Photoshop

In general, Photoshop (or any other photo editing software) is great. You can fix smudges, get rid of glare, adjust colors, make funny captions, etc. These features are nice, but at the same time it can be a love-hate relationship.
Call me old fashioned, but I like looking at pictures of places I've been, people I've gone there with, and the things I've done and saying to myself, "That's how it looked." I like to see what it actually looked like...not some fairytale land. For instance, our wedding pictures. Awesome. Seriously could not have been better. However, when I'm flipping through them there are some where the colors have clearly been enhanced. Don't get me wrong, it makes a great picture, but was that "how it looked"? No. And that's fine. It was a beautiful sunny day that I will never forget. I really didn't need Photoshop to make it any better.
Photo editing is great, but just be careful. Sometimes you just can't make the real-deal any better.

The Apple iPad (Update)

Today Apple released it's newest product...the iPad. It's essentially a ginormous iPod touch with the option of getting 3G data. Overall, it's pretty cool, I suppose. Seems well built and is easy on the eyes. However, I think they have a few problems on their hands:

1. Limited market. Right now I just don't see a very big market for this. This is clearly Apple's shot at the netbook market. It's essentially a web-surfing device that starts at $499. (Netbooks are half the price with better hardware specs. Granted, the iPhone OS is possibly worth the premium on its own.) I can kind of see why some people would like this for around the house or traveling; but for me it's a hard sell. If you have a laptop already, I don't think there is any way this appeals to you. Your laptop has way more functionality (it's a real computer) and nearly just as portable. So why would you need to drop another $499 for this? You don't. If you already have an iPod touch/iPhone, the iPad doesn't bring much to the table except a bigger screen, and better iWork functionality, which would only apply to a very small group of people I would have to think. If all you had was a desktop and an iPod touch/iPhone, I could maybe see the iPad being appealing to you. This is obviously what Apple is banking on.
2. No multitasking. Granted, this may come with iPhone OS 4.0, but even basic netbooks can multitask.
3. No camera. You would think there would be at least a front facing camera for video chat, no? If there was ever a device made for video chat, this would be it. On top of that, this is obviously portable enough that you could take it anywhere you normally go with a backpack, this would be perfect for taking pictures, and then sharing them via 3G when on the road.
4. No flash. I hate flash websites. They bog down my computer no matter what I'm using. But the fact of the matter is, flash is pretty popular and the iPad doesn't support it. Most other netbooks do.
5. Hard Drive storage. This thing is obviously targeted for multimedia usage: photos, music, games, movies, ebooks, etc. Starting at only 16 GB, that could fill up very quickly. If they double that we could start making a case for it.
6. Last but not least, the name. Seriously, iPad? What were they thinking? The last thing I want to be reminded of every time I use my new, cool device, is a feminine product. Well, Apple has just made my worst nightmare come true. Thanks.

I guess I can see how some people could find this useful, but there isn't anything mind-blowing about it. No matter if you love it or hate it, one thing is for sure; NEVER buy 1st generation products from Apple. They inevitably drop the price and/or add more features and/or upgrade the specs within the first few months. Look at the original iPhone. Within two months they dropped the price by $200. If you were patient enough to wait for the 2nd gen iPhone, you were treated to a far superior device. I learned my lesson with the 1st gen unibody Macbooks. Within a couple of months Apple added firewire and an SD card slot. Never again, Apple, never again.

• Update: You know what? After digging a little deeper and watching this video of the iPad in action, I may be changing how I feel about it. It does seem to be a really slick and user friendly way of browsing the web and viewing multimedia; which is exactly what Apple was planning on. To be used as a stay-connected-email-facebook-twitter-multimedia-viewer it seems more than capable. I wouldn't be surprised if it sells really well. This looks like it would be the perfect size to take on a plane to watch movies or play games with. This could be the perfect product for Apple to attract new customers that haven't taken the plunge for an iPod, iPhone or Macbook. It won't appeal to the "power" business users, but I don't think Apple intended it to. Besides the lack of a market, I still stand behind my original arguments. Also, even with becoming more favorable towards the iPad, I would still wait for the 2nd generation!
  

