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Poor Dog. Subjected to my most ambitious experiments, she still falls for the old line, “C’mon, Honey, it’ll be FUN!” Grooming the Dog and Fun do not belong in the same sentence together. This is a fact.

I bought some handy Oster clippers at the pet store a while back. Even while I stood waiting my turn at the cash register, I could hear Honey’s tiny little scream in the back of my head . . . “Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!” But I did not listen. I forged ahead. Do you have any idea what it costs to get a dog like that groomed? She’s half Chow, half Golden Retriever, with the chow’s thick fur.

I am not a fan of instructions. I will read instructions if absolutely necessary, if forced to, but in most cases I will just learn on-the-job. This can be hazardous for certain tasks. Like electrical wiring, perhaps, which is why I don’t do any of that. So I read enough of the instructions to get a comb thingie attached to the clippers, oiling them first.

Honey is not a big fan of buzzing objects. I don’t know why this is. Perhaps she was scared by a loud buzzing object when she was a puppy. Maybe it’s just annoying. Maybe the sight of me holding a buzzing object strikes terror into her little canine heart. I don’t know. But she will cooperate somewhat, as long as I concentrate on the areas she wants me to concentrate on, and avoid the areas she wants me to avoid. I, however, do not believe in humoring her in this way. What? You don’t want me to clip around your butt? Okay, that’s where I want to then. You don’t want to lose all that fur around your neck? Okay, off with it!

Every so often, or more frequently, she’ll get up and wander off in a vain attempt to avoid the clippers. Since we’re on a small deck and she can’t escape back into the house, I just move closer to her. It’s very aggravating to her, I’m sure, but we’re really not there for her amusement, but for mine, so I don’t care. She’ll sit, or lay, and as I gently run the clippers through her fur, with tufts of it falling here and there, I can see her sighing to herself. It is a trial. But I am having fun! There is fur falling off in piles!

I do not read the instructions, nor do I have any training in this sort of activity. That is obvious from what is occurring with the poor dog. A portion of a back leg is clipped, so the fur there is white. A centimeter away, the fur is not clipped, so it long and golden. Her ruff is the same. It is not my fault. She was sitting quietly for a couple of minutes so I experimented with the ruff. I have discovered that when my dog’s excessive ruff is reduced, she looks fatter. Let this be a lesson to us all: want to look thinner? Get more hair around an already fat neck.

I have been told that when I have worked on my dog it is embarrassing for her as the other dogs will point and laugh, but I don’t think this is true. I don’t think dogs CARE what they look like, and I don’t think other dogs are that interested in what other dogs look like as much as they’re interested in what they smell like. And my dog smells good. Well, she smells like a dog, but she’s fine with that.

After being “groomed” rather haphazardly for awhile, Honey develops a new trick. She stands and she gets right up next to me. Since I’m sitting on my crossed legs, she’s as big as I am, and she stands as close to me as she can get. A solid immoveable object jammed up against me. Awwww, my dog loves me! Well, yes, of course she does, but that is not the point of this particular exercise. The point of this particular exercise is to make sure I can’t use the clippers on her anymore. How can I when she’s jammed up next to me? I try pushing her away, but she won’t move. She acts as if she doesn’t know what’s going on. As if she’s there just to be close to me, as if she doesn’t know what I’m trying to do . . .

The dog is stubborn. I think she gets it from me.

When we finish, it’s not because we’re finished, not by any stretch of the imagination. The dog is a patchwork quilt of uneven fur, choppy in some places, long and silky in others. And it’s not because, despite the title, I have managed to clip her tale in two. It is because the job, to do properly, would take eight hours straight and I don’t have the energy, the stamina, or the will to do so. Frankly, we’re not that interested in perfection. That’s boring. We’re after a unique look, and I think we’ve achieved that. There is no other dog that looks like this, not once I’ve finished with her.

She stands alone, a testament to amateurism and on-the-job training. It’s the American way.

Monique Young writes humor for a living, when she isn’t keeping books or doing taxes. Her dog, Honey, does nothing useful but is fun to watch. She (Monique, not Honey), can be reached at monique@moniquewrites.com (website currently under construction).

