What is in your vocabulary?

Sphere: Related Content We use words and phrases without realizing what we saying many times...how many cliches do you use? Or how many "buzz" words do you use which have long ago lost their effectiveness and meaning? Today's post is short with the point of allowing the words to penetrate the grey matter between our ears. Notice that it is not the length of the words but the quality of the words used that matters! For the quality to be there the brain must be activated...is yours activated or is it on "cruise control?" Read these and see the impact that a few well chosen words can have... The three great essentials to achieve anything worth while are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense." --Thomas Edison,inventor and businessman One of the hardest tasks of leadership is understanding that you are not what you are, but what you're perceived to be by others." --Edward L. Flom,CEO of Florida Steel Do what you feel in your heart to be right -- for you'll be criticized anyway. " --Eleanor Roosevelt,former first lady and American political leader If toast always lands butter-side down, and cats always land on their feet, what happens if you strap toast on the back of a cat and drop it?" --Steven Wright, comedian, actor

Vocabulary Power Word- teach to your family!

Sphere: Related Content Bellicose (BEL-ih-kohs) adj. - belligerent, ready to make war Example: The jeering, BELLICOSE crowd demanded the coach's retirement.

How Podcasting works...

Sphere: Related ContentPodcasting...What's all the Hype? by Tammy Munson Podcasting . . . . What's all the hype? Well, podcasting can get confusing easily, that's for sure. However, really it's a lot simpler than one thinks in the beginning. Podcasting is simply a means by which to distribute audio or video files. Podcasting actually came from the words broadcast and Ipod because of the popularity of the Ipod and this being a new way that information and music was being broadcast to the world. Podcasts are dispensed over the Internet. These can be radio shows or video productions. The podcasts are placed online where they can be downloaded or listened to via a virtual player such as a multimedia player either on the website itself or on a person's personal computer. Many people also download the files and then transfer them to a MP3 player such as an Ipod. It is really quite easy and can be done without your having to do much of anything the computer and the Ipod recognize each other and actually sync up on their own. Podcasts also give you the ability to subscribe to them and in some cases can even be downloaded automatically on a schedule through a podcast feed. One of the ways to do this is with a program such as Itunes. Itunes gives you the ability to search their database of podcasts and find something in your area of interest to download. You then subscribe to the feed and automatically get a new file when the podcast feed is updated. There are podcasts out there on virtually every topic from parenting to car repair. Most podcast are done by ordinary people on topics that they are passionate about, many podcast are talk show style but there are also music podcasts out there as well. Many well-known people are now also using podcasts to advertise and promote themselves, their platform or even their products or services. It is much easier than one might think to record and create your own audio podcast. If you have a low end, inexpensive microphone you can easily record digital audio via your personal computer. A recording software is also useful, and there are free versions such as Audacity available online for download. This software allows you to quite easily edit the audio and then to save it and export it as an MP3 file for use elsewhere. If you already have a website you might also already have server space available or you can purchase space to house your audio files on a website such as Audio Acrobat. Finally, an RSS feed is created for the files and a download link is made available where others can download and/or listen to the audio online. Podcasting a fast growing phenomenon that almost anyone can take advantage of...and that's what all the hype is about! Filed under: Entrepreneurship , Internet Website Profile About Tammy Munson Tammy Munson, owner of New Media VA, is a work at home mom to 2 girls, ages 9 and 6, and proud Army wife to her husband SPC Munson. She and her family reside near Alexandria, VA. She is co-owner of Business and Learning and co-organizer of the WAH Expo. To find out more information about her, please go to www.tammymunson.com

How people learn best

Sphere: Related Content I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." - Chinese Proverb

Creativity and Imagination ...is it lacking?

