Gambling whether in person or at a online casino means risk. There are a number of ways that the element of risk exists in gambling or playing poker. In fact the term gambling is synonymous with risk. However the unique thing about gambling is there are ways to control your risk. For instance, certain kinds of gambling games such as poker reduce risk by also requiring skill. Other forms of gambling such as craps are almost all about risk. The trick to succeeding at gambling is to know what risks are good and which are bad. While this is easy to say, the actual practice of reducing your risk gambling can be a bit tricky.
The easiest way to reduce your risk is to play a gambling game that has less risk involved that other typical gambling games. The chief low risk gambling game is that of poker. Poker is perhaps one of the best games for limiting risk. The reason for this is that poker (unlike many other forms of gambling) introduces the role of skill. This means that while chance, and thus risk, are a factor, skill at poker can help stabilize the random elements of chance. Yet while Poker does reduce the elements of chance quite a bit, it introduces a whole new element of risk in the form of other players.
Other players at a poker table now become the representation of chance. Does the person sitting across from you have a better hand? Or perhaps the person sitting next to you got the card you needed to make your hand that more solid. In fact, in some ways, poker may actually be a risk even greater than any you can play. The question you need to ask yourself when thinking about sitting at a poker table is are you skilled enough to be there?
The above question does beg another question. What do you do if you don’t think you are skilled enough to sit at a table? Well if you have an internet connection the answer is simple. Play poker online. Most online forms of poker have low betting games that allow someone new to the game to learn the basics. Also most online poker sites group people into experience level. This allows someone to play with people of a similar level and thus not loose the shirt of their back to experienced pros.
In the end no matter how hard you try there is no way to completely get rid of risk in a gambling game. However part of the joy of gambling is the risk. Also without risk there is no reward. So take a deep breath, grab a deck of cards and get ready. It’s gambling time.
Posted by admin on September 29th, 2008 — Posted in Branding
Remember the old slogan that “children should be
seen and not heard?”
Clearly, that no longer applies to teens and tweens,
prepubescents 8 to 14 years old. These days, teens
and tweens are seen and heard, loudly and clearly.
What should business people do about these two
groups? Just wait until they grow up? No, not at
all. You need to take action now.
Though not always old enough to buy our products,
we need continuous marketing communications to teens
and tweens, starting now.
Properly done, that can develop a positive relationship
between tweens and teens and your business, positioning
you for future long term success.
As author Anne Southerland writes, get to them at
age 8 or 9 “at the cusp of tweendom.”
For years, the tobacco and liquor industries have
tried to reach kids with messages saying, “when
you’re old enough to drink or smoke, please use
our brand.”
The fast food chains market to kids, too. They aim
their TV commercials at children, since kids often
decide which fast food store to visit, after mom
decides that “she deserves a break today.” Dad
lamely completes the deal as chauffeur and treasurer.
The marketing payoff for fast food companies comes
from promotion to tweens and teens when they
reach the 18 to 24 age group, the heaviest fast food
user group.
A majority of 18 to 24 year olds eat most meals in fast
food places.
Extensive market research shows that those 11 and
older don’t consider themselves children anymore.
As an example, 70% of boys and girls at age 13 select
their own clothes. 60% of tween boys make their
own fast food dining choices.
Most boys at age 10 already know what kind of car they’d
like to buy.
In their own minds, those over 11 are now adults.
The 25 million tweens in the USA spend $51 billion
each year, and another $170 billion is spent on them
annually, mostly by parents and relatives.
The teen market has $175 billion in annual sales.
One high school senior in three carries a major credit
card. And 63% of teens are very well wired, mostly
by having their own cell phones and/or laptops.
Very interesting, you say-but what’s really at stake
here for me, as a business person? Plenty! There
are four major issues to consider:
1. The authority of parents is waningbecause some
parents are too wimpy to “train up their children in
the way they should go,” the Bible way.
