Everything Blog

Friday, March 30, 2007

The 8 Myths About Creating Wealth

by Nikola Grubisa

You have probably read or heard about various myths (these are the truths that are valid only for certain cases, but not in general) surrounding wealth and wealthy people, all of which hinder your quest for financial independence. Here are the most common and most destructive:


Myth No. 1: How much you earn depends on how hard you work


If this were true, then the physical, blue-collar workers, who have been working hard for years, would have been the wealthiest people on earth. Of course, this isn't true. They form most of the workforce and the vast majority of the middle-class.


If you witnessed your parents coming home tired from a long day's work in your youth, you probably learned that money wasn't a sufficient reward for all that effort. People who work "just" for the money often have debts because they comfort themselves with whatever they can buy, beautiful things they lack when working.


Myth No. 2: Being paid for something you enjoy isn't work and you shouldn't ask for money for doing something that is enjoyable.


Check this with millionaires. They all have so much money that they don't need to work anymore. Nevertheless, they work for other reasons, challenge, satisfaction, fullness of life, activity, fun ... and all are connected to a love for their work. If there was no joy in doing a certain task, they would do something else that would make them much happier and that enables them to realize their dreams.


In fact, if you don't enjoy your work, you will never become wealthy doing it! However, just because you enjoy your work doesn't mean you shouldn't get paid for it - in fact, that is the ultimate goal, to get paid for what you already enjoy so it never feels like you are at work!


Myth No. 3: You need to be in the right line of business to amass wealth


Do you think so? This must mean that all the people who are involved in the same business are millionaires. Of course, this isn't true. In each business there are winners and losers; winners abound, even in businesses that consist of distasteful (to most) or "impossible" work like sweeping the streets, collecting the trash, working in a factory, pumping gas, selling newspapers, etc. On the other hand, there are just as many "losers" in businesses like selling real estate, management or being a stockbroker.


Myth No. 4: You need the right education to make a fortune


Are the most educated people really the wealthiest? Not at all! In this case, university professors would be the wealthiest people on earth. Ask them about their salaries, if you get the opportunity. The truth is vastly different - the wealthiest people are those who can convert their knowledge (or education) into money, in the best possible way. They can be highly educated people (like inventors, scientists, etc.) or almost ignorant.


Being formally uneducated does not equate to poor performance on the job or the inability to form a strong enough vision to carry a person to success - they can easily be experts without having a formal education.


Myth No. 5: It used to be easier


Statistics show an increase in the number of millionaires in the world every year. Talking about the "good old times" only offers comfort and a convenient excuse. If you look around, you'll see there are people who behaved the same way in the "good old times" as they do now, yet their success has been recent. With technology and progress come new ideas, desires and needs and there are more business opportunities appearing daily to serve them.


Myth No. 6: I'm too old (young)


If you research the life stories of some of the most successful people, you'll see that this isn't true at all. Some became wealthy early in their lives (perhaps from the stock market), while others found their fortune in their old age. Ray Kroc, was more than fifty years old when he bought and made the first McDonald's.


Myth No. 7: I don't have enough money to start. You have to spend money to make money.


This is no different from any other excuse or "myth." Like the others, it's obvious this one isn't true either. Many have made their fortunes starting from scratch, living in an apartment or working out of their garage and yet, they developed business empires that are worth billions of dollars today. The other elements of success are far more important than having seed money to start a business.


But yes, often money helps and it certainly doesn't hurt. Like everything else discussed in other myths: it probably helps, but it is not always necessary.


Myth No. 8: I'll begin when I know everything


Do you believe that you will know everything someday? Or even that you'll know enough to ever be "really prepared now?" The more you learn, the more you see what you still need to learn. Success and obtaining wealth is a dynamic process. Even if you "could" come out of the gate knowing everything there is to know, some of those elements will change immediately and many will change rapidly. If you don't decide now, nothing will happen. Live and learn.


