I need a new desk, however as I am moving in a few months it doesn’t make sense to buy one. So as a short term measure to rid me of my current desks boxyness, I got some GALANT desk legs with castors and bolted them onto my existing desk top.

The process involved:

1. Drill a centre hole for the bolts and a ‘half’ hole for the guide notch on the top of the leg.
2. Drill an inset on the top of the desk for the bolt to just sink in level with the desk top.
3. Bolt on the legs.
4. Staple gun Velcro ties to the under side of the desk to hold cables (IKEA does/did sell these too even though I used some verbatim ones).

Also Note:

• For long term usage some reinforcement for the leg attachment would be needed (thin metal sheet perhaps).
• I have not yet finished step 4 (hence mountains of cables in photo).
• I did a shocking job of drilling the insets on the top of the desk. If you attempt this make sure you get the right size drill bits (rather than using one that is too small and chiselling the rest out).
• Photo with chair is an old photo I had showing what the desk looked like before hand.
• IKEA Hacker was my main inspiration, they feature tons of things people have done with IKEA stuff.
• Have Fun!

I have had the DG834N NETGEAR Modem Router for some months now. I bought it hoping to get greater  wireless range, however while it provides a better quality connection, I did not really get much of a boost in range. This is disappointing as the Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technology is meant to radically improve wireless range and quality. Also I had to wait for and install the latest firmware on my unit before it would work correctly with Windows Vista (After spending an hour talking to the support guy! who couldn’t fix the problem or tell me an update was on the way).

The Good:

• Better quality connection.
• Integrated modem/router/wireless access means less clutter of cables.
• Can handle bit-torrent traffic without freezing.
• Has all the standard features you would expect on a Modem/Router (UPnP, Firewall, MAC Access Control, WPA2 etc.).

The Bad:

• Firmware upgrade required for Windows Vista (If you buy it now this probably isn’t necessary).
• Adding firewall rules is a little confusing (you have to setup a ‘service’ first then attach open ports/IPs to it).
• Expensive when the MIMO technology doesn’t really provide much extra range.
• Must be used in upright position (see picture).

In conclusion the DG834N is reliable, easy to use and looks quite good. However if you are a ‘power user’ you will probably feel a little underwhelmed. There is a ‘gaming’ version I think so that might be the go if the DGN834N lacks any features you think you will need such as Quality of Service (QoS).

I have recently been watching the TV show ‘The Apprentice’. It is an elimination reality TV show, however the contestants are all given business/entrepreneurial challenges which they must attempt in two competing groups or ‘businesses’ (the losing group/business loses a person who is ‘fired’). If you are thinking of going into business or creating a start-up the show gives massive insight into group dynamics under ‘business’ stress and I recommend you watch it (also the movie ‘Startup.com‘ provides some similar insight).

In each episode of the show Donald Trump gives an entrepreneurial tip. I have distilled them here for easy consumption:

Episode 1. Location, location, location.
“I have always thought that location is important but the people behind the deal are much more important than the location. I would much rather have a really smart talented guy doing the deal in a not so good location, than an idiot doing the deal in a great location, because you’ll make money every time.”

Episode 2. Don’t Negotiate With Underlings.
“Making deals can be tough. I learned at a young age that you have to deal with the boss. It’s very simple: deal with the boss wherever possible.”

Episode 3. The Art of the Deal
“Negotiation is a very, very delicate art. Sometimes you have to be tough, sometimes you have to be sweet as pie, you never know, it depends on who you are dealing with. I have always said that negotiation is not really learned it’s almost innate, it’s in the genes, a negotiator is born.”

Episode 4. A Deal’s a Deal
“Once you make a deal with somebody it’s really important to carry it through. You start developing the wrong reputation; it makes it impossible to make future deals. Once you shake hands that should be it.”

Episode 5. Stand Up For Yourself
“You’ve always got to stand up for yourself, you just have to fight for yourself, because basically nobody else is going to fight for you.”

Episode 6. Know What You’re Up Against
“Negotiation is a very very delicate art. The big thing in negotiation is to try and figure out your opponent otherwise you’re going to look like an idiot and lose big.”

Episode 7. God is in the Details
“Many times you hear the expression that ‘God is in the details’. When people come in to buy something, especially very rich people, they see details. If something’s wrong they see it and it reflects in the price.”
“That’s why I’m up early in the morning to check every detail of my construction sites. It’s a little bit like ‘watch somebody sell their used car and not wash it. You can spend ten dollars washing the car and get another two hundred dollars for the car and I’ve seen guys that are selling cars that are dirty, and I say that guy is a loser!”

Episode 8. Beggars Can’t Be Choosers
“Never beg when you’re trying to sell something. If it doesn’t work out, take your lumps and relax, but you’ll never sell through the begging route.”

Episode 9. You’ve Gotta Believe
“You’ve gotta believe in what your selling. If you don’t believe it, if you don’t really believe it yourself, it’ll never work it’ll never sell and you’re going to be miserable.”

Episode 10. Think Outside The Box
“Thinking outside of the box is something that is very much of a cliché but if you really want to be successful that’s how you’re going to have to do it.“

Episode 11. Summary Episode – No Tip

Episode 12. It’s Easier To Think Big
“It’s always been easier for me to think big, it was always easier for me to attract the money and the capital, than it would be if I did a small job some place that nobody cared about and nobody wanted to finance.”

Episode 13. Passion
“You cannot be successful without passion, if you don’t love what you’re doing if you don’t have passion for it, forget it, do something else, you’ll be much more successful and you’ll lead a lot happier life.”

