An expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students when he decided to do an experiment. He pulled out a large mason jar, a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one by one, into the jar. When no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this jar full?” Everyone in the class said, “Yes.”
He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. The instructor then poured gravel in the jar, shook it and asked, “Is this jar full? ” By this time the class was on to him. They replied: “Probably not,”

Next, he reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar until all the space between the rocks was filled. Once more, he asked the question. “Is this jar full?” “No” the class shouted.
Finally, he grabbed a pitcher of water and poured until the jar was filled to the brim. The speaker looked at the class and asked, “What is the point of this illustration?” The speaker listened to a number of very good responses and said: “The truth this illustration teaches us is this: If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.”
What are the big rocks in your life? Are they your spouse, children and grandchildren? Are they your work, television or gambling? Are you wasting time with things that are unimportant? What is important in your life?
Don Schmitz is a well-known writer and speaker on parenting and grandparenting. He is the author of “The New face of Grandprenting…Why Parents Need Their Own Parents” and founder of Grandkidsandme, which includes: Grandparent Camps and Grandkid Days. Don holds graduate degrees in Education, Administration, Human Development and is father to three sons and grandfather to four granddaughters. Contact Don Schmitz at Don@.grandkidsandme.com http://www.grandkidsandme.com

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During the recession many families are re-thinking where they live and considering making a move, something they take very seriously, and cannot afford to make a mistake. But where do they move too? Where can they get all the information they need to make an informed decision? Well, boy have I got the perfect book to aid in this search:”Places Rated Almanac; Your Guide to Finding the Best Places to Live in the United States and Canada” (Special Millennium Edition) by David Savageau with Ralph D’Agostino; IDG Books Worldwide, Inc., Foster City, CA; 2000.This book is a wealth of information on places to live, listed are some 354 Metro Areas which are ranked by crime, weather, arts, recreation, sports teams, job base, education, transportation, energy, pollution, cost of living and health care considerations. There is so much data in this book you will be blown away, and it will make you consider things you may not have ever thought about before, such as the number of restaurants, churches, or parks. How about bike lanes, traffic times, yep, all listed.How about good paying jobs? Cost of homes, rentals or business locations? Rainy days, sunny days, cloudy days, stormy days, well, it is all here in one giant almanac book and you can cross reference to your heart’s content. All the suburbs are listed and the driving times to town, as well as trains, buses, subways, light rail, airports, number of airlines, it’s a demographic dream come true, perfect for business or just plain deciding where to live and hang your hat, raise your family or retire to.

Today one of the most utilized gadget on this planet is the mobile. It’s not only a resource of communication but this advanced; dashing and trendy machine has multiple functionalities e.g the opportunity to surf the Web, create tunes, capture your memories, and play full-length movies and Tv programs. Mobile phones are becoming more than miniature long-distance walkie-talkies, utility of your electronic tool has further been complemented by cell phone accessories , so that it is not just a phone, rather a mini computer. Phone accessories are as rich in demand like a cell phone itself. Creating a fashion statement within the technological realm of telecommunication, style and chic are extended to accessories of cellular telephone as well. Today, the market industry is flooded using a sprawling selection of cell phone accessories from hard ware to software. All famous mobile companies design cellular telephone accessories to draw high number of shoppers before designing a different model. Accessorize your phone with cellular telephone accessories like colorful mobile cases, cellular telephone holders, hands-free kit, Bluetooth headset etc not just provides functionality and adds beauty and magnificence.

