Last Tuesday I went to my meeting, as my leader Ellie had asked me to do, and in that room filled with a bazillion ladies and 3 guys we learned about the new program, ProPoints.  Apparently Germany and Denmark are already using ProPoints; makes sense to add us to the other countries (“us” being Benelux).

To be honest, I’m always a bit reluctant when WW changes the program, and believe me, in the 10 years that I’ve been a WW member, I think this is about the 4th or 5th time it’s changed - not because I don’t like change, but because I have so much in my head leftover from the old program, I know my staples, my recipes, etc., and I know the points out of the top of my head.  So, it’s more taking the time to re-learn that makes me reluctant. Because, well, I’m lazy sometimes with certain things.

I don’t have any problem with change though.  Not in the vague sense of change.  I like it for the most part, it makes things more exciting, more challenging, and keeps me interested.  So changing the program is OK and I never doubt why they do these things.  There are constant discoveries in health and nutrition and sometimes programs have to be updated.

Weight Watchers to me is such a great program because it encourages to eat correct portion sizes AND nutritionally sound food and drink.  On the other hand, they also say, “Look, we’re giving you this information and we want you to be successful, however, it’s up to YOU to choose how you are going to spend your points.”  I like that.  I am not easily amused by other programs telling me what I HAVE to eat and when.  Or that things are off limits.  In fact I hate that so much I never really tried a “diet” program, because I’m already turned off by the “can not have” lists.  No potatoes or bread - What? Are you freaking kidding me?  Only fruit before 11am?  You can not be serious.  I think you get my drift here?

So.  On the old program, I had 22 points daily and I could “save” points to use later that week.  So let’s say I saved 1 – 2 points a day, by Saturday I could use those points for a few glasses of wine.  We had activity points that we could also save.  So if I knew I was going out for chicken and mushroom pie and cold beers with my mate A, I could save daily AND activity points to do so, because that was my choice, to have those things.

Now, I have 29 points a day, and 49 “free” points a week.  Sounds good right?  Like I got MORE points!  Well.  I didn’t. Not really, because some things actually increased in points value.  Basic things like bread, skim milk, cheese, etc.  Also, the daily points?  You are meant to eat ALL of those points.  You are not meant to eat under that level.  Also, you can not SAVE those points anymore.  If you eat only 27, too bad, that’s it then for the day, you can’t have 31 the next day and use the 2 leftover.  You have to use your “free” points.

We also had “comfort foods”.  Certain food items, like chicken and turkey for example, were 3 points for a “free” portion that you ate until you were satisfied (to get us to learn to eat slowly and enjoy our food and listen to our bodies when we were full.  Full, not stuffed to the gills).  Potatoes and rice were 4 points.  Yeah.  Free portions.  Imagine what I did at first?  I would  eat like a pound of potatoes and call it 4 points but be stuffed.  I think everyone goes through that and then we later learn what “full” actually feels like.  So these items are now 5 and 7 respectively.  Other things are added to this list too, one I remember already in particular, Eggs.  I can eat 1 egg for 2 points or 2+ eggs for 5 points.  Would it be healthy for me to eat 6 eggs in one sitting and call it 5 points?  Probably not, so I’ll most likely just use 1 egg and 3 egg whites (for an omelete) like I normally do.

Fruit and Vegetables, most of them anyway, were 0 points.  That is still the case and in fact, some things that were 1 point are now 0 points.  Again, this isn’t about sitting down and eating a kilo worth of carrots and calling it 0 points.  It’s about encouraging us to eat fruit and vegetables, enjoy them but be moderate and not overload ourselves with too much.  Obviously fruit and vegetables have calories too. 

Activity points seem to have different values as well depending on what you do and what intensity level.  It’s not totally clear to me yet if you have to use your activity points on the same day you earn them or if you can save them up.  As soon as the online program has been changed I’m sure this will become more clear.  I haven’t been exercising (because of the Foot, but in the last week I was sick and on top of that I hurt my back) so I haven’t been struggling with figuring out points for that yet.

I think that’s pretty much it in a nutshell.  So far I’ve been working the program since Wednesday and the only real “difficulty” (I put it in quotes because it’s really not that difficult!) is working out recipe points that were tried and true.  Looks like a standard 12 point dinner goes up to anywhere between 15 and 17 points.  At this point I’ve used 30 free points for the week, leaving me still 19 between now and next Tuesday evening, which I think is really reasonable.  I don’t plan on using them at all today, maybe tomorrow (we have a concert to go to) and Tuesday should be a within-point day as well.

Honestly?  I’m looking forward to the new program, especially when the online program changes over – I like anything that adds to my motivation and acts as a sort of challenge.  I love planning and working things out to be exact in my plan and I love at the end of the day when I’ve made that plan a reality.  I’m looking forward to being able to work out again.  And, as I saw on the scale again this morning (at home, au naturel), I love seeing the scale KEEP going lower and lower (today 81.8KG or exactly 180 lbs).  I love the reaction I get from my leader when I weigh-in on Tuesdays – she really helped me get through my little breakdown that I had just after I got married in March (as did the chicks over at 3FC and I’ve been going strong ever since).  I love the bloggers that continue to inspire me on a daily basis.  I’m ready, willing and able and am going to reach my goal again.  I don’t know when, but it doesn’t matter, I’m in this for the long haul anyway.