Coneheaded, permissive Doctor Spock mushiness prevails
in many homes (”the children are our friends and we dare
not offend them”).
2. In the absence of consistent, wise parental
leadership, tweens and teens are strongly influenced
by peer groups and marketers, research shows.
3. Marketers have been blessed for many years by
Baby Boomers (born 1946 to 1964). But Boomers are
starting to retire and, within 10 to 20 years, their
purchasing power will wane.
4. Serious marketing futurists think that today’s
tweens can eventually replace boomers financially,
since tweens are extremely quality and brand conscious
and are very glib spenders.
That being the case, why shouldn’t long term
marketers start cultivating tweens now?
While we deplore the decline in effective parenting,
my business believes that we should start relationship
building with tweens and teens right now to help create
our long term business success for these reasons:
1. Tweens and teens are excellent practioners
of “viral marketing,” today’s term for word of mouth
advertising. This is a cost-efficient way to
communicate.
2. Tweens and teens are unaware of the benefits of
self-employment, since parents often don’t know
these things and most schools are still creating
employees suitable to staff the Industrial Revolution,
which no longer exists.
Tweens and teens need to learn about selling, business
planning, and how to develop themselves personally
and professional to be successful self-employed
persons.
3. Since 10 year old boys know what kind of car they
want, they should learn from marketers now how to take
care of a car–specifically, which products and
services they’ll need.
Now what is my busines doing to start communicating
with tweens and teens?
We’re taking the Tony Bennett approach. Explaining
Tony’s career resurgence, his son and manager, Danny,
said, “We didn’t make it cool to be Tony Bennett. We
put him in places where it was cool to be.”
These include Tony in concert with BB King, the late
Ray Charles, David Letterman’s Show and appearances
on the Simpsonsto name a few.
So, we’re starting to put my business and myself in tween and teen places where it’s cool to be.
John just got a “space” in the wildly popular with
tweens and teens www.myspace.com website.
In just one week, he’s been contacted by a local
computer service and repair firm and a lady selling
mortgage refinancing.
John has added Internet Messenger, because IM is very
popular with younger generations, as is text messaging,
especially tweens and teens.
Major portals recently launched their versions of www.myspace.com. John has created “spaces” there as well.
And one consulting professional is teaching clients
how to mine existing portal directories to find business partner prospects, “talking” with prospects using IM.
That’s just our initial start toward teens and tweens.
What will yours be? How soon will you start?
John J. Alquist owns and operates Alquist Enterprises. John is a professional speaker, Platinum Author, and business consultant.
Visit him online at http://www.tell-it-well.com or contact him by email
john@tell-it.well.com or by Yahoo IM (screen name: Emancipator21).
If you are one of the many people this Christmas season who have absolutely no idea what to buy for the people in your life that won’t end up returned after Christmas, this is the article for you. It would be a great idea to get them a gift card and let them choose what they really want and then you can spend the rest of the day enjoying each others company.
Christmas gets more extravagant every year. Christmas is time for picking up piles and piles of wrapping paper and trying to figure out how to fit gifts in cars, even though every year we swear that the next year we will be better prepared. Everyone loves gifts (especially kids), but is that a reason to lose our minds every year at the mall?
Unfortunately, the majority of the population are unaware of what most people would like. The theory seems to be that if you just buy a lot of stuff for a person you will please them because you increased the odds. If you really want to go all out for someone, then do some research first. Inquire of someone who is aware of what they desire. Asking very specific questions throughout the year will aid you in finding the perfect gift. This will hopefully stop you from buying those useless gadgets and trinkets. There isn’t anything wrong with a gift card when ideas elude you. You can personalize these with a few home-baked cookies or ornaments, or with a personalized card that lets them know that you wanted them to have the last say about their gift. The point is that spending all day surrounded by presents is no match for the gift of family and friends being together.
