The Tak Team Blog

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In graduate school, along with college teaching, I held down some part-time tele-sales jobs, enabling me to eat well, drive a sports car, and have a lot more fun than a lot of my academic peers.

One telemarketing place was owned by a couple of bodybuilders.

Looking at them, you just felt they were going to deter most misconduct that telemarketers would think of getting into.

I’m not saying all tele-managers should be able to bench press more than three hundred pounds.

But you do need to be tough, because tele-sales people, especially those you’ll find in major urban areas, will test your mettle, time and again.

Specifically:

(1) Managers or supervisors need to “own” the space in which their people are selling, walking down aisles, standing next to desks, dispensing coaching tips here and there as much as is necessary. Weak managers won’t spend enough face time in the selling environment. They’ll be cowering in corner offices, every chance they get.

(2) Managers need to compel compliance with rules and regulations. Do you remember Arnold in the movie, “Kindergarten Cop”? He blew a whistle to get the attention of his distracted little ones. You need to do something similar.

(3) It’s a pain to have to correct people when they stray from selling scripts, but no pain means no gain! EVERY SINGLE TIME PEOPLE STRAY THEY MUST BE GUIDED BACK TO THE PATH. This takes strength, commitment, fortitude, and yes, toughness to do, day in and day out.

(4) Managers need to fire people, fast. There is no such thing in a successful unit as giving people a month or two to prove themselves. A day or two is about right.

(5) Managers need to be vocal, outgoing leaders and motivators. Sales meetings need to take place frequently, and they should be upbeat, energetic exercises.

This job isn’t for the laid-back individual who wants to “retire on active duty.” It’s only for the tough, believe me!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone®, You Can Sell Anything By Telephone! and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, “The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable,” published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC’s Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Elephants in the Sky

[1980s, Lee Evens in Mali, Timbuktu/Africa]

Advance: Lee was discharged from the Army in 1980, whereupon, he traveled the world, one of those locations was in Mali, by the legendary city of Timbuktu; whereupon he found himself in the middle of a plague, a plague of locust.

[Diary-review]

There were swarms of locust over the top of my car, in front of me, in front of the carswarms I say swarms: a dark shadow covering the sky, descending, descending onto the roadin front of me, behind me, it was locusts, locusts, locustslocusts everywhere, everyplace: so thick, thick with layers that made my car slip, slipping and sliding as if on ice. They seemed like they walked, walked, walked among the sky, cluttered together like big oaks; akin to a druid dark sky, coeval with the leering sky. They looked like pools of ghouls embracing, embracing the hooded faded sky that looked like dusk, but wasn’t. Good God, good God, good God, I cried!

My radiator was being blocked, plugged by these finger-sized carcasses. I had to pull over to the side of the road. It was but a moment thereafter when I saw some adolescents down the road a bit, not too far, just a little ways, three of them trying to beat them off, beat the locusts with their belts, pants belts. Then one resorted to a stick, a stick I say, would you use a stick? To be honest, I’d run I think, run like hell; anyhow, he took a stick to beating them off, while the other used their hats, hands; they were dropping down like hail onto them from all sides; ragged looking shadows of them, full-fledged shadows, throbbing against their bodies were these locusts: down and sideways: bombarding them like creatures from outer space, like in the bible, where it mentions such things happening back in those far off days, the days Moses: the plagues God bequeath upon the pharaoh.

I think these kids would have loved to have found a window anyplace to climb through, and nail shut about now, as I kept looking out of my car window, and these creatures stained my window dirty with their restless scribbled bodies.

This was bad, very bad; the large insects were in their hair, noses, ears, climbing up their pants legs, flying straight for their mouths. They tried to spit them out, but more would jump from ear to nose to mouth.

The whole area was becoming infested with them [them: being, those locust critters; huge grasshoppers]. They were becoming as thick as the walls of Troytwenty feet thick. I turned the engine of my rented car off; it spit and sputtered a bit, then came to a dead stop, a burping stop. I could not see the boys anymore, only a cocoon of these creatures several inches thick around themlike mummies; they now rolled about on the ground like dying lions, screaming: it simply shivered me; it was as if hate and love coiled within my stomach.

For a hundred miles around I had heard they were eating up the crops before anyone had time to harvest them; catastrophic damage to all the crops, as the new generation of larvae appearedthus, widening the dimensions of the one-hundred mile radius to possibly two-hundred miles (sooner than later). But now they were on top of my car: yes, yes, yes, on top of my car; under it, all over it, and in the fields beside me, on the road. I was but twenty-five miles outside of Timbuktu. Ah! What would you do?

