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sexta-feira, outubro 09, 2015

Sófocles

Tema: Politica
Não conspira quem nada ambiciona

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Clarasó, Noel

A felicidade tem uma grande vantagem sobre o dinheiro: ninguém a pede emprestada

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Ferreira, Vergílio

Há o desejo, que não tem limite, e há o que se alcança, que o tem. A felicidade consiste em fazer coincidir os dois

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Duclos, Charles

Tema: Dar
O benfeitor está por vezes tão longe da beneficência, como o pródigo o está da generosidade

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Churchill, Winston

Tema: Piada
Uma piada é uma coisa muito séria

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Cajumi, A.

Tema: Revolução
Quanto mais os fenómenos históricos são vistos de perto, mais se percebe que as revoluções sempre foram feitas pela burguesia ou por parte dela. O povo é bom apenas para fazer 'jacqueries' que não concluem

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Oliveira, Manoel

Tema: Tecnologia
O computador tem possibilidades de mais para aquilo de que eu preciso. Não quero saber coisas de computadores. Quero apenas saber o necessário para escrever os meus textos e as minhas planificações. O resto das capacidades dos computadores só me atrapalha.

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Braga, José

Tema: Elogio
Elogio falso traz embutida a ofensa.

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Pessoa, Fernando

O amor é um sonho que chega para o pouco ser que se é

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Rilke, Rainer

Ser amado é passado; amar é durar

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Kundera, Milan

Os amores são como os impérios: quando a ideia em que foram baseados desmorona, eles, também, se desvanecem.

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Garden Plants That Are Harmful For Your Pets [Infographic]

Plants that are harmful for your pets

As a pet lover, you should be aware of plants that are harmful for your pets. Here’s a very cool infographic found on Imgur and created by UK pet insurer, helpucover. It offers an easy-to-read snapshot of specific flowers and shrubs that can cause extreme illness in your pets or that may even result in death. Use this post as a guide and spend time researching more harmful plants, which may not be included here.

Plants that are harmful for your pets

Any Other Plants That Are Harmful For Your Pets?

Are any of these plants currently in your garden? Are any of them surprising to you? Do you know of other plants that are harmful for your pets? This post isn’t finished until your voice is heard, so please take a moment to share your thoughts in the space provided below.

Featured photo credit: IMG_6453/jerm1386 via flickr.com

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5 Best Time-Management Tips for Freelancers

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Time is the most precious resource we have, for it cannot be replenished. However, if you are a freelancer, effective time management isn’t simply helpful – it is essential for accomplishing anything at all. A freelancer has to divide attention between several projects from different clients, while simultaneously looking for new work. There are no fixed hours and bosses – a freelancer has to be their own boss, project manager, and accountant. So, how can a freelancer use time more effectively?

1. Stifle Distractions

Distractions are bad enough in the office, but when you work at home, where nobody controls what you are doing but yourself, it is ten times worse. You may think you are responsible and self-interested enough not to waste your time on God-knows-what when you are supposed to work, but the truth is, for most people, complete freedom is too much to handle. You will inevitably sneak a glance or two on your favorite websites, drift to social networks, check your email every five minutes – different people have different favorite distractions, but the Internet is possibly the worst offender. However, with a little bit of determination, you can greatly decrease the amount of harm these distractions cause. Install a browser plugin like LeechBlock to block yourself from visiting the most distracting websites, create a separate profile for work, and uninstall distracting apps from your smartphone.

2. Track Your Time

We tend to not value our time because we don’t notice how it escapes through our fingers. Time tracking, in addition to its more direct purpose of defining billable hours, can greatly add to your appreciation of time. When you know exactly how much time is spent on this or that activity and have to write down how long you’ve spent on social networks and such, you will suddenly become aware how inefficiently you use your most important resource. Install a time-tracking software like thedailytracker.com and you will be amazed how eager you will be to do more in less time.

