Sunday, December 07, 2008

happyla_jurasevich_big.jpg (JPEG Image, 2500x1667 pixels) - Scaled (27%)

Source: http://www.gstock.com/quote/goog.html

20 Websites That Can Change Your Life

This post was sponsored by: www.AptoHosting.com - High Quality Shared Web Hosting! Starting at $6.95 per month.

The internet has changed all of our lives, hopefully in a more positive direction. You can use these sites just for entertainment or you can use them to change your life. Many of them you visit all the time but it’s time to look at them another way and harness their power.

*These are in no particular order.

1 - Facebook - Facebook allows you to reconnect with old and new friends. In the case of Lori Haas, facebook helped Lori reunite with her son that she gave up for adoption when she was just 17. (Full Story)

2 - Myspace - This is the most popular social network on the web, even though it has the most spam. Some absolutely hate myspace, but others have used it to launch their careers. Many singers and musicians have achieved “overnight” success using the network. Like facebook you can connect with friends but myspace makes it easier for networking with people you don’t know and create new business contacts.

3 - Digg - many will agree with this choice, while others will strongly disagree. But Digg can open you up to a whole new realm of news. You can visit the homepage once a day and instantly become up to date on what’s going on in the world. You can use Digg to your advantage, find the latest trends in business or find articles on improving your life.

4 - Kiva - Kiva is a lending site that helps entrepreneurs in developing countries finance their ventures. It doesn’t take much to help someone out. By changing others you can change yourself.

5 - Lifehack.org - Lifehack can help you get things done. This blog has in depth articles on all things that do with productivity.

6 - YouTube - If you want to work in the entertainment industry, YouTube is a great way to get your feet wet and at a very low cost. You have an audience of millions of people at your disposal.

7 - Google - This is an obvious one. I really don’t know how we lived without Google in the early days of the internet.

8 - Twitter - Twitter may someday save lives by people quickly alerting others of dangerous situations to avoid. During the California fires, people used Twitter to let friends know that they were safe. You can also use Twitter as a way to help with your business networking by knowing where your business contacts are at.

9 - eBay - eBay can save you a lot of money but can also bring you immense opportunities. You can easily create an online business that reaches millions of buyers. Many people have very successful million dollar enterprises using ebay.

10 - Ancestry.com - This website can help you piece together your family history. By understanding the past your can change the future. * Many readers have expressed concerns about the business practices of Ancestry.com. Please read comments below and be sure to check any complaints about Ancestry.com or any other business before working with them.*

11 - Zen Habits - This blog is similar to Lifehack.org by offering simple productivity to get the most of your life.

12 - Craigslist - You can find almost anything on Craigslist. It’s a simple site but can simply change your life.

13 - Post Secret - The Post Secret project shows you that we’re all very much the same. It can also show you that others may have worse problems than the ones your facing.

14 - LinkedIn - You can use LinkedIn to network with professionals from all areas of business including Fortune 500 companies.

15 - TED.com - This website is full of various videos from TED conferences and has biographies on some of the greatest thinkers of present time. Presentations from successful people such as Tony Robbins, Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos, Bono, Seth Godin, and Jane Goodall. Most videos are a few minutes long but can empower you for years to come.

16 - Wikipedia - Not everything on Wikipedia is accurate but there is so much information on almost every topic possible. Don’t know about something, just look it up on Wikipedia and within a few minutes you can be informed.

17 - The Fastlane to Millions - This is a relatively new and small forum for those who are or aspire to be entrepreneurs and millionaires. The members are very positive and want to help each other get the most out of life.

18 - Second Life - This virtual world may seem like a virtual waste of time but some people such as Anshe Chung have found opportunities limitless on Second Life. Anshe has become a millionaire by buying and selling virtual real estate.

19 - Quoteland - You can visit Quoteland and read hundreds of quotes that will give you a fresh perspective and change your life in minutes. If you have an open mind.

20 - 43 Things - 43 Things can be a great way to achieve your goals. You can post your dreams and aspirations for all to see. Having that type of pressure can be very positive for you, helping you continue till you reach your goals.

* 21 - Stumble Upon - This has been requested by readers to be added to the list. Stumble Upon can change your life and help you discover so many new websites you would never be able to otherwise.

