The Dot Com Miner

Report after report comes in about how many people couldn’t or didn’t escape the wrath of Hurricane Katrina. More reports come in about the disorganized relief effort, the communications problems they’re having and the difficulty in getting survivors to safety even when they are reachable by rescue personnel.

Hopefully, few of us will ever be caught in such a widespread and devastating disaster as Hurricane Katrina. But should a natural or man-made disaster threaten your family or force an evacuation, having a fully-stocked and easily-reached emergency “bug-out” bag could help save your life during the first stages, and help make rescue, recovery and a return to normalcy easier and more successful.

A bug-out bag is basically a duffle bag or other easy to carry luggage piece stocked with the following items:

• Photocopies of important documents such as birth certificates, drivers’ licenses and so on for the entire family. Note: keep the originals in a safe deposit box or other safe place - non-notarized photocopies cannot generally be used for official actions like getting a drivers license, but are more than fine for temporary ID in emergency situations. And don’t forget insurance papers and other items you might need to begin rebuilding.
• A small sum of cash ($20-50) for immediate emergency use.
• A temporary supply of prescription drugs in their originally-labeled containers, regularly rotated for freshness. This is easily done by buying one refill ahead. As you finish your current package or bottle, take the next one out of the bag and replace with a newly purchased refill.
• A supply of meal replacement and energy bars. Look for items that are designed more for calorie and nutrient density, such as protein bars and hikers’ meal bars, rather than those sold as snack products or candy bar substitutes. You can also include dried foods or hiking meals and other lightweight, easy to prepare and eat items such as nuts, small candies and oatmeal packs.
• A water purification kit or hiker’s filter system. Bottled water is bulky, heavy and goes stale quickly. Dirty water, while distasteful, can often be easily found, roughly filtered through cloth to remove large particulate matter and then sterilized for safe drinking. In a worst-case scenario, boiling dirty water for 15 minutes will serve until alternatives can be found.
• A pre-paid phone card and a list of relatives, friends and emergency numbers. Check for expiration date and rotate out or renew as needed.
• A non-battery-dependent, rechargeable flashlight, radio and cell phone charger, if you have a phone (alternatives include solar, squeeze-charge or kinetically charged options). Even when phone service was available, many Katrina survivors could not call out to get help or update relatives because their phones were dead and there was no power. Keep in mind also that even when phone service is spotty, small text messages can sometime get through.
• A multi-tool (the kind with blades, pliers, screwdrivers and so on) for taking care of small but sometimes life-or-death repairs and jury-rigs.
• A small first aid kit containing at least bandages of various sizes, antiseptic ointment, sunscreen, a bottle of contact lens saline solution (good for cleaning injuries and flushing eyes) and OTC pain relievers.
• A safety lighter and a few small candles. Never light these unless you are sure that there is no chance of an explosion from natural gas, propane or other leaking fuels. For safety, use your flashlight for your primary light source. Save the lighter and candles for starting cooking or heating fires.
• An indelible, waterproof black permanent marker (buy new and keep in package until needed, to maintain freshness). Useful for many things including leaving notes for rescuers or others on whatever is at hand, marking your gear at a shelter, and writing ID and medical info on the arms of kids, the elderly, the ill or anyone who may become separated or are unable to speak for themselves. (There are also white markers that can be used for darker-skinned individuals, or simply write on a lighter area of their body). Sturdy hospital or nightclub-style ID bracelets are also handy for this purpose. Note: there is always danger in having children’s ID plainly visible to strangers. Use your best judgment in each situation to weigh the various benefits and concerns.
• Don’t forget the pets! Keep their carriers handy, clean and ready to go. Your kit should have any food, medications, leashes and important papers necessary for them, as well. Not all evacuation shelters will take animals. If you have pets, it is important that you know ahead of time where they can go and how you will take care of them in an emergency.

The bag should be checked and the edibles or expirables rotated at least every 6 months or as needed (schedule a regular check during daylight savings changeovers, when you also check your smoke alarm batteries and do other seasonal activities). Although this will cover most survival situations, you should customize it to fit your needs (toiletries, special gear, food additives, small paperback books, etc). Just keep in mind the weight and size of the final kit and that in an emergency situation you may have to carry it for a long time over rough terrain while tired, hungry or even injured.

Your bug-out kit should be placed near the main entrance and exit, or in an easy-to-reach central location. Every member of the family should know where it is and to make sure it is part of any emergency evacuation. (It is important to stress, however, that no one ever go after any item, even the emergency bag, in the case of a house fire. In that case, focus only on getting out as soon as you can.) Smaller versions of this bag can also be kept in offices and vehicles.

Although having a bug-out kit cannot guarantee your safety, it goes a long way toward ensuring that you and your family have the best chance possible of making it through any unforeseen emergency as healthy and safe as possible.

