Whatever you do, online or offline, your body basically dictates how you feel doing it.

Your body’s condition also strongly influences how well you do things, online or offline.

Too tired while playing a game? You won’t enjoy the game as much. Too sleepy while watching a movie? You’re not going to remember or understand the movie that much. In physical pain while working? Well, your work is probably going to get affected.

Body not feeling fresh? Your thoughts through the day will also not be as exciting.

Like many other things, your body sweat (ewww!) also dictates how you feel and how well you do in both online and offline things.

Lucky for you, studies have been done to help you figure out how much you sweat, why you sweat and what you can do to avoid sweating.

Sweat: The Big Picture

Here’s the sweat infographics you can actually remember easily. The next time you want to do something, keep in mind the following to avoid sweating or to reduce it. Pay special attention to “The Products You’re Using” section. I didn’t know greasy food would cause you to sweat more.

Via: Bye Bye Excessive Armpit Sweat

What do you think?

What do you think of the above info? Will you change or start thinking about certain things in life to start sweating less?

Please share your thoughts in the comments below, thanks!

2012. Today marks the day when so many of us will start hoping for an awesome 2012, compared to 2011 at least. We have new plans, new goals, new dreams and new wants. For me, New Year Resolutions are simply a way to start acting on things in life on a certain date. This is like a push: giving yourself and thinking of a specific date, today, to start doing things.

Our needs may remain the same, though our wants are changing. A few years ago I wrote on how setting achievable goals was not as useful as we usually think. It seems setting New Year goals offer no help unless the goals we’re setting focus on our entire life, and not just 365 days of our life limited by a calendar year name.

Here are my 2012 plans that I’m working on to create an impact on my life that will last forever. The focus is on simplifying the complexity I’m adding to my life, and the complexity that is my life.

For My 2012 New Year Resolutions, I’m Going to…..

1. Have a 100% happy, simpler life
2. Reduce physical clutter:
   1. Convert everything to a digital format when possible, like all forms of letters, receipts, books, into something online like Evernote or Google+ Photos.
   2. Keep only the absolutely necessary papers around in paper format, like legally-required-to-be-on-paper Driving License replacement printout or the passport.
   3. Throw away everything physical that is unneeded, like papers, books, letters, receipts, pens, decoration pieces, boxes, bags, etc.
   4. Keep only a minimum number of clothing apparel in life: maximum of 5 shirts, 7 t-shirts, 5 trousers/pants/jeans, 3 pairs of shoes, 2 pairs of slippers, 5 pairs of socks, 2 hoodies, 2 coats, 2 caps/hats, 3 towels, 2 mufflers (scarfs) and 1 watch.

      (I’ve never done this before. I wonder if this is still too much? Let me know in the comments below.)

   5. Keep a maximum of 2 sets of hygiene essentials, like 2 soaps, 2 sets of shampoo and conditioners, 2 towels, 2 sets of shaving blades, etc.
   6. Have only one electronic item for each category, like only one cell phone, only one laptop and no desktop, only one camera, etc.
   7. Get something new only when I’ll throw out something I already have, online or offline.
3. Reduce digital clutter:
   1. Reduce the number of info sources in my Google Reader.
   2. Cancel, delete or make a list of all my online accounts I don’t need, like ICQ, Skype, YouMail, PageOnce, or my multiple Hotmail accounts.
   3. Uninstall and delete everything on my computer I don’t need, like games I don’t play anymore or regularly, programs I don’t use regularly, etc.
   4. Keep only one version of any digital item. For example, if a file is in Evernote, delete it from my email OR from my computer.
   5. Consolidate backups of the digital life. For example, combine DropBox, CrashPlan and my Documents folder to all be together and work together.
   6. Simplify and focus on a few core Besizm Network sites. The Reasoner is one such example, where I’ll be simplifying things more in terms of designs and usability.
4. Achieve things in life by reducing mental clutter and distractions:
   1. Not say “I’m Sorry” or “Sorry” unless I really am and unless I should be. This is related to “The Lie Called “I’m Sorry!”“
   2. Be 100% myself by being 100% humble, by avoiding manipulation, by not lying and by not exaggerating.
   3. Take action or make plans on things right away, even if it is to start them in the most basic form and to plan the next step for the future.
   4. Say “No” always when the answer is “No.”
   5. Finish or get rid of all incomplete plans and memories in life.
   6. Work on my Network content first, and then focus on any extra things. For example, I’ll be focusing more on producing content and will work on improving the visual designs only after I’ve done the content posting part.

With the exception of money and happiness, I’m trying to reduce down everything to the basics and bare minimum. With a simplified life will come a more focused happiness and more flow and value of money. With a more focused happiness and enthusiasm, there will be more direct results in life and also towards money. With extra peace of mind, there is be more things to enjoy in life with happiness and money, and fewer unnecessary or unwanted things to get boggled down by.

2012 New Year Resolutions - What are yours?

What are Your 2012 Resolutions?

What have you decided for 2012? What are you planning for 2012? Will your 2012 be the exact same as 2011? What are some of your goals, wants, needs, resolutions, etc?

Can you suggest anything I can add or change in my plans? For example, is the number of clothes I’m thinking of holding on to still too much to keep around? Am I missing something in trying to simplify things?

Do you have any goals that are similar to mine, or the exact opposite (like you wanting more stuff online or offline)?

