The Thinking Blog ~ Knowledge Grows When Shared!

In the beginning email was novel, an exciting tool. We didn’t have nearly the same volume of email flooding our inboxes so it was more pleasurable for us to exchange messages with friends and family. As businesses started utilizing email and computers grew as part of everyone’s daily life, it became more associated with work. Along with work email came a flood of spam, and it is hard to emphasize the negative impact this has had on email. Thomas Hawk has a fun read on this topic.

With everyone texting, IMing, Facebooking, and Twittering these days, some say email could be headed the way of snail mail. Which is, people will probably keep on using it, but it won't be the crucial method of communication. Except for spammers, of course. Which brings us to the next phase - what is bound to eventually happen in social networks?

Facebook et al are held as the way forward - but that's for now because they are still novel. Wait till businesses and spammers get a hand on them and find loopholes in the system of our connections which currently have our "friends and family" only. Wasn't junk mail, apart from being slow, one of the reason for the downfall of regular post?

What's more, these "cool" new ways of connecting are woefully inefficient as communication tools. For example, take a look at the number of transactions you need to undertake to read a Facebook message. My personal perspective is that email, or rather Gmail, is still the crucial method of communication and it will never die. Yes, it's not fun as it used to be, but hey - it still works. What do you think?

When an action or a thought results in pain, the tendency is to conclude that what has happened is "hurtful", however if the effect ultimately leads to growth and change, enriching life as it's lived at any given moment in time, can we call it bad?

Interpreting the impact of anything that happens, on many levels, can only be appreciated by a careful retrospective look at the important events that brought us to the place we now exist. A careful, honest introspective analysis of the contributions we make to the appearance of what occurs must include personal, group, national and world responsibility. Can ecology or the effects of global warming be seen without this kind of "soul" searching?

As sentient beings, we recognize an order to what may at times appear as chaos. Looking for solutions can be as simple as seeing what exists in our midst and connecting the dots in a coherent way as one creative approach that can work.

Although this sounds a bit nebulous, if "nature" is used as a example, things occur in a clarity of order. The laws of chemistry, biology, even philosophy such as logic, dictate some kind of structure that suggest a hierarchical system events occur.

The nature of this principle is not one that is defined by where it's leading, as much as the patterns of things it draws to it, building upon its previous components, creating a foundation that continues to grow. This, perhaps, is the magnetism of Karma.

Perspective is as important to philosophy as it is to painting or design. Looking at a circle from its central point, as a bird flying above, reveals only the circle. Moving one's position to a side angle, reveals the spiral (cone), the structure that defines many ways nature expresses its force. The hurricane, tornado, the way water drains and the very structure of DNA, one level upon the other, from a distant point to its outermost arc, expressing evolution.

Once perceived, this patterned motion can be the beginning of understanding Karma, as an energy rather than a judgment of actions.


This article was written by Jon Percepto from Eclectic Commons. If you are interested in contributing to the thinking process and become a guest writer on The Thinking Blog, find out more information here and be my guest!

We have been working on the graphics re-design of the Ruff PC website complete with its new logo for a couple of months now, and in collaboration with one of the best marketing consultant out there - Digital Nomads - it is ready to rock ruff your world! We convinced Ruff PC to sponsor this giveaway to celebrate the 1st anniversary of The Thinking Blog which would not only be a way of thanking you all for the continuous support and readership, but also help develop Ruff PC's new brand image.

The Prize

The RuffBook Tech is the latest water resistant Ruff PC with extremely high performance hardware in a show stopping design optimized for harsh environments. Powered by the ultra low power consumption Intel Core Duo 1.73GHz processor, 512MB DDR RAM, 60GB Shock-mounted Hard Drive, and a CD-RW/DVD+RW (DVD Dual) Drive, this rugged portable is designed to give you reliability in environments where conventional laptops would fail. With added protection from damage and data loss to these critical components, it is rugged enough to perform best and safely under any real condition. The RuffBook Tech has a water resistant keyboard (never again worry about spilling drinks), a magnesium alloy casing (20-times-harder than plastic alloy base case) which protects against vibration and drops, and can be trusted with all of your clumsiness wherever you may be. It has state-of-the-art 14.1" non-glare TFT LCD screen and up to 224MB shared video memory that provides for vibrant images, both indoors and outdoors. Behind the display is the ultimate wireless technology (802.11 b/g) for true speed and wireless accessibility. It is heavy duty in the multimedia department as well with the built in flash card reader, microphone, and four speakers. Combined with the Intel high definition Azalia 24Bit audio system, this rough computer delivers a crystal clear sound. More details can be found in the specifications page and there are huge close up pictures in the gallery page, but the following slideshow should give you an idea of what you will get:

The Details

It works like this. To enter our giveaway, all you have to do is write about it in your blog. Ensure you have two links on your blog post, one link with rugged related keywords to RuffPC.com (e.g. "rugged computer", "water resistant laptop", "spill proof notebook", and the likes) and another link to this giveaway post. Here is an example of what we are looking for.

