Archive → July, 2010
Cheaper is Not Always Better
I work for a large insurance firm in the northwest, in an office with over 500 other employees. Management recently decided to replace our existing phone system as the old system was no longer meeting our needs. I and my co-workers were under the impression that they were going to update the system, as in “make an improvement”, and that we would have late model phones with technological advancements galore. Boy, were we in for a surprise.
One day a few weeks ago, we all came in to find new phones on our desks. These were not the state-of-the-art communication devices we had in mind. Instead of the sleek, sophisticated, caller IDing, multi-line handling, LCD displaying wonders of the modern age we all dreamed of, there was a simple phone with a keypad on the receiver…not unlike what you might have had at home 15 years ago. In addition to the new phone, there was a sheet which explained in graphically painful detail exactly which series of buttons one would have to push in order to make this thing function properly. We had to now enter a digit to put someone on hold, enter a three digit code to transfer someone (one digit, dial tone, two digits) and enter a ridiculously long series of numbers to access our voicemail.
Needless to say, we were in shock. I knew it wouldn’t take long before the roars of complaining would drown out the usual office din. Sure enough, by lunchtime our office manager came in to tell everyone that we were simply going to “try it out for a while” and that the company had saved thousands by choosing this option. I and the other employees were fairly certain that we had already lost thousands in reduced productivity that morning alone. Oh, well…it’s their company, we just bring in the money for them.
For the next few days, we tried to get used to saying “hold, please, while I transfer you”, removing the receiver from our faces and trying not to curse as we made a lame-duck attempt at pressing keys, listening and pressing more keys. It was a nightmare. We were getting pretty fed up with it, but just assumed that this was what we would have to deal with. Then, out of the blue, we came in one day to find real phones with real features at our desks. No more looking at the receiver while we frantically tried to key in numbers fast enough not to drop the call. No more ten digit voicemail “pins”. No more of having no idea who was calling or where the call came from. Ahhhh, relief at last.
Later the same day, we heard a rumor circulating around the office that the VP of operations had returned from a two week trip to New York. His words, upon seeing one of the phones management had originally purchased on his desk were, “get rid of them”. All it took were those four words from a higher-up to set things right. Unbelievable.
A Quick Guide To Understanding Your Individual Retirement Account
It’s never too early to begin preparing for your retirement and one of the best ways to prepare is to set up an Individual Retirement Account (often referred to as an IRA).
The purpose of an IRA is to serve as a personal tax-qualified retirement savings plan. Anyone who works, whether as an employee or self-employed, can set aside a set amount in an IRA, with the earnings on these investments tax-deferred until the date of distribution. In addition, certain individuals are permitted to deduct all or part of their contributions to the IRA. Plus, as of 1998, certain individuals can also set up Roth IRAs, to which contributions are not deductible, but from which withdrawals at retirement won’t be taxed.
It doesn’t take much to set up an IRA. The trustee (or custodian) can be a bank, mutual fund, brokerage house or other financial institution. You cannot be your own trustee. An IRA can be established and a contribution made after year-end, no later than the due date for filing the income tax return for that year, not including extensions. This generally means that you have until April 15th of the following year to make the contribution and deduct it on your tax return.
The most you can contribute to an IRA in any single year (as of 2006) is the smaller of $4,000 or an amount equal to the compensation includible in income for the year. Those 50 years old and above will also be allowed to make additional $1,000 catch-up contributions to an IRA each year to help them save more for retirement.
The same limit applies even if you have more than one IRA, or more than one type of IRA. When both you and your spouse have compensation, you can each contribute the maximum, which means $8,000 total ($10,000 if you are both 50 or over). In 2008, IRA contribution limits will be raised to $5,000, while the catch up contribution for those 50 years old and above will remain at $1,000.
You do not have to contribute the full amount allowed every year. You may skip a year or even several years. You may resume making contributions in any subsequent year, but you cannot add additional funds to make up for those years when no contribution was made.
Contributions must be from compensation. This can be from wages, salaries, commissions and other sources of earned income. Contributions do not include such things as deferred compensations, retirement payments, or portfolio income from interest or dividends.