3. Choose Clients Carefully

There is only so much one person can do. Therefore, when you get successful enough in your field, there comes a time when you have to start turning down work. It may be painful, especially when you still remember how hard it was to find any work at all, but it is necessary. Smaller projects and projects that don’t go hand in hand with your general line of work just aren’t worth spending time on. The good strategy is to concentrate on several well-paying customers regularly giving you large orders while still looking for better variants.

4. Schedule Your Distractions

A good way to get rid of distractions during work hours is to allocate some time for them every day, preferably at the same time. When you go through your day with the knowledge that you will have half an hour to spend doing nothing but lazily skimming through your favorite sites, you are less likely to get distracted every five minutes to steal a glance at one of them.

5. Compartmentalize Your Time

The human brain needs time to switch gears from one task to another – for the first 15-30 minutes of working on a particular task, you won’t be functioning at full effectiveness. This means that it is better to break up your time in large blocks dedicated to particular tasks than to switch from one kind of work to another every now and then.

Being a freelancer is a tough test of your self-control and self-discipline. However, if you are capable of successfully controlling yourself, the difference between a middling and excellent performance will be far greater than with your average 9-to-5 job.

Featured photo credit: time/uditha wickramanayaka via flickr.com

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Situations Where A Sense Of Humor Is Your Salvation!

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Having a good sense of humor doesn’t simply make you a more pleasant person to socialize with; it can help you get more done and save your sanity when problems arise in areas ranging from personal relations to business. In other words, having a sense of humor is downright useful.

So, when and how can it help you?

1.      Humor Helps You Recover from Failure

People who are overly serious about themselves have much harder time recovering from failure. One of the most important expressions of good sense of humor is the ability to laugh at oneself – and if you are capable of it, chances are you are also more inclined to admit your mistakes. And admitting your mistake is the first step to correcting it. People who are too serious about themselves are, on the contrary, prone to stick to the initial course of action no matter what, even when it is obvious for everybody else that they are wrong. In other words, a good sense of humor makes you more resilient.

2.      Humor Makes You More Creative

If you are involved in any job that involves creative work, having a sense of humor is almost mandatory. For example, humorous and well-written content is always highly sought-after, and even works about serious topics are received more favorably if they are sprinkled with a couple of jokes every now and then. It doesn’t take much effort to spice up your work and make it more memorable through adding comedic elements. Mix some humor into your webinar (or in the blog you write, or in the design you create for the website), and you’ll be light years ahead of your competitors.

3.      Humor Helps You Make New Acquaintances

When you’re not sure what to talk about with a new acquaintance, saying something funny is an excellent way to get the conversation going. Sharing a laugh with a person is a very personal experience that immediately makes you closer and starts the new acquaintanceship off on a positive note. In addition to that, people who often use humor in conversations are almost always perceived as more approachable, which means that people will be more likely to have a positive image of you even before you start talking.

4.      Humor Improves Your Health

Humor improves your health, and not only in terms of keeping you from dwelling on all the maladies, real and imaginary, that trouble you. It has been scientifically proved that laughter causes positive reactions in the human body; it relieves stress and muscle tension, increases the release of endorphins and dopamine (chemicals that make you feel good and promote general feelings of well-being), improves cognitive function of the brain, and much more.

5.      Humor Helps You Fight Fear

We all are afraid of something. Sometimes these fears are well-grounded in reality, sometimes they are mere delusions on our part. However, all fears have one thing in common – they are harmful (we are not talking about fears related to immediate threats to a person’s safety, but about crippling, powerful fears that limit our ability to act and think clearly). When it comes to finding constructive ways of dealing with fear, there is hardly anything more effective than having a good old laugh. This is because it is impossible to laugh at something and be afraid of it at the same time. Fear is too serious a business to survive ridicule – so make laughing a priority.

A well-developed sense of humor can be of great help to you in your everyday life. It makes facing problems easier and accepting success more pleasant – so don’t be afraid of embracing and developing this part of your personality.

