Did You Check Your Confidence Level?
Would you like to be confident? Your answer may be - YES.
I do want to be confident.
However, this answer lacks the impact. It is too generalized.
Just like everybody wants to do well in life and be rich but not many ever realize this wish. This is because to actually get somewhere in life, you need to quantify your confidence. You need to define the task for which you need to be confident so that you can execute it successfully.
A mere wish to be confident wont take you anywhere. The dream must have a deadline as well!
Self Confidence might mean different things to different people groups.
For a child it might mean to be able to recite the poem to her teacher the next morning. For a business executive it might mean to be able to present the business report to the Board of Directors.
For a salaried person it may be the ability to be able to make a switch over from his secure job to a new independent venture and so on. To execute their respective tasks, these people need a certain level of confidence, which would see them through.
Every task requires a minimum level of confidence to be able to be executed. Do you have a task in your mind to be done? Do you have the level of confidence required? Let us check it out!
Following is a simple questionnaire. You have to answer to these in a YES or NO
1. Does it happen too often with you that you cannot take a decision all by yourself and you seem to look for your colleagues, friends, or your spouse to sort the matter for you?
2. Do you always seem to be in perpetual need of a support system wherein you can feel secure?
3. Do you just sit and listen all the times in your office meetings?
4. Do you feel difficulty in reporting a matter to your boss or you have an excellent idea that can improve your companys efficiency but you cannot muster enough courage to go and talk about it to your Boss?
5. Are you terrified to meet someone new? Is public speaking your worst nightmare?
6. Do you timidly accept orders from your superior even though you know that you are already overloaded and you need to say no?
7. Are you excessively concerned about what other people think of you?
8. Do you fear taking risks?
9. Do you feel dissatisfied about your appearance?
10. Are you uncomfortable in social gatherings being amongst lots of people?
If you happen to answer these questions with a Yes, you seem to have a confidence crisis that might become an obstacle in successfully executing your tasks.
Dont Panic, as it is good that you found out since now you are aware of a potential problem of your life. The very fact that you are aware of your confidence rating makes you ready to take further action and work towards eliminating the negative effects of low confidence levels and work towards building your self confidence.
Here are some more questions you may answer.
1. Have you accomplished anything in the past?
2. Are you the one to go ahead and break the ice at a new place or wait for someone else to initiate a discussion?
3. Do you feel you are well respected by others?
4. Do you think you have the potential to succeed?
5. Are you a happy and loving person?
6. Are you satisfied with your career graph?
7. Are you satisfied with your skills and qualifications?
8. Do you feel in control of your life?
9. Do you imagine yourself to be more successful five years from now?
10. Do you feel that you are a worthwhile person?
If you happen to answer most of these questions with a NO, you have LOW self-confidence levels.
However, a YES is never decisive and a NO is never final. One needs to constantly maintain the good points and work towards converting bad points into good points. And the good news is that it is very much possible.
Its important that you honestly answer the questions above, since only when you realize the present status of your self-confidence would you be working towards building self-confidence or maintaining and increasing your present levels.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Analyze Your Trading System
I'm going to share with you some of the factors that I examine when I am testing and analyzing potential new trading systems. First, you might be wondering what I use when developing new systems. There are a variety of different software packages available, but I use TradeStation most of the time. The graphic below shows a TradeStation summary of a system that is being tested. You can refer to that throughout this article for the different factors we will discuss.
If you do not want to pay for a software package, advanced users in a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel could import data from Yahoo! Finance or some other data vendor and set up data tables to simulate trading. That works just as well as sophisticated software packages but is much more time-consuming and difficult to set up.
The Time Period you choose is important because you want to analyze your system during a variety of market conditions. I usually choose to start somewhere around January 1998 and test all the way to the current date for my systems. This way your system will be tested in strong up years, strong down years and several years that moved relatively less.
Net Profit is probably the first thing most traders look at when they develop a system. Unfortunately, some traders only look at their net profit, and that is why I am writing this article. Net profit is important, of course, but not necessarily the most important factor. A system might have a huge net profit, but if all that profit was made in a couple large trades during 1999 or 2002, that is not a good system. What you want to make sure you develop is a system that works consistently well in all market conditions.
Total Trades and Trade Length are important so you know for sure that your system will work well with what you are trading and again you also want to look for consistency. If you are developing a swing trading system for stocks you will probably want a few dozen trades per year that meet your conditions and most of the trades taking anywhere from 2 to 14 days. If you're going to be trading something else then those conditions will be different.
Another important factor in your new trading system is Percent Profitable. Of course we would naturally assume that the system that has the highest number of profitable trades would be the best. That is not always true though. This is where Win/Loss Ratio (average winning trade divided by average loosing trade) comes in. You may have a high percentage of profitable trades but the average loss might be much higher then your average gain. I have seen systems that have as many as 85% of their trades showing a profit, but if that same system has a Win/Loss Ratio of 0.50, that is their losses are on average twice as big as their wins, you still may not be able to make any money with this system. However there are also systems that may only be right 30% of the time but when they're right they're right by a lot and may have a high Win/Loss Ratio of 4.5 or greater and that you might actually be able to make money with. In general though, most good trading systems have a greater then 50% Percent Profitable and a great then 2.0 Win/Loss Ratio.
The final factor that we are going to examine is the Equity Curve. This is the ultimate test of a consistent trading system. The Equity Curve is simply a graph that shows the total profit or loss after each trade. The line of a good Equity Curve should steadily increase from the left side of the chart to the right. This shows that the system is making consistent profits in all market conditions. Bad systems, even ones who are winners in the end will have wild fluxations in their Equity Curve, having huge increases and decreases for long periods of time or periods of no movement at all.
I'm going to share with you some of the factors that I examine when I am testing and analyzing potential new trading systems. First, you might be wondering what I use when developing new systems. There are a variety of different software packages available, but I use TradeStation most of the time. The graphic below shows a TradeStation summary of a system that is being tested. You can refer to that throughout this article for the different factors we will discuss.
If you do not want to pay for a software package, advanced users in a spreadsheet program such as Microsoft Excel could import data from Yahoo! Finance or some other data vendor and set up data tables to simulate trading. That works just as well as sophisticated software packages but is much more time-consuming and difficult to set up.
The Time Period you choose is important because you want to analyze your system during a variety of market conditions. I usually choose to start somewhere around January 1998 and test all the way to the current date for my systems. This way your system will be tested in strong up years, strong down years and several years that moved relatively less.
Net Profit is probably the first thing most traders look at when they develop a system. Unfortunately, some traders only look at their net profit, and that is why I am writing this article. Net profit is important, of course, but not necessarily the most important factor. A system might have a huge net profit, but if all that profit was made in a couple large trades during 1999 or 2002, that is not a good system. What you want to make sure you develop is a system that works consistently well in all market conditions.
Total Trades and Trade Length are important so you know for sure that your system will work well with what you are trading and again you also want to look for consistency. If you are developing a swing trading system for stocks you will probably want a few dozen trades per year that meet your conditions and most of the trades taking anywhere from 2 to 14 days. If you're going to be trading something else then those conditions will be different.
Another important factor in your new trading system is Percent Profitable. Of course we would naturally assume that the system that has the highest number of profitable trades would be the best. That is not always true though. This is where Win/Loss Ratio (average winning trade divided by average loosing trade) comes in. You may have a high percentage of profitable trades but the average loss might be much higher then your average gain. I have seen systems that have as many as 85% of their trades showing a profit, but if that same system has a Win/Loss Ratio of 0.50, that is their losses are on average twice as big as their wins, you still may not be able to make any money with this system. However there are also systems that may only be right 30% of the time but when they're right they're right by a lot and may have a high Win/Loss Ratio of 4.5 or greater and that you might actually be able to make money with. In general though, most good trading systems have a greater then 50% Percent Profitable and a great then 2.0 Win/Loss Ratio.
The final factor that we are going to examine is the Equity Curve. This is the ultimate test of a consistent trading system. The Equity Curve is simply a graph that shows the total profit or loss after each trade. The line of a good Equity Curve should steadily increase from the left side of the chart to the right. This shows that the system is making consistent profits in all market conditions. Bad systems, even ones who are winners in the end will have wild fluxations in their Equity Curve, having huge increases and decreases for long periods of time or periods of no movement at all.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
10 Things To Consider Before Planning And Installing A New Bathroom
Whether you want to install a new bathroom or make improvements to an existing one there are some decisions you need to make and challenges to overcome. A bathroom must be tailored to your requirements and every plan will vary depending on the planner's needs.
1. Seek professional advice before planning a bathroom. You may need to consider local water regulations, existing plumbing facilities and the way your house is constructed.
2. Define the role and requirements of the new bathroom. Planning a bathroom involves more than the positioning of basic fixtures such as the bath, basin and toilet. Make sure your plan allows for plenty of floor for wall space and for extras such as towel rail, mirror and storage.
3. Decide if you need to make any changes to existing services and whether structural work is required. Measure up and note the position of the existing services, windows and doors and work out the plan to get the bathroom fixtures where you want them. Youll also need to decide if you need to move any doors, windows or walls and whether you need to make changes to the electricity wiring, water and drains.
4. Draw out the bathroom area on graph paper and work out how best to divide up the bathroom for different purposes or tasks. You may need to consider whether to use double or sliding doors, archways or curtains.
5. Ensure that you have enough space to accommodate your chosen fittings as well as enough room to move them into position. Think about how much room will be required for toiletries, storing towels, medicines etc.
6. Build in utilities such as heating, ventilation and lighting. These are important to ensure that your bathroom has enough light and works efficiently.
7. Make provisions for future plumbing and allow for access to potential trouble spots such as the shower pump and boxed-in toilet cisterns. If possible, fit removable panels instead of sealing these utilities behind fixed walls.
8. Find out exactly what sort of fittings you require and whether they will be suitable for the intended location.
9. Think about your style preferences in terms of the fit and flow with the rest of the house. There are products to meet most requirements or designs. Consider the trade off between price and good quality, and look out for longer warranties and guarantees.
10. Consider traffic patterns in terms of how many people will be using the bathroom and how often. Also, if people of varying ages use the bathroom, you may need to choose fittings that cater for different age groups in your household such as a slide shower so you can adjust the height of the spray.
Taking time to plan ahead can help to translate your ideas into reality and ensure that you end up with your ideal bathroom.
Whether you want to install a new bathroom or make improvements to an existing one there are some decisions you need to make and challenges to overcome. A bathroom must be tailored to your requirements and every plan will vary depending on the planner's needs.
1. Seek professional advice before planning a bathroom. You may need to consider local water regulations, existing plumbing facilities and the way your house is constructed.
2. Define the role and requirements of the new bathroom. Planning a bathroom involves more than the positioning of basic fixtures such as the bath, basin and toilet. Make sure your plan allows for plenty of floor for wall space and for extras such as towel rail, mirror and storage.
3. Decide if you need to make any changes to existing services and whether structural work is required. Measure up and note the position of the existing services, windows and doors and work out the plan to get the bathroom fixtures where you want them. Youll also need to decide if you need to move any doors, windows or walls and whether you need to make changes to the electricity wiring, water and drains.
4. Draw out the bathroom area on graph paper and work out how best to divide up the bathroom for different purposes or tasks. You may need to consider whether to use double or sliding doors, archways or curtains.
5. Ensure that you have enough space to accommodate your chosen fittings as well as enough room to move them into position. Think about how much room will be required for toiletries, storing towels, medicines etc.
6. Build in utilities such as heating, ventilation and lighting. These are important to ensure that your bathroom has enough light and works efficiently.
7. Make provisions for future plumbing and allow for access to potential trouble spots such as the shower pump and boxed-in toilet cisterns. If possible, fit removable panels instead of sealing these utilities behind fixed walls.
8. Find out exactly what sort of fittings you require and whether they will be suitable for the intended location.
9. Think about your style preferences in terms of the fit and flow with the rest of the house. There are products to meet most requirements or designs. Consider the trade off between price and good quality, and look out for longer warranties and guarantees.
10. Consider traffic patterns in terms of how many people will be using the bathroom and how often. Also, if people of varying ages use the bathroom, you may need to choose fittings that cater for different age groups in your household such as a slide shower so you can adjust the height of the spray.
Taking time to plan ahead can help to translate your ideas into reality and ensure that you end up with your ideal bathroom.
Basics of Welfare Economics
Human beings are the building blocks of society. The societies agglomerate to make states. And then the nations are formed. The economy of a nation is the indicator of its prosperity. What the economy affects primarily are the people of a country. The technique, which uses the concepts of macroeconomics to achieve social goals, has been christened as welfare economics. Economics with all the data, tables, graph etc. can seem to be a very strict and rigid field. But the economists have now attached the human touch to the economic sphere too. Broadly speaking this field essentially involves the distribution of wealth among all the people and hence providing them with the buying capacity.
The need for this approach to study economics arises because of the increasing index of poverty. The people normally do not pay heed to the poor and the needy. There are increasing numbers of people involved in minimum wage jobs. They are employed but yet poor. The wage jobs do not cover the medical insurance or education for the kids. Now in this situation the person prefers to fulfill the need of a square meal then to go for the education option.
In a democratic set up it is seen that the welfare takes a high position in the agenda of the governments. This is, for one, required to ensure the votes. And secondly democracy has an influence of socialism and communism in it, thus the psyche of the government is for the benefit of the masses. America is known for being one such democracy. There are enough people to work for such causes.
The gamut of social welfare is very wide and anything can be brought under it. In one way it is provision of safety to the countrys citizens. Safety from poverty, hunger, disease and many other things a social worker can think of. Now a very thought-worthy question arose when Ralph Nadar brought forward the concept of corporate welfare to the forefront, in 1956. This involves giving tax holidays and other regulatory leverages to the corporations. The debatable issue is that the corporate firms in a capitalist structure cannot be expected to work for the social welfare. And at every step the interests of society and the corporate seem to clash. The design of the corporate structure of the country should be such that it can cater to the needs of themselves as well as those of the society. Corporate governance jurisprudence is probably stemmed out of such conflicts.
The core issue of this problem is probably the distribution of income. The dichotomy on this count arises when one school of thought suggests the governmental influence on income slabs and the other theorizes that government should not at all be involved but it should be the sole discretion of the employer to pay the employees. The actual game lies somewhere in the middle. The governmental regulations do influence the wage schemes. The need of the hour is however, to check the accumulation majority of the wealth among a few hands.
The economic reforms to boost the grass root level employees too have to be brought because it is they who really are at the hem of the economic growth. The new approach is good from the point of view of the low-income people but a balance has to be struck between their interests and the interests of business giants.
Human beings are the building blocks of society. The societies agglomerate to make states. And then the nations are formed. The economy of a nation is the indicator of its prosperity. What the economy affects primarily are the people of a country. The technique, which uses the concepts of macroeconomics to achieve social goals, has been christened as welfare economics. Economics with all the data, tables, graph etc. can seem to be a very strict and rigid field. But the economists have now attached the human touch to the economic sphere too. Broadly speaking this field essentially involves the distribution of wealth among all the people and hence providing them with the buying capacity.
The need for this approach to study economics arises because of the increasing index of poverty. The people normally do not pay heed to the poor and the needy. There are increasing numbers of people involved in minimum wage jobs. They are employed but yet poor. The wage jobs do not cover the medical insurance or education for the kids. Now in this situation the person prefers to fulfill the need of a square meal then to go for the education option.
In a democratic set up it is seen that the welfare takes a high position in the agenda of the governments. This is, for one, required to ensure the votes. And secondly democracy has an influence of socialism and communism in it, thus the psyche of the government is for the benefit of the masses. America is known for being one such democracy. There are enough people to work for such causes.
The gamut of social welfare is very wide and anything can be brought under it. In one way it is provision of safety to the countrys citizens. Safety from poverty, hunger, disease and many other things a social worker can think of. Now a very thought-worthy question arose when Ralph Nadar brought forward the concept of corporate welfare to the forefront, in 1956. This involves giving tax holidays and other regulatory leverages to the corporations. The debatable issue is that the corporate firms in a capitalist structure cannot be expected to work for the social welfare. And at every step the interests of society and the corporate seem to clash. The design of the corporate structure of the country should be such that it can cater to the needs of themselves as well as those of the society. Corporate governance jurisprudence is probably stemmed out of such conflicts.
The core issue of this problem is probably the distribution of income. The dichotomy on this count arises when one school of thought suggests the governmental influence on income slabs and the other theorizes that government should not at all be involved but it should be the sole discretion of the employer to pay the employees. The actual game lies somewhere in the middle. The governmental regulations do influence the wage schemes. The need of the hour is however, to check the accumulation majority of the wealth among a few hands.
The economic reforms to boost the grass root level employees too have to be brought because it is they who really are at the hem of the economic growth. The new approach is good from the point of view of the low-income people but a balance has to be struck between their interests and the interests of business giants.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
How Poor Are You!
Do you want to know your poverty graph? You are poor if you:
- do not have a firm commitment with yourself to succeed
- do no set goals and follow them through
- do not put your best efforts at work
- do not keep yourself updated on new information and technologies
- do not adopt a positive attitude and get rid of negative thinking
- are not strong enough to accept the challenges of day-to-day life
- are not ready to take any risk due to fear of failure
- lack self respect and respect for others
- discriminate people on the basis of religion, belief, cast, creed, nationality, etc.
- do not appreciate the good work done by others
- do not apologize to others for your misdeeds
- do not help the people in need
- do not thank God for all that you have
The list goes on and on. Let me leave it unfinished and ask you a simple question. Do you really want to get rid of your poverty? The answer, you know the better!
