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CNN Live At Daybreak

Surfing Into Saturday: Home Improvement Online

Aired July 20, 2001 - 08:42   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, all you weekend warriors out. We're not talking about people with paintball guns. We're talking about people with hammers and nails, absolutely determined to do that home improvement project. We're going to "Surf Into Saturday" with Ann Kellan, who's got some really good how-to Web sites.

ANN KELLAN, CNN SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT: We have some how-to Web sites and not only for the hammer and nail because some people could have pen and paper too. In case, you're not one of those types of people that can do everything. This is a wide range of Web sites.

The first one is Learn2.com. So, what are going to do this weekend? You know, you can have a range of things. We're talking about arts and crafts, automotive, business and money, family and pets and everything. I mean it gives you such a range of things.

If you're going to go on a long plane ride, if you want to wash your car or plant a tree, you can -- it gives you a little -- you know a little advice on what you can do.

LIN: Well, that's good.

KELLAN: Yes, so it really is a wide variety of things. Here, patching fiberglass with plastic mesh screens. You can go there and get a tutorial on how to do that or patch -- well, just everything. I mean this gives you such a wide range of things.

LIN: And it's good that they've got diagrams too. Did you go through this because you know, for someone who knows nothing about it and I'm going on the Web and trying to do it myself? Is it pretty clear?

KELLAN: Some, yes. Some, no. Yes, sometimes get a lot more text and a lot of times when I was surfing I'd say I wish I had a picture. But if you -- you really do have to do a lot of surfing I noticed with these. You come to the page and don't be discouraged, keep going in, look for the details because you will find it.

Here's a fun one, How Stuff Works. And you know, before you do a project it probably would be good to know how things work.

LIN: Like what?

KELLAN: Like -- well, in this case, we have how lie detectors work, how diamonds work. But they also have home things. Oh, we're back on our mesh screen. Let's see, let me go here. Around the house, OK, so you have electronics, most of the electronic devices, how those work. We have home appliances if you have to fix a home appliance, how air conditioners work, how a toaster works, how a microwave. So this is really good, just to give you a feeling of what you're about to do and whether you should call a repairman...

LIN: Yes, yes.

KELLAN: ... before you want to tackle a job.

This is a fun site we found, SoYouWanna.com. OK, SoYouWanna, now, this ranges from everything --- so you want to decorate your apartment, for example, or...

LIN: So you want to be a model?

KELLAN: So you want to be a model or how about...

LIN: Get a sex change.

KELLAN: ... get a sex change, right? You could -- right, you could get it all here.

Let's see, well, this was the bizarre one, which we found was fun.

LIN: Too racy for CNN?

KELLAN: No, no, this is bizarre. I mean, well, let's got to the apartment -- buy a house, buy an air conditioner, clean your apartment, decorate an apartment, find a roommate, even showing how to have a party. I mean it goes to every kind of extreme. But it's fun. I mean you get to know -- and this is what I thought was funny.

LIN: Oh, get a job in TV news.

KELLAN: This is where -- exactly...

LIN: And it includes CNN.

(CROSSTALK)

LIN: Thanks so much, Ann.

KELLAN: Sure enough.

LIN: Keep us busy this weekend.

KELLAN: Have a good weekend.

LIN: Yes, you too.

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