A friend gave me his clever expat trick some time back but it’s only been recently that I’ve had the opportunity to put it into practice.

Banks don’t like dormant account.  I know this because I have two bank accounts in the UK and I regularly receive letters in the post from each, asking why my account’s not received any payments for so long.

I remember calling one of these bank up a few years ago to ask about increasing my overdraft limit and pretty much being laughed at because my account had so little historical activity on it.

This method will satisfy the banks that your account is both active and in good standing.  I’m using this strategy to prepare for a time where I may return to the UK again and may need to get friendly with a bank to acquire a mortgage or loan.

Here’s the method …

Continue Reading →

Popularity: 10% [?]

I stumbled on this quite accidentally after visiting the UK and needing to make payments on my credit cards there.

As far as I can see this is a legal loophole and can be done without having to be dishonest on any application form.

I’m posting it here because it’s a practical way of injecting some cash into business development or in getting a business started if you can stomach therisk if things don’t go to plan.

The basic idea is to exploit credit card companies that offer interest-free terms for balance transfers on existing cards and I’ve managed to secure around £10,000 with a cost to me of just of 3%.

In the UK there are many credit card companies offering great balance-transfer deals to win new customers.  In other countries I’m not certain if this also happens, but if so then it’ll likely work there too.

Here’s the method …

Continue Reading →

Popularity: 14% [?]

I just found this interesting post online about how to make a 20 minute nap feel like 4 hours.

“I used the following napping approach to get through medical school. There is no way I could have gone on so little nighttime sleep.

While my classmates would all run out for coffee during the afternoon lecture break, I would go to the back of the classroom and lay down on the floor, waking up like clockwork after no more than 30 minutes.

Lay with your back flat on the floor and your lower legs on the seat of a chair. A small pillow under the head is fine, but no pillow works even better. Close your eyes, steady your breathing and calm your mind; basically enter into a meditative state.

Sometimes you will fall asleep and dream, other times you will stay in a quasi-awake state. In either case, after 20-30 minutes your body will want to shift position and you will wake up naturally, no need for an alarm. I’ve done this for years and the sleep time is always the same.

The beauty of this approach is its efficiency (MED). Putting the legs above the head tricks the body so that a 20 minute nap feels like 4 hours of sleep.”

(Ritzman, 4-HBtalk: The 4-Hour Body Forum)

I’ll test this out shortly and will update you on my results.

Popularity: 24% [?]

Although this article is very scientific, it gives a lot of fantastic information about how to regain your metabolism when switching to slow / low carb diets.  One aspect of this I found very interesting is the importance of exercising; not to burn fat, but to regulate the metabolism.

The Science Behind The “Low Carb Flu”, and How To Regain Your Metabolic Flexibility – GNOLLS.ORG: “”

Popularity: 15% [?]

Just a few days to go before my 32nd birthday and, as always, I find my life falling into place once more.

It’s time to get myself in great shape for November’s Bangkok Marathon and if you look at my embarrassing ‘before’ photos you’ll see I’ve got a long way to go.

This blog post isn’t for the faint hearted and should you dare click to read more, you’ll be faced with 4 photos of a nearly naked overweight me!

These photos mark the lowest point of my health and fitness for some time.  Although I recently completed the Laguna Marathon and a 1/2 Marathon 2 week later I’m far from satisfied with my current shape, weight and stamina. 

I’ve been quite sloppy with my runnin recently.  Taking care of Nathan during the daytimes and building up my businesses at nights has really pushed me to my limits.  I gained a lot of weight during the one month I was in the UK visiting family in March – April and, although I’ve lost that weight since, I’ve spent very little time running – in fact I did literally 2 X 1 hours of relaxed running to prepare for my recent Laguna Marathon and one lame 45 minute walk-jog before a 1/2 marathon last week!

Enter at your own risk!  I’m about to share some photos I’m really quite embarrassed about.

Continue Reading →

Popularity: 10% [?]

I’ve had the eBook version of Time Ferris’s “The 4 Hour Body” since before Christmas 2010 and think it’s a great book.

Recently though a friend of mine gave me a hardback version instead.  Nowadays I have very few ‘dead tree’ version of books because I prefer the compactness of my Sony Ebook Reader and don’t have much storage space at home to host a large library.

The 4 Hour Body is one meaty book!  It as thick as an encyclopedia.  Actually navigating through it though is so much more pleasurable than with the eBook and, second time round I’m learning so many new things from it.

In many ways I’m quite embarrassed by just how much I’ve missed from the eBook version and plan to revise many of th chapters a second time round to get even better results.

Popularity: 9% [?]

My Metronome Arrived today.  I paid $1.50 for it from eBay plus $4 shipping rfrom Hong Kong.

I’ll be using this to improve my cadence as detailed here.

Running with a Metronome | Articles | Chi-Library | ChiRunning: “”

(Via Chi Running.)

Popularity: 10% [?]

This article suggests an interesting method of adapting quickly to polyphasic sleeping with far less side-effects than usual.

Cool Idea: The “Naptation” | *Transcendental *Logic: ""

(Via Transcendental Logic.)

Popularity: 22% [?]

I was gifted a copy of The 4-Hour Body this week and it’s come at the most perfect time.

On Sunday July 3rd I’ll have exactly 20 weeks to go before the Bangkok Marathon in November.

I decided a few weeks ago that I’d fill those 20 weeks with the “Chi Running Intermediate Marathon Training Program” so that, come December, I’ll have a fast, painless and fun run.

My parents will be visiting shortly after then and we’ll have a few weeks of relaxing around Thailand and Laos together.

This coming 20 weeks present the perfect opportunity to get in the best shape of my life.

I’ll be working the Chi Running Program 4 days a week and will be applying principles from The 4 Hour Body to lose weight and build muscle too.

More details will follow as I get started.

Popularity: 11% [?]

Yesterday I participated in my second marathon; this time at Laguna Resort in Phuket, Thailand.

I’m writing this update, partly to retain my memory of the run but also to document a new running technique that I’ve just (this past 2 weeks) started to adopt and to compare my experiences in this run with my first marathon in November last year which was the Bangkok Marathon.

You may have read the two recent articles I’ve written called Starting Chi Running, What is Chi Running? and My First Chi Running Practice so I’ll do my best not to repeat the basics.  Today I’ll be comparing the two races.

In brief;  I had an amazing experience at the Laguna Marathon, enjoying every minute of it.  For those of you interested in how I fared with the limited Chi Running I’ve undertaken and how this run compared with the Bangkok Marathon, then read on.

Continue Reading →

Popularity: 18% [?]