Mike's Life Stuff

Living on an island, we basically have to fly to get anywhere. I seem to spend half my life booking flights for us, or for family and friends visiting us, and I hate the whole process with a passion.

This week has been a classic example. I needed to get my daughter, son in law and grand daughter back to UK. It's the busy time of year, when everyone has to get kids back to school, so the airlines ramp their prices up. A flight that normally costs in the region of €100 to €150 suddenly becomes €600! I was able to find seats on many of the flights departing from here, but I simply wasn't going to pay €1800 for the privilege.  read more »

Did you read Chris Brogan's post about how he bought his new Camaro online? Maybe start there.

And then perhaps you should read the fascinating follow up interview with Aaron Smith.

Regular readers will know that I spent many years in the motor industry. I've been watching it from the sidelines since I got out ten years ago, and I've seen the manufacturers and dealers fall further and further behind other retailers in the way they market and in their use (or lack of it) of social media.  read more »

"Ticking away, the moments that make up a dull day.

You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way."

Image: Francesco Marino / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I bought the album when I was 16. And I've since purchased it as each new format has become available - I've made my contribution to Nick Mason's Ferraris.

I played it, for the first time in ages, while I was painting a room yesterday.  read more »

We had one hell of a party last night to celebrate Spain beating Germany for a place in the world cup final. The Cabildo (local government) set up a giant screen on El Reducto beach in Arrecife.

There was an amazing atmosphere, and the party then went on until dawn.

Here's a short video of some of it.

Fun!  read more »

At 9AM this morning I had a bill sent to me by a UK based company. By 9.06AM I had paid it online. The money will arrive in their currency, in their account tomorrow, or the day after. That's the beauty of electronic funds transfer - something I can do from this remote island in The Atlantic.

So will someone please tell me why certain US based companies I deal with insist on sending checks to me?

Apart from the fact that it takes me nearly three weeks to get the money, and I lose around 10% in commissions and currency exchange, has anyone stopped to consider the environmental aspect?  read more »

The alleged reception problems with the iPhone 4 are all over the web and conventional media. But in case you missed it, it seems that the signal strength reduces when the phone is held in a certain way.

Judging by the number of people writing and talking about it, I'm guessing that there is a problem.  read more »

This is a short video review of a couple of books I've been enjoying recently. You'll find (non affiliate) links below if you want to get your own copy.

This is where to go to find out more about Passionate Living

And here's the site for How to be Rich and Happy

I also promised to link you back to my full review of the latter and you can find that here: Mike's review of How to be Rich and Happy.

Competition  read more »

It has been a privilege over many years to support our Island's biggest sporting event in some way. Between us, Julie and I have variously commentated on local radio, compiled statistics for listeners, provided safety cover in Kayaks, worked on aid stations, and have generally helped at Ironman in any way we could.

I have always been filled with admiration for the professional athletes in triathlon - they have honed their bodies to the point where they have evolved almost into a new species of endurance "being."

But for me the heroes have always been people like Darren the palm tree man, Manuel the waiter and Paula from Wales. Ordinary people like you and I. People who train for a year, who save as hard as they can to buy a decent bike, and who endure pain you cannot begin to even imagine. Just so they can one day say "I did it!"

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You may remember my review of the book How to be Rich and Happy. I bought it, liked it, reviewed it, and I have now ordered the print version as well. As you can see, I'm a fan!

Co-Author Tim Brownson has become a friend of mine online over the last few months, and he's come up with a completely crazy idea:

He wants to give away a million of the books!  read more »

One of our students in The Beyond Blogging Project, Kelly Estes, opened an online store recently on her cookery blog www.hotcookin.net using Zazzle to sell products with her rather cool logo.

My wife took one look at the stuff on offer and ordered me the Hot Cookin' Dude apron, which I'm modelling for you in the photo.

What do you think? Am I a Hot Cookin' Dude?  read more »