Blog Your Dreams True

Clean up your act & get on with your life! Them sounds like fighting words! Well they are meant to be encouraging and getting you headed in the right direction toward a healthy lifestyle.

Reading about heroes daily is another way to be inspired unless of course you have a divas approach to life and work!

In that case, you need not rock your world today, you can ease into it with a personal blog, an online journal built on a platform similar to the one you are reading now.

It seems as if Jennifer takes everyday pictures, everyday. Parenting humor, things that parents can appreciate, is a popular topic to blog about. Sometimes there is no “theme” other than, you know, “a day in the life of”.

To get a blog is a cinch. Just go to Word Press or Blogger and sign up. There is absolutely no need to be techno savvy, web development knowledgeable, or even know what social media optimization is! (However having access to some computer tips and a site like this will serve you well.)

Relax, sure you can work on that million dollar project or decide to share your articles on an article directory, but first it starts with a blog and a dream:

Have you ever thought about taking a trip to Norway, Bhutan, Portugal , rural India or some other exotic place? Ah, someday. What if today is that day?

Original Posted at my MMOL blog. ;)

Poor, but Wonderful--Questionnaire #5

My friend said, more or less, "If you decide to go to Portugal it is a very good idea; it's a wonderful country but it's very poor, you have to think about that. But for living it's wonderful. What do you think about going to France? It's fantastic, too."

Then I said to her:
Poor means not shiny and new? no nuclear? no military to speak of? no missions to outer space? no strong arm tactics on former or current colonies? If Portugal is poor because it has no money, no problem Money is fiat currency anyway. :) Central banks print money governments could do the same thing....but money is not wealth. Right?

Thanks for the warning. I'll try to better understand what you mean by "poor."

And she kindly replied:

When I say poor I want to say that there isn't any work, there are lots of jobless people. It's a very small country and they do not have cattle ranches and fishes, nor good earth to cultivate. The people don´t have money, they can´t pay heating and their basic necessities. 20 years ago the people didn´t have food, now they are a little better, but it's a poor country.


And I thanked her:
Thank you for explaining what a "poor country" is. Sometimes I need help! Thanks!

From what you explain, Portugal sounds like a place where I could find laborers willing to work in exchange for housing, electricity, food, water, sanitation, and a small salary.

I believe that your opinion of Portugal is one that is shared BY MANY. What you think is not unusual.

For the life I want, I don't need or want much money. I do need and want certain material things of value like housing, farmland/orchards, potable water, electricity, etc...

I believe that Portugal may have the raw material and the need for what I have in mind...

1. What is "Portugal" for you?
   
2. In what ways is Portugal "poor"?
   
3. In what ways is Portugal "wonderful"?

Thank You to My Future Collaborators!

I've been networking over at MyBlogLog.com. John(http://www.theinterchangedesk.com), Pedro (http://www.pedropais.com/), Ola (http://auvivo.blox.pl)have each kindly shown an interest in sharing with me a bit of their thoughts and experience regarding Portugal. So instead of bothering them with trying to do Skype to Skype interviews I thought it might be more useful to pose one question and ask them, as well as others linked to this website, to drop by the site and respond. My hope is that each question will illicit lengthy and varied responses from people who live (or who lived) in Portugal as temporary visitors or permanent residents. Glad you enjoyed those pictures from Coimbra, John! All the best to each of you! Nia. :)

P.S. Since this initial posting everbody is too busy! I guess I'm not touching on issues that people feel passionate enough about. It's all good. Peace and love to one an all. N. ;) 19 April 2007

Blogging in the News

Social Networks Creating Value as Dada Launches friend$ Money for ...
WebKnowHow (press release), IL - Mar 1, 2007
As of today, March 1, 2007, friend$ will be available to users in both Italy and the USA and will shortly be accessible to users also in Spain, Portugal and ...

Dada Acquires Blogo, the Most Popular Specialised Blogging Network ... CNW Telbec (Communiqués de presse), Canada - Feb 27, 2007 ... in Spain through the subsidiary Dada Iberia, and in Portugal, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Hungary, Canada, ...

Friend$ with benefits: Google ads to appear on social networking ... Bigmouthmedia News, UK - Mar 5, 2007 The site has more than seven million users world-wide and considers itself an online social networking platform for blogging, dating, mobile communication ...

Google Revenue, Distributed Through Dada Network Submit Express (press release), CA - Mar 7, 2007 New York, New York - (Website Hosting Directory) - March 6, 2007 - As Dada launches its friend$ money for blogging, personal space owners and their ...

Google Ads To Appear On Social Networking Profiles MediaPost Publications, New York - Mar 2, 2007 Dada, which launched the program in Italy before extending it to the US, considers itself an online social networking platform for blogging, dating, ...

REACTION: BAD BOYS SPARK MORE LETTERS Electric New Paper, Singapore - Feb 27, 2007 Not because of Singaporean fans' views on his infamous karaoke room fracas with team-mate Riise during a training camp in Portugal two weeks ago. ...

Dada Acquires Blogo, the Most Popular
mediacaster, Canada - Feb 27, 2007
... Dada's assets and user base, with a view to optimizing the convergence between Dada's strengths in social networking/blogging and nano-publishing. ...

Daily Photo from Coimbra

Carols, inspired by a friend, took up this activity in his city of Coimbra Portugal. His site not only features his daily photo but links to other dailies from around the world!

clipped from coimbradailyphotos.blogspot.com Coimbra daily photos Hallo! My name is Carlos. I was inspired to start this blog because a distant friend has one... Her pictures are great and made me take my camera to shoot pics of (still) life that surrounds my daily environment. Enjoy Coimbra!