You can contribute more than the allowable amount, however, a 6 percent excise tax penalty will be assessed.
No contributions may be made to an inherited IRA, in a form other than cash, or during or after the year in which the individual reaches age 70.5.
You must begin taking distributions from an IRA no later than April 1st of the year following the year in which you reach age 70.5, or the year in which you retire, whichever is later.
This is a quick and general overview of IRAs. The rules are slightly different for Roth IRAs, which have their own contribution and distribution limitations. Before setting up an IRA, take the time to talk to your banker, accountant, or financial advisor to make sure you have a firm grasp on your options and set up the IRA which best serves your personal needs.
Anti Spyware
Anti-spyware is software that protects computer users from spyware and other unwanted software. Anti-spyware programs secure the computers against the effort of malicious spyware, to take partial control of, or intercept a computer’s operation without the user’s consent or knowledge.
Anti-spyware programs offer real time protection, and scanning and removal. Real time protection functions similar to real time anti-virus protection. That is, the program monitors all incoming data by scanning all the files that the user tries to download from the Internet, and blocks the activity of components that represent spyware. Real time protection also blocks any unauthorized attempts made to install startup programs or to change the browser settings. The scanning and removal features offered by most anti-spyware programs are simple. The program scans the contents of the operating system files, Windows registry, and installed programs and removes any entry or file which tallies with those in the already existing list of identified spyware components.
Anti-spyware programs also require a frequently updated database of latest spyware components. Whenever a new spyware is released, the anti-spyware developers discover and evaluate them, and create “definitions” or “signatures” which help the anti-spyware programs to identify and remove the spyware. Hence, it is highly recommended to update the anti-spyware program frequently to ensure protection.
Major anti-virus firms including McAfee, Symantec, and Sophos have added anti-spyware features to their existing anti-virus products.
Anti-spyware programs of recognized companies are usually not available for free use; occasionally the manufacturers allow a free trial, enabling only certain features. Very often they only provide free scanning; the actual removal of the spyware is possible only with a registered version of the product. Because fake anti-spyware programs that are actually spyware exist, one should not be put off by the price of legitimate software and the protection it offers.
Choosing Between Party Invitations
Last year around Christmas I had a stressful time making decisions. It seemed like each day when I went outside to collect my mail I received more party invitations requesting the presence of my family at holiday events. At first I found it flattering that my family and I were being thought about by our friends and family and that they all desired our company during the holiday season. It wasn’t long, however, before the flattery turned into frustration as the party invitations kept arriving and as our calendar began to fill up with event after event.
It got to the point where our family had to sit down with the party invitations and do something very important: choose. There was no way that we could accept all of the party invitations and remain sane through the month of December. We had to begin declining party invitations and narrowing our schedule down to include only the events we really wished to attend. It might sound simple, but when you sit down to choose between attending your grandmother’s yearly holiday brunch or your best friend’s annual reunion party for all of your college friends, choosing is not so easy.
Our family quickly came up with a way to sift through the small mountain of party invitations and choose the ones we wished to attend. The first and most important way that we narrowed our list was by thinking about the relationships we had with the people throwing each party. We made the decision to separate the party invitations we had received into piles based on our closeness to the hosts of the parties. This made it easy to see where we could decline a few party invitations simply by choosing close family and friends over people we didn’t know so well. A party hosted by a parent or sibling took precedence over party invitations we received from a co-worker or former neighbor.
We also decided to narrow down party invitations by only allowing ourselves to schedule a certain number of events each week. We limited our family to accepting party invitations to one party during each week and one party each weekend during the entire month. This way we were not so busy with parties that we were unable to continue doing other important things.
If you find yourself receiving too many party invitaions this holiday season, or at any point throughout the year, look for ways to narrow it down and only accept party invitations to events being held by people you love the most.
Best Prom Dress
Prom night is the most exciting night of high school life-and the most looked forward to. It is the night for dressing up in your best attire and creating an impression that would last as long as your childhood memories. Dressing up for the prom night is every girl’s dream.
