Look Mom, I’m an Astronaut!
March 4, 2010
Richard Branson totally inspires me. Talk about a man who’s dedicated his life to making the impossible POSSIBLE. Let’s take his latest project, Virgin Galactic, for example. In this new venture of his, Richard has decided that every person deserves a chance to go into space. I’m going to repeat that, so it sinks in. EVERY PERSON DESERVES A CHANCE TO GO INTO SPACE. That’s no small goal, huh?
How’s he going to make it so that every kid who has ever dreamed of being an astronaut can fulfill that desire? Through a combination of savvy business strategy and innovative technology, of course! Before I tell you the juicy details about how you can book YOUR ticket, let me just remind you of 2001 when American businessman Dennis Tito paid 20 million to be the tourist in space. At this point I’m sure you’re still thinking, “Yeah right, like I could ever afford that!” And at that rate, neither could I, but thanks to Sir Richard, you can now be in space for a mere $200,000 – less than the cost of a condo!
Seriously friends, do the math, in less than 10 years he has brought the cost down to 1% of what Dennis Tito paid. UNREAL! Makes me want to add it to my bucket list…
I’m not going to pretend that I fully understand the mechanics, but apparently how it works is that the spaceship is tethered to a mothership that carries it 50,000 feet up, at which point it disconnects and takes off. Another innovate feature is that once it reaches a maximum altitude, the wings “feather” up to provide additional resistance (pictured at top).
Here are some of the specifics for those of you who are ready to join the 300+ people that have already booked:
- Take-off is from Spaceport America in New Mexico, home of the first commercial spaceport.
- Total flight cost – $200,000.
- Flights begin in 2010.
- There will be 1 flight per week, 6 passengers per flight.
- Passengers must undergo medical exams and 3 days of training prior to the flight.
- Each flight will be approximately 2 1/2 hours in length, with 5 minutes of weightlessness.
- Each Virgin Galactic tourist will officially be certified as an honest-to-goodness astronaut.
Ready to book your ticket? CLICK HERE
Finally, I leave you with a quick video that shows highlights from the Spaceship’s unveiling:
A Rugged, Versatile Adventure Camera: Canon’s Powershot D10
February 21, 2010
Greetings- I hope you enjoyed last week’s photo and video highlights of our time with the whale sharks. After a weekend of extensive usage in Donsol, we have nothing but rave reviews for the Canon Powershot D10. It truly is the perfect adventure camera with it’s combination of durability and features.
Here are a few of the things we like about it:
- Waterproof to 33 Feet
- Cold Resistant from 14-104 degrees Fahrenheit
- Shockproof up to 4 Feet
- 12.1 Mega pixels, 3x optical zoom
- Face Detection Technology
- A bright 2.5 inch color LCD
- 4 accessory posts around the corners that allow you to attach a cord with carabiners or a wrist-strap (perfect for those treacherous times when scaling mountains or attacking the rapids)
- Superb video capabilities
- Large rubberized buttons that make for easy usage when underwater or wearing gloves
- A bargain at just over $300
The Grocery Game: Why You Should Consider Playing
October 3, 2009
This is a bit of a deviation from my normal posts, but it seemed too good not to pass along, so here goes! Just learned about this site called The Grocery Game. Teri, the woman that began the site, started studying the sale cycles of Supermarkets 10 years ago and producing a weekly list based on the best time to buy. Members of her site plug in their zipcode and select the lists for the stores they frequent. The color-coded system tells you which items to stock up on and which to wait and get until the following week. The list also layers in coupons and explains how to get the best value from them in combination with store-specific sales.
Let’s just jump straight to the cost, shall we? A 4 week trial membership is free. After that, the cost is $10 per list for 8 weeks. Additional lists for that same 8 week period are an extra $5. I searched my old St. Paul zipcode and found CVS, Cub, Whole Foods and Rainbow. Fun fact: The article I read stated that the average family of 4 who participates saves $512 a month on groceries. Seems like an easy way to me to find some extra money each month! Since we can’t partake here, those of you that check it out, please report back and let us know if it’s as good as it sounds!