Featured photo credit: smile :D/Eck danger via flickr.com

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Winter is Coming! Take Proper Care of Your Car

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Winter is swiftly approaching, and that means that it is time not only to start thinking about Christmas presents, but also to make sure that your car is ready for the new season. Here, we’ve compiled a list of what you should take care of to make sure that there won’t be any unpleasant surprises in the months to come.

1. Check Your Battery and Charging System

Winter months, especially in colder climates, are particularly harsh on batteries. If you often go on interstate trips, you should take additional care of this matter, unless you like the idea of being stranded with a dead battery in the middle of nowhere during a blizzard. That is why it is essential to check your battery and charging system for optimal performance and, if necessary, change your current battery for something more dependable.

2. Check Your Brakes

The braking system is the car’s most important safety system at the best of times, but in winter, when driving in general gets much more dangerous, having faulty brakes is tantamount to suicide. Brakes, just like all other crucial systems of your vehicles, should undergo regular maintenance. It is a good idea to time this to the beginning of the cold season because something that is simply an annoying problem in summer can spell your death sentence on an ice-slick.

3. Take Care of Insurance

Winter is always a more dangerous time for driving, which necessarily entails the issue of insurance. Of course, one should always hope for the best, but preparing for the worst will certainly be a good idea. So, make sure to get acquainted with different variants available to you, find out what comprehensive car insurance is going to give you, whether it is necessary in your state and whether it applies to your case at all, and make all the necessary arrangements beforehand.

4. Change Oil and Filter

If you own a car, it shouldn’t come as news to you that you are supposed to change the oil and filter at recommended intervals, but if you are sloppy enough to forgo it from time to time, you absolutely should do it before winter. The thing is, in winter dirty oil can be even more troublesome than in summer. If you live in a colder climate, you may find it useful to switch to winter weight oil for the duration of the cold months.

5. Check Tire Tread Depth and Tire Pressure

Or even consider switching to special winter tires if ice-slicks are staple guests in your area. And, no matter what tires you use, you should regularly check pressure in them – preferably on a weekly basis. Some tire producers also recommend increasing tire pressure compared to summer, and although there isn’t unanimity concerning the helpfulness of this practice, there are some logical considerations that support the idea.

6. Prepare a Winter Emergency Kit

A warm blanket or a sleeping bag, a shovel, an ice-scraper, reflective jacket, high-calorie snacks, bottled water, battery jump leads – any of these things may be the difference between life and death if you are ever unfortunate enough to get stranded far from human habitation in a snowstorm. Do yourself and your passengers a favor – don’t brush it off as an unlikely possibility and get prepared.

Winter is certainly not the friendliest season for car drivers, and unless you plan to take your car off the road for this time, you should take proper care of all the necessary preparations. After all, in addition to helping you save on repair costs, it can save your life as well.

I hope these tips will be helpful for you and your car this winter. Good luck!

Featured photo credit: Mr.MiTo outside/Jan L. | JLPhotography. via flickr.com

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Try This Simple Technique To Make Yourself Productive Right After Waking Up

Woman Working On Laptop From Hotel Bed

Here’s a question:

Do you hate cliffhangers . . . or love them?

I hate them.

It’s like that moment when you were little and someone (your mom, teacher, whoever) was reading you a story and just when it got to the good part, they slammed shut the book and said, “You’ll have to wait until tomorrow to hear the rest of the story.”

Ugh. Or like when you are watching a TV episode, and just as the show comes to an end, a new plot development arises. Thanks a lot, screenwriters.

Well today, we’re going to use cliffhangers to our advantage when it comes to getting work done. I’m going to share a technique for getting yourself productive at the beginning of a day.

And you’re going to love it.

How The “Page-Turner” Technique Works

If you’re like me, you probably find it easy to keep working once you’ve gotten into the groove of things.

But when it’s early in the morning and you haven’t touched your work in awhile, you probably don’t feel like working.

