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Interview with Vincent Turner – Aussie founder in Silicon Valley

November 2010 and another fellow Aussie touched down in the high tech land known as Silicon Valley. Last week I had the pleasure meeting this Aussie who arrived from Sydney, Australia. His name is Vincent Turner and he is the founder of Pisces Communication. To find out what his experience has been like so far in Silicon Valley and what his plans are, I decided to pick his brains. Here’s what happened.

Founder info

Name
Vincent Turner

Age
32

Company
Pisces Communication: http://www.piscescommunication.com.au/

What service / product does your company provide?
Qualification & Pricing Software to banks and brokers.

What role do you play?
CEO

How long have you been running / working on your product / service?
I originally founded the company in 2000 in Perth as a messaging company however evolved to software for banks in the last 5 years. We changed strategy from a platform to a services model 2 years ago and redeveloped our capability to underpin that model which has allowed us to look at new markets, hence why I am in the US now setting up our operations here (since Nov 2010).

Technology

What personal hardware are you using?
I use Apple personally, I’m sick of Windows and seeing as my work is email, word, excel and Powerpoint and Mac Office 2011 is out (and good) I have no need for Windows. Macbook 11-inch is my current laptop.

What Solution Stack is your business built on?
We have a very strong philosophy of choosing the technology that is right, not simply what we know. Our current market positioning (enterprise end users) means we have both Java & .Net in the stack. We also use GWT for our user front end. We have very little reliance on the database as we dont’ store customer data within our services. We run everything on the cloud, Amazon is our current provider. As part of our business we also work with CRM packages including Dynamics and Salesforce but do little to no development on these components. As we move more into the consumer facing aspects of the business we expect to take on Ruby on Rails, but early days on that for the moment.

What decision(s) lead you to go with that Solution Stack?
We want to have an each way bet with Java and .Net and like to provide our developers with the opportunity to know and work with both. We have customers who are running both and although our architecture is all services based, certain aspects of integration are simplified when you’re running the same stack so this was part of the thinking.

In terms of front end, GWT was the obvious choice for RIA for us when we started our redevelopment 2 years ago as the libraries were extensive and well road tested and as it is basically Java meant our guys could easily get hands on within eclipse etc. I don’t see us using GWT for our next breed of consumer facing interfaces however.

Top 3 Favourite online services you couldn’t live without?

  1. Xero.com – online accounting, with real-time bank data feeds.
    URL: http://www.xero.com/
  2. Google maps – how did we get by before this??
    URL: http://maps.google.com/
  3. Skype – I’d go sans phone if I could, but Skype need to sort their chat out something chronic.
    URL: http://www.skype.com/

Silicon Valley

What made you come to Silicon Valley?
If you’re an actor, you go to Hollywood. If you’re in IT you come to Silicon Valley.

What are 3 Top Challenges you faced upon arrival in Silicon Valley?
Probably too early for me on this but to date:

  1. Sorting out the wheat from the chaff in terms of who can help you in this city and who is just going to waste your time.
  2. Domain expertise and industry terminology for our market (lending) – hard to have meaningful conversations when you’re not sure of the right word to describe your approach.
  3. Roles & Titles – seems like everyone here is the VP of something. Makes it hard to know if you’re talking to the right person.

How about Visa or finding a place to live?
I don’t think I’m having too many issues with the visa process or finding places to live. I found a good immigration lawyer early on.. and Craigslist for accommodation before I left.

What resources did you turn to overcome these challenges?

  • google.com
  • theroadtosiliconvalley.com
  • networking events
  • australian expats

Bay Area or San Francisco to settle?
I’d love to say this decision is made but far from it. I almost think that the Bay Area & SF need to sort it out!

Eventually I will end up back in or near the city. Probably Duboce triangle area as this is so central to the Muni and I think any regular car user in this day and age needs to seriously re-evaluate.

In terms of office, this will always be a decision to be made with the team as I think it is part of the culture of the business and something that is reached by the early team members. I’d ideally live nearish work.

Which part of San Francisco?
Duboce triangle and surrounds.

Why did you make this decision?
Central to everything (in SF).

1 word of advice for our Aussie entrepreneurs wanting to come to Silicon Valley and start their own business?

The best advice I got was ‘just come here’ .. get on the ground and work it out. I had the good fortune/planning/luck to be able to continue to work for my AU business while getting out here for 3 months on a travel visa, while setting up and I think this has allowed me the time to do things properly, meet people, walk around and consider my options in a measured & balanced way.

If you’re in IT, then to date in my travels I can safely say there is not place like the bay area. The level of activity here every week is amazing and it will motivate you and empower you. Also, get on meetup and find some networking groups that suit you.

