How To Avoid Junk Food Consumption

Companies like McDonald, Pizza Hut and Dominos earn million of dollars by selling food items that are widely considered in the medical fraternity as "junk". Consumption of junk food is an addiction that is affecting millions of people across the globe including children, teenagers and even adults.

These foods are rich in harmful ingredients like fat, sugar, salt and preservatives that can result in serious medical complications such as coronary heart diseases, obesity, hypertension, diabetes and even cancer. Hence, it is very important to avoid these foods in the diet. Below listed are some useful ways of avoiding junk food consumption.

1. One should consume at least 8 big glasses of water everyday. This ensures effective removal of any toxins present inside the tissues and blood vessels.

2. Hunger is the biggest factor that makes a person vulnerable to junk food consumption. It is important to feed the stomach periodically with foods like nuts, cereals, fruits and milk.

3. It is important to change the diet pattern for a healthy living. One should start with a heavy breakfast, a reduced lunch and a very meager dinner. At every meal, the diet should be rich with fruits, vegetables and starch foods such as wholegrain bread, pasta and rice.

4. Fruits and vegetables are a great way of reducing toxin levels inside the body. These foods are rich in antioxidants and vitamins that can help in removing free radicals and lower the risk of coronary heart diseases.

5. One should avoid consumption of street food. Apart from lacking nutrients, food available on the streets can also result in food poisoning.

6. Another way of reducing the consumption of junk food is the increase awareness for fitness in children and adults.

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Make-Up Tips For the African-American Woman

Hello and welcome. This is an article that is GREATLY needed. At least I think it is. I started wearing make-up around the age of 14 and when I started, it was the WRONG shade for my skin tone. So! I am trying to speak out for all the Beautiful, Brown-Skinned Black Women that have as hard a time finding make-up as I do. So, let me give you a little background on me.

First of all, Black is beautiful, and the darker the berry the sweeter the juice! That being said, at 14 I was a little blackberry without a clue. When I first started wearing make-up it was just lipstick and it started out being my mom's Fashion Fair. My mother who is light-skinned and has a daughter who is dark-skinned. Needless to say her lipstick did NOT match at all. I was even referred to as a dark-skinned Ronald McDonald by a previous ex-boyfriend!

So, I believe that us brown-skinned and dark-skinned women need a little extra help because it is more difficult for us to find make-up that matches in drugstores, or make-up that is affordable. Plus Cosmo and Glamour and all of them always be talking about great make-up for spring, but uh, hello did you forget black girls like make-up for spring too? So, I feel your pain. I am a self-appointed make-up aficionado, and would like to offer my experiences as well as some products that are FABO and not so much fabo. So... without further ado, let's get started!

JUST AN FYI: These are all make-ups that I have had to use through trial and error so I am sharing from EXPERIENCE!

FACE: I find it hard to find a good foundation, and full-coverage make-up that is affordable so here are some wonderful finds that I have found that are both.

1-Cover Girl Queen Collection Natural Hue Liquid Foundation- Spicy Brown

PROS- it is good at matching skin tones that have yellow or red undertones, spreads easily and if you only need moderate coverage gives you a good bang for your buck. It is affordable ranging about 6-8 bucks, and you can find it in most drugstores, and grocery stores.

CONS- If you have dark spots and blemishes, this will NOT offer you the coverage you need! Not even close, okay? It also wears off quickly so you would need to reapply often. The bottle is upside down with a little spout, so if you pour out too much, you cannot put it back in the bottle and in these times of economic crisis er' little bit counts am I right ladies?!

Also, if you have problems matching your skin tone because you have BOTH yellow and red, or maybe blue and red undertones, this collection may not be for you because there is not a vast selection to choose from, so you might need to move on. Other shades that are good for brown-skinned to dark-skinned gals, and some of you fellas! Rich Mink, Sheer Espresso, and True Ebony.

2- Cover Girl Queen Collection Natural Hue Compact Foundation

PROS-It will give you more coverage than the Liquid Foundation. That's it. That's about all I can think of.

CONS-Unfortunately, it rubs off QUITE quickly. It is also tinted slightly differently than the liquid foundation so I found it harder to match my skin tone. Also, when it was warm outside it wipes RIGHT off, and revealed every blemish on my face! LOL, it also wipes off on your clothes, stains your hands, the whole bit. It's moderately priced as well, so if you want to look nice for a date at night, going somewhere cool, it's a quick fix, but I wouldn't wear it to the club, or a carnival, anywhere that will be warm, or sweaty. It also comes in the same.

3- Black Opal True Color Liquid Foundation - Black Walnut

PROS-Awesome Coverage. There is quite a bit in the bottle so it will last you quite a while. It is an upright standing bottle with a generous opening, so if you pour out too much, it won't be too difficult to get back into the bottle, so you can SAVE, SAVE, SAVE! I wear foundation every day, sometimes wash my face and re-apply if going out that night, and this bottle lasts me about a good two months or so. You will find that it ranges from about 8-12 bucks... depending on where you live. So it is a great buy.

CONS- If you have combination to oily skin, WEAR POWDER, and keep it with you! During these upcoming warm to hot days, you may look really greasy in the face. But if you keep Blotters with you, or powders, you should be okay. Also, it might just be that MY skin tone changes, so if that is the case disregard, but I find that when I go to buy a new one, the shade might not match like the previous one, so be mindful of that.

Another con is that Black Opal Products may be a little harder to find in stores than other products that I mention. I don't know if it's that they're not that popular, or what, but whenever I look I always find them in either Rite-Aid, or CVS. So, happy hunting. Other colors good for brown-skinned girls... Carob, Suede Mocha, and Ebony Brown..... And for you borderline caramel to brown-skin girls, Hazelnut!

4-Maybelline Pure Make-Up (Shine Free Foundation with H2O) - Cocoa (Dark 3)

PROS- Very affordable, easy to find. Located in Most drugstores, supermarkets, Wal-Mart. Costs range about 5.99-10 bucks, depending on your region. Full coverage, doesn't clog your pores, spreads easily.

CONS-Upside down tube, so you will have to be exact about how much is needed for your face, cause if you use too much... it will go to waste. Limited colors for darker skin tones. They only have THREE shades for women of OUR color. Dark 1- Tan, Dark 2- Caramel, and Dark 3-Cocoa. I have used the Cocoa. It is way too dark for my skin-tone.

However, the Caramel Dark 2 is too light. So, if you are pressed for money and don't have the money to experiment, I wouldn't waste my time on this product. They have FIVE shades dedicated to light, FOUR for medium and only three for us darkies??!!! Leave this product alone, unless you happen to match EXACTLY. Good luck evading the lady who tries to watch you when you try to sample the products in the store!

5- Black Radiance Color Perfect Oil Free Liquid Make-Up- Cocoa Bean

PROS-Very affordable! VERY! Somewhat accessible. Costs about 5.99-10 bucks, and you can find it in a lot of Beauty Supply stores, CVS carries it. Spreads evenly, good coverage, get quite a bit for your buck. Also, comes in a jar with an open spout, so if you have too much, you can put it back in there. Gives you a nice matte finish.

CONS- Cocoa Bean does NOT match my skin tone! But I also have strange undertones going on with my skin, so that could be why it is so difficult to match. When you apply this make-up it dries a different color, it's crazy. There's this... weird... applicator thingy, not sure what to do with it, but it just got in my way basically. Says it is good for all skin types, but I have very sensitive skin on my face, and I found that within thirty minutes my face was suffocating and I needed to wash it off. Other shades to try are Brownie and Mocha Honey.

6- L'Oreal True Match Super Blendable Make-Up- Nut Brown

PROS-Oh my goodness you guys this make-up was awesome! Spread really, really great! Matches wonderfully for a yellow undertone. Really does a brown-skinned girl justice. Light, so your skin can breathe. Good coverage for girls with blemishes. Pretty easy to find, and I say that with hesitance, because 7 times out of 10 they will carry all BUT the shades for brown-skinned. Um, I find them at Wal-Mart, Walgreens..and that's pretty much it.

CONS- This product has SPF and I am VERY allergic to sun block so it broke me out something terrible. Kind of hard to find. It's a little more expensive than the previous products mentioned. MMM, I would say about 10.99 and up. You may be able to find it on sale. Also, there is not a whole lot in the bottle, so use sparingly if you can. Other shades to try.... Soft Sable and Cocoa.

7- Revlon Color Stay Make-Up with Soft Flex - Mahogany

PROS- Pretty easy to find in most drugstores. Colors are good for brown-skinned girls. Kind of affordable. A little on the higher end but about 9.99-12.99 for this product. The coverage is okay... Not the best, but if you are looking for light to moderate coverage this is a good product.

CONS- Now, I found that Mahogany did not match my undertones that great. I know.... Again with the undertones. It dried and made my skin look a little grayish and chalky. There is not really a good selection to choose from for darker skin tones. Has SPF6, bad for me, but good for anyone who is not allergic. Also, again, if you don't have the undertone problem.... Other shades to try... Cappuccino and Mocha.

And lastly but CERTAINLY not least...

8- Maybelline Dream Liquid Mousse - Cocoa (Dark 3)

PROS- OH MY GOSH...... loving this product!! (sing song voice) this is the current make up I am using now! It def does what the commercial says. It covers your pores, and gives you a great finish! Maximum coverage! Need NO concealer, well... maybe a little bit, but I don't use any. It is very affordable, anywhere from about 7-10 bucks. I found it right at the Kroger grocery store, so it should be available at most drug stores. It has a nifty little nozzle that squirts out and it's really convenient. It is also whipped feeling, and I apply with my fingers.

It just glides right on, and begins covering all my pores and dark spots, and its not too heavy, I don't have to put on a bunch. The top also comes off, so if I over-squirt, I can put it right back in the bottle. There's lots in the bottle, and you don't have to use a lot for coverage. I think I bought this bottle a month ago and I still have a little more than half a bottle left. It's great! I love it. Hopefully this will be the end of the road for me, but usually it isn't!

CONS-Again, it's Maybelline, and you know they don't cater to the brownies, so there are only three shades of this color which is aforementioned Dark 1, Dark 2, Dark 3. Dark 3 of this particular make-up works really well for me. Weird the other Maybelline product Dark 3 didn't work, but oh well. That's the only con I can come up with for this product so far.

So, in closing, I know a lot of people are saying well what about MAC? MAC, well first, MAC isn't exactly what I would call easy or easily accessible. MAC is usually found at a counter in a dept store, or MAC store in the mall, and both close around 9 pm. I am a girl on a budget, and I can't afford to pay 15-25 bucks for make up that doesn't seem to last very long, actually. And also, with my sensitive skin, MAC gives me a rash. I have tried the Studio Tech Compact in NW50. If you don't mind paying a little bit more then here are some other shades to try... NW45, NW47, NC50, NC55, and NW55.

PS, I have tried Clinique, the shade wasn't worth mentioning because it made me look gray and gave me a rash. Fashion Fair is good too if you can find it, but again, a little out of my budget right now, and usually can only be found in a dept store or the mall. I haven't worn it in years, so I do not remember the shade. But Fashion Fair offers a BUNCH of shades for us chocolates!

I hope this article helped a lot. I will continue to discuss blushes, concealers, lipsticks, and glosses, mineral powders, bronzers, eye shadows....ahh! Most DEF eye shadows, my favorite, and beauty tricks... some ghetto.... Hope you enjoy! Happy hunting ladies.

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Cash Register Shortage Control - Is Mandatory Payback Effective?

The high school senior was so excited about her upcoming school dance. Her dress was exquisite, and her shoes and purse matched perfectly. She was saving money from her job at the local fast food restaurant to pay for all she needed to make the event so special. There were flowers to choose, a limo for her and her date and a few friends, pictures, and a whole lot of extras that would make the evening a long lasting memory. She had all her future earnings planned out for the next few weeks and earmarked for the special occasion. What she had not planned for was the inexplicable shortage of $20 on her cash till at work. The restaurant had a policy that all cash shortages had to be paid back. "Oh no!" she thought. "I didn't steal any money; what am I going to do? I need every penny I earn to pay for the dance."

Mandatory Payback Policy

When consulting with retailers and restaurant owners, the conversation will generally turn to cash shortages. A few have boasted they simply did not have cash shortages because of the policy they put in place. The policy required cashiers to pay back shortages in their tills. They further stated that shortages may occur once or twice, but after paying for the shortages, a cashier was not often short again. The shortages required no investigation, no investment of a manager's valuable time, no disciplinary action, and no complicated cash handling policies.

Policy Repercussions

So having investigated many, many cash shortages and implemented effective cash control programs for retailers and restaurants, paying back cash shortages is not part of the equation unless of course a thorough investigation was conducted, the cashier admitted to cash thefts and restitution was part of the resolution. Docking pay or having an employee pay the employer for cash shortages could result in the employee making less than minimum wage and jeopardize the employer of violating wage and hour laws.

Unintended Consequences

Making cashiers pay back shortages may also have an opposite effect of its intention. Suppose that the young cashier is making preparations to go to the special dance, as in the scenario above. She needs money for her gown, matching shoes, tickets, hair and make-up, and perhaps sharing the cost of a limo. It's all a great expense for the young lady, but she is budgeting carefully and every dollar she earns is allotted as she prepares for her special event. She is a very good cashier and even better employee. But, alas, her cash drawer comes up short. She didn't steal any cash from the till. A mistake in counting back change or mishandling currency may have been the problem. Perhaps there are other possible explanations. Maybe there was a mistake by a manager removing excess cash from her cash register. Maybe another cashier rang transactions on her register while she was on break and mishandled the cash - or stole it.

According to the rules, our cashier has to pay back the shortage. She panics because she envisions her perfect evening will be ruined. She can't afford to pay back the shortage. Could she ask for permission to not pay back the shortage? Sure. Could she ask someone to loan her the money? Yes. But, she is desperate. She decides to get the money back by methods she knew other cashiers were doing. They had been ringing fraudulent transactions and stealing money for longer than she had worked there and not one manager ever questioned them about it. They had bragged often about their "extra" money. She had always been disgusted with their cavalier attitude about stealing. She makes her decision. She would only take the amounts needed to make her dance special, - and then pay it back.

She rings fictitious employee meals, voids, refunds and price reductions and pockets the cash. She's stealing! It was so easy that she continues to take money far exceeding the amounts she had intended to pay back. The manager can quickly spot register shortages, but neglected the other parts of cash management. The thefts continue long past her dance and her cash drawer is never short - and she never pays it back. She crossed the line, and is now a thief. If caught she could be arrested.

Cash Management

This story is true, and has occurred at many retail stores and restaurants. A sound cash management program does not require cash shortages to be reimbursed. The incidences of cash shortage should be recorded in the performance history of the cashier. Cash management programs should include investigations of significant cash variances and implementation of progressive disciplines for each incident that require retraining when needed. Acceptable tolerance levels should be established for each component of customer transactions such as voids, refunds, price reductions, and no sales. Performance in these areas should be monitored and disciplines established for poor performance. Each time an exception occurs outside the acceptable level of performance in handling cash transactions the discipline is stronger. For example, the first time a cashier is short more than $3, a written warning is reviewed with the cashier. The warning includes heavier repercussions with subsequent violations that may lead to suspension and possibly termination. The concept is called progressive discipline. The warning puts the employee on notice that their performance is being monitored, that proper cash handling is important, and establishes documentation of poor performance. The idea is to change behavior.

Effective loss control programs contain these elements of cash management. They are fair and equitable, establish the "ground rules" for performance in cash handling, and provide accountability to those employees who may be stealing by manipulating transactions. Requiring the payback of cash shortages as the foundation of a cash management program does not adequately address poor performance in cash handling. It may even the cash tills, but does little to address exploiting the lack of cash controls.

By D. B. "Libby" Libhart, CPP

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Five Fun Baby Shower Themes For Boys

When a bouncing baby boy is on the way, throwing a fun baby shower for the expectant Mom will make for one special day. Choosing a baby shower theme is one of the first steps in party planning so here are five fun options for baby boys. If you want to be the hostess with the mostest, go beyond that same old boring blue theme for a boy and dare to be different. Your guests will be thrilled!

1) Frog Themed Baby Shower - A green frog theme is an excellent baby boy shower choice and today, retailers offer a wide range of shower tableware and accessories with a froggy theme. When it comes to the food for a frog themed shower, think green. Make some cucumber lily pad appetizers and some peanut butter filled celery sticks with raisins to create flies on a log if you want to give your guests a smile while they are eating. For a centerpiece that does double-duty as your gift to the Mom-to-be, consider buying a frog inspired diaper cake. Every new Mom can use diapers and this is one creative gift that is sure to impress. As for the shower games, try an old-fashioned game of leapfrog.

2) Train Baby Shower - Thomas the Train has made many-a-boy think about being a train conductor when they grow up and Thomas has made the train theme popular for both birthday parties and for baby showers. The Carter baby company has introduced a beautiful line of train themed tableware that is the perfect choice for a boy's baby shower. You can get creative setting up a real toy train set to go around the buffet table. Buy the guests inexpensive conductor's hats and be sure to incorporate the train them in the invitations and thank you notes as well.

3) Old McDonald or Farm Animal Themed Shower - This shower theme is super cute for boys. You can incorporate all the barnyard animals such as pigs, cows, chickens, sheep and more into the party through the tableware, cake, and party favors. Decorate with cow print balloons and red, black and white streamers. Use a toy barn that will double as the baby shower gift as the centerpiece on the buffet or dessert table. Wilton has tons of fun barn animal cake and cupcake designs so just head to their website and do a quick search to find the perfect one for you to bake. For games, play barnyard animal charades or the name the baby animal game. Be sure to have the Old McDonald music playing when guests arrive at your ho-down! This theme is perfect for summer picnic-type showers. You could even use hay bales as seats around the picnic tables that are covered in red and white checked tablecloths.

4) Safari or Jungle Baby Shower - One of the most popular showers for boys is a King of the Jungle or safari animal baby shower that incorporates lions, tigers, giraffes, monkeys, and more. Create your very own jungle in your party location using tree cutouts and green paper vines. You can use stuffed monkeys to hang from the vines too. For the food, be sure to make some jungle animal cupcakes or a large Safari cake. There are instructions for an awesome Safari cake at Wilton. For the food itself, you can use animal-shaped cookie cutters to make jello-jigglers or finger sandwiches in animal shapes. An animal themed diaper cake or gift basket would make a perfect centerpiece.

5) All Star Sport Shower - If Dad is a sports enthusiast, then you can't go wrong with this shower theme. Create invitations or a shower banner that looks like a scoreboard. For the food table, lay down some fake grass turf that is painted with white lines like a football field. Serve the food on sports themed trays and be sure to have sports themed tableware like plates and napkins. And if Dad is a baseball fan, make it a "Little Slugger" themed shower instead.

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Cash Register Shortage Control - Is Mandatory Payback Effective?

The high school senior was so excited about her upcoming school dance. Her dress was exquisite, and her shoes and purse matched perfectly. She was saving money from her job at the local fast food restaurant to pay for all she needed to make the event so special. There were flowers to choose, a limo for her and her date and a few friends, pictures, and a whole lot of extras that would make the evening a long lasting memory. She had all her future earnings planned out for the next few weeks and earmarked for the special occasion. What she had not planned for was the inexplicable shortage of $20 on her cash till at work. The restaurant had a policy that all cash shortages had to be paid back. "Oh no!" she thought. "I didn't steal any money; what am I going to do? I need every penny I earn to pay for the dance."

Mandatory Payback Policy

When consulting with retailers and restaurant owners, the conversation will generally turn to cash shortages. A few have boasted they simply did not have cash shortages because of the policy they put in place. The policy required cashiers to pay back shortages in their tills. They further stated that shortages may occur once or twice, but after paying for the shortages, a cashier was not often short again. The shortages required no investigation, no investment of a manager's valuable time, no disciplinary action, and no complicated cash handling policies.

Policy Repercussions

So having investigated many, many cash shortages and implemented effective cash control programs for retailers and restaurants, paying back cash shortages is not part of the equation unless of course a thorough investigation was conducted, the cashier admitted to cash thefts and restitution was part of the resolution. Docking pay or having an employee pay the employer for cash shortages could result in the employee making less than minimum wage and jeopardize the employer of violating wage and hour laws.

Unintended Consequences

Making cashiers pay back shortages may also have an opposite effect of its intention. Suppose that the young cashier is making preparations to go to the special dance, as in the scenario above. She needs money for her gown, matching shoes, tickets, hair and make-up, and perhaps sharing the cost of a limo. It's all a great expense for the young lady, but she is budgeting carefully and every dollar she earns is allotted as she prepares for her special event. She is a very good cashier and even better employee. But, alas, her cash drawer comes up short. She didn't steal any cash from the till. A mistake in counting back change or mishandling currency may have been the problem. Perhaps there are other possible explanations. Maybe there was a mistake by a manager removing excess cash from her cash register. Maybe another cashier rang transactions on her register while she was on break and mishandled the cash - or stole it.

According to the rules, our cashier has to pay back the shortage. She panics because she envisions her perfect evening will be ruined. She can't afford to pay back the shortage. Could she ask for permission to not pay back the shortage? Sure. Could she ask someone to loan her the money? Yes. But, she is desperate. She decides to get the money back by methods she knew other cashiers were doing. They had been ringing fraudulent transactions and stealing money for longer than she had worked there and not one manager ever questioned them about it. They had bragged often about their "extra" money. She had always been disgusted with their cavalier attitude about stealing. She makes her decision. She would only take the amounts needed to make her dance special, - and then pay it back.

She rings fictitious employee meals, voids, refunds and price reductions and pockets the cash. She's stealing! It was so easy that she continues to take money far exceeding the amounts she had intended to pay back. The manager can quickly spot register shortages, but neglected the other parts of cash management. The thefts continue long past her dance and her cash drawer is never short - and she never pays it back. She crossed the line, and is now a thief. If caught she could be arrested.

Cash Management

This story is true, and has occurred at many retail stores and restaurants. A sound cash management program does not require cash shortages to be reimbursed. The incidences of cash shortage should be recorded in the performance history of the cashier. Cash management programs should include investigations of significant cash variances and implementation of progressive disciplines for each incident that require retraining when needed. Acceptable tolerance levels should be established for each component of customer transactions such as voids, refunds, price reductions, and no sales. Performance in these areas should be monitored and disciplines established for poor performance. Each time an exception occurs outside the acceptable level of performance in handling cash transactions the discipline is stronger. For example, the first time a cashier is short more than $3, a written warning is reviewed with the cashier. The warning includes heavier repercussions with subsequent violations that may lead to suspension and possibly termination. The concept is called progressive discipline. The warning puts the employee on notice that their performance is being monitored, that proper cash handling is important, and establishes documentation of poor performance. The idea is to change behavior.

Effective loss control programs contain these elements of cash management. They are fair and equitable, establish the "ground rules" for performance in cash handling, and provide accountability to those employees who may be stealing by manipulating transactions. Requiring the payback of cash shortages as the foundation of a cash management program does not adequately address poor performance in cash handling. It may even the cash tills, but does little to address exploiting the lack of cash controls.

By D. B. "Libby" Libhart, CPP

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Inexpensive Kids Birthday Party Locations

While throwing your child a birthday party is high on any parents list, most people don't want to spend a fortune for the celebration. Depending on the time of year and your budget, there are some great options for the location of the party (other than your home).

If you do decide to throw a party outside your home, be sure to include your child in the location decision. If the child is young, you may want to bring them to the location prior to the party so that they can get comfortable and excited about the upcoming event. Most kids look forwarding to opening their presents at the end of their party. So whatever option you choose, make sure you set aside a special place where all the party goers can place the birthday gifts.

1. Town Park Shelter. Many local communities offer rental shelters at the parks where they have picnic tables, grills and play equipment for the kids. The older children can go play while the adults hang out. The food doesn't have to be gourmet, instead keep it simple and easy like barbecuing hot dogs or burgers or a couple baked lasagnas with salad. Follow up with a fun birthday cake from your local warehouse club, grocery store or your own kitchen.

2. Fast Food Restaurant. Both McDonald's and Hardees offer kids parties that include a party hostess, food and cake at reasonable prices. The other great thing about these restaurants is that many have Playlands or plastic ball pits so that the kids can be entertained while the adults chit-chat and relax a bit.

3. Children's or Science Museum. If you have a larger budget, a local science or children's museum can be a great place to hold a birthday party. Some places have party hostesses and provide some supplies, so just check what they provide in your city. You may only need to bring a birthday cake and presents.

4. Movie Theater. Many towns have inexpensive or dollar show theaters that will rent out the entire theater or give you big group discount as well as discounts on snacks and soda. Some theaters will let you bring in some of your own snacks and a cake so just check and see what can be done at your local theater by speaking with the manager.

5. Neighborhood Club House. If you live in a planned community, chances are that you have a club house in your neighborhood or apartment complex. Often these rooms are either free or can be rented for a nominal fee by residents. The club house would likely give you more room than your home, but it would still be close enough that you could set up the birthday party relatively easily. Not to mention, you don't have to clean your house!

6. Local Fire Department. Often times, local fire departments have rooms that they will allow local residents utilize for free or for a nominal fee. Some fire departments will even give the children of a private birthday party a tour of the department and let them try on some of the firefighters' gear and get their photos taken. These pictures make great keepsake gifts for all the children.

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The Writing Style of Hemingway

For Whom the Bell Tolls portrays the typical Hemingway characters and addresses the issues of machoism and womanizing. In this novel, as in many of his other works, Hemingway employs extensive use of what is known as the Hemingway Code. Numerous influences from various people and events from his personal life also had an effect on his writing.

Many people hold the opinion that there has been no American writer like Ernest Hemingway. A member of the World War I "lost generation," Hemingway was in many ways his own best character. Whether as his childhood nickname of "Champ" or as the older "Papa," Ernest Hemingway became a legend of his own lifetime. Although the drama and romance of his life sometimes seem to overshadow the quality of his work, Hemingway was first and foremost a literary scholar, a writer and reader of books. This is often overlooked among all the talk about his safaris and hunting trips, adventures with bullfighting, fishing and war. Hemingway enjoyed being famous, and delighted in playing for the public spotlight. However, Hemingway considered himself an artist, and he did not want to become celebrated for all the wrong reasons.

Hemingway was born in the quiet town of Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, on July 21, 1899. His father was a physician, and Ernest was the second of six children born to Dr. and Mrs. Clarence E. Hemingway. His mother, a devout, religious woman with considerable music talent, hoped that her son would develop an interest in music. Instead, Ernest acquired his father's enthusiasm for guns and for fishing trips in the north woods of Michigan (Lynn 63).

From almost the beginning of his writing career, Hemingway employed a distinctive style which drew comment from many critics. Hemingway does not give way to lengthy geographical and psychological description. His style has been said to lack substance because he avoids direct statements and descriptions of emotion. Basically his style is simple, direct and somewhat plain. He developed a forceful prose style characterized by simple sentences and few adverbs or adjectives. He wrote concise, vivid dialogue and exact description of places and things. Critic Harry Levin pointed out the weakness of syntax and diction in Hemingway's writing, but was quick to praise his ability to convey action(Rovit 47).

Hemingway spent the early part of his career as a journalist. In 1937, he went to Spain to cover the Spanish Civil War for the North American Newspaper Alliance. After a few months in Spain, Hemingway announced his plan to write a book with the Spanish Civil War as its background. The result was For Whom the Bell Tolls.

The majority of his early novels were narrated in the first person and enclosed within a single point of view, however, when Hemingway wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls, he used several different narrative techniques. He employed the use of internal monologues(where the reader is in the "mind" of a particular character), objective descriptions, rapid shifts of point of view, and in general a looser structure than in his earlier works. Hemingway believed that "a writer's style should be direct and personal, his imagery rich and earthy, and his words simple and vigorous. The greatest writers have the gift of brevity, are hard workers, diligent scholars and competent stylists(Magill 1287).

For Whom the Bell Tolls is the most serious and politically motivated novel that Hemingway wrote. There are few comic or light episodes in the entire book. For Whom the Bell Tolls is an attempt to present in depth a country and people that Hemingway loved very much. It was an effort to deal honestly with a very complex war made even more complex by the beliefs it inspired(Gurko 127).

Common to almost all of Hemingway's novels is the concept of the Hemingway hero, sometimes known as the "code hero." When Hemingway's novels were first published, the public readily accepted them. Part of this acceptance was due to the fact that Hemingway had created a character whose response to life appealed strongly to those who read his works. The reader saw in the Hemingway hero a person whom they could identify with in almost a dream sense. The Hemmingway hero was a man's man. He moved from one love affair to another, he participated in wild game hunting, enjoyed bullfights, drank insatiably, he was involved in all of the so-called manly activities in which the typical American male did not participate(Rovit 56).

Hemingway's involvement in the war instilled him with deep-seated political views. For Whom the Bell Tolls is a study of the individual involved in what was a politically motivated war. But this novel differs greatly from Hemingway's prior portrayal of the individual hero in the world. In this book, the hero accepts the people around him, not only a few select members of the distinguished, but with the whole community. The organization of this community is stated with great eloquence in the quotation from one of the poet John Donne's sermons upon the death of a close friend. This is the quotation from which the book takes its title:

No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe, every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine, if a Clod bee washed away by the Sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a Promontorie were, as well as if a Mannor of thy friends or of thine owne were; any mans death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for I thee.

