The Monster of the Andes – Serial Killer of Hundreds Is Walking Free

There is one man who should be known all over the world for his awful acts against humanity, society and more than 300 people, mostly women. Pedro Lopez, a Columbian citizen who has travelled around Latin America because he’s been caught and released by many authorities. The monster of the Andes, as he’s known in the region, has confessed to killing “100 girls in Colombia, 11 in Ecuador and more than 100 in Peru”. Being imprisoned as a car thief in Colombia in 1978, he would be the most improbable culprit if we judge based on what we see on TV. The fact that he was harassed while in jail and had to save himself by murdering the four men who did it to him, unlocked his true identity. Why he went on murdering females is what we cannot comprehend, though it was mainly because he felt stronger against them.
 The final judgment he received as a serial killer, and just the second one, happened when 1994 he was sued, but found insane. Four years later he was released from the psychiatric institution as sane and is running free even now… if someone hasn’t decided his life as he did to 300 people.

How to manage time by thinking like an Investor

Knowing how to manage time is essential for your personal effectiveness. While there are many approaches to time management, here I’d like to focus on just one key mindset that I believe you should have: an investor’s mindset.

Many people invest in financial instruments. I do, and most likely you do too. It’s common to think like an investor when it comes to money. But that’s not the case with time. I believe, however, that the principle of investing is equally applicable to time.

Time is like money. You can invest it and reap rewards in the future. You can also spend it carelessly and go “broke.” What makes the difference is the way you use your time. It can make or break your life.

The fact is that your time is a limited resource that’s even more limited than money. You can increase your savings so that you have more money to invest. But no matter what you do, you can only have 24 hours a day. So it’s important that you use your time wisely.

The Benefits of Thinking Like an Investor

Thinking like an investor helps you use your time wisely. Here are several benefits of having an investor’s mindset about your time:

• You will be careful not to waste your time
  A good investor always tries to cut wasteful expenses and avoid losing money. One of Warren Buffett’s investing rules, for instance, is “don’t lose money.” Applied to time, it means “don’t waste your time.”
• You will want to maximize your return
  When you think like an investor, you will want to maximize your return. With time, it means that you will want to get the most out of your time. You will do things that will give you the best results.
• You will be willing to wait
  If you invest $1000 today, you wouldn’t expect to earn a profit today. You know that it takes time for the investment to grow. Similarly, when you invest your time, you know that it will take time to get results. You will be willing to wait and not hurried.
• The results could be exponential
  Thanks to compounding interest, a small money investment today could yield exponential return years from now. Similarly, you might invest your time on something that seems small today. But if you keep at it, the return could be huge years from now.

Ways to Invest Your Time

Now that we have seen the benefits, how should we invest our time? Here are some ideas:

1. Find your strengths and causes

This, in my opinion, is the starting point. Just like different investors have different financial instruments that match their profiles, so do different people have different ways to invest their time. What is right for others isn’t necessarily right for you. It all goes back to your strengths and causes. What are your personal strengths? What are the causes that matter to you? Investing your time in the intersection between your strengths and causes will give you the best results.

2. Read good books

Reading good books can widen your perspective and help you see the world in a new way. In turn, this widened perspective can help you use your time better. It has happened to me many times, which is why I consider reading books essential for my personal growth.

3. Build other people’s lives

Building other people’s lives can multiply your impact. If you transfer your values to some people, and they in turn transfer them to others, imagine how the overall impact would be. To build other people’s lives, you can do mentoring, writing, or other ways that fit you.

4. Think and reflect

Being busy could get you lost in the details of life. You might no longer be able to see the big picture. That’s why it’s essential to have time to think and reflect. It could be in the form of prayer, meditation, weekly review, or whatever it is that works for you. The goal here is to get clarity about the overall direction of your life.

5. Build time assets

A good way to invest your time is to build time assets. Time assets are things on which you spend time today so that you can save time in the future. Some of the ways to build time assets are outsourcing, making checklists, and creating a productivity system.

***

With all these in mind, here is a question you should ask yourself daily:
How should I invest my time today?

