Safe mode is required when you have to fix a problem such as virus infection or uninstalling drivers in your windows XP. generally we need to use F8 Key to get into safe mode and if not timed properly you will need to restart windows xp again. Here is a small trick which lets you add Safe mode by default into your Boot list. You will see it when you restart your windows xp machine.
Steps to Add Safe Mode in Boot list
* Go to control panel > System.
* Click on Advanced Tab.
* Then click on settings under the startup and recovery action.
* Click on edit under system startup to indirectly edit your boot.ini file.
* Add the following entry “multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS=”XP - Safe Mode” /fastdetect /safeboot:minimal /sos /bootlog” without quotes .
Add safe mode to your boot list
Thats it, restart your machine and you will see another label as “XP- Safe Mode” added to the list.
PS: This option is also used for adding any other windows installation on other partition.
April 30, 2009
ADD SAFE MODE IN BOOT LIST
REMOVE THUMB.DB FILE
Thumb.db is a cache of the current picture in that directory. To remove it go for following
step1 > open "WINDOWS EXPLORER".
2>go to "TOOLS".
3>open "FOLDER OPTIONS".
4>go to "VIEW".
5>see 1st section "FILES & FOLDERS".
6>click on the "DO NOT CACHE THUMBNAILS".
Now the thumbnail file will be removed from
Keep Folders Hidden
first create a new folder somewhere on your hard drive
when you name it hold down "Alt" and press "0160" this will create and invisible space so it will apper as if it has no name.
then right click in and select "Properties" select the tab "coustimize" and select "change icon" scroll along and you should a few blanc spaces click on any one and click ok when you hav saved the settings the folder will be invisible to hide all your personal files
Clear Unwanted Items From Add And Remove
Run the Registry Editor (REGEDIT).
Open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Uninstall, and remove any unwanted subkeys under "Uninstall."
Put a photo as folder background
You have to have a photo in
After that,just open notepad and write:
[{BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC}]
ICONAREA_IMAGE=sample.jpg
ICONAREA_TEXT=255
Save it as desktop.ini and press F5
People are being USED & Things are being LOVED
Good Story........................... (people must read who is looking pure love and often getting angry)
A man was polishing his new car; his 4 yr old son picked up a stone & scratched on the side of
the car. In anger, the furious Man took his child's hand
& hit it many times, not realizing he was using a wrench.
At the hospital, the child lost all his fingers due to
multiple fractures. When the child saw his father....with
painful eyes he asked 'Dad when will my fingers grow
back?' The man was so hurt and speechless.
He went back to the car and kicked it many times.
Devastated by his own actions... sitting in front of the car
he looked at the scratches, His son had written 'LOVE
YOU DAD'. Next day that man committed
suicide...Anger and Love have no limits...
Always remember..... "Things are to be used and people
are to be loved" but the problem in today's world
is....
"People are being USED & Things are being LOVED"
April 29, 2009
Why Indian mom's are the best in world
A young Indian man excitedly tells his mother he's fallen in love and that
he is going to get married. He says, "Ma, I'm going to bring over 3 women
and you try and guess which one I'm going to marry."
The mother agrees.
The next day, he brings three beautiful women into the house and sits them
down on the couch and they chat for a while. Later, he says, "Okay Ma,
guess which one I'm going to marry."
She immediately replies, "The one on the right."
" That's amazing, Ma. You're right. How did you know?"
The Indian mother replies,
...
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............
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......
..
..
..
..
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............
..............
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............
..............
...
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......
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..
.
............
" I didn't like her " .....!!!!!!!!!!
JJJJ
Good Story - Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!
An old man lived alone in
Dear Son,
I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won't be able to plant my potato garden this year. I hate to miss doing the garden, because your mother always loved planting time. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here, all my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me, if you weren't in prison.
Love, Dad
Shortly, the old man received this telegram:
"For Heaven's sake, Dad, don't dig up the garden!! That's where I buried the GUNS!!"
At 4 a.m. the next morning, a dozen FBI agents and local police officers showed up and dug up the entire garden without finding any guns. Confused, the old man wrote another note to his son telling him what happened, and asked him what to do next.
His son's reply was: "Go ahead and plant your potatoes, Dad.. It's the best I could do for you from here."
Moral:
No matter where you are in the world, if you have decided to do something deep from your heart you can do it. It is the thought that matters; not where you are and what the constraints are.