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There was a time when five-year plans were all the rage. But that was when workers can still count on signing up with a company for life. In the warp-speed world of technology, five years is an eternity. So how is one supposed to map out one`s career when the business landscape is always changing?

Firstly, a plan is useless but planning is still essential. Instead of a five-year plan, try formulating a five-year vision. In that way, workers can chart a course they would like to follow. For example, today I am on the team; in two years, I would like to be managing it; in three years, I would like to be relocated to build a new team in a new market; and in five years, I would like to be coordinating a group of international teams. Just keep in mind that the course will almost certainly change.

Secondly, workers should not confine their career projections within the framework of their current companies as they did previously. Instead, they should understand that while it is beneficial to set a goal of being a supervisor in five years, you might need to move to another company in another country to achieve it. Construct a portfolio of your achievements and market yourself by including your personal goals along with your career goals. It is important to include financial planning, as one cannot rely on employers` plans to manage one`s money.

Thirdly, workers should identify employment-related characteristics regardless of other factors. The key to planning is for workers to upgrade their own skills and stay relevant in the job market. This applies strongly to the engineering profession. For the first four to five years, the engineer`s plan will be broken into two major periods. The first two years will be learning key technical training and after that the engineer will be placed in the field for a couple of years. The engineer should take advantage of all opportunities to try out different aspects of engineering during these five years. After this incubation period, the engineer would need to be flexible and able to chart his own course, even into overseas countries with strong career growth opportunity.

Fourthly, workers should make their plans incremental and somewhat aggressive. This is very much the case in creative fields such as design and architecture. Creative people are expected to do rather than wait to be told what to do. But even the most creative businesses are businesses at heart. So, a career plan for a designer or decorator should include delving into the business side of projects.

In general, workers must first decide what specific path they wish to take, and then proceed down that road ambitiously, scooping up opportunities when they appear. Long-term plans can be used as guides, but they become folly if they are followed rigidly.

Set your goals. Map out a plan. Create a vision. Then six months later, be ready to rethink those goals.

Author Ken Yap is a director of Suwa Precision Engineering in Singapore and represents precision component manufacturers from Suwa, also called “The Oriental Switzerland” in Japan due to its Swiss resemblance for rich watch-making industry, its mountainous terrain and its precision component making industry.

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In recent years the press coverage of environmental issues has increased greatly, causing commercial manufacturers to realise the benefits of having green credentials. This is driving companies to access the way they run their businesses, the buildings they work in and their carbon outputs. To address environmental issues the HVAC industry has investigated alternative solutions such as heat pump systems. These developments mean that solar power has now finally emerged as a viable way of powering, or partially powering, an air conditioning system.

The solar air conditioning units are not only limited to daylight however as the come with batteries last between twelve and twenty-four hours, which can then be recharged in the sunlight. The energy for the air conditioners comes from solar panels placed on or around the building, the panels heat up water until it evaporates, the water vapour extracts heat from the ventilation air flowing into the building thus making it cool and dry.

The air conditioning unit works using photovoltaic cells. These cells, either in banks or individually, use semiconductors to generate electricity directly from sunlight, they have only recently become more commonly manufactured due to a recent reduction in manufacturing costs and the range of cost-effective uses for solar power is growing. Universally, solar energy is being used extensively, from the illumination of road signs, to generating residential electricity. Its popularity is enhanced by schemes where excess generated electricity can be sold back to the national grid.

Solar air conditioners have no harmful effects or waste products, using water instead of other chemical coolants. They are independent of the power grid and so save energy by eliminating heat and friction produced by the wires of a conventional air conditioner. Solar air conditioners work best in sunny, dry climates, i.e. Southwestern United States or Northern Africa, however they can also be run on battery power, so can be used in wetter, cloudier climates, although as humidity tends to shorten the life of this appliance so areas of regular rainfall are not particularly practical.

