Opinions On Whole Life Insurance

Yes, it costs more, but whole life insurance packs a few perks that term life insurance doesn’t. The perk most people are interested in is the fact that whole life insurance usually offers fixed premiums; since it covers you for life, you could have fixed premiums for life. Term life insurance doesn’t cover you for life, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing; however, you could end up paying higher premiums upon renewal. Opinions vary from person to person as to whether fixed premiums are enough to make whole life insurance the better life insurance.

The perk that tends to form stronger opinions, however, is the investment component that comes with whole life insurance policies. Whole life insurance policies come with an investment component, often referred to as “forced savings,” which is money your policy accumulates based on dividends the life insurance company pays you, and life insurance companies that sell whole life insurance policies label the investment component as an excellent way to save money; however, opinions on whether or not the investment component of a whole life insurance policy is worth the extra price – or even effective, for that matter – range from one end of the spectrum to the other.

If you’re considering purchasing a life insurance policy, but aren’t yet sure if you want to purchase term or whole, don’t base your decision solely on the perks offered. Sure, a whole life insurance policy allows you to save money, but so does a bank. The decision-making process doesn’t have to be complicated. If you want life insurance for life, look into whole life insurance; if you want life insurance for a certain period of time, look into term life insurance. Look at the perks of each policy only after you have a handle on the basics of each policy. You’re less likely to be swayed by the perks once you know which policy will better meet your needs.

Flirting And Body Language Opinions

If you’re on a first date and you’re trying to figure out what Mr. or Ms. Potentially Right thinks about you, look downward.

Not there, silly.

“The key to a man’s heart isn’t his stomach. It’s his feet,” says Lisa Daily, author of “Stop Getting Dumped!” (Subtitle: “All You Need to Know to Make Men Fall Madly in Love With You and Marry ‘The One’ in 3 Years or Less.”)

As it turns out, the foot rule also applies to women.

“Watch the feet of the person you’re attracted to,” she tips AdamandDrew.com. “People who are attracted to each other subconsciously try to ‘line up’ with the other person. Where the toes point, the heart follows.”

When you take the Sherlock Holmes approach to reading your date, trying to sleuth out whether he/she thinks you’re hot (or not), body language is the smoking gun, my dear Watson.

“Even if we’ve got our game faces on, the body doesn’t lie,” Daily says.

In fact, studies reveal that only 7% of our communication is verbal, according to Mari Smith, a relationship coach based in San Diego, California. The other 93% is nonverbal.

Tips & Clues

Men send out the following tips when they’re interested in you, according to Daily and Smith:

- Smiling.
- Extended eye contact.
- Grooming behaviors (straightening their ties, pulling up their socks).
- Upright stance or posture.
- Standing with their chests thrust outward and shoulders back (think of a giant preening peacock).
- Ego-driven comments about their successes in life (jobs, cash, their cars).

“He may have one hand in his pocket, with his thumb sticking out, or tuck his thumbs in his belt,” Smith adds.

As for the so-called “fairer” sex, look for the following nonverbal cues from a woman:

- Extended eye contact and smiling (just like men).
- Leaning inward or toward you.
- Exposing her neck, hands or palms.
- Flipping her hair (with her hands or a twist of the head) or twirling it playfully.
- Crossing and uncrossing her legs.
- Fondling cylindrical objects like the stem of a wine glass, straw, pen or cigarette. (Paging Dr. Freud…)

“Houston, We Have a Problem”

“For both sexes, there are also signs that things are not going well,” says Daily, who notes that distasteful dates, traumatic breakups and consequent crisis periods often call for “a few Nora Ephron movies and two tubes of frozen cookie dough eaten right out of the package.”

Look for speech patterns that are wildly out of sync. “He’s a slow talker, while she’s a thousand-words-a-minute,” she says.

Defensive body language—arms crossed in front of the chest or hands subconsciously protecting the groin area.

Someone who keeps looking over your shoulder while you speak.

“When someone is not interested in you, they will typically point their body and feet away from you and position themselves at a greater distance,” Smith adds.

Saying Goodnight…or Saying Goodbye?

As your date winds down, other cues foreshadow your relationship’s future.

“If you give your date a hug on the doorstep and he or she pats you on the back, it’s a sign of discomfort,” Daily says. “The more uncomfortable your date feels, the bigger the pat. The other obvious, not-so-great sign is going in for the doorstep kiss—and getting a handshake instead.” (Ouch!)

Positive signals are much easier to read: a concrete invitation for a second date, with firm plans—not just “let’s do this again” or “I’ll call you sometime,” Daily says.

The Flirt Factor

Flirting with your date—and being on the receiving end—meets Sherlock’s criteria for irrefutable evidence that your lovely evening may evolve into a bona fide relationship.

Daily takes it one step further, asserting that flirting is “absolutely necessary.”

“Flirting is how we communicate our interest—and how we connect emotionally before we connect physically,” she says. “Generally, flirting is harmless, but it can sometimes be interpreted incorrectly by the ‘flirtee.’ The key is to pay attention to the tone of the flirtation and wait to see how the flirter responds if you try to take it up a notch. If she backs down, she was probably just flirting for fun. If she escalates the flirting in turn, she’s communicating interest.”

“Use attitude, voice and body synchronization to make others feel like they have a special rapport with you,” advises Nicholas Boothman, a communication specialist and author of “ How to Make Someone Love You Forever in 90 Minutes or Less.” He encourages those he counsels to learn to “access—and rev up—your sex appeal, without going over the top.”

Translation?

Create chemistry by mirroring your partner’s physical presence and verbal behavior.

