Facebook and Twitter Personalized Portrait Wall Art

It’s often said, we are what we eat but have you ever considered you are also what you write on Facebook or Twitter? This is the basic concept behind the ingenious social media portrait which you can place on your wall. All your Facebook or Twitter messages you’ve posted over the last few weeks, months or years can suddenly become an intimate part of your home interior décor whilst forming the basic shape of your face. You can see an example below.

 The group behind the creative social media portraits is a Dutch company called Art Buzz Amsterdam based in their native country of Holland. The customer visits their website where they upload an image they want turned into a piece of wall art and then sign-in to their Facebook or Twitter account to gain the statuses and tweets that will form the design and look of the portrait. The process is very simple and is explained in more detail on the website.

It doesn’t matter what type of face you have, what expression you show nor even whether you show your face at all. A photo of you walking in a scenic environment or of your beloved pet cat, dog or budgie can be turned into a Twitter or Facebook work of art for your walls. There is a selection of color choices as well as size options so as to find the perfect design for your décor scheme. Place the finished result in a contemporary bedroom or living room setting and impress your friends and guests with both your fabulously unique portrait and your previous statuses and tweets.

Olympic 100 days

April 18, 2012
1-260 Guardsmen from the Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots and Welsh Guards forming a giant "100" at Horse Guards Parade in London to mark 100 days to go until the 2012 London Olympic Games. London marked on April 18, 100 days to go until Queen Elizabeth II declares the 2012 London Olympics open, making the British capital the first city in the modern era to host the Games three times. AFP PHOTO / LONDON 2012

 2-An aerial view of the Olympic Park in London showing the Olympic Stadium (C), the warm up track and Canary Wharf in the background. AFP PHOTO / LONDON 2012 / ANTHONY CHARLTON

3-Australia's Beijing 2008 Olympic diving silver medallist Melissa Wu (L) talks to the Boxing Kangaroo as the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) in Sydney on April 18, 2012 marks 100 days until the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Australian Olympic team chief Nick Green said he remains confident of a top five finish in London despite a renewed threat from Britain, Japan, Germany and France. Green said Australia knows it will struggle to claim a place among the world's elite Olympic nations with the country set to send its smallest Games team in 20 years. AFP PHOTO / William WEST

 4-The London 2012 Olympic countdown clock shows 100 days to go in Trafalgar Square on April 18, 2012 in London, England. The opening ceremony of the games will take place on July 27, 2012. Photo: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

 5-The London 2012 Olympic Stadium (L) seen in the evening next to The Arcelor Mittal Orbit viewing platform at the Olympic Park in Stratford East London on April 12, 2012.. AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLIS

6-Giant Olympic rings made up of over 20,000 flowers are unveiled at Kew Gardens in London on April 18, 2012 to mark 100 days until the London 2012 Olympic Games. London Olympic organisers stressed the importance of creating a legacy from the Games on April 18 as they started the 100-day countdown by unveiling the event's motto: "Inspire a generation". AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLIS

 7-Children play in the sand while sculptor Mark Anderson puts the finishing touches to a giant sandcastle adorned with the Olympic rings and flags built to celebrate 100 days to go to the 2012 London Olympic Games on the beach at Weymouth on April 13, 2012. AFP PHOTO / ADRIAN DENNIS

8-An aerial view of the Olympic Park in London showing the Aquatics Centre. AFP PHOTO / LONDON 2012 / ANTHONY CHARLTON

9-A man with a mohican hair-do – synonymous with the English capital city - walks through Camden in London, England. Camden in North London has been one of the city's cultural centres since the 1960's, and is home to the famous Camden Market. Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

 10-Lord Sebastain Coe (L) prepares to address Olympic officials and the media whilst and London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton (C) and Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt speak in Kew Gardens on April 18, 2012 in London, England. Kew Gardens unveiled today a Giant Olympic rings installation made up of at least 20,000 plants and flowers to celebrate one hundred days till the opening ceremony of The London 2012 Olympic Games on July 27 and to announce the official motto as 'Inspire a generation.' Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images

 11-An aerial view of the Olympic Park in London showing the Parklands looking south towards the Olympic Stadium and Aquatics Centre. AFP PHOTO / LONDON 2012 / ANTHONY CHARLTON

