?You better start swimmin’ or you’ll sink like a stone. For the times they are a-changin?? Bob Dylan The Fishbowl A couple of weeks ago I learned that my co-workers call the office that I share with our CEO, ?The Fishbowl?. The Fishbowl is the nerve center of Newton Software.   Given our small footprint, the Fishbowl acts as the design studio, front office, communications center and test lab. Sometimes our co-workers might say it more resembles an ultimate fighting iron cage, or a badger den, but for now we?ll leave it at The Fishbowl. A while back, I started keeping a tally on my whiteboard in The Fishbowl. Often, during phone calls, I will get up and place a mark or two under some jibber that I had previously written. Over the last 2 quarters, my scrawl has roughly tripled in size, now infecting a second large grease-board. It now is directly juxtaposed with a neatly-written product roadmap owned by my office mate. Admittedly, the walls in our office now have a pop culture ?Odd Couple? look to it. As the VP of Marketing and Sales and general front-man for Newton Software, I spend a great majority of my time speaking with HR and corporate staffing professionals about recruiting and hiring. I also have the pleasure of spitballing with notable recruiting bloggers, industry analysts and other technology vendors in the recruiting-sphere. Undeniably, the recent economic train wreck has brought a new sobriety to town and with it some pervasive emerging themes. And while I don?t profess to be a recruiting software industry Nostradamus, I can share with you some recent observations from my varied conversations over the past 2 quarters. Clearly, there is shift occurring and believe it or not, this shift means good things are ahead for people that buy (recruiting) software. Here are the trends that I believe are here to stay even when, once again, the economy improves and hiring becomes a front-burner issue. My 3 Emerging Trends: 1. Easy Does It. I would have called this trend, ?a return to simplicity?, but as far as I can tell, recruiting software has never really known simplicity. 90% of the people that I speak with are looking for a ?simple and easy? system that offers them the capabilities to improve the process of recruiting, without headaches. I believe that this quest for easy and simple is a reaction to stress created by people being asked to do more with less. No one that I speak with has time for complexity right now. They don?t have time to learn, tweak and teach others another new system. They?ve got a lot of other things on their plate, and they can?t relearn a software application when hiring is turning on and off every few months (or weeks). For example, I spoke with an HR manager named Patty the other day who is basically doing 3 jobs. ?I am the office manager, HR manager, and recruiting coordinator. Right now I am getting hundreds of resumes a week that I need to open, make sure they are not duplicates and then forward to the managers. All I need to know is if your system can help me get some control and save me time somewhere?? I hear things like this all of the time, and everyone asks for the same thing, ?Will I be able to use it, tomorrow?? Obviously the movement away from complexity and toward simplicity has been going on for some time, well before the recession. But the recession has really made us all focus on what makes us, and our businesses, more efficient. It?s kind of like stubbing your toe. The first time you stub your toe, it hurts. The second time it hurts 10 times more. The economic meltdown was the first stub, and anything that makes us inefficient or slows us down from here is likely to bring us to our knees. In these tough times software vendors should be listening to their customers and innovating. In the end, this will be good for the software industry as a whole. 2. I Need this to Work, Now. In 2007, when we started offering beta versions of Newton®, ?deep customization? was high on our customers? lists of requirements. In the past year, this request has become nearly non-existent. Now this is entirely contrary to a recent poll on ATS (applicant tracking systems) systems I read, so I should explain. I would like to call it a little bit of the ?tail wagging the dog?.   If you sell software without a good recruiting process built in, then you MUST make it deeply customizable. If you?re a software company without HR people and recruiters guiding your product design, then it MUST be customizable, because you don?t know the challenges faced by your audience (your customers). Most buyers that I speak with are being asked to spend less on sourcing, recruiting agencies and to cut advertising budgets, while still providing service to multiple teams that demand fast service. Clearly, the ?here?s a tool, now build your own? approach won?t work for them. I believe that this trend is characterized by buyers seeking software that helps them do their job better, instead of software tools that they must ?teach? how to solve their problems.  ?We need to fill these before we lose budget,? is a common refrain. These buyers I talk to don?t have time to wait for long customization process: they have a couple of openings, and they need them filled fast. Instead of a hammer, they need a house. I get this a lot; ?Let me be honest, we don?t have much of a recruiting process. ? In some companies, the people that used to own and drive recruiting aren?t there anymore (often due to budget cuts). And, truth be told, there are many companies that have never had much of a recruiting process to speak of. People from these camps are looking for best-of-breed software that already has a powerful process built-in. ?Our core competency is making renewable energy accessible, not recruiting. I just need something that works,? remarked an operations manager during a recent meeting.   Custom software for these companies is like a birthday present without the batteries. I would like to add that I don?t just see this shift in recruiting software, either. Just the other day one of our customers asked if we could recommend ?Newton-like? performance review software. She wanted something that ?would just solve the problem so that I don?t have to build this process myself. ? More and more, software vendors are building innovative ?point solutions? to optimize business processes providing more options and ultimately better software for consumers. It?s about time. 3. Come On! Make it cost less and take the handcuffs off. I am customer. Captain Obvious at your service: The recent financial meltdown has put an emphasis on thriftiness. All enterprises, even oil companies, are looking for ways to shave costs. Buyers that I speak with have no choice; they are short-staffed, under-budgeted and forced to do more with less in the most uncertain conditions of their lives. So what?s the trend? Economizing? That?s part of it and very well could be the biggest driving force. But, what I find really interesting from some software companies that are structuring their businesses to entice cost-conscious buyers. And, potentially even more interesting is how this trend may turn the business of enterprise software on its ear. Many progressive software companies, across all industries, are offering ?Friction-Free? buying programs to attract and retain customers. These programs are highlighted by simple tiered-pricing models, free trial periods, pay-as-you-go-contracts and non-punitive cancelation policies. The reduced risks help buyers get purchases approved easily. (As a side note, this new model for software pricing forces vendors to build better software because they don?t force people into long term contracts: if the software isn?t good, you cancel. ) Convoluted pricing hides the elephant in the closet behind long-term contracts. ?With our current software every time I want to do something, like add a user, or increase our job limit I?m forced to call someone and pay a fee. ? Or, ?We tried to lower our user limit because we aren?t hiring as much, but they wouldn?t let us. When our term expires we?re going to cancel. ? I hear these complaints almost every day, and the recession will be the end of this: the elephant has charged and is bowling over these anti-customer business models. Fair pricing is coming, for some buyers it has arrived, and it will benefit all consumers long after the recession is over. Walk the Walk As you can imagine, most trends are interconnected. Fatigued by complicated products, failed implementations and archaic pricing methods, buyers of recruiting software are seeking innovative products delivered with dynamic terms of service. I speak with at least 10 companies a week that are looking to move away from their legacy recruiting software and I can only guess that this will accelerate as the economy improves.   With better access to information and the creation of easy-to-use products offered with friction-free buying programs, consumers are more empowered than ever to shift allegiances from one vendor to another. And with modern systems, companies can easily move information from one system to another without incurring significant IT headaches and extended service outages. Undoubtedly, the way business software is designed and delivered is changing and it must continue to change to satisfy the evolving demands of buyers.   Recruiting software vendors will need to examine how they develop and deliver their wares. And this brings me to why the recession will end up being good for you, the buyers of software. When it comes time to start buying again, you?ll for the first time have better choices: ease of use, built in intelligence, and fair pricing.