Therefore, while the hero retains the qualities of the Hemingway Code, he has been built up by his unity with mankind. In the end, he finds the world a "fine place," that is "worth fighting for"(Curly 795). In his personal confrontation with death, Robert Jordan realizes that there is a larger cause that a man can chose to serve. In this way he differs from the earlier Hemingway hero. The insistence that action and its form be solely placed on one individual is still present, along with the need for the character to dominate that action. However, this issue is not longer a single matador against a single bull, or an individual character against his entire environment. The person is the "instrument of mankind" against the horrors of war. The political issues of this book are therefore presented not as a "contrast of black and white, but in the shaded tones of reality"(Magill 491).

While Jordan is the epitome of the hero in his actions, he is also in command of himself and his circumstances to a far greater extent than Hemingway's previous heroes; he is driven to face reality by deep emotional needs. Jordan's drives in the novel seem to be a direct reflection of Hemingway's own, because Hemingway had also been deeply affected by the suicide of his own father (Kunitz 561). Ironically, suicide as an escape from reality is a violation of Hemingway's own code. The self-doubt and fear that such an act brings to the children of a person who commits suicide is a well-known psychological outcome. This is perhaps why the painfulness of their fears causes Hemingway's heroes to avoid "thinking" at all costs. For "thinking" too much may prevent a person from reacting. And without something to react to, the hero is left to face his inner fears (Magill 474). Death is also used by Hemingway at the end of the novel to resolve the dramatic conflicts established by the story. The theme of death is likewise observable in other parts of the book, such as when the characters express their concern about dying during the attack on the bridge. As in other works following the suicide of his father, Hemingway brings his characters face to face with death. He admires those who face death bravely and without expressing emotion. For Hemingway, a man does not truly live life until analyzes the significance of death personally(Brooks 323).

In contrast to the Hemingway heroes are his female characters. Hemingway's approach to women in his works is particularly masculine. They are seen and valued in relation to the men in his stories insofar as they are absolutely feminine. Hemingway does not go into their inner world except as this world is related to the men with whom they are involved. The reader comes to view them as love objects or as anti-love figures (Whitlock 231). Part of the reason Hemingway had this opinion of woman was because the way he viewed his mother. He believed his mother to be a manipulator and blamed her in part for the suicide of his father. "The qualities he thought admirable in a man-ambition, and independent point of view, defiance of his supremacy-became threatening in a woman"(Kert 103).

Hemingway's heroines almost always personify the physical appearance of the ideal woman in their beauty. But in their personality they appear as two types: the "all-woman" who gives herself entirely to the hero and the "femme fatale" who retains herself and prevents the hero from possessing her completely. The "all-woman" is acceptable in Hemingway view because she submits to the hero. She wants no other life than with him. By succumbing to the hero, she allows him to dominate her and affirm his manhood. The "femme fatale" is usually a more complex character than the "all-woman" (Lynn 98). While she may or may not be nasty, she does not submit to the hero and wounds him and all the men around her primarily because they can not manage her and thus can not assert their manhood through her. But despite Hemmingway's portrayal of women, he usually has them fall into the same basic category as the men. The heroine, like the hero, obeys the "Hemmingway Code." She sees life for what it is even as she longs for something more. She is basically courageous in life, choosing reality over thought, and she faces death stoically. In practically every case there has already been in her life some tragic event-the loss of a lover, violence-which has given her the strength to face life this way (Lynn 102).

For Whom the Bell Tolls "is a living example of how, in modern times, the epic quality must be projected" (Baker 132). Heroic action is an epic quality, and For Whom the Bell Tolls contains this element. The setting is simple and the emphasis is on the basic virtues of uncomplicated people. The men are engaged in the conflict are prepared to sacrifice their lives; they are exceptional for their deeds of daring and heroism (Baker 94).

Behind the conception of this idea of the hero lies the disillusionment of the American public, the disillusionment that was brought about by the First World War. The impressionable man came to realize that the old ideas and beliefs rooted in religion and ethics had not helped to save man the catastrophe of World War I. As a result, after the war came to an end, Hemingway and other writers began to look for a new system of values, a system of values that would replace the old attitudes which they thought proved to be useless. The writers who adopted these new beliefs came to be known as the "lost generation."

The "lost generation," was a name instituted by Gertrude Stein and it signified the postwar generation and the literary movement produced by the young writers of the time (Unger 654). Their writing reflected their belief that "the only reality was that life is harsh" (Bryfonski 1874).

A great deal has been written about Ernest Hemingway's distinctive style. Ever since he began writing in the 1920's, he has been the subject of lavish praise and sometimes savage criticism. He has not been ignored.

To explain Hemingway's style in a few paragraphs in such a manner as to satisfy those who have read his articles and books is almost impossible. It is a simple style, straight forward and modest. Hemingway's prose is unadorned as a result of his abstaining from using adjectives as much as possible. He relates a story in the form of straight journalism, but because he is a master of transmitting emotion with out embellishing it, the product is even more enjoyable.

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Using the Five Senses to Enhance Your Writing

Sight

This is the one sense that provides most of the detail for our stories. Our words become our readers' eyes, giving us a blank canvas upon which to paint a picture to tell our story. From the sight of a common fear, such as a spider creeping silently along the floor to the glimpse of a shadow on the stairway... sight is our greatest source of horror inspiration and description. When describing the sight of something terrifying there's a huge resource at the writer's disposal, because we can use our other senses to add glorious, gory detail to our descriptions. Here's an example of how all five of our senses can be used to describe a simple scene:

The apple was bright green, its skin polished and shining as it nestled in the fruit bowl (sight). The scent was fresh, as though the fruit had just been plucked from the tree (smell). She took it from the bowl, her fingers closing around the firm smooth skin (touch) as she lifted it to her lips. The apple crunched loudly (sound) as her teeth cut through the skin into the tart, juicy flesh (taste). As the fresh juice ran down her throat she noticed a small black speck moving slowly in the creamy flesh. Closer inspection revealed that she hadn't just taken a bite from the apple - she'd bitten through a fat, juicy worm.

Sound

Remember when you were a small child, and your parents put you to bed? Perhaps there was no nightlight, and the TV room was at the other end of the house...

You're lying in your bed. All alone. Desperately waiting for your eyes to accustom to the dark you hear it - a soft, scratching noise - and it seems to be coming from under the bed. It lasts only a moment before it stops. You wonder if you were hearing things, and you're so desperate for the darkness to lighten you forget to blink. The blackness seems to swirl around you, cloaking you in a thick, black fog through which no light can penetrate. Suddenly it's there again, only this time the scratching seems closer. And louder. It seems to last a bit longer this time. So you hold your breath, because that darkness doesn't seem to be lifting. You've lost the sense of sight, so by not breathing you hope to hear the sound more clearly, and identify its location...

The description above relies on the complete absence of the sense of sight. This is where fear comes in and can play a major descriptive role - in this case blind fear. To compensate for loss of sight the sense of hearing becomes more acute, so the writer can introduce other horror-inducing thoughts and impressions. Where is the sound coming from? How close is it? Will I be able to feel it if it decides to climb on the bed? When will my eyes get used to the darkness? Should I start panicking now? If I get out of bed will it jump on top of me?

Touch

This sense conjures up description of things most us will probably try to never touch, like slime, frogs and warty skin. All these items are perfect for the horror/scary genre, but writers can also take the more ordinary touch phobias and use those items to horrific effect. Some people cannot bear to touch velvet, while others are terrified of touching paper. Still others find their skin crawls when they encounter cotton wool...

Opening the wooden box in the hotel bathroom, she recoiled in horror. Nestling quietly in the bottom of the box, white and shining, was a cluster of cotton wall balls. She stepped back, collapsing on the side of the bath. The mere thought of feeling those soft fibres squeaking as the ball pressed against her skin was enough to induce goosebumps. She wrapped her arms around herself in a subconscious effort to protect her body from the fear she'd had her entire life. Just thinking about cotton balls made her skin crawl. She moaned quietly, remembering the silent noise they emitted when squeezed; a noise that seemed to pass right through her skin. Through her panic she wondered if she'd remember to pack her facial sponges...

Descriptions of this particular sense can been embellished with the use of physical reactions to feeling certain items; goosebumps, stepping away from the source of horror, collapsing with fear, subconscious act of defence (hugging the body) and a noise of fear (moaning). All these reactions add to the reader's imagination, while adding to the picture your words are "painting".

Smell

Bad smells in the horror/scary genre usually mean something bad is about to happen or has already happened. The smell of rotting or burning flesh is probably the most common description applicable to this genre, and the description of the smell can also be used to indicate how the death occurred. Bad household smells range from two week old pizza languishing in the refrigerator to potatoes burning in a pot on the stove. Adjectives include: smelly, reeking, fetid, malodorous, rank, putrid and noxious.

As she applied the finishing touches to the client's hair, a sharp smell suddenly assaulted her nostrils. It was a smell she hated and dreaded, because it was an odour so terrible the memory remained burned into the subconscious forever. She froze as the acrid stench filled the air, assaulting her nostrils and her throat with its foul flavour. An instant later her salon filled with gasps and shrieks of horror. She turned towards the three ladies seated underneath the dryers. Mrs Hamilton and Mrs Edgar had managed to wriggle out from underneath their dryers, but poor Mrs Smith was unable to move. One of the pins from her rollers had obviously caught in the dryer, and ignited her hair. Smoke was seeping out of the top of the machine, which had started to spark. Placing her hand over her mouth and nose in a attempt to banish the malodorous scent she started to move towards Mrs Smith, who screamed as flames began flickering out of the dryer..."

Taste

Most, if not all of us, have an aversion to a certain food. We don't like to eat it and the taste of it makes us feel sick. Perhaps the mere thought of tasting it is enough to induce some horrible thoughts and feelings.

