This device is for all the talentless useless folk out there who can’t crack an egg. It’s no genius feat on its own, but apparently its just too much to ask for from some.

They retail for $15 and will help take the crunch out of your omelette forever.

Talking of omelettes, you should try my favourite home-made omelette:

Ingredients:

3 beaten eggs

3 tablespoons of fresh milk

chopped onion

chopped chilli

grated sweetmilk cheese

chicken strips/mince/any other cooked meat that u think will work

Salt & Pepper

Butter

Method:

In a little butter, fry the chilli and onion a little bit

Mix the milk into the egg and beat properly

Throw the egg into the pan on top of the sizzling chilli & onion and spread the egg out on the pan evenly

Use a spatula to even out the distributionof the onion and the chilli

Add Salt and Pepper to taste

Allow the egg to cook a little bit. Add your chicken strips and top it with grated cheese

Close the omelette into a half-moon and cook on both sides

Serve with Sweet Thai Chilli Sauce and toast.

If you do try it, let me know how it works out for you. Also let me know your favourite home-made omelette version!

]]> https://dchetty.co.za/2010/03/egg-cracker/feed/ 3 https://dchetty.co.za/2010/03/visual-tips-for-photography-virgins/ https://dchetty.co.za/2010/03/visual-tips-for-photography-virgins/#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 04:10:05 +0000 https://dchetty.co.za/?p=1399 In this digital age that we are living in, almost everyone carries a digital camera around. Regardless of whether the camera is a technologically advanced SLR Camera or a simple point-and-shoot pocket camera, almost anyone is capable of taking decent (if not stunning) photographs.

In my opinion, even if you knew nothing about the technical aspects of photography (that’s me!) the quality of your photographs could be considerably improved, if you paid attention to a few visual points.  I am not a photographer and I don’t know much about photography. However, based on my experience ‘trying ‘, here are some points (mainly related to the aesthetics) that might help you improve the quality of your photos. This is only going to be helpful for people who basically know nothing about photography besides pointing and shooting.

1. Avoid getting your finger in the way of the photo.

2. Don’t use flash if there is sufficient light. In my opinion using flash usually (but not always) means, you lose the natural light and mood of the environment and the actual colours of the subject. Therefore it is better to take photos with no flash, in day light or well-lit environments.

3. Always pay attention to framing the subject. Before you take the photo, it is good to take a few seconds to frame the photo and look at the screen to see how you will actually see the photo, once taken. When you frame the photo pay attention to the following;
4. • Making the frame symmetric makes the photo visually pleasing
     

     Symmetry in this case definitely adds to the beauty

   • If the photo is of a group of people, having them lined up sideways facing the camera or standing and putting their heads together makes the framing better, rather than everyone standing around in their own buzz.
   • It helps if you avoid unwanted objects in the picture, especially halves and pieces of them captured on the side (of course you can always crop the photo later using a photo editing tool, on the computer to get rid of such objects)
   • 

     If this photo was taken without the elbow of the person, a bit of the plate and glass on the side, it would have looked much better.

   • It is important to focus on the actual subject rather than just pointing in that direction and shooting. As most digital cameras have a focus pointer that you will see when you look through the view finder or look on the LCD screen, take a moment to get the focus pointer on the subject.
   • When you are taking photos of people, don’t position yourself too close to them, especially if you use flash. If you do people in the photo will end up looking like white ghosts with no real colour and quite possibly their eyes will be closed.
   • If you are taking a photo of someone at a beautiful scene, do not frame the person in a way that he/she fills the camera and leaves nothing of the scenery to be captured in the photo.

5. When taking photos of people, if there is a light source behind the person, it is better to use flash (unless you want a silhouette). Otherwise you will not see much of the person’s face as it will be dark and shadowed. Therefore it is always better for the person to stand where they will get the light on their face. For eg. If someone’s photo is being taken in a room with a window open, the photo will look better if he/she stands facing the window rather than with his/her back towards the window.
   

   This photo would have come out nicer, with the subjects face visible, if he was facing the sun rather than with his back to it.

6. If you are taking photos of a moving object or person, it is better to use flash. More professional cameras have ways and means to catch movement without blur which is irrelevant at this point. Therefore, if you are taking photos of someone dancing or a moving object it is better to use flash (unless there is excellent lighting).This will help you avoid blurring.

7. Another way to avoid blurring is for you (the camera) to be still. Regardless of whether the subject is a moving object or not, if the person who is taking the photo (i.e. the camera) is moving, the photo will come out blurry. If will help if you lean against something or rest the camera on something).

8. Don’t hesitate to take more than one shot. Remember that even great photographers don’t get their perfect photos in just one shot. It is always good to take a few shots rather than click once and putting the camera away. If a shot is bad, you can delete it immediately or later on the computer. It costs absolutely nothing to take a few more shots.

