Why use solar power - 6 great reasons

Perhaps you are happy with the status quo of today. Perhaps you feel all is fine and you don't feel the need to change a system that's worked for over a century. If you do, consider a few of these benefits to solar power and you may just recognize its potential in a somewhat more responsible, yet selfish, light.

I don't care about the environment?

Perhaps everything in the world is fine with your life. The last thing you care about are trees, fresh air and clean water. Heck, the water shows up every time you turn on a faucet, the heat comes on when it's cold, the light switch brings you light. What's there to worry about? Consider that this is just the problem. If you don’t care for the environment, the faucet may not bring you clean water, the heat may not go on and the car certainly will not start. If the environment is kept clean and left to do what it was intended to do, everything will continue to work fine. But get in its way and everything you thought was fine won’t be for long.

One way to accomplish the goal of keeping all the comforts of home working properly is by using other sources of power generation like the sun, not generating nasty things that get in the way of the environment doing its job. Current sources of power come from dead things like old forests gone millennium ago. Environmentally responsible power, heat and transport come from living or energized things like water and oxygen molecules. Sun can be turned into electricity and used to power your car, heat your home and generate your light. But to make the process work, you need to be able to see the sun, which means caring for the environment and not getting in its way.

Cost savings

One of the best things about caring for the suns ability to do its job is that it saves you money in the long run. Once solar systems are purchased and installed, they cost little if anything to operate. In most instances, the government will even help to pay for the upfront costs of installing the system through tax incentives. Additionally, power companies in most regions are required to pay you for energy that you have generated and not used. Yes, you read correctly, the power company will pay you!

Profitable

In most instances, 70% of the northern hemisphere can generate enough solar power to run and heat their homes with existing solar systems. This means that whatever is left over goes back to the power grid if you so choose. Just think of your power meter running backwards. The extra power you need for that cloudy day is stored in ever more efficient batteries. Most current users indicate that the use of solar systems only takes a little thought in power management.

Off the grid

Depending upon how you feel about the topic, one of the better reasons to use solar power is that you can take yourself off the "grid" so to speak. Many people don’t enjoy being a part of the social collective that is interconnectivity. Going solar takes you away from this one aspect of community and puts you closer to self reliance.

Versatile

Even though the solar power generation systems of today have come a long way to providing power, heat and a host of other services there is a long way to go. This is not to indicate, however, that solar power is not currently versatile in form and function. Solar panels can currently be formed into thin sheets to for car top electric powered cars. They can cover suburban rooftops and not be noticed, unlike those 1970’s units. Costs are also coming down almost as fast as the flat screen TV’s of today. Flat screens that solar power can power up through the use of a process called photovoltaic’s.

Personal responsibility

Past the cost savings and environmental benefits that solar power brings you should consider using it because you are part of a larger social order that will procreate. The human species has not been around for all that long and is doing its best to end its run in one way or another. If you would like to give your children’s children a better shot at continuing the human species run on this planet solar power is one small contribution that you can make all by your little self.

Genes and weight loss pills

Ever wonder why people try to lose weight by dieting and weight training and only see minimal results? What are they doing wrong? Medical specialists believe that genes play a major factor in this losing weight. These specialists believe that genes determine one's body type. Some body types contain more body fat than others and vice-versa. They believe that everyone has inherited and specific body types. Body types have been categorized into three basic categories: ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph.

Body types elaborated

The ectomorph body is tall and thin. This body can be distinguished by light bones and small muscles. Studies show ectomorphs encounter difficulty gaining weight and body mass no matter how hard they train or even if they eat the right food. Some see it as a blessing, others see it as a disadvantage. Other noticeable physical qualities of an ectomorph include a slightly built body, flat chest, and small shoulders. People with this kind of body usually have low body fat. These people may experience difficulty in terms of weight gain and muscle development.

The endomorph body, on the other hand, is round and soft. People with this body type carry more fat in their body. Their body weight and body fat refuse to drop no matter how hard they exercise and diet, which can be attributed to metabolic problems. According to researchers, endomorphs produce too much insulin as they metabolize carbohydrates. When this happens, fat storage is increased and difficulty in losing existing fat occurs. This is the reason why weight loss is extremely difficult for endomorphs. These people may take prescription weight loss pills and still notice minimal or no weight loss at all.

The mesomorph body is generally muscular and short. The mesomorph possess toned muscles and huge bones. Specialists believe that people with this kind of body tend to develop muscle mass when they do strength training because of high muscle growth rate and high proportion of muscle growth tissue.

