Self Improvment, #WinMoFail, and Tea

So, for the past few weeks now, I've been trying to improve myself.

And you know what? I've been more stressed out than usual.

Apparently, quitting smoking, eating healthier, working out, getting more sleep, and dressing nicer actually cause me more stress than it helps.

As far as smoking, yeah, I've kicked it, especially now that I can afford internet at home
(one addiction for another?)

And if I don't eat healthier there's no point in working out, and I gotta get rid of this winter flab.


But you wanna know the most stressful thing lately?

My crappy, slow, #failtastic Windows Mobile 6.1 phone.

It's display doesn't always show up.
It turns off randomly.
It takes forever to retrieve mail.
It randomly denys calls, and un-links it's self from my blue tooth headset.

So, seeing as "free money season" is coming up (tax rebate season) and I'll have some extra cash on hand, who has a good phone recommendation for me?

I need a smart phone, nothing, and I mean NOTHING WinMo (I don't care about 6.5, or 7.0)

It needs to handle multiple Gmail accounts.

Hopefully a decent camera, but not necessary.

I've been eyeing up a G1 Developers model (I'm on AT&T)
Any other recommendations?

And my last point for the night, also whats keeping me up this late (#sleepbetterfail) I need good recommendations for teas. I've been going to Starbucks lately, but its getting tiring, what can you, yes YOU recommend?

That's if for this week, Liz, sorry its so long, if you're not already, follow me on twitter at @Stay_Calm, and please friends, remember to stay calm

So...yeah...

So, I have no idea what to do a post on this week. Any ideas guys?

You tell me, what do you wanna see me write about every week?

Blah blah blah...if youre not already, follow me on Twitter @Stay_Calm, and please friends, remember to stay calm (its not that hard).

Vacations: Couches, Beer, and Hulu

Yup, that's what this past week has consisted of. If you hadn't heard, I've been on vacation for the past week or so now, and before I head back to work tomorrow, I want to recount some of the things I've learned on this week long endeavor.

- Hulu is addictive. Extremely so.

-I <3 my couch.

-When in Phily, drink at Triumph, and breakfast at National Mechanics.

-Opera is very soothing, and conducive to cleaning.

-Even though I look like I'm not doing anything, I'm actually being very productive, especially when I spend all day in my boxers in front of the computer.

-And finally, when I actually have time to sit down and think with a clear mind, I'm more creative that I thought.

So yeah, that sums up my vacation in a nutshell, if you want me to expand on any of these life lessons, you can contact me through Twitter, @stay_calm, and please friends, remember to stay calm.

Freedom of Content

I think we can all agree that in this day and age, there is no greater valued commodity than information, pure and simple.

Google built an empire on it, Sysco moves it, and Facebook recently pissed us all off concerning their want to control it.

Earlier this week Facebook altered their Terms of Service agreement to mean that they have complete control over our content, always and forever, even after we terminate our account.

And your asking, who cares? Its just “25 random things about me” or pictures of you passed out drunk at the party last week, right?

Not so much, it is those things, but its also your age, name, demographic, likes, dislikes, frequency of being in a relationship, whether you drink or smoke, what your religion is, even what your favorite drink is (remember that great pass a drink app?)

Gives me chills just thinking about it, because you know they're saving the information to sell to advertisers.

For this reason, you’ll no longer see me on Facebook, because I feel my personal information, my personal content , is mine alone.

The creator of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, put up a post on his blog about the change in the ToS, stating that the information that you share on Facebook, all of it, right down to contact information, is owned by Facebook because you used them to share it.

Can you think of anything scarier?

I feel we should create a world where our content, our information, is ours, and ours alone. We choose who we share it with, if anyone. And that includes companies, of any kind.

And you know what? When I delete an account in a server somewhere, I want it to forget I was ever there. Simple as that.

If I go so far as to actually delete an account, it means I never want to be there anymore, and I want no one that is there to know I existed.

I plan on getting into this Freedom of Content idea more inn a later article, but for now if you arnet already, follow me on Twitter @stay_calm, and please friends, stay calm.

Two In the Pocket

This weeks topic once again comes to us from my brother.

(It seems his insults provide amazing topic ideas for me.)

He thinks its silly that when I go out, I have a Motorola Q9, as well as a second gen iPod Touch on me.

