Great visualization of the economic bust

a wiki on how to travel cheaply

This is wonderful wiki, full of travel cheaply hints, including

1 Find Cheap Airfare
1.1 Go Local
1.2 Be Flexible
1.3 Pick up the Phone
1.4 Frequent Flyer Miles
2 Cheap Accommodations
2.1 Rent
2.2 Hostels
2.3 Home stays
2.4 House Swaps
2.5 Caretakers
2.6 Couch Surfing
3 Cheap Destinations
4 Alternative ways to travel
5 Conclusion

Brains, Energy, and especially Integrity

Saw recently some Warren Buffet advice to "invest in brains, energy, and integrity, but be sure you've got the 3rd -- or the other two will work against you!"

Live longer with friends

A new study says that friends are more vital to your health than dieting, exercise, et all.

From New York Times :

In the quest for better health, many people turn to doctors, self-help books or herbal supplements. But they overlook a powerful weapon that could help them fight illness and depression, speed recovery, slow aging and prolong life: their friends.

Researchers are only now starting to pay attention to the importance of friendship and social networks in overall health. A 10-year Australian study found that older people with a large circle of friends were 22 percent less likely to die during the study period than those with fewer friends...And last year, Harvard researchers reported that strong social ties could promote brain health as we age...

“Friendship is an undervalued resource. The consistent message of these studies is that friends make your life better.”

Lower your cable and phone bills!

Great article on how the the cable and phone companies are, well, "flexible" in their pricing with inquiring customers.

Simply call and tell them you would like to cancel unless you can get a lower rate.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123248760842899491.html

Earn from credit cards

Go to IndexCreditCards.com, a credit card news site, with all kinds of news about credit cards deals (flights, food, gas, and more).

Bargain Hunters Can Go All In (Las Vegas)

The Sunday NYT (1/11/09) says that Las Vegas has been hardest of any city in the U.S.

So hotels are offering outrageous deals (e.g. high-end Trump for $99 and new renovated downtown hotel, El Cortex, for $14/night). Even Cirque Du Soleil is now discounting for the first time ever.

Billshrink, service for the times?

Billshrink, based in Redwood City, CA, recommends cell phone plans and credit cards to fit the user.

When looking for a cellphone plan, for example,  Billshrink asks user questions about their phone use and texting activity. The service then searches through plans from all the major carriers and presents the best match, based on price and signal strength.

Use Yapta to find frequent flier opportunities

Everyone know it's really hard to use airline mileage to find free flights.

Yapta.com has launched a service to alert users when an award seat becomes available on a specific flight. Similar to the company's price-tracker feature, Yapta emails the user when a better fare becomes available after booking a seat on a flight.

Time for overstock.com and liquidation.com?

Seems like high-priced products may be on sale after the slow holiday.

"We would say it's aspirational brands, high-end deluxe -- that's what really taking the hit," said Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne. (San Jose Mercury News, 12/25/08)

"A lot of these Fortune 500 companies are trying to save costs and raise cash. This channel we have is a source of working capital for them," adds Bill Angrick, CEO of Liquidation.com.

Happiness is contagious

This just in from medical study -- surround yourself with happy friends!

Happy people tended to be at the center of social networks and had many friends who were also happy. Having friends or siblings nearby increased people's chances of being upbeat. Happiness spread outward by three degrees, to the friends of friends of friends.

Happy spouses helped, too, but not as much as happy friends of the same gender. Experts think people, particularly woman, take emotional cues from people who look like them.

Christakis and Fowler estimate that each happy friend boosts your own chances of being happy by 9 percent. Having grumpy friends decreases it by about 7 percent.

Don't Micromanage Employees

I have had several excellent bosses and the best show "tough love" for business results but don't micromanage the details. A Wall Street Journal entitled Micromanagers Miss Bull's-Eye by Cari Tuna calls out the problem -- "dealing With every detail robs subordinates of the freedom to solve problems" and prevents their development.

The article suggests that managers:

1) Clearly articulate expectations
2) Offer constructive feedback
3) Give employees decision-making power
4) Focus on hiring and placement of subordinates

Find out about new career opportunities

The economic challenges have forced many people to think about new careers. A new book out, No Job? No Prob! has many recommendations, but two interesting websites include:

www.LiveCareer.com
www.CareerTest.com

Atheists more likely to believe in Bigfoot?

A new book, "What Americans Really Believe", reviewed in the WSJ, says that traditional Christian religion decreases belief in such things as palm reading and astrology. The irreligious, on the other hand, tend to be more likely to believe in the paranormal and pseudoscience.

Beats me, but the "conspiracy" shows are running amok in Hollywood (Fringe, Lost, X-Files) suggesting that we all need to believe in something out of the ordinary!

Do private house rental sites work?

My family has been hit-and-miss with VRBO.com (vacation rentals by owner), a site which has bought us both gems and scams.

This is not uncommmon, says Michelle Higgins in a story in today's The New York Times. She says the professionally managed rentals, like zonder.com, forGetaway.com, and PickPackGO.com, offer a certain quality control since management companies run the facilities and the sites accept credit cards.

The owner-rented sites, such as Homeaway.com and VRBO offer you cost-savings, but beg for more interaction with owner for verification of quality. A new site, call FlipKey.com, will allow past renters to offer reviews.

CrossLoop gets techie help to friends

CrossLoop allows the tech-savvy (you, or an expert) to help out the non-savvy (you or friend and often older family member) via direct control of their computers. 

To use, both you and the person you are helping must go to www.crossloop.com and download the software. The sessions require both parties to be in attendance (to avoid renegade remote control of a computer).

This seems like an intriguing way to connect the 1-in-100 techie with the other 99.

Parents can fix education

This wsj article offered findings that, instead of bad teachers and budget cuts, that "parent expectations" is number one determinant of student success.

The 2007 Michigan Dept of Education findings:

"The most consistent predictor of children's academic achievement and social adjustment are parent expectations of the child's academic attainment and satisfaction with their child's education at school. Parents of high-achieving students set higher standards for their children's eduational activities."

The article says that

"All you have to do is start insisting that your children fully appply themselves to their studies -- and commit yourself to doing your part. That means making sure they do all of their work as their abilities allow. It also means making sure everything at home stands behind these principles and supports the idea of learning."

People believe in bigfoot!

And they will believe in most anything!

The "Bigfoot" publicity stunt worked its way through Palo Alto and world media recently , confirming again that, sometimes, people just want to believe.

New York Times writer adds in 3/30/08 article that:

- Americans are as likely to believe in flying saucers as in evolution (about 30-40%)

2 billion people to speak English?

Micheal Erard in Wired magazine states:

By 2020, native English speakers will make up only  15 percent of the estimated 2 billion people who will be using or learning the language.

and that

Already, most conversations in English are between non-native speakers who use it as  common bridge

Free online photo services

There are no less than seven premiere on-line photo services:

Adobe Photoshop Express (recent entry, in beta mode)

Flickr

Photobucket

Kodak Gallery

Picasa (just added face recognition and tagging)

Shutterfly

Snapfish