Clipmarks | phatmommy's clips

21 Things To Remember

Sat, 17 Mar 2007 06:33:35 GMT

clipped by: Sorgalim
clipper's remarks: 19. Success is getting up one more time.

20. Now is the most interesting time of all.

21. When things go wrong.....don't go with them.

Clip Source: mail.google.com

1. No one can ruin your day without YOUR permission.

2. Most people will be about as happy, as they decide to be.

3. Others can stop you temporarily, but only you can do it permanently.

4. Whatever you are willing to put up with, is exactly what you will have.

5. Success stops when you do.

6. When your ship comes in.... make sure you are willing to unload it.

7. You will never have it all together.

8. Life is a journey...not a destination. Enjoy the trip!

9. The biggest lie on the planet: When I get what I want I will be happy.

10. The best way to escape your problem is to solve it.

11. I've learned that ultimately, 'takers' lose and 'givers' win.

12. Life's precious moments don't have value, unless they are shared.

13. If you don't start, it's certain you won't arrive.

14. We often fear the thing we want the most.

15. He or she who laughs......lasts.

16. Yesterday was the deadline for all complaints.

17. Look for opportunities...not guarantees.

18. Life is what's coming....not what was.

Tags: remember, things, success, opportunities

Rethinking Homework

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 03:10:16 GMT

clipped by: showket

Clip Source: www.alfiekohn.org

Rethinking Homework

By Alfie Kohn

Daily homework is the rule in most schools. Why not make it the exception?

After spending most of the day in school, children are typically given additional assignments to be completed at home. This is a rather curious fact when you stop to think about it, but not as curious as the fact that few people ever stop to think about it.

It becomes even more curious, for that matter, in light of three other facts:

1. The negative effects of homework are well known. They include children’s frustration and exhaustion, lack of time for other activities, and possible loss of interest in learning. Many parents lament the impact of homework on their relationship with their children; they may also resent having to play the role of enforcer and worry that they will be criticized either for not being involved enough with the homework or for becoming too involved.

Tags: school, homework, education

Negaholism

Sat, 03 Mar 2007 04:29:15 GMT

clipped by: wurdzgurl

Clip Source: www.drcherie.com

Negaholism is a condition that is sweeping the globe. Negaholism is a syndrome in which people unconsciously limit their own innate abilities, convince themselves that they can’t have what they want, and sabotage their wishes, desires, and dreams. Negaholism manifests itself daily in the lives of normal people. Self-imposed limitations on happiness, joy, and fulfillment contaminate the consciousness of the majority of the population in subtle ways. The beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions that keep us restricted, constrained, and curtailed have reached epidemic proportions.

How the Negaholic pastern becomes established

1) The need for attention
2) The inability to give or receive positive attention
3) The ingrained habit of focusing on what is wrong
4) The opiate peptides - chemical rush when being severely criticized
5) The simultaneous feel bad, coupled with the significant amount of attention (feel good)
The addictive pattern takes hold, and one becomes a Negaholic!

Tags: negaholic

Commenting is Good For Your Blog Health

Mon, 19 Mar 2007 14:59:56 GMT

clipped by: phatmommy
clipper's remarks: Some excellent reasons why we should all comment more often!

Clip Source: www.chrisg.com

I don’t think we comment enough and I put that down to bloggers not realising the benefits. Here are the benefits as I see them, let me know if I miss any:

Comments = Ideas - You managed to comment. Could your comment be expanded into a post …?

Comment on Fresh Blogs For Fresh Perspectives - If you are always among the same crowd you will find inevitably the same thoughts being reflected back over and over. Break out! I advise people to comment on new blogs every day. By not commenting on the same old blogs, or especially setting a goal to comment on more blogs than the day before, you will be forced to leave your blog-reading comfort zone and visit new blogs. This exposes you to new ideas, different ways of looking at things, and hopefully a way out of the echo chamber.

You never know who is reading - It amazes me who reads my comments on obscure blogs that I thought only myself and a handful of others read. My comments on one blog lead to a consulting gig. You never know unless you try.

Tags: blogging, commenting

When Parenting, Act - Don't React

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 11:05:29 GMT

clipped by: phatmommy
clipper's remarks: Lots of good tips in this article for handling - better yet, avoiding! - a "Mommy Meltdown."

Clip Source: family.go.com

"Yelling is usually a sign that a parent has no strategy," says Thomas Phelan, a clinical psychologist in Glen Ellyn, Illinois

Samalin and Phelan recommend drawing on these following strategies when your kids are driving you up the wall:

Clip Source: family.go.com

"I," not "you." Avoid attacking your child with "you" statements"You are such a slob!" or "You'll never learn." Instead, think in terms of "I": "I don't like picking clothes up off your floor every day" or "I get upset when we're not on time." These are less hurtful and inflammatory.

