Islander’s Analog life….

I will be attending Microsoft tech*Ed 2008 (Developers) in Orlando, Florida this week.  Keynote address by Bill Gates!

Stats:

• 5,000 developers
• 615 training sessions
• 16 technical tracks

Never ever buy a brand new car again!

Why?  the minute you drive that new car off the dealer’s parking lot, the car has lost value.  A car can loose up to 25% of its value the first year. Then the percentage of devaluation slows down even-thought it continues at a much slower pace.  The second year you own a car, it will loose up to 15% of its value and so on.

The worst years (the biggest drop in value) are usually the first 2 or 3 years.  So get a new car which is used (low mileage and in excellent condition)

Lets do the math, if you buy a car which is 2  or 3 years old, you could save anywhere from 25% to 40% of the retail value.  Lets say that a brand new car would you $20,000.00 if you wait to buy this same car 2 years, you could save anywhere from $5,000 to $8,000 and buy the same car for about $12,000 to $15,000

In other words, let someone else pay for the devaluation of that car and then you buy it when it has lost most of its value and the rate of devaluation is smallest.

I did purchased a 2 year old car with 15K miles, it still smell new and there was nothing wrong with it.  I actually saved about 10% due that this car was in high demand and it was fully loaded (leather seats, moon roof, etc)  I found my car on eBay Motors.

For piece of mind,  make sure you get an extended warranty through your bank (not through the car dealer).  The warranties offered by banks, are exceptionally good, they will set you back about $1000 to $2000 and you can have that money roll into the car loan.  Theses warranties can last up to 6 years or 100K miles and pretty much cover everything.  Mine paid for itself the first time I visited the dealer, I had a problem with the outside mirrors and the dealers suggested replacing them.  They did, and it cost me about $900 to have the 2 mirrors replaced.  I felt like I was robbing a bank!

If you are an iPhone user and want to play with all the native applications available for the iPhone, your only choices are to wait for Apple to release the new Firmware (June 2008 ??) or basically jailbreak your iPhone.

iPhones are not cheap but they are worth every penny.  The last thing you want to do is do something to break this great gadget.  Well, there is a piece of software called Ziphone that will jail break your phone in a matter of seconds.

For those that don’t know, jailbreak means to open the iPhone so you can run native applications via an awesome program called the installer.    The installer basically works like a program / package manager.  Where you select from a list of available applications the one you would like to install and over the Edge or WiFi network the application will be downloaded and install in your iPhone (normally within seconds)  Very effortless process.  I love this process for installing applications due that it allows a novice user or an expert to install application quickly without making mistakes and breaking something within the phone.

The number of available applications is impressible.  You can spend many hours just looking at all the available applications.  I am putting together a list of the top 10 applications that should be available shortly.

The steps to jailbreak the iphone with ziphone are real easy:

1. download and run ziphone (select jailbreak only)
2. plug your iphone
3. follow ziphone instructions, this step should take just a few seconds

Losing weight is not a hard thing if you follow some basic principles.  I am not saying that it is easy, but rather if you are disciplined and follow some common sense advice, you should be able to lose many pounds in a matter of weeks.  Warning: don’t lose weight too fast.  This is not good at all health wise.  I believe the max safe is about  5 to 8 pounds per month (about 2 pounds per week)

The golden principles are : Diet and Exercise

First, you need to lower the calorie intake at the same time that you burn calories.  There are many effective diets out there, just pick the one that you think is the healthiest and easier for you to stick to.  Smaller portions and more fruits and vegetables are always a good idea.  Also, make sure you are not just doing a diet per say, but rather a lifestyle change.   Start eating healthy, and try to stick to it from now on.

Second, start burning more calories by doing cardio exercises. You should at least do cardio exercises 3 times a week a minimum of 20 to 30 minute.   If you want to loose weight faster, exercise 5 times a week for about 30 to 45 minutes.  Make sure you are capable of exercising, if in doubt, see your doctor.  You really don’t want to do more harm than good.

Get yourself a decent training machine.  I chose the Schwinn 438 Elliptical Trainer and I have never looked back.  My wife and I both love the machine and use it several times a week.  We have owned this one for about 2 years.  To quote my wife: “it was either get this machine or liposuction”.  There are many different brands and price ranges, I paid about $1,000.00 which is the higher range I guess.  I wanted to buy Schwinn due that I know the brand and I think they make good, reliable machines.

Also, make sure you add weights to your work out regimen.  The beauty of the weights is that it will transform the fat into muscle rapidly.  So you  might not loose weight per say, but you might loose some inches from your waist line.  If you don’t own weights, you can start doing push ups, make sure you start small and try to do some more every week.  It is a very rewarding exercise, even thought it is hard in the beginning.

Note:  In the beginning you will drop weight fast, probably because you are burning excess water, fat in your body (legs, arms, etc) and not in your abdomen (the hardest to loose)  In order to keep up with the weight lost, you probably should start increasing the intensity of your workouts and also try new things (new workout routines) and don’t hesitate to mix things up (try not to get bored by always doing the same thing)

Good Luck!

After years and years of having problems with my nose, even getting surgery, I have found the solution that works for me, it is a natural solution and I feel I am breathing easier and better.

After being really frustrated by my poor breathing, I talk to my doctor who prescribed Nasonex.  I took it on a daily basis for years.  I could breathe better when I took the medicine but it was not a cure, it just manage my symptoms.

I wanted to get better, so a friend recommended a Neti Pot.  Say what? Well, this is something that the Himalayan monks have been doing for a long, long time.  Basically you use something that looks like a tea pot and stream water up one nostril and the water will get out via the other one.   You do this procedure on both nostrils.  These pots are call Neti Pots

I used my Neti Pot for a few months and then I came across this gadget which is really awesome: Grossan Hydro Pulse® Pulsatile Nasal & Sinus Irrigation System

So, the bottom line, if you have allergies, or some other problem  with your sinuses, try rising your nostrils on a daily basis with a saline solution (warm water with sea salt) or if you have plenty of money to spend, buy the saline packets ready to mix (Grossan Breathe-easeXL® Nasal/Sinus Irrigation Formla 33 Packets).

Give yourself a month and see how you feel.  Hope this helps you!

Highly recommended!

So you work for a company that offers a 401K savings account and you are wondering how much should you invest or what percentage of your paycheck you should invest.  Well, the answer is: it depends.

If you don’t have an emergency fund then make sure you work on that first, normally you want to put away 3 to 6 months of expenses. Enough to pay the mortgage or rent, utilities, insurance, gas and food.

• If you have an emergency fund but have debt (student loans or credit card debt) then your first priority is paying down the debt. The golden rule is to always pay the smallest debt first and work towards your bigger amounts later on. If you are in this category, find out what your employer matches for every dollar and up to how much. You should invest the same percentage your company will match.

• If you don’t have any debt but your home then you should invest at least 12% of your income in your 401K and consider opening an IRA or Roth IRA with a reputable company. And consider paying your mortgage sooner by paying double payments. One payment towards the principal every month plus your regular payment (interest + principal)

• If you don’t have any debt then congratulations! you should max out your 401K to 15% and 5% to your IRA