Seasonal Paradise

Kindle DX Review

The NY Times review of the Kindle DX griped about the weight of the Kindle DX being a bit heavy for long term reading. However it weighs nothing perched in it's jacket. See photo below. The Kindle DX stands quite happily on its own and is perfectly readable at 18 inches or so away.

The Kindle DX is worth the extra money just to be able to have the larger screen real estate in landscape mode, and have text large enough that I can stand it up and not hold it.

The single row of buttons is fine in the orientation shown. NY Times also griped about the elimination of the second row. I like the slightly more minimalist style, in favor of maximal viewing area.

The Kindle has quite simply, completely revolutionized my reading habits. I love this thing. I'm devouring books. Irena has one now an so does Richard, my nephew, who is an avid reader of biographies. So now we can share one library. The devices all synch up so we can pick up any device on the same account an pick up where we left off.

Now if only they just had a color version. I'd gladly dispense with my hard copy magazine subscriptions to be able to read them on a large screen color Kindle. Or perhaps Apple will beat Amazon to the punch on that one.

Lessons For Living Longer

Dan Buettner's featured in this months National Geographic Adventure issue. Dan is an endurance cyclist who has taken to living in parts of the world that have an uncanny number of centenarians. Okinawa, Sardinia, The Greek island of Ikaria, Costa Rica, California, are pretty good places to be if you want to extend your youth, and your life expectancy.

Apparently, booze is ok, in moderation. Pork is good, because pigs are close to humans genetically there may be proteins in the meat that help repair arterial damage. In short, his rules are... Move and stay active. Have a purpose in life. Take breaks. Don't overeat, eat till you're 80% full and then stop. Eat greens. Drink a glass of red wine a day, preferably Sardinian. Stay social and surround yourself with family, and people you love. Wise words. Noted.

I just picked up his book, The Blue Zones: Lessons for living longer from the people who've lived the longest.  It would be nice to have the wherewithall to be able to to converse with my great great grandkids, and be in good enough physical condition to not drool while talking with them.  

The Other Wozniak, Supermemo and Pimsleur

  
You all know Woz, but do you know Piotr Wozniak, the Polish memory whizz?  Piotr Wozniak created the program Supermemo which is a handy little piece of software that helps people remember things.  i.e. new languages.  Its not very user friendly, but I'm buying a copy anyway.  He has discovered that there's a certain optimal time delay for reviewing things that you want to memorize.  Ideally, you should review an item that you want to remember just around the time you're about to forget it.  Who knew?  If you review an item that you want to remember at that optimal point in time, you'll be more likely to remember it longer.  

This explains why the Pimsleur language system works, I think.  I can't recommend Pimsleur enough. The Pimsleur language system consists of CD/mp3's that you listen to.  As you listen, you repeat back sentences.  One new sentence, two sentences that you've heard before.  One new sentence, three or four that you've heard before.  One step forward, a couple back.  All the time, something new mixed in with older items.  The review sequences seem quite optimal because provided you repeat things back, you learn.   

Anyway, Piotr Wozniak gives this piece of good advice in this excellent article in Wired magazine written by Gary Wolf.  "You must clarify your goals, gain knowledge through spaced repetition, preserve health, work steadily, minimize stress, refuse interruption, and never resist sleep when tired. This should lead to radically improved intelligence and creativity."

If you're interested in learning a new language, check out these sites...

VoxSwap, LiveMocha, Busuu, Myngle and Babbel 

Snoozing In The uSpace

The Brookstone uSpace massage chair is cozy for one and a third.

We sat in this chair about a year ago and thought it was quite unique with its sensory deprivation approach to massage.  The hood comes over, the chairs slides down, and a light band provides a hypnotic effect in combination to music piped in from an ipod or alternative music device.  I like the calf massage, although one of the air bags has broken already, which results in my foot being pressed against in the wrong direction and hurting.  

My bad, I bought a recondition unit for $3100 instead of the $6k list price.  Its under warranty and we have an extended warranty so it will be fixed shortly.

I used the excuse of a tweaked back, and a post Xmas treat to buy the uSpace.  Alas, my back is still tweaked and the massager hasn't helped.  Now I'm using a Chinese masseuse and heat lamps to get the tweaked ligament in my back fixed.  Its not the fault of the chair.  The ligament needs rest, not pounding by mechanical massage balls.  And thats a key difference between massage au naturelle and these automated machines.  The machine is great for routine massage, but if you need something fixing or have a particularly achey back, you'll probably need a more authentic touch by a trained masseuse.  Don't count on these machines for your sports injury recuperation.  They'll probably do more harm than good.  

The massage routines are varied and thorough, yet we can set the machine to work a particular zone in a number of ways.  Vibrating, kneading, pounding, warming.  There's lots of options with this machine.  The foot massage is surprisingly hard, but not varied.  Air bags simply press the foot into a fixed ball.  The calves get a good squeeze.  I'm not sure what the bags under my derrier are supposed to do.  They're kinda useless.  But the back massager is top notch, as best an automoton can deliver.  I'd recommend picking up a reconditioned unit with ane extended warranty, but don't pay the $6k list for a uSpace.

