Archive for May, 2008 « Previous Entries

Are Energy Prices Turning You Into a Mobile Office Commando?

Friday, May 30th, 2008

A recent blog posting over at Computer World suggests that high gas prices are driving more and more employees and employers to opt for flexible work arrangements/telecommuting. It’s an interesting wrinkle for large companies but for us independent folks who have been working on the road, out of coffee shops and anywhere we can steal [...]

Three Ways to Leverage Subcontractors

Thursday, May 29th, 2008

In the past, I’ve discussed the relative merits and challenges of growing your consulting business beyond a sole proprietorship. Since February, my business has grown in leaps and bounds, as I was confident it would and I’ve had to hire help. In my case, I’ve employed the services of two very different kinds of sub-contractors [...]

What Does Mars Mean for Us?

Monday, May 26th, 2008

The recent (and happy) announcement of the successful Mars Phoenix Lander mission last night should give anyone who has dreamt of manned colonization of Mars a reason to think. We’re learning more and more all the time about our second-closest solar neighbour and this time around, we’re looking for water. Scientists have hypothesized that there [...]

The Six Month, 100 Post Review of the Friuch Blog

Sunday, May 25th, 2008

I want to apologize for and address the faltering editorial schedule of this blog. My original intent was to write about science and technology on Mondays, research methodologies on Wednesdays and the Business of Consulting on Fridays. While I’ve maintained a minimum of three posts per week since the beginning of December, 2007 - I’ve [...]

Crooky Testdrives Six Cars - VW City Golf Wins

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008

This is a short update for those of you who have been following my quest for a suitable car for my consulting business. Around 9pm this evening, after a second drive of the Golf and the Fit, I decided on the Golf.
A few of things cinched it for me:
1. The Golf isn’t just a little [...]

Canadian Gov’t Considers Own Version of US’s Digital Millennium Copyright Act

Wednesday, May 21st, 2008

In the next two weeks, it is likely that the Canadian Minister for Industry, Jim Prentice will introduce a Canadian version of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). This piece of legislation has been struck down in the past in Canada and has been very controversial in the US.
There are a number of problems with [...]

Crooky Testdrives Six Compact Cars in Three Days - Part 3

Tuesday, May 20th, 2008

At the end of this long weekend - two finalists have emerged. The Honda Fit and the Volkswagen City Golf. Click here to check out my reviews of the Nissan Versa, Honda Fit, Hyundai Accent and the Toyota Yaris. Before diving into the showdown between these two, let’s recap the testdrives on the last [...]

Crooky Testdrives Six Compact Cars In Three Days - Part 2

Saturday, May 17th, 2008

It’s Saturday evening and I’ve had about all the new car smell I can handle. I’m saturated. I wrote yesterday about my goal to find a new car for my consulting business - something that is good on gas, fits my needs, is affordable and that I don’t look retarded in. Now that I’ve driven [...]

Crooky Testdrives Six Compact Cars In Three Days

Friday, May 16th, 2008

There comes a time in a self-employed persons’ life when the family car is no longer cutting it for a business vehicle. As much as I love my car (see pic below), the following things have changed in my life recently:
1. I am on the road more and more because my business is growing.
2. My [...]

Four Ways A Research Coach Can Help Your Business

Wednesday, May 14th, 2008

I’ve recently started a new avenue of my consulting practice - research coaching. I can’t take credit for the idea because to be honest, my client coined the idea. At a meeting where I was proposing a normal research project, it became clear that the available funds for the project had shrunk by as much [...]

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