He points out that my phone has a built in mp3 player, the internet, and basically everything else I could want, on the go, with no hassle, and I'd have an extra pocket free if I only carried my phone with me.

While he’s right, my Motorola does have everything I could possibly need built right into it, those features aren't always the best.

And what if I want to (or need to) search the internet while on the phone? Or I want more than the feeble amount of music the SD card provides me? Or maybe I just want to look that technologically proficient?

On the same hand, what if I’m not in a WiFi area and I need to search something online? Or I need to stream live video to the internet? Or need a reliable source for the date and time? (anybody have any idea why my iPods time keeps changing?)

Or hell, just need to make a phone call or send a text message?


I contend that I know multiple people that carry multiple smartphones. One even carries a Blackberry Bold, a iPhone 3G, and a G1.

Now granted, this in an extreme case, and I think a little bit of it is simply to show off, but he has a point. Each one of these devices does a certain thing better than the other;

He uses the iPhone for the plethora of Apps that he just can’t live with out, the Bold for email, and the G1 to test the applications he builds for Android in the real world.

Me? I just think it’d be cool to have all of those phones. (Although, admittedly, it'd be a pain in the ass to find pocket space for them all)

So, while it is a bit of a pain in the ass to carry multiple devices around at the same time (I dread the come of summer and lack of jacket pockets) I feel that if thought out, it can be totally justifiable to have more than one smart device, hell, even more than one phone, on your person.

If you liked this article, please let me know in the comments section, if you're not already, follow me on Twitter @stay_calm, and please friends, remember to stay calm.

White Boys Blogging

So, while talking with my brother on Monday evening, I ask him if he has any ideas for my next article. He sarcastically replies “White boys who blog”. While he meant this in a tongue-in-cheek, sarcastic way, I thought it was a great idea.

(I didn’t tell him that, of course.)

In research for this article, I tried to find the demographic most typical to create, maintain, and use blogs.

I couldn’t figure it out. After a few hours with Google Trends, some research on the net, and reading various articles, I couldn’t find the one group of people most likely to blog.

Now, you might say it’s the younger, male, more socially awkward, with that greenish tint that comes from long hours at the computer.

Fact is, you’d probably be wrong. I know more middle age moms that blog than I do guys my age.
And of the guys my age I know, none of us have that green tint, and most of us have girlfriends.


Weird, huh?

Thing is, this generation is empowering the rest of the world to put themselves out there on the net, to be seen, to be heard, and to live publicly.

With web services like Twitter, Pownce, Myspace, FaceBook, Qik, Skype, Wordpress, and a multitude of others, we can literally publish every minute of our lives online.

What do you think made iJustine so famous? (Its called lifecasting)

My generation grew up feeling distant and disconnected from their peers, haunted by broken families, and having a difficult time opening up to anyone. Turns out, its easier to open up to the anonymous users on the other side of the screen. We are also the first to grow up with the internet as a common tool, taken for granted, and expected to be there for us.

So…are the masses even qualified to do this? To write articles, make movies, post photos, and share their views with the entire world?

That’s the beauty of it, we don’t have to be. Look at Twitter, the premiere micro-blogging site. It asks the question “What are you doing?”

Who cares?

What does it matter that my muffin from star bucks was stale, or how many cigarettes I’ve smoked that day? Obviously someone does care, or twitter wouldn’t have as many followers as it does.

We publish our daily life on the internet, and we will assuredly find someone that is interested in our lives. That’s the beauty of it, that’s what keeps people doing it.

So, while my brother had no idea what thought processes he triggered with his comment, I think this is one of my best posts yet, and sincerely hope that it changes his, and many others minds, to become more open on the net, and take a bigger part in this wonderful thing that is quickly becoming a major, if not essential, part of our world.

If youre not already, follow me on Twitter @stay_calm, and please friends, remember to stay calm.

(And keep telling your friends about this site!!)

HD Video Capture and Editing

Alright guys, looking for some help/advice on a new project im getting into, need lots of info on whats the best/industry standard to do HD video for the internet.

I need camera ideas, editing ideas, as well as any people that have industry experience

i wanna learn people!! lets hope the #empathyday kindness of twitter bleeds over to here

Follow me on twitter at @stay_calm, and like always friends, stay calm