The country is deeply divided. The split seems irreconcilable; the two sides are just too far apart on an ideological basis. The rhetoric is loud, increasing and hardening positions.
Barack, Divider in Chief, is fanning the flames, deepening the divide, pitting Democrats and against Republicans, the successful hard working class against the entitlement class, the young against the aging.
What can we do about the stalemate? Is it inevitable that we turn into Europe? Albeit without the charm! Are we doomed to loath and fear nearly half of our fellow countrymen?
Two Americas
Why not split the country into two? It may sound radical but why not explore the possibility of dividing the country into two distinct nations where each could manage their economic and social matters according to their beliefs.
The tensions would evaporate and the race to see what 'model' works would be on.
The liberals can have states like New York, New Jersey and California while the conservatives can claim Texas, Florida and Virginia. We could give each 'new' nation a share of sun-belt and rust belt states and split those states with unclear majorities.
Doing this would discount the growing authority of Washington and leave it to the new nations to decide whether they want more control at the local level or a growing central authority.
Conservatives trapped in liberal states and left wingers in right wing states would have a type of 'passport' for citizenship in the nation where their hearts lie but not be forced to move.
Trade and commerce between the new nations would not change and future barriers prohibited. Matters of national defense for example or other former federal responsibilities that could not be reasonably handled alone would be funded by the two new nations based upon the population count. No more unfair subsidies. Easements and rights of way would remain as they are but States within the new nations would be given back the responsibility for education, welfare, health etc.
I realize it is a delicate subject but I am stunned no one is talking about an option like this. It's revolutionary but I believe we need to look at it. It would cause a lot of dislocation and take a long period of time to assimilate but does anyone really believe the current environment we find ourselves in will resolve itself fairly and peacefully?
I would love to hear your ideas to move this debate forward.
For centuries the famous weavers of Kashmir have gathered and produced shawls from the rarest fiber in the world, Shahtoosh. These fabulous, prized shawls are so exclusive that the name Shahtoosh, meaning "king of fine wools", is synonymous with exclusivity. The Kings of Persia were especially partial to this most unique wool, thus the name Shahtoosh.
The rare Tibetan antelope called the Chiru is the only animal that produces Shahtoosh fibers. The chiru is exceedingly rare, lives in the most remote geography on the planet and is now on the international endangered species list. It is against the law to buy or sell new Shahtoosh shawls or woven products. Shahtoosh is still an object of great desire, and an even more interesting story.
The hair of the chiru is so exceedingly fine that it is considered impossible to weave, except by the Kashmiri weavers. Chiru wool fibers measure between 9 and 11 micro-meters in size. A completed Shahtoosh shawl can be passed through the inside diameter of a wedding ring. The finished pieces are exceedingly rare, priced for potentates purses only and lustily sought after.
The chiru lives at an altitude of over 5000 meters. The chiru's very light down fur is incredibly light, soft, strong and warm. For centuries the nomads of the Himalaya's hunted the chiru for meat and skins. They had no use for the wool fiber. They could never figure how to weave it.
It wasn't until the British Raj that appreciation and demand for the luxury and beauty of Shahtoosh and Pashmina was popularized. The British spread stories of the unique qualities of shawls made from Shahtoosh and the drive to harvest chiru was on. The chiru cannot be domesticated and the fiber is so difficult to handle that the only source of the animal's wool was hunting, and ultimately over-hunting.
The harvesting of chiru for their fine wool was fortuitous for Kashmir's skilled weavers. Only they possessed the skill and patience to handle and produce shawls from the micro-fibers. Their fame spread worldwide. They prospered as demand for these loftily prices shawls boomed among the world's elite.
Unfortunately for the Kashmiri weavers the laws of supply and demand cannot be suspended. As the chiru population became near extinct, and the animal became a protected species, the work of weaving Shahtoosh shawls disappeared. The fiber has virtually disappeared as international trade has been suspended.
Today, the prime market for Shahtoosh shawls is in estate and private sales. The kashmiri weavers have not worked with the fiber for so long, that their weaving skills have atrophied and disappeared. There is a small bit of poaching of chiru occurring but not enough to sustain a commercial enterprise. The Shahmina fiber, a 13 micro-meter wool, is the nearest legally produced wool to approximate Shahtoosh. However, it is not considered as exotic or unique, though still expensive.
The world's rarest, most highly prized wool fiber is not for sale, at least legally. The demand would boom if supply could be maintained, and critically, there were artesian craftsmen like the Kashmiri weavers who could manage and control the impossibly difficult chiru wool. "The King of fine wool" is now but a great legendary exotic chimera.
Geoff Ficke has been a serial entrepreneur for almost 50 years. As a small boy, earning his spending money doing odd jobs in the neighborhood, he learned the value of selling himself, offering service and value for money.
After putting himself through the University of Kentucky (B.A. Broadcast Journalism, 1969) and serving in the United States Marine Corp, Mr. Ficke commenced a career in the cosmetic industry. After rising to National Sales Manager for Vidal Sassoon Hair Care at age 28, he then launched a number of ventures, including Rubigo Cosmetics, Parfums Pierre Wulff Paris, Le Bain Couture and Fashion Fragrance.
Geoff Ficke and his consulting firm, Duquesa Marketing, has assisted businesses large and small, domestic and international, entrepreneurs, inventors and students in new product development, capital formation, licensing, marketing, sales and business plans and successful implementation of his customized strategies. He is a Senior Fellow at the Page Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Business School, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.
We are living in a country that has been stolen. We no longer have a "Free Market" and we no longer have a "Democracy". We live in a nation where the system has been deliberately broken. Wealthy families have managed to purchase our government, and through purchasing them they have managed to enact laws that ensure their own prosperity. Laws that have created the largest wealth gap in the history of any modern, industrial nation since the french revolution. This is the fall of Rome all over again. We are a glowing plutocracy, a nation run by the wealthy, with laws established only for the benefit of the 1%. This 1% is so wealthy they can give away 90% of what they earn, invest 90% of what they keep, and still be unable to spend their wealth faster than they earn it. Even people like myself, at the 99% salary mark, can not imagine this wealth gap between myself and the 1%... The gap is so great, that if we graphed it on a football field, the wealth of the 99% would stand 3 feet off the ground at the 99 yard line, and the goal line representing the 1% wealthy would be in the outer atmosphere of the earth..
We live in a nation of corrupt politicians who have legalized their own bribery and kick-backs. They are placed into office, in order to make it legal for the wealthy, the corporations, the banks, and wall street to STEAL FROM US by passing the deregulation they were bribed and put into office to pass... The wealthy then have tricked people into joining organizations like the "tea Party" started by Koch Industries, and have created FOX News as a 24 hour propaganda machine.
Organizations that funded by these same billionaires, often under shadow companies with catchy "national" sounding names (like Koch Industries' "Americans for Prosperity" which has nothing to do with America or the nation's prosperity) are convincing people to march down the street saying "Please let them steal more from me" under the false, misguided notion that it will "create jobs". These people having no idea that these jobs never actually VANISHED, they were just shipped overseas for profit.
The rhetoric today is "All you people who don't like having people steal from you, are just LAZY, bleeding heart hippies, and you don't want to work! You are jealous of the wealthy, you hate success because you aren't successful". The Occupy Wall Street crowd is doing what needs to be done, doing everything they can do short of bloody revolution (which if things don't change, will eventually come). To me they are heroes. They are the people pushed to the breaking point, who are smart enough to see the reality of our plutocracy (this term coined by Citibank in an internal memo). The reality of our station is that this government no longer "We the People". We no longer have a government "Of the People, by the people, for the people" - we are a plutocracy. We are in a place where the wealthy 1% (who are mostly born that way) don't work. They have their family money handed down on a silver platter the day they were born (like the Koch Brother's who's daddy invented the process of converting oil to gasoline, or Paris Hilton who is only famous because she is rich). We live in a country with the largest wealth gap of any industrial nation (even larger than many countries we consider "3rd world"). We have banks that STOLE MY SAVINGS that I worked 15 years to MAKE. When I watched my personal stock value drop from over a million dollars down to about 100K in value, these thieves on Wall Street and at the banks made RECORD PROFIT off my loss which they caused deliberately. These kids out there protesting (many are students) are paying for college out of pocket on back breaking loans because a lot of them had their college funds pillaged by the government, meanwhile our job competitors in India and Singapore and Holland and China have college and vocational education paid for by their governments.
