Jerry is a former psychotherapist and is currently a professional shaman. He publishes an online magazine and newsletter dealing with shamanism and holism as they apply to life and business. You can reach the magazine at this address: http://www.jeremiahhuck.workzsites.com

Patagonia is one of the most amazing places in the world. A land with a lot of history. A land of mountains, lakes, hills, beautiful flora and fauna with the past of aborigins known for its huge footprints, (that is why is called patagonia). A missionary called Padre Agostini said: “The Paine massif is unrivaled…In its colors and form it is without doubt one of the most fantastic and spectacular sights that human imagination can concieve.”

To get to chilean patagonia you need to get in Punta Arenas City. Punta Arenas in the main city in this area and has fine accomodation from bed and breakfast to 4 stars hotels. Some hotels are in historical buildings and still keep their original construction from the early 20th century. The are hotels like Finis Terrae Hotel with a panoramic view of the city and the strait of Magellan in its 6th floor restaurante. José Nogueira hotel is located in a historical building that recalls ancient history of these lands.

GETTING THERE: There are many direct or one-stop flights from major cities to Santiago de Chile and then at least 3 daily flights to Punta Arenas which is 4 hours from Santiago de Chile (2000 miles). To travel by water you can take a cruise to Puerto Natales from Puerto Montt in an amazing 3 day trip by south channels.

TRAVEL TIPS: Southern weather can be unpredictable. Consider taking with you and wearing multiple layers of clothes in response to a wide variety of temperatures and weather conditions. Experiencing Patagonia on a low budget is possible, though it requires planning. From October to March room prices are higher. Winter months are becoming increasingly popular, particularly for the sport activities. At this time of year hotel rates drop by as much as half. We wish you a nice and safe trip! Best wishes, Marcelo Kunstmann

Marcelo Kunstmann
Graphic Designer, photographer and lover of Patagonia.
32 years old, married.
Lives in Punta Arenas, 300 kilometers to Torres del Paine National Park in souther chilean patagonia.
Close relationships with tourism companies in this areas.
Graphic service provider to many of them.

Visit
us in http://www.welcomepatagonia.com for more information on travel to Patagonia.

http://www.welcomepatagonia.com/puntaarenas/hotels.html

All about hotels in Punta Arenas

http://www.welcomepatagonia.com/puntaarenas/excursions.html

All about excursions, trekking and places to visit in Punta Arenas

The word ‘filet mignon’ means small boneless piece (in French ‘mignon’ means small and ‘filet’ means a boneless piece). It is considered to be a premium cut of beef, taken from the small end of the tenderloin. Filet mignon steaks are called by different names in different parts of the world – chateaubriand, medallions, tournedos, filet de buf, tenderloin, etc. are all different names of the filet mignon steak. It is the tenderest steak and is circular in shape about 3 inches in diameter.

The tenderloin is the least exercised part of the animal and hence the flesh in this region is tender. Beef cuts from the tenderloin are hence very soft and easy to cut. Due to their tenderness, they are also referred to as ‘the kings of steak’. However, the filet mignon steaks are also the mildest in their taste. Usually they are packed with bacon to increase their flavor.

Filet mignons available in butcher shops are a 2-3 inches in thickness. Their color determines how fresh they are. Filet mignon steaks should be bright red externally and internally they must be darker in color. They should be brought only if they were preserved in cold storage. Mostly filet mignon steaks are aged before cooking. Aging provides a unique flavor. Steaks can be preserved under cold storage for as long as a year if they are securely wrapped.

There are several ways to prepare filet mignon steaks. They can be grilled, sautéed, pan-fried or roasted. Fat should be removed before cooking the steak. Use of salt must be avoided as salt draws out the juices of the steak. Water is not used while cooking filet mignon steaks as it affects the taste. Instead olive oil or butter is used to prepare different recipes.

Filet mignon steaks are prepared by restaurants in several ways. There are several exotic preparations with wine, whiskey and with a variety of stuffing like crab meat, eggs among many others. Almost every restaurant has a special recipe for preparing filet mignon. They are eaten with rice, noodles or pasta. They are garnished with parsley, garlic, spring onions, etc. depending on the recipe. Red wine complements the filet mignon steak well. Also, they are eaten along with sea food such as lobsters and crabs or with pork derivatives such as bacon and sausages.

