Thomas Powell’s blog

· 10 (More) Reasons Why Your Business is Tanking.

1.  You’re scared to charge what you’re worth.

Number 1 is the biggest failure point that I’ve seen otherwise good business owners make.  Think about it.  Your plumber won’t show up for less than $70.  Neither will your electrician.  They’ve perfected their craft, licensed, and insured themselves.  How many hours of you screwing up the job is a one-hour, $70+ visit worth?

Playing music for weddings is similar.  I haven’t played one in a while, but my rate was 2-3 times the going rate for a church service.  I always showed up for the rehearsal (to lower the risk of surprises), and often ended up buying additional music for the service.

I’ll make an exception for charging less than the going rate.  I will provide my services for free.  That means that I know you well enough to give you my services as a gift, or you represent a charity that I would like to donate my time to.

Don’t muddy the waters by doing a “favor” and charging less.  The recipient will still have had to pay you, and won’t see the benefit that you provided as you do.  At the same time, you will have received less than your normal rate and not necessarily receive the amount of goodwill you expected.

Charge what you’re worth.  If you’re not worth a reasonable rate, then you probably shouldn’t be in that line of business, at least for yourself.

• Romancing the Clock "Accentuate the positives and reduce the negatives in your life." Reduce stress. Put things in perspective. Hire someone to mow the grass if you don't like doing it. Don't fight battles that cost you the war. Some points of this book seemed a little bit excessive if taken literally, but......
• WinDirStat - Windows Directory Statistics WinDirStat - Windows Directory Statistics. WinDirStat reads the whole directory tree once and then presents it in three useful views: The directory list, which resembles the tree view of the Windows Explorer but is sorted by file/subtree size, The treemap, which shows the whole contents of the directory tree straight......
• How Not to Program in C++ How Not to Program in C++: 111 Broken Programs and 3 Working Ones, or Why Does 2 + 2 = 5986 I expected many great things from this book. I got mixed results. I usually enjoy figuring out "Bugs of the Day" and the like, but this was book was......
• Dear Valued Customer, You Are a Loser The full title is, Dear Valued Customer, You Are a Loser: And Over 100 Other Embarrassing and Funny Stories of Technology Gone Mad. This book, by Rick Broadhead, has a somewhat deceptive title. It's not simply about bad customer service horror stories. It's about business horror stories, created or compounded......
• Cash4Gold rip-off Cash4Gold Will Offer One-Third of the Actual Value for your Gold - an interesting article circulating on Twitter through BoingBoing:  Rob Cockerham writes article critical of Cash4Gold offered cash to kill story Don't forget to read the update--Cash4Gold offers money for the site owner to take down or "de-optimize" the......

• Moving? Stay Away from U-Haul Moving is one of the most emotionally and physically taxing experiences that we can have. We have to up-root our entire lives from one part of the country to another, often leaving friends and family behind. We have to find a way to move our collection of possessions that we’ve......
• Social Security Recipients to Receive $250.00 Stimulus Payment When the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, more commonly known as the stimulus package, was enacted, almost nobody knew everything that said piece of legislation would do. (After all, it was over 1,000 pages long). We are still finding out about new benefits and changes to tax......
• When do you stop renting and buy? EBay started its Partner Network today. This is its affiliate program. EBay had been running its affiliate program through Commission Junction, but is terminating this relationship within a month or so. It's easy to understand why: eBay now owns its affiliate program rather than having to rent the service from......
• Greenwash Of The Week: Arrowhead Bottled Water Packaging. A few weeks ago I was in the grocery store to pick up some ice cream and came across a display for Arrowhead bottled water. As I always do, I walked by it paying no attention, but then a splash of green caught my eye on the packaging. So I......
• Are You Eating Enough of These 9 Diet Foods? Diets get boring, spice it up with these 9 foods Anyone who has been on a diet has probably dealt with the usual evils that come with the territory. Feeling hungry and deprived, eating tasteless, unsatisfying foods and craving the savory goodies you usually indulge in, and sometimes even binges.......

