Give the gift of premium Web services

6 hrs.

Whitson Gordon, Lifehacker

As you're trying to come up with great gifts for the holidays, software likely isn't the first thing that comes to mind. It can make a great gift for the right person, though, especially when they're not willing to shell out the cash themselves (as so few people are). Here are some of our favorite (and your favorite) premium Web services that not only boost productivity, but dish out a little holiday cheer too.

Note: Most of these are monthly subscriptions, so you can gift them however you like. Giving someone a few months or a year of a service is a great gift that you can tweak for your budget, and leave yourself room for the same gift next year if they really like it.

If a service doesn't offer a gift option, you can always use a prepaid credit card and give it to them for use with the service you're gifting.

SUBSCRIPTIONS?UNDER $5 A MONTH?

A personalized domain name
It?may sound silly for the No.?1 item on our list, but it's the cheapest subscription you can give, costing only $3.99 a year (that's 33 cents a month), and it's something everyone should have. They may not know it, but a personalized domain name can come in extremely handy, and will only get more important as time goes on. They can post their online CV or resume there, redirect it to their Twitter or Facebook page, and further control how the Internet sees you. The quicker you snatch it up before someone else with the same name, the better. We've linked to Namecheap below, since that's your favorite domain registrar, but check out our Hive Five for a few other options.

Crashplan+
If you have a friend who still isn't backing up their data, it's the perfect time to give them the gift of bulletproof backup thanks to Crashplan. Even if they're backing up to an external drive, that isn't good enough???they need something in the cloud so no matter what happens, their backups are always accessible and they don't become another sad story of lost data. Crashplan is our favorite option, being cheap and easy to set up, so get them in the habit now. If you're particularly cheap, RobotTaco notes that you can get a free subscription right now from this page.

LastPass and Xmarks Premium
If you know someone with multiple computers, the gift of synchronization can be a wonderful thing. Give them a combined subscription to LastPass and Xmarks for their passwords, bookmarks, history, open tabs, and everything else so they're able to browse easily from any computer.?

Xmarks is convenient, but LastPass is the most important app here, as it gives you the enhanced security everyone should have???make sure they create good passwords and turn on two-factor authentication, while you're at it, so they don't fall prey to the ever-increasing number of hacks happening nowadays.?

The pro versions give you access to the mobile apps for each service, more secure two-factor authentication with a thumb drive or YubiKey, plus an ad-free experience and priority support. You can buy each service separately, but buying them both together gets you a pretty sweet discount.

Pandora One
Everyone loves Pandora, but no one likes ads interrupting their music. Reader jrod3737recommended a subscription to Pandora One as a gift for just about anyone: it not only ditches the ads, but lets you use the Pandora desktop client, customize your experience with skins, and listen to higher quality audio all day long. You can either buy a month-to-month subscription or grab an entire year for a discounted price.

Evernote Premium
Evernote is still your favorite note-taking application, and it's only gotten better lately. If you know someone that isn't using Evernote yet???particularly if they need some extra organization in their life??a subscription to Evernote Premium is a great way to get them started. A premium subscription gets you more space per month, offline notebooks, collaborative notes, better speed, PDF search, priority support, an ad-free experience, and more. It's the perfect way to take someone's organization from good to awesome with one simple download.

SUBSCRIPTIONS UNDER $10 A MONTH

Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime's combination of two-day shipping and sizable library of streaming TV shows and movies makes a fantastic gift for?...?well, anyone who ever uses Amazon. And if they don't use Amazon, they will once they can buy anything with free two-day shipping. Of course, you could always share your two-day shipping benefits with them, but getting them their own subscription lets them stream movies too, which is always nice???especially if they have a home theater PC or streaming set-top box in their living room.

Netflix and Hulu Plus
For the true TV addict, grab them a subscription to Netflix and/or Hulu Plus so they can watch all their favorite movies and TV shows on demand. Netflix is great for movies and TV shows alike, while Hulu Plus is particularly good for watching current seasons of shows as they air. Both subscriptions let you stream to a set-top box, too, and are the perfect companions for ditching an expensive cable subscription. Grab one or both for your friends and help set them free from the shackles of cable TV.

