Fantastic Advice Site - Smart In So Many Ways

Better than Ann Landers or Dear Abby, there is a free website that connects wise seniors with those seeking counsel or advice. The site was ranked as the number one advice site by Google in November 2005.

Elder Wisdom Circle allows you to send in a question and get a reply from an elder - who may live hundreds of miles away from you, and may be physically challenged in some way. These elders have life lessons under their belt -- and the examples of their responses to select queries exemplifies that wisdom. Plus, EWC offers one-on-one attention to your query that Dr. Phil just can't provide.

NPR covered the site in an in-depth article in February 2006. Salon magazine covered the site earlier this year, as well. As EWC elder Tom, a 62-year-old semiretired Michigan contractor, explained to Salon:

“You get older and you think, After everything I’ve done, is that all there is? Am I just going to get put on the back shelf? With the site, I can apply all of my knowledge and experience, pain and joy. I’ve laughed and cried and raised a family, what am I supposed to do, just carve some wooden ducks, or pick up knitting?”

Simplifying your life means more than cutting back on purchases and scheduling your time. It means getting real with yourself, and what's really important, and cutting out the rest. A little sage advice in that process is always welcome, and isn't it fabulous that these seniors are available?

Shown: the first page of a thank you note from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Walt Whitman: "I am not blind to the worth of the wonderful gift of LEAVES OF GRASS. I find it the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed."

333,000 Free Books That You'd Actually Want to Have

Get ready. For thirty days next month (July 4 - August 4, 2006), you are welcome to download as many of the (approx) 333,000 offered at the World EBook Fair as you'd like. For free. And, mark your calendar: next year, the ante ups to 500,000 available; in 2008, it's 750,000; and the number hits a MILLION in 2008.

What kinds of books will be offered? Things you'd never buy at a garage sale? Nope. Good stuff - great stuff is available.

During the last 30 days the top 100 ebooks downloaded from Project Gutenberg included:
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen;
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle;
Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie;
Roget's Theasaurus; and
Hand Shadows to Be Thrown Upon A Wall by Henry Bursill.
The World EBook Fair will, of course, offer much more than the standard collection from which these works were downloaded.

To learn more, and to download, visit Project Gutenberg for details or just check out the World EBook Library.

Good Phone Deals - Pay as You Go Plans

Tracfone is a national pre-paid wireless phone option that includes free voice mail, free caller ID, free call waiting, and other options -- all for a very, very reasonable price. Better yet, you have no long-term contracts and you pay only for minutes you use. However, so do Verizon and Cellular and dozens of other companies. (Googling the phrase "prepaid wireless" brings up over one million hits.)

Which should you choose? Try the comparison feature offered at MyRatePlan.Com. You enter your zip code, then choose the features you'd like, and voila: a comparison chart for your consideration - but one that doesn't include all the plans available. Consumer Search has rated the various plans and votes TMobile as number one. Consumer Reports offers lots of good advice and company comparisons, as well.

I've been using a prepaid plan for over a year now - in no small part because I rarely use my cellphone - and have been very happy with it. I can pay for more minutes online, and I average about $15.00/month. The only drawback, which sometimes isn't a drawback at all: the caller does not see your name when you call them, only the number and the phrase "private caller."