Thursday, 31 December 2009

Things You Need To Consider When Choosing A Warehouse

By Richard Davies

With the enormous growth in city population, living area of city apartments and residences is decreasing drastically. However, we are increasingly buying new household items under the influence of consumerism and availability of easy cash. These opposite factors have resulted in a dearth of space needed to store domestic and office items, and this scenario has set the cash registers ringing for the storage industry.

It is good to be cautious when choosing a warehouse for storage of goods. There are many types of storage service providers out there, and you should go for the one that has the appropriate facilities in place to ensure that your valuable items will be cared for properly. Here are some necessary considerations that you must take into account while selecting a warehouse.

The most fundamental purpose of a good warehouse is safety. To protect your valuables against the possibility of being stolen, there should be sophisticated security systems in place inside the warehouse. You will generally find good quality security systems like CCTV cameras, door alarms and electronic locks inside a good warehouse.

Your articles need to be guarded not only from thieves but also from fire. Warehouses are notorious for mishaps caused by fire, and so fire fighting devices to ensure protection of your articles must be present at the warehouse. The warehouse should have alarms that would go off at the slightest indication of a fire, and the storage areas must be constructed of fireproof materials.

Your articles should also be guarded against the extremities of weather. Weather becomes a critical factor if you have stored precious items like antique furniture or paintings that can absorb the moisture from the air. If you have pharmaceuticals or hi tech appliances to store, then they must be protected from extremes of temperature as well. The warehouse must be equipped with climate control technology to regulate the atmospheric conditions at a desired level that is required for ensuring safety of your articles.

Another natural factor that your articles need to be protected from is a pest attack. Pests are almost undetectable and can cause irreversible harm to things like wooden furniture in a very short period. Hence pest control activities must be carried out regularly inside the warehouse by making use of pesticides and spraying disinfectants.

Finally, the employees of the warehouse must be cooperative and willing to help. In most cases they will be engaged in loading, transportation, and unloading of the items, and if your articles get destroyed in this process then it becomes irrelevant how good the storage facility is. Thus, the workers must be skilled in goods handling and should truly care for your valuables.

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About B1G1 - A New Global Giving Service

By David Anttony

Buy1GIVE1 is the home of transaction-based giving.

STOP. Take a breath. And imagine you were part of a world where every single transaction made a difference.

Imagine, for example, you bought a TV, and automatically a cataract-blind child got the gift of sight. Automatically. Or imagine if today you purchased a cup of coffee and someone in Africa got access to clean, pure water as a direct result. Again automatically.

It's all happening right now. Already Buy1GIVE1 (B1G1) has become a true global giving 'village', bringing together businesses, their customers and worthy causes in a way that's never been done before.

It's happening globally, every second, every day and in every way with a staggering 556 projects already underway and making a difference.

That's because in the Buy1GIVE1 world, every single transaction, be it buying a cup of coffee in Cape Town or renting a car in Reno (and everything in between) gives back in a well-defined, resonant and measurable way.

Nowadays, when both corporations and charities have seen a decline in gains and donations, cause-related marketing seems to really be catching on. Cause-related marketing is a business scheme involving a partnership between a company with a product to trade and a charity with a cause to advance. As opposed to "corporate philanthropy," which simply includes a company making a tax-deductible charitable donation, cause-related marketing benefits both the company (by helping to increase sales, and therefore, profits), and the charity (by bringing in donations and calling attention to the cause.)

You buy a book, a tree gets planted. You dine out, a child is fed. Buy One Give One - simple. The list goes on forever and the giving simply happens automatically, every second, every day and in every way.

And it is beautifully simple. Buy1GIVE1 is now becoming a global movement as more and more businesses jump on board and enjoy the incredible benefits of transaction based giving.

In Buy1GIVE1, they make it a point that in many, many cases, the consumer is not just involved in CSR initiatives on a day-to-day basis. Buy1-Give1 generates solutions to that and it does it every second, every day and in every way.

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What Makes It Very Important To Let Professional Designers Create Your Corporate Brochures

By Jacob Lee

When you have a great offering but you are still not making profits, it is time to re-evaluate your go to market strategy. A good way of achieving this is through a corporate brochure, which informs the customer about the highlights of your products and services and differentiates them from the competition.

It is usually advisable to design a brochure that makes smart use of graphic design, thus making it both appealing and professional. The best way to provide information is to use designs along with text, which will stay in the recall of the customers for a longer period. This leads to the need for an expert brochure designer.

It is true that you can design a brochure yourself if you are technologically savvy, but it will take a lot of time for an amateur to come up with a good company brochure with graphic design. While you struggle to make a high quality brochure, you may come to understand that you should rather give your time to other aspects of your profession and give this assignment to someone who has experience in it.

Commercial brochure design services are not very high priced and even small businesses can afford them. A pro designer would ensure that the material of the brochure is appealing and relevant to help the client realize the benefits of your services or products. He would have a large number of choices, both for layout and graphic design, which can easily be moulded to suit your needs. Moreover, through his contacts with other service providers, he will be able get the brochures printed at much lower rates, thus cutting down your costs.

You as an amateur will not know as much as a professional brochure designer would about brochure designing. Therefore, it will be best not to do a job for which you are not well equipped, and instead find a good designer. This is what businesses called outsourcing for higher quality and much dedicated expertise but guaranteed to be on a lower cost.

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What Is The Relevance Of The Rites In A Buddhist Funeral

By Danny Wong

One of the most widespread religions on earth, Buddhism derives its main principles from the preaching of the Buddha. People who practise Buddhism are expected to display boundless love for all and try to realize the Ultimate Truth.

Buddhist funeral rites are also based upon these basic principles of the religion. After the death of a person in a Buddhist family, certain rites have to be followed in order to ensure that the departed soul is elevated to a higher stage in afterlife. Prayers are chanted calling upon the good energies associated with the dead person for his or her ultimate deliverance from this life cycle.

The first stage in funeral rituals is that of giving the body a traditional wash. The second stage entails invitation of monks, who chant from religious scriptures and thereby help the soul in finding eternity. The monks recite those sermons of Lord Buddha that talk about the significance of practising mercy and kindness. In the meantime, the body is prepared for the last journey. The relatives normally place some coins in the casket along with the deceased. This is for enabling the dead person to pay and go across the River of Three Hells.

The casket is then placed before the altar at home for the loved ones to pay their respects. While friends and relatives give condolences, visitors are expected to pray for the dead person. The ceremony is accompanied with chanting of relevant sutras by the monks. Once the chanting is complete, people bow at the altar to pay their last respects. As the visitors begin leaving, the family members present a gift to each other to display gratitude for sharing their sorrow.

After these rituals are carried out, the body may then be either buried or cremated in accordance with the beliefs of the family members. In all, the rites aim to bring a sense of acceptance and peace to the bereaved family while praying in order to elevate the dead to a higher state of knowledge and enlightenment.

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Primary Duties Of A Funeral Director

By Alvin Cruise

The main task of a funeral director is to take care of everything from the ceremonial rituals of the funeral.

There are four essential tasks of a funeral director, they are: (a) transporting the body to the mortuary; (b) embalming and readying the body for service; (c) preparing for the services for friends and family to pay their last respects to the deceased and; (d) the final act of burial or cremation as per the customs of the family.

These duties cover a wide variety of tasks, including arrangement of hearse for transporting the deceased, deciding the place and time for memorial service and also sending obituaries in the local media as well as the newspapers. In addition, funeral directors also take care of things like arrangements of flowers and bouquets for each service, embalming and clothing the body, arrangement for shifting of the family and relatives from one service to another etc.

A funeral director has a lot of responsibilities other than the ones mentioned above, including performing the essential paperwork formalities as required. He helps the relatives in obtaining a death certificate. He also acts as a facilitator for settling claims of insurance for the family as well as helping them take benefit of schemes like seniors' burial support. He also helps in clearing annuity and pension money, if any, of the deceased to the dependants of the deceased and assists the family in assessing the costs of the whole funeral service.