High Fructose Corn Syrup

I don't know if you've seen them, but there are now commercials on TV promoting the use of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). I find this disturbing, at best. The problem isn't necessarily with HFCS itself (though, there is evidence that suggests your body is negatively affected by how it processes HFCS); the problem with HFCS is that it is almost exclusively found in processed foods. Many beverages and other processed foods made with HFCS are high in calories and low in nutritional value. Regularly including these products in your diet has the potential to promote obesity; which, in turn, promotes conditions such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

The commercials that I've seen are no doubt trying to make a correlation between HFCS and eating foods containing it as being "healthy". Their main argument: it comes from corn. Using that argument, manure must be good to eat too...it comes from a cow!

True, if you look it up there will be "studies" that show HFCS is no more dangerous than natural sugar. First of all, as mentioned above, HFCS alone isn't the entire problem. Second, these studies are heavily sponsored (i.e., influenced) by the HFCS industry. If I want to know the risks/benefits of snake oil, I surely won't be asking scientists that are sponsored by snake oil salesmen.

To wrap it up...please don't fall for the hype. High fructose corn syrup is primarily used in processed foods. Processed foods are bad for you. The rest should be easy to figure out!


Source 1 Source 2 Source 3

Google Voice updates iPhone web app

Until today, Google Voice on the iPhone was a pain, to say the least. This long awaited update mirrors the Gmail web app that Google has been running for quite some time now. They have incorporated use of HTML5 to make it run faster and better functioning apps right from your browser. For example, browsing contacts has become much more user friendly as there is now a "Top" list that is automatically populated with your most frequently contacted people.
It is by no means perfect, though. It still looks like there is no instant notification capability, which is a pretty big problem for most users. However, short of a native iPhone app, this is about as good as it can get. Watch the video for a quick tour:



Or, visit the official Google Voice Blog for the full press release.

Expenseus.com

Ever go on a trip with a group of people and tried to equally share some of the costs? Yeah, me too. Did it all work out? Kind of. It can be a pretty big hassle trying to keep track of everything, huh? That's where Expenseus.com comes in. To quote part of their website:

      "Managing group expenses can be a social and logistical nightmare! If you are consistently spending money with the same people, you'll inevitably owe someone back, or they'll owe you. It's a hassle to keep track of all these exchanges, and when the time comes for reckoning how you stand with each other, it’s impossible to remember who owes whom, and everyone wonders if they got paid back."

Expenseus.com is an awesome web application that keeps track of all of the expenses for your group. Once everyone has entered in all of the expenses, you get a nice report showing the minimum amount of transactions needed to equal out all of the shared costs.

For example: Let's say Jimmy owes Bobby $10, and Bobby owes Suzie $10. Much of the time the transaction goes like this; Jimmy gives Bobby $10. Then, the next day Bobby gives that same $10 to Suzie. With Expenseus, the middle-man gets cut out. It knows that Jimmy should just pay Suzie $10 bucks and everything is square.

If you go on frequent group trips or consistently share expenses with the same people, this tool could be your next BFF. Best of all, the site is free to use!

Survival

Actually, S.U.R.V.I.V.A.L.

Size up the situation
Undo haste makes waste
Remember where you are
Vanquish fear and panic
Improvise
Value living
Act like the natives
Live by your wits

(Some quick background info...I took an outdoor survival class a couple of years ago, which was very informative.  One of the first things they taught us was the S.U.R.V.I.V.A.L. acronym.)

Over the last week or so, we've seen a few episodes of this show called I Shouldn't Be Alive. The episode we just saw was about two hikers that had gotten lost, and by dumb luck they made it out alive and even unhurt. They truly should not have been alive based on the decisions they made.  The thing I've noticed the most about the show, is that people end up in bad spots usually because they panic.

S.U.R.V.I.V.A.L. is a nice little acronym to remember, but it's not necessarily in order of importance. "Vanquish fear and panic" and "Value living" should be tied for #1, in my opinion. Once you've given up mentally, you're done. I Shouldn't Be Alive is sometimes counter-intuitive; usually people survive because they don't give up, but I've definitely seen a few shows (like today) where people survived despite giving up. Hopefully people are paying attention to what they are watching. I hope they are learning from people's mistakes, and not copying them!

"Mind over matter" is more real than most people realize. If you're in a survival situation and you think you're going to die, then you probably will.

San Luis Obispo expands tobacco laws

Give one up for fast moving government! (For once.) In December, the city council unanimously voted to adopt new no smoking and tobacco use laws. January 15th was the frist day that the expanded laws took effect within the city limits of SLO.

"The law bans smoking in any city park, all open spaces, and at sporting facilities. It also applies to dog parks, public transportation facilities, Mission Plaza and the creek walk."

