Apple TV Thumbs Up or Down

The short answer is neither. But that's a short answer which doesn't tell you much. I got the Apple TV for Christmas a couple of weeks ago and I've finally had some time to go through all of the features it offers. Let me just get straight to it with the pros of the device.

Pros:
1. Awesome user interface- I wouldn't expect anything less from Apple when it comes to their user interfaces. I have an iPad and iPhone and used to have a Mac before I broke it, and the Apply TV has the same sleek easy to use feel that all of their other products have. Its extremely intuitive and if you are at least a little familiar with anything electronic you will pick it up right away.

A Busy Week/Changing Paths

I'm sorry for hardly posting this week but it was a crazy week at work with a very important project being due today. I was working late every night this week and had very little time to write when I got home. It makes me think about the pressure I put on myself to write everyday and how difficult it can be. And this, like, anything else is a new learning experience and I think I was a bit ambitious trying to write a post everyday of the week. So once again I think I'm going to change the format of my blog to help me deliver better content. The big change is I'm not going to be posting everyday but instead like 3 times a week. The categories will stay roughly the same but not related to a particular day of the week. Writing fewer posts will help me create better, more informed posts.

That being said I wanted to just talk about something I realized the other day. For a  while I had this original plan that I was going to apply to graduate school this February, get in for the coming fall semester and then spend the next two years getting my masters degree in global governance. But as of today I still haven't done application and I had a serious case of procrastination. Or I thought it was procrastination.

It wasn't. It was me trying too convince myself that this was the right path for me, the next step. I realized last week that its not the right step for me for a few reasons. First, the program just wasn't right for me. It didn't fit what I thought my career path was and I was just doing it because it was what my parents wanted and the tuition was cheap.

Start Your Emergency Fund This Year

Start this year off right by starting an emergency fund. Many of us in our 20s forget the importance of saving for a rainy day. I would go so far as to say that a majority of Americans have forgotten about the importance of saving for an emergency. That's part of what got us into this economic mess we are in now. But that's another point for another day.

So why start an emergency fun? Its simple! Would you rather pay for a $1,500 car repair out of your everyday checking account or put it on a credit card. The smart answer is no!

Here comes another weekend

Happy Friday everyone. I don't know about you but I could not wait for this weekend. It felt like such a long work week. Here are a few things to start your weekend off.

This is my new favorite "its 5:00pm on s Friday song" Snoop Dogg and Wiz Kalifa "Wild and Free"
Of course you can't embedded many music video anymore but here's a link to the youtube video
"Wild and Free"

Here's a video to make you feel little a better if you had a bad week.

New Plan for A New Military

Today President Obama unveiled a new plan for the United States Military. The plan pares down our current forces into a smaller, leaner, more agile, and more effective force. A force that can respond quickly and decisively to the new threats that face America. Just as expected conservatives railed the President for failing to protect America and taking a back seat again on important decisions that effect the country. Critics cite the plan as America's retreat from global hegemony and leaves the U.S. vulnerable to threats. Republicans, like always are out of touch with the times and continue to be the party of NO! But that is besides the point. This strategy is the correct step forward to keep America safe from emerging threats while reigning in our debt.


To the point about reducing our debt, military spending amounts to over 700 billion dollars. That's almost 5% of our GDP. It is one of the top three expenses for the U.S. government, behind social security and medicare. Recent talk about cutting our spending to reduce our budget has focused on small portions of the budget such as money for stem cell research or ending entitlements. Cutting those is like cutting the out the parsley garnish on the 24oz steak dinner with a side of mashed potatoes and mac & cheese.

Skip The Gym Membership This Year

So this is a quick little post on staying fit this year without the gym membership. I'm sure for many of you out there getting into shape was one of your new year's resolutions, I know it was one for me. Now I might sound a bit weird telling you to skip the gym this year when I'm talking about getting in shape. Here's the reason. For most of us were not trying to lose 150 pounds or get ripped like Rocky were just trying to tuck the stomach in a bit or lose 5-10 pounds. And for that you don't need that expensive gym membership. While many gyms offer nice introductory rates those rates usually end after 3 months or so and then you're stuck paying the higher membership fees.

In college we were all used to having free access to a gym to do our workouts but you don't need a gym to get in shape. If you are looking for a cardio workout you don't need a tred mill or an eliptical to get a good sweat on. Go for a run outside! The fresh air is great for your body and running on soft grass is better for your knees and ankles than running on a tredmill. And if for me when I run on a tredmill I feel like I'm never getting anywhere so I prefer running outside.