டுவிட்டரில் வாசித்ததில் பதிந்தவை; பகுதி-2

1.0 வறுமைக்கோட்டிற்கு கீழே குறைவான மக்கள் இருக்கனும். வறுமைக்கோடு மேலே இருக்கனும். #முடியல

2.0 சமூகம் கெட்டுப் போய்விட்டதாடா/சரி/ஃபேஸ்புக் லைக்குகள் போடலாம்/வாடா

3.0 மரணப்படுக்கையில் தந்தை செல்வா சொன்ன மறக்காத வார்த்தைகள் "தமிழ் மக்களை இனி அந்தக் கடவுள் தான் காக்கவேண்டும்"

4.0 பழங்களின் அரசன் பலாப்பழம், பழங்களின் அரசி ஆப்பிள் - மங்கோலியா பழமொழி

5.0 Face your problems don’t Facebook your problems.

6.0 When wife says jump, do not ask why, ask how high....

7.0 கீ பேடில் அடுத்தடுத்து R T பட்டன்களை வைத்தவரே, என்னைப் பொறுத்தவரை ஆகச்சிறந்த ட்விட்டர் ரசிகன். # செய்யும் தொழிலே...

8.0 கலைஞர் சொல்வதை இந்த நாட்டு மக்கள் கேட்கும் நேரம் வந்தே விட்டது..... அவர் சொன்ன மாதிரி தூக்கிப் போடுங்கய்யா கடலுக்குள்ளே...

9.0 25 பைசாவை அந்த பெண் "இருபது..ஐந்து..பைசா" என்று சொல்வதற்குள் நமக்கு 1 ரூபாய் போய்டுது! #ஏர்டெல் கஸ்டமர் கேர் கொடுமைகள்!

10.0 ஃபேஸ்புக் போலவே டுவிட்டரிலும் குரூப்புகள் தொடங்கமுடிந்தால்.. தினமும் ஒருகுரூப் ஆரம்பித்து பலரையும் சேர்த்து கடுப்பேத்தலாம்! #வடபோச்சே

11.0 Skywalk on the highest skywalk in the world..

12.0 பாத்ரூமில் ஒரு கரப்பான் கூட்டத்தை அழித்தேன். "இது உயிரினங்களிடையிலான உயிர்பிழைப்பு யுத்தம். நத்திங் பர்சனல்" என்றேன் கடைசி கரப்பானிடம்.

13.0 ஹ்ம்ம்.. இனி ஒரு வாரத்துக்கு யுத்த வெற்றிக் கொண்டாட்டம், கோதாரி என்று கூத்தாடப் போறாங்கள்.. மழையை வரவழைக்க இப்படி ஒரு ஏற்பாடு

14.0 என்ன வெக்கை! நாசமாய்ப்போன வறட்டு சுற்றுச்சூழல் அக்கறைக்காக ஏசியைப் பயன்படுத்த முடியாத இழவெடுப்பிலிருந்து என்றைக்குத்தான் விடிவுகாலமோ!

Too much sitting linked to shortened lives

http://www.reuters.com

REUTERS - People who spent a lot of time sitting at a desk or in front of a television were more likely to die than those who were only sedentary a few hours a day, according to an Australian study that looked at death rates during a three-year period.

Researchers, whose results appeared in the Archives of Internal Medicine, found that the link between too much time sitting and shortened lives stuck even when they accounted for how much moderate or vigorous exercise people got, as well as their weight and other measures of health.

That suggests that shifting some time from sitting to light physical activity, such as slow walking or active chores, might have important long-term benefits, they added.

"When we give people messages about how much physical activity they should be doing, we also need to talk to them about reducing the amount of hours they spend sitting each day," said Hidde van der Ploeg, the new study's lead author from the University of Sydney.

Of more than 200,000 adults age 45 and older, van der Ploeg and her colleagues found that people who reported sitting for at least 11 hours a day were 40 percent more likely to die during the study than those who sat less than four hours daily.

That doesn't, however, prove that sitting itself cuts people's lives short, she noted, adding that there could be other unmeasured differences between people who spend a lot or a little time sitting each day.

The team surveyed about 220,000 people from New South Wales, Australia, between 2006 and 2008, including questions about participants' general health and any medical conditions they had, whether they smoked and how much time they spent both exercising and sitting each day.

