Students Of Success

The business of investing in stocks is an inventory “buying & selling” business. Naturally, the companies that sell stock to the public want you to buy and hold it forever in order to maintain its value. But if you are buying without any selling, you are literally driving without any brakes. That is a horrifyingly unsafe position for your principal. The most effective defensive brake system for your money is a stop-loss order on your stocks.

A stop-loss order is an order you give your broker to sell your shares if a stock falls below a certain price. You can select a stop-loss price for your stock based upon chart patterns or a percentage drop from your purchase price. And some brokers automatically move them as a stock moves up in price to lock-in profits for you.

The first time I learned this lesson (not the last unfortunately), I was just 18 years old. One of my early stock purchases, recommended by a stockbroker from a famous brokerage firm, was stock in a famous airline - just before it trailed off into bankruptcy. Had I read this article before the airlines’ financial calamity, I would have rescued most of my $5,000 and prevented my own financial calamity.

But you cry, “The greatest investor Warren Buffett is a buy & hold investor!” No, I’m afraid he is not. Mr. Buffett mainly buys whole companies or controlling interest in a company. He buys control so that if there are problems with the company, he can hire/fire/make changes. If there are critical problems with the company whose stock you own, the only control you have to protect your principal is to sell.

When a public company goes bankrupt, 70% of the time the shareholders receive no money at all. How many stocks do you want in your portfolio worth $0? I know exactly how many that I want, and I know that stop-loss orders prevent it from happening.

There are a few “loss-recovery” methods, but you’ll never sell enough covered calls to recover from a stock trading under $5, or be able to buy puts on a stock that has been de-listed from an exchange. But the nearly certain protection is to place a stop-loss order on the stocks you own. You can choose any percentage loss amount (5%-25%) based on your experience, but you must have a stop-loss order in place to protect your capital.

There a zillions of old stock market sayings. Here is one of them for those of you who are still skeptical, “If the smart-money has sold and moved on, what type of money still own the stock?”

investing.real-solution-center.com

As a firearm instructor, you might not believe how many times I hear from someone that they would like to own a gun, but their spouse will not allow it because they have kids in the house. On a grand scale, I understand and agree with the REASONING behind this feeling. It’s a parent’s job to keep their children safe, and no one wants to bring something into the home that is dangerous to their child.

However, while I agree with wanting to keep children safe from harm, I must disagree with the blanket thought that guns in the home are by themselves inherently dangerous. With proper education, storage, and supervision, firearms are no more dangerous than any other tool. I am not in the habit of making broad demands on how others should act. Generally, I teach options and tell the reasons for using each of those options. I can tell you how I deal with this issue of guns in my home with my child and hopefully give prospective to other parents who question guns in the home.

When I was growing up, my parents were not anti-gun, but they were anti-me-having-a-gun. There were guns in my home. My dad was a law enforcement officer and as such always had at least one handgun in the home. My father subscribed to the “old school” policy on kids and guns. Dad said, “Boy, I’ve got a gun in that closet, and if I ever catch you playing with it, you’ll wish you hadn’t”. Well, being the bright child I was, I figured that meant as long as I applied my gun handling skills I learned on TV to keep me from accidentally firing the gun, and I put it back EXACTLY as I found it, I could pose in the mirror in my gunfighter stance whenever I was alone in the house. Luckily I never fired the pistol into the mirror or myself. As I got older, dad did take me out shooting once or twice. We even went hunting once, but they never let me have my own gun so I always had that curiosity.

I imagine that even if there were no guns in my home and if my parents forbid me to even mention guns, I would find someone to let me see one (It happened just like that with a motorcycle, but since mom still doesn’t know about that, we won’t get into details…). The above two examples are the first two of the three most common attitudes parents that I have spoke with have toward children and guns. I subscribe to the third.

In my house we have a smart and independent 7 year old girl. She thinks for herself and is not afraid to abandon what she has been told, if she thinks she knows better. What I have to do first is keep her from being able to access the firearms if she chooses to disregard my gun rules, This is not foolproof. Kids have an uncanny ability to find what they are looking for. I am sure at some point in her life she will find the gun safe keys.