The best weight loss pills may fail

Healths specialists claim that no matter how hard people workout, eat the right kind of food, or seek medication some people may never lose their flabs. When people seriously and earnestly try to lose weight yet still fail, it may be their genetics that is working against them. They may even take diet pills and fail. For some people, being fat is just a “genetic fact” of life.

It is important to understand that one's weight and body fat percentage is not necessarily the measure of one's health. Poor diet and lack of exercise may be the more serious causes of health problems rather than the mere presence of flab.

Building business success through outsourcing

Outsourcing is no stranger to controversy. Ever since Russell Kelly Office Services paved the way for onshore outsourcing in 1946, onshore and offshore outsourcing have had their fair share of critics. It used to be an issue of exploitation of cheap labor for personal business gains. Then companies themselves became disgruntled with the outsourcing model because of their unrealistic expectations of cost savings and ROI which failed to meet any of their expectations.

Problems with vendors and poor communication channels were also just some of the hurdles companies and suppliers had to deal with. But given all the cynicism, outsourcing has continued to gain in momentum, proving to skeptics that with a comprehensive strategy in place, outsourcing is a real force to be reckoned with for sheer business proficiency.

Medical device companies are a prime example of how outsourcing almost every phase of their product development to the right contract manufacturer, can give them the edge in a very highly competitive sector. It is this almost perfect marriage of specialized knowledge and expertise shared between an OEM and the contract manufacturer that determines the outcome of an outsourcing venture.

It used to be the case when OEMs had to resort to using a number of outsourcing companies to accomplish specific tasks to produce a single product. There was one company for the design process, another for the manufacturing process and another for marketing the end product. It is here that outsourcing perhaps, exposes its weakest link due to the law of diminishing returns, where productivity is affected when too many people get involved.

It’s for this reason that today, a growing number of contract manufacturers have made it their priority to set themselves apart from the competition and provide an all round solution for OEMs. Meaning, these contract manufacturers don’t just turn OEMs’ visions into prototypes and shut its door when the pilot is completed. Their outsourcing services now extend to customized solutions for each OEM client; regulatory assistance; supply chain management and after-market support.

Not only will OEMs reduce costs by using a contract manufacturer that caters to every operations function, but OEMs will now also be able to speed up production of quality breakthrough products to stoke up higher sales. This is such an understated advantage, which bears repeating. Working with a contract manufacturer that performs all the heavy lifting for an OEM, like managing the entire supply chain for instance, is a huge burden lifted off for an OEM.

This value proposition of cost-saving, profit-boosting and value-added services has been the win-win situation that outsourcing has been preaching all along. Outsourcing was never about producing low-cost products just for the sake of efficiency, not especially in an innovative market such as the medical device sector.

A contract manufacturer delivering full service outsourcing also benefits by understanding more about its client’s technology, expanding its knowledge base which ultimately, can only bode well for the end user. If innovation is to continue to flourish, then full-service contract manufacturers must adopt a keen interest in learning about the OEM’s market it is serving.

Outsourcing done correctly will carry an OEM and a contract manufacturer into a strategic partnership that can reap benefits for years to come. It is evident then that thoughtful contract manufacturer selection is essential, if business goals of an OEM are to be met. And it all starts with a multidisciplinary contract manufacturer skilled in innovative product designs, engineering expertise and project management skills - all components that determine the success, or failure of a medical device company.

The home business journey the preparation

You might now be tossing the idea of establishing your own business. You might be imagining freedom, and if you have a 9-5 job you might be saying to yourself that this kind of job was never meant for you. If you are a student you might be saying to yourself that you will never put yourself under somebody else's authority and generate profit for somebody else.

If you are serious then you should prepare yourself for the journey. When you are going for a journey you start listing the things you will need.

To have your own business then you must really be prepared. The first thing you need to prepare is yourself. Yes, you must prepare your mind as the journey will not be full of roses. The gardens of Eden are your destination and along your path.

Because of the huge obstacles that are extremely difficult to overcome at this point in time in your life, you know that you will not have access to resources that will enable you to open a Franchise or your own offline operation. At this point your mind might be set at venturing into an online business because of the limited amount of investment needed for such a business.

The first thing that you need to prepare right from the beginning is your expectations. A home business is still a business and all the rules of business apply. Why are we saying this?

