FReeper Canteen ~ Online Shopping 101 ~ November 22, 2005

22-NOV-05 | Gummy News

[GummyIII]

Gummy Style!

Newsflash:  Gummy Hates to Shop November 22, 2005 I hate to shop.  I know. You are thinking, "She's not normal."  Perhaps I should clarify.  I hate to drive to a busy mall or store, get out, fight the crowds, look in umpteen stores for the best bargain, and come home with nothing but achy feet and head.  When Al Gore invented the internet, he did it for me.  Honest. (Psssst....He would have told you that, but he's afraid you wouldn't believe him.) OK,  you've guessed it...I do all my shopping online.  Below are my best tips for online shopping. Oh, there is ONE drawback, gentlemen...you can't wait until Christmas Eve to shop.  It's a good thing I believe in Santa Claus! He brings me my present EVERY year. (Hint:  if the animated background bugs you, hit the "stop" button on your browser.)

We Support Our Troops!!!!  Thank you for your service!!!

Shop Online Safely Use credit cards. The big three credit card issuers, American Express, MasterCard and Visa, have a zero liability policy. You pay nothing for unauthorized transactions if you notify your financial institution. For extra fraud protection, sign up for MasterCard's SecureCode or Visa's Verified by Visa. These are password challenge programs for online shopping. Look for signs that online purchases are secure. At the point that you are providing your payment information, the beginning of the Web site address should change from http to shttp or https, indicating the information is being encrypted. Your browser may also signal that the information is secure with a symbol, such as a broken key that becomes whole or a padlock that closes. Never enter your personal information in a pop-up screen. When you visit a company's Web site, an unauthorized pop-up screen created by an identity thief could appear with blanks for you to provide your personal information. Legitimate companies don't ask for personal information via pop-up screens.  Keep your computer secure for safe shopping and other online activities. Protect your computer with spam filters, anti-virus and anti-spyware software, pop-up blockers and a firewall, and keep them up to date. Go to http://www.staysafeonline.org and http://www.onguardonline.gov to learn more about how to keep your computer secure. Or use El Gran's wonderful site:  Canteen Resource Center. Disclaimer: Not suitable for Grinches or Scrooges. Santa reads this news, too!!

Tips for Saving Money and Sanity Try online coupons. Many online stores provide regular customers with promotional codes. These codes are entered during the online checkout process. They save you money, just like a traditional coupon. Coupon Cabin, Current Codes and Naughty Codes are three websites that list promotional codes for online stores. (Google "promotional code" and the name of the store from which you are purchasing.  Others may show up.) Promotional codes usually offer free shipping or a reduced price. Often, online stores offer multiple codes, but you'll probably have to use one or the other.  Use disposable e-mail. You must register an e-mail address with stores when you purchase online.  The store e-mails a confirmation of your purchase and, often, tracking information. Additionally, it may send you promotional codes. But it may also send you unwanted e-mail.There are a couple ways to handle this. You could create a new e-mail address. A number of sites offer free e-mail, including Hotmail (www.msn.com), Yahoo (mail.yahoo.com), Techemail (www.techemail.com) and Netscape (www.netscape.com). Or, sign up for a disposable e-mail address. Free services such as spamgourmet and Sneakemail allow you to create a temporary e-mail address. They forward mail to your "real" one. Sign up for a temporary address before making a purchase. When you've received your purchases and are satisfied with them, you can eliminate the temporary address. COMING NEXT WEEK:   All I want for Christmas is.......... Gummy News is produced  as a service to our troops.  Volume 1, Number 1.

Comparision Shopping 101 Yahoo, Inc., Shopzilla, Shopping.com,  Google Inc.'s Froogle.com, PriceWatch, PriceGrabber, NexTag and ShopLocal are a few of the top contenders for online comparison shopping.  Take the time to see how each one works.  Most will sort by price, look for items within a price range, and look for specific brand items which you specify.  Many of the above sites have ratings for you to check the product.  Other sites are cnet.com, zdnet.com, consumersearch.com, epinions.com, PCMagazine, BusinessWeekOnline, ConsumerGuide, and many others.  Also, many of the consumer online sites offer customer reviews.  Use those in conjunction with other reviews. For example, Amazon.com and Circuit City's online store are two sites with customer reviews. Best viewed at 1024x768,  medium text size

[luvie]

Well...I saw ES blushing.....what do you think? But it was in a good way....nice things being said are good!

[trussell]

Evening Colonel.

[Colonel_Flagg]

Rick Astley - She Wants To Dance With Me

Support the artists - click here

Hi, T! Care for a spin?

[trussell]

I'm ready!

[AZamericonnie]

Awww....Thanks "Carol" but I just finished! Man O Man...Tx motivation is some powerful stuff! I even cleaned the microwave, the fridge & the drip pans!

I may have to tap that resource again in the future! LOL

Must be all that practice of the quick Canteen clean ups after his nights of mayhem!!!

[Colonel_Flagg]

Yay! Let's get started!

[AZamericonnie]

Sounds like you got a winner in a Daughter in Law all the way around! It's such a joy to work with someone you can truly count on! it takes a lot of pressure off you!

[Lady Jag]

You can have tofu pizza, too. The really strange thing about vegans is they need to have their crap shaped like real food.

Only the rare vegan will eat it as it is, straight out of the package:

[fatima]

She was more than a director.She was a friend and waited for Jeff.It took 5 years before they married.She is a good wife and mature for her age and I respect her and like her very much.

[luvie]

LOL! Glad your motivation from TX got you through this hard work! I'm sure he is very good at it after the mess he made! But.....I still see cookie crumbs under the desk in the corner. Ahem......

[trussell]

 

 

 

Sh-Boom - Baldwin & The Whiffles

Support the artists - click here

 

Another dance Colonel?
Some music for your listening pleasure

 

[Azbushgal]

I love your kitty graphics! Do you have that skateboard one? My son skateboards, and I think it is hysterical. Freep mail me and let me know. Also, I am a Marine mom and love this thread and especially your posts.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Thanks, then I did understand correctly. I WANT MY PENTAGON CHANNEL!!! I'm having a terrible time remembering to check online, AND I CAN'T BACK UP TO HEAR WHAT I MISSED! I did see your video and did hear your script. Good job!! And you were the lead story.

[MoJo2001]

Wherever our Troops are, that's the only place to be.
Back to business!!

Want more information about the artists we play? Perhaps you'd like to buy concert tickets or their CDs?
Click the links below for more information!

ArtistDirect.com l Amazon.com  l Ticketmaster.com l Songfacts.com

Music For Our Troops

Good evening Troops, Veterans, family members, Canteen, and Lurkers!

Artist: Snoop Dogg
Song: Tha Shiznit
Sidenote: Rap Music/ Not for kids, Ma, or anyone that doesn't like rap music!

Artist: Lil Kim
Song: Lighters Up
Genre: Rap Music/This is the clean (radio) version. However, not for kids, Ma or anyone that doesn't like rap music!

[AZamericonnie]

How wonderful...I can only hope I have that kind of relationship with a DIL...I hope it's a serious ways off though! Pray for me on that one Fatima!:)

[Kathy in Alaska]

Tofurky!!

YUCK!!!

[MoJo2001]

Sorry for the double post Mr.Tonkin!!
*HUGS*

[luvie]

You're one of the good guys....

[EsmeraldaA]

Ohhh I love the Indiana Jones movies!