The candlelight caught the designs on the wineglass, casting a dark crimson glow on the table. He lifted the glass to his lips, the rich musky flavour of the cabernet sauvignon still drifting over his taste buds. At the first sip of the wine he almost choked. There was obviously something wrong with this new bottle of wine, for the liquid in his mouth had a bitter, sour taste. Although the consistency was the same as the previous glass, there was an acidic flavour he could not identify... although it seemed vaguely familiar. He swirled the liquid around in his mouth before swallowing it. It seemed to sting his tongue and burn the roof of his mouth, and when he swallowed the acrid liquid his throat tingled. Suppressing the urge to cough he reached for the glass of water next to his plate and took a sip. As the cool water cleansed the tart taste from his palate his hostess lifted the bottle he'd used to fill his wineglass... and poured balsamic vinegar over her plate of salad.

Writers have a magnitude of adjectives at their disposal when describing the horror of tasting unappetising food. These include: pungent, sour, acrid, bitter, fetid, stinking, putrid, decaying, rancid, reek, stale and bad.

Real life can be far more fascinating than fiction, and using our senses in our writing proves this truth. So the next time you sit down in front of your keyboard tap in to those five senses, and see just how they can colour your words!

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Report Writing - How to Format a Business Report

Introduction

Report writing is a time consuming business so it is a great shame if, having devoted all that time to writing your report, the quality is such that hardly anyone can be bothered to read it. Quite frankly, most report readers do not actually read all the report; they are too short of time. You might as well know it and accept it -- that is normal. They only read the parts that interest them. Frequently these are the summary, the conclusions and recommendations.

Of course, some readers do need all the details you so carefully included, they are specialists, but most do not. Most readers just need two things: that the information they want is where they expect it to be so they can find it, and that it is written clearly so that they can understand it.

It is similar to reading a newspaper. You expect the news headlines to be on the front page; the sports coverage to be at the back; the TV listings on page whatever and the editorial comment in the middle. If what you want is not in its usual place then you have to hunt for it and you may get irritated. So it is with a report.

There is a convention as to what goes where. Stick with the convention and please your readers. Break the convention and people may get slightly irritated - and bin your report.

So what is that convention, the standard format?

Standard Sections

Title Section. In a short report this may simply be the front cover. In a long one it could also include Terms of Reference, Table of Contents and so on.

Summary. Give a clear and very concise account of the main points, main conclusions and main recommendations. Keep it very short, a few percent of the total length. Some people, especially senior managers, may not read anything else so write as if it were a stand-alone document. It isn't but for some people it might as well be. Keep it brief and free from jargon so that anyone can understand it and get the main points. Write it last, but do not copy and paste from the report itself; that rarely works well.

Introduction. This is the first part of the report proper. Use it to paint the background to 'the problem' and to show the reader why the report is important to them. Give your terms of reference (if not in the Title Section) and explain how the details that follow are arranged. Write it in plain English.

Main Body. This is the heart of your report, the facts. It will probably have several sections or sub-sections each with its own subtitle. It is unique to your report and will describe what you discovered about 'the problem'.

These sections are most likely to be read by experts so you can use some appropriate jargon but explain it as you introduce it. Arrange the information logically, normally putting things in order of priority -- most important first. In fact, follow that advice in every section of your report.

You may choose to include a Discussion in which you explain the significance of your findings.

Conclusions. Present the logical conclusions of your investigation of 'the problem'. Bring it all together and maybe offer options for the way forward. Many people will read this section. Write it in plain English. If you have included a discussion then this section may be quite short.

Recommendations. What do you suggest should be done? Don't be shy; you did the work so state your recommendations in order of priority, and in plain English.

Appendices. Put the heavy details here, the information that only specialists are likely to want to see. As a guide, if some detail is essential to your argument then include it in the main body, if it merely supports the argument then it could go in an appendix.

Conclusions and Recommendations

In conclusion, remember that readers expect certain information to be in certain places. They do not expect to hunt for what they want and the harder you make it for them the more likely they are to toss you report to one side and ignore it. So what should you do?

1. Follow the generally accepted format for a report: Summary, Introduction, Main Body, Conclusions, Recommendations and Appendices.
2. Organise your information in each section in a logical fashion with the reader in mind, usually putting things in order of priority - most important first.

Good luck with your report writing!

Author: Tony Atherton
© Tony Atherton 2005)

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9 Steps for Coaching Call Center Agents

The call record method is, in my opinion, one of the best approaches to coaching agent phone calls and ensuring quality. Here's a 9-step plan for effectively coaching call center agent phone calls:

1. Randomly record 2 -3 telephone calls. Random recording is important. Do not record 3 calls back to back or on the same day, as your employee may be having a bad day and this may be reflected in all of one afternoon's calls, but is not necessarily reflective of their typical performance.

2. Review the calls and note strengths and opportunities. Before meeting with your employee, listen to the calls and note what they did well and identify 1 -2 opportunities for performance improvement.

3. Play one tape and let your employee listen. During the playing of the tape, you do not need to respond.

4. Have your employee respond to the tape. After the tape is played, ask your employee to respond. Most employees will be overly self-critical. Your employee will likely note many opportunities for improvement and struggle to articulate what they've done well.

5. Coach the call. Use the "sandwich" approach. Tell your employee what s/he did well, followed by constructive feedback, and then end with positive feedback. When offering constructive feedback, share only one opportunity for improvement. The employee has likely observed and stated several improvement opportunities so there is no need to bring these up again Try to mention one thin g the employee did not bring up and offer this as your constructive feedback.

6. Gain commitment for performance improvement. Ask the employee, "What specific steps will you take over the next 5 days to improve in this area?" Write down what the employee states and repeat it to her. Summarize the session by reiterating strengths and offering a vote of confidence that she can improve in the identified area.

7. Repeat steps 2 - 6 with a second and perhaps third tape if necessary. The point of numerous recording is that an employee may respond defensively stating that was just a "bad" call. If that is the response, you may choose to review a second or third tape.

8. Follow-up before the next agent coaching session. Check with your employee in between coaching sessions to keep the commitment top of mind. You can touch base with your employee via email or a personal conversation.

9. Discuss improvement in next coaching session. Before listening to calls in the next coaching session, ask your employee how she's progressing toward the goal of the last session. Look for improvement on calls reviewed in this session.

This 9-step call center agent coaching model is simple, clear and it both praises employees and offers support for improvement opportunities.

When you follow this 9-step process, you will set clear performance expectations, coach effectively and consistently and at the same time you will be motivating your employees.

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Four Easy Steps To Get Internet On PSP

Did you know you can use your PSP to access to WLAN (wireless LAN/Internet) for free? Most PSP fanatics don't even know this but it is very simple once they know how to setup their PSP! Continue to read as I will show you the way to do it.

There are several basic things you must know before starting to use your PSP to surf the internet. Internet on psp needs the source obviously, as long as you can comfortably access to it, it does not matter whether you are in your office, at home, at Starbucks/Mcdonald, or anywhere. A software called Wipeout Pure is necessary to get internet on PSP.

Ready to learn how to get Internet on PSP?

Internet on PSP - Step 1

Switch on your PSP, go to system menu and then enter "Network Settings". Go to "Infrastructure Mode" and select a connection to edit. A home connection is usually already setup in the PSP, select one connection to setup but leave the profile name as it is, Do not alter the setting of the WLAN.

Internet on PSP - Step2

Select the address setting and set it to custom, remember to not alter the IP Address setting, just leave it as Automatic.

Go to the DNS setting and set it to manual. Now you have to alter the setting. For the Primary DNS IP put "208.42.28.174" (Endgadget gateway) and the secondary put "0.0.0.0". If you can not access the internet, do not worry, do a quick search on Google, there are plenty of DNS settings you can find.

Internet on PSP - Step 3

Disable the proxy server, choose the "do not use" setting and press X to save.

Internet on PSP - Step 4

Run Wipeout Pure as normal. If you want to test it go to the download menu, use the connection you have just set if the browser come up with a Endgadget web screen, congratulation! you now know how to get internet on PSP.

When you have internet on your PSP, what the next thing you would do? play online game or watch Video on Youtube with your PSP?

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How To Tighten Your Stomach Muscles By Summer

The way to tighten your stomach muscles by summer is a two-fold process that works together, hand-in-hand. One does not work well without the other:

Changing your diet from one that is high in processed foods to one that is high in nutrients; and exercise.

These two programs work together and you will not achieve the desired results unless you incorporate both.

If you want to tighten your stomach muscles by summer you need to change your diet, exercise the muscles that have loosened up over time, and burn more calories. You can not continue to drink sodas, or eat fast or processed foods that are made up of white flour, and loaded with sugar. It just won't happen.

The problem with most North Americans today is that they have become accustomed to eating over-processed foods that are full of fat, sugar and calories, while depriving themselves of nutritious food that fuels their bodies and gives them energy. Their taste buds have become adulterated as they have become addicted to sugar and white flour products. Eating fresh fruits and vegetables; raw nuts and seeds; and whole grain products, are what the body craves to produce the energy that is required to burn the body fat, especially the fat around the abdominal muscles. Changing your eating habits is the first step that needs to be taken to tighten stomach muscles by summer.

Eliminating Sodas And Sugar

Eating sugary, over-processed foods and drinking sodas has caused the taste buds to become adulterated and sugar addictions to run rampant. Sugar is the leading cause of obesity, diabetes and tooth decay in the United States. Once the sugar is cut from the diet the body will go through sugar withdrawals for a week or two while the body readjust, but once the body has been cleared of the toxins and of this addiction, the body will no longer physically crave it .

It is the mental psychology that will need to be worked on next because even though the body no longer craves the sugar, the mind does. You need to retrain your mindset.

You can psyche yourself into not wanting these foods anymore, which is what needs to be done, because you can't just do a few months of healthy nutrition and exercise to tighten the stomach muscles for the summer and then give it all up once you have achieved your goal. This has to be a life long commitment. Once summer is over, if you resort back to your old unhealthy ways, your flabby belly will return quicker than it took to lose it, and you will be right back to where you began and it will be even harder to get rid of it again the next time around!

