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In the last few years there has been an increase in pressure in the medical profession. Many people do not have medical insurance to pay their medical bills and this has resulted in medical offices having less money for hiring employees. Because of this, many doctors offices have started using third-party electronic medical billers to help improve their cash flow.

Other offices are purchasing electronic medical billing software so they can upgrade their own billing system. Being fully automated helps to cut down on office personnel and is more efficient than the former billing practices. The medical billing software comes with options such as printing the bill with late charges or just showing the number of days the bill is late. There are several software companies which provide billing software; you just need to know what features you need to fulfill your office requirements.

Sage Software: This company offers a billing software package which can be customized to suit the needs of the company. There is a section provided for address changes or to announce an upcoming event. It also has a feature to provide collection letters or letters reminding someone of their appointment time.

Collaborate MD: This software offers medical billing which uses the Internet for its day to day operations. The small monthly fee is affordable and the company always performs back-ups each day. This insures that you will not lose all of the valuable data which is stored in the system. With the click of the mouse you can view the reports needed to tell you what is going on with your business. This frees up time for the office staff since they do not have to spend hours running reports.

Medical ProClaim: This is a powerful program which is windows based and provides top notch medical claims processing. There is more than one version to choose from including medical practice, anesthesia, and dental. The low price for this software with its extensive features can help the medical practice office save a lot of time and money.

Choice Medical Billing Service: This is an outside medical billing firm that charges a percentage of the paid medical claims. Their goal is to provide a dependable billing service that has a high rate of success. They are not paid unless their clients get paid which can help reduce the costs of repeat billing. They offer a 100% guarantee that you will be satisfied with their service.

No matter what route you choose to take, electronic billing can help speed up the process of billing claims. You can choose software which is installed on your office computer which requires very little input from the staff. This software also compiles the reports needed for accounting so your staff has more time to perform other duties. This software is usually fairly inexpensive and provides updated versions for a nominal fee.

By choosing an outside firm or individual to do your billing you will be able to employee less staff and cut the costs of everyday operations. By having fewer employees you will not have to pay the salary or the benefits which are associated with each employee.

Kelly Hunter writes for http://www.electronic-medical-billing-guide.com for Electronic Medical Billing and has several years experience in research and writing.

// posted by wgvx @ 9:40 PM 1 comments

Adolescent anger management is becoming more prominent in our society. Traditionally, children who enter this last acute phase of bodily and mental development can go through some rough times. As kids enter their preteen and then their teenage years, chaos can ensue at times for everyone involved. A child or young adult may feel that his or her body and mind are out of control occasionally, and the parents and teachers who supervise children at this age may tend to agree. Anger can spring out of nowhere to challenge innocent requests and reasonable expectations. Yet kids between the age of twelve and sixteen sometimes react in unpredictable ways, surprising those around them and even themselves and requiring the intervention of adolescent anger management strategies.

Todays teens face even greater pressures than those of the past. By age eighteen, most have witnessed thousands of murders on television and video games. Some are involved in violent or illegal gang activity. Others come from broken homes where domestic violence and substance abuse are the norm. By the time they start going through puberty, their entire existence may seem out of their control, and they may grow increasingly enraged, acting out their anger in antisocial ways that require adolescent anger management.

Adolescent Anger Management and Juvenile Delinquents

Sadly, many teens experience frustrations that drive them to vent anger toward people or things, breaking civil laws. This type of behavior often leads to incarceration, or at the very least, intervention by parents, teachers, law enforcement officials, and juvenile experts who attempt to train children how to respond in age-appropriate ways. Adolescent anger management programs teach kids individually or in peer groups how to identify negative feelings, work through them in the right kind of ways, seek help when needed, and practice more mature behaviors.

During periods of time spent at juvenile detention centers, teens involved in adolescent anger management programs can learn how to improve their behavior in socially acceptable ways. Therapists can help to point out alternative attitudes and behaviors to teens who have never seen positive responses to everyday irritations modeled for them by responsible adults. They may be able to learn directly from the therapist how to manage difficult feelings, and they can read resource materials or visit websites like anger-management-information.com (site is not complete yet) for more information about this condition, and how to address it. They will find others like themselves who are learning how to get along with people and accept the situations that cannot be changed.

Community Adolescent Anger Management Programs

If you have or work with a teenager that is struggling with angry outbursts and a poor attitude, get in touch with a teacher or psychologist at your childs school or a community social services organization that can direct you to self-help resources or a local adolescent anger management group that might be willing to admit your child. Letting unresolved anger fester or continue to be displayed in dangerous ways can lead to serious consequences. Get your teen the help that is needed for coping with this behavioral disorder.

Steve Hill discusses adolescent anger management. Learn how to live without anger in your or your familys life. Read more informative anger management articles and information at: http://www.anger-management-information.com anger management advice Steve also has a website at: stuttering treatments

// posted by wgvx @ 4:09 PM 0 comments

Social networks are getting a lot of attention these days including Wikipedia, del.icio.us and MySpace. Along with the buzz, these sites are also generating a lot of traffic! How can you integrate links for these types of social network sites into your search engine marketing program? While there are an increasing number of social networks, this article will stick to the above as they are kings of their domains so to speak.

I recently had the opportunity to attend Search Engine Strategies in New York City this past February, 2006. While attending a session in regards to community marketing tactics using both Wikipedia and tagging, the panel asked the audience, Who here knows what Wikipedia and tagging are? less than half the room raised their hands.

Let me give you an overview of these concepts.

Wikipedia is a free community content driven encyclopedia. I have included an excerpt about Wikipedia from their about section located at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About

Begun in 2001, Wikipedia has rapidly grown into the largest reference website on the Internet. The content of Wikipedia is free, written collaboratively by people from all around the world. This website is a wiki, which means that anyone with access to an Internet-connected computer can edit, correct, or improve information throughout the encyclopedia, simply by clicking the edit this page link (with a few minor exceptions such as protected articles).