The Federal Reserve bank (which is not federally owned by the way) has sole control over printing our money, which makes the money YOU HAVE in the BANK worth LESS whenever they do. They print that money and give it to the banks as loans, who then tax YOU AND ME to pay the interest. I pay over 30% in income taxes while billionaires pay 15% because their income comes from Wall Street in the form of capital gains. They are using my money and savings and investments in market gain, losing it's value, in order to make money for themselves. My retirement account is drained by their hedge funds while they control the market fluctuations for profit (the reason hedging was illegal before the mid 90s is because it was always postulated that market gain was driven by business success and could not be easily manipulated, while market decline could easily be caused by manipulation of the media and fear).
The banks invested in bad mortgages they never should have given out, throw them into the stock market removing the risk from them and then BET AGAINST THEM by hedging those securities to make a profit. When those worthless mortgage-backed securities failed, the banks MADE MONEY while you and I lose our 401K... These banks then take OUR TAX DOLLARS (on top of "golden parachutes" being sucked out of our government and the federal reserve for YEARS), saying it will "Save the economy and prevent a credit crisis" and use that money to go on private jets to conferences in tropical island countries and hand out huge million dollar bonuses to the CEO's who crashed our economy.
Today, I can't get a loan to purchase a foreclosure next door to me. A house vacant for the past 2 years, and selling for 1/2 what it will be worth in a few short years. I make over 200K/year and have almost zero debt and a 720 point credit rating, and I can't find a bank willing to loan me the money to purchase this house selling for almost nothing... why? Because banks won't LOAN money for a guy like me to invest in real estate.
Our entire government is owned by these psychopaths. The owners of the billion dollar oil companies like Koch industries, who fund all their campaigns. They deliberately finance the idiotic decision making and deregulation that got us into this mess, along with chasing oil in the middle east causing 2 wars that make them billions by siphoning war profit from wars that cost us trillions in tax payer money. They direct the puppet show that stalls "recovery" (recovery from what? 2011 was a banner year for corporate America's profits).
We don't have a "Representative democracy" anymore, we have a government owned by the aristocratic billionaires who can afford to buy their own politicians. In 2011 the fortune 500 turned RECORD PROFIT... MY COMPANY made record profit, in both revenue and % margin (our best year ever, and we are a publisher of retail entertainment). So where are these jobs? Well I can speak for my company. Deferred tax liability law (thank you W. ) FORCES us (yes me included) to compete by offsetting overseas profit through hiring foreign labor - it's not that we are "evil", or choose this path. It's business, it's the best way to profit, and its exactly what we SHOULD do with the current tax laws. If we didn't do that we would fail and fold, because as a publicly traded company it's either that or watch our stock crash.
India, China, Singapore - that labor isn't better (not by a long shot) or even cheaper in direct cost, it's just practically FREE because of the tax code!!! We can write off overseas profit by hiring overseas labor due to Bush's deferred tax liability on overseas profit... ONE SIMPLE LAW would change all that and not hurt our profits, or our bottom line, or change government revenue one PENNY (well actually revenue would go up, while corporations would increase profit) - The idea is that we keep the loophole exactly as it is, deferred tax on overseas profit, but change the last bit of the bill to "AS LONG AS it returns to US soil" rather than "As long as it NEVER returns to US soil". We actually switch it so that we only defer foreign profit taxation if you are hiring US EMPLOYEES and stimulating OUR economy... It would bring all these high paying jobs back here OVERNIGHT, myself (just me) would immediately in-source the hundreds of production jobs we outsource today, increase my profit while INCREASING government revenue, not with my profit! but with the salary of US employees who would start paying taxes and buying goods and stimulating our economy even farther here in the US... Which would in the end, greatly reduce the cost of safety net spending, and increase revenue reducing our deficit even more.
The argument is this is a "Vast Conspiracy Theory" - I return to the famous line "the greatest trick the devil ever did is convincing the world he didn't exist". This concept of masking reality through calling it "crazy conspiracy theory" has been used before. The holocaust was a "crazy conspiracy theory". Global warming, is a "Crazy conspiracy theory". How long will we continue to pretend that facts can be ignored? It is a fact that the Federal reserve bank is printing money at it's sole discretion. It is a fact that this causes inflation, it is a fact that inflation hurts those who SAVED, and those who cause the inflation profit from it. It is a fact that bribery is LEGAL and that politicians can make millions of dollars in bribes that they can now simply pocket and spend however they see fit (that is what a SUPER-PAC IS!).
The Occupy Wall Street crowd, while often "free spirited" and sometimes appearing to be "Dirty hippies", aren't out there protesting the success of millionaires AT ALL. They aren't out there begging for JOBS, or refusing to TAKE jobs. They are out there protesting the THIEVES that are our entire financial system. The thieves that stole our free market, stole our government, stole our media (and even stole our religion for their own personal gain). The 1% who don't pay taxes and profit off of the destruction of our democracy and our economy, and the destruction of our previously strong entrepreneurial middle class.
So stop bashing the people fighting for YOU. Don't attack the people trying to get BACK your right to save the money YOU EARNED without having it stolen by people so rich they don't even have the ability to spend what they steal from you. Start fighting for your right to have a representative in your government who actually REPRESENTS YOU, and stop fighting against our right to HIRE AMERICANS and make things here. Stop screwing yourself because you have had your brain shut off by puppet masters who scare you into fighting for them. Bring this country back to where it was supposed to be "Of the people, by the people, for the people". YOU start fighting for YOURSELF, the 99, and the country will get better on it's own.
Nobody likes frizzy hair. It makes every day a bad hair day. Unless you're going for that just out of bed look (which, by the way, real-life men actually hate), frizzy hair is a definite no-no.But how do you get rid of it?Causes of frizzFrizzy hair happens when too much natural oil and moisture are removed from the hair. As a result, the strands become coarse, dry, and difficult to brush.Frizzy hair can be a genetic trait; it can also be caused by applying too many or too strong chemicals to your hair. These chemicals can dry out your hair and weaken the strands, resulting in breakage and
It has been declared openly and with conviction to the whole world that Iran is a hater of Israel and has intentions to destroy her. In 2005, Ahmadinejad, president of Iran, addressed the United Nations and blustered that the "occupying regime (referring to Israel) must be wiped off the map." He declared that the "disgraceful stain" (Israel again) must be eliminated. (1)
On September 23, 2008 Ahmadinejad (2) again addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations and declared Zionists to be murderers and criminals. He would later predict to the L.A. Times that the state of Israel is like an airplane experiencing engine trouble and plunging to destruction. "This will benefit everyone," he said. In subsequent statements he has referred to Israel as a "germ of corruption (that) will be wiped off," (3) as a "cancer that spreads through the body", (4) and as a "kidney transplanted in a body that rejected it." (5)
In addition to the inflammatory verbiage, The United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency has validated that Iran is attempting to make an atomic bomb to be fitted onto a missile capable of reaching Israel. Should Ahmadinijad succeed in developing such a weapon, would he use it? The question is not whether he would use it, the question is why are there so many nations critical of Israel defending herself? Why is there such a clamoring for a nation the size of New Jersey to continue to give more and more of her territory to their neighboring Arabs who own massive amounts of land? Why are western nations scowling at Israel for contemplating taking out Iran's nuclear facilities when they all know that one nuclear hit on Jerusalem or Tel Aviv would pretty much mean annihilation.
