Phone talk
Each day, our conversations over the phone (phone talk) center on hot topics that we may want to discuss with another individual to get feedback, or simply as a sounding board or as an audience.
Phone talk may include those related to news, economy, immigration, education, politics, sports, entertainment, travel, or any other hot topics under the sun.
IS AN INTERNET-BASED BUSINESS FOR YOU?
Since its introduction, the internet has spawned several relatively newer ways of doing business, with several aspects or layers including e-commerce and internet marketing. Having the traditional brick-and-mortar platform for a business now appears to be rather inadequate in some respects.
The web or internet (used interchangeably although there are subtle differences) is a growing means of information dissemination. Data delivery is coursed mainly thru millions of websites and portals, with browsers and search engines providing a convenient service of facilitating the search. If one were to build or develop a website or even a blog, key recipes include a name (eg, domain name or blog name) and applicable web hosting service.
In trying to assess whether internet-based business is a potential entrepreneurial venture, factors such as goals, budgets, technical support and skills, marketing savvy, and product line, if any, have to be considered. Although the web is but a virtual reflection of what happens in the real world, and as such is not spared from what is going on in the real world, one can at least be the master of your own domain (name) with a web-based business. Whether a web-based business succeeds or not will obviously depend on various other things and is another story for another day.
DRIVERS AND SOFTWARE DOWNLOADS: KEEPING PACE WITH NEW ADVANCES
It used to be that mention of the word drivers was meant to refer to persons who operate motor vehicles. Nowadays, drivers, especially in the context of digital technology, also allude to computer device tools, usually in the form of software (which may either be a part of the operating system or not) that act as the translator between peripheral devices such as printers (which may be of various brands, eg, HP printers) and other programs that utilize the device.
Although the pace of modern technology, including those related to the internet and electronics, has been very rapid, even frenetic, to say the least, keeping pace by using the right kind of drivers has been made convenient via the process of downloading. Online resources include websites direct from the manufacturers or specialty sites that provide a sort of “one-stop-shop” service. Drivers in the computer world are just like drivers in the automotive world in that both rev up engines to move us forward - one in physical transport and the other in ideas exchange and development.
MAKE YOUR OWN BREAD: ANOTHER GOOD OLD IDEA
In times of plenty, excuses for doing things abound. One of them is about food, or bread in particular. The run to the grocery store or the supermarket seems a lot more convenient. However, when one has or takes the time to make one’s own bread, one will note several advantages. Of course, it will entail some investment in equipment or engaging in some baking lessons.
But then, one will realize that it is not just a cost-saving measure. Bread does taste much better when freshly baked, anytime. And better still, another skill is learned which hopefully can be useful elsewhere or at another time.
BEING WIRED HAS BOTH GOOD AND BAD POINTS, BUT….
In these times where people are wired (actually more of via wireless means) or connected by devices such as cell phones and use of voice, email, and text messaging, our lives have changed dramatically. Benefits include being informed of events as they happen, or shortly thereafter. However, there are times when we want to look back on the good old days when vacation was truly “away from it all” and when the pace of life was much slower that people had time to really enjoy and relax. The accelerated timelines that the wired phenomenon has to moderated, otherwise the likelihood of burn-out can be greater. Again, balance is the operative word.
MARGIN OF ERROR IN HARD TIMES: WHEN LESS IS MORE
In these economically challenging times, the margin of error, or that extra allowance for things
that may not go as planned, appears to have diminished. In times of plenty, it was easier for things to be overlooked but in scarcity, even the smallest details tend to be magnified.
Our patience can be tested at times but the right attitude and perspective can definitely allow
for much better outcomes. Difficult scenarios can have a silver lining by forcing one to find or devise the best way of doing things. The sense of satisfaction is doubled or even tripled after the hurdles have been overcome. In a way, lesser room for margin of error can indeed translate to more handsome rewards and sweet success
GROWING UP, GROWING OLD, FIGHTING AGING: TRIPLE CROWN OF LIFE GOALS
From the dawn of our existence to the magic twilight
Growing up entails separating from the Peter Pan mentality and facing life with maturity. Growing old means not just adding years to life or the advancement of the physical self but also developing the skills and memories that accumulate with time. Fighting aging, also referred to as anti-aging, anti aging, or turning back time, is the quintessential equivalent of man’s innate yearning for longevity or rather a sense of immortality. To some fighting aging can mean maintaining the optimal balance of maximal performance,, to some it may just be having a pain-free or full functional state after suffering a chronic or debilitating condition, and to most, it may be spending a long long time into the future with loved ones, friends, and family alike.
Wherever one fits in the triumvirate - growing up, growing old, or fighting aging - there remain the constants of the individual and time continuum wherein decision-making in key milestones can shape destiny. Whether it is really destiny or personal control is another topic but making sure we do best in the things where we can be
directly involved or accountable will perhaps contribute to an improved overall situation. Isn’t it a better system comes from better individual components?
OK, IT’S THE ECONOMY!
Despite the advent of the new year - whether it is the Gregorian, Chinese (for 2010, it is the year of the tiger), or any other calendar system, there is a general sense of negative spin with the way things are shaping up with the ECONOMY, not just in the US but on a global scale.
Ideas to solve the pressing issues can percolate in the best of minds and in the minds of everyone who will just take the time to ponder the implications of current events. Bouncing off ideas or brainstorming with others (either via face-to-face meetings or thru cost-effective means such as internet phones that allow one to make and receive calls to ordinary phones with your computer. www.skype.com ) to sort of validate one’s potential solution may be a way to stimulate discussion for possible solutions.
We are all together in this war, not just against poverty, but against an undesired decline in our standard of living. We owe it not just to ourselves to help in turning the economy around - in steps both big and small. Now, and not later.
WHEN TALKING ABOUT PROBLEMS, THINK OF SOLUTIONS TOO!
Sure, we have to talk about current issues and problems. But it would be a good idea to aside from just talking about them, to think of solutions. The problems are already there. Let us not make the problem be victorious over us. As a smart aleck remarked to me, “Let the problem be its own problem as I know a way to handle the situation. The problem will have a solution one way or the other.” And I would agree with this positive outlook. Otherwise the problem will have added another companion in us and become a bigger problem!