He also has to coordinate with a number of professionals to perform his jobs in a proper and systematic way. He has to interact with doctors, priests, casket makers and flower sellers, all with equal ease.

Finally, it is important for funeral directors to work beyond their normal schedule and offer comfort and solace to the suffering family of the deceased, in order to help them tide over their grief. Though it is a critical aspect of the job, some funeral directors tend to ignore it as a peripheral responsibility.

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Wednesday, 30 December 2009

Dual Action Cleanse- Natural Colon Cleansing Diet

By Rachel Clark

Now a days, poor functioning of the body parts has become an increasing problem among people. It usually happens that while eating oily food having high fat content it gets deposited on the stomach walls leading to toxics. These toxics can be really very dangerous at times, especially, if not treated at the right time.

The dual action cleanse is a type of product, which is capable of removing all these types of toxins from your body. Some people think that their digestive system is very strong and expect their digestive system to fight against all these toxins. But it doesn't happen on its own as you have to take some cleansing agents to prove it all. To remove all these waste materials from your body you can use the cleansing agents. In the past, the dual actions cleanse has proven to remove all those unwanted waste materials which no other cleansing agent could remove.

There are various benefits of the dual action cleanse, one of which includes the appearance benefit. With the removal of the waste materials from all the parts of the body the cleansing agent provides you with the extra amount of energy with which you feel delighted and renowned. It gives back the shine of your hair and the glow of your skin. It provides you with total health that makes you look energetic. If you want to go for the colon cleansing diet naturally, then you must have lots of water along with juices. This water flow will improve the water movement in your digestive system hence absorbing all the nutrients in this liquid rather than making them waste materials of the solid form. You should always make sure to decrease your diet, which has meat and alcohol and to increase your vegetable and fruits content instead.

Cleaning is a thing which should always top your list of priorities, whether it is related with home or with your body. The best part of the dual action cleanse is that you do not have to go for any kind of physical treatment. It is a kind of natural formula for cleaning your wastes without disturbing the regular functioning of your digestive system. The whole process is basically divided into two parts, the first includes the removal of the toxic wastes from the body and the second part consists of the purification of the total body.

These two steps along with the dual action cleanse will remove the toxic wastes from your body along with providing you with the extra amount of energy that can make you feel refreshing and fresh for a long period of time. Since it starts working by showing the results very quickly, you will get to know more about it at the time you start using it. These days, the cleansing agents are easily available in the nearby shops and also on the net. On the net, you can get them at discounted prices and also save a lot of time as you can order them just sitting at home.

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Need Investment Capital? You Need To Call A Corporate Turnaround Consultant

By James Scott

Most companies who are on the venture capital trail are not set up properly to attract investors. When an investor looks at your business plan and private placement memorandum they are looking for certain things. Of course funding sources look for the obvious, a solid business model, positive cash flow, industry genre with solid future growth, recession proof business (if there even is such a thing) and minimal debt.

Countless companies are turned down for funding because they lack the basics such as: an advisory board, board of directors, solid executive staff with a well groomed pedigree, reasonable share price, business plan and PPM that spell out the risks for the investor and an original marketing strategy that covers all the angles. These are just a few of the most common mistakes that companies make out of naivety and by not taking the time to hire an expert to properly structure them to make the entity appeal to investors.

Seasoned expansion and turn-around consultants can step into a company and immediately zone in on the issues that will hinder a client's investment magnetism. Often times it only takes 2 to 3 weeks to completely reorganize a company to make it stand out like a beacon in the turbulent finance industry. If you are seriously considering the idea of raising capital with a private placement memorandum, traditional institutional loans, venture capital or a public offering don't be penny wise and dollar foolish.

Spend some money and hire a consultant who is completely submerged in the finance industry to take control of the elements of your corporation that are seen as 'black eyes' to investors so that you can achieve the capital you're seeking.

The reality is, raising capital for your company is easy and straight forward if you've taken the time to examine your business objectively and sought out the expert analysis of an industry expert consultant who will run your company through a formula and make the necessary changes to increase your ability to raise capital.

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Experience the Moroccan Culture: Tangier Riad

By Gerald Branch

Tangier is a mysterious city influenced by several cultures. It is located in 60km from Gibraltar and 14km from Spain. It is believed to be the most vibrant and mythical city in Morocco. Tangier is popularly known as the "gateway of Africa" and has several tourist attractions such as beaches, museums and gardens. Because of its rich European, Moroccan and African cultures, Tangier makes it a perfect destination to visit.

Tangier offers several traditional Moroccan houses for you to stay known as riad. Riad may also be a palace with an indoor garden. If you are planning to visit Morocco for a vacation getaway, you may want to stay to a Tangier riad to feel and experience the Moroccan culture. Here are some of the riads that you may consider.

You may want to stay at one of the oldest guesthouse in Tangier. Riad Dar Sultan is a 300 year old riad located at the heart of Tangier's Kasbah District. It was once the house of a former Sultan. The Sultan lived in Dar El Mahkzen which is now converted into a museum. Riad Dar Sultan has 6 spacious rooms equipped with lobby, fireplaces and library. Each room is elegantly designed with the local Moroccan lifestyle. Its guests can enjoy the spectacural view of the sea and the old district of Kasbah while staying in Riad Dar Sultan.

Riad Dar Jameel, known as the "sanctuary of peace and tranquility," is a place where a visitor can experience the twist of a rich past and the beauty and elegancy of the present. Being the most intimate place in Tangier, Riad Dar Jameel allows its guests to enjoy the peacefulness and mysteriousness of the city. The riad's interior and outer design is influenced by both Moroccan and European cultures. The rooms and suites have stucco ceilings, traditional Moroccan couch and a bed with baldachin.

Riad Tanja. Riad Tanja is the first and therefore the oldest guest house in Tangier. This riad offers a high quality and luxurious accommodation. Rian Tanja is purely Moroccan designed with elegant, old pieces of furniture and ornaments, giving its guest the comfort and sleekness of a Tangier riad. It has 6 exquisite, spacious and well furnished double suites. Its terrace has lavishing, expensive flora overhanging the remarkable view of the bay.

Riad Dar Nour, known to its unique beauty has 7 cozy rooms and suites. Each room has its own shower room, air conditioning and heating. Meaning the "house of lights", the riad is further adorned by its collection of carpets, old ceramics and other ornaments from the 15 year period of the Arabs in Tangier. The guesthouse has also its own library with books from various parts of the world.

If you appreciate art, try to stay in Riad Dar Nilam. Riad Dar Nilam is an exquisite place with magnificent works of art that are expressed in every little detail. It is greatly influenced by both the African culture and the east of the Orient. You will be left in awe while looking at the smooth architecture of the riad, as well as its splendid gardens. Riad Dar Nilam offers uniquely polished rooms and suites with private shower room, air conditioning, Internet access, mini bar and satellite TV. Relax in the riad's massage room, swimming pool and hamman. You can also enjoy the spectacular view of the city while reading in its fireplace and reading place.

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Choosing The Right Investor To Take Your Business Public

By James Scott

So many companies dream of going public to raise massive amounts of capital, as set up for an exit strategy, to make acquisitions with stock and for many other reasons. While your intentions may be pure and with genuine motives, you're entering shark infested waters of boiler rooms, crooked attorneys and underbelly consultants who have made careers off of taking well intentioned executives just like you for a 24 month rollercoaster ride while they take every penny you have as your company shrivels up like week old road kill.

Just and honest consultants in the 'public offering' industry are as rare as the illusive white elephant. This industry exists in a cesspool surrounded by rose gardens; from afar it looks amazing and an image of a dreamland but get up and close and the sludge and odor are enough to make you run and hide. So what do you look for in a consultant? The best consulting firms are the 'boutique firms' with minimal overhead that keep a low profile and are made up of 3 or 4 'partner' consultants.