The Thinking Blog is holding a free laptop giveaway and to participate, you just have to write about it! Sponsored by Ruff PC, it is a brand new, rugged, water resistant laptop called RuffBook Tech with magnesium alloy casing built to survive under harsh conditions where ordinary laptops fail. So, this is my entry - now give me the laptop!

The entry can be positive, negative, or mixed, but they have to be genuine to qualify. This giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere in the world (as long as you have a blog). We will even accept entries from non English blog as long as they are following the linking criteria. When you finish your blog entry, send me an email with the URL to the post. Once we confirm the post meets the entry requirements, we will add it to the list of participants.

The deadline for entries is December 20th when all the participants will be listed in a post here with a link their blogs - and a quality link too. You will then have 5 days to vote for the best entry in a poll and the person with highest votes will win a brand new RuffBook Tech. So, the earlier you enter, the higher up on the list your entry will be and the better entry you write, the higher chances of you winning this stellar prize! The winner will be announced on Tuesday, December 25th 2007 on a seperate post, and Ruff PC will get in touch with you to send out your Christmas gift.

Good luck and enter now! Extra karma points to anyone who reddit, digg and stumble this post. Do good things and good things will happen to you! :)

If you can't wait for the deadline and must have a rugged computer now, here's where you can buy it: the Ruff PC online store.

If you have a strong character, you know very well how to change your roles according to the environment or the loved ones that are around. Even if you don't know a person, due to immensely developed instincts, you are able to predict how to act around whoever it may be and act accordingly. If not, here are some of the roles that women try to squeeze into one way of living:

Business Woman: When you are with your family or your friends you can be as understanding, indulgent or close to heart as you like. However, you know very well that in business life the rules are different and even more merciless than ever. Many women have received education for years, prepared for examinations on sleepless nights and have done everything to finish school. Such women want to obtain a good job, want to be successful in their profession and want to establish a career. Hence if you are within the life of business that means that the business woman role is indispensable. In a place where men have taken control over the world, you are ready to claw your way up, proving your worth, surpassing the barriers that those who are jealous of you have placed in front of you, gaining credit from your boss and later earning the promotion that you have much deserved. While constantly efforting to play your role according to the rules, you also try to balance your emotional life, maintain your relations within friendship, spend time with your family and keep busy with your children (if you have any). Consequently the successful business woman role is one which is most tiring and one where it is easy to lose hope because no matter how talented you are, how successful you are in this role depends not only on you but also on people in your work environment. So, the key here is to never give up!

Daddy's Girl: Even the strongest mother or the most mature woman is most certainly her father's little princess. When an already unstable situation devolves into utter chaos, women take refuge amongst the wings of their fathers. We leave ourselves to be soothed by our father's attention, love, warm consolations and his advice which always works. A woman who has felt the pleasure of being close with her father means that being able to grasp life by the core and be more confident in her further life will be much easier. Emotional support aside, when it comes to material support such as when we are broke, if we have been forced out of work, when we cannot pay our rent or when we try to buy a car, our father will try to help as best as he can. We try to make use of his life experience, his information about people and his forward-thinking mentality. In fact, sometimes we end up with men who are exactly like him!

The Housewife: However modern you may be, however much you bind with your business woman profile, if you have not developed a skill to deal with living in a messy, dirty and chaotic house, it is necessary to play the role of the housewife. Even if you are single, you organize your home in some way. Is it possible for you to go to work with stained jackets and trousers that have not been ironed? What about making food? Lets say you have an assistant and he/she does all your duties. Would you let him sew your missing button back on? Of course (unless you have a special interest) you can't make baklava or knit lacework table-cloths like your mother and you might not have time for such things anyway. But we must not forget that the housewife profile and that of business woman are not "clashing" profiles. Women who are meticulous about their careers show the same attention towards their homes. In fact many women take food preparation or sewing courses as a hobby. They do not view their weekend chores as an extra tiresome activity but, to the contrary, as a relaxing activity. Hence the housewife profile is seen by modern woman not as a contemptible profile but as one that deserves appreciation.