Kindle Review

I bought a Kindle on eBay and it was delivered this week, on the very same day the Kindle 2 was announced. Damn-und-blast! Having had a chance to look over the Kindle 1, and the reviews of the new one I think the first iteration might suit me better. I actually like the little scroll wheel selector. It's been replaced on the new version with a pointer. But there's something appealingly retro about the wheel. It's simple and easy to work with. The weight of the first and second version Kindle are pretty similar, despite the Kindle 2 being a lot thinner. So no advantage there. The screen refreshes 20% faster on the new one, apparently. Thats nice. But they removed the SD card slot. The SD card slot in my Kindle 1 will come in handy for the Audible.com books I plan on loading into it. Beyond that, the Kindle 1 just has a look that is pleasing to me. I like the little slanted keys, and prefer a sizable next page button to the Kindle 2 characterless keys and smaller next page buttons. I also like the rubber back on the Kindle 1, to the metal back of the Kindle 2. All in all, I'm a fan of Kindle and would highly recommend it. The whispernet works great. I also looked at the Sony book reader but was put off by the jacked up prices of the books. eBooks should cost less, and Amazon's $10 pricing on most books hits the mark. Still, what were they thing charging for access to blogs like TechCrunch. That just doesn't compute.

Top Picks For Office Tools To Give You An Unfair Advantage Over Your Competition - Hardware

I use and recommend all of the following Hardware and Stuff...

Apple MacBook Pro
17" laptop is the most relible, best value laptop on the planet.
Battery Geek 19v DC 222 Battery Pack
10 hours of battery power for Apple Mac Pro, and powers HP HDX when using it at trade shows.  Saves paying for electric.
Blackberry Curve
Sleekest, best Blackberry phone to date. Great with Gmail.
HP DV1000 Laptop
Great little backup laptop for working on planes.  Extended battery gets me to a days work.
HP DV5000 Laptop
Irena's back up laptop. Reliable workhorse.
HP HDX Laptop
Irena's new 20" screen laptop. Also handy for trade show booth display.
HTC Advantage
The phone I use when abroad. Best phone/computer on the planet. Works great internationally. High speed internet, and great communications sound quality on bluetooth. Sucky keyboard. use the Stowaway.
iPhone
Best iPod yet. Best browser on phone ever created. But the Blackberry Curve is better for email.
Ironkey
Stores passwords and gives me secure browsing. Alas, only works on PC, but Apple software is in the works.
Mercedes Benz SLK320, 2002
Fast, 140+mph, hard top convertible you can pick up for $20-$25k. Get the wood dash and inlaid steering wheel rather then the one with the (cold) brushed metal.
Motorola MD681 Phone
Bulletproof, reliable, industrial strength office phone that works well with Broadvoice VOIP lines.
Pontiac Grand Am, 2003
Built in the same factory that they make Toyota's in, and is reliable and super cheap to run and repair. One of the nicest looking cars on the road for the money, if you can get past the name. 
Sony Bluetooth HBH-IV835
Smallest high quality bluetooth headset around. 
Think Outside XTBT01
Great folding keyboard, I feel like James Bond whenever I crack this thing open and set it up with the HTC Advantage.
Valrico, Florida Home
15 mins to Tampa, 70 mins to Orlando theme parks, 35 mins to airport, brand new 6 bedroom, 3 bath, 3 car garage home on golf course overlooking lake with cherry wood kitchen for $300k! Best deal in the country right now, bar Plano, Texas (where I have three more houses). The weather is more moderate than Miami, and Florida has no state income tax, so save 6-10% on state income taxes! New York is an inexpensive and short flight away.

Finance, Management, Telephony, Web, Fun and Hardware have been covered.  That about covers it.  Please click on the 'Tips' category (see category cloud to the right) for future reference.

Please leave a comment if you have any additional hardware and stuff that you can recommend from personal experience.

Top Picks For Office Tools To Give You An Unfair Advantage Over Your Competition - Fun Stuff

I personally use and recommend all of these Fun Tools and Toys...

Audible
Convenient downloadable audible books website. 
Netflix
For my evening break. I'm switching to Blockbuster so I can pick up vids in-store.
Rhapsody
$100 a year for 2 million songs and it plugs right in to my Sonos.  Nice.
Sonos
Simple. Music throughout my home, without the CD's.
Think Geek
My favorite site for sending geeky gifts to my clients. e.g.WiFi T-Shirt, Plasma Mug
Wineglobe
The site I'll be using for next years Xmas gifts for clients.
Zagat
For finding the best restaurants in town for business meetings, and romantic evenings out.

I'll add a final list for everything 'Hardware' that I use next Thursday.  Finance, Management, Telephony, Web and Fun have been covered.  Click on the 'Tips' category (see category cloud to the right) for future reference.

Please leave a comment if you have any additional fun sites and services that you can recommend from personal experience.

Top Picks For Office Tools To Give You An Unfair Advantage Over Your Competition - Web

I use and recommend all of the following Web tools and sites ...