Recent News fom Portugal

Portugal Telecom Q4 fixed line market share drops 0.9 points - Anacom
Forbes, NY
LISBON (AFX) - Portuguese alternative telecoms expanded their activity in the fixed-line business versus Portugal Telecom SGPS in the fourth quarter, ...

Stocks and bonds? No, thanks. However I wouldn't mind owning, cooperatively, a telecommunication system in the community region that I live in. I't practical to own or have partial ownership in the essential services that I depend on.

Erosion threat highlighted in Portugal beach flood Reuters AlertNet, UK - COSTA DA CAPARICA, Portugal, March 21 (Reuters) - Waves up to four metres high burst through dykes and flooded part of a popular beach resort close to ... Oh, my! Power of the sea. Maybe the new sea resorts will be those contained on boats and ships at sea that way there is less damage and a smaller foot print, assuming of course the process their waste properly before dumping into the sea or burying on land.

Portugal GSM coverage strong, UMTS still lacking - regulator Telecom Paper (subscription), Netherlands The GSM networks of the three mobile operators active in Portugal cover 100 percent of the large urban areas and national road network, according to Anacom. ... I'm missing something here. I haven' grasped the significance of this yet.

Portugal takes drastic steps to stop tree-felling The Brunei Times, Brunei Darussalam FERNANDO SILVA shook his head as he watched two lumberjacks cut through what remained of his small pine forest in the south of Portugal. ... Why are trees being cut down (felled, destroyed) ? What are the issues, on the ground?

Presideint Kufuor In Portugal Daily Graphic, Ghana President J. A Kufuor arrived in Portugal by a special flight from London to begin another State Visit to Portugal at the invitation of the Portugese ...

Portugal under fire for Algarve brand tweaking Reuters LISBON (Reuters) - Just when Portugal's Algarve thought it was ready to go up market, a government minister has sparked a backlash with plans for a ...

Negotiations between Portugal and Angola on investment agreement ... Macauhub, China Lisbon, Portugal, 21 March – The negotiations between Portugal and Angola for investment protection and double taxation agreements are due to begin “within ...

Green's taste of home in Portugal
Yorkshire Post Today, UK
A YORKSHIRE company which has been working to expand its network of British grocery shops across Europe has opened a store in Portugal. ...

Many Thanks to Ugyen!

Crowded train
Originally uploaded by Arnath.

I've been without a personal vehicle now and I really don't want to own one again, unless of course I co-own it with others and it runs on 100% electricity or 100% fuel that we can make from waste vegetable oil! In all likelihood I will stay near the sea for much of the time in Portugal its so dramatic and abrupt and raw and beautiful all at once.

Today Ugyen showed me a wonderful way to do research online. It's a technique that he employs with several of his blog platform sites. Check this one out which features articles about internet marketing, online business, technology, Linnux, Apple and gadgets (or as my dad likes to say "gadgetry." Yeah as soon as my dad has a site I'll link to that too. He's a great writer and can make up a word just for fun!). I'm going to use it to help me answer some of my "burning questions" about life in Portugal. I encourage any of you readers who might actually be in Portugal or have an opinion or correction about my take on things to give me a Skype call or write to me...did I put my email address somewhere? I'll write it somewhere in the sidebar. You can use it to find me on Skype , too.

Survey of Portugal

Weather Survey
Where is there NO freezing?
Where is the average annual temperature is approximately 21 degrees Celsius?

Aveiro
Acores (Azores)*
Beja
Braga
Braganca
Castelo Branco
Coimbra
Evora
Faro
Guarda
Leiria
Lisboa (Lisbon)
Madeira*
Portalegre
Porto
Santarem
Setubal
Viana do Castelo
Vila Real
Viseu

Water Survey
Where is annual rainfall 20-40″?

Where is there plenty of surface water (lakes, rivers)?

Who is desalinating water?

Who is catching rainwater for irrigation or consumption?

Aveiro
Acores (Azores)*
Beja
Braga
Braganca
Castelo Branco
Coimbra
Evora
Faro
Guarda
Leiria
Lisboa (Lisbon)
Madeira*
Portalegre
Porto
Santarem
Setubal
Viana do Castelo
Vila Real
Viseu

Food Survey
Is it easy to eat well and only eat food produced in Portugal?

Money Survey
Is anybody buying precious metals? Are you, or do ou kow anyone who is buying (coins, jewelry, bullion):

gold

silver

gold & silver

neither

Trade Balance I Like No import of export of WMD (what I consider WMD) No import/ export of weapons or pharmaceuticals Moving toward self sufficiency in food, water and energy Minimum import or export of patented pharmaceuticals

Attitude I Like
Open access to Internet/world wide web Weaning from import of petroleum and petroleum products No known hatred of categories of people Actions in water purification/desalination and recycling Decreasing consumption of gas and oil Self-sufficiency encouraged, not blocked Sustainability encouraged, not blocked Entreprenuership encouraged, not blocked

Transportation I Like
Excellent (comprehensive, integrated, maintained) public transportation (train, boat, bus)

Other Stuff I Like
No insect vectors, historically No known current violent crime Increasing number of self sufficient individuals/communities Evident flourishing of intellectual and manual talents/skills

Through the Photographers' Lens

Aren't the photographs wonderful? The badges in the sidebar at the left rotate through public photos uploaded onto flickr. I select the "tag" and all the "public:" designated photos uploaded with that "tag" are in the pool for rotation. Someone asked me about the pictures today. So I thought others might be wondering the same thing: Where do all of these great pictures come from? And who photographed them all? I hope now those questions have been resolved. Enjoy the pictures!