Leo is the friendly face of new technology. He translates geek speak into a language anyone can understand.
I can’t keep up with his many books, blogs, websites, radio shows, podcasts, TV bits and Vblogs.
His Leoville website is as good a place to start as any:
Cirque has 12 shows worldwide and is more popular than ever. Over 7 million people will see a performance this year.
My old friend Dan is coaching a new Vegas show premiering in 2006. I know it as “Le Boys”, featuring the music of The Beatles. Sounds like a winner.
Cirque du Soleil has 2,400 employees and is hiring every day. I am contracted with Cirque as a travelling consultant helping them find the most talented gymnasts, divers and “extreme sport” athletes in the USA. Coaches tell me there is a big demand as Cirque continues to expand.
My old friend Dana (I have a lot of old friends in Cirque) recommended me for this position and for that I resolve to be nicer to Dana. I solemnly promise never to moon her again.
I am proud to be even a small part of an organization like the Cirque du Soleil.
I am coming up on 9-years of (mostly) not owning a vehicle.
Back in the day, though, my last 3 vehicles were Honda Civic hatchbacks. I loved those cars and am still mourning the day Honda discontinued the hatchback in Canada.
But what’s this? I need check out the new Honda Fit.
I am very happy with the external hard drive I got before Christmas. About that same time at least 4 friends all bought in to this technology. La Cie and Maxtor external drives are reliable, fairly easy to set up, fast enough to play video and are reasonably priced / gigabyte.
They include software to automate back-up if you are one of those who still do not back up your files.
I visited Peter and Joyce Long at their new active retirement community just outside Ocala, Florida.
It’s a perfect Truman Show gated community catering to those age 55 or older who no longer work — but who refuse to slow down!
36-hole golf course, softball fields, swimming pools, aerobics, dance studio. 80 clubs and organizations catering to every interest, even synchronized swimming. We were waiting for the fitness centre door to open at 6AM each morning.
Two neighbours were both recently widowed. They met through the Singles Club and are now getting married.
If you are currently living in a SITCOM (Single Income, Two Children, Oppressive Mortgage) you want to email Peter — peter.long@longsworld.net — to learn more about what it is like to retire to Florida.
Also, check Peter’s photos of our Kayaking and Cycling day trips. Flickr (free) membership required.
Next travelogue on this trip >> Daytona Beach, Florida
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Currently the fourth most-popular carbonated soft drink in the world — Diet Coke is #1 with me.
Coke tinkers with the basic formula trying to strike the right balance of saccharin, aspartame, cyclamates, sucralose and acesulfame potassium.
None of the special flavoured variations have won me over yet, but keep trying!
Before 1997 the only game in my town was the Dairy Queen Blizzard. Delicious, but very expensive. And “Fast Food” — hah! DQ is still the slowest junk food purveyor of all.
The Scottish Restaurant then introduced the McFlurry (first in Canada) and cut the legs out from under the Blizzard. That was a wonderful day for me.
I love to target McDonalds as a symbol. But you will oft find me in there picking up a frozen treat!
McFlurry – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
BTW, most of the negative urban legends floating around about McDonalds are not true. But one is. In Canada and the USA they still use beef extract as a flavouring in French Fries. Vegetarians — be warned.
Montreal or New York-style?
What’s your pleasure?
I went 2 months in Central America before finding a bagel. That was an awful 2 months.
A burnt-toasted bagel with butter would be my last meal, I belive.
Dana sent me some advice from grumpy old Andy Rooney, the CBS curmudgeon.
Tips for Handling Telemarketers:
1) Three Little Words That Work !!
The three little words are: “Hold On, Please…”
Saying this, while putting down your phone and walking off (instead of hanging-up immediately) would make each telemarketing call so much more time-consuming that boiler room sales would grind to a halt.
Then when you eventually hear the phone company’s “beep-beep-beep” tone, you know it’s time to go back and hang up your handset, which has efficiently completed its task.
These three little words will help eliminate telephone soliciting.
2) Do you ever get those annoying phone calls with no one on the other end?
This is a telemarketing technique where a machine makes phone calls and records the time of day when a person answers the phone.
This technique is used to determine the best time of day for a “real” sales person to call back and get someone at home.
What you can do after answering, if you notice there is no one there, is to immediately start hitting your # button on the phone, 6 or 7 times, as quickly as possible This confuses the machine that dialed the call and it kicks your number out of their system. Gosh, what a shame not to have your name in their system any longer !!!
Tips for Handling Junk Mail:
When you get “ads” enclosed with your phone or utility bill, return these “ads” with your payment. Let the sending companies throw their own junk mail away.
When you get those “pre-approved” letters in the mail for everything from credit cards to 2nd mortgages and similar type junk, do not throw away the return envelope.
Most of these come with postage-paid return envelopes, right? … Drop them in the mail empty.
The rich have many travel options en route to Clooney’s place on Lake Como.
The rest of us need the Lonely Planet shoestring guidebook series. Inexpensive accommodation, restaurants and activities only.
Big Trips on Small Budgets.
On my current 3-month trip I have stayed in cheap hostels and 5-star resorts (sleeping on the balcony under the stars, actually).
The hostels are far better, of course.
Hostels are only successful if their guests have a great time. And they do.
You can have an excellent trip travelling for US$20-30 a day in most countries. It is a mistake to budget less than US$20 / day, I advise. Shorten your trip, instead.
Caution — we entertained an 88-year-old UK lady backpacker at the beloved Weary Traveller hostel in Tulum. She left next morning disgusted at the place. Some travellers are too delicate for the hostel circuit. But most survive the cold showers, loud parties, over-indulgence in alcohol, and the odd wandering scorpion.
Rick McCharles 