A Tribute to All Veterans
On Sunday morning 11/7/2010 while I was driving back from Las Vegas, Nevada to California, I was listening via my Sirius Radio to CBC Radio (Canada Broadcasting Corp.) program. It was a tribute to Canada’s Veterans Day. The program was devoted to stories of veterans which were very interesting and moving. I thought we should all take time and recognize how our armed forces are making our freedom possible by devoting their most precious thing called life to preserve it for us. They fight for us and sometimes give their lives. Those who are injured live with their disability for the rest of their lives. For this, we need to take extra time and personal effort to thank them. The next time you see a soldier, reach out and thank him for making our freedom possible. I would like to share with you the article that I found which best explains the day that has become Veterans day.
A Kansas town's tribute becomes a national holiday
By Marti Attoun
Veterans Day is a star-spangled celebration in Emporia, Kan., for not only did the holiday originate there 50 years ago, but townspeople built the country’s first memorial honoring veterans of all wars.
In 1953, an Emporia shoe cobbler, Alvin J. King, proposed that Armistice Day, a day set aside to remember World War I veterans, be renamed Veterans Day to honor all veterans, whenever or wherever they served.
“Alvin never served a day in the military, but he was a true patriot,” recalls the late Thomas Tholen, a World War II veteran of Company B, a unit of Army recruits from Emporia (pop. 26,760). King was too young to serve in World War I and too old to serve in World War II, but his nephew fought with Company B and King adopted the group.
“He was just a working man, kind of a local character,” says Tholen, who died Sept. 28 at the age of 84. “He furnished the chickens for our dinners.”
Emporia celebrated its first Veterans Day on Nov. 11, 1953. The nation joined the next year after King collared U.S. Rep. Ed Rees, also of Emporia, with his proposal and Rees helped push a Veterans Day bill through Congress. Another Kansan, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed it into law in 1954.
“Company B passed the hat and raised $165 to buy King a suit so he could go to Washington, D.C. He only had bib overalls,” Tholen recalls.
About 2,800 veterans live in the Emporia area and they’re like family, says Ken Bradstreet, 77, a World War II combat veteran and recipient of a Purple Heart. Bradstreet is a familiar face at schools where he talks of his military experiences and about flag etiquette.
“Kids will holler, ‘Hi, Ken,’ and I’ll say, ‘Where’s your smile? You woke up today with freedom. You should be smiling.’”
A True-Blue Salute
Like King, Bradstreet came up with an idea to salute veterans. In 1988, an Army tank was displayed in the Soden’s Grove Park with a flag and small sign designating “Veterans Memorial.”
“It looked horribly lonesome,” Bradstreet recalls. “I’d go there and stay for a quiet time to be with the guys I left behind.
“I went there one day and every inch of that tank was covered with graffiti. I was so mad, I told my wife that I was going to do something about it. All I wanted to do was to get it painted and get a couple of benches and some shrubbery.”
Bradstreet made a 20-minute patriotic speech to the city fathers. He got far more than he asked for.
In 1991, the city dedicated a $450,000 All Veterans Memorial, the first in the country honoring veterans of all wars. Six stone pylons in the Circle of Honor remember those who served in the Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War. Beside the circle is the country’s first memorial to Persian Gulf War veterans.
A gazebo shelters a monument to Marine Sgt. Grant Timmerman, of Emporia, who received the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1944. A Walk of Honor is flanked by 34 plaques recognizing military units and veterans groups from Emporia.
Four years ago, Emporia went great guns again and turned Veterans Day into a week-long tribute.
“We wanted more people involved in honoring veterans,” says Liz Martell, director of the Emporia Convention and Visitors Bureau. “We were looking at something that could bring the community together.”
This year’s 50th anniversary All Veterans Tribute! includes a veterans recognition ceremony, USO show, M.A.S.H. party, memorial service, band concert, and military field base set up at the Lyon County Fairgrounds with exhibits and re-enactments. More than 75 patriotic floats, color guard and military units will participate in the Veterans Day parade.
Ever year, Bradstreet helps judge a student essay contest on patriotism. Two years ago, 12-year-old Erica Bennett, whose grandfather was a World War II prisoner of war, read her poignant winning essay at the awards ceremony.
“Veterans Day is a day we should respect and give our thanks to veterans and soldiers who risked their lives, jobs, families and many other things to maintain American freedom,” she wrote.
Emporians couldn’t agree more.
From Armistice to Veterans Day
On Nov. 11—at the 11th hour of the 11th day in the 11th month of the year 1918—World War I ended. After four seemingly endless years of trench warfare and enormous casualties on both sides, an armistice was signed between the Allies and Germany.
As word of the war’s end sped across America, people were jubilant—church bells rang out, fire whistles sounded, and people in towns all over the nation flooded the streets with impromptu parades and singing and rejoicing. The day became an instant holiday, marking the end of the terrible European ordeal, and the eventual return of America’s soldiers.
At first though, Armistice Day, as it was called, was an entirely spontaneous holiday, and the observance wasn’t officially recognized until a 1926 congressional resolution stated: “The recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through goodwill and mutual understanding between nations . . . ”
President Calvin Coolidge called upon officials to display the flag on all government buildings and invited Americans to observe Armistice Day in schools, churches, and other appropriate places.
A 1938 act of Congress declared Nov. 11 a legal holiday—“a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be hereafter celebrated and known as ‘Armistice Day.’” And while veterans were certainly honored on that date, it continued to be a day marking the end of World War I, the conflict President Woodrow Wilson had called “The war to end all wars.”
But then came World War II. Following the close of that conflict—and sparked by the proposal from Alvin J. King—Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day, this time to include the honoring of all soldiers, wherever and whenever they served.
In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first Veterans Day proclamation:
“On that day let us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly, on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom, and let us re-consecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain.”
Now, on Nov. 11, Americans salute all those who serve or who have served, no matter what the place, no matter what the sacrifice.
Marti Attoun is a freelance writer in Joplin, Mo.
First appeared: 11/9/2003
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Lets's put the shine back in America
Let’s put the shine back in America
When you are from another country and think of America, you might envision this bright shining place where everything is possible, and everyone has a chance to succeed if they work hard and want it bad enough.
I remember the day my plane landed in New York. The terminal was so bright and modern compared to the terminals I had seen in Switzerland, England & Iran. Then my flight took me to San Francisco where my brother picked me up in his Ford to drive to Redding, California, where I would be going to college.
Everything along the way was so fresh, and I was ready to burst into the new place and claim my share. Our first stop at Denny’s for dinner was awesome. I had the combination platter that was a hamburger and fries. The thousand-island dressing on the hamburger was so new to me that I did go back regularly to have that same order.
You have to be from another country or have visited other countries to appreciate and love this great land called the USA. It is and always will be the land of opportunity for the natives and the immigrants alike. However, in the past ten years we have tarnished the image of America and we need to put the shine back on it.
To me, education is discipline. Even if you do not learn a single thing scholastically, it will make you a better person and the discipline will give you the drive to go for the seemingly impossible, which “is” possible in America. We all went to school to obtain knowledge for our future career, and when we were done; we were expected to use this knowledge for the betterment of the jobs we held and to advance progress. Our financial institutions have the newly educated people who are not there for the betterment of our system and society, but to devise systems to take advantage of ordinary people with shadowy schemes. Our politicians are still feeding us garbage and fooling us to vote for them. Their only self-satisfying agenda is to qualify for the outrageous retirement benefits and book/speech tours they can profit from.
Our stock market is nothing more than a big gambling casino where they try to lure the public in by phony news reports and hypes to sell the worthless stocks. As soon as we are fooled enough to buy, they pull the rug out and here goes another scheme they profit from.
We need to wake up, get our standards raised, and get rid of these politicians who have been feeding us the same garbage. We need to get the other countries to respect us again (not by throwing money at their problems, but by creating good-will through valuable and necessary assistance). Money is a tool to use as a carpenter uses his hammer and saw to make products. Money should be used for what it is, a tool to build strong foundations, build industries that are essential to our well being, and by creating jobs that are long lasting rather than here today, and gone tomorrow.
Each one of us needs to try to be a better person and do our best to raise our standards of expectation from our government representatives. They in turn should do what is right for us and help other countries to advance. Only then can America start polishing its image and bring the shine back.
I miss the shine, don’t you!
When you are from another country and think of America, you might envision this bright shining place where everything is possible, and everyone has a chance to succeed if they work hard and want it bad enough.
I remember the day my plane landed in New York. The terminal was so bright and modern compared to the terminals I had seen in Switzerland, England & Iran. Then my flight took me to San Francisco where my brother picked me up in his Ford to drive to Redding, California, where I would be going to college.
Everything along the way was so fresh, and I was ready to burst into the new place and claim my share. Our first stop at Denny’s for dinner was awesome. I had the combination platter that was a hamburger and fries. The thousand-island dressing on the hamburger was so new to me that I did go back regularly to have that same order.
You have to be from another country or have visited other countries to appreciate and love this great land called the USA. It is and always will be the land of opportunity for the natives and the immigrants alike. However, in the past ten years we have tarnished the image of America and we need to put the shine back on it.
To me, education is discipline. Even if you do not learn a single thing scholastically, it will make you a better person and the discipline will give you the drive to go for the seemingly impossible, which “is” possible in America. We all went to school to obtain knowledge for our future career, and when we were done; we were expected to use this knowledge for the betterment of the jobs we held and to advance progress. Our financial institutions have the newly educated people who are not there for the betterment of our system and society, but to devise systems to take advantage of ordinary people with shadowy schemes. Our politicians are still feeding us garbage and fooling us to vote for them. Their only self-satisfying agenda is to qualify for the outrageous retirement benefits and book/speech tours they can profit from.
Our stock market is nothing more than a big gambling casino where they try to lure the public in by phony news reports and hypes to sell the worthless stocks. As soon as we are fooled enough to buy, they pull the rug out and here goes another scheme they profit from.
We need to wake up, get our standards raised, and get rid of these politicians who have been feeding us the same garbage. We need to get the other countries to respect us again (not by throwing money at their problems, but by creating good-will through valuable and necessary assistance). Money is a tool to use as a carpenter uses his hammer and saw to make products. Money should be used for what it is, a tool to build strong foundations, build industries that are essential to our well being, and by creating jobs that are long lasting rather than here today, and gone tomorrow.
Each one of us needs to try to be a better person and do our best to raise our standards of expectation from our government representatives. They in turn should do what is right for us and help other countries to advance. Only then can America start polishing its image and bring the shine back.
I miss the shine, don’t you!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
COULD IT BE OR IS IT THE PERFECT FOOD!
COULD IT BE OR IS IT THE PERFECT FOOD!
Farmers Market on weekends are the usual scene in most American cities on Saturdays and Sundays. On this special Sunday, San Clemente, a beach city in Southern California, had a Farmers Market along the sidewalks. I love walking through these stands buying fresh foods and sometimes unusual products. I came across one big stand that had all sorts of honey products. I love honey and always buy it at the road stands in different states and cities. At this stand I came across a product that I am sure many of you have heard of and know about, but I never had. It was labeled “BEE POLLEN”. The older gentleman who was in charge of the stand told me all the benefits of this miracle product. He also stated that it takes one bee an entire day of work to produce one grain of pollen. Of course, how could I resist not buying a jar for $10.00 to try and find out if it is what is talked about so much. I was told it is also called “ROYAL JELLY”. I have started taking this miracle food, and I will let you know how it will be rated by me in few months.
Meanwhile I did a search on the internet and found the following information which you can read and reach your own conclusion.
WHERE NATURE BEGINS.
What is Bee Pollen?
While most people recognize the term bee pollen, many people do not know what bee pollen actually is or what it has to offer. Bee Pollen is one of nature¹s unique and most powerful foods. It is flower pollen that bees collect for food. Bee pollen offers a treasure trove of special plant nutrients.
One of Nature's Most Perfect Foods The amazing bee has provided us with a beneficial natural food supplement. Long ago the Greeks and Romans called natural bee pollen "the life-giving dust" or the secret "ambrosia" eaten to acquire eternal youth. Pollen was entombed with pharaohs, it was used by the American Indians, and for centuries by tribes in China. In our modern times, scientists, gerontologists and nutritionists have rediscovered these bee-prepared foods and confirmed that they are able to promote benefits in the form of healing and rejuvenation. Some nutritionists state that you could live adequately on bee pollen alone. Science shows that bee pollen, that wondrous yet mysterious nectar, has natural rejuvenating powers, aids beauty, boosts energy, extends life span, fights allergies (and possibly even cancer) and relieves digestive disorders. Bee pollen bursts with easily-assimilated protein and lecithin, which nourish the brain and nervous system.
Food fit for the Queen! Beehive foods are superior food sources. Based on its research, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has stated that bee pollen is the most nutritious food we can eat. It contains every nutrient required to sustain and support life in a pure, raw and unaltered form. Bee products can provide support for almost any ailment or desired health enhancement. One of the real appealing characters of the hive, besides the bees themselves, is bee pollen. This miracle is considered to contain every chemical substance needed to maintain life, nourish, rejuvenate and heal, and nobody proves it better than the queen bee. How a single bee can reign totally supreme in a community of thousands? Being the sole female, responsible for laying 2,000 eggs daily and living forty times longer than the worker bees, the queen bee is by far the most amazing testament to bee pollen. No wonder it is considered a complete food, a great supplement to build the immune system and provide energy for the entire body!
Dr. S.Seradj, D.O.M., C.A.
Digestion and Circulation. Bee pollen is known to be an accelerator of human growth. It regulates the action of the intestinal functions, especially in cases of chronic constipation or diarrhea, which have been resistant to antibiotic treatment. Pollen self-digests and aids the digestion of other foods. A natural occurrence with bee pollen is weight control. Taken into your digestive system, there is a speedy combustion, which makes fats burn faster and increases the rate of burned calories.
Detoxification and Immunity. Bee pollen is used as an immune system builder, has the ability to correct body chemistry and eliminate unhealthy conditions. European physicians note that people with an alcohol problem, when treated with pollen, show great reduction in alcohol cravings. Young people who want to get off heavy drugs go through minimal or no withdrawal when treated with bee pollen. It also has the ability to throw off poisons and toxic materials from the body.
Tests Show Improvements. In France and Poland some doctors have added pollen to children's and adult's diets and observed that, after a few days, all the people felt better and their blood analysis showed an improvement, especially anemic children. Pollen has been used for curing some ailments of our nervous system. After a week, people who take it become less nervous, more optimistic, are more eager to work, and depression disappears. It has also been known to help relieve diabetic symptoms. Doctors have obtained good results. In one test, 32g of pollen daily taken for 2 weeks lowered the amount of sugar in 1 liter of urine by 41.8 g. Dr. Chauvia and Dr. Lenormand say that pollen also contains an antibiotic similar to penicillin and is able to inhibit the development of some microorganisms such as Salmonella.
Help in Middle Age. Doctors have made another discovery, but they are not able to explain it entirely. Men who start eating 15g (1 tbsp.) of pollen daily when they are around 40-45 years old do not have any problem with their prostate gland. Current prostate problems can often be eliminated using pollen (including patients scheduled for surgery). Pollen for potency: It helps with the ability to perform the sexual act and the procreative capacity in cases of barrenness and impotency. It is good for men over 40 and for menopausal women.
Help for Seniors. Pollen is very effective with seniors who do not have the appetite to maintain a healthy diet. All minerals in bee pollen are present in a highly digestible and organic form necessary for the digestion of many foods, functioning of glands, organs and nerves, and the balancing of blood, lymph, and aqueous and general metabolism system. Pollen also contains active antibiotic substances, which destroy bacteria on contact. Bee pollen is useful in cases of stress and nervous endocrine system disorders due to its high content of natural B Vitamins. Bee pollen increases energy and mental alertness and is believed to slow down the aging process.
Fighting Disease. By increasing the body's healing power, the body can help build resistance to disease. It has been successfully used with allergies, asthma, chronic rheumatism, colitis, arteriosclerosis, insomnia, depression, failing memory, hay fever, to normalize intestinal activity, to lower cholesterol levels and stimulate appetite, lower high blood pressure, offset the effects of drugs and pollutants, anemic conditions and attention deficit. It is especially useful in times of pregnancy, lactation and intensive physical or mental work. It maintains the high levels of energy required to keep up with hectic schedules, deadlines or long hours. Pollen brings back vitality without the dangers of artificial stimulants like caffeine, ephedra or quarana and can be taken safely at any time. It is a natural product, admirably tolerated, and compatible with other therapies. Bee pollen is a powerful food supplement for children, growing teens, and adults of all ages. Bee pollen is the only natural food that contains almost all of the 22 elements of which the human body is composed. Today, more than ten thousand tons of bee pollen is consumed as food or medicine all over the world every year! Everyone can benefit from taking Bee pollen!
How to take Bee Pollen. Adults: Start with 1 tsp. in the morning (1/2 hour before breakfast) followed with some water, juice or milk. Increase your intake every day by a few grains until reaching 2 tsp. a day (10 ml). For normal daily intake you may take up to 1 tbsp. (15 ml) daily.