For the second step, we have taught her the NRA’s Eddie Eagle gun safe rules. This strategy was to teach the child what to do if they find a gun. The rules are simple and effective. Eddie Eagle says if the child sees a gun they should: stop, don’t touch, leave the area, and tell an adult. These rules are particularly important, as over 50% of American households have firearms. If she is visiting a friend’s house, we do not want her to try to tell another child not to play with a gun, as that might cause that child to point the gun at our child in order to tease her. We want her safely away from any unsecured gun, not to act like she is in charge of it.

The last thing we do is take away her curiosity. My wife and I took her to the range, and she watched her momma shoot a pistol. I sat with our child and explained to her about guns and answered all her questions. This did not work too well because even with hearing protection, my child thought the handguns were too loud. She did not want to be around them. We then got her a BB rifle. We let her shoot it when she asks to, but she doesn’t really like it very much. Furthermore we don’t force her, but she knows if she wants to shoot, she can as long as she asks and her mother or I take her.

This works well for us. We keep the guns in a locked safe and the ammo locked in a separate room (this does not include our personal carry firearms; they are kept out of reach but not locked up, as they are considered to always be in use.). We taught our child firearm safety rules, particularly what to do if they encounter a gun outside the home. Lastly, we took away her curiosity by exposing her to firearms and what they can do and allowing her the privilege to own her very own BB rifle that she can use when supervised. As she gets older, we plan on increasing her exposure to firearms, but at this point we think she is only ready for the basics.

As the parent, you are the best judge of what your child is ready for. This is only a guideline for when your child asks about guns for the first time. For us, it was when my wife told me to look out the window, and our little girl was on the porch with a red rubber training pistol in one hand, a rubber training knife in the other, and yelling “Pay attention! I am trying to give you a class!” to the family dog. My wife told me I created a monster. It was pretty cute though and served to reinforce in my mind the responsibilities I have toward being a positive role model. If I am unsafe in my attitude toward guns, I can be sure my kid will take notice.

David is a former U.S. Marine Corps noncommissioned officer, correctional supervisor and firearms instructor for the TN Dept. of Correction. He is presently commissioned as an operations officer for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. He holds firearm instructor ratings with the NRA, TN Dept of Safety, TN Dept of Commerce and Insurance, TN Department of Correction, and the State of Utah. For articles or advice visit his website Shepherd School Inc at www.tngun.com

Sailing as an activity, leisure pursuit or used as a business tool is particular rewarding. There are also extraordinary sailing and yachting events that make it equally exhilarating & can be something that the whole members of the family are capable to go and watch all at once. One of the most popular weeks of the sailing agenda is the Skandia Cowes Regatta Week; this boating event takes place year on year & has been functioning since 1826 that makes it the longest running event on the planet. With more than seven-hundred sailing vessels and 6,000 contestants partaking, being watched by well over seventy-thousand spectators every day Skandia Cowes week has been given the title as 1 of the crucial yachting business hospitality and community occasion of the full year.

The 8500 sailors involve Olympic and world class professionals to learner sailors. Nonetheless, if you’re not chipping in yourself, observing the yachting, taking pleasure in the parties and live events, and to witness the unique setting, makes it a one of a kind corporate sailing event. Find the best sailing events with Ondeck. Click here to view the Ondeck.co.uk website.

With Ondeck Yachting School, in 2008 begins the launch of their most-up-to-date Regatta Division. Developing on their great position in the yachting & sailing charter market, this has seen Ondeck Sailing, run quite a few first-rate sailing events for organisations, they have lately teamed up with Britannia Sailing Events the head organisers of industry events in the United Kingdom.

