I read an article earlier today in the online version of Business 2.0 titled “Extreme telecommuting”. The focus of the article was a telecommuter who took his telecommuting consulting business on the road. Below you’ll find a direct link to the article so you may check it out when you have time. The article went on to explain a few things one should consider before taking your job on the road.

From a personal perspective I tend not to agree fully with the part of the article where it mentions that “There’s always an Internet connection somewhere, even in the poorest, most desperate country” . Though I agree that you can find ways to connect to the internet, the service is not always as good as it can be and not as reliable as one would prefer. The past 3 times I took my work on the road with me, Germany for World Cup 2006, cruise last winter and business trip to the Caribbean in May, it did not work out entirely as planned.

Germany - There was wireless internet at the hotel I stayed at, but not only was it expensive, there were connection issues. And I was always concerned about security when logged on to the wireless service. When I returned home, there was the fighting with my credit card company to dispute the massive bill I received.

Cruise vacation - EXPENSIVE! It didn’t matter if you had the wireless service (you still had to be within range) or if you used the internet cafe, the price hit you like a Randy Johnson fastball! So though the service was there (very slow) it was too expensive to actually do any work.

Business trip to the Caribbean - Just could not get my laptop formatted to work with the island-wide wireless network. The service was there, but it didn’t work with all brands of laptops. There were many internet cafes where I could log on, but internet cafes were not made for working, just checking emails and keeping up with the rest of the world as you travel.
PLUS, there were too many distractions. If I were to take my work on the road, I’ll be visiting places I wanted to see or experience. Therefore I’m not sure how much time I would have for working.

Extreme telecommuting - Want to see the world and collect a healthy paycheck? Just grab your laptop and go.

(Business 2.0 Magazine) — Anthony Page stood on the beach of Malaysia’s tiny Perhentian Kecil Island and marveled at the isolation. Around him were bamboo huts and miles of blue water. Much of the island was jungle, inhabited by coconut-hurling monkeys and giant monitor lizards. Yet he wasn’t entirely cut off. At night, when the electricity came on, Page could pull out his laptop and hook up, via satellite link, to the Web. “There’s always an Internet connection somewhere, even in the poorest, most desperate country,” he says.

Page, 35, had been traveling for almost a year before he got to the island. He hit the road in 2005 when his job as a Web developer in London was outsourced to India. Tired of the grind, he decided to take a leaf from the people his job had gone to: He would work with clients long-distance over the Internet; his office would be the nearest power and Internet hookups.

“Ten years ago, there’s no way this would have worked,” he says. “Now there are hardly any barriers.” With so many choices for voice, e-mail, and video communication, many jobs today can be done without a brick-and-mortar office. Getting paid couldn’t be easier; PayPal and other advances in electronic money management make overseas financial transactions nearly friction-free.

Read the entire Extreme Telecommuting article here.

Just heard the news that former San Francisco 49ers head coach Bill Walsh passed away today. Walsh died at his Bay Area home early Monday following a long battle with leukemia, according to Stanford University, where he served as coach and athletic director. This is truly a sad day for me since I’m a HUGE 9ers fan and have always like Mr. Walsh. My sincere condolences goes out to all his family, friends and the fans of this amazing man and coach.

Here’s a clip from the Associated press:

Few men did more to shape the look of football into the 21st century. His cerebral nature and often-brilliant stratagems earned him the nickname “The Genius” well before his election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.

Walsh twice served as the 49ers’ general manager, and George Seifert led San Francisco to two more Super Bowl titles after Walsh left the sideline. Walsh also coached Stanford during two terms over five seasons.

Even a short list of Walsh’s adherents is stunning. Seifert, Mike Holmgren, Dennis Green, Sam Wyche, Ray Rhodes and Bruce Coslet all became NFL head coaches after serving on Walsh’s San Francisco staffs, and Tony Dungy played for him. Most of his former assistants passed on Walsh’s structures and strategies to a new generation of coaches, including Mike Shanahan, Jon Gruden, Brian Billick, Andy Reid, Pete Carroll, Gary Kubiak, Steve Mariucci and Jeff Fisher.

