Do It Yourself Projects

Economy got you down? Ditching the summer vacation this year? Have home improvement projects piling up? Why not use your "staycation" time to fix up your home/garden? The following Web sites offer tips, detailed plans and suggestions that will help you get your abode in tip-top shape:

• DIY Network - Professional tips, how-to videos and recommended products (for purchase) that cover a number of categories (electrical, plumbing, painting, etc.). The site also includes an index of crafts (who knew?) and an online forum where you can post questions, get feedback from other DIY-ers.
• HOMETIME - The public television/syndicated show has a Web site with a number of how-to articles and videos that you can access for free.
• Instructables - The home section of this site, "a web-based documentation platform where passionate people share what they do and how they do it, and learn from and collaborate with others," includes such unique projects as IKEA hacks, make your own solar water heater and a LEGO combination safe. You can sign up for a weekly newsletter and join Instructables on Facebook, as well. The site is very community-oriented and seems geared at young, hip urbanites.
• lifehacker - The diy section is somewhat hard to navigate but if you can make it through the slow loading of the site, you can find some good tips/projects.
• AOL Home > DIY - While the focus of the site appears to be on all things celebrity, there are DIY projects culled from partners such as This Old House, Sunset Magazine, Real Simple, etc.
• YouTube - Search on "home maintenance" and get thousands of DIY videos.

The Great Outdoors

Have plans to do some camping this summer? Before you pack up your gear, check out these online resources:

• Tread Lightly's Tips for Responsible Recreation - Learn the dos and don'ts of camping


• Camping in Virginia - Includes accomodations at B&Bs, campgrounds, cabins and RV parks


• KOA Kampgrounds of America - Find a KOA and reserve a site


• About.com: Camping - Recipes, articles and reviews of campsites


• National Park Service - Find a national park to visit this summer


• GORP - Take a virtual camping trip, explore featured destinations and get camping advice

July eResource - Gale Small Business Resource Center

Whether you're looking for how-to information on small business planning, bookkeeping, financing, human resource management, marketing, regional tax laws or starting a home-based business, you'll find it all in the Gale Small Business Resource Center. The Small Business Resource Center provides entrepreneurs and small business owners with a one-stop source for all the key information needs, including financing; financial planning; business plan creation; market analysis; sales strategy; tax planning and more. You'll find current topics, overviews, and tips and strategies from a combination of content, including full text periodicals and news sources, reference books, and links to websites that focus exclusively on small business topics. You can also link to state-specific, professionally created legal forms in a variety of subject areas.

You can access this database for free inside the library (no login necessary) or from home using the barcode on your Fauquier County Public Library card.

Supreme Knowledge

With the nomination of Sonia Maria Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court, kids (and some adults!) may want to familiarize themselves with the U.S. Supreme Court via the new Our Courts Web site - its members, how it works, the three branches of government, tribal government and state resources. The site also provides teacher resources that cover the teaching of civics.

Other Web sites that cover the U.S. Supreme Court:

• Supreme Court of the U.S. - The official site provides general information, opinions, term orders, argument calendar, schedules, court rules, bar admission forms and instructions, case-handling guides, special notices, biographies of current and past justices, architectural details, and press releases. Includes a search engine for finding documents.


• Oyez.org - "The OYEZ Project is a multimedia archive devoted to the Supreme Court of the United States and its work. It aims to be a complete and authoritative source for all audio recorded in the Court since the installation of a recording system in October 1955. The Project also provides authoritative information on all justices and offers a virtual reality 'tour' of portions of the Supreme Court building, including the chambers of some of the justices."


• Supreme Court Historical Society - Dedicated to the "preservation and dissemination of the history of the Supreme Court of the United States," this site provides a history of the Court (including data on past and present justices), a description of the Court process, and a guide to researching the Court.

Also be sure to check out resources in the library's online catalog and LegalTrac, the online database that's free with your library card.

Personality-Type Assessments

Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Look at the big picture or detail-oriented? Find out what type of personality you have with these personality assessment tools...

• PersonalityType.com - Take a free personality type assessment to discover your type.
• HumanMetrics.com - "Try your traits before trying fate" is the theme of this site, where you can take Myers-Briggs typology tests (MBTI) as well as a marriage compatibility test.
• The library's subscription to Ferguson's Career Guidance Center includes access to information about the various career assessment tests available and where to find them. To access, log in to Ferguson's with your library card number, click on Resources and then click on the Career Assessment link located on the lower right side of the page.

After you've done your assessment, check out Columbia State Community College's background info on Myers-Briggs Type Indicators (MBTI), where you can click on the four-letter code and get a list of appropriate careers.

Father's Day Fun

Father's Day is approaching fast (it's June 21). Be prepared with the help of these Web sites:

• Learn why we celebrate this family-oriented holiday
  
• Make Father's Day special with a craft from the heart
• Be inspired -- Father's Day poems and rhymes for kids
• Fire up the grill and give Dad a meal to remember
  

Cut Costs Online

Make your Internet connection work for you with these money-saving Web sites...

coupons.com, smartsource.com, coolsavings.com - These sites include printable coupons you can use at the grocery store;

promotionalcodes.com - If you've done any online shopping, you've probably noticed the "enter promo code" section during the checkout process. This is where you enter a combination of letters/numbers and get free shipping, a discount, etc. This site tracks promo codes that you can use when you check out, or use before you shop online to see where you can get the best deal.

mycoupons.com - Combines grocery and retail coupons as well as promotional codes for online shopping. They also offer discounted gift cards (merchant gift cards purchased from the public w/remaining balance, discounted up to 25%);

Vocalpoint.com - Proctor & Gamble offers exclusive offers, free samples and coupons in exchange for your feedback; if you want to expand beyond P&G, you may want to sign up for paidsurveys.com, which connects consumers with companies running online surveys;