Give a thoughtful answer to the question and apply it. You will reap the rewards.

Photo by aussiegall

100+ Free Tools For You To Access Blocked Sites

By YOUNG | Published: APRIL 1, 2011


How many ways have you used to unblocked the internet censorship and get access to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and some other sites blocked in your country or area?

I have used a ton, such as Proxy, SSH, VPN and many other anti-censorship tools, since which may be blocked, too, the more you have, the safer you will be.



The following are 100+ free tools for you to access blocked sites:

I. Online Proxy Websites (66)

The main advantage of online proxy websites (or web proxies) is that you don't need to install anything nor to make any configuration, just to look out those pop-up ads.
1. Aniscartujo.com
The Aniscartujo web proxy is workable for both computers and mobile phones.
2. Free Web Proxy
This web proxy allows you to watch YouTube videos as well as to download them in MP4 files.
3. Daveproxy
A UK web proxy which supports JavaScript well.
4. TryCatchMe
The effect of TryCatchMe is nearly same as Daveproxy.
5. Surfagain.com
Surfagain.com is available for you to watch YouTube videos.
6. Online Sonic
Online Sonic will translate the languages of the target websites into French.
7. Megaproxy
The Magaproxy free version is free of pop-up ads.
8. Shield Proxy
This web proxy is very simple with just an address box in its homepage.
9. Psiphon 2
Psiphon 2 is also a web-based proxy service, but you need to be invited and register, and the website URLs are often changed.
10. Glype
Glype is available for you to create your own online proxy website, just by uploading its script to your server.
11. Circumventor
On the website, you will get one URL of a web proxy, if which is blocked, you can subscribe to its lists for more.
12-47. CamoList.com
The owner of the CamoList.com website offers more than 30 online web proxy tools:

• artclassdrama.com
• browse007.com
• browse007.info
• camo1.info
• classwork101.com
• coolkidsonly.org
• ditchthetests.com
• downwithitall.com
• dumbdream.com
• enoughschool.com
• erasermaker.com
• forgotmybooks.com
• getus.in
• goodgradesforme.com
• gumunderthedesk.com
• gymtimestories.com
• hiddentunnel.net
• hidemy.biz
• letmethruthis.com
• nobodycanstop.us
• noclasswork.com
• noneedhallpass.com
• nowaytoknow.com
• plzhidemy.info
• rebelbrowse.com
• schoolisgood.com
• showsomewisdom.com
• slaptheblock.com
• sneakmyass.in
• starscantshine.com
• studybreakneeded.com
• studyhardplayharder.com
• theunblocked.com
• tothedeans.com
• tunnel007.com
• wecantfocus.com

48-65. Polysolve.com
The Polysolve.com website offers 18 links of web proxy tools (including itself):

• Atunnel.com
• Backfox.com
• Btunnel.com
• Calculatepie.com
• Ctunnel.com
• Dtunnel.com
• Englishtunnel.com
• Geotunnel.com
• Mathtunnel.com
• Newbackdoor.com
• Polysolve.com
• SafeForWork.net
• Safehazard.com
• Safelizard.com
• USAtunnel.com
• Vmathpie.com
• VPNTunnel.net
• Vtunnel.com

66. Proxy.org (100+)
There are over 100 workable web proxy tools on the Proxy.org website.

II. Proxy Desktop Clients (11)

There are less or even no ads for proxy desktop clients, though you need to download and install them:

• Freegate(For Windows, Windows Mobile and some Java mobiles)
• FreeU (Similar to Freegate and offered by the same website)
• DanyPass (Similar to Freegate and offered by the same website)
• UltraSurf （For Windows）
• GTunnel (For Windows)
• Tor (For Windows, Mac, Linux, Android and Nokia)
• GappProxy(For Windows and Linux)
• Hyk-proxy (For Windows, Linux and Mac)
• Your Freedom (For Windows and Mac)
• GPass (For Windows)
• HTTP-Tunnel (For Windows)

Bonus:
When using any of the above 11 proxy desktop clients, you need to configure the browser’s proxy settings, which process can be more easier with the following two extensions:

• AutoProxy ( For Firefox)
• Proxy Switchy (For Chrome)

III. VPN (13)

While proxy is only workable for the application with network configuration, VPN (Virtual Private Network) is workable for all the programs run in your computers, tablets, or mobile phones.
a. Free VPN services without any installation (6)
Most VPN services without installation are workable for computers, mobile phones and tablet PCs in any operation system.

