Inspiration: The Beggar King

Once there was a time, according to legend, when Ireland was ruled by a king who had no son. The king sent out his couriers to post notices in all the towns of his realm. The notices advised that every qualified young man should apply for an interview with the king as a possible successor to the throne. However, all such candidates must have these two qualifications: They must (1) love God and (2) love their fellow human beings.

The Young man about whom this legend centers saw a notice and reflected that he loved God and, also, his neighbors. One thing stopped him, he was so poor that he had no clothes that would be presentable in the sight of the king. Nor did he have the funds to buy provisions for the long journey to the castle. So the young man begged here, and borrowed there, finally managing to scrounge enough money for the appropriate clothes and the necessary supplies.

Properly attired and well-suited, the young man set out on his quest, and had almost completed the journey when he came upon a poor beggar by the side of the road. The beggar sat trembling, clad only in tattered rags. His extended arms pleaded for help. His weak voice croaked, "I'm hungry and cold. Please help me... please?"

The young man was so moved by this beggar's need that he immediately stripped off his new clothes and put on the tattered threads of the beggar. Without a second thought he gave the beggar all his provision as well. Then, somewhat hesitantly, he continued his journey to the castle dressed in the rags of the beggar, lacking provisions for his return trek home. Upon his arrival at the castle, a king's attendant showed him in to the great hall. After a brief respite to clean off the journey's grime, he was finally admitted to the throne room of the king.

The young man bowed low before his majesty. When he raised his eyes, he gaped in astonishment. "You... it's you! You're the beggar by the side of the road."

"Yes," the king replied with a twinkle, "I was that beggar."

"But...bu...bu... you are not really a beggar. You are the king for real. Well, then, why did you do this to me?" the young man stammered after gaining more of his composure.

"Because I had to find out if you genuinely love God and your fellow human beings," said the king. "I knew that if I came to you as king, you would have been impressed by my gem-encrusted golden crown and my royal robes. You would have done anything I asked of you because of my regal character. But that way I would never have known what is truly in your heart. So I used a ruse. I came to you as a beggar with no claims on you except for the love in your hear. And I discovered that you sincerely do love God and your fellow human beings. You will be my successor," promised the king. "You will inherit my kingdom."

Source:  ‘from email forwards

Inspiration: Lines To Ponder Upon

Hello everyone,
     Hoping that all is well to all. Someone has shared me these awesome 'lines' and I would like to share them to everybody:

- Prayer is not a "spare wheel" that you pull out when in trouble, but it is a "steering wheel" that directs the right path throughout.

- Do you know why a Car's Windshield is so large & the Rearview Mirror is so small? Because our PAST is not as important as our FUTURE. Look Ahead and Move on.

- Friendship is like a BOOK. It takes a few seconds to burn, but it takes years to write.

- All things in life are temporary. If going well, enjoy it, they will not last forever. If going wrong, don't worry, they can't last long either.

- Old Friends are Gold! New Friends are Diamond! If you get a Diamond, don't forget the Gold! Because to hold a Diamond, you always need a Base of Gold!

- Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, GOD smiles from above and says, "Relax, sweetheart, it's just a bend, not the end!

- When GOD solves your problems, you have faith in HIS abilities; when GOD doesn't solve your problems, HE has faith in your abilities.

- A blind person asked a wise man: "Can there be anything worse than losing eye sight?" He replied: "Yes, losing your vision!"

- When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them; and sometimes, when you are safe and happy, remember that someone has prayed for you.

- WORRYING does not take away tomorrow’s TROUBLES, it takes away today’s PEACE.

Source:  ‘friends email forwards

Inspiration: The Seed

A successful businessman was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business.

Instead of choosing one of his directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together.

He said, 'It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you.' The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. 'I am going to give each one of you a SEED today - one very special SEED.  I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO.'

One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story.

She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed.

Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure.

Six months went by - still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing.  Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however. He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil - He so wanted the seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick at his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful -- in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!

When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives. Jim just tried to hide in the back. 'My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown,' said the CEO. 'Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!' All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the financial director to bring him to the  front.  Jim was terrified. He thought, 'The CEO knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!'

When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his Seed - Jim told him the story.

The  CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, 'Behold your next Chief Executive! His name is Jim!'

Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new CEO the others said?

