Monthly Archives: January 2007

T-Mobile myFaves REDUX

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This plan can be the perfect plan with a little discipline and the right discipline. If you think about it there are only a limited number of people that you talk to the most on your phone. All you gotta do is figure out who they are, sign up for myFaves and add them to your Faves. The easiest way to do this is to login to your account and download your usage sheet as an excel spreadsheet, sort by number column and see whose number you are calling the most. Easy cheesy.

By the way, I have said it before and I will say it again. Wirefly has some great deals on phones, especially T-Mobile my Faves phones, they can even help you out with the right plan as well. It looks like they are the #1 online retailer for cell phones and plans and JD Power and associates gives the T-Mobile plans 5 stars for Customer Care AND Cost and Service.

 

 

  

For a limited time you can get a $50 T-Mobile rebate when ordering a new T-Mobile plan online. Plans of at least $34.99 per month are eligible. This offer expires March 31, 2007 so hurry and get your deal! Combine this with the other deals and you can even get afree T-Mobile RAZR.

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Survival: 10 Essentials

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The 10 Essentials are the suggested minimum you should take with you on any outing. This is the first part in a series that I hope you will enjoy and find some use for. The aim is to educate the reader on the importance and uses of the 10 Essentials (and alternatives) so they will be more confident and able in the wilderness. I reserve the right to come up with my own version of the list and a mnemonic to help you remember.

The Ten Essentials:

  1. Map
  2. Compass
  3. Sunglasses and Sunscreen
  4. Extra Food
  5. Extra Clothes
  6. Headlamp/Flashlight
  7. First Aid Supplies
  8. Fire Starter
  9. Matches
  10. Knife

If you are reading this then hopefully you have already read the first post on Survival which is an outline of what you need to survive. We will be using this to further define the 10 Essentials.

Let’s break down this list into the the categories from the survival article.

  1. Shelter
    • Sunglasses and Sunscreen: they shelter you from the sun or glare from water, ice and snow. And depending on your prescription the sunglasses could be used to start a fire.
    • Extra Clothes: again, more shelter
    • Knife: Use it to cut branches, vines, plants for your shelter
  2. Fire
    • Headlamp/Flashlight: fire gives you light and you use these to light a fire (we’ll go over that later)
    • Fire Starter: not the movie, usually a flammable paste or some kind of tinder. This can be handy in wet, damp weather when dry wood is hard to find.
    • Matches: to light the fire!
  3. Water (the original list did not specifically state anything related to water, BE WARNED you do need water storage and water purification abilities in most situations)
    • Map: use it to locate rivers and other bodies of water.
    • First Aid Supplies: I put this here just in case you pack water purification tabs in your first aid kit. If you don’t go put some in there right now.
    • Refer to Fire and Clothing: With enough ingenuity you can build a water filter starting with these items (we will definitely go over this later)
  4. Food
    • Extra Food: eat it or use it to attract more food, like animals!
    • Knife: use it to kill or cut up food.
  5. Hope and Ingenuity
    • Map: you need to know how to use it but it can be one of the most valuable items
    • Compass: Very useful with or without the map, if you lose or break it, don’t worry we will go over direction later. Many compasses have a mirror, can be used for signaling.
    • Headlamp/Flashlight: Use it to find your way, do things at night and for signaling. The parts can be used for other uses as well, sometimes the batteries can be used to produce a spark to start a fire.
    • First Aid Supplies: many kits have the miminum plus. If your injuries are severe and you are not a doctor/medic you will need some ingenuity with your kit to patch yourself up. While a huge section in its own right, we will attempt to cover the basics for what are the most common injuries in the wilderness.

If you have not already, print this list and make a commitment to pack these items into at least one bag in the next week. Be sure to pack a large water bottle and some water purification tablets as well. Put this bag in your car so it is there when you need it.

That is all for now and stay tuned for our next installment where we cover the alternative lists and other items you should bring with you (or at least seriously considering doing so)

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My Thoughts on the Top 10 Phones of 2006

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Wirefly announces the Top 10 cell phones of 2006 and I am going to tell you what I think about them. Just so you know.

