Garret

Do it yourself concrete staining is the cheapest and easiest way to enhance the appearance of your concrete surfaces. The alternatives, tearing out existing concrete and replacing with new or decorative overlays, are not recommended for do-it-yourselfers and can be very expensive. But before you begin your staining project there are a few things you need to know.

There are two types of concrete stains to choose from, acid stains and acrylic stains. Acid stains work by chemically reacting with free lime in the surface to produce a natural looking, translucent color. They create a mottled, variegated, multi-hued coloring. Every concrete surface reacts differently to acids stains making each job unique. Acrylic stains are waterborne and have pigments that seep into the pores and adhere to the concrete, therefore creating a more consistent, semi translucent color like that of a dye. Acrylic stains will help mask imperfections and discolorations whereas acid stains actually accentuate them.

For many surfaces, acid and acrylic stains will work equally as well, but which one you choose depends on the look you want. However, there are situations where one type will work better than the other. For older, exterior concrete (more than 15-20 yrs old) acid stains may not work because much of the free lime has leeched away. Acrylic stains are great for old concrete because of its increased porosity over time. Acid stains work well with newer concrete because of the availability of free lime. If repairs need to be made such as patching pop outs or scaling, then acrylics may be the better choice to help disguise the repairs. Any patching materials will stand out with acid stains. For smooth trowelled interior surfaces with less porosity, acid stains are usually better because they don't require as much penetration to color the concrete.

Before beginning it's also important to have realistic expectations. Staining can turn dull, gray concrete into a beautiful and colorful finish, but it's impossible to know exactly how the finished product will look, especially with acid stains. Every concrete surface is different and so will accept stains differently. The exact same stain will have two different appearances with two different slabs. Even seasoned pros can't predict the exact outcome of a staining job. For this reason, it's not a good idea to try to exactly match the color of concrete to anything else such as brick or siding. There's a very good chance you won't be successful. Instead, choose a complimentary color or shade for your concrete. For instance, if you have light brown siding, then choose a dark brown stain.

The most critical part of staining is preparation. Take time in deciding how you want your concrete to look and getting the surface ready to apply the stain. You get one shot at getting it right unless you want to do a major overhaul to the surface. Do it yourself concrete staining is not a difficult process but does require an honest effort to be satisfied your finished product.

Kirk Muhlhauser offers ideas and instructions for enhancing your home's concrete surfaces. Find information on concrete stains, paints, and sealers at http://www.all-things-concrete.com

Communication facilities are the lifeline of most successful businesses and often the most difficult to manage. The success of any organization is directly related to its ability to address the changing needs of its people and customers. Management of telephone charges, equipment fees, VoIP traffic, internet usage, and provider discounts is a difficult task. Most communication managers demand the necessary tools to allow administrators to monitor, evaluate, forecast and allocate communications management services and expenses.

Communications facilities are continuing to evolve at a rapid rate. Call accounting is generally the centerpiece of a complete communication management solution (CMS) to allow customers to track, process and allocate communications transactions (analog, VoIP and data).

Communications transactions are generally delivered to call accounting systems where this information is processed real-time, summarized or submitted to a central server for multi-site consolidation.

For many years, long distance traffic was monopolized by the major telephone companies. Today, the complex and competitive sphere of alternate services, long distance carriers and countless discount strategies leaves most customers baffled about best available savings. A robust call accounting system will provide a concise unbiased picture of comparative rate structures using concrete historical data.

Customer relationship management is fundamental to the success of many organizations. Shadow CMS utilizes calling line information delivered the telephone system for comprehensive inbound traffic analysis. These reports assist in designing regional campaigns, network planning and call center staffing.

Network performance is critical in a call center, emergency dispatch service, hospitality, government or even a small business. Call accounting produces statistics for trunk usage, grade of service, all trunks busy and peak/busy hour analysis. Call accounting pinpoints over or under capacity environments. Many organizations struggle with workforce management and productivity. Shadow CMS provides exception management reports to Nortel customers, which highlight long duration, excessive cost and misdialed calls. Each call may be pinpointed to a particular password, account code, extension or authorization number. Call accounting provides detailed telephone charges reports, which highlight usage practices

Professional services firms often face the tedious task of allocating communications expenses to customer account files. Call accounting delivers expense account code, password or authorization code reports. These results can be automatically directed to accounting systems, spreadsheets, HTML, email and a variety of other formats.

In hospitality environments, information is processed in real time, assigned a cost and immediately delivered to property management room folios for true billing integration.