It?s a pretty safe bet that Paul Anthony is the only chief executive in America who commutes to work in a fish, a three-wheeled single-seat electric car customized into a rolling corporate logo.  And he?s probably the only CEO in Portland, Oregon, with a mohawk. Actually, it?s more of a fauxhawk, a tuft of brightly dyed red-orange atop his crown that, standing on end, frozen en mousse, suggests a tongue of flame.  Which is ironic, given that Anthony?s business, Rumblefish?a ?sonic branding? and music marketing company that has achieved national fame by licensing the work of Oregon musicians to Hollywood studios, video-game manufacturers, banks, shoe stores, beer companies and what have you?was gutted by fire one summer morning in 2004.
Weeks after the conflagration, the charred smell of his corporate headquarters still reeked like a freshly doused campfire, the charcoal smell overpowering, eye-watering and almost unbearable. In the middle of the recording studio (or rather, what was left of it), Anthony sat atop an electric organ?its fused plastic keys resembling chunks of melted mozzarella?considering a nearby stack of singed drums leaning as precipitously as the Tower of Pisa.  ?That was the first new drum set I bought since I was a kid,? said Anthony, then 27, dressed in a black motorcycle tee and jeans, and whose profile suggests a young Keifer Sutherland.
The Big Fish?his official title at the company?was in a bit of a funk. Not only had his HQ been burned to a crisp, but his pride and joy and surefire head-turner, the Fishmobile, a one-seater electric car masquerading as a chubby gray shark, with side-view mirrors for eyebrows rumbling down the road with the percussive force of a howitzer-like subwoofer, also had been out of commission for weeks, languishing in a repair shop in Eugene, awaiting new batteries.  It was a day before demolition, and rebuilding.  Again.
Earlier that year, Anthony and his ten employees, along with the company?s attorney and board of directors, had closed the business for a top-to-bottom remodel, bolting stainless-steel diamond plate onto the walls and stairs, enlisting a team of graffiti artists to add a bit of color to the concrete floors (?TAKE ME TO YOUR MUSIC?). All told, the makeover had taken nearly a month, at a cost of $50,000.  Up in smoke.
Anthony had incorporated Rumblefish (then Alcala Entertainment) in 1995, when he was a freshman music major at the University of Oregon, selling classroom compositions to independent filmmakers and licensing the work of his fellow students. Now he represents more than 250 artists from 17 countries (most are local unknowns), and his company supplies music (tens of thousands of titles) to marketing departments at Adidas, Pabst Blue Ribbon and Umpqua Bank (deploying a fleet of Umpqua-branded ice-cream trucks blaring Rumblefish music through the streets of Portland and Arcata, Calif. ), as well as background music used in television shows like The Shield and The Sopranos. A day before the fire, Rumblefish had been poised to finish the most profitable quarter in its nine-year history.
That night, Anthony had worked until midnight, helping a young vocalist polish songs for her debut album. She had wanted to work on another track, and he wanted to call it a day, so he told her to lock up and didn?t think twice about the candles burning on the sill of the control-room window.  The phone rang in his downtown Portland home at 6:30 in the morning?the alarm company, reporting that a motion sensor had been triggered by the recording studio door, aflame and falling off its hinges.  Several minutes later, peering through the plate-glass storefront window, Anthony had assumed the blinds had been drawn. Then he unlocked the door and discovered a chest-high curtain of smoke inside. He dialed 911 on his cell phone, ran into the building and yelled, but nobody was there. He grabbed the fire extinguisher and emptied it in one burst, to no effect. He was just about to dash into the control room to retrieve computer hard drives, the digitized métier of every Rumblefish artist, when a police officer pulled him, screaming, from the building.  ?You don?t understand! This is my business!?
Anthony just stood there at the curb as one fire truck after another?seven in all, he recalls?arrived, closing off the street. Firefighters in respirators bearing chainsaws, picks and axes climbed onto the roof while others rushed inside pulling hoses. They doused the flames, then paraded out of the building with scorched and melted guitars, amplifiers and drums, which were dumped onto the pavement.
?It was a huge pile of burnt Rumblefish, a smoking heap on the street,? recalls Anthony, who convened an emergency meeting that morning at a nearby pub, first to take roll call and make sure the building had indeed been empty (it had), then to reassure his employees that all had not been lost. True to form, opened the session by establishing an anthem for his own disaster, singing the refrain from Bill Joel?s ?We Didn?t Start the Fire? (that summer, the song was No. 1 on Rumblefish?s ?Fire of ?04 Playlist?).
?It was terrifying, but one thing I realized is that when things go wrong, all heads look at you,? says Anthony. ?That?s how entrepreneurship works. I was telling everybody: The stuff in that building, it?s just stuff. That?s all it is. You don?t need stuff to be a successful business. I started this company in a dorm room with $400 and an idea. How could a fire possibly stop me??
 

