If you're going to do anything at all, the only word you need is....

START!

I've been a big fan of Seth Godin for ages, after reading his "The IdeaVirus", published in Fast Company magazine so long ago that I don't remember. I'm sure I still have the issue somewhere, oh yes, here it is: August 2000




On Josh Spear's blog, http://joshspear.com/item/speartalks-seth-godin/, he talks with Seth about life, the universe and everything (well, almost)

One question and answer got me going:

JS: So, if you had a child, and he was about to embark on his/her first adventure in the digital frontier, what would your parting words be?

SG: Start.

I so wish I had given this advice to my kids when they were starting out.
Don't think too much, don't plan too much, (and as much as I hate paraphrasing another company) just do it.

So here's a new tag-line.

Just Start!

In these uncertain economic times, there's....

only one way you can possibly make any money.

And that is to "hitch-a-ride", so to speak.

Let me explain.

In 1849, miners in the California Gold Rush (http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/californiagoldrush.htm)
needed supplies.... scroll down to "The Cost of Living" box.

Who were the suppliers to the miners?

Are you a supplier, or are you a miner?

Which would you rather be?

Someone who worked their fingers to the bone to eke out a living, or someone who saw an opportunity to provide much needed supplies and provisions to those seeking to make their fortune?

I know which camp I would rather be in.

There will always be miners, seeking that elusive fortune.
It stands to reason, there must also be suppliers for those miners.

If you have products or services that the miners need, who do you think will make money in the short term?

And when that gold dries up, go and find some other miners.

Its callous thinking, but so was the mindset of those who worked in investment banks and financial institutions, and who have put us in this current financial position.

So go get some of your own back.

The miners will always be there - they want the riches, but they'll need someone to help them along.

Vast opportunities exist, even in these uncertain times.

Let go of your fear, embrace change, educate yourself, and make a difference.

It is my fervent wish that you do so.

I was going to say "good luck" - but the luck we wish for ourselves, only happens when we actually take action.

I wish you all the very best in your endeavours.

You deserve it.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Survive the Outbreak

There has been a lot of talk about interactive TV over the past few years.
It never happened because TV's don't let you interact (well, not simply)

But the Internet is completely different.

For example, we have a data projector connected to our PC which is connected to the Internet. We can see TV (via a TV tuner card in the PC), we can surf the web, we can play music via Windows Media Player (the PC is connected to our stereo) and see it all on the big screen.

The PC also has long leads for both mouse and keyboard (I haven't got around to wireless keyboard and mouse yet :) so I can sit on the lounge in front of a 6 foot TV screen and see everything!

But back to interactive TV / movies.

http://www.survivetheoutbreak.com/

is one such website that allows you to control the outcome of what you watch.
See the trailer below, then visit

http://www.survivetheoutbreak.com/

and try to survive!
Its great.




This is the future of entertainment people - trust me on this.
A lot has been said and written about this, but this is first example that has really got me involved (and I've been an Internet follower since 1997)

You will see more and more websites like this - all you need to do is revamp your viewing devices - get rid of that plasma or that lcd or that old standard CRT screen (TV or no) and install a data projector connected to your computer.

You'll get the *biggest* TV on offer for around $1500 (including pull-down screen) and you can use your existing computer as your media centre.

For example: I recently bought a new motherboard, 1.6 ghz cpu and 2 gig memory for AU$136.

$136!!!!!

If I didn't already have a "media centre pc", I'd be buying the following:

a) a 400w power supply (with case) - $<100
b) a TV tuner card (or USB tuner) - $<100

Put it all together, connect your Internet to this PC, and lo and behold, a complete digital entertainment environment for way less than $2000.

Way way way less than a plasma or lcd or what have you... and you can run so much stuff through it - make the PC the universe of your entertainment universe.

It *is* doable - its just the advertising from all the other "electrical retailers" that have you reaching into your back pocket for funds you don't really have - "x days interest free" - DON'T fall into their trap.

Let me say that again:

DON'T FALL INTO THEIR TRAP!

You can get the best entertainment centre for way way way less than what the major retailers are trying to sell you. Their advertising is very powerful, but you have the power too.

Do you know what it is?

It is the power to say NO.

If you have questions, I am here to answer them.

Go and have a look at

http://www.survivetheoutbreak.com/

and try to survive, and leave a comment.

Cheers
Brad

Love your children

I have been so slack in loving my children.

I miss them so much.