Do you want to know your poverty graph? You are poor if you:
- do not have a firm commitment with yourself to succeed
- do no set goals and follow them through
- do not put your best efforts at work
- do not keep yourself updated on new information and technologies
- do not adopt a positive attitude and get rid of negative thinking
- are not strong enough to accept the challenges of day-to-day life
- are not ready to take any risk due to fear of failure
- lack self respect and respect for others
- discriminate people on the basis of religion, belief, cast, creed, nationality, etc.
- do not appreciate the good work done by others
- do not apologize to others for your misdeeds
- do not help the people in need
- do not thank God for all that you have
The list goes on and on. Let me leave it unfinished and ask you a simple question. Do you really want to get rid of your poverty? The answer, you know the better!
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
How to Build Profitable Web Sites to Get Top 1% Search Engines Ranking
The trick to building profitable web sites to get high ranking through indexing by Major Search Engines is Good Design. You dont have to pay costly fees. Get that?
Yes, getting to the top 1% ranking comes from the art of putting careful thought in crafting and setting up your Internet Business. How you arrange your products and services in your web site pages is very critical for getting thousands of buyers clamoring for your products. Your site will be so appealing it motivates them to open their wallets, take out their credit cards and willingly give it to you, so you send them your products.
Here are the steps to higher Search Engine ranking::
Firstly, you zero in on your highly targeted audience. Let's say you plan to sell DVD players. This term is too broad to use in your small internet business. Leave this category/term for the big giants of the industry. They have the big advertising budgets to capture the broad market with massive advertising.
You, however, have to look for a piece of this big market. You are looking for a niche. You want to capture a highly defined target audience. These people already know what they want and are ready to give you their credit card number to order.
Secondly, suppose you came up with a target group who are looking for lightweight DVD players. You can devise a name like: lightweightdvdplayers.com, register it with a reputable hosting company with all the correct security, virus protection , marketing and other effective money making tools for your web site and you are ready to build your site.
NOTE: Remember to register related sub-domain names of your product and services too. Use them in your site or separate sites or just park them with you web registry company for use later when you can expand your product line.
Thirdly, you must develop additional product pages under your URL name you just registered above, as follows:
One page for say, the SUNNY brand name products, with further sub-categories1... like deluxe model, standard model, etc., and sub-category2 different colors etc.
Another page for say, the Tohibba brand name products... with similar sub-categories like before.
Another page for the Samsoong products... with similar sub-categories like before and so on This is called the drill down method of designing your web site. Another way to look at this design is like drilling a hole inside a cone that is standing on the tip. You start from a wide area, the base of the cone, then proceed to a very small pointy area. The final point you want to hit. You get it? Practice a little on a scratch pad of your ideas and I sure youll come up with a winner!
Fourthly, you must link these pages together. This linking process helps your site develop credibility with the Search Engines. When the Search Engine robot spiders crawl around the superhighway looking for content youll have plenty content for them to feed on. Good content and a lot of it is what Search Engines hunger for. You have to give them that and they will love you for it.
Fifth, You must create a Site Map, particularly on your home page, as this will tie in your entire web site in a form the Search Engines are dying for, that further allows them to crawl your site and rank it higher on the internet.
These are the major actions you must take to get customers drawn to your site by the thousands of visitors a day. The sooner you implement these strategies on your site, the sooner you will see your ranking on Alexa, Yahoo, MSN , Alta Vista and other major Search Engines soar. Soaring high means more traffic. More traffic means more orders and more orders mean more money in your bank account. That is why you have an on line business. To make money 24/7 running on auto pilot.
So, let us back up a little. This might take some work and you will have to put in some time to develop your site. In about three to four weeks, I would say, if you are diligent about making money with your site, you can craft a strong pulling web site with all its pages intact. If you want to make money with your web site, youll know that it is worth the time. This three weeks diligence is going to put a lot of money in your pocket fast.
However, if you do not want to take the time to design your own money making web site, there is another solution. You can let the professionals do it for you. Just click on the site below and youll be amazed of how attractive and Search Engine friendly they will make you site. Plus, the will give you some more tips and tricks that I cannot address here in this article, due to space limitations.
But, I encourage you to give it a try on your own first. Give up? Then, youll make a wise decision if you click on the link below and youll be all set to go to creat a money pulling site.
Do all this and then watch the money roll in.
The trick to building profitable web sites to get high ranking through indexing by Major Search Engines is Good Design. You dont have to pay costly fees. Get that?
Yes, getting to the top 1% ranking comes from the art of putting careful thought in crafting and setting up your Internet Business. How you arrange your products and services in your web site pages is very critical for getting thousands of buyers clamoring for your products. Your site will be so appealing it motivates them to open their wallets, take out their credit cards and willingly give it to you, so you send them your products.
Here are the steps to higher Search Engine ranking::
Firstly, you zero in on your highly targeted audience. Let's say you plan to sell DVD players. This term is too broad to use in your small internet business. Leave this category/term for the big giants of the industry. They have the big advertising budgets to capture the broad market with massive advertising.
You, however, have to look for a piece of this big market. You are looking for a niche. You want to capture a highly defined target audience. These people already know what they want and are ready to give you their credit card number to order.
Secondly, suppose you came up with a target group who are looking for lightweight DVD players. You can devise a name like: lightweightdvdplayers.com, register it with a reputable hosting company with all the correct security, virus protection , marketing and other effective money making tools for your web site and you are ready to build your site.
NOTE: Remember to register related sub-domain names of your product and services too. Use them in your site or separate sites or just park them with you web registry company for use later when you can expand your product line.
Thirdly, you must develop additional product pages under your URL name you just registered above, as follows:
One page for say, the SUNNY brand name products, with further sub-categories1... like deluxe model, standard model, etc., and sub-category2 different colors etc.
Another page for say, the Tohibba brand name products... with similar sub-categories like before.
Another page for the Samsoong products... with similar sub-categories like before and so on This is called the drill down method of designing your web site. Another way to look at this design is like drilling a hole inside a cone that is standing on the tip. You start from a wide area, the base of the cone, then proceed to a very small pointy area. The final point you want to hit. You get it? Practice a little on a scratch pad of your ideas and I sure youll come up with a winner!
Fourthly, you must link these pages together. This linking process helps your site develop credibility with the Search Engines. When the Search Engine robot spiders crawl around the superhighway looking for content youll have plenty content for them to feed on. Good content and a lot of it is what Search Engines hunger for. You have to give them that and they will love you for it.
Fifth, You must create a Site Map, particularly on your home page, as this will tie in your entire web site in a form the Search Engines are dying for, that further allows them to crawl your site and rank it higher on the internet.
These are the major actions you must take to get customers drawn to your site by the thousands of visitors a day. The sooner you implement these strategies on your site, the sooner you will see your ranking on Alexa, Yahoo, MSN , Alta Vista and other major Search Engines soar. Soaring high means more traffic. More traffic means more orders and more orders mean more money in your bank account. That is why you have an on line business. To make money 24/7 running on auto pilot.
So, let us back up a little. This might take some work and you will have to put in some time to develop your site. In about three to four weeks, I would say, if you are diligent about making money with your site, you can craft a strong pulling web site with all its pages intact. If you want to make money with your web site, youll know that it is worth the time. This three weeks diligence is going to put a lot of money in your pocket fast.
However, if you do not want to take the time to design your own money making web site, there is another solution. You can let the professionals do it for you. Just click on the site below and youll be amazed of how attractive and Search Engine friendly they will make you site. Plus, the will give you some more tips and tricks that I cannot address here in this article, due to space limitations.
But, I encourage you to give it a try on your own first. Give up? Then, youll make a wise decision if you click on the link below and youll be all set to go to creat a money pulling site.
Do all this and then watch the money roll in.
Lagrangian Points and Nasa's Plan to Explore Space
Nasa is relying on the existence of Lagrangian points between every set of planetary bodies it intends to explore in order to implement its plan of successful interplanetary space exploration. Although this at first may seem to be a vague and mystical concept, foreign to all but trained astrophysicists, in fact it is really quite simple to understand.
The Lagrangian in physics is merely nothing more than a set of two simpler equations that can be used as an alternative for Newtons second law; force equals mass times acceleration. A Lagrangian point between two bodies exerting competing forces on a body is therefore a point at which the forces are equal and opposite. According to Newtons third law, if the net force on a body is zero, it will stay at rest if at rest and if in motion it will stay in motion.
In mathematical terms, visualize a graph of a big bowl. The Lagrangian point is the point at the very bottom of the bowl. This point represents the point at which the maximum energy, the energy from the bottom of the bowl to the top, must be supplied to kick the body out of the bowl in order to prevent the body from rolling back down to the bottom of the bowl and returning to its energy minimum. Therefore, the point at the minimum of the bowl represents the point of maximum stability in terms of preventing the influence of a net imbalance in the forces of the two gravitational forces on it from disturbing it. This point in question is the orbit which has the most stable velocity and angular momentum. The body acted on could be a space station between two large masses such as the earth and the moon or any two interplanetary bodies of significantly greater mass than the spacecraft.
How this relates to Nasa and its plans for future space travel is that they have the ability to use the Lagrangian formulas to calculate the Lagrangian points between different planetary bodies and therefore to determine the location of these orbits. Therefore, it is possible to build space stations as stepping stones between the earth and the moon, the moon and Mars, and on and on as far as you want to go. As it would be unrealistic to expect any spacecraft to be able to return to earth from far out in space in the case of an emergency or the need to make repairs, this makes the possibility of extending space travel outwards into the solar system and theoretically beyond feasible within the constraints of our technology and budgetary considerations.
Sources:
1) NASA Reveals New Plan for the Moon, Mars & Outward
By Leonard David; Senior Space Writer Space.com
Nasa is relying on the existence of Lagrangian points between every set of planetary bodies it intends to explore in order to implement its plan of successful interplanetary space exploration. Although this at first may seem to be a vague and mystical concept, foreign to all but trained astrophysicists, in fact it is really quite simple to understand.
The Lagrangian in physics is merely nothing more than a set of two simpler equations that can be used as an alternative for Newtons second law; force equals mass times acceleration. A Lagrangian point between two bodies exerting competing forces on a body is therefore a point at which the forces are equal and opposite. According to Newtons third law, if the net force on a body is zero, it will stay at rest if at rest and if in motion it will stay in motion.
In mathematical terms, visualize a graph of a big bowl. The Lagrangian point is the point at the very bottom of the bowl. This point represents the point at which the maximum energy, the energy from the bottom of the bowl to the top, must be supplied to kick the body out of the bowl in order to prevent the body from rolling back down to the bottom of the bowl and returning to its energy minimum. Therefore, the point at the minimum of the bowl represents the point of maximum stability in terms of preventing the influence of a net imbalance in the forces of the two gravitational forces on it from disturbing it. This point in question is the orbit which has the most stable velocity and angular momentum. The body acted on could be a space station between two large masses such as the earth and the moon or any two interplanetary bodies of significantly greater mass than the spacecraft.
How this relates to Nasa and its plans for future space travel is that they have the ability to use the Lagrangian formulas to calculate the Lagrangian points between different planetary bodies and therefore to determine the location of these orbits. Therefore, it is possible to build space stations as stepping stones between the earth and the moon, the moon and Mars, and on and on as far as you want to go. As it would be unrealistic to expect any spacecraft to be able to return to earth from far out in space in the case of an emergency or the need to make repairs, this makes the possibility of extending space travel outwards into the solar system and theoretically beyond feasible within the constraints of our technology and budgetary considerations.
Sources:
1) NASA Reveals New Plan for the Moon, Mars & Outward
By Leonard David; Senior Space Writer Space.com
Monday, August 27, 2007
Why You Need To Buy and Sell Gold Coins (Part 3)
Putting Rare Coin Market Cycles to Work for You...
Until recently many people believed U.S. stocks would go up forever.
However, recent crashes in high tech stocks and the overall stock market correction left many investors with huge losses. Clearly, market cycles are changing.
The return of high inflation, combined with a slowing economy, suggests it's more important than ever to move into safer, more profitable investments in the coming market cycle.
Balance and Diversify Your Portfolio - We believe you can profit handsomely by diversifying your portfolio with investments currently undervalued. Everyone agrees gold, hard assets, and commodities have been out of favor in the past decade. For many reasons, we feel these sectors are most likely to be top performers in the next market cycle.
Move To Hard Assets in Bad Economic Climates - For that reason, its important to consider moving into hard assets, gold, and U.S. Rare Coins. Prices are attractively low today compared with past market highs. The table below details recent cycles for the U.S. Rare Coin Market showing increases ranging from 348% to 1,195%.
$1,000 Invested in Rare Coins Worth $57,977 - Collectors Universe researched the U.S. Rare Coin Market carefully based on a study of 3000 Rare Coins. The graph above shows $1,000 invested in rare coins in 1970 would be worth $57,977. The conclusion is that U.S. Rare Coins have produced superior profits over gold bullion or Dow Stocks.
Buy Rare Coins During Market Lulls - Since January of 1970, the U.S. Rare Coin Market has had eight very definitive market cycles. There have been three complete Bull and Bear Market cycles since 1970. To maximize profits, collectors prefer to acquire coins that are currently undervalued. They hold their coins and wait until a Bull Market when investors move in and bid up coin prices then they sell and take their profits.
The most profitable period for the U.S. Rare Coin Market showed increases of 1,195% from December of 1975 through March of 1980. This market cycle parallels a time of high inflation in the U.S., rising gold prices, and a very weak economy a market cycle that appears to be on the horizon ahead.
Other Rare Coin Market cycles since 1970 showed increases of 665% and 348%. Past performance is no guarantee of future value, but it is an indication of just how volatile and profitable collecting U.S. Rare Coins can be in uncertain economic climates when there's a flight to safety from stocks to hard assets.
Putting Rare Coin Market Cycles to Work for You...
Until recently many people believed U.S. stocks would go up forever.
However, recent crashes in high tech stocks and the overall stock market correction left many investors with huge losses. Clearly, market cycles are changing.
The return of high inflation, combined with a slowing economy, suggests it's more important than ever to move into safer, more profitable investments in the coming market cycle.
Balance and Diversify Your Portfolio - We believe you can profit handsomely by diversifying your portfolio with investments currently undervalued. Everyone agrees gold, hard assets, and commodities have been out of favor in the past decade. For many reasons, we feel these sectors are most likely to be top performers in the next market cycle.
Move To Hard Assets in Bad Economic Climates - For that reason, its important to consider moving into hard assets, gold, and U.S. Rare Coins. Prices are attractively low today compared with past market highs. The table below details recent cycles for the U.S. Rare Coin Market showing increases ranging from 348% to 1,195%.
$1,000 Invested in Rare Coins Worth $57,977 - Collectors Universe researched the U.S. Rare Coin Market carefully based on a study of 3000 Rare Coins. The graph above shows $1,000 invested in rare coins in 1970 would be worth $57,977. The conclusion is that U.S. Rare Coins have produced superior profits over gold bullion or Dow Stocks.
Buy Rare Coins During Market Lulls - Since January of 1970, the U.S. Rare Coin Market has had eight very definitive market cycles. There have been three complete Bull and Bear Market cycles since 1970. To maximize profits, collectors prefer to acquire coins that are currently undervalued. They hold their coins and wait until a Bull Market when investors move in and bid up coin prices then they sell and take their profits.
The most profitable period for the U.S. Rare Coin Market showed increases of 1,195% from December of 1975 through March of 1980. This market cycle parallels a time of high inflation in the U.S., rising gold prices, and a very weak economy a market cycle that appears to be on the horizon ahead.
Other Rare Coin Market cycles since 1970 showed increases of 665% and 348%. Past performance is no guarantee of future value, but it is an indication of just how volatile and profitable collecting U.S. Rare Coins can be in uncertain economic climates when there's a flight to safety from stocks to hard assets.
10 Things You Should Be Monitoring On Your Website
Every business needs to know how it is doing. That's the idea behind exit surveys, customer feedback forms, suggestion boxes and other devices. Without feedback from the customer, monitoring inventory, expenses, revenue and other benchmarks, a business can take a quick slide down a slippery slope, without the owner ever seeing it coming or being able to stop the slide.
Webmasters also have things they should be monitoring on their websites. Most of these can be classified as traffic related or server performance related. Here is my top ten list.
Traffic totals. You want to know how much traffic you are generating. If the line on the graph is heading down, you know you have to find out why.
Referrers. It's not enough just to know how many visitors you are getting. You need to know where they are coming from. I discovered I was getting a lot of visitors from a Thanksgiving site. They were all being funneled into my Thanksgiving Happiness article. Suddenly I knew I should get more links from other Thanksgiving sites. Valuable information.
Searches. Much to my surprise, my happiness site started getting a ridiculous number of hits from the search for "hairdressers". It just so happens I wrote a humor column on a hairdresser experience. I was surprised to see it getting so much traffic for such a generic, competitive search term. If that had been a term of a little more relevance for me, this information would have lead me to properly optimize the page and get even more traffic.
Pages viewed per visit. If people visit only one page per visit, you have some work to convince them to visit more pages, like those that make you money.
Pages visited. So you threw up on your site something cool as an add-on. How were you to know that other webmasters would link to it and send a whole bunch of traffic your way? Well, now you know, so add some copy to the page to pull visitors into the rest of your site.
Forms. Are they all functioning? A good website monitoring service can keep tabs on them for you. The last thing you want is to have lost hundreds or thousands of subscribers because a sign-up form stopped functioning
Shopping carts. Slow and complicated shopping carts are responsible for an estimated $25 billion in lost sales. Make sure yours is functioning properly. A good website monitoring service can watch this for you, too.
Download speed. Clear your cache and test your pages. Hmm. Maybe those images are a bit large. Time to compress them, or even remove some. Remember that some people are on a much slower connection than you are. I use a satellite connection sometimes, but when I don't, my connection speed is 28K.
