Wednesday, October 17, 2012

New Visitors

http://www.schoolservice.com/store/c-108-visitor-badges-forms.aspx
New visitors,

Hi! Welcome.

Please subscribe, comment, like and share posts with your social networks.

The more feedback I receive the more I can tailor the writings for your reading pleasure.




Monday, October 15, 2012

Creating Success

http://msophelia.blogspot.com/
Creating success, being successful, and having successes are all different topics.

I have been in an office for the past 3 weeks.

This office has many framed posters hanging around.

In a room today I sat directly in front of a poster which read:

"When there is no wind, row."

Meaning- if nothing is coming your way, and you want it, make moves and go get it.

Sometimes we may want things? Other times we may need things. I often hear people say things like:
"I want to learn martial arts."
"I want to learn to play piano."
"I want to learn to speak Tagalog."

If you really want something, you will be able to look back and see progress. Maybe I am not as smart as some geniuses out there. Perhaps I cannot run as fast as an Olympian. Possibly, I just don't have a certain natural gift or personality type.

Think of anything you have learned or put effort into learning. If you were not naturally gifted in this area it likely took time, and study, and practice.

Have you ever become good or improved at a hobby or job without doing anything? Have you ever awakened and been able to fly?

During college I used to partake in "sleep studying." This was when I was up late preparing for an exam and I ended up falling asleep over my books. Do you think I learned all the material by drooling over the pages? How many times did I stare at a book cover to absorb the contents? Maybe if I were on the cast of Star Trek this could be my reality.

None of us are victims when it comes to wanting to learn something.
Most of the time the potential of the struggle and effort are not worth it to an individual.
This is why people may not want to make their dream come true.

My attitude is one of ambition. I do not think there is any task too difficult for me to accomplish. I am not very smart. But my brain is limitless. With time, effort, dedication, persistence, and MUCH PATIENCE I can learn anything. I will learn anything I want to know.

Making excuses is easy.

Being persistent can be hard. Especially when your effort may not seem to yield desired results.

But aren't any results better than zero results?

The best success comes through a struggle.

Common Difficulties of Building a Website


http://www.hostbig.com/online_website_builder.php

What are some common difficulties of building a website?

Balance between business and pleasure is my main answer.

Creating content and a visual appeal that could lead to a successful brand and a future small business development comes with some sacrifices. I would love to rant and rave as I jump from topic to topic (as I do on this blog)! But suppose a visitor stops by my "online business card," better known as my website; my visitors are searching for answers to their questions. Will they be quickly disappointed and driven away by the ambiguity?

SURE, I know what I am talking about, but visitors like structure. (visit my new site HERE at www.beefalie.net63.net).

When you walk into a grocery store or department you like to see signs over the isles and an organizational layout that makes common sense. Who wants to shop at a store with a big sign outside listing the items they sell, and a floor plan inside consisting of large bins? Not me. And not you.

When facing the difficulty of structure, you will first want to find out what is right for you. Are you selling something? Will you be sharing ideas daily or weekly or yearly? Will you have promotional days? Will your audience be shoppers, listeners, readers, a community, or will they be participating in an activity together?

Building a website may be a good option for advertising a store or product, but what if you want to post tons of related and continual content for the rest of your life? You may be better off with a blog. Blogs allow you to update your page as well as keep old information visible and accessible. Many blogs also let you categorize your topics. Unlike blogs, websites are intended to provide a static representation of your brand with an option for updates.

Those who wish to sell products may build an e-commerce site. These online stores help shoppers to see what you have and what they want. Many sites do not have a steep learning curve and they also come with many options for editing the layout and look of your pages. I would equate an e-commerce site like www.shopify.com to have a learning curve similar to www.facebook.com.

With a combination of social media you will be able to find and engage your audience. Link your sites to YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, PinTerest, Blogger, and most of all Google Plus.

Learn to affective content for your audience. Think like your audience. Learn about analytics, keywords, SEO, SEM, and learn to market yourself.

Pay close attention to what works. Are the videos you post too long? Are people only staying on your site for 1 minute? Either push your audience to be more engaged OR adjust your content to the trends.



Creating a Free Website

http://bitim.co.il
Creating a free website can prove to be a struggle. Questions you may want to ask yourself:

Are the services offered through free web hosting worth the free price?

Suppose you need some help with scripts. Or maybe your website decides to crash the day before you plan to launch a new feature. Will the free services accommodate your needs? Will the free hosting provide prompt and adequate help? Will you be able to edit your website as you please?

Sometimes you pay for what you get. But if you don't know what you want, it would not hurt to give it a whirl.

