Is Google Doomed To Fail? Bloggers New Layout.

Blogger has a new layout and it's not really that bad.  I mean, it's not like Blogger is trying to become the next MySpace and Facebook.  Right?  Well, let's look at the details.

The over all look is clean.  The Dashboard is really well laid out.  I can't give enough Thank Yous to Google for making these changes.  Quite frankly, I'm impressed.  Your blogs are all right there at the top for easy access.  You can quickly create a new post in which ever blog you want, by clicking on the big orange Pencil button.  That easy.  Your Overview, Pages, Comments, Stats, Earnings, Layout, Templates, and Settings are all conveniently located in a Drop Down menu next to the New Post button.  You can View your Blog right next to that.  It's a very clean feeling.  Like someone went through the house and did some spring cleaning.

The Blogs that you follow, are all at the bottom of the page on the left hand side.  Their post, are to the right of that.  Easy to read, easy to manage and sort through.

Individual Blog dashboards are just as easily navigable.  Menu buttons are neatly arranged on the left hand side, while your page views is right dab in the middle.  The Blogger official post, are right below that.  Blog stats, Blogs of Note, and the Blogger Guide are all on the right side.

Your actual blog layout, stays the same.  No changes there, just to the dashboards.  I believe that this is a good change.  A much needed change.  Now, let's hope that Google doesn't become layout happy and start changing things like MySpace and Facebook.  One might argue that Blogger is doomed to be the next MySpace or Facebook as far as Layout changes go.  Google, take my advice and leave it as it.

All in all, I'd give this update 5 stars.  Many people argue that Google can't do anything right.  I beg the differ.  Blogger is a successful platform and will only grow with these changes.  Gmail is a major email system with a wide range of users.  Google Plus is gaining ground and gaining quickly.  Google a failure?  I think not.

We Are The Future

It's come to my attention that we need to step up to the plate.  People often say that, "The world is for the younger generation and we should take care of it."  That is true.  There is another way to put it.

We are the future.  Whether we like it or not, we're here to stay.  At least until we die.  If we don't take care of this planet now, our children won't have a future.  So, in a way, WE ARE THE FUTURE.  Without us, the world won't stand a chance.  That is if we keep going at the same rate we are nowadays.  We have to slow down, think about what we're doing.

Ask yourself a question.  Where do you want to go in life?  What do you want to be in life?  Do you want to be known as the person who killed the planet?  Do you want to be known as a bad parent?  Do you want to be known as a failure?  If you answered no to the any or all of the last three questions, then listen up.  I hope I got your attention.

This planet needs OUR help.  Our children shouldn't have to fix our problems and issues we have caused.  We need to start thinking before we act.  We need to start living a BETTER life.  We need to start making good choices, such as: living a green life, recycling, planting healthy forest, planting our own food, or buying organic, etc.

There are lots of choices we can do to make a difference.  One of those things is to become less dependent on oil.  That's right.  Americans are consuming oil, like kids in a candy store.  The problem?  OIL ISN'T RENEWABLE.  Renewable resources is where the future lies.  If we don't start recycling and using renewable resources such as plastics made from corn instead of oil, then I have some bad news for you.  This great country as we know it, will be history.  Sweden is already ahead of the game as far as becoming less dependent on Oil.  If they can do it, we can do it.  We can't let big companies stand in our way.  They have no choice but to produce what ever the people want.  If we don't want oil anymore.  There is no need for them to charge insane amounts for it.

I hope that at least a few of your are going to start making changes.  It's important for us to do so.  You can see why.  The danger of America falling as we know it, is real.  We can't let this happen.  Keep it strong, keep the patriotism alive.

To Do, Or Not To Do, The Age Old Question Answered.

To do, or not to do.  We've all heard that question.  Oh wait......that was to be, or not to be.  Same difference really.  To do, or to be.  If we're doing something, we're being something, right?  Here's a simple method on how to answer that question.  First things first.  Ask yourself a question.

If you want to do something, one of the first things we have to do, is ask ourselves, "Will this hurt me?"  Chances are if their is a good probability that it will hurt you, don't do it.  That simple.  If it's not going to hurt you, do it.  It's our life, we deserve to be happy right?

That brings us to the second question.  "Will this make me happy?"  Do you get an adrenaline rush from doing something?  Does that adrenaline rush make you happy?  What really does make you happy?  Does slowing down and enjoying the moment make you happy?  If so, chances are, you should do it.

Sometimes, we just have to be brave.  Yep, every so often, being brave and doing something we've never done, is exhilarating.  We have to step outside our boundaries to grow.  Growing is what life is all about.  So, as Nike would say, "Just Do It."  Have some fun in life, but don't do anything stupid that would cause you to injure yourself.

