The joys of starting a new business.

Our First Sale

 

 

The web site was uploaded and all was in place as we waited to see what would happen. The final test was to enter an order to ensure all was working correctly. Simple enough, add to cart, complete the details, enter credit card details, receive email order confirmation. Check the bank transfer process, see the transaction in place. So simple and what a relief that it worked.

Three days later we got our first real order and it was a sizeable order. The details were checked, the money was sitting in the transfer bank, all we had to do was ship the order. This we did the very next day, we had the tracking number which we added to the auto email and sent it to our client. Of course you want to see how that order is progressing so we followed it via the tracking number as it travelled overseas to its destination day by day. Four days later the package arrived and was signed for. Our first order delivered safe and sound. We were in business. 

 

What the...

Imagine our surprise when a month and a half later we receive an email from our transfer bank informing us that the customer had questioned the transaction on his monthly credit card statement and that the transfer bank was debiting our business account for the sum of the original transaction plus a fee. The email went on to say that this sort of thing does happen and its likely the customer had just forgotten that they had placed the order. We were asked to submit details of the transaction, emails, and courier information to the transfer bank who would then submit them to the customers bank so that they (the bank) could conduct an enquiry. This we did post haste.

I rechecked the details and information myself and could see no real problem. The only oddity if you could call it that was the locations. The location address for the credit card was different to the delivery address but looking on a map they were not that far apart and plausible. Being someone who uses his credit card in different locations to have goods delivered was too me not unusual. If you order a pizza at a friends house using your credit card the delivery address would be different to your credit card address. If you order flowers for your partner, delivered to her work place using your credit card the address would differ to the credit card address. So was there a problem? Not that I could see.

As another month passed and we had heard no word from the transfer bank I sent an email asking for an update. The large sum of money plus fee was still as yet being held by the transfer bank. I received a reply saying that the customers bank has a number of weeks remaining to finalise their investigation before a decision is made.

Why is this taking so long!

By this time I was getting a little frustrated. If the customer can't remember ordering the goods let alone having received and signed for the goods after we had supplied the order details, credit card details, and delivery address details, what was the bank doing! I was at the point were I thought more should happen. If this was fraud then when were the police going to be informed and an arrest made. They had the delivery address, the goods were there, send the police. Why was this taking months to resolve instead of days.

We were a victim.