These firms typically have the experience of working with the large consulting groups but for one reason or another have decided to leave and go out on their own. The great thing is, these small groups typically have massive contacts and process your entire public offering in-house. Offering a complete turn-key solution that is managed in-house offers a huge advantage because there is accountability and you can actually build a relationship with the people that are making your dream of a public offering come true.

These 'boutique' consultants will usually stay onboard as growth consultants for the life of the company in exchange for modest fees and a pre-IPO or pre-OTCBB equity position. The large firms will hack you out at the knees and gouge you with fees while they take massive amounts of equity in your company which takes away your bartering chip when you need to offer more stock to the public to raise capital.

The small firms will also work one on one with you to show you how to use your stock to grow through acquisition and other nifty ways to use stock to grow. Seek out the boutique consulting firm and save the attorney for spot audits. Hold on to your cash. Why pay outrageous fees to lawyers when you can pay 60% less with a small consulting firm that will add all the bells and whistles for free and actually get your stock trading, usually in half the time?

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How To Have A Great Time On Vacation

By Larry Forest

One of the best times for families are the family vacations.It is that time to relax for the family and really get to enjoy each other.With the world as fast paced as it is, times like these are real good for the body and mind.

It is really a good time to relax for those in the family that work hard. But in this article we are going to look at some ideas families can do together.

One of the things a lot of families like to do together is go camping. Some people like to really go camping with the tents and sleeping bags.While there are some that prefer to camp in luxury. Those are my favorite clients of my San Diego RV rentals company.These are the people who appreciate the comforts of modern living like bathrooms and beds, but they also enjoy the outdoors.That is why renting a trailer or RV allows families to do this.

Well the moment when they go camping they will find a lot of great things that can be done together. If they go out to a lake that offers a bunch of things to do together.There are a lot of places when camping that you could go fish or swim at. Or some of the trailers you rent from my Campland on the Bay RV rentals service can pull things like boats.This is real good for those that like to fish or just go out into the lake to ski.

One other thing that is fun for you to do is to go out to the desert with these trailers.These RV's for events like these come in real handy. Mainly because a lot of my trailers of my RV rentals can also pull a lot of the motor bikes out there.When camping in the desert few things are as much fun as doing that.

So as you can see when it is time to have a family vacation camping is one of the best things you can do.So when you want to go camping, make sure you go in style with a trailer.

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Tuesday, 29 December 2009

Law Bans Biker Colors In Bars & Restaurants. Is This The Last Straw?

By L.J. James

There is a new law in Virginia that will ban Motorcycle Club Colors in Bars. The law, originally aimed at Street Gangs, is causing quite a stir with Virginia Bikers. The law states that Bar & Restaurant owners will lose their liquor license if they allow patrons who wear "gang" related attire such as Club Logo's or Colored Bandannas.

These sort of "grey area" laws are extremely dangerous and a threat to everyone's freedom. Who decides what constitutes "Gang Apparel"? I'm wondering if Boy Scouts are going to be able to eat together at Applebees if they are in their uniforms.

According to news reports, many Bikers and Motorcycle Club Members in Virginia have already begun fighting this law. If a law like this is allowed to stand in Virginia, it won't be long until it is passed in other states across America!

We as Motorcyclists and Bikers (It does not matter what you call yourself) have to realize fast that we are all connected. It doesn't matter what you ride, what State you live in or who you Support, we're all in this together. What effects Me effects you and it doesn't matter what you happen to think of me.

When the local Bar you and your Brothers love hanging out at is told that you and all other members of Motorcycle Clubs can no longer go there or they will revoke the Bars liquor license, What then?

This is no Joke my Biker Brothers, every month there is another new law that is aimed not only Motorcycle Club Members, but all Americans. It seems that every time the Government wants to take away a freedom, they find a way to craft a new law for our "safety". What kind of Country is this turning into when you can't wear what you want and suddenly, your constitutional right to assemble is taken away from you?

Although there are many ignorant people out there that believe Motorcycle Clubs are Gangs, that's simply not the case. Most Motorcycle Clubs are made up of hard working, honest, law abiding, patriotic, American Citizens who enjoy a common bond, Motorcycles. It's what is in a persons heart that determines who they are, not the clothes they wear.

In the past year the government has taken away the Colors of one Motorcycle Club. A law enforcement officer can demand anyone sporting the Clubs logo to forfeit it. The theory is that the loss of the logo strips the club of its "gang identity."

Grant it, it appears that some of the Clubs members may have been involved in illegal activities, but that doesn't mean that everyone who rides a Motorcycle should be punished for it. In fact, less than 10% of this 600 Member Club was even accused of wrong doing.

In addition, the Government and law enforcement agencies have been spending millions of our dollars to influence friends and ex-members of Motorcycle Clubs in an effort to infiltrate these clubs in hopes of catching members doing something illegal. Often, when they find that the Club they've infiltrated is nothing more than a group of Patriotic, Law Abiding Men & Women, they'll fabric wrong doing so that they can justify the enormous amount of resources spent on these Fishing Expeditions.

Just imagine how much better off we'd all be if they used those resources to investigate the Corrupt Politicians, the Corporations that control our Country, Wall Street, and the other issues that are quickly sinking this great Nation.

What I want to know is, what will be the last straw? What's it going to take for us to say enough is enough? We can not fight these Laws and Fight each other at the same time! We need to work together to save what we are, who we are.

The Government has taken away our rights to ride the Motorcycle we want, to wear what we want and now to go where we want! Why are we still fighting each other? When are we going to wake up??

For more on this story check out the story on WTVR.com

I am your Bro, LJ James AmericanBikerX.com Saying Time is Running out!!!


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MMA Flashback: Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Title Changes Hands As Sobral Tops Southworth

By Ross Everett

Renato Babalu Sobral defeated Bobby Southworth by TKO to become Strikeforce light heavyweight champion at the 'Destruction' card. Despite leaving with the belt around his waist, it wont be the centerpiece of Babalu's highlight reel with the way it transpired.

A -350 wagering favorite despite his challenger status, Sobral was expected to use his world class Brazilian Jiu Jitsu skills and vast experience against superior competition to dominate the tough but limited Southworth. It didnt happen that way, as Southworth easily got the better of things in the first round. Southworths style isnt exactly one that provides Wanderlei Silva type excitement--he looks to use his strength and conditioning to control his opponent en route to a decision victory. While the result makes him something of a MMA equivalent to boxing's John Ruiz, it does afford him the best chance of victory.

The first round displayed Southworth's style in microcosm, with much of the frame spent pushing Babalu up against the cage or on the ground inside his guard not really doing much. Sobral had one effective strike the entire round--during a clinch against the cage wall the challenger rocked Southworth with a hard elbow strike that not only busted his nose but opened a huge cut over his right eye.

Upon seeing the gusher of blood Referee John McCarthy brought the ringside physician over to take a look. The doctor took some time to examine the cut, but eventually the round resumed following the consultation with only a few seconds remaining. As Southworth's corner futilely worked on the gaping wound during the break the doctor once again took a look and better realizing the severity and placement of the cut recommended to McCarthy that the fight be stopped. The veteran official complied, awarding Sobral the TKO victory and the championship belt.

The other half of the co-main event was decided in much more decisive fashion as Scott Smith knocked out well traveled veteran Terry Martin in a mere :24 seconds. The rap against Martin has always been that hes a slow starter, but he had the right gameplan in theory as he pushed Smith to the cage wall right after the opening bell. Unfortunately, Martin didn't adequately close the distance against a fighter dubbed 'Hands of Steel' and was caught with a perfectly placed punch that knocked him out cold.

