Gratitude in Action

"Gratitude put into action can change a life." (EpicChange.org)

I read that in an advertisement email and thought it was great. Tweak it a bit and it describes what happens really get the good news about what God did for us through Jesus:

Gratitude put into action reflects a changed a life.

Creative Travelling Friends

FEEL IT ALL AROUND from Northern Lights on Vimeo.

This is one of the most AWESOME home-made vacation video I've ever seen. Just beautiful. It was filmed, photographed and edited by Chase Heavener and featured his brother, Chris, his girlfriend, Jovanna, and his friend, Matt. It artfully documents a family 'n friends weekend trip to Nassau, Bahamas.

Old Glory

Old Glory: "Circling the cornucopia of bread and sweets, I caught sight of the famous Independence Dinosaur, made entirely of pineapple. It looked like a Tyrannosaurus Rex, which I figured was either a sly jibe by our Indian co-colonialists against King George III, or a flattering reference to the power of the United States. Or a surplus of pineapples."

This is a brief extract from a very fun article written by a state department friend working in Iraq on the 4th of July. I bet you'll laugh.

Bar and Peace - Proof Blog - NYTimes.com

Bar and Peace - Proof Blog - NYTimes.com: "When he was asked about help for those who drink too much, Carl Jung wrote to Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill Wilson that he thought men and women could only stop drinking after having a spiritual conversion. The cure for drinking he wrote, was spiritus contra spiritum."

How Science Supersized Your Thanksgiving

The whole article is interesting, but the snippet that most caught my attention was:

Americans eat a pound of sugar every two-and-a-half days. The average amount of sugar consumed by an Englishman in the 1700s was about a pound a year

...and we wonder why we're fat. Here's the full article, How Science Supersized Your Turkey Dinner.

NatGeo: Best Science Images of 2008

Winning a National Geographic honorable mention for illustration: Visualization of the Bible was encouraging for me as a Christian open to the tough questions.

"It almost looks like one monolithic volume," said Carnegie Mellon's Chris Harrison.

Top 10 Right-Click Tools

Lifehacker Top 10: Top 10 Right-Click Tools

The right mouse button —beloved by geeks for its power, theoretically unnecessary on a Mac, and generally under-utilized on the average desktop. Right-clicking can be a powerful tool for automating file actions and saving yourself time and arm effort, but only if you've put your own stamp on the offerings of that secondary button. Click above to supercharge your right-click and empower your inner-geek :-)

Vimeo

Suddenly from Magnus Engsfors on Vimeo.

Vimeo is the more polished and high definition version of YouTube. It can be a real time-suck but it is also full of creativity and beauty. Here is a good place to start. Or you can try searching "time lapse" or "short films" and then organize by "Most Favorited" or "Featured".

How Did They Know?!

Who's Roaming? Wait, how did they know about Annette and me!
[If you're wondering what I'm refering to, click the image and read the text in the magazine ad spread]

Surreal Pics of Beijing

Beijing 2008 Preparations - Three Weeks to Go - The Big Picture - Boston.com

Twenty-four surreal photos that depicts the hyper-sanitized, white-washed, and quasi-futuristic city Beijing has become

Our Drug Free Life?

[click on image to see larger version]

Free Directory Assistance by Google

I've been using Goog-411 (800-GOOG-411) for about a year. It works and it's free. With Goog-411 I got directions to a restaurant where I had a meeting, found the best coffee shop and roasters in Colorado Springs, received the address and phone number of the closest Goodwill store via text message.

Watch the video above to get the 411 on Goog-411.

Pangea Day Project

The Pangea Day project is inspiringly ambitious (more info here), and maybe it's just me, but every time I see this trailer, it sets my spine a-tingling. I hope you'll take a minute to view it and pass the link along to friends.

11-year-old charged with driving drunk | Oddly Enough | Reuters.com

Some parents put "my child graduated with honors" bumper stickers on their cars, others show photos of their cute smiling kids, but only it's a rare and privileged parent has the privilege of pointing at the above headline and exclaiming, "That's my girl!"

An 11-year-old girl was charged with drunken driving after leading police on a chase at speeds of up to 100 mph that ended when she flipped the car....

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Funny Signs You've Probably Never Seen

I laughed until I cried.
Click here to see three pages of Signs from Around the World and a few choice comments.
Sure they're silly but laughing is supposedly good for your health so click on the link and, if for nothing else, lower your medical costs!

How to Look Approachable

I enjoyed reading this article about How to Look Approachable in social settings. In case the photo scares you away from the article, the tips do not promote the use of maniacal mustaches. Here's a taste:

• Compliment others. It's a great way to show interest in other people and start conversations. Most people just love getting a compliment and positive attention, and talking about themselves. Just be sure it's sincere and appropriate. Ask follow-up questions to keep the conversation moving.
• Ask questions that require more than a simple "yes" or "no" answer to subtly encourage a shy or introverted person to keep talking.