Most of the people who start searching for a home business get so excited when they read and hear about all the different opportunities available online. They forget that they have started the search for a business and they start expecting to get rich within few months. If that was true then you would have found all those big corporations are empty and out of employees.

This fact should not disappoint you, on the contrary this means that you will be among the very few who understand the real nature of home business and it will enable you to continue the journey while finding others returning after a couple of hundred yards and sticking to their jobs.

If you know this fact, then you will be able to mentor the people that you will eventually sponsor according to this fact. You will have an organization full of people who know the real nature of home business. This organization will have solid foundations and will be able to grow much better than most of the organizations in this field.

The second thing that you need to prepare yourself for is that you will have bad days or even bad months. This should not mean that the business is not working. Your home business is an online business, and one of the major differences between online and offline businesses is the location.

In an offline business you might be the only one who is providing this business in the neighborhood. In Online Business the internet is the neighborhood.

In an offline business you might choose a location with high traffic with many by passers who would be able to locate you easily. In Online business you can only choose a product or service of high demand, but to create traffic is your own job. Accidental traffic is never something that you can depend on in online business.

Therefore, the momentum of traffic has to be built one brick at a time, and this needs consistency, time and patience especially when we do not have enough funds to overspend on advertising.

You need to think about those two things a lot, and you need to prepare your mind before you start your home business journey.

The first is to Prepare and control your expectations. The second is to survive the bad times with consistency and patience.

This way you are prepared to start your home business journey with the right mindset.

The road from saigon. memories of vietnam

I forget why I was in Saigon. I imagine it was to see some girl I'd met before I was posted to Baria. I must have stayed overnight and had to get back that evening to be ready for duty the next day. It was too late to get a flight so I did the obvious thing and took a taxi. There were cars with chauffeurs one could hire. Big powerful American cars. There were French cars with seats for eight or ten people where one could buy a place. But I had only been in the country a month or two and I didn't know this. So I took a Saigon taxi, a venerable old Renault 4cv. The driver had vaguely heard of Vungtau and as I offered a lot of money he agreed to take me.

All went well down the Bien Hoa highway. It had theoreticaly three lanes in either direction. Or at least I think it did because in practise the concept of lanes was alien to the Vietnamese mind. Let's just say that there were two flows of traffic going in opposite directions. Flows made up of every conceivable type of transport imaginable overtaking on your left or right, no matter. From big US duce and a halfs all the way down to overladen motor scooters. The inevitable three-wheeled-scooter-powered-taxi-cum-all-purpose-goods-transport. The only thing I never saw were tanks. They did appear from time to time but then everything else vanished. I've never been down that twenty (?) mile stretch of highway without seeing a major, often fatal accident.

After the highway we passed by rubber plantations of sinister reputation. In the heat of the day rubber plantations are delightfuly cool. But they feel really spooky. Too many things have happened in them to ever enjoy being there. This area would later be the responsibility of Thai soldiers. Mostly known for having very effectively shelled there own base.

Evening was drawing to a close and the car's radiator started giving cause for trouble. The driver kept on getting out to go and find water in what were probably the beginings of the mangrove swamps. Night falls suddenly in the east and suddenly it was dark. The Renault either had no lights or the driver chose not to advertise our presence by using them; the darkness was total.

Part 2

I am able to retain that great British calm in periods of stress. Outwardly it appears admirable. Inwardly it is what I call one of the shades of fear. I was to get to know all the shades of fear over the coming years. Discipline helps one blanket out reality. One functions normally, one is completely without emotion. When one returns to the real world it leaves no trace. One's mind has been completely protected. It is also rather suicidal unless you are born with the luck of the Irish.

The road that led to Baria had been the scene of a particularly bloody ambush shortly before. The hills that lay back a short distance from the road were infested with Viet Cong.

In the camp we had become a little concerned. The Viet Cong were often setting up road blocks and any foreigner who accidently strayed too far on the wrong day disappeared. Later an Australian division would move in to try to clear the area. Admirable soldiers they were not there at that time.

There was a worrying crunching sound and the car came to a holt. Silence. We got out. The car was tangled up in a mess of barbed wire. We waited, but there was no movement, the area appeared to be deserted. Had the Viet Cong laid the barbed wire? Was it left over from a previous road block earlier in the evening? Were they preparing something for the next morning? All traffic was forbidden on that road at night from dusk to dawn. Only a certifiable nutter would use it. We had four flat tyres. Somewhere deep inside me I felt really scared but managed to suppress it somehow. We got in and limped along for what seemed ages. The tyres were in shreds. I doubt if the wheels were any better. We finally arrived in Baria. I gave the driver some more money and took one of the three wheeled taxis from Baria to Vungtau. That stretch of the road was relatively secure in the day. Dodgy at night, forbidden also to traffic, it was complete heaven to what I had just been through.