* 22 - del.icio.us - This site has also been demanded to be added to the list. So since many have found Lyved via del.icio.us, it must be an addition. Maybe someone from del.icio.us can change their life after visiting Lyved.

What sites have been most beneficial to you or changed your life? Leave a comment below.

Enjoy this post? You may also enjoy reading 20 Ways to Change the World. If you enjoy Lyved please subscribe to the RSS feed here.

Photo by borabora

50 Places for Free Books Online

Sat, 10/04/2008 - 19:07 — keroffs

Articles

I recently went looking for some free Ebooks and was surprised to find that there are many resources for this. I decided to put together this list of sites that offer free Ebooks as a reference. Since there are so many, I was not able to check each one out thoroughly. So comments from you on any of these sites would be appreciated. I did verify that these all are active and working.

All of the EBooks at these sites are legally available for viewing/downloading.

Since this article has proven popular, I decided to go looking for additional sites and found a few worth checking out. I did not change the number in the title as I was uncertain how that would affect searches. These are listed at the end (until I have the time to add in to the list and re-number).

Putting this together was exhausting, but the list is not exhaustive, so I encourage you to post any sites that you know of that are not listed here. They are listed in alphabetical order. Enjoy.

1. 4eBooks - Thousands of free eBooks in every computer programing field with reviews and descriptions.