Please share in the comments below. I’m now going to go and find out all the clothes that will be thrown away.

Thanks for reading!

This guest post is by Lilly Nelson.

Is she really going out with him is a great song, but how often do you hear the same lament? “Everyone I like only likes jerks.” “I’m smart and funny. Why doesn’t anyone want to be with me?” “Why is she with him?” How often have you heard or said that yourself?

The world of dating has changed significantly from your Mom and Dad’s apple pie Norman Rockwell scene. No longer do people regularly go steady through High School to marry their sweetheart after college. In fact the average person gets married at 26, followed two years later by a divorce. With the plight of older women and men fighting to meet Mr or Miss Right before biology takes over, there is an increasing amount of pressure on the single today.

With that in mind, let’s broach the subject of those folks who are nice and perpetually single. You know the type. That sweet friend of yours who seems to always be single no matter how desirable they may be. That nice guy who brings flowers to a first date and opens all doors. That sweet funny girl who lost her most recent boyfriend. We love them, but only as friends, and we want to see them happy. Or maybe that sweet funny person is you.

The “Nice Guy”

Why do so many girls stick with crappy guys?

There is a multimillion dollar industry of so called “nice guys” teaching other self-proclaimed “nice guys” how to snag the ideal girlfriend. These love gurus teach how to go from the first date to the bedroom in three days or less. These classes are great for deductions when you e-file. Other than that, it’s a waste of money for an actual nice guy. The whole class can be summed up in one sentence. If you can fake being a jerk, you’re in. There, you have been saved three grand(that’s for the cheap class). Not saying that women aren’t attracted to a certain type, it’s just not the people you think.

If not for the need to procreate, very few, if any of the male persuasion would get a date.

Women are engrained to look for a mate that is compatible with them. They need someone they are attracted to, who will protect them (only when necessary), and someone whose genetics will produce attractive strong children. Taking these things into account, yes women will be more attracted to an alpha male. Take heart single guys.

If you really are a nice guy, there are tons of women looking for you, you just have to find them. What makes a real nice guy? It varies from woman to woman. There are no set rules, just chemistry, let nature take it’s course. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of actually telling a girl how you feel. The worst she can say is “no”. Sad, but there are nice guys who do have trouble talking to women, but don’t give up.

A story. In school Tom, a really “nice guy”, spends his entire youth pining over Jenny. Jenny is always dating the school jerks though, so he never tells her how he feels. They go to separate colleges and eventually lose touch. Tom gets married, has a few kids, but never forgets the girl that got away. At the reunion some twenty years later he runs into Jenny’s best friend. Tom’s heart skips a beat as he asks how Jenny is. “Oh Jenny finally got married. I didn’t think she was ever going to get over you.”

The “Nice Girl”

The Nice Girl Who Always Complains - are you that nice girl? Or know that nice girl?

Remember Kim Kardashian? Behind every “hot” girl there is a guy who is tired of her crap. Take that adage to heart ladies.

Two weeks ago a few girlfriends went on a girls night out. They were on the prowl for good looking men. And what’s worse, they wanted to go to bars in search of “serious, long-term relationships.” Are you laughing yet? While there are many relationships that do start in bars, going to a bar for the specific purpose of getting a long term boyfriend is like a guy going to a brothel in search of a virgin. Yet thousands of women pile into bars every weekend looking for their soul-mates only to go home empty handed and lonely.

Men are simple creatures and the female populous is trying to complicate them.

Most men will accept a woman who feeds him and is there to quench the occasional sexual itch. There isn’t much to get. Women have forced themselves into an odd corner by trying to complicate men. Society has become so sexually driven that who can blame guys for the bugged out eyes? You can buy a physically perfect woman for the right price. Those women who can afford it are destroying their bodies with plastic surgery. Yes, destroying, ladies. Just because the nice guy you like is looking at the 34DDs on the waitress does not mean you need the newest knockers. Plastic surgery is temporary and you have to religiously repair the work. As any honest plastic surgeon will tell you, plastic surgery is never totally natural looking.

Those who can’t afford the work are going with option two, sex. Society has led you to believe that if you don’t sleep with a guy you are a prude, if you do you’re a slut. Caught between a rock and a hard place a lot of women opt for being a slut. Your own fault for believing that men are really that shallow. Yes, men will probably have sex with a lot of jerks before they find the nice girl to take home to mom and dad. Patience is a virtue.

The Nice Crowd

The crowd to choose from

And speaking of realistic, You have to be realistic about yourself.

You can’t assume that you are everything they could want or need and your relationship would be perfect. If you look like Joe Pesci don’t expect to get Rachel McAdams.

If you smell like a hot day at the pier don’t expect the singles to line up. People have standards and you might not fit the bill.

For the sake of argument, however, let’s say you can’t get a date because the people you are interested in only like jerks or bad-boys/bad-girls. This is not the time to be what they want. Now is the time to take a look in the mirror. It sounds cliché but you are the only one keeping you from dating bliss.

The biggest question. Why are you whining? Do you find yourself attracted to people who whine? Not for long. Do you think the jerks ever whine? No. Do they care if someone rejects them? Why would they? They are awesome, and they know it. They don’t need your approval. If they don’t like the way their boyfriend or girlfriend is acting, they can leave. It’s nothing personal. You are going to be spending a long time with yourself, so why are you so worried about some girl who didn’t like you, move on.

What do you think? Are you such a nice person? Are you still choosing from the nice crowd?

