Extended Family Visits and Corporate Housing

Friday, September 4, 2009@ 1:18 PM
Author: dsclarkkk

Extended Family Visits and Corporate Housing

Family events, like weddings, or the first grandchild are wonderful experiences. Unlike other quick family visits, these momentous occasions can last weeks during which the family comes together to witness an important event. We all hope to have enough room to fit everyone, but sometimes housing the entire extended family can a struggle, if not completely overwhelming. In these cases it may make sense to look into a temporary housing solution.

Hotels are great when you only have a couple of days to spend in an area. They are often well located, either conveniently by the airport or major attractions, or well positioned in desirable parts of town. Their room service and other conveniences can also add a special touch to a wonderful trip. But, for stays of more than a week or two, hotels can be both too expensive and impersonal. Plus on family trips of this kind of duration, you may want to be able to host some events, and hotel rooms of that size feel corporate and business like. While hotels do provide the space you may be looking for in a long family stay, they may not fit all the needs you are looking to fulfill.

One form of temporary housing, typically referred to as corporate housing or corporate lodging, may be a better solution for these events in the future. The primary purpose for corporate housing is to provide a solution companies who are helping to relocate an employee. These companies can rent a living space for the employee for a number of months until the employee is able to find a more permanent arrangement. Another use of corporate housing is to provide a reasonable and more personal lodging for consultants who spend their weeks on site away from home and the weekends at home.

Corporate housing agreements are typically for a period of a number of months, and can be month to month. They are often rented fully furnished and may come with extra services like concierge service or access to a gym or pool. While usually not available for bargain prices, corporate housing can be more cost effective than paying for many weeks stay at a hotel. And when you factor in the ability to have a more home-like experience, corporate apartments and corporate housing can be great choices.

Destinations with more corporate traffic are often easier places to find reasonable corporate housing options. For example, there is a wide selection of corporate housing in Washington D.C. and Jacksonville, FL. To find options in other locations, a simple web search and a few phone calls will provide you with the information you need to make an educated decision.

Whether you are assisting your family in planning and preparing for a life changing event, or just want to spend some extended time with relatives, many housing options are available. For multi-week stays, corporate housing can be a great solution for many of us. These services are often available in cities with significant business volume.

Reducing Morning Aches and Pains

Friday, September 4, 2009@ 1:15 PM
Author: dsclarkkk

Reducing Morning Aches and Pains

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  • Everyone has experienced it at one time or another. You wake up in the morning with a stiff neck and various other aches and pains that make your day difficult. More often than not, you feel more tired than when you went to bed the night before.

    Waking up with aches and pains is a common occurrence and can occur for many reasons. Taking sleeping aids or drinking too much alcohol can cause a person to sleep deeply in an uncomfortable position, unable to make the thousand little body adjustments for comfort. A light or noise during sleep can cause restless sleep accompanied by tossing and turning.

    The most common cause of morning aches and pains is your mattress. One of the most common types of mattress is the coil or spring mattress which is filled with tightly wound metal springs. The springs provide resistance against your body and give some support. The major problem with spring mattresses is that they create pressure points in the spots where your body presses the hardest against the springs. If you are lying on your side, those pressure points are your shoulders and your hips- two areas that are often achy in the morning. If you are lying on your back, the pressure points are the back of your shoulders and your buttocks. The spring mattress also provides no support for the other curves in your body such as your waist and your neck. A common ache in the morning is a stiff neck from lack of support.

    Air mattresses and waterbeds seem like a good solution to the pressure points caused by a spring mattress, but, in fact, they provide no support, allowing the body to fold into the middle of the bed with very little resistance.

    Memory foam mattresses are often recommended due to the support and comfort they provide. Memory foam has been used for years in hospitals to support frail and injured bodies without creating pressure. Memory foam works on the heat principle. The points of the body that support the weight, like shoulders and hips, create more heat than other parts of the body and sink into the material farther. This allows the mattress to also support the interior curves of the body like the waist and neck. Pairing a memory foam mattress with a pillow made of the same material will ensure that the head and neck are properly supported.

