So without wasting much time, here goes Super Sunday Links #1:-

• Crysis Warhead announced – If you are gaming freak and above all if you are one of the CRYSIS lovers, Madhur has got amazing news for you.
• Save Vista Laptop Battery with Vista Battery Saver – Nirmal tells us how we can save up to 70% of our battery by this simple freeware application.
• New Updated S60 Touch video Shows up – Kanak has got exciting news for us that confirms about Nokia working real hard to beat iPhone.
• List of Social Bookmarking Plugins in Firefox – Eches finds a Firefox plugin that enables you to save and manage all your bookmarks online.
• Find Free Wireless Access Points With Free Hotspot – Keith also finds a free service that helps us to find free WiFi access points to its users.
• Sound the Alarm to Prevent Your Computer from Being Stolen – Steve talks about giving our computer more and better protection.

Hope, you like the blogs mentioned above. They have got lot many useful articles. Perhaps, I’ll mention those in the next series of Super Sunday Links and also articles from various other blogs as well. Till then enjoy these links and don’t forget to post in your comments. They are more valuable than anything.

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Ancient attitudes to grammar still survive: many people are in awe of it, know little about it, tend to fear or dislike it, often find it baffling and boring if exposed to it at school, and yet a minority is fascinated by it: a field in which precise scholarship and fault-finding literalism have coexisted for centuries.

The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar and MSN Encarta have designated March 4, 2008 as National Grammar Day.

Sponsored by the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar (SPOGG), National Grammar Day was created by Martha Brockenbrough, the disarmingly cheerful author of the Encarta column Grumpy Martha’s Guide To Grammar And Usage. SPOGG’s mission is not only to “encourage the use of standard English grammar and spelling” but also to foster “a sense of humor about language (and other things, as well)”.

Why Grammar Matters?

Grammar is not just an irritable exercise in pointing out the stylistic shortcomings of others. Grammar matters because it allows us to talk about language, and language (so we’ve heard) is a defining characteristic of being human.

Or as Bart Simpson says, “Grammar is not a time of waste.”

What Is Grammar?

Hear the word glamour and what comes to mind? Celebrities, most likely limousines and red carpets and more money than sense. But, odd as it may sound, glamour comes directly from a decidedly less glamorous word- grammar.

During the Middle Ages, grammar was often used to describe learning in general, including the magical, occult practices popularly associated with the scholars of the day. People in Scotland pronounced grammar as “glam-our,” and extended the association to mean magical beauty or enchantment.

In the 19th century, the two versions of the word went their separate ways, so that our study of English grammar today may not be quite as glamorous as it used to be.

But the question remains: What is Grammar?

In our glossary of grammatical and rhetorical terms you’ll find two definitions of grammar:-

• The systematic study and description of a language.
• A set of rules and examples dealing with the syntax and word structures of a language, usually intended as an aid to the learning of that language.

Value of Studying Grammar

The study of grammar all by itself will not necessarily make you a better writer. But by gaining a clearer understanding of how our language works, you should also gain greater control over the way you shape words into sentences and sentences into paragraphs. In short, studying grammar may help you to become a more effective writer.

Descriptive grammarians generally advise us not to be overly concerned with matters of correctness: language, they say, isn’t good or bad; it simply is. As the history of the glamorous word grammar demonstrates, the English language is a living system of communication, a continually evolving affair. Within a generation or two, words and phrases come into fashion and fall out again. Over centuries, word endings and entire sentence structures can change or disappear.

Prescriptive grammarians prefer giving practical advice about using language: straightforward rules to help us avoid making errors. The rules may be over-simplified at times, but they are meant to keep us out of trouble–the kind of trouble that may distract or even confuse our readers.

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Well, friends last week I was not able to post my article because of mid term examination. It lasts for four days, two exams each day. Phew! It was quite hectic. Anyways, coming back on the track………

This time I wanted to share something for which I am highly obliged to my college (Amity University) and I am blessed to get admission in it. Our college runs two subjects besides all other common subjects that are ASCENT AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE.

After attending lectures of these two classes, I was feeling like I am so much lucky to get such knowledge from the very beginning. I am going to share my experience out here.

BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE

This class is all about polishing our behavior and about personality development. Many workshops are being held in this subject which help us to know such things that we are not aware of. There are different activities that are quite interesting and helpful too.

