Chill

Sometimes when I am travelling to work on the old buses I choose not to listen to the news or current affairs and instead opt for something more soothing. I found this superb digital station ‘Chill’ that provides an ad-free non-stop wall of lovely ambient music. Here there is no aggro, no annoying DJ in your face/ears; just wonderful sounds and cool melodies. It’s simply great!

Birdy Num-Num

Last night we enjoyed that wonderful pheasant that we had been given by a friend. My better half turned it into a truly sumptuous casserole that went down very well together with a bottle of Duchy Original Ale. Prince Charles knows how to make a nice bottle of beer, so much is certain! It was another great meal and I enjoyed the ex-bird tremendously. Nice one!

Voip systems

Xpander Communications offer a brand new way of dealing with Call Center VoIP Phone Systems . Until recently the usual call centre phone systems required an enormous upfront capital investment, and also an extremely long period of time to wait for the installation to be carried out perfectly, as well as an inordinate level of site maintenance.

Nimbus VoIP Call Center edition does in fact deliver the lowest upfront cost imaginable, which means a great saving. Nimbus VoIP Call Center edition can be up and running within a week, as opposed to waiting months for voice T1 and PRI lines to be provided.

I just marvel at the technological advances in telecommunications and Voip telephone developments. It sure is a brave new world out there where anything seems possible.

Film

Tonight, after work, we are going to see the new Coen brothers’ film ‘No country ofr old men’. I am really looking forward to it. I hear it has received quite a few award nominations already. I have been a fan of the films of the Coen brothers ever since ‘Raising Arizona’ and this pair of directors have given me lots of hours of cinematic pleasure. I just love their style and I hope tonight’s film will prove a return to their best form.

Storm warning

It is blowing up a storm outside and, as always, apparently Scotland is bearing the brunt of it. When I was on the bus just now coming in to work I noticed a few stray snowflakes swirling around. They say that tomorrow we will have some proper winter weather on our hands. I am glad our heating system works a treat although we haven’t had to use it that much yet this winter.

Miami Heat tickets

Premium Seats USA have the largest inventory of Miami Heat Tickets available anywhere on the internet. If you find yourself in a position where you can't find tickets to the Miami Heat because the game has been sold out, or you just don't want to settle for anything less than the very best seats, then you should consider buying your Miami Heat tickets from Premium Seats USA.

I love going to a big sports events and getting a good seat from where to enjoy all the action on the field. There is just something special about being in a giant stadium and hearing the roar of the crowd and experiencing the passionate enthusiasm of the crowd and the atmosphere of the sports extravaganza. You simply can’t beat it!

Lap-band solution

Have you heard of a the Woodlands lap-band ? This lap-band is a silicone band that is placed around the stomach and then creates a small upper stomach pouch that will prevent a patient from eating too excessively. This band is merely a restrictive device and it can be easily adjusted or removed if this proves to be necessary. It could well be the answer to some people’s weight problems.

Pheasant casserole or 'bird for the pot'

A friend of ours who lives on a farm was so kind as to give us a fresh pheasant. This bird, I'm afraid, is for the pot and will make a nice meal tonight. The last time I had fresh game bird a piece of shot was left in the bird and wreaked havoc with my poor teeth. I hope I will be luckier tonight!

ToonUps

Did you ever have to sit through one of those gruelling work presentations that only stick in the mind afterwards because of the incredible level of boredom it generated? I think anyone who has experience with presentations at work will know what I mean. Some speakers excel in going on, and on, and on with no break or graphic or audiovisual aid whatsoever.

Most people have a limited attention span at best and especially when you are forced to sit passively in an audience and listen to someone delivering a presentation of some description it would help if there were a few attention-grabbing techniques employed.

Marastar Communications can change all this with their range of call center cartoons and highly engaging animated cartoon videos. These Toonups make clever use of humour in order to make your training and communications much more effective and utterly memorable.

It helps so much when an audience has something else besides the speaker’s voice to concentrate on. These cartoons can help a speaker make a point or to clarify a concept that may be difficult to grasp when relayed just by making use of the verbal powers or otherwise of the speaker in question.

