Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Spyware
by Doug Woodall
John Locke said that "no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions",Yet as I sit here at my computer this morning, I get the feeling that the attempts being made to keep the Internet's safe will not come to fruition soon.
Yes, I can hear you saying, "don't be such a downer, Doug"
Well, hear me out.
Lets explore John Lockes quote shall we?
Life. Yours, mine, your loved ones. Its yours, to do with what you will. Well, sometimes your will is to use the Internet's. But how secure are you? Is your AntiVirus, AntiSpyware and Firewall working and up to date? Do you know what is a Spam email is and not to click on the URL they provide? These decisions can affect your life if you are online.
Next, Liberty or as I prefer to think of, Freedom. To have access to particular resources without constraint. If online threats are making your life hectic, would you consider your rights violated? I would if I found out that some drive by download had installed a keylogger on my computer and then cleaned out my bank account. Or how about while you're trying to conduct business online and you keep getting these awful pop=ups telling you about the sale at Harveys Fish Emporium.
Are your Liberties/ Freedoms being constrained yet?
Now we come to the best part, the pursuit of Spyware. Ok, so John Locke didn't say anything about Spyware, Write your own article, this ones mine!
Threats to our online safety are growing in leaps and bounds by the day. I learned long ago, there is always someone out there who is better than anyone previously. The attacks on servers, the Bot networks, the phishing, the URL re-directs, Keyloggers, Image Spam, it just goes on and on. Your personal information is at risk every minute you are online.
I know, you have the best AntiVirus, AntiSpyware, Firewall there is. But is it really? How do you know? When was the last time you ran "Hijack This" and uploaded the results to a help Forum like MajorGeeks, Bleeping Computer or DaniWeb? Its the only way to make sure your computer is clean. And theres no guarantee it wont become re-infected two minutes after you leave the Forum.I know it happens because I frequent these Forums and I see hundreds of freaked users pleading for help. Many are repeat submitters.
Which brings me to the whole purpose of this article. To bring into the spotlight those out there who fight everyday to help keep us safe. They sit at their computers for hours at a time, examining postings in Forums to help others they don't even know stay out of the clutches of those who would benefit from the misfortune of others.
Ever get that feeling of helplessness that comes when your computer wont work right.
Remember? Not fun huh? These people read your postings and know your pain. Its hard to do this also, they have to help you fix your computer thru posting instructions for you to do. Miscommunication and frustrations can cause it to take longer and compound the repairs.
Then there are the organizations that go after the meanies that cause your pain.
They put out alerts and issue fixes. These include The Alliance of Security Analysis Professionals, The Anti-Spyware Coalition, The Council of Advocates for Relief from Malware Assimilation, The Spamhaus Project, just to name a few. There are plenty more out there that are fighting the good fight every day. The goal is a communication arena where all can participate without concern of malicious intent.
Kind of like the old days when the Internet first existed.
Back then there were "Hackers". They were mostly driven by ego and competition to see who was the best. Now its mostly about money. Legions of Bot captured computers sending out Spam and ads going to millions and millions of unprotected servers, computers and of course, into your email. Theres also the Pharming of websites, waiting like a spider in its lair for you to show up and give you a lil driveby download of something special. You name the evil that people do and you can find it online. Thank goodness the goodness of the Internet's is on the other side of the scale.
So, the solution? Make another one and try again? I don't have the answer, I do know that there are good people out there who want safety for all and are making a good show of it. They deserve our thanks.
I believe there is alway bad that comes with the good. A balance or whatever. And like the other saying goes, Retaining Freedom for all requires constant vigilance.
So be vigilant.
About The Author
Unique Gift Ideas For Family And Friends: Picture Gifts
Unique Gift Ideas For Family And Friends: Picture Gifts
by Mario Churchill
Giving gifts is one of the most wonderful experiences that you will ever have. Just watching your loved one's expression once they received the gift is priceless. So, if your family or friends is celebrating something on just about any occasion, you want to give them something that is unique something that they can use everyday.
With today's technology, you can do almost anything to your photos. By just having a home computer, you can install your favorite photo editing software and manipulate your photos. You can even scan your previous photos and store it digitally in your computer.
The software can even let you place celebrities on your photo and make it seem like they are posing with you. You can even print your own photos in a photo paper. However, editing and printing your photos isn't the only thing that you can do with it. You can even print your favorite photos on just about anything. You can print it on T-shirt transfer paper and iron the print on your shirt, or just about any cotton fabric you choose.
There are a lot of gift ideas that you can think of by just using your favorite picture. With a gift idea like this, you will surely keep your friends and family guessing just how you did it. The iron-on T-shirt transfer is one of the most common gift ideas available. It only requires you to digitize your favorite photo or your friend's favorite photo, print it completely reversed on a T-shirt transfer paper and iron the print on a fabric.
Another picture gift idea that your family and friends can truly appreciate is by printing a special photo in a coffee mug. For example, if your friend just had a baby, you can take a picture of the new mom holding her first baby for the first time and print it on a coffee mug. This is definitely a perfect gift for your friend who recently became a mom.
Just imagine, the morning she wakes up for a cup of coffee, she will always remember the first time she held her child. This kind of gift is truly unique and will really show your creativity. These kinds of gifts are simple and can be cherished for a long time.
You can even personalize a mouse pad that you can give to your coworkers. A picture can be printed onto a mouse pad. It can be a photo of him or her making faces. With this kind of gift, your coworker can truly appreciate the thought and they will surely remember the fun times you and your coworker had in the office.
There are lots more picture gift ideas that you can give as a gift to your loved ones. You can even personalize a handbag and give it to your friends who collect handbags. It can be a photo of you and your friend having a great time or it can be anything at all that your friend will have good memories of.
Giving these kinds of picture gift ideas will not only show how thoughtful you are and how creative you are, it will also show how much you cherish those memories you spent with the special people around you. So, whether you are giving gifts to your friends, your parents or to your brothers and sisters, you can really give a gift that they can truly appreciate by giving something that has a memorable picture printed on it.
About The Author
Use of S/MIME technology for securing online communication
Use of S/MIME technology for securing online communication
by Geetanjali Kulkarni
The threats to communication on public network have increased over the years of advent in Internet communication. Yet individuals and organizations today are ignorant of ways to secure their e-mail communication. The various threats to e-mail communication on public network are:
� Change / modification of e-mail content during transit
� Delivery of e-mails to unauthorized recipients
� Copy of e-mail to unauthorized recipient without the knowledge of the correspondents
� �Phishing� e-mail messages, i.e fraudulent email messages that appear to be authentic that direct the recipients to divulge personal confidential data or direct users to the fake websites that exist for the purpose of stealing usernames and passwords.
� The use of forged �from� address for sending unwanted mails and viruses
These kinds of attacks/ risks can be prevented by the use of S/MIME. S/MIME (Secure / Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) is a standard for Public Key encryption and signing of e-mail encapsulated in MIME. S/MIME uses digital signatures that digitally sign and encrypt the email. The advantages of S/MIME communication are:
1. Authentication: The authenticity of sender of message
2. Message integrity: The data cannot be modified / changed on sending
3. Non-Repudiation of origin: The sender cannot repudiate later
4. Confidentiality: Data is hidden from all those unauthorized to read it
The digitally signed e-mail tends to increase recipients trust in email infrastructure. S/MIME functionality is built into the vast majority of modern e-mail software and interoperates between them. Financial organizations, retailers and other business entities doing business on internet or exchanging confidential information must adopt the practice of digitally-signing their mail to customers with S/MIME signatures using a certificate signed by a widely-published CA�s.
S/MIME uses two X. 509 certificates. The author digitally signs the email with their private key. The message is then cncrypted using recipients public key and sent. When message reaches the recipient the message is decrypted with the recipient�s private key, and the verified usign author�s public key.
