Great Website For Book Readers

There are many websites out there and this is one of them.
Check this out Bartleby


This one is a great source of eBooks -- Click Here

Image: Dreamstime

Home Made Strawberry Juice

Image: Dreamstime

Over last 2 years, my weight increased significantly and my present goal is to get back into shape. The main reason I became overweight is because of my sedentary life style and in addition, lot of sugar intake in the form of carbonated beverages. I used to love walking and drinking lots of water some 4 years ago but due to change in my habits, water got replaced by coke and walk with driving a car. I have made some changes to my life style by bringing back some old habits like drinking water, walking again on purpose, and avoiding sugar beverages and so on. With that in mind, I started having fruit juices instead of coke. The fruit juices from Wal-Mart and other places have added sugar and so I decided to make fruit juices myself. I went to Publix, Kroger, Wal-Mart and other places to find some fruits but all of them were expensive except in Wal-Mart (in some cases). I think Kroger and Publix have good fruits but very expensive to me.So, I went to Aldi's to find some fruits and I was surprised to find good quality fruits at such a low price. I got 2 boxes of strawberries (@1$ each), cut them into pieces and placed them in the juicer. I did add lots of milk to it and a little bit of sugar for taste. I could make 8 glasses of juice for just 2$. Awesome right!!Try it yourself and let me know. 

My Kiddish Mind

Image: Dreamstime

When I was a kid some 20 years ago, I was alone in the crowd. I was more an observer in a passive fashion and always had only my point of view. As kids were then, I was ignorant and believed what I thought was right. I used to think that the whole world comes to a standstill when I don’t watch it. I used to think everything revolves around me and not other way round. I know for sure then that not even a branch of tree or water in a river moves without my presence. But sometimes I used to doubt that, if they stopped in my absence, how come trees grew from the last time. If I am that powerful how come I don’t get to have some Tea like my elders? But that didn’t bother me much as I was more interested in being a powerful kid.

I might sound stupid but I was just ignorant, I learnt overtime that, I am only part of this huge universe and it’s not about me. Everything happens at its pace, on its own and I had to adapt to that. Like everything else I had to act and react and that is my part, which I need to do right. It should get better with time, that’s it!!! Its life!!! I got reminded of my childhood and looking backwards is something that makes me laugh at myself and I am glad I don’t think like that anymore.

My Friday @ Thrifty Store

Image : Dreamstime

I Googled this word "Thrifty" to get multiple meanings and one of them being; Practicing or marked by the practice of thrift; wisely economical. Right, wisely economical, in my understanding it means being frugal. There are some stores which go by that name. They look cheap and not so classy. Sometime back I read an article about these stores and I was impressed by what you can get there. To be honest, nobody knows what you get there because it has got all the used and donated stuff. This stuff could be anything from decorative items to electronics. Ah!! I like the last word; “electronics”. I was feeling bored at home yesterday, as it was a Friday and had to spend all alone. So, I went to this store which is like couple of blocks away from my house.

         When I entered I felt like I got into a museum or something and felt very poor. But as I went through the aisles, I was immersed in the process of searching the unknown. When I went to the books section, it was not like in a Barnes and nobles store, where books are organized in a particular fashion. Here, psychology, history, cooking, personal development books and all other kinds are generously mixed. I had to rely on my eyes to find that gem which I might love to have. Some are 4.98, some are 3.98 and some are 1.98. After a bit of searching I found a book by Stephen covey for 1.98$ and it had some white tag. Then I went into the home décor section and I found a CD case (leather) for my car for 1.98$. Then I went to my favorite section, electronics. Believe me; it was like visiting an electronic store in 1950’s (with the help of a time machine).

          I should have taken some pictures (probably next time), but some old coffee makers, rice cookers, radios, TV’s and so on were displayed. I was fascinated by the development we had since those times. I found a 3 CD changer Stereo system with two big speakers for 12$. When I got to the check out area, the lady said “books are on discount sale” and so I got it for 1 dollar and the rest are on 40% sale. The thing to remember is, they cannot be returned once you buy. But, I was satisfied with my purchase and more so with my choice of visiting the store.

