“You can spot a turd a mile away…” Mike Koenigs, while describing his interview process for hiring a virtual assistant.
Interval Training Options for Fat Burning
Posted on June 27, 2011 · Leave a Comment
More Health and Fitness News & Tips at Greatist.
Buy Shares of Tim Berry
Posted on May 7, 2011 · Leave a Comment
Today is your lucky day! You can buy shares of Tim Berry. Not only that, you can let others buy shares of you.
Empire Avenue is a new Social Media Exchange site where you can buy and sell your “friends” for virtual currency. Yes, it is a social investment game.
I am extremely interested in this concept and how it relates to human psychology. There are 2 factors at play. First is the greed factor of wanting to amass large wealth by investing strategically. Although it is virtual currency, it still fills a desire that some people have, and the risk is minimal (unless you waste way too much time there or you start purchasing extra shares with real money).
Next is the desire to be “desirable” by others. Will your value go up? How high? Are your friends and followers in your social network really that interested in you? If so, will they invest in you? Or who are the best bets for you to invest in among your friends…
Anyway, it will be interesting to see how this all plays out. I see two possibilities with this site:
- Bottle rocket: extremely fast growth, followed by even faster crash
- Exponential, viral growth that is sustained and allows it to become a dotcom success story over the next 5 years.
For the latter to occur, they will need to add some other features in order to keep people interested. It may not be “social” enough to have the “stick” factor that other social behemoths have. There are chat boxes and communities, but only time will tell if these will become valuable or just spam rooms.
America’s Top Family Doctor 2010
Posted on May 5, 2010 · 2 Comments
Yes, it is true that I am among America’s Top Family Doctors 2010. Enjoy the irony…
Photo of a Pueblo in Taos NM
Posted on February 21, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Here is a nice photo of a “living” Pueblo in Taos, New Mexico. This Native American community still lives and works on this site, with the beautiful mountains in the background. This Pueblo has been here for over 1000 years.
Ryder was playing a drum near one of the “homes,” and the tourists thought he was one of the local Native Americans. One woman wanted to tip him. He thought it was funny and decided to play the part – he is such a ham.
We had a great time relaxing in Taos with the kids. The art galleries were incredible and the food was tasty.
After Taos, it was off to Sante Fe before heading back to Denver. We have other photos of the trip on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bignestegg/
Secondcar Smoke Sucks
Posted on January 10, 2010 · 3 Comments
Well, you have heard of “secondhand smoke”, but you may never heard of “secondcar smoke.”
Secondcar Smoke
Secondcar smoke is a term I coined this week after being exposed 3 times to smoke from surrounding cars while driving. The first episode occurred on our first warm, sunny day this week. I rolled down the windows to enjoy the beautiful sunny day. I started smelling smoke, but there was nobody else in my car. It was clearly cigarette smoke, but I was going 45 miles per hour. The only car I could see was about 8 car lengths ahead of me. It was not until I pulled up next to it at the next stop light that I saw the driver flick the cigarette butt on the ground next to my car. That was when it first registered with me that I had been breathing in smoke for about 2 miles while driving behind this smoker. So much for enjoying my beautiful day…
The very next day, I was sitting at an intersection and noticed the same odor, but much stronger. I quickly looked around and realized that the driver 2 lanes over was smoking. He was the only one around that I could see, so it had to be him even though he was about 40 feet away.
Today, the same thing happened again at another intersection. This time my windows were up, but the smell still permeated my car. Disgusting!!!
I really have no problem with smokers, as long as I don’t have to breath their poison myself involuntarily. Here are some agreements that might help us all get along:
1) You agree to roll up your windows if you are going to smoke while driving. This should be more efficient for you anyway as you will be able to breath in your own secondhand smoke too. I agree to roll up my windows when I am jamming to some good tunes.
2) Don’t throw your cigarette butts out the window – this is called littering and smokers are not immune to such laws. I agree to not throw my gum out or shoot fireworks out my car window.
3) You agree to use smokeless tobacco in public. I agree to not take x-rays or CT scans in public.
4) If you decide to smoke in public while driving with your windows down, at least use marijuana instead of tobacco so that I will become as apathetic as you and just not care anymore.
