Respectful ways to say "NO"!

I am generally someone who has difficulty saying "NO" to anything or anyone. Thus, I tend to take too many things at once and sometimes get myself buried.

I'm sure there are others like me out there. Hope you benefit (as much as I did) from an article titled 20 Ways to tell someone NO By Ramona Creel

Among these, here are my favorites:
"I can't right now, but I can do it later"
"I can't, but let me give you the name of someone who can"
"I've learned in the past that this really isn't my strong suit"
"I'm sure you will do a wonderful job on your own"

(However, none of these would help, if you were looking for a way to say "No", when a guy proposes!)

Blogging motivation!

I received a few blogging motivation vitamins during the past couple of days!

* I am honored to be the blog of the day !

* My post on 7 Ways - How not to annoy people was recently featured on Top 7 Business.

Begin with the end in mind

I had my phone with me to capture this hilarious sight. It’s a picture of a washroom I recently visited. (For my security reasons, I shall not mention where!) I couldn’t resist the temptation to write a post about this.

Clearly, the door has been fixed first. I believe that the plumber has fitted the rest, with the door opened! I’m guessing, he realized that the door couldn’t be closed, only after completion. Initially, I thought some rectification operation would follow. However, it has been a few weeks, and the state sill remains the same.

Let me analyze this a bit.
Obviously, there must have been a business need, to install an additional toilet.
* Was a feasibility study done?
* Did an architect get involved in the design?
* Was the task deadline so slim, that there wasn’t time to do these things?
* Does project management consider this a 100% complete task? (After all, the plumber completed his “job”.)

I really don’t have any answers to those questions. However, how useful is a toilet, if one can’t close the door? ha ha! So, No the business need wasn’t met.

I didn’t write this post to criticize anyone. I wanted to take this example (incidental gleaning aha) to illustrate the fact that, we usually start something, without giving much thought about the expected end result.

Think Tank : "Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending"
~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

5 Tips - To create your own blog

Before the launch of my blog, I had to swim through several search engines to obtain necessary information. So today, being the first month anniversary of my blog, I thought it would be appropriate to share my blogging gleanings with you.

These were the steps I took, to get my blog up and running.

#1. Find a blog publishing service
To me, the battle was between blogger, typed and wordpress. If you are willing to spend a few dollars there are other contenders! The following articles helped me decide, on one.
* How to blog has a comparison between MovableType vs TypePad vs Blogger vs b2evolution vs WordPress.
* Blogging on the free web has a few thoughts built upon How to blog.
* Andy Wibbels discuss the structure of a few popular blog platforms.
* Kingsley Tagbo has an interesting post on how to compare blog software

#2. Choose a template
There are number of fancy templates out there. I did browse through the under mentioned sites, even though in the end choose to stick to the simple blogger template.
* Thur's Templates is a templates showroom, with a good selection.
* Blog Fashions has some free blog templates are compatible with Movable Type.
* Blogger Templates offers templates dedicated to Blogger.

#3. Write!
I'll admit, writing the first post was very difficult. It took a considerable amount of time and effort. I have written several posts thus far and I can honestly say that writing has become a lot easier and enjoyable along the way.
Most blogs are dedicated to a specific area. I would advice you to find an area that you are curious and interest about. Once you get started it will be like typing email!
* Lifehack.org has a post on 50 tools which can help you in writing. I highly recommend that you visit this one!
* website101 has Top 10 Blog Writing Tips
* How to write for the web contains a few short and sweet tips.

#4. Motivate yourself
Isn't that the case with most things these days! You need to identify the factors that motivate you to keep writing. E.g. comments, the number of visitors
* A-Z-of-professional-blogging is a list of valuable resource links.

#5. Hibernate
Try always to provide the visitors with content worthy of their time. However, adhering to that, is not easy! There comes a period where you just run out of ideas. Ideas will eventually return, until then don't post anything. Basically, don't write any posts, if you think they are not "up to the standard".


Think Tank: "What we have to learn to do, we learn by doing" ~ Aristotle

The recipe of the ‘ideal’ person

I am going to exercise your imagination a bit today. Imagine that you are given a recipe to create an ideal person. (Please, imagine this with me, how absurd this may sound!)

If in case you are wondering the meaning of ideal, the oxford dictionary defines it as:
a. satisfying one’s idea of what is perfect. –n. person or thing regarded as perfect or as a standard to aim at.

Here we go, the recipe. Take note.

Ingredients:
1 dummy person (given to you!)
10 people you really know (you can select anyone!)

Method:
Select each person (out of 10) and copy his/her good traits and paste on the dummy person.

Resources:
The power necessary to execute the method!

Time: 10 minutes only

Ready, Set, GO ….the clock ticks….

