Sinusitis : Sinus Infection Deals a Corporate KO

Author: Joe Miller
Source: articlesfactory.com

Sinusitis and Sinus Infection

Sinusitis is an advanced sinus infection, usually beginning with the post-nasal drip from sniffing during cold season, when weather changes, or during allergy attacks. The head has four nasal cavities which, if blocked by inflammation or mucous, will breed bacterial growth and eventual sinus infection and sinusitis.

Depending upon the severity of the blow, a sinus infection or sinusitis could affect your employees for periods ranging between 3 weeks and several months. Many attacks occur several times a year. Because a sinus infection may develop and lead to sinusitis at any time, businesses must not overlook the corporate cost. Be prepared.

Corporate Cost of Sinus Infection and Sinusitis

$5.8 billion a year is not what the American businesses want as an annual expense. But most businesses might as well add sinusitis or sinus infection to its balance sheet, they have been paying for it in recent years and it will keep coming back – kind of reminds you of Rocky Balboa.

Why should businesses be so concerned about sinusitis and sinus infection? Here are a few numbers they might want to analyze. Reports indicate that between 31 and 32 million Americans are affected by sinusitis or sinus infection each year, resulting in about 18 million healthcare visits. These visits, of course, are part of company health plans.

Not convinced yet? This may not seem like that much of a business expense until you add the expense of sinusitis and sinus infection performing a virtual KO of your office. Sinusitis and sinus infection knocks out professionals for an average of 4 days per year. Not to mention the affect sinusitis and sinus infection have on the productivity of those who come to work affected by sinusitis and sinus infection. The affect is similar to those suffering from sinus allergies in that about one-third of affected employees feel that these sinus problems make them less effective at work. That is a costly corporate hit.

Symptoms of Sinus Infection and Sinusitis

Corporations should keep their guard up, other wise one sniff could turn out to be a fatal financial blow. Here are symptoms to be mindful of:

Signs of congestion (sniffing, nose-blowing)
Soreness anywhere in the head, including the face and neck
Sneezing, ear ache, throat pain, coughing
Headaches
General fatigue, weakness, soreness

8 Tips to Preventing a Corporate KO.

You may not be surprised that these preventions are simpler and cheaper than just letting sinus infection and sinusitis take their course in your office.

Stock Up. Give the admins a small stock of decongestants and pain relievers to keep the employees free from symptoms while at the office – make sure they are daytime medicines.
Cover a Prescription Plan. Invest in a good health plan that provides for doctor’s visits and prescriptions. Prescriptions cost a lot less than more serious treatment.
Keep it Clean. Regular cleaning of carpets and fabric chairs in addition to all surfaces (keyboards, counters and rails, desks, etc) will save money in the long run. You’d be surprised how many sinus infection and sinusitis attacks occur because of dust, mold, and colds from office bacteria.
Drink Up. Water, that is. Employees are going to be able to flush out normal bacteria when drinking water.
Party Alcohol-free. Sinus infection and sinusitis often develops from irritation when alcohol is consumed, even at work parties or functions.
Designate an Outdoor Smoking Area. Not only will smoke stick to everything indoors, irritating the nasal cavities, but keeping an area outdoors will also centralize the smoke.
Invest in Air Conditioning, Air Filters, or Humidifiers. Spending money getting air regulation is cheaper than spending lots of money on a sick office of people.
Encourage Frequent Hand Washing. You don’t want bacteria to spread all ever your office like a forest fire. Clean hands make a happy office.

Now you can erase $5.8 billion from your debit column.

Ambit Energy – Conservation, efficiency can offset record rates, maybe avoid blackouts

Author: Smoky Colt
Source: articlesfactory.com

Temperatures in Texas are setting records at a time when electricity prices are at record highs. Even a household that uses the same amount of electricity as last year can expect higher bills this summer.

The average North Texas household can expect to pay $258 this August, up more than 20 percent from a year earlier – assuming their consumption stays the same. The answer: Conserve.

Temperatures in Texas are setting records at a time when electricity prices are at record highs. Even a household that uses the same amount of electricity as last year can expect higher bills this summer.