Your benefits of using Wikipedia as an online marketing strategy are various. To begin with, your submitted content about your product or company may be very short and simple to begin with. As your content ages and more members view and contribute to your content with edit revisions, your content submission will grow and grow. For example, your submission may start out as a forty word brief that may turn into a multi-page article. Additionally, Wikipedia has a good Google Page Rank of 9 which will help boost your websites PR with a quality backlink from your submitted content. Finally, using keywords that relate to your site in your contribution will assist you in controlling more space within the search engine results pages for your particular brand, product or name. For example, doing a Google Search for the term Microsoft returns a Wikipedia content entry about Microsoft in the tenth position of the Google SERP for Microsoft.

You should only submit content about a famous person, a patented product your company invented, a trademarked brand, famous places, etc. When you write your content you will want to write from an extremely neutral viewpoint. Dont write all sorts of features and benefits; write more factual based information related to your subject. Your focus needs to be the community and not your subject. Tread lightly, the community is helpful to assist you in producing additional content, but be careful of keyword spamming and link spamming.

Although there are many benefits to using Wikipedia for SEM, there are also just as many caveats to using it. Submitting content to Wikipedia is a double-edged sword. You will only want to contribute to Wikipedia if your product or service is of relevance to the community. Using spammy techniques in your content or submitting an entry that has no real value such as another affiliate website could have the opposite of desired effect by producing negative feedback about your brand or product from the community.

Tagging on the other hand doesnt have quite the negative drawbacks as posting to Wikipedia.

Del.icio.us is a social bookmarking site where members contribute links based on tags that anyone can search. I have included their about page found at del.icio.us/about below:

What is del.icio.us?

del.icio.us is a collection of favorites - yours and everyone else's. Use del.icio.us to:

Keep links to your favorite articles, blogs, music, restaurant reviews, and more on del.icio.us and access them from any computer on the web.

Share favorites with friends, family, and colleagues.

Discover new things. Everything on del.icio.us is someone's favorite - they've already done the work of finding it. Explore and enjoy.

There are a few simple techniques for commercial tagging through community type sites such as del.icio.us: create bookmark worthy content or link bait, get your tags in front of the right people or choose the right category, give your created tags only one self generated bump in del.icio.us, rinse and repeat about once a month. Below is an excerpt from del.icio.us to help you answer what various parts of tags are:

Posts

When a user saves an item on del.icio.us, it is posted to the front page as well as the tag page for each chosen tag. A sample is below explaining the various information pieces:

Here is a del.icio.us example listing under the tag web 2.0 O'Reilly -- What Is Web 2.0 save this by Scottcard to web2.0 oreilly article reference ... saved by 2938 other people .

You will first notice the title with the link to the site, next is an option to save the link to your tags. Secondly, you see a Username Scottcard. Here you can click the username to see Scottcards tags. Next you can click on the next links to see other related-sites within those tags. Lastly, you will see a highlighted link where you can view the members who have saved this site.

The good and the bad of tagging is that you will receive good quality backlinks to your site and increase visibility. The bad is that the majority of the time your tags will be removed from community members because the members are technically savvy and intolerant of any type of commercial push. Choose your keywords wisely and make sure your tag is in the right place and contributes to the community. Other tagging sites to consider are: http://technorati.com/tags/ and http://digg.com/. There are many others, but these are the ones that matter.

I see tagging or social bookmarking sites such as del.icio.us gaining in popularity within the next three years as blogs did two years ago. Yahoo has already taken notice by purchasing del.icio.us and flickr. Digg.com and furl.com are also making headway. Other sources to consider are the social network sites for developing a web2.0 SEM strategy.

MySpace is the current king of social networks, as it is literally a social-space network with 2.5 times more daily users than Google (psst, this is a huge untapped market). The domain dates back to 1999 where it was originally an online hard-drive of sorts. The current rendition took hold in 2003 making MySpace barely three years old. The main demographic is made up of teens to 20-somethings. The music industry is currently using MySpace as a marketing tool, not the labels themselves, but the bands. For example, Pearl Jam is announcing their upcoming release for May with sample songs and concert date announcements. One of their sample songs from their upcoming albums is one of the most played songs across the entire MySpace network. Independent film makers have also taken notice. In February 2006, amateur filmmaker David Lehre released a short film called MySpace: The Movie. This short film has quickly become a hit, registering over six million views following its release.

Benefiting from MySpace traffic is pretty straight forward. You will want to create a user profile and post links to your company or websites such as blogs, feeds, etc. Profile note, you can post html code in any field regarding your profile. Next, create your social pipeline of users and keep the demographic inline with any product or link you wish to shamelessly promote in the future. You dont want to get spammy here either. The downside would be getting your user profile terminated from MySpace or members posting negative comments within your profile. Again, tread lightly by thinking neutral and keep the benefit of the community in mind.

The opportunity costs associated with community based SEM are very high. However, tagging in particular may be time prohibitive for most organizations as it requires a lot of trial and error. Tagging can seem like a waste of time as most tagging submissions will be removed by community members who find your submission spammy. Time spent on tagging isnt a problem for most sole proprietors, but can be costly to your employer who is left with little equitable return to show for your time spent.

Utilizing Web2.0 sites such as Wikipedia, del.icio.us and MySpace, will prove effective for your business if done properly. Remember to tread lightly, dont use spammy techniques and stay neutral keeping the benefit of the community at heart in your content development. Doing so will help your business to avoid a negative backlash toward your brand from the community you are developing content for.

Warren Pattison is the Director of Search for Elixir Systems, a full service search engine marketing company specializing in organic search engine optimization services, online public relations management and paid search or PPC management. For more information visit http://www.elixirsystems.com this article can also be viewed at http://www.elixirsystems.com/articles/a060322.php

// posted by wgvx @ 10:48 PM 0 comments

There are many uses for sheds and garages. The biggest advantage to these buildings is being able to increase the real estate value of the property. Other advantages include increased storage space within the home, versatility of the buildings and protecting valued items. With the affordability and ease of setting up sheds and garages, they are something that virtually every home can have today.