10 minutes up! OK. Come back from la la land!

Now let’s move on to the rationale of this imaginary exercise. Were you able to create the ‘Ideal’ person within the time? If you did, you are probably among the minority. Perhaps this is so because some people are not fully aware of good traits in others.
(Even the ones that they really know well)

The birth of this (silly) exercise was brought to life by a silent wish or rather a sigh!
“I wish person X had the qualities of person Y” or
“Why can’t person X be more like person Y?”
Sounds familiar?

Sadly, in reality we can’t copy and paste qualities from one person to another. Life would be very easy if it was, right? True, but would it be interesting and exciting, if everyone was an ‘Ideal’ person?

Anyway, what I wanted to highlight through this post was:
Of those people you know really well, how aware are you, of their good qualities?
(Sometimes, momentary incidents make us forget the things, that we once considered as “good qualities” of a person.)

Chain mail, Chain mail Go Away

I was out of office yesterday and needless to say, I had an overload of emails to check. Among which, there were seven chain mails. (sigh)

If in case you are wondering what chain mails are, they are the emails which have the line “post to x number of people in y number of minutes or else”. It’s a common belief that these messages promise good luck if you forward them to others and bad luck if you don’t. If that was true, I should be dead by now! (If I go missing in action forever, it would mean that the chain mail bad luck has finally caught up with me.)

Please do everyone a favor and stop forwarding chain mail. Just delete it! I am sure you can find more useful things to do with your time.

Now, that you read my post you are required to tell about it to 10 friends in within 10 minutes. If you do, something good will happen to you within the next few days. If you don’t…………. wait and see. Just kidding!

Did You Know : The three fingered salute

NO, I didn't make that one up!
This is the first post in my "Did You Know" series. (From time to time, I plan on giving informative facts as well.)

The three fingered salute is better known as the Control-Alt-Delete key combination. It is a popular keyboard shortcut for rebooting a Windows PC, NT logon or for invoking the Windows Task Manager in XP systems. Other humorous synonyms include the "Vulcan nerve pinch" or "Vulcan death grip" from the original Star Trek TV series.

The three key sequence was developed by David Bradley. You can watch his amusing talk on Ctrl-Alt-Del at youtube.
He said, “I may have invented it (control-alt-delete), but I think Bill (Gates) made it famous."

He also goes on to say that it was a 5 minutes job! Hm...

References:
Ctrl-Alt-Delete – Tech target
Ctrl-Alt-Del Inventor Makes Final Reboot - The Register
Thank this guy for 'control-alt-delete' - Gannett Online
Vulcan nerve pinch - Answers

Quarter life crisis

This one is an old favorite of mine. It’s from my “noteworthy newspaper clipping” scrap book. It didn’t have an actual author name, but was signed as Twenty something. Update: I was told that it was written by Brenda Della Casa

They call it the “Quarter life Crisis.” It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are many things about yourself that you didn’t know and may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or tow, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now.

You start realizing that people are selfish and that, may, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren’t’ exactly the greatest people you have ever met, and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most import ones. What you don’t recognize is that they are realizing that too, and aren’t really cold, catty, mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.

You look at your job, and it is not even close to what you thought you would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a job and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and that scares you.

Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and are constantly adding things to your list of what is acceptable and what isn’t. One minute, you are insecure and then the next, secure. You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confuse. Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.

You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you. Or you lie in bed and wonder why you can’t meet anyone decent enough that you want to get to know better. Or may be you love someone but love someone else too and cannot figure out why you are doing this because you know that you aren’t a bad person.

You go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision. You worry about loans, money, the future and making a life for yourself and while winning the race would be great, right now you’d just like to be contender!

What you may not realize is that everyone reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and out worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole things out.

Truth About Drugs, Boston Style

New web blog on The Truth About Drugs , Boston Style keeps you updated on activities in and around Boston. Check it out and become involved.

You can also go directly to the international site and down load the materials you can use to help.

7 Reasons - Why I started blogging

Over the past few days, several people have asked me "Why do you blog?". (It seemed a natural question since my blog is new.) So far I’ve just given a one sentence answer and escaped. Can you guess? "To enhance my life and others"!

Anyway, I couldn't get the question out of my head. Now, here I am, posting the elaborate answer.

#1. In order to write things, there's a fair amount of background reading that I need to do. In the end, I too learn a lot about the subject.

#2. I want to improve my writing. I spend a lot of time writing, and even more time erasing! The right word would be, refining what I write.

#3. I like to know what others think, about areas that intrigue me.

#4. Putting thoughts into words, puts things into perspective.

#5. Freedom! To write what I want, at my own pace.

