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Michigan Government develops website to help match employers with job seekers New Website Puts Michigan On Track For Fastest Economic Recovery
Even though Michigan is experiencing one of the fastest economic turn arounds in the nation, the unemployment rate is still at 9.6%. With unemployment numbers that high you might be surprised to hear that there are actually around 80,000 unfilled positions in the State of Michigan. This is simply because employers are having trouble finding qualified applicants of fit their needs. Governor Rick Snyder has just outlined the steps he and his administration will be taking to help these employers find the talent they are looking for, and lower the state's unemployment rate. There are many steps to this plan. The most exciting of these steps includes the launch of a website which will help employers and job seekers come together. This is important because many job seekers have no idea where to start or where to look when it comes to finding a job.
Many individuals head to http://www.craigslist.com or http://www.lansinggrapevine.com to begin their search but are quick to find that many of the job postings are not geared towards people searching for jobs in specialized fields. This website gives employers the ability to target job seekers in their specific region. www.mitalent.org is unique because not only does it have Michigan job listings it also features a Career Matchmaker section and a section that will help you figure out how much you will have to invest for the career of your dreams. This Career Calculator not only tells you how much you will have to invest, but also what the career field looks like. This will help you make an informed decision before going back to school only to find out you can't find a job. Some of the other steps that are being taken to help our current job climate are also very exciting. They include things such as providing self-employment assistance to current unemployed individuals to give them a chance at owning their own business. There are also steps to provide support to college programs that line up with available jobs. This will help recent graduates of these programs find jobs easier. Governor Snyder's administration would also like to start providing education and training assistance for people who have been unemployed for an extended period of time. These are just a few of the many changes that may be taking place to help improve the overall health of our job market. The most exciting of these changes having already been made with the launch of www.mitalent.org the website devoted to helping out of work Michiganders get back on track.
Tags: Michigan Lansing Unemployment Jobs Job Seeker
By Dr. Russ
1) Look at the Big Stuff
Before you get too stuck in the day-to-day negative trivia, step back and thank God for all the wonderful achievements here on earth. Three biggies for me are: We have been to the moon; we no longer have to suffer Polio, and we can communicate instantly with anyone around the globe.
2) Don't Sweat the Small Stuff
Small stuff is at worst mildly annoying – “Keep it in perspective” and have some fun and humor with it. I was nicknamed “Rusty” to differentiate me from my father for whom I was named. My family, to my chagrin, called me that “childhood name” into my adulthood. But, perhaps I learned a useful coping skill. Many times in my life, I have met someone who later calls me by a completely different name, say “Clarence.” Instead of being upset that someone forgot my name, my response is mild amusement, particularly when someone else points out that I am not a "Clarence" but a "Russ." I think to myself what it would be like to have the name Clarence and whether I would have led to a different self-image. 3) Don't Complain - Work Harder Complaining without solving the problem is a form of learned helplessness. If you find yourself complaining, do an in-the-moment thought check, then look at the glass-- in that moment you are seeing it as half empty. Now, focus away from your complaint to possible solutions, the glass becomes half full again. You have a path, a way forward to solving your problem. I can't change the weather, but I can get out my “rainy day activity list” and have some fun. To Read The 5 Tips Follow Link http://www.drrussbuss.com/optimism-blog/2011/11/3/five-tips-to-keep-the-glass-half-full-if-not-ov erflowing.html
Tags: Optimism Self Help
Two kids of equal age and size are involved in a car crash - one child walks away frightened, scared and bruised and the other is taken to the hospital with fatal injuries. What was the difference? A properly installed car seat.
Check out the demonstration below
A new crash test video, produced by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute shows two 33-pound crash test dummies representing 3-year-old kids were placed in the rear seat of a vehicle, one in a front facing car seat and one completely unbuckled.
These tests bring to light the importance of using a properly fitted car seat as Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Week begins Sunday 15th and concludes on Sept. 24, with a free Seat Check Saturday event.
Tags: Safety Child Safety Car Seats Car Crash
I belong to a number of networking groups in and around my local Lansing area and I am often asked by business owners how do I use or take advantage of LinkedIn? Now I don't want to sound selfish here but I do want to get right to the point. So please forgive me if this article strikes you that way. Remember you only get out of anything what your willing to put into it. So this means you will need to dedicate some time and efforts to this project. 1st always fill out your profile 100% completely with good informative useful information about you and your business, etc. 2nd start searching for and connecting with every person and business you either know of or have personally used in the past. Connect with people and business's in your area and expand out from there. 3rd Ask as many people as you can to leave a recommendation for you or your business and do the same for them and everyone you know. This is so important that you may never fully understand the success you achieve through LinkedIn that can be directly linked back to this step. Next go through all of your email, business card or social network contacts search and invite all of them as well. Search through LinkedIn's networks and groups that you can become involved or connected with and request an invite from them. You can also search through your future contacts to see what groups they belong to and connect with them. Next when these contacts begin to accept your request take a few minutes to say a quick hello and mention any pertinent information that might be relevant between the two parties. After you have made a connection take some time to look over their list of contacts to see if there are contacts you may have missed and invite them as well. Now think long and hard about who your perfect client, target audience or ideal customer would be. At this point and time you will have either come up with a good list of prospects to promote your goods or services too or you can begin to use your new contacts as a means to get introduced to the prospects they have in their spheres of influence and move down the list from here. Send a message or call the individual that is a direct connection of yours and ask them for a personal introduction or recommendation to the individual that they may have in their connections you are trying to connect with. If this isn't possible or does not lead to the connection you are trying to make you may have to contact them directly and pitch yourself. The success you achieve through the use of LinkedIn will greatly relate to the time you have spent building a relationship with the individual. Also if you are offering high quality products and services and stand behind them the better the success you will attain through your efforts. Don't forget to give back to your LinkedIn connections and community by recommending and thanking them. Hope this sheds some light on how LinkedIn can be used to improve your business and generate solid leads for you to follow up with. If LinkedIn is used correctly your connections and leads will continue to grow as will your success. Feel free to add to this as you all see fit.
Sam Lansing Grape Vine
Tags: LinkedIn How To Use Of LinkedIn Social Networks
Many of the reader questions I receive are inquiries on how to pay off debt, most in regards to the optimal order to pay off the debts. Ways to pay off debt I have mentioned this before, but it's worth repeating – in most circumstances it is best to pay off debt in order from highest to lowest interest rate. Put another way, if you have an auto loan at 10%, credit card 1 at 16%, and credit card 2 at 24%… it's usually best to repay credit card 2, credit card 1, then the auto loan. This route should cost you the least amount of money. Some exceptions to this rule can include losing motivation to repay highest interest debts because of large balances, or debt with tax deductible interest like student loans and mortgages. If the balances on your high interest debts are quite large, they may take awhile to pay off, possibly several years or more. If that will cause you to lose steam you should consider repaying your debt in order from smallest to largest balance – as suggested in Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. Debt with tax deductible interest may be best left for last since it can reduce your tax burden… but determining the order is always unique to each situation, so generalizations should be considered just that. Whatever your circumstances, I encourage you to try repay debt using good old fashioned discipline and self-management before paying someone to help you pay it off – but since many are beyond being able to help themselves… let's consider some progressive options. Debt consolidation using peer lending Sometimes you're better off consolidating a number of smaller debts into one. Possible benefits of consolidation include lower interest rates and the simplicity of having fewer lenders. I consolidated debt using Lending Club. Read my Lending Club Review for details but in summary I consolidated an auto loan and 3 credit cards – each with higher rates than my Lending Club loan. You don't have to use peer lending to consolidate your debt, but it's certainly a solid option. Using Lending Club I repaid over $11,000 in just 7 short months – the process would have taken much longer had I not consolidated. $ What is it for?Credit card refinancingDebt consolidationHome improvementHome buyingCar financingGreen loanBusinessVacationMajor purchaseWedding expensesMoving and relocationMedical ExpensesOther How's your credit?Excellent (720+)Good (660-720)Fair (600-660)Poor (<600)Not Sure DIY debt management If you can afford to repay debt but could use help organizing payments and determining who to pay first… check out DebtGoal. Before you consider using a full-fledged debt relief company, I encourage you to give their service a shot. In short, DebtGoal is a DIY middle ground between self service debt management and full service debt management. I am in the process of writing a full review of their product, but have already checked it out and feel comfortable endorsing it. Using their service should save you far more each month than it costs, and right now they're offering a free trial.
 Debt relief If you are in financial trouble and need professional help, be sure to choose your debt relief partner company carefully. I've been searching for a reputable debt relief services company for years and will confidently endorse a company once I find one I trust. If you can manage your debt yourself, then do so, but if not… debt relief services with the right company can be a solid option. Debt management Debt management plans are useful for those struggling to keep up with monthly credit card or other debt payments. A company offering this service should help facilitate the consolidation of unsecured debt into a single monthly payment, negotiate lower interest rates and waived late fees with creditors, and provide comprehensive debt counseling. Debt settlement Debt relief companies also typically offer debt settlement services for those who cannot afford the monthly payments and are looking for an alternative to bankruptcy. Other ways to pay off debt To pay off debt, you can also: However you pay off debt… just pay it off! Reducing your debt burden increases you freedom. If I have a $2,000/month mortgage, a $1,100 in auto payments, $600 in credit cards, etc., etc., etc., I'm going to have a lot of pressure to repay that debt each month. If I choose instead to sacrifice my wants and focus on true needs… I will simultaneously reduce financial pressure, increase giving, and increase my freedom to spend my time doing things I enjoy rather than working to repay interest on debt. I don't know about you, but that's very appealing to me! Betterment is offering a $25 bonus for all new accounts! They have created an awesome way for the Average Joe to save and invest simply and effectively. There are no minimum balance requirements and no transaction fees. Read my Betterment Review or open an account to claim your $25 bonus now. Related Posts
Tags: Pay Off Debt Debt Free
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Posted On 05/10/2011 23:00:07
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by Matt Jabs There are so many people that hate their jobs and truly loathe getting up and going to work every day. I used to be one of them. So why do so many people continue doing something that makes them so unhappy? Debt usually plays a huge roll. A simple question to ask yourself is, “If you didn't have any debt, and thus only needed a fraction of your current monthly income, would you still get up and go work at your current job every day?” The answer is usually a resounding NO! Besides being passionate about eliminating debt, I am also hugely passionate about figuring out how to earn money doing creative work I love… and helping others do the same. If you hate your job and need a change, then why not create that change? No one is going to do it for you! At the end of February 2011 I left the working world to become a full-time entrepreneur. It is a risk, but I had a plan. I have been blogging since January of 2009 and have been able to build up several sites with a decent amount of traffic. Now my job is to consistently build those sites and to turn them into revenue producing assets that help people and provide for my family. My goals include helping others, being able to work from anywhere with an Internet connection, earn money at all hours of the day rather than trading time for money, and to create something I'm passionate about. Who do I learn from? Well, a lot of it has been trial and error over the years, but because I recently went full-time, I've been receiving coaching from guys who have already become very successful at what I'm trying to do. Enter Bob Lotich of christianpf.com and Jonathan Milligan of cpacareercoach.com. Blogging Your Passion Bob and Jonathan have created a website called BloggingYourPassion.com and – with the help of Andy Traub of andytraub.com – are about to release a comprehensive webinar product to help you and I create, build, maintain, and earn money by blogging about things we are passionate about. I'm telling you about this product today because I'm sick and tired of seeing people stuck in debt and stuck in jobs they hate. YOU DON'T HAVE TO KEEP DOING IT! Break out and start building something you're proud of. Bob and Jonathan have kindly offered a $50 discount to the first 50 people who sign up, and the webinar is only available to 100 people. So if you're looking to make a change and have been looking for an excuse to get started… make this your excuse. Check out the life changing 5 part Blogging Your Passion webinar and use coupon code “DFA” (without the quotes) for a shot at the $50 discount if you're one of the first 50 to sign up. Here is a video of me talking about the course and the idea behind it. Popout Check out the life changing 5 part Blogging Your Passion webinar and use coupon code “DFA” (without the quotes) for a shot at the $50 discount if you're one of the first 50 to sign up. Here is a summary of the 5 part webinar Bob sent me: Week 1 - What to do in the first 24 working hours of your blog
- The Behind-the-Scenes Checklist (Domains, Hosting, WordPress, etc)
- The Blog Design Checklist (Proper SEO, Must Have Plugins, Themes, Analytics, Logo Headers, etc)
- The Social Media Checklist (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc.)
