Growing Trees in the desert, with the aid of " Waterboxx "

Photo : groasis.com

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Pieter Hoff used to export lilies and tulips from the Netherlands. He retired from the flower export business seven years ago. Now, he is trying to help people grow trees and plants in the desert -- and save water.
In many places, much of the freshwater supply is used for irrigation. Yet most of that water may be lost through evaporation into the air. So Pieter Hoff has invented a simple plastic device called the Groasis Waterboxx. He says he got the idea from nature.

PIETER HOFF: "If you look at nature, and I give an example in your own country, if you look to the Rocky Mountains of the Sierra Nevada, you find trees all over the mountains. So trees are actually able to grow on rocks. They have very strong roots."
Mr. Hoff says the trick is that nature does not dig a hole like we humans do to plant seeds. Nature plants the seeds through birds or animals on top of the soil. Their waste then acts as a cover. It prevents the humidity in the soil from evaporating.

Trio shares Nobel Prize for Chemistry

Scientists Imitate Life, Melding Carbon Atoms for Uses From Cutting-Edge Drugs to Electronics

more in Health »

By GAUTAM NAIK

United Press International

Nobel winner Ei-ichi Negishi.

The Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded to a trio of scientists who came up with an elegant way to mesh together stubborn carbon atoms, an approach vital for the development of novel medicines, materials and electronics.

Trying Move & Stop

I want to make a picture move & stop if I point to it & move and so on

Influencing yourself and others to achieve results

DELVING DEEPER 
Joseph Grenny on influencing yourself and others to achieve results
Over the past 20 years Joseph Grenny has taught and advised more than 100,000 leaders from all over the world.  His experience – combined with the latest research – has led Grenny to develop what he calls “six sources of influence.”  In this exclusive interview, Grenny discusses these six sources and how they can give you the power to change anything. 

Over the past 20 years Joseph Grenny has taught and advised more than 100,000 leaders from all over the world on how to get the best out of themselves and others.  His experience – combined with the latest research in behavioral economics and the social sciences – has led Grenny to develop what he calls “six sources of influence.”  He contends that these sources of influence – if carefully and consistently nurtured – will provide you with a systematic strategy for executing on influence and give you the power to change anything.  Read on to learn more.
Interview by Chris Stanley

Why is influence so important to business leaders?If you think of problems like an iceberg, business leaders face problems both above and below the water line.  Those above the water line are the visible problems of setting strategy and policy, developing new products, creating processes.  These are the visible, tangible, tactile challenges that they need to generate solutions to.  The problems below the water line tend to deal with behavior in the organization - things that are not always visible and apparent, but that profoundly affect the ability to execute on the elements that are above the water line. Of the two, the below the water line problems tend to be the more profound, persistent, and the most resistant to change.  And leaders tend to have the fewest tools for solving them.

So what would you say are the typical characteristics of a great influencer?There are two big things that people need to do to be effective at influencing change. 
Firstly they need to have a robust and proper way of understanding today’s behavior.  For example, if they need to improve service quality, the first thing that leaders do is they start rolling out a change strategy without deeply understanding the behavior that they are confronting.  If employees are lethargic, disinterested or resistant, leaders tend not to have a very robust way of thinking about the root causes of that resistance.
Secondly they need to have a robust way of creating an influence strategy. We’ve spent 25 years studying the best that social science has to offer and also looking at the best practitioners on the planet to see how they create effective, rapid, profound and sustainable behavior change across an organization.  We found that the measure of the potential effectiveness of an influence strategy is the degree to which it reflects six sources of influence.

What are these six sources of influence?There are two big reasons people do what they do - because they want to do something and because they can do something.  What leaders tend to do is develop motivation strategies that do very little on the ability side. They also tend not to understand that there are three types of motivation and ability: personal, social and structural.

2 Different kind of provider

Hello Folks, my blog appearance maybe not to neat to read / see ( see below - Kaastengels cake ), because the sentence is not composed properly, it cause I need to print my blog to Print Friendly service, if I follow Blogger style composing, the result in Print Friendly service is not good in construction, so it is 2 different kind provider program which have 2 different kind of basic language.
I want to print my posting then I have to set my post similar like the Print Friendly wants, therefore it looks like not neat in appearance, that' s the reason.

Kaastengels

                    from : Majalah Sekar

Kaastengels

Jumat, 24/9/2010 | 13:44 WIB

Bahan :
150 gr margarin
1/4 sdt garam
1/4 sdt kaldu ayam bubuk
1 kuning telur                                                                                           Bahan olesan ( aduk rata ) :
1 sdm susu cair                                                                                        2 kuning telur
100 gr keju cheddar parut halus, diangin-anginkan agar kering                  1 sdt susu cair
200 gr tepung terigu protein sedang                                                          Bahan taburan :
1/4 sdt baking powder                                                                             100 gr keju cheddar parut

Cara membuat :
1. Kocok margarin, garam, dan kaldu ayam bubuk sampai lembut selama 1 menit. Tambahkan kuning telur dan susu cair. Kocok rata.
2. Masukkan keju cheddar parut. Aduk rata. Tambahkan tepung terigu dan baking powder sambil diayak dan diaduk rata.
3. Pulung adonan memanjang. Potong-potong 4 cm.
4. Letakkan di loyang yang diolesi tipis margarin. Oles dengan bahan olesan. Tabur keju parut.
5. Oven 45 menit dengan suhu 140 derajat Celcius sampai matang.
Untuk 372 gr
Tips: Untuk rasa lebih gurih, sebagian margarin boleh diganti dengan mentega.

Editor: Dini

Test caution

Caution,   Caution !