SEE: Smile. Eye Contact. Enthusiasm.

You walk into a new environment and first impressions are make or break. Like it or not, you only get one chance and there is one simple way to start positive from the get go.

Smile
Smiling is powerful. If done correctly, can put a person at ease. Not only that, it encourages positive notes during the start of an introduction.

Eye Contact
Making eye contact is to grab one's attention. So whatever you address or how you present yourself, you are directing it to those you make eye contact with. Not only that, it exudes confidence to who you are directing it to, but also empowers you to take initiative.

Enthusiasm
A good quote from Ralph Waldo Emmerson, "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." Enthusiasm is the attitude which determines how well you do what you're putting effort towards.

Each of these techniques are powerful and simple ways that sets up how you influence others in your first impression. Put together, they amplify each other. Separately, they can never produce a more powerful impression.

Imagine just smiling, but not making eye contact. Not having enthusiasm with a smile and eye contact can be read by others as flat. Even having misplaced enthusiasm without a smile or eye contact doesn't seem genuine.

Microsoft: Revitalized?

Microsoft Innovation

Microsoft has surprisingly been very low-key in recent quarters. Still signs are looking promising as they slowly plod into new territory.

First, is hardware capability. Yes, Microsoft has had Xbox for quite a while, but let’s not forget that this was their first and very successful entrance to hardware. They took down an incumbent in Sony and played toe-to-toe with them (if not surpassing them). Not only that, they have invested in very promising gesture sensing technology (Kinect), something that may find itself in new capabilities with their computer software. We are also seeing an entrance to mobile and tablets, so this is promising for Microsoft.

Second, is reconfiguring its UI systems. This means the gestures, touch, and the mouse have the ability to be translated to their software. Do not forget Windows is still the most popular OS in the market and Microsoft has the ability to drive new innovations in UI. We are already seeing this in the Surface, but it will be interesting how this plays with other manufacturers.

Rebranding

You can see a change in the image of Microsoft. Right now, they are the standard bearer for OS software and playing it safe with their launches of Windows, but they’ve taken this opportunity to shift its image through multiple launches in Windows 8, Exchange Email System, Mobile OS, and Tablet OS.

Bing has been aggressively comparing itself to Google in web and TV commercials. Whether this switches people’s preference on search, it’s a healthy competitive stance. Google enjoys the #1 spot in internet search, Bing has the ability to steal market share, meaning it only has growth to look forward to. That cannot be said about Google, where their strategy is maintenance.

A big opportunity for Microsoft is in their hardware gaming division, namely Xbox. Where Apple has successfully integrated its divisions with one another (iPad, iPod, iMac, and iTunes work together), Microsoft has an opportunity to link their OS to Xbox. What does this mean? Well, imagine the Xbox community be able to connect with PC and mobile gamers. Or even sharing capabilities with other devices: accessing media and social networking.

High Risk / High Reward

Microsoft’s rebranding and increase in innovation has a high risk factor. First, they are playing catch up with a growing market. Second, radical changes can turn away loyal customers and developers due to its unfamiliarity. Still, there is a large market to win back and capture as they make these changes. Adoption is the key to these risks and Microsoft is in position to literally force adoption. They enjoy being one of only three OS in the market and being the one that’s already in most new PC’s. If the reception of Windows 8 is successful, it opens the adoption to the mobile and tablet market, since they are similar. This momentum can then be rolled out into their Xbox system.

Still, what do you think? I’m optimistic, in what I see because the opportunities are there in plain view, but there are many obstacles in the way.

Thoughts & Opinions: Apple Event on October 23

Apple's Computer Line Direction

Times are changing and so is Apple's line of computers. They have begun to phase out technologies and capabilities that people have grown accustomed to. Most notable are disc drives, optical drives, and customizable capability.

Starting with the storage drives: Flash Hard Drive & Optical Drive. Starting with Flash, there are definite advantages in reading and writing capabilities using a flash only system. The major drawback is the expensive dollar per GB of storage ratio. This is forcing the consumer to trade-off storage for performance. I agree this is the future, but notably in the notebook line-up, this is now becoming Apple's preferred, and more expensive, choice.

