Archive for September, 2009

The sad fact of life is that for every hundred reputable tradesmen who will carry out your home improvement project to your exact specifications, on time and at a reasonable price, there are a few rogue ?cowboys? out there whose only objective is to part you from your money as quickly as possible with scant regard for their workmanship and that’s if any work gets done at all!

However, there are many things you can do to avoid becoming a victim of these ?con artists?.

Firstly, ask friends of yours for recommendations. They may have had work done by a particular tradesman previously who carried out a professional job at a fair price. If that’s not possible, make sure the tradesman can prove their competence by finding out if they are trained to do the job and whether they are members of a particular trade association. The tradesmen themselves should be able to supply that information and give you contact details of associations with whom you can verify their claims or, alternatively, you can contact a particular trade association and ask them to recommend someone in your area.

Always ask for a written estimate or, better still, a fixed quote prior to work commencing and get a few quotations so you can make comparisons. Ask for this to be specifically put in writing and, if there is any ’small print? or things you don’t understand, ask them to explain it fully and to add the explanation into an amended quotation before you sign any agreements.

You should also ask any tradesmen certain questions in addition to verifying their ability and reputation to do the job as mentioned above. This should include asking how many projects like yours they’ve completed in the past couple of years and to give you some references so you can contact previous people who have had work carried out by the tradesman. Ask them to produce an insurance certificate so you can be sure that you’ll receive compensation should the job go wrong.

When it comes to payment, try to limit, or even eliminate, any upfront payment as much as possible and always pay by cheque or by credit card. Never use cash. Quite often, a reputable tradesman will not require any payment until the job’s completed to your satisfaction, but if it’s a big job that’s going to take some time, they may require some form of payment upfront for materials and additional labour costs first. If that’s the case, make sure you have written proof and their signature to say that they have received X amount before starting the job.

If they require some payment upfront, ask them to give you contact details of other customers who can verify that this arrangement worked out OK. Where possible, negotiate payment in stages. So much after 25% of the work’s done, another payment after half is done and the rest upon satisfactory completion is an example. Don’t make any final payment until you’re fully satisfied that the work has been completed to your specifications and, if they are using other sub-contractors, ensure that these have all been paid prior to handing over the final payment to the main contractor. Don’t hand over any final payment until the tradesman hands over written warranties for materials and for the quality of workmanship and that you have written proof that all sub-contractors have been paid in full.

Providing you ask the right questions, get satisfactory answers, do your research and get everything put in writing, there should be no problem, but watch out for scams. These include tradesmen who’ll only accept cash, those who’ll ask you to pay for the entire job upfront, those who do not provide you with a business or a home address and telephone number or suggest that you borrow money to pay for the job from a lender they know, or those that solicit door-to-door.

Knowledge, vigilance and awareness are your best forms of protection in ensuring your home improvement project is completed without any hitches.

About the Author:

Read more from Ray Worthington about home improvements on the website www.loankit.co.uk where you’ll find help on getting the best home improvement loans.

It’s football season again, so that can only mean one thing – get ready for some frustration! Even if your favorite high school, college, or pro team is top-notch, chances are they’ll suffer several frustrating losses before the season is over. Some ways of losing are just more frustrating than others. Therefore, I have compiled a list of twelve of the more frustrating ways that games can be lost. Many of these are actual ways in which my favorite team, the Washington Redskins, have lost games in the past. So, here we go:

1) Your team collapses and blows the game after having built a seemingly insurmountable lead.

2) Your team is down by 20 or more points and almost completely closes the gap, except for the last field goal or touchdown they need but just can’t quite get.

3) Your team maintains a small lead for most of the game, while failing to cash in on multiple easy opportunities the other team gives them to extend the lead and/or put the game away. Instead, they let the other team continue to hang around. The other team, meanwhile, gets very few scoring opportunities, except for the one near the end of the game, when they score and take the lead for good.

4) The other team maintains a lead for the entire game. Every time your team scores to get within a touchdown or field goal, the other team also scores to extend the lead again. This scenario is repeated over and over again throughout most of the game. In the last few minutes of the game, your team finally stops the other team from extending the lead and gets the ball back with a chance to win, but then the other team finally stops your team.

5) Your team dominates almost every aspect of the game – rushing yards, passing yards, total offense, and total defense – but too many turnovers prevent them from winning.

6) Your team’s offense is an irresistible force, pounding the other team’s defense into submission – until they get inside the red zone, that is. Then they freeze up like a block of ice, unable to score touchdowns and missing many of their field goal attempts. Of course, the other team scores every time they get inside your team’s 40-yard line.

7) After nothing has gone right the entire day, it looks as if your team is going to win in spite of everything, as they score a touchdown to move ahead with little or no time left on the clock. But wait – what’s that yellow thing lying in the end zone? Oh no, a penalty flag! The touchdown is being called back because of a penalty. Your team loses.

Your team, starting from inside their own 10-yard line with under two minutes left, miraculously is able to march more than 90 yards down the field and score a touchdown to capture (or re-capture) the lead. Pandemonium erupts on their sideline as your team begins to celebrate. But the celebration goes a bit too far and your team is penalized 15 years for unsportsmanlike conduct, assessed on the ensuing kickoff. But that shouldn’t be a problem though, as there are only 20 seconds left on the clock and besides, the other team has no timeouts left. However, they return the short-field kickoff inside your team’s 40-yard line with eight seconds left. Then, with a quick sideline pass, they get inside your team’s 30 and out of bounds with one second left. On the final play of the game, they kick a long field goal to win.

