Thursday, May 24, 2012
Free Google Adwords Credit
Do any of my readers want $100 in advertising credit? It goes to the first commenter who wants it!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Two personal blogs and an Everest update.
Today I want to highlight two personal blogs and update you on the situation in Everest.
Last month was autism awareness month. There has been incredible advances in understanding autism in my lifetime. One of those is giving a voice to those with autism, like Carly. While Carly cannot talk, she can use the computer to type. She has been highlighted on the news in the US and Canada and even has a book out, Carly's Voice. Her blog is a great place to find resources, connect with others through the forum and learn more about the amazing Carly.
One of my favorite people in the world is my Aunt Gertie. No, she's not really my "aunt" but that's what I call her. During my childhood she made a fabulous Thanksgiving meal every year that included the most delicious pies. My "cousin" started a blog for her called Grammy Gertie's Recipe Box. Oh, you wanted pie recipes? Here you go! You can even read about how my cousin tried to make pies and told Aunt Gertie all about it. As an interesting look back at history, here's the cover of her old cookbook. Let me know if you try any of the recipes and how they turn out!
Now, on to the update on Everest. My friend Deb posted two weeks ago that her company's owner got pulled off the mountain for safety reasons. Apparently the Khumbu icefall was thought too dangerous by the Sherpas due to the melting and heat of the spring.
Since then a few other teams have pulled out as well, while some are on the summit bid as of today. Unfortunately, there have been several confirmed deaths this season. Both Outside Online and the Mayo Clinic have blog posts on this. Most of the deaths happened in the Death Zone.
In good news, a well-known climber from Japan, Tamae Wantanabe became the oldest woman to climb Mount Everst at the age of 73. Also, a seven year old from India, Aaryan Balaji, made it to Everest base camp, breaking the record of the youngest person who hiked there from Lukla. For those of you who may have caught the Everest bug - here's a reality check on the costs of summiting from CBC news in Canada.
Last month was autism awareness month. There has been incredible advances in understanding autism in my lifetime. One of those is giving a voice to those with autism, like Carly. While Carly cannot talk, she can use the computer to type. She has been highlighted on the news in the US and Canada and even has a book out, Carly's Voice. Her blog is a great place to find resources, connect with others through the forum and learn more about the amazing Carly.
One of my favorite people in the world is my Aunt Gertie. No, she's not really my "aunt" but that's what I call her. During my childhood she made a fabulous Thanksgiving meal every year that included the most delicious pies. My "cousin" started a blog for her called Grammy Gertie's Recipe Box. Oh, you wanted pie recipes? Here you go! You can even read about how my cousin tried to make pies and told Aunt Gertie all about it. As an interesting look back at history, here's the cover of her old cookbook. Let me know if you try any of the recipes and how they turn out!
Now, on to the update on Everest. My friend Deb posted two weeks ago that her company's owner got pulled off the mountain for safety reasons. Apparently the Khumbu icefall was thought too dangerous by the Sherpas due to the melting and heat of the spring.
Since then a few other teams have pulled out as well, while some are on the summit bid as of today. Unfortunately, there have been several confirmed deaths this season. Both Outside Online and the Mayo Clinic have blog posts on this. Most of the deaths happened in the Death Zone.
In good news, a well-known climber from Japan, Tamae Wantanabe became the oldest woman to climb Mount Everst at the age of 73. Also, a seven year old from India, Aaryan Balaji, made it to Everest base camp, breaking the record of the youngest person who hiked there from Lukla. For those of you who may have caught the Everest bug - here's a reality check on the costs of summiting from CBC news in Canada.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Common Birth Dates and Productivity
Infographic of the day: How common is your birth date? Not too surprisingly, February 29th is the least common, but September 29th is the most common. The summer is pretty crowded, with a blank spot around July 4th (maybe babies are too scared of fireworks to come out?). September is the "darkest" on this heat map style graphic, which means most babies are conceived around the winter holidays. My birth date is not uncommon or common. What about yours?
Last week one of the features was the Unclutterer Blog. This week I'm featuring other productivity style blogs. First, here's eleven bloggers who write about productivity. This features Leo Babauta who runs Zen Habits and Chris Guillebeau of The Art of Non-Conformity, both of which are on my blogroll.
