Original post here: Getting Things Done

Finalement, me voilà enfin arrivé et je vous écris en ce moment même d'un hôtel de la ville de Quatre-Bornes, à l'intérieur des terres de l'Ile Maurice.

Puisque je n'écris pas souvent sur ma vie privée, je vais vous donner quelques explications dans cet article. Ce sera une occasion pour vous de mieux connaître votre serviteur…

Pour comprendre mon parcours, il faut savoir que j'ai toujours eu la bougeotte. On pourra retrouver l'origine de ce mode de vie dans les multiples déménagements liés au travail de mon père, qui était receveur à La Poste. Ou bien dans mes origines polonaises et italiennes, qui font que ma famille est éparpillée.

Mais plus vraissemblablement, j'imagine que cet attrait pour l'exploration fait partie de ma nature. J'ai toujours aimé les expériences décalées, l'exotisme qu'on trouve sous de nouveaux horizons. Le but est toujours de m'intégrer au maximum avec la culture locale et pour cela, rien de tel que les séjours prolongés. C'est ce que Tim Ferriss appelle les Mini-retraites, à part que dans mon cas je continue à travailler à temps plein.

C'est ainsi que j'ai pu découvrir quelques régions du monde :

Etats-Unis, en 2001 : un job d'été de 2 mois et demi à Avalon, New Jersey, sur la côte Est. Ce fût ma première expérience dans un pays anglophone, et l'accent américain a été dur à saisir. Etant venu sans trop de moyens, j'ai surtout travaillé sans relâche, exerçant même deux boulots le dernier mois. C'était ce que mon école d'ingénieur avait appellé un stage ouvrier. Le but était de travailler dans un emploi peu qualifié, et j'avais trouvé pour ma part un boulot dans une sandwicherie, ainsi que dans un Yacht Club pour faire la plonge. Une bonne manière de connaître la vraie valeur de l'argent. Accessoirement, j'ai échappé à l'attentat du 11 septembre, puisque mon vol de retour était prévu quelques jours plus tard. Mais j'ai réellement lu le drame dans les visages des américains.

Irlande, en 2001/2002 : grâce au programme d'échange européen Eurasmus, j'ai pu étudier pendant un an à Dublin, la capitale de l'Irlande. Je garde un souvenir très agréable de cette période, où j'ai découvert la culture des pubs, de la danse de salon et de la musique irlandaise. Une époque riche en rencontres, avec une population jeune et cosmopolite. Une croissance économique remarquable, qui permet de trouver facilement quelques petits boulots du weekend comme homme sandwich(sic!) et inventoriste. Sans compter toutes les possibilités d'exploration des merveilleux paysages de l'arrière pays.

Angleterre, en 2003/2004 : en 2003, j'obtiens mon diplôme d'ingénieur en informatique. Pourtant, il n'est pas question pour moi de me fixer en France. Je contacte donc Khrys, mon meilleur pote du temps de l'Irlande, et on se motive pour partir à la conquête de l'Angleterre. Toujours sans trop de moyen, on se retrouve bientôt à camper en périphérie de Londres, dans une région appelée le M4 Corridor, réputée pour son activité dans l'informatique. Nos journées se résument à marcher pendant une heure jusqu'au centre ville de Slough, la ville principale des environs, noter les appartements et offres d'emploi potentielles de la région, puis appeler ces contacts avant de rentrer sous la tente. C'est sans doute la période où j'ai mangé le plus de sandwichs de pain de mie anglais de ma vie. Et aussi une période de bon délire et de créativité exacerbée, on a même eu l'idée de faire cuire nos oeufs durs au sèche main des toilettes du camping! Finalement, après avoir trouvé une maison que l'on partagera avec ma cousine, on ne trouvera rien d'autre que des petits boulots et on se séparera en mars 2004.

Ecosse, en 2004/2006 : je trouve finalement un boulot plus ou moins sérieux dans un centre d'appel technique d'IBM à Greenock en Ecosse. J'ai comme le sentiment d'être revenu au temps de l'Irlande, à part que là je suis salarié à plein temps. C'est encore une fois l'occasion de faire connaissance avec une communauté internationale forte et un peuple tout aussi mélomane que les irlandais (j'habite non-loin d'une salle de concert). Je reprends aussi mes cours de rock dans un club très professionnel et sympatique qui s'appelle Ceroc (que j'ai déjà décris précédemment). Cependant, dans ce nouvel emploi, je reste sur ma faim, ce n'est pas ce qu'on attends d'un ingénieur. Il est donc temps de virer de bord.