April 26, 2009
SMS for blood
All you have to do is just type
"BLOOD
EX: "BLOOD B+"
A BLOOD DONOR WILL CALL YOU!!
So please pass this message to all. It certainly would save many lives.
Its a Must to Know & Share. Do it now....
Forward this to all your friends whom you care ....as the minute you spare
to share this information can save somebody's life with rare Blood Group! If you couldn't be a Donor be a Communicator.
Strange Coloured Beaches !!
Punalu'u Beach
Punalu'u Beach is the most visited of the few black sand beaches on Hawaii's Big Island and the stunningly black sand is actually volcanic rock, deposited as lava and subsequently cooled when met by the ocean. Apparently to take any of the sand home would result in you being cursed by a volcano goddess by the name of Pele.
One of only 2 green sand beaches in the world, the truly magnificent sight of Papakolea Beach can be experienced by traveling to Hawaii's Ka'u district. Again, the unique color of its sand can be attributed to volcanic activity - specifically, the green hue belongs to the abundance of olivine crystals which have been produced as a result of a nearby cinder cone erupting and eroding. See the beach on Google Maps .
Hyams Beach
You may need to wear your shades when visiting Hyams Beach in New South Wales, Australia, but not just due to the sun. It's not surprising after looking at photos but this sublime stretch of beach is home to the whitest sand in the world, an honor awarded by the Guinness Book of Records.
Pfeiffer Beach
The hills surrounding Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur, California, are rich in Manganese Garnet. A result of this being washed down onto the beach is the color scheme you can see above - the entire stretch of sand has become a shifting, pink and purple canvas. Although it's probably inedible, I can't help picturing a bowl of Raspberry Ripple ice-cream every time I see it.
Kaihalulu
You won't find many beaches elsewhere in the world with sand as red as this one. Kaihalulu, or Red Sand Beach, is situated on the island of Maui and can thank the neighboring cinder cone hill for its intensely deep red appearance.
Humour
The first one said," During my latest show, I made three women from the audience disappear, it was so convincing that their relatives started panicking, no one could find the trick"
The second one said, " Hey, that is nothing, during one of my open air shows I made the Municipality building disappear and the entire town was searching for it"
The third one sighed and said," Both of you are so local, I went to Paris and made the Eiffel Tower disappear for a full one hour, it was live on the TV, entire France was searching for the building & no one had a clue".
Just then an Indian walked into the bar and the three magicians suddenly turned quiet, gave each other fugitive glances and started to slip towards the door.
A Bartender watching this got curious and asked one of the magicians, "Hey what happened ? Who is that guy ? "
One of the magicians whispered, "He is the World's greatest magician, he has done the biggest disappearing trick of all times, we are all mere amateurs compared with what he has done. His name is.....
April 19, 2009
Top 12 Windows 7 Hacks You Must Know
If you are looking for Windows 7 hacks, I am sure you can finds loads of them on web. What matters is, how many of them are really important. Do you think unlocking the Taskbar in Windows 7 is something very exciting? Obviously, not for the majority of users its nothing cool. Instead if you are interested in Windows 7 Hack that can help you to get rid of expiry date, remove watermark, or disable send feedback link then my article can surely help you out. I organized a set Top 12 Windows 7 Hack You Must Know. This list includes some of the handy posts on Windows 7 hacks in our blog. I have also provided the sources where you can find the hacks.
1. How to Get Windows Vista-Style Taskbar in Windows 7
It's hard to deny that Windows Vista scores high on appearance. Here's your chance to give the Windows 7 a
Step 1: Right-click on the taskbar and choose the properties dialog. Select the small icons checkbox
Step 2: Under the taskbar buttons setting, choose combine when taskbar is full. Although it’s not pixel-perfect in accuracy, but, it’s close from a functionality point.
2. How to Change Windows 7 Log On Screen
If you don't want the same old blue log on screen for your Windows Vista, here's what you gotta do. Go ahead with the steps below.
Step 1: Download the file - http://www.mediafire.com/?e9y3j3vme0w
Step 2: Click on Save and save the .zip file to the desktop
Step 3: Open the .zip file and extract the .reg file to the desktop
Step 4: Right click the .reg file (On Desktop) and click on Merge.
Step 5: Click on Run, and press Yes, Yes, and OK when prompted
Step 6: Save the custom .jpg image you want to use to the desktop with the name backgroundDefault.jpg
Step 7: Check to see what your primary display screen resolution is. (You can do it by right clicking on any empty space on your desktop and choose screen resolution and then actuate it with your monitor's specification.)
