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My plans for this summer are :
1. Get a tan. – I need one bad, I’m tired of looking like a vampire.
2. Swim! – I plan on spending as much time as I can pool side or just out in the good ol’ sun.
3. Catch up with friends. – This probably should be first on my list since I haven’t seen most of them in over a year.

How about yourself? Do you have any plans/ goals for the summer?

Looking back I realize it wasn’t a particular event but a series of events that would lead me to question everything I had ever believed or considered to be true. In summary, the events I am referring to are the breaking up of my long time girlfriend, the sudden quitting of my church pastor and the passing of my grandmother and cousin. These are the main events I believe which lead me into my time of reflection, each of which I will address in their own time. All of these events occurred within a years time and affected me mentally, spirtually and emotionally.

When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.  ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

You may be at your own crossroads right now and are uncertain what lies ahead in life – please allow me to give you some advice: PERSEVERE. It may all seem overwhelming right now but stay strong there is light at the end of the tunnel. I am a living testimony that victory is possible.

Image: Crossroads by willowdiamond

The mind is a beautiful, creative, innovative machine that should not be wasted. I look forward to what lies ahead in life, although it is a foggy picture I can see the final result. You only go as far in life as you want to go…don’t hold yourself back.

Many of my future post will consists of my reflections, struggles and breakthroughs over the past two years. My only hope is that my revelations and experience will help someone who may be going through a similar stage in their life.

Alternative link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UlJ69byR3w

Model: Aurora-Dawn :: [link]

The line came to my mind when I came across the nifty ‘Incognito mode’ in Google Chrome. The incognito mode gives us a way to stealthily and sneakily wade through the web. For those who have come in late, this is what Google says about the incognito mode…

Webpage’s that you open and files downloaded while you are incognito won’t be logged in your browsing and download histories; all new cookies are deleted after you close the incognito window. You can browse normally and in incognito mode at the same time by using separate windows.

In spite of its cool quotient, what is missing for a lot of us is a way to launch the browser in incognito mode by default. The solution is not too far to seek as Google provides a command line switch which we can use.

So, how to start Google Chrome in Incognito Mode

1. Place a Google Chrome shortcut on the desktop (or any other desired location).
2. Rename the shortcut to any convenient name like – Private Chrome.
3. Right click on the shortcut and select ‘Properties’.
   
4. On the ‘Target’ field add an –incognito to the end of program path. (Note: Make sure there is a space between the last apostrophe and the dash)
5. Your incognito browser is now ready for launch. If you select ‘New Window’ from settings, you will get a normal non-incognito chrome window.

The incognito mode has its uses in public browsing where we don’t want to leave behind a trace of our activities. Among its other off hand uses is that it allows us to open different account sessions for the same website. For instance I can open two different talk sessions of Gmail Chat, one through the normal browser window and the other through the incognito one. This possibility extends to other web services too where one has two different accounts.

Did you find this simple tip useful? Any special reason you would want to launch Google Chrome in Incognito Mode by defualt? Let me know in the comments.

Source: MakeUseOf.com

The only plugin I would really want for Posterous is one to allows readers to share content they enjoyed. While Posterous does have a built in “retweet” feature, I’m curious why they didn’t offer more share points for bloggers. Either way, I came up with a script that would allow readers to share on Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Delicious and Email.

Here’s the instructions:

1.Find advance theme options:  Manage>Settings> Theme and Customize my site> Advanced
*It might ask you to create and a new theme sheet “Clean Sheet (copy)” … hit OK.

2. Locate the body tag: {Body}

3. Right under this tag place this code:

<a title=”Send this page to Twitter!” href=”http://twitter.com/home?status=RT @twitterusername {Title} {Permalink}” target=”_blank”>Tweet This!</a> | <a title=”Send this page to Facebook” href=”http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u={Permalink}&t={Title}” target=”_blank”>Share on Facebook</a> | <a class=”DiggThisButton” href=”http://digg.com/submit?url={Permalink}”>Digg</a> |
<a href=”http://del.icio.us/post?url={Permalink}&title={Title}”>Del.icio.us</a> | <a href=”mailto:?subject={Title}&body=I thought you might find this article interesting – {Title} | {Permalink}”>Email</a>

* Make Sure you change the “@twitterusername” in the code to whatever your twitter username is.

4. Hit the: “Save, I’m done” button and you should be all good.

This is how the completed code should look:

<p>
{Body}
<a title=”Send this page to Twitter!” href=”http://twitter.com/home?status=RT @”twitterusername” {Title} {Permalink}” target=”_blank”>Tweet This!</a> | <a title=”Send this page to Facebook” href=”http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u={Permalink}&t={Title}” target=”_blank”>Share on Facebook</a> | <a class=”DiggThisButton” href=”http://digg.com/submit?url={Permalink}”>Digg</a> |
<a href=”http://del.icio.us/post?url={Permalink}&title={Title}”>Del.icio.us</a> | <a href=”mailto:?subject={Title}&body=I thought you might find this article interesting – {Title} | {Permalink}”>Email</a>
</p>

I’m sure you could add more links but these are the only ones I was interested in. Also, if you want image links instead of text link just add the appropriate HTML image code – I just preferred text, flows better.

You can view this code in action on my posterous blog here: Hector’s Posterous

Today,  more and more of us are promoting our company’s on social networks but just because it’s the hottest toy on the block doesn’t mean it’s right for your business, remember that!  It’s more important to know why and how a current marketing trend can help your business, rather then just “jump in,” be lost,  and  damage your brand. That’s a big, no no! Take sometime and weigh out the pros and cons. Will it really benefit me? Will it increase returns? Does it require too much time? Do I even have the time to learn a new platform right now?

Do your best to avoid the clutter and simplify your business, people  appreciate it when you “give it to them straight.” Simplicity itself speaks BIG in today’s fast-paced, cluttered society. Keep in mind, the whole reason behind your business is to help your customer find a  solution to their problem and not for them to learn every aspect of your industry. So, your extensive knowledge of your industry’s terminology is not relevant. Remember – Keep it Clean, Simple and to the Point.

Do you practice the KISS Principle? What tips do you have that could help others simplify business? Share your knowledge in the comments section below.