Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Noah's Ark Recreated

Noah's Ark Recreated - July 30, 2012

A modern day Noah's Ark, built using measurements described in the Bible, has opened to the public in Holland. It was created by the wealthy building contractor Johan Huibers, after he had a dream that the Netherlands would be flooded. More at Sky News.

Monday, July 30, 2012

There are 13, not 12, Aurora theater shooting fatalities

Michelle Malkin shared a link.
about an hour ago
There are 13, not 12, Aurora theater shooting fatalities. Ashley Moser -- mother of 6-year-old Veronica, the youngest victim who died in the theater -- suffered a miscarriage over the weekend as a result of extensive critical injuries. Yet, authorities reportedly will not charge the alleged shooter with the 13th murder.

Where is the justice for unborn victims?

Michelle Malkin » The 13th fatality of the Aurora theater shooting — and justice for unborn victims
michellemalkin.com
The 13th fatality of the Aurora theater shooting — and justice for unborn

Microsoft leaks the release date of its Surface tablet

PCWorld
Microsoft leaks the release date of its Surface tablet, will you be waiting in line for one?

Microsoft Leaks Surface Tablet Launch Date in SEC Filingwww.pcworld.com
Microsoft has not revealed when it plans to release its Surface tablet, saying only it will become available about the same time as Windows 8.

Richard Branson's 5 Rules for Good Business

BY RICHARD BRANSON | 6 hours ago|1

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

During a recent radio interview on the BBC, the host asked me what advice I would give to young people who want to start their own businesses. In the 46 years since I launched Student magazine, the world has certainly changed. The uncertain economic outlook and the relentless pace of technological advances make replicating Virgin’s success much more challenging for today’s young entrepreneur.

At Student magazine, we expressed our opposition to the Vietnam War and the Cold War; these days, governments now face the more nebulous threat of terrorism and instability in the Middle East and Africa. Back then, American and European markets were generally stable; today, the economic power of Western nations is being challenged by the fast-growing economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China, and growth opportunities and new markets can be found around the world.

There is also marketers’ new ability to bypass traditional channels -- TV, radio and newspapers -- and build a strong following online for their companies via Twitter, Google+, Facebook and new applications such as Path and Klout. This means that most startups are able to launch with smaller marketing budgets, and that entrepreneurs can break into new markets fast. It also means that successful companies must defend their positions, because their products can go out of fashion just as quickly as they caught on.

But during the radio interview I found myself arguing that while the world may be changing quickly, the steps to building a good business have not. The five simple guidelines we followed when we started the magazine and then Virgin Music remain as valid and useful as they were in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

1. If you don’t enjoy it, don’t do it. You must love what you do.
2. Be innovative: Create something different that will stand out.
3. Your employees are your best asset. Happy employees make for happy customers.
4. Lead by listening: Get feedback from your staff and customers on a regular basis.
5. Be visible: Market the company and its offers by putting yourself or a senior person in front of the cameras.

Virgin Media founded its Pioneers program to promote aspiring business people and help them to network. One of our best known pioneers is Jamal Edwards, the founder of SB.TV, an online music and lifestyle channel, whose company and business model remind me of Virgin’s in our early days.

When Edwards started out, his company was just himself and his camera; he started posting videos of rap performances for his online followers. He was doing what he loved, and soon he developed a cult following for his passionate, innovative and authentic early videos of musical events.

Once he had established a brand and a following, Edwards and his team extended SB.TV’s reach into more areas, including music and lifestyle, merchandise, clothing and even a record label. Traditional brands like Puma and Nando’s (the fast-food chain) started calling, wanting to discuss deals and endorsements.

Edwards has also made his own luck by spotting talent. In 2010 a struggling singer-songwriter sent a video to SB.TV that was accepted and placed on the company’s YouTube channel. The views kept racking up, and eventually the rapper Example offered the unsigned young singer a chance to tour with him. This was none other than Ed Sheeran, whose career was effectively launched by SB.TV.

Edwards remains very busy and very visible, promoting SB.TV and himself wherever he can -- on his website, in partnership with Google Chrome and in the media, he tells the story of his company and their dreams and successes, getting the message out. And he knows that good business depends on backing your people and being a good listener. Despite his early successes, he remains down to earth, always willing to listen and constantly trying new ventures.

