In today’s world of technology we do not have ample opportunity to get personal. Life is fast-paced and everyone seems to be in a rush. We dial the phone and we talk to machines. We spend long hours on the computer playing games, emailing one another or working with our web pages. Even in the office environment, we email the person in the cubicle 3 feet away instead of walking over to hand them a task list.
Don’t get me wrong. I love technology. I cannot imagine ever being without my computer and am guilty of spending a large part of my day working on line. The computer and Internet afford many opportunities. Now at no charge outside of my Internet connection I can communicate with persons all over the world. If screened carefully young people have a world of education available at their fingertips. I could continue to expound on the many benefits that technology has brought into our lives. However, that is not the gist of this article.
As a result of the technological age of today’s world, our personal touch with one another is decreasing. We need to take full advantage of the opportunity to be personal. Humans are becoming strangers to one another. People are in a hurry to get on with the business of living and walk past each other on the street without even a nod.
Have you wondered why there is so much clinical depression in the world today? Ask yourself why our young people are so distressed. Why so many of them attempt suicide or worse the murder of their classmates or families. Do you conclude as I do that we need more of a personal touch?
Have you taken notice to how you felt when you were standing in line at a bank and someone turned and smiled at you. Prior to that smile you were feeling very anxious, possibly tapping your foot in impatience. You weren’t very happy to be there waiting in a long line. You had things to get done and you were getting more frustrated by the minute. It was one of the mundane drudgeries we all have to go through. Then comes this smile from the person in the line next to you and suddenly you feel much better. You are compelled to smile back. You do so without giving it thought, as though it is a natural inclination to reciprocate the smile.
Think about it, don’t you feel compelled to smile back when someone smiles at you? Doesn’t if lift your mood, and bring you out of a frustrated frame of mind? But that smile does so much more than that. It makes you feel accepted and liked. Somebody cares, and shares the things you go through. It makes you part of a group, a integral part of the human race. If you do not think that our society, do research into why our young people join gangs. The kids will tell you they are seeking to belong, to be a part of something. The gang becomes an extension of the family.
There is power in the smile, you see. It’s as though that instant someone waved a wand and all the drudgery disappeared. You suddenly feel warm and responsive and the person who offered you a smile has just gone from a stranger to be wary of to a kindred spirit. Sometimes a conversation is started and now the mundane drudgery has actually become an enjoyable experience. You no longer feel frustrated and rushed and in spite of yourself and enjoying yourself. The world is now warm and fuzzy instead of cold, fearful and bitter.
I do not mean to imply that giving and receiving a smile is the solution to the world’s problems, but it is a very good place to start. We all need to feel that sense of belonging. We are after all members of the same human family. We should feel moved to embrace each other in our hearts and minds.
So go ahead and smile. I dare you. But be careful. You might find the world a friendlier place to live. You might find that people are warm and kind and appreciative. Your smile might just make their day.
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Saturday, May 30, 2009
Digital Inspiration - Technology Blog - 4 new articles
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Microsoft is Getting Things Right This Time
Microsoft develops Vista and the vocal crowd immediately dubs it a failed product although a majority of... Web 3.0 Concepts Explained in Plain English (Presentations)This slide neatly sums up the main differences between Web 1.0, Web 2.0 and Web 3.0. Web 1.0 - That Geocities & Hotmail era was all about read-only content and static HTML websites. People preferred navigating the web through link directories of Yahoo!... Now Upload MP3 Files on SlideShareIf you are using SlideShare to host your PowerPoint (or Keynote) presentations, the good news is that you can now use the same service to also upload MP3 recordings of your conference talks and the audio can then play in sync with your actual... Google Audio Ads for Radio to Stage a Comeback
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Geeks and some part of the tech world consider it cool to hate everything that comes out of the Microsoft campus. Let me share a few instances. 
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Silence Is The Great Teacher
Silence is the great teacher, and to learn its lessons you must pay attention to it.
There is no substitute for the creative inspiration, knowledge, and stability
that come from knowing how to contact your core of inner silence.
The great Sufi poet Rumi wrote, "Only let the moving waters calm down,
and the sun and moon will be reflected on the surface of your being."
~ Deepak Chopra
Photo: Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan
denmark II
hier kommt der zweite teil meiner dänemarkbilder.
ein dritter folgt dann in den nächsten tagen.
nachdem für mich freitag der letzte offizielle schultag war, sitze ich jetzt hier mit gemischten gefühlen. nie wieder schule. puuhhh. das ist schon komisch.
jetzt kommt nur noch mein mündliches abi. davor sicherlich noch ein paar sitzungen mit meiner "lerngruppe" in der schule.
am nächsten dienstag findet dann meine verschobene weisheitszahn-op statt. drückt mir dir daumen!
ansonsten werdet ihr hoffentlich auch mal wieder aktuelle outfitbilder von mir zu sehen bekommen ;)
wie verbringt ihr dieses wunderbar lange wochenende?
gruß&kuss,
hippiegirl♥
Friday, May 29, 2009
Mini Barbecued Meat Loaves
This is another recipe from the Bisquick cookbook. I told you there would be a lot from this one. There are things you’d never think of using bisquick in but everything I’ve made has turned out great!