About the author

Soni Pitts is a professional freelance writer who provides copywriting, editing and related services in addition to her regular freelance work. She also covers the Networking beat as an associate writer for http://www.wordbrains.com>Wordbrains. Need copy? Email Soni at writer@sonipitts.com for more information.

Gaming notebooks were once only for those who had cash and not for the mainstream consumer. The laptops were circulated in tiny volumes but each unit had a high profit margin. These desirable notebook computers were just not affordable. They the the most advanced technology and basically the best laptops. They most likely were not best sellers though because I think most of us buy laptops that we can easily afford. I believe things are already changing though and will continue to because the established manufacturers are all getting into the sector.

These laptop computers have a certain price point and these companies know they don’t have to be price competitive in this case. These companies have probably been losing some cash on lower end systems so this should be an attractive opportunity. In addition they know they can persuade prospects to buy laptops like these more easily than small companies. In my opinion this would really damage littler system builders if they don’t differentiate their unique proposition. Now prospects will have greater options it makes it arduous for the small manufacturers. I think prospects will trust the bigger companies more if they get something high priced.

With that these laptops are additionally considered to be the best laptops already, even when they actually are not. I believe this will still be the ray of hope for littler retailers though. I can determine the choice of being able to configure the laptop to be a fundamental buying decision. Educated in the technology, these types of buyers are really clued up on what details to compare. For particular customers specs and performance data are more important than style. This is outstanding news from a purchasers view. In the end, the prices will be dropped even greater causing high end technology to be an alternative that we can buy. I write that with a high degree of doubt though. Different systems are constantly being introduced and these latest systems normally call for premium prices. The large companies have already started in the gaming laptops niche so we’ll have to wait and see what what the result is I guess.

Getting married is the greatest day for 50 percent of couples. The other 50 percent get divorced. Perhaps the marriage tax penalty has something to do with it.

Family Values - Hardly

For all the chatter from politicians about family values, it is ironic that the tax code actually penalizes people for getting married. At its heart, the tax code is designed to modify behavior. Deductions and credits are given in areas the politicians wish to promote and taken away in areas considered less positive. Home ownership is viewed as a good thing, so mortgage interest is deductible. Cigarettes are bad, so they are taxed like no tomorrow. If you buy this argument, one must wonder why married couples suffer under the tax code.

A recent study found that by getting married, couples are forced to pay roughly $1,500 in additional taxes. Known as the marriage penalty, one must wonder what the government is up to. Is it trying to promote family values or not? The numbers would seem to indicate not.

The marriage penalty is a nasty little development for newlyweds. The penalty occurs because married couples must pool their earnings when they report taxes. Typically, this means their pooled earnings move them into a higher tax bracket and they pay more taxes. For instance, assume husband makes $45,000 a year as does wife. As a married couple, their pooled income is $90,000 with the accompanying tax consequences. For really doomed couples, the combined income will actually kick in the alternative minimum tax. The AMT more or less voids many major deductions. In the tax industry, there is a nickname for this situation - the divorce tax.

The marriage penalty has existed for years, yet the politicians have failed to find a fix. They pay lip service to the idea, but no major changes have been made to fix the problem. The best they have come up with is doubling the standard deduction for married couples, but this has had little impact since most couples itemize their deductions.

It appears the marriage tax penalty is here to stay for the foreseeable future. One has to wonder why our family values President didn’t include a fix in his tax cuts.

Richard A. Chapo is with http://www.businesstaxrecovery.com - recovery of business taxes through tax help and tax relief. Visit http://www.businesstaxrecovery.com/articles to read more business tax articles.

This time of year a great many people are thinking about starting their own business. There is nothing like an exciting business idea to kick off the new year in style.

Unfortunately, most of the new businesses we’ll see this month won’t make it through the next quarter. Why? In most cases the business idea was solid, it just didn’t fit the true needs of the owner. To help ensure longevity and success, there are a few things to keep in mind.

First, be honest with yourself about what you expect to get from a business AND what you’re prepared to give the business. You may be concentrating on the parts of the business you really like — like earning a large income — and ignore aspects you won’t like — like selling to customers and completing paperwork.

Yet, in the average business, selling and office administration take up most of your day. To really succeed in most businesses, you have to LIKE selling and customer service. If you don’t do those things well or don’t have the proper attitude, you simply won’t be able to stick around, much less reach your aggressive income goals.

Even if you don’t mind spending time on all aspects of the business, you may not have the time to commit to it. Most of us have to keep working jobs while we work on a new business. Sometimes we simply don’t have time to succeed.

Fortunately, you can easily outsource the things you don’t like to do while concentrating on the things you do. You can have an outside service prospect for new customers. You can even find others to sell for you such as marketing call centers, affiliates, and partners.