The late Yasser Arafat once stated on Palestinian radio, "We will make the lives of the infidels hell - millions of martyrs marching on Jerusalem." Who can explain such vehement hatred against a fledgling country? Who in their right mind would deny Israel's right to defend themselves against such evil? Why do so many nations struggle to choose sides on this issue? Is the vast amount of oil provided by the Arab countries so alluring that we lose our sense of true justice? Who in their right mind would support a country or terrorist group who would sacrifice their own children to satisfy their hatred? Former Prime Minister Golda Meir said, ""There won't be peace in the Middle East until Yasser Arafat learns to love Palestinian children more than he hates the Jews."
Why is there so much apathy toward the only democratic country in the Middle East struggling to maintain her very existence? It is obvious by now that President Obama is no lover of Israel. At the G-20 summit earlier this year he and President Sarkozy of France didn't know they were being picked up on an open mic. "I cannot bear Netanyahu, he's a liar." Sarkozy said. Obama replied, "You're fed up, but I have to deal with him every day."
And so, how is it that Obama 'deals' with Netanyahu? Before answering that question please keep in mind that Obama has access to reams of sensitive and secret information that the rest of us are not privy to. He knows better than any the evil intent of Israel's enemies. And yet, he expects Israel to surrender itself more and more to the people who are planning their destruction. It seems Israel is the one always expected to make concessions. Obama and his ilk are making the same mistake British Prime Minister Chamberlain made with Hitler prior to WWII. He is following a policy of appeasement that can only end in chaotic destruction. As Winston Churchill once said, "An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile - hoping it will eat him last."
What a mystery! Is Obama so much of an empty suit that he fails to understand the history of these countries of the Middle East? Does he not appreciate the miracle of Israel's existence? Does not the sole democratic nation in the region deserve our full support? Instead, Obama seems to sympathize with third world countries run by malevolent and brutal dictators. Why is Obama willing to threaten Israel's right to exist as a state in order to promote the Palestinian hankering for a state? Does Obama not have a sense of how many Americans, both Jewish and Christian, he alienates because of his apathy toward Israel and his support of Israel's genocidal enemies?
Oh that the haters of Israel would contemplate the sound of God's voice found in Genesis 12:3 "I will bless those who bless you (Israel), and whoever curses you (Israel) I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you (Israel)." (6)
Kevin Probst lives in Columbus, Georgia. He is a teacher of History and Apologetics at a private high school. He submits articles pertaining to theology, apologetics, Christian living and American culture. If you have an interest in those ideas please visit his website at: http://www.kpprobst.blogspot.com/ and offer your opinions or join the conversation.
God's stock-in-trade is humour-enveloped love - as can later be seen by us. But not before we experience the humiliating pain of a lesson hard learnt. God proves impartiality in that, because every person is destined for the same trials. We see the purpose later on; afterwards we can laugh at ourselves.
How do we get to the point where God says, "Okay, have it your way"?
Dissatisfied with what we have and ever pining over what we don't have summons the incongruous calamity. Disenchantment is a slippery slide into the worsening of our problems.
IMBALANCE - THE ROOT CAUSE OF OUR PROBLEMS
Yearning climbs from within us from the moment our conscious clocks spark into tick. That longing, when balanced, provides inertia that ignites and fuels purpose. Too often, though, the centrifuge of life throws us into imbalance; the desire becomes an ache, unsatisfiable.
That feeling can be summarised in one word: anxiety.
Like yearning, anxiety can be healthy or unhealthy; it can drive us to contend and problem-solve or it can condemn us in a profusion of grating, perplexing thought.
Everyone has a touch of both forms of anxiety driving them. If we will nurture the good anxiety we can achieve great things. However, if we are betwixt in a hopeless longing anxiety will take us to dark places. Everything surrounds thinking.
CONVERTING ANXIETY TO PEACE BY HUMILITY, TRUTH, AND THANKFULNESS
There are many things that can amend negatively charged anxiety - that which we all have - so as to rejuvenate the bright life.
Selected, above, are three virtues gracing the existence of the shores of our wellbeing; the waves of life lapping at the beach in the presence of these, but not overwhelming it as in a tsunami.
Humility sees to it that we question our imbalance so we don't become so self-conceited as to miss the truth, entirely. It warns us in perspective. It may be the siren of the surf lifesaver alerting of an imminent threat regarding breaking dumpers, tidal waves, or sharks - those inevitable sweeping anxieties that take us off to an oblivion of helpless hopelessness in a moment.
Humility's first officer, scanning the shores, is Truth. Next in command, and close by, is reliable Thankfulness. The beach patrol is complete with these three. Threats of non-clinical anxiety can be assuaged.
***
Life is consumed with forethought for what might be. Wishing is an indicator of anxiety; one cloaked in the secrecy of a nemesis. Dissatisfaction is the contempt of our Maker. Anxiety rises against Divinity, for it chooses against virtue that could alleviate it.
Against everyday anxiety, a team of three contends: Humility, Truth, and Thankfulness combine to draw us into an accepting peace - the only faithful combatant. Ever more powerfully employed are these three by prayer.
By all realistic indicators, the Occupy protests that have been taking place across the country have been laughable. The Day of Rage began with a no real sense of direction or even agreement that there would be rage. The first New York protesters didn't know if they wanted to have a party, march on Wall Street, protest at the United Nations, or go home.
The situation didn't improve any when the protests disrupted traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge during rush hour. At best this aggravated people, at worst it aided large oil companies who couldn't be happier to see people leave their cars running for a few hours longer. When Occupy decided to go nation-wide, it seemed all but certain that the protesters would succeed in annoying everybody right before fading out of view.
The authorities have ruined any such luck. Instead of ignoring or even laughing at the way the protesters were carrying on, they decided to try to evict them, arrest them, pepper spray them, and otherwise be abusive to them. Instead of fading away, it now appears that the protesters have strengthened their resolve and will stick out any abuse.
In the face of idiotic violence, one doesn't need a platform, ideology, or aims. One's stance can be nothing more than to stop idiotic violence, which is a pretty persuasive advocacy.
Camping out in front of public buildings, in parks, or elsewhere is annoying. It's also a strange way to go about changing policies. But to pepper spray and abuse the annoying occupiers will only empower them.
When violence is used, power and authority evaporate. The modern mind tends to equate power and authority with violence because those in power are the only ones allowed to use violence, but this distorts the relationship. When a person's parents tell them not to stick their hand in the electrical socket, the child obeys not because the parent beats them but because the child trusts that the parent knows what they're talking about. A child who is abused eventually loses faith in that knowledge and will stick its hand in the socket when no one is around.
We overlook the fact that the best leadership strategies in the West have been those that mimic the divine. A solemn, quiet, stern force that commands obedience by virtue of being more powerful and intelligent than anything else around it is what we identify real legitimate authority as. The Biblical narrative always qualifies God's violence with love (Old Testament) and overt forgiveness (New Testament). When leaders engage in pointless shows of violence, they undermine their legitimacy and empower the opposition. OWS might have just been given its legitimacy by its opposition.
Mark Tully is the primary contributor to Restorus.org, a conservative blog. He has authored numerous articles on politics and religion such as one on John Locke's Letter of Toleration and a biblical study on how old the earth is.
One of the things I bet you did not know is that you don't have to pay full price for hair extensions, right? The reason I mention this is because a lot of people think that they have to pay what a store is asking them to pay and that is not the total truth. If you want to get hair extensions while at the same time paying less for them than you can do this.The first thing that you need to understand is that you should never buy hair extensions from a regular store. What I would recommend doing is to buy them on a site like eBay or Craigslist and to look around at flea markets. The nice thing
I suspect that almost everyone is affected by the weather. If you live in a place where the climate is almost always bright and sunny, you probably crave a spot of cool now and again. However, your moods will probably be less affected than those of people who live in darker and damper climes. It is easier to feel brighter and more optimistic when presented with a warm and sunny day.