The law mostly targets smokers, but also applies to any tobacco product, including chewing tobacco. (Not mentioned in the source link.)

Fines start at $100 for the first offense; $200 for the second; then $500 for each additional offense within a 12 month period.

Fun fact: In 1990, San Luis Obispo became the first municipality in the world to ban smoking in all public places. (Allegedly.)

Fun fact #2: SLO also has a "no drive-through" ordinance. Fast food, banks, ATMs, etc., are not allowed to have drive-throughs. That's right, your lazy butt has to walk if you want your double cheeseburger to-go in SLO.

Supposedly, there is going to be further consideration to expand the no smoking/tobacco use laws even more. There's talk that the entire downtown area (or even the entire city limits) could become a no smoking zone outside of private property. I'm all for no smoking, but this is a free country after all. I feel like these most recent laws are a good thing. But, expanding much more than this might be going too far. If you say it's illegal to walk down a public sidewalk and smoke at the same time, what's next? No bubble-gum chewing in public places? I guess we'll see what city council decides on. What do you think? Do these current laws go too far? Not far enough?

Original Source
Fun Facts Source

How to link multiple Gmail accounts

With everything that we involve ourselves in, many people end up having multiple email accounts used for different purposes. I personally have a "Friends & Family" email that I only give to my, you guessed it, friends & family. I then have a "Business" email that I use for everything else. So far the system has worked great. It keeps all of the email reminders that I get from my credit cards, cell phone bill, utilities, promotions, etc., separate from my personal email. This way it is easy to log into one account and see only the applicable emails.
However, after using this system for years (and having logged into and out of the two accounts countless times) I started looking for a better way to organize my digital mail. Also, now being in the age of mobile access, keeping track of multiple accounts was that more of a nuisance on my phone.
I finally settled on a simple but effective forwarding system. I now forward my mail from my Business account to my Friends & Family account. Then, by using the "Labels" and "Filters" in Gmail, I automatically organize my incoming mail. I then can reply to any message from my sole account and designate which email address I use to reply with. Pretty nice, huh? Here's what I did:

Step 1: Forward Your Secondary Email Address

1.  Log into your Secondary email account. In the upper right corner click on Settings.

2. Click on the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.

3. Under Forwarding, select the radio button: Forward a copy of incoming mail to

 

4. In the text box enter the email address you want your mail forwarded to. (Your primary email.)

5. The last drop-down menu gives you three options:

Select the appropriate option of your liking. I chose the Archive option for two reasons. One, it keeps the email so I can reference it later if needed. Two, it moves the email out of the Inbox. I like this, as it won't show up in two different inboxes on my iPhone.

Step 2: Set Up "Send mail as"

1.  Log into your Primary email account. In the upper right corner click on Settings.

2. Click on the Accounts and Import tab.

3. In the Send mail as section, click on the button Send mail from another address.

4. A new dialog box opens up. Enter the information for your Secondary email address.

5. Gmail makes you verify your secondary email address. Just follow the directions. (You will have to log into your secondary account to complete the verification process.)

That's it! If you want to stop here you can. Once you verify everything, your secondary email will now show up in your primary inbox. For some people stopping here will be fine. I like to be a little more organized though.

In my Primary account, I created a new label. (I just named it my secondary email. i.e., example@gmail.com). From there I created a new filter:

1. Under the Filters tab click, Create a new filter.

2. In the To: field, enter your Secondary email address.

3. Next is the Choose action page. Select the Apply the label: check-box. Choose the label you created for your Secondary email.

4. Click Create Filter.

Now you're really done! When an email comes in that was forwarded from your secondary account, it will automatically be labeled as such.

Also, in my opinion this is the best part; when you reply to an email you will have the option of changing which email account you reply with! You can send and receive for both accounts from one place!

With this setup, all of your digital mail is in one place, accessible any time, on any device that has internet access.  With the labels, you can easily separate each account if needed. And, if you ever want to go back to two separate accounts all you have to do is stop forwarding your email from your secondary account.

Even if you don't have two Gmail accounts, I imagine you can still do this. All you have to do is forward your non-Gmail to your Gmail; then follow the steps for creating labels and filters.

I've only been using this system for a short time, but so far I really like it. Hopefully it can help you too!

US Government launches Distraction.gov

Distraction.gov

Don't be a distracted driver!



Here's a much more graphic commercial put out by our friends across the pond: