Islander’s Analog life….

If you are an iPhone user and want to play with all the native applications available for the iPhone, your only choices are to wait for Apple to release the new Firmware (June 2008 ??) or basically jailbreak your iPhone.

iPhones are not cheap but they are worth every penny.  The last thing you want to do is do something to break this great gadget.  Well, there is a piece of software called Ziphone that will jail break your phone in a matter of seconds.

For those that don’t know, jailbreak means to open the iPhone so you can run native applications via an awesome program called the installer.    The installer basically works like a program / package manager.  Where you select from a list of available applications the one you would like to install and over the Edge or WiFi network the application will be downloaded and install in your iPhone (normally within seconds)  Very effortless process.  I love this process for installing applications due that it allows a novice user or an expert to install application quickly without making mistakes and breaking something within the phone.

The number of available applications is impressible.  You can spend many hours just looking at all the available applications.  I am putting together a list of the top 10 applications that should be available shortly.

The steps to jailbreak the iphone with ziphone are real easy:

1. download and run ziphone (select jailbreak only)
2. plug your iphone
3. follow ziphone instructions, this step should take just a few seconds

Losing weight is not a hard thing if you follow some basic principles.  I am not saying that it is easy, but rather if you are disciplined and follow some common sense advice, you should be able to lose many pounds in a matter of weeks.  Warning: don’t lose weight too fast.  This is not good at all health wise.  I believe the max safe is about  5 to 8 pounds per month (about 2 pounds per week)

The golden principles are : Diet and Exercise

First, you need to lower the calorie intake at the same time that you burn calories.  There are many effective diets out there, just pick the one that you think is the healthiest and easier for you to stick to.  Smaller portions and more fruits and vegetables are always a good idea.  Also, make sure you are not just doing a diet per say, but rather a lifestyle change.   Start eating healthy, and try to stick to it from now on.

Second, start burning more calories by doing cardio exercises. You should at least do cardio exercises 3 times a week a minimum of 20 to 30 minute.   If you want to loose weight faster, exercise 5 times a week for about 30 to 45 minutes.  Make sure you are capable of exercising, if in doubt, see your doctor.  You really don’t want to do more harm than good.

Get yourself a decent training machine.  I chose the Schwinn 438 Elliptical Trainer and I have never looked back.  My wife and I both love the machine and use it several times a week.  We have owned this one for about 2 years.  To quote my wife: “it was either get this machine or liposuction”.  There are many different brands and price ranges, I paid about $1,000.00 which is the higher range I guess.  I wanted to buy Schwinn due that I know the brand and I think they make good, reliable machines.

Also, make sure you add weights to your work out regimen.  The beauty of the weights is that it will transform the fat into muscle rapidly.  So you  might not loose weight per say, but you might loose some inches from your waist line.  If you don’t own weights, you can start doing push ups, make sure you start small and try to do some more every week.  It is a very rewarding exercise, even thought it is hard in the beginning.

Note:  In the beginning you will drop weight fast, probably because you are burning excess water, fat in your body (legs, arms, etc) and not in your abdomen (the hardest to loose)  In order to keep up with the weight lost, you probably should start increasing the intensity of your workouts and also try new things (new workout routines) and don’t hesitate to mix things up (try not to get bored by always doing the same thing)

Good Luck!

After years and years of having problems with my nose, even getting surgery, I have found the solution that works for me, it is a natural solution and I feel I am breathing easier and better.

After being really frustrated by my poor breathing, I talk to my doctor who prescribed Nasonex.  I took it on a daily basis for years.  I could breathe better when I took the medicine but it was not a cure, it just manage my symptoms.

I wanted to get better, so a friend recommended a Neti Pot.  Say what? Well, this is something that the Himalayan monks have been doing for a long, long time.  Basically you use something that looks like a tea pot and stream water up one nostril and the water will get out via the other one.   You do this procedure on both nostrils.  These pots are call Neti Pots

I used my Neti Pot for a few months and then I came across this gadget which is really awesome: Grossan Hydro Pulse® Pulsatile Nasal & Sinus Irrigation System

So, the bottom line, if you have allergies, or some other problem  with your sinuses, try rising your nostrils on a daily basis with a saline solution (warm water with sea salt) or if you have plenty of money to spend, buy the saline packets ready to mix (Grossan Breathe-easeXL® Nasal/Sinus Irrigation Formla 33 Packets).

