East Suburbs Ride

Finally some nice weather. After getting up late this morning, I finally went out after 2pm. This time I didn't mind if I ride back in the evening. The temperature was OK. Around 17 degrees when I left home.
I followed the river to the junction to Eastern suburbs. Then followed the creek South-East. The same route I used when I went to Ashwood. Went exactly the same route all the way to Allamein station. After that I decided to explore. There were bicycle paths almost the whole way so I did not have to use roads for long. I zig-zaged towards North-East. It is so much easier now that I know where I am and what proportions of the terrain are. At one point I felt lost and it was getting dark already. That was the only time I looked at the map. I did not know the names of the suburbs I was going through. But the map just confirmed what I generally thought. Only, I did not expect I would go that far. :))
Went North all the way to Eastern Freeway and then I turned West, towards the city. At some point I crossed the Freeway and joined the cycle path I used long time ago to get towards Heidelberg. It was quite dark at that time. Still, the visibility was great even without the lights. Reflection of the lights from the city, lights from the Freeway, and the moonlight created a perfect setting. At some parts I just walked along the river, pushing the bike beside. It was a nice night. Let my mind wander.
Going through Collingwood, I met a friend! What a coincidence. I love these "supernatural" occurences. :D
I really enjoyed the ride. Rough estimate on Google Earth shows 30+ kilometers. That means, if I was to follow the path I used, it would be quite close to 40. It took only a fraction of time compared to previous rides. Must be a good exercise, improving my stamina. I prefer cycling and going through different areas than jogging, anyway. Looking forward to do the same thing tomorrow, only in some other part of the metropolitan area.
No photos today, sorry. :( There were a few great places to take photos but my camera - actually batteries - have failed me. Got a new pair of rechargeables so tomorrow should be an opportunity for a proper photo tour.

No photos, but here is the link to a map. This will make some good memories later. I sure will miss Melbourne.

InstantCash

:))
I'm looking into "instant cash" options for "making money online". The "industry" has advanced in the past few years. There must be loads of scam but I'd expect to see at least a few regular options, as well. I've applied for a few survey sites and some ad-watching options and I wonder how long will I be able to keep doing that. Probably I'll have enough by the beginning of the next week. :)

The day is getting longer. It is not that cold anymore. Or, maybe, this is because I have recovered from cold and I feel much better. And the rain is gone, btw, so at least there is a good feeling watching out the window and seeing blue sky and the Sun during the day.

I hope the market hit the bottom and should be moving upwards slowly. This should create some hope for the future.

My holidays are nearing closer and that makes me really happy. :D

Online Activity

Phew, since it's been cold and gets dark early, I've been quite proactive online. Maintaining a few blogs and web sites is quite interesting for the moment. I've redesigned the web sites to use templates so it's very easy to maintain them and add new content even when I have no time to spend on design. Now I can simply create a new page from a template and start typing.

I also completed an application that takes care of photo upload to Flickr, creating links, thumbnails, and all the rest. So now album creation takes a few clicks only. I don't have to do anything to images except copy them to my hard disk and use the program to upload them, then paste the link into the album page, that's created from an album template.

Also, I've created a few active pages. Used Google App Engine to finally create a contact form. Now I have a link on my web site(s) that open a form where visitors can contact me - send me an email, without revealing my email address on the site to avoid the spam bots.
And, I'm using a redirector at http://alen.appspot.com to open my start page. This was impossible so far on googlepages, since Google Pages always open their templated page, which is not what I want.
I also found a .Net hosting that supports latest .Net framework (3.5). Now I can create some more active content. The foundation is laid for application development as I'm looking to create some useful Facebook application.

So, finally I've had a few, rather small, achievements which make me a bit happy. After disastruous situation at the markets, this is something that I'm occupied with until the holiday time. :)

Weekend Coming

This has been a 6-day working week and I'm looking forward to a weekend. The weather forecast is not the best. There will be a few showers. The weather has been bad in the last several days. I am getting a bit bored. Probably exploited all the options I found available. Now I first need to find something else to do and then do it.
I'm missing the nature quite a bit. Remembering the trips across different areas of Bosnia, riding through fields and across mountains.
When thinking about the holidays, I'm sure they will pass quickly and I will not have opportunity to do the things I like. That's the kind of holiday I hate. So, now I promise to myself to do only the things I like during the trip home. :D
On the other hand, everything is probably alright. I should just let the time go by. Everything will take care of itself (or will it? :). Blah, that has never been my motto. I believe we create our own present and future and we do it in every moment. That's why I don't want to waste time.