Server speed. Are there problems with server speed? Maybe not where you are, but on the other side of the world. Global website monitoring can alert you to a transatlantic connection problem, so you can take it up with your web hosting service.
Server accessibility. All the web hosts promise 99% accessibility. But is that for real? Who monitors them? By one estimate, 75% of inaccessibility is not on the hosting server, but rather on the Internet's backbone network and in global routing. A global website monitoring service can help identify the problem, so that you can work with your web hosting company to resolve it before too many sales are lost.
Fun. If you are not having fun, audition for that drummer position in the local band. There is no point spending your life doing something that bores you. Webmastering should be fun.
Every business needs to know how it is doing. That's the idea behind exit surveys, customer feedback forms, suggestion boxes and other devices. Without feedback from the customer, monitoring inventory, expenses, revenue and other benchmarks, a business can take a quick slide down a slippery slope, without the owner ever seeing it coming or being able to stop the slide.
Webmasters also have things they should be monitoring on their websites. Most of these can be classified as traffic related or server performance related. Here is my top ten list.
Traffic totals. You want to know how much traffic you are generating. If the line on the graph is heading down, you know you have to find out why.
Referrers. It's not enough just to know how many visitors you are getting. You need to know where they are coming from. I discovered I was getting a lot of visitors from a Thanksgiving site. They were all being funneled into my Thanksgiving Happiness article. Suddenly I knew I should get more links from other Thanksgiving sites. Valuable information.
Searches. Much to my surprise, my happiness site started getting a ridiculous number of hits from the search for "hairdressers". It just so happens I wrote a humor column on a hairdresser experience. I was surprised to see it getting so much traffic for such a generic, competitive search term. If that had been a term of a little more relevance for me, this information would have lead me to properly optimize the page and get even more traffic.
Pages viewed per visit. If people visit only one page per visit, you have some work to convince them to visit more pages, like those that make you money.
Pages visited. So you threw up on your site something cool as an add-on. How were you to know that other webmasters would link to it and send a whole bunch of traffic your way? Well, now you know, so add some copy to the page to pull visitors into the rest of your site.
Forms. Are they all functioning? A good website monitoring service can keep tabs on them for you. The last thing you want is to have lost hundreds or thousands of subscribers because a sign-up form stopped functioning
Shopping carts. Slow and complicated shopping carts are responsible for an estimated $25 billion in lost sales. Make sure yours is functioning properly. A good website monitoring service can watch this for you, too.
Download speed. Clear your cache and test your pages. Hmm. Maybe those images are a bit large. Time to compress them, or even remove some. Remember that some people are on a much slower connection than you are. I use a satellite connection sometimes, but when I don't, my connection speed is 28K.
Server speed. Are there problems with server speed? Maybe not where you are, but on the other side of the world. Global website monitoring can alert you to a transatlantic connection problem, so you can take it up with your web hosting service.
Server accessibility. All the web hosts promise 99% accessibility. But is that for real? Who monitors them? By one estimate, 75% of inaccessibility is not on the hosting server, but rather on the Internet's backbone network and in global routing. A global website monitoring service can help identify the problem, so that you can work with your web hosting company to resolve it before too many sales are lost.
Fun. If you are not having fun, audition for that drummer position in the local band. There is no point spending your life doing something that bores you. Webmastering should be fun.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
How To Quit Smoking - The Nicotine Patch
Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known. Study after study shows that one can get addicted to nicotine as quickly as cocaine and other illegal drugs that we generally associate with crippling addictions. It is for this reason, of course, that is can be so difficult to quit smoking. One top of this physical addiction - that is, the body's craving of nicotine - there is a psychological component: because smoking is both legal and socially acceptable in many situations, it can be difficult to avoid it completely. Any attempt to quit smoking, therefore, should involve a comprehensive plan that deals with both the physical and psychological side of the addiction. One way to address the physical addition to nicotine, to leave yourself free to concentrate on the psychological aspects of your addiction, is to use a nicotine patch.
The nicotine patch is one of the oldest, and certainly best-known, medical aids to quitting smoking. Patches are placed on the skin, and work by releasing a slow and steady supply of nicotine into the bloodstream. The idea is that the patch helps wean your body off nicotine - instead of nicotine being immediately absent from your system when you quit smoking, it is gradually reduced.
The way the patch works is to break your body's desire for nicotine "spikes." When you smoke a cigarette, your body receives an immidiete spike in its nicotine levels. As the level of nicotine slowly dissipates after the spike, it will eventually drop to a point where you desire to have it "topped up" again - the need for another cigarette. If you picture a graph of your body's nicotine levels when you smoke, you would see a steady series of peaks and valleys - the peaks corresponding to the spike in nicotine levels when you smoke a cigarette. A graph of your nicotine levels when wearing the patch, on the other hand, would show a steady line: the line wouldn't be as high as your peaks, but it wouldn't be as low as your valleys either. The idea is that the patch goes for the middle ground, and your body slowly adjusts to not having spikes in its nicotine levels.
As you become more and more used to lower levels of nicotine in your system, you can reduce the dosage of the patches you wear, until eventually your body is nicotine free. Another good thing about the patch is that it is an extremely strong deterrent against smoking: if you smoke while you're on the patch, your levels of nicotine will become too high and you could suffer from a nicotine overdose, which can result in sickness and even death.
The patch is a very effective stop smoking aid. It does, however, have some disadvantages: it is fairly expensive, and at the early stages of quitting it can often cost more than cigarettes did. The patch can also cause problems with sleeping if you wear it to bed - and at the same time if you don't you will wake up with no nicotine in your system, and feel pretty bad until you put on a morning patch and it starts working. Despite these drawbacks, the patch remains the medical aid of choice for people dealing with serious nicotine addictions.
Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known. Study after study shows that one can get addicted to nicotine as quickly as cocaine and other illegal drugs that we generally associate with crippling addictions. It is for this reason, of course, that is can be so difficult to quit smoking. One top of this physical addiction - that is, the body's craving of nicotine - there is a psychological component: because smoking is both legal and socially acceptable in many situations, it can be difficult to avoid it completely. Any attempt to quit smoking, therefore, should involve a comprehensive plan that deals with both the physical and psychological side of the addiction. One way to address the physical addition to nicotine, to leave yourself free to concentrate on the psychological aspects of your addiction, is to use a nicotine patch.
The nicotine patch is one of the oldest, and certainly best-known, medical aids to quitting smoking. Patches are placed on the skin, and work by releasing a slow and steady supply of nicotine into the bloodstream. The idea is that the patch helps wean your body off nicotine - instead of nicotine being immediately absent from your system when you quit smoking, it is gradually reduced.
The way the patch works is to break your body's desire for nicotine "spikes." When you smoke a cigarette, your body receives an immidiete spike in its nicotine levels. As the level of nicotine slowly dissipates after the spike, it will eventually drop to a point where you desire to have it "topped up" again - the need for another cigarette. If you picture a graph of your body's nicotine levels when you smoke, you would see a steady series of peaks and valleys - the peaks corresponding to the spike in nicotine levels when you smoke a cigarette. A graph of your nicotine levels when wearing the patch, on the other hand, would show a steady line: the line wouldn't be as high as your peaks, but it wouldn't be as low as your valleys either. The idea is that the patch goes for the middle ground, and your body slowly adjusts to not having spikes in its nicotine levels.
As you become more and more used to lower levels of nicotine in your system, you can reduce the dosage of the patches you wear, until eventually your body is nicotine free. Another good thing about the patch is that it is an extremely strong deterrent against smoking: if you smoke while you're on the patch, your levels of nicotine will become too high and you could suffer from a nicotine overdose, which can result in sickness and even death.
The patch is a very effective stop smoking aid. It does, however, have some disadvantages: it is fairly expensive, and at the early stages of quitting it can often cost more than cigarettes did. The patch can also cause problems with sleeping if you wear it to bed - and at the same time if you don't you will wake up with no nicotine in your system, and feel pretty bad until you put on a morning patch and it starts working. Despite these drawbacks, the patch remains the medical aid of choice for people dealing with serious nicotine addictions.
How to Count Calories With Your Eyes
Embarking on a serious fitness quest or even a journey to just be healthy can sometimes be a daunting task. And at some point, youve been told or heard that eating 5-6 frequent small meals a day is the way to go for weight gain or weight loss.
After running a fitness site and bodybuilding forum, I see a lot of confused individuals who ask this very question below about the 5-6 meal deal. They have heard about it and want to do it but when it comes to counting calories, they are not willing to measure each grain of rice.
And can you blame them?
Many times people will ask, I know all that stuff like I need to eat 5-6 meal a day, eat less than your daily maintenance caloric and stuff like that... But what I do not know is how big the meal has to be?
Despite what you may have heard... eating 5-6 times a day it's not that hard. It takes some discipline but it's not all that difficult and you certainly do not eat 5-6 large, American style meals. These are small, frequent meals that comprise what is termed a complete meal (protein, carb, sometimes healthy fat).
But let me go back to the beginning to continue the story...
Here's what you do:
1- Figure out how many calories per day you need to
gain/maintain/lose weight
2- Start tracking with any online nutritional tracking program.
3- Eye ball your portions. You know you had some brown rice
right? Get out a cup. Look at it. If you practice this,
you'll soon be able to eat, look at your place and just know.. that is about a cup of brown rice.
You don't have to physically measure your foods. I suppose you could but that wouldn't work so well when you eat out, go to a friends out and such. Who wants to carry around a complete set of measuring cups and spoons?
So you will need to look at measurement devices like a cup, a quarter cup and such and be able to eye ball things. Once you do this a few times at home, you will be able to visually look at a plate of food and roughly guess the portions. Once you know the portions...
Then you know how much you should enter into a calorie calculator tracking program.
And at the end of the day any good program will show what you ate in calories, protein, carbs and fats. And you'll be able to see this displayed in a graph so you know if your ratios are correct (assuming you are into or have any interested in ratios).
I personally don't carry around a cup or any type of measuring devices. But I know if I go out to eat that the chicken on my place is about the size of the palm of my hand.. times two...
.. the palm of my hand is roughly 3 ounces.
I can eye ball that chicken breast and guess it's about 6 maybe 7 ounces of chicken.
Are you getting my point?
Follow those steps above. Once you know how much you need to eat in terms of calories, you will be able to do whatever you want.
Then eat, and eye ball your portions. Quickly you will learn that in order to hit your daily calories, maybe you don't want to eat 2 cups of brown rice as it's too much. Or maybe not enough. But you can judge this and track it and that is how you will know.
Then track it. If you don't track what you eat, then you are only guessing. And those who guess get frustrated because those who guess do not know. That is why it's called guessing. So if you simply cannot or won't track, you'll always be frustrated and confused. Unless of course, you track it for the first day and forever on, eat the same portions and foods. Yuck!
The biggest mistake I see people making is:
1- They have not ever figured out the math to calculate their calories
2- They do not track what they eat
3- So they just do whatever and get whatever
If you follow the above three steps, you are almost guaranteed not to make the same mistakes that most other people make when it comes to reaching their fitness goals.
Embarking on a serious fitness quest or even a journey to just be healthy can sometimes be a daunting task. And at some point, youve been told or heard that eating 5-6 frequent small meals a day is the way to go for weight gain or weight loss.
After running a fitness site and bodybuilding forum, I see a lot of confused individuals who ask this very question below about the 5-6 meal deal. They have heard about it and want to do it but when it comes to counting calories, they are not willing to measure each grain of rice.
And can you blame them?
Many times people will ask, I know all that stuff like I need to eat 5-6 meal a day, eat less than your daily maintenance caloric and stuff like that... But what I do not know is how big the meal has to be?
Despite what you may have heard... eating 5-6 times a day it's not that hard. It takes some discipline but it's not all that difficult and you certainly do not eat 5-6 large, American style meals. These are small, frequent meals that comprise what is termed a complete meal (protein, carb, sometimes healthy fat).
But let me go back to the beginning to continue the story...
Here's what you do:
1- Figure out how many calories per day you need to
gain/maintain/lose weight
2- Start tracking with any online nutritional tracking program.
3- Eye ball your portions. You know you had some brown rice
right? Get out a cup. Look at it. If you practice this,
you'll soon be able to eat, look at your place and just know.. that is about a cup of brown rice.
You don't have to physically measure your foods. I suppose you could but that wouldn't work so well when you eat out, go to a friends out and such. Who wants to carry around a complete set of measuring cups and spoons?
So you will need to look at measurement devices like a cup, a quarter cup and such and be able to eye ball things. Once you do this a few times at home, you will be able to visually look at a plate of food and roughly guess the portions. Once you know the portions...
Then you know how much you should enter into a calorie calculator tracking program.
And at the end of the day any good program will show what you ate in calories, protein, carbs and fats. And you'll be able to see this displayed in a graph so you know if your ratios are correct (assuming you are into or have any interested in ratios).
I personally don't carry around a cup or any type of measuring devices. But I know if I go out to eat that the chicken on my place is about the size of the palm of my hand.. times two...
.. the palm of my hand is roughly 3 ounces.
I can eye ball that chicken breast and guess it's about 6 maybe 7 ounces of chicken.
Are you getting my point?
Follow those steps above. Once you know how much you need to eat in terms of calories, you will be able to do whatever you want.
Then eat, and eye ball your portions. Quickly you will learn that in order to hit your daily calories, maybe you don't want to eat 2 cups of brown rice as it's too much. Or maybe not enough. But you can judge this and track it and that is how you will know.
Then track it. If you don't track what you eat, then you are only guessing. And those who guess get frustrated because those who guess do not know. That is why it's called guessing. So if you simply cannot or won't track, you'll always be frustrated and confused. Unless of course, you track it for the first day and forever on, eat the same portions and foods. Yuck!
The biggest mistake I see people making is:
1- They have not ever figured out the math to calculate their calories
2- They do not track what they eat
3- So they just do whatever and get whatever
If you follow the above three steps, you are almost guaranteed not to make the same mistakes that most other people make when it comes to reaching their fitness goals.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Lagrangian Points and Nasa's Plan to Explore Space
Nasa is relying on the existence of Lagrangian points between every set of planetary bodies it intends to explore in order to implement its plan of successful interplanetary space exploration. Although this at first may seem to be a vague and mystical concept, foreign to all but trained astrophysicists, in fact it is really quite simple to understand.
The Lagrangian in physics is merely nothing more than a set of two simpler equations that can be used as an alternative for Newtons second law; force equals mass times acceleration. A Lagrangian point between two bodies exerting competing forces on a body is therefore a point at which the forces are equal and opposite. According to Newtons third law, if the net force on a body is zero, it will stay at rest if at rest and if in motion it will stay in motion.
In mathematical terms, visualize a graph of a big bowl. The Lagrangian point is the point at the very bottom of the bowl. This point represents the point at which the maximum energy, the energy from the bottom of the bowl to the top, must be supplied to kick the body out of the bowl in order to prevent the body from rolling back down to the bottom of the bowl and returning to its energy minimum. Therefore, the point at the minimum of the bowl represents the point of maximum stability in terms of preventing the influence of a net imbalance in the forces of the two gravitational forces on it from disturbing it. This point in question is the orbit which has the most stable velocity and angular momentum. The body acted on could be a space station between two large masses such as the earth and the moon or any two interplanetary bodies of significantly greater mass than the spacecraft.
How this relates to Nasa and its plans for future space travel is that they have the ability to use the Lagrangian formulas to calculate the Lagrangian points between different planetary bodies and therefore to determine the location of these orbits. Therefore, it is possible to build space stations as stepping stones between the earth and the moon, the moon and Mars, and on and on as far as you want to go. As it would be unrealistic to expect any spacecraft to be able to return to earth from far out in space in the case of an emergency or the need to make repairs, this makes the possibility of extending space travel outwards into the solar system and theoretically beyond feasible within the constraints of our technology and budgetary considerations.
Sources:
1) NASA Reveals New Plan for the Moon, Mars & Outward
By Leonard David; Senior Space Writer Space.com
Nasa is relying on the existence of Lagrangian points between every set of planetary bodies it intends to explore in order to implement its plan of successful interplanetary space exploration. Although this at first may seem to be a vague and mystical concept, foreign to all but trained astrophysicists, in fact it is really quite simple to understand.
The Lagrangian in physics is merely nothing more than a set of two simpler equations that can be used as an alternative for Newtons second law; force equals mass times acceleration. A Lagrangian point between two bodies exerting competing forces on a body is therefore a point at which the forces are equal and opposite. According to Newtons third law, if the net force on a body is zero, it will stay at rest if at rest and if in motion it will stay in motion.
In mathematical terms, visualize a graph of a big bowl. The Lagrangian point is the point at the very bottom of the bowl. This point represents the point at which the maximum energy, the energy from the bottom of the bowl to the top, must be supplied to kick the body out of the bowl in order to prevent the body from rolling back down to the bottom of the bowl and returning to its energy minimum. Therefore, the point at the minimum of the bowl represents the point of maximum stability in terms of preventing the influence of a net imbalance in the forces of the two gravitational forces on it from disturbing it. This point in question is the orbit which has the most stable velocity and angular momentum. The body acted on could be a space station between two large masses such as the earth and the moon or any two interplanetary bodies of significantly greater mass than the spacecraft.
How this relates to Nasa and its plans for future space travel is that they have the ability to use the Lagrangian formulas to calculate the Lagrangian points between different planetary bodies and therefore to determine the location of these orbits. Therefore, it is possible to build space stations as stepping stones between the earth and the moon, the moon and Mars, and on and on as far as you want to go. As it would be unrealistic to expect any spacecraft to be able to return to earth from far out in space in the case of an emergency or the need to make repairs, this makes the possibility of extending space travel outwards into the solar system and theoretically beyond feasible within the constraints of our technology and budgetary considerations.