Finally the following email came a few weeks later via our transfer bank informing us that the customer had not placed the order and it was a act of fraud. The money had now been returned to the customers bank account and the fee retained by the transfer bank with an apologetic comment along the lines of... “It was regrettable that this has occurred and... there was nothing else the transfer bank could do.”

~~~

So I was out of pocket and without my goods. Four months had transpired between the placed order and the final decision. When I asked if the police had been informed I was advised that it was not the responsibility of the clients bank to inform the police! Yet I was also told that this was not an unusual occurrence when a customer could not remember placing the order. So why would I inform the police if it was likely the client had just lost his memory. No need to upset the customer.

I guess there could be a lot of 'what if...', 'why not...', 'how about...' questions but what is the point. I am not going to spend my time chasing something that may or may not resolve in my favour and I am sure Interpol have more important criminals to pursue. I have a business to run and this little set back will not stop me. If the receivers of the goods enjoyed themselves then so be it, I wish them all the best and a good karma.

Just Karma

Is there anything I will change. I have thought about it. One could request personal id from the customer, a birth certificate, proof of address, but then how many customers would wish to undergo that sort of requirement to place an order. I think very few. Amazon doesn't request id other than credit card details. I have the basic checks in place for credit card use and apart from restricting use to 'delivery address (including IP location) must equal credit card address', one must take a risk or simply close shop.

Lets be serious for a moment. My conjecture is that fraud is part of business if it is as easy as it appears to use someone else's credit card. The simplicity of credit card fraud is you steal a credit card, you order the goods, you get the goods, and the bank is not going to pursue you as they recover the money for the customer from the shop owner. End of story.

As for RiceSoyCoffee, we live and learn and we will continue to remain in business as we planned to be. That's business.

Rice Coffee and Rice Soy Coffee

Rice Coffee needs to be taken with healthy food and regular exercise to assist in weight loss.

Taken twice daily (mid morning and afternoon)

Rice Coffee is caffeine free with no preservatives and high in vitamin B

Rice Coffee is a natural product made from specially chosen hybrid rice locally grown in the municipality of Banna in the Philippines. Rice Coffee is providing customers with the chance to make their dreams true.

Rice Coffee is a healthy alternative to caffeine coffee. Not aimed to cure diseases.

Rice Coffee and Rice Soy Coffee. International orders accepted. Postage included.

International buyers are reminded that Customs and Quarantine regulations are their responsibility. 

You may ask what does Rice Coffee taste like. I say of the hundreds of varieties of coffee on the market today what does coffee taste like. Rice Coffee has its own unique flavour and aroma.

Rice I like

I like rice.

The three main types of rice are short grain (soft, sticky texture), medium grain (tender and moist) and long grain (firmer, free flowing).

Worldwide there are more than 40,000 different varieties of rice.

Rice is the most important food crop in Asia.  It can be cooked whole and served with stir-fries, sauces, and curries, or made into flour, wine, cakes, vinegar, milk, flakes, noodles, paper, and tea. 

There are at least a dozen different types of rice to choose from at the grocery store: long-grain, short-grain, white, brown, basmati, instant, converted, whew! Which one is best?

Confused about all the different types of rice available? This will help you choose the right rice for your needs.

Looking at rice is a great blog about rice. Just Hungry is a food blog, established in 2003.

I still like rice.

Apple Pie Deluxe

A favourite dessert is apple pie, the one with all apple and little pie. You can usually pick one up from a country bakery or food stall that has been made with more apples than pastry. You could make your own. I like to expand my apple pie into what I call, a deluxe model or apple pie deluxe. It's simple really, I buy a ready made apple pie, carefully cut the top off and fill it up with a can of pears (drain the juice before hand), diced banana and some dried mixed fruit (sultanas, cherry, grape, raisin, orange peel, ginger). Put the top back on, warm it up and serve. I like it warm, others may like ice cream or with custard and cream either way it adds to the apple pie experience. You can soak the mixed fruit in the pear juice before topping your apple pie deluxe if you like.

I buy from our local bakery because they make an awesome apple pie, and its easy to cut the top off. Sometimes when out and about and I spy a cake shop or food stall I will look for an apple pie.