Recognize what the problem is. Is it really your child's messy room? Or are you sleep-deprived? Feeling overwhelmed at work? Mad at your husband or mother or boss? Be aware of when you are more vulnerable to anger and resist the urge to transfer negative feelings to your child.

Tags: parenting, temper, discipline

Schools Smother the Learning Fire

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 12:18:54 GMT

clipped by: phatmommy

Clip Source: whyhomeschool.blogspot.com

People keep trying to tweak public education so it will be better. It isn’t working. I don’t think it will really improve as it is currently structured. After millions, or maybe billions, of man hours invested in trying to fix public schools, maybe it is time to think out of the box and acknowledge that we need something fundamentally different. Maybe it is vouchers, maybe it is charter schools, maybe something else. But public schools haven’t changed their basic nature in a long time. Every year hundreds of thousands of children graduate from high school who are functionally illiterate.

I don’t believe that public schools can nourish a love for learning. By the very nature of forcing children to learn with everyone else, each child’s fire is often being smothered.

Tags: education, homeschooling, school

27 Skills Your Child Needs to Know That She's Not Getting in School

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 16:07:35 GMT

clipped by: phatmommy
clipper's remarks: Excellent article from Zen Habits!

Clip Source: zenhabits.net

When you got out of high school, did you know everything you needed in order to survive in life, let alone succeed?

That’s a part of life, you might say, learning these lessons. But it’s also possible to prepare your child a bit before they go out on their own, and if we can’t get the schools to teach these skills, then let’s do it ourselves.

What follows is a basic curriculum in life that a child should know before reaching adulthood. There will probably be other skills you can add to this list, but at least it’s a starting point.

Tags: children, education, homeschooling, learning, mommy, parenting, life skills

27 Lessons Learned About Growing a Blog

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 01:08:29 GMT

clipped by: phatmommy
clipper's remarks: Lots more good ideas in this article - click over and read it through!

Clip Source: www.pickthebrain.com

Just in case you don’t get past number one, my two most important points are a) help people solve a problem, it’s the most powerful way to keep them coming back, and b) differentiate yourself. There are so many blogs that if you don’t stand out, you’ll get lost in the crowd.

It’s not always what you know, who you know is important too. Content brings people back, but in the beginning you need a group of “internet friends” to network with. Don’t be shy about emailing bloggers in your niche, you’d be surprised how receptive they are when you share your best content.

Make people think. It doesn’t happen very often and they won’t easily forget it.

Design matters. If your blog looks terrible, people won’t take it seriously. If it’s too cluttered or difficult to read, people will get frustrated and leave. A great design gives people a warm fuzzy feeling that makes a site worth visiting for its own sake.

Tags: blog traffic, blogging

The Fallacy of Public Schooling

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 03:03:22 GMT

clipped by: phatmommy
clipper's remarks: Read this article!!

Clip Source: www.fee.org

When parents send a child to a tax-funded school, they sacrifice their autonomy to alien interests. The state has goals of its own that are distinct from those of parents. Parents are able to economize by availing themselves of a “free” school, but the bargain is Faustian. The child is subjected to indoctrination outside parental control. The price of tax-funded schooling is that parents give up their children to become instruments of the state.

Instead it is clear whose interests are being advanced. Fifty-four years ago the writer in Young America was moved to emphasize in italics that era’s apparently high tax rates. Since then the average tax burden has doubled. Yet, as one of my acquaintances has commented, “Americans today are in a stupor.” In other words, the tax-supported school system has triumphed. Americans are behaving exactly the way those who govern desire them to behave.

Tags: children, education, freedom, homeschooling, parenting, school

The Effect of Soda on Your Body

Sun, 25 Mar 2007 12:56:46 GMT

clipped by: phatmommy

Clip Source: frostfirepulse.com

What happens if you drink a can of Coke right now?

First 10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. (100% of your recommended daily intake.)

20 minutes: Your blood sugar spikes, causing an insulin burst. Your liver responds to this by turning any sugar it can get its hands on into fat.

40 minutes: Caffeine absorption is complete. Your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, as a response your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream.

45 minutes: Your body ups your dopamine production stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain.

>60 minutes: As the rave inside of you dies down you’ll start to have a sugar crash. You may become irritable and/or sluggish. You’ve also now, literally, pissed away all the water that was in the Coke. But not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body could have used for things like even having the ability to hydrate your system or build strong bones and teeth.

