2015
Quote about thinking
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them - Albert Einstein
Quote about road
If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there. Lewis Carroll
Quote about being lonely
Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.
Quote about growth
Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.
Do honesty and integrity have place in today's workplace?
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“1500”]Image by Marilyn Peddle used under creative commons license [/caption] Spend enough time working with board level executives and the question you will see the most often is "what defines a leader?" What are the qualities organizations should look for when choosing a leader or develop in their rising stars? The simple answer is that a leader must: Be a visionary Have integrity, honesty and values in line with the company Have the ability to motivate employees even when times are though Be a change agent (and create a culture where constant change is rewarded) Trust is job one A leader must quickly and without any doubt be trusted by his/her people.
Build an efficient self managing team
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“400”]Image by Uitleg & tekst used under creative commons license [/caption] “Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage. You have to fail in order to practice being brave.” — Mary Tyler Moore “In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.” — Yogi Berra “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” — Mahatma Gandhi What do these 3 quotes mean?
You just got laid off. Now what?
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“2500”]Image by Keoni Cabral used under creative commons license [/caption] In most companies, layoffs are seen as an "easy" way to cut costs. The process for the terminated employee and HR is anything but easy. In this article I will be discussing what to do if you are laid off. The truth is that most employees that get laid off are caught off guard. Very few of them actually expected it and the immediate feeling most will experience is a feeling of losing control.
The era of title inflation is upon us
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“2448”]Image by William Tun used under Creative Commons License [/caption] When creating a new position, my management team spends a lot of time thinking about the position, the responsibilities and expectations. We turn these thoughts into a clear and detailed job description and then at the very end tag it with an appropriate title. I firmly believe, job titles should accurately reflect your position, role and responsibilities. Titles have become important for most professionals as they convey your position during your career.
Skyroam Global Hotspot review
Like most of you, I want to be connected all the time, even while travelling. Check out your carrier's data roaming charges and you'll quickly realize there needs to be a better option. This is where new services are popping up hopping to fill a void. The Skyroam Global WIFI Hotspot is a $125 solution that promises unlimited global data roaming in 60+ countries for an affordable flat fee of $10 per day for unlimited use (the company says the per day rate will drop to $8 before the end of summer) They aded 14 new countries in the last 6 weeks including Philippines, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Poland, Slovakia.
Kleen Kanteen is the king of water bottles for good reason
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“600”]27 oz classic Kleen Kanteen [/caption] I recently completed a 3.5 day survival training camps and it reiterated the importance of a "good canteen". now good means different things to different people but in my case I was looking for: a chemical free canteen without a liner coat on the inside of the bottle. The Klean kanteen is made from 18/8 stainless steel which is chemical free & doesn't require a liner (like aluminium). a bottle I could boil water in if I needed to (sanitize questionable water while camping or in a survival situation).
Apple launches HomeKit with a handful of partners
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“2500”]Photo by Insteon [/caption] We knew it was coming but didn't know exactly when. Apple's home automation platform, HomeKit, finally launched and you can expect the first slew of products to hit retail shelves shortly. Launch parters include Insteaon, Lutron, Elgato, Caseta and Ecobee. “We’re excited to be shipping our HomeKit-enabled Insteon Hub and releasing the Insteon+ mobile app, enabling the mass consumer market to live in a world where all of their connected devices work together in perfect harmony,” “HomeKit streamlines home automation for consumers, brings together multiple manufacturers and offers advanced features like remote control and voice control through integrations with Siri.
Microsoft to launch global wifi network for enterprise customers
Microsoft's Skype entity already offers a product called Skype WIFI (link) which allows you to buy WIFI access in millions of locations by the minute. A barebones webpage now may indicate that Microsoft has bigger plan for it's WIFI resale business and may be branding it Microsoft WIFI (link). The service (purportedly) will offer access to its millions of WIFI access hotspots to Office 365 Enterprise subscribers, Surface 2 owners or buyers of the Work & Play bundle. The DNS lookup of the website seems to indicate that it belongs to Microsoft so I am assuming it is legitimate but it is still very sparse and missing tones of information.
