I was reading the book "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki a few years back and there were two concepts I really liked and want to share. They are ways to think about wealth and how to accumulate it. First, wealth should be measured in time. How many days could you go without working before you ran out of money? If you are like most people, you divide your monthly expenses (bills, food, gas, fun, etc.) into days (30), then divide your savings by your daily bills. For example, you might pay $300 a month in expenses or ($300/30 days) $10 a day on average. If you have $600 in savings, you can last ($600/$10) 60 days. Kiyosaki points out that most people have so little savings, because they're spending all of their income, that even missing one day of work can wreck havoc on people's lives. Where are you on this scale? For me, I have managed to spend less than 50% of my income. Thus, for every day I work I can effectively take a day off. I've been working for two months now and have enough wealth to last... 2 months. Just think, if I did this for a year, I could take a whole year off to pursue something. Again, where are you?
What is and what is NOT an asset?
The second concept is that Kiyosaki defines an asset as something that puts money into your pocket each month. A liability is something that takes money out of your pocket each month. So, let's test you on this definition. What is your car? A liability because you keep putting money into it for gas and maintenance. What about your TV? A liability because you contribute to electricity, cable and movies (not to mention your time, which is worth something). What about stocks? Actually it's neither because even though you get money when you sell it, you no longer own it, but it also isn't taking money out of your pocket. What about the house you live in? A LIABILITY. You repair the house and make interest payments. Yes, you're earning equity, but that doesn't regularly flow into your pocket. How about a simple savings account? An asset because each month the bank adds money to your account (if you use ING, it's actually a noticeable amount). Other assets include investment real estate, businesses (well, successful ones), book royalties and many more.
Bringing it together
So, you've accumulated some sort of wealth - maybe 60 days, maybe less, maybe more. Right now I have mine sitting in an ING account paying me interest, putting money in my pocket. What can be done to increase those days faster? What if I acquired enough assets, putting money into my pocket, that the days become infinite because I always have enough income from assets flowing in to cover my expenses each month (aka infinitely wealthy)? One way to do that would be to keep saving and live only off the interest. I did the math and assuming I spend/save the same I could be infinitely wealthy in 2 years (I actually give myself 5 years to do it since things happen in life). How long will it take you? More importantly, what can you and I invest in to earn higher returns so we can get there faster? Simply buying a house and living in it won't get us there and neither will only investing in mutual funds. Though those are important, think about ways to get cash flowing, monthly, into your pocket. With this, in combination of keeping your expenses as low as possible, you will be well on your way out of the Rat Race.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
I had the pleasure of going to see a wonderful speaker. His name is Edward Tufte (pronounced "tough - tee") and he is the expert in the world of displaying quantitative information. Yes, I went to an all day seminar to learn how to make better graphs, tables and charts. I even walked away with four books full of hundreds of pictures on the principles of data display. I went to see him speak with fellow HP colleagues and here are some of the things we took away from the day:
1) There really is no such thing as too much information: it's just a matter of it being displayed in a way that is relevant and interesting to the audience. For example, newspapers constantly pack as much information as possible on their paper. It's even more intense in the sports and financial sections with all of the pure data. Still, people seem OK looking at the information and are actually thankful it's all their: that's because it's interesting to the audience. The same can be said of aerial photos of your home town.
2) Everything presented should add to the understanding of the information. Colors, graphics and lines should have a purpose to people's understanding - they are busy people after all and it shouldn't be their job to figure out what is and is not important. Here's an easy test: take your material and stand back, away from it. What catches your attention first? Is it the data? Your border? Or, the cute graphic in the corner? Also, if people walk away from your presentation saying, "gosh, that was a nice shade of blue," you missed your mark.
3) Tufte is not a fan of PowerPoint because it deludes speaker's points to meaningless phrases. He is a huge fan of only using it as a slide show or a way to watch video. Instead, just create a handout for people. It's harder to produce because you have to create complete thoughts (sentences) but it gives them much more information and provides them something for later. I see this as a cue we can get from politicians: how many of them do you see using PowerPoint?
