business side

Google relax gambling laws for the UK
Due to recent changes in legislation laws surrounding online gambling advertising, Google had decided as of tomorrow to allow gambling PPC adverts to be shown in the UK (excluding Northern Ireland). They have been speaking direct to clients to ensure all the correct licensing information has been processed in time and there will be a frantic scrap for both clients and their respective agencies to get their accounts setup and put live in time for tomorrow, of which there is no guarantee. 

While it was of the opinion that this would happen eventually, the recent economic climate and impact on search revenue streams may have forced Google’s hand here. With broad matched search volumes estimated on “betting” to achieve 1.2 million a month (see Google search volumes below) this will be a huge benefit to both gambling clients and Google. “Casino” comes out higher at over 2 million searches and poker even higher at 3.3 million.

We may well see these search volumes increase over time as users become more aware of the changes and instead of searching through Yahoo / MSN for gambling ads could opt for Google. With possible broad matching / targeting to less gambling specific terms, such as “make money online” there will naturally be a knock on effect to search volumes for other terms as user interest increases.

Google - Charity doesn’t start at home
Google has announced an investment in 03b networks, an organisation whose goal it is to get high speed internet connectivity to developing nations at low-cost.  They aim to counter the lack of fibre optic cables and political and economic barriers to laying them by introducing a network of medium orbit satellites. These satellites will allow for wide coverage whilst orbiting low enough to negate the speed issues associated with other geo-synchonous satellites.

But what is in this for Google apart from a nice warm fuzzy feeling of helping the underprivileged?� Put simply, without the Internet, Google cannot make any money and the potential of these big emerging markets is huge.� If we take the example of the G20 developing nations, which accounts for 60% of the world population, we can quantify the exact scale of this opportunity.

By simply increasing the penetration of those coutries which fall below the world average of 21.9% to this level the user’s increase by 293,023,155!

Imagine all these people accessing the internet and landing on a Google homepage (you’ve got to think that’s part of the deal!) and using Google Chrome to browse the web.� That’s a hell of a user base for Google to go after and should be the main area of significant internet growth in the next 10 years if done correctly.

ad:tech London 2008 – The morning after
WOW, what a whirlwind 2 days it has been. I have bumped into Hercules, a whole American football team and a man dressed up in some sort of Wall-E outfit…… oh yeah, and some people doing really interesting things in the online marketing industry! ad:tech London 2008 certainly went off with a bang.

Our presence

Latitude had a very productive 2 days, and enjoyed some great conversations with both late starters in online marketing, and early starters who want to find out how they can do it better. However, this certainly signalled to me that everybody is now realising the power of online marketing, particularly during an economic downturn.

I know our COO Richard Gregory also had a big take away from the event, and that was his new found love of video streaming and sharing website Qik. He spent most of ad:tech, phone in hand, recording anything and everything. Check out his first (questionable quality!) effort with a video on our stand here. Richard did also manage to take time to snap a few pictures of our Elvis themed stand, one of which you can see below.

US presence

One of my biggest observations from ad:tech London was the strong US presence at the event this year. It wasn’t just people walking the hall; it was also an increase in the number of US companies exhibiting at the show. This to me signalled that as the online marketing industry continues to mature in both the US and the UK, companies from the US are obviously signalling their intent to hop over the pond and test the waters in the UK. It will be interesting to see how this develops, as I had mixed reactions from US participants as to their feelings on the UK market potential after the show.

Mobile

Another point I noted as a running theme at the show was the increasing conversation about mobile marketing. I think people in the industry have started to take note of this marketing channel after Kimmo Paaso recently suggested it could be worth $2.4 billion by 2011 and Google announced the release of their new mobile phone, G1. Attendees still seemed to conclude that it is currently too small a market for companies to fully leverage its potential currently. However, now is certainly the time to prepare a plan for when it really booms.

All in all the show was a success and produced some great insight into what companies are doing with online marketing. I’m just looking forward to next year, hopefully without the rain though!

Join Latitude Group at Ad:Tech London 2008
Once again Latitude will be exhibiting (on stand 304) and speaking at Ad:Tech London, the flagship event of the UK digital marketing industry. The exhibition and conference will be held at the National Hall, Olympia on the 24th and 25th September 2008. Latitude’s Chief Operations Officer, Richard Gregory, will also be speaking in two sessions at the event. The first session which Richard Gregory will be chairing is a free session with our client Haven Holidays on the 24th September at 1pm. The session is titled “the strategies behind a successful SEO strategy in the travel industry”, which will draw upon our experiences of running Haven’s SEO campaign. To be able to attend this free session and the exhibition you need to book here. Richard Gregory will also be participating in the conference element of the event, where he will be on a panel discussing “the current state of search and its potential for branding”. This session will be on the 25th September at 3.30pm as part of the paid for conference, which you can book here. If you want any information or the event, or want to book in a free benchmark review for any of your online marketing campaigns at the event, then please feel free to contact . We look forward to seeing you there!

Google - An integrated future
Most of the talk in the world of search engine marketing surrounds Google’s monopoly of the search marketplace and questions about who is going to be the first to mount a true challenge to their dominance.  This is what prompts all the talk about mergers and acquisitions; everyone knows that it would take something monumental for Yahoo or MSN to challenge Google on their own, but together they might just stand a chance.

But reading between the lines, who actually wants to be JUST a search engine?� OK there is a fair bit of money involved in it, but for how long?� Agencies and clients alike are now looking for integrated digital marketing solutions to meet their expanding need for engagement throughout the buying cycle.� The large publishers have woken up to this and are changing their focus from individual advertising channels to integrated solutions, with the latest challenge to become an advertising platform, an effective tool for reaching multiple channels through a single platform.

Google have effectively been an advertising platform for a while, they just haven’t really pushed it.� Through the Adwords platform you can manage your PPC campaign, content advertising, mobile campaign, display advertising, maps listings and track it all through Google Analytics.� However, they haven’t really pushed this because aside from search, most of their other products would certainly have been classed as second tier products.� Their display network was limited, maps received few visitors, and the less said about mobile the better.� But now they are starting to push these products anything could happen.

At the Google – Above and Beyond conference in Dublin last week the theme was “above and beyond search”, a clear indication of their intent to distinguish themselves as more than just a search engine.� With seminars on maps, mobile and display they were keen to push the message of engagement through the buying cycle (whilst still spouting Atlas’ rapidly ageing stat of a 22% uplift in conversion when utilising display as well as search).�

However, Google aren’t the only ones fighting to become the leading advertising platform.� AOL launched “Platform A” recently which integrates a whole host of channels including affiliate marketing, Microsoft have access to multiple channels and are already integrating Live search and Facebook, and Yahoo offer numerous options through their search marketing and AMP platforms.�

Below is a list of what each provider can offer but with agencies and advertisers all looking for integrated solutions for future campaigns we could well be talking about overall share of advertising spend rather than just the search market when we discuss Google in the future.� Also with online display advertising spend in H1 2008 at £333.8 million, affiliate marketing growing and mobile actually showing some signs of being a viable channel, Google’s dominance might not be as strong in the new, integrated digital market place.

The challengers and their available channels:

Should I join a networking group?

高校生の授業

しーちゃんの学校には、高校生になると、International Baccalaureate　プログラムといって、大学生レベルの授業を受けることができる。その中に、Business and Management というプログラムがあるんだけど、なんと、ゲストスピーカーになったよ。

「Fishyが、プレゼンをしてもいいよ。」と前に校長先生と話しているときには、いったことがある。

しかし、Fishyは、来週、ドバイに出張なのだ。来週、ゲストスピーカーを探してるので、代わりにお願いということになった。

おーまいがー。

「教える」という作業をしたのは、昔、近所の子供たちに英会話を教えたくらい。高校生か・・。想像つかないなぁー。

とりあえず、Human Resource （人事課）のことについて話をするので、今週は、なんだか、忙しくなりそうだわ。

おしらせ
毎日、まとまりもなく書いてきたのですが、Business のセクションをお引越ししました。ここでーす。

というのも、なんだか、Businessだけ、話が浮いている気がしたのです。

こちらは、主に、セブでの生活（食べる話含む）と子育て記が中心となります。

リーディング
あ～、なんて、いそがしいんでしょう。8月にはいって、しーちゃんの新しい学校がはじまり、なぜか忙しいのです。きっと、ルーティンができてないから、気ぜわしいのもあるのよね。

しーちゃんの新しいクラスは、K-1といって、アメリカでは、PreKにあたります。前からしっているお友達もいるし、新しいお友達もできたみたいで、うれしいようです。今日は、先生のアシスタントをしたようで、はりきってました。

今度の学校は、インターナショナルスクールで高校までの一貫教育になっています。なので、学校が組織として成り立っているので、いろんな行事もそれにあわせてあるんです。新学期は、その役員さんやメンバーをきめるのに大変そうです。私は、一年目で、子供も幼稚園なので、メンバーになるのは、勘弁してもらいました。

そんな中、お友達から、他の幼稚園のアフタヌーンスクールのリーディングクラスに入らないかとお誘いがありました。

考えたことはなかったんだけど、楽しく、お友達と、リーディングがお勉強できるなら、いいきっかけになるかなと思ったので、行かせることにしました。4歳という、読むことに興味をもつ年代でもあるしね。

先生にお会いして、授業の内容を聞いても、指人形をつかったり、ミニブックをつかったりとなかなかおもしろそうでした。

しーちゃんも、ちょっとしたサイトワードや簡単な単語は、読めるようになってきました。早く、本を読む楽しみがわかるようになればいいなと思います。

学校では、リーディング・ログというのがあって、毎日、本を読んでは、感想を絵で描くのだけど、なかなか、面白い絵を描きます。

なんと、ジュニアのクラスでもリーディング・ログがあって、ジュニアにも、ほぼ毎日、本をよんでます。

うちは、二人とも本が好きなのでたすかりました。まぁ、思い起こせば、私は、本屋オタクでもあるし、Fishyは、中学で歴史の本を読破したらしいので、その血をひいてるんでしょうな。



ジュニアのプレスクール
すっかり、ほったらかしの二番目（笑）。かわいい盛りです。

きっと、反抗期なんだろうけど、抵抗もかわいいもんです。しーちゃんの、このころを思い出すと、今でも、大変だったなぁーって思います。

ジュニアもプレスクールに通いだいして、はや、2ヶ月。この間、先生が、「初めてジュニアの声を聴きました。しゃべるんですね。ジュニア君・・」え？？家じゃー、たいそう、おしゃべりですけど？英語のセンテンスでしゃべってますよ。しかも、注文多いし。これしてー、あれしてーって。

一番、私がうれしかったのは、ジュニアの食材の幅が増えたってこと。なんと、いままで、パンさえ食べられなかった彼。今は、もりもり、パン食べられるようになりました。うちの子、二人とも、粗食なんです。これは、完全に、私似だな。

やっと、スクールにもなれ、クラスメートの名前なんかも出てきて、楽しくなってきたようです。

笑ったのが、スクールのディレクターが、私が母親だと思いも寄らなかったようで、かなり驚いてました。

しーちゃんときも、似てないので、かなり驚かれたけど、ジュニアは、さらに倍。私もオリエンテーションで、「似てない親子で、有名なジュニアのマミーです。」と自己紹介したらうけた。

ジュニアの新しい学校は、ディスカバリーキャンプといって、プレイベースで、先生たちもとてもいい感じの方が多いです。交通渋滞の関係で、しーちゃんとは、違う学校になったけど、結構、気に入っているので、当分、ここにいさせてもいいかなと考えています。

このプレからは、しーちゃんの行っているインターナショナルスクールに行く人が多いので、なんとなく、カリキュラムも似ています。

ジュニアはしゃべらなくても、運動量が多いので、相変わらず先生は、ジュニアに手を焼いているようですが・・・。

しーちゃんのときは、あれこれいろいろ心配して、お勉強のある学校選びをしたけど、二人目は、もう少し、のんびり育てたいなと考えています。

ジュニア君、ただいま、パズルづいてて、4枚パズルができるようになりました。もうちょっと安定したら、12枚パズルもおしえてあげようね。もっぱらの興味は、乗り物。ショベルカーが大好き。電車の線路も組み立てて遊びます。あと、パトカーね。不思議なのは、みたことないのに、なんですきなんだろ？やっぱり、男の子は違うなぁーと日々思います。

短期帰国
ジュニアの日本語を上達させるため、無理やりの帰国です。しーちゃんの学校にも、お手紙を書いて、さあ、出発。

しーちゃんは、とても楽しみにしています。

ジュニアは、飛行機に大興奮です。トラックも走っているし、空港はジュニアの好きなものばかり。

ボトルのミルクもなくなり、荷物がぐっとかるくなりました。結構あるくようになったので、抱っこひももいらないし、しーちゃんが、とても面倒をみてくれます。

今回の帰国は、楽になりました。

Adding or Deleting Songs from a Playlist
So you’ve got that perfect playlist, but one of the songs got old a bit faster than you thought. In Grooveshark Lite, you can Overwrite any playlist you’ve made, making it easy to add or delete songs from a playlist you’ve already made and save those changes. Here’s how: 1. Drag the playlist you want to [...]

So you’ve got that perfect playlist, but one of the songs got old a bit faster than you thought. In Grooveshark Lite, you can Overwrite any playlist you’ve made, making it easy to add or delete songs from a playlist you’ve already made and save those changes.

Here’s how:

1. Drag the playlist you want to edit into your queue.

2. Find the songs you want to add. (Note: if you just want to delete a song, simply drag that song out of the queue.)

3. Click the disk icon to save your playlist (it’s in the bottom right-hand corner). Then click “Overwrite Existing”.

4. Choose a playlist to overwrite from the list, and click “Replace Playlist”.

5. You’re done! If you go to Home–>My Music–>Playlists–>My Playlists, you can see the updated playlist right there waiting for you. Cool!

居候さん
うちに、いそうろうさんが、シドニーから来た。Fishyのビジネスパートナーなんだけど、試験的にセブから仕事をしてみたいそうな。

Fishyは、人をうちに呼ぶのが好き。日本にいたときも、ポーランド人と一緒にすんでいたとさ。

こちらに、ベースをおくために、お店を紹介したり、ジムにつれていったりと、私は大忙しだったのよね。

Fishyは、人を呼んでおいて、自分は、マニラにラグビーにいっちまったもんだから、また、やられました。めんどくさいことは、全部私にかかってくるんだよね。

いい人で、常識もあるから子供の面倒も見てくれるので、同居には、問題ない（し、慣れてきた・・）のよね。

しーちゃんも、ジュニアもなついてて、子供の環境としては、いいんんだけどね。

てなわけで、居候さん＋私がモールを繰り歩いていても、驚かないでください。

もうすでにセブ
あっというまに日本での時間が終わり、セブに帰ってきました。日本ではあいかわらず、たこ焼きパーティがあったり、おいしい日本食を食べたり、ショッピングにいったりと毎日息をつく暇もないくらい忙しかったな。

半年前とちょっと違ったのは、しーちゃんが、お友達と、楽しく遊べるようになったこと。ジュニアも必要に迫られて日本語の単語がでるようになったこと。

わらったのが、「じぃじとお風呂いやー、えーん」と、泣きながら、自分で服を脱いで、お風呂にはいっていくではないか。

一日、お客さんと会って、その間は、子供たちは、ばぁばと子供未来館にいってました。

いつも帰ったら、美容院にいくのだけど、20年ほど通ってる美容院なので、そこのおねえさんと、「最近の自分」について、話をするのが、なんだか楽しいのです。

それと、妹が両親の二軒となりに引っ越してきたので、毎日あえたので、それもうれしかったわ。

帰りの飛行機は、二人ともずーっと眠っていてくれて、私は、まるで、一人で旅をしているようだったわ。

短い帰国だったけど、盛りだくさんだったわ。

Impacta cresce

How to get started in order to earn money on the Internet

urea for sale

Mastermesh Industries, Mastermesh, Steel Mesh, Metal Mesh, FlorMesh, Mastermesh Metal

New Year’s Resolutions 2008 Check in
Well, it is at about the 1/2 year point in 2008 (ok a little late) and I thought I would check in and blog about my new year’s resolutions that I posted about back in January. I know everyone makes resolutions (well most of us do) and then forget about them when we can’t hold [...]

Never Eat Alone - Start Connecting!
I am reviewing the book, Never Eat Alone, written by Keith Ferrazzi in this post. I find the book sums up the importance and also teaches several very important techniques on connecting with people. In addition, I find most techniques are relevant to Internet Entrepreneurs Keith Ferrazzi is the founder and CEO of Ferrrazzi [...]

