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The solution to the non-working/ windows audio service is not enabled There has been one common technical issue that has been lately bothering many Windows OS users. It is about the following – the audio service is not running. The Sound icon on the Taskbar that controls the speakers and shows a small volume slider stops functioning and gets a red X in the bottom-right corner. Also, if you place the pointer of your mouse over the same icon you will get the actual error "The Audio Service is disabled" Running the troubleshooter will usually not be enough to fix the audio…
Most Popular Stories
The Audio Service Is Not Running – Fix InsideDowser29 Jun 2016 | 10:46 pm
Why Veterans Should Get OutdoorsGreater Good30 Jun 2016 | 3:36 amStacy Bare, director of Sierra Club Outdoors, details his journey from war, PTSD, and addiction to healing.
Rate of Americans Dying of Heart Disease Has Plummeted by 70%Good News Network30 Jun 2016 | 2:46 pmHeart disease is the number one cause of death in the US, but since 1969, death rates for those with the disease fell significantly. The post Rate of Americans Dying of Heart Disease Has Plummeted by 70% appeared first on Good News Network.
'Problem Child' Cat Who Went Through 5 Foster Homes Finds Perfect OwnerGood News - The Huffington Post30 Jun 2016 | 2:28 pmThis kooky cat might've rubbed some the wrong way, but the perfect owner came along to embrace the feline's funky attitude.� Kitty the cat, who lives in New York City, is quite the handful with a wild child personality -- so much so that she went through five different foster homes. But after passing through so many hands, the feline found a permanent place with Noelle Fischer, who happens to be very fond of the cat's unique spirit. The 'nip made me do it. #keepsgoingandgoingandnope #batteriesnotincluded A video posted by Kitty (@thekittythecat) on Jun 8, 2016 at 2:37am PDT…
Links of the Quarter: June, 2016how to save the world26 Jun 2016 | 12:57 amcartoon by the late, wonderful Charles Barsotti This blog is now in its 14th year, and over that time most of the blogs I've followed have either ceased to exist or dwindled to a trickle. Although my posts have gradually slowed from daily to (on average) weekly, the amount that I write that is original content (as much as any commentary or fiction can really be said to be original) hasn't fallen off all that much. And my articles have, on average, grown considerably longer. In total I've written about 2,000 posts, enough to fill about 7,000 pages, even without graphics…
The Audio Service Is Not Running – Fix Inside29 Jun 2016 | 10:46 pmThe solution to the non-working/ windows audio service is not enabled There has been one common technical issue that has been lately bothering many Windows OS users. It is about the following – the audio service is not running. The Sound icon on the Taskbar that controls the speakers and shows a small volume slider stops functioning and gets a red X in the bottom-right corner. Also, if you place the pointer of your mouse over the same icon you will get the actual error "The Audio Service is disabled" Running the troubleshooter will usually not be enough to fix the audio service is not running problem. Lets see some possible reasons behind it. Most commonly, this type of an issue affects the Windows 7...
Zepto Virus Removal29 Jun 2016 | 9:57 pmDear reader, If you have come across the following page, you have probably been looking for a possible solution to your problem with Zepto Virus. Luckily for you, in the following article we are going to give you a detailed description of the virus that has recently been bothering you. In fact, Zepto Virus is considered one of the hardest pieces of malware to deal with and detect before it is too late. Fortunately, we are going to share with you some prevention tips, general information about the possible ways of fighting this modern nightmare as well as a set of probably helpful removal steps. Ransomware in general Ransomware represents malicious software, which is programmed to stop the infected users...
How To Stop "System Host: Local System (Network Restricted)" From Using High CPU24 Jun 2016 | 3:05 amOne of the latest issues that seems to be stalking Windows 10 users appears to be a process you can see in your Task Manager called "System Host: Local System (Network Restricted)". It tends to be using an enormous amount of the CPU and / or Disk space, often up to a staggering 95 percent of total space. Furthermore, apart from taking up so much space, people have reported that the mysterious process has been using a whole lot of the disks reading and writing capability, sometimes reaching up to 72 Mb/s. For comparison, some computers (laptops in particular) tend to flag processes using as little as 1.5 Mb/s as high. The "System Host: Local System (Network Restricted)" process was actually first...
"The User Profile Service failed the logon" Fix21 Jun 2016 | 7:34 amThis page was created to help you fix fix the User Profile Service failed the logon issue. The User Profile Service failed the logon Windows 7 and later The User Profile Service failed the logon is an error Windows users might experience when trying to enter their computer using a temporary profile. The reasons for this issue may vary, but this is not really a major problem, just an annoying one. Possible causes for this issue are corrupted system files or an anti-virus software currently scanning your PC. Whatever the reason, in this article we will give you several possible methods for fixing the User profile service failed the logon error. However, before you attempt to use any of our suggestions, you...
How to Find Windows 7/10 Product Key21 Jun 2016 | 5:53 amThe article was created to show you how to find your Windows 7/Windows 10 product key. When buying a new Windows OS, you will also receive a certain product key, that you need to activate the OS. Unfortunately, Microsoft has not provided us with an easy way to find your Windows 7/10 product key. Once used, this key is often forgotten and lost, because there is really nothing else you can use it for. However, if you, for instance, decide to reinstall your OS, you will find out that you need that key back so that you can install the same OS without having to pay for it and to do that you'll need a way to find your Windows 7/10 product key. This is precisely one of those situation you really need the key and...
Greater Good
Why Veterans Should Get Outdoors30 Jun 2016 | 3:36 amStacy Bare, director of Sierra Club Outdoors, details his journey from war, PTSD, and addiction to healing.
How Scientists Measure Awe in the Wild30 Jun 2016 | 3:06 amCraig Anderson, a researcher at UC Berkeley, explains his research studying awe and other emotions during white-water rafting.
Why We Should Teach Empathy to Preschoolers29 Jun 2016 | 1:46 amIn the fall of 1978, Yalda Modabber had just moved to Massachusetts from Iran. Her timing was bad: The next year, a group of armed Iranians took more than 60 U.S. citizens hostage at the U.S. Embassy in Iran. As a result, her fellow students bullied her ruthlessly. "It was nonstop for two years," says Modabber, who has dark curly black hair and a warm smile. "That period in my life was so hard that I blocked it out. I don't even remember my teachers' names. The entire class turned on me." Modabber is now the principal and founder of Golestan Education, a Farsi-language school in Berkeley, California, where my son will be going to preschool next year. In a quiet voice, she tells me that being...
Suspect your teen is depressed? Don't wait to seek help28 Jun 2016 | 11:44 am
5 Ways to Boost Your Resilience at Work28 Jun 2016 | 11:37 am
Good News Network
Rate of Americans Dying of Heart Disease Has Plummeted by 70%30 Jun 2016 | 2:46 pmHeart disease is the number one cause of death in the US, but since 1969, death rates for those with the disease fell significantly. The post Rate of Americans Dying of Heart Disease Has Plummeted by 70% appeared first on Good News Network.
Wife of Maine's Governor Takes Waitress Job30 Jun 2016 | 7:35 amMaine's first lady waited on tables for several weeks before people realized who she was. Ann LePage kept a low profile, taking on double shifts hoping to make enough money over the summer to buy a new car, until a reporter recognized her as the governor's wife. RELATED: Homeless Man Hands The post Wife of Maine's Governor Takes Waitress Job appeared first on Good News Network.
Sea Turtle Trapped Upside Down in Trench is Rescued in Time30 Jun 2016 | 7:19 amIt took at least nine people to rescue a loggerhead turtle after she flipped onto her back trying to get back to the sea. It was no easy chore for the volunteers because adult loggerheads weigh 350-pounds on average. This female had fallen into a trench on a rocky beach The post Sea Turtle Trapped Upside Down in Trench is Rescued in Time appeared first on Good News Network.
They Survived Together, Now Watch 2 Dogs Reunite a Year After Their Rescue30 Jun 2016 | 6:25 amThese two dogs couldn't stop frolicking when they eventually were reunited, after being rescued from their former life in captivity, confined to a tiny, muddy pen. LOOK: Guy Gives Shelter Dogs Free Haircuts to Help Them Get Adopted Buddy and Shelby grew up in a small, fenced enclosure that was heaped The post They Survived Together, Now Watch 2 Dogs Reunite a Year After Their Rescue appeared first on Good News Network.
Parrot Considered Extinct in the Wild Appears on Video in Brazil30 Jun 2016 | 4:44 amA Spix's Macaw, the bird that inspired the character in the movie Rio, has reappeared in Brazil 15 years after it was thought to be extinct in the wild. On June 18th the blue macaw was identified by at least six people on various occasions near the city of Curaçá, The post Parrot Considered Extinct in the Wild Appears on Video in Brazil appeared first on Good News Network.
Good News - The Huffington Post
'Problem Child' Cat Who Went Through 5 Foster Homes Finds Perfect Owner30 Jun 2016 | 2:28 pmThis kooky cat might've rubbed some the wrong way, but the perfect owner came along to embrace the feline's funky attitude.� Kitty the cat, who lives in New York City, is quite the handful with a wild child personality -- so much so that she went through five different foster homes. But after passing through so many hands, the feline found a permanent place with Noelle Fischer, who happens to be very fond of the cat's unique spirit. The 'nip made me do it. #keepsgoingandgoingandnope #batteriesnotincluded A video posted by Kitty (@thekittythecat) on Jun 8, 2016 at 2:37am PDT "I've grown up with cats, and she is by far the most energetic, free-spirited 'unicorn' she beats to her own drum and has...
Inexpensive Paper Strips Can Test For Malaria, Cancer At Home30 Jun 2016 | 1:51 pmMalaria deaths are on the decline, but eliminating the disease will still be a considerable challenge, experts say, which is why a new, cheap testing technique could be a major breakthrough. Chemists at The Ohio State University are in the process of developing paper strips that can detect life-threatening diseases, including some cancers and malaria. Users can apply a drop of blood to the strip and then send it to a lab to be tested, according to a news release from the university. The method will be particularly useful for underserved people living in rural areas who lack access to medical care. Researchers found that the tests were accurate even when analyzed a month later, so the product will still be...
9-Year-Old Reporter Told To Just Be 'Cute' Has Landed A Book Deal30 Jun 2016 | 1:36 pmHilde Lysiak is living proof that you shouldn't let haters get you down. The 9-year-old reporter who runs the Orange Street News in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, faced down rude remarks from concern trolls in April after she broke the story of a murder in her neighborhood — hours before professional news outlets reported anything. Some busybodies told her she should focus on�"cute" subjects, and even said she should stick to "tea parties and dolls." But while tea parties and dolls are fine, they certainly aren't what got Hilde a book deal. Scholastic announced Thursday that they acquired the rights to a four-book mystery series that will be co-written by Hilde and her father, Matthew Lysiak. He's a former New...
11 Happy Skills Everyone Should Learn Before They Turn 5030 Jun 2016 | 1:02 pm1. How to count to 10. Anger isn't your friend. In fact, learning to control it could add years to your life. A study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health in 2014 found that angry, argumentative people lived shorter lives. Besides, nobody really likes that guy who screams at the waiter because the soup is too salty, now do they? Don't be that guy. 2. How to play nice with strangers. Be the guy who lets the other driver cut in your lane. Give up your seat on the subway for someone who needs it more. Doing nice things for people makes us feel better. In fact, studies show that those who volunteer reap health benefits that may help them live longer. 3. How to be...
Boy Spends His Allowance On Hundreds Of Books For Inmates30 Jun 2016 | 12:56 pmThis boy took a page out of the book of generosity.� Tyler Fugett didn't use all his allowance money on himself, but instead spent it on hundreds of books for inmates at the local jail in Clarksville, Tennessee. The 9-year-old, who recently donated the books to�Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, did so with the aim of supporting inmates. "I don't want people to think bad things while they are in jail," Tyler said, according to a press release provided to The Huffington Post. "I want people to get out and not do bad things again." Tyler, who has a family member who's spent time in jail, saved up his allowance for the cause. He then hit up some clearance sales to buy the books.� While the sweet boy...
how to save the world
Links of the Quarter: June, 201626 Jun 2016 | 12:57 amcartoon by the late, wonderful Charles Barsotti This blog is now in its 14th year, and over that time most of the blogs I've followed have either ceased to exist or dwindled to a trickle. Although my posts have gradually slowed from daily to (on average) weekly, the amount that I write that is original content (as much as any commentary or fiction can really be said to be original) hasn't fallen off all that much. And my articles have, on average, grown considerably longer. In total I've written about 2,000 posts, enough to fill about 7,000 pages, even without graphics — about 35 books' worth. I keep wondering when I'll run out of things to say. Over this period I've become considerably more radical...
Disruption19 Jun 2016 | 10:00 pmRen stood in the middle of the stream, tossing his line into the water, not looking at all like a real fisher. He wore only a brief bathing suit, revealing the huge tattoo of a wolf howling at the moon that covered the whole back half of his body. Gabrielle sat on the bank near him, playing with one of her piercings, her legs stretched out into the fast-rushing water. Her peasant dress was wet from wading in the stream and was now plastered to her body. She was shivering despite the day's warmth and sun. "You've gone all weird since you got into this non-duality shit," she said to him. "I'm not sure I like you very much any more. We need you at the Lelu Island occupation. We're not going to stop this...
Seeing Through Stories17 Jun 2016 | 10:45 amimage from Nick Smith's friend John Wareham's collection This essay, like all essays, is a story. It's my own patterning of what I've perceived, intuited, thought about and felt, and then recalled in an effort to make sense of it all. In the case of this particular essay, there is no empirical evidence of its veracity. In fact, it's evidently not true. But it's my story anyway, at least for now. Here it is, in all its apparent truthlessness: Every story is an invention. If enough people hear it and believe it to be true — if it fits with their worldview i.e. the collection of other stories they have come to accept as true — it becomes a myth. A myth is not necessarily false; it's just a story...
The Admission of Necessary Ignorance (repost)9 Jun 2016 | 9:45 pmI am reposting, in their entirety, the ten articles I wrote that were published in SHIFT magazine (which is now on hiatus) between 2013 and 2015, since some of the links have changed and so that my blog contains the full text of these articles (useful for searches etc.) Thanks to SHIFT for the graphics (much better than my originals), and for publishing and editing my work. image licensed cc-by-2.0: NOAA National Ocean Service via flickr The title of this article comes from an interview earlier this year with the distinguished biologist and philosopher Richard Lewontin. Richard has fought for years (often alongside his more famous colleague Stephen J Gould) with scientific absolutists of every stripe,...