[NOTE: For example, mine is 1920 x 1280.]
Step 8: Open Paint, and click on the File icon (top left corner), Open, and navigate to and select the .jpg image from step 6.
[NOTE: You can open Paint by typing mspaint.exe in the Start menu search line]
Step 9: In Paint, click on Resize, dot Pixels, uncheck Maintain aspect ratio, then resize the .jpg image to the screen resolution size in step 7 (whatever be yours)
Step 10:Save the .jpg file to the desktop with the exact file name below with the screen resolution size of the image. When completed, close Paint
Step 11: In Windows Explorer, navigate to
C:\Windows\system32\oobe\info\backgrounds
Step 12: Copy and Paste the .jpg files from step 10, and from step 6 into the C:\Windows\system32\oobe\info\backgrounds folder, then close the window
Step 13: You're logon screen is now changed. You can press Ctrl+Alt+
[NOTE: You can now delete the .reg and .zip files on the desktop if you like.]
3. How to Unlock the Windows 7 Hidden Themes
The Windows 7 beta has a pack of hidden and locked themes. Let's see how you can unlock the hidden themes.
Step 1: Open the Explorer (Windows + E) and go to C:\Windows\winsxs
Step 2: Enter *.theme into the search field. Alternately you can use the * sign on the number block.
Step 3: You'll get the Click me prompt
Step 4: Double-click the themes
4. How to Enable the Windows Aero in Windows 7
If you were looking for the best designed and most transparent Microsoft user interface then you can't escape Windpws Aero. Here's a hack to enable Windows Aero in Windows 7. But before you proceed with the steps keep a backup of your registry.
Step 1. Click on the Start Menu and type “regedit” into the search box. When the program appears click to open the regedit.exe icon.
Step 2. Locate the Key below
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsDWM
Step 3. Look to the pane on the right of the key hierarchy. Right click on the white area and select New > DWORD (32 bit) Value.
Step 4. As the value appears name it UseMachineCheck.
Step 5. Repeat and create 2 more DWORD Values, Blur and Animations
Step 6. First double-click the value just created with the UseMachineCheck and enter 0 in the Value Data box. Do the same for Values Blur and Animations. Then click OK.
Step 7. Now close the Registry Editor.
Step 8. Open the Start Menu and type “cmd” into the search box, right-click on cmd.exe when the program appears in the search results. Now, select Run as Administrator from the drop-down.
Step 9. As the Command Prompt opens type the commands below
i) Net Stop uxsms – this command will stop the Desktop Windows Manager Session Manager
ii) Net Start uxsms– this command will restart it
Step 10. Once you close the Command Prompt. Right click on the desktop and click on Personalize from the menu.
Step 11. Click on the Window Color and Appearance in the Personalization Windows Aero the Color Scheme menu.
5. How to Enable the Quick Launch Bar in Windows 7
It is a surprising to see that the Quick Launch Bar has not been enlisted in the easy to enable list. Here's what you gotta to do to enable the Quick Launch Bar.
Step 1:Right-click on the Taskbar and select Toolbars > New Toolbar from the menu.
Step 2: Copy and paste the address provided below into the Address bar
%SystemDrive%Users%username%AppDataRoamingMicrosoftInternet Explorer
then click the arrow to the right of the Address bar to navigate to the folder.
Step 3: Select the Quick Launch folder listed and click the Select Folder button
6. How to Remove Send Feedback link in Windows 7
The bug that troubles the window in Windows 7 is the send feedback link. This is a simple fix to get rid of this pique. Make sure you have a backup of the registry before you proceed.
Step 1: Click on the Start Menu and type “regedit” into the search box, click to open the regedit.exe icon when the program appears.
Step 2: Look for the following Key HKEY_CURRENT_USERControl PanelDesktop
Step 3: Right-click on the white space in the In the pane to the right of the key hierarchy and select New > DWORD (32 bit) Value.
Step 4: Now as the value appears name it FeedbackToolEnabled
Step 5: Double-click the value that was created with FeedbackToolEnabled and enter 0 in the Value Data box, and then click OK.
Step 6: To effect the changes Log off the computer and log on to the system.
