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John Dryden: “Let grace and goodness be the principal loadstone of thy affections. For love which hath ends, will have an end; whereas that which is founded on true virtue, will always continue.”

Ha, ain’t that interesting; the United Nations declared March 20 to be the International Day of Happiness and today is the first ever! Hmm, and I thought that happiness is an everyday thing?!? (UN related comment deleted 😉 )

Don’t get me wrong, I do think it is great to create ‘happiness awareness’ so, if you are not happy, start today; touch the people around you with your smile and keep the energy flowing! What better way to mark this day with a song…one particular song comes to mind…THE happy song; Bobby McFerrin with Don’t Worry, Be Happy! Trust me, it will make you smile. 😉

Whistle and sing along y’all!

Let’s say you are participating in the TV gameshow Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and you haven’t used any lifeline until the very last $1,000,000 question. Your name is John Carpenter, it is November 19 1999 and…you answer the million dollar question like a boss!

(if those interested, the complete run can be found here: PART 1, PART 2 and PART 3)

Edward L. Flom: “One of the hardest tasks of leadership is understanding that you are not what you are, but what you’re perceived to be by others.”

I trust that everyone understands the importance of a well balanced diet, and awareness of exactly *what* you are eating…in the end, you are what you eat! The past year I made some changes in my eating habits (being vegetarian and choosing fresh, mostly ecological vegetables etc., not overeating) which are surprisingly easy to do…*much* easier than you would expect coming from a processed food diet that seems to be the standard of todays cooking. Ready made for your easy use, fast and tasty (?), just open a box or can, and you are halfway done…it seems to good to be true, and…it IS!

Mark Twain: “The worst loneliness is not to be comfortable with yourself.”

The Youtube video below is an eye opener, and really, if you think about it, very true!

What most schools don’t teach…is how to program a computer! For most people it seems boring and way too difficult, mainly because software, and the computer in general, seems like a black magic box. This, of course, is only because one is not familiar with it. Really, if you think about it, it is pretty strange that kids are not taught how to program and code, as almost everything we do and interact with is related to a computer!

Schools do teach Math, so you can count (your blessings 😉 ), and language(s) so we can interact with fellow humans. Some Geography and History perhaps to give you a sense of where you are in this world and then some hours (by far not enough) to stimulate your creativity through Music, Drawing or Sports.

As Math is in a way a predecessor of the computer (the word computer comes from ‘to compute’/’computing’), it could easily be replaced or enhanced by computer programming…actually, when you look at it from a broader perspective, coding/programming is the ultimate combination of Math, Language and Creativity! Teaching children how to program a computer will cover exactly that what ‘we’ feel they should learn. Think about it!

Yes, it *is* magic, especially when you are able to control that black box!

Steve Jobs: “Everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer…because it teaches you how to think”

Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider: “I guess what I’m trying to say is, I don’t think you can measure life in terms of years. I think longevity doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with happiness. I mean happiness comes from facing challenges and going out on a limb and taking risks. If you’re not willing to take a risk for something you really care about, you might as well be dead.”

A fresh layer of snow this morning makes walking in the forest an exciting experience; it is *o-so* quiet, I love it! That, and a specific mood today, got me thinking of one of Alan Parsons Project‘s best songs (evah! 😉 )…todays Song of the Day is ‘Silence and I‘ from the ‘Eye in the Sky‘ album (known for the image of the Eye of Horus on the cover, a symbol for protection I have been wearing the past three years).

The song is a brilliant mix of ‘silence’ performed via cryptic lyrics in a slow tempo, and an uptempo interlude which is the pure contract of ‘silence’…what *is* silence really?

Listen to the whole song and feel the balance…

Cherie Carter-Scott: “Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were.”

Haha this says it all, there is nothing much to add to it; stick to the things that matter most (in your life) and avoid being swallowed in details that don’t matter or are out of your control anyway! It pretty much sums up the phase in life that I am in (/going into) as today was the last ‘pay day’ from my former job (I will reach the official unemployment status per April 1)…

So, TGIF and have a great weekend y’all! 😉

Susan Rice: “If you want change, you have to make it. If we want progress we have to drive it.”

Ghandi (on Steak & Blow Job day, before he turned vegetarian): “If only there were more Steaks and Blow Jobs in the world, we would have no War…”

‘We guys’ had to wait one month for it…today is time to get compensated for our efforts on Valentine’s Day as March 14 is Steak & Blow Job Day!!

Uncyclopedia: “The idea is simple; there are no cards, flowers, candy or other overpriced fluff. Partners need only to bestow their man with a steak and a blow job. But not necessarily in that order. And not necessarily only once that day. And it doesn’t even have to be them who does it.”

Good to see that this memorable day is supported by some of the smartest and wisest man in the world:

– Stephen Hawking: “Fellatio is awesome and makes you smarter!”

– Ghandi: “If only there were more Steaks and Blow Jobs in the world, we would have no War…” (~ Ghandhi on Steak & Blow Job day, before he turned vegetarian.)

Hehe, as a vegetarian myself, I’ll trade the steak for an extra BJ… 😉

(Oh, and for all you girls out there, don’t get too upset as your turn comes soon enough: April 14 is Cake and Cunnilingus Day! 😉 )

You might remember Steve Kardynal’s Songs in Real Life that I posted last year. Well, he also created a part 2 (for two years already, but hey 😉 ) and it is as hilarious. Integrating music is a great way to tell a story!

As you might remember, Steve’s tagline is: ‘Today you need to smile. You need to smile so big it hurts your cheeks’…so once again peeps: SMIIILEEE!! (and LYAO! 😉 )

Maya Angelou: “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”

Randall Munroe: “You don’t become great by trying to be great. You become great by wanting to do something, and then doing it so hard that you become great in the process.”

Uhhh for this summer, shall we all try to avoid that our *shadow* is having more fun than ‘the real us’?! 😉

Ben Stein: “I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters and that it is my duty…This is my highest and best use as a human.”

Even though winter has not ended yet, there is a change in the winter weather compared to the past months; *much* more sun (yay!) so I feel it is time to change the old, kinda dark winter header graphic for a new one, a panorama picture I took this afternoon during a lovely ski trip in the sun!

It is also somewhat symbolic picture as I am on a crossroad in life…and, as you can see, I have pointed my skis in the track heading for the sun! 😉

It is really great to be able to put on my skis and go for a cross country ski trip in my ‘backyard’ and as the sun is expected to be here for another week, I am sure I will conquer the cold (-10C) and go for some more trips this week!