Volvo S80's Interior: Recommended Highly

The Swedish Asthma and Allergy Association has just chosen their very first vehicle to meet their standards. And among all vehicles out in the market, the vehicle that they chose was the Volvo S80 which is a new vehicle from Volvo Cars. After all, this new vehicle from Volvo has a Clean Zone Interior Package which is shortened as CZIP and this package actually is a new technology that gives clean in-car air as well as a pleasant driving and riding experience for all.

The project manager at Volvo Cars and also the specialist in car interior environments, Anders Lofvendahl, had something to say about the CZIP. He says, “The criteria for the Asthma and Allergy Association’s product recommendation specify low levels of formaldehyde, particles, various irritants, volatile hydrocarbons, and odors.” This is actually a good thing, after all, asthma and allergies have become quite common problems at present. These are not just problems among children but are also problems of adults as well. With Volvo S80’s CZIP, this vehicle actually offers a safe and healthy climate and environment for those people who are quite sensitive.

What is inside the Clean Zone Interior Package? This package actually includes a remotely controlled automatic cabin ventilation system. When the car door is unlocked, the CZIP stars up. It starts to effectively expel any emissions or strong odors that may have built up inside the parked car. As the substances, particles, and other components are dispelled and dispersed, the CZIP starts to decrease in power. Lofvendahl explains, “In hot climates, volatile hydrocarbons evaporate from plastics and textiles. These substances can serve as irritants to over-sensitive people, so to meet the criteria of the Asthma and Allergy Association an automatic ventilation system was a necessary precondition.”

Lofvendahl continues, “Volvo’s interior air quality system consists of a filter and a sensor. The sensor registers the existence of substances such as nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons in the surrounding air and shuts the air intake if the concentration is too high. Our close cooperation with the Swedish Asthma and Allergy Association has given us a far better picture of the needs of people with asthma and allergies. One example is that of dust accumulation, which is a far greater problem than we believed when we launched the project. That is why we have made the interior of the new S80 as easy to clean as possible and have avoided dust-collecting surfaces such as textile carpets. Instead, we use allergy-tested natural rubber coverings in both the passenger cabin and luggage compartment. They are easier to clean and keep free from dust.”

Volvo Parts and Used Volvo Parts discount Volvo 960 parts and S90 parts are just a click away at its online store. Just simply visit Volvo Parts and Used Volvo Parts and you could access its large array of Volvo parts.

As a former news correspondents for an auto-related websites, Kevin has gathered extensive knowledge and experience in the automotive inddustry. This 34 year old father of three from Pennsylvania is a genuin

Using Short Paragraph Stories to Teach Simple Past in English – Part 1

Whenever I have to teach the Simple Past tense in English, one activity I always use is speaking and writing practice using some short “stories” that I made up. Writing them was a lot more difficult than I’d originally imagined since use of only regular verbs in a narrative is not really authentic language. Native speakers simply don’t talk that way. But, to give my EFL English students some practice in writing the forms of regular verbs in past and especially in pronouncing them, I came up with a couple of shorts using only this form. They’re harder to read and pronounce than “normal”, but the intensive practice seems to be quite helpful. So, I continue to use them even though I know this speech pattern is not going to occur in natural English speech.

Since my learners are all from a Spanish-speaking country in South America, Colombia, they typically exhibit a problem in pronouncing the –ed verb ending in its various forms. I’d noticed the same propensity towards pronunciation problems with –ed regular verb endings in other Spanish-speaking areas, so I prepared exercises to help with this early on. Students in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Panama and Ecuador have all benefited from these simple “stories” I hope that perhaps your EFL / ESL students will too.

TEFL Learners can read the story paragraphs aloud, focusing on the correct pronunciation of the verb ending forms. They can fill-in the blanked out endings in the paragraph to practice adding –ed or just –d as required. Also they’ll practice with when to change “y” to an “i” before adding –ed. For example, Play becomes played, and stay becomes stayed, but try and cry become tried or cried. The stories could be cut into strips and re-ordered, acted out as a “skit”, pantomimed, or a variety of written exercises and comprehension activities could be added. As an added feature, I boldface the verbs in the paragraphs.

I attempted to create short paragraph stories that would be of some interest as well. One is set in the Old West and is called, “The Sheriff of Calico County”. The others take place during a visit to the zoo, and during a bank robbery, respectively. They’re entitled, “The Zoo” (169 words) and “The State Bank” (131 words). Kinda catchy titles, ain’t they? There was just a bit of “writing license” taken in the creation of these short paragraph stories. Hey, it worked for Shakespeare, didn’t it?

Here are two as examples for you to try out.

The Zoo

Last Wednesday we decided to visit the zoo. We arrived the next morning after we breakfasted, cashed in our passes and entered. We walked toward the first exhibits. I looked up at a giraffe as it stared back at me. I stepped nervously to the next area. One of the lions gazed at me as he lazed in the shade while the others napped. One of my friends first knocked then banged on the tempered glass in front of the monkey’s cage. They howled and screamed at us as we hurried to another exhibit where we stopped and gawked at plumed birds. After we rested, we headed for the petting zoo where we petted wooly sheep who only glanced at us but the goats butted each other and nipped our clothes when we ventured too near their closed pen. Later, our tired group nudged their way through the crowded paths and exited the turnstiled gate. Our car bumped, jerked and swayed as we dozed during the relaxed ride home.

The State Bank

This morning at 8:33, someone robbed the State Bank downtown. The thief entered the bank and stated that he wanted all their money. The thief smiled but looked very tired. The tellers seemed worried. The thief received the money he requested, asked to be excused, then stormed out quickly as the door revolved. He dashed down the street and screeched away in a damaged car that rattled, squeaked and smoked. It appeared that he really needed the money. The police soon arrived. They barreled and chased down the street. They searched and questioned bystanders, but the thief vanished. The police failed to catch him. Investigators abandoned the case and neglected to do anything else. The money was never recovered and the thief was never identified the report of the incident ended.

In part two of this article series, I demonstrate the use of a similar style, but much longer piece for practicing simple past of regular verbs. If you’re successful and want to try another of my “stories” or two, just e-mail me for more. Better yet try your hand at coming up with a couple of your own. Either way, I’m happy to be able to share these with you and I’d be happy to hear how these worked for you and your EFL / ESL English learners. So, feel free to let me know how well these worked (or didn’t) for you.

How to Tell if Your Organisation is Ripe for Change

The only organisation that is not ripe for change is one that has absolutely no constraints to its performance. Such an organisatio would be delivering an infinite amount of its goods or services to the market and earning an unlimited amount of money in return. Even if such an organisation exists on this planet, I can bet my last dollar that it's not yours. That means I can tell almost without looking, that you're ripe for change. How do I know?

You're Ripe for Change if the Market Limits How Much Money You Make

Your products or services are good. Your delivery and due date performance is alright. There's just one little problem: you can't seem to find enough demand for your offerings and inventories are building up. If this describes your situation then your organisation is ripe for change.

You're Ripe for Change if Your Operations Limit Your Throughput

As your business has grown, your products or services have become fraught with problems of quality. Or your costs over time have increases faster than your revenues, making your offerings less than competitive. Or you are not able to produce fast enough to meet demand, so that disappointed customers are turning elsewhere. If this is the case, then your organisation is ripe for change.

You're Ripe for Change if Your Policies Lead to Lost Opportunities

You have policies that determine recruitment, financing options, market opportunities pursued, sales strategies... All well and good. But these same policies have been in place for the last five or more years and no one can explain why some of them were adopted in the first place. If this describes your organisation, then you are ripe for change.

You're Ripe for Change if Your Culture Rewards the Wrong Behaviour

Yours is a culture that mouths cooperation while rewarding unhealthy competition among the workforce. While claiming to encourage the innovative ideas no matter where they're from, it is well known that only ideas from the bosses have a chance of seeing the light of day. If your organisation is like this, then you're ripe for change.

You're Ripe for Change if You're Not Sure How Well You're Doing

You operate from day to day, and your information systems capture mainly financial (and some operational) performance data. You have no systems for obtaining a balanced and predictive view of your business. Thus, important decisions relating to customers and markets, product variety, competitive response etc are made on less than objective grounds. If this describes your organisation, then you are ripe for change.

While several approaches and tools exist for tackling specific changes that might be called for, an overarching method for creating breakthrough solutions is available. It is the 2000 Percent Solution method invented by Donald Mitchell and Carol Coles and described in their book of the same title. Following the prescribed eight step process, individuals and organisations have been able to obtain 20 times their usual results using the same resources. The 2000 Percent Solution will be the subject of our next article.

Using Short Paragraph Stories to Teach Simple Past in English – Part 2

This is a much longer “story” entitled, “Our Enchanted Anniversary Evening”, is loosely based on a wedding anniversary celebration I wanted my wife and I to have. We couldn’t because I was in Spain and she was in Colombia at the time. It came out a lengthy TEFL piece employing more than 100 regular verbs spread over three paragraphs. On occasions when I’ve used it with my EFL students in Colombia and Mexico, I broke it up using only one or two paragraphs of the story at a clip. As mentioned before, this is definitely not completely authentic language, but I’ve found that it works.