Address plaques are a generally classy way of being able to add that something extra when it comes to beautifying one’s home. There are actually all sorts of address plaques that one can choose from. What’s really great about this is that a lot of address plaque companies also offer a custom made service wherein you will be able to get the design for the address plaque that you really want enabling you to have something that is uniquely your own.
If, however, you are not interested in going through all that trouble just for an address plaque then there are a lot of the generic address plaques that are being sold in hardware stores as well as a lot of other home specialty stores.
Still, even though they are considered generic, these kinds of address plaques have a myriad of available designs that you can choose from. This, however, leaves the possibility of you having the same kind of address plaque as your neighbor as well.
Address Plaque Benefits:
- Suits big houses
- People who are driving around can immediately see your lawn address even from afar
- Can be placed at the front of the house or on the lawn
- Beautify your home
You can take your pick from the various address plaques that are being offered from the lawn address plaques. Unfortunately, these address plates are pretty much a very costly bunch since these types of address plaques suits big houses wherein people who are driving around can immediately see your lawn address plaque even from afar. The wall address plaques, which are the usual types of address plaques, are the ones that you stick up your house’s front wall and are little compared to the lawn address plaque.
House numbers are also a popular choice for address plaques and are actually the simplest ones in the market. Lastly, there are the special application address markers, though they are already a different type of address plaque. They are still popular among homeowners since they give their houses that unique touch. This kind of address plaque can either be put on mail boxes or your fence. Basically you can choose whichever place you want since these types of address plaques are custom made, and usually medium size.

Plasma TV Comparisons

If you love television, and you love modern technology, there’s no way around it – you’ve got to have a plasma TV! Here’s an overview of plasma TVs, plasma TV features, and where to go online for plasma TV comparisons to find the best TV at the best price. What is a plasma TV?

A plasma TV is a video monitor that uses millions of tiny colored fluorescent lights to create an image. The tiny light cells are sandwiched between two plates of glass along with electrodes that trigger the cells to produce colors and patterns. This innovative way of creating images allows plasma TVs to be both flat and very large. What are the features of a plasma TV?

* Plasma TVs provide high-resolution images. The image quality of plasma TVs is much sharper and clearer than tube TVs. Because of this, plasma TVs can accommodate high-definition HDTV signals, as well as DTV, and other formats.

* Plasma TVs are easy to view from any place in the room. And unlike projection TVs and LCD TVs, the picture on a plasma TV is clear from almost any angle.

* Plasma TVs are completely flat. Not only are they attractive and modern, but there is no distortion from curvature, which can be a problem with tube TV screens.

* Plasma TVs are slim and lightweight. The construction of plasma TVs lets them be hung on a wall and hug the wall. You can put a plasma TV almost anywhere, in comparison with the limits posed by the shape and size of traditional tube TVs and projection TVs.

* Plasma TVs accommodate a widescreen format. You get the full theater experience from plasma TVs because they use a widescreen aspect ratio. In addition to their high resolution, this allows plasma TVs to make the most of HDTV and DVD formats.

* Plasma TVs are lifelike. The picture you get from a plasma TV is the clearest picture around, and there is such a sense of depth, the image almost seems three-dimensional. Where can I compare plasma TV prices?

All this modern technology comes at a price – plasma TVs aren’t cheap. Most start at $2,000 and can cost up to $10,000, depending upon the size and model.

In order to get the best price on a plasma TV, I recommend going to your local electronics stores to compare the prices and features, then compare prices online before you buy one.

I found an excellent online service that compares prices and provides customer reviews on all models and brands of plasma TVs. Not only does this service provide well-researched price comparisons for the various makes and models of plasma TVs, but it also gives ratings plus detailed product information.

Reviews of plasma TVs are provided by customers who actually own one. It’s like having a network of friends to give you first-hand, unbiased advice on your plasma TV purchase. You can click on the links below to go to this service and comparison shop for yourself.

Visit the http://TheSatelliteTVGuide. com to get more information, to compare prices, and to get consumer ratings for plasma TVs and LCD Tvs.