Surefire ways to repair your credit

If you have bad credit, are in debt, or are tired of getting turned down for credit or loans, then this is for you. A lot of people assume there are no negative marks on their credit report, when in fact there may be errors contained in your report that you don't even know about.

Your credit history is a record of how you are currently managing your credit accounts and how you have handled your credit in the past. If you have bad credit, you may find it difficult to get loans, mortgages, credit cards, or do things that require a good credit history.

There are proven techniques you can use to get your life back together.

The first step is to review your credit report. Before you start guessing about your credit report, order a copy of your report. If you have been denied credit within the past 60 days, the credit bureau will provide you with a copy of your report free.

Once you have received your report, carefully review the items and note any inaccurate, incorrect, erroneous, misleading, or outdated information. If you are showing negative items you will want to have them removed.

To dispute a negative item on your report, contact the credit bureau that supplied the report and tell them what information you believe is inaccurate. Send your letter by certified mail, return receipt requested. You do not want any creditor or credit bureau claiming they did not receive your request.

Once the credit bureau receives your dispute letter, they are obligated to investigate it and inform you of the results of the investigation. They must provide you with an updated copy of your report.

If you disagree with the outcome, you can add a consumer statement to your credit file. The law allows you to file a short statement of 100 words or less on your behalf. The credit bureau is obligated to provide that information to anyone reviewing your credit report.

You may ask that a corrected version of the report be sent to any businesses that received a report on you within the past six months. Job applicants can have corrected versions of their report sent to any employers who received a report for employment purposes during the past two years.

Here are several ways you can begin to rebuild your credit history:

Apply for a charge account at a local department store. Stores will often make you a loan, by means of a charge card. Make sure you will be able to repay the bills on time.

Ask a relative or friend with a good credit record to cosign on your application for a small loan. Pay back the loan exactly according to the terms.

Deposit funds with a financial institution to serve as a collateral for a loan or credit card.

Now that you have the right information, you can look forward to a brand new life with good credit.

Keeping pets in mind when making disaster preparations

As the weather gets warmer, weather conditions can change quickly. Recent hurricanes taught us many hard lessons, but one of the clearest was that pets left behind in a disaster don't fare well. Here are some tips to help prepare your extended family for almost anything:

• Keep a pet carrier ready. Hard-sided carriers and crates often end up in attics or basements, gathering dust until the annual veterinary visit. If you live in an area that is frequently at risk for weather-related disasters, keep your carrier/crate out where it can be easily accessed.

• Prepare a disaster kit for your pet. Include food for five to seven days, jugs of water, a nonbreakable bowl, litter, any medication your pet may be taking, a recent photo (in case your pet gets loose and you need to prepare "lost animal" posters or prove ownership in order to retrieve her from a shelter), a harness or collar and leash and a thick bath or beach towel for safe handling during stressful times.

• Give your pet an identification tag. Nationally, only about 2 percent of stray cats turned into shelters are ever reunited with their guardians, though dogs fare somewhat better at approximately 16 percent. At the very minimum, a dog should always wear a license tag on his or her collar. While a few communities license cats, most do not. Get your cat a break-away collar and identification tag with your cell phone number on it as soon as possible. If your pet wasn't microchipped at the time of adoption, ask your veterinarian to inject your pet with this permanent identification tool and be sure to keep the microchip registry updated whenever you change contact information.

• Organize a neighborhood pet watch. Trade keys with a neighbor who works from home to ensure someone is available to care for-or even evacuate-your pet in case of an emergency, when you can't be there. Provide them with a list of your pet's favorite hide-outs, as stressed animals are particularly adept at disappearing. Let police and fire officials know you harbor animals by placing a "Pets Inside" decal in the window of your front door. Make sure to remove the decal when you move or no longer have a pet, to ensure rescue workers do not endanger themselves looking for pets that are no longer there.

These four easy steps will help you not only protect your animal pals from being left behind when violent weather strikes, but help you and your family reach safety with as much peace of mind as possible. Only one last task awaits. Make sure your community disaster plan makes provisions for animals as well as people.