Virtual Business Cards: Do You Have One Yet?
August 7, 2009
Have you noticed that business cards don’t seem to fit very well in this new technological age? Granted, they’re obviously a valuable tool, there’s just no forward button that you can use with them! And have you ever noticed that when you really need to hand one out you don’t seem to have any on you??
Thank goodness for Card.ly who has thankfully solved this conundrum. Card.ly allows you to have your own mini business card profile online without needing any design or programming skills to make it happen. You simply go to the site, type in your personal information, add the links to your social media profiles and Voila! You have an online card. Card.ly produces an HTML code that you can then include with an email signature or on a blog page. This is my new card:
I just updated my email to include my card at the end of all my emails. In order to do this, just copy the code from card.ly and head to your email program. Find the place where you can customize your signature. It’s often under the options tab. I use hotmail and there’s a drop down menu that lets me switch from text to HTML code. I select HTML code, paste in my code from card.ly and then switch it back to Rich Text and press save! It is now automatically included at the end of all my emails.
With blogs, you need to have a blog that allows you to download plug-ins. I can’t do it on this blog because it’s a free wordpress-hosted blog and they don’t give you plug-in functionality. If you do have plug-in capabilities, just search the available ones and look for an HTML box that you can insert in your sidebar. Then just paste your code in, activate the widget and place it in the appropriate spot you’d like it on your sidebar. It really is quite simple and oh-so-cool to be on the front end of adoption – we’ll see if this trend sticks!
What a 4 Package Day looks like…
June 15, 2009
Wow! We are officially less than 2 weeks out from Wheels Up. It’s hard to believe. I want to thank you all for being such diligent followers of the blog – it topped 150 readers one day last week. We really appreciate your support and the fact that you’re keeping tabs on us!
We spent the weekend in Philly (more details to come tomorrow) and came home to 4 packages waiting for us. Just to give a sampling of the random things that we’re purchasing right now, here’s a photo of what arrived on Saturday. From left to right, we have:
- Ooma, a fabulous VOIP system that doesn’t have any monthly charges (YAY! – I”ll definitely do a whole post on Ooma, but I want to spend some time trying it out first. I am certain it’s going to be delightful though; the reviews were sensational).
- A D-link Wireless Router for the computers and VOIP system
- Transformers – We got 6 of them to start. The littlest ones are for alarm clocks and very low-voltage items. The biggest one (which is still in the box and not pictured) was 3000 watts and close to $100. It’s HUGE. Since it won’t be easy to move that one around, we’ll probably need it in the kitchen, which means my 1875 watt blow dryer needs to go unless I want to do my hair in the kitchen every day!
- The four items in the rear right corner of the photo are dual-voltage power strips. They are highly functional – protecting from power surges, able to use both 110 and 220 voltage, and equipped with plug adapters for no matter where we end up in the world. (Can you see now why this stuff is taking so much time to purchase?? – every decision requires extensive research)
- Finally, in the front right corner are some basic plug adapters.
- Not pictured: My new business cards and a beautiful office chair for me!
Just in case you’re in need of some items like these – Ooma and the router are easily purchased on Amazon. The remainder of the items came from Overseas Best Buy, Inc. Now I’m off to put the finishing touches on my will and then Nick and I are separating out what we’re hand-carrying, putting in the air shipment and sending via boat… what a weird time period right now! Just think, in 13 days, I’ll have a whole new set of to-do’s facing me in Manila!
Nick and I had been debating the merits of taking a video camera with us to Manila. Initially, we were looking at full-size HD cameras, but then we stumbled upon the pocket camcorder. We ended up purchasing the Kodak zi6 HD pocket video camera for $179 at Best Buy. We’re planning to take it around on the streets of Manila to shoot everyday life (instead of just taking it with to the tourist destinations). It really feels like an everyday video camera and the price makes it much easier to swallow if it gets lost or stolen! If you’d like to see a sample of the video quality, scroll back a few weeks on the blog and check out the 3 wedding videos. Those were all done using this camera!
