Our family loves all things Harry Potter. Several years ago we visited Universal in Orlando for my wife's birthday. If you are a fan of the books or movies and get the chance to go, I highly recommend it. The first time you step into Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley, it feels as if you have apparated into that world.

There is also something magical about the Kindle. Being able to store hundreds of books in a slim, lightweight package, never losing your place again, and bringing your local bookstore or library to you. So wonderful - until it stops working. Enter technical troubleshooting hell.

This happened to me the other day to me as I attempted to download a copy of J.K. Rowling's the Cursed Child onto the Kindle. For some reason, it wouldn't download and just displayed a "Pending" message. I tried the usual, obvious fixes:

• Turn WiFi off and on - check

• Turn the Kindle off and on - check

• Redeliver from the Amazon store - check

For all my efforts, all I received was the same "Pending" message.

Luckily, there is an EZPZ fix for a stuck Kindle:

Step 1: Hold the power button for about 20 seconds (even when the screen goes black, make sure you keep holding down the button)
Step 2: Release the power button. The screen should flicker. Next you’ll see the Kindle start-up screen and a fill-up bar.
Step 3: Go back to the book that was stuck and if it has not downloaded already, try again and it should work this time.

Thanks to Scott Allen at ScottAllen.com for originally sharing this information. You are a champion!

Try these EZPZ steps first before becoming this guy.

P.S.

Now that your Kindle is working, do you want to leave it to chance whether you connect with someone or not? Do you enjoy the awkward silences that litter professional meetings, conferences and social events?

I've created a FREE guide to turning on your ability to click with anyone, anytime, anywhere. With one simple switch, you will dramatically change the way you experience the world. Get it HERE.

Next post Saturday, 6:30 a.m.

Have you ever been excited by a new piece of tech until your realized now you have another remote control to deal with? Do you feel like you need a Ph.D. to figure out how to switch from your cable, to your gaming console and back again? Ever see a house guests eyes glaze over as you try to explain to them the finger smashing gymnastics required to control the volume in your living room setup?

Several years ago I started using a universal remote (the Logitech Harmony 200) to simplify matters. It can control your TV, a cable box and a DVD player. Most importantly, it has a button to allow you to easily switch between one or the other. It worked flawlessly for several years when just the other day, it stopped working. At first, I thought it was dead batteries, but after putting in new ones, no joy. Then, I noticed the strangest thing. The TV, Cable, and DVD button along the top row were blinking green every few seconds. 

As it turned out, the problem was easily remedied. Somehow, the remote had unintentionally been put into "Safe mode." All I needed to do was reset it using the following EZPZ instructions.

1. Remove one battery

2. Hold onto the "2" button while putting back in the battery.

3. Test

I found the answer here on the Logitech community feed. Thank you kind sir!

Now what episode was I on?

Next post Saturday, 6:30 a.m.

“...our impulses are too strong for our judgement sometimes”
― Thomas Hardy, Tess of the D'Urbervilles

I'm like a moth to the gadget flame. Wallets, flashlights, headphones, you name it, I can obsess over it. Price is irrelevant. I'll fixate equally over a $5 item or a $50 item. And I feel a little bit like Charlie Brown going to kick the football from Lucy when once again, after countless time spent researching and reading reviews, I end up purchasing the first one I saw. In my household, I cannot be left unsupervised in front of infomercials. "But wait! If you order in the next 60 minutes, you'll also get X for free..." What can I say, I'm a marketer's dream.

All this can add up to a drain on our finances, drip by small technology purchase drip. $19.99 is sneaky that way! A little while ago I resolved to curb some of this spending. None of these items were strictly necessary, it was more to scratch that gadget itch. I thought about going cold turkey, but this method tends to just delay the smaller purchases for a time until the will weakens and results in a large purchase that might cost even more.

After struggling with this a while, I came up with an EZPZ tactic to reduce impulsive technology spending.

Step 1. "Set it and forget it!"
Whenever I come across something I think I might want to buy, I jot down the name of the product and the price in a note-taking app. The act of writing the item down as a potential purchase flips a switch in my mind that calms the impulsive feeling. Now that it's written down, you can relax. You have the option of buying this at any time in the future, just not right now. Now rinse and repeat.

Step 2. "What happens here, stays here."
Review your growing list from time to time and when the spirit moves you and the dollar and cents are properly aligned, go for it. Once you buy one of the items on your list, move it to a separate list that shows all the impulse purchases you've made so far. This is an EZPZ way for you to see how much you are spending and make more informed decisions.