Mini Barbecued Meat Loaves
½ cup barbecue sauce
1 lb lean ground beef
½ lb ground pork *
½ cup original Bisquick mix
¼ tsp pepper
1 small onion, finely chopped (1/4 cup) **
1 egg
- Heat oven to 450.
- Reserve ¼ cup bbq sauce. Mix remaining ingredients and ¼ cup bbq sauce. Place meat mixture in ungreased 13x9 pan; pat into 12x4-inch rectangle. Cut lengthwise down center and then crosswise into sixths to form 12 loaves. Separate loaves slightly. Brush loaves with reserved ¼ cup bbq sauce.
- Bake 18-22 minutes or until loaves are no longer pink in the center, juice is clear and meat thermometer reads 160 when inserted in center of loaves.
* I didn’t have any ground pork so I just used about 1 ½ lbs of ground beef.
** I rarely use fresh onions in my recipes so if you need to use dried onion it works just as well.
Mine look a little overcooked in the pictures but they weren't really. They were delish!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Digital Inspiration - Technology Blog - 5 new articles
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Bing Promo Video Makes Fun of Google SearchMicrosoft has released a short promotional video for Bing.com that sort of makes fun of Google Search.
Watch a Short Video Tour of Microsoft BingVideo Tour of Microsoft Bing
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In this video, Jonathan Ive (who is best known for designing the iPod and the iPhone) discusses the design of the Apple Macbook notebooks that are carved from a single piece of aluminum (unibody). The video also gives a sneak preview of the... Type Text in Indian Languages on any WebsiteBlogger, Gmail, Orkut and a few other Google services offer transliteration facility by default so you can easily type characters in Hindi, Tamil & other popular Indian languages using the standard English (Roman) keyboard. Here’s a quick... More Recent Articles |
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gothic day.
today was "twins day" at school. so, me and one of my best friends chose the gothic look :)
so, say welcome to my "new style" :)
i hope you had a fantastic day,
kisses hippiegirl ♥
ps: vielen, vielen dank an die mädels von fashion decadence :) das gewonnene haarband ist gestern angekommen und ist somit tatsächlich der erste gewinn, der auch in meinem briefkasten landet und mich erreicht :)
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Fruit-Filled Coffee Cake
This recipe is another from the Kraft Food and Family Magazine. You can find it here. It was so simple and so tasty. Next time I’m going to try blueberry. Yum!
Fruit-Filled Coffee Cake
1 pkg. (2-layer size) white cake mix
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup Breakstone’s or Knudsen Sour Cream
3 eggs
¼ cup water
1 can (21 oz) cherry pie filling
½ cup Planters Sliced Almonds, toasted*
1 cup powdered sugar
1 ½ T milk
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat first 5 ingredients with mixer until well blended. Pour into greased and floured 13x9 pan; top with spoonfuls of pie filling.
Bake 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean; sprinkle with nuts. Cool 10 minutes.
Mix sugar and milk; drizzle over cake. Cool completely.
Note: If glaze is too thick, add milk by teaspoonfuls until thin enough to drizzle.
* We did not use the almonds because the cake was for a lot of people and not everyone likes them.
Fruit-Filled Coffee Cake
1 pkg. (2-layer size) white cake mix
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup Breakstone’s or Knudsen Sour Cream
3 eggs
¼ cup water
1 can (21 oz) cherry pie filling
½ cup Planters Sliced Almonds, toasted*
1 cup powdered sugar
1 ½ T milk
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat first 5 ingredients with mixer until well blended. Pour into greased and floured 13x9 pan; top with spoonfuls of pie filling.
Bake 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean; sprinkle with nuts. Cool 10 minutes.
Mix sugar and milk; drizzle over cake. Cool completely.
Note: If glaze is too thick, add milk by teaspoonfuls until thin enough to drizzle.
* We did not use the almonds because the cake was for a lot of people and not everyone likes them.