Traditionally, one thinks of sheds and garages for only storage. You take the items from your home or yard and put them in the garage or a shed. This is no longer true today. Sheds and garages are being used for many things such as:
Play Houses
Farm Buildings
Family Recreational Rooms
Cottages
Small Business Setups
Apartments

And more! You are no longer restricted to simply using these buildings strictly for storage. Sheds and garages are available in many different types of materials such as wood, durable plastics, light-weight aluminum, galvanized steel, tin and other materials. There are many, many different roofing materials available. The various materials enable sheds and garages to be so versatile and easy to use.

Size ranges increase the versatility of sheds and garages. Did you know that some shed buildings are large enough for storing farm equipment or even using as a hanger space? If you have limited space there are small sheds such as barn sheds, playhouse or potting sheds available. If you are on a moderate to large property area then you might want to consider sheds and garages that can be converted to other things such as the family home spas or cottages.

Sheds and garages are available in customizable kits. This gives great flexibility in creating the perfect building to meet all your needs and your property layout. You are not restricted to purchasing only pre-manufactured structures if your situation calls for something a little different. You can put these together or hire a team of experts to assemble for you. Accessories for sheds and garages are numerous. You can order window boxes, special windows, ramps, shelving, benches, scallops and much more. Each manufacturer offers a wide selection of available accessories for their sheds and garages.

Online is a terrific place to find quality sheds and garages for sell. You can even find a distributor in your area that will deliver locally. Measure the area that you want to place the sheds and garages and then select styles, colors and accessories. They are wonderful additions for homes.

BuyaShed specialize in sheds garages, carports, farm sheds, garden sheds and much more and we deliver FREE to 100 local depots Australia wide.

// posted by wgvx @ 4:11 PM 0 comments

Until recently debt was considered something shameful and to be avoided at all costs. Given the growing levels of consumer debt the return of such an attitude would be a welcome thing. With one exception - mortgage debt.

Without mortgages few of us would ever be able to own the roof above our ahead. But beyond that obvious truth mortgage debt, being secured on a tangible asset, is usually much cheaper than other forms of personal debt such as loans, overdrafts and of course the dreaded credit card.

But the most powerful, and often overlooked, advantage of mortgages is the gearing effect that magnifies the benefits of rising real estate prices. Suppose you buy a house for $100,000, and in a year its price rises to $110,000. A 10% gain in a year isnt at all bad, and quite realistic with real estate. But suppose you only put $10,000 down and borrowed $90,000 from the bank. However much your asset increases you only pay back the original debt (plus interest). So in this case your original $10,000 would have DOUBLED to $20,000 after re-paying the initial loan.

We often scrimp and scrape to pay off our mortgage as soon as possible, but before doing so we should see if our money could be earning better returns elsewhere. For example, if you can get 8% on an investment, theres no point cashing it in to save the 5% youre paying on your mortgage.

Mortgage lending is competitive business and thats good news for borrowers. Dont sign up for the first deal you come across. Shop around, comparing rates and terms. One of the biggest decisions is between fixed and variable rates. This is a hard call as no one can predict whats going to happen even a few months ahead - not governments, not the best qualified economists - so dont believe anyone that says they can. Be guided by your own instinct, but be prepared to make a change if a better deal becomes available.

Be sure to read the small print. Often mortgages with the most attractive rates come with expensive up-front charges, exit charges, or both. Or there may be penalties for early repayment. These dont necessarily invalidate the benefits offered by the lower rates, but make sure you build them into your assessment. If the up-front charge is a fixed amount then its usually more beneficial the more you borrow - ie the savings will be more on bigger repayments.

Johnny Finnis is editor of personalmoneymanagement101.com, a simple and unbiased introduction to finance and investment for ordinary people to make the most of their money. Have your say on our blog

// posted by wgvx @ 6:09 PM 0 comments

In a recent debate with Nadine Strossen, Associate Justice Scalia once again outlined his reasons for supporting an interpretation of the Constitution's text based on meanings given to words in the document at the time of its framing, and used affirmative action as an example of how not to interpret the Constitution's text. In a surprise move, he appeared to threaten that some future conservative majority on the Court might use the liberal approach of "inventing rights" to interpret provisions of the document in ways we will come to regret, warning "[s]omeday, you're going to get a very conservative Supreme Court and regret that approach." (News Flash: Americans Already Regret Conservative Court Majority's Interpretation of Key Provisions of Constitution. Film at Eleven.)

Over his twenty years on the Court, Justice Scalia has made a set of inter-related arguments on Constitutional interpretation that at first blush appear consistent. At the outset, he argues that the meaning of the words of the Constitution must be derived from those originally assigned. Second, where the Constitution is silent, judges may not interpret other provisions broadly to achieve some desired end. As a side note, it appears that Justice Scalia assigns meaning to the word "broadly" in such a way that he will uphold broad interpretation where he believes the framers wanted breadth, and narrowness where he believes they favored a non-uniform policy best suited our national interests (unless of course you are talking about a state's power to establish and interpret its own constitution and election laws. Then, of course, by all means, stop the recount and elect George Bush!). Whether this was in fact the framer's understanding of the word broadly is not really a point the Justice feels the need to labor upon.

Finally, based on the previous two assumptions, Justice Scalia arrives at one stated and another implied conclusion - if we want the Constitution to achieve some end we find desirable, we have better accomplish that end politically (but only if that political outcome does not interfere with some other portion of the Constitution), or change the meaning of the Constitution through an amendment process. Implied here is that Justice Scalia will presumably interpret the words of these future amendments in a way that is faithful to the intent of their framers. I say presumably because, as we will see, Justice Scalia is not above reinventing the historical record to ratify his own particular view of what the Constitution says where intent doesn't provide him much in the way of currency.

