Wording Questions Differently to Avoid Complacent Responses

How was your day?
What did you do today? 
What was your favorite part of today? 
Were time and life both pleasant in their passing today? 
How exciting were the events in your life today? 
Was your day as awesome as mine was?

Asking the above questions all basically have the same intention, it's an inquiry about someone's day.  But they elicit completely different answers and more critical thinking on the part of the responder.  “How was your day?” is such a commonplace question that not much thought really goes into answering it, and there’s a good likelihood that you will get a pretty quick, pretty generic answer.  Whereas if you were to offer a more thought provoking question, the answer might take a few more seconds and might be a bit more pensive.  Trust me, you will get some strange looks from time to time, but someone having been asked a question will generally try to give an answer.

Another benefit of asking generally unasked questions is that you can come across as asking about someone’s day while implying that something positive should be included in the answer.  For instance, “Was your day as good as mine?” is infinitely more positive and healthy to ask than “Did your day suck as much as mine?”  Essentially it is the same question, but the implication is very different.  Each question exudes a feeling of positivity or negativity, respectively and gets the answering party thinking in one direction or another. 

This is also a great way to test your vocabulary and grammar skills.  By conjugating sentences that are carefully crafted to elicit certain responses, the questioner must be more diligent about wording.

What are some questions you can use to replace the commonplace everyday questions you might use now?

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Improve your Eyesight Natrually with Simple Shaolin Exercises

In ancient China, Shaolin monks developed a fighting style based on the physical characteristics and iconic elements of the personality of the Tiger.  They called this Tiger style Kung-Fu.  Since a Tiger has very keen eyesight, the monks developed methods of exercising their eyes to improve thier eyesight.  These would have been exercises that they trained and developed from a very young age.  They would have been performed by eveyone training in the Tiger style regardless of whether they had so-called "20/20 vision".  No matter how good you are at something, you can aways become better with more training.

I have been recently practicing the following exercises and have noticed an improvement in my eyesight over just the past couple months.

One exercise was to count the leaves on a far away tree.  With meditative patience they would focus in and count hundreds of leaves at a time.  (This is a good one to practice in the fall since the leaves are changing colors and you may be staring at leaves quite a bit anyway.)  Start up close with some leaves that are easy to make out and count 50 of them.  With patience, slowly pick trees that are farther away from you and then slowly increase the number of leaves you count.  Work your way up to 200 which will give you a good amount of time with your eyes focused at a distance.  Do this once daily.

Another exercise is to focus on an object very close to your face.  I usually choose my hand.  Get it as close to your eyes as you can while retaining a good focus on it.  Look at it for about 2-3 seconds after you've fully adjusted your focus on it, and then pick another object that is more than 20 feet away.  I generally pick a leaf on a tree or something else that has some fine detail that will allow me to really focus on finer and finer detail.  If you pick a flatt wall or something that doesn't have much texture or detail it will be hard to focus on.  Again, look at the object for 2-3 seconds after you have achieved a good focus.  Go back and forth between these two objects about 20 times and do this exercise daily.

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Understanding Basic Principles of Physics for a more Efficient Life

Image via Wikipedia

In order to fully understand what's going on around us and optimize our lives, I believe that it is essential to have a basic understanding of some principles of physics. Get to know how things really work. Instead of learning by trial and error, if you have some knowledge or understanding of how events might actually turn out, you can probably make better decisions.

I think I see the point.. but what exactly are you talking about? Let's say, for example, you bump into a lamp and it begins to topple over. Your tendency would be to grab it any way you can and save it from crashing to the floor. So you grab the lower portion of the lamp because that is the part that is moving the slowest. (assuming that it is simply falling over by pivoting about a point at the base of the lamp) But the lamp is too heavy and you don't can't generate enough torque in your wrist in time and you only end up lifting the base of the lamp from the table and hurting your wrist in the process.

Had you been able to apply the simple principle of leverage at the moment you took action, you may have realized that a much smaller amount of force would be required to stop the lamp if you tried to catch it by a point further away from the pivot. The image above depicts a "second class lever" which means that essentially the closer you apply force to the pivot point, the more force is required; and the further away you are, the less is required.

There are limitless of scenarios where you can observe the principles of leverage. IE: golf, faucet knobs, eating utensils, your forearm, pushups... etc.