7. How to Start Windows Explorer from ‘My Computer’
For those who are in the habit of customizing the Windows for convenience and fun can try this out on Windows 7. With this hack you can set the indows Explorer to start from My Computer instead. This will help you to access the different hard disk drives or removable disks easily. Let's go through the steps
Step 1: navigate to Windows Explorer in the Start Menu (it’s in the Accessories folder). Then edit the properties and change the target to read:
%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /root,::{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}
This will make the explorer open folders/drives in new Windows. To fix this see the next step
Step 2: Set the target to
%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /e,::{20d04fe0-3aea-1069-a2d8-08002b30309d}
8. Remove Watermark from Windows 7 beta 1 Desktop
WIndows 7 is in its beta version and you can realize it well with the lapses in the operating system. One such annoying feature with the OS is the water mark embedded in the desktop. To remove the watermark you can follow the steps below. Before beginning with the steps you need to ensure that the User Account Control is disabled.
Step 1: Click on the Start Menu> Control Panel
Step 2: Click on User Accounts. Change User Account Control Settings and adjust the slider so that it is at the bottom of the screen (Never Notify).
Step 3: Next restart the computer
Step 4: After the rebooting browse to the following directory
C:WindowsSystem32en-US
Step 5: Once you’re in the directory locate and right-click the following file
user32.dll.mui
Step 6: From the drop down menu select the properties. Click on the Security tab and click on the Advanced button at the buttom.
Step 7: In the Advanced Security Settings window click on the Owner tab and click Edit.
Step 8: Click OK to effect the changes and return to the original file Properties window.
Step 9: Under the security tab, Click Edit.
Step 10:Select Users and a checkmark to the all the checkboxes giving you full control of the file
Step 11: Rename user32.dll.mui to user32-backup.dll.mui
Step 12: Download the patched version of the files - 32 bit Download or 64 bit Download
Step 13: After the files have been downloaded extract it from the original directory
C:WindowsSystem32en-US
Step 14: Restart the computer
9. How to Unibstall Internet Explorer for Good
This is for those users who never need to use the Internet Explorer. Just follow the steps below to uninstall IE
Step 1: Click on the Start Menu and move to the Control Panel
Step 2: Select the Programs and Features
Step 3: Click on Turn Windows features on or off link located on the left pane
Step 4: The Turn Windows features on or off window appears. Uncheck the Internet Explorer 8 and click OK
Step 5: After a couple of restarts Internet Explorer should be gone for good
10. How to Enable Recording in Windows 7
In windows 7 the WaveMix and SterioMix are disabled by default. I'll let you the hack to activate the recording device. Here are the steps
Step 1: Right click on the speaker icon. Now look for the Recording Devices and select it.
Step 2: Now right click and select the option Show Disabled Devices
Step 3:Select the Wave Out Mix device and Enable it. Click on Set as Default Device and open up the Audacity.
11. How to Get Rid of Windows 7 Expiry Date
Install the TimerNuke patch to remove the files associated with activation. It will disable the related services. So you can continue with the Windows 7 even after the activation timeline is over. Just download the patch and install.
Download
Source
12. Windows 7 Installed on a Macbook Pro
This is for the MacBook Pro users who are yet to install the Windows 7. From the sites below you can get the instructions to install the latest windows OS on MacBook Pro.
Windows 7 installation on Macbook Pro
Source
Enjoy the hacks. Let me know if you have some more tips to share.
New Subdomain name
A new domain name created for our blog. Now you can access this blog with this domain name http://info.site4sites.co.in rather than using http://spendtimebyreading.blogspot.com
Thanks,
Site4Sites
April 17, 2009
STRANGE BUT TRUE FACTS
STRANGE BUT TRUE FACTS
The sentence "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter in the English language.
111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321 Try It. . .
The average human eats 8 spiders in their lifetime at night. ! !
"I am." is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.
A rhinoceros horn is made of compacted hair.
The shortest war in history was between
1896.
A polar bear's skin is black. Its fur is not white, but actually clear.
Donald Duck comics were banned in
More people are killed by donkeys annually than are killed in plane crashes.
Shakespeare invented the word "assassination" and "bump."
If you keep a Goldfish in the dark room, it will eventually turn white.
Women blink nearly twice as much as men.
The name of all the continents end with the same letter that they start with.
The word "lethologica" describes the state of not being able to remember the word you want.
TYPEWRITER, is the longest word that can be made using the letters on only one row of the keyboard. CoOL
If the population of
The word racecar and kayak are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left.
A snail can sleep for 3 years.
The electric chair was invented by a dentist.
Did you know you share your birthday with at least 9 other million people in the world.
The longest word in the English language is 1909 letters long and it refers to a distinct part of DNA.
Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds, dogs only have about ten.
Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.
feb 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.
Cat's urine glows under a black light.
Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.
Babies are born without knee caps. They don't appear until the
child reaches 2-6 years of age.
Nutmeg is extremely poisonous if injected intravenously.
Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.
if you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.
The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body to squirt blood 30 feet.
On average, people fear spiders more than they do death.
The strongest muscle in the body is the TONGUE.
it's impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.
A crocodile cannot stick its tongue out.
The ant always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.
Polar bears are left-handed.
The catfish has over 27,000 taste buds, that makes the catfish rank
#1 for animal having the most taste buds.
A cockroach will live nine days without its head, before it starves
to death.
Butterflies taste with their feet. Elephants are the only animals
that can't jump.
An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.
Starfish haven't got brains.
Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.
Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite.
The average secretary's left hand does 56% of the typing.
A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.
There are more chickens than people in the world.
Two-thirds of the world's eggplant is grown in
The longest one-syllable word in the English language is "screeched."
No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver or purple.
"Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt".
Almonds are members of the peach family.
THE DANGERS OF SOYA FOR LADIES
THE DANGERS OF SOYA FOR LADIES
THIS ARTICLE IS THRU THE KIND COURTESY OF MS SUREKHA
RAMCHANDANI ONE WOMAN'S STORY ON SOYA...
All Males - PLEASE pass this info to all your female friends... It
may save their lives!
Something to take note of. This is my true story, nothing altered.
These are facts, as they relate to my experience, my opinions
based on what I have read and felt. I am relating them to warn other
young health-conscious women who are unwittingly harming themselves.
In 1989, I graduated from high school in
to hit the big college city. One of the changes I wanted to make was
to eat healthier.
Once I moved to health-conscious
my body with the best and healthiest foods I could find.
Tofu was the main ingredient in every healthy dish and I bought soya
milk almost every day and used it for everything from cereal to
smoothies or just to drink for a quick snack. I bought soya muffins,
miso soup with tofu, soybeans, soybean sprouts, etc.
All the literature in all the health and fitness magazines said that
soya protected you against everything from heart disease to breast
cancer. It was the magical isoflavones, the estrogen-like hormones
that all worked to help you stay young and healthy. I looked great,
I was working out all the time, but my menstrual cycle was off. At
20, I started taking birth control pills to regulate my menstrual
cycle.
In addition to this I began to suffer from painful periods. I began
to get puffy, it was as though I was losing my muscle tone. I began
to suffer from depression and getting hot flushes. I mistook all
this for PMS since my periods were irregular. By the time I was 25,
my periods were so bad, I couldn't walk.
The birth control pills never made them regular or less painful so I
decided to stop taking them. I went on like this for another two
years
until I realized my pain wasn't normal. At 27, my gynecologist found
two cysts in my uterus. Both were the size of tennis balls. I went
through surgery to have them removed and thank God they were benign.
The gynecologist told me to go back on birth control pills.
I didn't. In 1998, he discovered a lump in my breast. Again, I went
through surgery and again it was benign.
In November 2000 my glands swelled up and my gums became inflamed.
Thinking I had a tooth infection I went to the dentist who told me
that teeth were not the problem. After a dose of antibiotics the
swelling still did not go down. At this point I could feel a tiny
nodule on the right side of my neck. I told my mother I had t hyroid
trouble.. She thought I was being silly. No one in the family
suffered from thyroid trouble. Going on a hunch I saw a specialist
who diagnosed me with Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma.
After a series of tests he told me it was cancer. My fiance and I
sat
stunned.. We were not prepared and I was so scared. We scheduled
surgery right away. The specialist told us that it would only be
after the operation that a pathologist would be able to tell us for
sure if
it was cancer. They found a tumor in my right lobe composed of
irregular cells and another smaller tumor growing on the left, so
the entire thyroid was removed.
They told me that after undergoing radioactive iodine I would be
safe and assured me that I could live a long life. After treatment I
began to search for the cause of all these problems. I never once
thought it could be all the soya I had consumed for nearly ten
years.
After all, soya is healthy. I came upon a web page that linked
thyroid problems to soya intake and the conspiracy of soya marketed
as a health food when in fact it is only a toxic by-product of the
vegetable oil industry. This was insane, after all, the health and
fitness magazines had said nothing about soya being harmful.
I visited a herbalist who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 1985.