“When you synchronize your overall body language, your tone, the speed and volume of your voice, and even the type of words you use—as well as your attitude—people feel safe, familiar and trusting with you,” he tells AdamandDrew.com.

Smith believes women have the edge—and a lot more fun—when it comes to flirting. (Sorry, guys…)

“Playful, lighthearted behavior is really the domain of women,” she says, “and typically men love it and gravitate toward the woman who looks the most fun. It certainly pays to familiarize yourself with all of the signs of attraction so you know how and when to communicate interest—and make sure you’re sending the right message!”

Lucid Dreaming And Astral Projection?

Anyone trying to teach a projection or dreaming technique must naturally do so based on their own particular understanding. With the huge number of differing movements of thought, religions and philosophies in the world, it is easy to see how there can be so many differing teachings concerning the same subjects. Any of these perspectives will colour the descriptions differently.

Luckily for us, we are in a position to pick and choose! The projection process itself is fairly straightforward and there are definite commonalities in projection technique. Lucid Dreaming is equally universal. It remains for us to put to use the most expedient and effective techniques available. Well, that's my perspective anyway!

As for the nature of the Astral itself, it all comes down to what you believe. Your beliefs shape your experience. You can easily ignore any information that does not fit in with your beliefs. A hardcore sceptic is a classic example of a 'tunnel vision' belief system which refuses to acknowledge the validity of anything but a narrow physically-oriented (and often meaningless) universe.

Perception alters experience in any circumstance, but this is especially so in the Astral Plane, where you can create that experience virtually instantly. Your beliefs can act like glasses, automatically modifying what is perceived. So of course everyone will have a different experience of the same kind of 'event', to whatever degree.

Even witnesses to the same physical event can give radically different accounts according to their particular perspectives. But when they are directly viewing the product of their own subjective beliefs about reality, this effect is amplified considerably and those testimonies can be as divergent as any one system of thought to another.

Unfortunately for its adherents, physical science for example, will never arrive at the correct answers or conclusions regarding dreams and the inner reality from which they arise, because regardless of its chosen methods, its perspective is always from 'outside looking in'. That's why there is far more to learn from psychology than brainwave patterns in this regard. The only way to truly understand the inner dimensions is from within them. It is just as futile to seek to apply physical perspectives to the Astral, as it is to seek to apply physical laws: they are far too limiting. This mistake has been given the term 'confusion of planes'. It is as ludicrous to attempt astral flight by jumping off a physical building as it is to want to pack a physical microscope and ruler on astral journeys.

Especially in a realm where you can create exactly what you expect to see! 'Objective observation' is actually far more difficult in the Astral Plane for someone who has not examined their own subjective beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding reality. One's first encounter on the Astral Plane will most likely be with one's own assumptions, regardless of the school of thought or belief they belong to, whether scientific, religious, occult, spiritual or whatever! You will first meet the seeming confirmation of your current beliefs. Surprise!

But then what? Experience doesn't just stop there! The error within such expectations is that they are far too static, not dynamic enough to contain the deeper reality upon which they are built - because no image or assumption or expectation can contain the infinite dynamicism of the universe! Assuming one continues, one's experience soon begins to 'leak out around the sides', escaping past such artificial boundaries, expanding and evolving beyond initial ideas.

It is not long before one begins to question those initial beliefs, which alter them slightly, allowing for even more space and leeway for difference. Again, it is not long after that that one notices the direct correlations between the change in beliefs and the change in the outwardly reflected inner environment and experience.

So why can there be so much contradictory information and conclusions regarding dreams, the Astral Plane, the afterlife...? I think it's because people can have spontaneous experiences, sometimes very brief, yet ones where for one reason or another they do not question their own beliefs, but merely experience their confirmation. Indeed, the strength of belief may provide no opportunity for contrary data at all. But again, given time (or better, the variation and dynamicism of experience), the greater inner reality will escape those constraints.

The information imparted in a brief experience may therefore be modified to suit the smaller 'expected' picture, and only hint at the larger realities back of it. So short experiences, not being willing to observe extraneous data, or ignoring it, or simply being easily convinced, can all play a part. Even memory is often modified according to the same kind of beliefs, so that certain aspects are further accentuated and others ignored.

What we can learn from all this is the importance of having an open mind, and learning to question and change our beliefs to correlate with new desires and conditions. No 'blanket solution' belief system works in all situations. We must simply learn to be flexible and to examine our perception and expectations as the need arises.

Second Opinions Count Or A Once Over Will Never Do

How many times have you written a document or email, sent it out, and then discovered some major typos or even words missing? What if it doesn’t get your point across – or worse yet – give off the exact opposite impression? If you’re like most, it’s happened to you at least once.

How do you keep yourself from making the same mistake when it comes to your resume? Here are a couple of necessities when it comes to having your resume stand up to the scrutiny of Hiring Managers.

1. Give your eyes a break. Do you notice that when you’re finding a task particularly difficult that if you take a break for a few hours – or even overnight – you can tackle it with a freshness and vigor that you had lost? You need to recharge before you require yourself to inspect a document that you’ve been working on for hours. The words all start to run together and nothing even makes sense to you. The passion for which you originally wrote with is lost on you due to mental fatigue. You need to take a step back, refresh your eyes and mind, then go back and take another look.

2. Have a friend (or family member) take a look. Having another person read your resume can be extremely helpful when it comes to having a fresh perspective. You are so close to your resume that you tend to not be very objective when it’s all said and done. It’s beneficial to have someone completely new look over it. Why? What important information can you gleam from this exercise?

• What’s their first impression? Professional? Amateur? Sloppy?
• Do they know what kind of job you are applying for and how you are qualified?
• Are they impressed with your achievements?
• Is there too little information? Too much?