A robust call accounting system provides a series of sophisticated traffic analysis reports (that utilize CCS, Erlang and Erlang B) to determine network efficiency and alternate cost modeling for facility planning. In retail and direct customer service environments, a call accounting system should extendsits communications analysis to custom call routing (CCR), voice mail and interactive voice recognition reporting (IVR). This paints a total picture of communication activity,

Rito Salomone is the president of Resource Software International Ltd. (RSI). He has 17 years experience in the field of communication management solutions.

For more information you can review: http://www.telecost.com or http://www.callaccountingsoftware.com or contact the author at rsalomone@telecost.com.

Purchasing a family dental insurance plan provides you and your family two important benefits:

Better oral health for the entire family as most plans pay 100% of the preventive service fees such as cleaning every six months. This encourages the family to visit the dentist for regular check ups and cleaning treatments. Prevention is half the battle!

Generate more savings because the dental insurance company pays a certain percentage of dental services for minor and major procedures.

Here are six questions to guide you in the selection of the right dental insurance plan for you and your family.

1. Does the plan allow you to pick your own dentist?

Some dental insurance carriers give you bigger discounted rates provided you use their network of dentists. If your favorite dentist is not part of the network, the dental insurance plan may not cover the treatment. You should consider paying extra for a plan, which allows you and your family to go to your preferred dentist.

2. Are there restrictions when it comes to choosing the best treatment options?

Some insurance plans put a cap on the number of treatments or limit the amount paid for a condition. If you or your family has a history of poor dental health care, then you should choose a plan that has few restrictions on this aspect.

3. What is does the plan cover?

An ideal dental insurance plan allows for one cleaning treatment every six months, with X-ray and fluoride treatments that come at little or no cost for each member. For the major procedures, some dental plans require you to pay 50 percent of the entire bill. If your family has a history of good dental health care, then you may want to negotiate for lesser coverage when it comes to the major procedures.

4. Which family members are covered by the family insurance plan?

Most dental insurance carriers cover the spouse and dependent children, from birth through 18. Some exceptions are given for children up to the ages of 22 if the child is a full time student, and dependent on the principal for support.

5. Is there built in flexibility in scheduling dental appointments?

Some inexpensive dental insurance plans limit when you can come in for dental treatment. Check to ensure that these scheduled appointments do not inconvenience you or your family.

6. How much savings does this plan generate?

Whether you and your spouse decide to purchase a family dental insurance plan, or avail of your employers sponsored plan you will still be able to generate savings, for you are not paying for the entire procedure.

Mansi aggarwal recommends that you visit Family dental insurance for more information.

When the Soviet Union fell in the early 1990s and the government of Boris Yeltsin began to promote democracy and co-operation with their former Cold War foes, principally the United States: we discovered much that was amazing and instructional. It quickly became apparent that our decades long fear and competition with the Communist titan was based on wrong assumptions. Russia was actually a third world country with a first world army. Aggressive? Yes. Dangerous? Yes. Belligerent? Yes. But, the rivalry was really a one-sided competition between Russias lumbering, poor, creaky, stifled centrally planned system and Americas continually evolving, dynamic, rich, energetic model, fully utilizing the benefits of a free and capitalist system.

This disparity in resources and real strength, now so obvious, poses an interesting question: How did the Soviet Union deceive the western democracies into believing that they had the capacity to potentially control the world? Studying the history of the cold war is an interesting exercise. The opening of old Soviet records reveals so much that counters widely believed thoughts of that time. Distilled down, the Communists perfected a type of hyper-public relations (propoganda) created to instill dread in their own population while engendering fear and compliance in the satellite states they maintained and occupied under military force. Russias western foes were continually forced to react to threats, charges and bullying. Yes, the Russians were classic schoolyard bullies!

The Potemkin-type steps and guises that the Russians undertook to appear larger, tougher and more capable than their reality was a very clever strategy. The ability to appear larger than you are is a time-tested strategy. It is a strategy that I have used for myself and for many clients in positioning products, inventions and small businesses for maximum leverage in campaigns to feint and confuse much larger competitors.

Why do larger enterprises, countries and companies allow themselves to be bullied and out-maneuvered by smaller or weaker foes? How did the downtrodden Russians fool the all-powerful United States and its allies for decades? How can small businesses and entrepreneurs manipulate markets and large companies into reacting to perceived, but unproven rumor or reality?

I believe that the answer to these questions is contained in the very elements that occur after successful enterprises mature. Success and maturity typically crimp invention. Energy and ambition are not as highly prized. The entrepreneurial spirit can create fear inside large organizations. Profit, cash and donations dim the urgency to be inventive. Waste is often tolerated after success occurs. Why? Because urgency and leverage are often mitigated as enterprises become fat and happy.