Desperation is like a bad smell. It seeps into everything and you just can’t hide it. There is nothing less attractive than the disgusting smell of desperation. It says, “I will be anything and everything you want me to be and you will never have to chase me.” No self respecting person will stay with that. Everyone loves a good chase, it’s instinctual. The reason that guy adores the girl in the heels is because she is giving him a run for his money, and if he ever gets a hold of her, she will still fight him to the very end. If she ever concedes for a moment, she loses him, and she knows it. Even women love a good chase every now and then. Ever watched your girlfriend ignore an attractive man’s advances only to flirt with him when he takes them away? It’s a game and a lot of people love it.

This does not mean that people don’t love the genuine person. Lies are a big turn off in any relationship. The reason so many people seem to date jerks is because they know, up-front, what they are getting into. There is no smoke and mirrors. If the jerk is just out for sex, they have said so upfront. Why can they say these things without any repercussion? One word. Confidence. Being happy with yourself means you can be totally honest. If someone doesn’t like total honesty, you move on and live life.

In the end other people will love you because you have loved yourself.

It’s what people respond to. Confidence, honesty, can couple with kindness to make a nice person. Give those jerks a run for their money. Yes, sometimes things that seem too good to be true are. Be the exception to the rule.

What do you think? Comment below to share your thoughts, stories, break-ups, relationships and anything else you think is relevant to this!

This guest post is by William Eve.

Death not only affects our friends and family members anymore. When someone dies, there are literally hundreds and sometimes thousands of people – wondering – where did that person go? Posts go unwritten and shared, but that person keeps showing up in our feeds, on our friends list and even when we go to their profile. Why? Well, because most likely that person died, and their profile is still sitting in cyberspace, very much still alive. What happens to the Social Media Policies when you die?

The Reasoner covered this topic in 2009 in the form of asking: If you die, what will happen to your online accounts?

New rules have been put in place, recently – by most of the social media sites to modify this uncomfortable situation. I mean, imagine how family members feel every time they log into Facebook or Twitter and see their deceased relatives profiles or tweets over and over, knowing this person they loved, has moved on.

This is what prompted some of the most popular media sites to take action. Even though a huge percentage of Facebook users profiles are not alive – most offer alternatives to try to dissuade this painful situation.

Facebook

It has been estimated that in 2010, over five million profiles are of deceased people. With the growth they have experienced, hitting a recent 700 million users, it’s no wonder.

Facebook is having a really hard time keeping up with the deceased, however there is an alternative, first if you are a family member, and second, if you have all the ‘right stuff’ you can memorialize your loved one’s profile.

You have to fill a form, and give them the members user name, password and a death certificate and they’ll close the account to new friends, so that existing friends and family can view the posts, add condolences, and the profile will no longer show up in searches.

Facebook also offers an ‘If I Die’ application that will allow a ‘live’ member to choose 3 friends that will be given access to their profile, as well as instructions on what the user wants. (Account deleted or memorialized).

Twitter

Twitter offers an easier solution to removing an account/profile, as keeping a twitter account open is even less sensible than Facebook because just tweets are stored there. Twitter allows deletion of a family members account with notification of death by link to an obituary, or death certificate, as well as the members username and password. Just go to Twitter’s help section for more instructions and where to send information.

Social Media Policies When You Die – Infographics

Here is the now extremely popular infographics that we created showing how to prepare for death in the social media policy-enforced world:

MySpace

MySpace, although not used as frequently anymore, at least not as much as Facebook, does have a death policy, which will allow a family member to delete a profile. Their ‘death policy’ states that only a family member or executor can remove a profile.>

They don’t allow access or updates but if you have the user ID or email account, you can retrieve the password by clicking here.

If you don’t have that info, you might want to make sure you have proof of your relationship to the deceased, as well as a death certificate or copy of the obituary. They will also accept a link to a URL with a publication of the death, or funeral home website.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn makes it a little easier for family members to close an account, that is if you have the account login information. However, if you don’t, they will need to be notified of the death of a user, faxed a complete death verification and gaining access has a whole other list of rules.

Google +

Google + is the newest craze in social media, and done extremely well. For those who dislike Facebook, or need a change, there is an alternative!

Their goal is to connect people securely, through ‘Circles”, which are friend circles you can categorize by work, friends, etc. – and “huddle” now simply called ‘Messenger’ which is a group messaging system, as well as the cool “hangouts” that allow quite a few people at once, to chat in specific chat rooms of their interest.

Their photo upload system is the best in the world, but then, what else would you expect from Google?

Their policy on death? Well it’s a bit cumbersome, however it has been upgraded since November 2011 to make it a little easier on family members. But a reading their death policy would be most beneficial, as it is still full of quite a few requirements.

What do you think about social media policies and their effect after you die?

Regardless of which avenue of socialization via the Internet you choose, each one has begun a new and different death policy for those who have left us. They have a long way to go with death, and hopefully will catch up soon so that the skeletons of the past are not popping up to torment us daily.

Learn more about social media policies on death with this Digital Death blogazine from Life Insurance Finder.

Stop hiding from people if you want a happier life and if you want happiness.

There is no other way to emphasize something as important as this without stating it directly. Regardless of your goals, wants or needs, this one major negative element in your life will ultimately affect everything else in your life negatively.

In fact, this major element of hiding from people in your life, is what affects your daily life, all your actions, and your future.