In the semifinal event, Duane 'Bang' Ludwig defeated Yves Edwards by unanimous decision in a very closely contested bout. Edwards was originally slated to face lightweight champion Josh Thomson until a toe injury necessitated his withdrawal. Ludwig took the fight on two weeks notice, and after a takedown clinic by Edwards in the first began to control the fight with his superior standup skills. Edwards' superiority on the ground in the first two frames wasnt enough to sway the judges who obviously favored Ludwig's more effective striking. All three judges scored the contest 29-28 Ludwig, and he may have earned himself a championship match as a result.

Earlier in the evening, Kim Couture made short work of overmatched Lina Kvokov as she TKOd her foe in 1:44 of the first round. Couture, the wife of UFC legend Randy Couture, gained even more notoriety for the courage she displayed in her professional debut last June. After having her jaw broken early in the first round, she refused to throw in the towel and went the distance despite a horrific injury. She had a much easier time here"despite the fact that both fighters entered with 0-1 records Couture was significantly more polished as she put Kvokov on the defensive from the outset with her sharp punching combinations. Kvokov kept displaying the rookie mistake of trying to turn away from Couture's blows. The reprieve was only temporary, however, as Couture launched another barrage of punches prompting the referee to step in and wave off the non-competitive affair.

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Raiders Upset Visiting Eagles

By Ross Everett

The Oakland Raiders scored the only touchdown of the game in the first quarter and then prevailed in the kicking duel that followed en route to a--9 upset of the visiting Philadelphia Eagles. Much maligned quarterback Jamarcus Russell played his best game of the season despite two interceptions, throwing for 224 yards and a touchdown. Oakland now stands at 2-4 while Philadelphia slid to 3-2.

NFL betting enthusiasts who backed the Raiders as a whopping +14 home underdog were never in any trouble as Oakland took the lead late in the first quarter and never relinquished it. Oakland evened their mark against the NFL pointspread at 3-3, while the Eagles dropped to 3-2 against the number. The 22 points scored went well UNDER the posted total of 40'. It was the Raiders' fourth UNDER in six outings, while it was the Eagles' first UNDER of the season against four OVER verdicts.

After the game, Raiders' coach Tom Cable said for the first time all season his team focused their intensity in the right direction:

"We went out and threw a fight on somebody and said, 'Enough. Let's play. That's all you can say. There's no magic words or anything like that."

Last week's 44-7 loss to the New York Giants may have served a wakeup call to the Raiders. In particular, they were offended by comments made by Giants' linebacker Antonio Pierce that the game 'felt like playing a scrimmage'. Raiders' wide receiver Louis Murphy didn't dispute the comments but instead took them to heart:

"That gave me extra fuel. You have to look yourself in the mirror and man up. His comments were true. We played flat. We didn't play with any emotion. This game was totally different. We took those comments to heart."

The Raiders' defense received the bulk of the credit for the victory as they pressured Donovan McNabb all day, sacking him six times. The Eagles became the first team in three years to not score an offensive touchdown against the Raiders. Richard Seymour and Trevor Scott each had a pair of sacks, and Scott had the following observation:

"I'm sure they watched the Giants game and thought we were sorry. But all week coach Cable talked about persevering and forget the past and move forward so we can get to where we want to go."

After the game, McNabb had little to say:

"I'm embarrassed by the way we came out here and played. We're a much better football team."

The Raiders will try to put together an actual winning streak as they host the New York Jets next Sunday. Oakland is a +7 home underdog with the total set at 35. They'll play their hated rivals the San Diego Chargers on the road the following Sunday before a bye week. Philadelphia will play the Redskins at Washington next Monday night. The Eagles are a -6' road favorite with the total set at 38'. They'll return home for games the following two Sundays against the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys.

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An Introduction To CFL Canadian Football For The NFL Fan

By Ross Everett

In the United States, summertime is when teams get prepared to play football. NFL teams start training camp, and college teams start practice. North of the border in Canada, however, summertime is when their professional football season begins in the form of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

The CFL is almost as old as the NFL, coming into existence in'30. The league's Grey Cup championship trophy is even older, having been awarded to the best Canadian professional football team since'09. There have been a number of NFL stars who got their start in the CFL including Doug Flutie, Randall Cunningham and Jeff Garcia.

The CFL is a very professional and highly competitive league, but its important to understand some important differences between it and the NFL:

The most obvious difference is the football itself--the CFL football is longer and fatter than the NFL ball. The CFL still has their goal posts on the goal line, which the NFL moved to the back of the end zone years ago. The field is 10 yards longer and 12 yards wider than the NFL field, and the CFL end zones are 20 yards deep instead of the NFL's 10 yards.

CFL teams are allowed to have 12 players on the field at a time, one more than is standard in American football. The extra offensive player is a wide receiver, and on defense they're allowed an extra defensive back. CFL teams allow a team only three downs to move ten yards as opposed to four in the US game--references to a team going "two and out" are common on CFL broadcasts.

There are also differences in the scoring of the game. The first time I saw a CFL score tied 1-1 at the end of the first quarter I thought I was hallucinating. A major rule difference between the CFL and NFL is the fact that teams can score a single point, which those clever Canadians call a single. Basically, a team is awarded a single point for a missed field goal or a punt that lands in the end zone.

The rule differences also extend into the front office, where teams are required to have a certain quota of their roster be Canadian born. In an effort to prevent the CFL from becoming an NFL farm system, and to protect the unique identity of Canadian football' of the 40 players on the roster must be natives.

Perhaps the greatest misunderstanding is that the average NFL fan looks at the rules of the Canadian game with more players, a wider field, and fewer downs and concludes that the game is a wide open shootout similar to Arena Football. Thats not really the case--you'll see some offensive battles but most games end up with final score totals in the mid to high 40s. In Arena Football, youll frequently see teams with potent offenses enforcing their will over and over again against teams with porous defenses. You don't see that too often in the CFL. The rules may be different, but as is the case in American pro football you need a solid rushing game and a stout defense to win games and championships.

Furthermore, the parity that you see in the NFL where on any given Sunday any team can beat any other team is magnified in the CFL. The primary reason is the rules mandating Canadian native players. I dont think itll offend any Canadians if I suggest that football is played at a higher level in American high schools and colleges. That means that at least 50% of each team is of essentially equal level of talents. Now that may be a bit of an oversimplification"certainly there are differing levels of talent among Canadian players"but the Canadian native rules do serve to further codify the inherent tendency toward parity that you see in most professional sports.

Considering the 21 non- Canadians on the team, its also important to remember that the CFL doesnt get the pick of the litter of American football talent. Certainly those who have the ability are in the NFL, or on an NFL practice or developmental squad. While some players are uniquely suited for the CFL game--former Clemson University QB Nealon Greene, for example, who couldnt make the NFL but has had a lengthy career in Canada--most of the Americans in the CFL are players whose ability just isnt up to NFL levels. Remember Vince McMahon's failed XFL experiment? That gives a good indication of the type of American player that ends up in Canada.

The bottom line is that despite the rule differences and personal quotas the CFL game is still football and can be enjoyed the same way. Once you understand the unique attributes of the Canadian game youll start to enjoy it almost as much as the NFL.

Before the Internet became ubiquitous, it wasn't easy for an American fan to keep up with the CFL. While they still don't receive coverage on ESPN, the Internet affords access to the sports media of every CFL city along with the national Canadian sports media at sites like Slam! Sports. The CFL's official site is also a great source of news, stats and information on Canadian football.

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How A Live In Domestic Help Housekeeper Can Save Your Marriage

By Alice Sy

Plenty of couples are struggling to save their marriage, and very few realize that a possible solution to their marital problems lies with a live in domestic help or housekeeper. This may sound strange, but a hired help can unload you of household chores, and therefore, give you more time to spend with your husband.