9) With your team down late in the game, it looks as if they are finally going to get the ball back for one last chance to win. It’s fourth down for the other team and they are about to punt from the 50-yard line. In an attempt to come away with better field position, your team goes for the block and it works! However, someone on the other team picks up the ball behind the line of scrimmage and runs for a first down. The other team then proceeds to run out the clock.

10) Due to the fact that your team wasted all of their second-half timeouts in the third quarter, the clock runs out just before they can set up to kick what probably would have been a game-winning field goal. Instead, they lose by two points. To add insult to injury, you recall that they also lost a chance to kick a field goal at the end of the first half due to poor clock management.

11) As your team sadly walks off the field following a 24-23 loss, your mind returns to early in the fourth quarter when your team had briefly taken a 26-10 lead. But 26-10? How could someone have taken three points away from them? They didn’t – your team gave them back voluntarily. On a play when your team’s place-kicker had nailed a perfect 45-yard field goal, one of the other team’s linemen was flagged for being offside. Since it was fourth down and four from other team’s 28-yard line, taking the points off the board and accepting the penalty would give your team a first down. It seemed like a good idea at the time, so that’s exactly what your team’s coach decided to do. After all, it was a chance to run some more time off the clock and possibly score a touchdown. Besides, your team would likely have another shot at the field goal later, if the drive stalled again. Of course, who would have guessed that the other team would intercept a pass three plays later and take it all the way back for a touchdown? Another touchdown with time running out would seal your team’s fate.

12) With your team leading by one point late in the third quarter, the other team’s quarterback uncorks a pass from his own 40-yard line toward your team’s goal line. Instead of knocking the ball down, one of your team’s cornerbacks decides to intercept it before stepping out of bounds at the one-foot line. On the next play, your team’s fullback is tackled in the end zone for a safety. That puts the other team up by one, which is the final margin of your team’s loss.

About the Author

Terry Mitchell is a software engineer, free-lance writer, and blogger from Hopewell, VA. On his blog – http://commenterry.blogs.com – he posts commentaries on various subjects such as politics, technology, religion, health and well-being, personal finance, and sports. His commentaries offer a unique point of view that is not often found in mainstream media.

If you look closely you’ll discover every business problem has a crack. A crack is the weak spot you can take advantage of, and grow stronger from.Business problems are like mental and emotional bar bells life hands us to make us stronger. Yes, problems help to keep us from growing fat emotionally or fat-headed mentally.Remember every business problem has a weak spot. No matter how big it seems at first glance.. Your job in solving it is to always look for the weak spot first, and attack it.Trust me the best prescription to reduce stress isn’t in a pill, taking a luxury cruise or spending a weekend in Vegas. It’s in your ability to find the crack in each business problem you face.From this day forward every time you face a business problem look for the crack – and then attack the crack like a hungry lion attacking a bloody steak.When you’re faced with a business problem say this out loud now … ?I will attack the crack.? Say it like you mean it, ?I will attack the crack.” Repeat this phrase to yourself each time you face a problem and watch your confidence soar to new heights.It’s a good idea to write, type or post this message and hang it where can see it each day. As you commit the above phrase to memory and say it each day, you’ll soon find yourself moving from problems to solutions as if by magic.As you see the crack or weakness in each problem and attack it, you’ll find the problem will be more solvable.Solving a huge problem is like tearing down a huge skyscraper. You ever see those news films where they blow up a huge office tower, stadium or other large structure. It’s always fascinating to see how they know how to do it without harming the buildings around it.It’s a highly skilled profession that only a small number of people in the world can do. You have to know exactly where to place the explosives to make the structure fall and make it fall where you want it to.After you read the words in this article, guess what? You’ll soon be able to know where to attack each problem to weaken it. You’ll watch your problems fall, no matter how big or daunting they seem at first. And do it without harming others around you. Would you like to do that? Read on.Here are 7 Tips to help you ?Attack The Crack? in each problem you face.1. First relax, take a deep breath and say – I will attack the crack!? The first action to take when faced with any problem is to prepare yourself mentally. If you can do this one step, you’ve solved your problem 50% already. By saying those five magical words ?I will attack the crack?, you prepare yourself mentally to face and overcome almost any problem.2. Ask a quick question. The best way to get your thinking off the problem and on to the solutions is to ask a quick question like the following:3. What do I know now that can help me? Think of something now that you can do to deal with the problem, however small. Even a small plan is better than none at all. Just think of your first step and the others will usually follow.4. Who do I know that can help me? Usually there is someone who has knowledge of the problem even if you don’t. They have experience or they may know someone who has experience. This is the two heads are better than one philosophy.5. What can I do now that can help me? Get yourself moving with some physical action to start your momentum toward a solution. Talk to someone, call someone, read something (like the publication you’re reading now) concerning the problem, start brainstorming.6. How can I stop the problem from getting bigger? One of the first actions you must take is to stop the bleeding. Find a way to plug the hole. Many times this will be one of your top priorities. Then you can start looking for ways to fix the problem.7. How can I keep this problem from repeating itself? This is often one of the final areas to think about after you solve the problem. Answering this question gives you a sense of security and confidence the problem won’t return.As you follow the 7 steps you’ll find yourself getting past, over and through business problems quicker and with less stress. Remember every problem has a solution if you just remember to face it head on and ?Attack the Crack!About The AuthorRoy Primm is a freelance Niche Consultant and founder of BlackHomeOwnerNews.com the largest source of information for black homeowners. Subscribe to free newsletter and receive the latest home value increasing tips, free government grants benefiting homeowners. Plus the latest tax and housing laws conveniently in your email box each week …Click Here!

