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Wednesday 16th April 2014


G’day

Hope you had a great week and may the coming week be another!

Been doing a clean out of items no longer needed. Amongst them are two boxes of 2, 3 and 4 ring binders. If you would like some, flick me an email and I will organise it with you.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Please Help Save Some Native Habitat
 
 
 
 

Last year over 1.3 million of us called for the protection of the last place on Earth where orangutans, tigers, rhinos and elephants still roam free together. Amazingly, we froze the proposed plan that would have destroyed vast swathes of pristine rainforest in Sumatra. But now the local government is gearing up to revive the destruction, unless we act.

Palm oil, paper and mining companies stand to make money from developing this delicate ecosystem, and their pressure on the government to start cutting trees is working. But Europe holds the key to an even more powerful trade incentive for Indonesia, and experts say if the EU Ambassador speaks up now, he could protect the orangutans for good.

Conservation organisations in Sumatra are doing their best to get his attention but they’re asking for our help to amplify the urgent call. Let’s shine the global spotlight on the EU Ambassador to make sure he acts before it is too late. Sign now:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/aceh_rainforest_petition_loc/?tWcBaab

Approval of the plan to free up this enormous area of forest for mining, paper and palm oil plantations is an environmental disaster of catastrophic proportions. This place is the last chance for many species already in serious trouble.

As the EU Ambassador for Indonesia, Olof Skoog, can provide the political and technical support needed for the local government to properly review the current destructive plan and convince them to protect the most fragile part of the rainforest. There is considerable momentum already towards this solution with individual EU countries taking an interest but it needs to be a coordinated approach to have a strong impact and the Ambassador is the best person for the job.

The EU has been a major donor to sustainable development in Sumatra and Mr. Skoog should feel obligated to ensure that the gains made through this investment are not being put at serious risk by this destructive plan. Insiders say the only reason he’s not taking action already is because he hasn’t realised just how important this issue is and what he can do.

The biggest battle to save this rainforest is yet to be won. Let’s raise the volume of the call to the Ambassador and let him know we’re relying on him to save one of the most important forests on the planet. Click below to sign the petition:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/aceh_rainforest_petition_loc/?tWcBaab

Against all odds, we already helped delay the approval of this plan -- ensuring the national government took action to amend it. Then we came together and saved one million dollars worth of habitat for endangered species including orangutans. This is the last step to win a safe future for orangutans in Indonesia, and the players are all in place to make this a win!

With hope and determination,

Lisa, Emma, Ari, Sayeeda, Emily, Ricken and the whole Avaaz team

 
 
 
 
Competition to Win Trip to South America
 
 
 
 

Open to Australian residents.

 
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Heartlbleed Security Bug
 
 
 
 

Earlier this week a security bug has been discovered in a popular cryptographic software (OpenSSL) widely used to secure the internet putting millions of passwords, personal information and credit card numbers at risk.

Why is Heartbleed such a big deal?

Heartbleed affects the encryption technology used by companies to protect online accounts for banking, email, instant messaging and e-commerce.

How does it work?

Heartbleed creates an opening in SSL/TLS (an encryption technology used, marked by the small padlock and “https” on websites to show traffic is secure). The bug makes it possible to snoop on the traffic between the website and the web browser even when showing “https” and the closed padlock.

What do I do if I own a website?

Get your website administrator to verify your website is not affected by this bug. A fixed version of OpenSSL has been released, but it is up to the administrator to apply it. They can read more here http://heartbleed.com/ You can run a check yourself, but this might not be 100% accurate.

How do you protect yourself?

You will need to change your password, but until those sites have applied the fix there is no use. It would be up to the companies affected to inform you that they have applied the fix.

To give you an idea, Yahoo Inc. has more than 800 million users around the world, said that most of its popular services affected had been fixed but work it still being done on other services they have not identified.


Regards,

Rene Els
Elscomm

 
 
 
 
Just Be
 
Just Be
 
 
 

The right way to be, is to be.