Steak provides detailed information about steak, flank steak, grilling steak and more. Steak is affiliated with Disposable Chef Hats.

The operational risk requirements of Basel II (International Convergence of Capital Measurement and Capital Standards) place a heavy emphasis on the identification, assessment, monitoring and control of operational risk. The ultimate requirement for reserving capital against operational losses are closely linked to the actions that a bank needs to take to manage these risks. Keeping a banks capital allocation against Operational Risks is a hands-on business, based on controlling and mitigating risk.

Credit risk is well catered for in exceptional detail. Credit risks are clearly understood by all players, for credit is the reason why banks exist. In the current mad scramble to meet the Basel II requirements, credit risks have been getting the lion’s share of attention while far less attention has been given to the operational risk issues. Basel II is more than just reserving capital against credit and operational risk. Now for the first time, banks have to take into account the operational risk aspects as well.

To start with, Basel II provides a range of options for determining the capital requirements of credit and operational risks. This allows banks and bank supervisors the opportunity to select the most appropriate option for their operations and their financial market infrastructure. Additionally, allowance is made for a limited degree of national discretion in the way in which each of these options may be applied.

Based on the Basel II requirements, I summarize briefly what needs to be done to effectively implement the operational risk aspects of this important international standard.

The starting point is the board of the bank and the creation of an appropriate “Risk Management Policy”. It should be remembered that bank boards generally do not have members with operations experience. Very often board members are drawn from business areas within the bank whose primary concern is revenue generation. Operational risk controls cost money and generally reduce profits – which means that they are not really a popular boardroom subject. Bank boards need to be educated and coaxed into the role they have to play in the mitigation of Operational Risk.

To effectively implement operational risk controls it is first necessary to identify the risks and then to establish appropriate written board policies and procedures to reduce these. These policies are the foundation for the development of risk control measures and need to be established for the whole range of operational issues including products, processing, IT & security and business continuity.

Risk mitigation can only be effective if a centralized risk management unit controls the whole risk reduction process. Most banks internal risk functions are fragmented and split over numerous areas (such as IT security, internal audit, physical security etc.) that tends to render a common risk policy ineffective. A critical element in the whole approach to operational risk control is the centralization of this function at a director level within the bank.

Once the appropriate policies are in place the next step is to undertake a risk assessment. Risk assessment is the process that identifies and evaluates the internal and external factors that could adversely affect the achievement of a banking organization’s operational, information and compliance objectives. In the full sense of the word this should cover all the risks such as credit, market, liquidity and operational risk. For our purposes we limit our focus on operational risk alone. Under Basel II operational risk is defined as “… the risk of loss resulting from inadequate or failed internal processes, people and systems or from external events”. This definition includes legal risk, but excludes strategic and reputational risk.

Basel II is specific on the actions that need to be taken in operational risk management. These actions are based on international risk containment standards, most of which have been developed through the Bank for International Settlements. There is a strong emphasis on detailed definitions and documentation relating to the use of the methods, the development of policies and their implementation. There is less focus on technology and more on doing.

Once the Risk Assessment has been completed the previously defined risk reduction policies need to be implemented.

Implementing Basel II is not a once off operation. It is an ongoing process aimed at limiting a bank’s exposure to risks. In the operational area reducing and containing operational risks so as to control the amount of capital that will have to be reserved. This ongoing process can only be achieved through the following steps;

•Fine-tune Operational Risk controls – New products, process and techniques will need to be brought under appropriate controls. Existing controls will need to be reviewed and changed where necessary.

•Feedback on Policy – Experience will indicate whether the Operational Risk policy is both effective and appropriate. This may result in the need to refine the Policy and the Controls over time.

Stanley Epstein is a Principal Associate and Director of Citadel Advantage Ltd., a consultancy dealing in bank operations and specializing in Operations Risk and Payment Systems. Further information and details can be found at http://www.citadeladvantage.com.

Ever wonder why someone else’s lawn is so much thicker and greener? Why their flowers are so much fuller with larger Blume? Everyone knows to water their lawn, plants, etc. during dry periods, but the key to lush healthy plants is in the fertilization. The type of plant determines the rate and frequency at which fertilization should be applied. The following describes how often to fertilize each type.

