It has been a crazy two weeks. My company, Tandberg Television has been bought out. This makes me involved in 3 buy outs in 3 years. This is pretty insane and I am not sure if I am prepared to stick around to see this through.
2005 Liberate Technologies ->TVWorks LLC
2006 Goldpocket Interactive -> Tandberg Television
2007 Tandberg Television -> Arris Technologies
2008 ??? -> ???
Monday, January 22, 2007
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Washrooms in LA
To any visitors, I shall impart my accumulated knowledge of washroom hunting. While for us men – despite that “the world is our urinal” – some delicate situations require the usage of designated facilities and hopefully this post will allow relief anytime you desire.
Some may regard this topic as odd, as clean washrooms are abundant in many cities. However, this city has few clean public washrooms and most establishments are unwilling to share this scarce resource. We all hear natures’ call and when she screams, there is nothing more annoying than getting denied entry to the throne.
First tip: Don’t ask permission! While this may seem rude to Canadians, why bother chancing a denial of entry? Act as it’s your right as a citizen of a democratic country, to freely use any washroom at any time. If needed, ask “Where are the restrooms?” rather than “May I use the washroom?”. Note that Americans say restroom rather than washroom. Saying “washroom” instantly signals tourist and could potentially confuse the other party.
When seeking guaranteed quick relief, pick an upscale but busy restaurant. This gives you a comfortable and clean place of business with very little negotiating and waiting. Be careful in picking too high-end as tipping the washroom guy is never fun. During peak hours, you can usually just walk right into the washrooms, especially if many people are waiting for a table. The hostess will likely think you are waiting with the crowd. Off peak hours, requires a bit of negotiating, but the easiest is saying you are meeting a party and walk in. If she looks the name up, act confused and say you need to double check the name but you need the washroom first.
Hotel washrooms are another excellent choice and being a guest is not required. They are usually located in the hotel lobby and have zero wait times. The nicer the hotel, the better appointed washrooms – the sky is the limit here. Personally, I always pick the nicest hotel around. Walking in and asking will almost always do the trick. On occasion, you may find the hotel washrooms require a guest key card to gain entry. Do not fret! Almost all hotels have attached restaurants and bars that open late. Using these facilities require very little effort.
Using other washrooms requires a lot more waiting, negotiating or buying. Most Starbucks washrooms require a key and almost always require a wait. Gas station and fast food washrooms are typically disgusting. Other stores indicate “customers only” and require purchasing something you don’t need or want. Using these tips will let you get relief like a rock star.
Some may regard this topic as odd, as clean washrooms are abundant in many cities. However, this city has few clean public washrooms and most establishments are unwilling to share this scarce resource. We all hear natures’ call and when she screams, there is nothing more annoying than getting denied entry to the throne.
First tip: Don’t ask permission! While this may seem rude to Canadians, why bother chancing a denial of entry? Act as it’s your right as a citizen of a democratic country, to freely use any washroom at any time. If needed, ask “Where are the restrooms?” rather than “May I use the washroom?”. Note that Americans say restroom rather than washroom. Saying “washroom” instantly signals tourist and could potentially confuse the other party.
When seeking guaranteed quick relief, pick an upscale but busy restaurant. This gives you a comfortable and clean place of business with very little negotiating and waiting. Be careful in picking too high-end as tipping the washroom guy is never fun. During peak hours, you can usually just walk right into the washrooms, especially if many people are waiting for a table. The hostess will likely think you are waiting with the crowd. Off peak hours, requires a bit of negotiating, but the easiest is saying you are meeting a party and walk in. If she looks the name up, act confused and say you need to double check the name but you need the washroom first.
Hotel washrooms are another excellent choice and being a guest is not required. They are usually located in the hotel lobby and have zero wait times. The nicer the hotel, the better appointed washrooms – the sky is the limit here. Personally, I always pick the nicest hotel around. Walking in and asking will almost always do the trick. On occasion, you may find the hotel washrooms require a guest key card to gain entry. Do not fret! Almost all hotels have attached restaurants and bars that open late. Using these facilities require very little effort.
Using other washrooms requires a lot more waiting, negotiating or buying. Most Starbucks washrooms require a key and almost always require a wait. Gas station and fast food washrooms are typically disgusting. Other stores indicate “customers only” and require purchasing something you don’t need or want. Using these tips will let you get relief like a rock star.
Thursday, January 4, 2007
Saving Money
Many times, I have been asked: “What is with your obsession with saving?” So here is my blog about why I am obsessed with saving money and why it is good to.
To me, if all earned money is spent there really is no point working. Imagine a business that generates $100,000 per year. Every year, after expenses and taxes, it generates $0 profit. What’s worse is this company invests all its money into depreciating assets such as cars and equipment, but not property or cash generating assets, so the value of the company remains constant. It seems ludicrous that anybody would run such a business and surely few would invest such a company, including me.
My entire purpose for growing wealth is financial freedom in retirement, not just to have a big bank account. The ideal situation is to have enough money-generating assets to cover your expenses into retirement. This does not include your primary residence, vehicle and cash but does include stocks, investment property, RRSP, mutual funds and the like. Although you can annuitize your assets to conver how long you expect to live, it seems far less stressful knowing your interest income (minus taxes of course) can cover your expenses.