Retraining Your Mindset

To psyche your mind into not wanting to eat those artery clogging, fat producing, empty calorie foods is to continually ask yourself "Is this good for me?" You have to train your mind to think, when you look at a gooey sugary cupcake at the supermarket, "Yuck! How can people eat that stuff? It is so bad for the body! That is disgusting!" Turn it into your new mantra. By training your mind to think these thoughts, over and over, you will being thinking this way without thinking. In other words it will become second nature just as blinking your eyes or breathing. Real food will taste better, and after several months, the garbage food won't taste good any more as your taste buds return. I for one can not eat McDonald's hamburgers anymore without getting sick, in fact it has been over twenty years since I have had one and the smell of one turns me off now. My body can no longer tolerate the fats and preservatives that are in the hamburger meat and the white flour hamburger buns are like eating glue. They get stuck to the roof of my mouth and in my teeth. Disgusting!.

Exercise Along With Diet Change

To tighten your stomach muscles by summer you need to exercise along with the change of diet. By eliminating soda, white flour and sugar laden products and replacing with whole grains, fruits, nuts, seeds and vegetables you are now fueling your body to give it the energy that it needs to begin an exercise regime. To find an exercise program that best suits your lifestyle visit How To Tighten Your Stomach Muscles to see the different programs available and choose one that fits you best.

Not any one program is the best. Different bodies have different needs. I myself have found that incorporating several different programs and switching often, is what works best for me. The important thing is to do something. Getting started with anything is better that sitting around doing nothing. The body has to be active to burn the fuel you are giving it to burn.

One thing to keep in mind is that the body will adjust very well to which ever program you select. This is why the body will reach a plateau and stop losing. You must change your routines often. The body adapts itself very quickly. Changing your routine often will keep the body guessing and keep the metabolism rate up. It is also better to eat 4 to 6 smaller meals a day, instead of three large meals, as this will also keep the metabolism rate up as the body works to digest the food.

A Brand New Lifestyle

Once you get started with your new healthy lifestyle, you will be amazed at the renewed energy levels you will achieve, you will feel better than you have in years and you won't have a desire to eat the crappy, empty calorie food that got you into the flabby, bloated, depressed state that you are now in.

Best of all, you will have tightened your stomach muscles by summer, lost inches off your waist, butt, thighs, arms and legs and you will look fabulous in the new bikini that you will have to buy. Buy a new one? Why, of course! The old one won't fit any more. It will be too baggy!

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The Jobs For 17 Year Olds Available Today

There are a lot of opportunities when it comes to jobs for 17 year olds. Starting from the service industry of hotels and restaurants to the malls and small businesses dotting the city. Currently the best business establishments that offer jobs are Best Buy, Limited Too, The Disney Store, Build-a-Bear, Chick-fil-A, Wawa, Wal-Mart, McDonald's, Acme, Foot Locker, Shoprite, Olive Garden, Sears, Auntie Anne's and Taco Bell.

Jobs for 17 year olds in restaurants and cafes are the best spots to earn more though. Even if you are earning minimum wage, your tips will be something to look forward to - if you provide great service.

You don't have to really look far if you love kids. Babysitting is one of the favorite and easy to do jobs around. You can also seek out organizations which are into what you're into. Like museums, if you are into the arts, you can try out becoming a tour guide. If you have an advocacy, you can try charitable institutions and offer your skills in maybe, data encoding or a gofer. The hospitals are also a venue where you can be a candy striper.

Don't forget to check your other local hang-outs like bowling alleys, pizza shops, various repair shops, libraries, the town hall, university and your favorite retailer. It really helps if you are able to focus and aim for what you want to do. The right jobs for 17 year olds will bring meaning into what you're doing and you'll have fun. Your eagerness to go to work will just continue. You might even be surprised it's payday already.

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Who's Got the Fastest Mobile Broadband? Sprint, Verizon and AT&T Speed Tests

So you open up your browser and hop over to Google. You type in something like:

"Who has the fastest mobile broadband?"

3 sites that look very familiar pop up saying stuff like:

"BroadbandAccess Evolution Data Optimized (EV-DO) network from Verizon Wireless has been enhanced with EV-DO Rev. A to deliver even faster data speeds and greater efficiencies. Fast downloads - typical speeds of 600 Kbps to 1.4 Mbps. Fast uploads - typical speeds of 500-800 Kbps."

"With a Sprint Mobile Broadband Card, you get average download speeds of 600-1400 Kbps, peaking at 3.1 Mbps, and 350-500 Kbps average upload speeds, peaking at 1.8 Mbps. Similar to DSL, and about ten times faster than using a dial-up modem"

" AT&T offers the broadband speed and responsiveness of BroadbandConnect...the latest 3G devices provide typical download throughput of 700 kbps to 1.7 Mbps for downloads and 500 kbps to 1.2 Mbps for upload"

Ugh.

Just give it to me straight Doc. Speak English. How in the world is someone supposed to figure out who's the fastest with this 'can't sue me' lawyer-speak?

All the ranges seem to overlap. Even looking at the maximum speeds, Verizon and Sprint look identical...until, that is, you realize they are only theoretical. A best case scenario that's not too optimistic.

It's just like your speedometer's range that goes from 0 mph to 120 mph. Just because 120 mph is on your dashboard doesn't mean your rusty 16 year old Honda Civic Hatchback with the flashing engine check light is gonna make it.

The companies also know you can't call them on it because 'there are too many variables'. What were the road conditions like? How fast were you going? When last have you had a tune-up? What was the weather like? Do you know how many cell phone towers were in the area? How many satellites were positioned around you at the time? Or my personal favorite 'You were most likely roaming and we have no control over other networks'.

It's like trying to get fresh organic vegetables at McDonald's. It's just not gonna happen.

It just is what it is my friend.

The only way down to the nitty gritty and feast on the raw truth is to get out into the wild. Outside of my own testing, I draw on the experiences of others from ComputerWorld, Gizmodo and jkOnTheRun. I'll give you a quick chronological recap of what happened with each:

ComputerWorld - Which 3G Network Is The Best? - 05/13/08

Location:

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut

Broadband Cards:

(AT&T) Sierra Wireless USBConnect 881, (Sprint) Novatel Wireless Ovation U727 and (Verizon) Sierra Wireless USB AirCard 595U

Result: AT&T had the highest maximum speed (1.6 Mbps), average download speed (755 Kbps) and upload speed (484 Kbps)

Gizmodo - The Definitive Coast-to-Coast 3G Data Test - 12/17/08

Location:

Austin, Boston, Chicago, New York City, Portland, Raleigh-Durham, San Francisco and the Bay Area

Broadband Cards:

AT&T's Sierra USBConnect 881, Sprint's Sierra Wireless Compass 597 and Verizon Wireless's Novatel USB727

Results: Sprint had the highest national average download speed (1.4 Mbps) while AT&T (640 kbps) had the highest average upload speed

jkOnTheRun - 3G SpeedTest: EV-DO vs. HSDPA in Phoenix - 12/27/08

Location: Phoenix, AZ

Broadband Cards: Verizon Wireless USB727, AT&T USB Quicksilver

Results: Verizon had the highest download speed (2.1 Mbps) and upload speed (744 Kbps)

So here we've got 3 different tests all showing someone else as the winner. It's hardly surprising. Mobile broadband speeds do vary from place to place. The only way to get a clear winner is to test in multiple locations, take a couple averages and then see who comes out on top.

Since Gizmodo's test was the most comprehensive, it's fair to say its also the most reliable. Sprint is kicking butt in the mobile broadband game. Even if you only compare the tests Gizmodo performed in New York City alongside the tests ComputerWorld ran in NYC, Sprint still beats AT&T in download and upload speed.

Sprint is clearly the winner overall and provides serious competition in every location. If put together the fact that they're the fastest, largest mobile broadband network, you've got a double whammy.

It's no wonder that Andy Abramson of Working Anywhere recommends Sprint. He spends about $900 per month testing mobile broadband and wireless internet related services. Seems like he might know a thing or two.

To beat a dead horse even further...

I've personally tested it over 1001 miles of highway at 70 miles per hour (New Orleans to Jacksonville and Tampa to Atlanta). I had my connection get dropped once...for 15 minutes total. That's solid.

Now before we all start bowing down to the awesome network that is Sprint, ComputerWorld points out some things you should know:

"Using this technology can be a bit like being on a roller coaster. I found that I could be screaming along at 1.1Mbit/sec. only to have speeds slow to a crawl at 20Kbit/sec. a moment later. That's because, as with all cellular service, speed and reliability depend on a variety of conditions, such as how far you are from a cell tower, how many other users are connected in your vicinity and how much data they're moving".

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Fast Food and Traditional Food

The term "cooking" includes a wide range of methods, tools and combination of ingredients to create the flavor and digestibility of food. Cooking technique, known as culinary art, generally requires the selection, measurement and combining of ingredients in a controlled procedure in an effort to achieve the desired result. Constraints on success include the variability of ingredients, ambient conditions, tools, and the skill of the individual cooking. The diversity of cooking worldwide is a reflection of many nutritional, artistic, agricultural, economic, cultural and religious considerations that impact upon it. Cooking requires applying heat to a food which usually chemically transforms it and changing its flavor, texture, appearance, and nutritional properties. There is archaeological evidence that the primitive human being used to cook their food with fire that was the most important thing discovered by the primitive human being. Cooking food and cuisine culture vary from country to country and from one culture to another and each cuisine has its specific particularity. Nowadays, because of the modern life that changes everything around us and influence our life style and eating habits, people are less preparing their own food. Eating habits tend to unify people from different society. The food production and the process of eating obtain new characteristics. Food available around us seems to be very different from the one that we used to eat.

