Don’t Underestimate Female Consumers When it Comes to Technology

Posted by admin on January 18, 2012
Technology / No Comments

Women use technology as much if not more than men do.

CITE:Smallbiztrends.com

Women like technology. Women use it, all day long, just like men. Women do not want their technology products to look girlie. Oh, sure a small percentage of females like the feminine look, think pink, but the majority of women want products that are stylish and sleek. This information was derived from a study done by Saatchi @ Saatchi of British women who ranged in age from their mid twenties to their mid forties.

The propensity to make female products pink, which some refer to as the pink ghetto, is a mistake. Empowered women want the same thing that men do. The only difference in the women in the U.K. is that they require slightly fewer technical items than their male counterparts. The same probably holds true for women in the U.S. and elsewhere.

There is a false assumption that women don’t own as much technology as men, don’t like it as much or use it as often. Women are actually considered the “original early adopters” due to domestic technology, which they learned to use long before men did, if the men ever did learn how to use it. Women adapt to new technology quicker then men do.

Nevertheless, electronic stores  are not keeping pace. They are not woman-friendly. Many women shop for tech products but fail to find them because they receive no help when they are in an electronics store. The employees must be (stupidly) waiting for a man to enter. It is the store employees’ “bad” when they erroneously assume that women are ignorant of technology and unenlightened.

Women don’t necessarily care what a product is capable of doing. They want something that satisfies their needs and uses, and they want to understand how to use it.

Women are busy. They don’t need bells and whistles. They need a product that works impeccably the first time and every time afterward.

Women are an ever-growing video game demographic, which stores should keep in mind.  Findings from the recent Consumer Electronics show reveal that women are playing more games now than previously, and they are more interested in social gaming than men and enjoy playing games on Facebook. The report also revealed that women prefer tablets, laptops, smartphones while men prefer flat screen TVs.

MY TAKE:

Women like to talk, even if that communication is done online, via Facebook or other social media sites or chat rooms. Because women like to communicate and enjoy online entertainment, they are buying more and more technology to allow them to engage in these pastimes. Do not underestimate women’s interest in and knowledge about technology. If you do it is a mistake. You are going to lose money if you are in the electronics business and you are showing your ignorance and in the process are going to miss out on a lot of sales. 

 

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Orman Launches Her Approved Prepaid MasterCard

Posted by admin on January 17, 2012
Finance / No Comments

Suze Orman has introduced her one-of-a-kind credit card

CITE: Marketwatch.com

Suze Orman the, financial guru, has launched her Approved Prepaid MasterCard, which she created in her efforts to change the way people use their cash and think about cash.

Orman believes her Approved Card will teach people how to better use “plastic” as well as improve their banking skills and know that their interests are priority over profit motives and fees.

This card carries Orman’s name and an assurance that there are no hidden fees, unparalleled benefits to this card as well as value and originality. This card is the first prepaid card in history to work with TransUnion, which is one of the three top U.S. credit bureaus, in an effort to discover whether including prepaid card transaction data in credit bureaus will cause a change in the access that consumers have to credit. This card has features that no other prepaid card in the marketplace currently has.

The Approved Card will include a set of features unlike any other prepaid card in the marketplace including Orman’s tips and advice on personal finance; monitoring, credit scores, credit reports with unlimited updates for free from TransUnion. The owners of the card will receive free email updates 24/7 regarding any serious changes to their credit report, which equals $150 in retail value.

Moreover, the card provides free identify theft protection by Trusted ID, which has a retail value of $29.92 a year, and the ability to free and unlimited cash withdrawals from any Allpoint ATM each year when the card-owner makes at least a $20 electronic transfer per month or direct deposit.

The card owner receives email alerts when a transaction occurs or a text, your choice, daily or weekly if you prefer. In addition, account balance updates are available every day and a free dashboard comes along with the card so you can track how much you are spending and how much you are saving. Another great feature of the dashboard is a return tracker which checks the status of any returned purchases that you’ve made.

Better yet, this card carries some of the lowest fees, with a $3 monthly fee for up to four cards, as will as all benefits when you utilize the card as Orman instructs you.

