Glo, Author at 1Africa | Page 9 of 27

World’s Oldest Message In A Bottle Washes Up In Germany

Lifestyle

Glo

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August 26, 2015

World’s Oldest Message In A Bottle Washes Up In Germany

More than a century ago, a British scientist named George Parker Bidder dropped 1,020 glass bottles into the sea in an experiment designed to figure out how currents worked at the bottom of the ocean.

Now one of those bottles, dropped between 1904 and 1906, has washed up on a German beach — raising hopes it might claim a world record as the oldest message in a bottle ever found.

Its finder, a German woman named Marianne Winkler, followed the instructions written on a postcard inside and sent it back to the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.

For those at the British group, the arrival of the envelope was a bit of a surprise, said its communications officer, Guy Baker.

But the name on the postcard — George Parker Bidder — was a big clue since he’s a former president of the association.

A quick search of the archives revealed he had released the bottles into the North Sea at the start of the 20th century as part of a study into bottom water movement and the migration of plaice.

“When we got this postcard saying George Parker Bidder, it was exciting because nothing like that has come back in living memory,” Baker said.

While many of the bottles — dubbed “bottom bottles” in Bidder’s notes — were recovered at the time, often trawled up by fishermen, around 400 are still unaccounted for, Baker said.

“We think most of these will probably be long lost — but it’s not impossible that another one will turn up, although it’s quite unlikely,” he said.

The postcard inside each bottle had instructions in English, Dutch and German asking the finder to send it back with details of where, when and how it was found.

Winkler and her husband had to break the bottle to extract the postcard — found in April on Germany’s Amrum Island in the North Sea — since the lid was impossible to remove. Fortunately, though, they had the foresight to take a picture before they did, Baker said.

The postcard also promised the reward of an English shilling for anyone returning it to Bidder for his research.

The Marine Biological Association honored that promise, sending Winkler a shilling — a coin that was phased out after Britain introduced decimalization in 1971 — in a presentation box with a letter of thanks.

“The next thing for us is to see if we have got a world record,” said Baker, adding that the association is sending details to the Guinness World Records.

The current record for the oldest message in a bottle stands at 99 years and 43 days — so if the new discovery is accepted as being one of Bidder’s “bottom bottles,” then it could well claim that title.

Technology has developed hugely over the intervening century, but scientists are continuing to track what happens at the bottom of our oceans.

These days, Baker said, the “message in a bottle” used by scientists at the Marine Biological Association is a tiny electronic tag fitted to individual fish and used to gather data on how and where they move.

Source: edition.cnn.com

The Important Question You Should Ask Before Getting Married

Glo

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August 26, 2015

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The Important Question You Should Ask Before Getting Married

If you are dating someone seriously, how peaceful do you feel when you think about marrying that person? Committing your heart to someone is a huge decision. If you choose poorly, you could suffer years of heartache or wind up abused or divorced. However, if you select a marriage partner wisely, you could enjoy a lifetime together of intimate love and passion.

Sadly, some couples rush toward marriage as soon as they taste the initial burst of romance. They may have only dated for a few months, but their blissful feelings convince them that they are destined for each other. By contrast, other couples date for years but never find the courage to make a commitment. They so dread marrying the wrong person that they do not marry at all. In the midst of these extremes, how can a single adult sensibly decide whom to marry?

The good news is that, you don’t have to be alone in your decision-making process. God is always willing to offer His divine wisdom in every situation so that you don’t have to rely upon your emotions or finite wisdom. So what is the most important question to ask before getting married?

Will Jesus be the center of our marriage?

This question pertains to the most important aspect of your relationship—the spiritual. If you or your date do not know Jesus as the primary Source of love, then you will try to manipulate love from one another. Depending upon performance-based human love is like eating chocolate—it may taste good, but it cannot satisfy you.

The first purpose in marriage—beyond happiness, sexual expression, the bearing of children, companionship, mutual care and provision or anything else—is to please God. The challenge, of course, is that it is utterly selfless living; rather than asking, “What will make me happy?” we are told that we must ask, “What will make God happy?”