We prefer hiding from people. We do it daily. We accept it as being so normal that we do not even think about its existence. We just react to it as if we had a life dedicated to hiding from others. This fear that makes us hide from others, for any reason, is actually making us fail at almost every great opportunity that comes our way. For every person we claim we like hanging out with, there are probably 2 people out there we hide from.

Phone, emails, txts, in person, on the road, online, people around us, etc: we like hiding for various reasons wherever we are. We hide from bill collectors, people who honk at us, people we find annoying, people who forward us annoying emails, other students who may make fun of us, kids who may bully us at parties, and many other groups of people. When we hide from others, everything we do in life revolves around the fact that we’re afraid. How can our life be productive, minimalistic, or even happy when it is based around fear?

Such fear ensures that all your goals, dreams and efforts in life are always inferior to what they could be.

While we may not be able to control the outcome of an uncomfortable situation, we can definitely change the way we react to people related to the situations in question.

Chill. Relax.

Living in fear by hiding from others - like a cat?

Think about this question always:

If I don’t hide, will I die?

If the answer is no, why are you afraid?

You have to face the fear of hiding from people in one simple way: think about the situation, realize your fear is harming your life, and then start living. Stop worrying about what others may think or how uncomfortable dealing with some situation may be. It is actually not our logical thought or even feeling that makes us hide most of the time. It is fear. Fear is an emotional reaction to something we think can harm us mentally, physically or in some other manner.

We try not to scream or cry all the time. We try not to laugh all the time. We try not to eat out every hour of the day. We try not to sleep 24 hours a day. We try not to talk 24 hours a day. We even try not to think of our dead friends and close ones after they die.

We do, however, keep living in fear of others and keep on hiding. We prefer holding onto that emotional outburst called “fear” more than than any other emotional outburst or trend in life.

3 years ago I realized I had developed a strong tendency, for a long time, to hide from many groups of people including bill collectors, unknown or blocked calls, malls and places where certain people hung out, and even people I knew who forwarded me useless emails. I was living in fear. Last year I decided to get rid such an unhealthy behavior in my life. This year, I finally started acting on such a decision. I answer all calls now, I reply to all annoying emails to tell annoying people I know to not contact me, and I also go anywhere I want regardless of who else goes there, in addition to many, many other things. I simply do not care anymore, or I try not to.

It is amazing how much more happiness I have in my life now, compared to when I was living a life hiding from others.

Stop Hiding from People. Start Acting. Make the Act of Hiding from Others React to You.

If you’re hiding from others, you’re limiting yourself in everything you do. It’s very simple to stop hiding and to jump into the solutions right away. Here are some practical tips and areas to focus on how you can get started:

Are you ready to stop living in fear?

1. Answer all phone calls at least once. Tell bill collectors to work with you or to get lost. Tell annoying people you’re busy and that you’ll let them know later when they can call you. Answer blocked or unknown calls at least once to find out who it is.

   Once you face any phone call at least once, you can then happily ignore it. Ignoring something happily after practically dealing with it once is better and different than living a life hiding in fear.

2. Go out in public happily. There is no need to hide from others, regardless of your looks, height, weight, gender, clothes, personality or character. Simply ignore others. Why should you have to fear others when you go out?
3. Reply to annoying emails sent to you by people you know. Let them know you’re not interested in such emails. Why would you want to revolve and waste your life around hiding from a few pixels on your monitor screen?
4. Tell people who annoy you to go away. Tell people what you’re thinking directly in order to stop things from proceeding. If you feel you may end up getting into a fight, get someone else involved to talk to that person on your behalf while you’re there. Make sure you do’t get into any argument or fight, and let the other 3rd person do the talking for you. It’s better to get help and have someone else help you get over the fear of others than to keep on hiding.
5. Start doing whatever you want with your life. You’re 60 and want to go ice skating? Go ahead. Want to go eat and see a movie by yourself? Do it. Want to ask someone out in front of everyone? Ask today! Want to dress differently than what society expects your age, gender, class, color or identification to dress like? Dress away.
6. Start calling people you don’t want to, but have to. Cancel credit cards you don’t need, negotiate your current insurance plan, tell the bad news you have to tell someone, cancel appointments don’t want anymore, and more. Start calling. Get things done so that your life can have less negative obstacles on the way to happiness.

Who are you hiding from, and why?

Fear is an emotional reaction that in my view should make us more cautious and prepare us more to handle a situation in a manner where the outcome can be more beneficial to us. We, however, hold on to fear as if it is the outcome we want. We don’t have to, though, and we can choose not to. We just have to think and realize first that we have such a choice. Then we have to act.

Which people, companies, elements in life do you hide from? Why are you hiding from them? Would you like to stop being afraid of such people? Do you think such hiding and a life spent in fear provides any benefit?

Do you want to stop hiding from people? What’s stopping you from doing that?

Please share your thoughts on this in the comments below. You can come out of hiding to comment, by the way. Start living.

Thanks for reading!

Republic Wireless just opened up their $19 / month unlimited minutes, unlimited text and unlimited data plan. The social media world has been clogged with thousands of posts about this for the last 2 weeks. The idea is very promising: offering unlimited minutes so you can call anyone or receive phone calls, unlimited outgoing and incoming text messages, and unlimited online browsing and data usage, and all for only $19 a month without any contract. The biggest and most important part of the news is the way this will work: over wi-fi networks.

