Secrets to Travelling Like a True Roadwarrior

Everyone talks about the big things in travel, I want to bring up a few of the smaller items that people so often omit or don't even know about, the creature comforts that make travel not just easier but a pleasure. Her is my top 12 items that could change your perspective......

1) The difference between a 5* hotel and a 1* is invariably their sheets - I turn the worst bed into a luxury with a 100% Silk Travel Liner. It comes complete with a pillow pocket so that even my head is lying upon the finest silk and it all fits in a 3x2" 6oz bag.
You can buy one for $60 from REI - http://www.rei.com/product/695429

2) Never check a bag again or borrow an iron. Use Space Saver Vacuum Bags are the best way to pack for travel, they will compress your clothes to 1/4 or 1/8th the size, they will leave the clothes wrinkle free and the airport TSA staff wont open them and mess up, touch or expose your clothes/ dirty laundry in public. I always carry 3 - 1 clean, 1 dirty and a back up.
You can buy them for $20 from Bed Bath & Beyond

3) Rain X Wipes - These could and will save your life, grab one and give your windows a quick wipe before you set off and for the next 3 days, no matter how much rain or snow fall you will be able to clearly see your way - make sure you get wipes as TSA will remove the liquid.

4) Buy your own GPS - It will cost you from $150 for a basic system up to 350 if you want traffic - this will take a lot of the stress out of finding your job, your hotel and your way late at night in the dark. If you work it out renting units will be more costly within 10 days. I also program my job and hotels prior to leaving home or in the airport or even on the flight so that I dont have to deal with it when I arrive and I know what time I will arrive

5) Energizer battery charger - plug it into your phone or your computer and use normal batteries to get you by!

6) Dry Cleaner Secret - Put any suit or piece of clothing in a tumble dryer for 20 minutes on medium heat and it comes out like new

7) Yak Trax are indispensables in snow and ice if you don't want to end up on your ass or looking like one! Slip them on over and pair of shoes for perfect traction in any conditions. Visit http://yaktrax.com/productspro.aspx but shop around you can get a pro for as little as $16.95

8) The dreaded 4S's may seem like an excerpt from the 7 deadly sins to you but to the frequent air traveler 4 SSSS 's in the bottom right hand corner of your ticket means extra special attention from the TSA. Your going to get everything searched and its gonna take and extra 10-50 minutes to get through security as a result..... Avoid this like the plague, adding an airline frequent flyer program and talking to your airline can reduce how often you face this problem, especially when you have last minute, one way tickets!

9) Clinical Strength Deodorant makes sure you make it through a long harrowing and often energetic day without any telltale wet patches or odor - add anti odor, anti bacterial, cooling undershirt for the perfect finish and finish with a 50ml bottle of EDT aftershave for that fresh scent.

A little more Expensive but these items make a huge difference for me:

9) IPOD Shuffle/ Noise Canceling Headphones/ Eagle Creek Travel Pillow/ Eye Mask - primarily used as white noise to block out the crying babies, engine roar on props and insulate me from the rest of the world for a little while. The travel pillow has a great pocket it folds up into and also allows you to carry all your travel items in one place - i keep my mask and ipod etc in there all the time.

10) Tom Bihn Empire builder suitcase and Brain Cell are the perfect briefcase and laptop combination. Whilst expensive the pockets are so well thought out it makes work and travel a breeze, the padded laptop case means you can drop your bag by mistake and get away with it. It will also ride ontop of your work case effortlessly.

11) You will think i am mad but quality pays for itself - Victorinox 22" Carry on plus Suit Carrier is expensive but should it break for any reason the company will get a brand new bag to you within 24 hours for free and that is for life. Expect to go through 2 lesser cases a year, so go figure, little extra upfront saves a lot of hassle in the long term.

12) Tablet notebook computer- laugh at me all you want but 20% of my jobs are a go as soon as i pull the computer out and start writing on the screen like a notepad. It saves you carrying pads of paper and writing up your notes later - use all the free time you have for the recognition training and it will virtually never make a mistake.

I hope this helps ease the woes of Travel


Copyright Jonathan Rose 2007 - Creative Commons License





This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

The Ultimate Gift

Every once in a while there comes a movie that embraces or harness the power of human goodness, lifts us to want for or strive for more and to do better. "Pay it Forwards" " Forrest Gump" "Meet Joe Black" "God Grew Tired Of Us" are good examples of this inspiring genre. I was blessed to watch such a movie recently, "The Ultimate Gift" which incorporated and embodied so many values that I personally aspire to hold true.