If you too have been a victim of secondcar smoke, then please spread the word about these agreements or feel free to add your own.
I Need Your Help TODAY!
Posted on November 10, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Today is a very important day for us and we are asking for your help and support. Our charitable foundation, the Agel Cares Foundation, is having a one day campaign to raise money for our projects.
Agel Cares helps provide needed surgeries for children around the globe, including cleft palate repair, club foot repair, and eye surgeries that prevent blindness. Without these surgeries (and without our help), most of these children become outcasts even in their own families. However, thanks to our foundation, we can repair each of these problems for less than $40.
Did you get that? For less than $40 you can help provide a surgery to repair a cleft palate in a child. 100% of all donations goes directly to the cost of the surgeries (all logistical and management costs are covered by our company). Any donation you can provide counts as it all adds up, so do not think that these small donations do not make a difference – they do!
Here is what we are asking you to do TODAY:
1) Go to AgelCares.org
2) On the Home page, click on the ‘Give’ button on the bottom right
3) It requires that you enter the info of the person who referred you – here is what to enter:
Name: Tim and Julie
City: Denver
Event (drop down menu): select ‘Ten Dollar Tuesday’
4) Note this is a secure website (https) and your information is protected.
5) Please donate any amount you feel comfortable with (everything helps). We are asking that you donate $10 minimum, but don’t hesitate to do more.
6) Please consider forwarding this email to everyone on your list so that we can make this an amazing day!
We appreciate your help. This cause is very important to us and we need all of the help we can get.
Sincerely,
Tim Berry and Julie Mirr
www.WorldGel.com
p.s. Also if you are interested in learning more about our business and how it can help you, please let us know. We are currently doing business in 58 countries and we are always looking for new partners.
Pancakes in Amsterdam
Posted on July 29, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Tim Berry with Pannekoeken Met Stroop
If you have not had the pleasure of eating a pancake in the Netherlands, then you are missing out on one of life’s little treats.
As I was planning my recent trip to Amsterdam, I started salivating just thinking about “Pannekoeken met Stroop.” While most tourists think about Dutch architecture, art museums, coffee shops, and the Red Light District, my mind was on just one thing – Pancakes!
For me, the best time to enjoy a Dutch pancake is mid-afternoon, but really I have yet to discover a bad time for them. Seriously!
Ok, there are definitely other things to do while visiting Amsterdam. For one thing, I got to catch up with a lot of my good Dutch friends. During this recent trip, I was taken to some hard-to-find, locals hangouts (ones not listed in my Top 10 Guide to Amsterdam). It was really fun as far as I remember…
There are a lot of great museums, including the Rijks Museum (my favorite), the Van Gogh Museum, and Stefelijk Museum. There are many others, but I haven’t taken the time to visit them yet. Whether you like art of not, you will feel deep inspiration when surrounded by paintings from the masters.
Another favorite of mine are the street performers. The quality was down a bit during this trip, but overall they are quite enjoyable. My favorite ones are the break dancers. I have videos that I will be posting soon with plenty of entertaining performances.
Top 10 Things to Do in Amsterdam
Right now you can really save money when booking your trips. This particular trip was a last minute whim (or pancake craving) and I booked my hotel and flight less than one week prior to the trip. The airlines showed my tickets ranging from $3000 – $23,000 round trip, however I was able to find a package deal on Expedia for just over $1000!!!
So what did this last minute travel package give me? Well, I stayed 6 days in a 5 Star hotel, plus I flew business class over the Atlantic and back (this is the same seating as First Class). If I would have made reservations through the hotel’s internet site and the airline, I would have paid a minimum of $13,000 for this same package. So I figure I have an extra $12,000 to use on my next trip, which looks like Costa Rica in a few weeks…
Summer in Telluride Colorado
Posted on July 15, 2009 · 2 Comments
Telluride Summer
Since our Mexico vacation was cancelled due to the Swine Flu outbreak, we decided to do a family vacation roadtrip through Colorado and Utah.
We started by driving to Glenwood Springs, CO and staying in a cabin along the river in Glenwood Canyon. We did some mountain biking along the river trail and also hiked the “most hiked trail in Colorado” to Hanging Lake. This was a beautiful lake on the side of a mountain. The hike was just over a mile to the lake, but the trail was steep with an average grade of 33%!!!
Next we drove to Ouray and stayed in a hotel along the river. Ouray is known as “America’s Little Switzerland.” This is an amazing place known for some of the world’s best ice climbing and jeep trails.
From Ouray, we drove around the mountain to Telluride, my favorite Colorado mountain town (and where I will probably end up once the kids are grown). We stayed at the base of the gondola in a hotel that normally costs about $1200 per night in ski season for only $129 per night. The gondola connects Telluride to Mountain Village by crossing over the top of the ski mountain – see the picture above from the top of the Gondola. We just relaxed, ate good food, and enjoyed the laid back town of Telluride.
Finally, we headed west to Moab, Utah. We had no idea how the kids would like the desert, but they loved it. In fact, we stayed an extra 3 days. The best part was that the kids conquered Slick Rock, the world famous mountain bike trail. It is basically a solid world of exposed rock along a 12 mile trail. Before we left town, the kids had to get in one last ride. Debra and I were shocked how great they did.
Family road trips are great and this one was one of our favorites so far.
Eating Like a Champ
Posted on July 5, 2009 · 3 Comments
Kung Pao Tofu
Confession: I love food and lots of it:)
Seven years ago, just before Ryder was born, I decided to quit racing triathlons, mountain bikes, and adventure races. I finished strong with 6 age group wins in a 60 day stretch. Then I quit cold turkey.
Not only did I quit racing, I pretty much quit exercising. Despite this, I continued to consume about 6000 calories per day (needed when I was training regularly). So the mathematics of weight began to take its toll on my health.
There were also some heavy stressors in my life at that time, primarily related to a dishonest employee who created a financial disaster that spiraled out of control over the next few years. The stress took its toll too. I eventually recovered, but not before it had contributed to a slowed metabolism and other not-so-desirable health effects.
A good friend, Dr. Mark Schnitzer, recommended that I read The China Study. He and his family found it so compelling that they decided to become Vegan. My wife and I read it (I admit I quickly skimmed it) about a year ago. We realized the importance of changing our diets, but did not make the commitment at that time. Most likely I was still in denial.
Having a long history of hyperlipidemia (really bad cholesterol), my risk for heart disease was significantly higher than the average person. Since medical school, I had been able to control it by using natural remedies and food supplements. However as part of the intense stress that began in 2002, I also went into a state of denial and quit taking these supplements.
Last October, we moved back to Colorado. It was part of our grand plan for lifestyle change. A few months back I hit a chronological milestone and finally decided to get a real physical exam and check-up. As it turns out, I am really healthy except for my cholesterol panel (cough… and weight).
According to my Berkley lipid panel, I have every genetic marker for risk that you can have. My bad cholesterol (LDL), triglycerides, and even my good cholesterol (HDL) were all abnormal as well. I immediately visited my local health food store and purchased an arsenal of food supplements and vitamins that will help me fight the battle.
Once I got a clean bill of health from the Cardiologists who did my nuclear stress test and calcium score (spiral CT scan calcium study), I rewarded myself with a new road bike and designed a fitness plan to get back into shape. The only thing missing was a rock solid dietary plan that would complement my exercise and life plan, while also supporting a healthier cholesterol profile.
The official start date of my vegetarian lifestyle was delayed because my parents were visiting and they love red meat (several times daily) and I wanted to leave my carnivorous ways in style. Once they left town, I implemented a not-so-strict vegetarian diet. The photo above was my first meal – Kung Pao Tofu from Pei Wei. It was such a beautiful dish, I had to take a photo.
I will update you in 90 days so that we can explore how my lifestyle changes and strategic supplementation will affect my cholesterol panel and general health.
Your Favorite Vegetarian,
Tim Berry MD
Co-Founder of Poobah Marketing in Denver, CO. I am an uncultured polymath and an anal retentive procrastinator. My passion is the art and science of marketing. I am also an avid mountain biker, cyclist, runner, climber, tech geek, and dad.