- The Content Creation Checklist (Your first few posts)
- The Monetization Checklist (Simple Income Ideas)
Week 2 - 20 Different Types of Posts You Can Use
- How to Target Keyword Phrases for the Search Engines
- How to Do Fast Article Research
- Fast Content Creation Strategies
- Article Topic Ideas Spreadsheet Explained
Week 3 - Understanding the Difference Between Time Management and Self Management
- Learning How the Pareto Principle Applies to Blogging
- What The Parkinson's Law States
- Education vs. Experience
- Action vs. Activity
- Part-time Blogger Time Management Tips
- Full-time Blogger Time Management Tips
Week 4 - Developing Social Media Traffic Systems (Get Your Content Viral)
- Developing Search Engine Traffic Systems (Rank on 1st Page of Google)
- Developing Internal Traffic Systems (RSS Readers, Mailing Lists)
Week 5 - Multiple Streams of Blogging Income (Over 20+ Income Streams Explained)
- Introduction to the “Profit Ladder”
- Setting Up a Sales Funnel for Your Blog
- Earning a Passive Income from Your Mailing List
- Low Maintenance Income Ideas
- Passive Income Ideas
- Personal Involvement High Income Ideas
Check out the life changing 5 part Blogging Your Passion webinar and use coupon code “DFA” (without the quotes) for a shot at the $50 discount if you're one of the first 50 to sign up. Have you been thinking about starting a blog to help others and earn money? Let us know by leaving a comment. Betterment is offering a $25 bonus for all new accounts! They have created an awesome way for the Average Joe to save and invest simply and effectively. There are no minimum balance requirements and no transaction fees. Read my Betterment Review or open an account to claim your $25 bonus now. Related Posts
Tags: Blogging Blogging Your Passion Make Money
by Matt Jabs
Matt's Note: Like Tim, I'm a proponent of saving money and delaying purchases… but I also believe credit cards can and should be avoided altogether. It is no secret that all credit card companies just love new customers. Why? People love to spend money that they don't own…so plastic cards fill that need! Card companies like MasterCard and Visa are in the business of making money and who better to fleece than the unsuspecting novice. They know that once you've accepted their offer, you most likely will spend more than you originally thought…and those that get approved for higher credit limits than they applied for will, sooner or later, use that higher credit limit option. This article will focus on the areas you should learn about when get your first credit card. Know Your Purpose For Using Your New Credit Card First-time users must know the three uses of credit, listed here from worst to best. - Worst – to purchase perishables, such as meals, gas, groceries, airline tickets
- Better – to purchase depreciable assets, such as automobiles, furniture, clothes
- Best – to purchase appreciable assets, such as mutual funds, a home, or other investments
The Best Uses of Your New Credit Card Charging perishables to your credit card is the least desirable and most misused form of credit. Payments linger long after the food, goods or services are used. If you must use your credit card for this purpose, always try to pay off these credit card perishable purchases at the end of every month and not incur any interest charges at all. Depreciable purchases include goods and services that will never again be worth what you paid for them. A better use of your credit card, yes, but stacking up long term payments will eventually bury you. If possible, pay off at the end of the month or make the maximum possible dollar payments within a minimum amount of time. Thirdly, the best use of credit cards is taking out a line of credit at a low rate of interest and investing that money in an appreciable asset with a higher rate of return. Ironically, most do not use their credit card limit for this purpose, thinking they need to apply for a bank loan. Smart first time credit card users do learn this strategy as it will reap lifelong financial rewards. Where to Get Your First Credit Card Instead of a traditional credit card, it might be best for a first time credit card owner to obtain a bank-issued credit card. This not only further establishes a relationship with your present banking institution, but these cards tend to be more reputable. In addition, the banks may also give you the option of linking your savings and checking account with your credit card account. You may then use your bank credit card for automatic monthly utility and other bill payments. You may also apply for a bank debit card. This really forces self-discipline because in essence you are in reality debiting your bank account balance every time you incur a charge, so there is never a question of being charged interest nor any danger of you exceeding your cash balance. Know How Your Credit Card Company Charges You Interest Since first-time credit card users tend to be young and inexperienced in financial matters, it is crucial to know the different methods that credit card companies charge you interest. Interest, after all, is usually the biggest cost associated with the repayment amount. Your priority and major goal should be to wisely reduce or eliminate interest expense. One of the biggest deceptions for 50 years has been the misquoting of interest rates. This has led to recent legislation to protect consumers in light of easy lending practices by credit card companies. This, in turn, led to the ultimate detriment / financial incapability of consumers to honor their repayment obligations and subsequent monetary, health and family hardship situations. Credit card companies had developed slick formulas that allowed them to legally quote a low or reasonable interest rate, yet the fine print would contain terms and conditions to permit them to charge much higher rates under certain circumstances, usually unknown to the newbie. The government stepped in to make appropriate disclosures openly revealed to the consumer as credit card delinquencies have skyrocketed in the past two to three years in the global economic depression. Therefore, you should read everything and understand clearly the terms of your first credit card. The Six Basic Types of Interest Rates There are six basic types of interest rates and methods of charging interest, and an understanding of each will give you the ability to compare the true charges of different credit cards fees and costs. They are: - Simple interest
- Effective interest
- Compound or nominal interest
- Add-on interest
- Discounted interest
- APR ( annual percentage rate of interest )
It is beyond the scope of this article to go into detail on each of these. Suffice to state here, that it is important for the new credit card user to know that they exist…and also to know that most likely you will be exposed first hand to some or all of these interest charges in your lifetime. So know how these can potentially affect your decision-making process. Managing Your Credit Card Accounts Your main objective should be to cut the total costs of your cards to an absolute minimum. Here is how to do it: - Choose the credit card with the lowest possible interest rate.
- Take advantage of genuine no-fee introductory rates.
- Beware of 0 percent teaser rates that have unrealistic terms and conditions.
- Avoid those credit cards that have an annual fee (unless you must).
- Set a budget and stick to it!
- Establish a track record of always paying on time.
- To avoid unnecessary interest charges, always pay in full or the maximum you are able to.
- To avoid the over-the-limit charge, make sure you know your ceiling limit and don't exceed it.
- To avoid returned check fees on your credit card payment, always balance your check book.
- To avoid cash advance fees, discipline yourself to not buy things you can't yet afford.
This article was written by Timothy Ng from Sydney, Australia who writes about personal finance for Credit Card Finder. He is genuinely passionate in educating people on financial management and encouraging them to saveto help improve lives. Betterment is offering a $25 bonus for all new accounts! They have created an awesome way for the Average Joe to save and invest simply and effectively. There are no minimum balance requirements and no transaction fees. Read my Betterment Review or open an account to claim your $25 bonus now. Related Posts
Tags: Credit Card 1st Card Get Credit
Google just released a new website speed test tool that obviously checks the speed of your website when it is launched. It has been known for a while now that Google uses the speed of your page loads as a ranking factor on their search engine. If your site loads to slow it can be penalized and loose ranking. This is why it is so important not to have a bunch of flash on your website or too many image files that slow down your website load time. Think about this, if you open your webpage up on your cell phone how fast can you use the functions of your site? If it takes too long your site loads too slow. You need to fix it. The cool factor of this new Google search optimization tool is it gives you a level of priority to the problems it finds on your site. It also gives you links to an explanation and the no how to rectify the situation.
I am happy to say my website had no high priority items but it did have a few medium to low priority items that could be taken care of.
In closing I think everyone could find this new Google speed test tool very useful and beneficial to their never ending pursuit to high rankings within Googles elite top ten.
Tags: Google Website Seo Sem Website Speed
Here is something I dug up from a long time ago. This is a must read for anyone in business or promoting a website online. August 9, 2009 by ian http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1pjuSn/www.conversationmarketing.com/2009/08/22-things-you-dont-know-about-customers.htm
There are things you don't know about your customers. It's not you, it's them. But you need to figure it out. Here are some hard lessons I've learned over the years - they apply to usability, pet peeves and other fun stuff. Learn these and you'll have more, happier customers/visitors/readers/fans: 1. Reading onscreen is hard, for everyone The most basic principle of usability: It's hard for folks to read online. Much harder than reading in print. Remember this. Burn it into your brain. Small typefaces, weird page layouts and odd color schemes may seem great, but they're bound to hurt your business in the long run. 2. They like short paragraphs. Oldest rule of marketing, from way back when we printed on paper and used mail and stuff: Write no more than 4-5 lines in a paragraph. Read My Life in Advertising and Scientific Advertising (Advertising Age Classics Library) to learn just how little the rules have changed. 3. They like short lines Reading onscreen is hard. The typical person can best read 10-20 words per line. No more. If you're using microscopic fonts to fit every word possible on a line, change your ways. 4. They like wide line spacing and nice margins Also know as 'leading', wide line spacing makes text easier to read. Margins shorten the lines so that you get fewer words per line (see above). Folks actually read faster when line spacing is really tight, but they retain and comprehend less. A fantastic piece of research by the University of Wichita proves it. 5. They like dark text on a light background We are trained to read dark text on a light background. It's what we're used to. So this: The quick brown fox sprayed the lazy dog with mace. Is easier to read than this: The quick brown fox sprayed the lazy dog with mace. The dark background really jumps out at you, but make it into a whole page and it starts to give you a headache. Do you hate your audience? No? Then go with dark text on a light background. 6. They don't mind scrolling up-and-down With those nifty mouse wheels, folks stopped getting unhappy about scrolling - it's no longer a usability issue, unless you create a 5000 word page or some silliness. You don't have to make a home page, or any other page of your web site, fit in a single window. Long pages are OK! 7. Lists make their lives easier You can write a list in a paragraph, so that colors look like red, green, blue. Or, you can write a list in a list, so that colors look like: Your audience wants the latter. 8. They browse in an F-shape Read Jacob Nielsen's excellent article about the f-shape browsing pattern: Click here. Put the most important stuff in the critical points of that F-shape, and you'll get better results.
9. They can't remember your web address Seriously. No one ever remembers a web address. Oh, sure, if you're 'nike.com' or 'cnn.com', they do. But if you're 'portentinteractive.com' or 'conversationmarketing.com', good luck with that. Give people plenty of ways to subscribe, bookmark or otherwise remember you. Andreserve different permutations on your web address, to protect your brand. 10. They don't want to log in Don't make them log in to check out. Let 'em just click 'check out'. By all means, give them the option to save their information and create an account. At the end of the checkout process. At that point, the warm fuzzy feeling any consumer gets from burning hard-earned cash is enough to get them to trust you. 11. They don't even want to think they have to log in I know what you're thinking: "Oh, fine, I'll just put a login form on the left, and then put a tiny little button on the right that says you can check in as a guest." No. This: 
Tells me, the customer, "You are not part of our exclusive club. Click 'continue' and buy, but you are a loser." In all seriousness, customers don't trust the internet. Never mind that they're 10x more likely to get their credit card stolen in a restaurant. They see the web as a massive interconnected den of thieves. If you even imply you're going to save their information, their trust is lost. Don't do it. 12. They don't even want a tiny hint or implication that at some point in the future they might have to log in Just let them check out. For the love of all that's holy and good in the universe. Can we just drop it? 13. They don't want an 'experience' In the immortal words of Jakob Nielsen: "Most people just want to get in, get it and get out." Adding dynamic "web 2.0 stuff" (shudder) just because the other guy has it is foolish. Anything that makes me click twice instead of once is going to impress me the first time, and then alienate me after that. Examples include: - Drag-and-drop shopping carts. Clicking is easier.
- Home page preloads. Clicking 'skip intro' is still extra work.
- Fly-in, fly-out or slow fade-in, fade-out effects for product zoom images and such. Every time you do that, you make the customer wait. Why?
Customers and visitors don't want an experience. They want service. Only designers and geeks like me equate a great product/service with clever use of javascript libraries. The other 99% of the population wants to get in, get it, and get out. Don't take my word for it. Look at the web site of one of the ultimate design companies: Apple.com. See any special effects? 14. They do want your newsletter Hard to believe after all the spam hysteria, but a sizable chunk of your audience still wants to receive a newsletter. So make it easy for them to find it. I was one of the worst offenders in this department. On our corporate site, we had a little e-mail icon, buried 1/3 of the way down the page, for our newsletter signup. We made a very simple change, adding a signup form on every page next to the icon, and we've seen a lift in signups just a week later: 
15. They don't care how clever you are If you can say "Ian Lurie arrested in drunken rampage", just say it. Don't say "Pugnacious Portent Prez Pegged by Police". The former tells me what's going on. The latter is funny but unhelpful. 16. They aren't enticed by mystery Your online audience is enticed by clarity, a cool product, a great story and such. They're not enticed by the mystery of it all. So a headline like "Great abs!" isn't as helpful as "10 exercises to get great abs". And "All Wired Up" is utterly worthless compared to "Wired Magazine Has A Great Year". 17. They get lost a lot It's easy for a site visitor to get lost. A broken link here, a missing button there, and wham, they're frustrated and confused. Have a user-friendly 404 error page, a good onsite search tool and really clear navigation. Then review the onsite search data and the 404 errors, and see what they tell you about what your customers want but aren't getting. 18. They aren't using cell phones. Yet. If you do business in North America, chances are your customers aren't browsing your site using a cell phone. Even this blog, which has more than its share of geek visitors, gets few mobile views: 
Plan for mobile, by all means. Learn how to create a mobile style sheet. But don't derail an entire project, or increase the cost 100%, just to be mobile-compatible. 19. They don't search for your name Your audience doesn't know who you are. They aren't searching for your name. They'researching based on a question, and they'll find you if you can pose the right answer. So, while ranking #1 for your company name is great, it probably won't help your bottom line. 20. They still use Internet Explorer Not everyone understands that Firefox is the Risen Savior just yet. Most of your audience is probably using Internet Explorer: 
And a lot of them are still using (choke) Internet Explorer 6: 
Design, develop and plan accordingly. 21. They're buying nice monitors (and computers) On the other hand, most of your audience is upgrading their computer's graphics capabilities. You can safely design a page that's 900 pixels wide: 
Be sure to check your own site stats before you make a change. 22. They need to want People buy what they want, not what they need. We all need car insurance. We all wantiPhones or other shiny things. I don't know about you, but I don't get the same happy feeling in the pit of my stomach when I consider my next car insurance payment as when I contemplate a new HTC Hero. We can bemoan this, or go with it. Customers need to want. A truly great marketer explains why they want what they need. I am borrowing the needs and wants principle from some brilliant marketer whose name I cannot find or recall. I'm not smart enough to come up with it on my own.