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I am reviewing the book, Never Eat Alone, written by Keith Ferrazzi in this post. I find the book sums up the importance and also teaches several very important techniques on connecting with people. In addition, I find most techniques are relevant to Internet Entrepreneurs

Keith Ferrazzi is the founder and CEO of Ferrrazzi Greenlight, a marketing and sales consulting company. Both Forbes and Inc. magazines have designated Keith Ferrazzi as one of the world’s most “connected” individuals. He distinguishes relationship-building from the crude, desperate glad-handing usually associated with networking.

To me, building relationships is everything especially if you are going into Internet Entrepreneurship. It is definitely much easier and efficient to achieve business success knowing people that holds the authority or popularity in your industry. Keith has highlighted more than 10 skills on how to connect with people effectively in this book.

Of all the skills illustrated in the book, I find that the chapters on Follow up or Fail, Connecting with Connectors and The Art of Small Talk are the most valuable takeaway for me.

Keith suggested to make follow-up a habit so as it seems automatic. The follow-up can be as simple as a hand written thank-you note expressing your gratitude.

Small Talk is another essential skill for anyone, regardless of your occupation. Keith touches a few points in the book such as being sincere, developing the conversational currency, graceful exit and learning to listen.

The following groups of professionals are known as connectors that you must get to know from Keith’s perspective:

• Restaurateurs
• Headhunters
• Lobbyists
• Fundraisers
• Public Relations People
• Politicians
• Journalists

The last section of the book is equally valuable as Keith mentions several basics that one needs to acquire. One of the most important topic is Be Interesting. You really need to talk and do things that interest people. Keith also listed a few ways on how to became an interesting person in the book.

A highly recommended book for everyone

KC Business Venture and Impact on KC Hut
You may have already heard from me or my surrounding friends / business associates that I am starting a Consulting business soon. I have to say that the curiosity in me to venture online and to help people to figure out generating revenue online has grown into passion over the years. I have been terribly busy [...]

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You may have already heard from me or my surrounding friends / business associates that I am starting a Consulting business soon. I have to say that the curiosity in me to venture online and to help people to figure out generating revenue online has grown into passion over the years.

I have been terribly busy for the last few months trying to get most of the things up and doing necessary research, meeting potential clients and learning from many other Entrepreneurs. I am targeting to launch my business in 01 Nov 2008. More details will be released by the last week of this month.

Now, what will happen to KC Hut?

Impact to KC Hut
The objective of KC Hut will still remain as I would like you to continue to benefit from the information in this blog. However, I will be talking more about creating, developing, marketing and monetizing your website in general as well as the experience being a Consultant in future.

I am currently planning and reorganizing this blog to suit my new theme and is targeting to push out the new look either next or the following week

In short, KC Hut will get much better (in terms of coverage) and more active since my time will be much more flexible after Oct 2008.

More on my Consulting Business

For you who want to know more about my Consulting Business, I will be writing a full post in time to come. Just to touch on the surface, what I am doing will help people to grow their online streams of income by creating their own online property (websites, blogs, forums etc). What we do it differently is that we attach a personal consultant to each client and guide them along during the consultancy engagement period.

Watch out my next few posts for more details

Add me to your FaceBook

Lastly, I encourage you to add me to your FaceBook so that you can receive news about me and start building your online social profile. You will soon realize how important it is for every Internet Business to get involved in FaceBook I will fill you in with more details next month! Talk to you soon

National Marketing Email Unsubscribe Day September 1st on Labor Day
Get your life back (and time) from your inbox. Unsubscribe from email newsletters and marketing messages on Labor Day September 1st. I am proposing that everyone take (an hour or so of) time on Labor Day to clean out your overloaded email boxes and unsubscribe to the emails you always delete or file to read and never come back [...]

Email management for overloaded email boxes circa 2008
I have noticed I spend a lot of time sifting through email these days. I have several accounts for different purposes and they fill up quickly with both subscriptions I have started and a lot of spam I never requested. I know that spam is just the price we pay right now for an app [...]

KC Hut New Theme - Many Thanks To Kailoon!
First, I have to thank Kailoon for releasing such a clean and neat wordpress theme (SuperFresh) for free The reason for the change is to align with what I am going to blog from November onwards. With more coverage of Internet Business topics, you can certainly find more information in this blog ranging from [...]

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First, I have to thank Kailoon for releasing such a clean and neat wordpress theme (SuperFresh) for free

The reason for the change is to align with what I am going to blog from November onwards. With more coverage of Internet Business topics, you can certainly find more information in this blog ranging from how to monetize your website to coding of site.

I am still looking for a mascot to represent this blog and I estimate to release the design by end of next week Also, if you are interested in learning affiliate marketing from someone who has earned 2.4 million last year, check out the three videos below:

1. Part 1
2. Part 2
3. Part 3 (Final)

In addition, if you like this theme, you can download it here

Increase Your Site’s Earnings By Optimization
No matter what niche you are in, Search Engine Traffic will most probably be part of the ingredients of your revenue model. This is particularly true if you are using Google Adsense (or any other PPC programs) as your main online income source as discussed in The Secrets of Adsense. I am highlighting how Google [...]

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No matter what niche you are in, Search Engine Traffic will most probably be part of the ingredients of your revenue model. This is particularly true if you are using Google Adsense (or any other PPC programs) as your main online income source as discussed in The Secrets of Adsense. I am highlighting how Google ranks our site in this post  so that you can work accordingly to increase your rankings, and eventually, your earnings.

First, I have to inform you that there is no one element that determines the ranking of a site according to a search term. Google recently says that they are using over 200 signals to determine their SERP (Search Engine Results Position):

Given the user’s query, over 200 signals (including the analysis of the site’s content and inbound links as mentioned above) are applied to return the most relevant results to the user.

The following is a video put up by Google Webmasters team to illustrate what are other important factors that we should take note when trying to optimize our site for SERP:

The only person that I would recommend for you to learn SEO from is Aaron Wall (besides the Google Engineers who are working on the ranking algo..). Aaron is giving a live presentation on the 21 Oct 2008, 12:00 PM Pacific Time (US & Canada). Check out his post of you are interested to register (for free). Highly recommended!

All in all, never try to deceive the search engines. Follow the Google Webmasters Guidelines and you can’t be wrong

BBC TopGear Australia Season 1 Show 1 Review of Series
I was a bit skeptical about the BBC’s ability to reproduce the TopGear show phenomenon in other countries with other presenters. Well I was wrong, sort of. I watched the first episode of the Australian TopGear show on Friday and um, it’s exactly the same. Frighteningly the same. Like they lifted the set exactly as it [...]

TIME Magazine Article - The Social Contract in America
I was reading my parent’s TIME Magazine this week (that I usually swipe to read on the train) and they had polled Americans on the state of the economy and their take on how they plan to personally ”get by” in the coming years. You can read the survey results and the article about this concept [...]

How To Buy A Website In Forum Without Being Scammed
One of the best ways to create a profitable online property is to buy an existing site that is already generating revenue. There are more and more Entrepreneurs looking to purchase established websites nowadays rather than creating one from scratch. Forums is one of the popular places for website acquisition. However, there are things to [...]

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One of the best ways to create a profitable online property is to buy an existing site that is already generating revenue. There are more and more Entrepreneurs looking to purchase established websites nowadays rather than creating one from scratch. Forums is one of the popular places for website acquisition. However, there are things to look out for before sending your funds over to the seller. I will be linking to some of the valuable resources in this post to help you filter out possible bad trades.

SitePoint Buyers Guide

SitePoint has always been a high quality forum with serious buyers and sellers for websites. One of the SitePoint members, catweasel, has created an extremely useful guide for websites buyers’ reference. His guide contains several useful tips on how to research a site’s background. You can download or read more about the guide over at this SitePoint posting.

Where to ask questions?

Chances are you will have lots of questions when you are buying or selling a website for the first time. Of all the Webmaster forums, I would recommend you to ask your questions over at the SitePoint - How to Buy and sell a Web Site sub-forum. You will find useful answers there as well

How to get people to buy your site?

You will gain the knowledge of how to protect yourself as a buyer after going through the above two resources. In the perspective of sellers, you will want to make sure to capture as many interested buyers as possible. The following are some of the critical points to note before putting up a listing:

1. Creating magnetic headlines
2. Utilize your forum signature and boost your sales
3. Read my Forum Entrepreneurs Book

You welcome to ask questions about website trading in forums in this post

Google Lively, nur ein 3D-Chat?
Dieser Artikel wurde urspr�nglich von Andrea Iltgen hier publiziert. Google erweitert sein Dienstleistungs-Portfolio um eine virtuelle Welt - Lively heisst sie. Seit gestern ist sie online - zwar noch in der Testphase - aber schon f�r jederman zug�nglich. In der Presse wurde sehr schnell eine parallele zu Second Life gezogen, doch wer so etwas erwartet, wird entt�uscht. [...]

Dieser Artikel wurde urspr�nglich von Andrea Iltgen hier publiziert.

Google erweitert sein Dienstleistungs-Portfolio um eine virtuelle Welt - Lively heisst sie. Seit gestern ist sie online - zwar noch in der Testphase - aber schon f�r jederman zug�nglich.

In der Presse wurde sehr schnell eine parallele zu Second Life gezogen, doch wer so etwas erwartet, wird entt�uscht. Dazu fehlt Lively das was Second Life ausmacht: Die M�glichkeit, selber Dinge zu erstellen. Bei Lively begrenzen sich die Gestaltungsm�glichkeiten auf die Auswahl einzelner Komponenten (Haare, Augenbrauen etc. f�r den Avatar und M�bel f�r die R�ume) aus einem mehr oder weniger umfangreichen Katalog. Selber machen ist nicht. Und damit ist dann auch relativ schnell klar, dass sich Lively nicht als Marketing Plattform eignet - zumal Goolge auch anderweitige Werbem�glichkeiten vorerst ausgeschlossen hat.

Lively ist also kein Third Live, sondern eigentlich einfach ein dreidimensionaler Chat Raum - die Texte erscheinen statt in einem Textfenster in der Sprechblase der Avatare und die Avatare k�nnen sich frei durch die R�ume bewegen, und - das ist eine kleinere Innovation - Youtube Videos k�nnen eingebunden werden. Das spannendste Feature ist aber meines Erachtens die M�glichkeit, im Sinne des “Cut and Paste Web”, Lively auf der eigenen Website einbinden zu k�nnen. Dies k�nnte sogar f�r Firmen spannend sein, um dar�ber mit den Kunden in direkten dreidimensionalen Kontakt zu treten.

Einen Besuch ist Googles 3D Chat aber auf jeden Fall wert. Wir sind gespannt, was sich draus entwickelt.

Copyblogger
If you are interested in writing for the web, and doing it well, please check out Copyblogger.com. Brian Clark does an incredible job presenting solid copywriting tactics for anyone to apply.

If you are interested in writing for the web, and doing it well, please check out Copyblogger.com. Brian Clark does an incredible job presenting solid copywriting tactics for anyone to apply.

Timing the MBA Admissions and Job Markets
As many of our readers know, Clear Admit serves as a ‘featured expert’ in the Beat The GMAT discussion forums.  In this role, we respond to queries from applicants, doing our best to guide them in the admissions process.  A recent post in these forums covered the hot topic of timing the MBA admissions process [...]

As many of our readers know, Clear Admit serves as a ‘featured expert’ in the Beat The GMAT discussion forums.  In this role, we respond to queries from applicants, doing our best to guide them in the admissions process.  A recent post in these forums covered the hot topic of timing the MBA admissions process as it relates to the job market.  We wanted to share the initial post and our response, since we feel this is an important topic for applicants to consider:

Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 12:28 am   
Post subject: General Question to Consultants on [Pursuing] MBA During Recession   

There is a debate in international MBA community on whether it is a good plan to go for MBA now when the economy in the US is going towards recession. Jobs are scant, even the Top B-school students are finding it hard to find good internships. Given the involved costs in the MBA education, does it make for International students (India,China, Europe etc) to go for MBA inUS B-schools?

Can the admission consultants give their views on which option is better:

1. MBA 2009-11
2. MBA 2010-12
3. MBA 2011-13

Thanks

——————————————————————————–

Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 7:32 am   
Post subject:    

Thanks for your post!

I must say that I don’t think your question is as much about business school as it is about timing the markets - and I can guarantee you that if anyone in this discussion forum could accurately predict which year would be ideal to graduate from b-school, they’d likely be very wealthy!

Keep in mind that someone applying to a top MBA program in America now will not be graduating until the spring of 2011. That’s more than 2.5 years from now. While the current turmoil in the markets is certainly cause for grave concern, I think that most reasonable people would agree that the outlook could easily be more positive in 2.5 years time.

While I cannot predict the future, my assumption is that someone who applies to business school this year and is fortunate enough to gain acceptance to a top school would likely be making a good career decision to attend.

As to your comments, I am puzzled by your claim that “even top b-school students are finding it hard to find good internships” - since current students are not yet recruiting for internships and last year’s students did fine in this regard. While I certainly expect the coming year’s students to feel the effect of the slowdown, I’m not aware of any data that has been released for this group as of yet.

Overall, my advice is that you go to business school when the time is right for your career - and not in an effort to ‘time the market.’ Keep in mind that those students who are graduating this coming year likely felt that they were entering b-school at the ideal moment - since things looked very good back in 2006 when they applied. In addition, one would hope that your interest in the MBA also relates to a desire to learn key business concepts for the long-term - something that is presumably timeless.

Best of luck,

Graham
_________________
Graham Richmond
Clear Admit, LLC
Admissions Blog: http://blog.clearadmit.com
School Guides: www.clearadmit.com/guides

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Those damnd mice don’t like me
Had a very interesting incident on Monday morning - Gem woke me up saying “Lee, the media box won’t turn on” so I got up to have a look and sure enough I push the power button and nothing happens and I thought just great what has gone wrong. So after checking the power etc. [...]

Had a very interesting incident on Monday morning - Gem woke me up saying “Lee, the media box won’t turn on” so I got up to have a look and sure enough I push the power button and nothing happens and I thought just great what has gone wrong. So after checking the power etc. was all in the back I took it out of the cabinent and opened the case to find one thing I wasn’t expecting at all…

There was mouse poop everywhere! And worse of all there was some on the motherboard along with some obvious friend components on the motherboard. My first thought was “how the hell did it get in there?” and the only place even slightly feasible is a spare pci card slot on the back of the case (for those not in the “know” the gap would be around 2cm wide by 10cm high). That said it seems like the mouse has been in there a few times as around the power supply in the more open area there was heaps of poop - far more then enough for one visit.

So Ive now replaced the motherboard (somehow don’t think warranty covers mouse damage) which was only 6 months or so old and hopefully all back to smooth sailing again. I also setup a trap on the night to catch the mice (yes I feel bad about it but when they start costing money its not good), infact 3 traps - two cool new silver plastic ones (goes with the decor ) and some fancy mortein one that catches them inside. I also closed the gap on the back of the case with a proper cover for the spare slot.
Just as I was going to bed I heard one go off which caught a decent size mouse (photo for this post may not be accurate photograph of actual mouse) and then reset it to find another in the morning - so looks like I might just be getting on top of the problem!

Night time is the bomb
Ever since I was young night was always my favourite time and not always just because it was dark but because I always became more alert once the sun sets. Once the clock then starts ticking past 10pm I begin to really awaken and this is the main reason I end up going to bed [...]

Ever since I was young night was always my favourite time and not always just because it was dark but because I always became more alert once the sun sets. Once the clock then starts ticking past 10pm I begin to really awaken and this is the main reason I end up going to bed quite late sometimes.

I am now seeing this same trait of mine carrying over into the workplace, when our developer isn’t there I have a tendency to turn off all lights except my side light and am able to get a heap of work completed and enjoy it even more. Infact doing this has stopped a few of my friends dropping by work thinking I wasn’t even there

There is are two big downsides to this trait however - one is it is impossible to wake up some mornings and the second is it becomes quite difficult for Gem. Whilst Gem isn’t exactly a morning person either, she does have difficulties trying to keep up with my habits of being somewhat nocturnal. She does admit she goes to bed later as a result of me but theres still those nights that she does goto sleep far earlier then me.

