Asking Questions More Effectively The ability to ask questions effectively is one of the most important skills in business as is the ability to actively listen. Yet as important as these two skills are they really don’t seem to ever be taught in school. I wonder if more college students ought to take a journalism course for a semester or do an internship at their school newspaper in investigative reporting. It’s the only place I could imagine these skills being taught today. Over the years I’ve been in many meetings where a group of people that I was with wanted to extract information out of a group of people with whom we were meeting and failed to do so effectively. There are many different meeting types where asking different types of questions may be appropriate. There are many different question types dependent on the scenario you’re in. The “Wide” (and uninterrupted) Question: You ask a very broadly defined question and intentionally don’t try to offer specificity in what you mean by the question. Some quick stories
Pastry Affair - Home - Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread I once made the driest pancake in the world. I can see you sitting at home, staring at your computer screen, and scoffing at my bold statement. Driest pancake in the world? Yeah, right. How would you even know? Let me share my story with you. A few years back, I made chocolate chip pancakes. Quickly flash to the next morning. Still cold. Confusion. Was the microwave broken? I got angry, as one will when they want food and want it now. When I took it out, the pancake was slightly less cool. It took me a few hours to realize what had happened. It only stands to reason that my pancake was so utterly dry that there wasn't enough water in it to be absorbed by the microwaves. Thus, the world's driest pancake was born. And to think I took a bite... Luckily, this Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread is definitely not dry. One Year Ago: Chocolate Orange Miniature Cakes Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Bread Yields 1 loaf In a large mixing bowl, stir together the yeast and water. Punch down the dough.
iPhone 4 announced Apple Presents iPhone 4 All-New Design with FaceTime Video Calling, Retina Display, 5 Megapixel Camera & HD Video Recording Thinnest Smartphone Ever SAN FRANCISCO-June 7, 2010-Apple® today presented the new iPhone® 4 featuring FaceTime, which makes the dream of video calling a reality, and Apple's stunning new Retina display, the highest resolution display ever built into a phone, resulting in super crisp text, images and video. "iPhone 4 is the biggest leap since the original iPhone," said Steve Jobs, Apple's CEO. FaceTime is as mobile as your phone, so you can see your loved ones and friends anywhere there is Wi-Fi. Apple's stunning 3.5 inch Retina display has 960 x 640 pixels-four times as many pixels as the iPhone 3GS and 78 percent of the pixels on an iPad™. iPhone 4 is the thinnest smartphone ever-9.3 millimeters-with an all-new design and build quality like no other mobile device. iPhone 4 comes with iOS 4, the newest version of the world's most advanced mobile operating system.
Tea Eggs I don’t really celebrate Easter. I’m Chinese and not religious, but when you start seeing bunnies and peeps everywhere, you get sick of pink and yellow, and suddenly crave eggs. Right? Well, good thing I now have a batch of tea eggs in the fridge, ready for me to snack on any time. It’s actually so common to find in any Chinese household, but every family has their own way of making tea eggs, probably passed down for generations. I see plain hard boiled eggs at deli’s often sold as quick and healthy snacks, but how about so much more flavor with negligible extra calories? Some use soy sauce but my mom advises against it because it masks the tea flavor somewhat. You’ll notice that I have “sweet root” as an optional ingredient. There’s a few different thoughts on cooking time for tea eggs. Tea Eggs (Chinese Easter Eggs) ~12 eggs 1 dozen large eggs4 Lipton “red” tea bags2 tablespoons fine sea salt6 slices sweet root/licorice (optional)1 tablespoon Chinese 5 spice powder1/2 tablespoon sugar
Business - Software developer offers small businesses more room MANILA, Philippines ? Small and medium business now have more room to expand as an international business software developer launched its latest application which promises ?accelerated innovations, comprehensive functionality and superior user experience.? SAP recently launched its latest innovative software, SAP Business One 8.8, which accelerates time-to-value, facilitates business adaptability and increases ease-of-use and affordability based on strong co-innovation. ? ? SAP Business One 8.9 has been on ramp-up since August last year but was only made generally available May of this year. ? ? The new software also accommodates the continuous and ever-changing demands of the market by incorporating an upgrade wizard that is straightforward and easy to use which reduces customer? Likewise, SAP Business One 8.8 also integrates partner applications and other business services.
san francisco garlic fries | The Red Spoon Well folks, not much going on this week. I’m still 800 million degrees, which I guess is normal if you’re a human incubator. I’ve become a stretchy, elastic waisted pants spokesperson, because ohmygah maternity jeans are the most incredible thing I have ever worn, excepting for the sweat pants I model almost daily. (Seriously, they need to make jeans this comfortable for non-knocked up folks.) Ummm, uhhhhh. Thankfully the flour explosion that played out in my mind was not needed as a few huffs and puffs calmed the fire and eventually put it out. The bad: I am now squeamish around my oven. Glad that is over. One Year Ago: Thyme and Gruyere Crackers San Francisco Garlic Fries Adapted from Bon Appetit, August 2011 Serves 4 So, I really like this version more than the previous baked fry I auditioned. Preheat oven to 450-degrees. Roast the potatoes, turning ever 10 minutes, until browned and tender, about 30 – 40 minutes. Whisk reaming 1/2 tablespoon oil, garlic and parsley in a large bowl.