Then the CEO said, 'One  year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today.

But, I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it was not possible for them to grow. All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers.

When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive!'

If you plant honesty, you will reap trust.
If you plant goodness, you will reap friends.
If you plant humility, you will reap greatness.
If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment.
If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective.
If you plant hard work, you will reap success.
If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation.

So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later.

Source: friends email forwards

In-Demand Gadgets: Latest Smartphones

From this day onward we’ll be posting some of the latest gadgets which are of most essentials in our daily living. Gadgets which are maybe popular or some were maybe not but they can be useful also in the performance of our day to day activities. I choose smartphones as my initial presentation to our dear friend readers and followers because of its popularity and significant prestige among today’s users. Everyone just can’t hide their obsession and fascination to own even just one of these gadgets. Obsessions that of which we all know will certainly push us all  to work harder to be able to own one or buy as a gift for our love ones. Good luck and happy shopping.

1. i-Phone 4 (16GB/32GB)

Price: N/A

The Apple iPhone 4 features like video chat, multi-tasking and extreme downloading. This Apple iPhone 4 could also have dual core processors and higher and powerful graphic chips that can deliver higher video resolutions and better images when taking pictures.

Apple iPhone 4 looks promising in terms of being sleek, packed with new hardware and multi-tasking software.

Some features of iPhone 4:

• Sleeker Body Design.
• Multi-Tasking. (use multiple functions at once without going in and out of apps)
• iChat camera
• 16G (basic) and 32G of memory.
• Hi Definition Camera.
• Hi Definition audio.
• Hi Definition Camcorder.

2. Nokia N8
Price: N/A

The Nokia N8 features an HDMI connection so we can easily show off our images, videos and music on compatible televisions and projectors. It alsofeatures premium-quality *Dolby Digital Plus technology - compatible with home theatre systems - so movies will sound as good as they look. 

The Nokia N8 brings us to our friends together by pulling feeds and updates from Facebook and Twitter to one handy application. Photos and videos can be shared the moment they're captured. Facebook events added to our calendar with just one click. Live updates are shown on our homescreens making it even easier to stay in touch. We can personalize the phone by adding our own widgets. Not one but three live home screens – make one for work, use one for fun, and have one with our favorite picture as the wallpaper. Swipe between the home screens with an easy gesture. We can turn our Nokia N8 into a tool for showing off having fun and being creative. We can find thousands of different applications at Ovi Store. The store always on hand for downloads and software updates to the unit.
The Nokia N8 with on-demand WebTV. Access our favourite TV channels like CNN and National Geographic and get them piped to our phone even when travelling 

Voice-guided navigation wherever you are in the world. Absolutely free. Simply enter where you want to go and Ovi Maps with voice guidance will tell you how to get there, turn by turn. By car or on foot.
We can browse smoothly through all our favorite albums and once again get thrilled by the album artwork. Re-experience our record collection for over 50 hours straight.

3. BlackBerry Torch 9800

Price: *SAR 2549.00 (unlocked)

BlackBerry Torch 9800 smartphone - Adept for socially connected consumers and packed with the tools business customers love.  This  new handset is the world's first smartphone to combine a BlackBerry keyboard with a full touch screen experience. Whether users choose to type out messages on the capacitive touch screen or easy-to-use BlackBerry keyboard, browse the Internet using pinch to zoom or fluidly navigate with the optical trackpad, the BlackBerry Torch allows them to communicate any way they want.

Features

• Elegant styling, measuring approx. 4.4" (5.8" open) x 2.4" x .57" and weighing 5.68 ounces 
• 3.2" 360x480 capacitive touch screen display 
• 35 key full QWERTY backlit slide-out keyboard, designed to feel optimally balanced when opened for typing
• Powerful 624 Mhz processor with 512 MB Flash memory 
• 4 GB built-in memory storage plus a microSD/SDHD memory card slot that supports up to 32 GB cards; a 4 GB card is included giving users 8 GB of storage out-of-the-box
• 5 MP camera with flash, continuous auto focus, image stabilization, scene modes, geo-tagging and zoom, as well as video recording at up to 640x480 resolution 
• Built-in GPS for location-based applications and geo-tagging
• Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n); qualifying smartphone customers can enjoy seamless connectivity to over 20,000 AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots at no additional cost 
• 3.5mm stereo headset jack
• Tri-band HSDPA (3G) and quad-band EDGE support for the option of voice service in more than 220 countries, data service in more than 195 countries and 3G connectivity in more than 125 countries, including Japan and South Korea 

4.  Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro

Price: *SAR 1299.00 (unlocked)

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro - compact versions of Xperia X10, which will deliver powerful and application packed mobile phone into the industry. By introducing mobile phone that is compact and clever, Sony Ericsson is challenging the norm and defining a brand new offering that combines high specification features with a version of Sony Ericsson's powerful UX platform specifically designed for smaller devices.