One of the reasons S/MIME has not become popular with end users is the lack of awareness of the technology and its benefits. Another barrier in adopting e-mail security techniques has been the deployment of different and mutually incompatible standards for email security like Privacy Enhanced Mail (PEM), Open PGP, and S/MIME. The problem caused by deployment of these competing standards is that there is no guarantee that a signed message will be verifiable by the recipient. The other problem is that signatures or sometimes the original email message itself, appear as indecipherable attachments when email clients having some other MIME-based standard, receive them.
This standardization problem has now been solved by the wide-scale deployment of mail clients implementing the S/MIME standard. Support for S/MIME is built-in to Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Mozilla and Netscape. Moreover, the keys by several popular certification authorities (CAs) are distributed both with these programs and with many popular operating systems. Thus, there is a high likelihood that digitally signed mail, once sent, can be readily verified.
For more information, please visit http://www.elock.com
About The Author
How to Evaluate a Franchise Training Program
How to Evaluate a Franchise Training Program
by Bizymoms.com Management
Franchising has become a universally accepted business practice today. In fact franchise businesses account for almost half of all the retail sales in the United States. Therefore there is a significant trend among the general public to engage in franchise related businesses. This is confirmed by the survey results which reveal that �a new franchised business is opened every 8 minutes of every business day�.
As many people are in search of franchise opportunities, we at bizymoms thought it would be highly relevant to discuss the things to consider in evaluating a franchise program so that you can ensure your dreams are achieved. So if you are a prospective franchisee, this article is just for you.
One of the fascinating things you may find out about franchising is that most franchises don�t require you to have experience in their field. In fact, many of them don�t even want a franchisee with previous industry experience. They will train you to excel in a job you�ve never done before. So it is needless to say that training is the most important aspect which can determine your future success. Now do not assume that proper training of new franchisees is important only to the franchisee. In fact your success becomes the success of your franchisor. So they should do whatever it takes to make you ready for the challenge.
A good training program should focus not only on the product or service but also on setting up the business, marketing, employee management, business procedures, financial reporting and many more. The best way of finding about a particular franchise program is to ask the existing franchisees. They should be able to tell you exactly why it is good or bad. You should never forget to ask them how prepared they felt when they opened their business and what ongoing training they were provided.
Another important aspect of training is the documentary help provided during the training program. This means that everything you need to know is written down in easy access manuals or other training support sources like intranets. It doesn�t matter how best you fared as a student it�s impossible to remember everything. Therefore you need quick answers as and when the problems arise during the course of business.
The surveys conducted by the famous research agencies show that the people are aware of the need to focus on the training program. But what they often forget is that the quality of the programs varies significantly over time. When you ask from the existing franchisees on their experience of the training program, you are accessing an outdated knowledge base. Most probably problems existed then may have been resolved and sometimes the so called fine training programs on those days are now outdated. Therefore in order to achieve proper results you need to focus on current and updated information sources such as new franchisees who have just stepped in to business.
The main advantage of franchising for novice prospective businessmen is that it provides you a proven method of success. The franchisor has done many things before franchising the business to you. These may include establishing and building the brand, testing a variety of marketing concepts, finding the best way to deliver a quality service or product, and researching the best value in suppliers etc.
Therefore provided you have received a proper training and you are equipped with necessary tools your success is almost guaranteed. So there is no trial and error but it�s more or less a matter of stand and deliver. However it�s up to you, of course to put in the hard work that will make that success a reality. Enjoy franchising!
About The Author
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
�Fear � Your New Best Friend�
�Fear � Your New Best Friend�
by Matt Bacak
Do you know the three steps to creating wealth? Creating wealth for your business depends upon your ability to sell, sell, and sell your products and services. Let�s look at the three steps to creating wealth beyond your wildest dreams.
Following are the three steps to creating wealth that will have you raking in the cash:
Step #1: Fear. You need to find out what people fear. If you haven�t created a product then find out what people fear in life and make a product that helps get rid of that fear. If you already have customers then find out their fears so you can create even more products.
Step #2: Promise of relief. So you�ve found out the fear of your customers, now what do you do with this information? You create a product or service that provides relief. You promise that your product will save the day and alleviate their fear.
Step #3: Money. To maximize your sales you need to let people know why you are the person to solve their concerns. You have to provide credibility so that they will give you their money. If you don�t provide credibility then they won�t have faith that your product will actually solve their problems. You can provide testimonials, show results, and give your credentials so they will literally throw their money at you. Fear is a very powerful feeling, so you can use fear to your advantage.
What are examples of these three steps in action? Let�s look at a couple of examples.
Example #1: Do your customers have concerns about earning the most profit from SEO on their website? You could provide an informational product that helps relieve this fear of losing out on money.
Example #2: The diet industry. The diet industry preys on the fear of being overweight and provides an easy relief solution through diet pills, programs, and gadgets. They prey on the fear that people feel like they will never be able to lose weight unless they order their diet products.
Take the lead from the diet industry and uncover the fears of your customers. If you can provide the magical solution, with credibility to stand behind it, then you maximize your profit in no time. If you don�t then you could lose out on thousands or even millions of dollars in profit.
About The Author
For more information, visit Bacak's site at http://www.powerfulpromoter.com or sign up for his Powerful Promoting Tips at http://www.promotingtips.com
The B2Evolution Features Than Can Add Value to Your Blog Site
The B2Evolution Features Than Can Add Value to Your Blog Site
by Fat Jack
If you are looking for a suitable tool to host a blog site then believe me, nothing can give you a better option than a B2Evolution software package. Going beyond traditional blogging tools, this software can offer you a range of other unusual features that add to the uniqueness to your blog site.
Multiple user/multiple author/ multilingual support
First of all, it supports a multi user, multiple authors set up.
By installing the software for once the software helps organize your blog in a way that each blog has its own set of member users. Thus, you can take the decision as to who gets to write on a particular blog.
On a more advanced level, certain readers can be denied access to particular posts.
To top it all, full user management is included in the software.
RSS feed enabled
Content syndication is one of the most prominent features of today�s blogging behavior. This is a process of article sharing among several related sites. But it is not essential that the full article should be circulated. Through the RSS feed, you can get to see the title and the source of the article. The source link can take you the original article.
The B2evolution has built-in RSS feed support. It also has Atom feeds for both posts and comments.
Thus the readers can get to see your RSS feeds and subscribe to your site.
With B2Evolution, it is possible to assign separate feeds for each individual blog on your site. Alternatively it is also possible to get a feed containing all the blogs on your site by subscribing to the �Blog All RSS feed�.
Digging
Another recent blog-culture involves �digging� of the articles. With the help of a plugin called, AstonishMe Digg Plugin, it is possible to add Digg buttons to your posts by simply checking a box in the Write tab. This allows you and your readers to dig the stories.
Advanced categorization
Another feature helping in advanced blogging relates to complex categorization of contents. This system allows for categorizing and sub-categorizing of the posts/news items by subject or theme.
However, with this software it is also possible to assign multiple categories to each post.
The additional features include: an integrated XHTML validator, supports recursive subcategories, cross posting and has an integrated skinning system.
The end result is: you get blog software that runs easily on almost any web hosting service, generates web pages dynamically from the MySQL database, without any hassle of �rebuilding�. Also without running into any hassle, you can add to your site different �templates� or �skins� from time to time. It also comes with faster search/display capabilities and makes for the most comprehensive blog engine you could ever find.
About The Author
The Right to Win
The Right to Win
by Robert Sher
Winning in business is so much better than surviving, or worse yet, struggling. Winning means going home feeling really good each day. It means making payroll easily. It means investing in new projects and new ideas without shuddering to think of the impact of a mistake. Statistics show that industry leaders produce better profits.
I really don't want to run any business that can't win. It's just not worth it.
Does your business have the right to win? Having the right to win means that your business and your team has what it takes to dominate your marketplace. It's about whether you will win the competitive struggle with all your rivals. To be clear, a business can't win in every marketplace. But you, as owner, get to choose where to compete.
On the one hand, you may choose a niche market in a defined geographic area. If the niche is defensible, lucrative, and you have what it takes to win, great! Alternatively, if you've got what it takes, you may seek to dominate one industry segment worldwide.