So the other downside is waking up and is starting to really affect me more now with the cold weather we are having. Theres a perfect alarm clock that I want to buy but it hasn’t been put into production yet. Simply put you have to repeat the colours that it flashes on its display before the alarm will stop, but there is another one that is for sale but I can’t find in Australia. It has a four piece jigsaw at the top that is spring loaded underneath and when the alarm goes the pieces go everywhere so you have to find them and place them in it to stop the alarm. I just need to find somewhere here that sells them now!

I think my body’s natural liking towards night time also stirs my interest in night photography. For some reason its the only time I really like doing photography in and am trying more and more to excel in this field. I have taken a few nice night photos in the past but I hope to be able to start using some more external light sources (eg. torches) to really bring some interesting aspects of these photos.

ST’s Support Statement for Rainwater Harvesting Ordinance
Honorable Mayor, Councilmembers, and City Manager, Members of Sustainable Tucson are here this evening on the dual occasion of the Council’s first rainwater harvesting ordinance and Sustainable Tucson’s anniversary celebration — beginning our third year of activities in the community. Sustainable Tucson began in 2006 when people attending evening potlucks and community conversations realized that we needed [...]

Honorable Mayor, Councilmembers, and City Manager,

Members of Sustainable Tucson are here this evening on the dual occasion of the Council’s first rainwater harvesting ordinance and Sustainable Tucson’s anniversary celebration — beginning our third year of activities in the community.

Sustainable Tucson began in 2006 when people attending evening potlucks and community conversations realized that we needed to respond as a community to the coming inter-connected challenges caused by climate change, peaking energy and resources, and financial collapse.

Sustainable Tucson is happy to give full support to the Council’s decision to adopt this watershed legislation. The Rainwater Harvesting Ordinance will start the practice here of using rainwater as a vital resource for our landscapes, gardens, and other needs.

As expertise develops and information about its implementation comes in, we support the expansion of this ordinance over time until we treat each drop of rain in our region with practical, economically-sound applications, including the needs of our local ecosystem. This is an important step you are taking as our elected leaders toward better managing the only truly renewable water resource we have in Tucson.

While we are here today to talk about the importance of rainwater, it now appears that getting our financial systems and economy progressing forward is going to be our main challenge for the foreseeable future.

In all past speculative bubbles and collapses, another sector or industry emerged to drive economic growth forward, eventually followed by another speculative run up. The current housing bubble and collapse replaced the Information Technology/Dot Com collapse in 2000. Now we’re experiencing the subsequent financial free-fall.

So what happens next — after the current housing and financial crises?

The only emerging sector with the potential to drive prosperity in the future appears to be green technology and sustainable practices. Large-scale investment in a renewable energy-based sustainable economy may be the key to averting the three main threats of climate change; energy, food and water shortages; and long-term economic uncertainty and contraction.

Sustainable Tucson continues to support the Mayor’s call to the community to build a sustainable economy as expressed in his 2008 State of the City speech. Sustainable Tucson is committed to supporting the community’s efforts toward sustainability and resiliency by promoting open, inclusive dialogue about the interrelated challenges we face; helping build alliances among diverse groups; and providing useful sources of information via our website, listserv, monthly newsletter, and general meetings.

Sustainable Tucson’s strength is connecting diverse critical issues and promoting in all our work, a greater sense of urgency and the need to face a full range of scenarios, including those that may seem harsh. At the same time, we are reassured by the new range of opportunities that are possible for the community to move forward on.

Come to SustainableTucson.org — and be part of the change.

Thank you for this opportunity to address you.

More information on the ordinance:
Recent Arizona Daily Star article
Council Agenda page (will have agenda and background information by October 9, click on “M&C Regular Agenda”)

SAPs Co-Ceo Léo Apotheker bezieht Stellung zum umstrittenen Enterprise Support
In der Frage, ob der verbindliche Enterprise Support einen Mehrwert bietet, der die erhöhten Konditionen rechtfertigt, verhärten sich die Fronten zwischen der SAP und der deutschsprachigen Anwendergruppe DSAG e.V.. Auf der SAP TechEd in Berlin sagte der derzeitige Co-CEO und...

In der Frage, ob der verbindliche Enterprise Support einen Mehrwert bietet, der die erhöhten Konditionen rechtfertigt, verhärten sich die Fronten zwischen der SAP und der deutschsprachigen Anwendergruppe DSAG e.V.. Auf der SAP TechEd in Berlin sagte der derzeitige Co-CEO und künftige Alleinherrscher bei dem Softwarekonzern, Léo Apotheker, wie wichtig  ihm in dieser Frag der Dialog  mit den eigenen Kunden ist und wie wichtig der Dialog mit der DSAG. Wer es hören will, muss nur auf herunterladen klicken ES-Leo_A.WAV herunterladen

Europe’s credit crunch follows in Asia’s footsteps
Economists and politicians around the world are likening the European credit crunch to the Asian economic crisis of 1997. The failure of European financial ministers to come to a common solution over the crisis last weekend, has prompted economic historians to find many similarities between the disunity in present day European economies and the Asian [...]

Economists and politicians around the world are likening the European credit crunch to the Asian economic crisis of 1997. The failure of European financial ministers to come to a common solution over the crisis last weekend, has prompted economic historians to find many similarities between the disunity in present day European economies and the Asian economies of 1997. Will we ever learn from mistakes made in the past?

The Financial Times reported - Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel prize- winning economist, once compared the south-east Asian economies to Spain’s “invincible” Armada: a proud array of ships that, when hit by storms, sank because there was no co-ordination among them. Jean-Claude Trichet, European Central Bank president, warned that European disunity was threatening a similar disaster when he lamented: “We are not a political federation . . . we do not have a federal budget.” We now enter a phase that Asia went through, indeed a defining feature of major financial crises: a collapsing deck of cards brings down businesses that had looked robust only moments before. The threat today extends to European banks, savers and, above all, the euro.

(more…)

Corporate income tax (%)
Numbers: (33,30)

Numbers: (33,30)

Contribute to the Joint City County Water Study
The City of Tucson and Pima County invite your early input into the recently launched Joint City/County Water and Wastewater Planning Study. They invite you to share your input on how to make the study process open, inclusive and transparent by submitting your suggestions to us in writing or by attending the upcoming meetings. Also [...]

The City of Tucson and Pima County invite your early input into the recently launched Joint City/County Water and Wastewater Planning Study. They invite you to share your input on how to make the study process open, inclusive and transparent by submitting your suggestions to us in writing or by attending the upcoming meetings. Also let them know your views on water.

ST Core Team member Bob Cook is an alternate member of the Oversight Committee. Contact him for any questions, comments, or suggestions: Bob’s email — unispan@dakotacom.net

S T members have been actively participating at all previous meetings. This is an important community conversation which could shape how sustainability is incorporated into future community plans and investments.

For all materials related to this committee and public hearing process, go the the Study’s website: http://www.tucsonpimawaterstudy.com/

To communicate with the City and County contact:

Nicole Ewing-Gavin,

and

Melaney Seacat,

Growth and investment in Laos and Cambodia
Alberto Vettoretti, the managing partner of Dezan Shira and Associates’ China practice, was recently part of a Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce on a fact finding mission to Laos and Cambodia. 2point6billion.com recently caught up with Mr. Vettoretti to discover the changes that are taking place in this oft-overlooked corner of Southeast Asia. 2point6billion: [...]

Alberto Vettoretti, the managing partner of Dezan Shira and Associates’ China practice, was recently part of a Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce on a fact finding mission to Laos and Cambodia. 2point6billion.com recently caught up with Mr. Vettoretti to discover the changes that are taking place in this oft-overlooked corner of Southeast Asia.

2point6billion: Which are the high growth sectors in Laos and Cambodia and what is the local government doing to attract FDI in to the country?

Vettoretti: Landlocked Laos certainly faces an impediment when it comes to attracting foreign investment. However being at the confluence of ASEAN countries, the local government plans to strengthen its role as an important transportation hub in the region. As a result, the Laotian government provides incentives for investments in mining, infrastructure and power sectors including roads, railways, hydro power and mining. Some of the incentives the government provides foreign investors are longer tax holidays and duty free import of equipment.

The Cambodian government is for the post part politically stable. Open to investment Cambodia allows 100 percent ownership in all sectors ranging from banking to telecommunications. As the Cambodian government is trying to diversify from a garments economy, they are attracting foreign investment through competitive investment incentives and low labor costs. The local government has also approved 18 special economic zones to spur foreign investment in the country.

(more…)

Hungry for something new this Valentine’s day?
Saint Valentine's Day or Valentine's Day falls on February 14. It is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other; sending greeting cards, candy, flowers or Donations to Charities, often anonymously.

Valentine's Day is quite an event! Heart shaped cookies, petit fours, and cakes and pies with "I Love You" written in icing are filling the aisles at the local grocery stores.

Photo chocolates from Photomax will satisfy even your special someone's most insatiable craving for you. Made from pure milk chocolate, these tasty treats are truly the gift that says you won't settle for the ordinary.

Made from pure, milk chocolate, these tasty treats make the perfect party favor or gift. Each card comes individually wrapped and sealed with a ribbon.

 

VitaMeal™ Nourishing - A work-from-home distributor opportunity
Pharmanex, the nutritional supplement division of Nu Skin Enterprises, teamed our own PhD scientists with Dr. Ken Brown of the University of California, Davis—an expert in child malnutrition - to create an ideal food for malnourished children, VitaMeal

Highlights of VitaMeal are:

• Contains a balance of carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber

• Provides essential fatty acids required for normal brain development,skin health, and immune defense

• Provides electrolytes which are needed to maintain normal fluid balance and muscle function

• Includes 25 essential vitamins and minerals

• Provides vitamin A, which is essential for normal sight and immune functions

• Provides bone nutrients for normal growth and skeletal development

• Ingredients can easily be added for every taste and culture (vegetarian, non-dairy, etc.)

• Each bag contains 30 child meals of nutritious, delicious food.

The Nourish the Children initiative is a full PV program and distributors earn a commission per unit. We believe that the power of our compensation plan and our help in focusing our distributor efforts ill drive the effectiveness of this effort to feed starving and malnourished children.

How much commission does a distributor earn for each meal donated?
Nu Skin Enterprises will contribute one package of food (enough to feed a child for a month) for every 25 packages of food purchased. This is a charitable sales promotion.

Distributors will earn commission for purchasing and selling products. The average percentage of commission is 42 percent.

 

 

 

 

 

Online photosaving and sharing product - Photomax

Today, everybody wants to (click and) save precious moments spent with their near and dear ones and share them online and the arrival of digital cameras have a helped a great deal in making this possible. You can shoot to your heart’s content and …….yes and? Here is where the question arises, what will you do for the prints, storage of the large number of those lovely moments and how do you share it with your family and friends?

 

That is where our friend Max comes to help us with his new Photomax, a very easy to use convenient way of organizing, sharing and ordering photo prints online.

 

Why photomax???

Photomax is unique, one of the friendliest photo websites online. It helps you preserve, organize, share and enjoy those captured moments.

Now you do not have to run around to drop and pick your photos, all that can be done in a very systematic way from the comfort of your home. You can even convert your rare old negatives into digital format and keep them safe forever.

Photomax is very fast, it can be used for uploading, sharing or processing an order. It also offers multimedia slide shows with lovely music, animated themes and special effects for the background. Photomax provides the best in clarity, color and images.

And above all photomax gives complete assurance that your photos will be safe. .

 

What does photomax offer?

Photomax comes with certain features like:-

• Max cast (helps preserve, organize and share videos)
• Video saver (save up your videos for eternity)
• Photo saver (let those captured moments live forever)
• Photo book (helps you organize an easy-to-use photo album)
• Digital developer (convert traditional photos to digital ones)
• Movie magic DVD (share those moments with your loved ones)
• Prints and posters (get your photos printed with up-to-date best quality)

 

Besides, photomax also offers hordes of fun gifts and exciting prizes.

 

How do I join the world of Photomax?

 

It is very easy; you just have to do a free sign up. After signing up you will get a specific number of free prints and few minutes of free video viewing. You can also get newsletters which will keep you updated on information about Photomax.And if you refer your friend and he/she joins the Photomax family, you can expect to be surprised with some lovely gifts and offers.

So what are you waiting for? Join the world of Photomax today!

 

 

 

 

 

Internet based business opportunity

Kyle Design’s Tape Measure in Vogue Knitting Magazine
We were quite excited when Vogue Knitting magazine contacted us wanting to use one of our custom tape measures in a feature article about fun measuring tapes. “Yes!” Look for our Knitting Tape Measure on page 9 in the Autumn 2008 edition that features green mittens on the cover. Now, we make our tape measure in [...]

MASTERキートン
『20世紀少年』の浦沢直樹が新連載　独自のアメコミヒーロー描く 　『YAWARA!』『20世紀少年』で知られる漫画家・浦沢直樹が、10月16日（木）発売の『週刊モーニング』（講談社）より新作『BILLY BAT』を連載することが9日（木）発売の同誌で発表された。『ビッグコミック...


『20世紀少年』の浦沢直樹が新連載　独自のアメコミヒーロー描く
　『YAWARA!』『20世紀少年』で知られる漫画家・浦沢直樹が、10月16日（木）発売の『週刊モーニング』（講談社）より新作『BILLY BAT』を連載することが9日（木）発売の同誌で発表された。『ビッグコミックオリジナル』『ビッグコミックスピリッツ』など小学館の漫画雑誌に連載を続けてきた浦沢が、今回初めて、講談社の『週刊モーニング』に連載を持つことになる。(オリコン)
続きはこちら
※Yahoo！ニュースより


楽しみですね。
最近の浦沢作品は最後がわかりずらいのが難点ですが
登場人物やエピソードが交差していく様式はページを次へ、次へと
させる衝動に駆られます。


Yahoo！クイックサーチを見たら





MASTERキートンが1位。
個人的にはMONSTERなんだけど。


MASTERキートンってあんまり深く読み込んだことないし、
持ってないから、ミーハー的にこの結果を受けて
全巻読破comで全巻購入。新品は絶版なんだよね、確か。


連休中にでもジムのエアロバイクこぎながら読むかな。


以上、どうでもいい話。



◆天気が良いのでサボタージュしたくなる日のひとこと

・西小山には旨い焼き鳥屋とホルモン屋がある。
・久しぶりにメール原稿を書いた。くたびれる
・与えられた情報の中で生きている事実　PRの仕組みを理解
・究極のマーケは営業をなくすこと　　なるほど。
・バズPRってなんかイマイチしっくりこない。
・あぁ　金曜日
・そして　連休　！





California Coastal Clean Up Day - Inspirational Message: It Feels Great!
Saturday was California’s Coastal Cleanup Day 2008. Although I missed the actual day, reading about it on Sunday in the newspaper inspired my family to go to Lake Del Valle in Livermore, CA, and clean up the beaches there. They were in sore need of help. We came prepared with plastic bags and gloves. My husband, [...]

Conciant Concierge.... Virtual Assistance ? What's That?
[CDATA[ Corporate and personal concierge services by Conciant.]]

Bush on Small Business
This was Small Business week in America and leading entrepreneurs and small business owners gathered in the East Room of The White House to hear president Bush speak and to see successful small business owners being honored for their outstanding achievements. The President said something really smart (seriously) and on target in his speech before welcoming [...]

Concierge Services Flash : New Rock on the Block
[CDATA[ Corporate and personal concierge services by Conciant.]]

Networking Is Not Only For Getting Business
I was working with a client last week who is new to business networking.  She had just gone to her first networking event and as we discussed her experience, she started to tell me about the people she had met at the networking meeting and what they do for a living. As she described the others’ [...]

Travel Concierge Choice for March: Destination: Thetford Norfolk , East Anglia , UK
[CDATA[ Corporate and personal concierge services by Conciant.]]

Looking for Some Free Publicity?
Let’s face it, we can all benefit from free publicity, but one of the biggest challenges facing entrepreneurs and self-employed professionals looking for publicity is where to find it. Well, now thanks to Peter Shankman, opportunity is no longer just around the corner. Now it can come right into your e-mail’s inbox. Shankman has [...]

How To Stop Spinning Your Wheels and Start Filling Your Client Roster
Please do not read if you already have more clients than you can possibly handle. Back by popular demand! How To Stop Spinning Your Wheels and Start Filling Your Client Roster Teleclass If you’re a small business owner, solo professional, entrepreneur or commissioned sales rep and you’re sick and tired of spinning you wheels and getting nowhere when [...]