4) If your content is so boring that you feel you need to dress it up: get better content. Seriously, if nobody will be interested in what you have to say, why say it at all. I think this is one of the reasons why I like to listen to Steve Jobs of Apple Inc. talk: I like what he's talking about. I see this as tying back with #1: make your information meaningful to the audience.
For more information, you can check out his website at EdwardTufte.com or read about him on Wikipedia. I would definitely recommend checking him out if you regular give presentations.
As an aside, if my transformation to Geek-dom wasn't bad enough already. My colleagues and I did walk a few blocks afterwards to check out OSCON, the Open Source Conference. The worst part is that I actually saw companies who I know about and I regularly use. We even got to check out the $100 laptop and it is pretty cool.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Advice for Sony's PS3 Division
I can't help but wonder what Sony is up to with their PS3. If you haven't been following gaming news lately (don't worry, you're not alone), Sony isn't doing so well with the new generation of consoles. Basically, their consoles are not selling nearly as well as what Sony expected. It must be hard going from the number 1 console to last place in the industry. Sony came out with the most graphically advanced and most expensive system. Unfortunately, gamers are struggling to justify spending so much money given the other options in the market. After months of watching, without being in the board room, here's what I think Sony should do.
First of all, a price reduction is not the answer. Unless Sony has market research showing that dropping their price 20% will given them a 100% increase in market share it probably isn't worth the gamble. Besides, Microsoft can easily match any price war Sony wants to start - and nobody should mess with Microsoft when it comes to finding out how deep in the pockets you're willing to go (yes, I do think Google is playing a risky game too with Microsoft). Instead, Sony should focus on what makes them different and help gamers justify the high cost of their system.
Focusing on something different needs to go beyond Blu-ray and "amazing graphics" because gamers already know that. Sony needs to start sharing a different story to peak gamer's interest again. The only real place to do with this with games. How will great games played on a graphically superior console benefit gamers that no other system can match? Talk about the games.
Here's a crazy idea. Instead of dropping the system price by $100, give the money you were willing to give up to companies like EA and Rockstar to help them fund game development. Those companies want to produce games that will earn them the most profit, which is a factor of that console's install base, gamer's ability and willingness to purchase the game and their development costs. (price x volume - costs = profit). If Sony can decrease developer's costs, they will be willing to spending the time to make better games which will ultimately increase the number of games sold. True, this is also like giving a price reduction to software developers, but this is a gamble to spur on innovation which will lead to purchases.
Sony, if you're reading, continue to take the high road with better games. Don't just give up on that dream and play the cost game. At the same time, spend more money/time doing research to find out which gamers you want to serve and be happy when you win them instead of simply going for the whole market.
First of all, a price reduction is not the answer. Unless Sony has market research showing that dropping their price 20% will given them a 100% increase in market share it probably isn't worth the gamble. Besides, Microsoft can easily match any price war Sony wants to start - and nobody should mess with Microsoft when it comes to finding out how deep in the pockets you're willing to go (yes, I do think Google is playing a risky game too with Microsoft). Instead, Sony should focus on what makes them different and help gamers justify the high cost of their system.
Focusing on something different needs to go beyond Blu-ray and "amazing graphics" because gamers already know that. Sony needs to start sharing a different story to peak gamer's interest again. The only real place to do with this with games. How will great games played on a graphically superior console benefit gamers that no other system can match? Talk about the games.
Here's a crazy idea. Instead of dropping the system price by $100, give the money you were willing to give up to companies like EA and Rockstar to help them fund game development. Those companies want to produce games that will earn them the most profit, which is a factor of that console's install base, gamer's ability and willingness to purchase the game and their development costs. (price x volume - costs = profit). If Sony can decrease developer's costs, they will be willing to spending the time to make better games which will ultimately increase the number of games sold. True, this is also like giving a price reduction to software developers, but this is a gamble to spur on innovation which will lead to purchases.
Sony, if you're reading, continue to take the high road with better games. Don't just give up on that dream and play the cost game. At the same time, spend more money/time doing research to find out which gamers you want to serve and be happy when you win them instead of simply going for the whole market.
Friday, July 06, 2007
If you were independently wealthy...
