The Frugal Blog

I’m not very good at growing vegetables, I have found (though I keep trying), but things are happening in my garden, nonetheless! This year, I’ve noticed a few newcomers to my usual flower patches, and one visitor in particular has brought some friends. If you like looking at insects (mostly winged ones), and want to see a few plants as a bonus, keep reading! This particular seed pod caught my interest because it’s the first one that’s shown up in my yard. Unfortunately these are prodigious and…

Last weekend, I took my kid out around town, and we went on a “photo walk,” which is what I’ve decided to call it. They’re taking a Journalism class, and they’ve been entrusted with a DSLR so they can get familiar with photography, so I figured we’d go and get some practice on our own before the year really gets started. It was a lot of fun, and we got some really great photos! It was a Sunday, and so our downtown area was even deader than it usually is; we had the run of the place while we…

Anastasia has been very vocal lately, much more than usual, and it’s been worrying us. She’s been yeowling a lot at night, and both before and after using her litter box, and has been especially clingy, which is a lot given I usually call her my Velcro Cat. So I scheduled an appointment to get some blood work done for her. Behavior changes in older cats can often signify health problems; I was worried that it might mean something serious. After speaking with the vet and getting the blood…

I’ve recently added a banner to the top of my site with a countdown until September 1st, 2026–it’s on the main site, so if you only visit the blog, you probably haven’t seen it. This is the date on which Google will roll out a change that they’ve been talking about for some time now, initially in Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand, but soon after will move to the rest of the world. This change, called the Developer Verification program, will require that all Android developers become…

Hey everybody, I have a really important update for you all. Anastasia has found a new spot to sleep in, and it’s fucking fabulous. She found it the other day when I was going through an old cabinet for my lady things (pads), and OMG why have I been hiding it for this long!?!?!?! It’s got a box to sit in inside of a cabinet. *SWOON* Can it get more perfect? I’ll tell you where it is, but if your name is Sunny then STOP READING RIGHT NOW HE’S NOT ALLOWED TO KNOW BECAUSE HE’LL JUMP IN AND SNIFF…

Recently I beat a game that I have owned since about 1997, when I first bought it with my chore money as a kid. It’s time to review Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins!!! First the name: While the NES and SNES full-sized consoles had the Super Mario World series, the ones with Land in the title were aimed at the portable Game Boy console. Sort of a Disney World/Land situation, if that makes sense. This installment has a “2” in the title because it follows after Super Mario Land, which was the…

I’ve been chatting with a good number of folks who are turning down streaming services lately for various reasons. I’ve blogged about this before, and if you’re looking for advice on how to make the switch, I and a lot of others have said things about it in the past. But the one thing that people seem to struggle with the most is the “discovery problem.” That is, how do I find new music when it’s not being served to me by my “For you” page or its equivalent? Well, it’s not as difficult as it…

This little simplistic device has been making the rounds on the smallweb lately, and I have fallen prey to the hype. That said, I have no regrets and have been enjoying my time with it, so here are my thoughts on the gadget. The X4 by Chinese company XTEInk is a 4-inch tall e-reader that … Continue reading "XTEInk X4 Minimaist e-Reader Review + DIY Case"

I’ve been hoarding photos of things outside for a little while in the hopes that I could find some theme to tie them altogether. They’re getting kind of numerous, though, so I think it’s time to put them up. These range from the snow blizzard we had back in the beginning of February, up until … Continue reading "I touched grass recently"

Brennan.day has been writing about the future of the internet and whether or not our websites will survive into the future. He has a lot of good points, and you should definitely give the article a read: How Are We Preparing for the Long Web Several of the points in that article jogged my memory, … Continue reading "Layout Longevity"