Election 2008: Voting for Expats
I’m sitting in my den watching the Democratic National Convention and it occurs to me that there may be many readers who, like myself, are Americans living outside the United States.  If you fall into that category, have you registered to vote yet?  Do you know how and where to do it? It’s easy, but time [...]

Corporate Concierge Services.
[CDATA[ Corporate and personal concierge services by Conciant.]]

Are You On LinkedIn?
I’ve finally done it. I’ve joined LinkedIn. While I do know a lot about online social networking, my area of expertise has always been offline business networking. I coach small business owners, entrepreneurs and solo professionals to build thriving businesses. One of the ways I do that is by teaching them networking skills and then [...]

Very Profitable Landscaping Company - Priced $500,000 - Sales +$1.2M
This company has established an excellent reputation in the market for high quality work. The business is growing dramatically and opportunities for additional growth are tremendous since the business is only serving a part of GTA [...]

Small Promotional Products Manufacturing Business - Priced $150,000 - Sales $174,000 - Profits $89,000
Screen Printing, Engraving, Pad Printing, Sand Blasting and Embroidery, large format Digital Printing [...]

Layoffs
http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_10622875 " Qwest-union talks continue The Denver Post Article Last Updated: 10/02/2008 11:49:11 PM MDT Talks between Qwest and the union representing more than 20,000 workers — described as "sensitive" by one official — entered its second day Thursday with little word of progress. The company's contract with the Communications Workers of America expired Tuesday, and union members rejected a new deal the same day. Though members authorized a strike, none is imminent, CWA spokesman Al Kog ler said. Meanwhile, Qwest confirmed layoffs in its network and mass-market groups but would not say how many. " Just need to know how many. I have the feeling this round of layoffs may effect customer service.

Long Established Day Care Franchised Operation in Whitby-Oshawa Ontario
Franchised business, 26 years established, very profitable, steady growth [...]

Networking: Powerful Introductions Lead to Increased Business
Nicole, a reader from South Carolina recently wrote in with this question: “Hi Leni, “I have to go to a networking event soon where I will have to stand and introduce myself.  I only have 30 seconds to do it.  Can you give me some tips?” The most important thing I can tell you is to realize [...]

Busy Restaurant for Sale in Toronto - Priced $179,500 - Sales $420,000
Excellent location with a lot of traffic in an upscale neighborhood. Client are mostly wealthy seniors [...]

Actiontec M1000 modem and router
Hello, I thought I'd share my experience with the M1000 modem. I have a Linksys router running the custom DD-WRT firmware. I had a number of problems trying to find a good combination of settings on the Actiontec modem and the DD-WRT firmware, since the Actiontec modem is also a router. I could not find a combination of settings to keep the Actiontec in its default mode with routing functions turned on. There are some reports of it working if you just turn your router into a wireless access point (http://www.windowvistarepair.com/VistaBlog/using-vista-features/qwest-action-tec-m1000-not-working-with-router-29/), but I wanted to keep all the functions of my router intact. So, I did the following, roughly based on this thread: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19605835-Actiontec-M1000-with-Dlink-router 1. With your computer connected directly to your computer, get your PPPoE username and password. My modem self-install kit didn't come with this info, but if you have the standard residential service with Microsoft, just go to this page and you can see it: https://kai03.qwest.com/QuickConnect/ManualInstall/WtnSonForm.aspx 2. Log into M1000 configuration page with a computer still directly connected to the modem (192.168.0.1), and choose "Advanced Setup". I could not get this to work behind my router. 3. Choose "RFC 1483 Transparent Bridging" to make the M1000 modem just a modem. This disables stuff like DHCP and routing. Save the config. I think this reboots the modem. 4. Go into your router firmware (default 192.168.1.1 if you have a Linksys router) and change the WAN connection type to PPPoE. In DD-WRT firmware, this is in the Setup/Basic Setup tab, and is selected with the first pull down menu. Enter your PPPoE username and password. 5. Connect the modem to the WAN port of your router, and Apply/Save the PPPoE changes and reboot your router. This worked for me. I got a normal looking WAN IP address (97.118.xx.xxx) according to my router, and everything seems to work great. The only key difference is that the Actiontec modem has a light for "Internet" that will no longer light up. I also can no longer reliably access the modem's configuration page, but that doesn't bother me. I hope this helps other people with the same problem.

Promotional Cookie Gifts for corporate and private clients. Very profitable business for sale in Toronto, GTA
The company is a very high growth factoring business. With it's unique technology and strong competitive advantage. [...]

Clothing Retailer Specialised in The Senior Market
The business attend shows in more than 140 retirement homes, senior villas etc. and sells specialised clothing for Seniors [...]

Tel Aviv to Tbilisi
Israelis wave both Georgian and Israeli flags as they chant anti-Russian slogans during a demonstration outside the Russian embassy in Tel Aviv, 11 August. (Gali Tibbon/AFP/Getty Images) Ali Abunimah ofThe Electronic Intifada on Israel’s role in the Russia-Georgia war From the moment Georgia launched a surprise attack on the tiny breakaway region of South Ossetia last week, [...]

Georgia War a Neocon Election Ploy?
October comes early? Sen. John McCain and Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. Let me also point out that this fellow Michael Klare is a third rate hack who has been peddling the oleaginous counterpart to the millenium bug for some years. It is contra-analytical, factually challenged, monocausal analysis like this that has reduced the left to its [...]

Cold War returns via Georgia
For some time the US has been priming Georgia for a provocative confrontation with Russia. Israeli and US military ‘advisers’ have been training and equipping the Georgian military. The US has been trying to bring it into NATO. Its military expenditures have shot through the roof. It is also the route for the long-in-planning Baku-Ceyhan [...]

the Bill Gates Jerry Seinfeld Commercial 2
The second part of the Microsoft new Commercial Campaign had Jerry and Bill Gates go to live with a family, in which they try to understand how an ordinary family lives, playing pingpong, and later on being accused of stealing a giraffe. It ends up with bill gates doing a robot Dance…. That continues Microsoft’s campaign [...]

The second part of the Microsoft new Commercial Campaign had Jerry and Bill Gates go to live with a family, in which they try to understand how an ordinary family lives, playing pingpong, and later on being accused of stealing a giraffe.

It ends up with bill gates doing a robot Dance….

That continues Microsoft’s campaign to be warmer, and to ‘perpetually connect’ with its users.

My Russian Name
Here is something interesting ( at least to me…) This was my name written in Russian…. I assume that reads Wilson Ng…. �

Here is something interesting ( at least to me…)

This was my name written in Russian…. I assume that reads Wilson Ng….

�

More on Alfred Beardsley

OK, this is inexcusable on my part, but I missed a vital piece of information in the O.J. Simpson robbery saga. Way back on Sept. 21, uber community columnist Will Rogers wrote an unbelievable story about Alfred Beardsley, one of O.J.'s alleged victims in the Las Vegas robbery. Rogers and Beardsley had a run-in, or a series of uncomfortable encounters culminating in a wild car chase through the streets of Burbank. To find the story, click here and then click on the Sept. 21 column "Council Candidate a Victim in Alleged OJ Rip-Off?" There's also a similar story at The Smoking Gun. Anyway, here is a passage from the Will Rogers piece:

At one point I was racing at high speed in reverse up Hollywood Way, and at another (Beardsley) was driving for blocks at a time in the oncoming lanes of Hollywood Way after I’d avoided him with a “k-turn” just like those I’d seen performed for years on “The Rockford Files.”

Throughout the event I was on the line with a Burbank police dispatcher. The episode came to a close when we were finally descended upon by a phalanx of Burbank police motorcycle officers, patrol cars, unmarked detective vehicles and even the police helicopter.

Will Rogers' account makes the bit of backstory I turned up look pale in comparison, but you can click here to find out about Beardsley's slugging match with the KKK and his involvement with the late Irv Rubin.

Writing Habits of some Well Known Authors
How do you become a writer, and when /how often/how do your write? Learn from the Greats: 7 Writing Habits of Amazing Writers | Write to Done Finding the ideal working habits that will allow me to write as consistently as possible is always something I’m exploring as a writer. As I’ve said before, I try to make [...]

How do you become a writer, and when /how often/how do your write?

Learn from the Greats: 7 Writing Habits of Amazing Writers | Write to Done

Finding the ideal working habits that will allow me to write as consistently as possible is always something I’m exploring as a writer.

As I’ve said before, I try to make it a habit to write first thing in the morning. It helps me to focus and ensure that I’m getting my writing done.

Cray Offers Windows Based Supercomputer
At $25,000 it is Microsoft’s most expensive, and Cray’s cheapest. Microsoft and Cray to unveil $25,000 Windows-based supercomputer | ZDNet.com Microsoft and Cray are set to unveil on September 16 the Cray CX1, a compact supercomputer running Windows HPC Server 2008. The pair is expected to tout the new offering as “the most affordable supercomputer Cray has ever [...]

At $25,000 it is Microsoft’s most expensive, and Cray’s cheapest.

Microsoft and Cray to unveil $25,000 Windows-based supercomputer | ZDNet.com

Microsoft and Cray are set to unveil on September 16 the Cray CX1, a compact supercomputer running Windows HPC Server 2008.

The pair is expected to tout the new offering as “the most affordable supercomputer Cray has ever offered,” with pricing starting at $25,000.

Free Music
I havefound out that there are a lot of free music in the internet. If you go to myspace, you practicqally can do a search for your favorite artists, and more likely than not, come up with a few songs. Someofthe qualitythough is not good, while some are improperly labelled and documented. If you are [...]

I havefound out that there are a lot of free music in the internet. If you go to myspace, you practicqally can do a search for your favorite artists, and more likely than not, come up with a few songs.
Someofthe qualitythough is not good, while some are improperly labelled and documented.

If you are a facebook user, you can go to music player, and can listen to many songs– for free too, though you cannot download it.

However, the quality also leaves much to be desired, but then again, if you just want to listen to some songs to see if its good enough to buy, at least, you can. Some of the songs also play only a segment, not the whole song.

Red Hat's Jim Whitehurst: The Challenges of Competing with Free
Shared by wilson Yes, how do you compete with Free? But it is a fact of life…. If you cannot sell it, because you are competing with established players, the most logical way to gain ground is to give it out first, especially if this does not cost much to reproduce. While we sell software ( because clients [...]

Shared by wilson

Yes, how do you compete with Free?

But it is a fact of life….

If you cannot sell it, because you are competing with established players, the most logical way to gain ground is to give it out first, especially if this does not cost much to reproduce.

While we sell software ( because clients are willing to pay for it), I am for now, my first year as an author and therefore is still not known…. so I am giving free ebooks away.

Free is a business strategy, not necessarily for philanthropic or altruistic purposes only, but also as a means to compete.

Red Hat’s CEO discusses the companys expansion to new platforms and markets, and the challenges around building solid business models for products that can be obtained for free.
- Red Hat, which bills itself as the worlds leading
open-source solutions provider, has managed to make free software pay by
gathering, extending and packaging Linux and complementary open-source
components into certified and supported products that are ready for enterprise
consumption.
As the fo…

Go to Source

Links to adjust for DST on your computer – if needed
“Links to adjust for DST on your computer – if needed” is available on the new site, Workplace-Excellence.com

Take two of these and videoconference me in the morning
“Take two of these and videoconference me in the morning” is available on the new site, Workplace-Excellence.com

Organizing Contacts & Clients
Here’s my low-tech tip for how to organize all those business cards you (should!) have been getting at all the networking events you have been going to (you HAVE been networking, right????!?). I have an address book in my computer, I have a Palm, I have considered whether or not to enter “ALL” business [...]

Here’s my low-tech tip for how to organize all those business cards you (should!) have been getting at all the networking events you have been going to (you HAVE been networking, right????!?). I have an address book in my computer, I have a Palm, I have considered whether or not to enter “ALL” business cards I collect into an electronic medium, but so far I’ve found an easier (for me) way to keep business cards at my fingertips.

It involves several 1.5 & 2 inch 3-ring binders, and Avery (or similar) business card sheets — these sheets hold 10-up — putting cards back-to-back to display on 2 sides makes it 20 cards per page… There also are tabbed business card sheets so you can use some of the sheets as dividers. I also get 100% post-consumer recycled college-ruled 3-ring binder paper, which I keep in clipboards on my desk, normal section dividers, and a set of A-Z section dividers I had laying around for years.

Here’s how I set them up:

One binder (about 1.5 inch right now) is the “Business Cards” binder and that has a section for the Orange County Chamber, Sullivan County Chamber, Orange Networking Alliance, each BNI chapter I visited, Toastmasters, etc. When I meet someone at an event by a specific group, their card goes into that group’s section. Later, when I’m trying to connect people together, all I have to do is remember which group I met someone at to find their card. Within sections, I’m not terribly picky about the order I put them in: most of those groups don’t have enough people/cards in them to get too anal about how to organize the section.

I keep a 2″ binder for warm/hot prospects, a 2″ ring binder for current clients, and a 1.5″ binder for clients “in support.”

Prospect book: I set up the book with a few business card sheets, a plain piece of filler paper for an index, then the A-Z dividers. When a prospect calls, I grab a clipboard and start taking notes on the filler paper (or on 1-sided scrap, more on that later). Then it’s time to file their information. If I have their business card, I slip it into the business card sheet in the front of the book. I write their name & business name, perhaps how they were referred to me, on the index in pencil, underline the letter in their name or business name that I’m filing them under, and file them in the binder in that section. Now when I need to touch base with that prospect, I can easily take the binder off the shelf, start dialing or emailing them just from their card, then turn to the divider section and have my hand-written notes at my fingertips.

If that person becomes a client, their information gets moved to my client book, and their name gets erased from the index in the prospect book. Their business card goes in the front of the client book, and I now use a complete divider section for the client. I still use an index in pencil for the front of the book, but these sections are numbered. I file notes on phone calls, timesheets, contracts, and other documentation in their section. Once the client’s job is finished, they migrate to the In Support book.

All the books are labeled and sit in the hutch of my desk.

This works best for people who aren’t trying to cold-call every business they’ve ever contacted — and people who can remember where they met someone but not their name or business name, although some electronic systems allow you to track when and where you met someone. However, if you are going to cold-call everyone, I’d recommend adding small post-its to your collection. Why add people to an electronic database if they’re not interested, and probably will never be interested, in your product? Keep a notepad nearby, a small post-it pad, make the initial call off the business card, and if they’re not interested now, put the post-it on the card with the date you called and that they weren’t interested. … or a date they said to call back. You might only manage 10 business cards per sheet, but you could take some notes on paper, fold them up and stick them behind the card in question. Now you can try them again later, but don’t have to spend much time on someone who is not making you money.

Another person I know writes the event & date on the cards when she brings them home. She’s going to start using my binder system, rather than have the cards in piles, but I like the idea of putting a date on them. I’m not going to, but I like it

Even if I had a business card scanner, I would want to hold on to the business cards themselves. I find they give me important clues to who the person is — the style of card often helps me remember who the person behind the card was. If I only had the information, I might not remember the person. Also it’s easier to pass along a business card if you have it than if you scanned it. I have been known to bring the whole business card binder with me to speed networking events.

Now, there are some cards you should not have in this system. These are your preferred vendors, other members of your own referral group, cards from terrific places to bring a client for lunch or dinner, and the people you feel most comfortable referring to others. If you’re in a larger organization you might include your colleagues in this category. For these types of cards, I have a small portable business card book, because I’m most likely to need these cards on-hand at any event. I can leave the big binder at the office and bring along my smaller binder.

When buying your supplies, shop local! Please find the nearest mom & pop stationery store and open a business account with them. I use Charles B. Merrill Office Products in Newburgh, NY — they deliver the next day.

Another thing I do is keep a stack of half-used paper, usually Chamber flyers that were printed only on one side, folded in half. These make great notepaper that I grab when I get a phone call and start taking notes on. Until I know someone is going into a binder, why use the virgin paper? They still fit in the book with 2 holes from a 3-hole-punch. It’s a great way to re-use before recycling. With a stick of re-stickable glue, I can quickly make any note into a post-it.

Phew. Good luck!!

The Chinese culture is alive and well — unless you like the money
“The Chinese culture is alive and well — unless you like the money” is available on the new site, Workplace-Excellence.com

Please Separate ‘Motivation’ and ‘Manipulation’
“Please Separate ‘Motivation’ and ‘Manipulation’” is available on the new site, Workplace-Excellence.com

What a concept: Examine facts, make better decisions!
“What a concept: Examine facts, make better decisions!” is available on the new site, Workplace-Excellence.com

Entering the 4th Dimension — uh year.
Can you believe I founded this LLC in 2004? On August 24th (or was it 25th?) it will be the anniversary of Eclectic Tech, LLC. Officially 3 years old, I’ll be entering my 4th year of business. Oogie. I can see ghosts of business past already. My next several weeks are going [...]