And you don't need expensive weights from a gym to do your weight lifting at home. You can find simple and cheap resistance bands at most sporting goods stores and they work just as good as free weights. And if you don't need that much weight skip the bands and fill some empty water bottles with water or sand. They work just as good. And you don't need those machines at the gym to get a work out in. Do a quick search on the web and you'll find plenty of excellent workouts. I check out Men's Health Magazine's website for good workouts.

Along the same line, check out the web for some great ab workouts. If you're feeling like you need a little more guidance try a workout video before you look for that personal trainer. Personal trainers are expensive and again unless you are looking for a serious workout regiment a simple exercise tape can make your workout more effective.

Now a nutrition plan can enhance any work out but no need to shell out big bucks for a dietician or a meal plan. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, cutting out fried foods, and eating carbs and red meat in moderation will help you get fit. And again there is plenty of great resources out there on the web. And remember the best thing you can do to help get more fit is to create a workout schedule, find ways to stay motivated, and eat right. Good luck to all of you on your new year's resolutions.

Making A Budget

I'm sorry for not posting for 2 days but it was a little crazy Sunday and Monday getting ready to come home from my girlfriends parents house. In light of not posting for Money Monday and seeing as today is Teach Me Tuesday I thought I would combine the two today and talk about creating a budget.

It's very important to create a budget once you have graduated. With all of the new financial responsibilities you take over when you graduate, knowing how much you are spending and what you are spending it on can help you grow financially and allow you to enjoy everything you want while still being responsible. I think its best to break this down into a series of steps. Like I've said before, I'm not financial expert. This guide is just what I know from my readings and my personal experience.

Step 1: Changing your thinking about a budget!
When you say the word budget most people cringe. The thought of tedious spreadsheets and math stops many people before they start. But a budget does not have to be a mental exercise requiring an advanced mathematics degree. There are plenty of software tools out there to help you stream line the process, but more on that in a bit.

Welcome to the weekend

Here's two funny videos and a picture to start your weekend off. Enjoy

Badass Grandpa is Shuffling Video


Death Star Canteen

Death Star Canteen - watch more funny videos     

Politics in the News

I was thinking about my new format yesterday and I wanted to make a small change. Instead of relying various tips and tricks on Thursday I want to talk about a political issue in the news. I feel that most of the things I write are a tip in some way and so that doesn't leave Thursdays with a real theme. I chose politics in the news because I have a passion for politics and I miss discussing it and I thought it would make an interesting topic for Thursdays. So today I want to quickly talk about the issue with Iran in the news

Iran is threatening to block the Straight of Hormuz, the 21 kilometer wide body of water that connects the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea. The reason Iran is threatening this action is in response to the Euro Zone and the United States tightening sanctions on Iran. Specifically those sanctions focus on Iran's oil production, the sole lifeline for Iran's economy.

New Format

I was going to wait till next week to make a change to the format of this blog but I think I'm going to make the change now instead. I've found myself struggling to keep to my original idea for this blog and so I'm hoping that this new format will help me better focus my writings and topics so that they better meet the purpose of this blog. I'm still going to be writing about things that are important one's Post-Graduate Journey but this new format will better focus the topics so that they are more consistent and easier to read. Below is the new format I will be using to focus my writings.

Money Monday: Topics focused on money and finances for people on their Post-Graduate journey. Everything from making a budget to different types of investments. Now I'm not a personal finance expert but I have done a lot of research on the issues to help me organize and understand my finances.


Teach Me Tuesdays: This is all about trying new things and learning how to do them. Now its not going to be me telling you how to do things but me finding DIY projects to try out and then relaying them to you. Or it might be about me opening up my own retirement account and relying how I did that to you so that you may better understand it when it comes time for you to do.

Wellness & Lifestyle Wednesdays: This day is all about your health, wellness, and self-improvement. Things such as healthy eating, exercise, and other issues to keep you healthy and well, will be the topic for this day.

Tips and Tricks Thursday: An assortment of tips and trick for everyday life. Everything from simple household fixes to tips for understanding and purchasing your first car insurance plan. No real specific theme for each just that they are little tips and tricks for your everyday.


Funny Friday: The name says it all. Anything that is fun and entertaining to kick off the weekend.

Saturday: I'm going to take this day off mostly because I don't think I will have the time to write an engaging post and I don't want to publish posts that are sub-par.

