Simon’s Notes

One of my favorite hobbies is computer programming. If I ever got a conventional job, I would want it to be as a programmer, and one day I will start a computer game development company, I think that would be great fun. The problem with enjoying programming as a hobby is that every time I don’t do it for an extended period of time, I have to learn a lot all over again, and that’s tough.

Anyway, the other day I was looking through some of my disorganized files, and I found a computer game that I wrote a while back. It’s quite a fun little arcade style game that I called ‘Space War’. It’s only got 8 levels, but I’ve never made it past level 6, and there is a high score so you can compete with your buddies. Check out some screen shots:

Early levels are easy enough:

After a while it gets tougher:

Anyway, you can download the full game here http://rapidshare.com/files/71654252/Space_War.rar, feel free to share it and spread it around, as long as nothing is changed. And make sure to give credit where credit is due, a link back would be nice. In fact, as an added incentive, I will link back to anyone that links to this post, you can write a review about it, or you can just make a simple link. Just leave a comment with the URL where I can find the link and reciprocate ASAP.

But first I gotta give a few credits of my own, I wouldn’t have been able to make this game if it weren’t for the book ‘Beginning Game Programming‘ by Michael Morrison. I owe a lot of code in the game engine to that book, and if you’re thinking of game programming as a hobby, this is the first book you should get.

Enjoy

Simon

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Filed under: Blah Blah, Link Exchange Programs, Personal, Reviews by Simon Rodrigues
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Simon’s Money Notes has won a couple of awards, so I’d like to show them off if you guys don’t mind.

The first one was passed on to me by Ange at Angesbiz.com and it is the community blog award, I will pass it onto Kassper over at Make Money Online.

The other award was the blog of the day award which you can check out below, or you can see it on my sidebar. I think this one has a pretty cool look, so I’m quite chuffed with it.

And there you have it.

Simon

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Filed under: Updates and Stats by Simon Rodrigues
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I’m a bit different from most people, because I look forward to Monday. That was not meant to be deep, there is actually a pretty straightforward reason for my irregularities. You see, I work on the weekends, during the week I have my own projects so my time is pretty flexible, as a result I’ve chosen to take my off days on Monday. It doesn’t work every week, in fact, most weeks I don’t get any time off but it’s still comforting to know that if I were to take a day off it would be on a Monday. Of course when most people are looking forward to the weekend, I’m feeling slightly depressed cause I gotta be working for long hours. So it kinda evens out in the end.

Anyway, if you’re feeling a little down cause the weekend is almost over, cheer up, cause I’ve gone and scoured the internet for some funny business and money related jokes and quotes. So on Monday morning you can walk into the office and make the boss laugh (or scowl and fire you, so use with discretion). Here goes:

• A clean desk is a sign of a cluttered desk drawer.
• A consultant is someone who takes the watch off your wrist and tells you the time.
• A cubicle is just a padded cell without a door.
• Do not underestimate your abilities. That is your boss’s job.
• Employee to company lawyer: “I’m working on a top secret military project. My boss hired some North Elbonians to help me. They’re communists. If I give them any information, I could be guilty of treason. I could be executed. Can you help?”
  Lawyer: “Sure. What would I have to do - pull a lever?”
• An expert is someone called in at the last minute to share the blame.
• How do I set a laser printer to stun?
• I work hard because millions on welfare depend upon me.
• By working faithfully eight hours a day you may eventually get to be boss and work twelve hours a day. (Robert Frost)
• The key to being a good manager is keeping the people who hate you away from those who are still undecided. (Casey Stengal)
• Corporation: An ingenious device for obtaining profit without individual responsibility. (Ambrose Bierce)
• Nothing is illegal if a hundred businessmen decide to do it, and that’s true anywhere in the world. (Andrew Young)
• A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don’t need it. (Bob Hope)
• There’s no business like show business, but there are several businesses like accounting. (David Letterman)
• The two most beautiful words in the English language are ‘check enclosed’ (Dorothy Parker)
• We were hoping to build a small profitable company; and of course, what we’ve done is build a large, unprofitable company. (Jeff Bezos (1964-) U.S. Businessman)
• Behind every successful man lurks a truly amazed ex-mother-in-law. (John Chrusciel)
• I know a man who gave up smoking, drinking, sex, and rich food. He was healthy right up to the day he killed himself. (Johnny Carson)
• Whenever you got business trouble the best thing to do is to get a lawyer. Then you got more trouble, but at least you got a lawyer. (Chico Marx)