Flowers: Flowers should be feed every two to three weeks with a soluble fertilizer. Some companies offer specialized fertilizer for individual plants (for instance roses).

Shrubs: Fertilize once in the spring and once in the fall with a granular fertilizer. You can use a water soluble fertilizer once a month throughout the summer months as needed.

Trees: Trees should be fed once at the first of spring and once in mid to late fall. Use either a granular fertilizer or fertilizer spikes. During the summer months, trees also should be fed once a month with a water soluble fertilizer.

Lawns: Different manufacturers of lawn fertilizer will have different recommendations for applying their brand of fertilizer. The following is a popular recommended four step program for fertilizing your lawn.

1) Early Spring: Use a fertilizer recommended for lawn pre-emergence. This will give your grass that initial boost to start the season.

2) Spring: Use a mixture that is both a fertilizer and a weed killer. This is when you should attack any weeds before they get to much of a strong hold.

3) Summer: Use a mixture that is both a fertilizer and an insecticide. This is the time of the year you want to take care of those pest problems.

4) Fall: Use a fertilizer recommended for fall. This will help strengthen the root system and prepare them for winter.

Fertlization is really not that much of a chore. With proper and consistent feeding, you can have a thick dark green lawn, beautiful flowers, and heathy trees and shrubs that are the envy of the neighborhood.

For more information on landscaping, visit http://www.greenscapewv.com.

1. Familiarize Your Company: Let your visitors know who you are and what you do. So categorize your work and describe your business and services clearly in order to go deep into the mind of your visitors. Make a neat and recognizable layout in pleasant colors and put a logo that can be easily identified with your work. And remember that your business web site should focus on sales.

2. Blueprint to Sell: Your site is not worth it if you can’t make good sale. Your visitors should understand your idea of doing business. You should raise their hopes and level of comfort such that they get interested in conducting business with you.

3. Give details of your competitive Advantage: Your visitors should understand why they should choose you among the competition. Explain the advantages you can offer in order to win and retain customers and even bring back some old ones to buy again. You may not get those potential customers unless you tell them how you are the best.

4. Summarize the matter: In order to ensure that the visitors on your site do not get tired of switching pages in order to get to the desired point. If the destination is too many clicks away, there are fair chances that people will get tired and drift away. So try to get your point across as quickly as you can.

5. Don’t compel Visitors to Buy: Don’t push or force someone to buy from you, instead make your visitors comfortable when they buy from you. Give easier options for buying or business opportunities. Present the opportunity to place an order, as well as reinforce ‘desire to buy’ throughout the site.

People like to make purchases from someone they know, so tell them about your self. Communicate with both your personality and your expertise.

6. Color and logo: Make use of your corporate logo and its colors on the site. These colors and logos are very important for your brand identification. They bond your site and your other marketing materials. Use a similar character in your website as in your products. Organize your site pages and put your logo along with navigation elements at same location on each page. This helps in retaining the focus of your visitors on the content, and at the same time they can also feel comfortable in opening other pages.

7. Respond to queries: Build on your reputation and enhance your credibility by answering your customer’s questions and explain some important concepts that are related to the same industry. This demonstrates your expertise and also builds your reputation. Better knowledge helps the consumers to make better purchasing decisions which proves profitable for you in the long run.

8. FAQ, HELP and Search: Include these sections in your site, these help in letting consumers relate themselves with your site through frequent interactions. Visitors feel good when he gets his question answered and sent to him. You may also include search section in your site if it is particularly long. This will help in cutting down the time required to navigate through the site. Such content can be added up over a period of time with the help of your customer service or sales staff.

9. Keep It Simple: Please avoid any kind of confusions in a site. A site that confuses a user will actually drive it away. Plan your site and organize it in advance, it is important to build such a coherent visitor experience. Do not overdo the use of scripting and graphics. Visitors may not be interested in the pictures shown in the site, and might not return for that again. They would rather seek valuable information that can solve their purpose.

You know your business better than any one else. So you need to also know these rules even if you are not yourself designing the site. Since you understand your customers needs better so it is important for you to guide and monitor the design and development of your site.

