But what if times don’t get better or there is another downturn in the economy.  People are going to still be alive and try to provide for themselves.  But how are they going to do it?  My first thought is that when forced into a corner, people will start to do things they wouldn’t normally do.  At the onset maybe it’s alcohol, drugs or strip clubs but it progresses as times get worse and you aren’t just a customer any more.

If you had nothing would you steel?  Rob? Embezzle from the company?  How far do you think you are willing to go right now if you absolutely had to?

The first person to comment with what they would be and why will win an iPad*

*This statement is a lie, read the previous article to get the joke

Sounds pretty good right?  I’m optimistic that I’m an optimist and that everyone would do the right thing when really needed to but then I thought about it more.

What if everyone in business couldn’t lie, how would that change the way business was done, poker tournaments, court rooms and principals offices. How would your life be better if you had only told the truth your whole life?

It wouldn’t be better and for fear of sounding like Gordon Gekko, lies are good. They keep the fabric of our society together, our relationships and our very lively hood.

Black and white just mixed into a grey area that we call life.  Even with all of the charity and good intention, this world wouldn’t be as well off as it is if we were all perfect.  I’m thankful that I’m not constantly being mugged or that everyone doesn’t act like they just got out of church.

The people in my life treat me with respect and I’ve at least learned enough to keep people away that I think are going to take me off balance or  take advantage of me.  Hope you do the same and remember to lie.

LAS VEGAS -

The company behind the magicJack, the cheap Internet phone gadget that’s been heavily promoted on TV, has made a new version of the device that allows free calls from cell phones in the home, in a fashion that’s sure to draw protest from cellular carriers.

The new magicJack uses, without permission, radio frequencies for which cellular carriers have paid billions of dollars for exclusive licenses.

YMax Corp., which is based in Palm Beach, Fla., said this week at the International Consumers Electronics Show that it plans to start selling the device in about four months for $40, the same price as the original magicJack. As before, it will provide free calls to the U.S. and Canada for one year.

The device is, in essence, a very small cellular tower for the home.

The size of a deck of cards, it plugs into a PC, which needs abroadband Internet connection. The device then detects when acompatible cell phone comes within 8 feet, and places a call to it. The user enters a short code on the phone. The phone is then linked to the magicJack, and as long as it’s within range (YMax said it will cover a 3,000-square-foot home) magicJack routes the call itself, over the Internet, rather than going through the carrier’s cellular tower. No minutes are subtracted from the user’s account with the carrier. Any extra fees for international calls are subtracted from the user’s account with magicJack, not the carrier.

According to YMax CEO Dan Borislow, the device will connect to any phone that uses the GSM standard, which in the U.S. includes phones from AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile USA. At a demonstration atCES, a visitor’s phone with a T-Mobile account successfully placed and received calls through the magicJack. Most phones fromVerizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. won’t connect to the device.

Borislow said the device is legal because wireless spectrum licenses don’t extend into the home.

AT&T, T-Mobile and the Federal Communications Commission had no immediate comment on whether they believe the device is legal, but said they were looking into the issue. CTIA — The Wireless Association, a trade group, said it was declining comment for now. None of them had heard of YMax’s plans.

Borislow said YMax has sold 5 million magicJacks for landline phones in the last two years, and that roughly 3 million are in active use. That would give YMax a bigger customer base than Internet phone pioneer Vonage Holdings Corp., which has been selling service for $25 per month for the better part of a decade. Privately held YMax had revenue of $110 million last year, it says.

U.S. carriers have been selling and experimenting with devices that act similarly to the wireless magicJack. They’re called “femtocells.” Like the magicJack, they use the carrier’s licensed spectrum to connect to a phone, then route the calls over a home broadband connection. They improve coverage inside the home and offload capacity from the carrier’s towers.

But femtocells are complex products, because they’re designed to mesh with the carrier’s external network. They cost the carriers more than $200, though some sell them cheaper, recouping the cost through added service fees. YMax’s magicJack is a much smaller, simpler design.

MagicJacks next act: disappearing cell phone fees byAP: Yahoo! Tech.

What is up with young people trying to do amazing feats lately?

This 14 year old ran away from home to the virgin Islands because she was banned from sailing around the world solo.  I commend you for wanting to do it so badly and hope that this experience only teaches you to have patience but 14 is way too young.  Seriously, what parent would want their kid that can’t drive yet half way around the world in a boat by themselves?

Apparently the record for youngest solo sail around the world is held by a 17 year old and a 16 year old is attempting to break that record right now.

This girl is amazing, she has ridden her bike across the US, swam the length of an entire river and is now at 22 rowing solo across the Atlantic.  Please follow her progress, it’s an inspiration.

Her Name is Katie Spotz and she first found out about rowing solo while studying in Australia and it planted a seed in her mind.

The great thing is that she’s not doing it jut for the accomplishment, she’s raising money and awareness for drinkable water in areas that don’t have proper access.

Thanks Katie, you are an amazing person for not just talking about it but for doing it.