Ok, so I didn’t really ’scour the internet’ but if I got a smile on your face then I’m happy. If you want to read more quotes like these then here’s where I found them:

• Funny Business Quotes
• Humorous Business Stories
• Humorous Quotes Attributed to Chico Marx

Have fun.

Simon

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Filed under: Blah Blah by Simon Rodrigues
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There are many reasons why you might choose online gambling as opposed to going to a casino, for one, it can be quite peaceful. When it comes to choosing the right online casino for you, there are a few things that you might want to consider. Some of those things include:

• Is the casino legal?
• What kind of bonuses and promos do the offer?
• What games are available?
• What’s the customer service like?
• Is the casino secure?

A good way to get a clear idea of where the online casino stands on all these points is by reading 3ed party reviews. Pro360.com is a site that provides that exact service, and it is one of the best ones that I have seen. Pro360.com is quite a versatile site offering many different ways to find the right casino for you, you can search casinos by your favorite game type, or you can search for a different set of criteria, such as:

• The editors choice
• Most voted for casino
• Casino with the highest jackpot
• Casino with the best payouts
• Or the casino with the best bonuses

I would suggest that you check it out for yourself. I would call this your ‘one stop casino shop’ if that didn’t sound so cliche. If you’re the online casino type, then Pro360.com is a tool for you.

Simon

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Filed under: Reviews by Simon Rodrigues
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are you starting a new business? Let me warn you now, the odds are against you making it a success. The good news is that anyone can succeed, stats are just stats, so you have to look at the reasons behind the failures. The main reasons for failure in any start up can be boiled down to one thing, and that is lack of preparation.

Of course it helps a lot if you have some idea of what to prepare for. If you know why most new businesses are bound to end up in misery you might have a better idea of what you need to look out for. I’ll get straight to the point, here’s a list of the top 9 reasons for failure in any venture.

1. The number one reason for business failures is insufficient capital. The golden rule of initial capital is that ‘it’s better to have too much than to have too little’. Sounds like a no-brainer, but you might be surprised at the staggering amount of new business owners that don’t adequately plan for capital shortages. Sort this problem out and you’re on your way.
2. The second biggest reason for failure is kind of related to the first reason, cash flow shortages. One could easily think that a new company might struggle to make a profit in the first few months, but that is often far from the truth. There are a lot of new ventures that make a good profit right from the start, but they still collapse. Why? Negative cash flow. There is no point making a profit on paper if you don’t have money in your hand.
3. Incorrect sales forecast. It’s ok to be positive, but don’t be stupid. It’s better to plan for too little than to hope for too much, that way you will never be disappointed.
4. Inadequate market research. Market research doesn’t have to be a daunting task, the important thing to remember is to poll a large variety of people, don’t just ask your friends what they think. And be sure to check out my old post on market research.
5. If you want to succeed in business then the last thing you want to do is write up a poor business plan. I’m just like the next guy when it comes to writing business plans, I don’t like it, but it must be done. There are a few things that should be included in your plan, a clear statement of your objectives, a timetable, a thorough analysis of your competitors, and a good description of the administrative procedures you intend on using.
6. For a lot of people, deciding on prices might be the funnest part of a new venture, but make sure you do it with a purpose. Instinct tells us that if we go cheap we might beat the competitors, but that is often unwise. Make sure you take everything into account, including overheads. It is sometimes better to offer a better service than a better price.
7. When you first start out you will find that you’re the magic in your business, but don’t be afraid to delegate if the need arises. A lot of new entrepreneurs want to do everything on their own, but if you spread the load you will find it much easier to manage the whole.
8. Lack of good advice. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you know everything, ignorance can be a powerful tool if you use it properly. Surround yourself with people that know about every aspect of the business you are involved in.
9. Don’t be hasty. Sometimes new business owners will rush to market a new product or service that hasn’t been properly tested or thought through, this can be disastrous for credibility. Make sure you have everything in order first.

