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How to easily sync files between computers - for free

Sure, you could carry around a USB drive on your key chain to move frequently used files back and forth between frequently used computers but 1. they cost money, 2. they bulk up your key chain (a nit-picky thing, I know, but it bugs me) and 3. if you lose your keys or the drive your files are gone. Forever. Not to mention I hate leaning over the back of my computer to put the USB drive in.

While there is certainly a place for USB drives (I have more than one myself), for file synchronization between computers, and off-site backup, Dropbox is pretty much the be-all-end-all solution.

Dropbox is a free application and service and functions like Apple’s MobileMe iDisk should. Install the program and a folder will appear on your desktop called Dropbox. Put any file in there and it will automatically be backed up online, and accessible from any browser. You can install it on a second computer as well and have the files in your Dropbox folder sync immediately between the two when a change is made.

For example, I have three computers I use regularly: my desktop at home, my laptop, and my desktop at work. I have Dropbox installed on all three and any time I want to make sure a file is available I simply drag it into the Dropbox and, ta-da, it (almost) instantly shows up on the other two computers.

This is an ideal situation for me as I often run across things I find interesting on the Internet, but don’t have time to check them out right away. I’ll drag the URL to the desktop (creating an HTML file) and drag that to my “To Read” folder in Dropbox. The file is waiting for me when I get home.

As I mentioned earlier, all your files are also available online by logging in through their homepage, so if you need access to a file on a computer that you don’t have the program installed on, the file is still accessible. You can even upload files through the browser and they’ll automatically sync back down to your computers.

All your files are available offline and there’s no limit to file size or type (yes, you can back up your music and other DRM’d files). There are quite a few other features including the ability to make folders and files public (a great alternative to FTP), revert to previously saved versions of your files, and more.

It’s a very simple, free way to sync, share and backup files. Dropbox just left beta and is now available at getdropbox.com. You get 2 GB of storage for free or 50 GB for $9.99/month. Give it a try.

Has anybody else been using Dropbox? What are your impressions of it? Leave word in the comments.

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Write in my journal

Sometimes when I’m on the train commuting to and from work, or at other times throughout my day, I see people and can’t help but wonder what their story is. It’s usually in a casual situation which quickly passes and I’m left wondering.

My curiosity has gotten the best of me and I’ve decided to do something about it. I’ve started a new site called Write In My Journal. When I see someone who I think may have a cool story to tell about his/her life, I approach them, explain that I’d like them to take up to two pages in my journal to write whatever they want. Sometimes I give them a prompt, sometimes I don’t. Ultimately, it’s up to them.

Some entries have been inspiring, others thought-provoking, sad and just… interesting. It’s a new site but I hope it continues to grow. It’s been a fun project and I hope you’ll take a look and let me now what you think.

Write In My Journal

RSS subscription to Write In My Journal

If you like what you see, please subscribe and pass the word along to your friends. Thanks!

Lessons learned from watching chick flicks

Chick flick/romantic comedy spoiler alert: An unlikely couple end up falling for each other after a series of comedic events. Add a big misunderstanding that puts their relationship on the rocks to add a little drama and then wait for them to figure out where it all went wrong and get back together again. Roll credits.

Sorry if that sounds  a bit cynical, but it’s the (general) plot outline for a good number of chick flicks out there: Hitch, Pride & Prejudice, While You Were Sleeping, The Wedding Planner, How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days, etc., etc., etc..

I honestly never thought I’d say this, but romantic comedies may have actually taught me a couple of things:

1. It’s unrealistic to expect your life’s problems to be resolved in 90 minutes. I knew this already, but it’s a nice reminder.

2. By asking a simple question or two before making rash decisions, you can avoid a lot of headache and heartach. As I watch these movies I think, “That’s ridiculous. They could just ask about the situation and there wouldn’t be any problem.”

Take Hitch as an example:

Sara Meles: “I’ve discovered your secret identity as the Date Doctor! I’m breaking up with you because you told a guy to sleep with my friend then treat her like dirt.”

Hitch: “Wait a sec. Are you talking about that slimy guy with the power tie?”

Sarah: “Of course that’s who I’m talking about!”

Hitch: “Oh! Ha, ha, ha! Now I understand why you’re acting like a lunatic. You’re mistaken. I wouldn’t help the guy in question because he was a jerk.”

Sara: “Really? Oh. OK. Whew! I’m glad we cleared that up because I was about to ruin your career.”

Hitch: “I’m so glad we talked about this before you did something rash.”