To Jesus, romantic passion is the wrong foundation for a marriage. He wants you to give your heart to someone on the basis of character and passionate sacrificial love.

Your heart needs more than romantic affection to survive; it needs unconditional love, which can only be found in Jesus Christ. Thus, it is best for you and your partner to realize the importance of depending upon Him for fulfillment. He can help you love one another more deeply.

You will not have to struggle on your own to be a good spouse. Jesus will lead you to love one another in the best manner. This creates real intimacy. You can rest and allow Jesus to love your spouse through you. This kind of love creates a much stronger bond between couples.

God wants the best for you. He can work through your heart and mind to direct you toward a good relationship and dissuade you from a bad one. However, you can only discern His counsel when you are willing to listen and yield to Him.

If you are considering marriage and would like to receive guidance and advice on how to build a strong and healthy marriage relationship, please click on the banner below.

Portions of content sourced from : relevantmagazine.com, cbn.com [edited]

Can I Be Anonymous On Social Media?

Glo

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August 25, 2015

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What sort of trail do you leave online? Do you comment as yourself? Do you think that using only the first initial of your last name doesn’t link to you? Do you use a profile picture?

Social Media may have brought millions of people together, but it has torn many others apart. Once, bullies taunted their victims in the playground; today they use smartphones to do so from afar. Media reports of “Facebook suicides” caused by cyberbullying are all too common. Character assassination on Twitter is rife, as are malicious e-mails, texts and other forms of e-torment. A recent review of the academic literature on cyberbullying suggests—conservatively—that at least a quarter of school-age children are involved as either victim or perpetrator.

As a result, a new generation of smartphone apps offering anonymity have entered the markets. With names like Whisper, Secret, Wut, Yik Yak, Confide and Sneeky, they enable users to send anonymous messages, images or both to “friends” who also use the apps. Some of the messages “self-destruct” after delivery; some live on. But at their heart is anonymity.

Being anonymous online could mean different things to different people. A lot of people are just worried about advertisers and other companies tracking them. For others going anonymous is an opportunity to share the secret stuff they’d never want linked to their names: the shameful confessions, private fears, suppressed desires and malicious gossip.

Is it a good thing to go anonymous online? Anonymity can be a good thing to some, but has two big downsides. The first is that, when people aren’t accountable for what they say, they often say things that aren’t true. And the second is that they’re prone to saying malicious, hateful, and libellous things.

Back in 2009, here is what Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said regarding online identity, in support of Facebook’s “real name” policy:

“When you’re using Facebook, you have one identity… The days of you having a different image for your work friends [and] for the other people you know are probably coming to an end… Having two identities for yourself is an example of a lack of integrity.”

Does having multiple online identities really show a lack of integrity or is it merely playing it safe? The answer to this question will depend on your motives for choosing anonymity.

Though there are those who believe that anonymity can provide some level of freedom and safety, it has some ‘cons’ worth looking at:

1. If you are bullied, it’ll be hard to indentify your offender

If you are bullied via Facebook or Twitter for instance , you have much more chances of identifying your attacker. As a victim of an anonymous messaging app you cannot: at best you can only guess which “friend” whispered to the online world that you might be pregnant.

2. It makes what you say less believable.

Using your real name lends credibility to what you’re writing. Similar to criminal informants, coming forward with your true identity makes the content of your statement more believable and trustworthy. If you truly stand by your posting and are prepared to have your name associated with it forever–internet archives can live a long time–using your real name shows your conviction.

3. You can’t build a positive online reputation through content creation

If you’re prepared for a little self-censorship, posting under your real name can be a smart strategy. Knowing that anything you say online may show up when someone Googles you, use your postings to your advantage. Express yourself in the field in which you want to become established. Don’t forget that good search results can be better than no search results.

SO WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?

Think long and hard about what you would like your life to be. The internet has become a scary and unsafe place. Posting online is like talking to the police: anything you say can be used against you. Old questions posted in IT forums, comments on political articles, objectionable tweets, those photos of you partying a bit too hard can easily be accessed.

