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.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
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.
WHAT IS THE LINE FOR?
WHAT IS THE LINE FOR?
For the past nine months, since the gasoline prices in California and rest of the country moved to the “Outer Limits,” I have been car pooling. It has been great, not only saving on gasoline, but also making the long drive enjoyable.
On our daily return trips home, We noticed a house on Carmenita Road where people gathered outside in line daily. We couldn’t figure out why. Each day we tried to guess what it was? We finally solved the mystery. We determined that it was a neighborhood food bank. WOW!
The next day I decided to organize a food collection at our company to make donations to the food bank. We were already donating to the food bank at a church for several weeks, so we knew firsthand how they worked. As soon as the grocery store ads arrive in the mail, we started checking for great bargains, plus clipping coupons constantly for the donation. It was suggested I should first check to see if they would accept donations from us, when they were open, and what items were preferred.
The next day, I drove to the Food Bank and asked for the person in charge. I introduced myself and presented my offer of our company donations. Needless to say, they were delighted. The gentleman I spoke to told me how they get what they can from stores (produce and baked items), but they still do not have enough. He also explained that everything from private sources had to be packaged or in cans.
I am so proud of our employees at AFE and Coastal for making this a successful project. We have placed a big box in the front office where everyone brings in cans and non-perishable packaged food. Every Thursday, we drop it off. When we started, we filled up the back seat of a car. For the past two weeks, we had to use our pick-up to make the delivery. We contacted this large company across the street, and they are now collecting items also on a weekly basis also.
It is so heart warming to know that we can do something that might seem small to us, but is so big to someone else. In this day and age, living in this country that feeds the world, there is no reason why anyone here should go hungry. These are hard times for all of us. But I believe it will be only for a short while, and we will come out gloriously as we always do. We will not have the soup kitchens of the 1930’s Depression Era, but we still have hidden hunger with families and children. If you can help these faceless hungry people, you will experience a feeling that is grater than anything you have ever known.
So if you would like to investigate your local community and see if there is a food bank that would accept food, and you would like to have a weekly or monthly food collection for it at your location, this is the time that it is needed the most and would make the most impact. In this great country of ours, there is no reason why even one person should go hungry. And remember, HUNGER HURTS.
For the past nine months, since the gasoline prices in California and rest of the country moved to the “Outer Limits,” I have been car pooling. It has been great, not only saving on gasoline, but also making the long drive enjoyable.
On our daily return trips home, We noticed a house on Carmenita Road where people gathered outside in line daily. We couldn’t figure out why. Each day we tried to guess what it was? We finally solved the mystery. We determined that it was a neighborhood food bank. WOW!
The next day I decided to organize a food collection at our company to make donations to the food bank. We were already donating to the food bank at a church for several weeks, so we knew firsthand how they worked. As soon as the grocery store ads arrive in the mail, we started checking for great bargains, plus clipping coupons constantly for the donation. It was suggested I should first check to see if they would accept donations from us, when they were open, and what items were preferred.
The next day, I drove to the Food Bank and asked for the person in charge. I introduced myself and presented my offer of our company donations. Needless to say, they were delighted. The gentleman I spoke to told me how they get what they can from stores (produce and baked items), but they still do not have enough. He also explained that everything from private sources had to be packaged or in cans.
I am so proud of our employees at AFE and Coastal for making this a successful project. We have placed a big box in the front office where everyone brings in cans and non-perishable packaged food. Every Thursday, we drop it off. When we started, we filled up the back seat of a car. For the past two weeks, we had to use our pick-up to make the delivery. We contacted this large company across the street, and they are now collecting items also on a weekly basis also.
It is so heart warming to know that we can do something that might seem small to us, but is so big to someone else. In this day and age, living in this country that feeds the world, there is no reason why anyone here should go hungry. These are hard times for all of us. But I believe it will be only for a short while, and we will come out gloriously as we always do. We will not have the soup kitchens of the 1930’s Depression Era, but we still have hidden hunger with families and children. If you can help these faceless hungry people, you will experience a feeling that is grater than anything you have ever known.
So if you would like to investigate your local community and see if there is a food bank that would accept food, and you would like to have a weekly or monthly food collection for it at your location, this is the time that it is needed the most and would make the most impact. In this great country of ours, there is no reason why even one person should go hungry. And remember, HUNGER HURTS.
Blackstrap Molasses
Blackstrap Molasses
Last month while I was in Charlotte, NC, visiting Calico plant, on a Sunday drive I decided to try a Brazilian restaurant for lunch to see what their food tasted like.
On my drive down Independence Boulevard, I passed a Farmers Market Store that looked like it would be fun to browse through. They had several items that I did not recognize, nor did I want to know. One item that caught my eye was “Blackstrap Molasses”. I love honey and buy every new brand I can get and this looked something similar to honey. I called Ruth in California on my cell phone and asked her what this black stuff was. She knew basically what it was and that Molasses is used in baking.
I bought a bottle that was only $3.00+ tax and the girl at the register had no idea what it was used for. She was finishing her degree in Social Sience in the coming semester from UNC and been working there to pay for school. Therefore having a college degree does not make you an expert on molasses.
After I had lunch at the Brazilian Resturant (that was great and too much to eat), I was excited to find out more about this black gooey stuff in the bottle.
This is what I found out:
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MOLASSES AND BLACKSTRAP MOLASSES?
Regular ole molasses is the first or second boiling of cane sugar syrup while blackstrap is the third boiling of the syrup. Iron levels appear to increase 5% in the 3rd boiling. The third boiling of the sugar syrup gives blackstrap molasses. The majority of sucrose from the original juice has been crystallized but black strap molasses is still mostly sugar by calories[1]; however, unlike refined sugars, it contains significant amounts of vitamins and minerals. Blackstrap molasses is a source of calcium, magnesium, potassium and iron. One tablespoon provides up to 20 percent of the daily value of each of those nutrients.[
Molasses Cures
Blackstrap molasses appears to be making headlines as one of the best home remedies around! Blackstrap molasses is claimed to be an ingredient for curing cancerous tumors, fibroid tumors, anxiety, constipation, edema, heart palpitations, anemia, arthritic pain, joint pain, and acne, just to name a few. It has also been reported that molasses turns gray hair back to its original color and is a wonderful skin softener!
Having read all that, I have made it an addition to my daily morning breakfast. I take a tablespoon straight up. It is sweet, and with all the vitamins in it, what can go wrong.
I suggest you read more about it but check with your doctor if you have any medial history to make sure it does not cause any unwanted effects.
What we have here could possibly be “BLACK GOLD” in a bottle.
If you have any additional information regarding this, please let me know so I can pass it along.
Last month while I was in Charlotte, NC, visiting Calico plant, on a Sunday drive I decided to try a Brazilian restaurant for lunch to see what their food tasted like.
On my drive down Independence Boulevard, I passed a Farmers Market Store that looked like it would be fun to browse through. They had several items that I did not recognize, nor did I want to know. One item that caught my eye was “Blackstrap Molasses”. I love honey and buy every new brand I can get and this looked something similar to honey. I called Ruth in California on my cell phone and asked her what this black stuff was. She knew basically what it was and that Molasses is used in baking.