Spotify Premium
If your friend has truly embraced streaming and switched to Spotify for their music-listening needs, they need a premium subscription.?

Not only will it get rid of the ads (which the cheaper "Unlimited" subscription will also do), but it gives them higher-quality audio and lets them listen on their iPhone or Android phone, truly completing the Spotify experience.

?It may not be ready to replace most people's libraries, but if you know someone whose fallen in love with it, you should help them go all-out with a Premium subscription.?

Alternatively, if you don't like Spotify, you can grab them a subscription to one of the other great music services out there, like Grooveshark or Rdio.

FOR THE BIG SPENDERS: SUBSCRIPTIONS $10 A MONTH AND UP

A VPN for privacy and international browsing
A VPN (virtual private network)?may seem like an ultra geeky gift, but it's something not everyone knows they need, and nobody wants to pay for. However, it can be useful for all sorts of people, but especially good for users looking for an extra bit of privacy (like bittorrent users) or, as reader JeshuaSanmentions, those living internationally (who?want to watch Hulu or listen to Spotify when it isn't available in their country). Every user is different, so hit the link below to see some of the VPNs we recommend.

• Choose a VPN (Subscriptions range from $7.99/month to $38/month)
  

Extra Dropbox space
Dropbox is one of our all-time favorite Web services, and while you can grab a lot of space for free, sometimes you just need to pony up for a premium subscription. A subscription to expanded space can be great for students, video editors with large files, or people that just want to sync their large musicor photo libraries across computers. Alternatively, you can also grab someone one of the cheaper options, like Google Drive, Skydrive, or Box.

A special thanks goes out to everyone who provided suggestions last week! It made putting together these guides a lot easier, and a better fit for you.

More?from Lifehacker:

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/give-gift-premium-web-services-1C7209890

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Home And Garden: Home Improvement Ideas - keecen's posterous

Here are 5 great improvement
ideas that can help you decide:

1. Kitchen

The kitchen is perhaps probably the most unforgettable places in the home, and also the one that most visitors reach notice the most. Instead of spending lots of money having all the cabinets and drawers removes and clearing up the surfaces where these were once located, you can just select a modern design, shade paint color or replace cabinet handles with increased modern designs. You may still have a similar cabinets in the kitchen but they?ll surely look new once you?ve completed the necessary beautifications.

You can also change the kitchen lights which are currently installed and change to some more modern or whatever theme you?re having for the kitchen. Additionally, change in kitchen utensils also may help make the feel of the entire kitchen completely new.

2. Lights

Lighting is one important element that beautifies the whole house. When your house lighting isn't so good, your house is not so nice. The kind of lighting you choose for your house can have a great impact on the over-all appearance and the feel of your house. You can change the lighting to give a brand new touch and feel towards the house as one of your house improvement choices.

3. Landscape

You are able to similarly improve your home by fashioning landscapes in your backyard or front yard; this will not only result in the house more attractive but it likewise provides a new fresh feel towards the entire outdoor area.

4. Windows

Rather than replacing the entire window frame that may cost you more money, try experimenting on good bits of curtains that will enhance the appearance of the home. Curtains can do wonders in beautifying a house, plus it can dictate the atmosphere of the entire place. Colourful and printed pieces can also add life and liveliness in your home while abstract designs provide a more artistic touch. You are able to pattern the design and colour of your curtain pieces based on the kind of effect you want to achieve.

5. Floor

You don?t necessarily have to change the entire flooring to improve the feel of the house; you can simply add pieces that may improve the effect of the flooring for example carpets. Carpets with bold prints turns into a decorative piece of art; not only will it boost the appearance of the flooring, it can also add attitude towards the entire place. If your flooring looks a bit dirty no matter how many times you perform the mopping, you can also consult a flooring expert on suggestions of floor cleaning equipment that may change that old floor right into a shiny almost-brand-new-looking one.

