Fare-Finder Shootout: Mobissimo Wins - GigaOM

Going to have to try this sometime and see how well it works.

Mobissimo 

Fare-Finder Shootout: Mobissimo Wins - GigaOM

Get a human voice on the phone

This seems like a great idea and database. It's a collection of companies, phone numbers and the method's to bypass the automated systems and reach a human being on the other end. I just hope it's kept updated.

gethuman 500 database from Paul English

SmugMug Picasa Uploader

Finally someone has created the plugin I've been thinking about making for almost a year now. You can now upload to smugmug.com directly from Google Picasa.

Great plugin, thanks meejer.com!

SmugMug Picasa Uploader

Update [03-23-08]: It looks like this is the new uploader or at least this one works:

New Uploader

Nutrigrain Ad

Oh Yeahhhh!!! I feel great!

Best cup of chai this side of Bombay

I'm a chai addict. I even like the starbucks when I can't have the home version. I've never been to this place below but I'm going try the recipe and see if it lives up to the reputation.

Raman Bechar's Chai

This is a home version of the chai at Coastside Gourmet Coffee Tea & Health Nuts in Half Moon Bay. Owner Raman Bechar and his son, Raj, make each chai to order by frothing the milk, tea, sugar and spice mix together with their espresso machine. This recipe allows you to prepare it on the stovetop.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup whole milk

2 teaspoons Tea India tea leaves (see Note), or a blend of Darjeeling and Assam tea leaves

1 tablespoon sugar, or to taste

Two pinches Chai Masala (see recipe)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine the milk, tea leaves and sugar in a small, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. As it slowly comes to a simmer, swirl often to incorporate the sugar and keep an eye on the heat to prevent the milk from burning. A thin film will form on the surface and the milk will turn golden.

When the milk comes to a low boil, reduce heat, add a pinch of spice mix and simmer gently, swirling occasionally, for 3 minutes.

Set a small strainer over a tea cup. To create foam, hold the saucepan a foot or more above the cup and pour in the chai, then let rest for a minute or two. Dust with a small pinch of spice mix.

Yields 1 cup

Note: Raman Bechar uses the imported Tea India brand, which is for sale at his cafe and at Indian grocers.

PER CUP: 200 calories, 8 g protein, 24 g carbohydrate, 8 g fat (5 g saturated), 33 mg cholesterol, 120 mg sodium, 0 fiber.

---

Chai Masala

The exact proportion of spices in Bechar's chai masala, or spice blend, is a house secret. This recipe is an approximation and will make enough for multiple cups of chai. Be sure to use fresh spices.

INGREDIENTS:

1 teaspoon ground green cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

INSTRUCTIONS:

Combine all spices in a small bowl. Stir well to blend.

Yields 2 1/4 teaspoons

Best cup of chai this side of Bombay

EDUTRUE: Ten Mistakes In Education by Roger Schank

EDUTRUE: Ten Mistakes In Education by Roger Schank

Ten Mistakes In Education

By Roger Schank

Founding Director, The Institute for the Learning Sciences (ILS)

Obviously, I believe that the school system is making a great many mistakes. Here are my ten favorites, favorite not because I like them but because eradicating them would go so far towards helping kids learn:

Mistake #1: SCHOOLS ACT AS IF LEARNING CAN BE DISASSOCIATED FROM DOING.

There really is no learning without doing. There is the appearance of learning without doing when we ask children to memorize stuff. But adults know that they learn best on the job, from experience, by trying things out. Children learn best that way, too. If there is nothing to actually do in a subject area we want to teach children it may be the case that there really isn't anything that children ought to learn in that subject area.

---

Mistake #2: SCHOOLS BELIEVE THEY HAVE THE JOB OF ASSESSMENT AS PART OF THEIR NATURAL ROLE.

Assessment is not the job of the schools. Products ought to be assessed by the buyer of those products, not the producer of those products. Let the schools do the best job they can and then let the buyer beware. Schools must concentrate on learning and teaching, not testing and comparing.

---

Mistake #3: SCHOOLS BELIEVE THEY HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO CREATE STANDARD CURRICULA.

Why should everyone know the same stuff? What a dull world it would be if everyone knew only the same material. Let children choose where they want to go, and with proper guidance they will choose well and create an alive and diverse society.

---

Mistake #4: TEACHERS BELIEVE THEY OUGHT TO TELL STUDENTS WHAT THEY THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW.