The old song lyric from Joni Mitchell

"Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got till it's gone? "

has never been more true...

Kids, I miss you, and love you more than I can say.

Googlewhacking

topological endomitirosis

A misspell of the second word but there you go...... :)

Try it - its fun

What is Googlewhacking?
Put exactly two search terms into Google and try to return just one result.

DIY Web Server site

Hmmm - I just can't decide to go with WordPress for the main site, or continue with the static PHP pages.

There are lots and lots and lots of themes for WordPress, but I just can't spend the time to download, install and activate every theme. Does anyone have any pointers to a really good one?
I like Mandigo, but.... hmmmm, some widgets only work on the blog template page.... hmmm.

Bradzo - Newly Licensed TV Doctor

Ok, so where's the nearest hospital?

Gotta get with those interns - stat!

:)

And as we wind on down the road...

Stumbling around the other day....

xkcd - A Webcomic - Classic

Haha! I knew it! We (baby boomers) are the best!
:)

Super fund loss

This really annoys me.

The last thing I did for money was delivering parcels for Australia Post. To do this, you have to create a company, register for GST and do all the other stuff that goes with all that.

Being a company director also means that you need to ensure you pay the 9% superannuation guarantee on behalf of your employees - in this case, myself and the other director of the company.

So we did that - I paid $3014 into my super fund to comply with the law. All good on that front - no trouble with doing that.

Today, I received my superannuation fund yearly statement for the year ended 30th June, 2008. I can see my deposit of $3014.73 - fees and taxes and charges took $452.21, leaving me with a nett of $2562.52.

All well and good I suppose.

But then, the next line item is:

Net investment loss -$1,800.86

leaving me with a nett increase of just $761.66 on my superannuation.

WOW! When I retire, that'll give me just 2.78 weeks of living on the single pensioner allowance of a measly $273.00 a week.

So for an entire year of working from 4:30am (yes, AM) to whenever it took to finish the days parcels, I managed to get an additional $761.66 into my superannuation. A whopping $14.64 a week.

I thought that super funds were supposed to earn you money over time.

Looks like the US subprime crisis is closer to home than anyone realises.

I wonder whether the executives of Lehman Bros and the like want to pay me the $1800 I lost because of the volatility of the share market, due largely to the crap decisions they took.

Thanks - you effectively ensured that I worked for $14.64 a week to help pay for my retirement, but you pocketed how many millions?

This kind of greed has got to stop. How much money do you "executives" actually need to survive day to day?

The gall of you is just incredible - how can you live with yourselves?

I am just disgusted with the lot of you.

All is not lost when you can do this...

If you thought the world was going to hell in a hand basket, this might ease things for you for a little while.

It brought a smile of wonderment to my face, and that's pretty rare these days.

International Talk Like a Pirate Day

And I completely forgot!

arrr!
where's me buccaneers?
on me buckin' 'ead!

avast, me hearties!

Twitter Followers

I can't quite believe this.

Craig Beckta is following me on Twitter.

How bizarre is that? I didn't think I was worthy!

Craig is the author of "The Secret Affiliate Code"

Thanks Craig - I'm following you back now :)

DIY Webserver

Hi gang


It was fun, but DIY Web Server now has a new home:

http://diyws.ath.cx:8080

Check it out now! :)

Cheers
Brad

Mid life crisis

Hi gang

I'm having a mid life crisis - well, not one that includes buying fast cars, or leaving my wife for a younger woman....

I've finally realised what a great place the world actually is!

And am learning that each and everyone of us has something good to contribute to society, regardless of what it is.

And that people, the world over, are generally kind and good to one another.

And that, if you put yourself out there, you'll find that you can connect with all these good people, and lights come on in your life.

It does happen!

I admit - I don't get out much. A lot of my time is spent in front of the computer. But that time has allowed me to earn money doing what I enjoy - writing computer software.

I used to do a lot of that, but time has taken its toll. I'm not as fast as I once was, and there are other people who are coming up with stuff that just blows me away.

But the essence of that is this: while all these new things are very cool from a developers point of view, they don't make a blip on the radar of the very people who could benefit from this new stuff.

So, given my interest in trying to help other small businesses to at least survive (given these tough economic times) let alone grow, it gives me a chance to learn all I can about what is out there in cyberland, understand it, learn it and implement it.

Then, I can start promoting and selling these new things to other small businesses, at a reasonable cost - to them, and because I haven't had to spend my time developing new stuff, for me also.