Cut to scene of them getting married on Ellis Island. The park ranger who showed them around earlier is performing the ceremony. They ride off into the sunset on jet skis. (P.S. I should really write screenplays.)

Of course, removing conflict makes for an uneventful movie. But when dealing with reality (which I try to do on a regular basis) keeping life free of this kind of drama is preferable.

As I was asking a co-worker for applicable movie titles I could use here,  I told her the idea for this post. She said, “My friend and I were in a fight for seven months and I didn’t know why until I asked him and it turned out it was something stupid.” Which is exactly my point.

Why are you upset?

Do you know anything about __________?

I found out that _________. Is that right?

Do you have a secret identity?

Are you really in love with my comatose brother?

Did you really screw over Mr. Wickham?

These are all questions that can, and in some cases should, be asked before taking rash actions about a presumed situation. If it turns out that your initial assumption was correct, that’s one thing. But often our assumptions are wrong and taking a little time to get to the bottom of things before carrying through with a knee-jerk reaction will greatly simplify life.

BONUS QUESTION: What are some romantic comedies/chick flicks that don’t follow the aforementioned plot line? I know they’re out there… leave word in the comments.

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Images courtesy of here and here.

Simple Steps to Frugal Health and Fitness

This is a guest post by Chris from Zen to Fitness.

Health and fitness are too often shunned or put off due to the misconception that things like a gym, vitamins, and expensive super-foods are needed to live a healthy lifestyle, build muscle and look good. This post will cover a few tips on how to get going with your fitness regime without spending cash that I have picked up along the way.

No Gym, No Problem

I actually recommend avoiding the gym when beginning a fitness plan for the following reasons;

• It takes transport time to get there, wasting your time
• They’re expensive
• Intimidating for new comers and personal trainers normally pester new members for the first few months
• Too many distractions
• You can achieve a great body through body weight movements

Staying fit is a beautiful thing when you are flexible with what you do. Acquire some simple sports kit you feel comfortable in (a good cotton t-shirt/basketball shorts/solid training shoes) which can all be had for less than a single month’s membership at a gym. I would also recommend an iPod Nano.

Learn to improvise with your fitness. One of my favorite routines is to just put on some good music on my iPod and hit the road. While I don’t run exclusively I will usually take a short run and stop at a playground to do circuits of body weight movements like squats/push-ups/pull-ups. Usually, I run for 10 minutes then do 10 minutes of the body weight movements and then run back home. This means I’m in and out of my house in under 35 minutes, fully exercised and ready to do as I please the rest of the day.

What I love about this is you get to soak up some scenery and enjoy the surroundings. You will inhale fresh oxygen and feel energized. Remember the importance of training with resistance (push-ups, pull-ups and squats) and do not exclusively run/jog - throwing in some sprints will also help. And when you sprint, don’t think about it - just run as fast as you can for a while its a great feeling.

Have a look at these websites for simple, cheap and equipment free exercise recommendations:

20 Minute Fitness Solution

Simplefit

Try and organize sports with your friends/family; go swimming at the beach, play tennis or go to the park and play frisbee these are the best ways to stay fit and be happy.

Simplify your diet

I would recommend reading this post from the Modern Forager on real food. It gives a grasp on nutrition which is such a simple thing for us all to improve on. Enjoy the foods that are natural, I personally take great pleasure from simplifying my shopping basket. I know when I go to get groceries I am only going to buy the following foods;

• Fresh fruit and vegetables (whatever is on offer and looks good)
• Select cuts of meat, again look for what is on offer
• Cheese and eggs
• A good selection of nuts and seeds and olive oil
• Fresh herbs and spices to add flavor to my cooking

No soft drinks, juice, starches, pasta or stuff in a packet just fresh wholesome foods. Arthur De Vany’s dietery guidelines are great.

You will find by eating/buying from this selection of food, you’ll be less confused when shopping, save money and feel far better. This is not to say you can’t eat other foods, so long as you stick to the foods above 80% of the time you will reap the benefits. The other 20% feel free to eat any other foods especially when out with friends and family.

Always buy less than you think you need, its surprising how much food is wasted in this day and age. If you find you run out of food to early just take a walk to the grocery store and forage for your next meal. This keeps things exciting and fresh.

The last tip for diet is to listen to your body. Just because it’s midday doesn’t mean you need to have lunch. feel your hunger and eat well when you are really hungry. Once you pickup this habit you will find that you will eat less and enjoy your food far more, while losing weight and improving your fitness.

Free Advice and Motivation

The beauty of the internet is that their is so much good free advice and motivation available; from the two sites above offering equipment free workouts to sites like the fitnesspotlight you can learn a wealth of information in no time without any cost to you. If you have an iPod and need some free running music checkout Podrunner which offers free weekly workout mixes which serve as great motivation.

Bonus Tips

-Walk and cycle to places instead of taking the bus/car. It takes longer but sometimes there is nothing more relaxing than a walk or bike ride.

-Learn to meditate. This is one of the best free ways to improve health and state of mind.

I hope this short article can help inspire a few people to start a fitness regime or re-ignite a lost passion. You will find that the easier and more simple you make fitness the more you appreciate it being in your life.

Thanks to Chris for the post!

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Naturally, you should see a doctor before starting a workout routine and all that. Besides, when was the last time you went to your doctor? Go get a checkup for goodness sake. And go to the dentist while you’re at it. Photo courtesy of here.

How to get over low self-esteem

A while back I was listening to a radio show where a psychologist was on talking about self-esteem. I thought it was a bit odd since this particular station had more of an alternative/rock genre but I kept listening. The good doctor had a few good points on how to boost your self-esteem that are worth sharing.

Be specific

First of all, realize that if you have general low self-esteem, you’re not being specific enough. I know that sounds weird, but bear with me.

Nobody is bad at everything. If you feel like you’re completely worthless, you’re not looking at yourself hard enough. Guess what? You’re probably bad at certain things. Really bad. Horrible. You may even be the worst person in the world at doing something.

But that’s also the good news.

Identify what it is you have low self-esteem about. And your answer can’t be “myself” or “everything.” Just like nobody should have high self-esteem about everything, you shouldn’t have low self-esteem about everything either. So be honest with yourself. What’s getting you down? Now think, “Sweet. I don’t suck at everything, I just suck at these things.”

Odd? Perhaps. But hopefully you’ve just changed your mindset from “I suck” to “I suck at these things.” Think about it. There’s a big difference between those two statements.

Choose your battles

Congratulations. You now know what you’re not good at/feel bad about. Again, identifying those things is healthy because you’re focusing on specifics instead of the generalization of, “I suck.” And because you now know those things, you can make a plan of attack to improve yourself in those areas.

If you want to.

You see, I could make a very, very long list of things I’m not good at and that could lower my self-esteem if I were to dwell on them. Guess what?  Most of those things aren’t worth my time. Sure, I could make a plan to improve in those areas but I know I’m not going to be good at everything so I’d much rather focus my energies on the areas in which I can excel. Some might say that’s an excuse not to try. I say it’s picking your battles.

So figure out which areas are most important to you (I’d say limit it to one or two) and make a determination to make improvements in those areas.

Your plan of attack

OK. So you’ve identified which areas you want to improve your self-esteem. The rest of the things that you might catch yourself dwelling on are shoved away and you’re focused on what you can, and have chosen to, influence.

So what do you need to do to improve in those areas? Overweight? Underweight? Throw out your junk food and hit the gym. Feel overwhelmed intellectually? Start by taking an evening college course after work. Don’t feel like you have a lot of friends? Make a goal to reach out and be a friend to someone instead of waiting for someone to reach out to you.

Keep track of your progress in your specific areas. Set up reasonable goals and reward yourself for reaching them. My wife is big on star charts. You know - the grid with goals down one side and a time line across the top. Then put those little star stickers you got in elementary school up when you achieve something. Goofy? A bit. But it’s a fun way to monitor your progress. Post it somewhere you can see it often.

Don’t forget the bright side

Remember in the beginning how I said nobody’s bad at everything, just as nobody’s good at everything? That means you have some things you have good self-esteem about. Woo-hoo! Figure out what those things are and start doing them more often. Enjoy them. Revel in them. Don’t get cocky, but don’t deny yourself the pleasure of a job well done in one of those areas.

In review

1. It’s perfectly OK to have low self-esteem about certain things - just not you as a whole.

2. Figure out what, specifically, you have low self-esteem about.

3. Pick your battles - do these things really matter?

4. Take the things that do matter and that you want to work on and figure out your plan of attack.

5. Remember the things you’re good at too!

What are your thoughts on improving self-esteem? Please let me know in the comments.

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In interest of full disclosure, I’m not a doctor of any kind. If you have severe issues with self-esteem and/or depression, see a licensed doctor. This post was inspired by an interview of Doctor Matt on 101.9 FM. You can reach Dr. Matt at askdrmatt@yahoo.com. Photo courtesy of here.