Vincent & Ernest

Thank you for doing this interview Vincent. And for sharing these golden nuggets of experience with the readers of The Road to Silicon Valley.

Links mentioned in this post

~ Ernest

Where to shop in Silicon Valley

Landed in the valley and not sure where to shop to get your groceries, electronics or grog? Here’s a small list to get you going. To find out locations of each stores just click on the Website links below to visit the store’s website.

American’s love coupons. It has always been a Sunday paper tradition to cut them out for the week ahead. With the advent of technology this changed and most coupons are now located online on sites like Raise… check out my previous blog post on saving money with free coupons located here before you start shopping!

Additionally, retailers who face an excess of electronic products may consider consulting Rebound Electronics. Whether it’s due to over-ordering or sales falling short of expectations, accumulation of surplus inventory can be a burden. At Rebound Electronics we understand that our customers often encounter challenges associated with excess stock. Learn to streamline your reverse shipments here. Professional freight companies in houston may help boost the growth and expansion of various businesses. If you need to buy freight broker bond online, visit BuySuretyBonds.com.

The forklift safety checklist is crucial for workplace hazard prevention and improve the safety of your logistics operations. You can also streamline operations with industrial warehouse rolling stairs.

Consumer electronics retail

Fry’s

This is a mega super-duper store for all your electronics needs. Nothing comes close to its sheer size, content and prices. Also keep an eye out for their “weekly” specials catalogue (also available online) where you will find pages of discounts for that week only. Some of the stores use cool themes and props like Ancient Egypt at Campbell, Wild West at Palo Alto etc.

  • Products: Software, consumer electronics, computer hardware, movies, music and household appliances.
  • Website: http://www.frys.com/
  • Aussie version: JB Hi Fi or Harvey Norman but heaps cheaper

Best Buy

Another big store but this one is more of a specialty retailer of consumer electronics. Best Buy is sometimes called the “big blue box” because of the prominent blue design on Best Buy stores. If you find something at Fry’s cheaper tell them at Best Buy and they will beat it by 5-10% – so carry your smart phone so you can compare prices.

  • Products: Software, consumer electronics, computer hardware and household appliances.
  • Website: http://www.bestbuy.com/
  • Aussie version: JB Hi Fi or Harvey Norman

Grocery

SafeWay

North America’s third largest supermarket chain. Their free loyalty membership program entitles you to cheaper purchase on 80% of the groceries. They also have a fantastic program called JustForU which basically allows you to load grocery coupons onto your loyalty card.

SafeWay in San Antonio

Whole Foods Market

A healthier alternative to SafeWay. They house natural and organic groceries. Originally called SaferWay, the name being a spoof of Safeway. The downside is the groceries are around 20% more in price and there is no loyalty membership programs.

Whole Foods Market in San Antonio

Kroger

Alternative to SafeWay for grocery shopping.

  • Products: Bakery, banking, beer, dairy, deli, frozen foods, gasoline (select locations), general merchandise, liquor (select locations), meat, pharmacy, produce, seafood, wine.
  • Website: http://www.kroger.com/
  • Coupons: http://www.coupons.com/
  • Aussie version: Coles

Trader Joe’s

A specialty retail grocery store. They have a nice selection of healthy and organic produce at great prices. Trader Joe’s describes itself as “your neighborhood grocery store” or “your unique grocery store”. Their wines are also cheap – it’s the 1st place I bought my 1st wine in California and was impressed with quality and price.

Trader Joe’s in San Antonio

Walmart

Chain of large discount department stores and a chain of warehouse stores. This is a great place to start when you 1st come to the Valley – I bought all my initial necessities here and they were cheap – dirt cheap!

Walmart in San Antonio
  • Products: Discount Stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets.
  • Website: http://www.walmart.com/
  • Aussie version: Like Target, Aldi & KMart combined but cheaper

Department stores

Macy’s

Is a chain of mid-to-high range department stores. Its selection of clothing merchandise can vary significantly from location to location, resulting in the exclusive availability of certain brands in only higher end stores. The company produces the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, a well-known parade which has been held on the streets of New York City annually since 1924. Like Safeway they also have a loyalty program via the Macy’s Credit Card star rewards. Make sure you have some credit history or your wont be able to get their card.

Nordstorm

Is a chain of an upscale range department stores.

  • Products: Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, and housewares.
  • Website: http://www.nordstrom.com/
  • Aussie version: David Jones

And you will also find Westfields. There are 2 I know of, one in San Francisco on Market St and the other in Santa Clara.

Housing

Bed Bath and Beyond

Is a chain of domestic merchandise retail stores feature mostly medium-ranged, but also a limited selection of high quality, domestic merchandise: items for the bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and dining room. You can also find smart mirrors uk here.