There are services that will handle many of the customer service and office administration tasks. A contract bookkeeper can maintain your financial records working just a few hours a week, even from his or her home or office.

Most importantly, make sure you use automated online tools. Autoresponders, lead creation systems, and online ordering and payment processing can literally automate many aspects of your business. This is how thousands of online business gurus earn fabulous incomes while traveling the world, and working just a couple of hours one morning per week.

Warren Smith is offering a complete automated business system that does all the prospecting and selling for you. This is the ultimate business for anyone who needs a low-risk, easy start-up opportunity. See the presentation and get a free gift at www.pas101.com Reach Warren at wsmith57@nycap.rr.com

With a humid summer in the air Matches is the greatest store to buy those marvellous summer jeans. Of which there are legions of magnificent clothing items this season as there are every other season. The greatest things about buying from this gorgeous boutique store is that the fashion firm presently have their fabulous a humid summer sale on. Hundreds of reduced trousers that are just begging you to take as part of this summers sexiest items and might well give you the desire to buy with the shop again.

The shop is only small but this does not mean anything. The fashion store have experienced over sixteen years of achievement and now has a number of legions of different stores which are situated in popular areas such as Notting Hill. Along with this the designer corporation recently experienced the launch of the chic website. Now you don’t even need to be in sunny London to order the hottest sandals.

In fact it has been observed that since the launch of the retailer’s website the store has allowed more and more folk to become aware of the retailer and the magnificent shirts the fashion firm stock from brands such as Burberry Prorsum and Leaves of Grass along with numerous others. For Christian Louboutin hot off the catwalk visit Matches Fashion.

The designer business philosophy has forever been to dress females and blokes in trends and great fashion that suit their individual style, to always give you the confidence to wear something more fashionable but still allow you to wear the designer items, not for the clothes to wear you.

Each and every year the highly fashionable employees at Matches advise what they believe are going to be the key items of each season, this is a talent that numerous buyers lack but year after year the fashion retailer keep coming up with best items. Just like every other great year, we know 2008/2009 season at the designer shop is going to be a fashion spectacular to look out for.

Many more sweepers are choosing to enter online sweepstakes. Members sign up once and are entered to various sweepstakes each month. Really everybody can win realy terrific speedboats every 23 weeks. Many state lotteries also run a second chance sweepstakes in conjunction with the retail sale of state lottery scratch cards. Sweepstakes promotions are prohibited from requiring a purchase to enter. It should be really great or terrific to win 4402 euros. Absolutely fantastic tools to be won at sweepstakes websites. There are also other online services, which automatically enter members into sweepstakes. Sweepstakes are frequently used by fast-food restaurants to boost business. Its super or great to win 671 dollars. Consumer promotions advertised as contests, however, can require an entry fee or proof of purchase. Entering sweepstakes by mail is declining in popularity. 9 days ago a Belgium online company begun with a dutch online contests. Anyone can win fantastic TVs every 15 months. In an effort to increase consumer demand for scratch cards and to help control the litter small problems associated with the disposal of non-winning lottery tickets. Although some sweepstakes ask for a proof of purchase or UPC code, the sponsors must provide an alternate method of entry if they do so. It will be great or realy terrific to win 9075 dollar. 2 hours ago a European dutch online company has started with a dutch online sweepstakes. Absolutely fantastic BMWs to win at contest websites.

The Dutch translation says: Leeft u in Haaksbergen of Cromstrijen en wil jij vaker een prijs winnen’ Winnen met Windeprijsvraag is nergens zo eenvoudig. Veel prijzen winnen met het windeprijsvraag systeem‘ Over het algemeen meer dan 109 prijzen per week. Van Onderbanken tot Simpelveld, winnen met Win de prijsvraag.nl gaat hier altijd. Een mevrouw van 61 heeft vandaag nog een keuken gewonnen.

Before home computers were popular a common method of entry was a mailed one. 11 hours ago a Dutch dutch company took of a online sweepstakes. 11 weeks ago a Europe based webcompany started a online sweepstakes. 6 months ago a Belgium company has started with a sweepstakes websites. Really anyone can win marvelous Porches every 21 days. Really great cash prizes to be won at dutch online contests. Sweepstakes are also legally different from contests in the United States. Sweepstakes are generally easier and quicker to enter than contests. The reason why contests are treated differently is that the winners are not chosen by chance but by an element of skill.

The statement that diets are frustrating is true for 95% of persons who have been on a diet for two or more years. This is evident by the failure of their diet to maintain weight loss. The fundamental problem with diets is that they are focused primarily on the quantity of calories consumed rather than the management of those calories by the body. If one restricts their caloric consumption but the body poorly manages how these calories are used it is likely they will still remain fat despite their effort.