This card gives great value compared to other cards that charge $10 monthly for each card as well as certain usage charges.

There is no activation fee for The Approved Card, which is another perk and there are no inactivity fees or cancellations fees.

MY TAKE:

“Plastic” is a fact of life, for most of us, good or bad. If there is a way that consumers can better learn to handle their finances, and Orman believes she has the way, kudos to her. It’s hard to do without a credit card nowadays but often people get in way over their heads before they know it. Orman’s card offers features that should help the average man on the street keep better track of his expenditures and teach him how to be savvier about his finances.

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Before You Venture Out on a Night on the Town, Know How Much You are Supposed to Tip

Posted by admin on January 17, 2012
Services / No Comments

Brush up on your tipping etiquette

CITE: Cooperator.com

You are out on the town or a guest at a hotel. At some point, you are going to be expected to tip someone. Do you understand the etiquette of tipping?

First off, a tip is an acronym for “To insure Prompt Services.” Did you know that? Tips are given to those who provide services. That part you probably knew.

How much are you supposed to tip a doorman? Well, that depends on what services he provides. If he hails a cab for you, tip him between $1 and $2. If he has to stand outside in a monsoon while he’s doing it, tip him more. When the doorman helps you carry your bags to the taxi tip him $1 per bag.

If you ask the doorman for recommendations or directions, tip him $5. However, you are not required to tip the doorman if the extent of his services is opening the door for you.

A good rule of thumb to keep in mind when you are in a situation where you are expected to top is that the more effort and time that a person puts into helping you, the bigger the tip. You will tip the bell staff that carries your bags up to your room more than a doorman who doesn’t spend as much time helping you as the bell staff does.

If you live in a place where there is a doorman, you should give him a tip during the holidays. A tip of $25 (or more if you want) is appropriate. You can base the tip on how much time the doorman spends during the year helping you. If you get a lot of visitors or deliveries that requires his services you may want to increase the tip.

When dining out, tipping is part of the drill.  The size of your tip depends on the quality of the restaurant and the quality of the services and the size of your dinner party. If, however, you are sitting at the counter eating, service isn’t a part of the equation so that a tip of 12 percent is fine.

Another rule of thumb is to tip 15 percent of the bill before tax when eating at a local restaurant. For example, if there is a seven- or eight percent state tax in the place where you are eating, calculate how much to tip by looking at the amount you are being taxed and then double it. Round if off.

If you are dining at a four-star restaurant, you will first tip the maitre d’, especially if he goes out of his way to find you a seat when the restaurant is busy. The tip could be anything from $20 to $100 and is given to him before you are seated. Expect to leave a 20 percent tip to your waiter. The wine steward should be tipped $2 or $3 for wine that is less than $10 and up to 10- to15 percent of the wine bill if you drink more than one bottle.

MY TAKE:

Don’t be a curmudgeon. Tip service workers. It’s polite and good form. Don’t embarrass the rest of your dinner party by refusing to tip or leaving a skimpy tip. Before you head out on the town, give some thought to tipping so you will have cash on hand and are not put in an awkward position where you know you should tip but, oops, you don’t have any money.

 

 

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Golfers Often Complain of Back Pain

Posted by admin on January 17, 2012
Uncategorized / No Comments

If you aren't warming up and are swinging your club wrong, you are at risk for injuries

CITE: Spine-health.com

Golf aficionados are often waylaid by back pain. Lower-back pain, in particular, is the outcome of strained or sprained muscles. When the back acts up, the golf game is going to suffer.

If you are predisposed to back pain, and you know it, stretch before heading out onto the course. This will loosen your muscles and warm up the body so you are less likely to experience an injury. When you stretch, zero in on your torso, hips, shoulders and hamstrings because these are the areas that are likely to become strained.

Hold a golf club, one hand on each end of the club. Lift up the club and lower it behind your neck and shoulders. Now rotate your body to the left and then to the right. This is an excellent stretch for the shoulders and torso.

Stretch your hips by sitting down, bending your knees and pulling them into the chest. Stand up and bend forward, trying to touch the ground with your fingertips. This is a wonderful hamstring stretch.

