January 2012
1 post
Hypothyroidism
I learned recently I suffer from hypothyroidism. Sucks. I’m just so always tired, no energy at all. If I have to do something, I have to speak to myself and find some sort of positive side to it, otherwise I can’t do anything.
The symptoms are weird: lack of energy, insomnia, weight loss/gain, leg/joint/muscle pain (for me that’s the worst), feels like you are depressed,...
October 2011
6 posts
2 tags
Making the decision to work with someone.
Making the decision to work with someone is not something you tend to do on a regular basis. There is a major difference in working for and with someone.
I was reading an article tonight that had a very good quote:
One of the best pieces of advice I ever got, back when I was 23 and newly out of school, is this: look around and figure out who you want to be on your team. Figure out the people...
September 2011
1 post
1.5 years ago, my life changed.
We’re early September 2011 when I am writing this.
1.5 years ago, my life changed. I decided to launch my first (100%) own business. No start-ups with others, no corporate credit card, no outside financing: two partners, myself and faith (and a very comprehensive & patient girlfriend).
Quick Summary:
Launched with no precise business idea or business plan.
Decided to look for...
August 2009
1 post
4 tags
The Evolution of Competitive Advantages, Or How...
Over the past 100 years, organizations have faced tremendous challenges in the ways they compete. In doing so, we clearly saw different layers of competitive advantages appear. The pyramid below (found in a PDF on the InterWeb) presents how competitive advantages evolved over time and transformed organizations. It also identifies what will drive business in the second decade of the 21st century:...
June 2009
2 posts
“Nouriel Roubini, the New York University economics professor who predicted the...”
– Bloomberg
May 2009
2 posts
Dow Jones Hit 8,500
My target on the Dow Jones was made at the opening this morning (May 6): 8,504.06.
My new target is now 5,500.
I am liquid since 8,400.
Dakx
April 2009
2 posts
On the Dow Jones
In the same line of putting your money where your mouth is, I will do so on my expectations of the Dow Jones Index performance in the forseeable future.
My prediction: the Dow will go up to 8,500 range, then back down to 5,500.
Reasons: First quarter corporate financial results started coming out. Unemployment figures. GDP figures. Interest rate problem: they cannot go lower. Dollar strenght....
Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
I am a big fan of performance-based compensation models, not only for others, for myself included. And I was really excited to see a shift being pushed by a large corporation to promote performance-based compensation for advertising and PR firms.
Coca-Cola announced earlier this week they would promote “value-based” compensation for their ads/PR firms. Here’s how it works:
...
February 2009
3 posts
8 tags
1 tag
GM
Results for GM:
Lost $30.9 billions in 2008
Lost $38.7 billions in 2007
Asking for a $30 billion bailout fund from the government
Look at their cars, and tell me which one you would seriously consider buying for you, your wife or one of your kids if they could drive: http://www.gm.com/vehicles/results.jsp?sort=brand. Poor outlook for these guys. Sucks to be them.
14 tags
How to Succeed in Business? / Comment Avoir du...
[Version française plus bas/French version below]
Many people say simplicity is the key to success when in business. Many people on the InterWebs have put out their theories of what it needs to have success in business. Of course, I have my own, inspired by one of my University teachers, Dr. Richard-Marc Lacasse. What I like about his theory is its simplicity. Called the “Success...
January 2009
5 posts
3 tags
WatchWhile at Manu’s 30th Birthday Party, we spotted these two fishes totally making out all evening in their aquarium… This is about 15 seconds, but they were at it for hours.
Can it be true love between fishes?
Dakx
2 tags
Some of you know that I’m working on a new startup. When I started working on the project, less than 3 months ago, there was plenty of hype in that niche, plenty of money and limited competition.
Now, 3 months later, we seem to be in an industry with too many players, where industry analysts seem to have covered every aspect you can imagine of building a successful business in that niche,...
3 tags
Comments added...
I also added a Comments feature for the website, using the easy-to-use Disqus.
Update 1: But I am having issues with formating the content of the comment page correctly in the right places. I am unsure about my programming skills at this point…
Dakx
New website look!
It took me a few days of work but here it is!!! I know content is king, but you have to start somewhere with the packaging and flexibility of it!