Give yourself a month and see how you feel.  Hope this helps you!

Highly recommended!

So you work for a company that offers a 401K savings account and you are wondering how much should you invest or what percentage of your paycheck you should invest.  Well, the answer is: it depends.

If you don’t have an emergency fund then make sure you work on that first, normally you want to put away 3 to 6 months of expenses. Enough to pay the mortgage or rent, utilities, insurance, gas and food.

• If you have an emergency fund but have debt (student loans or credit card debt) then your first priority is paying down the debt. The golden rule is to always pay the smallest debt first and work towards your bigger amounts later on. If you are in this category, find out what your employer matches for every dollar and up to how much. You should invest the same percentage your company will match.

• If you don’t have any debt but your home then you should invest at least 12% of your income in your 401K and consider opening an IRA or Roth IRA with a reputable company. And consider paying your mortgage sooner by paying double payments. One payment towards the principal every month plus your regular payment (interest + principal)

• If you don’t have any debt then congratulations! you should max out your 401K to 15% and 5% to your IRA

Got new tires? Be careful you don’t get a tire that is over 6 years old.  It happen to me at a nationwide franchise.  I got a set of 4 tires.  2 were brand new and the other 2 were over 5 years old!!

A TV show called 20/20 (abc news) was airing a story called: AGED TIRES: A HIDDEN DANGER ON THE ROAD? about people having horrible car accidents due to their tires falling apart or blowing up.

These people were wondering how this was possible due that their tires were new. The deal was that the tires “look” new, they were bought recently, but they were manufactured years and years ago.  My understanding is that if a tire has been manufactured over 6 years ago, it should not be sold because it is dangerous. In the US the rubber manufacturing association opposed any sort of regulation being pass by congress on the subject.  But according to 20/20 in Europe there is a regulation that forbids or warns the customer that he/she is getting OLD tires.

How to read the tire manufactured date?

Look for the letters “DOT”, then look for a number series at the end .  The first 2 digits indicate the week of the year the tired was manufactured and the last 2 digits indicate the year.

If you look at the picture, you can see that this tire was manufactured the 27th week of 2007

1. Multi-vitamin  - On my last physical my family doctor mentioned that it would be a good idea to start taking a multi-vitamin supplement everyday.  I have been a firm believer of multi-vitamins for a long time, so this was music to my ears.  There are many multi-vitamins available but some in my humble opinion are far better than others.  SOLARAY  is a great company and they make high quality vitamins.  Expensive but worth their price. This other ones are not bad either: Life’s Essentials Plus (Multivitamin) by Vitabase
2. Coenzyme Q10 - As an antioxidant, coenzyme Q-10 may also have potential as an anticancer and immune-stimulating agent. Coenzyme Q10’s antioxidant actions can stop the free-radical damage believed to cause certain cancers. Coenzyme Q10 may be used in cardiovascular disease, particularly in congestive heart failure. The heart muscle contains the greatest concentration of Coenzyme Q10 in the body. Coenzyme Q10 is thought to have a protective action on the cells of the heart. I like this one: CoQ10 100mg by Vitabase
3. Digestive Coenzymes -  The body uses enzymes for all of its chemical actions and reactions. Digestive enzymes are produced in the salivary glands of the mouth and in the stomach, pancreas and small intestine, and are responsible for digestion of nutrients as well as their absorption, transportation, metabolization and elimination. Because enzymes are extremely sensitive to heat, many are harmed by modern food processing methods like microwaving and pasteurization, rendering them ineffective. I like this one:  SuperZymes by Vitabase
4. Omega-3 - Omega-3 fatty acids benefit the heart of healthy people, and those at high risk of — or who have — cardiovascular disease.   In a clinical study, the Omega-3 in Coromega was shown to enter the bloodstream faster at three times the levels of a fish oil product in softgel form. 
   I buy from Amazon regularly this product (Coromega Omega-3 Supplement, Orange Flavor, Squeeze Packets, 90-Count Box) and I love it.  I normally eat it by squeezng the product into a yogurt.  It takes great!!.