So what does it mean to earn the right to win? It means that no competitor offers a package of products and services that is better than what you offer. It means that you are the first firm they think of when they need what you specialize in.
Now, if you are lucky enough to have no competition - you can run the business poorly while overcharging, and still do really well! Innovators the world around have enjoyed this for a short time. But competition will find you. And they will want to steal away your right to win.
When I think about the right to win, a number of attributes come to mind.
Quality & Value. You will offer a better quality/value proposition. That could be cheap products at unusually low prices, or it could mean complex, high value services at excellent (but still high) prices. Either way, for your target customer, they'll find your products or services to be a better deal than your competition.
Knowledge. You will know more about your subject than anyone else. You'll take all the courses you can find. You'll have resources you can turn to when you need to learn more. You'll be the local top expert.
Continuous Improvement. Knowing that the competition is trying to unseat you, you'll continually be trying new things, new ideas, new services. They may be taking aim at you, but you're a moving target. You'll embrace foreign competition, new materials, new regulations and other marketplace changes as an opportunity for you to shine and a chance for competitors to stumble.
The Team. Your people will be top quality, and will be pulling your business forward. Anybody that is not great in their position will be re-deployed into the workforce.
Finances. You have enough working capital to run the business well, and you keep the books in good order. You know where you stand, are profitable, and know what you can afford.
Sales and Marketing. You keep your business at the top of the mind of all your prospects. They enjoy doing business with you. You truly understand what your customers need from you.
Operations. You are efficient and productive. Waste is not tolerated. Your costs are as low or lower than your competition. On time delivery and on budget costs are the norm.
Evaluate each key competitor on the above attributes. First pass, do it on what you know about each of them. Evaluate your own business too. Do you come out on top? Be honest with yourself! If you don't come out on top, craft a plan to close each gap. You don't have to be the best at everything, but you need to be close on everything, and the leader overall. If you don't have a clue about your competition, start studying them now. Ask you customers about the competition - they're a great source.
What if it's impossible to close the gaps? If you realize that it's impossible to have such a fine business so as to earn the right to win? You have an important choice to make. If you are happy with the way things are and you like the lifestyle you have now, great. Not everyone is driven to make the most money, or be the most successful. But if winning is your dream, and the business you are in can't get you there, think about changing businesses.
Even if you're not close to dominating your marketplace, the right to win is a concept that will push you and your business to be the best. It's a good quarterly exercise to engage in with your staff. Often painful at the start, but as you close the gaps, you'll notice the difference on the bottom line, and in your pride.
Robert Sher is the principal of CEO to CEO, which guides business leaders as they navigate critical passages. An active CEO for 23 years and running, and a director in the Alliance of Chief Executives. Author of The Feel of the Deal; How I Built a Company through Acquisitions. He has taught entrepreneurship to executive MBA students for many years. He may be reached at Robert@ceotoceo.biz.
About The Author
Ode to the Road (The Road Trips of our Lives)
Ode to the Road (The Road Trips of our Lives)
by Patti Teel
Recently, in the early morning dawn, I dreamed I was a child again, helping my parents to pack up our white Rambler for our annual summer vacation. When I awoke, I had a yen to pack up my car and take off. This feeling is not unfamiliar to me. It reoccurs every summer and seems to be imbedded in my subconscious by wonderful, childhood vacation memories.
I encourage you to take a sentimental journey by reminiscing on your own childhood family vacations, and then on trips taken later on in your life. Although you might not remember what you did last week, vacation memories are often surprisingly vivid even those from long ago. Road trips reflect how we viewed life at various ages and stages of our life. Take time out to remember the excitement you felt as a child, a young adult and perhaps as a parent-as you left your every day routine behind to explore and share exciting new places with your family.
Childhood Vacations: The most wonderful thing about our childhood vacations is spending time together with our parents, brothers, and sisters. At no other time is a family more of a cohesive unit than when traveling together-especially on a road trip.
When I was a child, our family vacations were spent in the beautiful outdoors. I loved being near the water and fondly recall lakeside vacations that were spent water skiing, swimming, and boating. Reminisce on the places and activities that kept you happily occupied on your childhood vacations. These memories hold the key to places and interests that are just waiting to be rediscovered.
Teen and Young Adult Years: Life is exhilarating and we're likely to impetuously seize opportunities to independently travel with our friends, rather than our parents. Problematic scenarios such as running out of money or having car trouble are the furthest things from our mind. Looking back at my own naivety and lack of sensibility reminds me why I question the judgment of my teenage daughter. Mark Twain's quote could certainly have been written by me, "Providence protects fools and idiots. I know because I have tested it."
The Parenting Years: Anticipating problems becomes very important to us when we're parents and the well-being of our precious cargo is foremost on our minds. Parents have the responsibility of planning, packing, and paying for their family's trip as well as making sure that it's fun and safe. Vacations can be quite arduous, especially when our kids are young. And yet-the memories of those family vacations will warm your heart and make you smile for years and years to come. And one day your kids will remember their wonderful family vacations and pass the legacy on to their own children.
The Kids are Grown: My most recent road trips demarcate a new phase in my life. With all three of my children over the age of 18, I've returned to the days when I can take spur of the moment road trips. They are as exhilarating today as they were when I was young, but now I have the common sense that I lacked as a teenager. For the first time in decades, I've taken childfree trips with my husband and several of my friends. I've also taken several long distance road trips by myself. If you need to clear your mind or get your creative juices flowing, I highly recommend that you take a road trip on your own. The task of driving occupies enough of the left-brain to free your right-brained creativity. Solo road trips can be a spiritual journey, helping us to learn to listen to ourselves. We can stop whenever we like, wherever we like, for as long as we like. And it gives us the opportunity to reminisce on the road trips of our lives.
About The Author
Tips For Insuring A Second Home
Tips For Insuring A Second Home
by David Thomson
If you are lucky enough to own a second home in which you spend the weekends or holidays, then you will of course need to take out home contents insurance to cover the possessions within it just as you do your main home. However when it comes to insuring a holiday home it is of course more expensive, this is due to the fact that for a large amount of time the home is not being lived in and so is deemed as a bigger risk. However there are steps you can take to lower the amount that you have to pay for your premium.
The biggest reason why it costs more to insure a second home is the fact that you are not residing in it and as such for a large part of the time it is standing empty, which means there is more chance of it getting broken into. Steps you can take to remedy this and to bring down the premium include fitting the latest security features to the home. The better protected the property is, then the lower the risk and the cheaper the premium.
Installing the latest alarms which are listed with many insurers can go a long way to making sure your property is secure to the standard listed with insurers.
Other security features which can lower your home contents insurance include installing smoke detectors; doors and window alarms and locks; and making sure your property is totally enclosed by fencing. Insurers believe that the security in and around your home make a 30% difference between it being targeted by thieves and not bring targeted.
If your second home is in a neighborhood watch area or you have a house sitter or at least someone who can check on your property on a daily basis then this too can reduce the quote for the insurance on your second home.
When looking for insurance for your holiday home then the best way to purchase it is by doing so via a specialist broker. This will allow you to get the best quote for your circumstances.
Companies do vary in what they offer and especially in what is included or not in the policy for the amount that you are asked to pay
About The Author
Monday, May 12, 2008
Best Steakhouse USA is Your Source to Indulge in Your Tastes
Best Steakhouse USA is Your Source to Indulge in Your Tastes
by Neil Folley
Have you ever wondered what would happen if there was no steakhouses? Well, this is something that is simply unacceptable, especially more for steak lovers. This is something that they can never ever imagine. Steak lovers are huge in number and this is the reason why steakhouses try to be the best steakhouse in USA. To become the best steakhouse is not an easy task for any steakhouse. They will have to fulfill several parameters to be able to actually vie for being the best.
One thing you must realize is that a steakhouse is not all about serving people with a piece of meat and potatoes. There are many more things to a steakhouse then just beef and potatoes. The ambience, d�cor and the interiors are one of the first things that attract customers. To become the best steakhouse in USA, steakhouse owners will have to take special care of their steakhouses. This will help them to attract the maximum number of customers and become immensely popular among steak lovers.