Beyond Belief (repost)8 Jun 2016 | 8:44 amI am reposting, in their entirety, the ten articles I wrote that were published in SHIFT magazine (which is now on hiatus) between 2013 and 2015, since some of the links have changed and so that my blog contains the full text of these articles (useful for searches etc.) Thanks to SHIFT for the graphics (much better than my originals), and for publishing and editing my work. I'm not spiritual. Really. image: from a video made by a fan of Deva Premal's Moola Mantra, original source uncredited People often ask me if, in my self-proclaimed state of joyful pessimism and contemplative gratitude, I've finally discovered spirituality. I insist that I have not. Just about everyone I know who self-identifies as...
Timbuktu Chronicles
An E-Commerce Challenge in Africa: Selling to People Who Aren't Online30 Jun 2016 | 7:06 amJake Bright in the New Yorker
Mud and Musk Skincare30 Jun 2016 | 3:00 amA Smart Company report: A Perth entrepreneur working to launch DIY skin care brand that will contribute funds to prevent exploitation and promote sustainability around the world has scored $20,000 to take her business to the next level. Mud and Musk founder Haweya Ismail won the intense pitching competition hosted by BSchool, which cut through more than 150 initial applicants to reach its five finalists. "I was the most nervous one out of the five," Ismail told Smart Company...[more]
Makerspaces as a Hub for Workforce Training29 Jun 2016 | 8:42 amFrom the Made in Baltimore series in�Make magazine:
Printing Porcelain in 3D29 Jun 2016 | 3:53 amA post from Jessica at Nervous Systems: image via
FunKidz - Funky Functional Furniture29 Jun 2016 | 3:00 amthe Nation reports on a speech by Michelle Obama: "Ciru is from Kenya…...so we are family," Mrs Obama said as she introduced Ms Waithaka. "She started a business called FunKidz… to create furniture, accessories and educational tools for children that are based on African stories...but while there was plenty of demand for her products, she found that as a woman it was hard for her to get the capital she needed to meet that demand."
World Economic Forum | Agenda | podcasts
What is the economic impact of Norovirus infections?30 Jun 2016 | 2:03 pmNorovirus is estimated to cost approximately $4.2 billion in health care costs and over $60 billion in societal costs globally each year. $60 billion is bigger than 70% of the world's 180 economies by gross domestic product. $60 billion dollars could fund the United Nations for the next five years. $60 billion dollars can buy the world's top 20 football clubs and the top 10 basketball clubs. I ...
A small but essential tool for gender parity - the mobile phone30 Jun 2016 | 9:01 amThe developing understanding of the digital gender gap in emerging markets raises the possibility of a broader approach, particularly if operators and internet companies pull together.
Brussels after Brexit: business as usual?30 Jun 2016 | 8:49 amBrussels is rapidly discovering that the absence of the UK makes surprisingly little difference to the big issues and the daily routine of managing the Union.
Malnutrition affects one in three people, but starvation isn't the only culprit30 Jun 2016 | 8:37 amThe Global Nutrition Report 2016 highlights how malnutrition can be found in many forms, and affects all regions of the world.
The world has an $800bn annual infrastructure gap. Here's how to close it30 Jun 2016 | 6:56 amWe spend $2.5 trillion a year on infrastructure projects. But as big as that number seems, it's not enough to keep pace with a growing world.
Acumen Fund Blog
Forbes 400 Honors Acumen Founder and CEO, Jacqueline Novogratz, with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Social Entrepreneurship9 Jun 2016 | 10:00 amOn Thursday, Forbes hosted its fifth annual Forbes 400 Summit on Philanthropy under the theme "Moonshots—Big Bets for Social Change." The exclusive event brought together 200 of the world's leading philanthropists, social entrepreneurs and business leaders for a critical discussion on how to apply wealth and resources to solve today's most intractable problems. Forbes turned the lens on the audacious thinkers, entrepreneurs, inventors and scholars who are proposing and initiating these radical ideas, creating philanthropic solutions to change our world. Royal Bank of Canada was a presenting sponsor, and McKinsey & Company was the Knowledge Partner. Attendees and speakers included Warren...
"BURNing" The Battery3 Jun 2016 | 7:00 amOn May 26, six renowned Bay Area chefs and more than 100 guests came together for a night of food and social impact in honor of Acumen and our investee, BURN, a producer and distributor of highly-efficient, affordable cookstoves in East Africa. The event took place at The Battery, a private club located in San Francisco's financial district, and was hosted by Acumen partners and Battery co-founders, Michael and Xochi Birch. The chefs, which included Traci Des Jardins of Jardinière, Nicolai Lipscomb of The Battery, Orlando Pagan of The Village Pub and Eskender Aseged of Radio Africa, showed off their culinary prowess by preparing a range of foods using only BURN cookstoves. Guests sampled a variety of...
Five Reasons Social Enterprises Are Applying a Gender Lens to their Businesses24 May 2016 | 10:30 amThere is article after article about why businesses and investors should seek new ways to be more inclusive of women in their business models. But what we've learned at Acumen, where we invest in business that solve problems of poverty, is that leaders of social-purpose businesses are already doing this, and perhaps there's something we can learn from them. The Women Deliver Conference – one of the largest events this year focused on women and girls – took place last week in Copenhagen, with a major focus on the link between development and women's rights. But the role that innovative business models can play in linking women with development goals is still getting little attention. I was excited to...
ACUMEN LAUNCHES NEW U.S. PORTFOLIO TO TACKLE POVERTY IN AMERICA IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ROBERT WOOD JOHNSON FOUNDATION, BARCLAYS AND THE HITACHI FOUNDATION16 May 2016 | 5:00 amNew York, NY – Acumen, the nonprofit global venture fund, announced today the launch of Acumen America, a portfolio of American social enterprises focused on tackling poverty within the United States. Since its founding in 2001, Acumen has invested $101 million to build nearly 100 innovative enterprises addressing the problems of poverty in Africa, South Asia and Latin America. Now, after 15 years, the organization is bringing its impact investing model to the U.S. to help address the biggest issues facing the nearly 47 million people living in poverty. With the support of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Barclays and The Hitachi Foundation, Acumen is building a portfolio of U.S. companies with a focus...
Is Alignment Enough? Changing the Conversation to Build Stronger Partnerships Between Corporations and Social Enterprises4 May 2016 | 11:00 amOn April 12th, Acumen and the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship hosted a workshop in Oxford, England with representatives from large corporations and smaller social businesses from around the globe. At the workshop, entitled "Beyond Dialogue," we asked: How can we build business models that truly serve the poor through collaboration among corporations and social enterprises? We wanted to see what large corporations and social enterprises could learn from each other to build businesses that are not only scalable and financially viable but also inclusive of poor and marginalized communities and environmentally sustainable. Over the last three years, Acumen has made an effort to bring together these...
How I changed the world today.
Team Rubicon - One of the best Non-profits.29 Jun 2016 | 3:37 pmJust 'fixed' my monthly donation to TEAM RUBICON.They are such a great organization, win/win. �Vets helping.I ran into a member last week at the airport in Calgary, Alberta Canada. He was just coming off the Fort Mac Deployment. �I wish I was wearing my 'I'm in the Tribe' shirt.
Kiva loans25 Jun 2016 | 8:20 pmMade 4 Kiva loans to microlenders I haven't loaned to yet. �I have leant to 291/256 field partners.
Kiva loan to Juliet14 Jun 2016 | 9:07 pmMade a loan to Juliet in Africa today.Julietuliet is a production worker and an Organic and Fair Trade Certified Oil Palm Farmer who lives in Akim-Asuom in the Kwaebibirem District of the Eastern Region of Ghana, West Africa. She is 34 years old and married with three children, all of whom have a basic education.�Juliet believes organic oil palm is profitable and helps protect the environment. In this regard, she wants to secure a Kiva loan to expand her oil palm field, in order to create more development and also to be able to continue providing for the education of her children and improve her family's lifestyle.
Wonderful Words24 May 2016 | 5:49 pmI got a beautiful card from my cousin today. She's actually my 4th cousin. I met her a few years ago when my sister and her sister planned a 'family' gathering in London. �The sisters had met on ancestry.com. �14 of us trucked over from North America and joined other distant cousins into ancestry. So while I was there I spoke of my hobby business that I started to help friends feed kids. It sells costumes online. I started it about 15 years ago and have hired over 100 people so far. �We sell to religious people also, we make a lot of monks robes. I like to buy products from local artisans Made in USA. �So when my cousin told me her son could make wooden crosses for me, we went into business. �He has severe...
Stamp out Hunger Food Drive by Letter Carriers13 May 2016 | 7:42 pmI put together a bag of food for my letter carrier to pick up at my mail box tomorrow. It's Stamp out hunger day.Stamp out Hunger
All Posts – NextBillion
Taking a Match to Convention: A Podcast Chat with Matchboxology's Cal Bruns30 Jun 2016 | 8:12 am'Today's generation is absolutely petrified, not by HIV, but by getting a job' � � Cal Bruns left a successful career with advertising powerhouse Leo Burnett to found Matchboxology, a human-centered design consultancy with offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg. In the past 10 years, Matchboxology has worked at the apex of behavior change, entrepreneurship development and health, working with multinational clients such as Levi's, Adidas, PEPFAR/USAID, the UN, PSI and Johns Hopkins. In the latest NextBillion Podcast, Bruns, the "chief incubationist," and I talk about how human-centered design can be a powerful tool. But it all starts with listening. The Matchboxology team describe themselves as...
Beyond RCTs: How Rapid-Fire Testing Can Build Better Financial Products29 Jun 2016 | 3:00 amIf a mobile money provider offered a bonus on peer-to-peer transfers, would that be enough to generate new business? If the provider sent weekly messages reminding mobile account holders to actively use branchless banking services, would that significantly change their behavior? For the past three years, Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) has been working closely with Pakistan's leading mobile money provider, Telenor Pakistan, to explore answers to such questions and increase adoption and usage of the Easypaisa mobile money platform among the country's unbanked poor. Through advanced marketing campaigns, we have implemented several experiments with Easypaisa, such as varying SMS content based on types and...
EdTech That Can Do Much More for Global Learning28 Jun 2016 | 11:05 amOne of the binding factors of our development through enterprise ecommunity is that an innovation made in one part of the world can be seamlessly shared and contextualized for another part of the world. This is usually thought of as North-South technology transfer. But innovations are increasingly happening South-North, and in many diverse aspects that go beyond technology, like innovations in business models, leadership and financing. This feature of global collaboration and synchrony for greater scale held true at EdTechXEurope 2016, in London earlier this month, where over 800 leaders and shakers in the global education technology space from dozens of countries convened to find better ways to improve...
Announcing NextBillion Notes, our new weekly newsletter28 Jun 2016 | 6:52 amToday NextBillion is launching a weekly newsletter, NextBillion Notes, oriented toward helping busy people negotiate an increasingly busy social business world. You probably know what NextBillion is about – we explore market-based solutions to problems in emerging economies. Our goal is to raise awareness of the challenges facing the world's poorest 4 billion people and to provide a platform to discuss the enterprises, investments and innovations that are improving their lives – and that could even reshape entire economies. That's a broad mission. We address it by inviting business leaders, social entrepreneurs, NGO managers, policymakers, academics – as many people as possible – into a...
NexThought Monday: Storming the Walls – How Mozambique's 'Citadel Economy' Shapes Financial Inclusion27 Jun 2016 | 3:00 amWhen I first travelled through Mozambique, the picture was idyllic. Leaving sprawling Maputo behind, my main impression was of beaches, coconut trees and serene dhows. Every now and then you pass through a small village. You plan your mileage carefully, or run the risk of being left to buy plastic bottles of fuel next to the road. You buy fish, tomatoes, onions and fresh pão bread from the local market, and stop to buy cashew nuts from roadside vendors. But you make sure to be stocked up on essentials, because formal shops are few and far between. And, of course, you take enough cash, as there are unlikely to be any ATMs or card facilities. As a tourist, this is all part of the adventure – and the...
Chris Blattman
"A Family-Friendly Policy That's Friendliest to Male Professors"28 Jun 2016 | 8:19 amThat title from Justin Wolfers's article in the The New York Times: The central problem is that employment policies that are gender-neutral on paper may not be gender-neutral in effect. After all, most women receive parental benefits only after bearing the burden of pregnancy, childbirth, nursing, and often, a larger share of parenting responsibilities. Yet fathers usually receive the same benefits without bearing anything close to the same burden. Given this asymmetry, it's little wonder some recently instituted benefits have given men an advantage. I am sure there is a spirited discussion on social media, but with my new abstinence policy, I have no idea. I would probably make better points if I saw it....
IPA's weekly links24 Jun 2016 | 5:40 amGuest post by Jeff Mosenkis of Innovations for Poverty Action. <ul> <li>Alicia Munnell, a Harvard-trained economist who studies retirement policy, worked for the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and served on the president's Council of Economic Advisors realized she hadn't saved sufficiently for retirement. Harvard behavioral economist Sendhil Mullainathan recently confessed to similar economic sins. (h/t Jason Zweig)</li> <li>Somebody put a compendium of Trump speech text content on GitHub for your analysis pleasure.</li> <li>Gosnell, List, & Metcalfe experimented on 335 pilots of 40,000 Virgin Atlantic flights and saved a lot of fuel and pollution by encouraging them to adopt more efficient...</li></ul>
This is the novel of the next world war, and it's great20 Jun 2016 | 6:05 amFinally someone besides Todd Moss has combined social science with pulpy beach-reading thrillers. Suresh Naidu turned me onto P.W. Singer and August Cole's Ghost Fleet during one of our morning runs, and you should think of this as our combined book review. In short, China attacks the U.S. Anything past this point is a minor spoiler. If you don't want to hear more, then simply know that the book was good fun and more thought-provoking than any security paper I've read in a long time. So I say buy it. First you should know that some war bloggers hate it. Here are Noel Maurer's many posts, which mostly raise technical and technological complaints. Nonetheless, some of my favorite insights, some of which come...
Reflections after a week of no social media18 Jun 2016 | 6:52 amI have been Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit free for a week now. I'm mainly happy with the decision, at least so far. I stare at my phone less. Not THAT much less, because the emails are endless and I can always plumb the depths of the New York Times app. But I do feel like I'm doing less frivolous browsing. One drawback is that my news sources are seriously curtailed. I like the times but I need more breadth. I will consider subscribing to a few more blog and news feeds by email. I'm reading more books and magazines, but only a little. But this week was not representative: we put an offer in on a house, and that has eaten up enormous amounts of time, simply in learning how it all works. (I'm 41 and, until...
Is there a methodological war in development economics?17 Jun 2016 | 12:53 pmFollowing my post on misleading methodological wars in political science this morning, I saw for the first time David McKenzie's blog post on whether randomized control trials (RCTs) have taken over development economics: Another claim is that the "best and brightest talent of a generation of development economists been devoted to producing rigorous impact evaluations" about topics which are easy to randomize and that they take a "randomize or bust" attitude whereby they turn down many interesting research questions if they can't randomize To explore this, I examined the publication records of the 65 BREAD affiliates (this is the group of more junior members), restricting attention to the 53...
… My heart's in Accra
The worst thing I read this year, and what it taught me… or Can we design sociotechnical systems that don't suck?22 Jun 2016 | 7:33 amI found Shane Snow's essay on prison reform – "How Soylent and Oculus Could Fix the Prison System" – through hatelinking. Friends of mine hated the piece so much that normally articulate people were at a loss for words. A real person thought it would be a good idea to write this and post it on the Internet. pic.twitter.com/rj8viJr1HQ — Susie Cagle (@susie_c) January 30, 2016 With a recommendation like that, how could I pass it up? And after reading it, I tweeted my astonishment to Susie, who told me, "I write comics, but I don't know how to react to this in a way that's funny." I realized that I couldn't offer an appropriate reaction in 140 characters either. The more I think about Snow's essay, the more...
From disastrous decisions to decentralization: a mostly spontaneous talk for Data & Society17 May 2016 | 2:30 pmMy friends at Data and Society ran an excellent conference today in NYC. A speaker dropped out at the last minute and I got asked less than 48 hours ago to give a talk… a very specific talk. Here's what I came up with, more or less. I'm pinch hitting here, as we had a speaker who couldn't join us, so I apologize for an unpolished talk without slides. To make my life easier, our friends at Data and Society asked me to tell a story I've told before. As I thought about it, I realized I wanted to tell that story very differently. So here's a story that starts with one of the most embarrassing moments of my professional career and ends up on one of the most experimental and difficult projects I've ever worked...
Life, Only Moderately Messed Up, part 2: Getting Help12 May 2016 | 6:03 amTwo years ago, I wrote a blog post, "Life, only moderately messed up: understanding (my own) high-functioning depression" that was widely shared and appreciatively received. This is a somewhat overdue update to that post, and intended very much in the same spirit, both as a way to process some challenging experiences in my life through writing, and as a way to signal to people that I'm someone they can talk with about these issues. Writing that post two years ago is one of the most important things I've done, because it's opened conversations with friends, family and students that would not have happened otherwise, allowing people to approach me to talk about depression and allowing me to share my...
Lessons from Letterlocking: a serendipitous academic encounter10 May 2016 | 12:21 pmHere's a quick experiment – I've been publishing stories on FOLD and replicating the text here on this blog. But FOLD now supports embedding – let's see how well my blog supports it… Otherwise, please feel free to go read this story on FOLD.cm
That's _Professor_ Bozo to you, Pal10 May 2016 | 6:01 amSomething odd about teaching at a university – everyone wants to call you Professor, or Doctor. I am always flattered by the upgrade, but I sometimes feel a little miffed. There's lots of people who teach at universities who haven't earned the doctorate, and lots of people who teach without being professors: lecturers, research scientists, graduate students. I enjoy telling people that I'm neither a professor or a doctor and that they should call me "Ethan". I guess I have one less thing to be miffed about. MIT announced today that I have been promoted to Associate Professor of the Practice of Media Arts and Sciences, active July 1st. And while I make jokes about it, I'm deeply proud to take on the...
Gift Hub
Leveraging Audrey's Social Capital to Save Dogs8 Jun 2016 | 11:49 amAudrey, after all her hard work, bussing tables in the servant's quarters at minimum wage, so she can earn money to save dogs, is in tears on payday.� 30 hours worked at $10 an hour, minus federal, state, and local taxes, and Social Security, as an independent contractor, nets her $237. At Costco, a thirty pound bag of USDA Organic Chicken & Pea Formula Dry Dog Food is $49.99 plus $5 shipping. Even a small dog needs at least four bags a year.� Poor Audrey is weeping face down on the floor of her bedroom.� So little money, and so many dogs to save! Rex is whining, because his savior is so upset. But not Tutor. Tutor loves being a pedant, charged with Mentoring Heirs. He stands in his black clerical issue...
Castles for Sale or Rent8 Jun 2016 | 11:20 amGiven the success of Gifthub, and the power of Tess's story and example, it should come as no surprise that more and more wealth advisors are shopping for Castles on behalf of their Dynastic Wealth clients. Nothing says "classy money" like a moat full of alligators.�
His Prayer for the Blessed Virgin5 Jun 2016 | 6:39 amSleepless in the cold grey dawn, awakened with a dream (entering the Roman arena to deliver a package, "for the good of the order," as we say in business, �then slain), Tutor stands at the casement window in the Priest's nook behind the altar in the chapel. Below he can see the ancient, now overgrown garden, once a "hortus inclusus" with roses; now, untended, full of weeds.� Built long ago, under another dispensation, the garden had a fountain (now dilapidated) for birds, and a statue, pocked by erosion and pollution, of the blessed virgin, on a pillar of stone.� The mossy fountain is filing with rain. �The Virgin cemented to her pillar cants ten degrees off center, where the earth shifted under the...
Where Red Hair Comes From3 Jun 2016 | 7:51 amTutor is on the iPad, longs legs extended, sitting on Audrey's bed, his back propped up with pillows against the wall. She is on the floor playing with her Thelma and Louise dolls. Tutor says, "I know something you don't know." "Tell me half of it," says Audrey, since this is a game they often play. "Has to do with red hair," says Tutor. "I have red hair," says Audrey, "what about it?" Tutor points at the iPad. "Says here that red hair comes from Neanderthals." Audrey, with the choleric temper for which Neanderthals are also known, shouts, "I am not a Neanderthal! You are the Neanderthal!" When Momma looms in the door, Tutor and Audrey are chasing each other other around the room, shouting. "No, you are the...
How the Castle Reverted to a State of Nature and how Justice was Restored3 Jun 2016 | 7:08 amMomma is out of town, negotiating to buy Brazil.� Master Jack has accused Tutor of just loving Audrey for money, since Tutor gets, as Moral Tutor to the World's Wealthiest heir, $25 a week plus room and board. Tutor is in the dock; the jury of his peers (servants of wealth from upstairs and down, some with Doctorates, others largely illiterate, some both) have been impaneled to adjudicate this serious accusation. Master Jack, himself a JD, as befits a most Trusted Advisor,� glowers at Tutor, pointing with his finger. "Do you, Sir, or do you not love that child?" Tutor acknowledges he most certainly does. "And do you, Sir, or do you not, get paid to love her?" Tutor acknowledges that he most certainly does,...
Kiva Blog Updates
A native son returns to Detroit with a dream to make a difference29 Jun 2016 | 11:55 amThis is the final story in our series spotlighting U.S. businesses in celebration of Independence Day. Jay is a native of Detroit and considers himself a promoter of social good in his home city. After moving back to Detroit 6 years ago, Jay decided to spend his time creating opportunity for his community and Detroit youth. Read more about Jay's story at Kiva's Medium page -->> Tags:�kivakiva microfundsloansmicrofinancelendingsocial enterprisesocial gooddetroit
Joining the new generation of small-scale American farmers28 Jun 2016 | 8:40 amThis is the second story in our series spotlighting U.S. businesses in celebration of Independence Day.� Farming is fraught with challenges — erratic weather patterns and invasive pests can damage crops, sudden outbreaks of disease can kill off livestock. New farmers are particularly vulnerable because the learning curve is steep and unforgiving. For New England-native Erica Frenay, the risks were worth it... Read about Erica's story�at Kiva's Medium page. Tags:�kivakiva microfundsloansmicrofinancelendingindependence dayfarming
Kiva launches direct to social enterprise program27 Jun 2016 | 4:28 pmThe direct to social enterprise program is a pilot program that aims to raise capital for social enterprises in a new and more efficient way. Social enterprises have the potential to strengthen their communities and reduce poverty by expanding formal employment, scaling innovative social solutions and driving sustainable economic growth. However, they often fall in the "missing middle," meaning they are too small for traditional banks, but too big for microfinance. In the past, Kiva has used 2 different models to support small social enterprises: <ul> <li> •The social enterprise itself is set up as a Kiva Field Partner: Under this model, the social enterprise must have its own borrowers, whose...</li></ul>
Guadalupe is living the American dream: "No one believed me, they all said I was crazy."27 Jun 2016 | 12:39 pmThis the second of our stories in our series spotlighting U.S. businesses in celebration of Independence Day. "After years of working for someone else, I decided it was time to pursue my dream of bringing the food of my childhood to my new home." You can tell Guadalupe is a passionate woman from the moment you place your order at El Pipila. She is constantly moving around assembling the plates, but keeping an eye on everything that's going on, making sure everyone receives the best service. Her passion comes in part from her journey to the United States, and as she discusses it Guadalupe's eyes fill with tears. Her daughter, Brenda, does most of the talking, to help her mother through it....
We are together: How a refugee's story helped me write my own21 Jun 2016 | 2:43 pmKigali, Rwanda. Photo by Flickr user oledoe. I've only seen the film Hotel Rwanda twice. The first time, I was alone on my parents' couch in small-town Oklahoma. I tend to want to be emotionally prepared for heavy films with difficult subject matter, but when do you ever feel prepared enough to bear witness to such a magnitude of senseless violence and tragedy as what happened in Rwanda? The answer is never, so I finally just took a deep breath and hit play. Continue reading at Kiva's Medium page�-->> Tags:�kivakiva microfundsloansmicrofinancelendingrefugeerefugeesAfricarwandahuman rights
CNET News
Android Nougat? Really? Here are at least eight better names - CNET30 Jun 2016 | 2:06 pmCommentary: The Googleplex has christened the next version of Android to be nougat, after a sweet treat not all people understand. Surely we could do better?
Tesla under investigation after fatal Model S Autopilot crash - Roadshow30 Jun 2016 | 2:00 pmA Tesla Model S sedan has tragically been involved in a fatal crash, and use of the car's Autopilot system is under investigation.
'90s Oregon Trail lets you die from dial-up, not dysentery - CNET30 Jun 2016 | 1:58 pmWhy die from snake bites in the Oregon Trail game when you can suffer from 1990s problems like bad haircuts and unexpected digital pet deaths in Crystal Pepsi Trail?
Anti-BuzzFeed petition #StopBuzzThieves starts - CNET30 Jun 2016 | 1:53 pmInternet denizen Akilah Hughes launches an online petition against BuzzFeed for allegedly taking others' ideas without compensation.
Unlikely bedfellows: Tesla, Ruby Tuesday enter Supercharger partnership - Roadshow30 Jun 2016 | 1:47 pmGood ideas come from strange places sometimes.
Latest Items from TreeHugger
What's really inside? The anatomy of a hot dog30 Jun 2016 | 2:18 pmAre there pig snouts and ears in your hot dog? Not unless they're listed, but some of the ingredients commonly used are still rather unpleasant.
The end of lunch is nigh30 Jun 2016 | 1:10 pmEnjoy your sandwich at your desk while you can; even it may disappear.
Photo: Squirrel stops for the camera, strikes a pose30 Jun 2016 | 1:09 pmOur photo of the day reveals the elegance of a Western gray squirrel.
Don't be blue; Cree introduces warm LED street lights30 Jun 2016 | 11:44 amThe warmer color and better light quality will let you sleep at night.
A picture is worth: Space required to transport 60 people by car, uber and AV30 Jun 2016 | 8:54 amA hilarious remix of a classic image demonstrates that the new high-tech alternatives are not solving every problem.
Actress Learns The Hard Way: You Can't Change Your Life By Changing Your Body30 Jun 2016 | 2:20 pmStephanie March is 41-years-old and a Hollywood actress. That by itself is a really treacherous emotional body of water to be treading in. Patricia Arquette used her moment on the dais of the Academy Awards to talk about ageism and gender discrimination in Hollywood, and earlier this year, Amanda Peet wrote an essay for Lena Dunham's Lenny newsletter about being a "low-tier TV-mom-type," staring down the plastic surgery crevasse. And now, March has penned her own entry for the entertainment industry's growing anthology of women's realness columns. It's called "Why I Got Breast Implants—And Then Had Them Removed," and it's available to read on Refinery29. March shares the details...
You May Be Younger Than You Think30 Jun 2016 | 12:50 pmThroughout your lifetime, your body will go through a lot of changes, and we aren't just talking about your awkward puberty years. Over time, almost every cell in your body will turn over, helping to create a (sort of) brand-new you. Your fingernails, for example, are new every six months. Every four months, you get a fresh, new blood supply. And the cells in the lining of your stomach replace themselves much more quickly—every two to nine days. But what remains with you throughout your entire life? It turns out, only a few cells decide to stick around. According to a YouTube video posted by NPR Science, only half your heart and the core of the lens of your eye remain with you from...
The World's Deadliest Animal Is Probably Not What You Think It Is30 Jun 2016 | 12:25 pmNever Miss a Great Video: Click Here to Subscribe It's Shark Week! That means it's time for ratings-hungry networks to act like sharks are the most deadly, dangerous animals in the wild. But that's far from the truth. The real killers are a lot more sneaky – and a lot more lethal. *Video inspired by Gates Deadliest Animals
This Revolutionary Non-Profit is Breaking the Generational Poverty Cycle30 Jun 2016 | 9:30 amThis story is part of an ongoing campaign called the Alphabet of Illiteracy. By using letters themselves—the foundation of reading and writing—Project Literacy examines the ways illiteracy underpins some of the greatest challenges facing the world today. Below, we explore the letter P for "poverty." Imagine you're four years old. Your life so far has been unstable to say the least. Your father is incarcerated; your mother is struggling with addiction and largely absent. You and your siblings have been living in foster care. Soon you'll move in with your grandmother, though she doesn't know how she'll support you and your four siblings. What does your life look like from...
Mandatory GMO Labels Hit Vermont Shelves30 Jun 2016 | 6:00 amThe tiny state of Vermont is making a very big statement—as of tomorrow, all products containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) will have to be clearly marked on its shelves. While the scientific community is more or less in agreement that there are no measurable health concerns from GM foods, the labeling battle has long been framed as a consumer rights issue. In essence, the argument is that—safe or not—we have the right to know what's in our food. Labeling everything that contains GMOs is no small feat—the Grocery Manufacturers Association estimates up to 80 percent of supermarket foods contain GM ingredients (GM corn, soy, canola and sugar beets are quite pervasive). Claiming...
Income Inequality is Target of Investment Fund30 Jun 2016 | 7:07 amNearly 15 percent of Americans fall below the poverty line, which is set at about $24,000 a year for a family of four. Historically, foundations have helped the disadvantaged by [...] The post Income Inequality is Target of Investment Fund appeared first on SocialEarth.
Great CSR Takes the Whole Organization29 Jun 2016 | 7:30 amby Jeff King, Sr. Director, Sustainability, CSR and Social Innovation, The Hershey Company When I joined the CSR team at Hershey, I set out to answer the question, "What does [...] The post Great CSR Takes the Whole Organization appeared first on SocialEarth.