The best thing you can do for yourself is to make genuine efforts to live an honest life that you will be proud of on or off-line. Relying on third party apps for anonymity, secrecy and privacy have disappointed many. Be yourself, be real. If it’s not good enough to be said in person, then don’t say it online.

When we zoom back a little and look at this issue with a different lens, it’s very clear that we live in a world where appearance and reality are very different. In fact, it’s always been that way. The very fact that the discussion around anonymity is widening and that apps of this sort are increasing in popularity tells us something. Who are we really? And why do we feel the need to pretend?

There is a place where we don’t need to pretend or hide and it is in relationship with a loving God. He tells all who are heavy laden to come to Him and find rest. It’s as simple as that. If you are tired of hiding and want to be accepted for who you really are, please click on the banner below.

Source: abine.com , economist.com [edited]

Common Foods That Cause Bloating

Glo

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August 24, 2015

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Do you frequently feel miserable and uncomfortable because of an overly full, tight, and swollen stomach? You may be suffering from bloating. Bloating occurs when the stomach becomes swollen with fluid or gas. It is a common occurrence that affects atleast 30% of the population. The most common causes of bloating include indigestion, lactose intolerance and flatulence, which usually occur because of the kind of foods consumed. On that note, we have compiled the common foods filling your stomach with gas and causing you discomfort:

Cabbages and Broccoli

How: Cabbages and Broccoli contain a none digestible sugar called raffinose, which when fermented by bacteria,produces gas.

Solution: When it comes to consuming cabbage and broccoli, one rule applies: less is more. But if you must have large servings of cabbage and broccoli, steam it. This makes it easier to digest.

Dairy Foods

How: Dairy contains lactose, a sugar that most people’s bodies fail to break.

Solution: Lactose intolerance differs depending on the dairy product. Once you have determine the dairy product that is the culprit, cut it out of your diet.

Legumes

How: The fibres and sugars found in legumes cannot be absorbed by the body. As a result, they are feasted on by bacteria in the intestines, a process which leads to production of gas.

Solution: Always eat legumes with easily digestible grains like rice.

Salty Foods

How:Excessively salty foods, especially processed products like crackers, lead to high water retention making one feel uncomfortably full.

Solution: Moderation is always key.

Apples

How: While apples are great for our health- I mean, the doctor did recommend it to keep him away- they also contain fructose and sorbitol which is unfortunate because many people’s digestive systems can’t tolerate these sugars.

Solution: You don’t have to cut out apples from your diet, but you do have to consume them in small quantities.

Source: africanwomanmagazine.net

The Creative Benefits of Solitude

Glo

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August 24, 2015

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Without great solitude no serious work is possible. — Pablo Picasso

Being in community is a crucial part of the human experience. Our lives and our work improve when we share them with other people. But there’s a flip side we often don’t talk about very much. And that’s the importance — maybe even the necessity — of solitude.

In fact, we’re starting to learn that solitude is an even more unusual, and arguably more important, discipline than community or collaboration.

Moments of isolation are so rare they’ve become unnerving. We get through them rather than engaging them. And that’s kind of a problem. Throughout history the greatest artists and thinkers have harped on the importance of solitude — often calling it the most important discipline a person can practice. As thinking, creative people, we owe it to ourselves to spend more time alone.

What are the benefits of Solitude?

Solitude is a scary proposition. Eating alone, seeing movies alone — these things all have the connotation of loneliness. Restaurants often seat single parties at the edges of the dining room, since seeing someone eating alone makes the rest of us sad. As a culture, we’ve become so afraid of the negative sides of solitude that we’ve forgotten the benefits. To name a few:

ORIGINAL THINKING

Have you ever thought about why movies come out in clusters? One year it seems like every movie is a war movie. The next year, every movie is about memory loss. The year after that, everybody is time traveling. We think it has a lot to do with the time we spend online. Instead of viewing content through the lens of our own experiences, we tend to view it through a collective framework created by the Internet. Although useful in many ways, this framework also breeds homogeny. And homogeny will never lead to original thinking.

