Happy 40th Birthday, City of Irvine!
This year, the City of Irvine (California) celebrates it’s 40th birthday!
As a newly-minted resident, I wanted to participate in the celebration by entering their photography contest. The category for “Irvine Outdoors” is my first attempt at capturing the Ferris Wheel at the Irvine Spectrum outdoor mall, where the I-405 and I-5 freeways meet.
In fact, the Irvine Spectrum mall was one of the primary reasons why my wife and I choose to relocate to this section of town. It has a Pinkberry AND a Coffee Bean! Enjoy!
Read MoreA Multiple-Flags Strategy for Your Email Accounts
Most folks are content using one email account, but I am not one of them.
From my informal polling of friends and personal contacts, Gmail is the email service that almost everyone uses and for every type of correspondence. From mail, chat, and now voice features, Google has a majority of our needs met with their service.
Since Gmail is easy to use and it’s free, what is so wrong with that using it?
Why Not Gmail
Though widely used, Google’s service has ran into a number of issues. Here are the top 2 concerns:
Privacy
Major University Dumps Gmail Over Security Concerns
Google to be reviewed following Buzz privacy concerns
Gmail Adverts Become Even More Targeted Using Your Priority Inbox
Support
Judge Shuts Down Innocent User’s Gmail Account Over a Bank’s Screw-up!
If you do not have privacy concerns, like your inbox being scanned to serve targeted advertisement, then Gmail is good enough. If you are not bothered with the prospect of waking up one morning and seeing that you’ve lost years of emails because access to your Gmail account has been revoked, then Gmail should be fine.
However, if you have plans to supplement your income using the web or if you want comfort in knowing that emails between you and your doctor are kept private, then continue reading for an approach that leverages jurisdictional limits for handling and protecting your correspondence.
Read MoreBurnout: Indicators and Resolution
Psychology Today has a timely article on Overcoming Burnout. It’s also a quick read.
Background
With the recent recession during the previous two years, my wife was releasedf from her position as a IT/Business Analyst along with a number of our friends who worked in different sectors of the Las Vegas economy. The general mood could be described as “troubled” as more of our friends faced unemployment while those who were able to retain their job faced increased workloads and uncertain working environments.
So how does this affect the rest of us who have jobs and are working harder than ever?
Read MoreHow To Access Your Physical Mail From Anywhere
A friend recently remind me that I have too many email address (at 500+ and growing) and he may have a point. But, that’s for another time and another post.
Today, I want to show you how to receive and access your physical (USPS, FedEx, USP, etc.) mail from anywhere in the U.S.. (You can extend this approach even if you live in Antarctica or other parts of the world.)
The Problem
I’ve been dealing with this issue for a few years and it has only increased with my travel schedule. Here is where I stand today:
- I am a resident of Las Vegas, Nevada and my primary residence is a nice 1,700 sq. ft. 3-bedroom home.
- I work in Minneapolis, Minnesota where I have a 900 sq. ft. condo for part-time residence
- For a current project, I lease a small apartment in Irvine, CA.
- My travel schedule also requires me to fly Cincinnati, Ohio where stay at a friendly hotel.
Depending on the week, I may need to be in any of the above 4 cities. My physical mail, however, can arrive in either Las Vegas, Minneapolis, or Irvine but it almost always never arrive where I happen to be.
For example, I may be working in Minneapolis for 3 weeks when mail related to my Nevada business arrives at my Las Vegas home. Or, I can be working from home in Las Vegas when an invoice from my Minnesota dentist arrives at my Minneapolis condo.
Online Bill-Pay solves a number of the issues related to having multiple residences, but there are times where you need to accept physical mail. Also, changing your address and communicating the update with all of your vendors on a weekly basis is problematic. It also causes stress, if you can image.
Read MoreSleeping Beauty’s Castle at Disneyland
And Wake Up Where The Clouds Are Far
I’ve been flying to Cincinnati for work, so most of my time is spent staring out the windows.
This capture was taken earlier this week with my iPhone4. Enjoy!
Read MoreLeaving Yahoo Mail Plus
Admission: I have a love/hate relationship with Yahoo Mail Plus.
I’ve been using Yahoo Mail since 1996 and I signed up for the premium service known as Yahoo Mail Plus in 2004. The feature that won me over was their disposable email addresses that allows you to organize incoming email and fight spam.
Having a set of disposable email addresses in my pocket was like wearing an invisibility cloak online and the geek in me fell love!
7 years and 25,000 emails later, I quit.
Read MoreAbout Me
I am a landscape photographer based in Orange County, CA.