The idea is not completely new. Vonage tried and is continuing to try something similar: offering a home phone service all via your home internet connection. Republic Wireless takes that to the next level: allowing you to carry a cell phone anywhere you want and connect primarily through wi-fi networks to make your calls, send and receive txts, and consume as much data as you wish. Republic Wireless says that everything is offers is unlimited, and there is no limit on anything.

Now that the service and the details are official out, it is time to ask: Is Republic Wireless really unlimited?

The Catch – Limited Cellular Usage

In the “Republic Wireless – What’s the Catch?” section, the company tells you that everything is unlimited, and that you can call, txt and go online as much as you want. However, this is where things get interesting: Republic Wireless tells you that anytime there is no wi-fi signal, you’ll be on the Sprint cellular network, like any regular Sprint cell phone user. And if, while being without wi-fi and being on the Sprint cell towers, you go over 550 voice minutes (incoming or outgoing, including voicemail), 150 texts (incoming or outgoing), and 300mb of data (all the data usage on your phone from updates to social networking to email and more), you’ll be given a warning to bring down your usage or find another provider.

Here lies the problem: Republic Wireless is NOT unlimited. Since there is a tremendous amount of shortage of wi-fi access compared to actual cell phone tower access, you’ll most probably always end up using Sprint cell towers for calls, txts or any data usage, anytime you leave your house, assuming that your house has wi-fi. The last time I checked, anytime I leave the house, I have limited access to wi-fi. Also, even if you live in a city like San Francisco where there are more wi-fi access points on each block than the number of Starbucks in the entire city (yes, that many!), most or all of them are secure. That means they are locked. That means you cannot access the internet via them.

Wi-fi access in America is still very limited

All this means your wi-fi cell Republic Wireless cell phone will work only when you are on a wi-fi network that you are allowed to connect to. Ever imagine why so many people run to Starbucks to play on their laptops? They get their drug dose and they get wi-fi at the same time. That tells you how our current state of wi-fi currently is. We have wi-fi at places like McDonald’s, Starbucks, and even on trains like BART. Here is the problem with wi-fi networks:

• Wi-fi networks are not always free. That means many or most of the wi-fi networks you can access will be locked.
• Majority of public wi-fi networks require you to sign up OR perform extra steps via the browser to start using them. This means you can’t simply be in a wi-fi network and expect your phone to work instantly.
• Ever test the range of the wi-fi in your home itself? It’s very limited. Every time you go out, walking even 10 feet probably means the wi-fi you were on is now history. Your phone needs to find a new wi-fi every minute of your walk, OR it will start using the Sprint cellular network.
• When was the last time you found a free public wi-fi everywhere you went, ate, drove, watched a movie (oooooh, keeping the cell phone on during a movie, are we? ), got gas (do gas stations still blow up via cell phones ringing?), bought grocery, went to the beach, walked in a museum, took the train, took the bus, or simply went out for a walk or driving? Majority of all such times were probably without any wi-fi access. With Republic Wireless, all such times and places will result in your phone using the Sprint cellular network.
• Republic Wireless says you need around 80kbps both ways (download and upload) to be able to have a call that does not get dropped. Even if you get wi-fi access publicly or anywhere, your call, text and data quality (of transfer for data) and reliability (of processing successfully) will depend on the amount of bandwidth your actual cell phone will have on that wi-fi network. If there is even one other person on the wi-fi, chances are your wi-fi speeds will not be great. It will probably be over 80kbps, though add in text messages and full time data usage on an Android phone that is required to have with Republic Wireless, and you’ll start realizing you need another wi-fi network nearby or that you want to switch to cellular usage.

Unless you do not use your phone that much the whole day and are rarely on the move, or unless you move a lot but do not use your phone that much at all and can wait till you get to a wi-fi, you will most probably be using the Sprint cell towers regularly and probably every hour of the day. You will be counting down your 7-day limit of 550 minutes, 150 text and 300mb of data every day probably. This may not be much for many people, though in today’s day and age of social networking where we are on Facebook, Twitter and now Google Plus a lot, in addition to checking our Gmail every second of the day, 300mb of data is nothing.

What happens when you cross that limit? Republic Wireless will warn you, and then kick you

Bes Zain's Evo usage, on Sprint, in less than 5 hours

That coziness of course comes with the price of being kicked out of the community anytime, legally, if you start doing too much in the community.

Republic Wireless calls it the “It’s not us. It’s you.” phenomenon. It will definitely teach you how to break up with your next girl/boyfriend with more confidence and without the runaround.

“It’s not us. It’s you.” : If you do not bring down your cellular network usage after the warning, you’ll be told to find another company to go with. For me, my cell phone company has to be reliable and truly unlimited. I cannot afford (physically and mentally) to always be on the lookout to not go over my cell phone provider limits, or to always be scared that I can be booted by the company so easily. You can see my data usage from this morning alone in the picture in this post. I had my wi-fi on for a little bit when I installed those network monitoring apps (installed at different times), and then I switched back to the cell network for data usage.

In less than 5 hours, since I installed those apps to monitor my usage, I was in a total of 155 minutes of phone calls, 128 txts (yes, I can send less than what I receive) and had a total of 337.8mb of data usage (253.7mb on the cellular network and 84.1mb on the wi-fi). All of this was from around 7:15am to around 11:29am. By the way, this includes the time I’m on my laptop, which means I am not on my phone as much. If I was on the Republic Wireless network, I would probably be arrested, tied up and thrown out of the Republic Wireless community gates instead of being sent a warning email. Some communities are not meant for you. At least Republic Wireless does not seem to be safe enough for me.