    Regardless of the type of mattress you have, you should not sleep on your stomach, especially if you are using a pillow. In order to breathe while sleeping on your stomach, you need to turn your head 90% and raise it to accommodate the pillows. This is an unnatural position for the neck to be in and the muscles can stiffen like that and be painful in the morning.

    The right mattress can change the way you sleep and allow you to wake up refreshed, alert and ready to start the day.

Building a Strong Web Presence, Even if You’re not Microsoft

Thursday, July 30, 2009@ 12:13 AM
Author: dsclarkkk

Building a Strong Web Presence, Even if You’re not Microsoft

If your business has a well-known brand, then your website will get traffic based solely upon your brand. People actually do search for company names of famous brands such as Starbucks, Apple, and Walmart. If you’re one of those companies then you will get some benefit from having a website and doing little else. People will search for your store hours, locations, pricing, product availability and so forth. On the other hand, if your brand isn’t Coca-cola or Microsoft, then you need to take steps beyond just putting up a website in order to attract the web traffic and the customers that you want.

For most small to mid-sized businesses, consumers don’t search for company names, they search for products or services. If they want to find a new digital camera, they’ll search for digital cameras and maybe the manufacturer’s name, like Nikon, if they already have one in mind. The companies that show up first in the search results for those terms have the best chance to make the sale. This applies whether your company is selling over the internet or maintaining a brick and mortar store. In the latter case, customers will often add a town or location to the search query in order to find a local retailer.

The major search engines all use closely guarded secret formulae to determine which websites get the highest ranking within the results for any particular search term. Their goal is to provide those who use their search engine with the most useful and relevant results for any searched term. They use various means to measure the relevance and popularity of websites to determine how closely each website matches what they think the search engine user is looking for.

Some companies, called Search Engine Marketing firms, make their business from a close study of search engine rankings. They look for commonalities among websites that have the best results and among those that tend to do poorly. The know a great deal about the things it takes to improve the search engine rankings of a website and how to put them into practice for their clients.

This involves making sure that the website itself is structured properly for maximum search engine compatibility, identifying search terms that are most likely to drive business to your website, and working to improve the popularity of your website by developing incoming links, among other methods. These things take a considerable amount of time, effort and expertise. Unless your business is search engine marketing, then these things are almost certainly outside of your core competencies.

As any successful business owner will tell you, you need to concentrate on doing the things you do best, and let somebody else handle the other things. When it comes to generating relevant traffic to your website, that somebody else should be a qualified search engine marketing firm. Look for one that will listen to your business goals and work with you to achieve them.

Monitoring your Newborn’s Growth

Thursday, July 30, 2009@ 12:05 AM
Author: dsclarkkk

Monitoring your Newborn’s Growth

Making sure our babies get off to a good start in life is the number one goal for new parents. And one of the best, and easiest ways to do this is to monitor the infant’s weight gain to make sure they are getting proper nutrition.

For most mothers the foremost concern is that their baby is getting enough milk. This is especially a concern with those breastfeeding mothers. You can take your baby to the doctor’s office for regular weigh-ins, but that’s not always convenient. If you don’t have to be at the office for any other reason, you don’t want to take the little one out in bad weather or subject him or her to the germs that might be floating around the pediatrician’s office. And once a week, or even once a day weigh-ins won’t really give you enough information to alleviate your concerns anyway.

The solution is a Baby Scale at home. Digital Medical Scales specially designed for weighing your baby are available these days at really reasonable prices. Many of these scales are just as accurate as the doctor’s scales in your pediatrician’s office.

Whether they are designed with hospital, doctor’s office, or home nursery use in mind, the comfort and safety of the infant are top priorities in any Baby Scale. Molded platforms or weighing trays, cushion head support, or padded side rails to allow the baby to comfortably and securely rest while being weighed. Some models even play music to help keep the baby calm.