Ajay Deep is a designer with MWX Design. With many years of experience in designing, he combines business knowledge with technical expertise to develop Web sites that work.

42 years ago, we sat in front of our television sets in complete shock. When the usually totally objective Walter Cronkite momentarily lost it on a live broadcast, he represented faces all over America, frozen in grief and disbelief.

It was an innocent time. Young, vigorous, charismatic, and eloquent, Jack Kennedy represented the dreams of the young. Into a political world filled with tired old detached men, he and his passionate New England intelligentsia swept like a fresh wind that promised a new world order and unlimited potential for all of us. We loved his accent, his hair, his humor, and his energy. We couldn’t wait to join the Peace Corps and remake the world.

For years, we quietly asked each other: Where were you when Kennedy was shot? We all knew exactly where we were and what we were doing when the news came. It was a moment frozen in time, a great divide between the promise that had shined so brightly and the unknown darkness that lay ahead after the light had been so prematurely extinguished.

Later, the cynicism of an ugly war, a string of assassinations, riots in the streets, and the paranoia of a secretive administration, would take their toll on our dreams, our desire to participate and to serve, and our belief in our leaders.

We put away our optimism, our social dedication, and our carefree belief in our ability to make a permanent difference. We moved into business, raised families, made money, and withdrew from the streets. We stopped marching, stopped voting, stopped caring. We lost our sense of trust and the heart in our fight for equality and peace slowly shriveled.

When I ask at work: Where were you when Kennedy was shot, I am greeted by blank stares from staff who weren’t even conceived in 1963. Despite the pain of that time, I feel deep sorrow for those who never had the opportunity to experience the excitement and euphoria of Camelot.

As the old saw states, “It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” We lost a great and important part of ourselves on that grassy knoll in Dallas. But we are better people for the elation he gave us, the dreams he inspired, and the deep commitment to our fellow man that he generated within us.

Those who missed that rare shining moment are, all unaware, diminished in their souls. And those of us who were lucky enough to have that spirit enter our lives, however briefly, must each mourn his death alone.

Happy trails, Jack.

Virginia Bola is a licensed clinical psychologist with deep interests in Social Psychology and politics. She has performed therapeutic services for more than 20 years and has studied the effects of cultural forces and employment on the individual. The author of two interactive workbooks: The Wolf at the Door: An Unemployment Survival Manual and Diet With An Attitude: A Weight Loss Workbook, she can be reached at her Social Psych Blog drvirginiabola.blogspot.com

The 2006 Cadillac DTS is another addition to the Cadillac brand. Cadillac, which is the brand that is very much associated and connected with luxury, is right on the path of reliving and reviving its products from the past. This new vehicle from Cadillac is a large luxury sedan that promises to provide an excellent performance, just like its ancestors did. It holds the styling that is simply and uniquely a Cadillac’s. It also boasts of a new interior, a much refined chassis tuning, as well as having the new NorthStar 4.6 liter V8 engine.

Not only sporting a new interior, the exterior holds such changes as well. This vehicle comes with a new front end sheet metal, grille, fascia, and some high intensity xenon headlamps. Added also to the 2006 Cadillac DTS is a new deck lid, a rear quarter, a rear fascia, and the light emitting diode (or LED) tail lamps. It also boasts of vertically shaped headlamps and tail lamps, an egg crate grille, and a dihedral shaped hood. The interior is very much clean and sculpted with a reliving of the past designs and added up with some contemporary refinement details as well. The new additions for the 2006 Cadillac DTS’ interior include dual firmness seats that have been purposely crafted and designed so as to provide comfort and support. There also are available real burl wood garnish, a lowered and more forward positioned instrument panel, spaciousness, a new analog clock, soft back urethane surfaces for the instrument panel and upper doors, and an integrated center stack design.

