The Hangover was just the beginning. In The Hangover Part II, released May 26, Stu (Ed Helms) thought Vegas was behind him. Instead, Bangkok is at least 50 times worse. The wolf pack- Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu, Alan (Zach Galifianakis) and Doug (Justin Bartha) head to Thailand for Stu’s wedding: this time, she’s the real deal.

Stu doesn’t want anything to mess up his perfect day, even if it means having his bachelor brunch at IHOP. Before the wedding, they drink and have a bonfire on the beach. Then the unexpected happens, and, well, you get the idea. Nothing for these four is ever normal. This time, they bring a minor into the equation, and get twisted with some bad people. Stu ends up releasing his inner beast, finding his way into his soon-to-be father-in-law’s heart. Oh, and we get to hear Mike Tyson sing “One Night in Bangkok.”

This sequel is unlike others. It brings the same concept and turns it into a twisted, gritty, and downright unbelievable film that people will probably watch over and over again. People like to laugh- and trust me, the theatre was full of laughter during the showing of The Hangover Part II.

I’ll admit, I kind of wanted to wash my eyes out with soap after seeing this movie, and I keep having nightmares about losing my fingers… At least in the first one, things seemed to add up. Stu shows his skills as a dentist by pulling his own tooth. Part II doesn’t make as much sense- a future doctor chops off his own finger? Shouldn’t his proud father have something to say at the end? Surely doctors need all five fingers intact? This is among the many scenes in the movie that don’t add up.

Personally, I think director Todd Phillips should try to think outside the box for his next movie. The parallel structure to the first movie makes this movie one I won’t be seeing again: give us something new.

Will Ferrell in "Everything Must Go"

Comedic actor Will Ferrell takes a crack at drama in director Dan Rush’s first film “Everything Must Go,” based on the short story “Why Don’t You Dance” by Raymond Carver. A lot of people have been let down by this film, going into it with the expectation of Will Ferrell’s usual comedy. While there is some humor in “Everything Must Go,” it tends to dwells on human emotions.

We follow Nick Halsey (Will Ferrel) an alcoholic who just got fired from his job only to return home to all of his belongings on the front lawn. It becomes abundantly clear to him that his wife has left him, and she has also changed the locks on the house. Low on cash, and very depressed, Halsey stops caring and just sleeps in the recliner amongst his belongings. His old AA sponsor Frank (Michael Pena), who works for the FBI, tells him he can’t just live on his lawn and the best solution is for him to sell everything. Halsey also gets attention from some local neighbors who show concern for him, played by  Rebecca Hall and the late rapper Notorious B.I.G.’s son Christopher Wallace.

From the get go we feel the dark cloud over this movie. You would think that it’s hard to sympathize with such a character who is this egotistical. The real plot curve of the film comes from his development as a character. A lot of these changes are made with the help of some other dysfunctional characters. To have such a character driven story you have to have good actors, and this film is full of them. Will Ferrell has a knack for going over the top in his roles. “Step Brothers” and “Anchorman” should give you a good idea of his usual characters. Here, Ferrell doesn’t over play the comedic moments nor the dramatic moments: he makes the role his own.

Altogether, “Everything Must Go” is a film about letting go. My only real problem with the film is that they made their morals clear in the first half, and it dragged along at times. However, the third act of the film moves around a little more and it gets even more emotional. As an avid fan of the character drama, and someone who loves seeing comedic actors transform for dramatic roles, I would say “Everything Must Go” is a movie to see just for Will Ferrell’s fantastic performance. The rest is kind of like the candy in a stocking at Christmas, it’s good but it’s not the best part.

Overall Rating: 3/5

This is a guest post by Jarie Bolander, Author of Frustration Free Technical Management and a moderator at Answers.OnStartUps. Make sure you check out more from this bright entrepreneur.

