This 19-Year-Old Developer Is So Successful, He Turned Down Apple

Last week, 19-year-old John Meyer dropped out of a prestigious university computer science program to work full-time on his tech startup, Fresco News.

His parents weren’t happy at first. He was attending NYU where his mom is a professor, he told Business Insider.

But they eventually came around to support him, because they had to admit: Meyer is already a successful independent computer programmer. He’s been writing apps since his freshman year in high school, 2008, after teaching himself the programming language Objective C.

And he’s been making money at it since his sophomore year of high school, he says.

“Money-wise, I’ve been pretty fortunate. I’ve been able to support myself since just a year after I got started,” he said.

 

Denmark bans kosher and halal slaughter

The change to the law, announced last week and effective as of yesterday, has been called “anti-Semitism” by Jewish leaders and “a clear interference in religious freedom” by the non-profit group Danish Halal.

European regulations require animals to be stunned before they are slaughtered, but grants exemptions on religious grounds. For meat to be considered kosher under Jewish law or halal under Islamic law, the animal must be conscious when killed.

more details at independent

 

WHATSAPP FOUNDER WAS REJECTED FOR JOB BY FACEBOOK AND TWITTER

• Jan Koum, 37, moved to California from the Ukraine when he was 16
• Founded mobile chat-app WhatsApp with Brian Acton in 2009
• Koum has known Mark Zuckerberg ‘for a long time’, Facebook CEO said
• Acton was rejected by Facebook and Twitter in 2009
• Koum signed $19bn deal at welfare center where he used to collect handouts

READ THE rest of story at Daily mail

 

A spoonful of honey before sleep can do wonders …

I started eating honey (1 tablespoon) at bedtime. My sleep  clearly improved, even with 1 teaspoon. I felt more rested when I awoke and more rested throughout the day. The improvement happened night after night.

One evening I didn’t eat the honey on an empty stomach. I told a friend about it. He took 1 tablespoon at bedtime. His sleep immediately improved by a large amount. He stopped waking up in the middle of the night and stopped needing a nap in the afternoon.

Another friend has tried it once (so far). “When I woke up the next morning,” she wrote, “I’d realised I’d slept all the way through the night without waking up in the early morning (a nice change) but had a terrible case of the jitters (a not-so-nice change).”

A third friend tried it twice. She slept better the first night but not the second. Maybe she failed to eat it on an empty stomach or had too many sweets during the day.

Stuart King, an Australian musician in his thirties, recently commented:

 

Most days I wake up feeling more tired than when I went to bed the night before, however I find that if I take up to a tablespoon [15 ml] of raw honey immediately before bed I almost always wake up feeling totally refreshed. I’ve suffered from low energy, brain fog, fatigue and sore muscles for years. I tried eliminating food groups (dairy, grains, nightshades, etc) but that didn’t fix the problems (although wheat has been problematic) but taking the honey did. I usually sleep without any problems that I’m aware of — even if I awaken feeling unrefreshed I will still sleep through the night and won’t awaken early or whatever, but the crucial thing is I feel rested when I wake up, if I get that right I can even eat bad food and feel good all day. I tried coconut oil and coconut oil combined with honey but they didn’t work.

Read the rest of story..

 

“follow your passion” can be bad advice!!!

Are people who do physically demanding, not-afraid-to-get-dirty jobs like farming, mining and sheep castration (yes, you read that right) the happiest people on earth? So says Mike Rowe, host of the Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs.” See if he changes your mind about what it means to be happy at work.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tedtalks/mike-rowe-tedtalk_b_4351409.html

 

 

earth is a pale blue dot…

The great Carl Sagan puts things in perspective …

 

Breaking BAD

Some call it the greatest TV show ever.

But by any standards, this is one of the top 5 tv shows of all times around the globe,

here is the wiki for this show

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_Bad

here is an imdb link..

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903747/?ref_=nv_sr_1

The great academy award winner actor Anthony Hopkins was so impressed by the show that he wrote a wonderful fan letter.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/14/anthony-hopkins-breaking-bad-letter_n_4098441.html

 

 

 

Dr. Narendra Dabholkar, A genuine human being battling superstition, paid with his life.

If a holy man had electrified the public with his miracles, Dr. Dabholkar, a former physician, would duplicate the miracles and explain, step by step, how they were performed.