To remove the top use a sharp knife cutting carefully around the inside edge will do nicely. If it crumbles or breaks, just crumble it up some more and sprinkle over the top before you put it in the microwave to warm.

No Apple Pie!

Try any fruit pie from a bakery, add a can of apples to spread over pie, add any other fruit of your choice, heat and eat. This is a Rhubarb Pie with the top off ready for a covering of apples and pears, then warm to eat.

Food is for fun, enjoy it.

Bon Appetite

Feeling Hungry

Two cups (500g) Peas or One 52g Mars Bar

240 calories will take approximately 30 minutes to burn.

Which will you choose.

Eating more green vegetables will fill you up.

If you want to lose weight,

consider your next treat, and eat vegetables.

Exercise and healthy eating will allow you to control your weight.

Peas and Carrots

So much better for you.

With your own choice of herbs and spices.

Add some grilled chicken for protein

or some grilled fish

And now you have a meal to enjoy.

Bon Appetite

 

Bodybuilding from the kitchen

What you should be eating for health and muscle growth. Also suitable for eating healthy when trying to lose some weight. Anything you consume must be accompanied with a suitable exercise regime whether it be walking or a full gym workout.

Of note, Bodybuilders are probably one of the best eaters in the sporting environment. They eat for health and tone, but they eat a lot. If you want to lose weight but still eat a plate full, consider looking at what the bodybuilder consumes. Sure they workout lifting weights and doing cardio but they keep their bodies lean. You to can do the same with a regular exercise regime like walking combined with healthy eating.

If you want detailed information and numbers I have provided ExRx.Net links to valuable books on nutrition, and calculators that will help. Dieting is short term eating until you reach your goal or required weight. When you have reached your goal, normal healthy eating should follow.

Eating should be a pleasure and I believe if you consider a bodybuilders diet you will find what you are looking for here. If you have any medical issues you should seek medical advice before attempting any form of diet or exercise.

What to eat to lose weight

Foods to eat:

Egg Whites (protein)
Poultry white meats skinless (protein)
Fish (protein)
Green vegetables (low carbs)
Fresh Fruit (vitamins)
Salad greens (low carb)
Potatoes no butter or sour cream (medium carbs)

Eat to Lose Weight

In a hierarchy of fatty meats, pork is more fatty than beef, beef is more fatty than poultry with skin on it, poultry with skin is more fatty than skinned poultry, and skinned poultry is more fatty than fish.

Dark meat is somewhat higher in calories than is white meat.

Never fry foods. Cooking oil is pure fat. Grilling is better than boiling.

Avoid full-fat milk products, particularly butter. Full-fat cheese and milk are much higher in calories than low-fat cheese (cottage cheese low fat).

Avoid using oil or commercial dressings on your salads. Add parsley and other herb to salads and use lemon juice and/or vinegar as a dressing.

Dry baked potatoes without butter or sour cream are quite low in calories in proportion to their bulk.

What NOT to Eat

Foods not to eat:

Egg yolks (fat)
Pork and Beef (protein and fat)
Full fat milk products (protein, fat)
Corn (carbs)
Oils (fat)
Nuts, seeds and some grains (protein, fat, carbs)

 

Enhance your eating experience

Use a wide variety of herbs and spices in your cooking. Each herb and spice adds a distinct flavouring to your meat, vegetables and salads and all herbs and spices have a negligible caloric content.

If you must eat bread, use whole-grain bread and don't spread butter, peanut butter, jam, or jelly on it.

Avoid boiling vegetables, steaming is better. Boiling leeches valuable vitamins and minerals from foods. Avoid using butter or oil in cooking vegetables.

Avoid using all forms of sodium (salt) in your diet, since it retains 50 times its weight in water.

Everyone on a diet gets cravings now and then. You will particulary crave fats and refined sugar products. Avoid both. Eat instead naturally sweet fruit, such as watermelon and peaches.

Remember a diet is only short term or goal by goal. At the end of a diet goal you can treat yourself if the desire is there.

Diet to Gain Weight

In a way, dieting to gain weight involves eating a surplus - rather than a deficit - of calories.

It is more important during the weight gainning process to increase your daily intake of proteins, as protein forms the skeletal muscles of your body.

A Bodybuilders Sample Daily Menu

To gain weight

By eating smaller more frequent (every 2 hours) meals you can augment the total daily amount of protein that your body digests and ultimately assimilates as muscle tissue. Supplements are added for those lifting weights. If you are not weight lifting leave the supplements off the menu.

08:00AM Meal 1 - five egg cheese omelet, a piece of fruit, a glass of milk, supplements (for bodybuilders)

10:00AM Meal 2 - protein shake, supplements (for bodybuilders)