The track of the sailing event itself will change each day as reasons like that of the climate circumstances, tidal streams & relative speed of each set of yacht is taken into consideration. A ordinary Cowes Event has over 35 start offs each day for opponents of cruiser series one designs and keelboats; adding to a sum total of over six-thundered powerboats. At this time the Solent which is an extensively busy industrial shipping waterway, is full with boats of all makes & is principally bright owing to the yachts spinnakers. As cited before in addition to the power boating contests the week includes a huge number of onshore events which include live comedy and cocktail parties. From private or commercial residential parties & nominally private sailing societies & boats, there are full-sized marquees set-up in the marinas offering canap©s & champagne.

The call has gone out from President Bush to kick our oil habit. For many people, the mention of biomass as a fuel source was a new concept. Little did they realize they have already been putting it into their cars. Nope, that isn’t your dad’s gas anymore.

There are Plants in My Gasoline?

In his State of the Union speech, President Bush made much of the alternative fuel sources available these days. While he should be commended for promoting their use, he perhaps was a bit vague in regard to how far along we are in using biofuels for cars. Most people don’t realize that most government vehicles are already using bioethanol and have been doing so for a number of years. Yep, the government has already switched to bioethanol to improve vehicle performance and reduce air pollution. Now, how often does that occur?

Ethanol is the most widely used biomass fuel for cars these days. In excess of 2.8 BILLION gallons of bio ethanol were used as a gasoline additive in the U.S in 2003. Ethanol is a form of alcohol. It is produced through a process strikingly similar to the beer you find in your local tavern or store. Cellulosic biomass [plant pulp] is turned to mush. The mush is converted to base sugars and those sugars are fermented just like wine and beer. The ethanol is then separated from the sugars giving you instant fuel. This process is considered a biomass production because the starting point is a plant and most is made using a process similar to brewing beer where starch crops are converted into sugars, the sugars are fermented into ethanol, and then the ethanol is distilled into its final form.

In 1990, numerous cities and states were suffering massive pollution problems. Politics being what it is, nobody at the state level was doing much about the problem. Enter the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. These acts included language mandating the sale of oxygenated to cut down on carbon monoxide emissions from cars. The oxygenation was produced by adding bioethanol to the gasoline.

When you’re filling up your car, have you ever notice the patch on the pump with oxygenation language? If so, you were using gasoline with bioethanol in it. And they didn’t even tell you.

Rick Chapo is with SolarCompanies.com, a directory of solar energy companies. Visit our biomass energy page to read more about bioethanol.

Furniture surrounds us everyday of our lives. From the time we wake up to the hours we spend at the office or watching television we use furniture to add comfort and convenience to our lives. That is why it is so important to surround yourself with good quality items that can add the comfort and use you need to your life.

Let us start with bedroom furniture since that is where our days begin. The style and design of the bedroom items should be useful to you. If you need a lot of storage, for example, you can find that there are several options. You could find dressers and shelving options or find a bed that offers drawers under the bed. You’ll need to find items that you enjoy as well. Let’s not forget that the mattress that you use should be at the comfort level that you enjoy as well.

Move on into the kitchen and living space. The table needs to be at the right level. If you have a family of small children, be careful with sharp corners. Need extra storage here? Add in an island counter that can add space and storage. For the living room furniture, think about comfort and support for the back. Look for tables that are the right height and offer a good finish to match the room. Your entertainment center needs room for the TV, VCR, DVD player and any gaming products you have.

Of course, there is also the office. Here you need something professional that meets your needs. Spend a lot of time at your desk? Make sure your desk chair supports your back and posture. Need lots of storage? You’ll find it in file cabinets and shelving units. You can find professional looking furniture pieces or you can look for those that will serve the purpose you need them to first and foremost.

No matter what type of furniture you need, you can find something that suits your needs without a problem. On top of this, you’ll find furniture that you will also enjoy from the beginning of your day until the end. It is even more amazing when you find these pieces in the price range that you need as well. Sure, you can find a wonderful quality about the furniture you use now, but does it really offer you the comfort, style, and look you deserve? If not, you are sure to find pieces that do and do so in a way you can be proud to show off!