These tips may sound useless and mostly like common sense to many of us. However, in my opinion even these small adjustments in the way you approach taking photos, it will make a huge difference to the quality of the images you will treasure for years to come.

I keep a couple of these big binder clips attached to the back of my desk in order to hold cords and cables that I want to make sure don’t slide back behind my desk when they’re not attached to something. Since I’m frequently switching between laptops — disconnecting then reconnecting multiple cables — this technique has saved me a huge amount of time and frustration. No more grabbing at cables as they slip away behind the desk, then trying to fish them back up.

I use another one of these clips with my nightstand since I have several cables secured there, as well (phone charger, Kindle charger, and laptop cord).

Original

Performing a hard reset on your Nokia N97 will essentially wipe all the data on the phone memory  and return all the settings back to default, which is the equivalent of performing a format on your Nokia N97 phone memory. Please also note that the mass memory is left untouched during this process and retain your data (as per my experiments)

It is highly recommended that you backup your data from your Nokia N97 using the backup utility within the Ovi Desktop client before performing a hard reset.

Performing this is at your own risk!

After backing up your phone, switch it off.

Then hold Caps/Shift, Delete and Space Bar. While holding these 3 buttons, press the power key and hold, until you hear the Nokia welcome tone. This process takes a few seconds and you have to hold all four buttons down during this process.

Image original: MyNokiaBlog

Remember that you always have the option of a soft reset, which will in essence reset the phones settings back to default without changing any data. To do this, simply go to Settings > Phone > Phone Management > Factory Settings.

IMEI number (International Mobile Equipment Identity):

*#06#

This number is a unique ID number for you handset and is often required for insurance documents or for reporting stolen handsets to the police. It’s handy to kee a record of this. It can also be found on the phone under the battery and is also printed on the fancy bar-code on the box of the device.\

Firmware Version:

*#0000#

This is particularly necessary when installing certain apps or when trying to figure out if you have the firmware installed on your phone. Be sure to look out for the latest firmware update that everyone is excited about for the Nokia N97 in a few weeks time!

Software Format phone:

*#7370# (or *#res0#)

This will delete all the data on your phone and restore the memory to the state it was during shipping. It is usually followed with a “Are you sure?” prompt, but there definitely isn’t a “Are you sure that you are sure?” prompt, so be careful with this one!

Handset Settings Reset:

*#7780# (or *#rst0#)

This code resets the device settings back to default shipping values. All your data will remain on the device, however all settings will be changed back to default.

Total Power On Time:

*#92702689# (or *#war0anty#)

This should give you a total time that your device has been on. It’s a good thing to check when purchasing a second-hand phone.

These are all that I am aware of, but if you know anymore, please mention them in the comments and I will be sure to update the post.

Robby Slaughter, the presenter of the summit shared his preferred method of reversing this process flow and the reasons behind each. I’m significantly paraphrasing but this is the basic premise.

1. Attach files – how many times have you sent an email and forgotten to attach the files? Attaching the files first also reinforces the purpose of the email which will be important in the following steps.
2. Write Body – The body of the message in this case with attached files should be a simple statement of what action you would like the recipient to take on the attached files. Should they review them, are they to be printed for the upcoming seminar? State specifically what you want the reader to do in your email.
3. Write Subject – Write the subject after the body because it should be a simple, stripped-down restatement of the body of the message. Clear and concise with key words at the beginning of the subject.
4. Select Recipients – Choosing the recipients last performs a couple of helpful functions. First, if an email doesn’t have a recipient specified, you can’t accidentally send the email without the attachments or pausing long enough to make sure you actually want to hit “Send” on that email laced with your frustrations. Secondly, if you wait till the end you can further clarify exactly who needs to be included based on the actions and requested tasks specified in the email.

[SOURCE]

So the advise is simple. Use it, dont use it!

PS. I usually don’t reuse content and I apologise for doing so with this article!

Whether you’re suddenly unemployed or just looking to change up, starting out in a new career is daunting. Take our advice on how to write—and plan—your way into a new field.

Photo by Yo Spiff.

Why switch careers?

Blogger, career writer, and Brazen Careerist founder Penelope Trunk knows from jumping ship. From her own ups and downs at work, both office-based and freelance, she’s compiled a (relatively) low-stress approach to making the switch. More important: She lists reasons why you should and shouldn’t move on:

Here are some bad reasons to switch careers:
1. You hate your boss. (Switch jobs, not careers.)
2. You want more prestige. (Get a therapist – you’re having a confidence crisis, not a career crisis.)
3. You want to meet new people. (Try going to a bar, or Club Med. What you really want is to get a life. Pick up a hobby.)

Here are some good reasons to switch careers:
1. You want a role that is more creative, more analytic or more management-oriented.
2. You want to live in a location that does not accommodate your current career.
3. You want more flexibility or fewer hours.