The Caring Mother: Many women at some point in their lives listen to their hormones. They live the happiness of getting married and being a mother, creating a family and bringing up a child. Amongst the roles of a woman there is no discussion that the hardest but also some of the most joyful moments are those during motherhood. Endless self-sacrifice, patience and strength is required but nevertheless they give a woman untold emotions making this profile indescribable. Witnessing their child grow step by step, giving them advice on their path in life, being a friend and being proud from their success is very important for many women. Therefore despite all the difficulties and annoyances the easiest role to enjoy the most is without a doubt the caring mother role.

Young Girl: And here is the most sweetest and joyful role among women. Every woman from time to time feels like young girl who is full of life, spoilt, and cheerful. When she feels like this she brings life to every environment she enters. Shopping, cafes, colourful clothes, shoe manifestations, close friends, gossip, pyjama parties and occasional nights of drinking yourself silly. An adoration of Brad Pitt and a weakness for chocolate. No matter what age we are sometimes we all move according to the naivety and the courage of a young girl aged 18. We all fall victim to our small caprices and attachments, we place aside our reason and move with our emotions. In fact sometimes we exaggerate and act like a child in our emotional relationships. The source of these actions of our role as young girl are established in our adolescence and become something that we cannot and do not want to be freed of. Even though we are good at acting like a mature and wise woman, we know deep down that we can only have fun in life through the role of the young girl.

Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, rapid breathing, irregular heartbeat, sweating, nausea, and overall feelings of dread, although everyone experiences caligynephobia in their own way and may have different symptoms. For anyone earning a living, the financial toll of this phobia is incalculable. Living with fear means you can never concentrate fully and give your best. Lost opportunities. Poor performance or grades. Promotions that pass you by.

Like all fears and phobias, caligynephobia is created by the unconscious mind as a protective mechanism. At some point in your past, there was likely an event linking beautiful women and emotional trauma. Whilst the original catalyst may have been a real-life scare of some kind, the condition can also be triggered by myriad, benign events like movies, TV, or perhaps seeing someone else experience trauma.

So long as the negative association is powerful enough, the unconscious mind thinks: "Ahh, this whole thing is very dangerous. How do I keep myself from getting in this kind of situation again? I know, I'll attach terrible feelings to beautiful women, that way I'll steer clear in future and so be safe." Just like that caligynephobia is born. Attaching emotions to situations is one of the primary ways that humans learn. Sometimes we just get the wiring wrong.

The actual phobia manifests itself in different ways. Some sufferers experience it almost all the time, others just in response to direct stimuli. Everyone has their own unique formula for when and how to feel bad. Then there is the fear of women in general, gynephobia, which could create a very scary world!

Via CTRN

This problem often shows up in an error window that reports: "A Required DLL File, xxxx, was not found" or "The procedure entry point xxxx couldn't be located in xxxx.DLL" when you try to run an application, but can also manifest itself more quietly as programs not working properly.


The quickest solution to this problem can be by getting the DLL file from one of the following sites and moving it to the directory that it is supposed to be. Unless you have perfect memory, it might be a good idea to note the message in the error window before closing it.

• DLL-Files.com
• DLLDLL.com
• DLLDump.com
• DLLBank.com
• DLLLab.com

Simply search the missing DLL file, download it and place it where it belongs!

There are numerous competing theories as to why this happens. Some suggest that the wedding ring is a cue that a man is "safe," a passing opportunity for empty flirting; while others theorize that the female psyche sees the ring as an indication that another woman has deemed him worthy. Perhaps practice is the key to being a good mate, and females tend pick the male they know has put in some hours. Maybe it's because people generally want what they can't have - you know, forbidden fruit is sweeter.

This kind of behavior is also observed in several species of fish and birds — and especially in guppies, which is one of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish species in the world. In the animal world, this is known as as guppy syndrome or "mate-choice copying." It was first documented in 1996 that female guppies, which normally prefer to mate with large and colorful male guppies, are easily persuaded to pick a smaller and less colorful male if they observe another female mating with him. Since it's hard to get into the psychology of a guppy, we have to project a human interpretation on what we see: the females assume there's something special — if subtly so — about males who've already been chosen as mates.

So the question is, is the wedding ring effect a human-level analogue to the mate-choice copying we can observe in the animal kingdom? Is it possible to extrapolate this behavior to ourselves? Has anyone experienced the guppy effect/wedding ring effect firsthand?