What Are You Most Thankful For? is a post from: Interesting Observations

I came across this SelfGrowth.com poll today and looking at the results at the time, out of 26 votes, not a single person voted for Money and Career as being the things they feel thankful for.  I wondered:  Could it be because the respondents were from amongst those who are directly affected by the high unemployment rates that have  risen to 10.2 percent in the month of October, which is an all time high since The Great Depression?

Or Is it possible the people who answered that poll are the ones who only go to the selfgrowth.com site for inspiration and aren’t really concerned about or concentrating on making money online or offline?

As for me, I am thankful for my family and friends, but honestly, I am more thankful today to have a job that pays my bills (including health care insurance).

What about you?

What are you most thankful for today?

Let us know in the comments here and list at least 3 things that you are thankful for today.

©2009 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved.

Plant A Tree : Blog Action Day ‘09 Climate Change is a post from: Interesting Observations

Today is Blog Action Day and as the day approached, I panicked a bit for I haven’t been writing for some time.  But this year’s topic, Climate Change and it’s implications on our lives, is so huge, I did not want to pass up the opportunity to include my two cents even if there might only be a few readers left who check my blog out these days.

We all know that there is an enormous amount of information on the web about climate change and it is kind of difficult to figure out where to start and what to say in a short message for your post that hasn’t already been said.  But you know what?  Despite ALL of the information out there, many of us are still not taking the steps necessary to slow down the process of climate change, let alone stop it.   We may even have some ideas that climate change is detrimental but still a lot of us do not have a clear picture of what all this means.   So if you are like me and need to see the big picture, check out the  Climate time Machine by Nasa which shows Changes in the Global Conditions Over Time in a very easy to understand flash videos.

I also came across a few sites/forums where some people were upset and questioned why US has to be concerned about climatic changes in the rest of the world.  That’s such an ignorant position to take as the green house gases are not separated by borders like  most countries are.  Gases in our atmosphere don’t need regulations or permission to move from one country to another!    It’s the same air we all breath, in our homes, and in our offices.   Air pollution is a universal problem and each and every one of us has an obligation to do whatever we can do to correct it if we care for a better future for us as well as our future generations.

Look at this video that shows how US isn’t immune to the wrath caused by polluting environment:

And you can download the fact sheet that explains the connection between Climate Change and Flooding.

Now it’s really easy to start feeling that at our individual levels, it’s difficult to do anything about it.   In order to make a difference in the rate at which the earth’s atmosphere is polluting, we don’t have to drop our daily routines and do something out of the ordinary.  It’s the simplest of things that will eventually make a huge difference in clearing our atmosphere.    Simple things like using energy star products, energy efficient cars, recycling and planting some trees (remember we learned in grade school that plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?).   If you want to be part of the community while planting trees, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has launched a worldwide tree planting campaign and pledged to plant 7 billion trees by the end of 2009.   They allow people to make online pledges to plant trees.  They have already surpassed their original pledge of 7 billion trees.  Here are the instructions on how to plant a tree!

I think I am going to start planting some fruit trees as that can produce delicious results – for us as well as for the mother earth.

What action(s) are you going to take to reduce the climate change?

photo by nattu

PS: This post is part of Blog Action Day 2009. Blog Action Day is an annual event that unites bloggers all over the world in posting about the same issue on the same day. It’s aim is to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion.  It’s not too late to register your blog and be part of “the largest ever social change event on the web.”

©2009 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved.

Happiness is contagious – 2! is a post from: Interesting Observations

Look,  we know those guys in Jill and Kevin Heinz’s wedding dance video were a bit over the top but you have to see how these guys handled the last day of their journey as they proceed to divorce each other, just after 6 months!!

It’s a different cast but the divorce day must have been a blast for everyone as their friends and family can be seen swinging to Chris Brown’s “Forever“..

By the way, they are still happily married :)

©2009 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved.

Happiness is Contagious is a post from: Interesting Observations

Happiness really IS contagious! And to make a difference, all we need to do is share it, ’spread it around’….

Seeing this video not only made me laugh, the affect lasted for a long time.  It also reminded me of a post I had recently read at Seth Godin about leaders who start a movement that people feel compelled to join!

He’s referring to the Guy #3 in the following video:

I have a feeling we’ll see this trend in more and more weddings :)

©2009 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved.

Carnival of Healing #191 is a post from: Interesting Observations

Ever since I started participating in the Carnival of Healing, majority of the articles I’ve received happen to be about fitness, losing weight and diets that work or don’t work and some on herbal techniques to cure various diseases.  Exercise, good nutritious diet and medicines are certainly helpful in the healing process but for a complete healing to take place,  inside and out, we need to understand the strong mind and body connection and find a way to live a balanced life.

Since diet articles weren’t doing much to my emotional and spiritual life, I’ve found other ways to find peace and calm and take care of stressful situations.  I’ve found that helping others in need in turn helps me feel better.  It’s easier to forget your own problems when you are busy helping others.  So, I’ve been volunteering some of my time to various causes as I believe that the real responsibility to heal ourselves lies with us taking some action and not just reading, writing or attending some counseling sessions else we will continue to hurt.

As you read this week’s healing articles, I would love to know what you practice to get rid of negativity and heal yourself from hurts and severely stressful situations.

Anmol Mehta presents 6 Safe and Natural Weight Loss Solutions posted at Mastery of Meditation.

Brain Blogger presentsClearing the Haze – Is Marijuana Addictive? posted at Brain Blogger.

“In the past few years, as addiction researchers have been mapping out the chemical alterations in the brain caused by alcohol, nicotine, methamphetamine, and other drugs, America’s most popular illegal drug has remained largely a scientific mystery. It is a drug that millions of Americans have been using regularly for years, and, from a clinical perspective, it remains the least studied illicit drug of all.”

Heartstrong presents A Fresh Look at Organic Produce posted at Healthy Hearts with Heartstrong.

Celes presents Overcoming Perfectionism posted at EmbraceLiving.Net.

“If you are a perfectionist, you would know that perfectionism sometimes disables you more than it enables you. As a perfectionist myself, I experience that often. Here are 8 useful steps to overcome perfectionism and make it an enabler in your life.”

Megan Wong presents Outstanding cure for symptoms of a sinus infection!! posted at Sinus Home Remedy.

Gin G. presents Recovery Diets posted at Sense Scribe.

“Learn the reasons for certain diets during illness and recovery stages and share with your family and friends.”

Kaushik Chokshi presents Awakening is Simple – FREE!! ebook excerpts posted at Beyond Karma.

“How do we free ourselves from the past, from depression and anxiety, from the unease of being which most of us experience? The joy of being is so utterly simple, right here and right now. Awareness and Release techniques allow this natural ease which transforms all of living–-health, relationships, and well-being!”

Crystal Wells presents Finding the Best Diets that Work for You posted at The Best Diets That Work.

“There are a number of diets that exist from starving yourself to death to eating prepackaged meals to only eating specific foods. But what diets work? Really the question should be what are the best diets that work for you?”

Catherine VanWetter presents To the Heart of the Matter – The Myth of Busyness posted at To The Heart of the Matter.

“Have you ever wondered who you are if you are not busy? Busy taking care of other people, busy working, busy doing “stuff”? In everyday life, how does one step off of the “dread mill” of busyness? Are you present?”