Its a win-win situation, and one which I am really looking forward to.

So this is my mid life crisis - finally having the understanding about what I can offer the world, but how to go about it!

I am so excited by the possibilities, but it also drives me to distraction!
What to focus on first? What to learn, to give back to others?

I am in crisis, but I will get through it.

What about you? Where are you in life? Is there something positive you can show the world? If so, take the chance. You only live once - as someone famous once said - "Life is not a rehearsal" - forget the naysayers and dreamstealers.

Get out there and do it!

Here's to your success - in everything you do!

Bradzo has an epiphany...

I received an email today from some mailing list thing I subscribe to, and it told about signing up for an "exclusive, secret" interview with Tony Robbins.

In part, it said "Here is your rare opportunity to join Tony as he shares some of his most intimate and affecting life moments. But more importantly, he outlines the peak state achievable by all of us, the state of mind that can be triggered at will to generate the energy and momentum to achieve an extraordinary quality of life."

I really thought about this when I read it - and I realised that I'm always at that state of mind - its just that I don't take action!

So I thought I'd share my epiphany with you (and thanks Alex, I remembered your post immediately) - and its this:

No matter what we do in life, we can always achieve something special if we just get out there and DO IT

Life's short, right? You're a long time dead, right? What are people going to say about you in one hundred years time? Think about all the people that we still talk about today - Shakespeare, Mozart, etc.

They got out there, did what they LOVED, took the criticisms levelled at them, yet still, here we are, a hundred years later, and we still talk of them (and in the case of the above) still listen to their music, and read their books.

What does that say about finding mindset to just get out there and DO IT?

To paraphrase another well known personality, "I think there's something in that for all of us....." :)

One thing - if you haven't already, go and check out Oza's blog -
http://ozameilleur.com/blog/

Oza and Mudd always make me smile, and I can read the passion that just shines through - if we can all find this, imagine what a wonderful world we could be living in!

Say it once - say it again - who needs Tony Robbins!?!?!?!

I'd love to hear your comments.

Congratulations to Stephanie Rice

Stephanie Rice - World Record Holder and Gold Medallist - Beijing 2008.

4:35.11 in heat
4:29:45 in Final

6~ seconds!

Katie Hoff:
4:34.63 in heat
4:31.71 in final.

Katie took ~3 seconds off her heat time, but Steph took ~6 seconds off her heat time!

Brilliant performance!

Congratulations to all of you.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

QR codes revisited

Ok, I'll settle down a bit now... no use getting worked up - no-one gives a toss anyway.

So I went into my local newsagent yesterday, and saw the latest issue of the Trading Post.

Guess what was front and centre of the front page? Yep! a QR code!

I wish I had bought that issue to see what it was all about. Will try to get a copy this week.

Stay tuned.

Adobe Air looks like a really good platform on which to develop RIA's (rich internet applications)

I've downloaded the 60day trial and have created a very small browser based application that looks great and works like a dream. I will publish it soon so keep checking back here and I'll post a link to it.

You can also create desktop apps with it as well, and its also cross platform, so Linux, Mac and PC users can all use the same application. It increases your market reach which is something that I've been looking for for a long time.

If you use Twhirl, then you're using an application built with Adobe Air.

I will be paying very close attention to Air and see where it takes me.

http://www.adobe.com/products/air

Something to learn from our younger people....

Hi folks

Today I want to give some accolades to my step-daughter Georgia.

I have lived with Georgia since she was 11 - her mother (my wife Desley) and I met in 1999. We married in 2000, and Georgia was obviously living at home with her mum. Then I moved in as the "step-father" - well, as often happens we had a tumultuous relationship.

Well, enough of all that - Georgia has just grown and grown as a person and as a strong business woman. At just 20 years old, she has started her own business, and earns more than her mother and I combined.

http://www.georgiaclare.com.au

This current link goes to her recruitment agency page, but she has her hair extensions business too, but I can't find her hair extensions business website.

No matter - Georgia is just 20 years old, and she just gets out there and doesn't let *anyone* stand in her way of being successful! For someone in this day and age, I congratulate her, and wish I had her vision and passion and commitment.

We can all do this - we just need to let go of old preconceptions. Georgia just doesn't know how to fail - it isn't a word in her vocabulary.

If you get a chance, visit her website and send her a message.

Oza Meilleur

Hey folks

Want to be made happy?!

Check out Oza's blog.

http://ozameilleur.com/blog/

Visit and be happy!