I wrote my congressperson, naïvely thinking that a “Washington outsider” Democratic representative would be open to any options which led to a greater fuel economy (higher passenger miles per gallon) and  less energy usage.  My proposal: expand creation of HOV lanes, basically mandating 1 HOV anywhere that at least 3 lanes of limited-access highway existed.  The response:

Thank you for contacting me with your support for carpooling and high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes.  I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.

As you may know, states have jurisdiction over the highways within their borders.  They also have the authority to determine the placement and availability of HOV lanes.  As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, I do not have the authority to require Kentucky to establish HOV lanes in the state.  I encourage you, however, to contact the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet at 502-564-4890 or KYTC.Comments@ky.gov.

…the “not my department” excuse.  Of course, this was never a problem for the Federal government when the speed limit was reduced to 55 MPH, making the limit a condition for receiving Federal highway funds.  When the Federal government needs to pressure a state to adhere to a national standard, it can vote with its checkbook.

So why isn’t carpooling part of the solution?

• It reduces overall wear and tear on all vehicles.  (Less consumption of vehicles?)
• It reduces overall fuel consumption (Hence there would be no “oil interest” support.)
  
• It reduces the urgency to completely dump fossil fuels (Hence no “green interest” or “alternative energy interest” support.)  We know the “oil interest” voter roll and their investments; dare we look at who is making poor decisions for the country based on their own investments in green energy?  Look what happened with ethanol.
  
• The average person would have to work out the logistics, which might cost a couple of swing votes.
  

• Previous Books. Reading list of books previously picked up...Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising... - an interesting examination in what makes the wealthy become wealthy.Dogs Never Lie About Love - insight into the emotional world of dogs, and excerpts of discussions about dogs.The Dog who Loved too Much - Dr. Nicholas Dodman's first......
• Reporting to LG&E Storm Information page from LG&E. Apparently, it does no good to attempt to report a downed line to LG&E.  That option puts you in a call queue for a customer service representative, but that queue expires in about 3 minutes. In those three minutes, you get loud hold music that......
• Dear Valued Customer, You Are a Loser The full title is, Dear Valued Customer, You Are a Loser: And Over 100 Other Embarrassing and Funny Stories of Technology Gone Mad. This book, by Rick Broadhead, has a somewhat deceptive title. It's not simply about bad customer service horror stories. It's about business horror stories, created or compounded......
• Will the stimulus actually stimulate? Economists say no McClatchy Washington Bureau | 02/12/2009 | Will the stimulus actually stimulate? Economists say no: "I think (doing) nothing would have been better," said Ed Yardeni, an investment analyst who's usually an optimist, in an interview with McClatchy. He argued that the plan fails to provide the right incentives to spur......
• Super Pac Man TV Game If you're a Pac-Man fan, this handy piece of nostalgia will interest you. Pac-Man, Pac-Man Plus, Super Pac-Man, and Pac & Pal. I had always enjoyed playing Super Pac-Man and Pac-Man and had read about the other two games. Pac-Man Plus is an almost frustratingly difficult version of of Pac-Man.......

• Ready For A Road Trip- Check This List Before Venturing Out Spring is in the air! Well perhaps only in our minds but it will be here before you know it. As the cold and dreary days of winter come to an end many people are left struggling with a bad case of cabin fever and what better way to brighten your......
• Voting For The Environment - Where The Democrats Stand. While I understand there are very big issues that the next President will have to face, one of my personal concerns is how they are going to treat issues pertaining to the environment. Prior to Edwards dropping out of the race, he had my vote based on his concern for......
• Is $200 Per Barrel Oil In Our Not So Distant Future? So says an analyst at Goldman Sachs who is known to be right about such things. Arjun N. Murti "argues that the world’s seemingly unquenchable thirst for oil means prices will keep rising from here and stay above $100 into 2011." However, Mr. Murti, like myself, thinks this is a......
• Essential Gear for the Consummate Backpacker [caption id="attachment_120" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="Backpacking Gear"][/caption]When you're a backpacker or a hiker who enjoys long jaunts through undiscovered territory, it goes without saying that you need to pack light. When you're traveling solo, there's no additional aid or transportation: just you, your feet, and gravity. Because of this need to......
• Investing With Your Values -- Book Review Investing with Your Values (aff.) is a must read for investor who's concerned at times about the companies they might be involved with. It's about 10 years old, so I wouldn't say it's a must-buy. Some of the information is really out of date and some is pretty much......