Robert Brand
Furniture Directory

OK, so you’ve had a few days of steady rain, and going to the beach isn’t an option. But you’re starting to notice your pasty white skin, and you’d like to do something about it. Or … it’s January, and tanning outside is a little brisk.

So you head to a tanning bed, and — voila! — in a few short minutes, you’ve got that tan you wanted.

What’s the problem with this scenario? You’re inevitably going to get complaints from people who tell you that a tanning bed is somehow dangerous.

Nonsense.

A tanning bed is not “dangerous,” is not a “voluntary coffin,” (to quote my mother’s dermatologist) and isn’t silly.

It’s a way of getting tanned, a way of getting your body’s needed dose of vitamin D.

Your body doesn’t differentiate: the UV rays react on the skin whether you’re out on the sand for a few hours, or spending 10 minutes on a tanning bed.

10 minutes is a good rule of thumb: it’s roughly equal to an hour in the sun. It’s easy, relatively cheap (look for specials) and is especially good for those times when you don’t have time to spend in the sun, or can’t because of the weather.

Of course, watch your time. Most places won’t let you use more than 20 minutes at a pop, but even that’s a long time, if you haven’t had any UV exposure for a while. Start slow, ease in, and enjoy your tan.

And if it’s December, enjoy the envy of your pasty-skinned friends. If your looking good bothers them, suggest they get therapy.

Jim Huffman, RN specializes in natural and alternative healing therapies. His first book is ‘Dare to Be Free: How to Get Control of Your Time, Your Life, and Your Nursing Career,’ and is aimed at helping other nurses find satisfying, dynamic careers. His website is http://www.NetworkForNurses.com and his health blog is at http://www.shababa.blogspot.com

This living relationship is not the flowers’ sole relationship. Don’t be alarmed, your darling flowers aren’t cheating on you! But your flowers have already shared a vital relationship with the florist, who decides which flowers to buy and where to buy them from, who takes care of the flowers even before they are in her possession, and who certainly leaves a personal touch on the flowers, using the talents of artistry and style to create a bouquet you won’t want to take your eyes off. Thus, it is the florist who prepares your flowers for you — not only in the beauty of a bouquet, but also in the care that the flowers will expect us to continue giving them.

Thanks to today’s leaps in technology, specifically communication and transportation, a flower growing in Mexico, for example, can be transported to France within the span of twenty-four hours. Of course, this seemingly simple statement involves a lot of work. A good florist will scan the world market for quality and prices. Naturally, flowers that can be bought locally will be, as they will have less distance to travel, and arrive at the florist’s shop quickly and safely. Since, however, freesias don’t often bloom near London in January, a large quantity of cut-flowers do use their frequent flyer cards as they make the trip from this to that country, or this to that continent. Needless to say, extreme care goes into preparing these travelers for their voyage. When flowers are coming right from the grower to the florist, they are usually cut right before leaving for the airport (talk about last minute preparations!) and prepared in the trucks on the way to the airport. Flowers that retain water well are laid flat in boxes, while more perishable and exotic flowers are guarded by individual water holders on the stem. In this manner, the well-prepared flowers make their trip. Most flights for these delicate passengers will be extra cool to provide for a most enjoyable flight. Upon arriving, the flowers are transported to cooled trucks which take them to the florist. This exchange — directly from the grower to the florist — is ideal, as the flowers spend less time traveling from here to there, and the costs won’t be increasing as the flower quality is decreasing.

The florist keeps track of the above-mentioned process to ensure the fresh and happy arrival of her materials. Upon receiving the packaged-up bundles of joy, the florist is like a new parent for a few minutes, unwrapping the flowers with utmost care, in order to get the flowers the nutrition and safety they need. However, during the caring and feeding, the florist will consider the new arrivals with much more scrutiny than would the parent of a newborn (or so we hope), checking for imperfections and making sure quality is first-rate. Once the flowers are cut to appropriate lengths and safely refrigerated in water, the florist communicates to the grower that all is well, and ideas are exchanged for future interactions. Communication is a large part of the florist’s job, and this conversation with the grower was certainly not the first, and will not be the last.