Since the recent summer of 2012 I have been playing around with content writing, website design, and website editing. As a self starter in most hobbies, I tend to enjoy the challenge of tooling around with software and hardware. I enjoy taking things apart and attempting a fix up. The aches in my brain bring me great pleasure. Well, most of the time.

00webhost is the free host I have been using. I have gone from no skills to decent skills, and all for free. Between YouTube, volunteer work, and borrowed library books I have developed some skills in Wordpress, HTML and CSS.

I do plan to take a few courses in the near future, but I prefer to learn things for free before I decide to pay.



Thursday, October 11, 2012

Website Update for www.beefalie.net63.net

http://www.avramovic.info/
 Hey!

I have decided, as of yesterday, to update and reorganize my www.befalie.net63.net site.

The site was a test site with a few pages of content featuring acoustic and electronic music and instruments.

I will be updating content.

I decided that instead of switching www.befalie.net63.net from WordPress 3.4.1 to WordPress 3.4.2
I should try to use my free web host's NEW Website Builder software service.
I AM EXCITED ABOUT THIS GUYS!
Hopefully no one gets upset by this, but I feel like playing with some new software for at least a few days or weeks.

If I don't like it I will switch back to WordPress.

I should be back up and running before the weekend.

KEEP REFRESHING!

www.beefalie.net63.net

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

LIVESTRONG: A Close Friend's Story

https://twitter.com/LIVESTRONG
See my good friend Iram's LIVESTRONG story.
http://www.livestrong.org/iram/

A very close friend of mine has unfortunately been going through an extremely rough rapid of a time.

We spent a portion of our lives together, and within that short area of time he brought myself and a group together as a small community of trustworthy friends.

People moved on and went to school and majored in different professional subjects and started dating and got married and had children and traveled and started careers.

http://blog.livestrong.org/2012/05/01/5-ways-livestrong-helps-you-get-emotional-support/
Click Here for Iram's story.

Time was lost.

But the friendships still remained.

Until about 1998-2002 or so we all lived in the same "bubble."

We later came in contact about once a year or less.

But there is something about good close friendships. While everything else around may crumble, there are still those people that you find yourself thinking about. Wondering about.

He has been one of the most influential friends I have ever had, people: keep him in your thoughts, prayers, and meditations. This runner, athlete, genius, pastor, therapist, counselor, father, friend... brain cancer survivor... as if he was not already going through a lot, he is still going through additional amounts of toil.

What do you tell someone with a story like his? How can you try and help a friend? What amount of money or kind words will help? Anything? Maybe it just helps to let the person know that you care? Or does it? I don't really know.
http://www.livestrong.org/iram/
DO YOUR BEST BROTHER!

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

The Perfect Job (Predictably Irrational) PART 1

http://stuartaustin.com/blog/?p=2096
I recently received an eBook from Chris Ariza of Golden State Saga.

In "Predictably Irrational" by Dan Ariely

the narrator speaks to me of the perfect job.

During this tight and unpredictable economy members of society are forced to sacrifice COMFORT, HAPPINESS, AND SANITY
for INCOME.

We have bills to pay!
These bills come in the form of
BABIES
LOANS
MORTGAGES
RENT
GROCERIES
GASOLINE!!!

As I listen to this eBook on my iPhone during my walks to the beach, I hear the words of Dan Ariely explain a concept that he does not directly state, but that I interpret as
THE PERFECT JOB.

Ariely uses a behavioral market research study to explain that when participants were paid to
do a boring job
for which they were
paid
yet those participants felt as if the job was not useful or helpful in anyway to anyone

THE PARTICIPANTS DID POORLY AND GAVE UP VERY QUICKLY.

The opposite was true for those participants who were
underpaid or not paid at all
yet
felt they were doing a good and needed service.

The point may be: Find employment where you feel needed OR you will need a greater payment to compensate for your lack of fulfillment.



The Perfect Job PART 2

http://the-big-opportunity.blogspot.com/2012/08/painting-picture-of-perfect-job.html
For nearly one year I have been employed by what I would term

The Perfect Job.

How would I rate this job in comparison to some others?

For my perfect job:

1. I would gladly do this job for free.
2. Getting paid to do this job nearly decreases my satisfaction with working.
3. I am glad when I am called to contract for the company.
4. The work is the challenge I need.
5. I can see myself doing this job for years to come.

Online Communities

http://www.peachtechnology.com/online_communities.htm
 Due to the invitation of some friends, I recently subscribed to Out-Cast Snipers today.