In fact, there are three things that are more tempting to you than putting your head down and working:

  • Checking your email – that’s quasi-work, so it counts right?
  • Watching a viral video – something to keep you entertained until you really feel like working.
  • Chatting with your neighbor – whether it really is your neighbor or your co-worker, what better way to start the day than to socialize?

Sound familiar?

This is where my “page-turner” technique to productivity comes in.

So imagine hearing part of a story and having to wait until you can hear the rest of the story. You just can’t wait and wonder what will happen on the next page.

You can use the “page-turner” technique to productivity when you’re doing something. So, if you’re working on a project, just leave it partially done, or jot down your next steps in mind for the next time you sit down to work.

For instance, if I’m in the middle of writing something (such as this post), I’ll just leave it partially done and have a few bullet points in mind for the next time I start writing.

Or, if I manage to finish writing this piece, I’ll have a task set out for myself the next day. Either way, I write down something I need to do before the day is over. This keeps me looking forward to doing something the next day and not having to face a blank page.

What this does is keep my upcoming task in the back of my mind as it brews. As it sits there, a new idea might pop up, or I might think of a better way to approach the task when I sit down.

How To Apply This Technique

First, think of a goal you’d like to make progress on.

For example, let’s say you’re looking to draft some cold emails to send out for whatever reason (a request, job opportunities, etc.). Your aim is send out five to ten emails a day. And so, you send out a few emails on Monday . . . and then what?

You could have one of the following “to-do’s”:

  • A list of people you want to reach out to the following day
  • A few companies in mind from which to grab contact names
  • A few emails saved in “Drafts” ready to go

The most important thing is that you keep the momentum going each day. At the end of the day, plan out a couple things you need to do for the next day while it’s still fresh.

Even if you’re not successful or face setbacks, keep the pipeline moving regardless. Don’t stall and wait to hear back. Just keep moving.

You want to continue having a “page-turner” at the end of every day. So instead of waiting for inspiration or staring at your screen wondering what you should do, you’re ready to go since you know what you should be doing.

What if a task can’t be left partially done?

But what if whatever you’re working on has to be finished in segments?

Let’s take fitness as an example. If you’re walking or jogging outside, you can’t just go halfway and decide you want to stop (hopefully not, anyway).

So how do you create an incentive for yourself to keep exercising the next day?

By making yourself feel obligated to continue where you left off. For instance, if you’re jogging and reach a certain landmark, you can pinpoint another landmark and make it a point to reach the further landmark the next day you go jogging.

Another way to create a “page-turner” is by leaving your running shoes and a pair of socks out in a space where it’s impossible for you to ignore. Instead of putting away your shoes, put them near the door and place your exercise clothes near your bed so that you can pick up where you left off.

Now It’s Your Turn

You’ve just seen me use three examples of the “page-turner” technique to productivity.

Now it’s time for you to put this technique to practice.

What is the biggest goal on your mind that you’re looking to achieve? What can you do to make yourself want to continue right where you left off the day before?

Featured photo credit: Woman Working On Laptop From Hotel Bed via stokpic.com

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Want to Find Your Passion? Follow These Steps

Athletic Man Jumping Between Rocks In Outdoor National Park

Do you remember the story of Hansel and Gretel?

In the beginning, there’s not enough food to go around because of a famine. People are starving, and they can only afford to feed the stronger family members. One night, the children overhear their parents talk about leaving them in the forest to fend for themselves.

Fortunately Hansel has a plan. He sneaks outside to collect a bunch of pebbles, placing them in his pocket before going to bed. The next morning, Hansel and Gretel are sent on an errand to collect firewood in the forest. Their parents reassure them they’ll get picked up when night falls. As they walk away from the house, Hansel secretly drops one pebble at a time until they are deep in the forest.

By night time, the wolves are howling and Gretel fears for their lives. They’re lost at this point, and the wolves’ yellow eyes are looking at them like they’re dinner.

