Once you see just how nice a garbage truck can be, you may seriously consider selling your home and going with the dumpster style!

Apparently, somebody did not believe in this beast but the myth busters over at Snopes were there to set them straight.

First we have the “Free Spirit Spheres”. These oddities are designed by Tom Chudleigh. Just check out the following video since I know the picture has piqued your curiosity!

Next we have a treehouse that looks a lot like a Japanese lantern. Designed by Lukasz Kos, it snuggles nicely within the fir trees at Lake Muskoka, Ontario. There is more coverage of this creature of the woods over at the Inhabitat site.

The next treehouse was designed for a Japanese Nescafé commercial and was relatively inexpensive at the cost of roughly $38,000.

Out of Japan and into Germany, this treehouse was the work of some sort of treehouse company. I’ve never heard of a treehouse company before now.

Tree-hugger Dustin Feider came up with an Al Gore-friendly treehouse that, according to Feider, is good for the tree, the environment, and the human need to reconnect with Mother Nature. While I will admit that it does look quite cool, I don’t see how any treehouse can possibly benefit the tree. And I must say that I can conceive of seemingly better ways to reconnect with nature; peyote is a good example. But yeah, it was made out of recycled goods yada yada yada…

Finally we have the work of yet another treehouse company which is appropriately known as the TreeHouse Co. This one puts the House in treehouse and can be found at Alnwick Gardens.

Be sure to check out the freshhome.com article as it is where I was able to find a lot of this material!

Top Beers on Planet Earth

Costing around $1,000 a bottle, Vielle Bon Secours can only be found in one bar, the Bierdrome, in London.

Around $100 a bottle will afford you the Samuel Adam’s Utopia beer. It is sold in copper bottles.

Costing around $52 a bottle is the Tutankahem Brew. The recipe and brewing method were discovered by a team of Cambridge archaeologists and Egyptologists in the Queen Nefertiti’s Temple of the Sun in Egypt.

But the very same article was titled, “5 Reasons Why You Should Simplify What You Say, and How to Do It”. That is not a simple title. “Simplify What You Say” would have been sufficient. Despite the oxymoron title, it does point out 5 reasons to keep it simple.

Keeping it simple…

1. …produces clarity.
2. …adds more importance to each word you say.
3. …prevents the listener from getting bored.
4. …prevents you from stroking your own ego.
5. …keeps you generally more focused and aligned.

The article in question can be found here at The Positivity Blog.

First, there are games. Games are to the mind what sports are to the body – fun ways to stay in shape. According to an article from the Ririan Project, physical games such as golf and pool can require a great deal of strategy. Honestly, any sport that you have a desire to excel at will require you to do more than work up a sweat.

Challenging a friend to a board game flexes your social and strategic skills. Board games such as Chess and Go are very mentally intense and require a great deal of thinking. Board games like Risk have not only a strong strategic element but require social engineering as well. And don’t forget Candy Land. Video games, despite what old-timers might say, are not at all a bad way to engage your mind. Going on a senseless killing spree in Grand Theft Auto will make you feel all the more smarter.

Your mind and body depend on each other so keeping your body in shape will keep your mind in shape. Running, swimming, or anything that gets you to work up a sweat will increase the levels of oxygen in your brain and will make you feel more energized and thus more inclined to think better. Running and swimming may not be the funnest things to do so do whatever it is that you enjoy. I should mention yoga as well. It is another example of a physical task that can really bring clarity into your mind. According to new research (sarcasm), your mind works better when it is not stressed.

Read books. True, ‘Transformers the Movie’ has neat visuals but do not underestimate your mind’s imagination when reading fantasy. Reading informative books will teach you a new thing or two. Speaking of teaching: if you live by a a college why not try sitting in on classes. In a big college classroom, you’ll blend right in and get educated for free.

Create. It’s part of the word creative! Build something, draw something, design something, make music – make your self heard. Speaking of being heard, why not have a debate? Having a debate with somebody that you respect can really be fun. I’ve had some of my best thoughts while going back and forth with intelligent friends. Each side of a good debate will undoubtedly learn a thing or two and put to use the creative side of their brain.

This is a list of 16 ways to get past the midday meltdown. This list is taken right from the Ririan Project article which is worth checking out as it goes more deeply into each item on the list.

1. Drink your water.
2. Get caffeinated.
3. Eat lunch every day.
4. Take a short break.
5. Get moving.
6. Change tasks.
7. Interact with coworkers.
8. Get some shut-eye.
9. Get more natural light.
10. Have a snack.
11. Splash your face with cold water.
12. Turn down the heat.
13. Try meditation.
14. Listen to some music.
15. Handle negativity.
16. Focus on your plans after work.

Life is precious. If you’re doing anything for the sole purpose of money but are experiencing no real gratification then do something else. No matter what it is that you are doing, have fun with it.

And specific to blogging: I’ve read elsewhere, from other successful Internet entrepreneurs that relative to their other ventures, blogging takes up the most time and produces less money. How encouraging is that?

“I see people striving to be rich though, striving for big houses,
striving for fast cars and I feel sad for them because I know that none
of those things will make them happy. I work every day from my home and
always have. I don’t have an office and I don’t have a commute (well, I
do have a 50 foot commute). I set my hours, decide when to work and
when not to, I travel a lot, and I eat dinner out in nice restaurants
several times a week. I have lots of time to spend with my friends and
family. In my opinion, that’s the stuff of happiness. That’s the stuff
that we should all be striving for.”

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“I managed to retire at age 51, and the way I did it was to live beneath my means.

You can adopt this strategy too, by simply spending less than you earn. You may think that’s impossible for you, but if you make it a challenge instead of a chore, you’ll soon be creating ways to cut corners in everything you do. And believe me, it all adds up.”

1. Whenever possible, buy store brands.
2. Avoid prepared foods.
3. Shop at “you-bag-it” supermarkets.
4. Brown bag your lunch.
5. Don’t buy clothes or shoes with designer labels.
6. Use coupons, but be smart about it.
7. Buy used books instead of new.
8. Keep your car as long as you can.
9. Severely restrict your credit card spending.
10. Reward yourself for your efforts.

Sure, pretty obvious stuff. Yet, it’s always a good idea to mind such common sense.

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