Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with plan

1G or 3G?

spacefire — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:41:22 -0800

iPhone...first generation used or 3G new, or wait for a while? A friend might sell me an iPhone 1G for $50. Should I buy that or upgrade? I am eligible to renew my AT&T contract. It doesn't give me the iPhone option, so I would have to go to a store, but that is not an issue here. As I understand, the 1G iPhone's data plan is ten dollars cheaper than the 3G data plan. Over a year that would be $120 in savings, plus the phone being $50 cheaper than the cheapest 3G, adds up to $170 savings over a year. I am a bit cash strapped, but is it worth buying an older used phone for saving that much?

Prepaid iPhone data plan in Mumbai?

jesseendahl — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:40:15 -0800

Hi, I will be living in Mumbai for 11 weeks next summer. I have an unlocked iPhone 3G. What is my best bet in terms of carrier and plan for the cheapest and most reliable data access? I plan to do local calls over the cell phone voice network and international calls via Skype on the iPhone. Thanks in advance!

Looking for time-planning software for a busy dog walker

primer_dimer — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:05:27 -0800

Looking for time-planning software for a busy dog walker My girlfriend's dog-walking business is busy, and it's taking a long time each night to plan the next day's walks. I'm looking for any kind of time-planning software that can help. Essentially the problem is to find the best solution to a set of constraints:

Dog A has to be picked up between 10am and 12am and walked for 1 hour
Dog B has to be picked up between 10am and 1pm and walked for 30 minutes

etc.etc.

At the moment she is planning her schedule by hand which is taking a long time. It seems to me that this is a job for a computer. I'm kind of resigned to writing some software myself to solve this problem, but any hints would be appreciated.

Teach em how to fish and they'll give us better cities, or something

stormygrey — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:34:01 -0800

Calling all planners, public admin. types, adult education gurus and other smarty pants: I need to develop a training program or at least a strategy for developing a training program for further planning on the local level, put the hard parts. Our office is charged with further the planning efforts of local (state and county) governments. We laid out the elements needed to successfully developing and implementing a comprehensive plan and then audited it to analyze our gaps. Then we looked at other agencies and they have similar gaps.

How can we train people in the areas of administrative capacity and what we are generally calling "community will" (political will, advocacy, etc.)?

Like, how to read a site plan submitted by developers, how should staff and appointed/elected officals communicate effectively, can a circuit rider type planner work, how would you develop a program like that, how do you do code enforcement with out a dedicated staff member. For the last one, its things like making politically difficult decsions, gaining consensus, or just plain how to implement your plan (what ever that may mean).

I know I am putting a lot of info out there, I don't want to box in the answers here. So have you attended or created training on items similar to these? Are you aware of awesome (perferably free) web based training/podcasts that touch on these issues. Feel free to throw in any new ideas that you see staff or officials messing up all the time. Thank you!

Cheap cell phone plan for three months in US

Busoni — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:55:01 -0800

Looking for a cheap pay-as-you-go or pre-paid plan, to use until the end of December. I have a Motrola Razr (v3r, or something like it, as I recall), which I used to use with T-Mobile, although I'm not opposed to buying a cheap phone for the interim (although it'd have to very cheap). What are my options? I might go through the entire week without making a call, or if I'm out, maybe three calls max. I'm not interested in texting.

Lean and Mean

freddymetz — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:26:20 -0800

Help a skinny guy shape up! more after the jump! some facts:

i do some sports, used to jog almost every day (although in the past few weeks ive slacked off)

I eat a lot, but i dont eat healthily (i.e. no fruit and veg)
A typical week would see me eating meat pretty much every day with pasta or potatoes. Fast food (mcdonalds/burger king) is also consumed at least once a week . I drink a lot of unhealthy sugary drinks and fruit juices. Greasy meatloaf or full english for breakfast (ocasionally) .

I need a goal and results. Im pretty lazy, and slack off if i dont see results, but can get very motivated if it's a foolproof plan and i see results after a while.