Then the research team tracked responders using Australian mortality records for an average of almost three years, during which 5,400 - between two and three percent - died.

They found that the extra risk tied to sitting held up regardless of whether people were normal weight or overweight, how much time they spent working out and whether they

were healthy or had pre-existing medical conditions.

Van der Ploeg said too much sitting may affect blood vessels and metabolism by increasing fats in the blood and lowering "good" cholesterol levels.

"When you are standing or walking, your leg muscles are constantly working which helps to clear blood glucose and blood fats from the blood stream," she said. "If you are sitting, this is not happening because the muscles are not active."

The findings are consistent with other recent studies suggesting health consequences from too much sitting, said Mark Tremblay, an obesity and activity researcher at Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Canada.

"Sitting or reclining, especially in front of screens, is bad for you regardless of your age," said Tremblay, who wasn't involved in the study.

He added that even though people tend to think they're okay as long as they work out a certain amount a day, that's not necessarily the case.

"Getting your 30 minutes of physical activity five times a week is not insurance against chronic disease.

Both he and Van der Ploeg said there were ways that even people who have jobs involving a lot of desk work can train themselves to regularly interrupt sedentary behavior, such as standing up while on the phone or holding a stand-up meeting.

"Make sure the fax machine is four steps away from you, not within reaching distance," Tremblay said.

"Drink enough water that you have to pee four times a day. Stand up, stretch, walk around a little bit, say 'hi' to your friend in the cubicle next door."

Seven tips to making the right impression

LONDON (Reuters) - (Jo Bryant is an etiquette advisor and editor at Debrett's, the UK authority on etiquette and modern manners (www.debretts.com). Any opinions expressed are her own. Debrett's has a publishing heritage dating back over two centuries with a contemporary range of publications including "A-Z of Modern Manners", "Etiquette for Girls" and "Guide for the Modern Gentleman".)

LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) - We all know that making a good impression is fundamental to professional and social success. All too often, however, we unintentionally tarnish our personal polish by forgetting the basics of face-to-face communication.

From personal appearances and body language to handshakes and introductions, here are some top tips on being remembered for all the right reasons...

1. Looking Good 

Your appearance is an instant message to those around you, so the way you look is as important as how you behave. It goes without saying that you and your attire should be shiny and clean from head to toe. Dress appropriately for the situation - tailor your personal sense of style to suit your surroundings.

 2. Positive Posture

The way you stand, walk and sit all make a big impression. Hold your head high, keep your back straight and pull your shoulders back, but keep it all looking natural. Tread lightly (no clumping, thundering footsteps), and don't drag your feet or shuffle. Women should always sit with their knees together; men should avoid sitting with their legs excessively wide apart, and should never repeatedly jiggle their leg up and down.

3. Boost Your Body Language 

Body language is a series of silent signals that play a vitally important part in the impression you give to the world. Create an air of confidence and positivity by avoiding crossed arms, hunched shoulders and awkward fidgeting. Focus on good posture, positive gestures and a natural sense of self-awareness. Never yawn in public and don't forget to smile.

 4. Shake On It

A handshake, lasting just a few seconds, is the common form of greeting for all business situations and most social situations. Always use your right hand and ‘pump' the recipients hand two or three times before you let it go. Make eye contact and ensure that your fingers firmly grasp the other palm. Avoid bone-crushing grips or loose, limp hands.

5. Successful Social Kissing

When faced with a cheek-to-cheek greeting, approach the situation with confidence. Usually it's right cheek first, but prepares to change direction at the last minute. Cheek skin must make brief, light contact; avoid sound effects, air kissing and saliva traces. Pull back decisively (but don't be too abrupt) if you are just giving one. Be cautious with those you are less familiar with - two might seem over the top.

 6. Seeing Eye-to-Eye

There's no doubt that a certain amount of eye contact is a positive form of communication, but remember that there's a split-second's difference between a good impression and unnerving staring. Eye contact is crucial when you are being introduced to someone, shaking hands and engaging in conversation. Just don't unnerve your recipient with an intense gaze.

7. Interesting Introductions

When you are introduced to someone, the traditional response is to say "How do you do". If this is overly formal for the situation, then a friendly "Hello" is an equally acceptable response. If you are making the introductions, remember the hierarchy: men should be introduced to women, juniors to elder people. Offer a little information about each person as you introduce them to help break the ice. Speak clearly and don't mumble; you don't want people to be left embarrassed, forced into "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name" territory.