Victoria presents Don?t Let Your Breakup Make You Come Undone | Time To Get Married posted at Time To Get Married.

“It is important to not let a breakup ruin your life.”

Aparna presents Home Remedies for headache posted at Beauty and Personality Grooming.

FitJerk presents How To Boost & Strengthen Your Immune System With Top Herbal Remedies posted at FlawlessFitness.

Sarah Scrafford presents The Twitter Diet: 100 Tips, Tools, and Twitter Feeds for Your Weight Loss posted at Ultrasound Technician Schools.

Vera Nadine presents Channeling: Choosing Hope Over Fear – Vera Nadine posted at Vera Nadine.

Nancy Miller presents 100+ Ways to Spring Clean Your Mind and Body posted at Surgical Technician Schools.

Jennifer Mannion presents When Everything Changes – Change Everything by Neale Donald Walsch (A book review) posted at Heal Pain Naturally.

Robert Burton Robinson presents Saving Up to Buy Some Happiness posted at Mind Over Mania.

“Are you happy? If not, do you hope to be happy some day? Mr. Banks thinks he can buy some at The Happiness Store.”

WP presents 5 Simple Ways to Boost Your Immune Health posted at The Conscious Life.

“With flu virus on the loose, it is important to strengthen our immune system so that we do not get infected easily. Try these easy-to-use methods at home and stay healthy today.”

That concludes this week’s carnival of healing.  See Organicsyes’s Weblog for last week’s carnival, and look out for Clara Myers’ Mind Mart for next week’s submissions.  And if you want to get one of your articles published in this carnival, head over to Carnival of Healing Archives.

PS: It was a pleasant surprise to get a carnival submission from Anmol Mehta as I had recently found and added his blog to my daily feed reader.   All of the blogs above have very useful articles and I encourage all of you to go read them and if you like, share them with others.

©2009 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved.

Carnival Of Healing #185 – It’s all about having courage is a post from: Interesting Observations

As you know by now, Carnival of Healing is a weekly round-up of personal blog posts on the topics of holistic health, wellness, spirituality, and self empowerment. Posts range from tips on losing weight, sharpening your brain to stem cell research, Feng Shui to finding our true self! Eventually, it’s all about healing our minds, bodies and Spirit.

So how can today’s edition be complete without including that person who has given tears of joy and hope this week to millions around the globe? If you are one of the few who has not heard of Susan Boyle this week, you definitely need to watch her in this video and then read Clayton Makepeace’s article What Are You So Afraid Of?

Reminds me a quote “Success is never found.  Failure is never fatal. Courage is the only thing.”

- Winston Churchill

So, here are this week’s healing articles

ChristianPF present Health benefits of cocoa posted at Natural Health Ezine , saying, “We all know cocoa has some health benefits, but is it all good?”

Robert Galway presents Ftiness Bootcamp posted at robertgalway.com , saying, “Boot camp exercises are chosen to build strength and total body conditioning through repetition, duration, and gradual intensity. A typical day of full basic training in the booth camp exercises are also easy to weave into your running program, as you can do them at regular intervals during your workout at a park, trail or track.”

Alvaro Fernandez presents Brain Teaser to Stimulate your Concentration Skills posted at SharpBrains, saying, “What about a quick brain teaser: can you count?”

Aparna presents Tulsi (Basil) to cure skin problems posted at Beauty & Personality Grooming, saying, “Tulsi has been found to possess extraordinary powers of healing and promoting health. Tulsi is found to be endowed with purifying and antiseptic qualities. The efficacy of the remedies of skin diseases is greatly augmented if they are used in conjunction with Tulsi”

Gerard Banhidi presents Meditation: Introduction posted at Health and Meditation Corner

floslib presents Finding My Beliefs posted at Spirited Script.

Kaushik Chokshi presents The Power of Intention – how to stop the cycle of madness posted at Beyond Karma.

Tom Maurer presents Mind-Body Healing posted at Simple and Spiritual.

Robin Birch presents Finding Our True Selves posted at Let’s Live Forever!, saying, “The “Observer” part of us has always been the same, and is always in ecstasy – we can get in touch with our higher self by being the Observer.”

Pat Doyle presents How To Arrange Your Bedroom For Good Feng Shui posted at Feng Shui Crazy, saying, “The bedroom is one of the most important rooms for Feng Shui. You spend one third of your life in bed, and a restful sleep is important for your general energy level.”

Margaret Garcia presents 100 Best Blogs for Living Healthy on a Budget posted at Surgical Technician Schools.

Julian Pollock presents Avoiding Allergies with Organic Lotion – and Discover the Major Skin Benefits for the Entire Family, From Babies on Up posted at Julian Pollock, saying, “Although the Internet abounds with the advantages of organic skincare, I still feel it’s worth bringing this to people’s attention. (As a private note on the anniversary of my mother’s death, I was quite touched with your writings about your father. I’m told it is a male trait that we try to fix other people’s problems – as opposed to being there for them; but still – I wonder if you know about the Sedona Method – a system of letting go I have been using for six or seven years now and treasure it.)”

Brad presents Playing Your Heart Strings posted at Tri-Freedom, saying, “Letting music take us deep within.”

Ross presents How To Cure Yourself of Hay Fever posted at Energise for Life, saying, “It’s that time of year again! I know it’s coming, you know it’s coming and all the signs are there: the mood of the nation lifts (wahoo!), we start saying hello to each other again, everyone desperately starts trying to get in shape, the sunny mornings give everyone a lift and a spring in their step and the clocks change (at last!). We don’t go to work and come home from work in the dark anymore and we start looking forward to Wimbledon, summer fruits and holidays.”

Daylle Deanna Schwartz presents Law of Attraction in Action: Complacency posted at Lessons from a Recovering DoorMat, saying, “Being complacent takes life for granted and tells the Law of Attraction you don’t appreciate what you have. You can change that!”

Robert Burton Robinson presents How to Lose the Fat and Keep It Off Forever posted at Mind Over Mania, saying, “8 tips to help you lose fat and FINALLY keep it off FOREVER. You’ll feel better and be healthier when your weight is under control.”

Sarah Scrafford presents 50 Foods That Give You the Most Nutrition Bang for Your Buck posted at Masters in Health Care.

GrrlScientist presents Pioneering Stem Cell Research in Race Horses Now Helping People posted at Living the Scientific Life, saying, “Several companies that I’ve been following have been redirecting their stem-cell research that they originally developed to help injured horses to help people recover from Achilles tendon injuries.”

Joe Tichio presents The Best Stress Busters posted at Inspirational Quotes Blog.

VikramKir presents What to eat to lose fat? Food for weight loss! posted at Thoughtfully Vikram.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of healing using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Watch for next week’s carnival #186 – April 25 2009: hosted by Jon, Beyond Within
Last week #184 – April 11 2009 carnival was hosted by Ji Hyang, Natural Wisdom

Technorati tags: carnival of healing, blog carnival.

©2009 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved.

Carnival of Healing #181 is a post from: Interesting Observations

Last year when I started participating in the carnival of healing, I was going through myriad of emotions and was very angry at the helplessness that I felt after my dad suddenly passed away.   He was in very good health except a headache that lasted for a week and wouldn’t go away.  He had walked a couple of miles the day he was taken to the ER.  In the hospital, everything happened so fast, the doctors could not keep pace with his deteriorating health from some infection he had caught in the hospital.  We were devastated.  I cannot believe it’s already been a year since then.  Throughout his stay in the hospital he stayed very optimistic, as he always was and rather gave us strength.