She informed me that soya was the culprit. She had a hysterectomy
due to cysts and other uterine problems. A few months later another
acquaintance who had consumed soya came down with thyroid
cancer. A girl in EnglandI met through the Internet in a thyroid
cancer
forum had just undergone surgery and she was only 19.
What was going on???? Breast cancer is linked to estrogen. What
mimics estrogen in the female body, SOYA!
But I never suspected soya because until now I never once found a
single article that sta ted soya could be dangerous. Women who took
soya prior to thyroid problems will continue to take it after if
they are not aware of what soya actually does, what it contains and
how it
reacts in the female body. I think this is the reason that women
with
thyroid cancer often develop breast cancer later.
My co-worker is big into soya and I see her losing hair and gaining
weight despite a walking workout during her break and after work,
and apples and oranges for lunch. She just had cysts removed from
her uterus too.
I warned her to stay off soya. I referred her to websites but until
it
is on the evening news on all four networks, women will suffer.
Since the thyroidectomy, I do not touch soya, haven't for two years.
Dear readers, please use my story in any way you can. There are so
many young girls who are consuming soya because they think they are
taking care of themselves, and women taking soya because they want
to be healthy.
It is so unfair that the information about the dangers of soya isn't
more widely circulated. It is sad. There are many out there who feel
this way and it is a terrible blow when you realize you are not as
healthy as you thought and that the information that you depended on
was wrong.
Choose Your Own URL for Your Google Profile
Google Profiles, the page the big G wants you to use as your universal contact page, now lets you choose your own URL cap instead of a number string. So http://www.google.com/profiles/mohan.85in is up for grabs.
Head to the link below and scroll down to find the URL changer. Two big caveats, however: Those who've linked their profile pages to their Gmail accounts can't change it, and you only get one shot at changing your URL, so choose wisely.
On the whole, it makes your profile easier to find and send out as a link, while still retaining the selective info sharing the Profiles were set up to facilitate.
Are you finding your Google Profile page useful, as either search engine bait or a contact manager, or is it just another form for you to fill out? Tell us your take in the comments.
Believe In Your Actions
We all have something to learn from this girl.
As a drought continued for what seemed an eternity, a small community of farmers was in a quandary as to what to do. Rain was important to keep their crops healthy and sustain the townspeople's way of life.
As the problem became more acute, a local pastor called a prayer meeting to ask for rain.
Many people arrived. The pastor greeted most of them as they filed in. As he walked to the front of the church to officially begin the meeting he noticed most people were chatting across the aisles and socializing with friends. When he reached the front his thoughts were on quieting the attendees and starting the meeting.
His eyes scanned the crowd as he asked for quiet. He noticed an eleven year-old girl sitting quietly in the front row. Her face was beaming with excitement. Next to her, poised and ready for use, was a bright
All came to pray for rain, but the little girl had come expecting God to answer. It is important to believe in our actions to succeed in life.
April 16, 2009
5 reasons to discuss failure by Michael Krigsman
Readers frequently ask why this blog emphasizes failure rather than success. Although I try to presents facts in a balanced manner, the blog name (IT Project Failures) definitely tells a particular story.
There are five key reasons I believe analyzing failures leads to greater insight and higher value than merely talking about success:
- Failure is instructive. Most of us have an instinctive aversion to discussing weakness, based on concerns that criticism may hurt our pride, reputation, and so on. While I deeply respect these sensitivities, fear creates an environment where repeated cycles of failure can manifest. Breaking this cycle requires understanding the source of problems followed by developing solutions to address them.
- Success stories don’t work. Sugar-coated corporate meetings often ignore ugly truths, which contributes to denial and perpetuates failure. As a result, many organizations ignore small problems until they fester into large public spectacles. Success stories simply don’t achieve the same impact as discussions about failure.
- Failure is a massive problem. Statistics say that 30%-70% of IT projects fail in some important way: they are late, over-budget, or do not achieve planned results. These facts are inherently negative and quickly lead toward uncovering roots of failure rather than examining causes of success.
- Taboo busting. In many organizations, discussing failure is tantamount to committing career suicide. Given this, it’s no wonder failure rates remain high, despite massive industry investments to improve methodologies, project management processes, and so on. Success rates will rise when we lessen the taboo and stigma around discussing these issues.
- Failure is real. This blog regularly describes actual conflicts of interest, greed, arrogance, fear, and so on. Folks, I don’t make this stuff up.
My core mission is helping organizations achieve success through understanding the roots of failure. If you think this blog is overly negative and should explore success more thoroughly, please let me know!