If the root cause of your marital problems is the limited time you get to spend with your husband because you are busy with household chores, a live in domestic help or housekeeper will prove to be of significance.

The wife normally does so many things in the house. She cleans, washes the dishes and the clothes; she also cooks, and basically, does everything else to make sure that the house is in order. While she may be viewed as a superwoman, doing all these things can be very tiring for her that when it is time for her to call it a day, the only thing that she can do is lie down and sleep --- this means, no more special time with hubby.

This is where you can appreciate the services of a live in domestic help or housekeeper. With someone to help you in maintaining the house, you can have more time to do more important things, such as taking care of your husband.

It is the opinion of many people, however, that a hired full time housekeeper or live in domestic help is a luxury they cannot afford. In many countries, maid services can, indeed, be costly. However, if you consider the stress you experience, the lack of quality time with your family and the fights you have to endure with your partner as a result, hiring a full time maid can be less expensive in the end.

Nonetheless, in the event that you decide that getting a live in domestic help is, indeed, a good idea, consult your friends or family members so they can recommend someone they know. An alternative is to find likely candidates from reputable manpower agencies. Certainly, you would not want to hire just anybody, considering that she will be living in your home twenty four hours a day, so it is always advisable to ask for recommendations.

You should also be aware of the policies and guidelines in hiring a live in domestic help or housekeeper. Find out the minimum salary mandated by law and the benefits that you, as employer, should be giving your employees.

When you think about all these, having a full time housekeeper in your home or getting a live in domestic help, is undoubtedly a smart decision, especially if you want to make your marriage work.

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Monday, 28 December 2009

Things To Keep In Mind Before Engaging A Corporate Photographer

By Martin Walter

Corporate photography is a segment of the wider field of commercial photography. Nevertheless, it is a highly skilled art with its own subtleties.

The difference between corporate photography and other types of commercial photography are several. In other types of photography, the photographer has the privilege of doing retakes until he gets the correct angle to shoot the perfect picture, but corporate photography is basically a hit-or-miss business. That is why it is important to engage someone who can do the task well.

Corporate events are unpredictable and the photographer has to be ready for the unexpected turns of events. He must know how to think rationally and practically so that he can act without delay. A casual photographer having low levels of alertness and awareness cannot succeed as a corporate photographer.

An important element of corporate photography is headshots of all the high-ranking executives. These headshots might be stored in the organisation's archives or be published on the pages of newspapers. Hence the photographer must have an exceptionally good expertise in clicking such photographs.

The discipline of corporate photography is so different that hiring a photographer on his reputation alone can go terribly wrong. For instance, a corporate event would be a terribly wrong project to be undertaken by a wedding photographer and his task there might even turn out to be totally useless. Weddings usually have a well defined series of customary rites, so a photographer can relax and keep a tab on the ceremonies by following the series of events. But in corporate events, unexpected incidents are very common and this demands total alertness from the photographer. Therefore, an experienced corporate photographer is the right guy for the task

There are several business requirements associated with corporate photography and the above mentioned tips would help you to engage a really professional corporate photographer. However, before engaging a corporate photographer, you should look at samples of his past work to examine the truth of his claims and have a clear idea of his expertise.

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Brochure Printing - Things To Take Into Consideration

By Jerry Banks

Brochures are extremely effective promotional tools for all types of companies. They function like windows for the consumers, through which they gain knowledge about a company's products, its history, and other points generating a solid base for it in the market. Bad work on a brochure can cause a lot of harm to the reputation of the company & thus it is very important to exercise care while developing it. As you proceed with this article, you will get some worthy information on many aspects of brochure printing and development.

The brochure should be developed to look professional, eye-catching and educative at the same time. Along with sharp use of colours, an appropriate arrangement of text and pictures is also very important in brochure design. Text, outlines, and graphics are vital components of brochure design and they should complement each other well. The brochure should not have a disorderly feel, instead it should be clean and savvy, and at the same time simple and structured.

While designing the brochure, issues related to brochure printing should also be thought about in detail. It is always recommended to take a test print to see what the final product will look like before sending the design for printing on a mass scale.

The design should be developed taking into account the brochure printing budget. In case you have a constrained budget, you can always fall back on black and white printing as it is much less expensive than colour printing. If you are not pulled back by budget and are looking for colorful brochures, then thicker and glossier papers should be used, as they enhance the beauty of colour prints. A compact brochure which requires printing on either side of the paper will need an adequately thick paper for printing.

Since brochure printing is done in bulk, always ask for discounts from the printing company. However, never sacrifice quality, as you do not want to create a negative impression of your business on potential customers.

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Should I Start Etf Trend Trading Or Wait For The Next Big Thing?

By Patrick Deaton

Etf trend trading is getting a lot of attention, many people are retorting that this form of trading is actually the way that investors will be trading for years to come. Before you jump the gun and decide to obtain your own etf it is imperative that you understand exactly what these funds are and how they can benefit you as an investor.

ETF is an abbreviation for the funds original name which is exchange traded fund. These funds are openly traded on all the different stock exchanges (so they are not exactly new to the investment game). A lot of people choose to compare these funds to stocks.

These funds hold assets in the same way stocks or bonds and trades do, and can be traded at the same price as the net value of its assets throughout a normal day. Often times these funds are indexed using an s&p 500 or something of the sort.

A lot of people have shown a sudden attraction to these funds because it is avidly being portrayed as an inexpensive way to get involved in trading on the open market. These funds can be bought for a relatively lower price than their stock counterparts, which is a great advantage of the funds as well.

The funds offer traders interest in a plethora of securities. You will avidly hear these funds compared to stocks, bonds, and even mutual funds. In an essence the funds almost bear the same qualities of all the investment vehicles, however they bring only the best of these common investment strategies together into one fund.

You can buy or sell your etf anytime throughout the trading day. There are so many different reasons why a plethora of investors have shifted their investment sites on etfs instead of stocks and mutual funds. In order to understand why you should look into investing in etfs you need to understand what they can do to benefit you in the long run.

The funds can be purchased for a much lower rate than mutual funds and stocks. Many mutual funds will not even allow you to open an account of your own unless you have a minimum of $1500 or more to do so. With the decline in the economy, no one has the necessary funds to simply invest anymore.

You can easily open an etf for as little as one hundred dollars, if that is all you have to get started with for the investment. As you probably know the more money that you put into the fund the more you can expect the fund to generate. So, try to make it imperative that you keep adding a little more to your etf every single month.

There are a lot of benefits to owning an etf. One of course, if the fact that you will be able to add an attractive and new style of investing to your investment portfolio. Your investment portfolio is sure to turn heads once you ass your etf experience to it.

You will always be able to check on the status of your investments and have a clear figure that states the amount that you have in your etf. Many stocks and bonds as well as mutual funds give you a guesstimated figure of how much money you have in your account, while others may not tell you anything about the money that your investment is earning.

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Enjoy A Renovated Home And Its Increased Value

By Luis Eddison

After a prolonged use, when the walls of your house show crevices, roofs begin leaking or the paint starts peeling off, it's time to realise the immediate need for renovation. And while you are preparing the overhaul of your house, you should take a few crucial factors into account to obtain best results.

The first thing you must decide on is the things that you want refurbished or changed. If space is falling short because your family is expanding then the structure may have to be extended or you may want to build a new garage in the front yard for your car. And, in case you find your kitchen too soiled or stuffy, you may desire to spruce it up with new cabinets or chimneys to make it clutter free and better ventilated.

Outdated electrical appliances installed in the kitchen and other places of the house can either be repaired or disposed off to buy new ones, so that the interiors too look fresh and new along with the remaining parts of the house. A sensibly carried out renovation will make your home a delightful place to live in.

Some individuals also refurbish their home to make it more appealing to potential buyers and therefore enhancing its worth in the market. When the intention of uncommon. But you should be careful that the expense borne on renovation does not surpass the potential increase in market value that the renovated house will witness. Hence, it is always advisable to take professional advice before putting money in renovation and latest interior design.

