Going Mobo - Feb 2012 by GoingMobo

february 2012

a bohemian in paris: MA BOHÈME

TU valen AL tin RO e’s: MA NC E

journal of the mobile bohemian

reboot in 2012: GETTING PRIMED

drop out of school: start an app company

VIR

windows phone: nokia lumia 900

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street food of vancouver

IN THIS ISSUE Features ma bohĂ¨me (by chris simon) getting primed drop out of school! nokiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lumia 900 do i really need an e-reader? street food of vancouver (by johanna read) mobile cupid a virtual romance

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Recipes breaking loops loopless: a test drive keeping focus staying hungry letting go following through that romantic dinner mobile movie date home movie date

UPFRONT NEW YEAR REBOOT

ach year I look back at my past resolutions and see how dreadfully I fell into my old habits. I’d write down “meet more interesting people” and find I’d done so little. Or, I’d say, “start that magazine of yours.” OK, maybe I got this one going. “Or eat more veggies!” and find myself with a bag of pork rinds. But why do I fail so often? My ongoing excuse is that I run out of enough hours in the day. Or, had so little social energy at the end of the day that I wanted to flop down and watch a good movie. That’s true enough. By the early hours of the evening, I’d already settled in front my TV, found an overlooked bottle of wine in a closet behind my shoes, and had the first glass poured. Attending to any of my goals at this time, when I was half-glazed, was just not in the cards, especially with all of the great reruns and old free movies. “Why not wait for the next new year? There’s no rush,” I’d say to myself. And so it went each day. Even when I jotted my todo’s on my device using Asana or Evernote—described succinctly what I wanted to accomplish during the day or week—inevitably, I’d postpone it to another time. Then, miraculously, to another day. This became my pattern and soon I took pride in my slick procrastination. Then, one day, I’d shake myself: what am I doing

wrong? I’d look at my classic MBA approach to setting out goals, making deadlines, ticking off each one as they get done. Yet when I look back, too many of the goals were left undone. And the ones that would make the biggest impact were left half-baked. It doesn’t feel like I’ve accomplished much. And of course, the others, the ones that were more difficult to do, these are still waiting in the lobby for the movie to start. My paradox as I see it is that I am raking the gravel inside my fishbowl, when in fact I want to get out of the damn fishbowl. In other words, I want a more systemic change, a change that rattles my whole being, not just incremental window cleaning. One that clears my sinuses and gets me going on the right path. But how? OK, it’s already February. How can I get it right this year? I have another chance at redemption, a new chance to start afresh. In geek lingo, it’s time to reboot.

Editor

February 2012

Mobo

MA BOHÈME

Reflections on the Bohemian Paris

getting into the making, the printing, the distribution always seemed way too cumbersome to me. Fortunately it all changed. Web networks came along with a set of extraordinary tools the same way mass printing in the second half of the 19th century made bohemia visible and possible, the same way the mass production of vinyl records supported the ‘60s Village bohemia in NYC. A new me (perhaps a new you) was born out of this advanced technology. For the first time in my life I felt everything was really possible. Mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, unleashed my creativity and awakened my individuality. In 2011, empowered with a new set of tools and opportunities, I published an e-book and created a blog where I reflect on my life as a writer in Paris, as well as elsewhere. It’s with that bohemian spirit--its creativity, sense of freedom and devotion to self-development—that I yearn to start anew in 2012. Both the French and Americans still associate a bohemian with someone with dirty hair and an un-groomed beard, drinking coffee all day long out of an enamel pot, dying of TB under the Parisian roof of some tiny maid’s room. But the modern-day bohemian is alive in plain view, reading his emails on an Android phone, a tablet or a laptop, while sipping coffee out of a cardboard cup at Starbucks. High tech items and a Starbucks habit are pricey; therefore they are associated with wealth. However, how much did it cost Murger and his bohemian friends to dress up properly and arrive in a horse-drawn carriage to a “have to be there” party? How much did it

Characters from Puccini’s La Bohème

utside my window was Paris. I was half asleep after a night of celebration and Champagne. In my hand was Bohemian Paris by Jerrold Seigel, one of my few resolutions for the New Year. I was proud to be starting a new year without a hangover. Seigel’s book immersed me in mid-19th century France for the entire day, its society fragmenting, jobs scarce, artists without patrons and new technologies displacing large portions of its economy. I looked up, caught my reflection. What kind of life and time was I really in? I wondered...The Eiffel Tower, as small as a toy on the skyline, reminded me I was in the 21st century, a writer wanting to be part of something in a beautiful city... What Paris was I really in? Until three years ago, I was never a proactive writer, although I wrote every day. I often dreamed of having a magazine that would relate my artistic life and milieu, the way Murger related bohemian life in Paris through newspapers, but

by Chris Simon

cost Joan Baez to buy a professional guitar to play and sing? Probably an arm and a leg, but they did it and lived on re-heated tuna casseroles and bought clothes at thrift shops. Today, having a high tech device doesn’t mean you are rich. It means rather that you are smart enough to realize that the new Bohemia is not two blocks away, but two clicks away. I have been living in cramped apartments since I moved to Paris, but I’ve always managed to have a WiFi connection, a laptop, an Android phone and an ereader. I’ve been living mostly on baguettes and butter, connecting to book publishers, films producers and magazine editors in my pajamas, sipping tea in the winter to keep warm. People wouldn’t know this by looking at my properly dressed photos on my profiles. Obligatory exposure of misery is over. No stigmatization, no shame attached to not making ends meet or being short of cash in an economic world that has slow growth and no jobs. My avatars help me come to terms with the dilemmas of individuality that I face in a country that just went from AAA to AA+. A smartphone and one set of designer clothes for appointments and I’m all set. An economic struggle, mixed with advanced technology, is bringing us new ways of doing things, and therefore new opportunities and thus to a larger world to grow and develop. Artists, writers, non-artists, wannabes, idealists, venture business people from all over the world are connecting, exchanging ideas, communicating, working together from one country to another without leaving home, wired into an international bohemia. This is the invisible revolution. Bohemia is the necessary playground for renewal in the western world in which individuality has been in conflict with the social and economic system since the mid-19th century. According to Baudelaire, the figure of the dandy and the bohemian defined both the creativity and the conditions of personal development. Today, moving from manufacturing to global collaboration challenges our individuality. A new bohemia without borders opens a huge territory made of a large diversity of people, cultural traditions, languages and ideas, creating supportive communities and very new ways of doing things and hopefully new jobs. For inspiration, I read about Murger’s bohemian life, then reboot!