A professor of mine once posed the question to me: If you were independently wealthy, what would you do with your time? That right there is an important question. Let me explain this a little more. Being independently wealthy means you don't have to do anything for your money - it's just there like a well of oil in the back yard. In other words, you have 24 hours a day to do whatever you want with no financial constraints.
Most people start their answers with "buy a new car" or "purchase the largest house in a nice area". Others start with "visit Europe and my whole family." These are all awesome ideas, but the crux of the question is what happens next. OK, you've bought everything you want, now what? What would you do day to day? Would you volunteer at a local homeless shelter? Go back to school? Knit a blanket? Perhaps try to take over the world? What would you do with your time?
Answer that question now. It's your dream, so be honest about it.
Now here's the trick: how can you start living your dream today? If you want to direct movies, how can you get involved with movies? Perhaps you can't do exactly what you want to do instantly, but you can at least get yourself a step closer in the right direction. Honestly, it really doesn't matter how well your current job pays if it's not what you truly want to do.
Finally, this question falls right in line with the statement I first heard from my dad: do what you love, and the money will follow. How are you incorporating what you love in your life?
Most people start their answers with "buy a new car" or "purchase the largest house in a nice area". Others start with "visit Europe and my whole family." These are all awesome ideas, but the crux of the question is what happens next. OK, you've bought everything you want, now what? What would you do day to day? Would you volunteer at a local homeless shelter? Go back to school? Knit a blanket? Perhaps try to take over the world? What would you do with your time?
Answer that question now. It's your dream, so be honest about it.
Now here's the trick: how can you start living your dream today? If you want to direct movies, how can you get involved with movies? Perhaps you can't do exactly what you want to do instantly, but you can at least get yourself a step closer in the right direction. Honestly, it really doesn't matter how well your current job pays if it's not what you truly want to do.
Finally, this question falls right in line with the statement I first heard from my dad: do what you love, and the money will follow. How are you incorporating what you love in your life?
Friday, June 29, 2007
Rich Woman
Hi all,
I am notorious for being in the middle of multiple books...as summer has hit full force I find myself wanting to laze about and read all day long. At the moment, this has been a very good thing, since I am in the middle of three awesome books.
I am reading, The Metabolic Plan by Dr. Stephen Cherniski, Men are from Mars Women are from Venus, and Rich Woman by Kim Kiyosaki. I would recommend all of them as quick and entertaining reads, not to mention chalk full of helpful, insightful and awesome information.
The book I would like to highlight today is, Rich Woman. I have to thank James' mom for sharing this book with me. She let me borrow her copy right after I graduated and I find myself not wanting to put it down and re-reading sections over and over again hoping to pull out every last detail of goodness.
In short, Rich Woman, I would say, is an inspirational guide for women's financial futures. It outlines the path that Kim Kiyosaki followed to become the strong woman and investor that she is today. Through reading this book I have found a new sense of direction and motivation to become financially secure and independent.
I am a woman, I am a teacher, I am in love with James and want to share my life with him, but ultimately I am capable of being completely financially independent regardless of my gender, profession or relationship status.
If you are a woman, definitely get a hold of this book. It will change the way you think of money, investing and taking care of yourself. To be cliche, your owe it to yourself to get all of the education you can to prepare for your financial future...no, not just your financial future...your happiness, success, your dreams.
Well, that was my rant...really it is a good book. I recommend it highly :)
Hope everyone has a happy 4th of July!
Jessi
I am notorious for being in the middle of multiple books...as summer has hit full force I find myself wanting to laze about and read all day long. At the moment, this has been a very good thing, since I am in the middle of three awesome books.
I am reading, The Metabolic Plan by Dr. Stephen Cherniski, Men are from Mars Women are from Venus, and Rich Woman by Kim Kiyosaki. I would recommend all of them as quick and entertaining reads, not to mention chalk full of helpful, insightful and awesome information.
The book I would like to highlight today is, Rich Woman. I have to thank James' mom for sharing this book with me. She let me borrow her copy right after I graduated and I find myself not wanting to put it down and re-reading sections over and over again hoping to pull out every last detail of goodness.