Children: Start from 3 grains, increasing by 2 grains every few days until reaching 1/2 tsp. a day. You may mix pollen with raw honey and eat it, or dilute it in a liquid at room temperature.
Farmers Market on weekends are the usual scene in most American cities on Saturdays and Sundays. On this special Sunday, San Clemente, a beach city in Southern California, had a Farmers Market along the sidewalks. I love walking through these stands buying fresh foods and sometimes unusual products. I came across one big stand that had all sorts of honey products. I love honey and always buy it at the road stands in different states and cities. At this stand I came across a product that I am sure many of you have heard of and know about, but I never had. It was labeled “BEE POLLEN”. The older gentleman who was in charge of the stand told me all the benefits of this miracle product. He also stated that it takes one bee an entire day of work to produce one grain of pollen. Of course, how could I resist not buying a jar for $10.00 to try and find out if it is what is talked about so much. I was told it is also called “ROYAL JELLY”. I have started taking this miracle food, and I will let you know how it will be rated by me in few months.
Meanwhile I did a search on the internet and found the following information which you can read and reach your own conclusion.
WHERE NATURE BEGINS.
What is Bee Pollen?
While most people recognize the term bee pollen, many people do not know what bee pollen actually is or what it has to offer. Bee Pollen is one of nature¹s unique and most powerful foods. It is flower pollen that bees collect for food. Bee pollen offers a treasure trove of special plant nutrients.
One of Nature's Most Perfect Foods The amazing bee has provided us with a beneficial natural food supplement. Long ago the Greeks and Romans called natural bee pollen "the life-giving dust" or the secret "ambrosia" eaten to acquire eternal youth. Pollen was entombed with pharaohs, it was used by the American Indians, and for centuries by tribes in China. In our modern times, scientists, gerontologists and nutritionists have rediscovered these bee-prepared foods and confirmed that they are able to promote benefits in the form of healing and rejuvenation. Some nutritionists state that you could live adequately on bee pollen alone. Science shows that bee pollen, that wondrous yet mysterious nectar, has natural rejuvenating powers, aids beauty, boosts energy, extends life span, fights allergies (and possibly even cancer) and relieves digestive disorders. Bee pollen bursts with easily-assimilated protein and lecithin, which nourish the brain and nervous system.
Food fit for the Queen! Beehive foods are superior food sources. Based on its research, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has stated that bee pollen is the most nutritious food we can eat. It contains every nutrient required to sustain and support life in a pure, raw and unaltered form. Bee products can provide support for almost any ailment or desired health enhancement. One of the real appealing characters of the hive, besides the bees themselves, is bee pollen. This miracle is considered to contain every chemical substance needed to maintain life, nourish, rejuvenate and heal, and nobody proves it better than the queen bee. How a single bee can reign totally supreme in a community of thousands? Being the sole female, responsible for laying 2,000 eggs daily and living forty times longer than the worker bees, the queen bee is by far the most amazing testament to bee pollen. No wonder it is considered a complete food, a great supplement to build the immune system and provide energy for the entire body!
Dr. S.Seradj, D.O.M., C.A.
Digestion and Circulation. Bee pollen is known to be an accelerator of human growth. It regulates the action of the intestinal functions, especially in cases of chronic constipation or diarrhea, which have been resistant to antibiotic treatment. Pollen self-digests and aids the digestion of other foods. A natural occurrence with bee pollen is weight control. Taken into your digestive system, there is a speedy combustion, which makes fats burn faster and increases the rate of burned calories.
Detoxification and Immunity. Bee pollen is used as an immune system builder, has the ability to correct body chemistry and eliminate unhealthy conditions. European physicians note that people with an alcohol problem, when treated with pollen, show great reduction in alcohol cravings. Young people who want to get off heavy drugs go through minimal or no withdrawal when treated with bee pollen. It also has the ability to throw off poisons and toxic materials from the body.
Tests Show Improvements. In France and Poland some doctors have added pollen to children's and adult's diets and observed that, after a few days, all the people felt better and their blood analysis showed an improvement, especially anemic children. Pollen has been used for curing some ailments of our nervous system. After a week, people who take it become less nervous, more optimistic, are more eager to work, and depression disappears. It has also been known to help relieve diabetic symptoms. Doctors have obtained good results. In one test, 32g of pollen daily taken for 2 weeks lowered the amount of sugar in 1 liter of urine by 41.8 g. Dr. Chauvia and Dr. Lenormand say that pollen also contains an antibiotic similar to penicillin and is able to inhibit the development of some microorganisms such as Salmonella.
Help in Middle Age. Doctors have made another discovery, but they are not able to explain it entirely. Men who start eating 15g (1 tbsp.) of pollen daily when they are around 40-45 years old do not have any problem with their prostate gland. Current prostate problems can often be eliminated using pollen (including patients scheduled for surgery). Pollen for potency: It helps with the ability to perform the sexual act and the procreative capacity in cases of barrenness and impotency. It is good for men over 40 and for menopausal women.
Help for Seniors. Pollen is very effective with seniors who do not have the appetite to maintain a healthy diet. All minerals in bee pollen are present in a highly digestible and organic form necessary for the digestion of many foods, functioning of glands, organs and nerves, and the balancing of blood, lymph, and aqueous and general metabolism system. Pollen also contains active antibiotic substances, which destroy bacteria on contact. Bee pollen is useful in cases of stress and nervous endocrine system disorders due to its high content of natural B Vitamins. Bee pollen increases energy and mental alertness and is believed to slow down the aging process.
Fighting Disease. By increasing the body's healing power, the body can help build resistance to disease. It has been successfully used with allergies, asthma, chronic rheumatism, colitis, arteriosclerosis, insomnia, depression, failing memory, hay fever, to normalize intestinal activity, to lower cholesterol levels and stimulate appetite, lower high blood pressure, offset the effects of drugs and pollutants, anemic conditions and attention deficit. It is especially useful in times of pregnancy, lactation and intensive physical or mental work. It maintains the high levels of energy required to keep up with hectic schedules, deadlines or long hours. Pollen brings back vitality without the dangers of artificial stimulants like caffeine, ephedra or quarana and can be taken safely at any time. It is a natural product, admirably tolerated, and compatible with other therapies. Bee pollen is a powerful food supplement for children, growing teens, and adults of all ages. Bee pollen is the only natural food that contains almost all of the 22 elements of which the human body is composed. Today, more than ten thousand tons of bee pollen is consumed as food or medicine all over the world every year! Everyone can benefit from taking Bee pollen!
How to take Bee Pollen. Adults: Start with 1 tsp. in the morning (1/2 hour before breakfast) followed with some water, juice or milk. Increase your intake every day by a few grains until reaching 2 tsp. a day (10 ml). For normal daily intake you may take up to 1 tbsp. (15 ml) daily.
Children: Start from 3 grains, increasing by 2 grains every few days until reaching 1/2 tsp. a day. You may mix pollen with raw honey and eat it, or dilute it in a liquid at room temperature.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
VACANT HOME, BANK OWNED,FORECLOSURE, DETERORATIO, HOMELESS
VACANT HOME. BANK OWNED. FORECLOSURE. DETERIORATION. HOMELESS.
September 2010
We have all noticed as we drive through neighborhoods that so many homes are foreclosed on, are bank owned, and are thus sitting vacant. When I drive by one of these homes, I can visualize a family that had been living there and thriving, but due to circumstances and Bank Greed, was thrown out. I wonder where they are, what they are doing, and how they are making out. Most of them, if they do not have a caring family, family members living close by, friends able to help, or the means to overcome this extreme hardship, end up homeless.
A Program on the CBS Evening News on 8/11/2010 had a special segment on a writer who wrote a book on all the people in Las Vegas who are living literally “underground” under Las Vegas Blvd., more commonly known as “The Strip” where the majority of the casinos are built. Some have been there for almost a year, living in these cave-like tunnels. These were people who had jobs (many of them in these same casinos), and when they lost their employment, they had no alternative but to live under Las Vegas Blvd directly above them, with so many below struggling to make it from one day to the next.
Banks are no longer an organization that I have high regard for. I firmly believe that banks and insurance companies are nothing more than legalized Mafias that now have the license to steal and flex their powerful muscles legally. They are no longer a friend or helper to the people or to businesses.
Unfortunately, this scene in Las Vegas is repeated all across our great nation. With unemployment not improving due to low demand due to fewer people with jobs to have an income to spend, we are facing a long haul to get close to normal again.
With all of these houses that the banks have foreclosed on being “offered for sale.” we all know these so-called sale offers are just phony gestures. The banks don’t really want to sell these houses at a discounted/lowered price at the current market rate. This would result in a loss which would show up on their annual statements, and would not create bonuses for the greedy executives. And so they continue to go through the process of offering these homes and declining the buyers, and our government believes that all the money they gave to the banks is helping! How naïve the government is.
One thing that the banks obviously do not realize is the fact that when houses sit empty, they deteriorate, are damaged by others, and eventually fall apart. It takes a lot of money to repair these houses, and paying for the upkeep isn’t cheap either. So why not let the people who are in them be evaluated, and based on their current state of income, make allowances on payments so they can make it through these difficult times. Base the payments on the current value of the property and discount it to the level of their affordability to keep it occupied.
Now I know the rest of us who are making our payments and feeling the heat also will say, “How about me?” Well, let’s realize one thing…..the whole world is not about ME! It is the “me generation” who got us into this mess to begin with. Let’s realize that it takes one person at a time to be considerate to give a break to others. We are the fortunate ones who can still make our regular payments based on the inflated prices we paid for our properties….AND thank God we still have jobs and can still afford to pay the mortgage or rent.
Another suggestion is that banks would accept applications from the homeless people to be reviewed by them and a panel of independent advisors able to qualify the homeless families’ background. Based on a set of standards to be established, these families would be allowed to live in these foreclosed properties on the market for what they can afford or free until they find employment. At that point, they can either buy the property or move out. One condition for qualification would be their responsibility and respect for the property, to keep it in good condition, or improve it if they have skills for items to be fixed to give a better value to the property. In another word, since they are getting something very valuable (a roof over their heads), they in turn give value back. If this particular property is sold, this family would be relocated to another empty house in the area.
The result of this would be no gangs, no thugs, no drug dealers and druggies breaking into these homes and damaging these properties…just decent people or families that have fallen on hard times. We take care of so many people in foreign countries without a second thought, and now it is time to take care of our own. We do not ask where the money is going for all the dollars that are leaving our shores to help rogue governments and countries. I’m quite sure they don’t even need to fill out an application! It is now time for us to be just as tolerant with our own, that we can screen and help. I am sure we have all seen and experienced hard times, so I’m sure we can find the compassion in our hearts to help our fellow countrymen.
September 2010
We have all noticed as we drive through neighborhoods that so many homes are foreclosed on, are bank owned, and are thus sitting vacant. When I drive by one of these homes, I can visualize a family that had been living there and thriving, but due to circumstances and Bank Greed, was thrown out. I wonder where they are, what they are doing, and how they are making out. Most of them, if they do not have a caring family, family members living close by, friends able to help, or the means to overcome this extreme hardship, end up homeless.
A Program on the CBS Evening News on 8/11/2010 had a special segment on a writer who wrote a book on all the people in Las Vegas who are living literally “underground” under Las Vegas Blvd., more commonly known as “The Strip” where the majority of the casinos are built. Some have been there for almost a year, living in these cave-like tunnels. These were people who had jobs (many of them in these same casinos), and when they lost their employment, they had no alternative but to live under Las Vegas Blvd directly above them, with so many below struggling to make it from one day to the next.
Banks are no longer an organization that I have high regard for. I firmly believe that banks and insurance companies are nothing more than legalized Mafias that now have the license to steal and flex their powerful muscles legally. They are no longer a friend or helper to the people or to businesses.
Unfortunately, this scene in Las Vegas is repeated all across our great nation. With unemployment not improving due to low demand due to fewer people with jobs to have an income to spend, we are facing a long haul to get close to normal again.
With all of these houses that the banks have foreclosed on being “offered for sale.” we all know these so-called sale offers are just phony gestures. The banks don’t really want to sell these houses at a discounted/lowered price at the current market rate. This would result in a loss which would show up on their annual statements, and would not create bonuses for the greedy executives. And so they continue to go through the process of offering these homes and declining the buyers, and our government believes that all the money they gave to the banks is helping! How naïve the government is.
One thing that the banks obviously do not realize is the fact that when houses sit empty, they deteriorate, are damaged by others, and eventually fall apart. It takes a lot of money to repair these houses, and paying for the upkeep isn’t cheap either. So why not let the people who are in them be evaluated, and based on their current state of income, make allowances on payments so they can make it through these difficult times. Base the payments on the current value of the property and discount it to the level of their affordability to keep it occupied.
Now I know the rest of us who are making our payments and feeling the heat also will say, “How about me?” Well, let’s realize one thing…..the whole world is not about ME! It is the “me generation” who got us into this mess to begin with. Let’s realize that it takes one person at a time to be considerate to give a break to others. We are the fortunate ones who can still make our regular payments based on the inflated prices we paid for our properties….AND thank God we still have jobs and can still afford to pay the mortgage or rent.
Another suggestion is that banks would accept applications from the homeless people to be reviewed by them and a panel of independent advisors able to qualify the homeless families’ background. Based on a set of standards to be established, these families would be allowed to live in these foreclosed properties on the market for what they can afford or free until they find employment. At that point, they can either buy the property or move out. One condition for qualification would be their responsibility and respect for the property, to keep it in good condition, or improve it if they have skills for items to be fixed to give a better value to the property. In another word, since they are getting something very valuable (a roof over their heads), they in turn give value back. If this particular property is sold, this family would be relocated to another empty house in the area.
The result of this would be no gangs, no thugs, no drug dealers and druggies breaking into these homes and damaging these properties…just decent people or families that have fallen on hard times. We take care of so many people in foreign countries without a second thought, and now it is time to take care of our own. We do not ask where the money is going for all the dollars that are leaving our shores to help rogue governments and countries. I’m quite sure they don’t even need to fill out an application! It is now time for us to be just as tolerant with our own, that we can screen and help. I am sure we have all seen and experienced hard times, so I’m sure we can find the compassion in our hearts to help our fellow countrymen.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
YOU CAN NOT BUY FRIENDS
YOU CAN NOT BUY FRIENDS
If friends could be bought and sold, I am sure Wall Street would have created an “option to trade” and we could all speculate on the options. Since there is not, then I have to conclude that we can not buy friends, but our Government has not understood nor realized this yet.
I was listening to the NBC Evening News yesterday (July 19th), and the leading story was about Hillary Clinton, our Secretary of State’s visit to Pakistan. It featured her hesitant notation to the announcement of 500 Million Dollars to be given away to Pakistan for building dams, roads, and bridges.
Yes, even in these days of hard times in our country, we are giving money away to countries that pretend they are our friends. They stimulate the degree of violence (that they are in control of) to milk us out of more support, while they are really lining their pockets, and so they keep the game going. When are we going to learn that if we fix their problems, they will not have any reason or ability to con us out of the money we so desperately need at home. As far as I can remember we have repeated the same scenario, and no single time has it solved the problem. Look at the Palestine/Israel situation. Do you think the two of them would benefit if they would agree to peace? Absolutely not! Israel would go bankrupt and Palestine would not be able to support itself and thus become a viable state.
A few weeks ago on the news they showed how pallets of American dollars that we had given to Iraq were leaving for Dubai banks for deposit by the same people we supported to create a viable country. Yes, your hard-earned money and mine is being given away to thieves who we are buying as friends.
Several of our states are in the “state of bankruptcy” and California will be releasing or has already started releasing criminals from jails because they can not afford to house them any more. I think they are just as much a threat to our society turned loose as the Al Quida. Or maybe….having criminals killing us one at a time is OK as long as it isn’t a bunch at a time?
Our economy can use the jobs that road and dam construction would create at home rather than in Pakistan. Many of our unemployed are losing their benefits, and some will be driven to do things illegally. Hunger might drive them to a state of desperation, creating new criminals added to those released criminals. Now we will have real chaos!
I would like our government to look inside our own country and get us back on our feet, Put our unemployed and new graduates to work by creating funding for small businesses to have credit in order to expand and create jobs, not government jobs but private jobs and opportunity. America is a dynamic country. Let’s not destroy what took 200 plus years to build. Let's get real and open our eyes and realize that friends can not be bought. And if they can, I do not want friends that are nothing more than a commodity
If friends could be bought and sold, I am sure Wall Street would have created an “option to trade” and we could all speculate on the options. Since there is not, then I have to conclude that we can not buy friends, but our Government has not understood nor realized this yet.
I was listening to the NBC Evening News yesterday (July 19th), and the leading story was about Hillary Clinton, our Secretary of State’s visit to Pakistan. It featured her hesitant notation to the announcement of 500 Million Dollars to be given away to Pakistan for building dams, roads, and bridges.
