Parmeshwor Vetwal

construction management

2018-12-15T07:04:00.000-08:00

CYBER CRIMES

2009-10-29T23:54:00.000-07:00

CYBER CRIMES

Hacking
Hacking in simple terms means an illegal intrusion into a computer system and/or network. There is an equivalent term to hacking i.e. cracking, but from Indian Laws perspective there is no difference between the term hacking and cracking. Every act committed towards breaking into a computer and/or network is hacking. Hackers write or use ready-made computer programs to attack the target computer. They possess the desire to destruct and they get the kick out of such destruction. Some hackers hack for personal monetary gains, such as to stealing the credit card information, transferring money from various bank accounts to their own account followed by withdrawal of money. They extort money from some corporate giant threatening him to publish the stolen information which is critical in nature.
Government websites are the hot targets of the hackers due to the press coverage, it receives. Hackers enjoy the media coverage.
Motive Behind The Crime

• Greed
• Power
• Publicity
• Revenge
• Adventure
• Desire to access forbidden information
• Destructive mindset
• Wants to sell n/w security services

Child Pornography
The Internet is being highly used by its abusers to reach and abuse children sexually, worldwide. The internet is very fast becoming a household commodity in India . Itâ€™s explosion has made the children a viable victim to the cyber crime. As more homes have access to internet, more children would be using the internet and more are the chances of falling victim to the aggression of pedophiles.
The easy access to the pornographic contents readily and freely available over the internet lower the inhibitions of the children. Pedophiles lure the children by distributing pornographic material, then they try to meet them for sex or to take their nude photographs including their engagement in sexual positions. Sometimes Pedophiles contact children in the chat rooms posing as teenagers or a child of similar age, then they start becoming friendlier with them and win their confidence. Then slowly pedophiles start sexual chat to help children shed their inhibitions about sex and then call them out for personal interaction. Then starts actual exploitation of the children by offering them some money or falsely promising them good opportunities in life. The pedophiles then sexually exploit the children either by using them as sexual objects or by taking their pornographic pictures in order to sell those over the internet.

In physical world, parents know the face of dangers and they know how to avoid & face the problems by following simple rules and accordingly they advice their children to keep away from dangerous things and ways. But in case of cyber world, most of the parents do not themselves know about the basics in internet and dangers posed by various services offered over the internet. Hence the children are left unprotected in the cyber world. Pedophiles take advantage of this situation and lure the children, who are not advised by their parents or by their teachers about what is wrong and what is right for them while browsing the internet
How do they Operate

a. Pedophiles use false identity to trap the children/teenagers
b. Pedophiles contact children/teens in various chat rooms which are used by children/teen to interact with other children/teen.
c. Befriend the child/teen.
d. Extract personal information from the child/teen by winning his confidence.
e. Gets the e-mail address of the child/teen and starts making contacts on the victimâ€™s e-mail address as well.
f. Starts sending pornographic images/text to the victim including child pornographic images in order to help child/teen shed his inhibitions so that a feeling is created in the mind of the victim that what is being fed to him is normal and that everybody does it.
g. Extract personal information from child/teen
h. At the end of it, the pedophile set up a meeting with the child/teen out of the house and then drag him into the net to further sexually assault him or to use him as a sex object.

Cyber Stalking
Cyber Stalking can be defined as the repeated acts harassment or threatening behavior of the cyber criminal towards the victim by using internet services. Stalking in General terms can be referred to as the repeated acts of harassment targeting the victim such as following the victim, making harassing phone calls, killing the victims pet, vandalizing victims property, leaving written messages or objects. Stalking may be followed by serious violent acts such as physical harm to the victim and the same has to be treated and viewed seriously. It all depends on the course of conduct of the stalker.
Both kind of Stalkers â€“ Online & Offline – have desire to control the victims life. Majority of the stalkers are the dejected lovers or ex-lovers, who then want to harass the victim because they failed to satisfy their secret desires. Most of the stalkers are men and victim female.
How do they Operate
a. Collect all personal information about the victim such as name, family background, Telephone Numbers of residence and work place, daily routine of the victim, address of residence and place of work, date of birth etc. If the stalker is one of the acquaintances of the victim he can easily get this information. If stalker is a stranger to victim, he collects the information from the internet resources such as various profiles, the victim may have filled in while opening the chat or e-mail account or while signing an account with some website.
b. The stalker may post this information on any website related to sex-services or dating services, posing as if the victim is posting this information and invite the people to call the victim on her telephone numbers to have sexual services. Stalker even uses very filthy and obscene language to invite the interested persons.
c. People of all kind from nook and corner of the World, who come across this information, start calling the victim at her residence and/or work place, asking for sexual services or relationships.
d. Some stalkers subscribe the e-mail account of the victim to innumerable pornographic and sex sites, because of which victim starts receiving such kind of unsolicited e-mails.
e. Some stalkers keep on sending repeated e-mails asking for various kinds of favors or threaten the victim.
f. In online stalking the stalker can make third party to harass the victim.
g. Follow their victim from board to board. They “hangout” on the same BB’s as their victim, many times posting notes to the victim, making sure the victim is aware that he/she is being followed. Many times they will “flame” their victim (becoming argumentative, insulting) to get their attention.
h. Stalkers will almost always make contact with their victims through email. The letters may be loving, threatening, or sexually explicit. He will many times use multiple names when contacting the victim.
i. Contact victim via telephone. If the stalker is able to access the victims telephon, he will many times make calls to the victim to threaten, harass, or intimidate them.
j. Track the victim to his/her home.
Definition of Cyberstalking?
Although there is no universally accepted definition of cyberstalking, the term is used in this report to refer to the use of the Internet, e-mail, or other electronic communications devices to stalk another person. Stalking generally involves harassing or threatening behavior that an individual engages in repeatedly, such as following a person, appearing at a person’s home or place of business, making harassing phone calls, leaving written messages or objects, or vandalizing a person’s property. Most stalking laws require that the perpetrator make a credible threat of violence against the victim; others include threats against the victim’s immediate family; and still others require only that the alleged stalker’s course of conduct constitute an implied threat.(1) While some conduct involving annoying or menacing behavior might fall short of illegal stalking, such behavior may be a prelude to stalking and violence and should be treated seriously.
Nature and Extent of Cyberstalking
An existing problem aggravated by new technology
Although online harassment and threats can take many forms, cyberstalking shares important characteristics with offline stalking. Many stalkers – online or off – are motivated by a desire to exert control over their victims and engage in similar types of behavior to accomplish this end. As with offline stalking, the available evidence (which is largely anecdotal) suggests that the majority of cyberstalkers are men and the majority of their victims are women, although there have been reported cases of women cyberstalking men and of same-sex cyberstalking. In many cases, the cyberstalker and the victim had a prior relationship, and the cyberstalking begins when the victim attempts to break off the relationship. However, there also have been many instances of cyberstalking by strangers. Given the enormous amount of personal information available through the Internet, a cyberstalker can easily locate private information about a potential victim with a few mouse clicks or key strokes.
The fact that cyberstalking does not involve physical contact may create the misperception that it is more benign than physical stalking. This is not necessarily true. As the Internet becomes an ever more integral part of our personal and professional lives, stalkers can take advantage of the ease of communications as well as increased access to personal information. In addition, the ease of use and non-confrontational, impersonal, and sometimes anonymous nature of Internet communications may remove disincentives to cyberstalking. Put another way, whereas a potential stalker may be unwilling or unable to confront a victim in person or on the telephone, he or she may have little hesitation sending harassing or threatening electronic communications to a victim. Finally, as with physical stalking, online harassment and threats may be a prelude to more serious behavior, including physical violence.

Denial of service Attack
This is an act by the criminal, who floods the bandwidth of the victimâ€™s network or fills his e-mail box with spam mail depriving him of the services he is entitled to access or provide
Short for denial-of-service attack, a type of attack on a network that is designed to bring the network to its knees by flooding it with useless traffic. Many DoS attacks, such as the Ping of Death and Teardrop attacks, exploit limitations in the TCp/IP protocols. For all known DoS attacks, there are software fixes that system administrators can install to limit the damage caused by the attacks. But, like Virus, new DoS attacks are constantly being dreamed up by Hacker.

Virus Dissemination
Malicious software that attaches itself to other software. (virus, worms, Trojan Horse, Time bomb, Logic Bomb, Rabbit and Bacterium are the malicious
Software Piracy
Theft of software through the illegal copying of genuine programs or the counterfeiting and distribution of products intended to pass for the original.

IRC Crime
Internet Relay Chat (IRC) servers have chat rooms in which people from anywhere the world can come together and chat with each other.

Credit Card Fraud
The unauthorized and illegal use of a credit card to purchase property.

Net Extortion
Copying the companyâ€™s confidential data in order to extort said company for huge amount

Phishing
The act of sending an e-mail to a user falsely claiming to be an established legitimate enterprise in an attempt to scam the user into surrendering private information that will be used for identity theft. The e-mail directs the user to visit a Web site where they are asked to update personal information, such as passwords and credit card, social security, and bank account numbers, that the legitimate organization already has. The Web site, however, is bogus and set up only to steal the userâ€™s information.. By spamming large groups of people, the â€œphisherâ€ counted on the e-mail being read by a percentage of people who actually had listed credit card numbers with legitimately. Phishing, also referred to as brand spoofing or carding, is a variation on â€œfishing,â€ the idea being that bait is thrown out with the hopes that while most will ignore the bait, some will be tempted into biting.

Online Safety Tips

2009-10-29T23:23:00.000-07:00

Online Safety Tips
We all know that the Internet is a cool place to hang with friends and check out new things. But don’t forget about the Internet’s risks and dangers. If you’re going to use the Web, do it safely! Here are some suggestions on what you should and shouldn’t be doing online to help protect you against the bad stuff.
Be careful online.

Never reveal personally – identifiable information online. A lot of creeps use the Internet to take advantage of other people, especially kids and teens. Never reveal any personally-identifiable information online, whether it’s on your profile page or in a blog, chatroom, instant messenger chat or email.
• Always use a screen name instead of your real name.
• Never give out your address, telephone number, hangout spots or links to other websites or pages where this information is available.
• Be careful about sending pictures to people you do not know very well.
• Never tell people personal or private information about your friends or family.
• Never assume you’re completely anonymous online. Even if you don’t put personal information online, there are different ways that people can still figure out who you are and where you live.
Never share your password with other people (except for your parents).
Your passwords to websites, email accounts and instant messenger services should not be shared with friends or strangers. Your friends may not be as safe as you are and may unknowingly subject you to danger. You should, however, share your passwords with your parents if they ask so they can make sure you’re using the Internet safely.

Never arrange meetings with strangers.
Just because you’ve seen a person’s picture and read his or her profile, does not mean you know them. Many people online lie about who they are and what their intentions are. Just because someone seems nice online, does not mean they really are. They could be trying to hurt you. Never arrange a meeting with a stranger you’ve met online. Even meeting a stranger in a crowded place could be dangerous as he could follow you home. If you wish to meet an online friend in person, talk to your parents and arrange a time and place where your friend can meet your parents first, just in case. If you are worried about your parents meeting one of your online friends, you probably shouldn’t be friends with them in the first place.

Don’t believe everything you read or see online.
Be wary of everything you see online unless it is from a trusted source. People lie about their age, who they are, what they look like, where they live, how they know you and what their interests are. Also, a lot of websites and emails contain information that is misleading or just plain untrue. If a person or deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Ask your parents to help you figure out what information is really true.

Don’t download files or software without your parents’ permission.
There are a lot of files on the Internet that are unsafe to download to a computer. Some files will bombard you with pop-up ads all day long. Some files will actually track everything you and your family does on your computer, including your logins, passwords and credit card information, which criminals then use to steal money from you and do other harm. There is no easy way to tell which files are bad and which are ok to download. That free desktop wallpaper you want to download might also steal your parents’ credit card information. Ask your parents before you download any files or software from the Internet.

Don’t respond to inappropriate messages or emails.
Some people send inappropriate messages just to see if you will respond. If you do, you are simply encouraging them to send more inappropriate material to you. Don’t respond to inappropriate messages. Instead, talk to your parents about how to report them to the right place.

Don’t post inappropriate content.
. If you post information about tennis, you will attract people who are interested in tennis. If you post inappropriate content or pictures, you will attract people who have inappropriate interests. If you post jokes, photos or other content that contain sexual references you will probably attract people who are only interested in talking about sex. Be mindful of what you are communicating to the rest of the online world through the content you put onto the Internet.

Be leery of personal questions from strangers.
People you don’t know who ask personal questions are often up to no good. Don’t continue communicating with strangers who ask you personal questions. Talk to your parents about how to block them from communicating with you and report them to the right place.

Don’t be bullied into fights.
People tend to say things online that they would never say in person. Some people even say rude and malicious things, sometimes just to see if you will respond. Don’t respond to these people. Instead, talk to your parents about how to block them from communicating with you and report them to the right place.
Don’t use adult sites.
There are some websites that kids just should not use. Don’t use websites that contain adult content or that facilitate communication with older adults. No matter how much you think you know about the Internet, there are some people and places you just aren’t ready to deal with. Enjoy websites that are designed for people your own age.

Understand what you put online will be there forever.
Assume that everything you put online—- every email you write, every picture you post, every blog or journal entry you post—- will be accessible on the Internet forever. Many search engines copy Internet pages and save them for viewing even after the pages are no longer online. Think about that before you post anything online. Do you really want pictures or blog entries to be seen 10 years from now?

What’s the Difference Between Marketing & Relationship Marketing?

2009-09-08T03:26:00.000-07:00

The short answer is there should be no difference whatsoever. The confusion comes from what you experience and what you may be hearing now. So let’s sort this all out.

Most business owners, entrepreneurs, and SOHO’s aren’t clear about what marketing is supposed to do. Marketing has one objective. That objective is to create relationships. Boy do I wish I had understood that from the beginning.

Marketing is really about making friends. Therefore, all good marketing is relationship marketing. You read the “good” part didn’t you?

Just like when most people hear the word “salesperson” they immediately think about the worst of the worst… the same is true when it comes to how many business owners think about marketing. You immediately think of the examples of marketing communications that do little more than scream you need to buy and you need to buy now.

The world is not made up of zombies haunting the streets in search of what you sell. Even the people who do want to buy your stuff will not respond to in-your-face marketing tactics and techniques. Instead most people are either looking for INFORMATION, or they are open to information about something that could be of interest to them.

Bottom line when it comes to marketing you want to evaluate the way you approach creating those relationships through your marketing communications.

Think about why you develop relationships with some people and not others. Do you share a common interest or desire? Do you have a common goal or challenge? Probably.

You’ve also probably met a lot of people in your life that could have developed into relationships yet they didn’t go anywhere. Did you do anything beyond the introduction to sustain the relationship? Were there opportunities for interaction and engagement? Hmmm, pretty obvious why things just kind of went nowhere.

So, if the purpose of marketing is to create relationships then our marketing must:

Focus on what the other person wants to hear

Provide a way to get information about that
Allow the other person to gain a sense of who you are and what you are about

Nurture the relationship by continuing to add value

Provide opportunities for interaction and engagement

And above all don’t take yourself so seriously. Some of the worst marketing efforts I’ve ever seen were created by business owners who wanted to create the illusion they were a big company when they weren’t… who insisted on using incomprehensible “corporatese” when a simple message would have worked so much better. No matter what… people buy from people. The people you market to need to know you are a real person who really cares about what they think… who really wants to help them.

A less than perfect sincere marketing message is a thousand times more powerful than a perfect impersonal one.

Can you think of a really bad marketing communication you’ve gotten lately? What could the sender have changed to make the message work for you?

COPYWRITER

2009-05-21T21:02:00.000-07:00

The Step-by-Step Copywriting Course Gives You:
A format that allows you to work at your own pace
This self-paced, self-study course contains an e-book study manual with insights, guidelines, do's and don'ts. Read it at your own pace, when you have the time.
Step-by-step instruction with lots of examples
You'll get step-by-step instructions and see real-life examples, pulled from actual advertisements that show you exactly how to (and how NOT to) write powerful copy.
Lessons so you can practice writing exceptional copy

We learn best with practice so I've provided assignments at the end of every lesson so you can immediately use your new skills.
Insight on how a professional would write it
This is a self-scoring course. Once you've completed each lesson, you can check the "Answers & Insights" section of your manual that contains the answers to the assignments, insights, examples of how I would write the copy and important points to consider.

THE 10 PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE COPY WRITING FOR THE NET:

1. Know Your Product
This is the cornerstone of good copy writing. Know your product and be passionate about it. Believe in it. If you don't, you shouldn't be selling it. It is not only unethical to sell something you wouldn't buy yourself, but also difficult and unpleasant.
If you have a product that you *know* will change your customer's life for the better, then copy writing becomes much easier. You're doing her a favor - offering this product at this price - believe that yourself first.
After that, killer copy comes naturally.

2. Know Your Customer
Before you write the first word, create a profile customer.
• Is it a techno-peasant housewife or an IT company executive?
• Income range?
• Age?
• Sex?
• In a hurry?
Select your words and page length to suit your reader - not yourself.
Then, once your web site is tailor made for her unique needs, it is time to test... Find about 3 people who more or less fit your profile customer's specs and let them loose on the site. Give them tasks like finding your e-mail address, getting to the order page, finding information on a specific product etc.
See how easily they find it and ask for general comments as they go.
Testing is absolutely vital.
My own sales copy always looks good to me - but I wrote it, so I know exactly how it's structured. Someone else might find it tedious or even confusing.
Confusing web sites is the NUMBER ONE reason people leave.
Swear at them if you must, but don't confuse them.
That is why you have to test.

3. Stress Benefits
Whatever you do, DON'T put you mission statement on your homepage.
We just don't care.
We want benefits! What can your product do for me? Right now!
• Can it make me rich?
• Can it save me time?
• Can it entertain me?
• Can it make me feel better about myself?
That's what people want.
Your product's greatest benefit should be right in the top header in bold red letters. Your first three or four words should hit them between the eyes.
You never read everything on every page you visit. You scan - you look for something that seems interesting.
Statistics show that you have 10 seconds to grab your visitor's attention. If you don't, she'll move on. No sentence starting with "Our goal is to..." has ever grabbed my attention. I don't care about you. I care about me. What does your site/product do for me? Right now!
I know this seems harsh, but you'd do well to take it seriously. It's been proven many times. E-consumers are very back-button-happy. It's a big web with lots to see. You HAVE TO give them a reason to stay on your site.

4. Establish Trus
On the Net you don't have the advantage of speaking face to face with your customer, so you have to load as much credibility into your words as possible.
How?
Offer a free trial, a money-back guarantee, testimonials, put your e-mail address, physical address and phone number at the bottom of every page, show a (small) photograph of yourself etc.
Most important: Speak to your visitor. Don't ramble about technical specs of your products. Imagine sitting down with a friend and telling her about something that can really enhance her life.

5. Use Headings Like This One
Break it up.
Short paragraphs.
Few people will read your entire page. Make it scannable.
Each heading should do 2 things:
• Grab her attention
• Give her clues about the content of the next two or three paragraphs.
Remember that reading from the screen puts extra strain on the eyes. Make the read easy, quick and informative.

6. Words (not) To Use
Good words:
Free; proven; discover; breakthrough; learn; you/your; benefit; first; complete; exclusive etc.
Bad words:
If; but; should; could; etc.
Powerful words:
Why say "If you want to get to the top of the Search Engines..." when you could say "Nail the search engines in five easy steps. Read on... ".
As a rule of thumb, assume that your visitor couldn't care less about you. Don't use "I" or "me" more than "you".

7. Keep It Short
I mentioned page-length up there at #2. The key is to keep it as short as you can. When you're done writing your killer copy, see if you can say it in half the words. Don't sacrifice quality though. Make it as long as it needs to be without dragging it out.

8. Create Urgency
Throw in something special for the first 100 subscribers or make it "this month only". Your word selection is important here. Don't say "Subscribe now!". Put a specific time limit to it - "Subscribe during July and I'll give you... ".
Try to get them to buy on their first visit, because chances of them returning later are slim.

9. Get A Response
Hook'em the first time.
If they don't bookmark you, they probably won't find you again. Have a back-up response ready.
For example:
Let's say that you have a visitor that just can't make up her mind. With a bit more convincing, you'll hook her, but she's at the end of the page and thinking about the dreaded back-button.
So give her something - like a free subscription to your newsletter or a trial download. That way you survive in her memory and you get another opportunity to persuade her.

10. Spelling, Grammar and Formatting
I won't tell you that a typo will kill your sales effort. The same applies to grammatical errors. Use a spellchecker of some sort. I make a habit of pasting my text in MS Word and running a spell-check. It saves a lot of time later.
EASY ON THOSE CAPS AND EXCLAMATION MARKS!!!!
They look unprofessional. Use bold text and color to highlight important points.

A Confession..
I learned almost everything I know about copy writing in Joe Robson's "Make Your Words Sell" ebook. It sells for under 30 bucks last time I checked and it comes with an unconditional money-back guarantee.
Nothing to loose and so much to gain.
If you're serious about selling online, this is a must read. Joe is a copy writing wiz and the book does not waste your time. Just real, step-by-step advice you can use from today to turn more of your site visitors into customers.

“Everyone lives by selling something.”

2009-05-18T00:12:00.000-07:00

“Everyone lives by selling something.”

A thin man eats to live and a fat man lives to eat.

You don’t expect much from a cook, yet you expect a fine meal from a Chef.

How is it there’s such a vast difference in the way basic things are done? How is it those often almost unnoticeable differences produce such dramatically different outcomes?

These differences, my friend, are the result of:

Attention to detail

Passion

Commitment

The thin man, the cook, and the average sales person miss the mark on each count by just a little. Water at 211 degrees is just hot water, yet increase that temperature one teensy degree and you unleash enough power to pull a train with cars as far as the eye can see. Improve the way you sell one little degree and you transform from an average sales person to a top producer.

Read these three sentences placing emphasis on the italicized word in each sentence -

The red house is the one on fire.
The red house is the one on fire.
The red house is the one on fire.
Change the way you emphasize just one little word and the entire meaning changes.

The cook approaches the meal with the thought of getting it done. The Chef approaches the meal with the thought of creating an experience for the taste buds. The cook is happy when you are full. The Chef is only happy if you had a mouthwatering eating encounter.

The average sales person approaches sales with the thought of closing the sale. The top producer approaches sales as the beginning of a life-time relationship.

The average sales person thinks only of the process. The top producer is passionate about the engagement and discovery.

The average sales person always leaves a way out… a back door for escape. The top producer is all in all the time. There’s no need for back door options because the top producer’s focus is on the right option for both the producer and the new client.

Yes, sales is a process. However, sales done right is a passion fulfilled through a process.

6 Sales D’s

Yet another “no sale”. You followed your presentation exactly. You were on time looking good.

What happened? What went wrong?

You probably have run up against one or more of the 6 D’s of sales. You can’t sell when your potential buyer has one of these 6 reasons for not buying. They:

don’t like you
don’t trust you
don’t need what you have
don’t have a reason to buy now
don’t have the money
don’t have the authority to make a buying decision

If you act like a sales person your potential buyer automatically won’t like or trust you. They’ve been trained not to like and trust sales people. It doesn’t matter that you’re different or that you haven’t done anything to make them dislike or distrust you.

If you are a good person with good intentions there’s no valid reason for you to trigger the first two D’s. Change the way you position yourself.

If the reason the potential buyer can’t buy is because they don’t have a need for what you offer. Shame on you. You’ve needlessly wasted both your time and there’s. Make sure you prequalify every appointment so you’re only speaking with qualified prospects.

You overcome urgency and money by asking questions that help the potential buyer develop a reason to buy now and a reason doing so makes good financial sense. You never do it by telling them these things. It has to be their idea.

When you were qualifying the prospect before you met you should also have determined if they were the sole person needed to make a buying decision. If you don’t do that up front… telling you they can’t make a buying decision is an easy way to get rid of you without having to tell you the real reason they don’t want to buy.

Identify the D’s that kept you from getting the sale. Now how are you going to remove these D’s so the next sales ends the right way.

The Tao of Making Money

2009-05-09T00:56:00.000-07:00

The Tao of Making Money

Tao means Way. The Tao of Making Money is the Way of Making Money. What natural principles does making money follow?

Making money is part of nature, and struggle is a symptom that you are out of harmony with the flow of nature, how things work. The word prosperity originally meant "to be in the flow".

I would like you to grasp something simple yet elusive to many.

First, let us hear a few words from the wise and successful, and then we can move on to the Tao of Making Money:
"To live through an impossible situation, you don't need the reflexes of a Grand Prix driver, the muscles of a Hercules, the mind of an Einstein. You simply need to know what to do." --Anthony Greenbank

"It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult." --Seneca

"The world is not to be put in order; the world is order, incarnate. It is for us to harmonize with this order." --Henry Miller

"If we do not know what port we're steering for, no wind is favorable." --Seneca

"There is a science of getting rich, and it is an exact science, like algebra or arithmetic. There are certain laws which govern the process of acquiring riches, and once these laws are learned and obeyed by anyone, that person will get rich with mathematical certainty." --Wallace D. Wattles

"The reality of life is that your perceptions - right or wrong - influence everything else you do. When you get a proper perspective of your perceptions, you may be surprised how many other things fall into place." --Roger Birkman

"Our life is what our thoughts make it." --Marcus Aelius Aurelius Antoninus (121-180), Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher.

"What saves a man is to take a step. Then another step." --Antoine De Saint-Exupery

"Vision is not enough unless combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps unless we also step up the stairs." --Vance Havner

"Nothing comes from doing nothing." --William Shakespeare

"To your subconscious mind the solutions to your problems of poverty is to become rich, but it is logically invalid for it to pursue this course of action if it has been told that it will make you a bad person." --Simon Hall
"To be ambitious for wealth and yet expecting to be poor; to be always doubting your ability to get what you long for, is like trying to reach east by traveling west. There is no philosophy which will help man to succeed when he is always doubting his ability to do so, and thus attracting failure." --Charles Bandouin
Do you see a pattern there? Well, I will spell it out for you. Here, then, is the Tao of Making Money:
Wealth Consciousness + Mindset + Strategies + Action = Great Wealth Guaranteed
To understand it, let us look at it backwards.
The result you want is wealth
Your results always follow your actions (and beliefs). If you don't get into a car and drive to London, you will stay where you are. If you don't get off the couch, you will stay on the couch. Simple: the result is the child of the action.
Your actions follow your beliefs. You cannot act outside of what you believe. Have you noticed that?

Your beliefs are simply thoughts that you think over and over again (mindset). And your thoughts can be organized into a system that works (a strategy). And a strategy can be learnt; all you need is to be exposed to it to come from not knowing to knowing.

Most importantly, your thoughts arise from your state of being (consciousness).

When you are happy, you have happy thoughts and you feel happy. When you are sad, you have sad thoughts and you feel sad. State comes first, followed by thought and then the corresponding emotion. You may not know it, but you always choose your state; it just doesn't happen randomly (maybe unconsciously, but not randomly, and you will learn how to make the unconscious conscious).

A state of being that believes in abundance, infinity, possibility, openness, flow, and so on, is a state of wealth consciousness. If you have a lack consciousness state of being as your predominant one, you cannot make wealth. It defies natural law and hence it is impossible. In fact, if you don't have wealth consciousness, you will not even believe or perceive opportunities to make money even if they are staring at you right in your face (you wouldn't know money if it hit you in the face).
You must first create within you a state of wealth consciousness. This must be your primary mission.
Your subconscious mind (the storehouse of your beliefs) controls almost everything about you. For example, it controls your autonomic nervous system. What is that? Here is what the Microsoft Encarta encyclopedia says: "Autonomic Nervous System, in vertebrate anatomy, one of the two main divisions of the nervous system, supplying impulses to the body's heart muscles, smooth muscles, and glands. The autonomic system controls the action of the glands; the functions of the respiratory, circulatory, digestive, and urogenital systems; and the involuntary muscles in these systems and in the skin. Controlled by nerve centers in the lower part of the brain, the system also has a reciprocal effect on the internal secretions, being controlled to some degree by the hormones and exercising some control, in turn, on hormone production."

Which all means that your hormones, energy levels, actions and so forth are controlled by the subconscious mind. If you have told yourself that you are clumsy, the subconscious will work with your hormones, motor skills, and so on and make you act, move and talk stupid. If you have told yourself that you don't fit in social situations, you will find yourself standing in the corner not fitting. Whatever you say, boss. Your subconscious is like a computer. Whatever you program into it, it makes happen. No questions asked. You are the boss, and whatever you say, happens.
Your imagination, your thoughts, what you perceive, what you don't perceive, what you see and what you miss, how you act, what you feel... these are all determined by one thing: your programming, what you repetitively tell yourself (and what you repetitively got told or observed during your youthful formation years).
So how do you take the quantum leap, how do you step out of the box of your own thoughts and see beyond it. How do you program yourself for success? Well, the same way you create all programming: practice. Repetition. You have to not only find what works positively for you, but you have to practice that new positive way over and over until it becomes part of you. Positive thinking and self-help advice will not work unless you make it permanent for you by practicing it over and over. Your entire physiology has to be rewired; your neural pathways (which create pattern and memory) have to be redrawn. All this happens by practice.
Repetition. Repetition. Repetition. Practice. Then one day, like with everything else you ever learnt through practice, you just find yourself automatically doing it! It becomes you! Take right action - repeatedly! Learn and practice right thought repeatedly!

The (Mistaken) Sense Of Control

2009-03-14T21:02:00.000-07:00

The (Mistaken) Sense Of Control

What in your life can you control?

Not much, as it happens. In fact, most of the areas we feel most in control of are riddled with uncertainty and unpredictability: business, health, parenting, finances. In a lot of cases - like picking which stocks to invest in - the average person actually underperforms random selection. That is, when it comes to picking stocks, a monkey with a dart board and a copy of the stock page can do a better job picking winning stocks than most ostensibly informed humans.

Why is that?

In the case of selecting stocks, it's because while a random selection has a 50/50 chance of going up or down, we humans tend to invest our choices with emotional weight that keeps us in markets too long or too short - unlike randomness, we act on hunches, fears, and hopes.

More generally, we tend to be poor judges of risk and uncertainty, yet we have brains that are more than willing to impose patterns and meaning that cover up rather than address such unknowns. So we act as if we knew what we were doing, and as if we had some level of control over the situation, when really we're at the mercy of luck - and the more uncertain the situation, the more likely we are to act as if we were in control.

The (Mistaken) Sense of Control
Consider this situation:

Let's pretend you have an infant girl, and one night you get a call at 1 am from a friend across town who desperately needs your help. As you prepare to drive across town to meet your friend, you have a choice - leave the child sleeping in her crib, or bundle her into a car seat and take her with you.

For most parents, this is a no-brainer - of course you're going to take her with you. What if something happens in the house while you weren't there, like an electrical fire? What if someone broke into the house and kidnapped her? What if she stopped breathing?

The reality, though, is that the single riskiest thing you could do to an infant at 1:00 am is to take her driving in a car. Far more people die every year in car accidents than in all the potential risks to your child alone at home combined. In your car, she'll be exposed to danger from poor road conditions, mechanical failure, and worst of all, other drivers - who at 1:00 am are likely to either have been drinking or be exhausted, neither of which makes them safe to be sharing the road with.

But with our child with us, we feel in greater control than if she was left at home, unattended. There's no rational basis to this feeling - it's entirely grounded in emotion, a poor comprehension of risk, and an over-assessment of the degree to which our own presence has any significance.

Our failure to understand risk and the role chance plays in our lives is profound and cuts across a wide swathe of our lives. Consider the efforts we make to assure our children grow up with decent values - and how often parents raise kids that completely reject their values. Or consider how many businesses go under every year, and how many of them were headed up by people with strong qualifications, solid training, and a clear sense that they knew what they were doing. Or, in the financial sector, consider how many stock brokers, financial analysts, and others are caught entirely by surprise by massive shifts in the financial sector, like the recent collapse of the credit system - if there were really a pattern, and people really understood it, they all should have seen it coming.

Dealing with uncertainty
If we're really bad at understanding risk, and if we're led astray by a mistaken sense of control, then what should we do? Should we just throw up our hands and accept whatever Fate throws at us? Should we lock ourselves in our homes, wrap ourselves in padding, and huddle in a corner until our lives mercifully end?

Fatalism and despair are, thankfully, over-reactions to the uncertainty of life. As it happens, there are quite a few things we do control, even in the midst of uncertainty. For instance, while even the best poker players are largely at the mercy of luck as to what cards they hold, good players can control enough of the situation - their facial gestures, how much they bet, when to fold, etc. - to come out of even several lousy hands in a row ahead (at least sometimes).

While we can't eliminate uncertainty, there are ways we can act to minimize its effects - at least in some instances. If the Moon spins out of its orbit and collides with the Earth tomorrow, all bets are off. But for more everyday sorts of uncertainly, it pays to:
Be prepared.
Good planning leaves enough "slack" to adapt readily to unforeseen circumstances. For example, many people keep a "rainy day fund" to make sure they're prepared for an illness, loss of a job, accident, or other emergency.

Diversify.
Balancing high-risk options with low-risk ones can help make sure that a sudden freak occurrence wreck everything. It's the classic "don't put all your eggs in one basket" theory - balance your investment portfolio, hedge your bets, pursue multiple medical treatments (where possible), and so on.

Get a second opinion.
Or a 100th. James Surowiecki's "The Wisdom of Crowds" shows how the cumulative voice of the many can be more accurate than any one individual, even an expert. Whenever undertaking a risky endeavor, make sure to consult as many people as possible - and find a way to split the difference.

Get another doctor's opinion before embarking on a course of treatment, Discuss investment options with more than one financial advisor. Get feedback from a range of employees before instituting a radical new policy or process. By sampling a variety of people, you'll have an opportunity to "cancel out" conflicting worldviews that, in most cases, have little to do with the reality at hand.

Create habits.
Uncertainty often leads us astray most when we respond directly to fluctuating and random events. For instance, maybe you go to Vegas with a $300 budget to spend on slot machines, but when you see a particular jackpot is up to $12 million you throw caution to the winds and drop $800 into the machine. Creating habits that you stick to religiously can help minimize the desire to act based on emotional factors that have little to do with the actual level of certainty or uncertainty involved.

Recognize risk.
There is a far higher injury rate for softball players than for base jumpers. Why? Because softball is seen as a safe sport and so players take few precautions, while base jumpers train heavily, invest in solid equipment, and approach the risk inherent in their sport seriously. When you recognize risk and respect it, you act smarter - which helps you to stay more in control when that's possible, and to minimize harm when control isn't possible.
Life itself is inherently uncertain - and that's a good part of its beauty. That uncertainty shouldn't paralyze us, it should energize us - it should make us doubly aware of our surroundings and doubly appreciative of our successes. By ignoring risk - or pretending it doesn't exist - we make ourselves stupider, which ironically leads us to act in riskier ways.

But by respecting and even embracing uncertainty, we can often come out further ahead than if we tried - usually in vain - to control inherently uncontrollable situations.

WIRELESS SOHO

2009-03-06T06:01:00.000-08:00

Mighty Tips to keep your SOHO - Wifi Network secure!!

These days wifi networks are found in abundance be it a home, a hotel, a motel, a small office....it is really a benefit and a ease to carry you laptop at any corner or any room and start working if that place is in the reach and you wifi strength covers it....be it in a cafe takin coffee sips and clicks or be it a motel having a hard time as the presentation is tomorrow..wifi has made it all so easy and handy. But after having all these facilities deployed there a few questions that arises??

#) Are you the only one accessing your wi-fi Network?
#) Are you sure no body is sneaking around in your network?

As it is quiet easy to carry around a laptop and use the wifi connectivity in the same ration it is risky too when seen from a security perspective....All the digital transactions made via your laptop might be lying at someone's table ready to be analysed. These days wifi networking devices don't always help your need of security...so above all you your self need to be a bit conscious and take over the charge. Here are few points outlined that might help you in securing ur wifi network and keeping them out of reach of the Dirty Hands.

1)Turn the encryption system on (WPA/WEP whatever your wifi device supports):
Almost all of the wi-fi devices come up with in built encryption techniques. What these encryption system does is they just play a rumble with the data sent over the air and turn them in to sh!ts so that they are transformed in to unreadable formats often termed as craps....There are many different encryption mechanisms employed that exist for the facility today. Generally because of the human nature you will go for the best, conditions are they must work along with your network. All the devices (wi-fi) in the network must share a same encryption key to talk to eachother..so there might be chances that might create conflicts betn two devices that dont support a encryption mechanism used by one...or say the technique that one uses might not be supported by the other..so again her you will have to choose an option that will work for all. If the choices are WPA and WEP only than I wud recommend you to go with WPA ;) the reasons are obvious hehe..

2)Change the default login credentials:
By default every wi-fi vendor does implement some sort of access authentication systems in their devices..the general is a web based authentication that contains a username and a password. The first thing one must after he gets in is change in the default settings (password) and username too if possible. As because these devices are as a nucleus of any wi-fi network high priority must be given to the security of these devices as one mis-configuration might result in a chaos. In general, to configure, maintain and set up these devices a web base platform is provided that needs authentication and/or account information to be accessed for. These platforms generally come with a default set of everything..the login credentials too that are like

Username<==>Password
admin admin
admin NULL(means no password required)
NULL 00000 (they are zeros and must not be mistaken with the letter o)

and so on...so as these are the default set of login credentials and are different with vendors, but are known to public (and attackers more often) so it is indeed a good practice to change them up.

3)Enable MAC address or Hardware address filtering:
Every network device that exist in this world has its own unique identifier that is in no way same to any other device from the same vendor or from any other...these identifers are called physical address OR' MAC address. Access points and routers in the network keep a log of all the hardware addresses of all the devices (wifi cards) connected to them. And these days many of such AP(Access Points) and Routers have an option to restrict connections and or accesses to any hardware address defined in the AP or the router. This is generally a good practice if you dont want average computer users connect to your network and use your resources but if in case a intruder gets hand on the physical address of the devices in your network than s/he can easily make fake addresses and than be a part of your network. This feature is not as effective as it seems, the reason is clear....ah WHY??

4)Change the SSID name:
Wifi devices such as Access Points and wireless Routers use a network name known as the SSID (Service Set Identifier) to make the devices know of them. Generally vendors normally have their name as the default SSID names. For e.g, Dlink has the SSID name as "dlink" Linksys has "linksys" and so on. If you ask that what can one do if my SSID is known than the answer is they might be able to break into....though this is the first step one would take. Moreover there is a logic if someone finds a box with SSID set as default than there are chances that other things are kept default too..rite!! and thus are much more likely to make it a victim. So better change the SSID immediately as you change the password.

5)Hide the SSID from public:
In wireless networking, the AP or the router generally broadcasts the network name (SSID) as discussed above in the air at periods. It was generally designed for businesses and mobile hotspots where wireless clients may roam any where. This feature is generally unnecessary while being in a home or such places. So when not in use it is better to keep it off as it will just do the thing as "Hey do u see me I am a AP/Router and I am here".

6)Do not auto connect to wide open wi-fi networks:
While as it is a good thing and a luck to find open networks....it is a place of high risk in the same ratio..cases have been registered whereby open APs and Routers are setup to acquain victims and than play with them. So better not connect on any free hotspots till you trust them.

7)Disable DHCP in the AP or the Router:
It is generally seen that many of the APs or the Routers that are used are running DHCP server running in them that reduces the hectic job of assigning the IP address to each client on the network manually. But in the other hand it will notify the attacker of the IP address and the all the information being used as he might obtain a valid IP address automatically. So its a good practice to turn DHCP off and assign the addresses manually this wont let the intruder know of the subnet being used moreover user subnets else than 192.168.x.x as this is the most common subnet used.......

8)User firewalls:
As modern wifi devices come along with a builtin firewall and other options it is a good thing to make a use of them denying all unnecessary services and applications in the network...except from those which comes to regular uses.

9)Turn the network when not in use:
Well I needn't tell this but there are ppl who want their wi-fi devices be online always though not in use...why to take risks and provide a long lasting window to the attackers instead it is a better to turn the device off if they wont be in use for a long time.....saves both electrcity bill and your network ..... ;)

SCHOOL CHILD PROTECTION POLICY(Offline/Online)

2009-02-14T00:40:00.000-08:00

1. Introduction

Small Office Home Office (SOHO) Computer Network Nepal PVT LTD believes that all children have a right to be protected from harm. Children cannot learn effectively if they do not feel secure. Awareness of safety and self-protection should be included in the curriculum where appropriate. So SOHO launch business project with Amajika Nepal (NGO) about Cyber Crime Investigation and Online Children Protection. Initially we go to field and conduct seminar and then develop software or work as agent of different countries of working areas of that field as firewall which will protect child and youth.

All staff and principals have a pastoral responsibility towards the children and they must ensure that the correct procedures are followed in order to protect children from abuse or further abuse. We also have a legal duty of the Children Act to assist local authority social services departments acting on behalf of children in need or enquiring into allegations of child abuse. The aim of this policy is to:

• protect the children and recognise the signs of abuse
• to ensure everyone knows the correct procedures

This procedure is in line with the statutory duties and procedures and follows the guidance in Safer Working Practice for the Protection of Children and Staff in Education Settings Area Child Protection Committee procedures and advice from the Education Department Designated Child Protection Office. The Head Teacher and the Child Protection Officer (CPO) will refer to online multi-agency child protection procedures in each case of suspected or actual abuse.

2. The Child Protection Officer/Designated Teacher

Responsibility is given to head teacher. He/She should be contacted immediately if any member of staff has a concern that could be considered to be about child protection. Her Role is discussed further in Section 9. All concerns must be reported to the CPO, the Head Teacher or the project co-ordinator. Concerns should be recorded on a child welfare/child protection form which will be kept in a confidential file in the Principal’s office.

3. Definitions of Abuse

The Abuse children suffer from usually falls into one of four main categories defined in Safer Working Practice for the Protection of Children and Staff in Education Settings , but a single child may suffer more than one type of abuse.

Physical Abuse

Physical abuse may involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning or scalding, drowning, suffocating or otherwise causing physical harm to a child. Physical harm may also be caused when a parent or carer feigns symptoms of or deliberately causes ill health to a child they are looking after. This situation is commonly described using terms such as factitious illness by proxy or Munchausen's syndrome by proxy.

Emotional Abuse

Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional ill treatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child's emotional development: It may involve conveying to the child that they are worthless or unloved, inadequate, or valued only in so far as they meet the needs of another person. It may feature age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children. It may involve causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger or the exploitation or corruption of children. Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of ill treatment of a child although it may occur alone.

Sexual Abuse

Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. The activities may involve physical contact, including penetrative, e.g. rape or buggery or non-penetrative acts. They may include non-contact activities such as involving children in looking at or in the production of pornographic material or watching sexual activities or encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways.

Neglect

Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child's basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in the serious impairment of the child's health or development. It may involve a parent or carer failing to provide adequate food, shelter and clothing, failure to protect a child from physical harm or danger. Alternatively neglect is the failure by the parent or carer to ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment for the child. It may also include neglect of or unresponsiveness to a child's basic emotional needs.

4. Possible Signs of Abuse

Staff should be alert to possible indicators of abuse of children in their care, but should also be aware that the following signs may also have other explanations.

Physical Abuse

• Unexplained injuries or burns, particularly if they are recurrent
• Improbable reasons given for injuries either by the child or the parent
• Refusal to discuss injuries
• Admission of punishment that appears excessive
• Fear of parents being contacted
• Bald patches
• Withdrawal from physical contact
• Arms and legs kept covered in hot weather
• Fear of returning home
• Fear of medical help
• Self destructive tendencies
• Aggression towards others
• Chronic running away

Neglect

• Constant hunger
• Poor personal hygiene
• Constant tiredness
• Poor state of clothing
• Emaciation
• Frequent lateness or non-attendance at school
• Untreated medical problems
• Destructive tendencies
• Low self esteem
• Neurotic behaviour (e.g. rocking, hair twisting, thumb sucking
• No social relationships
• Chronic running away
• Compulsive stealing or scavenging

Emotional Abuse

• Physical, mental and emotional development lags
• Admission of punishment that appears excessive
• Overreaction to mistakes
• Sudden speech disorders
• Fear of new situations
• Inappropriate emotional responses to painful situations
• Neurotic behaviour
• Self-mutilation
• Fear of parents being contacted
• Extremes of passivity or aggression
• Drug/solvent abuse
• Chronic running away
• Compulsive stealing/scavenging

Sexual Abuse

Children may show no signs at al1 or they may show some of the following signs

• Hint about secrets that they cannot tell about
• Say a friend has a problem
• Ask if you will keep a secret if they tell you something
• Begin lying, stealing, blatantly cheating in the hope of being caught
• Have unexplained sources of money
• Have terrifying dreams
• Start wetting themselves
• Exhibit sudden inexplicable changes in behaviour, such as becoming aggressive or withdrawn
• Stop enjoying previously liked activities such as music, sports, art, gym, uniformed organisations
• Become fearful or refuse to see certain adults for no apparent reason; dislike a baby sitter, relative or other adult
• Act in a sexual way inappropriate for their age
• Draw sexually explicit pictures depicting some act of abuse
• Seem to be keeping secret something that is worrying them
• Have frequent urinary infections, bleeding in the genital or anal areas
• Have soreness or bleeding in the throat
• Have chronic ailments, such as stomach pains or headaches
• Develop eating disorders, such as anorexia or bulimia
• Become severely depressed and even attempt suicide
• Have a poor self image, self mutilate
• Continually running away
• Regress to younger behaviour such as thumb sucking, surrounding themselves with previously discarded toys
• Show discomfort when walking
• Say they are no good, dirty, rotten
• Be wary, watchful
• Repeat obscene words or phrases which may have been said during the abuse
• Attempt to sexually abuse another younger child
• Talk or write about sexual matters
• Find hundreds of excuses for not going home or to a friend's house after school (places where abuse may be happening) .

5. Responding to Concerns

If staff are concerned that children are showing any of the above behaviours or children speak to them about abuse they should immediately contact the Child Protection Officer for the school and she will instigate the procedures as appropriate.

The Child Protection Officer must inform the local Social Services department immediately of any child protection concern and this must be supported by written confirmation within 24 hours.