You always find things in odd places when the movers are around.

I call this one “Table on its side in high traffic area sans glass.”

• Reporting to LG&E Storm Information page from LG&E. Apparently, it does no good to attempt to report a downed line to LG&E.  That option puts you in a call queue for a customer service representative, but that queue expires in about 3 minutes. In those three minutes, you get loud hold music that......
• Super Pac Man TV Game If you're a Pac-Man fan, this handy piece of nostalgia will interest you. Pac-Man, Pac-Man Plus, Super Pac-Man, and Pac & Pal. I had always enjoyed playing Super Pac-Man and Pac-Man and had read about the other two games. Pac-Man Plus is an almost frustratingly difficult version of of Pac-Man.......
• I have got to get me one of these. I was searching for quad core on Amazon.com. I noticed that there were (5) desktops and (1) notebook. Actually, I think it was more like 2 desktops in reality... the others were processors.I clicked on the quad-core notebook result. Not a notebook... 70 lbs. I believe it also sells for......
• Read · 10 (More) Reasons Why Your Business is Tanking · 10 (More) Reasons Why Your Business is Tanking. 1.  You're scared to charge what you're worth. Number 1 is the biggest failure point that I've seen otherwise good business owners make.  Think about it.  Your plumber won't show up for less than $70.  Neither will your electrician.  They've perfected......
• Cash4Gold rip-off Cash4Gold Will Offer One-Third of the Actual Value for your Gold - an interesting article circulating on Twitter through BoingBoing:  Rob Cockerham writes article critical of Cash4Gold offered cash to kill story Don't forget to read the update--Cash4Gold offers money for the site owner to take down or "de-optimize" the......

EDF strikers cut power to French homes

California Taxation Leads to Mass Migration

California is 49^th (New York 50^th) in the Economic Freedom Index: http://www.ppinys.org/reports/jtf/econfreedom.htm

Nevada is 12^th

Other notables:

Kentucky is 39^th, Michigan 34^th

Indiana is 14^th, Texas is 17^th

• I have got to get me one of these. I was searching for quad core on Amazon.com. I noticed that there were (5) desktops and (1) notebook. Actually, I think it was more like 2 desktops in reality... the others were processors.I clicked on the quad-core notebook result. Not a notebook... 70 lbs. I believe it also sells for......
• Idiots at Work This book is a collection of:- Infamous true stories--IBM and the world market for "five computers", Iacocca's "how much clean air" quote.- Anonymous blunders - the "Gregg Typting Award" resume note.- Anonymous stupidity.- Corporate stupidity.The anonymous stuff you've probably heard before, but there are a lot of gems in this......
• Will the stimulus actually stimulate? Economists say no McClatchy Washington Bureau | 02/12/2009 | Will the stimulus actually stimulate? Economists say no: "I think (doing) nothing would have been better," said Ed Yardeni, an investment analyst who's usually an optimist, in an interview with McClatchy. He argued that the plan fails to provide the right incentives to spur......
• Read · 10 (More) Reasons Why Your Business is Tanking · 10 (More) Reasons Why Your Business is Tanking. 1.  You're scared to charge what you're worth. Number 1 is the biggest failure point that I've seen otherwise good business owners make.  Think about it.  Your plumber won't show up for less than $70.  Neither will your electrician.  They've perfected......
• Norton Ghost 12.0: My latest favorite tool Just used Norton Ghost to upgrade/replace a hard drive that was in the early stages of failing--it had had a few intermittent blue screen/reboots:This was a HP Pavilion zv5000 laptop with a 60GB drive and XP Home.Event Viewer showed several things of note around the reboot times:Got a bug check:......