As per safety, the 2006 Cadillac DTS holds features that include dual front airbags, front side airbags, curtain side airbags, antilock four wheel disc brakes, a tire pressure monitor, wiper activated headlights, daytime running lights, and an emergency inside trunk release. The comfort and convenience features for this vehicle include the OnStar assistance system, air conditioning with tri-zone automatic controls including controls in the rear, an interior air filter, a power steering, a tilt steering wheel wrapped in leather and holds climate and radio controls, a cruise control, leather upholstery, an eight way power front bucket seats with lumbar adjustment, a center console, cup holders, a trunk pass-through, heated mirrors with turn signals, power windows, power door locks, a remote keyless entry system, a remote engine start, an AM/FM/CD/MP3 player, an analog clock, a tachometer, a trip computer, illuminated front visor mirrors, variable-intermittent wipers, a rear defogger, an automatic day and night rearview mirror, a compass, map lights, automatic headlights, and floor mats.

Customers and Cadillac owners can search for discount Cadillac DTS parts and Cadillac auto parts from Auto Parts Discount’s secured online store that is available 24 hours a day. The Cadillac parts in Auto Parts Discount’s wide collection are absolutely the lowest prices and made from premium quality materials.

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Joe Thompson is the owner of a successful auto body shop in Ferndale, California. This 38 year old is also a prolific writer, contributing automotive related articles to various publications.

For the business community 9-11 changed everything. In our company, we are in the cleaning business and after 9-11 we saw 62.6% decrease in weekend call ins for washing services at office buildings and a nearly same number of residential call ins. We believe this is partly due to adverse weather but as last years information shows it cannot be more than 20%. Last year that period was down 11.45% and then in the first 3 quarters of 2001 it picked up. We believe because all the phone companies with cellular started offering free weekend minutes so people decided to call us since we are probably on their speed dials for their cell phones. That increase was 4.1 %. Weather last year during this period was light, the previous year lighter and the year before that hectic. This year’s winter is a medium plus year for rain and snow days.

Luckily fuel prices are down so heating was not too bad on the residence of this continent. The only thing we can say for sure is fewer people are working weekends, and since the economy is slow they can justify taking the weekend off due to fewer customers everywhere exception Wal*Mart. With fewer people working there is less productivity, less spending and therefore less money to be spent and less calls on weekend. Why? Two fold. One the economy has shrunk in output and speed of transactions. Causing havoc on money flows to all people artificially shrinking money supply to the average participant in the US monetary system. Why? First there is less of a perceived need to work weekends if the TV says we may all be killed by terrorists. In actuality only 3000 people died in terrorist acts of 9-11. That is insignificant as a percentage of population of 300 plus million Americans and Illegal aliens living in the boundaries of our state. Horrible yes, insignificant also yes. This is not to say that we should not protect our people, we definitely should. It is the job of government, our government to do so.

That is in our constitution. But we may not fully be protecting our people if we are terrorizing them ourselves through negative media, scare tactics and other propaganda. Yes we need a strong military, but should we be hurting ourselves and our strong American pride and psyche to do it? No, it is that pride and stick-to-it-ness that built this great nation and we cannot sacrifice it now. So now that Americans have taken off 21 weekends in a row, or at least tried to, it has become habit. Knowing by scientific studies that it takes 21 days to form a habit if it is to stick. So Americans will not go back to work on weekends and our nations productivity is now that of the lesser. So what do we do with our time? Well, if we do not keep the minds and bodies of America busy on something they will take to stupid things, like politics, and supreme sports where people are hurt, killed or die. Boxing, race cars, whatever. They will need to be entertained. If we look at other periods of times, there were gladiators, the Mayans had the great events where one opposing team had to be totally killed to win, we fed Christians to the lions, and there were public executions.

Even in this day that has occurred to keep people entertained. Remember the Taliban and public executions? Of course they got a double whammy because they also used it to manipulate and control. Mike Tison bit some ones ear, Daytona 500 this last weekend wrecked half of the cars. The fans, loved it and can talk about it for the next year. When Dale Earnhardt died the sport increased, like hitting the afterburners on an F-15. Look at it today? If you are not in NASCAR you are not real. Even Kmart had to stay in the race after their bankruptcy. If they take out their race team they are dead for sure. Right now they are only in bankruptcy, no big deal. But if they stop the NASCAR circuit their fans numbering in the 35 million range will never forgive them. The US NAVY needs their own race team, you want the top dogs to sign up for the service? Tell them on the track. It is all about recruitment and for gods sake hire the best drivers. Why not have the F-18s from the Blue Angles fly by every race too. Shows support and also safety to promote tourism to those areas hosting such events. Gets people out of their houses to enjoy stuff too. Controlled chaos sporting events keep people busy and give them something to talk about too. In America we have economic enslavement, that is why everyone was working at redline speed in the last economic boom period, yet really made less money to spend during that time.