It's a shovel, flashlight, axe, portable battery and more
I rarely write about kickstarter projects on this blog because many never turn the "brilliant idea" into an actual tangible delivered product. An example of non delivery is the iExpander which was supposed to deliver a battery pack with a bunch of features in December 2012, May 2015 and still no product to speak of. I love camping / survival gear but this is so ridiculous I wanted to share it. <img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/cca338ab94.jpg" alt=""> What could this axe contain that makes it so unbelievably funny?
PiCO is the world's smallest bottle opener
Summer is almost upon us and I see lot's of bottle opening in your future... Why not open those bottles with style using the worlds smallest and lightest bottle opener? <img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/42e61d2c5f.jpg" alt=""> It's small size means it needs to rethink some of the basics of bottle opening. It's too short to use the bottle body for leverage so it uses leverage from the keychain to actually open the bottle cap. Its as small as a US quarter.
Eye2TV color correct's TV for the colorblind
We have witnessed an onslaught of "smart" HDMI dongles from the Chromecast to the chromebit to Intel's PC on a stick. These are all very cool technologies but do they really improve your life in a measurable and tangible way? Colorblindness isn't as serious as many other human afflictions but it's great to see a Kickstarter campaign trying to create a device to help improve their lives. The Eye2TV is an HDMI dongle that plugs into your TV an automatically (immediately) upgrades the image to compensate for the things colorblind people don't see.
LifeStraw Review : sucking hard for clean water
In survival, we have the rules of 3: 3 minutes without air 3 hours without shelter 3 days without water 3 weeks without food Depending on the terain, season and weather, shelter and water can change places. Dependably clean water is a basic human need. Go without it for just a few days and see what happens. In a previous article about eh Steripen UV water sanitizing system (link) , I wrote this story
What is a tactical pen and do I need one?
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“1920”]UZI Tactical Defender Pen #1 - Black [/caption] Do a quick search on Google for Tactical Pen and you'll likely get 1.5M results. Tactical pens range in price from $10 and can cost as much as $1000. A question I receive regularly from readers that know I'm passionate about survival is : “What is a tactical pen and do I need one?” What is a tactical pen used for? The simple answer is that the tactical pen is a defense tool than can be considered concealed and that you can legally take anywhere with you.
Is the LifeProof waterproof iPhone case worth it?
LifeProof isn's a new company but interestingly I receive a handful of reader emails every week asking whether the $89.99 investment is justified. The questions I see the most are: Does the Lifeproof case work? Does the Lifeproof case leak? Will the Lifeproof case protect my iPhone from my toddler Interestingly reviews on the the internet are split. There are large organizations and hard users that swear by Lifeproof cases and then there is a vibrant boisterous anti-Lifeproof community that tries to have its voice heard everywhere.
List of travel items I like
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“745”]Image by Sean MacEntee used under Creative Commons License [/caption] I write about travel items because I love them. Instead of a review, I wanted to list some of my favorite travel items. These aren't just random items I found on the internet, these are things that I bought and use regularly. Remember I spent most of my career travelling (over 1M miles) so you know these are good. Best Carry-On bag : RedOxx Airboss Best packing cubes : Eagle Creek Packing Cubes Best Travel Toiletry Kit : Eagle Creek Pack-It Wallaby Best Noise Cancelling Headphones: Bose QC25 Best Noise Isolating earphones: Etymotic ER-4 MicroPro Best short Travel USB/Lightning cables: Nomad NomadKey Best Small Bluetooth travel speaker : Logitech UE Mini Best portable travel power strip with USB: Belking Best travel portable water bottle: Vapur Best waterproof point and shoot : Olympus TG-4 Best portable camera : Sony a6000
3 tips to limit your career growth now
[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“2500”]Image by Ken Teegardin used under Creative Commons License [/caption] I have written a bunch of articles about growing you career. Why not use the opposite angle. I wanted to provide 3 powerful tips to help stunt your career growth now. 1 - Stay within the comfortable confines of your existing department This is a tip for big company dwellers. A sure way to limit your growth is to concentrate all your efforts to stay in the department you are in.