I have lived and stayed in a variety of different types of housing. This includes rural, urban and suburban homes in various parts of the country. It includes big houses, small houses and apartments. And what I find is that I’m comfortable in all types of different homes but that there must be decen natural sunlight in whatever place I’m staying in for me to like it.

I’m lucky because the place that I’m in now gets great sun all throughout the day and that’s really special in a place as foggy as San Francisco. One of the major reasons that I haven’t thought seriously about moving to a new apartment is because there aren’t too many places in my price range here that get great natural sunlight.

I was recently daydreaming about getting even better sunlight as I looked through design photos of skylights. I’ve got someone above me in the apartment here so I’m not going to be getting a skylight anytime soon but I do definitely like them. Bathrooms and kitchens in particular are places that I think should have skylights.

What do you think? Do you like skylights and big windows or are you a drawn-curtains kind of person?

Tags: decor, home, houzz, Interior Design, lighting, skylights

There are a lot of changes taking place in cell phone design today. Most people now have touchscreen phones in either slider style or candybar style. It’s not too common to see clamshell designs and the old 0-9 numbered keyboard anymore.

Another change that we’re seeing is the increasing use of OLED screens to replace LCD screens on these new phones. Although these new OLED screens are only in a handful of mobile phones at this time, it is believed by experts in the industry that over 50% of mobile phones will have them in the next few years.

There are many benefits to OLED screens. They are more vibrant and offer a better user experience. They are more energy-efficient which means that they produce less drain on the battery of your cell phone and are kinder to the environment. They are faster, thinner and more durable.

Not everything is good about the new screens, of course, but designers are trying to work out any kinks to make sure that we see rapid adoption of this technology in the mobile phone industry in the near future. Samsung seems to be the company leading the way in this area and is one to watch if this interests you.

Tags: cell phones, design, kathryn vercillo, mobile phones, oled, touchscreen

I am one of the only people that I know who doesn’t own an mp3 player. Maybe music just isn’t as important to me as it is to other people. Or perhaps the fact that I don’t commute to and from work makes it so that I don’t need the distraction of a music-playing device as much as the average person does.

The reality of my life seems to be that when I’m home I’m typically busy with work and other things so I don’t listen to music much there. If I want to have music on in the background, I just set it up on my laptop. And when I’m going somewhere, I usually want to be aware of where I’m walking and what I’m doing so I don’t seek out the distraction of a music player.

Nevertheless there are some times when I think a music player would be nice. When I’m working out is a great example. I would love the distraction of music when hiking up some of our bigger hills here in San Francisco or when doing basic stretching exercises at home.

Because of this I think that maybe mp3 sports players are the way to go if I do decide to get a music-playing device. These are designed specifically to be lightweight and durable for use during exercise. They even have functions designed to assist you with your workout goals. I’m not one hundred percent sure that this is a purchase I want to make but I’m fairly certain that this is what I’ll look at if I do decide to get a music player.

Tags: gadgets, hubpages, kathryn vercillo, mp3 player, Music, sports, Technology

A lot of people who shop are browsers and impulse buyers. They go out to look around and to see if anything captures their attention and demands to be bought. Smart shoppers don’t do this. Smart shoppers make lists of what they actually need and buy only those items to make sure that they aren’t wasting money on frivolous purchases.

One way to enhance your ability to be this type of smart shopper is to consider the use of mobile classifieds for finding what you want to buy. Classifieds are a great way to find used products at a discount so that you save money on any purchase. Mobile classifieds are even better because they allow you to access the power of classified ads for just those purchases that you actually want to make.

The cool thing about mobile classified sites is that they allow you as a consumer to set up alerts that will notify you via your mobile phone whenever an item that you want has become available. So let’s say that you want a new bed; you enter that information into your account and then you’ll be notified by phone if someone posts a new bed to the site.

This allows you to identify what you actually need to buy. It lets the site do the work of searching for that item so that you don’t get distracted by ads for things that you don’t actually need to purchase. When you receive the alert, you can check the ad and see if it is what you’re looking for. If it is, you can immediately proceed with the purchase. What a great way to get discounted items without caving in to impulse shopping!

Tags: cell phones, classifed ads, kathryn vercillo, mobile classifieds, shopping, spending, Wireless

I don’t work in an office. I work from home and have been able to avoid office politics for a long time. There are many reasons that I’m glad for that but I’m particularly glad about it now because the recession has changed the mood in most offices. At least that’s what it sounds like from what my friends and acquaintances have been reporting from their own experiences in the 9-5 world.

What I keep hearing is that there is a climate of fear in most offices today. Employees are worried about layoffs and cutbacks in hours. There are a lot of closed-door meetings. Employers are scared of what’s going to happen and how to navigate their businesses through these tough times without adding to the climate of fear.

This has changed the way that people are acting in the office. Productivity levels have changed. Work habits have changed. Relationships in the office have change. And people feel really unsettled and unstable and unsure of what’s going on at work which makes everyone a little bit uncomfortable there.

It’s not all bad. There are some companies, particularly small ones, that have been able to create a climate of comradeship in the office and to foster the notion that working together to get through this can be a way to strengthen the core of the business. However, there are also a lot of businesses that either can’t or won’t approach the problem in this way. It’s a scary time and I have to confess that I’m a little bit glad not to be enmeshed in it on a daily basis.