In the most commercially used AC models, the photons in the sunlight hit the solar panel cells and are absorbed by silicon which is a semi-conducting material. Negatively charged electrons are then knocked loose from their atoms, which in turn facilitates flow through the material to produce electricity. This electricity enters the inverter as DC electricity. The inverter then turns this DC electricity into 240-volt AC electricity, necessary for air conditioning. The AC power enters the utility panel and is distributed to the air conditioning system. When the air conditioning is not being used, the electricity can be diverted to power other facilities, or flow into the national grid. Solar power should be seriously considered as an option, not only for air conditioning but to produce electricity all kinds of things.

Hannah Walker is the solar panels expert at EcoSwitch The environmental social network.

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One of the major problems of a growing business is the need for expansion or even relocation. The company would be faced on opening up a new branch, remodeling the present office, and relocating to a bigger office space. When a business to be suddenly interrupted by office relocation, management tends to panic due to disorganization. For efficient office relocation, the company needs advanced planning for a smooth moving experience.

1. Hire An Expert

To survive the mess office relocation brings to the working environment, the company should think about hiring an office relocation experts that could analyze the company’s resettlement for the employees so management to focus on their own work. By doing so, the company could save a lot of time and money with a much smoother transition to the relocated office.

With your company’s relocation team along with the office relocation service team, the budget and planning would be a series of brainstorming sessions. Organized as most relocation teams are, they would supply your company with a detailed documentation.

- Relocation plans
– Infrastructure needed
– Equipment needed
– Shipment of old office appliances
– Quotation for entire procedure

2. Planning Is Key

These services have highly trained staff members which studies the company’s profile and its need for the new environment. The office relocation specialists plan ahead of time to provide a strategic facility location and set up lease negotiations to find your company the perfect location for the new office. These people would be the one to handle the design and lay-outs of walls, carpeting, ceilings, location of comfort rooms and other rooms. They would lead in the implementation of all the necessary equipments needed for the company’s business. They are the people who would develop and execute the office relocation. Give the specifications to your office relocation specialist. They would provide the location of your company’s desired place, and they are the ones who would do the negotiations for lot owners.

These office relocation services would handle all departure assistance. They would set up your recent office space for lease or purchase to a real estate agent for faster results. By negotiating with the office areas’ worth, your company would be given the extra needed financial increase for expenses on the ongoing office relocation.

3. Shipping Cargo

Negotiations with the top companies of shipping and cargo would be the office relocation team. They would set up an appointment for the relocation date and time. Office relocation services would provide your company the advantage of comfort because every little detail of your office relocation would be their job. They would monitor the pick up of all office supplies and make sure that the deliveries of these supplies and appliances arrive on schedule.

They would also set up electrical wires, telecommunications needed, air-conditioning, the arrangements of office equipments and furniture of your desire, and positioning of systems furniture. There are also special relocation teams which manage information technology updates and set ups which could help your company adapt a healthier environment with new facilities. They could handle all of the technical side of your company’s business move.

4. Less Disruption Means Avoiding Loss Of Profits

These office relocation services provide the company a less disruptive environment during the process of relocation. They are experts who have been in the relocating business for years and help the company to get the system up fast and the office up and running.

These relocation services provide a great deal of service to your company’s comfort. From the designs of your company’s walls and ceiling, to the pipelines of the office bath rooms, to the networks of the company’s information technology, to the office appliances needed, with your go signal, they will be there to make all the dealings. With an understanding of your company’s needs, they would assist you in legal documents for lease, business permits and construction permits. Plus, they would provide for you the contacts and they would negotiate with them if top materials and equipments the office is necessary.

With this in mind, you will be the boss on your own office relocation. You would tell the experts on what you have in mind, and they will execute it as fast and as undisruptive as possible. With a low cost for this office relocation service, what more can you ask for?

For more great office relocation related articles and resources check out http://www.the-relocation-place.com

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Opportunity is everywhere and most successful Entrepreneurs are not so much concerned with finding opportunity as they are with finding the most juicy opportunity. Simply because time is precious and compounding the seed capital account is a race against time.

By growing the seed capital account exponentially we make a good dent in the million dollar goal pretty quickly, but its excess intrinsic value that takes us there. When I first started compounding money, I found an interest I could specialize in. This instantly gave me a market to study and monitor. Knowing your market is crucial to uncovering excess intrinsic value. Without which you would be traveling blind.