• Which are the Forbes Best countries for Business ? Forbes Best Countries for Business For the fourth time, Forbes Magazine has published its annual Best Countries for Business ranking. For the second straight year Denmark has taken the No.1 spot. Best Countries for Business: 1. Denmark 2. USA 3. Canada 4. Singapore 5. New Zealand 6. United Kingdom 7.......
• 5 Wealth Building Tips for Financial Freedom There are a lot of different things that are involved in building up your wealth. One article is not going to explain everything that you can do in order to build wealth and obtain financial freedom. We have put a simple five step list together to help you build a......
• Does Insurance Really Matter When it Comes to Personal Finance? Most of us look at insurance premiums as a big drain on our finances. Insurance policies do not come cheap, but they may be essential. In many ways, you can look at insurance as a way of avoiding financial failure in the years to come. While you can’t buy a......
• how to become a billionaire In this article from Forbes magazine via MSN, I came across a few interesting statistics about their latest list of billionaires. Overall, seven of the 16 youngest [billionaires] hail from China, India or Russia. Meanwhile, aside from the Google and Yahoo guys, the only American among the 16 is publishing......

- Today is Trump family suck up day. (Was Ivanka just asked about real estate investing?)
- Gotta love the insecurity-based advertising from BDO.
- We must in a full force BS bear rally if earning disappointments are sending stocks higher now.
- “Ex post facto?” The correct term is “Bill of Attainder”, in regards to the specific targeting of certain companies’ bonuses.

• Who Were the Early Israelities and Where Did They Come From? For someone who is not a Middle East archaelogist, this book could potentially be overwhelming: The synthesis in the last few chapters reads faster than most pages in the early part of the book.William Dever speaks to the question that is the title of the book from an objective point......
• The Louisville football program is a disaster from the Card Chronicle The Louisville football program is a disaster - Card Chronicle.  Somebody had to say it.  We're no longer looking at the glory days any time soon.  The University of Louisville's best comparison for its current standing  is to their teams of the mid-70s. I could blame a little bit of the......
• More Dave Ramsey, Ancient History, and Texas Hold 'Em Another Dave Ramsey Book, More Than Enough. If you need more inspiration to get your priorities straight, this is it:I got the following book after listening to The Teaching Company's lecture series on Ancient Greece and Byzantium. I think I bought it through the History Book Club. You have to......
• Harvard Business Review on Managing Your Career Picked up in the airport while waiting for my flight, this book is geared toward the mid-level manager/executive--but the ideas are not hard to stretch to applications for even the everyday employee. At the beginning of each article is an executive summary.There are eight articles in this book:"Reawakening Your Passion......
• Cash4Gold rip-off Cash4Gold Will Offer One-Third of the Actual Value for your Gold - an interesting article circulating on Twitter through BoingBoing:  Rob Cockerham writes article critical of Cash4Gold offered cash to kill story Don't forget to read the update--Cash4Gold offers money for the site owner to take down or "de-optimize" the......

• Investing in Commercial Real Estate With Your Self-Directed IRA I had a real estate investing student call me earlier this week who was tearing up the commercial real estate market and pursuing deals in three states.  He was a real estate agent and a rehabber and he'd made a lot of progress using his market knowledge and marketing......
• The Commercial Real Estate Handblog Makes Top 10 List! The Tomato Made Our Day! [caption id="attachment_210" align="alignright" width="300" caption="The Tomato liked us? Really? Are you sure? "][/caption] After becoming a fan of The Real Estate Tomato through the Active Rain blog, imagine how excited I was to see little ole' us (formally known as www.WealthLifelines.com) mentioned as one......
• Free Seven-Part Educational E-mail Series on Residential Real Estate Investing With all the interest in flipping houses, I thought this was interesting.  Basically, you sign up to receive an e-mail every other day for 14 days.  This company, Atlanta Investing, specializes in foreclosures.  To get more info, or to sign up for the emails, head on over to Atlanta Investing.......
• The Mortgage Crisis and Investments in Real Estate According to regional and state real estate analysts, the factors which previously fueled the housing boom of the last few years are easy to explain. The factors that fueled this boom in the real instate industry ranged significantly, including: - Interest rates that were historically low. - Flight-Risk Safety Investments......
• Finally! The real gamblers in real estate ... FreeMoneyFinance commented yesterday on a CNN Money article: Homes: Cashing Out Might Freeze You Out A lot of homeowners, seeing a nice rise in the price of their homes and a stratospheric market, think about (gasp!) selling their homes and getting back in later when the market cools down. Not......