Yes, even in these days of hard times in our country, we are giving money away to countries that pretend they are our friends. They stimulate the degree of violence (that they are in control of) to milk us out of more support, while they are really lining their pockets, and so they keep the game going. When are we going to learn that if we fix their problems, they will not have any reason or ability to con us out of the money we so desperately need at home. As far as I can remember we have repeated the same scenario, and no single time has it solved the problem. Look at the Palestine/Israel situation. Do you think the two of them would benefit if they would agree to peace? Absolutely not! Israel would go bankrupt and Palestine would not be able to support itself and thus become a viable state.
A few weeks ago on the news they showed how pallets of American dollars that we had given to Iraq were leaving for Dubai banks for deposit by the same people we supported to create a viable country. Yes, your hard-earned money and mine is being given away to thieves who we are buying as friends.
Several of our states are in the “state of bankruptcy” and California will be releasing or has already started releasing criminals from jails because they can not afford to house them any more. I think they are just as much a threat to our society turned loose as the Al Quida. Or maybe….having criminals killing us one at a time is OK as long as it isn’t a bunch at a time?
Our economy can use the jobs that road and dam construction would create at home rather than in Pakistan. Many of our unemployed are losing their benefits, and some will be driven to do things illegally. Hunger might drive them to a state of desperation, creating new criminals added to those released criminals. Now we will have real chaos!
I would like our government to look inside our own country and get us back on our feet, Put our unemployed and new graduates to work by creating funding for small businesses to have credit in order to expand and create jobs, not government jobs but private jobs and opportunity. America is a dynamic country. Let’s not destroy what took 200 plus years to build. Let's get real and open our eyes and realize that friends can not be bought. And if they can, I do not want friends that are nothing more than a commodity
Monday, June 7, 2010
Why Are Jobs Leaving Our Country?
This morning the unemployment report came out at 5:30AM California time showing we had gained 400,000+ jobs in the month of May 2010. However, close to 400,000 of them were temporary government jobs that were created by the Census Bureau and were to be terminated in 4-6 weeks. In another words, we did not “dip” to below 10% unemployment. The politicians were only using this temporary situation for a sound bite to make them look better in our eyes.
I would like to share with you my opinion of why we are losing jobs to China and other countries that should be kept here to support our own economy.
Our government and politicians put in place special incentives for corporations to buy new equipment that included having a shorter term of depreciation (to help with taxes) and other short term tricks resulting in immediate non-sustaining results. Who is buying into these quick fixes? Not me, and not other people who can see past the trees.
Let’s analyze this for a moment. Let’s say I buy a press for $300,000.00 and create 3 jobs as a result of this new equipment. In a nutshell, what I am getting is a shorter, accelerated depreciation plus added payroll, workman’s compensation, property and health insurance, and social security/unemployment contributions along with increased operating costs, overhead and additional salesmen to sell and create orders to support the press while facing tough competition with every other manufacturer cutting prices to get the orders. Well, all of this is understandable and is part of doing business. I am used to it, and these situations are all part of operating our business.
However, one thing that no one mentions, and what really gets to me is the unspoken and overlooked expense that every corporation is experiencing, and somehow, our politicians never mention or want to bring it up. It is the annual bill we receive for the Equipment Property Tax. Yes, ladies and gentlemen…..This never goes away. As long as you own that equipment, it just keeps coming every year, just like the property taxes you pay on your homes.
Our big corporation (and now many of the smaller ones also) have looked at this and quietly said to themselves, “If I contract this out to China, I do not have all of these expenses. I get the product for one fixed price, and all I have to do is sell it. I don’t have to worry about all the production costs, quality control, delivery dates, employment expenses, or the property tax on any equipment. I can buy it cheaper at a predetermined, exact price, and all the rest of the expenses disappear.”
If our politicians were smart, they would eliminate the property tax on production equipment and allow the companies to produce locally. Allow us to hire our capable, knowledgeable work force to work and be proud to make good American products that say MADE IN USA.
As long as the mentioned factors listed above are in existence, jobs will be leaving our country and we will be importing more and more. Our trade deficit will grow and grow until China will no longer buy our treasury notes that we sell to finance our economy. We will be owned by China without a shot fired. Our Deficit will be so big that it will never, ever be paid off.
Let’s wake up our politicians and let them know national security is not only keeping the terrorists out, but it is also keeping our jobs in the USA. Take the choke rope off all manufacturers so production can be kept on a local level.
This morning the unemployment report came out at 5:30AM California time showing we had gained 400,000+ jobs in the month of May 2010. However, close to 400,000 of them were temporary government jobs that were created by the Census Bureau and were to be terminated in 4-6 weeks. In another words, we did not “dip” to below 10% unemployment. The politicians were only using this temporary situation for a sound bite to make them look better in our eyes.
I would like to share with you my opinion of why we are losing jobs to China and other countries that should be kept here to support our own economy.
Our government and politicians put in place special incentives for corporations to buy new equipment that included having a shorter term of depreciation (to help with taxes) and other short term tricks resulting in immediate non-sustaining results. Who is buying into these quick fixes? Not me, and not other people who can see past the trees.
Let’s analyze this for a moment. Let’s say I buy a press for $300,000.00 and create 3 jobs as a result of this new equipment. In a nutshell, what I am getting is a shorter, accelerated depreciation plus added payroll, workman’s compensation, property and health insurance, and social security/unemployment contributions along with increased operating costs, overhead and additional salesmen to sell and create orders to support the press while facing tough competition with every other manufacturer cutting prices to get the orders. Well, all of this is understandable and is part of doing business. I am used to it, and these situations are all part of operating our business.
However, one thing that no one mentions, and what really gets to me is the unspoken and overlooked expense that every corporation is experiencing, and somehow, our politicians never mention or want to bring it up. It is the annual bill we receive for the Equipment Property Tax. Yes, ladies and gentlemen…..This never goes away. As long as you own that equipment, it just keeps coming every year, just like the property taxes you pay on your homes.
Our big corporation (and now many of the smaller ones also) have looked at this and quietly said to themselves, “If I contract this out to China, I do not have all of these expenses. I get the product for one fixed price, and all I have to do is sell it. I don’t have to worry about all the production costs, quality control, delivery dates, employment expenses, or the property tax on any equipment. I can buy it cheaper at a predetermined, exact price, and all the rest of the expenses disappear.”
If our politicians were smart, they would eliminate the property tax on production equipment and allow the companies to produce locally. Allow us to hire our capable, knowledgeable work force to work and be proud to make good American products that say MADE IN USA.
As long as the mentioned factors listed above are in existence, jobs will be leaving our country and we will be importing more and more. Our trade deficit will grow and grow until China will no longer buy our treasury notes that we sell to finance our economy. We will be owned by China without a shot fired. Our Deficit will be so big that it will never, ever be paid off.
Let’s wake up our politicians and let them know national security is not only keeping the terrorists out, but it is also keeping our jobs in the USA. Take the choke rope off all manufacturers so production can be kept on a local level.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
IS THERE ANY GOOD NEWS OUT THERE?
IS THERE ANY GOOD NEWS OUT THERE?
I am wondering if there is any good news out there to cheer us up rather than constantly hearing about war, unemployment, bank failures, terrorist attacks, earth quakes, floods, volcanoe ash clouds, tornadoes, and the list can go on and on. If I have left anything out, please add to the list.
In addition to the above items, we all have our own realty called life that we face everyday that includes family, budgets, illness, jobs and this list can also go on and on. No matter what stage of life you are in, these are all real occurrences in our lives.
We cannot ignore them, and they do not go away by themselves. These situations have been around since the beginning of time in different ways, but they have always been there. The good old days are good because our minds filter out the bad and remember mostly the good.
SO! What can we do to escape this 24/7 negative state of mind?
We can not run away from our responsibilities and just pack and leave or step away from them permanently. However, we can check out from the “Reality Hotel” for short times to refresh and start all over again.
My escape is when I get home and get out and walk or exercise. I walk away from reality for a short time to have “my space” all to myself…. just me, myself and I. I’m not with anyone else. On weekends I get out early in the morning to get refreshed so I can enjoy the rest of the day after I come back from “MY SPACE”.
You all need to find your own way for get-away time. We all have something that we enjoy doing alone. Find out what it is and do it. In the GOOD OLD DAYS, guys used to go to the garage and work on their cars as an escape. Since cars are all electronic now, even that has been taken away from us.
Find your escape, get recharged, and do it regularly. Do not let anyone else interfere , discourage you, or prevent you from doing it. You will be a happier person for yourself, family, friends, co-workers and have a better state of mind to face all the challenges of the day and your tomorrows. Also, stop complaining about situations over which you have no control. It gets you down and also negatively affects others. Don’t add to their bad news.
Take a vacation in your mind. It is less demanding than a vacation out of town that requires you to have another vacation to recoup.
Take some time every day to feel refreshed so you can handle your challenges more effectively.
CHECK OUT ……………TO………………CHECK IN.
I am wondering if there is any good news out there to cheer us up rather than constantly hearing about war, unemployment, bank failures, terrorist attacks, earth quakes, floods, volcanoe ash clouds, tornadoes, and the list can go on and on. If I have left anything out, please add to the list.
In addition to the above items, we all have our own realty called life that we face everyday that includes family, budgets, illness, jobs and this list can also go on and on. No matter what stage of life you are in, these are all real occurrences in our lives.
We cannot ignore them, and they do not go away by themselves. These situations have been around since the beginning of time in different ways, but they have always been there. The good old days are good because our minds filter out the bad and remember mostly the good.
SO! What can we do to escape this 24/7 negative state of mind?
We can not run away from our responsibilities and just pack and leave or step away from them permanently. However, we can check out from the “Reality Hotel” for short times to refresh and start all over again.
My escape is when I get home and get out and walk or exercise. I walk away from reality for a short time to have “my space” all to myself…. just me, myself and I. I’m not with anyone else. On weekends I get out early in the morning to get refreshed so I can enjoy the rest of the day after I come back from “MY SPACE”.
You all need to find your own way for get-away time. We all have something that we enjoy doing alone. Find out what it is and do it. In the GOOD OLD DAYS, guys used to go to the garage and work on their cars as an escape. Since cars are all electronic now, even that has been taken away from us.
Find your escape, get recharged, and do it regularly. Do not let anyone else interfere , discourage you, or prevent you from doing it. You will be a happier person for yourself, family, friends, co-workers and have a better state of mind to face all the challenges of the day and your tomorrows. Also, stop complaining about situations over which you have no control. It gets you down and also negatively affects others. Don’t add to their bad news.
Take a vacation in your mind. It is less demanding than a vacation out of town that requires you to have another vacation to recoup.
Take some time every day to feel refreshed so you can handle your challenges more effectively.
CHECK OUT ……………TO………………CHECK IN.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
WALK/JOG FOR LIFE AND HEALTH.
WALK/JOG FOR LIFE AND HEALTH.
I started my diet and exercise program on April 18, 2008. Today 1 year and 10 months later, I am still on it and have not wavered. My visits to the gym at 2:00 AM are still on, and I also walk and jog.
I had set my goal to walk/jog the distance from my home in California to my home in Charlotte, NC. The total distance was 2,426.6 miles. Today (February 17, 2010) I walked the last 5.5 miles and I have walked the actual distance between the two cities and did these final miles in Charlotte, NC since I am currently visiting Calico Tag and Label. I did not originally plan on finishing it in Charlotte, but I guess it was meant to be.
Here are the statistics:
FARID WALK/JOG CHART
WALKED MILES LESS JOG MILES= 1,831.93
JOGGED MILES = 594.67
DATE:TODAY 2/17/2010 10:33
START DATE April 18, 2008
TOTAL MINUTES: 35,323.77
TOTAL WALKED HOURS 588.7295
TOTAL MILES: 2,426.60
DURATION: 1 YEAR,MONTHS 9,DAYS 31
MINUTES PER MILE: 14.55689854
LGH-CLT = 2,426.60
MILES LEFT TO MAKE IT LGH-CLT= 0.00 MILES TO GO
I had fun doing it, felt great, and looked forward to obtaining this goal on a daily basis. I have endured a broken toe along with other aches and pains that tried to keep me down. I had to take few days off to get back on top, but I discovered that if you don’t push yourself, no one else will. It is important to be your own great motivator. When you do not feel like doing something or try to talk yourself out of it, that is the time to get up and do what ever it is you were procrastinating about. Also, do not let others keep you back. You are in charge and you call the shots. Nothing happens until we take the first step. Although some people find it easier to exercise with someone else, I found that doing it alone gave me the chance to “taste the still of the silence” and enjoy the personal victory of reaching my own goal.
I will be starting my next goal to see how long it takes me to walk/jog the same distance back to our California home. My goal is to do it in fewer days and less time. Here comes the 2:00AM gym back on the program! What are your personal fitness goals?
I started my diet and exercise program on April 18, 2008. Today 1 year and 10 months later, I am still on it and have not wavered. My visits to the gym at 2:00 AM are still on, and I also walk and jog.
I had set my goal to walk/jog the distance from my home in California to my home in Charlotte, NC. The total distance was 2,426.6 miles. Today (February 17, 2010) I walked the last 5.5 miles and I have walked the actual distance between the two cities and did these final miles in Charlotte, NC since I am currently visiting Calico Tag and Label. I did not originally plan on finishing it in Charlotte, but I guess it was meant to be.
Here are the statistics:
FARID WALK/JOG CHART
WALKED MILES LESS JOG MILES= 1,831.93
JOGGED MILES = 594.67
DATE:TODAY 2/17/2010 10:33
START DATE April 18, 2008
TOTAL MINUTES: 35,323.77
TOTAL WALKED HOURS 588.7295
TOTAL MILES: 2,426.60
DURATION: 1 YEAR,MONTHS 9,DAYS 31
MINUTES PER MILE: 14.55689854
LGH-CLT = 2,426.60
MILES LEFT TO MAKE IT LGH-CLT= 0.00 MILES TO GO
I had fun doing it, felt great, and looked forward to obtaining this goal on a daily basis. I have endured a broken toe along with other aches and pains that tried to keep me down. I had to take few days off to get back on top, but I discovered that if you don’t push yourself, no one else will. It is important to be your own great motivator. When you do not feel like doing something or try to talk yourself out of it, that is the time to get up and do what ever it is you were procrastinating about. Also, do not let others keep you back. You are in charge and you call the shots. Nothing happens until we take the first step. Although some people find it easier to exercise with someone else, I found that doing it alone gave me the chance to “taste the still of the silence” and enjoy the personal victory of reaching my own goal.
I will be starting my next goal to see how long it takes me to walk/jog the same distance back to our California home. My goal is to do it in fewer days and less time. Here comes the 2:00AM gym back on the program! What are your personal fitness goals?
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Imagination and Sales
Imagination and Sales April 1, 2006
Gadgets are consuming much of our daily lives. Cell phones, Ipods, 500-channel cable television, podcasts, our PC’s, and the wonderful world of the internet with our e-mails are not leaving much time to have quiet time. Even though these devices are taking up much of our time, they are stimulating our imagination and bringing new things for us to learn at faster rate.
To absorb all this and still bring our own creative talent to the table requires some quiet time each day, so we can use our imagination to create. Quiet time can be your daily walk, jog, bike ride or any activity that gives you freedom from other obligations. It should be your fun time. Letting your mind run free will allow whatever is in the back of your mind to come forward. This is when your imagination can create new ideas and find solutions to old problems. A mind free from the daily stresses can reveal new possibilities on how to approach new customers and make that big sale, which is the dream of every salesperson. Everyone should allow him/herself this gift of free time to allow this creativity to grow.
Gadgets are consuming much of our daily lives. Cell phones, Ipods, 500-channel cable television, podcasts, our PC’s, and the wonderful world of the internet with our e-mails are not leaving much time to have quiet time. Even though these devices are taking up much of our time, they are stimulating our imagination and bringing new things for us to learn at faster rate.
To absorb all this and still bring our own creative talent to the table requires some quiet time each day, so we can use our imagination to create. Quiet time can be your daily walk, jog, bike ride or any activity that gives you freedom from other obligations. It should be your fun time. Letting your mind run free will allow whatever is in the back of your mind to come forward. This is when your imagination can create new ideas and find solutions to old problems. A mind free from the daily stresses can reveal new possibilities on how to approach new customers and make that big sale, which is the dream of every salesperson. Everyone should allow him/herself this gift of free time to allow this creativity to grow.
A heart warming experience.
I had this month that I wanted to share with everyone.
It was a Saturday afternoon. I was home alone and getting bored since no one was at home to amuse me. I decided to play poker for few hours at a casino half way between my house and San Diego.
When I sat at the $1.00 - $2.00 poker table, I noticed a lady who was sharply dressed, wearing expensive jewelry. Since she appeared to be rich and upper class, I assumed she would be snobbish. After playing a few hands at the same table, I observed everyone was having fun and talking while playing. I realized how pleasant and down to earth this lady was. She joked and laughed and made us all feel comfortable. It seemed everyone else at the table and the casino knew her. I discovered she and her younger sister live south of San Diego, and for the past year they have been making the 45 minutes drive to the casino every Thursday. They stay at the hotel close by, play poker for several days, and leave for home each Sunday evening. I thought to myself they would be prime candidates for Gamblers Anonymous. I was to learn how wrong I was, and I had judged them prematurely.
