Menace Studio

How to: Connect to your iPhone via SSH

name.nospam@nospam.example.com (menace) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 20:28:19 -1100

For the very first time, I was able to Jailbreak my iPhone last night (3.0 firmware version) and it was easier than I thought. So far, I love the fact that I can change the theme (from screensaver screen down to its icons). The 'Backgrounder' add-on is also a handy tool that allows an application to stay open while you're in another application. I've experimented with quite a few already and have spent numerous hours messing with them. There was a point when I needed to re-name a theme's icon and the only way to accomplish this is through SSH.

Although I'm not going to go through the Jailbreak process, one add-on that you must install in your Jailbroken iPhone is an add-on called OpenSSH. This add-on allows your machine to access the iPhone through SSH, which is not possible by default.

The next step is to have some sort of way to connect to the iPhone by means of SSH. Since I use Windows, I like using PuTTY since it's straight-forward, although I've also read that iPhone's files can be accessed through FTP. In most cases, since your machine and iPhone will be on the same network, you should be able to freely access the phone. The tricky part is knowing the IP of your phone, but this can be located via Settings/Wi-Fi>(Your Network)>IP Address. Initially in my case, the IP Address was blank, so another option is to go through the router's configuration and lookup all active machines that are connected to the network.

Connecting through PuTTY is just a matter of entering the IP Address and click "Open" (port 22). The default username is "root" and the password being either "alpine". The password can be changed by typing in "passwd" and it should be pretty straight forward from that point. You will need to rehash some basic Linux/Unix commands in able to work within iPhone's file structure. To keep it short and simple, anything that has something to do with media can be located by: root#ls Media /Library. The command will show all the files relative to the current root path, and the folder are named conventionally well to what it contains.

- Dennis

The True Cost of Owning an iPhone

name.nospam@nospam.example.com (menace) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:40:41 -1100

In tribute to Apple’s release of the 3rd generation phone, I will give a quick rundown of the true cost of owning an iPhone. The typical question that usually gets asked is, is it worth owning one? Instead of answering that question, I’d rather illustrate some facts that you may or may not know in order for you to make the most logical buying decision. It is only proper that such costly investment merits a more comprehensive research. A lot of consumers falls in the trap of quickly owning one because of the growing fad that the society has imposed upon itself. My purpose is not to dismay potential customers but rather create a little awareness. As always, an educated purchase is always a great purchase.

Intro
While the $199/$299 price tag seems appealing at first (16G/32G 3GS model), there are other specifics that strongly needs to be more considered than just the upfront cost. The asking price is in line with other smart phones and at its level of sophistication, the price point is set reasonably. The design is well above the industry standards; a unique design originated by Apple. Its success is attributed to its well-crafted marketing campaigns and a design well enough to impress the new generation of consumers. In addition to its simplistic phone interface, its built-in MP3 player makes it practical for everyone.

Initial Fees
Aside from the discounted price, you’ll also have to pay for a one-time processing fee, and taxes (calculated using the original taxable amount of $599). You may or may not have known this but it will cost you close to $100 in addition to the cost of the phone itself.

Monthly Charges
Just to state the obvious, owning the iPhone at a discounted price means that you’re going to be locked in a contract with AT&T for a duration of 2 years. The discounted price that you pay for is a trade off for remaining under AT&T’s terms and conditions until the contract expires. The $30 data plan is also required in addition to your current voice and text plan. This add-on is an essential piece if you want to take advantage of iPhone’s major features.

The fact that iPhone is the only phone that requires such add-on somehow is disturbing to say the least, but it’s a cost to pay for to own one. Nothing does sure beats a $100+ cell phone bill every month! You can then run up to your friend(s) and declare how cool you are or show them the latest “app” that you’ve purchased.

Extra Expenses
One of the more exciting features of iPhone is its App feature that allows you to install purchased applications from the Apple store. The price range for applications can range anywhere from being free to $30 depending on the complexity and/or greediness of its developers. This feature alone generates Apple a 30% cut in profit for each app sold; not to mention the $99 annual fee for the developers to remain in the program. The app feature in my mind is arguably the “core” of the phone, eliminating the dullness that most cell phones possess. A $.99 or more app purchases here and there can add up very quickly.