Business Leaders Endorse Sustainable Development Goals as Framework for Shaping Corporate Strategies29 Jun 2016 | 6:40 amJune 23 at the UN Global Compact Leaders Summit 2016, more than 600 business leaders from 75 countries joined leaders from civil society, the UN and Government to advance private sector actions [...] The post Business Leaders Endorse Sustainable Development Goals as Framework for Shaping Corporate Strategies appeared first on SocialEarth.
Two Startups Addressing Digital and Financial Inclusion Each Receive $50,000 Investments27 Jun 2016 | 4:21 pmThe Points of Light Civic Accelerator announced that it will invest $50,000 each in New York On Tech and PYT Funds – one nonprofit and one for-profit startup. Both are creating greater opportunities for [...] The post Two Startups Addressing Digital and Financial Inclusion Each Receive $50,000 Investments appeared first on SocialEarth.
Textile Waste Turned into Consumer Products27 Jun 2016 | 2:24 pmThe global textile industry is valued at over $1 trillion, ranking as the second largest industry in terms of intensity of trade. Textiles are also the fastest growing sector in [...] The post Textile Waste Turned into Consumer Products appeared first on SocialEarth.
Sasha Dichter's Blog
Fundraisers in the Digital Age21 Jun 2016 | 2:00 amOne of the characteristics I don't see people talk about as much when looking for successful, modern-day fundraisers are writing skills and digital proficiency. It's easy to think that the traditional job interview is a great way to find good fundraisers, and it is a good place to start. Fundraising meetings have a lot in common with job interviews: the potential funder is trying to figure out your story, your motivation for being there, and whether she connects enough with you and with what you're saying to make a commitment to investing in a relationship with you and, over time, with your organization. A lot like hiring. But it's a mistake to stop there. We know that today everyone lives on their...
You can make change happen from anywhere17 Jun 2016 | 2:00 amI hope by now you've had the chance to take at least one of the amazing +Acumen courses we have developed. If so, you're one of more than 250,000 people in more than 170 countries who has seen the power of these courses, and how their structure – group-based learning focused on real-world action – creates a powerful sense of learning and of community. The course offering keeps growing, and one of our most bang-for-your-buck courses (where "buck" = your effort, since the course is free) is our Storytelling for Change course, which starts on June 21st. We also have an amazing and growing lineup of on demand Master Classes, and I can promise that spending 2-3 hours of your time hearing the...
How to Respond to Tragedy: On the Front Lines of Hope14 Jun 2016 | 2:00 amWe've just witnessed the largest mass shooting in US history. I wish this fact made me feel like the worst of this is behind us. But it doesn't. On days like today it is hard to feel like the world is getting safer and less violent, but that's what the numbers tell us. If we are in fact riding a wave pulling us towards peace and prosperity, there's also an undertow that we must fight against. Whether it's U.S. citizens like Omar Mateen pledging allegiance to ISIS to justify mass murder, or simply the daily drumbeat of tragic gun deaths that go unnoticed — on an average day in the U.S., 91 people are killed with guns — the cocktail of fear, ignorance, hatred, bias and easy access to...
The work we choose not to do7 Jun 2016 | 2:00 amLately I've come to see much more clearly the myth of my calendar: the myth that there's a pinnacle of time management that will make everything OK. It turns out that there isn't. The pieces that I'm trying to fit into my day – the articles I am and am not reading; the meetings I am and am not taking; the talks I am and am not giving – are but a tiny, arbitrary swath of the everything that's out there that I could be doing that might be relevant and useful. It's comforting to think that we're constrained by all the things we've already signed up for, when in reality what constrains us is our unwillingness to let people down in service of our higher purpose. This is why we can look at...
My Job31 May 2016 | 2:00 amIs my job, right now, to tell you what I've figured out, and share my wisdom? Is my job to show you all that I don't know, and show my openness and vulnerability? Or is my job simply to write half of the sentence, and let you fill in the…? Each day, every moment, a choice.
The Change Blog
How I Transformed My Life through Better Habits28 Jun 2016 | 4:27 am"Men's natures are alike; it is their habits that separate them." – Confucius Life is a funny thing. There is no road map. The best we can do is hope for a strong upbringing, surrounded by a good family and people who care for us. After that, we pray for their love and support as we try to fumble our way through adulthood. How many of us actually know what they're doing when they graduate high school? What about college? I sure as hell didn't. I grew up as a kid who always succeeded. Every challenge put in front of me I knocked out of the park. As I transitioned out of my parents' home and into the real world, I felt this enormous amount of pressure to continue succeeding. I realized quickly...
I Wasn't Too Old to Change After All16 Jun 2016 | 4:57 amI've always been a list person. I like orderly, pigeonholed thought processes. When I read information, it automatically appears in my brain as an outline – none of those messy, ideas-all-over-the-page graphic organizers. For eighteen years my educational philosophy pretty much stayed the same. Oh, I would change up processes and bring in new visuals and tools, but what I basically believed education should look like in my classroom never changed. When our district announced it was bringing in one-to-one tech devices for our students, I thought, "That's fine for the younger teachers, but I'm only five years from retirement – things are fine. I'm a good teacher. No need to change at this...
5 Life Lessons Learned After Divorce14 Jun 2016 | 5:50 am"We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us." – Joseph Campbell I thought I had my life planned. Since I was a junior in high school, I knew I was going to marry my high school sweetheart, have two children and teach. We went to the same college, I got a job teaching kindergarten and we had two beautiful boys. Everything seemed to be going according to plan, but the truth was year after year I was becoming more and more miserable. I was stubborn though and determined to make the marriage work, so for many years I pretended to be happy. When my youngest son was just 8 months old we decided that it was time to get a divorce. The life I knew...
How I Found New Power In My Mistakes12 Jun 2016 | 6:49 amI've had opportunities. I've tried my hand at many jobs. I did the corporate thing and worked in the academic sphere. I organized parties and I worked in fashion. I poured drinks, pushed charities and baked apple pies. I've written books, scripts, and I even directed a short film once with somebody from the BBC. I was part of a startup and worked flat out before that eventually went under. I've lived in a dozen countries and traveled through three dozen more. I tried my hand at a half a hundred lives and left them all behind. Today I spend my days alone, in my room, rattling away on a keyboard, spilling out words for other people to put their name on and claim as theirs. I'm not young anymore. A...
How to Find Beauty From Grief9 Jun 2016 | 5:12 am"Grief can be the garden of compassion. If you keep your heart open through everything, your pain can become your greatest ally in your life's search for love and wisdom." – Rumi It was 9:25 am ET and my office phone rang. Picking up, I was surprised to hear my stepdad's voice on the other line. It was 6 am on the West Coast. "Jill, your mom is dead." Me: "What are you talking about?! Why are you saying this?! Are you joking??" Him: "I'm sorry. I found her this morning." I don't really remember how I signed off, but I hung up and began to sob….I couldn't catch my breath. She was 59. I didn't know this then, but the autopsy would later list her cause of death as "complications due to alcohol use." In...
The GiveWell Blog
Challenges in finding a great Vitamin A charity28 Jun 2016 | 11:09 amVitamin A supplementation involves giving Vitamin A to children at risk of deficiency to prevent death and other negative health impacts. We'd be interested in supporting a charity to carry out this program, but so far we have not found one we'd like to recommend. The evidence on the effectiveness of the program raises a number of questions that we'd need a charity to answer, and we haven't found one that can satisfactorily answer them. This post lays out the state of the evidence regarding Vitamin A, and the questions charities would need to answer to receive our recommendation. This is a summary of our full report on Vitamin A Supplementation as a charitable program. As with our recent post about water...
Mid-year update to top charity recommendations23 Jun 2016 | 2:25 pmThis post provides an update on what we've learned about our top charities in the first half of 2016. We continue to recommend all four of our top charities. Our recommendation for donors seeking to directly follow our advice remains the same: we recommend they give to the Against Malaria Foundation (AMF), which we believe has the most valuable current funding gap. Below, we provide: <ul> <li>Updates on our view about AMF, which we consider the most important information we've learned in the last half-year (More) <li>Updates on other top charities (More) <li>A discussion of the reasoning behind our current recommendation to donors (More) </ul> Updates on AMF � Background AMF (www.againstmalaria.com) provides funding for...</li></li></li>
What we've learned about SCI this year20 Jun 2016 | 3:19 pmIn past years, we've written that we had significant concerns about the financial reporting and financial management of the Schistosomiasis Control Initiative (SCI), one of our top charities since 2011. Our concerns have included: <ul> <li>We had not been able to learn important and basic financial information about SCI. Despite substantial effort, before 2016 we were not able to determine the total amount of funding that SCI held at any one time. We also had very little information on what SCI's funds were spent on within country programs. <li>We found that SCI's financial reports were prone to containing errors. </ul> Due to these concerns, we decided to focus our research on SCI in preparation for our June 2016 top...</li></li>
June 2016 Open Thread15 Jun 2016 | 9:03 amOur goal with hosting quarterly open threads is to give blog readers an opportunity to publicly raise comments or questions about GiveWell or related topics (in the comments section below). As always, you're also welcome to email us at email@example.com or to request a call with GiveWell staff if you have feedback or questions you'd prefer to discuss privately. We'll try to respond promptly to questions or comments. If you have questions related to the Open Philanthropy Project, you can post those in the Open Philanthropy Project's open thread. You can view our March 2016 open thread here.
We're hiring a Director of Operations24 May 2016 | 10:32 amGiveWell's Operations team is responsible for all finance, accounting, HR, legal and tech functions at GiveWell and the Open Philanthropy Project. We started to build this team over the past year, and we're now looking for a proven leader to lead our current team and grow it for the future. Additional details about the role are in the job posting. At a high level, the person we hire will: <ul> <li>lead a team of 5-10 people to ensure that necessary business activities continue to function.</li> <li>improve the systems we have and, where necessary, create new ones so that our operational work runs excellently.</li> <li>over time, potentially grow into a senior leadership role at GiveWell and Open Philanthropy, helping the leaders...</li></ul>
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RELEVANT Magazine
'Serial' Update! A Judge Vacated Adnan Syed's Conviction And Granted Him a Retrial30 Jun 2016 | 2:24 pmWhoa! The case of Adnan Syed—made widely known through the first season of the Serial podcast—has reached a significant turning point. A judge in Baltimore granted Syed a retrial and threw out his prior conviction. For those who don't remember the details from Serial, Syed was convicted and sentenced to life plus 30 years in prison in 2000 for murdering his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee and burying her body in a local park. The season one of the podcast shone a major light on the Syed's story and the inconsistencies that may have meant that he didn't commit the murder. The judge who vacated the conviction, Martin Welch, wrote that Syed's attorney "rendered ineffective assistance when she failed to...
Brad Pitt Narrates Terrence Malick's 'Hymn to the Glories of Nature'30 Jun 2016 | 1:07 pmThe first trailer for Terrence Malick's epic new film Voyage of Time has just been released, and it's pretty stunning. As the studio explains, A labor of love from one of American cinema's most acclaimed and visually exciting filmmakers, Terrence Malick (The Thin Red Line, The Tree of Life), Voyage of Time has been nearly four decades in the making and represents the filmmaker's first foray into documentary storytelling. The film's panorama of awe-inspiring images will take you into the heart of monumental events never witnessed — from the birth of the stars and galaxies to the explosion of diverse life-forms on planet earth, including humankind — in immersive new ways that only IMAX can...
Phat: Pepsi Is Rebooting the '90s Video Game 'Oregon Trail' to Promote Crystal Pepsi30 Jun 2016 | 12:59 pmPepsi is preparing to bring back one of the '90s' weirdest products: The ill-fated beverage "Crystal Pepsi," fizzed out shortly after it was launched back in the early '90s. But with nostalgia being all the rage, the soda maker announced that it is relaunching the product, and to promote it, they're bringing back one of the '90s other great brands: the Oregon Trail video game. This sneak peak trailer of The Crystal Pepsi Trail (below)—which launches online on July 7—is littered with enough '90s references (dial-up internet, bowl cuts, wood-paneled cars) that it will make you want to start binge-watching some Fuller House and count the days until Aug. 8 when Crystal Pepsi arrives back in...
What Christians Get Wrong About 'Encouragement'30 Jun 2016 | 11:30 amIt's not about just making someone feel better. I've been a Christian now for over 20 years, and I have something of a confession: I am so sick of "encouragement" that gives us the warm fuzzies at church on Sunday and ends there. Here's how it often goes: We go to church, sing in varying degrees of passion according to how the message spoke to us, and then the doors are thrown open and the people stream out into their cars, on to lunch, naps, chores, soul-crushing marital dysfunctions, sex addictions, alcoholism, anxiety and depression and much more.
Here's the First Trailer for Clint Eastwood's Film About the 'Miracle on the Hudson'30 Jun 2016 | 9:40 amYesterday, we got our first look at Sully, the movie about the so-called miracle on the Hudson. Back in 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 was forced to make an emergency water landing in the Hudson River after both engines went out. Thanks largely to captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger each passenger and crew member survived and was successfully evacuated from the sinking airplane. The new film, directed by Clint Eastwood, follows Sullenberger—played by Tom Hanks—through the crash and its aftermath. And based on this trailer, it looks pretty good: Sully is in theaters September 9 of this year.
Ignited Fundraising
Philanthropy by the Numbers: The Stories Behind the Stats28 Jun 2016 | 10:01 pmHave you seen the recently released npEXPERTS eBook: Philanthropy by the Numbers: The Stories Behind the Stats? As the folks at Blackbaud describe it: It's a collection of "11 of the best and brightest minds in philanthropy speaking up about what's happening in the sector today and how these trends are shaping the future." I have the honor of sharing my own thoughts on communication and year-end appeals…and NO it's not too early in the year to be talking about this topic. The ebook has some fantastic articles from some smart people that dive into the latest trends reshaping the way we raise money and how we are defining a new philanthropic era. You'll want to read this issue cover to cover, not...
5 Reasons Your Nonprofit Board Doesn't Do What You Want Them to Do21 Jun 2016 | 10:01 pmHow many of these are true for you and your nonprofit board? 1. You make assumptions that are incorrect about board members knowledge, skills, or comfort level. 2. You make board members wrong, mostly behind their back, and they feel it. 3. Board members, especially the new ones, are nervous about making a mistake or overstepping their bounds. 4. Board members want to do a great job, but they forget the "when" or the "how" so they don't do anything. 5. Some of your board members are bored and feel disconnected from your mission. This list could be much longer. Add to it if you'd like. Especially if it will make you feel better. What I find most often when I work with board members: their...
Out of Office: Where in the World is Lori?14 Jun 2016 | 10:01 pmLast week I mentioned that I had a busy travel month, and though you may not notice it, I am half-way around the world at the moment. Before our travels, my spouse, Mark, set up a fun, quite detailed, out of office auto-reply. [Frankly, I think he has too much time on his hands!] But, since copying is the best form of flattery, I'm copying his work! Yes, he even made sure the pictures are linked. Be sure to click on each one: Mark's sister is getting married. . . . . . in Malaysia! So we are taking a long trip . . . ….and returning later in June. I am most definitely OUT of the office and pretty much off the grid, taking in the sites (like this one of Penang at night). And while I have some people...
