Making the most of outdoor space for the summertime
0 Comments | Examiner, The; Washington, D.C., May 30, 2010 | by Creators Sundicate
Christine Brun By Christine Brun
Creators Syndicate
With Memorial Day about to roll around again, we can begin to indulge thoughts of a long-awaited summertime.
Consider spending time and maybe a little money sprucing up whatever space you have available. Do what you need to render your outdoor balcony or patio more comfortable, whether that means buying mosquito-netting enclosures or portable heaters to warm the night air. Removable and washable protection from potentially dangerous carriers of West Nile Virus is available through MosquitoCurtains.com.
There are dozens of outdoor portable wood-burning devices for sale that allow you the romance of a real fire to warm your outdoor living or dining room. Propane-burning heaters come in floor- standing and tabletop models, as well as in versions that can be hung from structural beams.
If it is shade that you require, investigate the half-umbrella offered at just under $300 by Grandinroad. The Outdura is exceptional for tight spots and extends 54 inches out from the face of a structure.
Here we see a small deck that is arranged with comfortable seating much like you might find in an indoor setting. Luckily, outdoor fabric designs now include patterns and luscious colors durable enough for use outside, yet stylish in the same way that inside fabrics have always been.
Consider soft-looking plants on your patio such as full Boston ferns, or purchase plants that add an exotic aroma to the setting such as honeysuckle, jasmine or plumeria trees, if you can grow them in your climate. Plumeria, most fragrant at night, is the blossom used in Hawaiian leis, and that scent can transport you to another time and place.
If the design and installation of a permanent water feature is outside of your current budget, explore the hundreds of portable water fountains offered by retailers and Internet venders that cost a couple hundred dollars instead. Garden shops in Target, Lowe’s, Home Depot or a local nursery typically carry a variety of faux stone or pottery fountains that are affordable and mobile. All you need is an outdoor plug to run the pump, and you are good to go.
Take care of all senses, and you will construct an attractive and restful outdoor area
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0 Comments | Manufacturing Close – Up, Jul 30, 2010
Southern California Edison (SCE) said it awarded 36 contracts to independent power producers for a total of nearly 60 megawatts from photovoltaic solar panels that will produce emission-free energy for SCE customers.
In a release, the company said the panels will be installed on 31 unused rooftops and five ground-mount sites in SCE’s service territory.
The solar rooftop project, approved by the California Public Utilities Commission in June 2009, calls for a total of 500 megawatts of solar generating capacity, most of it on otherwise unused large warehouse rooftops. Half of the 500 megawatts will be from independent power producers who respond to SCE’s request for offers under competitive solicitations; the remaining 250 megawatts will be owned and operated by SCE. It is expected that this project will create about 1,200 jobs for Southern Californians.
“These contracts make significant strides toward distributed renewable generation for one of the most innovative solar programs in the country,” said Marc Ulrich, SCE vice president, Renewable and Alternative Power. “We’re working to help California meet its Million Solar Roofs goal and supply even more renewable energy to our customers where and when it’s most needed, without the added time and expense to construct major new transmission facilities.” The contracts awarded today are the first executed under the competitive solicitations for independent power producers.
SCE believes that its solar rooftop project will be a boon for the solar industry and consumers alike, with the resulting cost per unit significantly more cost effective than more common residential photovoltaic installations in California. Eventually, this could help drive down installation costs of photovoltaic generation for everyone
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Don?t forget to give the service a powerful name!
Market Niche ? Carve out an industry or two and become the most dominant player serving that industry. A really nice bonus to this approach is you can usually raise your prices dramatically when you specialize in this manner.
Offer ? Can you become known by an offer you make? I know an accountant that offer his tax preparation clients a 100% refund on their preparation fee when they refer four new clients. They are the 100% refund tax guys.
Solve a Problem ? Is there something that prospects in your market fear or seem to believe is universal for what you do? If so, focus on communicating how you have the answer. Painless dentistry for example. I know a remodeling contractor who found that what his clients appreciated the most was the way his crews cleaned up at the end of the day.
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It comes in both saturated and unsaturated forms. Saturated fat puts you at risk of health problems. Unsaturated fat is healthy, but if it goes through any type of refinement process, it can become saturated fat.