While we all may be consuming a lot of the same content, we process it in very different ways. The key is to give ourselves the chance, and solitude is all about giving yourself time to process. Time to make strange connections, follow ridiculous rabbit trails, arrive somewhere no one has been before. Time to solidify our own unique opinions before seeking input from others.

IDEA GENERATION

This concept sounds similar to original thinking, but it’s a little different and just as important. Solitude doesn’t just allow us to process content in a unique way; it also gives us the space to generate new ideas. Simply put, our brains work better when they’re relaxed and not distracted. And you don’t need more proof of that than the fact that the best ideas often happen when we’re in the shower. But when we’re surrounded by distractions, it’s too easy for new ideas to get lost in the shuffle.

BETTER COMMUNITY

Even though it sounds counter-intuitive, solitude is not the opposite of community and collaboration. In fact, we believe solitude is essential for any type of quality collaboration to occur. Bear with us for a minute. We all know the best collaborations are not between two people who agree with each other 100 percent of the time. Relationships are enhanced when all parties bring something unique to the table — ideas, insights, revelations, problem solving. In fact, the best collaborations and the most dynamic communities we’ve seen are made up of people who constantly challenge one another to think in new and exciting ways.

So how do you become the type of person who challenges others? The type of person who is able to engage community and collaboration in a healthy way? By making time for solitude, original thinking, and idea generation. In fact, if you feel desperate for community or collaborators, it might be a good indicator that you need to become more comfortable being alone and relying on your own instincts first. Desperate people rarely make good partners — in creativity or in life.

What does Solitude look like in real life?

Okay, so obviously solitude is important. But what does it look like in real life? It’s safe to assume that if the goal of solitude is increased creativity, increased originality, then not everybody is going to engage in solitude the same way. Still though, there are a few hallmarks to look for:

REGULARITY

Solitude should become a practice, not just an isolated event. To reap the benefits of being alone, it’s important to make it a habit. If you can, find some time to be alone once a day, but definitely at least once a week. If you don’t set aside time for it, it will never happen.

DISCONNECTEDNESS

The goal of solitude is disconnection — from people, from the Internet, from work, from obligations. Turn off your phone (seriously, turn it off — not just on silent). Turn off your computer. In fact, it’s ideal to have as little with you as possible: disconnect from your things. One of the great reliefs of solitude is learning not just that you’re okay without other people, but that other people are okay without you. The world goes on in your absence. Once you realize that, scheduling solitude (and enjoying it) will become much easier.

ACTIVITY

What are you supposed to be doing during these “alone times”? Well, probably not very much. It’s no good to go into times of solitude with an agenda. There are times when purposefully doing nothing will be the most productive thing you can do. Just walking or sitting. Just being. One goal of solitude is to remove any outside influences, so even reading might work against you. Spend your time simply. And don’t feel the need to be creative.

Solitude is one of those strange, counterintuitive principles in life. It’s by engaging in solitude that we can truly engage in community. It’s when we are the least productive that we can be the most productive. It’s when we stop trying to find ideas that they tend to find us. It’s best not to think about it too much — just do it.

It is in times of solitude and true reflection that one also comes to the realization that in us all, there is a void, a vacuum that nothing in this world – not our partners, not our careers, not even our wealth or achievements can fill.

This is when questions regarding the existence of God begin to pop up in our heads. There’s more we’d like to share on this. If the topic of solitude or God is something that has caught your interest and you’d like to find out more, or ask a question, share an experience or to talk to someone about a particular struggle or difficulty you have, we invite you to click on the banner below. We’d like to walk this journey with you.

Source: filmandmusic.com [Edited]

5 Winning Ways To Fight Depression

Glo

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August 21, 2015

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Melancholy, sadness, gloom, misery, unhappiness, despair, dejection, pessimism – are some of the many words that we find ourselves using during some of those low moments in our lives. We all face difficult situations which sometimes bring us to the brink of giving up. There are times you know there is something that is causing your dispiritedness and sometimes you might have absolutely no idea why all of a sudden you could break down and cry for no reason. Nobody wants to go through that, however, we do and it’s not a nice feeling at all. Here are six winning to fight such hopelessness:

Listen to fun and loud music

There is just something about music that can either get you into worse depression or make you feel like you are on top of the world. And if it happens to be loud music too – well you couldn’t go wrong there. So get a playlist of your fav music, put on your earphones and even if it’s a Monday give yourself a private party like it ain’t ever been given before!

