Google Luncurkan GooglePlus Followers Gadget untuk Blogger

Informasi ini cukup menggembirakan bagi para pengguna Blogger, terutama bagi sobat yang telah mengintegrasikan profil Blogger dengan profil Google+. Widget ini disebut "Google+ Followers Gadget" dan berfungsi menampilkan follower Blog (atau profil) lengkap dengan foto profil pengikut. Widget ini seperti gabungan dua widget yang sudah sangat kita kenal, Google Plus Add to Circle/Follow Widget dan

Choosing the Right Chrsitmas Gift

We're coming near to the end of 2012 and it's another year that has yet again flown by at an astonishing rate. Of course now we're at this stage in the year Christmas is now facing us and with it comes the dreaded (well not for some) Christmas-shopping. 

Some people are great at Christmas shopping and manage to do it all way before Christmas comes along, in fact, I'm sure those people have done it by now (maybe there's some who are reading this post), and then there are others that aren't as good at Christmas shopping (I fall into this category). 

For me personally my problem is not leaving it until the last minute but instead with trying to find the right gift for someone. And it's not just me who has this problem of finding what to get someone as many go through this same experience. So I thought as Christmas is close to arriving I would write a post including some tips to help choose the right Christmas gift for someone. 

1. Get something that they're into 

This seems like common sense but many of us still ignore it or have done in the past. If you choose a gift and it has nothing to do with what that person likes - don't get it...simple. 

For example: If you're buying a present for someone who hates sport and never likes to immerse him/herself into the sporting world, don't go and buy them something like a football or a rugby-ball. Instead get them something they're more likely to appreciate.

2. Ask them what their interests are

If you already know the persons interests then ignore this tip but if not then read on. After deciding to get them something that is of interest to them you next need to find out what these interests are so you will at least know what sort of area to search in, and that at least will narrow it down a bit. 

3. Watch out for hints

Sometimes people will drop hints (normally this is family or partners who do this) so watch out for them. If you hear this person mentioning about something that they want or mentioning a particular thing on more than one occasion, it may be hint. It may be something as subtle as "so what do you think of this" and if you know that this person knows that you would never want this thing, then it could be a little hint for what they want. 

4. Ask them what they want

Even though most people will not tell you what they want as they would feel rude, there are some people who will answer your question with an honest answer. I like it when a person just flat out tells me what they want as I know exactly what to get them...unless it is too expensive in which case I don't like it. :) 
On the other hand it also ruins the element of surprise.

5. Be Observant

When buying someone a gift (or in this case planning to buy a gift) it's useful for you to use your observational skills. Maybe this person's shoes have seen better days or maybe they've always given compliments about something that you own? Being observant can often be the difference between buying a good gift instead of a not so good one, however it is always nice of someone to give, whatever the gift - unless it's meant in an offensive fashion. 

Conclusion

I'm sure that whoever it is you are buying a Christmas gift for will be grateful for whatever it is that you do decide to buy them and hopefully with these tips it will be something good. :)

Memperbaiki Berbagai Problem Pada Widget "LinkWithin Related Posts"

Saya dulu pernah membahas mengenai cara memasang Widget/gadget LinkWithin Related Posts, salah satu asesoris blog yang cukup menjadi favorit karena kemudahan pemasangan dan akurasi relevansinya. Meskipun ada banyak widget sejenis, baik yang dibuat secara manual ataupun sudah dalam paket siap pakai, namun LinkWithin jauh lebih unggul, baik dalam relevansi, dalam hal kecepatan loading (

Is T.V Wasting Your Time?

Often we wonder where all our free time goes to? one minute we seem to have some - the next it's gone. The first thing a lot of us say is that it's work that wastes so much of our time but that's something that we need to do and is something that society needs us to do - it's just part of our daily routine so can't be blamed for wasting our 'free time'. 

One thing that definitely does waste a lot of time would be t.v. Now when I say waste time I mean it's not anything that is productive or beneficial or outside or social, but is just something that causes you to sit and do nothing. Now I'm not saying that t.v isn't fun to watch or nice to have a sit down to but when you think about it - it does consume quite a lot of your life. 

For example: a quick calculation you could do would be to tally up how many minutes or hours of t.v you watch a day, let's say 1 hour which is fairly easy for most of us to accomplish during a day. Now if you watch t.v for 1 hour every day for a whole year that would be 365 hours of t.v watching. To put that into a bit more perspective that's the equivalent to watching t.v 24 hours a day for just over 15 days (just over 2 weeks)! 