Right now i want to put on some weight, yes also fat, because i look pretty skinny. I dont know if that's advisable, or if i should just look at starting with a tabula rasa and gaining muscle mass (which would probably be more difficult).

I have mild scoliosis, which affects my posture a bit and makes me slouch. I try to work actively against slouching by pushing my upper chest forward and my stomach in. is that the correct thing to do? I think gaining weight, especially muscle, would help my posture too, right?

I have a fast metabolism, i think, so what should i do guys?

Need resources on 'peer coaching' at work.

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 07:36:14 -0800

Need resources on 'peer coaching' at work. Been asked to take a stronger leadership role on a global (NA and EU) sales team. My peers and I all report directly to my boss, though my position is the senior of all team members.

My boss' request is to develop a leadership plan for 3rd Quarter 2009 for my team members in order to show that I could one day hold a more senior role... one that they might then report to.

I want to make this a group plan -- one that applies to myself as well as my peers. I want to ensure that I'm not condescending in both the presentation and the content of the plan.

Any suggestions MeFi? Any good articles, links, books I could look to?

more for my money in cell phones - sprint

mdn — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:07:25 -0800

cheapest blackberry-esque phone & plan, either thru Sprint or taking into account the cost of leaving Sprint... I lost my regular cell phone and finished my paper datebook. I haven't got the replacement phone yet, and I'm having trouble finding a replacement datebook that starts in June. I'll be very busy starting next week and need to be well organized, so am considering the electronic option. On the other hand, I'm pretty broke.

My old/ current Sprint plan ended up coming to about $70 per month, even though it was supposed to be more like $39... There seemed to always be a lot of fees or forgotten changes to the bill. I either want to really go cheap, spend like $25 a month and have the bare bones, or get something actually life-improving, that will help me keep track of things, have a useful and usable calendar, etc.

I don't talk all that much on the phone so limited minutes (within reason) is fine, and since one insane bill due to text messages I've kept that to a minimum without trouble. I think I renewed my Sprint plan last August. Any advice? Thanks.

How do i set up a standard business plan?

freddymetz — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 05:09:02 -0800

How do i set up a standard business plan? Do you know of any templates or examples of business plans (maybe in form of powerpoint presentations)?
Also what elements should i include in it? Is it important to cut the crap or to be very precise?

Also what are good mediums to find out what product is in demand in a certain area/group of people? I could interview people in my town, but when other people do this i perceive of it as being annoying. So are there any non-annoying ways to do this?

Thank you

Is a retirement plan worth it?

NeoLeo — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:33:00 -0800

In light of what's happened recently, is starting a retirement plan really worth it? I'm at an age (mid-20s) where by pre-2007 conventional wisdom, I should be looking to start a retirement plan to get the most of my money over time. If you start earlier you make more, yadda yadda yadda.

Considering how many people have lost tons of money in their retirement accounts in the past year, is it really worth it?

Of course this is just speculation, and nobody can predict the future, but if I choose to believe in economic cycles, a major recession/depression has occurred every 35-40 years or so, so if it happens to be the case where another major recession/depression happens 35-40 years down the line, it's gonna happen right around the time I retire. Sweet!

Is there something that I should know about retirement plans that would make my mind more at ease at getting one? Is there any solid viable alternatives? Has anyone whose gotten a retirement plan strongly regretted it?

Obama stimulus plan and the unemployed

sureshot — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 18:54:59 -0800

Obama stimulus plan and the unemployed: Will there be any assistance to those looking for work who ARE NOT currently collecting unemployment benefits? I could be hopelessly ignorant on this matter. But from everything I've read, it seems most of the aid will go to those already employed (fatter paychecks via reduced income tax with-holdings) or those currently collecting unemployment (extension of benefits).

I'm especially curious about job training opportunities. (Although, some free money would be nice too)

Conan, what is best in life?

so_necessary — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 04:18:20 -0800

I'm at a loose end in life, have few real constraints... so what shall I do next? Go wild. Life was all going so well (sort of?) but for one reason and another my life has slowly ground to a jobless living-back-with-parents-and-21-years-old halt. Now I'm festering in a quagmire of do-nothingness, and mixing all my metaphors. You know the phrase "If you want something done, give it to a busy man" - I am the non-busiest man ever.