A lot of people feel that gift cards are not personal, but of you think about it, you realize that giving a friend something he or she doesnt like or need is not personal either. Gift ideas are hard to come up with but gift cards are a great back up when questioning and snooping about fail. Most of the time people don’t know what they want, or won’t answer if they do. There are plenty of ways to please this group, too. Here is a great site for some personalised gift ideas for everyone.
Posted by admin on September 23rd, 2008 — Posted in Social Parlor
What is “the top” anyway? According to society, “top” has a significant amount of import as evidenced by the following expressions: top-quality, top-rated, top-dollar, top-grade, top-of-the-line, and of course, top dog. It is relatively safe to assume then that we are a culture that places a premium on having “top” anything. That having been said, the impetus for this article is to present 10 Terrific Tips to Talk Your Way to the Top, wherever that may be for you.
When we communicate, most people make the assumption that this simply involves the act of talking; say what you need to say and that’s it. Communication however, is really about the
speaker-listener interaction and when viewed as such, leaves the assumption of “simply talking,” in the dust. In fact, each time we choose to communicate we should ideally focus on the needs and expectations of the listener(s). The goal becomes: How can I say what I want to communicate in a way that will be easily understood and have the desired effect?
While there are multiple approaches to attain this goal, the following 10 tips will serve as a practical guide to talk your way to the top, or your personal best:
1. Ensure that you speak with sufficient volume. The soft-spoken individual as well as the speaker with the boisterous voice will not have a positive effect on the listener.
2. Ensure that you speak at an appropriate rate of speech by factoring in the complexity of your message. A speaker who is either too rapid or tediously slow, will lose the listener’s
attention.
3. Ensure that you fully pronounce your words using effective articulation. When you omit sounds or mispronounce words, you may confuse your listener.
4. Ensure that you use variation in your vocal pitch, making your intonation more dynamic. When your voice lacks highs and lows, the listener may not be able to discern the key parts of your message.
5. Ensure that your nonverbal communication matches your verbal communication. So if you are conveying a positive message, you want a pleasant and upbeat expression on your
face. It is also beneficial to utilize good posture when you speak, as this will assist you in projecting your voice.
6. Ensure that you practice active listening skills. Be aware of the temptation to interrupt and judge others. Do your best to allow others to finish their thoughts, and resist the urge
to formulate your response while others are speaking. When it is your turn to speak, attempt to paraphrase the other person’s input. This will help determine if you have an accurate
understanding of what was said. Try asking questions to learn more about a subject.
7. Ensure that you strive to build your vocabulary, as this will assist you in your speaking, listening, and writing skills. Jot down unfamiliar spoken and written words you come across, and try to decipher their meaning from the context. Always refer to a dictionary to verify the meaning as well as the pronunciation of a word with which you are uncertain, before
attempting to use it. Aim for variety in your choice of words and be prepared to offer examples when necessary.
8. Ensure that you use correct grammar when speaking and writing. Avoid common mistakes in pronoun usage (e.g. Incorrectly saying “Please feel free to contact John or
myself.” vs. “Please feel free to contact John or me.” or “between you and I” vs. “between you and me”). Be aware of subject/verb agreement (e.g. Incorrectly saying “each of them are coming to the party.” vs. “each of them is coming to the party.”).
9. Ensure that you determine what your goal is for a particular interaction and choose the appropriate style. If you need to establish leadership and a position of control, use more directing statements vs. questions, take the lead in initiating topics, substantiate your thoughts based on facts and experience, be comfortable disagreeing, and speak concisely with confidence. If however, you are new to a situation or choosing a position of neutrality, you would respond more than direct, ask more questions, present statements with a qualifier (e.g.”I know this may sound naive.”), avoid direct disagreement, and build on what others say to maintain a conversation.
10. Ensure that you periodically evaluate your communication style. There are several options for doing this including the following: occasionally audiotape or videotape yourself speaking, listen to your voicemail message, observe how others react to you when you speak, and also observe the speaking styles of others in your environment and compare how the reactions they receive may differ from reactions that you receive.