Staff should record their concern on a dated sheet, with details as follows:

• What the concern is
• What was the evidence that led to the concern
• What the child said
• What the member of staff said or did in response
• Always sign and date the notes
• Never offer to maintain confidentiality but always ensure that information is only disclosed to those who 'need to know'.

This record should use the actual words spoken as far as possible, at the outset if an investigation takes place it may be used as evidence.

If a member of staff is the first to see an injury then they must inform the Child Protection Officer immediately.

If a child chooses a member of staff to disclose abuse to, they should try to ensure a degree of privacy and arrange for cover for the class if necessary.

6. The Distinctions between an Allegation and a Suspicion

The differences between these two possible Child Protection .issues are very important when bringing them to the attention of the Child Protection Officer. An allegation is very important and should be dealt with immediately. Once the allegation has been brought to the member of staff's attention then this member of staff should immediately inform the Child Protection Officer so that the correct procedures can be put into place. Along with this, when an allegation is made the member of staff should ask the minimum number of questions to satisfy them self of abuse in order not to compromise any police or social services investigation. The child should be allowed to talk and the member of staff should not try to pose situations that may have happened so that the child can say yes or no. Do not tell the child that his or her secret can be kept and nobody else will need to know and as soon as possible after the conversation with the child write down a transcript of the conversation so that you have an accurate account of what was said should be needed in the future.
With a suspicion there is not the urgency that an allegation would create. Again the Child Protection Officer will need to be told as quickly as possible but it does not need to be immediately. Similar actions as stated above should still be used in case in the future the suspicion becomes an allegation.

7. Helping the Child when Abuse is Disclosed

• Be prepared to listen and comfort
• Do not show revulsion or distress however distasteful the events are
• Stay calm and controlled
• Don't make false promises i.e. that you will keep the abuse a secret or that the police will be involved
• Let the child know at once that it was not his or her fault and keep restating this
• Be aware of your own feelings about abuse and find someone that you can share those feelings with once the procedures have been completed Reassure the child that you still care for them and that what they have said does not make you care less for them
• Reassure the child that they were right to tell, even though the abuse may have happened a long time ago
• As soon as possible write a first hand account of what was said and done
• Follow internal procedures
• Information will only be shared on a need to know basis
• Do not ask leading questions
• Offer to stay with the child

8. Reactions to Abuse

What to expect from a child who has been abused. A child may experience a range of reactions to abuse, including some or all of the following:

• A feeling of shame or guilt. 'It must have been my fault', ‘I'm bad’
• A feeling that she is dirty - Spoilt - degraded
• Embarrassment 'I'm sure everyone knows'
• A desire to continually talk about the abuse and to gain reassurance
• Dislike of being touched and touching others
• Loss of confidence
• Trouble sleeping, nightmares
• Hatred of self and of his or her body
• Destructive behaviour
• Inability to complete school work
• Inability to relate to other children or adults
• Many of the behaviours indicated are an attempt by the child to express feelings that he/she cannot express in words and are a response/reaction to abuse
• Difficulties may continue for a long time after the abuse and the child may need specialist support.

9. The Role of the Child Protection Officer

The designated teacher has the responsibility for ensuring that the procedures are followed and for liaising with the local Social Services Area Office i for any cases of abuse.

All child protection concerns or allegations should be discussed with the Child Protection Officer (CPO).

The CPO will decide which cases should be referred to or discussed with the duty officer at Social Services.

When you have raised your concerns with the CPO and he/she has decided that further action needs to be taken then the CPO will contact the local Social Services Department during the normal working day or the emergency duty team at all other times.

10. Protecting Children

Appointment of Staff

Our recruitment and selection procedures follow guidance in 'Safeguarding children: Safer Recruitment and Selection in Education Settings'. We are committed to safeguarding the promoting the welfare of children and young people and we expect all staff and volunteers to share this_ commitment. For this reason all staff will be required to complete a CRB check at the enhanced level and all positions will be made firm only after receiving satisfactory references and medical affirmation.

How to Behave Appropriately as a Member of Staff

Remember to never get yourself into a situation that could be misconstrued by the pupil. Some things to remember would be do not speak or touch a pupil in a way that could be interpreted as a sexual insult, do not offer to meet a pupil in a closed space, when in a room make sure that the door is left open, do not show open favouritism and refrain from making remarks that could be seen as showing favouritism. These are only a few pointers, as a member of staff you should be aware of other things that may not be appropriate and could lead to allegations.

Male Members of Staff

It is recommended that male members of staff do not go into any of the areas which are private to the girls, without a female member of staff present. This is to protect both the pupils and the members of staff and to give girls privacy within their own areas.

Female Members of Staff

It is recommended that female members of staff do not go into any of the areas which are private to the boys, without a male member of staff present. This is to protect both the pupils and the members of staff and to give boys the privacy within their own areas.

Internet Safety

All computers at the school which are connected to the internet are screened by the service provider to ensure that only material suitable for children are accessible through them.

11. The Procedure to follow if the allegation of abuse is against a Member of Staff

If an allegation is made against a member of staff it must be responded to: there is an obvious need to act immediately and with utmost discretion. The informant should be told that the matter will be referred in confidence to the appropriate people. This must be done, and the written record passed on the same day to the CPO or the Head Teacher.

The circumstances should be kept strictly confidential until the Head Teacher has been able to judge whether or not an allegation or concern indicates possible abuse. The next step is always to discuss the situation with the appropriate Social Services Manager.

If it is decided that an investigation is called for, it is the responsibility of the Social Services Manager to arrange a meeting to discuss how the next steps are handled. This would normally involve the Police and the Head Teacher.

The arrangements agreed upon will include informing the parents and seeking their consent for any immediate medical examination if necessary.

He/She would normally be informed as soon as possible after the result of the initial investigation is known, or the decision is made to dispense with one, but not invited to make a response. There should be a warning that anything said will be recorded.

If it is established that the allegation is not well founded, either on the basis of the medical evidence or further statements, then the person against whom the complaint has been made would normally be informed that the matter is closed. The complainant and the parents would also need to be informed of this.

If the Police decide to take the case further and the allegation is against a member of staff, he/she would normally be suspended or, where the circumstances are considered to warrant it, dismissed. It is reasonable to ask the Police to give some indication of their timescale. There have been cases where the period of suspension has been unacceptably long.

12. Allegations Involving Sexual Impropriety

Whenever a member of staff is approached by a pupil concerning an event involving sexual impropriety of any kind, whether between pupils or staff and pupils, the following steps should be taken:

• Listen sympathetically and afterwards briefly note the content of what was disclosed, sign and date it.
• Contact the CPO immediately, who will discuss with the Head Teacher whether Social Services should be notified.
• If Social Services are notified and express no great concern, the CPO will interview the complainant and report as quickly as possible to the Head Teacher, who will oversee the disciplinary aspects of the enquiry.
• If Social Services express concern, they will themselves open an enquiry. In these circumstances, our own disciplinary enquiry will be suspended until cleared by the Social Services. This would normally involve the Police and the Head Teacher.

The above should be implemented regardless of whether the complainant is over or under 16. Parents should be informed as soon as a reference to the Social Services has been made by the CPO.

13. Confidentiality

Staff have a professional responsibility to share relevant information about the protection of children with other professionals.

Staff should not promise to keep secret information given to them by a child, but should explain that they will pass the information only to those who need to know can help.

14. What to do if the Designated Child Protection Officer is not in School

In the event of the designated Child Protection Officer not being in school for any reason then any member of staff who has concerns about any child should contact the Head Teacher. The Head Teacher will become the designated Child Protection Officer and continue to deal with concerns until the CPO returns to School. In the case of both the CPO and Head Teacher being absent from school, a senior member of staff will be designated as temporary CPO.

15. What to do if the Complaint is About the Child Protection Officer

If the allegation or complaint is about the person who is designated as the Child Protection Officer for the school then any information obtained from the child should be shared with the Head Teacher who will then act as the Child Protection Officer for the school during the investigations and communicate with the Social Services.

16. The Nursery Department

The named CPO for the Nursery Department is as required by OFSTED. He/She maintains a link with the CPO for the whole School and they will communicate of any issues that require it.

17. Training

The CPO will require training every two years in child protection and inter-agency liaison. The Head Teacher and all staff require training (updated every three years) and all part-time or voluntary staff who works with children is to be made aware of the arrangements.

Teens & Cyberbulling

2008-12-04T20:51:00.000-08:00

Teens and Cyberbullying

Executive Summary

The Small Office Home Office (SOHO) Computer Network Nepal PVT LTD. explores the issue of cyberbullying among middle school and high school-aged students in Nepal. The survey had these four objectives:
• Explore teens’ experiences with cyberbullying
• Understand teens’ emotional and behavioral reactions to cyberbullying
• Probe what teens think would be the most effective ways to prevent or put a stop to cyberbullying
• Determine how teens define cyberbullying and what other terms they use to describe it
This executive summary highlights the key findings of the survey. I

Teens ages 13 to 17 are an online population. They use the Internet, cell phones, instant messaging, and text messaging to talk to friends, gather information for reports, check out sports scores, and practice their social skills on a larger population. Their access to these electronic communications tools is found in many different places—at home, at school, at friends’ houses, and even at public libraries and WiFi sites. Thirty-eight percent (38 percent) of teens report that they have been using the Internet for three years or more; more than half say that have been on the Internet for five or more years. Eight out of ten teens (80 percent) say they used the Internet “yesterday” and 27 percent used the Internet for more than an hour “yesterday.”

Though parents are generally quite vigilant about protecting their younger children from the content of specific types of sites and put clear limits on the amount of time spent online and the reasons for it, teens report that they are largely unsupervised by their parents while online. Nine out of ten (90 percent) of 10- to 12-year-olds say their parents know where they are going online, compared with four out of ten (41 percent) of 13- to 15-year-olds. Only seven percent of 10- to 12-year-olds say their parents think they know their children’s online destinations but really don’t. But 27 percent of 13- to 15-year-olds report that their parents think they know online destinations but don’t.
Interestingly, as teens get older, they believe that their parents should be more concerned with what the teens see and hear on line.

Cell phones are an important means of communication for this age group. About 59 percent of 13- through 15-year-olds and 74 percent of 16- and 17-year-olds report that they have cell phones. Of teens who have cell phones, about 60 percent use text messaging. As many as 25 percent of teens send text messages while in school.

Cyberbullying is not an uncommon occurrence among teens in this age group. Slightly more than four in ten teens (43 percent) report that they have experienced some form of cyberbullying in the last year. The incidence of cyberbullying is higher among females than males, and is most prevalent among 15- and 16-year-olds, particularly among girls. More than half of this total age group reported at least one cyberbullying incident in the past year.

Teen cyberbullying victims report that immediately following an incident, they are likely to consider one or more actions, such as asking the person to stop, using electronic means to block the person from communicating with them, or talking with a friend. Teens are twice as likely to talk to a friend about the incident as to talk with their parents or another adult.

Teens report a wide range of emotions as a result of experiencing cyberbullying, from anger to embarrassment to indifference. Over half of cyberbullying victims report feeling angry (56 percent); one-third report feeling hurt (33 percent); one-third report being embarrassed (32 percent), and one in eight said they feel scared (13 percent). Females are more likely than males to report all of these emotions, especially girls ages 13 to 15. Many teens, however, claim that the cyberbullying incident didn’t bother them.

Though teens may not know immediately, about three out of four report that they eventually figure out who cyberbullied them. Often, this is a friend, someone they know from school, or someone else they know. Fewer than one in four teen victims (23 percent) were bullied by someone he or she didn’t know. This “unknown” cyberbully was generally in a chat room saying mean or vicious things or someone sending cruel or threatening emails, instant messages, or text messages.

Most teens believe that people cyberbully for one (or more) of these reasons: “they think it’s funny” (81 percent); “they simply don’t like the person” (64 percent); or “they view the victim as a loser” (45 percent). Nearly six in ten teens (58 percent) said the cyberbully “probably didn’t see the action as a big deal.”

Nearly half of teens said that cyberbullying happens because the cyberbully doesn’t perceive any tangible consequences (47 percent) or feels he or she would not get caught (45 percent).

Teens believe that cyberbullying prevention needs to occur at three different levels— individual actions, online institutions, and parental education—but most notably at the individual actions level.

In teens’ views, the most effective way to prevent cyberbullying is to be able to block people who cyberbully from communicating with the victims (71 percent). The next most effective methods, according to teens, include simply refusing to pass along cyberbullying messages (62 percent), and telling their friends to stop cyberbullying (56 percent). Slightly more than five in ten teens (56 percent) believe that online groups and Internet service providers (ISPs) should have moderators who can block cyberbullies’ messages. Forty-five percent of teens say that parents should tell their kids that cyberbullying is wrong; 43 percent say that cyberbullying should be reported to an adult. Unlike face-to-face bullying, teens do not view cyberbullying as an issue that should be addressed by the school; in fact, they feel that much of customary school intervention (large assemblies, etc.) would be largely ineffective.

• More action is needed at all levels.
o Reporting systems that encourage reporting of cyberbullies to local authorities
o Sample rules of conduct that schools, community centers, youth clubs, and similar groups can adopt with respect to online behavior using their facilities or while on their premises
o Easy-to-use tips for parents on talking with children and youth on this topic, ideas for communicating with other parents, and thoughts for generating action by such community organizations as PTA/PTSAs and libraries
o Pledge cards, featuring the “Delete Cyberbullying. Don’t Write It. Don’t Forward It” tag line to help children and teens remember not to cyberbully or encourage it
o Directory that lists ways to contact appropriate online and similar authorities to get cyberbullies’ privileges suspended or revoked
o Training for school counselors, teachers, other adults, and teen peer counselors in dealing appropriately with victims of cyberbullying
o Development of school and community-based anti-cyberbullying campaigns that publicize policies, resources for victims, and help for youth and parents using effective communication strategies for and with teens
o PowerPoint™ presentations that can be used by local law enforcement and other community groups to educate both youth and parents on the dangers posed by cyberbullying and how to prevent it

Protecting Yourself in Computer age

2008-12-04T20:47:00.000-08:00

Introduction
Imagine a world without technology. Jump back to a horse and carriage, no electricity, no telephones. Now, fast forward to the new millennium. The research firm, estimates that 25% of all Nepal homes have a personal computer and that one-third of all homes are online. They further conclude that “... the home computer is rapidly eclipsing the television as the communication and information appliance for many consumers.”This is great news for consumers who can access an entire universe of information on the World Wide Web. Children and teenagers can research homework topics and engage in interactive games with a click of a button. Adults can bank, trade stocks and purchase a multitude of items while surfing the Web. But danger lurks on the Web. Criminals manipulate the Web into a nightmare by distributing child pornography to unsuspecting consumers; stealing personal information such as names, addresses and credit card numbers; hacking confidential systems and personal home computers to obtain or delete information and planting harmful viruses that destroy entire systems. Unfortunately, these are just a few examples of high tech crimes that are getting more sophisticated and harder to detect as technology advances.

You can help stop criminals from threatening your children, your financial well-being and your peace of mind. This high tech crime prevention information will guide you safely through your high tech adventures. Additionally, important information on preventing identity theft is included. Cases of identity theft have dramatically increased with advances in technology and this guide will help you take control and prevent further victimization. Technology is advancing at a rapid pace and printed material about cutting edge technology is almost obsolete by the time it goes to press. With this in mind, we(me and my company) present the basics of high tech crime prevention. This publication provides strategies on how to protect your children from child molesters who befriend potential victims on the Internet. It also covers ways to protect yourself from cyber-stalking, identity theft, fraud schemes, cellular telephone fraud and hackers. Consumers, parents, employees and employers will find useful information to protect your families and finances. Remember, high tech crime prevention techniques must evolve as rapidly as technology.

Child Safety on the Internet
The sleepy woman glanced at the clock and reached for the ringing telephone. It was 2:00 a.m. Parwati gripped her as the caller identified himself as a sheriff’s deputy. He had her 14-year old daughter in his patrol car, and he needed to resolve a delicate situation. The woman thought her daughter was down the hall in her bedroom, asleep. Not so, according to the deputy. In fact, he had found her parked along a country road three or four miles from the girl’s home with a 26-year old married man from a neighboring community. Shock and disbelief gripped the woman. “How” and “why” were only a few of the questions running through her mind. The answers she found in the next few hours added to her shock. Her daughter had become a victim of Internet crime.

As a parent, if you own a home computer and allow your children Internet access, you need to be Internet literate. If you do not know how to access the Internet, take a class, read a book or spend time with your children and let them show you the amazing world of cyberspace. Be aware of what is out there and prevent your child from gaining access to inappropriate Web sites and chat rooms. Did you know that child molesters frequent chat rooms on the Internet? If you are not familiar with chat rooms, it is time you sat in on one. If your children have access to the Internet, they have access to child molesters who pose as other “teens” or confidants trying to develop friendships with unsuspecting children. Child molesters lure their victims with promises of friendship and material goods. And, too often, it works! Many adolescent Internet users look for friends – someone who will “chat” while their unsuspecting parents are not present. In addition to child molesters, other individuals try to glean personal information from your children, such as their name and address. Parents have also found that their child “borrowed” a credit card and gave the number to a new “friend” on the Internet. Once this information is on the Internet, parents are vulnerable to identity theft and other potentially expensive problems. Take charge of your computer. Set ground rules for Internet access and discuss with your children these crime prevention tips:
• Place the computer in a centrally located area in your home – not in a child’s bedroom. This prevents “secret” communications or access and also allows all members of the family to use it.

• Talk to your children about the Internet. Explain that it is an excellent source of information, but some sites are inappropriate and they are expected to stay away from these sites.

• Establish time frames for Internet access. This will encourage your children to obtain information in a timely manner and discourage aimless wandering.

• Keep an open line of communication with your children. Discuss their Internet experiences and guide them to sites that are age-appropriate.

What's your name?
• If your children have Internet access at school, find out if the school has adopted an acceptable use policy. If so, obtain a copy and use it to establish additional guidelines at home. If the school does not have a policy, become involved with your child’s school and encourage responsible Internet use. An acceptable use policy may limit the sites available to children based on age-appropriate material and set specific time limits for use.

• Consider using software that can block or filter Internet sites or certain words that may indicate inappropriate sites.

BACK TO THE CHAT ROOM
Many parents and law enforcement experts believe that chat rooms are a safety risk because the identities of the “chatters” cannot be confirmed. The elusive identity of chatters poses many risks to children. If you do allow your children to “chat,” they should follow these important safety guidelines:

• Never give out any personal information including: name, address, city, state, school attended, telephone number, family names or other personal family information.

• Use age-appropriate chat rooms. The larger Internet Service Providers (ISP) have moderated chat rooms with appropriate themes. Contact your provider or search the Internet for more information.

• Never respond to someone who wants to meet in person or send photographs. Instruct your children to exit the chat room and notify you immediately if this happens.

• Never agree to send or receive a file without parental permission. (Receiving “blind” files may introduce your children to pornography or plant a virus in your computer.) Most importantly, if your child visits a particular chat room, spend at least five or ten minutes monitoring the conversation to see if it is appropriate. Consider purchasing computer software products that can help you monitor and control your child’s access to the Internet. It is also a good idea to have a well-known protection program if your children download files. Additionally, monitor your children’s Internet activity by checking all of the sites visited. This is accomplished by accessing the Internet and pressing the “control” and “h” keys simultaneously on your keyboard. If this doesn’t work, access the Internet, click on the “windows” pull down menu, and then click on “history.” Either way, a window will appear that lists the “history” of all sites visited. Finally, immediately report to your local law enforcement agency any attempts by others to meet your child or any inappropriate sexual conversations. If possible, save the conversation text for review by law enforcement. This will assist law enforcement in an investigation and possible prosecution.

When You Least Expect it
Protect Yourself
The jilted ex-boyfriend had a plan. Using personal Information from his ex-girlfriend, he sent a message over the Internet that lured men to her door who thought they were going to fulfill a rape fantasy. The information included her name, address, telephone number, physical description and detailed instructions on how to circumvent her security system. The woman was not harmed, but half a dozen men tried to visit her. Fortunately, the jilted ex-boyfriend was charged under cyber-stalking law.

The Internet is supposed to be the information super highway, not an instrument used or violence. Unfortunately, some individuals choose to turn the Internet into their personal playground of destructive messages, threats and illicit pornography. And you’re probably thinking, where are the laws prohibiting threats and pornography? Defining Internet crime is a unique challenge; therefore, lawmakers are continually updating and introducing new laws relating to Internet safety. Because the First Amendment protects freedom of speech, there is little, at this point, that law enforcement can control on the Internet. The cyber-stalking law does not inhibit free speech, it prohibits computer-based harassment. The issue for law enforcement now becomes one of jurisdiction. Where did the crime occur? This is the first question that law enforcement asks a victim. Did the crime occur in your home because that is where the computer is located? Or, did the crime occur where the message originated from, which could be in another state or country? This is a law enforcement dilemma. ISP often cooperate with law enforcement, but it isn’t always easy to find the suspect. In fact, a hacker can compromise your Internet account and send harassing messages under your name and profile – and get away with it. The best and easiest way to prevent personal information from getting into the wrong hands is to be very selective in the information that you divulge. Use the following commonsense tips when using the Internet:

• Do not give out your name, address, telephone or credit card numbers or other personal information, such as your social security number, unless you are dealing with a reputable company and you have initiated the contact.

• Think twice before submitting your personal information profile through your ISP.
• If you decide to meet someone from online, use common sense. Meet in a busy, public place and consider taking a friend with you to the meeting.

PROTECTION AGAINST INTERNET SCAMS

The Internet has also become a vehicle for criminals to use to perpetuate tried and true scams. If it sounds too good to be true ... it probably is! Have you heard this before?

Believe it! Being on the information super highway does not legitimize a get-rich opportunity. Simply type “get rich quick” in a search engine, and you are on your way to new-found wealth or a scam. Many old confidence schemes, such as pyramid schemes,have resurfaced on the Internet. The scams are the same. People are contacted via e-mail or notice a Web page touting a sweet deal. They are encouraged to invest some money, and if they can convince others to do the same, they are promised a huge return. The first few people make money, but two or three levels down, the pyramid crashes because the initiators are the ones receiving profits. Pyramid schemes focus on recruiting new members, not on selling products. In 1999, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched a sweep of the World Wide Web to locate sites that host illegal multilevel marketing scams. These sites are under ongoing investigation. Additionally, the FTC offers the following tips to consumers to guard against illegal pyramid schemes:

• Avoid any plan that offers commissions for recruiting additional distributors.

• Beware of plans that ask new distributors to spend money on excessive amounts of high-priced inventory. These plans can collapse quickly and also may be illegal pyramid schemes in disguise.

• Be cautious of plans that claim you’ll make money through continued growth of your “downline” (the commissions on sales made by the new distributors you recruit) instead of through sales you make yourself.

• Beware of “shills” – decoy references or endorsements that the promoters pay other people to describe fictional successes in earning money through the plan.

• Do your homework. Check with your local Better Business Bureau about any plan you’re considering, especially if the claims about your potential earnings or the product sound too good to be true. Pyramid schemes aren’t the only scams to be wary of on the Internet. There are many and they tend to recycle
periodically. Beware of “free gift offers” for completing a simple survey or because you won a prize in a drawing – especially if you did not enter. These typically ask you for your name and credit card number to cover the nominal cost of shipping. Their real purpose is to commit credit card fraud.