I'm looking for:

* practical recommendations of stuff you did recently (or a while ago!) that you enjoyed, especially if you found it to be conducive to personal growth/happiness/or led on to even more exciting opportunities
* any random whimsical ideas of stuff to do, like maybe the other day you thought "ah if I didn't have to be in the office every day then i'd totally... [strap a jet engine to a kayak and see what happens]" I say this because at least 90% of cool stuff I've done has started out with a whim ("apply to be on gameshows!") but I think i've developed whimpotence, possibly because there's no constraints for them to exist in opposition to? Or not - ideally this sort of footloose and fancy-free approach should be able to exist independently and I should nurture it somehow?
* Also, your touchy-feely mental/mindset advice on how i should actually approach it all and slowly easy myself out of epic life paralysis (nb: already have therapist (nb: not that it's very helpful but that's for another AskMefi...)) I wonder if perhaps I am only one awesome spider-diagram / motto / quotation / analogy from insight and happiness...

Things I have:

* enough money, to, say, live cheaply without a job for a year, or travel around the world, although of course it's not necessary that I actually spend this money now now now, i could just keep it! although i worry it would be "frittered" were i to hang onto it for ages...
* vague career field ("internet stuff") and obvious cynicism/doubt of choice of career field / curiosity about the simple life of the radish farmer, etc
* some work experience that's not just nothingy
* friends! a girlfriend! (though obviously they're doing their own stuff)

Things I don't have right now (I mean obviously in general I have them, but these are the things that are missing)

* any commitments or things tying me to any particular place, etc
* on the other hand, any structure or particular sense of purpose, so it's very easy to, for e.g., spend days after days getting up at 4pm and watching DVD box sets until 8am and never really seeing sunlight
* sense of what the right time-scale is to think of (is it difficult to do something today if it isn't part of some larger plan or not, or what? i think i probably just need to get on with it.)
* any Clear Favourite option, in fact, nearly all ideas seem equally pretty good, although of course any given option is at the opportunity cost of all the others and hence induces anxiety that it is not The Best Choice
* any real strategy or criteria for even choosing broad areas or narrowing stuff down or knowing where to start, so even when people helpfully say "oh you should travel!" a large part of my brain goes "OH GOD SHALL I BUILD A SCHOOL IN GHANA OR RIDE THE TRANS-SIBERIAN EXPRESS OR GO AND FIND MYSELF/DRUGS IN BOLIVIA OR MAYBE I SHOULD JUST LIKE WORK IN A BAR IN GOA FOR A WHILE HOW CAN I DECIDE"
* confidence in What Is Most Important or my ability to predict what will make me happy (esp. vs. "what seems 'cool'")
* oh, a degree, i don't have one of those

So hopefully the tenor of this question is indicative of my current feeling that "What next?" is a colossal, ungrapplable predicament, and hopefully you'll be able to a) make it less colossal by coming up with a brilliant idea of exactly what i should do next, or b) make it more grapplable by, well, if I knew that I'd not be asking this question, eh? But imagine, if you come up with a great idea, I'll actually do it and send you a photo and a thankyou note. TBH I'll alphabetise your record collection or whatever if you pitch it well enough.

PS: I guess broadly i'm looking at "moving to the city" / "or staying with family cheaply for a while longer" / "or to other city, with friends but not until September and also less work available there" where I "do something careery" / "work in a [bookshop/cosy pub/something simple and nice]" or I *don't work* and instead / "do work experience in some different fields" / "do something charitable" / work on "projects" (although, see: whimpotence/inspiration-dearth, but then see: suggestions welcome) possibly as auto-didactic learning and "teach self some new skills" possibly even "do a course" and/or "earn a qualification" unless I "travel" "around the world" or "part of the world" or just go to one place in the world and stay there (Buenos Aires my friend says, for no apparent reason, other than the steak, but what would I do there and wouldn't I be terribly lonely and and and...) and do something there, whatever that would be, god knows.