Dr. Dabholkar’s killing is the latest episode in a millenniums-old wrestling match between traditionalists and reformers in India. When detectives began putting together a list of Dr. Dabholkar’s enemies, they found that it was long. He had received threats from Hindu far-right groups, been beaten by followers of angry gurus and challenged by councils upholding archaic caste laws. His home state, Maharashtra, was considering legislation he had promoted for 14 years, banning a list of practices like animal sacrifice, the magical treatment of snake bites and the sale of magic stones.

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/25/world/asia/battling-superstition-indian-paid-with-his-life.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

 

 

NYPD DESIGNATES MOSQUES AS TERRORISM ORGANIZATIONS

Designating an entire mosque as a terrorism enterprise means that anyone who attends prayer services there is a potential subject of an investigation and fair game for surveillance.

The New York Police Department has secretly labeled entire mosques as terrorist organizations, a designation that allows police to use informants to record sermons and spy on imams, often without specific evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/nypd-designates-mosques-terrorism-organizations

 

Skills to master for a successful life.

 

How To Listen Better

“Start by doing everything you can to fire up the ‘mirror neurons’ in your brain, which mimic what others are experiencing.

You can subtly imitate the other person’s posture, even match the pace and depth of their breathing.

Your words can also mirror what the other person is telling you. For example, you might say, ‘What I’m hearing is that it distresses you when your husband wears his tiara in public’ or ‘Wow, I can tell just from your voice that you’re under serious pressure.’

Don’t add advice or commentary — just reflect. If you simply must add something, ask the speaker to disconfirm what you say.

In other words, ask to be told where you’re mistaken — and mean it. ‘I’m thinking it’s not so much that you’re embarrassed as that you want a tiara of your own — am I wrong about that?’

Do not ask to be told that you’re right; it turns a listening ear into a bid for authority, and no one will want to talk to you then.”

— Martha Beck, O’s resident life coach and author of Finding Your Way in a Wild New World

 

How To Spot A Good Opportunity

“A lot of people ask me how I knew ‘Mad Men’ or ‘Breaking Bad’ would make great TV. I knew because when I read those scripts, I felt something. I didn’t do any market testing or focus groups — I just asked myself, ‘Would I want to watch this?’

When you’re weighing an opportunity, make the question that simple: ‘Do I really want this, or am I doing it for the money or the prestige or because I think I should?’

It can’t just be about those things. It has to make you feel good, too. And by the way, if opportunities aren’t knocking, you can make your own.

When I was looking for work several years ago, I took everyone I knew in New York, where I’d just moved, to dinner or drinks or tea. I explained that I was open to anything. Six months later, one of those dinner dates called about a possible job at AMC. If I hadn’t put myself out there, that never would have happened.”
— Christina Wayne former senior VP at AMC, current president of Cineflix Studios, and an executive producer of the new BBC America series “Copper”

How To Laugh At Life

“The tap water hits a spoon in the sink and sprays you.

You pull a window shade and it just keeps going and going.

You can’t roll up a garden hose in any dignified way.

You have to become a connoisseur of these events — ‘Wow, look at that, that’s great.’ You have to hope that a higher power is saying, ‘That was a good one!’ And that you’re sharing the divine pleasure it’s taking in your misfortune.”

— Ian Frazier, author of The Cursing Mommy’s Book of Days

 

Simple Ways To Look Polished

“Start with a great haircut, neat nails, and well-shaped eyebrows (if eyes are the windows to the soul, eyebrows are the frames).

Spend the time to get ready for the day because it will make you feel good.

Invest in a tailor — and in a few no-fail items that will help you look pulled together. Whether it’s a black blazer with a structured shoulder and nipped-in waist or a little leather jacket that looks great over anything, the right jacket projects confidence. And isn’t that what polished really means?”

They say shoes define the man, so take care of your shoes.

How To Delegate
“Make certain the people around you have good values, good judgment, and are loyal.

Allow them to impress you but be sure they’re comfortable coming to you for feedback.

Most important, hire people smarter than you!”
— Ivanka Trump, executive VP, Trump Organization; principal of Ivanka Trump fashion and accessories lines

How To Know When To Quit

“After my first book was published in 2000, I spent two and a half years writing a novel. But it never felt right.

I didn’t even name it — it was the poor, misshapen beast child I kept hidden under my bed. Then I showed it to my agent. ‘None of the things you do well are in evidence here,’ she said. I was devastated, then relieved: I had failed, and now I could stop.

If you don’t feel a shiver of excitement or fear, if there’s no emotional risk involved, let it go. You can’t discount how hard it will be to leave your bad marriage or stop writing your bad book, but if you’re unhappy, nothing can get better as long as the status quo stays the status quo.”
— Elissa Schappell, author of Blueprints for Building Better Girls

How To Comfort Someone

“We’re a block from a hospital, so in my 31 years here I’ve met many people who’ve just received bad news.