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini pro with slide out QWERTY keyboard offer an open and intuitive communication entertainment experience and build on the human curvature design philosophy debuted by the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10. Combining the Android platform with signature applications and a customizable UX platform, communication truly becomes entertainment with these new mobile phones. To enhance the experience, pick and choose from a multitude of applications at Android Market and co-create a mobile phone experience that is entirely unique. Users can go one step further and customize the home screen's four corners and widgets to access the most needed applications for limitless possibilities.

The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro incorporates the signature application Sony Ericsson Timescape which brings all communication together in one place so users can see at a glance text messages, missed calls, and Facebook and Twitter updates, without having to open lots of different applications. The interactive music player also uses the "infinite button" to pull together all music content from the music store and YouTube - a smart way to search for new tracks from a favorite artist.

5.  Motorola Milestone

Price: *SAR 1899.00 (unlocked)

The Motorola Milestone sets new standards for how fast and smart a modern multi-tasking smartphone should be with a rich mobile web experience, superior messaging and top-of-the-line multi-media features.

Powered by Android 2.1, it offers the ability to use multiple applications and one of theworld's thinnest QWERTY sliders (13.7mm). Motorola Milestone also boasts a hi-resolution, 3.7” widescreen pinch and zoom display with an incredible 854 pixel width and more than 400,000 total pixels.A suite of Google mobile applications including Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail and YouTube are also integrated to this device. 

6.  HTC Desire HD

Price: *SAR 2999.00 (unlocked)

HTC Desire HD is a handset which provides the HTC Sense user interface and all of the usual features of HTC handsets. It is quite smaller but it is equipped with advanced hardware and it contains a large display along with a 5 mega pixel camera. This handset offers  3.2 inch capacitive touch screen display with 320 by 480 resolutions (HVGA technology) and it is endowed with an ambient light sensor. It enables the user to mute the ringer of the phone whenever the user put down the screen of the phone. HTC Desire HD supports a 6.5 Professional operating system which is quite unique from the other Android based phones. Anyone  can easily work on it with ActiveSync 4.5 for Windows XP and Windows Mobile Device Center 6.1 for Windows Vista and 7 respectively. As far as the music files are concerned it plays songs in window media player.

7.  Samsung Galaxy Tab

Price: *SAR 2899

The Samsung Galaxy Tab is a 3-in-one (Tablet PC + Mobile + Camera) 4G-enabled smartphone that runs on Android 2.2 and have a 1GHz processor to power it. It also has a 7 inch Super AMOLED Plus capacitive touchscreen, rear 5 megapixel camera and 1.3 megapixel front camera for video chats.

Features video & voice calls, web browsing, reader’s hub, social networking hub, full multi-tasking augmented reality and many more.

*Reference prices from Jarir Bookstore as of December 2010

Note: The author doesn’t in any way represent any of the manufacturer’s product brand  names and/or dealers  mentioned in this topic. Posted item is for information sharing and dissemination only. This is dedicated to all who are fond to modern gadgets and to my friend Paris.

Tech'-a-Bite: Importance of Computer Skills

In today’s modern era what is maybe the skill that everybody uses but only a few have mastered it? Computer skill…Right? We all need computer skills because technology is changing everyday.  It is very important that everyone should learn or by far master the skills of using computers. More and more  industries now relies on the use of computers and  it becomes vitally important that we  too should be acquainted and feel accustomed to incorporate its usage  into our everyday lives. As observed almost everything now were done electronically.  Since the advent of computers technology boomed more rapidly. As a result it made things much easier such as ordering our daily needs through the internet or even at  the extent of paying our bills online to consumer product suppliers and utility services providers.. These now were all done conveniently with  just a  simple click of the mouse . On the other hand  it is not possible to perform this type of activity without the proper knowledge on using computers that we so now heavily depend upon.