Sphere: Related Content http://clauschronicles.blogspot.com/ Santa Claus Blog The above link provided the following creative use of imagination. What limits us and how we help others is the lack of imagination and creativity that we have...read the following noticing the creativity, the imagination and how the ordinary comes to life on the page! Then think about your use of imagination and creativity in your life or the lack of the use of it! Periodic Updates From North Pole, Inc. Chairman & CEO Santa Claus Thursday, December 27, 2007 Food Poisoning I am pretty sure it was the raisin pie I had in Greece. I thought I had made it through this year without any problems but it started to hit me last night, shortly after I posted my blog entry. Yep... "stomach issues". Nothing major I am sure but I am having some fever spikes and stomach cramps. About once every 5 years or so, I end up eating something that has "gone bad" during my Christmas Eve travels and I find myself with a bout of mild food poisoning. Frankly, I am a little surprised I don't end up with it every year. Don't worry though, I am drinking plenty of fluids and following doctors' orders.The silver lining is that its a good excuse for laying on the couch all day. I've been able to do nothing but read the papers, watch TV, surf the internet, email & text old friends, and catch up on my sleep. Not a bad day from that perspective. As long as I'm healthy in time for Mrs. Claus & I to leave on our annual Hawaii vacation in a couple of days, I am not going to worry about it or complain.My energy is dropping a little so I'm going to cut this short for now. Wishing you a safe and HEALTHY new year! at 9:07 PM 2 comments Wednesday, December 26, 2007 The Day After What a lazy day! I am almost ashamed to admit I did very little today. I slept in until after 10am and then went for a run. It was snowing heavily but it felt good to shake off the grogginess of a full nights sleep. Mrs. Claus met me with a full breakfast and a steaming hot pot of Christmas Blend coffee when I finished. We took our time over breakfast to talk... it seemed as though the first time we've really talked since last month given that we've both been burning the candle at both ends to get ready for the big Christmas Eve operation.After breakfast and a warm shower, I did go into HQ to meet with my extended leadership team for a couple of hours. We conducted a full debrief and after action review of the Christmas Eve operation. We do that every year.. and we try to do it as soon as possible... in order to capture our learnings (i.e. What went well, want could have been improved, and what was missign) and start to build a plan to apply them for the next year. Given the world's population growth, our margin for error is shrinking exponentially each year. So even though this year's operation went really well, we have to be even better next year.Other than that meeting, I didn't do much. I returned after the meeting and took a long nap on the sofa next to the fire while Mrs. Claus read. She said it had been about 30 days since she had a chance to read but that it felt like 30 years. After my nap, I tuned in to a few of the English Premier League Boxing Day matches. I am very excited my ManU club is back on top of the tables after Ronaldo put away the penalty kick. This evening, after Mrs. Claus and I had dinner with some friends we haven't seen since mid-November, I took a walk down to the Starbucks in the Village Square. It was as empty as I have seen it since the same time last year. The vast majority of elves and reindeer left by mid-day on vacations to sunny locales or to visit family during this Holiday season. Those that are still here are staying close to home so they can re-connect with their loved ones after working most of the waking hours for the past 30 days. I sipped my Egg Nog Latte... probably my last of this Season... and enjoyed the still and quiet of the Village Square at night. It was beautiful with the Christmas tree lit and snow lightly falling. We all work hard but it is times like those this evening in the Village Square that I realize I might just be the luckiest man on this planet. I hope all of you can find that same peace and contentment this Holiday season.Well... these lazy days are not going to last long. Nor would I want them to. But since they are here, I'm going to call it a night for now. Good night, everyone! at 11:37 PM 11 comments Tuesday, December 25, 2007 Christmas Night I hope it was a wonderful Christmas for all of you. I think this may have been my best overall.My Christmas day started about four hours after we landed back at the North Pole. Mrs Claus and I had to wrap up the Operations before we headed home for our traditional Christmas brunch. For some reason, having a nice, leisurely-paced breakfast with Mrs. Claus after the long night and even longer Christmas Eve preparations seems like a luxury. I really start to relax. As I always do, I took a quick nap after breakfast. But not too long... my senior staff came over for a Christmas Day celebration. Its an intimate little gathering... just 20 or so of us (including guests), good food & drink, and a Holiday-season's worth of stories to tell on each other. In past years, I have stepped away to give phone interviews but not this year. I decided this year to completely shut down until Mrs. Claus and the rest of the North Pole team were in bed.After everyone left, I fell asleep on the recliner as I do each year, next to a roaring fire, watching NBA basketball (Blazers vs. Sonics... I hear the Blazers won their 11th in a row). Mrs. Claus woke me up in the early evening hours so I wouldn't sleep the night away. We went for a walk, hand-in-hand, around the Village to enjoy the lights and the lightly falling snow. When we got back from our