Purpose Plans and Passion

One of the things, that prompted me to do this weeks podlet was watching my wife fold the laundry. Often times, we are presented with "mundane" tasks. Things we don't give us a lot of excitement (or any excitement) over doing. I'm not a fan of folding clothes [I would tend to just leave them washed in the laundry basket] I once asked my wife how she finds the desire to keep folding the clothes. She told me, she can see (and feel) how good it will be when all the clothes are folded and put away, and this motivates her to get it done. This was key to helping me to put this idea together, connecting our passion with our plans and purpose. Thanks for listening.

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A new kind of paid blogging

Today, pay per post type systems are facing a rather big dilema. In the past, many of these systems relied on google page rank. A little green bar, which google itself, admits has nothing to do with where a search result appears on its pages.

Regardless, however, many systems have been based on selling advertising, website domain names, and links based on this little green bar. Recent changes by google, are now showing a smaller PR to sites that are known to be involved in selling links in exchange for cash.

Why has Google done this? If you ask them, their official response, is that paid linking/blogging systems harm the integrity of search for their millions of users. Perhaps they do have a point. If you want my opinion, it is because that little green bar called PageRank. It's Google's little green bar and they can do whatever with it they want, and what they don't want is people trying to make money off it.

Now introduce SocialSpark - finally a paid posting system with true search engine freedom. Now our postings are not tied to google page rank. They allow very search engine friendly listings using "nofollow" tags.

As a blogger this is great, it means that I can blog open and honestly, still disclose my advertiser, and not be tied to google juice.

As an advertiser, I can be assured of good quality postings from bloggers, and easily target traffic to blogs that have similar interests as I do. I can solicit open feedback and opinions on my product, website or service. And with RealRank, I have a true representation of what the blogger can offer me in terms of quality and traffic.

But SocialSpark is actually much more, and contains many features common to other popular social networking sites, I can make friends with other bloggers, and we can blog about each others sites back and forth. One of the things that impresses me most is the quirky sense of humor built into the site, which seems to match with my own sense of humor, and keeps me interested and motivated. Just check out there "not found" message as an example.

Can the state force your marital status?

In this weeks podlets, I rant about my opinions of "common law". I've had very strong opinions on this matter. Way back, when I was first staring my first job. I was chatting with a collegue about university, taxes, etc. The collegue was also very opinionated (or at just trying to yank my chain) about how important it was that I filled my taxes out as common law. Anyway, in this audio podlet, and the article below you can read about my thoughts on the subject, and application of necessary and sufficient conditions for common law status. Hope you enjoy it. One of the debates, I often find myself involved in is the idea of "Common Law" Marriage. First of all, let me clear up the first misconception. Being 'common law' and being 'married' are not the same thing from a legal point of view. There are similarities. In Canada, many couples who have declared themselves as common law are guaranteed similar rights and privileges under the law as married couples. Although specific local laws can vary. The basic premise is the same. If you're in a loving committed relationship with another individual, live in the same household, you should get the same rights as those who sign a piece of paper and pay for a 'marriage license'.

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Finding the time for a home based business

A few months ago, we have been blessed with a new baby in our house, she is now four months old, and things are going great (she sleeps though the night, but shh..don't tell too many people they seem to get jealous). Anyway, even more recently we got a new puppy, which I am learning can be just like having another baby in the house.

There is no way, I could do all of this on my own, and I am so glad to have my wife, who is currently on maternity leave but this will be ending in a few months, and then we will have a bit of a dilemma. Perhaps you have encountered this yourself.

We could, put our kids in daycare, and she could go back to work full time, but then we would have a large daycare bill, which would be offset by the extra income from working full time. Or she could work part times on evenings and weekends to make up the difference from our maternity leave pay...but don't Roget that being at home all day is already a full time job, and adding on a few evenings and weekends maybe find in the short term, but can become very tiresome in the longterm.

...Imagine holding your hands outstretched, palms up, you can do it for a while but after several hours your arms get pretty tired.

Of course there are lots of opportunities online. I am particularly watching a relatively new idea called SocialSpark. It is unlike other paid to blog systems I have seen. In particular, it offers a reservation system,(so I can sort of write posts in advance), and they allow "nofollow" links. The creators of the site also seem to have a good sense of humor, and send funny cute emails when they tell me a reservation slot has opened up for me Currently this puts them on the top of my list.

Now could it be used to replace a monthly maternity pay? Maybe, it does look promising, but just like any other business, it has to be something you can be passionate about, and find the time to keep on top of <- and probably shouldn't be ending sentences with prepositions.

Google and Salesforce Join to Fight Microsoft

I've had the oppertuninty to use both Salesforce.com and Google Apps. In this new york times article, you can read more about google and salesforce joining forces to implement customer relationship managment software linked to existing google applications. From a programmers perspective, Both Google apps and salesforce, have nice, easy to use API's, so I see a lot of promise here. No word that this will be *free* though, but someday maybe. Salesforce.com licenses can be a bit pricey.