Fog

I'm working in the clouds again. Rainy and foggy outside. The look out the window looks like a computer generated image where everything is surrounded with a fog and appears out of nowhere.
Did some trading today again. I'm posting those news onto my finance blog now.
There is always something to learn, though. :)

Filming

The water is off in the house. There is an emergency repair down the street. Coming back from work I saw the guys digging a hole in the road. Up the street, near our house, there was something that resembled a yacht as I approached. Coming closer, I saw it was a sort of a trailer, similar to a large camping caravan. There was a water truck in front of it. Ha, I thought, they must've brought in the water truck for the area. That would've been obvious. In front of that one there was a fire truck. All of them surrounded by orange cones. Something was funny. A bit further up the street, there were the strong ambient lights, vehicles, and people around. Hm, it looked like a preparation for filming.
A bit later we find the water truck is not for the area but just in case, for the filming crew. Also, there is Nicholas Cage sitting in the caravan right across the road. Apart from the coolness factor how likely is this to happen back home? If I was a bit more passionate I could go and ask for an autograph or something but I'm not overly excited. I'm quite happy about the Australian market index rising up again today. That brings me closer to my goals and, hopefully, the time when I'll be as excited about having Nicholas Cage across the street filming a new release as the girls next door.
Oh, apparently, this is his third movie filmed in Melbourne. That's Australia. (the last is a phrase from a show "That's America")

Web Development

I'm not posting much stuff on this blog but that means nothing is happening. On the contrary... Since the weather has been bad for the past several days I've been staying home and playing with web development. I have developed some new web sites, set up framework, CSS, templates, hosting. Then I looked at Facebook application development and, finally, Google App Engine application hosting.
I caught a cold so I stayed home today, playing with facebook and google apis.

The first apps do not do much for the moment but I am happy to see how simple it is to set them up. Now that the technicalities are out of the way, I can focus on content and start filling up the skeleton that is online.

My first Google App Engine application is here - http://alen.appspot.com/
and my first Facebook application is here - http://apps.facebook.com/alensfinance/

Another Quiet Sunday

It's been gray and rainy. Feels as if I'm somewhere else. Though, the rain is not as bad as actually is someplace else. Yesterday I was complaining that it's been raining on and off on Friday and Saturday, providing an excuse to go out in the cold.
The reply I got back was that in Sarajevo, it's been raining for ten days now. :S So, I better keep quiet. I'm sure to be missing this weather wherever I travel.
The daily temperature is around 12-14 and its quite cold at night. Think I caught a cold yesterday and today its manifesting. I have to wear a sweater now. :)

New Blogs, Sites

I've started a couple of new things - a new blog, web site, adding ads to my web pages. Never realized that the amounts that can be earned from advertising are higher than a couple of dollars. :)
Now, if this works, I'd be able to get a proper hosting and do some active content. Currently I'm limited to passive html content with some CSS and JavaScript, and blog posts. That's not too exciting but, still, there is lots of information that is useful and can be posted in these formats.
That's how I spent the weekend. It's cold and it was raining on and off. Think I caught a cold. :S

Trading & Tax

IGMarkets have the whole section on taxation of CFD trades in their Terms & Conditions document. Hm, can't find the link to it now. It's in PDF and explains that CFD trades can be treated as business and that both gains and losses affect the tax sheet.

Reserves

Just a quick update. Called them yesterday to check what is going on. As I'm on the relistment list, a feedback is expected from somebody. I guess there's a background check being done and, when the results come in, the recruiter - oops, case manager now - will contact me to arrange the assessment interview and the rest.
All I can do is continue with the physical fitness exercise to prepare for the test.

Microsoft Event

The partnership event yesterday was interesting. There was an introductory note from Gartner about how workplace is about to change in the future. Hopefully the thing about working from anywhere will become true and it would happen before I'm 80 so that it can be enjoyed for a while.
Later sessions on SQL and Visual Studio were informative but it was more interesting just to be there rather than see something new and amazing. I've seen a few interesting details related to these products but the presenters mostly focused on some new features. It was not the marketing hype but they showed some valuable features that are new to these products. I was thinking how long would it take for companies to migrate to these products. We are still using VB 6.0 and .Net 1.1. :S What use is talking about SQL 2008 and Silverlight?! I'd prefer to spend some time and unify the platform within the company rather than to have all these disparate technologies floating around.

MS Event

There's a Premier Technical Briefing Session event today. I'm to attend the "Operational Benefits of SQL 2008" and "Visual Studio 2008, ASP.Net & Service Oriented Development".
The introductory speech is funny - "IT Resourcing in a Tight Labour Market". Seems to be tight on both sides of the coin. Employers are complaining on the lack of skilled labor and the workers are complaining on the lack of job availability.