There isn't all that much that it is important to know. There is a lot that it is important to know how to do, however. Teachers should help students figure out how to do stuff the students actually want to do.

---

Mistake #5: SCHOOLS BELIEVE INSTRUCTION CAN BE INDEPENDENT OF MOTIVATION FOR ACTUAL USE.

We really have to get over the idea that some stuff is just worth knowing even if you never do anything with it. Human memories happily erase stuff that has no purpose, so why try to fill up children's heads with such stuff? Concentrate on figuring out why someone would ever want to know something before you teach it, and teach the reason, in a way that can be believed, at the same time.

---

Mistake #6: SCHOOLS BELIEVE STUDYING IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF LEARNING.

Practice is an important part of learning, not studying. Studying is a complete waste of time. No one ever remembers the stuff they cram into their heads the night before the exam, so why do it? Practice, on the other hand, makes perfect. But, you have to be practicing a skill that you actually want to know how to perform.

---

Mistake #7: SCHOOLS BELIEVE THAT GRADING ACCORDING TO AGE GROUP IS AN INTRINSIC PART OF THE ORGANIZATION OF A SCHOOL.

This is just a historical accident and it's a terrible idea. Age-grouped grades are one of the principal sources of terror for children in school, because they are always feeling they are not as good as someone else or better than someone else, and so on. Such comparisons and other social problems caused by age-similar grades cause many a child to have terrible confidence problems. Allowing students to help those who are younger, on the other hand, works well for both parties.

---

Mistake #8: SCHOOLS BELIEVE CHILDREN WILL ACCOMPLISH THINGS ONLY BY HAVING GRADES TO STRIVE FOR.

Grades serve as motivation for some children, but not for all. Some children get very frustrated by the arbitrary use of power represented by grades and simply give up.

---

Mistake #9: SCHOOLS BELIEVE DISCIPLINE IS AN INHERENT PART OF LEARNING.

Old people especially believe this, probably because schools were seriously rigid and uptight in their day. The threat of a ruler across the head makes children anxious and quiet. It does not make them learn. It makes them afraid to fail, which is a different thing altogether.

---

Mistake #10: SCHOOLS BELIEVE STUDENTS HAVE A BASIC INTEREST IN LEARNING WHATEVER IT IS SCHOOLS DECIDE TO TEACH THEM.

What kid would choose learning mathematics over learning about animals, trucks, sports, or whatever? Is there one? Good. Then, teach him mathematics. Leave the other children alone.

Experiment: Surviving a Month Without Internet

Poets&Writers, Inc.

Good article and some common sense to apply in your own daily lives.

Rock, paper, scissors - the loser

Motivational Posters for those who love bikes

Motivational Posters for those who love bikes

Aging, longevity genes and red wine

Will research into "longevity genes" help us live longer and healthier lives?

This was a great segment on the Nova show. You've might have heard that red wine and cutting your food intake is good for you but after watching this, you might learn the science behind it.

I'm now trying to drink a glass or two of red wine everyday. Can be pricey. So I recommend finding some good and cheap red wines.

Any recommendations?

Check it out: NOVA | scienceNOW | Aging | PBS

Why Your Free Time is Boring - lifehack.org

Very interesting article that might change your perception of work and play.

I certainly enjoy my job but you have to find and sometimes even create that happy place. 

Why Your Free Time is Boring - lifehack.org

Things I wish I’d known when I was younger - lifehack.org

Although it's good as a refresher too:

Most of it doesn’t matter.

The greatest source of misery and hatred in this world is clinging to past hurts.

Waiting to do something until you can be sure of doing it exactly right means waiting for ever.

Following the latest fashion, in work or in life, is spiritual and intellectual suicide.

If people complain that you’re too fond of going your own way and aren’t fitting in, you must be on the right track.

If you make your work your life, you’re making your life into hard work.

The quickest and simplest way to wreck any relationship is to listen to gossip.

Trying to please other people is largely a futile activity.

Every winner is destined to be a loser in due course.

You can rarely, if ever, please, placate, change, or mollify an asshole.

Everything takes twice as long as you plan for and produces results about half as good as you hoped.

People are oddly consistent.

However hard you try, you can’t avoid being yourself.

When it comes to blatant lies, there are none more egregious than budget figures.

The loudest noise in the world is the sound of people whining.