The Stupidity of People - B.C.E. vs B.C.

Here we go again.  It's stupidity at it's finest.  Can you believe that people are still arguing over whether or not we should use B.C.E. which is now commonly excepted, or B.C. which is fading out?

Here's the deal.  Christians are arguing that B.C. should be used instead of B.C.E.  What is their argument though?  I've seen very little evidence even supporting a good reason why we should.  The thing is, Christians think that they are the right religion.  The chosen religion.  When Jesus himself specifically stated that God will choose from the twelve tribes.  Or something like that.  I can't even remember who said it, but it's in there.

What are the twelve tribes?  Many people argue that they are the twelve tribes of Jesus.  The twelve disciples that have set up their own churches.  But, if you remember correctly, Judas betrayed Jesus.  Can we really count someone who betrayed Jesus as having a church?  If I'm not mistaken, the churches were started after Jesus died.  Therefor, we can't count the original twelve disciples as the twelve tribes.  Bit of a contradiction there isn't it?  But, this post isn't about the bible, or Jesus for that matter.  It's more about the closed mindedness of the Christian people.

Why all the fuss over a simple terminology? Personally, if you ask me, Christians don't rule the world, contrary to popular belief.  Christians don't have the right religion.  If they did, then everyone would see eye to eye.

In my personal opinion, I think that we should be using B.C.E. instead of B.C. simply because of the fact that we aren't all Christians.  The thing is, they still basically mean the same thing.  It's a time period before Christ.  B.C.E. merely means, Before the Common Era.

Some people act like the word Era is a bad thing.  All Era means is a fixed point in which a series of years is beckoned.  For example, all through out history, people often use the word to describe a part of history.  The Napoleonic Era is a period in the History of France and Europe. It is generally classified as the fourth stage of the French Revolution. (Taken from Wikipedia.)


So, instead of arguing over whether or not, we should use a this word instead of this word.  Would that energy be better spent being more productive?  Life is too short to not be productive.  We could be spending that energy towards becoming less and less dependent on Oil for example.

Penne Arrabbiata - Original Italian Recipe.

This is why I love Italy.  Such elegant dishes and easy to prepare.  Yummy.  Don't you just love Pasta?

This is not my recipe, but it's a good one.  I love to share recipes.

Why I Want To Travel To The Maldives

The Sun, the surf, the beach, the crystal clear water.  Nope, I'm not talking about the Bahamas.  I'm talking about the Maldives.  The Maldives is a series of Islands that makes up a small country in the middle of the ocean.  Here are a few reasons taken from Wikipedia.

The Maldives consists of approximately 1,190 coral islands grouped in a double chain of 26 atolls, along the north-south direction, spread over roughly 90,000 square kilometres, making this one of the most dispersed countries in the world. It lies between latitudes 1°S and 8°N, and longitudes 72° and 74°E. The atolls are composed of live coral reefs and sand bars, situated atop a submarine ridge 960 kilometres long that rises abruptly from the depths of the Indian Ocean and runs from north to south. Only near the southern end of this natural coral barricade do two open passages permit safe ship navigation from one side of the Indian Ocean to the other through the territorial waters of Maldives. For administrative purposes the Maldivian government organized these atolls into twenty one administrative divisions. The largest island of Maldives is Gan, which belongs to Laamu Atoll or Hahdhummathi Maldives. In Addu Atoll the westernmost islands are connected by roads over the reef and the total length of the road is 14 km (9 mi).

The Maldives is the lowest country in the world, with a maximum natural ground level of only 2.3 metres (7 ft 7 in), with the average being only 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) above sea level, although in areas where construction exists, this has been increased to several metres. More than 80 per cent of the country's land, composed of coral islands scattered over an area about 850 km across the equator, is less than one metre above sea level.^[18]

The reef is composed of coral debris and living coral. This acts as a natural barrier against the sea, forming lagoons. Other islands, set at a distance and parallel to the reef, have their own protective fringe of reef. An opening in the surrounding coral barrier allows access to the calmer lagoon waters. The barrier reefs of the islands protect them from the storms and high waves of the Indian Ocean.

A layer of humus 15 centimetres (6 in) thick forms the top layer of soil on the islands. Below the humus layer are 60 centimetres (2 ft) of sandstone, followed by sand and then fresh water. Due to high levels of salt in the soil near the beach, vegetation is limited there to a few plants such as shrubs, flowering plants, and small hedges. In the interior of the island, more vegetation such as mangrove and banyan grow. Coconut palms, the national tree, are able to grow almost everywhere on the islands and are integral to the lifestyle of the population.