Word of the mouth is a very good way of getting new clients to come to your place. So first of all you will have to satisfy all the wants of your existing clients if you want them to spread good words about your steakhouse. Mostly you will find that steak lovers take the opinion of fellow people who love to eat out in a steakhouse. Make sure that your interiors of the steakhouse are attractive enough to attract the best steak lovers in your city. Only the best can attract the best, so you must take all efforts to make your steakhouse the best.
All Steakhouses that aim to cater to the taste buds of steak lovers must make sure that they have different varieties of steak to serve to customers. Steak lovers like to have their steaks cooked at varied temperatures. The taste of steak differs greatly depending on the degree on which steak is cooked. Some of the varieties of cooked that are very popular among steak lovers are rare steak, medium rare steak and medium steak.
Steakhouses also serve a wide variety of soups to customers. French onion soup is one hot favorite among customers who frequent a steakhouse. One can also find lots of surf and turf dishes to satisfy their tastes in a steakhouse. A surf and turf dish actually satisfies two tastes at a time. One can enjoy eating a good piece of steak that is cooked rare or medium as per their liking and also enjoy eating seafood. Different types of sea food like lobster and crispy side dishes like potatoes, cheese and macaroni can be found in a steakhouse.
So if you plan to eat out in a steakhouse with your family and friends, make sure that you do the bookings well in advance. Last minute bookings can often mean that you will not be able to find bookings and may not be able to enjoy your eating out session. A weekend crowd mostly means that finding a proper place will be difficult if you do not make arrangements for this well in advance.
About The Author
How Families Can Pave The Way To Success
How Families Can Pave The Way To Success
by Ian McAllister
If a hurricane swept your home away, would your family know how to survive? Would you be self-sufficient? Self-sufficiency comes from sharing many active family pursuits.
A research doctor asked me to prepare equipment for him requiring needlework because "I always had servants to do that for me, so I don't know how to thread a needle."
We were filling in a form when I was asked if I was pregnant (I'm a man) and I replied that as I watched people in the city there were more pregnant men than women. They must have no activities.
Kid Pursuits
Man is better than the other animals because of his brain. If we don't use our brains we lose our superiority. Healthy kids love a constant round of activities because it stimulates that human brain. Each new pursuit will build new skills and ways of thinking.
If you spend all your time in front of the TV the kids will have to find projects of their own. Many kids now spend hours playing computer games each day. What manual skills are they building? How to push some buttons!
Systematic Kid Pursuits
Plan long-term projects including preparing for a vacation, so that the family can experience budgeting, arts and crafts, gardening, cooking, keeping and butchering animals or just fishing and cleaning the fish. Don't let your family pursuits be so few and uneducational that your children could end up dieing within sight of food and water because they don't know how to unzip a banana, or clarify a mud puddle.
How can your family become more versatile? Practice learning new things. The more you learn the faster you can learn, and the more options you will have in an emergency.
Our research was brought to a standstill by a frozen water-pipe. The rules said that the gardener had to dig up the pipe then the plumber had to fix the pipe. But the gardener was on holiday. So the boss and I dug a trench to uncover the pipe, replaced the broken section, and covered everything up again, even shovelling snow back on top for extra insulation. Neither of the trade unions ever knew that we had avoided a two-week delay by doing their work ourselves.
Even your maths will improve. If the recipe serves eight, and there are three of you, how do you work out how much to use where the recipe says two tablespoons? If you are papering a wall and need half-sheets in several places how do you work out the total number of rolls that you will need? How do you work out the number of seeds to plant in the garden, bearing in mind how many people will eat the produce and how much they will eat, and the germination rate of the seeds?
Products of the kids construction will have to be proudly displayed. They may not have craftsman finish and flair, but each project represents another ability that might be needed one day. It doesn't matter if pottery is distorted if it carries water to avoid dieing of thirst.
And yes(!) boys need to learn to cook and sew. If they go to college and they can't cook their health will probably deteriorate. If they allowed a friend to bleed to death out in the bush because they couldn't thread a needle to sew them up imagine how they would feel.
A young lady might just have to stand and look helpless to get the boys clustering round to fix her car, do the gardening, clean the gutters, kill the hens, fix the door lock etc. but if she doesn't know how to do it herself, will she have as many helpers when she is 50 years old?
Conclusion
Vegetating before a TV is OK until civilization changes, perhaps tomorrow. If global warming floods coastal cities what would your family do?
About The Author
Over and over again the author is thankful for parents that showed us how to be self-reliant and versatile. Get great ideas for family endeavours here:
http://familypursuits.com/ and family health here
http://healthforu.info/health/healthfood/
Foggy Wine Glasses Are Not The End Of The World!
Foggy Wine Glasses Are Not The End Of The World!
by Ken Finnigan
Perhaps one of the most troubling problems which usually occurs that takes the enjoyment out of having a glass of wine is when even though your glasses are clean, look very foggy. We have all encountered it at one time or another and probably all can agree that there is something detracting about a foggy wine glass. Before you decide to throw out your glasses or invest in a set of inexpensive ones with the thought that fogging is inevitable so you might as well be ready to throw them away when the time comes, there are a few things that you can do to prevent fogging and bring back the glorious sparkle and shine to foggy glasses that you remember from when they were first purchased.
I know that some think that it�s perfectly all right to put wine glasses in the dishwasher, and some machines even have special sections on the top rack to hold wine glass stems in place. We all know that crystal should never be put in the dishwasher, so I assume said stem holders are for everyday glasses. My dishwasher has them and I still won�t use it to wash wine glasses. Why? There are two main reasons for this, the first is that dishwasher detergent tends to be a lot more harsh and abrasive and can etch your wine glasses making it fog with repeated washing, and second is that the temperature in a dishwasher can become so hot that it can actually cause a glass to crack.
With that being said, when washing wine glasses by hand the best method is actually quite simple, especially since you should be able to simply rinse out yours glasses to clean them. First, it is important to remember to use lukewarm water and not hot water. Abrasive cleaning agents should be avoided at all costs; and if you feel the need to use soap it is best to only use mild liquid dish soap. Remember to never use hard scrubbing sponges and cloths and to rinse the glasses thoroughly or the soap will leave a film deposit which will fog with build up and time and thus defeats the purpose of taking care when washing your glasses.
If you have taken care of your glasses and hand-washed them and still find they are starting to fog, there is still something you can do. Soak the foggy glasses in straight white vinegar for two to three hours. Then wash with warm water and mild liquid dish soap and repeat the soaking process if necessary to remove the remaining residue. It might be a bit of a time consuming process, but it will be worth it in the end when you have sparkling glasses that look beautiful!
About The Author
Improved Search Engine Rank: Google Page Rank Misconceptions
Improved Search Engine Rank: Google Page Rank Misconceptions
by Peter Nisbet
Improved search engine rank is attainable through good search engine optimization, part of which is the maximizing of your Google Page Rank through intelligent linking with other web pages. In this first part of 2 on the subject of Google Page Rank, we will look at the argument for attaining high listings through a linking strategy.
Google Page Rank is a buzz term at the moment since many believe it to be more important to your search engine listing than search engine optimization. If we ignore for the moment the fact that Page Rank is, in itself, a form of SEO, then there are arguments for and against that belief.
Before we investigate these arguments, let�s understand some fundamentals of search engine listings. First, most search engines list web pages, not domains (websites). What that means is that every web page in a domain has to be relevant to a specific search term if it is to be listed.
Secondly, a search engine customer is the person who is using that engine to seek information. It is not an advertiser or the owner of a website. It is the user seeking information. The form of words that is used by that customer is called a �search term�. This becomes a �keyword� when applied to a webmaster trying to anticipate the form of words that a user will employ to search for their information.
A search engine works by analyzing the semantic content of a web page and determining the relative importance of the vocabulary used, taking into account the title tags, the heading tags and the first text it detects. It will also check out text related contextually to what it considers to be the main �keywords� and then rank that page according to how relevant it calculates it to be for the main theme of the page.