Affirmative Action provides us the clearest example - "The Constitution very clearly forbids discrimination on the basis of race," the justice noted during the recent debate. "It doesn't seem to me to allow [the University of] Michigan to say we think it's good to discriminate on the basis of race when you want to make sure everyone is exposed to different backgrounds. We cannot use race as the test of diversity."

This interpretation (often called the "Color-blind Constitution") flows not from the record of the intentions of those who framed the Civil War Amendments (in particular Amendment 14), but from a quotation stripped from Justice Harlan's dissenting opinion in Plessy v. Ferguson. The quotation itself provides an example of just how tricky discerning original intent is, and how one really needs to go to the source and consider context - Justice Harlans remarks are directed at the particular state policy at issue in the case, one that he understood placed a badge of inferiority upon the African race in America. Apart from this quotation directed at a policy disadvantaging a population, no one opposed to the system of racial segregation emerging in the aftermath of Plessy would later argue that the words of the 14th Amendment denied Congress the power to interfere for the benefit of a class of persons systematically disadvantaged in the United States for several hundred years. Could it be that the Justice and people like him are exploiting Harlans dissent, purposefully misinterpreting it in an effort to make their preference for Constitutional meaning appear legitimate?

Certainly neither the primary author of the 14th Amendment (John Bingham of Ohio), nor its Senate sponsor, nor any of those who voted in Congress to submit that Amendment to the state legislatures for ratification, would understand that their words meant that the Constitution would henceforth view state action to systematically help a disenfranchised population in the same light as a policy to systematically harm them.

And certainly, none of these individuals would consider the possibility that the 14th Amendment by its nature committed the sin of saying to the weakest among us Go, I wish you well; keep warm and be fed, (James 2:15) but bound our hands to do nothing tangible for their benefit. As Kenneth Karst has noted, under any reasonable construction of the 14th Amendment, formal equality under law is not sufficient to establish fundamental fairness of the kind envisioned by the framers of that amendment. As William D. Blake has noted [I]nstead, government must proactively ensure that all citizens have the tools needed to pursue their conception of the good life. In point of fact, those who debated the Amendment in Congress considered affirmative action policies (although the term was not used until the early years of the 20th century) as a legitimate use of Congress power under the amendment. See Raoul Berger, The Fourteenth Amendment and the Bill of Rights, University of Okalahoma Press (1990).

Regardless of Justice Scalias historical revisionism, he surely must comprehend the argument adopted by the framers as part of the earliest interpretation of our Constitution governments job is to provide the resources necessary for its citizens to compete and thrive within the context of our economic system. This argument was the basis for the granting of charters to build roads, highways and navigable waterways, and above all to justify giving away free land to those who were not previously property owners (talk about an affirmative action policy!). In light of two hundred years of governmental policies aimed at increasing competition, our longstanding commitment to fundamental fairness is sufficiently compelling enough to justify policies that level the playing field in terms of those resources required to compete in the modern world, education being chief among them.

Furthermore, Justice Scalias adherence to textualism and original intent puts him on a logical trajectory to argue that other legislative acts benefiting specific classes of persons are contrary to an original understanding of the role of government in social, political and economic life. If he is indeed faithful to original meaning in all its dimensions (which I suspect that he is not), then a Court populated by Scalia clones would engage in the radical task of turning back the clock on any governmental action that had not been explicitly authorized through an amendment process including minimum wage laws, maximum work hours laws, social security, and the entire federal bureaucratic regulatory scheme a scheme understood to be a gross abuse of governmental power under an interpretation of the Constitution faithful to the intent of the framers. Justice Scalia has selected his ideological poison. Now, hes trying to use it as a kind of Constitutional chemotherapy to destroy those social and cultural developments that he finds objectionable, while accepting the ones he doesnt without any truly honest consideration for framers intent. As Blake noted "Scalia often says "[The Constitution] never says [x,y,z]." If that is true, then where are the specific set of instructions in the Constitution to inform judges that they are to adhere to an original interpretation? Even more fundamentally, why isn't judicial review clearly articulated in the Constitution. Ascribing clear original intent to broadly worded legal principles is a task that even the best historians can not accomplish on every question facing the Court today."

Most likely, a final objection he might raise concerns when affirmative action policies will cease to be necessary. Justice OConnors belief that affirmative action has a 20-year shelf life notwithstanding, I would answer that question with reference to Justice Scalias own remarks about the nature of his job thats none of his business because it is a political question. When Congress and the states decide that affirmative action policies are no longer necessary to ensure that racial animus creates no social, cultural, political or economic disadvantage, or if we ratify an amendment to the Constitution that specifically bans their use, affirmative action policies are constitutional, and may be properly put into effect regardless of Justice Scalias concerns about their wisdom.

// posted by wgvx @ 5:22 PM 0 comments

As consumer debt continues to spiral out of control, debt relief is fast becoming a major concern for many Americans. In 1999, Americans made $1.1 Trillion worth of credit card purchases. In 2001, American credit card debt hovered around $690 billion. Unfortunately, in todays unstable economic conditions, many Americans are being forced to turn to credit cards as a way to extend their income. Consumer debt is at an all-time high and Americans need to know what they can do to get out of debt. Often, consumers are seeking the services of professional debt settlement companies to help regain control of their finances. However, prior to making such an important decision, it is important to fully understand who you are doing business with.

The most important thing you can do when making the decision get help with your debt related problems is to be an informed consumer. It is absolutely critical to do your research. Do not rush into things; this can cause more harm that good. Prior to signing on with any Debt Settlement company, make sure you ask the following questions and consider their responses:

* How much does the service cost? When choosing a solution for debt relief, it's important to make sure the program is something that's affordable and realistic within your monthly budget. If you can't afford the program and join anyway, you're are just causing more long-term financial problems for yourself; however, if you are able to meet the monthly financial requirements of the program, Debt Settlement is a great form of debt relief for unwanted credit card debt. Most people don't realize that Debt Settlement is the quickest and least expensive form of debt relief outside of bankruptcy.