“Everybody could probably conserve a little bit, set the temperatures a little bit higher, you know, change the type of clothing that they wear, manage their lifestyle a little better,” said David Dollihite, vice president of U.S. home services for Direct Energy, adding that a chunk of the electricity is wasted.

Experts say this summer is the time to conserve electricity, not just to save money but to reduce the burden on power plants.

Conservation could prevent more rolling blackouts like Texans experienced this week and could reduce the number of power plants that must be built to handle growing demand. Conservation “equates into fewer plants being built, less transmission line being needed, less fossil fuel being burned,” Mr. Dollihite said. “That’s not to say we’re sacrificing our comfort; we’re really just being a little more responsible with our lifestyles.

Since last summer, TXU Energy has increased its benchmark electricity rate, called the “price to beat,” by 24 percent. That rate is based on the price of natural gas, which spiked in the autumn when the hurricanes hit. TXU and other former monopolies reset their prices based on the post-hurricane natural gas rates. Since then, natural gas prices have dropped, but electricity rates have not. Competing retailers also raised their rates close to the benchmark.

Some electricity companies, including TXU Energy, offer discounts to customers who sign longer-term contracts. The higher electricity rates have caused some fuss among Texas legislators this week.

Rep. Sylvester Turner, D-Houston, introduced a bill to reset the benchmark price to beat based on lower natural gas prices, as well as a bill to fund a low-income discount program.

“This is a critical issue that we have an opportunity to address before things get any worse,” Mr. Turner said. “We are already at the breaking point, and it will just get worse as it gets hotter.”

Mr. Turner is urging Gov. Rick Perry to consider the bill during the special legislative session that began Monday.

Without a break in prices, the best way for Texans to trim their energy bills this summer is to use less electricity. Texans on average use more energy each year, per capita, than residents of most states, and more energy than the average person in the U.S., according to the U.S. Energy Department. “There are a number of things that folks can do to lighten the load,” said Tom “Smitty” Smith, director of the Texas office of Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group. “You can have a McMansion and save energy.”

Mr. Smith suggests using efficient lighting and having air conditioning systems tuned up for peak performance. For large houses, he suggests zoned electricity systems, so zones can be shut down in areas not being used. And put all air conditioners on a timer to slow down when the house is empty, and fire up again just before folks return home.

He said Public Citizen is urging state policy-makers to meet half of the state’s electricity demand growth with energy efficiency, rather than new power plants. The University of Texas at El Paso switched to energy-efficient light bulbs this year and expects to save $200,000 annually. The school it putting its air conditioners on efficiency timers and expects to save $173,000 a year, said Greg McNicol, associate vice president for facilities management. “We had some real high electric rates out here in El Paso” that prompted the efficiency program, he said.

Some companies are also applying those efficiency tips on a larger scale to save money. Michaels Stores, a crafts retailer, announced this week that it had installed an energy management software system for 655 stores. The company can control store lighting and temperature from a central location, scheduling half the lights to turn on when employees arrive and the rest just in time for customers, said facilities director Kyle Brekke. “Your really help to control your energy demand,” he said, adding that he expected to cut energy use by about 19 percent and save $5 million a year.

Read more about Ambit Energy here.

Chemical Engineering – A Convincing Argument

Author: Loreno Lepe -
Source: articledashboard.com

Professor: So…You are interested in studying Chemical Engineering?

Student: Mmmm. Dunno, all that pollution and stuff is pretty bad.

Professor: You think the industry is the source of most pollution then?

Student: Obviously.

Professor: You have done research into this?

Student: Hummph. No need to, everyone knows that is true.

Professor: Really? My research tells me differently. Tell me, what do you mean when you say pollution?

Student: Smells, poisoned streams and people dying.

Professor: And you think this all comes down to the chemical industry?

Student: Yes.

Professor: What about all the gases that come from your boiler at home? What about the gases that come out of your car? What about all the gases that come out of the power station to produce the electricity for your lights or air-conditioning at home? What about…

Student: Yeah, yeah, whatever.

Professor: You insult me by picking an argument, and then refusing to listen to an opposing view. I do not want you on my course anyway, move along and let the next person in please.

Student: What do you mean, you don’t want me? Huh?

Professor: Exactly that, move along now.

Student: OK, convince me that the people running those chemical plants are all good guys who produce no air pollution

Professor: That was not what I said. They do produce pollution, but much less of it than they used to and much less than any power station does. There are controls on what gases they can release into the air, and how much of each gas. The companies have to monitor their emissions and tell the government if they release too much.

Student: Very likely.

Professor: The government send inspectors around to check that the monitoring is in place. These officials make unannounced visits and if they find any missing data there had better be a good explanation.

Student: Mmmm

Professor: The companies are set five year targets to reduce their emissions below current levels. When they hit those targets, even if they hit them after two years, the government sets them another reduction target that has to be reached within another five years

Student: That’s not very fair.

Professor: It seems unfair at times, but the constant drive for reduced emissions makes the company invest in research and new processes to reduce the amount of waste gases it releases. It encourages the company to find uses for those waste gases.

Student: That sounds pretty good.

Professor: Technology is moving on all the time. Processes become more efficient and pollution is reduced. No industry can ever reduce its pollution to zero, though.

Student: Why not?

Professor: It’s a law of diminishing returns. 90% of the emissions can be removed at low cost. That leaves 10%. A further 9% can be removed at high cost, still leaving 1%. An extremely high cost is needed to remove the next 0.9%, but there is still 0.1% of the original amount. You can see that the removal cost is increasing, but the pollution reduction is becoming more and more marginal.

Student: Right. So is chemical engineering a good choice then?

Professor: It depends… You need to be good at solving problems, to be able to think laterally. You need to be able to work as part of a team, too.

Student: Right…

Professor: You also need to be interested in a career in management

Student: Huh, why’s that?

Professor: Technology moves along fast in this field and within ten years of gaining your degree your knowledge will be out-dated. There will be new graduates competing for the jobs you will have been doing, who have up to date knowledge. Most chemical engineers move into management after about twelve years in the job. Their background of engineering is still useful, but they recognize that they are no longer at the cutting edge.

Student: But management can be a good career to, can’t it?

Professor: It can, indeed. Are you interested in finding out more then?

Student: Definitely, and thanks.

Whos Inspecting Your Home?

Author: James Copper-5768
Source: articledashboard.com

When you are buying or selling a home you will endure or hire the services of a home inspector. This home inspector is an independent third party to the transaction, compelled to remain unbiased and examine the homes interior and exterior condition. A home inspector isnt always called in at the time of a sale or potential sale, but that is the primary bread and butter of the home inspectors business.

A home inspector will check the homes roof, its basement, the condition of its water heater, its home heating system, its air conditioning system, all its plumbing fixtures and workings, its electrical system and the structure of the house and garage itself. A home inspector is tasked with checking for any damage that might require major repairs and any conditions that are hazardous in terms of safety, health and fire. A home inspector is not the same as a real estate appraiser. A home sale will typically have one of each perusing the home before the sale is completed. A home inspector looks at the condition of the homes major functions and its structure and foundation. An appraiser, on the other hand, assesses the monetary value of the home and its related property.

In the United States, a contract between a homeowner and the potential buyer will be concluded pending a successful home inspection. By successful we mean that a home inspector comes on the property and looks at the exterior and interior of the home. She or he generally must be licensed to do so and will determine if there are any problems in the home that must be resolved before the home is structurally sound and safe for habitation.

Some states in the U.S. do not require licensing of home inspectors, and most states allow engineers who are already licensed to forego the licensing. Their engineering license includes the right to act as a home inspector. For those who must be licensed to be a home inspector they typically have to complete a state-approved course of training and to pass an exam that has been selected by that particular states board of home inspector licensing. Several of the U.S. states also mandate that the home inspector verify additional periodic home inspection continuing education credits in order to get their license renewed.

While a home inspector does not need to be an engineer, and typically is not, you will often hear a home inspection referred to as an engineering report. An engineer, however, as compared with a home inspector, can design repair and reinforcement specifications for structural improvements, while a home inspector can only point out that the deficiencies do exist.

It is important to keep in mind, as you look for a new home and rely on the home inspectors advice that your potential new home is safe and sound, that only 39 states in the United States now regulate home inspectors at all.