I’ve finally submitted my third article at Alltern8 about LARPing and Dating. It’s a constant thing to hear people mention how they can never meet a significant other during a LARP. While I’ve seen it happen countless times! To open some eyes about scoring a date at a LARP I’ve written:

Article:

LARPing and Dating… Not a Myth

LARPing is a social event. I know! Can you believe it? Being a social event there tends to be some social interaction between people. Usually awkward, not looking in each other’s eyes, shifting your weight from feet to feet, and you can’t remember what you talked about after you walk away. Did I even introduce myself? What class is she?
Yup, that about covers a conversation between two people that are use to interacting with a screen between themselves and humanity. But you are subjecting yourself to actual social event outside of your basement so that alone is something to be proud of.
Most players when they think about the stress of carrying on a conversation do not even think of forming a relationship with someone unless they can call to trade Magic cards. Furthest from their mind is starting a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship.
And yet when guys gather around to plan an outing to the local LARP just the mention of lady LARPers have them cheering each other on, slapping each others back and drawing up intensive plans of who is wingman. But they are usually the first ones to mumble a hello and hightail it out of there to the first girl LARPer they come in contact with.
There are many girls out there that have the same reaction! We plan on meeting a lot of guys but it becomes overwhelming when we finally arrive to the camp. If you don’t have the confidence of a movie star the reactions you receive are intimidating enough to send anyone running for cover. And if you have the confidence to actually receive and handle the attention accordingly you become ‘untouchable’ by the guys who are nervous around confident girls and the stuck up princess to the rest.

To continue reading please click here!

So as u can c I’m trying this whole blog thing which is kinda hard for me cause i’m not too use to it…….but that GINandGOOSE got me doin things I never thought I would {(*wink wink*)}{(*alllllllll homo*)}

Any who…..

This week has been the best and the worst week of my life and I don’t even know where to start.

So I won’t because I don’t feel like talking about it…..it’s too much to explain. lol

for now.

Any who…..

{sidenote:–whoever invented RamEn noodles is a fucking genius.–}

I was told this week that I was beautiful.

That I AM an artist and I am BRILLIANT!!!!

and it’s about damn time i start believing it myself.

I AM a star and I WILL succeed.

KNOW THIS.

No more feeling sorry for myself.

I’m done hiding my light from the world for fear that they will shield their eyes from it.

I DON’T CARE ANYMORE.

The world will know my name whether they like it or not.

I will touch someone’s life.

I will save someone’s life.

I am talented for a reason.

It’s time I stopped hiding from my true purpose in life and stop giving in to fear.

FUCK fear for once instead of it fucking me.

Unafraid is what I’m trying to be.

Just give me a chance to show you that I can be.

=]

Ever wondered what Cloud Computing is?
Watch the following video, it explains Cloud Computing in plain english

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Article:

It’s Time For Change – View from a US Larp

When I mention LARPing to someone, the response I usually get is “Excuse you”. Excuse me? No, excuse you good sir for I feel bad that you have not been able to experience the eye opening experience you could have LARPing. Most people when they hear about LARPing they instantly become condescending and judgmental. Funny thing is… I’m not getting the looks like I did five years ago.

LARP stands for Live Action Role Play. LARPing began in the 1970s and although no one can agree to where this term was coined or who exactly thought it up we do know that the first game recorded began in 1977 in Washington DC in the United States. Players who partake in a LARP call themselves LARPers. Eh, so what? I can easily find that on the LARPing wiki right? But read it again… LARPing has been around for 30+ years. This ‘idea’ has been around for a long period of time and this ‘idea’ has not been played around…

To continue reading my article please support me and Alltern8 by visiting the site by clicking here.

Pernahkan Anda mendengar bahwa sebuah kepastian atau hal yang absolut/mutlak bisa berubah menjadi tidak pasti hanya dengan permainan logika ?

Jika Anda melihat gambar di bawah ini, mungkin Anda akan bertemu dengan keanehan yang PASTI, TAPI TIDAK PASTI…

Could you explain that picture ?

eyePlorer is an interesting alternative to the usual approach taken by many when looking for information. Instead of using a search engine to produce a series of unrelated links; eyePlorer is a ‘knowledge engine’ designed to use semantic associations and provide a richer experience of interconnected knowledge. This would seem to have useful applications for education throughout the subject disciplines. And as a student it is useful when studying a topic, or writing an essay, to check that you have covered relevant and related areas to demonstrate a fuller understanding; eyePlorer would therefore seem to be a useful way to explore a topic.

The returned content from a topic search is displayed in an elegant graphical interface. There are plenty of features to get your head around with the eyePlorer interface, most or which are quite intuitive, and I’m pretty sure I won’t cover them all, but it’s worth taking a look at this video:

The circular graphic display is segmented into separate topic areas, with information falling into each of the categories. Alongside each information term or phrase is a dot, and the size of these dots indicates whether the information is well known (larger dots) or more obscure information (smaller dots). You can hover over each term/phrase and after a couple of seconds a knowledge box opens providing you with sourced information. Click on the information in the knowledge box and the page with the source of the information opens up within eyePlorer. Note: to get back to your eyePlorer graph, click the Back button at the top centre of the eyePlorer screen.