• Tsunagarumon
• MacroVPN
• USA IP
• Prox Network
• Super Free VPN
• Free VPN Servers

b. Free VPN desktop clients (7)
VPN desktop clients are mainly workable for computer systems.

• SecurityKiss (For Windows)
• ProXPN (For Windows and Mac)
• Hotspot Shield (For Windows and Mac)
• ExpatShield (For Windows)
• Loki VPN Client (For Windows)
• Private Tunnel (For Windows and Mac)
• RaptorVPN (For Windows and Mac)

IV. SSH (3)

As mentioned before, free SSH is not stable, but you can also try the following 3 anyway:

• Feelssh.com(Chinese)
• Freessh.us (Chinese)
• Alidage.org (Chinese, email address required)

Bonus:
To use SSH, you’ll need some assistant tools, such as Tunnelier for Windows, andSSH Tunnel Manager for Mac.

V. Browsers (3)

The best browsers are available for you to access blocked sites.
a. For computer (1)
While Firefox, Chrome, IE and other popular browsers can’t unblock the censorship themselves, Alkasir can.
b. For Mobile Phones (2)
Although there are not so many anti-censorship tools for mobile phones, besides some VPN services and web proxies, you can also check out the following two mobile browsers:

• Opera Mini
• Bolt Browser

But the above two mobile browsers are both blocked in China.

VI. IPv6 (1)

If your broadband supports IPv6 access, then you can visit those IPv6 sites directly, if not, you can do that indirectly with some third-party tools, such asgogoCLIENT.
After registration and installation, you can connect Gogo6 and access Google, Twitter, YouTube and some other blocked websites with IPv6 addresses by the following 3 ways:
1. To add .sixxs.org in the end of their domains, like Google.com.sixxs.org for example.
2. To configure an automatic proxy URL in your browser.
3. To edit the hosts file by adding the IPv6 addresses of those blocked sites. For Windows user, you can find the hosts file in the following address:

C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc

And you can find out some IPv6 addresses of Google, YouTube, Twitter as well as some other popular blocked sites here (Chinese).
Bonus:
Without IPv6 access, you can also add those unblocked IPv4 addresses of the blocked sites in the hosts file and save it, than you can visit the website directly without any anti-censorship tools. For the IPv4 addresses of a domain, you can find them with OpenDNS.

VII. Others (3)

All the tools mentioned above are available for you to unblock the censorship directly, and you can also get access to those blocked sites indirectly with the following 3 ways:
98. Google Cache
You can visit the cache of the blocked sites if they displays in Google search result pages.
99. Google Translate
With Google Translate, you just need type the URL of the blocked site, and select a language, then you can view the blocked site in the translated language.
100. Google Reader
Most of the sites offer RSS feeds, which you can subscribe and read them with your Google Reader.
For more information about the above 3 tools, you can check out this post.

Bonus

Among the above 100+ anti-censorship tools, it’s hard to say which one is the best, since you have no idea when them are blocked, so you’d better bookmarkthem all.

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Tumblr
• 
  
• Pinterest
• StumbleUpon
• Digg
• Reddit
• Email
• Print

 

Related free web apps:

1. Book Giveaway: 100+ Free Tools For You To Access Blocked Sites
2. How To Access Blocked Sites
3. Access Blocked Sites With Private Tunnel
4. How To Access Blocked Sites With Google Reader
5. Unblock Blocked Sites By Changing The Hosts File

This entry was posted in Free Online Anti-censorship Tools and tagged access blocked sites, Google, proxy, VPN. Bookmark the permalink. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

Top 10 Websites to Unfollow Those Who Don’t Follow You Back

Get tired of those Twitter users who you follow do not follow you back? If yes, you can find and unfollow them.