Can you believe I founded this LLC in 2004? On August 24th (or was it 25th?) it will be the anniversary of Eclectic Tech, LLC. Officially 3 years old, I’ll be entering my 4th year of business. Oogie. I can see ghosts of business past already.

My next several weeks are going to be hectic. Post-mortem of yesterday’s conference, all the business meetings normally held 3rd week of the month, all the meetings and business I put off so I could handle last-minute tasks and stress before the conference…and getting my kids back from Mother before packing them off to school again.

And I’ve said this before, but there’s always time for you. I love helping people out.

Today I sent someone to ICANN to see if they could recover their domain name — why would I take someone’s money to scramble to replace their website at a new domain name when they might recover that name legitimately?

I have a few appointments to help my client Linda Borghi of Abundant Life Farm to network in the region and gain clientele. I’m training two clients. The normal networking events like the Orange Networking Alliance. And I’m trying to remember where I left off when I put my business on pause for a moment.

The conference, on the other hand, went well. I’m so glad I didn’t have to handle every detail. I thought, the night before the conference, “Oh, no, I need evaluation forms for my workshops!” and had to give that up — no time. When I was there the next day, there were evaluation forms. I have to thank Susan (QED, LLC website coming in the future…) for handling details without needing me [I have a serious “If you want something done right…” complex!]. And Joe, her husband — I would think we either took turns keeping Susan sane or took turns doing things that needed to “just be done”. I like that synergy. People with focus getting things done. I could go quietly insane for a week and no one noticed Linda Borghi unknowingly helped keep me sane. It was better to focus on someone else’s needs than the billion things I should have been doing, but would only have stressed about and never accomplished anyway. I had honest moments of peace in the tsunami of anxiety.

I apologize if I missed a phone call, missed returning a call, missed a hint that someone wanted me to do something, or somehow made a commitment that I didn’t keep. What a month! I could list the accomplishments, such as the 92-page Business Edge website, but then you’d think I was bragging.

And I thank all the people who helped out at the conference. Thank you!!! I had a WONDERFUL time and didn’t have to run around taking care of “stuff” all day. Joe & Susan & Frank Lowell and I think the other woman was Andrea at the registration desk….you made my day terrific by taking care of all the minutia.

Make Your Strategy Meetings Shorter—but More Productive
“Make Your Strategy Meetings Shorter—but More Productive” is available on the new site, Workplace-Excellence.com

A Bun in the Oven: Trying something on for size
I have a client. Not a loud client all over my portfolio, a pretty quiet client. A good client. A repeat client. I worked with Kevin Burke of Lucid Marketing last year doing piecemeal projects while their systems administrator was out. He’s started a new company named Light Iris, with a focus [...]

I have a client. Not a loud client all over my portfolio, a pretty quiet client. A good client. A repeat client. I worked with Kevin Burke of Lucid Marketing last year doing piecemeal projects while their systems administrator was out.

He’s started a new company named Light Iris, with a focus of marketing to new mothers.

He had a notion one day that he should get a better perspective on being a new mother, and has been wearing a 35-pound pregnancy suit on his off-hours. Not to parade around town, but to get an idea of what it’s like to have all that extra weight on.

He’s doing this experiential experiment for a month. You can read about it at http://blog.lightiris.com/

Why are US Execs balking on global warming?
“Why are US Execs balking on global warming?” is available on the new site, Workplace-Excellence.com

Intranet Software Application Developement Services MA, Software Consulting Company RI

Leveraging your team, systems, technology and marketing

A successful business is a combination of using the right technology, marketing and above all a good team. So how do you manage to pull of all these things and make a successful business?

 

A business coach will help you find out how to make the best use of technology, marketing strategies and your team so that you can run a profitable business. If you have been running your business the traditional way, that is, you have not made use of any technology so far to expedite you work process, then it is time to bring in a business coach who will help you identify the right technology and systems that can innovate your work process, which will enable you to reach out to new markets and a wider audience.

 

Very often we do not consider using a particular technology because we don’t know how well it is going to work for us. A business coach will sit down with you and discuss the issue of adding a new technology and will also help lay down a plan for its implementation. The plan will then be followed up till it brings out the expected results.

 

Adopting the right marketing strategy makes all the difference in business. With guidance from your business coach you can learn the right marketing techniques to follow so that you capture your audience’s attention on your product or service. This could be a better ad or marketing campaign or a new form of promoting your self such as through the internet or using incentives to draw people’s attention towards your business. It could even be a makeover. You coach will see you through any such plans and decisions.

 

Stating that ‘the right team of people working for you can change the way your business goes’ is an understatement! You need to know what kind of people you need to have to run your business, particularly when you introduce new technologies or use improved marketing strategies. This is because either of these decisions will require you to employ people with specific skills sets. Your business coach will help you to identify the kind of mindset and skill sets you require to run your business successfully. 

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Follow me on Twitter and Tumblr
I’ve been blogging less over the past few months, but I’ve found myself gravitating to Twitter and Tumblr for quicker, more informal updates and finds. This blog’s in need of an update, and it looks like I may eventually move it over to Tumblr entirely. For the moment, though, I’ll keep up with all three. If you’re [...]

I’ve been blogging less over the past few months, but I’ve found myself gravitating to Twitter and Tumblr for quicker, more informal updates and finds.

This blog’s in need of an update, and it looks like I may eventually move it over to Tumblr entirely.

For the moment, though, I’ll keep up with all three. If you’re interested in what I’m up to, I hope you’ll follow me on Twitter and Tumblr!

Link: Amit on Twitter (Why Twitter is worth using)
Link: Amit on Tumblr

Asian markets up after Buffett backs Goldman Sachs (AP)
[...]

By JEREMIAH MARQUEZ, AP Business Writer Wed Sep 24, 6:34 AM ET

HONG KONG - Most Asian stock markets edged higher Wednesday as Warren Buffett’s plan to invest at least $5 billion in Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs helped allay fears about the world’s troubled financial sector.

In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 index climbed 0.2 percent to close at 12,115.03 after languishing for much of the day in negative territory.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed 0.5 percent to 18,961.99 points. Stock measures in mainland China, Australia and South Korea were higher, while Taiwan lost ground and Singapore finished flat.

A number of financial issues gained on news that Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. was investing in the Goldman Sachs Group Inc., a show of confidence in a company that has weathered Wall Street’s financial turmoil better than most.

Wednesday’s advance, though, was limited by investor anxiety over the outcome of U.S. Congressional debate of the government’s $700 billion rescue plan for the financial sector.

“It helped investors for overall sentiment for now,” Castor Pang, an analyst at Sun Hung Kai Financial in Hong Kong, said of Buffett’s move. “But long term there are still concerns about the banking sector. Many are still cautious about the U.S. rescue plan.”

Elsewhere, Russia’s dollar-demoniated benchmark RTS added 4.2 percent to 1,325.95.

Japanese banks were higher, with Nomura Holdings Inc., the country’s biggest brokerage, jumping 5.2 percent after announcing it would buy bankrupt firm Lehman Brothers’ operations in Europe and the Middle East.

Top Japanese bank Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. advanced 4.2 percent. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., Japan’s third-largest bank, added 1.18 percent amid media reports that it’s considering investing in Goldman Sachs.

Leading Australian investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd surged almost 11 percent. China Life, the country’s largest insurer, was up 3.1 percent.

China’s shares have gained, led by oil giant Sinopec and phone company China Unicom, led by oil giant Sinopec and phone company China Unicom following government steps to support the market.

Chinese banks, however, bucked the regional trend and declined despite buying by a state fund.

In Hong Kong, hundreds of customers descended on branches of Bank of East Asia to demand their deposits back after the bank was hit by unconfirmed rumors questioning its stability.

The mid-sized lender insisted that “malicious” rumors spread by cell phone text messages in recent days had no basis in fact. Deputy Chief Executive Joseph Pang told reporters that the bank “is not suffering from financial difficulties” and that it had enough cash to handle the needs of depositors.

Bank of East Asia’s stock tumbled almost 7 percent to HK$25.15.

Oil companies were higher as crude prices firmed with CNOOC, Sinopec and PetroChina all gaining in Hong Kong trade.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery was up $1.91 to $108.52 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange midafternoon in Singapore. The contract fell overnight by $2.76.

In currencies, the dollar rose to 106.17 yen Wednesday afternoon in Asia from 105.65 yen late Tuesday. The euro was trading at $1.4663 from $1.4689.

___

AP Writer Tomoko A. Hosaka in Tokyo contributed to this report.

Stocks end down, but futures fly on Buffett’s move (Reuters)
[...]

By Steven C. Johnson Tue Sep 23, 7:48 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Tuesday on fear that congressional wrangling could delay a proposed $700 billion plan to rescue the financial sector, increasing worries about the struggling U.S. economy.

But index futures surged in extended trading after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway surprised investors with a $5 billion investment in Goldman Sachs Group (GS.N).

Goldman Sachs shares shot up 8.4 percent after the news, while futures pointed to a sharply higher open on Wednesday. Shares of other banks also jumped. Morgan Stanley was up 9.5 percent in electronic trade.

"It's clearly a positive when Warren Buffett sees value in a company," said Richard Sichel, chief investment officer of Philadelphia Trust Co.

"Buffett is so highly regarded as an intelligent value investor, if he's putting a lot of money into a company that's been beaten down, it sends a message to the market that maybe not every financial company should be ignored at this point."

In the regular session, General Electric (GE.N) was the biggest drag on the S&P 500, falling more than 4 percent, after Goldman Sachs cut the company's profit outlook. GE also weighed on the Dow.

Downgrades also hurt the shares of Bank of America (BAC.N), off 2.5 percent, while energy company shares weakened with the price of oil.

The main focus, though, was on the government's rescue plan, which involves mopping up bad mortgage debt from bank balance sheets in an effort to get them lending again.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday urged Congress to approve the plan quickly, warning that a delay would put the economy at risk. But lawmakers pushed back, saying it still lacked detail.

"Everybody's waiting for this plan to be detailed, and the longer it's delayed, the more people speculate that maybe it won't happen. The one thing the market hates is uncertainty," said Edward Craig, head of cash equities trading at Jefferies Group in New York.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) fell 161.52 points, or 1.47 percent, to end at 10,854.17. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) slid 18.87 points, or 1.56 percent, to 1,188.22. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) dropped 25.64 points, or 1.18 percent, to 2,153.34.

Bernanke told the Senate Banking Committee that "action by Congress is urgently required to stabilize the situation and avert what could otherwise be very serious consequences for our financial markets and our economy."

Earlier, technology shares led the market higher on hopes that the government's rescue plan would loosen up lending and boost spending.

But doubts about the bailout plan took center stage by late afternoon. Some traders said that even a swift passage of the bill would not lead to the end of the credit crisis or necessarily bolster the slumping U.S. housing market.

"The big question is, 'Will the banks lend if they get their balance sheets cleaned up?'" said Joe Saluzzi, co-manager of trading at Themis Trading in Chatham, New Jersey. "We need that money to start flowing again, but if the unemployment rate is going up, banks might be a little hesitant. So in the short run, the path of least resistance for stocks is down."

A drop in global commodity prices hurt shares of natural resources companies, including aluminum producer Alcoa (AA.N),

down 4.5 percent at $25.59, and Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), off 1.5 percent at $77.69.

Bank of America shares shed 2.5 percent, or 85 cents, to $33.30. The stock fell after Oppenheimer & Co. bank analyst Meredith Whitney cut her profit outlook on the No. 2 U.S. bank and forecast more dividend cuts for banks in general, saying the government's bailout plan had little hope of improving core fundamentals over the near and medium term.

General Electric fell 4.6 percent to $24.95 after an analyst at Goldman Sachs cut the profit outlook on the diversified manufacturer.

After leading an earlier rally, technology shares turned negative, with iPod maker Apple Inc (AAPL.O) shedding 3.2 percent to $126.84. Economic bellwether Microsoft (MSFT.O) ended up just 0.2 percent, or 4 cents, at $25.44.

Technology shares are considered among the better placed to gain if the government's bailout plan is passed, analysts said.

"If they can free up lending as a result of this package, I think that will spur business. If you want to capitalize on a recovery in the fourth quarter, you're going to go into growth stocks and that's in tech," said Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co in San Francisco.

About 1.15 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, below last year's estimated daily average of roughly 1.90 billion, while on Nasdaq, about 2.03 billion shares traded, also below last year's daily average of 2.17 billion.

Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by about 2.6 to 1. On the Nasdaq, decliners beat advancers by a ratio of about 2 to 1.

(Additional reporting by Chris Sanders, Ciara Linnane and Ellis Mnyandu; Editing by Jan Paschal)

Stocks end mostly lower amid debate over bailout (AP)
[...]

By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer Wed Sep 24, 6:21 PM ET

NEW YORK - Tension grew in the financial markets Wednesday, sending most stocks moderately lower as investors worried about the effectiveness of a still-emerging government plan to rescue banks from crippling debt. The credit markets also showed added strain, with demand rising for short-term Treasury bills, considered the safest of investments.

Wall Street was calmer than during the first two days of this week, with stocks meandering in and out of positive territory while investors tried to determine what shape the $700 billion plan might take. But the atmosphere was uneasy enough to erode the market’s initial enthusiasm over investor Warren Buffett’s decision to invest $5 billion in Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Investors focused on broader concerns that the dealmaking in Washington could produce less potent medicine than proponents say is necessary to aid moribund credit markets. Fear about bad debt on the books of financial companies has led to tightness in credit markets. That, in turn, has made it harder and more expensive for businesses and consumers to borrow.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told the House Financial Services Committee that he agreed to limit the pay of Wall Street executives whose companies might benefit from the proposed measure.

Paulson appeared with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke before Congress for a second day to brief lawmakers. Their appearance on Capitol Hill Tuesday unnerved investors, who began questioning whether lawmakers were doubting the necessity and form of the government bailout.

The waiting was clearly wearing on the credit markets, raising concerns again about liquidity in the banking system.

Demand for short-term government Treasuries increased as investors again sought safe places to keep cash. The yield on the 3-month Treasury bill, considered the safest short-term financial asset, was at 0.49 percent late Wednesday, down from 0.79 percent late Tuesday. Last week, demand spiked so high that the yield briefly dipped into negative territory; investors were so focused on putting their money in safe assets that they have been willing to accept small and at times even negative returns.

In other Treasury trading, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.81 percent from 3.80 percent late Tuesday.

“I think you’re seeing a lot of tough talk from politicians who don’t want to seem like they’re rolling over for Wall Street and, normally, people would see that for what it is. But right now investors are exceptionally nervous,” said Stephen Massocca, co-chief executive of Pacific Growth Equities in San Francisco.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 29.00, or 0.27 percent, to 10,825.17. The decline leaves the Dow down more than 560 points, or about 5 percent, for the week.

Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index slipped 2.35, or 0.20 percent, to 1,185.87, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 2.35, or 0.11 percent, to 2,155.68.

The dollar, whose struggles earlier this week contributed to extreme volatility in other markets, was mixed. Meanwhile, gold prices rose.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery fell 88 cents to settle at $105.73 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

“I think the quiet in the market is essentially the collective breath being held by investors and unfortunately they can’t hold their breath forever,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer of Harris Private Bank in Chicago. “We need Congress to do something.”

Shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. rose $4.95, or 4 percent, to $130 Wednesday after Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said late Tuesday it was investing at least $5 billion in Goldman — a move Wall Street took as a sign of support for the independent investment bank model. Besides buying $5 billion in preferred stock, Berkshire also got warrants to buy another $5 billion in Goldman’s common stock.

Goldman also said it will sell $5 billion worth of common stock to the public; the company and Morgan Stanley earlier this week were granted approval to become bank holding companies, which would help them strengthen their balance sheets.

Beyond Goldman, investors put money into defensive areas like health care and utilities. Merck & Co. rose 72 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $31.47, while CenterPoint Energy Inc. rose 29 cents, or 2 percent, to $14.53.