Other tips to keep you safe online include:

• Never send money to an unsolicited e-mail or a posting you spotted on the Web.

• Watch out for the buzzwords: downline, matrix, network,recruitment and cell. These words and their synonyms are often used to dress-up classic pyramid schemes.

• Never agree to a meeting with someone who has posted a fabulous offer. In-person meetings give the con artist a chance to turn on high-pressure sales tactics or even rob you.

• If you are setting up an online identity for e-mail, be very vague. Do not give out personal information in a profile.

• Contact your ISP or local law enforcement if you receive suspicious or threatening e-mail.
• Be alert for any responses to e-mail that you don’t believe you have sent.

• Be alert to e-mail bearing a return address you recognize, but with content that does not match the personality of the sender. Look carefully at message headers for discrepancies between sender and provider.

● Acquire and use encryption software if you send e-mail containing confidential or sensitive information.

● Web sites whose purposes are to commit fraud appear and disappear quickly, making it difficult for them to be tracked. If you find a suspicious Web site, print the screen and any correspondence. Present this information when filing a complaint with your ISP or law enforcement. Finally, use the Internet to find information regarding online safety. Your ISP may also provide useful prevention tips and most encourage you to report suspicious online activities.

If you are a victim of online crime, contact your local law enforcement agency. Do not purge any information from your computer – law enforcement needs this documentation to assist in their investigation.

BEWARE OF CELLULAR PHONE CLONING

The cellular telephone bill arrived and the amount due exceeded 50000! Many of the numbers called were in foreign countries. When the cellular telephone carrier was contacted about the bill, the truth came out. The cellular telephone had been cloned.

Cloning cellular telephones is relatively easy, and as a consumer, you won’t know your cellular telephone was cloned until you get your monthly statement. Cloning is the act of making one cellular telephone “act” the same as another. This is accomplished by copying the identity and phone number of one phone and inserting it into another. The phones do not have to be the same model or even the same brand. The cloned phone is now the same as the first – it will ring when the original phone rings and any charges incurred will be billed on the original phone’s monthly billing statement. If you own an analog cellular telephone, or if your digital phone can also revert to analog, then there is a chance that your phone can be cloned. The best way to prevent your analog cellular telephone from being cloned is to keep the power off when it is not in use. When your cellular telephone is on, it sends out an electronic serial number (ESN), and there is technology available that will capture this signal. Once the ESN is captured, it is then used in the cloning process. If your cellular telephone is off, the ESN is not transmitted. As technology advances, cloning is likely to become obsolete. The digital cellular telephones are somewhat secure from cloning. However, with any cellular telephone, remember that your actual conversation is not private. The cellular telephone is a transmitter, and your conversation is out on the airwaves and vulnerable to interception by radio scanners. Finally, never give out any personal or financial information over cellular telephones. If you notice unusual and excessive charges on your monthly billing statement, contact your cellular service carrier’s fraud division.

Identity Theft
With interest rates at an all-time low, the Smiths decided to refinance their home. They contacted their local banking institution and started the necessary paperwork. They ordered their credit report and were shocked to find that they had three credit card accounts with delinquent balances. They had never applied for the credit cards and the outstanding balances totaled over $20,000. The nightmare started. The Smiths soon learned that they were victims of identity theft. They began the very long, tedious process of clearing their credit. Adding to their grief, the refinancing of their home was also delayed. The Smiths were, therefore, victimized again because they missed out on the lower interest rates.

Sounds unbelievable, but it could happen to you! Think about your daily activities. You go to the grocery store and write a check. What type of information is on your check: name, address, telephone number, driver’s license number, social security number? Wait a minute! Take that social security number off your personal checks. In fact, your social security number should be your most protected information. If a thief has access to your name and social security number, that information can be used to open fraudulent accounts. Innocent people have discovered utility, department store and other credit accounts opened in their name and it is usually accomplished using a stolen social security number. Do not give out your social security number unless it is absolutely necessary. Many forms have an area for the social security number, but you should question why the number is needed. A social security number is needed for loan/credit applications and certain other financial transactions. But the video store and car rental agency certainly don’t need it. Be aware that your social security number is not necessary for check cashing or credit purchases. If you are asked for this information, ask to speak with the store manager to verify the need for this information. Aside from guarding your social security number, guard all your personal information. Do you receive pre-approved credit applications in the mail? What do you do with them? Throw them in the trash? Think again. This mailer contains your name, address, and perhaps other personal information. If you carelessly toss it in the trash, a dumpster diver can use this information to steal your identity or pass it on or sell it to someone else. Your mailbox is an excellent source of information. Many thieves wander through neighborhoods looking for “easy” mailboxes. These are unlocked mailboxes that are usually adjacent to the curb or affixed to a house. A red flag indicating outgoing mail is an invitation to a thief. What’s in your outgoing mail? A Visa payment? A card and a check for your nephew’s sixteenth birthday? Checks that a thief can easily alter. Additionally, if you are mailing credit card payments, the thief now has not only your personal checks, but also your credit card account numbers. He can then fraudulently charge items to your account without your knowledge. Remember that personal information is easy to obtain. Consider the following safety tips that will help prevent you from becoming a victim of identity theft:

● Shred or tear up pre-approved credit card applications, and other mail with your social security number, bank account and credit card account numbers before throwing them into the trash.
ã Never throw mail with personal information into trash bins at post offices.
● Do not leave information with personal and financial information in your vehicle.
● Review bank and credit card statements each month for fraudulent activity. If anything is amiss, immediately report the problem to your bank or credit card company.
● If your bills do not arrive in a timely manner, contact your creditors. Your bills may have been lost in the mail or stolen.
● Before giving out any personal information to a company, ask how the information will be used and whether it will be transferred to third parties (mailing lists).
● Periodically, order your credit report from the three major credit reporting agencies and check for accuracy.
● Do not leave receipts at the ATM machine and gas pump.
● Limit the amount of credit cards and personal information that you carry in your wallet. If you have old credit accounts that you don’t use, cancel the accounts and cut up the cards.
● Do not carry your social security card in your wallet. Memorize the number.
● Do not write credit account numbers on checks or the outside of envelopes when paying bills.
● Be extremely careful about divulging personal information such as place of employment, employee
identification number or mother’s maiden name. These are key components in identity theft.
● Buy a shredder, and use it.

If you become a victim of identity theft, take a stand! Contact law enforcement and complete a crime report. Report the theft of your credit cards or numbers to the fraud units of the three major credit reporting agencies* and ask that your accounts be flagged. Add a victim’s statement to your report
(up to 100 words) that includes a statement such as “ ... my ID has been used to apply for credit fraudulently. Contact me by telephone to verify any and all credit applications.” Find out how long the fraud alert is posted to your account and extend it if necessary. This fraud alert is not a guarantee that your credit is safe. It is a precaution. Continue to monitor your credit reports. If your social security number has been used in an identity theft, it is imperative that you notify the Social Security Administration Hotline as soon as possible. Next, contact all creditors with whom your name has been used fraudulently – by phone and in writing. Send all correspondence by registered mail. This will establish documentation of your efforts. Keep all receipts of expenses and document the amount of time that you spend clearing your name. Ask creditors for replacement cards with new account numbers for the accounts that have been used fraudulently. Ask that the old accounts be processed as “account closed at consumer’s request.” Creditors may request that you fill out and notarize fraud affidavits. In California, the law does not require that a notarized affidavit be provided to creditors. A written statement
and a copy of the police report may be enough. After you have taken these steps to protect yourself or
re-establish your good credit, check your credit reports again. This is the only way to determine if someone has taken your identity. Many victims have no idea how their identity was taken, but they will always remember their wasted time, the many telephone calls to creditors and police, and most of all,
the invasion of their privacy.
Is it over yet? Maybe or Maybe not. Even though you may have spent hundreds of hours restoring your good name, your personal information could have been sold to someone else. Inaccurate information may still appear on your credit report in the future. That is why you need to check your credit reports
on a regular basis. Don’t rely on law enforcement to make this problem go away. Often, the identity of the perpetrator is unknown. Some cybercrooks do not use your personal information to commit identity theft themselves – they obtain the information and sell it to others who do. So, even if law enforcement makes an arrest in your case, your personal information may still be out there waiting for the next thief to
steal your identity. The bottom line is this: be careful with your personal information.

* Information on contacting the three major credit reporting bureaus is provided in the glossary.

It’s a High Tech Business
The Associated Press touted the headline, “Judge unplugs 2 teens who hacked into U.S. computers.” The two teens, ages 16 and 17, hacked into government and military computers apparently just to prove that they could. The punishment – three years probation that excludes the teens from possessing a computer and modem, 100 hours of community service and $4,100 in reparations.

The term “hacking” means breaking into a computer system or network. These two teens broke into government computers. Imagine the type of personal and financial information that our government collects! More shocking is the military information that is accessible to hackers. What happens next? Is all information stored on computers vulnerable? Maybe. If you are connected to the Internet and have a
Web page, you can be a target for hackers. Many government agencies, including the military, as well as businesses and home computer owners take great precautions to keep hackers out of their sensitive information. Encrypting files is the easiest and most common method of securing information before sending it over the Internet. Quite simply, encryption software scrambles the information. With the proper code, the intended recipient’s computer can then unscramble it. Unfortunately, for every prevention method consumers employ, there is a “genius” out there trying to defeat it. The Back Orifice program, for example, was created to attack online users without their knowledge. If someone is using the Back Orifice program, they can literally infiltrate your computer while you are online. Once in your computer, the perpetrator can look at all your files and even delete files – again, while you have absolutely no clue that this is happening. This possibility brings up a question that every computer user should ask, “What type of information is on my hard drive?” If you have personal and financial information on your hard drive, that information may be vulnerable. Consider storing personal and financial information on disks instead. Once the information is stored on disks, put the disks in a fireproof safe.

BUSINESS SAFETY
It is wise to consider people who may work for you and have access to your company computers as potential liabilities. It isn’t always the unknown people who cause irreparable damage to businesses. Often, information theft comes from within the ranks.
Fred Jones has a problem. An employee with administrative access to the company’s computer system suddenly quit and went to work for a competitor.
Fred suspects that this employee stole proprietary information (sensitive company information) and took it to his new employer. Did Fred’s former employee commit a crime? And if he did, how can Fred, or law enforcement, prove that the former employee committed the crime of theft?

What do you think about this hypothetical situation? Did the employee commit a crime? Some say yes, some say no, some say maybe. The big unanswered question: did Fred have any type of written company policy pertaining to computer access and the storage of data? This is key. If you own any type of business and utilize computers, you should have a solid, written policy regarding computers. Without an acknowledged policy, it would be difficult to convict an employee of theft. Additionally, theft is not the only thing you need to worry about. Should your employee steal personal information on other employees or clients and that information is used to commit crimes, you may be held liable in civil court if
you did not take reasonable measures to safeguard that information. Business owners, take note: create and implement a computer-related policy. Make sure that your employees read the policy and acknowledge it in writing. Preventing computer crime in a business doesn’t stop at creating a policy. If you own a small business and are computer dependent, secure the information on your computers. Use
the following crime prevention tips:

● Conduct thorough background checks on all employees, including temporary help. If you need assistance, contact firm that specializes in conducting background checks.
● Do not allow temporary staff access to sensitive data.
● Require employees to use passwords that are a combination of letters and numbers. These passwords should be kept confidential and changed often.
● Initiate a company policy on backing up computers once a day. Secure all back up tapes or disks in a fireproof safe.
● Secure client and personnel information. Access to this information should be limited.
● Use surge and anti-virus protection on all computer systems.
● Remove all data from the hard drive before disposing of computers.
● Ensure that every computer operation can be handled by at least two trusted employees.
● Adopt written procedures for Internet usage by employees. This discourages downloading inappropriate material and viruses.
● Purge old records and information properly. Shred or erase the information so it cannot be used by others.
● Adopt a zero tolerance approach to high tech criminals. Insist on prosecuting and pursue all civil remedies.

The $400 check looked real. The bank called and notified you that it was a fake. What happened? Your employee followed all of the check acceptance procedures
and you even okayed it. The check looked real...

Another hypothetical situation, but businesses are being swindled out of merchandise through this means at an alarming rate. It is the world of high technology crime and the bad guys are working diligently. Computer-generated personal checks, money orders, food stamps and traveler’s checks are
being manufactured on home computers and being passed off to the business community. For the bad guy, start-up costs are minimal, and many times, the bad guy uses stolen credit cards or fictitious checks to purchase the computer equipment. As a business owner, how do you know if the check is real or fake? Calling the bank to verify every single check is not an option, so it is up to you and your employees to weed out the bad ones. This can be extremely difficult since the majority of fake checks have a valid bank account number, and check verification machines will accept and endorse the document. The problem is that the account is good, but the name on the check does not go with the verified account.
The account number was stolen and placed on the fake check. Additionally, fake picture identifications are also produced on home computers that match the checks. With all of this going on, how does a business owner combat this invasion of fake documents? The following steps will help protect you and
your company:

● Review your check and credit card acceptance policies. Many businesses and banks have started to require a thumb print on all checks. Some businesses feel that this practice may inconvenience their customers, and it is a controversial practice. The decision is yours.
● Train your employees to check identification when a customer is using a credit card.
● Employees should also make sure that the account number on the credit card matches
the account number printed on the credit card receipt. Obviously, you won’t be able to spot every fake document, but alert employees can make a difference. Producing counterfeit or forged checks is not the only way criminals may affect your bottom line. The bank calls to inform you that your company’s account
is overdrawn, but your records indicate there should be more than sufficient funds left in the account. An investigation reveals that several substantial checks have been cashed which look identical to yours with what seems to be your signature on them. However, the check numbers do not match your records.
Welcome to desktop forgery. Criminals have learned that many companies, small and large, routinely pay small billing invoices without checking their records to see if the product or service was ordered or received. If they send a fraudulent billing invoice in a small amount for some vaguely described product or service, there is a good chance it will be paid. But they are not interested in cashing the check. They are interested in scanning the check into their computer, making a duplicate copy, changing the payee and the amount. They may make several or several hundred copies and you won’t know anything until you receive a call from the bank or receive your monthly statement. Encourage your bookkeepers to
track all invoices, whether large or small.

Glossary
Chat room: A site on the World Wide Web where any number of computer users can type in messages to each other in real time, thus creating an online conversation. Many chat rooms have a particular topic, but others are designed for meeting people.
Cloning: Making one cellular telephone act the same as another.
Dumpster diver: A slang term denoting an individual who rummages through trash cans and dumpsters looking for items of value, including personal information.
Hacking: Breaking into a computer system or network.
Search engine: A program that acts like a library card catalog for the Internet. Search engines attempt to help a user isolate desired information or resources by searching for key words that the user specifies.
Surfing: A slang term that means looking or browsing at Web sites.
Virus: A program or part of a program that is loaded into a computer and runs against your wishes. A simple virus may use all available memory and bring the system to a halt. More dangerous viruses can delete or change data on your hard drive.

Attract Women With The Things You CAN Control

2008-10-24T11:10:00.000-07:00

Attract Women With The Things You CAN Control

Listen up, when it comes to women and relationships...
however you'd like to define it... most men worry
about ALL the wrong things.

You see, I get questions... and read questions... about
whether "looks" are important for attraction ALL THE TIME.

And, when I say "looks", I'm really talking about a man's
face and many of the things that we have absolutely no
control over in our lives.

(As an aside, we have no control over where we come from
either, but we DO have control over where we go from there)

We really have no control on the actual structure of our
face... and quite frankly... the research shows conflicting
results when it comes to "facial beauty" and attraction.

In fact, research shows time and time again that the only
things that matter in our quest to be the best man
that we can be... reside in the things that we CAN control.

Here are the things that we ultimately CAN control:

Our haircut
Our clothes
Our character
Our body
Our finances
Our social circle

... plus a whole gaggle of other things that are all within
our control.

THESE are the things that matter the most to women (and other
people that may want to get to know us better).

Listen closely, because this is important:

The RESEARCH shows NO DIRECT correlation to facial beauty and
the type of woman that we'll end up with.

In fact, the ONLY things that matter can really be lumped into
4 distinct categories:

Social Status (most important)
Physical Attractiveness (your "look")
Social Dominance ("alpha" male trait, how you handle yourself)
Physical Dominance ("alpha" male trait, how you LOOK like you
can handle yourself)

The first one, Social Status is the most important criteria
that women look for when it comes to men (as proven by
research).

Naturally, social status means "who we are" in relation to
other people.

Think about this for a second, when a man tells another man that
he's seeing a new woman... what does the other man say?

"Cool man, what's she look like?"

Now, have you ever heard a conversation between two women about
a new guy? The response to the same question is usually:

"Great... what does he DO?"

... which naturally gives us a quick flash into a man's social
status.

Interestingly enough, if a men tells a woman that he's dating
a new woman, the woman will ask:

"What's she look like?"

... and on the other side, if a woman tells a man that she's
dating someone new, he usually asks:

"What does he do?"

So, both women AND men know, deep down that social status is
an important part of a woman's attraction process.

The second criterion, "physical attractiveness", is all about
our "look".

Studies show that our facial features don't really contribute
as much to physical attractiveness like all of the other things
that we CAN control (body, facial hair, haircut, clothes, etc)

Physical attractiveness stems from the "halo effect" whereas
women will make a "snap" judgment of you based upon our "look".

Make no mistake about it, our "look" is extremely important
to maintain as it gives a woman a great window into what our
lives are REALLY about.

The third criterion, social dominance is a little different
than social status. Social dominance has to do with our
leadership ability, our ability to handle ourselves in
social situations, our character, and our confidence in
ourselves.

These are all skills and lifestyle additions that can be
learned.

The fourth criterion, physical dominance, has to do with our
ability to take care of ourselves in a physical situation.

Can we fight? Can we physically take care of her if we
need to?

Do you LOOK like we can? (ie, do you look like a wuss?)

All of these criteria that research proves are MOST IMPORTANT
to a woman... can ALL be either learned or developed.

Again, it's the things that you CAN control that matter the
most.

If you don't think so, I can show you COUNTLESS numbers of
great looking men... that have no character, no ambition,
and no status... that date WAY UNDER their "potential" in
the "looks" category.

Most of these men end up leading pitiful lives because they
think that their looks are going to get them anywhere they
want.

But they continue to live in mediocrity.

On the other hand, I can think of plenty of people that
don't have great "looks", but have everything that they
CAN control IN control.

A perfect example would be Jay-Z.

Face wise, he's always getting joked on. Yet, I'm always
hearing women say how hot he is.

Think about that.

But whats the answer then... in layman's terms.

Point blank: We need to improve what we CAN improve EVERY
DAY.

A good place to start... our bodies.

Studies prove that people that make significant advances
in their bodies also reap other "side effects" in the other
4 criteria that women ultimately look for in a man.

Think about how an improved body improves confidence,
which improves social status and social dominance.

And, of course, it's quite obvious that improving your
body will improve your physical "look" and your physical
dominance, right?

Things You Should Never Say to a Woman

2008-10-24T11:01:00.001-07:00

Things You Should Never Say to a Woman

As a sophisticated man of the 21st century, you already know this. You know you're not supposed to comment on your girlfriend's weight, or tell her that her friends are hot. And you know she probably feels the same way you do about the phrase, "Can we still be friends?"

Additionally, you've found that honesty, while valued in most situations, can sometimes offend. What you say to defuse tension in an argument often stokes the fire. We understand that the female psyche can be complicated, and we're here to demystify what may seem like strategically placed trapdoors.

Here are 10 things most women don't want to hear:

1) "What did you do to your hair?"

Unless we've cut our own hair—this is not common—someone else did something to our hair. It wasn't us. And most likely we've gone to a lot of trouble and expense for it. "I like your new haircut" is infinitely better, and shows you're paying attention. It's also far superior to the generic "You look different," which tells us you're as clueless as ever.

2) "They both look the same to me."

We understand you care a lot less than we do about the outfits or the registry dishware we're asking you to compare. But they can't possibly look exactly the same, can they? Give us something. Anything. Mentally roll the dice and pick one, so we don't worry about your vision—or worse, that you don't care.

3) "Relax."

A kissing cousin to "Don't get so worked up," this generally creates the exact opposite effect you're shooting for. When you say "Relax," what we hear is that you think that we're being irrational over nothing, and this makes us do anything but relax.

4) "I've got it all under control."

Ha! Famous last words. Refrain from using them if you don't want us to take fiendish delight in your getting lost because you won't stop for directions (if we're late, there will be fiendish fuming), or because you're missing a piece to your flat-screen television because you said you didn't need to read the assembly instructions.

5) "You're not one of those feminists, are you?"

Yikes. Chivalry may be nearly dead, but saying this will drive the last spear through its heart. Feminist or not, a woman is likely to be offended by the question. Just be yourself. Be kind, open the door, offer to pay, and go from there. We can choose to accept or share in your generosity.

6) "When are you due?"

Take one second to imagine a woman turning to you and responding, "I'm not pregnant," or "I had the baby six months ago," and you'll understand why you should eradicate this question from your vocabulary. In one nanosecond, innocent—even considerate—curiosity can turn to deadly, if unintentional, offense. And there's just no way to recover from this one.

7) "You're being emotional."

In the heat of the moment this may be true. But unless you want your partner to become more emotional or get angry, you're better off keeping this observation and its off-limits follow-up question—"Is it that time of month?"—to yourself.

8) "You're acting just like your mother/my mother/my ex-girlfriend."

All three are problematic. An ex should be mentioned sparingly, and never in comparison. Why would we want to remind you of a person you broke up with? And come to mention it, why are you thinking about her? You see the slippery slope. Conjuring an image of our mother or your mother can be equally grating. We want you to treat us as individuals and not as mere products of your (or our) upbringing.

9) "You complete me."

We understand that the possibility of romance makes inexplicable things come out of a man's—and sometimes a woman's—mouth, but keep the compliments real and honest and sincere and say you love someone when you mean it.

10) "Do you really think you should be eating that?"

Yes. She should be eating it. Even if she told you she's given it up.

How Not To Be “Friend Material”

2008-10-24T10:52:00.000-07:00

How Not To Be “Friend Material”

You’re talking away; making her laugh, and also making some great connections with her too! More than once, she has grabbed your arm; she’s even pushed her body close to yours a number of times. The I.O. Is here are major. It’s a no brainer, she’s yours for the taking.

Or is she?

When it comes to number close, she may be more than happy to give you her number, but when you arrange a date; I wonder if she will turn up in a sexy plunge neck dress or a casual loose fitting t-shirt. I wonder if she even bothers to wear make up for you. So in this case, the date you thought you were going on is probably not, in her eyes, a date at all. Why?

Because you became the dreaded…. (Dramatic drum roll please)

“MALE FRIEND”

We will look at the following:

How did this happen?

What are those tell tale signs that show you she sees you only as friend potential.
How to prevent this from happening!

How on earth did you get in to this mess?

Simple. Lets break this down; on one hand you have a been a brilliant
conversationalist, you have made some deep connections with her, and so she feels you really understand her, not just as a woman but as a human being as well. You’re also unbelievably funny, and have had her laughing hard countless times through out the interaction.

As a result of all these great accomplishments she feels she can relax, let down her guard and really be herself in front of you. Here is where a key problem lies. It obviously beneficial for you to make sure she’s relaxed, however it is not beneficial to her so relaxed that she feels she can show you all her flaws, whats happened here is she is now so totally in her comfort zone that she feels no need to make any effort to impress you.