I had seen people dying before but this was different.  This was very different as I loved (and still do) my dad more than anyone else in the world.  I felt closer to my dad than to my mother or siblings.  I felt he understood me and my feelings more than anyone else could.  So, this year has been the most difficult time in all of my life but I have to say that even so, as time passes, as most of you told me at the time, it has become easier as I try to understand life and death cycle and come to accept it.

Our mom, however week she is right now, is mentally and spiritually very strong.  She has seen us all break down at times and one day she told us that now we should be paying more attention to the ones that are living, than to the one that has moved on the next phase of his journey.  It sounded harsh at the time, but it makes a lot of sense.  Pay attention to your life and the lives of those you love.  And that is what the Carnival of Healing is all about too.  It has information on how to improve the quality of your life.

There are already a lot of great articles submitted to this carnival each week, but I also asked some of my friends who I thought could write on the subject or already do write on healing.  I met Sid Savara via Stumble Upon whose blog is not about ‘healing’ or ‘personal empowerment’ but he was kind enough to point me to one of his posts on inspirational quotes and the very first one is a gem.  I repeat that quote here:

“Life is but a brief moment. The years go by quickly and old age arrives suddenly before we have an inkling. People desire so many things and waste their days in vain. Some yearn for gold, others for power, yet others for glory and a higher station. But when death’s moment nears and they look back at their lives they’ve lived, they realize they’ve been happy only during those moments when they’ve loved.”
-Borje Vahamaki

1. Samir doesn’t write on holistic healing either, but was kind enough to write about what Holistic Health actually means in A Better Definition Of Holistic Health on his blog
2. Jenny’s blog is all about Healing Pain Naturally and this article on Healing – The Unlimited Possiblities, gives a good perspective.

There have been a lot of good articles that I tried to break down in different segments as healing entails all aspects of life: Physical, Emotional as well as Spiritual.  Take a look.

Emotional and Spiritual

1. Akemi presents Spiritual Self Protection And Clearing posted at Yes to Me .
2. Burak Bilgin presents Clear Your Mind posted at Distiller’s Corner .
3. Michael Miles presents Let your subconscious do the work posted at Effortless Abundance .
4. Daylle Deanna Schwartz presents Law of Attraction in Action: “I’m Fine!” posted at Lessons from a Recovering DoorMat .
5. Ross “Tolemac” Cotton presents Law of Attraction Methods and Techniques: Part 1 posted at Tolemac’s Metaphysical Blog .
6. ITAKEOFFTHEMASK presents Balancing the Root Chakra for Health and Stability posted at itakeoffthemask.com .
7. Robin shared The Journey, With Brandon Bays posted at Let’s Live Forever! . .

Physical

1. Tristan presents Weights advice from a Beast! posted at Body And Fitness Blog .
2. Brad presents Calorie Restriction posted at Tri-Freedom .
3. Martin Russell presents Phentermine For Weight Loss – My Story posted at Self Help Blog .
4. Axel presents Jet-Like Motivation posted at axel g .
5. Farid Mostamand presents Skin Beauty Blog posted at Anti-aging Skin care for body .
6. Mike presents What Is Anti-Aging? posted at Daily Health Tips And Health Services .
7. ananga presents Discover What Causes Fatigue and How You Can Stop It posted at Ananga’s Living by Design Blog .
8. Health Tips 101 presents Summer Tea: Blackberry/ Raspberry Leaf Tea posted at Health  Health Tips 101

Getting rid of addictions and disease

1. Kalidasa presents Neck Pain: C5 The Most Common Cause And What You Can Do About It
   posted at Natural Healing And Back Pain Relief .
2. Peter Crump presents Can You Get Cancer From Drinking Chlorinated Water? posted at Which Is THE Best Drinking Water Filter? .
3. Gina Loree Marks presents Liver Has Sprung posted at Blog/Home .
4. Alvin Hopkinson presents Signs of Diabetes – The 8 Signs to Watch Out For posted at How to Control Diabetes .
5. Dean Moyer presents Back Pain and Massage Therapy posted at The Back Pain Blog .
6. 00FF00 presents Hibiscus as a treatment for cystitis and high blood pressure – ooffoo – free to reuse, swap, sell, give away, recycle and more posted at A member of the ooffoo community .
7. Alvaro Fernandez presents New Study Supports Neurofeedback Treatment for ADHD posted at SharpBrains: Your Window into the Brain Fitness Revolution .
8. Brain Blogger presents Lithium as a Neuroprotectant? posted at Brain Blogger .
9. ishanbansal presents How to Save Money on Prescription Drugs posted at Save Few Bucks .
10. Roy Schwartz presents 10 (Proven!) Reasons to Quit Smoking and How You Can Start posted at A Disease A Day .
11. Patricia Turner presents Top 50 Cancer Survival Inspiration Blogs posted at Radiology Technician Schools .
12. NAOMI STEVENS presents PRINCE CHARLES LAUNCHES DUCHY HERBALS posted at Diary From England .

And here are some more interesting reads that indirectly impact the whole holistic concept and mindset.

1. Chris Edgar presents Is There Such A Thing As “Boring” Work? posted at Purpose Power Coaching .
2. Travis presents Crossing Cultural Boundaries | www.datinginislam.com posted at Dating In Islam.
3. Yael Ernst presents Complementary & Alternative Marketing- a Review posted at Chinese Medicine Notes .
4. Online Wellness Association presents PRACTITIONERS: WHY HAVE A WEBSITE? posted at Online Wellness: A Safe Haven .

Check out previous week’s carnival @ Create a Thriving Business

And if you are interested in participating, here is the upcoming schedule for the next few weeks:

You can also familiarize yourself by reading more about Holistic Healing here

photos: Lepiaf.geo

©2009 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved.

Wanna know more about your twitter followers? is a post from: Interesting Observations

You know there are tons of apps to make it easier for you tweet and know what your ‘friends’ and influencers are doing or saying on twitter but If you ever wanted to know little more about the people who are listening to what you are tweeting about, there is this neat little service called TwitterSheep where you put in your tweet id and it goes through your followers’ profile information to spit out a tag cloud that gives you some idea of what they are all about.  This may not be an exact and probably changes on a daily basis as your stats change based on who leaves your network and who joined.  But still, it was fun to see it.    I was kinda glad to see my followers are in the areas of my interests, social media, entrepreneurship, marketing and of course blogging. 

How about your followers?   The site doesn’t require your twitter password so you can be sure it’s safe! 

©2009 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved.

Buy 5 Books for the Price of 1 at SitePoint – And Earn Some Good Karma is a post from: Interesting Observations

If you keep up with the world news or write a blog,  you must have heard about the massive fires in Australia where  the death toll has risen to more than 300 in just a few days.   It is times like these I feel blogging is a worthwhile activity which tends to unite humanity.

In an effort to help victims of these fires,  SitePoint has decided to give away 5 books for the price of 1 and donate ALL the money to the victims.   Their goal is to raise $50,000 and donate it to Australian RedCross Victorian Bushfire Appeal.

There is a wide selection of books to choose from.  Here is what SitePoint’s website says:

We’re offering our entire range of books — from PHP to Project Management — for the sale; designers, developers, freelancers, managers, and business owners alike will all be able to choose a selection of professional books to enjoy.