1. Cingular Wireless RAZR by Motorola (in various colors) – My experience with Motorola phones has been jaded. For the most part the hardware is solid. What Motorola builds is built to last. The shortcomings come in the software and User Interface. Typically they come complete with everything a person would want but for some reason there is always one over looked item that rears its ugly head for me everyday. The RAZRs could be a different beast. I see a lot of people carrying them and using them in many different ways. So far I haven’t heard anything bad about the RAZRs except that they are trendy and some people don’t buy trendy. 
2. T-Mobile RAZR (in various colors) – I use Tmobile so I am going to say that the T-Mobile RAZR is the better, plus i know the newer models have built in Navigation (NOT GPS) Go with T-Mobile and stay with it. I have used T-Mobile for about 6 years and when it comes to Customer Service they are right on the money.
3. Verizon Wireless RAZR (in various colors) – Per Above, T-Mobile does not have great service at Ft Irwin, but Verizon does. So check your coverage maps. The Razr is a solid phone, be sure the service provider is the best in your Area of Operations. 
4. Cingular Sony Ericsson z520a/z525a video phones – I am a huge fan of Sony Ericsson Phones. They are SOLID (unless you throw them REALLY hard against the wall :D ) I carried a T68i in Iraq the whole time I was there and I STILL have that same phone (as a backup) anything Sony Ericsson is okay in my book. In fact, I put SE above Motorola. 
5. T-Mobile Motorola v360 – Ah, the “I just got a cell phone” phone. Simple. Easy to use. Get it for your Gramma.
6. Verizon Wireless Motorola v276 – This is the “Hey look what my phone can do” phone for people that have never seen a pocket pc phone. This phone is great for those that want to stay in the know but don’t know how. Get it for your Dad (if he isn’t a geek)
7. Sprint Nextel Motorola i850 – The iDen phones. Good, solid and great for businesses with ‘squads’ of workers. I have seen many a contractor with these thigns chirping away on their belts. I have also seen many NON contractor type people with these phones (who shouldn’t have them) and they are just carrying away in walkie talkie mode in the grocery market with some screaming brat on the other end. Unless you run a shop of some kind do everyone a favor and don’t get this phone.
8. Sprint Nextel Motorola i710 – see above
9. Cingular Motorola v220 – This is another “look at my new phone” “hey thats great gramma” phones.
10. T-Mobile Samsung T309 – Samsung makes some fairly innovative gadgets, this isn’t one of them. This is Samsungs successful play into the non-tech-savvy-phone category. Since it is T-Mobile I say go with this for your Pops.
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Update

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Right aligned today. I am all messed up. As a result of not having enough time this weekend I thought I missed out on some homework but I did not. What actually happened was that I misinterpreted my Religion and the Modern World classes syllabus. Apparently we had some writing due today that I thought was due next week. I will have to take a ‘late’ on it. Good news is that I will be doing a presentation on Somatics and Purpose Work and its place in the world of religion. This should be very exciting and interesting.

Bad news is that my Physics instructor denied my doing an Honors class for PHY101 this semester. His reasoning is that PHY111 is the Honors Equivalent and I should take that. I did explain to him that I had not completed Trig yet. I suppose he overlooked that. More good news is that my Public Speaking instructor has agreed. We still haven’t outlined exactly what my project will be, but it looks like it will be a grand speech on Rhetoric.

I am excited about this semester and amazed at how true the saying is that “the more I know the more I realize how little I know”

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Do you need a Cell without the Plan?

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I get asked many times about good deals on cellphones. Most of the people that ask do not want to sign up for a 1 or 2 yr plan in order to get a good deal. Wirefly Mobile has an eBay store where they sell surplus phones at decent prices.

 

 

These are not unlocked phones but are ready for specific providers. Hit the link and in the listing for each phone you can see which service it is ready for. I’m not sure how Cingular or Verizon works (sim card or not) but if you want to use a Tmobile phone on another SIM card network you can always get an unlock code from Tmobile for free or online for 10 – 20 dollars. Remember Valentine’s day is coming up, check to see if Wirefly Mobile has a phone to match your loved one’s needs.

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Wrap Up

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Seems that sand was still in my eye when I woke up. It came out somewhere between Physics and Trig. Here is where I got it in my eye.

I was slightly freaked out this morning. See, I did not have enough time this weekend to work on any of my homework, save for a little reading. Sunday night I managed to crank out my Physics homework but I still had Math homework to follow up on. I checked the homework list and it didn’t seem like much. Figuring I could do it tomorrow morning I went to sleep.

Turns out I need to look at the Class schedule as well. I seemed to miss that there were 3 other subchapters to work on. Needless to say I freaked out a bit. Which all led me to thinking about what have I learned in the last year about going back to school.