In our last workshop we had a topic PROBLEM SOLVING, in which we have done an activity to understand the main aim of the workshop. In that activity, our faculty had given us few questions based on following topics:-

KNOWLEDGE
COMPREHENSION
APPLICATION
ANALYSIS
SYNTHESIS
EVALUATION

Accordingly, we have to answer them applying all above rules and guess what, these are few steps we go through when we sort out our problems. Well I will surely discuss it in details that how interesting it is. So in this way this subject is more playful and knowledgeable. We get to learn a lot about human
behavior and much more.

ASCENT

As the name suggests ascending or rising, so is the main aim of this subject. This subject is introduced to us so that we get ready for the biggest opportunity in our life for which we are studying harder, yes that’s right! Placements and job opportunity in the upcoming years is the primary concern.

The main focus is on our communication skills, body language, eye contact, facial expressions, confidence level, knowledge, accent, group discussion and all other stuffs which are important for personal interviews and subsequently getting a good job.
Till now we only had one class because it is introduced just few days before. Our first class was very informative for me. The faculty has given time to each individual in a personal interview and told us various aspects that are lacking in us and how could we manage to correct that.

As for me I was advised to read articles, newspapers and magazines because I was bad at expressing myself, except that, everything was quite impressive i.e. my confidence, eye contact, accent etc.
So no sooner I got to know about my weak point, I started reading even though I hate it but I found those comments and feedbacks very true and the only way to improve my expressing skill is to keep myself updated.

So far, I am very much excited to attend these two classes may be I use to bunk others, but a BIG NO for these two.
I am always interested to know myself more and to improve in all respect so I am enjoying it and learning a lot from it.

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Today, let’s make a pledge to quit smoking. If you have tried to quit smoking and failed before, take comfort in the fact that most smokers fail several times before quitting successfully.
Your past failures are not a lesson that you are unable to quit. Instead, view them as part of the normal journey toward becoming a nonsmoker. Try to be an optimist and see a glass half filled rather than half-empty.

Why Quitting Is So Hard?

You’ve probably heard many times about the hazards of smoking. Not only does smoking harm nearly every organ in the body and cause a host of health problems, but it reduces physical well-being in general. But despite being well aware of the health consequences of smoking, and despite a strong desire to quit, kicking the habit is very hard for many smokers. This is because smoking is both physically and psychologically addictive. If you’re going to successfully stop smoking, you’ll need to understand both types of addiction and recognize the role each plays in the underlying reasons why you’ve smoked.

Here are 12 techniques that will help you quit the habit.

S - Set a quit date.
T - Tell family, friends, and co-workers that you plan to quit.
A - Anticipate and plan for the challenges you’ll face while quitting.
R - Remove cigarettes and other tobacco products from your home, car, and work.
T - Talk to your doctor about getting help to quit.

REMEMBER YOU CAN DO IT!!!

1- Deep Breathing Perhaps The Single Most Powerful And Important Technique:

Every time you want a cigarette, do the following. Do it three times.

Inhale the deepest lung-full of air you can, and then, very slowly, exhale. Purse your lips so that the air must come out slowly. As you exhale, close your eyes, and let your chin gradually sink over onto your chest. Visualize all the tension leaving your body, slowly draining out of your fingers and toes, just flowing on out.

This is a variation of a yoga technique and is very relaxing. If you practice this, you’ll be able to use it for any future stressful situation you find yourself in. And it will be your greatest weapon during the strong cravings sure to assault you over the first few days.

2- Taking In Fluids:

The first few days, drink LOTS and LOTS of water and fluids to help flush out the nicotine and other poisons from your body.

Remember that the urge to smoke only lasts a few minutes, and will then pass. The urges gradually become farther and farther apart as the days go by.

3- Stay Away From Alcohol, Sugar And Coffee

Do your very best to stay away from alcohol, sugar and coffee the first week or longer, as these tend to stimulate the desire for a cigarette. Avoid fatty foods, as your metabolism will slow down a bit without the nicotine, and you may gain weight even if you eat the same amount as before quitting. So discipline about diet is extra important now. No one ever said acquiring new habits would be easy!

Nibble on low calorie foods like celery, apples and carrots. Chew gum or suck on cinnamon sticks.
Stretch out your meals; eat slowly and wait a bit between bites.
After dinner, instead of a cigarette, treat yourself to a cup of mint tea or a peppermint candy.

4- Taking An Oral Substitute

One can use cinnamon sticks, chewing gum or artificial cigarettes as a substitute. You will mostly find that after the first week of being a non smoker, you wouldn’t even need these.

5- Get Exercising

Go to a gym; sit in the steam, exercise. Change your normal routine – take time to walk or even jog around the block or in the local park.

6- Pamper Yourself

Go ahead and join a yoga class. Get yourself involved in a hobby.

