Sun & Surf? There’s An App for That: Top Twelve List of Summer iPhone Apps.

Summer’s just a balmy breeze away. So get your iPhone into shape with this Top Twelve List of iPhone Summer Apps.

That Beach Channel
While you’re waiting for those beaches to warm up, escape to the tropics with this app for around $2. Zip off to ten balmy beaches from Maui, St Thomas, Fiji, Oregon Coast, Cancun and St John. Each 2-minute HD video features the soothing sound of waves. This is your getaway until you can getaway.

Packing Pro
Are you a packing klutz like I am? After all these years of world-wide travel, you’d think I’d get it. I can even muck up a simple weekend getaway With Packing Pro you get simplified organization, preparation and packing suggestions, as well as the ability to customize a checklist for successful travel.

Lose It!
Not quite ready for bikini weather? This free user-friendly calorie-counting apps helps you figure what your daily calorie intake should be. You input your age, height, gender and current weight then choose your goal weight; Lose It tells you how many calories you can eat (or drink!) each day to meet this weight loss goal. Then the fun begins. Lose It has a large database of foods, including brand name foods like Chef Boyardee (ZOMG, is he still around?) and Coca-Cola.

Pocket Cocktails (Currently on sale for $0.99)
Speaking of empty calories, here’s a cool app that lets you browse for recipes (Sex on the Beach anyone? Tequila Sunrise?) and inspire you to create your favorite cocktails. Pocket Cocktails is organized by 8 different categories: martinis, classics, summer, tropical, creamy, shooters, warmers, and mocktails (for the kiddies). Each category shows an alphabetized list of drinks complete with photos, recipe and ingredient list. Pocket Cocktails stands out among the rest because of it’s beautiful photos.

Also check out:iVideo Cocktails: Watch it, Shake It, Drink it! (on sale $1.99)

ABC Animals
Once Mom and Dad are relaxing with their Harvey Wallbangers, it may be a good idea to give the kidlets a happy distraction. ABC Animals by Critical Matter is a friendly, intuitive educational app aimed at teaching letter recognition and sound to preschoolers through flashcard simulation. All twenty-six letters of the alphabet, accompanied by corresponding animal pictures, are represented.

SymptomMD
Along with summer fun comes stuff like mysterious rashes, weird bumps, sunburns, cuts, sprains and bug bites. At least you think that’s what they are. How do you know when to hightail it to the ER or doctor’s office — or simply ice it? The answers may be in this nifty app called SymptomMD by Self Care Decisions, LLC. Designed to help make educated decisions towards the type of care needed for relief of an illness or injury, SymptomMD could be a time and money saver, and maybe even a true life-saver. Simply select a symptom — and you’ll receive a list with advice which can range from Call 911 now to Self Care at Home.

AAA Discounts
Smart AAA members already know they can save a bundle on towing and jump starts by joining. But what members may not realize is how many other discounts are available — rental cars, hotel rooms, theater tickets. Launch this free AAA Discounts and the app asks to use your location and then pops up a map pinned with AAA member companies within the surrounding area. Tap a pin and you’ll get a description of the member company, the discounts it offers and driving directions to get there. AAA says it saves its members about $100 a year.

Tipulator
Does anybody know how to calculate a tip anymore? Why bother your pretty little head with it now that there’s Tipulator? While there are other tip calculators for free, Tipulator is simply nicer to use. Using your local currency (dollars, pounds or euros) it will calculate the tip according your requested percentage and even split the check.

Babelingo
If you’re anything like me — my French only seems to work in random parts of Italy — you may be interested in this on-the-spot-translator app by Alta Vida called Babelingo. With 11 different languages, Babelingo is great for the true globe trotter who needs some help with the basics: Conversation, Time, Getting Around, Money, Eating Out, Medical, and Lodging. Each category has about thirty words or phrases and some even feature a few sub-categories with additional words and phrases.

TED
Even though I’m ticked at the TED Conference for leaving its longtime home in Monterey, I’ll stand by this inspiring free app as a great way to not only preserve your soon-to-be-summer-addled braincells — but actually teach you stuff that matters. TED started in 1984 as a way to bring together thought leaders to talk about technology, entertainment and design. Since then, the uber-pricey TED has branched out, featuring a community of big-idea’d luminaries in a range of fields from science to arts, culture, business and global issues. This app lists 293 videos, with talks limited to 18 minutes.

Mobile Dating For Sexy Singles
Once you’ve put the Lose It app to good use, it may be time to download this Mobile Dating For Sexy Singles. This app for 18+ puts ‘Love on your iPhone’ with the ability to send kisses, quick flirts, send messages, cycle through profiles and more.

