I like what Tim Ferriss does. The ideas behind accelerated learning, not wasting your life on the things that don’t matter etc are all excellent. But, Tim, bless him, is a busy guy. He has been coming up with content faster than you could apply and use it! Here is a collection of some of his best stuff, mainly from outside his blog (as I assume you know how to navigate around that!), that you may have missed.

Tim Ferriss on Spreading an idea

• How blogs helped Tim Ferriss become a best seller – A Mixergy interview about how Tim Ferriss learned from others and techniques that could be replicated
• How does a best seller happen? – Tim talks about he went from 0 to Wall Street Journal Bestseller. In particular it was interesting how he got in contact with the experts in the field and asked not only what to do but also what not to waste time on – he found that book signings is a definite no-no
• Micro persuasion behind a meme – looking at some interesting statistics of the growth in Tim Ferriss related posts and some key things to take out of it
• Problogger interviews Tim Ferriss – great interview covering some of the ‘offline’ techniques Tim Ferriss used to get featured on the top blogs and get to know influential bloggers. Also encourages you to see a blog as just a tool amongst others

Accelerated Learning

• Learning something in a short space of time – Brief discussion on Zen Habits about how Tim Ferriss learns so much in such a short space of time. Interesting in particular is how you should not overrate how difficult something is
• Accelerated Language Learning – David Betz’ take on accelerated learning from the four-hour-work-week and how you should first deconstruct something before attempting to learn it
• Hanselminutes – following on from the above the interview discusses focusing on what is important to become a world-class expert on many topics and finding the point of diminishing return so you are not wasting effort
• How to learn a language in 3 months – From the 4HWW blog on how to learn languages effectively. Useful insight into accelerated learning

4HWW Promotion

• On I Will Teach You To Be Rich – Some shameless promotion of the book with a competition to win a round-the-world ticket
• Lifehacker.org interview Tim Ferriss
• Leo Babauta interviews Tim Ferriss

Read more »

Just a quick plug for my website on cycling in London. You may want to check out these cycling games that I posted up there earlier.

After having spent 20 months with my Nokia N95 it was time for a change. That change was to take the form of a Samsung Omnia SGH-i900 mobile phone.

What a terrible mistake!

I go to write a message and it rotates, I try to scroll the screen and it zooms in, I try to quickly search for my friends name in my contacts and it takes for ever.

The other day I went into a mobile phone shop and I overheard the guy in front of me complaining to the shop assistant about how hard the Omnia is to use and can he exchange it. Get in line mate.

Review of the Camera

My sole reason for choosing the Omnia vs iPhone is that it had a great 5MP camera. The camera takes for ever to take a picture and the quality is not good. I took my Omnia out with me on New Years Eve and boy is that flash bright! Too bright. All the pictures come out with a weird white glow.  *sigh*

Review of Windows Mobile Device Centre

After spending 2 days looking around the internet for people experiencing similar problems and getting nowhere when trying to connect their mobile phone to windows mobile device centre I gave up. I reinstalled my entire laptop and suddenly it was working. If anyone has a solution by the way to the WpdRapi2.dll and WUDFRd.sys driver installation problems get in touch! *sigh*

with the solutions to the WpdRapi2.dll and WUDFRd.sys driver installation problems I reinstalled my entire laptop. Suddenly it was working. *sigh*

Review of Omnia Interface

I know that some reviews talk about how the Samsung updates to the Windows Mobile operating system have improved the interface but I beg to differ. In short, it is unusable without the stylus. It is about time Samsung learnt a few lessons off the iPhone – people don’t want to carry round a stylus and they don’t want to have to tap their screen with their fingernails. *big sigh*

I tried to fall in love with the Omnia

Despite all this I tried very hard to rekindle my flame with the Omnia. I even installed Spb Mobile Shell which is an absolutely great piece of software for improving the unusable Omnia interface. Unfortunately it was not to be.

My Solution

I put my phone on eBay and sold it. Part of me feels sorry for the next owner. Part of me doesn’t because I’m moving on to an actual usable phone next – the Nokia N85.

Goodbye Omnia you will be missed. Not!