Cost Summary
To put things in perspective, here’s an outline of what’s been covered so far regarding the cost of owning an iPhone.

Initial fees - $100 + cost of iPhone = anywhere from $300 to $450
Monthly charges – your plan + $30 = anywhere from $100 to $200. The monthly payment of $30 alone will cost you $360 in a year.
Extra Expenses – variable amount

Apple’s 3rd Attempt
Within a matter of days, the 3rd generation of iPhone is going to be released. This anticipated 3rd release boasts plenty of features that will finally make it a complete phone. As sophisticated as iPhone may appear, the phone developers has completely ignored a few major phone features. It took Apple 3 attempts before realizing that MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) is a telecommunication standard that has been around for many years! Even my older non-sophisticated Nokia phone had one. Another issue that aggravates majority of iPhone users is the lack of the copy-and-paste feature. Being a touch screen-based phone, this is a standard function that should have been there since first release.

From its 2nd to its 3rd release, hardware wise, the changes are insignificant to say the least. If the extra 2-hour battery life, increased CPU power and an extra 1Mpx on your camera is worth paying another $199 and renewed 2-year contract, knock yourself out. In my opinion, the more significant changes are in the software (firmware) side such as voice-control, improved GPS, voice-recorder, etc.

Conclusion
Whether you should invest in owning an iPhone or not really depends on your purpose and needs, and whether the extra cost justifies that purpose. The cost outlined herein should help you make a sound purchase since cost can be a major factor. I think that every purchase that we make should be given some clear thoughts as whether it supports our needs or just a desire to fulfill our inner gratification.

- Dennis

The Stock Market: A Quick Analysis

name.nospam@nospam.example.com (menace) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 17:34:00 -1100

The Stock market as a whole is a very broad subject but in its basic form, it is rather simple in nature. The process is comparable to how the Casino is structured. Although the Casino and the Stock Market are two irrelevant platforms, they both have one definite commonality which is high risks. If you look more closely, there’s a very close resemblance between the two in many ways. In this post, I’ll quickly analyze the Stock market versus the Casino; and finally, briefly talk about the Investment alternatives.

Risk-factor
While certainly none of either the two (Casino or the Stock market) can be considered risk averse, they’re very similar in a lot of ways. The Casino is far from being considered as an Investment, but the game itself is speculative in its very nature. Likewise, the same terminology is what the investment professionals uses when it comes to Stock picking. Everyone who plays Casino either for leisure or profit is in high hopes and expectations that he/she will hit the big jackpot. Conversely, in the Stock market, investors or speculators are also in hopes that the stock they purchased today will be purchased in a later date at a much price (or premium).

Between the two, you either win or lose; there’s no in-between. In the Stock market, the only time that you can break-even is when you sell the stock at a price that will cover your original investment. This amount includes the price “gain” or profit less the total amount of fees that you paid for. The probability that you will break even in the Stock market is very rare.

The Game
In Casino, there’s poker, black jack, craps, roulettes, slot machines, etc. On the other hand, the Stock market includes purchasing of individual stocks, options, foreign exchange, mutual funds, etc. The rules that governs each games are somewhat different, but each one is a derived form of another made to accomplish the same objective.

Any individual who just jumps in the game without any knowledge whatsoever is pretty much just throwing their money away. If that’s case, you’d be better of donating that money to charity since its tax deductible. If the so called “professionals” have a hard time beating the game, what chance do you have against it?

You versus them
When you’re playing in Casino, you are betting against the dealer which is backed up by its multi-million dollar franchise. Not to mention the game itself, the odds are very much against you. In the Stock market, you are betting against everyone which includes the company, shareholders, prospective buyers and sellers, and the multi-billion dollar funds institutions.

