Free Flash Video Player

I recently invested in an information product that used videos as part of its teaching guide. The problem was I couldn’t get any of the videos to work. I reinstalled Adobe Flash. I tried to view in Explorer instead of FireFox. I did everything the product developer suggested, but still no video. Finally he told me to try the Wimpy Desktop FLV player. Since it’s free, I thought I’d give it one more try. To my amazement it worked.

It did take me a couple of tries to get the videos to play. I had to drag the video flash file to the Wimpy icon (not to an open Wimply Player). At that point the player opened with the video. The videos played without any glitches and the picture was clear.

If you need a new flash player, try out the Wimpy Desktop FLV player. Its free and available for Windows and Mac.

Write a Novel in a Month

How many times have you said, “I wish I could write a book?” Well if you’ve said it at least once, November is your chance to write a 50k novel.  National Novel Writing Month is now in its 10th year. Last year over 100,000 people participated. Started by Chris Baty, National Novel Writing Month or Nanowrimo as its referred to, seeks to help would-be writers get that first draft down on paper in a manic filled month of writing. Its not about perfection. Its about getting all the ideas down on paper without editing or worrying about quality. Writers who meet their 50K goal get a certificate and a virtual pat on the back.

Participating in Nanwrimo is free. Over at the site you can register, get weekly updates from Chris to keep on writing, join in on the forum to get support or ask questions. You can even find local Nanowrimo writing groups.

The rules to Nanowrimo are easy. You need to start from scratch (no completing a work in progress) and write 50k words (1667 words a day) from Nov.1-30.

I have participated in Nanowrimo twice, but only reached the 50K goal once. But I’m gearing up to try again this year. Will you join me?

To learn more visit, National Novel Writing Month

Calculate This! 100 Calculators Every Entrepreneur Needs

Money management is top priority when running your own business. But if you’ve ever been stuck trying to figure out whether or not it would be better to lease than own new equipment or how much longer until you’re a millionaire or how much that Starbucks habit is costing you, there is a calculator for it.

Over at the Bootstrapper you can find a list of 100 calculators to figure just about any financial number you may need. The calculators are divided into categories: Business Operations, Loans, Debt Management, Investment, Taxes, Personnel, Personal Finance and Miscellaneous. If there is something you need to calculate, odds are the tool to help you is listed.

Family Management the Cozi Way

Most planners and productivity tools are geared towards work, but running a household requires many of the same tools CEO’s need to manage a company.  Cozi offers such a resource for families. With Cozi, families can:

• Manage the family calendar
• Create customizable lists (shopping, chores, etc)
• Send reminders and messages (text message to phones) to keep everyone in the loop.
• Access the calendar, to-dos and other tools from a cell phone.
• Keep a family journal.
• Create a photo collage
• And even sync with MS Outlook

Cozi is a web-based organizational tool for families. It offers a desktop feature as well as the ability to access Cozi tools through a cell phone. What’s really helpful about Cozi is that its not just for mom but for the whole family so they can keep insync with activities and events.

Cozi is free and easy to use. You can learn more or sign up by visiting Cozi.

What’s the Health, Environmental and Social Impact of the Products You Use?

Do you ever wonder what sort of impact the products you use have on the world? Did you know that “natural” on the label may not mean its has a low environmental impact. Or that its safe. If you’re concerned about how your consumer spending impacts the your world in the areas of health, the environment, and socially, you’ll want to check out GoodGuide.com.

Goodguide.com rates everyday foods and products (including toys) on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the best), in areas of Health Performance (cancer, reproductive health, respiratory hazards, etc), environmental performance (emissions and pollution, natural resource impact, etc), and social performance (working conditions, fair labor, etc). It rates not just its impact on those who work with the companies that make them (ie is the plant toxic), but its impact on the community and the consumers who use the products.

I was surprised to find many items with “natural” on the label scored poorly in the health area.

If you’re working to reduce your footprint and make a difference in the world. let Goodguide.com help you become more conscientious consumer.