Make a decision to forget whatever is bothering you

Stress comes from continuously dwelling on what you figure is a hopeless situation. And what gets you all worked up oftentimes is that you cannot do anything about the situation and you know it. The wise thing to do then is to just leave it. If you know you cannot do anything about your current status why waste energy thinking about it. It certainly isn’t going to achieve anything except to put you on edge. With that in mind, make a conscious decision to forget all your woes and determine to rather spend your energy and effort on productive things that you at least have control over.

Have a good cry

But before you decide to forget all your problems – have a good cry. Get it all out of your system. It could be about a job, your workmates, your spouse, children, parents, exams, debts, finances … whatever it is, let those tears fall and fill a tub if you will. Because as the tears fall, so does all the tenseness you felt and after a while – you will most definitely feel better. Do not bottle up everything – let it out.

Surround yourself with fun people

Nothing does it like being around people who know how to have a good time. Even when there is nothing to be happy about – they are just having a ball. I remember one time I lost my job last year and the friends I had then were the kind of people who will joke about anything that losing a job won’t seem like the end of the world. Being with them during that time is what kept me sane. And the friends I have now, if we spent even a few minutes without being silly, I don’t know how we would survive, and that just makes my world go round you know. You want people who even if they have problems of their own make you laugh the whole day and if things are bad, make you realize that it’s not Armageddon just yet.

Do what you love

Doing what you love the most helps you get your mind off things with ease. So if it’s sport, a hobby, chores, work … whatever it is – go at it with all the energy you can master! It helps you keep busy and before you know it, you would have forgotten that you had issues bothering you.

If things aren’t the way they are supposed to be, stressing about it isn’t going to make a difference. Stress will only plunge you into further emotional and health related complications. If you are going through a very difficult patch in your life and have tried all you could to move on but are finding yourself in that same state of depression, we’d like to share with you a message of hope, please click on the banner below or send us a message at [email protected], we’d like to walk this journey with you.

Source: trueafricanwoman.net

Top 5 Features of Gmail App to Make Your Inbox Smarter

Glo

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August 20, 2015

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Top 5 Features of Gmail App to Make Your Inbox Smarter

Gmail has become an integral part of our connected lives, ingrained in our daily flow of getting things done. You might have missed out on a Top 5 Powerful Features of Gmail App to Make Your Inbox Smarter. So let’s look at what deserves our attention.

If you have switched to using Gmail.com Inbox, you are likely to be aware of the missing features that are not only basic but also nearly as necessary. Google has updated this app with some new features that will surely make your Inbox smarter.

The top five powerful features of this app and these are:

Undo sent emails

Emoji’s and new themes

No attachment limits

All new Google contacts

A Pinterest in your inbox

1. Undo sent emails: For a long time, Google has been experimenting with this feature in its innovative Gmail lab and finally the experiment has come out successfully, with the ‘undo sent email’, which is rolled out to be a part of Gmail forever. If you send an email to any recipient accidentally, you will now get the option ‘undo send’. However, you can avail this option between 5 to 30 seconds.

Click the gear in the top

Select settings

Scroll down to undo sent in the default general settings and click enable

Set the cancellation period between 5 to 30 seconds

Click save changes at the bottom of the general settings page

2. Emojis and new themes: The internet’s most popular language is emoji’s (emoticons). Emojis can surpass languages and therefore, it naturally supports any form of text communication. Google, in its new app, has announced that it is going to include a plethora of emoticons to Gmail. To use an emoji, you need to click on the insert emoticons icon on your compose window and choose any of them. Along with the emoji’s, Google has added a whole new bunch of new themes. Now you can customize the themes by using three editing tools such as vignette, blur and text background.