There is enough information on Levers and Leverage out there, that I don't need to get into an entire lesson, I just want to make you aware of how knowing and applying these principles can benefit your life. Do some research on your own at the links below.

Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leverage
Hyperphysics:
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/HFrame.html
This one is a white paper on leverage as it applies to biomechanics:
http://www.spinalfitness.com/Demo/effective%20lever%20arms.PDF

Let me know if this makes sense; was it helpful? Is there a situation you can think of where you may have used physical leverage to your benefit in everyday life and not realized it? Is there a situation where, looking back, you could have used leverage to your advantage, and didn't?

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Get Free Movies at RedBox

This will be a quick one. If you get movies at Redbox (those big red machines at grocery stores and drug stores) you should know about how to get them for free :)
You can use the codes below when you check out the movie - just press "Enter Code". You still need a credit card but it will not be charged unless you keep the movie for more than one day. Each of these codes will only work once per credit card:

BREAKROOM
DVDONME
DVD4ME


This website has more codes, but the three above I have tried many times without fail. Enjoy!

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Sick of Staring at the Monitor? Try Eye Exercises!

Image by feastoffools via Flickr
It's a pain in the EYE to stare at a computer screen all day long. Trust me, I know... Eyes get fatigued and this can lead to discomfort, dry eyes, teary eyes, headaches etc.. Which can, in turn, lead to frustration, stress, unhappiness etc.. Which can, in turn, lead to depression, anxiety and other health issues... need I go on?

Some sources refer to this as "Computer Vision Syndrome". Personally I hate the word "syndrome" because it is used to describe a simple condition and in actuality, it has a cause and resolution just like everything else. The word syndrome invites people to exhibit undue concern... but enough on that for now.

I started doing some simple eye exercises a while ago, and have found that they work great for:

• Relieving eye tension
• Taking your mind off of work for a minute
• Overall relaxation
• Rejuvenating the eyes for the remainder of the day.

Try these quick exercises whenever you can. Once a day would be good, otherwise, just do them whenever you can. If you wait until you've already got a headache, the exercises probably won't get rid of the pain so try them occasionally throughout the day for the best results.

Exercise #1: Trace the screen.
Keep your head facing your monitor, keep your back and neck straight. Moving only your eyes, trace the frame of your monitor. When eyes move, they naturally "hop" from one spot to another, try to keep the movement as smooth as possible. One revolution around the frame of your monitor should take about 8-10 seconds to complete. Do this 5-6 times.

Exercise #2: Stretch your peripherals.
No, this doesn't mean yank on your mouse... Again, keeping your back and neck straight and your head facing forward, look UP with your eyes as far as you can. Hold this for 5 seconds and then look DOWN as far as you can; hold again for 5 seconds. Relax the eyes and close them for 5 seconds. Then look to the LEFT as far as you can for 5 seconds and then the RIGHT for 5 seconds. Again, relax the eyes and close them. Repeat this 5 times.

Then roll your eyes all around in the widest circles you can. Try 10 circles in each direction.

Exercise #3: Blink more often.
Not really an exercise, just don't forget to blink! It's been proven that people blink 5-6 times less than normal when working on a computer, so make a conscious effort to blink more often which simply keeps your eyes moistened and prevents them from drying out.

Exercise #4: Look to the horizon.
Pick an object with a good amount of detail at least 20 feet away, or as far as you can get, (if you're near a window, you can look outside at tree leaves or something) and focus on that object. Take a couple seconds to establish your focus and then take a few more to refine your focus on smaller and smaller details of the object. Remain in this focus for a couple seconds. Then hold up your hand about 6 inches or less from your face and bring your focus to that. Again hold this focus for a few seconds. Repeat this 5-10 times, or until you can feel your eyes really working. Then repeat it a few more times for good measure.

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Watch TV Online to Save Time and Money.

First of all, don't watch pointless crap television. It's not good for you. Watch a the news and one or two shows that you really like, and don't bother with the rest. It's of no value to you and the progression of your life.

Secondly, if you pick the shows you want to watch and seek them out online you will be much more disciplined about not channel surfing. Most networks are broadcasting their shows online now and they are free to watch. Plus you miss out on lots of commercials. A one-hour show online is really only 40-50 minutes.

