I just tried a new program, Blog Copy, which secretly tracks what readers are copying from my blogs and website(s). The program is Free, is very easy to install, and provided statistics almost instantly. I was extremely interested to see what text and images in my blogs were copied and shared. The data displayed in the Dashboard is fascinating. I believe the information will help me to understand what readers like about my posts and hopefully help me write better posts and gain more visits and page views. This program really is a A Blogger’s Secret Weapon!
Note: The preceding was a paid review.
Continue reading about What is being copied and shared from your Blogs?
About the Challenge
GE’s Ecomagination Challenge is a $200 million call to action for businesses, entrepreneurs, innovators, and students to share their best ideas and come together to take on one of the world’s toughest challenges – building the next-generation power grid to meet the needs of the 21st century.
http://challenge.ecomagination.com/ideas
Power outages and power quality disruptions cost US businesses $100 billion per year or more. Smart grid technologies have the potential to improve grid connections and reduce power disturbances more than 75% by 2020, saving customers in excess of $50 billion from a reduction in outages.
GE is looking at improving grid efficiency by three means: reducing losses, reducing voltage and improving system reliability.
Continue reading about GE’s Ecomagination Challenge is a $200 million call to action.
The following is the philosophy of Charles Schulz, the creator of the “Peanuts†comic strip. You don’t have to actually answer the questions. Just read the e-mail straight through, and you’ll get the point..
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America Contest.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade’s worth of World Series winners.
How did you do?
The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. They are not second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.
Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one:
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2.. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special..
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
Easier?
The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are NOT the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones who care.
As the global economy recovers, America’s trade activity has picked up. But imports once again grew more than exports last quarter, presenting a net drag on growth.
Gross domestic product, a broad measure of the total value of goods and services produced in a given economy, has been expanding for the last year, leading many economists to believe the recession  that began in December 2007 is technically over.
Still, G.D.P growth in the last quarter of 2009 — at an annual rate of 5 percent — was much more robust than it has been this year. This slowdown, coupled with disappointing job creation, has led to worries that the recovery is losing steam. The nation’s unemployment rate continues to linger just below 10 percent.
Here’s a HUGE reason why there is a slowdown and unemployment is so high:
E m m a  M a e r s k
The Emma Maersk, part of a Danish shipping line
chartered to Wal Mart, is shown in this photos essay.
What a ship….no wonder ‘Made in China ‘ is displacing North American made goods big time.
This monster transports goods across the Pacific in just 5 days!! This is one of three ships
presently in service, with another two ships commissioned to be completed in 2012.
These ships were commissioned by Wal-Mart to get all their goods and stuff from China . They hold
an incredible 15,000 cartons and have a 207 foot deck beam!! Â The full crew is just 13 people on a ship
longer than a US Aircraft Carrier (which has a crew of 5,000)
With it’s 207′ beam it is too big to fit through the Panama or Suez Canals ..
It is strictly transpacific. Cruise speed: 31 knots.
The goods arrive 4 days before the typical container ship (18-20 knots) on
a China -to- California  run. 91% of Walmart products are made in China .
So this behemoth is hugely competitive even when carrying perishable goods.
The ship was built in five sections. The sections floated together and then welded.
The command bridge is higher than a 10-story building and has 11Â cargo crane rigs
that can operate simultaneously unloading the entire ship in less than two hours.
Length – 1,302 ft
Width – 207 ft
Net cargo – 123,200 tons
Engine – 14 cylinders in-line diesel engine (110,000 BHP)
Cruise Speed – 31 knots
Cargo capacity – 15,000 TEU (1 TEU = 20 cubic feet)
Crew – 13 people !
First Trip – Sept. 08, 2006
Construction cost – US $145,000,000+
Silicone painting applied to the ship bottom reduces water
resistance and saves 317,000 gallons of diesel per year.
A recent documentary in late March, 2010 on the History Channel noted that
all of these containers are shipped back to China , EMPTY. Yep, that’s right.
We send nothing back on these ships. What does that tell you about
the current financial state of this country? Just keep buying those imported
goods (mostly gadgets) until you run out of money.
Then you may wonder what the cause of unemployment (maybe even your job)
in the U.S. and Canada  might be????
This message, if any, surely deserves forwarding, doesn’t it ?
Continue reading about One BIG Reason why the economy is weak in 2010 and getting weaker!
