Used cell phones are great, especially when you are traveling overseas. It is much cheaper to buy a used cell phone in the US and then go travel abroad. Cell phones are much more expensive in Europe (and the rest of the world).

Many of our overseas buddies probably have sold their used cell phones many times over – it is a practice that is catching on in North America as well.

Before you make your $50 on E-Bay for that old Nokia, beware. Your cell phone might not be as clean as you think as this Aussie article points out.

A company, Trust Digital of McLean, Va., bought 10 phones on eBay this summer to test phone-security tools it sells for businesses. The phones all were fairly sophisticated models capable of working with corporate e-mail systems.

Curious software experts at Trust Digital resurrected information on nearly all the used phones.

Some of the information that these hackers..uh, I mean, engineers to get off of the phones:

• One company’s plans to win a multimillion-dollar federal transportation contract.
• Bank accounts and passwords.

Not to mention…text messages as well!

So how do you get all of that juicy information completely cleaned before you sell it to someone else?

Some phone have a “zero-out reset” but those are only the higher-up Treo-ish types of cells. Business people with fancy pocket phones can attempt to put in the wrond password 10+ times. After the 11th attempt on many phones, it will give you a mind message telling you everything has been wiped.

Other regular people out there with Nokias and Motorolla Razor phones?

You’ve got to check the fine print in the instruction manual. Nokia has good customer service and should get back to you within 24 hours if you send them an email.

If not – used cell phone make great alarm clocks and window smashers.

The Swiss are currently holding the once every 12 year Unspunnen Festival. What is that? L’avant Poste got this picture to sum it all up.

It began originally in the early 19th Century as a way of uniting the country in the face of Napoleon.

For three days, there will be yodelling and alphorns, traditional dancing and alpine wrestling.

But the most important event is a competition to throw a stone that is revered as a national icon.

L’avant Poste will continue to bring you evidence that the Swiss are weird.

It is aop’s birthday sometime in September…

So if you’d like to get me a gift, I’ve got only one wish for this year.

A small donation to UNICEF. I don’t want anything else, this is more than enough. Don’t buy me a gift and make a donation. A small donation of any amount you feel comfortable with would make me happier than anything. Click the picture and you’ll be all set in seconds.

Did I mention that 100% of the money goes to UNICEF and is 100% tax deductible. Plus, no excuses for you friends and family overseas 😉

Materazzi [that dude in blue getting owed in the picture] told Gazzetta dello Sport that Zidane’s sister was the subject [of the smack that earned him a one-way flight to getting owned].

I was tugging his shirt, he said to me ‘if you want my shirt so much I’ll give it to you afterwards,’ I answered that I’d prefer his sister.

I didn’t even know he had a sister before all this happened.

I’m sure he does now.

I read this interesting fact as I was riding the bike at the gym. India is at the top of my list of places to visit so this caught my eye.

Mile per mile, Indian roads are the 2nd most dangerous in the world beaten out by only Iraq.

But don’t let that discourage you. In fact personally it only made my fascination grow 🙂

A garden in Chandigarh, India.
For those of you who like to travel my adivce is this – See Europe once, then see the rest of the world.

i thought european life was supposed to be pretty laid back, pretty chill — but that’s not the impression i get from the swiss. but then again the swiss just seem like pretty anal people. don’t get me wrong, i love the atmosphere here, but there are just so many rules! you have to throw your trash away in certain black bags in certain dumpster-type places, you have to cross the street on the yellow crosswalk, aaaaand there are quiet hours (10 p.m. to 7 or 9 a.m… not sure).. i guess these rules are so everyone can live a bit more comfortably, but honestly now, we’re in europe. life is comfortable without all the weird laws. oh and i can’t forget the worst thing EVER… everywhere closes around 6 p.m. everyday with the exception of gas stations and on Thursdays places are open til about 9 p.m. And don’t even think about going shopping on a Sunday because nowhere is open! it’s insane. very picky people, these swiss are…