New Online Games Blog Announcement

As you know my blog http://makelifeexcellent.blogspot.com is all about excellence in design, sustainable living and life hacking and how that relates to technology and society.  Sometimes I've written about unrelated topics mostly because I haven't had another place to write those things.  I wanted to mention that I've launched a blog experiment where I'll also be writing on my online video game blog. So if you like Facebook's Cityville, or are looking for fun free online games, head over to the onlinegamesdigest.blogspot.com site to read.

Cheers,
Greg

How to protect yourself on the Internet

If you are Internet savvy this list is nothing new, but if your online security could use an upgrade, check out the following list of Internet security precautions.

You have very real concerns about protecting yourself from identity theft, about getting the junk and viruses off of your computer.  They seem to come climbing back on as soon as you clean them off. Your friends tell you they got a virus in an email from you. It seems that your computer is doing things you didn't tell it to.  Since the Internet is so useful and its benefits are becoming a common  part of our daily lives wouldn't it be great to be better protected?

Tips and Tricks to succeed at CityVille on Facebook

I have come to enjoy playing Zynga's CityVille on facebook even though I never thought I'd play a "Facebook game".  Here are some tips that I've employed to ensure an enjoyable and effective time playing CityVille.  After looking briefly at privacy, spam, finances and managing in-game resources you will better understand how to have fun while succeeding at CityVille.

3 reasons for and against New Years Resolutions

I don't like New Years resolutions for 3 reasons;

1. They tend to be hard things that I'm not doing now, so that means change and effort.
2. The idea of resolving to be better or do things better shouldn't be reserved for 1 day a year.
3. There are a lot of voices out there "telling people what to resolve".

But I've found 3 reasons to dig in my heels and participate;

1. I rarely take adequate time to reflect on my life and self-assess.
2. I fail to "resolve" because I fear the outcome being beyond my control.  I give in to fear and don't even "choose" to do better.   Better to attempt and fail or only achieve half, than to not live intentionally.
3. We're all in this together.  Those who succeed are inspiration for others. Those who struggle are team-mates with those of us who fix our eyes on "What could be" and try.

Cheers,
Greg.

Why I've given up on rechargeable batteries.

I feel cheated and betrayed.  For years I've made small efforts to be responsible in purchasing rechargeable batteries.  I wanted to reduce the number of batteries going to a landfill, I wanted to be responsible with money by not having to re-purchase batteries.  I wanted to do the right thing.    But I feel like the promises made and prices charged by battery manufacturers weren't genuinely intended to support the widescale adoption of rechargeable batteries. Its been a long process but for now I've finally given up. :-(