Simon's guide to self- peace

    1.    Know that somethings you can change, somethings you can't. Change the things you can change, but never sweat the things you can't.
    2.    Accept other people's motivations and strategies. They fall under the things you can't change.
    3.    Do everything well, but do the things you love amazingly.
    4.    Experience the now to the fullest- dont miss a moment!
    5.    Find your mission- you already know it; just be honest with yourself.
    6.    YOU decide the person that you need to be- not outside influences.
    7.    Always choose the things which will make you grow, not the easiest things which normally will hold you back.
    8.    Do not judge external things- they are not naturally good or bad; it is us who decide.
    9.    Sometimes, it is not only the big things that make a difference- it is the breath-takingly small things that mean most.
    10.    Yesterday and tomorrow will never exist.

Free with every dog!

I used to have a dog when I was young- a couple, actually. A young boys best friend is his dog, and we grew up together; climbing trees, endless walks and eternal skylarking.

Oh, sure the dog did crap everywhere. Those were the days when having dog shit in your treads of your shoe was a daily occurrence; it was a badge of youth. That's what lollypop sticks were for.

I can remember one day walking fresh smelly shit all over my mate's parents less-than-an-hour-old carpet. Oh, how we laughed, as his Father scrubbed and scrubbed. It never was the same.

Sure, there were occasional blindness incidents (we don't like to talk about those). And OK, rampant viruses and stomach infections, but hey, we must all eat a bit of dirt sometime in our lives, right?

Fast forward 20 years, and things have changed. Now free with every dog is a bag of poo. You see the people walking around with their dogs, come rain or shine, lead in one hand, bag o'shite in the other. Glamourous indeed!

It is now the vital assesscory- an old bag to carry the crap in. You see the people waiving them around as they partrol- against their will- around the local park. It's OK where they crap- as long as you carry it around with you. Lovely, warm, stinking, shit.

Not for me, I am afraid. Maybe it's because I am older; maybe it's because I like breathing clean air; maybe I am a snob.

Because I have no intention of porting the crap around in an old bag, or even going out when I do not want to late at night (I have got kids for that), I will not be getting a dog any time soon.

I will therefore be sticking with the 2 cats. And their muddy paw prints on the leather settee.

What makes you alive?

“Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go and do that. For what the world needs, is people who have come fully alive.” Gil Baile

Great quote- but do you know what makes you come alive?

What is it that makes you come alive, feel alive and live? What do you do that makes you smile, breath and live?

So many people wake up, do what they have to do, and then go to bed. Occasionally,we get chance to fly a little, before being reigned back in.

Why can't we live all the time? Every day? How different would you life be? How much better would it be?

First step is to find it.  Clarity is the power.

Then work out how to live doing it, getting paid.

Yes, it is hard. But isn't you life worth it?

“Ask yourself what makes you come alive and go and do that. For what the world needs, is people who have come fully alive.”

Earphones

Just bought a new pair of sennheiser headphones.

GORGEOUS sound quality- right up there with our Bose sound dock.

But c'mon. 'Asymmetric headphones'? What is all that about? Basically, one side is longer than the other. That's it. Their lop-sided.

Great sound. Stupid design.

iPod touch upgrading experience

When Steve Jobs announced the plans for the ipod touch and iphone back at the Keynote in January, I was stoked- this was so exciting. My wife had just got me an ipod touch for Christmas, as my last 3rd generation ipod 's hard drive had died. The new version is such a cool experience,  I thought it could not get much better. But then Steve's announcements- of applications and mobile productivity-sounded such a strong and attractive proposition, I could hardly wait the six months it would take to get it up and running.

So I held my breathe for six months until the WWDC in June, and he announced the same thing again, this time you only have to wait a month. Sorry? The 2 main announcements of the year, and they both said 'wait'? This sounded like madness? Frustrated, I used to ziphone to unlock my ipod.The process took 2 minutes, and was very impressive- simple and straight forwards. Yes, this would do me.

A blip in my system caused me to have to restore the ipod at the beginning of July. With only a few days to go, I decided to hang with 1.1.4, and then upgrade.

July 10th, and the appstore on itunes went live- I could look around at all the loveliness available. Never to be one for half measures, I downloaded 50 applications for the ipod, salivating at the prospects of be able to use my ipod in new ways.

July 11th came and went, with mixed messages on upgrades and itunes availability. Frustrating, but understandable- the whole world was clambering for this new software after all.

July 12th, 7am, I managed to get the software. A 2 1/2 hour upgrade later, and I was there. It went quite smooth, just slowly; it was obviously a new operating system, not just an upgrade.

I have been using it 24 hours now, and I can honestly say, I am surprised. I am surprised how unstable it is- it feels like I have gone back to using Windows after using OSX. problems include-

• If I use too many applications one after another, they crash, and I have to restart the ipod. 
• Randomly, starting any application will cause the ipod to restart. 
• The actual restart itself takes about 5 times longer than before- about 2 minutes to boot up.
• The syncing takes longer as well- I am talking minutes longer, not seconds
• Each time I plug it in, it back's itself up. That's great, except I am not on Mobile Me, and the back up takes about 5 minutes to complete.

And the App's? Well, let's say that the app's enable me to do things that I never knew I could do, and never wanted to do. After working through the 50 app's, I soon discovered that some of them required the features of the iphone (that is, a microphone and speaker) to be fully enabled; fair enough, so I delete those.

Then I get to the ones whose purpose is, well, rubbish. A great example of this is Hold On, an app which tests you to see how long you can keep a virtual button depressed.no, really- press the button and hold on to beat the time. How (why?) did Apple let this through the net?

So I have wittered down the number of useful app's, and am now down to about 20. I like the Facebook app (though I don't care for Facebook itself). Super Monkey ball is great, but frustrating to have to start over each time you go into it. Band seems good, as does Cube Runner and Blip Solitaire.Also, the free remote control for itunes is very impressive. I am not on AIM, so have not tried that app; though I am a big Twitter fan, and the Twitterific app does not seem much more than the mobile version of the web page.

What would be killer apps'? I am after specifics- something which would enable me to work and be productive- a Blogger app, so I can Blog from my ipod touch; and something that would enable me to surf my home network for pictures and files onto my ipod.

One other thing- my battery life is shortened considerable- you can almost see the battery guide going down on some app's.

24 hours in, and the post Christmas day feeling has gone. I am left with an unstable ipod, which does everything far to slowly. I have some great app's, some strange app's, and some which are a waste of digital air. I still love it though, and hope that as time goes on, things settle down, and some great and useful app's (to me at least) come out.

I think Apple needs to issue a stability update as well; though in fairness, an update normally comes out for all major updates not long after the original comes out.

So would I recommend it? Yes, without a doubt! What we are seeing is the start of something massive- computers in our hands. now all we need is a more comprehensive stable of app's (ilife on the ipod touch and iphone?), and a more comprehensive wireless networkign system available wherever you are (or a 3g attahcment to the ipod touch), and the next stage of computing is a reality.

Gordon Brown and his infinite wiseness

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7492573.stm

Gordon- your a genuis. Save the world by not throwing out food.

WE THROW OUT FOOD BECAUSE WE DONT WANT IT, YOU CLOWN. JUST BECAUSE YOU SAY DON'T, IT WILL NOT MEAN THAT I EAT SOMETHING GONE BAD OR MOULDY, YOU JOKER.

Sigh. David Cameroon must be rubbing his hands.

New Iphone Shuffle