world according to ack ~ adam karas » .top picks

Free Software

ack — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 23:15:12 +0000

Free software when you need it:

AVG Anti-Virus Removal/Protection from Viruses
Spybot – Search & Destroy Removal of Adware/Spyware
Firefox A Better Browser
Plaxo Centralized contact storage with Outlook, great for syncing two computers.
Gaim Only if you instant message. Spellchecker+Dict.
Google Picasa Very good image program, best for viewing and basic edits.
Gimp A free open-source image editor like PhotoShop.
CutePDF Writer For creating PDF files without Adobe. You will need to install the Converter also.

Best in Finance & Strategy

ack — Sun, 23 Oct 2005 14:40:50 +0000

My Exectutive MBA program got some very good news, when BusinessWeek ranked Rutgers Business School EMBA Best in Finance, Strategy.

This is great news for a program that gets overshadowed by the programs to the west and east.

The professors involved with the Fainance & Strategy classes, of which I have personally had classes with Mark and Suresh:

Ivan Brick (Advanced Finance)
Mark Castelino (Financial management and Investments)
Barry Karafin (strategy)
Claire Calandra (strategy)
Suresh Govindaraj (Financial Statement Analysis)
Howard Tuckman (Strategy–Sarbanes Oxley)

A lot of the credit is due to the director of the program, Farrokh Langdana.

Opt-outs

ack — Wed, 28 Sep 2005 16:15:36 +0000

I’m not a big fan of direct marketing and spam… just get too much of it. So an article on the Motley Fool was helpful.

FTC do-not-call or call 1-888-382-1222
DMA do-not-call & do-not-mail ($5 processing)
Credit Companies do-not-call or by call 1-888-OPT-OUT

iPod reset

ack — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 00:40:09 +0000

I can see that this is actually pretty common, but still surprising when your iPod won’t respond to attempted charging, syncing or turning on.

Here are the brief instructions to reset a Mini:

1. Toggle the Hold switch on and off. (Slide it to Hold, then turn it off again.)
2. Press and hold the Menu and Select buttons until the Apple logo appears, about 6 to 10 seconds. You may need to repeat this step.

Banlangen Keli

ack — Sat, 17 Sep 2005 18:30:49 +0000

Just returned from a week of classes for my MBA, and managed to catch myself a bit of a sore thoat. I’m not a big fan of the chemical remedies, and avoid them if I can. But I did get ahold of some Chinese herbal medicine that works wonders. Stuff is called Banlangen Keli and did wonders to pump up my energy and give some temp relief. Just add hot water.

Description – Brown granules. Sweet and slightly bitter in taste.

Ingredients – Radix isatidis (Isatis Tinctoria L.). Non-medical ingredients: sugar, dextrin.

Category – Non-prescription cold medicine

Indications – To remove toxic heat, counteract toxic effect, cool the blood, heal swollen and sore throat. Effective on influenza.

Dosage – Take orally. One to two packets each time, 3 to 4 times a day.

So I will either head to Chinatown to find the stuff or maybe get some online from HK for a buck and a half or from the States for 7.