[iPhone Filter] Do I need to upgrade my plan?

brandoniain — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 21:42:06 -0800

iPhone 3G without 3G Plan? I have the first generation iPhone. I want the GPS functionality of the iPhone 3G but I don't need the 3G speeds or the excess monthly charges.

Can I buy a new iPhone, take the sim card out of my old iPhone, put it in the new one, and be good to go without having to activate or deal with a higher data price?

Secondly, is there a way/might I need to turn off the 3G functionality in the system prefs of the new iPhone?

What is an editorial plan?

divabat — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 23:35:38 -0800

What's an editorial plan? Do topic-focused weblogs (like the Gawker Media ones) have one? How do they work out what sort of content goes on their blog? I revisited my past question on magazines because I've got the beginnings of a web magazine but need some help on focusing my content. The comments there mention editorial plans, but I can't seem to find concrete examples of such.

I have a stronger idea of whom my webzine is targeted towards, and some ideas of what content I want in there. However, my idea can easily devolve into tangents, and I'm looking for ways to better structure the content of my webzine. (What categories? What can go in and what can't? Who contributes? What are the guiding principles?)

I tend to work best by example, so any examples or suggestions for this would be greatly appreciated. I'm also working on the more business-y side of things, but I feel I need to get this aspect down pat before I work on the rest. Or should I just start up the site, do a few entries, and run with it?

Resources wanted - cultural diversity, youth, arts

divabat — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:20:02 -0800

Cultural diversity, youth, and the arts/creative industries - where do I start looking for resources? I'm doing a work placement with an Australian youth arts organization (non-profit) that provides advice and services to young emerging artists. I've been tasked with preparing a cultural diversity strategy, both to get more young people from culturally diverse backgrounds using their services, and also to make their current programs more respectful of cultural needs.

I've never actually written a strategy paper before, but I personally find the topic interesting so I'd like to do as much work as possible. I'd like to know where I can get more information.

I'm guessing this is largely a question of terminology, as searching for resources in my local libraries haven't given me much - what should I be looking for? So far I can think of:

* Brisbane/Australia's policies re: cultural diversity and the arts sector
* How other countries and cultures regard the arts and creative industries (no idea how to search for this)
* Examples of strategy papers
* Efforts in integrating different cultures, not just with young people and/or the arts world

What else should I be looking at? What resources fit the above list and what else should go on that list? Are there any universities/organizations that would be helpful?

How does a strategy paper look like anyway? It seems like right now I'm writing a plan for a strategy paper. (This project is only a week old so far so there are opportunities for adjustment.)

The org is Queensland-based and has offices in Caboolture and Brisbane, but resources from anywhere in the world are fine. My supervisor's worked in Eastern Europe and USA, and I'm from Malaysia, so we're all pretty good at taking our multicultural backgrounds and incorporating it into our work. I don't want to rely on stereotypes though, so I'd like to look at as much info from everywhere.

Plan B = Acne side effect?

BlackStrapMolasses — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:53:27 -0800

Plan B = Acne Breakout? I took Plan be about 2 weeks ago, and am now having terrible acne. Granted, it's summer, and I'm under a lot of stress, but I've never broken out this badly. They seem like serious zits, too, really deep and large. Acne is listed as an uncommon side-effect, but I've also read that some folks have have had REALLY bad break outs, long term. I'll be making a Dr. appt. soon, but has this happened to anyone? If so, what's going to become of me?!? Do I just have to wait it out, or is there something that I can do?

iPhone and family plan

jjcurtis — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:48:48 -0800

Can two iphones owners be on family plan from AT&T if one phone is an original iphone and another is a 3g iphone? Family member with original iphone doesn't want to upgrade, and likes the free SMS and lower monthly rate. If another family member buys a 3g phone with higher rates must they be on the same (higher) monthly rate plan to be considered a family plan? What is the best (least expensive) way for both family members to have two phones - one an first generation phone and one a 3g phone?