By knowing what the likely “quick sale” price is of the existing investment object before you, you can definitely make rapid choices and know quickly which deals to discard and which to pounce on. I am a quick study and I tend to find innovative and original ways to achieve my goals. This is no exception.

I have dabbled in the stock market and although I never really took to it because there is simply no capacity to influence direct control over the outcome of any particular share price, I did actually take away a very valuable skill with my experience.

Chart reading is a simple way some investors trade the share market, but it has excellent applications in our business. Having a close handle on pricing using the comparative model of price assessment is as we all know, not particularly accurate. But knowing where the price has been and where it is currently going in your respective specialization is guaranteed money in the bank.

By using some simple chart reading methods that any stock market book can teach you, you can get a handle on spikes and troughs of your particular market. My local residential real estate market has been mapped for five years now. I have a large visual chart on my office wall and also on my computer. I look at it every day. The information is readily available at your local town planning department as the authorities do the same thing I am suggesting here for their own reasons. They like to keep there property taxes up to date. The information is usually free or you can get it in printed form for a small fee.

Using charting to identify a growing bubble of prices has other advantages too. Of course not everybody does this, so meeting the occasional vendor and indeed even the real estate agent, who will often have little clue about the increased current demand and the resulting immediate spike in prices people are paying. This makes for some very fast deals if you are so inclined.

My passion is boats, yacht’s and sea going cruisers. I enjoy this market and trade regularly. Of course, I had to eventually get my brokers licence, but that was not difficult at all. I find unlike real estate, marine craft are very emotional purchases by well heeled individuals. Usually new money, their desire is to experience a life owning a yacht or cruiser. These decisions for them are purely emotional. The shinier the chrome the more they pay. Its a case of “spare no expense” within reason.

I have a relationship with the local associated trades, where I often sell up my prospects by throwing in a new galley or a brand new respray and relaunch of the vessel. It certainly ads value and costs me little in time or money yet the deals get much bigger profit wise after the added value is paid for. I find its all about perception.

Martin Thomas (c)2005

Martin is a professional investor and Entrepreneur. If you would like to discover more about being an entrepreneur, you can read “The Million Dollar Mentor” by Hayden Muller. Martin recommends this work highly and has used the very concepts contained in the work for his own successful entrepreneurial activities.

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Capital budgeting is very important in small business venture capital. It is the process of making investment in capital expenditure. Capital expenditure refers to expenditure and the benefits that are expected over a period of time, especially exceeding one year. The chief characteristic of capital expenditure is that expenses are incurred aggressively at one point in time. The benefits are realized at different points in time in the future. Capital expenditure decisions are also called long-term investment decisions.

Capital budgeting is very important in small business venture capital. It is the process of making investment in capital expenditure. Capital expenditure refers to expenditure and the benefits that are expected over a period of time, especially exceeding one year. The chief characteristic of capital expenditure is that expenses are incurred aggressively at one point in time. The benefits are realized at different points in time in the future. Capital expenditure decisions are also called long-term investment decisions.

The decisions concerning capital budgeting are crucial because they are long-term oriented and are irreversible in nature. The efficient running of a firm is reflected by the way decisions are made for the effective utilization of the firm’s financial resources. Such capital budgeting decisions are considered to be of paramount importance in heavy investment, long-term commitment of funds and impact on profitability.

The capital budgeting decisions generally involve very large amounts of capital funds. However, the availability of such funds is very limited. It is essential that thoughtful and wise decisions be made concerning investment of capital funds. This would, result in flow of profits for the firm. Capital budgeting involves employment of capital funds in the activities of the firm on a long-term basis. This increases the financial risk involved in such investment decisions, and necessitates careful and efficient planning. This is because, any wrong and unwise decision may prove disastrous for the small business venture capital firm.

Venture Capital provides detailed information on Venture Capital, Venture Capital Firms, Venture Capital Investing, Venture Capital Funds and more. Venture Capital is affiliated with Angel Investor Networks.