Here's the thing... This list always gets longer. Look at your analytics report. Learn from the way your audience responds to what you change on your site. Use your brain, and never stop questioning why things are happening the way they're happening. And feel free to add to this list, below. Other stuff to do
Tags: Customer Want From You
For as long as I can remember listening to the radio while I was growing up Rich Michaels was there to announce the morning news, spin some records, and toss out his opinion about whatever topic interested him.
Love him or hate him he spoke about current issues that were both controversial and fiercely contested. Rich took a stance for what he believed in and invited others to do the same.
Rich was released from his morning show “They kicked my ass out under trumped-up insubordination (claims),” Michaels said in his City Pulse article.
Rich has always been opinionated and the network should have expected this when they hired him and should not have come as a surprise.
How about the charge of the radio network clearing the way for a cheaper alternative to save money in a down economy? Doesn't a company have the right to hire and fire who they want?
It seems controversy has followed Rich Michaels home. Apparently at the center of all this is a non compete agreement he was forced to sign or be terminated. If I remember correctly a contract is not valid if it is signed under duress. I guess this one will be decided by our court system sooner or later.
In my opinion if there is a radio station that will hire him and a city that wants to listen come to some sort of an arrangement and turn him loose.
What do you think, want him back on the air or are you glad to see him silenced?
For the most up to date information check out Rich's website @ http://www.richmichaels.com/
Tags: Rich Michaels Citadel Broadcastingradio Lansing Disc Jockey
Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, here's a super easy and super delicious slow-cooker recipe for corned beef. To kick up the flavor notch, I added beer instead of water, Dijon mustard, and a little brown sugar to the corned beef. It cooked about all day in the Crockpot. The meat will fall apart when cooked and will be very tender. Instead of the usual (sometimes) overcooked cabbage, I first steamed the cabbage, tossed it with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and then roasted it in a hot oven with carrots and potatoes. They vegetables were really delicious this way! Corned Beef with a Twist! serves 4-6
One 3 ¼ - 3 ½ lb. flat cut corned beef brisket 1 can of beer (any variety – I used Sam Adams) 2 T Dijon mustard 2 T brown sugar about ¼ tsp. whole peppercorns Place corned beef in the slow cooker insert. If the meat came with a small seasoning packet of pickle spices, add that. Pour the beer over the meat. Mix the mustard and brown sugar and smear on the top of the meat. I cooked the corned beef on high for one hour, and then switched it to low for six hours. I turned the meat once during this time. After the six hours on low, I turned it to high and cooked it one and a half hours more. This took from about 9am to 5pm. Roasted Veggies: 1 small head of cabbage, cut into small wedges About 8 or 10 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks 5 potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks Olive oil Salt and pepper Preheat the oven to 375 degrees First steam the cabbage in a vegetable steamer for about 5 minutes or until nearly tender but not mushy. Remove from the steamer and place on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Add the carrots and potatoes. Toss with a little olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly-ground pepper. Roast for about 45 minutes, stirring two or three times, until slightly brown and caramelized. Garnish with a bit of fresh parsley or caraway seeds, if desired. http://groton.patch.com/articles/corned-beef-and-cabbage-just-in-time-for-st-patricks-day-4 Here is another recipe just in time for the big day! Yield: Serves 8 - 2 pounds cooked corned beef brisket
- 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 large head savoy cabbage, using 16 large outer leaves
- 1 egg, beaten
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Mustard for serving
Chop the beef very coarsely, set aside. Add the potatoes and onions to a pot of cold water to cover the potatoes and bring to a boil. Simmer until soft 10-15 minutes. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon, reserving the liquid. Mash the potatoes mixing with the egg, salt and 1 tablespoon of the parsley. Set aside. Separate the large leaves from the cabbage. Put the leaves in the reserved cooking liquid from the potatoes; cover and let the leaves steam just until slightly wilted, soft and flexible, about 2 minutes. Set aside. Using a paring knife, cut a triangle at the bottom of each cabbage leaf to remove the thick, stiff part of the stem. Top each leaf with some potatoes and beef, tuck in the sides and roll up. Place seam-side down in a roasting pan. Ladle some of the reserved cooking liquid over the rolls, cover the pan tightly with foil and bake 45 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon parsley and serve with mustard Diane SheyaIvy House Herbs http://www.fox13now.com/recipes/kstu-corned-beef-and-cabbage-rolls-20110311,0,1241774.story
Here is another one! Corned Beef and Cabbage and Potatoes Ingredients: - 1 Lg Corned Beef Brisket or Eye Round
- 1 Head of Cabbage 1 dozen New Potatoes (cleaned)
- 10 Cloves Garlic (minced)
- 2 Bottles of Beer (dark beer is best)
- 1 Large Slow Cooker
- Cooking Spray
- Brown Mustard
- 2 Tbs Butter
- 1 Tbs Chopped Fresh Parsley
Spray the inside of a large slow cooker with cooking spray. Place the corned beef in the bottom of the slow cooker. Cover the meat with the minced garlic. Cut the cabbage into 6-8 wedges (one for each person eating) and clean the potatoes. Add both to the meat and pour in the beer. Cook for 6 (brisket) hours to 8 (eye round) hours on low until the meat is tender. Using a slotted spoon, remove the cabbage and potatoes and place them in individual bowls. Slice the corned beef and serve with mustard on the side. Top the potatoes with butter and chopped parsley. http://www.carycitizen.com/2011/03/09/recipe-st-pattys-day-corned-beef-and-cabbage/ Here are some videos that will guide you through the process as well if needed.
Stuffed cabbage and Corned Beef
Tags: Corned Beef Cabbage St Patricks Day Recipies
Hello all! This is Alex from Spoonful of Sugar Free. Here is a pizza recipe made with chickpea flour. It is high-protein, gluten-free, and extremely filling. One slice filled me up. 
Pesto Socca Pizza with Grilled Veggies and Chicken Sausages ~The pizza can be made vegan/vegetarian by simply omitting the sausage. Dairy-free, gluten-free, and of course, sugar-free! Serves 6 Ingredients Socca: - 1 cup garbanzo bean flour
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
Preheat oven to 425*. Mix all ingredients together except the olive oil. Batter will be thin. Spread the olive oil on a 10-12 inch round pan (I used a cast iron) and place in hot oven for a few minutes. Then pour the batter into the pan and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the socca is brown on the underside. Flip the socca carefully onto a dish you can put back into the oven (you will be broiling it later). NOTE: I've seen socca made many ways. Some bake it, some broil it, some flip it half way through. This is up to you! If you like it extra crispy-try broiling it. If you like it soft-bake it. 
Vegan Pesto ~This pesto is vegan, raw, dairy-free, gluten-free, and of course, sugar-free! - 1 large bunch of basil (about 2 cups loosely packed)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
- 4 Tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast
Place all ingredients except olive oil in a food processor or strong blender (I used my magic bullet). Process until finely ground. Then add the olive oil a tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached. The nutritional yeast and walnuts give it a creamy taste without the dairy. It keeps in the fridge for 5 days. I didn't use quite all of it on my pizza. You can use the leftovers on sandwiches, pasta, and as a dip for crackers. 
Pizza Toppings ~You can use whatever topping you like! Omit the sausage for a vegan/vegetarian pizza. - 2 cups spinach
- 1/2 green bell pepper
- 1/4 onion
- 5 artichoke hearts
- 2 Tablespoons capers
- 2 chicken sausages
- 1 clove garlic
First, boil the sausages in a pan for about 10 minutes, covered. Then, slice them and brown them on a pan slightly coated in olive oil. Remove. Chop the onions, bell pepper, and garlic and saute in olive oil. Add the spinach and cook until slightly wilted. 
Assemble Pizza Spread the pesto on the socca in an even layer. Then add the sauteed veggies and the artichoke hearts, capers, and sausages. Broil on high for three minutes or until the tips of the veggie and socca brown. Let cool for a couple minutes and serve hot! Bon Appetit!   
Health Benefts - Garbanzo Bean Flour: Also known as chickpeas, these beans are protein power houses with 10g per 1/4 cup. They contain an amazing amount of fiber with 8g per 1/4 cup. An excellent source of the trace mineral molybdenum, garbanzo beans help in the process of detoxification of sulfites. This mineral is an important component of the enzyme sulfite oxidase, which is involved in this detoxification process.
- Leafy Greens: Our parents always told us to “eat our greens,” and for good reason, too! Leafy greens contain a lot of Vitamin K which protect our bones, regulate blood-clotting, and help prevent diabetes. Lutein and zeaxanthin are carotenoids found in dark-green leafy vegetables that are concentrated in the eye lens and macular region of the retina. The carotenoids play a protective role in the eye.
- Basil: This herb has been used for centuries to help cure colds, coughs, and sore throats. It is also known as an anti-stress agent, and can help reduce blood cholesterol.
- Nutritional Yeast: Nutritional yeast is full of nutrients (hence the name). It contains 18 amino acids and 15 minerals that are all good for you. Especially known for its vitamin B content, it helps maintain ideal intestine ecology, improve blood production, maintain cholesterol levels, and improve liver function.
 
Tags: Pizza Healthy Pizza Dieting Foods
Times are tough for a lot of us right now. Some of us feel like we got sucker punched in the gut, losing a job while others face daily headaches trying to save their home or a struggling business. It would be easy to dive into a pint of ice cream, hit the booze or even get a prescription for happy pills but one of the best stress relievers is physical activity. This is probably the last thing you're thinking about right now but there is no better time to start thinking about it! When you log in just 15 – 20 minutes of exercise you raise your levels of serotonin, the feel-good hormone. Plus, studies show exercise increases your mental activity. So, with just a bit of effort, you'll clear your head and feel more relaxed. Instead of saying, “I have to exercise” turn it around and say, “This is my time to rejuvenate!” It doesn't take a gym membership or pricey equipment to reap the benefits of getting physical. Check out these ideas to get started and get approval from your doctor if you're starting something new. Cheap & Local We'd rather have a tight “end” instead of a tight budget. If you're low on cash these options may work for you. Craigslist.com: Search within your area for exercise equipment. If you're searching for something specific just type it in the search field. Never go to someone's house alone to look at the item. Test the equipment before you purchase and get the owner's manual if they have it. Freecycle.com: With a free membership you can give and get free items within your community. You must have a Yahoo, Google or Facebook account to join. Once approved, you can review the posts. You can post “Wanted” for a specific item you're looking for or browse the “Offers” to see if there is something you like. Around town or online: Goodwill, Salvation Army, pawn shops, Play it Again Sports, community swaps, mlive.com, local classifieds and community bulletin boards can be a treasure trove for equipment. Friendly Exchange: You probably have friends with exercise equipment so why not trade with each other? A hula hoop for a Bosu ball for a week? Even better, workout at your friends one day and invite them to your house the next time. Jump & Climb: Basic jump ropes can be had for about $6-$8. Or, if you've got stairs in your home—you've got a free heart-pumping option. Try the Tabata method: Jump rope or run up and down the stairs for 20 seconds. Rest (walk in place) for 10 seconds. Repeat this sequence 8 times and you'll log in 4 minutes. This is intense, so scale it back if you have health issues or haven't exercised in a while. Modify it by simply walking up the steps or “skip” rope (one foot always on the ground) instead of having both feet leave the ground to jump. Scale back to 10 seconds of walking or jumping and walk in place for 20 seconds. Try various time segments to match your ability. Behind closed doors If you prefer to work out in the privacy of your own home but need some motivation, try DVD's for free. Most libraries have a good selection. You can also get a trial membership at Gamefly.com for your gaming platforms, so if you wanted to try Zumba but are not crazy about doing it in public, here's your chance. Netflix (at print time) is offering a one-month free trial. Simply connect your gaming platform, iPad or iPhone to Netflix and choose anything from yoga to bootcamp. After you work out, stream a movie for your reward. Big store savings Enter your email address at Dick's, MC Sports or Dunham's and sign up for email offers. You will immediately receive a 10 percent discount offer. I often receive 20 percent off coupon offers via email. Get me outta here! Outside may be a canvas of white but inside you've got the winter blues. Get outside on a sunny day and breathe in fresh, crisp air. Many communities offer free outdoor activities. The National Park Service in my area is offering free snowshoeing lessons and rentals every Saturday in February. Check your local community listings to see how you can get outdoors and beat the winter blues. Lisa Marie Metzler is a personal trainer and freelance writer.
