Posted by Brian on Dec 20, 2010 in
Home and Garden If a home is a castle then a backyard should be a sanctuary or oasis. With proper landscaping, lighting, and other features, a backyard can become a soothing and beautiful retreat from the hustle and bustle of the world.
While there needs to be an overall design theme, such as English Garden or Zen Retreat, the first thing that should be considered is water. Not water for the plants, but water as a feature in the sanctuary. Studies show that bodies of water contribute to a feeling of calm and help alleviate stress. So having a pond, fountain or better yet a swimming pool is important.
Calling Houston swimming pool builders will quickly reveal that a basic swimming pool can be very affordable. By installing a pool, families create an oasis not just of the mind, but of the body. They will have a place to exercise and frolic together. It will also provide an excuse (if one is needed) to invite friends over to share the sanctuary or add to the ambiance when entertaining outside.
Once the water features are installed, it is time to think about plants, trees, and decorative accessories like statuary and wind chimes. Lighting is also essential in order to enjoy the sanctuary after dark. Some people find that including a grill and bar area or fire pit are also great ways to draw people into the oasis.
The keys to creating an attractive sanctuary are finding ways to incorporate water and providing as many ways as possible to draw people out of the house and into the yard.
Tags: feeling of calm
Posted by Brian on Dec 15, 2010 in
Internet The architects of the internet envisioned a way for researchers and others to share information and collaborate on projects without regard for physical proximity. The ability to access research and analysis between computers without needing disks, tapes, or other hard storage was the dream. And, to a large extent that dream has been realized. Universities, government agencies, and research facilities are able to link up to share data and findings and collaborate on projects from all the corners of the earth.
The original purpose of the web has expanded to apply to sharing everything. Web pages are a way to share information about a company, organization, or even an individual. In this case the page is being shared with an audience or potential customer. The idea that social media and social networking brought the concept of social to the web is false. The web was already social. From emails to instant messages to file swapping and social bookmarking sharing , there is very little that occurs on the web that isn’t sharing.
Humans are social animals and seek out other humans to share their life, their work, their leisure activities. The phenomenon of sharing videos, pictures, links, and personal status updates are all just the latest incarnation of that social instinct.
Tags: social bookmarking sharing
Posted by Brian on Dec 9, 2010 in
shopping Everywhere you look at this time of year it’s about shopping and gifts, shopping and gifts. How to buy Christmas presents on a budget or who has the best sale prices on toys. Articles, blog posts, news features are all consumed with the same thing. So why should this blog post be any different?
Rather than going the traditional route of checking people’s online wish lists or asking their spouse or child what they want, you can do a little bit of research and find the perfect gift that will be both meaningful and unexpected. Go back to their bridal registry. Many of the online ones never expire. If they didn’t do one online, you can always conspire with their mother or spouse to see if the original list is sitting around somewhere with the rest of the wedding planning gifts.
Then it’s just a matter of skimming through the registry to find those items that they didn’t receive but really wanted. It may be something as simple as a set of linden noritake cutlery or the one kitchen appliance that they would never buy for themselves. Whatever you choose, you can bet they will appreciate it.
Other similar sources for present ideas are old Christmas lists from childhood, birthday and graduation lists, housewarming gift registries or even lists of their all time favorite musical artists or writers.
Tags: linden noritake
Posted by Brian on Dec 2, 2010 in
Business The next evolution for many businesses is converting from in house servers, software, and processes to cloud services. Many companies already incorporate aspects of the cloud into their business — some don’t even realize they are doing it. If your company is considering moving to the cloud, there are a few things to take into consideration.
There are immense benefits to utilizing cloud collaboration both within a company and between a company and its clients and vendors. The ability to host programs, documents, and data on so-called virtual servers, makes them available to anyone, anywhere, anytime — well, anyone with the proper access and passwords and a working internet connection.
When considering how to take advantage of these and other benefits of cloud computing, you need to look seriously at how your company communicates internally and with outside contacts. What email, conferencing, and collaboration software and infrastructure is needed? Then look at data and storage needs, including whether there is sensitive client data that needs to extra protection. Look at the types of software employees use daily and how much printing and paper storage is required. Many companies find that once they do this analysis they don’t just want to move major functions to the cloud, they decide to take their entire company virtual — with employees working from home offices and everything being hosted on cloud servers.
Tags: sensitive client data