Across the top of the knowledge box are four tabs. The tab you’re currently in is the eyePlorer facts. The other three are Websearch (powered by Bing), Images (also powered by Bing), and Twitter.

If you want to investigate any of the items (terms/phrases) in your existing eyePlorer graph, you simply drag the item into a blank search term box or onto the plus (+) below the search term. This creates a new graph associating the two terms, to eliminate the original term from this joint search, click the close down x next to the term. You can move between your graphs using the back < and forward > links just at the bottom left and right (respectively) of your graph.

Here is a video giving more detail. Note: some of the interface shown on the video is different to what you might see, I think there must have been software updates to the interface since the video was produced.

On the right of the + is a globe-like icon; dragging a term/phrase onto this performs a Google search for the term. Note: you have to be quite quick doing the dragging or the knowledge box opens before you get there, if this happens just click the globe icon at the bottom of the knowledge box.

When you register for a free account you get to fully use the second element of eyePlorer, the notepad. Whilst you can use the notepad without having an account, you can’t save any of this information, so it is worth registering. To add things to the notepad you simply drag them across from the graphical display.

Why should the use of eyePlorer knowledge engine be significant to you as an end user?

Well, quoting from the Vionto (the designers of the underlying software) site:

What’s in for our users:

• Associate and aggregate information from different web sites or other content sources
• Work with a user-friendly, interactive graphical interface
• Generate content overviews
• Find, process and store knowledge within a single user interface
• Gain interesting and unexpected stimuli
• Retrieve facts and text results (rather than just lists of links)

Vionto Knowledge Machines

http://www.vionto.com/lang/en/2009/01/10/knowledgemachines/

There are some quirks to using eyePlorer, and the available information resources might be a little limited for some users currently, but additional sites and resources will I believe continue to be added. I also believe the interface will continue to be improved. I think the concept is a good one and very useful, tapping into a more visual approach for knowledge retrieval, and the interlinking of knowledge – more a search for something and other related and associated content.

Another plus with eyePlorer is that you can add a spot of html into your website to include a dynamic link to eyePlorer.com for a particular search term.

Example term : Web search engine

I think eyePlorer is very much worth trying. And if it doesn’t quite meet your requirements now, possibly try it again in a few months.

I realise some people really don’t want to know or don’t give a crap about what people eat whilst losing weight  -

(no matter what program), but what I find most important is when I plan and stick to the plan, I see results. Since I’m ready to see results again, this is really the *only* way for me. Other people can get by with winging it or eating food that’s already been prepared and portioned out, but 1) I don’t really do processed foods at all and 2) they’re not even really available here even if I want to. That’s right, no WW meals, no Lean Cuisine, no Jenny Craig, no 100 calorie packs of anything. Even when I eat very healthy, some days I eat too much. Example; yes hummous is healthy, good for you, full of protein. Eating the entire 250gr package at lunch? Not so much. Peanut Butter has good fat and protein, very healthy. Eating the jar whilst standing in the kitchen and just digging in with your finger until it’s finished? Not so much.

Therefore, journaling my food is pretty important. Sticking to the plan is really important. Avoiding treats – really important. I don’t avoid and restrict every single day; it’s not sustainable. But I am learning something about all of this. I can actually have a TopPot donunt whenever I want. What I want is to really choose for it and then sit down and enjoy it. Not stuff my face with it within 27 seconds so no one will see me. That is just, well, ridiculous (I never claimed to NOT be ridiculous- I’m just trying to be less so).

Without further adieu, here’s what my day looked like today (haven’t actually consumed the dinner yet, but posting it keeps me honest to not go any further if I get the munchies later):

Monday -

Breakfast: 1 egg, 3 egg whites, 1tsp olive oil, spinach, mushrooms, 1 triangle Laughing Cow light 4 points

Coffee (black)

Snack: apple 0 points

Lunch: rucola, 2 tomatoes, 1tsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp olive oil, 100 gr rice, 50 gr kidney beans, 50 gr cottage cheese, harissa 5 points

Snack: large cup of tea (nothing in it)

cucumber slices 0 points

125 gr FAGE yoghurt, 60 gr blueberries, 1 mandarin, 10 gr almonds 2.5 points

Dinner: 150 gr salmon, rice, steamed broccoli 10.5 points

Total points: 22
Savings: 0
Water: 2+ litres
Exercise: none (decided to not go running)
Points earned: 0
Total Saved since 01/11: 4.5
Fruit &Veg: yes!

So I was sitting on the front steps to my apartment building the other day watching the people walk by when this kid comes up to me and says, “Hey mister.”

I say, “What do you want, kid?”

He says, “Can you explain life to me?”

I think about it for a minute, and then I ask him, “Yeah? Where do you want me to start from?”

“From the beginning.” The kid says.

So I think about it some more and decide this is the first thing a kid needs to understand about life. I ask him, “Let’s say I offered you $1 to run across the continent. Would you do it?”

“No way. That’d be silly.”