This guide is focussed on the Nokia N95 but should be useful for all Nseries devices.

Have you ever wondered how best to use your Nokia Nseries phone? I have had my N95 for over 18 months and have been actively seeking out all the alterations I can make to improve my phone. In this guide I will cover the applications and tweaks that I have come across which will have the biggest impact to your experience. This guide will not cover some of the smaller changes. For that I recommend the N95 Best Tips and Tricks.

Software

Opera Mini

Much faster than the default browser and easier to use -  especially when looking at websites not originally meant for a mobile phone. To download head to: www.operamini.com on your mobile. The main site I visit is Evernote mobile which has all my notes such as todo lists, shopping lists etc.

Nokia Communication Centre

Is a great bit of software that comes with Nokia PC Suite. It lets you send text messages from your computer and look through your messages.

Google Maps

While Nokia Maps 2.0 is a huge improvement to the first version, Google Maps still prevails as far more useful. To use Google Maps you should have some form of data allowance call plan as Google Maps is very heavy on the internet usage.

Google Search

This application basically acts as a shortcut to Google mobile search but it saves you the time it takes to load up the internet browser.

Fring

Fring allows you to connect to your instant messenger client and message people on the go. I found this particularly useful especially when travelling abroad for keeping in touch with people. The best part about Fring is that you can log in to Skype and call other users for free.

Customise

I have two rules for this. Firstly I want to make my most often used applications the most accessible. Secondly anything that can be considered to be clutter is out of my sight. There is no definitive answer to how the menus should be arranged. If you find yourself clicking through too many menus all the time to find a certain application then maybe its time to move it to the main menu. Ask yourself: how can I make this easier for myself?

I personally prefer having more programs on the main menu which is why my Google Mail and Google Maps link is just a short scroll away rather than hidden away in the applications folder. Bookmarks wise I have deleted all the unecessary bookmarks (Though unfortunately you are stuck with the default folders Nokia adds to the phone – my only solution to this is move them down to the bottom of the bookmark list)

Finally familiarise yourself with the Tools > Settings > General > Personalisation > Standby mode > Shortcuts menu which controls what programs you get when you use the scroll pad. Personally I have the calculator and converter hooked up to left and right. If I press up then the internet browser loads up to the Evernote notes page.

Update

This is about using the latest version of PC Suite and keeping your phone firmware up to date using Nokia Software Updater (NSU). Recent benefits from firmware updates include longer battery life, faster menus and better camera performance. The most recent version is v30. Though currently on o2 phone network in the UK I am only able to get v21. When updating firmware you should make a backup of everything and to make it easier for yourself you should store all your applications on your memory card so they are not lost when you perform the update.

Backup

To backup things such as notes, contacts and calendar events Nokia have released My Nokia Backup. I find this the easiest way to backup my most important content as all it requires is a quick sync (Tools > Sync) and everything can be backed up wirelessly. To backup things such as Pictures you should use the tools within Nokia PC suite.

There is an excellent post on the Glitch about Removing Store Icons from iTunes 8. I have always hated these and I’m glad there is a way of getting rid of them.

1 month around Eastern Europe. So I am going to take with me:

Pack of cards
Waterproof mac
Sleeping bag
Warm top
5 tshirts
1 jeans
2 shorts
1 swimming trunks
Mobile phone + cable to connect to computer
ipod + ipod charger + headphones – (with some movies on there)
Towel
Any tickets (rail etc)
Adaptor plug
1 book (Bob Marley Autobiography)
YHA card, European Health Card
Lock

All of which is to fit in a 35 litre bag!

Recently I was unlucky enough to have my Nokia N95 battery cover and battery fall off. Don’t ask me how! But I did. I was faced with the task of finding a new genuine Nokia N95 battery.

First thing I did was check out what was the battery model I was looking for. The Nokia BL-5F for N95. A quick search on ebay found batteries for under £5 however there is no way that a new genuine battery will cost less than £5. I decided to do a quick search on Google for “Nokia N95 battery”. This came up with a load of results but none from a known seller with a good reputation. I kept searching and eventually found my saviour: play.com.

