To brew a perfect cup of coffee, you need:
1. Green beans from Sweet Maria
2. Roaster
3. Grinder
4. Tamper
5. Rancilio Silvia
See these videos:
Thursday, November 29, 2007
RSS
RSS is essential nowadays.
If you still don't know what GReader is, take a look at the following video.
Remember to subscribe to my feed here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/kenfan
If you still don't know what GReader is, take a look at the following video.
Remember to subscribe to my feed here: http://feeds.feedburner.com/kenfan
Phone
I love the days when everyone uses pagers. It's such an efficient way of communication. Nowadays most people depend on voicemail, which is usually free with mobile phone contracts.
I haven't used voicemail for ages. I use a caller screening program on my Nokia phone to sort out which are the calls I want to receive at a particular time. All the calls which aren't received are automatically directed to my Telecom Digital pager account, and they transcribe the message into an SMS. It's a flat rate of $68/month, or $28 if you use their mobile phone as well. The good thing is that even if you're overseas, there is no surcharge.
I also followed this guide to setup a free US phone number/ voicemail to email account. Still haven't figured out how I'd use that number though ;P
I haven't used voicemail for ages. I use a caller screening program on my Nokia phone to sort out which are the calls I want to receive at a particular time. All the calls which aren't received are automatically directed to my Telecom Digital pager account, and they transcribe the message into an SMS. It's a flat rate of $68/month, or $28 if you use their mobile phone as well. The good thing is that even if you're overseas, there is no surcharge.
I also followed this guide to setup a free US phone number/ voicemail to email account. Still haven't figured out how I'd use that number though ;P
Toys
I like collecting Keroro, Anpanman and Gundam stuffs. The most efficient way is actually to contact the wholesaler and ask them to send you a newsletter when they have new stuff. But since most wholeseller requires you to buy in bulk, the next best solution is to use Yahoo Auction.
There is a feature in Yahoo Auction which allows you to save your search as a RSS feed. You can make a search of different stuff, feed the RSS into Google Reader to make your own toys newsletter.
Take a look at the Anpanman Newsletter I created, you can even subscribe to it by RSS or email:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/anpanman
There is a feature in Yahoo Auction which allows you to save your search as a RSS feed. You can make a search of different stuff, feed the RSS into Google Reader to make your own toys newsletter.
Take a look at the Anpanman Newsletter I created, you can even subscribe to it by RSS or email:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/anpanman
Books
I love reading books. But the problem with books is that there are always more books that you'd like to read than you can actually finish reading. So prioritizing which books to read first is important.
One very useful tool is aNobii. It's a HK based website which helps you maintain a catalog of books you want t read, and keep notes about books you've read. The social networking feature is also fantastic, it helps you to find people who have similar reading taste, and see what else they are reading. I also use Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide and subscribe to the NY Times Books section to help me choose which books to read.
A couple of good bookstores I use:
- PaddyField: a online bookstore located in WanChai
- PageOne: their customer service is first class. I usually email them what I want, and when they're ready, they would tell me to pick up the books.
Other people suggests:
- DangDang: super cheap mainland bookstore
- 序言書室: local bookstore, pretty cheap
I'm also looking into a eBook solution. The new generation of eBook readers are quite attractive. If you haven't seen an e-Ink display before, go ahead to WanChai Computer City 1/F and take a look at the Sony PR-505. The screen is very comfortable to look at, and the device is very portable. Amazon Kindle also uses the same display, and has a larger supply of eBooks in the Amazon Store. I still haven't made up my mind yet.
One very useful tool is aNobii. It's a HK based website which helps you maintain a catalog of books you want t read, and keep notes about books you've read. The social networking feature is also fantastic, it helps you to find people who have similar reading taste, and see what else they are reading. I also use Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide and subscribe to the NY Times Books section to help me choose which books to read.
A couple of good bookstores I use:
- PaddyField: a online bookstore located in WanChai
- PageOne: their customer service is first class. I usually email them what I want, and when they're ready, they would tell me to pick up the books.
Other people suggests:
- DangDang: super cheap mainland bookstore
- 序言書室: local bookstore, pretty cheap
I'm also looking into a eBook solution. The new generation of eBook readers are quite attractive. If you haven't seen an e-Ink display before, go ahead to WanChai Computer City 1/F and take a look at the Sony PR-505. The screen is very comfortable to look at, and the device is very portable. Amazon Kindle also uses the same display, and has a larger supply of eBooks in the Amazon Store. I still haven't made up my mind yet.
