The count down begins...

Well as 2009 is coming to an end, it will be sad for me to say that this blog will most likely be coming to an end as well. There are a bunch of reasons for this.

One of the reasons I began this blog was to express my ideas and some of my humour with the millions of fans that read my material. Another reason was to continue the process of documenting my thoughts. However, prior to this public version of my blog, I also use to write in a personal more private version. It was more of a journal and it helped me in my own ways. I could probably even write a post on the benefits of keeping a journal, but I digress.

When I looked back at the last couple of years from my personal blog I noticed that the amount of posts diminished significantly. And that is to my detriment. So you could say I'm being a bit selfish. I am.

You see, the amount of mental resources required for writing a public blog post that real people will actually read is quite significant. It takes some time and planning. You think that one could simply log in and start babbling, but from what I've learned that's not the case. Because as Tiger Woods has just found out, everything you do or say, has consequences, for better or for worse. And for that reason, I just don't have the time nor am I willing to make that large of an investment each time I write. For that, I'm sorry.

And as the new year starts, it's usually the time I start planning what the upcoming year will hopefully have in store. And it means I will have to devote more of my precious time to myself. I know that you as a reader will be strong and should have no problem carrying on with this newly created void. But I can only wish you all the best.

This experience has been a great one. And you never know, I might pull a Bret Favre and come out of retirement.

I'll probably end with one last post before the New Year and that will be it. So until then.

Thanks for reading!

Zye

Objective vs Subjective Time

I haven't written here for a while. I've been rather busy. Is that the real reason? Who knows? But one things for sure is that writing a blog is difficult. I can see how, for some, it's a full time job.

I've always wondered why in some cases I put things off. We all do it. It's called
procrastination. And to me the idea of it is very counter intuitive. Because frankly there are many tasks that we want to do, and if we did them, they would benefit us. So the part that I don't understand is, why do we feel major resistance against doing them? Some call it laziness.

I tried to dig deeper on this subject and have been reading a little about procrastination. And lo and behold, it has a lot more to do than simply putting things off. In fact it has more to do with things like insecurity, fear of success, your relationship with authority/parents and more. It's rather interesting and I recommend reading about it yourself.

And here's something that I found really interesting. The concept of time. It plays an important part in why you may be putting things off. I know that it applied to me. The theory I'm talking about is that there are two types of time. One is called Objective and one called Subjective.

Objective time, is the time you see on a clock, or on a calendar. It's very precise or concrete. For example, 11:45am on Tuesday, September the 4th is an example of Objective time.

Subjective time on the other hand is a lot more loose, blurry or abstract than Objective time. It's essentially any time span, either short or long and is not predefined. For example, if your condo is currently dirty, you could say that you'll clean it eventually. Or if you have an important task that you need to get done, you could say to yourself that you'll get it done within the next few minutes, days, weeks, or months.

See the difference? With Subjective time, you don't set a real date and you're not speaking in terms of an exact time frame. You're not paying attention to the concept of Objective time. It's very blurry and can be dangerous. I'll give you a personal example. I've had a broken fish tank sitting in the corner of my condo for the longest time. I kept telling myself that I should look into fixing it and head over to a pet store to get it taken care of. I didn't assign any real date or deadline to the task. Well my tank first broke nearly two years ago! That's right, two years flew by without me taking any initiative to get it done. That's how powerful procrastination is. And in the end, it took me one phone call, and a week later to have the manufacturer send me a tank. Something I could have done a long way back.

So I'm not saying that every single thing you need to do, should be planned in a calendar. But as long as you understand or see the difference between Objective time and Subjective time, well that might be enough for you to get moving on some of your goals. I hope it is. For me, I'm still working it;)

Your Best Body Ever

(This one is a bit long but trust me there is some juicy info and links in there!)

I had a sudden wakeup call recently when I looked down at my belly and noticed that, well, it was bigger than usual. Turns out that by the time you reach the age of 30, your metabolism begins to slow down. They call it the Dirty 30. I did not know this as no one had sent me a memo. In fact if I cupped my hands around my little gut I could protrude something that resembles a bagel and in my case, because I’m darker skinned, a pumpernickel bagel. My friends got a good laugh every time I would show them my new found discovery.

But for me, it was indeed a wakeup call, because for the most part of my life I’ve been eating whatever I liked. Being a skinny guy, my metabolism was fast enough for me to never gain any weight. Well things have definitely changed. And by no means am I saying I’m overweight. I’m still pretty much that slim good looking, handsome, sexy guy that everyone knows me as, but when I went to see my chiropractor the other day, I jumped on the scale and saw that I was 10lbs more than I’ve ever been. Not to mention, I have always had rather poor eating habits. Living the bachelor life style contributed to this. Me being lazy and not planning also contributed to this. I mean my fridge was pretty much empty except for every possible condiment you can think of. I also have to admit that I am the type of person who goes through phases, but aren’t we all, so my journey into eating better and excising more could be just another phase, but if it’s for the better then why not.

So over the last little while I began to research food and exercise for the first time in a while. And I have to admit that the amount of information out there is overwhelming. I also have to say that anyone who is battling their weight, well all the more power to you, because in my opinion it is probably one of the hardest things to do.

So by no means am I an expert in this field, and to be honest I’m still learning and experimenting. In fact I haven’t even lost any weight yet, but here are a couple of things that I’m doing, with explanations behind them, that you might find helpful yourself. It’s essentially a list of all the information I’ve compiled over my phase. And I’m not a doctor, so if you do any of this stuff use your discretion.

Start with the stats –
I figured I need to know what my daily consumption levels are to see if I’m consuming way too many calories. To be honest I didn’t even know much about calories, fat, protein, etc. until I started paying attention to labels. So read the labels! When you go to restaurants, check the nutritional information. And then start tracking. I use an amazing tool called The Daily Plate. It’s a free tool that is backed by Lance Armstrong, and it is essentially a database of every single food you can think of. It tracks all the nutritional information and is easy to use. And it’s FREE. There is even an iPhone app ($2.99) that makes my life even easier. This tool is amazing!

Get a fitness assessment –
You need to know if you really are overweight. Depending on your size and frame, your scale weight might be just fine. Your fat percentage on the other hand is a real stat that you need to know. This might mean you have to schedule an appointment with a trainer or dietician or get a special scale. Luckily for me, my friend is a trainer and I visited him to find out my critical health stats. Turns out I’m around 21.8% body fat which is moderate for my height and age, but I could be 14-18% which is optimal. I also learned an important number called my body age. Body age represents how old your body is with respect to your health. So if your body age is a lot higher than your chronological age, then it means you need to seriously work on your health.

