Vending machines with a bite to read
Parisians craving Homer, Baudelaire, or Maupassant in the middle of the night can get a quick literary fix at one of the French capital's five newly installed book vending machines.
"We have customers who know exactly what they want and come at all hours to get it," said Xavier Chambon, president of Maxi-Livres, a low-cost publisher and book store chain that debuted the vending machines in June.

"It's as if our stores were open 24 hours a day."
Stocked with 25 of Maxi-Livres' best-selling titles, the machines cover the gamut of literary genres and tastes.
Classics like The Odyssey by Homer and Lewis Caroll's Alice in Wonderland share the limited shelf space with such practical must-haves as 100 Delicious Couscous and Verb Conjugations.
"Our biggest vending machine sellers are The Wok Cookbook and a French-English dictionary," said Chambon, who added that poet Charles Baudelaire's Les Fleurs du Mal - The Flowers of Evil - also is very popular.
Regardless of whether they fall into the category of high culture or low, all books cost a modest $2.45.
Mechanical arm

Installed in four busy Metro stops and a chic street corner in central Paris, Maxi-Livres' distributors were designed to bypass the characteristic vending-machine-drop, which can be punishing for books.


"We knew that French bibliophiles would be horrified to see their books falling into a trough like candy or soda," Chambon said.
"So we installed a mechanical arm that grabs the book and delivers it safely."
Books are but the latest offering in France's ever-expanding vending machine market, which is responding to off-hour demand for everything from toilet paper to carnations.
Refrigerated supermarket dispensers measuring more than 3 metres across sell some 200 items you would expect to find at the local corner store.
Cat food, TV dinners, razors, and salads can be procured at any time for only slightly higher than average prices.
Paris also has at least two fresh flower distributors offering roses and floral bouquets to the city's romantics

I want you all to have fun reading the following facts:

Think about it !

Difference between Focusing on Problems and Focusing on Solutions

Case



When NASA began the launch of astronauts into space, they found
out that
the pens wouldn't work at zero gravity (ink won't flow down to the writing
surface).

To solve this problem, it took them one decade and $12 million.
They developed a pen that worked at zero gravity, upside down,
underwater,
in practically any surface including crystal and in a temperature range
from below freezing to over 300 degrees C.
And what did the Russians do...?? They used a pencil.

Case

One of the most memorable case studies on Japanese management was the case
of the empty soapbox, which happened in one of Japan's biggest cosmetics
companies. The company received a complaint that a consumer had bought a
soapbox that was empty.
Immediately the authorities isolated the problem
to the assembly! line, which transported all the packaged boxes of soap
to the delivery department. For some reason, one soapbox went through the
assembly line empty. Management asked its engineers to solve the problem.
Post-haste, the engineers worked hard to devise an X-ray machine with
high-resolution monitors manned by two people to watch all the soapboxes
that passed through the line to make sure they were not empty. No doubt,
they worked hard and they worked fast but they spent a whoopee amount
to do so.

But when a rank-and-file employee in a small company was posed with the
same problem, he did not get into complications of X-rays, etc., but
instead came out with another solution. He bought a strong industrial
electric fan and pointed it at the assembly line. He switched the fan
on, and as each soapbox passed the fan, it simply blew the empty boxes out
of the line.

Below is Patrick Lumumba's speech to his fellow commissioners at the
Constitution of Kenya Review team.....

In promulgating your esoteric cogitations or articulating your
superficial sentimentalities, and amicable philosophical or
psychological observations, beware of platitudinous ponderosa.

Let your conversational communications possess a compacted conciseness,
a clarified comprehensibility, a coalescent cogency, and a concatenated
consistency.

Eschew obfuscation and all conglomeration of flatulent garrulity, jejune
rabblement, and asinine affectations.

Let your extemporaneous descanting and unpremeditated expatiations have
intelligibility and voracious vivacity without rodomontade or
thrasonical bombast.

Sedulously avoid all polysyllabic profundity, pompous prolificacy, and
vain vapid verbosity.

