I wasn’t going to spend any time posting on this subject. There has been plenty of blog space dedicated to it, especially since WWDC and quite frankly, I learned my lesson the first time around.  The fact that the new firmware will be available to my current iPhone is really what has me excited.  I can’t wait to see what apps are available and yeah, I’ll be purchasing a game or two as well.  So why am I even spending any time on this subject? 

Over the past couple weeks I have been asked the same question over and over…"So..are you gonna get the new iPhone "  The wink is because all last year from the release, I was saying to my friends that by next year we’ll see the 3G version.  Of course the more I looked at the phone, the more obsessed I became with it.  Ultimately, my wife bought one for me for our anniversary (albeit a 4gig model but an iPhone none the less).  And to re-iterate, this is by far the best mobile phone I have ever had.  I make that statement based solely on the fact that even after a year, I don’t have the itch to get anything new.  The typical life span of a mobile phone for me is 6-9 months and then its time to get something new.  I simply just get bored and dissatisfied with he user experience of most phones. 

So why am I not getting in line?  Simple,  I still really like my current phone.  But here a re a few other reasons.

• I’m not sold on the plastic back of the 3G version (I tend to drop my phones).
• $20 for my current data plan is too much and I think $30 is worse, especially without SMS included or included tethering capability.
• I think we’ll see a big price drop some the holidays and/or we’ll see a new model with more capacity so we can really take advantage of the plethora of apps being developed.  The one thing that that really stick out for me and I haven’t seen anything written up about is the fact that the phone is a bit thicker in the back.  Presumably this is to accommodate the larger battery and GPS module.  Now lets back track for a moment, the reason the 1st gen can’t get above the 16g capacity is because there is no space for the added memory chip like there is in the Touch.  Well, now there would seem to be more space, so maybe there will be one by the holidays which would be in line with how Apple has been releasing updated models to its line over the past 2 years.

Sara over at pop17.com put up a great video on this subject and I think it summed up how I was feeling on the whole buying a 3G iPhone question.  Of course, after it’s out who knows what I’ll end up doing.  Last year I lasted about 60 days.

iphone,3g iphone,3g

wpthemedesigner.com has a contest going on now with some great prizes.  You says ‘What prizes?’, I’m glad you asked.  There are some really great premium wordpress themes being given away.  That’s right, you could win a license to one of the themes listed below.  If you want to enter or more info head on over to wpthemedesigner.com but hurry since the contest ends June 30th.

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Here’s a fun little video of Takara Tomy’s RhythmBit.  It’s a fun little toy that wiggles around changing direction to the beat of the music.  The little creature gets its instructions from home base via an infra-red signal.  They were released in 2007 and have been selling like hotcakes ever since. 

takara tomy,tomy,rhythmbit

I love taking lots of pictures when I’m on vacation or at family gatherings.  I usually get a few great shots and others that are not great but reminds everyone of a really great moment in time.  But what to do with these special photos? 

I took my wife and daughter to Key West a couple years ago and I have to say that it still ranks as our #1 vacation.  I know it was my first one in at least 5 years and was the first one I had taken in a long time that work did not follow me (Hint: to make a vacation great…be on vacation).  Everyone relaxed and simply went with the flow.  We didn’t fill our week with an itinerary and simply went where ever we felt like going.  One of the best outings was a little walk at night to get an ice cream cone.  I got a great shot of my wife and daughter with the best smiles.  I think these kinds of pictures make great photo cards.  Photo cards simply being cards that have been personalized with a photo and some text/greeting.  I use them for invitations and holidays and the personalization always makes my cards memorable.

One service I have used to make these cards is Cardsdirect –
Photo Cards.  The service is pretty simple to use as you would expect from such a well known company.  You can select from cards that are ready to go or completely customize your own card.  What makes the service really unique is that you can customize the text not only on the inside of the card but the front as well.  This is really cool so you could always add something like "Fun in the Sun" on the front along with a picture of you on the beach to make your friends jealous. Photo Cards can be used for all sorts of things from thank you cards, wedding invitations or even just to say Hi.  Their uses are only limited by your own creativity. Cardsdirect does a great job of creating high quality cards from your own design or a mix of your pictures and their templates.  In addition, you can currently get 4 personalized lines, a custom verse and only $5 ground shipping.

photo cards,cretive greetings

So this is a really old video in intertube years. I just happen to see it again and was simply amused once again by it so of course I had to share….