OUR ENCHANTED ANNIVERSARY EVENING

It happened to be our anniversary when we traveled to Barcelona, so my wife Doris and I planned a special evening out. I purchased a beautiful bouquet of red roses that smelled wonderful and a black pearl necklace that sparkled in the moonlight. I beamed as I presented them to Doris. She pinned a rose to her sequined lapel. Her auburn hair shimmered in the sunset’s bronzed glow. I called a checkered taxi and we passed many highlighted sights before we arrived in front of the restaurant. The waiter seated us as soon as we walked into the neon-signed restaurant. I noticed a secluded table. (22 verbs in this paragraph)

We positioned ourselves near an opened window and prepared to eat. My wife Doris looked at the selections listed on the menu and decided to have an appetizer. I picked the mushroom soup. A few minutes later the waiter returned. “What would you like to have?”, he asked. Doris ordered some steamed shrimp and broiled trout. I requested a tossed Cesar salad with a grilled steak and a baked potato. While we dined, we chatted and sipped a glass of white wine. Doris wolfed down her food but I savored the meal and chewed my steak slowly. When she finished, she munched on some pretzels. She soon gobbled up all the pretzels in the small bowl placed on the table. Later, we nibbled on a slice of decorated cheesecake as we talked. I wanted some coffee with my dessert. Doris preferred to drink iced tea. After the salted pretzels, Doris needed to drink some water. The waiter finally handed me the bill and I offered him a tip. We tipped him 15% of the totaled charges. He thanked us and smiled as we exited the restaurant. (40 verbs in this paragraph)

Outside the now closed restaurant, we strolled along the cobble-stoned street, stopped and laughed when we spotted a trained puppy that jumped and played with its owner. We then relaxed and watched the sunset from a padded park bench as the boats in the harbor rocked, pitched and bobbed on the water. Next, we watched a romantic movie at a new cinema that interested us. The aged couple in the movie argued and chased each other as they sailed down an unnamed river that tumbled and surged through rapids which boiled around jagged rocks. Frequently they were trapped and scared. When the colorized movie ended the two discovered that they really loved each other. Finally, at the disco, we danced, swayed to the music and hugged each other often. Whenever I kissed Doris she blushed and giggled. Both of us enjoyed our enchanted evening out together. We hope you liked our story. (41 verbs in this paragraph)

If you’re successful and want to try even more of my “stories”, just e-mail me for more. Better yet you (or your TEFL students) could try your hand at writing some of your own. Either way, I’d be happy to hear how these worked for you and your EFL / ESL English learners. So, feel free to let me know how well you made out.

How to Choose Binoculars

Binoculars or binocular telescopes, are really two identical symmetrical telescopes mounted together. Because they point in the same direction, they allow the viewer to see a far greater distance than with the naked eye. A binocular has a big advantage over single telescopes as you can see through both eyes and they are easier to hold steadily with two hands.

The Optics

The objective lens diameter generally determines how much light is allowed while the magnification will display the ratio of the focal lengths. An example is 8 X 35 (eight times magnification and 35 mm objective diameter) or 7 X 50 (seven times magnification and 50 mm objective diameter). In these two examples, the first one has a higher magnification ( 8 over 7) but allows less light (35 mm is smaller than 50 mm) than the second one. If you are requiring binoculars for low light use, buy the biggest objective diameter.

Lens Construction and Coatings

Unfortunately, in any optical instrument used for images (e.g. a telescope, camera, microscope, etc.) light is often reflected and distributed into the view. This can reduce contrast. Reflection can be reduced by adding coating to the optics. Some of the newest techniques are phase-corrected prism and dielectric prism coatings.

Binoculars designed from the Porro prism design are generally brighter than a roof prism design but newer technologies are reducing the differences (the Porro prism binoculars still have the highest value at a lower price).

Choosing binoculars

Roof-prism models are generally lighter and smaller than Porro models, but you will usually pay more. If the binoculars are sealed and filled with nitrogen gas, they will not cloud with condensation.

Manufacturers Include

Bushnell Performance Optics
Canon
Docter Optik
Eschenbach Optik
Fujinon
Kowa
Leica
Leupold & Stevens, Inc.
Minolta
Miyauchi
Nikon
Olympus
Optolyth
Pentax
Russian Military Binoculars
Sicong
Steiner
Swarovski Optik
Vixen
Vortex Optics
WDtian
Yunnan State
Zeiss

To read more on Bird Watching, please visit Bird Watching USA: Your Guide to Birds

2 Gigantic Homeowner Tax Breaks

It is that time of the year again, when we scram for last minute completing and filing tax return. You will be happy to know that Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows you to deduct the interest and discount points.

Interest

Interest on mortgage can be deducted on your tax return. To claim interest on mortgage, you must meet the following requirements. First, your home must be your first or second home. Second, the purchase price must not exceed $1,000,000, and the home loans equity must not exceed $100,000. Third, there have a deed of trust that is recorded among land records against your house.

Discount Points

Many homeowner elects for discount points to lower mortgage payment. It works by paying a certain amount at closing to lower mortgage payment. Each point equals one percent. For example, Jim wants to bring down the interest rate from 7.5 % to 5.5 %. Jim elects for 2 discount points.

There are three situations to claim discount points. First, first time homebuyers may claim the full amount of discount points on the year paid. Second, the homeowners may claim the full amount of discount points, when the homeowners refinance towards the improvement of the home. Third, the homeowners claim the discount points over the life of the mortgage without the home improvement. If there is unused discount points towards refinance, the homeowners may claim the unused discount points on the year of refinance.

Internal Revenue Services (IRS) change rules and taxes regulations every year. You may want to verify with your tax advisor, mortgage advisor, and IRS for latest updates.

Three Ways to Maximise Your ROI When Purchasing Investment Property – Part 1

Property Investment is one of the oldest forms of wealth accumulation and should always be part of a larger portfolio of investments so as to balance out your risk. However, unlike other paper securities, the financial value of a house or for that matter any other investment property does not vary very much. Granted it may increase slightly over time or drop a little during a property slump, but this is marginal. That is why banks over time created a separate type of loan for real estate as opposed to other forms of movable chattels and this is the mortgage. This article series will highlight for you three ways to make more money and maximise your return on investment (ROI) when purchasing your property.

The first method is for you to increase your ROI by using leverage from the bank. When you purchase with your own money and then use the bank’s money to pay for the rest of a property, the return on investment would be the total cash flow minus the interest paid out to the bank and this would trump purchasing the property merely using your own money. So in other words, your return on investment would increase because you are in effect using less money to make more profit and this is the basis of the concept of financial leverage in real estate investing.

A separate spin on this idea is for you to always divide up your initial capital into several lots and purchase several plots of property at the same time and generate several cash flows from your property investment. Note that while doing this, always have an eye out for which part of the property cycle you are purchasing in. If you purchase a property during the rental boom years, there is a chance that your cash flow calculations might not hold during a downturn in the economy, thus always take a more conservative outlook to your cash flow calculations.

In conclusion, using financial leverage from a mortgage can be used as a way to increase your return on investment. However, mortgages are complex instruments and the best way for you to get the best deal is to find a mortgage broker who can then do the maths and determine the best mortgage for your particular property investment. Remember its not how much you make in gross from your rental property, but how much you get to keep after taxes and interest payment that is key to making money from property investment. This is a three part series and we will continue in the next article on how to buy a property at a bargain and boost your property investment ROI.

Looking for Fuel Savings – Be Careful

With record high fuel prices around the globe, there is a mass stampede towards any product claiming fuel savings.

A word of caution to the wise -- there are literally hundreds of “convincing” declarations that are nothing more than hot air. So, how do we ferret out fact from fiction?

First, let’s dig a little deeper. Many products may give you increased savings initially, but in the long run, costs you far more.

Did you know even before WWII, people were dropping mothballs in their fuel tanks for extra mileage? Naphthalene, the active ingredient in mothballs at that time, boosted octane levels and consequently increased fuel economy. However one major drawback -- due to the high melting point, when fuel evaporated, the naphthalene would precipitate out and block jets and filters.

Let’s get to the bottom line and save some time. How do we separate the chaff from the wheat?

First, find out if the product you are looking at is new to the market or has a historically proven record. Many newer products are simply opportunists capitalizing on the market -- some have even repackaged naphthalene and are selling it under a new name.

Since most of us are trying to save money on fuel prices, prudence would lean towards a product with a historically proven record.

Find out if the product is a fuel additive or a fuel conditioner – there is a huge difference. Simply put, there are many fuel additives that have no benefit and may even be harmful to your engine, causing more problems than they cure. Most knowledgeable vehicle owners are wary of using fuel additives.

Don’t be mislead by thinking a fuel conditioner is actually an additive because you “add” it to the fuel. Sounds logical, but that’s a misconception even mechanics often do not understand.

Find a good fuel conditioner that is hydrocarbon compatible (gas and diesel are hydrocarbon motor fuels), made from high vacuum and distillation processes, which not only cleanses, but also lubricates and continues to keep the engine, its components, and fuel clean.

Look for a fuel conditioner that works on a molecular level to reformulate fuel so that it can eliminate and prevent carbon deposits, varnishes, lacquers, glazes, etc. from forming or being left behind as residue.

Also make sure the fuel conditioner does not contain damaging chemicals such as sulfur, metal destroying acids, chlorinate, lime, carbon tetrachloride, etc.

And most importantly, find a fuel conditioner that significantly reduces pollution. Pollution reduction is a relatively safe indication of optimal fuel economy, since pollution is simply the result of uncombusted fuel that exits in the form of emissions. And by the way, most vehicles, regardless of age or size, waste between 40% to 60% of fuel simply because of inefficient combustion.