2. Alive and Free - Links to free ebooks of living authors

3. Arthur's Classic Novels - Over 4000 novels from the early 20th century

4. Ask Sam - A small collection of classics, including Shakespeare, and legal, resource and government texts.

5. Baen Free Library - A small library of downloadable science fiction novels in a variety of formats.

6. Bartelby - Harvard classics and encyclopedias. HTML only.

7. Berkely SunSite Classics - A small collection of classics. HTML only.

8. Bibliomania - Over 2,000 classic novels, study guides, biographies and more. HTML only.

9. BookRags - Small collection of free with many paid. Hard to find the free ones. Available in Word or PDF.

10. BookYards - 16,000+ books, videos, educational material.

11. DailyLit - Read books online by daily email or RSS feed. Over 700 titles.

12. Diesel eBooks - Offers 750+ ebooks formatted for Microsoft Reader and MobiPocket

13 eLibrary - Thousand of free eBooks

14. eServer - Over 30,000 works covering a variety of interests

15. FeedBooks - Thousand of eBooks downloadable in a variety of formats

16. Franklin - Thousands of free titles available in text and HTML format

17. FreeBookSpot - 5,000 free eBooks downloadable in 96 categories

18. FreeComputer Books - Free computer, math, technical books and lecture notes

19. Free eBooks - Smaller collection divided into categories

20. Free eBooks Net - Free books and resources for authors. Also magazines

21. FreeTechBooks - Computer science and programming books, textbooks and lecture notes.

22. FullBooks - Thousand of free full text books.

23. GetFreeEbooks - Smaller collection of all free ebooks.

24. Globusz - A place for new authors to post their work and for readers to check them out for free.

25. Google Book Search - Good selection of free ebooks available in a variety of categories.

26. GrtBooks - A large collection of great books and classics.

27. Gutenberg - Over 25,000 books for download there and over 100,000 available through their affiliates.

28. Infomotions - 14,000 listings from full classic novels to Western philosophy. HTML only.

29. InternetArchive - Over 500,000 texts available for download

30. ManyBooks - 22,000 books available for download in a variety of formats

31. Mary Jo's E Texts - Small collection has not been updated in a while, but links still work. Palm.

32. MemoWare - Free books for PDA

33. MIT Internet Classics Archive - Over 400 works of clasical literature available for download.

34. MobileRead - Forum listing thousands of free ebooks.

35. Munsey's - Over 18,000 ebooks available in a variety of formats

36. NetLibrary - Small selection of free. But annual membership is only $8.95 for over 500,000 works.

37. OnlineComputerBooks - Good selection of free computer books.

38. OnlineFreeeBooks - links to various ebooks (mostly pdf) in 9 categories

39. OxfordTextArchive - Over 2,000 classical texts downloadable as ASCII or DOC

40. PDFBooks - 4,700 pdf ebooks

41. PerseusDigitalLibrary - A large collection of classical texts broken down to time period written.

42. PlaneteBook - Free classical literature

43. PlanetPDFeBooks - Small collection of classical works.

44. ReadEasily - Small collection of works that has option for larger print. HTML only.

45. ReadPrint - Thousands of books, poems and short stories.

46. RealTime - Free media for IT professionals

47. Scribd - Open library to download or publish documents.

48. SnipFiles - Small collection of free ebooks and software.

49. WitGuides - Small collection of free ebooks in a variety of categories.

50. Wowio - Good size collection of novels and also comic books.

Recent Additions

Bookstacks is a small collection (100+) of classic works available for online viewing, with many also available in Adobe PDF and Microsoft Reader versions. Nicely set up.

Classic Authors.net contains the works of over a hundred authors (and short biography for each), with a varying number of works per author. Online viewing only.

Classic Book Library is a small collection (100+) of classic works arranged by genre. Online viewing only.

Classic Book Shelf Electronic Library offers the works of 50+ authors in varying amounts. Online viewing only.

Classic Reader offers thousands of free classic books for online viewing.

Fiction eBooks is a interesting small collection of works of fiction (including some Beatrix Potter illustrated childrens books) as well as some books for writers and works philosphy and sociology. Online viewing only.

Free eBooks is a collection of several hundred works in a interesting range of categories. Some available for online viewing, others for download in differing formats.

Master Texts is a collection of 30+ authors for online viewing.

Questia Online Library offers over 5,000 classic and rare works for free online viewing.

Although some of these newer entries are smaller collections, they were included as they contained works not available at other sites listed. Some smaller sites were not listed as they did not have any unique listings.

Libraries on the advice of anonymous poster that most public library systems offer free ebooks, audiobooks, and music downloads to their customers for free, I did some checking and found that there are a large amount of offerings available through online libraries. It appears most, if not all, require a local library card. These are sites that have links to local library sites.

LibWeb is a good search source for local libraries online. A good selection of US and worldwide locations.

Public Libraries very good for US, looked not as thorough as LibWeb on worldwide.

Internet Public Library also has some links, but I found the above two to be superior set ups.

More Suggestions from Posters

Book Glutton is a collection of 1200+ books for online reading with the added feature of groups available for discussion of the readings. Nice combination of reading and socializing. Suggested by an anonymous poster.

Children's Books Online is an excellent collection (600+) of illustrated antique children's books for viewing online. They are also available for download at a fee. This little gem was suggested by an anonymous poster.

Free Book Spot is a small collection with a number of unique books in 90 categories available for download in a number of different formats. Suggested by devinathann.

Webooks is a small (150) collection of "How To" books on unusual topics available for online viewing or download as pdf. Suggested by an anonymous poster.

Federal Citizen Information Center offers informational booklets on a great variety of subjects. Many are free and most of the paid ones are available for a free download. Suggested by an anonymous poster.

Some More Additions

Qvadis hosts over 6,000 free titles available in Palm Database (.pdb) format.

WordiQ offers over 10,000 new and old classics for online viewing.

Cliff Notes has the Cliff Notes for 187 books as well as some basic study guides for various subjects available for online viewing.

The Online Books Page from the University of Pennsylvania is a listing of over 30,000 free books on the web. Mostly this references to other sites, but they do have the Gutenberg listings available for download as well as some interesting special exhibits.

The Online Library of Liberty hosts over an interesting collection of over 1,100 books available for online viewing and also for download.

Web Literature has 6500+ works of over 350 authors available for online viewing. A nice feature is that they try to display the full works of the listed authors.

Again, please feel free to make any suggestions, comments or additions.

Ten Rules for Being Human

Ten Rules for Being Human

by Cherie Carter-Scott

1.	You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it's yours to keep for the entire period.
2.	You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called, "life."
3.	There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work."
4.	Lessons are repeated until they are learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.
5.	Learning lessons does not end. There's no part of life that doesn't contain its lessons. If you're alive, that means there are still lessons to be learned.
6.	"There" is no better a place than "here." When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there" that will again look better than "here."
7.	Other people are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.
8.	What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9.	Your answers lie within you. The answers to life's questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10.	You will forget all this.