Investors appeared unfazed by a larger-than-expected drop in sales of existing homes in August as their focus remained on the bailout. The National Association of Realtors said sales fell by 2.2 percent; sales had been expected to fall by 1.6 percent, according to economists surveyed by Thomson/IFR. The number of unsold homes on the market dropped by 7 percent from a record set in July, marking the steepest drop in inventory since December 2006.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to a relatively light 4.66 billion shares, compared with 5.11 billion traded Tuesday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 11.42, or 1.61 percent, to 697.77.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.20 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.79 percent, Germany’s DAX index fell 0.26 percent, and France’s CAC-40 fell 0.61 percent.

___

On the Net:

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

Green Desk is a Sweet new Coworking Space in Brooklyn
Green Desk looks like an amazing new shared office/coworking space in Brooklyn. (DUMBO) In addition to being carbon-neutral (solar panels, carbon credits, renewable energy), they’ve got some really unique features: fitness center with shower, shared bicycles, rooftop access and views of Manhattan, shared MP3 archive, etc. Best of all, it’s an awesome location (just one stop into [...]

Green Desk looks like an amazing new shared office/coworking space in Brooklyn. (DUMBO)

In addition to being carbon-neutral (solar panels, carbon credits, renewable energy), they’ve got some really unique features: fitness center with shower, shared bicycles, rooftop access and views of Manhattan, shared MP3 archive, etc.

Best of all, it’s an awesome location (just one stop into Brooklyn on the A/C and F) and prices start at only $300/month!

If I were in NYC, I’d love to work here.

Link: Green Desk: Sustainable Shared Office Space
via Zach

UPDATE:

Thanks for the support and the blog post. We’re actually opening our first floor in the building on June 1 and we’re getting close to being sold out pre-opening. The response has been really amazing.

Miguel
Co-Founder
Green Desk

Opens in two weeks and they’re almost full!

Palin fails to answer another question
This is astonishing to me. Why didn’t she just throw out a few names instead of this absurd, evasive answer? Why not say, “Oh yah Katie, I used to read, you know, World, Christianity Today, and Apocalyptic Times.” The VP debate sure will be interesting…

This is astonishing to me. Why didn’t she just throw out a few names instead of this absurd, evasive answer? Why not say, “Oh yah Katie, I used to read, you know, World, Christianity Today, and Apocalyptic Times.”

The VP debate sure will be interesting…

Dullness (Johnson)
He is not only dull himself, he is the cause of dullness in others. —Samuel Johnson

He is not only dull himself, he is the cause of dullness in others.

—Samuel Johnson

Overheard
Two lovers sit on a bench eating ice cream. Girl: “Did you just call me Kathy?” Guy: “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to.”

Two lovers sit on a bench eating ice cream.

Girl: “Did you just call me Kathy?”
Guy: “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to.”

Bankruptcy, not bailout, is the right answer (Miron)
The fact that government bears such a huge responsibility for the current mess means any response should eliminate the conditions that created this situation in the first place, not attempt to fix bad government with more government. The obvious alternative to a bailout is letting troubled financial institutions declare bankruptcy. Bankruptcy means that shareholders typically get [...]

The fact that government bears such a huge responsibility for the current mess means any response should eliminate the conditions that created this situation in the first place, not attempt to fix bad government with more government.

The obvious alternative to a bailout is letting troubled financial institutions declare bankruptcy. Bankruptcy means that shareholders typically get wiped out and the creditors own the company.

Bankruptcy does not mean the company disappears; it is just owned by someone new (as has occurred with several airlines). Bankruptcy punishes those who took excessive risks while preserving those aspects of a businesses that remain profitable.

In contrast, a bailout transfers enormous wealth from taxpayers to those who knowingly engaged in risky subprime lending. Thus, the bailout encourages companies to take large, imprudent risks and count on getting bailed out by government. This “moral hazard” generates enormous distortions in an economy’s allocation of its financial resources….

Talk of Armageddon, however, is ridiculous scare-mongering. If financial institutions cannot make productive loans, a profit opportunity exists for someone else. This might not happen instantly, but it will happen.

Further, the current credit freeze is likely due to Wall Street’s hope of a bailout; bankers will not sell their lousy assets for 20 cents on the dollar if the government might pay 30, 50, or 80 cents.

—Jeffrey A. Miron, “Bankruptcy, not bailout, is the right answer” (September 29, 2008)

The Indonesian Mimic Octopus
This is very cool:

This is very cool:

Congress should move slowly (Gingrich)
Congress was designed by the Founding Fathers to move slowly, precisely to avoid the sudden panic of a one-week solution that becomes a 20-year mess. —Newt Gingrich, “Before D.C. Gets Our Money, It Owes Us Some Answers” (September 21, 2008)

Congress was designed by the Founding Fathers to move slowly, precisely to avoid the sudden panic of a one-week solution that becomes a 20-year mess.

—Newt Gingrich, “Before D.C. Gets Our Money, It Owes Us Some Answers” (September 21, 2008)

What’s wrong with this headline?
“Retail sales plunge 1.2 percent in September” I didn’t realize a drop of 1.2 percent was now considered a “plunge.” Gosh, what if it drops 3%? Would that be the end of the world? Maybe next month’s headline will be: “Retail sales skyrocket 1.3 percent in October.”

“Retail sales plunge 1.2 percent in September”

I didn’t realize a drop of 1.2 percent was now considered a “plunge.” Gosh, what if it drops 3%? Would that be the end of the world?

Maybe next month’s headline will be: “Retail sales skyrocket 1.3 percent in October.”

Yacht
A pleasure vessel, a pleasure boat; in American usage the idea of size and luxury is conveyed, either sail or power.

A pleasure vessel, a pleasure boat; in American usage the idea of size and luxury is conveyed, either sail or power.

Tips For Trout Fishing in the Fall
Author: Trevor Kuqler As the fall continues to descend on us like the sunshine through the clouds after a torrential rainstorm, I wanted to write an article with some tips for trout fishing in the fall. After an entire spring and summer of fishing, these tips will make sure that you don’t “take your eye off [...]

Author: Trevor Kuqler

As the fall continues to descend on us like the sunshine through the clouds after a torrential rainstorm, I wanted to write an article with some tips for trout fishing in the fall. After an entire spring and summer of fishing, these tips will make sure that you don’t “take your eye off the ball”, so to speak. Sometimes we anglers, tend to forget the simple things in our attempt to enjoy the sport that provides us with so much enjoyment.

After six or more months of fishing, many anglers forget to change their fishing line regularly. As the fall fishing season begins, remember to change your fishing line. This is especially true for those of you who use light line (which all trout fishermen should). Light line can become coiled and frayed easily, causing spotty performance. As the fall trout fishing season begins, it’s a good idea re-spool to “fresh” line. The last thing you need is your line getting tangled or breaking, because you neglected to change it.

The next point to consider when it comes to trout fishing in the fall is the fact that using live bait is a great idea. Whenever live bait is used, gang hooks should be employed. Gang hooks are simply a pair of small hooks tied in tandem, which allows live bait (especially live worms) to be presented in a completely natural and realistic manner. This makes a huge difference in bite rates. The bottom line is the more realistic your bait appears, the more bites you will receive. This is why gang hooks are always a good idea.

In the fall, as well in any season, it’s always a good idea to pay attention to the weather and moon. These two forces of Mother Nature have an incredible impact on the behavior of fish, and the better you understand this phenomenon, the more fish will be caught. When it comes to tips for trout fishing in the fall, few are as important as using the weather and moon to your advantage. Being on the water when the trout are the most active automatically makes you a “better fisherman”.

The final tip I have for trout fishing in the fall has to do with keeping your hands warm. As trout anglers, we need to have our fingers unfettered and this means that we need access to quality fingerless gloves. Fingerless gloves can be the difference between staying on the water and going home. There are few things worse than being trout fishing and having your hands feel like a couple of popsicles. I know this from experience, which is why I suggest having fingerless gloves available anytime you are trout fishing in the fall.

An Overview of a Float Fishing Trip
Author: Trevor R. Price Alaska float fishing, or angling, is likely the best on the planet. The fish are plentiful, the views incredible and the experience is unforgettable. And, if you’re a beginner float fisher, there are a number of experienced tour and fishing companies that offer a complete fishing adventure. So, keep reading for a [...]

Author: Trevor R. Price

Alaska float fishing, or angling, is likely the best on the planet. The fish are plentiful, the views incredible and the experience is unforgettable. And, if you’re a beginner float fisher, there are a number of experienced tour and fishing companies that offer a complete fishing adventure. So, keep reading for a general explanation of angling, great spots in Alaska and how to find more information.

What is Angling?

Float fishing is basically a form of angling that uses floats, and angling is any form of fishing using a rod, line and hook. The float, essentially, is used to not only suspend the bait, but also indicate when a fish is biting. The float will move and bounce, letting the fisherman know to draw his line.

Alaska Fishing Licenses

If you’re planning an Alaska float fishing vacation, you’ll need a license. The license fees for non-residents are $20 for a day, $35 for three days, $55 for a week and $80 for two weeks.

To fish king salmon, you’ll need a special stamp which is $10 per day, $20 for three days, $30 for a week and $50 for two weeks. Most fishing lodges and guide companies can arrange for your license ahead of time.

Great Fishing Locations in Alaska

While Alaska has an abundant fish supply and some incredible fishing locations, it can often be about your timing and knowing where the fish will be. That’s why a guide or tour can really help your fishing trip be a success. However, the best spots for fishing in Alaska are Kodiak Island, the Kenai River and the Copper River Delta and Bristol Bay.

Kodiak Island is known for its abundance of salmon and great roadside and float fishing. The Kenai River has massive king salmon, but they’re fast and strong, making them hard to catch for a beginner fisher and not the best for float fishing.

The Copper River Delta is rich in fish, but fast, meaning it’s not recommended for beginners nor really ideal for relaxed float fishing. The Kenai River has the world’s biggest king salmon, but the fish are fast and powerful and the trout are minimal. Meanwhile, Kodiak Island is crammed with spawning salmon, but along with very well-fed bears.

Where to Find More Information

If you’re seeking information on Alaska float fishing, good fishing tour companies or recommended lodges, your best resource is the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Sport Fish Division (sf.adfg.state.ak.us). Their website has information on fishing in Alaska, how to buy a fishing license, location-specific info and resources on recommended local companies.

Types of Boat
Victoria Hawkins Air boat, banana boat, bangca, bass boat, car-boat, catboat, cuddy, dinghy, dragon boat, drift boat, ferry, fireboat, fishing boat, flounder boat, folding boat, go-fast boat, houseboat, Jon boat, kayak, ketch, lifeboat, log boat, longboat, motorboat, narrow boat, pinnace, pirogue, pontoon, powerboat, raft, riverboat, rowboat, sailboat, schooner, sharpie, ski boat, steam boat, surf boat, swift [...]

Victoria Hawkins

Air boat, banana boat, bangca, bass boat, car-boat, catboat, cuddy, dinghy, dragon boat, drift boat, ferry, fireboat, fishing boat, flounder boat, folding boat, go-fast boat, houseboat, Jon boat, kayak, ketch, lifeboat, log boat, longboat, motorboat, narrow boat, pinnace, pirogue, pontoon, powerboat, raft, riverboat, rowboat, sailboat, schooner, sharpie, ski boat, steam boat, surf boat, swift boat, torpedo boat, trimaran, tugboat, U-boat, wakeboard boat, whaleboat…

These are some of the boat types available in the market. Yes, you read it right. These are only some of the boat types. There are more kinds of boats out there. Considering the number of boat types we listed above, it will take more than three pages to describe each one. Don’t worry. We have picked out three of the most popular types of boat for you to get acquainted with.

Pontoon Boat
There are many flat-bottomed boats around. What separates a pontoon boat from others is that it is simply a float used to hold up a structure on water. The common materials needed in creating a pontoon boat include pipes, barrels, and boxes made from metal or concrete. Since a pontoon boat can be easily navigated and cannot be sunk, it is used as small vehicle ferries to cross rivers or lakes or any body of water. The sizes of pontoon boats vary.

Inflatable Boat
The best word to describe an inflatable boat is lightweight. It is a lightweight boat with the sides and the bow constructed of elastic tubes which have pressurized gas. Because of its portability and speed, an inflatable boat is perfect for recreational water skiing, commercial or recreational fishing, as well as military purposes like moving soldiers from a vessel to the shore. An inflatable boat is also used a rescue craft, and luxury yacht tender. Usually, inflatable boats are between two to seven meters long.

What Every Cruise Passenger Must Know About Hurricanes - Now!
By Mandy Karlik Cruise ship passengers bound for tropical waters usually look forward to days of wonderful warm weather. They don’t always think about hurricanes and tropical storms, which tend to occur exactly during peak cruise season. So what does a hurricane actually mean for a cruise ship and its passengers? Stormy weather has always been a [...]

By Mandy Karlik

Cruise ship passengers bound for tropical waters usually look forward to days of wonderful warm weather. They don’t always think about hurricanes and tropical storms, which tend to occur exactly during peak cruise season. So what does a hurricane actually mean for a cruise ship and its passengers?

Stormy weather has always been a problem for ships, but it is less of a problem today than at any other point in history. This is not to say that the weather is any better. It’s just that our ability to monitor and predict it has sharpened considerably.

The hurricane season runs from to May to October, with most activity typically occurring in August and September, the hottest months of the year.

Hurricanes form in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and the Atlantic when the waters get very warm. The U.S. Weather Service tracks storms as they start to brew. In the earliest stage, a storm begins as a tropical depression. When it intensifies, it becomes a hurricane. Hurricanes are further classified by category, with Category 1 being the least and Category 5 the worst storm. Storm intensity is measured by wind velocity and barometric pressure.

The good thing about hurricanes is that they do not appear instantly. While they may intensify abruptly and sometimes they travel quickly, hurricanes do not suddenly spring up without warning. This means that hurricanes do not strike without warning or pop up when you least expect them.

Since some of the most popular cruise destinations are located in hurricane-prone waters, cruise ships monitor so-called “weather events” very closely. Should any weather event threaten your ship, the captain has several choices. Whatever decision the captain may reach, the uppermost priority is always the safety of the passengers and the vseel.

Many times, cruise ships can simply change their routes to avoid the path or potential path of dangerous storms. Now this can change the route and even your itinerary. I’ve been on a cruise ship that could not make one of its ports of its call because of the weather; it was forced to go around a different route. When this occurs, the ship usually offers alternate on-board activities. On my particular voyage, a big on-board bash substituted for the port of call.

If you are unfamiliar with storms of this nature, you may be surprised to know that hurricanes are somewhat predictable. True, meteorologists cannot pinpoint a hurricane’s path precisely. Even our best technology does not help. But if you widen the hurricane’s path to a line many miles wide, we can indeed predict its path. In other words, we might not know exactly where a hurricane is going, but we can narrow down its path to a target zone.

That is why ships who travel frequently in the warm hurricane-prone waters of the tropics are able to “dodge” or avoid storms safely. It’s not even that unusual. Summertime tropical waters frequently get turbulent and stormy. Ships may adjust their course subtly to avoid minor storms without anyone’s really noticing.

Serious storms can delay or cancel a particular voyage. For instance, if you are supposed to leave from your port of embarkation at the same time a hurricane is bearing down on that port city, the trip can be canceled. While this is an extremely unlikely event, it can happen. (If you are due to go on a cruise, follow the weather at the port of embarkation city for at least a couple of days prior to your trip.)

In order to avoid unpleasant surprises, talk to your cruise representative before booking to find out what happens in the event a voyage is canceled. The cruise line has policies and procedures in place that you should know about in advance.

You will probably be told that the best way to handle storm-related cancelations is with travelers’ insurance. These policies cover your expenses for your travel plans if they are canceled because of storms or even other problems, which might include personal family emergencies or illness.

Most cruise representatives can direct you to reputable insurance agencies who write these policies, but you can also contact your own insurance agent. Most regular insurance agents will be able to help you (if your regular insurance company does not write such policies, your agent will likely know of an agency that does).

Weather-related decisions must often be made at the last minute, so expect that early information may not always be exactly what happens. In other words, you may embark on your voyage with a seemingly harmless tropical storm on the horizon only to have your voyage altered when the storm intensifies and the ship has to sail around it.

Despite the fact that hurricanes occur every year in cruise ship waters, the disruption they pose to cruise ship traffic is actually minimal.

The best strategy is to inform yourself of the risks and protect yourself, as appropriate, with insurance. Know that if a cruise ship does change plans because of the weather, it is not a decision that is made lightly. It’s a safety issue.

