My IDEA Online

To really understand the women and her ride, one needs to go back in history to explore the courageous women who defied the norm and road their horses in the freedom of the wind. Who could forget Joan of Arc or Annie Oakley. Two completely different women who followed their own council and fought for their right to ride in a man’s world. Or the women warlords who fought while on horseback and brandished their swords with the best of them. (and yes, women really did that) What man could resist such a women?Women’s love affair with the motorcycle began with the bicycle back in the 1800’s. They became hugely popular with women. Susan B. Anthony once said, “A bicycle has done more for the emancipation of women more than any other thing in this world”.When the motorized bicycle was developed in the early 1900’s, it opened up a whole new realm of adventure for the high-spirited woman of the day. Many women took to the open road not on horseback, but on the iron horse. Adventurous women enjoyed many long distance rides. Some were skilled enough to do stunt riding. No mean feat, especially on the earlier bikes.The ride for men and women are uniquely different. A man on his ride is master of the iron muscle and his testosterone kicks in while he uses his arms and upper body to control the beast. He is lord and master of his ride. Women take a more subtle approach. They use their lower body and their curves to hug the open road. It’s a sensual bond between the bike and the woman. She is also master of the ride but she controls it with more passion and finesse.There is something about seeing a woman on a motorcycle that makes you take notice. You can see the iron muscle being controlled with femininity. It’s the combination of power and aesthetics that make it an irresistible combination.There is nothing like the open road for both men and women. To experience the freedom and the wind, the sites you see and people you meet along the way that fuel the spirit and feed the soul. This experience is something no one can take from you.Enjoy!About the authorWillie Jones target=”_new” href=”http://www.barneysmotorcycles.com/” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>http://www.barneysmotorcycles.comWillie is a freelance writer, researcher and artist who’s adventurous spirit loves to share with others. target=”_new” href=”http://www.barneysmotorcycles.com/” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Barneys Motorcycle

Joints can handle some heavy pressure. For example, knees handle a force of three to four times a person’s total body weight on average when just taking a walk.The force of a deep knee bend during a squat can increase to nine times the body weight. So just imagine multiplying weight of more than 150 pounds times a minimum of three or four, and then even more.That can sure add up to a lot of heavy work on knee joints over time.Now for the science of this scenario. Where two bones meet, called the joint, the bone ends are covered with cartilage, also known as gristle. This cartilage is sturdy,elastic and spongy or compressible,and keeps the bones from moving against each other at the joint.The cells of this cartilage, called chondrocytes,are thought to be the longest living cells of the body.Surrounding the bones and cartilage is strong, fibrous capsule lined with synovium,a thin membrane that lubricates the joint area with fluid.The end result is less friction or smoother rubbing together of the bones.This fluid also feds the cartilage cells, keeping them healthy, and is pumped into them during joint movement. Thus lack of movement (activity / exercise) can be unhealthy.Other parts of the body features involved with this arthritic scenario include muscles, tendons, ligaments, bursea and mental activity. Muscles, attached to bones with tendons and ligaments, move bones by contracting. They also cushion movement, absorbing impact or shock. Throughout the muscle and tendon areas are bursae or sacs filled with fluid.These also help cushion movement.And throughout all the coordination of these parts during movement, the brain is a part. The brain communicates via nerves throughout the body, in particular the muscles for this scenario, to prepare joints for activity. The exact science of what actually causes arthritis is still being researched. For most of the 100-plus forms of arthritis, the causes are unknown. Injury, overuse of joints and mechanical issues with joints (like skeletal abnormalities, worn out joint muscles) can lead to arthritis. And many point to issues relating to bacteria and germs as some of the problem. Heredity, stress, drugs, food allergies and viruses have also been linked to some forms of arthritis. So have diet, poor circulation and lack of movement. INFLAMMATIONArthritic joints can be affected with inflammation when bacteria or a virus (or other undesirable element) enters the joint area or when an injury occurs. What happens is when foreign matter enters this area or the area sustains injury, white blood cells, antibodies and other natural fighting mechanisms automatically kick in internally to help.These fighters cause swelling, redness and heat as the body fluid moves around. Symptoms of inflammation, one of the uncomfortable issues associated with arthritis, are redness, swelling and tender joints.