World's 10 costliest cities

World's 10 costliest cities to live in Western Europe still accounts for 24 of the most expensive cities in the top 50, with 14 hailing from Asia, according to the latest Worldwide Cost of Living (WCOL) Survey conducted by the Economic Intelligence Unit.
1-For the first time in at least two decades of reporting the worldwide cost of living survey Zurich sits atop the ranking as the world’s most expensive city. An index swing of 34 percentage points pushed the Swiss city up 4 places compared to last year. European cities dominate the top rankings in the latest Worldwide Cost of Living (WCOL) Survey conducted by the prestigious Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU).

2 & 3-Geneva (pictured), the other Swiss city surveyed saw a 30 percentage point rise in the cost of living to move up six places into joint third alongside Osaka Kobe. Both have scored 157 on the Index.

4 & 5-Both Japan (Osaka Kobe – pictured left) and Switzerland have seen strong currency movements over the last few years which year, where investors looking for a haven currency outside the beleaguered Eurozone have invested heavily in the Swiss Franc, prompting an unprecedented move by the Swiss government to peg the Swiss Franc to the Euro to keep the currency competitive.

6-Paris (Index score 150) is the world’s sixth most expensive city to live in, according to the EIU survey. The Worldwide Cost of Living is a bi-annual (twice yearly) Economist Intelligence Unit survey that compares more than 400 individual prices across 160 products and services. They include food, drink, clothing, household supplies and personal care items, home rents, transport, utility bills, private schools, domestic help and recreational costs.

7-Local inflation in mature markets always has far less influence on the relative cost of living than the currency movements of the countries in question. This also explains the recent presence of Australian cities like Sydney (Score: 147/ Rank: 7) and Melbourne (Score: 145/ Rank: 8) in the ten most expensive locations as last year saw the Australian dollar pass parity with the US dollar from holding half that value a decade ago.

8-With a score of 145, Melbourne is ranked at No.8.

9-Singapore’s presence in the top ten highlights a shift away from Western Europe towards Asian hubs. Cities from the Asia Pacific region (including Australasia) now make up half the ten most expensive. Singapore, with an Index score of 142 points, is the

world’s ninth most-expensive city to live in.

 10-The German city of Frankfurt is the world's tenth most expensive city to live in, according to the latest Worldwide Cost of Living Survey (WCOL) conducted by the prestigious Economic Intelligence Unit. Frankfurt has a score of 137 on the index.

More than 50,000 individual prices are collected in each survey, conducted each March and September and published in June and December. EIU researchers survey a range of stores: supermarkets, midpriced stores and higher priced specialty outlets. Prices reflect costs for more than 160 items in each city. These are not recommended retail prices or manufacturers’ costs; they are what the paying customer is charged.

Prices gathered are then converted into a central currency (US dollars) using a prevailing exchange rate and weighted in order to achieve comparative indices. The cost-of-living index uses an identical set of weights that is internationally based and not geared toward the spending pattern of any specific nationality. Items are individually weighted across a range of categories and a comparative index is product using the relative difference by weighted item.

The survey itself is a purpose-built internet tool designed to calculate cost-of-living allowances and build compensation packages for expatriates and business travelers. The survey incorporates easy-to-understand comparative cost of living indices between cities. The survey allows for city to city comparisons, but for the purpose of this report all cities are compared to a base city of New York, which has an index set at 100. The survey has been carried out for more than 30 years.

How to be a Great Project Leader

Being a fantastic leader is all about the way you motivate and inspire your team. Take these five tips to boost your leadership skills:

1: Set Clear Goals
Whether it's building the pyramids, landing on the moon or winning the NBA final, every great Project Leader in history has set very clear goals for their team.

 Keep your goals "smart" (i.e. specific, measurable, action oriented, realistic and time bound). Only set 2-3 goals. Keep them short, punchy and meaningful. The key is that everyone in your team must be able to remember the goals set, without writing them down. If you can do that, then you're already on the road to success.

 2. Motivate Individually

Find out exactly what it is that motivates every person in your team. For some it's money, for others it's doing work that they enjoy and for others it's working with a great team.