Investing or Speculation?
A lot of individuals may argue that their Stock holdings are in the form of investment, not speculative like I have addressed it. An individual can certainly minimize their risk in the Stock market through a diverse portfolio or mutual funds, but risks can never be eliminated. A Stock can only be considered as an investment if dividends are present since you earn a return. All things aside, the investment that you make is still considered speculative since you’re betting with hopes and expectations that the company will prosper. A company’s balance sheet doesn’t mean anything these days; look at Enron. You might say, “…but this is totally different. This XYZ company is solid and has full of integrity.” Unless you’re an insider or a top executive of the company, you have no idea!

If mutual funds and the likes are “safe” investment vehicles, why do you think bonds, CDs, money market, savings and the likes exists? Why would individual in their right mind settle for such pathetic returns? Unfortunately, settling for a low return Investment (currently 1.5% with ING) account such as savings only regresses you financially since the standard of living stands at 3%. While the banks are busy filling up their pockets with gained interest from using your money as high-interest loans, you on the other hand is suffering. Any investment other than bonds, CDs, and savings with low returns (ROI) are speculative in nature. In the end, I find little distinction between investing and speculation (if at all) as both depicts similar motives and apprehensions. It’s either you stand still and be conservative, or take some risks in order to become prosperous.

The mutual funds, individual stocks, options and the likes pretty much falls in the same category; just different levels of risks involved. It is safe to assume that an Index funds (referred to as mutual funds) are safer because it is diversified. In case of disastrous downshift in an industry, the entire holding doesn’t fall altogether as oppose to individual stocks. Take note of the word industry; but what happens when the whole stock market crashes? There are numerous amounts of recorded historical data that supports such a phenomenon. The recorded events dates back to the late 1920’s, 80’s, 90’s; not just in the United States but as well as the other parts of the world.

Some Historical Figures
They say, “those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it.” Often, the Stock market gets praises from pundits as how the Stock Market averages a 10% return per 10-year averages. To an extent, there’s some truth in it but, and this also depends on what decade you are looking at. The chart below (taken from Yahoo!) illustrates several decades spanning from 1935-1992. As promising as the chart might seem, can your Investment advisor actually look you straight in your eyes and guarantee you a 10% return on your portfolio? Not to mention the additional fees just to manage your account.

As high as the 10.5% return may sound, you have to keep in mind that this is an average of multiple decades. In respect to long-term growth, the return is decently enticing and acceptable even to the savviest investor. What happens if your supposedly-glorious-and-prosperous-decade ends up with a retirement-stomping Stock market crash? I’m just hoping that people within their retirement age have another form of funds to rely on aside from Stocks such as 401K or savings.

Law of Gravity
Some people also feels strongly about the real estate market and believes that their property only gains equity over time. Real estate property values has certainly grown substantially and have kept up relative with the economy. With that in mind, there’s a common misconception in our society that real estate properties only gains value over time. A lot of people are under the false illusion that the real estate values are only bound to go up and never go down. As we all know, nothing goes up infinitely (at least not in the Stock market or Real Estate) as everything is bound to correct itself.

A given Stock or Real estate property’s value is measured in terms of how much consumers values it and their willingness to pay for it. This brings in the supply and demand theory, which buyers and sellers agrees on the price point. The “bubbling” as how a lot of people refer to is the overvaluation of a given Investment. Since there’s no definite value, the value can go only high as the eager consumers will allow. Over inflated stock prices and real estate properties in one way or another falls back to its actual price. As disastrous as this all may seem, this is a natural occurrence and should have already been anticipated by many.

My top 10 training tips for achieving solid fitness results

name.nospam@nospam.example.com (menace) — Sun, 24 May 2009 12:05:56 -1100

Over the years, I've cultivated a solid foundation that is instrumental for achieving great fitness results. I'm also proud to admit that I have made plenty of errors and a learned from them.. In this post, I will share my top utmost tips that I've gathered and encountered through out the years of working out. I'll be sharing tips that comes from my own experience and what worked for me. Some of them might seem repetitive to you and probably have read it somewhere but genuinely speaking, this compilation can make or break your workout routine.

While I was working out the other day, I saw a personal trainer training a client and slightly observed the routine. It was apparent that the client was out of shape and was trying to get in to shape through the personal trainer's guidance. This leads me to the first tip.

