Starting the purge

This weekend was all about the purge. Mostly to get rid of things that are broken, really old and not longer being used. The purge will definitely help with organizing and packing.

If you want to successfully purge and declutter then I find it easier to break things down into smaller groups. Start with one room. If one room is too much then start with a portion of that room.



Our purge started in the bedroom. We wanted to tackle the closet but it was overwhelming at first so we moved to the dressers. We went through the dresser drawers and removing anything that was not clothing. Then we sorted that pile into to a keep or discard pile. Then we packing the keep pile away in a to be "moved" box. The rest was shredding and recycled or tossed into the bin.

I'm particular horrible at keeping my bedside table empty as well as the top of my dresser. So I took a little stab at those areas and shredding lots of paper work that was easy to sort.

You see, it's all about keep it simple when you're purging.

Tonight the shredding party will continue and hopefully I will have a clean and empty bedside table and dresser. Maybe I'll even start purging items from the closet. I do see a few items of clean clothing which really I could give to good will.

Everyone has limits

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 - Jan. 20): You may be eager to do more and do better but the planets warn you cannot possibly keep up this red hot pace forever. Everyone has limits and you are getting dangerously close to yours now, so put your health first and slow down a bit.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/horoscopes/whats-in-the-stars-for-you-today/article1151368/

Well considering the recent events that have been going on I think a change of pace is need. There's only so much excitement one can take.

Started shopping and decorating

Today I started shopping for Christmas gifts for my family. It turned out to be very successful. I picked up some gifts for my nephews and niece.

Every year I'm somewhat shell-shocked by the number of people out shopping. Even though I shouldn't be surprised I am. It must have something to do with all of the great sales that are going.

This year my girlfriend and I are trying something new. We're going to pool our cash together and buy a large gift. We're really interesting in the a 46" Sharp Aquos LCD HDTV. When I was out shopping I saw a couple of them in on display. They look fantastic. I'm hoping one of these big box store will hook-up a Blu-ray player so I can see the quality of the video.

When I got home from all the shopping it was time to start Christmas decorating. The Christmas tree is up and all of the ornaments are hung. The other decorations are peppered through out the house. It's starting to look very festive.

High Interest Savings Accounts

It seems like all of the major banks in Canada are offering a High Interest Savings Account.

This service is definitely valuable to anyone that wants to put money into a savings account and watch their money grow at a very low risk.

By "low risk" I mean the percentage of money lost over long-term growth. If you factor in the current fluctuation in the market today verses the steady growth of a savings account at 3.0% to 4.0% you can see some generous growth.

Be keep in mind that a high interesting savings accounts are by no means a substitute for an RRSP. High interesting savings account do offer growth (and in some cases anniversary bonuses) but you still have to pay taxes on the interested earned by yours savings (thank you tax man). RRSPs offer a "tax shelter" until you decide to cash them out (thanks again tax man). But that a completely different topic.

As a side note, high interest savings accounts are just one piece of your financial portfolio. If you really interesting in having your money work for you I would encourage looking into mutual founds, GICs, bonds, RRSP, and events stocks.

Back to the topic at hand...

I've been comparing high interest savings accounts between a few different banks and I have found two picks that have some good benefits.

PC Financial - Interest Plus™ savings account (3.35%*)

and

ING Direct Canada - Investment Savings Account (3.30%*)

You can take a look at the pros and cons of both but I found this article at RedFlagDeals.com that breaks down all of the savings accounts across each bank within Canada. It is worth the read if you interesting in saving some cash and making a little bit extra

Canadian High Interest Savings Accounts go head to head

Enjoy.

*Rates are subject to change and may also require an initial investment of $1,000+. These rates are current as of 2008-04-07.

The Last Lecture by Dr. Randy Pausch

I found this lecture to be very inspiring and I thought I would share it with everyone.



Thank you YouTube.

It's been awhile

It's almost been a month and I can't even tell you where all the time has gone. I've had a few projects on the go so that might have something to do with it.

Currently my biggest project is to become debut free. After a few calculations and cut backs I have set my goal to be debut free in 14 months. Well 12 now since we are already 2 months into this year.

I am making slow progress but it is progress none-the-less.

Hopefully my tax return will reward me for my hard work and I'll have some more money to put away.