My fantasy football league is approaching its 16th season. We have had 16 teams competing before, but now we are a 14-team league. Although the subject of performance points is bandied about at our league meetings virtually every year, we remain a basic scoring league — the only way to go for true fantasy football fans.Now, performance point system fans will say that there is so much more involved, making their games more exciting and more high-scoring. Ridiculous, I say.You see, we believe that to truly make our fantasy football league seem like more than just fantasy, we need to mirror the National Football League in as many ways as possible. So, we have desidned our rules after the NFL, and we attempt to score our points in the same fashion as the NFL.So, when a running back or a wide receiver scores a touchdown, we credit the team in our league with that player with six points. When a kicker kicks a field goal, we allow three points, and we give one for PATs. We also award two points for a scored two-point conversion.Our biggest difference is at the quarterback position. Although QBs can run for scores, earning six points, we award three points for a TD pass. This is the biggest departure from the mother league, the NFL.This method of scoring allows for games that have very low scores, 9-6 is not entirely uncommon, but we have our fair share of high scores too. Fifty-seven points was the watershed mark in our league last season — a not entirely unrealistic number for a prolific NFL team. Again, we want to be like the NFL.I’ve known guys who play in performance leagues that allow 10 points, if a QB passes for 400 yards. Their weekly scores are unrealistic, scores like 126-90. This is more like a lopsided college basketball game than a football game.So, the bottom line is we want our games and our league to look like the NFL — the only way to go.Mark Barnes is the author of the new novel, The League, the first work of fiction, based on fantasy football. He is also an investment real estate and home loan finance expert. Learn more about his suspense thriller at target=”_new” href=”http://www.sportsnovels.com/” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>http://www.sportsnovels.com. Get his free mortgage finance course at target=”_new” href=”http://www.winningthemortgagegame.com/” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>http://www.winningthemortgagegame.com

Want a user-friendly, efficient and versatile digital imaging software that allows you to be creative and produce professional projects? Then you’ll definitely love iPhoto 5. It has the standard functions one can expect from an image editing application – the Red-Eye button for well, red eyes, the Retouch Brush for removing blemishes and other unwanted “dirt,” freehand Crop Tool to capture only the best elements of your photo in one frame, the Straighten tool to level horizons using the handy-dandy grid, and the Advanced Editing Dashboard for precise adjustment of black and white points using the Levels tool, adjustment of exposure and color saturation, modification of color temperature and for fine-tuning tint, as well as brightness and contrast. While editing a photo, iPhoto 5 even allows you to compare it with the original image simply by holding down the Control key. You can also reset all the adjustments you’ve done with the different sliders using a single button. Yup, iPhoto 5 has all these… and so much more.It supports not only the oh-so famous JPEG file format, but even the RAW file format, which has become a favorite among professional photographers and higher-end enthusiasts who wish to preserve the maximum image quality. It also supports the MPEG-4 file format for video clips and if you’re concerned about file size, don’t worry – iPhoto 5 imports them just as fast and easy as it would JPEGs and from almost any data source too. With a USB cable, simply plug in your gadget to your Mac, whether it’s your digital camera or your memory card reader or your iPod and iPhoto would automatically launch. It would then give you a dialog box where you can put in information about your images like name, subject, keywords and other metadata, which you can later on use for fast and easy search of photos, albums or digital roll. You can also import images stored in CDs or your hard drive in two ways – either you select and add your image folders to the library from the File menu or simply drag the folder into the iPhoto window.Lastly, one of the many features that iPhoto 5 prides itself of is the intelligent and advanced slideshow feature. First off, the slideshows are separate from the albums. Therefore, you can modify the contents of one slideshow, like maybe add a few images from another album, without affecting the albums themselves. And since iPhoto 5 supports MPEG-4, you can create slideshows consisting of both still images and video clips. It also has a lot of fantastic transitions, which you can control the speed and direction of, and even allows you to adjust the slide duration on a per-image basis. You might be thinking, a good soundtrack would be lovely too – but setting the perfect timing may be difficult to achieve. With iPhoto 5, you wouldn’t have to worry about that as it has a tight integration with iTunes. Simply select a song or an entire playlist from…