Amazon
Time is money so why trail around at real world stores?  I use Amazon to find it, buy it, and ship it, in seconds.
Cision
For their int'l press contacts database, so I can follow up with press when we post summaries of their articles on OPW and SNW.
Conduit
Custom toolbar I offer to my readers to help keep them connected with the news.
Feedblitz
Allows my readers to get new blog posts in their email every day.
Feedburner
My preferred RSS feed. Some good publicity tools also.
Flock
A leg up on Firefox.  My new preferred browser.  Great RSS reader.
Google Reader
Simple, foolproof web-borne RSS reader.
Plaxo
I use this service for ecards and birthday reminders more than anything else.
Sidestep
Most time efficient site for finding best-fit, best-priced flights, hotels and rental cars.
SpamArrest
No more spam.  Nada, zero, killed it all.
Typepad
Fairly simple, reliable blogging engine. Word Press is my #2 choice.
WebMasterWorld
For getting the skinny on SEO and online marketing.

I'll add lists under categories for Fun and Hardware that I use each Thursday for the next 2 weeks.  Finance, Management, Telephony and Web have been covered so far.  Click on the 'Tips' category (see category cloud to the right) for future reference.

Please leave a comment if you have any additional web productivity tools that you can recommend from personal experience.

Top Picks For Office Tools To Give You An Unfair Advantage Over Your Competition - Telephony

I personally use and recommend all of the following Telephony tools...

Broadvoice
For my home phone and soft phone. $30 a month for free int'l calling.
eVoice
I've used this voicemail-to-email service for some clients PR lines.
Free Conference
For conference calls and recording interviews.
Grand Central
Another handy tool I use for voicemail with some clients PR lines. 
Jajah
Handy when abroad for calling USA from my foreign cell phone.
Jangl
For widget based anonymous calling off blogs and profiles. (Full Disclosure: Jangl is a client of Courtland Brooks)
Send2Fax
Handy online fax service.
Simulscribe
Takes all my voicemails, transcribes them into emails.  Huge time saver.
Skype
Backup for my Broadvoice line.  Also for forwarding calls to whatever international cell phone I'm on, and for on the fly conference calls.

I'll add lists under categories for Web, Fun and Hardware that I use each Thursday for the next 3 weeks. Finance, Management and Telephony have been covered so far.  Click on the 'Tips' category (see category cloud to the right) for future reference.

Please leave a comment if you have any additional telephony tools that you can recommend from personal experience.

Top Picks For Office Tools To Give You An Unfair Advantage Over Your Competition - Management & Communication

I use and recommend all of the Management, Collaberation and Communications tools following...

Basecamp
For sharing documents and collaberating on documents.
Camp Fire
So we can all speak at the same time. Makes conference calls more time efficient.
Earth Class Mail
Virtual PO Box.  They scan in mail and email it to me.
Gmail
Simple, reliable online email with super fast search.
Google Calendar
Simple online calendar that allows me to share calendars with my team.
LinkedIn
For managing my business network and finding senior level contacts at companies my clients want to do business with.
Task Anyone
For managing my team and reporting to clients, automatically.

I'll add lists under categories for Telephony, Web, Fun and Hardware that I use each Thursday for the next 4 weeks.  Finance and Management have been covered so far.  Click on the 'Tips' category (see category cloud to the right) for future reference.

Please leave a comment if you have any additional management and collaberation tools and sites, etc, that you can recommend from personal experience.

Top Picks For Office Tools To Give You An Unfair Advantage Over Your Competition - Finances

Evan Marc Katz asked me for some recommendations on office tools and I started writing an email, and then thought I'd share the tools with everyone.  Good luck with them.  I currently use all of the following...

ADP RUN
For the best deal on easy payroll processing.  Paycycle and SurePayroll are more comprehensive alternatives.
Bank of America
Allowed me to open 16 accounts with no monthly fees, so clients mail payments directly to dedicated accounts.  Helps streamline invoicing and lighten my admin load. The portfolio manager allows me to track all my investments in one place and graph progress.
Chase Freedom Credit Card
1% cashback, adds up fast.  Make sure they give you a card type without a cap on the rebate!
Identity Guard
Keeps track of my credit rating and alerts me of identity fraud attempts.
Freshbooks
An essential tool for sending invoices.
OzForEx
Stop getting ripped off on foreign exchange.
Paypal
Leave your money online here for the best paying money market account around. Currently   4.6%. Takes three days, and is free to transfer money to any bank account, when you need it.
Paytrust
Pays all my bills, automatically. I also use it to pay the Courtland Brooks team.
Shoeboxed
I email and mail my receipts and they take car of scanning them in.
Vanguard
Check out the Emerging Markets, S&P 500 and Target Retirement indexed funds.
Upromise
Saving up for my future kids education.

I'll add lists under categories for Management, Telephony, Web, Fun and Hardware that I use each Thursday for the next 5 weeks.  Click on the 'Tips' category (see category cloud to the right) for future reference.

Please leave a comment if you have any additional finance tools or sites, etc, you can recommend from personal experience.