Two Excellent Examples of Keeping Nonprofit Donors Engaged7 Jun 2016 | 10:01 pmClick to enlarge This invite to a Women's Build Day for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity popped into my inbox a few weeks ago. I was disappointed my busy June travel schedule made it impossible for me to participate. The event was "sold out" within a few days. While there was no cost to attend the space was limited, which made it all the more appealing. It appears others thought so too. A fabulous group of awesome women jumped on the chance to make a difference and spend a fun day together. I'm sad to miss the event. What an excellent example of keeping nonprofit donors engaged. Isn't that exactly what you want your donors to say? I'm sad to miss the event? Even though I can't attend the event, the...
Four Nonprofit Studies to Ramp Up the Rest of Your 2016 Fundraising31 May 2016 | 10:01 pmWe just celebrated Memorial Day here in the US, which means we had a nice, long weekend. With people taking time off to make the most of a long weekend to just taking awhile to get back in work mode, these shortened holiday work weeks can do a number on productivity So if you're looking for away to ease your way back in and ramp up your knowledge have I got the link for you. Nonprofit Tech for Good rounded up 28 Must-Read Fundraising and Social Media Reports for Nonprofits, and there's something for everyone in that list no matter where your nonprofit is located. If that long list makes your eyes glaze over, don't worry, I've culled four of my favorites to share with you. 2016 Nonprofit Benchmarks Study,...
ApplaUSe For A Cause
West Virginia Floods 2016: How You Can Help29 Jun 2016 | 4:30 am<!-- Please call pinit.js only once per page --> [View the story "West Virginia Floods 2016: How You Can Help" on Storify] <!-- Go to www.addthis.com/dashboard to customize your... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Interesting Charity Videos12 Jun 2016 | 8:59 amEnglish: EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Bindi Irwin visit Edwards on Sept. 6 to film a segment for their television show "Bindi the Jungle Girl." The program airs on the Discovery Kids channel.... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Quote of the Day18 Aug 2015 | 1:08 amEdwin Arnold (19th century photograph) (1832 – 1904) was an English poet and journalist, who is most known for his work, The Light of Asia. (Photo credit:... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
I Need Your Opinon!4 Aug 2015 | 2:27 amQuestion mark (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I really need you to take this Poll Daddy survey below , in order to improve this blog- to make it more useful for you, others and myself. Thank... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Repost: Operation BBq For Our Troops: Honoring Our Soldiers4 Jul 2015 | 7:50 amAs the USA begins it's Independence Day celebration on Monday, before we start our barbeques, picnics, vacations and firework displays; it's great to thank our... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
Shareable New Articles
Seeking Freelance Technology Writer29 Jun 2016 | 9:48 amDo you like writing about the role of technology in society? Are you a critical thinker with a public interest point of view? We've got a great gig for you. We're looking for a freelance reporter to regularly file stories on the latest news about the intersection of technology and sharing, including open-source tools, platform co-ops, crowdsourcing, open government, urban tech, and other technologies. We're seeking a reporter who has deep knowledge of the space and a keen interest in learning more. Other key skills:
The Chicago Honey Co-op Works with a Hive Mind29 Jun 2016 | 7:08 amBees are essential to food production. In response to the massive, global colony collapse problem, myriad urban beekeeping organizations have cropped up around the country. One such group, the Chicago Honey Co-op, was founded in 2004 and continues to expand its operations.
The People's Railway: A Cooperative Opportunity?28 Jun 2016 | 9:20 amArticle and image cross-posted from Stir to Action.
Connecting the Dots the P2P Way: The Commons As the Response to the Structural Crises of the Global System27 Jun 2016 | 7:03 amArticle cross-posted from Commons Transition. Originally published in Truthout as part of the Connecting the Dots Series, a campaign by our colleagues at TheRules.org. All images by Aotaro.
Youngsters Get in on the Little Free Movement with a Lego Library27 Jun 2016 | 3:59 amThere's something about Little Free Libraries. The idea is remarkably simple, and yet it has grown into an international movement that boasts over 40,000 branches in 70 countries around the world—and those are just the officially registered Little Free Library ones.
Beth's Blog
How the Nonprofit Sector Can Share What We Learn and Why We Should30 Jun 2016 | 7:43 amNote from Beth: I've been a big believer in shared knowledge and learning for the sector. IssueLab has been working for ten years to apply the age-old knowledge management question, "what if I knew what others know?" to the hard-earned lessons of nonprofits and foundations. While they confess that they still don't know the ultimate answer to that question, they have learned a thing or two in their continued pursuit of that goal. That's why I'm so grateful they are sharing it in this guest post. How the Nonprofit Sector Can Share What We Learn and Why We Should Guest Post By Gabriela Fitz and Lisa Brooks You might call what we're doing Big Knowledge, or Big (Qualitative) Data. In ten years we...
How to Be a Wizard at Tech Training Design and Delivery29 Jun 2016 | 9:36 amNote from Beth: At this year's Nonprofit Technology Conference, I was lucky to co-design and facilitate a session on technology training with colleagues John Kenyon, Cindy Leonard and Jeanne Allen. Cindy and Jeanne wrote this great reflection of what we learned and how we facilitated this very interactive session. As I am planning for workshops in the fall in Cleveland and North Carolina (with Jeanne Allen), looking back always help you create a good lesson plan and incorporate improvements. How to Be a Wizard at Tech Training Design and Delivery guest post by Cindy Leonard and Jeanne Allen The breakout session "How to Be a Wizard at Tech Training Design and Delivery" at the 2016 Nonprofit...
Reflections from Arts Leaders Workshop: Resilient Leaders from the Inside/Out28 Jun 2016 | 12:16 pmEarlier this month I was in Boston for the annual convention for Americans for the Arts where I facilitated a leadership development pre-conference workshop, "Impact without Burnout: Resilient Arts Leaders from the Inside/Out." I was lucky enough to collaborate with Janet McIntyre, a nonprofit leadership coach and Jeffrey Golde, Adjunct Professor of Management: Columbia Business School, along with Abe Flores from AFTA. Needless to say, I learned a lot and wanted to capture some of it here as well as the Tweet transcript. This training was a day and half and here's what we covered: Section 1: Self-Awareness: Understanding and Moving Through Your Leadership and Communications Style The first...
How Are You Taking A Summer Break from Your Tech?27 Jun 2016 | 12:57 pmART X SMART by Kim Dong-kyu Last week was the first day of summer and it got me thinking about doing a digital detox. However, Aliza Sherman and I were reviewing the final round of edits from our copy editor at Wiley for our forthcoming book, The Happy Healthy Nonprofit due out in October. That task required a screen! Now that task has been checked off my to do list, I am ready to pay attention to technology wellness again. The first thing I did was to take a walk at the Stanford Dish, a nearby nature hiking area, without my mobile phone. It is a amazing how a short walk in the woods, a park, or other natural area can make you feel good. And, ironically, the science to back this up also...
Powering the Nonprofit Community through Customer Support6 Jun 2016 | 5:49 amPowering the Nonprofit Community through Customer Support Guest Post by Dorie Wallace Vice President, Customer Support, Blackbaud Millions of nonprofits around the globe do incredible work each day to make the world a better place for all of us. Running a nonprofit is possibly one of the most important jobs out there. At Blackbaud, we get very excited and inspired by our nonprofit customers' successes and breakthroughs –it constantly drives us to look for ways to improve our technology and customer service to ensure organizations can focus on their vital work while operating and communicating as efficiently and effectively as possible. And perhaps not coincidentally, our customer support team's end...
Forgiveness Project
NEWS: Witnessing a collective humanity: The Forgiveness Project book launches in New York9 Jun 2016 | 6:59 amThe paperback edition of The Forgiveness Project: Stories for a Vengeful Age was launched at the Barnes and Noble flagship store in New York on 26th April. Taking part in an accompanying Forgiveness Conversation were four people whose stories reflect and underpin the ethos and values of The Forgiveness Project charity. Marina Cantacuzino, founder of The Forgiveness Project, began by giving a brief outline of the charity, describing how the book came to life and explaining how the charity's series of Forgiveness Conversations provides a rare opportunity for inquiry, reflection and open discussion around the meaning and purpose of forgiveness. She then introduced the speakers, beginning with Fr Michael...
EVENT: Healing Rwanda: What place for forgiveness after genocide? – 11 July 20167 Jun 2016 | 8:42 amOn 11 July, in collaboration with The Guerrand-Hermes Foundation for Peace (GHFP), we will be holding our fourth Forgiveness Conversation of 2016 – a preview screening of 'The Invincible', a short film by Yves Niyongabo. The film tells the remarkable story of Jean Paul Samputu, a Rwandan musician, and Vincent, Jean Paul's friend and neighbour who killed his father in the 1994 genocide. The 30-minute film will be followed by a Q&A with Jean Paul who is in London for the event, and also with Lesley Bilinda, currently vicar of St Andrew's Church, Fulham Fields and author of two books – The Colour of Darkness and With What Remains. Lesley was running a community health programme in eastern Rwanda when...
GUEST BLOG: RESTORE: Sowing the seeds of change2 Jun 2016 | 7:02 amAngela Findlay is an artist, writer and public speaker with over three decades of experience working in the Criminal Justice System. She recently observed a 3-day RESTORE programme at Parc prison in Wales and has written this blog about her experience and what she witnessed. Former Arts Coordinator to the Koestler Trust, Angela has inspired audiences across the country, including most recently the Ministry of Justice, with her insights into issues of guilt, forgiveness and rehabilitation. To find out more visit www.angelafindlaytalks.com. I challenge anybody to sit through three days of listening to 20 prisoners' stories as I have just done and come out saying a punishing prison regime is the right...
NEWS: Report on recent Forgiveness Conversations1 Apr 2016 | 4:42 amIn March we held two Forgiveness Conversations, one in London and the other in Bristol. The London event took place at St Ethelburga's Center for Reconciliation and Peace and featured a screening of the timely and important documentary JIHAD:The story of the others. This was followed by a panel discussion chaired by counter extremism expert Ross Frenett who talked to filmmaker Deeyah Khan and one of the film's main protagonists Abu Muntasir. Known as the "godfather" of the British jihadi movement, in the 1980s and 1990s Abu Muntasir recruited dozens of young men to fight in foreign wars. At the event he spoke powerfully of having once held a worldview that thrived by creating an illusion of...
EVENT: JOIN US IN NEW YORK! – Can forgiveness heal this vengeful age? – April 26th, 201624 Mar 2016 | 6:30 amOur first-ever Forgiveness Conversation in America, marks the US paperback publication of The Forgiveness Project: Stories for a Vengeful Age – a book of personal narratives and insights by The Forgiveness Project's founder, Marina Cantacuzino. Marina will be joined by four storytellers – Fr Michael Lapsley, Scarlett Lewis, Mathew Shurka and Phyllis Rodriguez – who will be discussing their personal, extraordinary journeys of transformation, highlighting the work and ethos of the charity. The event is being co-sponsored by Peaceful Tomorrows, Institute for Healing of Memories and Barnes & Noble. Entrance is free but booking recommended via eventbrite – click here. The post EVENT: JOIN US IN NEW...
Tiny Buddha
4 Things You Need to Know When Pursuing An Ambitious Dream29 Jun 2016 | 8:27 pm"So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable." ~Christopher Reeve Have you ever decided to pursue something that excited you, that seemed nearly impossible to do, and then had your will tested and almost crushed? I have, many times, most recently this year. As you may recall, I shared a blog post in January about the newly formed Tiny Buddha Productions, a film company I started with my fiancé, fellow screenwriter Ehren Prudhel. If you haven't read that post yet, you may want to read that now. Go ahead—it's here. I'll wait. Welcome back! A lot has happened in the six months since we decided to make...
How Dealing with Our Emotions Can Help us Heal Chronic Pain28 Jun 2016 | 6:58 pm"The part can never be well unless the whole is well." ~Plato Our bodies are clever. They constantly send us messages that something isn't right. It's our job to tune in, listen, and act on these messages. That headache, tight shoulders, and backache are all trying to tell us something. But sometimes the physical symptoms we experience are actually tied up in a deeper emotional pain that needs to be dealt with first. How do I know this? It was a message I needed to learn, one that I now teach to others. Six years ago my life fell apart. Within an eighteen-month period my marriage broke up, I lost my house in a devastating earthquake, and I had to walk away from my physiotherapy practice that I had...
When Mindfulness Hurts: Feeling Is the Key to Healing28 Jun 2016 | 6:57 pm"You start watching your breath and all your problems are solved. It is not like that at all. You are working with the heart of your experiences, learning to turn towards them, and that is difficult and can be uncomfortable." ~Ed Halliwell Can mindfulness be bad for you? I had been expecting it: Once you become a regular at it, mindfulness permeates all aspects of your life. I only sit in meditation for twenty minutes daily (and a full hour on Sundays), but I carry its effects with me the rest of the time, elevated levels of awareness and all. This is not to say that I constantly float on a blissful cloud. In fact, this sudden increase in mindfulness, even for someone used to deep introspection and...
4 Relationship Traps to Avoid & Other Tips to Keep Your Love Strong27 Jun 2016 | 8:23 pm"Love does not obey our expectations; it obeys our intentions." ~Lloyd Strom When I started dating, I did a terrible job of it. I fell in love at the turn of a unique smile and fell out of it with the first sign of a stubborn bad habit. Despite that, I was a serial monogamist. I didn't know how to develop the mental fortitude one needed to end things when they were ready to be ended, so I let them crawl on. Teenage emotions are hard. Adult ones are hard, too. Three years, four years, three and a half years—I spent a full decade of my life, most of my twenties, in frustrating relationships that had started out as the loves of my life and turned into apathetic slogs of sharing rent and little else. I...
How to Feel Good Enough (When You Feel Anything But)26 Jun 2016 | 8:07 pm"There are plenty of difficult obstacles in your path. Don't allow yourself to become one of them." ~Ralph Marston I recently had a personal conversation with someone who was describing some struggles they were experiencing. In passing, they mentioned "It's okay for you, you've fought your battles" and went on to talk about how I'm married, I'm working in a career I love, and I'm "successful." Listening to them, I could feel my heart breaking, partly for them: I know what it's like to compare my insides to someone else's outsides and find myself severely wanting. But I also felt a deep sadness tinged with frustration, because their assumption was so far from the truth. While I...
Farnam Street
Warren Berger's Three-Part Method for More Creativity29 Jun 2016 | 4:00 am"A problem well stated is a problem half-solved." — Charles "Boss" Kettering *** The whole scientific method is built on a very simple structure: If I do this, then what will happen? That's the basic question on which more complicated, intricate, and targeted lines of inquiry are built, across a wide variety of subjects. This simple form helps us push deeper and deeper into knowledge of the world. (On a sidenote, science has become such a loaded, political word that this basic truth of how it works frequently seems to be lost!) Individuals learn this way too. From the time you were a child, you were asking why (maybe even too much), trying to figure out all the right questions to ask to get better...