If votes went strictly by household/household income, the barrier for

• A simple majority: $44,389
• A super majority (60%):  ~$57,000
• 2/3 majority:  ~$67,000
• 3/4 majority:  ~$82,000

Household income in the United States – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

• Carpooling is not part of a solution because it serves no ones' "special interests" I wrote my congressperson, naïvely thinking that a "Washington outsider" Democratic representative would be open to any options which led to a greater fuel economy (higher passenger miles per gallon) and  less energy usage.  My proposal: expand creation of HOV lanes, basically mandating 1 HOV anywhere that at least 3......
• Read · 10 (More) Reasons Why Your Business is Tanking · 10 (More) Reasons Why Your Business is Tanking. 1.  You're scared to charge what you're worth. Number 1 is the biggest failure point that I've seen otherwise good business owners make.  Think about it.  Your plumber won't show up for less than $70.  Neither will your electrician.  They've perfected......
• Caro's Book of Poker Tells Formerly known as Caro's Book of Tells, this is a Cardoza Publishing print of the original book. Stage-by-stage photos for the tells and profitability/accuracy of reading tells are included for each tell. Photos are from the original book (1970's?), but the descriptions and "Caro's Laws of Tells" are very useful.......
• Failure to communicate I don’t dread income tax filing because of the complexity. I dread it because I pay 2x the SSI contribution + at my highest marginal tax rate on all of my music gigs, and I dread the day that I don’t withhold enough throughout the year to offset the robbery......
• Harvard Business Review on Managing Your Career Picked up in the airport while waiting for my flight, this book is geared toward the mid-level manager/executive--but the ideas are not hard to stretch to applications for even the everyday employee. At the beginning of each article is an executive summary.There are eight articles in this book:"Reawakening Your Passion......

• Happy 4th of July! Most of the visitors to this site are USA folks like myself, to you I wish the greatest of Independence Days.  To my non-US readers today is a big day for us.  You probably know why.  I personally feel that the United States, despite its many flaws, is the......
• Religious Degree Scams: Fraudulent, Substandard & Illegal Degrees Michael Chesbro asked: The prevalence of fraudulent, substandard, and illegal diplomas and degrees is an ever-increasing problem in the United States. The United States Congress has found that the safety of the American public is particularly endangered by the sale of fraudulent degrees, and that the preeminence of the......
• linklings, "this is the worst ever" edition Here's a quote for you. I wouldn't say I respect this guy, but I always find him worth listening to: No, this is the worst ever. This is the worst I've ever seen. 1990 was a bad period of time, but this is far worse, and this is worse on......
• United States Stamps Stamps -> Books and Manuscripts -> Back of Book United States stamps are fun to collect and you will have many different varieties from which to choose. If you are looking for a hobby for your kids, or you are just interested in US history, these stamps are a great......
• Where are your Tax Dollars Going? I am not sure how I feel about the idea of TARP which wikipedia defines as, TARP allows the United States Department of the Treasury to purchase or insure up to $700 billion of "troubled" assets. "Troubled assets" are defined as "(A) residential or commercial mortgages and any securities, obligations,......