As far as I knew, there was no means of spraying available to kill these creepy-crawlers, nor any other treatment, why that occurred to me, is beyond me, I mean who gives a shit, I’m in the middle of it; yes, yes, no equipment as supplies were of a minimum and vehicles were scarceI was lucky to have secured a deal with this jeep. I was witnessing farmers beating the locust into trenches; what more could they do? Swatting them, whacking them, from all sides, and running: I mean running! Like the boys should have done, didn’t do, but should have done, could not do anymore.

(This was the moment I’d put forward to later, when I telling others they looked like elephants in the sky. But that was to be a little bit in the future yet; now they just kept coming and coming and coming, these locust-insects.)

Now I’m breathing in the hot air in the jeep, it seems to me I’m recycling my own air. In the five-mile area they covered most everything; there were at least, must have been at least, couldn’t be less than 250-million locust I figured (insects); hoppers, yellow winged hopperscrazy and manic hoppers, as if they were on a sugar high. That would be a weight volume of 5000-elephents dropping from the sky. I had a lot of time to figure that out, for the most part, let’s say hours watching these hoppers fly and jump, and descend, trying to eat my tirestrying to get into the jeep and eat me.

‘Try, try, try,’ I said, ‘…fuck you all I said.’

[Entry] “I was in Timbuktu a few days ago, on my way back to Timbuktu now, I had been in the countrysidewhere theses critters were breeding, I am not sure where it was in particular, but it was in Mali where they had breed I do believefirst, someplace in Mali. I was doing what I love to do, checking out some old writings that were found in one of the old mud houses in Timbuktu; realizing at one time Timbuktu was a Mecca for learning for the Muslims, or better put, Islamic cultured; on the old Silk Road you could say. I was eager, the phenomenon would move east, away from me, to Sudan or Chad, or all the way to Egypt; move away to anyplace, but out of Mali and for sure, away from Timbuktu in particular. I was surprised there was not a humanitarian crisis alert, or if there was it didn’t look like it where I was; yes, were the United Nation’s vehicles? A good question I figured, and never to be answered.

The trick is to kill them before new generations developed, thus stopping them in their tracks from breaking into other placescountries, and a new cycle starting. The crops I knew would be gone soon in the south and now in this area as well, if they were not yet, and should they go eastwell, let them worry about that.”

They leaped like little elephants on the hood now, hood of, of my car; they looked, looked into my windows, deep into my windows, nose against the glass (smutches all over the glass like a disease; voracious little dispositions all over their faces, like fairies stuck together) as if I was eatable, somehow I got the sense (they had the scent, my scent I expect) they knew I was trapped in the car, and I was for sure. But I remember what Solomon told me in Egypt, Cairo a few months back, should something like this occurso it was somewhat forecasted almostand it was now developing: anyhow he said,

“(’…should this occur…’) Try to make it till morning, when everything cools down.”

I figured the wingless ‘hoppers’ the new breed, were developing now in the fields around me as the adult yellow ones could be seen flying about eating, and killed by whomever (the farmers and gosh, that was about it for now).

[The Big Hopper: diary entry] One big hopper gazed through my window, must be the size of a sparrow(I’m writing this down as he’s looking at me). At its sight I saw its milky eyes, they followed me, then I realized it was somewhat blind, I mean, its eyes gave out a yellowness to it, as if it had cataracts, its lips trembled from old age, it mumbled something, as if talking to itself, then it stood aside to let the younger ones peer in on me.

“Come…sh!” (Note: the author translates for the bug) the big one said (smiling an amiable grin). Thus, with apprehensiveness my eyebrows were quivering with my nervous system was wacky. Panting like a dog, I was. I was so bewildered…! I ended up looking out the window for the longest time…blankly; then turning my head demurely to see if any of those hoppers where in back of mesneaking up on me; were getting inside the jeep. My eyes could not relax from this insidious invading force, if anything was quite disarming…this was, but then what would you expect, harmony in the middle of an earthquake? What would you expect? I found myself drifting at times, but I knew I couldn’t go to sleep. I mean who could?

There I sat behind the wheel, crouched forward to peer through the blinding storm of locust; these hoppers were like rain sheets hitting the windshield quicker than the wipers could fan it clean. My palm and forehead had a glossy mist to it.

It was now mid-afternoon, and they were hot, it was hot, I was hot, everything, even the car was hot, and thus, morning would be my best time to make my move, when they’d be cooled down, down in the crops around mequiet. Hence, I had turned my car off and I’d leave my car off, the suspense would come in the morning when I’d have to try and start it again.