Photo by Chris Simon

going mobo:

Bohemian Paris, 2012 Chris Simon is a French-American who lives and writes in New York City and Paris. She has two collections of short stories: Le baiser de la mouche (The Kiss of A Fly) and La couleur de l’œil de Dieu (The Color of God’s Eye). Her recent short story appears in NumerikLivres new collection Les petites histoires à Lire debout.

February 2012

Mindset

GETTING PRIMED Reboot in 2012

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. —Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, Les Guêpes, January 1849 In Blink, Malcolm Gladwell insists major decisions in life can be made in a split-second, a blink, with great success. Our subconscious gives us clues as to the correct paths we should follow. George Soros invested millions based on lower back pain. Alan Greenspan had recurring stomach pains that led him to monetary policy. (Although based on his subsequent mea culpa, an antacid might have been a better choice.) More importantly, we can give ourselves a shove in the right direction by envisioning the right

stimuli. Social scientists throw around the term priming to describe the use of a social construct to influence one’s perceptions and subsequent behavior. These can be very subtle, many times as simple as a word or a picture. A number of double blind social experiments support the impact priming has, that the mere thought of a topic will gain traction in a person’s behavior1. It can help improve performance, including test scores. For example, when you take a test, think professors. Scores improve as demonstrated by two Dutch behavioral scientists2. If you are trying to solve a crime, think of the great detectives. You’ll suddenly see the clues, which may have been hiding in plain sight. To make any lasting impact, you need to intensify your priming. It’s not that your mind doesn’t take a nudge now and again, but sometimes you just need to be clobbered over the head. Instead, to truly shake it up, grab yourself by the scruff of your collar and prime the pump. That is, point yourself in the right direction. The first step for the new year is to sweep away some of the obstacles that get in your way.

1 Higgins, Rholes and Jones, 1977. 2 Ap Dijksterhuis and Ad van Knippenberg. “The Relation Between Perception and Behavior, or How to Win a Game of Trivial Pursuit.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1998, Vol. 74. No. 4, 865-877.

going mobo: getting primed

INCREASE YOUR WATTAGE For me, raw energy (or the lack of it) is one of the biggest obstacles in making progress on my reboot. Really, even before I could do anything else, I needed some sort of clean, positive energy surging through my veins or something that would approximate that. I think back of the times when I veered from the straight and narrow. I was making such good progress, then PLOP! There I was next to the tracks, the train steaming ahead toward my goals and aspirations and I was derailed, staring at the flowers between the ties. If you examine these times, you’ll find that you were a bit enervated, not at full strength like Caffé Americana with a too much water. To even begin the process and keep my momentum, I need to implement an energy policy, much like our attempts on the national level. That is, I needed to increase energy production and also implement an energy conservation program. Why? Why not cruise along at my suboptimal RPM? In the first place, I need simple intellectual energy. In other words, the way my brain works (when it does) is that it inevitably slips into a holding pattern waiting for some outside cattle prod to stimulate it. When intellectual curiosity ebbs, my ability to understand myself and the world around me recedes like Bruce Willis’ hairline. I end up following the person in front of me, or the advise of anyone who sounds knowledgeable at the time. Without some level of alertness, the only thing that’s left is to vegetate, coast and continue to follow the path of least resistance, boarding down the slope of information overload. It happens to all of us. Maybe you’ve done your hard thinking early in life, made your hard choices then or maybe you’re just fresh out of the college and don’t need to rush into any commitments outside your phone plan. After all, you accomplish quite a lot during the day and it was time to party or at least relax. I tell myself: “OK, don’t get sucked into this. This is the brain’s pabulum. Soft, easy to swallow, bland in flavor with minimum nutrition.” What I really need – and especially at the beginning of the year — is a bump up in energy. The world becomes a lot more palpable when you have the energy to see it clearly. You are able to shuffle problems that

have no immediate solution to their respective cubbies, clear your cranial desk for new work, and more importantly: focus. When you don’t have the energy to focus, to see clearly, basically you’re stuck, end of story. With the right level of energy, you gain a certain forcefulness that you need to sidestep the obstacles and you step up the endurance to keep on course. You’d also have the wherewithal to initiate conversations, write that next chapter of a book or even to research an idea. You don’t need to be clairvoyant or have the intellectual capacity of Stephen Hawking to do this, just the mental energy. Now think about physical energy. Yes, you’re alert now, your brain may be turning the requisite RPMs. What next? You’ve got to be able to get off the couch, right? Intellectual energy will lift you to being able to digest the issues in front of you, to set a course maybe to solve them, to set a new path. If you are stuck at 1 home, or worse yet, in front of your game console or TV, you aren’t going to get very far. You need to be able to be mobile. That is, like all good mobos, to get out in the world in some fashion. Imagine exploring new venues, engaging with new friends and ideas with enough pep in your step to go dancing afterwards. Spending our days in the same place is far from enlightening, in fact it’s stifling. You need to be out and about. How do you increase your wattage? How do you get energy and sustain it? There are different paths to doing this, many explored by the bohemians of all ages. (See recipes beginning on page 10). →

To make any lasting impact, you need to intensify your priming.

[continued next page]

February 2012

STAY HUNGRY Of the many things that Arnold Schwarzenegger got right before he assumed the governorship, built his cigar hut on the roof and fathered a child on the side, was starring in a great 1976 Bob Rafelson flick called “Stay Hungry.” He won a Golden Globe award for his debut (his first speaking role). Written by Charles Gaines, it is ostensibly about bodybuilding. The central character, Joe Santo, gives this advice (“stay hungry”) to his friends.3 In the context of the film, it means that one should keep one’s hunger alive, never satiate it. It also means staying physically hungry, which most of the bodybuilders had to

do as part of their training. I flash back at the times I’ve pushed my plate away, stuffed, satiated, and soused. If I wanted anything more, 3 Stewart Brand adapted the saying by adding stay foolish to its instruction, later quotes by Steve Jobs in his 2005 commencement address at Stanford.

