Here is some common sense advice...
Your Life Sucks Because You Expect It To Suck (and 10 Ways to Improve It Right Now) | ijerad.com: "The following list will help guide you through taking back control over your life. It’s a lot of information so I would suggest printing it out or bookmarking it so you can return on a regular basis and remind yourself what you are trying to accomplish."
What did Jefferson mean by separation of church and state? Certainly not what you have been led to believe!
Revisiting the Judicial Orthodoxy: Thomas Jefferson and the 'Wall of Separation' - Charles Colson - Koinonia House: "In that letter, President Jefferson referred to the now infamous 'Wall of Separation' between Church and State. For years, this so-called 'Wall' has provided the pretext for restricting religious expression. But the FBI's examination of an early draft of the letter shows that what Jefferson really meant by that 'Wall' bears little resemblance to the way it is being used today."
Don't you just hate voicemail? Consider this advice...
Think through what you are going to say before you place the call. When men hear the beep, they often freeze up and forget what they wanted to say. If you want to be the go-to guy at work, then you have to exhibit competence on all levels. Don’t spoil your confident image by hemming and hawing and filling your messages with “uhhhhs,” and “ummmms.” If it’s a really important call, consider writing out what you want to say beforehand. If the person picks up, great, you now have some notes to remember what you wanted to talk about. If they don’t answer, you can leave a clear and concise message.
State your name first. You would think this would be so basic that it shouldn’t even be mentioned. However, I can’t count the number of times I’ve gotten voicemails where people go on and on and I don’t even know who’s talking to me until the very end. Pretty annoying.
State your number right after your name. Many people wait until the very end of the message to state their number. This will irritate the receiver of your message because if he doesn’t get it down, he then has to sit through the whole damn message again to hear it repeated.
Repeat your phone number twice. People seem to forget that the receiver of their message has to write the number as you say it. Don’t rush through it. Even when you say it slowly, it’s hard to get down the first time. So repeat it again, so they can check to be sure they got it down right.
State the purpose of your call. In as few words as possible, state why you’re calling. Is it in regards to an interview appointment? Are you following up on a previous meeting?
Find some common ground. If you’re cold calling someone, your voicemail is your 30 second chance to make a connection and leave a good impression. One of the best ways to make a connection in that short amount of time is mentioning a mutual acquaintance. You could also mention a shared affiliation with an organization.
Be brief. Don’t make your listener resent you for leaving a 5 minute long message. People are busy. Listening to 5 minute phone messages is not on the top of their priorities and wastes their time. Many callers seem to think they are the only person in the world leaving a voicemail for a particular person. Yet a dozen other people feel the same way and a man ends up holding the phone to his ear for an hour.
Leave a specific request. What do you want your listener to do? Sure, you want them to call you back, but why? To answer a question? To set up an appointment? People will appreciate it if you give them specific actions for their call back. That way they’ll know they won’t be wasting a lot of time on the call back trying to figure out what you want.
Consider leaving your e-mail in addition to your phone number. People like choices. Some people like to have conversations on the phone, while others prefer communicating through e-mail. You don’t know what kind of person your listener will be, so leave the option on the table. For many, e-mail correspondence is less threatening and might actually encourage them to reach out to you.
Be Brief. Did I mention be brief? Yeah? Make sure to do it.
Has the 'notion of sin' been lost? - USATODAY.com: “Is sin dead? No, not by a long shot. Yet as Easter approaches, some pastors and theologians worry: How can Christians celebrate Jesus' atonement for their sins and the promise of eternal life in his resurrection if they don't recognize themselves as sinners?”
Here it is — Holy Week. The attendance at all our Holy Week services and activities combined do not equal the number of people we have on Christmas Eve. People seem to love to gather around a newborn baby. But the whole meaning of Christmas is lost without the events of Holy Week and Easter. Does the idea that Christ died for our sins mean anything to us today? These are some of the issues asked in this news article.
Linux News: Distros: Linux in the Mainstream: Why Does It Matter?: "what kind of business discontinues a product that sells out?"
So, Walmart, selling out of their new Linux computers decide to drop them? Go figure. Could there have been pressure from other quarters?