#6. The simple fact that I am reaching a global audience. Every time I look at the bottom right panel, it puts a smile on my face.

#7. I like to make a difference -for the better! If my entries, help you enhance your life, then I've achieved the goal i've set out for.

If you are not a blogger, I hope these reasons motivate you, to start your own blog. Do you still think its a waist of time ?
If you are a blogger, why did you start your blog ? Are the reasons, same as mine ?

Think Tank: “Anybody can have ideas--the difficulty is to express them without squandering a quire of paper, on an idea that ought to be reduced to one glittering paragraph.” ~ Mark Twain

Book Review: Re-imagine By Tom Peters

What I like about the book:
- Very informative. (The magnitude of time and energy spent writing the book is evident.)
- It has thoughts and ideas which are backed by good industry examples.
- The writing style has attitude!
- The picture selection and quality is good.
- It doesn’t take that much of intellectual effort to read. (That’s a compliment Mr. Peters)

What I dislike about the book:
- The dazzling layout. It includes background images, flashy colors and footnotes on either side. What happened to the KISS Principle when designing the layout?

My favorite Excerpt:

Engineers are such idiots. (I should know … I am one.)
I attended a top management “retreat” for a large aerospace company. The firm was up to its eyeballs in doggy doo-doo. At the end of two days, about a dozen pressing issues had emerged, and it was time to assign responsibility for “ameliorative initiatives.”
The Biggest Cheese, an engineer himself, allowed as how “the fix” should be pretty straightforward. After all, he added nonchalantly, all these problems are “simple communication issues.” (I kid you not.)
“Only an engineer could say that,” I muttered to myself. Well, not quite to myself. The HR Vice President sitting beside me looked at me, and couldn’t suppress a grin.
The Israelis and the Palestinians. “Only a communications issue.” NYC’s Fire Department and Police Department. “Only a communications issue.”
Finance and Marketing. “Only a communications issue.”
Mom and Dad in divorce court. “Only a communications issue.”

The issue is the issue.

7 Ways – How NOT to annoy people

Unlike my other postings, I did a substantial amount of research on the topic at hand. It mainly included carrying out a survey of 27 individuals, to find out what annoys them the most. (A heartfelt Thank you to my friends and colleagues who participated.)

I did try the good google too. However, I could only find articles that titled “101 ways to annoy people”! Don’t take my word for it, try the above heading in google and be amused!

You surely must be wondering, “Why should I try not to annoy people?”! My answer being, “The less people you annoy, the more easy life is, for you!” Do you have a different opinion? I’m open for comments.

It is inevitable that your family, friends and co-workers will annoy you and that you will annoy them! The purpose of this posting is to identify “attributes” that generally make people annoyed. If we are aware of these, we can make a conscience effort, to refrain from carrying out such behavior.

Based on the survey feedback, I put together a generalized list. If you are looking for brand new traits, sorry to disappoint you. I’m just here to reiterate things you already know!

#1. Respect
A high percentage of survey participants had this trait, as the most prominent. Which simply means, respect the person and their privacy. Life is such that, what’s sensitive to me, may not be sensitive to you. So the next time you make a joke on personal “material”, keep the other person’s sensitive cue in mind.

#2. Trust
It takes a long time to build, yet only a few seconds to break. Handle with care!

#3 Be genuine
Some people say one thing, mean another and do something entirely different. If you wondered what annoys me the most, there you have it.
Take a genuine interest in people. In other words, don’t lie, backstab or manipulate others.

#4. Use authority with caution
No one likes to be ordered what to do. Do you? You might say. “Situations prop up that requires authority”. Shall I rephrase that? “Situations prop up that requires getting things done”. Yes, there is a difference.

#5. Avoid being self-centered
Don’t make your life revolve around you and only you. Make room for others in your daily routine.
To give a few examples,
-Just like you, the other person’s time is also important to him or her. Value that.
-Share credit generously, where it is due.
I think you can imagine the rest.

#6. Take responsibility
If you make a mistake, admit it, as your mistake. We are human after all, and entitled to a few mistakes in our lifetime. Of course, take precautionary action and make sure it doesn’t happen again!
Promises were another high-flyer, from the feedback. Whether its family, friends or work try not to make promises you can’t keep.

#7. Be flexible
We can’t simply change the fact that each of us are different. Not everyone has your life experiences, your knowledge, your level of maturity and lifestyle. When caught in the “moment”, we sometimes tend to forget that. Is it wise to measure everyone, with the same yardstick?


Think Tank: “To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.” ~ Donald Laird

Master your memory

I stumbled upon Memory Master today. It has some useful articles on
*How to Remember Names and Faces
*How to Remember Foreign Vocabulary
*How to Remember Numbers
*How to Overcome Absentmindedness
*Remembering Speeches and Presentations
*Remembering Jokes and Stories
*Reading, Studying, and Learning
*Remembering Playing Cards

Check it out, if & when you have some time. I'm sure most of us could use these!

