Listed below are some things that I have found helpful and have mentioned somewhere in my website, here are the details.
*1 For free audio books: go to your library website (I’m assuming you have a card from there and are a member) They should have an app you can download for free. My library has “Overdrive”. Download it on your phone, set up your library and then you can add up to 7 books at a time for up to 21 days each.
*2 Podcasts- download them for free on Itunes or get a podcast app from Android. See my recommendations on another page.
*3 Strava.com, I use this to keep track of my running and bike riding. Great app, free or you can upgrade to a premium membership.
Try it and you’ll love it. It really helped me, especially at the beginning with my running. I had tried to start running on a few occasions and after a few weeks would get discouraged that I wasn’t making progress. The last time I started running (about 2 years ago) I used Strava and it shows every little bit of improvement. Best if you do the same route and can compare your times. Then you can add friends, they can see when you run or bike and give you encouragement…or shit if you don’t run or bike for a few days…that helps as well. I think because of this app, I have continually run 3 times a week for more than 2 years now.
*4 “Google Patents” type this in and go to Google’s patent search page. This is a great place to explore. Type in someones name, even Albert Einstein and see what he did. Benjamin Franklin is another to check out. Or type in someone you know, who knows,maybe they patented something.
If you have an idea, you can do a preliminary search here to see if someone has already thought of it. I have been surprised and disappointed many times.