walk, Mrs. Claus made hot chocolate while I brought in more wood for the fireplace. Once we got settled, with the fire once again roaring and the hot chocolate in our mugs, we exchanged gifts. Last year I seemed to get every gift for Mrs. Claus wrong... things didn't fit or it was the wrong color or it was something. But this year I got it right. Everything was spot on. Yes, even I have problem giving gifts to my spouse! So don't feel bad if you find yourself in the returns line tomorrow morning.Well, Mrs. Claus has retired for the evening. I'm pretty tired but I wanted to check in with you before I take a 10 or 12 hour nap for the first time in a few months and wish you a very Merry Christmas before the day is over. I hope you have some time this week between Christmas and New Years Day to relax and re-energize for the new year ahead. If you do, take the time to focus on your blessings. If you find you are truly blessed... as I believe you will... make a point to share those blessings with someone else during these last days of the Holiday season.Merry Christmas, everyone! With Love, Santa at 11:59 PM 31 comments Merry Christmas ...and to all a Good Night! The last presents have been delivered, the last cookie eaten, the last glass of milk consumed, and the last stocking filled. Once we get the "all clear" signal from the North Pole Command Center, we'll point the sleigh due north and return home. I hope everyone has had as much fun this Christmas Eve as I have had tonight. Tomorrow is going to be the best Christmas ever!Good night, all! I will not update my log until late in the day to day as I plan on enjoying Christmas brunch with Mrs. Claus and taking a nap."And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins." - Matthew 1:21 at 2:23 AM 48 comments Aloha! I just left Nome, Alaska. Talk about cold! Brrr. But the best news is that I'm headed south to the Hawaiian Islands. I'll make a few stops between but I can shed the jacket for a few minutes and swap out my Starbucks Christmas blend coffee for some 100% Kona coffee. At least while I'm cruising through the Islands. Love it down there. Mrs. Claus and I will be back in the Islands for our annual vacation in a little more than a week. Can't wait!To all of you now awake across Europe, Asia, Africa, & Australia/Oceania... Merry Christmas! at 1:08 AM 7 comments Monday, December 24, 2007 Stuffed Thank you all for all of the snacks that you have left out! I have had some tremendous food this evening. I believe these are some of the best cookies, milk, egg nog, pie, etc. that I've ever had. There was some cheesecake I had in Vermont that was unbelievable. I had to call Mrs. Claus and tell her that I think someone finally outdid her on cheesecake. Until tonight, I didn't think it was possible. But.. wow!The reindeer also want to make sure that I pass on their thanks for all of the carrots, apples, and oats.Well... for you kids along the Pacific seaboard of North & South America, you need to be in bed. I'll be in your neighborhood very soon. at 10:05 PM 5 comments A Lot Like Home I am currently delivering presents in northern Canada. We are not too far from home but we still have a long ways to go tonight... about another 4 hours. The reindeer definitely feel much more at home in these environs. Though they were spooked briefly at a house a few minutes ago when they got the scent of a polar bear. We were airborne again though by the time we actually spotted the bear. at 9:01 PM 2 comments The ATL Merry Christmas, North America!I am currently just outside Atlanta, Georgia. We are running a little behind schedule as air traffic control at Hartsfield unexpectedly re-routed us. But you kids along the eastern seaboard of the US should go ahead and be getting to bed. I'm working my way north and will be at your house before you know it.All is well so far. The reindeer are doing well. Everyone is past their bout with air sickness and we're feeling good. See you soon! at 7:15 PM 7 comments Turbulence I am over Europe right now. We are back on schedule. This is despite a little turbulence we ran into earlier this evening. It was severe enough that Comet & Dasher both got air sick. Not a pretty sight! The elves washed them down at the last replenishment stop and they were able to eat and drink with the other reindeer. The turbulence also spilled coffee all over me. I had just poured a cup of steaming hot Starbucks Christmas blend. It's cold up here and I needed the coffee to stay warm & alert. I should have known better but I didn't put the cup back in the cup holder while I was closing up the thermos. Sure enough... that's when we hit the first big bump. Coffee went everywhere. Fortunately all the gifts were in my water-proof sack. Just as fortunately, I'm wearing thick clothing... no coffee burns. The legal folks at Starbucks can rest easy.Ok... all you kids across Europe, get to bed! at 1:56 PM 13 comments India Merry Christmas, Everyone. I am running a little behind schedule. Nothing to worry about though. We are currently in Indian airspace. We'll be setting down at our replenishment station in just a few moments. From there we'll cover the much of India & central Asia before stopping in the Middle East for yet another replenishment before heading down into Africa.We have been experiencing some communication issues. We are now using our back-up communications systems that I normally use to post blogs as the primary channel back to North Pole Flight Operations. As such, some of my posts may experience a bit of delay.Just a side note to the folks that called out the issue between the spelling of Donder vs. Donner (also, there is a Blixon vs. Blitzen debate). Donder & Blixon are the Norwegian spellings. Donner & Blitzen are the typical British & American versions. at 11:53 AM 6 comments Older Posts