Here’s a fairly simple test you can do to indicate fuel efficiency via emissions. I call it the “White Cloth Test”. Simply place a loosely knit white cloth, e.g., handkerchief, over your tailpipe and fasten with a rubberband or thin wire. Then turn your vehicle on and let it idle for about 15 minutes, making sure the exhaust is exiting. Then turn vehicle off and remove cloth. The darker the color, the less efficient. Then once you introduce a fuel conditioner, after about the 2nd tank, do another test using a clean cloth. If your fuel conditioner is working efficiently, then the cloth will remain white.

Following these few simple tips will give you the edge when deciding which product will actually safely provide you increased fuel economy.

Dee Scrip is a well known and respected published expert author of numerous articles on Health, Fuel Economy, PowerPill Fe3, Home Business, Business Opportunities, Fundraising, VoIP, VoIP Security, and other related VoIP issues.

Three Ways to Maximise Your ROI When Purchasing Investment Property – Part 2

Property Investment is growing in importance today in the global investment arena as more and more developing economies open up giving us the chance to make vast capital gains offshore. This article deals with how to buy property at a bargain so as to boost your ROI and continues from the previous article in our three part article series on how to maximise your ROI when purchasing investment property.

Most people, know the stock market adage, buy low sell high and attempt to apply it to many areas of their life. Most do not know the science of analyzing and quantifying this increase in prices and the real estate arena is no different. The best way to increase your ROI is to purchase a property when it is undervalued thus adopting Benjamin Grahams value investing model. Spend some time looking at the class of property that you wish to acquire and then focus on looking for a bargain.

Once you know what class of investment property you are in, spend some time looking at the statistical data. The more savvy investors would then perform technical analysis on the real estate purchasing and rental data to generate a graph. Note that there is no need to do this yourself and most real estate brokers that have investment property divisions, can generate the graphs for you. Spend some time asking why the rental is increasing and ascertain the risk factors to the rental market for your particular class of investment property.

The whole purpose of this mathematical analysis before you actually go down and “fall in love with the property” is to adopt a dissociated mindset and be a real estate fund manager mindset. This allows you to screen out loss making properties before you even get pressured by the real estate agents or potential sellers to purchase or take a look at their properties. Thus you should imagine your role is as one of acquiring property investment bargains which meet your mathematical investment criteria and which pass your physical inspection.

In conclusion, property investing like most other forms of investment, the money is made when buying the property. Spend some time figuring out what your property investment objectives are and focus on achieving them. This is a three part series and we will continue in the next article on buying a property in a hot rental area and boosting your property investment ROI.

Three Ways to Maximise Your ROI When Purchasing Investment Property – Part 3

Property Investment is growing in importance today in the global investment arena as more and more developing economies open up giving us the chance to make vast capital gains offshore. This article deals with why you should buy a house in a hot rental area so as to boost your ROI and continues from the previous article in our three part article series on how to maximise your ROI when purchasing investment property.

Most of us know in the mutual fund world, some funds consistently outperform the market and people then buy into these funds when they are low so as to outperform the market when there is a rebound. Property investment is no different except that our focus is not so much on the price of the property per se but on the rental proceeds. Have you ever noticed that some rental property geographical locations fetch more rental as compared to other areas? This article will highlight a three ways to identify such properties.

Firstly, the hill and the sea is the key to high rentals. In Hongkong the most expensive properties in terms both of rental and purchase price is found at the Peak. Needless to say we know that properties there are found at the top of a high vantage point overlooking the sea. Humans since the days of old have a great obsession of the sea, perhaps due to our fantasies about sea adventures fanned by movies and stories of great sea battles. This translates into higher profits when renting out the sea. For that matter, a sea facing unit on high ground will generally fetch higher rentals than one that is facing inland. Note that another reason why you want a property on high ground is that, in case there are new buildings near the sea, your sea view will not be obscured.

Secondly, finding a property in the path of development is another key to generating higher rental yields to boost your ROI. The reason is based in human geography. When a town expands in a certain direction, traffic and connectivity to that area increases and it becomes more desirable to live in and the rental proceeds will increase. Thus finding a property in an area that is in this path of development is important especially if you buy it before the city development takes place. Town development plans in your local city or county office will provide you with much needed insight into how your city or town will develop so pay a close eye to it.

Thirdly, an often overlooked trend is demographical change and migration patterns. Spend some time walking around and talking to individuals in the area. How old are the people in the area? What is the predominant ethnic group of people in the area? What do they do for a living and how much do they pay on the average for rental in the area? Your objective here is not to be racist or discriminatory but to find an area where the properties fetch rental returns higher than the national or state average.

Some places you will observe have a high level of immigrants, but the rental that you may collect may be higher than other areas. The reason is that you may be able to rent out to more people who are willing to be near their friends in a particular area as opposed to having to rent out the whole property. Note that you should always have someone trustworthy to look after the property so as to maintain some semblance of law and order.

In conclusion, we have highlighted three ways where you can maximise your rental ROI on your investment property and this concludes the third part of our property investment series.

Wedding Loans: Makes Your Special Moments, Memorable

Wedding is one of the special moments of our life. It is not only the two persons getting together for life, but also two families, two customs, two souls and their dreams. Though our dreams are priceless, but in today scenario we need money to fulfill our dreams. You and your partner can make your dreams come true and memorable forever with wedding loans.

At times, the person may not be in a condition to bear all the expenses of marriage and regrets for life. Wedding loan promises to serve different groups of society irrespective of their credit history. So, make your wedding a grand occasion with wedding loan.

Planning a wedding is important before going for a wedding loan. As wedding is a big decision of life, it involves lots of planning and expense too. Planning will help one to determine the expense, which has to be incurred and apply for the wedding loan accordingly.

Once you have decided to avail the wedding loan, your search for lender begins. Nowadays, wedding loan is one of the most common loans that you can avail at very competitive interest rates. Traditional lenders like banks, financial institutions and other lending companies provide the loan according to our needs and requirements. Nevertheless, applying for the loan online is very easy and the most convenient way. The person only has to fill the application form and soon they will be at your service.

Before choosing the lender, one should compare it with other lenders on the basis of interest rates, his needs and present market. After all you deserve the best deal. The amount can usually range from ₤1000 to ₤25000. It can be paid back in 5 – 10 years.

The person applying for wedding loan can also make use of the property. The property will act as collateral. The loan taken against collateral is known as secured wedding loan. The security will make the lender feel secure against the loan amount. In exchange of collateral placed, he will offer lower rate of interest and longer period for paying installments. But only the asset holder can take the benefits of secured wedding loan. Tenant and the persons who do not want to take risk on their asset or home can apply for the unsecured wedding loan, where no collateral is needed but the interest rate offered is higher than the interest in secured wedding loan.

People with bad credit history might be thinking that their dream to make their wedding memorable will remain as it is. Nevertheless, this is not the case. They can also apply for the same regardless of their bad credit history. However, interest charged is generally high.

Wedding is a precious moment of every ones life and every one hopes to make this precious moment of life glorious and memorable. Wedding loan makes a small effort in making your dreams come true.

Make Best Use of Property with Secured Loans

In this era where income is not sufficient to cover the expenses whether being a household or business, everyone faces the problem of funds to meet their needs.

While taking loans, people look into different criteria. Most of the people look for the package which provides them low interest rate and easy monthly installment. One can easily get this package in secured loan.

Secured loan are the most popular loan among the asset holders. It helps the person in procuring finance against the collateral placed by them. But the amount the person can borrow depends primarily on the value of the collateral placed. When secured loan is approved, the title of the asset is transferred to the lender but the ownership remains with the borrower. But on making any default the lender has the legal right to liquidate the asset against the arrear.

Secured Loans can be used for different purposes. For instance it may include:

• Debt consolidation
• Home improvement
• Holidaying
• Buying a car
• Expansion of business
• Miscellaneous

The person can also take secured loan for specific purposes. For example, if he wants a loan for debt consolidation, he can apply for secured debt consolidation loan; if for expansion of business then business loan may be taken, so on.

One should study all the terms and condition before applying because sometimes it may contain the hidden clause. That can affect the borrower afterwards. The person should be alert while entering in the agreement.

Interest rates are dependent on the credit situation along with the prevailing market. Therefore, interest rates and monthly repayments may vary from person to person. Secured personal loan can be paid off in maximum of 25 years, depending upon the amount being borrowed.

While people with bad credit history generally have hard time getting unsecured loans, lenders are more likely to give these people secured loans because there is lower risk involved. Even if you have bad credit, banks will still give you secured loans because your property will be used as collateral. On timely repayment of installment, the persons with bad credit history can improve their credit score.

The advantages which secured loans offer are:

• Easy availability
• Easy approval
• Low interest rate
• Longer repayment period
• People with bad credit can apply

Nowadays, one can easily apply for the Secured loan through banks, financial institution, building societies and other lending companies. You can also apply online for the loan so you don’t have to leave your place. The person can fill the application form online itself. Online system provides a platform for the borrower to compare the various lenders, with more ease and saves lot of time. These lenders provide the loan at convenience of borrower

Might be you are worried about which lender to borrow from. There are number of lenders available in the market. But no need to worry; all you need is to evaluate each lender on the basis of amount required, terms and conditions and chose the one that suits your need.