[2:00 AM] I must had fallen to sleep, and an automatic clock in my head woke me up, it was inky dark out there, outside my windows, hence, I started my car up, it choked a bit, but it started, and I noticed my water gage going up, as if a water hose was plugged or ripped. I turned the car off. I didn’t want to make too much noise, just get out of here and get back to Timbuktu: I figured they’d follow the crops, and bypass the city; oh possibly a few million might divert themselves to the city, but that is not bad; I mean, what is a million when you got 249-million more. I knew they were all on the cool ground and in a few hours they’d be in the air againover me again; and should they decide to stick around I’d die of a heat stroke I figured, sooner than later that is, sooner than they’d get a chance to eat me. I opened my car door slowly, pacifying the moment; shinned a flashlight on the road beside me, there were many aboutsleeping, quiet, almost stone-stillcould I have hummed them to oblivion, I would have; but I could walk around them for the most part I figured, and I did, did just that, then I opened the hood of the car, slowly, quietly, with more gentleness then I ever knew I had, as if it was a woman, looked at the hose, and several hoppers flew in my face, I had glasses on, they poked at my eyes nonetheless, I said nothing, nothing at all, just swatted them away with the rag I had in my handand I didn’t use much force in doing that. One hose had a small crack in it. I knew I’d lose water, all the water I had in the car in about five miles should I not prepare it, with twenty miles left to go should I not fix itI’d be worse off than now, I’d be stranded right in their pathway. The engine was covered with the winged hoppers, I wanted to say to these hoppers a few gruesome swear words, but I can’t, I’d wake them creatures up surely; I had waked them upa few of them up already, and they started to fly out and about clearing a passage to my hose.

They were not jumping on me, just a few, trying to crawl up my pants legstickling me here and there: still attacking my glasses; I think they liked glassbut just a few attacked me half in a fog out of some instinct and automatic reflex: nothing to get alarmed about I told myself. I tried not to open my mouth, a few seemed to spot it when I took in a deep breathe of airas if they had radar, consequently, they zoomed right at it, I had to spit them out as when they hit my face their legs seemed to have found their way into the crevice of my mouth. Then I got an idea, I opened my trunk up, took out a five gallon can of gasoline, in this country you always carry extra gas, water and food, alwayslest you find yourself in some deserted location, as I have at this very moment; I poured it on the side of the road, up about two-hundred-feet leading into the fields, then on my way back I took my First Aid kit, put the white tapenormally used for bandaging woundsput it around the hole in the hose (not making a sound), and started my car up, at the same time I lit the gasoline by throwing a match out of the window onto the road, and I hit the accelerator to fifty-miles an hour (it’s as fast as my jeep would go ((it was an old US Army jeep they must had purchased it from some Army surplus garage)) and I watched the road and fields explode with lightening-like fire behind me.

Yes, yes, yes, behind me was a windless fire breeding into the fields, eating hoppers while sleeping, roasted grasshoppers: yes, yes, yes they woke up, this horde of hoppers woke up in a French-fired position I’m sure; to them I expect it was their ‘Pompeii,’ and shall talk about it for a thousand years to come in this region of the world; to me it was salvation; oh yes, it is what legends are made out of in the hopper-world, I’m sureI got a mouth full of toxic fumes which was the only curse of the predicament for me, and a bonfire galore as I raced to Timbuktu.

When I got to the city, it was locked up tight, everyone afraid to come out of their mud huts. I knew I couldn’t tell them I had lit the firefor my sake; they’d make me pay for the corps I suppose (after the crisis was over I’m sure; for humanity has a short memory when it comes to thank-you’s and money). But I think they were happy to see it was all over, and a few heard my jeep motor, for slowly one by one, a few came out of their shops until the whole main street was out looking about with their doors open, ready to run back in a moments notice. I had expected them to invade the city somewhatsomewhat expected this to happen, as did the residents, but none did; and they did head east. Hence, had I told them about me lighting the fire, they’d have roasted me in it, so my silence, or intuition was right on.

Four Poems by D.L. Siluk

Just a quick word on the poetry you are about to read: sounds and images appeal to the mind, they have overtones. As every poem I do believe is a short story, and every short story is a novel, and every novel has a song to it, these you are no different here. The other good thing about poetry, I do believe is, is that it is personal, so you get to know the author a little. Extract the poetry you extort the heart, mind and soul of the author. Each idea within the poem, is in essence, an experience.