In short, Rich Woman, I would say, is an inspirational guide for women's financial futures. It outlines the path that Kim Kiyosaki followed to become the strong woman and investor that she is today. Through reading this book I have found a new sense of direction and motivation to become financially secure and independent.
I am a woman, I am a teacher, I am in love with James and want to share my life with him, but ultimately I am capable of being completely financially independent regardless of my gender, profession or relationship status.
If you are a woman, definitely get a hold of this book. It will change the way you think of money, investing and taking care of yourself. To be cliche, your owe it to yourself to get all of the education you can to prepare for your financial future...no, not just your financial future...your happiness, success, your dreams.
Well, that was my rant...really it is a good book. I recommend it highly :)
Hope everyone has a happy 4th of July!
Jessi
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Wired Once Again
Little did you know, but I have been "living" (if you can call it that) without the Internet in my apartment for the last month or so. It has been an interesting experience. Though, as of this week, I am once again connected to the world. There will be no more waiting until I get to work in the morning to see if I received another email. During this time though I noticed a couple of things.
First, I really like being online. I mean, I do so much online it's kind of sick. It's my source for news, communication, work and entertainment. I'm sure if I could figure it out, it would also be my source of physical exercise. Without being connected at home I felt empty.
Second, I played more video games. I re-discovered all those old PC games I had completely forgotten about. I probably logged too many hours playing Rome: Total War and other excellent games. Oh yeah, I also reached pro status on Tennis for Nintendo's Wii Sports. Basically, without the Internet I had trouble coming up with ways to entertain myself.
Being at school, with the Internet included in my tuition, I didn't realize how expensive the Internet can be. This is especially true since I don't have a TV and only use my cell phone which means I can't take advantage of bundled packages. Furthermore, since I'm living in a smaller town I don't exactly have all the choices of some in larger towns. I can easily see how people who are not as dependent on the Internet as I am decide not to get broadband/DSL or any other relatively expensive option.
I'd like to say I came out a better person from this experience, but pretty much I'm just glad to be sending emails and watching You Tube late into the night. With that, I'm off to enjoy some clips of "The Office".
First, I really like being online. I mean, I do so much online it's kind of sick. It's my source for news, communication, work and entertainment. I'm sure if I could figure it out, it would also be my source of physical exercise. Without being connected at home I felt empty.
Second, I played more video games. I re-discovered all those old PC games I had completely forgotten about. I probably logged too many hours playing Rome: Total War and other excellent games. Oh yeah, I also reached pro status on Tennis for Nintendo's Wii Sports. Basically, without the Internet I had trouble coming up with ways to entertain myself.
Being at school, with the Internet included in my tuition, I didn't realize how expensive the Internet can be. This is especially true since I don't have a TV and only use my cell phone which means I can't take advantage of bundled packages. Furthermore, since I'm living in a smaller town I don't exactly have all the choices of some in larger towns. I can easily see how people who are not as dependent on the Internet as I am decide not to get broadband/DSL or any other relatively expensive option.
I'd like to say I came out a better person from this experience, but pretty much I'm just glad to be sending emails and watching You Tube late into the night. With that, I'm off to enjoy some clips of "The Office".
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
The Nintendo Wii
I own a Nintendo Wii and I must admit it is absolutely as cool and awesome as I thought it would be. Here's what I like about it:
A way to exercise
Nintendo made a smart move to create Wii Sports. As any other blog will suggest, it's simply great fun. My favorite is the baseball game - especially going through the training games. It's exciting to connect the bat to the ball and see it soar out of the stadium. I'm also getting pretty good at tennis as well and have been regularly using tennis as part of my morning wake up routine.
Jessi likes it
This was huge for me. I wanted to get something that both Jessi and I could enjoy and play together. Any couple knows that it takes planing to find an activity both people enjoy and thankfully playing theWii is one of them. We especially like playing against each other on Wii Play with all of it's mini-games. Jessi is pretty good too, often leading me with overall wins.
Internet browser
OK, we all love YouTube and other video content sites. You have seen the latest Ask A Ninja and Homestar Runner updates, right? What's great about Nintendo is that you can surf the web and watch all of these videos right on your home TV! I realize that Apple is claiming to be the first to bring YouTube to the television with their appleTV, but the Wii already has this cool feature.