Patents – American Greatness

Author: Chuck Crawford -
Source: articledashboard.com

We all know what a patent is in general, but how much do you really know about patents and how they have shaped America? Our advances in technology here in America have surpassed that of all other countries combined. Many do not like to hear that, but it is a fact, and it has more to do with how America moved ahead of other countries economically than any other factor and still does today.

In this article, I will cover many of the advances made by American Inventors throughout our relatively short history compared to other countries.

Not all inventions that helped make America great were originated in America, but even those that were not invented and patented here, were put to better use here, like a way to produce steel in large quantities for instance. Originally patented by a British inventor named Henry Bessemer. He invented the Bessemer Converter or the Bessemer Process.

He obtained his patent in 1855, even though the process was known in China in the third century. According to wikipedia.com, ” The key principle is removal of impurities from the iron by oxidation through air being blown through the molten iron. The oxidation also raises the temperature of the iron mass and keeps it molten.”

However, ingenious Americans like Andrew Carnegie put it to use and built everything from tin cans to skyscrapers to railroads and ships. Many American inventions were patented because of the ability to process steel faster.

Many people credit Benjamin Franklin for the discovery of electricity. While that is true, electrification is not quite the same thing. People like Thomas Edison had introduced direct-current systems, what we know as DC. Nikola Tesla worked toward using AC, or alternating current.

Tesla was Slavic, but a citizen of the US when he did all of his important work on electricity. At the turn of the century, Tesla was already working in fields like robotics and ballistics. George Westinghouse was a friend of Tesla’s and a major competitor to Thomas Edison. George Westinghouse put electricity to use in more practical ways than the inventors.

Westinghouse also invented things and held many patents of his own. People associate him with appliances, but he held patents that had to do with railroads as well. He held a patent on a system to put railroad cars back on the tracks after they had been derailed. He even held the patent for inventing the first air-brakes.

Electricity and Steel Processing are just two of the great scientific discoveries that made this country great. I only bring those scientific discoveries into this article to show you something about patents. Many people know about the significant scientific discoveries like nuclear power, the automobile, the airplane, electronics, radio and television, agriculture, computers, the telephone, air conditioning, refrigeration, spacecraft, the Internet, and so much more, most of which was either invented in America or put to the best use here in America.

But those significant scientific discoveries make up only a small percentage of all the patents that are applied for and granted. Most patents stem from one or more of the great scientific discoveries, but the patents are granted for the unique use of or combinations of the great discoveries.

The genius and inventiveness of the American citizen over all others can be attributed to the fact we are a free society. Free speech also means freedom of thought. Freedom of though leads to great knowledge and discovery.

While some inventions or great scientific discoveries can be attributed to people of foreign countries, nowhere are those discoveries and inventions put to better use throughout history than in the United States.

For each major scientific discovery, thousands of patents are filed that put it into practical use. Today, patents are still applied for at an extremely fast rate. America has not stopped inventing and patenting their ideas. As long as the American culture continues to foster this innovation, America will stay far ahead in all technological fields, while countries that suppress the freedoms of their citizens will lag far behind.

I hope this article, while we only touched on a few inventions and discoveries, gives you some insight into why America stays far ahead of the rest of the world through technology. Search through the US Patent Office Website and you will discover just how many inventions are patented every day.

Tips To Improving Gas Mileage For Your Cleaning Business

Author: Steve Hanson
Source: articledashboard.com

Copyright 2006 The Janitorial Store

That old saying, “What goes up, must come down” is not true about everything, especially when it comes to gas prices. No matter if you have buildings you clean that are miles apart or you’re just making a trip to buy supplies, the more miles you get per gallon of gas means more profit for your cleaning business. Most gas stations charge about the same for gas, so comparison shopping for the “best deal” is not necessarily a good option. However, there are some practical tips you can use to get better gas mileage for your cleaning company’s vehicles.

1. Keep your car tuned up, tires properly inflated and the wheels aligned. You can save at least one mile per gallon by keeping your car in top shape.

2. According to studies done by U.S. Department of Energy, nearly four million gallons of gasoline could be saved nationwide each day for every one pound per square inch (psi) of tire under-inflation, compared to the mileage if ALL vehicle tires were kept inflated to the manufacturer’s recommended pressure.

3. Remove excess weight. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle can reduce your miles per gallon (MPG) by up to 2%. Make sure you remove any unnecessary items and store them at your office.

