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Do you like stuff? So do we! Stuff for the mind, for passing time, for sharing, for yourself, for fun. Mariva's Guide brings you interesting, innovative, beautiful, entertaining and useful products, web sites, articles and images -- in other words, this, that and the other thing.
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Super Bowl commercials |
What’s the best part of the Super Bowl? The parties? Making food or ordering in? The risque halftime entertainment? The fact that for some, it marks the end of seventeen weeks of misery?
While you’re thinking it over, ponder your favorite Super Bowl commercials. |
Posted February 6, 2006 by Mariva in business, entertainment, finance, fun, games, news, social
personal budget software
I found out about the Free Budget Kit on one of Dr. Phil’s “Money Disasters” shows (which are like watching a train wreck — horrifying, but impossible to turn away from). But I was wondering, couldn’t Quicken or Microsoft Money — or heck, even an Excel spreadsheet, such as a template for a personal budget or a monthly budget — accomplish the same thing?
Posted January 30, 2006 by Mariva in finance, resources
Pure Beauty’s makeover
I walked into Pure Beauty to pick up the perfect Smoothies hair clips, which had always been in stock. But I noticed this time that the selection was very low, and I asked the sales clerk what gave. She informed me that Pure Beauty’s current CEO has decided to give the store — and the business model — a makeover. "It’ll be less of a beauty supply shop and more of a beauty boutique," she said. Huh?
Posted January 27, 2006 by Mariva in beauty, business, fashion, news
managing email overload
Just counting the legitimate, non-spam stuff, are you overwhelmed by email? You’re not alone. Email overload is a problem facing everyone from students and teachers to high-level executives to Congress. Too much email consumes your time, stresses you out and even impairs your mental acuity.
What to do? Organizing guru Julie Morgenstern says it all in the title of her new time-management book: Never Check E-Mail in the Morning. And Merlin Mann, proprietor of 43 Folders (no relation to 43 Things), seems particularly fascinated with email management and personal productivity. For those facing information overload, Mann advises canceling something and getting a fresh start with email, among other email management tips.
Posted January 20, 2006 by Mariva in business, career, resources, social
fun sites
Googlism: Find out what Google "thinks" of you — or of anyone or anything else.
The Dialectizer: Turn the verbal content of a web page into any of a variety of funny dialects, including "Jive," "Cockney," "Elmer Fudd," "Swedish Chef," "Moron," "Pig Latin" or "Hacker." I sound quite cornpone when Mariva’s Guide has been Redneck Dialectized.
5ives: Lists of five things within a random topic, such as "five ways to get on the del.icio.us home page" or "five terrible fake ideas for a retro TV comeback."
Posted January 11, 2006 by Mariva in business, education, entertainment, fun, games, innovations, resources
getting organized: personal information management
How do you manage all the information in your life? For a busy person — and who isn’t these days? — it can be a challenge to find the right information management system. It may help to know that no system is perfect — each has its pros and cons — and you might end up using a combination of several tools to create a customized information management system that works best for you.
Posted January 5, 2006 by Mariva in books, business, career, gadgets, innovations, resources
scented paper?
Does scented paper exist? I’ve been intrigued by the concept since seeing Legally Blonde, in which Reese Witherspoon’s character Elle Woods submitted her resume on paper that was not only pink, but scented as well, to give it that "extra something." After conducting my own exhaustive research, however, I found out that you can’t just purchase a ream of scented paper at, say, Office Depot.
The only products I found that were even close to this mythical scented paper included:
Posted December 28, 2005 by Mariva in bath & spa, business, decor, entertaining, gifts, home, innovations
IDEO Method Cards
Feeling creatively blocked? Try a pack of IDEO Method Cards, a tool that helps designers, innovators, entrepreneurs and others come up with new ideas, approaches and strategies for business and creative endeavors. Each card features a photograph, diagram, drawing or other image on the front and a suggested approach on the back. You don’t have to be a professional designer to appreciate how these cards can help you think about things differently or conduct thought experiments in the everyday world. IDEO provides four examples online; if you’re intrigued by these, you’ll hunger for the whole deck.
Posted December 9, 2005 by Mariva in business, career, education, fun, games, gifts, innovations, resources
teach English abroad
Thinking about teaching English abroad? Check out Dave’s ESL Cafe, where you can find job boards, books, links and a photo gallery of students in other countries. English teachers and students alike may find it helpful to review the lists of idioms, phrasal verbs, pronunciation and slang.
Posted November 3, 2005 by Mariva in business, career, community, education, resources, travel
Frappr (Friends Mapper)
Frappr (Friends Mapper) is a new tool (currently in beta) that allows you to place everyone in a particular group (work, friends, specific communities) on a map, complete with markers, photos and "shoutouts" (messages to the entire group). If the idea seems fuzzy, you can browse the public Frappr groups to see what Frapprs are mapping: quilters, rock band fans, outdoors clubs and so on.
RisingConcepts, the startup behind Frappr, is also developing two other collaborative projects: CareerJive, a social networking tool for friends, colleagues, associates and job-seekers, and Planzo, a shareable calendar tool. The examples of Presidents George W. Bush’s and Bill Clinton’s Planzo calendars are hilarious.
Posted October 28, 2005 by Mariva in business, community, social