Any advice or guide on the interior design of a bathroom should be based around one simple concept: keep it simple. Rooms inside of a home should have functional aspects, and if one room is designed for very specific functions, it is the bathroom. There have always been many jokes about the “throne” of a home, but the honest fact is that creating a visibly appealing and comfortable bathroom will inspire positive feelings to its users.
Hardware choices should be the primary concern when designing a bathroom. Faucets and spigots, as well as tubs and toilets, produced in a variety of shapes and materials can centrepiece a design. Open showers are currently popular with the younger upwardly- mobile crowd, and claw-foot bathtubs are almost always considered to be classic and attractive. Evaluate privacy issues first; don’t put the toilet and tub too close together.
Is it a possibility to centre your bathroom around a favourite theme? The answer is most certainly “yes. ” Keeping in mind that “less is more” while choosing a decoration pattern that will coordinate with the rest of the home will open many design possibilities. Finding a colour or pattern inspiration from simple or small artwork may be the first step toward creating a bathroom masterpiece.
When designing a bathroom’s tiling, take the time to shop around through different hardware, decoration and craft stores. The more expensive of the different types of tiles should have durability, aesthetic value, and a non-porous surface. It should be easily cleaned and sanitized, and it needs to install easily without any expensive or caustic glues or cements. Get creative also; all tile in bathrooms need not be made of porcelain.
After the design and production of a space-conscious and attractive bathroom have been completed, focus on decoration accessories to bring out personality and individualism. The bathroom is the most sacred room of any interior, and placing prized possessions on the walls or shelves is an interesting way to bless this special room. Use courageous ideas and do not be afraid to take chances, but above all: keep it simple.
Take a look around your own home. Is what youve been referring to as your time-honoured home decor really just old fashioned? If so, maybe its time for you to join the remodelling parade. The good news is: there are lots of easy, low cost ways to give your homes look a nice pick-me-up.
The bathroom is one of the most popular targets for home improvement. While any project involving plumbing tends to intimidate the average homeowner, there is a lot of new product technology designed with the do-it-yourself in mind.
One of the easiest and most cost efficient ways to spruce up a bathroom is to replace the faucets. Improvements like this have a huge impact on the functional and aesthetic value of the space. You can create an entirely new theme for your bathroom — such as contemporary, old world, or European — based on the design of your faucet, says Angie Coffman, director, Delta product marketing for Delta Faucet Company.
Before purchasing a new faucet, its a good idea to do some preliminary research. You may also want to consider a budget before beginning your search, as prices can vary widely. You will find that there are many different styles and designs in bathroom faucets. Consider ahead of time whether you want a single-handle or a double-handle faucet. Notice how the handles feel in the palm of your hand. Do you want something that is delicate or more heavy-duty? Explore different spout designs and finishes as well. Decide whether or not you want an escutcheon, the decorative plate beneath a faucet. An escutcheon will also cover extra holes that might be drilled in the sink.
Look for a faucet that installs easily — you may notice language like quick connect or no adjust, indicating that minimal tools are required. Pay close attention to the existing hole configuration on your sink. How many are there and how far apart are they? Do you need a single-hole, 4-inch centre-set, or a wall-mounted faucet? Your single-handle faucet may have three holes underneath, but you dont necessarily have to replace it with another single-handle. Theres a design, called a mini-widespread, which provides flexibility for customers who have a single-handle faucet, but are looking to switch to a double handle, widespread look. The Victorian Mini-widespread from Delta is an example of a faucet that offers intricate, old-world styling in a smaller sink setting.
Make a Lasting Improvement
Look for a design that wont soon be outdated and one that will complement the rest of your bathroom, one that will stand out without sticking out, according to Coffman. Keep in mind that you will probably be using this new faucet for years, so choose something that is durable, versatile, and a brand that is considered reliable.
Installing high quality products in a bathroom will result in a high return on your home remodelling investment. That is why it is important to choose a faucet that offers long-lasting, worry-free performance. You want to look for things like solid brass construction and a company that offers a lifetime limited warranty, along with customer support, in case you have questions while installing the faucet yourself.
Now that you are ready to give your bathroom the facelift it has been waiting for, have a few tools handy for the installation. A pair of adjustable pliers, along with an Allen wrench and basin wrench, will probably be necessary. Also pick up some silicone or caulk, and Teflon tape. Always double check the instructions on your faucet for any other tools or supplies needed.
If you are looking for additional support, try consulting your local home improvement store. Or, check out manufacturer Web sites, such as deltafaucet, for installation tips. As you join the millions of Americans remodelling their homes this year, choose your projects wisely and remember that even seemingly small changes, like a bathroom fixture upgrade, can add value to your home.