What matters has evolved. No longer can you rely on being a life long corporate worker or a cog in the industrial complex. The world has moved on. Now, your creativity and gumption creates value – not the access to capital or the means of production. Sure, there will always be big corporations that will dominate a market sector but even these corporations face total annihilation unless they embrace the new reality – creativity and uniqueness matters.

Linchpins

Seth Godin wrote a spectacular book about that spells out the demise of the corporate politic. Linchpins: Are You Indispensable chronicles the evolution of what Richard Florida refers to as the Creative Class. This class of people creates the innovations, breakthroughs and art that inspires others. Linchpins are those people that a corporation cannot live without yet the bureaucratic nature of organizations crushes their ability to get stuff done. The true Linchpin is part artists, part pragmatist, part politician and part rebel. As Seth Godin puts it:

“The linchpin is an individual who can walk into chaos and create order, someone who can invent, connect, create and make things happen. Every worthwhile institution has indispensable people who make difference like these”

The Evolution of Work

Traditionally, people worked to survive. Not until the industrial revolution did the commoditization and automation of work make it possible to generate mass quantities of like looking, tasting and feeling products. These factories built the consumption economy, which in turn, built more factories. During this process, the sense of craftsmanship and worker uniqueness was crushed. Being unique, at least in a factory culture, meant defects. Defects meant scrap and scrap meant lost profits. The motivation to standardize products drove the industrial complex to standardize workers which meant that every worker was the same. They were taught the same skills, followed the same instructions and were rewarded for doing what they were told. This culture reinforced itself due to the barriers of capital and government regulations that essentially created a monopoly of corporate power. Citizens were conditioned to work hard, pay their taxes and consume. Business was easy. Make a standard product, mass advertise and reap the profits. The formula worked for a long time until one day, the viable economic quantity of one showed up.

The Democratizing of Production

The relentless drive for cheaper and more standard products produced a baseline level of infrastructure that makes creation affordable to the masses. Access to capital is no longer required to produce. The sea change that made this all possible was the Internet. Now, the means of creative expression, production and mass marketing are just a click away. No longer is there a barrier for creative expression that just might turn into the next viral phenomena. The Linchpin knows this and when given the freedom to create, will create products the masses demand. That’s why it’s critical to be a Linchpin – all the new opportunities will be in leveraging the viable economic quantity of one.

The Viable Economic Quantity of One

To recap, a Linchpin is a person that creates uniqueness and art that others appreciate and reward. Delivering this art is as simple as clicking to post or downloading and image. This is the viable economic quantity of one – the means to tailor your creation to a single person because it’s as cheap as creating it for the masses. Once liberated, the Linchpin creates art that inspires since the downside of failure is minuscule.

The Soloist

Seth Godin chronicled the rise of the creative class by explaining the pathology of the industrial complex. I Hate People complements this chronology by laying out the framework for how a Soloist (a corporate Linchpin) can thrive in the bureaucratic, conforming, creativity crushing, conformist corporations that dominate the world due to the commoditization of labor. Soloist’s are not just Linchpins – they somehow, someway, make the corporate cogs work for them. As Jonathan Littman and Marc Hershon put it:

“[The Soloist is] Bold enough to create the attitude, space and time to stretch your career and expand your life. Ready to take that critical step toward becoming one of those happy souls who deftly works alone or collaborates with just a handful of other talented people … while artfully deflecting all the rest.”

Create or Perish

A Soloist creates because she has to. The love of creation is what drives the Soloist to put up with the corporate drones in order to do what is essential to her existence – create unique experiences that buck the commodity trend. That’s why the Soloist and the Linchpin are critical to the success of an economy. Inspired design, art and ideas are what indirectly fuel the corporate machine to continue on but there is a catch – the company that does recognize the symbiotic relationship between Soloists/Linchpins will self-destruct. For some, this is the ideal since that would bring our society back to it’s artisan roots where skilled craftsman were valued for their skill and not just their placement in the machine.