The Four Tools of Discipline28 Jun 2016 | 4:00 am"The life of wisdom must be a life of contemplation combined with action." *** Life is full of problems. We can moan about them or we can solve them. Scott Peck argues in The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth that discipline is the toolbox for solving problems. Peck's argument is based on the notion that most of us want to avoid problems – they are painful and often lead us to confront our humanity. They are frustrating. There are false starts. We lack consistent frameworks for improvement. They cause us to feel sad and lonely; things we'd rather avoid. The mental pain and strain often rivals physical pain. Yet Peck argues it is in this "whole process of...
Why Are No Two People Alike? (Part 2)27 Jun 2016 | 4:00 am(This post is the second in a two-part series on the work of Judith Rich Harris. See the first part here.) As we concluded Part 1 of our exploration of Judith Rich Harris's work on human personality, we had begun sketching out her theory by delving into the first of three systems that she believes carry the heavy lifting in determining how our adult personalities are formed. The first system was the Relationship System, the "people information lexicon" we automatically begin building at birth to recall the details of the people we encounter throughout our lives. This mental Rolodex carries a lot of freight, but it's only one cog in a larger system. The workings of the Relationship System start to...
Atul Gawande and the Mistrust of Science23 Jun 2016 | 4:00 amContinuing on with Commencement Season, Atul Gawande gave an address to the students of Cal Tech last Friday, delivering a message to future scientists, but one that applies equally to all of us as thinkers: "Even more than what you think, how you think matters." Gawande addresses the current growing mistrust of "scientific authority" — the thought that because science creaks along one mistake at a time, that it isn't to be trusted. The misunderstanding of what scientific thinking is and how it works is at the root of much problematic ideology, and it's up to those who do understand it to promote its virtues. It's important to realize that scientists, singular, are as fallible as the rest of us. Thinking...
Why Are No Two People Alike? (Part 1)22 Jun 2016 | 4:00 am"My solution to the mystery is that three perpetrators are involved: three mental systems that go about their business in different ways. Together, these three can answer the hows, whys, whens, and wheres of personality development." Judith Rich Harris *** Becoming Human What makes us…us? What makes one person open, honest, and enthusiastic, and another ornery and closed-minded? Why do some of us love risk-taking and some not? What causes us to be so alike…and yet so different? The "nature versus nurture" debate is probably as old as modern humanity. There's something related to our consciousness which makes us wonder whether our personality is pre-determined or perhaps whether our parents, peers,...
"But of course when it comes to the pace of life, there isn't always ample time for the things that..."30 Jun 2016 | 6:00 am"But of course when it comes to the pace of life, there isn't always ample time for the things that make you feel most like yourself. At least that is what I told myself when gaps of time would pass and I hadn't picked up a pen or a paint brush and a thick layer of dust coated the chipping ivory keys. Other obligations would demand my attention and I would relent, letting those other parts of myself stay paused in midair until I had time to snatch them up again. During these times I would feel hollow, less engaged and sometimes even panicked at the time that would pass without my making space for feeling creatively inspired. These phases of life were dull, unmemorable. In this way, I treated my need...
"I had finally stopped, and I could hear myself again."29 Jun 2016 | 5:10 am"I had finally stopped, and I could hear myself again." - A Breakthrough In BarcelonaRead more on Mindful Matter.
"Eye your bucket list, and don't waste any more time. Life is short."28 Jun 2016 | 6:30 am"Eye your bucket list, and don't waste any more time. Life is short." - The Smallest Steps CountRead more on Mindful Matter.
What can happen if we approach aging as an adventure?Read more...27 Jun 2016 | 12:32 pmWhat can happen if we approach aging as an adventure?Read more on Mindful Matter.
"The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters, is simplicity."27 Jun 2016 | 9:30 am"The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters, is simplicity." - Walt WhitmanRead more on Mindful Matter.
Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit
Purposeful Work: Why All Generations Want to Find Meaning in the Day-to-Day30 Jun 2016 | 3:00 amEveryone wants to find purpose in their jobs. A recent PwC survey of 1,500 employees and 500 C-Suite leaders in 39 industries proved this to be true, and found some interesting trends about what purpose means for employees.
From Pipedream to Product Innovation: The Rise of the Circular Economy30 Jun 2016 | 2:30 amThe circular economy was once dismissed as a pipe dream. But through the persistence of thought leaders like Ellen MacArthur and William McDonough, it is slowly becoming reality.
'Three Amigos' Canada, U.S. and Mexico Forge Clean Energy and Climate Goals30 Jun 2016 | 2:00 amThe U.S., Canada and Mexico took a huge step yesterday in setting new goals to combat climate change. Agreements signed by the three countries include clean energy targets and emissions reductions. Oh, and plans to boost business travel access through better border procedures.
Volkswagen Agrees to Pay $14.7B Following Emissions Scandal30 Jun 2016 | 1:55 amOn Tuesday, Volkswagen reached a record settlement to pay up to $14.7 billion as a result of its "dieselgate" emissions scandal. Individual owners will receive $5,100-$10,000 in cash payments along with a fix or a buy-back. Is it enough?
Vermont GMO Labelling to Start Tomorrow30 Jun 2016 | 1:50 amVermont's GMO-labeling law, the first passed in the nation, goes into effect on July 1. But not if two senators have their way.
Eat. Sleep. Be
5 Clean Eating Tips for Reducing Sodium Intake30 Jun 2016 | 3:15 amI have a confession. I am mildly addicted to popcorn, and could easily consume a huge bag of it. We're talking a warehouse club sized bag gone in one or two sittings. Though certainly there are worse habits, this one is none too pretty the next day when I am retaining all that sodium. The solution has been to only keep small portion-sized bags of popcorn in the house, and it seems to be doing the trick. Though I'm all for Himalayan salt lamps, as a nation we consume way too much sodium from table salt. Our bodies do require some salt for survival, but a jumbo movie theatre popcorn was not exactly what nature intended. Table salt provides sodium and chloride. Our bodies cannot produce these vital elements...
Not a Polar Bear? 8 Reasons You Should Take Cold Showers Anyway29 Jun 2016 | 3:40 amCold showers have been a curiosity of mine since years ago when I watched a television interview with the world's oldest living man. When asked for his tips, the man replied that he took cold showers every single day for as long as he could remember. Now and again I've tried to make taking cold showers a daily occurrence. It makes sense in the summertime, but is not easy to make a habit when it's freezing outside. However, taking cold showers can have a tremendous upside, ones that may just be worth taking them all year round. 8 Benefits of Taking Cold Showers You can save energy. Taking colder showers means that you don't need to keep your water heater set as high, which can lead to increased...
Stop Losing Your Mind! 15 Ways to Improve Your Memory28 Jun 2016 | 3:30 amCan't remember why you walked into the room, or what you ate for lunch yesterday? Your memory may not be at 100%, but have no fear! You can improve memory and mental sharpness with a few simple tips. Here are 15 ways to boost your memory. 15 Ways to Boost Your Memory Walk away from the screen. That goes for all of your screens. They are too much of a distraction. Research shows that a lack of memory capacity can correlate with the brain's ability to actively ignore distraction. So stop getting sucked into the Facebook rabbit hole. Improve memory and clear your mind by eliminating the distractions altogether! Go exercise instead. You probably could have guessed that that was coming, couldn't you? The...
The Inspiring People who Live Unlimited27 Jun 2016 | 4:26 amThere is an inspiring quote by Oprah Winfrey, who said to, "Surround yourself only with people who are going to lift you higher." Take a moment to look at your own circle. Have you ever thought about what are the commonalities among the people whom who admire, or with whom you choose to surround yourself? Are they inspiring people? Do they lift you higher? For me, the answer is simple. The people I admire are those who live life to the fullest. They are the inspiring people who surpass boundaries. They are the ones who always find a way, and encourage others to do the same. They are the ones with whom I try to surround myself, or at the very least, admire from afar. The friend executed a round-off...
Easy Family Emergency Preparedness Kits20 Jun 2016 | 3:45 amNews of natural disasters and extreme weather events has become increasingly common in recent years. Unfortunately, experts say that they expect this to become the new norm. It always makes me laugh when people run to the store before a storm to purchase milk and eggs. On one hand, I get it, because I too enjoy baking when I am stuck in the house. It is one of my favorite ways to pass the time. However, should the power go out, those refrigerated items are only going to get you so far. During Hurricane Sandy, I was in my home alone with my children. My husband was away on business, and it was the scariest night of my life. We had no power, the house was shaking, and the windows were rattling something...
Learning from Dogs
A Romantic Proposal in mind?30 Jun 2016 | 1:00 amJust had to share this with you! I sat down in front of my PC a little after 3pm. I was knackered, not to put too polite a spin on it! For the reason that since 9am this morning young Justin and I had been working outside repairing the front, road-side, boundary fence because our lovely Brandy had discovered a hole in it. Jean and I only becoming aware of that break in the fence when neighbouring residents, Dordie and Pam, on setting out for a bike ride yesterday, found Brandy waiting outside our front gate, which is a quarter-of-a-mile from our house. Brandy, as with all the other dogs that we have, is far too precious to delay mending the fence. Jean and Brandy at our local yard sale last weekend. So, as...
Hot cars and dogs do not mix!29 Jun 2016 | 1:00 amAnother reminder not to leave dogs in hot cars. A couple of weeks ago, back on the 14th, I posted a warning about leaving dogs in cars if there was the slightest risk of the car being left in the sun. I feel no embarrassment whatsoever to repeat that warning. This time by republishing an item that was published on Monday on Care2 Causes. ooOOoo Firefighters Rescue Dogs Baking Alive in 160 Degree Car By: Laura S. June 27, 2016 About Laura In yet another outrageous case of neglect, three Sacramento, Calif., dogs were found baking alive inside a car that had reached 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71 C). A Sacramento Fire Department crew circled the vehicle parked at a shopping mall. Using a thermometer designed to...
Solace.28 Jun 2016 | 1:00 amThe stranger the times the more we need to 'ground' ourselves. Without doubt these are incredibly strange and unsettling times. For the United Kingdom, for the USA, for the British Commonwealth, for Scotland, for Gibraltar; and for many other places. When we are faced with unsettling periods then it is essential to 'ground' ourselves, and there are many effective ways of doing this. One way that always works for me is to gaze into a clear, night sky. The night sky over one's head is captivating beyond words. Perhaps I should have written that it is captivating beyond my words. Not so for Sue Dreamwalker. Just read this most beautiful poem that Sue published a little over two weeks ago. Republished here with...
Sonic Journeys27 Jun 2016 | 1:00 amInnovation – Pure and Simple. Note: Let me declare immediately that I have a personal interest in this post. Namely that my daughter, Maija Handover, is a partner of the charitable company SOUND UK. Their most recent sound adventure is extremely interesting. It is called Sonic Journeys and, as the home page of the website explains: Sonic Journeys are soundtracks to specific journeys. Each commissioned piece is available as a free download for limited periods, enabling listeners to experience the music travelling through the landscape that inspired it. Or wherever they choose. There are a number of Commissioned Journeys but one is also able to create personal sound journeys. Let me allow Sonic Journeys to...
Picture Parade One Hundred And Fifty-Three26 Jun 2016 | 1:00 amMother Nature has a great sense of humour. (And thanks to neighbour Dordie for sending these on to me.) oooo oooo oooo oooo oooooooo oooo More to enjoy in a week's time.
One Year After Cecil's Death, Lions Face Bigger Threats Than Hunting30 Jun 2016 | 10:29 amProgress has been made against trophy hunting, but the bushmeat trade is wiping out lions' prey.
Making It Easier for Homeless Youths to Get Cash for College30 Jun 2016 | 2:46 amChanges to the FAFSA will streamline the process of obtaining loans and grants.
A Plan to Log a New Jersey Wilderness Preserve Divides Environmentalists29 Jun 2016 | 3:34 pmSupporters say selective clear-cutting will create habitat for imperiled birds. Opponents believe it's a ruse for commercial timber harvesting.
The SeaWorld Deal to End Captive Breeding Is Just the Start29 Jun 2016 | 2:14 pmA profound shift is under way in corporate attitudes toward the treatment of animals.
If You Eat Organic Food, You Should Care About Organic Seeds Too29 Jun 2016 | 1:14 pmThere's a shortfall in organic seed production and research, but a new report shows that things are improving.
Frank Sonnenberg Online
The Give and Take of Social Networking28 Jun 2016 | 3:05 amThe Give and Take of Social Networking The Give and Take of Social Networking Looking for a job? Need some personal advice? Looking to make some valuable connections? Perhaps you should try social networking, but only consider it if you're prepared to help others first. Otherwise, your efforts will fall short. How to Make Social Networking Work Successful networking occurs when people come together based on mutual respect and common interests, and then voluntarily provide support for others with no strings attached. Here are a few guidelines: <ul> <li>Don't wait until you desperately need a network to begin developing one. Social networks are based on trust, respect, and personal chemistry — that doesn't...</li></ul>
Do You Take Your Commitments Seriously?21 Jun 2016 | 3:00 amWe make commitments every day. They can be simple or life-changing — from simply promising to complete a task to making a lifelong commitment such as becoming a parent or asking for someone's hand in marriage. But do we take our commitments seriously? Some folks make commitments at the drop of a hat, thinking they can walk away from the obligation if they change their mind. Don't they understand that commitments come with responsibility? Don't they care that they may be hurting someone they care about? Don't they understand that their actions have consequences? If the answer is yes, why don't people honor their commitments? Broken Promises. Broken Commitments. Commitments often fail because...
Prejudice: "All" Is an Ugly Word14 Jun 2016 | 3:04 amAll cops are _____. All Wall Street bankers are _____. All Mexicans are _____. All liberals are _____. You fill in the blank. Actually, please don't. "All" is an ugly word. It's naked prejudice. In the past few years, I've seen too many people assign labels to groups and call them derogatory names. It's easy to find rants on social media, see protesters chant ugly slurs in the streets, and even hear angry politicians spew hatred in the name of "progress." They lump entire demographic groups together and belittle them, as if they all have the same fingerprints. At first, when we hear these slurs, we view them as outrageous. But, over time, we become desensitized to the hate speech as the shock...
Living in the Fast Lane7 Jun 2016 | 3:00 amIn today's wonderful world of time-saving technologies, you'd think we'd be beneficiaries of an improved quality of life. More time for friends and family, more time to pursue personal interests, and more time to follow our dreams. Wrong! (So much for living in the fast lane.) Despite these continuing advances, time saved has become time filled. Bombarded with added responsibilities, working families are faced with greater demands and obligations, increased stress levels, and tough choices to make between personal and professional commitments. In many cases, instead of living life to the fullest, we're living life on the edge — cramming as much as we can into a day, scrambling to get ahead, and...