4. Avoid excessive idling. Idling gets 0 miles per gallon. Cars with larger engines typically waste more gas at idle than do cars with smaller engines. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates approximately four million gallons of gasoline are wasting each day by the 145 million passenger vehicles that are sitting there idling five minutes. Even in cold weather, modern engines do not need excessive warm-up times. Save gas by avoiding excessive warm-up time.

5. Drive sensibly. This means slowing down and avoiding quick speed ups and slow downs. Driving 55 mph as opposed to driving 65 to 70 mph can get you up to 20% better gas mileage. A general rule of thumb to remember is that for every mph you drive over 60 mph you are paying an 20 to 25 cents per gallon for gas.

6. Plan trips wisely. If you have several buildings to clean make sure that your route does not include backtracking. If you are doing several errands, picking up supplies or meeting potential clients, make plans so you can combine all of your driving into one outing.

7. When driving on the highway keep your windows closed. This elimates air drag. You can reduce your mileage by up to 10% if your windows are open when driving at high speeds on the highway.

8. Air conditioning is a big fuel consumer. It can reduce your fuel efficiency by 10 to 20%! Think twice before turning on your vehicle’s air conditioner.

9. If it all possible, avoid driving during rush hours. The added starts and stops of rush hour traffic will cut into your gas mileage.

10. Anticipate merging traffic and stoplights and decelerate and accelerate smoothly and slowly. Also, when approaching hills, start accelerating before you get to the hill rather than waiting until you are actually driving on the hill.

11. Turn off your engine without revving it. There is no added benefit and it revving your engine wastes gas.

There is little you can do about the rising price of gasoline. But you can help your cleaning company cut its mileage expenses by following the above tips. Don’t throw your profits into your gas tank!

Hvac Control By Hvac Software Make It Automation Building System

Author: wongsak.n
Source: articledashboard.com

HVAC system or generally called “Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning” is the main factor of buildings, factory, office, hotel and department store. The worse the control of HVAC system, the more the expenses of maintenances.
In the past, the management of HVAC requires more human resources in order to maintain or even Log Sheet recording. The most efficiency of Log Sheet recording need to deliberately record all information such as chiller data, Inside-Outside Building temperature, Water Temperature, control inside and outside buildings. The reasons why we need to keep record deliberately in minutely, hourly, monthly or yearly are to analyze to improve the efficiency.In HVAC System Log Sheet, Data History is necessary to analyze and solve the problem.
You can see that the management of Log Sheet is required human to record information deliberately; otherwise, the information will be inaccuracy and too late to solve the problem promptly.
The idea to resolve the difficulty of HVAC system is to manage things centrally or called “Centralize Management”. This concept use the idea that central unit can control devices automatically, approach every system information and prompt to view equipment performance. We called this management “Building Automation System” or Intelligent Buildings.
How Building Automation System work?

BAS (Building Automation System) uses the concept which every equipment/every part will be controlled and managed automatically that implement the information to analyze. For example, the On-Off Schedule for equipment or machine accurately is used to reduce human error such as they forgot to switch on and off. This also include in lighting, elevator system. But in this article, we refer to BAS system which relevant to HVAC system.
When we decide to combine Automation system and HVAC system the owners have to plan the followings:-

1. They have to inspect HVAC system what we have, how many which are usable, how many which are damaged such as Chiller, AHU, Cooling Tower, Motor and etc.
2. They have to learn and contact the equipment suppliers in HVAC system to check if each equipment can connect with peripheral console to interface or not. (In case, the equipment could not interface to retrieve information. The owners have to replace with the new model or find controller equipment such as Input-Output module to interface with PC.)

3. Assign staff to in-charge system especially.
4. Budget depending on structure, complication and the size of system.(ex. hardware protocolconverters RS232, RS485 communication) Microcontrollers Module, Inverter, Computer.

Why HVAC Building Automation system are Needed.
The most highly desired services and amenities were

• Comfortable temperatures

• Easy Management and Centralize Management
• Good indoor air quality
• Control Humidity
• High-quality building maintenance
• Responsive building management
• Building management’s ability to meet tenant needs
• Effective noise control
• Reduce Human Error

BOMA also asked which of a set of thirteen intelligent building features were considered most important.
The results were HVAC systems that provide comfortable temperatures.