For many, the next progressive step for an optical drive is blu-ray, though Apple has done away from this. Still there are substitutes to this media being a flash thumb drive and portable external hard drive, both of which are more portable and flexible. As with large storage hard drives, people love extra space for music, pictures, and movies. Still, we are seeing the storage of these media on other channels, such as the cloud and streaming websites. Even then, for additional storage external hard drives help better organize and back-up. Is having Blu-ray or a DVD optical drive nice to have? Yes, but it is not necessary moving forward.

Lastly, modification has phased out of Apple. Many computer owners are part of the generation of PC customization. If they need more space, add a new hard drive. If you need more speed, add memory or a new chipset. Or if you want to be on the cutting edge, replace components to be “up-to-date”. Depending on the person, this customization is meant to be economical, practical way of keeping 'up-to-date', or ego-satisfying for 'latest-greatest'.

Where most PC manufacturers want to give you what seems endless customization, Apple is driving a specific road to what they seem is the best and most practical (not to mention most profitable).

iPad (The Refresh)

This one stings. I just helped buy an iPad for my brother, Tim, and now there’s a newer and faster iPad out in less than a year. Oh well, that’s technology. One should not feel entitled to have the latest and greatest for too long. That said, I’m not sold on the iPad refresh, but I understand why they did it.

First, they sync’d their release schedule. So expectations of releases are less erratic, even though this one came out of nowhere. Second, the wires are all uniform. The lightning connector is now implemented on all their iDevices. Love it or hate it, that forces consumer adoption. This also means businesses have to switch their accessories to be compatible with this connector, which again being uniform makes it easier, but still a pain.

Okay, so I’m not sold on the iPad because I saw the iPad mini. The build is very different and I look forward to the next iPad iteration, which will be thinner, lighter, and possibly even 16:9, something that is shared by its iPhone counterpart.

My only concern is… what’s next? There’s only so much you can improve in form and performance.

iPad mini

The price point for this stands out the most: $329. Yes, this is less expensive than the iPad, but significantly more expensive than the competition. So it makes me curious to who this caters to. As it stands, it’s the most expensive small form factor tablet, but it doesn’t exactly blow away competition.

Capbility-wise, the iPad trumps the competition. The iPad mini falls behind the original by two generations in performance and screen. Yes, it is still capable, but it doesn’t enjoy a sizable lead to its competitors that the iPad does. So charging $329 becomes a problem to consumers on a spec sheet comparison.

Still, from a historical point of view, the iPad mini “should” enjoy a successful entry into the smaller sized tablet market. Even with a higher price, there are inherent advantages Apple has over competition, namely the App Store, iTunes media, developer support, and build quality. Does it justify the price? I'm pretty sure Apple can make its claims and others can make theirs, but it is what it is.

Do other tablets justify worthy competition? Yes. They will sell the point of being a better performing tablet, number-wise. But it will lack developer support and historical success. On top of that, build quality has always been an aesthetic advantage for Apple as they pair performance and form better than anyone in the business. At the end, competitors will be selling what may be the “next-best” thing, not the current “best” thing.

But who knows. It’s evident that Apple did not want to enter the small form factor tablet initially, but competitors grew that untapped market. So the decision to make an iPad mini is more reactionary, as opposed to being proactive. Is this a sign of the times of Apple innovation?

My Experience: Shiner Ride (100 miles)

My goal was to cover 100 miles from Austin to Shiner on a cycle with my brother. Unfortunately, I did not reach my goal, covered only 73 miles, and 4 of 6 rest stops.

The Lessons Learned
Preparation is Key
Before undergoing difficult trials, usually you prepare. By preparing you mentally strengthen your resolve and set yourself up in ideal circumstances to succeed. Every lack of preparation goes against you and the Shiner Ride was no different, actually it exemplified why it is so important.

Training-wise, the amount of miles I put on my cycle before the ride was pitiful. Over the period I heard about the ride, I didn't even put a hundred miles in training. This alone shows that I could not comprehend the length of the course and the trials of long distance riding.

Having all the equipment ready also is necessary. I let my focus slip when we forgot our tags and a few other accessories. This is the main reason we started late and in my mind, I wanted to play catch up, which was a wrong strategy.

Respect the Ride
100 miles is quite far. To take this into perspective, while traveling in a car, you'd cover that distance in an hour and a half... going over 65 MPH. On a cycle, my average is 16 MPH with hills, which translates to over 6 hours on the saddle. We averaged 13 MPH, which means had we finished the tour, it would have taken over 7 1/2 hours of ride time... not including stops.

This experience was humbling, because my first tour was 46 mile Beauty & Beast Tour, with little preparation and training. Through sheer will, I finished, and thought I could do the same again. My ego got the best of me and has been put in place. What remains now is a renewed sense of determination.

The Obstacles
We came across various obstacles that are evident now, but unforeseen during the tour.

The number of rest stops and their distance between each other made the ride difficult. Altogether, there are 6 rest areas to refill on water and get some food. On average that's about 17 miles between stops, which is over an hour in travel time. The most punishing area was between stop 2 and 3, which spanned over 17 miles. By that time, I had almost no energy because I ate nothing before the event.

The heat posed an unfamiliar problem to me. Since my last tour was relatively cool, I wasn't used to how much water I needed while on this ride. So I ended up drinking more than I should and running out between stops. One very scary part was experiencing symptoms of heat exhaustion or even worst, heat stroke. Though I was very hot, I was shivering and though it went away when I cooled myself off, you don't want to be in that position.

Headwind was brutal from start to finish. First, this slows you down and makes pedaling harder due to the resistance. Second, this headwind wasn't a cool breeze, but felt more like heat coming from the oven.

Next Steps
So even though I didn't finish, many people have told me hitting 73 miles on my third tour is still an accomplishment. What I am taking from this experience are hard lessons and a hunger to finish 100 miles next time.

Training regularly will be key to keep my body conditioned and provide me more experience with different weather patterns.

Also, really keeping my head in the game before the ride is essential. Carb loading, breakfast, hydration, and knowing where my equipment is before the ride will give me an advantage physically and mentally.

Lastly, during the ride I have to scout the map and plan ahead. This way I can ration my supplies better and have a mental map of expectations between rest stops.

Here's to the next ride and next challenge!
-Mark

Garage Sale Marketing

Fighting the average day with a stapler gun

Today, I took a break from applications and dedicated time to selling unwanted items from my house. I'm going to see if I can apply things I've learned to help give this sale the best opportunity this weekend.

First, there are a few things that will make it difficult:
- Dates and Time set up spontaneously with only a 24 hour turn around
- Rainy weather
- Limited workers

Late night sign posts...

Of course, five years ago, this task may have been delayed until next weekend, but with technology I am able to expedite an awareness campaign and even have time to blog about it ;)

Building Awareness
First, I spent $10 on signs to help direct people to our garage sale. Our address is actually really long to spell out, so I just put the street name and an arrow pointing where it is. What helped the most is having a "garage sale" sign in front of the neighborhood, followed by a large sign on our yard.

Of course, the more effective advertisement for specific items was posting on Craigslist and utilizing Twitter & Facebook. There I can provide information to others and have it available for them. As opposed to direct advertising, this becomes more of an opt-in system.

Finally, to help generate local hype, I informed family members and friends to spread the news by word-of-mouth.

The turnaround being so tight, technology has really helped expedite much of the process. But it's still good to know that old conventional methods still work.

Setting the Price
Before setting the price, I reminded myself of my objectives: clear out inventory and gain money. Ultimately, I also have to understand that I'll be in a buyers market, which means my business thrives on their demand and there are many substitutes/competitors in the market.

First, I researched prices from retailers on similar items. Many of these prices can be found on Craigslist, Amazon, eBay, Google, and other online retailers. Setting a benchmark, I can give my products similar or lesser value to be competitive.