In order of priorities:

1. Notetaking – If it was not for good notes, I would be lost. My notes are not perfect and at times do not even represent a chicken mafia hit on a rival hen house but they do save the day at times. I put this first because even if I was more organized, without notes it would all be for naught.

2. Better Organization – It has been a slow process, but getting organized saves TONS of time when it comes to school work, or any work for that matter. This includes processes like backing up data, scanning in important papers, printing a paper and copying its file to a memory stick as well as uploading it (Always have it handy, just in case it needs a last minute edit)

3. Discipline – On a scale of 1 – 10 I would say mine is a 6 when it comes to homework. Rated above 5 because it does get done but it could be done at better times. I always seem to wait ALMOST till the last second (which is an improvement over ‘the last second’) People say they just need the time, well we all have it, just turn off the TV. My problem is that I A.D.D. out and forget what I am supposed to be doing. Note to self: make some reminder notes (redundancy is wonderful)

I reserve the right to modify this list, the importance of any item as well as complete eradication of an item from my life at any moment without warning.

About the Math homework, turns out it is all due on TEST day. YAY ME!!!

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Own a Piece of Heaven

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“Legend has it that when God was giving lands to the peoples of the world he forgot the Bulgarians. To set things right he took a piece of Heaven and gave it to them.”

From BulgarianDreams.com

Bulgaria is located in Southeastern Europe, on the Northeastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. When I was deployed to Bosnia in ’98 – ’99 one thing I noted was the beauty of the countryside. With beaches on the Black Sea and Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, Greece and Turkey as neighbors, Bulgaria is going to be the next hot international spot to own a property in.

Over at Sofia property you can find established properties for investment or leisure or even buy a home before it is built. With prices for luxury well below the Quarter Million mark this could well be the place you retire in. The website is well constructed with plenty of valuable and pertinent information. It is worth your time to go LOOK!

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National Guard Drill

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I had a Drill weekend the last few days. What that basically means is for 2 days and a night a bunch of other soldiers and myself get to train up on various tasks. Usually it can be quite enjoyable and a nice break from normal life but this weekend was not the best. The wind blew constantly and the temperature was hovering somewhere above freezing. Since we were out in the middle of the desert the wind insisted on blowing dust into my eyes for as long as they were open. Sleep was inadequate and light and the chow was lukewarm and tasteless.

However I must say that my platoon is grand. Recently our company was mishmashed together out of all kinds of different job qualified soldiers (if that statement makes any sense, do let me know :D ) Most were Tankers, sosme Scouts and a smidgen of other MOS’s. At first I was reluctant to believe that these troops could become ‘Infantry’ but as it turns out it hasn’t taken long for us to break’em in :D . During downtime, nothing but laughter and conversation could be heard from our group. Moral is high.

Oh yeah, the sand decided to stay in my eye on the drive home. My drive is about 4 – 5 hours from the Armory to my house one way. It really is unpleasant to drive at night with a constantly watering pained eye. The sand refuses to come out as well. I have flushed my eye with lukewarm water half a dozen times. I give up. Hopefully it will come out in my sleep.

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Do you want to save some money on what you want?

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Over at CouponChief.com they have coupon codes for many online retailers including Best Buy and Dell. They are easy to use as well. Just shop as normal online and when you are getting ready to check out, look up the retailer on CouponChief.com to find your coupon code. Enter it where the retailer asks. You can potentially save a bundle (and give it to me :D )

For example, at Best Buy you can get $210 off on desktop computer packages and at Dell you can get 20% or $300 off on many of their systems. If you have a birthday coming up for a special someone go on and get your shop on.

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Survival

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Most of my friends know I am a survival nut in one way or another. In my cars I always have the least of what I need to survive if I break down somewhere and if I ever drive more than hour out of town I will always bring my ‘GoBag’ (more about that later). Every vehicle has several MRE’s (Meals Ready to Eat), my house has a few boxes as well as my trailer, just in case.

I’ve read hundreds of survival ‘guides’, books, cards, websites and so on and have always wondered what the most important tool/item would be for a survival situation, of ANY kind. Ingenuity. You can be without a knife, but you can make one out of bone, or stones, and sometimes wood (stabbing/spearing knives). You can be without shelter, but you can make one out of your surroundings. You can be without food, but you can find it or even discover it with the right testing process. You can even be without water but you can find it readily (in most cases). Even if you are without a map you can find your way.

Obviously that would be closer to an extreme situation and we all hope you don’t end up in one. But what if you do? What if for some magical reason you end up in the wilderness, all alone and with nothing? What do you do? Continue reading →

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