* Does the Debt Settlement Company you are considering report to any of the three major credit bureaus about your enrollment in their program? Traditionally, debt settlement companies do not report to credit bureaus; however, I have heard of a few that do. Creditors will normally elect to report derogatory information on your credit report, but the debt settlement company you do business with should not.

* Does the company offer any type of service guarantee? If so, what is the guarantee? If a company can not get settlement on your debt, you should never have to pay a fee, or the fee should be fully refunded. Additionally, steer clear of any debt settlement company that promises a quick fix to your debt related problems or tells you that debt settlement will not have a negative effect on your credit. Upon enrolling in a debt settlement program, your credit score will probably get worse before it gets better. This is a minor price to pay for being given a substantial debt settlement and not having to file for bankruptcy! However, it is important to realize that if you want to maintain a "good credit rating", you have to pay you bills on time; anything else will cause your credit score will suffer.

* Does the debt settlement company you are considering have IAPDA certified debt arbitrators? IAPDA certified debt arbitrators possess a solid understanding of the laws governing the Debt Settlement industry and fully understand your current financial situation.

* Does the debt settlement company you are considering offer any type of bankruptcy assistance should debt settlement not work out for you? For example, some debt settlement companies will offer a refund of some of the program costs to help pay for a bankruptcy attorney of your choice. Of course, the funds would have to be paid to a licensed attorney and not directly back to you. Again, a company that does this will most likely have your best interest in mind.

* Does the debt settlement company you are considering belong to the local Chamber of Commerce? If so, is the Chamber an accredited member of the Chamber of Commerce of the Unites States? This type of affiliation will help ensure that the company is conducting business in a proper manner.

* Is the debt settlement company you are considering a member of the Better Business Bureau? If they do not advertise this, you can always inquire with the BBB first. The BBB is a great way to determine if the company has a list of prior complaints. Any company with more than a few complaints per year is a company that you do not want to do business with.

Alan Barnes IAPDA Certified Debt Arbitrator
President and CEO of Debt Regret
http://www.debtregret.com

// posted by wgvx @ 5:00 PM 0 comments

You can sing a simple song for fun or you can have a singing career for profit. Either way you usually have to be able to sing in tune over a useful range and that is the only basic requirement.

Easy Singing Is Best

I sing for fun with a mediocre voice. Which do you think an audience would prefer - me singing a simple Elvis song or the three tenors singing a difficult song by Benjamin Britten? Youre right. They would prefer my inferior performance because it was a familiar song that they could sing along to.

Even if I sang Desefinado as if I was tone deaf (just like the record) they would prefer it to the difficult song. I discovered that preference many years ago when I was playing complicated organ voluntaries while waiting for the congregation to come in. One day I forgot my books of voluntaries, so I just played well-known hymns, and was surrounded by people afterwards wanting to tell me how much they had enjoyed my playing.

Well, I dont have to be hit over the head with a pile-driver to drive home a hint, so I started playing hymns from then on.

How To Become Filthy Rich From Singing

Sorry, I cant help you very much. It is all a matter of salesmanship and offering the audience what they want. With a population of 5 billion, do you really think that Elvis was the only one in the world who could do what he did? Hundreds of impersonators acting like he did prove that he wasnt. Salesmanship is the difference, not what you are offering.

Oh, you have to be able to offer what the public wants, but singing lessons for beginners should put you on the right track for that. I even know someone who makes an income from singing karaoke. That calls for salesmanship - I would put my fingers in my ears and rush out of the room, because the singing machine karaoke system is usually played loudly enough to cause permanent hearing nerve damage.

Let's Relax And Have Fun

Forget about salesmanship. If your mum was always telling you not to show off, singing before an audience is just made for you. You can sing barbershop which allows you to leap about the stage instead of standing there like a stuffed dummy, or you can even sing opera, which is really acting with singing. It doesnt even need tuneful singing, only power, because most opera singers go flat on the top notes.

You need just as much talent to sing for fun, but you can impress your audience with your choice of songs to sing.

Health Benefits

Children singing has been used to help them to bring asthma under control, and the breath control that you learn for singing helps adults to master breathing diseases too. Barbershop singing makes your memory more active by forcing you to remember the songs. People often die shortly after retiring because they have lost their main interest in life, and have nothing to do.

Singing is a good start, especially if you practice for at least an hour a day and go to rehearsal often. You can let singing take up as much of your life as you have time for once you have learned to sing a simple song.

Learn more about asthma and singing or read more interesting articles about singing - from lessons to karaoke to male voice choirs at easysingingvoice.com

// posted by wgvx @ 4:11 PM 0 comments

Your skin is a living organ. It breaths, drinks and carries topically applied substances through to the rest of your body. Caring for your skin is like eating. We have become very concerned about what we eat in recent years - this is very good. But, an idea that is only beginning to bloom is that you eat through your skin too. What do you want your body to eat? This question needs to be considered when choosing your skincare and bath products.

Currently, the personal care industry has no regulation. This is very unnerving, especially when the FDA Office of Cosmetics and Colors states that a cosmetic manufacturer may use almost any raw material as a cosmetic ingredient and market the product without an approval from the FDA

Manufacturers are allowed to twist their claims, by exaggerating or even outright lying. With this slack industry, it becomes nearly impossible for the consumer to know for sure what they are getting. Labels like organic, cruelty-free and hypo-allergenic can have little to no meaning. Manufacturers can even hide behind an organic label without disclosing all of their chemical ingredients.

The Environmental Protection Agency states that 89% of 10,500 ingredients commonly used in personal care have not been adequately evaluated for safety. Among these ingredients are carcinogens, penetration enhancers, allergens and harmful impurities that can cause cancer, inhibit fetal growth, cause nerve damage, disrupt hormones and cause other severe reactions.