• Ability for tenants to control comfort

• Built-in wiring for the Internet or Lan
• High-speed LAN/WAN connectivity
• Conduits for power, data, and voice cabling
• Controlled access security system with monitoring
• Redundant power source

Electricity Crisis Hobbles An India Eager To Ascend

Author: Robert Chuck
Source: articledashboard.com

Correction Appended

GURGAON, India – This suburb south of New Delhi is where the fruits of India’s economic advance are on full display: sprawling malls, skyscrapers housing India’s acclaimed software companies, condominiums with names as fanciful as Nirvana Country.

But this fashionable address of the new India is also a portrait of ambition bumping up against reality, namely an electricity crisis that represents one of the major hurdles to India’s ability to hoist itself into the front ranks of the global economy.

Look up at the tops of buildings, and on any given day, you are likely to find three, four or six smokestacks poking out of each, blowing gray-black plumes into the clouds. If the smokestacks are being used, it means the power is off and the building – whether bright new mall, condominium or office – is probably being powered by diesel-fed generators.

This being India, a country of more than one billion people, the scale is staggering. In just one case, Tata Consultancy Services, a technology company, maintains five giant generators, along with a nearly 5,300-gallon tank of diesel fuel underground, as if it were a gasoline station.

The reserve fuel can power the lights, computers and air-conditioners for up to 15 days to keep Tata’s six-story building humming during these hot, dry summer months, when temperatures routinely soar above 100 degrees and power cuts can average eight hours a day.

The Gurgaon skyline is studded with hundreds of buildings like this. In Gurgaon alone, the state power authority estimates that the gap between demand and supply hovers around 20 percent, and that is probably a conservative estimate.

For all those who suffer from crippling power cuts in cities like this, there are others who have no connection to electricity at all. According to the Planning Commission of India, 600 million people – roughly half the population – are off the electric grid. For this reason, it is impossible to estimate accurately the total national shortfall.

But no matter how it is calculated, there is no doubt that India’s electricity crisis is becoming all the more acute for the roaring pace of the country’s economic growth and the new material aspirations it has generated.

Rachna Tandon, a prosperous housewife, is a good example. She moved here to a quiet street of row houses 14 years ago, settling in what was one of the first residential sites built by DLF Universal, Gurgaon’s and India’s largest builder.

Back then, electricity was in short supply, but she was fully confident things would improve. The advertisements at the time described Gurgaon as the best address south of Delhi. It was pitched as a millennium city.

Today Ms. Tandon says she prefers to think of it as a medieval city. The day before, the power went out for roughly 11 hours. Her power inverter, which is basically a series of rechargeable batteries – a household necessity here – failed after four hours.

For respite, some of her neighbors drove around in their air-conditioned cars. Her own children lingered outside and finally, when they nodded off to sleep, they lay on the living room floor, the coolest spot in the house.

Each appliance in her well-stocked home – an air-conditioner in each room, a flat-screen television, a microwave and an electric stove – speaks to the gap between India’s dreams and its realities.

The power cuts thawed the chicken sausage in her freezer and she had to throw it away, just in case it had spoiled. She did not dare use her electric oven, for fear that the power would go out in the middle of baking.

With no television, her 10-year-old son has been so bored that he took out his old cricket bat and ended up putting a ball through the kitchen window. Her daughter, 13, has had to study by flashlight. This summer, Ms. Tandon said, the family will have to choose between buying a generator and going on vacation. “We’re living in the Dark Ages,” she said.

For all her middle-class suffering, a reminder of the other India came earlier in the week, when her mother called from her hometown in rural north India and said she had had electricity for just one hour during the day.

Is Your Business Making You Sick?

Author:
Source: articledashboard.com

Our business environment could actually be making us sick. Think about it. We sit in the same chair in the same position for hours at a time. We breathe the same air in and out… in and out… get the idea?

On a hot day in summer the heat can be unbearable and if you have air conditioning that just makes things worse, by removing all the moisture from the air.

Skipping breakfast and eating on the move whilst answering the phone or on the way to the bank leaves our body in despair. The highs and subsequent lows in blood sugar levels make us hyper one minute and grouchy the next.