Some millionaires have even allowed themselves to go bankrupt and then (even faster) recreated their wealth, sometimes even greater than before. Money itself isn't the obstacle that is keeping you from being wealthy. If you're really good in your business, don't worry, because someone that will offer you money (a bank or business partner) will appear who will appreciate your talent knowing you are a very good investment opportunity. But you can't sit around waiting for this - make it happen.
Exercise "taking action" as much as you can. Make your workplace better or more efficient. After all, even if someone else signs your paycheck, you really work for you. Even if you are an employee in a large corporation - it isn't your corporation - but it is the only corporation through which you can prove what you are capable of right now.


All of us have what it takes to become a millionaire! Born winners, yet few of us know how to take advantage of and cultivate the possibilities hidden inside our own mind!


No one can ever grant you greater potential than your heart already holds…you need only discover its contents to find the one true path to your success in life. Born with the seeds to our success, the greatest decisions must always come from the inside! You will discover a new, deep well of fortune – yourself!

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Four Tips On Saving Energy Year-round

According to a recent report for the Energy Information Administration, natural gas users can expect to pay an average of $350 more this winter compared with last year, an increase of 48 percent. And those who heat with oil will pay an estimated $378, or 32 percent, more.

As a solution, the Alliance to Save Energy suggests energy efficiency, and the simplest place for consumers to start saving is at home.

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy estimates that if each person increases the energy-efficiency in major appliances by 10 percent to 30 percent, it will release the demand for electricity by the equivalent of 25 large power plants.

Saving energy also saves money. By using energy-efficient products, the average household can save up to $400 per year on utility bills.

Here are some ways to save energy at home:

1. Weatherize your home. The gaps around the windows and doors in an average American house are the equivalent of a 3-by-3 foot hole in the wall. Caulk and weatherstrip to seal off these air leaks. This can save as much as 40 percent on your home's heating and cooling costs.

Stop air from escaping under doors with "sweeps" or "shoes" attached to the bottom. Use window putty to seal gaps around loose window panes.

Also, install foam gaskets behind all the light switches and electrical outlet covers. They help seal the holes created when the outlets and light switches are built into homes. Use child safety plugs to keep the cold air from coming in through the sockets.

2. Get a programmable thermostat. Programmable thermostats that have earned the Energy Star label help you save money and keep your home comfortable by automatically adjusting your temperature settings while you are asleep or away, saving you about $100 per year.

3. Consider zoning. In a typical two-story home, the upstairs can be up to 10 degrees warmer than the downstairs. One solution to help regulate uneven temperatures is a temperature control system that divides the house into separate zones, like those offered by Aprilaire.

These systems use multiple thermostats and dampers in the heating and cooling duct work that control temperature in separate areas to deliver conditioned air only to the part of the house that needs it.

4. Install a ceiling fan in the largest room of your house. This will allow you to lower the setting on your air conditioner by 3 to 6 degrees, which will save up to 25 percent of energy costs of home cooling.

In addition, you can save over $125 annually by replacing three old-style light bulbs with modern fluorescent twisters; setting your heat at 68 degrees in the winter and your air conditioner at 78 degrees in summer; and unplugging three appliances - or switching off a power strip full of plugs - when not in use.

By: Rick Young

Ho to guess if He or She Cheating On You ?

Many people find that their relationship is not what it’s all cracked up to be. Many people find that they are no longer in love with the partner that they are with or have feeling for other people. While no one condones cheating, it does happen in many relationships.

Here are some tips on determining if your spouse or partner is cheating on you.

Many people find it hard to confront a person to find out whether they are cheating on them.

Cheating is one of the toughest issues to confront in a relationship. While you can always have your spouse followed by a private detective, that is not practical for most people.

Many people realize that a partner is cheating on them when they feel much less attention and there partner no longer spends time with them. There partner might now be out all evening long, working late everyday and gone at strange times during the week.

You might also consider that your partner is cheating on you when they dressing up and taking care of themselves much better but not spending anytime with you.

A guy that dresses up and smells nice only to go out with his male friends might raise a warning flag. If you are notice that your spouse or partner is spending large amounts of money but is not telling you on what or is receiving phone calls at all hours of the day and night that also might be a warning flag.

While cheating is never an easy topic to talk about, it is usually better to talk to your spouse early on rather than later if you would like to save your marriage or relationship. It is also helpful to consider professional counseling as well.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Everybody have to carry knife, passport and camera

Always it is necessary to carry with itself: a knife, the passport and the camera. The knife is necessary, that redneckes have not take away the camera, and the passport - that cops have not take away a knife.