So whats a pampering bath loving soul to do? Educate yourself, read labels, shop from companies who have signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics (thats us, close to the bottom of the list), and keep your eyes out for our next personal care article.

Ivy Mills has been researching chemical sensitivity and natural alternatives for over five years and has brought her knowledge to the marketplace in her company, Valhalla Essences. Her personal experiences have fed a passion to help others with the same problem. Ivy welcomes others to share their stories and experiences on her blog, Peaceful Power.

// posted by wgvx @ 7:21 PM 0 comments

Do you think youre getting the best in credit card processing services? You might be paying hidden charges or paying for services you dont really need. If youre less than satisfied with your merchant account service provider, it may be time to look for the next step in ecommerce solutions and switch to a merchant account provider more attuned to your needs. Some of the following guidelines will probably help you in finding the right solution to your credit card services needs.

1.Low Price. The no-brainer. Especially if youre just starting out, you want to settle on a merchant account provider that offers the most for your monthly fees. You also want one that offers the most services bundled into their regular package of services. Fees such as account verification fees, chargeback fees, and other small miscellaneous fees are imperceptible at once but over time can gradually erode your monthly bottom line. So check prices but make sure to check out what services are included in the price.

2.Customer service and satisfaction. Lets face it: the Internet is a wild frontier, and a lot of so-called credit card service providers promise more than theyre able (or willing) to deliver. One signpost when separating the bona fide merchant account providers from the wildcat operations is to examine their customer service capability. Are they able to provide 24/7 technical assistance and support? Is that support free of charge, or is there a charge involved? It might seem obvious, but many business owners take such services for granted and experience severe consumer remorse in discovering theyre not available.

3.Wireless Capability. You should also examine their wireless capabilities, to determine if theyre ready to provide you with the wireless credit card processing service you need when you travel or when youre away from your normal storefront. The better online processors will offers secure virtual terminal and Point of Sale capabilities that allow your transactions to process faster and with a greater degree of reliability.

4.Protection and Shopping Options: Many credit card processing services now also offer advanced tools and software to energize your online business. These services and packages range from custom-built shopping cart software to greater customer versatility when browsing your website. There are also several other protection services available to you and your customers alike. These include fraud protection, secure encrypted messaging, identity theft protection, and risk management services, among many more.

Finally, the greatest asset you have when shopping for a new credit card processing service is your right and ability to ask questions and seek testimonials from customers and software developers alike. Dont hesitate to make inquiries or to see proof of the servicing companys credentials.

CardAccept.com offers unbeatable credit card processing solutions, including free technical support, an integrated shopping cart system, free application, and scalable customized solutions to meet all your ecommerce needs. To learn more about their merchant account services, and for answers to many basic credit card processing questions and concerns, visit them online at http://www.cardaccept.com

// posted by wgvx @ 7:19 PM 0 comments

Horses are herd animals and those instincts often fall into place in other places such as an arena or trail ride. These are also the times when you generally need the horse to be more independent and do what you ask. These herd instincts often lead to fights either on the rail or on the trail, but in order to find the root of the problem, it is important to look at things from the horses point of view.

The horse has a reason for everything he does. It is up to the rider to find what those reasons are. If the horse is scared, then you will want to help him to relax and calm down before you head off in a different direction. If he just wants to go somewhere else because he feels like it, then you will want to treat him differently and tell him where you want to go. This might end up in a small fight, but he may just be acting stubborn. The rider should be able to feel the situation and feel what they should do next. If the horse is truly scared, then you may want to begin with baby steps.

The baby step horse is the one we will discuss. You will want to ride your horse with a friend, assuming that their horse does not have this problem, and you will want to gradually begin suggesting to the horse that you want to veer away for a little bit. All you are doing is suggesting, maybe applying a little rein direction or leg. He may not respond immediately but any pressure you apply for a different direction will make him think about moving that way. As soon as he gives the slightest effort, remove the pressure and relax. He will probably continue staying near the other horse, so you will want to suggest your way again. The key is to get him to understand that there is only pressure when he is with the other horse. As soon as he realizes he wont be pressured if he goes your way, he will decide to go your way.

The hardest part of this training is that you must have a feel for your horse. Many people have problems developing and finding this feel and getting the proper timing on relieving pressure. The horse will provide you with little signs he is thinking of going your way, these signs might be as simple as his ears moving in that direction or taking a slight step in that direction. For example, if you are riding along with a friend and you decide that you want to veer off to the right and away from that horse, you will apply rein pressure and the horse will give you a sign that he is thinking of that direction by turning his head slightly to the right. When you see this sign and that is the way you want to go, relieve the pressure immediately. The sooner you are able to relieve the pressure, the more willing the horse will be to move in your direction.

This process is especially useful in young horses and colts that have just been started. They are more in tune with the rider and the rider will need a greater amount of feel. Many older horses have often begun to ignore many cues from the rider, as many times you mistakenly cue your horse when riding and they learn to basically tune you out. Young colts are not like that and they are very sensitive to everything you tell them. You may not necessarily want to focus on setting this as a goal, but you may choose to practice it with your horse over a short amount of time. The horse will soon begin to understand and will gradually become more willing to go where you want to go rather than staying with his buddies.

Some horses will take more effort than others and they may need a little more convincing. Many times you may also need to pay really close attention to what you are doing, and your horse will be more willing to respond. The key is finding a feel for your horse so that you will be able to see or feel what he is about to do. Many horses may give you very subtle cues such as twitching an ear in that direction, while others will turn their whole head. Colts can be even subtler and you may have to rely on your feel of the horse in order to feel which direction he is going to go. These methods will work whether you ride English or Western and can be easy training procedures that can be used on the trail. Anytime you have an opportunity to test your horse and teach him something new, you should take advantage of it.