Change your eating habits –
For me, it doesn’t make sense to go on a diet. I need to ensure I’m getting the proper amount of calories for healthy living. So instead of a diet, what I am doing is changing my eating habits. What are some things I’m doing?
· Eating breakfast: I always wondered why everyone says this is so important until I finally heard an editor from Men’s Health state that by missing breakfast your metabolism decreases (slows down) by 10% for the day! I’m eating my breakfast now.
· Increasing proteins, decreasing fats, and choosing good carbs: I eat more leaner meats including turkey, tuna, chicken and some beef. I cut out bad carbs like white rice, white bread, pastries, deserts, croissants, etc. and include more good carbs, like whole grain breads, vegetables and fruit. I do not eliminate carbs all together. And I pay attention to fats in food. I try to avoid food with high fat (sounds obvious enough). But I don't eliminate fat either.
· Eating more often: This one sounds contradictory to losing weight but I eat more frequently now during the day. And I find I’m actually feeling full more often. Putting healthy snacks in between your meals help. Like having a yogurt and an apple. Having a lighter lunch also feels good too because you don’t feel tired/lethargic after it. 5-6 smaller meals is ideal.
· Kill the pop: this one is the toughest but by eliminating pop from your diet, and I mean all pop, you can lose about a pound a month! Or according to an American Journal study, 15 pounds in a year! Drinking juice that is high in sugar doesn’t help either. Your best bet is quality H2O or water;) 8 glasses if you didn’t already know.
· Eating out properly – look if eating out is my vice then I better try my best to choose menu items that aren’t as lethal. Men’s health has an excellent read on the 14 Best Fast Food Meals under 500 calories
· Add some power foods to your diet. Men’s Health uses the acronym ABS DIET POWER that stands for including the following in your diet: almonds (and other nuts), Beans (and other legumes), Spinach (and other green vegetables), Dairy, Instant Oatmeal, Eggs, Turkey (and lean meats), Peanut Butter, Olive Oil, Whole grain breads/cereal, Extra Protein powder, Berries. Add those to your diet and your body will thank you for it.
· Have a Big Mac once in a while. Maybe I’m kidding myself, but if I don’t have a Big Mac every now and then I’d probably end it all. My point is, cheat once in a while, don’t go overboard and don’t cheat for a whole day, maybe a meal or two. It will keep you sane and on track.

Exercise-
It goes without saying that you need to include exercise if you want to lose any weight. Not to mention exercising actually does provide you with more energy and makes you feel so much better.

I’m a huge fan of running and I’ll probably write a post on it and it’s a great way to start getting into a shape. Even if you run for 1km it’s a damn good start. Try to take advantage of any opportunity where there is physical activity. In the summer time, I play Volleyball with my co-workers and softball too. I work out at home using Tony Horton’s 10 Minute trainer plus I go to the gym with a real trainer once a week. And of course I run about 3 times a week which in itself should help you lose weight.

So there you have it. Some of the things I’m trying to incorporate to become healthier and hopefully shed a pound or two. Again, I’m by no means an expert physician so use your discretion and common sense with regards to the above advice. And of course if you find something conflicting then leave a comment, but be polite about it;)

If there is a tip you have to help someone handle their health and weight then please share it!

A change for the better

Notice anything different with this post? Can you feel the serenity? Take a closer look at how the text is composed and notice how the words flow so much better. Well if you can't see the difference it's probably because you're on a PC. And there's nothing wrong with that. For me however I recently got a Mac mini. And all I can say is wow. I love it. Here are a couple of things that I like so far:

It's so quiet that I can't tell if it's even running
It's so fast
It has no viruses
It syncs with my entire place including all the speakers in my apartment
My iPhone hooks up to it so much more quickly and congruently
The software on it is intuitive and amazing

All I have to say is that I'm happy that my life is back in order and the world for me is a better place.

Long live the Mac.

Running and Reading

I have to admit when I was in high school I wasn't the biggest fan of reading. And looking back now it's a bit of a shame. Maybe it was all of the novels that I was forced to read, like Stone Angel, that deterred me. I just couldn't get through some of those books. And I realize now, that that's fine. If a book is boring, it's alright to put it down and move on. Regardless on whether the book is influential or classical or what not.

Fast forward to after University, and I discovered reading as a hobby and passion. I figured, what would happen if I read books that interested me instead of books that I was forced to read. Well, as simple as it may sound, I got hooked. What's funny is that I actually went back and read some of the classic books that were pushed in high school, and had a better appreciation for them. Maybe because I related better to them. I also started getting into business books and as you can tell from a lot of my posts, I got into productivity books and self help. And for me, I'll read anything, be it fiction or non-fiction.

I don't think I really understood how important reading was until only later in my life. I think growing up in the comfort of our educational system, we take it for granted. Sadly, there are people in our world who don't have the opportunity or the resources to learn to read. And that's a shame.

I really do believe that reading is the foundation for any individual to succeed. It doesn't matter what you have, if you are able to read you can accomplish pretty much anything. If you look at many of the great leaders in our society most of them always preach the importance of a book. If you look at Oprah, who is astoundingly successful, all she does is read.

And every time I'm at a conference or attending a speech, the person usually speaking talks about a book that he's read or recommends. I don't think it's any coincidence that people who explore new ideas and enjoy learning from a book, go on to become successful. I'm not saying it's the only way, but I am saying it's rather coincidental.

So that being said, here's one of my favourite videos by my main man Will Smith that always gets me fired up. I could write an entire post on Will Smith and my thoughts on how I think he is one of the hardest working, amazing celebrities of our time, but I would digress.

So enjoy and pick up a book or two:



And as for running. I'll have to write another post on why I love it.

So tell me, what has been your experience with reading? Do you like it?

How To Get Your Name on the First Page of Google

Ok so I think it's time for a value added post for my wonderful readers. And it involves you and your name in the Google search engine listings. I always hear people talking about how they wonder what would appear if they Google'd their own name in the search engine. Well it's actually not as hard to control as you think.

Now if you run a Google Search on the term 'Zaid Rasid' you'll see that the first two pages of Google are pretty much owned by me. There's a couple of reasons for this. One, I'm extremely obsessive. Two, social media competition can work in your favour. Three, I do search for a living.

Ok, let me cut to the chase and explain how you can own Google. Here are my three most effective ways:

1) Own your own domain
2) Setup profiles on different social media sites
3) Comment on other blogs and questions sites

So with regards to the first one, this might take a little more technical expertise, but you want to go to a site like Go Daddy and buy as many domains as you can. For example, I bought zaidrasid.com, zaidrasid.ca, zaidrasid.org, etc. And if you can, on each home page of each domain, upload a simple blurb of you, and adjust the title tags of the pages to include your first and last name. Wait for Google to start indexing these domains, and in about a week you should start showing up.

Now if you aren't as nerdy as me and the above seems excessive, then this next step is rather easy. Find as many social sites as you can and sign up for them (you don't even have to fill out full profiles). But look for the ones that create public profiles, that allow you to edit or create a unique url to your profile page, preferably one that contains your name in it. For example, Facebook just announced that usernames are now available and so you want to grab your first.lastname as soon as you can. Think of these profiles as free highly valued home pages on the internet for your name.

For creating a unique profile url I highly suggest trying to find sites that allow you to use the format first-lastname, with the emphasis on the hyphen. This will help your search results. The authority of the site is also important, so Facebook and Linked In in are really good ones.

Here are some examples of mine:
http://www.facebook.com/zaid.rasid
www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/zaid/rasid
www.myspace.com/zaid-rasid
www.ziki.com/en/zaid-rasid
www.naymz.com/search/zaid/rasid
www.plaxo.com/directory/profile/193275203900/accf128a/Zaid/Rasid
explore.twitter.com/zaidrasid
www.lookupanyone.com/namelistings/zaid-rasid

And so on...