10. 70/30 approach.
The 70/30 approach means that 70% of your focus should be towards your nutrition and only 30% on training. I have found over the years that working out and doing all these physical activities would only amount to nothing if you're not taking care of the nutritional aspect. The first thing to remember is, you're in the gym to either burn calories and/or break down your muscles. Most of your time will be spent recovering and feeding your body. In addition, in order to make the most of your workouts, you have to feed it properly. "You are what you eat" is what I live by. I find that eating healthy gives me a better workout since knowing that I fed my body right gives me a great sense of psychological empowerment.

9. Be one with your body.
When you first walk in the gym, ignore everyone and don't be intimidated by your surroundings. All your "outside" issues should be left outside and shouldn't be a concern or interfere with your workout. Once you've done that, then it's time to workout and this is where the "mind and muscle connection" philosophy comes in. Being one with your body means that you'll have to feel every rep of every set of your workout. I see people lifting heavy and sometimes lifting with a sloppy form, but is this really beneficial? Lift it right and make every repetition count. Feel the weights that your lifting in the specific muscle that you're working on. Before you even start your workout, make this the first rule and by doing this, your workout will become smoother and you'll be in rhythm.

8. Challenge your muscles.
Always keep in mind that you're in the gym to workout and you're here solely for that purpose alone. With that in mind, allocate 100% of your energy towards that and do whatever it takes to make the most out of it. When I tell people that you have to lift heavy, people often asks in return, "define what's heavy?". My answer to that question is, any weight that you can do a maximum of 6-8 reps is considered heavy. In my book, 8-15 is considered intermediate and anything above that is anything but challenging. To me, challenging your muscles means making a sound effort in order to stimulate it to failure. Make it work and make it work hard.

7. Increased intensity.
Another approach to keep your muscle challenged is to intensify your workouts. Give your muscles something that it has never received before such as less rest in between sets. Anything that will keep the muscle's blood flowing is good and keeping it in the state prevents it from going "cold", therefore will only slow you down. Learn how to punish it beyond its threshold but know its limitations as of what it can withstand to avoid any injuries. There are several techniques to increase your workout intensity and one of which that I've already mentioned is to shorten your rests in between sets. I prefer a maximum of 1 minute rests but 1.5 minute for heavy lifts. Another favorite of mine is called "drop sets" in which you perform another exercise right after an exercise with no rest in between.

6. Do warm ups.
Before jumping into your working set, you should do at least some movements or exercise that will loosen up your muscle joints. Warming up your muscles first ensures that it's fully warmed up and ready to roll with punishments ahead. This aids in avoiding any potential injury and to check that your form is correct. I use warm up in beginning of a workout as a self-check on how strong I am on a given that and how much I can lift. A lot of people would do a 5-10 minute walk on the thread mill but in my case, I usually perform 2-3 very light sets which is enough to get my muscles warmed up and ready.

5. Variety is the key.
I find that working out can be exhausting and boring if done the same way every time. This is probably one of the major reason that people stop working out. If you find yourself getting bored or doesn't have the same enthusiasm to step back in the gym, chances are, your workout routine itself is boring. Make each workout productive but at the same time, find a perfect balance and make it fun. Instead of thinking about your workout as something hard and as a excruciatingly painful experience, spice it up a little. Do something different every time instead of performing the same exercises or number of sets. Fine tune your workout and don't think that you'll be lifting heavy weights (unless that's what you love doing) each and every time. Another thing is, by adding variety, you also keep your muscles guessing and in return giving you better gains.

4. Control the weights and don't let it control you.
If you want to gain muscles, you have to lift heavy and with that in mind, you have to be proactive in your approach to lifting. You have to look at the weights dead in the eye and tell yourself that you own it. Attack the weights with intensity in mind and let your mind take over. When lifting heavy weights or just lifting in plain general, most of the force required to perform the exercise comes primarily from your mind. Your mind is very powerful and it is the main driving force behind your whole workout. Lift the weights in a controlled manner and just own it.