It will then examine the number of other web pages that are linked to it, and regard that as a measure of how important, or relevant to the �keyword�, that the page is. The value of the links is regarded as peer approval of the content. All of these factors determine how high that page is listed for search terms that are similar contextually to the content of the page.
Without doubt, there are web pages that are listed high in the search engine indices that contain very little in the way of useful content on the keywords for which they are listed, and have virtually no contextual relevance to any search term. However, a careful investigation of these sites will reveal two things.
The first is that many such web pages are frequently listed highly only for relatively obscure search terms. If a search engine customer uses a common search term to find the information they are seeking, they will very rarely be led to a site that has little content other than links, but it is possible. The second is that they contains large numbers of links out to other web pages, and it can be assumed that they have at least an equal number of web pages linking back.
It is possible to find such web pages for many keywords. An example is on the first page on Google for the keyword �Data VOIP Solutions�. There is a website there that is comprised only of links. The site itself has little content, but every link leads to either another website that provides useful content, or another internal page full of more links and no content. That is how links can be used to lift a web page high in the SE listings.
Such sites frequently contain only the bare minimum of conventional search engine optimization, but the competition is so low that they gain high listings. You will also find them to contain large numbers of internal pages, every one of which contain the same internal and external links.
It is true, therefore, that it is possible to get a high listing without much content, but with a large number of links. However, is that a legitimate argument for those promoting links against content? Could you reasonably apply that strategy to your website? Could a genuine website really contain thousands of links to other internal pages and external pages on other websites, and still maintain its intended purpose?
In the second part of this article, titled �Search Engine Rank: Google Page Rank Misconceptions� wI will explode some myths about Page Rank, and explain how many people are wasting their time with reciprocal links, and perhaps even losing through them. It may be that a linking strategy is not so much an option, as a choice between the type of website that you want: to provide genuine information or to make money regardless of content.
Improved search engine rank might be synonymous with Google Page Rank, but perhaps only if you want to sacrifice the integrity of your website.
About The Author
Secret Recipes Frittlers Part 2 (Italian Pasties)
Secret Recipes Frittlers Part 2 (Italian Pasties)
by Tony Pescatore
Secret Recipes Frittlers Part 2 (Italian Pasties)
Hello a couple months ago I did an article on my families all time favourite secret recipe Frittlers (Italian Pasties). There is 2 ways you can make them one is with oil the other without oil. I love them both ways out of 5 with oil I give it 5 without oil I give it 4.75 still sensational. The article I did 2 months ago was with oil so I�ve updated this with the way to do it without oil.
The reason for this without oil is healthier then with oil so if you would like to try it but without oil this is for you. I have them both ways and love them.
Firstly the oil recipe I did 2-3 months ago is below and underneath it is how to do it without oil Secret Recipes Frittlers Part 2 (Italian Pasties).
You are in for a treat. We name the recipe Frittlers (Italian Pasties)
With Oil Secret Recipes Frittlers Part 1 (Italian Pasties)
Ingredients
7g yeast,
1 cup lukewarm water � if need more add extra but don�t make it soggy,
3 cups plain flour,
pinch of salt,
pepper,
cheese, not mozzarella cheese but either shredded tasty cheese or shredded plain cheese,
ham,
tomatoes,
tuna (chunk tuna) instead of ham
canola oil
Put flour in bowl make a hole in the centre then add water and yeast mix together with pinch of salt. Work the dough don�t make it real dry. Then put in plastic bag, close bag up. Then put in a warm spot such as under blankets somewhere warm for about 1hour to 1.5 hours for it to rise to double its size.
While it�s rising get ham and cheese, not mozzarella cheese but either shredded tasty cheese or shredded plain cheese. Cut up ham add cheese then mix together.
Roll out dough to pasty round sizes do one at a time, add ham, cheese and sprinkle of pepper no salt then roll up pasty. When rolled up with filling at the ends with a fork press it and go around the edges. Then prick it lightly with fork twice around the middle.
Continue doing that until finished. Once done put 2 at a time in a frying pan with canola oil so oil covers the whole lot make sure oil is hot. (Just be careful because of heat) Cook to nice gold colour about 4-5 minutes then turn over and do other side. Take them out and put on paper towel to get rid of some of the oil. Can eat them basically straight away or you might wait to they cool down that is up to you.
There is no problems with freezing them they still taste fantastic.
If you want to add tomatoes you can but have it within 24 hours but don�t freeze any with tomatoes, what I do is if take them out the freezer when they thaw out I cut in half and add tomato and put in oven or griller.
Can also have chunk tuna instead of ham with the cheese. Tuna and cheese is also okay to freeze.
Also if you like you can add chopped up onion or anything that you enjoy.
Without Oil Secret Recipes Frittlers Part 2 (Italian Pasties)
You do exactly the same as with oil but instead of using oil and cooking them in a frying pan put them in the oven for roughly 10-15 minutes on 200 Degrees Celsius or 400 Degrees Fahrenheit then flip over again for extra 10 minutes and enjoy. (You can put on just a touch of oil on the Frittlers just before putting them in the oven).
This family secret recipe is one your family and friends will really appreciate, bon appetite!
Secret Recipes Frittlers Part 2 (Italian Pasties)
About The Author
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Grain Milling Tip 1 - Part 2
Grain Milling Tip 1 - Part 2
by Donna Miller
Tip #1 - "You do WHAT? Why bother?" - Part Two
Part One of this tip may have helped you determine a few health reasons why it is good to mill your own grains, but that may still not be enough to satisfy your friends and family.
The following tip to answering the questions of why you bother to mill at home is the advantages of cost and storage. Of course, we can purchase 'whole wheat bread' at the bakery. Of course, 'dead bagged flour' lasts for a pretty good period of time. Are these reasons to pass up home milling all together? Of course not! In fact, look closer and you can see why milling at home is better.
Health advantages aside, which is the MOST vital one in my personal opinion, storage and cost come up on the convenience end of considering milling at home. The 'whole wheat' loaf of bread we can buy in the bakery is not only made of old, processed whole wheat, but by the government regulations only has to be at least 51% - or mostly whole wheat - to be labeled as such. I deviate, this is also a health reason. The cost of a loaf is generally $2.29. A home milled, fresh WHOLE GRAIN flour, loaf of bread costs me generally $.75 to make and that is using all organic (a bit pricier) grains and sugar. Also, I know for certain what is in that loaf!
Storage is the other thought. Of course, in our house the bread doesn't last long because we can't resist slicing into a warm loaf when we smell it so we don't have to worry about self life. However, the grains last for years! The husk was created as the greatest protection for the grain. Grains have been found in pyramids that were over 4000 years old and when planted, they grew just as they were meant to. I don't think you'll be needing those grains in 4000 years, but store the grains in a sturdy container and from getting moist and you can store them for years.
About The Author
Treat Your Kid To A Blue World Pool Swimming Pool
Treat Your Kid To A Blue World Pool Swimming Pool
by Eric Wills
Nothing is more relaxing then lounging in the blue waters of a swimming pool during the summer season. Undoubtedly relaxing in the cool blue water is wonderful, but if you have to do this in a public pool, this can be annoying as you will have to share the pool with strangers. The best solution out of this problem is to get a swimming pool installed in your own backyard to tide over the heat this summer. Get a reputed and trusted swimming pool dealer like Blue World Pool to install the swimming pool for you. A swimming pool is an outlet through which not only can you relax and lounge but to also take part many other fun activities as well. But until you get the swimming pool installed at your place, you will never know this. Why don�t you talk about this to one of your friends who has a swimming pool installed at his place?
A swimming pool has many advantages and if you are thinking of installing a pool at your house, you must weigh the various options. Don�t install the swimming pool at your house, just because this is the craze these days. Try to analyze all the pros and cons of installing a swimming pool. After that, if you find that installing a swimming pool is the best financial decision you can make, you must then go right ahead and install the swimming pool from the reputed dealer Blue World Pools. This dealer operates in many cities across the United States and to enlist their services, you just need to make a phone call. Make a wise choice about the size, shape and color of the swimming pool. The color must coordinate with the interiors of your house and enhance the beauty of your house.
