November has coming screaming along to warn of the end of yet another year. Where did the time go? With the arrival of the chill winds and brisk weather, comes Ramit’s Save $1000 in 30 Days Challenge. It looks like fun and is easy enough, so I decided to give it a go. You should, too. You don’t have to save $1000 if you don’t have that much money left over, but it’s worth trying to reach that goal. ...

[via Harvard Business Online] There is some interesting research at Lehigh University about the level of deception used in communications mediums. The studies compare e-mail to pen(cil)-and-paper communication methods. A pair of recent studies suggest that e-mail is the most deceptive form of communications in the workplace–even more so than more traditional kinds of written communications, like pen-and-paper. More surprising is that people actually feel justified when lying using e-mail, the studies show. ...

A few years ago, Yale University did a study which revealed the twelve words in this post title as the most powerful words in the English language. Marketers were quick to add a powerful thirteenth word – free. Internet marketing has managed to severely dilute the efficacy of the word “free”, but it still manages to get people’s attention whether it is on a billboard, a web ad, or a newspaper circular. Ashley Morgan at Upstart Blogger makes a good point about driving traffic to your blog by giving something away for free. ...

I’m a PC Okay, so I am not exactly a PC. I am typing this on my PowerBook. Unless of course you consider a Mac to be a personal computer. I do, but it has long been the decision by American culture that a PC is anything running the Windows operating system and a Mac is made by Apple and is the perfect computer (PC?). Anyhow, we’ll stick with popular consensus. Linux also goes on PCs, but since I administer a lot of Linux daily, I’ll talk about it some other time. Sorry fellow penguin-heads. ...

Arrr! It be that time of year, me hearties. Tha’s right. ‘Tis international talk like a pirate day. Every September 19th, you too can participate in this meme and talk like a pirate. That is, if you’re strange like me. My friends and co-workers usually just roll their eyes and walk away. But that is no deterrent to my enjoyment of the day. If you need a little primer, head on over to the official International Talk Like a Pirate Day site and have a look at “The Basics”. If you are more visually oriented, the site’s founders, Ol’ Chumbucket and Cap’n Slappy, have posted a YouTube video called Talk Like a Pirate Day: The Five A’s. ...

That is a post title that is not likely to get many search hits except among that small group of Internet savvy, Google-fu wielding, sassy septuagenarians. So why use it? Well, it’s like this. I was driving to work this morning and I passed a couple of seventy-somethings in a convertible out for a nice, cool cruise. It was a beautiful morning, and I must admit my jealousy at these two elders out for a leisurely jaunt. ...

(via Slashdot) Apparently modern steel is just not good enough anymore. As we create new technologies, we must turn more and more to fiction for inspiration. Okay, so I doubt anyone was sitting in the meeting suggesting that an attempt to make Rearden Metal be made, but that’s essentially what scientists are seeking to create – a new miracle metal. On the anniversary of 9/11, it is good to see that research surrounding the collapse of the Twin Towers has led to information that could better our technology and our world. ...

Pocket change is quite useful, especially if you’ve got a jar to put it in at the end of the day. Store it all for a year and you’d be surprised at how much money you can save in this way. But that’s not the kind of change I am talking about today. During my undergraduate studies, I had a management course with a professor who was boring. Correction. He was BORING. Despite that, he had a surprising amount of enthusiasm for kaizen. So much so that the item that sticks in my mind most from the course is that very concept. ...

An old adage reads, Never say never. The irony is not lost on me, but that aside, the message is important. Even so, I believe it is wrong in some cases, especially those where the negative aspect of the word “never” is reversed so as to make it a positive way to approach life. Such is the case when I say, Never Stop Dreaming About a decade ago, I decided to pursue my dream of becoming an actor. Stage primarily, but I would not have turned down an opportunity to appear on the silver screen. ...

It’s a simple question that built the Twitter empire 140 characters at a time. What are you doing? And yet, I feel that although I use Twitter fairly often, I do not actually ask myself that question enough throughout the work day. How many times have you found yourself wasting what would be otherwise productive time doing something… well, unproductive? If you’re a regular reader here, then you’ve heard of Merlin Mann by now. I’ve written about his sites, and I’ve written about his Inbox Zero solution for e-mail (which I will swear by for the rest of my life). It won’t come as a surprise then that the Mann who built the 43 Folders site on the principles of Getting Things Done and general productivity has once again come up with a nifty little tool for staying on track. ...