3. Listen to your body.
There are times when you just need to give your body a break or rest. It's OK to take the day off to recuperate and your body will tell you that. Just don't make it a habit to make it an excuse not to come to the gym though, but in essence, you're doing it for a good cause. Your body can only do so much and you have to know your limitations and when to take a day off. I usually take a week off once or twice a year, or once in a while skip a scheduled workout altogether. This is OK and it is not something to stress over. The key here is to be dedicated towards your goal but at the same time, being smart and knowing your body's strengths as well as its weaknesses.

2. Train with a goal in mind.
In order to be successful, you have to set up a goal first in your mind on what you want to ultimately achieve. Whether your goal is to just maintain your current weight, or lose weight, or gain muscles, you have to instill your mind with what you want to get out of all this. If you don't do this, you really don't have a solid backbone and foundation on where you're heading. Having this in our mind ensures that we're sticking to the plan at hand and we follow through in order to achieve it. Failing to do this and you're only bound to fail.

1. Be consistent.
One of the golden rules when it comes to success is to be consistent. Building a great body requires primarily a solid goal in mind but the main key ingredient is to be consistent. Success can only be attained through persistence, dedication and consistency and without it, you're bound to fail. There's a saying that the pyramid wasn't built in one day, and similarly, building your body requires serious amount of work every day, week after week, and year after year. You can't expect to be successful unless you stay inline with your goal and what you want to accomplish. It's either you do it or not do it at all is what I live by. If you're not going to put all your heart and dedication towards your goal, might as well do something else and you'll be better off than wasting your time.

In conclusion, once you adhere to use some of my approach, you will find your workouts to be more productive than ever before. You will treat your workouts a single but a solid step towards achieving great fitness results. If you take care of your body, your body in turn will take care of you.

- Dennis

Outsmarting the Credit Card companies

name.nospam@nospam.example.com (menace) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 20:19:00 -1100

While I was looking at my credit card transactions history within the past 4 months until the current period, I've notice a few small valued transactions. What's so weird about these transactions is that I've never even noticed them until looking at my Mint account summary. I'm referring to the finance charges that are easily overlooked with usually buried underneath all the transactions. Sometimes it pays to check account transactions on a daily basis and see if there are mischarges and non-regular activities. I usually do check three times per week at a minimum and this has become a habit of mine ever since I started studying my finance up closely.

If I know what I know now, I should have been more smarter about my finance and not let the credit card companies take advantage of me. They've probably charged me thousands of dollars over the span of my adult years and have never noticed it. But then again, who in the world would lend you money with nothing in return to begin with (unless it's a friend or relative)?

The most current snapshot of my credit card account filtered to only show the finance charges. The first thing that you'll notice is the consistency in the dates in which the charges were issued. It happens to be the 11th day of the month in my case.

I like credit cards and they serve a good purpose for those who are strict in their budget. For one thing, they're pretty good when it comes to disputing irregular transactions and prompt at crediting your account back. Secondly, reward points-again they're only considered a "reward" if you don't do it for the sake of getting the rewards. To me, a reward does not warrant an extra purchases just because you want to rack the rewards points. It's just an icing on the cake. The smartest thing to do is to only use the credit card as a buffer, which means that you actually have the money on hand to pay it off at this present time.

Given the snapshot above of my 4 latest finance charges amounting to $19.43, I actually outsmarted the credit card company by getting more out of them. Over the past two months alone, I've accumulated over $300 worth of rewards points. I used the rewards to purchase more books and other things from Amazon. Just to back up my claims, a snapshot of my points summary from 4 statements ago is below.

I have an Amazon rewards card and for starters, 2500 points amounts to $25 which in this case, I redeemed $100 just for that that statement period. For the record, I incurred the points not by spending more but by managing to use my credit card as a vehicle for purchases. Since I learned that my credit card company charges me every 11th of the month, I made a mental note to pay off my credit card twice per month and not have any balance around that day. Lately, I've been starting to use my credit card to pay the cell phone bill and other bills that accepts credit cards. Unfortunately, Countrywide home mortgage doesn't take anything other than a regular checking account (bastards) and that could easily turn into a thousand plus points easily.