If you have small kids at home, they will be the one�s who benefit the most by the swimming pool. It goes without saying that kids love to play with water, and if they have a swimming pool installed at their house, undoubtedly they will be overjoyed. Now what better then a swimming pool to temp your little one to stay indoors during the hot summer season. That�s not all
About The Author
Practical Benefits of Breastfeeding Your Baby
Practical Benefits of Breastfeeding Your Baby
by Alan Murray
Practical Benefits of Breastfeeding Your Baby
Practical benefits of Breastfeeding the baby is quite numerous that makes breastfeeding acceptable to most mothers. Undeniably, breastfeeding is the best gift a mother can give to her baby as soon as he comes out. Breastfeeding is also higly recommended by all doctors and hospitals. Before the baby arrives, most doctors already explained the practical benefits that can be derived from breastfeeding. They also teach expectant mother on how to breastfeed to make them ready as soon as the baby comes out.
One of the practical benefits of breastfeeding the baby is it is much easier and require less effort. Imagine all the mother has to do to feed her baby is just to wipe the nipple area and let the nipple gently slide to the baby�s mouth. Breastfeeding can also be done while sitting or lying on the bed. Its flexibility allows the baby to have the milk at anytime they want. In bottle feeding, the mother has to make a lot of preparations like cleaning and boiling the bottles, boiling water and preparation of infant milk which are all absent in breastfeeding.
Another practical benefit of breastfeeding the baby is it allows the family budget to save money because breast milk is all natural. Mother does not need to go to the grocery to buy milk hence saves her time and money. Breastfeeding at start can be quite painful but as the mother go on, the pain will subsist too. Patience is the key to have a successful breastfeeding. Remember that no other milk can give the complete nutrients and vitamins other than the all natural milk that comes from a mother�s breast. Practicality wise, the vitamin of the breast milk can help the baby to develop anti-bodies to protect the baby from possible illnesses.
About The Author
Hurricane Season 2007 � Are You Prepared?
Hurricane Season 2007 � Are You Prepared?
by Tara Pingle
The 2007 Atlantic Hurricane Season is now upon us. And for those of us in the Southeast Region of the United States, it is a time when we begin to think � how bad is it going to be this season?
Although 2006 was a relatively calm year with only 2 named storms hitting the U.S., the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center is projecting a much more active Atlantic Hurricane Season for 2007. Based on the current oceanic surface temperatures, the scientists are predicting between 13 and 17 named storms, 7 to 10 of which will become hurricanes, and of those 7 to 10, 3 to 5 could be major hurricanes, a Category 3 or higher.
If the predictions are true, we only have to look back to 2005 to realize what we may have to look forward to here in Florida. We had widespread evacuations. Many of us experienced days, even weeks without electricity. There was property damage and destruction everywhere. If it happens again, are you prepared?
If you haven�t done so already, now is the time to get your family ready in case a disaster strikes. Waiting for the first hurricane watch is too late. The Florida Division of Emergency Management website has an excellent online Family Disaster Planning tool which can be found at -
http://www.floridadisaster.org/family
With it, you can create a personalized Family Plan, which will include:
* Amount of food and water needed for your family and pets
* Evacuation maps
* Local emergency contact information
The system creates checklists of recommended items and specific quantities of water based on your size family. It also emphasizes the importance of keeping copies of important documents such as insurance papers, birth certificates, and bank account numbers in a dry, plastic container for easy retrieval.
But what if disaster does strike your family home
About The Author
Saturday, May 10, 2008
The Popularity Of Flavored Coffee Drinks
The Popularity Of Flavored Coffee Drinks
by Roland Jefferson
While some people only drink coffee in order to wake up in the morning, others are very selective about the coffee that they drink. If you fall in the latter category, you should try gourmet coffee. This coffee comes from beans that have been grown around the world and then made into flavored coffee drinks, using special preparation techniques.
These types of flavored coffee are actually causing people to stand up and take notice of this beverage especially as people's tastes evolve. While they start out drinking coffee that has a lot of cream and sugar in them, over time they will put less and less cream and sugar and may even start to drink it black. With all of the different choices of flavored coffee available, maybe it is time for you to try something new.
Brief History of Flavored Coffee
In the 1990s, flavored coffee became very popular. However, this type of coffee can actually be traced back several centuries to the Turks. Over time, a lot of people have developed strong feelings about this type of coffee; either they love it or they hate it and only want to drink naturally flavored coffee.
Flavored coffee is made by adding flavored oils to the beans after they have been roasted and before they have been ground. Another way in which this coffee can be made is by adding liquid flavors to the coffee while it is being prepared, in much the same was as cream and sugar are added.
Types of Flavors
Generally speaking, there are four categories of this type of coffee. The first category includes flavors based upon spices such as clove, cinnamon, anise, and cardamom. Next, there are also some coffee flavors that are based upon fruits such as coconut or raspberry. Chocolate based flavors are the next type with the most common being chocolate mint. Lastly, some flavors are based upon nuts like vanilla, hazelnut or macadamia nuts. Cr�me coffees also have their share of followers; these include flavors such as Irish Creme or French Vanilla coffee.
As you can see, there are a lot of different ways in which coffee can be prepared. There are also dark roast, light roast, espresso and regular coffee. After deciding on the blend, flavor and the roast, you have the option of drinking it black or with cream and sugar added.
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Point of Sale Software Means Big Profits
Point of Sale Software Means Big Profits
by Marvin Cains
Today, most financial transactions use invisible or electronic money. Cash still has its place, of course, but most merchants do a huge portion of their daily transactions through a point of sale device. Point of sale devices, or point of sale terminals, connect a merchant to a financial network that can process electronic transactions. Each point of sale terminal runs a piece of point of sale software that holds the transactions and gives the merchant various options for tracking sales, inventory, profit, and other information. Because POS software is so important to a modern business, picking the piece of point of sale software that is right for the business is important.
When a merchant does much business, it can be difficult to keep track of profits, sales, and inventory. For example, in a restaurant it can take much time, and therefore money, to run totals and hand count items left in stock. Using point of sale menu software you can keep accurate records of business done each day. When you sell a certain item, the software can automatically subtract it from inventory. Even if you do not directly tie your specific system into your inventory, it can at least keep a running total of the each product sold. So you can take off that amount from your inventory without having to count the remaining stock. The time you save by not having to count manually inventory can make the cost of the software worth it all by itself.
Business software has to keep up with the ever-changing nature of modern business, finances, and merchant needs. You may be happy with your current point of sale software, but upgrading to something newer and more current can be a money-saving decision instead of a cost. Think of it like an investment that makes a return every time you make a sale.
Point of sale software has to be written by someone, which is why the cost to buy the most current software can be high. Software programmers and designers have to be creative to design the features that merchants need and will use. There is no need t pay for a bunch of seemingly neat features that you will either never use, or will use but will not save you time or money. You should buy the software that is right for your business and specific needs. This may mean buying a more basic piece of software instead of the high-end example. However, you should be sure the software still meets all of your needs and is designed with a small business in mind. You should also be sure the software will be able to grow with your business so you do not have to replace it right away.
About The Author
Fun Canada Day Ideas For The Whole Family
Fun Canada Day Ideas For The Whole Family
by Alice Seba
Canada Day, originally known as Dominion Day, is the anniversary of Canada�s independence from Britain. It is celebrated on July 1st, is a national holiday and is a great opportunity to have fun as a family.
Here are some things your family can do to celebrate Canada Day:
Fireworks celebrations are held in many locations to celebrate the holiday. Scan the newspapers to find out when and where they will be held. Often there are other events such as live music and craft shows before the fireworks show. If there are other family attractions nearby that you would like to visit, leave early and make a day of it.