If you have the right idea and execute properly, your startup’s launch date does not matter. While the business environment has changed, the basic rules remain the same. Rather than getting nostalgic about how things used to be, embrace the new opportunities and challenges available to you now.

Read more stories about: Leadership, Richard Branson, Inspiration

Richard Branson's 5 Rules for Good Business

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Wednesday, July 25, 2012

The Success Myth

The Success Myth

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By Heidi Grant Halvorson

Thomas KosaAuthor, Heidi Grant Halvorson

Quick: Think of a successful person. Someone who isreally good at what they do.

Now, in a word or phrase, tell me why that person has been so successful. What makes them so good?

Obviously, I can’t hear your answer. But I’d be willing to wager that it had something to do with innate ability.

“He’s so brilliant.”

“She’s a genius.”

“He’s a natural leader.”

These are the kinds of answers people — particularly Americans — tend to give when you ask them why certain individuals have enjoyed so much success.

Pro athletes, tech whizzes, bold entrepreneurs, accomplished musicians, gifted writers: We marvel at their extraordinary aptitude, assuming they must have won the DNA lottery to be so good at what they do.

Deep down, many of us believe that the key ingredient to success is innate ability. So, naturally, we try to stick to doing the things that come easily to us, while avoiding wasting time and energy on the things that don’t. (How many times have you heard someone say “I’m just not a math person”? How many times have you said it?)

This would all be fine, if success really were all about innate ability.

But it isn’t. It isn’t even mostly about innate ability.

When you study achievement for a living, as I do, one of the first things you learn is that measures of “ability” (like IQ) do a shockingly poor job of predicting future success. Intelligence, creativity, willpower, social skill aptitudes like these are not only profoundly malleable (i.e., they grow with experience and effort), but they are just one small piece of the achievement puzzle.

So, what does predict success? Research tells us it’s using the right strategies that leads to accomplishment and achievement. Sounds simple, but strategies like being committed, recognizing temptations, planning ahead, monitoring your progress, persisting when the going gets tough, making an effort, and perhaps most importantbelieving you can improve, can make all the difference between success and failure.

The problem with thinking that success is all about ability, is that it can lead to crippling self-doubt. When something doesn’t come easily, we assume that we “just don’t have what it takes,” and we stop trying. We close doors, robbing ourselves of opportunities to realize our full potential.

By contrast, studies show that people who believe that their skills and abilities can grow not only succeed more, but they also enjoy their work more, cope more effectively with challenges, and experience less anxiety and depression.

So the next time you find yourself thinking, “I’m just not good at this,” remember, you’re just not good at it yet.

Heidi Grant Halvorson is Associate Director of the Motivation Science Center at Columbia Business School. She is the author of Succeed and Nine Things Successful People Do Differently.

Keep the Passion in Your Relationship

Keep the Passion in Your Relationship

Many find that after years of marriage, the intimacy may be less present -- but there are small ways to easily change that.

5 more tips to boost the passion

Three Reasons You Should Switch to Office 365

Three Reasons You Should Switch to Office 365

By Tony Bradley, PCWorld

Office 2013 will soon be here, along with a new and improved version of the cloud-based Office 365. If you’re looking to upgrade, you have to decide whether the traditional desktop version of Office is the way to go, or if Office 365 is a better fit for your needs.

Similar Articles:

Office 2013: What We Still Don't Know

New Service Connects BlackBerry to Office 365

Microsoft Office 2013: A Tour of the New Office Suite's User Interface

Google Apps vs. Office 365 vs. Zoho Docs: Cloud-Based Office Suites Showdown

Microsoft Office 365 Review: Online Productivity Suite Offers Top-Notch Integration

RIM Regains Mojo With BlackBerry Cloud Service and Office 365

There are a few compelling arguments in favor of Office 365. Let’s take a look at three reasons Office 365 might be the right choice:

Office 2013 is impressive, but Office 365 is a better value in most cases.1. Cost

Microsoft hasn’t yet shared what the price tag will be for the new Office 2013. But, unless it follows the same bold path laid out in offering Windows 8 for a mere $40, history suggests the new productivity suite will start somewhere in the $150 neighborhood.