“Let’s make a fire,” Hansel suggests. Once the flames burst up, they see a strange line of dots glistening. It turns out the pebbles that Hansel dropped earlier are reflecting the light from the fire. The trail of pebbles provides a sense of direction, allowing Hansel and Gretel to find their way home.

What Are The Pebbles You’ve Experienced?

In your own life, you’ve been leaving behind a trail of pebbles all along as well. Do you ever catch yourself thinking, “I don’t know what to do with my life!”? There is a way to find your passion.

And what do we do in response? We just go about performing mundane tasks day-by-day, thinking that maybe a fantastic idea will sprout out of the ground and give us a sense of direction. Someday, we’ll just figure it all out. Of course, this rarely (if ever) happens.

And the worst part is, before we know it, years have gone by. Instead of just coasting, look for the pebbles in your life. Chances are, you’ll be able to find some things in your past experiences that provide direction for the future. For example, maybe when you look back you notice that you spend a lot of free time looking at books on building design. Maybe architecture is a big interest in your life.

And no, it doesn’t mean you have to run off and suddenly become an architect! What it does mean is that this is something worth investigating. You could enroll in an introductory class on architecture, or talk to architects about their experiences. Why not do both?

If there’s something that you’re interested in, look into it more. You don’t have to (and shouldn’t) jump something right away. Investigate a bit more into the pebbles to see how far along you should follow them.

Your Pebbles Are A Reflection Of You

Pebbles can also relate to the way you act. Over time, these tendencies come out over and over again. It’s interesting how people can observe things about us that would never have occurred in our heads. They take notice of something and then might make a comment in passing:

  • “You’re really good at connecting with people.”
  • “You always seem to read what I’m thinking!”
  • “Whoa, have you ever thought of doing ____?”

When various people make comments like this, there’s something going on. Listen when this happens. Looking forward, it seems difficult to figure out what we should be doing, or whether we’re making the right decisions. But when we pursue something that almost comes naturally, it almost seems blindingly obvious. As Steve Jobs once said, “You can only connect the dots looking backward.”

In a world of choices, there are so many possibilities out there and we’re forced to choose without ever finding your passion. As a result, we find ourselves hopping from one thing to another. Other times, external pressures or current trends cause us to make decisions that we normally wouldn’t have done. After all, if your friends are doing something, it’s easier to follow along right?

Sometimes, we have interests, passions, or skills that we don’t even realize. Someone might say, “How’d you do that?” And we might shrug, figuring that if we can do something, it must come easily to everyone else. If you have people come to you for help on something or are surprised that something you can do so well, pay attention. You could learn something about yourself that everyone already knew.

What are the pebbles in your own life? Do they form a trail and lead you somewhere?

Featured photo credit: Athletic Man Jumping Between Rocks In Outdoor National Park/Ed Gregory via stokpic.com

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10 Secrets To Aging Like A French Woman

Fanny Ardant, actrice francaise. Photographie realisee a l'occasion du tournage de l'emission "Ce soir, ou jamais!" sur France 3. Paris,FRANCE-le 18/12/08/0901201010

France is a country rich in culture; whether it is art, architecture, sports, fashion, literature, music, cinema, philosophy, cuisine, society… the list is endless. According to United Nations World Tourism Organisation, there was a record 83.7 millions visitors visited in France alone, in 2014. Apparently, one of the reasons behind such trips to that country is the French women.

Have you ever wondered what could be the secret behind the beauty of a Francais woman? Well, it could be a lot of things. The lifestyle they build from their childhood, to the lifestyle they continue even when they are old, is the first most important thing. Do you know why? Because what they practice from the early days become a habit, more like a ritual for them. And it is these habits that make these beauties age longer than other women. Here are few secrets that you may want to know if you want to age like a French belle.

1. Positive belief in oneself.

French ladies are positive. They embrace whatever flaws they have. They don’t care much about their wrinkles, or big nose, or whether they are going bald. They would expose their skin, in public (where appropriate), not worrying about what the world would think. And because of this frame of mind, these beauties prefer not to go under the knife and alter their parts of the bodies.