Careful What You Wish For

The same forces that created the industrial complex are hard at work destroying it. The means of production are now in the hands of the Linchpin and the Soloist. This new reality allows for an incredible amount of creative freedom yet that creativity is hell bend on destroying the very structure that helps it. Even though the world has changed, it will never go back to a pure artisan/craftsman state because that would reduce creativity and innovation – something no Linchpin or Soloist wants.

Finding Your Inner Linchpin and Soloist

Most of you who read this have an inner drive to do your own thing. You may even be pursuing something right now. Or you may be giving in to the self-doubt and following the herd to extinction. Don’t follow this path. Embrace your uniqueness, strive to create, thrust aside the cog mentality and reach your potential to be a Linchpin or a Soloist.

Please Comment, Tweet, Stumble, & Digg

Jarie also blogs about innovation, management and entrepreneurship at thedailymba.com. Jarie holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and an MBA in Technology Management. When not volunteering with SCORE or at his day job, he can be found running or biking through Golden Gate Park or swimming in San Francisco Bay.You can follow him on twitter @thedailymba

Has a book ever changed the direction of your life? As a self-confessed bibliophile, reading books has brought me to where I am today as a confident entrepreneur. It’s amazing how books can help in so many areas of your life. I contribute much of my success to the books and learning materials I have studied over the years.

The best book I have ever purchased hands down is the Dictionary. I have used the dictionary to expand my vocabulary. Expanding one’s vocabulary builds confidence and deepens conversations. Having a greater vocabulary also enriches my writing by allowing me to be more creative with words.

I used books to reach my goal of becoming an entrepreneur. I was in the employee mindset and learned this mindset as a little girl. You go to school, find a good job and retire happily ever after but deep down I knew I was meant to be an entrepreneur. I hated sitting in the cubical staring at the minute hand on the clock as if it were an inch worm inching a long until five o’clock. I used many self-help books to help pull myself out of this mindset to get me to the place I am today.

One of the first things I learned as an entrepreneur is that to remain successful you must continue to grow and educate yourself. It has been said that those who become voracious readers and continuous learners become and remain successful. Therefore, I always have at least three books a week going ranging from business, self-help and inspirational. Instead of the twenty plus hours of mindless TV I used to watch, I now read and expand my mind.

Books can inspire you to try something new that could evolve into a full-time career. I realized not long ago that I also enjoyed writing and wanted to start doing some freelance writing, so I started reading books on writing. One the most helpful has been The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. The book taught me how to open up the creative right side of my brain, while overcoming limiting fears that caused blocks in the creative process.

Books are also a powerful source at helping you see what’s important in life, then setting a plan to meet those personal goals. One of the best books that I found useful in this journey was Success is a Given – Reading the Signs While Re-Inventing Your Life by Marlene Chism. It also re-confirmed that in order to reach my goals that I would have to move out of my comfort zone, which can be, truly scary.

You can also change the way you think by reading books. A couple of the best books out there on this topic are The Secret by Rhonda Byrne and The Answer by John Assaraf and Murray Smith. Your beliefs change your habits, which change your, actions.

Books can also teach you how keeping a positive attitude when something negative happens or the outcome you wanted to happen did not; how to find the positive spin on it. Some times because of the outcome, which you did not plan on, amazingly, something extraordinary happens that would have never happened if the negative incident had not occurred. A delightful book I have read on this issue is If You Don’t Have Big Breast, Put Ribbons on Your Pigtails by Barbara Corcoran.

You can also read your way to fortune. I read not long ago a quote by Darren Hardy, the publisher and editor of the inspirational magazine SUCCESS. He wrote: “More men and woman have been motivated to achieve success because of reading Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill than by any other book written by a living author. The book teaches techniques that if applied, you will have mastered the secret of true and lasting success. The techniques helped me think differently about success and wealth.

Another great book that has been used by many successful people is The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason. I once attended a seminar where the speaker, a millionaire himself, said as a young man he interviewed fifty millionaires. During the interview he asked what one book they would recommend that he read and they all said The Richest Man in Babylon. The book offers an understanding of and solutions to your personal financial problems that if applied will guide you through a lifetime. He said he had to read the book three times before the light bulb went off.