Tags: health

US Poll Reveals Frightening Attitudes About Internet

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 19:02:52 GMT

clipped by: phatmommy

Clip Source: www.readwriteweb.com

To summarize: an alarming percentage of respondents are open to brain implants that allow them to access the internet with their minds and that allow their children's locations to be tracked, they think government censorship of online video content is acceptable, the internet makes them feel closer to God and less close their significant others - but their own identities on the internet are not very important to them. This is frightening stuff.

24% of respondents said the Internet could serve as a replacement for a significant other

"How likely would you be to implant a device into your brain that enabled you to use your mind to access the internet if it could be done safely?" 11% of respondents said they were very or somewhat likely to do so.

More than half of respondents believe that internet content, like video, should be controlled in some way by the government.

Tags: internet

Finding Your Identity

Wed, 18 Apr 2007 23:50:19 GMT

clipped by: phatmommy
clipper's remarks: Interesting read about answering the question, "What should I do with my life?"

Clip Source: www.fastcompany.com

Of course, addressing the question, What should I do with my life? isn't just a productivity issue: It's a moral imperative. It's how we hold ourselves accountable to the opportunity we're given. Most of us are blessed with the ultimate privilege: We get to be true to our individual nature. Our economy is so vast that we don't have to grind it out forever at jobs we hate. For the most part, we get to choose. That choice isn't about a career search so much as an identity quest. Asking The Question aspires to end the conflict between who you are and what you do. There is nothing more brave than filtering out the chatter that tells you to be someone you're not. There is nothing more genuine than breaking away from the chorus to learn the sound of your own voice. Asking The Question is nothing short of an act of courage: It requires a level of commitment and clarity that is almost foreign to our working lives.

Tags: work, job, identity, career

The Fonts of Web 2.0

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 23:07:25 GMT

clipped by: phatmommy

Clip Source: www.fontshop.com

There is no official standard for what makes something “Web 2.0”, but there certainly are a few tell-tale signs. These new sites usually feature modern web technologies like Ajax and often have something to do with building online communities. But even more characteristic among these brands is their appearance. Web 2.0 sites nearly always feel open and friendly and often use small chunks of large type. The colors are bright and cheery — lots of blue, orange, and what we jokingly call the Official Color of Web 2.0: lime green.

Read on for a breakdown of the fonts used in a few of our favorite brands.

A clear trend in new identities is the use of soft, rounded typefaces

Some sites are reflecting the technological breakthroughs of Web 2.0 with a look that says “tomorrow’s techno”.

Safe standbys like Trade and News Gothic, Frutiger, Avenir, Interstate, FF Meta, FF DIN, and the always ubiquitous Helvetica continue to see use in new web logos:

Tags: web 2.0, design, fonts

Is Page-Rank Leakage For Real?

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 16:11:29 GMT

clipped by: phatmommy

Clip Source: www.webstractions.com

Whether you call it link hoarding or PR dilution, PageRank leak theories have been around for years. There have not been any solid provable studies on the effects of external links in regards to PR leakage and its relationship to how that may affect your ranking in organic search engine results. PR leaking has always been an over-hyped link baiting topic used by SEO-types who just want what you want --- more links.

The premise behind blogs is simple. Link, and you will be linked in kind or more aptly --- United we stand, divided we fall.

In an effort to improve the blog in the name of the almighty PageRank, they are in effect biting the hands that feed them --- the Blogroll members. And of course reciprocity will be the name of game when that hand returns the favor and stops linking back. They may even drop you from their "favorite reading" list as well if they see a trend of link hoarding out of you.

Tags: blog traffic, blogging, page rank, blogroll

Why Blog Commenting is Important

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 02:50:58 GMT

clipped by: phatmommy
clipper's remarks: Good general overview of the importance of blog commenting.

Clip Source: www.beginnerblogging.com

When launching a blog one of the key components to the effort is interacting with other blogs in your given niche. You can write all the content you want, but with seven million blogs you’re going to need to get out and communicate in order for people to find you.

One key method for doing that is commenting.

Here are some key benefits to blog commenting:

The ability to share your opinion and develop yourself as a niche expert.

Commenting shows you’re going to be active in a community and willing to offer up thoughts.

The authors of the sites on which you comment will be intrigued and oftentimes visit your site to see what you’re all about. Thus, your readership has a chance to grow.

If you’re one of the first to comment on a very popular post, other readers will follow the link to your site and see who was on top of the latest popular story.

Tags: blogging, social networking, blog traffic