Cash is king. Because we don't work on a credit system, we have to understand cash and who holds it. Making sure the prices can be broken into denominations of whole cash to avoid change. This also provides them a psychological impulse to buy because the items are affordable with the cash they have on hand.

Operations
Having a garage sale, we have to understand the customers and when they will be coming. There will be the early-bird opportunists, customers of convenience, and coming back from work. Our hours peaked in the morning starting at 8am, slowed at 11am to 4pm, and picked up back again afterwards.

We had an initial layout along with easy to find pricing on the product itself (using masking tape). We made sure all products be seen, but the ones we want to push out faster will be on display in front. Of course, when we had breaks in traffic, we would rearrange and tidy up for the next wave of customers.

Organized Chaos is what a garage sale is 

Books are not exactly on everyone's list...

Sales
Honestly, though I have never done retail, I know I could be a floor salesman.

Being warm and friendly is key to having customers open up about what they want. Being personable helps continue the conversation and engage them through their experience. Then while all that is going on, you have to be attentive to what they may possibly be interested in.

Once they express interest in an item, I usually bring up past experiences with it and say how good it still is. Then I ask why they might be wanting that particular item. Understanding that information helps me give reason to their "want" and offer the item to them.

Now, some people haggle, some plead, and others just buy upfront. Case-by-case, I want to make sure they "feel what they got was worth what they paid". Again, it's a buyer's market and my main objective is clearing out inventory while making a decent return. If I lower the price a little, I will be providing value to something that is of no worth being stored in my house.

Salesman of the year

Results
So far, I have earned $325 off of sales in items ranging from $0.10 to $250 (no I haven't sold that item yet.)

Breaking down the numbers:
I had about 50 customers in 7 hours of operation
- Each transaction was about $6.50
- My hourly earnings were approximately $46.50
- The largest transaction was $75
- In the 48 hour turnaround and about 14 hours in actual work time, my adjusted hourly earnings are $23

Insights of the Day:
- Books are the slowest to turnaround and incite interest from
- Bundled up pencils were one of the best ideas, very fast turnaround
- Children are the best impulse buyers
- I have to learn Spanish
- Anything will sell... like wires

Who knew you guys would be so popular...

Next Day Expectations
Being a Friday, I expected it to be slow and it was pleasantly busy even with impending rain in the skies. Saturdays are great days because everyone's schedules free up, which should increase traffic.

So hopefully we can match or outperform Friday's results and push some of my higher priced items.

-Mark

Adversity at a Young Age

Hey little guy... if you only knew what lies ahead

Yup, that's me with that fantastic grin ready to succeed in the world. But early in my life, I faced an unexpected adversity.

Children are Mean

First and foremost, I love children, maybe not having any in a long time, but I like them. They're happy, innocent, and small. Of course, it's a little different when you yourself are a child going to school.

Much of my childhood is a blur, but I do remember the awkward times of being "different". That self-awareness was a scary time. Much of my questions after coming home from elementary school were along the lines of, "Mom, why am I different?" or "What am I?".

Those are tough questions to explain to a child. But I do remember struggling fitting in because I was so different. In my town of Tyler, Texas, I was one of the only Asian Americans attending a predominantly White, Black, and Mexican elementary school.

A lot of looks I got were of curiosity. A lot of questions asked were, "What are you?" And many of the shouts I received were, "Ching-chong!" as they stretched their eyes to slits.

I knew I was different, but I was confused too. This self-awareness brought adversity, but it also help me grow as a person.

Behind every strong man is a strong group of women

Support is Coming

That picture is a little embarrassing, haha. When did I ever look so... starstruck? My grandmother was born in the Philippines and helped take care of me while my parents worked. As I became more self-aware, she was always provided answers.

Her answers were always so direct and simple. I think that really gave me confidence to not take all the comments from my peers so seriously. Instead, befriend them and show them who I am. From there, they can make their judgements, but I'll have at least put my say in there.

Also, she taught me never to go into conflict with guns a'blazing. Instead remain calm and cool, which to this day, I mostly do.

It was good to grow up knowing all my cousins

I don't know why I have my hand in my face...