Cover letters can be written in different manners reminding employers to choose for qualified applicants that are applying for a certain position in the company. Writing cover letters can be difficult yet these letter or business letters are required in the employment process. Likewise, there are different cover letter format that can be written especially with the education cover letter used in applying a position in the educational departments.

Different cover letters focuses on various information that are applicable to the applicants itself but an education cover letter however usually is more on the educational background of job seekers based on the experiences that applicants’ consider will benefit in the choice of school or preferred companies they are applying for. Cover letters are essential part of the employment industries especially for people searching for an occupation through education. Besides, educational cover letters are perfect for applicant that hopes to become a part of the education career field. Education cover letters are usually for applicants who believe are qualified in the position of taking part in the educational department because education cover letters are more focused on the educational background and experiences achieved in the applicants’ life.

Applicants interested in a career in education are required to submit a cover letter for the employers to gain knowledge of the applicants’ abilities and skills that are believe to contribute in the company. Abilities and skills of the applicant should be in brief but formal manner giving impact on the employers reading while expanding their interest in getting to know more of the applicant. However, cover letters may not often attract the employer due to unexceptional flaws and incorrect grammar. Educational cover letters should be well-written, impressive and interesting while reading in order to have interest in the applicants’ achievements and briefly state how one can contribute or gain by being a part of the company.

Writing an education cover letter is the same as writing a standard cover letter. It has the same format as with the standard cover letter but take note in education cover letters always include the applicants’ informational background along with highlights of particular achievements based on the educational background that can contribute to the company applied for. Also, keep in mind that the letter should be brief and direct while on the process of writing an education cover letter. As mentioned, cover letters are given attention only if the applicant has an impressive letter that employers consider hiring the applicant.

Education cover letters are a form of business letter with a formal and overpowering vocabulary that are used by applicants complimenting their resumes by introducing their abilities and skills most important to the employers to learn about in a written business letter format. Applicants writing an education letter should consider highlighting certain areas of experiences that can benefit in the employers company while at the same time use the selling method in being hired or taken into the next level of employment procedures.

Making a perfect cover letter can really get you the position you desire. In fact, learning cover letter tips can help you write an impressive, formal business letter that will give impact to the reader. Cover letters all have one goal and that is to get the attention of the employer in making faster decision in hiring an applicant. In turn, an applicant will surely have positive results in their employment process.

Jimmy Sweeney is the President of CareerJimmy and author of “Amazing Cover Letter Creator.” Visit him at: http://www.amazing-cover-letters.com for your “instant” cover letters today.

Pay-as-u-go, contract, G3, two or three mega pixel camera, Orange, Vodaphone, O2, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, the choices seem endless, even before the potential buyer gets to actually choose the model of phone they want. Today the mobile phone is more about lifestyles than simply about making phone calls.

The way that a mobile phone unit looks is key to many buyers, which is why there are so many differently styled models available, frequently offered in a number of different colours, or with optional extras such as a range of cases to modify and personalize the phone to suite the users tastes.

The size of the phone is also a major means for deciding what mobile to choose. Manufacturers are currently fighting to produce the thinnest, lightest or smallest phones available to meet consumer demands. The current cream of the crop is the Samsung X820, which weighs in at a mere 66 grams, making it one of the lightest mobile phones around, and at only 6.9mm thick is the slimmest handset in the world to date! The X820 also comes packed with all the features such as MP3 player, bluetooth, 2MP camera, EDGE and email. For users looking for a compact mobile that is easy to easy to carry around, but has all the functions of the larger phones, then the Samsung E370 is ideal. This tiny little number is just 86mm tall and 43.1mm wide, and weighs in at just 86g but still comes with bluetooth, music player, camera, video, GPRS, EDGE, Email and WAP!

To make the most of the stylish looks, many current phones manufacturers have started to use a sliding display to ensure a compact design which doesn’t compromise the ergonomic ease of use for the keyboard, or the size of the colour screen. These sliders not only look great, like the hyper cool LG KG 800 Chocolate, but they also tend to be slightly sturdier than the more traditional flip type phones. This is not to denigrate flip phones, as they have advanced rapidly in recent years, and with incredibly chic designs like the Sony Ericsson W300i, Motorola V3X, Samsung E870, Samsung E770 or LG U300 Chameleon, it is easy to see why these have become the ‘must have’ fashion icons of our current age.

For anyone who must have the latest in gadgets and technology, then there is always a wide and ever evolving range to choose from. Amongst the best currently widely available are the Nokia N80 and the Motorola V3X which both provide their user with increased data transfer speeds thanks to GPRS, quadband, EDGE and 3G, alongside a host of other functions.

The pay tariff also represents the lifestyle of the user, with specific payment schemes set up for those who constantly communicate by text, are always continuously chatting on their mobile all the time, surf using WAP or the internet, or constantly send and receive video or pictures with others, as well as pay-as-u-go schemes for people who rarely use their phones but still need to remain in contact. Which network and phone tariff scheme is best for the users own needs, is partly based on the offers available at the time, but also on what network friends and family members are on already. Choose the wrong network and many friends may not call as often due to the increased inter-network costs.