I bought a bottle that was only $3.00+ tax and the girl at the register had no idea what it was used for. She was finishing her degree in Social Sience in the coming semester from UNC and been working there to pay for school. Therefore having a college degree does not make you an expert on molasses.
After I had lunch at the Brazilian Resturant (that was great and too much to eat), I was excited to find out more about this black gooey stuff in the bottle.
This is what I found out:
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MOLASSES AND BLACKSTRAP MOLASSES?
Regular ole molasses is the first or second boiling of cane sugar syrup while blackstrap is the third boiling of the syrup. Iron levels appear to increase 5% in the 3rd boiling. The third boiling of the sugar syrup gives blackstrap molasses. The majority of sucrose from the original juice has been crystallized but black strap molasses is still mostly sugar by calories[1]; however, unlike refined sugars, it contains significant amounts of vitamins and minerals. Blackstrap molasses is a source of calcium, magnesium, potassium and iron. One tablespoon provides up to 20 percent of the daily value of each of those nutrients.[
Molasses Cures
Blackstrap molasses appears to be making headlines as one of the best home remedies around! Blackstrap molasses is claimed to be an ingredient for curing cancerous tumors, fibroid tumors, anxiety, constipation, edema, heart palpitations, anemia, arthritic pain, joint pain, and acne, just to name a few. It has also been reported that molasses turns gray hair back to its original color and is a wonderful skin softener!
Having read all that, I have made it an addition to my daily morning breakfast. I take a tablespoon straight up. It is sweet, and with all the vitamins in it, what can go wrong.
I suggest you read more about it but check with your doctor if you have any medial history to make sure it does not cause any unwanted effects.
What we have here could possibly be “BLACK GOLD” in a bottle.
If you have any additional information regarding this, please let me know so I can pass it along.
MY SPORT BAR AT HOME.
MY SPORT BAR AT HOME.
In an effort to “cut back”, we will be staying home more and also doing more of our entertaining there. I decided to create my own sport bar in an extra room. I would like to share it with you, and you might want to realize a similar savings.
Last week I was upstairs in our “teen room” watching my Monday night football. The 6:30 PM evening news was coming on and I had the dilemma of wanting to watch the football game and the NBC evening news.
I looked around the room and realized there was an old TV that was unplugged and sitting there collecting dust.
I accessed my computer, video, and audio accessories drawer and found the components that I thought might let me accomplish what I wanted, but wasn’t sure if it would work.
I found a 2-WAY SPLITTER and two TV Cables I had bought from the 99 Cents store awhile back, simply because I could not resist the low price.
I disconnected the cable that came from the wall that went to the cable box. I then connected it to the IN outlet on the 2-WAY SPLITTER, connected a cable from the 2-WAY SPLITTER that said OUT to the back of the cable box. The cable that goes from the cable box to the existing TV was connected and I left that alone. I turned on the TV on and I still had cable with the existing TV. Then I connected a cable to the 2 WAY-SPLITTER that said OUT and connected it to the extra TV that was sitting in the room. I plugged that TV in and I had pictures on both sets.
Now the existing TV had cable channels with all the programs, and the old spare TV had the basic channels that were coming in. I moved the TV on the desk top (that runs the entire length of the room) next to the existing TV and put one on football and the other on NBC evening news. I was watching football and learning all about the state of the nation. Talk about multi-tasking!
I thought how nice it would be if we had 3 TV’s instead of 2, since we’re never satisfied with what is at hand. I founf another TV in he garage that wasn’t and hauled it upstairs. I stopped at Wal-Mart, bought a 4-WAY SPLITTER, and that evening I put 3 TV’s, a VCR, and the DVD player together and created my HOME MADE SPORTS BAR.
Thursday night Football was great. I had Football on one, news on another and an old TMC movie on the 3rd. I am sure you all have old TV’s sitting around collecting dust. A visit to the 99Cents store can turn your room into a exciting SPORT BAR at home just like ours at a very minimal cost.
This past Saturday, I had 3 College Football games on at the same time on the 3 TV’S and it was heaven on earth.
Take note, before creating this outstanding fun, check with your spouse or companion and make sure you are not going to get in trouble doing it. I do not want it to be HAZARDOUS to your relationship.
NEXT: A FOURTH TV and maybe a Mini Bar to finish it off!
2-Way 2 Splitter
3 Way Splitter
4 Way Splitter
In an effort to “cut back”, we will be staying home more and also doing more of our entertaining there. I decided to create my own sport bar in an extra room. I would like to share it with you, and you might want to realize a similar savings.
Last week I was upstairs in our “teen room” watching my Monday night football. The 6:30 PM evening news was coming on and I had the dilemma of wanting to watch the football game and the NBC evening news.
I looked around the room and realized there was an old TV that was unplugged and sitting there collecting dust.
I accessed my computer, video, and audio accessories drawer and found the components that I thought might let me accomplish what I wanted, but wasn’t sure if it would work.
I found a 2-WAY SPLITTER and two TV Cables I had bought from the 99 Cents store awhile back, simply because I could not resist the low price.
I disconnected the cable that came from the wall that went to the cable box. I then connected it to the IN outlet on the 2-WAY SPLITTER, connected a cable from the 2-WAY SPLITTER that said OUT to the back of the cable box. The cable that goes from the cable box to the existing TV was connected and I left that alone. I turned on the TV on and I still had cable with the existing TV. Then I connected a cable to the 2 WAY-SPLITTER that said OUT and connected it to the extra TV that was sitting in the room. I plugged that TV in and I had pictures on both sets.
Now the existing TV had cable channels with all the programs, and the old spare TV had the basic channels that were coming in. I moved the TV on the desk top (that runs the entire length of the room) next to the existing TV and put one on football and the other on NBC evening news. I was watching football and learning all about the state of the nation. Talk about multi-tasking!
I thought how nice it would be if we had 3 TV’s instead of 2, since we’re never satisfied with what is at hand. I founf another TV in he garage that wasn’t and hauled it upstairs. I stopped at Wal-Mart, bought a 4-WAY SPLITTER, and that evening I put 3 TV’s, a VCR, and the DVD player together and created my HOME MADE SPORTS BAR.
Thursday night Football was great. I had Football on one, news on another and an old TMC movie on the 3rd. I am sure you all have old TV’s sitting around collecting dust. A visit to the 99Cents store can turn your room into a exciting SPORT BAR at home just like ours at a very minimal cost.
This past Saturday, I had 3 College Football games on at the same time on the 3 TV’S and it was heaven on earth.
Take note, before creating this outstanding fun, check with your spouse or companion and make sure you are not going to get in trouble doing it. I do not want it to be HAZARDOUS to your relationship.
NEXT: A FOURTH TV and maybe a Mini Bar to finish it off!
2-Way 2 Splitter
3 Way Splitter
4 Way Splitter
IDENTITY THEFT IS NO JOKE!
IDENTITY THEFT IS NO JOKE!
We all think of identity theft as something that happens to someone else.
Well, let me bring it home to you. This is what happened to Calico in November, 2007.
I was in my California office when Jenny walked in with our Calico, NC - Bank of America statement. She asked me if I knew what particular amounts and checks were for that were listed on the statement that were not in our normal number series. There was a long list of them. Thanks to current technology, I logged into our Calico, NC Bank of America account web site and printed the checks.