The TV in my house is only hooked up to my Wii. When my wife and I want to watch a show we go online, watch one show and then move on.

Check out these networks that broadcast full shows:
www.fox.com
www.nbc.com
www.abc.com
also, take a look at http://www.freetvonline.com/ for a compilation of lots of shows from different sources all in one place.

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Optimum Comfort while Sunning on the Beach

Image by ccheviron via FlickrI just got back from the Bahamas where I had, yes, a beautiful vacation, but also time to think and learn. While I was laying on my stomach on my towel in the miles and miles of white sand beach at Half Moon Cay (right), I was turning my head back and forth to keep my neck from straining. I figured there's got to be a more comfortable, less strenuous way to lay in the sun... (sarcasm...)

Then I realized that sand, especially when covered by a towel, is amorphous and can be formed any way you like and it will remain in that shape at least for a short time. I punched a hole in the sand directly underneath my head and made two trenches, one on each side of the hole so that I would be able to breathe. After that my head rested nicely, top and bottom, (forehead and chin) on the soft white sand piles and I was able to enjoy a few more hours of sun with no strain from having my head turned to the side.

Be safe, take care of your body, USE SUNSCREEN!

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One More Thing Before the Bahamas

Image via WikipediaIf you need to get out of your driveway first thing in the morning to go on a cruise in the Bahamas, and you know it's going to snow, don't forget to park at the end of the driveway so that you only have to clear a small section behind your car....

Gotta go!! Be back in a week.
Sunshine, here I come!!

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My Frying Pan Tilts off the Burner When I Try to Cook..

I was just frying up a pound of chicken for dinner and getting rather annoyed that whenever I cook the frying pan tilts off of the burner because the handle is too heavy...

It's important that the bottom of the pan and the burner be in direct contact if you want to effectively use your electricity, as well as get an even heat in the pan. Air is a great insulator and you will lose a lot of heat if they are not in contact.

In the past I've tried to find a salt shaker or spice container of the perfect height to wedge under the handle and keep it flat, but that's annoying.. Today I got wicked smart and just moved the chicken to the far side of the pan! The weight of the chicken keeps it flat and I don't have to deal with balancing the pan on the salt. Works great, but you might have to offset the pan so that the chicken pile is centered on the burner in order to get it cooked evenly.

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How to KEEP your New Year's Resolution

The number one New Year's resolution in the US is to lose weight. Especially after a big holiday season of fruit cakes and chocolates. So you resolve to lose weight, but didn’t you do that last year? And did it work?

We all have off-days, when we just don’t feel like working out. But what happens when that day falls on a day you’re scheduled to go to the gym? (oh yeah, you need a schedule too) Well here’s a simple trick to get yourself motivated to go to the gym when you really don’t feel like it:

Just change into your gym clothes!

And here’s why:

The clothes that we are wearing at any given time become part of our self-image. If you are wearing boots your feet will feel heavier, your gait will be different and your self-image will be different than if you are wearing sneakers. If you change into your sneakers or gym shoes, your feet will feel much lighter and you will inherently feel more agile and able to run, jump, exercise, etc..

You’ll also guilt yourself into going to the gym because you’ll be sitting around the house in your gym clothes.

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Last-Minute Christmas Gift Idea - Easy, Cheap, Great gift.

Image by Longzero via FlickrIt's getting close to that time of year when people will be scrounging for gifts at the last minute, I know, I do it too. One idea I often overlook is magazine subscriptions.

Reasons that magazine subscriptions make great gifts, especially if you already subscribe to the magazine:

1. Like-minded people tend to enjoy the same type of magazines.
2. If it is a subscription that you have now, chances are there will be 2-for-1 gift offers for renewing your subscription, so you can probably call that a $2-5 gift.
3. Also, if it's something you subscribe to you can just grab one of your back issues from the end table, throw a ribbon around it and call it good! You can even send in the subscription card AFTER Christmas if you do that.
4. They last for a whole year, sometimes two, so that's a good value.
5. Generally speaking, people can LEARN from magazines, which is more than can be said about most other Christmas presents.
   

Happy shopping! Merry Christmas from Mini Life Hacks!

If you have a great last-minute gift idea, leave a comment!

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How to keep warm without electricity - Stones on the BBQ!