For £16.95 they delivered within a few days and my phone was back up and running.

I also needed a battery cover because the sellotape on the back of my phone would probably start looking a bit shabby after a while. I opted for Amazon and went through a third party (888 accessories). The battery cover was the genuine thing.

Obviously I know the battery life on the N95 is very poor so here are some tips:

1. Upgrade your firmware to the latest version because that really helps (Using Nokia update)
2. Don’t leave applications open after you have finished with them
3. Turn Bluetooth off
4. Turn your phone to GSM mode only or whatever mode you need for your region.
5. Read up on: WikiHow

There is a lot of research suggesting music is capable of focusing the mind and relaxing the body. Everyone has their own preferences but I like listening to the following on my iTunes. (Click on the iTunes link to listen to previews)

• Board of Canada
  Tracks: Constants Are Changing, Sherbert Head, Slow This Bird Down etc
  Album: The Campfire Headphase
  Reason: Very chilled out, can play in background without noticing
• Portishead
  Tracks: Strangers, Sour Times, Pedestral
  Album: Dummy
  Reason: Like the big room feel to it and the trip hop genre in general
• Cinematic Orchestra
  Tracks: The awakening of a woman
  Album: Cinematic Orchestra
  Reason: So cinematic, plays in the background without realising
• Moby
  Tracks: Down Slow, Run On, The Sky Is Broken
  Album: Play
• Elbow
  Tracks: I’ve got your number, Buttons and Zips
  Album: A cast of Thousands
• Thievery Corporation
  Tracks: Marching The Hate Machines, The Cosmic Game, A Gentle Dissolve
  Album: The Cosmic Game

Obviously some people will look through the list and think awesome this guy knows his stuff, others will think who the hell are they? and some of you will head off and download some of the tracks and find that it works for you. Zen Habits also suggests a good tranquil music list.

If your a music person then post your favourite tracks for relaxing in the comments.

I am officially in love with Wordpress 2.5! It is so much easier to use and there are so many more features that are essential when writing a good blog. Part of the fun of setting up a new blog is all the little tweaks you have to make. This article/tutorial/work of art will take you through some of the things you should change to get your Wordpress blog looking good.

I am going to assume you have installed the blog and have logged in as a user into the dashboard. Ready? Lets go!

1/ Themes + Plugins

First of all find yourself a nice theme. I like the ones listed in Smashing Magazine. Download a theme and place it in wp-content/themes then click on design > themes and enable it. Looking good!

Next: Plugins. I recommend WP-Cache, WP-Contact Form and Sociable. But there are many more just have a quick look on google for “top wordpress plugins”.

2/ Activate Akismet and get an Akismet login Key

Click on Plugins. Under Akismet click activate. Then click on Akismet Configuration and follow the instructions to get a wordpress.com account if you don’t already have one. Once you have an Akismet key from wordpress.com copy it into the configuration page.

This will stop those pesky spammers from leaving comments on your blog.

3/ Fiddle with the settings!

Its time to look under the bonnet. Click on the settings page, have a flick through and change the obvious ones which I don’t need to cover here.

- One setting you should change is Permalinks. Under common settings I would recommend “Month and Name”. This will make your blog much more search engine friendly and bring in the visitors.

- Another setting you should look at is under Writing. Scroll down to the bottom and you will see a section called Update Services. I recommend you add some more websites to this list. A good list of suggestions can be found in this wordpress blog.

4/ Secure your Wordpress

It is a very good idea to keep your wordpress secured. I am not going to re-write this section because people much cleverer than me have already done that and why clog the internet! Check out: here and here. The one I particularly recommend is removing what version of Wordpress you are running from displaying on your site. This involves modifying the header page.

5/ Bookmark the dashboard page so you can quickly access it

Alternatively you may wish to use a weblog client to edit posts.

6/ Get Google Analytics

If you are serious about webdesign you need to track your visitors. For this I recommend Google Analytics (Free) combined with Google Analytics plugin.

7/ Learn!

There are a lot of good sites out there that cover Wordpress so do a quick search on Google and see what you come across.

Of course this is not the only initial Wordpress article on the web. A good one has been written by Download Squad.