That calculation was only with 1 hour of daily t.v watching. The average daily t.v viewing consumption time for British people is 3.5 hours!!! That's the equivalent to over 50 hours of t.v watching a year, which is equivalent to over 7.5 weeks of non-stop t.v watching!!!

Here's a really shocking figure, in the United States the average amount of time watching television daily is a whopping 8 hours!!!!! On average the only thing that consumes as much time or more is sleeping. If we did a calculation to 8 hours of t.v watching a day we could figure out that that would be the equivalent to watching 2,920 hours a year! 2,920 Hours a year is the equivalent of just over 17 weeks or 4 months of non-stop t.v watching! That is a huge waste of time. 1/3 Of the year in fact!

Think about one thing that you would want to do or want to get better at. Maybe that's improving reading ability, learning to play an instrument, exercising, blogging, whatever it is it would be time better spent. 1 Hour a day of that chosen activity would be (like stated above) the equivalent to doing over 2 weeks of that thing relentlessly a year.

Now there was a time in my life when I became a huge t.v watcher and at the start I really enjoyed it. But after a while I noticed that that was all I did and I didn't do anything else. So after a while of doing this and wasting a lot of my time, I managed to get a job and start doing other things rather than watching t.v - and now I don't really watch that much of it at all and can easily turn it off whilst in the middle of something.

A question to ask yourself is if you had a room with a sofa in but no t.v, would you go and sit down on that sofa for an hour or more every day and just do nothing? I'm guessing the answer for most of us would be no, and why? well because that would be a waste of our time as you're doing nothing...well that's essentially what t.v watching is too.

Now if you're reading this post you will probably be under the impression that I think that t.v isn't something that we should do, but actually I don't think there is anything wrong with watching t.v but it's how much you let it rule your life that I think is wrong. I watch t.v myself but I don't let it consume me to the point where I can't turn it off and I can quite happily turn it off and not watch it for extended periods of time, and it's this what I'm trying to get at.

Ask yourself how much your time do you spend watching t.v and if you can honestly go without it. A good experiment you can do would be to not watch t.v for 2 weeks, no exceptions. It may prove a lot harder than you first think.

If however you know you do watch a lot of t.v and you can't really go without watching it here's a previous post of mine: 8 Steps to Reduce T.V Watching.

LivestockJudges.org

Are you a show manager? Or a livestock judge? If so, we invite you to check out a new website we have been working on - www.livestockjudges.org. This is a new site that is sort of like a match.com for shows and judges.

If you are a show manager, this is a great tool for finding judges in your area, or finding some new judges that maybe you have not used before.

If you are a judge, this is another great tool to get your name and qualifications out there, and possibly connect with new shows too.

We are proud to be one of the collaborators on this site, and we hope you will check it out!

How to Find Your Own Writing Style

Writing is a fascinating practice. It can bring joy, happiness, deep-thinking, relaxation, and a whole range of emotions to the writer. Some people don't enjoy writing and that is completely fine, writing isn't for everyone. I never really liked to write when I was at school, well...no let me re-phrase that - I hated to write when I was at school. I just didn't get on with it, in fact anything to do with the subject of English I hated.

When I first started this blog I didn't really like to write but was fascinated how other people from around the world could read the works of others via the Internet. So I set up this blog and found that writing wasn't that bad at all, in fact I found it rather likeable, and now I can't really see myself without my blog.

Writing style is completely unique to every person and is something that cannot be learnt or taught but is something that can only be discovered. I think I now have my own unique writing style but took a good while figuring out what it was. In this post I will offer you some tips to how you can discover your own unique writing style.

1. Write, write, and write.

The biggest and best piece of advice you will ever receive regarding the subject of finding your own writing voice is to write. It's such a simple thing to do and if you enjoy to write (which the majority of you will if you're wanting to find your own writing style), then it will be enjoyable at the same time.

The more you write the more your personal style will start to break through and you'll be able to start noticing it.

2. Read, read, and read.

Read as much as you can and don't just limit it to your favourite genre. Often limiting it to one genre will create a writing style catered more towards that genre but that may not be what you're actually best at writing for (even if you don't know it). Expanding upon your knowledge of writing is definitely a beneficial thing to do and so exposing yourself to these different genres will be the best thing to do.