12:00 Noon Meal 3 - tuna salad, a glass of milk, supplements (for bodybuilders)

02:00PM Meal 4 - protein shake, supplements (for bodybuilders)

04:00PM Meal 5 - roast beef, baked potato, salad (blue cheese dressing), glass of milk, supplements (for bodybuilders)

06:00PM Meal 6 - fruit flavoured yogurt, boilded eggs, glass of milk, supplements (for bodybuilders)

If you are unable to consume milk because of galactose intollerance, you can still eat hard cheeses from which the lactose has been removed in the manufacturing process.

A Final Word on Diet

It should go without saying that sugar foods, sugar drinks, and fast foods are not going to help in weight control.

When you have reached your goal then allow yourself an indulgence as a reward, if you feel like one.

The age old question on how to lose weight!

I am always fascinated by the number of questions relating to weight loss from teenagers too seniors.  Yes it can be very complicated especially if you are an elite athlete who has to watch everything they eat, but for many of us it can be just a simple task. 

How do I lose weight?

Weight control is simple. You just have to manage it. For some it is easy, for others it is a life time commitment.

How you do it is your choice. There are thousands of weight loss  programs available to you. The TV will show the latest gizmo that will shed pounds in only a few weeks. 

The bottom line is this: To control your weight you need to exercise and eat healthy. Makes good sense and you can start as soon as you stop what you are doing and go for a walk.  You can walk whenever you feel like walking. There is no time limit you just have to walk some. 

Walk before eating. Walk after eating. Walk to the shop. Park your car one street away and walk to work.  Walk up the stairs. Walk down the stairs. Walk to the park. Walk to friends. Walk around the house. Carry a back pack with books to add some weight while you are walking.

Walking will get the heart going and leg mucles moving, arms swinging, lungs working, eyes and head moving as you take in the surroundings. It will allow your body to soak in the sun or wind and rain.  Walking will work the body from toe to head. It will make you feel good. It will give you freedom.

However, walking will only help control your weight if you eat healthy foods.  What you eat does make a difference and you do need to take a look at what you put in your mouth.

Stay away from sugar foods and sugar drinks, or at least reduce the number you do consume.  Dont get caught up in the details, just remember that you need to reduce your sugar intake.  That may require you to only have one soda instead of two, one chocolate instead of many, one dohnut instead of a few. 

What you eat is what you are.  Eat dohnuts and you will look like a dohnut.  Eat too many fast foods and you will be buying clothes to cover it. You must eat but it is also necessary to eat with thought. 

One of my favourite snacks is cottage cheese, and I will have several snacks a day. You can and should snack throughout the day, my choice is Cottage Cheese. Its healthy, high in protein low in fat and sugars.

Many foods can be categorised as being either low in fat, low in sugar or high in protein, but there aren't too many that can make all three claims. Cottage cheese can.

How you choose to lose weigh, or control your weight is a personal choice. We all know weight control is healthy for us and exercise will keep our bodies working in our senior years. Keep weight control simple unless you are an elite athlete or training for a marathon.

I am walking the Philippines, for health, for adventure.

Bamboo Money Pole




Bamboo Money Pole

  I started making bamboo money (moneybox) poles a while back after seeing them in the Philippines. Its a novel way to save money. They vary in colour, size and diameter dependant on the bamboo, and they are roughly 40cm in length.  I sell them for $25 (plus postage and handling) which feeds back into the Philippine community. If you deposit a dollar a week in your bamboo money pole for a year you will have $52!  Great way to save money for the kids. If you would like one leave a message and I will contact you. I use two each year and leave them out at Christmas time for my niece and nephew.  By then they have $52 in each. They have a great time either breaking them open or last year my niece continued to use hers... I might ask her for a loan!

Bamboo is a tree-like woody grass.

The largest concentrations are in China and India.

It can grow more than a foot in one day.

There are more than 1,000 species

In many places bamboo is used as wood for construction work, furniture, utensils, fiber, paper, fuel, and innumerable small articles.

Bamboo sprouts are eaten as a vegetable, and the grains of some species are also utilized for food.

The bamboo has long been used for decorative purposes, both in gardens and in art.

Street view...

The climate is changing. The earth is warming up, and there is now overwhelming scientific consensus that it is happening, and human-induced. With global warming on the increase and species and their habitats on the decrease, chances for ecosystems to adapt naturally are diminishing