TV
I believe entertainment is an integral part of a fulfilling lifestyle. Many productivity gurus say that in order to save our precious time, we should watch less TV, read more books, blah blah blah. While I love reading, I think TV is also a good source of information and entertainment. Modern TV shows are so well written and produced that we can really learn a lot from them.
A couple of tips:
- automate the process of downloading TV shows. Personally I prefer Miro Player, which basically turns all your favourite TV shows into podcasts. The good thing is that you'll never miss a show once it's properly setup
- speed up the playback while watching TV shows by 20-30%, using softwares like PowerDVD. Try it out, you'll barely notice the difference in speed. (Note, not all media players can keep the pitch normal while the playback speed is increased, you have to check)
- I never use any subtitles, mostly because I want to train my listening skills. If you really want subtitles, try SubDownloader, which helps you find the appropriate subtitle and rename it correctly
A couple of tips:
- automate the process of downloading TV shows. Personally I prefer Miro Player, which basically turns all your favourite TV shows into podcasts. The good thing is that you'll never miss a show once it's properly setup
- speed up the playback while watching TV shows by 20-30%, using softwares like PowerDVD. Try it out, you'll barely notice the difference in speed. (Note, not all media players can keep the pitch normal while the playback speed is increased, you have to check)
- I never use any subtitles, mostly because I want to train my listening skills. If you really want subtitles, try SubDownloader, which helps you find the appropriate subtitle and rename it correctly
Personal Outsourcing
Life is fair in one sense - everybody only lives about 70-80 years x 365 days x 24 hours. How you use your time is up to you. But in a capitalist society like ours, you can literally 'buy time' from others, in the form of personal outsourcing.
Tim Ferriss has a whole chapter in his book about personal outsourcing, but the best example of personal outsourcing is summarized in this article by A.J. Jacobs.
I'm still searching for the perfect virtual assistant. My requirement would be:
- proficient in written and spoken english and cantonese
- skillful in doing web-based research
- good with tools like Google Calendar, Google Docs, Wikipedia, FTP, video conversion etc.
- cheap (below HK$50 per hour)
Elance.com and Getfriday.com are great for english-speaking virtual assistants, but I still haven't seen anybody who can handle chinese there. I guess the best solution would be to hire some college grads from ShenZhen, and combine that with a local courier company.
Tim Ferriss has a whole chapter in his book about personal outsourcing, but the best example of personal outsourcing is summarized in this article by A.J. Jacobs.
I'm still searching for the perfect virtual assistant. My requirement would be:
- proficient in written and spoken english and cantonese
- skillful in doing web-based research
- good with tools like Google Calendar, Google Docs, Wikipedia, FTP, video conversion etc.
- cheap (below HK$50 per hour)
Elance.com and Getfriday.com are great for english-speaking virtual assistants, but I still haven't seen anybody who can handle chinese there. I guess the best solution would be to hire some college grads from ShenZhen, and combine that with a local courier company.
Getting Things Done
In order to free yourself from the hassle of everyday life, you need a system to efficiently process your thoughts and put your plan into action. The best tool to achieve this is GTD (aka Getting Things Done). It's basically a workflow of processing all the 'stuff' which comes into your mind and your hands everyday.
See here:
http://www.wikisummaries.org/Getting_Things_Done:_The_Art_of_Stress-Free_Productivity
See here:
http://www.wikisummaries.org/Getting_Things_Done:_The_Art_of_Stress-Free_Productivity
4 Hour Workweek
In the same spirit as Sean Aiken, Tim Ferriss likes to experiment with different lifestyles. The main difference between the two is that Tim first established a highly profitable company which literally prints money automatically. In his bestselling book 4 Hour Workweek, he talks in detail how he achieved this.
Check out the blog as well as the book, it's amazing!
www.fourhourworkweek.com
Check out the blog as well as the book, it's amazing!
www.fourhourworkweek.com
One job per week!
This 25 year old Canadian guy is amazing. He finished a degree in Business, but he couldn't make up his mind about which job he wants afterwards. So he goes on a quest to find his perfect job.
Check out the site, it's an eye-opener:
www.oneweekjob.com
Check out the site, it's an eye-opener:
www.oneweekjob.com
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