How did Coca-Cola miss out initially on the bottled water business opportunity? How did the United States miss the obvious signs of ultimate Soviet implosions? Why has WalMart, 30 years ago a start-up, supplanted Montgomery Ward, W. T. Grant, Woolworth, Kresge and many other entrenched retailers? Why was FEMA so incompetent during Hurricane Katrina while FedEx, Home Depot and WalMart were so much more successful in delivering timely service and aid? In every business category we see young, energetic market leaders that have leapt past mature but doddering older competitors.

The Soviet Union was very competitive with the United States in the race to outer space. Using inferior equipment, the most basic technology and primitive logistics the Russians, nevertheless, maintained an active space program. The American space program was blessed with amazing levels of funding, pristine facilities and a military/industrial/scientific support complex unlike any in the world. Yet, despite the huge disadvantages the Soviets faced, they were more than competitive. They had to be. They had no margin for error or waste.

A perfect metaphor for the difference between fat, happy and wasteful, and lean, creative and thrifty is the development of the space pen. The simple act of writing in the zero gravity atmosphere of outer space was actually quite a challenge. The National Aeronautic and Space Association (NASA) tried to perfect such a writing utensil without success. Contracts to develop and produce such an implement were let on several occasions. However, none of the prototypes offered could withstand the effects of gravity, extreme propulsion and weightlessness all occurring inside the enclosed environment of the space capsule. Millions of dollars were spent in pursuit of a customized space specific writing implement.

When the Soviet Union fell, and the two countries began space collaboration, an interesting discovery was made. American scientists asked their Soviet counterparts what they used to write in space. The Soviet reply: A #2 lead pencil. The Soviets did not have millions of rubles to waste. They reverted to a simple common sense answer to a basic need. The Americans were able to spend millions to pursue an obtuse technical solution to this simplest of problems because they simply could. The money, though wasted, was of little import in the huge financial machinations and of NASA and the federal government.

This small example is not unusual or an aberration. Waste is an issue any time large, lead-footed enterprises are confronted by smaller, hungrier, more nimble adversaries. This is the entrepreneurs natural advantage. The space pen model is repeated every day as entrepreneurs rush to fill voids vacated or unnoticed by large, successful enterprises.

My consulting firm, Duquesa Marketing, Inc. works every day with entrepreneurs to customize strategies necessary to nimbly overcome the effects of size and maturity. The successful entrepreneur sees the #2 lead pencil as an obvious answer to the space pen problem. Seeking, and achieving simple solutions to real or perceived problems is the reason there will always be a successful inventor class.

Contact Geoff Ficke, gficke@msn.com, ph. 407 260 1127, to discuss this article or an entrepreneurial matter of interest.

Geoff Ficke has been a serial entrepreneur for almost 50 years. As a small boy, earning his spending money doing odd jobs in the neighborhood, he learned the value of selling himself, offering service and value for money.

After putting himself through the University of Kentucky (B.A. Broadcast Journalism, 1969) and serving in the United States Marine Corp, Mr. Ficke commenced a career in the cosmetic industry. After rising to National Sales Manager for Vidal Sassoon Hair Care at age 28, he then launched a number of ventures, including Rubigo Cosmetics, Parfums Pierre Wulff Paris, Le Bain Couture and Fashion Fragrance.

Geoff Ficke and his consulting firm, Duquesa Marketing, Inc. (http://www.duquesamarketing.com) has assisted businesses large and small, domestic and international, entrepreneurs, inventors and students in new product development, capital formation, licensing, marketing, sales and business plans and successful implementation of his customized strategies. He is a Senior Fellow at the Page Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Business School, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.

Your elusive 12 week-old puppy walks into the living room. "Where have you been?" you ask, as if he will answer you. You immediately jump up and begin your search. Everything seems fine in the bedroom. Everything seems fine in the den. Everything is fine in the dining roo---oh no! Not your brand new Oriental rug. What are you going to do?

Time is of the essence. So, you grab your trusty bottle of miracle spot remover and spray it directly on the stain. You press a towel you grabbed from the kitchen into the stain. You rub and scrub. It doesn't seem like it's working, so you try more spot remover and you scrub harder. At least you're trying to take care of the accident quickly, but now you've got a bigger problem. You have an even larger puddle that includes urine with spot remover added to it. Even worse, you've scrubbed the rug so hard the fibers look frayed and unraveled. Adding spot remover to a urine stain and brushing it in does not mean you are removing the stain. Where did the stain go? You've spread it in the backing of the rug.