Get Real…Be Yourself24 May 2016 | 3:00 amGet Real Be Yourself Think for yourself Stand up for your principles Find your purpose Follow your dreams Make a difference Form your own opinions Trust your instincts Reject crowd mentality Remain self-reliant Strive to be a better person Be a positive role model Listen to your conscience Make yourself proud Live with honor Believe in yourself Live your life in such a way that you can be proud of who you are and what you stand for. Additional Reading: 11 Traits of a Fair-Minded Person 10 Elements of Courage 8 Ways to Build a Strong Foundation for Your Kids 13 Ways to Be a Good Role Model If you like this article, subscribe to our blog so that you don't miss a single post. Get future posts by RSS...
Ahh The Simple Life
A Simple Living User's Guide27 Jun 2016 | 8:22 amWe've recently published our new ebook A Simple Living User's Guide: Focus on what's important. FREE DOWNLOAD You can now download the PDF version of this book for free! […] The post A Simple Living User's Guide appeared first on Ahh The Simple Life.
Finding Happiness in Tough Times26 Jun 2016 | 3:13 pmI believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when […] The post Finding Happiness in Tough Times appeared first on Ahh The Simple Life.
America Is Waking Up19 Jun 2016 | 7:55 pmEvery generation need s new revolution. — Thomas Jefferson A New American Dream A few years ago, in 2013, I published a three-part series titled A New American Dream. […] The post America Is Waking Up appeared first on Ahh The Simple Life.
H Is For Honey16 Jun 2016 | 4:54 am"Well," said Pooh, "what I like best," and then he had to stop and think. Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, […] The post H Is For Honey appeared first on Ahh The Simple Life.
Maximize Your Happiness Quota5 Jun 2016 | 12:21 pmIf we become uncomfortable in any given moment, we can look at a flower, a pebble in the street or the tire on our car and […] The post Maximize Your Happiness Quota appeared first on Ahh The Simple Life.
Singapore Kindness Movement
Literature classes can be a way to impart values29 Jun 2016 | 6:10 pmI read last Friday's commentary ("English literature in schools: Time to update the plot?") with great delight because that is how I learnt my values – through literature. As a subject, literature opens up myriad worlds of human experience, from the deeply painful to the aesthetically pleasurable. Books chosen for the national examinations typically tackle issues of conflicts within society. Many of these are borne out of real-life experiences. The takeaway for students should be more than just appreciation for the beauty of the language. More importantly, good literature nurtures the soul and helps the reader imbibe the values of empathy and compassion for the plight of others. I fully agree that...
Seriously, Can Kindness Help Achieve Business Objectives?26 Jun 2016 | 10:46 pmIt's counter-intuitive to claim that kindness will help us achieve our business objectives. In a fast-changing highly-competitive business landscape, kindness can almost be seen as a luxury which possibly slows us down and dulls our competitive edge. On the other hand, many behavioural studies have shown that practicing acts of kindness has a positive effect on a person's happiness, relationship satisfaction, and even physical and mental health. There's even some science backing these. When we are kind to others, our brains "reward" us by releasing a mixture of chemicals, including dopamine, which makes us feel good. In fact, it has been found that doing a kind act not only bestows a sense of...
Singapore Kindness Movement rolls out "Have You Ever?" video series26 Jun 2016 | 6:00 pmSKM invites viewers to ruminate on the issues of religious discrimination and xenophobia Singapore, 27 June 2016 – How do individuals' experience of living in multireligious Singapore differ based on their religious beliefs? Today, the Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM) launches the first of a two-part video series, titled "Have You Ever?", that sets to explore this question. The video features seven participants responding to a list of questions from what is quipped 'the tennis ball test', to find out if each of them have observed or personally experienced religious discrimination in Singapore. In line with SKM's 2016 theme of "Kindness, It's Up to Us", "Have You Ever?" offers a...
Should we be wary of a heightened sense of entitlement?20 Jun 2016 | 7:19 pmRecently, netizens were in an uproar over a Facebook video which showed a livid female customer berating a deaf cleaner and his manager at JEM food court. What appeared to be a simple case of miscommunication on the part of the cleaner (due to his inability to communicate verbally) escalated into the most talked-about topic in town. It even had our national leaders weighing in. PHOTO: FACEBOOK/ EUPHEMIA LEE Such reactions did not come as a surprise. The woman's outburst happened amid a slew of other reports of ill-treatment towards service staff in the healthcare, food and beverage, and retail industries. The Straits Times recently reported that nurses are experiencing more physical and verbal abuse from...
Raising the knowledge of Road Safety at Kindsville Party 201620 Jun 2016 | 6:22 pmKindsville Party is held annually to gather fans of Singa and Club Cubbies members for a day of fun-filled activities! This year, Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM) worked with the Traffic Police, and held Kindsville Party at The Road Safety Community Park on Friday, 17th June 2016. Despite the gloomy weather, more than 150 children and parents, and 30 volunteers showed up and supported the event. Each child was given a goodie bag containing a road safety sticker book, a small set of first aid kit, and an event shirt. The cheery and jovial atmosphere chased the dark clouds and rain away just in time for the Traffic Games. Children got to take the roles as pedestrian, motorists and cyclists, while learning...
Live With Soul
truth resides.2 Jun 2016 | 7:07 pmtruth...residing in my heart struggles to meet my lips.at a loss for words --i realize thati am the only true knower of my experience.and so i observe...and allow all that is,to simply unfold before me.and so it is, and so it will be.truth...
all that I want21 Apr 2016 | 2:48 pmall that I wantis to humbly bow before you(my love)and for you to see metoseemewith yourmind, body, soulbeyond what's in front of youbeneath the skinbehind my eyesand to love meunconditionallyfor all you see
tenderness.7 Apr 2016 | 3:25 pmTo have a tender heart is a courageous and divine commitment.� For within this tenderness a ceaseless vulnerability exists.� Capable of endless, unconditional love; and open-wide for the world's indulgence… and also for its wrath.� A sensitivity deeper than the depth of the universe – exposing itself, boldly -- so to experience the intensity of existence – of love, of fear, and all that lies between.� The heart steadfastly wavers through these emotions and experiences – gently and hastily expanding and contracting in this delicate dance to the music of truth. �And through this dance, truth reveals that fear is really only the absence of love… and that love is the greatest truth, with the...
just a moment3 Feb 2016 | 11:48 pmdo you realize...we are here impermanently?and that at any moment,that moment could be it.i don't know what to make of that…but each time this awareness presents itself to me,�i have an inner knowing…that my�EXISTENCE�is�FOR A REASON.and even if at this moment that reason is unknown….i understand deeply that every second matters.and this subtle reminder…brings me back...to my body, to my breath, to this moment.where liveliness lives, and joy resides.
in dialogue with my heart8 May 2015 | 6:29 pmat times,my thoughts are angry, selfish andbitter…at times,my thoughts are painful.yet i still hold onto them,as if they are a part of me…or all of me.my identit(y)ies.my self.�these thoughts are in dialogue with my heart.with this dialogue i sense, i see,i become aware...of my lack of gratitude -my lack of patience and peace -for all that is...and at times,this awareness gracefully co-existswith the persistent tantrums of my mind.even when i know, in my soul,thatiamsoblessed.for blessings exist in every moment of life.and moments are life.and, the essence of a moment…exists in how itmakes you feel.and,here we are,emotions,rising and fallingwith every passing moment.a continuous cycle…always sensing...
Direct Relief
West Virginia: Flood Response27 Jun 2016 | 5:28 pmLast week the state of West Virginia experienced historic flooding. Homes, cars, roads, and bridges were swept away. The floods also claimed […] The post West Virginia: Flood Response appeared first on Direct Relief.
Emergency Response: Sherpa Wildfire, Santa Barbara16 Jun 2016 | 12:19 pmEvery day, the team at Direct Relief monitors, assesses and, if necessary, responds to natural disasters and other emergencies – across the US […] The post Emergency Response: Sherpa Wildfire, Santa Barbara appeared first on Direct Relief.
Zeldathon Blasts Off for Charity15 Jun 2016 | 7:34 amSince 2009, Zeldathon events have raised over $875,000 for good causes At 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on June 17, an all-star gathering […] The post Zeldathon Blasts Off for Charity appeared first on Direct Relief.
Direct Relief Earns Charity Navigator's "Perfect 100" Rating2 Jun 2016 | 1:08 pmDirect Relief has earned a perfect score of 100 under Charity Navigator's new rating system, CN 2.1. Only 51 of the more than […] The post Direct Relief Earns Charity Navigator's "Perfect 100" Rating appeared first on Direct Relief.
Emergency Update: Floods Surge Across Texas31 May 2016 | 1:55 pmUnprecedented storms continue to slam central and eastern Texas, with certain areas receiving up to 40 inches of rainfall over the last […] The post Emergency Update: Floods Surge Across Texas appeared first on Direct Relief.
Life Made to Order
Podcast #54: Law of Attraction: Making Peace with Your Resistance and That You May Have Some Work to Do30 Jun 2016 | 12:13 amThe law of attraction is often equated to some form of magical thinking where you just get what you want because you want it. That's not totally untrue actually but just wanting what we want is not enough to manifest it. We have to be a match to it energetically, and there is a good chance we may not be. Making peace with that is probably the first step you need to take on your manifesting journey, a step that will save a lot of suffering. � The post Podcast #54: Law of Attraction: Making Peace with Your Resistance and That You May Have Some Work to Do appeared first on Life Made to Order.
Podcast #53: Law of Attraction: Processing and Releasing Your Sh*t24 Jun 2016 | 5:43 amTruly harnessing the power of the law of attraction is not just about being 'positive,' it's about being willing to dive into all the muck that's been shaping your reality thus far. We start uncovering all this 'stuff' and we're not sure what to do with it. We want to release our crap but we don't know how. So, I'll be chatting you up about that. Not sure why but the last minute of the podcast got cut off…but it was just my rambling way of ending them as I tend to do so didn't miss much. Also, wanted to let you know the call last week I did about manifesting money is still available for purchase. You will receive an email with the recording and assignment that came along with it. You can get it here The...
Law of Attraction: How Can I Keep Other People From Killing My Vibe?20 Jun 2016 | 6:21 am� The law of attraction teaches us our world is created from the inside out and we often have a lot of work to do on said 'inside' to create a significantly different reality for ourselves. We do all the things the teachers tell us to do to raise our vibration and align with what we want. We're making strides but there always seems to be things outside of us that pull down that vibration, kill our good moods and bring us back to the deeply conditioned thought patterns and beliefs we are trying to break apart. And of of the biggest 'saboteurs' is other people. Their negativity, complaining, anger, fear, criticisms, limited thinking and the like, just chip away at that positive energy. And because...
Podcast #52: Law of Attraction: Beyond 'Positive Thinking'16 Jun 2016 | 8:44 amHarnessing the power of the law of attraction often gets boiled down to 'positive thinking.' But there is a bit more to it than that. Becoming a true co-creator with the Universe, and allowing our reality to change in meaningful and significant ways, is not just about swapping out some beliefs. Today's podcast will give you some insights on what it takes to really manifest more quickly and easily. I have my favorite guest–and only guest–my husband Ryan weighing in too. Also, if you're in the market to manifest more money, don't forget to sign up for this Sunday's call: Manifesting That Sweet Sweet Cash I'm going to get into the nitty gritty of what's muddying up your money vibration, how a lot of typical...
Podcast #51: Law of Attraction: Do You Even Care If You're Happy?10 Jun 2016 | 4:14 amImmersing ourselves in a teaching like the law of attraction naturally causes us to zero in on all the things we want and trying to manifest them. That's all good. But it is easy to lose sight of the core reason we are doing all of this–to be happy. That noble goal can take a backseat to just getting our 'stuff.' So I'm chatting you up about this important question. Enjoy. Also, if you are looking for some guidance on how to maintain your energy while waiting for that new reality to take shape–one of our core challenges–be sure to sign up for this Sunday's call. � � The post Podcast #51: Law of Attraction: Do You Even Care If You're Happy? appeared first on Life Made to...
Groundswell Stories
Groundswell Joins the Anacostia Park and Community Collaborative30 Jun 2016 | 2:15 pmThe District is Groundswell's hometown, and we're always excited to find new ways to connect and support its neighborhoods. That's one of the many reasons we're so enthusiastic to join the Anacostia Park and Community Collaborative (APACC).� Over the last 7 years, Groundswell has worked throughout the District to empower residents through our retail electric choice, efficiency, and solar programs.� Joining APACC gives us an opportunity to connect our work with other community organizations that are committed to equitable development in our city—particularly through our community solar programs. Launched in 2013 by Mayor Anthony Williams and supported by the Chesapeake Bay Funders Network, APACC brings...
My Road to Groundswell: Meet Isaac29 Jun 2016 | 2:11 pmImagine visiting the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. on a quiet Saturday afternoon and deciding to see a thirty-minute movie called Ocean Oasis, depicting the oceanic habitats of Baja California. As the lights dim, colonies of corals spring out at you from the screen and the fish gracefully glide through the water right before your eyes. This movie is what made me fall in love with the natural world at the tender age of three years old, a borderline obsession that lives on in me to this day. As a native of Washington D.C.'s Capitol Hill neighborhood, the Museum of Natural History was my stomping grounds as a child. Every weekend, I would drag my parents down to the National Mall so...
Groundswell Voices: Martha's Table29 Jun 2016 | 2:04 pmFor over 35 years, Martha's Table�has worked to support stronger children, stronger families, and stronger communities by increasing access to quality education programs, healthy food, and family supports. Martha's Table�believe that every child deserves the opportunity for their brightest future, and a deeply engaged family and community committed to their success. �The organization's work is divided into the following initiatives: Healthy Start, Healthy Eating, Healthy Connections, and Emergency Support Services. � � � � � � ��Martha's Table worked with Groundswell to switch to 100% wind in a two-year fixed-price contract that protects the DC based group�against future price spikes. With a projected...
A Review of the Exelon-Pepco Merger: What The Deal Means for DC and Maryland24 May 2016 | 9:32 amIntroduction The surprise turnaround by the Washington DC Public Service Commission (PSC) approving the Exelon-Pepco merger on March 23, 2016, shocked the utility world and advocates on both sides of the debate. Ostensibly, it marked the end of a seemingly endless process of back-and-forth between the PSC, Exelon, Pepco, Mayor Muriel Bowser, and the Office of People's Counsel, not to mention the thousands of concerned advocates who followed the proceedings closely. The merger impacts 2.2 million electric customers served by Pepco Holdings in DC, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey. The merger approval creates an energy behemoth: Chicago-based Exelon is now the largest publicly held utility in the U.S.,...
