Would you buy vegetables grown in the Empire State Building or the Chrysler Building? What are the benefits?
I actually think that it is a great idea. Imagine the money we'd save on the cost of these vegetables having to be handled and shipped from long distances. We'd save greenhouse gases on transportation and we can monitor how our produce is grown if it's right here where we live.
Imagine all of the deisel fuel we'd cut down on if we could just go to the farms ourselves and pick up our own produce. We'd practically save the world with that one act alone. Well just maybe.
Here is a cool video I found where Matt Danzico reports for Discovery News on vertical farming.
Click here if this video does not play.
And yet there are some skeptics! They don’t seem to mind that their vegetables are currently grown from animal and insect waste, while also being tampered by human engineering (sometimes exposing them to salmonella) and harmful insecticides?
I can’t wait for this evolution to occur, where my fruits and vegetables could be grown with three simple ingredients: the seed, water, and sunlight.
o Check out more science news stories at http://www.discovery-news.com.
----- Sharing life experiences, secrets, tips, advice, concepts … and finding the angel within! -----
Revenge Never Settles The Score
Don’t take it from me. Take it from, Nelson Mandela who once said, "Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for it to kill your enemy." There is a long and arduous mental journey that you must undertake before reaching a place of understanding Mandela’s wise words; one that he had to take and one that many human beings have had to take throughout the history of mankind.
This advice is the short cut to its wisdom, if it is taken to heart.
If you have been wronged in some way in your life by someone or some incident and you haven’t an apology or answers as to why this happened, you might thirst for vengeance in hopes of teaching “them” or “the world” a valuable lesson. Vengeance is a ravenous hunger with a false sense of satisfaction. Once you have it you believe you will be happy.
In actuality revenge is an illusion of justice. It will turn its victims into the vile enemy they hate. The unjust injury becomes fair. Revenge for a vengeful deed is in order. Their victimization is now doubled.
The cycle of injury continues until someone finally forgives.
End the negative cycle by being the one to let go of revenge and the wasteful thoughts of revenge. Why spend your time thinking of another person’s demise when you could be thinking about rising above your pain and struggles? This is an important piece in finding personal happiness.
And if you are the stubborn sort, and resentment and revenge consumes you, take revenge on your victimizer by doing what it takes to make the world a better place for other victims. Let your roar be heard by the good things you do so that there are less injustices done in the world. Make a difference; everyone and anyone can.
9 Ways To Prevent The Common Cold
“According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is also one of the most common causes of work and school absenteeism, with up to 22 million school days lost each year in the U.S. Colds are caused by viral infections. Over 200 different viruses can cause cold symptoms of varying severity.” (medicinenet.com)I’ve seen many colds and flu spells in my day and it can take just about all of your energy to go to the drug store to buy an over-the-counter remedy for it. But every now and again, I get these spells of not actually catching what everyone has and it feels great. Here is what I did to keep colds away in the past that you could try.
1. Eat more home prepared meals than those at restaurants, dinners, or fast food places. Lower your chances of being exposed to viruses.
2. Boost your immunity by eating lots of green vegetables and garlic. Arm your body’s defenses with vitamin C, zinc, selenium, folic acid, vitamin B6, echinacea, eleuthero, and probiotics.
3. Avoid or eat less meats, sugars, processed foods, dairy and wheat gluten. These give viruses a home to spread in your body.
4. Sterilize hard surfaces with an antibacterial wipe or good old soap and water… especially items you use often like your computer, phone and TV remote. You don’t have to go berserk wiping down everything every five minutes. You can do it once a day at least.
5. Beware of your hands!!! Keep your hands from touching your eyes, mouth or any part of the face before you can get to wash them. Anti-bacterial gels are helpful in some cases, but you certainly don’t want those to come in contact with your mouth or eyes. Soap and water should suffice. People tend to forget to wash their hands before handling their faces or snacks and after shaking hands with strangers.
6. Don’t share food, drinks, and utensils from others… Colds can be the most contagious a few days before you see any sign of them. However, hugs and kisses from loved ones is definitely the best reason to justify catching a cold.
7. Stress can lower your defenses and even bring on a cold. A good vitamin B stress complex and vitamin D can has helped me with both physical and emotional stress in the past. I keep them available all year round.
8. Try to at least get sufficient sleep and rest. If you don’t, once you get sick, you’ll be forced to get some rest.
9. Treat your body good! Exercise, don’t smoke, avoid an excess of alcohol, and practice good hygiene.
Good luck! I’m sure these could help, but if you get a stubborn virus attack that breaks through these defenses, I’ve got a way to wipe it out quick… so stay tuned.