Be sure that the person or people you choose can give you an honest opinion. You don’t want to depend on someone who is afraid to hurt your feelings or thinks that everything you do is great. It is best to choose someone with business acumen as well. It’s not necessary that they be efficient in human resources and the like, but the more they’re involved with the business world, the better.

3. Have a professional review it. There are many resume writing services who offer a free review of your resume. They can provide some great tips that you might never have thought of to improve your overall success at getting interviews. However, you want to choose one that is personalized and not just a checklist. Not that you won’t get anything out of a checklist but you’ll get a lot more out of a more thorough review.

Resume writing is an exhausting task so you need to be sure not to jump the gun and send out your resume package immediately after you complete it. It’ll pay to take one – if not all – the tips above to heart before you apply if you decide to write your own resume.

Now that you’re all set to send out your resume, we need to review some tips on how to do that effectively. But…that’s for next time.

Substitute For Professional Medical Opinions?

Let’s face it. A trip to the drugstore is a whole lot easier than a costly and time-consuming trip to the doctor’s office. No time wasted waiting for the physician; no embarrassing questions to answer; and no sticker shock when the bill comes. Just head for the section of your pharmacy with all of the gadgets and home test kits and you are ready to “play doctor.”

With skyrocketing medical costs and increased concerns about privacy, more and more Americans are taking advantage of products designed to help monitor existing conditions or to help diagnose new ones. Blood glucose monitors help diabetics manage their condition, blood pressure kits help monitor hypertension while those with cardiovascular concerns can track cholesterol and triglyceride levels. Of course, home pregnancy kits have been available for years. But now it is possible to go well beyond health management with these off-the-shelf products and individuals can now perform diagnostic tests in the comfort and “safety” of their homes.

But is this trend really safe?

Health care professionals have expressed concerns that the use of home test kits may cause users to delay or avoid proper medical care. Misinterpreting the results of self-administered tests can lead to decisions that are based on false assumptions. For example, there have been reports of people changing their medication dosage based on results of blood pressure readings at home. Decisions about any treatment based on self-administered tests should be deferred until a physician confirms them.

The list of conditions for which home diagnostic products are available is expanding rapidly. It is now possible to test for drug use, alcohol use, HIV, prostate cancer, hormone levels, diabetes, blood type, anemia, allergies, hepatitis, cholesterol levels, fertility and even certain strains of flu.

The opportunity is always present for a user to improperly administer a test or to misunderstand the results. Delaying treatment based on these results could have serious consequences. Now that the number of tests available is so large, and the conditions so potentially serious, it is absolutely critical that these test results be validated by a doctor.

Given this diverse menu of tests, users are sure to get results for which they may be unprepared. A positive reading for HIV could be devastating. Health care professionals are trained to address the concerns and possible psychological issues faced by a patient receiving bad news from a test. Individuals trying to cope with a similar result at home may find themselves alone and unable to cope.

Home health tests should be used with great care and should never be considered as a replacement for proper medical care. If you are seriously concerned about your health and well-being, it is fine to practice a bit of do-it-yourself medicine… as long as you get a second opinion.

Overview And Opinions

As you might have heard, there's a new console in town: Xbox 360™ Elite. For those of you who are not hardcore gamers or are parents of one, you may not know much about the Xbox 360 Elite that was recently released by Microsoft. The Xbox 360 Elite is the third and most expensive variation of the Xbox 360 console in addition to “core” and “premium.” Xbox 360 Elite is equipped with a premium black finish, three powerful core processors, full surround sound, a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) cable, and DVD playback. Xbox 360 Elite is now the premier Xbox 360 console package that includes a large 120GB hard drive, a HDMI port, a high-definition cable. The Xbox 360 Elite is set up to extend the entertainment experience of the regular Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 Elite is based on the Zephyr motherboard, which features a HDMI port and an improved GPU heat sink. The $480 Xbox 360 Elite is black instead of white, includes a hard drive that is six times as large as the previous 360s and twice as big as the rival PS3s. The HDMI output makes for easier hookups to HDTVs. While it's primarily a game machine, the Xbox 360 Elite is a digital media hub as well. Users report that initial setup of the Xbox 360 Elite is easy; you just select the language and then either establish your Xbox Live account or re-link to an existing account. The consensus of opinion on the web seems to be that the Xbox 360 Elite is mainly for people who haven't bought a Xbox 360 yet and that the Xbox 360 Elite is a great choice for only $80 more than the premium version. The Xbox 360 Elite is still cheaper than Sony's 80GB console, but does lack some features such as a Blu-ray drive or any other integrated WiFi solution, as some gamers necessitate. The bottom line opinion, though, seems to be that while it's neither a must-have upgrade for existing 360 owners nor as feature-packed as the PS3, the Xbox 360 Elite's combination of top-notch gaming and digital media features make it the current game console of choice.

Xbox 360 Elite Features and News

The Xbox 360 Elite also includes a black wireless controller and black Xbox LIVE® headset. There is currently a rumor of a price drop on the way that the core and premium will get a $50 price drop but the Elite will only get a $29 price drop.

Building Your Business

If you want solid business, you need to do more than just have a lot of sales.

Don’t get me wrong, companies that hold a lot of sales are going to get a certain amount of business, but the kind they get will be short lived and last only until the sale is over with. The more sale based your customers are the less business you’ll do during those period between sales. What you need to do is develop stronger ties with your customers.

The first thing to do is contact them for reasons other than just sales. There are all sorts of methods for maintaining good relationships with your customers that go beyond simple sales. Why not use color printing to send out some newsletters each month? Tell your customers about what kind of people you have working for you and what other events you have planned. Let them get to know you, form a stronger bond with you, and you’ll find you have customers who really want to shop with you.

