Reality Upgrade

Hipmunk, a great flight search website.

I certainly do not have an iPhone. In fact, the only Apple product I own is an iPod, and I should have gotten something else.

But I do understand the appeal of Apple products. They work well. They are sleek and well designed. They charge an arm and a leg for any support.

Oh wait, that last one is a bad thing.

Still for those of you who chose to drink the Apple-flavored Kool-aid, you might think you have no choice but to go to the Apple store to get your repairs done. Considering the fact that Apple charges something like $200 for repairing a cracked screen, this article from Cnet might be of real interest to you.

In this article, a 10 year old replaces the cracked screen of an iPhone, using only a $22 kit from the internet.

Check it out here, and save yourself $178, and your self-esteem. Heh.

If you eat like me, a lot of your food says “Organic” on the packaging.

Back in the day, when the world was young and eating natural and organic food had not yet become a popular trend, my parents had to go to specialty health food stores to get organic food. Now that the “green” wave is sweeping the world, I can buy organic lettuce at my local grocery. But what exactly does “Organic” mean?

When the number of people eating organic food was small, there was a large incentive for manufacturers to be very honest about what they called organic, because they knew that their consumers would pay attention to the ingredients. Now, in makes marketing sense to put “organic” on just about anything, and regulation of who can make that claim is a little shaky.

For a great common sense review of how to know what is really organic and what just says it is, take a look at this post by Lifehacker.

By the way, the best way to know what you are eating is to turn the package over and read the ingredients list. If it goes in the food, it’s on the list, no matter what kind of label might be on the front of the package.

For those of you who love those great decorator lamps, but don’t want to shell out the big buck for something that is essentially just shaped string, this is an awesome do-it-yourself project from pickles.com.

Enjoy!

If you have ever wondered where money comes from, you are not alone. Until recently, I did not understand the theory of money at all. I knew that once upon a time, our currency was backed by a “gold standard,” and I assumed that this simply meant that if someone took a dollar to the Federal Reserve, they could get a dollar’s worth of gold out of the national gold reserve. I figured that it was just easier to carry around paper money.

However, for my whole life, there has been no gold standard. Our currency is backed by faith in the United States Government. I never really understood how that worked.

Until yesterday, when I watched the videos below. There are 5 videos, about 10 minutes long each, and they are by far the best explanation of the way money actually works that I have ever seen. In the last couple of clips, the video talks a little about monetary reform, and I try to stay away from anything political here, but the information is great whether you agree with the author’s ideas about reform or not.

Everyone should watch these videos. After all, you use money every day. You have a responsability to understand it.

Mouthwash can be a lifesaver on that big job interview, or on a first date. After all, that tuna sandwich was tasty, but no one really wants to smell it after the fact.

But mouthwash has so many other uses, it is almost a shame it’s called mouthwash.

For example, to take care of those annoying white flakes on your black shirt:

Nix dandruff with a simple mix of one part witch hazel and one part mouthwash with eight parts water. Put it in a spray bottle and spritz at your roots – on your scalp – after shampooing and conditioning, while your hair is still damp. Leave in, and style with your usual products.

For more brillient uses of the common household mouthwash, check out this great video from HowCast.com.

Yes, it is only July, but now is the time to start planning for Christmas (or Hanukkah, etc.).  By thinking ahead, you can prevent the costs of presents and travel from overwhelming you when the big day gets closer.

After all, it may seem a little early for snow, but Christmas is only5 months away. Black Friday, the superbowl of shopping the day after Thanksgiving is only 4 months from now.

LaToya Irby from about.com has a great list of steps to help you prepare for the holiday season, minus the stress.

• Decide who I’m going to buy for
• Decide how much I’m going to spend on them
• Add it up
• Divide by the number of paychecks left until December 15
• Open a special savings account and save that amount each paycheck

Check out the full atricle here.

The economy is tough these days, and health care costs just keep going up. If you find yourself adrift and in need of health insurance, this is a great article on how to choose the right kind.

How to Buy Health Insurance by Yourself

Good luck!!

There are a ludicrous number of credit cards out there, and sometimes the choices can be a little overwhelming.

Now that there is a new law coming into effect nine months from now that will take many of the hidden fees, charges, and rate hikes out of the credit card business. It will also require contract terms to be in “plain English”. (continue reading…)

Confused by the ever-climbing SPF numbers?

Yeah, me too.

Now that SPF ratings have broken the 3 digit mark, and summer is upon us, this is a great time to look at what SPF ratings really mean.

How much of it is marketing and how much of it is real? Which SPF should you use? 

This great article in the New Your Times talks all about it, and helps cut through the “more is better” confusion surrounding the SPF marketing race.

So learn a little, before you go bake in the sun.