“Okay, if I offered you $1,000,000,000,000 dollars or told you I’d shoot you and your whole family if you didn’t run across the continent. Would you do it?”

“Well, yeah. Sure I’d do it.”

“You certainly would. You wouldn’t even have to think about it or work up the strength. Because of the stakes at risk your motivation would be so strong there wouldn’t be a choice. There’d just be one path in front of you.

Think about how that applies to life in general. If you don’t understand why life is important or how important life is then you won’t have the appropriate motivation to take life as seriously as you should. Then you won’t put the appropriate amount of effort into living. What would you do then? Why, you’d waste all your time on immediate, shortsighted, petty, meaningless trivialities and such. But if you truly, truly, truly understood the value of life you wouldn’t have to debate with yourself or work up the strength to sacrifice any of the petty temptations of the world to pursue life’s highest purpose. Your motivation would be so strong there’d only be one choice, one path before you. So the first lesson you need to learn about life is how valuable it is and why.”

“Well how valuable is life?”

“How old are you, kid?”

“I’m 10 and half years old, going on 11.”

“No you’re not. You’re closer to 14 billion years old. All the stuff in your body was there at the big bang. Galaxies rose and fell around you as you floated to a place where the atoms in your body could finally come together in a way that makes you, you. Now I’m not saying you were supposed to be you. There were an infinite number of things that could have gone different between the beginning and now and you wouldn’t have been born. You’re infinitely lucky to be here. But don’t get too smug about it because you only get to be here for little while, and you don’t know how short of a time you’ve got before you’re gone forever. Now that might sound like that means you don’t matter, but I’ll tell ya the opposite is true. That means the finite amount of time you get to live here is infinitely valuable.

You asked me how valuable life is. Well here’s my answer. It’s infinitely valuable. Now, here’s something to think about. Given that every second of your short, little irreplaceable life is infinitely valuable, that makes the following question infinitely important: What’s the most important thing you can do with your life?

So then the kid he says to me, “Well I don’t know. What is the most important thing I should be doing?”

Right then I laugh and say, “Look here kid. There’s something you gotta understand about people if you want to make it in this world.”

He says, “Yeah, what’s that?”

I say, “I’m gonna tell you. Everybody is born lost, and most people stay lost. Matter of fact, most people are so lost they don’t even know they’re lost.”

The kid says, “I don’t get it.”

I say, “You want me to put it another way? Okay. Did you get an instruction book to life when you were born that explained everything? I see you shaking you’re head, no. Well, nobody else did either. Nobody has any idea what’s going on. There are no experts, no authorities, no grown ups. We might get taller, and we might memorize a lot of facts, but philosophically, we’re all stuck at 5 years old guessing at life and faking that we know what’s going on and what we’re doing because we don’t want anyone to know how lost we are. To make matters worse…most people end up forgetting they’re faking it and start believing this big charade we all put on is real life.

Now there’s two lessons to be learned from this if you look. One, don’t believe anything anybody tells you. Don’t get me wrong. Listen to everyone, but don’t believe anyone. Only believe what you find to be true.

Two, the most important thing you should be doing right now is trying to figure out life for yourself. Until you do that, how do you know if anything else you do matters? You don’t. So you can just go ahead and assume it doesn’t.”

After that the kid looks at me all sad and says, “But I don’t know how to get life figured out. Even if I did I don’t know if I could.”

Well, I feel bad for the kid. So I tell him, “Well, don’t take it all from me, but if you need a starting place. I’ll give you the same advice my papa gave me when I was about your age. He said, ‘Kid, all you need to know is the meaning of life.’”

I give this kid an heirloom of knowledge and he has the nerve to say to me, “Your papa didn’t give very good advice.” Kids these days. No respect.

So I gotta correct him, you know? I tell him, “That was the best piece of advice I ever got from anybody. Think about it. If you don’t know the meaning of life then what are you doing with your life? You’re wandering around lost, wasting your precious time on immediate, shortsighted, petty, meaningless trivialities and such. But if you could just figure out that one thing, the meaning of life, then absolutely everything else will fall into its proper perspective. Then you got life figured out and everything else is just details.”

“But you still haven’t told me how to figure it out.”

“What are you talking about? I just told you the first step, and I was getting to the rest anyway. If you listened more and interrupted less I might have explained it already.”

“Sorry.”

“That’s okay. You’re young. Anyway, life is like a car. You can’t understand how a car works until you understand what a car is. Same thing with life. And what’s life then? Life is being a walking, talking, breathing, thinking creature stranded in the great, big, beautiful, lonely, indifferent universe.  You want to understand life? First you gotta understand the universe that gave birth to you and that you live in. Learn all the science you can, because that’ll teach you the facts that everything else is built on.

Then, once you understand ‘what’ you can start to understand ‘why.’ If you try figuring out “why” first you’re going to come up with some crazy explanations that don’t hold water.

Now don’t interrupt me because I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, ‘But science doesn’t answer the question, ‘why?’ And that’s true. You know what answers a question? Asking a question. You know what doesn’t answer a question? Excuses and complaints.

If you want to know why you’re here then ask yourself, ‘What does my existence accomplish? What would be lost if life ceased to exist? What does a plant or animal do with their lives? Because wouldn’t the meaning of life is the same for all life?’