Next, what is missing here is a vital ingredient. You have not initiated any sexual tension in to the conversation. This would be a lot easier to do if you had made sure you were in higher status than her. But unfortunately what has happened in this situation is that you have made levels of status equal (better than your status level being lower of course) but this can lead to friendship, as friendships are usually based on equality of the relationship.

Signs that she is seeing you as potential friend material
• She talks about her ex-boyfriend
• She talks too much about other men
• She is not caring how she is coming across general
• She tells you too many of her private problems such as;
o Medical
o Ex boyfriends
o Problems at work
o Problems with her friends
o Periods
(Remember you’re not an agony aunt!)

She’s not asking you too many questions about your self

She’s shows barely any, or no, reaction to your touches

She keeps describing you as “so sweet” or “adorable” or says things such as “oh how cute” when you say something. Any puppy dog terminology is usually not a good thing.
She is not bothered if you show any interest in other woman.

She is happy to leave you with her friends as she goes off temporarily to attend to other matters.

If you give her any criticism she will laugh.

She’s happy to tell you her opinions on everything whether you like it or not.
How you can prevent all this.

If you regularly have this problem then my suggestion to you is to nip it in the bud!
From as early as the first second to the first 10 minutes introduce at least a hint of sexual element in to the interaction.

There is no problem in letting a girl know you think she’s hot, as long as you execute it with a serious and matter of fact expression. Don’t make a big deal about saying “wow, you look hot” and don’t wait for her reaction. Instead hold her gaze and then move on casually to the next subject as if you are totally in control and fully aware of your alpha like comment.

Remember, she has to start earning any more compliments.

This will also destroy completely the chance of you becoming her friend; she will subconsciously cross out that avenue. So now its whether she likes you in that way or not. (2 option rather than 3)

What you do if she begins to show any of the above signs

Lets take, for example, her bringing up the ex-boyfriend. Make it clear to her that although it’s an interesting subject and one you can see she feels deeply about, perhaps it’s best if she discussed it with her girlfriends and not you.

If she begins to show little or no care on how she is coming across, for instance getting to much in her comfort zone. Keep giving her small tasks and let her know that your standards are very high on how a lady should behave. For instance if vulgarities something you find unattractive (and is usually, by the way, a sign the woman is seeing you as a fellow party pal) then let her know how she’s let you down, by pointing out the fact they you thought she was different from the woman in here and that it was her elegance that made you talk to her in the first place.
Watch how she straightens her back and tucks her bra strap back in to position faster than you can imagine.

If she leaves you with her friends and wanders off, this is a bad sign, it means she couldn’t care less if they make a move on you or you make a move on them.
Counteract this by firstly introducing your friends to her friends, which will make her feel left out. And on her return, punish her by making a phone call as soon as she sits down, go off with your phone call and leave her friends talking with your friends as she sits there bored and feeling left out, she will begin to miss you and might value your company a little more.

Note:

Please remember women love to please men. We enjoy looking good for you guys; in fact it’s a bit of obsession.

Look in any woman’s magazines and see what percentage of the articles is dedicated to pleasing men, whether it is through; makeup, dieting, fashion or cooking. Once we feel there’s no need to please you, it’s as if the fun is over, for girls as well as guys the chase is can be better than the catch.

Remember; take control of the situation, if you become “friendship material” then you have yourself to blame, you can manipulate the conversation whenever you choose, you can inject sexual tension whenever you decide. The only reason you became friend material would have been because you allowed her to feel so relaxed that she had little or no work to do at all.

By all means make sure she is relaxed, but take advantage when someone is in a relaxed state of mind. Remember the power of suggestion will be come much more powerful when in that state. Do this rather than allow her to feel you are simply another shoulder to cry on, or part time doctor she can reveal gross medical problems to, or a psychiatrist where she can discuss her ex-boyfriends commitment problems he might have had.

You have plenty of friends, you don need another right? Unless of course you see her as friend material in that case go right ahead and discuss her periods and ex-boyfriends with her!

Train Your Mind

2008-10-24T10:38:00.001-07:00

Train Your Mind

Disciplining your mind so that it is focused on your goals is crucial to your success. If your mind is not trained to focus on and achieve your goals then you really have no chance at success. Your mind is a direct link to your subconscious mind; if your mind is focused on your goals and is trained to achieve those goals then your subconscious mind will also be focused on these goals and will attract the situations and opportunities for you to achieve the success you want.

When your mind is focused on the results of those goals you'll take the action necessary to follow up and make sure you achieve those goals. The minute you get distracted for a prolonged period - you lose sight of your objective and fail to accomplish those goals.

Think of it this way, you're riding in a car driven by your personal driver and every time your driver asks you where you want to go you simply say: "I don't know. Wherever you want to go is fine with me." Then when your driver takes you to the place of his choice you complain and say: "I don't want to be here, take me somewhere else." And again you say you don't know where you want to go.

If you don't train your mind to focus on your goals then your subconscious mind cannot create the situations that will help you achieve those goals and in the end your subconscious gets confused - thus creating more confusion for you -- and you end up exactly where you don't want to be.

Let's go back to the example of your personal driver. Wouldn't it be a lot easier and more comfortable if you told your driver where you wanted to go - or even better - your driver knew where you wanted to go ahead of time? The latter will never happen if you don't train your driver or work with him to develop the ability to go where you want when you want.

Your mind is your driver - give it the right instructions and your subconscious mind will follow up by creating the opportunities for you to get to where you want to be.
When you have your mind focused on your goals you begin to find solutions and discover opportunities to help you achieve your goals. Your responsibility is to follow up on these opportunities.

How You Can Train Your Mind

Believe it or not I get a lot of calls and emails everyday from people who want to achieve their goals but simply can't get their mind to focus on the tasks that need to be done in order to have the success that they want. This happens because the mind is simply not used to focusing on your goals and following up with completing those tasks. Simply put - your mind is just not used to doing this. So how do you get your mind to change? How do you train your mind?

The first step is to get the mind to stop doing what it is used to doing - or break the pattern that you've been following for so long. This will require some effort - but keep in mind that the reward is to be able to live the life you want and enjoy the level of success that you desire.

First start by going through your normal routine, then when you see yourself getting distracted and not following up on things that you wanted to do break the pattern. You can do this by doing something else, you can start following up on what you had planned to do, you can create a list and follow up with it regularly to see if you are on track. One thing that always works is to think about your goals every morning. As your in bed, think about your goals and think about what you can do to achieve them during the day.

If you find you constantly say: "I don't know what do to do to achieve them." Then you're not looking for answers in the right place. Take a look at what other people have done to achieve similar goals and see if you can follow the same process. For example: If you want to make more money take a look at someone else who has made a lot of money and see what they've done. Can you follow their process? Maybe you can even talk to them about the process? If you want to meet someone and be in a healthy relationship, talk to a friend who is in a successful relationship and find out what they did.

By doing the above exercises you train your mind to focus on finding solutions while at the same time you direct your subconscious mind to create the opportunities for you to succeed. Another important event takes place as well - you begin to create a new pattern of thinking and thus you start to train the mind to work differently. You're now telling your driver where you want to go.

A lot of times I get a comment similar to this from students: "Karim, I just can't seem to concentrate. My mind is all over the place, what can I do?" First understand that you're not going to magically get your mind to focus or concentrate without you taking some form of action. When you finally do take some action your mind will still resist -- but as you continue taking action the resistance will subside. So what action can you take?

First start with the exercise I just outlined above. Next - meditate. Meditation is one of the best ways to relax and calm your mind while training it to focus better. When you meditate you actually start to clear the clutter that dominates your mind. Another step that can follow is to train the mind by working with other techniques that get you focused on your goals. You can work with affirmations, visualization, get the mind to see possibilities instead of limitations, energize your mind and body by brining in the feeling of accomplishing your goals.

Make The Time

Finally I wanted to touch on one important topic that keeps coming up. It seems a lot of people have come to believe that they just don't have the time to achieve their goals. If you are one of the many who of people who believes this then you've really convinced yourself that your goals are not worthy of your time. Because if they were you would make the time for them. I'm not talking about spending an entire day or even a few hours. It's only a few minutes at different intervals. Why try to get everything crammed into one hour? Why not try to work with different techniques at different intervals during the day? For example: you may have a few minutes while you're taking a walk. Work with a technique. You could do some of these exercises while you're taking a shower, driving, walking, anytime. Here's a suggestion; the next time you are driving or taking a shower, pay attention to your thoughts. Are these thoughts actually working for your or against you? Would it be better to focus on your goals or keep recycling the negative clutter or junk in your head? The choice is yours - and taking action is really about taking a small step.

You don't need to spend hours meditating. Even if you simply mediated for 5 or 10 minutes a day you'd be able to increase your ability to concentrate and focus by a 100-percent within a matter of days! Do it for weeks or months and you'll have dramatic results. The Creating Power system is designed to fit into your everyday lifestyle. With Creating Power you don't have to do lengthy exercises for hours at a time. These exercises are structured so that you do them during the day -- and train your mind while it is consciously active

Presentation Skills

2008-10-08T00:09:00.000-07:00

Introduction

Presentations and reports are ways of communicating ideas and information to a group. But unlike a report, a presentation carries the speaker's personality better and allows immediate interaction between all the participants. A good presentation has:

• Content - It contains information that people need. But unlike reports, which are read at the reader's own pace, presentations must account for how much information the audience can absorb in one sitting.

• Structure - It has a logical beginning, middle, and end. It must be sequenced and paced so that the audience can understand it. Where as reports have appendices and footnotes to guide the reader, the speaker must be careful not to loose the audience when wandering from the main point of the presentation.

• Packaging - It must be well prepared. A report can be reread and portions skipped over, but with a presentation, the audience is at the mercy of a presenter.
• Human Element - A good presentation will be remembered much more than a good report because it has a person attached to it. But you still need to analyze if the audience's needs would not be better met if a report was sent instead.

The Voice
The voice is probably the most valuable tool of the presenter. It carries most of the content that the audience takes away. One of the oddities of speech is that we can easily tell others what is wrong with their voice, e.g. too fast, too high, too soft, etc., but we have trouble listening to and changing our own voices.

There are four main terms used for defining vocal qualities:

• Volume: How loud the sound is. The goal is to be heard without shouting. Good speakers lower their voice to draw the audience in, and raise it to make a point.

• Tone: The characteristics of a sound. An airplane has a different sound than leaves being rustled by the wind. A voice that carries fear can frighten the audience, while a voice that carries laughter can get the audience to smile.

• Pitch: How high or low a note is.

• Pace: This is how long a sound lasts. Talking too fast causes the words and syllables to be short, while talking slowly lengthens them. Varying the pace helps to maintain the audience's interest.

• Color: Both projection and tone variance can be practiced by taking the line "This new policy is going to be exciting" and saying it first with surprise, then with irony, then with grief, and finally with anger. The key is to over-act. Remember Shakespeare's words "All the world's a stage" -- presentations are the opening night on Broadway!

There are two good methods for improving your voice:

1. Listen to it! Practice listening to your voice while at home, driving, walking, etc. Then when you are at work or with company, monitor your voice to see if you are using it how you want to.

2. To really listen to your voice, cup your right hand around your right ear and gently pull the ear forward. Next, cup your left hand around your mouth and direct the sound straight into your ear. This helps you to really hear your voice as others hear it...and it might be completely different from the voice you thought it was! Now practice moderating your voice.

The Body

Your body communicates different impressions to the audience. People not only listen to you, they also watch you. Slouching tells them you are indifferent or you do not care...even though you might care a great deal! On the other hand, displaying good posture tells your audience that you know what you are doing and you care deeply about it. Also, a good posture helps you to speak more clearly and effective.

Throughout you presentation, display:

• Eye contact: This helps to regulate the flow of communication. It signals interest in others and increases the speaker's credibility. Speakers who make eye contact open the flow of communication and convey interest, concern, warmth, and credibility.

• Facial Expressions: Smiling is a powerful cue that transmits happiness, friendliness, warmth, and liking. So, if you smile frequently you will be perceived as more likable, friendly, warm, and approachable. Smiling is often contagious and others will react favorably. They will be more comfortable around you and will want to listen to you more.

• Gestures: If you fail to gesture while speaking, you may be perceived as boring and stiff. A lively speaking style captures attention, makes the material more interesting, and facilitates understanding.

• Posture and body orientation: You communicate numerous messages by the way you talk and move. Standing erect and leaning forward communicates that you are approachable, receptive, and friendly. Interpersonal closeness results when you and your audience face each other. Speaking with your back turned or looking at the floor or ceiling should be avoided as it communicates disinterest.

• Proximity: Cultural norms dictate a comfortable distance for interaction with others. You should look for signals of discomfort caused by invading other's space. Some of these are: rocking, leg swinging, tapping, and gaze aversion. Typically, in large rooms, space invasion is not a problem. In most instances there is too much distance. To counteract this, move around the room to increase interaction with your audience. Increasing the proximity enables you to make better eye contact and increases the opportunities for others to speak.

• Voice. One of the major criticisms of speakers is that they speak in a monotone voice. Listeners perceive this type of speaker as boring and dull. People report that they learn less and lose interest more quickly when listening to those who have not learned to modulate their voices.

Active Listening

Good speakers not only inform their audience, they also listen to them. By listening, you know if they are understanding the information and if the information is important to them. Active listening is NOT the same as hearing! Hearing is the first part and consists of the perception of sound.

Listening, the second part, involves an attachment of meaning to the aural symbols that are perceived. Passive listening occurs when the receiver has little motivation to listen carefully. Active listening with a purpose is used to gain information, to determine how another person feels, and to understand others. Some good traits of effective listeners are:

• Spend more time listening than talking (but of course, as a presenter, you will be doing most of the talking).

• Do not finish the sentence of others.

• Do not answer questions with questions.

• Aware of biases. We all have them. We need to control them.

• Never daydream or become preoccupied with their own thoughts when others talk.

• Let the other speaker talk. Do not dominate the conversation.

• Plan responses after others have finished speaking...NOT while they are speaking. Their full concentration is on what others are saying, not on what they are going to respond with.

• Provide feedback but do not interrupt incessantly.

• Analyze by looking at all the relevant factors and asking open-ended questions. Walk the person through analysis (summarize).

• Keep the conversation on what the speaker says...NOT on what interest them.
Listening can be one of our most powerful communication tools! Be sure to use it!
Part of the listening process is getting feedback by changing and altering the message so the intention of the original communicator is understood by the second communicator. This is done by paraphrasing the words of the sender and restating the sender's feelings or ideas in your own words, rather than repeating their words.

Your words should be saying, "This is what I understand your feelings to be, am I correct?" It not only includes verbal responses, but also nonverbal ones. Nodding your head or squeezing their hand to show agreement, dipping your eyebrows to show you don't quite understand the meaning of their last phrase, or sucking air in deeply and blowing out hard shows that you are also exasperated with the situation.
Five main categories of feedback. They are listed in the order in which they occur most frequently in daily conversations (notice that we make judgments more often than we try to understand):

1. Evaluative: Makes a judgment about the worth, goodness, or appropriateness of the other person's statement.

2. Interpretive: Paraphrasing - attempt to explain what the other persons statement mean.

3. Supportive: Attempt to assist or bolster the other communicator

4. Probing: Attempt to gain additional information, continue the discussion, or clarify a point.

5. Understanding: Attempt to discover completely what the other communicator means by her statements.

Nerves

The main enemy of a presenter is tension, which ruins the voice, posture, and spontaneity. The voice becomes higher as the throat tenses. Shoulders tighten up and limits flexibility while the legs start to shake and causes unsteadiness. The presentation becomes "canned" as the speaker locks in on the notes and starts to read directly from them.

First, do not fight nerves, welcome them! Then you can get on with the presentation instead of focusing in on being nervous. Actors recognize the value of nerves...they add to the value of the performance. This is because adrenaline starts to kick in. It's a left over from our ancestors' "fight or flight" syndrome. If you welcome nerves, then the presentation becomes a challenge and you become better. If you let your nerves take over, then you go into the flight mode by withdrawing from the audience. Again, welcome your nerves, recognize them, let them help you gain that needed edge! Do not go into the flight mode! When you feel tension or anxiety, remember that everyone gets them, but the winners use them to their advantage, while the losers get overwhelmed by them.

Tension can be reduced by performing some relaxation exercises. Listed below are a couple to get you started:

• Before the presentation: Lie on the floor. Your back should be flat on the floor. Pull your feet towards you so that your knees are up in the air. Relax. Close your eyes. Fell your back spreading out and supporting your weight. Feel your neck lengthening. Work your way through your body, relaxing one section at a time - your toes, feet, legs, torso, etc. When finished, stand up slowly and try to maintain the relaxed feeling in a standing position.

• If you cannot lie down: Stand with you feet about 6 inches apart, arms hanging by your sides, and fingers unclenched. Gently shake each part of your body, starting with your hands, then arms, shoulders, torso, and legs. Concentrate on shaking out the tension. Then slowly rotate your shoulders forwards and the backwards. Move on to your head. Rotate it slowly clockwise, and then counter-clockwise.

• Mental Visualization: Before the presentation, visualize the room, audience, and you giving the presentation. Mentally go over what you are going to do from the moment you start to the end of the presentation.

• During the presentation: Take a moment to yourself by getting a drink of water, take a deep breath, concentrate on relaxing the most tense part of your body, and then return to the presentation saying to your self, "I can do it!"
• You do NOT need to get rid of anxiety and tension! Channel the energy into concentration and expressiveness.

• Know that anxiety and tension is not as noticeable to the audience as it is to you.

• Know that even the best presenters make mistakes. The key is to continue on after the mistake. If you pick up and continue, so will the audience. Winners continue! Losers stop!

• Never drink alcohol to reduce tension! It affects not only your coordination but also your awareness of coordination. You might not realize it, but your audience will!

Questions

Keep cool if a questioner disagrees with you. You are a professional! No matter how hard you try, not everyone in the world will agree with you!

Although some people get a perverse pleasure from putting others on the spot, and some try to look good in front of the boss, most people ask questions from a genuine interest. Questions do not mean you did not explain the topic good enough, but that their interest is deeper than the average audience.

Always allow time at the end of the presentation for questions. After inviting questions, do not rush ahead if no one asks a question. Pause for about 6 seconds to allow the audience to gather their thoughts. When a question is asked, repeat the question to ensure that everyone heard it (and that you heard it correctly). When answering, direct your remarks to the entire audience. That way, you keep everyone focused, not just the questioner. To reinforce your presentation, try to relate the question back to the main points.

Make sure you listen to the question being asked. If you do not understand it, ask them to clarify. Pause to think about the question as the answer you give may be correct, but ignore the main issue. If you do not know the answer, be honest, do not waffle. Tell them you will get back to them...and make sure you do!
Answers that last 10 to 40 seconds work best. If they are too short, they seem abrupt; while longer answers appear too elaborate. Also, be sure to keep on track. Do not let off-the-wall questions sidetrack you into areas that are not relevant to the presentation.

If someone takes issue with something you said, try to find a way to agree with part of their argument. For example, "Yes, I understand your position..." or "I'm glad you raised that point, but..." The idea is to praise their point and agree with them. Audiences sometimes tend to think of "us verses you." You do not want to risk alienating them.

Preparing the Presentation

After a concert, a fan rushed up to singer and gushed, "I'd give up my whole life to play as beautifully as you do." singer, "I did."

To fail to prepare is to prepare to fail.

Great presentations require some preplanning. First, read Meetings for an outline of preparing and conducting a meeting, such as acquiring a room, informing participants, etc. A presentation follows the same basic guidelines as preparing for a meeting.

The second step is to prepare the presentation. A good presentation starts out with introductions and an icebreaker such as a story, interesting statement or fact, joke, quotation, or an activity to get the group warmed up. The introduction also needs an objective, that is, the purpose or goal of the presentation. This not only tells you what you will talk about, but it also informs the audience of the purpose of the presentation.

Next, comes the body of the presentation. Do NOT write it out word for word. All you want is an outline. By jotting down the main points on a set of index cards, you not only have your outline, but also a memory jogger for the actual presentation. To prepare the presentation, ask yourself the following:

• What is the purpose of the presentation?

• Who will be attending?

• What does the audience already know about the subject?

• What is the audience's attitude towards me (e.g. hostile, friendly)?

A 45 minutes talk should have no more than about seven main points. This may not seem like very many, but if you are to leave the audience with a clear picture of what you have said, you cannot expect them to remember much more than that. There are several options for structuring the presentation:

• Timeline: Arranged in sequential order.

• Climax: The main points are delivered in order of increasing importance.
• Problem/Solution: A problem is presented, a solution is suggested, and benefits are then given.

• Classification: The important items are the major points.

• Simple to complex: Ideas are listed from the simplest to the most complex. Can also be done in reverse order.

You want to include some visual information that will help the audience understand your presentation. Develop charts, graphs, slides, handouts, etc.

After the body, comes the closing. This is where you ask for questions, provide a wrap-up (summary), and thank the participants for attending.

Notice that you told them what they are about to hear (the objective), told them (the body), and told them what they heard (the wrap up).

And finally, the important part - practice, practice, practice. The main purpose of creating an outline is to develop a coherent plan of what you want to talk about. You should know your presentation so well, that during the actual presentation, you should only have to briefly glance at your notes to ensure you are staying on track. This will also help you with your nerves by giving you the confidence that you can do it. Your practice session should include a "live" session by practicing in front of coworkers, family, or friends. They can be valuable at providing feedback and it gives you a chance to practice controlling your nerves. Another great feedback technique is to make a video or audio tape of your presentation and review it critically with a colleague.

Habits

We all have a few habits, and some are more annoying than others. For example, if we say "uh," "you know," or put our hands in our pockets and jingle our keys too often during a presentation, it distracts from the message we are trying to get across.
The best way to break one of these distracting habits is with immediate feedback. This can be done with a small group of coworkers, family, or friends. Take turns giving small off-the-cuff talks about your favorite hobby, work project, first work assignment, etc. It talk should last about five minutes. During a speaker's first talk, the audience should listen and watch for annoying habits.

After the presentation, the audience should agree on the worst two or three habits that take the most away from the presentation. After agreement, each audience member should write these habits on a 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of paper (such as the word "Uh"). Use a magic marker and write in BIG letters.

The next time the person gives her or his talk, each audience member should wave the corresponding sign in the air whenever they hear or see the annoying habit. For most people, this method will break a habit by practicing at least once a day for one to two weeks.