           There are many things that can be bought there, like art, shoes, clothes and so on. I would not prefer to buy any clothes or shoes but definitely will visit for books and electronics and some music CD’s. I will make it a point to visit this store regularly and surprise myself. It is much better to go here sometimes than to any regular store where we find what we expect. There was no thrill and fun in shopping anymore until I went to this place. I can’t buy everything I want here but definitely a good time pass visit.

Watching TV for Free

I used to have DirecTV subscription a while ago. After lot of thought I realized that, it is not for me. Firstly, it was expensive and secondly, I don’t get to see what I want even after paying 50$ or more a month. So, I called them and got rid of it and after that I searched Google and other places to find other sources for watching TV. To my surprise, I found very good sources of watching these TV shows and movies.

     There are many sources but I will put some important ones in here for now. At a later time, I will try to update it with others.

Hulu.com : This is the number one site for TV watching. The episodes are quickly updated usually following day of the airing. It has got episodes from 150+ channels and also has collection of old movies and others.

Cast TV : This website also has a very good collection of episodes and other entertaining stuff.

Streamick: This is my favorite, it has got almost real time streaming of 263 channels (according to abc.com) and they are planning to have 900 channels. I even found HBO and other movie websites playing very good movies.

TIOTI: (Tape it off the Internet is the full form)—It is part TV hub and part social network site

In addition, browse through websites of network sites like abc.com, NBC, MTV and so on for full episodes.

Source: www.abc.com

Learn New Languages For Free

Follow the Link

image: Dreamstime

Get 200$ gift card using American express Blue Card for DirecTV subscription

There are many sources of watching TV namely Comcast, Dish TV, DirecTV and so on. These providers use attractive offers as bait for new customers. Yes, I said bait especially in the case of DirecTV. I had DirecTV for a while and I like the channels and the quality they offer but I hate their terms and conditions. You can expect unnecessary charges for everything you ask for. I really had bad experience with them but if you choose to have DirecTV anyway and if you are willing to pay 80-90 bucks a month then this post will be of some help.

      If you have American Express Blue Card, use it through this link to subscribe for DirecTV. The advantage of this offer is that you will receive a 200$ gift card that can be used at places where Amex card is accepted. One of my friends received it but only after 6 weeks or so. You need to email them sometimes to make sure you get it. I personally don't like these TV subscriptions; instead I watch Hulu or some other websites. Its a personal choice, I just can't afford.

The Only Thing You Can Change

You can’t change your entire life.

You can only change your next action.

—

You can’t change a relationship with a loved one.

You can only change your next interaction.

—

You can’t change your entire job.

You can only change your next task.

—

You can’t change your body composition.

You can only change your next meal.

—

You can’t change your fitness level.

You can only start moving.

—

You can’t declutter your entire life.

You can only choose to get rid of one thing, right now.

—

You can’t eliminate your entire debt.

You can only make one payment, or buy one less  unnecessary item.

—

You can’t change the past, or control the future.

You can only change what you’re doing right now.

—

You can’t change everything.

You can only change one, small thing.

And that’s all it takes. 

Source : ZenHabits

I would like to add--Serenity Prayer which says 

God, grant me the serenity

To accept the things I cannot change;

The courage to change the things that I can;

And the wisdom to know the difference.