Walsh created the Minority Coaching Fellowship program in 1987, helping minority coaches to get a foothold in a previously lily-white profession. Marvin Lewis and Tyrone Willingham are among the coaches who went through the program, later adopted as a league-wide initiative.

He also helped to establish the World League of American Football — what was NFL Europe — in 1994, taking the sport around the globe as a development ground for the NFL.

Walsh was diagnosed with leukemia in 2004 and underwent months of treatment and blood transfusions. He publicly disclosed his illness in November 2006, but appeared at a tribute for retired receiver Jerry Rice two weeks later.

While Walsh recuperated from a round of chemotherapy in late 2006, he received visits from former players and assistant coaches, as well as California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

Born William Ernest Walsh on Nov. 30, 1931 in Los Angeles, he was a self-described “average” end and a sometime boxer at San Jose State in 1952-53.

Walsh, whose family moved to the Bay Area when he was a teenager, married his college sweetheart, Geri Nardini, in 1954 and started his coaching career at Washington High School in Fremont, leading the football and swim teams.

I just caught this on the news and for some reason it was not surprising. I always wondered how these news chasers in the sky avoided each other. A truly sad story.. just have to wonder if we as a public, with our constant demand for news and reality contributed to this.

(CNN) — A police chase through the streets of downtown Phoenix turned into a midair tragedy Friday afternoon when two television news helicopters covering the action collided and crashed to the ground in smoke and flame, killing all four people on board.

KTVK-TV said photojournalist Jim Cox and pilot Scott Bowerback were killed. KNXV-TV identified its crew as photographer Rick Krolak and pilot Craig Smith.

The helicopters collided as the rival stations were covering the police pursuit of a stolen white truck towing a trailer. Assistant Chief Mark Angle of the Phoenix Fire Department said wreckage from both helicopters then landed in a downtown park.

Aerial footage from another station covering the chase, KPNX-TV, showed large plumes of black smoke and flames coming from the wreckage.

Read the full story here. 

I took a look at my desk this morning (after a reminder from my wife - why is she in the engine room?), what a freaking mess. Then I glanced over to my white board (see my article on To Do List) another mess. Then right in front of me on my monitor, yep another mess. It’s like a rainbow, with all the post-it notes I have stuck to it. I’m surprised I could still see the screen.

No wonder I feel as if I’m overwhelmed the past month or so. I’m not as organized as I used to be, something I took pride in doing. So before I did anything this morning (except post in my blog - BTW isn’t blogging addictive?) I’ve decide to clean up this mess and get back to my old self. Take a closer look at your office, your life, your surrounding.. is it organized? Maybe this is what’s holding you back!

“Plan your progress carefully; hour-by hour, day-by-day, month-by-month. Organized activity and maintained enthusiasm are the wellsprings of your power.”
Paul J. Meyer

p.s. “The Engine Room” is the term I use to call my office.

Last Saturday we drove down to Buffalo, NY for our monthly Sam’s Club visit. Yes we do have Sam’s clubs in Canada, but the closest location to where we live is further than the drive to Buffalo. Though we have a Costco membership and there are a couple in our city, we tend to find different things as well as better prices at Sam’s club. Can’t beat the strenght of the Canadian dollar either

After shopping, our girls were a bit hungry so we hit the closest McDonalds for their chicken nuggets family special. It’s no longer an advertised special, but if you know and ask, they will give it to you. 40 chicken nuggets and 2 large fries for $10 I think. As I waited for our order the people that were behind me in line started to place their order. It seems they were either new immigrants or a family on vacation from Europe. I think there were 5 of them in total and as they stepped up they pointed to the pictures in the menu. I came to realize that they didn’t speak English, since when the attendant asked them what salad dressing they wanted they had a puzzled look on their faces. same thing happened when she asked them if they wanted their order super-sized.

Finally it was the youngest one from the group turn to order. With a big grin on his face he yelled out “Big Mac” and looked over to the others in the group with this look of pride. Here we had a family who spoke no or probably little English, but the young fella knew how to order a Big Mac. Could you imagine your brand being so well known?

BTW, when he was asked which pop he wanted he didn’t know how to respond, until the girl said “coke”.