On most of those profiles I barely have any content so signing up for them was quick and easy. Give Google a few weeks and soon enough, you'll start showing up.

As for the third method, go out and comment on people's blogs. Find some blogs that are interesting to you, and include a link to your site or at least your first and last name. A lesson from my own experience is to be weary of what and where you write, as Google is a permanent record! So if you say something you might regret, people will see it. So use all of the above advice with some discretion.

Now why might you want to even own Google with your name in the first place? Well frankly my friend, it's because one day you might be famous, and when that day comes you can thank me for helping you control Google.

If you know any other good Social Media sites with good authority and public profiles, please share.

Mac vs PC

You can't probably tell whether I'm writing this post on a PC or a Mac but one thing's for sure is that I can. That's because I'm at my computer and it's a PC. Aside from the obvious there's another tell tale way that I know I'm on a PC. Because it has a virus. It's a reason I haven't written in a while, because I'm afraid of opening my browser.

Now the debate between Mac vs PC could go on forever. And there are definitely two very passionate sides to the debate. Really I had no problems with PC's. They allowed me to do pretty much anything I needed including web design using Photoshop, etc. But what happened to me is that the free version of my security software finally expired after about 4 years. And in between the span of the software expiring and me purchasing the upgraded version, I got myself a nasty virus.

What happens is every few minutes, Internet Explorer decides to open a random web page and inundate my computer with random music, noises and screaming babies. I usually forget my speakers are on, so every so often I end up with a minor heart attack. I will never look at babies the same.

Now in the past the solution to this problem would be a rather simple one to me. I would re-install Windows. Working with computers myself, this task is an easy one but I also know the amount of time it takes. You can pretty much write off an entire afternoon...maybe even a whole day. From installing software to installing drivers, it's just a pain in the ass.

So I've decided that my journey with PC's will finally come to an end. At home anyways. I'm saving up to buy myself a nice little Mac Mini and I can't wait. In fact, my first computer was an Apple Macintosh. I remember visiting my friends house and watching him enter all those DOS commands into his IBM machine. Back then I thought he was so smart and a computer wizard. In retrospect, little did I know that the machine I had, with an actual user interface, was far more advanced....well user friendly anyways.

And I'm not going to get into the MS vs Mac ads. It does confuse me that MS doesn't even sell PCs. So really they're advertising on the behalf of thousands of other manufacturers. You think Dell would say a thing or two. That being said, the Mac ads are just funnier and a whole lot sexier.

And soon so will be my computer.

I think I hear a baby crying.

GM vs Honda

Growing up I've been surrounded by Hondas. My Dad is the conservative type. Likes to play it safe. Always bought a Honda. I use to love our Accord and when I got my license one of the first things I did was see how fast I could get our family sedan going on the high way. I think my parents have been through 5 or 6 Honda Accords. And none of them, have ever broken down.

I recently saw a Chevrolet commercial with our good ol football buddy Howie Long talking about I believe a car called the Element and how it has better gas mileage than Hondas. I've always wondered why car commercials talk about better mileage. I have no idea how many miles my car gets per gallon. I don't think I really care either. And then Howie goes on and talks about GM warranties and how they're better than any other manufacturers. Once again, some more confusing numbers that mean very little to me.

You know with the whole auto collapse, I was concerned about all of the GM workers here in Canada (still am), and I was really hoping that the company would put together a good plan/media campaign and show us Canadians the real reason to buy one of their cars but so far they've failed to do so.

To me it seems like GM is emulating the likes of crappy Microsoft commercials that attack a product that's much better than itself. In one of their latest ads, Mr. Howie Long takes a cheap shot at Honda and mentions how they make lawnmowers, and that it's something to be embarrassed about. Except what Mr. Howie doesn't understand about the average consumer is that we're smart enough to know that Honda probably makes lawnmowers that outlast GM vehicles. And if GM ever made a lawnmower, well we'd have a definite lawn crisis. The government would be bailing us out with student lawn mowing programs. We'd have a weed infestation that the WHO would probably declare as state emergency.

Here's the problem with GM. They have a terrible brand reputation of cars that break down. You see people count on reliability and routine. And if you sell a product that messes with both of those things then it leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. Now you might argue that they've built cars recently that are just as reliable. But what you haven't done is convinced me as a consumer that they've fixed their reputation. And you can't do that in the form of some warranty.

The difference between an American made car and a Japanese made car is literally a matter of inches. The root of all this actually goes back to when Honda was first in production. And in a form of irony, it was an American named Edward Deming who actually went to Japan and taught them how to produce automobiles of high quality. While westerns were busy producing cars on an assembly line, spitting them out quickly to make profits, Honda took their time and ensured all of their car parts fit properly and worked smoothly, all within a matter of inches (American engineers took apart Japanese engines and noticed the differences too). And slowly American consumers started to notice. And slowly they started buying Japanese. I also want to point out some more interesting irony: during WW2 Harry Truman was actually sending over metal supplies unknowingly to Soichoro Honda in the form of bombs! To which Honda would extract the metals from the remains of the bombs to build motor cycles. Priceless.

And speaking of motor cycles, I recently owned a Honda CBR that I loved. It didn't even come close to providing me any mechanical problems. Nor did I hear of any from reading the forums I was a part of.

GM's going to have to come up with something really extreme to convince me to buy domestic. Maybe it's a life time guarantee or something along the lines of free mechanical support for as long as I have my car. And if that doesn't sound like a good idea to GM, then maybe bankruptcy will. And remember GM if you take a cheap shot at Honda well really you're taking a cheap shot at Honda owners, and in the US and Canada that' s a lot of people (who are very sensitive like myself)!

Seriously Howie, don't mess with Honda.

So what do you guys think? What does GM need to do to save their company?

The Death of Facebook

There is a fundamental problem with a lot of these social networking sites that don't support a true business model and that is, they're dependent on people visiting them and using them. Wow that's stating the obvious. In the business world this happens all the time with trendy products, people buy them, then they move on, the difference being the companies who sold these products made a chunk of money and are able to get out with at least a smile. With something like Facebook and Twitter, you're shot at making money is usually through being acquired. And most of the money is in the form of some sort of abstract valuation. No real cash.

So here's what I'm trying to say, human behavior is extremely unpredictable and tremendously sensitive. If another Facebook comes along that is better and catches on faster, then people will move on or switch over. Which leaves Facebook with nothing. Or even worse, if people start getting tired of using Facebook, because it keeps changing, or because it loses its novelty, well then in a matter of moments an entire user base can up and vanish.

All it really takes is for a trend to start. Now I was a huge Facebook advocate when it first came out. I mean I loved it! But now it's getting to be a little too much. I seem to know a little bit too much about every single person in my network. As much as I love my friends, they'll probably all agree that they could care less where I've travelled recently, what job I'm working at, where I was last night, what I'm doing at this exact moment or what I'm about to do in the exact next moment. It's also very hard to keep up with all of these sites, from managing emails about parties I'll probably not attend, to being poked, to determining whether I want to give access to my network to an old high school acquaintance that I probably don't even like.

And I'm already reading about this in papers as they're calling it Social Networking fatigue. People getting tired of using Facebook and Twitter. Maybe we all just need a break? I know I do.

It's funny because you would think that all these social networking sites are bringing people closer together. But really, they're keeping us further apart. Maybe you understand what I mean?

Now look I'm not trying to offend anyone here who really likes these sites. Trust me I'm a number one fan of Facebook. All I'm saying is that if it reaches a point of overkill then there could be a falling out.

Now here is where I contradict myself. I just recently learned that Facebook has reached the 200 Million user level. Which is ridiculous. And when they released their new look and feel, with the Twitter like stream, that caused a huge uproar, Facebook's activity levels actually went up.

So what do you guys think? Will these sites survive? Are you getting tired of them? Or are you loving them?

Download everything

The whole Wolverine leak thing makes me a bit confused. Whatever happened to waiting for something?

When a new movie comes out in theatres I look forward to watching a preview or a trailer before at a theatre. Then I look forward to the release date and planning a date with my friends to go see the movie. There's something to be said about an experience.

Not to mention that the leaked version of Wolverine is missing parts of the movie including the sound track.

And a theatre also has another critical piece to enjoying a new movie. A giant screen! With a wicked sound system.

Really I hope that a lot of people do download these movies so that when they show them at the theatre I can go and watch them by myself without a big crowd and the entire cineplex all for me!

The pschology of a bum

Last night I walked into a Tim Horton's and a young looking bum decided to open the door for me. At first I felt aggravated by this because it felt as if I was obliged to give him some money. That's one way to look at it. But there is a generous side of me that actually appreciates that this bum is trying to put some effort toward getting some change. That being said, I'm sure he wasn't dumb and that he understood the particular social obligation of compensating someone for an exchanged service. Very interesting.

But as I was using the mens room I was curious as to how this bum would react if I called him out on his little routine. I decided to find out. So on my way out of Timmies, this bum opened the door for me once more. Now all this time I pulled out a twoonie from my pocket and had it in my hand. My thinking was if this bum gives me a good response to my question I'll give him the twoonie. If he acts like a jerk then I won't.

So as I walked through the door, I looked him right in the eye and in a very evil tone said, 'You know I can open a door myself, right?'. He kind of gave me an expression of indiference and looked the other way. Which is actually rather fair. He also avoided making further eye contact with me and looked for his next customer.

But I stood there and made things a bit awkward. Then I walked closer to him and he looked over. Then to my surprise, this bum probably had the best response I think anyone could have in that type of situation while being confronted. He looked at me and held his hand out and said 'respect'.

And that's when I gave him his twoonie.

Hackers

The goal of a hacker is ultimately futile. It's one of a few professions, if you will, that's main ambition is to eradicate itself. What is so counter intelligent about being a hacker is that if a hacker eventually succeeds in spreading a virus, or shutting down the entire Internet or disabling every single persons computer, well then the hacker is left with nothing to do. If they succeed then they've made themselves nonexistent.

And the one thing a hacker can never defeat is the human element. Because if us humans become so fed up with computers, and lose all of our trust with online banking, the internet, etc. well then the power is really with us to just stop using these mediums. Sure it sounds extreme, but prior to the invention of the PC it's how generations upon generations of civilizations lived.

So then what would be next for a hacker to do? Probably another form of juvenile crime.

Do Not Call Lists

I think I've been suckered into this trap but if you ever put your name on a Do Not Call List, you're actually accomplishing the exact opposite of what you intend. For one, you're putting yourself on a list to get yourself off a list which contradicts itself;) And two, the Do Not Call List that recently became popular here was a Canadian based and Canadian regulated list. That means only companies in Canada were legally not allowed to call people on this list. Problem is, this list got spread to other countries like the US and India. And as you and I well know, there are numerous call centers in the US and in India. So once these countries got a hold of these lists, and without hardly any effort and without breaking any law, they started to call.

And that's why when I'm at home during an evening, and my phone rings like a long distance call, I get the pleasure of deciding whether I want to switch phone services, buy home insurance, and so on.

So next time you sign up for a Do Not Call list, think again.

You're in Need of Some Serious Self Help

Wow it's been a while since I've written here. And I've come to learn that blogging isn't easy. It makes me appreciate authors a lot more and I can only imagine how they feel when they must get writers block. And I'm not even short on material. Well besides my inability to remain consistent here, I have managed to develop some other habits including exercising using Tony Horton's 10 Minute Trainer, reading Ayn Rand's The Fountain Head and learning acoustic guitar. I've been practising guitar at least 1/2 hour every night and I'm doing well. So some habits are obviously easier than others. So enough riff raf and back at the topic at hand.

I first got into self help books I think coming out of University. Perhaps I was trying to figure out more about myself or even what to do next with my life. And I wasn't shy to admit, mostly to myself, that I needed some guidance in the area. But I felt weird about reading Self Help. In retrospect, I was only worrying over nothing because if you walk into Chapters and look at the Self Help section, well it's huge:) So I wasn't the only one. Good to know.

Now if you're the type of person who doesn't believe in Self Help because you think it's a lot of common sense. Well you're pretty much right. And there are a lot of rich people getting richer explaining the obvious. But my take is this: if you find something that can help you for the better, or if something works, then its legitimacy really doesn't even matter.

Ok, so let's check out some of my favourite authors in the order I learned about them:

1. Anthony Robbins
You may have heard of this guy. I think that's an understatement as he's a pretty big celebrity. When I first read and found out about Anthony Robbins I was hooked because his approach was very technical and practical. He gave real instructions and practical tips that you can apply in real life. Two of his books that I read are Unlimited Power and Awaken the Giant Within.

Love him or hate him, Anthony Robbins seems to understand human motivations and behaviours. I really do believe that a chapter on mirroring that I read of his helped me through a job interview, with success to boot.

He has a bunch of cds that are pretty awesome as well. His most famous set is called Personal Power and is very motivational.

I really think that if you need a boost of motivation or encouragement, in the right dose, Anthony Robbins is your man.

2. Robin Sharma
A Toronto boy, Robin Sharma is the author of the book The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari. After he wrote that book, he went on and wrote a book called The Greatness Guide. After reading tons of self help authors, I found this title to be a good balance of life philosophy and practicality. It's an easy read and is broken into individual chapters that are only about a page and a half long.

I was fortunate enough to meet Robin at Chapters in Toronto and he's a great guy. He wrote a sequel to The Greatness Guide and it is also a great, easy, motivational read. He's all about being a leader without title. And I really like that seeing how I don't have a CEO title as of yet;)

3. Eckhart Tolle
Now before I start talking about how amazing I think Eckhart Tolle is, I have to put out a bit of a disclaimer: you're either going to get Eckhart Tolle or you're not. It really is that black and white. Even Eckhart himself acknowledges that his material is only applicable to people who are willing and ready for it. Kind of like hypnotism. So if you don't 'get it', it really doesn't matter and it doesn't make you weird nor shall you feel ostracized by it's recent popularity. The same can be said if 'you do get it'. That's probably the worlds mostly neutral disclaimer:) And what's worse, is no one should or can preach to you about having to read him. The choice is yours and all I'm going to do is share with you why I love him so much.

