Omit Needless

I could have called this some bloggy title like “10 Rules for Avoiding Drive-Thru’s and Reclaiming your Life”. But that sounded a little grandiose for a website that hinges upon simple living.
Plus, there is really one rule.

Don’t go through the Drive-Thru: Unless the doors of the business are closed, and you must absolutely do this [...]

Read Rules for Drive-Thru’s in full →

Note: This follows a bit on the logic of my prior post, Rules for Social Media and Rules for 2010 as well as the whole Omit Needless principle. You may wish to review those.
As to why anyone would quit Facebook or social networking in general, I point not only to the posts above, but the [...]

Read Why to quit Facebook, leave MySpace, and abandon social networking in full →

Techie info like this might seem out of place on omitneedless. After all, shouldn’t we endeavor to omit needless social media that just sucks up our time and gives little back?
It’s possible, however, that

you are on Facebook anyway no matter your feelings about omitting needless distractions. I’m not going to change that.
you might need to [...]

Read Rules for social media in full →

Say nothing critical of any person: Try hard not to even think it.
Make friends with everyone if at all possible.
Reduce or eliminate email, social networks, and general websurfing.
Conversely, increase utilization of appropriate business-related technology.
Simplify, simplify, simplify.
Buy only what is absolutely necessary to live.
Eliminate the unnecessary. Organize what can’t be eliminated.
Spend time with anyone who asks [...]

Read Rules for 2010 in full →

A few facts

We eat too much.
We get stuff we don’t need.
We buy stuff for friends and family that we can’t afford.

Whether it’s Christmas, Hanukkah, Thanksgiving, or even Valentine’s Day, this is a problem.
The solution?

Don’t eat too much: Don’t eat anything more than normal. If there are lots of dishes at someone else’s meal to which [...]

Read Rules for holidays in full →

Drive slowly – and roll your windows down.
Why?

Almost as Fast: Around town, you will only take a few minutes more. Sometimes, you will still get there in the same time (due to lights, traffic, etc).
Save gas: Probably about 2-5 mpg depending on your car and how fast you accelerate. These guys got 1,445 miles (81.5mpg) [...]

Read Rules for Driving in full →

Sending email

Length: Do not send email longer than one question.
Content: Only send a question. A sentence is information. People do not want information emailed to them. Unless they asked.

Receiving email

Response time: Wait 7 days before replying. Shorter implies you check email all day. Don’t be a geek.
Thread killer: Add footer to all outgoing email that [...]

Read Email rules in full →

Two friends recently asked me which version of Microsoft Office they should buy. They hoped to be able to get by with the “Educational” version (which sells for far less than retail).
I asked them why they needed Office. I looks from them, as if to say, “Well, doesn’t everyone in the whole world need Office?”.
I [...]

Read Don’t buy software in full →

I’ve been thinking a bit lately about the kind of life we lead. Or tend to lead in this modern culture of ours. It started out with hearing about Google’s OpenSocial initiative which is a way that social networking profiles can be linked automatically and will (one day) allow you to fill out your profile [...]

Read Producers v. consumers in full →

Everytime I saw Trish Suhr on Style’s Clean House television show, I kept thinking she reminded me of someone. Someone I knew, someone on television, someone… Finally, it hit me a few days ago. Her mannerisms, her vocal inflections, her accent, and her looks are all very similar to actor George Eads.
Of course, I’m all [...]

Read George Eads and Trish Suhr – separated at birth? in full →

Earlier this month, I wrote why I think Best Buy will soon follow CompUSA into the retail deadpool. Not even two weeks later, Cnet has written a piece entitled “Is Circuit City in Danger?” The piece makes the excellent argument that, if anyone is going to take the plunge into bankruptcy next, it will be [...]

Read Cnet predicts demise of Circuit City before Best Buy in full →

President Bush signed a new energy bill into law. FiveCentNickel has a pretty good summary here (although a bit critical).
The biggest change is that traditional incandescent bulbs will be outlawed, starting with 100 watt bulbs by 2010.
If you recall, I announced that I would switch my entire home to compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL’s) in February [...]

Read Compact Fluorescent Bulbs by 2012 – or else! in full →

Here’s some tips I use to have a great week. They can be done in 30 minutes before next week begins and require almost no preparation.
Defense
The best defense is a good offense. Well, that’s a great sports line, but I’d have to also say a good defense can also be a great defense, regardless of [...]

Read Have A Great Week – In 30 Minutes in full →

Have you ever been on a job interview that, somewhere in the middle of it, you got a funny feeling about the job? But, since you needed this job, or you perhaps you hated your old job so much, you got the offer and took the job anyway. Well, I have. A few times. What [...]

Read Twelve Reasons to Walk Out of a Job Interview in full →

My wife recently had a conversation with a 40 year old married man who commented that he hadn’t had children yet because they are “too expensive”. Really?
This tired argument is perpetuated by ridiculous studies with little merit, like this one at MSN Money which states that families making $70,200 a year or more will “spend [...]

Read How expensive are children, really? in full →