A good florist, while being a client of the grower, is also a seller, and knows the importance of communicating with people like you — her clients. And communication with a florist is important. In a job that requires such care for living flowers, as well as artistic talent in arranging, the busy florist is never too busy to hear your input, and in fact needs this important information: if the client is to be happy with the result, communication must be strong between the florist and client. Flowers truly can convey what words cannot say, so the specifics of what type of event, who they’re for, preferences in colors, flowers, textures, even the types of leaves used to give the bouquet body, is important information. Specific holidays, such as Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day will also influence the client’s choices. The florist needs your feedback to create the right bouquet. Watching a florist at work certainly gives the impression of an eccentric or a mad genius at work. Suddenly, a flower that was placed with such care is pulled out of the bouquet with a displeased look, then placed almost identically back in its place. But something is different, and the florist continues working with an appeased mind. Florists are artists, and take care to create the perfect picture, whether it is one conveying carefree joy or somber mourning.

When admiring your bouquet sitting on your dining room table, keep in mind that the florist who arranged it has done much more than arrange. The florist ensures that the quality of the flowers is top notch even before laying eyes on them. The quest for the freshest flowers is now an international search, and the florist makes sure her flowers are treated like first-class passengers during their trip to her store. Once at her door, the florist continues the care she started, dexterously cutting and submerging the stems in water. Happily seeing that the flowers are finally safe and ready for the chef d’oeuvre, the florist will create the masterpiece based on what her client is looking for. The florist, a person of many talents, is, at the end of the day, a businessman, a caretaker, an empathetic listener, and an artist.

This article was sponsored by www.serenataflowers.com, an independent florist. Serenata provides flower delivery within the UK and removes the costly middleman by buying directly from the grower. Fresher than any bouquet you’ll find in traditional flower shops, shop Serenata Flowers for exclusive, well cared for bouquets at reasonable prices. Reproductions of this article are encouraged but must provide a link back to www.serenataflowers.com

Often simple things really matter. And the use of keywords in linking text is one of those simple things that turn out to be hugely important. Linking text, sometimes called anchor text is the clickable text that takes people to another page or resource. You need to choose that text carefully.

On the home page of Linking Matters, I refer people to the latest edition of this newsletter. I could use the linking text, Latest Newsletter: the text is meaningful, clear and wouldn’t need to change every time I published a new issue.

However, I’d be missing out on some important opportunities. Using the actual title of the newsletter - Keyword Phrases in Linking Text is a much better option.

There are two reasons:

* Keyword rich text is more attractive to humans. A casual reader may see ‘Latest Newsletter’ and say so what? By using the title ‘Keyword Phrases in Linking Text’ I’ve told the visitor what the article is about and offered two hooks that they might be interested in - ‘keyword phrases’ and ‘linking text’. As a result the click through rate will be higher.

* The text that links to a particular page gives Google and other search engines clues as to what the page is about. ‘Latest Newsletter’ provides little information while the actual title of the newsletter contains at least two important keyword phrases.

In highly competitive situations the extra ‘points’ that Google gives can mean the difference from appearing on the first page of results and appearing nowhere.

Therefore to embark on an effective link building campaign you must be aware of your important keyword phrases and incorporate them into your titles and linking text. You also need to influence the words external webmasters use to link to you.

Title text

Including keywords in title text is attractive to human visitors as well as being a fundamental search engine marketing tactic. Your title also has the opportunity to influence the words that an external webmaster may use when linking to your site.

If your title is meaningful and useful, another webmaster is likely copy it, or at least edit it rather than go to the trouble of creating their own linking text.

Linking text

There are two types of linking text to consider - internal and external. As far as Google is concerned, internal and external linking text are both important.

The internal linking text that you use is completely within your control so you have opportunities to use keyword rich linking text. Yet many people overlook this and use lazy phrases such as ‘home’, ‘click here’ and ‘read more’. Avoid these phrases and use keyword rich linking text instead.