To change your inbox themes:

Click the gear button at the top right

Click on themes

Choose a theme from Google’s featured options and upload your own

Add text, vignette or light or dark background according to your choice

3. No attachment limits: Gmail limited the size of the attachment file to 25 MB. it is good that now you can integrate Google drive with Gmail. Google drive offers a minimum 15 GB of unified cloud storage to Gmail. if you want to send a file of above 25 MB, you can simply insert it through Google option, which you can see in the compose window. If you are a Dropbox user, Google drive offers the same feature for Dropbox as well.

4. All new Google contacts: If you click the drop down menu in the top left corner of your inbox, you will find the option ‘contacts or tasks’. It can merge multiple contacts into one and automatically update your contact info, such as your phone number, Google plus profile and so on. This all new feature of Gmail is truly excellent.

5. Pinterest in your inbox: 2 years ago, Gmail introduced the category tab feature for Inbox which helps in sorting your emails in different sections such as primary, social, promotion. The promotion tab is really useful to avoid the clutter of sales emails. Gmail is introducing a visual oriented way of looking at emails i.e. it has adopted the title of Pinterest look. To get this feature, you need to sign up at g.co/gmailfieldtrial and opt for it. In a few days, you will see a new grid view in your promotion tab.

Source: thewiire.com

How To Overcome Bad Habits

Glo

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August 20, 2015

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Falling into a bad habit happens to the best of us but it doesn’t mean we should concede defeat and stop trying to overcome it. Over time, we develop habits that may not necessarily be helpful to us and those around us. Whether it be something overtly wrong as doing drugs, watching porn, adultery, a bad temper, stealing, or something more subtle like holding grudges, bad time management or neglecting one’s responsibilities, the best thing we can do for ourselves is to realise that there is a problem in our lives and make every effort to work on overcoming it. The first step to overcoming a bad habit or sin in our lives is acknowledging there is a problem that exists in our lives and make a conscious decision to change.

I’d like to think of bad habits as “the shirts worn in the dark” Have you ever dressed in a hurry or maybe as a woman you applied your make-up or did your hair without a mirror? You perhaps go to work, visit friends or go to school and in your mind, everything about you is perfectly fine? Only much later in the day do you realise that your shirt buttons where done all wrong, or perhaps you realise your make-up made you look like a character from one of those zombie movies or perhaps your hair is doing a foreign dance on your head that not even Beyonce can replicate?

It is only when you look in the mirror or someone is kind enough to be the mirror and point the “fashion mishap” to you that you realise there is something that needs to be straightened out. There might come a bit of embarrassment, as you think back to the amount of people that may have seen your dishevelled self and the impression it might have made while you were unaware of your error but the most important thing is what you do once you realise your error.

While bad habits may not be as easily shaken off as fixing a shirt button, one’s hair or make-up, the principle applies to our daily lives. As one who checks their image in the mirror before leaving home, be bold enough to examine your own life and identify the habits that hold you back from progressing in life or living a life full of joy and freedom. Think back to the things people have said to you and if you see a pattern, bring yourself to making that choice to change. Once you make a choice to change, half the battle is won!

Here are a few ideas I thought may help you in your own journey to overcoming bad habits that have helped me:

1) Realize you are in control

Thought it may seem like a habit or certain desire controls you, remember YOU and YOU alone are in control and you have the power to make a choice to say “ENOUGH!” You have power over your mind and body as difficult as it may be. Even if you have to keep repeating “Enough!” to yourself over and over again, keep on keeping on and soon enough, you will start believing in the fact that you are in control of the things you do or allow yourself to do.

2) Make a decision to change TODAY

Procrastination is the thief of time and time is a commodity you cannot afford to waste. Once it’s lost, it can never be redeemed at least on this side of eternity anyway. If there is a pattern needing to be broken in your life, today is the day to start your journey to a better you. After all, who knows if tomorrow will come for you?

3) If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again

Like weaning a baby, getting rid of an old habit or a life of sin is never easy. Some things may work for others while they may not work for others. Some people take longer to overcome bad habits than it takes others so do not be discouraged if it feels like you are not making any progress. Find out what works for you and stick to it. For example, if your habit is drinking alcohol excessively, then avoid places that serve alcohol or hanging out with people that drink irresponsibly.

4) Run for your life!

Lingering a little while longer, admiring a little too much or wondering a little too far more often than not lands you in a predicament. If your challenge is infidelity, then try avoid spending time alone with an individual who may become a stumbling block and keep your spouse or partner nearby whenever possible. Also learn to say no and to walk away when things are pushed in your face, sticking around always creates room for giving in to temptation.

5) Replace the bad habit with a new one

In a game of tug of war, there are two sides and in order for either side to win, there needs to be new bouts of strength introduced. Likewise, getting rid of an old habit means taking up a new one. So feed the habits that are desirable and send the bad ones on a “diet” As your good habits develop, it will become easier to overcome the undesirable ones.

6) It all starts in the mind

All our struggles begin in the mind. We may cheat on our wives/husbands because our minds tell us “he/she is not enough” or it may be a case of “he/she will never find out”. Maybe we are going through a tough time and just need a break and so our mind tells us maybe have a few drinks, take a few shots of this and that. Or it could be a case of something that happened in our past, we may have been hurt and so our minds tell us to either become very passive or too aggressive, both of which are undesirable. Whatever the challenge may be, it all starts with changing our thinking. Whatever our struggle may be, if we purpose in our minds to do or not to do something, we set ourselves up for victory. Look back at everything listed above, it is all about the mind.

7) Be accountable

If you find it difficult to stick to your plan to change, why not find a trusted friend, leader or family member who can walk this road with you. Perhaps ask them to check on your progress every so often so you stick to your goals. There are times when you may not have a confidante whom you can share your challenge with but there is one far much more trustworthy and who will offer you guidance every step of the way.

I do not write as someone who has it all waxed, I am still on a journey to overcoming many of the issues in my own life that have held me back and weighed me down for years so you are not alone in your struggle.

I urge you to do some self-searching, recognize the problem and call it out by name, make a choice to work on the problem, run away from any situation or person that makes your problem worse and make it a daily choice to feed your mind with positive thoughts. You are more than able to overcome whatever challenge you may be facing now, the power is in your hands. Don’t be afraid to fail. Many at times we never attempt to change because we feel the risk of failing is too great but risk is just that, risk; but you risk to lose more by not trying and so do yourself a favor and make a decision today.

If you feel there is something you need to change in your life, whether it be a habit or perhaps you’re not even sure what has been holding you back all these years and you really want things to change from now on, why not click on the pop-up banner below or get in touch with us at [email protected] so we can walk the mile with you.

Which Is Africa’s Favorite Premier League Team?

Glo

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August 19, 2015

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Which Is Africa’s Favorite Premier League Team?

For football fans in Africa, the UK’s English Premier League (EPL) is king, the ultimate championship, their main place of their worship. The global football brand is followed by more than a billion people around the world and 260 million of these are in Africa.

As the 2015-16 season kicks off, bars and cafes from Cape Town to Cairo will be preparing for an influx of fans, getting ready to follow the action on big screens.

But which team is the most popular on the continent?

We may never be able to give a definitive answer, though research carried out by Twitter gives us a fair idea, taking the total number of people in each country who follow official Twitter accounts of Premier League teams, and then breaking those figures down to give percentages for each team:

West: Chelsea

There is no doubt Chelsea is the club of choice in this region.

You cannot talk about the Premier League in West Africa without thinking of Didier Drogba, Solomon Kalou, Samuel Eto’o, Victor Moses, Michael Essien and John Mikel Obi, all West Africans who have played for The Blues.

However, Drogba stands out because of his achievements both on and off the field. Of course, he was a legendary striker for the club, scoring the winning penalty to clinch the Champions League for Chelsea in 2012, and also becoming the first African player to score 100 EPL goals in the same year.

But he is also widely revered in his native Ivory Coast for his peace-building efforts after a conflict broke out in 2010-2011, and has started his own foundation to promote health and education in the country.