When you live in a part of the hemisphere that is greatly affected by fluctuations between dark and light, grey or blue skies, rain or sunshine, then it is difficult to not be affected in some emotional sense by this changeability. As autumn changes into winter and the nights draw in you feel more confined and restricted. You simply cannot do all of those things that you enjoyed doing in the evenings during the long and light days of summer.
When you awaken in the morning and are presented with darkness as you open your bedroom curtains you might feel your mood quite simply dropping downwards. As dawn breaks and the day begins you look forward to lightness and brightness entering your day. Therefore when the skies remain grey and dark clouds loom ominously above it can be difficult to lift your mood and lighten your spirit.
People can be forgiven for wishing that they could just curl up and hibernate for the winter and simply reawaken in the springtime when skies and blue and temperatures have risen. That said we have to live within the reality of what we are presented with. We cannot always live our dreams.
We have to learn to live with the affect of the weather upon our psyche and seek our own ways to lift our spirits and brighten our moods. It is very easy to focus upon what we are missing out upon or what we haven't got, but in doing this we sink into an ever-deeper rut, making it impossible to climb out of.
It is instead vitally important to focus upon the things that we do have, the things that are good and enjoyable in our lives. On those darker and colder nights we can enjoy the warmth and beauty of a crackling log fire. We can take time to appreciate the beauty of our homes, friends and families. We can focus upon projects and gain a sense of achievement. We can read all of those books we meant to read and catch up upon movies that we meant to watch.
There are in fact many things that you can do to stop yourself being afflicted by SAD. Eating well, ensuring that you exercise, focusing upon interests, hobbies and friendships are all obvious forms of self-help and act to prevent the onset of SAD. Meditation or self-hypnosis are also good sources of relaxation and comfort.
The use of self-hypnosis can also be extended to include utilizing your senses to imagine the effect of sunshine on your mind and body. You can use your mind in this way to trigger a spontaneous endorphin release, raising your mood naturally and lifting your spirits.
Roseanna Leaton, specialist in health hypnosis mp3 downloads including assistance in preventing SAD.
P.S. Discover how you can focus your mind with hypnosis. Grab a free hypnosis mp3 from my website now.
I got a few things on my chest which are going to come at some of you like venom. One of my members had a knee MRI this week. Turns out, it is a knee strain. Now, this is the part that irks me...the doctors told my client that squats and lunges are terrible for the knees. At which I replied, "False". This is part of the problem when it comes to health and fitness. The people that are supposed to be leading the charge, the doctors, don't take the time to really find out the truth. Here is what the doctor might be referring to:
There was a book written in the 1960's, the name which escapes me, where the author talked about pre-existing knee conditions and squatting. In that case, then squatting might not be the best (although I could make the argument against this). Many people read only that headline or part of that book and came to the conclusion that squatting is bad for the knees. Nothing could be further from the truth. Look at the squatting motion in which you go through the full range of motion. You are strengthening the leg musculature while at the same time lubricating and washing the joint in synovial fluid. Squatting is the most natural and healthy knee movement there is. Look at pictures of babies in the squat or pictures of some African tribes in which even the senior members are in a full squat. The doctors hear that if the knees go past the toes, you are screwed. Wrong again. First of all, when looking at the lunge, what happens to the back leg and knee when lunging? It is past the toe! How come no one ever mentions this?! Look at all types of sports and games, the players knees are constantly out in front of the toes. The logic doesn't add up! And then, the doctor told client X to strengthen the thighs more...hello Doc! What the hell do you think is the most effective exercise for strengthening the things?! Food for thought.
One more quick rant before I gotta run. These dopes over at Wall Street should not be expecting any handouts. A person like me works 18 hours per day to make my dream come to fruition. The only difference is in mindset. We all have the same opportunities, it is just a matter of some people actually wanting to work hard and follow a plan and others waiting for people to give them something. The only people that have the means to stimulate the economy are the affluent, 1%ers. It is no coincidence that the 1% affluent are also the 1% when it comes to having a great mindset. The connection is direct. 1%ers have the ability to spend and put money back into the economy. Give these protesters even $500 each from a CEO's pocket and guess what? It will disappear as quickly as you gave it to them because people of this mindset have to spend any money they have on debt and buying necessities. It is a shame that people are not willing to work hard or jump into the opportunity that is there for the taking.
Kyle Newell is the creator of Newell Strength, located in central New Jersey. He specializes in making athletes bigger, faster and stronger. Kyle's methods are among the most unique in the business. He has worked with college strength programs and has competed in numerous bodybuilding shows. Kyle's men and athletes achieve unbelievable rates of success and performance on the field. You can find out more about Kyle at http://www.newellstrength.com/.
Republican or Democrat, Green Party or Independent, male or female, old or young, there is one thing almost all voters have in common on Election Day, other than the fact that they voted: an "I Voted" sticker.
It's seems hard to believe that a single piece of adhesive paper can invoke so much passion in U.S. citizens, but that's just what it does.
Dr. Richard Smolka, Professor Emeritus at The American University and founder of Election Administrative reports, chalks up this feeling of passion to the sense of civic duty Americans associate with voting.
He explains, "Voting is considered a civic duty even by some of those who do not vote. The census reports on voter turnout caution their numbers may be high because a significant number of non-voters say they voted rather than admit they neglected their duty. So my best answer is that some voters want to let the world know that they performed their duty."
It is uncertain when the "I Voted" sticker originally made its appearance on Election Day. Some historians point to the 1980s and one company claims to have created the original stickers in 1986.
Today, however, the "I Voted" Sticker is not just about telling the world you completed your civic duty; many businesses encourage voting by offering giveaways to those wearing the sticker.
Regardless of your motivation, there is no denying the power of the "I Voted" Sticker. Maggie Ostrowski, a spokesperson for the Ohio Secretary of State's office, notes that the stickers actually make the jobs of poll workers easier by encouraging citizens to vote. She explains, "Voters in Ohio definitely ask for them when they finish voting. They wear them as a badge of honor on Election Day that they exercised their right to vote and participated in our democracy. It's a small gesture, but it means a lot to them to wear it proudly and see fellow citizens wearing them too."
Even kids today are getting in on the action, receiving their own "I Voted" sticker after voting in their own mock elections.
Kids Voting USA partners with schools and election officials across the country to teach students to prepare youth to be educated, engaged voters. The organization uses civic activities to introduce students to the concepts of citizenship as early as kindergarten in the interest of developing the strong skills and habits that are invaluable for living in a democracy.
Students prepare for the election in their classrooms, where they learn about the voting process and the Electoral College. In the evenings, children listen to their parents discuss issues surrounding the election and come into the classroom ready to discuss. The current events nature of the election keeps the children interested and teachers challenge students to help them establish their own opinions on the issues.
After they have taken time to discuss the issues and fully understand the election process, the students take part in a mock election that mimics the actual election with the same candidates and same issues. This combination of classroom instruction, family dialogue and authentic voting experience makes the program a powerful tool for affecting long-term voting behavior.
And just like their parents, they walk away with pride wearing their "I Voted" sticker and letting everyone around them know they participated in the election, even in their own small way, and made their own voices heard.
LabelValue.com is a Florida-based label manufacturer specializing in custom labels and desktop printer labels. Our company currently offers seven unique styles of "I Voted" stickers. We can also custom design "I Voted" stickers to meet your specifications.
Please join me for a fun series. My mission, and I've chosen to accept it, is to write an article based on each letter of the alphabet. The English major inside of me is very excited about this project...and my inner nerd is even more fired up! Keep checking back as I tackle the intangibles of sport...from A to Z.
Is greatness a nurture or nature thing? Meaning, can we teach greatness...or is it something that we're born with? According to Daniel Coyle, author of The Talent Code, we can teach it. I'd highly recommend you read the book, it's a little sciency, but a very good read.
Without further ado, here are five things which are essential to teams in order to be great.