These checks were colorful, perfectly printed, but they were not our checks. They had our account numbers, but some other company names/addresses on the top, and were made out to persons I had never heard of. They were signed, and some even had a finger print of the person who cashed it on the check, plus their driver’s license number and other related information that is required when you cash a check. I was stunned! They were all in the amounts of the $400 range and written on various days so as not to attract any attention. They were also cashed in various cities, which we later found out had to be handled by each separate police department rather than one combined crime.
I immediately drove to the bank and presented the bank office with the situation at hand. I was informed that the only way to stop other checks getting processed and the bank to refund the amount to our company was to close the account and start a new one.
This meant that all the checks in process would be returned to our payee plus all our automatic monthly bill payments would have to be rescheduled from the new account. This also included updating our (phone) payroll deduction plan with the government, which required new passwords, etc. You can’t imagine the time and effort we had to go through to do all of this.
The new account was opened while the old account was closed, which should have been the end of this fiasco. Unfortunately, as of the date that I am writing this article, we are still struggling with the situations that involved insurance, tax, monthly auto-payments, etc. that were scheduled for e-payments. We have made numerous calls to vendors to explain the reason for checks or payments that were returned to them shown as “Account Closed” from the old account which had to be replaced. Calico has had to reimburse many companies for the bank fees they incurred because they had deposited checks from our old account.
Fortunately, Bank of America deposited the actual check amounts back in our new account that had totaled close to $6,000.00. We are still battling with the bank over one major purchase from Wal-Mart for a check for $900.00 (listed as electronic), that I assume was HD Flat Screen TV.
The Bank recouped its losses from the banks that had cashed the checks or from the insurance they had. Of course those people have to do their own collection.
I was not satisfied to see some hoodlum getting away with it. We sent the counterfeit checks to Art Bruns, our General Manager at Calico, NC. He contacted the police who had no interest in spending their time to chase this minor crime as they called it.
Art called one of the city’s police departments where one of the checks was cashed. He found a detective who was what you wanted to have as an example for all other policeman to be like. He said that he was working on a case that might involve the same people, and to have the checks faxed to him. A few days later he called Art and told him that the person who did all of this was in jail, and he operated all this fraud from his cell phone while there. What type of jails do we have that they have cell phones and can set up an office to continue their operation without interruption? Just think, if this man can do all of this from his cell phone in jail, he must be very smart. Why doesn’t he apply himself correctly and be successful in the real world?
On Wednesday January 16, 2008 I received a call from Art and was asked to check my e-mail for a link that the detective had sent him with the picture of the villain and his information. Attached is copy of the character that caused us so much trouble. According to the information on the web-site, he was already released again in December. I hope with all the information we have given to the police, they be able to put him away again, but this time for a long time, and without his cell phone.
My thanks to Jenny, Art, the Detective, and Bank of America.
We all think of identity theft as something that happens to someone else.
Well, let me bring it home to you. This is what happened to Calico in November, 2007.
I was in my California office when Jenny walked in with our Calico, NC - Bank of America statement. She asked me if I knew what particular amounts and checks were for that were listed on the statement that were not in our normal number series. There was a long list of them. Thanks to current technology, I logged into our Calico, NC Bank of America account web site and printed the checks.
These checks were colorful, perfectly printed, but they were not our checks. They had our account numbers, but some other company names/addresses on the top, and were made out to persons I had never heard of. They were signed, and some even had a finger print of the person who cashed it on the check, plus their driver’s license number and other related information that is required when you cash a check. I was stunned! They were all in the amounts of the $400 range and written on various days so as not to attract any attention. They were also cashed in various cities, which we later found out had to be handled by each separate police department rather than one combined crime.
I immediately drove to the bank and presented the bank office with the situation at hand. I was informed that the only way to stop other checks getting processed and the bank to refund the amount to our company was to close the account and start a new one.
This meant that all the checks in process would be returned to our payee plus all our automatic monthly bill payments would have to be rescheduled from the new account. This also included updating our (phone) payroll deduction plan with the government, which required new passwords, etc. You can’t imagine the time and effort we had to go through to do all of this.
The new account was opened while the old account was closed, which should have been the end of this fiasco. Unfortunately, as of the date that I am writing this article, we are still struggling with the situations that involved insurance, tax, monthly auto-payments, etc. that were scheduled for e-payments. We have made numerous calls to vendors to explain the reason for checks or payments that were returned to them shown as “Account Closed” from the old account which had to be replaced. Calico has had to reimburse many companies for the bank fees they incurred because they had deposited checks from our old account.
Fortunately, Bank of America deposited the actual check amounts back in our new account that had totaled close to $6,000.00. We are still battling with the bank over one major purchase from Wal-Mart for a check for $900.00 (listed as electronic), that I assume was HD Flat Screen TV.
The Bank recouped its losses from the banks that had cashed the checks or from the insurance they had. Of course those people have to do their own collection.
I was not satisfied to see some hoodlum getting away with it. We sent the counterfeit checks to Art Bruns, our General Manager at Calico, NC. He contacted the police who had no interest in spending their time to chase this minor crime as they called it.
Art called one of the city’s police departments where one of the checks was cashed. He found a detective who was what you wanted to have as an example for all other policeman to be like. He said that he was working on a case that might involve the same people, and to have the checks faxed to him. A few days later he called Art and told him that the person who did all of this was in jail, and he operated all this fraud from his cell phone while there. What type of jails do we have that they have cell phones and can set up an office to continue their operation without interruption? Just think, if this man can do all of this from his cell phone in jail, he must be very smart. Why doesn’t he apply himself correctly and be successful in the real world?
On Wednesday January 16, 2008 I received a call from Art and was asked to check my e-mail for a link that the detective had sent him with the picture of the villain and his information. Attached is copy of the character that caused us so much trouble. According to the information on the web-site, he was already released again in December. I hope with all the information we have given to the police, they be able to put him away again, but this time for a long time, and without his cell phone.
My thanks to Jenny, Art, the Detective, and Bank of America.
CUSTOMER SERVICE AND TELEPHONE.
CUSTOMER SERVICE AND TELEPHONE.
Retail industry is in a dump. What they need is customer and we are hard to come by these days. Sales, price cuts, 2 for 1 and whatever else that we are seeing these days at the malls and the creative methods of enticing us to buy.
This is all fine but I have a big issue when I am so hard to come by and they are doing all these things to get me to come in and buy, yet when I get there they act as if I am not there.
First case: Last week I took a pant in for alteration to a store in Charlotte, NC, and I have been there before and they had explained how there business is down. I walked in and the lady in charge of doing the measuring is on her cell phone talking some language that was not familiar to me. I waited awhile, she was talking and I could tell it is not business related from the tone of the conversation. She points me to the dressing room to change into the pants I wanted alteration on. I came out of the room and she is still on the her cell phone talking. I step on the platform and she is talking on the phone and holding the phone in place with her shoulder and marking my pans for alteration that I am pointing to, since she is on the phone and my explanation is not possible. With great amount of difficulty she marks my pants and we never exchanged a word. I came out of the dressing room after changing back into my arrived pants and she is still on the phone. She hands me a card to fill my information on , which I do. I asked her when the pants would be ready and she is too busy talking on that cell phone of hers. I asked her if she has 4 safety pins I can have since I was running my 5k the next day and had picked up my bib number for the run, I wanted to put it on my t-shirt before I get to the run. She could not understand what I was saying since she did not speak English. Still I wanted to know when I can pick up my pants and I asked again. No reply. At this time I got really hot and picked up my pants and walked out of the store and she looked at me wondering what had gone wrong. Still on the phone. I think they should start having people in stores that can speak english to serve us. I came from a different country and learned the language, it is not that hard. How can you deal with customers if you do not speak the language.
