When I was growing up, I tracked every penny that went through my hands. I kept these journals that listed my lunch money, my birthday gifts, my purchases of baseball cards. I had hundreds pages of numbers categorizing how I spent my money. I don’t recall exactly when I started this, probably elementary school, but this was before I had access to spreadsheets, databases, or accounting programs on computers. We didn’t have a computer in our house until high school. I took a lot of flack from my family about how ridiculous this was, but somehow I knew it was important to understand where my money went and I needed a way to track what I felt was important. I also know I like watching the numbers growing the saving column!

Over the years, life got busy and I stopped this practice. I admit was a time-consuming and little overbearing. Life also got more complex, with different types accounts and credit cards and married life with joint accounts. These complications make it nearly impossible to watch every penny. I tried using Quicken for a while, but there is still such a difficult time of entering (or manually importing) in all the transactions that occur in day to day life. I did like it once the data was in there to be able to see the categories and breakdowns of where money went. But it was still very time-consuming.

And then came Mint.com. For someone like me, this site is amazing! It is like dream. Heaven, if you will. Once you create an account on the web site, you are able to simply enter in the login information for the websites of each account you access online. Of course the thought of data security is immediately a concern.

The site vows security in several statements…. “Mint uses the same 128-bit encryption and physical security that banks use. Our practices are monitored and verified by TRUSTe, VeriSign and Hackersafe, and supported by RSA Security”, “Mint is a “read-only” service. You can organize and analyze your finances, but you can’t move funds between–or out of–any account using Mint. And neither can anyone else”, and “Mint increases your financial security through email and text alerts that notify you about any large purchases or unusual changes in your accounts and more.”

Once you get past that, the site is simple and yet fully featured (see my recent post on technology). You can take checking and saving accounts, loans and investment accounts. The site handles sites that use complex web log ins where users are prompted with security questions. You can even add your home and car to help give you a full pictures of your net wealth. The site links your home to Zillow.com to pull in the real-time “Zestimate” (although this is kind of depressing to see right now). I hope at some point they are able interface with Kelly Blue Book values, but I am sure that is more about KBB being a little behind the times in offering the proper developer interface into their data.

When you add account for the first time, the site retrieves as many transactions as possible (usually 90 days). Unfortunately, it does allow you to import more, but I don’t see that is a big problem – all the more reason for you to get started now. Once the transactions are pulled into Mint, the site automatically categorizes the best of its ability each transactions into car payments, dining, pharmacy, daycare… there are highly level categories and then subcategories – which you can even modify if you choose. These categories allow you to create budgets and build graphs on how you are spending money. The one difficulty I have found is being able to manage cash expenditures, but that is unavoidable. The site does allow you to add cash transactions that do not affect account balances, but merely add to the detail of the categories you are hitting with your dollars.

The site is free and so are the iPhone Android applications. For all this functionality, I would be willing to spend a few dollars, but they are able to pay for this site through “helpful”, unobtrusive advertising. Since they have access to your spending habits, they are able to “suggest” vendors for new credit cards or refinancing loans or other services. The way they have included these things are hardly noticable unless you want to use them. Like the rest of the site, it is perfect.
The phone app is great too, it holds nearly as much functionality as the website, but it is consolidated into a clear interface that allows you to see where the accounts are, re-categorize if necessary or check the status of your defined budget lines.

I have used this site for a few months and I can say it will meet all my needs. And even when it doesn’t, the interactions I have had with their customer service have proven that they will work to do so in the future updates. I had a problem with the site being able to recognize certain types of accounts and with a couple of screen shots and emails back in forth, there was a patch installed on the site and my problem was solved. I can say, I could not be happier with this site. I hope everyone finds it useful and Americans are able to keep our spending under control as we turn this economy around.

I admit, I do not read a lot of physical books. I listen to tons of podcasts and books in audio format. I have not read or listened to Cameron’s other books: “8 Simple Rules for Marrying My Daughter”, “How to Remodel a Man, “8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daugther” (which resulted in the ABC hit TV show with John Ritter). My wife bought this book for me a couple of months ago when she had heard it was a good read. Knowing that it might take me months to get through, she even said she wanted to read it after me. (it will likely take her 1/4 the time it took me.)

I need say only one thing about this book… I finished it in under 2 1/2 weeks. For me, that says A LOT! The book was moving and suspenseful. For anyone that knows and loves dogs, this is a must read. The author took possession of this dog’s soul and was able to bring forward the story of several lives through reincarnation. There is no religious backing to this story, just the recounting of life through the eyes of a dog. Cameron does an amazing job of taking away all the preconceptions that human eyes would see and demonstrate the filter of the mutt, the Lab, German Shepard or whatever form this animal had through his travels.

Throughout this book, I felt for this dog and felt the anticipation of each next scene, the next event that would shape his/her life. I did not want to put the book down – always ready to see where the story would go next. As dog lover, it was funny to hear the sarcasm and superiority that this dog felt in his journey – mostly with respect to the other animals in the environment.