In conclusion, the process that I've stated above works as long as you're disciplined when it comes to your personal finance. As long as the rewards are not your main priority and you pay off your credit card every month, then you're good. I'm pretty sure a lot of people do the same thing but just though I'd share. If you think about it, the only way to really beat them is to play the game and learn how to outsmart them.

- Dennis

CSS technique to center a DIV tag within a DIV

name.nospam@nospam.example.com (menace) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 11:36:00 -1100

I've noticed today a little quirk when using a <div> tag within a table. When a <div> tag is embedded within the <td> tag, the text-align: center is not being recognized by Firefox 3. IE understands the text-align style but not Firefox. I've found that by using a combination of two div tags, works effectively for these browsers. Not just inside a <td> tag but this also works when trying to center a <div> tag within another <div> tag.

The snippet below contains the styles for the <div> or paragraph tags.

.center

{

    text-align: center;

    width: 100%;

}

.center_ff

{

    margin-left: auto;

    margin-right: auto;

    text-align: left;

}

Utilizing the style is pretty much just having to embed it as such (see code below). I suppose that you have a maincontainer such as the one below but this can be a <div>, paragraph, or a <td> - any tag that contains items.

<div id="maincontainer">

    <div class="center">

    This text centers automatically since these are regular text.

        <div class="center_ff">

            This doesn't, thus we have to use the class "center_ff".

        </div>

    </div>

</div>

A Simple way to do a Postback on Dropdownlist based on specific item Selected

name.nospam@nospam.example.com (menace) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 06:55:00 -1100

I've seen a post about this somewhere in the forums where a requirement is to perform an autopostback on a dropdownlist, but only when a specific item is selected. Although there's different ways to approach this, I chose to use jQuery as the functionality needs to be performed strictly in the client-side. A regular Javascript function would be sufficient but jQuery makes this job a lot easier.

A markup example of a dropdownlist is below (HTML). Noticed that a CssClass attribute was added to the control. Since we're using a jQuery function, specifying a CssClass instead of locating the element by ID makes the implementation of the function more flexible. Whenever we want to use the same function, we can just add this particular class to any control or element that we wish (dropdownlist specifically). Another benefit is to make the Javascript unobstrusive as we're only storing a CSS attribute reference to the control and nothing else.

HTML:

<asp:DropDownList ID="ddlItems" runat="server" CssClass="doPostback">

    <asp:ListItem></asp:ListItem>

    <asp:ListItem>Selection1</asp:ListItem>

    <asp:ListItem>Selection2</asp:ListItem>

    <asp:ListItem>Selection3</asp:ListItem>

    <asp:ListItem>Selection4</asp:ListItem>

</asp:DropDownList>

Once you've done the markup, all the work is performed in the Javascript tag where it finds all the dropdownlists that contains a Css that was specified above. See the code below for the function.

Javascript/jQuery:

<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">

    $(document).ready(function() {

        // Forces the form to perform postback when a specific item in dropdownlist is selected

        $('select.doPostback').change(function() {

            if ($(this).val() == 'Selection4')

                $('#Form1').submit();

        })

    });

</script>

In the above code, we are specifically doing a postback when Selection4 is selected and ignores every other selections. Since values are saved in the Viewstate, values within the controls in the form are remains in tact. If losing data is a main concern, then a good option is to have the form perform a save in the server-side code whenever a postback occurs.

- Dennis
menacestudio.com

Revenge of the consumers

name.nospam@nospam.example.com (menace) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 06:23:28 -1100

While I was talking to my friend the other day, he was telling me about all these promotions going on with clothes. He was talking about how everything's a bargain right now and it's true. I've noticed this trend a few months ago with more and more businesses trying to lure consumers into spending by lowering their prices. With a lot of big tech companies laying off thousands of employees and stores filing for bankruptcy, it's a rough time for businesses. In the business world, it's a battle of the fittest and who ever comes up with a best strategy always wins-at least with direct competitions. Due to an economic turmoil we're experiencing, the fact of the matter is, consumers are in the charge of this current market.