But let me warn you of something that might trip you up. A question is an equation, and when you change the variables in the equation you change the question…and the answer. So when you ask these questions you gotta decide whether or not there’s a God or an afterlife because that changes things.”

“Mister? Can I interrupt you?”

“Didn’t give me much of a choice there did you? Well, now that we’re here you may as well go ahead. What do you want?”

“Is there a God?”

“Oh, hell. Nobody’s had this conversation with you yet? Parents these days. Fine. I’ll do it, but you gotta think about these things yourself. Don’t take it from me, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I’ll tell you this much flat out. God’s never been to Earth, wrote a book or spoke through a prophet. People write books. People record their history. People try to control others by claiming to deserve the power and glory of God. People create rules to live by and design their own punishments for those who don’t follow their rules. People ask for your money, and when they get it they use it to build temples to themselves. Every nation thinks its God’s favorite. Put this to the test, and I guarantee you find it holds water. Religion is a product of culture.

Having said that, there is one thing I find curious about the universe. Imagine if humans ever built rocket ships that could fly to other planets. Suppose we sent some astronauts to one far, far away to search for life. When they got there they scoured the surface searching for living organisms but never found any. Thing is though, they kept running across houses. So they knew there was intelligent life on the planet at one time because precision built structures, such as houses, don’t just occur randomly in nature.

If you can agree with that logic then you should also be able to agree with the next part. Imagine that a million years from now a group of jelly fish-like aliens were come to earth in search of life. However, long before the aliens arrived in our galaxy humans had destroyed our atmosphere; all living things died, and the harsh environment tore down all the building humans had ever built.

So the aliens, they didn’t find any living creatures or buildings to deduce our existence from. However, they found some dinosaur skeletons fossilized deep down in the Earth’s crust. Since the aliens were jelly fish-like creatures they didn’t recognize skeletons as the remains of living organisms. Nevertheless, they still used the skeletons to deduce that there was once intelligent life on planet Earth because skeletons are too precisely and consistently designed to happen randomly in nature. Of course, skeletons do happen in nature…but not randomly.

Does that mean they had an intelligent creator? I don’t know. The entire universe is precisely and consistently designed. Water doesn’t freeze randomly. Planets don’t orbit randomly. Apples don’t fall from trees randomly. Maybe all of us and are skeletons are just a manifestation of the ordered nature of the universe. Maybe we’re the universe incarnate. Of course, I guess that would make us God. Ah hell, you see what all this talking about God leads to?

Now look here, I told you not to believe anything anybody says, and you didn’t ask me, but I’m going to tell you this anyway and you can think about it. If you ask me, there’s no final proof for or against the existence of a God or an afterlife. So they shouldn’t even come into the equation at all. That’s what I say, not that anybody listens to me.

Then again, I guess it does make me sound like a crazy old man. If you take God and the afterlife out of the equation all you’re left with is a big, beautiful, lonely, indifferent universe that doesn’t offer any answers. But Hell, kid. If that’s the way it is then that’s the way it is and wishing it were any different won’t change reality one bit no matter how hard we wish, will it?

Still though, in a scientific universe, things remain in a state of rest until something acts on them. Every cause has an effect, and every effect has a cause. Something set this universe in motion, and that event happened for a reason. If there wasn’t a reason it wouldn’t have happened.”

“But…but what if there wasn’t a reason?”

“If there wasn’t a reason…then I guess we just give up and shit in our hands.”

“…”

“I’m just joking with you kid. But seriously, it doesn’t change anything if there wasn’t a reason or even if there is a reason but we never figure it out. It doesn’t change the fact that we’re still here walking, talking, breathing, thinking and hopelessly stranded in this goddamned great, big, beautiful, lonely, indifferent universe. You’re still alive aren’t you? Well, your life is still infinitely valuable. Even if it’s not you can’t prove it. So you may as well assume it is. And either way you still gotta figure out what the most important thing you can do with your life is.

And you’re still going to get farther in life by asking questions than making excuses. So ask some questions. Like, ‘What can we do? What determines the value of an action? What would the consequences be if we didn’t do anything?’

If that doesn’t help, if you can’t figure anything out then go learn some more. Or maybe it’s not that you don’t have enough of the variables in the equation to find the answer. Maybe the formula you’re using to answer questions with is broken. Spend some more time thinking about thinking. Try to improve your method of asking questions. But come to some kind of conclusion because if you don’t you’re just going to waste all your whole life wandering around completely lost and directionless, frittering away these irreplaceable moments on immediate, shortsighted, petty, meaningless trivialities and such.

Anyway, I don’t know if that helped at all, but for what it’s worth that’s what I got to say. ”

“I think it sorta helped…

I just got one more question.”

“Shoot.”

“What does a plant do?”

“It grows…

Now if you don’t mind, my gout is acting up. I need to go soak my feet. Run along home. Your mother must be worried to death about you.”

If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough – Albert Einstein

People say expectations are root-cause of every pain…so don’t expect.

