Deborah, a regular reader and contributor to this column, recently shared some "coffee filter" tips with me. I'll confess, I never knew there were so many things you could do with coffee filters besides make coffee. For example, you can use them to clean windows and mirrors - they're lint free and don't leave streaks. You can use them to drain used cooking oil and remove food debris. Finally, you can use them to weigh chopped food. (I'm starting to really like coffee filters!)

For those of you who only think there's junk on the Internet, I'd like to recommend that you check out iTunes U at the iTunes store. If you don't know how to find the iTunes store, ask any kid younger than age 16. ITunes U stands for iTunes University. It's a collection of free educational stuff that will blow you away. You can learn a foreign language, listen to commencement speeches and even listen to scholars discuss Abraham Lincoln. Fascinating stuff.

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