it was a nap, but hunger is a great tool to rebuild oneself. Here, I’m not talking about losing weight and looking like Arnold in his younger days. It’s a great side effect, don’t get me wrong. Think about it. If you stay hungry, that is, go without food for a reasonable period of time, maybe shift your lunch to 1:00 PM, or eat only enough to take the edge off of your hunger, then you learn that being hungry is not the end of the world. So much of the world these days is hungry. Children go without food. On a different level, we are connecting with lives far different than our own in our country. Staying hungry also keeps us wanting. Not in a greedy way, mind you, but keeps us continually longing to be closer to the person of our dreams. It’s a constant reminder that there are things to be done, that we are not there yet. Eating very lightly is essential to getting primed. Once a person is fully satiated, there is little motivation to do much else. I remind myself of this after feasting on pizza and wine on the weekend. What else can a person do at this point, but repeat themselves and thus fall into the same patterns that make it impossible to change? Keeping food at a respectable distance is critical. Of course, when one does sit down for a meal with friends and family, eating things that are healthy and tasty is not a bad idea. In fact, why would you eat anything else? Of course, we all know the answer to this. We eat for enjoyment. After sinking so much of our time during the day to make a living, or do the bidding of others, eating is our time, right? Eating light and healthy can keep the hunger pangs away, but at the same time keep you from the dangers of being fully sated. →

going mobo: getting primed

3. Put these on your mobile phone or devise. For example, simply move the picture to your gallery. Now look at the photograph. Do you feel anything new? Does something move inside you, like a wheel beginning to turn? Or your brain beginning to thaw? Then you have the right person and photo. With your phone, you can put theory into practice. GET PRIMED Before this new year gets under full swing, grab your phone and get primed.

Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann in Persona

FIND YOUR PERSONA Now that you have the requisite energy, and are a bit hungry, take aim. We all have people in our lives that lift us to the next level. For writers, this can be a contemporary writer. For artists, a great painter. For businessmen, the rags-to-riches entrepreneur who braved the odds. There is always someone. And just finding this real-life person is a major event. But who is this person? For each of us, it is someone different. It is the walking, talking proof that the course you’ve set for yourself can be achieved. And achieved not in shallow “I’ve done it” kind of way, but in a full-on, “ the revolution has arrived” kind of way. This may be Gandhi, or Hemingway, or Michelangelo. It can be FDR, Henry

Ford or Desmond Tutu. Find the picture that captures this person at the peak of their powers. The goal is to envision a person who is close to the person you will become in the new year. That’s the essence of priming. For this, you need your mobile device. After all, why not put technology to good use. Here’s what to do. 1. Ask yourself who comes the closest to being your hero. If your goal is to be a great artist, then what singular artist is your inspiration, the person who achieved everything you seek to achieve. 2. Get a picture of him or her. Collect their work (art, writing, statements).

February 2012

Getting Primed

BREAKING LOOPS

Recipe

PROBLEM

RECIPE

You want to break some serious habits, maybe quit seeing an obnoxious boyfriend, eating donuts or watching Survivor. These are heavy-duty loops that you repeat mindlessly.

Start with a major habit and plan a number of steps. 1. Pick a big loop to break.

DISCUSSION

2. On a piece of paper write the loop you want to break.

Breaking major loops is usually a new year’s resolution, because it is a bit of a misnomer, since you really may want to completely reboot yourself. That is, have a completely different persona, one that is less susceptible to obnoxious boyfriends, donuts and reality TV. Before jumping into the big stuff, try taking a test drive on the small stuff. (See Loopless: A Test Drive.)

3. List all of the steps involved in the loop. For example, to eat your evening donut, what do you have to do? Get in the car and drive to Donut World, buy the two dozen donuts, eat a couple on the way home, put the TV on and relax to a half dozen glazed or jelly filled.

SOLUTION The key to breaking major loops is pulling out the support structure of each and finding temporary substitutes. That is, if you have a heavy-duty habit, you need something to fill its space; otherwise you’ll be twiddling your thumbs and thinking that you really don’t want to drop the boyfriend or donuts.

4. First take this major look for a test drive. In other words, it doesn’t count. 5. To break the loop, begin with small changes to each step. Instead of driving, walk, or park a few blocks away. Instead of donuts, get bagels. Same shape, but different taste of course. Instead of watching TV when you get home, leave it off. Watch an empty tube. It’s enlightening. Instead of eating with your right hand, use your left. Make sure you don’t miss your mouth of course. 6. On an impulse, break your loop one day. Just stop cold turkey. Don’t plan this, just do it. 7. In its place, do something completely different. Go see a movie instead of eating donuts in front of the tube. Or, start writing that book you always wanted to write. You’ll find that your loops are easier to stop than you think. The key is kicking out the support structure and doing something different with your time.

going mobo:

Getting Primed

LOOPLESS: A TEST DRIVE

Recipe

PROBLEM

SOLUTION

Now that you have enough time to do the things you want to do, you find that you are looping. That is, you continue to repeat the same activities each day and get no further in rebooting yourself. How in the world do you break your loops?

To break your loops, pick one small activity first and go for a test drive. A test drive doesn’t count.

DISCUSSION Whether we admit it to ourselves or blindly coast through the day, we find ourselves entrenched in comfortable routines. These routines serve a purpose. They keep you connected to those that matter; they help further your career and most importantly they fill time. Imagine your day twiddling your thumbs with nothing to do! But, even with all of the advantages of routines, they will kill any attempts to change your habits and break your loops. The key is starting with small routines and going through a warm up phase.

RECIPE It’s a time to see just how you’ll fare when you try to break a specific activity. Use two weeks as the length of time. 1. Pick a small activity that doesn’t count very much. For example, you may want to stop eating chocolates, but choose instead to do a couple of sit-ups when you first get up. This breaks a small loop. 2. On your mobile device, put some reminders. Yes, you can remember this simple set of tasks, but you get to check them off as you accomplish them. 3. Remind yourself it doesn’t count. It’s a test drive only. 4. Purposefully miss a day or two to reinforce that it doesn’t count. 5. At the end of the two weeks, see how you’ve done. Since it’s a test drive, it doesn’t really count so you don’t get any credit for completing it. If you did well, however, and like doing the new activity, then keep it. You have broken a small loop. Next, work up the scale.

February 2012

Getting Primed

KEEPING FOCUS

Recipe

PROBLEM

SOLUTION

Even though you power into your day with a lot of energy, you find yourself doing everything under the sun -- all at once. You become a real scatterbrain. Or, worse, your brain does not seem to be engaged 0r your gears have been stripped.

Don’t give yourself any choices. Make a short list and simply complete each item each day.

DISCUSSION Many times focus is all we have. We may start out with a head of steam, with a clear vision of what we want to accomplish, but soon we find that other things get in the way, things like work, relationships, email and donuts. You may simply lose your focus. This is not your fault. You are hard wired to multitask. Although in general perfecting one’s multi-tasking skills can make you highly efficient, it can break down. Things get left undone.