Scales with a breast milk intake function make it simple to calculate how much milk your baby is actually getting. Weigh your baby before and after nursing, and these scales can determine the intake with amazing accuracy. Finally, the extra reassurance you need that you and your baby are on the right track.

Some scales come with a measuring tape, and others have a height indicator built into the tray, so you can easily measure the baby’s height growth too.

Dual Purpose Baby Scales allow you to weigh your infant and toddler on the same scale. The weighing tray is removable, revealing a flat platform for an older child to stand on. The removable tray makes cleaning extra easy.

Just like doctor’s scales, baby scales designed for the home nursery have technology that ensures accurate weighing results, even if the baby is moving while being weighed. Some even have a function that allow you to factor out the weight of the baby’s clothing and blanket.

Popular models are lightweight and portable. Some have carrying cases included and optional battery powered operation. These are great options if you plan to travel with your baby or if you don’t have space to keep the scale set out all the time. A memory function allows you to see the past weights even after the baby has been removed from the platform.

A home baby scale: convenience and confidence, found in a Medical Scale designed to satisfy the most demanding new mother.

Discovering Old Town in Temecula

Tuesday, July 28, 2009@ 10:39 PM
Author: dsclarkkk

Discovering Old Town in Temecula

Temecula California is one of the oldest inhabited areas in the state. Native Americans lived there thousands of years ago, hunting and fishing the nearby resources. Today, Temecula is a growing city thanks in part to the wine industry that has sprung up in the past two decades. Visitors come to the region every year to sample wines, try their luck at the nearby Pechanga Casino, and take in the amazing scenery.

Old Town is another favorite tourist destination in Temecula, sporting the oldest homes and buildings in the area. Old Town is also the heart of the business community and sports many antique stores, boutiques and art galleries.

The Old Town Temecula Community Theater entertains both residents and tourists with seven productions annually. The theater blends together the old and the new. The entrance retains the original Mercantile Building, built in the 1890’s but the rest of the theater is modern and airy. The performance venue boasts two halls: a 361 seat theater for full productions and the cozy 48 seat Club at the Merc for musical performances and small productions. Tickets can be purchased at the on-site box office year round.

The Temecula Valley Museum sits in Sam Hicks Memorial Park in Old Town. The museum tells the story of the town. It shows Temecula as it was in different periods of its history. The museum includes a Touch History Exhibit that recreates an authentic general store, tack room and dress shop. Visitors are encouraged to see, hear and feel the experience to understand what it was like in Temecula in the 1800’s. Native American artifacts are on display as well as tools and other daily use items used by Temecula’s first settlers. The museum also runs special programs throughout the year including lectures, family days, and demonstrations.

There are more than a dozen restaurants in Old Town ranging from tiny cafes to large steak houses. Mad Madeline’s Grill is a trip back in time. Serving fifteen different hamburgers and old fashioned milk shakes and malts, it is a fun casual dining experience. Bailey’s is a more formal restaurant with white linens serving a variety of California French fusion cuisine. The Temecula Stampede is a country bar that serves up standard bar fare: burgers, dogs, Mexican food, and pizzas. The Stampede serves up live and DJ’d music three nights a week. You can even learn how to line dance with their dance lessons on Friday and Saturday nights.

Dozens of gift and antique shops line the streets of Old Town. Locally made foods are sold here including wines, cheeses and olive oil. While browsing through the shops in Old Town, you will be sure to run into the perfect gift for someone back home or even for yourself. The relaxed atmosphere of Old Town will help you unwind and enjoy your vacation in one of the most beautiful spots in the state.

Golfing in Orange County, California

Monday, July 27, 2009@ 4:26 PM
Author: dsclarkkk

Golfing in Orange County, California

Orange County is known as California’s Golf Course and the name certainly fits. The county is home to more than 40 championship golf courses. Five PGA members either grew up or live in Orange County. And it is where Tiger Woods first cut his teeth on the sport as he was raised in the area.