Eating habits and modern life

Everything is running in high speed, people do not have time for cooking, don`t has the desire and patience to stay longer in the kitchen, and they don`t have the willing to prepare their own food. Old generation still prefer to cook their own food unlike young people who prefer to eat fast food because they don't want to spend long time cooking and the desire for the cooking. The modern life shapes our eating habits and makes us like slave following its speed. It`s not hard to find fast food restaurant they are everywhere and every corner. Fast food consumption cause damages to the social and economic life of the country and leads to many health problems such as obesity and heart diseases according to many studies. Also, many nutrition experts from different countries have already declared the epidemic character of fast food. The rapid process of globalization and modern life influence our eating's habits and gives opportunity to fast food restaurants to grow and flourish. Fast food seems to become very common everywhere, though some positive aspect of the fast food in easy to prepare, available in many places, and it is a substantial meal. But in other hand, we can estimate that its negative aspects are more important and bigger. I think it is easy to understand that fast food is one of phenomenon that is going to be accepted by people. We are going to see the process of disappearance of the traditional culture with the development of fast food restaurants in all countries all over the world.

How to fight fast food addiction

The best example of the fast food success to change the modern life is the invasion of the world's food market by the giant fast food company such as McDonald, KFC and others. According to McDonald`s web site, McDonald has about 29.000 restaurants in 120 countries all over the world, and serves nearly 54 million customers each day. As well as it indicates the fact of such changing in eating preferences and even in the way of life itself. There is no doubt that right now fast food changes the face of many nations and eating habits around the world. To sum up, unfortunately, it is hard to prevent these global changes that traditional food is going to be replaced by new foods that common for all people in all countries all over the world. But the good news is that, recently there are some people and some movements which try to contrast the process of modern life and ask people to go back to their traditional food. To solve this problem we need restaurants that offers traditional food, and able to attract large amount of faithful customers. Also parents must teach their children how to prepare and cook the traditional food. Many People figure out that traditional food is much better for our health, so they want to preserve and keep the cooking tradition from evaporating. There is enormous hope of people to preserve their food preparation customs and tradition. The major obstacles are the modern life style. Some people might say that it is difficult to preserve our traditional food because it takes a long time to prepare and people today can not spend a long time in cooking. Other people, especially older people might say that, it is unfortunate to destroy culture and tradition. Those people might be right.

Conclusion

In these days, people have more health problems that are related with the new eating habits and fast food consumption. Despite some advantages of fast food the harm caused by fast food does not outweigh its benefit. I think that people should consider the negative fact of fast food consumption and the benefits of preparing their own food at home. It`s unfair that the traditional food which arrive to us from generation to generation we are going to replace it with junk food that will harm us more than benefit us. It`s unfortunate to lose the cooking tradition and eating homemade food prepared by our mothers together around the table. I am sure that all of us must think over this problem and try to find the appropriate solution to save our cultures, our traditional foods, and more importantly our health. So we should take action immediately to preserve traditional food and encourage people to prepare their own dishes, so they can stay healthy and live longer. Even though fast food is cheap, convenient, yummy and available in every corner in our cities, but that does not mean that our health is cheaper than the fast food that we eat.

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History of Business Models

The concept and type of business models have constantly evolved throughout the years and have had a long history that dates back to several years. A very basic and popular model, since ancient times, has been the "shopkeeper model", which involves establishing one's store in such a location that is most likely to fetch potential customers and that makes it easier to advertise the products or services being offered.

The "bait-and-hook business model", also known as the "tied-products business model" and the "razor-and-blades business model", emerged in the first half of the 20th century. This model often involves presenting a common good at an extremely low price that in fact puts the seller at loss (bait), and then asking for compensatory recurring sums for associated products, services, or refills (hook).An interesting example of such a model is offering the software developer along with a free word processor reader and charging hundreds of dollars for the word processor writer.

In the decade from 1950 to 1960, revolutionary business models were introduced by Toyota and McDonald's Restaurants. Following these, in 1960s, Hypermarkets and Wal-Mart came up with another set of interesting models. In the 1970s, Toys R Us and FedEx were the innovators. The 1980s saw new models from Home Depot, Dell Computer, Intel, and Blockbuster; and 1990s from Netflix, Amazon.com, Starbucks, and Blockbuster. Poorly designed and inadequately thought out models constituted a major problem for many dot-coms.

Today, the emerging types of models depend largely on what new technology is being invented and how it is being used. For instance, nowadays, entrepreneurs operating over the Internet are also creating entirely new business models that depend completely on the emergent or existing technology. By using such technology to create models, businesses have a better scope to reach large audiences within minimal costs.

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Build a Do it Yourself, Homemade Metal Detector

Making your own metal detector is definitely not an easy project, but there are designs out there and available for those folks out there who possess the necessary knowledge and skills. Hey, if you're an electrical engineer and you can look at those circuit diagrams and figure with ease what the voltage is on the other side of those two capacitors and that resistor, probably building that homemade metal detector will be no big problem for you. Maybe you will design the latest and greatest new metal detector and we will all want to purchase one from you. On the other hand, if you've never assembled even the simplest electronic project before, and don't know the difference between a resistor and a transistor, you're going to be in for a whole lot of big trouble and headaches.

The project has a lot of issues of practical versus impractical; experience and knowledge versus ignorance, etc. Can it be done? Can you build your own metal detector? There is no question, yes it can be done. If you are thinking of such a project, take some time to just learn more of the basics about how a metal detector works.

So lets consider the hard facts and get real: if you have no electronic skills and don't regularly build this type of electronics project, will building a metal detector be practical? The honest answer is: Probably not. It's basically a case where if you don't have experience with electronics and know exactly what you're doing, you'd be better off working at McDonald's on weekends because you would probably earn the money to purchase a manufactured detector before you would get a homemade one built, tested and working properly. I actually had an electrical engineering class in college - so I know a little something - but I freely admit I'm no electrical engineer and personally I would never seriously consider trying to build my own metal detector - but those are just my thoughts. I'm not trying to discourage you; I'm just trying to be practical and reasonable.

On the other hand, if you are really serious, and have the requisite experience, tools and all the testing equipment necessary to build such a project, I am providing a website that will provide you the schematic circuit diagram plans and design you need. You can also purchase a pre-printed board for the project from the web site author. He also has loads of information on metal detectors in general. Will the finished metal detector be every bit as good as the best ones for sale in the metal detector shop? Probably not, but they definitely do work. I wish you the very best of luck in your efforts, and if you do take this path and succeed, send me an email.
Here is the web site with the plans and design to build your own metal detector. I'd ignore the designs for historic types of detectors such as the BFO type units. There are both PI (Pulse Induction) and VLF (Induction balance) detectors described here.

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Starbucks Target Market and Management

Originally when Starbucks began they targeted the young college students, with slightly higher than average income levels. After this initial target market Starbucks has since realized that they could target specific neighborhoods and social classes. Different customers are more willing to pay for luxury good now more than ever. With that in mind, through Starbucks aggressive expansion techniques they have begun targeting almost every demographic.

"McDonald's is planning to capitalize on the public's willingness to pay $4 for a cup of coffee by hiring baristas and dropping espresso machines in 14,000 of their fast-food outlets. Meanwhile, Starbucks, with business lagging, is fighting back with an "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" strategy, by offering heated breakfast sandwiches and adding drive-through windows to some of their locations." (Tancer, 2008)

As McDonalds and other chains realize the money in luxury coffee more companies will begin to enter the marketplace. One the other side of the spectrum you have the small local coffee bars that were around before Starbucks took over the marketplace. These smaller coffee shops have their core customers who will not give their business to anyone else. These smaller coffee shops can offer specialized products and services or serving to the local markets needs. However Starbucks has a much larger buying power then the local smaller coffee shops giving them a competitive advantage. Coming back to our original quote, we believe that McDonalds has a customer base that is extremely large that now has the option to get their coffee where they get their breakfast already. McDonalds also has an extremely large bargaining power and runs each franchise with impeccable automation. McDonalds cup of coffee costs a lot less money than Starbucks and tastes the same in a lot of cases. One of Starbucks biggest competitors is the economy; Starbucks provides a luxury good that will be a good that people cut out when they want to save money. This has been witnessed with the recent closing of over a hundred Starbucks stores.

Tancer, B. (2008, January 10). Brewing Battle:Starbucks vs. McDonalds.

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What You Should Do During Due Diligence Period For Commercial Properties?

After your offer is accepted, your purchase contract will specify that you have somewhere between 15-30 days due diligence period to investigate about the property. Per the results of your search, you will decide either to

Cancel the purchase and get your full refund of your deposit. It's important to know that during this due diligence period you can cancel the transaction for any reasons and are not required to justify your reason with the seller.
Continue on with the transaction.

Many consumer laws designed to protect residential buyers do not apply to commercial properties or apartments with more than 4 units. In addition, many sellers are investors like you and do not have ultimate knowledge about the properties as they may not live close by. Therefore, a thorough investigation of the property is essential to avoid significant and/or potential surprises after closing. You should not attempt to buy a commercial property yourself without help from an experienced commercial real estate broker. A little mistake could potentially become a big problem moneywise due to size of the transaction. Once the due diligence period expires, you can only cancel the transaction if the loan if not approved. While your real estate broker will assist you with the following tasks, you may want to know the whole process to make sure you understand what is going on.

Book & Records: Normally within 5-10 days the seller will provide you various financial documents. Your goal is to verify that the property generates the net operating income (NOI or income after all expenses paid) shown in the property listings or brochures to justify for the price you paid. If the NOI is less than what you expect, it is a ground to demand a price reduction.

1. Income and expenses: this includes rent, reimbursements from tenants from the last 2-3 years. The documents should be either operating statements from the property manager or schedule E's or equivalence, e.g. form 8825s from the seller.

Ideally the income should go up from year to year due to rent increases. If the income fluctuates from year to year, then it's an indication the property is not stable and that you need to understand the reasons.
You also want to know if the tenants pay rent on time or not. During the recession, many tenants actually pay less than what is stated in the leases so make sure you get the copies of 12 most-recent rent checks.
Regarding expenses, they should include property taxes, insurance, utilities (drinking water & electricity), irrigation (water for the lawn), repairs, parking lot sweeping, garbage, snow removal (if applicable), security camera expenses (if applicable), landscaping and property management fees. If the seller provides the Schedule E's, you should exclude the following expenses: amortization (closing costs), mortgage interest, depreciation, collection expenses, travel expenses, leasing fees as these are not reimbursable by the tenants. Note: in California, property taxes will be automatically re-assessed based on the purchase price. They could be a much higher if the purchase price is much higher than the current assessed value. This is critical on a property with a gross lease as expenses will go up after closing. In many states, e.g. North Carolina, Illinois properties are re-assessed for property taxes purposes every few years and are not necessarily based on the purchase price as in California.