It can be said that speaking in public is, in general, an art that is not that easy to master. I am convinced of the fact that the nerves involved with public speaking can be overcome by practice and through training. There are ways to deal with the daunting prospect of having to deliver an effective presentation. There are, of course, many resources at hand to make a presentation more engaging and more enjoyable to attend on the part of the listening audience. And, obviously, it is important in a work setting that presentations are conveyed in a manner that will yield some sort of result. Otherwise what would be the point of investing in this form of communication?

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McMasters

Today it was on the news how major firms such as McDonalds will soon be able to offer courses which will be equivalent to A-level qualifications. It was argued that a management training scheme at an employer like the hamburger 'restaurant' would give staff a measure of transferable skills that could be accredited in this way. Of course the cynical journos couldn't stop making fun of this scheme and they were falling over one another to ridicule this plan. I think it's a good idea to give people skills and offer them a chance of a qualification. Makes sense to me.

Glasses

A really good deal on glasses is to be had now at Zenni Optical. Get your
Zenni Optical: Sell Rx Glasses $8 with case! no less. Some glasses are very stylish and it is always a thrill when you can get a good price on the purchase of them.

ZenniOptical.com sell their highly stylish prescription glasses online. They have an enormous selection of frames, with single vision lenses, sunsensor lenses and others.
These are some of the lowest prices for prescription glasses that you could find.





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Charles boycott of Olympic Games

I just read in a Dutch newspaper that Prince Charles intends to boycott the Chinese Olympic Games in protest of the plight of Tibet. It appears that he is very interested in Tibet and its oppression at the hands of the Chinese. I applaud him for taking such a stand. I know Charles is not everyone's 'cup of tea' but I admire that he always dares to speak up for what he believes in, regardless of this high profile in the press. He has spoken out about a number of sensitive issues and he doesn't seem scared to ruffle a few feathers. Nice one, Charlie!

Coverbind printing

Making the right impression with printed material that you need to present to others is not always that easy. There is, however, a company, called Coverbind that has at its disposal every type of binding machine imaginable and can deliver the highest quality print material.

As a self-published author my self I know full well how important it is to present your work in a professional manner. It is crucial that your carefully crafted words appear in a well-laid out and smart-looking publication and in order to achieve this result you will need the services of a first-rate printing operation, such as Coverbind.

There is something magical about the printed page. I first realised this as a budding writer, while still a teenager, when I first owned a typewriter. It was a lovable clunky sort of machine, but already an electric one so this is not quite dating back to the Stone Age. I loved that typewriter of mine and worked hard at typing out my first ventures into literature. I wrote short stories and my first poems. Sometimes I would scribble a poem on a piece of paper and then later transfer it onto the page with my trusted typewriting machine. The transformation was incredible, I found.

What moments before was only a barely legible script on a crumpled piece of paper was now a printed page of worthwhile literary effort. Blank ink on virginal white paper made such a crisp and clear impression that never left me in later years.

When I grew up I became more serious about my writing. I launched my own poetry magazine and started to self-publish my books of verse. If I had thought that a typed poem looked good I had no idea what a buzz it would give me to see my work in a genuine book with a real ISBN, printed by a professional outfit and distributed online and in various other places.

This is the magic of the printed word and using Coverbind could help you achieve that printing excellence.


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Motorway

We went up to Birmingham yesterday to see some friends. To this end we travelled along the M5 motorway which takes us about an hour and a half. I don't mind driving on the motorway as it presents fewer unwelcome surprises when compared to driving in a busy urban area. In theory that is. You always get the morons with a driver's licence and a deathwish who take ridiculous chances and endanger their fellow drivers in the process. But on the whole it's not so bad and I enjoy it most when traffic thins out and you can just cruise along leisurely. That's when it becomes something resembling a joy.

Slowest fire evacuation ever

Today at work, just about forty-five minutes before knocking-off time, we had another fire alarm. Usually, it's not really anything serious but you just can't tell and safety procedures are in place and need to be adhered to, of course. It was a slow and lazy Wednesday afternoon and the few students who were dotted around the three floors of the library were loath to get up and vacate the premises. If there had been a genuine fire my guess is that forty percent of them would have been roasted to a fine crisp. At long last they had all cleared off and we, the staff, could exit the building and wait in front of the main entrance for the all-clear or otherwise from the security services.