I tend to subscribe to online sites and online communities that allow me to virtually participate with others around the globe in discussing and partaking in my interests and dreams.

Do you like online communities?

Do you see them as positive or negative socialization tools?

Do you use them to learn? Or would you rather use them to scold trolls?

What are some of your favorite sites out there?

I tend to like gaming, social science, anime, 3D art/ design/ animation, and music (just to name a few).

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

To the Non-Christians



"Title: CHRISTIANS AS HARSH ELEMENTS AND CHRISTIANS AS SHELTERS: A Sukkot Essay (Year 5773/ 2012)"

As you read the following essay, keep these questions in mind:
QUESTIONS:
WHAT DID THE PHARISEES AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS DO?
http://www.sukkot.com/
WHAT DID JESUS DO?

INTRODUCTION
My main purpose in writing this informal essay is for NON BELIEVERS. That's right! I am writing to people who do not call themselves Christians. I am specifically writing to people who have been oppressed by Christians and people who have been slandered and mistreated by Christians who have used the Bible as a tool of hate instead of love. That's right! I am writing this to you all. So, if you read this, please do pass this essay along.

WHY WOULD I WANT TO WRITE ABOUT THE BIBLE TO NON BELIEVERS? Here is why: The Bible is often used to oppress and condemn and judge. This essay will show how religious people in the past had evil intentions to use the Bible even to the point of killing others because of their hardened hearts. YOU MAY WANT TO KNOW: WHY DO PEOPLE USE THE BIBLE TO TRY AND HURT US NON BELIEVERS? WHAT CAN I DO ABOUT THIS? I would say: if you want to do something about this, read the Bible for yourself. I would strongly urge that non believers would not be afraid to read the Bible because of people who give it a bad flavor. I believe that everyone should try to learn as much as they can about different cultures. Without this learning people will never come to an understanding of one another.  Here I want to use the concept of SHELTERS to write about USING THE BIBLE TO BASH OTHERS and WHY OTHERS USE THE BIBLE IN THIS WAY. I will talk about 1) A HOLIDAY CALLED SUKKOT, I will talk about 2) SUKKOT SHELTERS AND THE REASON WHY SHELTERS ARE NEEDED, and I will then come back to the topic of 3) BASHING PEOPLE WITH THE BIBLE.

AGAIN, HERE ARE THE SAME QUESTIONS:
WHAT DID THE PHARISEES AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS DO?
WHAT DID JESUS DO?

1) A HOLIDAY CALLED SUKKOT
At sundown on Sunday September 30th was the beginning of the 7 day festival called Sukkot. The Festival of Booths, or Shelters as I would prefer to call it for the purpose of this essay.

Q: What is the gist of these 7 holy days which revolve around shelters? (Exodus. 23.16, 34.22; Deuteronomy. 16.13.Nehemiah 8.14-15).

A: The main purpose of these 7 holy days is to commemorate and remember that when the Israelites were wandering in the dessert for 40 years. God commanded the Israelites to live in shelters in the wilderness. While wandering in the desert, the Israelites were accompanied by a pillar of cloud by day. This cloud gave them protection from the scorching sun and naturally brutal elements. By night a pillar of fire was with the Israelites because desert temperatures are extreme and I am guessing that during the night it was cold. The cloud and fire provided shelter. Many times, the Bible uses a 40 day or 40 year period of time to tell us that the people were in a destructive state, and after the period of 40 measurements the people had "fasted" during the 40 and were purified after the 40. During some Sukkot times the law of Torah is read throughout the 7 days.
http://crossandcutlass.blogspot.com/2012/02/follow-that-cloud.html

2) SUKKOT SHELTERS AND THE REASON WHY SHELTERS ARE NEEDED

If you flip open a Bible to John chapter 7, you will come across an account written by John about Jesus during the holiday of Sukkot. I call this part of the essay "SUKKOT SHELTERS AND THE REASON WHY SHELTERS ARE NEEDED " because during this account we can see that Jesus used the shelters to his advantage as the Pharisees sought to kill him. Here it goes!

AGAIN, REMEMBER THESE QUESTIONS:
WHAT DID THE PHARISEES AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS DO?
WHAT DID JESUS DO?

The religious leaders in Judea were plotting the death of Jesus. He was traveling around Galilee but he would need to go to Judea to celebrate the Jewish Festival of Shelters, Sukkot.

His brothers urged Jesus to go to Judea where the streets would be crowded and he could amaze and attract more followers and become famous by showing off his miracles. His brothers did not believe in him, they were actually mocking him by saying this.

Jesus told his brothers that because he was hated he would not be able to go, but he told the brothers that they could go because they were not hated.