The first time I encountered Eckhart Tolle was through his first book The Power of Now. This book was actually rather famous but it wasn't mainstream, as in Oprah mainstream. Be careful when reading this book as it is literally life changing. I'm not even kidding. It is the first book I've ever read (and I'm not going to talk about religious books here), that has made me look at life entirely differently. And it opened my eyes. And I'm also not the only one who felt this way. Now what Eckhart claims in The Power of Now is pretty much rudimentary spirituality beliefs, but the way Eckhart writes, is the main distinguishing factor that I believe makes his writing resonate better than other spiritual authors. Thus his success.

Now after reading The Power of Now, I was waiting patiently for another book of is. And he followed up his first title with his next book A New Earth. In my excitement I rushed over to Chapters and tried to find his new book. To my incredulous surprise, there on the front cover of his shiny new book, was the always recognizable Oprah book club sticker. This changed everything.

The real irony or serendipty about Oprah finding Eckhart, is that in his first book Eckhart always wrote that the universe gave him signals to leave the UK and move to Vancouver of all places. He had no money and just escaped an attempt at suicide. The universe also told him to start a movement and awaken a lot of people. And what better way to start something than to start it with Oprah. She was so enthusiastic about this book she created the world's first online book review, which in its first day had 750,000 registrants. It obviously crashed. The following week it was up and running again. And for the next 14 weeks, about 800,000 people met online every Monday and watched Oprah and Eckhart talk about his book chapter by chapter. It really was amazing.

Again, A New Earth and The Power of Now are two books that you might not comprehend or even enjoy. And if that's the case then put it down, grab something else, and let it be. Otherwise if you find it does resonate with you, I can guarantee these two books will enlighten.

Now seriously, get yourself some help.

Zye

Three words that I vehemently despise

'Please play again'.

And every morning as I get a Tim Hortons coffee, I'm reminded of these words, and it sends shivers down my spine.


On another note, I know I have written a value added post in a while, and a couple of people I've talked to in person have mentioned they're waiting for something. So in the next little while I'll try my best. I really do appreciate my fan base. Even if it's just a few people.

How to have a long weekend once a month

The Ontario government includes 9 statutory holidays through out the year. For 2009 the months that do not include a holiday are March, June and November. August has an optional Civic holiday that most people are granted.

So if you want to enjoy a long weekend at least once a month, take 3 of your vacation days and take off a Friday or Monday in March, June and November.

I didn't say it was rocket science folks:)

Book series

I think I want to write about and share some of the books I've read and am reading. I got into reading a bit late and started really enjoying it for recreational purposes only after University. It's unfortunate that in high school I was forced to read books I didn't like, but that's a whole other blog post. I think it deterred me from enjoying reading.

Anyways. I'm not going to go into any deep analysis into each book I read but I'm merely going to share with you some titles for you to at least check out. And if one of you go out and grab a book I recommend, well then that will make my day.

I completed one of my most recent new years goals of finishing an entire novel from start to finish when I read George Orwell's 1984. And I have to say I enjoyed Animal Farm much more. 1984 is obviously a very dark novel. And so I think there was nothing about it I liked. I appreciate the kind of dark future that Orwell was trying to portray but I wished the ending would reach a more exciting climax.

So when deciding what to read next I started to have faint thoughts about trying another Ayn Rand book. Rand is the author of Atlas Shrugged which is a good nine-hundred pages long. This book was good indeed. However to finish a book of this magnitude you have to almost make a personal investment; of your time, your patience and your tolerance. There is an entire chapter in the book of the author using a character as a sort of self-narrative. And that isn't easy to endure.

So the book I'm reading now is called Fountainhead by Rand. It's another nine-hundred pages that I have a feeling I'm going to really enjoy. If you haven't tried Ayn Rand I say you give her a go.

I'll talk to you a few chapters from now.

Kaizen

Kaizen is a Japanese term that I first heard about while reading an Anthony Robbins book (Awaken the Giant Within). It essentially means continuous/constant improvement in incremental steps. This was such a simple concept to me yet it blew me away. I think a lot of my goals that I set for this year, and for previous years follow this fashion. Now don't get me wrong, this doesn't mean I'm not setting big goals. It just means that I set smaller singular goals, and when you combine them, they compound.

It's the same philosophy Honda has followed since the company was first created. The irony about Honda and its success in the States is that it was an American by the name of Deming who went over to Japan and taught the principles of constant improvement and quality control. He ingrained the concept of quality into everyone that worked at Honda, and not just into the production of cars. Meanwhile in the west, car companies were opposed to the idea of investing in cars that lasted long and ran well. Instead they focused on increasing revenues, while decreasing costs. Well it's safe for me to say that we all know which company endured.

There is an amazing blog called Zen Habits that I was introduce to by my friend Derek M., and the concept of this blog is very similar. The author even goes as far as to claim that instead of aiming to break a habit or to develop a habit, cut that habit in two and aim for that result instead. Sound like a cop out? Well an example he uses is that instead of trying to quit smoking by going cold turkey, try reducing the amount of smokes you have in a week by half. And then over time, you will have a better chance of breaking the habit(smoking not the best example as it's ridicuously hard to quit).

As for me, I've recently acquired an acoustic guitar that I'm beginning to learn. And I think the concept of Kaizen is perfect for learning this instrument. First, I have to develop the strength in my hand and in my fingers to properly strum and play each note of the guitar properly. This in itself can take a few weeks to develop as a skill (a big reason beginners quit guitar). But I figure that if I practice daily, even for a short amount of time, I'll eventually be able to handle the coarseness of the steel strings. And soon I'll be able to play my first chord. And from there I'll be able to combine chords. And eventually I'll play a song.

I think in our society we're always looking for the quickest approach to breaking habits or developing habits or learning new skills. But if we apply the idea of Kaizen, and we take our time, and we focus on our strengths, well then anything really is possible.

And a year from now, I better know how to play the damn guitar:)

Bromance

I first heard of the concept of Bromance while riding on the TTC subway, avoiding eye contact with strangers while staring at advertisements along the top panels of subway cars. There it was, this guy Brody that I had learned about from what I think was the Hills. I think he's some famous dude who's super cocky and good with girls, and a trouble maker on the Hollywood scene. Whatever. But to be honest, without knowing much about what a Bromance is and what the show is about, I could pretty much figure out its main premise. I thought it must be like the Paris Hilton show BFF (best friends forever), where she tries to find her next best friend. Lame. And I also thought that the idea of a guy trying to find his own best friend, or companion to be, through a show, well I thought it sounded rather gay frankly. No offense to you if you are gay (not that there is anything wrong with that):).

I just think it would create an awkward situation for two guys, both strangers to each other, to have to meet up in that sort of pretext while trying to find out more about each other. To me it sounds like a date. I mean what would the conversation be like? 'So tell me dude, what are you into?' 'What kind of sports do you like?' 'If I found my self in a precarious situation, would you have my back dude? Would you?'