Introducing variety into linking text is also a good tactic. Good writing in English uses a variety of different ways to say the same thing and keep the reader interested.

Likewise in linking text, use variety. This keeps readers interested and also provides additional information for search engines.

External linking text

This is the linking text that sits on external sites and links to your website. You may think that you’re at the mercy of other webmasters in how they link to your site, but there are many situations where you can control the external text that links to you.

These include:

* Reciprocal links where you can ask for specific linking text to be used.

* Directory listings where you have editorial control and can specify the exact linking text that points to your site.

* Listing on subsidiary and partner sites.

* In bylines to articles that you publish. Many sites will allow you to specify not only the linking text but the text that surrounds the link.

* Links that you buy will always allow you to specify linking text and will nearly always allow you extra descriptive text.

After that you do depend on how individual webmasters decide to link to your site. The best way to influence this is to write good titles and linking text in the first place. Then all the webmaster has to do is to cut and paste.

Even if the webmaster decides to write his own text, what you have written will influence how he does that and at least some of your keyword phrases are likely to be included.

Finding Keyword Phrases

To help determine your most effective keyword phrases, use the excellent Wordtracker service at http://www.wordtracker.com or use an expert such as Dan Thies at http://www.seoresearchlabs.com to do the job for you - his keyword reports are terrific value at $99 and highly recommended.

Initially, this may seem like a lot of work but the benefits can be tremendous. If you plan methodically and practice, using keyword phrases in your linking text will become second nature - and a highly effective way of engaging your website visitors and boosting your search engine results.

---

Ken McGaffin is author of The Linking Matters Report and publishes a regular newsletter on linking strategy. He provides training and consultancy in
link building and online marketing.

The NovTel GPS system is definitely something to talk about and indeed becoming quite famous as it just happened to be the GPS system riding on board of Stanford University’s Volkswagon which just happen to win the DARPA Grand Challenge and the 2-million dollar cash prize. If you will recall the DARPA Grand Challenge had over 50 challengers driving vehicles through desert course almost 200-miles long, without any driver.

The UGV Unmanned Ground Vehicle nicknamed “Stanley” averaged 19.1 miles per hour that day. Stanley completed the race with the NovAtel’s Propak(R)LBplus with Omnistar HP Service for precise positioning data aboard. It worked better than all the others including super star Grad students from such notable Universities as Cal-Tech, Berkeley, Virigina Tech, Georgia Tech, MIT and Carnegie Mellon all known for their robust robotic prowess.

The NovTel Propak GPS receiver coupled with the OmniSTAR L-band signals was able to correct its movements while it drove through the tough course. The accuracy is said to be within such tight tolerances that their was no competition at that point. The system even was able to make quick transitions while coming from GPS blackouts in tunnels, without error. The winning combination is something to talk about and the NovTel Propak is indeed the system of choice and the race for robotic warfare continues.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Big trampolines can be to a large extent entertaining in addition to being able to keep your youngsters fascinated & busy for a lot of hours. Specific trampolines are not just entertaining for children, as many can additionally be used by older men as an aerobic drill on top of a means for toning and strengthen leg muscles all at once. With this in mind a trampoline has so much to provide throughout June for the entire family and for this reason it is of no shock that trampolines are such an admired outdoor toy throughout the sunny period. If you’re looking to find great offers on outdoor toys then there’s no better place to check out than http://www.toy-shopper.co.uk.

The important thing bear in mind when looking for a large trampoline is to ensure it’s right for the age & ability of all the people who will likely to be using it, be it the toddlers’ or the mature people.

An added thing to remember is naturally going to be the location of the trampoline. A quantity of trampolines these days can require up a substantial amount of garden space considering you will want about three feet of grass approximately around the outer surface of the trampoline in order for the teenagers to dismount in one piece if they indivertibly fly off.

It is also important to note that many trampolines will require to be installed on flat land or else the robustness & well-being of the bouncy trampoline can be seriously affected. With this in mind, various ditches possibly will need to be dug in order for the outdoor trampoline to stand appropriately.