GeekSugar

Mix It Up This Mother's Day With Recordable Cards

GeekSugar — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:00:22 PDT

With Mother's Day right around the corner (May 11), it's time for us to start thinking of some creative ways to really impress our moms this year. Regular, bland paper cards are so old school, and why be ordinary when you can be extraordinary, right?! Here's a simple yet fun way to put a smile on your mom's face. . . . Hallmark Recordable Cards! Just select what card you want, press and hold the button to record a 10-second message, and then when she opens her card she'll hear your personal message introducing a song! Cards cost around $6, which is a bargain deal for a personalized card like this.

What It Takes to Buy a Home

Kiplinger — Mon, 21 May 2012 03:14:47 PDT

Do you have what it takes to buy a home? Consider this exhaustive guide from Kiplinger.

Tired of renting? It could be a great time to buy your first home. In many cities, home prices have bottomed, and rents have risen. Mortgage rates are still superlow. In fact, homes haven't been as affordable since 1971. On the downside, in many cities, buyers have fewer homes from which to choose and more competition for the best houses.

In Austin, TX, newlyweds Mark and Ariane Corcoran bought their first home in March. They were renting in a popular downtown neighborhood, where they paid $1,200 a month for a 500-square-foot loft apartment, when they inherited enough money for a down payment. When they began shopping, they expected to buy a classic 1930s Austin bungalow. They found lots of prospects online but drove by most of them. "Agents are really good at taking photos that exclude what they don't want you to see, like the used-car lot out back," says Mark.

They put in an offer on a $225,000, 800-square-foot home. But after the home inspection, they realized that it needed $20,000 to $30,000 in renovations and repairs and that they'd quickly outgrow it. They walked away during the state-mandated rescission period (during which a buyer can back out for any reason and get back any earnest money deposited).

Ariane identified their next prospect within an hour after the listing appeared online. It was a newly built, 1,600-square-foot home with three bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and a yard for the dogs. The builder asked $270,000, the couple offered $260,000, he countered, and they paid $268,000. They put down 20 percent to avoid private mortgage insurance and snagged a 30-year fixed rate of 3.75 percent from a credit union. Their monthly mortgage payment is $1,524.

Before you take the plunge, consider the answers to questions often posed by first-time buyers. Read on for what to ask yourself.

Daily Tech: A Google Maps Blanket

Kelly Schwarze — Fri, 11 May 2012 10:02:11 PDT

Turn your neighborhood into a Google Maps blanket - Geekosystem
If Mother's Day cards were honest - Cracked
R2-D2 takes on coffee duties - Dvice
Facebook tries charging users to promote posts - Newser
Gorgeous Avengers concept art - SlashFilm
The record-breaking Kickstarter watch - Tecca
The most beautiful social networking app - FWD

Changing Your Name: When and Where to Make the Shift

Laura Marie Given — Fri, 11 May 2012 03:05:36 PDT

Once you know - in a formal sense - how to change your name after marriage, it can be difficult to keep up with all the extra steps: who to tell, which documents to change, which groups you need to notify. To make things easier, we've come up with a short, simple list that you can reference postwedding. Not sure where to start? Here's what you need to consider:

When to Change Your Name

Your name can be changed only once you've received a certified marriage license with a raised, authentic seal.
For travel purposes, it's best to wait until after your honeymoon, because the name on your passport needs to match the name on your ticket and extra travel documents.

Who to Notify
In addition to changing your passport, drivers license, Social Security card, and other official documents, you also need to address the following:

Bank and credit card companies
Home utilities companies
Post office
Human resources department
Business cards
Leases, mortgages, or rental information
Insurance policies
Medical groups: Doctor, dentist, etc.
Professional associations and licenses
School records
Gym membership
Airlines and frequent flyer programs
Email address
Social media: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
Personal or professional website
Magazine subscriptions

Don't forget to share the news with friends and family, too! Whether you're into a subtle announcement or something a bit more formal, here are seven ways to tell people that you changed your name.

Have you changed yours? Share any tips or suggestions in the comments below!

9 Love Lessons I've Learned In 10 Years Of Marriage

YourTango — Wed, 09 May 2012 02:00:36 PDT

We're happy to present this excerpt from one of our favorite sites, YourTango. Today, we have tips for a long-lasting, loving relationship.

As much as we all want to believe that once we find our true love, we'll live out our lives in blissful happiness, reveling in that loving feeling forever, reality is not quite like that. We tend to think that love is something that happens to us, instead of something that comes from us. The truth is that successful relationships take energy, effort and attention from both partners.