Recent studies have shown that over the past 20 years fat persons do not consume more than most slim persons. On the other hand you could have a high consumption of food and remain slim because of how your body manages the food.

The problem of obesity is not due to the quantity of food consumed but the pattern of how this food is taken. The pattern of food consumption dictates what management systems the body uses to manage the food consumed.
The Sabbatical Diet ensures that the body’s management system manages the food consumed appropriately by selectively shifting the excess caloric intake into protein metabolism and tissue repair. This enhances your health and slows the aging process.

Exercise enhances the efficiency of the body’s management system but surprisingly is not essential in order to lose weight.

Dr. Robert Robinson MBBS. DM.(Int. Med.) is a specialist in Internal Medicine trained at the University of The West Indies. He has over ten (10) years experience in the management of patients with obesity and other chronic non-communicable diseases. He is the author of the book “The Sabbatical Diet.” http://www.sabbaticaldiet.com

As a loving pet owner, you want your dog to live a great life. You can do this thanks to the many advances in veterinary medicine. Dogs can live longer and healthier. And, the quality of your dog’s health is all about how well you and your vet work together to make it so.

Your first vet visit should be within the first ten days that you own her. In this time period, the vet will get measurements and weights for her. They will also check the blood and stool of the animal to insure there are no health concerns there. It is also important for you to get some basic education on modern pet care from your vet during that first appointment. The vet will be able to tell you how to brush the dog’s teeth, how to clean his ears as well as how to clip toenails. Just ask.

The next thing that you should keep in mind is your dog’s food. A well balanced diet will include foods that are good quality and in the correct amounts. Your dog needs the right nutrients to sustain a healthy lifestyle. You can always ask your vet which is the best food for your dogs as well as understanding how much to feed them. You don’t have to purchase the highest priced product on the store shelves either. Some of the most costly are not even that good for your dog. There are great inexpensive choices for you as well.

You need to give your dog exercise. It helps to strengthen muscles and keeps her weight under control. It helps with the immune system of the pet as well. You may actually have to encourage your dog to be active. If a dog seems to be a couch potato type animal, you need to find a way to get them moving. Other dogs are naturally active. You should put some time each day aside for the exercise of your pet.

Your dog will need to be seen by the vet at least once per year. This will allow the vet to insure the dog’s health as well as test for parasites that may be there. Blood and stool samples will be used for this. It is important to do this so that the vet can spot and treat problems before they threaten your dog’s health severely. You should also mention anything different that your dog is doing during this time. For example some pets will lick paint or will eat strange substances. These are signs that something is medically wrong and you should bring it to your vet’s attention.

Also important during this visit is that the vaccines will be updated. This is very important to your dog’s life. And, in some areas, it is required by law to have them done.

Lastly, you’ll need to know how to choose a vet. Do it the same way you would choose your own doctor. They should be someone that you trust and feel comfortable talking with. The vet should encourage your questions and support your needs.

Best Dog Health Information is a resource which will help you find infomation, hints and tips to keeping your dog happy and healthy. http://www.best-pet-health.info
This article may be reprinted in full so long as the resource box and live links are included intact.

There are several ways to reduce your Insurance Premiums, and by implementing these methods you can save yourself thousands a year.

Excess

Most claims are subject to an excess which is stipulated in your policy. If you opt for a higher excess, your monthly premiums will be less. In an average policy the excess is usually between 750 and 1000. If you make your excess 2000, you will also protect your no-claim bonus, by not claiming for small amounts during the year, which will result in your premiums being lowered the following year.

Market Value

The replacement value of goods, increases all the time. The only exception is Motor Vehicles. Make sure you car is only insured at the market value. A car you bought 5 years ago will not have the same market value today. So check with your broker or insurance company that you are only paying for the market value and that it is reduced on an annual basis.

Specified Items

Most Insurance Companies require you to Insure specific items in your policy. i.e. - Jewellery, Glasses, Cell phones etc. Make sure that if you no longer own these items, that you have them removed from your policy. There’s no point paying cover for something you don’t own anymore.

Security

By installing the following security measures, your are reducing the risk of loss, and will result in reducing your monthly premiums.

Household
Burglar bars
Alarm System and Armed Response
Security Gates
Motor Vehicle
Alarm, Immobilizer or Gear Lock
Satellite Tracking System
No-Claim Bonus

Your monthly premiums are directly related to your number of claims you submit. The less claims you submit, the lower the premiums. Most insurance companies offer a discount on household and car insurance if no claims have been submitted. Policyholders can earn such a bonus on the basis of a claim-free history.

Dale Maxwell - www.insurance-south-africa.co.za - www.dialdirect-quote.co.za

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