I use the Tumblr blog platform. I decided to stick with Tumblr because I finally found the template I was looking for and figured out a way to integrate everything I wanted in the same single front page.
A few things I like:
Direct Skype Me...
November 2008
2 posts
Get Off Your Butt!
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of the State of California, summarized what we need to do when a company is going through problems. And it only takes four words: Get Off Your Butt.
A video of him taken on September 26, two months ago is available here.
Solving a problem is never easy. But it takes the right attitude:
Unite your team, give them the power to make changes, ignite their passion to...
My Idea for the Auto Industry.
Over the past few days, I’ve had numerous people asking me about the auto industry, the bailout Big 3 is asking from various Governments, including those of the US and Canada, what we can do to solve it and if it was time to buy stocks.
Well. I can answer one question right now.
Stocks of the Big 3 (GM, Ford, Chrysler) has plummeted at such a low price, is now the time to buy to make a...
October 2008
44 posts
Tuesday, 5th Day on the Road: At Home!!!
Tuesday is our fifth consecutive driving day. But we need to add packing day and Dad’s traveling day to Seattle on top of that… We are happy to be in Canada, but we are tired!
We slept in London, Ontario this past night. I have been to London quite a few times in the past 15 years. My first plane ride ever when I was a kid was to London, Ontario. I always liked this city. I knew some...
Crossing the Canadian Border
One of my biggest stress on this trip was the point where we would have to re-enter Canada. We are driving this train back in Canada and I have no idea of how it actually really works… I read on some websites, forums and more how foreign people can come live in Canada, but it focuses mostly on getting a VISA… But I am Canadian, I have a passport and I was gone for a little over 18...
We Made It!!
Hi all!!!
We made it home very late on our fifth day on the road! We’re in Quebec City. We slept for a few good hours but we still have to unpack the train. So here we go now. The weather is horrible, winter is coming to Quebec! It’s cold, rainy, and we’ll probably get snow soon. We actually saw some on the road yesterday. Thank god we moved quick to leave Seattle!
I miss...
Monday, 4th Day on the Road, In Canada!!
Our fourth day started slowly. We were hard to get out of bed!! Some may consider this trip a vacation, but it’s far from it. Driving around 12 hours a day is harder than we expected. Now I fully understand the regulations for transport van drivers to stop every 8 hours. Of course, we don’t have a bedroom in our train, so we try to push ourselves a little more and stop for a good night sleep in...
Sunday, 3rd Day on the Road, 3 States in One Day!!
There is a huge advantage to drive on flat lands: distance! Moreover, the speed limit in North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin is 70-75 mph, equivalent to about 110-120 km per hour, so we can cover even more distance. Thank god we didn’t drive through Canada! :)
Today was another productive day, we crossed most of North Dakota, all of Minnesota, most of Wisconsin and settled ourselves in...
WatchA special message (in French) for Mom!
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Sunday, 3rd Day on the Road: Snow!!
After driving through the Rockies in Washington, Idaho and Montana and only seeing little bits of snow, we were pretty sure we wouldn’t face snow for the rest of our journey…
I said before that Montana is flat. Well, North Dakota is even flatter. It’s only flat. We were excited to see small bumps and turns so much it was flat. It’s flatter and more boring than driving on Highway 20 in Quebec. And...
Saturday Night, Meeting the Turcotte!
Sometimes, when some situations happen, we say “It’s a small world!”. Well, we had that experience in Bismarck, ND. After driving through Montana and making it to Bismarck at around 12:30am local time (which is Central Time) and more than 14.5 hours of travel, we started hunting for a place to stay for the night.
I am not that picky for a hotel, but when you drive for over 14 hours and expect to...
Saturday Evening, Jumping Deer.
As I said before, the drive through Montana took us about a day. It’s a long state. We drove it from West to East following I-90 and I-94. Montana is considered as one of the heartlands of America, full of crops in the summer time. The view was really nice and it made for a nice drive.
We entered North Dakota during the night, trying to add mileage to our trip we only made a quick stop of dinner...
WatchMore joking around in Montana! If any of you have the chance to do a long road trip with someone close to you, do it, it’s worth it! I wouldn’t do it every week, but I sure am having a good time!
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WatchComing off the Rockies in Montana, we had to go through a 6% steep hill and driving was slow with trucks ahead of us and our train behind us!