Here’s a rundown of some of the features we like about it:
- Small enough to fit in your purse or pocket
- Great entry-level price (not a high investment in the event that we don’t shoot much video)
- Quick uploading to You Tube via the pop-out USB connector (see above picture)
- Minimal, easy-to-use buttons
- Shoots HD video (720 p)
- Utilizes an SD card instead of an internal hard-drive, allowing you to take longer videos (you purchase the SD card separately). The flip Mino, for example, typically can shoot 2 hours of video before it’s full and you need to download the content to your computer
My new techie toy: The Kindle 2
May 11, 2009
I know some of you never thought you’d see the day when I would be an early adapter for technological goods. Heck, I didn’t even own a cell phone until I was 21. WHOA. I’ve come a long way! I think my new interest in this area is largely due to the increased quality of life technology will bring us overseas. One of our recent wedding gifts was the Kindle 2, a fabulous electronic book reader. This thing is crazy-light, only 10.2 ounces (lighter than a typical paperback)! Also, it’s only 1/3 of an inch think, the equivalent of a magazine. You turn the pages by pressing on a button on the left or right side.
It contains a 3G network (without a monthly fee) which allows you to download books from anywhere – you don’t need to be plugged into the internet or in a wi-fi zone. On average, books only take about 60 seconds to download. I’m currently in the middle of my first book, Handle with Care, the Jodi Piccoult book I highlighted a few months ago. It’s like a whole new reading experience for me. Some of the benefits I’ve seen:
1. It’s easier to carry in a purse or small bag.
2. It’s easier to use when walking on a treadmill because you don’t have to hold it open like a typical book.
3. It feels exciting and fresh to read again.
4. You can take over 1500 books with you in one Kindle, a great advantage for lighter traveling!
5. You can change the size of the text, depending on how large of print you like to read in. No more eye strain for me!
Modern-Day Jargon
April 23, 2009
As you know, I’ve been spending quite a bit of time on airplanes recently. In the April version of the Delta Skymag, they had a hilarious section about new slang words that have been created due to the infusion of technology in our lives. I hope you’ll enjoy them as much as I did:
Blackberry Jam: A delay caused by a person walking slowly, nose glued to their PDA.
Brickberry: The old clunker of a phone you’re using while your iPhone is being repaired.
Defaced: When a person is deleted from someone’s list of Facebook “friends”.
Designated Texter: Someone who receives and responds to the driver’s text messages to ensure passenger safety.
Kthxbi: A quick ending to an online conversation that’s going nowhere.
Shypod: Someone who won’t share his or her iPod for fear of being exposed as a disco/country/Neil Diamond lover.
Textrovert: Someone who’s comfortable revealing emotion via his or her thumbs.
Financial Bliss
March 20, 2009
It’s no secret that finances are tough stuff for the majority of people right now. While I will agree that negative returns are no fun, the joy of financial management is in the day-to-day planning, goal-setting and tracking. This has been on my mind a lot as I focused on merging our finances this week. As late 20-somethings, we both had a variety of accounts floating in different places out there. Since Nick is in language classes all day, I nominated myself as financial manager of the family (although he can still dabble in the investments if he wants). I rolled IRA’s, made transfers and changed permissions – all in an effort to hold the majority of our accounts within one banking institution.
It was such a glorious time. I’ve always known that I was obsessed with stat tracking, especially with things like money. It’s so exhilarating to set a goal and then monitor your progress towards it. My favorite tool to do this in the past was typically with an excel spreadsheet. No more though. I have evolved to Quicken! What a delightful, FREE program! By creating an account at THIS SITE, one is able to link all of their online banking accounts. It pulls in each transaction, which you can then categorize as auto, groceries, medical, etc. On the trends page, it rolls up the aggregate amounts in each of those categories so you can see what proportion of your monthly spending is going to each category. But WAIT, this is my favorite part! You go to the goals page as set up a spending goal for each of the categories and then track it throughout the month to see where you are in relation to what you allocated for that goal (like Dining, for example). It’s so simple and so much less time-consuming than excel. If you aren’t currently using a financial managment system of any kind, I beg you to take a close look at this program to see if it can work for you. I can’t express the pure joy it brings me to log in to one account and immediately know what your net worth is for that moment in time. SO COOL! If you’ve never calculated your net worth, it’s not as hard as you think, it’s just a matter of gathering up the information from all the places out there.