 If you know what it is that motivates every individual in your team, then you can do what it takes to keep them motivated throughout the project. Implementing just one approach to motivating your team (e.g. team building exercises) is not enough. You need to mix it up. That way you can match everyone's individual needs, to keep them pumped and working as hard as possible towards the project goals.

 3. Track Progress Clearly

As well as setting goals and motivating your team to achieve them, you need to monitor progress each week to make sure you're on track. Make sure you tell your team every week-what they've achieved and what they haven't. Talk through the wins and losses, the challenges and issues. Get their feedback to ensure buy-in.

 4. Reward Good Performance

Great Project Leaders always reward and recognize great performance in the team. You need to constantly think of new ways of rewarding your team for the right behaviour.

Implement two types of reward systems. The first are rewards that are provided when the team achieves certain targets. For instance you might hold a team dinner or social function if the team completes Phase 1 of the project delivery on time.

The second type of reward system is more personal. For those team members that perform at exceptionally high levels, offer them special rewards for good performance. Remember that rewards don't have to be expensive. It's usually the thought that counts and the recognition that goes with it.

 5. Professional Development

Great Project Leaders are constantly looking for ways to improve how they lead the team. So keep working on your presentation, communication and documentation skills each week by taking time out to learn on the web, watch videos and taking training courses.

If you improve your professional skills every week, then so will those within your team-boosting your chances of success.

So that's it. If you can set clear goals, track progress, reward and recognize your team and improve your professional skills-then you're sure to become a Great Project Leader!

Five careers that are disappearing

A recent report released by the U.S. Department of Labour (DOL) analysed the projected employment situation in the US for the next eight years. The report identified the industries, such as healthcare and professional and business services, that are expected to have increasing available job numbers by 2020. The report also discussed industries that are expected to decline in that period of time, including agriculture, manufacturing and government.

The reasons for a decline in jobs in any sector are dependent on many factors, including technological change, the status of the overall economy and the outsourcing of employment overseas. While some of these declines are cyclical and may reverse themselves, there are many that are expected to be permanent shifts in the labour force. Here are five jobs that are expected to continue to vanish in the future.

Journalists
News gathering has changed in a huge way in the past decade. Technology allows news stories and photos to be beamed all over the world and the instantaneous nature of dissemination requires fewer reporters and journalists to have "boots on the ground." Coupled with this is the rise of citizen journalism - everyday people reporting on happenings around them. As more news is being reported online rather than through our televisions at 6 p.m. every evening, traditional jobs for reporters with notebooks and tape recorders are disappearing.

Financial products salespeople
Fifty years ago, most insurance products were sold door-to-door by well-dressed insurance salesmen. Most bonds, stocks and other investments were sold in well-appointed bank offices. As with many industries, technology and access to computers and the Internet have changed all that. Consumers can purchase most financial products online with a few clicks of the mouse. Investment analysis is available on the Internet along with annual reports and prospectuses. The need for face-to-face sales pitches has dissipated and these jobs will continue to decline.

Technology help desk support
Most major consumer-oriented corporations must maintain a help desk and technical support function to cater to their customers. In today's global economy, an increasing number of these jobs are going overseas, especially to India. Companies pay outsourced workers in developing countries a fraction of what they would be required to pay American workers, and the cost savings can be significant. This results in a permanent reduction of available American jobs in this industry.

Public sector employees
Local and state governments around the country are struggling to balance their budgets. The federal government is battling to get a grip on spending in order to curtail its galloping deficit. One of the largest expenses in any government entity is labour. The US Department of Labour report projects that federal government jobs alone will shrink by approximately 372,000 by 2020.

Logistics
There was a time when almost all correspondence - whether between individuals or companies - was sent through the mail. Both letters to Aunt Millie and legal contracts physically travelled from one recipient to another and thus was built the United States Postal System. Over time, other couriers entered the industry, including UPS and FedEx. As technologies move forward, more business and personal information is being transferred digitally, through email, fax and text messages. Not only does this form of communication provide the benefit of being virtually instantaneous, but it's also cost-effective. Jobs in the delivery/logistics field have been in decline and are expected to continue to do so in the next decade.

The bottom line
While some job opportunities are stalling or vanishing altogether, other industries are creating new jobs and job classifications every day. Understanding labour trends and the projections of future job opportunities can help college students decide on majors and businesses choose strategic direction.