Computers are wonderful things. They can store  tons of information and all kinds of important documents. Let us take a look around  us and see how many things are now computerized. We may have take  some of these things for granted  like our digital camera. We take pictures then afterwards download them in our  computer. After the photo downloads share them around the globe to our relatives and friends. We have to have that some kind of computer knowledge to do this. As to now  employers require us  to have some kind of computer skills in applying for a job. The more computer skills we have the better chance we can land on the best paying job we are seeking for.

Some of us may understand a little about word processor or maybe even about PowerPoint. But do we know enough to get a job doing these skills. Word processor is a program that we type different information. Most jobs that are in an office setting require us  to have some kind of computer skills. PowerPoint is also a good program to know how to use. We can use this program to help us make a presentations. This is a good stepping stone to  advance in our careers.  There is the Excel which is part of Microsoft Office package. This application offers much when doing office work reports and statistical data spread sheets. We can even program simple mathematical summations if our works deals mostly with numbers.  But we should not  be-little about  Google computer related products too. I found Google computer applications to be amazingly awesome. I said awesome in a sense that their products helped me a lot in performing my job. About sixty percent (60%) of my job deals with mapping.  I work in an electric utility company and we are required to map an array of electrical distribution network needed in our department's day to day operations. In mapping we need to drive and do a  lot of travels in data gathering. Somehow tiring and even landing ourselves lost in the middle of the desert one day.  The coming of Google Earth had made great  changes in our mapping miserable lives. By learning the skills of how to use this program we don’t need to worry about losing in the desert anymore. We now only drive to places in front of our office  computer  through its  mouse.  The only bad  side of cutting those  tiresome travels now  is that our  inability to collect our deputation allowances no more. There is also the Google Picasa. This program is all about photo management. Admittedly I am still at the initial stage of learning this program. What I like in this application is the ability to make a collage out of our treasured photo collections. Best product I admired most from Google is their SketchUp. The remaining part of my job (40%) deals with Computer Aided Design  & Drafting (CAAD).  I make drawing and design presentations through this computer medium.  The coming of computers many CAAD programs also were introduced. I enrolled and studied the medium to be able to connect this skill in line of my career.  I’ve chosen  AutoCad  (Autodesk product) as my computer material  to practice CAAD. Learning the skill was I must say not that hard one and it is as easy as long as we have the interest and motivation to learn it. In short I find success studying the skill of using  the program and applied them to my job. What I learned  in Autocad mostly deals in 2D presentations. The more advance part which is the 3D was quite difficult for me to adapt. I  can make 3D presentations with Autocad too but it is complicatedly exhausting and slow to produce good results.  I feel stocked up with my Autocad 3D skills. So the the idea came that I have  to switch on to other programs to overcome my Autocad 3D skill sluggish  learning. I switched and tried learning some other 3D implements until discovering that Google SketchUp could be the best one suited within my 3D skill capabilities. It is somehow easy to learn the skill of using this 3D program. We can draw almost everything in 3D images with Google SketchUp.  As an avid user of SketchUp I can guarantee that everyone will enjoy their time once they’ve  learned  and start using this best Google stuff.  Some of us might had heard about Adobe Photoshop. I invested some tuition studying this program too. One interesting fact about this program is that we can be at a place where we’d never been to. Simply take and use a digital photo of a certain famous place and by just only using the clone function we can make it appear that we are virtually at that scene already. We can even insert anyone or make ourselves appear  in any group photos to anybody  through the power of this program. But before doing so please try to ask permission first from concerned subjects in a certain photo if they will allow us  to do such practice. Just one way of observing and giving respect to anyone's privacy.

Computer free programs or applications software are at abound. Let us explore and widen up our horizons what really are in store for us about the more important issues  related to computers. Let us discover and expand more about  the many uses. For me computers aren't only meant for emails, internet, games and definitely wern't only made for our social networks cravings.  At  today’s  age we have to look at computers as our main partners to earn  our daily living. So let us add our skills and dig more opportunities which are maybe hidden in this new wonder invention. Who knows that ‘gold can also be found in computers and not only from the tunnels where miners seek under the mountains'...