RECIPE The problem with keeping focus is all of the choices we have. If you were living on the sub-Sahara without any food and water, you’d be among the XX million people suffering. There are only a couple of things they can try to do each day and life for them is (unfortunately) very focused. 1. Pick two or three things to accomplish that day. Yes, you can certainly do more, but pick the most important ones. If it is a multi-day task, then just put down an incremental step. 2. Using your mobile device, put these three things on your splash screen. It should always be showing. If you are on your phone a lot, this should be a great constant reminder of what to get done. 3. Don’t over think it. Just do it one in order. Don’t give yourself a choice to do anything else. 4. Don’t talk to anyone, write email, tweet, update your Facebook, eat or do anything else while you are involved in completing an item. 5. Give yourself a reward when you complete each one. (Maybe a donut if this doesn’t work against you.) OK, you’ll end up doing other things, but immediately come back to your list. Focus is a matter of discipline, but you can shove yourself in the right direction by using even your spare moments to focus on those three things. If you accomplish these, get another two or so. Not many, don’t give yourself many choices.

going mobo:

Getting Primed

STAYING HUNGRY

Recipe

PROBLEM

SOLUTION

When you enjoy hearty meals, you feel that you’ve been switched into slow motion. You don’t feel like doing much except looking forward to napping. Your to-do list gets rescheduled to the next month.

Slim down all of your meals. You’ll have great spunk, plus maybe lose a couple of pounds.

DISCUSSION

For those of us fortunate to live in a developed country, with a job and not saddled with humongous debt, we can eat to our heart’s content. The problem is that eating becomes our passion, livelihood and obsession. Everything else goes out the window. Save those over-the-top meals for wild food adventures. Save your energy for your true passions.

After a nice lunch or dinner, it’s easy to coast for the rest of the week. Putting your feet up on the table and watching the next episode of Chopped or Modern Family, it’s so easy to forget everything else. This seems to carry over for the entire week. Breakfast is not that helpful either. Although the coffee gets you going, the pancakes and donuts seem to work against you.

RECIPE

1. When you get up in the morning, make yourself a large cup of coffee. Grab something small and healthy to go with it (like a handful of nuts or a prune). 2. At lunch, throw two or three lettuce leaves on a plate with some protein. 3. At dinner, eat some more veggies and protein, but nothing fancy. 4. Mark your calendar for a couple of food adventures. That is, times when you can eat at the wonderful restaurants or prepare a feast. Just keep things in balance. These times are your rewards, not your routine. Yes, it sounds like a pauper’s day and you’d be pretty close to the truth. A vast number of folks, even in our country, have even less, so it’s a constant reminder that we need to do something about it.

February 2012

Getting Primed

LETTING GO

Recipe

PROBLEM

SOLUTION

You have this notion that you can do something. But you realize, maybe after ten years, it’s not what you should be striving for. Still you keep at it -- a job, a relationship, an idea?

Implement the Teddy Bear solution. Sounds silly, but if you’re like me, it’s worked once before and not too long ago.

DISCUSSION Yes, there comes a time when you just have to let go. Is it that you are fooling yourself into thinking it (whatever it is) will work out? You’re reconciled to letting go. The problem is that you can’t for some reason. You want to, but you can’t and every time you try you hang on even tighter.

RECIPE We’ve all had our favorite stuffed animals, ones that we share our beds with, take to work and read stories to at night. But, as your boss may have told you repeatedly, you have to make a decision whether you want to stick with your favorite Schmutzy or keep your job. So, treat that something that you want to let go of as if it was your favorite stuffed animal. 1. Have the conversation with yourself. Tell yourself it’s for your own good. You won’t listen, at first. You’ll be in denial. but lay down the law with yourself: it’s either you or me. This will usually clear the air. 2. Next, talk to your [Schmutzy][fill in the person or thing you are trying to let go in.] You’re not trying to be mean and you certainly don’t want them to suffer, but they’ll look back on this conversation in the future and realize it’s the right thing. 3. Clear your head of any doubts. 4. Then, cold turkey, just let go. You’ll find out that it’s a lot easier than it sounds. If you find [Schmutzy] in your bed the next night, be firm but gentle. Move them to another room and continue to do this until they learn. It’s tough love, but it works.

going mobo:

Getting Primed

FOLLOWING THROUGH

Recipe

PROBLEM

SOLUTION

Although you find yourself adequately reminded to do something, you don’t seem to follow through. Things just drop off your list and never see the light of day. What can you do?

Combine the techniques of letting go, making time, keeping your focus and phone reminders to push you to follow through.

DISCUSSION Failure to follow through is usually the result of a crowded docket, tasks that stretch beyond a few days or lack of focus.

RECIPE The key to being turbocharged and following through is stringing the recipes together. In other words, when you have the time and energy, all you need to do is remind yourself constantly and keep your focus. 1. Make sure that you are hungry (see “Staying Hungry” on page 13), have the energy to pursue your dreams and have made enough time for yourself. 2. Figure out where you are not following through. Break this into multiple to-dos if you need to. 3. On your mobile device, program in reminders to do follow through. Make it very detailed. 4. Keep your focus (see “Keeping Focus” on page 12). At Carl’s Jr., this is a combo, but in following through it’s simply using your head and your device to make things happen in your life.

February 2012

Mobos

DROP OUT OF SCHOOL! Start an app company

ver have this dream: you’re standing around with classmates at an open bar after an unproductive day at a conference, commiserating over the fact that even with the best technology, we are all walking around blind. Your friends are stuck on your Facebook or Google Plus pages and nowhere close by. Yes, you can tweet them or send them photos of the sales guy trying to balance a straw on his nose, but who is anywhere close by? Or, that there is not a convenient way to meet people who share your interests without some sort of elaborate dance on line. Then one of your buddies suggests the three of you drop out of college, start of company and write an app that does just that! He is serious, too. For a minute, you scratch your head. After all, you’ve just begun Wharton School of Business. Your techie classmate is delving into the intricacies of artificial intelligence at Stanford.

There is a long moment of serious thought, uninterrupted by the raucous laughter at a table close by. The moment turns into nods as you all buy into the idea. He pitches you the idea again: Drop out of college, start a company. What do you do? First off, you try to wake yourself out of this dream. But it’s not working. The music is still playing, the idea is still burning in your veins. There’s another day of drudgery ahead of you, not connecting to the right people. That is sort of what Anis Harb and his cofounders (Nadim Gharios and Ibrahim Cotran) did when they started 1 OneAway. It wasn’t dropping out of Wharton and Stanford exactly. To hear Anis tell it, they were just taking a year off. They could always go back if it didn’t work out. The idea excited them—carry your social network around with you. Construct a platform that protected a person’s privacy while giving them a glance at whose around them, then

“We’re betting big on the fact that people don’t always make decisions on what to do with other people, but with who is available at the time.”