But then the miraculous occured to me. I've been on a few Brodates myself. In fact, I love some of my current Bromances. And I'm secure in admitting this. Even today I went out on a Brodate that I'll explain to you. My Brodude, well we'll call him Mr. B., so that he remains anonymous.

Well I called up Mr. B today and asked him to join me to head down to a guitar shop called Long and McQuade. We met at the subway and headed down. We chatted as normal Brodudes do. It was great.

Then as we headed into the guitar shop I felt like a little kid in a candy store. There were guitars everywhere; electric, acoustic, bass and the whole works. There was no other place I would rather be. And deep inside, as I glanced over at my Brodate, I realized nothing could be better than this.

After renting a nice acoustic guitar and strapping it on my back, I felt like a travelling musician as me and my Brodate walked through the winter streets. All we needed was a highway and we would be bona fide hitch hiking musicians. Next we headed for a pint and a burger. The ideal Brodate meal. Unfortunately at the Jack Astors we stumbled upon, there were no hot girl waitresses for at least myself to fancy. But I didn't let that ruin the day.

Well, tonight my Brodate continues, as I'll be meeting Mr. B. for a night on the town at a Funk jam hosted by promoters called Footprints. In fact it was Mr. B. who introduced me to this type of venue, music and crowd, and I truly love it.

So before I go and judge Brody for having his own show called Bromance, I must admit I've been on my own fair share of Brodates. And well, they're fantabulous. Don't get me wrong, the whole 'cold meet' idea between two guys, seems a bit queer to me, but to each their own.

Now I haven't really experienced a severe break up with any of my Bromances. I could only imagine the hurt.

iPhone Envy

I've said this before, that there are two types of people on this planet: iPhone users and Blackberry users. Note that I'm extremely biased because I own an iPhone and I'm a big Apple fan; ever since I was a wee little child using my Dad's Macintosh Plus (which is a computer by the way). And here is my point: more and more as you begin to watch the market of mobile devices, the different brands are all slowly morphing into iPhones.

And if you're the type of person who denies this. Well you're inflicted with a terrible disease called iPhone Envy.

Look at the Blackberry Storm. It's a friggin iPhone in disguise. It's like that kid in high school who is trying to hang out with the cool kids but can't quite join the group. It's shameful really.

And most recently, Palm has come out with their own device which features a touch screen display that acts almost exactly like the iPhone does. They are in patent wars now.

You know what makes the difference between all these other companies and Apple? Steve Jobs. Yup one man is the major difference and he’s a revolutionist. Companies like RIM and PALM and MS, lack the ability to be creative like Steve Jobs. Sure they all have good products themselves, but as of late, they haven't been revolutionary. You can say MS made some pretty significant changes in the OS industry in the past. But folks when Windows came out with a user interface, Apple had one for almost a decade. It doesn't matter who has more money either (Bill Gates or Jobs) because I'm talking about products that make our lives better, like an iPod or an iPhone and not Vista:)

Now I have a lot of friends who use Blackberries and deep inside it pains me. They are my good friends and I have concern for them. Because they can't see the light. I ask them to think about the future, in fact look at any movie that portrays the future. All the keyboards in those movies, they're all touch screen.

So keep an eye out for a lot of companies trying to emulate Apple. They'll never be able to duplicate.

And keep an eye out for the health of Steve Jobs. He's a huge stake in the future of these devices.

Google is a broken server

This post is for the web designers, developers, SEOers out there. But if you understand how the web works then you might get a kick out of this rather rudimentary post.

Well to me, Google is one giant broken server.

Now a regular web server that hosts websites works as expected. You develop a file on your local machine, and then you upload the file to the server. When you go to check the page that you've been working on online, you see the file or the updates that you just made. Pretty straightforward.

Now the reason I say that Google is broken is because, MOST web designers, developers and SEOers build websites and webpages that are optimized for Google. Not everyone does, but a lot of people do. And the goal of the person is to have their website show up in the Google listings or on the 'Google Server'. This is a huge industry by the way called SEO. And yes I know that Google is actually crawling the entire net and compiling a directory, but in essence it's one giant website (virtual for you tech fiends).

So when a designer, developer or SEOer creates a page on their local machine and then uploads it to the server, in this case Google, well unlike a normal server, it may or may not show up. Whether it does is as predictable as the weather. So to me, essentially you're working with a server that has glitches. One day it works and then the next day it doesn't. It's not even immediate in that you have to wait a few days or weeks or months to see your page live. And then finally when you see your page live, a week later it dissapears. That my friend is a piece of machinery that has a few screws loose.

Of course this is a facetious stance I'm taking on Google, but to me it's kind of humerous. And web development and design has become almost counter intuitive. A weird reverse cycle has been created where the developers of Google create these astonishgly complex algorithms that try to predict the way websites are built and written naturally. But then there are people, like me, who try to decipher these algorithms by creating pages that are designed for the Google algorithms. It's just one vicious, humerous, cycle.

So next time you're on Google, realize this, it's broken:)

The Internet is Dead

So here is my attempt at being Orwellian, while the technological signs are definitely pointed in the same direction as the hypothesis I came up with in the tiny little brain I call mine.

The Internet is Dead. Or at least in the future it will not exist. But here's the kicker, it's not that the world wide web won't be around, it's that it will become seamless. Meaning all of our computers will be connected to each other on the same network by default. So you will always be online. There won't be an offline state for your computer. You won't be saving files to a local hard drive. Instead you will be saving them, on what the pundits are coining currently, as the cloud. Well the cloud is about to become reality.

In fact, I don't even believe we'll have any PC hardware at home. The most we will have is a monitor and perhaps a mouse. You won't need a keyboard if your display is touch screen. Your monitor will be connected to one port in your wall that will connect you to the 'Network'. Or perhaps the monitor will be wireless? In that case, you just plug it in to get electricity.

This technology isn't even that far fetched. Google is in the talks of creating G-Drives which are hard drives that you find online. Which means you can store your files on a Google hard drive and access it from anywhere in the world.

Think Google's stock can't grow even more? Think again. There's a reason why the brains behind Google, Eric, Sergey and Larry, are investing heavily in infrastructure and computer hardware. It's because they have a long term vision of essentially being the single storage device for...well...for everybody.

Of course the major concerns with the setup are security and privacy. That will be an ongoing problem but I think it will be one everyone will settle to battle.

As for Apple, Dell, and Microsoft? They'll play big roles in technology but they will have to commit to buying some serious hardware to compete with Google. And do you think Google would allow MS Windows to run on Google hard drives? Doubt it. And yes I do mean that even your entire Operating System will be running off of these remote hard drives.

The next big player in my theory will be the Cable companies. Yup, good ol Rogers Communications here in Canada, and the big wig cable companies in the US are all going to play a major factor in ensuring, that all of our information will travel through this entire network quickly and securely. The speeds that they have to match are the ones our current local PCs are maintaining through their computer's 'buses'. Which isn't some unrealistic vision. With the advent of Fibre Obtic cable, this technology isn't that far away either.

So enjoy your Internet and admire your giant PC workstations cuz they won't be around for that much longer.

I think Orwell would be proud.