I am curious about certain takes that Cameron took on the dog’s life, memory and interactions. I would love to hear what other reads have to say about 1) how he/she interacted with other animals 2) how she was able to remember certain facts and 3) what was the time span of the story?

In any case, I am sure you will thoroughly enjoy this book.

The question I should have asked is: If you had a VCR, when VCRs were the thing to have, did you set the time or did it always blink? If I had to fathom a guess, I would estimate 50% of VCR owners never set the clock because it was either perceived as being too complex or it seemed like a waste of time since it had to be done every time the machine lost power. But the value of the VCR was in it knowing the time and being able to set a schedule to record a show when you were not at home (as well as play videos otherwise recorded). They were the original time-shifters. Yes, it existed before the DVR/Tivo.

Now if you have a DVR or a Tivo, answer the following question: Do you use it to schedule shows for recording when you are not there to control the machine? Without any in depth research I suspect a higher percentage of people are able to use DVRs for their intended purpose than used the VCR in the same way. While this is a very simple example, it actually runs counter to my hypothesis because of its simplicity. Tivo is a great example of how technology works, but the company is struggling and I think it should be doing so much better because its simple interface is so much better what most people get with their cable subscriptions.

I try to pride myself on reading manuals and learning about the features of new equipment and software that I use. But the reason I have come to the conclusion of this post is that I am finding that more and more of our technological advances in software applications is not productive. I feel like we are getting more and more features and options for options sake.

Take the recent release of OS Lion as an example. As a recent convert to the Apple empire, I am still very green in this environment, so I am hesitant to move to a new release. In an effort to understand it more, I have read stories, watched podcasts and done my best to learn what the improvements are. But one feature enhancement I keep hearing about is how Apple chose to reverse the way scrolling works on the touchpad. To me, you intuitively drag your fingers down to move down in a page. But Apple made a change that makes a downward motion cause upward scrolling. There is a checkbox to reverse this reversal, but why?

I look at the Microsoft Office applications and I wonder how many different ways can you do somethings… usually three, if you are counting. It is something they strive for in their applications to give users different options. And back to all those applications in the app store… over half a million. I would like to put it out there for all software developers that we need to stop making new functions and features and start making the technology work better FOR the users. There are lots of defects in code and complexities that we continually add only adds to the defects. When are we going to see the minimalist green movement come to software code to make end users jobs easily and we take advantage of the power of the computer, not the programmer?

In this age of no manuals (or at least no one reading them), we need to make the interfaces more simple and intuitive. We need to stop trying to give users so many options that it complicates the experience. Users are looking for productivity tools that make it easier to do more in less time. We need to see applications adhere to the less is more adage for options and more is more for features and functionality.

This is the first serious movie of the summer for us. And it was worth the wait. Having just seen Emma Stone in “Crazy, Stupid, Love” it was interesting to watch her perform a completely different character. She and Cicely Tyson were outstanding together, but the most intriguing part was played by Ron Howard’s daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard. It is hard, having grown up in the 70s, to really understand the ugliness that was a reality in 1950s and 60s and before. I felt like this movie really brought home how something that seemed so simiple as daily life could be so unfair and people could really believe in an alternate reality.

For anyone interested in understanding the start of the civil rights movement and how much life has changed, I highly recommend this movie. I also hope we can see that there still inequalities in our current world and we have a ways to go to resolve our differences.

But we went with our two little boys and my sister. It was pouring down raining outside, so there was nothing to lose. When we got into the theater, there was only one other family/group there. I have to say, they picked all the best songs from the last couple of seasons. I was not disappointed with any of them. And as much as I enjoyed the performances, the storylines where they interviewed concertgoers were even more moving and inspiring. I hope they helped teach our boys about understanding differences and accepting others. There is no room in our global world for intolerance at any level.

The power went out about halfway through and we had to wait a while for the staff to get the digital projector back online. By the time the show was back on the other group had left and we were along in the theater. And the boys, who had been squirming in their seats during the first half of the movie were ready to leave too. But with an empty theater, we gave them the green light to get up and dance. Just like at home, it was fun to watch them shake their groove thing and have fun.

If you enjoy the show for the songs, I highly recommend the concert movie.

Netflix Synopsis: When Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) discovers that his wife (Julianne Moore) wants to end their marriage, he reluctantly faces the unwelcome prospect of single life with the counsel of the younger and smoother super-bachelor Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling). Meanwhile, Cal’s adolescent son, Robbie (Jonah Bobo), has formed an unquenchable crush on his 17-year-old babysitter (Analeigh Tipton) — but is she more interested in Robbie’s recently unwed father?

From the beginning of the summer, this looked to be the best movie of the summer. It has a great, diverse cast and a great combination of stories. The characters interact with perfect randomness and yet everything made sense. The ending has a great twist and I am not going to give it away – I hope no one else does, either. Once you are engrossed in this movie, the plot twist comes out of the blue and adds another fascinating dynamic.