Below are 10 websites which will help you find out that among your following, who do not follow you back, then you can unfollow them easily, and of course, FREELY.

1. Refollow

You can login Refollow with Twitter OAuth or Twitter account, sort the results by I’m Following and Not Following Me, then you will find out who are those tweeps that do not follow you back, and you can unfollow or block them at a time.

Go to Refollow 

2. Tweepi

Besides to unfollow those inactive Twitter users, you can also use Tweepi to unfollow those who don’t follow you back. Just sign in with Twitter OAuth, you will see those Twitter users who do not follow you back on the Flush web page, and you can unfollow them all in one click.

Go to Tweepi 

3. Buzzom

Sign in Buzzom with Twitter OAuth, Click the Flush button on the TwitIn web page, then you will see a list of those tweeps who you follow are not following you back. You can just select them all and Flush (Unfollow) or Block them in one click.

Go to Buzzom 

4. Mytweeple

Sign in Mytweeple with Twitter OAuth, Sync with Twitter, click You Follow, then you will see those tweeps who do not follow you back, and you can unfollow or block them one by one.

Go to Mytweeple 

5. ManageTwitter

After login with Twitter OAuth, you will see a list of those tweeps who you follow are not following you back, you can select and unfollow all of them just in one click. ManageTwitter also lets you find out and unfollow those inactive Twitter users.

Go to ManageTwitter 

6. Justunfollow

Sign in Justunfollow with Twitter OAuth, click Show Non-Followers, then you will see who are those tweeps that do not follow you back, and you can unfollow them one by one.

Go to Justunfollow 

7. Twitual

Just enter your Twitter username on Twitual, then you will see your followers as well as your following, and you can unfollow those who do not follow your back (Idols) one by one on Twitter website.

Go to Twitual 

8. Tweepsect

Sign in Tweepsect with Twitter OAuth, enter your Twitter username and click Enlighten Me, then you will see a list, on which the Stalking means those who you follow are not following you back, you can just unfollow them one by one.

Go to Tweepsect 

9. FriendOrFollow

Just input your Twitter username on FriendOrFollow, then you will see how many tweeps that do not follow you back, and you can unfollow them one by one on Twitter website.

Go to FriendOrFollow 

10. Your Twitter Karma

Sign in Your Twitter Karma with your Twitter account or Twitter OAuth, sort the result by Only Following, then you will see those tweeps who do not follow you back, and you can unfollow them one by one, or block them in one click.

Go to Your Twitter Karma 

Among the above 10 websites, Refollow is my favorite, since it has many functions, including tracking who has unfollowed you. How about you? Which one is your favorite? Or do you have any other websites to find and unfollow those tweeps who don’t follow you back? Share with us by adding a comment.

[Update] Refollow is not free for you to unfollow those who don’t follow you back any more

Beauty N Geek

Note : This is a guest post from Tess Earnshaw's Webb 



We all checked out of our various hotel rooms and piled into the cars.  A bunch of us, loosely from the same dorm, had driven down from the U to watch the men’s basketball team in the finals.  We won, so that morning everyone was laughing and joking and in good spirits.  I was in the front seat of Scott’s car, and his sister Renee and our friend Heather were in the backseat.  We were one of a caravan of cars headed home.

We were laughing and joking in Scott’s car.  Most of the jokes centered on Scott being a geek.  I remember him saying “You’re just lucky this geek has a car.”  Scott wore glasses and was an Engineering major, but other than that he seemed like a regular guy.  He laughed with us easily and seemed not the least bit uncomfortable having three girls in his car.  He wasn’t skinny, but actually fit.  He wasn’t strikingly handsome, but more the kind of guy with average looks that could grow on you.  His sandy brown hair was cut short and he was clean shaven and had clear skin.  He was more nondescript than anything.  Then Heather got a text on her phone from Mel in the car in front that said some folks in her car wanted to stop at the Renaissance Fair for which we had just seen signs.

Scott’s face lit up. “Cool!  I love Renaissance Fairs.  That would be awesome.”

“That’s because you’re a geek,” said his sister Renee.

