Weblog> February 2002

020215: Fri

Recently read John McGrath's book titled 'You Don't Have to be Born Brilliant'. He started a real estate business from his living room and has now built up a very successful real estate business. His book is written from a personal perspective and outlines his road to success. It also outlines his philosophy for success which comes basically comes down to attitude and discipline. He didn't finish high school but that didn't stop him from continuously learning and conquering his fears and getting around any obstacles that got in his way. He even details his diet and daily routine. This includes getting up around 5am every morning, completing his exercise, and getting into the office by 7am, he then has numerous structured meetings throughout the day and is in bed by 9.30pm. His diet consists of predominantly serves of fruit or vegetables as he believes in a healthy body and mind . The book frequently features examples of his strict schedule, discipline which all serve to illustrate his immense focus and drive to succeed. It makes for an interesting read as one example of how someone has got to where they have.

0202013: Wed

If you haven't seen the Zhang Ziyi Visa card ad, then you can download it from the Visa site. It's in the vein of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. They've also got 3 clips to do with the making of the commercial. Worth a look. You can also download some wallpaper of some of the scenes there as well.

Watched the first episode of 'Alias' last night. It's alright but pretty serious. Also I don't like anything to do with extraction of body parts in some form or other, eg MI2 - chopping off the pinkie finger, Nikita - various acts of cruelty and now Alias - pulling out her tooth.

020205: Tue

Borders have a cool CD listening system. You can pick up any CD and go to the listening station and then scan the barcode and start listening to it! It's pretty neat! I had just bought Alicia Key's songs in A minor CD from HMV and then found it was $2 cheaper at Borders. Didn't see any singles on sale though which is what I wanted ie specifically the Darren Hayes 'Insatiable' single. Found two versions of it. There's one where there's 6 versions of 'Insatiable' on the CD, and the other where there are 3 different songs on it ie: 'Insatiable', 'Ride' and 'Falling on your Feet'. The 3 differerent songs one was hard to find. Went to HMV, Grace Bros, David Jones, and Red Eye Records in my quest to find it. Finally located it at 'Fish Records' in the CBD.

There's this cool article about the success of the Borders bookstore. Their main edge seems to be their sophisticated inventory database system. The article outlines how only about half the stock is replicated across the stores. The other half is localised items. Also service, and the buzz of the place.

The 2002 Telstra and Australian Governments Small Business Awards are on again. Registration closes 1 March, 2002. Categories are: Commonwealth Government Micro-Business Award; MYOB Business Owner Award; Ford Business Owner Award; Cisco Systems Innovation Award; Telstra Small Business of the Year Award.

Was driving through Bourke St, Sydney last week and saw an Aero Plus store. So checked it out. They've got some cool furniture and accessories there and it's not mega pricey like Space or De de ce. They're at 479-493 Bourke St, Surry Hills.

The 17th Abitare il Tempo will be held in Verona, Italy from the 19th - 23rd September, 2002. There will be 580 exhibitors, including 85 foreign companies, representing the best manufacturers of furniture and other related interior decorating products. Check out some of the images from the 2001 exhibition at the site. The items look great!

IPI - Catalogue of International Newsletters sell commercial newsletters at their site, representing a range of independent publishers. I like the fact that they provide a complete issue as a sample of each of the newsletters featured.

The winners of the 2002 Weblog awards have been announced. Go to the site to check out the winners in each category. The Weblog of the Year was won by Wil Wheaton Dot Net.

020203: Sun

Have posted 4 photos of the North Sydney noodle market and Hyde Park that I took with my digital camera in Jan in the NEW Photo gallery area.
Went and saw the NeoTokyo at the MCA exhibition yesterday. It was great! I enjoyed the artists' analysis of the effects of modern society on its people. I enjoyed watching footage of the the Japanese business man figure crawling through the streets of New York, London and Sydney. Just watching the people's reactions to this art piece was interesting as their reactions become part of the story. Check the exhibiton out before it ends on Feb 10!