When I had a chance to take a break and sit out of the game for a while, she decided to do the same. We started taking in general, and I found out she was 72 years old. She was in top shape and looked as if she took good care of herself. Her make up was just right, and she was the most pleasant person to talk to.
She revealed the story for their weekly travel to play poker. Her younger sister who lives with her is dying of cancer. She does not want to stay home and think about dying, so they pack every Thursday and check into the hotel. They play poker, shop, and dine. They get to meet new people and see old friends they have made at the casino, who have almost become like family. On Sunday they drive back to their home. On Monday the sister stays in bed resting. Each Tuesday she gets her treatment and stays in bed on Wednesday to recuperate. Each Thursday they are on the road again to enjoy life.
She told me she loved her sister and would do anything for her. Since this is what she wants to do, this wonderful lady does it with her. She takes care of her on a daily basis, and is at her beck and call for anything she wants. She told me, “Since my sister will be gone soon, I want to be with her every minute, so I don’t miss a moment.” While the younger sister plays at the $4.00- $8.00 table, she plays at the $1.00 - $2.00 table to pass the time and be close to her.
It touched me so much that I related this experience to my family. I wanted to share this with you as well. There are always “life lessons” to be learned, and in some cases, to be re-learned. First of all, judging people by appearance is unwise and unfair. Secondly, and most importantly, family and friends are very dear. We should enjoy them all of the time and not wait for unfortunate circumstances to rob us of missed events and relationships. We need to realize how quickly time passes, and realize that the opportunity to make memories will be missed if we don’t take advantage of making them.
The younger sister has one daughter. This wonderful classy lady has four children, two grand children, and two great-grand children. How proud they should all be of this wonderful lady.
It was a Saturday afternoon. I was home alone and getting bored since no one was at home to amuse me. I decided to play poker for few hours at a casino half way between my house and San Diego.
When I sat at the $1.00 - $2.00 poker table, I noticed a lady who was sharply dressed, wearing expensive jewelry. Since she appeared to be rich and upper class, I assumed she would be snobbish. After playing a few hands at the same table, I observed everyone was having fun and talking while playing. I realized how pleasant and down to earth this lady was. She joked and laughed and made us all feel comfortable. It seemed everyone else at the table and the casino knew her. I discovered she and her younger sister live south of San Diego, and for the past year they have been making the 45 minutes drive to the casino every Thursday. They stay at the hotel close by, play poker for several days, and leave for home each Sunday evening. I thought to myself they would be prime candidates for Gamblers Anonymous. I was to learn how wrong I was, and I had judged them prematurely.
When I had a chance to take a break and sit out of the game for a while, she decided to do the same. We started taking in general, and I found out she was 72 years old. She was in top shape and looked as if she took good care of herself. Her make up was just right, and she was the most pleasant person to talk to.
She revealed the story for their weekly travel to play poker. Her younger sister who lives with her is dying of cancer. She does not want to stay home and think about dying, so they pack every Thursday and check into the hotel. They play poker, shop, and dine. They get to meet new people and see old friends they have made at the casino, who have almost become like family. On Sunday they drive back to their home. On Monday the sister stays in bed resting. Each Tuesday she gets her treatment and stays in bed on Wednesday to recuperate. Each Thursday they are on the road again to enjoy life.
She told me she loved her sister and would do anything for her. Since this is what she wants to do, this wonderful lady does it with her. She takes care of her on a daily basis, and is at her beck and call for anything she wants. She told me, “Since my sister will be gone soon, I want to be with her every minute, so I don’t miss a moment.” While the younger sister plays at the $4.00- $8.00 table, she plays at the $1.00 - $2.00 table to pass the time and be close to her.
It touched me so much that I related this experience to my family. I wanted to share this with you as well. There are always “life lessons” to be learned, and in some cases, to be re-learned. First of all, judging people by appearance is unwise and unfair. Secondly, and most importantly, family and friends are very dear. We should enjoy them all of the time and not wait for unfortunate circumstances to rob us of missed events and relationships. We need to realize how quickly time passes, and realize that the opportunity to make memories will be missed if we don’t take advantage of making them.
The younger sister has one daughter. This wonderful classy lady has four children, two grand children, and two great-grand children. How proud they should all be of this wonderful lady.
Make an effort to experience real moments in each day.
The following excerpt is taken from the book, "Make the Connection" by Bob Greene and Oprah Winfrey (Harpo, Inc. 1996).
Bob Greene shared the story of when he went skiing by himself in the beautiful mountains of Utah. "It was an incredibly clear and beautiful day. The snow was a deep, fluffy powder. The sun was out. The air was crisp and fresh. And as I stood there, overlooking this incredible view, in one of my favorite places, doing one of my favorite things, I had the sudden realization: 'I'm not happy.'"
He tried to figure out why by replaying the entire day. Then it dawned on him. For that entire day, he was mentally somewhere else. He realized he was thinking about career plans, buying a house, what day he was going home, whether his car would start after his two week absence, etc. Bob wrote, "I was preoccupied with everything that I was going to do, and not anything that I was doing. I asked myself if I had appreciated one single moment of that day as it happened. Then I tried to remember the last time I appreciated any moment." He took off his skis and sat down in the snow until he got into the current moment. He then began to enjoy everything around him and could feel true joy.
Bob stated, "I began questioning why most people focus on either the past or the future, when their entire life is lived in the present....I was sacrificing my present for my future, not realizing that the future never really arrives. It's always the future! I decided from that day on that I was going to experience as many current moments as I could...Now I realize, what's the point of good things in your life if they are never recognized or appreciated as they happen?"
His words of advice are, "Make an effort to experience real moments in each day." As many of you go on vacations this summer with your family and loved ones, appreciate and value each other and each experience, whether it be small, or large and significant. "I can't stress enough the importance of living in the moment, of experiencing each moment, both good and bad moments that make up your life. This will open you up to feelings of true joy, and that's what life is all about."
Have a great summer!
Bob Greene shared the story of when he went skiing by himself in the beautiful mountains of Utah. "It was an incredibly clear and beautiful day. The snow was a deep, fluffy powder. The sun was out. The air was crisp and fresh. And as I stood there, overlooking this incredible view, in one of my favorite places, doing one of my favorite things, I had the sudden realization: 'I'm not happy.'"
He tried to figure out why by replaying the entire day. Then it dawned on him. For that entire day, he was mentally somewhere else. He realized he was thinking about career plans, buying a house, what day he was going home, whether his car would start after his two week absence, etc. Bob wrote, "I was preoccupied with everything that I was going to do, and not anything that I was doing. I asked myself if I had appreciated one single moment of that day as it happened. Then I tried to remember the last time I appreciated any moment." He took off his skis and sat down in the snow until he got into the current moment. He then began to enjoy everything around him and could feel true joy.
Bob stated, "I began questioning why most people focus on either the past or the future, when their entire life is lived in the present....I was sacrificing my present for my future, not realizing that the future never really arrives. It's always the future! I decided from that day on that I was going to experience as many current moments as I could...Now I realize, what's the point of good things in your life if they are never recognized or appreciated as they happen?"
His words of advice are, "Make an effort to experience real moments in each day." As many of you go on vacations this summer with your family and loved ones, appreciate and value each other and each experience, whether it be small, or large and significant. "I can't stress enough the importance of living in the moment, of experiencing each moment, both good and bad moments that make up your life. This will open you up to feelings of true joy, and that's what life is all about."
Have a great summer!
“LIFE”
Section 2 News from Fred:
“LIFE”
“It’s been said that LIFE is the greatest do-it-yourself project
you’ll ever undertake. Acquiring the tools and skills you need
will make you a better craftsman.”
In our busy world, each of us needs to go in so many directions
to “cover all the bases” in life. Our world includes: People
(family, friends, neighbors); Work (reports, computer
work, manual tasks, files, phone calls); Food (purchasing,
cooking, diet planning, healthy choices); Clothing (making
choices in purchasing, cleaning, storing); Shelter (taking care
of our homes both inside and out); Money (budgeting, paying
bills on time); Health (exercise, eating good foods, reducing
stress), and finally Fun (entertainment and just enjoying each
other). Whew! And we wonder why we’re tired at the end of
each day?!?
This is why the people who write Organizational Books are
doing so well. We all need HELP! While recently reading
one of these books, “Organizing Your Life, 4th Edition”
…no matter what area of our life we are dealing with, we
should be doing the following:
1. Gather general information. Get informed.
2. Collect information about your specific likes, dislikes,
strengths, and weaknesses. (No, you can’t do it all or have it
all. No one can, so be reasonable and choose wisely).
3. Identify goals. You need something to aspire to, even if
it’s only pictured in your mind. Being in control of your belongings
and time is the ultimate goal.
4. Set up a plan. How will you achieve this goal? Write it
down and revise as necessary.
5. Break up the plan into simple tasks. “A yard is hard, but
an inch is a cinch.”
6. Schedule tasks, and work toward your goals a little each
day. Beware of those who will want to break into your time/
schedule and steal this from you.
7. Develop ways to check progress and reward yourself for
achievements. (Actually, enjoying an organized life will be a
great reward in itself.)
8. Avoid discouragement, no matter What situations happen
or Who “brings it on.” There will be “bumps in the road”…
Maintain an attitude of I WILL SUCCEED!
“LIFE”
“It’s been said that LIFE is the greatest do-it-yourself project
you’ll ever undertake. Acquiring the tools and skills you need
will make you a better craftsman.”
In our busy world, each of us needs to go in so many directions
to “cover all the bases” in life. Our world includes: People
(family, friends, neighbors); Work (reports, computer
work, manual tasks, files, phone calls); Food (purchasing,
cooking, diet planning, healthy choices); Clothing (making
choices in purchasing, cleaning, storing); Shelter (taking care
of our homes both inside and out); Money (budgeting, paying
bills on time); Health (exercise, eating good foods, reducing
stress), and finally Fun (entertainment and just enjoying each
other). Whew! And we wonder why we’re tired at the end of
each day?!?
This is why the people who write Organizational Books are
doing so well. We all need HELP! While recently reading
one of these books, “Organizing Your Life, 4th Edition”
…no matter what area of our life we are dealing with, we
should be doing the following:
1. Gather general information. Get informed.
2. Collect information about your specific likes, dislikes,
strengths, and weaknesses. (No, you can’t do it all or have it
all. No one can, so be reasonable and choose wisely).
3. Identify goals. You need something to aspire to, even if
it’s only pictured in your mind. Being in control of your belongings
and time is the ultimate goal.
4. Set up a plan. How will you achieve this goal? Write it
down and revise as necessary.
5. Break up the plan into simple tasks. “A yard is hard, but
an inch is a cinch.”
6. Schedule tasks, and work toward your goals a little each
day. Beware of those who will want to break into your time/
schedule and steal this from you.
7. Develop ways to check progress and reward yourself for
achievements. (Actually, enjoying an organized life will be a
great reward in itself.)
8. Avoid discouragement, no matter What situations happen
or Who “brings it on.” There will be “bumps in the road”…
Maintain an attitude of I WILL SUCCEED!
IT'S ALL ABOUT "STUFF" AND "TIME".......
Since this year is winding down very quickly, I decided to continue with the organizational theme for the remaining months. Most everyone decides on New Years to make as one of their resolutions that THIS is the year they will become organized. However, getting organized doesn't just "happen". You need definite goals, all of which include PLANS. Let's use these remaining months to get ready both physically, emotionally, and mentally. Then we will be ready and prepared to literally START on January 1st! Ready?
IT'S ALL ABOUT "STUFF" AND "TIME".......
For October and November, we are going to cover only the Stuff. In December we will review Time.
STUFF - This includes all of the physical things you own. Where did it all come from?!?! These are the items you bought (actually needed, found on sale, couldn't find the original one you had, etc.) or inherited (hardest to get rid of; be sure to make very careful decisions if family heirlooms, etc.), or were given as gifts (Christmas, Birthdays, etc).
There are 10 Basic Laws of Stuff:
1. Stuff breeds. The more you have, the more you need. Beware of starting a "collection" of something. Something starting out as a couple little figurines soon requires shelves, table space, or even additional furniture to display them. See how it progresses?
2. The useless stuff crowds out the good stuff. Think about all of the stored items, which we "could use" which is in the garage because our cupboards inside the house are filled with items we "never" use.
3. Dust loves stuff. Bugs love stuff. Rodents love stuff. Moisture loves stuff. Odds are that if you finally need something that you stored after a long period of time, it will be worthless.
4. Stuff loves to stay where it lands. It takes time and energy to put things away, and they certainly are not going to go to their "rightful" place on their own.
5. Stuff expands to fill the space available. The more storage space you have, the more stuff tends to accumulate.
6. Over time, stuff becomes invisible. This even applies to notes put on a bulletin board. Stuff becomes a part of its environment.
7. Stuff costs you money more than once. After you pay the initial price, you have freight or transportation charges (even using your own car to get it costs money). You need a container to store it in, a shelf, or a cupboard to put it in. And if you move????
8. Stuff has a powerful effect on your state of mind. Clutter can be oppressive or depressing to some people. We need to constantly maintain it in some way. It does require a lot of our energy.
9. Stuff takes on value ONLY when it is used. Remember, unused stuff is just clutter. An exception is if it adds beauty to your life, it is being "used" by your senses. However, it you don't love it, lose it.
10. Stuff doesn't make you happy; you do. Just like money can't buy you happiness, stuff can't either. Both are just tools to help you achieve your own happiness.
Project for the Month: Before you buy anything, consciously ask yourself if this item is necessary. Avoid all compulsive buying. Just because it's on sale does not mean you should buy it. You do not need duplicates. Remember you will have to store it until you need it so why not buy it when you actually will need it. Fact: If you have less Stuff, you will be rewarded with more Time.
Next month....Tools to help us Unclutter! (Thanks to Georgene Lockwood, author of “Organizing your Life.”
IT'S ALL ABOUT "STUFF" AND "TIME".......
For October and November, we are going to cover only the Stuff. In December we will review Time.
STUFF - This includes all of the physical things you own. Where did it all come from?!?! These are the items you bought (actually needed, found on sale, couldn't find the original one you had, etc.) or inherited (hardest to get rid of; be sure to make very careful decisions if family heirlooms, etc.), or were given as gifts (Christmas, Birthdays, etc).
There are 10 Basic Laws of Stuff:
1. Stuff breeds. The more you have, the more you need. Beware of starting a "collection" of something. Something starting out as a couple little figurines soon requires shelves, table space, or even additional furniture to display them. See how it progresses?
2. The useless stuff crowds out the good stuff. Think about all of the stored items, which we "could use" which is in the garage because our cupboards inside the house are filled with items we "never" use.
3. Dust loves stuff. Bugs love stuff. Rodents love stuff. Moisture loves stuff. Odds are that if you finally need something that you stored after a long period of time, it will be worthless.
4. Stuff loves to stay where it lands. It takes time and energy to put things away, and they certainly are not going to go to their "rightful" place on their own.
5. Stuff expands to fill the space available. The more storage space you have, the more stuff tends to accumulate.
6. Over time, stuff becomes invisible. This even applies to notes put on a bulletin board. Stuff becomes a part of its environment.
7. Stuff costs you money more than once. After you pay the initial price, you have freight or transportation charges (even using your own car to get it costs money). You need a container to store it in, a shelf, or a cupboard to put it in. And if you move????
8. Stuff has a powerful effect on your state of mind. Clutter can be oppressive or depressing to some people. We need to constantly maintain it in some way. It does require a lot of our energy.
9. Stuff takes on value ONLY when it is used. Remember, unused stuff is just clutter. An exception is if it adds beauty to your life, it is being "used" by your senses. However, it you don't love it, lose it.
10. Stuff doesn't make you happy; you do. Just like money can't buy you happiness, stuff can't either. Both are just tools to help you achieve your own happiness.
Project for the Month: Before you buy anything, consciously ask yourself if this item is necessary. Avoid all compulsive buying. Just because it's on sale does not mean you should buy it. You do not need duplicates. Remember you will have to store it until you need it so why not buy it when you actually will need it. Fact: If you have less Stuff, you will be rewarded with more Time.
Next month....Tools to help us Unclutter! (Thanks to Georgene Lockwood, author of “Organizing your Life.”
THOUGHTS from Farid
This month will be devoted to organizing STUFF. There are different methods of getting organized, but the following ideas seem to work the best and be the most popular. The idea is to do a Speed Purge. Decide to Conquer in as little time as possible. This works especially well if you don't have a large block of time, but can spare 10-15 minutes a day. Remember to use your timer so you know when to quit, but no sooner! If you have several hours plus the energy and determination, go for it. However, when you realize you are not making good decisions anymore, STOP. You are defeating your purpose.