Madagascar, en 2006/2008 : je suis parti réellement sur un coup de tête à Madagascar. Je n'y avais jamais mis les pieds, mais il a suffit d'une femme pour me tenter, bien que nos chemins se soient séparés il y a maintenant bien longtemps. Avec le recul, je crois que ce fût une belle occasion de me stimuler à quitter mon emploi en Ecosse, où je m'endormais doucement dans la routine. Bref, peu après avoir trouvé un écho à mes envois de CVs et de lettres de motivation, me voici enfin à Madagascar, avec un poste en tant que développeur en informatique.

A mon arrivée à Antananarivo, j'ai eu l'impression d'arriver dans un grand village. Certes par le nombre de la population, c'est indéniablement une ville, mais tout est resté au stade artisanal : pas un seul feu de traffic routier, des voitures dignes d'un musée de l'automobile, avec en prime des pousse-pousses et autres chars à zébu, des petites rues étroites et chemins de terre entre les habitations, et bien sûr d'innombrables gargottes et autres petits magasins qui vendent tout au détail. Les habitants eux-même donnent l'impression de tous se connaître, et même de se surveiller, se jalouser, chose facilitée par les gardiens et autres commerçants, qui ne se lassent pas d'observer les passants. Et je confirme que le comérage est bien la force la plus destructrice de l'univers!

Globalement, ceux qui ont les moyens vivent bien à Madagascar, et peuvent se payer certains luxes coûteux en Europe comme les bonnes, gardiens et autres produits artisanaux. Tout ceci à condition de faire très attention à ne pas froisser les familles puissantes de la capitale, dont certaines forment de vraies mafias. Car malgré le bureau de lutte anti-corruption, tout s'achète à Madagascar, et en particulier la justice.

Malgré les drames qu'ils vivent au quotidien, la plupart des malgaches mènent une vie respectable et courageuse.
Les hommes et les femmes travaillent de concert et perpétuent la culture des ancêtres tout en restant ouverts aux étrangers. Et si l'on prends le temps de découvrir la langue malgache, accompagnée de quelques paroles de chansons, les visages s'illuminent et les barrières culturelles tombent. Le fait est que les malgaches savent vivre dans l'instant présent, affronter les épreuves difficiles avec le sourire et s'émerveiller de toute chose, un état d'esprit depuis longtemps oublié dans nos sociétés modernes.

Si l'on ajoute à tout cela l'ensemble des paysages superbes de l'île, il est indéniable que Madagascar vaut largement le coup d'être visité. Je garde un souvenir indélébile de ce pays riche de tellement de ressources, qui a su garder une identité forte et un charme certain.

Ile Maurice, 2008/? : ici, je ne peux que vous parler de mes premières impressions. Je suis arrivé à l'Ile Maurice le 1er octobre et je travaille en ce moment à la Cyber City. La population est bigarée, hindoue en majorité, puis créole, blanche et asiatique par ordre d'importance. Le climat est doux et les lagons transparents, surtout lorsque le ciel est bien bleu. Bref, un petit paradis pour les touristes et ceux qui ont les moyens. Pour les mauriciens, la vie est nettement plus dure, et ça se traduit notamment par une activité nocturne très limitée en dehors des coins touristiques. A moi maintenant de découvrir la culture mauricienne ainsi que la langue locale : le créole mauricien.

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Original post here: Argancel

Image via Wikipedia

Posted in Money Matters

People often think having a budget is the same as not spending money. Nothing could be further from the truth. Budgeting is about tracking and controlling your spending, not living like a hermit in a cave.

Even when finances are tight there are ways to get the most out of life, without excessive spending. The five keys to living cheap:

• Plan your meals, outings and social events.
• Learn your options: free events, cheap movie nights, discount nights at restaurants, coupons, special sales, etc.
• Conserve and avoid wasting electricity, food, heat, hot water.
• Be creative and find ways to save while keeping life interesting.

Grocery Shopping & Meal Planning

Developing an interest in food and cooking keeps your grocery budget down and improves the quality of what you eat. Preparing food from scratch is cheaper than buying processed foods and is healthier for you. If you develop basic cooking skills, you will be able to make dishes which are better tasting than those served in many restaurants. Once you get the hang of preparing home-made burgers, you’ll never eat in McDonald’s again.