 

Read more here:

Things I wish I’d known when I was younger - lifehack.org

Neatorama » Origin of Familiar Phrases

Interesting how some of these phrases came about like this one:

TOUCH AND GO

Meaning: A risky, precarious situation
Origin: “Dates back to the days of stagecoaches, whose drivers were often intensely competitive, seeking to charge past one another, on narrow roads, at grave danger to life and limb. If the vehicle’s wheels became entangled, both would be wrecked; if they were lucky, the wheels would only touch and the coaches could still go.” (From Loose Cannons and Red Herrings, by Robert Claiborne)

Read more here:

Neatorama » Blog Archive » Origin of Familiar Phrases

Einstein on Buddhism

Buddhism has the characteristics of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future: It transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology; it covers both the natural and spritual; and it is based on a religious sense aspiring from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity. -Albert Einstein

If there is any religion that would cope with modern scientific needs it would be Buddhism. -Albert Einstein

A human being is part of the whole, called by us 'Universe'; a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest--a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compasion to embrace all living creatures and the whole nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely but striving for such achievement is, in itself, a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.
-Albert Einstein

Here's another quote from Einstein that I love. It is my signature at the bottom of my emails:

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed. -Albert Einstein

From: http://thebuddhistblog.blogspot.com/2005/05/einstein-on-buddhism.html

Great quotes from a great man about a religion that fascinates me for it's tranquility and honesty. The blog looks interesting and I'll have to follow the rss feed now.

Motivation: Jerry Seinfeld's productivity secret - Lifehacker

This seems like a great tip to try. Seems kinda cool that Seinfeld used it also.

Motivation: Jerry Seinfeld's productivity secret - Lifehacker

Chiranjeevi: Indian Bruce Willis?

I don't know much about this guy but I ran across some of his YT goodness. Very funny videos.

Megastar on wikipedia: Chiranjeevi

Forget what you know about action movies and physics in general:

(Classic, I always wondered if this was possible)

 

(Wait for the end)

(Cheesy goodness)

It’s so bad that it’s good.

#6 - Auspicious

I use to think word had a negative connotation instead of the positive one:

auspicious \aw-SPISH-uhs\, adjective:
1. Giving promise of success, prosperity, or happiness; predicting good; as, "an auspicious beginning."
2. Prosperous; fortunate; as, "auspicious years."

But as Saturday fell on a very auspicious day in the Chinese calendar, every hotel in Nanjing was booked for weddings.
-- Seth Kaplan with Craig S. Smith, "Adventure the Chinese Way", New York Times, May 3, 2000

Dictionary.com/Word of the Day Archive/auspicious

#5 - Antebellum

From - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: 

Antebellum is a Latin word meaning before war (ante means before and bellum means war).

In United States history and historiography, the term antebellum is often used to refer to the period of increasing sectionalism leading to the American Civil War, instead of the term "pre-Civil War". In that context, the Antebellum Period is often considered to have begun with the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, although sometimes it is defined as extending back as early as 1812. Sometimes it is called the Old South. The time period after the civil war is called the postbellum or reconstruction era.

Antebellum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

#4 - Acumen

 

acumen \uh-KYOO-muhn; AK-yuh-muhn\, noun:
Quickness of perception or discernment; shrewdness shown by keen insight.

With Leo's rare combination of editorial acumen and business know-how, he might have become a publishing giant had he not permitted his drinking and gambling to hold him back.
-- Ellis Amburn, Subterranean Kerouac: The Hidden Life of Jack Kerouac

Source: Dictionary.com/Word of the Day Archive/acumen

#3 - Abstemious

I'm trying to be more abstemious myself.

abstemious \ab-STEE-mee-uhs\, adjective:
1. Sparing in eating and drinking; temperate; abstinent.
2. Sparingly used or consumed; used with temperance or moderation.
3. Marked by or spent in abstinence.

They were healthy and abstemious; their chief pleasure was reading and Oliver was a life member of the London Library.
-- Sylvia Townsend Warner, The Music at Long Verney

Source: Dictionary.com/Word of the Day Archive/abstemious

A CHOCOLATE MESS

I love chocolate. Good chocolate. I usually don't eat the Hershey's varieties so much but the following proposal has me concerned and pissed. It's ridiculous:

Link to Jim Hightower | A CHOCOLATE MESS

Anyway, they give links to voice your opinion and they are some of the clearest and easiest I've seen yet. I don't get to voice my concern too often but you can't mess with Chocolate. :-)

Technorati tags: Food

#2 - Abrogate

Dictionary.com has a great service called "Word of the day". I use to subscribe to it until I realized I would skip days. I ended up with about 200 days that I was behind. I still recommend it if you can keep up.

abrogate \AB-ruh-gayt\, transitive verb:
1. To annul or abolish by an authoritative act.
2. To put an end to; to do away with.