Holding events outside of sales is another good way to developing a strong relationship with your customers. Host local events or organize other kinds of interesting activities. I’ve seen plenty of bookstores that have special reading events where people can bring in their children to have stories read to them.

Back during the craze for Pokemon Toys R Us regularly held tournaments specifically for Pokemon cards. By going beyond purely advertising upcoming sales they were able to develop a different kind of bond with their customers and create the strong image of a fun store to shop at.

You also want to be sure that your line of communication is two way. Don’t just send out a bunch of ads without any concern for what your customers think. Ask them for their thoughts and opinions on what kinds of events you should do or what kinds of sales they’d like to see the most.

Make them feel important to you. Make sure they know that their input is valuable, and they’ll feel closer to your company. I always like the feeling that a company is really trying to do its best to make me happy. They aren’t just concerned with how much money they can make from me.

If you own a larger store, how often do you go down and walk the sales floor? How often do you actually talk to customers face to face to ask them how they’re doing and what they’d like to see more of?

I like to talk to the person in charge to know that my opinions are going to be heard by the real decision maker. There’s no reason to hide away from the people who are allowing your business to exist by shopping with you.

Just remember that color printing can be used for more than telling people about the next sale. Get up close and personal with your customers and I think you’ll find you’ll develop a much stronger relationship with them that works out better for everyone involved.

Think You Have Rational Opinions?

Most of us think that we have rational opinions about the things we take a stand on. We like to think that it is just evidence and logic that rules us. We feel that we are immune to the persuasion techniques of politicians and others.

The truth is that most of our opinions are created from a variety of unidentified forces. We then defend them after the fact, with "reasoning," which is really just rationalization. The following example shows how unaware we are of the influences that shape our "thinking."

A Look At "Rational Opinions"

Gary Wells and Richard E. Petty coauthored a little known paper in the journal "Basic And Applied Social Psychology" back in 1980. It was titled "The Effects Of Overt Head Movement On Persuasion," and it reported on a study done with a large group of university students.

The students were told they were participating in a study to test the quality of headphones for an electronics manufacturer. Specifically, the company wanted (they were told) to test how well the headphones worked when the body was in motion. All of the students who participated listened to the same set of songs, followed by a radio editorial which argued that the basic tuition at the college should be raised from $587 to $750.

The students were in three groups. The first was told to keep nodding their heads up and down during the entire time of the test. The second was instructed to shake their heads back and forth. The third group was the control group, and these students were told to just keep their heads still.

After the test, the students were questioned. They were asked about the quality of the songs, and how well the headphones functioned. At the end of the other questions, the experimenters slipped in the question that they really wanted the answer to: "What do you feel would be an appropriate dollar amount for undergraduate tuition per year."

Those whose heads were kept still were not affected by the editorial. The average tuition that they thought was appropriate was $582. Notice that this was within $5 of where the tuition already was.

Now it gets interesting. Those who shook their heads from side to side were found to strongly disagree with the tuition hike. In fact, their average "appropriate" tuition was $467 per year. That's almost 20% lower than the first group. Even though they thought they were simply testing the headphones, the process of shaking their heads from side to side - as though saying "no" - affected their opinion dramatically.

What about those who were nodding their heads up and down, as though saying "yes?" They were very persuaded by the editorial. Even though it would cost them personally, they suggested, on average, that the tuition should be raised to $646.

If the simple act of moving one's head up and down or from side to side can be so influential in the opinions we have, what else is affecting our thinking? Many things - all good subjects for future research. But even from this simple example, you can start to see that completely rational opinions may be less of a reality and more of a myth.

Undercover Tonneau Cover Review

Would you buy an Undercover tonneau cover after a review like this? The undercover tonneau cover is custom-made to fit your make, model and year of your vehicle. This particular truck bed cover is a low profile, weather tight tonneau cover. You would class it as a hard tonneau cover, but being constructed of ABS keeps it light weight and easy to handle. It has quick release hardware to enable you to put it on or take off quickly. The cover is constructed to prevent warping in direct sunlight. It can be painted but because of the texture there may be a slight difference in the color of your truck if your using a metallic paint. It seems a solid color paint is fine. It comes at a very descent price as far as hard tonneau covers go.

You may be able add accessories to your undercover tonneau cover but you best consult the factory to avoid losing your warranty. Your Undercover Tonneau Cover is backed by a limited 3-year warranty.

There is no need for drilling to install it. It is easy to install. If you have a bed liner you may have to trim down the sides to accommodate the truck cover. They say you can install it in 15 minutes but in my opinion that would only happen if you had done it before. I would say any where between 25 minutes to one hour depending how much of a knack you have of doing this type of thing. Even at one hour, I think would be pretty good for something your going to get great use out of. I mean it will keep your cargo dry and out of sight of people who like to take things that don’t belong to them. It will also add to the look of your pickup truck.

To help you protect your cargo it comes with two stainless steel locks. It comes with wall mount hardware so you can hang the tonneau cover up and out of the way in your garage. This is a very convenient accessory that undercover offers. The cover opens easily with the aid of two struts one on either side of the cover.

Out of all the reviews I’ve read on tonneau covers the undercover tonneau cover seems to have the least negative items. It seems most people are very, very satisfied with this tonneau cover and how great it is at keeping the rain off their cargo.

In my opinion, if your looking for a hard tonneau cover that looks great , is very strong, easy to install and worth every cent you paid for it. Look no further. No cover is absolutely rain proof but this cover is as close as you can get. I searched for bad reviews on this tonneau cover but I couldn’t find anything that was worth mentioning. Most tonneau covers people buy, they may love them, but they still find minor defaults they mention. As weird as it seems this Undercover tonneau cover seems to pass all tests.