The knife should be such that redneckes were afraid it, and cops - are not.

The camera should be such to confuse colleagues-photographers phallic with a kind of its telephoto lens and to cause in cops associations with journalists.

The camera is necessary to make operative shooting redneckes which tried to take away it - for an identification because you have taken with yourselves a knife.

If old, iron and with a support - a knife it is possible to not take the camera.

If cops know you, the passport can be not taken. It either is not required, or will not help.

If redneckes you know, the knife can be not taken too. If they know, that you very abrupt or it is simply, the knife is not required, if know, that you a sucker - will not help.

If everyone know, that you the abrupt photographer, the camera it is possible to not take too. And so everyone know, that at you the status "guru" on a photosite and so on.

Here what great force - knowledge! It is possible to not drag with itself so much heavy and useless things.

Knife, certainly, the prioritiest subject as it has more than functions, than at the passport and photocamera, together taken. As at the camera and passports of function are partially duplicated: in the passport there is a photo, and the camera can sometimes replace the certificate of the press photographer.

At a knife and the camera, the truth, too is the general function, but good photographers it does not concern.

Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Five simple ways to boost self-productivity

It is said that really good programmers are orders of magnitude more productive than the average ones. What makes this the case? And why isn’t this the case in other industries? I believe the answer lies in that computers are very good at automation. And good programmers know how to make computers do what they do best: that is, automate things. The best programmers are the ones who undersand this so well that they will not only solve the task they are directly working on, but learn to automate every step of the very process that leads them there. Here are some useful tips that may seem like common sense, except that most good programmers never go from good to great because of this.

1. Never look when you can search. This is a big one that irritates me to no end when I sit next to someone who is looking through a list of files. Why look when you can search? Even if you’re looking for one item in a list of ten, it is always faster to type three or four characters than to scan the list with your eyes. Unless of course you’re a really slow typer, in which case you might want to take a keyboarding class or choose a different profession. Most reasonable environments including the popular editors and IDEs offer at least some way to do inline completion-based searching. Hit the shortcut and type the first couple characters identifying what you’re looking for and you’re there.

2. Don’t repeat yourself. This is a big mantra today, but it applies to a lot more than programming. It’s a way of life. Are you typing the same thing over and over? Make a shortcut out of it. There are plenty of ways: shortcuts are often built into the programs that you use, learn them. Use operating system features to set shortcuts for things that don’t have them. On Unix, alias is your friend. Make two character mnemonic aliases for everything. Corollary: Never Mouse when you can Key. A good approach to learning built in shortcuts is every time you reach for your mouse, make a note of the shortcut key for the action you’re performing, and then let go of the mouse and execute the action from the keyboard. Then do it two more times.

By the way, if you’re not using Opera you’re probably missing out on the coolest keyboard automation ever. In Opera you can actually navigate to any link on the page instantaneously. Hit Ctrl+J to see a list of links, then just type the first few characters of the link name to get there. If you don’t understand how powerful this is, time how long it actually takes you to reach for the mouse, and click on a link vs this method. Opera also offers nice shortcuts for moving around links in a page like ‘a’ and ‘q’. And just a host of other stuff. Plus it’s blazing fast. Not like firefox claims to be, no Opera is actually fast. And it doesn’t crash and hog memory like Firefox. At least most of the time. Sorry to go off on a tangent here, I don’t mean to bash Firefox as it actually has a great suite of plugins for web development, but for me Firefox is a web development platform only, not a browser.