 
 
 
 
Question The Psychiatrists
 
Question The Psychiatrists
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
Dehydrated Water
 
Dehydrated Water
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
Assassin’s Workout
 
Assassin's Workout
 
 
 

Don’t know about the Assassin bit but the workout looks worth doing.

 
 
 
 
Your Decision To Change
 
Your Decision To Change
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
Facebook Is Killing 3 Types Of Content In The News Feed
 
 
 
 

Facebook announced even more changes to its News Feed algorithm today, aimed at “cleaning up News Feed spam”. Facebook will be targeting three specific types of posts, and stop showing them in the News Feed: like-baiting, frequently circulated content, and spammy links.

 
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Nurse reveals the top 5 regrets people make on their deathbed
 
 
 
 

I posted this a couple of years ago now. Since then a great many people have come aboard my newsletter so it bears repeating. Apologies if you think not.

For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives. People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality.

I learnt never to underestimate someone’s capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them.

When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five:

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

This was the most common regret of all. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.

It is very important to try and honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.

2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.

This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.

By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle.

3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.

We cannot control the reactions of others. However, although people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way, you win.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.

It is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip. But when you are faced with your approaching death, the physical details of life fall away. People do want to get their financial affairs in order if possible. But it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them. They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love. Usually though, they are too ill and weary to ever manage this task. It is all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called “comfort” of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again. When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying.

Life is a choice. It is YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness.
http://www.ariseindiaforum.org/nurse-reveals-the-top-5-regrets-people-make-on-their-deathbed/

 
 
 
 
Which Comes First
 
Which Comes First
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
Please Take Off That Curse
 
Please Take Off That Curse
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
Where Socks Go
 
Where Socks Go
 
 
 

This is a far more reasonable explanation than “Sock Beach” where these singles just laze about in the sun!

 
 
 
 
Take A Close Look At This Parrot
 
Take A Close Look At This Parrot
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
Knowledge And Wisdom
 
Knowledge And Wisdom
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
To Thrive In Life
 
To Thrive In Life
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
You Get What You Focus On
 
You Get What You Focus On
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
One Ten Billionth
 
One Ten Billionth
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
Facebook’s Future Makes Great Fodder
 
 
 
 

Depending on who you believe, Facebook is dying. Sure, it’s been the rumour for a few years that people are giving up on the popular social network and some recent moves by Facebook certainly haven’t sat well with users and companies depending on the network to get their news out there.

Eat 24 — a Web-based food delivery system that has proven popular in more than 1,000 American cities recently wrote a “break-up letter” to Facebook.

“When we first met, you made us feel special. We’d tell you a super funny joke about Sriracha and you’d tell all our friends and then everyone would laugh together,” the letter reads. “But now? Now you want us to give you money if we want to talk to our friends. Now when we show you a photo of a taco wrapped with bacon, you’re all like “PROMOTE THIS POST! GET MORE FRIENDS!” instead of just liking us for who we are. That’s hella messed up.”

 
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2 Hours A Day Of Nature
 
2 Hours A Day Of Nature
 
 
 

You’re worth it!

And for those of us for whom 2 hours a day in the real world is hard or impossible to accomplish, here is just one place where you can get a taped dose! http://en.ecosounds.net/sounds-of-forest/rainforest-waterfall-and-jungle-sounds/

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Until next time,
dream big dreams,
plan out how to achieve them,
be continually executing your plans,
enlist people to your causes,
travel and/or read widely, preferably both,
all the while observing what you observe
rather than thinking what you are told to think,
think well of your fellow man,
take time to help your fellow man,
he sorely needs it and it will help you too,
eat food that is good for your body,
exercise your body,
take time to destress,
and do the important things
that make a difference -
they are rarely the urgent ones!

Tom

 
 

Most of the content herein has been copied from someone else. Especially the images. My goodness some people are talented at creating aesthetics! The small bits that are of my creation are Copyright 2014 © by Tom Grimshaw - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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