Sources:
1) NASA Reveals New Plan for the Moon, Mars & Outward
By Leonard David; Senior Space Writer Space.com
Do Your Own Landscaping Design
Know what I love about getting the garden all cleaned up, it stays that way for much longer than when you get your home all cleaned up.
More and more people are turning to landscaping their gardens, not just planting a tree here and a shrub there but looking at their garden as they would look at the inside of their home. More thought as to the overall look and appeal and how plants can compliment each other.
The results are very rewarding. There is so much help too if you are not confident in the planning, your nursery, wonderful landscaping books, TV and radio shows and the Internet are all there waiting to guide you.
Be careful with books, make sure the book is for your area and the plants suggested for a design are suitable for your part of the world.
It's fun to get a graph pad and do your own design, give it a try and you could surprise yourself.
One word of advice, if you purchase plants from the big chain stores and they have been in air- conditioning or inside a building even with the shade cloth inside/outside style of shop, never take the plant home and put it in the garden straight away.
Take about three weeks acclimatizing the plant. Keep the plant inside or on an enclosed patio and gradually over the three week period, increase the outside time and decrease the inside time. Doing it this way you have a better chance of the plant surviving and growing into a beautiful specimen for you.
You can quite often pick up some bargains in the plant department, doing the acclimatizing can save you money.
Gardens like everything else has trends. These trends usually follow the interior decor trends. This is a good thing as the outside and the inside will compliment each other.
If your home is cottage style, then a garden along the cottage lines would look great and you would have the flowers to decorate your home to add to the look. A modern minimilistic interior then a minimal no fuss landscaped garden.
Landsscaping and gardening can improve your stress levels too. Feeling a bit stressed about something, take yourself out into your garden and potter, tip prune, pull out a few weeds, water a few plants, separate a few clumping plants and pot up for later Give yourself at least a half hour and feel the stress go.
Works for me, hope it does for you too.
Landscaping and gardening, wonderful!!!!
Carmel Baird
CTBaird Copyright © 2006
Copyright © 2006 by CTBaird All Rights Reserved
You have free distribution rights to this article but you may not alter it in any way.
http://www.ctbmarketing-australia.com/landscapingebooks.htm
Know what I love about getting the garden all cleaned up, it stays that way for much longer than when you get your home all cleaned up.
More and more people are turning to landscaping their gardens, not just planting a tree here and a shrub there but looking at their garden as they would look at the inside of their home. More thought as to the overall look and appeal and how plants can compliment each other.
The results are very rewarding. There is so much help too if you are not confident in the planning, your nursery, wonderful landscaping books, TV and radio shows and the Internet are all there waiting to guide you.
Be careful with books, make sure the book is for your area and the plants suggested for a design are suitable for your part of the world.
It's fun to get a graph pad and do your own design, give it a try and you could surprise yourself.
One word of advice, if you purchase plants from the big chain stores and they have been in air- conditioning or inside a building even with the shade cloth inside/outside style of shop, never take the plant home and put it in the garden straight away.
Take about three weeks acclimatizing the plant. Keep the plant inside or on an enclosed patio and gradually over the three week period, increase the outside time and decrease the inside time. Doing it this way you have a better chance of the plant surviving and growing into a beautiful specimen for you.
You can quite often pick up some bargains in the plant department, doing the acclimatizing can save you money.
Gardens like everything else has trends. These trends usually follow the interior decor trends. This is a good thing as the outside and the inside will compliment each other.
If your home is cottage style, then a garden along the cottage lines would look great and you would have the flowers to decorate your home to add to the look. A modern minimilistic interior then a minimal no fuss landscaped garden.
Landsscaping and gardening can improve your stress levels too. Feeling a bit stressed about something, take yourself out into your garden and potter, tip prune, pull out a few weeds, water a few plants, separate a few clumping plants and pot up for later Give yourself at least a half hour and feel the stress go.
Works for me, hope it does for you too.
Landscaping and gardening, wonderful!!!!
Carmel Baird
CTBaird Copyright © 2006
Copyright © 2006 by CTBaird All Rights Reserved
You have free distribution rights to this article but you may not alter it in any way.
http://www.ctbmarketing-australia.com/landscapingebooks.htm
Friday, August 24, 2007
Your Flash Meter is Your Best Friend
Electronic flash is the preferred lighting medium for professional
photographers. They come with strength ratings, color balance figures and watt second figures. But when all is set up and ready, the only number that will lead to a perfect exposure is the one on the flash meter.
Every flash tube has a signature and the output varies with time and the number of flashes that it has produced. The older it is, the weaker the flash and the more yellow in the light. Reflectors also change characteristics by becoming dirty or by varying the distance from the tube.
Cameras and lenses also affect the final effective exposure in the image file. The fewest artifacts are visible when the lowest ISO rating is used in the camera. Use the flash meter to set the power level on the main light to the F stop you are using, i.e.: F11. Then meter the hair and back light to the same F stop. The fill should read two stops weaker than the main. Using an 18% gray card, make a test exposure and read the histogram. The gray card should spike about in the middle of the graph. If it is to the left or right of center, adjust the ISO setting on the meter to correspond to the center of the histogram.
It is best to check the average flash intensity at the subject location before starting the first session of the day. An occasional check during a busy day will ensure that the exposures are dead on for every session. Perfect exposures are necessary to produce good skin tones and natural contrast in your portraits. There are enough challenges going on in a portrait shoot without worrying about exposures in your digital images.
Electronic flash is the preferred lighting medium for professional
photographers. They come with strength ratings, color balance figures and watt second figures. But when all is set up and ready, the only number that will lead to a perfect exposure is the one on the flash meter.
Every flash tube has a signature and the output varies with time and the number of flashes that it has produced. The older it is, the weaker the flash and the more yellow in the light. Reflectors also change characteristics by becoming dirty or by varying the distance from the tube.
Cameras and lenses also affect the final effective exposure in the image file. The fewest artifacts are visible when the lowest ISO rating is used in the camera. Use the flash meter to set the power level on the main light to the F stop you are using, i.e.: F11. Then meter the hair and back light to the same F stop. The fill should read two stops weaker than the main. Using an 18% gray card, make a test exposure and read the histogram. The gray card should spike about in the middle of the graph. If it is to the left or right of center, adjust the ISO setting on the meter to correspond to the center of the histogram.
It is best to check the average flash intensity at the subject location before starting the first session of the day. An occasional check during a busy day will ensure that the exposures are dead on for every session. Perfect exposures are necessary to produce good skin tones and natural contrast in your portraits. There are enough challenges going on in a portrait shoot without worrying about exposures in your digital images.
Getting One Way SEO Links - The Easy and FREE Way
What we are hunting for?
Unique Domains,
One Way Links,
Text Link copy of our choice ,
The ability to change those links,
Sites that have PR and cover our choice topic ....
Enter the Free Hosting Sites
One of the easiest and most often overlooked resources on the net today are the free hosting companies. Free hosting companies make money by upgrading accounts into paying accounts or selling services to you.
One of the huge advantages to a free hosted account and your SEO efforts is that search engines are more and more looking at the number of unique inbound one way links that are pointing to your website.
So what is a aspiring SEO junkie to do? Well luckily my link addicted friend there is an answer..FREE and ME rhyme for a good reason. There are 100's if not 1000's of free hosting companies dying to give you 50 - 100 MB accounts for your email address. I am going to give you a step by step way of building as many inbound links as your little (or big) SEO heart desires.
Step 1: Find the Freebies!
Fisrt start by going to our friends the search engines and search for "free web hosting", "free web site" or any other permutation of the free hosting terminology.
Here are a few to get started:
http://www.topfreewebhosting.com, http://www.fateback.com and http://www.50m.com
Step 2: Get Ready to Track
With so mayny free hosting companies in existance it will be a challenge to keep track of all the data, so we will use our friend excel to help us along. Make a handy dandy spreadsheet of all the sites you find. On this spreadsheet have the following columns "Name" "URL" "Login Page" "My Username" "My Password" "My URL" "Content Type".
Step 3: Decide the content Type and Get It
After you have cataloged all of your prosepects we will need to creat content, luckily this is the easy part as there are 1000's of articles out there free for the copying (as long as you mention the author). So, choose a topis that is relevant to your website and go forth and copy...
Step 4: Sign up and Publish
Ok so we now have where we will get hosting, we have the content and a way to track it all...YAY! So what we need to do now is get started. Now, the real trick is getting your pieces of real estate and not being marketed to death. Setup a Yahoo, MSN or GMail account (if you can) to use for registering all of these accounts. Once you get your free email account, head to number one on your list and get registered, make sure you doucument all of your infomration as it will make your life that much easier in the long run.
Lets talk briefly about registering. When signing up you will usually need to create a "Sub Domain", this will be XYZ.whatever.com. Try and find a Sub Domain that matchec the type of content you will be creating. So lets say you are making content about Real Estate, so you would try to include that keyword "Real Estate" in your Sub Domain (ie. realestate1.whatever.com.
After you have signed up it is time to publish. Using thier free website builder or your favorite tool, create a 4 - 10 page site (using your articles and a home page). On each article look for keywords that are relevant to your site and hotlink each page at least once to your site that you are SEO'ing. Or, go the cheap route and create a footer link to your site (bah that's too easy and does not look very natural :P )
Well you get the picture :) Rinse and Repete this process as many times as your heart desieres and we are now started.
Step 5: Getting Indexed
So, we took all this time to create 1 Million (ok a little less) itty bitty micro sites, now what? Well you need to get the Search Engines to actually notice you..right? So lets go over 2 proven methods of achieving this goal.
Method 1. - Submit and wait...pretty easy method, submit your site to the crawlers and wait for them to come along.
Or if you are focusing on Google, hook up each site with AdSense and submit the site (this is unproven, but has worked for me)
Method 2. - Create the inevitable Link Chain (or PR chain I like to call it)
This is actually slightly complicated, but with our handy dandy spreadsheet, should not be too hard. First we will assume you have a site, If not go buy a link to get started :P. Either way we need to point a link at at least one, if not 3, of our free hosted account to get the link ball rolling.
After we have pointed a link at one site, we need to expand our chain of links. So our next step is on this taget domain is to link from the home page to 2 or 3 of our other free hosted domains. The important factors here are to not link back and forth within the free hosted accounts but to link one to another one way only, and not do it in large noticable quantities. The best method of this is to actually enbed the links within the text of articles.
Now, if done correctly you will never trip an algo alert because or a few factors.
1. We are linking to sites not owned by you or on the same IP address.
2. The content of each site you link to should not have any of the same content (so no duplicate content filter trip)
3. Each site will have up to 10 pages but not less than 3 (so it is not a link page only)
So to recap What exatly have we done? We have created micro sites that have good content, and is on topic to what we do. We have created a possile income source with adsense on our micro sites and we have assited our SEO efforts at no cost except for time.
What we are hunting for?
Unique Domains,
One Way Links,
Text Link copy of our choice ,
The ability to change those links,
Sites that have PR and cover our choice topic ....
Enter the Free Hosting Sites
One of the easiest and most often overlooked resources on the net today are the free hosting companies. Free hosting companies make money by upgrading accounts into paying accounts or selling services to you.
One of the huge advantages to a free hosted account and your SEO efforts is that search engines are more and more looking at the number of unique inbound one way links that are pointing to your website.
So what is a aspiring SEO junkie to do? Well luckily my link addicted friend there is an answer..FREE and ME rhyme for a good reason. There are 100's if not 1000's of free hosting companies dying to give you 50 - 100 MB accounts for your email address. I am going to give you a step by step way of building as many inbound links as your little (or big) SEO heart desires.
Step 1: Find the Freebies!
Fisrt start by going to our friends the search engines and search for "free web hosting", "free web site" or any other permutation of the free hosting terminology.
Here are a few to get started:
http://www.topfreewebhosting.com, http://www.fateback.com and http://www.50m.com
Step 2: Get Ready to Track
With so mayny free hosting companies in existance it will be a challenge to keep track of all the data, so we will use our friend excel to help us along. Make a handy dandy spreadsheet of all the sites you find. On this spreadsheet have the following columns "Name" "URL" "Login Page" "My Username" "My Password" "My URL" "Content Type".
Step 3: Decide the content Type and Get It
After you have cataloged all of your prosepects we will need to creat content, luckily this is the easy part as there are 1000's of articles out there free for the copying (as long as you mention the author). So, choose a topis that is relevant to your website and go forth and copy...
Step 4: Sign up and Publish
Ok so we now have where we will get hosting, we have the content and a way to track it all...YAY! So what we need to do now is get started. Now, the real trick is getting your pieces of real estate and not being marketed to death. Setup a Yahoo, MSN or GMail account (if you can) to use for registering all of these accounts. Once you get your free email account, head to number one on your list and get registered, make sure you doucument all of your infomration as it will make your life that much easier in the long run.
Lets talk briefly about registering. When signing up you will usually need to create a "Sub Domain", this will be XYZ.whatever.com. Try and find a Sub Domain that matchec the type of content you will be creating. So lets say you are making content about Real Estate, so you would try to include that keyword "Real Estate" in your Sub Domain (ie. realestate1.whatever.com.
After you have signed up it is time to publish. Using thier free website builder or your favorite tool, create a 4 - 10 page site (using your articles and a home page). On each article look for keywords that are relevant to your site and hotlink each page at least once to your site that you are SEO'ing. Or, go the cheap route and create a footer link to your site (bah that's too easy and does not look very natural :P )
Well you get the picture :) Rinse and Repete this process as many times as your heart desieres and we are now started.
Step 5: Getting Indexed
So, we took all this time to create 1 Million (ok a little less) itty bitty micro sites, now what? Well you need to get the Search Engines to actually notice you..right? So lets go over 2 proven methods of achieving this goal.
Method 1. - Submit and wait...pretty easy method, submit your site to the crawlers and wait for them to come along.
Or if you are focusing on Google, hook up each site with AdSense and submit the site (this is unproven, but has worked for me)
Method 2. - Create the inevitable Link Chain (or PR chain I like to call it)
This is actually slightly complicated, but with our handy dandy spreadsheet, should not be too hard. First we will assume you have a site, If not go buy a link to get started :P. Either way we need to point a link at at least one, if not 3, of our free hosted account to get the link ball rolling.
After we have pointed a link at one site, we need to expand our chain of links. So our next step is on this taget domain is to link from the home page to 2 or 3 of our other free hosted domains. The important factors here are to not link back and forth within the free hosted accounts but to link one to another one way only, and not do it in large noticable quantities. The best method of this is to actually enbed the links within the text of articles.
Now, if done correctly you will never trip an algo alert because or a few factors.
1. We are linking to sites not owned by you or on the same IP address.
2. The content of each site you link to should not have any of the same content (so no duplicate content filter trip)
3. Each site will have up to 10 pages but not less than 3 (so it is not a link page only)
So to recap What exatly have we done? We have created micro sites that have good content, and is on topic to what we do. We have created a possile income source with adsense on our micro sites and we have assited our SEO efforts at no cost except for time.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
You Never Get A Second Chance To Make A First Impression
There is no easy way to define exactly what editors, publishers, PR managers, non-profit directors, advertising executives, and other industry professionals want from writers. There are no written guidelines, standard requirements, or official specifications that apply to writing jobs across the board... Every employer has special expectations and each writing position demands different skills. In an attempt to gather helpful hints for writers seeking to land a job in one of the many career fields mentioned in my previous article Finding Your Niche at - http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art5746.asp I talked to some professionals, who have experience hiring writers and/or advising college students as they begin to look for work. Creativity counts, according to a few sources.
"It begins with your resume, cover letter and/or clips," says T.S. Minns, a professor of Mass Communications, who has taught for more than 20 years at several colleges on the East Coast. "Originality makes a difference. The - less is more - concept that applies to writing in general - also applies to your resume and cover letter," Minns says. "Editors don't have time, nor do they want to read lengthy letters full of extra words that fail to add to anything worthwhile or meaningful." Lisa Zeicher, a former managing editor for a few publications in the Pennsylvania area, agrees. "Choose your words carefully,"' Zeicher says. "Edit your resume and cover letter in the same way you edit your work. Eliminate unnecessary content. Make it concise and convincing." Zeicher compares it to writing a news article with "a hook" - the ever important first graph - that should grab your reader and make her want to keep reading. "You probably have a minute or two to capture an editor's attention," Zeicher says. "You must give your prospective employer a reason to continue scanning your cover letter and resume." That is the first step, Minns says. "If you fail to accomplish that first step, you will never get to the second step - the interview itself,'' he says.
Danielle Hollister (2004) is the Publisher of the Free Ezine for Writers featuring news, reviews, and continuously updated links to the best resources for writers online like - freelancing & jobs, markets & publishers, literary agents, classes & contests, and more... Read it online at - http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art157.asp
There is no easy way to define exactly what editors, publishers, PR managers, non-profit directors, advertising executives, and other industry professionals want from writers. There are no written guidelines, standard requirements, or official specifications that apply to writing jobs across the board... Every employer has special expectations and each writing position demands different skills. In an attempt to gather helpful hints for writers seeking to land a job in one of the many career fields mentioned in my previous article Finding Your Niche at - http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art5746.asp I talked to some professionals, who have experience hiring writers and/or advising college students as they begin to look for work. Creativity counts, according to a few sources.
