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AP – Google has acquired a Carnegie Mellon University spin-off that seeks to cut down on spam and fraud at Web sites while digitizing books.

Originally posted 2009-09-17 04:40:11.

Sometimes in business unusual, different and hostile situations do occur. This was recently the case when G. contacted me. Recently they had been going through some rough times at his workplace, due to issues with some hostile competitors. G.’s boss had recently started frequently demanding that G. and his co-workers ‘Be more creative. Think differently’. G. came to me through my Small Business Advice consulting service and wanted clarification on what his boss meant.
 
To start with I advised G. that before we could understand the concept of creative thinking we first would have to take a look at the ‘regular’ way of thinking. A simple example of ‘Regular’ thinking can be observed in the process that most of us use; say when we cannot find our keys: we search the pockets, then the briefcase, then the table and thereafter the last place that we remember them having been, according to our memory.
 
An expert in the field of creative thinking Dr. Eduard DeBono, labeled this process as ‘Vertical Thinking’: the stream of thoughts moves like an arrow that continues its motion until the target is hit. ‘Vertical Thinking’/’Regular Thinking’ is the more conventional and common type of thinking and decision making. “Vertical thinking” is the ‘logic’, sometimes called ‘analytic’ thinking process. It is usually described as an ongoing flow type of a process, in which one stage of conclusion is leading to the next one, until the best solution is reached.
 
Taking a closer look at G.’s instructions to ‘Be More creative. Think differently’ we can see that his boss obviously wanted him to use an alternate way of thinking. With my experience in Small Business Advice I was familiar with situations similar to the one in which G. Found himself. Many times a simple understanding of the concept of “Creative Thinking” can help to achieve the results his boss was looking for.
 
‘Creative Thinking’ is referred to by Dr. Debono as ‘Lateral Thinking’. The proper way to describe the creative thinking process is sometimes by matching it to a dotted or spiral line that can be related to a birds flight route or a frog’s elastic jump track also sometimes to the shapes of water waves or even at times to a fire works sparking lights. Dr. Debono labeled the process ‘Lateral Thinking’, to reflect the unstructured, not too easy to predict and often irrational pathway of the thinking process. Every creative process has a unique shape, which implies that every creative solution will have its unique and one time original pattern.
 
Here’s an old folk tail to help further understand the concept of ‘Lateral Thinking’.
 
”There was a guy who was traveling in the jungle. One night a monkey stole his hat. The man had another hat but was not ready to just give up and continue his journey. The stolen hat was very precious indeed, being used often for his traveling. The man went to the king lion with a very friendly posture and complained against the hostile attitude that he, as a guest in the kingdom, has experienced.
 
The monkey made it clear to the lion’s aids the there is no chance that the lion’s authority would make a difference. A jungle is a jungle, he reminded them. Our poor guy tried therefore to negotiate, with bananas of course, but there was no prospect for a real deal, since the hat was so precious and the monkey able to get his own bananas. Then he had no choice but to play into the jungle rules, so he threatened the monkey, with his gun. The smart monkey remained cool and warned him that it is illegal and threatened back that it would be cause for an immediate arrest.”

 
So far we have seen the common, known, logic, ‘Vertical Thinking’: we try to be nice, we bargain, and then we threaten. Our story takes us now to the creative thinking process ‘Lateral Thinking’ that the desperate fellow started to employ at this stage.
 
“The man remembered something from his childhood about the various characters that the children used to attach to animals: the lion is strong, the fox is smart, the chicken is afraid… and monkeys are bunch of imitators! They have no ‘ego’ of their own they would imitate and follow what they see…’Monkey see, monkey do.’

In a sudden, but well thought out plan, our fellow started to shout toward the monkey who was sitting safely high above on a nearby tree. The man was loud and sounded very angry. He moved his hands with rage. Then, as an act of contempt, he took his other precious hat, the only one that he had left and put it on his head. He then took it off and threw it hard with a lot of anger to the ground.
 
Our monkey did what his genes instructed his brain to do: he imitated the angry man. He screeched loudly, waved his hands in the air angrily and finally took the hat, and threw it on the ground. The man quickly grabbed it up and went on his way.”
 