“If you mean because of the sci-fi fantasy books I read, then yeah, you’re right,” he shot back with a sheepish grin.

“What is it like at a Renaissance Fair?”  I asked, because as an English/Journalism major I had had my share of Renaissance literature classes, and actually thought I might like to go.

“It’s awesome.” answered Scott immediately.  “It’s like going back in time.  People walk around dressed in period costumes.  They put on jousting shows and demonstrate industries like blacksmithing.  There are also tons of booths where you can buy clothes, pottery, weapons; all sorts of stuff.”

“Sounds like a blast,” returned Renee as she rolled her eyes.

“No, really, it is,” said Scott.  And then just to me he said, “You should go, really.”

I was silent after that.  Did he think I should go because I was interested or because he wanted me to go with him?  Did he like me?  How would I feel about it if he did?  Was I attracted to him?  Well, I wasn’t not attracted to him.  I decided it was best to assume he meant nothing by it.

When we stopped a few miles later for gas, it turned out most people wanted to go to the Fair.  With a little rearranging, Renee and Heather got a ride back with some folks continuing on home.  Scott and I got back in his car and followed the others towards the fair.  It was not awkward at all and the laughing and joking continued even though it was just the two of us.  Scott, it turned out, was just an incredibly funny and easy-going guy.

When we got to the Fair, we all started out as one big group but it soon broke into a boy’s group and a girl’s group, as the guys got hung up in the weapons tent and the girls gravitated over to the jewelry.

After an hour or so, I let myself get separated from the group and started wandering around on my own.  I was browsing through a period clothing tent, eyeing the bustiers for some reason and sizing up if they had ones large enough to fit me.  They did.  As I turned to leave, there was Scott at the entrance to the tent peeking in.  We noticed each other at the same time.  His face broke into a grin.  Had he been looking for me?  Had I been looking for him?  I couldn’t really say, even to myself.

“So, see anything interesting?” he said.

“I’m trying to decide what would suit me.  Shall I dress like a tavern wench or a royal lady?”

“The wenches had more fun.  But I think your teeth are too straight.”

We both laughed.

It was then, standing just inside the entrance to the clothing tent that my cell phone rang.  It was Mara, my best friend from high school.  She attended State college, closer to our hometown so we didn’t see each other as much.

“Lacey, what are you doing?  Can you meet me for dinner?  There is someone I want you to meet!”

“Dinner?  Maybe.  Where are you?”  I looked at my watch.  It was almost 3:30.

“I’m actually just south of the U.  I didn’t think I’d be nearby, but Dave surprised me and took me to Engleton’s.  I told him I wish I’d known because I would have invited you.  But he said to just call you up.  We’ll hang out nearby at the dam until you can get here.”

“Who’s this Dave?” I asked, laughing.

“That’s why I’m so desperate for you to come.  We’ve been seeing each other for about a month now, and I’m dying for you to meet him.”

“Sounds like fun.  I’d love to meet Dave.”

“So can you come?”  I had turned away from Scott to take Mara’s call and was staring blankly at a clothes rack, but I could sense that he was still right there.  I was starting to feel a connection, like maybe he had come to find me.  Did he like me?  Did I want to just leave before finding out?  Did I want him to like me?  I still had no idea.

“Well, listen, I’m not home.  I’m actually at a Renaissance Fair in South Orange with a bunch of people from my dorm.  I’m not that far from Engleton’s, but I didn’t drive myself.  Let me see what I can do and I’ll call you right back.”

“Okay.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.”

I turned to face Scott and was startled slightly to find him right there.  I mean right there.  Close.  Looking at me.  Leaning in.  And then he was gently kissing me.  I responded, kissing him back.  So he kissed me harder.  His mouth was cool and fresh and as our tongues touched I felt a thrill of electricity shoot through me.  Then we had our arms around each other.  Now there was definitely attraction.  I felt tingly all over.  Actually there were waves of tingly rippling through me.  He was a fantastic kisser.  I had been kissed before but not like this.  This was not dutiful prom date kissing.  This was not I’m young and bored and want to explore kissing.  This was kissing that said I want you and only you.