Source: http://homeandgardens21.blogspot.com/2012/11/home-improvement-ideas.html

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Source: http://keecen.posterous.com/home-and-garden-home-improvement-ideas

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The Source of Growth and Creativity | Self improvement tips

Bare attention (to objects, people and circumstances) is what brings order in this world and in your personal world. If you know how to move your attention without the involvement of mind, positive creation happens as a result. Attention is literally a life response whereas mind is reaction out of memory and reaffirmation of the past. Attention is not same as thinking mind but it constitutes pure awareness moving itself through different objects without creating friction.

I am stating below some examples as to how life responds to the power of attention. Here?s one:

One small business owner decided to give attention to his accounts, balanced eight months of back bank statements, and miraculously received $5000 from nowhere the next day.

The key is attention without interpretation of the situation. A mere attention and intention to improve is sufficient.

If you bring your personal or business accounts fully and accurately up to date, you?ll be able to watch the money flow to you!

Money is not the only thing that responds to attention. So do ordinary objects and things. Consider this example:

A businessperson was unable to make any substantial sales. He was told that he should give attention to and evaluate his remaining current stocks, and then make a full effort to sell them off. After making an effort of selling but a few of the minimal stocks, an order arrived equal to six months of normal sales!

We have often seen this phenomenon where a business owner concerned by low sales or cash made the effort to sell off remaining unsold stocks, and life responded by bringing more sales. This is a powerful example of the power of attention to objects and things.

One way we give attention is by adopting the personal value of maximizing the way you use your current resources, such as money, materials, and time. Here?s an example of how one manufacturer applied the value of maximum utilization of a limited resource, which resulted in a very favorable situation for the company:

?In the manufacture of welding electrodes, Low Carbon Ferro Manganese is one of the main raw materials. The manufacturer who was supplying us suddenly informed that their plant is shut down for maintenance and that there will not be any supply from them for the next two months. It is an expensive material so the stock holding was minimum. There are only very few manufacturers of this item and they are all located at far away places. We had little time to arrange supply from other sources. The stock on hand was sufficient for 5 days of production only. We decided that not a particle of LCF should be wasted and alerted all the workers to be extra careful. The shop floor was swept thoroughly and all the spilled material were collected, screened and used. We provided attention to what could immediately be attended. Coincidentally, within two days, a Managing Director of a company manufacturing LCF in Orissa (which is about 1300 kilometers away from Pondicherry) visited our unit; over the phone (from Pondicherry) he instructed his plant to dispatch material to us. From the previous supplier we were buying the material against payment. Where as this company offered us a credit of 30 days. We did not negotiate any terms with them. They themselves agreed to supply at the same price. We were frank in telling them the precarious situation we were in. In spite of knowing our weak situation, they did not take any undue advantage. We are continuing with them.?

Moral is they didn?t wasted the material further and alerted all the workers to be extra careful. The shop floor was swept thoroughly and all the spilled material were collected, screened and used. They provided attention to what could be immediately attended. Moral is mere attentions to a situation without being caught up in its interpretation brings order into it. One need not worry, anxiety (using mind) but need to attend to immediate things including the people and objects and the universe arranges rest of the trappings to bring in the harmony into the area of attention.

Here?s a closely related example of the power of attention to things through the application of the value of maximum utilization, and life response:

X, the proprietor of a company, engaged Y as his consultant to improve his business. Y, the consultant, noticed a machine, which X deemed not useful to his present business, kept in a sorry state. Y requested X to repair and repaint it and keep it ready for production. X laughed and said, ?This machine

is idle for last many years without any order. I can not spend money on it. As soon as I get orders, I will repair and repaint the machine.? Y thought X was looking at things in the wrong way.

Y told X, ?If you keep machine ready for production and if you genuinely wish that this machine should yield profits, you will get orders. Life will favorably respond.?

X followed Y?s suggestion. After a day or two, X?s cousin, an engineer, came to his factory. The newly painted machine gained his attention. He took interest in the machine. He told X that he was interested in starting a new factory. If X could give the machine to him, he could earn profit from the first month onwards and a share of the income would go to X. An agreement was struck and the machine became a cash cow.