• Plan your meals. Use your plan to develop your shopping list.
• Get containers for storing or freezing leftovers.
• Pack a lunch and snacks.
• Buy no-name instead of name brands.
• Get inspired by recipes. Find them on the internet or buy recipe books from used book stores. Share and exchange recipes with friends.
• Variety is important. A boring meal plan makes it too easy to end up splurging.
• Avoid convenience stores. There is a cost for the convenience.
• Replace cleaning products with cheaper environmentally friendly alternatives. Use vinegar and hot water instead of a window cleaner. Baking soda has a number of household uses such as scrubbing pans, clearing drains or deodorizing.
• Replace paper towels with old clothing or rags for cleaning.

Buy in Bulk

• Cereals or granola. Try to avoid highly priced boxed cereal.
• Buy meat in family packs, then freeze in meal-size portions. Make sure you wrap the well before freezing so as to avoid freezer burn.
• Buy a bag of popping corn instead of expensive microwavepopcorn. Use an air popper (you might find one at a yard sale) or pop it on the stove.
• Snacks. Nuts or other bulk items make great snacks.
• Spices are very expensive when bought in containers. Cheaper in bulk.

Make Smart Choices at Home Small choices can equal big savings.

• Television: Do you really need cable? If you have high speed Internet there are places where you can watch some shows for free or buy episodes.
• Buy Used: Get to know the used marketplace, like Value Village, Frenchy’s or go to garage sales.
• Call long distance during discount times or get a calling card. If you don’t know when the cheap times are, or if you’re using a cell, you’re probably paying much more than you have to.

Be Social

You don’t have to give up your social life, just because you’re living cheaply; find creative ways to be sociable for little or no money.

• Get physical. Go for walks, hikes, tobagganing or biking. Camping if you want to get out of town.
• Free events in your community, such as lectures, movies, farmers’ markets, art shows.
• Rent a movie with a bunch of friends. It is a lot cheaper than going to a movie. (see popcorn above)
• Dinner parties. Have a potluck or invite a group of friends over to make sushi or tacos.
• Order too much at a restaurant? Take it home in a doggy bag for tomorrow’s lunch.

Recommended: The Zen Habits Handbook for Life!

Original post here: Ian McKenzie

But even more interesting is the fact that, despite the ubiquity of this saying, almost everybody tries to avoid its message. Don’t get me wrong, people are still putting a high value on time, making it a very precious asset, but almost nobody really treats time the same way they treats their money. People are eager for free time, they are making a lot of effort to gain some extra time, but once they get it, they are wasting it instantly, in a way they will never do to their money. In this post I’ll try to share a few simple and easy ideas for really keeping your time safely in your wallet, the same way you do with your finances.

Keep it clean

If you are a person moderately rich, I bet your wallet looks like a pharmacy. It’s clean and ordered and you know in less than a second where to find the ten dollar bill, as well as the Mastercard you use for shopping only. And even if you are not a moderately rich person, but you have a positive attitude towards money, I bet your wallet is clean and ordered. I know mine is. And I know I have quite a positive attitude towards money.

So why don’t we do the same with our time? For me, that translates in a very clean and ordered working routine. If time will be sliced into ten, twenty and fifty dollars bills, I would know instantly how much do I have left, and where I find the needed bill every time I need it. Slicing my time in ordered pieces, the same way I did with bills and cards in my wallet helped me a lot. And is such a simple yet powerful analogy: keep your time as your wallet.

Spend only what you have

That, my friend, is very healthy advice. Even if you will apply this only to money, it will make you happy at some point in your life. I tried to keep myself away from credit, partly because I know I have a rather risky attitude (by the way, after 10 years of entrepreneurship and successful business, I still like to embrace risks), and partly because I just didn’t feel well about it. That saved me several times in difficult situations, most of them business related, like a tight cashflow or a bad market. If I would have credit in those situations, my life would have been much more difficult.

But when you translate this habit into time management, well, you will discover some interesting stuff. Spending only the time you have means to do what you have to, when you have to. Working late hours, for instance, will be a violation of this percept. Because you will be spending the time you simply don’t have for work. Even if it seems it’s for work, it isn’t, it’s your personal time. And by using this time for working, you are making a credit. You take by credit from your free time and pour it into work time. Yeap, you know that already: sooner or later you’ll have to pay that credit. With interest, of course.