Your Holiday Vacation With Your Teenager

Here we go! It's that time of year again - the family holiday vacation. Some families historically travel this time of year, while others will choose to stay home. Perhaps you are having extended family coming in for the holidays. Or maybe your family has decided to fly solo and stay home. Regardless of the plans, many parents can find themselves feeling apprehensive about spending a vacation with their teenagers. "Is this holiday season going to be a disaster?" "What if he/she embarrasses me in front of everyone?" "We haven't been getting along lately, and what if this entire vacation is filled with conflict?" Here are 7 things you can do to help make it a great vacation:

1. Include your teenager in the planning

If there is one thing most teenagers enjoy, it is giving other their opinion. This is especially true if someone is asking for their opinion. Ask your teenager some ideas of what they think would be enjoyable to do on the family vacation. Even if you set the ground rules of where your family is going, ask them what they would like to do some of the time. It is after all there vacation also.

2. Carve out some alone time for yourself

Ironic as it may sound, vacations can be exhausting, especially for parents. Whether your children are toddlers or teenagers, fatigue can set in from trying to accomplish too much in such a short amount of time. Make sure you take some time to relax yourself. A relaxed parent makes for a more relaxed family vacation.

3. Carve our some alone time for you and your teenager

Even if you are vacationing with a lot of extended family members, make it a point to take some time to spend with your teenager one-on-one. It does not necessarily need to be a huge ordeal with a lot of fan fare. Perhaps grabbing something to eat unexpectedly, or going for a walk in the morning. Even a conversation in the car while running errands can be meaningful. Find those rare teachable moments, and seize them!

4. Allow your teenager to have some reasonable amount of time alone

As your teenager gets older, there is a normal part of you that desire to spend a lot of time with him/her. You want to cherish the time with your daughter, and make sure your son knows the importance of your relationship. Yet, today's teenagers' lives can be as busy as adults'. Like you, they may need some down time to just sit and loaf around.

5. Avoid placing any expectations or ideals on your vacation

Many parents visualize in their mind, and heart what they want their family vacations to be like. Their ideals are filled with holiday cheer, perfect children, and Norman Rockwell memories. Thereby, they unintentionally place expectations on their teenagers and family members. While dreams are not a bad thing, disappointment and resentment can arise when these expectations are not met. Take your vacation a day at a time, without any expectations.

6. Agree to put all major family conflict aside for the duration of your vacation

If there is a major conflict between you and your teenager, then agree to put the matter aside until after your vacation. Anyone can "agree to disagree" for a temporary period of time. No one wants a vacation filled with tension and conflict. Perhaps when your vacation is over, both of you will be in a better emotional state to discuss your conflict in a better manner.

7. When conflict arises between you and your teenager, talk it out

No doubt there will moments of frustration between you and your teenager. It is unrealistic to expect otherwise. As the parent, make it a point to pick your battles. Then talk it out in a manner that will resolve conflict, rather than placing blame. Avoid harboring grudges and resentments

History of Needlepoint

There are conflicting opinions as to the terms describing needlepoint. The differences may result from the fact that needlepoint has come down to us from various countries and in various stitches. Briefly, needlepoint is embroidery on canvas, the most common stitch is half of a cross-stitch, which is also called ‘Tent stitch’.

Needlepoint-tapestry is an often-used expression which shows the relation of needlepoint to the tapestry designs of the middle ages. This is especially true when the needlepoint is worked in an upright Gobelin stitch, which gives the effect of woven tapestry.

This early work was done on a loosely-woven material like coarse linen. Later, canvases were made specifically for the purpose; both in single thread canvas, or with threads arranged in pairs to make ‘double thread canvas’. This was often worked in needlepoint combining the fine petit point stitch, used for detailed shading, with gros point used for large flat design areas. To make this combination, the double thread canvas was ‘split’ – that is, the meshes opened with a needle or pin to form a single thread canvas for working in petit point.

As with all forms of embroidery it is very difficult to give exact dates, and even places where the technique originated. Canvas work dates back to the sixteenth century, but reached its peak during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Needlepoint was extremely popular in Colonial America where it was used for pictures, as an upholstery fabric, and for fashion accessories.

During the Victorian era, Berlin work came into popularity. It is often characterized by brilliant worsteds and combinations of geometric and floral designs. The majority of designs were developed as hand-painted patterns on squared paper, especially made for copying in needlepoint or cross-stitch on canvas. The best of these designs came from Berlin, hence the name.

It then became popular again in the late twenties, and continues to increase in popularity with a renewed interest in handicrafts. Designs and ready-to-sew packs are available in many speciality shops all over the country.

Divided Opinions Amongst Mortgage Advisers

Mortgage advisers are divided in their opinions as to who are the real winners and losers out of the recent interest rate rises. No one could argue that borrowers who have variable rate mortgages have lost out because their monthly repayments have increased due to the extra interest due. However there is debate over whether borrowers of fixed rate mortgage products are better or worse of than before the recent base rate rises.

The interest rates set on fixed rate mortgage products are not necessarily tied to the Bank of England Base Rate. Rather, they are derived from the cost of borrowing to the lender, which is called the swap rate. While the base rate has risen over the past year, so have swap rates. This should result in an increase in the interest rates offered by lenders on fixed rate mortgages. In other words, lenders would pass on the increasing borrowing costs they are forced to endure to their borrowers.

However, this has not strictly been the case. Many lenders have not passed the increased swap rates on to their borrowers and have instead reduced their margins. Some mortgage advisers are claiming that by not passing on the full amount of the increase in swap rates, the borrowers are gaining a huge benefit. Other mortgage advisers, however, are quick to point out that although the interest rates offered on fixed mortgages haven’t risen in line with the increase in swap rates, they have risen, and borrowers are worse off as a result.