My colleague and I were waiting outside for about half an hour and all through that time there was a steady trickle of students and academic staff who ambled ever so leisurely out of the building, one of them a full twenty minutes into the fire alarm, which mind you was still screaming its mechanical head off. Hard to miss you would think.

I just don't know what these people are thinking of when they so blatantly disregard a sensible safety precaution. Do they have a death wish? Are they rebelling against the pervading health and safety regime? Do they think they're flame-proof? Oh well. People sometimes really are morons, that's for sure.

Watch out for watches!

Some people don’t seem to care all that much about what type of watch they wear, if any, and let me tell you that I am not one of them. I like the feel of a stylish chunky watch, and of course I would like it to be as accurate as possible. ExactReplicas at
http://www.exactreplicas.com/ad/tracker.php?t=87 offer all manner of attractive replica watches so why not check them out?



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Accents

In my job I have to speak to speak to people of all nationalities and it is sometimes a bit of a challenge to decipher what they are saying to me or what they are asking of me. That said, it is also a very interesting part of what I do as the diversity in this faculty is astounding. It's never dull, that's for sure!

Terapeak's New Year's resolution

Most people have made their New Year’s resolutions and Terapeak are no different. In fact, Terapeak’s eBay Research New Year's Resolution could be of interest to you and your business. Terapeak aims to make it so much easier for your online retail business to maximise its profit potential.

For a brief and limited time, yearly subscriptions to Terapeak Research have been discounted by an amazing fifty percent in order for online sellers to make substantial savings in their cost of running their businesses.

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Diving

Just watched a few moments of a film entitled 'Open Water' about a couple who go diving out on the ocean and are accidentally (yeah, right!) left behind by the diving boat. Of course, the sharks start circling them and hilarity ensues. Seriously, it's proper creepy to imagine as it does happen. One day we would like to go diving on the Great Barrier Reef and I can just imagine how freaked out I would be at the mere thought of being left for shark feed out there. Pleasant dreams..

Gold is the stuff

All of us have, at some stage, dreamt of what it would be like to be truly wealthy. One of the images that denote real luxury and riches has to be the sight of those golden yellow gold bars . At Monex Precious Metals you can invest in gold bars, gold bullion, coins, silver, platinum and palladium and other products. And, as everyone knows, investing in gold is usually one of the safest options that will keep their worth in years to come.

Purchasing gold has been recognized for ages and ages as one of the most reliable ways to preserve one’s wealth and buying power. And of course gold bullion is a unique investment. From time immemorial to more recent times, humankind has had an enduring affinity with gold bullion that has truly stood the test of time. In all ages and across the world, people have been fascinated with the beauty and the magic of gold. These days the beauty of a gold bar must lie in its proven capacity to diversify investments, to protect wealth and also to preserve one’s purchasing power.
It’s a great investment and one that you can rely on.

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Decorating

We just tried to hang some Venetian blinds only to find they weren't long enough, i.e. they didn't stretch all the way down to the bottom edge of the window. So, this meant we had to go back to the Swedish furniture superstore to buy some blinds of the correct size. I suppose that is why I am not keen on D.I.Y or decorating; there is always something that goes wrong and things never seem to go to plan. Oh well. We've sorted it out now, so I mustn't complain. Pfff..

Valentine's Day

Shock, horror! Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. Before you know it this most romantic of festive days will be upon us and it will be time to go and get the loved one in your life a nice gift or surprise. Why not take advantage of the fabulous coupon codes from CouponChief.com?

Whether it is Dell coupons or Staples coupons you are after for that perfect gift, CouponChief.com have them all.

Of course, we shouldn’t forget to slow things down and spend some genuinely romantic time with ‘that significant other’ in our lives. It’s a good opportunity to express what matters most.

Music of the muses

Right now I am listening to my favourite radio station in the whole wide world, e.g. BBC 6 Music. Almost all of the DJs are of my age so all seem to be sympathetic to the alternative music of the eighties, that most intriguing of decades for those who were teenagers then. It wasn't all unemployment and the Cold War, there was some fabulous underground and New Wave music around. That is what you hear on Radio 6 as well as a plethora of new bands who fall outside of the commercial mainstream. I often hear a new band on this radio station first and sometimes go on to become a real fan. Long may they continue.