Intelligent budgeting is also necessary before any renovation is carried out as that way you will be able to keep track of the expenses. The budget has to be finalized with some extra sum included in it that might come in handy in case expenditure goes beyond your initial estimate, which is quite frequently the case.

If you find the contractor's price too exorbitant for you to afford, you can also weigh the alternative of taking home renovation loan. Many renovation loan schemes provide money to loan seekers in simple payback installments, which make the dream of home renovation possible for all.

A new interior design, along with overall renovation is sure to convert your home into a cosy dwelling, where not only will you feel great but will also obtain an appreciated value of your house in case you plan a resale.

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Stress Relief Music: How Music Affects Your Body

By Jonathan Park

More and more people around the world are getting stressed out. Added to this is the current global economic crisis. The number of people engaged in, and looking for, various stress management practices has been steadily climbing. Most of the techniques in stress management require investment money in time. It is, and should be, regularly practiced for you to reap its actual benefits.

The problem is that most people do not have the time to practice their stress relieving techniques regularly. This is why doctors are very much familiar regarding stress treatments: what we usually do is go to the doctor and ask for the prescribed medicine, pop it in our mouths, and hope for the best. What we may not realize is that we are slowly starting to get addicted to the medicine. There are also a lot of side effects in stress pills that leads us to other problems. So instead of a stress-free life, your new problems bring about new headaches.

There are alternative medications you can take for your stress problems. They are natural and organic medicines, and since they come from herbs, have less side effects than conventional pills. These medications, however, can make you really sleepy; hence not advisable to take before going to work, or before going on a drive. There is another method to effectively relieve you of stress without making you drowsy and without time constraints. Listening to music has been an effective weapon against stress, yet it has been highly overlooked.

Music has the ability to change the levels of our brainwave activity. Its effect is long term, lasting way after listening to the music. The effects of music to the brainwaves can help alter the function of our nervous system. The result would be a slower pace in breathing. The heart rate is also lowered; giving is a state of relaxation which is the opposite effect of stress.

Music is also used to keep anxiety and depression in control by converting negative to positive state of mind. By bringing a positive state of mind to person it prevents a person from being a pessimist: helping him analyze the situation better and find an effective solution for it.

No wonder why music therapy has become popular in this present generation as a good and natural relief for stress. With music you don't have to set a time for it in compared to other stress relief techniques, all you have to do is find a comfortable place a player, press play and then listen to music that relaxes you.

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Sunday, 27 December 2009

Promotional Merchandise - Effective Marketing tool of 2011

By Liz Logan

The UK is in one of the longest recessions in history with 6% of economic output lost. Despite quantitative easing banks still are not lending to smaller businesses. An estimate of nearly 30,000 businesses closed in 2009 and we are still not out of the woods yet. As a business, if you have made it this far, that is great news. You may have seen some of your competitors fail, lessening the competition in the market. This means even though the market share may be less, you have a bigger slice of it. In the end it will be the strong companies that will survive. The ones that are easy to adapt to a crisis and probably will be strong for years to come.

Even though there are continual economic issues, it continues to be vital to efficiently market your business. A business that doesn't have efficient marketing won't be able to keep thriving. It might be necessary for you to decrease your budget and maintain the areas with the greatest rate of efficiency. Cutting the budget completely could be a huge error. A business that's not obtaining new customers actively can't grow. As current clients go away, the customer base diminishes which means that halting marketing completely might be a deadly error.

What all this boils down to is making sure that your marketing has a lot more punch and is well targeted. All of the budget must be spent on reaching the right market in the right fashion. Your marketing campaign must be engaging. It should capture the imagination of your target audience and make them sit up and notice your brand. You need to give your customers a reason why they should go to you and not your competitors. Your campaign must have an impact and to do so it must last for a while. Things like spending your entire budget on a single 30 second commercial must be avoided.

This could seem like a lot from any strategy of marketing, yet I'm about to show you one way that includes every one of these components. This way is used by nearly every business that has achieved success on this earth and currently the web has become so broadly utilized that this way is even simpler to use for your business. The solution rests in promotional merchandise.

Promotional merchandise is when a product branded with your logo and possibly company details is given to your target audience. You can choose from 1000's of different products that may reflect your company or the audience. This is much more effective that any other form of advertising as everybody loves a freebie. You can choose exactly who you want to give the items to and these products are taken in to the home or office of those very people. Promotional merchandise does not have to be expensive. There are products on the market from 8p. I know of no other advertising method that starts from this value.

This is not only a good strategy for customer acquisition but is a great method of retaining and rewarding your existing client base. Corporate gifts not only reinforce your brand, but keep them within your clients view all the time. This boosts customer loyalty and greatly increases the life time value of your customer for your business.

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2012 - Surviving The Coming Earth Changes

By Dr. Jay Polmar

Emmerich's film 2012 caused a big panic, and all the disaster-porn films we've seen for the last 50-60 years or so is scaring the heck out of viewers. So badly are they scared of the end that they are watching the same movies of disaster, over and over, with different actors, different titles, and different producers - all aimed to scare you and empty your pockets.

The World Isn't Coming To An End, it's just Hollywood, trying to make a buck.

Let's get real. Let's discuss some of the pin-point targets:

1. The World Will End With Planetary Alignment and the repositioning of the Earth along the Galactic Equator - .... R-I-G-H-T! The phenomena of placement of the stars and galaxies in space is not new. These things have occurred before, and it wasn't the end of the world. Actually, the date predicted, Winter Solstice, 2012 is not as significant as other astronomical phenomena happening before this. This is just fear-mongering of the formerly unemployed ' of the world writers' with nothing better to do than create movies to scare the bejesus out of little kids.

2. There is no Mayan Prophesy says the world is coming to an end. There is no known prophesy that the world is coming to an End and whoever said that should know that it can't be. The records of the Maya civilization were effectively destroyed, like all other Meso-American histories by the Spanish Conquistadors, who just pillaged the valuables, raped the women and then killed the men and sometimes the women, but not necessary in that order. And, what information that was kept - was kept in secret archives to keep the truth away from the public because it would destroy the Catholic Church. The evidence indicated that the majority of the Meso-American population was, in fact, the lost tribes of Israel. This was written by Franciscan Monks at the time of the invasion, and British and other archeologists later. The actual Mayan Prophesy was simple - 'Live naturally, in natural time, or your biosphere (Earth - our mother ship) would not survive. We'll we did it. No lying about that. For the past umpteen years, we have been just like conquerors, raping, murdering, and killing mother earth. OOPS! I didn't do it - you didn't do it - the politicians allowed it - all for greed. Oil, Gold, Silver - rape the earth suffers the consequences. The end date of the Mayan Calendar had nothing to do with the end of the planet, it had to do with the end of an era.

2a. When the Earth was first inhabited there was something of a 3 degree axis tilt and the planet was green, and water blue, and life was abundant. What by the name of God have we done to our mother?

2b. YIKES, we're at 23 degree wobble now. Yes, something is happening, changes are occurring, but it's not the end. It scares people to think that changes are coming - people fear change. CHANGE IS GOOD!

2c. People will die. Yes, we've burned fossil fuels, destroyed our air, cut down our forests, created deserts where there were none before and previously the planet cleansed itself with great floods. People are dying, we are more aware since Hurricane Katrina, that things are not right due to global warming, and Tsunamis, great floods, and thousands more deaths in countries where floods were a rarity.

2d. Many species are dying. Faster than ever before species are disappearing. One indication that might be considered, or two, are the frog population which began disappearing a few years back, and the bees. We are impacting nature and we don't step lightly - our footprint is huge and visible, and we are destroying all of life without mistreatment of our mother.