What I meant by in charge is that, consumers are the ones that dictates the market. Without the demand of the consumers, the businesses are going no where and this is an economic fact that's the basis of supply and demand. Since the unemployment rate keeps increasing every month, the consumer spending goes down along with it. If you haven't heard, Bank of America also decides to suddenly increase the interest rates for credit card accounts. So why would anyone want to spend money when everything is not going well for us, the consumers? As much as you hate to admit it, it's difficult-but not as much difficulty as businesses are experiencing. Banks like BOFA who tries to take advantage of the consumers should pay for increasing their rates.

So what should consumers do about it? Do you just sit there, wait and do something when the market comes back up? Statistically speaking, the current market condition won't be like this forever and what we're experiencing is a cycle. Do you really expect that the real estate will just go up and up forever? I think this is really a poor misconception because nothing goes up forever (read up on Newton's law of gravity). Stupidly enough, consumers have been taught that the real estate is the greatest investment available. A lot of people might disagree on me with this one but do you still think that it is true even after the prices of the real estate plummeted? Sure the prices might go up later but if you average it out over a span of 10-20 years, the return on investment is very little. Unless you're paying in cash to eliminate interest rates which majority of the population don't do, it is rather an OK investment (not the greatest).

Since businesses are getting desperate due to lower consumer spending, the plan here is to spend but to a minimum. At least give back to the businesses who are trying to stay alive by lowering their prices. But to those stores, services who aren't doing any promotions, just let them suffer and don't do business with them. I know that some people still buys brand stuff regardless of its prices (it's a hard habit to break) but we need to get off that cycle. Pay attention to ongoing sales but just don't buy things for the sake of buying things just because the prices are suddenly "cheap". These are referred to as impulsive spending or making unnecessary, unplanned purchases. Stay reasonable about your spending and make sure that each purchase that you make, makes sense and has value. For example, just don't buy a shirt just because it's $10 but rather purchase it because it fits your budget and you really like the shirt (not just for its price). In this economic time, we need to be intelligent in our finances and have total control of where it's going.

If you want to control the market, I'll outline a few strategies that makes sense. First is to plan out a budget that is specific as to the allocation of your spending. The most important thing here is to know your limitation as far as how much can you spend on miscellaneous things after paying your bills and adding funds to your investments (each month). Call up your credit card and ask them for a few things-reduce your interest rate or threaten them to close your account. If they don't give you what you want, who cares? Lend your business to a company who wishes to accommodate to your needs, not someone who doesn't. Second thing is to ask for any ongoing promotions such as 5% cash backs or 5 points for every dollar purchases, things that can help you rack up some points quickly if you're on a rewards program. Also find out your billing cycle and make sure that you pay it off by the end of the billing cycle.

Another strategy is to cut down any unnecessary bills that you don't need. As a matter of fact, I'm going to discontinue my Netflix account by the end of this month since I don't really have time to watch movies at the moment. A subscription of $20 of Netflix per month (approximately) amounts to $240/year and that's only for a $20 cost. Think about the other ones that costs beyond that such as cable bills, cell phone add-ons, Warcraft subscriptions (LOL @ this because I know some people who has this), but the list can go on and on. $240 a year can go along way and I can even invest this money on my retirement fund. My point being is to carefully watch your finance carefully and know exactly where it's going and especially during this economic time. It's probably a wake up call for some people but sometimes, you have to make some adjustments in order to survive during economic down times. You have to learn how to play the game and don't let the businesses control you (they've been doing it for many years). Pick and choose your weapon wisely and get ready to hunt them down.

- Dennis

How to survive early workouts

name.nospam@nospam.example.com (menace) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 09:21:22 -1100

Today, I made an effort to get my workout done early. Early enough so that I just have enough time to go home and clean up before going to work. I have to admit that I'm not an early person at all and waking up at 5 a.m. is not an ideal time for me (maybe for some people, it is). So in spite of the early hours, managed to get up and get ready but no matter what I did, my body takes longer to respond.