Tips and Techniques For Great Presentations
Binita Pokhrel was a shy young girl who was terrified at the thought of speaking in public. But with each passing year, she grew in confidence and self-esteem. She once said, "No one can make you feel inferior, unless you agree with it."
• If you have handouts, do not read straight from them. The audience does not know if they should read along with you or listen to you read.
• Do not put both hands in your pockets for long periods of time. This tends to make you look unprofessional. It is OK to put one hand in a pocket but ensure there is no loose change or keys to jingle around. This will distract the listeners.
• Do not wave a pointer around in the air like a wild knight branding a sword to slay a dragon. Use the pointer for what it is intended and then put it down, otherwise the audience will become fixated upon your "sword", instead upon you.
• Do not lean on the podium for long periods. The audience will begin to wonder when you are going to fall over.
• Speak to the audience...NOT to the visual aids, such as flip charts or overheads. Also, do not stand between the visual aid and the audience.
• Speak clearly and loudly enough for all to hear. Do not speak in a monotone voice. Use inflection to emphasize your main points.
• The disadvantages of presentations is that people cannot see the punctuation and this can lead to misunderstandings. An effective way of overcoming this problem is to pause at the time when there would normally be punctuation marks.
• Use colored backgrounds on overhead transparencies and slides (such as yellow) as the bright white light can be harsh on the eyes. This will quickly cause your audience to tire. If all of your transparencies or slides have clear backgrounds, then tape one blank yellow one on the overhead face. For slides, use a rubber band to hold a piece of colored cellophane over the projector lens.
• Learn the name of each participant as quickly as possible. Based upon the atmosphere you want to create, call them by their first names or by using Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms.
• Tell them what name and title you prefer to be called.
• Listen intently to comments and opinions. By using a lateral thinking technique (adding to ideas rather than dismissing them), the audience will feel that their ideas, comments, and opinions are worthwhile.
• Circulate around the room as you speak. This movement creates a physical closeness to the audience.
• List and discuss your objectives at the beginning of the presentation. Let the audience know how your presentation fits in with their goals. Discuss some of the fears and apprehensions that both you and the audience might have. Tell them what they should expect of you and how you will contribute to their goals.
• Vary your techniques (lecture, discussion, debate, films, slides, reading, etc.)
• Get to the presentation before your audience arrives; be the last one to leave.
• Be prepared to use an alternate approach if the one you've chosen seems to bog down. You should be confident enough with your own material so that the audience's interests and concerns, not the presentation outline, determines the format. Use your background, experience, and knowledge to interrelate your subject matter.
• When writing on flip charts use no more than 7 lines of text per page and no more than 7 word per line (the 7 7 rule). Also, use bright and bold colors, and pictures as well as text.
• Consider the time of day and how long you have got for your talk. Time of day can affect the audience. After lunch is known as the graveyard section in training circles as audiences will feel more like a nap than listening to a talk.
• Most people find that if they practice in their head, the actual talk will take about 25 per cent longer. Using a flip chart or other visual aids also adds to the time. Remember - it is better to finish slightly early than to overrun.

Self Confidence

2008-10-05T03:09:00.000-07:00

Self-Confidence

Self-confidence: "Confidence in oneself or one's abilities."

Synonyms: "confidence, assurance, self-assurance, self-possession, aplomb"

"Confidence, self-confidence, assurance, self-assurance, self-possession, aplomb are comparable when denoting either a state of mind free from diffidence, misgivings, or embarrassment or the easy, cool, or collected bearing or behavior resulting from this attitude. Confidence stresses faith in oneself and in one's powers; it does not as a rule imply conceit nor preclude the suggestions of support from external agencies or influences or of modest recognition of that assistance ... When self-sufficiency is connoted, self-confidence commonly replaces confidence ... Assurance is distinguishable from confidence only by its far stronger implication of certainty and its frequent suggestion of arrogance; thus, one meets a situation with confidence when one's belief in one's powers is strong, but with assurance when one never questions the outcome or the rightness of what one is saying or doing ... Self-assurance implies an assured self-confidence ... Self-possession implies an ease or coolness arising from command over one's powers; it connotes, usually, controlled but not repressed emotions and actions, or speech free from flurry and appropriate to the situation ... Aplomb describes the behavior or, less often, the bearing of one whose assurance or self-possession is conspicuously but not necessarily disagreeably evident ... "

Analogous: "composure, equanimity, sureness, sanguineness"

10 Tips to Improve Your Self Esteem

Striving to improve our self esteem is on everybody’s mind. It doesn’t matter if you actively pursue this goal or you are sub-consciously working on improving your self esteem. The problem with this is that you really don’t know exactly what you want to improve. You’re acting intuitively on external signals.
Do you know how to improve your self esteem? Probably not. To make it a little bit easier for you and to achieve your goals quicker I put together 10 tips that you can utilize right away.

1. Build up your self-esteem. You must take an inventory. What do you want to improve or change about the way you interact with others? Try to make only one change at a time. Always check your progress before making another change.

2. Celebrate your journey, not your destination. Learn to always feel good about where you are now, and to exude self-confidence about anywhere you might find yourself tomorrow.

3. Set clear goals for yourself before every interaction. Know what you want. Think about how the people you will be meeting can help you reach those goals. Then decide how to approach each person accordingly. Apply this regularly and you will notice a difference.

4. Be proactive. Take the initiative. Be decisive. Let the other person know exactly how he or she can help you. Proactive people tent to be more successful in their career.

5. Treat each person you meet as if she or he is truly important. (You'll be amazed how this works.)

6. Give a firm handshake; look the other person straight in the eye. Practice both of these. Your handshake should be just right. Not too firm and not too loose. Train yourself to notice something you like or find attractive in the person.

7. Listen! Listen! Listen! Teach yourself to develop good listening skills. Learn a way to remember the other person's name. If in doubt simply ask for the name again 2 or 3 sentences into the conversation.

8. Visibly respond to the other person. Smile, nod agreement, and address him or her by name. Apply all your listening skills to visibly respond. The body language is the most important part of a conversation. Practice, practice, practice…
9. Pay more attention to the other person than to yourself. Are you responding to what may be going on in his or her life? Don't filter out bad news. Put yourself in the other person's shoes. Be caring.

10. Stay "in the moment." Don't mentally cut off the other person. Don't reload while he or she is speaking. What this means is that you need to focus on the other person 100% during a conversation. Anything less is considered rude.
Next time you meet somebody new look out for these behaviors. Put a mental checkmark on the each of the 10 tips and see how well this person scored. Chances are that the person scored very high if you tent to like her/him. On the contraire the person probably scored low if you don’t seem to connect.

The more you practice the more likely you will create a positive aura which is commonly known as charisma. To step up to become a charismatic personality it takes more than just these 10 tips.

Creating a positive aura will benefit you in every thing you do. You will create a warmer ambience with your family. You will be more successful in your career. Even while trying to meet a partner of the opposite sex you will notice a difference on how people perceive you.

How to Build Rock Solid Self Confidence

You have probably noticed those people at work, school, and in your daily life that always appear to be self-confident and on top of world.

Everything seems to go right for these people and they always seem to present themselves as calm, collected and successful in everything they do.

If you are paying attention you have probably noticed that these self-confident people usually are successful in every area of their lives.

Is this because they are smarter? Or is it because they have more money? Maybe they are just lucky?

The reality is that none of these things are necessarily true. Self-confident people understand the impact of believing in themselves and relying on their abilities.
This confidence ultimately creates opportunities for success and with each new success another self-confidence building block is put into place. Success builds upon success reinforcing self-confidence with each new achievement.

Self confident people perceive themselves as able to achieve those things they set out to do and this perception creates reality in their lives.

Yes, perception creates reality. You can become the person you want to be. You have heard it said that if you can believe it you can achieve it.

So start believing in yourself, acting on that belief and you will start building self confidence in your life.

Here are some helpful tips to build self confidence one success at a time.

1. Make a list of your strong points.
All the positive things about yourself and the things that you are good at doing. Think of compliments you have received or things that come easily to you. It doesn't matter what it is, if it's good, write it down.

2. Choose two of those things that you want to work on to improve even more.
It's important to succeed and by concentrating on the areas you are already good at you will have a better chance of becoming even more sure of yourself. Remember that success builds upon success.

3. Exude confidence even if you don't feel like it.
Talk to yourself in an encouraging way and stay away from negative thoughts and people as you can.

Instead surround yourself with positive, confident, and successful people. This will become a habit and one that will build confidence.

4. Look at yourself in a different way than you are used to doing.
It can change your life and help your confidence level to rise. See yourself as the self confident person you want to be and before you know it you will become that person.

If you have a set-back do not let it get the best of you. Remember the times when you exhibited self confidence and how good it felt and then try again and each time will help you to build confidence and confidence building will become a way of life.

Change your LIfe

2008-10-05T02:47:00.000-07:00

5 Ways To Stay Focused On Your Goals

No matter how excited you are about your business, with so many distractions and things that may be going on in your life, you can easily find yourself losing focus on your goals and what you want to accomplish. Below you will find 5 things that will help you stay focused on your goals.

FINISH WHAT YOU STARTED

You probably have heard the saying, "So many things to do and not enough time to do them." Even though that may be true, you still have to complete them all, especially if these things help you to reach your goals. To make it easier for you, just take 1 thing you have to do and complete that task until it is done. When it is done, you will feel a sense of accomplishment and it will motivate you to move on to your next task.

ORGANIZE TO MAKE THINGS EASY AND SIMPLE

Take a moment to put things in order. If people write to you or send you orders in the mail, make 3 piles. Put the letters that need to be answered right away in the 1st pile. Letters that can be answered at a later date you can put in the 2nd pile and letters that have orders in them, you can put in the 3rd pile. Doing things like this in other areas of your life will help you keep things in priority and keep you focused on your goals.

CHANGE THE WAY YOU LOOK AT THINGS

If you find yourself at times having a negative attitude, you must realize that the way you look at things can make all the difference when it comes to reaching your goals. Even when obstacles stand in your way, maintaining a positive attitude, not a negative one and knowing that things can and will get better, will help you stay on track in reaching your goals.

UNDERSTAND GOALS WILL TAKE TIME TO REACH

Everything in life, if it is worth it, will take time. This goes for the goals you set for yourself. When you set goals, you should set 2 types of goals. A short term goal such as 6 months and also a long range goal, such as 3 years. You must realize that you are not going to reach your long term goals in 2 weeks. Whatever your goals may be, only through hard work, determination and keeping yourself focused, this is the way you will eventually reach your goals.

STUDY AND READ ARTICLES ON MOTIVATION

Reading articles, books or even listening to cassette tapes on motivation is a must if you want to keep yourself focused on your goals. Many successful people will tell you that even when they wanted to give up and throw in the towel, a paragraph in a book or something a motivational speaker said put them back on the right track and helped them reach their goals.

So if you want to stay focused on your goals, take these 5 points and put them into action

Can You Hear Yourself Lead?
Do you find days turning into weeks, which turn into years and suddenly you're not sure where it's all gone? Does it seem like your no longer navigating your own life but your life and your schedule are navigating you instead? Can you hear yourself lead? If this describes you, stop. Just stop. Stand still, be still, and let yourself remember what the silence feels like.

So often in the world we call business, we go so fast we lose our ability to keep up when, in fact, keeping up is impossible. Simply put, if you're caught up, you're out of business. Business is the competitive pull and push that can kick our navigational system clean out of whack. To get back in control, you have to stop and listen.

We are taught to listen to everyone else. That listening is the greater asset. However, we are never taught to listen to ourselves. Creativity dies in the face of too much noise. Without creativity everything in your life suffers, including your business. Sometimes the most important person to listen to is ..you. Yes, you have something to say but if you never stop to listen you won't ever get back to navigating again.

So here's what you can do to put yourself back in the driver's seat :

1. Start the day by emptying your emotions into a journal. Let all the emotional garbage out on paper. Now, don't read it. Ever. Too hard to do? Rip it up and throw it away. This is just a tool to get the frustrations processed and out of your life so you can move on. So you can hear yourself think again. Sometimes our lives get filled up with everyone else's chatter. This helps us empty that out.

2. Take 15 minutes out of the middle of your day and rest. Just stop everything. Go to a room; take off the phone, the fax, the instant messenger and the ringer on your email. Find a place where you won't be bothered and stop. Take ten deep breaths. Let your mind empty. Try to spend at least five minutes of the fifteen thinking of nothing. Don't laugh, it's really hard to do. Think of nothing. Empty your brain and give your soul a rest

3. Walk. Walking doesn't just exercise your body, it relaxes your soul. Walk with a friend, or walk alone, but walk. This isn't about exercise, it's about letting your mind breath, outside, in the rain, in the sun, in the snow..in the fresh air. It works!

4. Okay, this is the most important. At the end of the day, spend another 15 minutes writing down all the advice that was given to you today. All those noteworthy, seemingly wise bits of advice that get hurled at us everyday. It doesn't matter where they came from, a book, a phone call, a radio station.. doesn't matter. If you can remember it write it down. Now read them all. Do any of them feel adverse to your own feelings and thoughts? Great, cross them out and forget them. Learn to trust that some things will work for you and some things won't. Once you have learned this principle you will find yourself getting back into the drivers seat of your own life again.

Remember you're important too and you are the only one that lives the results and consequences of your own life. Be gentle with yourself and take the time to take the time. Suddenly hours will screech back to normal speed, life will feel worth the effort, and your goals will be realized again

CONFIDENCE

Every day is a new day in our life. There is much to do today. The early morning sun inspires us to start things freshly and put back our past. Only a handful of us make use of this fresh bunch of energy. In various walks of life this affects the way we behave and our confidence level. Confidence is a key to survive in this world. It is the only key tool to win the rat race in every walk of life. Confidence in ones own capabilities combined with sincere efforts helps one to achieve unthinkable heights. But many times we see that this basic element of confidence is missing in us. As a result of lack of confidence we perform well below our caliber. Be it in a public speech, proposing your beloved, vivas in your college or in an interview or say even on the eve before your exams. This can be due to fear of being rejected or any other reason.

If we look into our hearts and think, we will come to know that fear inside us is going to get us nowhere. The confidence inside us is going to take us places. This is because with confidence we can put our thoughts into words in a better and pleasing way. So we have to get out of that shell where we think whether people will accept us as we are? Instead of living in these unending moments of fear and thoughtless analysis it is better if we project ourselves with the skills we have with the gloss of confidence. With confidence we can portray the finer points of our personality in such a way that the places where we do lack are never highlighted

Confidence should glow in us only till the point where our personality is boosted. Above this it leads to over-confidence that is harmful.

Over confidence results in unsatisfied performance levels as the seed of ego grows into a plant into our mind. We then imagine and make big talks just to maintain our ego. So guys don't let the seed of ego to germinate in your mind, as this seed should be used only for you to live up to your expectations.

Confidence is all about being cool, calm and composed.

So guys do u have it in you? If u think u don't, boost up yourselves as your mind is your greatest mentor .You are your greatest helper

Different Strokes Of Our Duties
Life teaches us to live. To live, you have to exist. To exist, you should have a passport to this living world. Thanks your parents, who brought you into this world.

Parents have taken care of us and satisfied all our needs. They helped whenever we were hungry, afraid or ill. They were always there by you, whenever you needed them. You almost assumed that they will always be there for you and never thought of how your life would be without them. But as you grow up, age also catches up with your parents and they need your help and support.

Man is a child first, after which he attains his youth. After youth he again goes through the second phase of childhood, also called as old age. This is the phase where everyone needs a comfort of a sense of belonging and being taken care of. Wouldn't we all expect the same sense of security when we grow old? Even our parents are expecting us to be their caretaker, as they grow old. But they never make that obvious to us. They do their further duty by taking care of their grandchildren, paying e-bills, giving the clothes for laundry etc.

Isn't it unfair on our part that we aren't giving them what they need the most? It is our prime duty to take the very best care of them. It's our pay back time. Lets give the same sense of emotional security, care and love to our parents in their old age.

Some of us mistreat our parents and consider them more of a liability than an asset. Some of us move away from them, though our conscience pricks us. We err in our duties for not being dutiful. This guilty feeling is further wrapped into a sense of regret, when we will be treated in the same way by our future generation. After all you only get what you deserve. Don't you?

Let's keep in mind that to be a manager, husband or father, we first have to be a son.

MOTIVATE YOURSELF

One of the greatest virtues of human beings is their ability to think and act accordingly. The emergence of the techno savvy man from the tree swinging ape has really been a long journey. This transition has taken a span of countless centuries and lots of thinking caps have been involved. Inquisitiveness and aspiration to come out with the best have been the pillars for man's quest for development. Self-motivation is the sheer force, which pulled him apart and distinguished him from his primitive ancestors.

Many times, in our life, when we are reviving old memories we get into a phase of nostalgia. We feel that we could have done better than what we had achieved. Be it thinking about that nerve shattering school result, because of which you couldn't get into your favorite stream or that single mark, which could have secured you a merit seat in your engineering college. But thinking back wont rewind the tireless worker called time. All we can do is promise ourselves that we will give our very best in the future. But do we really keep up to our mental commitments? I can guess that 90% answers are in the negative. This is because of that creepy careless attitude which is slowly, but surely entering into the mind of teenagers like us. We easily forget the pains of yesterday to relish the joys of today. This is the only time in our life, when we can control our fate, by controlling our mind. So it is time to pull up our socks and really motivate ourselves so that we can give our best shot in the future. Self-motivation is the need of the hour. Only we can control and restrict ourselves. Its upto us, how we use our mental capabilities to the best of our abilities

Here are some Funda's for self-motivation. Don't just read them digest each one of them and apply them and I bet it will make a better YOU.
• The ultimate motivator is defeat. Once you are defeated, you have nowhere to go except the top.
• Then only thing stopping you is yourself.
• There is no guarantee that tomorrow will come. So do it today.
• Intentions don't count, but action's do.
• Don't let who you are, stunt what you want to be.
• Success is the greatest motivator.
• Your goals must be clear, but the guidelines must be flexible

Try to include these one liners in your scrapbook or on your favorite poster. You will be sub-consciously tuned to achieve what you want. Also do keep in mind that nothing can control your destiny but you!

The Power Of Expressions
Expressions are a way of giving some life to the thoughts and feelings inside us. When you cry, u express sadness and disappointment. When you catch a good joke, you laugh a lot and express the pleasure.

Expressions are a part and parcel of every human being on this earth. Every person has the right to express himself. It is only through expressions that one can achieve a harmony between the physical exterior and the mental core. It is a way of giving life to your thoughts and feelings. But not everyone expresses freely. The main reasons are the barriers we have created within ourselves. We always think of what the world would think of us. Because of this we restrain ourselves from laughingly completely, tilting our head, or even scratching our ears! We try to be not what we are, but what we think will appeal to the world. Hardly do we realize that the world is just like us. It will be busy thinking of what we will think of it, rather than analyzing our actions.

When one expresses one self freely, it's the ultimate satisfaction for the mind. This is because the physical hardware of the human body is faithfully supporting its mental software. The person then is always comfortable anywhere with anyone and at anytime! If one doesn't express properly, it wont make the sun rise in the west, but it will only lead to increased frustrations. When frustrations increase, efficiency decreases and a person starts blaming the world, god or anyone in general.

Well to practically speak of expressions, once you start using them in your normal day to day life, u will get used to them. Also people around you will get used to your expressions. When the doyen of Indian film industry Mr. Amitabh Bachchan came into the movies, he had one eye smaller than the other. He however carried on without being self conscious about it and captured the heart of countless Indians dead and alive. Also Sylvester Stallone, who is the famous Mr. Big Muscles from Hollywood was actually having some mental problems in his childhood. Even now look at his eyes and you will get a rare glimpse. But then he came above all that and now you can all see how big he has become.

If you are angry at some one, let him know. If you admire someone, let that person know. If you love someone, let her know, because life is too short to keep these things as secret. Express yourself and spice up your life.

Watch Out Before You Speak
Communication in any form is used for exchange of information. The links called words make communication work. Without words its difficult to imagine how we could have come so long in the history of human evolution. Word is not only a 4-letter thing, but it is something deeper than that.

Whenever a word is uttered it is due to synchronization of lip movement and tongue movement. To get out that word from our mouth, a lot of thinking and analysis has been happening in our sub conscious mind. We don't realize it because all this happens in less than one millionth of a second. Most of the times we don't think over what we have uttered. Word is not only a link, but it initiates response from the listener.

The word, which we have uttered, acts on every part of the listener's body. Like if u share a joke using a group of words, u make the listener to laugh. He may pound his hands and fist and then calm down. The very word which u have uttered has allowed him to flush his emotions out in the form of laughter or smile. If you talk about a tragic incident, the listener may close his eyes for a second and offer his condolences. Words uttered vibrate on the mind of the listener. It acts on his mind. Selection and thought prior to communication is very important.

Sometimes we say things which we shouldn't have or we carelessly utter unwanted words (mind you I am not talking of abuses). These things may affect the other person emotionally and mentally. For us it would have been just a matter of second to wag our tongue, but for the listener it is going to be the only thing at the back of his mind. By using unwanted words or speaking more than necessary, we not only hurt someone, but we also add a spot of dust to our social image. Your future interaction with the person may be based on that single word. Using proper words while talking is just like selecting the items listed out by your mom from the supermarket. You select the best brand from the specific domain, where your item is found.

So guys watch before you speak because the actions of the listener may be louder than your words!

MMS-MONEY, MARRIAGE & SEX

2008-09-24T22:41:00.000-07:00

MONEY,MARRIAGE & SEX (MMS)Marriage will be arranged according to temporary affection and to be a successful business man, one will have to cheat .Marriage will be based on arbitrary agreement and simply taking a bath will be considered proper cleansing and decoration of the body. The marriage took place simply on the basic of superficial liking, not deep understanding.

The basic principle of material attraction is sex. A man hankers after a woman and woman hankers after a man. And when they actually engage in sex, they become very much attracted to each other .so when a man and woman engage in sex, the hard knot in heart is tied “I cannot leave you, ” he /she says “you are my life and soul”

For a few days. Then Divorce

But the beginning is sex. The basic principle of material attraction is sex. we have sex life in many social conventions. Marriage is a social convention that gives a nice finishing touch, that’s all. Sometimes it is said that marriage is legalized prostitution. But for keeping up social one has to accept some regulative principles, some restrictions on sense gratification. Therefore civilized human beings recognize that there is difference between sex in marriage and sex outside marriage, which is just like sex between animals.

In any case, when two people unite some way or other, their next demand is a nice apartment and some land. Then children .When you have apartment and wife, the next requirement is to have children, because without children no home life is pleasant. ‘Home life without children is just like a desert.’ children are the real pleasure of home life. Finally there is the circle of relatives, or society. And all these paraphernalia have to maintain with money. So money is required.

A man’s qualities and social position will be calculated according o the extent of his wealth.

MUSIC
An art form of making pleasant combination of sounds, especially using specially designed instrument.

MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE MIND.

For one who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends, but for one who has failed to do so; the mind will be the greatest enemy.

The purpose of practicing eight fold yoga is to control the mind in order to make it a friend in discharging the human mission. Unless the mind is controlled, the practice of yoga is simply a waste of time, it is simply for show. One who cannot control his mind lives always with the greatest enemy, and thus life and its mission are spoiled.

For one who has conquered the mind, the super soul is already reached, for he/she has attained tranquility. To such a man happiness and distress heat and cold, honor and dishonor are all the same.

BUSINESS;
Based on peoples qualities and types of work (Social System)
Intellectuals & Teachers (Brahmans)- Head
Military men & State Leaders (Ksatriyas)-Arm
Farmer & Merchant (Vaisya)-Belly
Laborers( Sûdras)-Leg

The head department is the most important department because without the head and other departments-arm, the belly and the leg cannot function. If the arm department is lacking business can still go on. If the leg department is lacking business can go on. But if the head department is not there other parts are useless.