Mancini’s Sleepworld

You one stop shop for all beddings & mattress requirements. When it comes to buying a bed & mattress it’s like buying a used car. You need to negotiate and deal with pushy salesman but it’s always worth it since in the end you save plenty of money. Visit similar stores like Sleep Train so you get an idea about best deals and just haggle between the stores until you get a fantastic deal.

  • Products: Bedroom furniture, kids furniture, futons & sofas, massage chairs, daybeds and more.
  • Website: http://www.sleepworld.com/
  • Aussie version: Sleep Doctor or Forty Winks

Others

Costco

Is the largest membership warehouse club chain in the United States. Costco focuses on selling products at low prices, often at very high volume. These goods are usually bulk-packaged and marketed primarily to large families and businesses. Great place to shop once you settle in and have identified what you can buy in bulk for the next few months.

  • Products: Merchandise, Private label brands – Kirkland Signature
  • Website: http://www.costco.com/
  • Aussie version: Campbells-Wholesale

REI

REI (Recreational Equipment Inc.) sells outdoor recreation gear, sporting goods, and clothes. Their one-time fee of $20 for lifetime membership entitles you to an annual dividend check equal to 10% of what you spent at REI on regular-priced merchandise in the prior year.

  • Products: Sporting goods and outdoor gear.
  • Website: http://www.rei.com/
  • Aussie version: Rebel Sport

BevMo

Also knowns as Beverages & More! selling a HUGE range of alcoholic beverages. Some larger outlets house wine tasting sessions for $5. Every week they select a bunch of wines to go on special if you hold their free loyalty card – worth getting it. Every few months they hold a buy 1 get the 2nd for 2 pennies – even for wines which normally cost $30 each. Bargains here all the time!

BevMo in San Antonio
  • Products: Alcoholic beverages and accessories.
  • Website: http://www.bevmo.com/
  • Aussie version: Valore Cellars, Dan Murphys or BWS (Beer Wines Spirits)

Hope these help you get rolling. It’s a great start and I’m sure you will come across many smaller outlets. If you see something I missed or want me to add it to the list above please put it into the comments below and I will include it.

Happy shopping!

~ Ernest

G’day mate – Aussie & American vocabulary comparison

It’s always a funny experience when I run into a language barrier with my American friends and work colleagues. The problem is most commonly  with my helping verbs. Today, over lunch the 3 of us Aussies shared some terms we ran into which our American friends have / had trouble recognizing. In spirit, I compiled a list to get us Aussies accustomed to the choice of words to use when speaking with our American friends.

The list – vocabulary comparison

The following list of words are angled from an Aussie wanting to convey a message. Use the American column as a guide to see what an American will understand, and adjust accordingly.

Word American Australia
Boot Something that goes on your foot The trunk of a car
Texta { confusion } Say: marker A marker & also a brand
Thong G-String (the underwear) & something Borat wears A sandal held on the foot by a strip. For reference, a La Tribe Sandal.
Fortnight { confusion } Say: 2 weeks A period of fourteen consecutive days
Soft drink Say: soda/ pop / soda-pop Nonalcoholic beverage (usually carbonated)
Takeaway { confusion } Say: to-go Prepared food that is intended to be eaten off of the premises
Lemonade Drink made from lemon juice, sugar, and water – not carbonated Fizzy lemon drink
Arvo { confusion } Say: Afternoon The hours after 12pm
Pissed Very angry. Say: drunk Some who is drunk
Chemist { confusion } Say: Pharmacy / Drug store The place you buy medicine, shampoo, cough syrup and lotion
Ute { confusion } Say: Truck An automotive vehicle suitable for hauling
Napkin A piece of paper or cloth you use to wipe your face and hands when you eat A women’s sanitary product
Barbie It’s an anatomically incorrect female doll that comes in a pink box What you put beef, shrimp and chicken on to grill it outside
Rubber A contraceptive device An eraser

Employment tip

If you are using British syntax/terms (non American spelling) in your LinkedIn resume, fix it up immediately or crowd source it to an American to correct the grammar for you. Recruiters in Silicon Valley use LinkedIn to “keyword search” for potential candidates using the American grammar. So you may miss out on potential offers if you are in the market for a new opportunity.

Keep these differences in mind next time chatting with an American

An America (SFFD) with an Aussie (me)

If you have other words which you ran into please share them below in the comments section and I will add to the list above.

Happy conversing!

~ Ernest

Instapaper – A simple tool to save web pages for reading later

Jim Rohn said “All Leaders Are Readers”. There is definately something in that famous quote which rings a bell with those who are frequent readers. Reading stimulates the cortex and also brings a sense of pleasure of attaining more knowledge. Well to me anyways. If you have read my personal blog on experiments in Personal Development, Productivity & Inner Peace then you will know where I am coming from.

The problem

I read alot. Books and online – daily! Plenty of tech news, blogs, science & psychology sites and other places which bring value to me. So this leaves my Firefox browser looking like this:

A total mess with dozen of tabs open. Since there is no way I will get through all the articles within the same gap of time that these are open in, I will need to either close the browser (saving the tabs) or leave it running letting Firefox chew up my computer’s memory. Not to mention this method is “Anti” David Allen’s GTD (Getting Things Done) time management for productivity success and increased focus. Yes, I’m a GTD fan. So, what to do. As per the GTD teachings, offload the stuff that I cannot read in the near future for later processing (reading). But with what?

The solution

Instapaper – A simple tool to save web pages for reading later

How it works

Instapaper gives you a Read Later bookmark (see Firefox screenshot above).
1. When you find something you want to read, but you don’t have time, click Read Later.
2. Then when you have time use any of the following devices Computer, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Kindle and ePub readers to read those articles nicely formatted and filtered for pure content.

Read Later - list of saved articles

Article - on a black backdrop

As shown above, the iPhone (and iPad) Instapaper application downloads all the articles onto your device so that you can read those articles where internet is not available.

Simple and my reading habits now follow the GTD teachings. Cool hey.

Examples of how I use it

  • Sometimes at night in bed I read through 1 or 2 articles before falling asleep. The alternative to reading a book in bed before bedtime. Tools: Kindle / iPad.
  • Walking to work. My walk is 15 minutes and I can squizz in 2-3 articles and catchup on the latest tech trends. Also gives me some topics to discuss at work over that water-cooler or share tech info with my engineering team. Tool: iPhone.
  • Fill in time – anything from when I’m taking a break from coding to waiting for someone. Why burn time on unproductive thoughts when you can learn something new. Tools: Computer / iPhone.

Where to get Instapaper

Go here: http://www.instapaper.com/ to register with Instapaper and try it out for free.
The iPhone version you can get from here:

Instapaper reading time! - Sì! Conando!

Ok I’m off to catchup on the 200 articles on my Instapaper.

Happy reading!

~ Ernest

Sydney, Australia – a checklist for day & night

I have been writing about Silicon Valley but haven’t about Sydney. My hometown. For those that might want to visit this beautiful city, below is a list outlining my suggestions where to go day or night.

Sydney is a small city so you can walk around to most locations but to those that are further a Blue Bus or the Train (CityRail) will take you there.

Day time

Sydney, Australia – Photo by: ernestsemerda.com
  • Darling Harbor – recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central business district. It’s a short walk from Wynard train station. It’s basically a bunch of restaurants and bars on the water. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darling_Harbour,_New_South_Wales
  • Sydney Casino – Star City – is located there too. – http://www.starcity.com.au/
  • You will also find Sydney Aquarium there – http://sydneyaquarium.myfun.com.au/
  • The Rocks – tourist precinct and historic area of Sydney. Plenty of shops and places to eat. Located at Circular Key. http://www.therocks.com/
  • You can enter the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge from The Rocks. It’s a nice walk to the North Side and back.
  • Make sure you drop by Big Bite (think Ike’s Place in SF). This place always runs out of food during lunch. The best sandwiches in Sydney. http://www.timeoutsydney.com.au/venue/restaurant/cafe/big-bite.aspx
  • Sydney Tower is around the corner from Big Bite so check that out too. http://sydneytower.myfun.com.au/
  • Go to Sydney Opera House and keep on walking into the Royal Botanic Gardens. Opera House is at Circular Key not far from Sydney Café.
  • Catch a Ferry to Fort Denison. Fort Denison is a former penal site and defensive facility occupying a small island located north of the Royal Botanical Gardens. It’s in the middle of the harbor. You also get to spend some time on Sydney’s famous harbor and enjoy the views. You will need to catch a Matilda boat there, see here: http://www.matilda.com.au/dir076/matilda.nsf/Pages/Ferry+Services~Fort+Denison
  • All the major shops are located on “George Street”. The main street that runs through Sydney. You cannot miss it. However shopping is better & cheaper in America J
  • Kings Cross isn’t a clean place. There are some nice clubs there but it’s mainly polluted with adult shops & low quality bars.
  • Oxford Street is another popular place for food & bars but at night turns into chaos. Upper part of Oxford Street is a suburb called Paddington which is full of designer shops.
  • Get a Harry’s Pie at Harry’s Café de Wheels. It’s famous for the pies. Australian’s love pies. Located at Woolloomoloo. Best place to go after a big night out. It’s open throughout the night and always packed with people lining up outside. Same setup like Pink’s Hotdog in LA (USA). http://www.harryscafedewheels.com.au/
  • Visit The Gap at Watsons Bay. The Gap is an ocean cliff, in eastern Sydney. About 15min out of the city (downtown). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gap,_New_South_Wales
  • While there, have lunch at Doyles on the Wharf Restaurant. It’s the best place for seafood in Sydney. http://www.doyles.com.au/