Sinking to the Ground

I became like a bird
crouched in the grass

I became part of the loneliness
of the trees
and thick bushes
growing out of the ground

I became part of the sky;
part of the wind passing by

When it rained, I became
the rain

When it thundered, I became
a trembling light

That is the path one takes
when your lover
no longer loves…

Slowly one sinks into
the ground…

As you wait, and wait
and you wait, and waitfoolishly
wait, and foolishly wait!…

#595 [3/25/05]

Topsy-turvy
[The drunk]

Drinking is the subject.
While drinking is my subject
Drinking is not her subject.
I drank two pitchers and a cup.
That is during one sitting.
She didn’t drink at all.
I mean, she didn’t drink alcohol
I mean she drink coke.
That was on another evening.
The first evening she didn’t drink at all.
I drank every day back then.
I drank quite a lot.
She drank coke.
I drank it cold
She drank it hot!
Let me recite that over…

#594

Raped Moan

When the mind has no discipline
No discipline at all, the mind…has
Freedom to be naked at will
No limits at all for the mind…
It will rape and moan, all day long
As if it is starving for more…
[So Plato referred to once
in his …Republic]
With no limits, no discipline at all
The Mind will moan for more:
Even rape your neighbor next door.
[So Plato referred to once
in his…Republic]

Satan understands this poem
Quite well, real well, so well he
Will take good children to hell.
The Mind will moan for more
As if it is starving for limits…
Only to fine, discipline was not given.

He cries for rage to be free
For frustration to be bled into
Passivity…like Ginsberg’s sense;
He will claim, this is true
Democracy…”Hymmnn…”

#593 [3/25/04]

Burnt-Out

Cars rust, building decay, roads break,
The city fades;
The land remains.

People starve the world round
Die in their beds and in war
In the cities intensifying lust…

That’s just the way it is for us.

Look how the birds, deer live
The stillness of the forest, ’s the secret
Keeping balance with the sky.

#592 [3/26/05]

This story and these poems will be featured in future books of the author; this is the first time seeing them in print. Dennis Siluk lives with his wife Rosa in Minnesota, and Peru. His website is: http://dennissiluk.tripod.com His books can be seen on amazon.com, bn.com abe.com Alibris.com etc.

The biweekly mortgage has been around for years but with the
recent media attention to the real estate industry in
general and the mortgage industry in particular, the
biweekly has been getting thousands of home owners to use
this simple, yet powerful, way to speed up the principal
payment process. Why is this so popular? How does it work?
How can I do this?

Here is why this is so popular to hundreds of thousands
homeowners. It is an easy and effective way to increase the
equity in a home. It can also shorten the life of the
mortgage substantially. It does this with just about the
same mortgage payment that one usually makes per month so it
is affordable to anyone who owns a home. The biggest
obstacle is just doing it.

Biweekly means that the homeowner will make a payment every
two months instead of once per month. Basically what you do
is take your monthly payment, cut it in half and then make
that payment every two weeks. So how does this save money?
Well, by paying every two weeks you will actually end up
paying more off the principal every year because:

1. There are 52 weeks in a year.

2. That means you make 26 payments a year.

3. With the monthly payments you would make the equivalent
of 24 payments a year.

4. The 2 payments extra would go towards your principal.

5. This accelerates the payment of the loan and each month
the principal gets paid by an ever increasing rate.

The great thing about this is because each month is only a
few days over 28 days ( 4 weeks)
the biweekly mortgage payments are not a hardship on any
home owners. The most extra days in a month are 3 and some
months have 0 or just 1 extra day.

So why wouldn’t everyone just do this? I think much of it
has to do with either they don’t know about it or they think
” I can just pay extra off my principal anytime I want. Why
pay biweekly?”

But the problem is that a large percentage of people don’t
ever make any extra payments to their
principal. They think about it but don’t do it. There is
always other more important things to use the money for,
even though the actual money they need every month to make a
big difference is quite low.

Discipline is a key factor here. If someone has enough
discipline it really isn’t necessary to use a biweekly
mortgage plan. This doesn’t mean that people who don’t use a
biweekly aren’t disciplined. Only those who want to pay down
their mortgage principal but never seem to be able.
So, in a way the biweekly is just a formula to help
homeowners, who are usually very busy with other parts of
there life, become more disciplined and make them pay off
the mortgage principal
more quickly. With today’s prices, a homeowner can save over
$50,000 and cut 5 years off the life of the mortgage!

