davidwilson's comments

I work somewhat in the GIS space and I do a lot of conversions using a mix of apps and a few ugly hacks - so this would be immensely useful to me.

However, I guess price is your sticking point, but let me elaborate.

For people that work full time in GIS, many of the conversions you offer can be done with some very standard GIS apps that such full time professionals will likely already own. So in other words, your market is _exactly_ people like me who aren't completely immersed in GIS but make use of some simple mapping and GIS scripting from time to time.

And for people like me, $10 is asking to much - especially when we can piece together a few odds and ends and come up with a little script or an ugly conversion tool that does the job.

So, what is the perfect price point? You'll have to play around, but I guess at least a quarter of that would make it worthwhile. In fact, I would aim for something around the $1 mark - but that's up to you.

I'd suggest taking a look at the ocrterminal.com model. They offer a similar product, with a real easy registration process and a few free conversions each month.

There are plenty of other great (and by the looks of it maybe even better) graphing utilities out there - including Excel.

It looks like people have covered some of the other points I would have raised - except for these two. (1) Your audience already owns Excel, and they won't stop owning if they use your service. Don't forget that. (2) People use graphs to show other people their conclusions. They do it using either Powerpoint (or Prezi etc, but mostly Powerpoint.) If your charts can't plug in to a presentation utility, you'll lose a lot of users. If they _can_ plug into a presentation utility, you need to make that clear up front.

- Take a look at oomfo (from the fusion charts guys) to get an idea of what I'm thinking of.

I had a similar goal when I was your age. I am now 27 and if things keep going like they are, I guess I'll reach the target even before I'm 30.

Some tips from my small experience so far.

(1) Don't take life to seriously. When I was in college, I started a simple business that kept very good pocket money flowing in - like your textbook business _might_. I spent every single cent that business brought in. I reckoned that after I graduated, my first couple paychecks will probably cover 3 years worth of pocket money savings. They did.

(2) Being a billionaire by 30 requires something extraordinary. Being a millionaire doesn't. The best way to do it is by working hard, saving money and being really good at something most companies will pay you for doing. You don't even need to be excellent - just really good, That, combined with a disciplined saving mentality will get you there quickly. It helps to live with your parents for as long as absolutely possible.

(3) When you start earning real money (after graduating - or maybe before if things go well) then save up a nice little bit. Invest in shares and so on, like you are doing now, but as soon as you can, buy a little house and start renting it out. Then pay it off and get another. And another. You'll hit that million mark pretty quickly that way.

'Smart' is a very loosely defined concept. Let's assume for the time being that by smart, you mean, 'being able to creatively solve problems.' This, fortunately, is a skill you can learn. Here are some pointers you might find useful.

(1) Get rid if your TV. Dumping my TV probably had the single largest impact on the effective use of my time. You will be amazed at how much more creative you can be when you no longer have an excuse to lounge about for an hour or so at a time.

(2) Don't 'study' your academics. Ignore the marks altogether and learn stuff for the sake of it being interesting to you. Study chapters outside the syllabus and ignore ones in it that might be boring. You may sacrifice results in the short run but your long term understanding and passion for the subject will be of great benefit in the long run.

(3) Be endlessly curious. Make an effort to figure out how things around you work, or why they work that way. Seriously, take a cigarette lighter apart from time to time just for the sake of solving the how. Drive a different route home just to see where it goes and why.

(4) Don't be afraid to fix things that break. Always make an effort to fix some or other mechanical thing that breaks around the house. You'll be surprised how this improves your patience and problem solving skills.

(5) Spend time with smart people. Watching them solve problems and how they think will give you something to work towards.

Being 19, you still have a lot of time to get smart - so put in the effort now and by the time you're finished college, you'll probably be nicely along the road to better, more creative, problem solving.

The more I think about your symptoms, the more I am reminded of Graves' disease. Very rare in men but the other symptoms seem to fit.

But just take note here that I am not a doctor - just a well read person interested in medical matters.

I agree. Overlooking Africa probably has more to do with so many (and cheaper to exploit) opportunities back home than it does with not being interested in Africa.

I fail to see how the consequences could be any more ugly than a guy armed with a RFID tag outside his body?