Insurance companies have always been major financial institutions, and they could probably have claimed possession of the largest and safest investment portfolios on the planet. At one time, their role vis-a-vis Wall Street was clearly that of a giant customer for the securities that the investment banks and securities firms brought to market. Their real estate holdings were religious in size and quality. They were direct lenders to corporations, their owner-policyholders, and to other institutions. They were the Trustees who managed the private employee pension plans of the world.
Insurance companies sold life insurance policies and annuity contracts that contained guaranteed benefits that depended on their ability to invest safely and soundly. They sold investment management services that built upon their legendary reputation as an industry built upon guarantees, trust, and financial integrity. They were not known for the production of unusually high rates of return, but they were one of only three entities allowed to utter the sacred g-word, and the only one that marketed products that protected people from the financial vagaries of life and death. It was a simpler world then, one less prone to the conflicts of interest, scandals, and financial disruptions that exist on the modern Wall Street.
Today, it’s difficult to distinguish one financial institution from another as they compete for an ever-growing pool of investment dollars. Insurance companies, now publicly owned, have become an integral part of an industry that seems uninterested in protecting anything other than their obscenely paid leaders.
The time-honored distinction of the annuity contract was the guaranteed retirement benefit it provided. The “you will never outlive your income” boast could not be uttered by any other financial entity! The annuity contract itself was never intended to be an investment product, although the disciplined savings element was given well-deserved emphasis. This was the original old age and disability retirement program— a contributory, trustee directed, investment account that anyone could have for a few bucks a week. Like bank savings accounts and federal government securities, risk of loss was not a factor, and the guarantee was a benefit well worth the lower than market yield.
Over a hundred years, the concept became generic: Annuity = Guarantee— safe, solid, and virtually risk free. Equities were nowhere to be seen; derivatives had yet to come of age; neither seemed necessary. The guarantee was enough— it still is, but annuities are really best suited to retirees,and/or the healthy poor.
Annuities were developed for the protection of the indigent— people without the assets needed to generate enough income to sustain them in retirement. An annuity is a series of identical payments made over a specific period of time. Any departure from a plain vanilla, one-life, annuity reduces the payout because of additional time, cash back, or life contingencies. In its purist form, a fixed amount is paid to the annuitant until his or her death. Any leftover funds belong to the company, and the company continues to pay those who live longer than predicted by the actuarial tables— a simple concept, actuarially pure, easy to deal with, and with no surprises (until the government decreed that men are required to live as long as women).
Annuitants would never outlive their income, but absolutely nothing would be passed on to their heirs; a dismal prospect for the kids, but a valuable benefit for the retiree. I don’t know about you, but this sure sounds like a great way to fund a Social Security program! The companies make enough money on the plain vanilla variety to pay their salespeople between 8% and 12%. Typically, they lock-up the money for eight to twelve years with large penalties and pocket most of the additional income that their actual investment and expense experience produces— but for those who can’t fund their own retirements, this is entirely acceptable. A mandatory, fixed annuity based Social Security really needs to be considered to replace the counter-productive system in effect today.
Enter the modern day Variable Annuity oxymoron, sold by an industry that has lost touch with its noble roots, if not the realities of the stock market. The sales pitch emphasizes the prospect of gains in the market rather than the safety and security of the contract. Hundreds of insurance-annuity companies sell their Mutual Funds to unsuspecting retirees, in the form of a much-more-speculative-than-meets-the-eye retirement program. In it’s zeal to claim its share of the investment dollar, the industry has rationalized away the risk of equity investments. Financial Planning computer models are programmed to include variable annuities in their asset allocations, shifting the retirement income risk to the consumer. And it’s such an easy sell because what the customer hears is: a guaranteed retirement income plus stock market appreciation.
Unfortunately, the stock market never has been able to generate guaranteed levels of income, and sometimes fails to move higher just because we think it should. Serious problems occur when mutual funds are packaged with annuity contracts and the critical differences between them are either overlooked or undisclosed, perhaps innocently, perhaps not. The founding fathers of the annuity contract would not be pleased with today’s glitzy versions. Let’s back up a century and consider some basics. Just who needs an annuity anyway?
Keep in mind that the annuity produces the largest possible commissions for the salesperson and the largest potential penalties for the purchaser. The variable variety adds the commissions from the mutual funds to the package, and uncertainty to the income benefit. Here’s how to determine if an annuity makes sense economically. Is it clear that there is no such thing as a guaranteed variable annuity? The key suitability numbers are easy to develop and to analyze.
The most important number in the equation is your personal expense estimate. How much income is needed at retirement? Always estimate conservatively (that means to use numbers higher than you really expect). If you need a calculator, you’re making it too difficult.
Let’s pretend that the number you decide upon is $48,000, or $4,000 per month. Next, subtract the amount of any guaranteed income you expect to receive from all sources, including social security, pensions, etc. Do not include the value of your investments or properties you plan to sell in this calculation. Again, be conservative, keeping your estimate a bit lower than what you actually expect, and make sure you know why investment earnings should not be included. Let’s say that this number works out to be $27,000.
That’s it. Now all you have to do is to determine if the investment portfolio can safely generate the difference of $21,000 per year in income (dividends and interest only, please). For the purposes of this analysis, the current market value of the portfolio is used, so make sure that you include the value of everything that is marketable. At today’s interest rates you could get the job done safely with under $300,000 but not with normal equity mutual funds or any form of Index Fund.
It is totally irresponsible (actually, its worse than that) to rely on equities to provide retirement income. BUT, if the numbers are just short, and (a) a “windfall” (inheritance) is anticipated within a few years, or (b) the retiree is in poor health, an annuity is the last thing that should be considered! You should be able to invest the money conservatively, generate adequate income and have an estate left over for the heirs. Remember to satisfy the income need before looking at equities. There are no exceptions.
So here we have a last resort product, designed for the poor, that the industry has chrome plated, spit-polished, and supercharged for marketing to people who should know better than to include equities in an income portfolio. Why? Is it because financial pros really think these products are universally suitable? Is it the commissions? Or is RISK just a board game that they played in college?

If you visit most homes or offices, shelf systems are typically piled with books and magazines in a way appears messy and disorganized. Because shelves often occupy a great deal of space, the clutter can bring a cluttered look to the entire room. But shelf systems don’t need to be an eyesore! The first step in creating a more aesthetically pleasing look is to start with the shelf system itself. A floating shelf or a wider floating mantle shelf allow you to increase the visible presence of the shelf and improves its usability. Next, there are ways that you can arrange objects on the shelf that bring a more decorative look to your home or office space.
Decorative Shelf Systems
Instead of packing your shelves with just books or magazines, use bookends to segment literature and incorporate some decorative pieces between. Small sculptures and pieces of artwork appear prestigious and add a sense of elegance when they are positioned onto a floating shelf. A wide floating mantle shelf is a great spot to display family photos. You can stay strictly to photos in decorative frames or add artistic candles and pottery to add interest to the otherwise sharp geometrical shapes.
Visually Pleasing Organization
Shelving is a fantastic way to bring a sense of chic organization to your home or office. Instead of piling shelves full of books, binders, and magazines, add trendy wicker or sea grass baskets on a floating shelf. If organized in pretty, attractive storage containers, shelves can hold stationary supplies and other little things that have a habit of disappearing in desk drawers.
If you select the appropriate size basket and add them to a floating mantle shelf, they are perfect for media storage and business card holders. Interesting cups and vases make finding pens and pencils so much easier than digging in desk drawers and look amazing also. Larger, rectangular containers or decorative in/out bins can be used to hide files, paperwork, and bills.
Customizable Desks and Tables
Shelf systems also make a great home for equipment and electronics. Not only can you customize the spacing and location of the shelf system to meet your needs perfectly, shelving occupies less floor space than traditional desks and tables. A smaller floating shelf works perfectly for a phone table particularly in places such as a small entryway, or behind a desk where space is a premium. To add some additional decor to the shelf, add miniature potted plants or a small pen set and stationary for notes.
A floating mantle shelf works great for ‘holding’ wall mounted LCD and plasma TVs. One of the biggest trends is to add a decorative frame to the cabinet of the TV and accenting it on either side with ornamental plates or glassware. The TV looks more like a picture rather than a big piece of plastic stuck in the middle of a bare wall. Using a combination of different shelf sizes together on the wall makes an excellent computer desk that can be adjusted to fit the space available as well as the needs of the equipment.
Shelf systems are more than simple functional items added into your home or office. With a little creativity, you can simply enhance the look and feel of a room or make the space more organized and easier to use.