Whatever their individual opinions, mortgage advisers have been busy helping their clients save money by remortgaging to more favourable products as interest rates increase. This flurry of activity has meant that mortgage advisers may be the real winners as they receive commissions and fees from mortgage lenders for each remortgage they complete for their clients.

Each time the Bank of England raises the base rate to curb inflation many lenders subsequently increase the interest rates they charge on their mortgage products. This is because most mortgages have interest rates that are calculated as the Bank of England Base Rate (BoEBR) plus a certain percentage point – for example BoEBR + 1%. A mortgage with an interest rate calculated in this way would have a rate of 6% if the BoEBR was sitting on 5%.

The base rate is normally increased or decreased by one quarter of a percentage point in modern times. When it is increased several times in succession home owners with mortgages begin to feel the pinch as their monthly repayments increase. This can lead to a flurry of activity in the home loan market. Some borrowers will look to remortgage to other home loan products in order to source a cheaper variable rate deal while others will look to lock in their monthly repayments with a fixed rate product.

When this happens mortgage advisers become extremely busy as they hurry to arrange new home loan products for their customers. Advisers normally charge a fee for sourcing and arranging mortgage deals for their clients which means that they will benefit financially from periods of high activity in the BoEBR.

Understanding Negative Opinions

Understanding Negative Opinions About Your Look After Cosmetic Surgery
When you go in for cosmetic surgery, you are taking steps to improve your appearance. It is important to understand that not everyone may be receptive to the changes for petty reasons.

Understanding Negative Opinions About Your Look After Cosmetic Surgery

Life goes by quickly, but not when you get up each morning and stare at something on your body you hate. Some say it is vanity that drives us nuts, but the effect builds up over time. You can learn to live with it and try to ignore it or you can do something about it. These days, more and more people are looking to cosmetic surgery to resolve these issues.

There are a lot of factors that go into the decision to undergo cosmetic surgery. Can you afford it since health insurance rarely covers it? Do you have a good surgeon or some hack? Will you look natural or have an artificial look like some overdone celebrities? These are all issues to consider and discuss with your surgeon, but one issue is often overlooked.

Unfortunately, there are some people who will criticize your new appearance regardless of how good you look following cosmetic surgery. There are a number of reasons for this and range from person to person. Jealousy from others is the number one reason, to wit, you look better than them now so they are going to try to knock you down. Regardless of the specific reason, you should prepare yourself for some negative or snide comments.

For some reason, people often criticize others for no objective reason. I was once with a young lady at a party that was criticized for undergoing cosmetic surgery. While that may not sound odd, the situation will make you think twice. This woman had undergone gastric bypass surgery and lost over 200 pounds. This massive weight loss led to excessive skin flaps and a cosmetic surgeon resolved them. How, I wonder, could she possibly be criticized?

As a rule, there is only one person that should influence your decision to have plastic surgery – YOU! If you are annoyed by some aspect of your body, then discuss your options with a cosmetic surgeon if fixing it will make you feel better. Whatever you do, don’t rely or fall victim to the opinions of others who are petty or jealous.

Yellow Page Ad Design Opinions

Yellow Page Ad Design: Second Opinions That Will Kill You

One of the first things our Yellow Page ad design clients like to do is get other opinions on their newly designed Yellow Page ad before committing it to print. They ask employees, friends, their spouse, and even their current customers. They may even seek the opinion of a marketing specialist. Once, a client told me he asked his 14-year old daughter for her input (She hated it). The logic is, “the more feedback I get, the better!” But you don’t want bystanders to like your Yellow Page ad, you want PROSPECTS to be persuaded by it.

The simple truth is that second opinions have LITTLE to NO VALUE UNLESS that opinion is coming from a member of your target audience at 1) the exact moment they are viewing your ad and 2) are in immediate need of your service. These folks are in a very "particular” state of mind. They need a solution to their problem (at that instant) and they're smack-dab in the middle of a decision-making process. They're trying to determine "who can best solve my problem?"

At that moment in time, a prospects opinion is worth listening to, but not necessarily something to be taken at face value, cause what a person says they would do and what they actually do, are two different things. Remember, tens of thousands of prospective customers said they preferred the taste of New Coke to Coke...but that hardly meant they were willing to buy it when it came out.

So unfortunately, the most valuable opinion isn’t necessarily a conscious opinion at all – it’s the gut level or emotional response that will drive a prospects buyng decision when confronted with your ad. This is a far cry from polling customers and something really only measurable from results of running an actual ad. But don't worry, there's an answer.

Before you pick up a pencil or stroke a single key for your new Yellow Page ad, define your most important prospect and think about what makes that person click. Crawl deep inside their head! What emotional thoughts and words will move this individual and convince them that YOU are the very best business to call. When you're done, (and if you've been successful) your Yellow Page ad should resonate with NO ONE except this particular target individual. Their opinion will be the only one that matters. And they'll happily voice their opinion through phone calls, lots and lots of phone calls right to YOUR phone.

Experienced judgement absorbed from designing and running decades worth of successful Yellow Page ads can save you years worth of trial and error as well as tens of thousands of dollars worth of missed sales. If you hire an experienced expert that truly knows their craft – and you trust their judgement - you can be darn sure that YOUR OPINION of Yellow Page advertising is going to drastically change for the better.

Two Opinions on Marilyn Monroe

Norman Mailer said of Marilyn Monroe:

"Her stomach, untrammeled by girdles or sheaths, popped forward in a full woman's belly, inelegant as hell, an avowal of a womb fairly salivating in seed - that belly which was never to have a child - and her breasts popped buds and burgeons of flesh over many a questing sweating moviegoer's face. She was a cornucopia. She excited dreams of honey for the horn."