I Belive

I Believe

I believe—: that we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.
I believe—: that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.
I believe—: that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.
I believe—: that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.
I believe—: that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.
I believe—: that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.
I believe—: that you can keep going long after you can't.
I believe—: that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
I believe—: that either you control your attitude or it controls you.
I believe—: that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place.
I believe—: that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.
I believe—: that money is a lousy way of keeping score.
I believe—: that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.
I believe—: that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down, will be the ones to help you get back up.
I believe—: that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.
I believe—: that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.
I believe—: that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.
I believe—: that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.
I believe—: that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.
I believe—: that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.
I believe—: that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.
I believe—: that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.
I believe—: that two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.
I believe—: that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.
I believe—: that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you, you will find the strength to help.
I believe—: that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.
I believe—: that the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.

Credit: http://www.appleseeds.org/I-Believe.htm

Friday, December 05, 2008

The 86 Rules of Boozing

1. If you owe someone money, always pay them back in a bar. Preferably during happy hour.

2. Always toast before doing a shot.

3. Whoever buys the shot gets the first chance to offer a toast.

4. Change your toast at least once a month.

5. Buying someone a drink is five times better than a handshake.

6. Buying a strange woman a drink is still cool. Buying all her drinks is dumb.

7. Never borrow more than one cigarette from the same person in one night.

8. When the bartender is slammed, resist the powerful urge to order a slightly-dirty, very-dry, in-and-out, super-chilled half-and-half martini with a lemon twist. Limit orders to beer, straight shots and two-part cocktails.

9. Get the bartender's attention with eye contact and a smile.

10. Do not make eye contact with the bartender if you do not want a drink.

11. Unacceptable things to say after doing a shot: Great, now I’m going to get drunk. I hate shots. It’s coming back up.

12. Never, ever tell a bartender he made your drink too strong.

13. If he makes it too weak, order a double next time. He'll get the message.

14. If you offer to buy a woman a drink and she refuses, she does not like you.

15. If you offer to buy a woman a drink and she accepts, she still might not like you.

16. If she buys you a drink, she likes you.

17. If someone offers to buy you a drink, do not upgrade your liquor preference.

18. Always have a corkscrew in your house.

19. If you don't have a corkscrew, push the cork down into the bottle with a pen.

20. Drink one girly drink in public and you will forever be known as the guy who drinks girly drinks.

21. Our parents were better drinkers than we are.

22. Never talk to someone in the restroom unless you're doing the same thing—urinating, waiting in line or washing your hands.

23. Girls hang out, apply make-up, and have long talks in the bathroom. Men do not.

24. After your sixth drink, do not look at yourself in the mirror. It will shake your confidence.

25. It is only permissible to shout 'woo-hoo!' if you are doing a shot with four or more people.

26. If there is a d.j., you can request a song only once per night. If he doesn't play it within half an hour, do not approach him again. If he does play it, do not approach him again.

27. Learn how to make a rose out of a bar napkin. You'll be surprised how well it works.

28. If you can't afford to tip, you can't afford to drink in a bar. Go to the liquor store.

29. If you owe someone twenty dollars or less, you may pay them back in beer.

30. Never complain about the quality or brand of a free drink.

31. If you have been roommates with someone more than six months, you may drink all their beer, even if it's hidden, as long as you leave them one.

32. You can have a shot of their hard liquor only if the cap has been cracked and the bottle goes for less than $25.

33. The only thing that tastes better than free liquor is stolen liquor.

34. If you bring Old Milwaukee to a party, you must drink at least two cans before you start drinking the imported beer in the fridge.

35. Learn to appreciate hangovers. If it was all good times every jackass would be doing it.

36. If you ever feel depressed, get out a bartender’s guide and browse through all the drinks you’ve never tried.

37. Try one new drink each week.

38. If you are the bar's sole customer, you are obliged to make small talk with the bartender until he stops acknowledging you. Then you're off the hook. The same goes for him.

39. Never tip with coins that have touched you. If your change is $1.50, you can tell the barmaid to keep the change, but once she has handed it to you, you cannot give it back. To a bartender or cocktail waitress, small change has no value.