Initiative. The first thing great teams conquer is fear of failure...because they know that failure is a step to success. As John Wooden said, "If you're afraid of failure, you will never do the things you are capable of doing." I often tell my team that they never would have learned to walk when they were toddlers without initiative. Those little kids aren't worried about falling over again and again, failure doesn't bother them. They don't focus on the failure, but rather the goal in front of them. Intentness. Great people don't give up. They set goals and pursue them relentlessly. They are determined to pursue their goal...they understand that they may not reach the goal. Yet they push on. They are persistent in consistently practicing to the peak of their performance...they are tough. Identifiable. Greatness can't be disguised, it can't be hidden, and it can't be mistaken for something else. It could be the player whose words can motivate and inspire her teammates to do what they didn't think they could. Or it could be the player who keeps working hard even though they are physically and mentally exhausted. Or it could even be the player who has earned the respect of her teammates...even though she doesn't get tons of playing time. Inspiration. Great teams inspire one another to perform at their best level...they want to be the best, not for personal glory, but for the success of the team. The coaching staff gets after it with recruiting, practice planning, and scouting their opponents. Meanwhile, the players study video to make themselves better and learn their opponent's tendencies...not to mention inspiring one another to push themselves just a little bit harder than the day before. Imaginative. Great coaches, players, and teams can see success before it happens. Success is not a surprise to great teams, but rather something they've played over and over again in the tape that runs in their heads. Great teams visualize their success in vivid detail and then go about the work of making it happen.
There is something empowering about knowing that you are in control of your greatness and it should be exciting to your team as well. Greatness isn't something you're born with...it's something you can learn over time.
Dawn Redd is the Head Volleyball Coach at Beloit College. Come visit Coach Dawn's community of coaching nerds and team leaders over at her blog, http://www.coachdawnwrites.com/, where she teaches how to become an excellent coach, motivate individuals, and build successful teams.
Her book, Coach Dawn's Guide To Motivating Female Athletes, is available for purchase on her website.
Newt Gingrich made some comments recently about the Occupy Wall Street movement that got a lot of airtime on both TV and radio. Gingrich said that the people of Occupy Wall Street should, "Go get a job right after you take a bath."
There has been a lot of discussion about whether or not Gingrich was too harsh in his comments, especially with unemployment over 9%. What I haven't heard anyone talk about though is that this is a complete 180 from what Gingrich said less than two months ago. Back then, the Occupy Wall Street was getting off the ground running and finally starting to make headlines. Most of the GOP candidates running for President came out against the movement with the exception of Newt Gingrich. Instead of bashing the Occupy Wall Street movement like most of the candidates were doing, Gingrich instead tried to garner their support and redirect their anger towards Washington and President Obama.
Back then Newt Gingrich said about the Occupy Wall Street movement, "I think they have a lot of good reasons to be unhappy and I think we ought to indicate that their unhappiness should be aimed at the government. Because its the government's that's failed them." When Gingrich was asked if he would reach out to the Occupy Wall Street groups for support he said "absolutely."
Gingrich even seemed to sympathize with the young members of the Occupy Wall Street movement when he said, "If you're a 22 or 23 year old kid, and you're sitting out there with no job you're looking at these things and you're saying 'let me get this straight.' How much did Goldman Sachs get? How much did the Paris bank get? How much did the bank of Libya get? And I'm supposed to pay off my student loan?"
Of course two months in Presidential politics is a long time. Back then, Gingrich wasn't the frontrunner. Now he is. So now Gingrich has to cuddle up to his far right-wing base who aren't very fond of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Gingrich did a great job of cuddling up to the right-wing base by saying the Occupy Wall Street protesters should "Go get a job right after you take a bath." I guess Gingrich's hope is that those same people he got a massive applause from for that line, don't go back and read what he said before he was the frontrunner. So far with little to no news coverage about Gingrich's flip-flop, he may very well be successful in avoiding scrutiny about it.
David W Gray invites you to join The Political Zealot's community at http://thepoliticalzealot.com/ where we bring politics from an independent's point of view to light. Our goal at The Political Zealot is to show other like minded independents what they can do to impact the political world by bringing their ideas to the forefront of the political discussion. Come join the community and post your comments at http://thepoliticalzealot.com/
The economy has seen better times, and the falling stock prices has left many investors worried about their financial stake in the stock market and wondering the secrets of finding the top stocks to buy. While there are signs of the market recovering, there are still a number of areas still suffering. Interest rates are rising, and the housing market is still having a hard-time fully recovering.Investors are now asking themselves what type of investments are more likely to be recession proof? They are no longer able to choose riskier investments and are choosing the more stable, predictable
The words we speak make an impact upon our world whether we realize it or not. How we speak and what we say has an impact upon us and upon others.
In the Biblical context we find that the tool of God for creating the universe in Genesis, chapter one, was His word.
We find that the tool the prophets used was their words. What they said was impacting. And it had to be a responsible word. In some instances a false prophet was stoned to death because his words were impacting upon the whole of society.
The laws of God for the Israelites was important. The Ten commandments were not Ten Suggestions! In fact, God spoke through Moses to tell the people that if they concentrated upon the law that they would have good success.
King David wrote, "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly or standeth in the way of sinners or sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law he meditates day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of waters that bringeth forth his fruit in his season and his leaf also shall not wither but whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." (Psalm 1).
Jesus, in the New Testament reiterated the importance of speaking a word. He believed that words had power.
When tempted by the devil out in the wilderness, He spoke back to the devil that man should not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.
As with the prophets of old, His main tool for mighty works was His word. He spoke and water was turned to wine. He spoke and demons fled. He spoke and winds became calm. He spoke and people were healed. He spoke and winds ceased their blowing. He spoke and the dead were raised to life. His words had power over animate and inanimate objects.
Jesus not only used speaking as a tool in His own life and works, but he taught again and again, as recorded in each of the Gospels, that the disciples were to use the tool of speech coupled with faith to perform mighty works.
He said on numerous occasions that if we had faith as a grain of mustard seed and would say to a mountain or a mulberry tree to be plucked up and removed and cast into the sea that it would obey us!
These are powerful statements and speak to the importance of proper speech. Our words and speech are powerful elements. We should recognize their value and importance and use them wisely.
We can use words for failure. We can use words for mediocrity. We can use words for success even in practical daily living. Use words wisely and for your success and the success of others over which you speak.
Dr. Jerry Smith has spoken to over 5,000 audiences and published numerous books, three of which relate to success in life by means of internal word dynamics. Words and logo, rightly understood, and correctly applied are powerful life-changing, dream-fulfilling tools. Take advantage of Dr. Smith's FREE 12-Lesson mini-course: Logo Dynamics Your Internal Dream Machine. Sign up for this and other life-changing information at: http://wordsforsuccess.com/
Have you ever wondered how self-made millionaires achieved their great wealth? Have you ever wondered how they got to where they are today? What kind of millionaire secrets are theses elite achievers keeping to themselves, and if you somehow discovered them, what could you learn from them?
Well these millionaire secrets are actually pretty simple. There are certain things self-made millionaires do on a consistent basis that help them achieve some pretty amazing things. I'm going to outline what Jim Rohn talks about quite often in is books and training. Here are 7 things you can start doing to get you on the right track to earn YOUR first million.
Ambitious - Self-made millionaires see themselves as the best, or capable of being the best. This doesn't mean they think they're better than everyone, it just means they feel like they're capable of achieving great things.
Courageous - They make it a habit of doing the things that they are afraid of. Self-made millionaires still have fear... they're human, but they don't let that stop them from achieving their goals and dreams.
Committed - Self-made millionaires are committed to what they are doing. They believe in what they're doing and have faith in the product or service they provide.
Professionalism - They view themselves as experts, problem solvers, and friendly people... and they act that way on a consistent basis. Even if you're an employee you are still a professional. Start viewing yourself as a consultant, and your employer is your biggest client (Jim always had a unique way of looking at things).