If you see someone in distress, don’t hesitate to talk to them. Once you’ve heard their story, sometimes all you have to say is ‘I’ll be thinking of you.’

Your words are more powerful than you think.”
— Jimmy Vecere, bartender at 12th Street Irish Pub, Philadelphia

How To Make Conversation At Parties

“First, get a drink. If it’s a cocktail, it’ll loosen you up, but even if it’s just club soda, it’s good to have a prop to hold if you’re feeling nervous.

Next, approach someone — a person, not a group — and ask how he or she knows the host.

After that, be authentic and interested and ask questions, and others will float over and join in.

A good host will have considered the mix of people, so when you arrive, ask, ‘Who should I meet?’

Most important: Even if you won’t know anyone and you’re feeling intimidated, you must go.

Do not stay home. So many people are afraid that no one will talk to them and they’ll leave feeling awful — but has that ever happened to you? Me, neither. Usually I end up laughing and eating and drinking and making friends, and that’s what it’s all about.”
— Marjorie Gubelmann CEO of Vie Luxe and society hostess extraordinaire

 

How To Stay In Touch

“I don’t often get to see or even talk to my closest friends from various stages of life (including the 16 who were my bridesmaids).

But I stay connected with them — and the thousands of others in my BlackBerry.

The key is managing your friending: The more organized and accessible your friends’ information, the easier it is to stay in touch.

So you have to set calendar reminders for birthdays (I do it for anniversaries, too), and keep your address book up-to-date. And when someone pops into your mind, let them know, even if it’s just with a ‘Thinking of you’ text. Don’t let the moment pass; treat it as a reminder to reach out.”

— Alexandra Wilkis Wilson, cofounder of the five-million-member Gilt Groupe; keeper of 16,500 BlackBerry contacts

 

How To Let Go Of Anger

“Anger is like a storm rising up from the bottom of your consciousness.

When you feel it coming, turn your focus to your breath. Breathe in deeply to bring your mind home to your body.

Then look at, or think of, the person triggering this emotion: With mindfulness, you can see that she is unhappy, that she is suffering.

You can see her wrong perceptions. You can see that she is not beautiful when she says things that are unkind. You can also see that you don’t want to be like her.

You’ll feel motivated by a desire to say or do something nice — to help the other person suffer less. This means compassionate energy has been born in your heart. And when compassion appears, anger is deleted.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist monk and author of Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames

How To Forgive Yourself

“You have to find a way forward. You can say, ‘I’m going to work to improve myself so I never hurt another person that way.’

And then you need to atone, to make the lesson you learned mean something.

Do this, and you will be able to look in the mirror again.”
— Jennifer Thompson, rape victim whose testimony sent the wrong man to prison for ten years

 

How To Make New Friends — At Any Age

“I tell my patients, ‘Food, alcohol, and drugs are no substitute for a relationship.’

If you’re lonely, do something about it.

If you love the arts, take a course at your local community college. And if you can’t find a place to get involved, create one.

Besides seeing patients several times a week, I’m thinking about starting a group where immigrants and refugees can talk about their feelings. It’s important to be part of a community!”

— Hedda Bolgar, 103-year-old practicing psychoanalyst and cofounder of the Hedda Bolgar Psychotherapy Clinic in Los Angeles

 

How To End A Friendship

“Be clear that you need distance, but avoid getting into specifics. You might say, ‘I’ve realized I need to take a break from our friendship. I have so much going on in my life right now, and I need to take more time for myself.’

Now isn’t the time to try to change your friend or teach her a lesson. (If you believed you could see things the same way, you wouldn’t be breaking up in the first place.)

Above all, be sure you want to break up. It’s unlikely you’ll ever be able to return to the same level of intimacy.”

— Irene S. Levine, PHD, author of Best Friends Forever: Surviving a Breakup with Your Best Friend

How To Not Sweat The Small Stuff

“The thing that’s grand about spending your time thinking about the universe is that it makes you feel insignificant. I don’t mean that in a bad way.

If you understand that we’ve now discovered entire solar systems that contain planets similar to Earth — and that those are just the ones we know about, since most of the stars we’ve looked at are within about 300 light-years of Earth and the distance to the center of our galaxy is nearly 100 times that — then you realize that the laundry you’ve left undone and the dumb thing you said yesterday are about as significant as slime mold.”
— Alyssa Goodman, professor of astronomy, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics