wants to get a couple pairs of new sandals to go with her beachwear.

So even though this trip is going to cost me some money, we’ll be saving some by using the online coupons and we can use that savings on fun at the beach this summer.