Prepared - Self-made millionaires are always prepared. They understand what's going on in their life and business. This one is pretty self explanatory.
Student - You can bet that they are always reading a book, listening to audio tapes, and taking classes and attending seminars. They are always looking to improve and the best way to do that is to learn from others.
Responsible - Not only do they take responsibility for results, they always see themselves as the president of their own company... whether they have one at the moment or not. Self-made millionaires live by the saying, "if it is to be it's up to me".
Do you want to become rich? Do you want to change your present situation? Then start implementing these millionaire secrets by following the instructions above. Before long, great things will begin to happen in your life and you'll begin to see that your goals are closer than you think.
Click here to learn a simple system you can start using to generate 50+ leads for your home-based business on complete autopilot!
I have had the opportunity in recent weeks to notice the busy-ness of the world in which we live. Part of this is a simple reflection of where I am at myself right now. My business is growing and building (which is a great thing). My children are growing and expanding their social worlds (which naturally contributes to the busy-ness of my life as a parent). And I'm slowly expanding the range of activities that I'm involved in, beyond simple income-generation, exploring and dipping my toes in various pools of volunteer work as a means of "giving back."
As I've enjoyed this experience of growth, one of the things I've been very conscious and deliberate about, particularly over the last six months, is how I establish, build and maintain relationships. Everyone has relationships in their life. You may have a lot, you may have a few and either way, it's not the number of relationships that you have which is important, it's how you nurture them that matters.
One thing I know for sure is that my ability to build my business is directly dependent on my ability to build and maintain strong relationships, relationships in which people know, like and trust me. In order for this to happen, I have got to make time for ALL of these relationships in some way, shape or form. I've had opportunity to watch some of my colleagues recently. I see how they continually cancel some of their appointments -- those with other colleagues, friends, family or even themselves -- in order to serve their clients. And on the one hand, I totally understand. After all, these client relationships are what bring in the income, allowing you to stay in business. I get it. And yet, at some point, you will need something from those other relationships in your life. Now, you could rely on the goodwill of these folks to meet your needs. My guess, however, is that goodwill only goes so far.
If you continually put the needs of one relationship demographic ahead of others, things will go awry. You have got to find a way to nurture all of your relationships, in a balanced way. I know, your family and friends are forgiving, they understand that you're busy. So do your colleagues; after all, they're likely in the same boat! And at the same time, these folks need you to make an appearance at some point. Not just a cursory Facebook update, or a token "here I am for dinner today but I'm going to jump whenever my blackberry dings", but a real, genuine, "I am fully present and engaged in our relationship" appearance. It doesn't have to happen often; and it does have to happen.
Now, you've got to play with this a bit. Some relationships really do only need a good "catch-up" once a year or so. I know; I've got these relationships in my life. These are the relationships that have something really powerful at their core, the relationships that can withstand the distance of time and space and, are not contingent on daily interaction. Other relationships need more frequent, REAL interactions - by phone, by mail, in-person - in order to maintain their power. How much interaction is needed is not a reflection of how good or bad the relationship is; it's simply a reflection of the difference in how the relationship is built. Your job is to know the difference and nurture accordingly.
Bottom-line: relationships matter. No matter how busy you are, or how successful you are, your willingness to nurture the relationships in your life and not take them for granted says a lot about who you are and what you value. If you value your success, you will take care of your relationships - all of your relationships. You'll make time for your colleagues, your clients, your family, your friends and yourself. And if you don't take care of your relationships, you can say goodbye to your success. So, how will you nurture your relationships this week?
Gail Barker is a Certified Professional Life Coach and Co-Author of The Control Freak's Guide to Living Lightly. Since 2002, Gail has supported hundreds of professional women, through coaching, workshops, and her monthly ezine, in shifting their lives from chaos to calm; her coaching practice revolves around the concept of ease. For Gail, life is all about having every person experience success on their terms. To this end, she invites you to ask yourself, "whose life are you living?", and if your answer is anything other than "my own", visit Stellar Coaching and Consulting at http://www.stellarcc.com/ to get on your own path to success.
Many leaders of small, medium and large scale companies are always depended on to make huge decisions and ensure that those are seen through. However, there are also those leaders which are just totally indecisive and don't really make a lot of confident choices, thus putting many crucial matters at stake. In order to be a leader, or someone that people would look up to, you need to have good decision making skills, and despite how far training and support in business management has come these days, it's still surprising to see several individuals being unable to make decisions. In fact, a lot of people make use of delaying tactics to keep such an important process in the running of a business at bay, such as accumulating more information from other people, pretending to be busy with other important concerns, worrying about the consequences of the choices about to be made, etc.
If you're someone in a high position in your company, you would be expected to make certain choices that will affect how things play out from within, and you may not be up to the challenge. Below are a few signs of a person who is a bad decision maker:
#1: There's always a lack of time. Some individuals use this excuse in order to delay the process of coming up with a decision. They seem to fill their schedules with several priorities which totally distract their attention from the bigger picture.
#2: There's a lack of information. When you're making a decision, you need to gather as much info referring to that priority within your company which may affect everything. It is only logical that you get as much feedback from your co-workers and research on important data in order to get the possible outcomes.
#3: You don't have a lot of choices. When placed in charge of something important, you are expected to come up with different options to choose from, and these options would always have certain effects on how things play out. However, if you state that you are limited in options, you are simply not looking hard enough.
#4: You're not considering all the choices. Sometimes you have this "we've come this far" mentality, and the pressure of time running out on you forces you to limit your options to a great degree. When making decisions, it's definitely better to keep an open mind and see what other things you need to consider.
#5: You're simply not being methodical. Decision making involves considering a lot of factors, such as how your co-workers may feel, what the possible outcome would be for your organization as a whole, what other areas might be affected, and others. Not being systematic in your approach and simply just leaving it all up to fate is a sign that you're not supposed to be in that position of power.
BH Yao invites the online community to read more articles on personal & professional development, building leadership, success skills, and helping people to unlock their true potential at Self Empowering Tips. Check out other articles on Decision Making.
Before cell phones, watches were the cat's pajamas; they were classy accessories to adorn our wrists and keep us posted on the time. Technology in our world sure has changed hasn't it? Actually, not so much. Watches are still very popular today. They are going strong and will continue to for years all because they are being repurposed.Luxury watches in the 21st century are more than just a timepiece, they are designer accessories with versatile features to fit the lifestyles of their owners. Older trends are coming back into style due to a vintage revival and new designs are front-running a
In between charging your iPod and fighting off zombies, humans need food, shelter, and water. In a catastrophe, everything may be in short supply, except for the zombies. Only then will we realize the shelf life of foods is an important consideration in emergencies of all kinds. These especially include catastrophes. The truth is, these days some people are over prepared, but most folks are under prepared. We will teach you exactly what you need to know about shelf life of foods to get started safeguarding your family. We also cover guns, zombies, food supply, and getting through the worst of times.
In the wake and passing by of the Cold War, people have decided that they no longer need to prepare for any type of disaster, as much as before. You can easily poll your neighbors and see who has built a fallout shelter recently. It's probably also the one strange guy in the neighborhood loaded with guns, ammunition and a monster truck (wink). As little as over 20 years ago, regular folks still took disaster preparation very seriously, with middle class households building bomb shelters in the backyard next to Fido's doghouse, and stocking shelves full of food and supplies. These days, nuclear fallout shelters are looked upon as a relic of the past. Can you imagine what our leaders from the past would say of our naivety now?
Shelf Life and preparing for the worst
Most people have canned foods that will spoil after a couple years in storage. Did you know you can die easily from poisoned canned foods? In the 1970s, this was an issue in the public awareness since people were dying of botulism poisoning. The material of the container holding your food makes a big difference in safety procedures- in the past most cans were made out of steel.