He also knows that failure to secure a clear unionist majority will leave the UUP [Ulster Unionist Party] leader vulnerable to those pressing for an assembly manifesto which would effectively threaten to abrogate the agreement.
-- "Politeness could not mask gulf within the UUP", Irish Times, May 20, 1998

Source: Dictionary.com/Word of the Day Archive/abrogate

Abjure - The First Word

I just noticed that it's been almost a month since I posted last.

So I think I'll try something new to keep my postings going. Everyday (theoretically), I will post the meanings to those 100 words list.

Most likely, I'll use Dictionary.com for the meanings. Without further ado, the first word is:

abjure

abjure \ab-JUR\, transitive verb:
1. To renounce under oath.
2. To renounce or reject solemnly; to recant; to reject; repudiate.
3. To abstain from; to shun.

abjure, on his knees, his heretical views that the Earth moves around the Sun.
-- Alan Gurney, Below the Convergence

100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know, And I barely know

I just saw this list of words that they say every parent should know. Since I'm having my first child here in a month, I thought it best to brush on this list since I know about 40 of those words.

Link to 100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know published by Houghton Mifflin Company

Here are the words again: 

abjure abrogate abstemious acumen antebellum auspicious belie bellicose bowdlerize chicanery chromosome churlish circumlocution circumnavigate deciduous deleterious diffident enervate enfranchise epiphany equinox euro evanescent expurgate facetious fatuous feckless fiduciary filibuster gamete gauche gerrymander hegemony hemoglobin

homogeneous hubris hypotenuse impeach incognito incontrovertible inculcate infrastructure interpolate irony jejune kinetic kowtow laissez faire lexicon loquacious lugubrious metamorphosis mitosis moiety nanotechnology nihilism nomenclature nonsectarian notarize obsequious oligarchy omnipotent orthography oxidize parabola paradigm parameter

pecuniary photosynthesis plagiarize plasma polymer precipitous quasar quotidian recapitulate reciprocal reparation respiration sanguine soliloquy subjugate suffragist supercilious tautology taxonomy tectonic tempestuous thermodynamics totalitarian unctuous usurp vacuous vehement vortex winnow wrought xenophobe yeoman ziggurat

Top 5 Ways to Build a Wonderful Life

YAL (Yet another list). I like this one though.

It's simple and I agree with it. Especially #3, Educate Yourself. 

Link to Top 5 Ways to Build a Wonderful Life

Hot Dog Spot: The quest for the BEST Hot Dog in Los Angeles

So tonight my wife and I are at the usual dilemma of what to eat for dinner. Food channel was doing a "The secret life of" hot dogs series and, of course, we had to have hot dogs.

So I searched the web and found what I think is a pretty cool hot dog restaurant review site. These guys definitely love dogs and they have some good reviews of local Los Angeles hot dog restaurants.

So far, I've only had Pinks Hot Dog, which is a well-known local favorite that is has been featured in ads, movies and shows like Entourage. Unfortunately, they didn't rate it very high but I thought was pretty good.

I've yet to try the other spots but now I'm excited to. This will definitely hurt the so-called diet.

Hot Dog Spot: The quest for the BEST Hot Dog in Los Angeles

Team Hanselman and Diabetes Walk 2007

Scott Hanselman is great blogger. I've admired his work on ASP.NET and in general the tools, fonts, and all the geeky stuff he's gets excited about.

Help him out as he tries to raise money for a Diabetes Walk. It doesn't take much. I already donated.

 

Link to Scott Hanselman's Computer Zen - Team Hanselman and Diabetes Walk 2007

Out of the Mouths of Babes

I love the kind of things that kids come up with.  

A first grade teacher collected well-known proverbs. She gave each child in her class the first half of a proverb, and had them come up with the rest. Their insight may surprise you...

Better to be safe than ....Punch a 5th grader.
Strike while the.....Bug is close.
It's always darkest before....Daylight Savings time.
Never underestimate the power of.....Termites.
You can lead a horse to water but ....how?
Don't bite the hand that ....looks dirty.
No news is....impossible.
A miss is as good as a .....Mr.
You can't teach an old dog new....math.
If you lie down with dogs, you....stink in the morning.
Love all, trust .....me.
The pen is mightier than the....pigs.
An idle mind is....the best way to relax
Where there's smoke there's ....Pollution.
Happy the bride who.....gets all the presents.
A penny saved is....not much
Two's company, three's....the Musketeers.
Don't put off till tomorrow what....you put on to go to bed.
Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and ....you have to blow your nose.
None are so blind as....Helen Keller.
Children should be seen and not....spanked or grounded.
If at first you don't succeed....get new batteries.
You get out of something what you....see pictured on the box
When the blind leadeth the blind....get out of the way.