If you or someone you know can use these books, then this is a very nice deal as combined these books are worth some $150.. and you only pay less than $30, and the best of all, you feel good making a contribution to help someone in need.     Here are some horrible pictures from an Australian news site.

When I came across SitePoint’s post this morning, I was watching CNN and the bushfire news segment was on and I instantly bought the following 5 books:

The Photoshop Anthology
The Art and Science of CSS
The Principles of Successful Freelancing
Build of your own website the right way
The HTML Utopia

They also have books on flipping websites, and more techie PHP,  JavaScript and AJAX applications for the techie minds.  Perfect opportunity to earn some good karma.

UPDATE: This deal ended on Friday Feb. 13th, 2009.

©2009 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved.

Clever Comment Spammers is a post from: Interesting Observations

I have been slow in posting but I regularly moderate comments and delete the spams but lately it has become more and more difficult to distinguish them from legitimate comments.

Following is a sample of what these scum bags have been writing and I just deleted almost 200+ comments that were left on different posts just today!    Reviewing such huge numbers of spam comments is a nightmare and it is possible to delete genuine comments accidentally but I hope I haven’t done that.

Here are some of them:

“great pictures, Especially for me at this winter time ,I am so in love with hot countries,Very peaceful!”

“Wow! this is a really nice blog. I loved reading it.
Thanks!”

“Nice info you have here..
I’ll use this a lot..thanks
and nice site too :D
“Good Afternoon…! ”
“Great Forum & Community!
I’ve been here as a freeloader for a while and finally got around to registration.
I sorta live online – spend most of my days addicted to social sites like MySpace.com and gambling sites like Betot.com.
Besides gambling (this week I made a sweet $2,000) off of betot, I love sports and hiking.
So that’s my self introduction. Happy New Year to All and hope to get to know you all better…
Peace…”

“The concept of holistic health is not new,but it was the first time I am listening to. Medicine is more an approach to how individuals should be treated, as opposed to a treatment method.”

“Howdy Partner, I fell lucky that I located this post while browsing for spyware doctor 3. I am with you on the topic of e going gets tough, tough feels like quitting |. Ironically, I was just putting a lot of thought into this last Thursday.”

“I think your blog need a new wordpress template. Downalod it from http:// genericwpthemes. com . The site has nice and unique wordpress templates.”

“I think you are thinking like sukrat, but I think you should cover the other side of the topic in the post too…”

“What if you are on someone else’s computer say, durning a hurricane evacuation. They dont tell you that have that type of spyware parents use to monitor the pre-teen kids and weeks after you leave, they go into your acocunt and go over all your entries? Is that wrong (ehtically it IS..I mean legally)?    Just asking because my paranoid aunt (erm..uncle’s wife) made my uncle go onto his computer and hell pulled up and printed every journal entry (including somebad ones about her…note – she’s a racist and I complained about it) on a site that you have to be a member of to read the entries, see member pages, etc.. (yes, I changed the passwords on ALL my frequently visited sites) and yes, after going to ther sites on their compy durning the Hurricane Ike evac, I clicked “Tools – Delete Browser History – Delete All” and they still got in…and the passwords were hard and in l33t.)”

HUH?  That last comment really got me thinking..   Is this person really a spammer or they were trying to make a point but I didn’t get it?   This was on the post When the going gets tough, tough feels like quitting
photo: dnorman

©2009 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved.

Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You… is a post from: Interesting Observations

In a few hours from now, Barak Obama will take the oath to preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the US.  We all know that putting such a huge responsibility on one person’s shoulders is most probably going to lead us all to disappointment but then like Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.”

Right now, that is exactly all of us Americans feel.   Hopeful.  Heck, that is how most of the people all over the world feel about Obama’s rise to Presidency.  This is an amazing moment in our country’s history!    We certainly have come a long way from the day Martin Luther King, Jr. gave the “I Have a Dream” address on August 28th, 1963, but there is still a long way to go.

But with leaders like Obama, who can motivate and inspire others to do the right thing, there is a hope that most people will come together to keeping America strong and proud. In the video below, you can see how some of the very famous celebrities have come together and made pledges to Barack Obama, supporting his call for change. We ALL can do the same. Make a Pledge today to make that change happen, however small it might be.

The Presidential Pledge

Because, together we will be the change that we seek.

©2009 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved.

Online Profits Course is half-off just this week is a post from: Interesting Observations

Online Profits is a course in Internet Marketing, put together by Daniel Scocco of Daily Blogging Tips.  I have been exploring some aspects of Internet Marketing and there are many many people talking about different aspects of this animal but none of them seem to be covering ALL aspects ranging from

Selecting the Domain Names,
Business Principles,
setting up your website,
working with WordPress,
Web Design,
Online Business Models,
Selecting your Niche,
Blogging do’s and don’ts,
Online Forums,
Mini Websites,
Online Stores,
Coywriting,
Outsourcing,
SEO Basics,
Oursourcing,
Linkbaits,
Keyword Research and Competitive Analysis,
Traffic Generation,
Social Media,
Advertising,
Email Marketing,
All you ever wanted to know about PPC,
Landing Pages,
and finally selling your products.

Phew!

All of the above AND video tutorials, six month membership to private forums.  And what is special about this particular course is that it is put together by the very established people in these areas of expertise.

Michael Gray,  Neil Patel,  Yaro Starak,  Hamlet Batista,  Tamar Weinberg, Daniel Scocco,  Zac Johnson,  Courtney Tuttle,  Nathan Rice and Skellie Wag

I’m very familar with all of the above names except Hamlet Batista so I was really looking forward to signing up but felt the course was a bit expensive for me.  Afterall, I haven’t made my first $100 in adsense from this blog in all of the time I’ve been blogging – which is since April of 2007.

It sucks I know but then I haven’t had the time or circumstances conducive to take my blogging to the next level and couldn’t find any one place to get all the information until now.  So, I thought of signing up for the course at 50% off  ($48 per month) that is running until January 16th. I have been tempted but have still be thinking about it and then came the kicker

Today Daniel announced that the first 10 people blogging about Online Profits on their blogs,  would get this membership for FREE..  And if 20 people blog about the course, you still have a chance to win a free membership.  This left me no reason to think any more as I want that free membership. Wouldn’t you?

©2009 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved.

Carnival of Healing #171 – Positive Perspectives is a post from: Interesting Observations

Welcome of this week’s carnival of healing.  Carnival of Healing is a weekly round-up  of personal blog posts on the topics of holistic health, wellness, spirituality, and self empowerment.

You’ll see many different perspectives in this week’s carnival as Holistic Healing “addresses all parts of the individual, not just the physical aspect of a person where manifested illnesses are most apparent. Holistic healing is not intended to serve as a band-aid or a one time fix. It is an ongoing journey of discovery in search of more answers and ultimately; living better, being healthier, and striving for wholeness.” as described in Phylameana’s blog.

I hope you enjoy visiting and reading the following informational articles in this carnival.

Russ presents Eat Healthier at Work posted at Open Road Open Mind.

Surfer Sam presents NEW !! Vitamins for Good Health posted at Surfer Sam and Friends.

Dr. Davon Jacobson presents Easy Dental Care with Highly Sensitive Teeth posted at *Health and Nutrition Facts*.

Phil for Humanity presents Overcoming Fear posted at Phil for Humanity.