"It begins with your resume, cover letter and/or clips," says T.S. Minns, a professor of Mass Communications, who has taught for more than 20 years at several colleges on the East Coast. "Originality makes a difference. The - less is more - concept that applies to writing in general - also applies to your resume and cover letter," Minns says. "Editors don't have time, nor do they want to read lengthy letters full of extra words that fail to add to anything worthwhile or meaningful." Lisa Zeicher, a former managing editor for a few publications in the Pennsylvania area, agrees. "Choose your words carefully,"' Zeicher says. "Edit your resume and cover letter in the same way you edit your work. Eliminate unnecessary content. Make it concise and convincing." Zeicher compares it to writing a news article with "a hook" - the ever important first graph - that should grab your reader and make her want to keep reading. "You probably have a minute or two to capture an editor's attention," Zeicher says. "You must give your prospective employer a reason to continue scanning your cover letter and resume." That is the first step, Minns says. "If you fail to accomplish that first step, you will never get to the second step - the interview itself,'' he says.
Danielle Hollister (2004) is the Publisher of the Free Ezine for Writers featuring news, reviews, and continuously updated links to the best resources for writers online like - freelancing & jobs, markets & publishers, literary agents, classes & contests, and more... Read it online at - http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art157.asp
Home Equity Loan Calculators
Looking for a home equity loan? Without an efficient calculator, you are on unsure ground. The various financial aspects have to be calculated and the costs have to be compared. You would certainly want to know what amount of loan you could avail of based on your existing equity and the repayment capacity according to your present income and expenses.
The amortization schedule and the quantum of monthly installments are critical in choosing between say, a 15-year spread or 30-year spread. How much can you save on taxes? There are several such details that have to be looked into before a wise decision can be made. If you can have a look at the future scenario with different variables, it will be all the more helpful.
Then there is the need to evaluate the diverse options available and decide on which one is best suited to you. Even after doing that, the quotes you receive have to be compared from different angles. Or take the situation where you are contemplating a conversion from variable rate loan to fixed rate loan. How do you arrive at the better alternative?
In all these, a great deal of calculation is involved. Doing that on a regular calculator would be difficult and time consuming and often frustrating. A specialized multi-function calculator can reduce the workload considerably. Downloadable software can deal with all these jobs and is readily available. These have spreadsheets and graph displays that make calculations and comparisons much easier. Updates and product support are likely to be free.
Some lenders offer free fill-in calculation charts online. These are easy to use. But the drawbacks are that for each function or item you to normally calculate separately and to make a comparison sheet, the figures have to be transplanted.
Whichever you prefer to use, be sure to do your own calculations instead of blindly accepting the figures presented by the lender.
Looking for a home equity loan? Without an efficient calculator, you are on unsure ground. The various financial aspects have to be calculated and the costs have to be compared. You would certainly want to know what amount of loan you could avail of based on your existing equity and the repayment capacity according to your present income and expenses.
The amortization schedule and the quantum of monthly installments are critical in choosing between say, a 15-year spread or 30-year spread. How much can you save on taxes? There are several such details that have to be looked into before a wise decision can be made. If you can have a look at the future scenario with different variables, it will be all the more helpful.
Then there is the need to evaluate the diverse options available and decide on which one is best suited to you. Even after doing that, the quotes you receive have to be compared from different angles. Or take the situation where you are contemplating a conversion from variable rate loan to fixed rate loan. How do you arrive at the better alternative?
In all these, a great deal of calculation is involved. Doing that on a regular calculator would be difficult and time consuming and often frustrating. A specialized multi-function calculator can reduce the workload considerably. Downloadable software can deal with all these jobs and is readily available. These have spreadsheets and graph displays that make calculations and comparisons much easier. Updates and product support are likely to be free.
Some lenders offer free fill-in calculation charts online. These are easy to use. But the drawbacks are that for each function or item you to normally calculate separately and to make a comparison sheet, the figures have to be transplanted.
Whichever you prefer to use, be sure to do your own calculations instead of blindly accepting the figures presented by the lender.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
The 5 C's of Success
We must become the epitomethe embodimentof success. We must radiate success before it will come to us. We must first become mentally, from an attitude standpoint, the people we wish to become.Earl Nightingale
There are 5 things that, when present, lead to sustainable success no matter the goal. Great athletes apply them, great business leaders apply them, and great people apply them, whether they know it or not. What are the 5 things?
* Clarity
* Competence
* Confidence
* Capacity
* Consistency
CLARITY
The first order of business for achieving any measure of success is to get clear! You can only achieve what you can see. People often fear or resist clarity and focus. At work or in our personal lives, we try to be all things to all people. We fear that saying No to an opportunity or request will somehow limit us. But, successful people talk repeatedly about having a clear idea of where (and who) you want to be. The clearer you are on who you are, who you want to be, and what you want to be doing, the more you can see what is required to make it happen. That clarity allows you to make smart choices and take focused action toward the goal. Your challenge is to hold yourself accountable to being clear about who you are, who you are not, and what you are willing to do about it.
COMPETENCE
Yes, great results come from a high level of mastery. Once you see clearly who you want to be and what you want to accomplish, you must invest in continuing to develop high levels of competence. Competence is basically the right mix of knowledge, skills, experience, and abilities required to succeed. Do you know what it takes to be successful in the areas you are growing toward? Where are you strong? Where are there gaps? And most importantly, how will you continue to stay current and competent as times change?
You may also want to determine how competent you are in the process of changing. You may have all the skills and knowledge required to do your dream job, but if you lack the competence to interview well and land that dream job, it wont get you very far.
CONFIDENCE
Confidence matters. First, it can fuel you to keep you going. Often, you take action toward your goal, but the results dont come right way. Without confidence, you would probably give up before you had gained enough momentum to get results. Confidence bridges the gap between the early actions you take and the results you get. Secondly, confidence is incredibly attractive (again, not the ego piece). People are drawn toward confidence and want to be a part of it. They want to work with you, associate with you, help you. When your clarity is backed by those around you, you are on the road to success.
When you have a big goal, are you confident that you are ready, willing, and able to achieve it? Are you confident in the skills you possess and do you willingly acknowledge your own strengths. Do you effectively balance being humble, with being confident?
CAPACITY
Capacity refers to the time, energy, resources and space you need to achieve what youve set out to do. People who are really successful make sure they clear the decks of any competing priorities or projects that drain their capacity. They create the time needed to work on the goal. They maintain their energy by taking care of themselves and finding ways to keep their gas tank full. They access and leverage all the available resources (people, money, tools, knowledge, etc..) in their life to help move them forward. Achieving success in career, life, or business requires a high level of focus and lining up the resources required to make it happen. What amount of time, energy, money, and other resources are you putting into your success? In what ways could you direct more of your capacity into your primary goals and let go of the rest?
CONSISTENCY
Consistent effort is the final key to success. And consistency is two-fold. Top athletes know that they must continue to develop their game and they consistently work on their game. Success requires consistent daily action toward the goal. The other piece is making sure that the action you take is consistent with the goal itself.
Does the action you are taking make sense given your definition of success? Getting a new job takes 6 months, on average. Starting and growing a new business takes 3-5 years. And thats with consistent and focused action. Working in fits and starts will create inconsistent results. It just makes sense. How consistent are you in directing your efforts toward success?
3-2-1 ACTION!
First, rate yourself on the 5 Cs of success. You could create a graph and rate each area on a scale from 1-5. Any area you rate lower than a 3 requires a plan.
Secondly, celebrate those areas where you are solid. If you dont celebrate your successes, no one else will!
Finally, what one major change or shift will you make this month to get yourself on the path to success?
We must become the epitomethe embodimentof success. We must radiate success before it will come to us. We must first become mentally, from an attitude standpoint, the people we wish to become.Earl Nightingale
There are 5 things that, when present, lead to sustainable success no matter the goal. Great athletes apply them, great business leaders apply them, and great people apply them, whether they know it or not. What are the 5 things?
* Clarity
* Competence
* Confidence
* Capacity
* Consistency
CLARITY
The first order of business for achieving any measure of success is to get clear! You can only achieve what you can see. People often fear or resist clarity and focus. At work or in our personal lives, we try to be all things to all people. We fear that saying No to an opportunity or request will somehow limit us. But, successful people talk repeatedly about having a clear idea of where (and who) you want to be. The clearer you are on who you are, who you want to be, and what you want to be doing, the more you can see what is required to make it happen. That clarity allows you to make smart choices and take focused action toward the goal. Your challenge is to hold yourself accountable to being clear about who you are, who you are not, and what you are willing to do about it.
COMPETENCE
Yes, great results come from a high level of mastery. Once you see clearly who you want to be and what you want to accomplish, you must invest in continuing to develop high levels of competence. Competence is basically the right mix of knowledge, skills, experience, and abilities required to succeed. Do you know what it takes to be successful in the areas you are growing toward? Where are you strong? Where are there gaps? And most importantly, how will you continue to stay current and competent as times change?
You may also want to determine how competent you are in the process of changing. You may have all the skills and knowledge required to do your dream job, but if you lack the competence to interview well and land that dream job, it wont get you very far.
CONFIDENCE
Confidence matters. First, it can fuel you to keep you going. Often, you take action toward your goal, but the results dont come right way. Without confidence, you would probably give up before you had gained enough momentum to get results. Confidence bridges the gap between the early actions you take and the results you get. Secondly, confidence is incredibly attractive (again, not the ego piece). People are drawn toward confidence and want to be a part of it. They want to work with you, associate with you, help you. When your clarity is backed by those around you, you are on the road to success.
When you have a big goal, are you confident that you are ready, willing, and able to achieve it? Are you confident in the skills you possess and do you willingly acknowledge your own strengths. Do you effectively balance being humble, with being confident?
CAPACITY
Capacity refers to the time, energy, resources and space you need to achieve what youve set out to do. People who are really successful make sure they clear the decks of any competing priorities or projects that drain their capacity. They create the time needed to work on the goal. They maintain their energy by taking care of themselves and finding ways to keep their gas tank full. They access and leverage all the available resources (people, money, tools, knowledge, etc..) in their life to help move them forward. Achieving success in career, life, or business requires a high level of focus and lining up the resources required to make it happen. What amount of time, energy, money, and other resources are you putting into your success? In what ways could you direct more of your capacity into your primary goals and let go of the rest?
CONSISTENCY
Consistent effort is the final key to success. And consistency is two-fold. Top athletes know that they must continue to develop their game and they consistently work on their game. Success requires consistent daily action toward the goal. The other piece is making sure that the action you take is consistent with the goal itself.
Does the action you are taking make sense given your definition of success? Getting a new job takes 6 months, on average. Starting and growing a new business takes 3-5 years. And thats with consistent and focused action. Working in fits and starts will create inconsistent results. It just makes sense. How consistent are you in directing your efforts toward success?
3-2-1 ACTION!
First, rate yourself on the 5 Cs of success. You could create a graph and rate each area on a scale from 1-5. Any area you rate lower than a 3 requires a plan.
Secondly, celebrate those areas where you are solid. If you dont celebrate your successes, no one else will!
Finally, what one major change or shift will you make this month to get yourself on the path to success?
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Be Prepared for Marketing
For most businesses, making a sale is all important. However, despite the amount of effort and attention given to getting sales, there is often no attention given to developing and effectively implementing a systematic marketing process. There are many things that can go wrong between the point of the customer first developing an interest in your product or service and the time of making the sale. Despite knowing this, very few businesses actually take proactive steps to nurture the progress of a sale. In sales and marketing, as in life, preparation makes a world of difference.
Be Prepared to Initiate
In many businesses there is no real attempt to initiate action towards a sale. Many sit and wait for customers to come in or for the phone to ring. They hope the customer will initiate the action. This is OK when things are busy, but what happens when trade slows down? Often the first thought is that we had better do some advertising. Unfortunately, random, unfocused, one off type advertising rarely achieves good results. You need to know what initiates action from your customers and then consistently and regularly set that process in motion. This takes a degree of preparation and planning, by analysing customer needs, preparation of a targeted marketing message and delivery through the right media to attract the appropriate amount of attention from the right customers.
Be Prepared to Measure
Is there anything worse when not making enough sales than to spend money on advertising that doesnt work? The trouble is, many people dont actually know whether their advertising is working or not. They dont take the time and effort to monitor and measure the response to advertising. Every time a new customer makes an enquiry or purchase, you should be asking why they came to you. Then note and keep track of the answers. If you cant tell what advertising works and what doesnt, you will end up wasting a lot of money. When you spend money on advertising, be prepared to monitor and measure the results. No one really knows what will work and what wont. You need to measure results and fine tune your advertising so that you do more of what works and less of what doesnt.
Be Prepared to Respond
Even worse than doing advertising that doesnt work is to be unprepared to deal with the enquiries that do come in. Nothing kills off sales quicker than not giving customers what they expect. You need to be prepared with follow up marketing materials, stock to sell and people who are trained to deal with the enquiries. Sales staff need to be trained and prepared to be customer focused. They should be able to lead the customer in a helpful manner towards making a decision in such a way that no pressure is ever exerted by the sales person or felt by the customer. My experience is that very few sales people ever achieve this level of expertise. How about yours? How much training do you give them?
Be Prepared to Help
Customers hate to be sold, but love having their needs met. In these days where customers are much better informed, most of the old sales techniques of the last decade no longer work. Customers are put off by tired and over used sales techniques. Today selling is about being helpful, providing advice and assistance to customers in matching specific products or services to the customers specific needs. You need to be good at discovering those needs to be able to offer helpful solutions. Many sales people jump too quickly over the process of discovering needs and skip straight to the solutions stage. This makes selling difficult. When you spend most of your time discovering needs, you build a lot of trust that means when it comes to offering the solution it is usually obvious that it is the right one for the customer and they buy with minimal hesitation. It all comes down to being prepared to help, not sell.
Be Prepared to Compete
Do you worry about your competitors and feel that they are getting too many sales that you should have won? Well, dont just worry and get annoyed about it. Be prepared to fight back. Find out what the competition does and learn about their strengths and weaknesses. Then get proactive. Attack their weaknesses and downplay their strengths in your marketing and sales efforts. Do a better job of marketing your business and products or service than they do theirs. If you cant do it yourself, get help.
Be Prepared for Objections
You have probably noticed that most sales dont go through the process smoothly without the customer raising some objections. Despite this, many sales people seem to be caught out when customers have a problem or need an answer to a concern they have. This is often the case when the same types of objections are raised repeatedly. Good preparation can help in overcoming objections. Get your salespeople to write down objections that stump them. Find the best way to overcome those objections and prepare your sales people to answer them effectively. This is best done by answering the objections before the customer raises them. Do you know what a difference it makes to a sales persons confidence levels when they feel prepared to tackle objections? Its enough to make your sales graph go through the roof.
For most businesses, making a sale is all important. However, despite the amount of effort and attention given to getting sales, there is often no attention given to developing and effectively implementing a systematic marketing process. There are many things that can go wrong between the point of the customer first developing an interest in your product or service and the time of making the sale. Despite knowing this, very few businesses actually take proactive steps to nurture the progress of a sale. In sales and marketing, as in life, preparation makes a world of difference.
Be Prepared to Initiate
In many businesses there is no real attempt to initiate action towards a sale. Many sit and wait for customers to come in or for the phone to ring. They hope the customer will initiate the action. This is OK when things are busy, but what happens when trade slows down? Often the first thought is that we had better do some advertising. Unfortunately, random, unfocused, one off type advertising rarely achieves good results. You need to know what initiates action from your customers and then consistently and regularly set that process in motion. This takes a degree of preparation and planning, by analysing customer needs, preparation of a targeted marketing message and delivery through the right media to attract the appropriate amount of attention from the right customers.
Be Prepared to Measure
Is there anything worse when not making enough sales than to spend money on advertising that doesnt work? The trouble is, many people dont actually know whether their advertising is working or not. They dont take the time and effort to monitor and measure the response to advertising. Every time a new customer makes an enquiry or purchase, you should be asking why they came to you. Then note and keep track of the answers. If you cant tell what advertising works and what doesnt, you will end up wasting a lot of money. When you spend money on advertising, be prepared to monitor and measure the results. No one really knows what will work and what wont. You need to measure results and fine tune your advertising so that you do more of what works and less of what doesnt.
Be Prepared to Respond
Even worse than doing advertising that doesnt work is to be unprepared to deal with the enquiries that do come in. Nothing kills off sales quicker than not giving customers what they expect. You need to be prepared with follow up marketing materials, stock to sell and people who are trained to deal with the enquiries. Sales staff need to be trained and prepared to be customer focused. They should be able to lead the customer in a helpful manner towards making a decision in such a way that no pressure is ever exerted by the sales person or felt by the customer. My experience is that very few sales people ever achieve this level of expertise. How about yours? How much training do you give them?
Be Prepared to Help
Customers hate to be sold, but love having their needs met. In these days where customers are much better informed, most of the old sales techniques of the last decade no longer work. Customers are put off by tired and over used sales techniques. Today selling is about being helpful, providing advice and assistance to customers in matching specific products or services to the customers specific needs. You need to be good at discovering those needs to be able to offer helpful solutions. Many sales people jump too quickly over the process of discovering needs and skip straight to the solutions stage. This makes selling difficult. When you spend most of your time discovering needs, you build a lot of trust that means when it comes to offering the solution it is usually obvious that it is the right one for the customer and they buy with minimal hesitation. It all comes down to being prepared to help, not sell.
Be Prepared to Compete
Do you worry about your competitors and feel that they are getting too many sales that you should have won? Well, dont just worry and get annoyed about it. Be prepared to fight back. Find out what the competition does and learn about their strengths and weaknesses. Then get proactive. Attack their weaknesses and downplay their strengths in your marketing and sales efforts. Do a better job of marketing your business and products or service than they do theirs. If you cant do it yourself, get help.
