Monster Noodle

It’s easy to hate bankers. With the recent headlines showing that many financial institutions are shamelessly taking advantage of those in financially weak positions, it is an easy sentiment to have.

There are a few out there however, that have taken the time and effort to truly give back. I was encouraged to read a recent article posted in Newsweek by Mr. Peter Peterson of the Blackstone group. Mr. Peterson’s views of social responsibility go beyond those of many of his peers. In a follow up interview with internet readers earlier in April, Mr. Peterson outlined many of his ideas and presented a solid foundation for the kind of social responsibility that many of our top financial institutions could only hope to emulate.

So, if you’re interested in hearing a banker say something other than “How does this benefit me?”, take a few minutes to get to know Peter Peterson. You may find that decency can transcend the boundries of monetary gain.

Until next time, happy blogging.

Megadisclaimer: Take nothing at face value. Everything on this blog is for entertainment purposes. It won’t change the world, or even your opinion in most cases. If you believe everything that you read stop reading now!

written by Lochshen

Ever need to sync two very large directories or make comparisons of two data locations? Chances are if you move large amounts of data on a frequent basis, at some point in time the process will fail. If you’re data is important or time sensitive, weeding through the mess to find what hasn’t been copied can be a very time consuming and at times a harrowing affair.

If you ever find yourself in this position and xcopy or explorer has let you down, try a product called Vice-Versa Pro. This little application has literally saved me hours worth of work. It’s simple to use and light on the wallet (hint: you can even find a nerfed free version if you look hard enough).

So, the next time you find yourself in a jam with your data move or you’re not sure which files are missing from a directory, give this app a shot. It will be well worth your time and money.

Until next time, happy blogging.

Megadisclaimer: Take nothing at face value. Everything on this blog is for entertainment purposes. It won’t change the world, or even your opinion in most cases. If you believe everything that you read stop reading now! 

written by Lochshen \\ tags: it, tgrmn, tgrmn.com, utility, viceversa

There are many rating systems that are used to measure the success or failure of a product or service. For restaurants the Michelin guide is the de facto standard (although Zagat is gaining in popularity). For hotels it is the star system (AAA uses diamonds). In fact, a whole slew of rating systems have cropped up on the Internet for the past several years ranging from the venerable consumer reports online to the newer Eopinions.com.

When I purchase goods or services I always ask myself three basic questions. 

1. Did I get what I wanted?
2. Did I get it when I wanted it?
3. Was it at a reasonable cost?

I rank each one of the questions from 1 to10 and then come up with a score. Divide that score by 3 then come up with an average.  If the average is above an 8 I feel very comfortable with giving repeat business. Of course this system does not indicate the value of the purchase before the fact but there are many resources out there that will be happy to give that opinion. This system may seem simplistic but it addresses each one of the key elements of purchasing happiness.

So, the next time you visit that great restaurant that everyone is talking about or even purchase that latest video card, ask yourself these simple questions. If your product or service scores above an 8 average you have a great fit for you. If not, you may want to consider trying another source.

Until next time, happy blogging.

Megadisclaimer: Take nothing at face value. Everything on this blog is for entertainment purposes. It won’t change the world, or even your opinion in most cases. If you believe everything that you read stop reading now! 

written by Lochshen \\ tags: aaa, consumer reports, eopinions, Ratings, zagat

There have been many articles written that express the wisdom of leaving your job for the greener pastures of self employment. This is not one of them. The point of this article is not to convince you to leave your job but to encourage you to find ways to become more economically independent. It’s what made America great and continues to be our best defense against a weakening economy . If you’re like most Americans, you have been taught that a stable job is the path to success in life. Here are a few points to consider if you have taken this point of view:

1. A single source of income is dangerous. If you feel that a job gives you security, think again.  A job provides a way to make money today. Having the ability to create value gives you security. If you have a talent or skill that is valuable to others, market it. Set up systems to utilize it. Above all, don’t limit it. Relying on your job as the sole source of your security is like jumping out of an airplane with a single parachute, why would you do it?
2. Skills diminish with age. Sorry to let you in on this but the shine wears off as time wears on (in the immortal words of Lemmy). What is incredibly easy for you at 20 may not be quite as easy at 40. As your wages increase and your ability to adapt decreases, the risk that you take by having a single source of income becomes even greater. To combat this, get paid to learn. Don’t focus all of your energy on skills that are only useful in one environment. While you are working at your job, look for opportunities to learn skills that have more universal value. Once you have these skills, market them. Take on side projects that can setup your network of contancts on the outside of your company. It may not be lucrative at first but building these bridges will pay dividends in the long run.  
3. It is easier than ever to be independent. For the first time in history we live in a truly global economy. The odds of being able to find someone that wants what you can provide is at an all time high. Take the time to ask yourself what you can do that is valuable to others. A good place to start is what you’re already doing in your job. Does it make sense to put all of your value to work for only one client?
4. Your income potential is limited with a single job. Now, I know what you’re thinking. “I know a lot of people that are doing fairly well with their job”. This may be true. It is quite possible to make a good income from a job but consider this. Can you choose how much you make? If you’re in sales, maybe but for most of the rest of us, there is a ceiling. The only way to break through that ceiling from within the system is to move up or to change jobs. Although, moving up is a good way to work within the system to achieve higher returns, expect to match those earnings with many more hours worked. A better way is to find methods to sell the output of your value many times instead of just selling your time once. After all, time is the one thing that you can never get back.
5. No one takes care of you better than you. Many people make the mistake of limiting their potential out of a sense of loyalty to a company. Although loyalty is one of the most noble traits that any individual can possess, loyalty should be given to people not companies. Companies are in business to make money. The decisions of a company are based on profit and loss not on emotional responses like loyalty. If it is profitable to install a machine that will take your place, it will happen. A few people from your office will be sad to see you pack up your things and go but the company as a whole will chug right along without you. You, on the other hand, have a vested interest in making sure that decisions benefit you. Never sacrifice your own well being to the interests of a company. If the two are in conflict, there ultimately will be a winner and a loser. If you’re willing to be the loser, you will be.