Pregnancy Advisor presents How to Exercise Safely During Your Pregnancy posted at Pregnancy Hut – Week By Week Pregnancy Calendar.

Dean Moyer presents Sciatica and the Saline Story posted at The Back Pain Blog.

praveen presents Make New Year’s Resolutions For One Day Only posted at Tao of Simplicity.

Adam Donkus presents Goals for 2009 posted at Link Building and SEO tips from Pixelhead explaining how he is going to start out the year right by making and monitoring his goals throughout 2009.

Ross presents Are Natural Cleaning Products Worth It? posted at Energise Alkaline Diet & Natural Health Blog.

Peter Murphy presents How to Stay Motivated In The Face Of Office Politics posted at Get Motivated Stay Motivated.

Life Regained presents Dismissing The Detox Myth posted at Your Life Regained.

Kelly Sonora presents The Health Policy 100: The 100 Best Health Care Policy Blogs – Radiology Technician Schools posted at Radiology Technician Schools.

Aparna presents Home remedies for hardened palms posted at Beauty and Personal Grooming.

Xquisitlife presents Who Am I? posted at The best is yet to come!.

Naren Ghimire presents Meditation: The Ultimate Transformation posted at Spiritual Pub.

MBB presents MonaVie Acai Berry Health Benefit Scam posted at Money Blue Book Blog.

Browse the archives for more articles on healing and empowerment.

Last week this carnival was hosted Carnival of Healing #170 at How I Healed

For the next week’s carnival, visit Well Being and health

PS:  Please note that any articles that I felt were not in conformance with the overall theme of this carnival were not included.  To learn more, please visit holistic healing home page.

©2009 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved.

Next carnival of healing is a post from: Interesting Observations

Just a reminder to all my readers that the next carnival of healing will be hosted at this blog on Jan. 10th, 2009 (upcoming Friday).

So, if you have been thinking of participating, and if you have recently written anything on any of the topics related to:

Wellness
Holistic health
Spirituality
Personal Empowerment, or
Healthy Lifestyle

Get Your Blog Post Included in the Carnival by submitting here.

Here is an upcoming schedule of carnival of healing.

• #171 – Jan 10 2009: hosted by Pearl, Fresh Perspectives
• #172 – Jan 17 2009: hosted by Evan Hadkins (theme: Authenticity), wellbeingandhealth.net
• #173 – Jan 24 2009: hosted by Elizabeth Harper, Sealed with Love Blog
• #174 – Jan 31 2009: hosted by Nina Dixon, On the Path
• #175 – Feb 07 2009: hosted by Joe Lasiter, Massage 101
• #176 – Feb 14 2009: hosted by Clara Myers, Mind Mart
• #177 – Feb 21 2009: hosted by Pamir Kiciman, Reiki Help Blog
• #178 – Feb 28 2009: hosted by Margarat Nee, La Vida Fresca
• #179 – Mar 07 2009: hosted by Cari Campbell, Your Joyous Life

©2009 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved.

Happy New Year – Welcome 2009! is a post from: Interesting Observations

I wish you all a very Happy, Healthy, Successful and Safe New Year. Hope all of your wishes come true this year and beyond.

My only wish for the year 2009 is that it be more peaceful and prosperous than 2008.

This year we had no extravagant celebrations, just watched the ball drop in Times Square (on TV).

How about you?

Do you like to stay at home on New Year’s or are you the type who absolutely has to be out of the house this day?

©2009 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved.

Interesting Posts Around the Web is a post from: Interesting Observations

I use Justin Tadlock’s Options theme which was recommended and set up by my lovely friend Mig who writes Online Public Relations and I’ve been loving the ease to use this theme.  So naturally I visit Justin’s site often to see the showcase of how other people have tweaked the theme.  I don’t thing any of us keeps up with the premium themes business but I am sure most you will find this discussion at Justin’s site on Automatic pulling premium WordPress.org theme directory interesting to follow.

Don’t know if Abraham Piper followed Jim Estill’s advice in a Copyblogger article – Shorter is better – but with this post he has proven that it doesn’t always have to be a  How To or a Best 101 List to get huge number of comments ^_^

When I visited Jonathan Fields’s blog via reader, as I loved the title mba-shmemba, I found Seth Godin’s Squidoo lens post Instead of getting an MBA, consider spending six months in my office.  In Seth’s words:

If you’re stuck in a dead end job in publishing, or if you made a not-so-great choice in getting your career started, or if you thought Wall Street would be a different place, or if you just got laid off, or if you’re not crazy about fretting away the next six months waiting to get fired and you’re not quite ready to start your own gig… this might be the turbolift you were hoping for. Yes, it’s free.
It’s a chance to get off that track and onto a new track, faster and cheaper than most of the alternatives. And it might even be fun.

The only caveat is that you have to apply before December 14th – which is tomorrow!  That offer by Seth Godin got me very excited and for few hours I was playing in my mind how nice it would be if I applied and got chosen for his course..  I’m telling you, that kind of opportunity doesn’t come often.  I live close enough to the city and could definitely see myself enjoying this rare opportunity except I can’t leave my dead end job yet. So I’m willing to wait for the digital version.  

The different perspectives on the comment thread are interesting and a 17 year old guy Cyrusmassoumi also put together an ongoing list of links to people’s Squidoo lens ‘resumes’  who have applied for this guided 6 month apprenticeship.

If you are like me, I am sure you are visiting tons of social media sites all day long but have not seen consistent traffic to your site, then you want to read 10 ways to improve your results with Social Media today. 

Oh, have you been checking out Google’s Countdown to 2009 Search Tips to make your holiday search easier? 

If you have anything interesting to share, feel free to send me the link and I’ll try and publish it here in next Interesting Links post.

photo by thethi

©2009 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved.

WordPress 2.7, Coltrane is a post from: Interesting Observations

“This winter,

Heartwarming Usability

Breathtaking Beauty

and

Thrilling Flexibility”

Need I say more?   We’ve come a long long way from 2.2 when I started blogging.

My heartfelt thanks to hundreds of talented people who make up the WordPress team.  We are indebted to you guys for making it a breeze for us to express ourselves and make connections.

©2009 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved.

Personal Excellence Tips at Litemind is a post from: Interesting Observations

As many of you have often mentioned I should get back to posting regularly, and have inquired how I spend my time now that I am not blogging regularly, I want to share that I try to stay in touch with the online world doing things that do not require a lot of concentration or time.   I am very much present in the social media scene and often vote your articles up and am always there to help you out in any way I can.   Occasionally, I have also participated in the small group writing projects/contests, especially when the rules to enter were not very difficult.  A lot of things have changed after my father’s passing as now I go to see my mother (after work in the evening) more often than before and that takes away from my time but even when I am at home doing nothing and am not busy, it’s been difficult dealing with all that has happened in the last year but I promise to do better on this blog.

Now this:

Just a few days ago, I received an email from Luciano Passuello of Litemind that he was running a project/contest for his readers to submit their best personal excellence tips.  This did not require a blog post as you would just need to send in a tip to Luciano’s email.

As I am still in need of some good ideas on how to get over my depression, I thought of sending in a few lines that may not be the best advice out there but they have become my mantra to get through my sadness, check out #28 in the list.  Luciano has published ALL personal excellence tips submitted to him, 66 tips so far. Great ideas given by Litemind readers and great blogs to discover.