OneAway app shows Heat Map of friends near you

going mobo: drop out of school!

allow them to chat with one another right from their mobile phones. “We’re betting big on the fact that people don’t always make decisions on what to do with other people, but with who is available at the time.” Think about it. You’re in Manhattan, unfamiliar with the terrain when you notice a classmate, that you knew, close by. Why not get a drink and catch up? Learn a bit about what’s happening in town? “This can be a friend, or a friend of someone you both have in common.” In other words, it’s a great way to meet new people. But how do you get from point A (the open bar where the sales guy is balancing a straw on his nose) to point B: a full-fledged product offering? Enter Dreamit Ventures, a VC accelerator. After a bit of competition with 500 other app developers, Dreamit Ventures gave the team

$20,000 worth of free legal and business advice and office space for three months. With a plan in place, they connected with developers in India and Venezuela to develop the necessary components. This last December they went live with a prerelease. “It was exciting watching our app go from a couple of installs to over 1,000 installs in a matter of 2 hours.” “We’ve been working night and day to put everything in place. So far it feels like we are in the groove, but we’ll see. And school, I ask? “Yes,” says Anis, “there’s always business school if I want to fall back, but either way I’ve learned an order of magnitude, more just jumping in and doing it than learning about how to do it.”

Anis Harb, Nadim Gharios and Ibrahim Cotran of OneAway at their launch.

February 2012

Tech

NOKIA’S LUMIA 900 Finally a Windows Phone with Wow

lthough the Lumia 700 and effect is the ability to glance at the 800 phones have gotten phone and clearly see what’s hapmuch attention at CES this pening. Unlike the Android phones, year, it’s the Lumia 900 that has where you must pull down the noreally peaked interest in the new tifications from the small row at the Nokia with Microtop, Windows Mango Pros: Integrated social soft venture. This shows this in exciting phone comes with a networks, 4G LTE, Windows flipping tiles. hefty 4.3-inch LED compatible, 8 Mpx camera, Mango is also (AMOLED) display, dynamic tiles UI. ahead of Android high-speed 4G LTE and Apple in how it abilities, an 8-megthreads conversations Cons: Single core apixel camera and across email, FaceWindows Phone 7.5 processor; limited apps, late book, texting and the to the party, (Mango) version. like. Instead of going The latest Mango to separate apps for 1 version has some the conversation, very handy features. When you you can see these strung together first power on your Lumia, you are as your conversation crosses over greeted with two rows of tiles on from media to media. This highthe screen. These tiles are actulights another important aspect of ally alive! That is, they can show Mango, its People Hub integrates dynamic information right on the a variety of platforms (Facebook, home screen, for example, curTwitter and other social networks) rent notifications, recent emails or for each of your friends and famstatus of a given app. You’re able ily. Contact lists from each of these to customize this home screen and social networks are integrated into Mango gives app developers the Mango. Any Twitter that mentions ability to incorporate one or more your @name is placed into the tiles onto the home screen. The net People Hub notifications, making it

easier to keep track of updates and postings from different sources for each of your friends. Further, friends and family can be organized into groups, much like Google+ circles. This makes communicating with groups of people a lot easier and the Lumia a very connected phone. Finally, one of main reasons Mango makes sense is that ability to sync Office documents (such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents). With SkyDrive, these documents can be created on your Windows desktop, saved on the cloud and synced on your Lumia. This version also supports multiple Exchange accounts (for email at different companies). In all, it’s an exciting package and one that is a natural extension for businesses already on the Windows platform. The Lumia 900 is due out in stores by March at a $99 price (according to the latest rumors).

going mobo: nokiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lumia 900

February 2012

Tech

DO I REALLY NEED AN E-READER? Is this just one more gadget?

hat exactly do you need an e-book reader for anyway? Why not just plunk down the extra dollars and take home an iPad or Droid table of some sort? The answer is really twofold: EReaders (as they are lovingly called) are primarily to read your e-books. If you need to browse the web or play music on them, most of these ereaders will do a good job, but that is not their purpose in life. They are to be toted along with you when you are on the road, pulled out when you have an idle hour at a coffee shop or ready at your beckon call from your nightstand. Most importantly, they are there when you want a new book. There is nothing so convenient in this world as purchasing a book in the 10 seconds it takes to pay and download. Normally, this takes 45 minutes to drive or ride to your favorite bookstore (which are now very hard to find), another hour or two to decide and fifteen minutes in line. Now, all of this happens from the comfort of your bedroom, coffee shop or other loca-

tion where there is WiFi connected. The real question is just how many books you really read and whether you want to read magazines on your e-reader. The answer to this question will determine just how you plan to use your e-reader. The more book reading you do (especially outside) the more you are going to lean toward a black-andwhite e-reader. The electronic ink is easier to read in all sorts of environments. Since you don’t really need color for books, you can choose a low-cost solution. The more you want to see color, read magazines and want your e-reader to do more, you’ll end up leaning toward a color e-reader, or just stepping up to a tablet. This is a slippery slope, 1 because once you decide that you want more than a reading device, you’ll begin to think about bandwidth, cameras, GPS and the like. The price will begin to climb. This brings us to the second reason for e-readers: they are less expensive than the older brothers, the iPad and Android tablets. Since they work off of WiFi networks avail-

E-readers come with on-board dictionaries, bookmarks, highlighting, the ability to take notes as well as lend and borrow e-books.

able in most coffee shops and cafés, there is no monthly charge. E-books are a lot cheaper than paper ones, so they begin to justify the purchase over the long term. Still like to read real books? Yes, so do I, but more and more I find myself sampling the books I want to read on my e-reader, then downloading the ones I like in a blink. At home, I have stacks of books everywhere, but when I am on the road, I can just put the e-reader in my carry-on and not be weighed down. E-readers come with a number of conveniences. There are on-board dictionaries, bookmarks, highlighting, the ability to take notes as well as lend and borrow e-books. Yes, color is nice to have for the browsing and magazines, but if books are your main reason, resist color. The battery lasts longer, the screens are easier to read and the eyestrain is a lot less. However, that said, if you plan to do some browsing and reading of children’s books and magazines (which have color), then consider stepping up to the color e-readers. They are still less costly (and also much lighter) than tablets, so there is a real advantage to having these. Sizes also tend to be smaller and easier to hold up without your arm getting tired.

going mobo: do i really need an e-reader?