The “bottom line” is this. It’s not a bad thing to have a job. It can be a great way to learn skills, get paid, and create relationships. However, a job should never provide your sole source of stability. Through a little hard work and foresight you can provide value to more people than you realize and in the process feel more independent and secure about your future.

Until next time, happy blogging.

Megadisclaimer: Take nothing at face value. Everything on this blog is for entertainment purposes. It won’t change the world, or even your opinion in most cases. If you believe everything that you read stop reading now! 

written by Lochshen \\ tags: blog, education, finance, Independance, self-help

Sure, it’s not new. It’s not even the latest buzz on the web, but what else could you want from a radio site? Pandora allows you to create up to 100 channels of whatever content you’re in the mood for and listen indefinitely.

If you’re a random freak, this is the site for you. It has some of the classical drawbacks that radio has (it’s not your favorite song on demand) but considering the fact that it is as free makes it one of the best bargains in music.

If you haven’t tried it, give it a shot. I don’t think that you’ll be disappointed.

Megadisclaimer: Take nothing at face value. Everything on this blog is for entertainment purposes. It won’t change the world, or even your opinion in most cases. If you believe everything that you read stop reading now! 

written by Lochshen \\ tags: Add new tag, pandora, radio, reviews

WARNING!!! Jargonistic Technobable Ahead…

You know, there are some things in life that are just good. Over time there have been quite a few software packages that promise to deliver health, wealth and an oil change when you need it, but few of them deliver on the promises. Wordpress delivers.

If you haven’t upgraded to V2.5 yet, take a look at this update brief written by Sadcox. There is some helpful information here that will make life easier than it should be. If you choose not to use the automated tool, the instructions are very clear and concise. It took about five minutes from the time that I realized that a new upgrade was available until the site was completely upgraded (using the tool).

With that in mind, it somehow doesn’t seem right to take more time writing the article than it took to do the upgrade. Good luck and happy blogging.

Megadisclaimer: Take nothing at face value. Everything on this blog is for entertainment purposes. It won’t change the world, or even your opinion in most cases. If you believe everything that you read stop reading now! 

written by Lochshen

 Recently, this kind of rant has been rampant on the Internet. It seems to be one of the most popular themes in recent history. For all of the Americans who keep propagating this myth I have an idea, stop. Oh, there will always be doomsayers and malcontents but for the rest of us, let’s not drop the oars and jump ship just yet. If you have been fortunate enough to be born in the USA you have quite a few things going for you. Let’s take a look at just the top few.

1. You’re wealthy: You have the top economy in the world. Period. The closest single economy in the world is barely half that of the United States. The EU as a whole is larger but by a damn small margin. Give that a moment of reflection. It takes 27 independent countries with thousands of collective years in business to come together to rival the US economy. You’ve been in business for a little over 200 years. 2006 Statistics.

2. You’re healthy: The average life expectancy in the world has nearly doubled in less than a century. Recently the US has taken some shots for not living up to the averages of some of our European neighbors but let’s be realistic. How many more years do you want to be around to have to have your bed pan changed? This is the best time in the world to be alive. You can expect to live on average 78 years in the US. Not too shabby. The highest average is 81.   

3. You’re happy: A vast majority of America’s population is happy with their life. Even considering the most recent economic and political turmoil in the country,  as a rule Americans enjoy their lives. America’s not perfect and there are nations that score higher on the index but there is a cost associate with being the at the top. How many of us wouldn’t be happy to work a 30 hour work week?

4. You’re smart: Ooops…Honestly, the US could use a little humble pie on this one. America is losing ground with basic education. If the US intends to compete in the world market it must address this failure. The US ranks poorly on the world stage for basic education, not even making the top 25 in 2007. On the bright side, the US still lead the world in institutes of higher education. America also fair quite nicely in the amount of our population that utilize higher education opportunities.

5. You’re generous: Over the course of it’s short history, America has been a fairly good neighbor. Sure there have been times that stand out as clear lapses in judgement. There have even been times when America has made wrong choices, but when weighing the bad against the good the US has given far more than it has taken. There’s no real way to calculate the immense amount of charitable contributions that the US has made over the years.  However, it is safe to say that America has given mammoth amounts of wealth to help out other nations. Most of the people in the US genuinely like the rest of the world and are willing to show it in a very real way (heck, we even like Canada).  

So, what’s the point? Simply this. Dissent is one of the greatest things about America. People are free to like or dislike what ever they choose. The unfortunate reality is, however, that some of the folks who really don’t like the US convince those of us that do that the “American way” is on the way out. Once that is repeated over and over again more people believe it and the prophecy takes on a life of it’s own. In truth, America is exactly where we put it and it will be exactly where we take it tomorrow. The old maxim is as true as it has ever been. We will reap exactly what we sew. 

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Megadisclaimer: Take nothing at face value. Everything on this blog is for entertainment purposes. It won’t change the world, or even your opinion in most cases. If you believe everything that you read stop reading now! 

written by Lochshen