How to Have a Positive Impact

Tim Rath's bestseller How Full Is Your Bucket is based on decades of research and uses a simple metaphor about a dipper and a bucket to show how even the briefest interactions affect your relationships, productivity, health, and longevity.

Nearly every day Annette and I pray that we can be an encouragement to those with whom we cross paths. So when I read about how you can have a positive impact in the world around you, it got my attention. In addition to the book, there is an associated website that has online tools and tests that will help you analyze your postive impact (you do have to register, but it's free and quick). Click here to go to that page.

A few fast facts from the book:

• The #1 reason people leave their jobs: They don't feel appreciated
• 65% of Americans received no recognition in the workplace last year
• Bad bosses could increase the risk of stroke by 33%
• A study found that negative employees can scare off every customer they speak with -- for good
  
• 9 out of 10 people say they are more productive when they're around positive people
• Relentless negativity resulted in a 38% POW death rate -- the highest in U.S. military history
• We experience approximately 20,000 individual moments every day
• The magic ratio: 5 positive interactions for every 1 negative interaction
• Can there be too much positive emotion? More than 13 positive interactions for every 1 negative interaction could decrease productivity
• Extending longevity: Increasing positive emotions could lengthen life span by 10 years

Here are some questions to help you positively influence the people around you:

1. Have I helped someone in the last 24 hours?
2. Am I an exceptionally courteous person?
3. Do I like being around positive people?
4. Have I praised someone in the last 24 hours?
5. Have I developed a knack for making other people feel good?
6. Am I more productive when I am around positive people?
7. In the last 24 hours, have I told someone that I cared about her or him?
8. Do I make it a point to become acquainted with people wherever I go?
9. When I receive recognition, does it makes me want to give recognition to someone else?
10. In the last week, have I listened to someone talk through his or her goals and ambitions?
11. Do I make unhappy people laugh?
12. Do I make it a point to call each of my associates by the name she or he likes to be called?
13. Do I notice what my colleagues do at a level of excellence?
14. Do I always smile at the people I meet?
15. Do I feel good about giving praise whenever I see good behavior?

Great Gobs of Google

If you think Google is only a search engine, click here to see what else they have to offer (and usually for free). If you want some recommendations, here is my top 5 list:

• Gmail: free, no virus, nearly spamless, email-as-it-should-be
• Picasa: Find, organize, edit & share your digital
• Blogger: easy, free blogging (create your own website)
• Notebook: Clip, collect & organize information (great for research)
• Docs & Spreadsheets: like a free online Microsoft Office

If you want Google's suggestions, go here.

Most Popular at LifeHacker

For ideas on how to get the most out of your computer, click on over to Lifehacker.

Toilet Paper Wedding Dress Contest

The folks over at CheapChicWeddings.com sponsored a contest to see who could make the best wedding dress constructed wholly out of toilet paper, tape and/or glue.

Click here to come to grips the extent to which girls will go for an excuse to dress up in any sort of wedding dress.

Parent Hacks: making road trips fun

Banish the dreaded "are we there yet?" with Parent Hacks' smart road trippin' tips. There's all sorts of interesting things you can do to keep the peace in your vehicle, including a basket of rotating toys, breaks every two hours, and an endurance timer - every 30 minutes, everyone gets some sort of treat. Unfortunately, I didn't see duct tape restraints or a bubble dome for the kids, but the list is good anyway :-)

Read the complete article here: parent hacks: On taking a road trip with little ones

The Man Who Saved the World

Until now few people knew about the man who saved the world (literally). But last week retired colonel Stanislav Petrov, the russian who averted nuclear war received the World Citizen Award at the U.N. in N.Y.

Get a Standing Ovation

How to Get a Standing Ovation has some great tips that’ll help you become a terrific public speaker. If you’re speaking in public any time soon - or just want to tame those butterflies - I highly suggest you read this.

A Flyer's Manual

Click here to read four insightful articles from Fodor's Travel Wire. They include:

How to Save on Your Next Flight
11 Tips for Smarter Packing
Smoother Sailing through Airport Security
Make Your Flight More Comfortable

We travel a lot and yet I found plenty of tips I wish I'd known about before.

18 Tricks to Teach Your Body

Click here to learn about 18 neat ways to "hack" your body in order to soothe a burn, cure a toothache, clear a stuffed nose or, my favorite, get rid of a stitch in your side:

If you're like most people, when you run, you exhale as your right foot hits the ground. This puts downward pressure on your liver (which lives on your right side), which then tugs at the diaphragm and creates a side stitch, according to The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Men. The fix: Exhale as your left foot strikes the ground.