Black & White E-Readers Barnes & Noble Simple Touch Pros: Great price, excellent e-book selection, lightweight, good battery, free WiFi Cons: Buttons are weird

Amazon Kindle Touch Pros: Best e-book selection, quick page turning Cons: Pricey w/o ads

Sony Reader WiFi Pros: Reflows PDF Cons: Sluggish

Kobo eReader Touch Pros: Multiple formats, narrow design, more fonts Cons: Pricey

February 2012

Mobo Food

STREET FOOD OF VANCOUVER For the urban explorer on the go by Johanna Read

ant to try one?” I looked at what the chef had in his hand. It wiggled. It was a BC spot prawn, the very last one of the season, he told me. It wiggled some more. “I wish I could,” I replied, “but I don’t think I can do it raw!” A car drove by, beeped, and the chef waved. Then, quick as lightening, he removed the head and legs, and popped the gray body, no longer wiggling, in his mouth. “More for me!” “Want to try one fried?” I turned around. A man on the sidewalk was holding out his cardboard dish of tempuracovered deep fried spot prawns. The chef told me I should, as he wasn’t kidding, there would be no more until the spring, so he couldn’t fry up any more for me. “Really? You’re sure?” I asked. The man’s friend nodded, “They’re fabulous, you really must try!” she said. I guiltily accepted one and bit into it. Succulent, crisp, hot, juicy. ... “Now that,” I said, to both the couple and the chef, “was THE best fried shrimp I’ve ever eaten!”. I love exploring cities, and one of the best ways to do it is through food. With the recent explosion of street food, you can sample a wide variety of what a city has to offer, and walk off the calories in between. Street food makes people happy and friendly. They like to share great dishes they’ve found. Use Twitter (e.g. @StreetFoodApp) and, better yet,

ask the people munching around you. You’ll get great advice on where and what to eat as you explore. Vancouver is a great city for street food, and it was where I met Chef Josh Wolfe and two of his kind customers at his Fresh Local Wild street truck. He explained the joy of being a street food chef to me -- sourcing fresh ingredients, altering the menu based on what was available, and, best of all, talking to his customers while they enjoy his food. After gobbling up the fish and chips I had ordered, I tweeted about my experience. He retweeted it later that night, thanking me. And I was hooked. I was getting to know a city, its food, and its foodies. I downloaded the (free) Vancouver Street Food app (http://streetfoodapp. com/) and started plotting the trucks I’d try next. The app pinpoints Vancouver’s carts and trucks on a map, gives menu options and, most critically, real-time info on whether they are open or closed. Scrolling through the many listings, the app told me about bulgogi tacos, and I knew this was a must try. The next day I found Cartel Taco. Graham was cooking up the bulgogi, and explained to me that their meats are ethically treated and their soft taco shells made every day. Once my taco was ready, Annabelle walked me though the different sauces and sea-

soned up my dish perfectly. They gave me a little cheer when I mouthed “oh my god, this is amazing!” at them from a nearby park where I sat down to eat. A tasting contest was on, and over the next week I sampled as many tacos, and in as many forms, as I could -- bulgogi, salmon, tuna, black bean, tacones and ta-tacos. All amazing. And that was just the tacos! Below is an overview of my favorite Vancouver street food. Check it out, and next time you’re in a new city, check out their street food.

Johanna Read is a long time collector of food and travel advice and has recently started sharing it on http://TravelEater. wordpress.com. She has been published in magazines such as Taste and Travel International and Destinations Travel Magazine.

going mobo: street food of vancouver

ADDITIONAL INFO

NAME

FEATURING

Fresh local wild

Tempura’d fish (wild Pacific cod, line caught Coho Twitter @FreshLocalWild salmon, Haida Gwaii halibut) and proper French fries. @ChefWolfe BC spot prawns. Oyster po’boy sandwiches.

Cartel taco

Amazing bulgogi tacos (with free-range ethically-treated beef or pork).

@CartelTaco

Coma

Korean bibimbap, japchae (sweet potato cellophane noodles with veg), Korean BBQ beef or pork burrito, grandma’s kimchee quesadilla.

@ComaFoodTruck

Roaming dragon

Bulgogi tacos, duck confit salad. Chicken and pork sliders. Soba salad. Pork, tofu or chicken banh mi. Lemonade, flavoured with basil, with lychee pieces in the bottom—a natural bubble tea.

@DragonTruck

Tacofino cantina

Tuna ta-taco, fish tacos, black bean feta taco . Chocolate diablo cookies (with a chili zippiness), and a fresh lime and mint slushy drink.

@TacoFinoCantina

Feastro the rolling bistro

Fresh, local, sustainable seafood. Prawns, crab cakes, oysters.

@CoastFeastro

Japadog

Japanese style hot dogs: Terimayo, Oroshi, Misomayo. Okonomi Hot dog selection includes Kobe beef, Arabiki sausage, Kurobuta sausage, turkey and veggie.

@JapaDog

Giant BC Spot Prawn (they get big!)

February 2012

Roaming Heart

MOBILE CUPID The Latest Trend in Dating

he telecommunication sector customers, making them the most has improved by leaps and popular and widely used mobile datbounds and has become an ing apps. Some of these top apps indispensable part of everyone’s life. include: With the advent of smart phones like OkCupid – Launched in 2004, it iPhone and advanced OS like the rose to fame immediately and by Android, nothing seems to be impos2011 it had more than 8 million acsible. The jewel of the crown was tive users and in June 2011 alone it the advanced mobile dating features had 1.47 million unique visitors. With these offer to the customers. Fast the need of a personal meet a must, networks like 3Gs and 4Gs have OkCupid added another feather in its made it even easier to instant accap by way of launching the OkCupid cessing on the go. LOCALS on both the iPhone These mobile dating Interested usand Android on August 11, ers simply need 2011. With this, the so far services help those to create a short within close proximity get 8 million members who are profile of their own hooked on this site would connected and 1 and store it on get to benefit from this by interact. their phone or on way of finding their perfect the specific mobile matches who are within the dating site and begin searching for reachable limits. It combines a broadother users of their preference. As cast feature that is similar to Twitter personal meet is an important aspect and the Foursquare’s location dataof dating, these mobile dating serbase that is pre-filtered and compatvices focus upon local network and ibility checked. With this, members help those within close proximity to can get immediate access to a date get connected and interact. as per their broadcast of their intenGiven the increased popularity of tions. It comes for free and registramobile dating, many mobile compation is quick and sans restrictions. nies are introducing newer apps to iPhone Blendr – Striking similarattract more customers. With this, it’s ity with OkCupid Locals, Blendr was expected to grow into a $1.4B indusintroduced to hook up people with try by 2013. similar interests, and more imporOf the numerous mobile dating tantly those who are at a reachable apps, some are extremely advanced distance. So far it has proved not to and offer broader facilities for their be an exclusively date application