What I have been doing however is to take some pre-workout energy supplements to get me going. I also use caffeine either in form of coffee or just a sugar-free Rockstar. Once I get to the gym, my warm up sets are probably 3 times my normal at night. So instead of doing 1-2 sets for warm ups, I might end up doing around 6-7 and sometimes, this is not even enough. The very first sets takes a lot of will-power and pure strength of course. I can see myself doing any form of cardio and still be OK since there is only one single motion involved in it, as oppose to progressive increase of weight-load due to weights.

I worked out my shoulders and traps today and this is what I did:

Shoulders/traps
* Shoulder press machine - 4 x 12-15 reps (warm up-100lbs, 140lbs, 140lbs, 140lbs)
* Dumbbell press - 4 x 8 reps (50lbs, 60lbs, 70lbs, 75lbs) - I would usually go up to 100lbs each arm on this but I have to hold back since I'm aiming for at least 8 reps here)
* Smith-machine behind-the-neck press - 4 x 8 reps (90lbs, 90lbs, 110lbs, 110lbs)
* Barbell upright row - 4 x 8-10 reps (80lbs across)
* Cable rear laterals - 4 x 10 reps (45lbs across)
* Side-lateral machine - 4 x 10 reps (90lbs across)
* Dumbbell shrugs - 4 x 8 reps (140lbs, 160lbs, 180lbs, 200lbs)

I did exactly the same workout that I would usually do at night except my mass exercise have less weights. I've learned in the past that you can't be strong every time you workout and for that reason, you have to make up for it somewhere else. So for days when my strength is down, the technique is to rest less. If normally I rest for 1 1/2 minute per set, I would cut it down to 45 seconds. This ensures that the muscle being worked on are being challenged even though the weights are down.

By doing my workouts early, I don't have to do it after work anymore and I feel a sense of relief by doing that. My metabolism also is in full force, which means that all the food that I eat all day are burnt more efficiently. Since I use high amounts of carbohydrates after my workouts to replenish glycogen stores, I don't have to worry about it night. Honestly, I'd rather eat a high-carb meal during the early part of the day than night. Also, in order to get the maximum energy during the early workouts, sleeping early is a must which should be at least 7 hours. The night prior, I have to also add a mental reminder that I will need to wake up at exactly 5 a.m. In the end, the hardest part really is waking up-and accepting the fact that my strength is down. The sacrifice that I made was worth it.

- Dennis

Reading two...or more books at the same time

name.nospam@nospam.example.com (menace) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 14:04:00 -1100

Lately, I've been really interested in reading more than two books at the same time. Actually, I have 2 other books that I've started in the past but haven't been able to finish them. This might sound like a bad habit but the subjects that I usually read are either wordy business books and/or technical books that can span to as much as 1,000 pages. I wish sometimes that I can limit and be less tempted to look at all the books for a particular subject, but that tends to be my weakness at this point. Currently, I have over 25 books sitting in my online wish list, and 5-6 unread books sitting in my shelf (including the books I've started in the past).

My rule of thumb is to keep a variety of subjects and I usually separate them by business (finance, etc.) and technical (programming) books. This helps ensures that I don't get bored too fast and to mix things up a little bit. I'm always open to new suggestions and/or genre but I tend to stick to those since I enjoy them more than anything. Another personal favorite of mine are self-help and fitness books but I do read plenty of info on these through my RSS feeds already. There's really no point on accumulating any more books on them (I already have 4 lengthy ones).

I thought in the beginning that my fascination for books is weird until I started researching, and found out that a lot of people share the same passion. Ever since I finish college (back when we were forced to read textbooks), I got into habit of wanting to read. I always have believe that strength comes from vast knowledge but I've never really devoted so much time into getting into it. One of my many dreams in life believe it or not is to have a massive collection of books sitting in a huge book shelves. Take note of the plural form because I would like to have some sort of a mini library. Anyways, my goal right now is to read at least one book a month. One technique that I've acquired through reading many books is to read one chapter at a time. What this means is to make it an absolute goal to finish the entire chapter before calling it quits for the day. I find that this helps keep everything on track and gets the next reading session right on track. If you think about it, its hard enough to keep track of the little details-let alone start in the middle of the page and wonder what's what. This really helps, trust me.

- Dennis