Posted By RichC on June 22, 2011
Posting something marked as “advice” is rather egotistical, don’t you think … 
but then I’m not sure how else to label this?
Reading for pleasure (and personal edification) is something many of us do and yet feel guilty when we take the time. It is a private/personal activity that closes one off from family, spouse and friends. It can be seen as a time ‘waster’ (often depending on what is being read) taking precious hours away from work and home; reading can feel as if we are stealing time from more productive tasks or more importantly, from those we love.
How should we manage our ‘alone time’ and properly manage the time spent in self-absorbed reading? Although I can’t claim success, here are a few suggestion that work for me.
- Budget personal reading time to one chapter of a book per day (30 minutes if you would rather use time). This may sound ridiculously stringent to hardcore readers, but it all but eliminates the guilt of reading for hours and ignoring people we love and often more pressing issues.
- The one chapter a day pace keeps a person structured and moving through the number of books we often acquire. For example, I tend to purchase a couple of books at a time … and the chapter a day ‘budget’ enables me to read most of what I purchase and to keep up with subjects of interest.
- Use travel time “away from the family” as catch up time. I have found that this ‘can be’ the most productive reading time IF one keep other media turned off. When traveling I try not to turn on the TV in a hotel and use the excuse that the hotel hotspot is often too slow/busy for a good Internet connection. Reading a couple extra chapters seems more productive.
- Vacations are often times people love to read. If it is a family passion, then taking some personal time to read is welcomed by all. Still, recognize that the book will remain ready “anytime,” but children are often going to be available for a very finite time.
- Don’t waste your time struggling through a dull book. If by chapter two it has not captured your interest, put it aside and move to the next one on your list.
- If you are a favorite author reader, make a top ten list and stick to best sellers from them. The restrictive list will make it far easier in budgeting your time in reading fiction, enabling you to reading from that pile of used books you’ve been collecting.
Being disciplined with your time still enables a person 15-20 books a year. For most this is a reasonable goal and do-able with the one chapter/30 minutes per day strategy, especially if you find a few more free reading hours during travel and vacations.
Category: Advice, Books |
3 Comments »
Tags: advice, Books, reading
Posted By RichC on June 21, 2011
It’s not often the AOL/HuffPo finds fault with Obamacare … but it looks like this costly oversight even has liberal universal healthcare lovers questioning the new law:
President Barack Obama’s health care law would let several million middle-class people get nearly free insurance meant for the poor, a twist government number crunchers say they discovered only after the complex bill was signed.
The change would affect early retirees: A married couple could have an annual income of about $64,000 and still get Medicaid, said officials who make long-range cost estimates for the Health and Human Services department.
Up to 3 million more people could qualify for Medicaid in 2014 as a result of the anomaly. That’s because, in a major change from today, most of their Social Security benefits would no longer be counted as income for determining eligibility. It might be compared to allowing middle-class people to qualify for food stamps.
Medicare chief actuary Richard Foster says the situation keeps him up at night.
“I don’t generally comment on the pros or cons of policy, but that just doesn’t make sense,” Foster said during a question-and-answer session at a recent professional society meeting.
“This is a situation that got no attention at all,” added Foster. “And even now, as I raise the issue with various policymakers, people are not rushing to say … we need to do something about this.”
Posted via email from RichC’s posterous
Category: Politics |
1 Comment »
Tags: obamacare
Posted By RichC on June 21, 2011
Looks like a technology change in Sprint’s 4G strategy? The Clearwire 4G / Sprint future is not as ‘clear’ as it once was now that the LTE networks seem to be the path forward. No announcement from Sprint just yet, but Lightsquared seems to be boasting about the billions headed their way from Sprint.
Billionaire Philip Falcone’s LightSquared Inc. reached a 15-year deal with Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) to share network expansion costs and equipment, and to provide high-speed wireless service to the phone company.
Falcone told Harbinger Capital Partners hedge fund investors yesterday about the accord in a letter obtained by Bloomberg News. The companies were discussing a deal valued at as much as $20 billion, people familiar with the matter said earlier this month.
“LightSquared and Sprint will jointly develop, deploy and operate LightSquared’s 4G LTE network,” according to the letter. “Sprint will become a significant customer of LightSquared’s 4G LTE network.”