The brothers left for the festival. Jesus actually ended up leaving for the festival as well, but after his brothers had already gone. Jesus got to the festival ducking around to avoid being noticed.

The Jewish leaders looked for Jesus during the festival but they could not find him.

I can speculate that Jesus would be hard to find. Imagine the city, Judea, where everyone had created booths for their families, guests, and friends. You are allowed to be a guest during this holiday. You can come as an "ushpizin" which is a guest that comes to a family's shelter. Jesus may have been with his own family. He also may have been an ushpizin at one or many of the shelters around Judea. It would be easy to find Jesus if he had stayed in Galilee. But Jesus decided to go to Judea during Sukkot. And everyone else was also in Judea. So, Jesus was ducking around for the beginning few days. Those seeking to kill him could not find him. Partly because no one would give him up, and I am sure it was also hard to find one person in a city packed with both local and traveling Jews.

Near the middle of the festival, possibly on about day 3 or 4 out of the 7 days, Jesus revealed himself by teaching at the Temple.

People were amazed at his teaching. It does not say what he was teaching. But he got the people's attention. Apparently, Jesus had not been trained, and people knew this.  

The traditions of the Jews for teaching and speaking about Torah require devotion to study. It was mostly the privileged and smartest people who were allowed to devote their early years to train to become a learned scholar. If you needed to help the family by working, you would not have the time to study. You needed to be favored and come from a prestigious background to even be given the privilege. (Have you seen "Fiddler on the Roof?" Tav says that if he was a rich man, he would study the holy books all day long). But, you still see Jesus teaching in the Temple.

THE TEACHING DID NOT GO WELL: Jesus called out that the leaders were trying to kill him. The people believed he was demon possessed and paranoid. They did not seem to know that the leaders wanted Jesus dead. Why would they want Jesus dead?

The back-story goes like this: Jesus had previously healed a man on the Sabbath, which was considered work. He said during his teaching that the leaders also worked when they circumcised their 8 day old boys on the Sabbath. This is why they wanted to kill him, because he did a miracle of healing on the Sabbath which was considered to be the work of healing according to the leaders.

Torah says not to work on the Sabbath. And work, in many cases, is determined by any activity that was done during the building of the Temple (e.g. lighting fire to bake bricks, building, creating, etc). Many forms of healing were considered work: grinding, manipulating an abscess, sipping vinegar, etc. Although some exceptions were made for the use of vinegar on the Sabbath. But some forms of healing were not considered work, mainly PIKUAH NEFESH= "to save a life." In addition, it was not considered work to use eye salve if the salve was applied before Sabbath began and was left on through the holy day; applying leaves was not considered work because leaves were not considered to have healing properties. Just to note, many of these laws come from the Talmud (Mishnah and Gemara., etc), but not from Torah.

Don't get me wrong, I am not refuting the Talmud texts. I am just stating that these thoughts come from an Oral Torah which was also used during the time of Jesus. This information would later be written down in the second century. The Oral Torah was not yet written down during Jesus' time. This information is said to have been given to Moses when he received Torah from God. It is said that Moses passed this information down in oral form, and it had been oral until the second century. Either way, as a rabbi, Jesus would have had knowledge of this information.

Because of the healing Jesus performed on the Sabbath in John 5, the religious leaders wanted to kill him. (In Matthew 12.9, Mark 3.1, Luke 6.6, Jesus also healed a man's hand on the Sabbath while teaching in synagogue).

According to Torah, one could be killed for breaking the Sabbath. It is debatable that the type of healing Jesus did would be considered breaking the Sabbath. Many types of healing are actually permitted on the Sabbath. So for the leaders to broadly say that healing was forbidden was actually incorrect, because there were ways in which healing was permitted.

After Jesus taught, the leaders tried to arrest him. THIS IS WHY I SAID THE TEACHING DID NOT GO WELL. I cannot imagine this happening in church. Correction, it has happened many times in a church but just in a different way.

Again Jesus spoke to the people. This was possibly on the 7th and final day of Sukkot Jesus shouted a quote: "Rivers of living water will flow from his heart" (Proverbs 18.4, Isaiah 44.3; 58.11- these passages generally state what Jesus said here, but this quote is not in the Bible exactly as Jesus said it).

While Jesus was teaching, there was a full debate going on in the Temple; Based on Micah 5.2, some debated that he could not be the Messiah because he was from Galilee and not born of the royal line of David in Bethlehem... But in fact, Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Joseph was of the line of David.

Some wanted Jesus arrested.

Some believed Jesus was a prophet (Deuteronomy. 18.15, 18; Malachi. 4.5-6).