Second case: why is it that serving a customer on the phone is more important than a customer standing in front of you ready to buy. How many times has this happened to you. You are at a store working with a associates as they are calling them now and the phone rings and suddenly that phone is the life line of that store and the person on the other line is king and you are only a walk about customer ready to buy. They drop everything to answer that phone as if the blood flow would stop and they are on life support. Now a day they are on life support and they are all crying for business, yet when we are there and ready to hand over our cash, ring, ring the light goes off and that phone is the most important thing. This happened to me last week and I walked out the store and will not visit that name brand store again.
Lets get bask to basic and take care of our captured customers. If you have someone in your office, salesman or customer and your cell or desk phone rings, let it go to the voice mail. Your most important person at that moment is sitting in front of you.
Get your phone out of your ear and give your ear to the person in front of you. Our customers are the most important part of our business and they deserve to be treated like king, and king they are.
Retail industry is in a dump. What they need is customer and we are hard to come by these days. Sales, price cuts, 2 for 1 and whatever else that we are seeing these days at the malls and the creative methods of enticing us to buy.
This is all fine but I have a big issue when I am so hard to come by and they are doing all these things to get me to come in and buy, yet when I get there they act as if I am not there.
First case: Last week I took a pant in for alteration to a store in Charlotte, NC, and I have been there before and they had explained how there business is down. I walked in and the lady in charge of doing the measuring is on her cell phone talking some language that was not familiar to me. I waited awhile, she was talking and I could tell it is not business related from the tone of the conversation. She points me to the dressing room to change into the pants I wanted alteration on. I came out of the room and she is still on the her cell phone talking. I step on the platform and she is talking on the phone and holding the phone in place with her shoulder and marking my pans for alteration that I am pointing to, since she is on the phone and my explanation is not possible. With great amount of difficulty she marks my pants and we never exchanged a word. I came out of the dressing room after changing back into my arrived pants and she is still on the phone. She hands me a card to fill my information on , which I do. I asked her when the pants would be ready and she is too busy talking on that cell phone of hers. I asked her if she has 4 safety pins I can have since I was running my 5k the next day and had picked up my bib number for the run, I wanted to put it on my t-shirt before I get to the run. She could not understand what I was saying since she did not speak English. Still I wanted to know when I can pick up my pants and I asked again. No reply. At this time I got really hot and picked up my pants and walked out of the store and she looked at me wondering what had gone wrong. Still on the phone. I think they should start having people in stores that can speak english to serve us. I came from a different country and learned the language, it is not that hard. How can you deal with customers if you do not speak the language.
Second case: why is it that serving a customer on the phone is more important than a customer standing in front of you ready to buy. How many times has this happened to you. You are at a store working with a associates as they are calling them now and the phone rings and suddenly that phone is the life line of that store and the person on the other line is king and you are only a walk about customer ready to buy. They drop everything to answer that phone as if the blood flow would stop and they are on life support. Now a day they are on life support and they are all crying for business, yet when we are there and ready to hand over our cash, ring, ring the light goes off and that phone is the most important thing. This happened to me last week and I walked out the store and will not visit that name brand store again.
Lets get bask to basic and take care of our captured customers. If you have someone in your office, salesman or customer and your cell or desk phone rings, let it go to the voice mail. Your most important person at that moment is sitting in front of you.
Get your phone out of your ear and give your ear to the person in front of you. Our customers are the most important part of our business and they deserve to be treated like king, and king they are.
LAND OF PLENTY
LAND OF PLENTY.
On a March Sunday, I had no plans so I was asked if I wanted to go along
shopping for the Food Bank. I am not a shopper for food, but I love to shop for clothes. I decided to tag along and see how this project that is working so well for the Food Bank is done. I was the driver and they had the book of notes that included grocery lists for the “specials” at each particular store and coupons in hand.
In total we visited six different stores and had the entire car filled with food both in the trunk and the back seat. The way hopping was done, coupons used, and the savings realized with voucher discounts for future shopping was amazing. At one store, our shopping cart was full, amount saved was $61.46, while the total payment for everything was only $8.03. I was wondering how these stores could do this. In this case, it is certainly for a good cause. I am sure all of you are already using this power of cutting and saving in your shopping. If not, I suggest you start! Yes, it does take a little time and planning, but it works.
What amazed me also was the variety of food and plentiful food brands we have at our disposal. In the stores we visited, I saw more variety of brands and possibilities of selection beyond belief of anyone that might visit our country. How can we have so many brands for same type of food? We had to look at 4 shelves of salad dressing that were each 16-20 feet long to find the brand we had the coupon for and was also on sale. We have so many choices that it is mind boggling.
I noticed one more thing that is the result of this recession, America has become more humble. I saw more people shopping for value and looking at the prices on the shelves and comparing, in addition to looking in the store flyers for items on sale. We even saw men using coupons. I call this the positive side of a recession. We had become a nation of buying without knowing or caring what the price was and were gorging ourselves with useless food items. What always got to me were the bottles of the wine I used to see being purchased because it made people act special, even though I’m sure they did not know what it was they were drinking. They acted as though they were the crust that was above all of us by dropping wine names.
I think this recession will bring our lives down to the basics, and make us realize how wasteful we have all been. We used our purchasing power by voting for the wrong products that were next to useless. Why do we need 25 different brand names on containers of peanut butters, when they are all produced by the same company?
I shop at both the 99-Cents Store and Wal-Mart regularly, and they are quickly becoming my favorite stores. You get value for what you buy and it makes me feel good to be in these stores that are at my level and standard of living. I have also found that certain items are less expensive at Wal-Mart when compared to 99 Cents Stores…. how about that!
Now we come to the subject of entertainment, which can be very expensive. Sometimes we have to go “outside the box” to find new and exciting things to do. I went to my first Roller Derby game in Charlotte last month. It cost me $10.00 for one of the best seats, plus they had a full show for half-time entertainment. The “Charlotte Roller Girls” played the Georgia Atlanta team and beat them. Contrary to normal opinion of skaters, these are every-day moms who put on make-up to look mean and tough. After the game they meet with the fans for pictures and attend the after-game party at a local restaurant to promote the game. They had their kids and husbands cheering for them. It was easy to see that the realty of the situation was that they were having fun and giving us value for the money. I had a great time for very little money. The game was sold out so the over-flow crowd was sitting on the floor and still enjoying it. Try it, it is value for your dollar.
There are so many possibilities that you can find for shopping and entertainment that can make your dollar go a long way. It does not have to be $200.00 for a ticket to a major league game or the NBA or NFL. Did you know that the Lakers charge $2,600.00 per game to each person who sits on a folding chair on the floor? And did you know that unless you know someone, you can’t even get one? The “big news” on the radio yesterday was that the Lakers were not going to raise ticket prices next year, including these seats! I think it’s time to come back to reality, and learn to appreciate the basics. Then we will know what is really important in this world.