Taking A Look At Yacht Insurance
Author: MIKE SELVON Next to the continued maintenance of your yacht, yacht insurance is the most important aspect of owning a yacht. You admit that you would never consider driving your car without car insurance. Likewise, you ought to never think about using your yacht without some form of yacht insurance. It will protect you, your yacht, [...]

Author: MIKE SELVON

Next to the continued maintenance of your yacht, yacht insurance is the most important aspect of owning a yacht. You admit that you would never consider driving your car without car insurance.

Likewise, you ought to never think about using your yacht without some form of yacht insurance. It will protect you, your yacht, and anyone traveling in your yacht. It will also provide you with a great deal of peace of mind. That is priceless!

yacht insurance is available from a variety of sources. Many car and property insurance companies also insure yachts. Alternatively, you can purchase yacht insurance from one of many specialized companies that focus exclusively on marine vessels. Which type of insurer you choose will depend on many factors including price and the type of yacht you own.

yacht insurance is very similar to car insurance. Your basic policy will cover physical damage to the yacht itself from many different causes. Depending on your specific policy, acts of vandalism, acts of God and even latent defects in craftsmanship may be covered. Generally your yacht trailer will also will be insured at no additional charge, but you should always check your policy documents to make sure.

In the event of a yachting accident, your medical expenses and those of your guests will also be covered. This is true whether the accident occurs in the water or while entering or exiting the yacht at yacht docks.

As with a car insurance policy, the limits of this coverage will vary by policy. Safe yachting should always be your first priority, but when an accident strikes, will you be prepared with the right policy in place to protect you?

Your yacht insurance policy will cover those that you hire to work on your yacht as long as they are contractors and not regular employees of the yachtyard. Covered contractors may include carpenters, cleaners and others. Again, check your policy for specific information.

Optional coverage’s that you may wish to consider include uninsured yachter (similar to uninsured motorist); personal property (replacement value of personal items on board); and even fishing equipment coverage. Whether to purchase these optional items depends on your individual circumstances.

There are many special considerations for yacht insurance. Make sure that you understand your insurer’s policies on these considerations. One of the biggest concerns is the possibility of grounding the yacht. Depending on your insurer’s policies, this could be handled in a couple of different ways.

The vessel could be towed out, which might result in further damage, or it could be considered a salvage, which involves special procedures to protect the yacht. Another consideration is wreck removal. If your vessel is completely wrecked, you will be held responsible for removing it from the water.

Some insurance companies cover this while others do not. Also be sure that your insurer will cover towing, which is no longer provided free of charge by the Coast Guard.

If you own a yacht that is over 40 feet long, you might consider insuring it as a yacht. but expect to pay quite a bit more. However, the upside is that you will enjoy a form of insurance that comprehensively covers your needs as the owner of a very large yacht.

Make sure that your yacht insurance is the right one for you and your needs. Owning a yacht is an expensive endeavor. Spend the money necessary to properly insure your yacht and you will be better off for it.

How to Use a Trout Fishing Lure
By: Trevor Kugler In this article I’m going to outline how to use a trout fishing lure. A trout fishing lure could be a rooster tail or any small spinner, a small spoon, small minnow imitation, or any other small lure used for trout fishing. From my more than 25 years of trout fishing experience, I’ve [...]

By: Trevor Kugler

In this article I’m going to outline how to use a trout fishing lure. A trout fishing lure could be a rooster tail or any small spinner, a small spoon, small minnow imitation, or any other small lure used for trout fishing. From my more than 25 years of trout fishing experience, I’ve noticed some things that really cost people bites. In this article I’ll explain some of those mistakes and how to avoid them.

The first thing to keep in mind when trout fishing is that trout have very keen eyesight and tend to live in cold clear water, therefore very light fishing line should be employed. Many anglers use fishing line that’s much too heavy when fishing for trout. This is a huge mistake. Not only can line that’s too heavy effect the action of the trout lure itself, if the trout can see your line you will get many fewer bites. I personally use and suggest using four pound test or lighter, but six pound test line is also passable.

The net step in learning how to use a trout fishing lure is to never use snap swivels. You know those swivels that simply snap apart for easy access? Do not use snap swivels to attach your trout fishing lure to your line. As a matter of fact, if you have any snap swivels for any type of fishing, throw them away. Nothing will ruin the action of a fishing lure like our friend the snap swivel. Either tie your lure directly to your line or use a barrel swivel with a twelve to eighteen inch ‘leader’ (piece of line). Incidentally this is the best way to rig a trout fishing lure. Take the end of your line and snip off a 12-18 inch leader and set it aside. Now tie a small barrel swivel (size 10 to 12) to the end of your line. Now take your leader and tie it to the opposite end of the barrel swivel. Now, tie your trout fishing lure to the leader. This is how to rig your trout fishing lure.

Now for how to use the trout fishing lure that you just rigged up. For the most part you don’t want to simply cast your trout fishing lure out and reel it back in. The goal is to make your lure appear injured or otherwise different than any actual prey that swims in the water that you’re fishing. A good trick is to “snap” your rod tip as you.re reeling your trout fishing lure in. In other words, make your trout fishing lure look as much as you can like wounded prey.

The Salvage Truth Yacht Insurance Buying Tips
Author: John Morris The water may be your element. You may find the sea quite stirring yet in here you find your own serenity. Yes, the mere sight of the vast sea may stir in you quite a number of various emotional responses. Not a few of people from all walks of life are motivated to [...]

Author: John Morris

The water may be your element. You may find the sea quite stirring yet in here you find your own serenity. Yes, the mere sight of the vast sea may stir in you quite a number of various emotional responses. Not a few of people from all walks of life are motivated to build their dream houses near the beach where an overlooking view of the sea is possible. Of course, there are also those who truly enjoy riding on a yacht. Some would even resort to buying and owning their own craft such as a yacht or motor yacht. These sea vessels are not only bought and owned for the sole purpose of joyride or sea adventures but they are also employed for business reasons.

1. yacht Insurance - Just Like Car Insurance

It is wise to secure yacht insurance for security reasons. You may never know what may happen to you and your yacht’s occupants when it fares out into the vast sea. Cases of theft, salvage, and natural disasters are some of the problems you may be faced with and they can be truly irritating on one’s part. It may be a real challenge to be looking for the best yacht insurance that will cover all of your needs and demands. Remember to be smart. Be inquisitive. Make the right choice with your yacht insurance.

2. One Size Does Not Fit All

Each of the types of the sea vessels requires different yacht insurance policies. It is best for you to conduct a thorough research before contacting any insurer. Go for the advice of friends and colleagues. Ask them which yacht insurance provider will best satisfy you.

3. Know Your Insurer Well

yacht insurance can be procured from either an independent insurance agent or from a direct marine insurance specialist. The purchase of yacht insurance from either of the two proves to be a good and wise move. It is necessary to be buying the yacht insurance policy from none other than a reputable agent or provider in order to save yourself from the annoying possibilities of scam.

4. Use the Laymen’s Terms in All Business Affairs

Always listen well to the yacht insurance agent. Treat the conversation as you would to a daily discourse. And if you come across some unfamiliar terms, ask for an explanation in the language you will best understand. It is important to know what your yacht insurance policy will cover as well as those that will not be covered. If you see some loopholes, then be inquisitive.

5. Look Over Coverage Closely

It is best to secure that your yacht insurance policy will work out to be not just fine, but it will be perfect to cater to all your claims. Essential coverage includes salvage recovery, accidental damage, fire, flood, and storm damage, theft, vandalism or malicious acts, liability cover, and most importantly, an easy access to a 24-hour helpline in case of emergency.

6. The Agreed Value versus the Actual Cash Value

These two are the choices in terms of the mode of payment on the yacht insurance policy that a yachter will want to avail. However, it is the depreciation that sets the difference between the two. For the Agreed Value Policy, the yachter will have to pay more for the yacht insurance. In the event of total loss, the insurer will not only pay you but will also replace most items with new ones. On the other hand, the Actual Cash Value costs less yet in the event of loss, the insurer will only be paying the actual cash amount that is at hand during the time of the property’s loss. This mode is best for clients who don’t really give a deal about total loss and for least expensive purchased yachts.

7. The Salvage Truth

In case you have decided to stick with the Agreed Value yacht insurance policy, then make sure that you do stay away from those that limit salvage coverage. Salvage coverage policy ensures the payment to the salvor for saving the yacht from danger or by bringing it to a repair yard. You would want a handsome amount to fix the damages done to your property and surely enough you would not want some deductions from the agreed value just because some payments are to be made to the salvage costs. Definitely, this scheme of payment will leave your budget short for some of the repairs that you will need.

Belmont Hosts Vesper Service in Preparation for 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate
Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., is hosting a Vesper Service at Christ Church Cathedral on Sun., Oct. 5 at 4 p.m., two days prior to the Town Hall Presidential Debate in the Curb Event Center on the Belmont campus. President...

Debate08 Garners Extensive Media Coverage
The 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate at Belmont garnered the university massive media exposure with thousands of hits on radio and television along with print publicity worth millions of dollars. Though it would be impossible to list all of Belmont's...

Doing Exactly is not the Same as Doing roughly
I read this quote, and find it quite relevant: “A man who was criticized for not having a bible in his house, excused himself by saying that there was not a word in the bible that wasn’t in his dictionary.” Indeed, I believe that in many things we do, as well as working with our colleagues on [...]

I read this quote, and find it quite relevant:

“A man who was criticized for not having a bible in his house, excused himself by saying that there was not a word in the bible that wasn’t in his dictionary.”

Indeed, I believe that in many things we do, as well as working with our colleagues on it, this is the prevalent attitude.

How many times do you tell for instance your colleagues, ” we need to do it like so, “, and then they don’t exactly listen, because in their assessment, they are mostly doing roughly what is already needed, or in rough sense, what they are doing can be interpreted as something that can qualify.

for instance, 7 Habits of Effective People is a bestseller, and millions buy it. Millions read it, but how many do it exactly as the author envisions? How many go to church but practice what the church commands, but still only roughly.

Our thing is that we are starting to be highly selective, and sometimes, we have to understand that roughly doing it is not like exactly doing it to succeed or get the same results as envisioned.

Free Music
I havefound out that there are a lot of free music in the internet. If you go to myspace, you practicqally can do a search for your favorite artists, and more likely than not, come up with a few songs. Someofthe qualitythough is not good, while some are improperly labelled and documented. If you are [...]

I havefound out that there are a lot of free music in the internet. If you go to myspace, you practicqally can do a search for your favorite artists, and more likely than not, come up with a few songs.
Someofthe qualitythough is not good, while some are improperly labelled and documented.

If you are a facebook user, you can go to music player, and can listen to many songs– for free too, though you cannot download it.

However, the quality also leaves much to be desired, but then again, if you just want to listen to some songs to see if its good enough to buy, at least, you can. Some of the songs also play only a segment, not the whole song.

Writing Habits of some Well Known Authors
How do you become a writer, and when /how often/how do your write? Learn from the Greats: 7 Writing Habits of Amazing Writers | Write to Done Finding the ideal working habits that will allow me to write as consistently as possible is always something I’m exploring as a writer. As I’ve said before, I try to make [...]

How do you become a writer, and when /how often/how do your write?

Learn from the Greats: 7 Writing Habits of Amazing Writers | Write to Done

Finding the ideal working habits that will allow me to write as consistently as possible is always something I’m exploring as a writer.

As I’ve said before, I try to make it a habit to write first thing in the morning. It helps me to focus and ensure that I’m getting my writing done.

Oracle's Ellison nails cloud computing
Shared by wilson Ellison of Oracle is known for vocal ourburst, but while sometimes he is off the mark, sometimes he does make sense. After all, cloud computing idea is simply a bigger idea he defined almost 10 years ago which he called network computing - only at that time, while undoubtedly the [...]

Shared by wilson
Ellison of Oracle is known for vocal ourburst, but while sometimes he is off the mark, sometimes he does make sense.

After all, cloud computing idea is simply a bigger idea he defined almost 10 years ago which he called network computing - only at that time, while undoubtedly the database, and the applications are stored in servers, now it is still stored in servers, and however, available through the public internet.

As an executive who has two offices, and therefore may either work in office 1, office 2, in the house, or in the road, I find it very appealing that the infrastructure exists that while I maintain desktops in each of the location ( I can still have access to the file I may have on the other location).

However, while this is applicable to us nomads - who wants to be productive anywhere we are, we do see that a majority of people in the office has an office, and only want to be productive or access the file there.

So cloud computing may be trying to address the market for certain segment who will find it compelling, but whether it becomes mainstream is still a big question.

Speaking at OracleWorld, CEO Larry Ellison says the computer industry is more fashion-driven than women’s fashion and cloud computing is simply the latest fashion. Go to Source

My Russian Name
Here is something interesting ( at least to me…) This was my name written in Russian…. I assume that reads Wilson Ng…. �

Here is something interesting ( at least to me…)

This was my name written in Russian…. I assume that reads Wilson Ng….

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HP Claims 24-Hour Notebook Battery Life
Shared by wilson Its about time! Portable will not be really portable if you have only 2 hours before looking for an electrical outlet! Hewlett-Packard is claiming that the HP EliteBook 6930p, when coupled with new features and a 12-cell lithium ion battery option, has enough battery life to last 24 hours. The HP notebooks [...]

Shared by wilson

Its about time! Portable will not be really portable if you have only 2 hours before looking for an electrical outlet!

Hewlett-Packard is claiming that the HP EliteBook 6930p, when coupled with new features and a 12-cell lithium ion battery option, has enough battery life to last 24 hours. The HP notebooks battery life claim comes a few weeks after Dell announced its Latitude E6400 corporate notebook that offers up to 19 hours of battery life with a special Dell battery feature.
- The battle to create the notebook with the most battery life stepped up a notch this week when Hewlett-Packard announced a new set of features for its HP EliteBook 6930p that will push the battery life up to 24 hours.
HPs claims of a notebook with 24-hour battery life come just about a month after …

Go to Source

Illegal immigration drops with economy
Shared by wilson Along with job loss, is the incentive loss to get jobs from the more developed economies… Read full story for latest details. Go to Source

Shared by wilson

Along with job loss, is the incentive loss to get jobs from the more developed economies…

Read full story for latest details.

Go to Source

No Love For HR
I received an interesting comment to my article on Top Five Reasons Employees Hate HR , and I’d like to address the comments here.  First, I’d like to say that I love what Alissa has to say here.  She has a great attitude and is very optimistic and idealistic.   Many people look at idealists in [...]

I received an interesting comment to my article on Top Five Reasons Employees Hate HR , and I’d like to address the comments here.  First, I’d like to say that I love what Alissa has to say here.  She has a great attitude and is very optimistic and idealistic.   Many people look at idealists in a cynical light, but I want to be clear that I don’t feel this way about Alissa’s comments.

photo credit: Gianni D.

That being said, I am not an idealist…I’m a realist.  As a realist, I’ll add some commentary to her remarks (Alissa is in italics ):

Wow! I am brand new to HR and didn’t realize that there were people who actually “hated” the HR Dept.

Not knowing that there are people who hate the HR department is a sure sign you’re new to HR.  Wait until you start firing people and then see how well you’re received in the hallway.

Perhaps you have had bad experiences or what not but I do my job everyday and I do anything and everything to see that each employee is treated fairly. I handle our benefits and I have employees that come up here just to say hi and talk to me. I think its all about your personality and your ability to deal with employee relations.

This is a great attitude to have, and the one that I personally try to adhere to.  Soon, though, you’ll realize that people don’t like/dislike HR because of our cheery attitude or lack thereof.  They hate us because of what we’re forced to do sometimes.  Re-read the article and show me where I say anything about interpersonal skills.

To stereotype an individual based on the department they work in is a bit childish.

It absolutely is.  Re-read the article.  It’s not me who is stereotyping HR, it’s the employees.  They’re often EXTREMELY childish.  You’ll learn this too over time.

I read some of the comments and found them to be way off target. Im 24, and Im the HR Assistant so perhaps I only know the bare minimum of HR, but as far as your definition of “human capital” thats what Im here for.

Again, excellent attitude.  Please don’t lose this.

I don’t think Im a hall monitor. I didn’t know we were still in high school.

High school is just microcosm of the world at large.  Those same people you despised from school just grow up and join the workforce.  Now, instead of pulling on the cheerleaders bra strap, that same jerk is harassing her by the water cooler.  They never really change.

I care about people, and I care about each person who walks through my door. Everyone knows that if you don’t have inter-personal skills you shouldn’t work in HR. If you are selfish, you shouldn’t work in HR. You work with different people everyday and you have to be open minded and caring.