Heart is the most significant organ of the body. It controls and regulates the entire body. An individual can survive the loss of other organs of body but not of a heart. The moment heart ceases pumping blood to the body, it results in a heart stroke and there are chances that the person may die. But people are often negligent in taking care of this undeniably crucial organ of their body. This is made evident by the studies that reveal the escalating deaths due to cardiac arrests every year. It is not just the elderly who are gripped by cardiac seizures due to their age, which implicates a declining health but also young children, and even infants who are inflicted by heart ailments. The purpose of this article is to make its readers aware of some of the most common cardiac problems, few possible preventions and cures to them and the measures one should adopt to enjoy a healthy heart. 1. Heart diseases- human heart starts malfunctioning due to many reasons. In other words there are different diseases that affect human heart. • Congenital Heart Disease is a very common one. It leads to malformation of heart during prenatal development and other severe complications. Chromosomal abnormalities, transfer of infected genes and environment are the main attributed causes to congenital heart disease. • Coronary Artery Disease is one where heart simply stops pumping blood to the arteries. The blockages or difficulty in the blood flow to the main source of oxygen to the heart muscle i.e. coronary arteries is deemed to be the primary factor that results in this disease. Apart from this the thickening of the arteries called arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure and other problems like asthma, diabetes etc. are the causes of CAD. CAD produces a heart attack and so even the death of the concerned individual.• A viral infection that attacks the pericardium pouch enveloping the heart is the ground for the Pericardial heart disorder. 2. The Roots of Heart Ailment- in most of the cases the individuals themselves are responsible for their cardiac troubles. • Over stress is the biggest threat to a healthy life so much so that it affects even one’s heart.• Faulty food habits i.e. eating more of junk and fattening food rich in cholesterol is the primary reason for a heart attack. • Obesity and lack of physical labor also accentuates cardiac problems.• Heart problems are also hereditary. • Blood pressure patients are more prone to heart attacks. • Alcoholics, smokers and drug addicts have acute possibilities of heart failure. 3. Some Common Cures- it is not likely to prevent every heart problem especially those malformations or diseases that are innate or since the time of birth. They can at best be treated with the aid of surgeries.• Watch your eating and drinking habits. Avoid cholesterol abounding food like butter, cheese, creams, cakes and pastries etc. • Aspirin is deemed to be a potential medicine to ward off cardiac snags. According to…

In the HBS Digest, we discussed getting a business up and running. We took a couple of steps a month and by the end of the year we had our grand opening for our business. In this article we will discuss nine succinct steps to put you on the path to success with your own business start up. First, you need to make up a plan and then pick out a couple of things to accomplish each month. Second, you need to define your short term goals. Yes long term goals are important too, however, remember you want to do this in a years’ time so for now let’s break your goals down into things to do each week and by the end of each month. Also, when you accomplish your goals for the month, be sure to reward yourself with something you like to do. Shopping, movies, hiking, you name it, be sure to reward yourself. Remember, however, as we discussed when setting up our mock business, you must be sure that your goals are realistic. If you take on too many things to do each month, you will overwhelm yourself, which will eventually lead tofailure. A great analogy here is losing weight. So many people set themselves up for failure bysetting unrealistic weight goals, e.g. I want to lose 80 lbs in 4 months. Not going to happen. So be sure you don’t do the same with your business. Third, and most important is to write your goals down on 3 x 5 cards and place them prominently where you will see them every day. It is very important that you reinforce to yourself on a daily basis what you are trying to do. Make it a part of your life. Remember, our motto, “YOU MAKE IT HAPPEN”. But YOU have to WORK at it! Next is to be sure that you surround yourself with support, and I don’t mean family. Family is only good as a support system if they are in favor of what you are trying to do. We have found over the years that most family members will try to talk you out of it. Why? Because you make them look bad, and they have negative karma, which is certainly not something you need. Dieters are very familiar with this type of sabotage! Instead, go to on-line forums/boards which concentrate on new business start ups, and get help and support from people who are working towards the same goals as you are. One of the best ways to keep yourself motivated and going strong is to visualize what your life will be like once your business is up and running. Picture yourself in your dream office, with yourself at the helm, making a difference, making money, whatever makes you happy. Again, this is a very powerful tool for people who quit smoking and those who are trying to lose weight. For many weight watchers they pick out a piece of clothing they want to…