Was our hero lucky, smart, genius? Well, it is up to you to decide. My story attempts to show how a spark of memory combined with a good application of common know-how (the genes…) lead to a creative solution that was necessary since the old methods were not effective any more.
 
 
I advised G that we were at the point, in our Online Counseling session, where it should be possible to understand why his boss wanted to see more of the creative, lateral thinking. It is definitely NOT because there is a natural biased preference towards creative thinking, no matter how nice and cultured it may sound. On the contrary: most of our daily challenges are better solved with the ordinary, vertical thinking method. To stress this point I’ll testify that most trainings and improvements processes are giving best results when they present learners with logical / vertical methods of analyzing situations and screening for the best decision that is appropriate for a given case. To conclude this point: the call for the creative thinking approach is neither the natural best bet nor the ‘politically correct’ thing to do.

It is the situation itself that call for creative thinking. Through my Small Business Advice experience, once the situation becomes unique or extraordinarily complex that is when ‘Lateral Thinking’ is called for. It is time now for the creative approach.
 
I advised G that if the company’s competitors were not playing according to the rules or if the common known tactics that had been already employed did not result with the expected turnarounds that your boss hoped for. Then the call for creative measures is justified. It implies that you all would welcome the ‘unthinkable’ thoughts; the non-logical but intuitive and gut-feeling reasoning for your suggestions; the application of new and yet unused ideas and methods; the fixture of your current problems with other tools then you have tried before. Your boss has determined that now is the time to “Think outside the box” for new possibilities and solutions.
 

Originally posted 2010-03-18 15:46:57.

While the battery capacity is the most important factor in the life of the batteries, can be seen as specifications of how long the Inspiron 6400 battery reaches a notebook . Some laptops are more effective than others, and even with ..

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Originally posted 2009-10-07 09:15:23.

Obama unveils $30 bln dollar credit fund to help small business
U.S. President Barack Obama Wednesday unveiled a 30 billion dollar credit fund to help small business. “Tonight, I’m proposing that we take 30 billion dollars of the money Wall Street banks have repaid and use it to help community banks give small businesses the credit they need to stay afloat,” Obama said in his State of Union address. “I am also proposing a new small business tax credit–one …

Read more on People’s Daily

Army vet used Iraq bribe money for plastic surgery
An ex-U.S. Army staff sergeant pleaded guilty in San Antonio today to money laundering for taking bribes from a foreign business wanting U.S. contracts and using the money to buy a Jeep SUV and some plastic surgery.

Read more on Houston Chronicle

Originally posted 2010-01-29 13:36:37.

Advancements in medicine and an increase in capitalism in the world as well as other factors all contributed to the development of the field of sports nutrition.

As scientists learned more and more about our bodies and the optimum level of strength and physical fitness they can harbor, businessmen jumped the gun and manufactured products and services that actually help athletes meet these optimum levels. The media joined in the ruckus and published materials leading to the promotion of both the scientific and the commercial side of the field.

Sports nutrition has been changing through the years around the world. It’s not just that the topics are different; the emphasis and approach have also changed.A sports magazine carried an article on dehydration in runners on October 1990, its maiden issue. This article compared the benefits of plain water with those of dilute glucose solutions, which are more isotonic and therefore absorbed more rapidly.

Today, go into almost any supermarket, convenience stores and even school cafeterias and you’ll find a ready supply of sports drinks aimed at maintaining hydration just like glucose solutions.

The difference is that by using soluble long-chain glucose polymers instead of simple glucose, it’s now possible to create an isotonic hydrating drink which also supplies significant amounts of carbohydrate to working muscles. And, the good thing is, sports drinks also taste better.

More than 10 years ago, it was made public that muscle damage brought about by free-radicals may be reduced by having supplements of antioxidant vitamins A, C and E. Years after, antioxidant supplementation became a norm in the world of sports nutrition.

Now, researchers are also beginning to understand that muscle damage is a more complex subject. It is difficult to assess free radical damage in athletes and it has been found out that large amounts of antioxidant nutrients may actually cause cellular damage and impair performance.