In the 1970s, ordinary folks went to the grocery store, and they would perish from eating dinner! Later, scientists realized dented up cans or cans partially exposed to air provided great grounds for special bacteria to breed and create a poisonous substance. These days most food cans in the United States are aluminum lined with a specially produced plastic layer. Beverage cans are just thin aluminum sheeting.
Fortified #10 containers: courtesy of the cold war
Currently, there exists a limited amount of amazingly engineered materials for food containers, which was developed for use by the US Army. Emergency food supplies and food survival is a priority for them. In fact, regular people with money can buy these too! These containers and their packing process make food last in excess of 20 years! By the way, 20 years is a ridiculously long time.
Here is an analogy so perhaps you can appreciate it. If you had your own warehouse of this stuff, imagine how long you could live after the apocalypse! You could even raise a child and send him to High School (of course, it would need to be a homeschooled option, since high school doesn't exist after the apocalypse). You may also have enough food to last through zombie combat school, and build a collective underground farm in your new colony. I mean, it only took 10 years to land a man on the moon!
The packing process freeze dries the food and takes out all the water. Needless to say, these foods cost a fortune, and then you need to have room for storage, and you need water to remake it as well. That's right, these #10 cans don't come with water, and you can't eat it without the water. Thus, you still have to solve the problem of a safe water supply. If you manage to live near an underground lake or a spring, this will work fantastically!
So, not to be sarcastic, but these cans are only part of the equation needed to save your life. Now, what if you could learn how to survive on the land, anywhere you live?
Charging your iPod after the apocalypse
People need to survive, but they also need a means to thrive. "If you give a man a fish (or #10 cans), then he eats for a day. If you teach a man to fish (and live off the land), then he eats for a lifetime." The best way to survive an extended emergency then, is not to stock up massive mounds of expensive #10 cans, but simply have access to the bulk materials necessary to rebuild. Humans need food, shelter and water. According to Sold Out After Crisis and Damian Campbell, an internet authority on survival methods, if you learn the right skills, you can live anywhere! He teaches you how to generate electricity with solar energy, as well as how to collect and purify water! Yes, if you learn sold out after disaster steps, you can still charge your iPod after hell freezes over!
Damian Campbell has also put together a list of facts and 37 essential items that will help you get through emergencies. The reality is, catastrophes like zombie apocalypses haven't occurred yet (at least that we know of), but natural disasters occur all the time around the world. In all seriousness, during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 people found themselves stranded and without food or potable water. If they would have stocked up on the supplies recommended by Sold Out After Crisis and Damian Campbell, they would have fared much better.
You can take the right steps to prepare your family for the worst. It is easy and does not have to cost thousands for a year's supply of #10 canned foods. Don't leave your loved ones without water to drink. Think about events like the 1917 flu pandemic in the United States, which left an entire portion of the population dead and immobilized large tracts of society. People were afraid to leave their houses for weeks at a time! These are other types of catastrophes, not manmade, that can befall the people of earth. You can learn more about Sold Out After Crisis and Damian Campbell to live a good life after the apocalypse, with enough food and drink, plus electricity left over to charge your iPod via solar energy!
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are releasing the 2012 Fuel Economy Guide, providing consumers with information that can help them choose a more efficient new vehicle that saves them money and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. While fuel efficient vehicles come in a variety of fuel types, classes, and sizes, many new advanced technology vehicles debut on this year’s annual list of top fuel economy performers. Fuel economy leaders within each vehicle category – from two-seaters to large SUVs – include widely available products such as conventional gasoline models and clean diesels.
Some 2012 models will be displaying a new fuel economy and environment label that provides consumers with more comprehensive fuel efficiency information, including five-year fuel costs or savings compared to the average vehicle, as well as new greenhouse gas and smog ratings. These labels are actually required in model year 2013, but automakers may voluntarily adopt the new labels in model year 2012.
Each vehicle listing in the guide provides an estimated annual fuel cost. The estimate is calculated based on the vehicle’s miles per gallon (mpg) rating and national estimates for annual mileage and fuel prices. The online version of the guide allows consumers to input their local gasoline prices and typical driving habits to receive a personalized fuel cost estimate.
Printed editions of the guide are coming to dealer showrooms. DOE and EPA will provide online updates of fuel economy information as more 2012 vehicles become available.
More information and a complete version of the guide: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ and at fueleconomy.gov/m for mobile devices.
When luminaries pass, the world stops to take note.
Steve Jobs, IT genius, was one of those persons adding light to the world with his many innovations. Yet, what struck me most was the advice he gave to the 2005 Stanford graduating class:
"Your time is limited. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. Everything else is secondary."
Developing intuition requires faith in your self. It is valuing your self enough to take the time to listen to your self. It requires trust in your self, and most importantly it asks that you use this inner wisdom to express what is uniquely you.
Simple, right? Well, not always. It is common to ignore or discount intuition.
I recall talking to Caroline Myss, a respected medical intuitive, hoping to glean secrets on how to develop this "special" ability. I was surprised when she said that being a medical intuitive is really not a "special" ability.
"We are all intuitive, we all have the ability to know what is happening within us and what we need. But, we just don't listen to it and when we do, we too often don't follow its wisdom."
Here are few ideas to help you tap into your intuition.
Developing Intuition Tips Slow Down: The word "intuition" comes form the Latin word "intueri" which means "to look inside" or "to contemplate." If you're like most, you're going too fast, driven by activity, and rarely take time just to be with your self. Tune-In: Tuning-in to intuition's subtle cues takes intention, attention, and practice. Separate the "Wheat From the Chaff": Chaff is the outer part of grain such as wheat. It has to be removed before the grain can be used as food. Similarly, developing intuition requires that you separate the thoughts that commonly fill the mind from intuitive thoughts. When seeking intuition, note the tone and quality of the message. Automatic thoughts, based more on early childhood experiences than current reality, typically accuse and demean, whereas intuitive thoughts are supportive and gentle in their guidance. Follow Your Intuition: Now that you hear or feel intuitive guidance - follow it. Simple, right? Well, not always. It's easy to ignore intuition, especially if it's telling you something your don't want to hear. Show Gratitude: Strengthen intuition by relishing it, savoring it, appreciating it. I spend a little time each day savoring my intuitive insight, "Hurry won't help." This simple insight has brought a great deal of peace to my life. It is among the list of things that I am grateful for each day. What you appreciate and give attention to grows. Develop Self Esteem: Developing intuition is developing your full potential. It is respecting your self, it's trusting in your self and your inherent knowing.
Key Points
Your intuition is the royal road to life's purpose: to come into your full being.
Paying attention to your intuition is self esteem. It's self esteem that is so strong that it makes it easy to follow your heart and intuition, as Jobs advised.
Copyright by Nancy S. Moore PhD, RN, a health writer dedicated to helping you create vibrant health and your great potential. Visit my website at http://www.natural-healing-health.com/ for more articles and resources to help you develop your "Personal Health Insurance Plan." It will save you money and work better too!
How to get Disability Answers. How to choose the best Car. How to invest in mutual funds. Keep in touch with Lady Gaga!
Do any of these have anything in common to you? To me, they're all different reasons for apps for smartphones (yes, there is an app to keep in touch with Lady Gaga). The smartphone revolution had given ground to the uprising of new and wonderful (and many not so wonderful) apps. With the ubiquitous mobile phone and the relative ease of use for apps (have you ever seen a manual for angry birds?), apps are becoming the de facto distribution for many groups to disseminate information. This holds true especially for political groups.
There are numerous political action groups who have their own apps. These apps typically heavily oriented toward RSS feed sharing and some social media leveraging. However, many political groups have begun using apps for donations, canvassing, candidate information and more.
The 2008 political campaign showed many pundits and citizens alike how useful mobile technology is to mobilize action. SMS messages, push notifications, Social Media integration and more are examples of tools that many respectable apps are hosting. These functions are needed to make the cause, group, or candidate more:
Let's consider the access. This can go two ways. First, the group/candidate/cause (from here, I will say marketer to catch all of those) can share access outward to the target audiences. In this case, people who elect to download the app to their smartphones. Second, with the right tools in place, users of the app can 'share back' with the marketer to provide feedback, strategic information, opinion, polling data and more. This two way dialogue (of sorts) gives new interest to marketers (in campaign efforts) to harness another channel for getting more people involved.