2. Leases: commercial leases are typically 20-40 pages long. You should go through the lease and find out:

Who the tenant is. If the tenant is a private and small corporation, make sure there is a personal guaranty in the lease. Otherwise, you can only go after the corporation, not the owners of the corporation if it defaults the lease. Public companies have different policies about how they handle leases. Fox example Walgreens and Starbucks always put corporate names on the leases and thus the leases are guaranteed by the corporations. Kragen which is owned by O'Reilly Auto Parts is the tenant on the lease. DaVita, on the other hand, puts one of its several dozen subsidiaries on the leases and so technically, the leases are guaranteed by its subsidiaries and not DaVita. CVS puts its name on the leases. However, it created a LLC (Limited Liability Company) for each Eckerds location it acquired. And so the leases for former Eckerds drugstores legally do not have corporate guaranty from CVS. A property with a lease from a public company with S&P rating of A+ does not make it a bullet proof investment. Many leases to Washington Mutual Bank, once with high S&P rating were later voided after it was seized by the FDIC.
The base rent, and rent bumps if any. Check to see if the rent in the leases matches with the rent in the marketing brochure. In commercial leases, the rent often goes up 2% annually for 10% every 5 years. Some leases have CPI-based (Consumer Price Index) rent bumps. A lease with annual rent bump means the tenant needs the landlord more than the landlord needs the tenant. And thus it is an indication the property is more desirable.
Lease terms: when the lease begins and ends. As a rule of thumb, it is desirable to have lease expiration dates for different leases spread out to different years. The cash flow is more stable in such properties.
The tenant's deposits as the seller should transfer the deposit to you at close of escrow. Otherwise you may be liable to the tenants for the amount later on.
Who pays for property taxes as these are big ticket expenses? For NNN leases, tenants are responsible for property taxes. State of Florida has no state income taxes but has rent taxes. Normally tenants are responsible for rent taxes on the NNN leases. Otherwise you have to deduct these taxes when you calculate NOI.
Who pays for property fire insurance? For NNN leases, tenants are responsible for property fire insurance. This insurance is different from business liability insurance which the tenant should be required to carry to cover for liabilities coverage inside the tenant's unit.
What expenses the tenant is responsible for. You also want to find out who pays for property management fees and the repairs of the roof (often the trouble spot in commercial properties), external walls (subject to graffiti's in lower income areas) and structure as many leases, e.g. CVS, Family Dollar may not cover some of these expenses. Many leases also have cap on how much the expenses can go up from one year to the next. If the expenses exceed the cap, the landlord has to pay for the difference. And thus it may lower the NOI.
Any unusual provisions in the leases, e.g. early termination clause, or options to purchase in 15 years at a pre-determined, i.e. low price or lease assignment to anyone without landlord's consent. Leases from local realtor associations tend to be more straightforward with special provisions written in the last paragraph. Unusual provisions are harder to find in custom leases. This author once reviewed an 80-page lease from a single-tenant property with 5 years left on a 20 years term and found several big surprises: a) the tenant owns the building which is not stated even in the listing, b) if the building is damaged in the last few years of the lease, the tenant may collect the insurance proceeds and is not obligated to rebuild the property! The buyers later canceled the transaction because they could not buy insurance for the building which is owned by the tenant.

3. Tenant's financial information: on single-tenant properties, sometimes you may receive tenant's P&L statements (Profit & Loss) which show income and expenses of the business; and Balance Sheet which shows assets, liabilities and net worth. You should have these documents reviewed by a CPA to give you an opinion about current financial strength of the tenant. Here are a few basic things you should know:

It's possible that the P&L's may show little profit in a highly profitable business. This is because the profit could be distributed as compensation or salary to the principals. You should also back out any depreciation from the P&L's.
If the P&L's show lots of profit in a sale and lease back transaction (tenant sells the real estate to you and signs a long term lease after closing), make sure it's still profitable after paying rent and all the expenses.
In the balance sheet, look for the goodwill value which is the value of tenant's business name. Some tenants assign a huge number for its goodwill, e.g. Disney puts $2 Billion for the value of name the killer whale Shamu, and may have negative net worth if this number is taken out from its book.

Site Inspection: This may be the first time you visit the property as it may be located far away from your home. You could either visit by yourself or make an appointment with the current property manager to show you around. In this site visit, you should meet and evaluate potential property managers for the property. It is very common that the seller does not want potential buyers to talk to existing tenants and let them know that the property is for sale. Here are a few things to consider:

Bring a portable GPS with you or rent a car with a GPS to make sure you don't get lost in your visit.
Take plenty of pictures of the property for your records to review later on.
Count the number of parking spaces. As a rule of thumb, commercial properties should have at least 4 parking spaces per 1000 square feet (SF). Ideally, you want to have 6 or more per 1000 SF. If it is a single-tenant fast food restaurant, it needs 10-15 spaces per 1000 SF.
Check for the visibility of the property from the road. Tenants prefer properties or units that are visible from the road so customers can easily find their businesses.
Check for ease of ingress and egress. See if it is easy to drive in the property, to make right turn and left turn.
Stop by the property at different times to see how the tenants are doing.
Drive around the neighborhood to see if it is clean and well kept. If you see lots of trash flying, and graffiti in the surrounding neighborhood, chances are that your property will have the same problem.

Property Inspection: There are 2 main inspection reports for commercial properties:

1. Property Inspection Report: your broker should order a property inspection report from a local property inspection company. This report will assess the condition of the property including the description of the building, site drainage and paving, structural components, roof composition, parking lot and landscaping, cursory inspection of electrical systems, plumbing systems, heat/ventilation/AC systems, fire protection, and compliance to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The report also provides a rough estimate to correct critical deficiencies. You should take time to read this property inspection report, talk to the property inspector if needed and let your advisor know if you want the seller to repair anything, preferably at seller's costs. As a rule of thumb, you would like all deficiencies related to health and safety, e.g. emergency exit light not working or exposed electrical wiring to be taken care of before close of escrow. The language in some of these inspection reports may sound very scary as property inspection companies try to limit their exposure to liabilities for not warning the buyers about some of the deficiencies.

2. Phase I or Environment Assessment Report. This report will tell you if the soil is contaminated or not. It also provides a list of contaminated sites within ½ miles from the property. The report could be several hundred pages long. You should at least read the summary which is 1-2 pages long to see if there are any recommendations and anything unusual. Normally there are 2 possibilities:

There is no evidence of contamination so there is nothing to worry about;
There is evidence of possible soil contamination, e.g. underground tank. The inspection may recommend a more expensive Phase II Report. This involves testing the water and soil to measure the level of contamination if any. If the level exceeds a certain governmental standards, the lender will most likely decline the loan.

Title: By providing a title commitment or title insurance policy, the title company insures that the property has free and clear title. When reviewing this document, please check the following:

Interest in the land: this should be either "fee", "fee simple" or "fee simple absolute". This is the highest form of interest in the land. If you are buying a property without this kind of interest, you better know what you are doing. Otherwise, you get much less than you think.
Title to the property: this is the legal owner. If the name of the seller in the purchase contract does not match the name on the title then you are buying the property from someone who is not the legal owner.

1. Title Requirements: the title policy has a set of requirements under Schedule B, Section 1. The following is a list of typical requirements:

Payment of the current loans and liens on the property
Deed from seller to buyer
Deed of trust from the buyer for the benefit of the new lender
A current survey of the property
Payment of property taxes and assessments

2. Title Exceptions: the title insurance also has a set of exceptions under Schedule B, Section 2. Basically, the title company says the title is free and clear except these items. All of these exceptions go with the land. Some of the exceptions are very common to most properties, for example:

Easements to power company, water company, phone company, and sewage authority so basic services can be provided to the property.
Property taxes that are not due and payable.

Others are unique to the property which you absolutely need to understand and approve these exceptions. Otherwise you will be in for surprises after closing.

Ingress & egress easement: this is just an easement to allow vehicular access to and from adjacent properties.
Cross parking easement: this easement allows customers to park anywhere among several lots.
Mineral deed: when you see this document, it normally means the land does not include mineral, or oil and gas underneath. This is common for new properties in Dallas metro.
Operation and Easement Agreement: this is normally a thick document that governs the operation of a big commercial development project involved several property owners and buildings. It has details about common area maintenance, parking lot easement, and even restriction about what kind of business can be opened in the center, e.g. no adult book store. Whenever you see this in the exception, you need to clearly understand it.
Memorandum of lease: this is a summary of the lease of a main tenant in the center. It may also contain restrictions, e.g. a memorandum of lease from McDonald may say that it has the exclusive right to sell hamburgers in the center. And so if you own another building in the shopping center, you can only lease it to Pizza Hut, but not Burger King, or Jack in the Box.

Property Survey: the survey shows the lot size, the property boundary, building footprint, layout of all parking spaces, and easement areas. On the corner, it should have the name and the signature of the surveyor. If you don't see the name of the surveyor, then it's probably the site plan drawn by the architect. You should review the notes on the survey see if there is anything unusual, e.g. the roof of the building or the fences may encroach the adjacent property.

Financing: by the end of due diligence period, you should receive a Letters of Intent (LOI) from several commercial lenders stating

How much loan you can borrow
Interest rate
Loan terms
Loan fees

While the LOI's are not final loan approval, they give you a rough idea if you have enough money to close the transaction and what your cash flow will be. This in turn helps you decide if it makes investment sense to move forward.

Once you complete all the above steps, you should have enough information to make a decision to move forward or cancel the transaction.

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