Choose your words and choose how you use them

"Money and success don t change people; they merely amplify what is already there." - Will Smith Zig Zigler states that one needs to feed the mind to be successful. He goes on in his writings and training to state that one needs to feed it with the right type of things so that one will be prepared for opportunities that will present themself everyday. One can not "get" ready for what comes every day. One must be "ready". Below is a blog posted on Idol Chatter http://blog.beliefnet.com/idolchatter/2007/12/hitler-meant-well-will-smith-s.html It addresses something in the news and the talk shows currently. As with other "Thoughts for the Day" this is not about agreeing or disagreeing but about learning about how the use of words and communication is such an uncertain science and must be something that is continuely worked on by everyone. No one is immune from saying something that "could have been said better." As I always have said ,"I love to eat but the one thing I hate to eat is my words.!" Read below and see the linguistical gymnnastics that are being done by people over Will Smith's words. What do you think he meant? How could he have said his thoughts better? Then notice at the end what some of the postings are and how the semantical word games continue... Power Word for today: Pusillanimous (pyoo-suh-LAN-uh-muhs) adj. - cowardly Example: Gary's robbery of the Orphans Fund was a PUSILLANIMOUS act if there ever was one. Here is a quote from Will Smith. The words are well chosen here...but any time and any place either we can say the wrong thing or be misunderstood... Money and success don t change people; they merely amplify what is already there." - Will Smith Log in Category: Celebrities Hitler Meant Well: Will Smith Speaks and We Wish He Didn't Oy vey. Every time actors speak I find myself holding my breath and hoping that what they'll say will resemble one of the moving, well-written speeches that they deliver during the roles they've taken on in their lifetime. As it turns out, those speeches are crafted by experienced people (I believe they're called "writers," or at least they are when they're not striking) who know how to turn a phrase, and directed by other experienced people who are called "directors." Or sometimes, those emotional moments are brokered by a James Lipton or Barbara Walters or Oprah or Ellen, to get actors to discover the wonderful inner workings of their own minds, to entertaining effect for the audience. Often, these celebrities become spokespeople for wonderful philanthropic causes that help people all over the world, and they should be praised for devoting part of a significant fortune and pulpit to good works. But woe, alas and alack, sometimes it might have been better if the celebrity had said nothing at all. For instance, a recent combination of Will Smith+Scotland=a possible boycott of "I Am Legend," when the former fresh prince made the following opinion known. Smith says he doesn't believe, quote, "Hitler didn't wake up going, "let me do the most evil thing I can do today," adding that Hitler was trying to do what he thought was good, though his mind used "a twisted, backward logic." Do I believe that Will Smith is an anti-Semite? No. Will I never look at his movies the same way again, like what happened in the wake of Mel Gibson's trip to Crazytown? No. Will I insist, as the local JDL is, that Hollywood "shun any future projects involving Smith." Clearly not. But do I find it surprising that Smith would invoke Hitler, the most hated, and most acknowledgedly-evil human to have walked the planet (at least in recent memory) through a haze of attempted comprehension? Uh-huh. The report continues that "Smith himself is angry at the way critics have interpreted his words" [I bet he is] "saying there's no way they should be read to imply that he believes Hitler was anything but "a vile, heinous vicious killer." Good. We all agree. Let's move on. And please, celebrities...whether you yell at Matt Lauer for the evils of meds-prescribing psychologists or try to understand Hitlerian logic, even as an intellectual exercise that challenges the concepts of good and evil, I implore you: think before you speak. Comments (22) Now notice the some of the semantical workings on Smith's thoughts and the commentary on them...go to BeliefNet for more postings... http://blog.beliefnet.com/idolchatter/2007/12/hitler-meant-well-will-smith-s.html Below are some of the 22 comments already posted about the above blog:I really feel for Will Smith right now. I often have my beliefs interperted incorrectly also. But thankfully, mine aren't usually distorted in front of the whole world.He never once said he agreed with or condoned Hitler's actions. He only took the time and wisdom to look at the situation a little deeper. It's very very easy to say that Hitler was pure evil and that's just that. I believe there was an unbelievable amount of evil working in Hitler's heart. But I do not believe he was born that way. I don't know what happened, but something happened. Now before you say "We all have bad things happen to us, and we don't go out and commit genocide." But that's a very simplistic view. Many people are molested as children. Some grow up to be child molestors themselves, and some grow up to be childrens advocates. There is no black & white cut & dry answers to things like these. I will probably get blasted for this, but I believe the real spiritual leaders of our world (Jesus, Ghandi, etc.) would find forgiveness for him. You can forgive and try to understand people and horrific situations without condoning reprehensible (sp?) actions or suggesting that their actions should not have consequences.Acid destroys the container it's kept in. Meaning, forgiveness is always the path to emotional and spiritual freedom. Furthermore, the acid inside Hitler will do more damage to him than anything anyone else could inflict upon him.Namaste'. Posted by: Melanie December 27, 2007 10:26 AM I would be very interested in a definition of Good from Will Smith. I have never been that impressed with the intellect of celebrities and this comment reaffirms my belief that intelligence is not a requirement for working in film. Perhaps Will should read a history book, a dictionary might be helpful. Posted by: beth December 27, 2007 10:27 AM I agree. The Comments aren't shocking, and actually are corect. Hitler didn't wake up and decide to be evil, and didn't see himself as evil. Will Smith didn't say Hitler wasn't evil, he just said Hitler was in his own mind, not evil. So choose your words and choose how you use them by working each day to feed your mind... Richard Reynolds M.Div., M.Ed. ,Ed.S. ...give a man a fish feed him for a day, teach him to fish feed him for a life time...