A tour of historic Canadian places makes an educational Canada Day activity. If your town or one nearby has a good town website, it can be an excellent source of information about nearby historic places. Tours are often available for a small fee. Learning about your country�s history is a worthwhile way to spend the anniversary of its confederation.
Family outings are a Canada Day tradition. A picnic in the park is a great family activity for the day. Pack some sandwiches, drinks, and snacks. Load up frisbees, tennis racquets, and other sports equipment. Then head off to the park for a day of family fun.
A family camping trip would be a wonderful way to celebrate. It takes some planning, but camping is truly fun for the whole family. Be sure not to forget the insect repellent, sunscreen, lots of outdoor toys, first aid supplies, and plenty of food. Then take the camper (or tents if you really want to rough it) and head out for an adventure.
Bike trips through scenic areas are a nice way to celebrate while enjoying the country�s natural beauty. Canada is home to many bike trails, and Canada Day is a good opportunity to take advantage of them. If you don�t know where the nearest trail is, check with your local visitor�s center or do an online search.
Canada Day crafts are a creative way to commemorate the holiday. Many Canada Day festivals offer the opportunity to do crafts, but you can also do them easily at home if you wish. You can find plenty of ideas online for everything from handprint Canadian flags to maple leaf hats to Mountie door hangers.
Canada Day festivals are jam-packed with activities that the whole family can enjoy. But you don�t have to go to a festival to have a fun day. You can stay home and have your own celebration, or participate in outdoor activities that allow you to enjoy the abundant natural resources that the country has to offer.
About The Author
http://www.HolidayIdeasForMoms.com is your source for less-stress and more fun all year-round. Claim your free subscription and find more Canada Day ideas for the whole family.
Questions to Find and Implement Fast Solutions for Accomplishing 20 Times as Much
Questions to Find and Implement Fast Solutions for Accomplishing 20 Times as Much
by Donald Mitchell
You should assume there are many pathways to creating a 2,000 percent solution (any way of accomplishing 20 times more with the same time, money, and effort) that improves a high profile benefit while enhancing many other benefits as well. With these questions, you will identify the opportunities that you want to use the eight-step process to develop.
1. With unlimited resources and skills, how would you create the most immediate and valuable benefits for your customers and end users?
Since no organization has unlimited resources and skills, this may sound like a hypothetical question. Our experience has been that there are usually ways of approaching the level of unlimited resources and skills by joining with other organizations and individuals whose positions are complementary to your own. By addressing "what" needs to be accomplished, then it becomes easier to consider "who" you need to work with to get the results you seek.
2. What resources and skills do you lack now to implement those ideas?
Make as extensive a list as you can to identify what is missing so that you can separately focus on how to fill in each gap.
3. How can you eliminate these resource and skill weaknesses through adding information and knowledge?
Your choices include hiring people who already are well informed and knowledgeable, helping those who work for you to add the information and knowledge that they are missing and involving suppliers and potential partners.
4. Which organizations are in the best position to put into practice the ideas you have for your organization?
Naturally, if you can draw on all the resources and skills from a few (or even one) organizations, there will be faster progress towards your goal. Otherwise, coordination with too large a group of other organizations can make implementation unusually difficult.
5. How can you interest those organizations in working with you, rather than one of your competitors?
This is an area where imagination helps. Organizations that are more capable than yours are already quite busy pursuing opportunities in which they do not need to share the rewards. Your opportunity needs to put some of their current opportunities to shame by comparison, even after you reap your expected reward from the new success. Clearly, this change in priorities is easier to do when the other organization is smaller than yours. The best opportunities for you, however, will probably require help from those who are much larger than you are. How can you make that organization's involvement be simple, easy and enormously attractive?
Here's an example. Goldcorp, a gold mining company, engaged many of the best mining geologists in the world to help identify Goldcorp's best exploration possibilities through a global contest with prizes of about $500,000. As a result, the company located over a billion dollars in gold. How could you pursue a similar approach to add the resources and skills you need?
Copyright 2007 Donald W. Mitchell, All Rights Reserved
About The Author
Wildfire Preparedness: The Five Aspects Of Readiness
Wildfire Preparedness: The Five Aspects Of Readiness
by Paul Purcell
A classic 70�s tune gives us the lyrics, �She ran calling �Wildfire��..� Then a love song, but today, possibly the beginnings of an action / adventure / horror movie. With rainfall low, and temperatures and winds high, the wildfires we�re currently battling across the country are heavily taxing our first responder assets. More fires will surely follow if these conditions continue.
First responder assets aside, these fires have affected local civilians. Thousands have evacuated, and many find nothing but charred vacant lots when they return. What are some innovative ways civilians can protect themselves, their property, and actually help firefighters in the process?
At the household level, most of us have smoke detectors. That�s good, because in a house fire, as in a wildfire, where there�s smoke, there�s F.L.A.M.E.:
Family � Something as massive as a wildfire will affect your whole family. Prepare them now.
Landscaping � Simple and subtle steps can make your property much more fire resistant.
Awareness � In an emergency, time is crucial. Stay aware of the threat and get the warnings early.
Moisture � Some say you fight fire with fire. We say you fight fire with water.
Evacuation � Even after taking all the other steps, a wildfire is something best avoided.
Family
A prepared and involved family is far more able to handle any type of disaster than those who wait for last-minute instruction. Therefore, one of the best things you can do for your family is to prepare them for one of the most common and least forgiving enemies; fire.
1. Take the family on a fire-safety tour through the house. Locate dangers such as overloaded electrical outlets and safety items such as extinguishers and escape routes.
2. In emergencies, redundancy is our friend. You should have more than one smoke detector, fire extinguisher, and escape route from rooms or the house. Hint: If you�re a heavy sleeper, buy a �baby monitor.� Put the transmitter near the farthest smoke detector and the receiver in your bedroom.
3. Make sure everyone in the family knows how to use a fire extinguisher, and how to call 911.
4. Have regular fire drills. Let each family member have a turn being the one who discovers the fire and who has to warn others. On at least every other drill, have everyone evacuate blind-folded on their hands and knees (while exercising due safety) to mimic the realistic conditions of a fire evacuation.
5. Revisit every family emergency plan with the whole family during wildfire season and certainly if one is in your area and possibly heading your way.
Landscaping
Though tragedies usually take the lead in newscasts, stories still abound of how some homeowners managed to protect their properties from wildfire by simple and subtle changes with their landscaping and home. Take these steps now, since in a fire, time is of the essence.
1. Your main landscaping consideration is to remove any dead, dry vegetation, whether on the ground or in your trees, that could transfer fire to your house. Since this aspect of wildfire preparedness has been adequately covered by others, here are a few good outside sources:
- General wildfire landscaping tips: http://www.firewise.org/resources/files/wildfr2.pdf
- Florida wildfire landscaping pointers: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/FR/FR07600.pdf
- More on landscaping during wildfire season: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/FR/FR04700.pdf
- Fire-resistant plants: http://web1.msue.msu.edu/emergency/pubs/wildfire_resistant.pdf
2. Be ready to seal your house before evacuating. Create covers for any opening on your home such as attic vents (roof turbines can be covered with metal trash cans), crawlspace openings, etc. Gather your material (such as plywood) and cut, paint, and label (where it goes) each cover now, keeping them stored on your property for immediate use. Put a couple of hooks over each opening you might cover and drill corresponding holes in the plywood covers. The hooks will hold the cover in place while you drill in the screws. This allows one person to do the job and frees up others to perform other necessary tasks. Hint: Also make covers for your windows (including garage door windows) just as if you lived in a hurricane zone.
3. Create a �fire tool box� and include everything needed to prep your house in advance of a wildfire. Store extra garden hoses, water sprinklers, �Y� connectors for extra hoses, wrenches to turn off your gas, rolls of heavy-duty aluminum foil (to cover the openings you didn�t make covers for), machetes and gloves for last minute brush clearing, etc. Store extra tools because you won�t have time to replace tools that might have been broken or lost.
4. Make sure first responders can see your home�s address. Put your house number on your mailbox, near your front door, and painted on the curb by your driveway.