Buy only what you can afford

Although this seems a repetition of the previous habit, there is a subtle difference. In this case, you do spend only what you have. But if you are spending only what you have to buy a thing that you can’t afford, well, that’s bad. If you give all your paycheck for a fantastic trip to Hawaii, when you get back you’ll be in a rather tricky situation: you had the time of your life, but your life needs some fast cash, or you’ll be in trouble with those bills… It’s the fact that you should correctly evaluate your financial capacity and keep your spending under control.

Now translate this for time management: whenever you have a chunk of free time, try to slip in only what you can do in that chunk of time, not more. This comes to correctly evaluate your working and time consumption capacity and keep your procrastination under control. You might want to stretch that piece of time, but you really can’t. You can’t stretch a ten dollar bill into a twenty dollar bill, so you won’t be able to make an hour from twenty minutes. Don’t try to bargain for it, it won’t work.

Save some time

Every intelligent people know the importance of the savings. Making deposits, investing in trust funds, buying stocks from profitable businesses, all of these are savings activities. By doing this constantly you ensure that your money won’t get devalued and that you can also make some profit out of it. It’s a clever move. And I bet you put a lot of effort into finding the best way to save your money. And also you do enjoy spending your savings, right?

But I’m not so sure if you’re doing the same way with your time. Have you ever thought to save some time for yourself? Have you ever thought to manage your activities in a flexible schedule, so you can quickly step out from the routine and take some time off? Saving the time for yourself is highly rewarding. If you have money deposits or other type of investments that are doing well, why not starting to invest in some time for yourself? Time for personal development, or for leisure, or for family, or just for enjoying life. 

Once spent, stop thinking about it

Whenever I buy something, I never look back. That’s another healthy habit I have about money. I don’t have regrets or second thoughts. If it proves expensive after I bought it, well, so be it, I’ll bargain better next time. But once spent, I never think about that money again. I only focus on what’s left in my wallet, or on what I can attract by using my skills. If you think at money as raw energy, you’ll understand that once declined into matter, that energy is gone for good. So once transformed in goods, that money cease to exist, is literally dead. And is so much healthier to focus on life than on death, don’t you think?

Well, try to do the same with your time. Never look back, never have second thoughts, never regret something, Whatever that was in the past, those times are gone. Of course, you can enjoy memories, you’ll always have that, but if you constantly live surrounded by memories, you’ll lost connection with this present time. You’ll not actually live this life, you’ll not allow to the time to manifest into your existence. So, leave the past in the past, and don’t fantasize too much about the future, this present time you are living in it right now is actually all you have.

Use the best tools

You’re searching the best banks for your money. You’re buying the best consultancy services and apply for the best credit card deals. Great! So you’re actually using the best tools for your money. Because it is so important to you, right? You just can’t afford to have nothing but the best.

But do you do the same with your time? Do you even have tools for managing your time? In the last 10 years I used a variety of tools for time management, starting form paper based systems, to complex digital setups. But I gradually invested in better and better time management systems and processes. I learned the Getting Things Done methodology, which is a great process for time management (and even more), and I invested in state of the art tools for implementing GTD. I try to use nothing but the best to organize my time. Yeap, because it is so important to me, and I can’t afford nothing but the best for it.

Original post here: dragos

Anyways, at every service, whether for the High Holidays or not, there’s always a prayer for the government. I usually gloss that over, since it’s pretty vague. But this time, the words popped out of the page and struck a real chord with me. Somehow, this time, the words of the prayer seem quite relevant to the times.

As excerpted from the Jewish Virtual Library:

The prayer for the government is a biblical prayer, and is read during the Saturday morning service on Shabbat. The concept of praying for the wellbeing of the government was started in 586 B.C.E. by the prophet Jeremiah after the first expulsion from Jerusalem. Seeing as the Jewish people could not govern themselves, they implored God to guide their foreign rulers. David Abudarham first introduced this prayer into the modern siddurim (prayer book) in the 14th century. Jews have adopted different prayers for the governments of the countries in which they live. The prayer is read aloud after the Torah reading, but before the Torah is placed back into the ark. This blessing asks God to guard the proceedings of the government and the nation’s leaders.