Orange County offers a wide variety of course types to challenge both novice and experienced golfers. The golf courses that lie close to the coast provide more serene greens but often longer holes. The interior courses provide elevation challenges in the rolling foothills.

If you’re planning a golf vacation in Orange County, you have many choices of public courses. Some book tee times more than a week in advance so researching the courses you want to play is important to get the tee times you are looking for. Tee times are more often available on week days than weekends, which book up quickly.

You can bring your own clubs to the courses or rent clubs there. Some courses require the rental of a golf cart and are not walkable, so be sure to check into that prior to booking a tee time.

There are many options available for golf lessons and clinics as well. Several courses have an on-site PGA pro that teaches the finer points of golf and you can often book the clinics at a reduced rate at the last minute. Alternatively, you can book a private lesson to get more in-depth feedback on your game and learn tips and tricks to improve your swing and your course analysis.

When choosing an Orange County course to play, take note of the slope rating of each course in order to compare the challenge offered at each venue. Most championship courses in the United States have a slope rating assigned by the United States Golf Association. The purpose of the slope rating is to give a golfer an idea of how difficult the course will be for a bogey (average) golfer. It is designed on the theory that on more difficult courses, a player’s score will increase more quickly than a simply handicap would predict. Slope ratings range from 55-155. A golfer who plays a par game on a course with a slope rating of 112 will have played better than a golfer with the same par game on a course with a lower rating.

If you have some down time between golf rounds, Orange County also has some of the best beaches in the United States, perfect for surfing, snorkeling or just laying in the sand relaxing. Disneyland is another popular destination in Orange County, especially if you are bringing children with you.

For a diversion that appeals to history buffs, San Juan Capistrano is a look back into the history of the United States itself. The mission at San Juan Capistrano was founded in 1776 by the Franciscan Order. The chapel, built in 1782, is the oldest occupied building in the state and was where mass was celebrated. The mission was also the site of the first vineyard on the continent and 1789 was the first vintage produced at the mission. Guided tours are available at the mission.

A golf vacation in Orange County can be fun and relaxing. And knowing that you are playing the same courses as some of the best golfers in the world can do wonders for your game.

Atlanta Attracts Sports Fans

Monday, July 27, 2009@ 4:24 PM
Author: dsclarkkk

Atlanta Attracts Sports Fans

Atlanta is one of the fastest-paced and bustling cities in the South. There is always something to do in Atlanta 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. This also holds true for sports. Atlanta’s active professional sports scene ensures action all year long so fans can enjoy their favorites and battle it out in sports bars, living rooms and right in the stands whenever they want.

The biggest draw is the Atlanta Braves, the city’s major league baseball team. The Braves have a history dating back to the beginning of professional baseball itself in 1871. The team moved to Atlanta in 1966 and has been there ever since. The Atlanta Braves is the oldest continually operating team in the United States. Arguably the most famous team member in the Atlanta years was Hank Aaron who broke Babe Ruth’s home run record on April 8, 1974. The Braves’ defining moment came in 1995 when they won the World Series, only the third time in franchise history and the first (and only) time in Atlanta.

Since 1997, the Atlanta Braves have played in Turner Field, originally built for the 1996 Summer Olympics held in the city. With a capacity of over 50,000, Braves fans can catch their favorite team all throughout the summer, and hopefully into the fall.

The autumn belongs to football and Atlanta’s home team is the Falcons. The Falcons were born in Atlanta as an expansion team in 1965 and played their first game in the 1966 season. Their overall record is 275-399-6 and they have taken the division championships in 1980, 1998, and 2004. Since 1992, the Falcons have played at the Georgia Dome, near the downtown. The Dome seats just over 71,000 for football games and is the second largest domed stadium in the world. With easy access to Atlanta’s light rail system, fans can make their way to see the Falcons without fighting downtown traffic.