___________________________________________________________________

Copyright 2005 By Tim Phelan

Tim Phelan is a full time internet marketer who has been self employed for the last 12 years.
Real estate, the environment, art, world culture, politics are some of his other interests.
For a totally free biweekly mortgage manager visit this
link:
TimPhelansblog.mortgagemanager

email nalehpmit@yahoo.com

Blog timphelansblog.blogspot.com

Erma Bombeck has written ‘there is nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child’. It is a sentiment that echoes deeply within me, the benefactor of twelve years of Christmas magic followed by a few Christmases with the same flicker of enchantment, but mainly a strange sense of nostalgic emptiness, of something important lost. When I look around me for answers (and certainly sayings abound about the true spirit of Christmas, and how it has nothing to do with materialism but lies in charity, in generosity, in spirituality and so on) I can find many answers of the moral and religious variety, but very little about recapturing the silvery sparkle of magic which once characterised that sacred day. I remember not the actual gifts mystically transported into my stocking each year, so much as the astonishing thought that, only a few hours before, they had been high in the cold, starry night sky, on a sleigh covered in golden bells and pulled by reindeer. However is such a joy to survive the passage from childhood into adulthood?

Firstly, it must be acknowledged that a good deal of childhood’s Christmas magic was facilitated by adults willing to survive on barely an hour or two of sleep for the days preceding Christmas, lay out extraordinary amounts of money and generally work tirelessly to accomplish the feat. Children as fortunate as myself were merely the passive recipients of delight after delight - the stuffed stockings, the candle filled, carol swelled cathedral, the tumblingly enormous pile of gifts under the glorious, glistening tree, the great feast, the extended family and excited overseas phone calls, smiles and happiness and cuddles. One of the key steps, then, is to understand that magic is an ingredient very actively woven into Christmas and that, as adults, we are the weavers and bearers of that luminous thread.

Widely accessible wisdom about the weaving is that children are central to the spirit of Christmas - our own, family and friends, and those whose names dangle hopefully from wishing trees and gaze at us from charity appeals on television throughout the Christmas season. When their eyes sparkle with the wonder of Christmas, the sparkle reflects onto us. If we cannot for ourselves remember the importance of decorating our trees with every glittering treasure we have collected over the years, hanging lights, setting up nativities with love and care, lighting little golden candles and playing glorious carols, then let it be for any child visitor who should happen to stop by, or else be invited as the guest of honour to offer the magic back to us. Have Christmas treats at the ready throughout December, and a little collection of wrapped gifts at the ready for an unexpected child visitor. And let every gift to a child have something of the Christmas magic in it. If the gift itself is not a snow globe (and surely a more magical gift was never presented to a child or an adult!) or a copy of Babar and Father Christmas or a little nativity set of its own, then tuck in a tiny Christmas angel or robin or star wrapped like a treasure in golden tissue. We too will share in the joy.

As human beings we thrive on our stories. If we think of a seed which we hope will spring forth a brilliant green shoot on Christmas morning, surely our stories are the best nourishment we can offer it throughout advent. And what an abundance to choose from! Kenneth Graham’s Wind in the Willows offers a glorious Christmas chapter entitled ‘Dulce Domum’. Susan Coolidge’s What Katy Did and What Katy Did Next all describe Christmas with its magic in tact. There is Louisa Alcott’s Little Women with its memorable Christmas scene, and Dylan Thomas’s nostalgic A Child’s Christmas in Wales. There is Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol, Raymond Brigg’s heart- achingly magical The Snowman and the aforementioned Babar and Father Christmas by Laurent de Brunhoff. And, to save the best for last, there is the original Christmas story, complete with kings, angels, shepherds, a tiny baby and a guiding, glittering star, recorded especially beautifully in Matthew 1:18-2:11 and Luke 2:1-20. Let every day of advent be warmed and nourished by the Christmas reading our contemporaries, fathers and forefathers offer.

The other piece of folk wisdom from which we might draw is the centrality of charity in Christmas, that our gifts might not all be given for the thanks and whoops of delight they earn us, but rather be sown deeper into the spirit of the season, unwrapped and enjoyed somewhere unknown to us. There are a great many charities facilitating this process and they do great service not only to the have-nots, enabling them to participate in what many feel should be the happiest day of the year, but to the ‘haves’, who enjoy the great honour of partaking of this deeper magic. Let the gifts we offer at this time be selected with the same love and care as those we offer our dearest friends and closest family members. After all, the gift those unknown recipients offer in return is infinitely greater. As a final word on charity at Christmas, there is an idea that people should not take too much pleasure in it, but that the gifts should be given with a long face, reflecting an awareness that one ought to be doing more and that if the experience is too enjoyable for the donor, somehow it doesn’t count. Nonsense! The gift given with joy, excitement and love is undoubtedly the best gift of all. This Christmas, let our thoughts dwell a little on the delight and wonder our offerings will be facilitating somewhere there might otherwise be none, and be very deeply glad.