Awareness
A common theme in all our publications and presentations is the fact that in an emergency, our most crucial asset is time (see our other articles at http://www.disasterprep101.com). The two key elements of time in a wildfire are one, to have as much done in advance as possible, and two, get as early a warning as possible.
1. Don�t wait for a wildfire to approach to start your landscaping. Perform that now and keep your property as fire-retardant as you can.
2. Don�t wait for the smell of smoke to warn you a fire is on its way. If fire conditions are right, monitor news channels and listen for community warnings.
3. Learn to recognize your community warnings. Does your community have a reverse 911 system? Sirens? Will the local TV or radio station broadcast the alert? If your community doesn�t have any of these systems, why not start them in your neighborhood? At the very least, have a phone tree.
4. Buy an NOAA Weather Alert Radio since they�re being incorporated into the overall Emergency Alert System. You should also know who your local Ham Radio operators are. See http://www.arrl.org
Moisture
Water is the king of firefighting and fire suppression substances. The best protection for your property lies in your ability to keep a �dome� of moisture in one form or another all over and around your home.
1. One publication under �landscaping� above lists beneficial plants that hold their moisture well. Regardless of the types of plant life in your yard, keep them well hydrated (while following watering ordinances).
2. When setting up your sprinklers, give your yard adequate spray coverage, especially over areas that might worsen the fire such as an above-ground propane tank or wooden deck attached to your house. The best sprinkler for surface areas is the professional directional type rather than the small garden variety that only sprays a weak pattern over a small area. Your garden store rep can help.
3. Put sprinklers on your roof, being sure to anchor them in place since the high winds generated in some wildfire wind storms can blow them off the roof.
4. If you have an in-ground sprinkler system, great! It will give you even water coverage over the grounds and provide a good foundation for the comprehensive water system you�ll need. To your in-ground system add separate �fire� lines that feed water to sprinklers that either spray directly against your house, or outward from your yard to cover vegetation surrounding your property. Too, have a sprinkler line permanently installed on your roof to save you the time of manually putting sprinklers up there. Also, install an additional input valve to allow water from a secondary source like a water pump drawing from your swimming pool.
5. If you have a pool, pond, well, or creek, you have a reservoir that should be put to good use so you don�t draw off the municipal water firefighters need to prevent fire from nearing your property in the first place. It�s a simple matter to keep a gas-powered generator (which self-reliant families should have) and a water pump (such as a pressure-washer), and use the two to draw water from your pool and feed it to your sprinklers. If you have a well with an electric pump, hook your generator to the pump to keep it running should local power fail. Exercise caution when setting up your generator so it doesn�t start its own fire.
6. A final consideration with sprinklers is position. Cover the outer perimeter of your yard, spray against the outer walls and roof of your house, and cover the crowns of your trees if possible. Also, consider outward-pointing sprinklers anchored to an elevated position such as an upper floor deck or porch, or your roof.
Evacuation
We strongly recommend evacuation, even if you�ve taken all the above steps and feel they might work. It�s best that you be pre-prepped and ready to leave at a moment�s notice since time is our most valuable asset. The more ready you are in advance, the more time you have.
1. All your landscaping steps should be taken care of now and maintained, especially during fire season.
2. In wildfire-prone areas, and especially during wildfire season, keep your bugout kits and vehicle ready at all times (with fuel tanks topped off). Hint: With your documents, keep the non-emergency numbers for local authorities so you can call to find out when it�s safe to return.
3. Perform last-minute landscaping ONLY if time allows, since you�ll want extra time to perform the household shutdown steps. However, don�t do anything until you�ve loaded your car with provisions and have nothing left to load but people and pets (in their carriers and/or ready to go).
4. Inside the house do the following:
- Move all flammables (such as furniture and curtains) away from windows making sure each is closed and latched. Lower and close any metallic blinds.
- Leave your fireplace damper open, and close the fireplace protective cover.
- Close all interior doors but don�t lock them.
- Turn off your heat/AC system, and cover any window air-conditioners or floor heater vents with aluminum foil and duct tape inside and out.
- Turn off all gas coming into the house whether from underground line or above-ground tank.
- Turn on inside and outside lights so your property is visible in heavy smoke. Firefighters may need to use it as a beacon.
5.To protect the valuables you don�t have room for in your evacuation vehicle, consider these:
- For waterproof valuables, put them in a bathtub, storage tub, or trashcan you�ve filled with water. (Notice we didn�t recommend your pool, since you should be using it to feed your sprinklers.)
- Large valuables such as antique furniture, etc. should be carried into the center of the house on the lowest floor (the same place you�d go in a tornado).
- Major appliances, such as your oven, fridge, freezer, dishwasher, clothes washer, and dryer, tend not to be consumed by flame or crushed by debris and thereby offer a protected storage location for other valuables. Hint: Disposable diapers are surprisingly flame resistant, and might be useful as wraps for some items stored in an appliance.
6.Lock up the house, leave a note on the door telling authorities you�ve evacuated, check with neighbors to make sure they�re on their way to safety, hop in your vehicle, and leave. Hint: If the area is getting smoky, listen to your radio for road closure information, turn your headlights on low, and set your climate controls to �re-circulate� so as not to draw in smoke from outside the vehicle.
Naturally, this is an article that could go for a few dozen more pages since it�s such an important topic and certainly one where we could offer extensive detail. For now, this will have to do. Will the above information make you fireproof and prevent any damage to your property? No. But it�s very likely to help, especially if you take these steps now. Taking these measures also helps firefighters since any time a wildfire is delayed or a home protected, you take one more item off the shoulders of first responders. Prep now, stay safe, and remember that preparedness is not only a social responsibility; it�s your only true protection.
About The Author
How To Market To Technology Innovators, Part 1
How To Market To Technology Innovators, Part 1
by Eric Lynch
If there's one marketing model every high-tech marketing manager should know, it's the Technology Adoption Life Cycle (TALC). The TALC is the paradigm that describes their prospects� mindsets your sales staff is likely to encounter as they market your products and services. And it all begins with the technologists themselves: the Innovators.
Innovators are the first market you�re likely to encounter when marketing high technology products and services. These are the people highlighted in the far left-hand side of the curve you see above. They love to be the first ones to jump on a new technology. And for good reason: they�re technologists, themselves.
These technology enthusiasts sometimes go by other names. Things like �techie,� �computer-nerd,� or �propeller-head.� They�ll appreciate your technology product simply because it�s cool. Oh, and if it happens to have an advantage over what they�re using now, so much the better.
As Geoffrey Moore says in his landmark book, �Crossing The Chasm,��
�They [Innovators] will forgive your ghastly documentation, horrendously slow performance, ludicrous omissions in functionality, and bizzarely obtuse methods of invoking some needed function - all in the name of moving technology forward.�
You have to market to innovators before you can get the attention of the early adopters. And it�s a good thing: these guys are technology savvy enough to give the early adopters the thumbs-up.
So by all rights, this group should be a pretty easy one to market to. Yet I see high-tech companies miss the boat all the time when marketing to them.
B2B Copywriting: Getting Innovators� Attention
Innovators care about technology issues first. If they care about business issues at all (admittedly, few do) they weigh in at a very distant second. So business benefits won�t get an innovator�s attention.
What will get his attention is new technology - �new� is the operative word. They want to be the first to get a new widget that accomplishes something cool that has never been done before. They�re happy to sign your non-disclosure agreement, as long as they can be among the first to get their hands on your widget.
Innovators have the most advanced brains in the company (really, they do), and they know it. So tell them so in your copy. Paint them a word picture of themselves being part of an exclusive group of advanced engineers who truly appreciate what your breakthrough technology means to the unsuspecting world.
One other thing about innovators: they know they have to live within the confines of corporate America. But that doesn�t mean they have to like it. Though they may not admit it outright, they have a sharp disdain for the �suits� who limit their creativity by demanding something so mundane as a return on investment.
In my next article, I'll give you an example of direct response copy I've written to these Innovators that worked very well in the past. So watch for Part 2 in this series.
About The Author