CaGoNi's Blog

Pursuit of Honor by Vince Flynn - update

noreply@blogger.com (Carsten G. Nielsen) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:43:00 +0000

The new Mitch Rapp book is now out, and has gotten some great reviews.
17 out of 21 reviewers give it 5 (max) at amazon and its #9 on the bestseller list!

"Flynn does it again--an excellent political thriller", Deborah Verlen
" Flynn's Best Yet ", Dan-thriller reader

The list goes on :-)

Check out the novel at Amazon, they are bound to have it at a discount

Pursuit of Honor by Vince Flynn

noreply@blogger.com (Carsten G. Nielsen) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 07:05:00 +0000

Get the new Mitch Rapp novel at only $14.97

Follow Mitch Rapp in Vince Flynn's newest novel that looks to be a real page turner.

I couldn't find much about the book until i looked on Flynn's site. Here is some of the summary:

"The action begins six days after a series of explosions devastated Washington, D.C., targeting the National Counterterrorism Center and killing 185 people, including public officials and CIA employees.

It was a bizarre act of extreme violence that called for extreme measures on the part of elite counterterrorism operative Mitch Rapp and his trusted team member, Mike Nash. Now that the initial shock of the catastrophe is over, key Washington officials are up in arms over whether to make friends or foes of the agents who stepped between the enemy's bullets and countless American lives regardless of the legal consequences.

...

Meanwhile, three of the al Qaeda terrorists are still at large, and Rapp has been unofficially ordered to find them by any means necessary.

...

Once again, Rapp proves himself to be a hero unafraid "to walk the fine line between the moral high ground and violence" (The Salt Lake Tribune) for our country's safety, for the sake of freedom, for the pursuit of honor."

On wikipedia you can find some interviews under external links.

Get the new Mitch Rapp novel, only $14.97 It's allready at postition 12 on amazon's bestseller list and it's first releasted tomorrow.

The Art of Manliness

noreply@blogger.com (Carsten G. Nielsen) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:23:00 +0000

This is a book I must have:The Art of Manliness

"What skills and knowledge should a 21st century man acquire? What traits should they develop? This book will have the answers. "

It gets 5/5 at amazon!

The Art of Manliness: Classic Skills and Manners for the Modern Man would also be a great gift idea.

New productive magazine

noreply@blogger.com (Carsten G. Nielsen) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 08:45:00 +0000

Read the very informative interview with David in Productive Magazine

The first issue is free, and you can download it here:
http://productivemagazine.com/

New book by David Allen

noreply@blogger.com (Carsten G. Nielsen) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 19:23:00 +0000

I just saw this on davidco.com!!

A new book by Mr. Allen is announced.

Check it out here:

Making It All Work: Winning at the Game of Work and Business of Life

I can't wait!

noreply@blogger.com (Carsten G. Nielsen) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 08:40:00 +0000

Review of The Black Magician' trioligy Trudi Canavan.

Since I posted last I had the joy of reading the 'The Black Magician' trilogy by Trudi Canavan. It was dearly recommended by a colleague from work. Fortunately he loaned me the books.

"Sonea has just discovered that she can work magic, but she has also accidentally injured one of the Magicians--the enforcers of the city Imardin. With the help of her friends and the assistance of the Thieves Guild, she will escape what she considers a fate worse than death--being inducted into the Magicians Guild"

Besides the Potter series I can hardly remember when I have read such a good fantasy story. The story manly follows Sonea, but also follow a couple of other supporting characters along the way. Trudi does this in fine stile. It doesn't break up the story, in fact it gives more perspective which in tern gives the story more depth.

The trilogy is The Magicians' Guild, The Novice and The High Lord.
Read other reviews and see what other readers say about the book
here.

I can only give this series my warmest recommendations!

noreply@blogger.com (Carsten G. Nielsen) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 09:18:00 +0000

David Allen's Blog

I found a link to this blog from wikepedia.
Cool stuff. It's updated every monday.

David's blog at huffingtonpost

regards
Cagoni

noreply@blogger.com (Carsten G. Nielsen) — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 09:00:00 +0000

GTD video

Hi

I found this tube with David Allen himself on "Knowledge Work Athletics".
It's from a talk David did at Google last October ('07)

The video is 45 mins!

Enjoy!

Carsten

noreply@blogger.com (Carsten G. Nielsen) — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 20:33:00 +0000

GTD for 1 year

If found this article in which gtdfrk , explains what he have learned using gtd for a year.