Night time

Sydney, Australia – Photo by: ernestsemerda.com

If you have time visit the Blue Mountains and Jenolan Caves – both are next to each other and around 2 hours car drive from city (downtown). Expect to spend a full day there. http://www.bluemts.com.au/ and http://www.jenolancaves.org.au/

Enjoy the trip!

Ernest

How to get an unsecured credit card

The following is an account of my experience with obtaining an unsecured credit card. I hope it helps you getting your credit card faster and a reasonable credit limit. You can apply for credit card after listening to my advice.

Credit history – guilty until proven innocent

You should get a credit card when you 1st arrive in America.

But guess what, no large bank will give you an unsecured credit card since you have no credit history. In comparison to Australia, American credit rating system works backwards. In Australia you are innocent until proven guilty and in America you are guilty until proven innocent. Which means that in America you start with 0 credit history and you must build credit up from nothing. Chicken and egg scenario. How can you borrow to build credit when they wont let you since you are viewed as a high risk borrower. Read my prior blog post on this topic here.

Secured credit card – your money

The only option you will have is to obtain a “secured” credit card. This is you putting your money down (say $2,000) into your bank of choice and using that line of credit as though it’s a credit card. Basically you lock away $2,000 of your money and use your money as though it was the banks and you pay it off. On time! Else you will not get good credit rating. What’s important to remember here is that the bank records (keeps tracks) your credit behavior and reports it back to the credit bureau. It feels like being ripped off because it’s your money and the bank treats you as though they are doing you a favor. They are actually. Read on.

This process has to go on for 13 months. By the end of the 13 month period the bank will let you know whether you are eligible for an “unsecured” credit card and if you are what is it’s credit limit. Read my prior blog post on building credit history to make sure you do not break any of the credit card rules like maxing out your credit card (yes I know it’s your money but..) or that you pay on-time (yes, it’s your money but Uncle Bob is looking over your shoulder).

Patience young Aussie.. patience..

Getting a secured credit card faster (before the 13 months)

Yes, there is a faster method to get that unsecured credit card. Actually, you can get it 5-6 months faster, but be careful and make sure that during the entire time you protect your identity by doing identity verifications via video-chat like the one from Fully-Verified. Otherwise, you will lose a ton of money and get a bad credit score.

So the major banks have that 13 month policy (mentioned above) of watching your behaviour and reporting back to the credit bureau on your credit behavior. If you get Citrus Loans then this would have been building your credit history ALOT faster then a secured credit card. A car loan is by far the best way to build credit history because it is a sizeable investment which you are responsible for servicing. This is a big plus (if managed properly) at the folks in the credit bureau.

So after 6 months of servicing your car loan with TechCU, approach them for an unsecured credit card. I did this after 8 months and they impressed me with an approval for a substantial amount (4x more then my secured credit card at Wells Fargo) the following day. Not only that, I also received a nice warm fluffy blanket (it is winter here after all) becuase I applied for a credit card with TechCU.

Next steps

I’m curious to see what will Wells Fargo come back with after the 13 months process is up. Are they going to match TechCU’s credit offer or come back with something lousey. I read a recent Prosper loans review, and I’m disappointed with their risk assessment of my account since I have kept all my American income in their bank and have great history with the secured credit card being paid on time. While TechCU using only my car loan payment history, credit rating and my professional history was able to see that I am a low risk customer and offer me an outstanding credit card product with maximum rewards.

Let’s see how things go. I will update this blog post with the outcome from Wells Fargo in the next few months.

~ Ernest

Links mentioned in this post

Expats guide on building Credit History in America
http://www.theroadtosiliconvalley.com/finance/building-credit-history-america/

Choice of Banks
http://www.theroadtosiliconvalley.com/finance/choice-banks/

Build credit history superfast – get a car loan
http://www.theroadtosiliconvalley.com/finance/car-loan-credit-history/

Breathing exercise for anxiety and stress

Take a deep breath and relax is so common a mantra that most of us miss its core message. 

Focused, controlled breathing has the power to defuse anxiety & stress and to boost energy. In fact, the notion of breathing as therapy has ancient roots in Newcastle Upon Tyne Therapy, an aspect of yoga that means “expansion and control of cosmic power.”