What does it mean to be comfortable in your own skin? It’s about expressing yourself in a way they feels the most appropriate. When we think about expressing ourselves, we automatically think of the superficial ways. How we dress. The way we wear our hair. The car we drive. If you wear jeans and a T-shirt one day and a business suit the next, what is it expressing about you? Is it that you are sophisticated one day and unsophisticated the next? Actually, your outer appearance expresses very little about who you truly are. Instead, when we talk about expression, we should look at what’s harder to change about ourselves. Our habits. The words we use. How we treat people. And, most importantly, how we express our spiritual gifts.Ah, spiritual gifts. That elusive term. It’s also known as your calling. But how do you express those properly? We could each have similar gifts, but decide to express them differently. For example, let’s say that 3 women are trying to figure out the best way to express their calling of teaching. One woman might become a high school teacher. Another might teach English in a foreign country. While another woman might home school her own children. Who is expressing their spiritual gifts properly? All of them. It is a personal decision. You might say that the first two women are career women. Some women might look down on the woman who chose to be a stay-at-home mom. But is this fair? Does that mean that the way she is expressing her spiritual gifts is any less fulfilling or any less valid? No, not at all. The concern about others judging us is often what stops us from getting comfortable in our own skin. What if our family doesn’t like what we’re doing? What if our friends think the path we’re taking is weird?Too many of us are embarrassed about what others will think of our spiritual journey. We end up sabotaging our own happiness. We are missing out on the great opportunities that will open up once we get comfortable in our own skin. As you begin reflecting on your spiritual gifts it’s great to keep track of your progress. You can do this throughout the day or at the end of the day. You could add your thoughts to a journal or record them on a microcassette recorder.Here are 3 questions to ask yourself to begin the process of getting comfortable in your own skin:1) “Have I taken the time to identify my spiritual gifts?” Get in touch with those inklings, those glimpses of what your calling might be. For example: 1) topics that you are continually drawn to, but you aren’t sure why; 2) what you do in your spare time that makes the day more enjoyable; 3) things that you do that make it easy to lose track of time when you’re doing them.2) “How am I expressing my spiritual gifts?” Remember that there are many ways to…

Color psychology is the biggest question I receive on aregular basis. The reason being is it”s importance. Coloris a trigger that is associated with traditions and used inmarketing over the years so well that they must be honoredor sales are lost.Color will also trigger reactions. It is a given. This iswhy you must know how to choose the right color for theright reaction at the right time.Because of a color”s relevance to success in marketing, Ialways like to continue sharing and repeating in some cases,what colors to use and when.Here are eleven of the basic colors. These colors work fortriggers on Americans only. Every country, culture, havedifferent representations for color. If you are evenselling to the Asian culture in the United States, thecolors will change. Learn the colors of whom you areselling too and sales will blossom just like a rainbow oftulips in your garden.Quick ListRed Red creates excitement, displays strength, is used to express s*e*x, passion, speed and danger. Use appropriately and it works extremely well.Blue This is the most popular color. Why? Because it builds trust, reminds people of sky gazing/dreaming. Thus, builds trust, conveys reliability, a sense of belonging, coolness (in the 1980″s sense refreshing and clean.Yellow We think of the sun and sunshine, it”s warmth, being cheerful and happy. Place it together with blue and thoughts of sitting on the beach or looking out over the ocean connect.Orange Orange isn”t used much in marketing. On a computer screen it looses its hue. When it is clearly visible that it is orange, it conveys playfulness, triggers child-like behavior — great in workshops if you want to take people to that place, it also conveys warmth and vibrancy.Green When we think of green we associate with trees and grass. This brings up associations with nature, freshness, coolness. It also means growth and abundance. Money is green and we are automatically associating green with prosperity.Purple Royal purple brings up pictures of royalty. Conveyed through the centuries from religion and palace decorations isn”t going to change any of our associations today. Purple means spirituality and dignity as well.Pink Usually associated with femininity, it means soft, sweet, nurturing and many times security. The security of motherhood and all that it represents. As females mature they sometimes lose their feminine side due to business stiffness. To bring it back in surround yourself with pink for a year. Pink blouse, suit, watch, and household items.White White and black aren”t really called a color but we recognize them as such. White represents pure, purity, virgin, clean, youthful and mild. This is why white backgrounds work better than black backgrounds on a website.Black Black can trigger representation of the dark side of things in certain situations. Usually when black is the dominant color on the page. It can also represent sophistication, elegance, mystery. Black in clothing is seductive and thus will represent the same thing in many marketing materials — even though it is only a mindful trigger and not a voiced one.Gold Gold is…