and is being used more for general friendship, socializing and simple hangouts. Say, for example, you are interested in going to a music concert and want to enjoy it in someone’s company, you can simply look at the concert venue and check for people there with same interests. Simply connect and enjoy. SmartDating App for iPhone – This dating app gives the user the proximity dating option and provides the satellite view of Daters with similar interest. It is linked with Social Connect, the number one dating app, thereby giving it an added advantage. What actually makes this even more popular is its facility of sending real flowers and other gifts through this app. It uses the GPS technique and shows the people in and around your area. It is currently available in 6 languages, namely English, Italian, French, Dutch, Spanish and German. Plenty of Fish – Serving the people of UK, Canada, US and Australia, this became more popular after being featured in Lady Gaga’s Album and in ‘Available’ Album. Launched in 2003, by 2011 it had registered more than 30 million members with 10 million active members. On May 15, 2011 alone it had 6 million logins and last year the average message per day by members was 15 million, and the entire year the total mes-

going mobo: mobile cupid

sage sent was a whopping 5.5 billion, making it to be one of the highly used dating sites. It serves US, UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Spain, New Zealand, Germany, France and Italy and is available in English, French, Spanish and German. User Review “It’s free, so what have you got to lose? I think plentyoffish does a lot of things considerably better than the “big” paid membership dating sites, but because it is free, there are a lot of people who are not serious about meeting people for relationships.” – Phil SinglesAroundMe – This is completely dedicated to dating and has many features that daters would fall for, especially the security features like block list and GPS on and off options. It’s available for those located in USA, Canada, UK, Germany and France. Many are enjoying it with full gusto and are having successful and satisfied dating that is clear from one of the happy statements provided by one user, “He found me on SAM and we’ve been dating four months now. This is good software. Thanks.” – Eva, Canada. 1 Those who are looking for some dating have the options of putting up preferences in their app through broadcasts and text messaging. The GPS system enables them to locate compatible members in their specific areas and sends the details of them to the user, who then sends text messages, winks, etc. and catch up if found suitable. The meeting can vary widely from serious dating to simple time passing over a cup of coffee or for a game at the club. Mobile dating has proved to be more useful for travellers who, many a times, have to travel alone to other cities and coun-

tries and seek good company during their leisure time. With so many mobile dating apps around and competition increasing, each app is getting better and better to match the competitiveness. Given the shortage of time in finding a suitable dating partner, instant connectivity, ease in operating, less cost and availability on their personalized mobile, thereby giving 24 hours accessibility, mobile dating is fast becoming the trend and overthrowing the popularity of cyber dating. 1.

February 2012

Roaming Heart

A VIRTUAL ROMANCE Long-distance date

t was the heat of tax season, and Cameron was not going to get a break. He arrived at 9:00 in the morning and, apart from lunch at his desk, he was stuck running numbers until 9:00 at night. Saturdays he would get a break: only eight hours until 5:00 PM. The problem was that his boss was planning to work him to the bone on Valentine’s Day—not to mention Good Friday. To complicate matters, he was sent to Boston on his one year anniversay. Not that he minded Boston, but his girlfriend Becky was in Los Angeles, and had become more and more distant. “I’m stuck in watching YouTube and eating carrot sticks,” Becky had said weeks before, waving her iPad threateningly. “Some boyfriend you are.” So, for this important anniversary he went virtual, planning a special cross-continental dinner with his girlfriend. The key element was surprise. “First off,” Cameron told me, “she wasn’t expecting anything. I was off in Boston and we’d arranged for Facetime that evening.” Around 4:00 PM PST, Becky gets a call from Cameron. He tells her that he’s still in Boston, but wanted their oneyear anniversary to be special. He told her to be ready for dinner at 6:45 PM. They were going on a virtual date. “At first she thought I was kidding,” Cameron says. “She laughed, maybe for the first time in a while. Giggled actually.” At 6:45 PM, she gets a knock on the door. It is a private limo waiting for her downstairs. She’s told to bring her iPad along. It’s a short ride, but there is a Bach Partita (in B flat major) one of her favorites in the background. She’s offered a flute of campaign, which she sips. As she’s riding, she gets a phone call from Cameron. “I tell her that I wish I could be there with her, that I miss her a lot, but that one of these days we will have much more

going mobo: a virtual romance

time together. She tells me that I didn’t really have to do this, but I insisted. Our one-year anniversary was very special to me. She went quiet at that point. All I could hear was her favorite Bach piece.” When Becky arrives at the restaurant, she is greeted by the maître d’ who has arranged a secluded spot with a spectacular view of the city. It is the same restaurant of their second date. “Well, our first date was a disaster. We’d met a random party and I asked her out. It was all my mistake. We went to a sports bar; it was too loud; I’d had too much to drink and was doing my Robert De Niro impression. She was polite but didn’t answer any of my phone calls that week. So I sent her flowers. Still nothing. Then I remembered she loved playing the piano, and loved Bach specifically. So, I sent her a very simple email with Glenn Gould playing a Bach partita. I think that did it. She agreed to another date and we went to this restaurant. So, it has special meaning for us. And the waiter was great. So, I was able to reach him for the anniversary dinner.” She gets a call on her iPad and it’s Cameron. He is in a tie and sportscoat, seated at a restaurant in Boston. She is thrilled and he asks her if she likes his choice. Of the tie? She asks. They both laugh, since Cameron is color-blind. But soon, he asks to speak with the waiter. So, Becky motions the waiter over and Cameron talks to him from his location on the iPad. “I ask him what the spe-