4 Easy Steps To Emergency Pet Stain Removal

1. Do it NOW. The longer you wait, the harder it will be to remove. It isn't always convenient to clean up a pet stain, but your life will be much easier if you take care of it immediately. The stain could become permanent in just a few hours, especially with some light colored fibers.

2. Use the right equipment. Use a small, hand-held carpet spotting machine or wet vacuum to extract the urine, vomit, or feces. If you find the stain while it is still damp, it is important to extract the liquid BEFORE rinsing or adding a spot remover. Some popular brands to look for are Bissel, Little Devil, and Little Green Machine. For a wet vacuum, go to any hardware department and ask for wet vacs or shop vacs.

3. Use the proper cleaning agent AFTER the liquid has been removed. Use a low residue spot remover if the stain is fresh or an enzyme spot remover if the stain has been in the fiber for more than a few hours. A mixture of white vinegar diluted at a 1 to 3 ratio will also work in a pinch. Never use bleach. If you are using an enzyme, allow it to dwell for at least 20 minutes or according to the label. An enzyme actually digests the bacteria associated with the odor in urine and works well for spots that have been in the carpet for more than a few hours.

4. Rinse the spot with plain water and extract the water with your wet vacuum or carpet-spotting machine. This can be done by rinsing with water from your spot removal machine or simply pouring a glass of water on the area and extracting with your wet vacuum.

What to do if these steps don't work?

Often, the spot will be even bigger and darker when it returns. Many spot removers can leave excess residue in the carpet that attracts soil. If you experience this phenomenon of a mysterious spot returning, simply pour a cup of water on the area and extract with your carpet spotter or wet vacuum. If the spot returns again, rinse it again. To prevent this from happening in the future, use less cleaning agent. If you continue to have problems with returning spots, try a different spot removal product.

So now you've removed most of the stain and the odor. But, you notice a slight discoloration of yellow is still left behind. Hydrogen peroxide gentles fades discolorations from urine and vomit stains and is available in most drug stores. The solution should be misted on and allowed to dry over the course of an hour. This procedure should only be used after all attempts for removal have been made. As with any spot remover, make sure you pre-test the peroxide in an inconspicuous area before using.

The next time you don't know where your puppy has been and he strolls into the living room to greet you, don't be quite so alarmed. You're now armed with the right information and right tools that will make taking care of the accident a breeze. No more worries. Your life will be so much easier.

Visit Premium Carpet Care of Pensacola, Florida at www.PensacolaCarpetCleaning.com for your FREE Pet Stain Removal Guide, by John Braun, available for immediate download.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the California Association of Physicians and Surgeons, and even the Center for Diseases Controls own admission, well over 100,000 people in this country die each year from properly administered prescription drugs. This is absolutely shocking!

One study has shown that more than two million American hospitalized patients suffered a serious adverse drug reaction (ADR) within a 12-month period and of these, over 100,000 died as a result. Likewise, roughly 36,000,000 adverse drug reactions are reported annually, resulting in more than 33.6-million admissions or hospitalizations all from drugs that the FDA has pronounced safe effective. Sources for these statistics can be found at: http://www.cancure.org/medical_errors.htm.

The media is not doing a very good job of reporting this ADR crisis. Instead, we hear the constant media drumbeat about the dangers of firearms, which are currently politically incorrect yet represent a miniscule fraction of the deaths in this country. Doctors who want to politicize gun deaths should clean up their own glass houses first. The real crisis is the failing health care or more accurately described as the sick care system. There are numerous reasons for this crisis.

One reason is that conflicts of interest represent a very real problem for public servants and those entities which have relationships with various government agencies. Numerous researchers have reported that the FDA receives money from the very entities it is suppose to be regulating and one consequence of this is the suppression rather than advancement of disease cures. Consider the following:

According to a USA Today study, more than half of the experts hired to advise the government on the safety and effectiveness of medicine have financial relationships with the pharmaceutical companies that will be helped or hurt by their decisions. These experts are hired to advise the Food and Drug Administration on which medicines should be approved for sale, what the warning labels should say and how studies of drugs should be designed. The experts are supposed to be independent, but USA TODAY found that 54% of the time, they have a direct financial interest in the drug or topic they are asked to evaluate. These conflicts include helping a pharmaceutical company develop a medicine, then serving on an FDA advisory committee that judges the drug.

The conflicts typically include stock ownership, consulting fees or research grants.