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Social networking in all it's glory

Lately, social networks have been popping up all over the place. Join this network join that network, invite all of your friends, etc etc.

However, a social network can also be leveraged as a powerful business network, especially when the network or site is still relatively small. I recently had the opportunity to join 3gb community www.3gb.biz.

3gb's network is relatively small but growing, and as it catches on, I will be one of the older members. Not unlike a pyramid, each new person who joins will be able to see my profile and information and see my interests, perhaps even choose me as a friend. So as this new network grows, so does my network, and so does my exposure. Plus as new features are added, I will be able to take advantage of these features (eg: an API) and perhaps even auto post my blog entries via XML-RPC. I look forward to seeing what this site has to offer.

So far, one thing that stands out is the "radio" feature. A very well designed page of music lists contributed by 3gb and members of the network. You might just want to check it out just for that feature.

This is a sponsored post

Bigger Computer Monitors = More Productivity

I have been using a dual monitor setup for several years now, so it comes as no surprise to me at all that multiple monitors or different screens sizes improve productivity. Here is an article from the Wall Street journal that helps validate what many of us have already felt for a long time. Once you get into a dual monitor setup it is VERY hard to move back.

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A problem can have multiple solutions

In this weeks podlet (yes, I haven't been posting them in a while, sorry), I discuss the idea that a problem can (and often does) have multiple solutions.



Often times, we get stuck. We can't find the solution, we can't get it 'too work', perhaps we get frustrated. Our tunnel vision prevents us for exploring other solutions to the problem.

This an often be a problem in business too, especially if it is a problem that is "near and dear to our heart". Something we've been picking away at over the years, trying the same [or very similar] solutions over and over and getting the same results [ref: Defintion of Insantity]

This can happen to anyone. It does not matter weather you consider yourself an "out of the box" thinker.

Collobration can be of great help in these situations. I like to find and keep close people that "think" differntly then I do, and I ask them what they would recommend or do on a specific problem or situation. The more admintly I disagree with there opinion, the more I have to look at it closer because it probably means I need to re approach the problem from a different angle.

Sometimes, you just need to take a step back, take a break, do something completely different, and allow our personalties, (or egos), to accept different possibilities.

..and the biggest lesson..if you have a computer question, and you ask 3 different computer guru's and they all agree on the answer... BE AFRAID...BE VERY AFRAID :-)

Hidden Video Courses in Math, Science, and Engineering

DataWrangling.com has put together an awesome collection of university level free coursewhere from all around the web. So if you are looking to brush up on your ecomonics, engineering, or physics, this is the article to check out. Unlike, other sites, all of these videos are free [while available]. Many of which seem to go over my head, but nonetheless, if you are looking for online training and have the right discipline you may find these very usefull.

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Shipping and Handling - The great economic equalizer

Did you know there is no such thing as "Shipping and Handling" ?

Sure it costs money to ship products, but have you ever really looked at shipping and handling prices?

If you are considering buying a product online, you may initially be very excited to see a much cheaper price online then at your nearest store. For example

PNY 4GB Attache USB Flash Drive $15.97 [Apr 11, 2008]


This product if I buy at futureshop would cost me about $35.00, but I can get a very similair product [a la. : TigerDirect.com] for just $15.99...Sounds like a good deal right?

So when I proceed to the online checkout, I get added "shipping/handling fees" so the new price is $38.29. Now compare this to the $35.00 future shop price

Please Try it out for yourself, depending upon where you live, you might get much better shipping prices then I do, in which case - online would definetly be the way to go, and tiger direct offers PayPal so if you're into ebay and/or have extra PayPal account, it can be an easy, safe way to get your item.

So what's going on here?

Well one argument is that when you buy an item at a store, the added "Shipping Costs" are already included in the price you pay, but not when buying from the online product.

However, if we look at this closely it does not quite "work out" because large savings can be seen when ordering multiple items such as a you might find in a wharehouse.

Several online retailers also offer free shipping, or at least periods of free shipping where you can buy a product and not pay the shipping and handling fees.

Shipping = a fixed cost. What you (or the online reseller) pays to the shipping product to get the product to you. IMHO retailers have no reason to 'mark up' the shipping price. I'm "okay" with them passing this cost on to the consumer, but pass on the direct cost and nothing else.

Handling = essentially this is a "tax" imposed by the retailer...(or perhaps we should call it product extortion?) ..It is an extra fee you pay to ensure you package is packed correctly and arrives in good order. (If you don't pay this handling fee do they kick it around a few times or something before shipping it ??)