Methinks the infant son’s acid reflux is at play here:

• Who Were the Early Israelities and Where Did They Come From? For someone who is not a Middle East archaelogist, this book could potentially be overwhelming: The synthesis in the last few chapters reads faster than most pages in the early part of the book.William Dever speaks to the question that is the title of the book from an objective point......
• Norton Ghost 12.0: My latest favorite tool Just used Norton Ghost to upgrade/replace a hard drive that was in the early stages of failing--it had had a few intermittent blue screen/reboots:This was a HP Pavilion zv5000 laptop with a 60GB drive and XP Home.Event Viewer showed several things of note around the reboot times:Got a bug check:......
• Super Pac Man TV Game If you're a Pac-Man fan, this handy piece of nostalgia will interest you. Pac-Man, Pac-Man Plus, Super Pac-Man, and Pac & Pal. I had always enjoyed playing Super Pac-Man and Pac-Man and had read about the other two games. Pac-Man Plus is an almost frustratingly difficult version of of Pac-Man.......
• Reporting to LG&E Storm Information page from LG&E. Apparently, it does no good to attempt to report a downed line to LG&E.  That option puts you in a call queue for a customer service representative, but that queue expires in about 3 minutes. In those three minutes, you get loud hold music that......
• Dear Valued Customer, You Are a Loser The full title is, Dear Valued Customer, You Are a Loser: And Over 100 Other Embarrassing and Funny Stories of Technology Gone Mad. This book, by Rick Broadhead, has a somewhat deceptive title. It's not simply about bad customer service horror stories. It's about business horror stories, created or compounded......

I don’t dread income tax filing because of the complexity. I dread it because I pay 2x the SSI contribution + at my highest marginal tax rate on all of my music gigs, and I dread the day that I don’t withhold enough throughout the year to offset the robbery that I experience.

Obama: Get the dread out of tax deadline day – Yahoo! Finance.

• Idiots at Work This book is a collection of:- Infamous true stories--IBM and the world market for "five computers", Iacocca's "how much clean air" quote.- Anonymous blunders - the "Gregg Typting Award" resume note.- Anonymous stupidity.- Corporate stupidity.The anonymous stuff you've probably heard before, but there are a lot of gems in this......
• Read · 10 (More) Reasons Why Your Business is Tanking · 10 (More) Reasons Why Your Business is Tanking. 1.  You're scared to charge what you're worth. Number 1 is the biggest failure point that I've seen otherwise good business owners make.  Think about it.  Your plumber won't show up for less than $70.  Neither will your electrician.  They've perfected......
• Fifth Third Bank "Early Access" Check Advances Fifth Third Bank has been pushing this "service" pretty hard at their branches.  It's basically a pre-authorized payday loan account that you can access through your online account access (for a small 10% advance fee).   I guess they need a replacement for bad home loans.  Their stock price, as of......
• Previous Books. Reading list of books previously picked up...Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising... - an interesting examination in what makes the wealthy become wealthy.Dogs Never Lie About Love - insight into the emotional world of dogs, and excerpts of discussions about dogs.The Dog who Loved too Much - Dr. Nicholas Dodman's first......
• The Louisville football program is a disaster from the Card Chronicle The Louisville football program is a disaster - Card Chronicle.  Somebody had to say it.  We're no longer looking at the glory days any time soon.  The University of Louisville's best comparison for its current standing  is to their teams of the mid-70s. I could blame a little bit of the......

• Income Taxes It is US federal law that income tax has to be paid to the IRS. Knowing the basics, and understanding your own personal situation will help in reducing the risk of overpaying on your taxes. There are ways to reduce what you have to pay, making use of the current......
• 2007 Federal Income Tax Rates Not a single one of us writes a check to the IRS and enjoys the privilege of doing so, but for now, that’s the way life is. There’s a pretty good chance taxes would be a lot lower if people realized how much money they were giving to the government......
• Leveraged Finance Defined Leveraged finance relates to funding a business, a company or another investment using more debt than would be considered normal. More than normal debt is going to imply by nature that the funding is a riskier prospect, and therefore more costly than normal borrowing in general. As a result, leveraged......
• a desperate addiction political news is a disease Stay away from the news. I've given that advice over and over.  It does not entertain or educate or enlighten.  Unless you plan to do something about it, reading about a tragedy on the other side of the globe will only depress you.  Yet......
• How Obama Might Affect Your Taxes And Personal Finances Barack Obama was voted the new president elect yesterday. Very early in the campaign, the number one issue changed from the war in Iraq to the slumping economy. Obama has preached change throughout his campaign and the most pressing issue that requires change is the economy. Additionally, Democrats hold the......