Books can also give you an insight on the changes that are taking place in the current market place helping you stay ahead of the competition. Author Seth Godin has written many books on how to advertise and market your business in today’s climate. He writes that today consumers are bombarded by marketing messages almost everywhere they go. If you want to grab someone’s attention, you first need to get his or her permission with some kind of bait–a free sample, a big discount, a contest, an 800 number, or even just an opinion survey.

Books can also provide tangible insights into what makes great companies, helping entrepreneurs avoid the dreaded pitfalls during their years in business. Books can provide tried-and-true tactics that show you how to navigate through difficult times in both business and life.

I am now a more organized, streamlined person thanks to books. Reading Getting Things Done by David Allen has had a huge impact on what I do, when and how I do it. It fundamentally affected how I prioritize and how I file information. I now keep everything I can on my Blackberry, and keep computer and printed files with names that coordinate across all platforms.

Stop dreaming of your success and start reading to your success. Visit your library or book store. Peruse the different sections for ideas that spark your passion for change and start your journey today.

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Julie Barnes is a Freelance Writer focusing on her passion of entrepreneurship. Julie published “So You Want to Start a Business…Now What?” in December 2009. Julie lives and works in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, KS with her husband Ron and lovable dog Hank. You can visit her site at http://www.onewhowrites.com.

Conveniently scan a document with a device slightly bigger than that of a normal pen. In business, being on the go is commonplace. The problem of course with being on the go is the lack of resources.  When you are in a business involved with contracts, reading documents, or just meeting regularly with clients the DocuPen X05 is  good for you. Planon calls it “Office in a Pocket” and it better be with the current price sticker of $369.99 The sidekick to the DocuPen, which is not a requirement, is the Printstik PS905 ME. The Printstik comes with a 20 page roll of paper. Talk about portable, it’s only 11 inches long. The world’s smallest mobile printer goes for $299.99.

What you get

The DocuPen comes with the scanner, a case, the usb cable and the installation cd. The PrintStick package includes the printer, a case, the usb cable, an installation cd, and 4 power outlet adapters.

Design

The design is really nothing special. Four buttons and an LCD screen comprise the device. See the picture for details.

How these devices work

The DocuPen

It’s pretty simple. First set the pen to the mode you want it to be in (Printstik, black and white tif, gray jpg, color, or black and white png). Turn on the device and slowly glide it down the item you want to scan. As you scan the document, it will say on the LCD that it is scanning, so you know it’s working. During the scan, it’s really important to go at a relatively slow pace or else the DocuPen will explain that you are going to fast and it cannot read it.  It is also important to stay steady through the scan. This will give you the best outcome. When you are finished, the scan then saves to the pen.

The Printstik

Printing from the pen is extremely easy. After testing, the printing took approximately 90 seconds. Just power the Printstik on and after scanning something in Printstik mode, the DocuPen will ask if you want to print it. It connects via Bluetooth and boom, your printing. You can hook the Printstik up to your computer as well so you can print at any hotel from your laptop (as long as it’s a PC). The printing quality is not the best in the world, but you can’t expect more from an 11 inch device.

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What’s really great about the DocuPen is that it has Bluetooth connection. You can connect via Bluetooth to your computer, Printstik or Blackberry. Unfortuntely, I did not have a Blackberry to test this feature, but from what I understand, the DocuPen connects to the phone and the scan is loaded to your phone. This makes it perfect to quickly save the scan and/or email it. I hope they do this for all smart phones.

Problems

Mac: I began the review using a Mac. The box states that the software is Mac compatible, but I could not find any downloadable files.

Installation: I must say that this was a fairly complicated install. You have to install three different things just for the DocuPen: USB Driver, PaperPort, and DocuPen Applciation.