Moral is begin with trust that in the end everything will be organized and take your first step forward in the trust that the universe will arrange the trapping, your job is to attend the immediate objects, people and rest will follow on its own timing. In this case they attended a machine deemed not useful to his present business.

So all sorts of things respond to attention; animate and inanimate!

One final example will show how the power of attention is tied in to organizing things one level higher than it is currently organized.

A company had just launched a new product, yet did not yet have any sales on the product, despite considerable effort. One day the manager decided to go through the operations manual to update it to the latest information, including procedures related to the new product. He did this late in the work day. Early the very next morning he saw the first order for the product come in through the company?s web site.

Finally, let?s not forget to mention that people also, of course, respond to attention.

Mind creates friction, attention creates movement. If you experience movement without friction, its attention and not the mind and you can assume that you are in a creative state. We invite restlessness through preconceived ideas about the state of reality. Creativity begins when you can stabilize in a chaotic environment looking at it as an ever expanding life rather than mere problems; all the chaos is a life itself expanding to create new bridges where there are none. As a result, trust takes over fear and panic. New things or events or people are seen as opportunities to organize the life one step up. It is through chaos that the new order is borne, so chaos need not be seen as something to fear about but life itself stretching the limits to organize one step further. A relaxed attitude takes over the panic and fear.

Attention itself brings in the order when used wisely in a trusting manner. Things are disorganized on account of lack of attention and ignorance of it?s values.

Attention brings in the order. Place your attention in the areas where you seek improvements, hang out loosely expecting to improve the area, rest will follow. Key is identify the area, focus loosely and intend the desired result.

Seek with the attitude (state of existence) that you are already fulfilled and perfect in areas where you seek improvements, the acting and attitude of the perfection at every step itself consolidates into the ultimate end perfection. Move yourself consciously attending whatever needs to be attended here and now.

You trust and move one step toward unknown and simultaneously unknown moves one step towards you bridging the gap between harmony and disharmony. Your attention itself is your one step towards the unknown and if you consistently moves your attention in the desired direction with the intention to improve the life, unknown is moving towards you simultaneous bringing in all the necessary elements to bring harmony into your life.

Universe responds not to just fulfill your individual whims and fancies but to bring in greater order for greater good.

There is always a response to attention since it has capacity for positive movement where has mind has fixed notions which restricts movement.

Attention enables movement, whereas beliefs blocks movement.

Author: Santosh Kunte ?Mumbai India. An avid reader of the spiritual knowledge, engineering graduate and executive. Loves reading meditation and sharing. You can reach me for your valuable feedback or you can reach me for your problems of finance, relationship etc. by dropping an e-mail to me on sskunte2@rediffmail.com

Source: http://www.moonsbeing.com/2012/11/22/The-Source-of-Growth-and-Creativity/

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Source: http://assertive-systolic.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-source-of-growth-and-creativity.html

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AVG 2013 Complete Collection Mega Pack (Nov 2012) Download ...

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Men, Women, Sex and Friendship | Mia Hansson

A reader asked an interesting question about sex and celibacy, which he?s happy for me to publish.

?I?m curious about whether you think men and women can develop a deeply loving relationships with each other, including a tactile, co-habiting relationship, without that relationship ever crossing the boundary and becoming a sexual relationship. I guess this is a variation on the question in ?When Harry Met Sally? about whether men and women can ever really be just friends. I believe they can.

Is it possible to develop a deeply loving hetero/homo relationship without physical/sexual consummation, especially if you wish to abide by Buddhist principles? Is it possible for such a relationship to be based on mutual celibacy? Do you think that a relationship may flourish and bloom if couples were to abstain from sex for weeks or months, so sex is not a distraction, and allow the relationship to become ?centred? again, and then resume sex at a later point??

?When Harry Met Sally? originally had a different ending. Harry and Sally didn?t marry, but stayed friends. Both the writer and director thought that was closer to the truth.