Think Tank: "The two offices of memory are collection and distribution." ~ Samuel Johnson

Save Darfur

SaveDarfur.org has a post called "Generate Press Coverage" that's worth checking out...

Media coverage of the ongoing genocide in Darfur has been woefully inadequate. The Center for American Progress found that during June 2005, CNN, FOX News, NBC/MSNBC, ABC, and CBS ran 50 times as many stories about Michael Jackson and 12 times as many stories about Tom Cruise as they did about the…

Practice what you preach!

Over the week-end I watched Larry king Live, with Dr.Laura Schlessinger. She is mostly known for hosting, Dr.Laura radio advice call-in show. Dr.Schlessinger has also written a dozen books, which together have sold millions of copies. Her most popular book being, The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands.(I don't need this book for the moment!!)

There were a few things that she said, that struck a few chords in me. One was "Do What I Say, Not What I Do", when Larry King gave a few examples where she has gone astray.

My question is how can one write/talk about advice and not lead by example?

I believe that it’s easy to write/say something. However, if I can't take my own advice and put to practice, how can I expect someone else to do so?

Think Tank: "Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself." ~ Leo Tolstoy

RSPCA Freedom Food under scrutiny

Apparently the RSPCA (for non-Brits: it is the UK’s main animal welfare organization and one of the oldest in the world) is under scrutiny for its Freedom Food campaign.

The animal protection charity has just published a report to coincide with its Freedom Food's Farm Animal Week (25 Sept - 1 Oct). Entitled Everyone's a winner, the 30-page document describes the terrible conditions in which chickens reared for their meat (broilers) are kept on intensive farms.

It then compares the Assured Chicken Production (ACP) standard (Red Tractor logo), the chicken industry’s own assurance scheme, covering over 90% of UK chicken producers, providing a “baseline”, the minimum requirements that allow factory farming of poultry to go unchallenged, with the RSPCA Freedom Food scheme.

It goes on to say that the the RSPCA standard is better not only for the welfare of chickens, but also for the consumers and the producers and retailers, hence the title of the report.

The problem is that farms that had been certified by Freedom Food have been found in the past guilty of neglecting their animals, and have been the subject of BBC Watchdog investigations. Animal rights campaigners say Freedom Food is still large-scale industrial farming with terrifying consequences for animals.

In fact, organic (certified by the Soil Association) and free-range broilers have a better life than Freedom Food birds, but these are reared in better conditions than is the norm for the industry and its own ACP standard.

In Support of U.N. Drug Awareness Day, Scientology Churches Call for Unity

"A drug prevention campaign is a grass-roots movement made up of people-Scientologists and non-Scientologists alike - who are united in the commitment to take action to combat drug abuse through effective education."

read more | digg story

SPOKESMAN FOR THE GLENDALE CHAPTER OF YOUTH FOR HUMAN

September 24, 2006
War and terrorism may dominate the world headlines, but Glendale, California, has its sights set on peace, and fourteen-year-old Alexis Mathes is right at the center of that movement.

Spokesperson for the Glendale chapter of Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) Alexis Mathes has been editing the International YHRI newsletter for the past two years.

Alexis joined thousands of children all over the world in celebrating the International Day of Peace 2006 when she gave the following keynote speech to a group of forty children and teens at the City of Glendale’s historic "Oak of Peace" in Verdugo Adobe Park.



The forty children who attended, ranging in age between 6 and 16, all share the common goal of peace through education of youth on human rights.
Today, we in Glendale are participating in a global event, the International Day of Peace. There are 3,500 similar events happening around the world today in 187 different countries. We all want peace.

In 1981, the United Nations proclaimed the opening day of its regular session as the International Day of Peace and invited all groups and individuals everywhere to observe the Day.

In New York at United Nations Headquarters, the Day is marked with a special ceremony near the Peace Bell. The Bell, which was cast from coins donated by people from some 60 countries, is a gift to the United Nations by the United Nations Association of Japan.

Each year, the United Nations Secretary-General delivers a special message before ringing the bell and calls upon people throughout the world to reflect for a moment on the universal goal of peace.

Later on in the day, during the opening ceremony of the United Nations, at 3:00 p.m. local time, a minute of silence will be held.

This will coincide with our own moment of peace to be held in Glendale at noon.

Youth for Human Rights is an organization that joins with the United Nations in the goal of peace through education of youth on human rights. Knowledge is power and those that do not know their rights, can easily lose them or never achieve them. We want to educate youth everywhere on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.