GETTING STARTED:
1. Pick one small area to begin. You don't want to get overwhelmed and go back to Square One. Start with a corner of a room, or a drawer (or 2), or a cabinet (or 2) in the kitchen or bathroom. Continue with the same project area the next opportunity you have. Resist doing a little in each room. You won't see /have any progress, and will become discouraged.
2. Do not let yourself get distracted. Don't answer the phone. Inform family members not to bother you. Pick a time when you will be least interrupted. Early morning before everyone gets up? After the kids leave for school?
3. Keep a running, written list of things that come to mind while you're plowing through your stuff that might help you keep organized, such as storage boxes, drawer dividers, file folders. Do NOT go to the store to buy storage crates, etc. until you know what and how much you will put into each one, and how many you will actually need.
TO BEGIN:
You will need 5 Boxes (or garbage bags) which you will use to put in each item that you pick up that will NOT go back where you found it.
1. The Put Away/Return Box - Is for any item that doesn't belong where you found it. They might belong in another room, or need to be returned to someone else (had been borrowed), or to the library, returned to the store for a refund, etc. Empty this box as soon as you can. Put the "return" items in the car to drop off the next time you go out.
2. The Pass On Box - Is for anything you want to hand down to others, give to charity, or sell at a garage sale. The items are too good to throw away, but you don't need to keep. When a box or bag is full, close it up so you won't be tempted to pull them back out.
3. The Keep Box is for things you will need and want to keep, but will not occupy the current space you are organizing. You will also use this box for any items that you can't figure out where to put them. Maybe you don't have a place for it right now (would be a good candidate for a storage crate); or you don't know what it is (but might be an important part of something that is located elsewhere). Keep in mind, this is only a temporary box.
4. The Fix Box - To be used only for items that you really believe are worth fixing. If it's been broken for years, and you've lived without it this long, toss it, give it away, or sell it "as is". Do you have the tools or ability to fix it? Will it cost more to fix it than get a new one? Do you already have one that works? Be realistic. Do you have room for spare parts? If you decide to fix it, give yourself a time limit to get it done. If it isn't done by then, toss it.
5. The Throw Away/Trash Box - This is going to be thrown into the garbage. Includes parts that belong to nothing else, damaged items which can't be fixed, out-dated items (cleaning products, stored food (could be dangerous if eaten now), and items even you don't want anymore. Once items are put into this box, they CANNOT be retrieved. They are gone!
***The remaining items will be put in a permanent place. There are (3) Rules you must follow to keep an item: a) You will use it regularly. b) You like it. c) It has a home (Keep in mind that this space you will be using is equal to Prime Real Estate).
TEN STEPS TO GET THE JOB DONE.
1. Empty the Space - If it's a drawer or a cabinet, dump everything into a container or box. Give this space a good cleaning and use your box method listed above. Empty the corner of the room or garage and vacuum/sweep/mop it. Now you will begin using your 5 boxes as you pick up each item.
2. Use It or Lose It - Handle each item only once. Think to yourself: a) When is the last time I used this? How often do I use it? Could I borrow or improvise the few times I use it? Is it a duplicate? Is it out of date? What impact would it have on my life if I didn't have this? Do I value this item? Can it be fixed? Would I feel guilty if I gave it away? How easily could I get another one if I really needed it? Can someone use it more than I can? Think of how this space could be used if this item weren't there.
3. Get Rid Of It Now - Take the trash out of the house now. Return all borrowed items now. Bag up all items for charity now. The important thing is to get it out of your sight and life. Put them in your car and take care of them the next time you do errands. Ship handed down things to the designated person who will want them if they don't live close by.
4. Group Like Things Together - At this point you only have your Keep Box and your Fix-It Box. Now you can sort. Store like things together (now will be the time to set up additional storage containers, files, drawer dividers. The best way to group things for one task would be in one container or location (i.e. giftwrap, shoe polish items, baking items, painting supplies, tools, etc.). Remember, our goal is to put them away where they will be living permanently when you're done.
5. Consolidate and Compress - Putting things that were once scattered in several places into one compact container means they take up less space. You will eliminate clutter, unusable space, and wasted time. If it's broken and you are not going to fix it, give it to organizations like Goodwill Industries who have people who can repair and then sell the items. Clothing - Get rid of duplicates, out-dated, ill-fitting or unused items. Storage items - Downsize storage items such as boxes, caddies, racks, etc. Can you use a smaller container for the items? Closets - Remove all empty hangers and empty shoeboxes.
6. Go For Quality, Not Quantity - Keep only the best. Examine the true cost of buying an inferior item. It might be actually cheaper in the long run to buy the best, which will last longer and be more efficient. As for decorations, choose your favorites and display them rather than have knick-knacks scattered everywhere.
7. Think Multipurpose - Look for appliances and tools that can handle many jobs, not just one. They take up less space and cost less in the long run.
8. Alphabetize - It will be much easier to find things back if you label the storage boxes alphabetically whenever feasible. Even items used daily - Spices, Books, Videos, Files.
9. Label It - i.e. Kitchen - Write on a recipe card which items are on each bottom shelf or seldom used corner cupboards. List each item on each Storage Box (or on a card that will be taped to the outside of each box). Some organizers label each box A-Z, and keep the recipe cards in a separate recipe card box. You can retrieve items and then return them correctly when you are finished. Find a "record" system that works best for you. If you chose to keep these items, you want to access them quickly and effortlessly.
10. Put It Away - This needs to become a habit, or you will end up in the same situation as before. Ask yourself, where does this belong? Don't allow yourself (or anyone else in your household) to think they can put it away later. Everything needs to have it's own "home".
TWO Projects for the Month - 1. Decide which area you will organize first. Which area brings you the most frustration or grief? Plan to Start there. Review the "tips and rules" so you have an action plan. 2. Share with us how YOU keep organized. Any additional hints and information will be of great help, and we will print as many as possible in the future.
GETTING STARTED:
1. Pick one small area to begin. You don't want to get overwhelmed and go back to Square One. Start with a corner of a room, or a drawer (or 2), or a cabinet (or 2) in the kitchen or bathroom. Continue with the same project area the next opportunity you have. Resist doing a little in each room. You won't see /have any progress, and will become discouraged.
2. Do not let yourself get distracted. Don't answer the phone. Inform family members not to bother you. Pick a time when you will be least interrupted. Early morning before everyone gets up? After the kids leave for school?
3. Keep a running, written list of things that come to mind while you're plowing through your stuff that might help you keep organized, such as storage boxes, drawer dividers, file folders. Do NOT go to the store to buy storage crates, etc. until you know what and how much you will put into each one, and how many you will actually need.
TO BEGIN:
You will need 5 Boxes (or garbage bags) which you will use to put in each item that you pick up that will NOT go back where you found it.
1. The Put Away/Return Box - Is for any item that doesn't belong where you found it. They might belong in another room, or need to be returned to someone else (had been borrowed), or to the library, returned to the store for a refund, etc. Empty this box as soon as you can. Put the "return" items in the car to drop off the next time you go out.
2. The Pass On Box - Is for anything you want to hand down to others, give to charity, or sell at a garage sale. The items are too good to throw away, but you don't need to keep. When a box or bag is full, close it up so you won't be tempted to pull them back out.
3. The Keep Box is for things you will need and want to keep, but will not occupy the current space you are organizing. You will also use this box for any items that you can't figure out where to put them. Maybe you don't have a place for it right now (would be a good candidate for a storage crate); or you don't know what it is (but might be an important part of something that is located elsewhere). Keep in mind, this is only a temporary box.
4. The Fix Box - To be used only for items that you really believe are worth fixing. If it's been broken for years, and you've lived without it this long, toss it, give it away, or sell it "as is". Do you have the tools or ability to fix it? Will it cost more to fix it than get a new one? Do you already have one that works? Be realistic. Do you have room for spare parts? If you decide to fix it, give yourself a time limit to get it done. If it isn't done by then, toss it.
5. The Throw Away/Trash Box - This is going to be thrown into the garbage. Includes parts that belong to nothing else, damaged items which can't be fixed, out-dated items (cleaning products, stored food (could be dangerous if eaten now), and items even you don't want anymore. Once items are put into this box, they CANNOT be retrieved. They are gone!
***The remaining items will be put in a permanent place. There are (3) Rules you must follow to keep an item: a) You will use it regularly. b) You like it. c) It has a home (Keep in mind that this space you will be using is equal to Prime Real Estate).
TEN STEPS TO GET THE JOB DONE.
1. Empty the Space - If it's a drawer or a cabinet, dump everything into a container or box. Give this space a good cleaning and use your box method listed above. Empty the corner of the room or garage and vacuum/sweep/mop it. Now you will begin using your 5 boxes as you pick up each item.
2. Use It or Lose It - Handle each item only once. Think to yourself: a) When is the last time I used this? How often do I use it? Could I borrow or improvise the few times I use it? Is it a duplicate? Is it out of date? What impact would it have on my life if I didn't have this? Do I value this item? Can it be fixed? Would I feel guilty if I gave it away? How easily could I get another one if I really needed it? Can someone use it more than I can? Think of how this space could be used if this item weren't there.
3. Get Rid Of It Now - Take the trash out of the house now. Return all borrowed items now. Bag up all items for charity now. The important thing is to get it out of your sight and life. Put them in your car and take care of them the next time you do errands. Ship handed down things to the designated person who will want them if they don't live close by.
4. Group Like Things Together - At this point you only have your Keep Box and your Fix-It Box. Now you can sort. Store like things together (now will be the time to set up additional storage containers, files, drawer dividers. The best way to group things for one task would be in one container or location (i.e. giftwrap, shoe polish items, baking items, painting supplies, tools, etc.). Remember, our goal is to put them away where they will be living permanently when you're done.
5. Consolidate and Compress - Putting things that were once scattered in several places into one compact container means they take up less space. You will eliminate clutter, unusable space, and wasted time. If it's broken and you are not going to fix it, give it to organizations like Goodwill Industries who have people who can repair and then sell the items. Clothing - Get rid of duplicates, out-dated, ill-fitting or unused items. Storage items - Downsize storage items such as boxes, caddies, racks, etc. Can you use a smaller container for the items? Closets - Remove all empty hangers and empty shoeboxes.
6. Go For Quality, Not Quantity - Keep only the best. Examine the true cost of buying an inferior item. It might be actually cheaper in the long run to buy the best, which will last longer and be more efficient. As for decorations, choose your favorites and display them rather than have knick-knacks scattered everywhere.
7. Think Multipurpose - Look for appliances and tools that can handle many jobs, not just one. They take up less space and cost less in the long run.
8. Alphabetize - It will be much easier to find things back if you label the storage boxes alphabetically whenever feasible. Even items used daily - Spices, Books, Videos, Files.
9. Label It - i.e. Kitchen - Write on a recipe card which items are on each bottom shelf or seldom used corner cupboards. List each item on each Storage Box (or on a card that will be taped to the outside of each box). Some organizers label each box A-Z, and keep the recipe cards in a separate recipe card box. You can retrieve items and then return them correctly when you are finished. Find a "record" system that works best for you. If you chose to keep these items, you want to access them quickly and effortlessly.
10. Put It Away - This needs to become a habit, or you will end up in the same situation as before. Ask yourself, where does this belong? Don't allow yourself (or anyone else in your household) to think they can put it away later. Everything needs to have it's own "home".
TWO Projects for the Month - 1. Decide which area you will organize first. Which area brings you the most frustration or grief? Plan to Start there. Review the "tips and rules" so you have an action plan. 2. Share with us how YOU keep organized. Any additional hints and information will be of great help, and we will print as many as possible in the future.
Thoughts from Farid.
Thoughts from Farid:
Here’s the last part to help Organize Your Life. Since it’s the beginning of a new
year, you will start on a fresh page if you take time to organize, de-clutter, and take
charge of your life. Good Luck and Happy New Year!
TEN STEPS TO GET THE JOB DONE:
1. Empty the Space - If it's a drawer or a cabinet, dump everything into a container or box. Give this space a good cleaning. Empty and clean the corner of the room or garage. Now you will begin using your 5 boxes as you decide if it’s to put away/return, pass on, keep, fix, or throw away.
2. Use It or Lose It - Handle each item only once. Think to yourself: a) When is the last time I used this? How often do I use it? Could I borrow or improvise the few times I use it? Is it a duplicate? Is it out of date? What impact would it have on my life if I didn't have this? Do I value this item? Can it be fixed? Would I feel guilty if I gave it away? How
easily could I get another one if I really needed it? Can someone use it more than I can? Think of how this space could be used if this item weren't there.
3. Get Rid Of It Now - Take the trash out of the house now. Return all borrowed
items now. Bag up all items for charity now. The important thing is to get it out of your sight and life. Put them in your car and take care of them the next time you do errands. Ship handed down things to the designated person who will want them if they don't live close by.
4. Group Like Things Together - At this point you only have your Keep Box
and your Fix-It Box. Now you can sort. Store like things together (now will be the time to set up additional storage containers, files, drawer dividers. The best way to group things for one task would be in one container or location (i.e. gift wrap, shoe polish items, baking items, painting supplies, tools, etc.). Remember, our goal is to put them away where they will be living permanently when you're done.
5. Consolidate and Compress - Putting things that were once scattered in several places into one compact container means they take up less space. You will eliminate clutter, unusable space, and wasted time. If it's broken and you are not going to fix it, give it to organizations like Goodwill Industries who have people who can repair and then sell the items. Clothing - Get rid of duplicates, outdated, ill-fitting or unused items. Storage items - Downsize storage items such as boxes, caddies, racks, etc. Can you use a smaller container for the items? Closets - Remove all empty hangers and empty shoeboxes.
6. Go For Quality, Not Quantity - Keep only the best. Examine the true cost of buying an inferior item. It might be actually cheaper in the long run to buy the best, which will last longer and be more efficient. As for decorations, choose your favorites and display them rather than have knick-knacks scattered everywhere.
7. Think Multipurpose - Look for appliances and tools that can handle many jobs, not just one. They take up less space and cost less in the long run.
8. Alphabetize - It will be much easier to find things back if you label the storage boxes alphabetically whenever feasible. Even items used daily - Spices, Books, Videos, Files.
9. Label It - i.e. Kitchen - Write on a recipe card which items are on each bottom shelf or seldom used corner cupboards. List each item on each Storage Box (or on a card that will be taped to the outside of each box). Some organizers label each box A-Z, and keep the recipe cards in a separate recipe card box. You can retrieve items and then return them correctly when you are finished. Find a "record" system that works best for you. If you chose to keep these items, you want to access them quickly and effortlessly.
10. Put It Away - This needs to become a habit, or you will end up in the same situation as before. Ask yourself, where does this belong? Don't allow yourself (or anyone else in your household) to think they can put it away later. Everything needs to have it's own "home".
Here’s the last part to help Organize Your Life. Since it’s the beginning of a new
year, you will start on a fresh page if you take time to organize, de-clutter, and take
charge of your life. Good Luck and Happy New Year!
TEN STEPS TO GET THE JOB DONE:
1. Empty the Space - If it's a drawer or a cabinet, dump everything into a container or box. Give this space a good cleaning. Empty and clean the corner of the room or garage. Now you will begin using your 5 boxes as you decide if it’s to put away/return, pass on, keep, fix, or throw away.
2. Use It or Lose It - Handle each item only once. Think to yourself: a) When is the last time I used this? How often do I use it? Could I borrow or improvise the few times I use it? Is it a duplicate? Is it out of date? What impact would it have on my life if I didn't have this? Do I value this item? Can it be fixed? Would I feel guilty if I gave it away? How
easily could I get another one if I really needed it? Can someone use it more than I can? Think of how this space could be used if this item weren't there.
3. Get Rid Of It Now - Take the trash out of the house now. Return all borrowed
items now. Bag up all items for charity now. The important thing is to get it out of your sight and life. Put them in your car and take care of them the next time you do errands. Ship handed down things to the designated person who will want them if they don't live close by.
4. Group Like Things Together - At this point you only have your Keep Box
and your Fix-It Box. Now you can sort. Store like things together (now will be the time to set up additional storage containers, files, drawer dividers. The best way to group things for one task would be in one container or location (i.e. gift wrap, shoe polish items, baking items, painting supplies, tools, etc.). Remember, our goal is to put them away where they will be living permanently when you're done.
5. Consolidate and Compress - Putting things that were once scattered in several places into one compact container means they take up less space. You will eliminate clutter, unusable space, and wasted time. If it's broken and you are not going to fix it, give it to organizations like Goodwill Industries who have people who can repair and then sell the items. Clothing - Get rid of duplicates, outdated, ill-fitting or unused items. Storage items - Downsize storage items such as boxes, caddies, racks, etc. Can you use a smaller container for the items? Closets - Remove all empty hangers and empty shoeboxes.
6. Go For Quality, Not Quantity - Keep only the best. Examine the true cost of buying an inferior item. It might be actually cheaper in the long run to buy the best, which will last longer and be more efficient. As for decorations, choose your favorites and display them rather than have knick-knacks scattered everywhere.
7. Think Multipurpose - Look for appliances and tools that can handle many jobs, not just one. They take up less space and cost less in the long run.