Why not? I’m trying to live upto expectation of everyone around me… why I can’t expect something from them ?  Why I have to justify my reasons for being angry or disappointed or frustrated or whatever… until other people are convinced that the reasons are *good enough* ??

if something is very little and ‘not so important’ to others…is bothering me a lot… why i’m expected to take it easy and ‘not bother’ about it…becoz rest of the world doesn’t find it important enough !

Becoz its just the situation and no one’s personal fault… can’t i be angry…just with the situation itself ?

If i expect something…it doesn’t happen…or something toally oppostite of it happens… i’m just suppose to take it light and blame my expectations for that …huh?!?!?! Why I can’t be angry for the simple reson that I expected something and I was disappointed … oh yeah I forgot… ‘Expectations’ are wrong in first place :/

Why I have to fear to co-sequences before reacting to anything or anyone… can’t I take my loved ones for granted ?

I already know the answers…. people ask me not to expect because that is the right thing and they don’t want to see me getting hurt…. they ask you to justify the reasons just to make me see that ‘its no big deal’ so that I’ll be able to take it lightly, let it go and be happy again…. I should not take my loved ones for granted because they are also human beings and can get hurt with a wrong reaction. Sigh !! … I know all these already… but still …… it’s all easier said than done.

I expect and I get hurt…but it’s easier to get over than pain than ‘trying’ not to expect

No idea where it’s originally from, but anyway:

“The Bible says He’s a Seven Way King. He’s the King of the Jews – that’s a racial King. He’s the King of Israel – that’s a National King. He’s the King of righteousness. He’s the King of the ages. He’s the King of Heaven. He’s the King of glory. He’s the King of kings and He is the Lord of lords. Now that’s my King. Well I wonder if you know Him. Do you know Him? My King is the only one whom there are no means of measure can define His limitless love. No far seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shore of supplies. No barriers can hinder Him from pouring out His blessing. Well, well, He’s enduringly strong. He’s entirely sincere. He’s eternally steadfast. He’s immortally graceful. He’s imperially powerful. He’s impartially merciful. That’s my King. He’s God’s Son. He’s the sinner’s saviour. He’s the centrepiece of civilization. He stands alone in Himself. He’s august. He’s unique. He’s unparalleled. He’s unprecedented. He’s supreme. He’s pre-eminent. Well, He’s the loftiest idea in literature. He’s the highest personality in philosophy. He’s the supreme problem in high criticism. He’s the fundamental doctrine of proved theology. He’s the carnal necessity of spiritual religion. That’s my King. He’s the miracle of the age. He’s the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him. Well, He’s the only one able to supply all of our needs simultaneously. He supplies strength for the weak. He’s available for the tempted and the tried. He sympathizes and He saves. He’s a strong God and He guides. He heals the sick. He cleanses the lepers. He forgives sinners. He discharged debtors. He delivers the captives. He defends the feeble. He blesses the young. He serves the unfortunate. He regards the aged. He rewards the diligent and He beautifies the meek. Do you know Him? Well, my King is the key of knowledge. He’s the wellspring of wisdom. He’s the doorway of deliverance. He’s the pathway of peace. He’s the roadway of righteousness. He’s the highway of holiness. He’s the gateway of glory. He’s the master of the mighty. He’s the captain of the conquerors. He’s the head of the heroes. He’s the leader of the legislatures. He’s the overseer of the overcomers. He’s the governor of governors. He’s the prince of princes. He’s the King of kings and He’s the Lord of lords. That’s my King. Yeah. Yeah. That’s my King. My King, yeah. His office is manifold. His promise is sure. His light is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes. His Word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteous. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Well. I wish I could describe Him to you, but He’s indescribable. He’s indescribable. Yes. He’s incomprehensible. He’s invincible. He’s irresistible. I’m coming to tell you, the heavens of heavens cannot contain Him, let alone a man explaining Him. You can’t get Him out of your mind. You can’t get Him off of your hands. You can’t outlive Him and you can’t live without Him. Well, Pharisees couldn’t stand Him, but they found out they couldn’t stop Him. Pilate couldn’t find any fault in Him. The witnesses couldn’t get their testimonies to agree. Herod couldn’t kill Him. Death couldn’t handle Him and the grave couldn’t hold Him. That’s my King. Yeah. He always has been and He always will be. I’m talking about He had no predecessor and He’ll have no successor. There was nobody before Him and there’ll be nobody after Him. You can’t impeach Him and He’s not going to resign. That’s my King! Jesus.”

I recently read John Baldoni’s article called “How to become a great explainer” over at Harvard Business. In his article, he argues that “Great communicators are great explainers” and that being a great explainer involves 3 elements:

• Define what it is
• Define what it is not
• Define what you want people to do

He takes the example of US Presidents such as President Obama and President Roosevelt. To some extent, I agree with his view and I encourage you to give a read to this article. But this article made me think of my own thinking process when it comes to explaining.

Whenever I need to explain something, I try to set myself in the shoes of the person I am explaining something to. And I focus on the following elements:

1. What message am I trying to send to the other party?
2. What are the important elements that support my message?

These 2 questions ensure that (1) my communication has reached its objective, and (2) that the receiver knows the major elements supporting my message. I hereby concur with Baldoni’s view that too many details in communication is not necessarily positive. It only makes the receiver more confused and makes him lose the big picture of what you are trying to say.

