Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast. He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic，wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops. As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job，he received a steady stream of refusals.
Finally，a short，thin man，well past middle age，approached the farmer. “Are you a good farmhand?”the farmer asked him.
“Well，I can sleep when the wind blows，” answered the little man.
Although puzzled by this answer，the farmer，desperate for help，hired him. The little man worked well around the farm，busy from dawn to dusk，and the farmer felt satisfied with the man s work.
Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore. Jumping out of bed，the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand s sleeping quarters. He shook the little man and yelled，“Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow a!”
The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly，“No sir. I told you，I can sleep when the wind blows.”
Enraged by the response，the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead，he hurried outside to prepare for the storm. To his amazement，he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn，the chickens were in the coops，and the doors were barred. The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away.
The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant，so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew.
MORAL： When you re prepared，spiritually，mentally，and physically，you have nothing to fear.

Briefcase brigade alert: The performance mini-notebook field (yeah, we just made that up) just got a bit more interesting with Hypersonic PC’s Avenger AG2. This little 12 incher may their smallest and lightest, but it packs a punch. Laced with an Intel Core 2 Duo T9300 at 2.5GHz and a 6MB L2 cache, optional SSD, a 12.1-inch WXGA screen at 1280×800, Bluetooth, 1.3MP cam, WiFi, card reader, and Windows Vista Home Premium, this multicolored lappy is nothing to sneeze at — unless you’re allergic to Vista. Base price is about $1,300, fully spec’d will hit you at around $2,500.

[Via Engadget en Español]

It’s only just barely made it out into the wild, but DigiTimes is now reporting that ASUS has already stopped taking orders from resellers for its 8.9-inch Eee PC 900 in anticipation of the now imminent launch of the Atom-based Eee PC 901. That word apparently comes from some unspecified “industry sources,” who also claim that the Eee PC 900 was only ever a “transitional product” to begin with, which ASUS pushed out the door with a plain old Celeron M processor in order to get an 8.9-inch model out ahead of its competitors. Certainly a reasonable conclusion to draw, but a quick glance of online retailers shows that there’s still plenty of Eee PC 900s out there for the taking if you’re not sold on this whole Atom thing.

[via Engadget]

Tweet Cube is the free file sharing service for twitter that you can upload as images, videos, audios and other files as you want and share with your followers on twitter. Maximum upload size is 10MB and old files you uploaded in Tweet Cube will be deleted after 30 days.

There is similar service called twit+ but it doesn’t store your files.

By Patrick Altoft

With millions of blogs springing up on the Internet every year it is becoming more and more difficult for publishers to make sites stand out from the crowd.

Search engines are looking for signals of trust and it is more important than ever to make sure your blog has the signals that Google algorithms are probably looking for.

Of course there are exceptions to all the points below but in general if you can steer clear of making these mistakes your blog will stand out from all the millions of spam blogs out there.

Use Blogger

Although Google would never admit it the vast majority of blogs using the blogspot.com domain are spam. Out of the hundreds of blogs I read every day about 2 of them are hosted on blogspot.com.

Put simply if you don’t use your own domain then your blog is lumped in with all the other spam blogs on blogspot.com and your content has to work much harder to get the recognition it deserves. Google doesn’t penalise blogspot blogs because it owns Blogger but the fact that these blogs get a lot less links than blogs hosted on their own domains means they rank lower anyway.

Of course you can use Blogger and have your blog on a seperate domain but then you really should be using Wordpress (or some other similar platform).

Have a huge blogroll

Blogrolls were popular about 3 years ago and most of the sites that still have a list of 200 sites in their blogroll haven’t had a design update since they launched.

Of course there are exceptions and times when a blogroll is a great idea (such as when you are an industry leader wanting to make friends with lots of bloggers) but in general if you have a small blog with a small readership adding a massive list of links to your sidebar is a great way to make you appear spammy.

Fail to provide an “About” page

Blogs that don’t have an about page are quite often spam. If a blogger is too lazy to change their about page to make them stand out from the million spam blogs that keep the default text on their about page then it’s quite likely the rest of the blog isn’t a good standard either.

How hard is it for a search engine to use About pages as a signal of trust?

Fail to include a prominent “Contact” page

Have you ever seen a well respected blog that didn’t have a way for people to contact the author? It is quite rare.

Every blog should have a contact page - it makes readers more confident and in most cases actually helps the author connect with people. If you don’t want to read the emails then you can always delete them.

You don’t have an “Advertise” page

Ok I hold my hands up here - Blogstorm doesn’t have an Advertise page but that’s because we don’t host many adverts and don’t accept any new advertisers.

If a blog is covered in adverts but doesn’t have a page where advertisers can find out about rates then it might appear like a made for affiliate marketing blog.

Even if you just create a simple page saying “To advertise on this site email xxxxxx” it is still a signal of trust that people (and search engines) can use to evaluate your blog.

Your theme is the default Wordpress theme

If you install Wordpress and fail to change the default theme (or use a free theme without spending the time to personalise it) then your blog will have a hard time standing out from the thousands of other sites that look exactly the same.

Making a blog stand out is hard enough so spend the time to create a custom design and it will save you time in the long term.