7- Ask For Support

Ask for support from co-workers, friends and family members. Ask for their tolerance. Let them know you’re quitting, and that you might be edgy or grumpy for a few days. If you don’t ask for support, you certainly won’t get any. If you do, you’ll be surprised how much it can help. Take a chance – try it and see!
Ask friends and family members not to smoke in your presence. Don’t be afraid to ask. This is more important than you may realize.

8- Destroy All Your Cigarettes

On your quit day, hide all ashtrays and destroy all your cigarettes, preferably with water, so no part of them is smokable.

9- Write It Down

Write down ten good things about being a nonsmoker – and then write out ten bad things about smoking. Do it. It really helps.

10- Don’t Pretend

Don’t pretend smoking wasn’t enjoyable. In fact, it was. This is like losing a good friend – and its okay to grieve the loss. Feel that grief, don’t worry, its okay. Feel, and you heal. Stay with it – you can do it!

11- Affirm Yourself

Several times a day, quietly repeat to yourself the affirmation, “I am a nonsmoker.” Many quitters see themselves as smokers who are just not smoking for the moment. They have a self-image as smokers who still want a cigarette.

Silently repeating the affirmation “I am a nonsmoker” will help you change your view of yourself, and, even if it may seem silly to you, this is actually useful.

12- Holding Out

It’s vital to understand that from time to time, you will still be suddenly overwhelmed with a desire for “just one cigarette.” This will happen unexpectedly, during moments of stress, whether negative stress or positive (at a party, or on vacation). If you are unprepared to resist, succumbing to that “one cigarette” will lead you directly back to smoking.

Remember the following secret:-

In these surprise attacks do your deep breathing, and hold on for five minutes, and the urge will pass.

Researching how to quit smoking is one of the first steps for smoking cessation. Deciding on one of the ways to quit smoking is a bit more difficult, but with support and determination, it will make a lifetime of difference.

That was all about different ways to quit smoking. Hope many of us will follow these steps to quit smoking and make their life longer and better.

GOOD LUCK

“Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today”

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Previously, I discussed about Human Attitude. This time let’s focus on what is termed as killers that travel in packs- Cigarettes and Man’s biggest weakness- Smoking.

Smoking is, if not my life, then at least my hobby. I love to smoke. Smoking is fun. Smoking is cool. Smoking is, as far as I am concerned, the entire point of being an adult.

How many times have we heard similar words being said again and again in different formats?The addiction and susceptibility of our body to the harmful chemical nicotine we attain through the different tobacco products we smoke or chew is basically termed as Nicotine Dependence. When we smoke cigarettes nicotine enters our body along with various other chemicals. Nicotine inhaled through the smoke heads straight to the brain and activates the pleasure cells, thereby producing physical and mood altering effects that give us momentary pleasure. But these effects are addictive, making your system crave for continued use of tobacco, once you have it.

Nicotine dependence or plainly speaking ‘the Smoking Habit’ can be very derisive with your health problems. It would initiate a lot of tobacco related harms in your body that can ultimately give rise to diseases of the lungs, heart and blood vessels. Smoking is the evil behind many cases of mouth and lung cancer.

Have you ever thought to find out with every cigarette you lights up daily, along with it what are the other harmful things you are consuming indirectly?

I am sure your reply will be “NO”

That’s because if you have ever thought of, then you must have quit smoking.

SMOKERS, please at least be aware of certain facts before you smoke next time.

1- What does cigarette contains?

Cigarette contains over 4000 ingredients other than tobacco and Cigarette Smoke contains 69 carcinogens. In addition to common additives such as yeast, wine, caffeine, beeswax and chocolates, cigarette contains various ingredients with other common use —

acetic acid- vinegar
acetone- nail polish remover
ammonia- cleaning agent
arsenic- poison, used as insecticide
butane- lighter fluid
cadmium- found in batteries
DDT- insecticide
ethanol- alcohol
formaldehyde- substance used to preserve body tissue known as carcinogen
hydrogen cyanide- gas chamber poison
methanol - rocket fuel
naphthalene- moth balls
toluene- an industrial solvent
vinyl chloride- plastic piping

2- Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking

There are no physical reasons to start smoking. The body doesn’t need tobacco the way it needs food, water, sleep, and exercise. In fact, many of the chemicals in cigarettes, like nicotine and cyanide, are actually poisons that can kill in high enough doses.

The body is smart. It goes on the defense when it’s being poisoned. For this reason, many people find it takes several tries to get started smoking: First-time smokers often feel pain or burning in the throat and lungs, and some people feel sick or even throw up the first few times they try tobacco.

