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 ponder them.

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 pageant.
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.
These are no 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 o f 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 simply are the ones who care the most.

Here is perhaps the funniest and most popular video on YouTube right now. Its the  ventriloquist Jeff Dunham with his puppet, Achmed the Dead Terrorist. Its a must -watch. Trust me. You don’t want to miss out on this one.

Views: 78,155,607 as of 31/12/2008

Achmed makes fun of Saddam’s mustard gas, and of Lindsay Lohan, this is the pure story of a suicide bomber who exploded accidentally after activating the bomb and setting it to 30 minutes, but the bad thing was that it exploded after 4 seconds. Achmed hopes he will get his 72 virgins, but he gets shocked when he finds out they didn’t specify that the 72 virgins will be females.

Achmed: “Two Jews walk in a bar…”

Jeff: “No, no.”

Achmed: “What, you don’t let Jews in your bar? You racist bastard.”

.

Achmed: Wait. If I am dead… Oh! That means I get my 72 virgins! (looks at audience) Are you my virgins? I hope not!

Dunham: Why?

Achmed: There is a bunch of ugly ass guys out there! If this is Paradise, I’ve been screwed!

Dunham: Well did they say there would be only female virgins?

Achmed: Holy crap!

.

There are also other snippets that purposefully underline the ridiculousness of the situation, such as:

Dunham: “How do you spell your name?”

Achmed: “Oh let’s see…. A… C… phlegm…”

.

Dunham: If you have been in my suitcase all this time, how have you been getting through security at the airports?

Achmed: Oh that’s easy, they open the case and I do ‘elloooooooooooooooooooo I am Lindsay Lohan!

.

Dunham: “So I guess you’re Muslim?”

Achmed: “I don’t think so.”

Dunham: “You’re not Muslim?”

Achmed: “No. Look on my ass, it says ‘Made in China’.”

But his best line is without a doubt when he raises his eyebrows when people laugh and he shouts, “Silence, I kill you!”

Check it out!

10 Minute Mail allows you to create temporary email addresses that expire after 10 minutes. It’s great to use for sites that require you to receive something through email but you don’t want to be bombarded with spam.

Basically: Use it for those sites which ask you to give your email address to complete some registration process and the service doesnt require you to use the email in the future.

YouSendIt allows you to send large files to other people when the files are too large for your email. This tool is a great alternative to using FTP.

YouSendIt

YouSendIt is a web-based pseudo-SaaS digital content delivery service provided by YouSendIt, Inc. It lets users send, receive and track files on-demand. It is an alternative to sending large e-mail attachments, using FTP, and sending CDs or DVDs or tape or USB flash drive via courier. The sender can enter the recipients’ e-mail addresses, attach the file and send it; the recipients receive an e-mail notification with a URL that lets them download the file. With more than five million registered users from 220 countries, YouSendIt once transferred over 40,000 GB per day and over 500 million files to date.

Basically: A  pretty useful site which allows you to send files which your email service would say are too large or unable to send.

If in the morning when you wake,
If the sun does not appear,
I will be here.
If in the dark we lose sight of love,
Hold and have no fear,
I will be here.

I will be here,
When you feel like being quiet,
When you need to speak your mind I will listen.
Through the winning, losing, and trying we’ll be together,
And I will be here.
If in the morning when you wake,
If the future is unclear,
I will be here.
As sure as seasons were made for change,
Our lifetimes were made for years,
I will be here. 

by Steven Curtis Chapman

There is a lady sweet and kind,
Was never a face so pleased my mind;
I did but see her passing by,
And yet I’ll love her till I die.

Her gesture, motion, and her smiles,
Her wit, her voice my heart beguiles,
Beguiles my heart, I know not why,
And yet I’ll love her till I die.

Cupid is winged and he doth range,
Her country, so, my love doth change:
But change she earth, or change she sky,
Yet, I will love her till I die.

by Thomas Ford

It’s such a little thing to weep,
So short a thing to sigh;
And yet by trades the size of these
We men and women die!

I Many Times Thought

I many times thought peace had come
When peace was far away,
As wrecked men deem they sight the land
When far at sea they stay.

And struggle slacker, but to prove,
As hopelessly as I,
That many the fictitious shores
Before the harbor lie.

by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson

Barbed

Blue sky above
Snagging strands of twisted metal barbs top a chain link fence
Between us

Death and Life

– Charles Carroll Bombaugh, Gleanings for the Curious from the Harvest-Fields of Literature, 1890

Also seen at Futility Closet.com

18/08/2004

Once there lived a stern old man
who led life with a cane in his hand.
His mind was as broad and open as the sky
But his heart was harder than his land.

Discipline, Respect and Tradition,
were the three hands of his time.
For those who went against these three
were pawns of an unforgivable crime.

He brought up his own blood, to live the same way,
And pass it down ear to ear.
To live a life, where children learnt,
Lesser out of respect, than fear.

Yes these men learnt a lot
a truth we all accept.
But was that all to be gained,
Pride, fear and respect?

However these men never learnt,
The joys of loving and forgiving.
And failed to realise till they breathed their last,
Making a ‘life’ is not the same, as simply making a ‘living’.

-Yatin Kamat