Although, I perceive myself as a good saver, my good friend Sam K is legendary. I have so much to learn from him and will post any saving tips I learn. Stay tuned for my next post on my annual financial goal setting session. Right now, I have to get back to work and make money for my retirement. Man, I am so far off...
To me, if all earned money is spent there really is no point working. Imagine a business that generates $100,000 per year. Every year, after expenses and taxes, it generates $0 profit. What’s worse is this company invests all its money into depreciating assets such as cars and equipment, but not property or cash generating assets, so the value of the company remains constant. It seems ludicrous that anybody would run such a business and surely few would invest such a company, including me.
My entire purpose for growing wealth is financial freedom in retirement, not just to have a big bank account. The ideal situation is to have enough money-generating assets to cover your expenses into retirement. This does not include your primary residence, vehicle and cash but does include stocks, investment property, RRSP, mutual funds and the like. Although you can annuitize your assets to conver how long you expect to live, it seems far less stressful knowing your interest income (minus taxes of course) can cover your expenses.
Although, I perceive myself as a good saver, my good friend Sam K is legendary. I have so much to learn from him and will post any saving tips I learn. Stay tuned for my next post on my annual financial goal setting session. Right now, I have to get back to work and make money for my retirement. Man, I am so far off...
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
New Blog for the New Year.
New blog for the New Year.
It is hard to fathom that I have been in Los Angeles for one year already. My feelings are mixed. On one hand, I am relieved from the torment of extreme Ontario, Canada coldness. On another hand, my life got turned upside down moving here. Los Angeles. It really is a love-hate relationship and here is why:
LA the good:
Weather; the weather is truly remarkable. It is literally sunny everyday. Temperatures barely fluctuate and LA “cold” is understood as 10C during the “cold” winter nights. Weather-wise, it’s everything I dreamed about.
Beach and the city. Rightly so, it’s hard to think of LA without thinking of the beaches. Long stretches of beautiful beach border the west of LA and OC with tall mountains guarding the east. The rest of the city is spattered with pockets of diversity.
Money. This job in LA has greatly increased my income to a level which wasn’t realistic just two years ago. Of course, this is not saying I am super rich now, but rather I was dirt poor then.
LA the bad:
The façade of Hollywood. The movies make LA seem glamorous, exciting and fun. On the surface, it really looks like the movies, but digging deeper and there really isn’t much. It’s all so superficial and all so annoying, but I suppose it can be expected from a city populated by aspiring actors.
Sprawl. Living in Marina Del Ray, means driving 30min minimum to get anywhere interesting. How far is 30min in distance you ask? 10km. Yes, that works out to about 20km/h. You can literally bike faster. Except of course, you have a high chance of injury when biking on roads designed solely for motorised vehicular traffic.
Money. Making more just means spending more as demonstrated by my $1350/mth 1 bedroom rent by the ghettos. I have yet to figure out how people afford to live in this city.
Sometimes I love being here, sometimes I hate it. Lately, it has tended to be the latter. This is one of those cities you either love or hate. Most people coming from densely populated cities as Toronto, Boston and New York tend to hate this city. Incidentally, I met a Texan who seemed to love it here, but then again, she is Texan. Others, who grew up in Socal, tend to love it. Very few people who live here are actually from LA, so most people I know are not particularly fond of it. For me, LA seems like a terrific place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live here.
It is hard to fathom that I have been in Los Angeles for one year already. My feelings are mixed. On one hand, I am relieved from the torment of extreme Ontario, Canada coldness. On another hand, my life got turned upside down moving here. Los Angeles. It really is a love-hate relationship and here is why:
LA the good:
Weather; the weather is truly remarkable. It is literally sunny everyday. Temperatures barely fluctuate and LA “cold” is understood as 10C during the “cold” winter nights. Weather-wise, it’s everything I dreamed about.
Beach and the city. Rightly so, it’s hard to think of LA without thinking of the beaches. Long stretches of beautiful beach border the west of LA and OC with tall mountains guarding the east. The rest of the city is spattered with pockets of diversity.
Money. This job in LA has greatly increased my income to a level which wasn’t realistic just two years ago. Of course, this is not saying I am super rich now, but rather I was dirt poor then.
LA the bad:
The façade of Hollywood. The movies make LA seem glamorous, exciting and fun. On the surface, it really looks like the movies, but digging deeper and there really isn’t much. It’s all so superficial and all so annoying, but I suppose it can be expected from a city populated by aspiring actors.
Sprawl. Living in Marina Del Ray, means driving 30min minimum to get anywhere interesting. How far is 30min in distance you ask? 10km. Yes, that works out to about 20km/h. You can literally bike faster. Except of course, you have a high chance of injury when biking on roads designed solely for motorised vehicular traffic.
Money. Making more just means spending more as demonstrated by my $1350/mth 1 bedroom rent by the ghettos. I have yet to figure out how people afford to live in this city.
Sometimes I love being here, sometimes I hate it. Lately, it has tended to be the latter. This is one of those cities you either love or hate. Most people coming from densely populated cities as Toronto, Boston and New York tend to hate this city. Incidentally, I met a Texan who seemed to love it here, but then again, she is Texan. Others, who grew up in Socal, tend to love it. Very few people who live here are actually from LA, so most people I know are not particularly fond of it. For me, LA seems like a terrific place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live here.
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