....which in short meant: "Be brief and don't use big words."

=========================================================================

A 90-year-old man was having his annual checkup. The Doctor asked him
how he was feeling.

"I've never been better," the old man replied. "I've got an
eighteen-year-old bride who's pregnant & delivered a child. What is your
opinion about that Doc?" the old man asked.

The doctor thought for a moment, then said, "Well, let me tell you a
story. I know a guy who is a hunter. He never misses a season for
hunting. But, one day he's in a bit of a hurry and he accidentally grabs
his umbrella instead of his gun.
The doctor continued, "So he's walking in the woods near a creek, and
suddenly he spots a lion in some brush in front of him. He raises up his
umbrella, points it at the lion and squeezes the handle.

BAM! The lion drops dead in front of him."

"That's impossible!" said the old man in disbelief.

Someone else must have shot that lion."

"Exactly"... Said the Doc

===================================

The Royal Wedding

On the day of the wedding, Camilla was getting dressed, surrounded by
all Her family, and she suddenly realised she had forgotten to get any
shoes. Panic! Then her sister remembered that she had a pair of white
shoes from her Wedding so she lent them to Camilla for the day.

Unfortunately they were a bit too small and by the time the festivities
were over her feet were agony.

When she and Charles withdrew to their room the only thing she could
think of was getting her shoes off. The rest of the Family crowded round
the door to the bedroom and they heard roughly what they expected,
grunts, straining noises and the occasional muffled scream.

Eventually they heard Charles say 'God, that was tight.'
'There,' whispered The Queen. 'I told you with a face like that she had
to be a virgin!.' Then, to their surprise, they heard Charles say.

'Right. Now for the other one.' Followed by more grunting and straining
and at last Charles said 'My God. That was even tighter!".

'That's my boy,' said the Duke. 'Once a sailor, always a sailor!"

Jokes For Your Heart Delight
1) Mother: Why on earth did you swallow the money I gave you?
Little Johnny: You said it was my lunch money.


*******************************************************************


2) Little Johnny was eating breakfast one morning and got to thinking
about things. “Mommy,
mommy, why has daddy got so few hairs on his head?” he asked his
mother.
“He thinks a lot,” replied his mother, pleased with herself for coming
up with a good answer to her
husband's baldness.
Or she was until Johnny thought for a second and asked, “So why do you
have so much hair?”