Smoking harms nearly every organ of the body; causing many diseases and reducing the health of smokers in general. More deaths are caused each year by tobacco use than by all deaths from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides, and murders combined.

3- Different types of diseases caused by Smoking

Worldwide research institutes have established the facts of short term and long term effects of environmental tobacco smoke. Let us understand these one by one.

Short Term Effects:

It depends upon the susceptibility of a person to nicotine. Some can stay in a room with smokers for quite a long time apparently without being effected. Others may get ill within a few minutes or an hour of exposure to environmental smoke.

• Asthma patients may experience attacks due to ETS exposure.
• Allergy patients experience all types of allergic symptoms like stuffy nose, watery eyes, runny nose, sneezing, wheezing etc.
• Coughing
• Headache
• Nausea
• Lethargy
• People who are trying to quit feel cravings for a smoke

Long Term Effects:

There are quite a number of dangerous long term effects of environmental smoke depending upon the frequency of exposure to involuntary smoking. The likelihood of below mentioned diseases are increased by frequent exposure to passive smoking.

• Risk of lung cancer
• Risk of heart disease
• Risk of miscarriages and birth defects
• Risk of developing asthma in children and adults
• Risk of ear infections
• Aggravated asthma, allergies, and other conditions
• Learning difficulty in children
• Risk of lung infection

This article is especially dedicated to all the smokers and also to the non-smokers so that they get to know certain facts which originally they might not knew about smoking and its harmful effects not only on them but also on people around them. I hope you will now think on this matter.

Smoking is not good for us in any case, then why we still smoke ???

Please, do ask this question to yourself…

and if your mind says…..”Yes ! I should quit smoking”

Then I will help you in doing so. Don’t forget to check out next Tuesday- ways to quit smoking!

It’s all one thing – both tend into one scope -
To live upon Tobacco and on Hope,
The one’s but smoke, the other is but wind.
~Sir Robert Aytoun of Kincaldie, “Sonnet on Tobacco”

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A Winner’s Life
is always
Half-Full

What is Attitude?

Generally, People have a wrong convention about attitude!!!

1- Attitude is how you think and whether you lean towards optimistic or pessimistic.

2- Attitude is a mental position relative to a way of thinking or being. The current popular usage of attitude implies a negative mind set.

3- Attitude comes from judgments. It develops on the ABC model i.e. Affect, Behavioral change and Cognition.

4- Most attitudes on individual are a result of observational learning from their environment.

Importance of Attitude in our Life

The positive attitude is necessary for success. One who trusts his or her own abilities to self manage (“I can do this”) will be more diligent in self management than one who does not.

Choosing our Attitude

Have we realized that our attitude is our choice and that we alone can decide how to deal with events in our lives??? Have we chosen our attitude???The answer to this question will determine how we position our self in life, to face the challenges ahead of us.

1- We must take responsibility for our attitudes as well as actions. This will give us strength and control during time of change. Prior to a change, most people are comfortable because the situation is familiar. But when situation changes, we may experience feelings of fear, anger, sadness, resistance, as well as relief, hope or excitement. What we do with these feelings is what makes a difference.

2- When we are able to find something positive or see possibilities, we will have energy and motivation. It is paramount that if we learn to manage our attitude, we will not feel paralyzed and potential benefits will follow.
–We will be able to secure assistance with a positive attitude.
–Our self-esteem and productivity will increase.
–We can and must be a role model for others.
–We will have more energy to pursue our goals and dreams.

3- We must act to create our own future. A positive attitude will help us create our future instead of being held back by allowing negative feelings to affect our attitude and behavior. Choosing or exhibiting the right attitude is critical.

Take a Commitment……..You Will Move Mountains…

How do we create a Positive Attitude?

We must monitor and correct our attitudes. One of the most difficult yet important tasks is to monitor and correct deterioration in our attitude.

1- We must engage ourselves in positive self talk.
2- We must stop our self when we realize we are talking negatively.
3- We must attempt to replace negative messages with positive messages.
4- We should also surround ourselves with positive people.

“Attitudes are like Magnets”

To conclude, I must say that it will take and does require hard work to succeed, but we will find it can be accomplished more effectively with a positive attitude. Our positive attitude will be valued and appreciated by those around us. Remember when changes come our way and it will, we can and must remain in control by of course, controlling our attitude and responding positively to that change.

“Turn your problems into Opportunities”
Change your attitude and you will change your life…

“The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them.”

George Bernard Shaw

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