Fashion trends have taken over the mobile phone world. Buy the wrong phone or join the wrong network provider and it is possible to get shunned, but get the right mobile on the correct network and the phone can become a great talking point, and allow the user increased freedom and a host of incredibly useful extras like an MP3 player, mobile internet access, high quality camera, portable video player, games, even document readers and packages to allow work to be completed outside the office. The mobile has become so much more than just a phone, it has come to symbolize and shape our modern age and the way we live our lives.

About the Author

Andrew Regan is an online journalist who enjoys socialising at his local Edinburgh rugby club.

Arteriosclerosis is a disease affecting the arterial human blood vessel. Arteriosclerosis may be one of the most easily preventable diseases of the modern civilization in the 40 to 70 age group. Coronary Arteriosclerosis is the blockage and narrowing of the blood vessels and is commonly referred to as hardening of the arteries. It is characterized by the thickening and hardening of the arteries. This loss of elastically and narrowing of the arteries can lead to high blood pressure and if left untreated, increases the chance of a stroke.

Arteriosclerosis is commonly referred to as a “hardening” or “furring” of the arteries. Arteriolosclerosis (hardening of small arteries, the arterioles) is the result of collagen deposition, but also muscle wall thickening and deposition of protein (“hyaline”).

Arteriosclerosis is characterized by the constant accumulation fatty substances called plaques on the arterial walls. These complications are chronic, slowly progressing and cumulative. This plaque buildup is usually found in most major arteries of the human body.

The blockage mainly consists of plaques or fatty deposits containing large quantities of cholesterol and triglycerides. Triglycerides are simply another form of fat circulating in the blood instead of stored someplace. Unlike cholesterol, triglycerides are made in the body principally from carbohydrates eaten.

Evidence has increased that people with diabetes, despite certainly not having clinically detectable Arteriosclerosis disease, have more severe debility from Arteriosclerosis events over time than even non-diabetics.

Arteriosclerosis typically begins in early adolescence but is rarely diagnosed until late in life usually due to a stroke or heart attack.
Autopsies of healthy young men who died during the Korean and Vietnam Wars showed evidence of the disease. Early diagnosis and treatment can stop the progression of arteriosclerosis and prevent a medical emergency.

According to United States data for the year 2004, for about 65% of men and 47% of women, the first symptom of Arteriosclerosis disease is heart attack or sudden cardiac death (death within one hour of onset of the symptom) or the obstruction of arteries supplying the brain result in a stroke.

These events are life-changing, and often result in irreversible loss of function because lost heart muscle and brain cells do not grow back to any significant extent, typically less than 2%.

Research has shown that lowering cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood will lower the chance of coronary arteriosclerosis. Non-pharmaceutical means are usually the first method of treatment, such as cessation of smoking and regular exercise.

Common Vitamins and over the counter products can help with treating Arteriosclerosis such as Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Eico-Sapentaenoic Acid,
Oat Bran, Sytrinol, Pantothenic Acid, Niacin, Policosanol and Antioxidants.

Vitamin C has show to reduce cholesterol levels and lowers high blood pressure.

Vitamin E improves circulation and promotes normal blood clotting. Vitamin E is also known to help the red blood cells to live longer and keep them from breaking down too soon.

Studies of the Greenland Eskimos lack of heart attacks have show that Eico-Sapentaenoic Acid lowers blood cholesterol considerably, even more than polyunsaturated fat does. It also triggers a major drop in triglycerides.

Sytrinol are known to be useful in helping maintain a healthy cholesterol level in the body by reducing triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels.

Oat bran muffins lower blood cholesterol among healthy college students by almost 10 percent.

Pantothenic Acid is another form of nontoxic B vitamins. Pantothenic Acid is critical in the metabolism and synthesis of carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

Niacin is the closest thing available to a perfect treatment that corrects most causes of coronary heart disease. Niacin blocks the release of fatty acids from fat cells. Niacin plays a critical role in energy production, gene expression, and hormone synthesis. You cannot live without it.

Niacin also tends to shift LDL particle distribution to larger particle size and improve HDL functioning.

Policosanol is a natural supplement derived from sugar cane. Policosanol promotes healthy platelet function and helps to maintain normal cholesterol levels in the human body.

Natural antioxidants are abundant in fruits and vegetables such as, apples, blueberries, broccoli, cherries, cranberries, grapes, spinach, and Spirulina a blue-green algae.

Patients at risk for arteriosclerosis-related diseases are increasingly being treated prophylactically with low-dose aspirin.

Lifestyle changes can also lower the risk of medical emergencies do to arteriosclerosis. Quit smoking, eat healthy foods, weight loss and get regular exercise. This treatment is often problematic for many to achieve and continue for the long term.

This report is nutritional in nature and not to be construed as medical advice.

Always consult your doctor before using this information.

David Cowley has created over 50 articles about the relationship between diseases and vitamins. For other Articles on Diseases and Vitamin Needs feel free to visit my Web Site at http://www.dfcinvestment-team.com/

Small business owners have a unique challenge when it comes to time management. On the one hand, every new customer presents a new challenge, creating additional work without adding additional resources to fill the need. On the other hand, if you hire more employees you’ll have to shell out the bucks on payroll, benefits, taxes, and other expenses, and you may not have quite enough work to justify that expense. What can the small business owner do?

The answer lies in the latest technology. I?m talking about a specific kind of technology, not just arbitrary and vague, undefined techno-gadgetry.