If Christmas is to glisten with any of the magic it held for us as children, then, we had better be active parties in creating it. We have made children our guests of honour as the creatures who rekindle that old flame, we have immersed ourselves into centuries of ancient stories which create and recreate all that is sacred to humans, and we have taken part in the mystical joy of giving to the stranger, who may always have turned out to be the frightened young mother, or the tired, faithful father, or the new child without a soft bed we know so well from the story. But part of the day we may feel we have lost as adults is the delight in the wonderful surprises the day used to hold, when the filled stockings simply appeared, when gifts were many and unknown, and when tiny treasures sprung from crackers. How is this ever to be resurrected? I feel sure the answer is that, at this point, action and faith must mingle together.

The humble advent calendar can be a little source of daily delight if we let it. There is very little wonder in the garish, cheap-chocolate filled cartoony kind now so widely available, but the traditional glittery cards depicting snowy villages with Father Christmas in flight overhead, or the starry nativity still exist in some bookshops and many religious stores. The tiny hidden images, one to reveal for each day of the lead up to Christmas, retain all of their magic if we charge them with the sacred task of symbolizing something important about the day. The golden bell reminds us of the carols we can begin to enjoy, the little robin of the hungry birds to whom we can offer crumbs as Christmas treats, the fairy of the children’s wishes which, as adults, we sometimes have the power to grant. We must meet the Christmas spirit half-way, noticing the magic where it still sparkles fresh, and making much of the little surprises still hidden everywhere to delight us.

In her beautiful day book Simple Abundance, Sarah Ban Breathnach describes a medieval Christmas Eve ritual of the preparation of a ‘Nativity Tray’. She writes:

‘Legend has it that on the night of the Nativity, whosoever ventures out into the night bearing a succulent bone for a lost and lamenting hound, a wisp of hay for a tired horse, a warm cloak for a stranded wayfarer, a garland of bright berries for one who has worn chains, a dish of crumbs for all huddled birds who thought their song was dead, and sweetmeats for little children who peer from lonely windows - whosoever prepares this simply abundant tray, “shall be proffered and returned gifts of such astonishment as will rival the hues of the peacock and the harmonies of heaven”.’

Breathnach has adapted the tray to include a string of cranberries, a few items of clothing she can bear to part with and the bone from her Christmas roast. This year I will add a couple of tiny wrapped gifts and a few gold coins and some frankincense. But for anyone taking part in this beautiful Christmas Eve ritual, part of the wonder will be reclaiming the tray on Christmas morning and inspecting the traces of gifts received, with all the wonder of the disappearing milk and shortbread we left out for that magical saint as children.

Above all, we must let our efforts to kindle the magic of Christmas be met by our faith that they will. We look for the star on Christmas Eve with a certainty that it shines a little brighter. We must go for a walk on Christmas Day, not just to see children delighting in new bikes and scooters, but to see the dew which glistens especially, the air bright with carols and bells. We must unwrap any little gift we are lucky enough to receive slowly and carefully, and find within it all the precious good-will the giver intended, so that fragrances are sweeter, flavours more divine, colours brighter and more vivid. This year, let us contradict Erma Bombeck, and wake on Christmas morning happier than ever to be exactly who we are.

Although the term “highway” has had a couple of meanings when it comes in the United States, more or less, the connotation that it is an important road that connects areas or cities that are separated by long distances. However, looking more closely into the meaning of this term, other meanings include a road that is high-speed (just like expressways and freeways), a main road that goes through distances outside of the city, or just about any road you can find.

Since highways are roads that go through many cities and connect these places despite long distances, this becomes the main facility which quite a number of large commercial vehicles use to transport their cargo. In fact, at present, this number of commercial vehicles has increased dramatically. Some people who are not confident enough in their driving skills could easily be overpowered by a fear of being crashed by these large machines.

Transport Canada has shared with the public some safety tips on how to drive safely on highways and keep your calm despite having these large vehicles running beside you. Transport Canada is a department of the government of Canada. Mainly, it is responsible for developing regulations, policies, and services of transportation and related matters in the mentioned country.

Commercial vehicles have larger blind spots compared to the ordinary vehicles. Remember to keep away from these blind spots. How do you do this? Keep in mind that if you cannot see the driver in their side mirror, it is very much possible that the driver would not even notice you there.

If in case you are driving in front of a large commercial vehicle like trucks and buses, signal your intentions to maneuver or stop well in advance. This is to warn the driver about what you are about to do so they have ample time to react properly. The thing behind these trucks and buses are that they actually do need more time and distance to maneuver and stop compared to most cars and vehicles.