In addition to being a fundamental piece of the gadget, cellular telephone accessories improve appearance of Mobiles. You can add some your personality on your cell phone prior to your choosing the right faceplate, case or cover. Top quality and affordable cases offers a new find your existing cellular telephone. These cases come in almost any style imaginable. Equipping your cellphone with a nice fitting durable case will greatly boost the lifetime of your phone at the same time. Face plates can be purchased in a variety of colors and fashions so you can find one that fits you and makes your mobile stand out from others, while protecting an original face of your respective cell phone. Purchasing one more car charger is an additional must-have cell phone accessory, mainly because it will prevent from being stranded having a dead cellular telephone. Many people, especially travelers don’t properly maintain their battery, with the result that there mobile go dead down the middle of a call if they’re between locations. These chargers will fully charge your battery inside of an hour. Sometimes for anyone who is lucky you’ll receive one together with your phone upon purchase but don’t believe it. The handsfree kit became one of the ultimate cellular phone accessories, particularly if you find yourself wanting to talk to the phone while you’re driving a car. Several of the headsets have inbuilt microphones and gives excellent quality of sound with deep bass. In addition , they feature noise canceling facility that decrease the ambient sounds. More over in case your phone has Bluetooth capabilities you will subsequently be able to get a radio set up a pretty slick strategy to use. If your cellular telephone can handle stereo Bluetooth streaming, perhaps you are on the lookout for various ways to pipe music to the ear holes. No longer inconvenience of tangling headset wires you may answer calls, dial by voice, and chat hands-free while driving with this particular minute device that stays in the ear quiet unnoticed. Cellular phone accessories have keypads, data cables, antennas and memory cards. These accessories aren’t just functional but decorative and add spice on your phone. Data cables are must for camera phones and those with MP3 capabilities. The feedback cables works as being a communication medium between PC and mobile. It enables you to transfer data as well as other media files from a cell phone to computer and the opposite way round. The memory cards can also be must for similar types of phones so that you can store more music and photographs before required to download it in your computer. Some phones allow memory cards to get plugged into the phone. This tends to increase the convenience of photos, music, or other things you want to store on your own cell phone. Antennas will deliver your cellphone reception an improvement which will improve the received signal maybe once or twice, so you might never worry about a call dropping even when you have delivered the map. Great deal of Nokia, Samsung, LG, Motorola, HTC, Palm, Sony Ericsson, iPhone and BlackBerry accessories can be found online at a nominal prices about the functionality they feature. The author is participating in cell phone accessories business,you can aquire many forms of accessories here,also including iphone accessories ,so hope we make good business relationship.

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ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA AND WAITSFIELD, VERMONT…

Resort Maps, creator of more than 100 customized travel maps across the United States, England, Costa Rica and Puerto Rico, recently announced Sally Roberts as the owner of the new Resort Map to be published for Alexandria, Virginia. The map will focus primarily on the Old Town area in the city of Alexandria.

Resort Maps are colorful, hand-drawn maps of towns and cities, distributed free to area visitors at travel information and rest areas as well as at advertiser locations. The Alexandria map will highlight local attractions and things to do, restaurants, festivals and fairs, accommodations, retail shops, real estate and other services. Each advertiser on the map will be represented with a display ad surrounding the perimeter of the map, including a color-coded grid locator and their actual building hand-drawn, highlighted and labeled, making it easy to locate.

“This map will be a little different than other Alexandria maps,” said Roberts. “For starters, it will be a map concentrated on Old Town. Unlike other maps of the area, you won’t have to unfold it or sift through a booklet to find it.”

A 2008 graduate of George Mason University, Roberts first heard about Resort Maps through a family acquaintance who owns the Charleston, South Carolina Resort Maps. After residing in nearby Fairfax during her college years, she thought Resort Maps would be a perfect fit for Old Town Alexandria.  The rest, as they say, is history.

“This really is a perfect fit for Old Town and for my life,” said Roberts, currently employed in sales. “So far, the response from potential advertisers has been phenomenal and we’re looking to sell out the map soon.”

The Alexandria Resort Map will offer a treasure trove of things to do for people vacationing in the area or just out for a day or two. Resort Maps free ‘souvenir style’ maps will be on display at local advertisers’ locations as well as at many non-advertiser locations throughout Old Town and the city of Alexandria.

The Alexandria map plans to hit the streets April 2011, just in time for cherry blossom season. The Alexandria Resort Map will also be available on-line at www.resortmaps.com, along with interactive maps to more than 100 areas that Resort Maps covers. These interactive maps allow the viewer to read a description of each business as they scroll over each building and to connect to the website of the business for further information.

For information on how to advertise on the initial Alexandria Resort Map, you can e-mail Sally Roberts at sallyr@resortmaps.com or call 703-596-5442.

ester, Mount Snow, Okemo, Smugglers’ Notch, Stowe, Waterbury/Richmond, Woodstock/Quechee) and Virginia (Alexandria, Northern Neck & Middle Peninsula) —as well as towns and cities in England (Chicester, Lewes), Puerto Rico (San Juan, Vieques, Culebra) and Costa Rica (Escazu-Santa Ana).