2e. There are more diseases now, more horrible, more incurable - a sick society and planet produce all forms of diseases.

3. Human Nature - It's obvious that the nature of the human being is to conquer. The continuous development of warfare, atomic, and nuclear weaponry is solely aimed at the destruction of mankind and hurting the planet. Previously, we had been the only big bully playing with nukes, now every schoolyard bully has them and someone is likely to play war games just to demonstrate my 'thing' is bigger than your 'thing'.

3a. Human Belief in Ancient Religions - I must mention this, because this is the greatest manipulation of human beings on Earth. Sorry, priest, ministers, rabbis, I honor you all for what you know, but your DOGMA is not helping the situation. Each one of you has chosen an individual branch as part of the Tree of Life, and none of you are on the Expressway to God. Please stop telling your people they are sinners - as men of God, many of you have been caught with your own pants down around your ankles and some honey taking some money for some SINFUL and LUSTFUL experience you needed to have. It may not have been you, but we all know of whom I speak. I am not judging you - just stop judging others and stop playing the blame game which results in guilt. As you know - guilt has absolutely no survival value, it is responsible for many illnesses that do not resolve and result in death. Stop guilting others, or ...

3b. Did You Know That Humans Mistreat Each Other and Mother Earth Too - imagine all the drilling, the cutting of trees, the burning of fields, everything normal and beautiful of earth destroyed by greed to steal the resources and be billionaires, all at the cost of our mother. Imagine our planet as a great big fluffy dog, filled with life. And the dog feels the burring of something drilling into it - just like a flea. And another, burning like burning the trees - the dog begins to scratch and shake fiercely and the fleas fall off. You got a parachute for when this happens to us?

4. The Mayan Calendar - Interestingly enough does end on the Winter Solstice, 2012. Why? Not because it's the end of the world - it's just the end of the 5th Cycle of Life on the Planet. The 6th Cycle that begins immediately thereafter and is called the Age of Enlightenment. It's sounds like an exciting time to be alive - so get prepared!

WELCOME - this is reality.

Many of us will fall off, many of us will die. Those who are not prepared, and those who think they are better or more greater, more important or more powerful than Mother Earth that we live on, will suffer.

Richard Branson is really making his fleet of Intergalactic Space ships to take the rich and wealthy off the planet, just like Roland Emmerich has set of Arks in his movie. Branson's ticket price is much cheaper.

I'M STAYING RIGHT HERE ON EARTH

In 1987, the Harmonic Convergence, which was written about by Dr. Jose Arguelles, and my participation in it - by doing long travels through endless ruins, culminating at the El Tule Tree in Oaxaca in Mexico, spoke the prophesy that we had 25 years left of life as we knew it. We must return to natural, non-destructive living. Dang people, we blew it!

Now the cards are laid out on the table. Natural disasters are not done by nature but by those politicians who paid no heed to the warnings.

What can the scenario possibly be -- to cause the end of life as we know it? Who knows, asteroids, meteorites, some crazy Anti-Semitic Iranian ex-president who stole the presidency from the people in order to try to wipe out the State of Israel, some angry Korean president who is dying because of his anger at the United States over a 60 year old situation, or errors by our own major powers in their thinking that nuclear energy is stable enough to survive what our earth going through with hurricanes, tsunamis, typhoons, earthquakes, and worse. All the time our earth, which I'd like to assimilate it to be life this this big furry yellow dog who it tired of all the baggage she's carrying and begins shaking off the fleas. The fleas are US!

HOW TO SURVIVE THIS?

Like a Boy Scout: Be prepared. More than anything else - it's your mind and soul that need preparation. Since we all know that the soul is immortal, you will survive in one form or another. We have prepared the first of several guides on survival. This first one was just updated Nov. 2009, originally written in 1991 - to help you survive what is undoubtedly going to be a life-changing experience.

It's called - "The World is a Mess, and We Are Responsible - Isn't It Time To THINK RIGHT?

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Are You Trying To Take Your Company Public? How To Go Public Easily 100% of the Time!

By James Scott

There are many ways to use capital without using bank loans, lines of credit and other shady methods like shelf corps and bogus platform scams. If you are truly trying to raise capital for your company here are some simple breakdowns of your options with a quick definition for each one:

PIPE: Private Investment In Public Equity this is used primarily by mutual funds and private investment firms where they buy discount stock in order to raise capital, there are two types of PIPE's traditional where common and preferred stock is issued at a set cap to raise money for the issuer and a structured pipe issues convertible debt.

DPO: Direct Public Offering is when you sell equity shares directly to customers, suppliers and employees.

PPM: Private Placement Memorandum is also known as an offering memorandum takes advantage of Regulation D rule exemptions 504, 505 and 506. This process came into existence with the'33 securities act and popularized in the late'80s, companies can raise money from the public via private placement; there is virtually zero interaction with the SEC after you file form d as long as you stay legal. (most popular form of fund raising).

IPO: Initial Public Offering: extremely expensive, need SOX 404 audits, must have board of directors, quarterly financial reports to shareholders, report heavily to the SEC and 1 out of every 1000 companies that want an IPO actually qualify. I love participating in these but most companies just can't qualify for one reason or the other.

OTCBB: Over the Counter Bulletin Board is an electronic quote system that is the next best thing if you can't go public via IPO, there is minimal red tape to start-ups and small businesses and is legitimized by the stringent ongoing reports to the SEC which keeps investor confidence high (these are extremely solid and I suggest this structure to companies when I am hired by their company or legal team as a consultant as a fast, easy way to raise big capital from the public otc)

Pink Sheet: you can look at pink sheets as the Burger King, while the OTCBB is McDonald's, they are competing OTC mechanisms. Pinks sheets are commonly referred to as penny stock and notorious for 'pump em' and dump em' controversies and a lot of crooked people are involved with this platform. This is not a long term process that will allow one's company to grow, pink sheets companies are typically short lived but it is cheap to set up but not a professional structure that could be upgraded in time to an IPO.

Reverse Merger: a group funds the filing and creation of a public shell, they then sell that shell to a company that wants to go public, the established company merges it's entity into the public shell. The sellers retain around 30% equity after they charge an upfront fee of 300k to 1m. 99% of reverse mergers are successful with the merger, but unsuccessful to bring them to trade and the entity basically just fizzles out.

Taking your company public is actually quite simple and inexpensive when you have the right consultant putting the structure together for you. There are countless ways to raise capital quickly and easily. It's important that you understand your options before you waste time entering into the red tape infested banking system for a loan.

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Finance Power: How To Easily Control The Mind of an Investor

By James Scott

Discovering the 'thumbscrews' of investors is crucial to getting them to take action. In over a decade of dealing with global investors there are several elements that I've discovered to be universal truths about the mind of the private investor (angel investor, accredited investor).

When talking to an investor for the first time, it's more important to listen than to speak. It's more important to ask questions than answer them. It's more important to discover their needs and wants than to exclaim your own. Your first conversation with an investor should be all about piercing the armor and finding the trigger points that prompt a reaction that gets to the center of their 'childlike' state.

What I mean by this is, investors, just like anyone else, has insecurities that are rooted in their childhood and what they are outwardly today, is typically a polar opposite of what they are on the inside. For example, an arrogant, chest beater seems proud and obnoxious on the outside but the reality is that they are over compensating for an insecurity that is rooted in an individual or collection of childhood incidents.

Maybe they were made fun of as a child, maybe they're father was verbally abusive, maybe their teachers would single them out in class opening them up to playground mockery. When talking to these individuals it's important to listen to their voice and intonation when the conversation topic changes. Take notes on their psychological adjustments to the conversation. After you feel you have discovered the triggers that induce the 'pleasurable' responses, end the call, and set your second phone appointment with them.