I highly recommend this funny, touching look at the complexities of married life and love.

In the US, we pride ourselves on having options. Those are a lot of options. At what point is there too many? There are over 300,000 apps in Apple’s app store. Many of those are different photography apps that can give you any number of filters, editing features and sharing tools. Think about all the ways you could share a picture with others.
1) Print it and send it via “real” mail.
2) Email it.
3) Post it to Flickr, Picasa, Snapfish, Kodak, and many many others.
4) Tweet it to TwitPic, Instagram, yFrog, and many many others.
5) Facebook, Google+, others….

I think I could go on and on. How do you decide? Which is the “best”? Is one more effective or efficient? In today’s world, we are all looking for ways to be more productive, but I have ask, how can we be more productive with all these options and new ones that come out every day?

The next part of the problem our society has with all these technology advances is that each one has more options than people can comprehend. While all these improvements are supposed improve our productivity, only a small percentage of people even 1) know about new application 2) take the time to learn about new options and 3) make it a habit enough to make them more productive. While a larger percentage of people are using these complex tools for games like Angry Birds, Cut the Rope and others that don’t do much for productivity or real mental stimulation and enhancement.

I am very concerned about this cycle. There is a whole industry built around this process and the amount of real productivity gains we get is so small. One of the current financial debate topics in the US revoles around the urgency for more jobs. More than two years ago, after the financial crisis started, I wrote about a need for a new outlook on the “new economy”. But two year later, the debate still hasn’t resulted in any clarity. Do we want to create more jobs that are just creating more brain drains? Are we creating jobs solely to support our need to have more time wasters? I don’t get it.

And as I write this, I think about the reporting that is coming out of Somalia and the massive famine and drought that is destroying that area. We have a massive disconnect between what we want and what we need. Despite all the technological improvements we have made in the last 30 years, the problems the world is experiencing are no different or are growing. The only producitivity improvements we are getting are in those things where people can make lots and lots of money. If there is no money in saving lives,… our priorities are screwed up.

Yes, there a niche markets for people to “donate” there time and some money on hobbies that look into goodwill activities. But what we need is a way to funnel more of the world’s free time and talents into solving the world’s issues. Every time I run on a treadmill or workout on a stationary bike, I think about how inefficient that is. Yes, I am doing something good for my health, but I am also using electricity, when in fact there are ways that my activity could be generating electricity. And why doesn’t this change? My hypothesis is that the answer is that while the initial price of adding the generator technology is there, it isn’t as much as the money the electricity company is losing month after month.

This is Timberlake’s second movie release for the summer. Do you think he is making more money on movies than music? Dancing, Music and Movies, he is the ultimate triple threat. I liked him in this movie so much more than Bad Teacher. And while I never got into “That 70s Show”, Mila Kunis is excellent in this. Combined, Kunis and Timberlake have perfect chemistry and was perfect casting.

There is really not much to say more about this movie. It was a very current, fresh layout of a good movie. Unfortunately, that might make it a bit of a cult classic over time since it won’t be long before flash mobs, iPhones and everything else is antiquated and things of the past. Go see it before you forgot what life is like now.

By the way, a late summer show for NBC is a show of the same name. It has a similar premise, but with five main characters, it is more like “Friends… with Benefits”. It is still early and I have only seen the Pilot and Episode 1, so it is hard to give a rating. The characters need a bit more development and depth. It definitely feels like this show was rushed into production and there is not a lot of forethought. My guess is that it will not last very long.

If you have been reading my last few reviews, I think you will know agree with me on the threesome is required for a good comedic movie. With this movie, I rest my case. Bateman, Sudeikis, Day include the perfect mix of crazy, straight and side-kick roles and play off each other well. The movie had lots of “what is going on?” moments, and I think it took it over the top at times. But it was how the characters handled the situations that made it funny.

This wasn’t the funniest movie I have seen this summer, but it is definitely up there. I would recommend this to anyone that works for a living and has a boss that they wish they could “change.” I would definitely agree with the movie’s title. Aniston, Spacey and Farrell play the most horrible bosses one could possibly imagine. And they do it perfectly. While they are the side-show, I think these three stars made the movie better than good. I definitely recommend.

I am not sure why I have been putting off this review for so long. This was a really good summer movie. It was the Hangover for women. Having Wiig and Rudolph play off each other was like watching an hour and half long SNL skit – a good one! But as I continue to find, the movie still needed the “straight man” and it got it in Wiig’s love interest.

Much like Hangover, the movie is one laugh after another and sometimes it is a bit crude. But they just keep coming and in the end, it made you want to stay in your seats to see the bloopers and outtakes – hoping they would be in the credits. Unfortunately, they were not and we might need to get the DVD when it comes out just to see how much fun they really had on set, but the movie itself seemed so nature and carefree.

If you can handle laughing at the crazy humor of movies like Hangover, get ready to laugh through this whole movie. I can’t wait to see the extras that come out in the DVD.