Ron Petracek is the current article director for a rapidly growing equine social network community. He was raised in Southern Idaho with a beautiful jet black morgan as his adventure companion, and the Snake River within a easy ride. Horses and the outdoors are a solid part of his life. For more great information and FREE equine classfieds! Everything from horses to trailers & tack please visit. http://www.theequineyard.com

If you would like to help other learn more about horses than visit our beautiful and friendly equine forum http://www.horsechitchat.com

// posted by wgvx @ 6:53 PM 0 comments

I still remember the first time I walked into a Chamber of Commerce networking event. At least a hundred people circulated around the room, chatting and eating their lunches. Many obviously knew each other well. I, on the other hand, felt distinctly like an outsider. I spent most of that lunch trying hard not to be noticed. I know -- completely backward, right? I didn't yet know about the networking rule that I should "act like a host and not a guest." In other words, by making it my goal to make other people feel welcomed and comfortable, I automatically include myself as a part of the "in crowd."

Ironically, what works so well in the microcosm of a single Chamber luncheon, also applies to networking efforts in general.

If you wanted, you could spend every moment of every day networking. Unfortunately, this doesn't leave much time for the actual pursuit of business. To make our efforts both more effective and efficient, we have a variety of organizations and associations we can join. Again, so as not to spend all of our time networking, it's usually best to pick at most two or three groups in which to participate. I use the word "participate" intentionally. Just belonging isn't enough. If we want the group to work for us, we need to find some way to contribute to the group.

How do you go about doing that? Get active! Every single organization in which you could participate has some smaller subgroup which acts as the "host of the party." Whether it's the policy committee, the golf outing planning group, or the new member welcome wagon, they all act to serve the membership of the organization. By being a part of one of these subgroups, the general membership sees you as someone who values the organization and, by extension, the individual members themselves. You suddenly become someone they want to know.

Of course, you shouldn't take part in such a group if it means devoting so much time that your business will suffer. Often, though, the commitment ends up being no more than three or four hours per month. Some of that might even be time that you would have spent on the organization anyway. For example, if you attend the same monthly meeting on a regular basis, getting on the planning committee for that event will probably only mean investing an hour or two more. It also has the advantage of bringing you to the attention of the permanent staff of the organization. Remember they know pretty much everyone. They are the ones who can really make your networking efforts pay off.

The other neat thing? Most of the other people in these groups also "get it". They tend to be serious business people and know the value of good networking. They, like you, know the importance of joining a group because you expect you have something to contribute. By joining their committee, commission, or board, you've not only singled yourself out as a serious networker, but you've also made it easy for them to meet with you on a regular basis.

All business people share one thing in common. Time is the one precious non-renewable resource at our disposal. We need to make any expenditure of that time as efficient and effective as possible. So, "act like a host, not a guest" in all of your networking, whether it's a mixer or your membership in a organization. You'll be surprised at how much more you get out of both.

Copyright 2007, All Rights Reserved

Greg Peters is the owner and superhero-in-residence of Cyber Data Solutions. CDS has been helping website designers develop better web presence for their clients for more than a decade. We specialize in tools which help folks keep their websites up to date, fresh, and interesting. Visit us on the Web at www.cyberdatasolns.com to see how we can help your webmaster.

// posted by wgvx @ 6:09 PM 0 comments

When you create, whats the intention behind it? Do you know how much of a difference creating with intention can make to your creative life and creative projects?

When you have clear intentions, youre able to focus more clearly and move more easily towards them.

Your internal forces seem to unite in a common direction and with a common purpose and you move forward more swiftly and smoothly.

Something I learned when attending acting classes was to act in the class with intention. The tutor asked: Why do you come to this acting class? Whats your intention, what do you hope to get from it?.

He explained that when his students had this intention in the back of their minds, they get more from the class, because they pick out the parts that serve their intention best. They make the most of the exercises that are relevant and move on from those that dont.

When you're clear about your intentions, you also become more attuned to the opportunities that arise for you.

You know which will take you in the direction you want to go. If you know that youre working towards specific aims even though the art youre creating may still be diverse and spontaneous you become more open to the pathways that will lead you where you want to go.

Intentions can sometimes be very specific.

For example "I want to write 3 chapters of my novel within the next month."

Others are more of a directional intention than an destination intention.

For example in my acting class, my intention was to become more confident and expressive in using my voice.

There was not necessarily a definitive point or state I was expecting to reach, but having that intention somewhere in my mind allowed me to constantly be aware of this in the course of the classes and make the exercises more relevant and useful to me.

What in your creative life do you have clear intentions for?

What do you have a strong picture of in your head, about how you'd things to be?

What other things in your creative life are you unclear about? Areas where you have no clear intentions and maybe you feel you're simply drifting rather than working steadily towards a goal or in a particular direction?

What differences do you notice between the areas where you have a strong intention and those you don't?

What steps can you take today to become more clear in your intentions in all areas of your creative life? Pick one to start with, then build from there.

I invite you to take the next step to help you increase your creativity today.

Get your free copy of the powerful and practical "Explode Your Creativity!" Action Workbook when you sign up to my FREE Create Create! ezine at www.CoachCreative.com

From Creativity Coach Dan Goodwin

// posted by wgvx @ 2:13 PM 0 comments

Interior design students will use interior design software that the professionals use in their everyday designing work. A popular program is SmartDraw. With the program you get thousands of ready-made graphics for fixtures for the kitchen, bathroom and for furniture. Other graphics include lighting fixtures, cabinets, landscape elements and office furniture.

The interior design software also includes textures for tiled floors, custom cabinetry and granite countertops. Smartdraw is easy to use software that will help you create fantastic design plans in minutes. It is quite fast and easy.

You will be able to design anything with SmartDraw interior design software such as house and garage plans, offices, kitchen and bathroom plans and even closet plans. The software is a real time saver for the interior design student and professional. This software is downloadable and ready to use right away.

SmartDraw interior design software offers free tech support and examples from professional interior design plans.

Another interior design software is Microspot Interiors. This software is designed for the Mac and allows the user to visualize their plans in 3D. This software is simple to use for both professionals and do it yourself home designers.