Backwards Compatibility
Sony originally came up with this idea with the PS2: be able to play your old games on the new system. This was one thing I really disliked about Nintendo's new consoles, but no more. It would have been cool to just be able to play GameCube games, but Nintendo made one more smart move. Owners can now download classic games and play right on the Wii. Nintendo was equally smart in how they priced the games. I can buy any NES game they offer (they are slowly releasing them though) for $5. That's enough money where I don't think twice about buying a game I know I want and like, and it's enough that Nintendo will actually make some money off the sales. Brilliant. I have recently been enjoying three classics: Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda and Excite Bike.
So, thanks Nintendo for making a console that I fun, nostalgic and at least more physically healthy than alternative game systems. It's no surprise to me that Nintendo is leading the pack in console sales by 5 to 1 in many areas.
Monday, May 28, 2007
New Teaching Career!
Hi everyone!
I just wanted to give you a quick update on what has been happening the past few weeks and what my plans are for the near future. So, I am finishing my student teaching in Keizer, Oregon. I only have one final project and two weeks to go!!! I can't believe it! Then I will be preparing for a summer program for gifted students for three weeks in July called Awesome Academic Adventures (A3). It will be at Willamette and I get to teach three week-long sessions on ceramics, flight and printmaking. The weeks are themed earth, wind and water and I pretty much got to choose exactly what I wanted to teach! That doesn't happen very often in the teaching field, so I am taking full advantage of it and packing my lessons full of things I find interesting.
After A3 I will be getting ready for.....(drum roll please...) my REAL JOB! Yes, I got a job in the real world! It is the perfect position...I will be teaching kindergarten in a dual immersion program...which pretty much means English speakers learn Spanish and Spanish speakers learn English. The program is set up so 50% of the instruction is given in Spanish and 50% in English. I will be doing all of my instruction in Spanish, because my students will get the English portion of their day during pullouts like PE, Music and so on.
I am so excited to teach kindergarten and to be able to keep up my Spanish language skills. This school puts all of my interests into one position!!! Not to mention the school is located about 2 miles from James' apartment and about 4 miles from where he works. We actually might get to see each other once in a while :)
Here is a link to the school web site...if you want to read more about it!
http://www.csd509j.net/lincoln/
I will be posting pictures from summer school and my new school when I get them! Enjoy!
~Jessi
I just wanted to give you a quick update on what has been happening the past few weeks and what my plans are for the near future. So, I am finishing my student teaching in Keizer, Oregon. I only have one final project and two weeks to go!!! I can't believe it! Then I will be preparing for a summer program for gifted students for three weeks in July called Awesome Academic Adventures (A3). It will be at Willamette and I get to teach three week-long sessions on ceramics, flight and printmaking. The weeks are themed earth, wind and water and I pretty much got to choose exactly what I wanted to teach! That doesn't happen very often in the teaching field, so I am taking full advantage of it and packing my lessons full of things I find interesting.
After A3 I will be getting ready for.....(drum roll please...) my REAL JOB! Yes, I got a job in the real world! It is the perfect position...I will be teaching kindergarten in a dual immersion program...which pretty much means English speakers learn Spanish and Spanish speakers learn English. The program is set up so 50% of the instruction is given in Spanish and 50% in English. I will be doing all of my instruction in Spanish, because my students will get the English portion of their day during pullouts like PE, Music and so on.
I am so excited to teach kindergarten and to be able to keep up my Spanish language skills. This school puts all of my interests into one position!!! Not to mention the school is located about 2 miles from James' apartment and about 4 miles from where he works. We actually might get to see each other once in a while :)
Here is a link to the school web site...if you want to read more about it!
http://www.csd509j.net/lincoln/
I will be posting pictures from summer school and my new school when I get them! Enjoy!
~Jessi
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
IX Web Hosting
For those of you looking for a place to hold your web presence, I've got a great suggestion for you. I have found a company called IX Web Hosting. I base my endorsement on three criteria:
1) Price: They are one of the most affordable business around. At their prices ANYONE can start up their own website.