A PROGRAM CONCEPT PAPER ON CONSUMER AWARENESS

2008-09-19T23:15:00.000-07:00

This program is designed for National Consumer Forum of Nepal(piloting only) by Mr.Parmeshwor Vetwal on september 18 2008

Background:
National Consumer Forum.
The National Consumers Forum; a nonprofit public charity organized in the Nepal is an aggressive and relentless advocate for consumers nationwide, regardless of the product and in most cases where or when it was purchased. Our primary goal is to inform and assist individuals including single moms, seniors and the disabled, who need financial or legal advice, assistance with debt relief, consumer fraud, worthless guarantees, unsecured debts, medical bills, payday loan advances, overdrawn or closed bank accounts, obtaining debit & credit cards, even help with purchasing a home regardless of a credit report or dispute.

Consumer Awareness

Consumer awareness is part and parcel of consumer movement which is related with consumer protection and consumerism. Consumer movement emerged on account of the deceptive marketing techniques adopted by the marketers, shortage of consumer goods, adaptation of good and black marketing prices, misleading, advertisement, changing dimension in the society namely increase in Income and education and active campaign by the consumer organization and role of the government in protecting the consumer’s interest through consumer protection Act.
Marketing of goods an services has many diversified social issues comprising of consumerism governed by consumer movement; Marketing ethics relating to fair prices, quality product, promotional activity and distribution channels; social responsibility relating to the consumer protection under the enactment of law.

Consumer Right.
Consumer Protection Act (CPA) encompasses public, private and co-operative sectors and confers to the consumer.
• Right to SAFETY against hazardous goods and services.
• Right to be INFORMED about quality, quantity, purity, standard, price.
• Right to CHOOSE from a variety at competitive prices
• Right to be HEARD.
• Right to seek REDRESSAL.
• Right to CONSUMER EDUCATION, to the consumers.

Why Necessary:
• Rural people are largely unaware of consumer rights.
• People learned about standardization marks like ISO,NST from the shows. Both
buyers and sellers are more conscious about brand names and they hardly check
the marks.
• People are unaware of CPA and the campaign made them aware of Consumer
Rights, procedures to file a complaint, cost and redressal time period
involved.
• There is widespread grievance against use of inaccurate weights and measures.
• In rural areas and suburbs, buyers mostly do not take cash memos.
• Students expressed a lot of interest to participate in consumer clubs, which
were found to run very actively.

Objectives;

• In short,consumer awareness is basically for consumer’s right and at times
their obligations as well.Legally also, this aspect of consumer awareness has
been dealt in appropriately in sale of goods Act,besides setting up of
consumer courts at various levels
• To aware consumers well or take due precautions,most of the
inconvenience,hassles losses and litigations can be avoided or eliminated.If
the consumer take the things for granted,the seller may take advantage of the
situation and unpleasentness occurs.even if you have been cheated or devoid
of your rights inspite of your reasonable precaution,one should be aware of
the course of action avilable for remedy.
• To bring value for your money in the first place and ultimately improved
quality of life eliminating poor quality products and poor service/after
sales service from manuctfactures and sellers.
• Promote the environmental, economic, and health benefits of buying energy
efficient products.

Activities Undertaken.

Chapter 1- Introduction
(i) Concept of modern marketing.
(ii) Consumerism and consumer movement
(iii) Consumer Awareness : Education, environment, advertisement, newspapers, TV Channels, friends, relatives and the Public awareness organizations, consumer protection through legislative measures and the role of the government and social responsibility of business towards consumers, rights and duties of consumers.

Chapter 2- Research Methodology
(i) The Research Problem
(ii) Objective of the study
(iii) Hypothesis Formulation
(iv) Sample Design
(v) Collection of Data
(vi) Tabulation and Editing of Data
(vii) Analysis and interpretation of Data
(viii) Definition of Concepts
(ix) Testing of Hypothesis
(x) Preparation of Research Report
(xi) Limitation of the study

Chapter 3- Salient Features of the Consumer Protection Act,
(i) Scope of consumer protection Act
(ii) Important Provisions of the Act
(iii) Rights of consumers way the act
(iv) Administrative and organizational structure of the Machinery under the Act.
(v) Redressal of consumer grievances and disputes.
(vi) Working of the different tier system :
a. National commission
b. Zone commission
c. District Forums

Chapter 4- Consumer Awareness:
(i) Problems of Consumers in Nepal.
(ii) Consumer awareness through:
a) Education
b) Publicity through advertisements and sales promotion.
c) TV Channels
d) Government Measures
e) Friends and relatives
f) Consumer Movement – NGOS, Consumer’s day.
g) Voluntary Organizations

Chapter 5- Consumer Protection in Industrial zone.
(i) Opinion survey among consumers through questionnaires and personal contacts.
(ii) General analysis of responses
(iii) Awareness about exploitation by private traders.
(iv) Knowledge of consumer welfare schemes.
(v) Consumers rights
(vi) Consumer protection Act,
(vii) Procedures of Complaints under the Act
(viii) Different Methods of exploitation of consumers by private traders.
(ix) Consumer awareness relating to their duties and rights.
(x) Achievements and Failures of the Machinery under the Act.

Chapter 6- Summary of Findings and conclusions
(i) Summary of findings
(ii) Problems of consumer awareness
(iii) Accommodations for improvement.
An exploratory research will be conducted for which some of the important organizations of consumers will be undertaken, the various provisions of consumer protection act will be analyzed with reference to protect the consumer’s interest and awareness. Functioning of different tier system under the consumer protection Act (dated) with reference to the sights and remedies available to consumers.
The hypothesis is based on the steps taken by the government are not satisfactory and the level of consumer awareness is very low.
A sample of 100consumers will be taken and the questionnaire will be used for the collection of data. In this way primary source of Data will be used. Secondary sources of data from various sources of publication in government, semi- government and private organizations relating to consumer awareness and protection.

QUOTES

2008-08-13T05:24:00.000-07:00

Ability quotes

The path of least resistance is the path of the loser.
-- H. G. Wells

Martyrdom is the only way a man can become famous without ability.
-- George Bernard Shaw

A genius can't be forced; nor can you make an ape an alderman.
-- Thomas Somerville

God does not ask about our ability, but our availability.
-- Unknown

We all have ability. The difference is how we use it.
-- Stevie Wonder

Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.
-- John Wooden

No amount of ability is of the slightest avail without honor.
-- Andrew Carnegie

Ability is of little account without opportunity.
-- Napoleon Bonaparte

Advice quotes

Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.
-- Benjamin Franklin

Always drink upstream from the herd.
-- Will Rogers

Never miss a good chance to shut up.
-- Will Rogers

Advice is like castor oil, easy to give, but dreadful to take.
-- Josh Billings

Consider the postage stamp, my son. It secures success through its ability to stick to one thing till it gets there.
-- Josh Billings

Don't take life too seriously, you'll never get out of it alive.
-- Elbert Hubbard

Always and never are two words you should always remember never to use.
-- Wendell Johnson

The golden rule is that there are no golden rules.
-- George Bernard Shaw

Don't smoke too much, drink too much, eat too much or work too much. We're all on the road to the grave -- but there's no need to be in the passing lane.
-- Robert Orben

Albert Einstein Quotes

(1879 - 1955) - German born physicist and Nobel prize winner.

The secret of creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all art and science.

Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT'S relativity.

If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts.

Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.

Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.

Example isn't another way to teach, it is the only way to teach.

Human beings, vegetables, or comic dust, we all dance to a mysterious tune, intoned in the distance by an invisible player.

Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism -how passionately I hate them!

Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results
In order to be an immaculate member of a flock of sheep, one must above all be a sheep oneself.
Intellectuals solve problems; geniuses prevent them.
Intellectuals solve problems; geniuses prevent them.
Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Before God we are all equally wise - and equally foolish.
If I had my life to live over again, I'd be a plumber.
Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex... It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.
I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.
I do not know with what weapons World War 3 will be fought, but World War 4 will be fought with sticks and stones.

I am convinced that He (God) does not play dice.
If A equals success, then the formula is: A = X + Y + Z, X is work. Y is play. Z is keep your mouth shut.
Nationalism is an infantile disease, the measles of mankind.
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning.
A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy?
Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.
Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love.
The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits
Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value.
Men marry women with the hope they will never change. Women marry men with the hope they will change. Invaribly they are both disappointed.

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.

Beverages quotes

A billion hours ago, human life appeared on earth. A billion minutes ago, Christianity emerged. A billion Coca Colas ago was yesterday morning.
-- Unknown (from a Coca-Cola report)

The only way that I could figure they could improve upon Coca-Cola, one of life's most delightful elixirs, which studies prove will heal the sick and occasionally raise the dead, is to put rum or bourbon in it.
-- Lewis Grizzard

Coffee isn't my cup of tea.
-- Samuel Goldwyn

I'm on a whisky diet. I've lost three days already!
-- Tommy Cooper

Alcohol is necessary for a man so that he can have a good opinion of himself, undisturbed by the facts.
-- Finley Peter Dunne

I never drink anything stronger than gin before breakfast.
-- W.C. Fields

If God had intended us to drink beer, He would have given us stomachs.
-- David Daye

The dumber people think you are, the more surprised they're going to be when you kill them.
-- William Clayton

The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind.
-- Humphrey Bogart

All other nations are drinking Ray Charles beer and we are drinking Barry Manilow.
-- Dave Barry

Books quotes

A bookstore is one of the only pieces of evidence we have that people are still thinking.
-- Jerry Seinfield

A man's got to take a lot of punishment to write a really funny book.
-- Ernest Hemingway

A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.
-- Mark Twain

Once you've put one of his books down, you simply can't pick it up again.
-- Mark Twain (talking about Henry James)

A good novel tells us the truth about it's hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author.
-- G. K. Chesterton

There are books of which the backs and covers are by far the best parts.
-- Charles Dickens

Death quotes

If you die in an elevator, be sure to push the Up button.
-- Sam Levenson

I don't want to tell you how much insurance I carry with the Prudential, but all I can say is: when I go, they go too.
-- Jack Benny

Death was Nature's way of telling you to slow down.
-- Terry Pratchett (Strata, 1981)

It's funny the way most people love the dead. Once you're dead, you're made for life.
-- Jimi Hendrix

Death is a very dull, dreary affair, and my advice to you is to have nothing whatever to do with it.
-- Somerset Maugham

Death is life's way of telling you you're fired.
-- Proverb

For three days after death, hair and fingernails continue to grow but phone calls taper off.
-- Johnny Carson

At my age I do what Mark Twain did. I get my daily paper, look at the obituaries page and if I'm not there I carry on as usual.
-- Patrick Moore

I can't afford to die; I'd lose too much money.
-- George Burns

The only completely consistent people are the dead.
-- Aldous Huxley

Let us live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.
-- Mark Twain

I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the ordeal of meeting me is another matter.
-- Winston Churchill

Drink quotes

I've never been drunk, but often I've been overserved.
-- George Gobel

You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on.
-- Dean Martin

Time is never wasted when you're wasted all the time.
-- Catherine Zandonella

A drink a day keeps the shrink away.
-- Edward Abbey

Twas a woman who drove me to drink. I never had the courtesy to thank her.
-- W.C. Fields

When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading.
-- Henry Youngman

Yes, madam, I am drunk. But in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly.
-- Winston Churchill (replying to Lady Astor's comment 'Sir, you're drunk!')

Actually, it only takes one drink to get me loaded. Trouble is, I can't remember if it's the thirteenth or fourteenth.
-- George Burns

No animal ever invented anything as bad as drunkenness - or as good as drink.
-- G. K. Chesterton

One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor.
-- George Carlin

Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.
-- Ernest Hemingway

A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her.
-- W.C. Fields

I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day.
-- Frank Sinatra

Emo Philips Quotes

(b. 1956) - American comedian.

I saw a woman wearing a sweatshirt with 'Guess' on it. I said, 'Thyroid problem?'
Some mornings it just doesn't seem worth it to gnaw through the leather straps.
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
In our school you were searched for guns and knifes on the way in and if you didn't have any, they gave you some.

George Burns Quotes Pages: 1
(1896 - 1996) - American actor, writer, Oscar winner.
When I was a boy the Dead Sea was only sick.
Actually, it only takes one drink to get me loaded. Trouble is, I can't remember if it's the thirteenth or fourteenth.
Everything that goes up must come down. But there comes a time when not everything that's down can come up.
Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are busy driving taxicabs and cutting hair.
I can't afford to die; I'd lose too much money.
It's hard for me to get used to these changing times. I can remember when the air was clean and sex was dirty.
You've got to be honest; if you can fake that, you've got it made.
By the time you're eighty years old you've learned everything. You only have to remember it.
Nice to be here? At my age it's nice to be anywhere.

Happiness quotes

One of the keys to happiness is a bad memory.
-- Rita Mae Brown

Happiness: a good bank account, a good cook, and a good digestion.
-- Jean Jacques Rousseau

One of the universal rules of happiness is: always be wary of any helpful item that weighs less than its operating manual.
-- Terry Pratchett (Jingo, 1997)

For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

There is only one way to achieve happiness on this terrestrial ball, and that is to have either a clear conscience or none at all.
-- Ogden Nash

Happiness is good health and a bad memory.
-- Ingrid Bergman

Happiness is like a kiss. You must share it to enjoy it.
-- Bernard Meltzer

Inspirational quotes

And in the end it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.
-- Abraham Lincoln

Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap ... but by the seeds you plant!
-- Robert Louis Stevenson

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all art and science.
-- Albert Einstein

It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.
-- Eugene Ionesco Decouvertes

The best way to cheer yourself is to cheer somebody else up.
-- Mark Twain

The miracle is this - the more we share, the more we have.
-- Leonard Nimoy

Hope is the dream of the waking man.
-- Aristotle

The torpid artist seeks inspiration at any cost, by virtue or by vice, by friend or by fiend, by prayer or by wine.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Intelligence quotes Pages: 1
Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most.
-- Mark Twain
An intellectual is someone who has found something more interesting than sex.
-- Edgar Wallace
Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.
-- Unknown
Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so.
-- Bertrand Russell
Military intelligence is a contradiction in terms.
-- Groucho Marx
Intellectuals solve problems; geniuses prevent them.
-- Albert Einstein
Intellectuals solve problems; geniuses prevent them.
-- Albert Einstein
Skill is successfully walking a tightrope over Niagara Falls. Intelligence is not trying.
-- Anonymous

Issac Asimov Quotes Pages: 1
(1920 - 1992) - Russian born American author.
Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome.
The first law of dietetics seems to be: if it tastes good, it's bad for you.
The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds the most discoveries, is not Eureka! (I found it!) but 'That's funny...’
To surrender to ignorance and call it God has always been premature, and it remains premature today.
I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them.
All sorts of computer errors are now turning up. You'd be surprised to know the number of doctors who claim they are treating pregnant men.
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.

Life quotes

Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save.
-- Will Rogers

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.
-- Soren Aabye Kierkegaard

I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.
-- Lily Tomlin

I wanna live 'til I die, no more, no less.
-- Eddie Izzard

There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew.
-- Marshall McLuhan

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.
-- John Lennon (from Beautiful Boy - 1980)

Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome.
-- Issac Asimov

They say the seeds of what we will do are in all of us, but it always seemed to me that in those who make jokes in life the seeds are covered with better soil and with a higher grade of manure.
-- Ernest Hemingway

Life's too short for chess.
-- Henry James Byron

Live in danger. Build your cities on the slopes of Vesuvius.
-- Friedrich Nietzsche

Life is like a dogsled team. If you ain't the lead dog, the scenery never changes.
-- Lewis Grizzard

Life is just one damned thing after another.
-- Elbert Hubbard

If I had to live my life again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner.
-- Tallulah Bankhead

In the end, everything is a gag.
-- Charlie Chaplin

I made up my mind long ago that life was too short to do anything for myself that I could pay others to do for me.
-- Somerset Maugham

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on.
-- Robert Frost

The world is not growing worse and it is not growing better -- it is just turning around as usual.
-- Finley Peter Dunne

Life's tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.
-- Benjamin Franklin

Too bad that all the people who know how to run the country are busy driving taxicabs and cutting hair.
-- George Burns

My experience has taught me that a man who has no vices has damned few virtues.
-- Abraham Lincoln

I saw a subliminal advertising executive, but only for a second.
-- Steven Wright

What some people mistake for the high cost of living is really the cost of high living.
-- Doug Larson

In order to be an immaculate member of a flock of sheep, one must above all be a sheep oneself.
-- Albert Einstein

If I had my life to live over again, I'd be a plumber.
-- Albert Einstein

A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy?
-- Albert Einstein

When you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas.
-- Jean Harlow

Mark Twain Quotes

(1835 - 1910) - American writer, famous for Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer novels.

You can tell German wine from vinegar by the label.
Man - a figment of God's imagination.
It is full of interest. It has noble poetry in it; and some clever fables; and some blood-drenched history; and some good morals; and a wealth of obscenity; and upwards of a thousand lies.
-- Commenting on the Bible.
Denial ain't just a river in Egypt.
A classic is something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.
Once you've put one of his books down, you simply can't pick it up again.
-- (talking about Henry James)
The best way to cheer yourself is to cheer somebody else up.
Its not the size of the dog in the fight, its the size of the fight in the dog.
A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining and wants it back the minute it begins to rain.
Golf is a good walk spoiled.

It's still good sportsmanship to not pick up lost balls while they are still rolling.
Every generalization is dangerous, especially this one.
Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.
Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter.
When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.
Let us live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.
The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.
A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is just putting on its shoes.
In the first place God made idiots; that was for practice; then he made school boards.

Men quotes

He was so mean it hurt him to go to the bathroom.
-- Britt Ekland (on Rod Stewart)

Men are simple things. They can survive a whole weekend with only three things: beer, boxer shorts and batteries for the remote control.
-- Diana Jordan

See, the problem is that God gives men a brain and a penis, and only enough blood to run one at a time.
-- Robin Williams

A hard man is good to find.
-- Mae West

Perfect numbers like perfect men are very rare.
-- Rene Descartes

A succesful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend. A succesful woman is one who can find such a man.
-- Lana Turner

Man - a figment of God's imagination.
-- Mark Twain

The surest way to make a monkey of a man is to quote him.
-- Robert Benchley (My Ten Years in a Quandary, 1936)

I've dated men my age, younger than me and older. The only difference is the young ones are quicker at taking out the garbage.
-- Lara Flynn Boyle

I am a marvelous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man I keep his house.
-- Zsa Zsa Gabor

Money quotes

When its a question of money, everybody is of the same religion.
-- Voltaire

Any man who has $10,000 left when he dies is a failure.
-- Errol Flynn

The safe way to double your money is to fold it over once and put it in your pocket.
-- Frank McKinney Hubbard

The only reason I made a commercial for American Express was to pay for my American Express bill.
-- Peter Ustinov

I have enough money to last me the rest of my life, unless I buy something.
-- Jackie Mason

Money is just the poor man's credit card.
-- Marshall McLuhan

Money couldn't buy you friends, but you get a better class of enemy.
-- Spike Milligan

Every day I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I'm not there, I go to work.
-- Robert Orben

Why pay a dollar for a bookmark? Why not use the dollar for a bookmark?
-- Steven Spielberg

To be clever enough to get all the money, one must be stupid enough to want it.
-- G. K. Chesterton

A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore.
-- Yogi Berra

Watch the costs and the profits will take care of themselves.
-- Andrew Carnegie

Parents quotes

My father told me all about the birds and the bees, the liar - I went steady with a woodpecker till I was twenty-one.
-- Bob Hope

My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a bitch.
-- Jack Nicholson

Parents are the last people on earth who ought to have children.
-- Samuel Butler

When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.
-- Josh Billings

I don't think my parents liked me. They put a live teddy bear in my crib.
-- Woody Allen

And my parents finally realise that I'm kidnapped and they snap into action immediately: they rent out my room.
-- Woody Allen

If your parents never had children, chances are you won't either.
-- Dick Cavett

I remember the time I was kidnapped and they sent a piece of my finger to my father. He said he wanted more proof.
-- Rodney Dangerfield

My mother had morning sickness after I was born.
-- Rodney Dangerfield

When I was born ... the doctor came out to the waiting room and said to my father ... I'm very sorry. We did everything we could ... but he pulled through.
-- Rodney Dangerfield

My father carries around the picture of the kid who came with his wallet.
-- Rodney Dangerfield

I could tell that my parents hated me. My bath toys were a toaster and a radio.
-- Rodney Dangerfield

People quotes

The less people know about how sausages and laws are made, the better they'll sleep at night.
-- Otto von Bismarck

A person will sometimes devote all his life to the development of one part of his body - the wishbone.
-- Robert Frost

A recent survey stated that the average person's greatest fear is having to give a speech in public. Somehow this ranked even higher than death which was third on the list. So, you're telling me that at a funeral, most people would rather be the guy in the coffin than have to stand up and give a eulogy.
-- Jerry Seinfield

People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid.
-- Soren Aabye Kierkegaard

Common looking people are the best in the world: that is the reason the Lord makes so many of them.
-- Abraham Lincoln

The public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything except genius.
-- Oscar Wilde

Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.
-- George S. Patton

You can tell a lot about a fellow's character by the way he eats jelly beans.
-- Ronald Reagan

Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.
-- Benjamin Franklin

Put Downs quotes

He has so many muscles he has to make an appointment to move his fingers.
-- Phyllis Diller (on Arnold Schwarzenegger)

The best ears of our lives.
-- Milton Berle (on Clarke Gable)

The last time I was in Spain I got through six Jeffrey Archer novels. I must remember to take enough toilet paper next time.
-- Bob Monkhouse (on Jeffrey Archer - English politician, novelist, convict)

She needs open-heart surgery, and they should go in through her feet.
-- Julie Andrews (commenting on columnist Joyce Haber)

Bush said today he is being stalked. He said wherever he goes, people are following him. Finally, someone told him, 'Psst. That's the Secret Service.'
-- Jay Leno

Milton Berle is an inspiration to every young person that wants to get into show business. Hard work, perseverance, and discipline: all the things you need...when you have no talent.
-- Dean Martin

There's a statue of Jimmy Stewart in the Hollywood Wax Museum, and the statue talks better than he does.
-- Dean Martin

He's the kind of guy that when he dies, he's going up to heaven and give God a bad time for making him bald.
-- Marlon Brando (on Frank Sinatra)

Breasts like granite and a brain like swiss cheese.
-- Billy Wilder (on Marilyn Monroe)

Some refer to it as a cultural Chernobyl. I think of it as a cultural Stalingrad.
-- J. G. Ballard (referring to EuroDisney)

I'm a one-man idiot.
-- Eddie Izzard

I'm as pure as the driven slush.
-- Tallulah Bankhead

The right honourable gentleman is reminiscent of a poker. The only difference is that a poker gives off the occasional signs of warmth.
-- Benjamin Disraeli (on Robert Peel)

From the moment I picked your book up until I laid it down I was convulsed with laughter. Someday I intend reading it.
-- Groucho Marx

He would make a lovely corpse.
-- Charles Dickens

I do not know the American gentleman, God forgive me for putting two such words together.
-- Charles Dickens

If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one?
-- Abraham Lincoln

I never forget a face, but in your case I'll be glad to make an exception.
-- Groucho Marx

Motivation quotes

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning. -- Albert Einstein

It doesn't matter who you are or where you've come from. You can achieve great things and make a difference in this world. You only need to believe in yourself enough, and you do that by reaching your goals one step at a time. -- Mark Llewhellin

Wisdom quotes

Why don't they make the whole plane out of that black box stuff.
-- Steven Wright