Has anyone used Careington Dental plan, or something comparable?

nitsuj — Sat, 17 May 2008 08:01:46 -0800

Has anyone used Careington Dental plan, or something comparable? My girlfriend and I are looking to get some basic work done on our teeth. We don't have insurance, so are looking at using a dental plan of some sort. Does anyone have any experience with Careington?

They offer a $6.95 per month plan that gets you great rates on lots of procedures. Too good to be true?

It doesn't seem like full dental insurance would make sense for us, since we rarely have work done.

This is in the United States.

Automatic Revision Planner

edbyford — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 06:44:46 -0800

I need a solution which will help me work out my revision plan automatically (Possible Excel filter?) Please help! Hello everyone

I'm revising for university exams at the moment. The way I do this is to go through either the textbook or my notes, making summaries as I go.

At school I used to set myself to do an hour of this, an hour of that etc. but I found that didn't work as I rushed things somewhat. So I've set out a plan which requires me to do a certain number of pages for each exam every day.

The trouble with this is, I still miss things out! I'll skip a day because of whatever, or I won't manage to get one set of pages for a certain exam done, or (as I've had to do) I realise that there is some additional book it would be useful to look at, so I double the amount of pages I'm doing in order to fit the second book in afterwards.

What I would love to do would be to have a program which I can type in the number of pages I have to do, the date I have to have revised them by, and whether I'm planning to take a break on certain days (or over the weekend), and also be able to tell it if I missed certain day, or didn't finish all the pages for one day, and have it tell me what I need to do over the remaining time available to catch up.

I use Windows (so no cross-platform solutions needed, though that would be cool), and I'm guessing maybe an Excel spreadsheet would work best for this, but I would prefer a web-based solution (although I could just upload it to Google Docs).

I have no idea how to implement this, but it would be such a cool idea for students and GTDers the world over.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Help with my high-metabolism food shopping list

sprocket87 — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 07:42:59 -0800

What are some sample meal plans or food lists for a high-metabolism, frequent small meal diet? Looking for specific ideas for the "eat 5-6 times a day" routine. I've been reading a lot about the benefits of eating less, more often. My eating habits as of late have been atrocious (lots of heavy dine-out foods and snacking in between). I can see the benefits of eating smaller portions designed to keep your metabolism working to your advantage (I think I'm subconsciously sabotaging my metabolism!).

So I ask your help in finding specific food shopping lists and food plans to help me get in the routine of eating this way. A sample of what I'm looking for:

• 7:30 a.m.—1/2 cup cooked oatmeal; one cup skim milk; one slice of whole wheat toast with one tablespoon peanut butter; one cup of blueberries
• 10 a.m.—8 ounces of non-fat yogurt with a tablespoon of walnuts or flax seeds
• 12:30 p.m.—Large spinach salad (two cups) topped with carrots, radishes, onion, cucumber and two ounces of tuna (packed in water), a teaspoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of vinegar; six whole-wheat crackers; one apple
• 3 p.m.—One cup of raw vegetables and one-quarter cup of hummus dip
• 6 p.m.—Three ounces of grilled, skinless chicken breast; one cup of brown rice; 1.5 cups of steamed broccoli; one piece of fruit
• 8 p.m.—One piece of fruit or three cups of light microwave or air popped popcorn

Source: http://www.clevelandclinic.org/health/health-info/docs/2500/2589.asp?index=9788

I'm NOT looking for generic "eat high protein/high fiber/low calorie foods". I need specifics. I need a shopping list. Foods I can stick to exclusively and know that I'll be relatively safe until I get into the routine. I don't necessarily need the specific schedule as laid out above (though it would be awesome and very helpful if you have some daily plans like that!), but specific food choices would be great.

Thanks all!

