Sleep can be hard to come by. Stress at work, money issues, regular late night partying, the flight attendant you met in Dallas - can all contribute to poor quality sleep. If you can get any sleep at all. And you don't need to read reams of mind-numbing scientific studies to know that lack of sleep can have a negative effect on your health and performance.

Fortunately for us there are researchers (the ones not looking for new ways to give us longer lasting hard-ons), who've found that certain stimuli can effect our brainwaves, helping us relax more thoroughly and sleep better.

How can you access this stimuli without having to head to a lab every time you need a nap? Use a program like Pzizz.

Pzizz is a downloadable software program that pulls from three types of files - words, music and sound effects - that were all specifically created to stimulate your subconscious and get your brain to move into the state where it can get the rest it needs. (It's way more in-depth than that, but let's face it, neither one of us would understand it anyway.)

Unlike typical relaxation CDs that play the same tracks over and over, Pzizz takes their files and mixes them together to create a different soundtrack every time you hit the play button. Over 100 billion possible combinations. Which keeps it from getting stale and repetitive. It's like having an endless library of soundtracks for under $50. (Plus Pzizz gives you free ...More

Ever given your number to a girl at a bar, only to sober up and realize she's a psycho stalker whose sole mission is to call you at all hours of the day and night to tell you how you've ruined her life because you didn't show to the love sacrifice ritual she arraigned for the two of you? Me too.

You can avoid the awkwardness (and relentless calling), with a Vumber. A "virtual phone number", it's a disposable two-way calling service you can link to any phone.

Once you subscribe, choose any area code in the US (told that blonde at happy hour you were a Wall Street big shot on vacation? Get one with a 212), and an available Vumber is generated. When someone calls that number you can either answer the call normally, have it ring busy, send it to a special voice mail, or have it play a recording that the number is no longer in service.

Your privacy is protected on outgoing calls, too. Just dial your Vumber, then dial the number you want to call. Your Vumber, not your actual phone number, shows up on their caller ID.

You can set up multiple Vumbers in multiple area codes and have them all go to multiple voicemail boxes. Which works, say, if you are a business trying to look like you have offices in multiple states. Or a frequent traveler who likes to give out a local number.

Use it for giving out on dating sites, social networks, job boards, when posting items online for sale, or when making purchases that require a valid phone number. It'll keep your phone spam to a minimum. And protect your privacy.

www.vumber.com
Limited time special - $4.99 per month, with 30 days free.
(Regularly $9.99 per month)

ZoneAlarm, makers of award-winning security and firewall software are getting ready to launch their new ForceField virtualized, on-demand browser security solution next year. It will retail for about $29.95, but until then you can use the public beta version for free.

They built it from the ground up to fight nasty browser-based Web threats, like spyware and phishing, that can grab your personal info while you're shopping or banking online. And with the holidays around the corner, if you aren't using some sort of protective software, (Always. Use. Protection.), you need to look into installing one before placing your online orders.

I installed the ForceField beta on my PC at home and, while it slows my browsing speeds a bit, I think it's easy enough to use that any guy, with any level of computer knowledge, could use it. ...More