Be Prepared for Objections
You have probably noticed that most sales dont go through the process smoothly without the customer raising some objections. Despite this, many sales people seem to be caught out when customers have a problem or need an answer to a concern they have. This is often the case when the same types of objections are raised repeatedly. Good preparation can help in overcoming objections. Get your salespeople to write down objections that stump them. Find the best way to overcome those objections and prepare your sales people to answer them effectively. This is best done by answering the objections before the customer raises them. Do you know what a difference it makes to a sales persons confidence levels when they feel prepared to tackle objections? Its enough to make your sales graph go through the roof.
SEO Hints and Tips and Free SEO Tools
Do you realize that if you manage your website, SEO tools, and pay-per-click tools, you can literally have as many leads as you want from your website? I assume that a website should convert approximately 5% of the viewers to doers, taking some kind of action that you want them to take. So, all we have to do is make sure the website does convert viewers to doers, and then we make sure weve got the right amount of traffic arriving at the website. All quite manageable. Today, were mainly talking about how to get the traffic to your website through Search Engine Optimization, SEO.
Here is a list of the best tools Ive found to do SEO and a quick review of some of the top issues for SEO. Most of these tools are either free, or can be tried for free before buying
Most search engines are looking at your site to find relevant search words. How relevant determines your eventual search engine position.
How do they determine relevancy? Although every search engine has slightly different rules, here are some of the key ideas. Keep in mind, they could change tomorrow. Search engines are continually changing because just as soon as they determine how to find the relevant search words on your site, someone finds a way around their rules. Then search engines change the rules again.
A key word usually has to show up in each of the following areas of your site, with a density that falls within a range that search engine would like to see. They also like to see the words at a certain position in that area, usually at or near the beginning of these areas:
Areas search engines look at:
1) Meta tags (title, description, and keywords) (NOTE: Im told that most search engines dont consider meta tags any longer, but I keep seeing my keywords pop up from the meta tags). 2) Body text of the site 3) Headlines 4) Alternate text behind the graphics 5) Links, and link text
How do you choose the right keywords?
Heres a big warning: Consider what people are looking for, not who you are or what your product is. For me, I would rather be found for small business help than for my company name, The Leaders Perspective. Obviously I want people to find me, if by chance they are looking for me by name, but just think about this:
Arent there more people in the world looking for small business help or business help than could possibly be looking for my name. Those looking for my company name are those that I have probably met personally and sent them to my site. Thats a small number, in comparison to the number of companies on the internet looking for help that dont have any idea who I am.yet anyway.
Here are some tools to find the right keywords.
1) http://inventory.overture.com
Enter a keyword, and Overture will return the number of times that keyword was searched for in the last month. It will also show you other variances of that same keyword and the number of searches for each variance.
Use this to brainstorm keywords. (NOTE: Ive also discovered this is a VERY useful tool to use before sending out any kind of marketing. Find what people are looking for and then make sure those words show up in your marketing, AND in your website.
2) http://www.wordtracker.com
Now, this is an even better tool. This one contains a thesaurus as well, so it will show lots of other ways people have been searching for the keywords youve typed in.
This tool also has a way of measuring the RIGHT keyword that is even better than Overture for Search engine optimization.
Overture reports the number of searches last month for that keyword, so you can find the words that have the greatest number of searches.
However, Wordtracker, reports the greatest number of searches for the words with the LEAST competition.
When you are doing SEO it wont do you any good to go after the words that have been searched for the most if there are millions of competing sites. Its just not likely that you COULD get a page 1 ranking among millions of sites.
So, Wordtracker helps you find words that have been searched for ENOUGH to give you traffic, but at the same time have the least competition. They provide their own proprietary ranking that finds the best search words that you are likely to get a search engine position for.
Just make sure that the words you end up with from that search actually are words that someone would be looking for to find you.
Hint: I use Overture to find the greatest number of searches and use that for pay-per-clicks, and use Wordtracker to find the right search words for Search engine optimization.
Here are some other useful tools.
Tools that help you Learn Search Engine optimization while guiding you through the process.
Internet Business Promoter will provide not only an analysis of many of the search engine sensitive stats, but will give you almost a step-by-step how to fix your site. Although this has ended up down the list, this is probably the number one greatest tool to learn search engine optimization.
www.axandra.com
Another similar tool is http://www.wpgsales.com/
Link Popularity
Search engines tend to give websites that have more external links from other websites pointing at them a higher search engine ranking. Here are a couple of free tools to track your link popularity, and to check our competition as well. www.checkyourlinkpopularity.com
http://www.marketleap.com (this one shows a graph if your history)
Do you realize that if you manage your website, SEO tools, and pay-per-click tools, you can literally have as many leads as you want from your website? I assume that a website should convert approximately 5% of the viewers to doers, taking some kind of action that you want them to take. So, all we have to do is make sure the website does convert viewers to doers, and then we make sure weve got the right amount of traffic arriving at the website. All quite manageable. Today, were mainly talking about how to get the traffic to your website through Search Engine Optimization, SEO.
Here is a list of the best tools Ive found to do SEO and a quick review of some of the top issues for SEO. Most of these tools are either free, or can be tried for free before buying
Most search engines are looking at your site to find relevant search words. How relevant determines your eventual search engine position.
How do they determine relevancy? Although every search engine has slightly different rules, here are some of the key ideas. Keep in mind, they could change tomorrow. Search engines are continually changing because just as soon as they determine how to find the relevant search words on your site, someone finds a way around their rules. Then search engines change the rules again.
A key word usually has to show up in each of the following areas of your site, with a density that falls within a range that search engine would like to see. They also like to see the words at a certain position in that area, usually at or near the beginning of these areas:
Areas search engines look at:
1) Meta tags (title, description, and keywords) (NOTE: Im told that most search engines dont consider meta tags any longer, but I keep seeing my keywords pop up from the meta tags). 2) Body text of the site 3) Headlines 4) Alternate text behind the graphics 5) Links, and link text
How do you choose the right keywords?
Heres a big warning: Consider what people are looking for, not who you are or what your product is. For me, I would rather be found for small business help than for my company name, The Leaders Perspective. Obviously I want people to find me, if by chance they are looking for me by name, but just think about this:
Arent there more people in the world looking for small business help or business help than could possibly be looking for my name. Those looking for my company name are those that I have probably met personally and sent them to my site. Thats a small number, in comparison to the number of companies on the internet looking for help that dont have any idea who I am.yet anyway.
Here are some tools to find the right keywords.
1) http://inventory.overture.com
Enter a keyword, and Overture will return the number of times that keyword was searched for in the last month. It will also show you other variances of that same keyword and the number of searches for each variance.
Use this to brainstorm keywords. (NOTE: Ive also discovered this is a VERY useful tool to use before sending out any kind of marketing. Find what people are looking for and then make sure those words show up in your marketing, AND in your website.
2) http://www.wordtracker.com
Now, this is an even better tool. This one contains a thesaurus as well, so it will show lots of other ways people have been searching for the keywords youve typed in.
This tool also has a way of measuring the RIGHT keyword that is even better than Overture for Search engine optimization.
Overture reports the number of searches last month for that keyword, so you can find the words that have the greatest number of searches.
However, Wordtracker, reports the greatest number of searches for the words with the LEAST competition.
When you are doing SEO it wont do you any good to go after the words that have been searched for the most if there are millions of competing sites. Its just not likely that you COULD get a page 1 ranking among millions of sites.
So, Wordtracker helps you find words that have been searched for ENOUGH to give you traffic, but at the same time have the least competition. They provide their own proprietary ranking that finds the best search words that you are likely to get a search engine position for.
Just make sure that the words you end up with from that search actually are words that someone would be looking for to find you.
Hint: I use Overture to find the greatest number of searches and use that for pay-per-clicks, and use Wordtracker to find the right search words for Search engine optimization.
Here are some other useful tools.
Tools that help you Learn Search Engine optimization while guiding you through the process.
Internet Business Promoter will provide not only an analysis of many of the search engine sensitive stats, but will give you almost a step-by-step how to fix your site. Although this has ended up down the list, this is probably the number one greatest tool to learn search engine optimization.
www.axandra.com
Another similar tool is http://www.wpgsales.com/
Link Popularity
Search engines tend to give websites that have more external links from other websites pointing at them a higher search engine ranking. Here are a couple of free tools to track your link popularity, and to check our competition as well. www.checkyourlinkpopularity.com
http://www.marketleap.com (this one shows a graph if your history)
Monday, August 20, 2007
Economically Design Your Own Landscape Lighting
Adding exterior home lighting for safety, security and aesthetics can be a huge undertaking, consisting of meetings with lighting and landscape designers. You'll also need to check local codes to see if your county or town requires a permit, and you'll need an inspector to check for underground plumbing or wires. All this before a single trench is dug across your yard or through your flower garden, and the final price may be more than some are willing to spend. Solar lights allow you to do the job yourself and the flexibility to move the lights if your not happy with the initial placement, and at a fraction of the cost.
Creating a Lighting Plan
You'll need to start with a plan. Walk your property in daylight and sketch out your yard and home on graph paper. Be sure to include landscaping and walkways, and make a note of high sun or shade areas. Solar lights require 6 to 8 hours of sunlight to fully recharge the batteries. Next, walk your property again after sunset noting areas that require lighting for safety such as steps and curbs. Also look for dark spots in corners or behind large bushes that require light for security. Now that you have your basic plan in place you can start being creative.
Lighting Technique
Lighting should be soft and subtle, and the source should be hidden whenever possible. Bright points of light blind the viewer, and the glare makes the rest of the yard look darker. Use fewer lights than you think you need to start, you can always add more later. Tier lights direct light downward on the ground or shrubs and minimize glare, making them ideal for lighting walks and steps. Alternate lights from side to side to avoid the "runway" look. Don't overdue it. You should be able to affectively light a 25' walk with 3 to 5 lights. An effective way of lighting a dark corner or behind a large bush is called grazing. A spot light is placed low to the ground about 6 to 8 inches from a wall or object and the beam is either aimed up, or at an oblique angle to the wall. This is especially effective on a textured wall such as stone, brick, or stucco. You can also create a great affect called Silhouetting by aiming the light away from the building, aimed at a tree or bush. By outlining the object with illumination it shows shape but not color or texture. Placing a light in front of a tree or bush aimed at a vertical surface, castes a striking shadow. Moving the light closer or further away from the object effects the size of the shadow it casts. Up-cast shadows do not occur in nature and are not only dramatic but unusual. Using solar lights made to look like rocks are a great way to create Up-cast shadows.
Solar Freedom
Solar lights give you the freedom to quickly and easily place your lights where you want them, and the ability to experiment and move them to achieve the look and feel you want. They will automatically come on at night, and the NI-CD Batteries and long lasting LED bulbs provide years of maintenance free enjoyment. Another advantage to solar lights used for gardens, is the fact that they can be easily taken down and stored in winter months, and put back in place the following spring.
Be Creative
Each landscape has it's own needs and possibilities when dealing with lighting.
Use the above techniques to experiment and create your own interesting textures and shadows. Remember the best lighting simulates moonlight not daylight. When your lights create a moonlit glow they'll look better than floodlights.
Adding exterior home lighting for safety, security and aesthetics can be a huge undertaking, consisting of meetings with lighting and landscape designers. You'll also need to check local codes to see if your county or town requires a permit, and you'll need an inspector to check for underground plumbing or wires. All this before a single trench is dug across your yard or through your flower garden, and the final price may be more than some are willing to spend. Solar lights allow you to do the job yourself and the flexibility to move the lights if your not happy with the initial placement, and at a fraction of the cost.
Creating a Lighting Plan
You'll need to start with a plan. Walk your property in daylight and sketch out your yard and home on graph paper. Be sure to include landscaping and walkways, and make a note of high sun or shade areas. Solar lights require 6 to 8 hours of sunlight to fully recharge the batteries. Next, walk your property again after sunset noting areas that require lighting for safety such as steps and curbs. Also look for dark spots in corners or behind large bushes that require light for security. Now that you have your basic plan in place you can start being creative.
Lighting Technique
Lighting should be soft and subtle, and the source should be hidden whenever possible. Bright points of light blind the viewer, and the glare makes the rest of the yard look darker. Use fewer lights than you think you need to start, you can always add more later. Tier lights direct light downward on the ground or shrubs and minimize glare, making them ideal for lighting walks and steps. Alternate lights from side to side to avoid the "runway" look. Don't overdue it. You should be able to affectively light a 25' walk with 3 to 5 lights. An effective way of lighting a dark corner or behind a large bush is called grazing. A spot light is placed low to the ground about 6 to 8 inches from a wall or object and the beam is either aimed up, or at an oblique angle to the wall. This is especially effective on a textured wall such as stone, brick, or stucco. You can also create a great affect called Silhouetting by aiming the light away from the building, aimed at a tree or bush. By outlining the object with illumination it shows shape but not color or texture. Placing a light in front of a tree or bush aimed at a vertical surface, castes a striking shadow. Moving the light closer or further away from the object effects the size of the shadow it casts. Up-cast shadows do not occur in nature and are not only dramatic but unusual. Using solar lights made to look like rocks are a great way to create Up-cast shadows.
Solar Freedom
Solar lights give you the freedom to quickly and easily place your lights where you want them, and the ability to experiment and move them to achieve the look and feel you want. They will automatically come on at night, and the NI-CD Batteries and long lasting LED bulbs provide years of maintenance free enjoyment. Another advantage to solar lights used for gardens, is the fact that they can be easily taken down and stored in winter months, and put back in place the following spring.
Be Creative
Each landscape has it's own needs and possibilities when dealing with lighting.
Use the above techniques to experiment and create your own interesting textures and shadows. Remember the best lighting simulates moonlight not daylight. When your lights create a moonlit glow they'll look better than floodlights.
"How To" Start Trading The Forex Market? (part 7)
HOW DO Economic Events impact Global Currencies:
When I asked several traders about their thoughts about using fundamental analysis as a part of their trading decisions, I have received two opposite responses.
RESPONSE of Trader A
Fundamentals that you read about are typically useless as the market has already discounted the price. I am looking at (1) the long term trend, (2) the current chart pattern and (3) identifying a good entry point to buy or to sell.
RESPONSE of Trader B
I almost always trade on a market view. I don't trade simply on technical information alone. I use technical analysis and it is terrific, but I can't initiate or hold a position unless I understand why the market should move.
There is a great deal of hype attached to technical analysis by some technicians who claim that it predicts the future.
Technical analysis tracks the past; it does not predict the future. You have to use your own intelligence to draw conclusions about what the past activity of some traders say about the future activity of other traders.
For me, technical analysis is like a thermometer.
Fundamentalists who say they are not going to pay any attention to the charts are like a doctor who says he's not going to take a patient's temperature. If you want to be a successful trader in the market, you always want to know where the market is- up down- trending or choppy .You want to know everything you can about the market to give you an edge.
Technical analysis reflects the vote of the entire marketplace and, therefore, does pick up unusual behavior. By definition, anything that creates a new chart pattern is something unusual.
It is very important to study the details of price action to see and observe. Studying the charts is absolutely crucial and alerts to existing disequilibrium and potential changes.
For forex traders, the fundamentals are everything that makes a country tick.
The release of economic & inflation indicators (i.e., consumer spending, employment cost index, government spending, producer price index, etc.), political actors, government policy or an individual event can set the market in a frenzy. These have to be considered when making the decision to trade or not to trade.
Technical analysis, is a way of using historical price data in different ways to predict the future price of a currency pair.
Fundamental analysis is a very effective way to forecast economic conditions, but not necessarily exact market prices, and you SHOULD trade in agreement with the supporting technical indicators.
Foreign exchange traders put the most emphasis on technical analysis, because traders around the world use similar charts and tools in predicting market trends.
The reason the FOREX market can be so predictable some times is that if the majority are using the same graph for determining patterns and trends, then it is highly likely that they will act in a similar manner.
So several thousand traders who have all charted the same resistance line, for example, will most likely either set their trades and direction conform to that line.
When fundamental data is made available to the public there is a reaction from investors and speculators.
Information in the form of news and economic indicators is more vague than that of technical indicators. There is a lot of gray area in this type of analysis. The market will ultimately react to how people think the economic data compares to the current market situation.
Economic indicators usually reveal information that "Should cause a currency to go up in price" or "May cause a currency to go down". The words SHOULD & MAY in the quotes above reveal the ambiguity of the fundamental data.
Here is an example of what analyzing fundamental data is like. Let's suppose there are six economic indicators (there are a lot more).
Let's call our six indicators 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Now we wait for the data from our indicators to be published in a financial magazine or at an online source. We get the readings for our economic data for the EURO as following:
Indicator 1: is in a range where the Euro may go up
Indicator 2: is in a range where the Euro should go up
Indicator 3: is in a range where the Euro could go down
Indicator 4: is in a range where the Euro usually goes down
Indicator 5: is in a range where the Euro could go up
Indicator 6: is in a range where the Euro may go down
By looking at the above indicators, you don't know what the Euro is going to do. Furthermore, currencies are always traded in pairs. So you would have to get the fundamental data for another currency pair and compare it with the EURO. I think you can image that this is not a simple task.
I do not want to discourage you away from fundamental data. The best way to learn is to learn about one piece of economic data at a time. Eventually you will build a puzzle from all of the fundamental and technical data and make more informed trading decisions.
HOW DO Economic Events impact Global Currencies:
When I asked several traders about their thoughts about using fundamental analysis as a part of their trading decisions, I have received two opposite responses.
RESPONSE of Trader A
Fundamentals that you read about are typically useless as the market has already discounted the price. I am looking at (1) the long term trend, (2) the current chart pattern and (3) identifying a good entry point to buy or to sell.
RESPONSE of Trader B
I almost always trade on a market view. I don't trade simply on technical information alone. I use technical analysis and it is terrific, but I can't initiate or hold a position unless I understand why the market should move.