Went and saw Jack Jones and Rick Price perform at the North Sydney Leagues club last night also. It was great! Jack said he was going to release a new recording soon. He sang some of his old Southern Sons hits with a new ballady interpretation. You could actually hear his voice which was great. Often, when you hear vocalists in the context of a band, their voices get drowned out and they have to literally shout before you can hear their voices.

Rick Price was great! This voice is as clear, crisp and beautiful as ever. They also performed some songs together which was pretty cool!

More observations about service. Have you seen where some restaurants charge patrons a surcharge eg 10% if you book a group of people for dinner. This is a pretty absurd sounding practice to me. Sure the restaurant staff may have to work a bit harder on the night, but the proprietors would be paying them wages, and then they'd be tips and at least the restaurant would be making money with more people to fill up the tables. If the proprietors think the staff worked very hard that night, then surely they should be the ones rewarding them by giving them a bonus or something out of the profits? By slapping on a surcharge, it's like punishing your patrons for bringing business to your restaurant. After all, if you have 10 tables of 5 people each or 5 tables of 10 people each, then surely the second configuration shouldn't have to pay extra? I suggest not.

020201: Fri

Went to HMV in Pitt St mall yesterday. They've got sales on at the moment. Saw lots of things I could buy - new release stuff, older stuff... argghh had to drag myself away. But will probably go back and get a few things. Saw the video 'Empire Records' starring Liv Tyler and Renee Zellweger on sale for $10 or $12. Heard it's a bit like 'Reality Bites' so may get that.

Borders is also a place I love to go and have to drag myself away from. So many cool magazines out, and they've got such a cool range.

Vespa is a great Italian caffe ristorante at 209 Victoria Rd in Gladesville. It's a great place. Couldn't believe it when the owner said it's been open for two years now. I usually go to Leichhardt or Darlo for a coffee and snack but now that I've discovered this place, I'll defiinitely be going back. The vibe of the place is very cool and local, the food was great - had the Bacon, mushroom and sun-dried tomato penne - it was a light creamy tomato based sauce - awesome. Prices were very reasonable - $7.80 for the pasta. The hot chocolate was also great.

The service was amazing as well. Saw a woman with a pram trying to push the door to enter the place and one of the guys who works there shot up from his seat where he was having a late lunch and ran to open the door for her. That's what customer service is all about!

Ever been to a cafe where they state that only one payment of the bill is allowed. I realise that this may save the money collector a bit of time but seriously - do they want their customers to come back or not? One would think that the convenience of the customer should be their priority. After all there are plenty of other cafes and restaurants that you could go to.

Current projects list:
- Putting up the Consultants directory
- Updating the Info Sampling section
- Adding an image gallery
- CG hardcopy
- House project
- Architectural newsletter idea

Current reading list:
- Starting an Internet Business at Home by Jim Green
- The Worst-case scenario Survival Handbook: Travel by Joshua Piven and David Borgenicht
How to survive runaway camels - UFO Abductions - High-rise hotel fires - Leeches
- Learn to Suceed at Selection Tests by Gilles Azzopardi
(I always had a curiosity of how you're meant to read the results of these tests)
- Loft Living by Peggy Vance
(Lots of pretty pictures)
- Confessions of a Real Estate Agent by Terry Ryder
- Lights - Leuchten - Lampes by Matthias Dietz adn Michael MÖnninger
- East magazine August 2001

Heard a bit about the new show 'Alias' and they're showing the teaser ad for it on tv at the moment. I think it will be one of those shows I'll watch when it come out here.

Listening to: rain pattering down outside; 'A Love Before Time' sung by CoCo Lee and cello solo by Yo-Yo Ma from the 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' soundtrack; 'Cafe Del Mar Volumen Cinco'; and 'Fallen for You' sung by Shelia Nicholls.

January 2002
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June 2001
About CG | Editor: Kirsten Lowe | PO Box 559, Broadway 2007, Sydney, Australia
Ph: 0410 310 238 | Fax: +61 2 9555 1752 | Email: kirsten@chaosgeneration.com