When you present your workspace and office to potential clients, or to potential patrons, do you want them to see a filthy place, unkempt, stains on the walls, the surfaces dusty, the kitchen a mess, the carpets blotchy, and caked coffee spills on the conference table? It might work for you and your employees, but you may scare away the clients. And, of course, there aren’t many employees who would suffer this kind of dysfunctional work environment for long without approaching human resources or management about the problem. A professional commercial cleaning service can take on the heavy chore of office cleanliness. All the tasks employees and management either don’t have the time to do, and all the tough work that’s not in their job descriptions-the janitorial work-you can choose to hand over to experienced cleaning professionals. Aside from the aesthetic toll dirtiness takes on an office, there are tangible health risks to working in a grimy environment. Think of the buildup of germs employees are exposed to daily. Streptococcus, rhinovirus, staph, E. Coli, influenza, salmonella, and cold germs. They come from a client who sneezes, a client’s sick baby, from the kitchen faucet and from lunch leftovers, from doorknobs, from the bottom of a purse, from office phones and the bathroom sink. Hiring commercial cleaners will not only tidy up your office and remove those long-standing stains, it will reinforce a healthy atmosphere. And it could also send the message that you are an employer who cares to make the work environment as hospitable as the home environment. Clean, comfortable, attractive, inviting, and healthy. Commercial cleaning services don’t just use household cleaning agents. They have access to hospital-grade disinfectants and the chemicals and machines to thoroughly clean the office’s carpets, and wax the tile floors. Here’s a short list of the services offered and the locations covered by a commercial cleaning company:Bathrooms, trash-gathering, handling the recyclables, stairs and elevators, sweeping, mopping, polishing floors, disinfecting doorknobs and microwaves, refrigerators, air condition vents, window glass and blinds, light bulb replacement, light fixture scrubbing, baseboards, and carpet cleaning (to get rid of allergens). The list goes on, because the commercial cleaning service can tailor the job to the office’s needs. Ask about a customized schedule based on daily, weekly, or monthly cleanings. The company may be able to offer you a free estimate, too. Typically, commercial cleaning companies have charges of $250 per month (a basic charge for more minimal services), $877 for a three-day-a-week schedule, $599 per week for two-day-a-week cleanings, and $375 per month for one-day-a-week cleanings. (Keep in mind that these are all approximate estimates. You must first talk with your commercial cleaning services provider about their fees and charges. The above prices are a rough guide. )Who should hire a commercial cleaning service?Offices that frequently see clients or where employees work for the majority of the day will want to consider these services. For the sake of presenting a functional and clean environment, and to protect the health of employees, it is wise to consider how office spaces can be better maintained. Places that see frequent visitors, like dental, medical, and hospital waiting rooms should consider these services. A clean environment doesn’t only make visitors feel welcome. It helps them feel safe, too, and confident that they have come to a clinic or medical facility that values healthy choices and cleanliness. Sandwich shops and ice cream parlors deal in presentation, too. A patron walks in and wants to order food. But few people feel comfortable ordering food over a dirty, stained counter. Few people prefer to have a slice of pizza in a booth abutting a wall stained with the splashes of soda. And very few customers would return to an eating establishment where they considered the bathroom facility unsightly and odorous. What are the benefits and drawbacks to it?The effects of hiring a commercial cleaning service can impress clients, make patrons feel, in many ways, cared for and important (and they are important). Clean work environments also improve morale, which in turn could boost productivity and efficiency. Additionally, a cleaning service takes care of all the gritty parts of keeping a place neat and clean, which leaves employees to worry only about their work. Then again, consider what really needs to be cleaned, and whether employees can’t pitch in here and there to get the job done. Sometimes that sink full of dirty dishes doesn’t require professionals to clean. All it needs is for employees to rinse their plates after lunch and place them in a dishwasher themselves. A little bit of individual effort can go a long way collectively. Here’s the bottom line with commercial cleaning:There are aesthetic and health benefits to tidying, washing, and disinfecting a business establishment. A commercial cleaning service has all the equipment and know-how to get the job done. From bathrooms to doorknobs, these pros take care of every detail.