There is a great deal of hype attached to technical analysis by some technicians who claim that it predicts the future.
Technical analysis tracks the past; it does not predict the future. You have to use your own intelligence to draw conclusions about what the past activity of some traders say about the future activity of other traders.
For me, technical analysis is like a thermometer.
Fundamentalists who say they are not going to pay any attention to the charts are like a doctor who says he's not going to take a patient's temperature. If you want to be a successful trader in the market, you always want to know where the market is- up down- trending or choppy .You want to know everything you can about the market to give you an edge.
Technical analysis reflects the vote of the entire marketplace and, therefore, does pick up unusual behavior. By definition, anything that creates a new chart pattern is something unusual.
It is very important to study the details of price action to see and observe. Studying the charts is absolutely crucial and alerts to existing disequilibrium and potential changes.
For forex traders, the fundamentals are everything that makes a country tick.
The release of economic & inflation indicators (i.e., consumer spending, employment cost index, government spending, producer price index, etc.), political actors, government policy or an individual event can set the market in a frenzy. These have to be considered when making the decision to trade or not to trade.
Technical analysis, is a way of using historical price data in different ways to predict the future price of a currency pair.
Fundamental analysis is a very effective way to forecast economic conditions, but not necessarily exact market prices, and you SHOULD trade in agreement with the supporting technical indicators.
Foreign exchange traders put the most emphasis on technical analysis, because traders around the world use similar charts and tools in predicting market trends.
The reason the FOREX market can be so predictable some times is that if the majority are using the same graph for determining patterns and trends, then it is highly likely that they will act in a similar manner.
So several thousand traders who have all charted the same resistance line, for example, will most likely either set their trades and direction conform to that line.
When fundamental data is made available to the public there is a reaction from investors and speculators.
Information in the form of news and economic indicators is more vague than that of technical indicators. There is a lot of gray area in this type of analysis. The market will ultimately react to how people think the economic data compares to the current market situation.
Economic indicators usually reveal information that "Should cause a currency to go up in price" or "May cause a currency to go down". The words SHOULD & MAY in the quotes above reveal the ambiguity of the fundamental data.
Here is an example of what analyzing fundamental data is like. Let's suppose there are six economic indicators (there are a lot more).
Let's call our six indicators 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Now we wait for the data from our indicators to be published in a financial magazine or at an online source. We get the readings for our economic data for the EURO as following:
Indicator 1: is in a range where the Euro may go up
Indicator 2: is in a range where the Euro should go up
Indicator 3: is in a range where the Euro could go down
Indicator 4: is in a range where the Euro usually goes down
Indicator 5: is in a range where the Euro could go up
Indicator 6: is in a range where the Euro may go down
By looking at the above indicators, you don't know what the Euro is going to do. Furthermore, currencies are always traded in pairs. So you would have to get the fundamental data for another currency pair and compare it with the EURO. I think you can image that this is not a simple task.
I do not want to discourage you away from fundamental data. The best way to learn is to learn about one piece of economic data at a time. Eventually you will build a puzzle from all of the fundamental and technical data and make more informed trading decisions.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Strategic Critical Factors Jump Start
Here's a curious question: Do all your daily efforts push your business towards your objectives?
For most businesses, the answer is no - executives and employees spend a fair amount of time doing things which don't really make the business more successful. When you stop to consider it, there are only generally a limited number of areas - like sales or product development - which make your business succeed. With insight and analysis you can select these things, the critical success factors.
Guaranteed: your business will succeed or fail depending on how you approach your unique set of critical success factors. Understanding these factors and paying 100% attention to them is a sure way to add power to your efforts and jump start towards a new level of performance. Here's how.
Step 1: Identify your critical success factors
The first step is to identify your special set of critical success factors. You may have thought this through in the past; you may think you know them intuitively. When asked "What matters?", many executives reflexively say things like sales, customers, people, or product development. These are all good answers, and they may be correct answers, but you will want to think deeper and broader.
Below is a list to start you thinking. It is set in no particular order and contains only the most obvious factors. Review the list and circle areas you believe are critical to your enterprise. You may have to add other, more specific or subtle factors to the list to describe the critical influences on your business' success.
Distribution - this could be direct sales, telesales, third- party sales, etc.
Lead generation
Customer satisfaction
Referrals
Research
Product development
Production, including quality, costing, run-rates, etc.
Sufficient investment capital, sufficient working capital
Customer support / technical support
Quality assurance
Sales process / sales life cycle
Market research
Customer education
Sales compensation
Recruiting
Personnel retention programs
Expense management
Intellectual capital development
Training
Marketing communications
Logistics
Employee equity
Executive leadership
Training and development
Corporate goals / strategic objectives
Values and beliefs
Mission/purpose
Individual accountability
Productivity & effectiveness metrics
Internal communications
Strategic and tactical planning
Executive team
Board of directors/advisors
Be specific when you identify your factors. Don't say "people" when the issue is recruiting, employee satisfaction, training or compensation. Don't say "marketing" or "sales" when the issue is lead generation.
Test your assumptions by imagining a decline in a particular factor. How would that impact your business? Now imagine an improvement in that factor. How would that impact your business?
In selecting factors, limit your list to no more than seven. Why seven? Cognitive theory suggests that human minds are efficient at juggling from five to nine separate trains of thought - the average and oft- quoted number is seven. Our plan is for you to keep your eye on the ball, you want to limit the balls to those you can keep your eye on.
Step 2: Establishing the measurements
Your next step is to establish a measurement scale for each critical factor. Some of these measures will be quantitative; some qualitative. Sales is an easy one: dollars of revenue measured against budget. Leads generated is also easy - how many? You can further break down sales by product and leads by sources, or you can stick to the consolidated numbers. Choose the measure which best reflects your understanding of howthe issue affects your business.
Everything is measurable, you just need the right system. How can you measure your effectiveness in sales compensation? You could establish a compound metric which includes total compensation as a percentage of sales revenue, juxtaposed against goal attainment.
Marketing communications is also difficult. One way to measure this is to subjectively assess the quality of your marcom pieces; you could also measure whether you have the total complement of marcom pieces you require. Or, measure whether prospects respond to your marcom efforts. Most likely you will combine all three to get one measure.
A final example is measuring your efforts in the area of your Board of Directors / Board of Advisors. Measures include: do you have one? Are all the board seats filled? Is the board effective for your intended purpose? Measuring the Board factor would likely blend each of these.
Step 3: Setting the baseline
Once you've established a measurement structure for a factor, the next step is setting a baseline.
Each factor should be set against a normalizing scale ranging from 1 to 10. Subjectively this can translate into non-performing(1), poor (2-3) , mediocre (4-5), good (6-7), great (8-9), and outstanding (10).
If your sales run-rate is $10 million, determine whether that is a 1, a 5, or a 10. Your answer depends of course on whether you consider performance against budget, performance against stretch goals, or performance against "home-run-out-of-the-park" goals. If your baseline for Board of Directors is two unfilledboard seats - is that a 5 (mediocre) or a poor (2-3)? Only youcan decide. Although this ultimately is a subjective process,you want to make it as objective as possible.
Step 4: Set new goals
Next, create a "gap" between where you are - your baseline - and your target for that factor. You already have a sales plan, so your gap exists between your current revenue and your budgeted revenue.
You may consider your baseline a 5, and your target an 8. Implicit in this 1- 10 scale are judgements about your intentions: will reaching your budgeted revenue put you at 8 (almost great) or 10 (outstanding)?
Where do you want to peg your efforts? If you've assessed your employee training at a 4 (mediocre), are you shooting for a 7 (good) or a 9 (great)? You can see from this how your measurement structure and goal system will impact how you allocate your company's resources and energy.
Step 5: Closing the gap
You now have a baseline and a target for each factor. Between them they define a factor gap - your challenge is to close it. Each gap becomes the focus of a meditation which asks the question: What will close the gap between our current level of this factor and our desired level? What possible actions will raise that measurement?
You may have intuitive responses to these questions, and when appropriate, trust your gut. If need be, back that gut response with research - but only when cost effective.
(Sometimes the most cost effective research is implementation, particularly in simple matters.)
Use any idea generation process you are comfortable with. Develop several possible initiatives to raise the level of that factor. With luck your ideas will work together and harmonize in terms of impact or implementation requirements.
If you create competing ideas, select the best alternatives. Choose based on return on investment, required resources, scheduling conflicts, time to impact, total cost, and likelihood of success versus risk of failure.
Depending on the specific factor, and the size of the gap, you may plan to close it in stages or shoot the gap all at once. You can launch one initiative at a time, or implement several initiatives in parallel. You may find my GamePlan methods useful in designing your gap-closing programs.
Once you launch your gap-closing initiatives, continually measure your results. Report your progress to participants and stakeholders, and post it publicly.
Step 6: The Ben Franklin Rotation Program
As a young adult, Ben Franklin identified thirteen virtues he aspired to. In order to implement these virtues in his life he devised a "Plan for Self Examination", a program whereby he focused his attention, one virtue at a time, for one week at a time, rotating through the entire list four times a year.
He kept a detailed log of the actions he took to develop the virtues in himself, along with his personal results.
I've adapted Franklin's concept and called it the Ben Franklin Rotation Program. At any point in time, you will have in place a program for improving every one of your critical factors. But in any given week, your primary attention will be on only one factor.
Using Franklin's principles, at the beginning of each week, focus your mind - or collective mind of your management team - on improving that week's factor. What new actions can you take, what new attitudes can you adopt, what new or renewed approaches are available - which will enhance your performance in that one specific area? Do that "thing" wholeheartedly for the entire week.
Franklin also shows us how to track your progress in this venture. Create a score sheet detailing your Critical Success Factors. This sheet should detail each factor, its measurements, your current 1-10 rating and your target rating, along with your next action steps for improving that rating.
Each factor also gets a weight, which enables you to develop an overall score. Each week, re-rate all the factors on the score sheet, and graph your progress. You may also graph the overall score. Publish the score sheet and the graphs. You can establish a reward system based on individual progress, or, using the factor weights, you can develop a bonus structure which incentivizes total progress.
This simple system will focus your attention on improving each one of your critical success factors. With carefully selected factors, you insure both rapid performance increases and balance in your company.
Visit www.paullemberg.com/tooalsandtips.html if you would like an MS Word file containing score sheet templates which will help you in this process, or if you would like a list of Ben Franklin's virtues.
Here's a curious question: Do all your daily efforts push your business towards your objectives?
For most businesses, the answer is no - executives and employees spend a fair amount of time doing things which don't really make the business more successful. When you stop to consider it, there are only generally a limited number of areas - like sales or product development - which make your business succeed. With insight and analysis you can select these things, the critical success factors.
Guaranteed: your business will succeed or fail depending on how you approach your unique set of critical success factors. Understanding these factors and paying 100% attention to them is a sure way to add power to your efforts and jump start towards a new level of performance. Here's how.
Step 1: Identify your critical success factors
The first step is to identify your special set of critical success factors. You may have thought this through in the past; you may think you know them intuitively. When asked "What matters?", many executives reflexively say things like sales, customers, people, or product development. These are all good answers, and they may be correct answers, but you will want to think deeper and broader.
Below is a list to start you thinking. It is set in no particular order and contains only the most obvious factors. Review the list and circle areas you believe are critical to your enterprise. You may have to add other, more specific or subtle factors to the list to describe the critical influences on your business' success.
Distribution - this could be direct sales, telesales, third- party sales, etc.
Lead generation
Customer satisfaction
Referrals
Research
Product development
Production, including quality, costing, run-rates, etc.
Sufficient investment capital, sufficient working capital
Customer support / technical support
Quality assurance
Sales process / sales life cycle
Market research
Customer education
Sales compensation
Recruiting
Personnel retention programs
Expense management
Intellectual capital development
Training
Marketing communications
Logistics
Employee equity
Executive leadership
Training and development
Corporate goals / strategic objectives
Values and beliefs
Mission/purpose
Individual accountability
Productivity & effectiveness metrics
Internal communications
Strategic and tactical planning
Executive team
Board of directors/advisors
Be specific when you identify your factors. Don't say "people" when the issue is recruiting, employee satisfaction, training or compensation. Don't say "marketing" or "sales" when the issue is lead generation.
Test your assumptions by imagining a decline in a particular factor. How would that impact your business? Now imagine an improvement in that factor. How would that impact your business?
In selecting factors, limit your list to no more than seven. Why seven? Cognitive theory suggests that human minds are efficient at juggling from five to nine separate trains of thought - the average and oft- quoted number is seven. Our plan is for you to keep your eye on the ball, you want to limit the balls to those you can keep your eye on.
Step 2: Establishing the measurements
Your next step is to establish a measurement scale for each critical factor. Some of these measures will be quantitative; some qualitative. Sales is an easy one: dollars of revenue measured against budget. Leads generated is also easy - how many? You can further break down sales by product and leads by sources, or you can stick to the consolidated numbers. Choose the measure which best reflects your understanding of howthe issue affects your business.
Everything is measurable, you just need the right system. How can you measure your effectiveness in sales compensation? You could establish a compound metric which includes total compensation as a percentage of sales revenue, juxtaposed against goal attainment.
Marketing communications is also difficult. One way to measure this is to subjectively assess the quality of your marcom pieces; you could also measure whether you have the total complement of marcom pieces you require. Or, measure whether prospects respond to your marcom efforts. Most likely you will combine all three to get one measure.
A final example is measuring your efforts in the area of your Board of Directors / Board of Advisors. Measures include: do you have one? Are all the board seats filled? Is the board effective for your intended purpose? Measuring the Board factor would likely blend each of these.
Step 3: Setting the baseline
Once you've established a measurement structure for a factor, the next step is setting a baseline.
Each factor should be set against a normalizing scale ranging from 1 to 10. Subjectively this can translate into non-performing(1), poor (2-3) , mediocre (4-5), good (6-7), great (8-9), and outstanding (10).
If your sales run-rate is $10 million, determine whether that is a 1, a 5, or a 10. Your answer depends of course on whether you consider performance against budget, performance against stretch goals, or performance against "home-run-out-of-the-park" goals. If your baseline for Board of Directors is two unfilledboard seats - is that a 5 (mediocre) or a poor (2-3)? Only youcan decide. Although this ultimately is a subjective process,you want to make it as objective as possible.
Step 4: Set new goals
Next, create a "gap" between where you are - your baseline - and your target for that factor. You already have a sales plan, so your gap exists between your current revenue and your budgeted revenue.
You may consider your baseline a 5, and your target an 8. Implicit in this 1- 10 scale are judgements about your intentions: will reaching your budgeted revenue put you at 8 (almost great) or 10 (outstanding)?
Where do you want to peg your efforts? If you've assessed your employee training at a 4 (mediocre), are you shooting for a 7 (good) or a 9 (great)? You can see from this how your measurement structure and goal system will impact how you allocate your company's resources and energy.
Step 5: Closing the gap
You now have a baseline and a target for each factor. Between them they define a factor gap - your challenge is to close it. Each gap becomes the focus of a meditation which asks the question: What will close the gap between our current level of this factor and our desired level? What possible actions will raise that measurement?
You may have intuitive responses to these questions, and when appropriate, trust your gut. If need be, back that gut response with research - but only when cost effective.
(Sometimes the most cost effective research is implementation, particularly in simple matters.)
Use any idea generation process you are comfortable with. Develop several possible initiatives to raise the level of that factor. With luck your ideas will work together and harmonize in terms of impact or implementation requirements.
If you create competing ideas, select the best alternatives. Choose based on return on investment, required resources, scheduling conflicts, time to impact, total cost, and likelihood of success versus risk of failure.
Depending on the specific factor, and the size of the gap, you may plan to close it in stages or shoot the gap all at once. You can launch one initiative at a time, or implement several initiatives in parallel. You may find my GamePlan methods useful in designing your gap-closing programs.
Once you launch your gap-closing initiatives, continually measure your results. Report your progress to participants and stakeholders, and post it publicly.
Step 6: The Ben Franklin Rotation Program
As a young adult, Ben Franklin identified thirteen virtues he aspired to. In order to implement these virtues in his life he devised a "Plan for Self Examination", a program whereby he focused his attention, one virtue at a time, for one week at a time, rotating through the entire list four times a year.
He kept a detailed log of the actions he took to develop the virtues in himself, along with his personal results.
I've adapted Franklin's concept and called it the Ben Franklin Rotation Program. At any point in time, you will have in place a program for improving every one of your critical factors. But in any given week, your primary attention will be on only one factor.
Using Franklin's principles, at the beginning of each week, focus your mind - or collective mind of your management team - on improving that week's factor. What new actions can you take, what new attitudes can you adopt, what new or renewed approaches are available - which will enhance your performance in that one specific area? Do that "thing" wholeheartedly for the entire week.
Franklin also shows us how to track your progress in this venture. Create a score sheet detailing your Critical Success Factors. This sheet should detail each factor, its measurements, your current 1-10 rating and your target rating, along with your next action steps for improving that rating.
Each factor also gets a weight, which enables you to develop an overall score. Each week, re-rate all the factors on the score sheet, and graph your progress. You may also graph the overall score. Publish the score sheet and the graphs. You can establish a reward system based on individual progress, or, using the factor weights, you can develop a bonus structure which incentivizes total progress.
This simple system will focus your attention on improving each one of your critical success factors. With carefully selected factors, you insure both rapid performance increases and balance in your company.
Visit www.paullemberg.com/tooalsandtips.html if you would like an MS Word file containing score sheet templates which will help you in this process, or if you would like a list of Ben Franklin's virtues.
More About Selling
Last month, I wrote about the importance of selling when it comes to making money in the investment markets.