 

 

There are a lot of business owners who think they are doing a good job by offering quality products for a reasonable price. In many cases, that may be all that customers need, but chances are you business could do better. For as long as business has existed, the best business owners have understood the benefit to offering quality customer service, in addition to quality products. They understand that competition is a dicey game and that everyone can make good products, but it takes someone special to combine it with great customer service and grow a business. If you doubt how much customer service can affect your business, it is important to understand the role it plays. Business owners who value customer service and who offer it to their clients see the effects and benefits immediately. It does not matter what your business is. Whether you sell wrenches or offer clean room flooring or Dycem products, customer service will make a big difference.One of the most important things good customer service does is helping your customers to trust you. It can be difficult building a relationship of trust with someone you deal with only briefly when they are shopping. However, if their interactions with your company are always pleasant, they will be left feeling good about their experience. This, coupled with a quality product, builds a relationship of trust. Consumers rank trust high when it comes to making their decisions and feeling like they can count on you to do them right can make a big difference in your sales.Good customer service helps build a good reputation for your company. Even if customers experience problems, knowing they can work it out with someone pleasant and helpful is a big bonus. Having customer friendly policies helps form a good reputation and people like to talk. If they have an exceptionally friendly or unfriendly experience, they will let their friends, family and co-workers know.Top notch customer service improves opinions about your products. If you own a store and people are greeted in a friendly, helpful manner when they enter, they will feel better about their purchases. Also take into account how you set up your store or your products. Some people assume customer service is strictly being friendly, but making the shopping experience easy is also part of it. Quality products arranged in a pleasing manner will go a long way in boosting consumer opinion about you.Finally, good customer service helps you learn from your customer. The more you interact with a client, the better you will get to know them and their needs. This makes helping fulfill these needs easier. If they are comfortable with you, they will share their likes and dislikes, which they are probably no alone in having. When they see you working to make things even better, it will build a relationship of trust. This helps you make more customers happy and in the long run, is going to affect your bottom line in a positive manner.

Increasingly we find ourselves beset by problems that seem beyond our control; global warming, GM Foods, animal testing, the spread of factory farming, the arms trade and human rights abuses, to list but a few. Shoppers are often left feeling helpless, the typical response being ‘there’s nothing I can do’.

But you can by shopping in an Ethical way. Put simply, this is buying things that are made ethically by companies that act ethically. Buying ethically means buying a brand or from a company which doesn’t exploit labour, animals or the environment. The way in which you can act as an ‘ethical consumer’ can also take on a different form and that is avoiding products (also known as boycotting) you disapprove of such as battery eggs.

Everyone needs to go shopping in one way or another. As an ethical consumer, every time you buy something you can make a difference by choosing an ethical product or by buying from an ethical business.

For example, when you buy from a company that doesn’t exploit its workers and provides them with decent working conditions, you are giving the company the funds to continue its ethical behavior. At the same time, you are no longer buying from a company that exploits its labour with poor pay and often a dangerous working environment. That company then loses business, which may encourage it to change its ways and to look after its workers.

Very simply, sustainable and green living is taking what we need, but leaving enough so there will always be more & better for everyone else for generations to come- a sustainable green lifestyle.

For many green living can contain one or more of the following:

? Eating and buying as much organic, fair trade, locally produced and home grown food and non-food as possible.
? Eating a healthy and balanced diet often with less or no meat
? Join a discussion group on the net or in person so that you know you’re not alone in this green quest.
? Using less energy in the home and at work. By turning off appliances instead of leaving them on standby we can make a huge difference together.
? Replacing worn out clothing with organic, fair trade or second hand clothes
? By walking or cycling as much as possible instead of driving
? Cooking more meals at home in place of fast food.
? In the home buying energy efficient appliances and from ethical companies were possible. The ethical consumer and the Good Shopping Guide are leading the way with this information in the UK. Coop America in the USA.

? On that level, sustainable living is practical, and workable.
? Work for an employer that is family friendly and respects your views. Not like the larger companies where you are often a statistic.