Specifically, a voice logger allows small business owners to handle customer service issues without creating reams of paperwork. You can record up to 10,000 hours of phone conversations, keep a backup record of every call, and reference them as necessary. The alternative is to pay someone to file written notes of your telephone conversations. That may be the way business owners in the past solved the problem, but that solution in today’s global marketplace is too expensive and creates an uncompetitive environment for your business.

Recorded conversations of phone calls between you and your customers can save you hours of research time when you have a customer service issue that needs special attention. Plus, your customer will be much more satisfied when you can pull up a specific record of past communications that will help you resolve any issues.

Another piece of relatively new technology that is gaining ground is the virtual assistant. Your virtual assistant will greet callers just like a receptionist, but you don’t have to pay her. Instead, you can have your customers route themselves to the correct department within your small business through a series of assistant-led button pushing commands. This increases customer satisfaction and saves you time and money.

Some of the things your virtual assistant can do include notifying you by e-mail when you have an incoming fax, forwarding your calls to you at any number with a simple push of a button, taking a message then sending you an e-mail to let you know who was calling, and forwarding calls to the appropriate person within your small business – even if you just have two employees. But that is the short list. A virtual assistant can do so many more things as well.

Communications technology has come a long way in the last 10 years. Voice loggers and virtual assistants can work in concert to streamline the business processes of your small or medium-sized business. And the cost is much cheaper than you?d expect. You can have an integrated communications package that includes both services for less than a week’s entry-level salary. This allows you to handle customer service issues rapidly, take only the most important and appropriate calls as necessary while letting the others go to voice mail to be handled later, and you can manage your time as well as the complete set of small business resources within your company.

Whether you have a small business that operates out of your home or you commute to an office each day, modern communications technology is a small business godsend. Your time and your money are too important to keep wasting with business processes that are unrefined and not streamlined. If you own a small business, you should shop around for a virtual assistant and voice logger that is compatible with your business processes and will help you manage your time and money with an eye toward your bottom line.

Randy Moretz has been involved in the telecommunications industry since 1993. He has owned and operated his own business since the early 1990s and currently serves as the guide and principle of The Cardinal Group. His service for small businesses involves the promotion of telecommunications technology, including ?Maxie? the virtual attendant and Total Recall voice loggers, as well as Web design and hosting services. For more information about the latest communications technology for small businesses and Web services go to http://www.thecardinalgroup.org.

Does your home need improvement? Do not want to put your home at risk for the sake of improvement? You can avail home improvement loans without using a security, as these loans are available in unsecured form as well. With unsecured home improvement loans, a borrower can improve his home against no security.

As the name refers, the requirement of collateral is absent in unsecured home improvement loan option. It means lender will offer you the loan without asking for any security. As unsecured home improvement loans, you can borrow anything in between ₤5000- ₤25000. But, keep in your mind that on the basis of your income and credit score, your borrowed amount would be decided. Normally, the repayment period of these loans varies from lenders to lenders. But, it is seen that these loans are offered for 5-10years.

Unsecured home improvement loans are available both in fixed as well as variable rate. In case of fixed rate option, borrowers need to pay a fixed amount during the loan period. On the other hand, if you opt for variable rate option, the interest rate will vary in accordance with the changes in loan market.

Any kind of purposes, related to home improvement, can be fulfilled with unsecured home improvement loans. Usually, borrowers apply for these loans for some common reasons. These are penned in below

?For expanding home by adding extra room

?For renovating and repairing home

?Many a time, refurnishing the home becomes the main reason

?One can also apply for these loans for landscaping garden, making garage and for other sorts of home improvement purposes.

Since, these loans are available against no security; therefore, a borrower need not face the risk of collateral repossession, but due to this factor he has to pay a higher interest rate on the borrowed amount. Generally, by charging a higher interest rate, a lender tries to cover the risk of lending money. However, there is a possibility for getting some relaxation on the interest rate. Some efforts are necessitated for that. In this context, borrowers are advised that instead of one lender, keep their eyes on various lenders. They are recommended to access various quotes of lenders and compare those quotes minutely. It will ensure them in getting unsecured home improvement loans with profitable terms and conditions. In such cases, opting for online option can give borrowers some extra edge, as this option is less time consuming and easier.

Who does not like to make his or her home grandiose? You may also crave for it. Unsecured home improvement loans are offering you a chance to grab your crave. So, apply for these loans and be a proud home owner.

Pamella Scott is an author who can certainly identify your kind of loan.To find Unsecured home improvement loans, secured personal loans, unsecured holiday loans, secured home improvement loans in uk that best suits your need visit http://www.easyfinance4u.com

Tennessee Back In This Doghouse

I have never gone broke underestimating Phillip Fulmer.

Over the last four seasons, the University of Tennessee has been one of the most vexing college football powerhouses in the nation. They were loaded on defense and had a potentially interesting quarterback tandem in ‘05, and went 5-6. They had an absolutely dominating offense led by Casey Clausen, but couldn’t stop Auburn and lost a weird home game to Notre Dame in ‘04. Since the ‘98 national championship season, UT has gone 61-26 straight-up, but 2-4 in bowl games (they failed to reach a bowl last year) and have been a dreadful 4-16 against the number in home games since 2003. Indeed, if there’s one thing you could count on last season, it was that Tennessee would be too highly valued against the spread, especially in Knoxville.