Motivation for the masses

Jeff Atwood at Coding Horror wrote a post Yes, But What Have You *Done*? back in the summer of this year.

I have to say I agree with some of points in the post. Like a lot of people in this world I have tendency to say I'm going to do something and then I put it off. Or I get about halfway through a project and then stop when I hit an obstacle that I just don't feel like dealing with.

So I'm going to start implementing this new way of thinking. Do it F***ing Now! I hope that it'll give me the motivation I need to stick to and finish all of the things I have planned.

The TTC needs improvement

At least 5 days a week I use the TTC to travel around Toronto. Since I live in the east end of the city I have to take at least two, if not three, different methods of public transportation get to my destination.

The travel time to get downtown (Yonge & Queen) from my neighborhood (Victoria Park & Eglinton) takes approximately 45 minutes. Which in my opinion is too long. I say this because if I drive to the same destination in my car it takes 25 to 30 minutes.

I feel that the TTC can improve their system by increasing route frequency, building more subway lines and increasing the size of their vehicles to accommodate more passengers. That last option may not be viable but maybe it's time to consider other vehicles that can accomplish this task.

Don't get me wrong. The TTC is a much better public transport system in comparison to the public transport systems in the GTA (i.e. Oakville or Burlington).

But for a city that is as large and encompassing as Toronto the public transport system requires great improvement. Especially considering the single, daily, weekly, and monthly fare prices.

That being said the TTC will raise the fare prices on tokens, tickets, weekly and monthly passes. This increase takes effect on Nov 4th, 2007.

I hope that this increase will be recycled into the system to help improve it.

We can only hope.

Design slacker - My Design Project

I know I have been the biggest slacker when it comes to the re-design and layout of this blog. But there is good reason behind my slacker ways.

Basically I've been working on over drive to finish my clients sites. Well I'm currently experience a lull in my work load. I plan to take full advantage of this lull and create a new design that hopefully will be consider "innovative", "fresh" and all those special things.

I hope to create something like that so I can compete in the Layer Tennis matches.

Hopefully I'll be able to do that.

Cheers.

PHP Brush Up and CakePHP

My previous PHP programming experience has been a blessing this past week.

Quite recently I've was exposed to the CakePHP. CakePHP, in a nutshell, is a Model View Controller (MVC) design pattern. It provides a structured framework that allows PHP programmer to rapidly develop robust web applications.

Currently I'm in the process right now of writing some custom helpers that will retrieve images from a database and provide an easy way for the "View" to use those images.

I'll be sure to add more details when I have a working example.

Back on track

I know it's been awhile since my last post. But with good reason.



I started my new career with The Globe and Mail today. Everything seemed to go very well and I'm very pleased that I choose to work for them.

Regular posts will continue tomorrow.

Improve Body Relationship - Day 45

I slept like a baby last night.

So much so that I slept-in and only had time to eat breakfast and quickly get ready for work. I didn't get a chance to weigh-in or do my measurements. I'll have to do those tomorrow.

This week has been somewhat of a challenge. Why? Well there have been a few days that personal stuff took over my regular routine and I didn't have the time to focus on food and exercise. I ate whatever I felt like and I had low impact walks. I guess all the cleaning I did would be consider exercise but that's not the point. The point is my goal my again be extend by another week. Well I guess I could double up the time and amount of my exercises which could increase the number of calories worked off.

Maybe it is time to re-examine my exercise routine to see if I can increase my efforts towards a healthier body and mind.

The Pursuit of Happyness

Yesterday The Pursuit of Happyness came out on DVD. I wanted to see this in the theater but I didn't have a chance. I rented it last night.

I'm glad I was about to take sometime out to watch this DVD. This movie has given me some insight into my life based on experiences and perspective in this film. Just to see how much someone is willing to fight for a better life make me feel that I should be fighting for something better. I shouldn't just except mediocrity from myself. I should pushing myself to do whatever is necessary for the life and dreams that I want achieve. Fitness and health is only the small picture. I must focus on my life as whole instead of just small pieces at a time.

Here's to fighting for a better life.

In my opinion The Pursuit of Happyness is a great film. I would recommend this movie to anyone out there that feels that a better life and happiness is something worth fighting for!