Punk in Drublic

I'm going to start a punk series on my blog. Because I can. I got into punk music in high school and it went hand in hand with my skater/snowboarder days. That's when me and my buddies were all bad asses. That's when bands like The Offspring, Green Day and Nirvana were all getting their start. I fell in love with the California punk scene in particular. Bands like Bad Religion, Nofx and one band in particular called Lag Wagon.

Lag Wagon was pretty hardcore skater punk. Songs with fast riffs featuring lyrics of road trips and beer goggles. Their debut album was called Duh. Joey Cape is the front man of LagWagon and he has contributed to the punk movement significantly. He's had many side projects, including one of my favourite bands of all time, Bad Astronaut; and he's even released solo albums. Joey Cape is this short brown haired Italian guy who you wouldn't think would tear up the punk scene.

Lag Wagon continued to make records including albums such as Hoss, Blaze, Double Pladinum and Trashed. Their latest album is called I Think My Older Brother Used to Listen To Lag Wagon and it's a shot at themselves for being so old. But when you think about it, it's really making fun of all the fans for being old and still listening to them. So really it's making fun of me. So be it.

On a serious note, one of the band's original drummers Derrick Plourde took his own life for reasons only he and his close family will ever know. This was obviously devastating to the band and Joey. Their next album called Resolve was written entirely about Derrick and expressed the anger, despair and sadness felt by all in the band. Derrick was an amazing drummer.

I had the opportunity to go and see Lag Wagon live in Toronto and it was one of my favourite concerts. They absolutely rocked the house. At first as I headed toward the venue I had a sense of trepidation that I would be surrounded by teenagers who maybe got into the band late. But to my surprise it was mostly all of us original fans. And we all bonded and celebrated our oldness together and enjoyed a wicked band.

So, check out Lag Wagon

iPhone: A Buyers Guide

There are two types of people on this planet. iPhone users and Blackberry users. This post is for the cooler of the two;)

Getting an iPhone

After months of tribulation I finally made the decision to buy an iPhone. I'm a huge Apple advocate and the iPod is one of the greatest inventions of our time. The iPhone is even better. Now one thing you do want to consider is that buying an iPhone or any SmartPhone device is an investment. So like buying any product it's good to do some research. I thought I'd list and describe some important things to consider before you make your purchase. The below is intended for the beginner iPhone user. Enjoy:

- iPhone comes in two sizes and colors: 8GB and 16GB black or white. 8GB of storage can hold about 2000 songs of music and 16GB can hold about 3600 songs of music.

- 3G is the new wireless network technology. It means fast.

- Costs will vary when you buy an iPhone and if you upgrade from your service provider it could be cheaper. My cost was $249 on a 3 yr contract. If you haven't upgraded your phone in a while then you can get one for $199. This is provided your with Rogers.

- On top of a cell phone Voice plan (your regular minutes), you will need to add a data plan in order to surf the net and check your mail on your iPhone. Voice and data packages vary as well but the one I got is around $60/month.

- If you sign up with Rogers they will charge you a $35 administration fee. They'll also ask you for a deposit of a piece of your soul. In other words, they will own you.

- In addition to 3G, which is how you receive data and access the Internet, there is the option to alternate between 3G and wifi. Wifi is wireless Internet, and if you can connect to a wifi network depending on where you are, then it won’t cost you data minutes. Get it. Cool.

- the iPhone keyboard to type messages takes some getting use to. Blackberry users will claim that their keyboards are quicker for messaging. But it's probably a matter of seconds that are the difference. And you my friend, aren't that strung out about texting someone every milisecond.

- iPhone includes Safari which is Apple’s web browser. It also includes an iPod with wide screen. It has a built in camera too. And most importantly iPhone allows you to install Apps (applications). Apps are wicked. They can range from games, to budget trackers, and pretty much anything you can think of. People are always developing apps and there are rumors that the new ones coming out are going to be amazing. Apps range in price from free to $1.99 to $12.99 and more. Stay tuned to my blog for a post on essential Apps.

- iPhone connects to iTunes where you can buy songs and Apps. iTunes is connected to your credit card. So you won’t be getting things for free like you would by downloading music. Not as easily anyways. But once you see the power of iTunes you could literally buy any song, movie, app, from anywhere in the world whenever you want. Crazy.

- iPhone can connect to your Exchange account at work. So you can carry around your work wherever you are. Not like you want to.

Accessory essentials:

- You will definitely want to buy a screen protector to prevent from scratches and finger prints. At the apple store you can buy sheet protectors for around $15. Easy to apply and they are not permanent. Make sure when you apply them that you are in a dust free environment.

- In addition to protecting the front, it's a good idea to protect the back. This will protect from scratches and keep your baby looking new. I got a rubber case that is like a skin and it also includes a holster so I can attach my iPhone to my belt. That way I will look official while I'm at work. It's the modern day cowboy.

- My holster also has a swivel that allows me to place my Iphone on a table and have it sit upright. Great for watching videos.

- I decided to buy an iPhone pocket guide. I figure that instead of learning how to use my iPhone on my own, I could shorten the learning process by reading a book of someone who has figured out all the tricks already. I got my pocket guide from Chapters for about $10. Well worth it.

- I tried to by my iPhone through Rogers corporate website, but it was futile. What I suggest is going to a Rogers kiosk and having them help you out. They have sold tons of iPhones and know exactly how to set them up. It will take a good hour of your time so be prepared.

- If you have phone contacts in your old cell phone, make sure to save the contacts to your Sim card. You can then take that Sim card and save those contact to your new iPhone. If your Sim card does not support the 3G network, the guy at Rogers will upgrade you to a new one.

- Cancellation fees: iPhones are big investments and big decisions. Be careful because if you cancel a 3yr contract with Rogers there is a cancellation fee of $200. Plus if you cancel your data plan with Rogers there is a $100 fee. Damn.

- If you buy an iPhone and haven't purchased a data plan, be careful when turning your phone on. Your iPhone automatically accesses the Internet to gather information for your GPS, weather, etc. So even if you haven't been 'surfing' the Internet, you could still accumulate data minutes without even knowing. And those data minutes my friend are 5 cents/kb without a plan. Ouch.

- Blackberry Users will envy you.

So there you have it. I'm sure I may have missed a detail or two but as you can see there is a lot to cover when investing in an iPhone. But let me tell you this, it is worth it and more.

Stay tuned to my blog for a list of the essential Applications for your iPhone.

Have I missed something that you think is important to mention? Leave a comment below! (Blackberry users, this post is not a debate of which device is better so please only iPhone tips; let's stop hating)

Tobi and infomercials

I'm a sucker for infomercials. I love watching them and I always want what they're selling. Have you seen the latest infomercial for Shamwow? It's some sort of super towel and the guy on the commercial I think once sold me a car. I once bought a George Foreman grill and I think I've used it about twice. Btw, George Foreman was once a heavy weight boxer that a lot of people disliked because he was fighting the great Muhamed Ali. Well, Foreman redefined his whole image and made over $150 million dollars in sales from the grill. So informercial products may seem cheesy, but they're big bucks!