An unfortunate but nonetheless harsh reality is that the art of communication is on its way toward becoming extinct, perhaps due to the advent of technological advances. Regardless of
how sophisticated our culture becomes with computers, PDAs and the like, the only proven method of being at the “top of your game” is to master the tips of talking. It’s never too late to
be your own personal “top banana.”
**For further information on this topic, contact Dale Klein (Corporate Communication & Speech Specialist; www.speech-matters.com, dale@speech-matters.com).
Dale Klein is a Corporate Communication & Speech Specialist and is the owner of SPEECH MATTERS. As an expert in helping others communicate, Dale’s clients hire her when they want to have an impact on their listeners. Dale makes a difference for people who want to improve their public speaking, interviewing, networking, presentation style and interpersonal communication.
Posted by admin on September 23rd, 2008 — Posted in Home Improvement
Why Opt for Sliding Doors?
Sliding doors make effective utilization of available space compared to swinging doors
A path leading to a narrow landing or a staircase could be fitted with sliding doors to avoid the possibility of falling off while stepping back in the case of swinging doors.
When the whether is out of ordinary these doors do not dance to the tune of winds and open automatically
If there is a handicapped person at one’s place the door could be slid widely to make more space for the wheel chair to move with ease.
Improvements are being made over various designs of sliding doors to come up with all possible purposeful designs of sliding doors. Doors that could be tilted about an angle of 90 degrees have also come into existence. Have a look at our collections and choose the one that suits your budget. Agreed that once you set your eyes on our collections, it is very hard to pick one among them but do not worry for we are always here to assist you. Visit our website and place your orders for glass sliding doors right away for you deserve the best.
Posted by admin on September 22nd, 2008 — Posted in Photography Stuff
Disposable digital and film cameras (also called single-use cameras) provide a cheap and easy alternative for photographers. They offer an option for times when you don’t want to risk your expensive equipment but you do want to take some photographs. For example, what could be a scarier combination for a photographer than an expensive piece of camera equipment and water? While professional underwater photographers (or serious hobbyists) are willing to spend a lot of money on their underwater cameras, what about the rest of us? Disposable underwater cameras offer an inexpensive alternative. After all, we may only want to take pictures one time on a snorkeling vacation. Why should we have to buy or rent a lot of expensive equipment?
Disposable underwater cameras are ideal for a wide variety of outdoor adventures where water, sand and rough use might come into play. Use them underwater, (many models are actually waterproof from 15 to as much as 50 feet underwater) but also use them above water for many outdoor shots in sunshine or on a light cloudy day at the beach, the pool, or even the desert.
An underwater disposable camera can also be called an all-weather camera since it is ready for anything at anytime. It’s ideal for shooting outdoors in wet and even snowy conditions. Think of it as not only waterproof but also weatherproof, allowing you to use it to get some great shots in the great outdoors. Use it in the rain, on the slopes, on a boat or in the ocean. Use it while snorkeling, skiing, fishing, boarding, or surfing. Take great photos of sunsets, wildlife, waterfalls or crashing waves.
The disposable underwater camera you buy should be extremely durable and rugged. It should be easy to grip and take pictures, even with gloves on. It should fit in your pocket, beach bag or purse.
Most of these cameras are pre-loaded with 400-speed film with 27 exposures, and include a shock resistant, heavy-duty housing that floats. They are cheap (you can pick up a disposable underwater camera for about $6.00 to $20.00) and even cheaper if you buy them wholesale in quantity.
Not all underwater cameras come with a flash. To get really nice underwater images, your best bet is an external strobe so you won’t create “”backscatter”" (which looks like snow or dirt in your pictures). Also remember when taking your photos, especially when snorkeling, to keep the sun behind you and to take advantage of that beautiful blue clear water. With a disposable underwater camera you really can take great pictures anywhere and at anytime.