The truth about Wall Street and bank bonuses

xkcd – A Webcomic – 1000 Times.

• Idiots at Work This book is a collection of:- Infamous true stories--IBM and the world market for "five computers", Iacocca's "how much clean air" quote.- Anonymous blunders - the "Gregg Typting Award" resume note.- Anonymous stupidity.- Corporate stupidity.The anonymous stuff you've probably heard before, but there are a lot of gems in this......
• Will saving more money kill the economy? If I save more money, will I kill our economy? - "Money still talks, apparently. I just happen to believe it speaks loudest when people are in control of it."  This topic made me think a little about alternative stimulus.  What if interest on CDs was made tax-free while requiring......
• I have got to get me one of these. I was searching for quad core on Amazon.com. I noticed that there were (5) desktops and (1) notebook. Actually, I think it was more like 2 desktops in reality... the others were processors.I clicked on the quad-core notebook result. Not a notebook... 70 lbs. I believe it also sells for......
• More Dave Ramsey, Ancient History, and Texas Hold 'Em Another Dave Ramsey Book, More Than Enough. If you need more inspiration to get your priorities straight, this is it:I got the following book after listening to The Teaching Company's lecture series on Ancient Greece and Byzantium. I think I bought it through the History Book Club. You have to......
• Read · 10 (More) Reasons Why Your Business is Tanking · 10 (More) Reasons Why Your Business is Tanking. 1.  You're scared to charge what you're worth. Number 1 is the biggest failure point that I've seen otherwise good business owners make.  Think about it.  Your plumber won't show up for less than $70.  Neither will your electrician.  They've perfected......

I have to admit, while McDonald’s offers international customizations, a Big Mac and fries is a pretty predictable offering no matter where you go.  I also find that while McDonald’s doesn’t deliver the highest quality food items, I’ve never experienced unacceptable service or quality.

Say What You Want | chrisbrogan.com.

• Read · 10 (More) Reasons Why Your Business is Tanking · 10 (More) Reasons Why Your Business is Tanking. 1.  You're scared to charge what you're worth. Number 1 is the biggest failure point that I've seen otherwise good business owners make.  Think about it.  Your plumber won't show up for less than $70.  Neither will your electrician.  They've perfected......
• Super Pac Man TV Game If you're a Pac-Man fan, this handy piece of nostalgia will interest you. Pac-Man, Pac-Man Plus, Super Pac-Man, and Pac & Pal. I had always enjoyed playing Super Pac-Man and Pac-Man and had read about the other two games. Pac-Man Plus is an almost frustratingly difficult version of of Pac-Man.......
• Inside every chief exec, there's a Soviet planner | Business | The Observer Inside every chief exec, there's a Soviet planner | Business | The Observer.  Macroeconomic central planning failed in the Soviet Union, but every company is a management planning factory. If work is fragmented so that people have no direct line of sight to the customer, people have to be driven......
• Harvard Business Review on Managing Your Career Picked up in the airport while waiting for my flight, this book is geared toward the mid-level manager/executive--but the ideas are not hard to stretch to applications for even the everyday employee. At the beginning of each article is an executive summary.There are eight articles in this book:"Reawakening Your Passion......
• I have got to get me one of these. I was searching for quad core on Amazon.com. I noticed that there were (5) desktops and (1) notebook. Actually, I think it was more like 2 desktops in reality... the others were processors.I clicked on the quad-core notebook result. Not a notebook... 70 lbs. I believe it also sells for......