A Travel Saver - Google maps with no signal

Ever been traveling through a city no one has ever heard of and lose signal?

Google maps navigation has always been a favorite of mine because of the OFFLINE maps feature. Recently with their update, the option under settings has been removed! But you can still get around this by using their installed back door - *hush hush* *top secret*.

1. On your android phone open Navigation or Google Maps.

2. Zoom in to the city of choice (area you want to make offline).

3. Type into the search bar "ok maps".

4. ENJOY! I would recommend doing this all over WiFi, as some of the areas can take a while.

Just zoom around on the map saving the cities you most frequent and say goodbye to 4G/3G usage as you travel.

From Verizon to Republic Wireless - A Cash Saving Expedition

 

Anyone else frustrated because you're paying $110 a month for the "best" service but not using it for its full value?

I was paying for unlimited minutes, unlimited text, and 2gb's of data for $110 a month WITH military discount. Shameful.

I'm an active guy, sure, but all that money just for a phone?? I needed a way out.

My biggest fear of switching over to a pay-as-you-go line was the payout for cancellation of contract, along with if the service was worth it. I finally made the jump, and it's saving me so much I had to write about it.

So here's the ugly math, simple, yet painful. (Keep in mind that this is for only 1 line, not a family plan.)
___________________________________________________________________________
$110 x 24(months. Thats what you're signing for with contract (ATLEAST)) = $2640.

2 years of service is more than I paid for my first car, but wait, thats with a FREE phone. The Razr Maxx was $150 when I signed in = $2790 <- ouch.
___________________________________________________________________________

So I started some research. I used my friends over at Lifehacker.com to start searching for good suggestions on service, and I found this -

Article 1 - Five Best Pre-Paid Cellphone Carriers
Article 2 - Most Popular Pre-Paid Cellphone Carrier: Republic Wireless

Both GREAT articles to get all your basic answers but I wanted to make sure to do a little research first before jumping.

Article 3 - Republic Wireless Moto X Review: A Great Deal With Very Few Compromises

So, after 2 weeks of CONSTANT research I decided to take a leap of faith after doing some more math. The biggest selling problem with Republic Wireless is that you have to pay full price for the phone and their technology is based off WiFi for primary use. Thankfully my work station has free wifi and my home is where I do most of my work so WiFi works. They also offer Sprint 4G for $40, which is what I went with for traveling.

The phone is the new and amazing Moto X released in 2013. This phone has been sweeping the market for its new technology - Active Notifications and Touchless control.
 (UPDATE)
If you would like to try some of these on your current phone, try hoping over to the play store to see if your phone is compatible!

Active Notifications - Google Play Store
Touchless Control - Google Play Store

So back to the math, here are the new figures for switching (including my payout for contract cancellation)
___________________________________________________________________________
$40 x 24(months (expected)) =  $960 + $300 (phone) + $190 (exiting my contract) = $1450

That's $1340 of savings for Unlimited text, Unlimited minutes, 5gbs of data
___________________________________________________________________________

This deal may not be for everyone, but if you use Sprint's Coverage map to see how well your area is covered, you may just end up saving A LOT of cash. For every year you don't break your phone that's only $480.

This is just one mans opinion. Happy hunting. 

A great article - How to Get Flat Abs, Have Amazing Sex and Rule the World in 8 Easy Steps.

Acceptance, Happiness, Love - Things we all desire out of our lives and more. Here is an article that will make you smile, offer great advice, and hopefully give you something new to read and work towards.

Article

Best Android/iPhone Phone Manager

Snappea
 

One of the best free programs I've used to-date. This program allows you to tap into your phone from your Win/OSx system and backup contacts, SMS, pictures, and Apps. The best thing about this program in my book is that it allows you to type SMS messages from your computer and send them like you're having a Skype conversation. Make sure to test it out.

iFunBox
 

 A good program to use if you've taken the time to Jailbreak your iPhone, this program lets you access your phones system to change or update files inside the phone. Great for cydia theme designers. This program is not as user friendly as Snappea, you have to install iTunes 1st (personally hate iTunes), and you have to have a jailbroken iPhone before use. Still a great way to tap in if you need to edit files.

Great Books to Read

Divergent - Veronica Roth (2 part book series)

More Information

Back in Japan I was blown away with The Hunger Games series, the setting in the post-apocalyptic world, stories of rebellions, the area, uprisings, factions, etc etc. Amazing book that later went on to become a movie, which as always fell short by the books standard vs. what movie producers could do to appease the eyes. Another great series that I haven't heard as many people talking about is the Divergent series, another book that follows a young girl living in a post apocalyptic world divided into factions.

This book manages to capture your attention in a matter of pages and does a great job making you emphasize with the main characters. If you never read the Hunger Games series and are too focused waiting for the movie series at this point, try reading this book to feed your "young girl battling the odds in a post-apocalyptic world thats divided into factions" interests.

Infected - Scott Sigler

More Information

Takes place in modern US, a new series of infection is spreading. It starts as a triangle like fungus somewhere on your body, then as time passes it grows into a bone like structure that starts to root and learn from you. As it grows, it spreads and forms more triangles and eventually forms a system linked to your own that has a mind of its own.

Personally I thought this book was awesome, it had a creepy medical reason for everything and was very well researched to create a great reader if you want something more creepy. Personally I love a good horror novel, pulls you back into reading so you don't want to put the book down.

The Dead Zone - Stephen King

More Information

This book rapidly became my favorite Stephen King novel. Its a story about a man who has a head injury as a small boy, who later gets into a car wreck and goes into a 5 year coma. When he awakes he has a special gift to see into the future and can unknowingly predict people's deaths. Stephen King pulls out all his skills to make you get those chills down your spine while making sure to keep this book full of emotion for the characters. I was near tears at the ending. Amazing book, I would highly suggest.

Thats all I will suggest for now, if you happen to stumble upon these books I'd love to hear what you thought.

Weekly Reading

The Naked Lady Who Stood on Her Head - Lately in my reading I have been looking for a book that could help me answer some of the more complex questions in my life. A friend of mine pointed me on to a series and this is one of many books suggested. This book follows the career of an Ivy League M.D. who is entering the psychology field. Having briefly worked on a psych ward myself, this book peaked my interests. Dr. Gary Small does a brilliant job taking what could be very dry material and turns it into a book that has you laughing, questioning, and looking deeper into your own connections with the people around you. A must read if you are interested in books that make you want to research more into other topics. A few of my favorite quotes from the book:

"In any given year, an estimated one in four adults -nearly sixty million people- in the United States suffer from a mental disorder. Despite the public's misconceptions, psychiatric interventions have been shown to diminish and often eradicate the symptoms of psychosis, depression, and anxiety; yet many people do not have access to care, and often those who could improve with treatment never seek out a specialist"

"It has always amazed me that people feel such a stigma about the psychiatric conditions. Most people wouldn't feel embarrassed if they had a broken leg and needed help. Despite the remarkable advances in psychiatric diagnosis and treatment, many still believe that mental illness is a sign of personal weakness and something to be embarrased about. The effects of these attitudes can be devastating. Patients feel self-doubt and shame, so they isolate themselves. Many who would likely respond to treatment pretend that nothing is wrong and refuse help. They are often rejected by family and friends and discriminated against at work."

Parenting and Electronics - 2013 edition

While reading through some of my favorite tech sites I found a site that uses Question and Answer for a lot of today's challenging questions about your children and technology.

http://quib.ly/

Check it out if you have kids and are curious or if you simply want to brush up on your "soon to be a parent" skills.