There is also a saying that says -- Rome was not built in one day and other saying which says--You can't eat an elephant in one day and so on. What these sayings mean is that one can achieve a big task by breaking it down into simpler tasks and doing them consistently. It takes lot of patience and discipline, because we are so distracted by technology, relationships, friends and so on. But thing to remember is no one can distract us as long as we don't let them to. Nobody really plans to distract us but our own weaknesses keep us from focusing on our goals. We expect complex solutions to complex problems but the reality is, in most situations the solutions are very basic and simple. Over thinking and over doing ruins our path to success. When we set a goal to achieve it is very much possible that we think ahead of time and think of all possible hurdles we may face and we get discouraged by that. Imagine these hurdles as drinking water, if we think of all the water we need to drink in next 45 days @8 glasses per day, we will have to drink approx 360 glasses of water. If you place 360 glasses of water in front of you, then you will not be able to drink 8 glasses in that particular day. Same is with the goals, if we think of all the hurdles in the path to your goal, we will under perform by putting pressure on ourselves. The farther the goal difficult it becomes to do one task at a time. Knowing this, its better to focus on the task in hand rather than whats going to come up. Another example is, say you play cricket, its better to think of present delivery rather than about next one or the delivery in 30th over bowled by some fearsome bowler. Plan for the future and break that plan into minor goals and then into tasks. Perform these tasks one at a time and in the best possible way without thinking of anything other than the task in hand and then if this is done consistently you give yourself a great possibility of succeeding. Success cannot be guaranteed by can be achieved. Remember, most of the thing we fear never happen. All izz well !!!!!!!!!!

Keeping Track of New Habits

We all have good and bad habits, and as we grow, we make changes to our lifestyle in order to maximize our chances of succeeding. Many experts say- to make something a habit, one has to do it repeatedly and consistently. Since we are not motivated at all times, it is a good idea to have a log book to keep track of our consistency. I came across this website (Click here) that will help keep track of our habits.There are other websites that are like this one but i like this particular one. This website allows keeping track of multiple habits. In my case i keep track of the time i get up and the time i have my breakfast and so on. Be honest with your tracking and with time and some effort it is worth trying to change habits.

Hyatt Gold Passport Membership

This is a loyalty membership card from Hyatt and it is free.When booking a Hyatt hotel room or booking something with the partners of Hyatt, just use your membership number. The benefits are many and the most important one is that you get free nights all round the world (after booking sometimes). More details are available through the link below. There are other memberships like these which i will post in future. This is not a credit card and you can have an online account to check your points or promotions. 
Link

Presentation Skills

25 Presentation Tips from Dale Carnegie Training 1. Know your audiences' interests, concerns, and desires  2. Plan your talk with the end in mind; or a call to action 3. Begin with honest appreciation for your audience 4. Be yourself 5. Let an audience get to know you - Share obstacles/what life taught you 6. Inspire using emotion along with logic 7. Write out an outline of your talk 8. Fill your talk with examples and stories 9. Create a picture stack to remember key points 10. Never write out a talk word-for-word 11. Never memorize a talk word-for-word 12. Know 40 times more than you need 13. Practice with a supportive person or a child 14. Watch powerful speakers. Notice their movements, speech patterns - learn from them but don't copy - see # 4 15. Gravity will not be suspended during your talk, let go of the podium 16. Move naturally to different locations on the stage to add visual interest. 17. Use a variety of visual aids - demonstrations, charts, pictures, videos. When you practice with a child, they should say "Cool!". 18. Check venue for distance to stage, acoustics, set up, visibility of screen or your demonstrations on the stage. 19. Decide if you're going to use a microphone 20. Decide if you're going to use a lectern 21. Limit or eliminate all words on powerpoint slides - it seems harsh but they came to hear you speak, not to read. 22. Eat lightly prior to the event 23. Use a pep talk - all positive, upbeat, smile at yourself 24. Know that the audience likes you and you like them 25. Speaking is a thrill sport. Make those butterflies fly in formation.

Note : I received it in my email. Hope it helps you all.

Sogotrade Referral

Please find the link below and don't forget to put "553966" in the reference code section.


Link

Drop Attachments and Add Invitations Directly Into Gmail

I have noticed this feature on Gmail today. It is a wonderful addition to already awesome Gmail. Try it Out !!!

Note : I think it works only with Chrome and Firefox 3.6 version.