Swing the golf club gently. This movement warms your muscles.

If you are off balance while playing golf, this can put you at risk for injuries. Your weight should be equally distributed on the balls of your feet, and your back (spine) needs to be straight. Bend forward from the hips when you take a shot. The knees should be slightly bent, and your feet should be approximately a shoulder-width apart. Awareness of balance and proper form when playing golf is going to lessen the chance that you will injure your back.

If you aren’t swinging the golf club correctly this stresses your lower back.  The club should be swung smoothly and steadily. A smooth, steady movement is less likely to cause back strain.

If you are carrying a golf bag and repeatedly bending over to retrieve clubs, this can cause back pain. Choose an integrated golf bag stand, which enables you to set the bag on the ground, and you can remain standing (not bending over) when you retrieve your clubs. Another good idea is to buy a golf bag that has dual straps, which prevents pressure being put on one side or another.

MY TAKE:

When you are in pain, you aren’t going to be flexible, and if you aren’t flexible (and in pain) you aren’t going to want to play golf. If you do soldier through your pain and do play you probably aren’t going to play very well, and you may end up injuring yourself more.

You have to maintain your flexibility, which you will if you religiously stretch before playing golf. It’s an even better idea to stretch on those days when you aren’t playing because this is going to lessen the chance that you are going to suffer from back injuries and muscle strain.

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School-Sponsored Day Care Centers Lower the Risk of Repeat Pregnancies

Posted by admin on January 17, 2012
Education / No Comments

School-sponsored day care centers encourage young mothers to stay in school.

CITE: Principalpartnership.com.

When a teenage girl has a baby, it is difficult for her to continue school if she does not have an adequate support system. Offering day care in high school is one way to keep young mothers in school. When these young girls are able to continue going to school and are provided with on-site day care this lessens the chance that they are going to drop out and end up on welfare.

A study done by Union Pacific Foundation shows that young mothers who put their babies in a school-sponsored child care center are 12 percent less likely to have a repeat pregnancy than those girls who did not have this choice or did not take advantage of it.

Moreover, the young mothers got better grades after putting their infants in the school-sponsored day-care center.

In addition to providing care for the infants, other students who are interested in child care, and babies and children in general can visit the center and interact with the children. This gives the students first-hand experience with kids and many soon realize what a huge responsibility a child is. If a student thinks she, or he might like to run a daycare center in the future, observing how the operation works is a good lesson for them.

Some school systems are reluctant to address the issues of teen pregnancy and motherhood because of societal values and beliefs. Consequently, many schools are hesitant to provide day care for the students for the same reason. Some parents may (and do) object. The fear is that providing this type of facility will encourage other girls to have sex and get pregnant because they are aware they can take advantage of the center and continue going to school.

MY TAKE:

Every year, 500,000 teenage girls become mothers in the United States so it’s obviously a huge issue. School-based care programs for their babies encourage these young girls to stay in school, get their education, prepare for employment as well as learn about child development and what are considered good parenting practices.

Drop-out rates are lowered as a result of school-sponsored child care; there is more competent use of public health services as well as social and nutrition services and the community in general benefits because there are fewer welfare recipients in the area.

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Preventive Surgery is Often Done on Women who are at High Risk for Breast Cancer

Posted by admin on January 17, 2012
Healthcare / No Comments

Women that carry the breast cancer gene may opt to have both breasts removed as a preventive measure.

CITE: Mayo Clinic

When an individual undergoes the removal of a breast because cancer is present this is a mastectomy. When both breasts are removed this is a bilateral mastectomy. When women discover that they possess the breast cancer gene some choose to undergo prophylactic bilateral mastectomy, which means they have their breasts removed as a preventive measure even if cancer isn’t present.

Prophylactic measures are sought to discourage disease or an undesired consequence, such as cancer.

When both breasts are removed during this procedure as much of the breast tissue as possible is removed. It is impossible for the surgery to remove absolutely all the tissue, although every effort is made to do so. The minuscule amounts of tissue that are left behind do present a small risk of eventually becoming cancerous.