If you haven't seen the movie then don't read on!


The 12 gifts are:

The Gift of Family
The Gift of Love
The Gift of Dreams
The Gift of Laughter
The Gift of Giving
The Gift of Friends
The Gift of Learning
The Gift of Work
The Gift of Money
The Gift of Problems
The Gift of Gratitude
The Gift of A Day

Take a little time and watch this movie, allow it to inspire you, don't be afraid!

World Shift

The world stands at the edge of a cataclysmic financial abyss, and no i am not talking about the current housing and liquidity crisis, i am talking of something a little further away and somewhat grayer (excuse the pun).

The financial timebomb that is the graying population of the industrialized world.

We live longer, live better, consume more and expend more. If you sit down and read the social security/ welfare document sent each year to every tax paying american, you will also see that the US welfare system is budgeting to run out of money within the next 20-30 years!

yes

thats correct, they admit their funds will have run dry and they will not be able to provide for anyone after that time without a drastic increase in taxes (probably to a scandanavian style 60%) Why is this, because the baby boomers will mature, the first of them passed 59 1/2 in 2005 and thus over the next 10-15 years there will be more people claiming social security pensions than people working and paying into the system, creating an insurmountable deficit.

What do i propose or advocate as a solution, don't just throw stones, give solutions, provide answers that spark debate and could ultimately lead to some kind of resolution. So lets try this, Romania "i believe" recently told its populace they would not be paying for their retirement, people had to plan for it themselves! I think that the social security system is somewhat archaic and grotesquely mismanaged and rather that continue it, make everyone more that 25 years out responsible for their own retirements!!! These people must take financial responsibility and accountability now and start saving.

Several things that need to happen to help society survive;

The government find ways to become more financially efficient and stop or even reverse inflation.

reduce dependency on oil as it is a finite supply and prices will continue to rise even on the exaggeration on the speed of reduction of this decreasing supply. Like Diamonds, it isnt as scarce as prices would indicate, but neither is its supply going to last out our lifetimes!

My solution will have several consequences, many of which i think are inevitable either way, that will be interesting;

The first being that as a collective generation, those that come after the baby boomers will probably be poorer than their parents!

The second that property values will fall significantly as more housing stock is returned to the open market with less inhabitants!

Immigration will increase from countries such as China and India that will become overly populous and lower more affordable prices will draw people in. These countries will ultimately come to resemble Japan and Tokyo in terms of density and expense.

Our generation will have significantly fewer children than our parents as we will simply not be able to afford them.

Brain Make Over’s Epistemology (e·pis·te·mol·o·gy (ĭ-pĭs'tə-mŏl'ə-jē)

The branch of philosophy that studies the nature of knowledge, its presuppositions and foundations, and its extent and validity.

Neuro-Plasticity Principle

The Brain is malleable or plastic and can be molded, adapted, advanced, trained and developed for increased performance and the reduction of limiting factors.

Redundancy

The Brain has redundant neural and synaptic pathways that can be trained to circumvent and therefore effectively eliminate limiting factors

Scalability

Brain Make Over has adopted the approach that any product it develops should work to some degree for everyone - breadth of scope and application results in a economical solution

Holistic Approach

We believe in the power of assimilation/ integrate treatment styles and processes harmoniously for the common goal of improvement.

Awareness of Collective Conscious

People are increasingly aware of global consciousness and their own role within this. By working to enhance ourselves and our children we positively contribute to the future. “The Secret”, “Anthony Robbins”, “Environmentalism”, “Conservation”, “Celebrities giving back” are increasing manifestations of this.

Alternative Treatment

Utilization of non invasive, non pharmaceutical brain training and development to improve performance without impacting the epigenome and future generations. Societal recognition of its dependence upon pharmaceutical medications of which all side effects may not be known or fully understood.

Interrelation of Science, Technology and Social/ Human evolution

Brain Make Over is attempting to assist with the evolution of the human species in a small fashion my merging the benefits of technology with the human and social element.

No Child Left Behind

Government is recognizing the importance of future generations and the education that they receive and how this can and will impact our species in both the short and long term. With an affordable improvement Brain Make Over bridges the gulf in education qualities by providing enhancement to the fundamental building blocks of learning.

Human Capital

Brain Make Over recognizes the importance of human capital within the workforce and its implications for the future. Through better assessment and selection and enhanced learning and speed of processing companies can increase productivity and corporate wellness.