The best part.

Since there are prizes worth some $800,  Luciano has asked his participants to vote by commenting on this post listing at least their favorite 5 tips/entries,  and as many as they like (no voting for their own entry of course).   This part is going to take some time for me to choose as I am in a position where I could use most of these tips to improve my life.   If you didn’t get a chance to participate,  you are not eligible to vote but I’d still encourage you to head over to Litemind and share your own very best personal excellence tips.

And I’d be delighted to hear your comments here too on what gets you through depression and sadness.

©2009 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved.

President Obama gives America a night to remember forever! is a post from: Interesting Observations

What a charismatic moment we just had in America with Barack Obama’s victory tonight. Included below is President Obama’s (getting used to saying that) victory speech that he gave in Chicago just less than an hour ago. Watch it and notice the height of emotions felt across people of ALL colors, ages and social classes.

It was truly a very proud and emotionally thrilling moment as in times like these, you forget the differences and divide and stand united, for each other, not just for ourselves. Very inspirational as greatness and intelligence is once again rewarded tonight. Here’s to the new beginnings and much needed change..

©2009 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved.

Carnival of Healing #161 is a post from: Interesting Observations

Welcome to yet another great edition of carnival of healing .

Let me start by thanking all who submitted useful and practical advice filled articles to this edition of the carnival. I noticed a lot of the articles submitted were on physical well being and that is rightfully a huge part of our healing but I also feel that binge eating and not exercising and not taking care of our bodies etc. stem primarily from the way we are on the inside, how we feel about our current situations.

So, one of the major steps towards healing is to continuously be open to learning new skills for the changing circumstances throughout life :

Skills

• to stop the negative thinking cycle and calm the storms on the inside,
• to forgive people as well as circumstances that are beyond our control
• to break free from limiting beliefs
• to love ourselves

I am sure there are many more skills that help with healing and without further ado, here is some great reading material this weekend.

Dr. Ben Adkins presents Why Some People Are More Successful Than You posted at Dr. Ben Adkins.

Nicholas Powiull presents Conscious Flex: How to Easily Experience Lucid Dreams: by Nicholas Powiull posted at Conscious Flex, saying, “The more you can improve on your dreams, the more you can improve in your life. It is a reflection upon each other. Lucid dreams are a state of empowerment.”

Donald Latumahina presents 7 Winning Character Traits That Create A Lifetime Of Success posted at Life Optimizer.

Alvaro Fernandez presents Brainy Haikus for brain training posted at SharpBrains, saying, “Enjoy this collection of fantastic haikus on brain and mind topics, and contribute yours!”

Grace Young presents Please Be Seated! posted at Grace R Young OT, saying, “Prolonged standing is stressful. Sitting while performing tasks takes 25% less energy.”

Erin Pavlina presents 2012 and the End of the World posted at Erin Pavlina’s Blog, saying, “I’m sure you’ve heard about it. The Mayan calendar ends in 2012, and there are signs in so many places … the world is going to end in 2012. I get at least 3 or 4 emails per week asking if I believe the world will really end in 2012 or if there will be a spiritual awakening, or if God is coming down to select his top 100 people to take to Heaven while the rest of us go to Hell.”

Daylle Deanna Schwartz presents Law of Attraction in Action: “Too Blessed to Be Stressed” posted at Lessons from a Recovering DoorMat, saying, “When you regularly focus on appreciating your blessings, use the mantra, “I’m too blessed to be stressed” to attract relaxation during stressful times.”

AndrewB presents How to Stop Binge Eating posted at Stop Binge Eating, saying, “How I lost weight, overcame food addiction, and kept all the weight off.”

Kara-Leah Grant presents On the power of paying attention to your words posted at Prana Flow NZ, saying, “One of the most powerful actions we can take in our day to day life is to pay attention to our words. The language we choose to use reveals much about what we truly believe, and by choosing words that reflect our dreams and goals, we can change ourselves for the better.”

Kelly Turner presents Bulimic To Personal Trainer: Can Too Much of a Good Thing Be Bad? posted at Grounded Fitness.

AndrewB presents How to Stop Binge Eating posted at Binge Eating Forum, saying, “A post where everyone shared their best advice on how to stop binge eating or stop overeating, many great free tips to stop binge eating.”

Louis Burns presents Presuppose Greatness posted at NLP Marketing Blog.

fitnchic presents Diet food ? Weighing the Pros and Cons :: FitNChic.com – Get in Shape Fashionably :: posted at FitNChic.com – Get in Shape, Fashionably!.

Patricia Turner presents 5 Free Kettlebell Video Sites – EKG Classes posted at EKG Classes.

BoH presents Fat Chance! posted at buddha of hollywood.

Margaret Garcia presents Give your Children the Gift of Good Health – Radiology Technician Schools posted at Radiology Technician Schools.

Nancy Miller presents Bitter Pill to Swallow – Antidepressants and Weight Gain – Becoming A Radiologist posted at Becoming A Radiologist.

mag presents Heal yourself naturally by balancing your pH with acid/alkaline foods posted at The Magenpie.com, saying, “Many health problems that people suffer from these days are due to an imbalance of the body’s pH. The human blood pH should be slightly alkaline, at 7.35-7.45 pH. Anything below or above this range spells trouble.”

Mary@SimplyForties presents My Summer of Cancer posted at SimplyForties.

myln presents Simple Ways to Manage Stress posted at ManageYourLifeNow.com, saying, “Stress is not something that we cannot manage. There are ways to manage stress and reverse the negative consequences to our mental and physical health caused by stress. When we feel that stress is dominating our life we should take action immediately to find ways to manage our life and stress better.”

FitBuff presents How to Form Good Eating Habits posted at 3rd Chance Fitness Blog, saying, “We all wish we had good eating habits, but it’s hard. The good news is it’s also largely mental, and the following mindset will set you in the right direction.”

AndrewB presents Stop Emotional Eating Tips posted at Stop Binge Eating, saying, “why emotional eating is probably keeping you fat and how to instantly conquerit with these quick tips.”

AndrewB presents Courage – The World is Yours posted at Personal Hack, saying, “When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers. – Ralph Waldo Emerson”

Ray Dotson shows us How to Deal with Disappointment posted Freshblogger, saying, “I’m no psychiatrist, but I do believe there are stages that a person goes through in dealing with disappointment just like when grieving. In fact, disappointment could be seen as a loss of opportunity that certainly could trigger the grieving process.”

Caffeine Junkie presents Caffeine Content | My Caffeine Addiction posted at Caffeine Addiction, saying, “How to figure out the caffeine content in your drink.”

Pastor WD Favour presents Do You Have An Addiction? | wdfavour.com posted at wdfavour.com, saying, “Do you have an addiction? Do a personal check right away. Is there a specific activity, or a set of activities, that you are engaged in to the detriment of your health, mental state or social life? You might be blinded by the positive effects of that activity – probably you are making money from it or whatever: but if it’s hurting your health, mental state, or social life, its an addiction.”

Fiona King presents Top 100 Men?s Health Blogs posted at Massage Therapy Careers.

Khan presents Harmless or Deadly: A Personal Story About Asthma posted at Higher Education and Career Blog.