Prom dresses are generally formal party gowns, long and delicately stunning. Prom dresses may be based on the theme of the party or they can just be traditional ball gowns. There is no conventional way to define the “best prom dress”. It is the one that would make you feel beautiful and convey the right image-sweet, innocent, sexy or simply stunning. The most popular prom dresses are satin, sequined, vintage fashions, the little black dress, the asymmetrical hem dress, the hanky hem and the classic Cinderella ball gown.
Prom dresses can be bought directly from retail stores or they can be painstakingly and lovingly designed for the best effect. Since it is the last formal occasion in school, most people would not hesitate to spend a bit more on the prom dress. Prom dresses can also be designed professionally to suit the exact body type and measurements. It is very important that the dress fits perfectly. For achieving this, get the exact measurements of your body, especially the bust, waist and hips. You don’t have to be a perfect size 10 to look beautiful. There is a dress available for every body from A-type to hourglass.
Color plays a part in the big night, too. Find one that compliments your coloring choosing from slimming muted shades like deep gray, wine, forest green, burgundy, midnight blue and cocoa or choose neutral colors like silver, black, gray, beige, gold and taupe for a flattering look. Long straight cuts and vertical patterns also make the wearer look slim and sexy. The material should skim the body. Clingy material accentuates fuller figures. Also pay attention to accessories since they complete your look.
There are several online outlets that provide beautiful prom dresses. These websites also provide information about choosing the right kind of prom dress and also help to design one. These include dresses from popular designers like Jovani, Riva, Alyce, Mori Lee, Cassandra, Je Matadi, Tiffany and Celebrity.
All About Photo Mosaics
Photo Mosaics are actually a very new invention, believed to be first created in the 1990’s. Photo mosaics have become widely popular around the world, though, for their unique appeal.
A Photo Mosaic is a photo made up of many smaller photos. To say it another way: A photo mosaic is a photo that has been divided up into small squares or rectangles. Each rectangle is the replaced by a separate photo that closely approximates the color the rectangle was.
A picture is worth a thousand words in explaining what a photo mosaic is like, though. Go to Google Image Search or Yahoo Image Search and search for “photomosaics”.
One of the first creators of photo mosaics, Robert Silvers, patented the production of and name photomosaic. However, Mr Silvers patent does not give him the exclusive rights to make photo mosaics. There are many companies around the world using various methods and technologies to legally create photo mosaics.
There are several ways to create or obtain photo mosaics.
The first method is tedious, to say the least. Using photoshop, or any other editor, you can manually cut and paste images together to create the larger image. This technique is very time consuming, though, and there is really no need to employ this method.
The second method is to use photographic mosaic software. There are many versions of free software that can help you much more easily create photo mosaics. Of course, there will be at least a short learning curve, but most are not too difficult to use.
The third and final method to obtain a custom photo mosaic is to pay a professional photo mosaic designer to create on for you. This is obviously the most expensive option, but it will probably also give you the highest quality finished product.
Really, it’s all up to and what you need and want! Happy photo mosaic-ing!
Off Road Dirt Bikes
Dirt Bikes are designed and built to be ridden off public roads, on rough even mountainous terrain. These dirt bikes feature small engines having less power than larger bikes, long suspension travel as well as high ground clearance, simple construction and minimal body work, no street accessories (such as turn signals and horns), and large wheels with heavy-duty tires for traction, clamped by rim-locks.
The types of dirt bikes are in reference to their engines:
Single-Cylinder Two-Strokes
Single-Cylinder Four-Strokes
Common sizes for dirt bike engines are:
Young Riders: 50cc – 150cc
Older or Adult Riders: 250cc, 400cc, and 650cc
Having both air- and water-cooled motor systems, dirt bikes are designed for a variety of purposes, most especially competitive sports (Motorcross, Enduros), time or speed trials, rough terrain traversing, endurance, and fun and recreation.
Trial Bikes
Trial bikes are a particular variation of dirt bike. They are designed for motorcycle trial conditions, and are expected to be pushed to the limit, which is probably one reason they aren’t built heavy or sturdy. Typically, this kind of dirt bike is extremely small (up to 250cc engine size and power), and is built considerably light (no seat, and other non-essentials are taken off for light-weight movement).