40. If you have ever told a bartender, “Hey, it all spends the same,” then you are a cheap ass.

41. Anyone on stage or behind a bar is fifty percent better looking.

42. You can tell how hard a drinker someone is by how close they keep their drink to their mouth.

43. A bar is a college, not a nursery. If you spill a beer, clean it up. If you break a glass, wait for a staff member to clean it up, then blame it on someone else.

44. Being drunk is feeling sophisticated without being able to say it.

45. It's okay to drink alone.

46. After three drinks, you will forget a woman's name two seconds after she tells you. The rest of the night you will call her “baby” or “darling”.

47. Nothing screams 'nancy boy' louder than swirling an oversized brandy snifter.

48. Men don't drink from straws. Unless you're doing a Mind or Face Eraser.

49. If you do a shot, finish it. If you don't plan to finish it, don't accept it.

50. Never brood in a dance bar. Never dance in a dive bar.

51. Never play more than three songs by the same artist in a row.

52. Your songs will come on as you're leaving the bar.

53. Never yell out jukebox selections to someone you don't know.

54. Never lie in a bar. You may, however, grossly exaggerate and lean.

55. If you think you might be slurring a little, then you are slurring a lot. If you think you are slurring a lot, then you are not speaking English.

56. Screaming, “Someone buy me a drink!” has never worked.

57. For every drink, there is a five percent better chance you will get in a fight. There is also a three percent better chance you will lose the fight.

58. Fighting an extremely drunk person when you are sober is hilarious.

59. If you are broke and a friend is “sporting you”, you must laugh at all his jokes and play wingman when he makes his move.

60. If you are broke and a friend is “making sport of you”, you may steal any drink he leaves unattended.

61. Never rest your head on a table or bar top. It is the equivalent of voluntarily putting your head on a chopping block.

62. If you are trading rounds with a friend and he asks if you're ready for another, always say yes. Once you fall out of sync you will end up buying more drinks than him.

63. If you're going to hit on a member of the bar staff, make sure you tip well before and after, regardless of her response.

64. The people with the most money are rarely the best tippers.

65. Before you die, single-handedly make one decent martini.

66. Asking a bartender what beers are on tap when the handles are right in front of you is the equivalent of saying, “I'm an idiot.”

67. Never ask a bartender “what's good tonight?” They do not fly in the scotch fresh from the coast every morning.

68. If there is a line for drinks, get your goddamn drink and step the hell away from the bar.

69. If there is ever any confusion, the fuller beer is yours.

70. The patrons at your local bar are your extended family, your fathers and mothers, your brothers and sisters. Except you get to sleep with these sisters. And if you're really drunk, the mothers.

71. It's acceptable, traditional in fact, to disappear during a night of hard drinking. You will appear mysterious and your friends will understand. If they even notice.

72. Never argue your tab at the end of the night. Remember, you're hammered and they’re sober. It's akin to a precocious five-year-old arguing the super-string theory with a physicist. 99.9% of the time you're wrong and either way you're going to come off as a jackass.

73. If you bring booze to a party, you must drink it or leave it.

74. If you hesitate more than three seconds after the bartender looks at you, you do not deserve a drink.

75. Beer makes you mellow, champagne makes you silly, wine makes you dramatic, tequila makes you felonious.

76. The greatest thing a drunkard can do is buy a round of drinks for a packed bar.

77. Never preface a conversation with a bartender with “I know this is going to be a hassle, but . . .”

78. When you’re in a bar and drunk, your boss is just another guy begging for a fat lip. Unless he’s buying.

79. If you are 86’d, do not return for at least three months. To come back sooner makes it appear no other bar wants you.

80. Anyone with three or more drinks in his hands has the right of way.

81. If you’re going to drink on the job, drink vodka. It’s the no-tell liquor.

82. There’s nothing wrong with drinking before noon. Especially if you’re supposed to be at work.

83. The bar clock moves twice as fast from midnight to last call.

84. A flask engraved with a personal message is one of the best gifts you can ever give. And make sure there’s something in it.

85. On the intimacy scale, sharing a quiet drink is between a handshake and a kiss.

86. You will forget every one of these rules by your fifth drink.

--Frank Kelly Rich

To purchase a full-sized or mini-poster of the 86 Rules, click here.