Federal law generally prohibits the FDA from using experts with financial conflicts of interest, but according to the article, the FDA has waived the restriction more than 800 times since 1998. (1)

The corruption of undisclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical companies by supposedly unbiased researchers along with the staggering cost involved in bringing new drugs to market, which conveniently eliminates competition from all but the cartel heavyweights has been sparingly reported in the mainstream press. Consider one exception to this silence:

In the book a World Without Cancer by G. Edward Griffin. Griffin describes the politics of cancer therapy, in which he blows the lid off the all powerful international chemical and drug cartel that has dominated the direction of health care since early in the Twentieth Century in the United States. Griffin argues that not only has the Rockefeller-Farben cartel (2) been instrumental in fostering chemical based drug treatment as the basis for health care and they have been the dominant adversary against safer non-drug treatments. If Griffin is correct, who is the FDA protecting and serving? Clearly, not the consumer!

It should be noted that pharmaceutical drugs have absolutely no nutritional value, and at best offer temporary relief of symptoms while doing nothing to address the root causes of disease. Additionally, pharmaceutical drugs should be used very carefully because of the toxicity factor also known as the LD50 rating. LD stands for "Lethal Dose" and LD50 is the amount of a drug, given, which causes the death of 50% of a group of laboratory test animals. Also, it is well known that drugs can damage the liver and kidneys.

Do not forget, as sited above, adverse drug reactions are responsible for over 100,000 deaths each year plus the pain and suffering for those lucky enough to survive an ADR. The way to good health does not necessarily include the ingestion of toxic chemicals. Likewise, the reason for disease is not that we are deficient or lacking in deadly debilitating pharmaceutical drugs. In many cases, disease is the result of nutritional deficiencies and the resulting weakening of the immune system.

The recent ongoing attempt to abolish and subvert the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994, which brought a measure of freedom back to consumers, in regards to their personal choices in the area of nutritional supplementation, should raise the ire of everyone who is concerned about their own health. This is an example of the pharmaceutical cartel and their political cronies within and along side of the FDA at work. Never forget, America is about freedom, especially freedom to make informed decisions concerning our own health care information, services we choose, our choice of treatments and products that we believe to be beneficial for our own health and wellbeing. See the National Health Freedom coalition web site (3)

36,000,000 adverse drug reactions and 100,000 deaths annually is a crisis!

Notes:

1. An article by Dennis Cauchon, the USA TODAY Newspaper, Sept. 25, 2000

2. G. Edward Griffin, World Without Cancer, Westlake Village, CA, American Media, 1997.

3. National Health Freedom Coalition at: http://www.nationalhealthfreedom.org/

2004 By Jack Kettler

Biographical information:

Mr. Kettler is an ordained Presbyterian Elder and the owner of Undergroundnotes.com where his theological, philosophical and political articles can be read. He has worked in corporate America for over 25 years and is now realizing his dreams as a successful home business entrepreneur. Mr. Kettler can be reached through his business site at: http://www.internationalhomebusinessonline.com. Permission is hereby granted to reprint this article as long as my web site is retained in the biographical information.

Discussion procedure is considered to be an integral part of the learning process. It can make teacher-learner interaction and students mastering of a subject more effective and successful. The matter is that discussion procedure provides participant of the learning process with a feedback, friendly, reliable climate in the group, it contributes students critical thinking and problem-solving capacities. Moreover, questioning procedure allow a teacher to verify students level of knowledge and reveal some gaps. As Hofmeister and Lubke (1999), famous researchers in the field of education, stated: "One of the more difficult aspects of giving feedback to students who have made errors relates to the importance of creating a classroom climate where errors are a natural part of the learning process rather than 'sins' to be taken personally by the teacher or student" (p. 100).

First of all, questioning procedures are very important because they allow students compare their opinions, knowledge, and experience with others. This encourages them to ask follow-up questions and stimulates their critical thinking. The questioning helps students to make an assessment of their own knowledge, their efficiency and erudition according to those of others. As a result students try to be up to standard and to keep up with others. In a word, questioning procedure encourages them to obtain all-round education, to develop their erudition and be completely ready for every lesson in order to be able to keep up any conversation and to develop any topic. It makes students more independent and responsible in the learning process because they are motivated to produce such results as their classmates do.

Questioning procedures provide not only feedback and correction to students but also a feedback for the teacher as to the adequacy of instruction. Of course, the teacher can provide students with a feedback by responding to the content and correcting their errors. As a result students receive the assessment of their knowledge, they see their errors and can ask teacher for explanation. It helps students to understand their errors, avoid them in future and master a subject more successfully. But very often teachers questions require that students recognize and recall some information, or that students solve some learning problems by applying what they have already learned, by applying their gained knowledge, skills and experience.