9 Ways To Boost Your Self-Esteem
When I was a kid, I’d remember not really having any self-esteem or knowing what it meant. With a name like Veltis, it didn’t take long for the other kids to realize I was different and boy did they have a ball beating me up and making fun of me all up until my senior year in High School. It’s bizarre that I turned out to become at one point of my life a social butterfly, but that was me as a kid. I was a painfully shy introvert with a vivid imagination. I was a dreamer and anything I wanted could come true in my fantasy world, because somehow I processed that the real world had fewer possibilities for me to achieve.
That all changed after High School, but every now and then, the feelings of low self-worth creep around and I’m that little kid again. It probably doesn’t make sense why it comes back, but it does. It hurts a lot to feel that way and sometimes it is a difficult feeling to shake.
I know I am not the only one. So to help us, I have compiled a few things we could remember to keep my self-confidence boosted and ready for battle with the real world.
1. Be selfish. Don’t be afraid to be selfish when it comes to your personal space; soul, mind, and body. Self-esteem comes from the inside out. Focus on yourself where it counts like your feelings, health, and the way you are treated by others. Take time out of your day to take care of yourself. And don’t be afraid to say “no” to someone asking for something that is going to get in the way of your needs! Self-esteem doesn’t mean everyone else’s-esteem.
2. Realize your self –importance. Every life is important. Humans have the unique ability to touch and affect each other even after death. Realize you can make a difference in the world. So many humans have done so in the past and so can you. You are made up of the same stuff. You are important to the world and it’s future!
3. Be positive. It takes very hard work to be positive. Have a positive attitude. Think positive thoughts. Do positive things. It won’t be easy to be positive because the world will consistently challenge you. Be obsessive about being positive. Some people think that putting a positive spin on a negative situation is a way of not facing reality. Reality is reality. There is nothing that can change that, but a positive attitude is what will allow you to walk through the fire because you have to. You still have to live in reality, but whatever Jedi mind tricks you use to get through life, use them. Give yourself the mental advantage.
4. Identify the positive things in your life. It’s not easy to see the positive things in yourself or in your life when you are feeling bad. But if you are alive and able to read this right now, that in itself is remarkably wonderful! Count your blessings and be grateful for what you have on the simplest level. Being thankful allows you to remember your self-worth.
5. Visualize your potential. From age 0 to 99 (or more) you can do amazing things. Never forget the endless possibilities of your potential and go for them!
6. Do what you are good at. I know you’ve heard the saying that everyone is good at something, but it’s hard to remember that or even see that when you are feeling bad about yourself. But it is true, everyone is good at something so whatever it is, no matter how small, you should be proud and do it as best as you can.
7. Do what you love. If you are still looking for your passion in life, keep searching. Try new things. Once you know what you love, try with all of your might to become an expert at it. Enjoying your passions and excelling at them will make your confidence soar.
8. Always strive for self-improvement. No matter how much we know, there is always something new to learn. Never, be too proud to learn because it can only make us greater.
9. Be fearless. Go after the things you want in your life without fear. Tell yourself to be fearless every day.
Don’t:
o Focus on the negative things in your life. This could be anything… Thinking about negative things will paralyze you. Do not think about negative things.
o Use the word “can’t”. It should no longer be in your vocabulary.
o Don’t remember. Have a short memory about life’s let-downs and disasters. You aren’t going to forget the pain, but rehashing the feelings of being let-down in the past will only introduce fear into your present life. No memory, no fear. This is definitely a mind-trick that you are controlling. Control makes you powerful.
o Listen negativity or anyone who says you can’t do something. Remember, can’t is no longer in your vocabulary.
o Surround yourself with negative people that make you feel insignificant.
o Forget that you are important. (Self-esteem = self-importance)
Additional small things you can do to build your confidence:
o Smile. Practice in the mirror. Smiles are positive infections you can spread to others.
o Good posture.
o Good hygiene. You’ll feel comfortable around others without fear.
o Work out. Gets your heart flow pumping positive endorphins, gives you a sense of accomplishment, and allows you to release your pain.
o Dance. Music is wonderful therapy allowing your body to express itself.
o Get a massage.
o Challenge your limits. (Bragging rights)
Good luck!
Life Lessons - Things I Wish Were Taught In Grade School
Sometimes I get very angry when I think of the public school system I grew up in and what it’s become today. Somehow, in its objective to prepare youngsters for life, the focus got crossed and the many foundations of learning valuable lessons for living are left up to parents, fate, college and good luck.
What if children that are being brought up to adulthood today were actually being taught lessons to help them cope with their lives now and onward; life lessons? What if everyone of us took responsibility for helping them do just that and not leaving it up to someone else to do it?