Sunday Round-Up: I like doing the weekly round-up that I posted on Monday and I want to continue that trend.

I hope everyone likes this new format. I'm only trying it out to see how everyone likes it and how it helps me with my posting. If it doesn't work out I will go back to the format before but I feel good about this new direction for the blog.

Making A New Year's Resolution

It's that time of year again. That time when you start thinking about what your going to do differently next year. And lets be honest with ourselves, a new year's resolution isn't something you've been thinking long and hard about for the last couple of months. I know I haven't. It's one of those things you come up with a week before ringing in the new year. That doesn't make the new year's resolution useless though.

There is definitely some merit in the making a resolution for the up coming year. There has to be since so many millions of people do it. But just as many people make a resolution and then fail to stick with it. But I don't believe that's for a lack of trying. It comes from poorly defined resolutions. Below are a few things to consider as you make your new year's resolution.

Weekly Round Up

Hey, hope everyone had a great Christmas and survived all of your family gatherings. I was going to do this yesterday but I figured I would wait and post today. I thought it would be cool to keep a running list of cool links and interesting articles I've read or visited over the past week and share that list with you all. Normally I'm going to do this on Sunday but because of the holiday I will do it today. So here you go!

• Ebates - So I've got this one listed on the side of my blog but I'm gonna reiterate it again. I love this site especially during the holiday shopping season. Ebates offers you cash back for shopping online at stores that have listed themselves with Ebates. What I have found that is even better and has saved me more money is the list of coupon codes on the site. Any coupon code that a company is offering is listed and the site will automatically enter the code if you click on it to shop. I love this site!!! I have already received $23 back for this shopping season. Check it out.

• Pinterest - This is a neat little site. Its like a virtual pin up board where users pin pictures of things that interest them or that they think are cool. There are some really cool pictures and ideas you can get from this site. However the waiting list to become a user must be like a mile long because I asked for a user code and that was like 3 weeks ago and my girlfriend asked for one like 6 weeks ago and she just got it.

• Life After College Post: Happy 4 Year Blogiversary - A cool post from a cool blogger about her blogs accomplishments this past year with a lot of great advice and ideas on becoming a successful blogger.

• Untemplater Post: Things to Avoid Doing At Work: Office Etiquette - This post is such good advice for the little things you can do to be polite at work and have the right etiquette at the office. I think almost every one of these things I have experienced at a job at some point in my life and I can tell you they are very annoying. 

• Amazing Bar Tending Tricks - This is a pretty cool video. 

• Six Video Game Themed Cocktails - This is for all of the gamers like me. These are really cool cocktails that I'm thinking about making at some point. I like the Portal 2 Cocktail. 

• Avoid These 7 New Blogger Blunders - I bookmarked this page right away. This is definitely great advice that I need. I'm trying to avoid doing these things but it's difficult when you have some many things you want to write about and you are trying to narrow your focus.  

Enjoy!! And tune in this Sunday for a new list!!

Santacon(Santarchy)

Merry Christmas everyone. Hope everyone is excited for food, presents and fun tomorrow. I personally know that I will be stuffing my face all day tomorrow and then promptly begin exercising the next. Okay, that's a lie...not until after new years. Anyway I thought I would share this fun and interesting "event" if that's what you can call it. While I was in DC me and my girlfriend experienced Santacon 2011. This is an event that happens nation wide in cities across America. From what I understand hundreds or thousands of people gather at a central location in a city dressed as Santa Claus and Elves. And from there they travel around the city to various bars and restaurants and drink all day. That's what I witnessed at least. If anyone participated in Santacon and can fill me in with some more details please do so. In the mean time here are some photos and a video for your enjoyment. Happy Holidays!!!

Real vs. Fake Christmas Tree

In keeping with the holiday theme I seem to be on I wanted to bring up this debate that I have with people every Christmas season. Real vs. Fake Christmas tree! I'm not much of a stickler for tradition, I'm pretty open to change and new ideas but one thing I will never budge on is getting a real Christmas tree. My girlfriends parents switched from a real tree this year to a fake tree and I was definitely disappointed that they had gone over to the dark side. I love a real Christmas tree! Ever since I can remember my family has always gone to a tree farm every Christmas and cut down our own Christmas tree. Me and my girlfriend continued the tradition this year by cutting down the tree for my parents house. Now this might be a little extreme for some people but even picking up a real tree from the local hardware store is better than purchasing a fake one.