Tags: business, economy, kathryn vercillo, office, people, productivity, recession, work

People who are trying to save money will find that there are certain areas of spending that are smarter to cut back in than others. The most obvious thing that you should do is to track your spending and see where you spend the most; then cut back in those areas to significantly reduce your expenditures.

Most people will find that the two biggest areas of expense for them are the cost of their housing and the cost of their daily transportation. You can save a whole lot of money by moving into a smaller home and cutting back on your use of a car.

Of course, not all people will be able to cut back in these areas. There are some other things that you can look at to reduce spending by a lot. Reducing your vices, limiting what you spend on luxuries and spending time instead of money wherever possible are three more ways that you can probably save money in your life.

These seem to be the quickest places to start saving money if you work on them in my opinion. What do you think? Are there better places to start saving money in your life than these key areas? Where would you start with trying to spend less?

Tags: kathryn vercillo, money, Personal Finance, save money, spend less, spending

I just wanted to let you know that you can see more of my work now on the news site Elites TV. It’s an interesting site which has been around for awhile but which as recently relaunched and is not starting to gain attention as a great place to get current news. There is news here on all types of different topics and it should be interesting to see how this develops.

My first two articles on the site are about:

• How the Recession is Changing Productivity. As you know, this is a topic that I’m really interested in right now so it’s something that I keep trying to learn more about. As I learn, I’m trying to share what I learn with others.
• How Easy It Is To Stop Snoring. I recently wrote about this issue over at HubPages and was surprised about just how easy it can be to quit this problem. I think that’s newsworthy, don’t you?

I’d love to know your thoughts on the news site and on my participation there!

Tags: blogging, kathryn vercillo, news, work, writing

Everyone is talking about trying to save money these days. People are cutting back in all areas of their lives in order to adapt to the recession that we’re in. But the thing about money is that some people are just naturally better at earning it than others. There are some people out there who are leveraging the recession to their advantage and actually making money off of the fact that the economy is in a bad position.

For example, there are coupon queens out there who are earning an income for their ability to tell others how to save money. Through their blogs and lectures, they are getting people to pay them for advice on the things that they do every day to reduce their own spending. It’s a smart way to approach the recession and also an ironic one; they have people spend money on learning how to save money.

Other businesses are doing well because of the recession even they aren’t actually marketing themselves as being able to help people in this time. Businesses that supply churches with products (such as communion wafers) are seeing profits climb because more people are going to church in these tough times. It’s an interesting phenomenon; some businesses always have to thrive in any situation.

People who are having a tough time right now may want to ask themselves where they can make changes that can take advantage of the position that we’re in. If you can identify a way that the recession can be a money-earning asset in your line of work then you can ride the wave of these economic troubles and perhaps even make a profit doing it.

Tags: business, earn money, economy, income, kathryn vercillo, money, recession, save money

My birthday just recently passed. I’ve read a lot about what my birthday means in different astrological charts and things like that because I’m interested in that sort of stuff even if I’m not sure that I believe any of it to be specifically true.

One of the things I’ve read about in relation to that is the famous people who share my date of birth. I think it’s interesting to see who else was born on the same day as me. Famous people who have the same birthday as me include Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Beckett, Eudora Welty, and Gary Kasparov (the chess champion). Interestingly there are also a few Miss America types with this birthday and the date is also shared with the children of several famous folks including Sean Penn’s daughter and John Travolta’s son.

So what? Well here’s the thing … If there’s any truth at all to the fact that people who share astrological signs may also share some personality traits then it’s possible to get inspired by looking at the famous people who share your birthday. Reviewing the works of great politicians, famous authors and smart chess players can make you feel like you have this potential as well. I think it’s a good idea to reflect on this for a moment during each birthday to refocus on your own goals and to get a sense of inspiration about how to achieve them.

Another example of how to be inspired by famous birthdays (in this case June 3 birthdays) can be seen here.

Tags: birthdays, creativity, famous birthdays, famous people, holidays, inspiration

I come from a family that snores a lot. I don’t know if that’s a genetic thing or if we’ve all got the same health issues that cause this problem but I do know that most of us snore most of the time. It’s not a huge problem so I’ve never thought that much about it. Still it’s crossed my mind to wonder if there are things that we could easily do to stop snoring.

You see all of these anti-snoring devices and medications advertised on TV, don’t you? They’re always saying that you can stop snoring by putting a strip on your nose or using a special anti-snoring pillow or taking a pill that basically serves as a decongestant. There are even dental devices that you can put in your mouth to change your breathing so that you don’t snore.

I don’t want to do any of those things. They sound scary and unnecessary and I really don’t think that snoring is that big of a big deal. However, I do think that there are small things that can be done that are healthy and which may stop snoring. Changing your diet to reduce the amount of fat and dairy that you consume is one change that I think is smart to make. Manipulating your sleep position for better breathing isn’t a bad idea either. I don’t buy into all of the anti-snoring cures but I do think that it’s probably fairly easy to stop snoring if you want to try.

Tags: anti-snoring, breathing, health, how to stop snoring, hubpages, kathryn vercillo, snoring, stop snoring