I'm not saying that you have to read different genres but it is beneficial for finding your own writing voice. If you already know what genre you're going for when writing then reading lots of different books in that genre is fine. However writing is a diverse subject and many genres contain subtle similarities and so reading lots of different genres will be beneficial for your own writing style. 

3. Play writing games

Writing games are all about creativity and getting yourself more used to the art of writing itself. There are many writing games you can choose from to get your creative juices flowing.

One example of a writing game is where you write a list of random words. It doesn't have to be a long list, maybe 10 words (although you can make it as long or as short as you like), then write for 2-3 minutes about the first word on the list trying your best to write continuously about it. Once 2-3 minutes have passed move onto the next word and write all you can about that, however you also have to link it back to the word before itself. Once this word is complete move onto another word and link it back to the word directly before that, keep repeating this process until you have gone through your entire list. 

4. Don't be predictable

This is easier said than done as so many people fall into this trap and with good reason - it's easy to become predictable. So to stand out from the rest of the crowd and make your writing voice unique you must differ from the rest of the writing community. When reading try to see if you can guess what's coming next, and if you can't then try to take the approach that that author has done but don't 

To be different you have to think outside of the box and even that can sometimes be predictable...you must think further afield than even outside of the box which is a challenging thing to do. The more you write and get used to thinking like this the better.

Conclusion

It may take longer for some than others to find their writing voice (it took me the good part of a year to find mine, or at least to notice it anyway and I still have much to learn) so don't get disheartened if you don't notice immediate results - it will come in its own time. 

How to get over Writers Block: 6 Tips

Okay, so you have the inspiration, the determination, the passion, all of which is essential to writing...however, you have what all writers fear: 'writers block'! Every committed writer at some point or another experienced writers block.
This post is intended for both writers and bloggers and has some tips that I hope will be able to help you.

1. Write Ideas down as they come to you

Ideas won't always (and normally don't) come to you at the most convenient of times, they can come whenever and it seems when it is of inconvenience (feels like it anyway). Whether you are taking a shower, at work, driving, on a walk, they can just suddenly appear to you and you have only really have a limited opportunity to react upon that. As ideas can come thick and thin between each other and can evaporate from the mind within seconds, you are going to have to be quick about what you do. I suggest (as many others would) that your best option is to write them down. This way you can store your ideas and not have to worry about forgetting them as they're their in stone...well ink.

You can choose what you want to record them with, a good old trusty pen and notebook work as well as anything and are cheap to pick up. Me personally, I use my phone which has an app called evernote which I use to record ideas amongst other things, but feel free to use whatever you want.

2. Write things related to whats on your list.

When having writers block it can be difficult to come up with new ideas and new concepts. So go to your list of ideas and just write something that is related to what's on there. For example you may have pollution written down, so you then may decide to separately write about green living, both subjects are related but are two separate topics. By writing about something related to what you want to write about can often help with ideas for what you want to write about because of the similarities between them.

3. Write about anything

It's essential when experiencing writers block that you still write, it doesn't have to be about what you want but can be about anything. Don't even think about what you're going to write about, just write about the first thing that pops into your head. Don't worry about what does pop into your head; whether it's a chicken, a rainbow, Ronald McDonald - it doesn't matter as long as you are writing about something. You'll be surprised how this can actually help you with writers block and is also good for your all-round writing practices. 

4. Leave it for a day or so

Whilst this may seem like odd advice it's not. Often by just getting away from it all can help you to conjure up new ideas and keep you feeling refreshed, as opposed to being bogged-down by it all. Let yourself get away from it all, by being persistent (which is often a good thing) it can sometimes have the reverse of the desired effect and actually put you off altogether.

5. Read

Reading is a great thing for writers to do as it is ideal for inspiration. It is a way for you to expose yourself to the world of writing without actually writing yourself. You will be able to see different styles and approaches to the art of writing. You will also be able to pick up on how authors are able to communicate to you the reader through their own individual style. The more you read - the more used to writing styles you will become and you'll find yourself incorporating things you've read into what you're writing without even realising it. 

6. Go for a walk

This works surprisingly well. Going for a walk helps to clear your head and alleviate anxiety/stress. Make sure that you take something that can record your ideas as I find when I take my dog for a walk that ideas will just come to me. I know that I've lost a lot of ideas through not taking something to write them down with and so now always take something to record them in. 

Fresh air is brilliant for you and doesn't have to be specifically walking, it's more about the 'getting some fresh air' part that is important - I just find walking to be relaxing and relatively easy to record ideas whilst doing it (as opposed to some other outdoor activities like running or cycling for example). :)

Louisville 2012 Recap

Well we just returned from Louisville for my favorite show of the fall. And as always, we came home with lots of new stories and good memories from the show. 