Dual-Sport Bikes
Dual-sport bikes, or “on-off road bikes,” are dirt bikes that have legal access to public roads. These dirt bikes have greater suspension travel and include all necessary public-roadway accessories, such as blinkers, horns, state license plates, fenders, and other essentials. Similar to Enduro bikes, these dirt bikes are sometimes constructed for rough terrain and competitive sports.
Dirt bikes are known as the “wild ones” of the motorcycle-class of vehicles. These dirt bikes require riders who are in control and trained well in riding them in various environments. Young and inexperienced riders should be accompanied by an experienced rider when learning to ride a dirt bike. These monsters are fun and exhilarating, but they are just as dangerous!
Do You Know Yourself? Test
We all claim to know many things. We analyze our friends, our colleagues and other people. We try to find out how others act and behave. We act like a know all about others. How about ourselves? Do we know ourselves?
We react to many stimuli – both from outside and our mind. We go into different moods and act differently at different times. We can not predict our own behavior many times. We know something about our likes and dislikes about food, clothing, home and such thins. But what about our emotions? What of our mind? Do we know? Can we predict our own reaction at a given situation? It may be different at different times, depending on our own mood. We are not machines and therefore highly unpredictable.
How about knowing about our emotions and our mind better? How about analyzing our self? How about finding out more about ourselves? That would surely help us in improving our life. It may not give us more money, but certainly more peace and a sense of control on ourselves.
you will find tests and quizzes on Internet to test various traits of your personality.These fun tests are devised to make you think about yourself. Try these tests to find out about yourself in a fun way
6 Tips For Quitting Smoking
If you are currently a smoker, quitting the habit could be one of the most important things you will ever do in the next part of your life. In fact, if you quit now, you will most likely be adding seven years to your life.
While many people try to quit and fail, it is not an impossible task. Thousands of people, just like you, have decided to quit and have succeeded. You too can be among the successful former-smokers. Here are six tips that will help you to quit smoking once and for all:
1. Make a vow that you are going to quit smoking from today onwards
Success in all spheres of life begins with firm determination. If you are wishy-washy you can never do anything. However, if you make up your mind, once and for all, that you are giving up the habit, whenever a craving comes, you will remember your vow and not give in.
2. Exercise more and get your body in shape
If you sit idle there is more chance that you will light up your cigarette and relax. Fill your spare time with sports and vigorous activity. Try to feel how good it is to get your blood circulating and breathing the air deeply. If you are not the athletic type, then brisk walking will have the same benefit as other kinds of sports.
3. Avoid places and pastimes that put you within reach of cigarettes
If going to a bar or pub means that you are going to have a drink and then light up, maybe it is better to avoid that place for the time being. Once you have truly stopped smoking and you feel how good it is, you can go anywhere and not be tempted. But while you are in the transition phase it is better to carefully choose where you will spend your recreational time.
4. If you have to put something in your mouth, drink water or eat healthy snacks
Whenever you get a desire to put a cigarette in your mouth, replace it with something that will help you rather than harm you. Drinking small amounts of water throughout the day is not only a good way to help you quit smoking, but it is also a great way to stay healthy. You should drink 4 litres (quarts) of water per day, if you can. If you need to put something solid in your mouth, then eat a piece of fruit.
5. Get support from your friends and family
Tell them that you are giving up smoking for health reasons. Your true friends will support you and not offer you cigarettes. Your family and loved ones will similarly support your efforts and help you to avoid situations where you may feel obliged to smoke out of social pressure.
6. Strengthen your will power with yoga and meditation
Very few people are born with perfect will-power. Like anything else, practice makes perfect. If you want to strengthen a physical muscle you may work out with weights. If you want to strengthen your “mental muscle” you need exercise as well. Yoga and meditation are disciplines that enable even complete beginners to build up their capacity to concentrate and firmly accomplish whatever they set out to do. Try it out and see for yourself.
Follow these six tips and you will be well on your way to quitting smoking.