It’s no secret that breathing is essential for:

  • Sustaining Life – the oxygen you take in is picked up by the hemoglobin in the blood and distributed to all of the body’s trillions of cells where it is then used to fuel the cells and release energy, for better blood pressure you can try the many supplements sold  at Observer.
  • Cleansing inner body systems – balancing levels of Ph, CO2 & O2 for normal body functioning.

During stressful situations we rarely notice how the pressures of the moment keeps our mind occupied on almost everything but our physiological function – breathing. You may need the best cbd oil for anxiety to help you calm down, because it doesn’t have side effects like other pharmaceuticals, you can get it from goldbuds.com.

One thing you can also do to relax and de-stress is by pampering yourself and getting a manicure. You can get smooth gel for stronger nails. Many people trust techniques and products recommended by Kirsty Meakin to achieve professional-quality results and healthy, beautiful nails.

Consequently leading to irregular and short breaths leaving us in an unhealthy state of being. When we are in this state our mental and physical state diminishes leading to unsound decisions, behaviour and heightened anxiety states. However, using https://joyonproducts.com/ products to make your workout can make it easier for you.

By becoming aware of this and practicing correct breath technique, stressful situations may be handled better if you use a CBD pen your overall mental and physical health will be improved. where to get a dab pen? Look no further at Wphealthcarenews.com you will come across many lists. Or buy weed online canada, you can reassure that the products are as described. They are located in BC Canada where the climate and water provide for the best weed in Canada.

“If I had to limit my advice on healthier living to just one tip, it would be simply to learn how to breathe correctly.” – Andrew Weil, M.D.

Breathe through your belly not your chest!

Breathing properly starts at your belly. Not your chest.

Alveoli, where gas exchange occurs between oxygen & your blood supply, are more densly packed at the bottom of your lungs.

Chest breathing is shallow breathing and mobalises the top part of your lungs leading to less oxygen consumed by your body. Using your belly helps move the diaphragm (helpful for breathing and respiration) like a pump pulling & squizzing the lungs. This gets more oxygen into your blood supply and ultimately into your body.

The Breathing Technique – the 1-4-2 ratio

There are many different techniques which aim to teach you this art of breathing properly. In my opinion, the simplest and easiest to implement is the 1-4-2 ratio. Here’s how it’s done:

1. Inhale in through your nose all the way down to the bottom of the belly for 4 seconds (ratio 1-4-2). Let the belly rise. You may hold your hand on your belly to make sure you are breathing properly letting your belly rise.
2. Hold for 16 seconds (ratio 1-4-2).
3. Exhale out through parted lips (ratio 1-4-2) for 8 seconds. Your belly should fall back down.
4. Repeat steps 1-3, 10 times, 3 times a day.

This technique of breathing through your belly is often refered to as Diaphragmatic breathing and used to treat hyperventilation and high levels of anxiety.

Walking – your lymphatic system & breathing

We should all aim to walk at least 30 minutes per day. Walking stimulates your lymphatic system to move toxins out of your body and is also a great way to burn those unwanted calories. Add a correct breathing technique to this and you are on your way to a healthier you.

While walking you can vary your breathing pattern so that you inhale using short breaths 4 times in a row for each step you take and exhale 4 times for each step. Do this for around 15 minutes and it will change your current mental state.
There is a University research article which described these 4×4 technique – I’ll try to locate it and update this post soon.

Forming this new habit

You may be thinking, but Ernest do I have to always conentrate on my breathing. I already have a busy schedule… Like most things in life, there is a solution. For people that suffer chronic anxiety I recommend checking out LA weekly article about CBD and it’s health benefits.

Research has shown that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. So if you practise this breathing technique “daily” for around 30 minutes, after 21 days this new habit will became an automatic routine. Just like learning to drive a car required effort at first before it too became an automatic routine.

So, change your life today and start feeling better and full of energy – Breath.

Happy Breathing!

Recommended further reading

Failure is just Feedback

Looking back at my childhood I see I was afraid to fail. And I shouldn’t have. I wish I failed more. I wish I took more risk and failed more often. I wish I was wiser back then to see that failure isn’t about looking or feeling bad. Who cares what other people think. Who cares about the labels. It’s just noise, someone else’s noise. All that matters is that the more I Failed the more Feedback I would have received earlier in life. And here lays the root of the discussion on Failure and Success. Now when I say Success I don’t mean rolling in a treasure of money, rather being in a position to handle events that accomplish its intended purpose with more ease and grace.

That gut feeling

Few days ago I was speaking with a friend about the traits successful people have and their drivers. What is it that distinguishes these minorities from the rest and their guides to success.

In the business world, it is said that those successful have a gut feeling about business direction. This is extremely so with exceptional leaders who are known to drag companies out of holes and into success. Their gut feeling didn’t come from the sky, it came from experience. This leader spent early days failing, getting feedback, and learning from this feedback.