When an old man died in a geriatric ward, it was believed that he left nothing of any value. Later, when the nurses were going  through his meager possessions, they found this  poem. Its quality and content so impressed the  staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital. One nurse took her  copy to Missouri .
The  old man’s sole bequest to posterity has since  appeared in the Christmas edition of the News  Magazine of the St. Louis Association for Mental  Health. A slide presentation has also been made  based on his simple, but eloquent,  poem.
And this little old man, with  nothing left to give to the world, is now the  author of this ‘anonymous’ poem winging across  the Internet.
Crabby  Old Man
Crabby  Old Man
What  do you see nurses? . . . .. . What do you  see?
What  do you see nurses? . . . .. . What do you  see?
What are you thinking . . . . . when  you’re looking at me?
What are you thinking . . . . . when  you’re looking at me?
A crabby old man . . . Â . . not very wise,
A crabby old man . . . Â . . not very wise,
Uncertain of habit . . . . Â . with faraway eyes?
Uncertain of habit . . . . Â . with faraway eyes?
Who dribbles his  food . . . . . and makes no reply.
Who dribbles his  food . . . . . and makes no reply.
When you  say in a loud voice . . . . . ‘I do wish you’d  try!’
When you  say in a loud voice . . . . . ‘I do wish you’d  try!’
Who seems not to notice . . . . . the  things that you do.
Who seems not to notice . . . . . the  things that you do.
And forever is losing . . Â . . . A sock or shoe?
And forever is losing . . Â . . . A sock or shoe?
Who, resisting or  not . . . . . lets you do as you will,
Who, resisting or  not . . . . . lets you do as you will,
With  bathing and feeding . . . . . The long day to  fill?
With  bathing and feeding . . . . . The long day to  fill?
Is that what you’re thinking? . . . . .  Is that what you see?
Is that what you’re thinking? . . . . .  Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes,  nurse . . . . . you’re not looking at  me.
Then open your eyes,  nurse . . . . . you’re not looking at  me.
I’ll tell you who I am. . . . . . As  I sit here so still,
I’ll tell you who I am. . . . . . As  I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, Â . . . . . as I eat at your will.
As I do at your bidding, Â . . . . . as I eat at your will.
I’m a small  child of Ten . . . . . with a father and  mother,
I’m a small  child of Ten . . . . . with a father and  mother,
Brothers and sisters . . . . . who  love one another.
Brothers and sisters . . . . . who  love one another.
A young boy of Sixteen  . . . . with wings on his feet.
A young boy of Sixteen  . . . . with wings on his feet.
Dreaming that  soon now . . . . . a lover he’ll meet.
Dreaming that  soon now . . . . . a lover he’ll meet.
A  groom soon at Twenty . . . . . my heart gives a  leap.
A  groom soon at Twenty . . . . . my heart gives a  leap.
Remembering, the vows . . . . . that I Â promised to keep.
Remembering, the vows . . . . . that I Â promised to keep.
At Twenty-Five, now . . Â . . . I have young of my own.
At Twenty-Five, now . . Â . . . I have young of my own.
Who need me to  guide . . . . . And a secure happy home.
Who need me to  guide . . . . . And a secure happy home.
A  man of Thirty . . . . . My young now grown  fast,
A  man of Thirty . . . . . My young now grown  fast,
Bound to each other . . . . . With ties  that should last.
Bound to each other . . . . . With ties  that should last.
At Forty, my young sons  . . . . . have grown and are gone,
At Forty, my young sons  . . . . . have grown and are gone,
But my  woman’s beside me . . . . . to see I don’t  mourn.
But my  woman’s beside me . . . . . to see I don’t  mourn.
At Fifty, once more, babies play  ’round my knee,
At Fifty, once more, babies play  ’round my knee,
Again, we know children . . . Â . . My loved one and me.
Again, we know children . . . Â . . My loved one and me.
Dark days are  upon me . . . . . my wife is now dead.
Dark days are  upon me . . . . . my wife is now dead.
I look  at the future . . . . . shudder with  dread.
I look  at the future . . . . . shudder with  dread.
For my young are all rearing . . . . . Â young of their own.
For my young are all rearing . . . . . Â young of their own.
And I think of the years  . . . . . and the love that I’ve  known.
And I think of the years  . . . . . and the love that I’ve  known.