This year, I'll be celebrating my tenth anniversary with my husband, and while that's certainly not a record-breaking accomplishment, there are a few things I've learned along the way regarding keeping a relationship healthy, or at least from falling apart at the seams. Here they are:

Touch him. As human beings we all crave being touched. It gives us that sense of being connected to others, that sense of bonding. I'm not necessarily talking about sexual touching, but things like simply touching his forearm when you're talking to him, running your fingers gently through his hair or rubbing his ears lightly when you kiss him goodbye. A little bit of touch goes a long way, and in these hurried modern times, we can all use more than we're getting.
Compliment him. We're all naturally quick to point out our partner's flaws or things they did wrong or could do better, but why is it so hard to comment on what's great about him? Once we get used to each other, the great things become expected and taken for granted. Pick three things that he does really well, and the next time you see him doing one of them, give him a nice little compliment like, "You're so good at that, thank you for taking care of that for us." If you aim to give him one compliment every day it will begin to become natural and soon you'll find yourself doing it even more often. And you'll also find his annoying habits won't seem so bad.
Keep your dirty laundry in your house. If he's done something that really bothers you, and you feel the need to complain to your friends, co-workers, or your mom, bite your tongue as hard as you can. Words spoken in one ear have a tendency to make it to other ears very quickly, and these people will think less of your guy long after you've gotten over it. Mom and Dad are particularly good at holding grudges against the guy that hurt their daughter. If you need to complain, write it down in a journal instead of voicing it, or if you absolutely have to voice it to someone, tell it to your therapist or a relationship coach.
Be a winning team. Look at life's ups and downs as something that you're both in together. If you work together as a team, always looking out for the other, you'll be able to handle whatever comes at you. Just as the various members of a team have different talents, you and your partner have unique talents, so put them to work together to create greatness.
Take him at face value. Know that he is what he is and also know that he's not going to change. Then love him for what he is. Instead of looking at his bad habits as annoying, look at them as quirky traits that make him such a loveable guy. Write down three things that you absolutely love about him on an index card and keep it in your pocket at all times. Any time he annoys you, pull out the card and read each to yourself; you won't be able to stay mad. (If you can't come up with three things that you love about him then dump him and move on. I mean, seriously.)

For the rest of the article, head to YourTango: 9 Love Lessons I've Learned In 10 Years Of Marriage

Written by Jane Garapick for YourTango.

Geeks We Love: An MP3 Maker of History

Anna Monette Roberts — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 10:53:05 PDT

Arguably one of the most important tech inventions of our generation, the MP3 player didn't just invent itself. For that, we can thank Kane Kramer. He may not be a household name, but Kramer developed the first portable digital audio player 20 years before it became industry standard. In 1979, he designed the IXI digital audio player, the first of its kind to transfer and store music to-go. The player contained a credit card-sized IXI chip that held between 30 minutes to an hour of music, depending on the audio system (mono or stereo). All of this in 1979!

Kramer told us in an email that before the age of Internet, he imagined the "idea and concept of delivering music, data, and video down telephone lines on demand" via a small, portable device. Kramer's sketches, which are over 40 years old, very closely resemble what we now know as the iPod and iPod Mini. In 2008, Apple admitted that Kramer is the true genius behind the iPod technology.

The players that Kramer developed fit in the palm of your hand and featured a small LCD screen and a central navigation control panel. Despite several websites claiming the player only held three and a half minutes of music, Kramer insists the IXI held one hour of mono audio, half an hour of stereo, or 16 tracks of master recordings. He even thought of attractive aspects that we often take for granted, like having the ability to "select any track in any order" or download new content onto the device "in a matter of seconds."

It's truly fascinating - and almost unbelievable - how many trends Kramer invented almost 20 years before MP3 players would hit the mainstream market. In his 1979 proposal for IXI Systems, Kramer predicted that MP3s would "replace the heavy costs of distribution of records and tapes," would provide "immediacy of delivery," and "eliminate the need for retailers to carry any inventory." Sure enough, in the past two decades, almost every music store has closed down, while online MP3 sales have skyrocketed. If you're wondering what music will look like in the next 20 years, you better turn to Kane Kramer.

Source: Kane Kramer

8 Ways to Make Your Own Career Luck

LearnVest — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:15:52 PDT

People often say that you make your own luck, but how do you make your own career luck and get the job of your dreams? LearnVest shares how you can do so.

You sit next to someone on an airplane who later helps you land your dream job.