No offense to the teachers who teach these classes, but school subjects like P.E., Geometry, and Algebra, should be electives and not mandatory because not every person will enjoy a specialty in these areas. Though P.E. teaches children about the importance of physical activity, most children hate it. The don’t hate it because they don’t want to be active, most kids hate it because it takes a personal aspect, the physical body and puts it on display in front of their peers. It can foster embarrassment and damaging self-esteem because of its inability to treat each child as an individual case. We are talking about physicality of a child. They deserve special care. And though it’s been over 20 years after taking algebra and geometry, I’ve never used it for anything in real life… not one single thing!
Now days, most adults and teens rely on books, the Internet, and TV shows that will help them with anything to do with dealing with real life. Oprah has her “Life Class” on OWN and there are so many learning web classes that feature subjects that are unconventional to the classroom, like “Make-Overs n A Budget” and “How To Start Your Own T-Shirt Line”. So there is a need for alternative subject learning.
The list below reflects a few of the subjects I feel are so very desperately needed in our public school system so that our future generations can get a heads up on life. Some may be funny and some people may even assume that parents are able to teach these subjects, but the reality is that it’s not. So if the school system wants to make sure that its students are prepared for life, they may consider adding these courses to their curriculum.
o Common sense / Logic
o Sociology
o Psychology
o Self-Esteem
o Self-Respect
o Self-Discipline
o The Value Life And Living Things
o Responsibility
o Rejection
o Loss & Grieving
o Motivation
o Time Management
o Organization
o Financial Management
o Income Taxes (Mainly how to fill out the individual income tax form since everyone has to.)
o How To Get A Job (This course should deal with how to search for job, get requirements for the job, make resumes and how to behave on the job.)
On a special note, kids should not have to wait to get to college to take Logic, Sociology or Psychology. You’ve been dealing with it for at least 12 years by the time you can take a course about it. That’s a disadvantage. Doesn’t that make you mad a little? It drives me crazy.
The hope is that through all of the classes kids take, somehow the teachers manage to squeeze in life lessons somehow. It’s not the case because I’m not the first or only person to think of this.
Some other articles on the Internet about this topic:
Black History - Fascinating Facts About African Americans
If you are tweeting, making conversation, or even just curious about Black History Month and the reason why African Americans treasure the tradition of remembering their history, this is a quick cheat sheet, if you will, to get you started.
o Alexander Lucius Twilight was the first black college graduate. He received a B.A. from Middlebury College in 1823.
o Ann Lowe designed the wedding dress of Jacqueline Bouvier, the bride of future president, Senator John F. Kennedy.
o Aretha Franklin became the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.
o Aretha Franklin is one of the most honored artists in Grammy Award history, with 20 wins to date.
o Arthur Ashe was the first African-American to win the U.S. Open in 1968.
o Arthur Mitchell opened the first African-American classical ballet company, Dance Theatre of Harlem, in 1969.
o Before he wrote Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison served as cook in the Merchant Marines during World War II.
o Bill Cosby was the first African-American to star in a network television show, “I Spy” in 1965.
o Bill Cosby's sitcom, The Cosby Show, became the highest ranking sitcom for 5 years in a row & aired for 8 years from 1984 to 1992.
o Black History Month began in 1926 in honor of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, who were both born in February.
o Booker T. Washington became the first African-American to be depicted on a United States postage stamp in 1940.
o Buffalo Soldiers is a name given to the African–American cavalries during the 1800s by the Native American Kiowa tribe.
o C.B. Brooks invented the street sweeper in 1896.
o Charles R. Drew is often credited with the invention of the first large-scale blood bank.
o Charley Pride was the first African-American to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000.
o Coleman Alexander Young, received the 66th NAACP Spingarn Medal in 1981 for the magnificent job he did as mayor of Detroit, MI.
o Condoleezza Rice was the first African-American woman to serve as the U.S. Secretary of State.
o David Crosthwait, Jr. created the heating systems for the Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall.
o Dr. George Franklin Grant received a patent for the world's first golf tee in 1899.
o Dr. Maulana Karenga created the African-American holiday, Kwanzaa, in 1966.
o Ella Fitzgerald became the first African-American woman to earn a Grammy Award.
o Ella Fitzgerald had a three-octave range - a range greater than most professional Opera singers.
o Florence "Flo Jo" Griffith-Joyner set the world record for the 100 and 200 meter dash at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea.
o Garrett Augustus Morgan invented the gas mask.
o H. Pickett, inventor, patented the Scaffold on this date in 1874. Patent # 152,511.