The Phone: LG Optimus

Your Republic Wireless plan comes with an LG Optimus S. Yes, this is the same phone that Sprint offers with one major difference: Republic Wireless seems to have actually modified the hardware and the software to have all calls, internet usage, and text messages route via wi-fi first. If there is no available wi-fi, then the phone will tap into the Sprint cell towers to start behaving like a regular Sprint-network LG Optimus phone.

Katie has an LG Optimus S at the moment. We are with Sprint directly (paying the full premium price for the premium plans), and I have to say: LG Optimus S sucks. There are many other ways to describe the phone, but that is the most professional way for me that does justice to describe what the phone defines for me. It constantly crashes, the battery needs to be taken out to restart, and the actual screen display shows jibberish constantly now after a few months of usage regardless of what rom I put on it (stock or cyanogenmod). It is not a phone I recommend to anyone. Of course, the models that Sprint handed out when Katie got that phone may have been poor quality, or that phone alone may have been bad. Republic Wireless says that it has modified the phone, so hopefully that will mean enhancements.

Republic Wireless changing the actual software may also mean one thing: absolutely no rooting for your Android unless someone starts working on Republic Wireless LG Optimus S specifically. Depending on the number of people actually using Republic Wireless, this could change. The rooting community always bases its work on the number of people out there using the product, and the age of the product. LG Optimus S model itself is now (as of this week) over a year old: it was first released on on October 31st, 2010. Republic Wireless may actually be breathing new life into this specific brand model. If there are no custom roms out for the Republic Wireless LG Optimus within the next few months, there may never be. Republic Wireless has made it clear that the LG Optimus is only one of the first phones it plans to roll out. When the next phone comes out, LG Optimus will be even more outdated. If you’re wanting an Android phone just to root it, this phone may NOT be the one you want.

Currently, the $199 you pay for the phone includes the first month’s $19 service fee.

Remember, though: if you cancel your contract, you’ll have a Republic Wireless and Sprint enabled LG Optimus phone on your hands. Try selling that to someone else these days after you cancel.

Does Bes recommend Republic Wireless?

Republic Wireless is cool to test out. It may also be very cool for people who know, for a fact, that they are always in a wireless network that they have access to. Otherwise, you always have your emergency minutes, txts and data usage allotted to you by Republic Wireless to be used on the Sprint cellular network.

Republic Wireless is like MetroPCS with a Vonage type twist. If Republic Wireless support is anything like MetroPCS support, I recommend you stay away. No, don’t stay away. Run away. However, it seems currently Republic Wireless is more polished than MetroPCS at the moment. Only time and actual support will let you and others know how Republic Wireless support actually fares. Remember how MetroPCS currently behaves: they offer unlimited minutes, data plans and texts, but they also offer horrible support. If anyone gave me MetroPCS service as a gift, I will sit them down and ask them why they are mad at me. No joking: that’s how a company before Republic Wireless fares out these days. Hopefully Republic Wireless can add more than just wi-fi to its cell phone plan.

Republic Wireless aims to do the same thing as other cheaper cell phone services with one distinction: wi-fi technology. Let’s see if it works out. I really hope it does. I have been moaning on Twitter for over a year that I would love to have tablets like the iPad make actual phone calls (using cellular networks), which would result in me getting rid of my phone instantly. Maybe Republic Wireless initiative is the first big step towards having devices use wi-fi for actual cellular network actions. If Republic Wireless comes out with a tablet doing the exact same thing, I’ll probably jump in right away and buy that tablet on day 1. I may not ditch my phone immediately, though I’ll still get such a tablet.

• If you make very few phones calls and go online only occasionally, yes, get this deal.

  The brand new Republic Wireless with its new shiny and modified LG Optimus (S) phone may be one of the best chances for you to get a smartphone, get an Android and get an awesome plan.

• If you are a heavy user, or a bit like me, no, do not get this deal.

  Stay away from this deal unless you know you’ll regularly be around around wi-fi access points that you can actual tap into. At only $19 / month, however, this phone may be a very good way to test things. The $199 one time fee, however, destroys that awesome “Ooooh I can test this for $19 only!” feeling.

What do you think? Are you truly free with Republic Wireless?

How is the wi-fi network in your life and part of the planet? Do you think Republic Wireless is perfect for you? Will you get Republic Wireless? Do you see any similarities among Republic Wireless, Vonage and MetroPCS? Would you recommend Republic Wireless as a gift to someone who does not use their phone that much? Do you have many wi-fi hotspots available with full access to you in your daily moves?

The big question: would you be happy to get Republic Wireless as a gift from someone this holiday season?

Let me and others know what you think in the comments below. Thanks for reading! Hopefully you were reading this on your cell phone on wi-fi (unless you’re not on Republic Wireless).

This guest post is by Brandy Olson.

There’s been a lot of talk about the perpetual state of the unemployment rate in this country. When that mixes with the record level of college enrollment seen in the United States, including online programs such as online accounting degree and business degree programs, the resulting thought can be a little bit more than intimidating. But it’s abundantly clear that when jobs do return, they will almost exclusively return for the college educated. It’s come down to a choice between almost certain defeat and an uphill battle. Statistics don’t lie: it doesn’t matter if we’re talking about business degrees, accounting degrees, or even English degrees, having a diploma is guaranteed to significantly improve your chances of getting a job.