The teacher tests students preparation and achievements by asking questions. Students answers can clearly show the teacher their level of mastering a subject, efficiency and adequacy of education. Besides questioning procedure can demonstrate if the students are interested in the subject, if they enjoy studying and are eager to be excellent within the subject. All these factors provide for the teacher a feedback. The feedback allows the teacher to analyze strong and weak sides of his instruction in order to strengthen a learning process and stimulate students further intellectual development.

Custom essays

Another important thing should be mentioned. It concerns the fact that questioning procedures stimulate students curiosity. It encourages them to be active and enthusiastic during the lessons, ask various questions in order to get some interesting information and to broaden their mental outlook. Besides, students learn to reason independently, give their own views and opinions. In a word, questioning procedures can develop such students qualities as independence, self-confidence, and determination. They are not afraid of expressing their own opinions, of debating with opponents and of standing their ground.

Buy custom essays

term paper

Aaron Schwartz is a writer at Custom Essays Writing Service. He is an experienced writer of academic and research papers and will be happy to help you.

Whether you are part of a program that works with needy children and provides them with holiday gifts, or raises funds for hurricane victims, or individuals struggling with things like AIDS and cancer. Or maybe your business has taken a stand on something like - 'good to be green' recycling, environmental awareness and social responsibility or women's issues. Whether you realize it or not you are part of what is now being coined - cause marketing.

Cause marketing is when a business aligns itself with a charitable organization for a mutually beneficial purpose. Your business gains with an improved image in the community and a charity gains more recognition and support for its cause. Promotional products are a low cost and proven form of advertising. By making custom promotional products a part of your charitable giving contribution you can maximize recognition for your program.

Many charities are just as appreciative of receiving a gift as they are cash. Items like custom promotional license plate frames, tote bags, lunch cases, sport buddy bottles, alligator clips, caps and T-shirts make great gifts recipients are proud to show off. These items can be customized to highlight and bring awareness to both your company and your charity's cause.

Send customized promotional gift baskets that are visually appealing. Good will generates more business. Offer services free of charge to less privileged disadvantaged people. Send announcements to the media and let them know what your company is doing. Expand your horizon by hosting charitable events. Exposure begets exposure. Make the commitment.

You can use the internet to research charities you are interested in in your area. You may choose to obtain information directly from the charities themselves or local government offices that evaluate charities. Thorough research of a charity ensures that it is a reliable and well run organization.

Charitable giving is a hot topic in business marketing. Match your charitable interests to reflect that of your customers and benefit with increased customer loyalty and alliances in your community. The causes your company is aligned with will, no doubt, influence customers' willingness to do business with you. Focusing your effort on one noteworthy charitable organization will likely be sufficient but there is no reason a company could not contribute to two charities or even three.

Have an announcement posted to a community service bulletin board to inform local media of your charitable involvement. Involvement with a charity may lead to positive press interviews with local newspapers, radio or TV stations. Make all of these occasions to promote your business with promotional products. Give promotional items with your logo and contact information to everyone you meet. Make sure benefits your company offers are highlighted and included in the text in a clear and concise manner.

Good will generates more business. As another benefit, most of what you give as charitable giving is tax deductible. You may deduct fair market value for your charitable gifts. But, in case there is any scrutiny from the IRS be sure to keep itemized lists and written documentation. If possible, get receipts from your charity.

If in the course of working with your charity you spend time in meetings and travel, whatever expenses you incur are also tax deductible. Ask vendors for cash receipts for all cash purchases in case you are audited.

Use cause marketing to build goodwill in the community. Incorporating customized promotional products in your cause marketing efforts will give your program an extra push.

2007

October is breast cancer awareness month.

Source : http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/content.view/cpid/619.htm

I give permission to webmasters/publishers to reprint my article provided they leave the article as is together with my bylines.

If you found this article useful you can find our more about promotional products and guides to attracting more customers to your business at http://www.thespalinenshop.com/act.html Custom Promotional Products

Jamey Adams may be reached at bbsempire@webfortune.org

Whether youre a first home buyer, a property investor or you just want a change of scenery, house hunting can be an exhausting and confusing experience but it does not have to be. With a little careful planning and forethought, it can actually be a pleasure!

1. Be realistic: Before you start house hunting, determine your budget by figuring out what you can afford in monthly mortgage repayments. Allow for ongoing maintenance costs, rates, family expenses (such as schooling), holidays, insurances and other living expenses.

2. Get pre-approval: If possible, have your bank or mortgage broker obtain a pre-approval for a home loan. This will determine how much you can afford to spend and enable you to make a genuine offer when you do find the house of your dreams.