Into this breach step the Cal Golden Bears, who travel to Knoxville this weekend to meet Tennessee as a two-point underdog. Cal had terrible troubles at quarterback last season and went a disappointing 8-4, after coming within six points against USC from registering an undefeated regular season in 2004. If Joe Ayoob stays on the bench, I think Cal is a much better team, and from the sound of it, last year’s presumptive starter, Nate Longshore, who broke his leg during the Bears’ first game of ‘05, should helm the team this year. There’s no question who the running back is: it’s Marshawn Lynch, who’s averaged 7.0 yards per carry in his first two seasons in Berkeley. I have visions of the Vols’ once-tremendous run defense being unable to stop Memphis’s two backup rushers last season (Joseph Doss carried it 17 times for 77 yards; Maurice Avery carried it 18 times for 72 yards), so it’s not unthinkable that Lynch could pick up right where he left off in ‘05 (for the record, where he left off was a 24-carry, 194-yard Las Vegas Bowl performance against BYU last year).

Cal was crummy against the number last season (2-9-1), but I’m betting that a lot of that had to do with Ayoob, who seems like a nice guy, but was way too erratic for Jeff Tedford’s wild-and-crazy offensive game plans. Now Ayoob’s the backup again; Longshore is your dropback guy who won’t make the big mistake, and I’m not sure I can say the same about UT QB Eric Ainge, who has that job all to himself this year. Tennessee fans are absolutely awesome, and Knoxville is an incredibly difficult place to play, but I think Fulmer will find a way to lose this game. UT is 2-8 against the spread in their last 10 against non-conference foes, and California is 9-4-1 against the number in their last 14 as a road dog. I’m not sure exactly how much business Lynch will be able to do, because this Tennessee defense should still be pretty good against the run (that Memphis game notwithstanding). But I think the Golden Bears have the weapons necessary to score, and a defense good enough to rattle Ainge. I’m taking California (+2) over Tennessee in this season-opener.
About the Author

Christopher Harris is a featured writer for the Professional Handicappers League.
Read all of his articles at www.procappers.com

Marketing Professionals try all the resources at their command to get new clients and to retain old clients. Client relations are one of the most important functions of a marketing professional. Here is a suggestion. Use ecards to increase sales by getting new clients and retaining the old. Let me tell you how you can do that.

There are many ecard websites on the Internet. Out of them, few offer ecards for business. You will get free ecards, professionally made that look beautiful. The ecards in business section are generally available in the categories of thank you, Season’s greetings, To clients, Sorry etc. in other sections of the website you will get ecards to wish birthday, ecards for Holidays and other topics.

One of the most important factors that affect the client relationship is communication and making the client feel that he/she is highly valued. During every Festive and Holiday Season, use Holidays ecards. After every few weeks, send an ecard to an old client that says Thinking Of You. After every sale or referral, send a Thank you ecard and for any mistake send a sorry ecard.

Avoid sending single line emails to clients. Send ecards. When they will view the ecard, they would appreciate the care that you have taken to select and send the card. You will win their good will and make them happy. In every business, one needs to be one step ahead of the competition. Use ecards to do that. Try these fun quizzes – Check out your business perspective?, Are you a good strategist? and Do you have the entrepreneurial spirit?

It’s not just CEOs and corporate spokespeople who need effective language to be the message. The most successful advertising taglines are not seen as slogans for a product. They are the product. From M&M’s ?melts in your mouth, not in your hand? to ?Please don’t squeeze the Charmin? bathroom tissue, from the ?plop, plop, fizz, fizz? of Alka-Seltzer to ?Fly the friendly skies of United,? there is no light space between the product and its marketing. Words that work reflect ?not only the soul of the brand, but the company itself and its reason for being in business,? according to Publicis worldwide executive creative director David Droga.

In the same vein, advertising experts identify a common quality among the most popular and long-lasting corporate icons: Rather than selling for their companies, these characters personify them. Ronald McDonald, the Marlboro Man, Betty Crocker, the Energizer Bunny — they aren’t shills trying to talk us into buying a Big Mac, a pack of smokes, a box of cake mix, a package of batteries; they don’t even personalize the product. Just like the most celebrated slogans, they are the product.

Walk through any bookstore and you’ll find dozens of books about the marketing and branding efforts of corporate America. The process of corporate communication has been thinly sliced and diced over and over, but what you won’t find is a book about the one truly essential characteristic in our twenty-first-century world: the company persona and how words that work are used to create and sustain it.

The company persona is the sum of the corporate leadership, the corporate ethos, the products and services offered, interaction with the customer, and, most importantly, the language that ties it all together. A majority of large companies do not have a company persona, but those that do benefit significantly. Ben & Jerry’s attracts customers in part because of the funky names they gave to the conventional (and unconventional) flavors they offer, but the positive relationship between corporate management and their employees also plays a role, even after Ben and Jerry sold the company. McDonald’s in the 1970s and Starbucks over the past decade became an integral part of the American culture as much for the lifestyle they reflected as the food and beverages they offered, but the in-store lexicon helped by setting them apart from their competition. (Did any customers ever call the person who served them a cup of coffee a ?barista? before Starbucks made the term popular?) Language is never the sole determinant in creating a company persona, but you’ll find words that work associated with all companies that have one.

And when the message, messenger, and recipient are all on the same page, I call this rare phenomenon ?language alignment,? and it happens far less frequently than you might expect. In fact, virtually all of the companies that have hired my firm for communication guidance have found themselves linguistically unaligned.