Digital Inspiration - Technology Blog - 5 new articles
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Create a Flash Catalog of your Favorite Amazon ProductsBefore I get into the actual product, here’s how your Amazon Product catalog will look like on the web. You can navigate through the pages of this virtual catalog like other flipping magazines (e.g. Zinio) and if the pictures or text appears too... Never Forget an Email Attachment in Outlook AgainYou just sent an email referencing a document but only after that mail has left your Outlook outbox did you realize that you forgot to attach the file with the message. And then there’s another wave of follow emails from recipients asking -... Watch TV Shows on the Desktop with Joost Media PlayerJoost.com, as you probably know, is a free web service that lets you watch popular TV shows, music videos, podcasts and even some movies on the Internet. Initially, Joost required users to download a desktop application for watching Internet TV but in... Nokia N97 Reviewed at CNETLike the Palm Pre, there’s plenty of buzz around the Nokia N97 mobile phone that is expected to hit the retail shelves sometime next month. The touch-screen N97 phone has a sliding QWERTY keyboard, a 5 Megapixel camera and you can customize the... Adobe Introduces Acrobat.com Presentations - Create Impressive Slides OnlineAcrobat.com Presentations is a new online presentation tool from Adobe to help you create presentations in the web browser. The service may have some things in common with Google Docs Presentations, Zoho Show, 280Slides or Slide Rocket but unlike... More Recent Articles |
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Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Digital Inspiration - Technology Blog - 3 new articles
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Countries that are Least Affected by RecessionThis world map shows a list of countries that are considered least affected by the global economic crisis. Australia takes the top spot followed by China with India and Singapore in equal third place. Qatar is the only gulf nation that figures... Download Windows Vista SP2
The installer for Vista SP2... Take a 3D Virtual Tour of Disneyland via Google EarthWith Google Earth installed, your kids can now take a virtual 3D tour of the beautiful Disneyland Resort in Paris much like Peter Pan. Assuming that you have the latest version of Google Earth on your machine, just search for "Disneyland... More Recent Articles
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hej pippi langstrumpf!
my last school week started on monday :)
tradionally, we are dressing up the whole week!
yesterday, our topic was "bad-taste" (unfortunaltey, i haven't any good pictures of me yet!) and today it was "disney,comic and movie characters"
and i was....
PIPPI LONGSTOCKING!
my outfit was a bit improvisational, but i think, everybody noticed that i was pippi langstocking :)
oh, and i got my results of my final secondary-school examinations (german: abitur!) and they are really good! Twice a B+ (12 points) and once a B (11 points) :)
i'm sooo happy!!!
kisses, hippiegirl ♥
Monday, May 25, 2009
Potato Patties with Black Bean Salsa
I hope you'll forgive us for taking a week off. Hillary has bought her first home and was preparing for the closing and the moving last week. She will be without internet for a little while. I will be trying to keep up for the next two weeks while she is getting settled and unpacked so I hope that you aren't disappointed. You can wish her congratulations if you'd like.... I know I do!
This recipe is amazingly tasty. I hadn't ever tried anything like this before but everyone loved it and it was so yummy! I hope you will love it too!
1 bag (1 lb 4 oz) refrigerated Southwest-style shredded hash brown potatoes*
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (4 oz)
½ cup Original Bisquick mix
3 eggs, beaten, or ¾ cup fat-free egg product
¼ cup canola or olive oil
1 can (11 oz) whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, drained
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained, rinsed
¼ cup chunky-style salsa
In large bowl, mix potatoes, cheese, Bisquick mix and eggs until blended.
In 12-inch skillet, heat 2 T of the oil over medium heat. For each patty, spoon about ½ cup** potato mixture into oil in skillet. Flatten with back of spatula.
Cook patties about 2 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Remove from skillet; cover to keep warm*** while cooking remaining patties. Add remaining 2 T oil as needed to prevent sticking.
In 2-quart saucepan, heat corn, beans and salsa over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until hot. Serve over patties
Makes about 6 servings.
* They didn’t have southwest-style at our grocery store so I just used about 2/3 a bottle (16 oz) of salsa to make up for it.
** I used about 1/3 cup so I could get more out of it and they were a great size.
*** I pulled out a piece of aluminum foil and folded it in half on top of a large plate. As the patties got done I put them on the foil, on the plate and then covered them with the other half of the foil. They were nice and toasty.
Digital Inspiration - Technology Blog - 3 new articles
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The privacy laws of UK require Google to blur...
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Sunday, May 24, 2009
Susan Boyle Wows Again with "Memory"
Susan Boyle wows the judges and audience again
on Britain's Got Talent singing "Memory" from Cats.
She remains an inspiration for the world in difficult times.
on Britain's Got Talent singing "Memory" from Cats.
She remains an inspiration for the world in difficult times.
Africa Day - Iveagh Gardens 24th May
What an atmosphere! Such vibrant colours, huge smiles and fantastic music - a great festival all round. The weather also helped of course but it really did make me appreciate the simple things in life.
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