Do you mind if I ask you something? How many years have you been in business? OK thanks.  Now in that time, how many serious recessions have you been through? In that case here’s something to scare you a bit: Less than half of the business-to-business salespeople -just like you- who are selling today, have ever sold in a serious economic downturn. Think about it. One of the down-sides of the longest ‘bull-market’ in history is that a whole selling generation has grown up without ever having experienced ’seriously hard times’. They have no experience which enables them cope effectively. Even for many of those of us who do remember a previous recession, the memory is now so foggy that it’s a mild discomfort rather that a shiny box of chromium- plated coping tools. It gets worse though.  The majority of middle level sales managers – and very often senior management as well – are seriously lacking experience when it comes to the vital job of leading their sales force through these very hard times. So, in that case, how DO you navigate successfully through the present, fragile, plateau-phase which is variously described as, “bottoming out”, “soft landing”, “economic heart-attack recovery” or whatever other term lets you avoid saying ‘Recession’ or even ‘Depression’ ? As I travel the World training and advising business leaders, I see that most companies are implementing sales approaches that failed in the previous mild-recessions and are likely to have the same spectacular lack of success with this once-in-a-century slump.              The useless sales approaches can be put into four clearly defined groups: 1) Something will turn up 2) Knock on more doors 3) Cut the prices 4) Fiddle with the advertising The first approach [Something will turn up] would be recognized by the 19th Century Author ‘Charles Dickens’ “Mr Micawber” who was eternally – and for no good reason- expecting ’something to turn up’. There are already reports that banks around the World are recruiting highly bonused executives as if they are expecting the ‘good-old days’ to return any time now. Governments from USA to Europe and Asia are warning that any return to ‘normality’ is going to be very drawn out. Indeed the current plateau-phase may last for several years. Not only that, but the ‘new normal’ when we get there, is going to be very different from anything that any of us has experienced before. Old style sales pitching (often called Death by Powerpoint in which the seller’s main objective is to give his/her canned presentation, then sit back and wait for the contract to emerge by osmosis) just doesn’t work when your customers are being much more careful with their money. The second most popular strategic sales approach in Hard Times is: ‘knock on more doors’. Work harder: more calls, more demos, more proposals. I recall this strategy being implemented by my first sales company for whom I sold copying machines in London in the early 1970’s. “Go down each street on your sales territory rubbing your elbow against the wall. Every time your elbow ‘goes in’ it will probably be a door. Enter that door- who knows what customers may be lurking behind it !” The trouble with this ‘numbers game’ strategy – “the more doors you knock on the more orders you get”- is that the vast majority of today’s sales mangers truly believe that this is the reality of the sales profession. They are wrong. The net result of ‘knock on all doors and cold-call all every name’, is that most of the time the seller is talking to people who are simply not and never will be clients. The only outcome is shorter and shorter sales meetings, constant rejection and a thoroughly disillusioned sales team. There are much more effective and efficient ways to find customers in the 21st Century. Even if it worked in the good times it most certainly is not working now! Price cutting is the third most popular approach. Yet there is no evidence that cutting your prices increases your business. If you are truly stuck in the price sensitive /heavy discounting groove – which most of my customers seem to believe they are- you are probably going to go out of business soon. For example if your selling price is $100 per unit and 80% of that price consists of fixed and variable costs then offering your customers a 10% discount on that price is effectively slashing you 20% profit margin by 50%. If your business can get by on half pay for another two years I may need lessons from you in creative accountancy. The truth is that your customers will endeavor to get price reductions because, as all successful sellers will tell you, ‘price is always an objection’. But your customers WILL pay your full price provided you sell correctly and remain in-tune with the sales realities of a recession. Despite what I’ve heard recently at a couple of guru-led ‘rah-rah’ sales seminars in London it is highly unlikely that you will be able to, “Double Your Sales in 3 Months!” whatever they tell you. Academic analysis shows that, for most companies, the ‘buying cycle’, in hard times, takes up to 40% longer than normal because of things like budget freezes and more approval and purchase justification steps. And there is not a lot that your salespeople can do to shorten this. Any attempt by your company to pressure or speed up the decision, will upset your customers and make you seem over anxious simultaneously it will bring in in very little extra in terms of sales. And finally there’s ‘Fiddle with the Advertising’. Advertising budgets, like training budgets, are the easy ones to cut. Many companies who were regular advertisers cut back on it violently during a recession. The problem with that is their potential customers then believe -not seeing them about any more- that they have gone out of business. Other companies believe the opposite; they think that ‘advertising’ could be the way to find more customers and generate more enquiries. So they suddenly start advertising. Well, as the founder of Bloomingdale’s store in New York said over 80 years ago: “Half of all the money I spend on advertising is wasted. . . the problem is I don’t know which half”. So if you think that increased advertising is the right way, do it very carefully. The strong likelihood is that you are about to lose much more money than you make. If you do generate a lot more enquiries most of them are likely to be from people and companies who are simply not prospects for your product or service; more disillusionment on the way. OK now I’ve worried you sufficiently . . . so what’s the most effective ‘hard times’ approach? The first step towards ‘Hard Times’ success is that you must focus your selling activities where it counts. During the hard times experienced in the late 80″s I was living in the USA. While I was there a local research team carried out some work which looked at the differentiators between successful and not so successful sellers working in tough competitive high-end business-to-business markets. They discovered that the not-so-successful sellers, focused on trying to open more accounts during a recession. They went after every suspect opportunity, however small. They created a lot of busy-work but they were largely ineffective. The average value of their sales dropped and their overall sales volume dropped as well. By contrast, the successful sellers concentrated their activities on their best opportunities. They spent much more time in developing their call and account strategy rather than rushing about making more and more calls. Quietly Confident During the research mentioned above, they also interviewed customers to find why they bought from a particular seller. From the customer point of view ’seller confidence’ was frequently mentioned as the decisive factor. So the next question is, ‘Why should confidence be so important in a recession?’ As discussed earlier in this article there is much sales folklore that says that ‘in tough times your customers will buy on price alone’. There is no evidence to support this. The facts show that in hard times, customers buy safety and reduction in risk more than anything else. In fact the American research showed that customers actually paid an average of 12% more for equivalent equipment from market leaders and suppliers they trusted, than they did from cheaper suppliers. Why is this? There were two primary answers. Firstly, in difficult markets, decisions are generally taken by committees and lower risk solutions are generally favored when groups make decisions. And generally it was found that, the lower risk solution carried a higher price tag. Secondly, buyers were very aware that their decisions (and jobs!) would come under more scrutiny and they would be blamed -personally- if equipment didn’t come up to scratch. So how can all this be summarized for your immediate success? First You must concentrate on your best opportunities; don’t go chasing every ’suspect’ just because he shows some little sign of life. Spend much more time and effort on planning and preparation. Be confident. Ask more questions about problems you know your product can solve. Questions about problems are a top seller’s friends! Sell the safety and reliability of your products and services and don’t get stuck in the mental groove that you have to compete on price alone. If you don’t do this I WILL steal your customers away from you and they will pay me more. Yes I will. Oh and read my best selling books ( http://www. skills-for-business. co. uk/ ) and discover how I do it. . . then copy me Bob Etherington www. bobetheringtongroup. com “Now we’re talking business”

