It struck me around Cyber Monday of 2014 that one of the unsung heroes of online shopping are the shipping companies. They have taken logistics to an almost magical level. Would Amazon be the same without FedEx / UPS? In the days before streaming, Netflix relied heavily on its partnership with the US Postal Service to deliver DVD's and now they are financing award winning shows like "House of Cards."

I personally saw this in action the other day when I ordered a bed from the online mattress company Casper. They include free 3-5 day shipping. And if you live in Manhattan they deliver it in 1-2 days via bicycle messenger.

Their business model avoids reliance on retail spaces and distributors and instead operates mainly from its website and referrals. This allows them to offer a comparable product for a much lower price.

To see how this works, click on my referral link.

The idea is I can send this link to a friend or family member so they will save $50 and I receive the same amount. Not bad for less than a day's work.

Now you might be wondering, how can I possibly buy a bed without trying it first? The nice thing is, you get to try it for 100 days and if you decide you don't like it, they will pick it up for free, give a full refund and dispose of or donate it. They cannot resell them. And the best part is, you don't need to keep the box.

Which reminds me, the packaging is worth mentioning. The bed is a foam and latex hybrid and they suck the air out of it and wrap it tightly in plastic before putting it into a surprisingly compact box. We just cut the plastic wrap and it unfolded to its normal size. My wife loves the new bed so I'm a hero on a budget and what makes it even sweeter is I didn't have to step inside a single store.

EZPZ, rest easy!

I have an uncle who without fail, falls asleep at every family gathering. My cousin has inherited this super-power. A sleep gene must run through our family because I'm also someone who can fall asleep under almost any conditions.

Noise? Check.
Caffeine? Check.
Exercise? Check.

On the flip side, my wife is a very light sleeper. Couple that with my construction site-like snoring and "Houston, we have a problem." My sleep apnea concertos were preventing her from getting a good night's sleep and understandably, she was not happy about it. I'd get pushed and poked at night, but wake up totally unaware and refreshed. You could not say the same for her. I was informed that this state of affairs was NOT going to be okay.

And so began our journey through snoring prevention land.

Sleep on your side? Check.
Special pillow? Check.
Nose-strips? Check.

None of these put a significant dent in my snoring. Then, a ray of hope appeared. We heard about a snoring mouthpiece made by your dentist that supposedly works wonders. It's molded to your teeth and holds your lower jaw slightly forward to minimize snoring. Nothing else had really worked so we asked our dentist to make one. There was a fitting and it wasn't the most comfortable thing to sleep with, but it worked!

Now we can both get a good night's sleep and I can bother my wife in more conscious and intentional ways! I highly recommend this device for you or your significant other (depending on who is the snorer).

Changed our lives!