Therefore, keep it simple.

Employee orientation provides new employees with the basic background information required to perform their jobs satisfactorily, such as information about company rules. Programs may range from brief, informal introductions to lengthy, formal courses.

The HR specialist (or, in smaller firms, the office manager) usually performs the first part of the orientation, by explaining basic matters like working hours and vacations. The person then introduces the new employee to his or her new supervisor. The supervisor continues the orientation by explaining the exact nature of the job, introducing the person to his or her new colleagues, familiarizing the new employee with the workplace, and helping to reduce first day jitters. Orientation typically includes information on employee benefits, personnel policies, the daily routine, company organization and operations, and safety measures and regulation, as well as facilities tour.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir - Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, Lectures, Line of Sight

Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson reveals the decision to sack manager Gareth Southgate was made before the 2-0 win over Derby…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: live soccer. The blog is also related to: soccer world rankings.

Introduction

With the increasing popularity of workflow software, many IT departments are wrestling with the distinction between workflow programs and application automation tools. Both claim to automate business processes.
The purpose of this document is to compare and contrast workflow and application automation. This document will show that workflow and application automation are similar, but that there are important distinctions, and that ultimately they serve different purposes. The document concludes by making the argument that your ultimate goal should be full automation.

Terminology

Differences between workflow and application automation are obscured by non-specific, overlapping terminologies. Terms like “business process,” “automation,” “task,” “job,” and “rule” have different definitions when pertaining to workflow versus automation. These terms, as they are used in this whitepaper, are defined below.

Workflow

Task

an action or activity; a series of tasks make up a workflow process.

Rule

attributes that define how a task can be completed and how a task can be passed to the next person for action.

Work process

a series of tasks connected by rules; traditionally known as a business process.

Automation

Job

a single executable piece of work; jobs usually target a particular application or a specific executable program; a series of jobs make up an automated process.

Dependency

criteria that determine the sequence in which jobs will execute.

Business process

a series of jobs connected by dependencies; traditionally known as a job stream.

General

Step

generically refers to a task or job.

Process

generically refers to a work process or business process.

So, in workflows we can now speak of a “work process with manual tasks held together by rules.” In automation we can speak of a “business process consisting of application jobs connected by dependencies.”

What is Workflow?

Workflow is the tasks, procedural steps, organizations or people involved, required input and output information, and tools needed for each step in a business process. The NPD Group defines workflow as the “automation of a business process, in whole or part, during which documents, information or tasks are passed from one participant to another for action, according to a set of procedural rules.”

The two key points to both these definitions are:
- the inclusion of “people” or “participants” taking “actions”
- the “passing” of actions or tasks (according to procedural rules) between “participants”

Further, workflow automation products allow a company to create a workflow model and components such as online forms and then use this to manage and enforce the consistent handling of work. For example, an insurance company could use a workflow automation application to ensure that a claim was handled consistently from initial call to final settlement. The workflow application would ensure that each person handling the claim used the correct online form and successfully completed their step before allowing the process to proceed to the next person and procedural step. Other examples might include approval of a credit memo or approval of a requisition. Each example includes an “action” or task being carried out manually by one “participant” before being passed on to the next.

What is Automation?

According to Merriam-Webster, “automation” is defined generally as: The technique of making a process or a system operate automatically through the use of devices that take the place of human observation, effort, and decision.

Alternatively, “automation” can be defined as: The technique of making a manual process automatic by eliminating human effort and intervention.

By either definition, complete automation of a process would eliminate any human intervention in the steps of the process as well as the hand offs between steps.

What are Workflow Tools?

Workflow tools facilitate the design and implementation of workflows. They usually include a graphic tool for drawing a workflow using icons that represent steps in a business process. They also include a workflow engine that drives the workflow, presenting documents or information to participants in the work process in the correct order. Workflow tools can launch programs and applications, but generally rely on actions by the human participants to trigger movement from one step in the process to the next.

One example of a workflow tool is Oracle Workflow. In an Oracle paper titled Oracle Workflow: Business Process Management for Your Enterprise, Oracle presents the following diagram as an example of a workflow diagram. Notice the emphasis on the approver and approval steps. This workflow most definitely requires significant human intervention.

What are Application Automation Tools?

Application automation tools, often known generically as job schedulers, facilitate complete automation of business processes. The scheduling component makes it possible to automatically launch business processes on specific days at specific times. The business process can, and often does, consist of many applications serving many different areas of an enterprise.

True automation tools should make it possible to add dependencies (e.g.: run Job B only after Job A completes), and “if-then” logic that takes the place of an operator checking the state of the system. For example, an automation tool should be able to check for the existence of specific files. With a sophisticated automation tool, you should be able to completely automate a business process, eliminating all human intervention except for troubleshooting.
A typical business process that can be automated is shown in the diagram below. It represents a data warehousing operation. Notice the distinct lack of human intervention.

How are Workflow and Application Automation Different?

Workflow is focused on managing work processes that consist of, at least in part, tasks performed by humans. These tasks can be thought of as “must be” manual tasks, meaning the task is inherently manual (e.g. signing a document) or the business requires the task to be manual (e.g. approval of a credit memo or requisition).