Empirical data collection

The only true data is that which can be empirically collected which negates outside influencing factors, such as behavior, emotion etc. Only through accurate and objective testing can one know the actual “real” result, no matter what non empirical results my imply

The Human Brain the most complex computer in the universe

The most complex computer in the entire Universe is the Human Brain.

“We are our brains, our brains are us they define who we are, who we will be and who we can be as well as ultimately who we become – nothing defines us as singularly and entirely as our brains and the connections it makes!” Jonathan Rose (founder Brain Make Over)

Learned Mastery Vrs Learned Helplessness

One of the most important concepts of Brain Development, Education and Success is that successes lead to more successes. As any great athlete will tell you, success is 90% mental and 10% physical. The major boundaries that are created for us are of our own making, because we tell ourselves we cannot do something or aren’t capable. This develops an attitude of learned helplessness where we are bound by confines imposed on us by our minds.

The same is true for the feeling of helplessness, which leads to a greater feeling of helplessness. The key to success is to achieve a greater understanding of the causes of your past successes and learn how to replicate them. Your mind changes constantly. It is highly adaptive. Simple changes in the way that you think can make the difference between fulfillment and misery. We’ve all seen people who have everything we think is necessary for success and yet seemed to be depressed. Then we’ve seen others who, we would think, have every reason to be unhappy and yet seem to be joyous and full of life. What is the difference between those who can never find reasons for happiness and those who almost never see a reason for sadness? The difference is in how and what they think. The Russian author Anton Chekov wrote, "Man is what he believes." If you can learn the principles and strategies of successful men and women, you can use their methods to achieve whatever you desire.

Learned Mastery vs Learned Helplessness

A primary hope and desire is for every child is that they become a responsible, contributing member of society.

It is up to the parent/s to teach their child how to become self-reliant and independent. At the same time the child needs to know how to honor boundaries, know their limits, and have an overall respect for life.

With this core base most children will develop the self confidence they need to tackle any endeavor of their choosing.....knowing they can be successful. This is called Learned Mastery.

In a concept called "Learned Helplessness", coined by Dr. Seligman, is the belief that one has no control over their situations. Operating under this belief leads to an "I can't do" attitude. Unfortunately, for children they learn this behavior from their peers, authority figures or even their parents.

Some Tips and Pointers

o Creating goals that are attainable in order to ensure that the child is aware of the progress they are making.

o Offering positive feedback and affirmation for changes and progress made.

o Including the child in the program by making sure they know they reach their goals and they do the program.

o Offering proper support so the child learns to be motivated about their program and has the desire to be a part of the change.

o Establishing strategies to support the parents with the use of parent-child behavioral management skills specific to the child's needs.

o Teaching them how to stretch the challenge in order to "go for more".

o Re-assessing your child's progress and their overall improvement.

Based upon the results of re-assessment the program can be modified and new goals set.

Parental Role in Intelligence and Brain Develoment - Between Birth and The Age of Five

Between birth and age five, your child has up to thirty IQ points at stake.

Scientists now know that the human brain is undergoing a constant and dramatic transformation in the first years of life. During this peak time of development, every activity and experience leaves an indelible mark on your baby’s brain, for better or worse.

The right kind of stimulation and nutrition will create connections in the brain that promote intelligence and raise IQ.

The wrong kinds of activities and foods can stifle intellectual development, destroy brain cells, and leave your child more vulnerable to learning or behavior problems down the road.

So, what can you do during the first five years to ensure that your child is primed to excel?The good news is that raising a smarter child is easier than you think. It doesn’t require making an investment in expensive equipment or high priced tutors. It’s as simple as playing the right games, serving the right foods, and maintaining a brain-enhancing environment in your home by eliminating common household toxins. learn easy and highly effective strategies that can vastly improve your child’s brain power and reduce his or her chances of developing ADD and ADHD. For example, you can:

• Stimulate Memory: Changing a component on the over-the-crib mobile every week makes the baby compare what was there before to what’s there now, reinforcing memory pathways in the brain that are critical for learning.


• Spread out those shots: Schedule more frequent trips to the pediatrician for vaccinations, so that fewer shots are administered at once. Flooding the immune system with a cocktail of different vaccines can damage the nervous system.


• Get rid of toxins: Protecting a child from neurotoxins found in foods, toys and even baby bottles can help preserve precious IQ points.

In addition, he reveals the numerous toys and household products that contain harmful, brain-damaging toxins and shows how to identify and combat common childhood problems like ADD and food allergies that may affect your child’s development.Your job over the first five years is to help your child build the best brain possible., you can mine the countless opportunities you have each day to make your child smarter, happier and better prepared to excel.