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More Time For Fun Tips 2008-09
This month, we share 3 tips so you can have more time and more money for fun.
Most of us, can't seem to go anywhere without our iPhone or Blackberry. Why not use its capabilities to help us in our busy lives? Do you keep a shopping list? Why not keep it in your phone? You can add items to it easily since you always have it with you, and you will also save paper. You will never be in the situation of "I forgot the list at home" because you have your phone with you, and have the list!
Expand how you use the Contacts application. Note down each person's B-day, their spouse, kids and pets names, their likes and dislikes. Mention these details when you visit with them, and it will show you listened carefully. These little details can go a long way in building a lasting relationship, whether personal or professional. If you noted a person's like and dislikes, it will also make Christmas shopping a whole lot easier.
We have all been squeezed by the rising fuel costs and most of us also want to do our part to reduce Green House gases. In the United States, ~50% of our electricity comes from coal, the dirtiest of the electric power sources.
In the summer time, we use lots of electricity to cool our houses. Most of us keep the temperature at ~75F. During the day time, say in the Washington DC area, this will keep our house cooler than outdoors, but in the evenings, it won't. Most summer nights, the temperature drops below 70F. Why not use this natural air conditioner? Open up the windows in your house and let the hot air flow out. Better yet, if you get two window fans, one on each end of the house, you can exchange the air in the house and cool it down very rapidly.
Opening the windows has the added benefit of replacing the stale air in your house (unless you have a built-in air exchanger). Stale air has been known to cause sickness (visit the EPA web site ). For you and your family's health, the environment, and your wallet; turn off the A/C when the outside temperature is cooler than what you have set your thermostat to.
In the January 2007 MTFF issue, we discussed the importance of backing up your computer files. Since then, we have written 2 more articles on how to manually automate those processes (). The disadvantage of these solutions is if you have to leave your house, say due to a natural disaster, you could still lose everything.
Business that's conscious about business continuity in the event of a disaster uses what's called "off site" backup. Essentially, you would store your backup files at "someone else's house". A new entry into the remote backup business, Mozy, is backed by EMC. EMC is recognized in the computer industry as the leader in data storage. They have created entry level services for home and small business users. There is even a free service, up to 2G, for home users! Set up is easy and none intrusive. Once installed, it works like the virus scanning software. It will wake up when it needs to send files off, and it will wait quietly when not needed.
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