Do you have a birthday coming up? If so, you need to check out Freebirthdaytreats.com. The site has a huge listing of discounts and freebies that you can get at retailers and restaurants on your birthday. Note, most restaurants require you to join their online birthday clubs to get free meals.

A friend of mine had a real problem with ants. Specifically, the ants were climbing the pole that held up his hummingbird feeder. After trying a number of things, he came up with the perfect solution: petroleum jelly. He simply put some petroleum jelly on the pole and frustrated the heck out of the ants. (Contributed by Tony Renfro).

School is getting ready to start back and that means it's time for kids to pull out those alarm clocks. If your child has a hard time waking up, I'd like to suggest the Sonic Boom alarm clock. Besides being incredibly loud, this clock also has an attachment that goes under your mattress and actually shakes the bed. You can find it at online retailers for around $30. If this thing doesn't wake up your kid, you'll need an air horn!

OK, this is one of the simplest tips I've ever written about. In fact, I'm almost embarrassed to share it. Having said that, I know that there are a lot of you out there who don't know it. Here goes: If you ever need to locate something in a dark corner of your house and you don't have a flashlight, here's the solution: Plug a night light into a long extension cord.

Tim Thompson lives in Gainesville. E-mail Tim your ideas for tips, tools or tricks.