This manifests itself in two ways. First, in service-oriented businesses, the sales force is too often selling with a different language than the marketing people are using. There’s nothing wrong with individualizing the sales approach to each customer, but when you have your sales force promoting a message that has no similarity with the advertising campaign, it undermines both efforts. The language in the ads and promotions must match the language on the street, in the shop, and on the floor. For example, Boost Mobile, which caters to an inner city youth demographic, uses the slogan ?Where you at?? Not grammatically (or politically) correct — but it’s the language of their consumer.

And second, corporations with multiple products in the same space too often allow the language of those products to blur and bleed into each other. Procter & Gamble may sell a hundred different items, but even though each one fills a different need, a different space, and/or a different category, it is perfectly fine for them to share similar language. You can use some of the same verbiage to sell soap as you would to sell towels, because no consumer will confuse the products and what they do.

Not so for a company that is in a single line of work, say selling cars or selling beer, where companies use the exact same adjectives to describe very different products. In this instance, achieving linguistic alignment requires a much more disciplined linguistic segmentation. It is almost always a more effective sales strategy to divvy up the appropriate adjectives and create a unique lexicon for each individual brand.

An example of a major corporation that has confronted both of these challenges and still managed to achieve linguistic alignment, even as they are laying off thousands of workers, is the Ford Motor Company — which manages a surprisingly diverse group of brands ranging from Mazda to Aston Martin. The Ford corporate leadership recognized that it was impossible to separate the Ford name, corporate history, heritage, and range of vehicles — so why bother. They came as a package. Sure, Ford maintains individual brand identity, through national and local ad campaigns and by creating and maintaining a separate image and language for each brand. For example, ?uniquely sensual styling? certainly applies when one is talking about a Jaguar S Type, but would probably not be pertinent for a Ford F 250 pickup truck. But the fact that the CEO carries the Ford name communicates continuity to the company’s customers, and Bill Ford sitting in front of an assembly line talking about leadership and innovation in all of Ford’s vehicles effectively puts all the individual brands into alignment.

The words he uses — ?innovation,? ?driven,? ‘re-committed,? ?dramatically,? ?dedicated? — represent the simplicity and brevity of effective communications, and they are wrapped around the CEO who is the fourth-generation Ford to lead the company — hence credibility. The cars are the message, Bill Ford is the messenger, the language is dead-on, and Ford is weathering the American automotive crisis far better than its larger rival General Motors. Again, the language of Ford isn’t the only driver of corporate image and sales — but it certainly is a factor.

In fact, the brand-building campaign was so successful that GM jumped on board. But Ford quickly took it a step further. In early 2006, they began to leverage their ownership of Volvo (I wonder how many readers did not know that Ford bought Volvo in 1999 and purchased Jaguar a decade earlier) to communicate a corporate-wide commitment to automotive safety, across all of its individual brands and vehicles. Volvo is one of the most respected cars on the road today, and aligning all of Ford behind an industry leader is a very smart strategy indeed.

So what about the competition?

General Motors, once the automotive powerhouse of the world, has an equally diverse product line and arguably a richer history of technology and innovation, but their public message of cutbacks, buy-backs, and layoffs was designed to appeal to Wall Street, not Main Street, and it crushed new car sales. At the time of this writing, GM is suffering through record losses, record job layoffs, and a record number of bad stories about its failing marketing efforts.

It didn’t have to be this way.

The actual attributes of many of the GM product lines are more appealing than the competition, but the product image itself is not. To own a GM car is to tell the world that you’re so 1970s, and since what you drive is considered an extension and expression of yourself to others, people end up buying cars they actually like less because they feel the cars will say something more about them.

Think about it. Here’s a company that was the first to develop a catalytic converter, the first to develop an advanced anti-tipping stabilization technology, the first to develop engines that could use all sorts of blended gasolines, and most importantly in today’s market, the creator of OnStar — an incredible new-age computerized safety and tracking device. Yet most American consumers have no idea that any of these valuable innovations came from General Motors, simply because GM decided not to tell them. So instead of using its latest and greatest emerging technology to align itself with its customers, GM finds itself in a deteriorating dialogue with shareholders. No alignment = no sales.

Another problem with GM: No one knew that the various brands under the GM moniker were in fact . . . GM. Even such well-known brands as Corvette and Cadillac had become disconnected from the parent company. Worse yet, all the various brands (with the exception of Hummer, which couldn’t get lost in a crowd even if the brand manager wanted it to) were using similar language, similar visuals, and a similar message — blurring the distinction between brands and turning GM vehicles into nothing more than generic American cars. Repeated marketing failures were just part of GM’s recurring problems, but as that issue was completely within their control, it should have been the easiest to address.

When products, services, and language are aligned, they gain another essential attribute: authenticity. In my own market research for dozens of Fortune 500 companies, I have found that the best way to communicate authenticity is to trigger personalization: Do audience members see themselves in the slogan . . . and therefore in the product? Unfortunately, achieving personalization is by no means easy.

To illustrate how companies and brands in a competitive space create compelling personas for themselves while addressing the needs of different consumer groups, let’s take a look at cereals. Anyone can go out and buy a box of cereal. But different cereals offer different experiences. Watch and listen carefully to their marketing approach and the words they use.

Most cereals geared toward children sell energy, excitement, adventure, and the potential for fun — even more than the actual taste of the sugar-coated rice or wheat puffs in the cardboard box. On the other hand, cereal aimed at grown-ups is sold based on its utility to the maintenance and enhancement of health — with taste once again secondary.