With 12-18% of their monies on average going to pay off credit card debt they really did not get ahead. Housing did well due to low down payment requirements for single and multifamily dwellings but really only added to the average families debt. Of course everyone with a job bought several new cars and even more debt. Americas personal income, real income after expenses decreased yet they worked so hard to keep up with the Jones’. We taught Americans that no matter how hard you work, you really do not get anywhere, so why not work less and spend time with your family more since you are so far in debt already and you might be blown up by a terrorist. And how could any American forget that message as it is blaring on the TV set 24/7. TV may have become the escape, but it cannot play good guy and bad guy on the same show. Although they try. So as America gets bored with the TV set but still checks in to see if anything new has developed since their overnight sleep or long day at work plus traffic, they tune in to watched and get caught up in the latest BS and controversy over nothing really. Liberals fighting the conservatives on various issues, which have been going on since the beginning of time. Fighting in the middle east, same amount of time. After all Civilization is a compound word and oxymoron that has not really changed, sure we have better delivery of information about the controversies but it is all the same really. Occasionally a new twist, but in deeper probing really the same. So we have ruled Americans by fear, economic enslavement and a few combinations there of. We did not start the fire, it has been burning since the world has been turning (Billy Joel). So how do we control 300 million people who are now having time to think?

Right now they are stressed and learning to deal with it. Their brains and bodies are depleting vitamins and using up protein. Eventually they will become numb to all of this and start thinking again. They will eventually come to the realization that all this is pure hooey. Question is will this lead them to want to get their cars washed. Yes and no. Yes because they will feel stupid for driving a dirty car since they enjoy driving a clean one. It is that good clean car feeling people like, that is 45% of why they get a car washed. Other reasons of the pie include, respect from fellow man, rationalization that the cars paint job will last, resale value, image control and being able to see out the windows. But alas we cannot continue to run our business by letting the phone ring and if we want to dominate this residential market sector and take it from our competitors since they are not giving it to us of their own free will. We will have to fight for this market share, strategize and eventually as always win it, all of it. What does America need to get back to normal? Well people need to satisfy their innate needs to have control over their destiny and live without all that fear. Fear causes lack of innovation. This is why scientists motivated by force or death of loved ones cannot keep up with free scientists of the West in efforts to build weapons and create innovation. Once the fear is gone they can do just fine.

Reward systems in Germany and Russia worked for this. Hell they gave as many metals of honor as awards to warriors as proclamations of acclaim to managers of their systems, architects and scientists and the like. You get to help with the Nationalistic System and therefore are rewarded and highly regarded by peers. But straight fear will not work. If we continually allow our citizenry to live in fear we will lose to world markets due to lack of substantial innovations. With this fear we eliminate the weakest of the innovation chain, which in total is less than 5% of the population.

So if we take away half of the brilliant minds due to a fear induced brain fart we are left with 2.5% of the innovators. What if half of all we have now was never invented? What type of world would that be? Think about what we cannot live without these days. Imagine, knowing that necessity is the mother of invention, so maybe only 15% of the things we live with that increase quality of life were not invented. Little things, not like a windshield wiper on a car, that would have been invented eventually and we would have it. But other important things, micro devices, caller ID, reflectors on the side of the road to warn drivers of the edge. Carbon Graphite products for sport uses, golf clubs, racket ball, tennis, bicycling, skiing, etc. Bullet proof vests for police men with Kevlar. Special toilet paper that decomposes quickly in water for help with sewer treatment plants. Voice Activated software, fax machines. Bar coding equipment, etc. Think about how these small things changed our lives.

