One of my goals for 2015 was to lose about 15 pounds and get down to 170. I've realized over the years the losing weight is 90% diet and 10% exercise. I get plenty of exercise, but I mindlessly eat more than I should. I decided to start tracking my calories to help me be more mindful of what I am eating. I had typically used Lose It!, but I decided to give MyFitnessPal a try based on a recommendation from a friend.
Tools & Toys are great, but they are even better when they are free. This week, we are giving away a few DotDash Pocket Notebooks from our friends at Nock Co. They are a traditional 3 1/2” x 5 1/2” size, but with a little Nock Co flare. We are also including a pack of dotdash index cards.
The history of Yahoo! is quite an interesting story. From its humble beginnings as "Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web" to the company that owns Flickr and Tumblr, it has changed pretty dramatically since it was started by Jerry Yang and David Filo in 1995. It started as a web portal, but it has evolved into much more. Marissa Mayer and the Fight to Save Yahoo! is a new book that looks at how Yahoo! got in the shape it's in, Marissa Mayer's controversial rise at Google, and her attempts to revive one of the original internet giants.
Do you want to get premium versions of Evernote, Pocket, LastPass, and Wunderlist? Then The Productivity Pack is for you. For just $59.99, you can get premium versions (for a year) of all of those apps. This bundle is valued over $185.
Portable USB batteries are great, but what happens if they run out of power? That is where FlameStower comes in. Instead of having to use a portable battery, the heat from your campfire is converted into electricity to power your electronics. You just slide the FlameStower into your fire and your phone or camera can charge. It outputs 2.5 Watts, so it can charge an iPhone completely in about 3 hours.
Do you like giveaways? Of course you do. We are giving away a few copies of Seth Godin's latest book. What to do when it's your turn is an urgent call to do the work we're hiding from. How do you connect to communities? How do you do the things that are uncomfortable?
I know that Beats products have long had the reputation of being about "brand" and not performance. I'd being lying if I said I wasn't impressed by the recent Lebron James commercial about the Powerbeats 2, though. I've recently picked running back up as a hobby, so I wanted to get some bluetooth headphones to run with. I debated between the Powerbeats 2 and the JayBird BlueBuds X headphones. After much research, I decided to purchase the Powersbeats 2.
Our sister site, The Sweet Setup, released a new app showdown today. Stephen Hackett picked Reeder as his favorite RSS reader for the Mac. Get it on the Mac App Store for $9.99.
There are a ton of website monitoring tools out there, but Vigil is probably my favorite. It's an iPhone app that has been recently redesigned with a modern iOS 7/8 look. While the app is certainly beautiful, there is a whole lot going on behind the scenes. Once you get your websites added, Vigil will monitor them 24/7.
Our sister site, The Sweet Setup, recently picked Mailbox as their favorite third-party email app for the Mac. Jason Snell points out that Mac users have a love-hate relationship with Apple Mail. While it's built in to every Mac, it's gone through periods of major instability (particularly with Gmail IMAP). After reading the article, I downloaded it to give it a trial run. While it only works with iCloud and Gmail, it's a very powerful app.
Laptops are great because they are portable and light weight. Their one downside is they only have 2 USB ports. Whenever I see the back of an iMac, I'm extremely jealous of the 4 ports. Thankfully, Amazon sells powered USB 3.0 hub for $18.99. This will allow you to hook up USB ethernet, a time machine drive, a printer, and your iPhone while still leaving 1 port free.
Lets face it, we've all got a lot of devices that charge with USB. The Photive 50 Watt 6 Port USB Desktop Rapid Charger is aiming to simplify that setup. The USB ports will recognize what is plugged up and provide the fastest possible charging speed. This is really handy when you need a quick charge to your iPad.
A great and affordable way to prop up an iPad or Kindle.
Consumed is a book about a small town in Rhode Island. The main character is an aspiring author who is doing research for a new book. As he's getting ready to leave town, he has some unexpected car trouble and ends up staying around while it's repaired. During that time, he stumbles upon a murder that turns out to be the second one within a week.
My first experience with James Bond was playing GoldenEye 007 with 4 screen multiplayer back in the 7th grade. I had watched a few movies here and there, but didn't really get into 007 until a few years back. iTunes has the Bond 50 collection on sale for $99 (in HD). This collection contains 23 Bond movies from 1963 to 2012.
Google's Chromecast has been out for quite a while, but I didn't give it much attention until recently. For just $29.99, you get a fairly useful streaming device. Google currently has a promotion where you get a $20 Google Play store credit with purchase.
The BookBook has been a fairly popular iPhone case in years past. A number of my coworkers love them. It's a handsfree wallet case with a removable shell. It's all wrapped inside a vintage leather book. It includes pockets for cash and cards. It also folds out into a stand for Netflix and FaceTime. Buy it for $59.99 for the iPhone 6 or 6 Plus.
The room I record my podcast in at work is fairly small, but it has concrete walls. I'm not an audio engineer, but even I know that audio and concrete don't mix. I considered building a contraption to shield my mic using foam and a large box, but then realized that someone probably is selling exactly what I want. A quick search on Amazon resulted in quite a few options. I ended up choosing the Monoprice 602650 Microphone Isolation Shield.
Before getting married, I had no clue that wrapping paper actually mattered. I would grab the wrapping paper closest to the door. Since getting married, I've realized that wrapping paper is much more than the thing that hides what the presents actually are. It's a piece of decor. It's meant to add style to your holiday decorations. This Christmas Tree Pattern gift wrapping paper would be a beautiful choice for just about any home.
Children in 2014 live a very different life than the one I did in the late 80s and early 90s. Instead of iPads or iPods, we had Nintendo and Super Nintendo. And we didn't spend our days in front of them. We spent them outside playing wiffle ball, hide-n-seek, and putting lighting bugs in a mason jar. Last Child in the Woods is a book about the differences between today's children and the ones from decades ago.