The limited vegetation and land wildlife is supplemented by the abundance of marine life. The waters around the Maldives are abundant in rare species of biological and commercial value, with tuna fisheries being traditionally one of the main commercial resources of the country. The Maldives have an amazing diversity of sea life, with corals and over 2,000 species of fish, ranging from reef fish to reef sharks, moray eels, and a wide variety of rays: Manta rays; Stingray; and Eagle ray. The Maldivian waters are also home for the whale shark.


And if that's not enough.  Just check out the climate.

Climate

The Indian Ocean has a great effect on the climate of the country by acting as a heat buffer, absorbing, storing, and slowly releasing the tropical heat. The temperature of Maldives ranges between 24 °C (75 °F) and 33 °C (91 °F) throughout the year. Although the humidity is relatively high, the constant cool sea breezes keep the air moving and the heat mitigated.

The weather in the Maldives is affected by the large landmass of South Asia to the north. The presence of this landmass causes differential heating of land and water. These factors set off a rush of moisture-rich air from the Indian Ocean over South Asia, resulting in the southwest monsoon. Two seasons dominate Maldives' weather: the dry season associated with the winter northeastern monsoon and the rainy season which brings strong winds and storms. The shift from the moist southwest monsoon to the dry northeast monsoon occurs during April and May. During this period, the northeast winds contribute to the formation of the northeast monsoon, which reaches Maldives in the beginning of June and lasts until the end of August. However, the weather patterns of Maldives do not always conform to the monsoon patterns of South Asia. The annual rainfall averages 2,540 millimetres in the north and 3,810 millimetres in the south.


There are multiple reasons for wanting to travel to the Maldives.  Here are a few more.

Rewards of Growing a Garden

I've always wanted to grow a garden.  While I have planted a few seeds, I've never really took care of a garden that well.  Any of the successful gardens we've always had, was because of my parents.  But, this post isn't actually about How to Garden.  This post is about the rewards of Gardening.

So, what are the rewards?  The rewards can be numerous.

- Fresh Food When You Want It.

- Healthier Living and a Healthier Body.

- Better Tasting Food.

- You Know What It's Your Food.

- The Satisfaction Knowing You Have A Valuable Survival Skill.

I'm sure other people can think of several more benefits/rewards of Gardening.  These are just the surface of it.  One of the great things I love about Gardening is the Freshness of the Food you get from it.  This is the "KEY" to any good meal.  The Freshness and Quality of the food, more so than the Food itself.  Technique more so than the Food itself.

Have you ever planted a garden?  Was it successful?  Heck, have you ever even had Fresh food?  Many Americans don't even know what Fresh Food taste like.  They assume that the food they get from the supermarket is fresh.  I hate to tell you this, but it's not.  They pick those foods before they even ripe and then they have to ship them here.  So, often times, the food is what we call green when it's picked.

It amazes me all the time, when someone has Fresh Fruit for the first time.  "It's so good.  Not like that store bought stuff."  The expression on their face, is usually one of shock/surprise.  Yet, people still buy all this produce, and vegetables from Mass Produced farms, that has no nutritional value.  Ok, it has some nutritional value, but not as much as it should.  I'd recommend buying from farmers markets.  Or growing your own.  If you don't have the time to grow your own food, then buy Organic.

"But Organic is so expensive."  Not really.  How many of you are sitting there with a 40" Big Screen TV?  How many of you are sitting there with a Cell Phone and have to pay at least $50-$100 per month?  How many of you are paying at least $50 a month to the cable company.  If you have Internet through them, you're paying more than that.  My point is, we tend to put emphasis on the quality of products we have, but fail to put emphasis on the quality of food that goes into our bodies.  And Americans wonder why they're fat.

Stupid Things People Do

This post is titled Stupid Things People Do.  I'm thinking about making this series of post.  In other words, either a daily, or weekly post.  Probably daily.  There is so much that people do that are just stupid.  Here's one of them

So, today's post is about Car Manufactures.  When you go to the Car Dealer, to purchase a new car.  One might consider asking, if they come with a spare tire.  What, seriously?

Yep, today's stupid things is that Car Manufactures are starting to not put Spare tires in cars.  Why?  What's the method behind the madness?  Their point of view is to make the car lighter and more fuel efficient.  Seriously?  Sense when does taking out a donut tire make the car more fuel efficient?

My point is this.  Cars have always come with a spare tire.  Why?  That adds to the safety features of the car.  Maybe not in the minds of the sellers, but in the minds of the consumer.  How often have you been down the road and needed a spare tire?  Chances are, not very often, yet it's still nice to have that spare.  It's a comfort to most people.  And people are starting to take note.  There are numerous other things you can do to a car to make it more fuel efficient.

Next time you go to a dealer.  Make sure the car has a spare tire.