UrbanDaddy
UrbanDaddy , a leading email magazine and digital publisher of local lifestyle and entertainment information, today announced the launch of its first iPhone application, “The Next Move” The application guides users to the latest hot spots with a unique real-time “concierge engine” that essentially puts an UrbanDaddy editor in the palm of your hands. It’s sponsored by none other than Lexus’ new summer-perfect convertible.

With thanks to super app site: http://www.appcraver.com.

image courtesy of www.sandbarstosunsets.com

Surprise! Which Hot New Game Zoomed Up the Facebook Chart This Month?

If you’re in the Travel Industry and considering launching a Social Media app, read on. The Travel Channel’s Kidnap blazed onto Facebook’s gaming charts with over 2 million monthly active users only a few months after launch. New users are growing at an astonishingly viral 50,000 a day, many in that industry sweet spot: the travel-hungry late twenties. Travel Channel and Rapp Collins worked with social marketing app wizards Context Optional to build a social game where users kidnap their friends to far off places. In order to escape, the hostage must answer a question –and (natch) the answer can only be found on the Travel Channel. This clever segue leads to an impressive conversion rate: 50,000-80,000 players get turfed over to TC’s rich content. Jeff Feldman, Director of Business Development at Context Optional, tells me that while “there was some marketing spend initially, primarily on Facebook, the growth is almost entirely viral.”

San Francisco based Context has been on a roll lately, launching applications for major brands including: Kraft One Minute Mogul; Absolut Top Bartender; Miller Today I’m Toasting; and Microsoft Got Pies (for IE8).

For more Facebook gaming news, check out InsideSocialGames. A teaser: Friends For Sale takes a big drop while Facebook platform leader Lil Green Patch extended its lead by nearly half a million monthly active users to 6.5 million total.

When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Chuck It All and Head for Grown Up Camp.

The news is bad and getting worse.

No one is giving you $443,000 to spend a week at a fancy resort getting Chardonnay Scrubs and four-handed Mediterranean Harmony massages.

No one has paid you $350 million dollars over the past seven years to do your job.

No one is giving you a couple million porky bucks because you like wooden arrows.

At times like this, the best plan may be to simply run away from your heavily mortgaged home and your worthless SUV and head for: Grown up Camp.

GrownUpCamps.com is the Internet’s most comprehensive directory of traditional, sports and fantasy camps, recreational activities and educational vacations for the adult traveler. Sailing, Tennis, Golf, Spas, Canoeing, Kayaking, Car Racing, Pet Friendly Camps, Camps for Rent, Learning Experiences, Culinary Programs, RV/Campgrounds and so much more!

Wannabee Rock n Rollers can go to London:

JAM WITH LEGENDARY ROCK STARS
PLAY IN A BAND WITH FAMOUS MUSICIANS
PERFORM LIVE AT MAJOR CONCERT VENUES
LIVE THE ROCK AND ROLL DREAM
NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY

Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp™ is the ultimate music experience, that allows musicians and enthusiasts alike the once in a lifetime opportunity to jam with legendary rock stars, play live on stage at major concert venues, and live their rock ‘n’ roll dreams. Simply stated, our mission is to bring people’s musical fantasies to life!

Wannabee Archaeologists can go to Colorado:

The Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, located in southwestern Colorado, is dedicated to understanding, teaching, and preserving the rich history of the ancestral Pueblo Indians (also called the Anasazi) who inhabited the canyons and mesas of the Mesa Verde region more than 700 years ago. Crow Canyon’s campus-based programs allow you to participate in actual archaeological research, making exciting discoveries in the field and laboratory that add to our collective understanding of the Pueblo past.

Wannabee Surfers can learn to surf at camps from Mexico to Australia to Singapore.

Wannabee Do-Gooders can be inspired to sign up for a life-changing Meaningful Adventure:

Are you looking for a travel experience that means more than sightseeing… the opportunity to live with locals, give back to communities, and enjoy a bit of adventure along the way? Our Meaningful Tours let you combine voluntary work with adventure, so you can contribute to vital projects abroad whilst exploring one fascinating experience after another along your memorable tour.

Or for pure adrenaline, take an Incredible Adventure.

Because we agree:

Life is either an incredible adventure…or nothing at all.

Big Sur News: Monks Flee As Fires Reach Famous Tassajara Sanctuary.

With many of the Basin Complex evacuees returning to their homes in Big Sur, all eyes here in Carmel Valley are turning toward the smoke rising from nearby Cachagua.

With the exception of five people, The San Francisco Zen Center at Tassajara is now evacuated.

The picture above is the view from my driveway.