*******************************************************************

3) There was a job opening in the country’s most prestigious law firm and
it finally came
down to Robert and Paul.
Both graduated from law school. Both came from good
families. Both
were equally attractive and well spoken. It was up to the senior
partner to choose one, so
he took each aside and asked, “Why did you become a lawyer?” In
seconds, he chose
Paul.
Baffled, Robert took Paul aside. “I don’t understand why I was
rejected. When Mr.
Armstrong asked me why I became a lawyer, I said that I had the
greatest respect for the
law, that I’d lay down my life for the Constitution and that all I
wanted was to do right by
my clients. What in the world did you tell him?”
“I said I became a lawyer because of my hands,” Paul replies.
“Your hands? What do you mean?”
“Well, I took a look one day and there wasn’t any money in either of them!”
*******************************************************************
4) Three salesmen were driving cross-country when their car broke down far from civilization.
After walking for some distance they came to a farmhouse.
They asked the farmer if there was a service station nearby.
He replied that there was one in town but that it wouldn't be open until the next day.
He offered to let them stay at his house that night,
on one condition.
“Don't draw attention to my daughter; she's very sensitive because she was born without any ears.”
After agreeing to his wishes, the salesmen spent the night with the farmer.
The next morning at the breakfast table the daughter noticed that the salesmen were staring at her.
“What are you looking at?” she demanded.
The first salesman replied, “I was looking at your beautiful smile, it's important to take care of your teeth so you don't have to wear dentures.”
The second salesman said, “I was looking at your thick curly hair, it's important to take care of your hair so you don't go bald and have to wear a wig.”
The third said, “I was looking at your clear blue eyes, it's important to take care of your eyes . . . Lord knows you can't wear glasses.”
*************************************************
5) There are several men in the locker room of a private club after exercising.
Suddenly a cell phone that was on one of the benches rings, a man picks it up and the
following conversation ensues
“Hello?”
“Honey, It's me. Are you at the club?”
“Yes.”
“Great! I am at the mall 2 blocks from where you are. I saw a beautiful mink coat. It is absolutely gorgeous!! Can I buy it?”
“What's the price?”
“Only $1,500.00.”
“Well, OK, go ahead if you like it that much...”
“Ahhh, and I also stopped by the Mercedes dealership and saw the 2001 models. I saw one I really liked. I spoke with the salesman and he gave me a really good price
and …
since we need to exchange the BMW that we bought last year.”
“What price did he quote you?”
“Only $60,000...”
“OK, but for that price I want it with all the options.”
“Great! Before we hang up, something else.”
“What?”
“It might look like a lot, but I was reconciling your bank account and I stopped
by the
real estate agent this morning and I saw the house we had looked at last year --
it's on
sale! Remember? The one with a pool English Garden, acre of park area,
beachfront
property . . .”
“How much are they asking?”
“Only $450,000. A magnificent price and I see that we have that much in the bank to cover it!”
“Well, than go ahead and buy it, but just bid $420,000. OK?”
“OK, sweetie... Thanks! I'll see you later!! I love you!!!”
“Bye, I love you, too!”
The man hangs up, closes the phone's flap and raises his hand while holding the phone and asks to all those present:
“Does anyone know who this phone belongs to?”

I, (Ahmed Haroon), was recently very touched by this Hadith Qudsi, (speech of God), and would like all of us to reflect upon it:
Allah (God) Says: O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great at it.

To the special people in my life,

People come into your life for a Reason, a Season, or a Lifetime. When
you know which one it is for a person, you will know what to do for that
person.
When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.

They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
They may seem like a Godsend, and they are! They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrong doing on your part, or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered, and now it is time to move on.
Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They bring you an experience of peace, or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season.
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons: things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person, and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.
Thank you for being a part of my life!

Ahmed Haroon

I want you all to have fun reading the following facts:

Think about it !

Difference between Focusing on Problems and Focusing on Solutions

Case



When NASA began the launch of astronauts into space, they found
out that
the pens wouldn't work at zero gravity (ink won't flow down to the writing
surface).

To solve this problem, it took them one decade and $12 million.
They developed a pen that worked at zero gravity, upside down,
underwater,
in practically any surface including crystal and in a temperature range
from below freezing to over 300 degrees C.
And what did the Russians do...?? They used a pencil.

Case

One of the most memorable case studies on Japanese management was the case
of the empty soapbox, which happened in one of Japan's biggest cosmetics
companies. The company received a complaint that a consumer had bought a
soapbox that was empty.
Immediately the authorities isolated the problem
to the assembly! line, which transported all the packaged boxes of soap
to the delivery department. For some reason, one soapbox went through the
assembly line empty. Management asked its engineers to solve the problem.
Post-haste, the engineers worked hard to devise an X-ray machine with
high-resolution monitors manned by two people to watch all the soapboxes
that passed through the line to make sure they were not empty. No doubt,
they worked hard and they worked fast but they spent a whoopee amount
to do so.

But when a rank-and-file employee in a small company was posed with the
same problem, he did not get into complications of X-rays, etc., but
instead came out with another solution. He bought a strong industrial
electric fan and pointed it at the assembly line. He switched the fan
on, and as each soapbox passed the fan, it simply blew the empty boxes out
of the line.

Dear BOOK WORMS,

Books; the art of the written word … transporting the soul from confines of physical reality to the unshackled imaginary … For that is what reading is, a vehicle to the beyond, a means of reaching unvisited, unimaginable and unreachable places, people and experiences.

Book clubs are not simply a matter of shared interest, but rather a spiritual kinship, broadening the mind and evolving the enjoyment from a solitary into a group act.