All the electronic equipment around us… from fax machines, mobile phones, printers, computers and monitors create an unhealthy electromagnetic field all around us.

Sorry for the doom gloom but take heart – with small changes we can counteract most of the above.

Start the day with a good healthy breakfast – nothing beats porridge and a nice cup of tea. Keep some fruit on your desk – nothing beats a banana for a mid morning snack. Hey don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that porridge, bananas & fruit are the only combination, but they work for me. I find that foods that release energy slowly keep me going all day.

Drink plenty of water – I know that we have heard this before but I feel that it must be repeated again. Water serves to remove the toxins from our body and helps our skin to stay hydrated. How much water is enough? A glass an hour is sufficient.

Move all electronic equipment that you can away from your sitting area. Does that printer need to be so close? Use a headset when talking on the mobile and buy an anti glare screen for your monitor. Hide all your wires. Not only are they a hazard but the also make our minds cluttered.

Stop being so intense all the time! When typing, caress the keyboard rather then hammering it so hard. Keep your monitor at eye level and get a cordless mouse and keyboard that you can move around to suit your posture. Buy a decent office chair with arm rests – did you know that if you have arm rests and use them, you reduce the pressure on your spine greatly.

By taking simple measures you can greatly reduce your chances of getting repetitive strain injury (RSI).

Stress is another major issue we all face. Computers not connecting to the internet, phones constantly ringing, email responses not arriving on time and far too much spam! Buy a decent spam filter and every time you feel stressed out go for a little walk. If you followed the advice about drinking plenty of water – you will help to alleviate stress, as you will be forced to get up and go to the loo regularly!

Taking regular short breaks will actually serve to make us more efficient and productive in the long term and cut down on the number of days we are ill. Enjoy your working day.

4 Tips to Jump-start Summer Sales

Author: Anonymous
Source: free-articles

For Immediate Release

4 Tips to Jump-start Summer Sales

Boston — If you’re operating a small business and want to make more money this summer, then get your marketing strategies in order. Consumers continue to hold on tight to their wallets, said Sharron Senter, small business marketing consultant and founder of http://www.sharronsenter.com. She offers four low-cost marketing tips for entrepreneurs experiencing sluggish summer sales.

Tip #1 — Pick Up & Go

If business is slow, then pick up and go where your prospects and customers are. If they’re congregating one street over, approach your town clerk or mayor’s office and ask to obtain a temporary license to display your products at a high foot-traffic location in your downtown. If a hotdog vendor can park their cart on a sidewalk, then why not you? Be prepared to pay a fee. Or, select a location with high vehicle traffic and plenty of parking. Ideally you’re looking for a location where cars can conveniently pull over, while other drivers can see what all the excitement is about and still have time to stop.

Tip #2 — Set Air conditioner on Full Throttle

Brick and mortars need to supply air conditioning for customers — no exceptions. You can either choose to create an inviting and comfortable atmosphere whereby your customers can relax and shop, or you can drive them away with the heat. Although online retailers have no use for air conditioners, Web sites should be packed with cool summer artwork to appear in-season. Try beach-themed art such as coolers, sandcastles, beach umbrellas and balls. Or, if you want to appear more inland, try mountain bikes and hiking artwork.

Tip #3 — Maintain Urgency

You need to isolate at least one product or service and combine it with a special offer to create urgency at all times. It’s more powerful and creates more urgency to say, โ€œOnly three remaining,โ€ compared with โ€œOffer ends [date.โ€ Or, combine the two for a more powerful message. The following phrases also create urgency: Limited Time Offer, Today Only, Sidewalk Sale, Once in a Lifetime, Free Sample, Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Money Back, Do It Today, Free Shipping, Last One!

Tip #4 — Display a HOT Special

Online retailers should pay particular attention to making their Web sites appear current. The fastest and most affordable way is to use seasonal sales copy, such as โ€œHOT Summer Deals.โ€ The more current your site looks, the more active and popular it’ll appear to visitors, and therefore, the more you sell. Offline and online retailers should consider running a mini sidewalk sale every day. Display your best and most aggressively-priced sale items just in front of your store or on your home page. Put your best foot forward and customers will be enticed to come in and buy more.