Episode 14. Dog Does Not Eat Dog
“The greatest thing that can happen to a business man or woman is to surround yourself with talented people who also happen to be loyal. You never know what makes a loyal person, and guess what; if they’re not loyal to you one time don’t give them a second chance because they won’t be loyal to you the next time.“

If you haven’t heard of Donald Trump he is an American Real Estate Billionaire. He has several books and many people wish to have even a fraction of his success (hence the demand to be on the show).

A5 Spirax notebooks now come pre-printed with lines for the date. This is really great for me as I often forget to date the page when I
take notes from clients. So now there is a prompt on the page it’s going to be hard not to date every page!

Ok so I may be a bit crazy about A5 notebooks but I do use them to take down all of my ideas, to-do lists and notes. My point here would be that some people waste a lot of time developing their own complex notebook systems using expensive moleskin notebooks when they should really just keep it simple (Spirax notebooks are about $2, molskins are around $16 – AUD).

I just write ideas and notes down as they happen and if my to-do list gets too messy or full I re-write it. Re-writing the list also provides an opportunity to re-prioritise and drop tasks (fresh pages keep things tidy and give you a record of the past). As for finding things you will be surprised how fast you can scan through a 300 page notebook. If you want to call what I do a system then call it a RISC system (Seriously check out the links, you would need to carry an instruction sheet to remember all the steps!).

The next version of the Virgin Mobile Balance Gadget is out! Improvements include:

• Support for accounts with multiple mobiles. You can now select which mobile number data is displayed for.
• Bug Fixes for fetching data in Google Gadgets.

	Download for Vista: VirginMobileBalance.gadget Download for Google: VirginMobileBalance.gg
	Make sure you right-click the link and choose ‘Save As’ or the file extension may revert to ‘.zip’ and you will need to rename it as noted in the Installation section. Requirements: Windows Vista or Google Sidebar An Australian Virgin Mobile Account

Click ‘Read More’ or scroll down to find out how to use it.

Continue reading →

Due to the great response from everyone on the whirlpool forums I have upgraded the Virgin Mobile Gadget. It now works with both Google and Vista Sidebars and with Pre and Post Paid Virgin Mobile accounts. This new version of the gadget is named ‘Virgin Mobile Balance’.

Pre-Paid users will get the same great functionality in both Google and Vista Sidebars. Post-Paid users will now get their current months usage for calls and data!

Hopefully you can use it to optimise your mobile usage and save a few dollars.

	Download for Vista:VirginMobileBalance.gadget Download for Google: VirginMobileBalance.gg
	Make sure you right-click the link and choose ‘Save As’ or the file extension may revert to ‘.zip’ and you will need to rename it as noted in the Installation section.Requirements: Windows Vista or Google Sidebar An Australian Virgin Mobile Account

Installation

Download the gadget for your sidebar of choice above and double click the icon. When prompted click ‘Install’ or ‘OK’.Once installed the Virgin Mobile Credit Gadget will appear in your sidebar. Note: If your browser changes the extension of the file to ‘.zip’ simply rename the extension to ‘.gadget’ for vista or ‘.gg’ for google.

Setup

In Vista Sidebarsimply place your mouse over the gadget and click the ‘wrench’ icon when it appears.In Google Sidebar simply place your mouse over the gadget and click the ‘down arrow’ icon when it appears. Then select ‘options’.

The setup screen will then be displayed. Put your mobile number in the first box and your mobile account pin in the second box. Then click ‘OK’.Security Note: Vista Sidebar stores your password on your computer. Google gadgets stores your details on your computer unless you enable the web/roaming option in which case the data will be saved on google’s server. The gadget uses google’s encryption options which should protect your details in this case.

Usage: Post-Paid

Your call usage for the month is always displayed in the red area of the gadget. The data usage is green when less than 25% of the quota has been used.

Once you have used more than 25% of your data quota usage is displayed in white.

When 85% or more of your quota has been used the data usage will be displayed in bright red to warn you that you are nearly over your limit (so you can avoid the hefty over usage fees).

Usage: Pre-Paid

When you have new credit the green ‘New Credit’ message is displayed. You can make your credit last longer by trying not to make any calls or send any messages, as your credit will not begin to expire until you start using it.

Once you have started using your credit the amount left and time remaining to use it are displayed.

On the day your credit will expire the red ‘at midnight’ message is displayed. You can make the most of your credit by calling anyone might need to talk to over the next few days so you don’t need to start your next block of credit so soon (Be careful though if you use it all up and you have auto top-up turned on you will start using your next block of credit).

Refresh

The gadget updates your current balance bi-hourly. If you have just made a call and want to update your balance immediately just click on the gadget.

Licence

This gadget is free for personal use and is provided on an ‘As Is’ basis. You may not sell it and should always direct people to this site so they can download the latest version.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to trent77, who made sure that the post-paid functionality was working correctly.

Disclaimer

The only affiliation I have with Virgin Mobile is that I have a mobile phone account with them.

Suggestions & Help

If you have any suggestions or need some help you can email me (address in about section below) however please note if I am busy I may take a while to respond.

Don’t throw out the plastic trays from the packaging of your new cell phone/camera/thing. They can be used to store components for your next project (be it constructive or destructive). Here are some of the advantages:

• Screw’s and bits stay organised so you have a higher chance of putting them back in the same place.
• Bits don’t roll off your bench/desk to be lost forever.
• If you have to stop half way on a project you can just pack the tray up with the bits in.
• Free, so you can have a tray (or more) for each project.
• Trays can be thrown away or recycled (at the recycle centre) if they get dirty or broken.

Disadvantages:

• You have to remember not to throw out the trays :) .