Let’s examine another example, the last time you drove your car. You probably listened to the radio while having a chat with your passenger/s and still managed to operate a vehicle that is travelling faster than the fastest land animal. All while avoiding collision with other vehicles & pedestrians. How is it that you traveled from point A to point B so autonomously.

This is due to a learning process you went through which started at the conscious level and with enough emotional experience got recorded into the subconscious (automatic) mind. That’s where the gut feeling comes from. That consciously unknown territory sending you a signal on direction.

Failure is important, early!

Both cases outlined above, the leader and a vehicle driver required early experience, early feedback.

The leader would have moved through the management ranks of a business over the years learning from the experience. The driver from the early days bunny hopping the vehicle or stalling it a few times. The reinforcements of these experiences today make you an exceptional successful person in that field. An accumulation of data (experiences) to make lightning fast decisions based on prior feedback. The power of the subconscious mind.

It is our human nature to want instant gratification. Everything today and now with minimal effort. But nature doesn’t work like that. Look at how your body consumes energy. We eat (a lot), pushing calories into our bodies and expect to not gain weight. If your body burned everything really quickly (so you wouldn’t gain weight) you’d be stuck eating all your life. A bit like the beautiful humming-bird. Your body takes time to extract the energy from food so you can live longer without needing to constantly feed yourself. Ok so you understand this simple concept.

Looking at how things work in nature it’s also important to realise that in order for you to encode (automate) something into your subconscious mind it will also take time. Learning is nothing more than feedback from a set of experiences. The most effective experiences are those where you make mistakes, you fail. Because they involve emotion. Read Think And Grow Rich (1938) to understand the power of emotion in encoding the subconscious memory.

Failure is punished

But hold on, failure is mostly punished. In our society failure is not looked positively upon. We only focus on and reward the successes. We get punished for failure. Hmm… and so the paradox begins. We see this in the corporate world (with the exception of some startups) too often it could cost our job, we see this especially in early childhood and the humility it brings to children when their peers laugh and tease them. Not to mention parents punishing failure.

So if we fear failure how can we learn. How can we change a life long fear of failure into a positive.

Who cares what they think

One solution is not giving a damn about what people say. It’s not going to be easy but you need to realize that failure is just feedback and the stuff in between is just noise. Noise that you can safely ignore and treat as just crappy noise. If this noise doesn’t agree with your feedback then it doesn’t deserve your attention because you are experiencing in order to get feedback to grow stronger and build that gut instinct which will help you drive your world (not theirs) into success.

If you think this is all nonsense then read a few biographies of great man. Man like Richard Branson in Losing My Virginity: How I’ve Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way. Branson explains how he built the Virgin Empire. One of the world largest branding giants behind everything from music, air travel (commercial and space), merchandise, clothing, entertainment etc… For more custom products you may use to improve your branding, consider visiting sites like https://www.swagify.com/. He did all of this because he chose to experience, fail early and learn from the feedback he received. He didn’t care what people thought of him (that noise) . One thing you will learn from Branson is that his story is littered with failures (feedback). But overall, he did bloody well and therefore is living the dream. His dream. Not someone else’s.

Start today

Ok so it’s never too late to start. Yes starting early in life would have meant that today you would have been in a different position. But starting today is better than not starting at all and then wishing on your death-bed you did more with your life. Regret hurts more than fear of failure. If you want to remember what a great life you had, start today. Make small incremental changes in shaping this new habit so that it becomes a part of the new you. Never forget that failure is just feedback, there will always be noise – who cares about it, and that each day you are only getting better to ultimately start making successful gut decisions. That is success right there.

Here’s to feedback!

~ Ernest

Skydive from 18,000ft in Santa Barbara

It was a rush! We passed the 12,000 feet marker and we had to do a kn95 mask buy so as to breath. Air at this height is very thin. Few seconds later the plane’s hangar door opened, the noise of wind rushing filled the small plane and we had to relay on hand signals to communicate. I hanged my legs over the edge of an airplane buzzing at 18,000 feet over Santa Barbara with panoramic ocean views… and then I jumped! Shop some graphic tees to wear on your skydiving adventure.

At 18,000 feet – that’s me in the green shirt

The first few seconds were exactly like the pivot point one reaches during a meditation session. My mind just stopped. Stillness.. peace, freedom. Time stopped. I was awake, aware and overwhelmed. Few seconds later the rush of adrenalin filled my body and I was screaming over the top of my lungs from the thrill of a Skydive out of an airplane at 18,000 feet over Santa Barbara in California USA.