Steve Beisheim presents Free and Unlimited Exotic Massages posted at HowIHealed.com, saying, “A great resource for free massages”

Dean Moyer presents Microdiscectomy and Herniated Discs posted at The Back Pain Blog, saying, “Could the simple act of bending forward cause you to develop a herniated disc? What are the risk factors and what precautions should you take to avoid injury? And what about everybody’s favorite exercise; the sit-up? Is it really good for building core strength, or is it a dangerous practice? Since most health and fitness-minded people insist on “working those abs,” is there a way to perform sit-ups and crunches that minimizes the risk factors while actually enhancing results?”

FitBuff presents How Colon Cancer Warning Signs saved his life… posted at 3rd Chance Fitness Blog, saying, “Another 4 months of feeling winded and drained and he said “uncle” and called his doctor. It turns out, he HAD stage 2 colon cancer and was severely anemic from internal bleeding…”

Lizzie discusses Why Do Diet Fail on her FatLadySingz blog that just about everyone can benefit from

Vish presents The Illusion of Great Work posted at The Power To Realise God Through Self Enquiry.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of healing using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Previous Edition: Yourjoyouslife
Next Edition: howihealed

Technorati tags: carnival of healing, blog carnival.

©2009 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved.

Gadget Advisor for Tech News is a post from: Interesting Observations

photo: Randy Son of Robert

With both of my computers now slowing down, I started to panic a bit today as I hadn’t been backing up my drives lately!  Actually, I don’t even remember ever backing them up.  While researching different things that are going wrong with the pc and laptop, I came across a post on online backup service at Gadget Advisor.   The author has listed a few online backup solutions but recommended Mozy over other services so I’ll be looking into it, until I purchase an external hard drive to be on the safe side.

By the way, Gadget Advisor, where I found this article is a fairly new site.  From the archives it looks like they started in September and in just a couple of months have already written 60+ articles on all kinds of computer hardware and software, tech news and of course gadgets and the seems to be growing pretty rapidly.   The site seems to focus on the product releases and useful tech news.  I liked quite a few articles on their site, specially the top extensions for Firefox and Logitech Universal Remote.  Check out the site if you are interested in finding about newest gadgets while I back up my hard drives.

©2009 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved.

When the going gets tough, tough feels like quitting is a post from: Interesting Observations

As much as I try to write and move this blog forward,  new and weird issues continue to challenge me.  I’ve been sick for a week now with high fever and chills with a lot of body ache.  Not only that,  my desktop got infected with some virus and trojans which keep directing my browser to agoga.com.  What frustrates me more and more is that none of the spyware programs I have downloaded are able to clean this shit out and the pc has almost come to a halt.  It just freezes when I try running ad-aware or spybot – search and destroy.   I recently restored one of my friend’s computers because she was having the same problems and thought now that I did it once, it should be a breeze to return my own pc to some restore point but it wouldn’t work on my pc.

The restore shuts the pc and even restarts but the message comes up saying No changes have been made to your computer.  And a strange thing I noticed is that there are restore points only for the last three months, nothing before that.  I’m running Windows XP, SR2.   I also have a Dell laptop that is starting to heat up to temperatures beyond 200 degrees!   So, I haven’t been turning that one on fearing it’ll just blow up on me one of these days.

So, frustrated with the situation, I decided to start painting again (again, coz I had completely stopped painting when I started blogging).   Here are a couple unfinished oil paintings I did this week.  Of course every time I spent some time on these, the fever went up to 102°F but it definitely eased my anxiety.

This is a copy of course from a very famous French Artist 1841-1919) Renoir’s painting of a woman reading.  Here is the original

The flowers in a vase is also a famous painting but I couldn’t find who it is from.  I am copying it from a single sheet that’s been cut out from a magazine.  These are far from finished yet but something I thought of sharing.

This exercise also brought back memories of the days when we didn’t have computers to communicate with each other, or internet to do research on just about every topic.  I thought about expanding this article into a list of things you can do when there is no pc or internet available, but truthfully? I get tired of those instructional posts in just about every other blog.  On this blog, we will stick to informal conversations about things to do when there is no internet or when your pc doesn’t work. And of course if you know how to get rid of that ugly agoga.com thingy, please please let me know.

I’m writing this from my brother’s laptop as my pc continues to freeze with every click,  so I may not be able to reply to your comments right away but would love to read them.

Reminder:  The 161th edition of carnival of healing will be posted this upcoming Saturday (Oct. 25th).  So if you want to submit your post to be published, please send it it before Friday (Oct 24th).

©2009 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved.

Think of Poverty on Blog Action Day 2008 is a post from: Interesting Observations

As I contemplated on what I was going to write and how I was going to participate in a Blog Action Day 2008 in which thousands of bloggers all over the world are thinking and writing about the same issue that transcends color, creed, race and or country,  I was taken over by a lot of emotions.   I thought about the lady we often see walking in the downtown area asking people for quarters.  Over the years it has become a joke amongst most people who work in that area, whenever someone sees her or comes across, they’d laugh and say there goes the quarter lady!   People laugh at her because she has a one liner ‘got a quarter?’  for everyone.   You can find her eating a subway sandwich every day at the train station.   I’ve never laughed at her but I’d admit (and I am ashamed of this) that I have ignored her many times and turned my face away thinking I can’t give her a quarter every day?

How selfish I was.  With blog action day theme, as I was reading more and more on poverty, I couldn’t believe I had done that to her.   It is so easy to act like I did and ignore this problem but just imagine if we had to beg someone for every meal, day after day!    I know my heart is at the right place but on this day, I pledge to make conscious efforts to make a difference in whatever small ways I can.

We humans are so strange in that when in United States someone talks about poverty,  they mostly refer to it or think about it as a condition that exists only in some remote 3rd world, under-developed section of the society.  So not true.  America has it’s share of poverty as detailed in this website.    Imagine this for a second, according to the GlobalIssues, almost half the world population – that is over three billion people – live on less than $2.50 a day!

If these numbers on the chart above don’t really do anything for you, I am sure the following video certainly will move you.

As for me, I went over the list of 88 ways to take action against poverty now that Easton Ellsworth made on Blog Action Day blog yesterday, from people’s contributions.   I am going to try to do as many of those things as possible – some I already do, like eating vegetarian meals twice – I’ve been a vegetarian for a couple of years (well I do eat fish, but just that, no mammals and/or even chicken), signed up with kiva to make loans, clicked on the hunger site to give free food to the poor.  I can’t say I am ready to go homeless for a day and night yet but that would be quite a lesson.

But I want to get started today, NOW, with this post.  So, I pledge to donate $1.00 to Kiva.org for each comment on this post.

There are tons of websites to get inspiration from and get involved.   I have met a lot of great people via blogs, who are spending a whole lot of time to make a difference.  Head over to Train for Humanity and see how you can get involved while getting healthy yourself.

©2009 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved.

Off with PerformancingAds, On with ScratchBack is a post from: Interesting Observations

These two very different systems may not be comparable but as I was taking one off and putting the other one on, thought this was a great title for this post.  I had signed up with PerformancingAds when there was so much hype about them and just about everyone was jumping on the bandwagon but soon after that I started feeling it was not really doing what we all expected from them.  I just didn’t have the time to remove their code at the time but today finding Michael Jackson on my blog did it.   There are a few things that kind of bothered me about this ad.  1) the blog this ad belonged to did not fit with this blog’s categories or theme 2) I didn’t approve this ad, performancingads crew did, which somehow doesn’t make sense to me.  But in any case,

I logged into their site and thought of removing my site from the system as I thought I didn’t really understand how it worked but upon hitting the delete button, I was taken to the following screen that says that I can’t delete the site since it contains an advertisement that has been payed (PAID) for. 