Here’s the prayer as is usually translated:

Our God and God of our ancestors: We ask Your blessings for our country, for its government, for its leader and advisors, and for all who exercise just and rightful authority. Teach them your insights that they may administer all affairs of state fairly, that peace and security, happiness and prosperity, justice and freedom may forever abide in our midst. Creator of all flesh, bless all the inhabitants of our country with Your spirit. May citizens of all races and creeds forge a common bond in true harmony to banish all hatred and bigotry and to safeguard the ideals and free institutions which are the pride and glory of our country. May this land under Your Providence be an influence for good throughout the world, uniting all people in peace and freedom and helping them to fulfill the vision of your prophet: “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they experience war any more.” And let us say: Amen.

How can anyone disagree?

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Original post here: rexreed

I have recently come across a company called Actuate that offers a platform for creating Rich Internet Applications. For folks that are building rich applications that want to get around the difficulties of working with traditional web applications, the company offers a portfolio of content- and application-specific business intelligence products. Business Intelligence offerings, for those that don’t know, are methods for extracting information from the various systems you have in your organization and analyzing and presenting it in a way that can be better understood.

The Actuate system provides a means to meet nformation and online channel application, performance Management and Java Reporting needs. It would probably read like an ad if I wrote more on this, so read here for more information about their business intelligence solution. Let me know what you think — what sort of muses are you working on?

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Original post here: rexreed

In pursuing my muse, I have become somewhat dependent on credit card debt. I think even Tim mentions aggressive use of credit cards to finance his muse business. The current economic climate is making it harder for folks like us. More importantly, one of Tim’s techniques is to transfer balances from one credit card to another, using the 0% APR balance transfer techniques. Well, thanks to new credit card regulations, it may be harder to get a 0% APR balance transfer.

One of the tools I have been recently using is SmartBalanceTransfers.com, which allows you to compare a wide selection of 0% APR balance transfer credit card offers from leading banks and use our balance transfer calculator and articles to help you save the most money possible when you transfer a balance online.

The site is prouced by a company called Credit Card Depot Inc, which claims to have helped tens of thousands of consumers find new credit cards online. The SmartBalanceTransfers.com site is designed to provide folks like us targeted information necessary to maximize the savings that can be reaped with a balance transfer credit card.

If you’re using a credit card to fund a muse, like I am, I think this will be worth a visit.

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Original post here: rexreed

Check out my free new ebook, Clutter 101: The Definitive Guide To De-cluttering Your Life

Original post here: James

Original post here: James

Some of these seem to contrived to be accidental; I presume some are written to be clever; and some could easily be typos and other mistakes. The list has been around forever and I still get a kick out of it.

• Free Yorkshire Terrier 8 years-old. Hateful little dog.
• Free Puppies: 1/2 Cocker Spaniel 1/2 Sneaky Neighbour’s Dog
• Free Puppies: Part German Shepherd Part Stupid Dog
• German Shepherd - 85lbs. Neutered. Speaks German. Free!
• Amana Washer $100. Owned by clean bachelor who seldom washed.
• Snow blower for sale. Only used on snowy days.
• 2 Wire mesh butchering gloves: 1 5-finger, 1 3-finger, pair $15.
• Tickle Me Elmo, Still in Box, Comes with its own 1988 Mustang, 5L, Auto Excellent Condition, $6,800.
• 83 Toyota Hunchback — $2,000
• Star Wars Job of the Hut — $15
• Full-Sized Mattress 20 Year Warranty Like New! Slight urine smell.
• FREE 1 Can of Pork & Beans With Purchase of 3 BR / 2 BTH Home
• Nordic Track $300 Hardly used. Call Chubbie.
• Bill’s Septic Cleaning “We Haul American Made Products”
• Shakespeare’s Pizza - Free Chopsticks
• HUMMELS - Largest Selection Ever! “If it’s in stock, we have it!”
• Harrisburg Postal Employees Gun Club
• Georgia Peaches California Grown - $.89/lb.
• Nice Parachute Never Opened - Used Once Slightly Stained
• American Flag 60 Stars - Pole Included - $100
• Tired of Working for only $9.75 per hour? We offer profit sharing and flexible hours. Starting Pay: $7-9 per hour.
• Exercise Equipment Queen Size Mattress & Box Springs - $175
• Our Sofa Seats the Whole Mob! And it’s made of 100% Italian Leather.
• Open House! Body Shapers Toning Salon Free Coffee & Donuts
• Kellogg’s Pot Tarts - $1.99/box.

Recommended: Make Money with Chitika eMiniMalls Cost Per Click Advertising for your Blog

Original post here: Ian McKenzie