There are many different ways to promote a product or service online, but the results from each method can vary greatly. Some may give you an instant rush of targeted traffic, while some will produce a small but steady stream of prospects. You will find that most online promotion tactics will result in a steady stream, while only a few methods will produce a large instant surge of web site visitors. But how can YOU become a web site promotion expert?The most important thing to learn regarding web site promotion is that no one method will make your product launch or promotion successful. Promoting a product using 10, 15 or even 20 different tactics is the magic formula to turning your product into an online success. Most of these methods may be more time consuming to apply than buying advertising, but the investment of time will pay off greatly for you later on.Understand that web site promotion is a step by step process. Each method, once set up, can continue to promote your web site 24/7 with only minimal maintenance. Learn one tactic and apply it, then learn another. The combination of many web site promotion methods working as one is a powerful and effective way to generate leads or make sales for any product or service online.The best part about learning web site promotion is that you will be able to apply what you learn to virtually any product or service. Ever thought of doing online marketing consulting to offline businesses? Once you take the time to learn effective web site promotion, you will be able to engineer promotions for any business and get paid for doing so. You can copy your proven formula for any of your own products and make each one a success online, too.Web site promotion tactics are generally not difficult to apply. The power lies in having many small promotion machines working for you all at the same time. This may sound very involved, but I”m sure you can handle it. It only takes a commitment of time and effort to make your online promotion machine a reality.Can you become a web site promotion expert? It is totally up to you. You have to make the commitment. You have to invest the time. You have to put your plan into action and see it out to completion. Only then will you see the results you are looking for from your online efforts. Then you can take what you have learned and do it again and again for any product or service. At that point, it will be easy for you. With commitment and hard work, you CAN become a web site promotion expert.

One way our diet may increase the risk of cancer is by dietary carcinogens. There are four groups of carcinogens:• Naturally present carcinogens • Carcinogens forming during food preparation • Preservatives and coloring agents added to food • Some substances are changed in to carcinogens in the bodyNaturally present carcinogens: An example of this is “Aflatoxin”, a mycotoxin produced by fungi. Grains and nuts can be contaminated by fungus, which then produce chemicals called aflatoxins. They are known to cause liver cancer in Africa and the Far East, especially in people who are carriers of hepatitis antigens. Carcinogens forming during food preparation: Polycyclic hydrocarbons, such as benzopyrenes, are formed during barbecuing meat on an open fire (e.g. preparing jerked chicken). These polycyclic hydrocarbons are also one of the main constituents in cigarette smoke that cause lung cancer. The traditionally high intake of fried and broiled food, such as meats, can increase the risk of breast, distal colon, prostate and pancreas cancers. Several studies showed that populations that eat fried or broiled meats have a relative risk greater than 2 (deviation from median) for colon and breast cancer. More than 20 such chemicals have been identified. They are present in fairly small amounts, but their action is promoted, an effect associated with n-6 polyunsaturated oils such as corn or safflower oil at 30-40% of energy in animal and human studies. A lower fat intake, 15-22% of energy, dramatically decreases those effects. Preservatives and coloring agents added to food: (Need some more tests to establish this relationship). Food colorings are added to increase the appeal of the food but not all are good for us. An example is “butter yellow”. Artificial sweeteners (like saccharine & cyclamates) and preservatives which produce nitrosamines are known to cause bladder and stomach cancers respectively. Some substances are converted in to carcinogens: Nitrosamines are formed from sodium nitrite. Sodium nitrite is present in drinking water and vegetables.

Printing companies may vary in the way they process your printing jobs and the prices that they offer their clients. However, all of them have only one objective and that is – to provide their clients with high quality prints at affordable rates. They always think of the impression that they’ll get from the individuals, businesses and organizations that trust their efficiency and competency as manifested by the products that they produce. If you are a regular customer of printing companies, have you ever thought if what it’s like to become one? Hmmm, let’s see.If you own a printing company, you’re basically aware of the in’s and out’s in this industry. From the start, you must know what you’re getting into. You have to know the best possible means to stand out from among your competitors – that is basically through the purchasing of the best printing resources that include software programs and printing presses, and acquisition of skilled and experienced printing professionals to work for your company.If you own a printing company, you have to be very resourceful. Knowing the latest trends in the printing process, the newest tips and techniques in printing, and the most recent printing technologies and software programs is part of resourcefulness. It also pertains to being always ready to find appropriate answers and solutions to any problems that the company might encounter along the way. It you own a printing company, you must be quick-witted. The daily operations of your business is always critical so you always have to be prepared because there will always come a time when you have to make quick decisions that can pose a big impact to your company. However, in general, the printing business is not that much difficult to manage. When you get to learn the usual flow of the business, you can always handle printing jobs successfully.What I’ve mentioned in this article are only a spoonful of the necessary things that one must understand and possess in order for a printing company to become a leader in this industry. All of us know that to have one is never easy, it really entails time, money and lots of effort. Nevertheless, engaging in this type of business is financially rewarding. You’ll soon realize that all of your hard work and efforts are worth it, and you’ll be striving more for excellence and customer satisfaction.