February 2012

cials are. Then with Becky on the screen, I ask her what sounds good. She loves lobster, so I order their special. Then to my waiter I order the crab cakes. We both giggle at this. Then when our waiters leave, I talk about how we met and all of the stupid mistakes I made. The waiter pours a glass of campaign for her. We both forget for that space in time that we were in different parts of the world. For that moment, we are back together.” The dinners arrive, although Becky gets hers first. Cameron tells her to start but she waits until his crab cakes arrive. He points his iPad the meal. She says hers looks better, and they have a good laugh at this. For dessert, he has ordered Baked Alaska ahead of time and it is flambéed at the table. He orders an espresso for himself. They talk about their weeks. Unfortunately, his week has been painfully boring, more number crunching, gathering of documentation for taxes and the like. Hers has not been that much better. “Then I spring good news on her. I’ve arranged a week in Cancun after tax season. Just the two of us. She is ecstatic. We talk for a long time after this, and well, it was really a great date. But, you know, it made our anniversary something special. We’ll remember this one for a long time.” The waiter cleared the table and brought a hot tea for Becky. The bill had been taken care of. “Well, then Becky turns to me, gets real close to the camera. She says, ‘would you like to come back to my place for, you know, a cup of coffee or something?’ We both started laughing. My restaurant was closing so we had to say good night. I tell her that I’ll be back at the end of the week. Can she wait for me? She says it’s a long wait. But she says, it’s worth it.”

going mobo:

Virtual Dating

THAT ROMANTIC DINNER PROBLEM You want a special long-distance date over your mobile device, but don’t know where to begin. You also don’t know if your date will really want to go.

DISCUSSION Arranging a special date when you are out of town takes time and attention to detail. You can’t just make a reservation at a local restaurant. Instead, you have to pick a restaurant that your date will feel comfortable in and has secluded areas. After all, it’s a bit freaky to be cooing to a tablet over dinner alone.

SOLUTION If you’ve been dating for a while, pick a restaurant you both know and make the arrangements. If this is your third or fourth date, you’re taking a chance, but “no risk, no gain” as they say on Wall Street (although this is probably a bad analogy right now).

RECIPE Take your time to arrange dinner at a special restaurant.

Recipe

5. Since you will not be accompanying your date to the restaurant, arrange limo service. This does not need to be a long, fancy limo. There are many car services that provide transportation. However, it’s a plus if they can serve a little champagne or have music that can be played. It sets the mood. 6. Call your date ahead of time. Tell them you are arranging an evening and for them to set it aside. If you think they may baulk, describe what you have in mind. Don’t give away any details, just a simple summary of the evening planned. 7. Line up a restaurant close by where you will have dinner. A few days before your date, give another call to the restaurant, flower shop and limo to make sure everything is ready. On the day of the virtual date, get spruced up and make your way to the restaurant ahead of time. Don’t forget to remind your date to bring her mobile device. Otherwise, you’ll both be eating alone!

1. Pick a restaurant that you know and preferably one that you both have been to before. It should have private booths or areas where your date can sit by herself and not feel that other people are watching her. Remember: she will be talking to herself and that can be the center of attention in the main dining room. 2. Call the restaurant owner ahead of time and describe what you have in mind. If you pick up any hesitation, then maybe look elsewhere. 3. Make a reservation and leave your credit card and phone number. If your date has a favorite entrée, you might see if this can be ordered that night. 4. Ask if flowers can be arranged. Many restaurants can make arrangements for you; otherwise, give a call to a local flower shop. Order a nice bouquet in advance.

February 2012

Virtual Dating

MOBILE MOVIE DATE PROBLEM You want to see a movie with your date, but the theatre won’t permit smartphones or mobile devices to be on in the theatre.

DISCUSSION Most of us think that we need to whisper to our dates inside the theatre while the movie’s showing. Nothing is more disturbing to your fellow theatregoers than this type of behavior. In fact, the real joy of seeing a movie with your date (apart from the hand holding) is the ability to pick it apart ruthlessly afterwards. This of course can easily be done over the phone, in either a phone call or video chat.

SOLUTION Plan to see the same movie and discuss it afterwards in a coffee shop or dessert place.

RECIPE The key is making the evening as much like a date as possible. First you may want to go to dinner together, but afterwards, plan to see a movie you’d both like. 1. Find a movie that you both want to see, then arrange two separate theatres (in your separate locations) that play this movie at relatively the same time. 2. Arrange a spot afterwards to talk. This can be a local coffee shop or dessert place. It shouldn’t matter how noisy it is, but if they have WiFi, this will save on phone bills. 3. Before the movie, give a call to confirm the arrangements. Talk about your week and other small talk. You may want to mention some of the good reviews that the movie has received. 4. Respect the people around you and turn your device off when you are seated. 5. Right after the movie, make contact with your date and head over to your virtual rendezvous.

Recipe

6. Get a table for one and discuss what you liked and disliked about the movie. Make sure that you listen to what your date has to say. In some cases you may be at the opposite side of the spectrum. This doesn’t matter. Just listen to what he or she has to say. There’s nothing that replaces the traditional date, but if you are many miles away, sharing a movie together can be fun and enlightening.

going mobo:

Virtual Dating

HOME MOVIE DATE

Recipe

PROBLEM

RECIPE

You’re stuck somewhere away from your sweetheart and want to spend a quiet evening with him or her. What can you do?

The great thing about Netflix, Hulu Plus and other providers of on-demand movies is that they can be viewed simultaneously in different locations. In fact, you don’t even need to know what movie you want to watch.

DISCUSSION Typically couples that live or work in different cities call each other most nights and talk about their days. The problem is that the phone calls can get repetitive and dull. Why not make a date with your special someone?

1. Surprise your loved one with the idea: “hey, what are you doing tonight?” Of course, she’ll answer, “not much.” “Want to see a movie together? On the couch?”

SOLUTION

2. She will be tickled by the idea.

See a movie at home with them. It’s easy with WiFi and a mobile device. You don’t have to be in the same room as your loved one. You can cozy up to them virtually. (OK, it’s not the same thing, but hear me out.)

3. Figure out which movie you’d like to see. You can review this ahead of time or line it up in your queue. 4. Certain on-demand providers will not allow this from the same account so you may end up going to a separate service. For example, you may want to see yours on the in-room movie service if you’re at a hotel. Or, through the cable service in the area. 5. Keep your video conferencing going while you watch the movie. To make sure you do not run out of charge, keep it plugged in. 6. Since you’re by yourselves, feel free to comment throughout the movie on the things you found funny or surprising. 7. Make some popcorn and get into it. The key to enjoying the movie together, albeit in different locations, is seeing each other’s faces. If you do not have this service, then just use your weekend minutes on extended phone calls. It’s fun and you’ll spend more time with your loved one.

TIME TO LET GO...

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