So on to my most recent experience. I think it all stemmed from my grande allusion of never having to iron a shirt. You see, I hate ironing. And one late night, probably after the bar, I saw an informercial about a product called the Tobi. Well one day while I was shopping at Canadian Tire I happened to stumble across one. I immediately grabbed it. I didn't even check the price. Everyone at the checkout line, even seemed happy and excited when they saw what I was purchasing. The lady infront told me she wanted one too. The cost was $99.99.

Well to make a long story short, after unpackaging it for a few hours and assembling, I finished the well polished dvd and began to steam my first shirt. There were a bunch of wrinkles in my shirt and the Tobi seemed to get out the main ones. However, it started to get clumsy. I had trouble holding the shirt as prescribed by the directions, which they even coined as a 'taught and steam'. Well that method was garbage. It literally took me about 15 minutes to steam a single shirt. By that time, the shirt was so damp I had to put it in the dryer. I didn't even get all the wrinkles out.

Well I lugged my Tobi back to Canadian Tire and the gentlemen gave me a quick refund (in cash is how Crappy Tire does). And to solve my ironing woes I decided that I would invest in a professional iron.

So I got a Shark Intelligent Iron. It went for about $90 as well. A lot of money for an iron, but it is pretty bad ass. It's digital and it looks like something that the Terminator brought back from the future to iron his clothes. And it pretty much does what an iron is meant to do.

So the moral of my story is becareful when you watch those tempting infomercials. Some of them might work some of them might not. There really is a risk. In the meantime I don't think I'm done with informercials so I'm about to try a famous excersise and work out one called P90x. According to them, I can get 'absolutely ripped in just 90 days'.

Til then.

10 Things You Can Do To Start Your New Year Right!

First of all I would like to wish everyone a Happy New year. I really do hope that 2009 is a great year for you.

Perhaps on the first day of the year, for many, it's a good time to get a little organized, or maybe even write down a goal or two. Maybe you're not big on writing down goals. So instead, I want to offer you a few 'action items' that you can implement in your own life that I believe can help improve it.

And I'll be honest with you, there are a lot of things on this list that I have to do for myself. So I hope it's motivation for the both of us. Enjoy and please share:

1) Start a blog. Of course I have to advocate this to start off the list because I like blogging so much. I think it's a great way to share information to like minded individuals. It's also very healthy for yourself because it gets a lot of those thoughts running around inside your head onto paper. You always have the option to write a private blog that only yourself or a few others can read. The cost is free and you don't have to have much tech knowledge. And trust me, you're probably way more interesting to others than you think . Here is a great place to get started: http://www.blogger.com/home. Stay tuned to my own blog for an entire post on how to create one from scratch and to optimize it for the search engines.

2) Read a book. Sounds simple enough but look at your book shelf; does it have a lot of bookmarks with unread chapters? Find a novel that you can read from page one right to the end. Commit to it. Don't open any other books until you finish it. I'd recommend making it fiction. I think a lot of people in the corporate world feel like they can't read fiction because it doesn't make them smarter. You'd be surprised in what a good fiction book can reveal and the learning's it has to offer.

3) Get a passport. You really don't know when you might have to travel outside of your own country. If you don't have a passport, or if yours is expired, then checking this one off your list will give you some piece of mind. What if your company decides to send you on a secret reward trip in a week and you end up stuck because you don't have a passport? Sucks.

A couple things you'll need are:
1) A Guarantor to sign your photos and application
2) Professional shot photos of yourself, two (you can get them done at Blacks)
3) The application form which you can complete online. Here's the link to the Canadian passport guide

BTW, if you complete the entire process online, when you walk into the passport office, you get to bypass all the other people who didn't fill out their forms online. Nice!

4) Make it Automatic. If you're a reader of any financial books then you've probably heard of the concept of making things automatic. An example of this concept is a savings account. Instead of waiting for the end of the month and putting aside a few dollars for savings, you can make the process automatic by having your bank withdraw a predetermined amount right out of your pay cheque. This is useful, because one, your forced to do it and two, you hardly notice it. The Government of Canada is pretty smart and they use this exact philosophy when they take income tax right out of your pay cheque. Ouch.

Check out ING who are a great online bank that will automatically take money from your bank account and deposit it into an interest earning savings account (even tax free in Canada).

5) Yournamehere.com Register your own domain name. For example I own www.zaidrasid.com and www.zye.ca. This is actually important as you need to protect and strengthen your own personal brand. Plus you never know when you're going to want your own personal website. Hey you may even become famous one day:)

If your domain name is taken you can always find alternatives. For example you could hyphenate your name like www.zaid-rasid.com. Or you could try a different domain like www.zaidrasid.ca or www.zaidrasid.net. Domains are super cheap these days and you can find one here: http://www.doteasy.com, www.godaddy.com, www.networksolutions.com, and elsewhere. If you sign up for a blog from Blogger you can even buy your domain through them.

6) Get business cards. This one is fun. If you don't have a business there's nothing stopping you from having a business card. Heck, set up your own blog, then print some business cards with the blog url and start handing them out. Now that's marketing a new business! Sites like www.vistaprint.com will send you 250 free ones (though there’s a shipping fee of $5.45 or so). Never hurts to look professional.

7) What's your credit score? This one is super important. Do you know what's on your credit report? Do you know what your score is? If you don't then you should. Your credit report is like a financial report card and a lot of experts believe that this report, or this score, is key to financial success. And it is. A credit report is free. You can get one in Canada from Equifax or Trans Union. Or you can pay a little money and have either company send you a credit report plus your credit score. A credit score is a number that lenders use to determine whether or not they should give you money.

Let's not forget about identity theft and inaccurate charges that could occur on your report. It's always a possibility and it's definitely worth the few minutes to investigate that ever important credit report. Do it.

8) How's your health? For men I think this is more important. Get a physical from your doctor. If you don't have a doctor then that's the first thing you need to take care of. Find a friend or a co-worker who could recommend a good doctor. I know in Toronto they are hard to find, but they are out there. Next, book yourself a physical. Your health is more important than anything else on this list. Head off any potential medical problems that may hinder an active, fun year.

Also recommended: make an appointment with a dentist to get your teeth cleaned if you haven’t done so in the last six months. You may also want to call for an eye exam if you haven’t had one in the last four years. (Make sure you get a second opinion if any of the above tries to talk you into any costly procedure.)

9) Lookin Good. I'm not on expert on losing weight or gaining muscle, but I learned recently of a good way to set a goal. Instead of attaching a result to your goal (like losing 10lbs or gaining 5 lbs of muscle), alter your goal by making a commitment (like going to the gym 3x a week). The latter goal is a lot easier to implement and isn't results based. And of course, the results from going to the gym three times a week is going to be better appearance!!! You sexy stud.

10) Broaden your scope. Subscribe to a newspaper or magazine. Find a topic that is new to you or that you don't know too much about. It could be fashion, culture, politics, science, or technology. Rather than choosing the most popular magazine, select one that offers the most in-depth and interesting coverage, like Wired for technology or Foreign Affairs for politics or Mental Floss for general culture or New Scientist (which last month had a handy article on how to win at rock paper scissors) for science. If you don't want to subscribe, just head over to your local book store and pick one up.

So there you have it. A pretty simple list if you think about. And most of the items shouldn't take too long.

If you have any questions about the above please leave a comment.

What's something that you could add to the list?