o Harriet Ann Jacobs slavery in 1835 & published Incidents in the Life of A Slave Girl in 1861 under the name Linda Brent.
o Hattie McDaniel was first African-American to win the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award in 1939.
o In 1897, African-American inventor, Alfred Cralle patented the first ice cream scoop in 1897.
o In 1989, L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia became the first African-American elected governor in U.S. history.
o In 1995 Maya Angelou was the first writer to spend two years on The New York Times Paperback Nonfiction Bestseller List.
o Jane Bolin became the first black woman to become a judge in the United States in 1932.
o Jay-Z allegedly got his name as a reference to New York's J/Z subway lines in his Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, neighborhood.
o Jazz, an African–American musical form born out of the Blues, Ragtime, and marching bands originated in Louisiana during the turn of the 19th century
o Jennifer Jackson was the first African-American Playboy’s Playmate of the Month featured in March 1965.
o Jocelyn Elders was the first African-American to serve as Surgeon General of the United States.
o John Love invented the pencil sharpener in 1897.
o Joseph Winters invented a fire escape ladder in 1878.
o L.P. Ray invented the dustpan in 1897.
o Lonnie G. Johnson performed spacecraft system design for NASA, invented the Super Soaker water gun—the number one selling toy in America in 1991.
o Louis Armstrong bought his first coronet at the age of 7 with money he borrowed from his employers. He taught himself to play while in a home for juvenile delinquents.
o M. Jocelyn Elders was the first African-American, and the second woman, to serve as the United States Surgeon General.
o Macon Bolling Allen was the first African-American to pass the bar and practice law in the United States in 1845.
o Madame C.J. Walker (1876 - 1919) invented specialized hair products for African-American hair and became the first American woman to become a millionaire.
o Marian Anderson was the first African-American to perform with the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1955.
o Michael Jackson, co-wrote the single "We Are the World" with Lionel Richie. The single donated millions of dollars to famine relief in Africa.
o Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team for being undersized.
o Muhammad Ali was originally named after his father, who was named after the 19th century abolitionist and politician Cassius Marcellus Clay.
o Nat 'King' Cole, a was the first African-American to host a national television program, The Nat King Cole Show, in 1956.
o Oprah Winfrey became the first black female TV host of a show (The Oprah Winfrey Show). The show aired from 1986 to 2011.
o Oprah Winfrey became the first female U.S. billionaire in 2003.
o Phillis Wheatley was the first published African-American poet with her 1774 collection, Poems on Various Subjects.
o Quincy Jones is the most Grammy-nominated artist in the history of the awards with 76 nominations and 26 awards.
o Ray Charles (1930 – 2004) was one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at its inaugural ceremony in 1986.
o Rebecca Lee Crumpler graduated from the New England Female Medical College in 1864; the first black woman to receive an M.D.
o Rita Dove is the second African-American to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, an award she received in 1987.
o Robert Johnson, the owner of Black Entertainment Television, became the first black billionaire in America in 2001.
o Sci-fi author Octavia Butler was dyslexic. She won two Hugo awards and two Nebulas for her writing.
o Slavery was abolished in New York City on this date in 1827.
o The 1st interracial kiss seen on network TV was on Star Trek in 1968 between Nichelle Nichols and William Shatner.
o The first African-American to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor was Louis Gossett, Jr. in the 1982.
o The first university owned and operated by African-Americans is Wilberforce College, in Wilberforce, Ohio.
o The Tuskegee Airmen were the first African-American pilots in the U.S. armed forces.
o Thurgood Marshall was the first African-American to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States.
o Tiger Woods (1975 - ) is the youngest person and the first African-American to win the Masters Tournament in 1997.
o Toni Morrison, was the first African-American to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993 for her work, Beloved.
o W.E.B. Du Bois established the first sociology department in the U.S.
o Wilma Rudolph (1940 -1994) not only overcame polio but broke world records in three Olympic track events.
Get these and more fascinating Black History facts from these sources:
o http://www.biography.com/tv/classroom/black-history-little-known-facts
o http://www.history.com/topics/black-history-facts
o http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_history
o http://www.africanamericanhistorymonth.gov/
o http://www.factmonster.com/spot/bhm1.html
10 Great Ways To Stick To Your Diet While Dinning Out
1) Look at the menu before walking in to see if they serve things that are on your allowed diet. If there isn’t anything on the menu, be firm and move on to another restaurant. If you are dinning with friends, do alert them to your special needs whether temporary or permanent.
2) Ask the waiter to remove the breadbaskets if your fellow dinners are ok with it. If they want to munch on the bread, bravely forego any nibbling unless you are on a bread diet. Casual nibbling can add up to 300 to 700 extra calories if you are indeed on a weight loss diet. You may want to save those calories for the actual meal.