Faith in numbers: Six more tech cults | Adventures in IT - InfoW Call it what you will -- fandom, devotion, obsession -- certain technologies have a way of inspiring an extremely loyal following. So committed are these devotees, you might as well call them technology cults. Sometimes these cults are inspired by elegant lines of code. Other times it's dedication to an ideal. [ Think you're a tech fanatic? Last year we looked at aficionados of the Apple Newton, the Commodore, Palm, Ubuntu, Lisp, Ruby on Rails, and IBM power systems. From the Singularity to Slashdot, each of these six tech cults has fierce devotees and, sometimes, even fiercer critics. What cults did we miss? Tech cult No. 1: The Slashdot SamuraiEstablished: 1997Gathering of the tribes: /. Long before there were comment wars on blogs, long before Digg and Reddit and all the other "social media" sites, there was Slashdot. To have an article or post "slashdotted" is both an honor and a curse. How does one recognize a Slashdotter in public? "Why would we need to go somewhere?"
The Complete Wine Course HTC Droid Incredible Review The HTC Droid Incredible: with a name like that, expectations are high for HTC’s latest Android release. It’s comparable to the HTC Desire, but it packs some extra features and it’s the only device of its kind, at least for now, that’s geared for the US market. Meaning, this is the first time we’re seeing Android 2.1 with HTC’s stunning Sense UI on such a powerful device in the States, so that alone certainly has Verizon Wireless subscribers in a frenzy. Verizon looks to capitalize on the “Droid” craze with the HTC Droid Incredible, but does it live up to its title? Read on to find out! Although the Incredible comes with a slew of features regarding its hardware and software, the packaging it comes in is rather bare bones in nature. What’s under the hood? Full specs can be viewed at PDAdb.net, where you can also compare it to other Verizon-backed Android devices. The Droid Incredible feels quite good in hand. I’ve found that onlookers are more curious about it than they are turned off.
Salt River Bars We are all about no-bake this week. In fact, ovens are for dorks. Not that it's really that hot this week (we obvy had to mention weather since it's kinda our thang) but we've decided only dorks are using their ovens this week. And we are not dorks. (Well, yes. In the meantime, until Friday or so when we decide we want brownies or chocolate chunk cookies (oooo, cookies), this week we are declaring ovens totally out. Rather, we're following in the footsteps of the totally cool and totally in Bakergirl (hi, Bakergirl, we think you're fab) and making these Salt River Bars. What is a Salt River Bar, you ask? Beats the pants off of us. Yes, we just said that. And, she did not lie. What did we tell you? Salt River BarsMakes 16 squaresAdapted from Bakergirl Print Recipe Line 8 x 8" glass or metal baking pan with foil so that it's hanging over the edges of the pan. Place the pan in the fridge to let the chocolate start to set. We stored these bars in the fridge as well.
Geeky Temptation: 16 Slick, Sick, or Stunning Workstations | Des Geeky Temptation: 16 Slick, Sick & Stunning Workstations Article by Angie, filed under Gaming & Computing in the Technology category. With so much time spent in front a computer, your workstation becomes a big part of your life. Globus Workstation (image credits: The Design Blog) Globus is a molded plastic globe on wheels. Coffee Office Workstation (image credits: dvice) The Coffee Office workstation might make your cramped cubicle at work seem downright roomy. Flower Bud Workstation (image credits: tuvie) This Flower Bud workstation design concept is aimed at any age and any gender. Corner V1 Workstation (image credits: Born Rich) The Vision One (V1) workstation is intended to improve music, gaming, home theater, and working experience. Mac-Powered Organic Workstation (image credits: Teche Blog) If clutter annoys you, then perhaps you might like the Mac-Powered Organic Workstation? Walkstation : WorkSpace Treadmill Rizki Tarisa’s Go Workstation (image credits: techfemina) Young Explorer Workstation
Baked Eggs in Bread Bowls This was our breakfast Sunday morning. Aren’t they cute? They were very, very good. These are so easy to make and wouldn’t they be splendid on a brunch buffet table? I think there are a lot of variations you could do nicely with this recipe, such as, swap out the Parmesan cheese with grated Gruyere or crumbled blue cheese to give a different taste. I used sourdough but I think this would also be nice with onion or brioche rolls as long as they are sturdy. Any way you put these together, they will be great. Slice off top of each dinner roll and gently remove some bread until there is a hole large enough to accommodate an egg. Arrange rolls on a baking sheet. Top each egg with some herbs and a bit of cream. Place tops on rolls and serve warm. Eat with a knife and fork. Print Recipe Ingredients Directions Slice off top of each dinner roll and gently remove some bread until there is a hole large enough to accommodate an egg.