Disposable Cameras Info provides detailed information about digital, wedding, and underwater disposable cameras, as well as cheap and wholesale disposable cameras. Disposable Cameras Info is the sister site of Underwater Cameras Web.
With the big buzz of Novembers fall within Google comes a newly indexed data-base…
Did Google do something bad to our great placements? No I don’t think so and here’s why.
While people are screaming for help and wondering what went wrong, I’ve noticed a MASSIVE shift in page ranking.
If you look at top placements at the moment, according to Scroogle, most of the ecommerce search terms got hit really hard. A lot of the top 100 placements were vanishing and quickly.
Now on the other hand, less impressive and especially smaller ranking sites have been bumped up top. I firmly believe this is all because of Google’s “refreshing” their memory and possibly starting to take on web site ID’s with 5 characters plus.
What I mean by that is the ability for Google to index more than 3.2 Billion web sites. Adding another character to the already large 4Id’s deticated to each site indexed will allow Google to add a whole other list of sites within their database.
Now I could be wrong on that one but here’s another phenomenon going on. I’ve been talking to other ecommerce web sites and helping them gain better rankings. It’s been a while since they’ve had their Page Rank change within their site. Working real hard as I instructed, they have followed all the rules and attempted to boost their page ranks.
Up until now, nothing has changed and people are loosing their ranks within Google since Novembers algorythim change.
Around a week ago I’ve been getting calls left right and center about page ranks boosting like I’ve never seen.
The previous scare before this November change went something like this. Google stopped indexing more than 3 levels within your site. Ex. www.yoursite.com/level1/level2/level3
I affirm to you this: its pure baloney, more sites now have better PR ratings within their entire site than ever before. I believe that Google is rewarding most great resources online before taking on more listings within their index.
As towards se placements, I also took a major hit for my better search engine placements but a couple of days ago that started to all change. It almost seems as though Google wanted to take out the top placement companies in order to thoroughly crawl through all their information before letting them get back in the game.
I say this because one of my top placements was sitting at #1 for a long time. Since this November change, it immediately dropped to #181 and didn’t move one single number for over 3 weeks. To my knowledge, that’s a little strange. All of a sudden, my site stats recorded Google browsing through all my 600+ pages and presto, my site is back in the game, just like that.
In Conclusion:
It seems to me that we’re all just lined up to sign an application for better search engine placements. The question isn’t if your site will get back in shape, it’s a question of when your number will be called.
Have a little faith and a little patience and you too will rise again! Just keep doing what you’ve been doing all along and don’t worry about falling down. The ones who get back up are always the ones on top in the end.
About The Author
Martin Lemieux is a young entrepreneur leading the field in Marketing for Canadians. Having been online since 1991, he knows his stuff when it comes to online marketing.
Posted by admin on September 16th, 2008 — Posted in Branding
Franchisors often have issues when they own a brand which has service vehicles; where franchisees wish to operate in non-franchise assigned territories. We had this as a re-occurring issue in our franchise system. We came up with this policy, which is also in our Confidential Operations Manuals. Here is a sample policy for our franchisees:
“Unlicensed Areas”
“If you are called into an unlicensed territory for service, you may service that particular client. You will obviously pick up additional clients in those areas from referrals, leads and people who see the truck. It’s ok to service these customers. However, you must:
Not have over one-third of your clientele out of your exclusive territory
Give up these clients if we sell that adjacent territory to a new franchisee
You must let us know which other area you are working in
We don’t recommend washing cars outside your exclusive territory because it will cost you many hours in travel time over the course of a week. Fifteen minutes here, twenty minutes there. It adds up, trust us. We have assigned you an exclusive area, which will more than suffice. After all:
You know the area
You live in the territory
You have a perfect mix of business
We spent money marketing that area
If you are occasionally called to a non-assigned or unlicensed territory and you find another franchisee is also working that area, it’s ok to split the area amongst yourselves with the understanding that which ever buildings/customers they were doing prior to your coming in that area you should honor. You and the other franchisee might both have to give up those customers if we sell or assign that territory and retreat back to your exclusive territory. Be advised that this can happen and it has before. If these customers you have been servicing are very important to you, you may want to purchase that additional area. We of, course, would love for you to have this as part of your exclusive territory because you are one of our best franchisees. Contact your regional director to start the negotiation process. And, by the way, don’t bring your attorney to the negotiations. This is a very informal procedure.
We are all on the same team. If you can handle the additional customer demand and our staff likes you, I’m sure we can negotiate a fair deal for all concerned.”
If you are a franchisor of a home based or service franchise system you must address this situation or you might wind up in court defending what is generally understood by all parties anyway. Think about this and get your policy ready and let it be known.
“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/
Brokers work with many mortgage bankers and, as a result, can sometimes find slightly more competitive rates 11 percent perhaps lower but dealing directly with a mortgage banker can move a loan along more quickly. So how do you find a lender or broker you can trust’ Start with credibility. It’s not easy to know if the prices quoted by lenders are reliable. See mortgage loan for residential mortgage lending, and commercial mortgage for lending against commercial property. Both banks and brokers have their strengths and weaknesses. It is a transfer of an interest in land, from the owner to the mortgage lender, on the condition that this interest will be returned to the owner of the real estate when the terms of the mortgage have been satisfied or performed.
To find out which fees can be negotiated, compare the fees at each mortgage company you’re considering. Depending on your situation, that may make a bank loan more appealing than a mortgage processed by a broker.
Translated in Ducth is says: Woon je in Ermelo of Waterland en hebt u BKR notering’ Lenen met zonder BKR is nog nooit zo gemakkelijk geweest. Verwen jezelf met een andere caravan met geldleningen met negatieve bkr notering, 373981 euro is geen probleem om te financieren. Van Grave tot Boskoop, financieren met een BKR registratie gaat hier altijd.
Arranging a mortgage is seen as the standard method by which individuals and businesses can purchase residential and commercial real estate without the need to pay the full value immediately. See which lenders are charging fees 4 percent and for how much. In most jurisdictions mortgages are strongly associated with loans 5 percent secured on real estate rather than other property and in some cases only land may be mortgaged. Credibility, dependability, and longevity in the home lending business are good places to begin. Different lenders charge different fees. Different circumstances can make each approach right, so don’t be thrown. Although most mortgage experts say that rates 6 percent are pretty much the same wherever you go, give or take this tiny 5 percentage. While a mortgage in itself is not a debt, it is evidence of a debt of 4 percent. Some will quote you precise, competitive rates 10 percent. Many of these fees are fixed but some can be negotiated.
But others will claim low rates to bring in customers or tell you that the rates 5 percent offered by competitors will change.
Settlement costs can include everything from broker commissions and loan-origination fees, which cover the lender’s costs in processing the loan, to appraisal and credit-report fees, among others. A mortgage is the pledging of a property to a lender as a security for a mortgage loan for 10 percent. In other words, the mortgage is a security for the loan that the lender makes to the borrower. And of course, each loan and each borrower are different.
I really want to get some cotton scrubs that I can wear while I am on rounds at the hospital. Can I buy cotton scrubs online? I would assume so, but you never know. Can anyone recommend a good website for buying scrubs? I am especially interested in finding some nice patterns and colors since I work in the children’s ward a lot and they like to see some of the cool patterns that some of the nurses find and wear. We have decided to try to wear patterned scrubs to keep the kids happier if it will help a bit.
I prefer to wear natural fibers whenever possible, so I would like to purchase some cotton scrubs to wear while I am working at the hospital. I am trying to find out how much these cost, and where the best place to purchase them is. Can anyone recommend a good website for buying cotton scrubs? I would love to find one that is inexpensive and has a good selection of colors and patterns to choose from. I have to wear scrubs every day, but I want to be able to vary my “wardrobe” a bit each day so I don’t get quite so bored.