On a March Sunday, I had no plans so I was asked if I wanted to go along
shopping for the Food Bank. I am not a shopper for food, but I love to shop for clothes. I decided to tag along and see how this project that is working so well for the Food Bank is done. I was the driver and they had the book of notes that included grocery lists for the “specials” at each particular store and coupons in hand.
In total we visited six different stores and had the entire car filled with food both in the trunk and the back seat. The way hopping was done, coupons used, and the savings realized with voucher discounts for future shopping was amazing. At one store, our shopping cart was full, amount saved was $61.46, while the total payment for everything was only $8.03. I was wondering how these stores could do this. In this case, it is certainly for a good cause. I am sure all of you are already using this power of cutting and saving in your shopping. If not, I suggest you start! Yes, it does take a little time and planning, but it works.
What amazed me also was the variety of food and plentiful food brands we have at our disposal. In the stores we visited, I saw more variety of brands and possibilities of selection beyond belief of anyone that might visit our country. How can we have so many brands for same type of food? We had to look at 4 shelves of salad dressing that were each 16-20 feet long to find the brand we had the coupon for and was also on sale. We have so many choices that it is mind boggling.
I noticed one more thing that is the result of this recession, America has become more humble. I saw more people shopping for value and looking at the prices on the shelves and comparing, in addition to looking in the store flyers for items on sale. We even saw men using coupons. I call this the positive side of a recession. We had become a nation of buying without knowing or caring what the price was and were gorging ourselves with useless food items. What always got to me were the bottles of the wine I used to see being purchased because it made people act special, even though I’m sure they did not know what it was they were drinking. They acted as though they were the crust that was above all of us by dropping wine names.
I think this recession will bring our lives down to the basics, and make us realize how wasteful we have all been. We used our purchasing power by voting for the wrong products that were next to useless. Why do we need 25 different brand names on containers of peanut butters, when they are all produced by the same company?
I shop at both the 99-Cents Store and Wal-Mart regularly, and they are quickly becoming my favorite stores. You get value for what you buy and it makes me feel good to be in these stores that are at my level and standard of living. I have also found that certain items are less expensive at Wal-Mart when compared to 99 Cents Stores…. how about that!
Now we come to the subject of entertainment, which can be very expensive. Sometimes we have to go “outside the box” to find new and exciting things to do. I went to my first Roller Derby game in Charlotte last month. It cost me $10.00 for one of the best seats, plus they had a full show for half-time entertainment. The “Charlotte Roller Girls” played the Georgia Atlanta team and beat them. Contrary to normal opinion of skaters, these are every-day moms who put on make-up to look mean and tough. After the game they meet with the fans for pictures and attend the after-game party at a local restaurant to promote the game. They had their kids and husbands cheering for them. It was easy to see that the realty of the situation was that they were having fun and giving us value for the money. I had a great time for very little money. The game was sold out so the over-flow crowd was sitting on the floor and still enjoying it. Try it, it is value for your dollar.
There are so many possibilities that you can find for shopping and entertainment that can make your dollar go a long way. It does not have to be $200.00 for a ticket to a major league game or the NBA or NFL. Did you know that the Lakers charge $2,600.00 per game to each person who sits on a folding chair on the floor? And did you know that unless you know someone, you can’t even get one? The “big news” on the radio yesterday was that the Lakers were not going to raise ticket prices next year, including these seats! I think it’s time to come back to reality, and learn to appreciate the basics. Then we will know what is really important in this world.
I’M LOVING IT
BUT DOES MCDONALD’S LOVE ME?
Slogans are meant to be remembered. They are meant to mean something to the individual/group to whom they are directed. McDonald’s has us all saying, “I’m loving it!”
McDonald’s is an international institute which is loved by all. It is a representation of fun and freedom throughout the world. We all love to enjoy the taste of food we have known from childhood.
BUT!! AMERICA IS GETTING FAT. McDonald’s could help by being a friend to it’s customers by giving us an awareness of our OVER-eating, which is why the population is getting heavier by the year. We usually have no idea what we are eating. I realize that the bottom of the McDonald’s boxes have the food nutrition/fats listed, but does anyone look under the box? I don’t think so.
It is time to print the numbers where we can see them and make us conscious of our food intake calories. McDonald’s could be in the forefront of this movement.
One simple way is to update each McDonald’s cash register by having each entry print the calories for each food item as you order it, and giving us a running total. This concept would be similar to when we go to the grocery store where as each item is entered, a running total appears on the cash register along with the individual prices. In the case of fast food ordering, as the items are entered by the cashier, the calories for that item with the corresponding price would brought up so you could see how many total calories you will actually be consuming. These figures would also appear on your written receipt in case you are a calorie counter. Maybe if we had this information at the time of ordering (before we pay the bill), we might think about “deleting” the fries, or changing our order to a “regular size” rather than a “super-size”. (See sample receipt attached).
In this way, the receipt would document McDonald’s concern regarding it’s customers health and well being so they can stay healthy and longer to “Love it” longer.
LET THEM SHOW THEIR LOVE.
I think other fast foods would follow, which would indicate that they all LOVE us too.
TERMINAL 1 CON B OHARA
CHICAGO, IL 60604
THANK YOU
MCDONALDS TEL#(773)686-1130
02 KS#04 FEB. 03, 09(TUE) 17:47
STORE# 17277 S#2
Order #402 TO GO
CALORIES PRICE
AC 540 $ 3.75
1 QRT POUNDER 410 $2.49
1 DBL CHEESE BRGR 440 $1.00
1 SMALL FRIES 209 $1.25
I LARGE FRIES 500 $2.19
SUB TOTAL $10.68
TAKE OUT TAX $1.25
TOTAL 2,099 CAL $11.95
CASH TENDERED $20.00
CHANGE $8.05
BUT DOES MCDONALD’S LOVE ME?
Slogans are meant to be remembered. They are meant to mean something to the individual/group to whom they are directed. McDonald’s has us all saying, “I’m loving it!”
McDonald’s is an international institute which is loved by all. It is a representation of fun and freedom throughout the world. We all love to enjoy the taste of food we have known from childhood.
BUT!! AMERICA IS GETTING FAT. McDonald’s could help by being a friend to it’s customers by giving us an awareness of our OVER-eating, which is why the population is getting heavier by the year. We usually have no idea what we are eating. I realize that the bottom of the McDonald’s boxes have the food nutrition/fats listed, but does anyone look under the box? I don’t think so.
It is time to print the numbers where we can see them and make us conscious of our food intake calories. McDonald’s could be in the forefront of this movement.
One simple way is to update each McDonald’s cash register by having each entry print the calories for each food item as you order it, and giving us a running total. This concept would be similar to when we go to the grocery store where as each item is entered, a running total appears on the cash register along with the individual prices. In the case of fast food ordering, as the items are entered by the cashier, the calories for that item with the corresponding price would brought up so you could see how many total calories you will actually be consuming. These figures would also appear on your written receipt in case you are a calorie counter. Maybe if we had this information at the time of ordering (before we pay the bill), we might think about “deleting” the fries, or changing our order to a “regular size” rather than a “super-size”. (See sample receipt attached).
