What Were You Thinkin'

I saw a commercial the other day for an upcoming Dr. Phil episode. They said this Monday Dr. Phil would be tackling all the problems of the Osbourne family! LOL, I'm not a loyal Dr. Phil watcher but I will have to TIVO that!

A "Good Friday" Indeed

Finally Friday is here and that is a good thing since my brain is fried. As the calendar would have it, today is also "Good Friday" so that makes it a little better than the average Friday? (Kidding, I know bad joke.) Some of you may have today off, if so I'm jealous! Enjoy the long weekend and here is a classic poster to start it out right.

Career Blogs Need To Incorporate Sex And Swearing

Do business advice blogs bore you?

Yeah, me too.

And that's a shame because they are often packed with lots of great content! The trouble is they often pack that great content in a boring manila folder. And lets be honest, no one is ever eager to peek inside a boring manila folder.

So these posts get overlooked and their great advice goes unheard because the presentation and delivery are all wrong. They've failed to entice the reader and get them excited to read more!

Smart business advice doesn't vary much whether you are writing from an tropical island as a location independent entrepreneur, or from a corner office with a birds-eye view overlooking the island of Manhattan. It doesn't even vary much if you're writing from inside four dull gray cubicle walls.

The point is, from WHERE you write doesn't matter. HOW you write does! And personally, I would be more likely to read career blogs if they incorporated some sex and swearing. Anything to spice it up!

I don't write a lot of career/entrepreneurship advice here on my blog. Although I'm told I should. I don't write on the topic or even talk to my friends and family about business because quite frankly, at the end of a workday, I'm sick of talking about work.

Don't get me wrong. I love discussing business - hearing people's views, sharing my own, learning and applying new strategies. I just prefer to discuss it in a way that's more relaxed, more relatable.

Earlier this week I was asked to write a guest post for Brazen Careerist, a career-management site for high achieving young professionals and ambitious college students. I've had close to two dozen of my posts featured on Brazen Careerist in the past. So I'm guessing they like my edgy take on life and work.

Here is a nibble of my most recent one...

Giving It Away On A First Date and In Business
Ever notice that people who have a product or service of value are happy to give you a trial run or a money-back guarantee? That’s because they’re confident that once you get a taste of what they’ve created, you’ll come back for more. It’s the classic “try before you buy” concept. You hook them with that nibble.

It’s sort of like a first-date kiss. (Well, minus the nibble unless you’re into that sort of thing.) The kiss should be good, but small. Just enough to make them want more, to convince them to say yes to a second date and keep the thought of you lingering...

Click To Read The Full Post

Think of it like this. If you were standing on a corner with two men, one in a stuffy black suit and the other with a free-flowing purple mohawk, who would seem more fun to chat up?

Exactly! That's why I strive to write from a place inside myself that resembles a punk-haired businessman. Well, I'm currently sporting a fohawk undyed and missing a tie today. But close enough.

Latest Mobile Phones Nokia N9 l Began Marketed

Mentioned, there are 24 countries included in the list. But there is no clear information which countries will immediately get the first generation N9. (gsmarena.com)

Latest Mobile Phones Nokia N9 began marketed, The biggest mobile phone manufacturer, Nokia, began to send their latest products, N9, to foreign countries. Utilizing an open platform MeeGo, N9 features a navigation and voice-guided map. For storage media, smartphones with touch screen swipe feature to return to the main menu is available in capacities from 16 to 64GB. 

Quoted from PCMag, 28 September 2011, the product was marketed in a price range starting from U.S. $ 560 for the 16GB version and $ 650 for the 64GB version. 

Nokia N9 is equipped with a 3.9-inch AMOLED screen made of glass antigores. 8MP autofocus camera which can record HD video, the chip near-field communication (NFC) is also available on mobile phones which only have a button on it's side. 

Nevertheless, it is unclear which countries would immediately get the first generation N9 and when present in the market. Mentioned, Nokia will only let users from 24 countries only when the product began to be purchased. From the list that made Nokia, the United States, Britain, Japan, and India does not enter into it. 

As is known, after the N9, Nokia said that they would use the Windows operating system Phone as their primary platform. This step was taken in the hope that they are able to gain momentum to compete with their heavy competitors like Apple and RIM.

Five Years and a New Chapter (and Blog)

It all started with my first post featuring my pork and peaches stir-fry recipe. It was my attempt to impress readers to this blog that I could be creative, marrying my Chinese cooking techniques with seasonal California influences (that would be the peach). And of course, the servings were just right for The Single Guy.

So that’s how Cooking With the Single Guy was born.

Five years later, I still post recipes, but not as often because I’ve pretty much gone through my repertoire of recipes. My blog has grown to include more dining reviews, food shopping and events (and maybe the occasional cupcake or frozen yogurt).

But you know what it’s like when you reach a milestone – like the seven-year itch, or a mid-life crisis. You reflect. You go down memory lane and get all emotional about a pork and peaches recipe. And you wonder about whether you still want this.

I’ve seen a lot of food bloggers who actually slowly disappeared, with no new updates. And you figure they probably just went on with their lives, leaving us behind with just the memories.

I just realized that I’ve now written myself into this hole where it sounds like I’m about to announce some bad news. But it’s actually good news. Really.

I will be moving on from this blog, and will no longer be updating it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still single. And I’m still cooking. It’s just I felt like I needed a change, something fresher, and something that focused more on my love of food photography. I'm not giving up food blogging. Just moving to a new address.