One type of ecosystem that perhaps is neglected more than any other is perhaps also the richest in biodiversity—the coral reefs

Around the world, in rich or poor nations, poverty has always been present

In most nations today, inequality—the gap between the rich and the poor—is quite high and often widening

almost half the world—over three billion people—live on less than $2.50 a day and at least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day

Energy security is a growing concern for rich and emerging nations alike. The past drive for fossil fuel energy has led to wars, overthrow of democratically elected leaders, and puppet governments and dictatorships

A combination of the global financial crisis, rising costs of living, high unemployment — especially of educated youth, frustration from decades of living under authoritarian and corrupt regimes, various document leaks revealing more details about how governments around the world are dealing and viewing each other, have all combined in different ways in various countries, leading to a wave of rising anger

As the Arab world continues to pitch and heave with flashes of popular uprisings here and sparks of brutal crackdowns there, analysts are painting a grim picture of the regional unrest's economic consequences, predicting the persistence of high oil prices in the coming years

World hunger is a terrible symptom of world poverty. If efforts are only directed at providing food, or improving food production or distribution, then the structural root causes that create hunger, poverty and dependency would still remain

Many nations around the world today possess, or have the means to procure, weapons of mass destruction. They may be nuclear, chemical, biological or other types of weapons, which can be delivered through a variety of means. It is mainly the more powerful wealthy countries that have such weapons although some poorer nations are also acquiring them

A new day dawns in the Philippines.

The early morning view from the front porch of a friends house...

...as the sun awakens...

...towards the road which runs between these fish farms...

...the front porch...

Building a house in the Philippines on a budget...

Many foreigners have undertaken and also written about their adventures of building a home in the Philippines. As I approach my latter years it has crossed my mind to also pursue the idea of living in the Philippines. I have read a number of articles, blogs, reviews, peoples thoughts, ideas, mishaps, success and will continue to read and ponder on these as I too build in the Philippines. There is always the good and the bad, but I believe that is anywhere you go, we can not pick our neighbours but we can choose our location.

Three years ago my friend in the Philippines asked if she could buy some land.  It was a small block of land between two houses, backing onto a minor river tributary.  The area is subject to flooding in the wet season but the ground here is slightly higher and the surrounding houses had been there for many years, probably since the war or before. So she acquired the land. It is important that you get the land in your name, it can take years but you want to know that you own it. Land ownership in the Philippines is a problem and not always a simple process.  Foreigners can not own land so you need to consider your options carefully. For me this not a concern. I can give my friend something she and her family could not dream of ever owning. Poverty is wide spread in the Philippines.  It also allows me to take on this project, invest in something worthwhile and have a  place to visit and reside at when I am there. Some will say it is a risk.  Life is a risk, live it or put your feet up!

I watched a short documentary about a women who had retired and was living in Bali on the pension. She lived in a nice comfortable house, had a maid, housekeeper, enjoyed life in what seemed to be paradise. And perhaps it is.  When I consider what lays ahead for me here I look at alternatives. Many many years ago I remember a colleague who retired and went to live somewhere in Spain on the coast. He said it was cheap and he could live quite nicely there on his pension. I doubt you can do that now. I don't wish to just retire to the living room, put my feet up and drink tea wearing slippers. Living overseas may just hold the future and adventure.

Then two years ago my friend came to me with a house plan.  Two story just in case the river rose or the big rains came. The builder was a friend of a friend, had built many houses, could be trusted. Houses are made from concrete. Concrete slabs, concrete blocks, concrete pillars. Concrete withstands the wet. All you need do is travel around the Philippines to see concrete structures. So we went ahead and began the actual build.  The land was cleared, the foundations were laid, the slab was laid, the walls began to rise. The Filipinos are good workers.

I undertook this project with a budget in mind and a time frame of three years. No rush just let it all plod along, no stress, no deadlines. Do what can be done with funds available at the time, and refinance for the next stage.  And that is what I am doing. 

