This one's for the geeks...

I have a server inside my LAN that I ssh to a LOT. Not having to type in my password would save me quite a bit of time. There are a lot of tutorials out there but I think this one cuts straight through to the point :D

On The Server

1. Make sure "RSAAuthentication" and PubKeyAuthentication" are both set to "yes" in your ssh config file. (/etc/ssh/sshd_config)


2. If they weren't, and you changed them, restart ssh. (/etc/init.d/ssh restart)


3. Change to your home directory. (cd ~)


4. Check that the '.ssh' directory exists. (ls -dl .ssh)


5. Confirm it has the correct permissions. (chmod 700 .ssh)

On Your Computer

1. Change to your home directory. (cd ~)


2. Check that the '.ssh' directory and your public (id_rsa.pub) and private (id_rsa) keys exist. (ls -l .ssh/)


3. If they don't, create them. (ssh-keygen -t rsa) Press enter in response to each question.


4. Now copy them to your server. (ssh-copy-id -i .ssh/id_rsa.pub user@server:) You'll need to type in your SSH password this one last time.

That's it! SSHing into your server, from the computer you set this up from, will no longer require that you type in your password. Instead, it will use your public key to decrypt messages sent from your computer, using your private key.

For more information on how this public/private key system works, see Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_key

I've unsubscribed from just about every newsletter I received in the past 2 weeks. Even if I really LOVE a particular newsletter, I dropped it.

I also now close Skype and Google Talk during the day. And I keep Gmail closed more often than it's open.

All this LACK of reading has resulted in a far more productive Norio.

Yes, it's a Tim Ferriss idea. The guy reckons you should cut everything out (just about) and only pick something up to read when a) it's for pleasure and b) you're going to learn something quickly for the task at hand. If you can't use it immediately, leave it alone!

That's changed my daily process quite a bit. I simply get a lot more done and, every time something new lands on my desk/screen, I ask myself if I can use this RIGHT NOW. If not, I chuck it.

The nature of the internet is that ANY time I need something in the future, I can just Google it. So I'm wasting a lot less time reading stuff I "might need to know" sometime in the future and now I just get things done.

It takes me maybe 5 minutes to research something I need to know. I do that 5 minutes of researching/reading, and then get back to my life.

Reading is great. Don't stop. But do it wisely. Read what you need or read for pleasure. Don't fill ALL your time with reading or you'll get nothing else done.

I didn't think I'd agree with Ferriss on this one but I do - the increase in my productivity speaks for itself. And the increase in my cashflow (once I get paid for this work I'm doing) will also speak for itself. Give it a shot :)

There was a guy called C. Northcote Parkinson who said something very useful and profound. He said:

Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.

Which means that a task you give yourself 1 hour to do will, by virtue of the time assigned to it, be simpler to do than the SAME task, if you give yourself 1 week to do it in.

As Tim Ferriss puts it in his book, The 4-Hour Work Week, you then have 6 days of turning a molehill into a mountain.

Ferriss also says that, to be more effective in your work, you should set out to do the same work in MUCH less time.

So I decided to test this theory out this weekend and here's what happened...

On Saturday, I spent 1 hour and 15 minutes finishing some work that I thought would take at least 2-3 hours. I simply set the tight deadline and then did the work. The shorter timeframe forced me to focus on the bare essentials and I got the work done!

I spent the rest of Saturday chilling and relaxing. (I had planned to work most of Saturday)

On Sunday, I spent 1 hour and 4 minutes finishing some work that I thought would take 2-4 hours. I spent the rest of the time with my family. (Yes, I had planned to work most of the day!) Are we seeing a pattern yet?

In short: I achieved in 2 hours and 19 minutes what I would normally dedicate 4-7 hours to do.

And, in short, I had a really great weekend.

The most important part of this all is that I normally procrastinate on any task that will take more than an hour to complete. Now I don't need to because the shorter timeframe forces me to simplify and focus which means that things get done and I don't procrastinate.

Next, I'm going to try this during the week. My goal is to achieve in 2-4 hours what I would normally spend the whole day doing. And then I'm going to play guitar, watch TV and spend time with my wife.

Yes, Parkinson's Law is my new best friend!

Check it out!
http://purl.co.za/i6vEL

(Received in an email)

This really works!

If you don't believe it, just try it!

Put your dog and your wife in the boot of the car for an hour.

When you open the trunk, which one is really happy to see you?

What's 10% of your dinner bill? Bad service? Make it 8%? Good service, make it 20%? But what IS 20% of R432,12?



Take out your cellphone and go to www.waiterlove.co.za to find out. I dig it!

This past Saturday we went to Pet Masters in boksburg and picked up 2 Male guppies of different strands. I managed to convince my sickly photographer (wifey) to take some cool pics.







They're doing well. Swimming very energetically. The little one (Skitzo) follows the bigger one (Juice) around EVERYWHERE! They also love chasing their mirror images on the side of the tank

I've been doing 1 liter a day water changes and feeding them a tiny pinch 3 times a day. I think it's a bit much food but I'm not worried about them being poisoned by it because of my constant water changes.

Still need to get some white gravel and some more fishies. I'm considering sticking 7-15 male guppies in this tank. From what I've read, neons prefer a much cooler temp to guppies, so I think it's safer to rather just stick with these dudes. Plus they're sooo pretty

I'm loving this and already incredibly addicted. No one told me it would be THIS much fun

Just saw this on www.sagoodnews.co.za:

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa officially launched the Scorpions replacement, to be known as the Hawks, at a function in Midrand on Monday.

Followed by...

Mthethwa said almost all the investigators from the Scorpions (the Directorate of Special Operations) moved over to the new unit.

Can they investigate corrupt government officials? Who knows but I'm still confident that they'll do the country good in terms of bringing down drug and theft syndicates.

I just read this article about energy redirection and realised that I already do it. I could do it a lot more but I already do it.

When faced with a bad situation – think of a way to turn it into a CHALLENGE.

Yesterday, we went to the doctor for Tanya. We had a 14h00 appointment and I figured I'd be back by 14h30. We were only seen sometime after 16h00! I got highly peeved but, instead of going on an emotional rollercoaster, I resolved to upgrade our medical aid to something other than "KeyCare" as it greatly limits the doctors we can go to.

Many people would have blown up and allowed the (very frustrating) afternoon spoil the rest of their evening and even the rest of their week. That's fine but I've found it's a lot more useful to change that energy into something I can use and grow from.

Read this article for another example of energy redirection.

Got this ad in my email and thought it was just BEGGING for a caption ;)

"Coz punching a woman in the kidneys is the new, HIP way to get fit!"