The “Carbo loading” technique has been widely used over the years by athletes all over the world. A carbohydrate-rich diet is important in maintaining muscle glycogen stores thus ensuring high endurance levels.

However, in the 1990s it became clear that the “glycaemic index” and release rate of different carbohydrates had important influence on when they should best be consumed in relation to physical activity.

The relationship of carbohydrates and proteins were also discovered namely that carbohydrates promote protein-sparing in the body. It was also discovered recently that consuming carbohydrates before and during prolonged bouts of strenuous exercise can help protect the immune system.

One of the most exciting recent developments in sports nutrition has been the rise of creatine supplementation. The use of creatine is now very common. Creatine renews the muscles essential energy source, ATP or adenosine triphosphate. Increased levels in muscles optimizes energy turnover meaning you’ll more energy for high power exercise and faster recovery during and after workouts. Creatine also increases the athlete’s maximum effort, delays fatigue and therefore prolongs endurance.

New wisdom and therefore new products have definitely enabled athletes to fuel themselves better, work harder, train longer and recover more rapidly. However, as in any kind of innovation there will always be downsides.

Nutritional supplements available to most athletes in the 80s were very straightforward. Some athletes took drugs but the boundaries between nutritional supplements and drugs clear. Today, the race to find new formulas to boost performance has resulted to the availability of sports nutrition supplements which do not really occur naturally. The result is that the distinction between a nutrient and a performance-enhancing substance has become increasingly blurred.

Some of these supplements contain ingredients that can cause athletes to violate the rules and regulations governing their sport because of unintentional contamination by other, “exotic”, substances present in the supplement manufacturing environment.

More developments will be created in the world of sports nutrition and these will definitely spawn ethical questions. “Nutrigenomics” – the relationship between genetics and nutrition – will be more researched upon.

As scientists become more skilled at discovering the processes of our genes, it will be possible that rather than adopting a general approach for sports nutrition, athletes around the world will be genetically tested to help them determine precise individual requirements for optimum health.The following years will predictably be more exciting for the world of sports nutrition.

Originally posted 2009-11-03 17:41:00.

The Atlanta Falcons are off to a fast start this season, and on Sunday used a potent offensive attack to top the Carolina Panthers 28-20 at the Georgia Dome. QB Matt Ryan threw a career high three touchdown passes, including one to his new favorite receiver Tony Gonzalez. Beleaguered Carolina QB Jake Delhomme threw another interception for ten in his previous three games (including last years playoff loss to Arizona) but was otherwise much more effective passing for 308 yards and a touchdown.

NFL football betting devotees who invested in the Falcons as -6 home favorites were rewarded with the pointspread cover. The Falcons have won and covered both games this season for a 2-0 record both straight up and against the spread. The Panthers, meanwhile, have dropped both of their 2009 contests straight up and to the number. The 48 combined points scored went OVER the posted total of 42.

The offseason acquisition of Gonzalez has worked to a benefit of both so far. In his first two games in a Falcons uniform the future Hall of Famer has 12 catches for 144 yards and two touchdowns. Gonzalez wanted out of Kansas City to play for a contender, and hes found himself on a talented young Falcons team with a QB that already appears destined for superstardom.

Gonzalez admitted that he was happy with how things have transpired thus far:

“Not a bad start at all. It’s just great to be part of a team like this.”

Gonzalezs biggest fan may be the guy charged with getting him the ball on Sundays. Quarterback Ryan was full of praise for his tight end in his postgame comments:

“He’s one of the greatest tight ends of all time. That was a huge pickup for us. He makes big plays for us in different situations when we need him. I’ve enjoyed playing with him thus far.”

Despite the loss, Carolinas Jake Delhomme was relieved to put the horrible performance of the opening week behind him. This week only he gave up one interception during a late game rally attempt:

“It couldn’t be any worse than last week. I felt good out there today. Last week, I put too much pressure on myself. This week, I got back to being just plain Jake.”