Learn and Earn Through Investing

In my earlier post, I mentioned about following kiplinger.com, Google Finance and other sources that are good for learning about investing. I was looking to find ways to get these resources for free. After a bit of research I was able to find some places where we can get these for free. First and foremost, I would check with libraries, if not older issues at least it is a good source of latest issues of Kiplinger and other investing magazines.

          There is a good possibility of finding older versions from the library archives. In addition to this, it is a good idea to search craigslist.com and ebay.com. The best and the easiest way to access Kiplinger issues is through Google Books. Many older issues and even latest issues can be found which I find very useful. There are many other sources that can be explored like going to a book sale or yard sale or just by placing an ad on craiglist.com or freecycle.org. If you really want to learn about investing there are many ways to do it and this is just one of many.

Basic Steps To Manage Bank/Credit Card Accounts

1. Add all your bank/credit/brokerage accounts to mint.com or yodlee or quicken etc
2. Download mint application on your iPhone or other smart phone (if you have one)
3. Set up minimum payment on due date to avoid late charges
4. Pay off balances - minimum payment if you get a chance to pay before due date
5. Use only one or two credit cards a month to avoid multiple payments
6. Monitor your transactions everyday on your mint
7. Call customer service on regular intervals to get lower APR

Keeping your photos safe

1. Upload all your digital photos to online sites like snapfish.com or shutterfly.com or some other good ones
2. Save the originals in an external hard drive
3. Save photos in a portable hard drive if you have one
4. Since memory cards are also cheap these days, save photos in these cards and label them
5. Share all your photos with your friends and keep personal ones with in family members and with significant one
6. Email your uploaded photos link to your other email addresses
7. Remember that they are memories from past and they need to be treasured, negligence is too costly!!!!

Investing tips for a beginner

1. Start reading financial sites like investopedia.com, kiplinger, and Google finance.
2. Make a portfolio of some good companies you find on above sites using Google finance 
3. Follow the trend of these companies for a while to understand how they progress
4. Choose an online brokerage based on your requirement (if you are just small time investor and all you do is buy stocks then brokerages like sogotrade.com, just2trade.com are your options)
5. Choose stocks that are low priced and have a promising future.
6. Take personal responsibility towards gain or loss and for your choices
7. Read about people like Warren Buffett and their advices

Organizing Daily Tasks With RTM and Gmail

First of all, RTM here stands for Remember The Milk. It is an online service that is used by many to organize their tasks and to set reminders. I have an iPhone and there is an application for RTM which is very handy. I used to use Gmail Tasks prior to RTM. Now, to add RTM to Gmail i followed these steps -- 
1. Opened an account with RTM (Free)
2. Follow this Link to add RTM gadget to Gmail
3. Once you add it, close your Gmail window and restart it. 
4. You should be able to see Tasks on your right next to your Email.
5. If their is a Gtalk Gadget on your right, go to Labs (in settings) to move it to your left. 


Leave a comment to let me know if it worked or not.


PS: You can also add RTM to Google calender. I hope we get to see a sync option between RTM and outlook. I will search around to see if we have one.

Integrating Facebook, Twitter into Gmail

When at work it is really difficult to open up all these social network sites and work at the same time. After a bit of searching i could find a post on mashable.com that helped me accomplish this. The steps i followed:
1. Login into Gmail
2. Click on labs and enable Add any gadget by URL and save changes
3. Now open Gadgets tab (in settings) -- you will find Add a gadget by its URL
4. Copy & Paste this URL for Twitter --  https://twittergadget.appspot.com/gadget-gmail.xml
5. Repeat for Facebook with this URL --  http://hosting.gmodules.com/ig/gadgets/file/104971404861070329537/facebook.xml
6. Close the Gmail window and open an new window to login into Gmail to see Facebook and twitter 


   

Free Admission To All 392 National Parks During National Park Week

April 17th to April 25th is the National Park Week.


Link
Link2