Hockey rules the winter in North America and the Thrashers rule Atlanta. The Thrashers became Atlanta’s franchise in 1997 as the league was expanding. This was the first time Atlanta had a home team since the Atlanta Flames left for Calgary in 1980. The Thrashers, name after Georgia’s state bird, made it as far as the Stanley Cup quarter finals in the 2006-2007 series before being eliminated by the New York Rangers. The Thrashers play at Phillips Arena in downtown Atlanta, convenient to public transportation.

The sports scene in Atlanta wouldn’t be complete without basketball. The Atlanta Hawks are the city’s NBA franchise. The Hawks have been in Atlanta since 1968 when they moved from Milwaukee. They were purchased by Atlanta Braves owner Ted Turner in 1976 and have played at Phillips Arena since 1999.

Auto racing fans are not left out in Atlanta either. The Atlanta Motor Speedway is the home of NASCAR in the city. The Speedway hosts the annual Sprint Cup Series’ Labor Day Classic 500. Throughout the year, many other events are held at the Speedway including Legends racing, drag racing and car shows.

Sports are an integral part of Atlanta’s history and today’s fans can soak up as much as they can handle.

Online Seminars for the California Contractors Licensing Exam

Wednesday, July 22, 2009@ 1:13 PM
Author: dsclarkkk

Online Seminars for the California Contractors’ Licensing Exam

Becoming a licensed contractor in California carries with it lots of benefits. Licensed contractors are much-sought after even in economic downturns like this one. Contractors often work for themselves and, as such, can set their hours and take on only the clients that they wish. The skills required to be a contractor command premium revenues for both new construction and renovation.

In California, to become a licensed contractor, you must pass a licensing exam. The exam includes more than just construction and design knowledge. A successful contractor must know business and legal principles, understand human resources and employment law and know the insurance and bond requirements for the state. It takes time to learn these subjects even if you have worked in construction all of your life.

If you are already working full time, it may seem like there are not enough hours in the day to also study for the licensing exam. Even if you had all the time in the world, knowing what to study and what questions are likely to be asked on the exam are difficult. Failing the exam costs money and means that you have to start the entire process over again in the future. And, even just the thought of “going back to school” can be stressful for many.

There is help available for those studying for their California contractors’ license. The Peerless Institute (www.peerlessinstitute.com) offers study resources in several formats to help students study for the exam. They offer books on all required subjects as well as CD-based learning and a new online course.

Peerless Institute’s online course in Law and Business can be accessed at home with a password to save having to travel to an evening course. This way, you can learn in your own home. The study program is written by experts in the field who are up-to-date on current issues in the industry and know what types of questions are likely to appear on the exam. The online course also contains hundreds of practice exam questions to give you the full exam experience. The questions are automatically scored for you so you can see quickly which areas you need to improve in. The online course gives you individual feedback to help you learn from incorrect answers on the practice exam. The course also provides a mentor who will help you by email and answer any questions you may have about the program.

Peerless Institute has a success rate of over 95% on the exam for first-time writers. They are so convinced that their programs will help you pass that they guarantee it. If you do not pass the licensing exam the first time, you will be given access to their resources and tutorials so that you will pass the next time. Peerless understands that the faster you pass your exam, the faster you are out in the field in your new career.

Nashville is More Than Country Music

Friday, July 17, 2009@ 10:57 PM
Author: dsclarkkk

Nashville is More Than Country Music

Every year, tens of thousands of country music fans descend on Nashville to see the birthplace of American country music and to perhaps catch a glimpse of their favorite country recording artist. But Nashville has so much more to offer whether the purpose of your visit is to see the “real” South or if you are simply tagging along with some country fans. Here are some great things to see and do in Nashville:

The Nashville Zoo at Grassmere, or simply “Grassmere” as it is more commonly known, opened in 1990 and has gathered together a huge selection of animals, including elephants, antelopes, meerkats and cheetahs. Grassmere is a teaching zoo and there are many educational opportunities for children to learn more about the animals. There is also a 66,000 square foot playground for children, including slides and tunnels and a 30-foot tree house. The zoo is open daily throughout the year with reduced prices for children.

