Archive for January, 2007

6 Car Problems, Solved

The online version of Real Simple Magazine posted the “solutions” to six extremely common automobile-related situations. The tips are quite rational and they address several situations I have been curious about for several years — especially the last two situations on the list:

You’re interested in buying a used car but have no idea what to look for.

You need to change the oil. You don’t know how to change the

» Continue

January 31 2007 | By Kyle | Tagged: automobile, car, situation, tips, travel | 1 comment»

Be quiet already!

Coudal Partners published a PDF of business card-sized printable handouts designed to be given to people when they are annoying you. I don’t know if the cards are meant to be a joke, but they would be a very creative way to tell someone to “pipe down.” The PDF has a variety of styles and sayings to check out. I would only recommend passing a card… » Continue

January 31 2007 | By Kyle | Tagged: handout, joke, nonverbal | 2 comments»

31 Days to Fix your Finances

During the month of January, The Simple Dollar has been posting a series entitled, “31 Days To Fix Your Finances.” The tips have been very helpful, and in celebration of the start of February, The Simple Dollar posted a summary with links to each of the 31 articles. The 31 tips are subdivided into five stages:
Stage 1: Figuring Out Your Goals and Values
Stage 2: Evaluating Your Situation
Stage… » Continue

January 31 2007 | By Kyle | Tagged: finances, Management, Money, tips | 1 comment»

Beginner’s Guide: Run Linux like any other program in Windows

There are many reasons people are hesitant to try Linux. The biggest of these reasons is that installing Linux generally requires people to do a list of difficult and unfamiliar tasks. However, I am going to introduce “virtualization” which is a fancy term for running Linux like any other program in Windows. The following article will guide you through the process of setting up Linux so… » Continue

January 31 2007 | By Kyle | Tagged: | 244 comments»

Reference Check: You Are Who Google Says You Are

If first impressions count, then you are who Google says you are. Your reputation is the first 3 pages of search engine hits.

The internet and its search engines have become so powerful, available and user-friendly that your reputation is becoming defined by what the first 3 pages of yahoo or google search hits turns up. Forget about personal and professional references for making a first impression because… » Continue

January 31 2007 | By Guest | Tagged: career, google, Management, marketing, reference | 12 comments»

How to Promote Resourcefulness In Yourself and Others

Being resourceful means knowing how to get the information and results you want. Being organized and having trusted systems are big pieces of the productivity puzzle, but sometimes “Getting Things Done” means being a creative problem-solver.

Being MacGyver
Many of you will recall the television show MacGyver, about a guy whom I consider The Poster Boy of Resourcefulness. Read a great list of MacGyver’s feats per episode

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January 31 2007 | By Lorie | Tagged: information, Resource | 5 comments»

10 Shopping Tricks That Stores Hate

Stores are here for revenue. After all they are business. There are things that they do to increase their profit. How to identify those overboard money suckers? Consumerist has a great article to help you save money. No fraud, plain cleverness. The article is focused into saving money from the consumer point of view, so stores may hate these tips when they are widely used:

Buying Loss Leaders and Leaving
Using

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January 31 2007 | By Leon | Tagged: Money, shopping | 3 comments»

26 Superbowl Sunday Recipes

If you are hosting or attending a party for the big game this coming Sunday you inevitably will be in charge of preparing at least one dish. Reader’s Digest has compiled a list of 26 recipes perfect for the Superbowl setting. The list is mostly small appetizers and snacks. If you are not going to a party this Sunday, the list would still be good to… » Continue

January 30 2007 | By Kyle | Tagged: recipe, snacks, tips | 3 comments»

Buzzword overload!

From day one, when you enter a workplace, you will be slammed with acronyms, jargon, and best of all buzzwords! You have no need to worry, the Ridiculous Business Jargon Dictionary comes to the rescue. All you do is search for your buzzword (or business slang) and it will populate the definition). A few of my favorite more phrases are below:
Blamestorming [v.] Meeting to discuss a failure and… » Continue

January 30 2007 | By Kyle | Tagged: Communication, conversation, jargon, small+talk | 4 comments»

Brain Damage Pill

“Not exercising is like taking a brain damage pill.”

Whoa. That’s pretty strong language. I know it’s true that exercising increases alertness, energy, and the ability to concentrate, and that it improves physical and emotional well-being. But brain damage pill? Isn’t that going too far?

No. That’s exactly as far as I need to go.

After several years of failing to transform my off-and-on running habit into a permanent, lifelong habit, I… » Continue

January 30 2007 | By Rob | Tagged: exercise, health, motivation | 11 comments»

26 Tips to Keep Your Computer Up and Functioning

Open Loops blogger Bert Webb and I often collaborate on projects, include guesting at each others functions. At a recent presentation I did on “Effective Workplace Communication” the laptop I was using to run my PowerPoint presentation became possessed by evil juju and began a spontaneous series of automated functions ending in a system shutdown. Bert and I had different theories about why this occurred at this… » Continue

January 30 2007 | By Reginald | Tagged: effectiveness, maintain, schedule, software, tips | 66 comments»

Become a self-starter

Psychology Today posted a motivating article called “You 2.0″ that gives tips about how to radically improve your life. The following quote from Psychology Today summarizes the article nicely:
You may feel bound to your timid demeanor, your stifling job, or your rancorous relationship, but there is one realm over which you unquestionably have control: your own head. Herein, five principles of change to turn you into

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January 30 2007 | By Kyle | Tagged: attitude, career, change, motivation | 4 comments»

27 Tips for Teleconferencing

Teleconferencing has become an important part of business today. Being able to teleconference effectively is critical. Web Worker Daily posted 27 tips for teleconferencing. As someone who rarely teleconferences, these are good tips to bookmark should that day ever come. Among these tips, the following is my favorite:
Don’t be afraid of interrupting. The conversational dynamic of conference calls can be difficult, lacking as it… » Continue

January 29 2007 | By Kyle | Tagged: Productivity, teleconferencing, workplace | 2 comments»

Interview Tips for Computer Science Students

I interviewed bunch of fresh graduates for number of software development positions. Interview graduates can go two ways - It’s interesting if they’ve done something outside their course work which can show their passions and skills. It’s tiring to hear about what subject they have studied and what are the school projects. Frankly there aren’t any interesting things to talk about school.

Dan Kegel has similar thoughts. Even better… » Continue

January 29 2007 | By Leon | Tagged: engineering, hiring, interview | no comments»

15 tools every homeowner should own

If you are a new homeowner (or apartment dweller) it’s likely that you haven’t amassed a collection of tools, just yet. MSN Real Estate created a list of the 15 most basic tools that any homeowner should have. MSN also claims that you should be able to buy all these tools for under $200: