Wave Star Mission completed - and all traces removed! This week our smaller 1:10 scale wave energy machine was towed to shore. After more than 5 years at sea, where it has proven our concept and shown sustainable in the harsh environment of the sea, its mission is complete. Close to 100% of the materials are recycled.

World's First INVENSENTIONS

1. World’s First Digital Camera (1975): Created by Kodak's engineer Steve Sasson
2. World's First Motel (1925): Motel Inn
3. World's First Album Cover (1938): Smash Song Hits by Rodgers and Hart
4. World's First Novel (1007): Tale of Genji
5. World's First Web Server and Web Site (1990): a NeXT computer at CERN
6. World's First Motorcycle (1885): Daimler's "riding car"
7. World's First X-Ray (1895): Röntgen's wife hand
8. World's First Computer Mouse (1964): by Douglas Engelbart
9. World's First Skyscraper (1885): Home Insurance Building in Chicago
10. World's First Concept Car (1938): Buick Y-Job
11. World's First MP3 Player (1998): MPMan 32MB
12. World's First Crossword (1913): Arthur Wynne's Invention
13. World's First Microprocessor (1971): Intel 4004
14. World's First Magazine (1731): The Gentleman's Magazine
15. World's First Photograph (1826): "View from the Window at Le Gras"

200 Years - Abraham Lincoln - 200 Facts

The Abraham Lincoln Blog

Welcome to The Abraham Lincoln Blog! This blog serves as a source of information about Mr. Lincoln, covering every aspect of his life plus his continued legacy. Included is a smattering of commentary about modern-day events and politics but only as they pertain to Lincoln. It's hoped that this blog will encourage readers to seek out more information about this complex man. Comments are both welcome and encouraged.

 

gettysburg

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Civil War Photo Gallery

CivilWarPhotoGallery.com is a good site to begin looking for images from the American Civil War.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Mr. Traetow's Class Facts

Important Dates In Abraham Lincoln's Life

1. February 12, 1809: born in a one room log cabin in Kentucky
2. 1815: attends a log house school
3. 1844: moves to Springfield, Illinois, buys a home for $1,500 and sets up his own law practice
4. August 3, 1846: elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
5. May 18, 1860: nominated to be the Republican candidate for president of the United States
6. November 6, 1860: elected 16th president of the United States and is the first Republican president
7. January 1, 1863: issues the final Emancipation Proclomation freeing all slaves in territories held by confederates
8. November 19, 1863: delivers Gettysburg Address at a ceremony dedicating the battlefied as a national cemetary
9. November 8, 1864: re-elected as president of the United States
10. April 14-15, 1865: at 10:13 p.m the night of the 14th President Lincoln was shot while at Ford's Theater...he was pronounced dead at 7:22 a.m. the morning of the 15th.

Abe said the funniest things....

1. "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."

2. "People are just about as happy as they make up their minds to be."

3. " If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee."

4. Whatever you are, be a good one.

5. "Things may come to those who wait. But only the things left by those who hustle."

6. "Everything I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother."

7. "I'm a slow walker, but I never walk back."

8. "People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like."

9. Common looking people are the best in the world: that is the reason the Lord makes so many of them.

10. "Tis better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt."

The Lincoln White House Facts by Mrs. Forster's Class

Some facts about the years the Lincolns were in the White House.

1. His Vice-Presidents were Hannibal Hamlin and Andrew Johnson.

2. One night while riding his horse home from the office, someone took a shot at him.  The bullet went through his stovepipe hat and knocked it off.

3. The silver service in the White House is engraved with "MTL" which stood for Mary Todd Lincoln.

4. Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican President.

5. The Lincolns lived in the White House from 1861-1865.

6. President Lincoln disliked being called "Mr. President".  He preferred to be called Mr. Lincoln.

7. One of his nicknames was "Father Abraham."

8. President Lincoln preferred to dine at 6:00 p.m. each evening with a simple meal with his wife.  He disliked big State Dinners.

9. President Lincoln was shot at Ford's Theater, and died across the street in a hotel room the next day.

10. Lincoln had a dream one week before he was assassinated.  In the dream he heard crying down in the front hall of the White House. When he went into the room, there was a casket.  He asked a security guard, "Who died?"  The guard said, "The President."

11. Lincoln had four children, Robert, Edward, Willie, and Tad.  Only Robert lived to adulthood and never had any children of his own.

12. The Lincoln's had many animals during their time in the White House. He had horses, one of which was named "Old Abe", dogs, cats, and a turkey named Jake.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Mr. Williamson's Class with Goofy and Interesting Facts

1. Abe Lincoln didn't wear glasses until the age of 47. He needed reading glasses from then on.

2. Lincoln was called "Old Abe" by his friends when he was only 30 years years old because his skin was yellowish and wrinkled by that time.

3. Many people thought that Lincoln was color blind but in fact doctors later proved he was not.

4. Abe Lincoln had great prowess as a wrestler and an ax handler mainly because he had the arms of a 7-foot tall man.

5. Abraham Lincoln was afraid of the dentist. It was probably because one visit to the dentist ended in a great deal of pain for him. While pulling a tooth, a dentist actually broke away part of his jaw. All of this was done with no anesthesia.

6. The portrait used for the five-dollar bill was taken in February of 1864.

7. While visiting troops, Abe Lincoln grabbed an ax and started chopping wood. After that he held the ax straight out without any shaking. None of the troops present could accomplish the same feat of strength.

8. Lincoln had a loud high-pitched voice that could carry long distances. When he got excited, it would be even louder.

9. Lincoln nearly drowned in a creek near his home as a young boy. A neighbor boy saved his life. (Phew)

10. Abe Lincoln grew his beard based on the advice of an 11 year old girl.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

10 facts about the The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library by Mrs. Scott's 7th hour S.S. class

1. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library is in Springfield, Illinois.

2. The Library is not only a library but it also has a museum area.

3. The Newspaper Microfilm Collection has more than 5,000 newspaper titles preserved on nearly 100,000 reels. Many date from the early 19th century.

4. It houses more than 171,700 books and pamphlets, 3,000 maps, and 1,200 periodical series.

5. The Library has an area called the Henry Horner Lincoln Collection. It is the most complete holding of Abraham Lincoln's pre-presidential materials found anywhere.

6. Henry Horner, governor of Illinois from 1933-1940, donated his Lincoln collection to the Library shortly before his death in 1940. His collection remains at the core of the Library's magnificent Lincoln collection.

7. There are nearly 1,500 original letters and manuscripts written or signed by Lincoln in the Lincoln Collection.

8. The Lincoln Collection also has over 1,000 Lincoln related prints and photographs.

9. There are over 250 historical artifacts associated with Lincoln and his family in the Lincoln Collection.

10. Some of these items include the Edward Everett holograph of the Gettysburg Address, the Leland-Boker printing of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by Lincoln, Lincoln's original traveling shaving mirror, Tad Lincoln's toy cannon, the skirt to Mary Lincoln's wedding dress, and many more priceless items of historical importance.


Source: http://www.alplm.org/library/library.html

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Washington D.C. Models by Mrs. Forster's Class

Lincoln Facts by Mrs. Luhmann's Class

1. Abraham Lincoln was born February 12, 1809.

2. Lincoln was 6'4" tall.

3. He was 33 years old when he married Mary Todd.

4. Abraham and Mary were married on November 4, 1842.

5. The Lincoln's had 3 children.

6. Lincoln became president on March 4, 1861.

7. Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president.

8. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.

9. On April 14, 1865, Lincoln was shot and killed in Washington, D.C. while watching a play.

10. Lincoln was 56 years old when he died.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Halbert: Ford's Theater

1. Ford's Theater, in Washington, D.C., is where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865.

2. The assassin, John Wilkes Boothe, was a well-known actor at the theater.

3. "Our American Cousin" was the name of the play that Lincoln was watching when he was shot and killed.

4. The murder happened five days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to end the Civil War.

5. Boothe was a Confederate sympathizer.

6. Lincoln's wife and Major Henry Rathbone and his fiance were sitting with Lincoln in his presidential box at the time of the murder.

7. Boothe delivered a single shot behind Lincoln's left ear. Rathbone was stabbed in the arm.

8. In the lower level of the theater is a museum that contains artifacts such as the clothes that Lincoln wore the night of the murder and the murder weapon.

9. A second tragedy happened at the theater: In 1893 the theater was being used as office space, and the interior floors collapsed, killing 22 office workers.

10. The theater was reopened in the 1960's when Congress authorized a renovation.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Facts About Lincoln's Pets and Children by Mrs. Welchlin's Class

1. Abraham Lincoln had 4 sons-Edward, William, Thomas, Robert

2. Thomas had the nickname of Tad

3. Lincoln had a dog named Fido--when Lincoln and his family moved to Washington they left

the dog with a neighbor because of the long train ride from Illinois to Washington DC

4. Lincoln's sons, Willie & Tad, took Fido to a photographer for the first picture ever of a

Presidential dog

5. Lincoln once found 3 stray kittens and gave them to a Colonel and made him promise he

would take good care of them

6. Lincoln had horses at the White House Stables--in 1864, the stables caught fire. Lincoln tried

go into the burning stable to save them but they died in the fire

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Mr. Wells' Class, Lessor Known Facts about Abraham Lincoln

1. Abraham Lincoln was the first President to wear a beard. The following is the content of a letter Abraham Lincoln received from an 11 yr. old girl in October of 1860 during his Presidential Campaign:

Hon A B Lincoln...

Dear Sir,

My father has just home from the fair and brought home your picture and Mr. Hamlin's. I am a little girl only 11 years old, but want you should be President of the United States very much so I hope you wont think me very bold to write to such a great man as you are. Have you any little girls about as large as I am if so give them my love and tell her to write to me if you cannot answer this letter. I have got 4 brother's and part of them will vote for you any way and if you let your whiskers grow I will try and get the rest of them to vote for you you would look a great deal better for your face is so thin. All the ladies like whiskers and they would tease their husband's to vote for you and then you would be President. My father is going to vote for you and if I was a man I would vote for you to but I will try to get every one to vote for you that I can I think that rail fence around your picture makes it look very pretty I have got a little baby sister she is nine weeks old and is just as cunning as can be. When you direct your letter direct to Grace Bedell Westfield, Chatauque County, New York.

I must not write any more answer this letter right off.

Good bye.
Grace Bedell

2. Abraham Lincoln had the largest shoe size documented of all the presidents. He wore a size 14.

3. Have you ever used the excuse that the dog ate your homework? Abraham Lincoln’s famous “Gettysburg Address” was written by the President after his dog ate a much longer speech that had been written for him. He started out with , “Four score and seven years ago “, to give him time to think of what to say next while people were busy doing the math in their heads to figure out how many years he was talking about.

4. Abraham Lincoln always had a messy desk, (just like Mr. Wells), in his Law Office with William Herndon. Abraham Lincoln kept a big envelope on top of his desk marked, “When you can’t find it anywhere else, look into this.”

5. Abraham Lincoln was a great believer in psychic phenomena. He would host seances in the White House. It was the opinion of professional mediums who had worked with the President that Lincoln was definitely the possessor of strong psychic powers. He was also a great believer in dreams. On the day of his assassination, April 14, 1865, he was so troubled by a dream that he actually discussed it at a Cabinet meeting. He told his colleagues that he had seen himself sailing "in an indescribable vessel and moving rapidly toward an indistinct shore." Even more explicit was a dream that he discussed just a week before he was shot. In his dream, Lincoln awoke, and walked through the silent White House, following the sound of sobbing. When he came to the East Room, he saw a platform and casket draped in black. "Who is dead?" Lincoln asked. A military guard replied that it was the President.

6. Some of Abraham Lincoln’s hair was kept when he died. Some of his hair is going to be tested for DNA to see if he had any diseases. The rest is in a museum. Some was sealed in a ring that President Theodore Roosevelt wore during his Inauguration.

7. Lincoln floated down the Mississippi on a flatboat when he was a teenager, and sold fruits and vegetables in New Orleans. Then he sold the boat, and walked 800 miles back home.

8. Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican President.

9. Abraham Lincoln was the first United States President to be assassinated. There were two assassination attempts on his life. The first one missed his head and knocked off his hat seven months before he was shot by John Wilkes Booth.

10. Abraham Lincoln was the first president to “Pardon” a Thanksgiving turkey.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Lincoln and Music by Ms. Thompson's Class

1. Lincoln enjoyed going to plays and concerts, and preferred going alone.
2. Lincoln liked music because you can listen and simply enjoy.
3. Lincoln didn't like to sing.
4. Lincoln liked both poetry and songs.
5. Lincoln didn't know about the artistic ability of music.
6. Lincoln was inspired by music of both love and hate.
7. Lincoln preferred having bands play music rather than himself talking in front of crowds.
8. Lincoln enjoyed comic songs that humored him such as ones about cockroaches.
9. Lincoln especially liked tender and sentimental songs.
10. Lincoln loved talented musicians, and would ask friends to play their instruments.

The Lincoln Museum by Mrs. Halbert's class

1. The Abraham Lincoln Museum is located in downtown Springfield, Illinois.

2.  The museum welcomed its one millionth visitor in Jan. 2007.

3.  This museum is 50% larger than any other presidential museum/library.

4.  A log cabin similar to the one that Lincoln grew up in was constructed in the museum.

5.  The museum uses 21st century technology to bring 19th century history to life.

6.  The Plaza at the center of the museum is an open gathering place from which all the areas of the museum are accessed.

7.  The museum is a walk-through experience, like a journey, divided into two parts:  the pre-presidential years, and the White House years.

8.  Highly researched, dramatic, "you are there" settings put you "inside" dramatic moments in Lincoln's life through vivid dramatic environments.

9.  The museum is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, but is closed on Christmas, New Year's, and Thanksgiving Day.

10.  An adult ticket to the museum is $10, children are $4.

Friday, January 16, 2009

response

 I read an interesting article in Newsweek about Abraham Lincoln. Sometimes it is hard to tell facts from opinions.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Mrs. Fitzgerald's Classroom

Abraham Lincoln's Health Facts

1. Abraham Lincoln's health was generally good into young adulthood.
2. Abe's vigorous health was promoted in the 1860 Presidential Campaign because of his image as a railsplitter.
3. It is believed that Abraham Lincoln had malaria-1835-this was the first time he was seriously ill.
4. Abraham Lincoln loved to eat fruit, especially apples.
5. Lincoln had small pox during the time he gave the Gettsyburg Address in 1863.
6. He was nearly drowned while living in Kentucky as a young boy and in 1818 was kicked in the head by a horse.
7. Lincoln suffered from depression and chronic physical fatigue.
8. Lincoln long suffered from constipation, he took medication for awhile, but quit because the medicine made him irritable and
unable to sleep.
9. Lincoln was 6 feet 4 inches tall.
10. After the Gettysburg Address the President returned to Washing ton where he was confined in bed for 3 weeks with variloid-a mild form of small pox.

FULL STORY

Taken by http://abrahamlincolnblog.blogspot.com

ENIAC

The machine itself

ENIAC was a beast of a computer. It weighed 30 tons and filled an entire classroom. It was the epitome of an overwhelming “Giant Brain” of the sort that spawned countless science fiction movies. It had to wait for a major upgrade before its program moved from tedious patch cords into lightning-fast electronic memory, and since microchips nor even transistors existed, it instead used more than 17,000 vacuum tubes. There was only one ENIAC ever built. But it was the first fully electronic general-purpose computer. It was used mainly for military and scientific research applications such as aeronautics, ballistics, meteorology, and nuclear weapons. It remained in operation until 1955.
The links on this page describe how ENIAC was built, how it worked, and what it was like to operate it.

ENIAC WORLD FIRST COMPUTER

ENIAC WORLD FIRST COMPUTER

Motivational and Inspirational Quotes Collection

Welcome to my collection of inspirational and motivational quotations. Reading and collecting books of quotations is one of my hobbies. Whenever I'm feeling down or have a looming personal problem, I turn to my books for some inspiration and words of wisdom.

The quotes in each of the categories listed below are some of my personal favorites that I've collected over the years. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Inspiring Quotes Leadership Motivational Inspirational Success Life Imagination Follow Your Dreams Building a Good Character

Goals and Goal Setting Words of Wisdom Happiness Personal Growth Dealing with People Fear of Failure Don't Worry More inspiring quotes

Other Topics Teacher Quotes - teachers, books, reading, education, history, writers and writing. Library - quotes and proverbs about libraries, librarians, and book collections

Favorite Quotes - favorites, friendship, wedding, money Nature Quotes - nature, flower, roses. Cooking Quotes - cooking, diet, food weight loss.

On the subject of quotes and proverbs.....

One must be a wise reader to quote wisely and well. - Amos Bronson Alcott
The maxims of men disclose their hearts. - French Proverb
To select well among old things, is almost equal to inventing new ones. - Nicholas Charles Trublet
I have gathered a posie of other men's flowers, and nothing but the thread that binds them is my own. - Michel de Montaigne
Proverbs are mental gems gathered in the diamond districts of the mind. - William R. Alger
What gems of painting or statuary are in the world of art, or what flowers are in the world of nature, are gems of thought to the cultivated and the thinking. - Oliver Wendell Holmes
Stealing someone else's words frequently spares the embarrassment of eating your own. - Peter Anderson
A short saying oft contains much wisdom. - Sophocles
It often happens that the quotations constitute the most valuable part of a book. - Vicesimus Knox
A collection of rare thoughts is nothing less than a cabinet of intellectual gems.- William B. Sprague
Good sayings are like pearls strung together. - Chinese Proverb
A proverb is to speech what salt is to food. - Arabic Proverb
Proverbs are the cream of a nation's thought. - Unknown
There is not less wit, not less invention, in applying rightly a thought one finds in a book, than in being the first author of that book. - Pierre Boyle
A proverb is much matter decocted into few words. - Thomas Fuller
A maxim is the exact and noble expression of an important and indisputable truth. Good maxims are the germs of all excellence; when firmly fixed on the memory, they nourish the will. - Joseph Joubert
It is delightful to transport one's self into the spirit of the past, to see how a wise man has thought before us, and to what glorious height we have at last reached. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Time is of of no account with great thoughts, which are as fresh today as when they first passed through their authors' minds ages ago. - Samuel Smiles

The diamond may adorn royalty, regardless of personal worth; but jewels of thought render even poverty illustrious and sublime.
- found in Gems for the Fireside
Proverbs may be said to be the abridgment of wisdom. - Joseph Joubert
The proverb answers where the sermon fails. - W. G. Simms
Human success is a quotation from overhead. - Charles H. Parkhurst
A well-cultivated mind is, so to speak, made up of all the minds of preceding ages; it is only one single mind which has been educated during all this time. - Bernard de Bovier de Fontenelle
Maxims are the condensed good sense of nations. - Sir J. Mackintosh
Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind, than in the one where they sprung up. - Oliver Wendell Holmes
Always have a book at hand, in the parlor, on the table, for the family; a book of condensed thought and striking anecdote, of sound maxims and truthful apothegms. It will impress on your own mind a thousand valuable suggestions, and teach your children a thousand lessons of truth and duty. Such a book is a casket of jewels for your housebold. - Tryon Edwards

Important "Quote of the Day" Notice: Please note that while some daily quote or daily text message groups may link to this site, this site currently does not have a "quote of the day" feature and is not affiliated with any Yahoo groups, MSN groups, religious groups, Upoc groups or other organizations that send out daily inspirational messages. The owners of those sites are solely responsible for any quotes or messages they send out to the members of their groups.

Adam Osborne

Adam Osborne

Adam Osborne - born in Bangkok Thailand - in 1939 was the first man - to have invented the portable computer.  He is an American but died at the age of 69 in India.  A pretty unique man if you asked me - and smarter than anyone that I’ve read about - this man is a member of Memsa.  Now if I was a technical recruiter having lots of Technical Recruiter Jobs I would hope I find someone like Adam Osborne - because someone like him only comes once in a lifetime.  I wished I was as smart as some people that I so admire - ok - maybe not as smart - but just 10%?

The first ever computer invented by Osborne was 12Kg - and costing less than $2000 USD - in 1981 - so you can imagine - that a lot of rich people would have wanted it then.  In 1981 - I think I haven’t even learned how to use a computer yet - let alone can afford to own one.  His portable computer were shipped out at 10,000 unit per month.  Osborne had the foresight to build computers not for those who is into it for a hobby but for the serious minded - who will use it for our daily lives.  And even though Osborne 1 didn’t make Osborne millions - he didn’t despair for he started writing books about computers - easy to read manuals.   Although, all the above didn’t make him rich - he was nevertheless admired for trying - which also taught me - something about running a business. The Osborne effect after reading it - made me realized that some stuff that I was doing wasn’t right.

BLOGGER BUZZ 1

As we mentioned last week, some members of the Blogger team from Google HQ in Mountain View, Tokyo, Dublin, and Sydney (see group photo below) headed to Los Angeles to attend the 2011 BlogWorld & New Media Expo.

One of the primary reasons we attended the expo was to meet Blogger users 1:1, and to gain a better understanding of what we can do to improve the product to better meet your needs.

In addition to these discussions, we conducted surveys with many conference attendees to collect more in-depth feedback. Thank you! We really appreciate the valuable and candid responses.

In the survey results and our 1:1 discussions with you we heard a few common themes:

• You’re hoping to widen your audience with Google+
• You’d like more opportunities to customize and use gadgets with Dynamic Views
• You’re looking for tips and best practices for how to make more money from your blog with AdSense

Your requests have been shared with the broader team and we’re hard at work making them happen for you. Stay tuned to the Buzz Blog in the coming weeks for follow ups, and in the meantime, check out some other photos from the expo below.

Bruce and Mara of MlovesM

Sabrina and Michael in the Blogger photo booth

Sabine and Lisa host a Google+ Hangout with bloggers from around the world

Posted by Michael Bolognino, Product Marketing Manager

From homeless drug abuser to millionaire entrepreneur

From homeless drug abuser to millionaire entrepreneur



When Bob Williamson left home at 17, he lived on the streets and did time for heroin
possession.
But he pulled himself together, got a job, and eventually began his own business as a
manufacturer of art supplies.
In 1993, Williamson started a company to develop software for cafeterias. Today Horizon
Software International supplies more than 15,000 schools, colleges, and universities and
has sales of $26 million.
Meal payments are made online, and parents can monitor what their kids eat at school.
Horizon, based in Atlanta, also sells to hospitals, retirement communities, big
corporations, and, soon, US military bases around the globe — ‘wherever’, he says, ‘large
numbers of people need to be fed’.
My childhood was tough. My father was in the Air Force. We moved around a lot.
When I graduated from high school, I got all hung up in drugs and all that nonsense. I
slept on the side of the road; I stayed in missions; I didn’t have anything to eat. I fought
a lot. I was in jail lots and lots of times.
had been told all my life that I was worthless and would never amount to anything. I
hitchhiked from New Orleans to Atlanta. I had only one change of clothes, and I didn’t
know anybody.
My first job was cleaning mortar off of bricks with a hatchet for $15 a day. Not long after
that, I had a head-on collision and very nearly was killed. While I was in the hospital I
read the Bible and became a Christian. After that I met my wife. We’ve been married 37
years.
I went to work for a paint company called Glidden. I had the worst job in the
company: I was in charge of the label room, a caged-in area in the basement. But I was
promoted eight times in two years to the point where I was managing special projects.
I knew a lot of the chemists and taught myself about the chemistry of paint.
In my spare time, I was a wildlife artist. There wasn’t a good airbrush paint on the
market. Everybody was using automotive lacquers. I spent about two years developing
one for myself.
I’d go to an art show and take my entire inventory. People lined up out of the door.
Within about six months, I had distributors and customers all over the country.
I started Wildlife Artist Supply in 1977. I went from my basement to my garage to a
little building. Then I went to a 50,000-square-foot warehouse. And I didn’t just sell
paint.
We had a thick catalog, 6,000 or 7,000 items for artists, primarily mail order. It was
everything you could imagine: brushes, compressors, clay. I started a magazine to teach
people how to do wildlife art. We also founded the World Taxidermy Championships.
In 1988, I made a deal to take the company public. We were going to develop my
business into a company like L.L. Bean.
My customers were hard-core sportsmen. We were selling wildlife art supplies, so we
could have just as easily sold them hunting and fishing stuff.
The next day, my controller turned in his notice. And then a whole bunch of other
people quit. I discovered that all of our financial records had been destroyed, and we
were $1 million in debt and $278,000 overdrawn at the bank, and my inventory was
decimated. It was like a nightmare.
I spent two years trying to make him pay. To this day, there’s never been anybody but a
Williamson reconciling our bank accounts
There are only so many artists in the world. I wanted to get into something that didn’t
have any limits. My sons were very gifted in computer technology, and they wanted to
start a software company. I had a couple of programmers who worked for me.
We had written all this software. The best was our warehouse and distribution package. I
had been using it for years in my own stuff. We decided to try selling it. I thought it
would be like the paint: I’d just go out there and introduce myself, distributors would pick
it up, and I’d be home free.
Well, I had a rude awakening. When those big boys are in there, they just stomp you. I
realized I had to have a niche.
A rep who worked for me also sold systems to school lunchrooms. I went with him on
one of his calls and found out that in the schools there wasn’t a system like ours, and
there was a tremendous need for it. So I modified my warehouse and distribution system
so it would work in cafeterias.
The market was too small to attract those big guys, but it was big enough for me. There
are 14,000 districts, 97,000 schools. It was a really big opportunity. It seemed unlimited.
Everybody’s got to eat.
I hired salespeople, but they couldn’t sell anything. I told my wife, “I might just do it
myself.” I had always detested sales and salespeople. But I found out that’s what I’m
really good at.
I went in and told food-service directors how they could save money. They were doing
everything manually, and I showed them all the things that our software could do. Within
two weeks I had my first order.
Then I went to another one, and I went to another one, and pretty soon I had all of
Georgia. So I became our chief salesperson. You wouldn’t believe how I could sell. I could
sell firewood in hell.
It wasn’t like I was real flush with cash. Pretty much all my career I was
undercapitalized. I borrowed on my home equity and loaded up my credit cards.
We started with three or four people, in 1993, and each year we would either double or
triple in size. Now we have 173 employees and sales of $26 million.
We ended up developing an A-to-Z software system for managing school food
services: warehousing and tracking inventory and sales. For a long time I didn’t have any
competition. I started looking at other markets.
We developed software for colleges and universities and then hospitals and senior living
communities. Whoever feeds a lot of people, that’s who we go to. We have more than
15,000 installations.
In 2005, we got a $10 million deal with the U.S. military. I worked five years on that
deal. Our technology will be in every dining facility worldwide for the Army, Navy, Air
Force, and Marine Corps. Every land base, ship, submarine, and remote battlefield.
It’s my goal to get junk food out of the schools. Oranges instead of Snickers bars. We’ve
developed technology so kids can buy healthful items from vending machines on their
prepaid accounts.
And we have software so parents can go online and view what their kids ate that day. I
want to help kids make the right nutritional choices. We’ve got all this technology and all
these schools, and we ought to be able to have an impact.

http://www.indianstudentsnetwork.com...Williamson.pdf

A Love Story of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murthy

A Love Story of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and
Sudha Murthy



It was in Pune that I met Narayan Murty through my friend Prasanna who is now the
Wipro chief, who was also training in Telco (TataMotors). Most of the books that Prasanna
lent me had Murty’s name on them which meant that I had a preconceived image of the
man. Contrary to expectation, Murty was shy, bespectacled and an introvert. When he
invited us for dinner, I was a bit taken aback as I thought the young man was making a
very fast move. I refused since I was the only girl in the group. But Murty was relentless
and we all decided to meet for dinner the next day at 7.30p.m. at
Green Fields hotel on the Main Road, Pune.
The next day I went there at 7 o’ clock since I had to go to the tailor near the hotel. And
what do I see? Mr. Murty waiting in front of the hotel and it was only seven. Till today,
Murty maintains that I had mentioned (consciously! ) that I would be going to the tailor
at 7 so that I could meet him…And I maintain that I did not say any such thing
consciously or unconsciously because I did not think of Murty as anything other than a
friend at that stage. We have agreed to disagree on this matter.
Soon, we became friends. Our conversations were filled with Murty’s experiences abroad
and the books that he has read. My friends insisted that Murty as trying to impress me
because he was interested in me. I kept denying it till one fine day, after dinner Murty
said, I want to tell you something. I knew this as it. It was coming. He said, I am 5′4″
tall. I come from a lower middle class family. I can never become rich in my life and I can
never give you any riches. You are beautiful, bright, and intelligent and you can get
anyone you want. But will you marry me? I asked Murty to give me some time for an
answer. My father didn’t want me to marry a wannabe politician, (a communist at that)
who didn’t have a steady job and wanted to build an orphanage…
When I went to Hubli I told my parents about Murty and his proposal. My mother was
positive since Murty was also from Karnataka, seemed intelligent and comes from a good
family. But my father asked: What’s his job, his salary, his qualifications etc? Murty was
working as a research assistant and was earning less than me. He was willing to go dutch
with me on our outings. My parents agreed to meet Murty in Pune on a particular day at
10 a. m sharp. Murty did not turn up. How can I trust a man to take care
of my daughter if he cannot keep an appointment, asked my father.
At 12noon Murty turned up in a bright red shirt! He had gone on work to Bombay, was
stuck in a traffic jam on the ghats, so he hired a taxi (though it was very expensive for
him) to meet his would-be father-in-law. Father was unimpressed. My father asked him
what he wanted to become in life.
Murty said he wanted to become a politician in the communist party and wanted to open
an orphanage. My father gave his verdict. NO. I don’t want my daughter to marry
somebody who wants to become a communist and then open an orphanage when he
himself didn’t have money to support his family.
Ironically, today, I have opened many orphanages something, which
Murty wanted to do 25 years ago. By this time I realized I had developed a liking towards
Murty which could only be termed as love. I wanted to marry Murty because he is an
honest man. He proposed to me highlighting the negatives in his life. I promised my
father that I will not marry Murty without his blessings though at the same time, I cannot
marry anybody else. My father said he would agree if Murty promised to take up a steady
job. But Murty refused saying he will not do things in life because somebody wanted him
to. So, I was caught between the two most important people in my life.
The stalemate continued for three years during which our courtship took us to every
restaurant and cinema hall in Pune. In those days, Murty was always broke. Moreover, he
didn’t earn much to manage. Ironically today, he manages Infosys Technologies Ltd., one
of the world’s most reputed companies. He always owed me money. We used to go for
dinner and he would say, I don’t have money with me, you pay my share and I will return
it to you later. For three years I maintained a book on Murty’s debt to me. No,
he never returned the money and I finally tore it up after my wedding.
The amount was a little over Rs 4000. During this interim period Murty quit his job as
research assistant and started his own software business. Now, I had to pay his salary
too! Towards the late 70s computers were entering India in a big way. During the fag end
of 1977 Murty decided to take up a job as General Manager at Patni Computers in
Bombay. But before he joined the company
he wanted to marry me since he was to go on training to the US after joining. My father
gave in as he was happy Murty had a decent job, now.
WE WERE MARRIED IN MURTY’S HOUSE IN BANGALORE ON FEBRUARY 10, 1978 WITH
ONLY OUR TWO FAMILIES PRESENT. I GOT MY FIRST SILK SARI. THE WEDDING
EXPENSES CAME TO ONLY RS 800 (US $17) WITH MURTY AND I POOLING IN RS.400
EACH.
I went to the US with Murty after marriage. Murty encouraged me to see America on my
own because I loved travelling. I toured America for three months on backpack and had
interesting experiences which will remain fresh in my mind forever. Like the time when
the New York police took me into custody because they thought I was an Italian,
trafficking drugs in Harlem. Or the time when I spent the night at the bottom of the
Grand Canyon with an old couple. Murty panicked because he couldn’t get a response
from my hotel room even at midnight. He thought I was either killed or kidnapped.
IN 1981 MURTY WANTED TO START INFOSYS. HE HAD A VISION AND ZERO
CAPITAL…initially I was very apprehensive about Murty getting into business. We did not
have any business background. Moreover we were living a comfortable life in Bombay
with a regular pay check and I didn’t want to rock the boat. But Murty was passionate
about creating good quality software. I decided to support him. Typical of Murty, he just
had a dream and no money. So I gave him Rs 10,000 which I had saved for a rainy day,
without his knowledge and told him, this is all I have. Take it. I give you three years
sabbatical leave. I will take care of the financial needs of our house. You go and chase
your dreams without any worry. But you have only three years!
Murty and his six colleagues started Infosys in 1981, with normous
interest and hard work. In 1982 I left Telco and moved to Pune with Murty. We bought a
small house on loan which also became the Infosys office. I was a clerk-cum-cook- cum-programmer. I also took up a job as Senior Systems Analyst with Walchand group of
Industries to support the house.
In 1983 Infosys got their first client, MICO, in Bangalore. Murty moved to Bangalore and
stayed with his mother while I went to Hubli to deliver my second child, Rohan. Ten days
after my son was b! orn, Murty left for the US on project work. I saw him only after a
year, as I was unable to join Murty in the US because my son had infantile eczema, an
allergy to vaccinations. So for more than a year I did not step outside our home for fear
of my son contracting an infection. It was only after Rohan got all his
vaccinations that I came to Bangalore where we rented a small house in Jayanagar and
rented another house as Infosys headquarters. My father presented Murty a scooter to
commute. I once again became a cook, programmer, clerk, secretary, office assistant et
al. Nandan Nilekani (MD of Infosys) and his wife Rohini stayed with us. While Rohini
babysat my son, I wrote programs for Infosys. There was no car, no phone, and just two
kids and a bunch of us working hard, juggling our lives and having fun while Infosys was
taking shape. It was not only me but also the wives of other partners too who gave their
unstinted support. We all knew that our men were trying to build something good.
It was like a big joint family,taking care and looking out for one
another. I still remember Sudha Gopalakrishna looking after my daughter Akshata with
all care and love while Kumari Shibulal cooked for all of us. Murty made it very clear that
it would either be me or him working at Infosys. Never the two of us together… I was
involved with Infosys initially.
Nandan Nilekani suggested I should be on the Board but Murty said he
did not want a husband and wife team at Infosys. I was shocked since I had the relevant
experience and technical qualifications. He said, Sudha if you want to work with Infosys, I
will withdraw, happily. I was pained to know that I will not be involved in the company
my husband was building and that I would have to give up a job that I am qualified to do
and love doing.
It took me a couple of days to grasp the reason behind Murty’s request. I realized that to
make Infosys a success one had to give one’s 100 percent. One had to be focussed on it
alone with no other distractions. If the two of us had to give 100 percent to Infosys then
what would happen to our home and our children? One of us had to take care of our
home while the other took care of Infosys.
I opted to be a homemaker, after all Infosys was Murty’s dream. It was a big sacrificebut
it was one that had to be made. Even today, Murty says, Sudha, I stepped on your career
to make mine. You are responsible for my success.
Great, isn’t it? …. That’s the Power of Love.


http://www.indianstudentsnetwork.com...ana_Murthy.pdf

Kalpana Saroj - India's real Slumdog billionaire and more

You could call her India's real life slumdog billionaire. Kalpana Saroj, a Dalit woman who broke social shackles and left her ramshackle

home in the poorest part of her village 26 years ago to begin life afresh, today heads a Rs 3,000 crore business enterprise.

On Monday, state Forests Minister Babbanrao Pachpute inaugurated the new plant of her company Kamani Tubes in Wada, around 75 km from Mumbai.

For the 48-year-old Saroj, it was a dream come true. Standing outside the factory premises with her husband Shubhkaran, pilot son Amar, 24, and daughter Seema, 22, she smiled radiantly -- and remembered her painful past.

"Born in a poor Dalit family, I was married off forcibly at the age of 12 to a man more than 10 years older to me," Saroj told IANS. "A year later, I came back to my parents' home. The following year, I tried to join the police force like my father, but I was rejected."

Her attempts to rebuild her broken life were thwarted by other residents of her village, Roparkheda in Maharashtra's Akola district. They accused her of "overstepping social norms and boundaries". She bore the insults for 10 years before leaving the rural slum in which her family stayed to come to Mumbai.

Saroj moved into Ghatkopar here, met a man and married him, but he died in 1989, leaving her to fend for their two minor children.

Undeterred, she began managing her husband's small steel almirah manufacturing unit, launched a construction company and with the realty sector booming, made profits. She ploughed this money into small steel and sugar units.

Her biggest challenge came in March 2006 when her firm, Kalpana Saroj and Associates, took over the ailing Kamani Tubes and turned it around to a profitable enterprise.

A brand leader in non-ferrous tubes, the company was started by Mumbai's well-known industrialist Ramji Kamani, a close associate of the country's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who visited the Kurla factory twice.

However, a family discord affected the firm adversely. By 1975, it was on a downslide and was declared "sick" after the owners abandoned it.

Later, a court allowed the workers' union to run the company.

The experiment failed. By 1997, the company had run into debts of over Rs.1.6 billion (Rs.160 crore).

Almost a decade later, in March 2006, as per a court directive, Kalpana Saroj and Associates were given charge of the company, its 560 employees and the total debt burden.

Saroj took up the challenge.

According to Kamani Tubes Managing Director M.K. Gore, in an effort to boost employees' morale, she cleared in one go Rs 85 crore in salary arrears totted up over 17 years.

"I was born, grew up and lived in poverty for the first two decades of my life. I know what a worker undergoes when salaries are not paid on time - the bills, the creditors, the fees and other expenses. So it was very important for me to gain my workers' confidence," Saroj said.

Gradually, production resumed and touched 3,000 tonnes of non-ferrous tubes and pipes.

Owing to disputes over the ownership of the 1.8 acre property in Kurla, Saroj withdrew from a long court battle and began scouting for another location outside Mumbai.

"With an investment of around Rs.3 billion, we decided to shift the plant to Wada. We are the first in the country to install two giant-sized Pilger machines of Germany, costing Rs.1 billion," Gore said.

Her next targets are taking up the Kamani production to 10,000 tonnes, diversifying to manufacturing 100 different alloys, and catering to defence and communications requirements.

"Since my son is not interested in managing my business, I may even launch a private airline for him," she laughed.

FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE

• Love starts with a smile, grows with a kiss, and ends with a tear.
• Don't cry over anyone who won't cry over you.
• Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave, and impossible to forget.
• You can only go as far as you push.
• Actions speak louder than words.
• The hardest thing to do is watch the one you love, love somebody else.
• Don't let the past hold you back; you're missing the good stuff.
• Life's short. If you don't look around once in a while, you might miss it.
• A best friend is like a four leaf clover: hard to find and lucky to have.
• If you think that the world means nothing, think again. You might mean the world to someone else. 
• When it hurts to look back, and you're scared to look ahead, you can look beside you and your best friend will be there
• True friendship never ends.
• Friends are forever.
• Good friends are like stars....You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.
• Don't frown. You never know who is falling in love with your smile.
• What do you do when the only person who can make you stop crying is the person who made you cry?
• NOBODY IS PERFECT UNTIL YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH THEM. (Isn't that the truth?)
• Everything is okay in the end. If it's not okay, then it's not the end.

Most people walk in and out of you life. But only True friends leave footprints in your heart.

Send this on to everyone special in your life, even the people who really make you mad sometimes. Whether we realize it or not, everyone we know is very special to us.
When we look back on our younger years, we will  remember the people who went to school with us, the people who made us laugh, the people who hung out with us when nobody else would, and the  people who made our lives much better simply by being a part of it.
There may be somebody who is thinking about you RIGHT NOW and wishing that you were around. That's the wonderful thing about friendship-you always feel loved and cared about.
The most important thing to remember is... Always appreciate the friends that you have.
A fight may come and go very easily, but a friendship could last forever. 
For every second spent in anger, a minute of happiness is wasted.  So send this to your friends and let them know that you care.

THE BRICK

 

About ten years ago, a young and very successful executive named Josh was traveling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit too fast in his sleek, black, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old.
He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no child darted out, but a brick sailed out and - WHUMP! - it smashed Into the Jag's shiny black side door! SCREECH..!!!! Brakes slammed! Gears ground into reverse, and tires madly spun the Jaguar back to the spot from where the brick had been thrown. Josh jumped out of the car, grabbed the kid and pushed him up against a parked car. He shouted at the kid, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing?!" Building up a head of steam, he went on. "That's my new Jag, that brick you threw is gonna cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it?"
"Please, mister, please. . . I'm sorry! I didn't know what else to do!" Pleaded the youngster. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop!" Tears were dripping down the boy's chin as he pointed around the parked car. "It's my brother, mister," he said. "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up." Sobbing, the boy asked the executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."
Moved beyond words, the young executive tried desperately to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. Straining, he lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapes and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK. He then watched the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home.
It was a long walk back to the sleek, black, shining, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE -a long and slow walk. Josh never did fix the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the dent to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention. . . Some bricks are softer than others. Feel for the bricks of life coming at to you. For all the negative things we have to say to ourselves, God has positive answers.

Value

 Value

A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?"
Hands started going up.
He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up.
He then asked, "Who still wants it?"
Still the hands were up in the air.
"Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe.
He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.
"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.  
Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way.

We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. You are special - Don't ever forget it!

You don't actually have to take the quiz. Just read straight through, and you'll get the point, an awesome one. .....
Take this quiz:
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America contest.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.
How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are
no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields.
But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten.
Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel, appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
6. Name half a dozen heroes whose stories have inspired you. Easier?

The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not
the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care.
Pass this on to those people who have made a difference in your life.