Tags: Fitness Working Out Exercise Staying Fit Budget
Hello all! This is Alex from Spoonful of Sugar Free. Are you a fan of 7 Layer Bars or Magic Bars, but aren't a fan of the high calories, fat, and sugar? Here is healthy 7-Layer Bar that can be served to any sugar-lover! 
Regular 7-Layer Bar: My Healthy 7-Layer Bar: 1. Graham Cracker crust 1. Oatmeal Crust 2. Chopped walnuts 2. Chopped Walnuts or Pecans 3. Chocolate chips 3. Unsweetened Chocolate Chunks 4. White Chocolate chips 4. Dried Fruit 5. Butterscotch chips 5. Unsweetened Carob Chips 6. Sweetened Shredded Coconut 6. Unsweetened Shredded Coconut 7. Sweetened condensed milk 7. Coconut milk 
Healthy 7-Layer Bars ~These 7-Layer bars (or Magic Bars) are gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, and, of course, sugar-free! Makes 18 Bars Ingredients - 1 cup oats
- 1/2 cup oat flour (blend oats in blender until smooth)
- 1/2 cup chia gel (mix 1 tablespoon of chia seeds with 1/2 cup water and let sit for 20 minutes, or until they “puff up”)
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
- 1/2 cup chopped unsweetened chocolate (I used Baker's bars)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened carob chips
- 1/2 cup chopped dried fruit (like dates, apricots, raisins, or cherries. Optional. They taste fine without the fruit, too!)
- 1 (14 oz) can of coconut milk
Preheat oven to 375*. Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking pan and line with parchment paper or foil to help lift the bars out of the pan. Mix the oats, oat flour, and chia gel together and spread on bottom of pan. Then sprinkle the walnuts in a layer, chocolate chunks, carob chips, fruit (if using), and coconut shavings on top. Pour the coconut milk evenly over the dish. Bake for 25 minutes or until the coconut is golden brown. Let the bars cool at room temperature for 2 hours (or in the fridge for less). If you try to cut the bars before they cool, they will crumble. Once they are done cooling, cut the bars and serve to hungry people  Health Benefits: - Carob: Unlike chocolate, carob contains no caffeine and it contains a number of nutrients, including vitamins A, B, B2, B3, and D. It contains a good dose of Pectin that helps to eliminate toxins from the body.
- Chocolate: Click HERE for the benefits of Chocolate.
- Coconut: Coconut is widely misunderstood because of it's high fat content; however, coconut's saturated fat is made up of medium-chain fatty acids. These medium-chains are easy to absorb and digest, and are converted quickly into energy. Coconut is also a great source of dietary fiber with a whopping 5 grams per oz.!
- Oats: Click HERE for the benefits of Oats.
Tags: Healthy Sugar Free Deserts Diet
About a year ago I began investing in peer to peer lending loans via Lending Club. My NAR (net annualized return) was around 11% until I let a defaulted loan slip by unmonitored. Even with the default my current NAR stands at 8.3%, which is still a solid ROI in today's economy. After having the default lower my NAR I now carefully watch the loans I invest in and am quick to offer them up on the secondary trading platform if the borrower looks like they're getting into financial trouble. I have successfully dumped 2 other troubled loans, reclaiming about 80% of the value as opposed to losing the entire amount. All in all, I highly recommend investing through Lending Club. If you'd like more info on this, read myLending Club review. That brings me to todays tip for readers… if you're trying to get out of credit card debt I recommend checking out ReadyForZero.com. It is not a debt settlement company but rather a free service that helps people eliminate credit card debt. The reason I'm mentioning their service in tandem with my Lending Club investments is because Lending Club uses Ready For Zero to verify the credit card debt of loan applicants. After reading about it I thought I'd mention here in hopes that it may benefit someone. From the Read For Zero site: “Are you ready to get out of credit card debt? ReadyForZero is a free online financial tool that lets you track your credit card debt, explore options, and make and follow a plan to eliminate it. This is a gimmick-free program, not a debt settlement or similar service.” If you end up signing up and using it… be sure to share your experience in the comments.
Tags: Money Management Get Out Of Debt Debt Free Living
Note: This is a guest article from Timothy Ng. Matt's advice on controlling credit card spending is to not use them at all and choose instead to simply save money and use debit cards. That said, many people do use credit cards and can benefit from the advice Timothy gives below. God bless. Unfortunately, most Americans have some sort of credit card debt. Credit cards are just so easy to use and the debt really adds up quickly, especially as interest rates rise. Credit card companies are not on your side. Their programs are certainly not designed to help you save appropriately and spend wisely. As a credit card consumer, it is up to you to understand how credit works and how the credit card companies make money off of giving you credit cards. This may sound like common sense, and that's because it is common sense. Most people know how credit card debt builds up, but it is the lesser known and hidden features of credit cards that get the average consumer into trouble. What you don't know can hurt you. Think About How You Spend The best way to get your credit card spending under control is condition yourself to think wisely about how you manage your cards. First off, don't let debt blindside you. It is so easy to swipe your card and worry about paying it off later, but if you don't see how much you are spending each day, then the true amount can really blindside you. So in your mind you probably spent $50 this past week on groceries, but in reality it was closer to $100. By the end of the month, all these little ‘miscalculations' in your brain add up to serious credit card debt. Avoid this by keeping a close eye on your credit card spending. Look at your account balance every two days. This will help keep you from accidentally spending too much because you know how much you have spent in just the last two days. Next, take a hard look at your debt. Figure out how much of your monthly income goes towards paying off yourcredit card debt. If the percent is higher than 15%, then you have a really serious problem with spending too much money. This kind of spending may require professional help. Also, are you paying off the debt on your cards or are you paying only the minimum amount? If you are not paying off the full balance of your credit card each month, then odds are you are losing a lot of money to interest fees. This is how credit card companies sneak up on you. Your monthly spending should not require that you use a large portion of debt to get by. If you are using credit cards as more than just a convenience and credit building tool, then you need to take a hard look at how and when you spend money. You make have to cut some spending out of your budget or figure out how to add more income to your budget. Pay Stuff Back Not only do you have to pay the money back to the company by the end of each month, you need to condition your brain to think of credit cards as ‘loan cards'. You have to remember that you are only borrowing this money for a month and then it has to be paid back. If you are not paying the money back within thirty days, you are spending more money than the original amount you borrowed. This is always bad, as it causes your debt to grow and grow. Smart credit card users have fewer credit cards and keep a close eye on each of these cards. They don't use their cards for many purchases, but instead set up cards for purchasing gas or groceries or specific monthly expenses. They don't consider credit cards to be a tool for buying clothes or DVDs. At least not on a regular basis. Watch Out For Rewards Credit card rewards are great. Getting free airline flights because you used a credit card is awesome. But again, it is necessary that you pay close attention to if these points are really worth it. If you have to buy more stuff each month in order to earn points, are the points worth all this extra cash by the end? Or did you just buy really expensive plane tickets? Also, if you are losing money in interest because you haven't paid off the complete balance this month, then those reward savings just flew out the window. Rewards can be great, but make sure you are the one being rewarded, not the credit card companies. The Benefits Of Using Your Credit Card Less Developing a habit of using less credit cards in your everyday life can have many positive benefits. Credit cards are very useful for making large purchases, paying off an unexpected bill and developing a positive line of credit, but too many credit cards added to too much credit card use will negatively affect your life. Make your life simple by reducing the amount that you use your credit card. This will reduce the likelihood of identity theft, will make tracking your financial situation a lot easier, will reduce the amount of your hard earned money lost to hidden fees and penalties and will let you see what your monthly spending habits really look like. This will translate into less debt incurring on your card and you will have a better record of paying off this debt. Focus On Your Spending You will want to teach yourself how to focus on your spending habits each month, in an effort to condition yourself to think about using credit cards the correct way. For a lot of people, having something visual to look at everyday can really help them to condition their brains to focus on their spending. By breaking down how you spend money on your credit cards each week, you will notice which purchases were useful and which were, maybe less useful. The goal is to teach yourself not to spend money that you don't have. By doing so, you can specifically choose which purchases you want to put on your card each month and you will already have a plan for paying these charges off by the end of the month. Timothy Ng is a personal finance writer, and has a real passion for encouraging people to compare credit cardsto ensure they get the best deal. Check out his comprehensive guide to low interest credit cards where he provides an in-depth overview and analysis, to help you find a better deal.
Tags: Credit Card Debt Credit Cards Debt Free Paying Off Credit Cards
Basically I am looking to use different ideas to design our boutique while helping companies and businesses owners.
A BASKETFUL by Sharl is hosting a contest for the remaining of 2011. We would like your ideas for our boutique located in The Lansing City Market. Yes, if you own a company or business we want you! It is a win-win contest. 
Each month (or every two weeks) we would like to feature a new design, i.e. Mardi Gras using beads, coins, masks and more (we are currently featuring), April Showers using umbrellas, etc. Now for the win-win......In return, when YOUR company or business is selected, you will have a designated area to display your promotional products or information, you will be featured as the design winner and you will also receive a gift certificate that can be used in our boutique! 
Rules: 1) Designs must be submitted at least three weeks prior to the
month or date intended.
2) Your entry must be appropriate for the month/season.
3) The lower the budget the better.
4) Have fun and think outside the box. 
Please submit your idea along with the company/business name, the person and/or persons submitting the design, phone number and email address via email or mail. Let your imaginations soar......
Sharl Rugg
A BASKETFUL by Sharl (Gift Baskets, Gifts, Silk and Fresh Floral)
Lansing City Market (T, W, TH, FRI 10-6 & SAT 9-5)
325 City Market Drive, Lansing, MI 48912
(517) 484-8211
sharl@abasketfulbysharl.com
http://www.abasketfulbysharl.com/
http://www.facebook.com/
Don't forget to stop by each month and check out the monthly winner's design and help support Lansing and the Lansing City Market.
Tags: Gift Baskets Lansing Gift Baskets Lansing Farmers Market Floral Flowers
Is .CO poised to take on the likes of the .COM's?
After an expensive advertising campaign from Go Daddy.com and Overstock.com during the Super Bowl this year the domain extension is getting a lot of publicity.
The benefit of buying a .co is many if not all of the good .com's are gone or too expensive to buy up. New business's have no chance to buy up short or catchy domain names to promote their companies.
Their has been only a few other domain extensions that have made it on the net. Some of them include .org, .net .gov and .edu. All the rest have failed miserably and gone no where.
The problem is they all lacked an advertising or branding initiative.
Many top 500 companies have snapped up these domain names but with a little searching thousands are still available.
This creates a potential business opportunity for domain buyers and new business start ups some of which are selling for thousands of dollars!
The creation of the domain extension will allow a company to compete with the same domain name as another company that uses the dot.com extension.
Imagine buying the company extension like Goodyear.co or Staples.co and the list goes on and on!
For now all we can do is jump on the bandwagon and buy up hundreds of potential domain names or wait by the sidelines and hope it does not pass you buy.
Tags: .co .com Super Bowl Go Daddy.com Tld Extension Icann
Stop and check out "Time Bandit" from the Hit TV show "Deadliest Catch" will be available for viewing at a local Auto Repair shop in Lansing. The shop Professional Fleet Services which also is a local supplier of Amsoil products was given a unique opportunity to show the offshore race boat while it is on the way to the Detroit Boat Show.
Time Bandit can be seen during business hours of 8am -7pm Tuesday-Thursday at Professional Fleet Services 615 E Kalamazoo St. Lansing MI 48912
Time Bandit Race Boat (Feb 8th-11th)
Come see the super vee Time Bandit offshore racing boat sponsored by Andy & John Hillstrand, co-Captains of the Time Bandit crab fishing vessel on the top-rated cable TV show Deadliest Catch. The 30-foot Phantom racer is driven by Bob Mazikowski, an 11-year veteran with three national championships, two world championships and more than 40 wins to his record. He will be on-site with the boat. The Throttleman is Travis Lofland who is in the Bering Sea now working as a Deckhand on the Time Bandit taping for the next season of Deadliest Catch. Catch a few clips of Time Bandit on the water.
Tags: Time Bandit Deadliest Catch Detroit Boat Show Amsoil Lansing Auto Repai
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2011 American Eagle Silver Uncirculated Coin Subscription – $25.95 per unit.
The United States Mint issues these coins annually. With your enrollment today you will receive the 2011 American Eagle Silver Uncirculated Coin as your first product. Struck on specially burnished blanks, this coin was first offered in 2006 and offers silver precious metal purchasers a collectible version of the popular American Eagle Silver Bullion Coin and features a finish similar to its bullion coin counterpart. Each coin also bears the “W” mint mark reflecting its striking at the United States Mint at West Point. The obverse design is Adolph A. Weinman's full-length figure of Liberty in full stride, enveloped in folds of the flag, with her right hand extended and branches of laurel and oak in her left. The reverse design, by United States Mint Chief Engraver John Mercanti, features the heraldic eagle with shield, and olive branch in the right talon and arrows in the left. Coin Specifications:
Face value: $1
Weight: 1 troy ounce
Diameter: 1.598
Composition: 99.9% silver
Mint Facility: West Point By signing up today you will receive this American Eagle Silver Uncirculated Coin and all future American Eagle Silver Uncirculated Coins. You can choose to cancel at any time. Subscription Policy:  Prices listed on the subscription Web page are current prices for the products included in your subscription. These prices may change during the course of your subscription. Should a change occur, the new price will be listed on your 30-day pre-fulfillment notification. Please review your notification carefully. No previous releases will be included as part of any subscription. The United States Mint reserves the right to discontinue any subscription program at any time at its discretion.
To ensure uninterrupted delivery of the products in your subscription, please keep your credit card information current. You may cancel at any time.
Reprinted from | http://catalog.usmint.gov/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10 001&productId=13941&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=10201
Tags: SILVER COINS SILVER EAGLE SILVER BULLION CHEAP SILVER
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Posted On 01/29/2011 00:14:34
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2011 United States Mint Silver Proof Set™ (SV4)
The 2011 United States Mint Silver Proof Set contains all 14 circulating coins in stunning proof condition displayed in three protective lenses, each bearing the “S”mint mark of the United States Mint at San Francisco. The quarters, half-dollar and dime are struck in 90 percent silver, generally referred to as “coin silver.” The coins included in this set are: - (5) quarters from America the Beautiful Quarters® Program(honoring Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania, Glacier National Park in Montana, Olympic National Park in Washington, Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi and Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Oklahoma)
- (4) Presidential $1 Coins (honoring Presidents Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes and James Garfield)
- (1) Native American $1 Coin with a reverse design emblematic of the peace alliance created by the 1621 Wampanoag Treaty
- (1) Kennedy half-dollar
- (1) Roosevelt dime
- (1) Jefferson five-cent coin
- (1) Lincoln cent
The United States Mint Silver Proof Set is also available through the United States Mint's Online Subscription Program. Visit ourSubscriptions page for more information. Program Information: United States Mint proof coins are extraordinarily brilliant, with sharp relief and a mirror-like background. Their frosted, sculpted foregrounds give them a special cameo effect. Proof blanks are specially treated, polished and cleaned to ensure high-quality strikes. The blanks are then fed into presses fitted with specially polished dies and struck at least twice to ensure sharp relief. The coins are then displayed in protective lenses to showcase and preserve their exceptional finish. Purchase Information: To ensure that all members of the public have fair and equal access to United States Mint products, any order placed prior to the official on-sale date and time of January 25, 2011, at 12:00 Noon (ET) shall not be deemed accepted by the United States Mint and will not be honored. If paying by credit card, please be sure your credit card information remains current in order to avoid any delays in processing your order. If your credit card has expired by the time of shipment, your order will be cancelled. To update credit card information after an order has been placed, you must call 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). Please allow approximately 1-2 weeks for shipping.
Reprinted from | | | http://catalog.usmint.gov/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/EmailView?sourceCode=B54593G&URL=ProductD isplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&productId=16216&langId=-1& amp;parent_category_rn=10111 | |
Tags: Silver Silver Proof Silver Coins Us Mint Sets Quarters Silver
Every car in Lansing Michigan is at risk for theft. So it's up to us to make our cars a less appealing target and more of a challenge – hopefully sending potential thieves to look elsewhere.
The National Insurance Crime Bureau recommends a layered approach to protecting vehicles:
Common sense Visible and audible devices Immobilizing devices Tracking devices
Let's review each of these. First, common sense: you would be surprised how many vehicles are stolen from Lansing Michigan where the keys were left in the ignition with the doors unlocked. Always take your keys, and lock the doors. In fact, in some places it's against the law to leave a vehicle unattended with the keys in the ignition.
And don't leave spare keys in the car or hide them outside – because a thief will find them. Try to park in well-lit areas that have a lot of foot traffic. If possible, park near the end of a row and near a light. Back your car into a parking space or your driveway to make your car more visible to passersby and harder for a thief to work under the hood without being seen.
Remember to roll up your windows completely and avoid leaving your car in public lots for a long time. If you park in a lot that has an attendant, only give them the ignition key.
Keep valuables out of sight: purses, wallets, cell phones, clothes and even change are attractive "smash-and-grab" targets. And pay to have your Vehicle Identification Number, or VIN, etched into your windows – it makes your car less attractive to a thief who wants to send your car to a chop shop.
There are lots of visible and audible devices available. A steering wheel lock is highly visible and will deter some thieves. Loud alarms can alert you and others that your vehicle is being tampered with. But if your alarm does go off, be careful. Observe what's going on; get descriptions of suspicious people and vehicles, including license plate numbers.
Now, if you catch a thief in the act, call 911 but don't approach the person. Your safety is more important than the car.
And here's a great one - immobilizing devices. They actually shut off your car's electrical or fuel supply. So without a key, or knowing where the hidden switch is located, a thief can't drive your car away.
Finally, you can also get a tracking device that allows police to track your car down and recover it quickly.
Remember, where you live, work and drive around Lansing Michigan has a great impact on your decisions. If you're in an area with high theft rates, you may want to spend more money on security systems. And check with your Lansing Michigan auto insurance company to see if they offer discounts for adding any of these items.
Of course, the common sense suggestions from Professional Fleet Services don't cost anything and go a long way toward keeping your car safe from thieves. Take a look at the attached video auto tip from AutoNetTV.
Come see us for practical advice on keeping your sedan safe. Professional Fleet Services 615 E Kalamazoo St, Lansing, Michigan 48912 Call us at 517-316-7999
Tags: Vehicle Theft Protection
There are a number of factors that contribute to the high nighttime accident rate in the greater Lansing area, things like drowsy driving and a higher rate of impaired driving. Without a doubt, visibility is a major contributor. Let's focus on visibility…
It's said that 90 percent of our driving decisions are based on what we see. Nighttime driving has the effect of reducing 20/20 vision to the equivalent of 20/50 vision. What you could clearly see at 50 feet in daylight can't be seen until you are just 20 feet away at night.
Too make sure your headlights are giving you the greatest visibility, visit us at Professional Fleet Services. you'll find us located on 615 E Kalamazoo St, Lansing, Michigan 48912. Please give us a call to make an appointment: 517-316-7999.
Accident avoidance is dependent on reaction time. Reaction time deteriorates measurably in low light conditions. One thing we can do to improve visibility is to make sure our headlights are as bright as they can possibly be.
Headlamps dim over time. They dim so gradually that you may not notice it. Many experts suggest replacing your standard or halogen headlamps once a year.
If your vehicle has standard headlamps, consider upgrading to halogen lamps. They make a big difference. And there are upgrades available within the halogen category as well. This once-a-year expense is very modest compared to the safety benefits.
Some sedans come with high intensity discharge – or HID – headlamps. These lamps should last for the life of your car. They are very bright and are clearly the best option for nighttime driving. Depending on your vehicle, you may be able to upgrade to HID headlamps. Talk with your East Lansing service advisor at Professional Fleet Services about options for your car.
Another startling fact is that 90 percent of sedans on the road have dirty or yellowed headlight covers. Dirty is easy to fix. Just run the window washer over the headlight cover when you stop for gas. Get those bugs and dirt off the cover.
Now plastic headlight covers can yellow or become hazy over time. They can be restored to clarity with a special polishing process. Professional Fleet Services can help you with this service.
It's also vital to keep your windshield clean and streak free when driving at night. Make sure you have plenty of washer fluid and that your windshield wipers are in good working order.
We recommend replacing wiper blades twice a year – in the spring and fall. Fall is also a good time to replace headlamps so you'll be ready for those long winter nights.
Tags: Auto Repair Visibility Headlamps Windshield
Timing Belt Replacement in Lansing
Today we want to talk about timing belts. They're something that many Lansing drivers don't know much about and yet your vehicle won't run if it's broken – and it could cause many thousands of dollars damage if it does break. A broken timing belt is usually a tale of woe. Even though timing belt replacement is scheduled in the owner's manual, it's not the kind of thing that most East Lansing car owners remember because it's not well understood.
Let's review what a timing belt does. As you know, the engine's power is generated in the cylinders. A piston rides up and down in the cylinder. During the first down stroke, an intake valve at the top of the cylinder opens and air and fuel is drawn into the cylinder. Then the piston returns to the top, compressing the fuel and air mix. At the top, the spark plug fires, igniting the fuel pushing the piston down in the power stroke. As the piston once again returns up in the final stroke of the cycle, an exhaust valve opens at the top of the cylinder and the exhaust is pushed out. The timing belt is what coordinates the opening and closing of the intake and exhaust valves. It's called a timing belt because the valves have to open and close at just the right time.
Now, not all vehicles have timing belts. Some have timing chains. Like the name implies, they use a chain rather than a belt to perform the function. It used to be that most engines used timing chains, which are extremely durable. Manufacturers started using belts rather than chains to save money in the manufacturing process. So now we're left with a component that can break. They sort of shifted the problem to us. There are two broad categories of engine design: interference and non-interference. If the timing belt on a non-interference engine breaks, the engine simply stops running. That could be very dangerous depending on where you are at the time, but it causes no internal engine damage.
Interference engines, on the other hand, will get real messed up when the timing belt breaks, because the valves will actually fall down into the path of the pistons. Things get chewed up when that happens and it'll cost thousands to repair the engine.
So, what are the warning signs? Unfortunately, there really aren't any. There aren't tell-tale sounds. In some vehicles, a technician from Professional Fleet Services may be able to see part of the belt for a visual inspection, but many have a cover that's in the way. The reality is that if the belt slips even one notch, it might as well be broken for all the damage it'll cause. There's no middle ground.
So how can we avoid these problems? Simply replace the timing belt when your owner's manual calls for it. It can be 60,000 miles; it might be 90,000 or 100,000 miles. The point is, if you have 60,000 or more miles, ask your Professional Fleet Services service advisor right away if your manufacturer requires a timing belt replacement.
Contact Professional Fleet Services to learn more about your car's Timing Belt You can find us at: 615 E Kalamazoo St Lansing, Michigan 48912 Or call us at 517-316-7999 Sometimes you can go quite a while without a failure, but we've seen them happen within a couple of oil changes of being due. It's not worth the risk.
What does it cost to replace a timing belt at our Lansing Auto Repair shop? Well, that really depends on what kind of car you have. I can tell you that it's usually not very easy to get to the timing belt – you often have to remove some accessories to get at it. It isn't a cheap procedure, but it's a fraction of what it could cost to repair the damage caused by a failure. Average price is $300-$400
At Professional Fleet Services we're all about trying to prevent costly repairs, keeping you and your passengers safe and increasing your driving enjoyment. Thanks to AutoNetTV for their great auto video tips.
Comments on "Timing Belt Replacement in Lansing"
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Tags: Timing Belt Replacement In Lansing Engine Failure Zero Tolerance Engine
Today is Martin Luther King Monday. Monday is Dr. Russ Busster day. Today I offer up some Bussters to help you knock out any pessimism standing in the way of your belief that you can make a difference for equality and freedom for all humans. According to Dr. King we all have the following choice: - Walk in the light of creative altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness.
King's persistent call to action, “What are you doing for others?” is as loud today 47 years after his death as it was in 1968. For King, a life of service was the hallmark of a “full life.” On February 4, 1968, from his pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church, he asked that we remember the following after his mortal death: - I'd like for somebody to mention that . . . Martin Luther King, Jr. tried to give his life serving others . . . that I did try in my life . . . to love and serve humanity.
We do not celebrate King Day on the anniversary of his death, but on the Monday closest to his birth of January 15 (1929). On this date we have the opportunity to not just mention King's service to others, but to shout out, "DR. KING: YOU NOT ONLY TRIED BUT YOU DID LEAD A LIFE OF SERVICE TO OTHERS WITH LOVE FOR ALL HUMANITY!" Now it is our turn to not just SHOUT but to WALK where Dr. King wanted us to go. In a recent article, his son --Martin Luther King III-- implores us to not just seek his father's dream of freedom and equality for all, but to live our lives in each and every moment in service to others. Today, I take some key ideas and phrases from this article to form the following Dr. Russ Bussters. Dr. Russ Bussters for Living the Dream - If it has to be our way or the highway, we are not living the dream. We live the dream by solving conflicts with greater understanding, reconciliation and cooperation.
- If we speak with hateful rhetoric we are exercising our right to free speech, but we are not living the dream. We live the dream when we invite all sisters and brothers of any race, faith, nationality, sexual orientation or political belief to be part of the human family.
- We are not living the dream when we claim that God is our side. We are living the dream when like Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King we pray that we are on God's side.
- We are not living the dream when we espouse there is only one exclusionary and correct voice of God's word; one right religious ideology. We are living the dream when we walk side by side with members of every religious faith.
- We are not living the dream when we ignore the needs of the poor and less fortunate. We are living the dream when we show compassion for the poor through donations of time and money.
- We are not living the dream if we advocate violence over non-violence. We are living the dream if we make non-violence not only the means to the end, but the end itself.
- We are not living the dream if we simply entitle the poor to a free lunch. We are living the dream if we teach them how to earn their own wages so they can buy their own lunch.
- We are not living the dream when we are idle and complacent about any form of injustice anywhere. We are living the dream when we attempt to fight, with peaceful means, all threats to justice everywhere.
- We are partially living the dream with donations of time and money to the poor. We are fully living the dream when we work to find ways to end their unemployment and put them back to work rebuilding our tattered infrastructure, reducing pollution and saving the environment.
- Learn to live the dream with this commitment:
- Find new ways to reach out to one another, to heal our divisions, and build bridges of hope and opportunity benefiting all people. (Martin Luther King III).
Tags: Dr Martin Luther King Choice Optimism Quotes Quotes Reality Relations
By Dr. Russ
When I was in elementary school and the teachers told my mother that I was not achieving up to the level of my potential, my mother said, “Maybe he is a “late bloomer.” What is a “late bloomer?” The term refers to a person whose talents and capabilities are slow to develop. It is a metaphor for children who don't reach their full potential until adulthood and sometimes late adulthood. I have compiled a partial list of famous individuals whose accomplishments are noteworthy worldwide, but who were tagged with the label “late bloomer” early in life. Since these individuals appeared to be behind their age group in some aspect of development, they were often ridiculed and teased. Interestingly, I consider the individuals on the list below to be optimists not pessimists. In light of their early childhood challenges and negative experiences, I wonder how they grew up to become optimists? Perhaps they were genetically endowed with a resilient spirit. Or, perhaps the fact that they were able to endure and overcome these “hard knocks” of childhood gave them a belief in themselves and their ability to overcome difficulties with effort, persistence, and hard work. Late Bloomers: Famous Children - Thomas Edison's mother took him out of regular public school and home schooled him after only three months of public education. The teacher was calling him addled. And some now think he might have been ADHD.
- Albert Einstein suffered speech difficulties as a young child.
- Another famous physicist, Edward Teller, also was a “late talker.”
- Twenty to 30% of U.S. and British successful entrepreneurs are thought to have been dyslexic. Dyslexic children have significant difficulties learning to read because they were born with a neurological deficit in the brain center associated with decoding ability, i.e., transforming visual symbols into sounds. Some speculate that these dyslexic entrepreneurs compensated for the deficit by becoming highly skilled in oral-verbal communication and delegation.
- Actors Tom Cruise and Whoopi Goldberg, artist Pablo Picasso, and business tycoon Charles Schwab are all examples of children with dyslexia, labeled “slow” as children.
- Pulitzer Prize winning critic and author Tim Page and Nobel Laureate in Economics Vernon L. Smith both have an “autistic spectrum disorder.”
Late Bloomers: Famous Adults Late blooming adults find their true talents and abilities later in life, sometimes even after age 60. Check out these examples below. - Grandma Moses gave up here embroidering career due to arthritis and began painting in her seventies.
- Bill Traylor began drawing in his eighties.
- After Alfred Wallace's wife died, he took up painting in his 60's.
- Colonel Sanders became a late-in-life financial success after he founded his franchise in his sixties.
- Kurt Warner had been written off as a possible football talent, but entered the NFL at age 28 and went on to become a super bowl champion quarterback in his thirties.
- Laura Ingalls Wilder was a columnist in her forties, but did not publish her first novel, of the The Little House on the Prairie series, until her sixties.
- Winston Churchill, thought of as a “late bloomer” as a child with speech and learning difficulties, achieved his fame as an orator, writer and acclaimed wartime Prime Minister of England later in life after many political setbacks and some outright failures.
It's a “Bloomin' Metaphor” Let's take this “bloomin' metaphor” a little further. Flowers are considered annual or perennial bloomers. Annuals bloom once in their life cycle and need to be replanted every spring. Perennials are planted once and then bloom every year. Optimists are more like perennials that annuals in that they keep on blooming throughout their lifespan. In fact, I think of OPTIMISTS as “CONTINUOUS BLOOMERS” that have the potential to keep on blooming and blooming not just once a year, but every day IN EVERY MOMENT. From this day forward go forth and bloom, bloom again, and know it is possible to keep re-blooming over and over no matter what the setback or obstacle. For more words of optimism @http://www.drrussbuss.com/optimism-blog/2011/1/7/the-optimism-of-a-late-bloomer.html
Tags: ADHD Albert Einstein Thomas Edison Winston Churchill Autism Dyslexia
By Dr. Russ Use each of these ten, original, Dr. Russ Buss quotes as a daily inspirational to help stay optimistic in each and every moment of every day. - Daily setbacks are only momentary, if we let them be so.
- Setbacks are like the bees that keep the flowers abloom and serve as the pollination for each new moment to burst forth with a bloom of opportunity.
- Failure is temporary when we stop looking back.
- Focusing on what cannot be done keeps us from moving forward with what can be done.
- The impossible becomes possible if we simply open one CAN at a time.
- A disagreeable moment blooms with insight when we take time to explore the value of an opinion different than our own.
- A handicap only becomes a disadvantage when we stop learning how to make it an advantage.
- There is more opportunity to be found on the “road of hard knocks” than on “easy street.”
- Believe in the possibility that every moment of life can blossom, and life will become the garden that makes your dreams a reality.
- Everyday can be a “blue sky day,” if we only stop to remember that no matter how gray the sky or dark the clouds, the VIEW is controlled from WITHIN.
Tags: Dr Russ Buss Quotes Blossom Dreams Impossible Dream Inspiration Oppor
By Dr. Russ
Monday is Dr. Russ Busster Day. Time to Busst-up some pessimism with these four optimism strategies to manage failure. The path of possibilities is bumpy and full of potholes. The land of opportunity has many mountains to climb. Danger and difficulty abound. Setbacks and failure are guaranteed. So what is optimistic about this metaphor, you ask? Danger, difficulty, failure and setbacks are all circumstances of life; circumstances with which we must deal in order to make progress and achieve goals. Optimism gives us the motivation, energy, creativity and enthusiasm needed to overcome and master these circumstances. “Busst-Up” Your Worries about Failure with these Dr. Russ Bussters Optimists learn to embrace failure as a necessary ingredient for life long learning and personal growth. There are four essential failure management skills that must be learned in order to maintain a positive, upward and continuous learning curve. - Failure is to be expected. A mentor gave me this advice early in life: “Whenever you try to do something new expect to take at least three tries to get it right.” He also reminded me that a really good professional baseball player only gets a hit 33% of the time. In other words, he fails 67% of the time.
- Forgive yourself for your failures. “Beating yourself up” over a mistake only inhibits any learning that can occur. Better to stop blaming yourself and figure out what went wrong and how you might fix or correct the problem.
- Use the failure as an opportunity to learn how to improve and become better at whatever it is you are working on and striving toward; whether it's driving a car, running a race, writing an article, repairing a broken bone or fixing a busted pipe.
- See past the failure and into a future of learning and becoming through trying again and again, and getting closer and closer to the ideal of a goal you once could only have imagined.
For more words of optimism @ http://www.drrussbuss.com/optimism-blog/2011/1/10/four-optimism-strategies-to-manage-any-failure- or-setback.html
Tags: Dr Russ Bussters Failure Forget Forgive Learning Possibility In Optim
by Dr. Russ Buss
With all the negative or bad news being reported many ask how it is possible to stay optimistic. The congress is in gridlock, unemployment is high, and a U.S. Representative from Arizona lies in a hospital bed under heavy sedation, with a bullet wound to her head sustained in an attempted assassination. Next Monday we celebrate the birthday of an American hero of Civil Rights assassinated in 1968. Martin Luther King's assassination in the spring of 1968 was the initial shock followed by aftershocks of race riots in the streets, the assassination of Presidential Candidate Bobby Kennedy two months later, and the late summer protests in Miami and Chicago, disrupting both national party presidential nominating conventions. As I think back to those months of negative news, my first thought is, “We are still here.” In January, every state Governor and the President himself will deliver a “State of the State” or “State of the Union” address to their respective electorates. George Washington delivered the first state of the Union address in 1790. A careful look at his speech showed he faced many of the same problems we do today including a/an: - Uncertain economy and need to shore up the “public credit.”
- Desire to stimulate a worldwide exchange of ideas, bringing the best to the US for further development.
- Need to determine what foreigners could be citizens.
- Need to maintain a military ready for war.
- Need to find a way to forge comprise among the different opinions in Congress.
The problems of yesterday get solved, but circumstances evolve and change and the problems resurface in a new form today. "Reality" is what it is: a set of CIRCUMSTANCES with which we must deal and about which we must problem solve. We do not get to choose Reality. It is given to us. We do CHOOSE OUR VIEW OF REALITY. We have a choice to feel or be overwhelmed by the CIRCUMSTANCES OF REALITY, become hopeless and helpless, OR to take action to solve the problems that reality gives us in every moment of everyday.
Actions that lead to the MASTERY OF REALITY are based in hope and a belief that overcoming a challenge is positive. Such HOPE AND BELIEF is born of OPTIMISM. OPTIMISM IS THE VIEW that allows us to believe that the problem is not only solvable, but gives us the courage to take the risk to solve it, the calling-up of untold and sometimes unrealized resources to solve the problem, and the energy to persist through every step of the problem solving process until the goal has been achieved.
View more words of optimism @
http://www.drrussbuss.com/optimism-blog/2011/1/11/optimism-versus-reality.html
Tags: Circumstances Helpless Hope Hopeless Motivation Reality Vew In Optimi
How much time do you waste on a daily basis?
We all seem to be pressed for time, and most everyone would say they just "never have enough!" Have you taken a close look on ways you might be wasting your own time? Waste no more...reclaim that time!
In this week's Tip, Jackie shares one of her personal tools for time management and asks you to check your time inventory and report back on what kinds of "wasted" time you've cut from your time budget!
Tags: Optimism Tip Of The Week Jackie Monroe Dr Russ Buss New Year's Resolutions
by courtney
Reprinted from Healthy & Fit Magazine
It's that time of year. New Year's resolutions turn our thoughts to losing weight, making better food choices and improving our health habits. Some of us consider exercise in hopes our doctor will consider cutting back our dose of medication.
Current fitness enthusiasts resolve to take their fitness program up to another level. Whatever your reason, it is important to know what to look for in a facility when you are investing in your health and wellness.
Different fitness centers meet different needs, and they all have their place. For the seasoned gym veteran, a low-cost, high-volume gym works well. It is open when they want, it has the equipment they need, they have been working out for years, do not need much instruction, and really don't mind exercising alone.
On the other hand, you might be new to exercise, you may struggle with motivation, have medical issues such as high blood pressure, diabetes, joint problems, or obesity. You may be a self-motivated, seasoned fitness buff, yet enjoy the camaraderie and sense of community that a traditional facility can provide. You might like to take group exercise classes or get a massage. For this group, it is critical for success to choose a center with a philosophy based on a medical model, that is always staffed, and provides one-on-one guidance and instruction to get you off on the right foot.
Hospital-based health and wellness centers focus on meeting the continuum of care, from illness to wellness, as part of the new medical model. Exercise is medicine as an adjunct to many physician plans to treat a vast array of diseases. In the hospital-based center, trained staff are available during all hours of operation. They help members with fitness testing, goal setting, customizing an exercise program, providing ongoing feedback and encouragement, and helping members progress if they hit a plateau. Instruction is tailored to meet the unique learning style of each member, and physician referrals are encouraged. Pre-exercise screening and physician contacts are part of the enrollment process for those who need it. Some even offer a full array of weight management programs to help with weight loss goals.
If your personal needs fall into this group, here are some key things to consider: - Is trained staff always on duty for you to ask questions and assure safety?
- How friendly and knowledgeable are the staff? Do they seem genuinely interested in helping you?
- Is there an orientation, and is it customized to your set of circumstances?
- Do they measure key numbers, like body fat and fitness levels, to set a scientific baseline so you really know if you are making progress?
- Are their staff degreed and nationally certified?
- Do they cater to “newbies?” Once you have made that life-changing decision, you need the support around you to help you develop and sustain the habit.
- Do they have any special incentive programs to help motivate you to come in and exercise?
- Do they tailor your tour to address your unique needs?
- Can you walk in anytime and/or make an appt for a tour? Is someone always there?
- Do they have a free trial, and what is the friendliness of the members and staff during that free trial? Do you get a good orientation during that time?
- What do the current members say about the center? Ask current members there about the quality of service, cleanliness of the facility and upkeep of the equipment.
- Are there group classes to join for different ages and fitness levels? Are they free to members?
- Are there free lectures to educate you on health and wellness topics?
The good news is there are all kinds of gyms and fitness centers. As long as you are active and can find a place to exercise that fits your style, and fit it in at least three times a week, that is the key. You may follow the medical model and seek a hospital-based approach with a wide range of programs and services, or you may seek a low-cost, high-volume center that is lean on services but available whenever you are. Each type of center meets a certain need. You just need to figure out what your needs are.
By Dawn Rodman, MS Dawn Rodman is an exercise physiologist with a master's degree from Pennsylvania State University, and is the director of the Hayes Green Beach Wellness Center in Charlotte, Michigan. She can be reached at the Wellness Center at 543-9575, or at hgbhealth.com/wellnesscenter.
Tags: Fitness Solution Health And Fitness Diet Workout Healthy Lifestyle
Reprinted from
Today's society is plagued with the growing trend of reliance on a “quick fix.” I am referring to prescribed medications that are being handed out like Snickers bars on Halloween. In fact, a study conducted by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics concluded that the number of Americans who take at least one prescription drug has risen from 43.5% in 1999-2000 to 48.3% in 2007-2008. The study also determined that Americans who take two or more medications has risen from 25.4% to 31.2% over the same time frame (source). With the exponential increase of diagnosed hypertension (high blood pressure), Type II Diabetes, and high cholesterol, medications are being prescribed solely to control the problem and do nothing to eliminate the actually underlying causes. A problem that in most cases, is distinctly correlated to persistent lifestyle choices. These proven and direct lifestyle choices can include smoking, drinking, unhealthy diets, sedentary living, and most importantly being overweight/obese. In fact, more than 64% of Americans are overweight and 31% are categorized obese (source). While there are many causes to these various conditions, being overweight/obese is the primary cause of hypertension, Type II Diabetes, and high cholesterol. Many of the medications used to control these various avoidable conditions come with negative side effects which include anxiety, depression, impotence, insomnia, heart palpitations, angina (chest pain), and this list continues. Now the question is, why would anyone want to run the risk of experiencing these systematic responses to medications that only provide a “quick fix” to reversible ailments? One significant medication that doctors may fail to mention is in fact free and does not come in pill form. This medication is not associated with any negative side-effects and can actually benefit you in a variety of ways. It's called a healthy lifestyle and can be adopted by any motivated population! While it does not necessarily fall into the “quick fix” category, it has the power to potentially eliminate the need for other medications. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well folks, I am here to tell that your prayers have been answered and that this is the ultimate remedy. However, the unbelievably beneficial powers of this drug rely primarily on your drive and motivation to adhere to regular consumption of this healthy lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle entails healthier food choices and regular exercise. Along with the proven scientific conclusions that determine a healthy diet and regular exercise reduces high blood pressure, improves the use of insulin, and lowers “bad” cholesterol (LDL) while raising the “good” cholesterol (HDL), there are in fact many other proven benefits that may indeed surprise you. - Development of new brain cells
- Decreased risk of cardiovascular disease
- Lowered “bad” cholesterol and increased “good” cholesterol
- Lowered blood pressure
- Improved insulin resistance
- Improved glucose tolerance
- Prevention of breast and colon cancer
- Decreased risk of stroke
- Improved metabolism
- Increased muscular strength
- Improved immune system
- Improved sleep
- Decrease in overall stress
- Improved mood
- Reduced risk of gastrointestinal diseases
- Prevention of osteoporosis
- Increased bone mass
- Reduces severity of asthma
- Promotes healthy pregnancy
- Prevention of aging affects
- Improved management of arthritis
- Reduces chronic pain
- Improved levels of energy
To add to the numerous benefits that are associated with a healthy lifestyle, studies are continuing to conclude more and more positive effects this remedy has on the body! In most cases, prescription medications do nothing but control unhealthy symptoms in a “quick fix” manner. This societal transformation of increasing reliance on prescription drugs is developing an acceptable norm of living unhealthy lives. Knowing that there are drugs available to help control high blood pressure, high levels of cholesterol, and decreased insulin responsiveness, creates the misconception that living a sedentary lifestyle and eating an unhealthy diet can be maintained by taking these “quick fix” medications. Now before you go ahead and throw away your prescription medications, I would highly recommend first talking with your doctor about your current health status and future goals. I would also like to explain that certain situations and distinct genetic factors may require the use of medications. However, many of these diagnosed conditions are reversible with a daily dose of a healthy lifestyle. Sit down and take a moment to ask yourself whether or not you wish to continue living an unhealthy life relying on prescription medications to control reversible conditions, or to step up to the plate and adopt this incredibly powerful remedy I like to call a healthy lifestyle.
by: Devin Mongrain, State of Fitness
Tags: Health And Fitness Diet Lansing Mason
The silver saga continues.
So appearently the rare mintage America The Beautiful Silver Proof coin sets that were finally released by the U.S. Mint and supposed to end up in as many individual people's hands as possible did not work out as planned.
A few local coin dealers close to the Springfield Mint paid anybody they could to stand in line to collect a set for them. They then turned up on ebay for sale by the masses. A few weeks back these sets were selling for as much as $3000.00 and has now plummeted to the $2000 dollar mark as we predicted they would.
There are still thousands of sets of these floating around that will continue to drive the price down as the coin dealers reap massive profits on them. The only issue is by flooding the market they are cutting their own throats and lowering the cost of these rare sets of silver proof 5 ounce quarters.
If you can pick up a set for under $1850 it is still a very good buy! We suspect the price of these sets to drop as low as $1500.00 over the next few months as they hit the market all at one time.
In comparisson the only other coin in recent history, the 1995 W Silver Eagle Proof Dollar now sells for over $1000 per coin.
We suspect the same will apply to these America The Beautiful Silver Proof 5 oz coins in a few years. These sets will prove to be a very good long term investment especially with the price of silver trending upward every month.
Reprinted from http://www.coincollectingnews.org/us-mint-2011-schedule-of-coin-product-release-dates/1014546
Collectors and gift-givers, mark your calendars! The 2011 Scheduled Products Listing is also available online at http://usmint.gov/catalog. The list will be updated as products are added and/or on-sale dates change. Customers are encouraged to visit the site regularly for the most current information. The United States Mint today released on-sale dates for the numismatic products in its 2011 portfolio: 2011 Schedule of Coin Product Release Dates | PRODUCT | ON-SALE DATE | | 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters Three-Coin SetTM - Yellowstone | 01/05/11 | | 2011 United States Mint Proof Set® | 01/11/11 | | 2011 United States Mint Silver Proof SetTM | 01/25/11 | | America the Beautiful Quarters® Bags and Two-Roll Set - Gettysburg (PA) | 01/27/11 | | 2011 United States Army Commemorative Coin Program | 01/31/11 | | 2011 United States Mint Uncirculated Coin Set® | 02/08/11 | | 2011 Kennedy Half-Dollar Bags and Two-Roll Set | 02/15/11 | | 2011 United States Mint Presidential $1 Coin Proof SetTM | 02/22/11 | | Andrew Johnson $1 Coin Rolls | 02/23/11 | | 2011 Medal of Honor Commemorative Coin Program | 02/25/11 | | America the Beautiful Quarters Three-Coin SetTM - Yosemite | 03/01/11 | | First Spouse Series One-Half Ounce Gold Coin - Eliza Johnson | 03/03/11 | | Eliza Johnson Bronze Medal 1-5/16" | 03/03/11 | | 2011 United States Mint Presidential $1 Coin & First Spouse Medal SetTM- Andrew Johnson | 03/15/11 | | 2011 United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Proof SetTM | 03/22/11 | | 2011 Native American $1 Coin Rolls | 03/28/11 | | 2011 United States Mint America the Beautiful Silver Quarters Proof SetTM | 03/29/11 | | Andrew Johnson $1 Coin Cover | 03/31/11 | | America the Beautiful Quarters® Bags and Two-Roll Set - Glacier (MT) | 04/04/11 | | 2011 American Buffalo Gold Proof Coin | 04/18/11 | | America the Beautiful Quarters Uncirculated Coin SetTM | 04/19/11 | | 2011 American Eagle Gold Proof Coins | 04/21/11 | | 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters Three-Coin SetTM - Mount Hood | 05/04/11 | | 2011 American Eagle Uncirculated Gold Coin | 05/05/11 | | Ulysses S. Grant $1 Coin Roll | 05/19/11 | | 2011 American Eagle Platinum Proof Coin | 05/26/11 | | First Spouse Series One-Half Ounce Gold Coin - Julia Grant | 06/02/11 | | Julia Grant Bronze Medal 1-5/16" | 06/02/11 | | America the Beautiful Quarters® Bags and Two-Roll Set - Olympic (WA) | 06/13/11 | | 2011 United States Mint Presidential $1 Coin & First Spouse Medal SetTM- Ulysses S. Grant | 06/23/11 | | Ulysses S. Grant $1 Coin Cover | 06/30/11 | | 2011 American Eagle Silver Proof Coins | By 07/06/11 | | America the Beautiful Quarters Three-Coin SetTM - Gettysburg | 07/27/11 | | America the Beautiful Quarters Three-Coin SetTM - Glacier | 07/27/11 | | America the Beautiful Quarters Three-Coin SetTM - Olympic | 07/27/11 | | Rutherford B. Hayes $1 Coin Rolls | 08/18/11 | | America the Beautiful Quarters® Bags and Two-Roll Set - Vicksburg (MS) | 08/29/11 | | First Spouse Series One-Half Ounce Gold Coin - Lucy Hayes | 09/01/11 | | Lucy Hayes Bronze Medal 1-5/16" | 09/01/11 | | United States Mint Presidential $1 Coin & Liberty Medal SetTM - Rutherford B. Hayes | 09/22/11 | | Rutherford B. Hayes $1 Coin Cover | 09/29/11 | | America the Beautiful Quarters Three-Coin SetTM - Vicksburg | 10/19/11 | | America the Beautiful Quarters® Bags and Two-Roll Set - Chickasaw(OK) | 11/14/11 | | James Garfield $1 Coin Rolls | 11/17/11 | | 2011 America the Beautiful Quarters® Circulating Coin Set | 11/22/11 | | First Spouse Series One-Half Ounce Gold Coin - Lucretia Garfield | 12/01/11 | | Lucretia Garfield Bronze Medal 1-5/16" | 12/01/11 | | First Spouse Bronze Four-Medal Set | 12/01/11 | | America the Beautiful Quarters Three-Coin SetTM - Chickasaw | 12/20/11 | | 2011 United States Mint Presidential $1 Coin & First Spouse Medal SetTM- James Garfield | 12/22/11 | | James Garfield $1 Coin Cover | 12/29/11 | | 2011 American Eagle Silver Uncirculated Coin | TBD | The United States Mint will begin accepting orders for these products at noon Eastern Time (ET) on the specified on-sale dates. Orders will be accepted athttp://www.usmint.gov/catalog and at 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). Hearing- and speech-impaired customers with TTY equipment may order by calling 1-888-321-MINT (6468). A shipping and handling fee of $4.95 will be added to all domestic orders.
Tags: Silver Mint Sets Us Mint Mintage Calendar Release Dates
Authorized Purchasers Order All 2010 America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins  Authorized Purchasers have taken all 165,000 of the2010 America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins, the United States Mint reported Monday.
9 out of the 11 United States Mint AP's placed their orders for the new 3-inch, 5-ounce silver strikes. The final batch of 23,000 America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins™ which had not been sold as of last Monday are gone. They were pulled from the "cache" of the 2 Authorized Purchasers who chose not to participate in reselling the silver coins and allocated them to the 9 who will. List of Authorized Purchasers Selling America the Beautiful Bullion Coins As of this writing, none of the Authorized Purchasers have said they will begin accepting orders from the public before January 3, 2011. The 9 AP's who will offer the .999 fine America the Beautiful Silver Coins include: - A-Mark Precious Metals, Los Angeles, CA - www.amark.com
- American Precious Metals Exchange - Oklahoma City, OK - www.apmex.com
- Coins 'N Things, Bridgewater, MA - atb.cntofma.com
- Dillon Gage Inc. Dallas, TX - www.dillongage.com
- FideliTrade Inc., Wilmington, DE - www.fidelitrade.com
- The Gold Center, Springfield, IL - (217)793-8002
- Jack Hunt Coin Broker, Buffalo, NY - www.jackhunt.com
- MTB, New York City, NY - www.mtbcoins.com
- Prudential Securities Inc., New York City, NY - (212)778-6667
The two Authorized Purchasers who chose not to offer the coins are Commerzbank and ScotiaMocatta. Both are headquartered outside of the United States. Their reasoning may have been governed, at least partially, by new US Mint terms and conditions which require AP's to sell only to the "American public." The nine who ordered indicated their acceptance of new terms placed on the sale of the coins. Those conditions were precipitated by events surrounding an initial planned release on December 6, 2010. The US Mint on that day received numerous inquiries about the silver bullion coins from the public and reports of pre-sale premiums that were more than double their current melt values. As US Mint bullion coin products are struck as a means for investors to obtain small amounts of precious metals to add to their portfolios at near-market prices, the opening prices did not set well with US Mint officials. The initial release was delayed while US Mint officials determined a new course of action. That course was a modification of the bullion agreement between the United States Mint and its network of Authorized Purchasers. Under the new agreement, purchasers who opted to order the new five ounce strikes agreed to resell them straight to the public and limit the premium charged on each coin sale to not more than ten percent above the price at which they obtained them, plus a reasonable shipping and handling fee. The purchasers pay the US Mint an amount equal to the London PM Fix price for silver on a designated day multiplied by the number of ounces they ordered, plus the Mint's premium of $9.75 per five ounce coin which it charges to cover production and distribution costs. In addition, the purchasers must enforce an order limit of one coin of each design per household. This latter requirement proved to be the most difficult for many purchasers to overcome as some of them had never sold US Mint bullion products directly to the public, but instead offered them in bulk quantities to other dealers. The five 2010-dated strikes include the: - Hot Springs Silver Bullion Coin (Arkansas)
- Yellowstone Silver Bullion Coin (Wyoming)
- Yosemite Silver Bullion Coin (California)
- Grand Canyon Silver Bullion Coin (Arizona)
- Mount Hood Silver Bullion Coin (Oregon)
Expected 2010 America the Beautiful Bullion Coin Prices Based on the average London Fix for the week when most of the coins were ordered plus the purchasers maximum ten percent premium, buyers can expect the five ounce coins to sell for approximately $160-$170 per coin plus shipping and handling. Most of the 2010 America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins will be sold in a set of five, making set prices around $800-$850, plus shipping and handling. The US Mint will offer numismatic 2010 America the Beautiful Silver Uncirculated Coins beginning in early 2011. These collector silver coins will feature the same designs but carry the "P" mintmark denoting their production in Philadelphia. The bullion versions are also minted in Philadelphia, but lack the mintmark. All other factors aside, the very limited mintages of the bullion and uncirculated coins has added to their desirability. There is enormous pent-up demand for the pieces.
Tags: America The Beautiful Coins Featured Silver Coins U.S Silver Coins Unit
 The 2010-dated America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins sold out. Several other items in the latest US Mint product sales figures report jumped out as well. 2010 Proof Silver Eaglessold out also, yet their sales figures were unchanged since the last report.
The Proof Silver Eagles have been listed on the US Mint website as sold out since Tuesday, December 28. The total for Proof Silver Eagles remained at 834,879 for a second week. The US Mint has not yet clarified if the sales figures will rise. Proof American Gold Buffalo coins surprisingly advanced 1,002. Normally, of late, a few hundred Proof Buffalo coins would sell in a single week. As for bullion Silver Eagles, their numbers also did not change. December's total remained at 1,772,000, which made it the slowest month for all of 2010. Even September's tally was higher, at 1,880,000. Still, the year-to-date total of 34,662,500 made 2010 the best year for the bullion coins since they debuted in 1986. Final December and 2010 figures should be available in early January. All 2010 America the Beautiful Silver Bullions Coins have been sold by the US Mint to its Authorized Purchasers. [Read SilverCoinsToday.com article: AP's order all 2010 ATB Silver Bullion Coins.] The 165,000 bullion coins, split across each of the five coin designs by 33,000, will gradually enter the secondary market in the coming weeks. January 3, 2011, appears to be the date most of the Authorized Purchasers plan on selling the coins directly to the public. In the numismatic gold market, only two fractional 2010 Proof American Gold Eagles remained available. The individual one-half ounce Gold Eagle sold out last week, but their latest sales figures show the half-ounce gold coins at 10,166 which was only higher by 35. Originally, the US Mint had said the product limit would be 15,000. Still, only the one-quarter ounce proof, the one-tenth ounce proof, and the Four-Coin Set are for sale. Their most recent totals were 8,115, 18,725, and 33,027 respectively. Items with negative sales were the Mary Lincoln First Spouse gold uncirculated coins, all three Mount Hood quarter bags and rolls options, and both Abraham Lincoln Presidential dollar roll sets. What makes the negative adjustment unusual was the fact that each item was fairly new. The oldest item, the Mount Hood Quarters, launched on November 15. Sets were not as popular in this round as they had been. The best seller, the 2010 Mint Proof Set, gained 10,481 versus 18,403 previously. The 2010 Silver Proof Set also eased by climbing 7,768 compared to 9,480. And the Uncirculated Set softened. It advanced 4,611 after gaining 8,418 in the last round. The 2010 Abraham Lincoln Presidential $1 Coin and First Spouse Medal Set debuted with 3,753. The Mint launched it on Thursday, December 23. Its inaugural sales did better than the James Buchanan set, which started at 2,080. The first three columns of the table below provide weekly US Mint sales increases between the listed time periods, offering a sense of recent trends. The final column provides the latest US Mint sales totals as of Sunday, December 26, 2010. Bullion coin tables are found toward the bottom, with the most recent sales as of Thursday, December 30. (NLA = No Longer Available.) US Mint Sales | | Unit
Increase
Dec 6-
Dec 12 | Unit
Increase
Dec 13-
Dec 19 | Unit
Increase
Dec 20-
Dec 26 | Latest
Sales
Totals | | 2010 American Eagle Silver Proof | 89,109 | 38,066 | | 834,879 | | 2010 American Buffalo Gold Proof | 407 | 349 | 1,002 | 43 ,431 | | 2010 American Eagle Platinum Proof | NLA | NLA | NLA | 10,000 | | 2009 American Eagle Platinum Proof | NLA | NLA | NLA | 8,000 | | 2009 American Buffalo Gold Proof | NLA | NLA | NLA | 49,388 | | | | 2010 American Eagle Gold Proof Coins | | One ounce | | | | 25,000 | | One-half ounce | 477 | 1,535 | 35 | 10,166 | | One-quarter ounce | 1,149 | 704 | 185 | 8,115 | | One-tenth ounce | 603 | 1,931 | 854 | 18,725 | | Four-coin set | 3,141 | 3,008 | 1,181 | 33,027 | | | | 2010 American Veterans Disabled for Life Silver Dollar | | Proof Silver $1 | 2,500 | 440 | | 189,881 | | Uncirculated Silver $1 | 1,572 | 450 | | 77,859 | | | | 2010 Boy Scouts of America Centennial Silver Dollar | | Proof Silver $1 | NLA | NLA | NLA | 245,000 | | Uncirculated Silver $1 | NLA | NLA | NLA | 105,000 | | | | FIRST SPOUSE GOLD COINS | | Harrison Proof (2009) | NLA | NLA | NLA | 6,250 | | Harrison Uncirculated (2009) | NLA | NLA | NLA | 3,537 | | Letitia Tyler Proof (2009) | NLA | NLA | NLA | 5,163 | | Letitia Tyler Uncirculated (2009) | NLA | NLA | NLA | 3,152 | | Julia Tyler Proof (2009) | NLA | NLA | NLA | 4,830 | | Julia Tyler Uncirculated (2009) | NLA | NLA | NLA | 2,861 | | Sarah Polk Proof (2009) | NLA | NLA | NLA | 5,157 | | Sarah Polk Uncirculated (2009) | NLA | NLA | NLA | 3,501 | | Zachary Taylor Proof (2009) | NLA | NLA | NLA | 4,787 | | Zachary Taylor Uncirculated (2009) | NLA | NLA | NLA | 3,430 | | Abigail Fillmore Proof (2010) | 20 | 11 | 16 | 5,262 | | Abigail Fillmore Uncirculated (2010) | 11 | 11 | 6 | 3,265 | | Jane Pierce Proof (2010) | 24 | 41 | 20 | 4,352 | | Jane Pierce Uncirculated (2010) | 14 | 11 | 7 | 2,768 | | Buchanan's Liberty Proof (2010) | 35 | 82 | 32 | 6,643 | | Buchanan's Liberty Uncirculated (2010) | 31 | 16 | 8 | 4,197 | | Mary Lincoln Proof (2010) | 701 | 263 | 84 | 4,683 | | Mary Lincoln Uncirculated (2010) | 320 | 72 | -17 | 2,245 | | | | US MINT PROOF SETS | | 2010 United States Mint Proof Set | 22,086 | 18,403 | 10,481 | 1,028,986 | | 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters Proof Set | 2,954 | 3,127 | 1,557 |
Tags: Lansing Michigan United States Mint United States Mint Stats
As health professionals search for ways to combat the rise in obesity and promote healthy eating, new research reveals a mother's own eating habits – and whether she views her child as a ‘picky eater' – has a huge impact on whether her child consumes enough fruits and vegetables. A study by professor Mildred Horodynski of Michigan State University's College of Nursing looked at nearly 400 low-income women (black and non-Hispanic white) with children ages 1-3 enrolled in Early Head Start programs. Results show toddlers were less likely to consume fruits and vegetables four or more times a week if their mothers did not consume that amount or if their mothers viewed their children as picky eaters. “What and how mothers eat is the most direct influence on what toddlers eat,” Horodynski said. “Health professionals need to consider this when developing strategies to increase a child's consumption of healthy foods. Diets low in fruit and vegetables even at young ages pose increased risks for chronic diseases later in life.” The research was published recently in the journal Public Health Nursing. When mothers viewed their children as picky eaters – unwilling to try nonfamiliar foods – a decrease also was seen in the amount of fruits and vegetables consumed. “Perceptions of a toddler as a picky eater may be related to parenting style or culture,” Horodynski said. “Mothers who viewed their children as picky eaters may be more lax in encouraging the consumption of fruits and vegetables.” Previous research shows that early repeated exposure to different types of foods is needed; up to 15 exposures may be needed before it can be determined if a child likes or dislikes a food. Horodynski's study, which collected information from mothers from 28 Michigan counties, also revealed differences among race: Black mothers and toddlers did not consume as much fruits and vegetables as non-Hispanic whites, though a majority of all study subjects fell below recommended U.S. dietary guidelines. “Special attention must be given to family-based approaches to incorporating fruits and vegetables into daily eating habits,” she said. “Efforts to increase mothers' fruit and vegetable intake would result in more positive role modeling.” In addition, Horodynski said, public health nurses and other health professionals must play an important role in enhancing mothers' awareness of the importance of health eating. “Mother needs to have the knowledge and confidence to make these healthy decisions for their children,” she said.
For more daily health and fitness tips click the link below
http://www.healthyandfitmagazine.com/2010/12/mothers-diets-have-biggest-influence-on-children-eating-healthy /
Tags: Health Fitness Diet Children Eating Habbits
Low Mintages To Create New Modern Rarities By Steve Roach – The Rare Coin Market Report Blog
The U.S. Mint's Dec. 1 announcement that it is placing tighter than expected mintage limits on the new 2010 America the Beautiful 5-ounce .999 fine silver bullion quarter dollars may result in the creation of some new modern rarities.  The large (3 inches in diameter) and undoubtedly impressive coins will surely be in hot demand, especially with such limited supplies.
The bullion issues are made available to authorized dealers who then resell the coins to the market. The mintages are strictly limited to not more than 33,000 of each design – a sharp decline from the 100,000 previously announced. The Mint will charge its distributors $9.75 per coin above the price of silver. Uncirculated examples will be offered for sale directly to collectors during the first quarter of 2011. With mintage limits of 27,000 per coin, the 2010 issues seem destined to be modern classics, as the coins relate to circulating coins, are likely affordable to many collectors, and are simply big and flashy. Of course, the long-term demand is largely dependent on whether collectors take to the large silver coins and seek to build sets. Time will tell about the long-term popularity of these coins, but in the meantime, the lower-than-expected mintages should provide great action for speculators and spectators alike. The American Eagle silver bullion coins provide a comparison point, having as key to the series the Proof 1995-W American Eagle with a mintage of 30,125 pieces. Examples of that issue regularly sell for $3,000. Collectors' difficulties in acquiring Proof 2010-W American Eagle silver bullion coins, with strict 100-coin per household ordering limits, have already created a robust aftermarket for these coins. On eBay, ready-to-ship examples have been regularly selling for $55. At least one major market-maker is offering $49 a coin for 100-coin confirmed orders of Proof 2010-W American Eagle silver coins. At an issue price of $45.95, this allows a profit of nearly $300 for dealers, and provides the market-maker a large group of coins to market during the holidays. Related posts: - United States Mint Moves Forward to Create a Modern Ultra-High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin
- Coin Rarities & Related Topics: Collecting Modern Coins
- Mintages not always good clue to rarity of different coins
- Modern Coins – No-S Proof Coin Set to be offered by Heritage at CSNS
- Soaring Gold Prices Create New Rush
- ANA and Collectica, Inc. Enter Agreement to Create a Safe Online Auction Community
- The Three Major Eras Of Modern Proof Sets
- United States Mint Unveils Modern Ultra-High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin
- Heath Society Established to Create Innovative Educational Opportunities for New Audiences
- PCGS Displays Top Set of Modern Proof Coins at FUN
About the Author Each week Steve writes the hobby's most widely-read coin market analysis in Coin World, the world's largest coin publication where he is associate editor. Steve has worked with ANACS, Christie's, Heritage Rare Coin Galleries and Heritage Auctions. He is also an art appraiser and dealer with experience in estate planning and collectibles, and is an accredited member of the International Society of Appraisers. Visit him online at www.steveroachonline.com or follow him on Twitter @roachdotsteve  Post a Comment
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