When a woman undergoes a prophylactic mastectomy, the goal is to prevent the occurrence of breast cancer or the recurrence. Under the skin in the breast is glandular tissue, and it is removed but the skin is maintained so the surgeon can do reconstructive surgery if that is the wish of the patient.

The tissue that is missing after the surgery can be replaced by using tissue from the patient’s lower belly area or by using saline (salt water) implants.

There are two groups of women who opt for bilateral mastectomies: There are those women who have had breast cancer in one breast and choose to remove the other breast to lessen their chances of a recurrence. The procedure is called a contralateral prophylactic mastectomy. The second group consists of women who are at high risk for breast cancer because of their genetics. A woman can be tested to see if she carries the BRCA2 or BRCA1 breast cancer genes. If the test is positive, the woman has a great risk of getting breast cancer, perhaps as high as 85 percent.

Some women, who have seen their blood relatives succumb to breast cancer, may have a horrible fear of getting it themselves, and rightly so, and they choose to undergo bilateral mastectomies to spare themselves from this fate.

There is not a 100 percent guarantee that cancer won’t occur when a woman has this procedure but the risk reduction is about 98- to 99 percent that breast cancer will be prevented as a result.

MY TAKE:

  • The Mayo Clinic advises that women can lessen their risk of getting breast cancer by controlling their weight especially after menopause, limiting their alcohol consumption, being physically active and by breast-feeding. The longer a woman nurses her babies the greater the protection she is afforded against breast cancer. Eating a healthy diet, not undergoing hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or stopping if you are already doing so, helps prevent breast cancer as does avoiding exposure to environmental pollutants as much as you possibly can.
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Embezzlement is Often the Act of Someone Who is in a Position of Trust

Posted by admin on January 17, 2012
Legal / No Comments

The charge of embezzlement, even if not found guilty, can permanently ruin your professional reputation.

CITE: Criminal-law.freeadvice.com

Embezzlement is the act of fraudulently appropriating money or property entrusted to the individual’s care for his own use. Embezzlement is often the act of someone who is in a position of trust, such as an agent or employee or a relative.

Embezzlement is considered a “white collar” crime. Generally, the commission of such does not entail violence.

Embezzlement is different from swindling, which means wrongly acquiring property under a false pretense (e.g., a lie or ruse) or getting the victim to transfer property to the person who is doing the swindling. When swindling occurs, the swindler cheats the victim out of something by using devices or tricks or via false statement. This is a form of theft.

Larceny is another crime that is usually a non-violent theft. The perpetrator takes someone’s property or removes it without  authority and expressly to deprive the owner of this property. This is a crime against the right of possession, which is different from embezzlement, which originates from the lawful taking of something but is the wrongful appropriation of it. Embezzlement is actually larceny modified and is a term that is used to cover acts of fraud that do not fall within the scope of larceny.

Most cases of embezzlement involve the misappropriation of assets, such as inventory and supplies. Charges of embezzlement can be made against someone who has had access to an account or to money that has come up missing. This type of charge is nearly as damaging as being convicted of embezzlement because it leaves a lasting impression and the person charged, although not convicted, may find it difficult to get another job. It is quite a stigma.

Embezzlement often involves the theft of large amounts of money. Sometimes the money is taken all at once and other times small amounts of money or property are stolen over a period of time. Embezzlement also occurs when someone falsifies accounts or invoices to hide a theft or commits credit card fraud.

When an employee exploits his knowledge and access of and to company information or money for his own illegal gain, this is a very serious offense.

The punishment for embezzlements varies depending on the state in which the crime occurs. The perpetrator can go to prison, be required to make restitution to the victim as well as fined. If you are charged with embezzlement for a second time, this is considered felony theft, and you can get up to three years in prison.

When an individual steals in excess of $400 in money or goods this is called serious grand theft. This can land you in jail for more than a year.

 MY TAKE:

Keep your hands out of the till and don’t doctor invoices or statements in an attempt to hide theft, which should not have occurred in the first place if you are an honorable employee or trusted friend or relative. As noted earlier, even the charge of embezzlement levied against you, although found not to be true, will eternally put you under a cloud of suspicion and make it difficult for other employers or friends and family members to trust you.

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