You can earn a steady income from the Internet running an online business, as long as you’re willing and able to put the time, effort, and money that is required. You have seen all the hype in regards to easy riches, fast money don’t be fooled. Yet these get rich schemes are hard to ignore. But to be successful in starting a profitable online business you must remember “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is” Let’s look at some of the disadvantages you may encounter when starting an online business. First as we mentioned there are a large amounts of hype and get rich schemes you need to sort out and avoid. An online business has risk involved just like any other business. You will work long hours starting an online business. To find what will work or what won’t and what opportunity may be real takes a large amount of time. Then the fact that many people start an online business and continue with their present occupation it can lead to some very long hours. Starting an online business you will find that it will constantly change. What you are doing well today may not work for you the next day. You have to constantly study and learn. This is another time consuming and sometimes frustrating process. Finding the right people to attract is a never ending process. When starting an online business you should be somewhat stubborn. Don’t give up easily and try another online business. You have a lot to learn and starting over does not change that you just end up at square one again. Starting an online business may not be as easy as some want to portray it as but it is not impossible. Many people every day start an online business that goes on to be profitable and fun. The advantages of starting an online business are many. It gives the regular person a chance to be a business owner with a minimum of start up costs. These costs are normally just a couple hundred dollars. It offers you more flexibility, since you do work at your computer you can pick the times you work. This could eventually lead to more free time since you may be able to automate a lot of your tasks. You have a product idea for your online business or want to see what your competition is doing? You can do so for little or no money on the Internet. Go to message boards and post your idea to get reactions, search the Internet for others who are doing the same thing. See what they may be doing correctly or for that matter incorrectly so you don’t do the same mistakes. By starting an online business you have potential customers everywhere since the Internet is world wide. It is always growing as everyday more people are getting online for the first time. You have the ability to provide many different products or services to…

How To Raise Your Fees There comes a time when it is inevitable that you must raise your fees in order to maintain both your profit margin and income level. You will find that the greatest resistance to this comes from your oldest clients. There appears to be a direct correlation between the length of time a client is with you and the amount of outrage they show to your rate increase. This article will discuss the types of clients and how they usually react. Keep in mind, no matter how you raise fees, how you approach telling clients or amount of lead time you give them, you will lose some clients. This is a given. I have found over the years that a very high percentage of clients lost are those that I’m not crazy about working with anyway. It’s worked out, for me anyway, that these former clients who complained the most about your fee increase, were responsible for 85-90% of the aggravation I encountered. Clients are attracted to you for a variety of reasons. We would all like to think that it is because of our brilliant promotional pieces, our award winning designs, outstanding service, etc. The reality is that many clients are using your services strictly because of price. I refer to these clients as price loyal. They are loyal to whomever has the lowest price. This type of client is not particularly sensitive to quality of work or level of service you provide. They go strictly with the lowest price and if you have the opportunity to examine how they run their business, your see it operates on this principle. For me anyway, this type of client is no loss. There is a second type of price conscious client that is concerned with the quality and type of service being provided to them. You may lose this type of client with a price increase, but you’ll find that they will be very apologetic about it. These clients truly can not afford the higher rates. They are usually a dream to work with, and I hate to lose them. In this situation, I will try a number of ways to keep them. Your newer clients usually react in a more neutral manner to a rate increase. They haven’t been with you long enough to get a true baseline on your fee structures. You stand a very good chance of keeping these clients if the reasons for the rate increase are explained to them and not just dropped on them. I find that I lose about 5-6% of my clients when I raise my fees. Usually, I suffer no income loss because my higher rates absorb their loss. Remember, the bottom line is you are selling your time, you must make the most efficient and profitable use of it. If your rates stay around market level, you should have little or no trouble finding new clients. Copyright 2000, DeFiore EnterprisesInterested in having your own successful, home based…