Well, I found that interesting as I hadn’t been writing anything in the last couple of weeks and someone still found my blog worth buying an ad on!   But the reports screen revealed a different story, that a booking was made on my blog but I wasn’t getting paid for it.  

Of course, this is not the first time it has happened, in the past also there were a few ads that appeared on this blog but I never got paid for them.   It’s crazy that some ads appeared on my blog for a week or two, for free!  

So, today I decided to remove PerformancingAds code and instead stay with much reliable Scratchback, the Fancy Tip Jar!     ScratchBack is a way for the readers to say thank you to the content producers by giving them a small tip and in return gain a link back to their site and get exposure.  Simple and Brilliant!  So go ahead, tip me and get in my list of links. 

So, here’s the question.  Have you used PerformancingAds and has the system worked for you?  If you use another ad-network for buying/selling square ads, which one and how is it different from PerformancingAds, good/bad..  your opinion matters!

©2009 Interesting Observations. All Rights Reserved.

Carnival of Healing #156 is a post from: Interesting Observations

photo: sytoha

The Carnival of Healing is a weekly round-up of blogs across the Internet featuring information about healing, self empowerment, and spirituality.   This carnival is organized by Phylameana who writes about Healing on About.com.  My thanks go to Phelameana for letting me host this edition on my blog.

As I was reading through the articles submitted for this edition, I couldn’t help remember a quote by Helen Keller

Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.
– Helen Keller

No matter how big and difficult challenges we face, from illness, grief, losing a job, loss of loved ones, fear of failures in our relationships, or financial matters, no matter how difficult to overcome these challenges might be, we all find ways to get through them and survive but the hurt remains.  The articles that are submitted to this carnival are geared towards emotional, physical and spiritual healing.  They have been helpful to me in my struggle to overcome my challenges and I am sure you will find something to help you as you begin your healing journey.

So here comes:

Sonora presents Top 50 Medical Professor Blogs posted at Nursing School Search Blog.

Daphne presents Joyful Days » Laugh A Lot posted at Joyful Days, saying, “Laughter cures many ills in life. Doctors are starting to admit that patients who decide to think positively and laugh a lot have higher chances of surviving diseases including cancer. There are powerful biological processes that take place when we laugh that we are only just starting to understand.”

Anna Farmery presents Behind the Smile…. posted at Widows Quest, saying, “I try each day to smile, I know that the world lives on and that they have troubles of their own. So I try and listen to people, I try and be there for them, often to the detriment of myself…

SeanBissell presents Even Dogs Get De-Motivated posted at Yummy Fitness | Fitness For Fun People saying, “It’s very easy to get de-motivated if you get off track for too long, and one of the best ways to get back into your routine is just to make it fun for yourself in any way that you can.

Alvaro Fernandez presents ABC Reporter Bob Woodruff’s Spectacular Recovery From Traumatic Brain Injury posted at SharpBrains: Your Window into the Brain Fitness Revolution, saying, “You have may have seen a few weeks ago the interview between former US presidential contender John Edwards and reporter Bob Woodruff. All the resulting media coverage centered on Edwards’ declarations. However, there is something much more remarkable that surfaced at that interview: Bob Woodruff’s spectacular recovery.”

Donald Latumahina presents A Guide to Finding Your Life Purpose posted at Life Optimizer.

Joshua Seth presents Fast Weight Loss Tips | posted at Joshua Seth Blog, saying, “Everyone seems to want to lose weight fast. I’d rather show you how to lose weight permanently. Not all fast weight loss methods are healthy and most of them don’t work long term. Still, a few methods do make the cut. So here is how to lose weight fast…”

AndrewB presents How to Overcome Overeating posted at test, saying, “Do you engage in overeating? Overeating is eating too much. We all do it to some degree, however it can lead to developing an eating disorder.”

mag presents Breathe your way to better health! posted at The Magenpie.com, saying, “Breathe better”

Grace Young presents No slouching! posted at Grace R Young OT.

Sam presents NEW !! Relief for Stress, Anxiety and Tension. Symptoms and Relief. Cope and Manage Stress posted at Surfer Sam and Friends, saying, “Relief for Stress, Anxiety and Tension Symptoms and Relief to Cope and Manage Stress Stress is the plague of the twenty-first century. Pressures at work and demands at home leave us feeling tension, anxiety and stress.
Akemi Gaines presents Heroes Of Healing: Gary Craig posted at Yes to Me.

Astrid Lee presents Pope’s Mass in Paris Brings Focus on Practical Spiritually posted at World Healing, saying, “Yesterday morning, together with a quarter million French people, I managed to participate in the public mass held in Paris by pope Benedict XVI. It was an unusually calming and healing experience…. (pictures)”

Marcus Ryan presents Top 3 Anti Aging Diets posted at Wrinkle Creams Review, saying, “If you want the top 3 anti aging diets for healthy skin, then have a look at this blog entry by Marcus Ryan where the anti aging diets full of superfoods for skin are featured.”

Ginsburg presents Supplement Boosts Immune Function & Helps Diabetic Blood Sugar posted at Live Immune, saying, “well-researched dietary supplement to boost NK fraction”

Brain Blogger presents HIPAA Doesn’t Exist For Doctors posted at Brain Blogger, saying, “Recently a very popular colleague of mine was hospitalized. His frequent visitors coming into the room began to hamper his recovery and his family was forced to try and enforce privacy rules and HIPAA.”

NickIrons presents Exercise — The Fountain of Youth! posted at Get Results! Fitness Blog, saying, “Exercise is the only proven way to drastically combat aging and to regain your youthful body. In fact, most people are able to regain up to 1/3 of their muscle strength and mass after participating in an exercise program for just a couple of months.”

Ginsburg presents Kabbalistic Speech & New Year posted at Live Immune.

photo:eye of einstein

Chris Edgar presents What’s Really Holding You Back: “Morality” Or Anxiety? posted at Purpose Power Coaching, saying, “When we feel anger, fear, or some other emotion we see as unpleasant, we tend to assume “morality” requires us to feel how we do. If someone else is the object of our irritation, anxiety, or something else, we tend to see them as immoral. In this article, I discuss how becoming aware of how we confuse our emotions with morality can help us transcend our fears and gain valuable self-understanding.”

Aanga presents How to Have a Healthy Autumn posted at Ananga Sivyer’s Living by Design Blog.

Bob Crawford presents Aligning with Success posted at Growing Your SELF Blog – Bob Crawford Online, saying, “Learning to become aligned with your inner self is crucial to manifesting your goals and dreams.”

Sagar Satapathy presents Top 100 Health and Wellness Sites for Seniors posted at RN Central.

Pastor WD Favour presents Supernatural Healing posted at WDFavour.com, saying, “A true life story of a miraculous and life transforming healing.”

Alex Blackwell presents 10 things you wish you had never learned

Evelyn created a movie: My Abundance Mind Movie [don’t forget to vote for her wonderful movie at YouTube)

And last but not the least, our very own Phylameana wrote about “Follow Your Heart”

That concludes this edition.

Past Edition: Sept. 13, 2008 Grace in Gravity

Next Edition: Sept. 27, 2008 Natural Pain Relief

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