The lesson, be carefull what you buy and when you buy it. Compare apples to apples. When purchasing an item online be sure to compare the final checkout price in terms of shipping, handling and currency conversion. If there is still a savings buy all means please shop online, if there is no savings then consider it a "convience" fee that keeps you from going outside and gettings some fresh air.

Stay tuned, for more interesting stuff at my economics class.

Protect Your Wi-Fi Connection

Many people don’t know how easy it is for people to connect to their wifi and steal their internet and bandwidth. Why sharing your home internet with everyone that is near your house if you don’t want them to? Now, don't get me wrong, it is nice to want to be able to share your Wifi, or perhaps you and a few of your neighbours want to get together and share your high speed bill. Wifi can be an excellent way to makes this happen. But even in this case, it might not be advisible to just let anyone come in, snoop your traffic, steal your information and move on. This is the risk you present yourself with if you are not using proper Wifi security. Well it is quite easy to prevent this from happening and this article from TheComputerMaster walks you through the necessary steps. The basic idea is you define a wirless key using a security known as WPA-PSK. Then only give the key to those you trust to access your machine. Choose a long key to prevent brute force attacks. Don't think you are safe using the old, outdated WAP security, or trying to configure mac address filtering. Neither of these give you any real security. Always go WPA-PSK as a minimum for your WiFi needs.

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How social are you?

"The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few..or the one" - Spock (Star Trek II)

Do you consider yourself a social person? Today we have social networking tools, blogging, instant messaging, emails, cell phones. Everyone no matter where in the world is literally a click away. We are social beings, we enjoy the comfort of others.

But what does it mean to be 'social'. Is it simply being friendly?. Does he/she with the most friends on facebook win?..I don't think so.

Consider the case of my aunt Mary, who is using attempting to raise $5,000 to fight cancer. Here we have, I believe, what it truly means to be social. It is the power of society, to use social networking, and related tools to spread a message, a message to help others, to understand that we live within a complex structure of people.

People, who are just as deserving as you or I, but, who have been dealt a different set of cards in life. When we take time to consider the needs of others, yes that is a start to being social..and when we take action to help others, to help society. When we realize that we are all individuals interdependent upon one another..the world we live within, and the creatures we live with...it is only then that we can truly consider our selves "social".

So my challenge is this, instead of trying to have more friends then your neighbor on facebook, or more people in your 'group'. Take a lesson from my aunt, find a way to use the technology we have today to help fulfill the needs of the many.

Please give, we are all social beings, in a social world, and thus the benefits of giving will return to you tenfold. - The law of Tenfold return

Spread the Message -> Join Mary's facebook group

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A tool is only as good as the person who weilds it

I'm pretty much all thumbs when it comes to using any tool. Even a hammer, I hit my fingers, but I'm a pretty good programmer, and I think I write pretty good applications. Here is an interesting article from secretgeek.net about Workflow software. This is the kind of software that lets the business analyst, designer understand process flows within an organization. It allows us technical folks the ability to design or customize a software solution to meet a particular set of business needs. Just like a hammer, if used properly, workflow software can be a very valuable tool. Combined with good knowledge and training it can help a business be more efficient and effective. To often, however, the software may get billed as a magical solution. At the bottom of this article is a funny parady . The 'IF' server, an excellent example of how a sales pitch can potentially sell thousands of copies of a software product, to the 'wrong' individuals and end up causing more problems then it is worth.

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Money = Information

The Medium is the Message - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Marshall McLuhan

Initially our desire to trade (and possibly even socialize) was driven from a need, or at least an understanding that to succeed we must work together. We use our specific skills/talents to create things which others need, and vice-versa. The fisherman shares some of his catch with the farmer who shares the vegetables

However, today we live in a world that seems far removed from that original idea. Today we define our "needs" quite differently. Today we do not 'trade goods' as much as 'acquire rarity'

By and large, our currency is just numbers, a sequence if 1's and 0's stored in a computer (or group of them if you prefer). These numbers (both credits and debts) float through out the phone lines, cable lines, and even the air itself.

We trade our work and skills for this information, and we acquire goods and service from others with this information.

Even more strange, other information/communication influences this "virtual money"

We use information about a buisness to decide what products and services we want to buy. Marketing information tells us how much we "need" it. Stock information tells us how "valuable" it is. Our sense to "be like the Jone's" drives us to spend our virtual money, and a simple collection of 1's and 0's moves from one place to the next.

We no longer need to have face to face conversations with people ! Today, all of this information abounds everywhere, we are "plugged in" to everything, everywhere, every time, and the flow of virtual money continues. It's ALL just INFORMATION, weather it be our favorite stock price, our direct deposited cheque, get rick quick schemes, and late night TV.

Now information is inherently weak, it is easily accessed, distributed, changed and manipulated. Remember the "grape vine" game from school? Fraud, Identity theft are really only a minor part of the problem. Are you the master of information or it's slave?