Children’s cereals are pitched by nonthreatening cartoon characters — tigers, parrots, chocolate-loving vampires, Cap?ns, and a tiny trio in stocking caps — never an adult or authority figure. Adult cereals come at you head-on with a not-so-subtle Food Police message, wrapped in saccharine-sweet smiles, exclaiming that this cereal is a favorite of healthy and cholesterol-conscious adults who don’t want to get colon cancer! Ugghhh. Kids buy Frosted Flakes because ‘they’re grrrreat!? Adults buy Special K because we want to be as attractive and vigorous as the actors who promote it. When it comes to cereal, about the only thing parents and kids have in common is that the taste matters only slightly more than the image, experience, and product association — and if the communication appears authentic, they’ll buy.

And cereal certainly sells. From Cheerios to Cinnamon Toast Crunch, more than $6 billion worth of cold cereal was sold in the United States alone in 2005. If you were to look at the five top-selling brands, you would see a diverse list targeted to a diverse set of customers. The language used for each of these five brands is noticeably different, but in all cases totally essential.

In looking at the first and third best-selling brands of cereal, one might initially think that only a slight variation in ingredients mark their distinctions. Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios are both based around the same whole-grain O shaped cereal, but are in fact two very different products, beyond the addition of honey and a nut-like crunch.

The language behind Cheerios is remarkably simple and all-encompassing — ‘the one and only Cheerios.? Could be for kids . . . could be for young adults . . . could be for parents. Actually, Cheerios wants to sell to all of them. As its Web site states, Cheerios is the right cereal for ‘toddlers to adults and everyone in between.? The subtle heart-shaped bowl on each box suggests to the older consumer that the ?whole-grain? cereal is a healthy start to a healthy day. But the Web site also has a section devoted entirely to younger adults, complete with testimonials and ‘tips from new parents? talking about how Cheerios has helped them to raise happy, healthy children. The language behind Cheerios works because it transcends the traditional societal boundaries of age and adds a sense of authenticity to the product.

While you could probably live a happy and healthy existence with Cheerios as your sole cereal choice, there is a substantial segment of the cereal market that demands more. For the cereal-consuming public roughly between the ages of four and fourteen, a different taste and linguistic approach is required. Buzz the Bee, the kid-friendly mascot of Honey Nut Cheerios, pitches the ?irresistible taste of golden honey,? selling the sweetness of the product to a demographic that craves sweet foods. While the parent knows that his or her child wants the cereal because of its sweet taste (as conveyed through the packaging), Honey Nut Cheerios must still pass the parent test. By putting such statements as ?whole-grain? and ?13 essential vitamins and minerals? on the box, the product gains authenticity, credibility, and the approval of the parent.

Two different messages on one common box effectively markets the same product to both children and parents alike, helping to make Honey Nut Cheerios the number three top-selling cereal in 2004. So with the addition of honey and nuts, General Mills, the producer of the Cheerios line, has filled the gap between toddlers and young adults, and completed the Cheerios cradle-to-grave lifetime hold on the consumer.

To take another example, if you want people to think you’re hip and healthy, you make sure they see you drinking bottled water — and the fancier the better. No one walking around with a diet Dr Pepper in hand is looking to impress anybody. These days, there’s almost a feeling that soft drinks are exclusively for kids and the uneducated masses. There’s a cache to the consumption of water, and expensive and exclusive brands are all the rage. Now, there may be a few people who have such extremely refined, educated taste buds that they can taste the difference between Dasani and Aquafina (I certainly can’t), but the connoisseurs of modish waters are more likely than not posers (or, to continue the snobbery theme, poseurs). You won’t see many people walking around Cincinnati or Syracuse clutching fancy bottled water. Hollywood, South Beach, and the Upper East Side of New York City are, as usual, another story.

There’s one final aspect of being the message that impacts what we hear and how we hear it. How our language is delivered can be as important as the words themselves, and no one understands this principle better than Hollywood.

At a small table tucked away in the corner of a boutique Italian restaurant on the outskirts of Beverly Hills, I had the opportunity to dine with legendary actors Charles Durning, Jack Klugman, and Dom DeLuise. The entire dinner was a litany of stories of actors, writers, and the most memorable movie lines ever delivered. (Says Klugman, an Emmy Award winner, ?A great line isn’t spoken, it is delivered.?) Best known for his roles in The Odd Couple and Quincy, Klugman told a story about how Spencer Tracy was practicing his lines for a movie late in his career in the presence of the film’s screenwriter. Apparently not pleased with the reading, the writer said to Tracy, ?Would you please pay more attention to how you are reading that line? It took me six months to write it,? to which Tracy shot back, ?It took me thirty years to learn how to say correctly the line that took you only six months to write.?

Spencer Tracy knew how to be the message — and his shelf of Academy Awards proved it.

Excerpted from WORDS THAT WORK by Dr. Frank Luntz. Copyright 2007 Dr. Frank Luntz. All rights reserved. Published by Hyperion. Available wherever books are sold.

Dr. Frank Luntz was named the “hottest pollster in America” by the Boston Globe, and “has a special expertise, on that happens to be in demand these days,” according to The New York Times. He is sought by CEOs of Fortune 100 companies, political candidates, public advocacy groups, and world leaders — just about anyone who wants to know how to say things better and more effectively. Dr. Luntz has supervised more than 1,200 surveys and focus groups in twenty countries, and has engineered some of the most potent political and corporate campaigns of the last decade.
For more information, please visit http://www.luntz.com