Shaine Mata Blog

Image via Wikipedia Tonight I was at Barnes and Noble contemplating the purchase of a Nook Color. Our family already owns the original Nook; a very popular device in the household. My day job requires reading of reports and other items that are readily available in PDF. While PDF is a great way to store long documents and publications, it's tough to read exclusively on a computer monitor.  Electronic book readers are great in the sense that they give you the freedom to step away from the computer. But, why is this a good thing? One reason is that LCD screens and CRT monitors are not easy on the eyes for long periods of time. I say this as I type at the computer, mind you. Additionally, the problem with sitting at the computer is that they are great at running multiple apps while you are trying to read. Therefore, you'll have message notifications galore popping up when you are trying to absorb some really dense material. While messing around with the Nook Color ton...

Image via CrunchBase This past week I have been testing a two mobile device concept I wrote about yesterday . I've been using my Android phone just for data, and a Boost Mobile phone for my voice communications. For the second line, it doesn't really matter what service you use; I chose Boost because I don't want to have another line with a contract for this experiment.  My public phone number is a Google Voice number, so all incoming calls, or most, get routed to the Boost phone without callers knowing any better. If I need to make calls, I use the mobile web version of Google Voice to find a contact and initiate the call. Google Voice then calls me on the Boost phone and the person with whom I want to speak is also called simultaneously. The advantage of this setup is that I can write notes, search for information, or any number of tasks on the Android phone while I am on a call. This isn't possible when using the Android for calls unless I have a blueto...

I find myself considering having two mobile companies provide mobile services for me. I've been with T-Mobile for years. If you recall their Get More campaign, they typically try to provide you with more minutes, better handsets, and a better experience than other mobile companies. At least, compared to other major carriers, they tend to give you more. Lately, however, I'm starting to see that even T-Mobile is being outdone by some national prepaid mobile carriers, specifically Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile . Oddly, both services are under Sprint/Nextel, which continue to lose market share and charge an arm and a leg and force you into a contract. The prepaid services are cheaper and have no contract. What really attracts me to Boost are two things. First, they announced that their plans have shrinkage, meaning that their unlimited everything plan starts at $50 per month; but it goes down $5 every six months if you pay on time. So, the least you will pay on your unlimit...

If you've kept up with my blog posts, you know that not too long ago I went to the doctor for help with my difficulty concentrating. This is when I found out that I had high cholesterol. The cholesterol is unrelated to the concentration problem, mind you. However, it got me to start thinking about my health. So, I started making changes in my lifestyle. I've started eating better and exercising. I have started taking vitamins from USANA , even becoming an independent rep for them. Even started not staying up until all hours every night like I used to do. This actually has helped. I find myself less obsessive about tweeting and checking my phone. I am more task oriented, like I was in my youth. Although I changed my lifestyle for a different purpose, it helped with my original concern. Who knew? Even with all that, I find that there are some adjustments that have also helped me with boring tasks, like reading books. Loic Le Meur just posted Read this if you can'...

It's funny how two things that are great apart don't seem to have a connection until some spark of genius kicks in. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are a great example; peanut butter and chocolate, whoa!  Yesterday I had a flash of genius when it comes to keeping notes on computer jobs; but this works for any service type job. It would have worked in the past; but not so well as it would today given the improvement in Evernote's mobile apps. This is not so much a technology solution as it is a work flow idea.  First, I use Evernote to keep track of my notes and other day to day information. Second, I use Zoho Invoice to keep track of my receivables.  I used to work at a radio company where we kept track of hours worked and detailed what work we performed in a job ticketing system. So, before we got dispatched, we created a job ticket. We kept paper notes with that ticket number and entered the information into the system for invoicing. The rule was, you don't ...

Image via Wikipedia My friend Lebby Salinas introduced me to USANA about a year ago. She would tell me how the shakes helped her transition to a low-glycemic diet, whatever that was. I've ever only know her at her current weight, which is rather thin. It wasn't until I saw her "Before" pictures that I started to pay attention. I've been progressively gaining weight over the years. It has been slow; but, unrelenting. So, I decided to give it a try. I've been losing weight since Thanksgiving, slowly. While some of the credit is directly due to USANA's Nutrimeal, some is also due to eating better. I think what has helped tremendously was that Lebby taught me about the Glycemic Index and how different foods rate. So, I've been able to mix and match my daily nutrition with combinations of shakes and food. At this point, she and I don't have to order the Nutrimeal shakes; but, it's good to have them at hand for when we are pressed f...

Image via CrunchBase Earlier this month, Evernote announced their updated Android app , which has some long-requested features that bring it more in sync with the iPhone and iPad versions. Among the main features are Advanced Search, To-dos, and other updates that make using the app a much better experience. Advanced Search The Advanced Search is great in that it allows you to better filter your search results. One problem that I've had with Evernote, lately, is that I get too many search results. That's a problem when you save as much information as I have been. This is something that was missing in previous versions of Evernote for Android. You were only able to perform a brute force search . Check Boxes What most excites me is the ability to click on check boxes in Evernote to mark items done. I have struggled with making Evernote my personal organizer given that it contains so much information necessary for my work. In the older Android apps, you could s...