Image via WikipediaThe "Ice Storm of 2008" had wiped out power to over 1,000,000 homes and businesses. Over the past few days many people have been forced to leave their homes and seek refuge at nearby shelters. Other people have tried to stay in their houses and brave the cold. Others have tried to warm their houses by blasting their gas stoves or using un-vented kerosene heaters. These are BAD ideas. Don't try them at home.

If you're one of those people who, like me, stubbornly wants to brave the cold and be independent, try this:

1. Fire up your gas grill or charcoal grill. OUTSIDE!
2. Throw some big rocks (5-10 pounds each) on indirect high heat.
3. Cook for approximately 1 -2 hours with the cover closed.
   
4. Let them cool for about 20 minutes.
   
5. Check the temperature of the rocks carefully with your hand.
6. Wrap them in towels or blankets if you don't think they will burn the towels.
7. Enjoy the heat! It should stay very warm for around 8-10 hours.
   

This is not fool proof.. obviously dealing with hot rocks is not the safest thing either, just be smart about it and don't come to me if you burn a hole through your mattress. Even if you let the rocks cool for quite a while they will still retain a lot of heat. The trick is to allow the outer layer to cool so that you can touch it easily, but the center of the rock will still be hot and it will emanate heat slowly over the course of the night.

Bricks, patio blocks, or ceramic tiles will work too, although the bigger the object is, the longer it will retain it's heat. Similarly, it will take longer to bring a larger object up to temperature.

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Improve coordination by improving awareness - Understand the objects around you.

Image by Amin Tabrizi via FlickrIt’s aggravating to drop things you’re carrying or to spill your briefcase or book bag all over the floor because you were in a hurry. Do you think a samurai would ever drop his sword if he was in a hurry? Do you think a ninja would drop... anything... ever? The likelihood is that they would not. The trick here is that they have a level of understanding of these objects that allows them to know exactly how they will react under any given circumstance.

For example, a Samurai would know the following about his Katana:

1. How is it weighted?
2. What is the exact physical size in all three dimensions?
3. How much weight can it support?
4. How fast can he wield it with two hands? One hand?
5. What will it cut through and how easily will it cut?
6. Etc…

Know your book bag / briefcase

By understanding how your object (book bag or briefcase in this example) will react to certain circumstances will help to give you a fundamental understanding of what you will, or will not be able to do with it. For example:

1. What happens when you hold it in a different place? Different handle? From the side? From a hanging strap? Does everything fall out? Will it break or tear when you hold it this way? Are there any other dangers you should know about if you’re holding it funny? Sharp edges, etc?
2. How many fingers are required to hold its weight?
3. Is there any way you can hold it with something else, like your elbow, or your foot?
4. How much friction is there between your hand and the material it is made from?

Ask these questions, and ask any other question you can dream to ask. Ask these questions about any object you may encounter.

Be Prepared. Know all your utilities.

Make observations about your cell phone, wallet, pen, keychain, etc..
Your awareness for things around you will increase as will your fundamental understanding for these things with respect to how they function and react in this world. You will slowly be able to piece together the results from the physical tests and be able to infer other bits of useful information. You will probably be surprised at how you can use this information and how much it can benefit you.

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Cross Shifting: A new driving technique to free up your right hand.

Image by Paul Moons via FlickrSo I'm driving down the road, and I've got a tasty snapple in my hand and my cup holder is chock full of yesterday's snapple bottle, but I've got to shift from first to second gear. How do I do it?

I've perfected a technique that comes in very handy for this scenario:

1. Steering with your left hand, position your hand so that it is somewhere between 3 & 6 o'clock on the wheel.
2. Release your grip from the wheel, but keep the back of your forearm against the wheel. You'll now be steering using friction between your forearm / elbow and the steering wheel.
3. Slide your arm against the wheel and reach down to the shift knob to change gears.

This technique requires a bit of coordination and focus. I find that shifting from first to second is the easiest, because it is the closest move to the steering wheel, but that all other gears are reachable, at least in my '04 Honda Civic. This may be difficult for some at first, but with practice it can be fine tuned and actually obtain a good level of comfort. I have used this many times when I'm also making a fairly sharp turn.

C.Y.A. NOTE: The above is not actually recommended, for safety and liability reasons. Try this exercise at your own risk.