We humbly invite you to share in our little haven of words and phrases. May we as a group find a part of our selves in each book we read, share and discuss together… and may we in this process create a concrete entity that stands the test of time….

Kind regards,

Earth Book Club Moderating Team

"Every man who knows how to read has it in his power to magnify himself, to multiply the ways in which he exists, to make his life full, significant and interesting" - Aldous Huxley

Visit: http://groups.takingitglobal.org/EbookC
Send a message: EbookC@groups.takingitglobal.org
Subscribe: EbookC-subscribe@groups.takingitglobal.org

[In reply to the friend who asks if they are really going to demolish the prophet Mohammed's house in Saudi Arabia]



Dear all friends,

I was very touched by this good topic. Demolishing the prophet house. First of all, I'd like to tell you that israel is not a country and it doesn't exist. Yes it is refered as israel in the UN, but this is wrong. That place over there is called Palestine. I'll not go further in this issue so that I stay in the main topic...

I'd love to tell you a very short story. Do you know the Wahabians (Al-Wahabeieen). This action group was led by Mohammed Ibn Abd-Elwahab. He gathered people to bring it to life. They were in Hijaz (Saudi Arabia now).

At first, what made him do this action is that because people were doing unbearable bad irrelegious thing in Hijaz. Not all of them of course. They were worshipping the old houses and places of good people and the prophet companions. That was close about to bring people out of Islam and make them sinners. So He constituted that group/army and demolished the old housed so that people not do that again. The only houses were left are the prophet's house and other important places.

Mohammed Ibn Abd-Elwahab is who made the beginning of the contemporary Saudi Arabia. He was the founder, early founder. I want to tell you that in Islam, eveything that make people away from the right way to Allah (God) must be destroyed or prevented, in case people worship it. In Egypt for example, we see old statues and temples for what the pharoahs thought they are Gods like Amon Ra, Horas, and others. At old times people were worshipping these aimless helpless stone sculpetures. But now, in the Islamic era people (Muslims) don't. So, there is no need to destroy them. Keep them as sign for culture.

When Arabs opened - and here I say opened not invaded - Egypt, Egyptians were hit and injustified by Romans. Arabs kicked Romans out and lived with Egyptians in peace. Egyptians turned into Islam by their own choice, but still there were some christians and pharoahnics. The last were still worshipping statues and the like. Muslims didn't prevet them to do this because everyone has the choice to worship whoever he wants. As long as christians, pharoahnics are living in peace and Muslims are not influenced by their pharoahnic religion the statues and others will be kept.

Muslims protected the temples and statues. And that made pharoahnics turn to Islam later. So, considering the rightness of your news (demolishing the prophet's house) it must be because some people nowadays go to Saudi Arabia not to pray for Allah, but to touch these places - I mean touch them by hands as a mother stroking her child) and pray for those dead people. And even if Saudi authorities do this, I'm sure they do it to rebuild it as a library or a teaching religious house or something that benefits humanity.

But I know that and many muslims know that the prophet Mohammed's house is already a part of the Grand Mosques in Mecca and Medina now. In Medina, his house, old mosque, grave are all in the place inside the Grand Mosque of Medina. It is already in there and that thing muslims like and love. The old Medina was smaller than now. When they widened the Mosque many times through history not only in the Saudi era they contained many housed to the extint that some people say that old Medina is all in the mosque.

Same thing in Mecca. The Grand Mosque in Mecca contains all old Mecca. Except some houses from which the prophet's grandfather (Abd Al-Mottalib) house stands. The prophet's house is different from his grand father's house. His grand father's is where the prophet was raised as a child. That house now is a religious library and religious centre under the Saudi authority's control to destribute the free copies of Quran and so on. If that is what you mean, I think it will be rebuilt as good thing too if they really going to demolish it.

Anyway, I want you all to know that nothing bad is going to happen.

To know more about Islam go to my posts.

Smiles,
Ahmed Haroon