If at first you don't succeed, try again. Then quit. There's no use being a damn fool about it.
-- W.C. Fields

Some folks are wise and some otherwise.
-- Josh Billings

Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.
-- Jimi Hendrix

A candidate is someone who gets money from the rich and votes from the poor to protect them from each other.
-- Unknown

Wise men make proverbs, but fools repeat them.
-- Samuel Palmer

Whenever I'm caught between two evils, I take the one I've never tried.
-- Mae West

The pen is mightier than the sword, and considerably easier to write with.
-- Marty Feldman

I believe in getting into hot water. I think it keeps you clean.
-- G. K. Chesterton

Wise men don't need advice. Fools won't take it.
-- Benjamin Franklin

My idea of an agreeable person is a person who agrees with me.
-- Benjamin Disraeli

Every generalization is dangerous, especially this one.
-- Mark Twain

A word to the wise ain't necessary -- it's the stupid ones that need the advice.
-- Bill Cosby

The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.
-- Mark Twain

An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile--hoping it will eat him last.
-- Winston Churchill

Make happy those who are near, and those who are far will come.
-- Proverb

Example isn't another way to teach, it is the only way to teach.
-- Albert Einstein

You're fooling yourself if you argue with a fool - others may not know the difference.
-- Robert Paul

Never pass up an opportunity to keep your mouth shut.
-- Paul Miller

Love quotes

Love is the delightful interval between meeting a beautiful girl and discovering that she looks like a haddock.
-- John Barrymore

A kiss can be a comma, a question mark or an exclamation point. That's basic spelling that every woman ought to know.
-- Mistinguette (as quoted in Theatre Arts, Dec 1955)

Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.
-- Robert Frost

Love ceases to be a pleasure, when it ceases to be a secret.
-- Aphra Behn

(Love) A temporary insanity curable by marriage.
-- Ambrose Bierce

What the world really needs is more love and less paper work.
-- Pearl Bailey

Where love is concerned, too much is not even enough.
-- Pierre De Beaumarchais

Love is the heart of the soul.
-- Robert Paul

Love is a state in which a man sees things most decidedly as they are not.
-- Friedrich Nietzsche

When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece.
-- John Ruskin

A kiss: To a young girl, faith; to a married woman, hope; to an old maid, charity.
-- V.P. Skipper

Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love.
-- Albert Einstein

Stupidity quotes

In view of the fact that God limited the intelligence of man, it seems unfair that he did not also limit his stupid
ity.
-- Konrad Adenauer

The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity. But not in that order.
-- Brian Pickrell

There is more stupidity than hydrogen in the universe, and it has a longer shelf life.
-- Frank Zappa

A stupid man's report of what a clever man says is never accurate because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand.
-- Bertrand Russell

Most fools think they are only ignorant.
-- Benjamin Franklin

The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits
-- Albert Einstein

Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.
-- Albert Einstein

Computer quotes

The only way to make your PC go faster is to throw it out a window.
-- Robert Paul

The question of whether computers can think is like the question of whether submarines can swim.
-- Edsgar Dijkstra

The use of COBOL cripples the mind; its teaching should, therefore, be regarded as a criminal offense.
-- Edsgar Dijkstra

I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.
-- Thomas Watson

Always be wary of the Software Engineer who carries a screwdriver.
-- Robert Paul

To err is human, but to really foul things up you need a computer.
-- Paul Ehrlich

Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
-- Pablo Picasso

I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them.
-- Issac Asimov

All sorts of computer errors are now turning up. You'd be surprised to know the number of doctors who claim they are treating pregnant men.
-- Issac Asimov

A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.
-- Emo Philips

Friendship quotes

If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.
-- Harry S. Truman

There are three faithful friends, an old wife, an old dog, and ready money.
-- Benjamin Franklin

A real friend is someone who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.
-- Anonymous

Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow; Don't walk behind me, I may not lead; Walk beside me, and just be my friend.
-- Albert Camus

Every murderer is probably somebody's old friend.
-- Agatha Christie

Win hearts, and you have hands and purses.
-- Lord Burleigh

Friendship is Love without his wings.
-- Lord Byron

It's much easier to turn a friendship into love, than love into friendship.
-- Proverb

Laughter quotes

We must laugh at man to avoid crying for him.
-- Napoleon Bonaparte

You can't deny laughter; when it comes, it plops down in your favorite chair and stays as long as it wants.
-- Stephen King fromHearts in Atlantis.

Laughter is higher than all pain.
-- Elbert Hubbard

Laughter is the closest distance between two people.
-- Victor Borge

Not by wrath does one kill, but by laughter.
-- Friedrich Nietzsche

Start every day with a smile and get it over with.
-- W.C. Fields

A day without laughter is a day wasted.
-- Charlie Chaplin

Everything is funny as long as it is happening to somebody else.
-- Will Rogers

He who laughs, lasts.
-- Mary Pettibone Poole

Success quotes

Nature gave men two ends - one to sit on and one to think with. Ever since then man's success or failure has been dependent on the one he used most.
-- George R. Kirkpatrick

People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.
-- Andrew Carnegie

It is not enough to do your best; you must know what to do, and THEN do your best.
-- W. Edwards Deming

Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.
-- Alexander Graham Bell

Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.
-- Winston Churchill

Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.
-- Albert Einstein

If A equals success, then the formula is: A = X + Y + Z, X is work. Y is play. Z is keep your mouth shut.
-- Albert Einstein

Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value.
-- Albert Einstein

The road to success is always under construction.
-- Unknown

Marriage quotes

It was a perfect marriage. She didn't want to and he couldn't.
-- Spike Milligan

I never knew what real happiness was until I got married. And by then it was too late.
-- Max Kauffmann

Marriage changes passion ... suddenly you're in bed with a relative.
-- Unknown

The secret of a happy marriage remains a secret.
-- Henry Youngman

Marriage is an institution and that's where a couple finish up.
-- Les Dawson

A good marriage would be between a blind wife and a deaf husband.
-- Michel de Montaigne

A girl must marry for love, and keep on marrying until she finds it.
-- Zsa Zsa Gabor

All tragedies are finished by a death, all comedies by a marriage.
-- Lord Byron

Marriage is give and take. You'd better give it to her or she'll take it anyway.
-- Joey Adams

Marriage has no guarantees. If that's what you're looking for, go live with a car battery.
-- Erma Bombeck

By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll be happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.
-- Socrates

Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, and half-shut afterwards.
-- Benjamin Franklin

There's only one way to have a happy marriage and as soon as I learn what it is I'll get married again.
-- Clint Eastwood

They say marriages are made in Heaven. But so is thunder and lightning.
-- Clint Eastwood

Where there is marriage without love, there will be love without marriage.
-- Benjamin Franklin

A man's wife has more power over him than the state has.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

A man in love is incomplete until he is married. Then he's finished.
-- Zsa Zsa Gabor

A good marriage is like a casserole, only those responsible for it really know what goes in it.
-- Anonymous

A coward is a hero with a wife, kids, and a mortgage.
-- Marvin Kitman

I never married because I have three pets at home that answer the same purpose as a husband. I have a dog that growls every morning, a parrot that swears all afternoon and a cat that comes home late at night.
-- Marie Corelli

After marriage, husband and wife become two sides of a coin; they just can't face each other, but still they stay together.
-- Hemant Joshi

Marriage is like pi - natural, irrational, and very important.
-- Lisa Hoffman

Men marry women with the hope they will never change. Women marry men with the hope they will change. Invaribly they are both disappointed.
-- Albert Einstein

I've sometimes thought of marrying, and then I've thought again.
-- Noel Coward

Many a man owes his success to his first wife and his second wife to his success.
-- Jim Backus

Marriage is a three ring circus: engagement ring, wedding ring, and suffering.
-- Anonymous

Children quotes

There are only two things a child will share willingly -- communicable diseases and his mother's age.
-- Benjamin Spock

I love children, especially when they cry, for then someone takes them away.
-- Nancy Mitford

We spend the first twelve months of our children's lives teaching them to walk and talk and the next twelve telling them to sit down and shut up.
-- Phyllis Diller

Madam, there's no such thing as a tough child - if you parboil them first for seven hours, they always come out tender.
-- W.C. Fields

The trouble with children is that they are not returnable.
-- Fyodor Dostoyevski

The first half of our life is ruined by our parents and the second half by our children.
-- Clarence Darrow

Pretty much all the honest truth telling there is in the world is done by children.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes

You see, money's not everything in life is it? but it keeps you in touch with your children...
-- Johnnie Casson

A boy's story is the best that is ever told.
-- Charles Dickens

A scout troop consists of twelve little kids dressed like schmucks following a big schmuck dressed like a kid.
-- Jack Benny

Human beings are the only creatures on earth that allow their children to come back home.
-- Bill Cosby

The baby is fine. The only problem is that he looks like Edward G. Robinson.
-- Woody Allen

A little girl at the wedding afterwards asked her mother why the bride changed her mind. "What do you mean?" responded her mother. "Well, she went down the aisle with one man, and came back with another."
-- Unknown

The 30 Latest Amusing Quotes
2 December

Whenever I date a guy, I think, is this the man I want my children to spend their weekends with?
-- Rita Rudner

I've been in more laps than a napkin.
-- Mae West

You can lead a man to Congress, but you can't make him think.
-- Milton Berle

The best ears of our lives.
-- Milton Berle (on Clarke Gable)

I still believe that at any time the no-talent police will come and arrest me.
-- Mike Myers

I'm not offended by dumb blonde jokes because I know that I'm not dumb. I also know I'm not blonde.
-- Dolly Parton

Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.
-- Oscar Wilde

There are two seasons in Scotland - June and Winter.
-- Billy Connolly

The great thing about Glasgow is that if there's a nuclear attack it'll look exactly the same afterwards.
-- Billy Connolly

My father told me all about the birds and the bees, the liar - I went steady with a woodpecker till I was twenty-one.
-- Bob Hope

I was allowed to ring the bell for five minutes until everyone was in assembly. It was the beginning of power.
-- Jeffrey Archer

The last time I was in Spain I got through six Jeffrey Archer novels. I must remember to take enough toilet paper next time.
-- Bob Monkhouse (on Jeffrey Archer - English politician, novelist, convict)

Christmas at my house is always at least six or seven times more pleasant than anywhere else. We start drinking early. And while everyone else is seeing only one Santa Claus, we'll be seeing six or seven.
-- W.C. Fields

29 November

The reason why worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work.
-- Robert Frost

I believe in censorship. After all, I made a fortune out of it.
-- Mae West

Diplomacy is the art of saying "Nice doggie" till you can find a rock.
-- Wynn Catlin

Programming is like sex: One mistake and you support it a lifetime.
-- Unknown

A woman's mind is cleaner than a man's. She changes it more often.
-- Oliver Herford

An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day.
-- Irv Kupcinet

I never believed in Santa Claus because I knew no white dude would come into my neighborhood after dark.
-- Dick Gregory

He was so mean it hurt him to go to the bathroom.
-- Britt Ekland (on Rod Stewart)

I hate people who think it's clever to take drugs...like custom officers.
-- Jack Dee

The Law of Raspberry Jam: The wider any culture is spread, the thinner it gets.
-- Alvin Toffler (The Culture Consumers, 1964)

One of the definitions of sanity is the ability to tell real from unreal. Soon we'll need a new definition.
-- Alvin Toffler

We know that the nature of genius is to provide idiots with ideas twenty years later.
-- Louis Aragon

She needs open-heart surgery, and they should go in through her feet.
-- Julie Andrews (commenting on columnist Joyce Haber)

Smoking is one of the leading causes of statistics.
-- Fletcher Knebel

One of the keys to happiness is a bad memory.
-- Rita Mae Brown

27 November

Run for office? No. I've slept with too many women, I've done too many drugs, and I've been to too many parties.
-- George Clooney

Men are simple things. They can survive a whole weekend with only three things: beer, boxer shorts and batteries for the remote control.
-- Diana Jordan

Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes Pages: 1
(1803 - 1882) - American author, minister.
For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.
Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.
Men succeed when they realize that their failures are the preparation for their victories.
Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year.
The torpid artist seeks inspiration at any cost, by virtue or by vice, by friend or by fiend, by prayer or by wine.
The age of a woman doesn't mean a thing. The best tunes are played on the oldest fiddles.
All diseases run into one, old age.
Democracy becomes a government of bullies tempered by editors.
A man's wife has more power over him than the state has.

Steven Wright Quotes Pages: 1
(b. 1955) - American comedian, actor. Visit his site
Why don't they make the whole plane out of that black box stuff.
Black holes are where God divided by zero.
My theory of evolution is that Darwin was adopted.
I saw a subliminal advertising executive, but only for a second.
Right now I'm having amnesia and deja vu at the same time.
I think I've forgotten this before.
I remember when the candle shop burned down. Everyone stood around singing ' Happy Birthday .'
How young can you die of old age?

Winston Churchill Quotes Pages: 1 2
(1874 - 1965) - British prime minister, author.

A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.

A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject.

Yes, madam, I am drunk. But in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly.
-- (replying to Lady Astor's comment 'Sir, you're drunk!')

I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.

Never hold discussions with the monkey when the organ grinder is in the room.

History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.

Golf is a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into a even smaller hole, with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose.

An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile--hoping it will eat him last.

I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the ordeal of meeting me is another matter.

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.

Women quotes Pages: 1 2 3
There is one thing I would break up over and that is if she caught me with another woman. I wouldn't stand for that.
-- Steve Martin
A woman's mind is cleaner than a man's. She changes it more often.
-- Oliver Herford
At 38 years, I finally got me the woman that said those six words I wanted all my life to hear: 'My dad owns a liquor store.'
-- Mark Klein
Women are like cars: we all want a Ferrari, sometimes want a pickup truck, and end up with a station wagon.
-- Tim Allen
Why would I make one woman so miserable when I can make so many women very happy?
-- Benny Hill
I saw a woman wearing a sweatshirt with 'Guess' on it. I said, 'Thyroid problem?'
-- Emo Philips
Instead of getting married again, I'm going to find a woman I don't like and just give her a house.
-- Lewis Grizzard
My wife is a sex object - every time I ask for sex, she objects.
-- Les Dawson
Women want men, careers, money, children, friends, luxury, comfort, independence, freedom, respect, love, and three dollar pantyhose that won't run.
-- Phyllis Diller (as quoted in Woman's Almanac, 1977)
A woman's guess is much more accurate than a man's certainty.
-- Rudyard Kipling
Women are like elephants to me: nice to look at, but I wouldn't want to own one.
-- W.C. Fields
What would bug a guy from the Taliban more than seeing a gay woman in a suit surrounded by Jews?
-- Ellen DeGeneres (as spoken at the 2001 Emmy's)
Behind every successful man is a woman, behind her is his wife.
-- Groucho Marx
It's the good girls who keep diaries; the bad girls never have the time.
-- Tallulah Bankhead
A psychiatrist is a fellow who asks you a lot of expensive questions your wife asks for nothing.
-- Joey Adams
Man has will, but woman has her way.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes
If women didn't exist, all the money in the world would have no meaning.
-- Aristotle Onassis
What a strange thing man is; and what a stranger thing woman.
-- Lord Byron
A woman knows she's wearing the right dress, when her man wants to take it off.
-- Robert Paul
A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her.
-- W.C. Fields
A girl phoned me the other day and said ... Come on over, there's nobody home. I went over. Nobody was home.
-- Rodney Dangerfield

Woody Allen Quotes Pages: 1
(b. 1935) - American film director, writer, actor. 3 times Oscar winner.

In Beverly Hills...they don't throw their garbage away. They make it into television shows.

I don't think my parents liked me. They put a live teddy bear in my crib.

If you want to make God laugh, tell him your future plans.

How can I believe in God when only last week I got my tongue caught in the roller of an electric typewriter?

The baby is fine. The only problem is that he looks like Edward G. Robinson.

My problems all started with my early education. I went to a school for mentally disturbed teachers.

And my parents finally realise that I'm kidnapped and they snap into action immediately: they rent out my room.

Not only is there no God, but try getting a plumber on weekends.
-- Getting Even, 'My Philosophy'

Work quotes

The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat.
-- Lily Tomlin
It's a shame that the only thing a man can do for eight hours a day is work. He can't eat for eight hours; he can't drink for eight hours; he can't make love for eight hours. The only thing a man can do for eight hours is work.
-- William Faulkner
Be nice to people on your way up because you meet them on your way down.
-- Jimmy Durante
The world is full of willing people; some willing to work, the rest willing to let them.
-- Robert Frost
People are still willing to do an honest day's work. The trouble is they want a week's pay for it.
-- Joey Adams
If you don't want to work, you have to work to earn enough money so that you won't have to work.
-- Ogden Nash
Asking a working writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamppost how it feels about dogs.
-- Christopher Hampton
The golden rule of work is that the bosses jokes are ALWAYS funny.
-- Robert Paul
I dream for a living.
-- Steven Spielberg
Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all.
-- Sam Ewing
Pages: 1 2
The reason why worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work.
-- Robert Frost
Hard work never killed anybody, but why take a chance?
-- Edgar Bergen
You moon the wrong person at an office party and suddenly you're not 'professional' any more.
-- Jeff Foxworthy
By working faithfully eight hours a day, you may get to be a boss and work twelve hours a day.
-- Robert Frost
I always arrive late at the office, but I make up for it by leaving early.
-- Charles Lamb
The first sign of a nervous breakdown is when you start thinking your work is terribly important.
-- Milo Bloom
All I've ever wanted was an honest week's pay for an honest day's work.
-- Steve Martin
If it weren't for the last minute, nothing would get done...
-- Anonymous
Work is the curse of the drinking classes.
-- Oscar Wilde
The brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working when you get up in the morning, and doesn't stop until you get to the office.
-- Robert Frost

AIDS/HIV Conference

2008-08-06T04:08:00.000-07:00

2008-Mexico
The Alliance is hosting and participating in a wide range of events at the XVII International AIDS Conference taking place in Mexico City from 3–8 August 2008. Event times and locations are listed below.

For the full programme of events at the conference, along with further information about the conference, visit www.aids2008.org .
Pre-conference events

*
Living 2008: the positive leadership summit

(12th international conference for people living with HIV)

31 July–1 August

http://www.living2008.org/

*
The invisible men: gay men and other men who have sex with men in the global HIV/AIDS epidemic

1–2 August

http://www.msmandhiv.org/

*
Children and HIV/AIDS: action now, action how

1–2 August

http://www.teresagroup.ca/mexico/index.html

Sunday 3 August

*
Linking sexual and reproductive health: increasing the evidence base of innovative approaches to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support and to reproductive health services

Non-commercial satellite

11:15–13:15, SBR 8

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=505

*
Building partnerships for universal access: increasing civil society's capacity and sustainability

Non-commercial satellite

13:30–15:30, SBR 3

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=491

*
Integration of sexual and reproductive health and HIV/AIDS in Global Fund proposals

Non-commercial satellite

15:45–17:45, SR 2 (550)

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=482

Monday 4 August

*
Political advocacy by key populations to reduce stigma and discrimination in Mexico

Part of the oral abstract session, ‘Listen to us! Effective advocacy strategies’

11:00–12:30, SR 9 (950)

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=238

*
Using a mobile van to provide voluntary counselling and testing to high-risk and closeted men who have sex with men

Part of the oral abstract session, ‘Responding to the HIV epidemics among men who have sex with men’

11:00–12:30, SR 7 (450)

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=246

*
The challenges of monitoring and evaluating community sector advocacy

Skills building workshop

14:30–18:00, SBR 8

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=105

*
Challenging the future: the changing needs of adolescents growing up with HIV

Part of the oral abstract session, ‘Children and youth facing HIV/AIDS’

16:30–18:00, SR 7 (450)

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=316
*
Alliance press conference: a new response to the HIV crisis among transgenders

17:00–17:45, press room 3, media centre

www.aidsalliance.org/sw55406.asp

Tuesday 5 August

*
Aid effectiveness, the Paris Declaration and health

Part of the oral abstract session, ‘Show me the money: accountability, transparency and resources’

11:00–12:30, SR 10 (950)

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=272

*
Travel restrictions on people living with HIV: going against the grain of human rights and public health

Special session

12:45–14:15, SR 11 (1400)

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=66

*
Implementing GIPA and developing positive leadership: issues and challenges

Part of the special session, ‘Reclaiming our lives? Developing accountability for positive (PLHIV) leadership and our advocacy priorities’

12:45–14:15, SR 10 (950)

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=52

*
Global financial architecture

Special session

12:45–16:00, SR 1 (6090)

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=29

*
Who is right and who is wrong? Putting the right back into sexual and reproductive rights

Symposium

16:30–18:00, SR 2 (550)

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=6

*
Strengthening our accountability to people living with HIV: NGO code of good practice

Skills building workshop

16:30–18:00, SBR 1

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=112

*
Regional session on Latin America

Symposium

16:30–18:00, SR 8 (450)

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=63

Wednesday 6 August

*
Launch of the Latin America and Caribbean AIDSPortal/Presentación del PortalSIDA, La Comunidad de Conocimientos en VIH/SIDA de América Latina

Non-commercial satellite (in Spanish)

07:00–08:30, SBR2

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=552

*
In from the margins, the leadership of vulnerable populations in the AIDS response

Symposium

11:00–12.30, SR 2 (550)

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=25

*
Condoms and STIs: the impact of a four-year focused prevention programming at scale among men who have sex with men and female sex workers in Andhra Pradesh, India – results of an evaluation study

Part of the oral abstract session, ‘Implementing novel prevention programmes’

14:30–16:00, SR 11 (1400)

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=260

*
Consolidating the response to women and HIV in Mexico

Part of the oral abstract session, ‘Women take the lead’

14:30–16:00, SR 7 (450)

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=266

*
Sustaining adherence to HIV treatment: health and community systems integration approach

Part of the oral abstract session, ‘Adherence and medicines (ARV) management’

16:30–18:00, SR 9 (950)

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=228

*
Universal ARV scale up: delivering the second wave

Bridging session

16:30–18:00, SR 1 (6090)

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=43

*
Applying the Paris principles on aid effectiveness: what does this mean for AIDS financing?

Non-commercial satellite

18:30–20:30, SBR1

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=468

Thursday 7 August

*
Male circumcision: to cut or not to cut

Bridging session

11:00–12:30, SR 2 (550)

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=41

*
New forms of citizenship and socio-political inclusion: universal access to ART in the shanty towns of Rio de Janeiro

Part of the oral abstract session, ‘Building citizenship for HIV and AIDS’

16:30–18:00, SR 7 (450)

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=279

*
Civil society engagement in managing Global Fund grants: a case study from Cambodia

Part of the oral abstract session, ‘And you thought there was nothing sexy about NGO capacity building’

16:30–18:00, SR 8 (450)

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=241

*
Evidence for Action on HIV treatment and care systems

Non-commercial satellite

18:30–20:30, SBR 7

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=424

*
Key population response to HIV/AIDS in Latin America – a study as to how the Latin American response to the HIV/Aids epidemic has brought influence to bear on social development, legislation, public policies and respect for human rights in the region

Non-commercial satellite

18:30–20:30, SBR 8

http://www.aids2008.org/Pag/PSession.aspx?s=442

HIV/AIDS CONFERENCE

2008-08-06T04:04:00.001-07:00

Infrastructure Of Nepal

2008-08-06T01:47:00.000-07:00