I realized that I had been looking for him after all, hoping this would happen.  And I realized he had been looking for me.  Only me.  Because he liked—me.  After a few minutes we stopped kissing, but just pulled back a little with our arms around each other.  He was smiling.  His eyes were twinkling like he’d just told a great joke.  Mine probably looked the same.

It was me who spoke first.  “I really do want to leave and go meet Mara.” I said.  “Would you like to come with me?”

“I was hoping you would ask.” he said.

“Did you think kissing me would up your chances?”

“Something like that, yeah” he said.

I reluctantly let go of him and pulled out my phone.

“Mara.”  I said, after she answered.  “It turns out I have someone for you to meet, too.  His name is Scott.  I just met him yesterday and it turns out he’s a great kisser.”

I held the phone out from my head so Scott could hear Mara’s laughter.

“About five then?” I said, back into the phone.

“Okay, then, bye.”

I put the phone away and said, “Let’s get out of here.”

Scott took my hand and kept it all the way back to his car.

“Did you want to tell anyone we’re leaving?” he asked.

“Nah, they’ll figure it out when we are both missing!”

The End

Contributed by aspiring romance writer Tess Earnshaw.

5 Pitfalls to Avoid to Achieve your life goals

Note: This is a guest post from Clay Andrews of The Path to Passion

I don’t mean to be a downer here. If you’re interested in optimizing your life and living it to the fullest, you probably have a lot of big goals and dreams. It’s important to focus on what you want and to use that as motivation to move you forward.

However, it’s also important to be realistic about the common pitfalls that people tend to get stuck in as they work toward their life goals.

Here are 5 common things I’ve seen in others (and myself!):

1. Pursue Material Success Above All Else

It is easy to get mesmerized by the thought that your life would be perfect if only you had more money, a bigger house, or a new pair of shoes.

Don’t get caught in the trap of chasing the best and brightest new thing. I’ve been there myself, and all those new toys lose their luster after a few short days or weeks.

Though those things may make you feel good for a while, it is important to realize that those good feelings of confidence, joy, and happiness come from within you, not from the object

2. Wait for “Someday”

You’re busy. I’m busy. Everyone is busy these days. Somehow it seems like a struggle just to find the time to go grocery shopping or get the oil changed in your car.

It is easy to put things off on the “someday” list, especially if taking action frightens you or you’re unclear about what the next step should be.

However, it is important to realize that unless you actively make the choice to change your situation and take control of your life, your dreams, or the direction you’re headed, you will just keep drifting on the same course you’re already on.

Living the life you want doesn’t happen by accident and it doesn’t happen because your to-do list is finally complete and you can, at long last, find the time to concentrate on what matters. The only way to get the life you want is to take action and make time for it.

Make your goals a top priority and you won’t run the risk of endlessly putting them off until they reach the graveyard of “someday.”

3. Settle for Less Than What You Want

I know it can be difficult to go after what you want. You pour all of your effort into getting that dream job, asking that special person out on a date, or getting started on that new diet only to be met with disappointments.

After a little bit of failure, it is only reasonable to think that you’ve just set your goals too high and that you should settle for something a bit more “reasonable.”

However, settling for less isn’t going to give you what you really want. It will also develop a belief in your mind that you can’t get what you really want or that you don’t deserve it. This kind of thinking will limit your motivation or the amount of action you’re willing to take to go after other things you want in life.

4. Avoid Fear and Uncomfortable Situations

I get it. It’s tough to walk into your boss’ office and demand a raise or go up to that hot girl at the bar and introduce yourself. It’s frightening. You don’t know what will happen, and there’s a reasonable chance that you may not get the desired outcome.

However, it is only through reaching outside of our comfort zone that we can begin to expand what is possible in our life.

It’s the things we have to work for and take a risk to get that we treasure the most in life.

Yes, you might experience the sting of rejection, but the courage needed for taking a chance will start to build, like any muscle that is exercised, and you’ll begin to become more bold and courageous in other things in life too.