The structure rose block by block, the first floor was started, walls went up, more concrete.  The building as such, I have been assured, will stand the test of time: earthquake, cyclones, wind, rain and flood. I guess I like neat lines and structures which is not the way it seems to be done here. However the builder tells me his houses will last. Given the appearance and ages of other structures in the area still standing I can believe it. 

At the start of this the third year we made some alterations to the house by extending some walls which required the re-enforcing of some ground floor walls.  And the roof was started and finished in 6 weeks, delays because of rain.  Corrugated tin roof, red finish, metal frame work fixed to the wall tops. So now we have a house in lock up mode. The next stage is to finish the interior and exterior.   While there is no rush on the interior I will endeavour to have it completed this year. As to the outside, I intend to have it rendered and coloured.

The house is not big, the intention is to be adequate and comfortable. There are three bedrooms upstairs, the master bedroom with balcony, two reasonable sized smaller bedrooms, and a family room that will double as a bedroom with CR, and awesome views over the river. On the ground level is the kitchen, CR, shower/bath room, eating area, large family room and front porch. All rooms have windows including the front and rear of the house. Eventually there will be two high pillared gates at the front of the property protecting a small garden area leading to the porch and front door.

The budget was $10,000AU and I should fall within that figure which allows for some additional expense on finishing the inside with tiling and fancy stair railing, and who knows maybe some bamboo furniture.  At the end of the day it will be a 'nice little house in the country by a river'. 

Hidden Treasure

There were once a husband and his wife who were very poor. They had a little plot of ground that helped to sustain them, but as the man was sick the woman went to work alone.

As she was weeding in the fields she found a malapad, and after a little she found another, and so on until she had a sec-apat.  With this she returned home and bought rice, but she was afraid to tell her husband lest he be jealous.

The next day she went to work and on this day she found a silver peso. As she reached the edge of the field a voice spoke to her saying, "Tell no one of your good fortune, not even your husband, and you shall have more treasure." Afterwards she went to the field, and daily she found a peso until she had five pesos, which she hid in a safe place.

On the seventh day she went to the field, but found nothing. She went to the edge of the field to boil her rice, and was blowing her fire when she heard the same voice again saying, "Never mind boiling your rice, but dig there under your pallok, and you will find more than enough. Tell no one, not even your husband, of what you find." She dug down and there she found a great jar filled to the brim with gold pieces. She took one or two, and hastily covered up the rest and went home. Like a good wife she disliked to keep a secret from her husband, and finally she took him off to a quiet place and told him of their good fortune.

He, overjoyed, could not restrain himself and went into the village and told every one of the treasure trove. Then they went to dig it up, but it was no longer there. Even the gold and the five pesos already saved and hid in another secret place were gone, and they were as poor as they had been before.

How foolish they were to disobey the command of the voice!

The Light of the Fly

The firefly abounds everywhere in the Islands.

The King of the Air was in terrible rage, for some one had stolen his ring; and every one wondered whoever could dare to do such a terrible thing. He called all his subjects together and said, "To him that shall find it I'll give whatever he asks, and this bounty of mine shall last while his family live."

Away went his good loyal subjects to search, and no one remained but a fly. "Be off!" said the King, "go and join in the search; would you slight such a ruler as I?" Then up spoke the fly with his little wee voice: "The ring is not stolen," he said. "It stuck to your crown when you put it away, and now it's on top of your head."

The King in surprise took the crown from his head, and there, sure enough, was the ring. "No wonder you saw it, with so many eyes; but what is your wish?" said the King. "O King," said the fly, "I work hard all the day, and I never can go out at night. I should like to go then and be gay with my friends, so all that I wish is a light."

"You shall have it at once," said the gratified King, and he fastened a light to the fly, who straightway returned to his home with the prize. That was worth more than money could buy. So now you can see him at night with his light and from him this lesson may learn: To keep your eyes open and see the least thing, and fortune will come in its turn.