One, if not the largest investment you can make for your home office is a computer. In my case it was a laptop so I could work from the back yard in the Summer months, plus I could work when I travelled.

Work from home Wednesday tip….

Before deciding to make such a big purchase please seek out advice from people who own the brand or model you’re interested in. I personally use epionions.com to see what people’s reviews are for products. It does not make much sense grabbing the first deal in your weekly circular, only to end up with a dud or something which will not meet your needs. In the case of my labtop, one of the key things I was looking for (other than what it could actually perform) was the weight. I didn’t want something which would become a bother after 30 mins or so.

One more tip this work from Home Wednesday…. Get the warranty, if may cost a little more than what you budgeted for, but at least you’re covered in the event you somehow cause damage to the item.

Make it a productive day!

Chris…

Hope you had a great weekend. I spent most of yesterday cleaning up mother nature’s mess. We have a fair sized Maple in our front yard, combined with the one across the street and all the wind the pass 3 days… it took me about 3 hrs to rake and bag everything. This is after I did the same thing last week

It’s Pet Peeve Monday!

I think going out to the movies is no longer my thing. I used to love the BIG screen and the BIG sound, but I’ve found that though technology did improve over the years, someone forgot to tell the movie theatres. I get a better picture from my TV at home (though not as big) and I know the surround sound you can purchase for home use is very good as well. Not only picture and sound…

- don’t have to fight for parking

- no one to kick your seat from the back (actually they don’t kick my seat… they choose Caron’s seat, so I have to listen to her complain to me)

- no over-priced pop corn and pop

- $12.50 cover! .. I could rent 3 dvds with that

- the chewing (chomping.. sounds like cookie monster sitting next to me) of popcorn next to me. Can’t people chew quietly? And please don’t rub shoulders with me or place your arm on MY armrest! Yep! I claimed that armrest first.

- waiting in line to purchase tickets.

- don’t you dare go to a movie that’s rated “G”, those noisy kids will get your blood boiling even before the movie starts.

- and how can we forget the person who has to narrate the entire film for us.

Yep, going to the movies is just to expensive now and with the kind of home theatre you can get for your home you can enjoy movies is the comfort of your family room.

Make it a great week.

Chris…

p.s. I more thing… how about after the movies when you have to go back to a freezing  car! Since there was a problem for parking you had to park a short marathon away and now that the parking lot is empty, the cold wind has free range to remind you that you’re in Canada!

(HealthDay News) - Sitting in front of a computer for hours at a time can easily strain your eyes. But a few changes to your workstation can prevent eye strain, Prevent Blindness America says. Here are their suggestions:

Health Tip: Prevent Computer Eye Strain

- Keep your computer screen between 20 and 26 inches away from your face, and position it slightly below eye level.

- Try to avoid glare by adjusting overhead lights, lamps, or blinds. You can also place a filter over your screen to reduce glare.

- Buy a computer monitor that can be adjusted to a level that’s comfortable for your height.

- Attach a document holder to the side of the screen to avoid straining to read what you’re typing.

Copyright 2006 ScoutNews, LLC.

Thought I’d share this article I came across…

Study’s conclusions could push telecommuting

Tim Greene

Despite the growing popularity of telecommuting, regular commuting continues to grow, with a new class of worker - the extreme commuter - traveling more than 90 minutes to get to work.

Concentrated in sprawling urban centers, these people may drive to work or they may take public transportation, a factor that could help determine their extreme status, according to “Commuting in America III,” a study written by the Transportation Research Board (TRB).

Commuters who take public trains and buses wind up with trips to work that take twice as long as it takes someone who drives, the study says.

The average time it takes to get to work has been accelerating, TRB says. In 1980, the average travel time nationwide was 21.7 minutes. That grew to 22.4 minutes in 1990, but shot to 25.5 in 2000. These averages were driven up by the large number of commuters in New York, where more than 10 percent of commuters traveled for an hour or more to work.

Other states with more than 10 percent of commuters traveling an hour or more to work are New Jersey, Maryland and Illinois. California just missed this percentage.

Meanwhile, the ranks of telecommuters have risen dramatically since 1990, according to the Telework Coalition. In 1990, about 4 million people telecommuted at least once per year. That number has grown to about 45 million today, says Chuck Wilsker, president and CEO of the Telework Coalition.

If the definition of telecommuting is revised to working from home at least one day per month, the number is about 24 million, according to a 2004 study of consumers by The Derringer Research Group. Of those, 16.5 million are self-employed, which arguably makes them something other than telecommuters, because there is no alternative site to which they could travel. Even so, that number represents about a fifth of the workforce.

The same study says the number of teleworkers supported by broadband connections leaped from 4.4 million in 2003 to 8.1 million in 2004.

The growing travel times for physical commuting may encourage more businesses to offer telecommuting options if workers consider time traveling to work as wasted. A survey of 1,400 CFOs said offering telecommuting as an option was the second best way to attract top job talent. The best way was offering more money.

http://www.infoworld.nl/idgns/bericht.phtml?id=002570DE00740E180025720B00830A1D

Working from home or any 9-5 job really takes a toll on us. I look at Caron (she works 12hr shifts), when she gets in form the hospital… she’s so tired, all she has energy to do is shower and eat dinner. By the end of the day we’re both running on fumes. Even our girls…with all the teams they involved with at school (track, basket ball and volleyball) they’re also tired when they get home.

It’s work from home Wednesday…here’s today’s tip!

Take a planned vacation. Not only does it give you something to look forward to, it gives you the chance to take a real break. Last Spring we took our first cruise and we discovered it’s something we liked doing as a family. I’m not allowed to say if we booked one or not, since Caron made me promise not to blog about “our business” any longer. However, don’t come around the end of Jan 2007..we won’t be here

Forget anything bad you’ve read or heard about cruising. It’s fun, safe and can be enjoyed by any age group. For a great family cruise try Royal Caribbean or Princess or simply go to any of the “cruise” message board / forums and you’ll get tons and tons of advice.

Take a break, you deserve it!

Chris….

p.s. I was sick the past few days and missed my usual “Pet Peeve” post on Monday. So I’ll add a peeve here today… Why do websites have a price listed (nice and cheap), however when you get an actual quote it’s a few hundred dollars more than what’s listed? While searching for cruise options we saw some great prices listed on websites…. great until we got an actual quote! Please show us the real prices!