In this way, the receipt would document McDonald’s concern regarding it’s customers health and well being so they can stay healthy and longer to “Love it” longer.
LET THEM SHOW THEIR LOVE.
I think other fast foods would follow, which would indicate that they all LOVE us too.
TERMINAL 1 CON B OHARA
CHICAGO, IL 60604
THANK YOU
MCDONALDS TEL#(773)686-1130
02 KS#04 FEB. 03, 09(TUE) 17:47
STORE# 17277 S#2
Order #402 TO GO
CALORIES PRICE
AC 540 $ 3.75
1 QRT POUNDER 410 $2.49
1 DBL CHEESE BRGR 440 $1.00
1 SMALL FRIES 209 $1.25
I LARGE FRIES 500 $2.19
SUB TOTAL $10.68
TAKE OUT TAX $1.25
TOTAL 2,099 CAL $11.95
CASH TENDERED $20.00
CHANGE $8.05
SUNFLOWER SEEDS
SUNFLOWER SEEDS
A few weeks ago I was touring our local Persian Grocery store that carries anything and everything that you can find in any store in Iran and more, with prices that are unbelievably low. There are more customers who are not Iranian shopping there, because of the freshness of the fruits and vegetables due to the high turnover. There are food items and spices that I remembered seeing in our home in Iran when I was growing up. The one aisle I am quite fond of is the huge nuts section. On one of my earlier visits I had bought some unsalted sunflower seeds that are fun to crack and eat while watching TV. Sunflower seeds always remind me of my childhood. It’s amazing how such small, insignificant items (sometimes visual, a sound, or even the smell of something) can trigger memories that have seemingly been lost for a long time.
I left Iran when I was fourteen years old, so seeing those sunflower seeds took me back to those days while living there and remembering how simple life was. There was no TV, computers, games on PC and all the “gismos” kids have now that require no imagination.
In the summer time we use to get up early, have breakfast together as a family, and then all of my the neighborhood friends would meet on the street corner across from our house with bikes. We would spend the day riding, traveling around the neighborhood and the city have a great time getting in some trouble, but nothing major. We also played soccer or stick ball, and sometimes cards. We all went home for lunch and had a nap, which we never really did but only pretended that we slept. The reason everyone took a nap was because the summer heat in the afternoon was like being in an oven, so anything physical could have been harmful.
Around 4-5 PM we were back out with friends and were having fun. When the sun had gone down and we were exhausted, we would buy a bag of sunflower seeds and sit on the front step of our house. We would sit there, cracking the seeds while trying to see what cars we could name with their brand. In those days there were only a few manufacturers, so it wasn’t that difficult. It was not like now where GM, Ford , Chrysler, and all the other companies each have so many versions. By the time we were ready to go home and call it a day, the ground by the front step was totally covered with the sunflower seed shells. The street cleaner would always clean it up by the next morning.
As I was cracking my sunflower seeds the other day, I decided to find out the nutritional value. To my surprise, I found the following on the computer, and thought I would share this with you. Not only is it fun to eat them, but they are actually good for you. So read and maybe you will want to get cracking. Who knew as kids we ate something that was good for us!
Information from: National Sunflower Association.
4023 State Street • Bismarck, ND 58503 • 701-328-5105 • FAX: 701-328-5101
Good things come in small packages. Nutrition scientists are realizing that we should pay more attention to our daily intake of complex plant foods like seeds, nuts and whole grains. A move towards whole foods, like sunflower seeds, will add nutrients to your diet in a flash. Mother Nature has created a nutritional power pack that is hard to beat in sunflower seeds. Healthy unsaturated fats, protein and fiber, plus important nutrients like vitamin E, selenium, copper, zinc, foliate, iron and phytochemicals come wrapped up in this small and perhaps unsuspected package – a sunflower seed. Just one ounce of these seeds every day can improve the nutritional quality of your diet.
Finding foods that are full of nutrients and fitting them into your daily eating plan isn’t always easy. While most of us get enough calories everyday (and sometimes too many), many of us fall short on important nutrients. Calorie for calorie, nutrient-dense foods like sunflower seeds will give you more bang for the buck when it comes to nutrition. . New nutrient data shows that sunflower seeds also contain a good amount of beneficial plant chemicals, or phytochemicals, thought to be advantageous to health.
ds are power packed with healthy
Sunflower seeds and oil contain both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat – the types of fat that may protect the heart. Clinical studies show that higher unsaturated fat diets may be preferable even to low-fat diets because they lower total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL) or bad cholesterol, and triglycerides, while maintaining beneficial high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, which is needed to carry the “bad” cholesterol away.
• Almost 90% of the fat in sunflower seeds is good, unsaturated fat.
Protein supplies amino acids, the building blocks that build, maintain and repair body tissues.
• Sunflower seeds are a good source of plant protein, providing 6 grams or 12% of the Daily Value per ounce. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that may protect against heart disease by getting rid of harmful molecules called free radicals that can lead to atherosclerosis. Sunflower seeds are the best whole food source of vitamin E)
• Sunflower seeds are an excellent source of vitamin E. Just one ounce of sunflower seeds provides 76% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance for vitamin E.
Selenium works with vitamin E as an antioxidant and protects cells from damage that may lead to cancer, heart disease, and other health problems. Although there is no Daily Value for selenium, nutrition scientists recognize its importance to health and a Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) has been established.
• The selenium in one ounce of sunflower seeds provides about 24% of the RDA for men and 31% of the RDA for women.
Copper helps your body carry oxygen to red blood cells and produce energy in the cells.
Copper is also a vital part of some antioxidant enzymes in the body, thus protecting you from oxidative stress. While a copper deficiency is rare, this trace mineral is essential to an energy-rich life.
• You’ll find about 25% of the Daily Value for copper in one ounce of sunflower seeds.
Folate, a B vitamin, plays an essential role in making new body cells by helping to form the DNA and RNA that contain each cell’s “master plan” for reproduction. This is why folate is so important for pregnant women and the development of babies. Folate also pairs with vitamin B-12 to help form hemoglobin in red blood cells, which allows them to carry optimal amounts of oxygen. Folate is involved in the removal of homocysteine, an amino acid thought to promote heart disease, from the blood. A large population study from Harvard University shows an association between higher intakes of folate and lower risk of heart disease.
• Sunflower seeds are a good source of folate, supplying 17% of the Daily Value in a one-ounce serving. Other B vitamins are essential for producing energy from food.
• A one-ounce serving of sunflower seeds contains 20% of the Daily Value for
pantothenic acid, 11% for vitamin B6, 6% for thiamin and 6% for niacin.
Zinc is a mineral that is vital for keeping your immune system strong, fending off infections and healing wounds.
• A one-ounce serving of sunflower seeds is a good source of zinc, providing 10% of the Daily Value.
Iron is essential in carrying oxygen from your lungs, through your blood, and to every body cell. Iron deficiency, which can lead to anemia, fatigue and infection, is more common among women who experience regular menstrual loss.
• One ounce of sunflower seeds is a good source of iron, providing 10% of the Daily Value.