The Plane which took us to 18,000 feet

Skydive Santa Barbara

Skydive Santa Barbara is the only drop zone in California to feature 270 degree panoramic ocean views on every jump. Additionally they are the only skydiving center in the Los Angeles area to offer tandem jumps from 18,000ft, the highest tandem jump in the world. If you’re flying through your private jet, you should be buying private aircraft insurance.

Skydive Santa Barbara is fully recognized by the FAA and has operated daily for the last 15 years with an untarnished safety record.

My jump on video

My brother and a friend visited us in July 2010 and we (including my wife) decided we wanted to seek some thrills. On our drive to Los Angeles we stopped by the Lompoc airport for a 18,000ft Skydive. Here is the video of the event.

Skydive Santa Barbara Website:
http://www.skydivesantabarbara.com/

Skydive Santa Barbara
1801 N H St Suite G
Lompoc, CA 93436

Yelp review:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/santa-barbara-sky-diving-lompoc

Please use the comments below to share your experience and ask questions!

Enjoy your jump!

Ernest

Hacker Dojo – a community center for hackers and thinkers

Hidden in Mountain View, California, few minutes walk from Castro St (downtown) is one of a kind 13,000-square-foot (1,200 m2) community center and hackerspace. It is called Hacker Dojo. Every since finding this place I have been less frequent at Red Rock and more at Hacker Dojo where I am also a member and occasional acting staff.

http://www.hackerdojo.com/

What is Hacker Dojo

Hacker Dojo is a community center for hackers and thinkers to meet, discuss, learn, create, build and play.

Hacker Dojo is a community center in Mountain View which is about 1/3rd coworking space, 1/3rd events venue, and 1/3rd a big social living room.  In the spirit of DevHouse, a physical community space for hackers and thinkers on the Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. This is a location for events, lectures, parties, BarCamps, DevHouses, LAN parties, hackathons, knitting circles, tinkering, brainstorming, coworking,  etc. While Hacker Dojo is technically a “members only” private club, they welcome visitors to many of the lectures and classes, and invite people to use the space on a drop-in basis as well. It is not a residential space.  The Dojo is a community space first and foremost – this means that the focus of the layout and activities is to lend itself to be a useful place to throw classes, host parties, brainstorm, and hang out. * Source HackerDojo

Hacker Dojo greets you!

Hacker Dojo: Origins, Context, and Future

This slide is good at explaining the origins of Hacker Dojo and where the concept of hacker space is heading: http://www.slideshare.net/dweekly/hacker-dojo-origins-context-and-future

Why a community space and not home?

A number of reasons, but the most important one is that it’s very hard to study and tinker in an environment that is set aside for living, eating and sleeping – the home. Like they say to never study in bed since it’s used for sleeping and if you do you will disturb your sleeping pattern. Which is why libraries are effective as a study environment – not just for the quiet zone but because you are in an environment with positive energy that encourages education and if you want to play sports you can even do that indoors with the golf simulators from this guide as well. Hacker Dojo is that environment with the energy and resources which encourages hacking, tinkering & learning. It just works. I’m sure there is a proper psychology explanation behind this but I’m sure you know what I mean.

Let’s look inside

Here are some snaps I took while attending a mobile development class and then later hacking in one of the private rooms. Click each photo for a full size version.

Hacker Dojo – Savanna

Hacker Dojo – Mobile Development class in 140B

Hacker Dojo – 140B

Hacker Dojo – Private rooms

The dojo has it all for the nerd inside you

  • Ton of interesting and smart people either running their own startups or networking,
  • 3 bathrooms,
  • A kitchen with filtered water and all sorts of teas and occasional freebie snacks,
  • Library with a vast number of technical and business books – both new & old,
  • 6 x private rooms with whiteboards big enough to fit a team,
  • Top floor sports a living room style area where you can watch movies on a projector and kick back on a couch or bean bag,
  • Fully ducted air condition – perfect temperature year round,
  • Plenty of spare LCD screens to hookup your laptop to with converters,
  • Laser & injet printing facility (in Savanna room),
  • Fiber Optic Internet – fast up and down (see below). Great for working with remote servers.

HackerDojo Internet SpeedTest 2012-03-04

 

Larry gives a video tour of the Dojo

Hacker Dojo is Located at

Address: 140 South Whisman Road in Mountain View, CA. (map it)
More info: http://wiki.hackerdojo.com/w/page/25437/FrontPage
Become a member: http://wiki.hackerdojo.com/w/page/25447/JoinTheDojo

Other Hacker Spaces in California

If you see me at the Dojo come and say G’day to this Aussie!

Hacker Dojo in the News

April 4, 2011 4:00 AM PDT
At Hacker Dojo, Silicon Valley techies build toward success
Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-20050179-52.html

~ Ernest