2) Features: Their service includes all the features you could want. They support all the different web languages, have all the databases you could ever want to use and many more tools. I'm not sure about their tracking tools because I use Google Analytics.
3) Speed: Though I would say content in the number 1 criteria for a good website, speed of downloading the site is at least top 3. IX's location of their servers allows users to download your site information at great speeds.
Based on my experience with Yahoo! and Go Daddy, IX is a much better product for web developers.
1) Price: They are one of the most affordable business around. At their prices ANYONE can start up their own website.
2) Features: Their service includes all the features you could want. They support all the different web languages, have all the databases you could ever want to use and many more tools. I'm not sure about their tracking tools because I use Google Analytics.
3) Speed: Though I would say content in the number 1 criteria for a good website, speed of downloading the site is at least top 3. IX's location of their servers allows users to download your site information at great speeds.
Based on my experience with Yahoo! and Go Daddy, IX is a much better product for web developers.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Real Life
It's official! I'm out on my own living in the "real" world. I graduated on Sunday and it was quite the event. My whole family showed up and made sure to cheer extra loud. Afterwards most of the time was spent hanging out and packing up my stuff. Now I'm in an apartment with absolutely zero furniture. I'm sitting on the floor up again the wall right now. Thankfully, I have a mattress or life would be really tough. The best part about where I live is that it's only a mile away from work. Today I jogged to work and I think I'm going to make a habit out of that. That should give me an excuse to eat as much Mac and Cheese as I want.
Jessi also graduated on Mother's Day and is finishing up her student teaching. So she still has AC, heat, wireless internet and furniture. She is also still interviewing with schools and is very hopeful to land an excellent job. I know she'll be a great catch.
Jessi also graduated on Mother's Day and is finishing up her student teaching. So she still has AC, heat, wireless internet and furniture. She is also still interviewing with schools and is very hopeful to land an excellent job. I know she'll be a great catch.
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Digg.com - Worth Checking Out
Have you heard of Digg.com? It is worth checking out. Basically, it's a news aggregation website. Here's how it works: people surf the web and find interesting news articles. Then, they submit the URL along with a short description to Digg. Then users can view the site. They can also add comments about the article. Finally, users can "digg" (this cool, as in, "I dig it") the article or bury (This is lame) it. If the article gets Dugg enough, it will make it to the front page as something popular.
Why is it Digg instead of Dig? Well, according to an interview with the founders it's simply because Dig.com was already taken. Personally, I think they lucked out by spelling it weird because in some ways it makes it easier to remember.
Here's how I use it: I have Google Desktop with the Google Sidebar. One of my gadgets is a website feeder (RSS basically) with Digg on the list. As articles make it to the front page (again, only the popular ones), they pop up on my sidebar. I can then pick and choose what I want to read. I have actually found that these articles make it to my sidebar faster than if I only go with regular news sources because of the speed at which people see and vote on these. It also naturally screens out items that are unimportant or poorly done.
So, give Digg a big thumbs up. You should check it out and then we can become friends and share articles we find.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Job at HP
Well I did it. I found a job. It was a long search this year with many companies showing interest, but ultimately HP proved to be an excellent place for me. So, what do I get to do? I will be a marketing analyst in the printing division. You see, every month HP collects data from people who have opted in to share information about their printer usage. This is data such as how many pages you printed or how many times you hit cancel. All of this data is collected and stored, I'm sure, in some remote place. Then a team of outstanding individuals start analyzing the data to learn about customers habits - think of it as a type of CRM (Customer Relationship Management).
My job will be to simply help further that process by working on variables previously not fully integrated into the analysis. In plain English, it means I'll be creating a structure for the data to go into to make it easy for analysis. Accepting this job means I won't be returning back to California, but I will get to live in a smaller town that everyone says is just plain nice.
So, that's what I'll be up to for the next few years. It will be a ton of fun and I'm excited to start working and contributing to the greatness that is HP.
Saturday, April 07, 2007
Fun in the Sun
Hi again,It seems like I have a hard time getting on here to post updates on life. But it is definitely time to put something new up.