Here are some additional reasons why now is absolutely the time to get yourself enrolled in a four year college or graduate program:

FINANCIAL AID HAS NEVER BEEN EASIER AND MORE SECURE

In 2010, the government made big changes to the way financial aid is disbursed to college students, essentially taking private banks out of federal loan equations. This is projected to lower interest rates and reduce the overall amount of student loan debt college graduates acquire by the end of their academic careers. In addition, faithful payment for two decades results in the leftover balance being forgiven. Never has getting the money for school been easier to get and dutifully pay back. It’s time for you to think and start acting now.

THE MORE YOU KNOW, THE MORE YOU MAKE

The higher your academic achievement, the more money you’re likely to earn throughout your lifetime. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics those with a PhD earn nearly $15,000 more annually than those with a Masters, and the numbers keep reducing from there. Sure, more school means more student loan debt to pay back, but the debt does not increase as exponentially as your earnings do. In addition, the aforementioned adjustments in student loans will reduce this burden in the long-term.

THE OFFICE JOB IS GETTING OLD

Plenty of people don’t see the value of a college education if it means that they will be sitting at a desk for eight hours a day once they receive their degree. If that’s the end result, they aren’t interested nor motivated. But that end result is changing because the business dynamic itself is changing. Increased mobility and reliance on cloud systems is giving businesses the incentive to give their employees more freedom to do their job. Sure, you might have to sit at a desk at some point, but eventually the desk is going to become obsolete. Therefore, you should not consider college a death sentence.

College is a gateway to a better life. Without it you’re destined to fight it out for the few scraps that our modern society has left for everyone else. Tough times are ahead: no doubt about it, but you can make it a little easier on yourself by getting back to school in the meantime. There are plenty of reasons to do so.

What do you think?

Everyone has online friends. Or almost everyone. These days the craze is over at Google+. You or at least one of your online “friends” is searching for a Google+ invite this very moment. Or they are already on Google+ adding others right now. Regardless, the craze is to find a good new social network and to start adding people. It seems the more people you have on your “friends” list online, the more popular or important you seem online, even if you never, ever interact with your online “friends” from your “friends” list.

This trend started from MySpace and Xanga probably, or even before, carried onto Twitter and Facebook, and now it lives in Google+ also. It will keep on going, since people want more “friends” online. As long as having “friends” makes you more popular than having no audience online, you will want more “friends.”

What I’ve been wondering is how the word “friend” has lost its real meaning. Almost 99.99% of everyone on your Facebook profile is not actually your real friend. They just say “friend” to imply friendship, without actually having any friendship. It’s easy to type “lol” or “awww! I’m sorry!” online just to portray an emotion that actually isn’t there. People have clung on to such “friendship” emotions online, citing them as “friends.”

In reality, most of the “online friends” are nothing more than pixels on your monitor. They are nothing like the “real offline friends”, that the online world rarely wants you to think about unless it involves the online “seasonal” friends too.

The real question for me then becomes: how many real offline friends do you have?

Classification of Real Offline Friends

There are so many classifications people use to classify someone as “friend”, it’s either literally impossible to list them all, or very hard to list them in one single sentence. “Being there for you” does not classify as a friend, as your maid or chauffeur could be there for you too. “Being there for you for free” won’t work either, since even friends hang out with you because they get something in return: “good friendship” or “good experience.” We can cover that topic another day.

In the meantime, here are some ground rules to help you decide how many real friends, or real offline friends, you really have:

1. You must know them offline, obviously.
2. You must hang out with them at least once a month on an almost regular basis.
3. Your co-workers are not your friends unless you do all the things with them that you also do with your non-co-worker friends or family.
4. You must have non-co-worker friends. Yep, this automatically kicks out so many of the self-proclaimed “online geeks.” If all your friends are co-workers, you really don’t have real friends. That’s not bad though, even if society thinks not having friends sucks.
5. No seasonal friends. You cannot have seasonal friends. Someone you hang out with for a while and then move on to find someone else doesn’t count. So any existing or new people who are just seasonal don’t count.

How many real offline friends do you really have?

Based on the above, or your own imagination, how many real offline friends do you really have? What kind of friends do you consider to be real offline friends?

Share your answers, thoughts or any questions in the comments below. Thanks!

I can say with 100% certainty that you ate something in the last 24 hours. Unless you’re starving somewhere, chances are you eat 2 or 3 times a day. We cook at home and we go out to eat. Going to a restaurant to eat, while fulfilling our craving to survive, is like an enjoyable experience for us, like a joy ride. And in that joy ride, surprisingly, we usually have come to pay more attention to the people who bring the food than the food itself.

If you get a happy, polite waiter, you will most probably consider your dining experience a good one. Get an impolite waiter or someone who ignores you, and you may consider your trip a waste of time and money, even if the food was good. Not only that, but at the end of every such experience, you come face to face with the bill that creates the most difficult question for you.

“How much should I leave as a tip for this waiter?”

Should you always tip waiters?

I’ve already talked about the rude things waiters do, and the rude things customers do to waiters. Now you tell me and everyone else what you think of the idea of always tipping waiters.