In fact, I became so overjoyed with Quicken that I was having a hard time getting off the computer so Nick could use it too. We ended up having to make a deal that he wouldn’t play the Wii for the rest of my visit if I promised not to log in to Quicken. How sad is that??
To Facebook or Not To Facebook…
March 10, 2009
That is the questions I’ve heard a lot recently from the 25+ crowd. There seems to be a cool societal evolution happening right now which is making it acceptable for “older” people to embrace technology and participate in social networking. I have to be honest, I fought this for a very long time, claiming Facebook was Not for Me and turning down weekly requests for me to join. I was proud of myself – look how strong I was, avoiding the evil temptation to join Facebook. Well, I am strong no more.
Two weeks ago I broke down and joined and I’ve been having a blast ever since. I managed to find or be “Friended” by 160 acquaintances and close friends in a one week period. I found one of my favorite teachers from highschool and I met up with one of my best friends from high school for a happy hour. We had lost touch for about 7 years! So I have a lot to thank Facebook for. I’m planning to use it to promote my business, as well as stay connected to MN from the Philippines. For those of you who are still holding out – examine why that is. Is it still a valid reason or are the times a changing? Maybe reconnecting with long-lost friends will bring you as much joy as it has in my life! I leave you with a picture from my reunion, as well as a fun spoof of what Facebook would play out like if it happened in “Real Life”.
PS- There are ways to control what is seen about you (if that’s a concern). You can create privacy settings that bucket people into different categories, which allows them different access to your Facebook page. Great for seperating Facebook use for work and personal life usage.
Long Lost Friends Reunited by Facebook!
Be Smarter than the Phone Tree
March 3, 2009
Lately I’ve been booking a lot of flights out East to visit Nick. Most times it’s been easy as pie using the online booking system. But then I ran into a glitch and needed to talk to an actual human being. So I sign, sit back in my chair and start the dialing process. 10 selections and 5 minutes later, I’m actually with a real person. The experience made me wonder if there’s a better way to do this. Not surprisingly, there is!
Allow me to introduce www.Fonolo.com. This fantastic service has mapped out the phone trees of 200 of the most commonly called companies. Banks, Airlines – you name it, they’ve mapped it. When you log in online, you select the specific department you want to reach. Fonolo won’t call you until it’s reached the intended department. Cool, huh? There’s even an i-phone app coming soon. So why waste your time on the phone navigating phone trees – you have so many better things to be doing!
The Find of the Day: HULU
January 15, 2009
Even though I’m not a frequent TV watcher, when I miss an episode I’ll often jump online and watch it after-the-fact. So obviously this is a wonderful thing for current shows on the air, but what about sports, news shows and all those wonderful old shows? All me to introduce Hulu, you’re go-to source for media-related finds. I just signed up today and created my queue of movies and TV shows. The system automatically pulls the episodes requested and keeps a list for you to reference when you have time to watch them. I bookmarked eveything from old Different Strokes episodes to pilates to cooking shows. The Obama Inauguration will also be aired on HULU! Cool stuff, huh? This is definitely worth checking out…
Fonts Get Personal
January 14, 2009
Well, I recently came across this fantastic site called fontifier and couldn’t resist sharing it! The basic premise is that for $9 this company will turn your handwriting into a font that you can use on your computer! SO COOl, huh? They do it by giving you a template with all the characters identified and you (the creator) take a felt-tip pen and re-create each character in your handwriting in the box provided. The company then uploads it and turns it into a type font. Check out their website to see specifically how this is done in their 7 step process. That’s all I’ve got for today folks – I’m just here to continue bettering your life, one cool innovation at a time! :)