I found it inspiring since applying gtd can be daunting for a newbie like me:

After consistently applying GTD for close to one year now, I can safely conclude that valuable and lasting productivity habits have formed in my life.

Like many other people, I have studied and used several productivity systems. I picked up various useful principles and techniques from them, but none of them seemed to fully apply to my life. As fun as it is playing around with various productivity systems and changing one for the other occasionally, I was looking for concrete and lasting results. Sounds familiar?

About one year ago when I encountered GTD and started applying it to my life, I immediately noticed how easily it could be adapted to my life. It didn’t take months to get started, it didn’t need difficult or expensive tools and most of all it just made sense! GTD is easy to integrate into your personal as well as your professional life. All of this makes it easier to apply it consistently and you start to see results almost immediately.

Check out the rest here at his blog.

noreply@blogger.com (Carsten G. Nielsen) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 09:50:00 +0000

Found this toon on www.blaugh.com, it really describes what I go through sometimes, when thinking of something to blog.

Think before you blog :O)

noreply@blogger.com (Carsten G. Nielsen) — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 12:32:00 +0000

Magician by Raymond E. Feist.

This is my all time favorite fantasy novel. It has all that you need. Magic, heroes, multiple worlds and great characters with feelings and background. I have read this book several times, I can't seem to resist going back and reading it again.

The book follows two boys, Pug and Thomas from their youth in a castle on the frontier and from there onwards several years. The book is exciting and will keep you up several nights. The plot and the world is very well thought through.
The number of books in the series will give evidence that this is a great read! You don't have to read the whole series, the Magician has an ending.

You will meet great magicians, elven warriors, an ancient dragon...

Don't just take my word for it, you can read other reviews here.

I wish you the best time reading this!
Carsten

noreply@blogger.com (Carsten G. Nielsen) — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 12:01:00 +0000

GTD And coaching, continued.

Normally coaching will focus on the solution, and mostly I would agree.
If you have trouble getting started with a task you could ask yourself:
What do I need to focus on to get this task started, where could I seek help?

But sometimes it could help you to look at the cause... I.e. if there is a task that you are avoiding... Why am I avoiding it, is it something about the task I can't seem to grasp?
Is some of the people involved in the task, the reason why I'm avoiding it?
If you find the reason, that could help you to handle the problem, and make it easier for you to get on with your tasks.

Another good question would be:
How can I get on with it, how can I notice when this happens again?

This has helped me handle my 'trouble tasks' and not get stuck.

Best regards,
Carsten

noreply@blogger.com (Carsten G. Nielsen) — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 15:11:00 +0000

New must-have-lists to add to GTD

I gather inspiration and ideas from all the people I work with.
Two great list additions has come up, that I am sure will help you.

The first is a project summery list, where you write

The name of the project

Who gave you the project

The date you got it

The date when you started it

The current state, (analysis, tested, passed on to xyz, finished)

If you are waiting for someone to test/approve you work

Who that is

When you gave it to that person

The last date/time you called/mailed that person to check when she/he will get back to you.

This list could save your butt when someone asks you the status of one of your projects that you have handed on to a colleague some time ago, when you can check your list a tell him that you are waiting for John D. to test it, and you called him 3 days ago to check when he would be done.

The second list, is a list of your achievements, IE

What projects you have done.

Things you have done to make you and/or your team more productive.

Tasks or responsibilities you have done that is not in your job description.

If you have made a presentation or a workshop about GTD and made your team / department more productive, that might lead to a pay raise or a bonus. Once in a while you should re-read your job description if it is long, to check what your company is paying you to do. If you do something extra there is a slim chance that anyone will notice it you don't.

Your boss, department head, might not hear all the great things you do, so keep a list of your great achievements.

All so a very important point, don't be shy... if you have done something great let people know. If you can afford it, buy muffins, a cake or grapes (whatever suits you) and let people know that there is something to celebrate, by sharing.

Best regards,

Carsten

noreply@blogger.com (Carsten G. Nielsen) — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 12:12:00 +0000

Halo: The Fall of Reach by Eric Nylund

This is the first Halo novel, a prequel to the xbox/ pc-game. It does not in any way require that that you have played the game to seriously enjoy the book. The book gives you a very good information about the Halo universe, even allot of background information that is not revealed in the game.