So I’m happy to announce that I’ve launched an entirely new food blog, one that showcases my photos better. I’m still writing about eating out, food shopping, events, and the occasional recipes. I’m just doing it now at Focus:Snap:Eat.

I’ve spent the last two months setting up this site, so I really hope that you’ll follow me over there. You’ll continue to see my photos and read about my food adventures. If you go there this week, for example, you’ll find photos of this weekend’s Eat Real Festival in Oakland, along with reviews of Nojo in San Francisco, a look at orange wines, and even a chicken recipe from my childhood.

I want to thank everyone who’ve taken the time to stop by and read my blog. I’m always amazed at how people find me, from all over the world. This blog will remain as an archive of my reviews and recipes. And I hope to read your comments at Focus:Snap:Eat as I begin the next chapter in my food blogging life.

Ben aka The Single Guy

EVO 3D, The First 3D Android Phone

Using two 5-megapixel camera in tow, this phone is capable of recording and displaying photos and movies 3D format. (Htc.com)

No need anymore to use the tools again to enjoy the display format 3 Dimensions. Now it look like you can get in the latest HTC smartphones over the EVO products 3D. 




Through two cameras in tow, mobile phones capable of recording and displaying images and 3D movies.
"In this product, we are more forward side than the specifics of experience," said Agus Sugiharto, Indonesia Country Manager of HTC in launching the product in Jakarta, 23 September 2011. 

Agus added, with the ease of getting a picture trends, today people tend to want a picture as the original. "The desire is accommodated in these devices," Agus claims. 

"Two 5-megapixel camera on the back represents the sharpness of the human eye, and dimension 3. While in front there is a 1.3 megapixel camera, "said Agus. "Thus, the picture is more real, like we can take," he added.

Agus said, users do not need to fear with still lack support device for printing images or 3D images. "Photo printing services as provided by Fuji Film for instance, is ready to print images 3D format," he said.
3D sensation does not stop at drawing pictures. When watching movies and streaming video, users can also enjoy the sensation. "With open eyes, now you can see a 3D movie," said Agus. 

According to Agus, the device is also very suitable for those who want to document the beautiful moments or for real estate agents, for example. "Segments of the target device is priced at the price of Rp5, 999 million are middle class, aged 25 and over," he said. 

For information, said Agus, 3D on devices like the trend has previously been successful in the United States. Then, how about in Indonesia given the differences in user characteristics? 

"Characteristics of users in the United States and Indonesia are different, but we want to try to continue the successful series of 3D in Indonesia," he said. "The facility also is much 3D as a lifestyle, because of different experiences or only present in video games," he admits. 

Even so, said Agus, said that his party wanted to convey the message that they try to always update to the latest innovations. For information, for the Asian market, HTC's new 3D EVO launched in Singapore and Indonesia.

Forging Friendships With Unlike-Minded People

We are attracted to like-minded people. We form friendships and romantic relationships with those who share our similar interests, goals, beliefs and core values. Just look at the people you surround yourself with. Notice the familiar flavor.

And because they are familiar the bonds are effortless, comfortable and strong. Rarely do we step completely outside our comfort zone and approach someone that is nothing at all like us! Because to do that is scary and seems awkward, like filling space with the echo of crickets where conversation should lie. So to avoid chirping insects, sweaty palms and restless feet we stick to those we share common ground with. We stick to like-minded people.

No one would question why I'm friends with the people I'm friends with IRL (In Real Life as they say) because we compliment one another. We match up just perfectly. But when it comes to the online world some of these relationships not only surprise others, but have left me scratching my own head!

Take "Sally" for example. (I'll be using the fictious name "Sally" to protect her identity.)

I'm not sure two people could be more different - "Sally" and I. It's always baffled me that she reads my blog and likes my writing. I feel like I would be highly offensive to her (ex: The Manwhore Relapse post). I like using the word "fuck." She prefers saying "fudge." That's not very like-minded. So I once tried bringing her over to the darkside, corrupt her and get her to swear. I believe I got a "f*ck" out of her. The asterisk is as far as she's going to go. She made it to the light gray side.

She's a pair of properly pressed slacks.
I'm a pair of broken-in torn bluejeans.

She's been known to give out hugs.
I've been known to get into fist fights.

She goes to church on Sunday mornings.
I'm coming home on Sunday mornings.

She enjoys curling up with a good book.
I enjoy...well, let's just leave it at that.

Good people come in all kinds of flavors and mindsets. Of course most of us will never know this because we will never reach out to anyone other than like-minded people. The only thing that "Sally" and I have in common is that we both agree the sky is blue and the grass is green. Oh and one other thing - blogging.

That’s the beautiful thing about writing. We’re not just connecting our thoughts and emotions with words. We’re connecting with complete strangers with our words. If it wasn't for blogging, "Sally" and I may have never even exchanged pleasantries. She would stick to her like-minded folk and I would stick to mine. So maybe having a blog is the perfect introduction?

Bloggers are just good people. They're good to one another because even despite all their differences, whether they type out all four letters of a curse word or drop an asterisk in the middle, they will forever share one common ground - a love for the written word. And sometimes that's enough. Sometimes one similar interest is all it takes to get a conversation going. To spawn many more conversations. To forge the most interesting and most unlikely of friendships.

Thank you written word.