3. Learn a scripting language. Bash, Perl, Ruby, Python. Pick one and learn it. I learned Perl (for some value of learn) when I was in high school because I thought it was really groovy to squeeze into one line an entire world of code that no one could understand. Then I tried to use Perl for everything including writing object oriented code, which may have been a mistake. Well, I grew out of that phase but I still use Perl on occasion (once every couple weeks) to automate things in my life. Since I’ve started to use Ruby last January, I’ve also been trying to force myself out of the Perl habit and to write some system scripts in Ruby, because at least the word Ruby doesn’t scare people off as much as Perl. The truth is, it’s still possible to write maintainable Perl code. Just use a lot of comments :)

To be functional in Perl you don’t need to understand hash ties or Perl OOP (in fact, I would advise you stay away from that. Bless self, wtf :)?, you just need to know how to do basic IO with files and the console, learn the power of Perl’s datastructures such as infinitely deep hashes (hashes of hashes of hashes malkovich malkovich), and you’ll be well on your way. But if I was to advise someone just starting today, I’d say start with Ruby because you’ll be learning not only a great scripting language but also a powerful and extremely high level object oriented and functional systems language that’s probably going to rule the world in a couple years, soon as we get a proper VM. Just you wait :)

4. Learn an editor. I mean a real editor. Both vi and emacs are acceptable choices here. TextMate is becoming a real option as well, although it still sucks at moving around the document which both vi and emacs excel at (imho vi is better at this, but maybe I don’t know emacs as well). The only real option in efficient text motion in TextMate is to do Ctrl+S (inline search), which is passable but leaves a lot to be desired. [Edit: I take that back, TM apparently has emacs style keybindings.]

My personal preference is vim but that’s because I’m ultra impatient, and I can’t wait even a second for my editor to start up. I gave emacs a good try, honestly for a month or two I tried to use it, and I could get used to this religion if only it had less overhead in starting up. Plus vi is available pretty much on any unix terminal so that’s also nice. Corollary: Use that editor everywhere. Now that you know vi, type set -o vi on your bash command line. Now use vi to edit your command line. Instantaneous productivity boost of about 10x. If you’re an Eclipse junky, use the Vi plugin for Eclipse.

If you learn one thing in vi: learn to move around using the home row keys, skip words using w, b and change commands such as cw (change word), or ctA (change from current position until the next occurrence of A). This becomes second nature because you look ahead as you type the command to achieve efficiency. There are plenty of tutorials, use google or the built in vi help system.

5. Learn regular expressions. There is no excuse not to know at least the basics. You don’t have to be a regex guru, just be functional. It probably takes a lifetime of meditation to achieve true regex enlightenment. But spending an hour a day trying to use regexes will take you 80% of the way. Read the perlre manpages, that’s where I got my start. Learn to use regexes in your editor to search, on your command line for quick one off scripts, in your programs to do text manipulation.

None of these things are hard, they just take practice and dedication to become true habits. The most important way to turn them into habits is to establish a routine that forces you to apply one or more of these principles and ideas every day.

Friday, March 02, 2007

Top 10 Strangest and Extraordinary Watches


Watches can be used for just about everything these days, from watching TV to learning Japanese, we’ve selected ten of the strangest (or coolest) for your enjoyment. Which ones are your favorites?



10. Linux-Powered Watch



Developed jointly by IBM and eMagin, this OLED Linux watch was ahead of its time. It basically had a host of PDA functions (phonebook, scheduler, picture viewer, etc.) and included a monochrome 640 x 480 VGA display.


[Source]


9. TV Watch



Bored? Just turn this TV watch on. It features a 1.5″ Color TFT Display and is good for 1 hour of playtime when fully charged. When placed in the docking station you’ll get up to 3 hours of playtime. This watch weighs just 45g.


[Source


8. Talking Japanese Watches



This strange watch that not only tells time but teaches you Japanese as well. At the press of a button, you can activate a built-in speaker which responds with the time in Japanese.


7. Morse Code Wristwatch



This watch has a built-in speaker that refracts the sound off your wrist and sounds out the time in morse code. Plus, it can also display he time in morse code via LED’s.


6. Hitachi AirSense Watch



Anyone who needs to measure the humidity, barometric pressure, or vibrations in a room should consider Hitachi’s AirSense watch. Its basically a portable atmosphere monitor that can be worn on your wrist. Geared towards professionals, this watch can transmit data to a wireless receiver which is than used as part of a larger monitoring network. The Hitachi AirSense is available now in Japan at the price of $800.


[Source]


5. Ultra-Violet Watch



Infinity Optic’s Ultra-Violet watch is like an optical illusion, you’ll see the same reflection many times over due to specially placed mirrors and electroluminescent coated hands.