Drafting the resume

Now that you’ve set your mind to making the big move, let’s talk text.

Alexandra Levit, career specialist and author of How’d You Score That Gig?, graciously offered to provide some guidance on writing a resume for a new career path:

• Getting past the minimum requirements: Use a functional format that lists achievements by general skill area. Most fields want your transferable skills, like project management and client relations.For example, if you spent a few years working at a toy store, but you want to get into architecture, you might highlight a project management skill and say that you managed a semi-annual special parents night, which included activities geared toward 150 regular customers. You should also focus on results you’ve achieved rather than job responsibilities—so instead of just saying that you sold infant-related toys and merchandise, you could say that you were named as the top infant toy salesperson, generating revenues of approx. $20K. By doing these things, you show that you have the right combination of talent and skills to get the job done, even if you don’t have specific experience in that industry.
• Avoid looking like a job-hopper: Hold each job for at least a year before you consider a change. Individuals who switch more often become known as chronic job jumpers, and employers either consciously or subconsciously avoid these candidates. Especially in this competitive climate, when a hiring manager sees a resume listing four jobs in three years, he won’t wait to hear your explanation. He’ll think that you can’t hold down a job, and he will move on to the next person.If you do have a history of moving around a lot, I suggest removing the months from your chronology line. For example, saying that you worked at a place from 2007-2008 sounds a lot more palatable than November 2007-March 2008. Also, if you have JUST quit a job or have been laid off, say that you have been at your last position from 2006 to present.

As for the rest of your text, we’ll recommend one of the five tactics we’ve suggested to rebuild your resume: Start with a list of reasons why you’re great, then distill it into your resume. All the other stuff—fonts, vertical bars, exact wording of “coffee-grabbing intern”—is just finesse. Start with a blank text editor or sheet of paper, and start throwing down whatever skills you have that the others don’t. By doing so, you form the basis for a punchy, concise resume, and (bonus!) you hone your talking points for your interview. Photo by emdot.

Now onto the cover letter, often as important in getitng a hiring manager’s attention:

Don’t bore your next employer with your layoff story

Cynthia Shapiro, career strategist and author of What Does Somebody Have to Do to Get a Job Around Here?, points out to the Wall Street Journal that taking the time to explain your layoff not only wastes cover letter space, but won’t win you many sympathy points these days, as there are a lot of layoff stories to be told.

When applying, avoid expressing bitterness or self-pity. Many layoff victims send cover letters that blame the economy for their job loss, says Ms. Shapiro. There’s no need to even point out the fact that you’ve been laid off. “If your last work day was in October, your résumé will say that,” she explains.

Photo by sunshinecity.

In the same article, an IBM hiring manager notes that in a crowded, competitive group of candidates for a consulting job, what helped her pick the winner was a “can-do attitude.” More importantly, that applicant didn’t make a lot of requests, requirements, or pitch themselves for an exact job doing a precise thing. Get the job first, then work your way into the working environment you dream of.

What to expect (and plan for)

Not to keep hitting on the suck-it-up nail, but crossing into an entirely new realm of experience and work probably requires a bit of sacrifice. To jump-start a stalled job search, you might have to start humble and work your way into career confidence.

Career specialist Levit explains that process in detail for us:

• Ease into a new career one foot at a time: Perhaps this means earning a paycheck at a more attainable job while doing a part-time internship in your new field, or taking an adult education class or workshop on the weekend. The only way to find out if you’re passionate about something is to try it – ideally with as little risk as you can manage.
• Remember that any progress is good progress: In the quest to uncover a source of meaningful work, your worst enemy is inertia. Make an effort to do one thing, like e-mailing a networking contact or attending an event, every morning, every day, or before you do something else—that moves you a bit closer to your big-picture goal.
• Have realistic expectations: Even if you’re lucky enough to finally get and hold a job in your dream career, there’s no such thing as the perfect work situation; dream job doesn’t mean “cushy” job. As your mom always told you, anything worth having in this world requires some effort. There will be some days you feel like shutting the alarm off and going back to sleep, especially if you’re being made to do grunt work at first, but many more ahead where you feel more energized by the prospect of work than you ever thought possible!

Your advice

If you’ve successfully gone from apples to oranges in your career, or even just from apples to different-colored, slightly sweeter apples, by all means—tell us how you got there in the comments.

[This is a repost from Lifehacker]

I was successful in moving all 200 articles and every comment as well, so I am mighty chuffed with the results. It’s a pretty simple process actually:

1. Sign up for a wordpress.com account and go through the setup process.
2. Use the WordPress.com Import feature to import your blogger posts and comments.
3. Use the WordPress.com Export feature to create a WP export file with all your posts.
4. Now simply import this file into your custom WordPress installation and Bob’s your uncle!
5. Delete the WordPress.com account that you created including all posts, etc.

I’ve been pretty happy with the results and I’m glad to report that everything worked 100%!