UK Mortgages -- An Overview

UK mortgages are funded solely by banks, credit unions, or other financial organizations. There is no market intervention by government entities. This means that the mortgage market in the UK is very competitive. This had led to a variety of types of mortgages available to UK borrowers.

Most UK mortgages operate on a variable interest rate. This rate is usually determined by the Bank of England. However, because the market is so competitive, lenders often offer the borrower terms when they can pay a rate that differs from the variable rate. Lenders sometimes offer borrowers a fixed interest rate for a certain period of time before they will have to start paying the variable rate. Another common incentive is a discount rate. A discount rate is a rate that is lower than the variable rate. Discount rates apply for a certain number of years established by the lender. Some lenders offer capped rates. This is the maximum interest rate that the borrower would be required to pay at any time during the term of the loan.

Some lenders even offer a cash-back incentive. Cash-back incentives are based on a percentage of the principal borrowed amount. Borrowers who borrowed $100,000 with a 5% cash back incentive would receive $5000 in cash at the closing of the mortgage.

Because of the need for lenders in the UK to offer competitive rates, they usually have pre-payment penalties. This means that the borrower would be charged a certain dollar amount if they were to pay the mortgage off prior to the end of the loan term.

Another common UK mortgage is a self-certification mortgage. A self-cert mortgage is for people who are self-employed with no means of proving their income. As long as the borrower has a down payment and borrows an amount substantially lower than the value of the home, a lender will offer them a self-cert mortgage. Self-cert mortgages usually have higher interest rates than normal mortgages because of the amount of risk involved for the lender.

Other lenders allow certain borrowers to borrow the full amount of the value of their home. This usually presents a significant risk to the lender should the borrower default on the loan, so 100% mortgages are usually reserved for borrowers with great credit histories.

How Option One Mortgage Loans Work

In a regular mortgage, the borrower pays a specific amount each month in order to pay the mortgage off in full by the end of the mortgage term. This is called a fully-amortized mortgage. Option one mortgage loans differ from regular mortgages in many ways. This article will explain how option one mortgages work:

Payment Options

Option one mortgage loans have three different payment options: fully-amortized payment, interest-only payment, and minimum payment. The fully-amortized payment is the same payment you would make on a traditional mortgage. An interest-only payment covers just the interest you’ve accrued that month and none of the principal. A minimum payment covers the principal amount for that month and a portion of interest based on a rate established by the lender. This rate is usually between one and two percent.

Conversion to Adjustable Rate Mortgage

After a certain period of time -- usually five years -- the payment options end and the mortgage converts to an adjustable rate mortgage. This means that the borrower would then be responsible for fully-amortized payments through the remainder of the life of the loan.

Benefits and Disadvantages

Option one mortgage loans are beneficial for people whose income is temporarily fluctuating. It may be a good mortgage for a college student who will be able to afford fully-amortized payments after they graduate and gain employment. However, it is not a good mortgage for people looking to earn equity in their home. Borrowers should understand that any unpaid portion of interest not covered by their monthly payment is added to the principal amount of the loan and charged interest. Five years of minimum payments could cause your principal to jump, causing the fully-amortized monthly payments to be considerably higher than they would be had you paid the fully-amortized payment from the beginning of the mortgage.

Homeowner's Insurance Tips Guide

As the demand for homeowner insurance is increasing day by day, numerous companies are offering the home insurance policy. Since a myriad of options are available now, an individual needs to be quite careful while purchasing a policy. There are several key points that should be borne in mind and that can actually help you purchase a good policy.

Before you start looking around for a policy, decide amongst yourself what all coverage and the coverage amount you want. Then look for various companies and their offers. In this you can take help of agents, friends and family members. Internet too is a good source for information. You can obtain various price quotes from there. While comparing rates make sure that they are for same coverage’s.

Deductibles play a crucial role in choice of a policy. Deductible is the amount a person needs to pay before the insurance company to pay for him. Higher deductibles are instrumental in lowering the premium rates. So it is better to look for high deductibles though you will have to pay if you have a claim.

Never think and try of giving fake information to acquire the insurance policy. You can land yourself in grave trouble. So be true while obtaining a price quote and applying for insurance. For wrong information can lead to denial of coverage and incorrect price quotes.

But don’t just get carried away with the price (premium rates etc.) as most people do. Other factors such as company’s financial ratings and stability, its reputation in the market, customer service record, complaint index and the like also do matter a lot. Thus make sure you check these things out.

Also see if the agent offering the policy is licensed or not. It is in your interest to purchase a policy from certified i.e. licensed companies and agents.

Usually it is very difficult for people who reside in high-risk zone and defaulters to acquire a homeowner’s insurance. High-risk zone stands for areas prone to floods, hurricanes and other natural calamities and also areas where the crime rate is quite high. In such a case you need to make an extra effort to get a homeowner’s policy. You need to speak to other people living in the zone and any previous insurers. If you propose to shift to one such place then ask you current insurance agent to help you get one such insurance.

You should also know that usually the homeowners insurance covers personal items such as jewelry, fur, watches, silverware, valuable papers and securities etc. If you seek to have coverage apart from this then you have to fill up the Personal Articles Form. Speak with your agent about the coverage that is already there and about what additions you require.

When it is time to renew your homeowner’s insurance policy, ponder again over the coverage issue. Check your personal details in the policy and see if it is up to the mark. In case you require more coverage for any expensive items you purchased such as electrical appliances etc., ask your agent to get your policy changed accordingly.

IT Consultant: Do You Have These Personality Traits?

Sure, you need technical skills. But to be a successful IT consultant, you also need to be able to work well with people. In this article, you'll learn about some of the personality traits that make for a successful IT consultant.

IT Consultant Traits: Are You Assertive?

You need to be assertive, but not overly obnoxious. That is a fine line to walk. You need to make sure people don’t walk over you. You also need to be able to stick up for yourself without coming across as too aggressive. That really turns people off.

IT Consultant Traits: Are You Business Focused?

You need to put your business goals ahead of being perceived as being nice. Sometimes it will be impossible to always be the nice guy. You are going to have to ask yourself what is most important for your business.

Can you put your business financial needs over your desire to work with the latest greatest IT projects? Sometimes it is a lot of fun; you are working with the leading edge stuff. A lot of times you are going to have to hunker down and focus on what your clients are asking for and deliver it.

At the end of the day it is your clients that pay the bills. And that's your business focus.

Learning Foreign Languages Online

In today’s competitive and evolving world, the importance of education has never been more important. People are now more aware of the continuing need to improve one’s self through adult learning. Due to factors such as time constraint, e-learning has quickly emerged as an alternative means of continuing education.

As globalization continues to be the trend these days, more and more people feel the need to learn at least one foreign language. Again, due to the fast-paced lives many lead today, online courses present a viable alternative to the traditional face to face, or classroom, language learning. The major advantage of learning foreign languages through e-learning is the convenience it presents to the learner. Materials can be made available anytime, anywhere. The learner can access modules at his own time and he work on his courses at his own pace.

Computer assisted language learning has been in existence for many years now. In fact, its roots can be traced back to the 1960s. This technique began with a simple drill and practice approach. As more pedagogical elements were introduced, computer assisted language learning evolved into a more interactive experience.

The question many people ask is just how effective is learning a foreign language online? The main difference between classroom learning and e-learning is the presence of a teacher. A good teacher recognizes the learning needs of the student. In addition to that, a good teacher recognizes the learning style of each individual student. He capitalizes on both factors and enhances learning through different techniques. Due to advances is many e-learning platforms, these factors have been taken into consideration. The learner’s needs and learning styles can now be dealt with accordingly.

Today’s e-learning platforms offer a wide range of approaches to suit each learner’s specific needs. Some platforms even make use of facilitators – human or otherwise – to encourage the student and enhance the learning process. When combined with the convenience of studying at one’s own pace, e-learning proves to be an effective way of learning a new language.

Studies show that more people prefer e-learning to the traditional classroom sessions. The flexibility the e-learning offers seems to be one of the major factors that students take into consideration. Some personalities react more positively to the online learning environment. One explanation is that the relative anonymity that this type of learning gives a student more confidence. Studies show that learning languages online seems to present a more relaxed learning atmosphere. It has been proven time and again that such a learning atmosphere does a lot in terms of enhancing the learning process. The student learns more and in a shorter span of time than normal. The student also tends to remember more of what he has learned.

Online foreign language learning also capitalizes on the amount and quality of information and resources that can be found on the Internet. E-learning programs take advantage of this situation, enhancing learning even more. So if you are seeking to learn a foreign language, whether for professional or personal reasons, online learning just might be the right choice for you.

IT Consulting: Providing Services to Large/Small Businesses

In IT consulting, you can provide your services to many different sized businesses. In this article, you'll learn about how you can fit in with the IT consulting needs of large/small businesses.

Pick 2 or 3 of the networking skill sets that you need for the sweet spot. For example, you might pick advanced virus protection, firewall intrusion detection, VPNs and routers. So you are going to focus on security and border access kinds of things and that would be your IT consulting specialty. That's all you'd do.

In Large/Small Business IT Consulting, It's All About Specializing

You would get extremely deep and specialize by product platform. At that size, these companies bring in a real IT manager and put them on payroll for 40 hours a week. So these companies will want to handle a lot of the bread and butter infrastructure in-house.

When Would In-House Staff Turn to You?

When companies are paying a lot of outsourcing expenses, they'll often decide to put 40, 50, $60,000 a year person on the payroll. Once that person is on-staff, he will have a lot of pressure to keep their outsourcing expenses down, until they absolutely have to go above and beyond. Then they turn to deep niche specialists - a great opportunity for IT consulting.

Computer Consulting Business: Determining Client Criteria

So you’re looking for quality accounts as you start your computer consulting business. What are the qualifying criteria for such accounts?

Consider Proximity

First, the potential client for your computer consulting business should be close to you, generally within a 30 to 60 minute drive from where you’re located. This is going to have some impact on the networking events you attend or anything else you do from a marketing perspective.

Potential Client Size

In starting your computer consulting business you will want to target potential clients that have 10 to 50 PC’s. The prospect should be big enough that they need a real server, which most of the time could translate to 10 to 100 employees.

A good prospect for your computer consulting business would be companies that have $1 million to $10 million in annual sales. This information will help you in your marketing efforts, especially if you decide to do some direct mailing down the road.

What Should Your Prospects Have in Use?

In most cases, your computer consulting business’ potential clients will have their own email domain. You will want to address how their users retrieve and send emails when meeting with prospective clients.

In most cases, they’re going to have a dedicated server or dedicated Internet access, so this will help narrow it down. It also indicates that they have more serious IT needs.

Ensure They Are Serious About IT

If a prospect for your computer consulting business doesn’t have a dedicated server, dedicated Internet access or they’re messing around with peer to peer and dial-up lines, they’re probably not for you.

The Bottom Line about the Computer Consulting Business

Any prospect you are considering as a target for your computer consulting business should make IT mission-critical. Many times a potential client can end up being a good, strong prospect and future client because they’re in an industry where IT is critical.

How Interest-Only Mortgage Loans Work

In a traditional mortgage, a borrower pays a fully-amortized monthly payment. This means that they are paying the exact amount necessary in order to pay their mortgage off in full by the end of their term. Interest-only mortgage loans differ in that they do not require fully-amortized payments at the beginning of the mortgage term. This article explains how interest-only mortgage loans work:

Interest-Only Payments

For a period of time established by your lender -- usually a few years -- interest-only mortgages only require that a borrower makes monthly payments on the interest accrued on their loan. This means that the borrower is not required to pay any amount on the principal. This makes for monthly payments that are considerably lower than fully-amortized payments.

Conversion to a Traditional Mortgage

After the term of interest-only payments, the loan converts to a traditional mortgage. This means that you will be responsible for fully-amortized payments for the remainder of the mortgage’s term. For example, if your mortgage term was 30 years with a five-year interest-only term, you would have to pay the principal off in 25 years rather than the traditional 30.

Benefits and Disadvantages

Interest-only mortgage loans can be very beneficial for borrowers who are temporarily unable to afford fully-amortized monthly payments. It is a way to rent your home from the mortgage company until you are able to start earning equity in it. However, borrowers should remember that making interest-only payments does not earn them equity in their home. Additionally, payments will be significantly higher after the period of interest-only payments than they would be if the borrower had paid fully-amortized payments for the entire term of the mortgage.

Computer Consulting Business: Find the Right Clients

If you really want to make a decent living and want to have a good, successful, viable computer consulting business, sooner or later you have to narrow down your focus and develop a keen intuition. Additionally, you have to become good at spotting the best small businesses accounts.

The Small Business Myriad

There are millions of small businesses in the U.S. and there are millions of small businesses abroad. There’s a pretty good chance that there are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of companies that would qualify as small businesses in your local area.

The sad fact is, if you latch onto the wrong ones, you’re not going to have a very good computer consulting business.

Finding the Best Accounts

You need to know where to find these best accounts. In the computer consulting business you also need to know how to say "no," and when to say "no."

It’s extremely important that you know where to look, and how to verify that a small business is going to be a gratifying client for your computer consulting business.

You obviously want to feel a certain sense of career satisfaction. That’s probably one of the reasons you’re looking at starting your own computer consulting business as opposed to sticking with a traditional corporate IT career.

Keep the Financial Aspects in Mind

Your computer consulting business also has to be lucrative financially because you need to have a profitable business. You want it to be a stable source of recurring revenue.

Remember, all small businesses are not created equal. Your job is not to be the Mother Teresa of PC support. You are not starting a computer consulting business as a charitable organization.

The Bottom Line about the Computer Consulting Business

Of course, you want to have empathy for the people you support and you want to do a great job for them. At the same time, you have to look out for your own interests to make sure you’re going to be there for them six months to a year down the road.

What Is An Interest-Only 2nd Mortgage?

Interest-only second mortgages differ from traditional second mortgages in that they do not require fully-amortized payments for the entirety of their term. Interest-only second mortgages have a certain period of time when monthly payments are based solely on the interest accrued on the loan.

The period of time in which interest-only payments are allowed is established by either the borrower or the lender. The interest-only period is usually between one and five years.

However, after the period of interest-only payments, the loan converts to a traditional second mortgage. The borrower is then responsible for fully-amortized payments for the remainder of the loan’s term. This means that you would have to pay off your principal in a shorter amount of time.

Interest-only second mortgages can be beneficial to people who are planning to sell their home. They can take out a second mortgage, make necessary improvements to the home, then sell it and earn the money to pay back both of their mortgages. Often, home improvements will considerably raise the value of a home.

Borrowers who are considering entering into an interest-only second mortgage should keep in mind that their monthly payments will be higher after the interest-only term than it would be on a traditional second mortgage. It is advisable that borrowers not planning to sell their homes should choose short interest-only terms. Borrowers should be certain that they will be able to pay the monthly payments on both of their mortgages. Both first and second mortgages use your home as collateral. If you fail to make your payments on either, your lender could seize your home as payment.

Borrowers should also be certain that their interest-only second mortgage does later convert to a fully-amortized mortgage. Solely interest-only second mortgages will require a balloon payment at the end if its term – the entire principal amount originally borrowed.

Why You Should Know Your Shortcuts?

In my training practice one of the biggest complaints we get is our persistence in requiring our students to know their shortcuts and to practice in class using the keyboards. To become truly effective and productive in using any of the Microsoft Office Applications you must know the shortcuts.

See, what many people don’t realise is that if you rely on using the mouse only, you waste an incredible amount of time because each time you want to use the mouse, you must first stop. Take your hands off the keyboard. You then go to the mouse and then use it. You stop using the mouse and then go back to the keyboard and keep typing. If you do this you will find that you are only 20% effective compared to somebody who uses the keyboard only.

Why? Well, it is quite simple. All the time spent moving from the mouse to the keyboard is lost time or non-productive time, so people who use the shortcut keystrokes exclusively will often be five times more effective then somebody who doesn’t because they don’t have that lost time moving from the keyboard to the mouse and back again.

In some jobs, like call centres you will find that knowing your shortcut keystrokes compared to not knowing them can mean the difference between keeping your job or not. I have noticed in many telecommunications call centres throughout Australia and overseas they are now converting their systems to windows based software. What they have also done in these jobs is set some key performance standards that are really quite amazing. For example one telco I know of, in their faults departments, require that all fault calls be actioned and concluded from the moment they take the call to the finish of the call within 3 – 5 minutes. This is an awesome requirement and many of the call centre staff who were not familiar with the shortcut keystrokes found their jobs were in jeopardy simply because they couldn’t get all the data into the system within the allotted time frame. Essentially it was found as I mentioned before that those people who were reliant on the mouse were only 20% as effective as those who used the keyboard exclusively.

So … What Shortcut Keystrokes Should I Know?

This is a challenging question as many of the common applications we use in today’s market place have different shortcut keystrokes. One thing I have learnt since my wife won an Apple computer is that many of the shortcut keystrokes we use in windows don’t correlate to other operating systems, but also in the same breath. Many Do!

Some of the most common keystrokes we do have in Microsoft Office are these

[Ctrl] + [N] – New Document
[Ctrl] + [O] – Open Document
[Ctrl] + [P] – Print Document
[Ctrl] + [S] – Save Document

[F7] – Spell Check

[Ctrl] + [X] – Cut
[Ctrl] + [C] – Copy
[Ctrl] + [V] - Paste

[Ctrl] + [F] – Find
[Ctrl] + [H] – Replace

[Ctrl] + [K] – Insert Hyperlink

What you will find is that the shortcuts I presented are the most common ones are the same regardless of which Microsoft Office Application you are working with.

One of the other things you will notice is that in many of the Microsoft Office Applications some of the shortcut keystrokes are similar.

For example in Microsoft Word to get to the start of the line you can press the [Home] key, to get to the end of the line you press the [End] Key. In Microsoft Excel to get to the start of the row you press the [Home] Key, to get to the end of your data you simply press the [End] Key. There are even similarities with other Microsoft Office Applications like Microsoft Access. In a table in Microsoft Access, to get to the first field of a record you press the [Home] key and to get to the end of the record you press the [End] key.

These similar shortcut keystrokes also apply in other non-Microsoft office Applications. For example if you are writing an email in Microsoft Outlook Express. You can get to the start of the line by choosing the [Home] key and you can get to the end of the line by using the [End]

The really cool part about many of the applications that run on Microsoft Windows is that the software development guru’s have maintained which shortcuts are used to do certain functions which means we users have a much easier time of it, learning the shortcut keystrokes.

Some of the more common shortcuts for moving the Insertion Point in Microsoft Office are –

[Home] – Moves to the start of the line
[End] – Moves to the end of the line
[Ctrl] + [Home] – Moves to the First Character first line of the document
[Ctrl] + [End] – Moves to the Last Character last line of the document
[Ctrl] + [Left Arrow] – Moves one word to the left
[Ctrl] + [Right Arrow] – Moves one word to the right
[Page Up] – Move up by one screen
[Page Down] – Move down by one screen

Learning the shortcut keystrokes for the Microsoft Office Application Suite should be mandatory for any computer training course. If you don’t know these keystrokes you will never be as effective as someone who has. Often when you go to job interviews or to recruitment agencies they will test you to see if you know these using systems like those from Self-Test Software. Many a time, I have heard stories where people have missed out on job opportunities simply because they were too slow during testing at the recruitment agencies.

The bottom line is this, if you want to be more effective in using the computer you must learn your shortcuts. If you know them, passing certification exams like the Microsoft Office Specialist program will be much easier as well.

One Message to All Law-Obedient in the World

“This article was initiated while driving on the way back home.”

One day, due to the matter of necessity at home, I had to drive quite speedy from workplace back home; however, because the road was covered with soil during that time, my car then made up clouds of dirt to those walking on the sidewalk, those living along the road and even deteriorated the already bumpy road. Indeed, I know what I had done was wrong, immoral or even contradicted to the social norm, but the matter of necessity had forced me to do so.

As I nearly arrived home, I felt guilty of what I had just done; consequently, one idea comes to my mind: at least we have on advantage behind obeying the law. And this advantage is making those habitually obey the law feel guilty after committing any deed that contradicts to even the social norm (the smallest element of social administration).

Law, to me, is the steering wheel for any political, social and economic image and operation for any country in this world. Because of these merits, persuading fellow citizens to obey the law would be the hardest and even eternal vocation for any government. To help in this effort, this article wishes to inform all the world obedient citizens, “at least we have one advantage from obeying the law.”

First let make law obedience a prevailing habit and let this habit grows by it self; consequently, more and more people would, at least, feel guilty of contradicting any law at any time.

Lay Vicheka’s quote on Law: “Let your law-obedient habit prevails and allow this habit to grow exponentially and brainwash you and me.” (Coined by Lay Vicheka on Wednesday, May 24, 2006, at 10:13 p.m., Phnom Penh, Cambodia)

Homeowners Insurance Statistics Guide

Homeowners insurance is the ideal way to protect one of your lifetime investments, your house and also the pricey things kept in it. By purchasing this policy you insure your house and possessions against several threats such as natural disasters, theft etc.

While purchasing a homeowners insurance the first issue of extreme concern is the amount of coverage you want. A recent survey conducted by the Insurance Information Institute revealed that two-thirds of all homes in America were underinsured by an average of 27%. Thus it is important to opt for a right amount of coverage.

If you are finding it difficult to calculate the extent of coverage you want, there are several ways to do it. For instance if you want coverage for reconstruction of your house then multiply the square foot of your home by the local building cost per square foot. To know the cost of rebuilding your house, also known as dwelling coverage, you can take the help of any local insurance or real estate agent.

For instance in Nevada an average of 1268 square foot home that was built in 1997 has a current dwelling coverage of $81000. However if the homeowners feel that they are underinsured by 27% and increased their coverage to $110,000, the monthly payment will increase by $7.50 per month.

Since most often the homeowners insurance also compensates for personal liability, you should also keep in mind how much coverage you require for certain legal expenses, medical expenditure or injury to any member of the house.

Though a standard homeowners policy comes with liability coverage of worth $100,000, insurance professionals usually advise to get of coverage of around $300,000 to $500,000 as liability coverage. To have this extra amount added to your standard homeowners policy, purchasing an endorsement is a wise idea.

You can also go for personal umbrella coverage in case the worth of your assets is more than $300,000 to $500,000. The umbrella cover is extremely useful once you are through with your homeowners or automobiles coverage. For instance if your colleague is injured at your house and revengefully sues you for $500,000, your homeowners insurance will cover for $300,000 and get exhausted but the amount left will be easily covered by the umbrella coverage.

For insuring your household things there are three ways. First is the actual cash value in which the policy pays for replacing your personal property using the method that is based on replacement cost of the thing minus the depreciation?

Second is the replacement cost strategy where you receive current amount for the thing you lost in any of the covered dangers. Though this way requires you to pay an additional premium but it can prove extremely beneficial in the long run.

The third option is the guaranteed replacement cost. This coverage means that there is no maximum payout applied to coverage of your insured personal possessions. You need to pay an extra premium but on the same hand increase your deductible to make the coverage somewhat cost-effective. Similarly the structure of our house is also to be insured in these three ways but with slight variation.

According to current facts and statistics presented by National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 2002 the average expenditure on homeowners insurance increased by 12% from $593 to $668 in 2003. Expenditure varies with the state. For example in 2003 Texas witnessed the highest average expenditure of $1328, in Oregon it was $461, Delaware $442 and Maine $462.

Decorating a Baby's Nursery with a Beatrix Potter Theme

I don't consider myself an expert interior decorator. In fact, I'm quite an amateur, but do enjoy do-it-yourself home decorating. When my husband and I found out we were expecting twins, we were both very excited to decorate the babies' bedroom.

My husband and I compromised on a nursery theme. We agreed that even if we had boys (which we did end up having--two!), that I could decorate the nursery with a Beatrix Potter theme, but after two years it was my husband's turn to re-decorate their room with a race car or airplane theme.

We started out by choosing a paint color for the walls. We chose "Pooh Bear Yellow" made by Behr paint. We painted all of the walls yellow. We then painted a white strip, approximately 12 inches wide, all of the way around the room in the center of the wall (see photo). Above the white strip we sponge painted white paint over the yellow, and below the strip we left the walls yellow. The white sponge painting gave the walls a cloud-like look. Never tried sponge painting? It's easy! Here's how: http://www.frugal-home-decor.com/articles/080501b.shtml.

We decided to decorate the nursery with white furniture, which gave the room a very clean look. We purchased two white cribs, and painted two old wood dressers white. Grandma bought us a white changing table as a gift.

While shopping on Ebay, I found some Beatrix Potter cutouts to decorate the walls and furniture. Do a search on Ebay for "beatrix potter wallies", and you will find what you need. These are great! You just wet them and stick them where you want them, and they are removable. We placed these in the white strip on the wall. It looks like Peter Rabbit is hopping around the room. We also put them on the white dressers we painted (see photo).

I also purchased some Beatrix Potter poster prints on Ebay. I bought some white wooden frames for them at a local craft store, and they turned out beautifully.

I decided to sew new curtains for the windows. At Walmart I found some very inexpensive yellow fabric that had tiny little bees on it. It is so cute. I just sewed a casing at the top for the curtain rod and hemmed the bottom and they were done. You can tie them back with ribbons or knot them in the middle.

Last but not least, we found some Beatrix Potter bedding sets for the cribs. One set I purchased at a local consignment shop that sells baby furniture and clothing. I purchased the other set on Ebay.

When your baby is older and starts standing up you'll find that you might have to move some of your nursery decorations. As soon as one of my boys was old enough to reach out and grab at objects he was pulling the bunnies off of the walls. I figure after the bunnies are all gone it will be time to re-decorate!

Ebook Publishing - It's Easy To Become a Published Writer

Introduction - Ebook Publishing

There has never been a better time to earn money as an ebook publisher publishing online, despite the growing number of people entering the field. There are millions of people coming online every year and an almost insatiable demand for information about everything from acne to zulus.

If you are interested in joining the ranks of those of us who sell "information", it's fairly inexpensive to get started and can be very rewarding. There is a rich harvest of information on the Internet about how to research, write and publish ebooks for profit. This short article attempts to summarise the process and show you where you can find useful resources to help you on your way.

My Experience

I began publishing ebooks in 1998. I had always been interested in writing and while surfing the Internet found Ken Silver's excellent ebook, "How to Make $100,000 A Year In Your Spare Time Creating Profitable How-To Manuals" which got me started. I figured that if Ken (and others, some of whom probably had less ability than me) could make money selling ebooks, so could I.

Today my original title, How To Write Winning Training Proposals still sells weekly and I'm making strong returns on my packaged titles, Winning That Government Job and Writing Responses to Selection Criteria. My most recent title, Guide to Letter Formatting and Writing is making me a small, but increasing amount of income each month as I fine tune the advertising campaign and it becomes more visible to buyers.

My ebook income arrives 24 hours per day, seven days per week and costs very little to generate. When I get up in the morning I check my email and there are usually several emails from my credit card transactions provider indicating sales. Even after all these years, it still gives me a buzz to see them.

What You Need to Be an Ebook Publisher

What you need are:

1. a topic that is of interest to readers, usually something that solves a problem
2. a word processor or some other text editing software to create the document
3. a text to PDF file converter or an HTML compiler program to prepare your product for delivery
4. an Internet presence ... even a one page sales page will do with your own domain name
5. an e-commerce provider who will process your transactions and send you a monthly cheque
6. a method of advertising on and off line

It's really very straightforward. You don't need to be a techno-whizz kid to do it.

Finding a Suitable Topic

There are numerous ways to identify suitable topics. These include identifying search terms that are commonly searched and comparing the number of searches with the supply volume. Other sources of useful information are such places as Ebay where you can research popularly purchased products or services.

Word Processing Software

Almost everyone with a computer has a capacity to create text files. Programs such as Notebook that comes with Microsoft Windows etc will do the job nicely.

There are also numerous shareware programs available for text editing.

Text to PDF File Converters

Some PDF creation programs are free and several are available on payment, including Adobe's own program, Adobe Professional. Any of these can be downloaded online which means you can get them working within 15 minutes or so. HTML compilers are popular among some quarters, but are more problematical than PDF, so I don't recommend them.

An Internet Presence

It's getting cheaper to get a domain name that is perhaps, also your site's keyword eg, www.computer-spares.com. And hosting for Internet sites is also very cheap. You get yourself a domain name and then a site host and, with the assistance of one of the free HTML software programs, you can create your sales site literally within hours.

An E-commerce Provider

Sign up with an e-commerce provider that allows you to sell information products and receive cheques or credit cards and you are in business. This also is relatively inexpensive with a once only setup cost and continuing costs directly related to sales. Some of these are far better options than local banks and financial providers who charge monthly fees for merchant accounts, especially when you are starting out and don't have a lot of monthly sales.

Summary

While it takes some time to write an ebook, when you have one, you can get it online and ready to sell within three or four hours. Once on line you can then focus on the separate topic of attracting traffic to your site and making your book visible to those who will buy it.

So, what are you waiting for? More information? My "So You Want to Be an Ebook Publisher" has more info here.

The Healing Arts: Exploring Heart-Consciousness, Part 1; The Poets Know It

For as long as there have been poets there have been voices telling us that the heart is a seat of consciousness. For as long as Anyone has received a message from the God that created them they have reported back to us to “listen to your hearts”. Each train of religious thought references the heart as a vehicle for discernment.

Ever see what the Dalai Lama does when he replies “I see.” or, “I understand!”? Why, he looks you right in the eyes and places his hands over his heart. Does he know something we don’t? How could he? Everybody and their Aunties have been telling us as long as we’ve had ears that the heart has a greater place in our consciousness than we allow ourselves to embrace.

It hasn’t always been like this. Somewhere along the line, though not exactly discredited, the thought of living within and using the consciousness of the heart took a major back seat to, well, the thought that the brain is the center of our ability to receive, process and assimilate information.

Lyrically, all the information is there. In fact, the concept is a part of our shared human experience, regardless the language, custom or orientation. What’s exciting is that today, science is beginning to cut loose and reveal to us empirically what we have always known -- in our hearts, of course!

Dr. Joseph Chilton Pearce, a pioneer in the distillation of scientific research as it is applied to human development (and especially childhood education) is the author of The Crack in the Cosmic Egg, Exploring the Crack in the Cosmic Egg, Magical Child, Magical Child Matures, Bond of Power and Evolution's End. He has been gathering information from scientific studies around the globe that provide strong evidence that heart-consciousness is much more than just a metaphor.

There is more than enough data available to begin using what has been learned and to begin to apply it to real-life experience. Much of my own distillation process I owe to the work of Dr. Pearce, who has given me permission to share information based on his lecture materials.

We hear of test-tube babies. In reality, that’s only where they get their very first start. Unless the fertilized egg is implanted into the womb of a mother-host very soon, it will die. Why? Because this new organism cannot become viable until, literally, the spark of life is passed on to it from another living organism of its kind. Life itself, the spark of life of which we all share, has been received by the offspring as passed on through the mother back to humankind’s first ancestor. The electromagnetic field, which lives inside the mother activates the pulse of the newborn.

That pulse is taken on by a clump of cells in just about the center of the new organism. But do you know what these cells are? Science has named them atrial-neural cells: cells that have the capability of functioning as either heart (beating - atrial) cells, OR Brain (information processing – neural) cells.

This is no tiny concept, but there’s a cute little visual that hammers it all home. After a period defined by phenomenally rapid cell-division within the developing organism, a number of beating atrial-neural cells "migrate" in two tiny streams (like horns growing out of a head) from that central clump to a position closer to the outer edge of the organism. There, they come together to grow to become the organ that we know as the brain.

Think about this a moment: The brain actually comes from the heart. It is, in fact, an extension of it. Now feel this for a moment. If you can’t differentiate between thinking about the concept and being able to feel the experience of it, don’t worry, you’ll be getting some tools to help you sharpen your abilities.

But the whole thing gets even juicier, because something more interesting develops. After a while, the cells that coalesce into what we call the brain stop streaming, stop beating and begin to differentiate into cells that specifically take on the function of information processing. But about 65% of the heart cells in your chest this very moment continue to function as neural (information processing) cells!

In a nutshell, atrial-neural cells that migrate to form the brain forget about beating and go about the process of information assimilation. Their siblings, who stayed at home, continue to beat, but they’re also processing and assimilating information.

Between now and the next part of this series, spend some time with this concept. Allow yourself to sense, if you can, the part of you that lies in the center of your chest that is, indeed, taking in information and distributing it. The next installment will offer you some clues and cues that will help you to become more familiar with the wonders of your heart, your most potent ally.

Homeowners Insurance Guide

Like life and health insurance, homeowners insurance is also extremely important nowadays because for most of us it takes a whole lifetime to build or purchase a house and maintain it. Homeowners insurance as we all know refers to safeguarding our house and things kept in it against all warranted and unwarranted dangers.

Homeowners insurance is a package policy that covers damage to both property and liability or legal responsibility for any injuries and property damage you or your family cause to other people. This also includes damage due to pets in the house. Though the homeowner’s insurance also provides coverage for damage caused by disasters and other natural calamities, yet there are quite a few exceptions to it. In case you desire to cover both, flood and earthquake, purchase two separate policies.

There are different types of homeowners’ insurance policies. For instance the policy is different for the owner of a house and for the person who has rented his house. Usually companies categorize their polices under the terms ‘standard’ and ‘deluxe’. However if you have your own house then there are several options open in front of you. The most preferred and popular policy in this case is HO-3. In comparison to all kinds of homeowners’ policies the HO-3 policy offers the widest coverage and thus protects your home against all dangers except a few traditionally excluded.

HO-1 or Limited coverage policy for the homeowners is rarely found provides coverage against a set of 10 disasters. The Basic Policy i.e. the HO-2 policy is a protection against 16 disasters while the HO-8 i.e. Older home policy is designed for older homes and reimburses you for damage on actual cash value basis which means replacement cost less depreciation. In case of very old homes full replacement might not be possible.

For those who put their house on rent HO-4 Renter policy is the best of all. This policy safeguards your possessions and all the parts of apartment owned by you against not more than 16 disasters.

The HO-6 policy is devised for people who own a condo or co-op. The policy covers your property and structural parts of the building owned by you against commonly considered 16 disasters.

However an owner as well as a renter can avail three opportunities of coverage. The first is actual cash value policy, which pays to replace your home possessions subtracting the deduction or depreciation. Second level of coverage is the replacement cost where the policy pays the expense of reconstructing your house or belongings with no subtraction of depreciation. The third type is the guaranteed or extended replacement cost policy that reimburses for the expenditure you incur in rebuilding your house that is ruined by fire or any natural calamity. The policy also ensures money if the cost of construction increases after a disaster due to increase in price of raw material. Though the policy will not cover the cost of upgrading the house to fulfill the latest building codes yet additional costs can be met by getting an endorsement to your policy known as Ordinance or Law. Due to the amount of benefits offered, this policy is quite expensive.

Cover Up The Time With Instant Personal Loans

Money is the buzzword these days. All the people seem to talk and trade around with money. It really has become one of the most important things in the lives of people. Even more important than one could imagine at first. That is the reason why loans play a pivotal role now days, and the best loan that an individual can take is that in the form of instant personal loans.

Instant personal loans are loans which are loans offered to people who have money but not enough to cater to their demands or the requirements. The prime feature of this loan is that depending upon the circumstances these loans can be arranged very quickly. This covers up for the need for which the loan is required and also helps in many other areas as well.

Personal loans in themselves are a great help to people, but the instant personal loans provide that something extra to the people which is more advantageous and can be taken to cover for more needs. For example it is usually difficult to get personal loans for the payday loans or the bridging loans, but with instant personal loans these two types of loans can be taken as well.

Many people are not aware of the features of the instant personal loans, the features that they provide are:

• The instant personal loans are available in two forms i.e. secured personal loans and unsecured personal loans. This enables most of the borrowers to subscribe to the loans.

• The loans can be taken for any purpose there is no restriction.

• As the name suggests instant personal loans are available in quick time than the other loans.

• People with bad credit history often feel left out when it comes to loan borrowing, instant personal loans provide them the required loans to cover for the needs. Not only that, it provides them with an opportunity to improve on their credit score which would enable them to get better loan terms next time.

These features are the best that any loan option could provide any of his borrowers. This also would enable you to achieve many benefits, benefits such as low interest rates, low monthly installments and an opportunity to take any amount of loan. So, if you are in line to take a loan and have not made up your mind up regarding which loan to take then instant personal loans is sure to answer many of your questions. So, just estimate your requirements and apply for the loan at any of the business area of the lender and enjoy the benefits.

Get The Best Deal With Online Cheap Personal Loans

For the past few years the role of the money in the market has increased many folds. This is because we live in a materialistic world where desires, needs or wants can only be satisfied with money, and money is not available to everybody, but everyone has needs which need to be met.

For people who do not have money of their own the best way to arrange for money is to take the online cheap personal loans. Online cheap personal loans are loans which any borrower can take regardless of the fact if has any security to offer or in many cases does not have any security to offer. So both the secured and unsecured loan options are available to him.

Many people are left kicking their heels because they do not get the proper loan package that they are looking for. However, that can change if you are to apply for the online cheap personal loans. These loans are the same as the personal loans but with slightly more modified features. Online cheap personal loans also provide many benefits to the customers who borrow the loans.

The benefits of going for online cheap personal loans are:

•As the name suggests the personal loans are cheap i.e. the interest rate on these loans would be low. This feature helps a lot of people in going for the loan.

•The result of low interest rate is that the monthly repayments are low and that the loan can be taken for a longer period, sometimes as long as 25 years.

•While applying for loans the data of the customer also remains safe i.e. it remains totally confidential.

•The loan if so desired also gets approved quickly.

•While the customer is online he can get acquainted with many other things such as quotes and expert advice etc, this will only help in better utilization of the loan.

With all the features and the benefits that the online cheap personal loans provide there is no other loan that can match the offerings made by this loan.

If any one wants to apply for the online cheap personal loans all they need to do is first estimate their requirement and then search for an online vendor who is willing to provide you with the loans given your profile. The next step after that is to fill in your details in the forms of the creditor. If the criterion matches you can get loans in quick time. So the expert advice would be if you have a reason this is your one possible answer.

Dare Your Dreams With Personal Loans

Thinking to buy a luxury car or thinking for going abroad or worried about children marriage. Is one of them is your dream. Everyone in this world see dreams. But along with the dream they also have a fear that might be dream may not come true!! And if your fear is just because of finances then personal loans can help you out.

Basically, Personal loans can be acquired in two ways

• Secured personal loan
• Unsecured personal loan

Secured personal loans are generally taken on large amount. It can be taken only against any asset given as collateral. Ownership remains with the borrower itself. In case repayment is not made on time the lender has the legal right to liquidate the asset to recover the money. On the other side unsecured personal loan does not need any collateral against loan. It is taken on smaller amount.

On evaluating both sides of coin. Secured personal loan offers less rate of interest as compared to unsecured personal loan. As the lender feel secure on the part of repayment of loan amount. And also the repayment period of loan is longer in secured personal loan.

Secured personal loan can only be taken up by asset holders. While unsecured personal loan is opened for both tenants and asset holders. The only difference that matters is whether secured or unsecured personal loans suit your needs and requirements.

Personal loans are provided by

• Banks
• Financial institution
• Building societies
• Online lenders
• Other lending companies

These lenders provide loan at convenience of borrower.

Generally seen people get confused in making choices between various lenders. The best way is to compare not only the interest rate but also the other cost involved that is loan arrangement cost. Interest charged can be from 6% to 17%. The interest rate may vary from person to person depending upon the needs and prevailing market.

Credit score also plays a key role while applying for personal loan. The person with bad credit history can also apply for the personal loan in order to improve the credit score. The drawback which the person of bad credit history has to face is high rate of interest.

Personal loan can be used for many purposes

• Buying a new car
• Debt consolidation
• Higher education
• Going abroad
• Home improvement
• Holidays
• Many more

Hence, personal loan make your dream come true on easy terms and conditions. With, personal loan just dare your dreams.

Things Just Got Easier With – Online Personal Loans

Many people have benefited from the invention of the internet. Now it’s the time for the borrowers to enjoy some of its benefits as well. The thing that is being talked about is that we better know as the personal loans. With the technological advancements made it is now available on the net and are now known as the online personal loans.

Online personal loans are a similar version of the personal loans the only difference is that for the online personal loans the loans are applied to a creditor who trades on line and all the trade is done online.

The process begins by first borrower estimates his requirement and then searches for an online creditor which suits his loan requirements. After all this is done the loan terms are discussed and all the other things are considered. And if all the things match the loan decision is made in a few days time.

People with traditional thinking always wonder as to the need for such fuss when there is an easy way of face to face interaction between the borrower and the creditor. A look at the benefits that accompany the online features will surely change your perspective on the issue of the online personal loans.

Online Personal Loans provide many benefits to the borrowers among those are:

• While applying for the online personal loans the borrowers get more options, than we get from the local creditors.

• There is more chance of negotiating a deal more suitable for us.

• The financial information of a client also remains safe when we apply through this channel.

• While on the net we can get useful information regarding different aspects of the loans and that can help us in utilizing the loan better.

• Along with these there are many trivial benefits that are available to the borrowers while in search of the online personal loan.

Combined with the other features that have always been associated with the personal loans, features like:

• The option of choosing between secured and unsecured personal loans.

• The option of using the loan for any purpose we want to use.

• The availability for people with bad credit history to take the loan.

These features along with the new features make the online personal loans a very attractive proposition for the borrowers of every profile.

Day by day the customers are getting more and more from their creditors in terms of loans. Not only in benefits, but also in the ease with which they are available. So before the U turn comes it is advisable to apply for the online personal loans.

Peace and Painting Da Vinci's Monalisa

She makes me want to be a painter. She makes me acutely aware of my inability to paint. Every time I see her I wish I had a brush, a canvas, palette and colours with which I could record her for posterity.

Something about her is ethereal and something about her is tragic. She looks so sad it makes my heart want to cry, to cradle her in my arms and wipe all her future tears away.

I met her some months ago. She is one of my students' girlfriend and her name is Peace. Perhaps, there is truly something about her that is at peace and there is also something about her that is chaotic...She stopped attending classes at her university, a teachers' college, some months ago and had to be hospitalized for, what I suspect was, psychiatric care.

She came dressed in a short Qi Pao, that loveliest of sexy dresses ever invented by human beings. And, the Qi Pao has now been around for over five hundred years, or so she informed me.

White, with blue flowers, her dress ended a little above her stockinged knees. And from the upper thigh down it was slit down the sides and I couldn't help gaze at the creamy skin, despite my reluctance to do so.

She continues to live away from home and her parents send her a few hundred kuai (RMB) every month. It's enough, she says, for her to meet her expenses. It's not enough for her wanderlust, though. She spent a few months in a town near Xi'An, the ancient capital of China, with one of her former classmates. She rented a room near his university in Xi'An and paid a mere seventy yuan a month as rent. The people there were very kind and welcoming, she informed me, more than the people in Huainan, a fact I have noticed more than once about the city where I am located.

There's much I can write about her oval face, milky skin and light brown, sad eyes and dishevelled hair but all that writing would be nowhere near a patch on a painting that captured her beauty.

If I were a painter, I know, I would have created a masterpiece had I painted her. 'You have painted me in your heart and that makes you a greater painter,' she spoke enigmatically when I told her of my regret...

I wonder if she is right...I wonder if she thinks I have her picture in my heart...I wonder if she somehow knows more than I do...

I wonder if she is a painter who can paint her own picture wherever she wants...I wonder why she looks sad...

Had Leonardo Da Vanci seen her, Peace would certainly have been his Monalisa...

Universal Life Insurance Guide 101

Universal life insurance is insurance with convenience of i.e. flexible premium, manageable benefit life insurance policy that accumulates account value. Universal life insurance is an improvement over the ordinary form of life insurance in terms of flexibility. The universal life insurance provides you a cash-in-value but you can make timely withdrawal from your gathered fund.

Universal life insurance is popular amongst people for it allows the policyholder to decide the on premium and benefit whereas the other kinds of policies do not let the policyholder to get the benefits from the life insurance fund till the time of death. Buying a universal life insurance can also protect your loved ones against financial problems that may occur after the insurer dies.

The universal life insurance functions like a high interest bank account because the insurance company puts your premium into an account after deducting nominal charges. The amount so accumulated gets an interest that is also added in the account. The interests are adjusted monthly and not annually. With every premium payment made the accumulation of money in the fund augments. Also the compound interest is earned on the account every month. In universal life insurance withdrawals can be made from cash surrender value. Each withdrawal must be at least $500. You are permitted to withdraw four times in a year. The amount that you withdraw is deducted from the Account Value and the death benefit. While you withdraw or surrender from your account value, you might have to pay surrender charges. The cash surrender value is the Account Value minus any surrender charges and any outstanding loans.

In order to have maximum benefit of the policy the policyholder should avoid repeated withdrawals from his accumulated fund. Withdrawal of money time and again will result in fewer benefits at the time of actual need. Moreover there will occur futility in the years of premium payment if the accumulated fund is just a part of the intended original benefit amount to be considered.

However there is a dark side too to universal life insurance. The problem stems due to the interest rate assumption used by carrier proving to be wrong and consequently in the bad performance of the policy. The policy premiums increase if the returns are not earned that often results in inability to payoff and so the cancellation of the policy. For instance numerous universal life insurance policies were surrendered or cancelled from 1970 to 1980.

But over the years the insurance companies have lowered the rates rendering initial assumptions invalid. It then became the choice of the policyholder to make up for the difference through higher premiums. So despite of purchasing a permanent insurance scheme the policyholders are burdened with rising premiums.

So if you want to save the trouble of increasing premiums, buying a whole life insurance policy is the best idea. Universal life insurance is good if you look want to pay less in present moment but keep it in mind that you might have pay more later if the interest rates do not fluctuate as you expected.