This is the usual reason that good-hearted people go into HR.  This is a fine approach to take while the business is going well, but it’s only a matter of time before things turn south.  Businesses are cyclical, and there will always be downturns.  When you are telling a father of four that he no longer has a job and have to watch him cry his eyes out, this will really test your caring interpersonal skills.  You need to prepare yourself for the fact that HR is part of the business, and business is sometimes very harsh.

And as far as planning company picnics,, that is our receptionists duties. I created my whole policy handbook when I hired in here. I have incorporated new policies, shared them in meetings, and Im just an assistant. So I guess that eliminates me! Nice input! Maybe it will help those who really have those problems, because I don’t.

In the end, Alissa reminds me of me when I first graduated from college and entered the labor market.  She’s young, bright, enthusiastic, idealistic, naive, caring, generous, and probably a few years from being bitter and cynical.  I’d love to fast forward and have her assess her own comments.

Bear Stearns Billionaire Blunder
At this point, the Bear Sterns debacle has gotten extensive coverage so I won’t comment on the unfortunate demise of this once mighty company. As I read through the news stories, though, I found one piece of information often significantly under reported: Joseph C. Lewis, a British businessman, lost $1 billion on the sale of Bear [...]

At this point, the Bear Sterns debacle has gotten extensive coverage so I won’t comment on the unfortunate demise of this once mighty company. As I read through the news stories, though, I found one piece of information often significantly under reported:

Joseph C. Lewis, a British businessman, lost $1 billion on the sale of Bear Sterns!

OK, so the guy was a billionaire, and even after losing a cool billion he’s probably going to be just fine. Don’t lose any sleep over poor ol’ Joe. Still, it got me think about the very fine line and significant amount of luck that goes into becoming successful in business or otherwise for that matter.

Joe was so confident in Bear Stearns that he purchased the stock in large amounts at upwards of $150 per share just a few months ago. I’m sure Joe is a smart guy, or at least smarter than most, but this is a blunder of gigantic proportions. When Bear Sterns sold to JPMorgan, his cut was only $22 million.

photo credit: Shiny Things

What does this say for the rest of us? Certainly, Joe had probably taken big risks before and had them pay off. Perhaps he was overconfident, but who wouldn’t be as a billionaire. My gut tells me that he didn’t do anything stupid necessarily. Rather, a series of unfortunate events completely out of his control ended very negatively for him. The same probably holds true for a lot of his successes.

As I now look back at my early career, I had a few fortunate coincidences that played a major role in my future. There was the professor who just seemed to like me and consequently set me up with a job interview. There was the first candidate who declined a job offer to move with her husband leaving a position open for the second candidate: me. There was the boss who went to church with a VP at another company and introduced me resulting in a better job for me.

Let’s not lose the opportunity to reflect on Joe’s huge financial loss as an expression of the good and bad things in our lives that are out of our control and know that even very successful billionaire’s are subject to the same laws of probability. It’s the tie that binds us together.

ERP Systems and HRIS Done Right
I have seen a troubling development, not recent but definitely increasing in nature, in the way companies use the HRIS module, or any other module for that matter, of their ERP system. The problem, as I see it, is that businesses purchase an ERP system for the most obvious reason (to have one system [...]

I have seen a troubling development, not recent but definitely increasing in nature, in the way companies use the HRIS module, or any other module for that matter, of their ERP system. The problem, as I see it, is that businesses purchase an ERP system for the most obvious reason (to have one system that brings multiple solutions together seamlessly), but then immediately devalues that system by farming out certain processes to other software companies when the ERP system doesn’t perfectly meet their needs.

For those of you who are unfamiliar, go to Wikipedia for a detailed discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS).

To be clear, I am neither a technical person by background or an expert in any information system. However, I do understand the fundamental fallacy in the logic here. Why would you purchase an all-in-one software package and then immediately begin to allow other software packages in the door when the all-in-one doesn’t meet your needs?

The answer is simple, because individually all those decisions make sense. The story goes like this: you decide you need an integrated solution, you research vendors, you have steering meetings, you collect feedback, and then you finally make the big decision knowing that it is one you’ll be stuck with for a long time. Now, you made this well thought out, extremely expensive decision with a lot of effort, so you want to protect your investment. So, of course, you mandate that if the ERP you purchased has a needed solution available, your company should be forced to use it.

Unfortunately, this policy doesn’t hold up long. Most ERP systems are destined to fail because there is a chain of reactions that almost inevitably takes place. It goes as follows:

1. Company pays too much for software.
2. Company realizes it paid too much and now regrets paying too much.
3. To compensate, company tightens the implementation budget.
4. Implementation is poor due to lack of resources.
5. ERP system doesn’t function proper and quickly becomes despised by employees.
6. Employees are assigned to work on projects which require software solutions.
7. Employees remember terrible ERP system experiences.
8. Employees push to be allowed to purchase software other than ERP to meet their needs.
9. Company relents but says new software should “interface” with ERP.
10. New software “interfaces” but very poorly.
11. Both ERP and new software suffer from poor integration.
12. ERP loses further employee support because new software users blame ERP for all their troubles.
13. Rinse and repeat.

As you can see, this continues ad nauseum until your ERP system completely fails at reaching its original intention. Here’s the key: when you purchase an ERP system, you should treat it like a marriage. Not like the crappy marriage your parents had, but a really good one like on The Cosby Show.

If you don’t like one aspect of life with your spouse, you shouldn’t go have an affair. Instead, you should work really hard to find a way to adapt the marriage to meet both your needs. Its the same with ERP systems. If you don’t like one thing it does, don’t give up. Instead, invest the appropriate resources to make it work correctly. Otherwise, don’t by an ERP system at all!

Because this is a site with an HR focus, I want to make this relevant for the HR readers. If you have an HR module in your ERP, and it has performance management, talent management, recruiting, compensation, and so forth available, you should be willing to use what the system provides or be willing to commit the resources to altering it to your specifications.

If your HRIS system looks like the octopus above (hey, I know most HR folks are visual learners), with the ERP in the middle and eight different software packages that are supposed to link with your HR module, you’ve done something terribly, terribly wrong.

In short, don’t let small individual choices that make sense develop into a very large negative effect on your business.

Promoting the Wrong People
Have you ever seen a seemingly terrible employee get promoted? You know the types, the grouch that nobody likes, the whiner, the laze-about, the incompetent clutz, the bully, and so on. Everyone is shocked when they hear the news. So, why do companies do this? Why do they promote the wrong [...]

Have you ever seen a seemingly terrible employee get promoted? You know the types, the grouch that nobody likes, the whiner, the laze-about, the incompetent clutz, the bully, and so on. Everyone is shocked when they hear the news. So, why do companies do this? Why do they promote the wrong people?

 
photo credit: deaddamien

There are a variety of reasons, and none of them are very good to be honest. Yet, they happen everyday and will probably never go away. Let’s look a little closer, shall we?

• There is no one else. Let’s face it: sometimes companies don’t plan very well. This is true for human capital as much as anything else, and it often happens that a key position in a company is vacated and they simply have no plan in place for replacing the person. It’s desperate times that call for desperate measures, and sometimes there’s simply not enough time (or money) to do a prolonged and expensive search for a top-tier candidate. So, you do the next logical thing and pick the best you have. Sometimes the best you have has a hard time tying his shoelaces, let alone managing people.

• The right person is working on something too important. I have seen companies promote a less qualified candidate because they can’t afford to lose the best candidate from a critical project or assignment. This is well chronicled in about a hundred Dilbert strips, so I won’t go into it in more detail.

• They need to meet their “quota”. It’s said but true. While companies who are forced to complete an Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) are not supposed to set a quota and are still supposed to favor protected classes when all other factors are equal (they never are), companies secretly set quotas for race, gender, age, etc. It’s an ugly fact that’s not too much of secret. If the government believes it’s not happening, they’re blind. Regardless, some employees, competent or not, can get a free meal ticket here.

• The hiring manager is incompetent. I read in a management book somewhere that “sevens hire fives”. In other words, if you have a less than competent manager, they’re likely to hire someone even worse then they are. Businesses need to be ultra careful to let only “nines and tens” in the upper levels of the organization. It has a ripple effect that can be extremely detrimental in the long term and compounds over time.

• The employee is bad mouthing his/her co-workers. I recall a time when we brought someone who was working in the field into a corporate job, because they were such an outstanding employee. Turns out they weren’t that great at all, they had just been spending all of their time bashing their co-workers secretly and taking credit for stuff they didn’t do. In fact, it was so bad that we actually caught them expensing inappropriate personal items and made them pay back over a $1,000 worth of reimbursements. Be careful that an employee out of sight looks good only because they are not being watched closely.

Of course there are some other reasons that people like to cite: the employee is good looking, they’re having sex with the boss, they’re part of the “good ol’ boys (or girls)” network, etc. I’ve found that these are much less often true than people like to believe. They’re more exciting and more gossipy in nature, so people are drawn to them, but in reality is often much more boring than that.

Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot you can do about these things other than to accept that they’re out of your control and try to look past them. Changing jobs is usually only a short term solution as well, because these problems crop up everywhere.

Six Problems with Business Meetings
Today, I spent the entire day in one long meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to reach a consensus on four issues and submit a recommendation to a decision making committee comprised of executives for final approval. It did not go as planned… photo credit: mnadi Leading up to this meeting I had conducted [...]

Today, I spent the entire day in one long meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to reach a consensus on four issues and submit a recommendation to a decision making committee comprised of executives for final approval. It did not go as planned…

photo credit: mnadi

Leading up to this meeting I had conducted nearly two months of research, spoken to roughly 30 employees, and coordinated a global team of colleagues to canvass the business in their areas. To say the least, we had covered the organization as much as it was responsible to do so.

In this meeting, two of the four topics were resolved relatively easily with little debate. However, two of the topics were debated, at times heatedly, with the final outcome on both that we should conduct even more research. As you might imagine, this is not an optimal solution to move the business further, because at a certain point, you just have to make a decision.

To be clear, this is not a post to complain about my company or colleagues, because they all had excellent points and are intelligent workers. However, it did get me thinking about the most effective way to use meetings. I’ve found that if you need to solve a problem, and it requires buy in from many different individuals, the best way to do this is to talk to them individually. If you talk to someone alone, they are much more likely to be reasonable and understanding, calm and forthright, open and fair, flexible and insightful.

The problem with meetings is that they force people to take sides. In my meeting, I sometimes found myself arguing for things that I didn’t necessarily feel passionately about, but because someone was opposing me, I felt I needed to defend myself. Meetings almost force you to be standoffish with others for the following reasons:

• They’re probably sitting across from you, which feels confrontational.
• Others are watching, so you’re reputation is at stake.
• Your ego can be easily bruised, if someone makes a better point than you.
• You become emotional because of the often competitive nature.
• You probably don’t want to be in the meeting anyways and would rather be working.
• You might have gotten caught off guard by something you weren’t expecting.

Of course, meetings can’t be avoided, but we should keep these pitfalls in mind when we conduct them. Also, ask yourself whether you can responsibly gain consensus outside of a meeting. You should never be dishonest or withhold information, but you might save a lot of time by having several one-on-one discussions to set the stage before bringing people together.

Prepping a group in this way helps tear down the walls people put up in meetings because you’ve been able to explore all the issues beforehand. They feel they understand the subject completely and are prepared to talk in a reasonable, logical manner. I try not to call large meetings “cold” so to speak, but I could have followed my own advice better today.

Top Five Things You Won’t Learn in Business School
With a bevy of excellent business schools, both grad and undergrad, available and the potentially high stakes of getting accepted to a top tier school, you’d think that you’d learn everything you need to know there. This is not the case, though. Below are my top five things you’ll never learn in business [...]

With a bevy of excellent business schools, both grad and undergrad, available and the potentially high stakes of getting accepted to a top tier school, you’d think that you’d learn everything you need to know there. This is not the case, though. Below are my top five things you’ll never learn in business school.

1. Your professors were usually wrong. After spending all those late night hours pouring over text books and enduring endless study groups, students come to think the teacher’s word is gospel. They will grade your test, so they do control your future. Don’t confuse this control for actual knowledge. B-school professors aren’t like chemists or physicists. They’re more like English Lit professors. You just have to make your opinion match theirs. Unfortunately, just like many English professors have never written a novel, many B-school professors have never worked in the business world. Don’t be surprised when you start working and find out most everything they taught you was worthless.
2. Employees care about their personal lives more than work. In B-school, all theories are based solely around how employees behave at work. Not bad, but it completely ignores that they spend the majority of their time away from work. Here are just some of the things that happen to employees that affect their work productivity: they get married, they get divorced, they get sick, a family member dies, they have children, they get into car accidents, they buy new houses and cars, they run up credit card debit, they fail to make child support payments, they get arrested for DUIs, they have affairs. If you want to be a good co-worker and boss, you’ll learn to recognize these things when they happen and show compassion and understanding. Don’t be a jerk because an employee isn’t working 110% all the time. Stuff happens outside of work - it’s called life. When you graduate from B-school, you’re trained like a marine to be a working machine, but that only lasts while your young and unmarried. Cool your jets a bit and people will like you better.
3. Companies are not run as a meritocracy. When studying in B-school, you get the impression that all companies will have a complex career path built for every position, and hard work and dedication can send a person as far as they want. You also learn that companies want to and will actually promote people based on their skills and abilities in order to create a competitive advantage. In reality, companies promote people for odd reasons and hold people back for even odder reasons. Here are some of the reasons I’ve seen people get hired or promoted: because of the color of their skin, because of their gender, because of what fraternity they belonged to, because the best person was too busy on an important project, because the company needed someone quickly and they were the best available, because the project was going to get axed and the company wanted to get rid of that employee, because that person’s family goes on vacation with the CEO, because that person sleeps with the CEO, because that person went to the same school as the CEO, because the best candidate is too good and would make the boss look bad in comparison. Life’s not fair, get used to it.
4. YOU will get laid off. In B-school, there is frequent talk of downsizing, rightsizing, and the like, but it’s always in the context of when the correct time to do these things are. As if you will be the one making that decision. The reality is that there just aren’t that many executive positions in a company, and you will probably never get to decide who does and doesn’t get fired. However, you probably will be laid off one day. Over the course of your 40 year career, there is a high chance that one of the companies you work for will go through a down time and you’ll get canned. B-schools don’t tell you how to deal with that, though.
5. Your company will screw you over at some point. In B-school, they give the impression that a company’s main goal is to keep it’s employee’s happy and productive. The truth is that they only want to keep you happy enough not to quit. Remember, this is business and the goal is to make money. Making you happy probably costs money. Here are some of the ways you might get screwed over: denied a promotion promised to you, denied a pay raise promised to you, denied a bonus promised to you, denied an office promised to you, moved from location to location so you can’t settle down, asked to do work far below your experience level, asked to do way more work than is humanly possible, get a lower performance rating than your incompetent peer, someone else given credit for work you did, asked to work overtime/holidays/weekends, asked to cancel vacation, miss child’s game/recital/birthday for work, make long, exhausting business trip for 1 hour waste of time meeting. I could go on, but I think you see my point. You will slowly become disillusioned with the beautiful, perfectly logical world your professors built for you.

There are, of course, more things that business school doesn’t teach you, but I think this is a good start. For those new graduates reading this, B-school is still a very good idea, just don’t believe everything they tell you.

I perform with Margaret Cho on Wed. subvert's list: most subversive comics of all time.
Larry Charles�made a list�of 28 at Entertainment Weekly.He's got some greats but every single one is a white dude (except Sarah Palin), so he's missed some of the best. So subvert is making a list of our own. I'm thrilled to be be performing on Wednesday the 15th to fight Prop 8 with one of these [...]

Larry Charles�made a list�of 28 at Entertainment Weekly.He's got some greats but every single one is a white dude (except Sarah Palin), so he's missed some of the best. So subvert is making a list of our own.

I'm thrilled to be be performing on Wednesday the 15th to fight Prop 8 with one of these people in San Francisco: Margaret Cho.�Buy your tix now.

Here is subvert.com's list of the top subversive comics of all time. �Most of these people are not on the EW list. The number one thing that makes these folks subversive, that Larry Charles misses completely, is that for most of them just taking up public space as themselves unapologetically and truth talking in their own hilarious way was a subversive act. The most upending comic moments come when the comic has emotional skin in the game.

1.�Richard Pryor��