[poll id="2"]

Reasons to Tip Waiters

1. They do not get paid enough.
2. You are paying for the food. Anything a waiter does, good or bad, is basically something extra you get in addition to your paid food.
3. It shows appreciation.
4. Waiters go back and forth just to get you water, sauces, condiments and napkins anytime you want them.
5. Waiters anywhere [including Baristas] deal with your [the customers'] annoying behavior. An example of some things the Baristas [Starbucks version of cashiers and waiters] face daily:

   Click here to view the embedded video.

Reasons to Not Tip Waiters

1. They get paid already.
2. They fake politeness and courtesy just to get paid.
3. Waiters expect to get tips even after providing bad service.
4. You already pay for the food and the service. Why pay extra to an employee of the company?
5. You are spoiling the restaurant owner into paying their waiters less.

Do You Always Tip Waiters?

What is your view on the concept of tipping waiters? Do you always tip waiters as an obligation?

Cast your vote above. Share your tips [non-monetary], thoughts or any questions below. Thanks for reading!

4th of July is USA’s Independence Day, when America called and considered itself a free nation. It probably can’t get much simpler than that in terms of the definition. Celebrating Independence Day is now a tradition where people in America [or other countries for their Independence Day] get together for parties, food barbecue or for fireworks to mark the anniversary of becoming a separate country. For millions of people, it is as important or sometimes even more important than any religious event.

Today, millions of people in America will either be setting off fireworks themselves or watching others do it. It’s a trend that many call “a family tradition.” This trend is so popular that many people define their “patriotism” by it. For such people, you’re not an American if you don’t celebrate Independence Day. At the same time, there is a growing number of people who do not celebrate Independence Day. They have their own reasons, also listed below.

To get a solid idea of why you celebrate or don’t celebrate Independence Day, let’s go through 5 reasons why others do and don’t celebrate it.

5 Famous Reasons We Celebrate 4th of July

Following are some reasons why many people celebrate the 4th of July, and the mentality behind such reasons.

Do you celebrate Independence Day? Why or Why Not?

1. America is the most realistic and true Land of the Free on this planet for people of all skin. Sure, racism is here, but it’s less than anywhere else in the world. Even in cities and towns with full-fledged racism and discrimination, people are legally allowed to do things they wish as long as it does not physically hurt others. Many people feel they should celebrate that.
2. America gives us rights. There are more rights and laws protecting different segments of the society than anywhere else in the world. Even illegal immigrants and convicted murderers have legal rights here. No where else on Earth do you have more rights for different minorities and even illegal immigration, sometimes more than legal residents or citizens, than in America. Again, many people feel that is worth celebrating.
3. America is the land of opportunities and land of success. No other country offers more opportunities to people who are willing to try harder and harder and go through all the red tape. Sure, the red tape is there, but you can still get by it with legal means available to everyone.
4. Celebrating 4th of July celebrates our ancestors. 99.99% of America is not directly blood related to the people who wrote and voted on the Declaration of Independence. However, for millions of Americans, not celebrating 4th of July would mean an insult to the “founding fathers.”
5. America offers happiness and safety. No matter who you are, you can find a place in America where you will enjoy safety and happiness. America is like Disneyland for many: anywhere else would be less happy. The happiest place on earth for them is America.

6 Popular Reasons We Don’t Celebrate 4th of July

Contrary to popular belief, the number of people not celebrating Independence Day is on the rise. Look around you. At least one of your friends or co-workers, who celebrated Independence Day before, will not be celebrating 4th of July this year. You and they’re not <a href="alone; an increasing number of Americans are deciding not to celebrate Independence Day. All of their reasons vary, though. Following are some of the more popular reasons:

1. Celebrating Independence Day glorifies war and military conquest for some people. Since almost all wars that America has fought have been against less civilized or technologically advanced countries, many people believe that celebrating Independence Day only promotes conquering other nations.
2. 4th of July promotes the modern concept of a state that relies on capitalism and corruption. Many people associate 4th of July with the increase in corruption within America. Many of such people also oppose celebrating Independence Day because they believe there is nothing good worth celebrating.
3. Promotes the genocide of the “real” Americans, called the “Native Americans.” This is the most basic and powerful fundamental reason that millions of people think daily. America itself claimed independence from the then British Empire, while taking independence away from the Americans, whom we now call “Native Americans”, who lived in America because Columbus landed here.
4. For many people, celebrating 4th of July does nothing to help end racism. The melting pot and promotion of personal cultures has done almost nothing to stop the growing tension and divide between different racial lines. For many people, racism is a daily fact and thus they do not want to celebrate it.
5. Many consider it a brainwashing patriotic or religious gesture. Many people believe in democracy more than patriotism and thus, for them celebrating a flag or a country more than the people who formed it is meaningless. Same is the case with the religious side: many people think such an occasion promotes Christianity, and thus such people do not get involved in it.
6. Many have lost interest in celebrating America. This is something you can see daily. People focus on ways to make money, pay off their debt, buy that new car, find new friends, eliminate online headaches and more. There is so much focus on other things in life that for many people celebrating 4th of July is like praying: many simply don’t care anymore about the topic.

Why do you, or don’t, celebrate the 4th of July?

What do you think of the 4th of July? Do you celebrate it for one of the reasons above, or do you have some other reasons? Do you not celebrate 4th of July for any of the reasons above, or do you have your own reasons for that?

Share your thoughts, questions or any views in the comments below. Thanks!