Dark clouds getting closer
After a whole week of sunshine and not less than 25 °C / 77 °F all day long, I kind of appreciated some fresh air this morning. Finally, a Summer storm!
Well… no. It was dark, it was cloudy and it was chilly indeed. For just about 1 hour. Now it’s sunny again and definitely warmer.
I wish I had my proper camera with me, but here is another one for the iPhone collection!
No, I am not going to Africa again, alas.
I would love to, but this time I am going to talk about a trick I find quite useful. It’s nothing new and probably some of you geeks out there already know it. Actually, I am sure you already know it. But here it goes…
Ever thought of how to download a video from YouTube? Maybe you installed a plug-in on Firefox, some work really well. Now, on Safari, which is available for Mac and Windows, you can just go to the main menu and
1- select “Window”,
2- then select “Activity”: a new window shows up, listing all the files currently in use on your browser, including videos.
3- Scroll down and check the size of the files, you can easily figure out which one is the video that you want.
4- Double click on it and ta-dah… the file is automatically downloaded on your desktop.
Happy surfing! Or Safari-ing… 
I like walking home across the fields and look around. You never know what you’ll stumble upon…
I think I’m going to start taking random photographs with the phone and see what comes out of it. Some times the results aren’t too bad, for a phone camera without flash, or zoom!
And here is a beautiful red sunrise over the Royal Agricultural College in Cirenceter.
An Italian riddle says:
“Rosso di sera, bel tempo si spera.
Rosso di mattina, maltempo s’avvicina.”
It means ‘red at night, good weather we hope. Red in the morning, bad weather is coming’ but yesterday it was wrong, we had a beautiful sunny day!
I’m going to try to summarise some of the things I’ve learned and I remind myself periodically.
Be honest. It shows you are dependable.
It might sound obvious, but people forget how even little lies or silly excuses can spoil relationships of all kinds. At work, if you don’t know how to do something, just say it. It’s probably better than being fired because you are a disaster at your assignments. You might also be surprised how in some circumstances, being direct is appreciated. Also learn when not to be too direct, though. Some people like it the diplomatic way.
Be patient, but not too much.
Nothing and no one are as seldom seen and hard to know as they seem. Of course, you shouldn’t sit down and wait for things to happen and a fair dose of pushing is some times required instead. However, being too pushy can as disastrous as being a liar. Develop your intuition, it is of great help in telling you when it is the right time. Think of it that way: the more you train your intuition, the faster it works, the less you have to wait, the sooner you can get into action.
Make friends, but not too many.
Most people we know are not real friends, but just people we know. A friend is someone who can put your interest above his/her own. A friend is someone you can talk to twice a year and it will still feel like you just chatted 2 days ago.
Spend time in the outdoors, possibly by yourself.
Take some time for yourself. Have a walk in the park on through the fields, depending on where you live. Go for a swim or sit on a mountain top. You choose the location. The elements will do the rest. You will come back more relaxed and who knows, maybe even with some solutions for problems.
Learn to say “No”, politely.
There are things we don’t know how to do and others we just don’t want to do. One person cannot save the whole world, nor fix everyone’s problems. Don’t feel obliged to say Yes to any help request, if it’s affecting yourself in a way that you don’t want. Some No’s can be replaced by Later’s. You are responsible for your own time. Manage it effectively.
Listen. You don’t learn anything from your own voice.
Let people express their thoughts and ideas, share their experiences, show you how they achieved their goals or tell you what they want to achieve. Then, and only then, you can think of an answer. Never be afraid to take your time to listen and understand information. Knowledge some times comes after silent processing of overwhelming quantities of information.
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