My Road to Groundswell: Meet Nadya24 May 2016 | 9:30 amThere are many seasons in life when you are guaranteed to grow or wither, depending on your outlook.� In life, perspective is everything because it allows you to see opportunities during hard times and keep a firm grip on reality when things are chaotic.� The death of a loved one or pet, your first break-up, graduating from high school and moving on,� marriage, having or adopting children, horrible bosses (just to name a few) can profoundly change you and your perspective.� For me, it was becoming a mother to my nearly 2-year old daughter.� Almost all of my working experience has been in the healthcare industry: working in a laboratory, blood and bone marrow donor recruitment, and cultivating programs and...
Good News Shared
One to One Maths by Prisoners, for Prisoners Improving Numeracy Skills30 Jun 2016 | 12:55 amIt was whilst he was a volunteer with the Shannon Trust reading plan at HMP Gloucester that John Sidwell (pictured, left) learned from prison staff and inmates alike that maths for prisoners is an even greater problem than reading. 50% of prisoners have numeracy skills at or below the level of an 11 year old. [...] The post One to One Maths by Prisoners, for Prisoners Improving Numeracy Skills appeared first on Good News Shared.
That's Right, Young People Can Be AWESOME29 Jun 2016 | 12:58 amIt's time for the twelfth annual Red Cross Humanitarian Awards celebrating the most inspirational young people in society. Young people are doing amazing things every day. From first-aid to fundraising, they are going above and beyond to help their local communities. In order to celebrate these amazing young people, the Red Cross is inviting people [...] The post That's Right, Young People Can Be AWESOME appeared first on Good News Shared.
Volunteer Programme the Largest Alternative Printed Currency in the World28 Jun 2016 | 12:59 amA volunteer programme has now become the largest alternative printed currency in the world, with 25,000 people having taken part to date. Spice, founded in South Wales in 2009, is a social enterprise that has developed a unique time-based currency called Time Credits. Individuals volunteer in their community and in return they receive a Time Credit [...] The post Volunteer Programme the Largest Alternative Printed Currency in the World appeared first on Good News Shared.
Fun Game Shows Everybody Benefits from Charities27 Jun 2016 | 12:57 amA fun game by the Directory of Social Change has been created to help people see the impact charities are having on everyday life. The game is a real eye-opener and is really simple to play. There are tens of thousands charities at work in the picture below. How many can you spot? � Here's how you play: [...] The post Fun Game Shows Everybody Benefits from Charities appeared first on Good News Shared.
Video For Sport Coaches to Boost Confidence in Working With Deafblind People24 Jun 2016 | 12:58 amIt is estimated that over 300,000 people with dual sensory loss are currently prevented from accessing physical activity essential to their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. National deafblind charity, Sense, has produced an instructional video for sport coaches and instructors, aimed at giving them more confidence in working with people who are deafblind. Sense's National [...] The post Video For Sport Coaches to Boost Confidence in Working With Deafblind People appeared first on Good News Shared.
Global Harmony Crew
Create Your Own Reality by Telling Stories29 Jun 2016 | 10:00 amIf no one is there to hear the story, does reality exist? If asked what reality is, most people tell a story. "Reality is so and so. And it is made up of this and that. The important thing is to do these things." You create reality in this moment. Who are you? This question […]
How to Change Negative Thinking into Positive Thinking23 Jun 2016 | 7:00 amDirect your attention to one of your positive qualities. Your brain is now feeding you with reasons why you have this good quality. "Hey Brain! I am pretty successful, right?" "Yeah you are! Look at how you handled the business meeting last week. You blew it right out of the park. And look here, how […]
What Do You Desire? [Alan Watts]21 Jun 2016 | 10:00 amIn this beautiful video Alan Watts asks the question that guides you towards an ecstatic life: We want to know what you desire from us. Take 60 seconds of your time to answer the two questions below: � Loading…
The Ultimate Purpose of Spiritual Life Is Beyond Happiness and Suffering19 Jun 2016 | 9:18 amIn non-dual spiritual traditions the ultimate goal of the path of awakening is to become completely free of the mind – to see the present-moment reality without the lens of memories, mental constructs, stories, and interpretations. The ultimate goal is to step out of separation and into unity, to share one common reality. However close […]
Attract Happiness: 3 Awesome Secrets for a Happy Life5 Jun 2016 | 9:00 amHow to Be Happier Happiness is in this moment, and this moment only. You will never be happy in the future because you will never be in the future. You are not happy in the past, because you are not in the past. This moment has infinite potential for gratitude, creativity and love. They are […]
Bel Marra Health – Breaking Health News and Health Information
Psoriatic arthritis vs. osteoarthritis, differences in symptoms, causes, and treatment30 Jun 2016 | 12:00 pmPsoriatic arthritis and osteoarthritis can both affect small joints and can easily be mistaken for each other, but they are two different conditions that require separate treatments. Osteoarthritis is a wearing away of cartilage, usually associated with aging. Psoriatic arthritis … The post Psoriatic arthritis vs. osteoarthritis, differences in symptoms, causes, and treatment appeared first on Bel Marra Health - Breaking Health News and Health Information.
Stomach pain after eating – causes and home remedies30 Jun 2016 | 11:30 amNothing is worse than enjoying a meal that is immediately followed up by stomach pains. Stomach pains after eating can be a nuisance, especially if you don't know the underlying cause. There are numerous causes for stomach pains after eating, … The post Stomach pain after eating – causes and home remedies appeared first on Bel Marra Health - Breaking Health News and Health Information.
Inflammatory bowel disease patients more likely to have urinary tract infections, renal failure, and sepsis: Studies30 Jun 2016 | 10:30 amInflammatory bowel disease patients are more likely to have urinary tract infections, renal failure, stone formation (urolithiasis), and sepsis. The researchers compared IBD patients and urolithiasis patients to a cohort of individuals with urinary stone formation. The study included … The post Inflammatory bowel disease patients more likely to have urinary tract infections, renal failure, and sepsis: Studies appeared first on Bel Marra Health - Breaking Health News and Health Information.
Psoriasis influenced by stress, linked to itchy skin, hyperhidrosis, and flaky patches on scalp30 Jun 2016 | 10:00 amPsoriasis was found to be influenced by stress and linked to itchy skin, hyperhidrosis, and flaky patches on scalp. The percentage of psoriasis patients who believe that stress affects their skin is quite high – between 37 and 87 percent… The post Psoriasis influenced by stress, linked to itchy skin, hyperhidrosis, and flaky patches on scalp appeared first on Bel Marra Health - Breaking Health News and Health Information.
COPD patients can benefit from music therapy: Study30 Jun 2016 | 9:30 amCOPD patients can benefit from music therapy, according to research. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease affects a person's lungs and breathing, and the study found that music therapy in conjunction with traditional therapies can help improve symptoms better than standard treatment … The post COPD patients can benefit from music therapy: Study appeared first on Bel Marra Health - Breaking Health News and Health Information.
MovingWorlds Blog
Volunteering Makes You More Innovative – Here's Why29 Jun 2016 | 5:24 pmI'm the first person to say that volunteering should be done for the sake of others, and not for personal gain. The act of service should inherently not be selfish. However, research shows that people benefit when they serve others… and even companies that sponsor volunteer programs realize surprising benefits when they encourage these activities. […]
Empowering Fair-er Trade Coffee in Colombia: Experteering Spotlight with Jason Bennett15 Jun 2016 | 10:41 amFive years ago, Jason Bennett never would have envisioned himself embarking on new career path, jet-setting around the world, and consulting for a Colombian coffee startup. A marketing professional by trade, after 15 years in the corporate world, Jason felt it was time for a new challenge. Deciding a departure was in order, he did what any travel-inclined, entrepreneurial […]
How to Build Trust Across Cultures13 Jun 2016 | 4:04 pmThe only thing more fascinating than cultures are the vast differences between them. Equally as fascinating is that cultural diversity can create higher performing teams in one place and be blamed for terrible conflict in another. What's the difference? Trust. If people can build trust despite their differences, they are able to harness differences for […]
Experteering Spotlight: Empowering Children in Colombia with My Project Management Skills17 May 2016 | 12:47 pmSometimes we turn our blog over to an Experteer in the field. The month, we asked Emilia for an in-person and in-the-field update while she is supporting an education foundation in Colombia. � There is not much that could be more rewarding in life… I stand in the sun, on the patio of Fundación La Vecina's […]
Volunteering is Helping Companies Develop Better Leaders, Faster—Here's Why7 May 2016 | 2:09 pmNearly every CEO reports that their companies are not developing skills fast enough or leaders deeply enough. That's a big problem for companies. According to the MIT Sloan Management Review: "Many managers think they can create better products just by improving the development process or adding new tools. But it's skilled people, not processes, that […]
Good Home & Health
Pros and Cons of Teen Sports29 Jun 2016 | 7:58 amAs a parent, you may spend a great deal of time trying to get your teen involved in extracurricular activities and sports. One of the most popular extracurricular activities for teens, sports, can involve a great deal of time and effort from both parents and teens. It's important to carefully consider the benefits and drawbacks to sports and becoming involved with them. � Benefits � Sports have a great deal of benefits for all children and teens. Through the array of different sports offered by many schools and after-school programs, sports in general offer a variety of benefits that can help children and teens grow into successful young adults. � Social benefits– For children and teens who might have a...
Dangers To Your Health That Could Be Lurking In Your Home28 Jun 2016 | 3:00 amOur homes are the places where we feel safest and most relaxed. We sleep there, raise our children there, eat there, and entertain there. But just because the doors are locked, it doesn't mean you're safe from home invaders! � Pests come in many forms. Ants and other crawling insects can get in without too much hassle. While one or two may be an inconvenience, a swarm from a nest can be a health hazard. Woodworm, cockroaches, and other insects may need a specialist treatment. These need to come from a professional pest controller to ensure your home is safe. It's hugely disruptive as you will need to leave your home for a few days. � Rodents can also move in and leave their mess behind. This is...
Is Your Home the Best it Can Possibly Be?27 Jun 2016 | 2:15 pmIs your home the best it can possibly be? If the answer is no, then you need to make sure you work on making it better. There are so many things you can do and steps you can take to improve your property. Use these ideas to help you with that as much as you can. Do Some DIY Everyone should have basic DIY skills, and it's important to use these skills to improve the home. You can go round the property and repair things that need to be fixed. You might also be able to make additions and modifications to certain rooms or areas. It's important to make sure you learn at least a basic bit of DIY to help you make your home better. You can pick up hints and tips online that will help you to master the art of...
Awesome Ideas To improve Your Garage And Use The Space26 Jun 2016 | 9:08 amLet's face it, if we were thinking about the top places in the home that were neglected and ignored, the garage would be number one. Or, possibly the basement or the attic. However, we understand the reasoning behind ignoring the attic or basement. They are often quite unpleasant places and difficult spaces to find a use for. Particularly, the attic that may only be accessible by a ladder. The garage, on the other hand, has a massive door that can be used to bring items in and take items out. It will comfortably fit in one or two cars and is connected to the main electric lines of the home. It's the perfect space to use for all your DIY needs and many other desires. However, you can only do this if you...
Make Your Home More Practical And Cheaper To Run24 Jun 2016 | 3:06 amWe simply can't do without our gadgets these days. There was a time when life was simpler in terms and technology. But if must have been hard work! These days, we have gadgets and electrical items for almost everything. The trouble is, the homes we live in are often older than us. They were built in a time when things may have been done manually. Older houses are often ornate, big and beautiful. But that doesn't mean they're practical for twenty-first-century living. � If you're considering bringing your home up to date, there are always plenty of things you could choose to do. Most of us enjoy open plan living. It means we can still get on with things in the kitchen safely while the kids are...
The Daily Cheese
Nation waits to hear from Edd the Duck on Brexit22 Jun 2016 | 7:11 amWith only a day until the people of the UK go to the polls, speculation is growing as to which campaign the iconic children's entertainer will support Following David Beckham and Jeremy Clarkson's recent pledges of support to the remain camp, there is only one public figure that everybody wants to hear from. "I've listened to all of the experts, like the world leaders and the economists" said Victoria Muddlestone, 31, "but I want to know what celebrities think really. I think Edd is the only one of any standing left." Former colleague and close friend, Andi Peters, isn't surprised that Edd is waiting before weighing in. "He's a very thoughtful little guy and won't just jump in until he's...
Accusations of 'casual racism' lead to spike in tuxedo sales21 Jun 2016 | 7:50 amTailors report record sales of tuxedos and formal suits as Nigel Farage and supporters attempt to lose 'casual racism' tag As the EU referendum draws towards its conclusion, tensions between the two sides continue to bubble. Nigel Farage has been criticised for 'casual racism' a part of his campaign process and some of his supporters have had the same. "I got into a row with some co-workers" Kevin Cottage told us. "I said that our Spanish neighbours play loud music, which was why I want us to leave the EU. Then they accused my political belief system to be based on casual racism. I feel that it's belittling my opinion so I thought that buying some posh clothes was the best way to silence...
Ping pong game to replace EU vote20 Jun 2016 | 8:31 amCameron and Boris prepare to duel The future of Britain's position in the European Union is to be decided by a violent game of ping-pong. Plans for a public vote on whether the UK should remain part of Europe or not have been scrapped at the 11th hour, as politicians have agreed to replace the referendum with a best-of-three table tennis tournament. Boris Johnson and David Cameron are reported to be putting in some intensive training as the dual date approaches. Mr Cameron is boasting some strong wrist action, while Boris has embraced the challenge of styling his hair over a headband. Polly Careless of the referendum commission said "We thought that a televised game of ping-pong would be a lot less...
Violence unseats a nation20 Jun 2016 | 8:07 amFrance suffers a shortage of furniture Following the eruptions of violence in the streets of France, during the Euro Championships, the aftermath is a scene of devastation and anger, as there isn't a single chair left in one piece, in all of France. It has been described as furniture genocide and a humanitarian crisis. Tens of millions of local residents have been enduring catastrophic conditions, eating standing up, drinking coffee on foot, loitering on buses, and most shockingly of all, some have resorted to eating dinner on the toilet, even dragging the dining table in to the bathroom for special occasions. The UN has responded with an Aid package supported by all of its member states, consisting of...
The White Stripes to sue football fans at Euro 201618 Jun 2016 | 10:47 amEvery person singing the Seven Nation Army tune could face paying a copyright fine Rock and roll legends The White Stripes (are they a couple? Are they brother and sister? Are they both played by Eddie Murphy?), have today filed a lawsuit against fans at Euro 2016 after finally having enough of their song 'Seven Nation Army' being sung constantly during the games. "This has been going on for years but now enough is enough" said the band's Jack White. "We've given the fans enough years of freely using our song in the stadiums but now we're issuing a cease and desist order or we will be suing every fan who sings our classic for breach of copyright." The band are expecting fans to ignore the cease and desist...