At the monastery I train in, male and female monks live and work side by side, 24 hours a day. There are some very deep friendships there which don?t play themselves out sexually. They have chosen to be a celibate order, so if they wish to have a sexual relationship, they would have to leave their equivalent of work, family and spiritual vocation in order to pursue it. (In this post I?m mostly addressing your question, ?is it possible?. The reasons for celibacy are another topic.)

To help with celibacy they?re not tactile either, so this example won?t entirely answer your question. One thing worth knowing though is that intimacy doesn?t require physicality. I guess that sounds crazy to some, because it did to me, until I experienced myself how it really was possible to be very close to others without sexuality having to play itself out.

The next thing people tend to imagine when I tell them about that scenario, is the insane amount of sexual tension there must be. I hate to disappoint, but there isn?t. Sexuality isn?t an unknown wild force that we have to either a) suppress, or b) leave to rage out of control. Like any strong emotion, if we get to know it patiently and intimately through meditation, it stops dictating to us what we want to do.

For example I used to think that if you?re attracted to someone and it?s mutual, then you have to act on it. Visceral emotions backed this belief up. When practising celibacy however I found that being attracted to someone without acting on it was like standing in a storm, but choosing not to get blown off my feet. Then with practice, it became effortless. It just popped up as an awareness, ?Ah yes I?m attracted to you, but it?s no big deal and it doesn?t mean anything.?

To my surprise I found that that?s where a clearer and deeper trust and closeness emerged, which I?d never experienced before. Crucially, I realised that I?d been lying to myself. There are people whom we don?t want to sleep with, but we do anyway, and when that happens the dust gets kicked up and all sorts of stupidity emerges. Holding back until I was sure?was more honest, more dignified and made me a lot happier.

Realising that it?s a choice makes new monastic trainees a lot calmer. They?ve committed to celibacy, so there?s no point in entertaining all the pre-sexual games we ?normal? people play such as flirtation and obsessive fantasy. In their position, to play them would be to lie to themselves and split the mind: committing to one thing, but then deliberately telling the body something else. To someone who wants peace of mind, that isn?t an option.

That doesn?t mean that sexuality goes out the window. Unless you?re naturally asexual or have attained a near-mythical ?higher state?, it?s still there as an integral human emotion. Shamanic practitioners say we can channel that same energy into creativity and affluence.

Either way, it doesn?t mean that we must have sex. Plenty of people don?t, and remain very happy (if not happier, even, than the average person ? since they?re not kicking up all that dust )

Of course it?s easier to accept all that when you?re sitting on your own. Choosing to be in a celibate relationship with someone who also has a sexuality ? so anyone, really ? increases the difficulty exponentially. Certainly it?s possible, but for intimate partnerships without sex the following would need to be in place.

1. You?ve mutually agreed on celibacy and on how far you?ll go physically.
2. You?ve both developed self-awareness and control to the point where you?re able to carry through your intentions.
3. Each person has decided this of their own accord, for positive reasons; not because they think they should, are doing it to get something, or think they don?t have any better choice.

As for ?just friendships? this is equally valid, only it?s less likely to be spoken about in detail (that might be weird). I have a handful of close straight male friends, but it took some doing. First everyone involved had to let go of the idea that if you fancy each other, or if you feel a little insecure or a little horny etc., then you should try to have sex. That belief has an unfortunate tendency to undermine good friendship. It?s so much easier when ? usually through bitter experience ? everyone?s developed a clearer idea of

1. What they want
2. The things that can support or undermine that
3. An internal source of security in their lives, which doesn?t depend on the desire of or for others.

My friends and I don?t try to hide the fact that everyone has a sexuality, but we definitely don?t give mixed messages either. In some cases we both assumed that we?d ?just? be friends because there were no signs of mutual attraction. In other cases there were some signs, so one of us would say early on in the friendship something along the lines of, ?are we friends, or is there something more???I used to be terrified of conversations like that, but once you?ve ticked all the above bullet points, it?s just an honest and respectful conversation which actually feels like a relief.