Only a few inventions, but changed our lives forever. Can you do without a fax machine? Remote control for your TV? Think. But first clear your mind of fear. We have nothing to fear except that which fear causes. It is the cause of prejudice. It causes hate, aggression, it causes problems. It is innate, we cannot stop it, except with drugs which cause side affects. Some fear is good, such as to keep people in religion so they try to love thy neighbor for fear of god or a hell type situation, respect laws because of fear of punishment. But fear of unknown is fear of the inevitable, it is fear of change and not real like things like fear of heights. We need to admit there is fear and reduce the unnecessary fears caused by media that have caused incorrect behavior that contradicts our system of trade and values in America. Look at the movies we have today at the box office. John Q by Denzel Washington in an HMO setting, something we all hate and a fear to great like that of losing a child, many of us would rather die ourselves. Denzel is able to overcome the situation and save his child. Take control. Of course right now all Americans feel like we have no control at all. We are counting on the government to protect us, yet it is the same government who caused the terrorist acts. Not in a sense of actually doing the deed of course, but in not defending us against and known threat.

Their number one job was to protect us and they failed and now all people of this country are living in fear. This is why Rocky was such a smash originally. Look at Bruce Willis’ new movie where he over comes the Germans in the war prison camp. What irony, when all Americans feel trapped. Perfect timing to sell out at the box office. Fear causes rage. Denzel Washington solves his personal and life threatening problem, he is bent on rage, the same rage that resides in all of Americans over this terrorist act. The are mad, even though some say they are Christians and are told not to be so angry that god will judge. Yet they all know they are mad as hell and bent on rage and they want revenge even though they cannot say it politically. Yet many will say it openly and every one is feeling it. So where do we place all these energies we have? Well we cannot place it at the work, because no one wants to work extra. We have noticed fewer and fewer calls to Corporate from other businesses on Mondays and Fridays. Why? Because people are thinking weekend sooner on Thursdays and they call a lot on Thursdays because in their minds everything needs to get done before the weekend. So maybe we should make Fridays a weekend too since fewer people are working and no one ever calls you back and everything is put off until Monday but of course no one really mentally starts work to any large degree until Tuesday. So we now have complete productivity on Tuesday to Thursday except at 10 minutes to 5 pm.

Everyone is already mentally in their car and on their way home. Good luck finding any real service at 10 minutes to closing anymore, not since 9-11. They say there are more important things in life like family. Oh really that is a switch. Did not use to be that way before 9-11. What changed? 3000 people died. That is not significant in real numbers only in the overblown media. Don’t get me wrong the attack was a wake up call. But who kept hitting the snooze button, nothing has changed, it always has been that way, we just needed to open our eyes. We paid countless earnings in taxes for protection, the only real need of government, they took the money many times by force, yet failed to deliver. Safety is our concern especially from foreign threats. We know things change and that innovation also has a price for instance the textile business and the looms, telephone operators with the automatic-switching units. Globalitization is changing things.

Many jobs are no longer needed anymore. We need to get use to that. These people out of work are not needed so if their answer to the question is to work less and spend time with family then that is good. A good thing in deed, better kids learning more from parents and thus not destined to make all the mistakes that their parents did, sure they will still have to repeat many of them because that is just a part of growing up, but with trust back in to the family and close ties we are liable to see many kids learning lessons better without the black listing that occurs from things like drug abuse, drunk driving or teenage pregnancy which hampers young peoples future due to a one time error in judgment or time period in their short lives. It also makes them a little more responsible a little earlier. Well what will the dads do with more time? Mentor kids better, teach them important things, volunteer to coach and or in someway get involved. Society has always had a problem of what to do with their males. Lots of testosterone flowing there. Lots of energy needing to be harvested. Perhaps the old playing catch in the yard, little league, soccer or Pop Warner Football.

Teaching sportsmanship and working hard toward a goal. Perhaps for those not physically endowed to a large degree can go after other goals. We worship the spelling bee contestant who can spell words we never heard of. What about the young computer geniuses, musicians, and astronauts? We do need a mentoring program as the President said. The idea of 4000 selfless hours spreading unity in the world is also to be commended. The Morman church does this with young males going abroad on missions. Also to be noted is their Morman family nights and strong family unity similar to most all Hispanic families. If people are wanting to work less and we now need less workers, then we need to help people occupy their time. Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can..- .. If we enlist all Americans to build for tomorrow rather than condemn that which is past and we cannot change, then we can make hay our of this terrible situation and fix what we have broken due to our misunderstanding of what people need and want and the fear we have blown out of proportion. If people want more family time, great, then do it with quality and a goal in mind. As long as everyone is brain dead still after 9-11, perhaps we should outline a list and a plan for them to get started on. With such a high Presidential approval rating he should be the one to outline the plan and the First lady to emphasize it on radio.