East: Arsenal

The colour of choice for East Africa is red for Arsenal. Much of the Gunners’ popularity here can be put down to the “Invincibles”, the record-breaking team of the 2003-04 season which won the league without losing a single match, as part of a 49-game unbeaten run.

A strong showing of African players like Nwankwo Kanu, Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure and Lauren made them even more popular. Kanu is surely one of the main reasons for Arsenal’s popularity in Nigeria as well.

Surprisingly only one East African has ever played in the Premier League – Kenya and Southampton’s Victor Wanyama.

South: Manchester United

It is not a surprise that Manchester United is the most popular club in southern Africa.

They are the most successful team in the history of the EPL, winning 13 titles since the league started in 1992.

They also signed one of South Africa’s biggest stars, Quinton Fortune, who played for the Red Devils for seven years.

He is also one of the many ex-players who travel to the region as a brand ambassador every year. South Africa was the first country in Africa to have an official Manchester United Supporters Club.

North: Arsenal

For North Africans Arsenal is the club of choice. The Gunners have solid representation in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

Active fan clubs in these countries have helped popularise the north London club through activities such as the annual fun run “Be a Gunner. Be a Runner”.

But in Egypt, it is Chelsea which rules the roost – thanks to Mohamed Salah’s $17m (£11m) move to the English champions in January 2014.

Source: bbc.com

Ashley Madison Cheating Spouses Exposed

Glo

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August 19, 2015

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A few weeks ago an interesting story of a certain cheating website called Ashley Madison being hacked went viral. Ashley Madison is the online personals and dating destination for casual encounters, married dating, discreet encounters and extramarital affairs.

The hackers threatened the company that they will publish the personal information of the married people registered onto their site. Few weeks later, it appears that the hackers have carried out their threat to publish that data on the internet, releasing almost 10 gigabytes containing numerous details about the site’s customers on Tuesday.

A total of 9.7 gigabytes of data stolen from the controversial website — which boasts the slogan: “Life is short. Have an affair” — was published to the dark web (an encrypted section of the internet that requires special software to use) and is only accessible through a Tor browser, Wired magazine reported.

The data dump reportedly includes the login details of about 32 million users — all seeking extra-marital or illicit affairs — and also provides a staggering amount of information such as their names, email and street addresses, how much they have spent on the site and even what they are looking for in a potential cheating partner.

While the hackers’ main objective is to expose the site’s customers for their questionable morals, they also targeted what they say are ALM’s fraudulent business practices.

Cheating on a spouse is wrong. In fact, betrayal or broken trust in any relationship causes damages that are hard to mend and no one ever wishes to have their trust broken. It’s painful.

Right now, the immoral behavior and transactions of Ashley Madison’s customers are going viral – yes, such behavior is plainly wrong, there is no excuse for it! While we are learning about this story, shaking our heads in shock and dropping that comment expressing how disgusted we are, has anyone taken the time to realise that we are no better than Ashley Madison’s customers and could also well be struggling with a secret and dark side of us that the internet is not aware of? We all agree that cheating is as bad, right? What about lying, envying, greed, slander, hatred, money-laundering? The list goes on.

We usually have a tendency of thinking of sexual immorality as the biggest sin ever but tend to excuse or downplay our little “white lies” or the jealousy and deep hatred we have for that neighbor we smile to every morning. It’s in our hearts, Google doesn’t know about it, so it’s okay.

Well, in as much as we wish we could have things our way, decide for ourselves what a big and unforgivable sin is and what is a small acceptable one, we at 1Africa rely on an absolute and indisputable truth which establishes what is wrong and what is right; That truth is the word of God, given to us in the form of a book we call “The Bible”. It tells us that we all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. So whether our struggle is with immorality or unforgiveness, we all need grace to become better people and get our act right.

If you’re struggling with any bad habit or secret that you are not too proud of, and you are struggling to make progress in life because you are bound by guilt, we’d like to share with you a message that will lead you to a healthy life. Please click on the banner below to find out more.

Glo

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