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Follow your gut. Get to know yourself.

The first instinct is very often the best action.

When you act on your gut reaction without hesitation or inhibition, this is to truly be yourself. The little things you do that come into this world directly from your thoughts is a way of showing the world, but more importantly youself who you really are.

The more you come to obey these gut reactions the better you will begin to know yourself. The better you know yourself, the more honestly and effectively you will contribute to those around you.

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The Truth About Meditation - Do I really have to just sit?

Meditation has been used for thousands of years by many different cultures and religions. It is being introduced into the U.S. now, but it's still portrayed as something that might be a bit intimidating for some. There are many reasons people might meditate, but I think one of the main reasons is just as a tool to ease the mind and take your thoughts away from the everyday details of life and get some intrinsic relaxation.

If this is the goal, classical "meditation" can do the trick, but if you don't have the desire to understand it or the time to sit with yourself, there are other ways of clearing your mind and becoming relaxed and at peace with yourself. Any time you are doing something just for you and it is something you enjoy doing and you can be yourself doing it; in my opinion, this is a form of meditation.

• If you play a musical instrument and can lose yourself in a song or focus on the notes that you are playing so hard that you don't notice anything going on around you, this is meditation.
• If you play basketball and can get a good game of 1-on-zero going, and all of your attention is on the ball, or the hoop, this is meditation.
• If you practice martial arts and can focus your mind on every atom in your body and the control you have over them, this is meditation.
• If you lift weights and can be aware of the physics of your muscles, and concentrate on which muscle fibers are doing what, this is meditation.

If you can do anything at all, generally by yourself, that requires a great deal of attention and does not allow your mind to wander to other things, this will be very healthy for you and you will come to understand yourself better and better over time. Many of the same benefits from meditation will be gained from doing things like this.

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Only make lunch every other day

Image via WikipediaMaking your own lunch to bring with you to work is a great way to save some money when compared to buying a lunch every day. Buying even a cheap lunch everyday can add up to $2000 a year. Whereas if you make a lunch, it's pretty easy to keep it as low as $600 a year.

The only trouble is that you've got to make a sandwich or bag some carrots, and carry it around with you. To avoid having to make lunch every day, try making two lunches one day and then leaving one in the fridge at work so that the next day you're all set and don't have to make lunch. It won't take you twice as long to make two lunches since most of the lunch-making-time is spent taking things out of the fridge or cupboard and putting them away.

Also, if you eat a granola bar every day, or a yogurt, why not just take a whole weeks worth with you on Monday so that you have a stockpile at work and don't have to keep toting them one by one every day.

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Wake up on the right side of the bed

Image via WikipediaThe first few seconds of your day, as you probably know, are of the utmost importance to setting your mood. Whether you wake up to a jack-hammer or to something more peaceful like chirping birds, or the voice of a loved one will make a big difference in the ambition you have to get started.

I would encourage you to use a music alarm clock where you can control the songs played. Wake up to something you like. Whether that is soothing meditation music, chimes, or something like Dragonforce or Billy Joel. As long as it's something that makes you happy and makes you eager to get our of bed and start your day.

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Energy Saving Tips - At the Stove

Image via WikipediaWhen cooking a meal in your oven, it will have a vent in order to give the hot air a place to go when it expands. On my stove, this vent is right underneath one of the electric range burners.

Use this excess heat to keep food warm well after the oven has been turned off.

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Energy Saving Tips - In the shower

Image via WikipediaYour shower has a certain maximum "volumetric flow rate". This is the speed at which the water comes out of the shower head in Gallons per Minute (GPM). Usually this is between 3-5 GPM. If you use a hot/cold ratio of 90/10 and your shower head has a max of 3 GPM then you're using 2.7 GPM of hot water.

It is easy to turn on the water and max out the flow rate, however, if you dial it back so that the shower head is not running to it's full flow rate, say you're at 2/3 maximum pressure, and if you still use the same ratio (90/10) then you're now only using 1.8 GPM of hot water. This will allow you to use as little cold water as possible which is good because in effect you don't really want any cold water, and by adding any cold at all, you are merely cooling down the water you have already paid to heat up.

1.5 GPM shower heads also exist. Here is a link to the "Jet-Stream"

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