Simply put, even the best investment in the world will lose it's appeal sooner or later. When that happens, or when another investment looks even more inviting and potentially profitable, a reallocation of capital involves selling up and moving on.
Of course, there is another side to this: capital protection. Either your investment has increased substantially and you do not want to lose the gains you have made, or, the price is falling and you want to protect the capital initially invested. Either scenario involves monitoring of your investment and making a sale when you start to become nervous.
The easiest way to protect your capital when making an investment in shares or funds of some sort is by using a 'stop-loss'.
Quite simply, a stop-loss is a mechanical way of triggering a sale. For example, if you buy shares at 100p and don't want to lose too much if they fall and you are / were wrong, setting a limit at which you sell is a useful solution. You might set that limit at 10% or 15%. That would mean should the shares fall to 90p or 85p, you automatically sell.
This has some good and bad features as a system. Firstly, it is difficult to apply to shares that are highly volatile. If the shares often move by 5% or more in a week and a stop-loss set too closely to the current price, it might force you to sell when you would rather not. In those circumstances, a limit of 20% or more may be more appropriate.
On the plus side, if you really do need to protect your capital at all costs, selling should the price move against you is a vital way of protecting yourself. Sure, you may guarantee to lose 10%, but if the price keeps on falling, you may have saved a lot of money indeed. Shares often rise or fall in a rather predictable way - when things are good and a company is growing and generating good profits, prices rise and rise. If however, things are bleak and losses are being made, the fall can last for months or years and massive amounts can be wiped from a company's value.
It therefore makes sense to try and benefit from this trend, this is why many people use a 'trailing stop-loss'. This is a more active track of share prices and performance and is designed to let you (and I'm quoting a very famous investment saying) 'run your profits and cut your losses'.
To use a trailing stop-loss, set a number of points or percentage below your current share price. This will be your minimum - the automatic trigger to sell if the price is breached. However, should the share price rise, your stop-loss is moved upwards in the same ratio as the share price. Thus, your trigger will still be (for example) 15% below the current price, but that will be higher than it once was.
The further up a price goes, the farther the trigger is reset. This has the effect of locking in a majority of your profits. Should the price go into reverse, you sell at your new higher level, but if the price keeps rising and rising, you get to profit from those gains.
Now obviously, if I have just explained the above in a few paragraphs, it is far to simple for fund managers and investment bankers to be following. They have complex computer programmes that calculate how a price has moved in relation to an index, a sector and the rest of a portfolio. Decisions are far more complex. This of course is for pro's that manage dozens of shares and not the likes of us that manage a few at a time. But for managing a few at a time, the above is a simple and effective method to lose much less and profit more in the market.
If you want to really see it in action, the best thing I can suggest is to find a few sheets of graph paper, draw a graph and start following a share price each day. Add the stop-loss at, say, 10% below the current price and keep plotting the graph over a few weeks. Every time the shares hit a new high, increase that stop-loss. If the share price stays the same or falls just plot an extra day without altering the stop-loss. Pretty soon, it will all become very clear and remarkably simple to operate.
Last month, I wrote about the importance of selling when it comes to making money in the investment markets.
Simply put, even the best investment in the world will lose it's appeal sooner or later. When that happens, or when another investment looks even more inviting and potentially profitable, a reallocation of capital involves selling up and moving on.
Of course, there is another side to this: capital protection. Either your investment has increased substantially and you do not want to lose the gains you have made, or, the price is falling and you want to protect the capital initially invested. Either scenario involves monitoring of your investment and making a sale when you start to become nervous.
The easiest way to protect your capital when making an investment in shares or funds of some sort is by using a 'stop-loss'.
Quite simply, a stop-loss is a mechanical way of triggering a sale. For example, if you buy shares at 100p and don't want to lose too much if they fall and you are / were wrong, setting a limit at which you sell is a useful solution. You might set that limit at 10% or 15%. That would mean should the shares fall to 90p or 85p, you automatically sell.
This has some good and bad features as a system. Firstly, it is difficult to apply to shares that are highly volatile. If the shares often move by 5% or more in a week and a stop-loss set too closely to the current price, it might force you to sell when you would rather not. In those circumstances, a limit of 20% or more may be more appropriate.
On the plus side, if you really do need to protect your capital at all costs, selling should the price move against you is a vital way of protecting yourself. Sure, you may guarantee to lose 10%, but if the price keeps on falling, you may have saved a lot of money indeed. Shares often rise or fall in a rather predictable way - when things are good and a company is growing and generating good profits, prices rise and rise. If however, things are bleak and losses are being made, the fall can last for months or years and massive amounts can be wiped from a company's value.
It therefore makes sense to try and benefit from this trend, this is why many people use a 'trailing stop-loss'. This is a more active track of share prices and performance and is designed to let you (and I'm quoting a very famous investment saying) 'run your profits and cut your losses'.
To use a trailing stop-loss, set a number of points or percentage below your current share price. This will be your minimum - the automatic trigger to sell if the price is breached. However, should the share price rise, your stop-loss is moved upwards in the same ratio as the share price. Thus, your trigger will still be (for example) 15% below the current price, but that will be higher than it once was.
The further up a price goes, the farther the trigger is reset. This has the effect of locking in a majority of your profits. Should the price go into reverse, you sell at your new higher level, but if the price keeps rising and rising, you get to profit from those gains.
Now obviously, if I have just explained the above in a few paragraphs, it is far to simple for fund managers and investment bankers to be following. They have complex computer programmes that calculate how a price has moved in relation to an index, a sector and the rest of a portfolio. Decisions are far more complex. This of course is for pro's that manage dozens of shares and not the likes of us that manage a few at a time. But for managing a few at a time, the above is a simple and effective method to lose much less and profit more in the market.
If you want to really see it in action, the best thing I can suggest is to find a few sheets of graph paper, draw a graph and start following a share price each day. Add the stop-loss at, say, 10% below the current price and keep plotting the graph over a few weeks. Every time the shares hit a new high, increase that stop-loss. If the share price stays the same or falls just plot an extra day without altering the stop-loss. Pretty soon, it will all become very clear and remarkably simple to operate.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Lagrangian Points and Nasa's Plan to Explore Space
Nasa is relying on the existence of Lagrangian points between every set of planetary bodies it intends to explore in order to implement its plan of successful interplanetary space exploration. Although this at first may seem to be a vague and mystical concept, foreign to all but trained astrophysicists, in fact it is really quite simple to understand.
The Lagrangian in physics is merely nothing more than a set of two simpler equations that can be used as an alternative for Newtons second law; force equals mass times acceleration. A Lagrangian point between two bodies exerting competing forces on a body is therefore a point at which the forces are equal and opposite. According to Newtons third law, if the net force on a body is zero, it will stay at rest if at rest and if in motion it will stay in motion.
In mathematical terms, visualize a graph of a big bowl. The Lagrangian point is the point at the very bottom of the bowl. This point represents the point at which the maximum energy, the energy from the bottom of the bowl to the top, must be supplied to kick the body out of the bowl in order to prevent the body from rolling back down to the bottom of the bowl and returning to its energy minimum. Therefore, the point at the minimum of the bowl represents the point of maximum stability in terms of preventing the influence of a net imbalance in the forces of the two gravitational forces on it from disturbing it. This point in question is the orbit which has the most stable velocity and angular momentum. The body acted on could be a space station between two large masses such as the earth and the moon or any two interplanetary bodies of significantly greater mass than the spacecraft.
How this relates to Nasa and its plans for future space travel is that they have the ability to use the Lagrangian formulas to calculate the Lagrangian points between different planetary bodies and therefore to determine the location of these orbits. Therefore, it is possible to build space stations as stepping stones between the earth and the moon, the moon and Mars, and on and on as far as you want to go. As it would be unrealistic to expect any spacecraft to be able to return to earth from far out in space in the case of an emergency or the need to make repairs, this makes the possibility of extending space travel outwards into the solar system and theoretically beyond feasible within the constraints of our technology and budgetary considerations.
Sources:
1) NASA Reveals New Plan for the Moon, Mars & Outward
By Leonard David; Senior Space Writer Space.com
Nasa is relying on the existence of Lagrangian points between every set of planetary bodies it intends to explore in order to implement its plan of successful interplanetary space exploration. Although this at first may seem to be a vague and mystical concept, foreign to all but trained astrophysicists, in fact it is really quite simple to understand.
The Lagrangian in physics is merely nothing more than a set of two simpler equations that can be used as an alternative for Newtons second law; force equals mass times acceleration. A Lagrangian point between two bodies exerting competing forces on a body is therefore a point at which the forces are equal and opposite. According to Newtons third law, if the net force on a body is zero, it will stay at rest if at rest and if in motion it will stay in motion.
In mathematical terms, visualize a graph of a big bowl. The Lagrangian point is the point at the very bottom of the bowl. This point represents the point at which the maximum energy, the energy from the bottom of the bowl to the top, must be supplied to kick the body out of the bowl in order to prevent the body from rolling back down to the bottom of the bowl and returning to its energy minimum. Therefore, the point at the minimum of the bowl represents the point of maximum stability in terms of preventing the influence of a net imbalance in the forces of the two gravitational forces on it from disturbing it. This point in question is the orbit which has the most stable velocity and angular momentum. The body acted on could be a space station between two large masses such as the earth and the moon or any two interplanetary bodies of significantly greater mass than the spacecraft.
How this relates to Nasa and its plans for future space travel is that they have the ability to use the Lagrangian formulas to calculate the Lagrangian points between different planetary bodies and therefore to determine the location of these orbits. Therefore, it is possible to build space stations as stepping stones between the earth and the moon, the moon and Mars, and on and on as far as you want to go. As it would be unrealistic to expect any spacecraft to be able to return to earth from far out in space in the case of an emergency or the need to make repairs, this makes the possibility of extending space travel outwards into the solar system and theoretically beyond feasible within the constraints of our technology and budgetary considerations.
Sources:
1) NASA Reveals New Plan for the Moon, Mars & Outward
By Leonard David; Senior Space Writer Space.com
The Modern EKG Machine
Perhaps one of the most useful 20th century technologies for the diagnosis of heart disease is the electrocardiogram (EKG) machine. Although much more bulky and heavy than the modern EKG machines in use today, the first device was built at the turn of the century and was considered a huge advancement in medicine. Unlike its bulky ancestors, the modern EKG machine is lightweight and portable; most clinics have them on rolling tables that can be easily transported from room to room.
The use of electrodes for an EKG reading is a relatively new procedure. In the beginning phases of EKG technology, patients were required to place their hands and feet into sodium chloride baths, a conductive method for the faint electric impulses found in the heart. Later, electrical wires were used to transmit heart signals to the machine; eventually the electrodes we use now replaced these wires. If you look at photographs from the late 1800s, the patients look as though they are strapped into an electric chair. Modern methods have made the procedure much more simple, safe, comfortable and accurate.
Today many patients lie on an examination table, although some doctors prefer the electrodes to be attached while the patient is performing moderate exercise. Some patients may be asked to ride a stationary bike or walk on a treadmill. Exercising while attached to the EKG machine may often give the technician or your doctor a better understanding of your heart-function pattern during physical strain.
The electrodes are attached to the EKG machine through cables that produce a graph of your hearts pattern. Typically 10 to 12 electrodes are attached to the patient and lead to the EKG machine. The electrodes pick up electric impulses that are emitted through various points on the body. The EKG machine converts the impulses into readable waves. The waves are then amplified and displayed on a digital screen for the technician to monitor. While monitoring heart activity, the EKG machine continuously prints the patterns onto a graph that can later be interpreted by the attending technician or your physician.
Perhaps one of the most useful 20th century technologies for the diagnosis of heart disease is the electrocardiogram (EKG) machine. Although much more bulky and heavy than the modern EKG machines in use today, the first device was built at the turn of the century and was considered a huge advancement in medicine. Unlike its bulky ancestors, the modern EKG machine is lightweight and portable; most clinics have them on rolling tables that can be easily transported from room to room.
The use of electrodes for an EKG reading is a relatively new procedure. In the beginning phases of EKG technology, patients were required to place their hands and feet into sodium chloride baths, a conductive method for the faint electric impulses found in the heart. Later, electrical wires were used to transmit heart signals to the machine; eventually the electrodes we use now replaced these wires. If you look at photographs from the late 1800s, the patients look as though they are strapped into an electric chair. Modern methods have made the procedure much more simple, safe, comfortable and accurate.
Today many patients lie on an examination table, although some doctors prefer the electrodes to be attached while the patient is performing moderate exercise. Some patients may be asked to ride a stationary bike or walk on a treadmill. Exercising while attached to the EKG machine may often give the technician or your doctor a better understanding of your heart-function pattern during physical strain.
The electrodes are attached to the EKG machine through cables that produce a graph of your hearts pattern. Typically 10 to 12 electrodes are attached to the patient and lead to the EKG machine. The electrodes pick up electric impulses that are emitted through various points on the body. The EKG machine converts the impulses into readable waves. The waves are then amplified and displayed on a digital screen for the technician to monitor. While monitoring heart activity, the EKG machine continuously prints the patterns onto a graph that can later be interpreted by the attending technician or your physician.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Is Candy Corn Actually Good For Kids? Do The Math And See
Does all the sugar in candy corn have you wondering whether or not it is good for your kids? In some ways, it just might be. Candy corn could possibly boost thinking skills and improve grades! After letting them eat their fill, have your kids use the candy corn for some math lessons.
On a very basic level, the orange, yellow, and white triangles can help teach colors and shapes. Mix them with some M&M's for a sorting exercise for little fingers. Have children arrange them together to make new shapes.
Need something a little more challenging? Try using the little candies for board game markers. Candy corn bingo is fun - with the numbers on the grid providing answers to equations and the candies marking the spots. Kids can graph different amounts of candy corn. Making spinners from cardboard with the arrows shaped like candy corn can provide another fun way of working with numbers.
Have you ever noticed that the little pieces - if turned on their sides - look like "greater than" or "less than" signs? Kids may enjoy unequal equations much more if they are using candy for the answers.
And what about some story problems? Tommy has 14 pieces of candy corn. If he steals his sister's 8 pieces, how many will he have in all? Since the story problem is quite versatile, candy corn is still helpful when the degree of difficulty is stretched a little. Maybe the kids should find the square root of the number of pieces of candy corn that Tommy has. Or maybe Tommy's stash of candy corn is going to grow exponentially over the entire month of October! Lucky Tommy.
How much does each individual piece of candy corn cost? That is a great math/life question. Which store offers the best price? Try weighing the candy corn - or maybe try weighing the children after they have eaten a few bags of it!
An enormous jar full of candy corn provides a great guessing/estimating game. And the jar will be award to the person with the closest answer. There is some mathematical way of making a fairly accurate guess. Is the prize worth the trouble of revisiting some old high school formulas?
Some geometry students might enjoy the Internet Math Challenge from the University of Idaho. The problem involves pretending the piece of candy is a perfect cone and reconfiguring its color's dimensions. Then again, maybe "enjoy" is too strong a word.
Math and candy corn unite in the world of fiction. Check out the books Who Brought the Candy Corn? by Judy Ann Brown and The Candy Corn Contest by Patricia Reilly Giff for some interesting reading as well as exercises in logic.
Talk about brain food! Perhaps candy corn will become the poster candy for educators everywhere. Not likely. But, hopefully, adding a little tasteful fun to a math lesson may encourage thinking and learning. It might also give the old excuse "the dog ate my homework" a little more credence.
Does all the sugar in candy corn have you wondering whether or not it is good for your kids? In some ways, it just might be. Candy corn could possibly boost thinking skills and improve grades! After letting them eat their fill, have your kids use the candy corn for some math lessons.
On a very basic level, the orange, yellow, and white triangles can help teach colors and shapes. Mix them with some M&M's for a sorting exercise for little fingers. Have children arrange them together to make new shapes.
Need something a little more challenging? Try using the little candies for board game markers. Candy corn bingo is fun - with the numbers on the grid providing answers to equations and the candies marking the spots. Kids can graph different amounts of candy corn. Making spinners from cardboard with the arrows shaped like candy corn can provide another fun way of working with numbers.
Have you ever noticed that the little pieces - if turned on their sides - look like "greater than" or "less than" signs? Kids may enjoy unequal equations much more if they are using candy for the answers.
And what about some story problems? Tommy has 14 pieces of candy corn. If he steals his sister's 8 pieces, how many will he have in all? Since the story problem is quite versatile, candy corn is still helpful when the degree of difficulty is stretched a little. Maybe the kids should find the square root of the number of pieces of candy corn that Tommy has. Or maybe Tommy's stash of candy corn is going to grow exponentially over the entire month of October! Lucky Tommy.
How much does each individual piece of candy corn cost? That is a great math/life question. Which store offers the best price? Try weighing the candy corn - or maybe try weighing the children after they have eaten a few bags of it!
An enormous jar full of candy corn provides a great guessing/estimating game. And the jar will be award to the person with the closest answer. There is some mathematical way of making a fairly accurate guess. Is the prize worth the trouble of revisiting some old high school formulas?
Some geometry students might enjoy the Internet Math Challenge from the University of Idaho. The problem involves pretending the piece of candy is a perfect cone and reconfiguring its color's dimensions. Then again, maybe "enjoy" is too strong a word.
Math and candy corn unite in the world of fiction. Check out the books Who Brought the Candy Corn? by Judy Ann Brown and The Candy Corn Contest by Patricia Reilly Giff for some interesting reading as well as exercises in logic.
Talk about brain food! Perhaps candy corn will become the poster candy for educators everywhere. Not likely. But, hopefully, adding a little tasteful fun to a math lesson may encourage thinking and learning. It might also give the old excuse "the dog ate my homework" a little more credence.
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