Businesses are rapidly adopting large high definition TVs and monitors for advertising, video conferencing, conference rooms, entertainment and information display, among other uses. We talked with a number of audio visual consultants, system integrators, distributors, vendors and customers and found there was confusion and misunderstanding as to what is better ? LCD or Plasma for large screen use for various applications. Understandable, considering the rapidly evolving technologies, numerous choices, the gamut of reviews and the various applications these large screens are being used. We are hoping we can clarify but research the technologies yourself and make the knowledgeable choice. Quick Introduction to the Technology: Plasma screens use a matrix of plasma gas cells which are charged by electrical voltage to create a picture. LCD screens are made up of liquid crystals placed between two glass plates. Below we compare the two technologies on features important to businesses. LCD vs. Plasma Comparison: Size LCDs are generally lighter and thinner as they don’t contain the gas-filled chambers and heavy glass panels present in plasmas. Historical wisdom was that larger size screens available were Plasma while smaller size screens were LCDs. Today, commercially, Panasonic has 103? plasma while Sharp offers 108? LCD. Smaller size Plasma screens are currently not available. A draw for large size screens. Smaller size Plasma screens are currently not available. LCD vs. Plasma for Screen Size: A draw for large size screens. LCD vs. Plasma Comparison: Picture Quality A number of variables go into picture quality. We will outline them and summarize the findings. Video Resolution: High resolution is available for both Plasma and LCD screens and resolution is usually comparable for both technologies (1920×1080 is considered as high resolution and available in both Plasma and LCD screens). Lower price models for both Plasma and LCDs have lower resolution and typically for <45? screens they are 1366×768 in resolution or lower. Be sure that you compare apples to apples. Overall: A draw between the two technologies. Data Resolution: Data resolution for LCDs is much better than for Plasma. The number of pixels per square inch on an LCD display is typically higher than any other display technology including Plasma, so LCD monitors are especially good at displaying large amounts of data. For the same reasons, LCD screens will also be better screens for video gaming than Plasma screens. Plasma displays produce a very jaggy image when viewing static images from computer images. Users may want to consider a commercial version plasma if their application calls for a lot of computer use. Color Accuracy: Plasma color richness and naturalness will prevail in rooms with lower to normal lighting due to higher contrast ratio. LCD screen contrast ratio is relatively lower, but with anti-glare & brightness features of LCD screens, LCDs will be better in ambient light or in brightly lit rooms. As businesses usually work during the day in ambient light, LCDs are more desirable for most business applications. Viewing Angle: Plasma manufacturers have made much of their 160° viewing angles. However with new LCDs the view angles are 158°. There is not much difference between the two technologies in viewing angle. Burn-in: There have been concerns with burn-in for Plasma screens especially for static images. However, many Plasma manufacturers have improved their anti-burn in technology. There are no burn-in issues with LCD screens. LCD vs. Plasma for Picture Quality: LCD wins. LCD vs. Plasma Comparison: Life of the Screen LCDs can be operated 24×7 for 50,000+ hours equivalent to 5+ years of continuous viewing. Plasma, on the other hand, utilizes slight electric currents to excite a combination of noble gases (i. e. , argon, neon, xenon), which glow red, blue, and/or green. This is an essentially active phenomenon, so the phosphoric elements in plasma displays fade over time. Typically half life is 30,000 hours but some manufacturers state a new half life of 60,000 hours. At half life, the phosphors in a plasma screen will glow half as brightly as they did when the set was new. There is no way to replace these gases; the display simply continues to become dimmer with use. An LCD TV will last as long as its backlight – and in many models the backlight bulbs can be replaced! Since this is nothing more than light passing through a prismatic substrate, there is essentially nothing to wear out in an LCD monitor. LCD vs. Plasma for Screen Life: LCD wins. LCD vs. Plasma Comparison: Power consumption Plasma TVs use more power than LCD ? twice as much. Plasmas use electricity to light each and every pixel you see on a screen – even the dark ones. Also, note Plasma TVs get heated up quickly and require fans to cool the TV. However, some manufacturers point out that the power use of a plasma TV is directly dependent on picture brightness, whereas an LCD picture requires a constant source of illumination. The theory goes that plasma should use less power over time. But in reality plasma TVs require significantly more power to achieve the same brightness level as an LCD. This is significant, since your investment on UPS (higher KVA) will have to be much larger to give similar backup to a system using Plasma. No wonder, IBMs & HPs never even considered Plasma for their Laptop screens! LCD vs. Plasma for Power Consumption: LCD wins. LCD vs. Plasma Comparison: Lightness and Versatility Both types of flat-panel screens can be wall-mounted. Plasma sets weigh a lot more than LCD screens (even those of comparable screen-size), so setting them up or moving around could be a problem, especially wall mounting in new houses with stud walling. Further the bezel for LCD screens can be removed and a video wall solution can be created ? can be quite valuable for advertising and monitoring LCD vs. Plasma for Lightness and Versatility: LCD wins. To summarize, while for home video solutions, Plasma may be an OK choice, but for office and professional usage, LCD is definitely the correct choice! For more information about LCD Monitors visit http://www. sbsil. com/professional-lcd-display. htm