Posted via email from RichC’s posterous
Category: Cellphone, Technology |
No Comments »
Tags: 4G, smartphone, sprint
Posted By RichC on June 21, 2011
It probably doesn’t surprise many conservative readers to see Keith Olbermann’s face on the NPR.org website, but I WAS surprised to see ads for the new Olbermann show. I would have thought that management at NPR was using a bit more discretion, so as not to so blatantly hightlight the left-leaning bias suspected of public radio personalities and the management.
While I understand the need for revenue as taxpayer funding disappears, there are those of us who still enjoy NPR’s indepth stories and reporting … and some of us with open minds were hoping they would steer clear of politically active financers (Soros) and advertising that are overtly left leaning (Countdown with Keith Olbermann) .
Category: Politics |
No Comments »
Tags: current, npr, olbermann, Politics
Posted By RichC on June 20, 2011
Although I’m a big advocate for diesel power and biodiesel fuel, call me at least a little skeptical regarding the boastful numbers …
At the heart of the sleek Iceni is a modified 550 bhp, GM 6.6 liter, twin-turbo diesel V8 running bio-fuel, and according to previously released info, the Iceni will run to 230 mph, accelerate from 0-60 mph in under four seconds, and deliver 70 mpg at a constant 70 mph. It will also have 100,000 mile service intervals, and is expected to sell for around US$150,000.
Posted via email from RichC’s posterous
Category: Automotive, Biodiesel, Diesel |
4 Comments »
Tags: biodiesel, diesel, supercar
Posted By RichC on June 20, 2011
This content is restricted.
Category: Computer, Music, Technology |
No Comments »
Tags: hp, ipad, mp3, palm, preorder, tablet, touchpad, webos
Posted By RichC on June 20, 2011
Every once in a while I hear short and succinct statements which makes me wonder why politicians in a “United” States of America complicate issues for our country — is there that much disagreement over everything? Not promoting and maintaining one language … English … as our national language, in the end the lacks commonsense and will end up wasting dollars and costing our country unity. KT McFarland‘s comments this weekend makes the point.
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American Identity KT McFarland 06/19/2011 (mp3) |
Category: Audio, Politics |
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Tags: english, kt mcfarland, mp3
Posted By RichC on June 19, 2011
A friend of mine and I discussed buying tickets for a couple of upcoming trips which included flights and rental cars this past week and neither one of us were convinced we picked up the cheapest tickets or were able to find decent rates for renting a car in July. 
We bounced our shopping sites and strategies off of each other hoping that one of us has really found the secret to nabbing the best flights, fares and rental car tricks … I don’t think we’ve figured it out yet. My favorite site is still Kayak.com for finding information, but prefer buying from a carrier or rental company on their own sites … and in many cases the ‘discount companies’ are not going to be listed.
A recent article listed a few tips that you might want to try:
The No. 1 finding: Avoid booking tickets on weekends. It’s the most expensive time to buy.
There’s no way to guarantee the best fare. But before booking, travelers should heed this additional advice:
– Book on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. That’s when airlines most often offer sales.
– Buy in advance, but not too early. The best time is four to six weeks before traveling. In general, prices for any given flight are highest eight to 10 weeks and two to three weeks in advance.
– Embrace social media. Airlines are giving more benefits, like exclusive sales, to travelers who interact with them on Twitter and Facebook. Those specials are often gone within hours.
– The so-called discount airlines – JetBlue, AirTran, Southwest and Frontier – adjust their fares less frequently than other airlines, so you can feel more confident locking in a price. But their prices aren’t always the lowest. Researching multiple airlines’ fares is the only way to get a good deal.
READ
Category: Advice, Travel |
6 Comments »
Tags: airfare, airlines, booking, rental cars, Travel
Posted By RichC on June 18, 2011
Body and board surfing … who really does it better? (click on images for larger photos)
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Catch a Wave (mp3) — The Beach Boys Summer of 1963 |
Category: Misc, Nature, Photos, Recreation, Sports |
No Comments »
Tags: bodyboarding, mp3, music monday, musicmonday, ocean, surfing
Posted By RichC on June 17, 2011
Volkswagen’s CEO Martin Winterkorn (Germany) is committed to plug in hybrids according to a translation posted:
I am firmly convinced that plug-in hybrids are the right solution for the next ten years. You can drive 50 to 60 kilometers all-electric and have the full flexibility of an internal combustion engine. The plug-in hybrid will be there for all platforms in the Volkswagen Group.
Posted via email from RichC’s posterous
Category: Automotive, Misc, Volkswagen |
No Comments »
Tags: hybrid, plug-in, volkswagen, vw
but then I’m not sure how else to label this? 