We can work endless hours to fix everything that’s wrong in our daily lives including obsessing about living the perfect green lifestyle, and there will always be things we’re not doing, or not doing right. The feeling of guilt will be there if we don’t recycle enough or buy a pair of jeans made in a Asian sweatshop because we are particularly poor that month. We just have to work and try to move in the right direction no matter how slow we move. It’s the direction that’s important.

Everyone is looking for a deal. Today there are two categories of Internet sites that promise product savings of up to 95%. Deal sites like Groupon (www.groupon.com and www.socialliving.com ) and Penny Auction sites ( www.bidonx.com and www.quibids.com ). The question is, which type of site offers the best deal most consistently? I have spent time on both types of sites, and purchased a number of different products; while there is a difference in the mechanics of the different sites, the focus of this article is strictly on value. Or more specifically, which type of site can save you the most money.

Groupon has become the fastest growing Internet company of all time, and today there are literally hundreds, if not thousands of Groupon-like knock offs out there. It is not a surprise especially when you consider that the average deal saves consumers 50% or more. The sites basically pre-negotiate special pricing on specific products and services with businesses and vendors, generally in very small geographic areas. These special deals are made available to consumers registered within that geographic territory, and a different deal is offered each day. If the consumer likes the “deal of the day” they simply purchase the coupon. It is then the responsibility of the consumer to contact the vendor/small business to redeem their coupon.

In my experience, living in Orange County, California, the deals are usually about 50% off of the retail price. As a subscriber for many months I received an email each day with a new offer. After a while, however, I experienced what I will call Groupon fatigue. The daily emails started to feel more like I was being solicited rather than receiving deals for my benefit. This resulted from the fact that I rarely came across a deal that was of particular interest to me. Groupon did not know me, my tastes, my interests, my dislikes or my price tolerance. As a result, I was getting crazy offers like the one with an offer to purchase pole-dancing lessons for 60% off of the normal price. That just wasn’t my cup-of-tea. The value was good for those of interest, but for me, the deal was at best irritating, and at worst, offensive. Another downside to these type of sites, beyond the fatigue factor, is that some of the deals will expire if you don’t use them within a specified period of time (usually 6 months). That may sound like a long time, but there are countless blogs out there from former Groupon or groupon-like customers who had experienced trouble with expired deals. If a thousand people purchase a house-cleaning service, for example, they may discover a 6 month waiting list when they call to schedule their cleaning.

Groupons also encourage consumer games where the consumers attempt to reverse the groupon system. Instead of buying one per individual, they buy several, which will cause the small business suffer financially. The goal for the small business is to attract new customers through aggressive pricing…not offer a few customers lots of discounts. In general, the value of the deal promoted through groupon-like sites is in fact significant, but you may have to wait a long time to find deals you find interesting. You will have to move quickly to protect your deal from expiring as well. If you do this, you will in fact save money.

On the other hand….

A penny auction is an online auction where consumers buy a package of bids for a specified price (For example, you might pay $25 for 50 bids). Those bids are the penny auction site’s currency and can be used in any number of different product auctions. Most penny auction sites auction off incredibly extravagant products including high-end electronics, huge flat-panel televisions, cars and even homes. Unlike Groupon, penny auction sites offer multiple product auctions every minute, every hour, every day. It is very easy to find what you might want to purchase. The deals are consistently better than Groupon’s as well. Consumers regularly save 80%-99% on leading brand products. From a pure value perspective, penny auction sites are in a class by themselves. But they too have a down-side.

Whereas Groupon-type sites offer their deal to virtually anyone within the geographic area, penny auction sites only offer the winning price to one person in each auction. Moreover, you may end up spending a lot of money trying to win a product and ultimately fail at the auction. Some of the more reputable sites do allow you to apply the cost of your bids towards the retail purchase price. So lets say you are bidding on an iPad worth $600. You spend $25 in bids trying to win the product, but in the end…you lose. Certain penny auction sites will allow you to purchase the iPad at the retail price of $600 minus the $25 you spent bidding on the item. Your total cost is still $600 but you did get to participate in a chance to win the iPad at a massive discount. It takes time, patience, determination and a solid bidding strategy to be successful at penny auction sites. The value of the penny auction is indisputable, there is nothing else on the Internet that consistantly delivers products to consumers at such huge discounts.

Finally…..

There is a new breed of penny auction site that goes a long way towards addressing the challenges of traditional penny auction sites, and they are tournament auctions. These auctions increase the number of winners per auction, reduce the amount of competition for each auction, max the out of pocket cost on each auction, and offer participants complete bidder transparency. Tournament penny auctions are the evolution of penny auctions and will likely overtake traditional penny auctions in the near future. The savings are greater, the prizes are bigger, the risk is lower, the competition is less and there are more winners in each auction.

Penny auctions clearly have a bigger value advantage over Groupon-type sites. In addition, penny auctions are becoming a shopping sub-culture online and should dominate for years to come. The coupon sites are only for certain people, which means you may be excluded from their party. However, penny auctions are for anyone, and can be very entertaining.

If you want to be a part of the biggest wave in online shopping, now is the time to get in on the action of the Penny Tournament Auctions. Happy Bidding!

Recently, Yongkang During the research, was governor of Zhejiang Province is the province Lu Zushan praised "the most stable economic block" one. It is reported that in early 2009, Yongkang has been on the 606 companies conducted a survey in which orders this year, all full, too late production 54%, flat with last year accounted for 44.3%, down from last year and only 1.7%. Yongkang Bureau of Statistics released the report of the semi-annual statistics also confirm this result. Exclude non-ferrous metals and other raw materials prices fell significantly influence Yongkang Hardware 8 big industry production volumes have increased about 10%, of which the fastest growing security door industry growth rate of more than 18%. Yongkang "stable" where the secret?Reporters found that the standard, quality and brand Yongkang hardware industry chain development of the best "calcium" and "nutrients." Ongoing for 10 years of quality strategy Yongkang Hardware City, Jiangsu chain gluten healthy bone, in Financial Storm to the difficulties, to achieve contrarian development. "This is due to have a complete Yongkang, a strong chain." Yongkang committee secretary Xu Jianhua said Yongkang hardware industry, every industry has several leading enterprises, supporting a large number of manufacturers, there are a large number of cottage industries. "From then end of the queue leading to its body," to form a complete industrial chain. Big development was driven by high standardsRecent years, Yongkang City attaches great importance to the standard strategy for hardware transformation and upgrading of industrial clusters leading role, issued a series of policies to encourage and support enterprises, in particular, leading companies actively involved in national standards, industry standards, and guide strong enterprises participate in international standard-setting. This year on April 1 and May 1, the business of China there have been two important national standard "anti-theft security door general technical conditions" and "technical requirements for environmental labeling products, wooden doors and steel doors" (HJ459-2009 ) began. State departments of two new standards organizations implementing standards were held in Yongkang held. Secretary for Quality Supervision Yongkang Jia-Bin Chen told reporters, Yongkang business is drafting new standards, and also a beneficiary. It is through the implementation of the two national standards, Yongkang Door Industry to achieve the "quality", " Environmental protection "The beautiful turn, become the city’s ability to withstand the international financial crisis one of the strongest pillar industries. Yongkang Quality Supervision Bureau for the implementation of standardized business services strategy, introduction of "targeted for, fixed cultivation, and personnel services," we. "Directed for" is to organize research, master Yongkang business trends leading products, selecting the right no national standard, line standard products catalog, grasp the opportunity to recommend Yongkang industry leaders involved in standard setting activities. "Designated training" is selected with professional advantage and strong technical force, product research and development ability of enterprise, to guide, encourage and support their participation in standards development, revision. "Human service setting" is sending experts and technical personnel standards, to help guide enterprises to standards, the first enterprise product patents into the standard product business, to further regulate the industry alliance of internal control standards, then standards for the enterprise, industry standards for internal control up to national standards. From 2007 to the present, Yongkang hardware industry Power Tools , Stainless steel mug, small appliances and other 15 industries, 30 companies participated in 18 national standards, revision.

Finding a first class online casino with a reputation for being the genuine article is about to get much easier. Accept no substitute when you are online gambling because the amount of money you win depends on the legitimacy of the online casino. There are hundreds of casinos online competing for your business and it is so easy to get caught up in the hype and excitement of playing games online.It is hard enough to beat the odds without having to worry about your safety while gambling online. When playing, you want a perfect balance of easy website navigation, a high level of security, and awesome extra bonuses. That said, to match wits with the best of them, here is some specific insights into how to master the game, play with peace of mind, and come out on top every time you enter an online casino.No doubt about it, on the mind of most beginner online casino players is whether or not there will be any legal ramifications for gambling on the web. Truth be told, in most countries, online gambling is legal. However, online gaming laws are forever changing and the burden of knowing the law in your country rests on your shoulders. Many reputable online casinos have built in policies preventing gambling from specific geographic locations. In other words, many casinos will block registration from players in a banned country.Also remember that online gambling for real money is for adults only. There are a few online casinos that require you to be 18 years old to play their online games, while others set the age requirement to at least 21 years old. You have to go the extra mile and check all the terms and conditions of the online casino before registering to play.If you’re like most people who enjoy online gambling, payout percentages is one of the factors that determines where you play. The vast majority of online casinos make an effort to publish their payout percentages for players to see. Take a moment to check whether or not the casino’s payout percentage has received third party verification.Now let’s look at bonus promotions. Every online gambling casino has some type of promotional bonus to entice players to play in their online casino. In essence, there are nine different types of bonuses that you will see offered in online gambling. The goal for any player is to get the maximum amount of value in each one so that the amount of money you deposit is increased. The most popular is the No Deposit Bonus. The casino offering this kind of bonus will not require you to make a deposit before registering and playing for real money. Simply download the online casino software onto your computer, register your real money account and begin playing.Another popular bonus offered by casinos is the Match Bonus whereas the deposit you make is matched by the online casino. The percentage matched varies from one casino to the next. There is also the Free Time & Starting Balance Bonus, the Multi-Deposit Bonus, High Roller Bonuses, Loyalty Reward Bonus, Banking Bonus, Referral Bonuses and Featured Promotions. Capitalize on one or all of the bonuses to get the most out of your playing time online.If you are ready to experience the wonder of online gambling, then use the insight you’ve received here to go the distance. Look for the complete package in an online casino. Only play at casino’s that make security a priority. Find out what their payout percentages are and check out their policies and procedures. See what bonuses you can qualify for then take advantage of the ones that will give you the most value for your money. A rewarding online gambling experience awaits you so get started.

When you refinance your home mortgage you are essentially replacing your existing loan with a loan of either the same amount or more, but with a lower interest rate. It is important to remember that refinancing your current loan is best considered when the current rates are at least 2% less then the interest rates you are currently paying.There are several benefits to refinancing your existing home loan: First, refinancing allows a home owner to lower his or her existing monthly mortgage payments. Second, refinancing is also a great way for a home owner to consolidate their debt so as to save valuable money in the long term. Finally, home owners can also benefit from a lower refinancing rate by freeing up cash that can be used on much needed expenditures. In most cases, a lower interest rate is a good reason to refinance a home especially when the home is still quite new, for example the homeowners have been paying on it for only a few years.In most cases, a lower interest rate is a good reason to refinance a home especially when the home is still quite new, for example the homeowners have been paying on it for only a few years. Many homeowners refinance to free up funds for other things like pay off credits cards more quickly, buying a car, another home or growing the family business. To do this type of loan, a cash out loan, they rely on the equity in the home to get the loan amount they need.Probably the best way to go about doing a home mortgage refinance is to get multiple quotes from multiple lenders. You can compare quotes and decide whether you would like to accept of the refinance home mortgage quotes offered. There are a lot of lenders that would love to assist your with your refinance home mortgage, but you need to find the one that will best meet your needs. Using an online mortgage loan broker to explore several options for your refinance mortgage is a guaranteed way to save money. Not only will these sites be able to give you rates and quotes, but they will often allow you to find out more information on lenders so that you can make the best choice for your situation. And the best part is there is no obligation when you get a free online quote.No matter what the reasons for doing a home mortgage refinance be sure to be clear as to exactly why you need to do this in the first place. Is it to save money on interest or to tap into the equity into your home for a large purchase? Be sure to do your research and get the best deal both in terms of interest rates and payment options that best fits into your financial needs.