Microspot Interiors is a interior design software that is very popular among Mac users because of its simplicity and the price tag which is just a fraction of the cost of most professional design software. The power of this software allows the user to come up with unlimited design possibilities. The advanced drawing tools of the software do most of the work. You can design the shape of the room and add virtually anything you want. You can also design the rooms in any particular size you want. Lighting tools are used to add sunlight to a room as well.

Microspot Interiors includes hundreds of furniture items and accessories, many of which were requested by users in the Microspot users forum.

Interior design software is used extensively in the interior design profession. It allows the designer to virtually look at what their design plan will look like before implementing it.

Many interior design schools will offer online learning as part of their curriculum. The online method is designed so that the student can set their own pace and style of learning according to what really works best for them.

Interior design software is very helpful and useful but it requires a computer with a monitor that has the capacity for a high resolution that works with complex graphics. You will also need a lot of space on your hard drive to save files and to run the program. It would be a good idea to save your files to a re-writeable CD or DVD as well for backup.

There are many interior design software programs available on the market. If you can get a trial copy then that will give you a chance to test the product before buying.

Good luck with your search for interior design software.

Are you looking for Interior Design Software? Use our site as a valuable reference point for Interior Design Software and Interior Design Career Info
by T.D. Houser

// posted by wgvx @ 1:31 PM 0 comments

Many QuickBooks users are unaware that QuickBooks allows you to reconcile many types of accounts, including credit card accounts. It's important to reconcile the credit card account each month, as soon as you receive the statement. Here's why:

• Finding Errors. Credit card companies don't often make errors, but if they do, you only have a certain amount of time to alert the company if there are any.
• Verifying Entries. Reconciling the credit card statement is one way to ensure your entries are being recorded properly in QuickBooks.
• Takes Less Time. The longer you wait, the more transactions you will have to examine, making the reconciliation process take longer than necessary.

Before beginning, look over the credit card statement and make sure all items that appear on it also appear in QuickBooks. Often, there will be one or more items on the statement that are not in QuickBooks. Enter those before beginning the reconciliation process. Then:

1. Open QuickBooks. From the top menu, select Banking, then select Reconcile. The Begin Reconciliation window opens.

2. From the Account drop-down box, select the credit card account you wish to reconcile.

3. Enter the Statement Date as shown on the credit card statement.

4. Verify that the Beginning Balance in QuickBooks is the same as the beginning balance on the credit card statement. If these amounts are not the same, you may have changed or deleted a previously reconciled transaction. See #b below.

5. Enter the Ending Balance as shown on the credit card statement.

6. Enter any Finance Charges as shown on the statement. From the Account drop-down box, select a Finance Charges account.

7. Click Continue. The Reconcile window opens.

8. Place a checkmark next to each entry that appears on the both the credit card statement and in the Reconcile window. Notice that there are two columns-one for Charges and Cash Advances, another for Payments and Credits. Under normal circumstances both of these columns will have checkmarks in them when you are finished. The Payments and Credits column will almost always have fewer entries than the Charges and Cash Advances column.

9. While doing this, verify that the amounts recorded in QuickBooks match the credit card statement exactly. If an amount in QuickBooks is incorrect, double click the entry to open and change it.

10. If all entries were made correctly, when you are finished checking off everything, the Difference (located in the bottom right corner) will be zero. If it is zero, click Reconcile Now.

11. QuickBooks will ask if you want to write a check to make a payment now, or enter a bill to make a payment later. Either way, you may elect to pay whatever amount you wish--the entire balance, a portion of the balance, or the minimum payment. If you don't want to do any of those at this time, click Cancel.

12. IMPORTANT: print a Detailed report and staple it to the back of the credit card statement. If you are running QuickBooks Pro, the printed Detailed report will be your only record should you ever need to go back and see a previous reconciliation.

If the Difference is not zero, errors were made. Verify the following:

• Checkmarks may be placed next to items that do not appear on the credit card statement statement, or some items may not have been checked that should have been.
• Carefully verify that all amounts in QuickBooks match the credit card statement amounts exactly, and that all entries on the statement are also in QuickBooks.
• Its possible, although unlikely, that the credit card company made a mistake by recording an item incorrectly. If this is the case, in order to continue you will need to enter the transaction into QuickBooks as it appears on the statement. Don't forget to contact the credit card company to resolve the issue. The next statement should show the correction - be sure to enter it into QuickBooks at that time.
• Always try to make the Difference amount zero before clicking Reconcile Now. If you absolutely cannot make the difference amount zero, see #c below.

Situations Requiring Outside Help:

a. Pro versions of QuickBooks allow access only the last months reconciliation. Premier versions allow access to all previous reconciliations. If you need a previous reconciliation report and are running QuickBooks Pro, ask your accountant if he/she is running Premier. If so, have your accountant upload your file to his/her computer, then generate the necessary reports.

b. Never delete or change a transaction after it has been reconciled. If you do, it alters the subsequent reconciliation, making it much more difficult. If the beginning balance in QuickBooks was not the same as on the statement, or if the Difference is not zero because a previously reconciled transaction was deleted, contact your bookkeeper or accountant to help resolve the issue.

c. If the difference amount is not zero when you click Reconcile Now, in order to finish the reconciliation QuickBooks must make an adjusting entry in both the credit card account, and the account called Opening Bal Equity (OBE). This will need to be cleared out of OBE, because OBE should always have a zero balance. Contact your bookkeeper or accountant if you ever have a balance in OBE.

About the Author: Jennifer A. Thieme is a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor who loves to help people with QuickBooks. She brings unique insight, clear instructions, and over ten years of experience to all of her QuickBooks articles. Owner of Solid Rock Accounting Services, Jennifer's clients enjoy these same benefits on a personal and regular basis. You can too - visit http://www.jenniferthieme.com and contact Jennifer today.

// posted by wgvx @ 8:27 PM 0 comments