The Panthers will head to Dallas for a game against the Cowboys next Monday night. Carolina is a +9 road underdog in that contest with the total set at 46. Atlanta has a pair of tough road games on the docket, beginning this weekend against the New England Patriots at Foxboro, Massachusetts. The Falcons have been installed as +4 road underdogs with the total set at 44.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on soccer betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

If you are a property manager, you should definitely be interested in what property management software can do for your business. This type of software is particularly useful for individuals who need to keep track of large amounts of data. These tools can also help property managers keep better records for tax purposes as well. So, whether you simply want to become more organized, or you would like to improve the profitability of your business, software designed to handle property management tasks may be perfect for you.

Property management software is primarily used to keep track of business operation records. Property managers can input factors such as income, expenses, and additional pieces of information into their software in order to keep track of their business operations. In many cases though, this type of software can provide many more useful functions for property managers to use as well.

One of the most promising features of this type of software are the data storage capabilities they provide to property managers. A property manager who can store accurate data about their business operations, can access data that relates to their business operations at anytime they wish to do so when they are using this type of software. By having access to detailed information about their business operations at all times, they can make informed decisions about how to proceed with their company in the future.

Even though the records that are stored on this type of software program are often related to the past, property managers can easily identify the profitable divisions of their business as well as the portions of the business that are producing expenses. A property manager who is informed about where their capital is coming from and going to can make informed and profitable decisions when they direct their business operations in the future.

These pieces of software are often available online, but there are some software packages that come in a physical disk form as well. There are not very many differences between the capabilities of these different types of software programs, but the online programs can be fairly easy to use, because they do not require any installation procedures in order for them work.

After you have selected a specific software package for you to use, you will have the ability to record minute pieces of information about your operations, including information about the customers you are working with, payment due dates, as well as transaction records. By having all of this data at your disposal 24 hours a day 7 days a week, you will be able to make profitable and informed decisions when it comes to every single aspect of your business’ operations.

In many cases, these software programs can also keep track of payment due dates for property managers as well. So, as you can see, these programs can be useful for a number of different reasons. If you purchase one of these programs, you will certainly see an improvement in your organizational skills, but you may also see an improvement in the amount of profits your business generates on a regular basis as a result of purchasing property management software too.

We’ve got the low down on the numerous benefits of using Property Management Software now in our comprehensive guide on Property Management Software Programs, What You Need to Look For!

Originally posted 2010-07-20 14:49:30.

When legendary quarterback Brett Favre announced his return to the NFL from what has become a seemingly annual flirtation with retirement, many second guessed the Minnesota Vikings’ decision to sign “The Gunslinger”. On Sunday, Favre and the Vikings answered those critics in the best way possible-with a lopsided 34-3 beatdown of the Dallas Cowboys. Favre threw 4 touchdown passes in the victory and the Vikings’ defense sacked Dallas QB Tony Romo six times in the blowout. Minnesota will now face the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship game.

NFL football betting fans also cashed tickets on the Vikings as -3 point home favorites. This was the shortest pointspread of the divisional playoff weekend and many thought that Dallas’ momentum would carry them to victory. The 37 combined points went UNDER the posted total of 45. Minnesota had gone UNDER in four of six games to conclude the regular season.

After the contest, Favre boasted that a playoff run was a large part of his motivation to return to NFL action:

“”This is what I came back for. Probably the most fatigued I got today was celebrating. I feel like I’m playing the same way. I have the same enthusiasm. As long as I’m out there, the enthusiasm and the passion that you see is real. And I know the guys feed off of that. Fans enjoy that, because it is real and genuine. Today was like this season: It’s been wonderful.”

Former South Carolina Gamecock Sidney Rice caught three of Favre’s touchdown passes:

“Same ol’ Brett. He’s doing thing he’s done since he first came in the league: moving around, getting the ball out, breaking tackles and even running down the field and throwing blocks. That just shows you how big of a heart he has.”

Head coach Brad Childress mixed up a bunch of metaphors as he took a swipe at the prognosticators who picked Dallas to win:

“The Tasmanian devils were coming from Dallas that were about to bombard the state of Minnesota and run through us like Sherman through the South. All of us felt it quite palpably.”