3. Needs versus wants: You may want a seven-bedroom, five-bathroom house with a heated pool, four-car garage, gourmet kitchen and spectacular water views, but do you really NEED it? A spare room might be nice, but if your budget is tight it may not be affordable right now, so think carefully about what you need before you start house hunting.

4. Make a checklist: Write down the features interior and exterior you want in your new home and take the list with you on your inspection tour, marking each item with a score from 1 to 10. Features might include the size of the property, condition of the bathrooms, proximity to schools, etc. Again, make sure your checklist includes things that are most important to you.

5. Snap it: Take a camera to capture a quick image of each house that could suit you. This will help you to recall what youve seen at the end of the day. Its also a good idea to carry a small note book and record details about each property that may not be included in advertising or promotional material.

6. Dont rush: Buying a home can take time, research and careful thought, so dont make a decision just because you feel pressured, tired or emotional. Carefully weigh the pros and cons of each property you inspect and then and only then if it suits your requirements, make an offer. Keep in mind the property that suits your requirements may also be the first one you see.

7. Get a second opinion: Before you make a final decision its a good idea to have the property inspected by a professional building and pest inspector. They can point out any faults you may not have noticed, including problems in the roof, foundations, walls or general construction.

8. Other costs: Before you make an offer, find out how much the rates or other maintenance expenses are on an annual basis, then add these to other expenses to determine how much you can afford to spend (see point one).

9. Look at potential: When looking at a property, try to look past old dcor, peeling paint or overgrown landscaping and focus instead on its layout and size. Cosmetic shortcomings can always be fixed once you buy the house.

10. Be competitive: When you find the house that suits your needs (as opposed to your wants) make an offer that is fair and in line with the current market. Keep in mind youre probably competing against others to buy the house, so a reasonable initial offer will let the seller know youre serious.

* Jennifer Schelbert Dip. Fin. Serv. /FinMBM is a director of Mrs. Mortgage, a licensee for Choice Aggregation Services, a member of COSL and a Full Member of the Mortgage Finance Association of Australia.

Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only, and must not be relied upon as a substitute for professional services or legal advice.

Jennifer Schelbert Dip. Fin. Serv. /FinMBM is a director of Mrs. Mortgage, a licensee for Choice Aggregation Services, and a member of COSL and a Full Member of the Mortgage Finance Association of Australia.

Phone 61 3 9315 9750

http://mrsmortgage.com.au

What drew me to the wonders of rose water? In 1991 I sampled a traditional eastern Indian dessert that was soaked in rose water. At first, I was not a big fan of this exotic taste, but after learning about the rich history and the powerful healing properties, my fascination began to grow. Rose water can be applied topically to soothe the skin, ingested orally it can aid digestion, and as an aromatherapy it has been known to lift the spirits.

Around the world the rose is known as the Queen of Flowers. The use of rose water dates back to ancient civilizations of Persia, Rome, India and Egypt. Cleopatra bathed in rose water and used rose oil to seduce her lover Anthony. Roman banquets were decorated with roses, the Hindus cleaned the altar with rose water, and often, when we think of heaven the angels are frequently depicted enjoying the celestial fragrance of the rose. The ancient Greeks and Romans extracted flavor from rose petals by steeping them in water or oil, and in the 10th century, Persia began the first distillation of rose water. Rose water was first obtained by steam distillation of fresh rose blossoms. It is a pure, undiluted food-grade product that does not contain any preservatives, additives or synthetic ingredients.

Inhaling the unique scent of natural rose water empowers the mind and calms nervous tension. The aroma is one of the most immediate and evocative of sensations. The actual rose oil may be used in a room diffuser or aromatherapy ring and allowed to evaporate throughout the room to restore general balance to the body and mind. And dont forget, it is an aphrodisiac!

Rose water is used as a flavoring for food in a variety of Indian curries, Greek pastries and Middle East dishes including baklava and marzipan. The water should be used in small amounts as a flavoring and can be streaked through cream, custards, ice cream, baked sweets and fruits for an element of surprise. In Morocco they combine fresh squeezed orange juice with a splash of rose water to begin the day. I have used it to flavor fresh lemonade on a hot summer day to help cool the body. When ingested, rose water is known to have a cleansing, cooling and soothing effect on the body, and will aid digestion.

The use of the rose is far and varied, especially in the area of skin care. Rose water is a toning, hydrating and cleansing product for all skin types and is often substituted in place for water in lotions and cosmetic recipes. As an emollient, rose may alleviate dry, chapped and itchy skin. It has a tonic and gentle astringent effect on the capillaries just below the skins surface which makes it useful in diminishing mild skin redness. You can spray it on acne or sunburn to help calm the irritation. Add rose water to your bath for some extra moisture and your skin may become more evenly textured and supple.