The General Jackson Showboat is a 300-foot paddlewheel replica that cruises up and down the Cumberland River offering great views of Nashville. The huge boat includes four decks and a two-story theater that features live music. There are midday and evening cruises and special cruises around holidays. Evening cruises include dinner and live music. Special party cruises happen throughout the year and are sponsored by entertainment corporations with different themes. Tickets can be purchased online or at the dock.

The Hermitage is the home of President Andrew Jackson. Jackson and his wife are buried at the plantation. The Greek Revival mansion was built in 1837 and since it was turned into a house museum in 1889, over 15 million people have visited the home. The Hermitage is kept as a showcase plantation today, allowing a glimpse not only into Andrew Jackson’s life but also plantation life in general in the early 19th century. Tours are available daily and educational programs for children, both on an individual and a class basis are offered.

Centennial Park in central Nashville hosts an odd and unusual sight for a historic city in the Old South. A full-size replica of the Parthenon in Athens stands in the middle of the park. The replica was originally built in 1897 for the city’s Centennial Exposition and its design included plaster replicas of the Parthenon Marbles made from casts of the originals. The replica now houses Nashville’s Art Museum which hosts a permanent display of 19th and 20th century American works. The museum also brings in traveling collections for display from time to time.

Depending on what time of year you visit Nashville, you may be able to get tickets for a Nashville Predators home game. The Predators were a 1997 NHL expansion team and have always played at the Sommet Center in Nashville. There has been much talk about taking the team out of Nashville but it will play at least the 2009/2010 season there.

There is a lot to do in Nashville without have to don cowboy boots and a wide-brimmed hat. Nashville is a great city to explore.

Recovering from a Business Catastrophe

Friday, July 17, 2009@ 10:56 PM
Author: dsclarkkk

Recovering from a Business Catastrophe

When you first started up your business, you likely sat down with an insurance agent to discuss the “what if’s” that could occur. What if a water pipe broke and your business was flooded? What if your office was broken into and your assets stolen? What if you were disabled and couldn’t run the business anymore?

You probably took out insurance against many of these perils to give you comfort that if bad things happened, your business would be able to go on. Your assets would be replaced, your offices would be repaired, and you may even be compensated for the interruption in your business and loss of sales caused by the catastrophe.

One peril that often does not get the thought and planning that it should is loss of data. Businesses run on data and most of that data is stored in computer hard drives today. Businesses keep customer contact information and sales history, inventory counts, purchase receipts and employee records in their computers. The entire accounting system is often maintained in the office on a hard drive.

Think for a moment how well your business would run if you suddenly lost every shred of data stored on your office computers. You wouldn’t be able to produce invoices, check on how much credit your customers have left, run payroll, or look up inventory balances. Your business would likely grind to a halt very quickly. Eventually, you may be able to recreate some of the data but much would be lost forever. The time spent reproducing lost data or working around it would be expensive to your bottom line.

Many catastrophes could result in the loss of data on your hard drives. Hard drives can be damaged by water, heat, fire, smoke, and physical abuse, for example, if the computer was dropped onto the floor. The damage can be to the hard disc itself or to the surrounding mechanisms. Either way, you may not be able to access your data from the disc.

One positive light in the middle of a business catastrophe is that the data on your hard drives may not be lost forever. Data recovery services specialize in restoring data from hard drives and other media. They can often access full or partial data from even physically broken hard discs. While some damage is not reversible, in most cases, an experienced data recovery service can bring back at least some of your company’s records. They can even undo damage from a virus attack and clean up your data. The data is then transferred onto a CD or other new medium and returned to you.

Of course, the best way to protect the critical data in your business is to back it up regularly and keep the back up offsite so that it is not damaged if everything in your office is affected. A good data recovery services company will be able to help you with setting up an appropriate back up regimen for your company.

While you certainly hope a business catastrophe will never happen to you, being prepared and knowing that you can potentially restore your data gives you peace of mind.