Lisa Carnley is managing editor of the Lampasas Dispatch Record. One can find anything on the Internet -- from how to poach an egg to discovering the difference between brown and white eggs.

Shopping on the Internet is always an experience. You can either “Google” generically what you want (if you don’t mind wading through 339,000 entries), or you can do a specific product search.

Some Web sites sell a little bit of everything. Take, for instance, Amazon.com. I thought it was just for books and movies. But I discovered a person can buy anything from books to bakery items, including cinnamon bread mix and bagel mix -- though why anyone would want to pay $28.95 to make their own bagels is beyond me.

Not only can one find shoes, but there are receptacles in which to store them.

And BarnesandNoble.com is not just for purchasing books. On that site, one can find anything from Nintendo Monopoly (why kids need another excuse to play a video game is something I will never understand) to table lamps and wine racks (some probably even sell wine). It boggles the mind.

I guess these Internet sites see no reason they shouldn’t have one-stop shopping.

Even most of the big mall-type book vendors are not just selling books and related items in their stores. Most of them have a coffee shop, where they encourage customers to select a book, buy an $8 mug of coffee, get comfortable on a plush easy chair and read away.

Well, I don’t know why they are so encouraging because probably 75 percent of those reading the books aren’t planning to buy them. But I guess if they sell that expensive mug of flavored coffee and a $6.50 slice of carrot cake or a $3 cookie to accompany the beverage, they figure book sales can come out second. I mean, you have to eat, right? And why shouldn’t it be in a mall bookstore?

My older brother likes to go to the mall, and he totes his laptop computer with him. He orders a single cup of coffee and plugs his computer into the free Internet sockets. He then sits there for hours on end surfing the Web and people-watching. I guess that’s a good way to spend a Saturday if you’re searching for free Internet access.

I prefer to do my computer surfing at home. I like to visit wellknown Internet sites to see what interesting goodies they offer.

Like Toys R Us. They no longer sell just toys anymore. In their online stores you can find anything from Christmas ornaments and wreaths to detergent and poison treatment kits, although I don’t believe that would be my first stop when looking for syrup of ipecac.

And Cracker Barrel, the country style restaurant that sells pancakes and pork chops. Now they sell items online (and in stores) such as rocking chairs, Slinkies and sock monkeys. Not sure I want to eat in the same place I can buy socks -- of any kind.

It can be so confusing trying to figure out where to go to buy anything nowadays.

I feel a big headache coming on. Guess I’ll stop at McDonald’s to see if they can sell me some aspirin. If they don’t have any, I might try Payless Shoes.