The guards were going to arrest Jesus, but they were conflicted because they believed him.

Nicodemus, a Pharisee who had come to Jesus at night earlier on in the book of John, spoke up for Jesus saying that you cannot convict a man without a trial.

THIS WAS THE END OF SUKKOT. JESUS WAS NOT ARRESTED.

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives after Sukkot. But the next day he returned to the Temple early in the morning. Following the 7th and last day of Sukkot there was still another holy day (Leviticus 23.36, 39). He gained some students and he was teaching them. Then a woman who was framed during adultery with a man was sentenced to a stoning.

WHAT WAS JESUS TEACHING ON THIS DAY? Jesus could have been teaching V'ZOHT HABERACHA= "and this is the blessing" (Deuteronomy. 33.1-34.12). Or maybe he was teaching BERESHIT "in the beginning" (Genesis 1). My speculation comes from the parshah sections based on the current Jewish readings during and after the High Holidays.

While he was teaching in the Temple on this 8th holy day, a woman caught in adultery was brought before him. The leaders sought to stone her based on the law (Leviticus 20.10; Deuteronomy 22.23-24), but the law would have required the stoning of both the man and the woman. But here the leaders only wanted to stone the woman. Something strange and wrong seemed to be happening with these religious folk. Why were they condemning people? Why were they tweaking the words of Torah, the instruction of God, to try and kill and harm others? Do holy people really try to kill and harm others? This does not seem right to me.

3) BASHING PEOPLE WITH THE BIBLE
The previous sections talked about why shelters are needed. The reason why shelters are needed is to protect ourselves from being exposed to the elements. Again, the Israelites were exposed as they wandered in the desert. But there are still some people who are wandering. They are also exposed. They are exposed because they do not have a pillar of cloud, nor do they have a pillar of fire. They also do not have a sukkah or shelter to dwell in as others are running around trying to bash them with the Bible.

Based on the red text, you can see that sometimes people use the Bible in a twisted manner. They try to condemn, judge, and even kill others. BUT THEY DO THIS BY USING HALF OF THE TRUTH.

I can say that non believers could find truth in the Bible. But, they would have to be open to the Bible. And it is hard to be open to the Bible if people are trying to hurt you with this book.

The Bible teaches love. You can read this for yourself. Jesus says to love God (Deuteronomy) and love your neighbor (Leviticus). Basically, that is what the Bible teaches. Jews would also say this same thing. Religious Jews repeat, multiple times a day, The Shema. This is what Jesus referred to from Deuteronomy 6.4+. They definitely believe this.

So, why would someone want to bash another person? Change the wording of the Bible? Use strange interpretations to try and trip others up? Try and scare people by telling them that hell is their destiny? Work so hard to keep a non believer from entering a church/ Temple?
Hassle?
Taunt?
Protest?

HERE ARE SOME BETTER QUESTIONS:
WHAT DID THE PHARISEES AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS DO?
WHAT DID JESUS DO?

To me, it seems like the Pharisees did all of those things mentioned above. But you never see Jesus doing any of that kind of stuff, do you?

Jesus said that he does not judge. But he would be right in judgment, but he does not.

So, why would some humans spend so much time doing this? Why would some Christians spend so much time doing this? Who are we?

The judgment we see Jesus using was usually used against those leaders who were always attacking him. His attackers were not interested in his well being. They were not trying to serve him. They were trying to catch him so that they could have a reason to kill him. Because they hated him.

-attackers
-kill
-accuse
-hate

By looking at this picture we can see that treating a person that way is not good and correct. If you love a person you will not attack them. Jesus was uplifting towards those he healed. When he spoke to the oppressed and non believing people he was kind and gave them instruction. He was not attacking them. He did not try and get them arrested. He did not try and put them in jail. He did not try and trap them and make them feel like idiots.

Did he?

Why would some Christians spend so much time doing this? Who are we?

Basically, this is a time of reflecting on how God has protected us from the elements we are surrounded by. We may not be in the desert for 40 years, but we likely don't live in a utopia. We likely have things that we need shelter from:

physically,
emotionally,
psychologically,
and spiritually.

It would be nice if people were not trying to shelter themselves from Christians as Jesus tried to shelter himself from the Pharisees during Sukkot.

It would be good if Christians and churches could be the shelter in their social lives and communities.

It would be nice if Christians could all focus on how Jesus lived and not focus on their egos of being correct or incorrect and judgmental.

Because these things are nowhere near as important as love.

Christians ought to be SHELTERS and not HARSH ELEMENTS.

Right?