I’m now an old man . . . . . and  nature is cruel.
I’m now an old man . . . . . and  nature is cruel.
Tis jest to make old age . . Â . . . look like a fool.
Tis jest to make old age . . Â . . . look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles  . . . . . grace and vigor, depart.
The body, it crumbles  . . . . . grace and vigor, depart.
There is  now a stone . . . . where I once had a  heart.
There is  now a stone . . . . where I once had a  heart.
But inside this old carcass . . . Â . . a young guy still dwells,
But inside this old carcass . . . Â . . a young guy still dwells,
And now and  again . . . . . my battered heart swells.
And now and  again . . . . . my battered heart swells.
I  remember the joys . . . . . I remember the  pain.
I  remember the joys . . . . . I remember the  pain.
And I’m loving and living . . . . .  life over again.
And I’m loving and living . . . . .  life over again.
I think of the years, Â all too few . . . . . gone too fast.
I think of the years, Â all too few . . . . . gone too fast.
And  accept the stark fact . . . . that nothing can  last.
And  accept the stark fact . . . . that nothing can  last.
So open your eyes, people . . . . . Â open and see.
So open your eyes, people . . . . . Â open and see.
Not a crabby old man . . . Look  closer . . . see ME!!
Not a crabby old man . . . Look  closer . . . see ME!!
Remember this poem when you next meet an older person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within.
We  will all, one day, be there, too!
PLEASE Â SHARE THIS POEM
The best and  most beautiful things of  this  world can’t be seen or touched.
“So it is with some regret I come to the floor to discuss this important issue with a total lack of bipartisanship on the part of the administration and, again, express my willingness – in fact, my deep desire – to sit down and try to address, in a bipartisan fashion, this compelling issue, which is endangering the future of this planet and certainly our children’s and grandchildren’s future, and that is the issue of climate change.”
Senator John McCain
What he really said is:
Money is more important than our future.
It’s not our plan, it’s the Democrats, so we wont vote for it.
I want to get elected again so I’d rather be in office than save the planet.
Environmentalists said the decision to delay action on the broad climate legislation marked a serious setback.
“It would seem like the longest of long shots to me because the window for opportunity in the fall before the election season goes into high gear is very small,” said Frank O’Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch, an activist group.
So let’s start over or let’s debate some more, or let’s do nothing. Good work, John.
Continue reading about Climate Change Cowards – Selfish and Greedy
The Collingwood Elvis Festival has grown to become the Largest Elvis Festival In the World.
Who would have thunk it?
WELCOME HOME ELVIS
Numerous venues
Large crowds
Fun for all Ages
Midway and rides
Hundreds of Vendors
Great times for all
People Watching is a Highlight
CROWNING OF THE KING
Saturday, July 24, 2010, 8pm – 11:30pm featuring our 2009 Champions Thane Dunn and Chris Ayotte, in addition to an impressive roster of other Collingwood Past Champions. An independent “one night only†head to head competition of our Professional Collingwood Champions to see who will reign the overall Collingwood Champion in our Early Years and Concert Years Divisions. This will be a must see event never offered before at the Collingwood Elvis Festival. Past Professional Champions are “invited†to participate but it is not “mandatory†involvement. Limited number of Professional competitor positions are available.
Competitors include Ray Guillemette, David Muggeridge, Thane Dunn, Chris Ayotte, Ben Klein, Shon Carroll, Matt King, Irv Cass, Jay Zanier. Additional competitors may be announced.
Saturday, July 24, 2010, 8pm – 11:30pm featuring our 2009 Champions Thane Dunn and Chris Ayotte, in addition to an impressive roster of other Collingwood Past Champions. An independent “one night only†head to head competition of our Professional Collingwood Champions to see who will reign the overall Collingwood Champion in our Early Years and Concert Years Divisions. This will be a must see event never offered before at the Collingwood Elvis Festival. Past Professional Champions are “invited†to participate but it is not “mandatory†involvement. Limited number of Professional competitor positions are available. Competitors include Ray Guillemette, David Muggeridge, Thane Dunn, Chris Ayotte, Ben Klein, Shon Carroll, Matt King, Irv Cass, Jay Zanier. Additional competitors may be announced.
Continue reading about Elvis is Rocking at the 2010 Collingwood Elvis Festival – Crowning the King