Fiber – the indigestible part of plant foods – promotes good health by helping to lower blood cholesterol, manage blood glucose, and prevent constipation. While the American
Cancer Society recommends consuming 20 to 35 grams daily, most Americans fall short on fiber, averaging only 11 grams per day. • Sunflower seeds are fiber-filled foods with 2 grams of fiber per one-ounce serving, putting you well on your way to your daily fiber goal.
Phytochemicals, or beneficial plant chemicals, may inhibit cancer growth, protect against heart disease, and offer protection from colon, prostate and breast cancer. Research from
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University suggests that sunflower seeds are high in many phytochemicals like choline, lignan, phenolic acids, and betaine, as well as
the amino acid arginine. Currently there is no set Daily Value for phytochemicals, but nutrition scientists recommend eating more whole foods, like sunflower seeds, that are abundant in these beneficial plant chemicals.
Glossary of Terms:
DVs (Daily Values):A dietary reference term developed by the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) that appears on all food labels. It is made up of two sets of references, DRVs and RDIs.
DRVs (Daily Reference Values):A set of dietary references that applies to fat, saturated fat,
cholesterol, carbohydrate, protein, fiber, sodium, and potassium.
RDIs (Reference Daily Intakes):A set of dietary references based on the Recommended Dietary
Allowances for essential vitamins, minerals, and protein.
RDAs (Recommended Dietary Allowances): A set of estimated nutrient allowances established by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences. It provides as specific nutrient advice as possible based on age and sex for different vitamins and minerals and is updated periodically to reflect current scientific knowledge.
Tips for Everyday Living
For big nutrition, use a small amount of sunflower seeds throughout the day. r
Sprinkle sunflower seeds on your salad for extra nutrition and crunch.
A few weeks ago I was touring our local Persian Grocery store that carries anything and everything that you can find in any store in Iran and more, with prices that are unbelievably low. There are more customers who are not Iranian shopping there, because of the freshness of the fruits and vegetables due to the high turnover. There are food items and spices that I remembered seeing in our home in Iran when I was growing up. The one aisle I am quite fond of is the huge nuts section. On one of my earlier visits I had bought some unsalted sunflower seeds that are fun to crack and eat while watching TV. Sunflower seeds always remind me of my childhood. It’s amazing how such small, insignificant items (sometimes visual, a sound, or even the smell of something) can trigger memories that have seemingly been lost for a long time.
I left Iran when I was fourteen years old, so seeing those sunflower seeds took me back to those days while living there and remembering how simple life was. There was no TV, computers, games on PC and all the “gismos” kids have now that require no imagination.
In the summer time we use to get up early, have breakfast together as a family, and then all of my the neighborhood friends would meet on the street corner across from our house with bikes. We would spend the day riding, traveling around the neighborhood and the city have a great time getting in some trouble, but nothing major. We also played soccer or stick ball, and sometimes cards. We all went home for lunch and had a nap, which we never really did but only pretended that we slept. The reason everyone took a nap was because the summer heat in the afternoon was like being in an oven, so anything physical could have been harmful.
Around 4-5 PM we were back out with friends and were having fun. When the sun had gone down and we were exhausted, we would buy a bag of sunflower seeds and sit on the front step of our house. We would sit there, cracking the seeds while trying to see what cars we could name with their brand. In those days there were only a few manufacturers, so it wasn’t that difficult. It was not like now where GM, Ford , Chrysler, and all the other companies each have so many versions. By the time we were ready to go home and call it a day, the ground by the front step was totally covered with the sunflower seed shells. The street cleaner would always clean it up by the next morning.
As I was cracking my sunflower seeds the other day, I decided to find out the nutritional value. To my surprise, I found the following on the computer, and thought I would share this with you. Not only is it fun to eat them, but they are actually good for you. So read and maybe you will want to get cracking. Who knew as kids we ate something that was good for us!
Information from: National Sunflower Association.
4023 State Street • Bismarck, ND 58503 • 701-328-5105 • FAX: 701-328-5101
Good things come in small packages. Nutrition scientists are realizing that we should pay more attention to our daily intake of complex plant foods like seeds, nuts and whole grains. A move towards whole foods, like sunflower seeds, will add nutrients to your diet in a flash. Mother Nature has created a nutritional power pack that is hard to beat in sunflower seeds. Healthy unsaturated fats, protein and fiber, plus important nutrients like vitamin E, selenium, copper, zinc, foliate, iron and phytochemicals come wrapped up in this small and perhaps unsuspected package – a sunflower seed. Just one ounce of these seeds every day can improve the nutritional quality of your diet.
Finding foods that are full of nutrients and fitting them into your daily eating plan isn’t always easy. While most of us get enough calories everyday (and sometimes too many), many of us fall short on important nutrients. Calorie for calorie, nutrient-dense foods like sunflower seeds will give you more bang for the buck when it comes to nutrition. . New nutrient data shows that sunflower seeds also contain a good amount of beneficial plant chemicals, or phytochemicals, thought to be advantageous to health.
ds are power packed with healthy
Sunflower seeds and oil contain both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat – the types of fat that may protect the heart. Clinical studies show that higher unsaturated fat diets may be preferable even to low-fat diets because they lower total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL) or bad cholesterol, and triglycerides, while maintaining beneficial high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, which is needed to carry the “bad” cholesterol away.
• Almost 90% of the fat in sunflower seeds is good, unsaturated fat.
Protein supplies amino acids, the building blocks that build, maintain and repair body tissues.
• Sunflower seeds are a good source of plant protein, providing 6 grams or 12% of the Daily Value per ounce. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that may protect against heart disease by getting rid of harmful molecules called free radicals that can lead to atherosclerosis. Sunflower seeds are the best whole food source of vitamin E)
• Sunflower seeds are an excellent source of vitamin E. Just one ounce of sunflower seeds provides 76% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance for vitamin E.
Selenium works with vitamin E as an antioxidant and protects cells from damage that may lead to cancer, heart disease, and other health problems. Although there is no Daily Value for selenium, nutrition scientists recognize its importance to health and a Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) has been established.
• The selenium in one ounce of sunflower seeds provides about 24% of the RDA for men and 31% of the RDA for women.
Copper helps your body carry oxygen to red blood cells and produce energy in the cells.
Copper is also a vital part of some antioxidant enzymes in the body, thus protecting you from oxidative stress. While a copper deficiency is rare, this trace mineral is essential to an energy-rich life.
• You’ll find about 25% of the Daily Value for copper in one ounce of sunflower seeds.
Folate, a B vitamin, plays an essential role in making new body cells by helping to form the DNA and RNA that contain each cell’s “master plan” for reproduction. This is why folate is so important for pregnant women and the development of babies. Folate also pairs with vitamin B-12 to help form hemoglobin in red blood cells, which allows them to carry optimal amounts of oxygen. Folate is involved in the removal of homocysteine, an amino acid thought to promote heart disease, from the blood. A large population study from Harvard University shows an association between higher intakes of folate and lower risk of heart disease.
• Sunflower seeds are a good source of folate, supplying 17% of the Daily Value in a one-ounce serving. Other B vitamins are essential for producing energy from food.
• A one-ounce serving of sunflower seeds contains 20% of the Daily Value for
pantothenic acid, 11% for vitamin B6, 6% for thiamin and 6% for niacin.