To live large on a small budget try Wise Bread which offers finance, life and career hacks. To change the world by doing work you love try Live your Legend. For tools digital or physical, check out Cool Tools for inspiration on the things that will help your everyday life. To live and work on your own terms, try the Illuminated Mind (with the warning "don't read if you want ordinary"). For general life hacking try LifeHacker, for ipod apps and motivational quotes to a post on surviving the shift to management at work.
Last week one of the features was the Unclutterer Blog. This week I'm featuring other productivity style blogs. First, here's eleven bloggers who write about productivity. This features Leo Babauta who runs Zen Habits and Chris Guillebeau of The Art of Non-Conformity, both of which are on my blogroll.
To live large on a small budget try Wise Bread which offers finance, life and career hacks. To change the world by doing work you love try Live your Legend. For tools digital or physical, check out Cool Tools for inspiration on the things that will help your everyday life. To live and work on your own terms, try the Illuminated Mind (with the warning "don't read if you want ordinary"). For general life hacking try LifeHacker, for ipod apps and motivational quotes to a post on surviving the shift to management at work.
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Three Features! A kitten, Lizzie Bennet and unclutterer!
The first feature is about Moses, a kitten. He was found a few days old, orphaned and eyes still closed (his mom was hit by a car). The blog, MilkDrinkingFool is written by the people who found him, took him in and hand raised him (and still are!). Here is a link to the first post, so you can read it from the beginning.
Next, for those of you who are Austen fans, I have a treat for you. The same people behind vlogbrothers have started a YouTube channel as if Elizabeth Bennet was a modern girl. It's awesome. No, I've never read Pride and Prejudice, I just could never get into those books. But if those books were like this channel, I'd be all over it. Here's the link to play all of them from the beginning. They're still making new videos, so be sure to check back every week to follow the story.
Last, but not least, Unclutterer is a blog about getting and staying organized. One of my favorite features is "unitasker wednesday" where they talk about a product that can only be used in one way. Yes, it is a joke. And like Alton Brown, the only unitasker they endorse is the fire extinguisher. They also have posts about downsizing, how to tell if an item is sentimental or clutter, Mother's Day presents, time management and storage. The same people are also behind Simplifried, a blog about ending mealtime stress.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Post Secret
This week I'm highlighting another kinda-blog, Post Secret. Post Secret was created by Frank Warren and is a community art project. You send anonymous, home-made postcards to Frank, and every Sunday he posts them on his website. The site has since expanded to show news, community, events and books. There is also a facebook page and you can purchase Frank's books through Amazon as well. The blog has won many blogging and web awards,
What is Post Secret? from Wikipedia:
"The concept of the project was that completely anonymous people decorate a postcard and portray a secret that they had never previously revealed. No restrictions are made on the content of the secret; only that it must be completely truthful and must never have been spoken before. Entries range from admissions of sexual misconduct and criminal activity to confessions of secret desires, embarrassing habits, hopes and dreams. The secrets are meant to be empowering both to the author and to those who read it. Frank Warren claims that the postcards are inspirational to those who read them, have healing powers for those who write them, give hope to people who identify with a stranger's secret, and create an anonymous community of acceptance."
If you want to know more in Frank's own words, he recently spoke at TED about the project, in a talk titled "Half a Million Secrets".
There's also international Post Secrets (with some or no affiliation with the original) in Portugal, Spain, France, UK, Kazakhstan, Norway, Korea, and in Dutch. (China apparently has one too, but I can't find it) Not affiliated directly, there is also the Post Secret archive, which has more secrets.
What is Post Secret? from Wikipedia:
"The concept of the project was that completely anonymous people decorate a postcard and portray a secret that they had never previously revealed. No restrictions are made on the content of the secret; only that it must be completely truthful and must never have been spoken before. Entries range from admissions of sexual misconduct and criminal activity to confessions of secret desires, embarrassing habits, hopes and dreams. The secrets are meant to be empowering both to the author and to those who read it. Frank Warren claims that the postcards are inspirational to those who read them, have healing powers for those who write them, give hope to people who identify with a stranger's secret, and create an anonymous community of acceptance."
If you want to know more in Frank's own words, he recently spoke at TED about the project, in a talk titled "Half a Million Secrets".
There's also international Post Secrets (with some or no affiliation with the original) in Portugal, Spain, France, UK, Kazakhstan, Norway, Korea, and in Dutch. (China apparently has one too, but I can't find it) Not affiliated directly, there is also the Post Secret archive, which has more secrets.
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