And Elizabeth Hurley’s opinion:

"I'd kill myself if I was as fat as Marilyn Monroe."

When I came across Normal Mailer's words in his biography of Marilyn it reminded me of the famous Hurley quote and I thought the comparison between the two views of this iconic beauty was quite poignant and sad.

Hatred of a womanly body seems to be a common situation in our culture. Women are brainwashed into thinking they need to be as skinny as possible. We diet, workout, starve ourselves, judge each other harshly, and spend our lives in deprivation and desperation.

Meanwhile, men naturally adore the lush, sexual, curvy female body. They desire the soft, voluptuous bodies we women are born into.

Our natural bodies don't require stringent dieting or starvation or plastic surgery or sculpting. We are each a perfect, unique creation and the more we accept and love our womanliness, the more wonderful life feels.

The Hurley quote used to make me angry. Now it just makes me sad that we have learned to be so shallow and so mean to one another, and to ourselves, with the thoughts we have about the female body.

Divided Opinions Amongst Mortgage Advisers

Mortgage advisers are divided in their opinions as to who are the real winners and losers out of the recent interest rate rises. No one could argue that borrowers who have variable rate mortgages have lost out because their monthly repayments have increased due to the extra interest due. However there is debate over whether borrowers of fixed rate mortgage products are better or worse of than before the recent base rate rises.

The interest rates set on fixed rate mortgage products are not necessarily tied to the Bank of England Base Rate. Rather, they are derived from the cost of borrowing to the lender, which is called the swap rate. While the base rate has risen over the past year, so have swap rates. This should result in an increase in the interest rates offered by lenders on fixed rate mortgages. In other words, lenders would pass on the increasing borrowing costs they are forced to endure to their borrowers.

However, this has not strictly been the case. Many lenders have not passed the increased swap rates on to their borrowers and have instead reduced their margins. Some mortgage advisers are claiming that by not passing on the full amount of the increase in swap rates, the borrowers are gaining a huge benefit. Other mortgage advisers, however, are quick to point out that although the interest rates offered on fixed mortgages haven’t risen in line with the increase in swap rates, they have risen, and borrowers are worse off as a result.

Whatever their individual opinions, mortgage advisers have been busy helping their clients save money by remortgaging to more favourable products as interest rates increase. This flurry of activity has meant that mortgage advisers may be the real winners as they receive commissions and fees from mortgage lenders for each remortgage they complete for their clients.

Each time the Bank of England raises the base rate to curb inflation many lenders subsequently increase the interest rates they charge on their mortgage products. This is because most mortgages have interest rates that are calculated as the Bank of England Base Rate (BoEBR) plus a certain percentage point – for example BoEBR + 1%. A mortgage with an interest rate calculated in this way would have a rate of 6% if the BoEBR was sitting on 5%.

The base rate is normally increased or decreased by one quarter of a percentage point in modern times. When it is increased several times in succession home owners with mortgages begin to feel the pinch as their monthly repayments increase. This can lead to a flurry of activity in the home loan market. Some borrowers will look to remortgage to other home loan products in order to source a cheaper variable rate deal while others will look to lock in their monthly repayments with a fixed rate product.

When this happens mortgage advisers become extremely busy as they hurry to arrange new home loan products for their customers. Advisers normally charge a fee for sourcing and arranging mortgage deals for their clients which means that they will benefit financially from periods of high activity in the BoEBR.

Opinion

An opinion is a person's ideas and thoughts towards something which it is either impossible to verify the truth of, or the truth of which is thought unimportant to the person. It is an assertion about something especially if that something lies in the future and it's truth or falsity cannot be directly established e.g. induction. An opinion is not a fact, because opinions are either not falsifiable, or the opinion has not been proven or verified. If it later becomes proven or verified, it is no longer an opinion, but a fact.

In economics, philosophy, or other social sciences, analysis based on opinions is referred to as normative analysis (what ought to be), as opposed to positive analysis, which is based on scientific observation (what materially is).

Historically, the distinction of proven knowledge and opinion was articulated by some Ancient Greek philosophers. Plato's analogy of the divided line is a well-known illustration of the distinction between knowledge and opinion.

Robert Webb, half of the Mitchell and Webb comedy duo, identified the phenomenon of idle opinion. Mitchell and Webb had come in for considerable criticism in the UK for their Apple Mac commercials, which contrasted the Mac with the PC. Webb noted that the vast bulk of the criticism happened during office hours, when people should have been doing their jobs. After 5pm each day, the criticism in blogs and Web chatrooms dried up. His conclusion is that idle opinion consists of views that people don't hold strongly, or indeed that they are careless as to whether they hold the view at all. 'Critics' just want to be part of a discussion, to hear themselves expressing the view, rather than do their daily grind in which their views were never sought.

Think You Have Rational Opinions?

Most of us think that we have rational opinions about the things we take a stand on. We like to think that it is just evidence and logic that rules us. We feel that we are immune to the persuasion techniques of politicians and others.

The truth is that most of our opinions are created from a variety of unidentified forces. We then defend them after the fact, with "reasoning," which is really just rationalization. The following example shows how unaware we are of the influences that shape our "thinking."

A Look At "Rational Opinions"

Gary Wells and Richard E. Petty coauthored a little known paper in the journal "Basic And Applied Social Psychology" back in 1980. It was titled "The Effects Of Overt Head Movement On Persuasion," and it reported on a study done with a large group of university students.