On that second call, you want to have your conversation ready to go using the triggers you found in the first conversation. Play off of those insecurities that you found, become their best friend without being chummy but it is your mission on this call to be the "guy that understand me" to the investor. You want the overall tone of this conversation to have the response from your target along the theme of, "wow, this guy gets me" , "I can see investing in this company".

By using this method and not coming across as 'fake', you have become an investment opportunity and a shrink all rolled into one. You want to be the one person that this investor can lower his guard to because everything he says, you seem to be the one person who understands him at his deepest level. You seem to naturally be tuned into his insecurities, emotions, needs and wants. Sound strange? Try this out on the next investor you talk to, I guaranty you will be shocked with the results.

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Cash Advance Payday Loans.

By Jim Scott

You are in some kind of urgent situation that needs cash you do not have, what will you do? Your urgent situation might arise from several situations you need to travel to see an ailing family member, fix your vehicle, pay hospital bills or as well go on a holiday. The list can grow on although no matter what the requirements are with you, you have to look just as far as this for the reason that with cash advance payday loans, you can find the money you desperately want; even though you don't have a bank account. Therefore, just relax and go through this article to acquaint yourself and learn more on how to get on with this.

A person may get in situation where he needs a substantial amount of money to realize his needs. A few of prevalent reason as a result of which people may well be under pressure and pressing needs to get this loan are repairing a car, urgent home improvements, buying home utility things like microwave and blenders, paying college fees, footing hospital bills, and so on. For ordinary requirements cash advance payday loans has been structured in the shape of unsecured loan easily accessible to all classes of people easily.

Internet is of great help, lets you to get the necessary loan help without wasting your precious time. Without leaving your home or office, with the help of just a computer along with internet connectivity you can apply for cash advance payday. Search through the web for cash advance loan, there are more than a few online lenders offering such loans to individuals in need providing help just when it is needed the most. You need not fax any documents; just by filling a single online loan form with a few personal details is all that is needed to get approved.

As soon as you get the approval by the lender, you will find the loan money transferred directly to your bank account within 24 hours. No reservations even if you are having a bad credit past record like heavy debts, defaults, liquidation, bankruptcy, foreclosures and the like. Cash advance payday loans are free from credit inspection, no credit report pull outs from credit bureaus. You won't have to face any hassle to arrange expensive belongings or property to pledge as a security. Your forthcoming payday acts as a security to the lender against the borrowed cash.

Cash advance payday loans have a little higher rate of interest when compared to other type of loans. This is because of the fact that these are offered without any security that indicates the high risk for lenders. You can get cash advance payday loans with lower rate of interest by searching online for such loans. The settlement term is extremely short; the reason behind why it is as well called short term loan. It is necessary that borrower must repay the lent amount with the interest as fast as possible when he gets his next month's paycheck available. This offers the necessary money to draw on until your next payday arrives.

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Saturday, 26 December 2009

Tips to Buy Diamond Engagement Ring

By Rich Vial

Engagement is a fun filled moment in the life of an individual. Consenting to spend the rest of your life with a person calls for big celebration. For this many men want to make proposing their beloved mesmerizing as well as special. Buying a diamond engagement ring becomes a crucial part. Often many couple look out for an engagement ring which is special and unusual in its own way. They want to buy a ring which does not suggest it was bought in haste from the mall. For such couples purchasing an engagement ring with a unique design is important. If you are a couple picking up your engagement ring together or a man trying to sweep your fiance of her feet with a pleasant surprise there are few things which you should always remember as you look forward to buy diamond engagement ring.

First and foremost formulate a budget, which will enable you to figure out how much sum of money you can afford to spend on purchasing the ring. In addition to this you require to decide if you actually require a plan for payment or not. Besides, it is also important to consider buying insurance for the diamond ring and take that value as a budget's part.

The characteristic of the diamond engagement ring is another important factor to be considered. Many of the engagement rings have a single diamond. Many of the times it is the only diamond in the ring but many of the times a single diamond is embalmed by small stones. You require figuring out which diamond cut best appeals to your preferences.

You can make your choice from round, square, oval, emerald as well as heart cut. Subsequent to deciding about the cut you will next have to decide about the color as well as the clarity of the stone along with taking in consideration its weight. After this you require to figure out the ring band's material. You will have to shun few alternated due to your budget constraints, which indeed spells the importance of formulating a budget prior to going for the shopping of diamond engagement ring.

Next important thing is to buy the ring from a reputed jeweler. While searching for the diamond engagement ring you are in a way searching for a jeweler who will offer you with a kind of ring you have been looking for and you get the desired quality and that also at reasonable prices. For this you require to carry out a research and choose only those jewelers who have a good reputation in the market for selling good quality jewelry. Along with this you also need to look out for a designer who listens to your view points and creates exactly a ring you want.

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Seven Pointers to Seriously Consider Before Purchasing - Cheap Hosting Web

By Veronica Carrillo

Opting for top website hosting service is a task in itself for the online businesses. With a consistent and popular Internet Service Provider it is likely that you will face less problems, nonetheless, things would be different with a provider of poor web hosting services which can eventually turn into a nightmare.

First, shared hosting is exactly what it sounds like -- it is where you sign for space on a web server that doesn't just hold your site, but many other sites that other business owners have. On small web hosts, you may only be sharing server space with a dozen or so websites.

However, on larger web hosting servers, the number of other sites that are on the same server machine with you can be in the thousands or tens of thousands. While most servers have enough resources to handle quite a number of websites on them, it goes without saying that the more websites that are hosted on one server, the higher chances of slow service become.

Most web hosts will not disclose exactly how many sites are hosted on one server or another. That doesn't mean you can't ask - if this is something that's important to you, you may want to send an email to the sales or technical department and ask. The key standard in shared hosting is uptime -- how long your site stays up for.

A server with few websites on it that always is down is just as bad as a busy web server that's slow, but is generally always up. Look for sites that have at least 99.9% uptime or better. That may seem like a high number, but it's perfectly possible to do online.

In spite of some of the shortcomings found in shared hosting, it is a popular and reasonable choice for new businesses. Compared to other types of web hosting, it is cheaper and as a business grows, it can simply move to the next higher tier of hosting as necessary. Going in with a solid concept of what shared hosting means will make sure that you're able to start your online presence the right way from the start instead of having to correct mistakes along the way.

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Hooked On Phonics - Learning With Entertainment For Kids

By Girish Jaju

Children find it enormously delightful and easy to understand, the hooked on phonics system of learning. That is why this scheme of child education is getting pace over the years. It is more of a confidence building practice over and above the teaching method for children. The children over seven are the most primed candidates to benefit from this method of training due to the fact that they can recognize between the phonetics of vowels and consonants.

Since the phonetics is used in this method of education for the kids to learn, it is necessary to understand the phonetically divergent vowels and consonants. The effect of this wonderful arrangement is found in the learning process where reading is concerned. Challenging reading is therefore solved with this system of teaching. The means of working is letter and sound, which are effectively pooled to get the approval of kids.

Kids find this system very responsive and gain immensely to make improvements in the reading abilities of children. The hooked on phonics system of learning for kids take the help of numerous kinds of materials including CDs and DVDs to recognize the model sounds and equivalent letters.

They have been found to offer brilliant improvements in the reading skill of kids who had not been able to read properly. This system makes appealing outfits to incorporate in the learning programs with a touch of entertainment for kids, which they adore and welcome.

Results with kids are marvelous and a kid who has practiced a lesson of this hooked on phonic system of learning will never want to let pass the entertainment and fun. There are diverse plans for every kind of children which parents should choose for their kids.

Amazing approvals and advantages have been recorded in the reading abilities of children using the new system of learning with hooked on phonics. Several commercials in the televisions relating this kind of learning procedures have been endorsed by visitors throughout the nation. This has reached many kids around the world to profit children who have trouble in reading. This program has been a godsend in the form of entertainment for the kids with trouble in reading.

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