2. Routine skin care.

French women go through regular facial treatments. They apply generous amount of sunscreen whenever they head out, regardless of the weather condition. Moisturizing, adequate amount of sound sleep, healthy food, expose to less toxicity, less cigarettes, and avoiding the sun as much as possible are some of the “open-secrets” to their skin care regime.

3. They are always “a la mode”.

Fashion and French women go hand in hand. More or less, every fashion conscious woman would want to know why the French femmes are such trend-setters. There has to be something that they do uniquely that sets them apart from the rest of the world. Here are some fashion tips that you might be interested in.

4. Being sexy all the time.

From being a la mode to being sex symbols, these femmes are good at everything. You will notice, there are numbers of beauties that are 40 and above years old. Starting from Coco Chanel, Catherine Deneuve, Michele Mercier, Isabelle Huppert, Jeanne Moreau, to Laetitia Casta, Juliette Bincohe, Sophie Marceau, the list just goes on and on. These powerful femme fatale are not scared of showing off their cleavage, they don’t think twice about wearing high heels, or short skirts. This also manifests their confidence in themselves.

5. Romance, romance everywhere.

French women don’t stop at being all sexy. They are flirtatious, and believe in romance. The capital city of France, Paris, is considered to be the most romantic place on Earth. Do you know why? Because not only the women are seductive and beautiful, they are in love with their partners, and would stop by a bridge over the Seine, and would kiss. They prefer to walk hand-in-hand with their confrere, and wander off to some beautiful place.

6. They celebrate life.

French women, of all ages, celebrate life to the fullest. They cater to their passions of getting spoiled through visiting the salons, traveling, making love, laughing out loud, eating whatever they want to, without any guilt conscious. They love cinema, art, architecture, they love literature, music, and dance. They love wine, and they love to socialize.

7. Eat well to stay well!

French femmes believes in good food. Food that burst into nutritions, are full of flavor, and are palatable. Now, they may not seem too picky about what they eat, but they are quite strict about maintaining the amount, and the times of meals they eat. They have three proper meals: breakfast like a prince, lunch fit for a king, and dinner like a peasant. They also make sure the entire family is present at the dining table; it is more like a family time for them.

Most of the time, meals are as: a starter course of some salad; the main dish, which consists of chicken, or fish, or pasta, and a side dish of vegetables; there’s the cheese course, most of the times, they prefer yogurt or cheese; and lastly, the dessert that contains mostly fruits.

Clafoutis aux olives noires confites (candied black olive cake) is an example of a classic French dessert. It has a unique recipe, and is definitely worth a try!

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8. Francais femmes enjoy water and wine.

We all know France is one of the largest wine producers in the world. Of all the beverages, the femmes prefer wine, and of course, water. Their first priority is water. Always. All the time. The adults are fond of having at least one glass of wine everyday. That’s all for their drinks. No other

9. They love movement.

So, you are wondering, if they eat hearty meals and drink, and engage themselves in merriment, then how come they have well maintained figure? Well, they don’t specifically enjoy hitting the gym, but they are constantly on the move. They love walking, swimming, running, jogging, cycling, gardening, playing sports, anything that involves movement. They are always moving. And that, mon ami, is the secret of them being all slim and trim.

10. They live the moment!

Regardless of how old one is growing, the Francais femmes sure know how to live the moment. The older one grows, the merrier she becomes. They will dance alongside their younger counterparts, and they will never let go off their fashion sense. They will put make-up matching their age, and they will style their hair too. They are very family-oriented. And they will never skip any fun that they are invited to.

These are the habits that the French women perpetuate everyday. These routines keep them healthy, fit and fine, and aids them to age slower than usual. They know how to embrace aliveness. They love what they do, without regretting at all. They are happy, carefree, fashionable, and are attractive!

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