Office 365 plans start at $4 per month. Small businesses can get access to Exchange, SharePoint, and Lync in addition to the core Office productivity applications for only $6 per month. Larger businesses that want to take advantage of Active Directory integration can do so for $8 per user per month.

Breaking those down, it takes more than three years to reach $150 based on the $4 per month plan, and more than 18 months under the $8 per month plan. The 18 months is less time than a business typically gets out of an investment in the desktop Office software, but it also comes with more than the software itself.

Of course, those are the current subscription prices and plans for Office 365, so those figures are subject to change as well.

2. Updates and Maintenance

What else do you get with your Office 365 subscription? An IT department. Sure, you can set up your own Exchange Server, SharePoint Server, and Lync infrastructure. You can manage and maintain the desktop Microsoft Office software, and install the patches and updates every month yourself. How much will that cost?

Consider that implementing the same capabilities in-house requires servers, and network infrastructure, and IT personnel to install, manage, update, and maintain it all. Plus, you still have to buy and maintain the Office software itself.

With Office 365, Microsoft takes care of all the dirty work so you don’t have to. Updates, patches, and upgrades just happen in the background without you needing to worry about it. When the server crashes, its Microsoft’s problem. When a hard drive needs to be replaced, Microsoft will handle it. You get the benefits of using Office without any of the headaches of updating and maintaining it all.

3. Accessibility

Office 365 lives in the cloud. That means you have access to Word, Excel, Outlook, and other Microsoft Office tools from anywhere you can get a Web connection, and from virtually any device--Windows or Mac desktops and laptops, Android devices, iPhones, iPads, and other smartphones and tablets.

Office Web Apps provide basic features and functions for free.This isn’t quite the selling point it once was for a couple reasons. First, even with the desktop Office 2013 suite Microsoft is pushing users to save files to the cloud-based SkyDrive, or to a SharePoint server by default. So, there’s no reason the data can’t be accessible regardless of whether you choose Office 2013 or Office 365.

The second reason it may not be all that compelling is that Office Web Apps are already available for free from the SkyDrive site. So, even without Office 365 users can create, view, and edit Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote files from the Web.

For businesses, though, SharePoint, Active Directory, and other elements of Office 365 that go beyond simply creating and editing Office documents still make Office 365 a better value.

Your mileage will vary of course. There are a number of factors involved in calculating the cost of purchasing, installing, configuring, updating, and maintaining Microsoft Office and the accompanying back-end services versus the ongoing subscription costs associated with Office 365. Office 365 is a solid service providing tremendous bang for the buck, though, so it won’t be easy to beat the value it brings to the table.

10 Secrets for Creating Awesome Excel Tables

10 Secrets for Creating Awesome Excel Tables Excel Tables offer a range of features for working with list-style data.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Former Navy SEAL Tells You How to Protect Yourself in a Situation Like the Colorado Shooting

Tips: Former Navy SEAL Tells You How to Protect Yourself in a Situation Like the Colorado Shooting
by America Live Posted in: Aurora, Brandon Webb, Colorado,James Holmes, Movie Theater Shooting, Navy SEALs

Brandon Webb, a former Navy SEAL, joined America Live to give his tips for how you can protect yourself should you find yourself in a situation similar to the Colorado shooting.

Webb’s tips include carrying a tactical flashlight, which can blind someone for three to four seconds in the daylight. “What this does is buys you time and really creates space to really have a plan and get out of there,” Webb said.RELATED LINKS:

Talking Points: O’Reilly on Gun Control in the Wake of the Colorado Shooting
Watch the Video: Accused Gunman James Holmes Makes First Court Appearance Following Colorado Massacre
Fallen Navy SEAL’s Dog Refuses to Leave Master’s Side at Funeral
FACTOR INTERVIEW: America’s Most Lethal Sniper Chris Kyle Details His 150 Certified Kills, Reveals Why He Punched Jesse Ventura

He also pointed out that we should all become more aware of situations around us, noting that he sees people staring down at their cell phones all of the time while walking on the street. “In these active shooter situations, if you look historically, most of these shooters, they are not well-experienced marksmen. So for one, hitting a moving target is very hard […] I think people don’t realize you can get up and run and take action. Get up and out of that movie theater.”

