ojai news at The Ojai Post :: blog, newspaper, events in Ojai, California

I’ve thought a million times about chucking it all. The TV, the cell phone, the answer machine, and yes, even the laptop. But the truth is, my long-hand is not that great, and I’ve created an umbilical cord like dependence to the web jungle. I can’t even pay my bills without it. And besides, I have an actual physical need for all of these brain-draining gadgets. When I’m away from my computer for so much as day, I get the shakes just wondering if one of my Google Alerts have come in, or what if I’ve got mail? Not just “Read This Now” bait about Viagra, but actual legitimate mail?

So what do I do on this magic little box, where do I go? I’ve listed some of my favorite sites here, and I invite all 12 of our subscribers to add to this list as I realize I’m only a minor cyber geek, a simpleton really when it comes to the art of surfing the net:

I really can’t go anywhere without a Yahoo Map.

I have tried other search engines, but swear by Google as it has saved my AYE-DOUBLE-ESS more times than I care to admit. I have also set-up Google Alerts to tell me when there is breaking news in Ojai (hey, don’t laugh, Ojai gets a hit more times than you would think).

And I do still visit the library – the link to the Santa Barbara Library has a ton of research options.

Couldn’t do without dictionary.com.

My day is nearly always started with Dilbert, delivered right to my email.

My Spanish is deplorable, so I use Babblefish for simple translations.

And since I’m a news junkie, that runs the gamut: Ojai Valley News (which is only good if you are a paying subsciber), Ventura County Star, Santa Barbara News Press, LA Times, MSNBC, CNN, Air America, MoveOn(in small doses), People (whoops, uh, where did that come from).

Even with all of the information available on the Internet, I still have a need for books, so I go to Amazon, where I just bought The Rise of the Creative Class. Don’t get all impressed with me, I’ve also got a John Grisham paperback on my nightstand. Amazon also happens to sell all kinds of other non-book stuff I don’t need but must have.

I do lots of personal shopping on-line, too: drugstore.com, Gap, Nordstrom.

I like Wikipedia, and although most of the content is built by its consumers, it is pretty accurate and comprehensive. And, yes, Ojai has a page!

Say what you will about sites like MySpace, but according to my younger friend Austen, this is where you’ll find 70% of the youth. It's not a favorite site of mine, in fact I haven't even used it. Apparently, it’s not the future, it’s now. A quarter million new accounts are being created everyday. I typed “Ojai” into their search, which returned about eleventy-thousand hits (that’s just an estimate, so please don’t hold me to it). The developers of this dot com are smart. They have taken anything and everything their demographic could want or need and compacted it all into one easy to use site. You can bet others are taking notes, and all the while these guys are raking it in. I find it all frightening.

My friends and I use Evite when we are planning a gathering, and we use Ofoto to share pictures.

If I need a recipe, I go to Food Network.

For travel, if I can’t fly Southwest, which is usually the cheapest carrier, I go to Expedia. They will even keep track of your favorite destinations and alert you when the prices go down.

I have a ton of go-to writing sites: Writing, Writer’s Digest, Writer’s Weekly and The Writer.

The Ojai Valley Directory has a very good comprehensive site. It’s sort of MySpace for bona fide adults without the interactivity, and it’s all Ojai.

If I need a restaurant in Ventura or Santa Barbara, Nippers is good. Farther away, I use Zagat.

I don't choose a hotel without a look at AAA.

Other sites I'm keeping an eye on: anglieslist, craigslist, meetin.org.

And if I just need a cool site that I haven’t tried, I’ve bookmarked Time Magazine’s picks.

And, of course, I’d be remiss if I failed to mention all of Tyler’s sites. He’s got a lot going on. Just look at the right-hand sidebar of this page.

What are your favorites?

P.S. Do any of the local coffee shops or other public venues offer free wireless high speed internet access?