I have just finished The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. The book is a smooth blend of narrative and education. Divided into three parts, each section tells the story of a different meal. Firstly the stereotypical fast food McDonald’s, representative of the monoculture, corn based, industrial food chain. Secondly a meal made from organic or [...]
Category Archives: Personal
Book: The Omnivore’s Dilemma
Also posted in Recommendations, Reviews Tagged book reviews, corn, food, Michael Pollan, Omnivores Dilemma Leave a comment
Hairy to bald in 15 minutes
In preparation for my drive test tomorrow, and assuming I pass, my new Washington state drivers license, it was time to get rid of some hair. Here’s the before, during and after shots.
Firstly, the hairy me.
The shearing begins.
Trimming the face.
Finally, a skin head is reborn!
Announcing my retirement
I am going to retire on 1 July 2009. In a little over 2 months, less than 2 months after my 27th birthday, I will retire.
retire v.intr.
To withdraw, as for rest or seclusion.
To go to bed.
To withdraw from one’s occupation, business, or office; stop working.
To fall back or retreat, as from [...]
Introducing Chris Guillebeau
I read Seth Godin’s blog. Seth wrote this about Chris Guillebeau’s newest manifesto called 279 Days to Overnight Success (pdf).
I have just finished reading the manifesto. I’m inspired. I agree with probably 30% to 50% of the content, but that’s not the point. The very existence of the manifesto is what inspires me. It’s time [...]
Also posted in Business, Recommendations Tagged 279 days, Chris Guillebeau, inspiration, manifesto, Seth Godin 2 Comments
Fantastic ice cream
I caught up with Sam for dinner last night. We swung over to Stogo for dessert. Wow, what amazing ice cream. Organic. Dairy free. No sugar. What more could you ask for? I had the Chococolate Coconut flavour, made with coconut milk, no soy. It was absolutely amazing. Here’s a picture for your ocular pleasure.
Talk of marriage
As some people have noticed, I might be getting married. Lots of people are asking questions, so I’ll try to answer some of them here.
Who’s the girl?
Sam. We met on Isla Mujeres on Christmas day. Yes, that was only 13 days ago. She’s Vietnamese Chinese by parentage, Canadian by citizenship, and she lives in Brooklyn.
Why [...]
Smoke free 2009
I don’t really smoke. I’ll have the odd cigarette when others are smoking. Or if I’m tearing it up (as in the last week), I’ll smoke a ton. But I don’t smoke in the morning, I rarely actually buy cigarettes, and I very rarely find myself longing for a cigarette.
Thus, actually stopping completely has been [...]
Posted in Personal Tagged addiction, habits, new year, new years resolutions, nicotine, smoking Leave a comment
Smile: debt pimps
I called my bank today to dispute a transaction. After dealing with that, the representative asked me how many times I log onto the smile web site per week. Then he said that I had been pre-approved for a loan of up to £14′000. I told him in no uncertain terms that consumer credit is [...]
Also posted in Rants Tagged coop, cooperative, cooperative bank, debt, debt pimps, ethical banking, personal loan sales, personal loans, pimping debt, Smile Leave a comment
Reached my first saving target
A couple of months ago I set a saving target. I wanted to have $10′000 in the bank when I left Australia. Despite the rising dollar (my money is actually in pounds, although I think in dollars), just over 2 weeks behind schedule, I have reached my target.
If I lost all income tomorrow, I could [...]
A non MBA with Seth Godin
Wow. I just woke up and read this. Awesome. I’m physically excited. My first thought is, apply, do it right now, immediately, without hesitation. Ok, reality check:
I have 6 months of expenses saved, I can afford it.
I could still spend 3 hours / day working on my own stuff.
How would I get a visa to [...]
Also posted in Business, philanthropy Tagged education programs, MBA, new york city, nyc, Seth Godin 10 Comments
Cannabis shopping spree
I bought more Cannabis sativa last week that one could smoke in a lifetime! Don’t worry mum, not in dried leaf form, in the form of braintree hemp clothing. I’ve now replaced 67% of my trouser portfolio with purchases from the hemp store.