I just finished a project for a client’s marketing campaign.  My part had to do with the creation of a post card and my client provided the basics of what he wanted and an address list of who he wanted it to go to.  I came up with the design of the postcard and then set about on deciding who to use to produce the 1000 pieces needed.  The first printer to come to mind was VistaPrint.

I’ve used VistaPrint in the past and have always ben happy with the finished product and more importantly, with the customer service. Off I went to VistaPrint to place my order.  First I selected the right size postcard to fit what I had designed.  Next, I uploaded my design that was in Adobe Illustrator format.  VistaPrint lets you design and upload your own images in popular formats like Illustrator, Photoshop and PDF.  I recommend the Illustrator as you always get the best quality from the rasterized graphics.  They also can provide you with a free downloadable template so you know for sure that your design meets their printing guidelines for whatever project you are working on.  After a brief automated guideline check I was presented with a the option to order and have the postcards mailer dot me or to upload a mailing list. 

The mailing list option is relatively new and allows you to upload a CSV file with the names and address of intended recipients.  VistaPrint can at this point produce your mailer with addresses printed and send to you for mailing or they can take care of the postage and mailing for you.  I chose the latter option for this project as I didn’t want to be bothered with printing postage or stamps for a 1000 postcards.  The mailing option from VistaPrint is actually a good deal unless you have some kind of bulk mail discount and considering the time saver it is I think it’s and incredible value.  The final step is to select the date I want the mailer to go out and pay for the order.  All in all, I would say the entire process only took a few minutes and was seamless for me.

VistaPrint produces a full line of products you can personalize from
thank you cards to t-shirts.  If you need something printed and in a relatively small quantity, there isn’t a better game in town.

So I typically take the weekends to reflect on the previous week and read through those not so pressing emails and catch up on blogs that I wanted to give more than a glance at. One of those emails was a newsletter that I get from a friend who happens to be a personal trainer. One topic in the letter was that on change. Yeah, when you hear ‘change’ you either cringe or you smile. In truth, I have a love/hate with change. I try to embrace it but sometime I just don’t quite make the changes I need to. Well in keeping with my new blog theme and focus (ie. blog change), I wanted to spend a few word son this topic.

First off, I think it is important to remember that change is instantaneous, so you can dis-spell with the idea that changes takes months or even years. I will admit that the hard par tis making those changes last. Or maybe, its not really that hard and its just our own expectations. Think about this :

We expect to try and fail numerous times before we ultimately give up or succeed.

How true is that? We actually go into making a change with some expectation to fail. I’m a pretty strong believer that we all create our outcomes via our own beliefs and thoughts. Thus, if you think you’ll fail…well you probably will. I know I have and yes it is hard to keep positive, especially when someone says that to you. So how do we go about making lasting change?

According to professional speaker and author, Anthony Robbins, it’s the getting ready to change that takes times. In the end there’s an instant when the change occurs. Robbins goes on to outline three specific beliefs that you must have in order to instantly create a lasting change.

Belief #1: Something must change.
Do you kind of want to get into shape or do you absolutely have to lose the weight? Does dropping a few pounds sound nice or is living another day in your current body simply out of the question? In order to make a lasting change you must be convinced that the time is right.

Belief #2: I must change it.
It is vital that you take full responsibility in making the change. Sure, others may assist you, but in the end you are the one who is going to make it happen. You have to want this change enough to make it your personal mission-no one else will do it for you.

Belief #3: I can change it.
Don’t let past failures get in your way. The truth is that you can do amazing things when you put your mind to it. Believe that you are capable of losing weight or making any other positive change in your life.

So what’s the answer? In short, I think it has everything to do with keeping in front of you why you are making the change. I keep me motivated on my blogging, I read other blogs that are where I want to be. I’m not talking about money makers but bloggers that post things that make me want to read and do so consistently. I enjoy how they engage their audience and only hope to get to that point with this blog. Anthony Robbins big deal is to associate pain with the behavior you want to change. Ultimately, we ll want to be happy and try to avoid pain at all costs (regardless of how small the pain is). In the past, I know i avoided some changes because I honestly believed there was more pain in the change than not. The reality is their is more pain in most changes, but it is very short term. Long term results are usually the opposite, more pain with not changing.

Let me leave you with this, go ahead and make that change and remember that you’ll gain infinitely more pleasure from the change than not. Feel free to share any of your thoughts on change in the comments.