Tax-related Issues for Trading

Non-commercial losses: overview - fact sheet

This page explains the tax implications on trading/investing. It is treated as a business under certain circumstances.

Is Passport Worth the Effort?

That's my question at the moment.
My thoughts go on and on. Comforting myself that a year is not a long time. It's already been four months. Hopefully, by next May I'll be a free man. :D

I'm starting to form a vision... Want to drive an electric car. A hybrid is OK for the start. Plan to travel a lot, so a fuel efficiency is a must. Oil prices are to double within a year, possibly. Also, I want to ride a motorcycle.
Right now, I just need some time to think it over and work out how to do it. The longer I'm here, the more realistic the vision gets.

Xing and LinkedIn

These two are cool networks. I've found some people I lost touch with years back. It's always good to see that they are doing well and pushing forward in their field of expertise.
The options for a Europe-based work are increasing, though slowly. But, at least, that gives me some peace of mind of being able to support myself once I take the next step (again).

Euro 2008

Amid all the projects we are (not) doing, there is Euro 2008 coming up. Actually, it's already here and we found about it two days before the start. Now, we need a few guys in the night shifts to cover for potential problems. This ruins our plans and project management and, for the n-th time again, proves the old adage - do whatever you're told as long as you're being paid for it. Too bad one can not work for a company that does not have to report to anyone and constantly be happy and amazed by the new technologies.
Should I even mention that I'm more and more inclined to go somewhere closer to my family and friends and (since I'll be working for a long, long time in the future) use that little spare time left to spend with them.
Guess I'm still, kind-of, hoping to find a bag full of dollar bills and live free and happy ever after. :P
This goes along with Lola's dreams being shattered, as well. This is kind of hide and seek game with balancing between earning a living and missing the time we could spend together.
Hope these will be the days that I'll one day (reading this blog) remember and laugh at, and not the ones that will make me mention the "good old days". :))

Bloody Markets

While the outlook appeared good at the end of the last week, all hopes were crushed on Friday afternoon. And, over the weekend (and yesterday, Monday, was a public holiday in Australia) there was no good news so the market opened much lower, with financials taking a hit. Well, it appears that the answers always come when you need them, not when you want them. Had I read more and experimented less maybe I'd not have decided to expect a financial institution doing good, no matter what its chart looked like. The whole sector is in phase 1 and oscilating up and down, with the consequences of the credit crunch reappearing every now and then.
Anyway, another lesson learned.
Its funny to read the forecasts at the same time as watching the market. People usually predict the doom and gloom while it's happening. And, when the market is going up they are all predicting a good growth for the rest of the year. I wonder where the *(&)(&^*&%$$% does the prediction part fit in there. Prediction is something that is supposed to happen in the future, not what's happening right now.
Still, it's a good and educational experience. And, something to occupy myself with while waiting for the recruiter call.

Xing - Another business network

XING - Start

Seems good. Similar to LinkedIn, except that this one is a bit more based on EU. Good target for my future contacts. :D

Fog in Melbourne

These days it's been foggy. Couldn't see the top halves of the tall buildings in the city. And, at work, it felt like being in a cloud. The streets were barely visible through the fog.

Nothing New in the West

Yesterday was the equivalent of the last day in November. Usually a time when a snow can be expected back home. I was wearing a t-shirt and riding a bike the whole day. Finally went to Kenington. I've been researching that area a few months ago when we were negotiating to rent an apartment there. The whole Kensington area looks surreal. Just like a movie studio, small houses, cute. The area by the river is great, the wetlands... Not too far from the city and has nice bicycle tracks.
I'm still attending seminars on trading, reading books, trying out software and looking for charts and data feeds online. It's quite an interesting activity. I've met a lot of people who are into it over their head and lots of those just joining in. Amazing, considering the statistics say that around 95% of traders are barely balancing at 0 or worse, and only 5% profiting in trading. Makes one wonder why everyone expects to be within those 5%. :)

Just another day in paradise, as they say. I'm actually missing the mountains, pine trees, and the snow. But also looking forward to move away from this cold. It's cold in the morning but nothing like living in the mountains.

Economists say that Australia is to prosper in the next decade on the resources boom. Well, I'm looking to prosper on the micro level. I'm missing the motorbike rides, going to the Adriatic coast, camping, riding through empty roads in the remote areas, eating at the dining places alongside the road. Looking forward to the time when I will be able to travel through Europe and do 2-week trips, visiting various places I wanted to see.
People keep telling me it's time to settle down and I haven't even started yet. :S I will settle down when I make my first million. And, how likely is that to happen? :)