Recognizing Pen: Once I got everything installed, I was excited to see my scan, but it was not detecting the pen on the computer.

The sticker price: Planon definitely feels it is a luxury to have their products.

Conclusion

The DocuPen and Printstik are products that solve a problem. They do need to do something about the sticker price if they want to keep up with the competition. The iPhone is offering a few apps that do what the DocuPen does: DocScanner for $5.99, JotNot for $4.99 and Scanner Pro for $6.99.

Get your hands on a DocuPen X05 and Printstik PS905 ME.

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What does everyone think? Would you buy them? Is there a demand?

“From the road to your PC.”

That’s the simple slogan for the CarChip Pro, made by Davis Instruments, a company that has been around for thirty years. The CarChip Pro caters to many different audiences, but our focus is on small businesses.

The CarChip Pro, only slightly bigger than a quarter, is the ideal product for a business that consists of multiple vehicles and/or drivers.  Whether your business has company cars for employees, a single car used for errands, or a whole fleet of cars for a courier service, the CarChip is there to make sure everything is in order. The investment made in a CarChip helps you keep track of every trip. You won’t have to record how far you went each time you come home. You won’t have to wonder if your drivers are driving recklessly or using company cars for personal purposes. Keep track of average speeds, high speeds, travel time and distance, hard brakes and accelerations, accidents, and vehicle problems.

• • •

Here is what the CarChip Pro includes:

• USB Cable
• CarChip
• Software CD

What’s great about the device is how easy it is to use. At first, I thought I was not being supplied with enough information on how to make the toy work, but it really was as easy as the instructions explained. All you have to do is plug the CarChip into the OBDII port, which is found under the dashboard or steering wheel. Once the device is plugged in, you hear a beeping sound, indicating that it is in place. Thereafter, you do not have to do anything to the CarChip while you are in the car.

I tested the device on two cars with two different drivers. I kept all of the CarChip settings on default. I conducted the test over twenty one trips. I did not plug the device into the computer at all during the trial period. After the 21st trip, I installed the software, which by the way, only takes up a whopping 0.81 MB of space. For those of you worried about some space hog software, you can relax. The install was very simple. Thereafter, I plugged the device into the USB port and the software began downloading the information. It asked me if I wanted to add any parameters for the device to discover, but they were unnecessary. It then asked me to list all the vehicle names and drivers that would be using the CarChip. Once you input the drivers and vehicles, you can choose which driver/vehicle goes along with each trip. It took less than 5 minutes to complete the setup. The CarChip then downloaded the data and compiled it. The following pictures display the information obtained by the CarChip during each trip.

This is the Trip Log screen, which summarizes all the information. It puts each trip you took in a different row.

This is a plot of one of the trips. You can see a plot for each trip. You can see the speed along with any hard brakes or accelerations.

This is an individual trip log. Within each log, you can also leave a comment. This feature is great because it allows you to make note of things, possibly where this trip was to. It is just another way to keep track of your travels.

Obviously, the best features of the CarChip, are the information that it obtains and compiles for you through the software. There are some other great features though, including the alarm. The CarChip has an option to Enable or Disable the alarm. The alarm is what a driver hears when they go over a speed band, acceleration threshold, or brake threshold. The beep is fairly annoying, but it is a great indicator for drivers to either slow down or be more careful with their brakes and accelerations. If you decide you want to keep the alarm on, you can decide on appropriate speed bands, acceleration and brake thresholds.

• • •

There are eleven clickable icons. The first one, ‘Home’, displays a brief summary with two categories (Vehicle and Driver). Here you can see each vehicles and drivers total miles traveled and the high speed. The second icon stands for ‘Download’. With just one click of this, the data from CarChip begins uploading. The next icon, a magnifying glass, means ‘Browse’. You can browse through each trip individually. The chart looking icon displays all the plots. You can also find out whether your car needs a repair or not by clicking on the ‘Vehicle Trouble Log’ icon.

This picture shows you how to enable the alarm.