Ok that’s it. I hope this helps. Just remember that the key to success is plan, plan, plan, and plan some more. There is no such thing as too much planning, but you don’t want to experience too little.

Simon

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Filed under: Money and Finances by Simon Rodrigues
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So you’ve found that house of your dreams now comes the time to find a good mortgage. There are a few things to consider when shopping for the right home loan. The very first thing that you need to do is get your finances in order, if you haven’t made a budget yet, now is a good time to do that. Once you know your budget you should have a pretty clear idea of what you can afford.

There are basically two types of mortgages, one comes with a fixed interest rate, and the other is a fluctuating interest rate loan. Your first impression might be that the fixed interest rate would obviously be the better option, but you might be wrong. The fixed interest rate remains the same throughout the life of the loan, and the adjustable rate fluctuates with the current rates. So if the rates are projected to go down you might want to go for an adjustable loan, but if they might go up you might consider a fixed rate.

Another good idea would be to take a look at your credit report. The last thing that you want is for your application to get rejected because you don’t have a good credit history. If there are any bad marks on your report, sort them out before even consider a loan.

Here are a few links that might help you come to a good mortgage decision:

• Mortgages
• Compare Mortgages
• Fixed rate mortgages

Simon

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Filed under: Money and Finances by Simon Rodrigues
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Hey guys, I’m back. As you all know, I’ve taken a huge step back from blogging, in fact, I haven’t been blogging at all. I didn’t stop because I stopped enjoying it, but I just didn’t have the time any more. I found myself neglecting the things that put bread on the table, and instead I was devoting too much mind space to blogging which is great fun, but not always profitable.

As much fun as blogging can be, the bottom line for me, being a business minded person, is whether or not blogging is worth my time in dollars. When I retire I’ll have plenty of time to do the things that I love, and one of those things will certainly be blogging, but until that day arrives I will have to cut out some of the fluff.

So why am I blogging again? Well, as far as I can tell there are 3 basic ways to make money online:

1. Sell content.
2. Sell advertising space.
3. Sell products or services.

Anyone can sell advertising space pretty easily by just smacking some adsense on their site or blog, but that doesn’t mean you’ll ‘make money’, not enough anyway. Selling affiliate products is the simplest way to make money from the third option. And selling reviews is the norm when you talk about selling content.

For those of you that don’t know, I’m a big fan of paid reviews. There are a number of good paid review programs that you could join, and I joined them all. Some of the programs that I recommend are PayPerPost, Smorty, Blogsvertise, and ReviewMe.

Anyway, I started noticing that I was qualifying for quite a number of paid reviews. At first I didn’t really pay much attention, but then I thought I’d give my blog a visit. I was very pleasantly surprised to see that google had finally decided to do their PR update and they had given Simon’s Money Notes a very healthy PR4.

When I first started this blog, I had a very modest goal of getting it to turn over 100 dollars a month by the end of the year, but with my new PR4 I think I could reach that target this month and the possibilities are endless. Blogging just might be worth my time again.

It’s good to be back.

Simon

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Filed under: Blogging, Personal by Simon Rodrigues
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Who likes to gamble? Myself I quite enjoy a little bit of relaxing poker once in a while. As long as you can control yourself, and you know when to stop, you can actually make a good bit of money by gambling.

If you’re anything like me you probably like things as simple and efficient as possible. That was the very first thing that attracted me to top usa online casinos. ‘Top USA Online Casinos’ is a site that simply lists a few online casinos that US players can check out. The site has a top 10 list that ranks casinos by things like bonuses and payout percentages.

The best thing that I liked about the site, aside from the idea itself, was the layout and general simplicity and user friendliness. It is very easy to navigate especially since there is really only one page to it. And that is one of the things that I don’t like about the site. There is not enough variety, I could only find 10 casinos to compare and choose from. If TopUSAOnlineCasinos.com want to improve on anything, I would suggest that they include reviews from more casinos.

Simon

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Filed under: Reviews by Simon Rodrigues
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