When it comes to wet roads, remember that these large commercial vehicles are prone to spray a lot of water, and mud around. Always remember to turn your wipers on so you can always see clearly.

Getting a replacement for your worn out wipers, windshield wiper arms, or any other auto part could be really simple. Online stores offer customers the chance to go through their wide collection of auto parts. One of these stores is Auto Parts Fast and it has a good reputation for offering excellent Dodge parts.

As a former news correspondent for an auto-related website, Stacey has gathered extensive knowledge and experience in the automotive industry. This 34 year old mother of two from Memphis is a genuine car lover.

Alongside Frasier and Seinfeld, Friends spent much of the 90s decade at the top of the ratings. Recipient of numerous awards, the series followed the lives of six friends living in New York City - Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston), Monica Geller (Courteney Cox), Ross Geller (David Schwimmer), Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), and Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc). The friends spend their spare moments in the coffee house “Central Perk” or in either Joey Chandler’s apartment or Monica and Rachel’s.

The Friends (Season 9) DVD offers a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere in which Rachel, Ross, and Joey try to sort out their situation following Rachel’s acceptance of Joey’s accidental proposal. The three eventually conclude that no one was going to propose. Meanwhile, Chandler and Monica grapple with the prospect of moving to Tulsa when Chandler is promoted to president of his company… In other episodes, Ross makes fun of Rachel’s male nanny, Ross and Phoebe get mugged, and Chandler and Monica visit a fertility clinic… In the season finale, Joey rebuffs Rachel’s advance until he finds Ross kissing the girl he just broke up with. The season concludes with Joey and Rachel together…

Below is a list of episodes included on the Friends (Season 9) DVD:

Episode 195 (The One Where No One Proposes) Air Date: 09-26-2002
Episode 196 (The One Where Emma Cries) Air Date: 10-03-2002
Episode 197 (The One with the Pediatrician) Air Date: 10-10-2002
Episode 198 (The One with the Sharks) Air Date: 10-17-2002
Episode 199 (The One with Phoebe’s Birthday Dinner) Air Date: 10-31-2002
Episode 200 (The One with the Male Nanny) Air Date: 11-07-2002
Episode 201 (The One with Ross’s Inappropriate Song) Air Date: 11-14-2002
Episode 202 (The One with Rachel’s Other Sister) Air Date: 11-21-2002
Episode 203 (The One with Rachel’s Phone Number) Air Date: 12-05-2002
Episode 204 (The One with Christmas in Tulsa) Air Date: 12-12-2002
Episode 205 (The One Where Rachel Goes Back to Work) Air Date: 01-09-2003
Episode 206 (The One with Phoebe’s Rats) Air Date: 01-16-2003
Episode 207 (The One Where Monica Sings) Air Date: 01-30-2003
Episode 208 (The One with the Blind Dates) Air Date: 02-06-2003
Episode 209 (The One with the Mugging) Air Date: 02-13-2003
Episode 210 (The One with the Boob Job) Air Date: 02-20-2003
Episode 211 (The One with the Memorial Service) Air Date: 03-13-2003
Episode 212 (The One with the Lottery) Air Date: 04-03-2003
Episode 213 (The One with Rachel’s Dream) Air Date: 04-17-2003
Episode 214 (The One with the Soap Opera Party) Air Date: 04-24-2003
Episode 215 (The One with the Fertility Test) Air Date: 05-01-2003
Episode 216 (The One with the Donor) Air Date: 05-08-2003
Episode 217 (The One in Barbados: Part 1) Air Date: 05-15-2003
Episode 218 (The One in Barbados: Part 2) Air Date: 05-15-2003

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find more reviews like this one of the Friends (Season 9) DVD.

The contributions of the American company on the landscape of the United States in its history and contemporary makeup have an absolutely wide varied place its difficult to comprehend at times. Without question, though, a contribution that certainly went beyond the community development and needed product provider that is so commonly connected with various companies, was that if plant usage in the World War II effort made by so many companies. Such was the case with the future producers of the Mastercraft Tire when the hard goods point of their production facilities was transformed into a production plant for such items as: pontoons, landing boats and other military goods in 1941.

Its probably little more than an interesting anecdote to today’s consumers of Mastercraft Tires, but it seems to set a reasonable precedence for a company that has seemingly continued to give to its country of origin. The makers of Mastercraft Tires, the Cooper Tire and Rubber Company, has led the industry in several safety innovations, grew into a fortune 500 company and lasted through tumultuous corporate restructuring times to remain as one of only two tire companies to last as U.S. owned.