This picture shows the Set Speed Bands feature.

In conclusion, it’s pretty obvious that CarChip is an extremely easy device to use. If you can use a computer, you can use a CarChip Pro. It’s simple, efficient and effective. Stay on top of your business with CarChip.

Get Your Biz Savvy with CarChip.

• • •

The CarChip retails for $78.87 on Amazon
Purchase a CarChip:
Amazon
CarChip.com

Bose? What’s Bose?

Who needs a new innovative product in their life? Or even better, how about an affordable one? Able Planet’s True Fidelity NC300W is something to talk about.  This is the latest noise canceling pair of headphones released by Able Planet. If you’d like to read a quick review, here it goes…it’s a must have.

What’s so good about them? Here are a few words that describe the headphones: Sleek, Immaculate, and Futuristic. When you open the box and unzip the case, your eyes become instantly drawn to the appealing look.  It’s a bit futuristic. If there was a new season of the Jetsons, George Jetson and the family would be wearing them. But seriously, these headphones look hot.  The design makes this noise canceling headphone look a lot more savvy, fashionable, and professional. Comparative to many other headphones available that lack in fashion sense.

Other than being fashionable, they fit comfortably and are not bulky. They cover the ears fully with a soft cushion.  The top of the headphones are also comfortably padded. The ear cushions and the top cushion are the only parts of the headphone that physically touch your head.  This simple design technique adds a great deal of comfort.

The sound quality is what really creates the worthiness though. Able Planet boasts an innovative patented technology called LINX AUDIO. This technology does a few nice things:

• Enhances sound quality
• Improves speech clarity
• Filters undesirable sound
• Reduces distortion
• Restricts electromagnetic interference
• Increases perceived loudness without increasing volume

These advantages and more on how LYNX AUDIO works can be found here.

One advantage that Able Planet forgot to list is the increased relaxation. While listening to music, the sound quality, bass and clarity is intensified.  Furthermore, as I increased the volume, instead of the music becoming distorted, the quality did not change. After using the headphones on a high volume, I did not have a headache, which is not the case when using regular iPod headphones on a high volume.

Here is where Able Planets’s True Fidelity Headphones become important. Besides the fact, they are three times less than that of Bose’s popular QuietComfort 15, these noise canceling headphones are a crucial component to the life of a business individual. A business individual can be an entrepreneur, entertainer, employee, etc. Crucial times necessary for these are those in the office, at the airport, or at home. It is often extremely difficult to stay focused at these places. Many people have given up trying to do work at airports and on planes. Here is some math to put this all in perspective. Let’s say you have a flight from Philadelphia to Los Angeles. You would probably get to the airport two hours before departing and the flight itself is about six hours. That is about 8 hours that could be spent working of the computer. That is close to a normal day of work. If you just want a break from work, use the headphones to fall asleep. These headphones are a great way to help you get to sleep, without the need for earplugs (My sleep remedy was some Beatles with the headphones on). The relaxation and stress relief process is extremely necessary and using the headphones is an excellent way to go about the process. As I was using these it was easy to concentrate and think. My mind opened up.

In essence, if you are involved in any form of business, these headphones are a great investment.  Always be focused as the noise canceling headphones keep your brain from wandering. Although the best experience is gotten out of these through listening to music, the truth is, these headphones significantly eliminate distracting sounds altogether.

What else is included?

• Protective Case
• 1/4″ home stereo adapter
• Double-pronged airplane adapter
• 1 AAA Battery

Here’s the conclusion. Able Planet has received a slew of awards at CES since 2007.  It will be appearing at CES 2010 and will likely win some sort of other award. With this in mind, the product speaks for itself. These $99 noise canceling headphones are definitely worth the money. If a complete package is what you are into, then Able Planet’s True Fidelity NC300W is right for you.

The Able Planet True Fidelity NC300W Headphones are widely available. Purchase them from the following:
Able Planet
Best Buy
Amazon