Let's face it, if you have an app, you're using "cutting edge" technology. Right? Well, that's no longer the case. I've been writing mobile tools for some time now and I know this isn't rocket science. I do know it's not simple enough for just anyone to do. But, if you have an app, many people will immediately acknowledge that you must have any (or many) of the following: 1) Great ideas, 2) Money, 3) Great connections, 4) Great/unlimited technology resources and 5) Great consideration (after all, you're sharing with others). Whatever the case, if you have an app, you're going to find yourself far more respected than a marketer without an app.
Mobile is the way to go these days. People are disconnecting and no longer tied to a desk or home computer. They're moving around and accessing (hey, this goes back to that accessible point, doesn't it?) the web and the mobile universe from smartphones. Data has to be mobile to be used. An app travels with the phone and the user always has the phone (test it yourself, you will find that you're seldom away from your cell/mobile phone) nearby. This gives the marketer amazing potential to mobile branding. Imagine, having a billboard in your audiences' purses, pockets, desks, and more 23 or 24 hours a day!
The technology from hybridization of native coding and HTML and other tools allows for more robust apps helps now more than ever before. This gives the clear advantage to any campaign, cause, or candidate harnessing a mobile app - at least from a technological point of view.
David Pratt is a creative consultant with iDesign Mobile Apps, a smartphone application development company located in Nevada and North Carolina. Smartphone users can take advantage of technology by using smartphone apps which help them improve their lives. Mobile apps and mobile web solutions can be discussed with the experts at http://www.idesignmobileapps.com/.
Take advantage of an Ezine referral special and get a one-hour consultation on 'Deploying social media and mobile technology' for your company. Contact iDesign for details.
4/5 starsThis album is a long time coming. Everyone by now knows how much I dig their first release.As the opening track hits the laser on the CD player or the computer program pumps out the first beat, the listener feels encouraged that this will not be another sophomore assembly line of junk.Matthew Shultz has a voice that is as unique as his word configuration that separates Cage The Elephant from other rock bands. Brad Shultz has the counter; with every strum and flick of the chords he compiles an original sound. Together, they admittedly "turned away from fear-based writing." This has
The congressional supercommittee officially becomes a failure today, but while it could not come up with $1.2 trillion in budget savings, it did show us that there are exactly two ways in which Washington's red ink can finally be stopped.
The first is what I would call Reaganesque realignment. If the 2012 elections provide a decisive edge to one party or another, that party will have a chance to impose the policies it favors to try to bring government spending back into some sort of sensible relationship to revenue.
The second is the European method - the dynamic that is playing out right now in Spain, Italy, Greece and other spendthrift eurozone nations. If we do not get our act together, bond buyers will eventually stop fooling themselves into thinking that our government's debt is virtually risk-free, just as they have stopped believing that European sovereign debt is safe. The cost of further borrowing - as well as the cost of servicing earlier debts - will become prohibitive. At that point our political system will come up with a solution, like it or not, because there will be no other choice.
The supercommittee was destined to fail for the reasons I discussed four weeks ago. It was designed to try to do something that simply cannot be done right now: convince the two political parties to willingly compromise on their core political objectives and policy beliefs. A lot of people are castigating lawmakers for their intractability, but it is probably unfair, or at least unrealistic, to expect them to behave otherwise.
Most House members come from districts dominated by their own party. Deviating from party orthodoxy does not earn respect; it earns a primary challenge from your party's hardliners. Most senators, likewise, come from states that are decidedly red or blue. Only a few have a chance to run in the middle - and they can only appeal to that middle after they first satisfy their party's base in the primaries. The system is designed to drive moderates out of elections before they even have a chance to run. That does not make compromise easy.
Beyond electoral politics, it is not Congress' fault that Americans are divided fairly evenly into two camps regarding how they think their government should operate. It is even less Congress' fault that Americans are not particularly rational or consistent. A lot of people who support Republicans say the government should spend much less money, including on entitlements, but they don't want changes in their Social Security or Medicare benefits. A lot of Democrats want more jobs but less robust corporations. You can't get from Point A to Point B, but these same voters blame politicians for failing to reconcile their own irreconcilable demands.
Neither Republican nor Democratic politicians will buck their party's true believers, partly because they can't and partly because they are true believers themselves. They really think the approaches they espouse are the right ones, and that the other side's policies would bring the United States, or at least a large portion of its citizenry, to rack and ruin.
So the only way to get a solution is to have one imposed, either by voters or outsiders. If enough voters become convinced of the wisdom of, say, raising taxes or cutting spending, politicians who generally oppose that approach will eventually be forced to respond. If financial markets stop sustaining our current policies, our policies will change because there will be no other choice.
The big question is how much damage we will do as we pile up debt at around $100 billion every month while we wait to get things under control. There is a chance it will be considerable. That's unfortunate, but like the supercommittee's failure to reach a compromise, it is absolutely predictable.
Either we wait for the markets to save us from ourselves, or we save ourselves first. Next year's elections will tell us which it is going to be.
For more articles, please visit the Palisades Hudson Financial Group LLC newsletter or subscribe to the blog.
Laptop overheating is one of the most common issues found by users. A rough estimate suggests that around 90% of the laptops face this problem that has increased over the last few years due to the compact design and CPUs (central processing units). Nowadays, high efficiency video chips and transistors are used in laptops that are known for generating a good amount of heat. The CPU and graphic unit of the laptop generates a lot of heat that needs to be handled properly with well-designed air circulation or cooling system. Moreover, if you use high-end software then it will put more pressure on CPU to generate additional heat.
This article is an effort to help you with simple steps that you can take to reduce the amount of heat generated by your laptop. By following the below mentioned practices you can get rid of overheating issue to a greater extent.
Use compressed air for cleaning the air circulation system
With time and usage a good amount of dust gets deposited on and around the cooling system thereby blocking the vents completely. As a result of this heat will not dissipate easily. For this the fan becomes less efficient and the system becomes hotter. This situation can be avoided if you use compressed air periodically to remove the dust within your laptop. This will keep it cool and efficient.
Keep your laptop preferably on a hard surface
Keeping the laptop on a hard surface like a table, helps prevent overheating to a great extent. It is our usual tendency to keep laptop on a pillow or blanket while working at home. This blocks the vents meant for air circulation. Keeping laptops on a soft surface generates a lot of heat that is not flowing out. The hot air is pushed back into the machine which makes it miserably hot and less efficient.
Switch off your laptop before you put it in your bag
Most of us avoid switching off our laptops when not at work. We usually keep it in a standby mode that is considered as a wrong practice as far as overheating is concerned. You should always switch off your laptop while packing it. It is also not recommended to opt for the 'hibernate' option as it uses your RAM unnecessarily. The best way is to switch off your laptop that will prevent overheating and also save the battery from draining fast.
Use of a cooling pad
Another efficient way of keeping your laptop cool is with the regular usage of a cooling pad. It comes at a very handy price of around $25 but is of great help in preventing overheating of your laptop. Although these steps have been proved very useful in dealing with the overheating issues in laptops but chances remain when you need to look beyond them. If these steps prove futile then you will have to opt for premium technical support. Choose an experienced computer support provider and explain them the issue. They provide fast resolution of such issues with their specialized and certified technicians with wide experience in maintaining and servicing laptops and other gadgets.
Brooke M. Perry is an ardent technician associated with Qresolve, with wide experience of fixing issues with PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones. With a strong track record of devising effective ways of virus removal and system security, she has so far helped thousands of users across the globe. Her writings on tech issues are the reflection of her in-depth interest and command she carries as a computer support technician. Her blogs and articles have been rated high for their lucid style and easy to understand language.
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