The final tally came to less than $130 AUD. I got a pair [...]
Also posted in Photos, Travels Tagged blackspot sneakers, braintree hemp, cannabis, cannabis sativa, clothing, eco friendly clothing, hemp 2 Comments
Seth Godin’s Tribes for free
According to this page you can click this link and get Seth Godin’s Tribes ebook for free. I’ve already purchased a copy which should be delivered by Amazon, so I’m a member of triiibes. However, that is being physically shipped to my address in the UK, and I’m currently in Sydney (well, Melbourne today, but [...]
Choosing a charity
I’m listening to Robert Kiyosaki’s Choose to be Rich series. I was given it by a friend, so contact me personally if you don’t want to pay the $220 price tag. I’ve only just learned it costs $220 this very minute, as I looked up that link. Interesting. I wonder if I would pay $220 [...]
Also posted in philanthropy Tagged charity, choose to be rich, chosa, philanthropy, rich dad poor dad, robert kiyosaki, tithing 4 Comments
FuseMail is Go
After my bitching about FuseMail, two of their guys chimed in and saved the day. My faith in FuseMail was restored. I’ve gone ahead and moved my personal email over to them. It’s live.
A few things I like:
Mail is filtered on the server. I no longer have to download spam if I don’t [...]
FuseMail fail
I signed up with FuseMail to host my email.They have failed me. Badly.
I reported a problem to them. I provided a detailed technical report. I received a short response which did not relate to my problem. I replied, at length, explaining that they had completely failed to address my problem. I received a second reply [...]
Inspiration from Seth – stay true
Seth posts this. Inspirational. It’s inspiring to see somebody at the point in their life/career where they can be true to their principles. I think it’s harder to remain true to one’s ideals at the earlier stages of a career. When you’re earning less, have less exposure, less influence, and so on. However, ironically, I [...]
Smile launch faster payments
Changes are afoot in UK banking. I just received an email from Smile telling me about faster payments.
Dear Callum
At smile we’re always looking at ways we can improve the service we offer you. This is why we’re pleased to tell you about Faster Payments. The Faster Payments Service will speed up the way you make [...]
Breakfast Raw
I’m starting to get a tiny bit ill. It’s the same sort of sore throat / slight cough that I’ve had a few times recently. So in a bid to beat it down once and for all, I’m going to overdose on raw food for the next few days! I whipped up to the shops [...]
Meeting Jason Calacanis
I met Jason Calacanis at the blogger breakfast this morning. Duncan Riley was there, although I didn’t meet him. Somebody said he (Duncan) was a big wig, so I was checking him out online after the meeting. I came across Duncan talking about Jason. Jason originally posted, 37 signals responded (my favourite post of the [...]
Also posted in Business Tagged duncan riley, jason calacanis, mahalo, techcrunch, workaholics 3 Comments
Tim Ferris in Sydney
Henry very kindly booked me a ticket for Tim Ferris’s 4 Hour Work Week session in Sydney. I haven’t read the book, but I’ve heard about it, and I’m curious to meet the man behind the idea. I wonder if I can get hold of the book and cruise through it before Friday.
Also posted in Nomadicness, Travels Tagged 4 hour work week, 4hww, Australia, Events, networking, Sydney, tim ferris 1 Comment
I don’t have a resume
I’ve never been a fan of resumes. It always sounded like such a boring job, cataloguing all the things I’ve done, listing all my various endeavours. Seth Godin has an excellent post on why great people don’t have resumes.
People often ask me how I found my current job, how I manage to work and travel, [...]
Also posted in Business Tagged curriculum vitae, cv, job applications, jobs, resumes, Seth Godin 7 Comments
RIP Bennett Robinson
This morning I learned that Bennett Robinson passed away about a year ago.
I met Bennett on a flight from Singapore to Bangkok, he gave me the push to actually install Linux on my laptop. He was running it himself (a man in his sixties), and convinced me it was easy to make the switch. We [...]