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The 8820 has not proved the most popular mobile phone BlackBerry have every made, despite this it is still worth evaluating if you find one with a discount. Considering it is an entry level phone the 8820 is reasonably well featured compared alongside some of the other mobile phones. Like other similar models from BlackBerry the visual design is very cutting edge and would be appealing to a wide range of customers.The 8820 from BlackBerry is a sleek and stylish phone.

The 8820 is compatible with 2G GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 . A WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML compatible browser is also included. If the visual appearance handset is important, you should be aware that the 8820 is only available in Silver. The mobile phone is pretty light weighing in at 134 g. The 8820 is quite compact, easily fitting into one pocket. A 65K colors display is fitted to this mobile phone. The BlackBerry 8820 is has bluetooth, for convenient compatibility with the majority of devices. The ring-tones enabled on the 8820 are Polyphonic, MP3 along with a vibration alert. The battery shipped with the 8820 is a Li-Ion 1400 mAh. The BlackBerry 8820 has a battery duration of 520 hrs reserve time and talk time of 5:00. This mobile phone as a number of extras like, Built-in GPS navigation with BlackBerry maps, To-Do list, Voice dial, Media player, Java, Built-in handsfree, Organizer and Document viewer (Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, Corel WordPerfect and Adobe PDF).

Although this is a relatively recent model, the BlackBerry 8820 has some stiff competition. Because of this it is fairly easy to find a great deal on this mobile phone. The most cost effective way to shop for a mobile these days is on the web. Ordering online will save you a lot of money, it is even possible to get a BlackBerry 8820 with free line rental for 9 months , which may not cost anything to run.

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Public Obligation and Image

Members of the Royal Family take on several private appointments ever year, throughout the United Kingdom, as officially documented in the Court Circular, to respect, promote and hear about the successes or deeds of people societies and firms in a range of sectors of life. As representatives of the Queen, they persistently connect with the nation in celebrating past times, holidays, celebratory & awful episodes and frequently also sponsors or partakes in particular charitable, artistic and social activities.

Their excursions abroad on behalf of the UK (also referred to as State Appointments when the Queen formally visits other state officials) draws public attention to great connections within and between the Commonwealth and other nations, to British supplies & trade, & to Britain as a historical, vacation, and holiday location. Their present activities & customary roles forms the peak of a current “royal court,” & endow a specifically British & historical spectacle to royal services (I.e. Trooping the Colour) and flavour to public demonstrations (I.e. Summer Parties, Ascot).

During their lives they receive immense press attention in the way of picture, written & telecast commentary concerning their daily lives, family affairs, rites of passage, characters, attire, conducts, & public functions.

Financial Support

Finances that support the British Queen in the implementation of her roles as the leader of state of the United Kingdom comes from the Civil List. This is a return of a little piece of the earnings from the Crown Lands that are given up by the head of state to parliament at the swearing in of each and every reign; all Crown Land being overseen by The Crown Estates, an organisation that is responsible to parliament. In the two thousand and three-four financial year, the sum amount made available was one-hundred and seventy-six million pounds, where the Head of State’s costs totalled ?36 million. The Queen’s expenses doesn’t however encompass the outlay of guards. Information about the English Royal Family can be found at (enjoyEngland.com) the official site for tourism in England.

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Break your swing up into several parts. At the address position, your arms and chest form a triangle.

Practice the take away by moving this triangle in one piece without changing any of the angles, which means no wrist movement.

Take your club to waist height and stop there.
Practice this over and over again, during the day when you have an odd moment.
You do not have to have a club in your hand.
Simply adopt the grip position of the hands by holding your left thumb with your right hand.
It is essential that you do not use your wrists in the take away.

Next take your swing to the top and look at your hand and arm position.
Assume this position by performing your backswing at odd moments.

Next start the down swing by turning your left hip, and then continue the next part of the down swing until you are just behind the ball.

This time with a club, note the squareness or otherwise of the club face.

Next, with a club, start with club head just behind the ball and continue your swing making sure you have firm wrists and that you are hitting with you arms.
Continue through to the finish of the follow through, making sure that your right forearm crosses over your left on the way.

Practising during the day as often as you can will result in a grooved swing for you that will happen each time you hit the ball with very little conscious thought or mental input from you.

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