“You have to think self-rescue in these situations. Closing your eyes and hoping that it’s going to go away is just not the case,” Webb said.

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Monday, July 23, 2012

The Greatest Speech Ever Made

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Book printed in ink that vanishes after two months

View Photo

Ink disappears after two weeks

View Photo

Invitation for the launch of 'the book that can't wait'

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The book that can't wait

We’ve seen a few innovations that have offered a twist on traditional reading habits, from offering short works by new authors based on the duration of train delays to a temporary edible book made of pasta and a smokeable book with pages made from rolling papers, printed with the lyrics of rapper Snoop Dogg. Taking elements of both of these ideas, Buenos Aires-based bookshop and publisher Eterna Cadencia has released El Libro que No Puede Esperar – which translates as ‘The Book that Cannot Wait’ – an anthology of new fiction from Latin American authors printed in ink that disappears after two months of opening the book.

Silk-screened using a special pink ink, the book comes sealed in air-tight packaging that, once opened, allows the printed material to react with the atmosphere. The result is that after two months, the text vanishes. The more the text is exposed to light the faster it disappears, so unread pages may retain the text as long as the reader doesn't skip ahead in the book. The ink is made from a "secret" formula that is highly reactive with sunlight and air.

With much discussion currently centering on portable electronic readers and e-books, deemed to be bringing about the death of the physical novel, the creators aimed to add a bit of magic to the anthology, as well as encourage buyers to actually read it once they’ve received it instead of leaving it in their ‘to do’ pile. As the authors inside are all previously unpublished, the concept, developed with help from ad agency Draftfcb, acts as a way to ensure that readers engage with as much of the material as possible while they have the chance. The sense of urgency was important for the publishers to encourage readers to give new authors a chance and force them to digest the content quickly.

The book has proven popular with Argentinian customers, with the first printed batch selling out on the first day it was put on sale. There is no word from the publishers on what they propose readers should do with the book once the text has vanished — however, leatherbound and with thick pages, it could easily be re-used as a high quality journal, for example.El Libro que No Puede Esperar adds an element of urgency to reading — motivating readers, promoting authors and benefiting physical book publishers by creating a buzz around a new release. Is this a business model that is as shortlived as its product, or could this be developed into something more sustainable?

Related articles from Springwise.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Does this accurately breakdown the difference between men and women?

His and Her Diary From the Same Day. (view here)

www.allproudamericans.com

Not sure if women are too complicated, or men are too simple.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Michelle Bernstein’s Watermelon & Tomato Salad With Feta and Olives

MAY 16, 2012

Ingredients & Directions

4 cups seedless water melon or regular, seeded watermelon, diced ½ inch (about one quarter of a medium)
2 large beefsteak tomatoes cut into 8 wedges each
2 cups ¼ inch-thick diagonal slices peeled English (seedless hothouse) cucumbers
1 cup crumbled feta cheese, preferably French (about 4 ounces)
1 cup pitted Niçoise olives
2 Tbsp dill leaves
Red Wine Vinaigrette (recipe on next tab)

Put the watermelon, tomatoes, cucumber, feta, olives, and dill in a large bowl. Drizzle with half the vinaigrette and toss gently, taking care not to break up the fruit and vegetables. Add more dressing if desired and toss again.

This salad can be made the night before you serve it and refrigerated, but in that case, don’t add the watermelon until ready to serve; refrigerate the watermelon separately. Let the salad and watermelon come to room temperature and toss together just before serving.

Divide among four to six salad plates and serve.

Michelle Bernstein’s Watermelon & Tomato Salad With Feta and Olives

MAY 16, 2012

Ingredients & Directions

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp za’atar (optional; can be found at Middle Eastern markets)
½ cup olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Put the vinegar, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano and za’atar in a small bowl. Whisk in the olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. The vinaigrette can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to three days.

http://305fit.org/2012/05/16/michelle-bernsteins-watermelon-tomato-salad-with-feta-and-olives/