Source: Villines Internet Humor Archive   Out of the Mouths of Babes

The Simple Dollar » Ten Financial Reasons To Turn Off Your Television - And Ten Things To Replace It With

This is an (yet another) article talking about turning off the TV and bettering your life. I generally agree with it and to be honest, I really do watch less television these days (or I try to).

However, I don't know if I can go cold turkey. I mean, I get caught up the storylines for Lost, The Shield, MotoGP, Formula 1, Lakers, etc.

I know its worth it but I think my lifestyle will change in the coming months anyway. Baby on the way. :-)

Link to The Simple Dollar » Ten Financial Reasons To Turn Off Your Television - And Ten Things To Replace It With

Freakonomics, the blog

If you liked the book then you'll probably like the blog too. I've said before that I loved the book. Even if you don't agree with it, it gets you thinking.

In fact, on a recent flight, I mentioned the book to a guy sitting next to me and he had an unusual reaction to it. He said that when he had recommended it to a black co-worker, that they had found it racist. I cannot speak for everyone but I read the book and I didn't see it that way.

Anyway, it was a great book and the blog is pretty good too:

http://www.freakonomics.com/blog/

Windows Live Writer Beta

This little windows app lets you create your blog entries in a nice little editor on the desktop rather in the browser.

I'm writing from the app now and I have to say its pretty cool.

I used it for another blog on a long message and it did great.

 You can download it here.

Go Speed Reader

I'll admit that I don't read as often I would like to. It just seems like there is too much crap to watch on TV or YouTube. The last book I read was Freakonmics. Great book. Gets you thinking even if you don't agree with it.

I'm a slow reader but this book took me two months to finish. However, I only really read it for about 20 minutes a day and the information is worth comprehending. But I'm still pretty slow to average reader.

So I was happy to discover this link to improve your reading speed with comprehension. The article was so interesting that I actually read it and not just file into my Del.icio.us links that I will probably never read.

Take a look at this interesting article on doubling your reading rate.

I'll report back on if it works for me but don't hold your breath. It will take me some time to master but I immediately liked what he said about the subvocalizing.

Btw, speaking of good books, this one looks good too:
Survival of the Sickest

Sucker for a good bike trip

I love to hear about stories of people who've done some amazing traveling. Like Rupert Wilson-young. He did 20,000 miles on a Yamaha Vino 50 !!! Wow. He even took some great shots along the way which you can see here: 20k on Vino Pics.

I like this one:


I really started liking the idea of traveling long distance traveling on 2 wheels many years ago. I think it was a blog entry by some guy who traveled from California to Alaska on a motorcycle.

But what really got me passionate about the idea was the Round the World trip that Ewan McGregor and his best friend Charlie B. took in Long Way Round. Aptly called 2 men, 2 bikes, 20,000 miles ...

The farthest that I've rode so far is 350 miles round-trip. So far...

Baby Sign Language

Scott H. has a great post that has me excited to try this when my daughter is born in 4 more months. Essentially, it's sign language for babies.

Baby Sign Language

Nom de Blog

I probably haven't mentioned but the Nom de Blog(blog name)/sub name are references to song names from my favorite band:


Trashcan Sinatras

Check out some of their music from free.

Although, I do have trouble sleeping but I have for the last 20 years.

Good Om Malik Post on Indian Outsourcers

Om Malik has a great article about the current trend that the top talent in India is favoring:

Troubling Signs for Indian Tech Outsourcers

Arrgh. Craigslist scammers suck

Recently, I've been trying to sell a vehicle on craigslist and so far I've received 2 people offer me certified checks. I guess they figure that I wouldn't read this obvious warning from CL.

Another guy is so persistent that he offered me $300 above my asking price if I would accept his home depot gift card offer. Apparently, he doesn't think that people can google:
Gift Card Fraud Arrest

I've used CL several times in the last 4 years and its been great but lately these jerks are screwing it up for everyone.

I guess its to be expected but I just hope others don't fall for it. Part of my angst come from recently watching this great movie about one of the biggest scams ever:
Enron.