Your dentist’s daughter is a book editor, and wouldn’t you know it, she’d just love to publish your memoir.

You have a role model in your industry, and your roommate’s fiancé just so happens to be her best friend.

OK, chance doesn’t always work out as we might wish . . . but a few travel apps, a weak economy, and plenty of gumption got us thinking.

Cajoling Lady Luck may be easier than ever, with new services like Planely, a Danish start-up, and Satisfly, a Hong Kong-based start-up. Both apps connect passengers before their flights, so they can see the Facebook profiles of fellow travelers and choose seats by people they’d like to meet. Airlines like Dutch carrier KLM and Malaysia Airlines are getting in on the act with similar services of their own. Sharing and viewing this social media info is, of course, optional all around.

Read on for more.

6 Top Web Tools Small Business Owners Should Rely on

Emily Co — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:31:14 PDT

Starting a business ain't easy, especially if you're working on it alone. Thankfully, there are a lot of handy tools on the Internet that will make your work life easier. Here are a couple you should check out:

BookFresh: Referred to as the OpenTable for small business owners, this online scheduling website lets customers schedule their appointments on the web and even make payments online. Using this tool will help you keep track of other details, such as client history and calendar syncing, and it will help you customize emails for customers.

Dropbox: Dropbox lets you store files such as photos, docs, and videos online, which means those large files won't take up space on your computer. It makes it easier for you to share files with others as well. Other benefits include accessing the files from anywhere in the world and the ability to access it when you're offline.

FreshBooks: Not to be confused with BookFresh, FreshBooks offers up a different service. The site helps manage invoices and automates several steps in the record-keeping process, making it easier for you to keep track of and create professional-looking invoices.

Read on for more helpful tools.

Which Tax Records to Keep and Which to Toss

Kiplinger — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:02:39 PDT

Now that you're done with taxes, it's time to do a little Spring cleaning with your financial documents. Kiplinger advises what to keep and what to toss.

It's smart to keep your tax returns indefinitely. Old returns can provide important background information in a variety of situations - for example, if you're applying for a mortgage, applying for disability insurance or trying to figure out the cost basis of investments. The pages from your return don't take up much space, and the records are easy to digitize, so you don't need to keep the paper versions of your old returns.

Also keep records of your home's purchase price and major home improvements for three years after you sell the home. Most people no longer need to pay taxes on their profits on a home sale: Single filers can exclude $250,000 in profits from income, and married couples filing jointly can exclude $500,000, as long as they've lived in their home for at least two of the past five years. But if you live in the house for less than two of the five years leading up to the sale, your gains may be taxable. In that case, your home-improvement records can substantiate an increase in your tax basis and a lower gain (the cost of basic repairs doesn't count). For more information, see IRS Publication 523 Selling Your Home.

It's a good idea to keep records of stock and mutual fund purchases made in taxable accounts for as long as you hold those investments. The records will come in handy when you sell the shares and must report the purchase price, date of purchase and number of shares involved. Also keep records of any stock or mutual fund dividends you've reinvested so you can avoid paying taxes on them again when you withdraw the money.

Read on for more.

7 Basic Things to Keep in Mind When Buying Engagement Bling

Emily Co — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 00:15:05 PDT

The engagement ring may be one of the biggest expenses of your wedding, and as with buying any big-ticket item, you need to do your homework. We tapped Jerry Ehrenwald, the president of the International Gemological Institute, for some quick guidelines on what couples need to do when they're buying an engagement ring.

Learn about the four Cs. "Before purchasing a diamond, learn all about the four Cs - the color of the diamond, the clarity of the diamond, the quality of the cut of the diamond, and the carat weight of the diamond."
Check out reputable stores. "Shop at reputable jewelry sources. Make purchases from a jeweler who has been in business for a number of years. If you are not familiar with the jeweler or online site, check their reputation and rating with the Better Business Bureau before you buy."
Buy a certified diamond. "Certified means that a diamond rating report has been issued by an independent, unbiased gemological institute. This way, the consumer has the opportunity to compare one diamond’s quality to that of another, with regard to the value and quality of the diamond they’re looking at."
Grading report. "Purchase diamond jewelry accompanied by a grading report. The grading report provides an unbiased assessment of a jewel’s four Cs. It informs you if a stone is synthetic - in other words, man-made or laboratory grown - or has undergone any treatments, which may dramatically affect the value. Be sure an accredited gemological institute, such as IGI, has graded the diamond jewelry to the one internationally accepted system for diamond grading."

Read on for more.