Smart Radio Spotify

I'm not even sure if it technically falls into the radio category...

But they have sponsors on the "free version" which of course all you smart people will be installing - so I'm sticking with the radio label.

Anyway I stumbled across this little music gem whilst doing a little research about the whole 'Pirate Bay' scenario. If you don't know what I' talking about better that way sometimes.

To be quite honest I'm a music lover and if I cant listen to exactly my mood for the day I'm not at my best!... Anyway spotify loaded with some crazy localised advertising, seem to be a UK based Beta at the moment, but if you pick-it up outside the UK let us know.

It's got some rather cool features with mixing your tasts and allowing you to select music to be played from certain decades, chosen by you.

Its Legal music file sharing, I like the sound of that... On their website they say we ain't gotta pay because of the sponsored ads (which you can opt out of, by paying a fee of £10.00 pm) umm that's steep!

On the free version I've been listen too I've had a great few day's full of Marley and Eminem mixed into a beautiful stew, I've even heard songs and versions I'd never heard before exept when the British Gas ad pops in, it's great steaming.

Smart pice of kit! I like it.

Smart Technology Saves You Time

Technology should work for you, not against you. It's meant to save you time and money. So for social butterflies, like myself, who have a number of IM accounts with say, Yahoo, MSN, Google Talk and then a few different email accounts and then even more social networking accounts (Facebook, Twitter, MySpace), a solution is required that consolidates all of them in one place. Cue my wonderful friend Digsby.

With Digsby, I've set up my 3 email accounts, 4 social networking accounts and 3 chat accounts. It's configured to start up with my pc or laptop and immediately I can see if I have new emails, can check Facebook for any updates and know who's available to chat without the slog of having to log into all the the IM accounts individually.

So what else can this sweet little tool do? Well you don't just get to see what's happening. You can also update your status, delete those new emails, mark them as read or report them as spam. You can set your preferences to suit your needs...timestamps, buddy icons, notifications, the works.

Best thing since sliced bread? No...Better.

Opposites: Optimism or Pessimism

Don't blame me for this... This blog owner asked for a new entry. I guess the last one wasn't enough of this old man.

What do you know abut Taoism?


I know nothing at all about Taoism except this story:


An old farmer's son found a great white stallion. His neighbor said, "My, how fortunate you are with your son finding that great horse."

Farmer: It could be good or it could be bad.

The horse bucked, his son fell and broke his leg. The neighbor told him how sad he was that his son had the misfortune of breaking his leg.

Farmer: It could be good or it could be bad.

A war lord came through gathering all able young men for war. The farmer's son was left behind with his broken leg. Again the neighbor said, how fortunate the man was that his son was not taken.

Farmer: It could be good or it could be bad.

The farmer is neither an optimist or a pessimist. It is all luck to him and good or bad at that.

When it rains, the optimist sees flowers and good crops coming. The pessimist prepares for a flood by building an arc.

The dreams of the optimist often come true. He sees the vision and he reaps the harvest.

The dreams of the pessimist come true too and he fails. He reaps the whirlwind.

So, will your dreams come true and are they positive dreams of success?

If they are, you will be the winner.

John

Are You Buying Postconsumer Content?

'Or' Are you buying recycled?

Just as important as recycling all of your rubbish is the act of “closing the circle” by buying stuff made of recycled materials. Keeping recyclable materials out of the trash heap is only the first step in ensuring the true value of recycling.

The high demand for eco-friendly products encourages manufacturers because of the financial benefits to use more of these materials. Belief that recycled products are more expensive or of poorer quality has consistently proven to be tosh. A recent Buy Recycled Business Alliance survey reports that 97% of respondents are satisfied with the performance of recycled products.

Try it for yourself compare products side-by-side to demonstrate the strength and quality of recycled products. Additional studies have shown that most of these products cost less than 5% more than comparable products made of virgin (non-recycled) content. Often the cost is the same or recycled materials even cost less.

Buying recycled products is easy. Just check the labels on the stuff you buy. Important to look out for is “Postconsumer content,” which means the product is made at least in part of materials we would usually throw away as waste.


To have a major impact, try to buy paper towels with at least 30% postconsumer content. Other great things to buy that are made from recyclables include aluminum cans, toilet tissue, trash bags, egg cartons, and glass containers. More and more of these products are available all the time, so support their manufacturers and keep the cycle going!

Borrow from time a peaceful tomorrow

I was researching poetry with my daughter for a school project led us to Helium and we came across something that has a lot to say in so little words . I do hope it's hopefully helpful. Beth says I should give 'my own' interpretation of the poem here. Maybe later ...

To Push Forward

Always find all possible ways
Chase so that success you can trace
Face the task as courage ever pays
Grace of God comes, if a soul prays

Fear not, instead have cheer
Dear friend, please shed no tear
Hear my word, for you, I am here
Near us is God in the atmosphere

Gather strength let it not wither
Bother not, but be bold dear brother
Altogether love changes mind’s weather
Feather-touch of God soothes like ether

Throw away worry to strongly grow
Narrow thoughts produce sorrow
Borrow from time a peaceful tomorrow
A zero becomes by hard-work a hero

Stay with hope to win the day
Say a prayer to make Angels obey
Play life-game keeping worry away
To allay fear, may help this little lay.

by M V Venkataraman

How To Make Foods Last Longer

I've never been a fan of wasting or throwing away food especially in these tough times.

You can make foods last longer by applying some very simple tricks that are not too commonly known. Here's a very helpful video on making foods last longer.

A plan to achieve your goals.

Have you ever felt like your doing what your are supposed to do but you don't seem to be getting anywhere?

Last week I was out shopping and I bumped into an old employee of mine 'Claire. She was one of those exceptional employees, priceless to a business, Claire added value to everything she touched she was one of the best budding managers I had the pleasure to develop.

We both had a few bags and decided to have a sit down a coffee and a catch-up. It had been almost 3 years since I last saw at a Claire.

She mentioned how she seemed to be standing still in her own life goals. Work seemed to be standing still. and she was unsure which direction to go and had a few options within the company. Her life outside of work seemed to be standing still almost waiting for something to happen.

So I pulled out a little pad that I had in my coat pocket which made us both burst into laughter. (As chance would have it I had written my shopping list on a page of one of my old little work note pads, the exact kind I used to buy all my employees to keep there to-do lists in!)

We went through an old exercise that make things a little clearer. at the end of coffee, Claire had a 2 new clear lists and a plan:

1. Her work achievements.
2. Her life achievements.

Claire wasn't standing still in life at all, she was merely too close to see what steps she had taken and achieved towards her end goals. Once we plotted the start to the end it was easy for Claire to see. She had actually taken some big steps that did need taking and actually milestones were reached.

I've found that making a simple list is great for helping me to plan for success. I take a single sheet of paper at the top of the sheet write my current status ... then the end of the sheet of paper the goal or result of that I want to achieve, then I can plot all the steps in the middle a lot easier.

Ticking off all the steps along the way makes me feel a whole lot happier too.