Here's a few things I learned at the show....
If you have a phone number listed on your livestock trailer or stall signs, be sure to include your cell phone #. We had a friend who had a heifer get their head stuck in the fence. Someone tried to call the # listed on their sign but it was a home # and they couldn't get ahold of the people to let them know.

The Cardinal Grill is not NEAR as crowded on Sunday night, and if you get there around 6 you can avoid the wait!

The shuttle at the Hilton Garden Inn is great.

The Cinnamon Toast french toast at Cracker Barrel is SOOOO worth the calories!

The hallways of Freedom Hall is THE place to see and be seen. Forget the main aisle ha ha! We loved chatting and visiting with everyone at the show.

The Showtimes Magazine and The Showbox Magazines were clearly stepping it up even more than what they already do it that is even possible. They were there handing out magazines like crazy, handing out caps, goodies, give-a-ways, etc. Everywhere you turned you could see these two magazines and people looking at them.

Why is it that the barn is 30 degrees colder than the showring? It makes it so hard to decide whether to bring a jacket or leave it at the stalls.

And the newest observation of the year from Louisville....

This year's gate people are R-U-D-E!!!!! They turned me and Emily around after we walked all the way from the hotel to the gate because we hadn't got our passes yet. So to avoid the $12 per head fee to get in the gate, we, of course, devised a backup plan to get in which SUCCEEDED. I still don't understand why certain gate people at livestock shows think that just because they are an hourly paid rent-a-cop that they have this super authority to turn people away or let them in. Really, we're here all the way from Texas, we're clearly cattle people, we're SUPPOSED to be inside that gate.

Benefits of Sharing

Sharing is seen as an act of kindness, something that is seen as a morally good thing to do. We're taught whilst growing up from an early age that sharing is something that is not only good for us and others but is something that we 'should' do.

When we're in our younger years many of us found it easier to share than we do now being older. Whether this is because as children we're naturally more easy-going or maybe because now we're older and have more expenses, we have a clearer knowledge of the value of things. Whatever the reason we can all go through stages of not sharing because in all honesty we don't want to share.

Sharing though is a good thing and is something that I definitely feel we should incorporate into our lives. Here's some benefits why.

1. People will share back

Through sharing with someone the most common benefit that is going to occur comes in the form of that person/those people sharing back. Say, for example, that a friend is going to buy some lunch but has forgotten there money so you decide to share and lend them some money for lunch, this friend (it doesn't have to be a friend) will more than likely share with you in the future in return for what you have just done.

It's always the case, people who share with others will often find that these same people will share back in return for their kindness.

2. People will take more of a liking towards you

Sharing with others will not only see people sharing back with you but will also see other people taking more of an liking towards you a bit more. This is because the person will feel that you respect them enough or value them enough to share with them, so because of your kindness people will start to see you in more of a favourable light.

Now I'm not saying that sharing with people will mean that they're going to suddenly like you, no, I'm not saying either that people are going to suddenly want to become friends with you, what I am saying is that people will often take a better view of you because of the sharing you have displayed. This isn't to say that friendships can't stem from your act of kindness because they can.

3. Leaves you feeling happier

When you share with someone and see that they are grateful for your act of kindness - it will give you a warm feeling of happiness, down to purely the fact that you can see that you have helped them out. It's a simple self-satisfying experience to see that you can help others out, it just leaves you feeling in a better mood.

4. People will feel more comfortable around you

Often through the simple act of sharing a opening can occur that develops into a conversation just simply because there will be a sort of middle ground now between you, you for sharing and them for borrowing. Conversations of course won't always occur just because you shared something, however, that person/those people will feel a little more comfortable being around you because they will feel more accepted by you because of your act of sharing with them.

5. Builds trust

Whenever someone shares something with another individual or group, whatever it is, there is an element of trust involved. A very basic example is borrowing a pen from someone - they are trusting that you will give it back and you are trusting that you will be a able to borrow from them again in the future. From these experiences of sharing, is one of the ways to develop trust.

Nofollow-kan Comment Permalink Blogger Agar Tidak Diindeks Google

Hi, all. Let's talk about Blogger SEO again. :), and today let me talk about Blogger Comment Permalinks, how it affects your SEO, and how to resolve the SEO problem caused by them.