3) Drink plenty of water while reviewing the menu. You’ll want to examine each dish while you do this and pick choices that closely match your dietary needs. If you have a craving for something, you might want to go with the appetizer version of the dish. And remember that if you order an appetizer ask the waiter to bring it out at the same time your party’s entrées arrive.
4) When you order, do ask for the ingredients for any sauces the dish is served in. Many sauces mysteriously contain ingredients that are not on your dietary list. For instance, I am allergic to honey, so that’s one of my main questions when I go to a restaurant. And if you are on a weight loss diet, you may not want a sauce that is loaded with fat or sugars. You could also ask for the sauce to accompany the dish on the side.
5) Ask if you can substitute items for another to suit your needs. Most establishments will gladly do this. Some establishments won’t do this, because their dishes are pre-prepared or simply just not willing to. You could check with the hostess before you are seated about this. Don't feel compelled to comply with what ever you get because ultimately, you need to be in control of what you put into your body... diet, allergies, or not.
6) Continue to drink plenty of water while waiting for the meal. The water will help your digestion and help you to feel full. Carbonated water is even better for this.
7) Eat slowly and enjoy every single bit of the meal. You'll benefit from a better digestion of the meal and believe it or not, you'll feel full faster.
8) If you get an entrée, try to consume only half of the meal and have the rest wrapped to go. You must use your judgment on this because you’ll want to remember that the human stomach is no bigger than your fist and most entrées served at restaurants are twice as large. If you are on a weight management diet, the extra meal later will help your metabolism stay revved up.
9) Ask for coffee, tea, or a lemon wedge to wash down your meal and give you a little pick-me-up instead of a desert. Avoid over taxing your tea or coffee with lots of milk and sugar.
10) Drink more water while you wait for the check and your leftovers. The benefits of drinking extra water are endless but mainly it will decrease your chances of feeling hungry again later on and again, assist in the digestion of your meal.
Good luck and remember that if you do not stick to all of the 10 things, DON’T feel guilty about it. Having your meal will be useless if you don't actually enjoy your special moment.
10 Ways To Promote Yourself On The Internet!
1. Identify yourself. Who are you? What do you do and why is it interesting to others? Come up with a tagline or punch phrase that accurately describes you in a nutshell. You’ll also want to extend that brief explanation into a more detailed explanation of one to two sentences or more.
2. Identify your audience. Identify from who you want attention. There must be some connection to what you are offering and what your audience wants. Be realistic about your audience. You can’t get a majority of your attention from moms when your product is a men’s magazine.
3. Research. What is your business? What are the top key words you’d used to describe your business? Search for those key words on line. Identify similar sites, brands, and people within your key word search. List them from the most popular to the least. List which sources you can actually make contact with, via twitter, email, Facebook, and more. This contact list will be your guide.
4. Internet tools. Use social networks to connect with your industry contacts. People in search of things in your genre will want to network with you as well, even customers / clients / fans / followers. Sites like Twitter, Facebook, & Linked In are perfect for this.
5. Events. Use events to meet the people. It’s especially useful to connect with on line contacts and their supporters. Use events to talk about yourself, mustering up some interest on a personal level.
6. Make friends. Never look at any similar brands or entities as your competition. They will be your teachers, guides, and inspiration. If you work together, it will only strengthen your position. The internet is a friendly place for just that. Never take things personally. If you approach an entity that is hostile to making friends or networking, find the next contact on your list and move forward.
7. Follow internet etiquette. Don’t be too anxious or pushy. Don’t promote yourself at the expense of others without their permission and be respectful of their internet space.
8. Be patient. Attention will not happen overnight. You will have to work on it over time. Never lose your internet presence. Applications like Tweet Deck and HootSuite are excellent for scheduling updates in advance. You will still need to interact with your contacts and stimulate conversations.
9. Continuously analyze your work and stay up to date with the trends. If twittering is what’s new, then twitter. Follow where your contacts are doing the most internet promotions and people are responding. Identify the status updates and gimmicks that are getting the most attention.
10. Be Yourself. It’s important to do the things that will make you successful, however, if it compromises who you are as a person or your morality you might want to go on and do something different. It is often the unusual that strikes a chord with an audience. Carve out your niche. Have fun with it.
Here is some recommendations for further reading:
o Shameless Self Promotion
o Book Promotion for the Shameless: 101 Marketing Tips That Really Work (Spilled Candy Books for Writers)
o Promote your Business or Cause using Social Media - A Beginner's Handbook
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)