Over 70% of teens say that acne has affected them in a negative way. An estimated 20 million teens suffer from acne, but even the fact that they”re not alone doesn”t ease the pain they feel. Teens are embarrassed at a time when they are unsure of themselves. They may become depressed and withdrawn. Acne is especially hard on teenage girls. At a time when they”re noticing boys, and visa versa, acne can be devastating. They”re surrounded by visions of beauty all around them on TV, in movies, in magazines and on line. We live in a society that worships youth and beauty. Parents can help their teenage girls through this time by offering a supportive and sympathetic ear. Parents should help the child focus on all their positive attributes, which will help to strengthen the child”s self esteem. The parents need to be actively involved with helping their child find the best possible cure for their particular form of acne.Parents should also educate themselves about acne causes and treatments. Thirty years ago it was thought that acne was caused by eating the wrong foods. Chocolate and potatoe chips were culprit. It”s now known that this isn”t true. Food is not thought to play a large role in acne. It also has nothing to do with cleanliness of the skin.What is fact is that acne in teenagers is caused by the action of hormones on the skin”s oil glands. During puberty both boys and girls have an increase in the hormones called androgens. These hormones cause sebaceous glands under the surface of the skin to enlarge. The sebaceous glands in response produce excess oil. This excess oil mixes with bacteria and dead skin on the skin”s surface and blocks pores. Inside these pores the bacteria multiple and cause inflammation.Most cases of light to moderate acne can be treated by over the counter medications. There are many to choose from. Some find that benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid works well. Benzoyl peroxide is known to readily kill acne bacteria. Benzoyl peroxide can be found in cleansers and in spot treatments. Benzoyl peroxide is very drying and can make your face look even more irritated, especially when you first start washing with it. Many acne suffers use a moisturizer on their face after washing. There are many moisturizers available that are specifically designed to help with acne such as Cetaphil, Eucerin, and Neutrogena.Severe acne, or acne that has not responded well to over the counter products, can be successfully treated with the knowledge and expertise of a dermatologist. A dermatologist will consider many things before suggesting treatment. He will perform a thorough evaluation of the patient, considering things such as severity of acne, patient age, lifestyle, and co-existing conditions. The dermatologist then may suggest a combination of two or three different therapies for best treatment.Whatever one of the literally hundreds of treatments you decide to choose, or if you seek the help of a dermatologist, remember that acne takes time to disappear.…

Just recently in the news there was a story about an Internet company called Image Net who conducted job interviews on Mt. Fuji in Japan. Image Net sells mostly women’s clothing on the Internet and I think it’s safe to say Image Net thinks “outside the box.”Lets examine why and see if this “outside the box thinking” is conducive to hiring new job applicants.When they put out their ad for the job there were 50 applicants. 21 were invited toclimb Mt. Fuji to be interviewed. 15 of those applicants showed up and only 11 made it to the top to interview. Out of those 11 three to four were offered jobs.The president of Image Net, Mr. Daiji Kanda, climbed the mountain with the applicants and at different levels of the climb would stop and tell the applicants about the company and their business.Mr. Kanda and his staff gave lots of encouragement to the applicants as they climbed.When they reached the top of the summit they were told to video tape models and then they were interviewed.I believe this type of interview process is going to catch on with forward thinking companies and I’ll tell you why.The climb provided several different opportunities for management to see how the applicants helped each other. Which ones were natural leaders and taking responsibility.One applicant when interviewed said he was soaking wet from the rain and climb and was not properly prepared for the climb clothing wise. Obviously he was not one of the ones hired. Would you hire someone who could not even show up for an interview properly attired? Sometimes a suit and tie just doesn’t cut it.This type of interview also gave the company a chance to see who was lazy, who was determined, which applicants were team players, unselfish, and prepared for the unexpected.Your typical job interview is not going to bring out these traits in applicants nor is it going to show you these personality traits. With many resumes being nothing more than hype and exaggerated truths I see this trend in unique job interviews growing. Apparently so has Hollywood. I am sure you’ve seenThe Apprentice with Donald Trump and now the latest one with Martha Stewart.If you’re a hiring manager and want applicants where you can actually see their work habits and personality in action I suggest you take a lesson from Image Net.It’s also a bonus to note that this company got huge PR from this single job interview.The company is based in Japan yet we heard about the story all the way across the pond in North America.All in all I would say Image Net came out a big winner. Great new employees plus a ton of free publicity for the company.