8. Alphabetize - It will be much easier to find things back if you label the storage boxes alphabetically whenever feasible. Even items used daily - Spices, Books, Videos, Files.
9. Label It - i.e. Kitchen - Write on a recipe card which items are on each bottom shelf or seldom used corner cupboards. List each item on each Storage Box (or on a card that will be taped to the outside of each box). Some organizers label each box A-Z, and keep the recipe cards in a separate recipe card box. You can retrieve items and then return them correctly when you are finished. Find a "record" system that works best for you. If you chose to keep these items, you want to access them quickly and effortlessly.
10. Put It Away - This needs to become a habit, or you will end up in the same situation as before. Ask yourself, where does this belong? Don't allow yourself (or anyone else in your household) to think they can put it away later. Everything needs to have it's own "home".
THEN they speed-up.
THEN they speed-up.
This age of technology and gadgets are getting more exciting and challenging. We have started with fax machines and now we are into IPOD and cell phones that do everything including being a television receiver.
BUT we are still using our mouth for speaking and our ears for hearing. Two simple tasks that sometimes are overtaxed and I am sure you have all experienced the situation I am to explain.
You received a voice mail on your cell phone or a message on your home answering machine. For some unknown reason this call is important and you listen to the message carefully as the caller speaks slowly and methodically giving you all the information and the information that they need you to call back with in order to take care of this life saving situation. The message goes on for a long time and finally the person asks you to call him at the ~~~~~~~~~~~ number. The number that is the most important part of the message after five minutes of falling sleep listening to the caller repeat himself ten times is said in speed of light. All you get from the number to call is one or maybe two digits. Here you have to listen to the message over and over again in order to decipher the speed of the light numbers and after exhaustion you do not even give a hoot about the urgency of the call. You are ready to strangle the caller for not taking the time to slow down when he gets to the number.
Here is the way to leave your number so you would create friends rather than evil caller that you will be called. At the beginning and end of your call give your name and phone number. This way they do not have to listen for the whole message all over in order to get the phone number. Make your message is short and to the point, since you are asking them to call back, you will have time to have a one on one experience. When you get to leaving your number: please call me at “pause” slow down and say the area code “pause” slow down and say the 3 digits of your number “pause” slow down and give the last 4 digits of your number.
By doing this you have become the noble man of the phone circuit.
This age of technology and gadgets are getting more exciting and challenging. We have started with fax machines and now we are into IPOD and cell phones that do everything including being a television receiver.
BUT we are still using our mouth for speaking and our ears for hearing. Two simple tasks that sometimes are overtaxed and I am sure you have all experienced the situation I am to explain.
You received a voice mail on your cell phone or a message on your home answering machine. For some unknown reason this call is important and you listen to the message carefully as the caller speaks slowly and methodically giving you all the information and the information that they need you to call back with in order to take care of this life saving situation. The message goes on for a long time and finally the person asks you to call him at the ~~~~~~~~~~~ number. The number that is the most important part of the message after five minutes of falling sleep listening to the caller repeat himself ten times is said in speed of light. All you get from the number to call is one or maybe two digits. Here you have to listen to the message over and over again in order to decipher the speed of the light numbers and after exhaustion you do not even give a hoot about the urgency of the call. You are ready to strangle the caller for not taking the time to slow down when he gets to the number.
Here is the way to leave your number so you would create friends rather than evil caller that you will be called. At the beginning and end of your call give your name and phone number. This way they do not have to listen for the whole message all over in order to get the phone number. Make your message is short and to the point, since you are asking them to call back, you will have time to have a one on one experience. When you get to leaving your number: please call me at “pause” slow down and say the area code “pause” slow down and say the 3 digits of your number “pause” slow down and give the last 4 digits of your number.
By doing this you have become the noble man of the phone circuit.
BEWARE OF SUMMER CREATURES
BEWARE OF SUMMER CREATURES
Just because the lazy, hazy days of summer are upon us, everyone should still be alert to some of the dangers commonly associated with the current seasonal activities, whether you are vacationing or spending time at home enjoying the great outdoors.
Several weekends ago I went to Las Vegas to attend the wedding our Kevin (our plant manager) and Lucy (who also works in our So. Cal. Plant) as well as visiting with my brother, Firooz. As usual, the extended weekend was a fun-filled, exciting time for everyone.
On that particular Sunday night (about midnight), I woke up feeling as though my hand was on fire. It looked as if I had been bitten by a spider in two places. I called my wife in California to tell her about it, and after looking up the information in her Home Medical Manual, we determined that I had been stung by a scorpion, which are common in the desert areas. The book indicated that all scorpions are poisonous in various degrees, and each incident should be treated as a medical emergency.
I went to the Emergency room at a local hospital and was told my stings were not highly poisonous, and there was no medical treatment for it other than Benedyl to help me sleep plus antibiotics to be sure the sting sites wouldn’t become infected. I was told to “ice” the sting areas every couple hours for some relief. For several days, I couldn’t bend my finger, and I had various areas of numbness on my hand interspersed with hot pain. My appetite was gone also, which is a common symptom. Needless to say, I was not comfortable for the following 72 hours.
Unfortunately, Nevada is not the only state with creature hazards. Others include diseases from common insects such as West Nile Virus from mosquitoes (found in California), Lyme disease from ticks (found in the Midwest), and spiders (who know no state boundaries). And let’s not forget deer, who are able to hide behind the lush foliage and trees, ready to spring out in front of cars, which is a real problem in North Carolina this time of the year. You will notice all of these areas include the homes or vacation spots of our employees.
Basically, this is just a reminder to be safe and prepared while enjoying the remaining summer months. When in doubt about seeking medical attention, I would advise everyone to always “error on the side of caution” rather than assume it’s no big deal. My doctor informed me that your entire body can be affected if the venom (from insects, etc.) is potent, as is the case with spiders and scorpions, or if anyone is hypersensitive, as some people are, to bee, wasp, and yellow jacket stings. Be informed of all warning signs relating to certain symptoms of any bites or stings. Be Safe!
Just because the lazy, hazy days of summer are upon us, everyone should still be alert to some of the dangers commonly associated with the current seasonal activities, whether you are vacationing or spending time at home enjoying the great outdoors.
Several weekends ago I went to Las Vegas to attend the wedding our Kevin (our plant manager) and Lucy (who also works in our So. Cal. Plant) as well as visiting with my brother, Firooz. As usual, the extended weekend was a fun-filled, exciting time for everyone.
On that particular Sunday night (about midnight), I woke up feeling as though my hand was on fire. It looked as if I had been bitten by a spider in two places. I called my wife in California to tell her about it, and after looking up the information in her Home Medical Manual, we determined that I had been stung by a scorpion, which are common in the desert areas. The book indicated that all scorpions are poisonous in various degrees, and each incident should be treated as a medical emergency.
I went to the Emergency room at a local hospital and was told my stings were not highly poisonous, and there was no medical treatment for it other than Benedyl to help me sleep plus antibiotics to be sure the sting sites wouldn’t become infected. I was told to “ice” the sting areas every couple hours for some relief. For several days, I couldn’t bend my finger, and I had various areas of numbness on my hand interspersed with hot pain. My appetite was gone also, which is a common symptom. Needless to say, I was not comfortable for the following 72 hours.
Unfortunately, Nevada is not the only state with creature hazards. Others include diseases from common insects such as West Nile Virus from mosquitoes (found in California), Lyme disease from ticks (found in the Midwest), and spiders (who know no state boundaries). And let’s not forget deer, who are able to hide behind the lush foliage and trees, ready to spring out in front of cars, which is a real problem in North Carolina this time of the year. You will notice all of these areas include the homes or vacation spots of our employees.
Basically, this is just a reminder to be safe and prepared while enjoying the remaining summer months. When in doubt about seeking medical attention, I would advise everyone to always “error on the side of caution” rather than assume it’s no big deal. My doctor informed me that your entire body can be affected if the venom (from insects, etc.) is potent, as is the case with spiders and scorpions, or if anyone is hypersensitive, as some people are, to bee, wasp, and yellow jacket stings. Be informed of all warning signs relating to certain symptoms of any bites or stings. Be Safe!
WE CAN CREATE CHANGES BY REALIZING WE DO MAKE A DIFERENCE.
WE CAN CREATE CHANGES BY REALIZING WE DO MAKE A DIFERENCE.
Since sales are the “life blood” of any company, we subscribed to a company that finds various government leads for specific products, namely printing.
Several weeks ago, I downloaded a bid request for bar-code labels for Broward County, Florida. Our estimating department went through the extensive process of furnishing a price for the two separate items which included die charges, programming, etc.
I turned the prices over to Ruth so she could read all 24 pages of the quotation request and fill in the necessary information required. As she was reading the contract section, she saw that they would only accept bids from vendors who held a business license within Broward County, Florida, and put it back on my desk.
Since this sounded like a very strange and somewhat prejudicial rule or specification, I contacted the person in charge of purchasing these labels. During the course of our conversation, I mentioned the time we had spent working on this bid and why did they put it out for bid if it was a useless exercise? He asked me what I was planning on bidding. It turned out our price was less than half of what they had been previously paying. At that point, he asked me to please submit our pricing in writing, and he would do a price comparison to turn over to his management.
A week later, I e-mailed him again to see who got the contract and for what price. He informed me that the contract had not been awarded yet, since there was now an internal investigation in process. A week later, he informed me that the quotation would be going to an unrestricted market (national market) the following morning with a new bid closing date. He e-mailed me copy of the bid the following morning and at that point I sent in a formal quotation with our pricing.
At the time of this writing, the bid has not closed the due date. I don’t know if we will get the order or not. The main thing I want to emphasize is that we can and we will make a difference as long as we don’t cower whenever we face an obstacle. Our industry is extremely competitive as it is, without having to face these extra restrictions that just don’t make any sense. I am sure the County Managers weren’t even aware that they were over-paying on these items, and who knows how many more there are. I think we opened up a “can of worms” for this group.
Since sales are the “life blood” of any company, we subscribed to a company that finds various government leads for specific products, namely printing.
Several weeks ago, I downloaded a bid request for bar-code labels for Broward County, Florida. Our estimating department went through the extensive process of furnishing a price for the two separate items which included die charges, programming, etc.
I turned the prices over to Ruth so she could read all 24 pages of the quotation request and fill in the necessary information required. As she was reading the contract section, she saw that they would only accept bids from vendors who held a business license within Broward County, Florida, and put it back on my desk.
Since this sounded like a very strange and somewhat prejudicial rule or specification, I contacted the person in charge of purchasing these labels. During the course of our conversation, I mentioned the time we had spent working on this bid and why did they put it out for bid if it was a useless exercise? He asked me what I was planning on bidding. It turned out our price was less than half of what they had been previously paying. At that point, he asked me to please submit our pricing in writing, and he would do a price comparison to turn over to his management.
A week later, I e-mailed him again to see who got the contract and for what price. He informed me that the contract had not been awarded yet, since there was now an internal investigation in process. A week later, he informed me that the quotation would be going to an unrestricted market (national market) the following morning with a new bid closing date. He e-mailed me copy of the bid the following morning and at that point I sent in a formal quotation with our pricing.
At the time of this writing, the bid has not closed the due date. I don’t know if we will get the order or not. The main thing I want to emphasize is that we can and we will make a difference as long as we don’t cower whenever we face an obstacle. Our industry is extremely competitive as it is, without having to face these extra restrictions that just don’t make any sense. I am sure the County Managers weren’t even aware that they were over-paying on these items, and who knows how many more there are. I think we opened up a “can of worms” for this group.
FUTEK VISIT.
FUTEK VISIT.
If you need your climate changed, just wait until I visit the area.
On September 8, 2007, I arrived in Appleton/Neenah, WI for a week’s visit. It was a beautiful Saturday and the weather was pleasant. I enjoyed a coolness that I had been missing in California with our tremendous summer heat. I was wearing short sleeves and enjoying this cooler version. As the week-days progressed, it got cooler, then cold, and then much colder. By Saturday, September 15, 2007, when I left Appleton / Neenah, WI for California, the temperature was in low 30’s and there was frost.
If in any area of the country you need your climate changed, just send me an invitation.
My visit to Futek was fantastic. It was wonderful to see the office and the factory busy, with everyone working hard to get the orders produced, shipped, and meeting deadlines. I would like to thank all of you at Futek for your hard work and dedication.
The Phone System at Futek was there from the day we started the operation in Neenah, WI. It had met its day and was causing problems. Also, having no voice mail was a challenge for everyone. Negotiations with our dedicated California telephone vendor allowed us to obtain a Toshiba system that was affordable. It is state of the art and will be installed in the coming weeks. I would like to thank Chuck, Heidi, and the entire crew at Futek who made my visit to Futek so pleasant and successful. Also, it was great to have lunch with Maurie and Kathy (our AFE Today Editor).
I wish you all a pleasant climate.
If you need your climate changed, just wait until I visit the area.
On September 8, 2007, I arrived in Appleton/Neenah, WI for a week’s visit. It was a beautiful Saturday and the weather was pleasant. I enjoyed a coolness that I had been missing in California with our tremendous summer heat. I was wearing short sleeves and enjoying this cooler version. As the week-days progressed, it got cooler, then cold, and then much colder. By Saturday, September 15, 2007, when I left Appleton / Neenah, WI for California, the temperature was in low 30’s and there was frost.
If in any area of the country you need your climate changed, just send me an invitation.
My visit to Futek was fantastic. It was wonderful to see the office and the factory busy, with everyone working hard to get the orders produced, shipped, and meeting deadlines. I would like to thank all of you at Futek for your hard work and dedication.
The Phone System at Futek was there from the day we started the operation in Neenah, WI. It had met its day and was causing problems. Also, having no voice mail was a challenge for everyone. Negotiations with our dedicated California telephone vendor allowed us to obtain a Toshiba system that was affordable. It is state of the art and will be installed in the coming weeks. I would like to thank Chuck, Heidi, and the entire crew at Futek who made my visit to Futek so pleasant and successful. Also, it was great to have lunch with Maurie and Kathy (our AFE Today Editor).
I wish you all a pleasant climate.
GIVE THEM THE KEYS!!
GIVE THEM THE KEYS!!
Recently I had a run in with a car jacker. As I was
parking my Mercedes at the Bank of America, in Santa
Fe Springs, a car jacker approached me to give him my
keys. Since I was having a hectic day and didn’t really
feel like giving up the keys to this jerk, he went and
punched the guy right in the face. After a few choice words, the guy backed off. I began to chase this creep across the street and off he went, down around the corner. I entered the bank and called for help. The police came to check it out only to find out he had stolen another car at a gas station, two blocks away. I realized the danger I put himself in, and would suggest to others that under normal circumstances……...
GIVE THEM THE KEYS!!!!
Recently I had a run in with a car jacker. As I was
parking my Mercedes at the Bank of America, in Santa
Fe Springs, a car jacker approached me to give him my
keys. Since I was having a hectic day and didn’t really
feel like giving up the keys to this jerk, he went and
punched the guy right in the face. After a few choice words, the guy backed off. I began to chase this creep across the street and off he went, down around the corner. I entered the bank and called for help. The police came to check it out only to find out he had stolen another car at a gas station, two blocks away. I realized the danger I put himself in, and would suggest to others that under normal circumstances……...
GIVE THEM THE KEYS!!!!
Let’s wait for the Government to make it a legal 3 day weekend.
Let’s wait for the Government to make it a legal 3 day weekend.
There are times when one wonders if Monday has become the 3rd day of the weekend! Weekends use to be just one day, Sunday (Sabbath) for worship, rest, and reflection. It was decided that an extra day was needed for recreation, so Saturday was added and people used this day to plan for fun, special chores, and shopping, still leaving worship, resting, and reflection to be done on Sunday.
Then comes Monday! How does one stretch the two day weekend into three to include Monday (or Friday)?
This is where I get really upset when I come to work and I find out at any location someone on a Friday or Monday has called in “sick”. How come they do not get sick on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, but they do on Friday or Monday? I do not accept this excuse, knowing full well they either did too much over the weekend and now they feel tired or don’t feel well as a result (and it definitely is not caused by a virus or bacteria strain), or they go someplace, or plan a project at home that didn’t get finished in time.
Working is not a social thing (although we encourage friendships and good working relationships). It is the obligation that each employee must make to their family and to the company they are working for to show up on the weekdays that are work days (with the exception of holidays and vacation days), and to be physically, mentally, and emotionally ready to perform their job duties to the best of their ability.
Starting immediately, plan your vacations in advance, and let your manager know well in advance when you are taking any day(s) off so we can plan accordingly.
If you call in “sick” Friday or Monday, I want you to know that I will not look at it under a favorable light, unless you have a doctor’s note available. If you know you are going to take off on a Monday or a Friday, and you have vacation days left, all you need to do is let us know in advance. The key words here are “in advance”. Companies cannot function normally at the “whim” of their employees deciding if and when they will come to work. Success depends on structure.
Fridays and Mondays make up 28.4% of the 365 days year, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays make 42.7% of the 365 days year. The law of probability would make it 1-1/2 times more likely to get sick mid- week.