Flame-grilled chicken

Personally, I love to use flame-grilled Mexican chicken in a nice salad or also sometimes in some fajitas. You just can’t beat the delicious taste of El Pollo Loco-style flame-grilled chicken. It truly is a wonderful flavour that resonates and, dare I say it, thrills the palate in a most satisfying way. Simply beautiful, this type of chicken.

Try it out for yourself. It’s chickentastic!

Deluge

The wind is howling and the rain is lashing down, has been doing so all day in fact. There is talk of more flooding in England and people remember all too well the last spate of rivers flooding in the summer. My thoughts, however, are with my good lady who is having to cycle home from work through this verily Apocalyptic weather. But, once we get home, the weekend commences. Hoorah!

Need we say more?

Trade before morals; same ol', same ol'..
It's the way of the world, I suppose.

You can't help living in the real world but it is slightly saddening to find that one's morals are deemed of less worth than the bottom dollar and having to safeguard a nation's economy, I suppose. Gordon Brown has to face the same dilemmas as other leaders. It's nothing new, of course. Just the same old Mammon rearing its ugly head.

El Pollo

Is there anything better than the taste of genuine Mexican chicken ? El Pollo Loco is the best flame-grilled Mexican chicken around. It is fantastic, I tell you! The spices, the herbs, the fragrance of it..hmmm…delicicious. Let’s be honest, it’s a real treat and no mistake!

Have yourself one to try and you will see what I mean. They are muy fantastico!

To be a poet?

Last week I suddenly wrote a poem again after not having done any such audacious a thing for quite a while. Gone seem to be the days when I would sit for hours on end, brooding and broiling, invoking the Muse and yielding reams of poems, some of which I felt to be sublime; others that never really caught my imagination in the cold light of day when re-reading.

Am I still a poet? I think so. Perhaps more than the actual 'output', to use a decidedly a-poetic word, being a poet is perhaps a state of mind or a way of approaching the world. It's the extent to which you are able to see the wonder at work in the mystery of life itself. If that's still my criterion then I am most certainly still a poet. And I know it.

Search engine marketing

Everyone who maintains a serious website, blog or other type of web presence will immediately understand the vital importance of such things as search engine marketing and promotion services and online marketing services . After all, it is one thing having an actual website online but you want to get plenty of traffic and generate interest for your site or product. This is only common sense, I would guess.

To find really good search engine marketing you may want to consider DiscountClick. They have a suite of SEO services that can specialize in increasing your company’s website's marketing efforts. This is good news for any business. They can also improve search engine traffic to increase online sales for your business or your interactive service customers.

Training

Just had a training session about a new feature to an online database search system the library employs. Count me in! I hear you shout. As it turned out it was rather good and I got to know a bit more about this complex and involved search tool. It's always good to know a bit more than the students who bombard us with their vexed questions. Got to keep on top, you know?

Coverbind

When you produce anything that is supposed to be read by others than yourself then inevitably presentation becomes a very important factor in the equation. Whether it is a brochure or a set of business proposals or any kind of leaflet to be distributed; the presentation of the binding and the cover are all important.

Coverbind are a company that specialise in providing that quality impression to all of your documents. They can provide all manner of state-of-the art binding machines and also a wide variety of covers to suit your needs. Making the right impression is what counts and Coverbind can make that happen for you.

In my job I handle a lot of Ph.D. theses that are added to stock in the university library on a regular basis. The postgraduate students who are required to submit a thesis tend to take great care in finding the right printer and choosing the appropriate cover and paper quality. After all, you would want your thesis to look the part, wouldn’t you?
It just shows how important making the right impression can be.

In my capacity as magazine editor and self-published poet I have often worked with printers and manufacturers of books and magazine-type publications. You almost can’t put a price on a quality cover, a top-class publication. Presenting a shoddily fashioned collection of poems does not convey what you want to put across when you are trying to make your mark as a writer. Likewise, a beautifully crafted magazine says much about its editors and contributors; a hastily thrown together brochure also says much but not much of it is any good.