5. Choose to Believe Discouraging Thoughts

We all have negative thoughts. There is no denying that. However, we do have the choice to believe those thoughts or not.
And it sure is easy to believe them. After all, we thought them up or someone “important” told them to us, so they must be true, right?

Keep in mind though, that just because you have a limiting or discouraging thought about your own abilities or value does NOT mean that you have to accept that belief.

You can choose what beliefs you are willing to accept and which ones you are not. Even if you’re unable to control anything else in your life, you can always control your thoughts.

***

The important thing is to not feel bad if you see yourself in any of these 5 pitfalls. Often, we may not be aware of what we’re doing so you shouldn’t feel bad when you discover something counter-productive. Instead celebrate its discovery and correct course as needed.

The journey to achieving your life goals may not always be a straight line, but finding your path amidst it all is one of the biggest joys in life.

Clay Andrews is a relationship advice blogger. He loves meeting new people, so stop by his website, The Path to Passion, and say hello.

Photo by Per Ola Wiberg

UNWANTED PERSON

I saw you sitting there today.

Once a valuable part

Now not treated as such.

Society used you up

Took everything it could want

Then you changed

For good or bad

And your value was less desired.

Turned you into a debt

A beggared

Not a prize.

So now you sit on the sidelines.

Who will help you?

Who will come to your rescue?

Who will pass you by…

Turning an unwanted eye…

Away so to avoid…

What seems to be an unwanted person?

A kind of person allowed to reach a sublime mark

And place on those around a demand.

No need to help you be whole,

Or at least fit in.

Can you be whole?

Do you demand it?

Society's need for love and fixing is not to be complete

It is to get you on your feet, then leave you on your own.

It should be to bring you back into the fold,

Make you one of us rather than leave you one of them,

So you are once again

Where and what you should be - US.

  

Just to explain, I was driving down a street today and saw a man in a wheelchair waiting for something, or someone. He had a heavy jacket on but was sitting in direct sunlight and it was hot!! My emotions just hit me and I had to pull off the street and sit in the car while I teared up and dealt with the images that flashed in my mind, this poem. I talked with him for a couple minutes, he had been to a doctor's appointment and was waiting for a scheduled pickup; so he was pushed to the edge of the street and left waiting (basically at the discretion and schedule of someone else). While reading my words I hope you experienced a sense of what I felt, it was not comfortable at the time and not while typing the words. You can make a difference in the life of someone, so do it whenever you have the chance.  Andy

Posted 2/19/11
Via : Andy's Blog http://andybryant.com/

Introducing Resolutions Tracker : An App That Helps You Keep Your Resolutions

Note : This is a Guest post from Donald Latumahina  http://www.lifeoptimizer.org 

Last week I wrote about HabitMaster. Actually I don’t want to write about my apps two weeks in a row, but – since we are in the beginning of a new year – I think it’s the right time to introduce this app to you.

A few days ago I released a new app for the iPhone and iPod touch calledResolutions Tracker. It’s an app that helps you keep track of your resolutions (including but not limited to New Year’s resolutions).

As you know, making resolutions is easy, but keeping them is not. So I designed this app to help you plan, do, and evaluate your progress in keeping your resolutions.

It’s a good complement to HabitMaster. For resolutions that deal with building new habits, HabitMaster is the app for you. But for resolutions that are not, Resolutions Tracker is the app to use. I will give you an example below.

How It Works

First of all, here are some features of the app:

• Add tasks
  For each resolution, you can add tasks to do. It helps you take real actions to keep your resolutions.
• Set alerts
  You can set alerts to remind you to do the tasks. This way you will never miss any of them.
• Check your progress
  Whenever you complete a task, it will go to your Accomplished list. By looking at your Accomplished list, you can see what you have done to keep the resolution. It will help you stay motivated.
• Grade yourself
  You can grade yourself on how good you are in keeping your resolutions. It encourages you to be honest with yourself and helps you see where to put more attention.

Now let’s see an example of how to use the app. Let’s say you have three resolutions:

• Upgrade my skills
• Live a healthy lifestyle
• Spend more time with my family

The first thing to do is to put all your resolutions into the app. Here is how it looks (you may want to turn on the option to display images if you read this through an email):

Now let’s take one resolution, Upgrade my skills. The next step is to outline what you want to do for that resolution. In this case, you should specify the skills that you want to learn. Let’s assume that the two skills that you want to learn are web design and copywriting.

