99 things OKOA

A friend and one of the blogs that I follow, had this cute list posted. As I read thru the list, I started to laugh. “When will I get to one that I have not yet done?” I wondered. I guess that it just proves that I’ve been around some time. And it not a bad idea to take stock in what one has done every now and then. This will allow you to check where you are at and what you still have to do yet in life.

And if this list is not of your liking, fine make your own, but make it now! Do not allow time to slip by in your life without a things-to-do list. A true list of dreams and goals in anyone’s life will always lead to great things and other kinds of answers…

To participate just copy the list as is and paste in your own blog,
and bold all of the things you have done.

01. Started your own blog
02. Slept under the stars
03. Played in a band
04. Visited Hawaii
05. Watched a meteor shower
06. Given more than you can afford to charity
07. Been to Disneyland
08. Climbed a mountain
09. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Ran a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing



40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy




70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life.
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee


Well, got this entire list, but #37, 98 0ut of 99 is not too bad! But this is someone’s else’s list just comparing for fun, and you can bet that I going to add that last one to my own list on the wall of my office, and always keep looking for Other Kinds Of Answers… You do the same...

“LILO’s” Other Kinds Of Answers…

As I hinted at very plainly in my last post, Inflationary Other Kinds Of Answers… It's time to stop crying over the spilled milk, kick the people out of the sandbox who did not play nice with others, Bury the Unions, for at last they have kicked in the cash bucket and let’s all watch Uncle Sammy’s Tea giving party even closer. A whole lot of folks getting my taxes as hand-outs that I do not think should. If I wanted to invest in them, I would have myself.

My OKOA Readers, our dear economy might seemed to be melting down like a pat of pure butter on a hot used car roof, but for some OKOA people — even you, maybe? — This is a very very good thing indeed. It is time to dust off every OKOA that ever woke you up in the middle of the night. I have six good ideas that I’m pretty sure that have not been tried yet. I’m currently pushing them thru the starting phase, background checking and research… Stay tuned.

First, as always, this is just my opinion and these are actions I am currently doing, as you that read on will find out about! I have been watching and paying close attention for the last number of years, always looking for my other kinds of answers. Not all the answers are of only the Knowledge and wisdom kind that I am looking for. Financial and business OKOA’s are worth looking for also.

What is a “LILO’s”…?

Here is the skinny why and how. At no other time in recent history has it been easier or cheaper to start a new company, maybe even a very profitable company over night, so to speak. We’ll call this type of start-ups “LILO’s”, for “little in, lot out." These are Web-based businesses that cost almost nothing to get off the ground yet can turn into great moneymakers. This only if you work hard, mind your own business and are uncomplaining but know when & how to Twit out about your idea and about the .biz there from.

How do you get started? All that's required is a great idea for a product that will fill a need in today’s 21st century. These days you'd do best if your idea either makes people money safely or saves them money surely. It really needs to work at a level that anyone can understand and use, if you really want it to rocket. Do check that any idea and name there of are clear every way that you can. In other words make sure that they are yours, and make them yours legally.

I first pushed my ideas past a group of “25ish” old friends that are open to this kind of thinking, and do even read this blog. I really can get them all going when the old guy looks over their code-du-jour, and points out errors. Yea, this old guy can read code, and has even come up with a few OKOA things that the friends have liked. That and he shows up with good bagels and Jolt for everybody now and then.

Why these friends as a sounding block, well, they are all of the right age and are code-eaters, and they have one or two LILO sites just starting to get off the ground themselves. Learn from the do-ers and share what you have picked too! That keeps all the costs down and folks living life.

As for their revenue incoming, they just have sold the first site based ad, for the low three figures a month. But it's a foundation: "We've already reached ramen profitability." The main math here: they spend about $100 a month on server space fees and other minor expenses. And they have a start-up company that is up and going! And more important, true cash inflow other kinds of answers…!

True Noodleconomics

The term ramen profitable is coined by Paul Graham, a Silicon Valley start-up investor, essayist and muse to LILO entrepreneurs. It means that your start-up is self-sustaining and can eke out enough profit to keep you alive on instant noodles while your business idea gains traction.

"At this point, it would be hard for companies to get any cheaper," he is quoted. Since everyone already has an Internet-connected device somewhere in their lives, "it's gotten to the point that you can't detect the cost of a company when added to a person's living expenses. A real world company is no more expensive than a semi-full time hobby these days."

Will your idea be the next Facebook? The next Blogger, Digg or Twitter? Who knows? It almost goes without saying that many more start-ups fail than succeed. "The biggest problem facing any website biz is words of mouth distribution." In a world where it's so easy to start a company, how can anyone find yours? Only if a friend shares it with you, out of love, heed or need.

But here again, a bad economy is the LILO's friend. It is easy to say, "The cost of failure is cheap. It's even so low, you can afford to swing the bat way more times." In our bad economy, no one really notices or cares about more failure. Everyone fails at something or somehow, and those that keep trying will make it. That creates a safer and better environment for risk-taking, which is the only way true innovation can occur.

And while not many folks could get hurt from a total failure that you can walk away from. At the same time, launching in a bad economy imposes it own kind of disciplines, forcing entrepreneurs to keep costs low and be smart about marketing and distribution. You can even say it should keep them always looking for other kinds of answers…