I have been job searching down in California, for elementary teaching positions. The process is slow but mostly painless. I have had two great interviews for two school districts and am waiting to hear back from them. I also applied to about 7 other districts and once again am waiting for positive feedback and invitations for interviews. I wish I had a job already, where have I heard that before?... oh, yeah, James wishes he had a job already too :)
James and I also had the oportunity to spend Spring Break with his family in California. On top of the job searching we had a fun filled week! The pictures are from a trip I took with James' mom to San Francisco for a day! I had my first trip to Chinatown and my first cable car ride! It was a blast! We also ate lunch at a little restaurant called the Pearl Orchid...I think? I would recommend it if you are playing in San Francisco for the day. We also stopped by a new hotel and learned about their environmentally friendly practices...it was really neat.
I hope you enjoy and I will keep you updated on the job search!
Jessi
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Mr.Bean Guide to Dating
It's always important to get dating right. This clip explains it all. I hope you enjoy it because it is very funny.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Same 'ol Same 'ol
It nice to see that somethings life don't change.
Since my childhood, plenty of things have changed. For one, I'm in college finishing up graduate school. I'm over 600 miles from my parents. I still have no money, but that's besides the point. Of course, that does point to me being right in the middle of my job search. Also, I have girlfriend - the coauthor of this blog. So you see, on many major levels my life has changed a lot.
Currently, my girlfriend is away for the weekend job searching which leaves me all alone. So, I went to GameStop to buy a game only to find they were out. Not only that, the sales person there actually tried to discourage me from getting it. I know he thought he was doing me a favor, but please. There is only one person who is an expert in the games I want to play and that's me. I understand trying to sell me something else, but he didn't even do that. Sorry for the digression, where was I? Oh yeah.
So, I'm at school, alone, looking for something to do. Since I can't play my would be game, I decide to watch a movie. Here I where I come full circle: In the midst of all these changes, it's nice to know that one thing remains constant. Like I said, I was looking for a movie so I could relax (and write this). They all looked so good, but I ended up going with the tried and true. That's right I'm watching Top Gun right now. It is such a great movie! If you haven't seen it, you must. Even if you have seen it, go ahead and watch it again. You'll thank me. I've watched Top Gun so many times I can reenact the whole thing. When I was a kid, this was my favorite movie which I watched at least once a day. I'll admit I don't watch it as often as I used to, but it's still my favorite.
That's it for today. Just a little update on what's going on with me.
Since my childhood, plenty of things have changed. For one, I'm in college finishing up graduate school. I'm over 600 miles from my parents. I still have no money, but that's besides the point. Of course, that does point to me being right in the middle of my job search. Also, I have girlfriend - the coauthor of this blog. So you see, on many major levels my life has changed a lot.
Currently, my girlfriend is away for the weekend job searching which leaves me all alone. So, I went to GameStop to buy a game only to find they were out. Not only that, the sales person there actually tried to discourage me from getting it. I know he thought he was doing me a favor, but please. There is only one person who is an expert in the games I want to play and that's me. I understand trying to sell me something else, but he didn't even do that. Sorry for the digression, where was I? Oh yeah.
So, I'm at school, alone, looking for something to do. Since I can't play my would be game, I decide to watch a movie. Here I where I come full circle: In the midst of all these changes, it's nice to know that one thing remains constant. Like I said, I was looking for a movie so I could relax (and write this). They all looked so good, but I ended up going with the tried and true. That's right I'm watching Top Gun right now. It is such a great movie! If you haven't seen it, you must. Even if you have seen it, go ahead and watch it again. You'll thank me. I've watched Top Gun so many times I can reenact the whole thing. When I was a kid, this was my favorite movie which I watched at least once a day. I'll admit I don't watch it as often as I used to, but it's still my favorite.
That's it for today. Just a little update on what's going on with me.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Adobe to put Photoshop online
I saw this article the other day:
http://blogs.pcworld.com/techlog/archives/003811.html
In the wake of Google announcing they will be selling their application software to corporations, Adobe has come out with some of their own big news. According to the article, Adobe is developing a software program to be used over the web that will act very similar to their current Photoshop program. Users will be able to access and use this program for free.
To me, this is a very interesting bit of news. Does Adobe think that's where software is headed? Is this the way software is headed? If I remember correctly, Microsoft is also going to be coming out with a web app that interfaces very nicely with their current Office software too.