Zinc is a mineral that is vital for keeping your immune system strong, fending off infections and healing wounds.
• A one-ounce serving of sunflower seeds is a good source of zinc, providing 10% of the Daily Value.
Iron is essential in carrying oxygen from your lungs, through your blood, and to every body cell. Iron deficiency, which can lead to anemia, fatigue and infection, is more common among women who experience regular menstrual loss.
• One ounce of sunflower seeds is a good source of iron, providing 10% of the Daily Value.
Fiber – the indigestible part of plant foods – promotes good health by helping to lower blood cholesterol, manage blood glucose, and prevent constipation. While the American
Cancer Society recommends consuming 20 to 35 grams daily, most Americans fall short on fiber, averaging only 11 grams per day. • Sunflower seeds are fiber-filled foods with 2 grams of fiber per one-ounce serving, putting you well on your way to your daily fiber goal.
Phytochemicals, or beneficial plant chemicals, may inhibit cancer growth, protect against heart disease, and offer protection from colon, prostate and breast cancer. Research from
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University suggests that sunflower seeds are high in many phytochemicals like choline, lignan, phenolic acids, and betaine, as well as
the amino acid arginine. Currently there is no set Daily Value for phytochemicals, but nutrition scientists recommend eating more whole foods, like sunflower seeds, that are abundant in these beneficial plant chemicals.
Glossary of Terms:
DVs (Daily Values):A dietary reference term developed by the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) that appears on all food labels. It is made up of two sets of references, DRVs and RDIs.
DRVs (Daily Reference Values):A set of dietary references that applies to fat, saturated fat,
cholesterol, carbohydrate, protein, fiber, sodium, and potassium.
RDIs (Reference Daily Intakes):A set of dietary references based on the Recommended Dietary
Allowances for essential vitamins, minerals, and protein.
RDAs (Recommended Dietary Allowances): A set of estimated nutrient allowances established by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences. It provides as specific nutrient advice as possible based on age and sex for different vitamins and minerals and is updated periodically to reflect current scientific knowledge.
Tips for Everyday Living
For big nutrition, use a small amount of sunflower seeds throughout the day. r
Sprinkle sunflower seeds on your salad for extra nutrition and crunch.
TV CONVERTER BOXES
TV Converter Boxes
The day of converting and converter boxes for digital TV has finally arrived, ready or not.
In our California lunch room we have an old TV that is about 25 years old. It belonged to my Mother when she was watching it at her home many years ago. I guess they used to make them last! This TV had reception of only 8 channels in our lunch room. We do not have cable so it operated on RABBIT EARS. These 8 channels were sometimes even compromised and hard to view. Some of you might remember the good old days of adjusting the rabbit ears or sitting in a particular place in the room so there would be a better reception. That’s what our employees had to do to watch this thing.
Some of the employees who work Saturdays at the office and have lunch, they watches the so- called TV in the lunch room. They called me last Saturday and told me that there were no channels on the TV, only white snow. Last year when Government was giving away the vouchers for converters, I was able to get a few knowing they would be necessary for the year to come. I purchased the boxes for the “D” Day.
In these challenging economic times, we discovered that this might be a blessing in disguise, and a savings for all of us (but at the same time, a loss for the CABLE companies). I will explain our situation as it happened.
I brought a converter box from home and had it connected it to this old TV. You would not believe how amazed we all were to see how simple it was to install. But more than that, we could not believe the vivid pictures we were experiencing on the screen. And that was only the beginning! We now have 99 perfect channels that can be watched on this old TV that was showing only 8 channels before. We could not believe how sharp the picture is and how we can surf through the channels. The instructions said to set our TV on channel 3 or 4 and then with remote that comes with the unit, we change the channels on the converter box. The channels are compressed. In other words, when you go to channel 18, you have 18-1, 18-2, 18-4, 18-5, so you have to select the one you want to watch. All channels are there. Now we just have to figure out what channels our favorite shows are on.
Now for the savings! You can get rid of your cable company that is charging you $39.00 - $49.00 per month for basic cable, go with your converter box, and you are watching quality TV free.
I think the cable companies lost on this one. For a change, we have something that works and is free. Pass the word around, but test it first at your home without the cable coming from the wall. Use the converter box to make sure it will work for you before telling the cable company to take a hike. The converter box with the voucher costs you a one time $25.00 - $39.00 depending where you are shopping.
I suggest that even if you do not need one now, get a voucher from the Government and buy a converter box just in case you might need one in the future. These will not be available for long. To get your Coupon/voucher go to: https://www.dtv2009.gov. Apply for the TV converter box coupons while supplies last, until July 31, 2009. Applications for coupons will continue to be accepted online, by phone, by mail and by fax until 12 midnight Eastern Time.
The day of converting and converter boxes for digital TV has finally arrived, ready or not.
In our California lunch room we have an old TV that is about 25 years old. It belonged to my Mother when she was watching it at her home many years ago. I guess they used to make them last! This TV had reception of only 8 channels in our lunch room. We do not have cable so it operated on RABBIT EARS. These 8 channels were sometimes even compromised and hard to view. Some of you might remember the good old days of adjusting the rabbit ears or sitting in a particular place in the room so there would be a better reception. That’s what our employees had to do to watch this thing.
Some of the employees who work Saturdays at the office and have lunch, they watches the so- called TV in the lunch room. They called me last Saturday and told me that there were no channels on the TV, only white snow. Last year when Government was giving away the vouchers for converters, I was able to get a few knowing they would be necessary for the year to come. I purchased the boxes for the “D” Day.
In these challenging economic times, we discovered that this might be a blessing in disguise, and a savings for all of us (but at the same time, a loss for the CABLE companies). I will explain our situation as it happened.
I brought a converter box from home and had it connected it to this old TV. You would not believe how amazed we all were to see how simple it was to install. But more than that, we could not believe the vivid pictures we were experiencing on the screen. And that was only the beginning! We now have 99 perfect channels that can be watched on this old TV that was showing only 8 channels before. We could not believe how sharp the picture is and how we can surf through the channels. The instructions said to set our TV on channel 3 or 4 and then with remote that comes with the unit, we change the channels on the converter box. The channels are compressed. In other words, when you go to channel 18, you have 18-1, 18-2, 18-4, 18-5, so you have to select the one you want to watch. All channels are there. Now we just have to figure out what channels our favorite shows are on.
Now for the savings! You can get rid of your cable company that is charging you $39.00 - $49.00 per month for basic cable, go with your converter box, and you are watching quality TV free.
I think the cable companies lost on this one. For a change, we have something that works and is free. Pass the word around, but test it first at your home without the cable coming from the wall. Use the converter box to make sure it will work for you before telling the cable company to take a hike. The converter box with the voucher costs you a one time $25.00 - $39.00 depending where you are shopping.
I suggest that even if you do not need one now, get a voucher from the Government and buy a converter box just in case you might need one in the future. These will not be available for long. To get your Coupon/voucher go to: https://www.dtv2009.gov. Apply for the TV converter box coupons while supplies last, until July 31, 2009. Applications for coupons will continue to be accepted online, by phone, by mail and by fax until 12 midnight Eastern Time.
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