I can see why people would want to enlist the services of a company such as Coverbind. There is no substitute for quality, someone famous once said, and I cannot agree more. Something happens when a thought, a poem, or yes a business plan is put down in writing, black and white on the pristine page. It is a magical thing and to make sure you have the right binding and covers can just about put the finishing touches to any project.

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Sleep

Still at the writing desk, scribbling away while I should be in the land of nod by now. Can't seem to sleep easily at the moment, a few things on my mind. 'It's probably a phase I'm going through'. Or something. I feel as though I could curl up and go to sleep for a few weeks. Meanwhile, tomorrow is a busy day and I need to be as fit as possible to keep up. Nevermind. I'll just catch a few sneaky minutes on the bus going in to work.

Telephone systems

The world these days is buzzing with technological advances and everyone you know is to some extent knowledgeable about all the latest gadgets, be they for business, for leisure or something in-between. It is almost as if one day we woke up and hey presto! There was the new digital technology we had been waiting for all these years.

And yet, when it comes to truly advanced systems of communication or telephone systems it is probably a good idea to listen to the professionals in the field. There is a level of expertise when it comes to communication that you just cannot imitate as an amateur aficionado of modern technology.

The people at Advanced Communications & Maintenance, Inc. are exactly such experts in this field. This company has over twenty-five years of experience in this exciting sector. They sell and implement and, of course, support voice/data cabling, voice messaging systems, digital telephone systems and also telecommunication accessories. This fine firm is able to address the demands of small, medium and large company customers and are able to enable them to resolve their business problems in a fast and efficient way.

Personally, I find the whole technological age we seem to living in whether we like it or not absolutely fascinating. But then I can remember a time before mobile phones and MP3 players and the like. Once upon a time I believed I was pretty cool with my chunky walkman that played cassettes. For what it’s worth we have come quite some way in a few short years. And it puzzles me how some people seem to be strangely afraid of tackling new gadgets or technology. Of course not every new gadget is worth having or even using but why would you turn away in dread from something that could enhance or improve your life in some significant way? The mind boggles.

Some people protested against the foolishness of new-fangled railways, thinking the trains speeding past fields of cows at fifteen miles an hour would turn the milk sour. And some writers insist on working on old-fashioned typewriters instead of the vastly superior computer or word processor. I don’t know whether it’s nice to be a Luddite or not. I’m just glad I’m still young enough to make the most of these exciting technological opportunities.

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Posh monnikers

Working in the library of an elite university in England I have seen quite a few very posh students darken the door over the years. I remember one friendly chap who spoke awfully nice, was very polite and turned out the be the eldest son of a certain Lord so-and-so in Hampshire. The family mansion was listed on some very ancient maps my colleague and I looked at on the web. Then there are the ones with the incredibly posh double-barrelled names. These sometimes are quite hilarious and I tend to try to remember them long enough to tell my wife when I come home. It's all good fun and at least they're polite and friendly. None of the riff-raff that was free to wander in off the streets when I worked in a public library. We have to have standards, after all?

Ms Merchant Account

If you are looking for banking credit card services then you may want to consider looking into the services offered by Ms Merchant Account. They do all sorts of credit card services and
retail processing .

Whether you operate an online internet business or a retail shop or perhaps a restaurant of some description you will a system that allows your esteemed customers to pay with Visa, Master Card, American Express, or other cards. A service such as this can prove invaluable and can seriously add to your business revenue by facilitating easy payment options for your customer base.

I sell some of my own books and other products in an online shop and have found that nowadays when you are selling any product or article you simply need to have a credit card payment option available to your putative customers. Easy payment options will make it in turn easier to sell your stock. It makes perfect sense. Personally, I love making purchases online as it is just so very easy to do. It takes the stress out of shopping and puts back some of the fun. No long lines at check-out, surly staff serving you; perhaps this is very much how shopping was meant to be.

Work stuff

I was offered another job task at work recently and am waiting to finalise the precise details. Unfortunately, the lady in charge whom I need to speak to about this has been off sick since Christmas and things have not yet moved forward an inch. We'll see. I have a feeling I might hear a bit more today. I certainly hope so as I am keen to get things going now. I will write a bit more about what the new task entails soon. Promise!