Cowboys’ QB didn’t have much to say in defeat:

“Any time you come in with the expectations and goals we set and don’t accomplish them, No. 1, it’s frustrating. Right now, it’s just hard to think the season is over.”

Cowboys’ head coach Wade Phillips had a similar take:

“It’s like the elevator falling from the top. It’s tough when it’s over. If you don’t win it all, you have not reached your goal.”

The Vikings will now head to New Orleans for Sunday’s NFC Championship game against the Saints. Minnesota is a +3′ point road underdog with the total set at 52′.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and respected authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

When a person talks about an odd reoccurring dream, how many times have they said, “My subconscious must be trying to tell me something.” The fact is our subconscious minds send us messages frequently that are both positive and negative.

Often times those gut feelings we have are simply our subconscious mind breaking through and telling us we need to act in certain situations. The problem is we more often than not do not listen to the messages our subconscious is sending us.

Your Subconscious Has the Power to Hold You Back

Much of what we hear, see and experience in life is buried in our subconscious. If as a child you are often told that you are worthless, will never amount to anything and are a failure your subconscious mind will bury those words. As you get older you find that you have goals you want to accomplish but it seems like no matter how hard you work or how much you try you always run into obstacles that are simply insurmountable.

Truly, it is not the obstacles at all but your subconscious mind repeating such words that you heard as a youth and repeating them back to you and thus holding you back from accomplishing your goals. This can really leave you feeling like you cannot ever be a success at anything you try.

Your Subconscious Has the Power to Push You Forward

However, if as a child you have been told repeatedly that you can do anything you want over and over, then as you get older and tackle a goal or a project you seem to accomplish your aim no matter how many people tell you it can’t be done.

The Key to The Power of Your Subconscious

The aim of harnessing the power of your subconscious is to replace the negative thoughts that are there while hearing positive phrases that your subconscious is telling you. Self help masters have said that the way to raise your self-esteem is to say good things about yourself aloud. What they did not tell you are what they may not even know themselves is that by repeating these statements repeatedly we are burying these positive thoughts in our subconscious and abolishing the negative thoughts.

When we have these positive thoughts buried just under the surface those are the thoughts that come through when we are trying to accomplish a goal. Instead of receiving the message of I am not able to do this, we will now hear we can do this and we deserve this success.

Therefore, when we are faced with our goals, our subconscious is both telling us that we know how to meet the goal and we certainly deserve all the benefits from our work. This belief gives us the ability to do anything we set our minds to as long as we work hard at achieving that goal.

You will be surprised at just how much you can accomplish when you learn how to harness the power of your subconscious.

Why not look at the amazing world of mind power from the popular http://www.mindpower-info.com site. Find information on mind powers and find out secrets of the power of the subconscious mind. Get a FREE DVD Package when you visit here.

I just finish my telephone call with a person that called me after he saw me blog and Facebook fan page and he was frustrated and was asking for advice.

First of all, I felt his pain as we have all gone through or are presently going through the pain of succeeding at home. He told me about all the programs and M.LMs he had been in and that he tried this and that. He mentioned a couple of Guru programs and the poor guy was frustrated at his next to zero results.

After a few minutes, I knew his problem and how to fix it…

I told him there are two things that matter more to your success then anything else.

a. Marketing

B. Mindset

I advised him that we can always work on finding effective marketing and there are lots of ways to approach this to fit all budget levels. There is effective online and offline stuff.

However, mindset is what was really holding him back. His attitude was not in the best place, he felt people had taken advantage of him and even though he was a nice guy…he had a “victim mentality”.

I told him he had to work on his self esteem, start reading books, listening to audios and that in my opinion, success would be difficult at best of he didn’t focus on this and get it right.

Sad thing…he had a good attitude with me but he didn’t “get it” and is looking for the secret or the magic bullet to riches from home. Guys, it doesn’t work like that.

Is your mindset right?

Are you working on this daily?

Do you have a coach, mentor or friend that is holding you accountable?

Are you really committed to succeed?

Mindset is the key to better marketing, more sales, great success…

Stay Strong!

Coach Al Rodriguez

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