Vitamins. These are also required nutrients. Different vitamins perform different tasks within the body. They can work with the metabolism to help with energy levels for any task you can think of that you need your body to perform. It has also been noted that certain vitamins can prevent disease.
For example, vitamins A, C, and E, also called antioxidants, can assist with the prevention of coronary artery disease by keeping build up from occurring on artery walls. Vitamin B-1 is needed for digestion and proper nervous system function.
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To
protect against fraud, the merchant
acquirers build security services, which they
sell to the merchants, and the merchants
have to pay an additional fee per transaction.
But there is hope for the merchants with a
new development that promises to protect
banks, merchants, and consumers against
fraud, and give merchants some peace of
mind. Person-to-business (P2B) is a direct
debit service that utilizes a bank’s Internet
banking system to allow a customer to
make a purchase at an online merchant.
With P2B direct debit services, funds do not
leave the banking system; instead, they are
settled through the bank’s traditional
clearing systems.
How It Works
When a consumer makes a purchase at an
online merchant’s website, the consumer is
give an option to pay with P2B at checkout.
By selecting P2B the customer is given the
option of selecting the bank of the account
to be used for the purchase.
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0 Comments | People (London, England), The, July 25, 2010
Byline: Jessica Boulton; Liza Laws
THE number of families flying off on foreign holidays has soared by 20 per cent despite the credit crunch.
And with the start of the school holidays, UK airports are braced this weekend alone for 1.9 MILLION jetaway customers – up 100,000 over the same period last year.
The surge in bookings shows that – despite money still being tight – last year’s trend for “staycations” has given way to the lure of sun, sea and sand abroad.
Clare Banham, of the Association of British Travel Agents, said: “It’s a good, positive sign that the industry is looking sunny again.
“A lot of families value their holiday and will forgo a new car or other luxury to have it.”
Tour operators and airlines cited a range of factors for the boom – including early booking incentives, child-free deals and a stronger pound.
Also they had anticipated a late rush after England’s dismal World Cup, slashing prices to encourage folk to buy and cheer themselves up.
Low-cost airline Flybe is fully booked on flights to all its summer destinations in Spain, France and Portugal – and has just expanded its fleet by an extra 140 planes. Monarch airline said its new scheduled routes to Turkey were selling “far above expectation” since launching in May.
A spokesman for EasyJet said: “Our top destinations are the old favourites – Faro, Alicante, Palma, Sharm el-Sheikh and Gran Canaria.”
Online travel firm Expedia reported a 93 per cent rise in bookings to Bordeaux in France, 56 per cent to Marrakesh in Morocco, 56 per cent to Italy’s Turin, and 42 per cent to the Grand Canyon and 38 per cent to Miami in the US.
Heathrow and Gatwick airports called in extra staff to cope with demand this weekend.
Cardiff International Airport expects 15 per cent more passengers compared with the same weekend last year.
Birmingham International will have handled 200,000 passengers yesterday and today, compared with 60,000 for a normal weekend.
An industry insider said: “It’s looking up for the travel companies. It’s no secret that some are seeing rises of up to 20 per cent.
“The Great British Holiday just didn’t seem as alluring to the public this year.”
And the good news is that many hotels in Spain and Greece have slashed food and drink prices by as much as 35 per cent.
ABTA’S Clare Banham said: “Families may get a pleasant surprise when they get there.
“They are not facing the big extra costs they did previously.
Resorts are slashing the cost of living and that is bringing people back.”
jessica.boulton@people.co.uk
5 HOT SPOTS
Alicante, Spain (below) Faro, Portugal Palma, Majorca Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt Gran Canaria
CAPTION(S):
SOARING: Flybe on a high this summer
Business Wire, Sept 30, 2009
Acquisition Likely to be Accretive to Ebix EPS
ATLANTA — Ebix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EBIX), a leading international supplier of On-Demand
software and E-commerce services to the insurance industry, announced
today that it has acquired Ohio-based Peak Performance Solutions, Inc.
effective the 1st of October 2009. The signing of the binding
agreement and the closing of the transaction was completed today. The
acquisition is expected to be accretive to Ebix Earnings per Share
(EPS) in the near and long-term future.