“By using mirrors, the electroluminescent coated hands and dots reflect over and over again in an Infinitive manner“


[Source]


4. High-Tech Army Wristwatch



Tadiran Communications has developed new video communication technology that delivers real-time images taken by helicopters on to a 3-inch LCD display This wristwatch-style receiver gives solidiers an aerial view of the battlefield with video beamed directly from drones at 30 frames per second. For $50,00, you’ll get a receiver, transmitter, and battery.


“V-Rambo shortens the amount of time it takes to identify and strike a target,” he claimed. “Before it was minutes, 10 to 12 minutes. Now it’s a matter of seconds.”


[Source]


3. Backside Watch



The “Backside Watch” is an amusing piece designed by Open Concepts, its a watch that’s meant to be worn upside down.


“From one point of view this watch is not so comfortable for precise time measuring. If you put the watch on your hand and that brought you in good mood it means the life turned bright side to you!”


[Source]


2. The Camera Phone Watch



Telson’s TWC 1150 is the world’s first camera phone watch. It supports a RUIM card which can be used in GSM phones for international roaming. Other features include, a 256 color LCD, plug-in camera, Infrared wireless earpiece, speakerphone, stopwatch, and planner.


[Source]


1. Timeflex



Want to keep track of time but hate wearing bulky watches? Check out Timeflex, this nifty self-gumming watch sticks to your skin/clothes and can be rolled up like paper when not in use. Based on flexible screen technology, you control the menu via touchscreen. It’s powered by ultra small batteries that are invisible to the naked eye.


Honorable Mention -Louis Vuitton Twilight Watch



The Louis Vuitton Twilight Watch features 46 fluourescent blue sapphires on a mother of pearl dial to create a beautiful diamond studded silhouette of the Eiffel Tower that glows in the dark. It’s limited to just 20 pieces and available exclusively at the Champs-Elysees Paris store.


Honorable Mention - Seiko’s E-Ink Watch



Seiko’s remarkable watch features an e-ink display with touch sensitive buttons that are activated by simply pressing around the area. Its ultrathin and flexible design makes for a comfortable fit. The “Spectrum” is priced at $1,747.


[Source]


Honorable Mention - Digital Photo Frame Watch



If you can’t leave home without your favorite photos, check out this digital photo frame watch. It lets you store up to 26 photos and view them on a 94 x 64 resolution 1-inch LCD display. Transfer files using an easy to use USB interface. Unfortunately, it’s only compatible with Windows 98/2000/ME/XP systems.


[Source]

Thursday, March 01, 2007

13 Places To Watch Online-TV For Free

Here’s the a list of 13 Places To Watch TV For Free Online:

1. FreeTube (completely free alternative to cable television that lets you watch tv channels and TV shows online using just your browser.)

2. Hiveproductions (lists shoutcast tv streams.)

3. Tape it of the Internet (Over 2,000+ TV shows or 90,000+ episodes, including all the big shows like Lost, Prison Break, etc)

4. Streamic (More then 300 real TV channels to choose from including NBC, ABC, ESPN, BBC1 and many more, organized in categories and ranked by the site users)

5. TVlinks (A directory that amalgamates the most popular tv shows, cartoon & anime series.)

6. PPStream (Sports, movies - all in one please. Just choose a show from the list of available channels)

7. ABC (Watch popular shows like Lost, Desperate Houswives, Alias etc online)

8. PeekVid (Over 700 episodes of popular shows such as 24, Buffy, Desperate Housewives, Family Guy. Shows can be downloaded)

9. PPlive (a popular service for watching many foreign channels)

10. TV-Video (All the latest TV shows as they aired including 24, Smallville, Prison Break, Lost etc)

11. TVU Player (TVU is a nifty little player that offers users a variety of channels that can be used to watch normal TV or Sport. US channels are also found on this player.)

Update:

12. Chooseandwatch (It’s a free TV portal where you can watch more than 250 online TV channels. Some of them have to be good.)

13. Channelking (Channel King provides the best selection of free Internet TV channels. Free broadband TV channels from around the world enable you to watch TV from anywhere with broadband.)

from here