Background


Dalam template blogger, ada satu tag yang digunakan sebagai generator dari permalink comment, sehingga masing-masing komentar blog sebenarnya memiliki permalink unik yang apabila di-klik akan

Google Pagerank Update November 2012

Tidak banyak yang bisa saya sampaikan selain hanya untuk menginformasikan bahwa hari ini, 08 November 2012, Google kembali melakukan update PageRank (toolbar), artinya setiap halaman web/blog, baik homepage maupun halaman-halaman lainnya yang sudah hadir di dunia internet ini mengalami update atau pembaruan PageRank.



Saya pernah menyinggung ini di salah satu status Facebook saya sekitar 9

Cara Memasang Facebook Recommendation Bar di Blogger

Akhir 2011 lalu Facebook mengumumkan akan menambahkan fitur baru yaitu "Facebook Recommendation Bar". Akhir Juni 2012 lalu, fitur ini kemudian dirilis dalam bentuk beta. Saya sudah pernah mencobanya, namun karena terlalu berat, dan terlalu banyak fitur, maka saya kembali melepaskannya. Beberapa waktu kemudian, fitur seperti "Add to Timeline" yang juga muncul di recommendation bar tersebut

The Boredom of Waiting

Waiting can be a long drawn-out boring process, especially if you have no-one to talk to. Whether that's waiting in a queue, waiting at a bus stop, waiting while travelling, waiting for someone to turn up who you've organised to do something with, waiting is boring. The more you focus upon how boring it is though, the more slowly the hands of time seem to turn.

There are a few things you can do or think about when you're in these situations to help pass the time.

Here's a very early post of mine called: 'Getting over Boredom'.

1. Take the time to Think

When waiting you will normally have the chance to properly think to yourself. It's a perfect opportunity to have a think to yourself about things concerning you and/or to sort things out in your mind. The amount of times that I've managed to sort things through in my mind due to the time spent waiting (on a bus for example) is countless. Often you can sort the issue out by just applying some thought and if you can't - well you can certainly have a clearer picture of it anyway.

2. Other people are in the same Situation

Whenever you're bored waiting for something a thing I sometimes think to myself is that other people are in the same situation to you now. If there are people around you waiting for the same thing (e.g. waiting at a bus stop for a bus) then it's easier to think about this. Try to see what they do to handle the boredom, they may like you be thinking about things to pass the time.

If you are waiting for something by yourself then thinking about this isn't as effective as you can't see the other people, but you can surely bet that there will be people waiting somewhere for something.  

3. Organise your week

Something I do when I've got some downtime waiting is to organise my week. I sometimes won't be able to do it all at once but I usually have a good idea to what I've got to do. For example: I will record my work hours on my phone calendar and then plan travelling routes around that. I'll also add other things that I'm going to be doing and even what time I need to be getting-up on some days due to work shifts and/or other events. I view this calendar every day on my phone so I always know what I've got planned to do next. 

It doesn't have to be with just a phone calendar that you can do this, no, you can actually buy organisers - devices used for the sole purpose of organising your life's activities. A simple pocket notebook can also work really well if properly organised and updated.

4. Observe others around you.

Whilst waiting can be a very boring and tedious process, it is a great opportunity to view others around you. Observing others around you can be a fascinating thing to do during your downtime and you'll start to notice habits that you do will be displayed upon some of the people who you observe. The more you observe others around you, whether they be just standing or talking with other people, will enable you to become better at reading other peoples reactions and responses, which can prove useful in daily life.

I have written a previous blog post about observing called: How to Improve your Observational Skills. 

Conclusion

Waiting is something that we all experience. Sometimes the time passes quickly, often it will seem to really drag, but just remember that it's only for a limited amount of time and that others will be going through the same thing somewhere in the world. Hopefully these little tips to help pass the time help you when you're next waiting for something. 

Best of the Barns 2012

Voting is now underway for Best of the Barns 2012 - The awards program that rewards the best of the best in the livestock business!

To cast your vote, go to www.bestofthebarns.com and get started.

This year we have over 40 categories ranging from best online show broadcast team to best semen sales firm and much much more. And our biggest question is the very last question....which you'll have to complete the survey to see!

And new for this year....the Best of the Barns Hall of Fame. Including new categories for Sire of the Year for the club calf category and showpig category, best cattle fitter, livestock friend of the year and more!

After completing the survey you'll also get a special code to use in the RHD store.

Thanks again and go to www.bestofthebarns.com to vote!