Peak Performance Solutions, Inc. (PEAK), offers comprehensive,
end-to-end insurance software and technology solutions to insurance
companies, self-insured entities, and risk management organizations in
the areas of workers compensation claims processing, risk management
claims administration, managed care tracking and backend policy
administration.
All PEAK exchange products are available in an On-Demand basis while the
backend policy systems are available in an ASP and self-hosted basis.
75% of PEAK revenues are recurring in nature, in the form of
subscription fees, application service provider fees, technical service
and support fees.
Peak currently services 450 customers who are positioned within the
property and casualty insurance industry, the risk management industry,
or are self-insured organizations that benefit from the types of
insurance management tools provided by Peak. No single customer accounts
for more than 10% of revenues.
The deal will involve an upfront cash payment of $8 million to Peak
shareholders plus a potential earn-out cash payment of up to $1.5
million, paid after a period of 1 year from the date of acquisition
provided that specific revenue targets are achieved. Ebix funded the
acquisition with internal sources using its own cash reserves. No shares
of Ebix’s capital stock were issued as a part of the deal, thus
resulting in no share dilution to Ebix’s existing shareholders. No
financial advisors were involved in the transaction from the Ebix side.
Robin Raina, Chairman, President and CEO of Ebix, said, “Peak has been a
strong player in the workers compensation claims, risk management,
managed care and the claims processing industry. The addition of these
services to EbixExchange
will further strengthen our position in the fast-growing risk management
and claims processing sector of the insurance industry.
Raina added, On the economic front, we are excited about this
acquisition on many accounts. Firstly, it brings a revenue base to the
company that is 75% recurring. This base covers a combined customer base
of 450 customers comprising 40 insurance companies, 5 state
governments, and risk departments of a few hundred companies; and with
little dependence on any one large client, Peak provides us with the
kind of diverse customer base that we like
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After you get the detergent, go back to your machine, fumble around, and go back to her and say, ?I?m sorry to keep bothering you, but these machines are different than what I?m used to and I don?t know what setting to use. Could you give me a hand? I?m sorry to seem so helpless.? Milk the helpless bit for all it?s worth. Ask her how much detergent to use, what colors you can wash together, and what temperature to set the water at ? whatever you can think of.
Also, if the Laundromat doesn?t have a vending machine for detergent, ask the woman if you can borrow some of hers. Insist on paying her back by paying for her washing or dryer use.
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The Jews thought it bad, even criminal, to levy interest among themselves but permitted it in the case of non-Jews. In an island of the Pacific there is a tribe with whom dishonesty is the best moral conduct and among whom the cleverest cheat is held in the highest esteem. Thugs felt proud of killing poor wayfarers. Nationalism is recognized the world over as a political and social creed and one who helps the well being of his nation by exploiting the other nations, is regarded a patriot worthy of being immortalized in metal and marble.
In the words of Rumelin.
?Self regard is its (State?s) appointed duty; the maintenance and development of its own power and well-being is the supreme principle of all politics.
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Hundreds of jobs axed by insurance firm
0 Comments | News (Portsmouth, England), The, June 6, 2008
Hundreds of jobs are to be lost as an insurance giant axes up to 900 staff.
Zurich, which employs 888 staff in its Whiteley offices, announced yesterday it was slashing its UK insurance workforce.
The firm said it needed to cut its cost base by 10 per cent by trimming between 700 and 900 jobs from its 5,400-strong workforce nationally.
A 90-day consultation with the Union of Finance staff has been announced to decide which jobs in which centres will be hit.
Spokeswoman Susannah Mogg said: ‘The insurance industry is competitive. Everybody wants to get the cheapest insurance they can and we need to compete in this marketplace.
‘We need to be as lean as possible and keep our cost base as tight as possible.
‘You have to be as cost-effective as possible in business and at the moment, given difficult market conditions, it is even more so.
‘This announcement could affect anyone within our business – we don’t know yet where these jobs will come from. It’d be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing process. We’re looking at all people, all processes, and all locations
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