Extensive Family Network
On my father's side, we are a total of thirteen cousins and through the years we've stayed pretty close. It was good that my parents wanted my brother's and I to know our families. Having a close nuclear family in today's society is a great advantage, but having an extended family closeness with cousins multiplies that effect.

Even today, I keep up with most of my cousins, sharing in their ups, downs, and all arounds. We still get along, mostly, and always enjoy each others company. They are our first chances to really communicate with others outside of our nuclear family, which in my opinion, helps speed up social skills while going to school.

Three bros and a guy...

Brothers fight and make up, they're also the first friends we make

Bros before...!

Your siblings are your first friends you make... usually. They are the ones most close to you and probably know you the best. You can confide in them, test stuff on them, beat them up, have them beat you up (Andrew broke my arm once...), and grow up.

I'm lucky to have two fantastic brothers who have kept me in check, challenged me throughout my life, and supported me during my ups and downs. When you're young, they are the ones who really help shape who you are towards others.

-Mark

Childhood "Dream Cars"

So back in my high school days, I dreamt about cars. I was very biased to Japanese cars at the time and really loved a few cars.

Culprit Influencers:
- My cousin, Michael, had a "soup'd" up Honda Civic LX with components I can't remember but fast enough for me.
- My other cousin, Jeff, had a Honda CRX with only a modified exhaust, but it was sporty.
- Before it met its demise, my cousin, Chris, had a Mitsubishi Eclipse.
- Gran Turismo on the Playstation was amazingly awesome, because you can buy cars and test them out on tracks. My cousins, brothers, and I would save up to buy used cars on the game, modify them, and race each other. Those were good times.

So before I got my own car and was still driving a Toyota Camry, I had five "dream" cars:

#5: 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse

Where did Mitsubishi go wrong after this?

This car had an awesome face and a great soapbox body. Actually, I think this model looks way better than the current Eclipse.

What was awesome about this car was it perfectly balanced looks and speed. It boasted 200 horsepower in a light body plus affordable (in japanese car terms). Also, this is what it looked like with body kits:

The reason why it #5 and not higher is because my cousin already owned one. I wanted to be original ;)

#4: 1999 Mitsubishi 3000GT

It wasn't the prettiest, but it was fast

The 3000GT or GTO was ridiculously powerful and fast! It was also expensive, but for good reason. This car had a V6 engine with twin turbos, something very rare in cars at this price range.

I remember talking to my friends about this car and they laughed at turbos because there's no "replacement for displacement". But this car fast in Gran Turismo, which was a great grounds for my debate on what is better, a Mustang or Camaro, haha.

It's ahead of the Eclipse because it was the top of the line Mitsubishi car at the time ;) I'll admit to this, it's not a pretty car, but I really liked the back. And I figure that's all my opponents were going to see when we "raced"!

#3: 1995 Mazda RX-7

Yeah! This car was exotic in its own sense, because it had a rotary engine, as opposed to a traditional piston and cylinder engine. Not only that, but it boasted twin turbos and awesome styling.

This car is probably the best looking car in my opinion and with a body kit, it could look even better! I didn't get to see many of these in Texas and now they don't make this model anymore.

#2: 1999 Nissan Silvia (S15)

In America, the Silvia was dubbed 240SX and had a different motor from the one in Japan. It also looked different (not as cool looking). The motor they used in Japan was a 2 Litre turbocharged engine and produced 240 horsepower!

Because it couldn't really be produced in America, I could only put it in 2nd Place. The Nissan Silvia also was a great looking car and again, good with a body kit.

#1: 1995 Toyota MR2

So this car is number one in my list. The Toyota MR2 was an amazing car because it was a mid-engine, turbocharged, rear-wheel driven car. The car itself was decent in looks, but because of its light weight and powerful engine, it also was very fast.

Actually, I looked into buying a used white 1993 non-turbocharged MR2, but the car didn't feel good while I was test driving it. Even now, I like the car, but too bad they screwed it up in the next model (performance-wise) and discontinued it later on.

What were your childhood dream cars?

-Mark