Mr. Nylund is very adept at writing action-suspense sci-fi. I had real trouble putting the novel down and sat up late at night reading it. Even though he started as an adult writing novels, he has surely mastered the key points of writing!

You will hear about the birth of the Spartan program and get to know John (the Master Chief) from he is a kid. The novel follows John and his fellow Spartans through training and on to real missions. I will not reveal the details here, that would be to spoil your fun. Only will I tell you that the novel takes you up to the time where the game starts.

If you have read Ender's Game you might find similarities, but this is in no way cheap copy/rewrite. This is just as good, if not better, IMHO.

You have been warned, make sure you have time to read the book once you get it. Even if you have no intention of playing the game you should get this book, and the sequels.

All in all Halo: The Fall of Reach is a must read for every sci-fi enthusiast.

Best wishes and hope you enjoy a great read,

Carsten

noreply@blogger.com (Carsten G. Nielsen) — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 07:21:00 +0000

Getting Things Done (GTD) and coaching.

GTD has really help me allot both personally and professionally so I was thinking about how I could add value to GTD and help others.

For some time now I have been studying coaching and I think allot of what I have learned can be combined with GTD to make it easier to get started with GTD and in general help people be even more productive.

Sometimes I get a feeling that even though I am doing tasks from my lists, there is a task that I am avoiding. If you notice a similar situation you could ask yourself these questions:
- Do I need more information before I can get on with this task, and where could I get it (online, co-workers, documentation)?
- What about the task/project gives me the feeling of uncertainty?
- What is the goal/end result of the task/project?

Sometimes I find that simple doubt about how to go about the project is holding me back, then it helps having defined the first (or several) next action steps. Because when I just throw myself at the first action, the next actions keeps flowing naturally and before I know it I'm done. Sometimes the biggest obstacle is getting started.

When you need to collect stuff and have your lists with you, you should either carry a PDA, a notebook or PocketMod. This will enable you to look at your list and your calendar where ever you are and collect thoughts about your projects.

Pocketmod is a little 8-page notebook that you can design on the homepage and then print and fold. (go to pocketmod.com)

Best regards,
Carsten

noreply@blogger.com (Carsten G. Nielsen) — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 19:13:00 +0000

The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

I don't care if you believe in faith, energy or God, you are certain to get some good ideas from this book. Even though I have my doubts about a higher power, this book has helped me in several areas and has made me a happier person.

One of the aspects from The Secret is about asking for what you want and imagine that you already have it. You would properly agree that having a goal clearly in your mind will help focus your subconscious mind, and help you - get new ideas, spot new business possibilities and so forth.

The book covers prosperity, your body, your relationships....

I can only recommend this book with all my heart.

noreply@blogger.com (Carsten G. Nielsen) — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 19:36:00 +0000

Getting Things Done by David Allen

Do you feel that you have more projects running at work than you can handle?
Do you forget projects where you have been waiting for someone else to get back to you?
Having trouble saying no to new task and drowning small and big projects?

Unless your have the privilege of working with one and only one thing at the time and is never disturbed by phone calls or your colleagues you simply NEED this book.

It has seriously reduced the amount of stress I have at work and at home and I can only give it my highest recommendations!!! Not only do I feel less stress, I know what I am working on, and can with a good conscience tell my boss or colleagues if I don't have time for a new small task unless it's OK that I either park current projects or delegate some of my work.

The system in Getting Things Done (GTD) is easy to learn and implement, and if you work with it and give it a little time, it could save you! It will take a little extra work to start with but very soon you will see the fruit of the seed you have planted. David Allen has a great sense of humor and the book is enjoyable to read. Its written for you and me in plain English, not filled with buss-words to fill the pages.
You can use the system whoever you are and what you do no matter if you are a manager, programmer or professional house keeper. All you need is some folders, a labeler and some in trays. If you have a PDA or a laptop, that would work very well also.
There is a reason that it is one of the top-selling books on Amazon. It works.

A good peace of advise for you: always carry a small notebook, like a Moleskine notebook, and something to write with. (A PDA would work as well, of course ) When you remember something you need to do, or get some inspiration about one of your projects, you can write it and save it. Your brain is more likely to give you great ideas if it knows that you can save them somewhere.

noreply@blogger.com (Carsten G. Nielsen) — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 10:34:00 +0000

Here is a drawing I did for my son of a pokemon.