After that, you should specify what exactly you will do next to learn those two skills. Let’s say that you plan to find good copywriting books and watch Photoshop tutorials. You should put them into the To Do screen.

I jumped forward a little bit here. See how those two tasks are already marked as completed? They will now show up on the Accomplished list of Upgrade my skills resolution.

To remove the completed items from your To Do screen but keep them on the Accomplished list, you can tap the Archive button on the top right part of the To Do screen.

Lastly, in the second screenshot above there is a section with five stars that is labeled Grade. You can swipe the stars to grade yourself on how good you are in keeping your resolutions.

That’s it. Pretty simple, isn’t it?

My hope is that this app can help you keep your resolutions. As I said above, I designed this app to help you plan, do and evaluate your progress in keeping your resolutions.

Click here to check out Resolutions Tracker on the App Store

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Thank you!

Leap year meditation

Once in four years, just once, perhaps we could:

Forgive, forget, relax, care, stand out, speak up, contribute, embrace, create, make a ruckus, give credit, skip, smile, speak truth and refuse to compromise--more than we usually do. Pick just one or two and start there.

Hey, it's just one day.

Careful, though, it might become a habit.

How To Safeguard Your Income

Note : This is a guest post from Donald Lathmahina http://www.lifeoptimizer.org

I’m a big believer in diversification. Putting all your eggs in one basket is dangerous, especially in your personal finance. Diversification is a good way to reduce your risks. The question is how we should go about diversification.

Recently, through a lecture by Professor Robert Shiller, I got a deeper understanding of diversification.

In the lecture, Professor Shiller explained that risk – in mathematical terms – is represented by variance, which is a measure of how fluctuating something is. Potential return, on the other hand, is represented by average. An investment could have a high average (that is, high potential return), but if it also has a high variance (that is, highly fluctuating) then it’s risky. Yes, you might get a high return, but there is also a chance that you would lose big. The ideal, of course, is to have a high average and a low variance.

Now I’d like to focus on the risk side of things. To minimize risk, what you need to do is minimizing variance. And the way to do that is by diversifying your portfolio. But there is one important condition: the components must be independent of each other. That is, the fluctuation of one investment must not have any effect on the other investments in your portfolio.  If you can meet this criterion, then you just need to keep adding new investments to your portfolio and you’ll reduce your risks over time.

Applied to personal income, it means that you should diversify your income streams in such a way that they become independent of each other. If you don’t do that, then you don’t actually reduce your risks.

Based on this understanding, there are four levels of income diversification (from the worst to the best):

1. You have only one income stream
   This is the worst situation to be in. When something bad happened to this sole income stream, the effect will be devastating. An example of this is salaried employees with no other income stream. If they lost their jobs, their entire income would disappear.
2. You have more than one income streams, but one of them dominates
   This is better than level 1, but the effect will still be bad if something happened to the main income stream. The majority of the income will be gone, but the good news is that some of it will remain intact.
3. You have relatively balanced income streams, but some of them are dependent on each other
   Here you have several income streams and none of them dominates. This is good, except for one thing: since some of them are dependent on each other, they could all go down at the same time.
4. You have relatively balanced income streams, with no dependency between them
   This is the best situation to be in. Here, when something bad happened, you will be able to keep going and suffer only minor damage.

Here is a good question to ask yourself to guide you in your diversification effort: What is the worst single point of failure that would be devastating to your income?

For some people, it’s losing their job. For me as a blogger, it might be getting deindexed by Google (since a majority of the this blog’s traffic comes from Google). For a business owner, it might be losing a big customer.

What is it for you?

After you have the answer, you should work on minimizing its impact. Your goal is to diversify your income streams in such a way that there is no single point of failure that could devastate your income.

It might take years before you reach that point (I’m still working on it myself), but I believe it’s an important journey to take. And since it might take years, you’d better start soon.

Photo by Caroline