Help a cheapskate pick a cell phone model and plan.

iTristan — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 09:57:32 -0800

We've all basically acknowledged that Canadian cell/mobile industry players are wankers and price themselves waaay too high for what we get. So until they get their act together I'm going to be cheap on my next purchase/plan. My requirements are :
1/ phone model must be Mac-friendly, speak to iCal, Address Book, sync well etc
2/ Instant Messaging is a must; particularly on AIM; adding MSN and/or Jabber is a plus
3/ email/web browsing etc, not particularly important, but nice if it works well and doesn't add much cost above #1 & 2

Not looking for fancy phone - just one that works and does the above well.

I'm currently on Bell, and don't particularly have loyalty to them, although it seems their rates are pretty good for basic voice and data - sticking with Bell is fine (and easy) if the deal is right. I don't really like Rogers as a corp, but if someone gave me an iPhone for free and said I had to use Rogers, I wouldn't think twice (but this isn't gonna happen!).

Would prefer to keep any contract to a 1 yr max.

How should I complain about this?

GrooveStix — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 19:11:33 -0800

Help me write a good complaint letter so I can get my $99 back. The billing department in my college failed to notify me that they changed their billing practices for the payment plan I use - a four installments plan.

In the past, when my financial aid passed, it respectively cleared the installments of my payment plan. This provided me enough time to gather enough funds, to pay what was left if my aid was short. It usually cleared the first three and I paid the last one.

In this semester when the financial aid passed, it was disbursed onto each payment equally, which left me with a due date in the beginning of the semester.

Now, had I known this, I would've saved and not spend cash on silly things during the summertime, but the problem is that I didn't know AND I wasn't notified about it when I signed up for the payment plan. It ultimately led me be late for three of the payments and pay $99 in late fees, which I believe belong to me. I have never received ANY late fees in my life (yes, I am young. I know. lol)

My question is, what arguments can I use to write a good complaint letter, besides the obvious inconsistency with their past practices. Is this legal? Is there a policy or an act that forbids things like this from happening? From an ethical point, it seems very unfair but I do think that our MeFi hive will have a better idea than me. Please help!

Canadian eligible for retirement plan in U.S.?

zgg105 — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:53:36 -0800

My boyfriend is a Canadian citizen working in the United States on a TN visa. Is he eligible to enroll in his employer’s retirement plan? If so, what are the limitations in terms of withdrawing those funds if he decided to move back to Canada to live/work? Are they transferrable?

The company he is with is smallish so HR was hazy on the policies. We’re having a tough time trying to find information on this so any input would be appreciated!

How do you stick to your long-term goals?

schroedinger — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 07:14:55 -0800

How do you maintain sight of your long-term goals? I chronically sacrifice long-term success for short-term gains and it's not working out for me. You know the tale of the Grasshopper and the Ant? Yeah, I'm the grasshopper. As soon as I make a resolution to, say, do my homework, eat more healthfully, stick to a budget, etc, within five minutes I've broken it. I can make all kinds of beautiful plans but I fall woefully short at implementation. On a day-to-day basis I just don't make the visceral connection that all the little breaks I give myself now create a big pile of crap in the long-term--though when it comes around to bite me in the ass it is all too clear.

I've tried to-do lists. I've tried GTD. I have ADHD, and have tried medication and therapy. I put little post-it notes everywhere. I can get the system to work for a few days--even a few weeks--and then I slack off or something comes up that breaks my concentration and it's all over. I think the problem comes at making the transition from the "good" behavior going from a temporary fix to incorporating it into my life.

I'm living like I'm five and there are no consequences, though they hit me again and again. It's gotta stop. What tricks do you use to activate your willpower and implement long-term change so you can ultimately realize your goals?

How to Create a Benefits Package

goalyeehah — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 16:02:34 -0800

How does one develop a benefits package when starting a new business? I am in the process of writing a business plan for a yoga studio and I would like to have a benefits package (health/dental/paid vacation, etc) How does one go about developing such a package. Are there pre-designed plans available.

Lastly, should benefits even be offered. I read some books awhile back that encouraged employees to work free-lance, be responsible for their own health-care, etc. and ask for what the business wants to offer as benefits to be instead added to salary.