Page2RSS can create the feeds from any web page where it does not offer RSS feeds. So that you can keep tracking the latest updates from your reader. Feeds include the new content and the links.

via: Google Operating System

I was just doing an interview on an Aussie radio station and was asked to name some traits of successful bloggers. My initial reaction was to giggle - because no two successful bloggers are the same - however as I began to answer I realized that there are some common traits among bloggers who gain popularity. Here’s a list, presented in no particular order, of some of the traits of successful bloggers that I observe:

1. Creative and Playful

One of the things I love about blogging is that it can be a very playful space. Bloggers who find new ways to communicate old truths and that have the ability to surprise their readers with fresh perspectives and means of communication often find themselves on a fast track to a wide readership. Also, in the midst of ‘playful’ experimentation new discoveries come that help a blogger to develop in maturity and influence in their niche.

Image by Yelnoc

“There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns.” - Edward de Bono

……

All in problogger.net 

I’m diggin the clean Clint Cuban ($67) from Osiris’s Pro line of sneakers. The shoe features a super rubber grip sole with diamond flex design, and themal plastic backed toe for support and durability.

Comes in brown, black, white, and tan varieties.

Fan of Google Reader? You can read Google Reader on your destkop with ReadAir. ReadAir runs on Adobe AIR so that you need Adobe AIR before you install it.

canadianbob

Giving blood…..

This is an excellent idea, if you want to help but have limited funds (students?). It is practically painless and your body will replace it in a few days if you are in good health. The components can be separated (by centrifuge)and frozen to be shipped wherever they are needed. I had a part-time job at a blood bank many years ago when I was a student (keeping inventory in the freezer). I have donated about 50 times myself over the years, and I’m still above ground. I know many Chinese are wary of this (donating blood), but it is really a great thing to do for those injured in the disaster, and you could actually save someone’s life. We “little peanuts” must do what we can from all over the world, and a mountain of peanuts is no small thing. I was very impressed with the government’s prompt response and unrestricted coverage. The efficient mobilization of resources, grateful acceptance of aid from other countries and excellent moral support offered by the Premier was a beautiful thing to see. Anyways, give blood —The East is Red(Cross)!

sock_monkey

People Of China, Our Thoughts Are With You

I am an American who had the good fortune of living in China for a year. I fell in love wth the kind people, the beautiful culture, and of course the great food. I miss China very much! I just wanted to send all my best wishes to the people in Sichuan as they struggle with this horrible earthquake. My heart go out to the people of China during this difficult time and I hope that the people of Sichuan face a minimum of hardship. We in America are thinking of you and wishing all the best for you!

Martin Padgett

My name is Martin Padgett and I live in Toronto, Canada. In 2003, I became the first foreigner to teach at Aba Teachers College. I also have wonderful memories of my time there. Fortunately, I have received word that the students and teachers at the college are safe. Photos taken by air after the earthquake show the students and teachers camped in the sports field. The buildings are all standing.

Ho Sai Yuen

Kudos to Premier Wen for his quick response and dedication in answering to the massive earthquake in Sichuan Province.

The Premier’s true sense of dedication is not only commendable but should be recorded in the annals of history.

We are deeply touched by such a good and dedicated premiere in our midst - we feel proud as well as prideful to have him actively and tirelessly serving the nation in such a humble manner!

He is always in the forefront whenever a disaster or natural calamities affect the people at the grassroots level.

His exemplary example and love of the people should be emulated by both government officials and bureacrats all over China.

He has set an excellent example which is hard to match.

His untiring efforts are both an encouragement and asset to our country.

In this crucial context, the Nobel Foundation should consider awarding Premier Wen a Noble Peace Prize this year for his natural sense of dedication and devotion to his people and thereby contributing to international peace not only East Asia but all over the world…!

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF - DEAR PREMIER WEN…Cheers!!!

Loving everyone（HK)

I just watched a segment on CNN about the China earthquake. I was moved by the mobilization of the PLA and Wen. No matter what our differences are politically, the world sends its love to the Chinese people and our prayers.

As a person in China for almost ten years now, sincerely pray for those who are suffering now. And bless the efforts of the rescuers. Seeing PLA paratroop into remote areas is an awesome and great thing done by China.

Mike (HK)

Condolence to the survivors and families of those victims who were killed by the massive 7.9 magnitude earth quake on May 12,2008 especially student with their aspirations, hopes not being fulfilled, what a sad and sorrowful thing that their life were not spared , these potential future leaders and their dreams were prematurely terminated. Let peace & serenity be with them.

Chris Bloor

I have been to China 8 times and have many good friends in Chengdu. I am heartbroken over the damage this earthquake has caused. I really love China and the Chinese people and want to say that here in Australia I am praying for the victims and their families.

I also want to say how impressed I am with the swift response of the Chinese government. Very inspiring.

ASEAN CITIZEN

A thousand thanks to the PLA and the police force who went into the rescue action almost immediately without delay! Go, go, go! Keep up the high spirit and rescue as many as possible those who are still trapped under the rubble. All of you have done the Chinese nation proud for such speedy action to save every surviving compatriot.

One World

We only have one world, we are all people of that world. Seeing the loss of life, especially children but also the wives, husbands, mothers, fathers and others, has caused tears to flood my eyes.

I feel so deeply for all the families who are suffering from this disaster. I only hope that you can regain peace in your hearts soon as hard as it may be to imagine at this time.

We the world must unite together to show that we are behind those in need in Sichuan and the other provinces nearby.