Let’s not start a 3 days weekend until the government makes it mandatory.
There are times when one wonders if Monday has become the 3rd day of the weekend! Weekends use to be just one day, Sunday (Sabbath) for worship, rest, and reflection. It was decided that an extra day was needed for recreation, so Saturday was added and people used this day to plan for fun, special chores, and shopping, still leaving worship, resting, and reflection to be done on Sunday.
Then comes Monday! How does one stretch the two day weekend into three to include Monday (or Friday)?
This is where I get really upset when I come to work and I find out at any location someone on a Friday or Monday has called in “sick”. How come they do not get sick on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, but they do on Friday or Monday? I do not accept this excuse, knowing full well they either did too much over the weekend and now they feel tired or don’t feel well as a result (and it definitely is not caused by a virus or bacteria strain), or they go someplace, or plan a project at home that didn’t get finished in time.
Working is not a social thing (although we encourage friendships and good working relationships). It is the obligation that each employee must make to their family and to the company they are working for to show up on the weekdays that are work days (with the exception of holidays and vacation days), and to be physically, mentally, and emotionally ready to perform their job duties to the best of their ability.
Starting immediately, plan your vacations in advance, and let your manager know well in advance when you are taking any day(s) off so we can plan accordingly.
If you call in “sick” Friday or Monday, I want you to know that I will not look at it under a favorable light, unless you have a doctor’s note available. If you know you are going to take off on a Monday or a Friday, and you have vacation days left, all you need to do is let us know in advance. The key words here are “in advance”. Companies cannot function normally at the “whim” of their employees deciding if and when they will come to work. Success depends on structure.
Fridays and Mondays make up 28.4% of the 365 days year, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays make 42.7% of the 365 days year. The law of probability would make it 1-1/2 times more likely to get sick mid- week.
Let’s not start a 3 days weekend until the government makes it mandatory.
You can feed the world in 2008 at NO COST TO YOU.
You can feed the world in 2008 at NO COST TO YOU.
Every evening after work, I go for my walk in the park and listen to my downloaded programs on my ipod. Recently, my favorite program “World Technology” had a segment that was amazing, and I couldn’t walk fast enough to finish my walk and get home to log onto the site to check it out for myself.
The site is: www.freerice.com
The site explanation from their page is listed below:
About Free Rice
www.freerice.com is a sister site of the world poverty site, www.poverty.com .
Free Rice has two goals:
1. Provide English vocabulary to everyone for free.
2. Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.
These goals are made possible by the sponsors who advertise on this website.
Whether you are CEO of a large corporation or a street child in a poor country, improving your vocabulary can improve your life. It is a great investment in you.
Perhaps even greater is the investment your donated rice makes in hungry human beings, enabling them to function and be productive. Somewhere in the world, a person is eating rice that you helped provide. It does not cost you a penny to go to the site and learn as you play and from your playing that you win they donate rice to UN that in turn is given to poor hungry people.
The site is not a Charity classified organization and that is why it (.com) and not (.org).
You will see few advertising and some are big sponsors, Goggle and Fortune 500 companies. It is their advertising that pays for the rice that you win for the hungry by playing the word game that allows all of us learn and test our knowledge of English language and also learn new words. Go to the site just once and read the “Frequently Asked Questions” that will tell you all about this great work. All the money from the advertisers buys rice for the poor and not a penny is used for personal use.
I am so excited about this that I am writing my article on December 4, 2007 for the January issue so you can join in this great endeavor.
Make it your priority every evening at home, before checking your e-mail, to log on to freerice.com and donate 100 grain of rice for that day, thus winning for humanity.
Below is the total donation by date.
Total Donations by Date
Date Grains of Rice
OCTOBER 2007 537,163,380
NOVEMBER 2007 4,768,969,790
December 1, 2007 235,092,740
December 2, 2007 231,789,260
December 3, 2007 252,053,160
____________
Total All Dates 6,025,068,33
We are all so blessed in our lives and it is time for us together to make it our priority for the year 2008 to feed the world…..and it does not cost us a penny. Encourage your children to do this also. It is a family site, so it could be a family project to see how much each family member can win rice donations for the poor. In addition to this, have your children pass this information on to their teachers, so the other students can be encouraged to join in on the fun while increasing their educational levels. Pass it on to your family, friend, organizations and churches. Make this one of your New Year’s resolutions for a self-improvement project as well as a “helping others” project. Let’s feed and learn. PASS IT ON!
Every evening after work, I go for my walk in the park and listen to my downloaded programs on my ipod. Recently, my favorite program “World Technology” had a segment that was amazing, and I couldn’t walk fast enough to finish my walk and get home to log onto the site to check it out for myself.
The site is: www.freerice.com
The site explanation from their page is listed below:
About Free Rice
www.freerice.com is a sister site of the world poverty site, www.poverty.com .
Free Rice has two goals:
1. Provide English vocabulary to everyone for free.
2. Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.
These goals are made possible by the sponsors who advertise on this website.
Whether you are CEO of a large corporation or a street child in a poor country, improving your vocabulary can improve your life. It is a great investment in you.
Perhaps even greater is the investment your donated rice makes in hungry human beings, enabling them to function and be productive. Somewhere in the world, a person is eating rice that you helped provide. It does not cost you a penny to go to the site and learn as you play and from your playing that you win they donate rice to UN that in turn is given to poor hungry people.
The site is not a Charity classified organization and that is why it (.com) and not (.org).
You will see few advertising and some are big sponsors, Goggle and Fortune 500 companies. It is their advertising that pays for the rice that you win for the hungry by playing the word game that allows all of us learn and test our knowledge of English language and also learn new words. Go to the site just once and read the “Frequently Asked Questions” that will tell you all about this great work. All the money from the advertisers buys rice for the poor and not a penny is used for personal use.
I am so excited about this that I am writing my article on December 4, 2007 for the January issue so you can join in this great endeavor.
Make it your priority every evening at home, before checking your e-mail, to log on to freerice.com and donate 100 grain of rice for that day, thus winning for humanity.
Below is the total donation by date.
Total Donations by Date
Date Grains of Rice
OCTOBER 2007 537,163,380
NOVEMBER 2007 4,768,969,790
December 1, 2007 235,092,740
December 2, 2007 231,789,260
December 3, 2007 252,053,160
____________
Total All Dates 6,025,068,33
We are all so blessed in our lives and it is time for us together to make it our priority for the year 2008 to feed the world…..and it does not cost us a penny. Encourage your children to do this also. It is a family site, so it could be a family project to see how much each family member can win rice donations for the poor. In addition to this, have your children pass this information on to their teachers, so the other students can be encouraged to join in on the fun while increasing their educational levels. Pass it on to your family, friend, organizations and churches. Make this one of your New Year’s resolutions for a self-improvement project as well as a “helping others” project. Let’s feed and learn. PASS IT ON!
DID YOU KNOW?
I came across this and I think it would be great to share with everyone.
DID YOU KNOW?
Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little
"stringy things" off of it. That's how the primates do it.
Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave
them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.
Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay
fresh much longer and not mold!
Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.
Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.
Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the
grease away from the meat while cooking.
To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of
spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.
For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints
in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful
minty frosting.
Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic
and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.
Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simple
chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few
apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the
apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream.
1. Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set
heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No
soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it
really works.
2. Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all
broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up
mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg.
Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.
3. Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with
your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to
frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar
and calories per serving.
4. Reheating refrigerated bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place
them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will
keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.
5. Newspaper weeds away
Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet
newspapers put layers around the plants overlapping as you go
cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening
plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.
6. Broken Glass
Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you
can't see easily.
7. No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.
8. Squirrel Away!
To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with
cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the
squirrels won't come near it.
9. Flexible vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an
empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can
be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.
10. Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a
clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when
wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and -- ta da! -- static
is gone.
11. Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot
water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your
ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right
out.
12. Foggy Windshield?
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the
glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works
better than a cloth!
13. Reopening envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include
something inside , just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for
an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.
14. Conditioner
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot cheaper than
shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way
to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it
in your hair...
15. Goodbye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2" with
Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid, mix well. You
will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!
16. Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it
"home," can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so,
especially if it rains, but it works & you don't have the worry about
pets or small children being harmed!
17. INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS
The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things
around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and
he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was
clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load
clothes.)
He took the filter over to the sink, ran hot water over it. The lint
filter is made of a mesh material - I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint
filter looks like. Well,...the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go
through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh
that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film,
but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and
static free -- that nice fragrance too, you know how they can feel waxy
when you take them out of the box, well this stuff builds up on your
clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer
units to catch fire & potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best
way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (& to keep your
electric bill lower) is to take that filter out & wash it with
hot soapy water & an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months.
He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long!
How about that!?! Learn something new every day! I certainly didn't know
dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share!
Note: I went to my dryer & tested my screen by running water on it. The
water ran through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in
the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water & a nylon brush & I
had it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it the water ran right
Thru the screen! There wasn't any puddling at all! That repairman knew
what he was talking about!
DID YOU KNOW?
Peel a banana from the bottom and you won't have to pick the little
"stringy things" off of it. That's how the primates do it.
Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store. If you leave
them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.
Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil. It will stay
fresh much longer and not mold!
Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.
Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.
Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef. It will help pull the
grease away from the meat while cooking.
To really make scrambled eggs or omelets rich add a couple of
spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.
For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt Andes mints
in double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful
minty frosting.
Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic
and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.
Leftover snickers bars from Halloween make a delicious dessert. Simple
chop them up with the food chopper. Peel, core and slice a few
apples. Place them in a baking dish and sprinkle the chopped candy bars over the
apples. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes!!! Serve alone or with vanilla ice cream.
1. Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set
heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No
soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it
really works.
2. Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all
broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up
mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg.
Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.
3. Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with
your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to
frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar
and calories per serving.
4. Reheating refrigerated bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place
them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will
keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.
5. Newspaper weeds away
Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet
newspapers put layers around the plants overlapping as you go
cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening
plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.
6. Broken Glass
Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you
can't see easily.
7. No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.
8. Squirrel Away!
To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with
cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the
squirrels won't come near it.
9. Flexible vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an
empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can
be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.
10. Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a
clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when
wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and -- ta da! -- static
is gone.
11. Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot
water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry cup. Next, add your
ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right
out.
12. Foggy Windshield?
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the
glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works
better than a cloth!
13. Reopening envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include
something inside , just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for
an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.
14. Conditioner
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot cheaper than
shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way
to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it
in your hair...
15. Goodbye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2" with
Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dish washing liquid, mix well. You
will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!
16. Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it
"home," can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so,
especially if it rains, but it works & you don't have the worry about
pets or small children being harmed!
17. INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS
The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things
around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and
he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was
clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load
clothes.)
He took the filter over to the sink, ran hot water over it. The lint
filter is made of a mesh material - I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint
filter looks like. Well,...the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go
through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh
that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film,
but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and
static free -- that nice fragrance too, you know how they can feel waxy
when you take them out of the box, well this stuff builds up on your
clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer
units to catch fire & potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best
way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (& to keep your
electric bill lower) is to take that filter out & wash it with
hot soapy water & an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months.
He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long!
How about that!?! Learn something new every day! I certainly didn't know
dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share!
Note: I went to my dryer & tested my screen by running water on it. The
water ran through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in
the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water & a nylon brush & I
had it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it the water ran right
Thru the screen! There wasn't any puddling at all! That repairman knew
what he was talking about!
Hidden costs are polite stealing
Hidden costs are polite stealing
Hidden costs are increasing our daily expenses on a regular basis. Phone companies, cable companies, credit cards, banks, and yes….our company suppliers are all guilty.
Company suppliers/vendors now call it “FUEL SURCHARGE”. I call it stealing.
Let me give you an example, and it might lead you to examine your personal bills more closely to see charges you have overlooked in the past.
We are a printing company so the major part of our purchases is paper. As the prices of paper constantly increase, we try to find suppliers who would offer lower prices in order to stay competitive in this tough market of “price cutting.”
One of our major suppliers of pressure sensitive paper is a prime example of disguising costs. They had been giving us good prices and their service has always been excellent. A few months ago Raflatac visited our Calico, North Carolina plant and offered all our facilities a lower price which included freight if we ordered on line. We told our original supplier that we had an offer of lower prices. As a courtesy to them for being such a great supplier in the past, we told them rather than eliminating them completely, we would like to utilize both suppliers if they could offer us the same price as Raflatac. After reviewing the information we furnished to them, they offered us the same price. At this point, everything seemed agreeable, and everyone appeared to be happy with the arrangement.
When I received the invoice from Raflatac, they had charged us the price they had quoted with freight delivered and no extra hidden charges. We were billed exactly as they had promised. But when I received the invoice from our former supplier, it was a different story. They had the price they had matched with Raflatac, but there was one additional line: “Freight surcharge”. This was not only agreed to during our conversations, it wasn’t even mentioned by them. That is what I call blatant stealing. Matching the price and then finding a way to stick it to you right in front of your eyes crossed the line of business ethics.
I crossed out the fuel surcharge on their invoice and will not pay it. This is a new scheme by all the companies who are adding fuel surcharges. We have found trucking companies who give us discounts, and then they add a line called fuel surcharge to take back a portion of the discount. I call this unethical. All companies have energy expenses, including ours. We do not charge our customers for it. When we issue a quote, that is exactly what our customers expect to be charged. If our vendors want to have an extra charge, they should also include it in their unit price rather than be sneaky about it.
I would suggest that you look at your personal bills. I am sure you will find charges that are almost a joke the way they describe it. The charges may look and sound impressive and many times cryptic or vague, but what it should be listed as is “STEALING CHARGE”.
My hat is off to Raflatac for being honest and transparent in their business practices.
Hidden costs are increasing our daily expenses on a regular basis. Phone companies, cable companies, credit cards, banks, and yes….our company suppliers are all guilty.
Company suppliers/vendors now call it “FUEL SURCHARGE”. I call it stealing.
Let me give you an example, and it might lead you to examine your personal bills more closely to see charges you have overlooked in the past.
We are a printing company so the major part of our purchases is paper. As the prices of paper constantly increase, we try to find suppliers who would offer lower prices in order to stay competitive in this tough market of “price cutting.”
One of our major suppliers of pressure sensitive paper is a prime example of disguising costs. They had been giving us good prices and their service has always been excellent. A few months ago Raflatac visited our Calico, North Carolina plant and offered all our facilities a lower price which included freight if we ordered on line. We told our original supplier that we had an offer of lower prices. As a courtesy to them for being such a great supplier in the past, we told them rather than eliminating them completely, we would like to utilize both suppliers if they could offer us the same price as Raflatac. After reviewing the information we furnished to them, they offered us the same price. At this point, everything seemed agreeable, and everyone appeared to be happy with the arrangement.
When I received the invoice from Raflatac, they had charged us the price they had quoted with freight delivered and no extra hidden charges. We were billed exactly as they had promised. But when I received the invoice from our former supplier, it was a different story. They had the price they had matched with Raflatac, but there was one additional line: “Freight surcharge”. This was not only agreed to during our conversations, it wasn’t even mentioned by them. That is what I call blatant stealing. Matching the price and then finding a way to stick it to you right in front of your eyes crossed the line of business ethics.
I crossed out the fuel surcharge on their invoice and will not pay it. This is a new scheme by all the companies who are adding fuel surcharges. We have found trucking companies who give us discounts, and then they add a line called fuel surcharge to take back a portion of the discount. I call this unethical. All companies have energy expenses, including ours. We do not charge our customers for it. When we issue a quote, that is exactly what our customers expect to be charged. If our vendors want to have an extra charge, they should also include it in their unit price rather than be sneaky about it.
I would suggest that you look at your personal bills. I am sure you will find charges that are almost a joke the way they describe it. The charges may look and sound impressive and many times cryptic or vague, but what it should be listed as is “STEALING CHARGE”.
My hat is off to Raflatac for being honest and transparent in their business practices.
Off the wire.
Off the wire.
For as long as I can remember I have awakened in the morning with “CBS News on the Hour”, until it became more advertising and less news. I then switched to NPR. Every morning I knew all about the world before getting out of bed to start the day.
Last Sunday in Charlotte, my radio came on as it does every day during the week at 4:00 AM and weekends at 5:00AM. As soon as it came on, I sat up in bed and reached for the radio and turned it off. I do not knower why or what made me do that, but suddenly I realized I was always waking up, listening to all the bad news before the day had even started. It set the mood of my day by knowing how oil prices were being speculated to hit the sky and all the news that was blown out of proportion and magnified to make it news-worthy.
I got up and went for my morning walk in Charlotte, NC. Since I do not have the daily California-one-hour-AM drive here, I walk in the morning rather than at night. However, there is something so beautiful in the evenings in Charlotte that I often walk twice daily.
It was a great walk with my Ipod , listening to the music, and not knowing what had happened the day before or what was expected of the day to come.
We are so connected these days that we are letting the “wire” decide what the tone of the day is supposed to be.