The company has continued its historical track record of existing well beyond than simply a firm that produces goods and collects the revenues. The company has held safety in such high regard that it established a joint effort, along with the National Safety Council, to create and implement a safety program and campaign that was dedicated to youth education.

Today Mastercraft Tires remain a tire of quality and safety to consumers which place both in high regard, but nothing less should be expected from a company that has continued to surpass expectations

George Murphy knows what he’s talking about when it comes down to tires. Read more about cheap tires andMastercraft tires.

Some forms may include:

Some adolescents and teens may self-mutilate to rebel, reject their parents’ values, take risks, state their individuality or merely to be accepted by their peers. Others, however, may injure themselves out of anger or desperation to seek attention, to show their hopelessness, loss of self-esteem and worthlessness, or because they have suicidal thoughts. These children may suffer from serious psychiatric problems such as Bipolar Disorder, depression, mood disorders, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), and psychosis. Additionally, some adolescents and teens who engage in self-injury may develop Borderline Personality Disorder as adults when not treated for this as youth. Some young children may resort to self-injurious acts from time to time, however, they often grow out of it.

Children with autism or mental retardation may also show these behaviors which may persist into adulthood when not treated at a younger age. Children who have been abandoned (adopted) or abused (emotinally, physically, sexually) may self-mutilate.

Why do adolescents and teens self-injure?

Adolescents and teens that have difficulty talking about and openly sharing their feelings may show their emotional tension, low self-esteem, physical discomfort, and pain with self-injurious behaviors. Although they may feel like the “steam” in the “pressure cooker” has been released following the act of cutting and hurting themselves, adolescents and teens may instead feel intense anger, fear, hate and hurt. The effects of peer pressure can also influence adolescents and teens to injure themselves. Even though fads come and go, a lot of the wounds on the child’s’ skin will be permanent. A lot of times adolescents and teens hide their burns, bruises, cuts and scars, due to feeling criticized, embarrassed, or rejected.

What can parents do to help their child?

Parents are encouraged to talk with their children about respecting and valuing their bodies. Parents also need to serve as role models for their adolescents and teens by not engaging in acts of self-harm themselves.

Some helpful ways for parents to address their child’s self-injury acts include teaching them to:

Evaluation by a mental health professional may assist in identifying and treating the underlying causes of cutting and self-injury. Feelings of wanting to die or kill themselves are reasons for the parents of adolescents and teens to seek professional care immediately.

A psychiatrist may also diagnose and treat the serious psychiatric disorders that may accompany self-injurious and cutting behaviors.

Dore E. Frances, Child Right’s Advocate & Educational Consultant

http://www.guidingteens.com

Copyright © 1999, Horizon Family Solutions, LLC

It’s very easy to make a lot of money with AdSense. I know it’s easy because in a short space of time, I’ve managed to turn the sort of AdSense revenues that wouldn’t keep me in candy into the kind of income that pays the mortgage on a large suburban house, makes the payments on a family car and does a whole lot more besides.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any number of mistakes that you can make when trying to increase your AdSense income - and any one of those mistakes can keep you earning candy money instead of earning the sort of cash that can pay for your home.

There is one mistake though that will totally destroy your chances of earning a decent AdSense income before you’ve even started.

That mistake is making your ad look like an ad.

No one wants to click on an ad. Your users don’t come to your site looking for advertisements. They come looking for content and their first instinct is to ignore everything else. And they’ve grown better and better at doing just that. Today’s Internet users know exactly what a banner ad looks like. They know what it means, where to expect it - and they know exactly how to ignore it. In fact most Internet users don’t even see the banners at the top of the Web pages they’re reading or the skyscrapers running up the side.

But when you first open an AdSense account, the format and layout of the ads you receive will have been designed to look just like ads. That’s the default setting for AdSense - and that’s the setting that you have to work hard to change.

That’s where AdSense gets interesting. There are dozens of different strategies that smart AdSense account holders can use to stop their ads looking like ads - and make them look attractive to users. They include choosing the right formats for your ad, placing them in the most effective spots on the page, putting together the best combination of ad units, enhancing your site with the best keywords, selecting the most ideal colors for the font and the background, and a whole lot more besides.

The biggest AdSense mistake you can make is leaving your AdSense units looking like ads.

The second biggest mistake you can make is to not know the best strategies to change them.

Joel Comm is The Internet Revenue Expert. Online for over 20 years, Joel teaches people how to make money in the digital age. The recognized authority on Google AdSense, Joel teaches how to multiply your AdSense income at The AdSense Code. To ask Joel Comm a question about making money online, visit http://www.AskJoelComm.com Joel invites you to download a free copy of The Internet Money Tree at http://www.internetmoneytree.net