It sure would seem that software is headed in that direction. It makes sense on a bunch of levels for the company. No packaging costs, no shipping costs, no distribution hassles, no sharing revenue with retailers and they can easily update and fix the software. Those are all extremely nice cost savings, which if passed on to the consumers make the products just that much more attractable.
Personally, I'd like to see programs head in that direction. Then I could have multiple computers and not have to worry about my information being where I need it. Plus it would mean I always have the latest and greatest solution at a reasonable cost. Very cool. Anyways, interesting food for thought.
http://blogs.pcworld.com/techlog/archives/003811.html
In the wake of Google announcing they will be selling their application software to corporations, Adobe has come out with some of their own big news. According to the article, Adobe is developing a software program to be used over the web that will act very similar to their current Photoshop program. Users will be able to access and use this program for free.
To me, this is a very interesting bit of news. Does Adobe think that's where software is headed? Is this the way software is headed? If I remember correctly, Microsoft is also going to be coming out with a web app that interfaces very nicely with their current Office software too.
It sure would seem that software is headed in that direction. It makes sense on a bunch of levels for the company. No packaging costs, no shipping costs, no distribution hassles, no sharing revenue with retailers and they can easily update and fix the software. Those are all extremely nice cost savings, which if passed on to the consumers make the products just that much more attractable.
Personally, I'd like to see programs head in that direction. Then I could have multiple computers and not have to worry about my information being where I need it. Plus it would mean I always have the latest and greatest solution at a reasonable cost. Very cool. Anyways, interesting food for thought.
Job Searching
Right now I'm in the midst of my job search. During my process I discovered a neat site. It's called:
www.indeed.com
It pulls from the top 10 job search sites on the web and displays the most relevant positions to your query. The site uses Google search technology, and has a nice clean display. If you're in the hunt for a job, I highly recommend checking this site out. Even if you're not looking for a job it's pretty fun to do a search to see what's available in your area. Happy hunting.
www.indeed.com
It pulls from the top 10 job search sites on the web and displays the most relevant positions to your query. The site uses Google search technology, and has a nice clean display. If you're in the hunt for a job, I highly recommend checking this site out. Even if you're not looking for a job it's pretty fun to do a search to see what's available in your area. Happy hunting.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
NetFlix Instant Online
It's nice to know when I get something right. A year ago I said the way Netflix should improve their product is to create some sort of program that people can download and then watch movies on their computer. That way they wouldn't have to deal with DVDs and customers getting upset about having to wait for their movie.
According to this article, Netflix has done just that. You can download their applet and then stream video onto your computer. It sounds like they're just testing it out with a few customers, but I'm pretty sure this is going to work and soon everyone will have access to this.
If anyone at Netflix is reading this, I still need a job and I thought of this idea a year ago. Furthermore, Netflix put out an offer of $1,000,000 to anyone who can come up with a better, which I'm going to be working on this semester.
Back on topic. This move for Netflix makes complete sense. They save money because they don't have shipping costs or replacement DVD costs. Customers can watch movies faster and don't have to worry about the DVD being damaged. Furthermore, with all the new technology coming out it's becoming easier and easier to put this content onto your TV. Image, you could by a Mac Mini, download the program, connect it to your TV and now you can watch DVD's, downloaded video (music, pictures, etc), play computers (oh wait, it's a Mac) and all sorts of other activities. Isn't technology fun?!
Monday, January 08, 2007
Michigan
This last holiday I had the pleasure of visiting my Dad's side of the family in Michigan and it was a blast! We played tons of games, watched lots of movies and traveled all over the place. We were there for Christmas and stayed all the way through to the new year. Most of our travels involved seeing family members, we we also got some quality shopping in and visited the Ford Museum. That museum is amazing! If you're ever in the area, I recommend checking it out. Some highlights are:
- The car JFK got shot in (by the way, did you know he wasn't the last president you use the car?!)
- The bus Rosa Parks refused to give her seat up on
- The Chair President Lincoln got shot in (it happened in the Ford Theater)
- The picture is of one of the largest trains I have ever seen
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