In the old days, before CNN, FOX and Headline news became 24 hours of repeating the same news over and over, we had nightly CBS, NBC and ABC news. People came home, had dinner, and then listened to all the bad news at the end of the day. Fortunately, a good night’s sleep erased all the negative effects it had, if any.
This does not mean we should completely disconnect and not know what is going on around us. Rather, we should choose to delay it until we are charged up so we can set our own state of mind rather then having the “wire” feed us the junk we crave daily by listening to these reporters.
So I have changed my daily routine. I am now waking up to music and do not give a care about the news until I am on my way to work.
As Vonnegut the novelist, essayist (1922-2007) said, “The most beautiful thing in life is music, because you cannot touch or see, but feel the beauty that is coming from it.”
So do not let the wire be your guide, but let it be just another medium that can be ignored at least for a short while in the morning. You can be sure it will change the mental and emotional direction of your day toward the positive.
For as long as I can remember I have awakened in the morning with “CBS News on the Hour”, until it became more advertising and less news. I then switched to NPR. Every morning I knew all about the world before getting out of bed to start the day.
Last Sunday in Charlotte, my radio came on as it does every day during the week at 4:00 AM and weekends at 5:00AM. As soon as it came on, I sat up in bed and reached for the radio and turned it off. I do not knower why or what made me do that, but suddenly I realized I was always waking up, listening to all the bad news before the day had even started. It set the mood of my day by knowing how oil prices were being speculated to hit the sky and all the news that was blown out of proportion and magnified to make it news-worthy.
I got up and went for my morning walk in Charlotte, NC. Since I do not have the daily California-one-hour-AM drive here, I walk in the morning rather than at night. However, there is something so beautiful in the evenings in Charlotte that I often walk twice daily.
It was a great walk with my Ipod , listening to the music, and not knowing what had happened the day before or what was expected of the day to come.
We are so connected these days that we are letting the “wire” decide what the tone of the day is supposed to be.
In the old days, before CNN, FOX and Headline news became 24 hours of repeating the same news over and over, we had nightly CBS, NBC and ABC news. People came home, had dinner, and then listened to all the bad news at the end of the day. Fortunately, a good night’s sleep erased all the negative effects it had, if any.
This does not mean we should completely disconnect and not know what is going on around us. Rather, we should choose to delay it until we are charged up so we can set our own state of mind rather then having the “wire” feed us the junk we crave daily by listening to these reporters.
So I have changed my daily routine. I am now waking up to music and do not give a care about the news until I am on my way to work.
As Vonnegut the novelist, essayist (1922-2007) said, “The most beautiful thing in life is music, because you cannot touch or see, but feel the beauty that is coming from it.”
So do not let the wire be your guide, but let it be just another medium that can be ignored at least for a short while in the morning. You can be sure it will change the mental and emotional direction of your day toward the positive.
What happens to it?
It seems that every day the newspaper has articles regarding seized drugs during transportation into our country. This “weapon” that is destroying many societies by destroying its most treasured asset of youth bothers me tremendously. I am high on life and do not understand why someone (either young or old) would want to feel miserable and consider it fun. I also cannot understand how human beings (if they can still be considered human, because they certainly are not humane) can purposely destroy the lives of others by providing drugs to them.
A few weeks ago an article in the Orange County Register was about a boat that was stranded off shore. When the Coast Guard arrived to assist those on board, they found two tons of Marijuana on board being smuggled from Mexico to San Diego, CA. They and their counter parts that were waiting for the arrival of the boat were all arrested. Then I wondered, “What does happen to the confiscated drugs and how it is handled by our police and related agencies. What do they do with it?” Here are some answers I was able to obtain.
• The drugs are destroyed (incinerated) and the cash goes to various law enforcement organizations and into the general fund of the federal government with some to each state involved in that particular crime.
• Money is used by the confiscating agency for other police purposes, such as vehicles, equipment, new buildings, etc. Any other property confiscated, such as vehicles, houses, etc., will be auctioned off, and that money in turn is used by the confiscating agency in the same way as confiscated money. All of this is after the case has gone all the way through the court system. As a note, money must be over a certain amount for the police to confiscate it.
• Confiscated money and drugs have an extensive security trail established, that will not allow drugs or money to be tampered with. It’s called the chain of evidence. Great security measures are in place to protect this recovered evidence. This evidence is held in extremely tight security areas, until time for court. Once all appeals have been met, the drugs are destroyed and the money is used to purchase police equipment or to support a charitable organization, like the Fraternal Order of Police Youth Camp.
I would like to go to one of these bonfires and cheer for the police and the agencies that try to get some of these drugs off the street. Every little bit helps.
A few weeks ago an article in the Orange County Register was about a boat that was stranded off shore. When the Coast Guard arrived to assist those on board, they found two tons of Marijuana on board being smuggled from Mexico to San Diego, CA. They and their counter parts that were waiting for the arrival of the boat were all arrested. Then I wondered, “What does happen to the confiscated drugs and how it is handled by our police and related agencies. What do they do with it?” Here are some answers I was able to obtain.
• The drugs are destroyed (incinerated) and the cash goes to various law enforcement organizations and into the general fund of the federal government with some to each state involved in that particular crime.
• Money is used by the confiscating agency for other police purposes, such as vehicles, equipment, new buildings, etc. Any other property confiscated, such as vehicles, houses, etc., will be auctioned off, and that money in turn is used by the confiscating agency in the same way as confiscated money. All of this is after the case has gone all the way through the court system. As a note, money must be over a certain amount for the police to confiscate it.
• Confiscated money and drugs have an extensive security trail established, that will not allow drugs or money to be tampered with. It’s called the chain of evidence. Great security measures are in place to protect this recovered evidence. This evidence is held in extremely tight security areas, until time for court. Once all appeals have been met, the drugs are destroyed and the money is used to purchase police equipment or to support a charitable organization, like the Fraternal Order of Police Youth Camp.
I would like to go to one of these bonfires and cheer for the police and the agencies that try to get some of these drugs off the street. Every little bit helps.
What does all the above data add up to?
129 Days. 30.5 lbs. 16.9%. 10,378 Minutes.
172.966666 Hours. 664.11 Miles. Coyotes Encounter. Morning wake up at 2:45 AM. Walk morning and evenings.
What does all the above data add up to?
This article is being written on Sunday August 24, 2008.
When I visited my doctor for my regular 3-month check up, my blood pressure was 140/90 and my other related health numbers were not encouraging. My weight had taken its own upward road because of happy eating. My doctor told me that I was over weight and should try losing some to help my vital statistics that were high and which needed to be lowered ASAP.
In general I was not feeling good and my energy level was lower than normal. I was feeling uncomfortable and upset at myself for losing control of my general health.
I left the doctor’s office determined to regain that control and recapture the feeling I had before the weight gain.
When I arrived home I went straight to my computer and signed up for the Nutra System Diet Plan I had seen advertised on TV. The food arrived 3 days later and I started their eating and exercise plan. Do not fool yourself… you can not lose weight without exercise. You have to get your body moving or it is a waste of money as well as time and effort, and nothing happens.
I started my program in California, but had to take my business trips to the other plants. I increased my walk daily while I was visiting Calico, NC and then Futek, WI. I was out for my morning walks at 4:00AM and also in the evenings at 6:00 PM when the weather was cooler. I enjoyed walking in the mornings because it was cool and they made me feel energized during the day. I also enjoyed the evening breezes later in the evening. At first, walking 3-4 miles was a chore. Now I am up to 12-14 miles per day and do not want to stop. My IPOD keeps me company with my downloaded podcasts that make the time disappear.
When I first began my routine, my morning and evening walks were in streets and at the park near our house in California. However, my California morning walks were changed to going to the Gym when I encountered two coyotes at the park. As I was walking one morning, I heard some rustling in the bushes. I looked to the side and they were 10 feet from me. Although my heart beat jumped, I continued to walk the same speed and did not run because I knew that would encourage them to chase me. So with one eye on them, I walked away until I got to the other side of the park while they continued to stand there and watch me. In my mind I was contemplating what I should do if they decided to run toward me and attack me! I’m very thankful they did not.
It was not a hard decision to transfer my walk to the gym from that day on. I was getting up 3:00AM for the park walk, so in order to stick with the rest of my daily routine; I had to change it to 2:45AM. This would give me time to drive to the gym and back by 6:00AM to get ready for work.
In my opinion, the Nutra System food is delicious and easy to make. No refrigeration is needed, and it takes 1-1/2 minutes or less in the microwave to have it ready. I would encourage anyone to try it if you want to lose weight.
So this is what it took to loose 30-1/2Lbs.
129 Days of diet and exercise.
Weight lost: 30.5 lbs.
Percentage lost: 16.9%
Minutes walked: 10,678 Minutes = 172.96666667 Hours
Miles walked: 664.11Miles
Coyotes Encountered: 2
Morning wake up at 2:45 AM
Walk morning and evenings.
Average daily distance walked: 5.14814 Miles.
Now the fun part is that I can go to my other closet every morning and it is like going to the store and picking out new clothes for that day. I can pick my favorite pants and shirts that were moved to the other closet due to weight gain. Everything old is new again.
My doctor took me around the office on the last visit to show me off to the staff and the other patients to show what one can do if one is mentally ready to do it. I believe if you are not mentally ready to take the challenge, it will be a futile exercise and any lack of dedication will not let anyone achieve the goal.
My blood pressure is 110/70 and all the other vital signs are looking great. I have so much energy now, which really makes my days a pleasure.
Now if you are good at math, you can figure out what my starting weight was!
172.966666 Hours. 664.11 Miles. Coyotes Encounter. Morning wake up at 2:45 AM. Walk morning and evenings.
What does all the above data add up to?
This article is being written on Sunday August 24, 2008.
When I visited my doctor for my regular 3-month check up, my blood pressure was 140/90 and my other related health numbers were not encouraging. My weight had taken its own upward road because of happy eating. My doctor told me that I was over weight and should try losing some to help my vital statistics that were high and which needed to be lowered ASAP.
In general I was not feeling good and my energy level was lower than normal. I was feeling uncomfortable and upset at myself for losing control of my general health.
I left the doctor’s office determined to regain that control and recapture the feeling I had before the weight gain.
When I arrived home I went straight to my computer and signed up for the Nutra System Diet Plan I had seen advertised on TV. The food arrived 3 days later and I started their eating and exercise plan. Do not fool yourself… you can not lose weight without exercise. You have to get your body moving or it is a waste of money as well as time and effort, and nothing happens.
I started my program in California, but had to take my business trips to the other plants. I increased my walk daily while I was visiting Calico, NC and then Futek, WI. I was out for my morning walks at 4:00AM and also in the evenings at 6:00 PM when the weather was cooler. I enjoyed walking in the mornings because it was cool and they made me feel energized during the day. I also enjoyed the evening breezes later in the evening. At first, walking 3-4 miles was a chore. Now I am up to 12-14 miles per day and do not want to stop. My IPOD keeps me company with my downloaded podcasts that make the time disappear.
When I first began my routine, my morning and evening walks were in streets and at the park near our house in California. However, my California morning walks were changed to going to the Gym when I encountered two coyotes at the park. As I was walking one morning, I heard some rustling in the bushes. I looked to the side and they were 10 feet from me. Although my heart beat jumped, I continued to walk the same speed and did not run because I knew that would encourage them to chase me. So with one eye on them, I walked away until I got to the other side of the park while they continued to stand there and watch me. In my mind I was contemplating what I should do if they decided to run toward me and attack me! I’m very thankful they did not.
It was not a hard decision to transfer my walk to the gym from that day on. I was getting up 3:00AM for the park walk, so in order to stick with the rest of my daily routine; I had to change it to 2:45AM. This would give me time to drive to the gym and back by 6:00AM to get ready for work.
In my opinion, the Nutra System food is delicious and easy to make. No refrigeration is needed, and it takes 1-1/2 minutes or less in the microwave to have it ready. I would encourage anyone to try it if you want to lose weight.
So this is what it took to loose 30-1/2Lbs.
129 Days of diet and exercise.
Weight lost: 30.5 lbs.
Percentage lost: 16.9%
Minutes walked: 10,678 Minutes = 172.96666667 Hours
Miles walked: 664.11Miles
Coyotes Encountered: 2
Morning wake up at 2:45 AM
Walk morning and evenings.
Average daily distance walked: 5.14814 Miles.
Now the fun part is that I can go to my other closet every morning and it is like going to the store and picking out new clothes for that day. I can pick my favorite pants and shirts that were moved to the other closet due to weight gain. Everything old is new again.
My doctor took me around the office on the last visit to show me off to the staff and the other patients to show what one can do if one is mentally ready to do it. I believe if you are not mentally ready to take the challenge, it will be a futile exercise and any lack of dedication will not let anyone achieve the goal.
My blood pressure is 110/70 and all the other vital signs are looking great. I have so much energy now, which really makes my days a pleasure.
Now if you are good at math, you can figure out what my starting weight was!
CASH FOR TRASH
CASH FOR TRASH
Listening to the news these days is all about the bail-out of the rich boys heading up our financial institutions who thought they were smart. It finally took this mess to show how dumb and greedy they really were. Having a Harvard Business School Degree is no guarantee for smartness. In this case, their degrees only taught them how to come up with the next perfect scheme to get rich quick with no regard to the people they were hurting on main street, while assuming that they would be able to bail themselves out at our expense if and when things went bad. And as they expected, our Government is now buying the “toxic acid” of Wall Street. There is an English saying, “Rich is what gets the gravy and poor is what gets the pain”.
There are 3 segments of our society that will get hurt in our “main street.”
1) People without job: The ones who will lose the most are the ones who do not have a job. This was also the case during the big depression. So the first important thing to do is keep our jobs and be employed in order to be able to ride this out.
2) Since money has dried up for banks to loan out, there will be no business loans. Start up loans and technology loans will also be unavailable, which will hurt or destroy innovative ideas that need financing to bring their bright ideas to the market. We will not see many great ideas that could improve our lives and assist us for advancement, because they will not be funded. This will hurt those companies who are working hard to bring ideas to the market.
3) The third losers are all of us (the public) who have to pay for this mess which will take five to ten years to clean up. To do so we will see higher taxes and a lower value of our dollars due to the government printing money to pay for this.
These are the 3 bad things I readily observe.
Through all of this, I was trying to find a silver lining that would help us all, the general public. Since none of us can send our personal or business debts to the Government to clear our accounts, there must be some benefit, and there is.
First, you have to be employed to benefit from this. Because of this current situation, the only sector that will give us Big Bang for our dollars is the Retail Market. In the coming months you will see more sales, bigger discounts, and price cutting to get us to buy. If you are employed and have a paycheck, this is the best time to go shopping wisely and buy what you really need, all at bargain prices.
Again, buy WISELY and take advantage of the lower advertised, retail prices you will see in the coming months. Look in the newspaper for bargains. You will be wondering how anyone can sell at these prices. The retailers need to turn their goods into cash, since the banks are not loaning to them either. This will be to everyone’s advantage to turn Trash to Cash.
Listening to the news these days is all about the bail-out of the rich boys heading up our financial institutions who thought they were smart. It finally took this mess to show how dumb and greedy they really were. Having a Harvard Business School Degree is no guarantee for smartness. In this case, their degrees only taught them how to come up with the next perfect scheme to get rich quick with no regard to the people they were hurting on main street, while assuming that they would be able to bail themselves out at our expense if and when things went bad. And as they expected, our Government is now buying the “toxic acid” of Wall Street. There is an English saying, “Rich is what gets the gravy and poor is what gets the pain”.
There are 3 segments of our society that will get hurt in our “main street.”
1) People without job: The ones who will lose the most are the ones who do not have a job. This was also the case during the big depression. So the first important thing to do is keep our jobs and be employed in order to be able to ride this out.
2) Since money has dried up for banks to loan out, there will be no business loans. Start up loans and technology loans will also be unavailable, which will hurt or destroy innovative ideas that need financing to bring their bright ideas to the market. We will not see many great ideas that could improve our lives and assist us for advancement, because they will not be funded. This will hurt those companies who are working hard to bring ideas to the market.
3) The third losers are all of us (the public) who have to pay for this mess which will take five to ten years to clean up. To do so we will see higher taxes and a lower value of our dollars due to the government printing money to pay for this.
These are the 3 bad things I readily observe.
Through all of this, I was trying to find a silver lining that would help us all, the general public. Since none of us can send our personal or business debts to the Government to clear our accounts, there must be some benefit, and there is.
First, you have to be employed to benefit from this. Because of this current situation, the only sector that will give us Big Bang for our dollars is the Retail Market. In the coming months you will see more sales, bigger discounts, and price cutting to get us to buy. If you are employed and have a paycheck, this is the best time to go shopping wisely and buy what you really need, all at bargain prices.
Again, buy WISELY and take advantage of the lower advertised, retail prices you will see in the coming months. Look in the newspaper for bargains. You will be wondering how anyone can sell at these prices. The retailers need to turn their goods into cash, since the banks are not loaning to them either. This will be to everyone’s advantage to turn Trash to Cash.
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