Procedural rules dictate how each manual task is passed to the next person for action. The bottom line is workflow assumes and, in fact, requires manual intervention throughout a work process.

Since these “must be manual” tasks cannot, by definition, be fully automated, workflow tools focus on improving the overall work process by adding rules and notifications between tasks. From a true automation perspective, the overall work process can be streamlined, but the human component is never eliminated, and the process is never fully automated.

In contrast, application automation automates business processes that consist of various application jobs connected together with dependency logic. The automation tool runs the jobs and the dependency logic is enforced without any human intervention. The bottom line is automation assumes no manual intervention, and actively works to remove manual intervention throughout a business process.

If you were to put process automation on a spectrum running from completely manual (left) to fully automated (right), workflow would fall somewhere to the left of the middle. Application automation would fall far to the right end of the spectrum.

Full Automation: The Ultimate Goal

In the business world, few people would argue that manual processes are better than automated processes. Ever since Henry Ford’s assembly line, automation has produced tremendous gains in efficiency and productivity, positively impacting the bottom-line in thousands of companies. In contrast, human intervention in a process opens it up to inconsistencies, delays, and errors. And in today’s world of corporate scandals and Sarbanes-Oxley legislation, fraud and faulty data are ever-increasing concerns.

Workflow tools, by definition, preclude full automation. They assume manual intervention in a process.

To choose a workflow tool is to lock your organization into a less than optimum solution.
Automation tools, and more specifically, job schedulers/application automation tools, begin with the assumption of full automation. Choosing an automation tool opens your organization to the most efficient means of completing a process. It gives you the opportunity to streamline processes and eliminate human intervention wherever possible.

In short, workflow tools are backwards looking; application automation tools are forward looking.

Which Tool is Right for You?

Your requirements will dictate if a workflow or application automation tool is right for you. It is possible, in fact likely, that you will have a need for both. They are truly complementary.

If you want to streamline processes that still require human intervention to handle “must be manual” tasks, then you will want to use a workflow tool. A workflow tool can reduce the time it takes to complete a process by moving documents from one individual to the next automatically.

If you are automating processes that bridge multiple applications, and those processes lend themselves to full automation, you will want to use an application automation tool. In fact, a powerful automation tool can make it possible to automate processes that you thought were locked in to a workflow model.

Alright. I’ve seen this MULTIPLE times and I think it’s time to speak out. Being a decent looking LARPer myself, I’ve also been on the receiving end of these crazy and sometimes cruel misunderstandings.

What the heck am I talking about? You’re a hot LARPer (either male or female, yes I’m including you guys too!) you’ve attended a LARP long enough to make a name for yourself and get the attention of every other LARPer in the game. You’re on top of the world! The attention is intoxicating and you can’t get enough of it. Until you catch wind of the rumors… about you.

Why is it when you’re getting the right kind of attention people need to say the wrong kind of things. You know what I mean… “She’s sleeping with him. AND him. AND him.” “He’s a player and will sleep with anything that moves.” “She’s an ice cold Ice Queen.” “He’s a smooth talking jerk.” Now I’m not saying that there AREN’T people out there that take advantage of people at the LARP, but there is no reason to expect every. single. hot. LARPer. to. do that.

The rumors become so bad that the person who is the target of all these ‘misunderstandings’ is forced to move on to either a new LARP, continue suffering at their current LARP or to drop LARPing entirely. There is no reason people need to begin these rumors, comments… misunderstandings. How would you feel to hear these things about yourself when you don’t deserve them? When the worse possible thing you’ve done is smile at everyone and act friendly. So please keep this in mind next time you’re jealous of that good looking girl or guy over there… instead why not try to take the mature path and become friends? After all, being the best friend of someone getting all the attention is bound to get yourself some of that very same attention.

The Football Association has written to Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson asking him to explain comments he made about referee Alan Wiley…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: soccer uniforms. For a different topic see here. The blog is also related to: football news.

The managers view without Enterprise Architecture

The managers view with a little Enterprise Architecture

The managers view with a little more Enterprise Architecture

The managers view with even more Enterprise Architecture

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[on BELIEF and ACTION]

It is possible to know one’s beliefs by looking at their actions, but it is impossible to know one’s actions simply by looking at one’s beliefs.

For belief is different than action, and rare is the person who acts according to his or her professed belief.

Humans are mortal, by definition, and know for certain very little about things immortal.

Hypothesis and superstitions, often termed belief, aim to simplify what is supernatural, i.e., what is not of this earth.

One’s beliefs cannot change reality, they cannot explain the past or define the future. At most, a belief may shape the present, and only our actions can agree with our beliefs.

If our actions do not match our beliefs, then it is only the present that we disgrace in the name of the future.

A belief which does not match our actions is but another’s, whose existence is never real enough to call our own. In this light, it is only possible to say that actions exist and beliefs are as only as real as said actions.

The action which differs from belief must relinquish any ties to that belief, for they are separate, they are an ‘other’ unto each other.

A fool professes a belief and guides not his actions to follow. The wise guide their own actions accordingly, and in doing so, set forth a belief which no soul can dispute, as it is backed with action.