The rose has been used throughout the millenniums and is still the oldest cultivated plant in the United States. It is always important to look for rose water that contains only pure natural rose oil because synthetic rose ingredients do not have any therapeutic value. Store rose water in the refrigerator after it is opened to maintain the freshness. This versatile water can be found at specialty food markets, natural food stores, delicatessens, and Asian grocery stores.

I now use rose power on a daily basis to create sensational aromas, transform a simple glass of juice, soften my skin, or to balance the emotions after a long day.

Jodi Hutchinson, founder of Darshn Beauty LLC, has her B.S. degree in Physician Assistant and worked in Cardiac Surgery for 18 years. In 2001, she left her 18 year career to walk the world. For more information visit http://www.darshanbeauty.com

When we are experiencing the battle of the bulge, we tend to go on yet another diet. We often look for an easy diet plan to follow. Heres the thing though, once we get off it, we find ourselves right back to where we started. The weight comes creeping back and then some.

I am not a big fan of the word diet just because of the negative connotations that come to mind when we think of the actual dieting partirritability, hunger pangs, cravings. But by following a few simple steps we can make it a life choice and never have to utter the word diet again.

There are lots of gurus out there that will tell you to do this, take that, follow their easy diet plan and in no time youll have a ripped midsection and be kicking sand into someone elses face. Fact of the matter is, sometimes they dont work and the only thing you lose is money.

Here is my seven-step easy diet plan you can follow that will reap tons of benefits the more you practice them. Follow this easy diet plan and you will start shedding the pounds, but more importantly you will keep it off.

1.Eat 5-6 smaller meals. Instead of two to three large meals, eating more frequently speeds up your metabolism, which means more weight loss.

2.Make healthier choices when eating out. More and more restaurants are making it easier to eat out and eat healthy. Get a garden burger instead of the2 pound Angus beef or get a side salad instead of fries. Or be even crazier and eat a large salad altogether!

3.Drink more water. Your body retains water when you dont get too much of it, which means more water weight. Drink more water and it adapts as such.

4.Make your own meals. Often when we buy meals from a lunch wagon or fast food joint, we have no idea how much fat, sodium and carbohydrates. Preparing your own meal is not only cheaper, but you can control the amount of fat and salt that goes into it.

5.Exercise. Even if its walking the dog after dinner, you must engage in some form of physical activity on a regular basis. Doing so burn more calories, which in turn burns off the weight.

6.Take the stairs. Youll be amazed how many extra calories you can burn off by taking the stairs instead of the elevator.

7.Eat less processed foods. In one can of soup or microwave meal you will typically find almost a days RDA of sodium. Choose raw veggies and whole grain breads over their fatty and salt laden counterparts.

Hope this easy diet plan helps!

Tired of being the "Funny" friend or having the "great personality?"Click here and star being the hottie.

For those people who wish to have straight, silky hair that flows from their head in a cascade that flows in one fluid movement, hair straightening with the use of a hair iron is the one option they look to. Not all hair irons are created equal, though, and one particular hair straightening agent seems to stand out from the rest as attested to by numerous users and celebrity endorsers. The Sedu Ceramic hair straighteners are considered to be some of the best hair straightening irons around and with reason.

Hair Straightening the Sedu Ceramic Way
The way that the Sedu Ceramic hair straighteners create that head of luxuriously flat and flowing hair is in the way the heating plates that are ultra-smooth holds the hair in between them. These plates generate enough heat to truly get your hair to follow the dictates of the two plates they are pressed in between and drawn through. As compared to other brands of ceramic hair straighteners, the Sedu Ceramic hair straighteners stand uncontested in the hair straightening arena for hair that is truly sleek and shiny too. Users testify that not only do their hair become as straight as they expect them to be, they end up shinier and sleeker than what they used to get from other similar products.

Heat Adjustable to Your Needs
One of the things that users love about the Sedu Ceramic hair straighteners is the way the heat of these products can be easily adjusted to suit your hair and hair quality. Fine hair needs less heat than thick hair and curlier hair needs more heat than simply wavy locks. The easy to adjust heat of this lightweight piece of hair straightening equipment is one of the best features of Sedu Ceramic hair straighteners. With the uniform heat that the ceramic plates distribute and the choice of higher or lower heat, you can be sure to have your kind of hair straight in less than 30 minutes.

Is your hair part of the Sedu Revolution? Find out what your hair must know about Sedu ceramic hair straighteners with Sedu coupons. Discover the glamorous by visiting sedu-revolution.com, a popular website that offers your hair the celebrity side of Sedu Revolution.