If the answer to that question is friendship, the reply might be ?I?m attracted to you, but it isn?t something I want to pursue in that way.? The other person is then hopefully secure enough not to take that personally; chances are in fact that it isn?t personal. If they can?t accept the answer then they can?t be present as a friend because they?ll always be thinking of ?something more?, blaming the other person for their feelings of abandonment, or worse ? and commonly ? both.

Is it Buddhist to be celibate?

It is when Buddhists do it ?From a scriptural point of view this can be a tough call, because the Buddha?s advice was largely geared towards celibate monastics. But he also respected families and non-monastics, and there are traditions where monks have families. So far as I?m aware, no genuine Buddhist teacher has claimed that celibacy is the right thing for everyone to do at all times.

To me, the answer lies in how you do it. It?s freeing to recognise that sexuality is an emotion, not a need ? regardless of what our reptile brains are telling us.?You could be celibate for the wrong reasons, or sexual for the wrong reasons; likewise celibacy could be right for you, or engaging in sexuality could be right for you. Some key guidelines are, is it the right thing to do from both yours and others? point of view? What impact might it have on yours and others? lives? Will it be beneficial? What is the wish that underlies your choice? Is anything being suppressed or forced? Are you subconsciously holding on to prejudices such as ?celibacy is virtuous, sexuality is filthy?, or vice versa ? ?sex is normal, celibacy is uptight?? Are you letting fear of solitude, physical aversion or spiritual greed influence your choice?

I got so much from a period of celibacy, as have many other Buddhists I?ve spoken to. It?s like stepping back and getting a bigger picture, before re-entering the human fray with more clarity and direction than before. There?s no reason why two partners in relationship couldn?t do that as you suggest, if they decide to together. There are certainly couples who are doing it successfully.

I?d be careful though of choosing celibacy because it might be a Buddhist thing to do. The initiative should come from a place inside, in response to your particular circumstances. You and your circumstances are always changing, so it isn?t a choice that it would be healthy to decide on in the abstract, or in advance.

There can be the temptation to fantasise about celibate relationship. Perhaps this is more common among those with ambitions in spiritual training. We?ve figured out that sexual fantasies aren?t constructive, so we use celibate fantasies as a loophole! Alas these are just as unhelpful as the sexual ones. They undermine your perception of reality, and ability to make the best of what you already have.

What?s the point of being in a relationship if you?re not going to have sex?

This wasn?t in the original question, but I?ve often heard it asked. If you can?t see the point in celibacy then it probably isn?t for you, so there?s no need to worry about it.

The wording of the question suggests that sex is the only point in having a relationship however, which would be worrying. Removing sex from the equation ? at least temporarily ? can actually increase intimacy and trust, and I?d be wary of using sex either as a shortcut to ?get? them, or to deflect a fear of them.

Having said that, for many couples, even if sex isn?t of absolute and central importance, removing it from the equation altogether would be like removing something integral and natural to the way they relate to each other.

Each couple, and each individual, has to find their own way.

23rd November 2012

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Source: http://miahansson.com/men-women-sex-friendship/

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Will the 29 Sanders-letter senators co-sponsor the Begich Social Security bill? (Americablog)

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Research Suggests Apes and Humans Separated By a Single Gene

Woah, slow down... Why pull the "racist" card? Isn't that precisely what genetics is about? I'm not a racist but I think they might have a valid point. Our ancestors with dark skin weren't the result of breeding with Neanderthals, but the light skinned folks were. So, hmm, I don't know if you'd say blacks were closer to being apes, but whites are more likely to carry Neanderthal genes as well as homsapien genes. That probably means they're further from apes if you measure "distance" by genetic differentiation. If you count that merging as a node in the graph, that's one more node further, no? Not that it matters much, I'm sure there's been sufficient cross breeding that you'd have a hard time finding anyone alive without Neanderthal genes.

I think I prefer racists who are just straightforwardly stupid, rather than ones who mis-use the brains they've been given.

People with black, white or any other colour skin are all part of the same species, homo sapiens. That's it.

The idea that white people are a different type of human is racism, pure and simple. You are a fucking idiot.

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