Harmony 550

I broke down and bought one (used). It's a good remote after programming setup. I do wish though that it would allow me to modify the activities myself.

Otherwise, great remote. Go get one.

I have mad 8th grade math skills!

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

I used paper to solve most of these and I guessed on one question but it was a smart guess using elimination. Hey at 2:42AM, I don't care.

ClipX rocks

Arsclip is out. Unfortunately the vista issues with that app just made me look for something more stable.

ClipX is that answer.

I found it thru Travis Illig's blog which saved me the trouble of trying out a bunch of apps. So thx Travis.

Another Review.

Anyways, so far so good.

Free image hosting

This is a nice site for those times you need to post an image to ebay or craigslist.

Beware what you upload because the site and images are public and kept indefinetly according to the FAQ.

freeimagehosting.net

Google energy savings?

Google.com has been my homepage for years. Now this guy posted an interesting article on how we can save more energy if google's background was black:

Black Google Would Save 750 Megawatt-hours a Year

Turns out that while this may be true for Crts, its not for Lcd monitors. Still, I got to looking around and found a cool plugin for Firefox, Stylish. This pulgin makes many sites look much cleaner.

Stylish

Private Folder

I haven't tried this but it looks it might be interesting if I need to ever share my laptop.

Microsoft Private Folder 1.0

1 Week

I was gone for a company summit that was intense and yet very fun. It got my passion going again for what I'm working on. Although, it didn't give me much time to blog or probably I just chose not to. Oh well.

Want and need

I read those financial blogs now and then. They speak of various way to become rich or just solve your financial problems. They talk about the difference between rich and others. Like that the rich only buy what they need.

So I try my best to separate between my wants and needs. Because they say that the rich only buy what they need. Or that the rich only buy things that appreciate in value.

Well, I know I don't need a new remote control but dammit, I want this one:

Harmony 550

I'll see how long I can hold out.

Btw, don't they also say that many rich folks are unhappy? Could be if they had this remote then they would be happier. :-)

Tennis channel contest

Tennis channel has a contest to pick who will win the Australian open. So for fun, you can see my picks here:

Tennis Channel Contest

Funny car note

EDIT: Well this was a funny note but it appears missing now from flickr.

Pic
Let this be a lesson to you double space parking hogs.

Meaning of Love?

This is a great post about answers from kids when asked what Love means:

What does love mean?

iPhone looks good

Have you seen the iPhone from Apple yet? I haven't, except for on the web. But it looks very cool, sleek, sexy and innovative. As you can tell, envy has already set in. Must resist temptation to get one.

Early Riser and Joe's Ok

So I'm still using Joe's Goals and I had question which I sent him and he responded in a few hours. Nice.

The goals that I have been wanting half heartedly are now becoming clear that I need to adopt, accept and change my ways. As you can tell from the title of this blog. I have trouble sleeping. Thats fine, I mean I can live with that but lately, its totally thrown off my cycle.

So I am going to try these suggestions from Steve Pavlina:

Early Riser

Early Riser Pt.2

Get up when alarm goes off...

I enjoy his writing. But there is so much to read that I get caught up reading every other article and I feel like I'm wasting time or something even though its for personal development.

Anyways, lets see how it goes.

Here is his: Best of...

Chile Spiced Mango... mmm!

These are a great snack.

Chile Spiced Mango

Redoxx AirBoss

Well, in a swift (and maybe foolish) click, I bought the Airboss.

You see I'll be doing lots of travel this year and I love the concept of traveling light: OneBag.com

Well after my own travels, I've learned a good bag can be key. So I'm going to give this one a try:

AirBoss

Juding from it popularity with the traveling crowd, it should be pretty good. Price, however, is not on budget side.

Goals and a new home page

I like the in your face look of this goals site so I made it my homepage for now.

Joes Goals

Pandora

Looking for new music based on music you listen to now?

Pandora

Simply following the easy menu.

If you haven't seen this, then check it out.

Paypal Virtual Cards, Amazon and Roomba

This is a great idea that I've reading about but haven't used until today:

Paypal Virtual Debit Cards FAQ

Basically, its a Mastercard that is good for 1 day with $150.00 spending limit on your paypal account. Great!

So I thought I would try it on a Roomba that I've been eyeing:

Roomba

Unfortunately, its not so obvious where in paypal you might click to get to so check out this post. It contains a link there to point you to the specific place for the virtual cards whether they are paypal approved or not.

Buy with Paypal Virtual Cards