He should do this now to minimize the nuclear fallout that the liberals are after over this Enron issue. They are on the war path to hurt the administration so they can elect more of their own. Politics need to be set aside and we need to look at America now, and move this thing in the right direction. It is the social changes which will help move the economy to a norm. At the same time we reduce the fear and reward innovation in our society. For the past ten years we have condemned it. We also need to allow funding for Craig McCaws new satellite idea. We learned a lot from iridium and Motorola’s disaster. We can do it right this time and the new technology will unite the world and allow more use of the Internet and destroy repression in countries who enslave people and attack human rights. Communication opened to the world and all participants will make it nearly impossible for evil regimes to reign in foreign lands. You see we have all the necessary tools to use all we have to fix the world and simultaneously fix us here at home. The new technology will provide opportunity. With the Enron debacle there will be less available funding for new innovations at a time when we have less brain power being used for such and at a time when we and the world needs it the most. Imagine opening the Internet to anyone on the planet at any time and anyplace?

The TV set and radio helped break down barriers to allow people human rights. Just like the printing press and newspapers here alerted people of the need to free our selves and make a stand. Think about the works of Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine and others, which lead us to make a stand and create the greatest nation in human history. It is information that frees the world. We should remember that if we limit information to ourselves and our people we limit the future and we limit the innovation we will need to take this country and our species to the next level./ What a great time to be alive. We need to fix a few things here as these trends confront themselves. Look around, there is opportunity in Chaos, and we can harvest it, we should start now.

“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Squeezing more power out of your engine is not as difficult or as expensive a task as you might think. Performance chips, performance exhausts, and sport air filters are all easy to install parts that can help your car achieve greater horsepower and torque without sacrificing fuel economy. In addition, a cold air intake can go a long way toward helping your engine perform better without costing you a mint to install. Let’s examine why a cold air intake just might be the enhancement your car could use to achieve a greater level of performance.

So, just how does a cold air intake work? I am glad that you asked! A cold air intake is designed to decrease the temperature of the air entering your car to take full advantage of your engine’s power. Colder, denser air acts like “food” for your engine, giving it the extra amount of power that it needs to perform optimally.

Are there other benefits of a cold air intake? Yes, namely two: a cold air intake enhances the look of your vehicle’s engine bay and it produces an awesome sounding “throaty” intake noise. The intake noise is what tells everyone that your car is not some ordinary stock car, instead you are making a statement that the noise coming from underneath your car’s hood matches the power and performance that they will see on the street.

Depending on the manufacturer you select, your new cold air intake is available in an assortment of colors including red, blue, silver, and chrome. Let’s just say that the colors developed are meant to draw maximum attention to your engine bay when you pop the hood for everyone to see!

When shopping for a cold air intake for your car, there are several things for you top keep in mind as you narrow down your selection. The following list can help you determine the cold air intake that is right for you:

Manufacturer – There are many companies producing cold air intakes, some are better than others. Injen and K&N are two that are preferred by the aftermarket crowd. Look for those intakes that come with a reusable air filter for the best value.

Performance – Claims for outlandish increases in horsepower should serve as a red flag to you. Modest increases of 10, 15 or 20 horses are certainly reasonable depending on the make and model of your vehicle.

Guarantee – Higher quality intakes carry a warranty that will likely outlast the life of your car. Some even give one million mile guarantees!

Retailers – Prices are literally all over the place. The best prices can usually be found right online with a wholesaler such as The Parts Bin. Shop only those companies who can provide to you online support, free shipping, a toll free number, and a clearly stated price list. Watch out for off shore operators who promise low prices on parts that might not be genuine.

In all, a cold air intake should provide the performance edge your car, truck, van, or SUV needs without taking away from fuel economy. In fact, a cold air intake can actually increase your fuel economy as your engine “learns” to work more efficiently, thus needing less fuel to run.

Matt Keegan writes for The Parts Bin, a retailer of high quality

Injen Cold Air Intake,
Honda Auto Parts, and

K&N Air Filters available to you at deeply discounted prices.