The students were told they were participating in a study to test the quality of headphones for an electronics manufacturer. Specifically, the company wanted (they were told) to test how well the headphones worked when the body was in motion. All of the students who participated listened to the same set of songs, followed by a radio editorial which argued that the basic tuition at the college should be raised from $587 to $750.

The students were in three groups. The first was told to keep nodding their heads up and down during the entire time of the test. The second was instructed to shake their heads back and forth. The third group was the control group, and these students were told to just keep their heads still.

After the test, the students were questioned. They were asked about the quality of the songs, and how well the headphones functioned. At the end of the other questions, the experimenters slipped in the question that they really wanted the answer to: "What do you feel would be an appropriate dollar amount for undergraduate tuition per year."

Those whose heads were kept still were not affected by the editorial. The average tuition that they thought was appropriate was $582. Notice that this was within $5 of where the tuition already was.

Now it gets interesting. Those who shook their heads from side to side were found to strongly disagree with the tuition hike. In fact, their average "appropriate" tuition was $467 per year. That's almost 20% lower than the first group. Even though they thought they were simply testing the headphones, the process of shaking their heads from side to side - as though saying "no" - affected their opinion dramatically.

What about those who were nodding their heads up and down, as though saying "yes?" They were very persuaded by the editorial. Even though it would cost them personally, they suggested, on average, that the tuition should be raised to $646.

If the simple act of moving one's head up and down or from side to side can be so influential in the opinions we have, what else is affecting our thinking? Many things - all good subjects for future research. But even from this simple example, you can start to see that completely rational opinions may be less of a reality and more of a myth.

Your Opinions May Create Illness

Our Counseling Center for Spiritual Growth comes from an awareness of body-mind-spirit integration in the present moment. Whether you have old emotions stuck in the musculature, live in fear of dying (or some dreaded future event), or simply have an addiction problem (anger, substance, etc.); we know that the ultimate solution is the constant and conscious remembering to be in the present moment.

Whatever “pushes your buttons” brings awareness of unfinished business that needs to be experienced. Our Center for Spiritual Growth assists through Lomi Bodywork, gestalt therapy, and/or the practice of being present.

Are you a fairly opinionated person? Your health depends on your letting go of those opinions and taking another perspective on the subject. Here’s an example:

Phineas Parkhurst Quimby was a healer who knew how to get opinions out of the way of health. A New England clockmaker and healer at the end of the 19th Century, he is often considered the father of New Thought. He knew that there was an opinion behind every illness. People flocked to him to be cured of all sorts of ailments, almost always involving whatever was “eating them up” mentally. He questioned his patients as to what they thought about religion, politics, or the latest medical practices. When he hit a nerve, so to speak, anger usually came out. “Those others” weren’t doing what the sick person thought they should or shouldn’t be doing; the world just going to hell in a hand basket!

When “Dr” Quimby could get his patient to change his or her mind about whatever was bothering to an attitude of acceptance, the illness would miraculously disappear. After all, the thing that was annoying them about someone else really was none of the patient’s concern, and the physical body was resisting the anger or resentment by getting sick.

In studying the healing ways of Quimby, I was interested to find his observations about how widespread opinions are. He included organizations, as well as patients, among the opinionated. He noticed medicine, religion and class (in the late 1800’s) as being established opinions, rarely open to new ideas.

One of New Thought’s characteristics is that it can only be understood by practical application.
So I experiment a lot. I’ve found that when I speak of others as being wrong, or doing wrong things, I can actually feel physical changes in my body, such as tightness, warmth, and neck tension. I used to drive my car by tensing my neck, but when I discovered how useless this was, I learned to be aware and then stop altogether.

There is another level beyond “change your thinking, change your life.” Whenever I am present, that is, mindful of whatever is present with me, the thinking mind stops. I am free of judgments, beliefs, and opinions. Everything around me just is. Then I am at peace. I can allow everything to be as it is.

In silence, in no thought, even as I am observing the situation from an accepting viewpoint, I am awake in Presence. I am beyond opinions of how things should be. I am neither for nor against anything. This is Peace.

The good news is, In the moments that I am watchful of my thinking, I stimulate the immune system, and the whole of humanity’s collective consciousness is that much closer to peace. It seems the more moments we spend in the Now, the more we slow the biological aging process. All we have to do is be aware of our thoughts, watching.

The Thinking Mind

Intelligence, or God, is everywhere in all existence as trees, flowers, clouds and you and me. Existence is always present. Existence is God. Just look around. See how Love is expressing right now as houses, people and cars. If you ever forget this Oneness of All There Is, you have only to remember and come back to whatever is in your present moment. The present, as God, never goes away. It is we who go away, almost continually. Where do we go? Into the thinking mind, where God is not.

I challenge you to wake up to the truth of a loving, accepting existence and be free of illness, living longer and happier lives. Truth is only in the present moment. All else is simply the remembered past or the imagined future. Neither is real. Past and future exist only in the thinking mind. You can only live in the present, where there is only awareness and no thought at all.

Humanity is awakening to its spiritual magnificence, right now, and so are you.

Opinions About Health Plans

There are three basic health plans available: Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), the Participating Provider Option (PPO), and Traditional Indemnity (TI). If you receive health insurance through your employer or through an organization with which you are affiliated, you may not have a choice as to whether your health plan is an HMO, PPO, or TI. However, if you purchase an independent health insurance plan, the freedom to shop around usually brings with it the freedom to find the kind of health plan you want – HMO, PPO, or TI.

The kind of health insurance plan you choose depends on your opinions about each of the health plans available.

Many people consider TI health plans to be the best health plans because they are less restrictive than HMOs and PPOs. With a TI health plan, you can see any health care professional, as long as he or she is licensed, for any health condition covered under the health insurance policy. TI health plans are popular since they are more flexible and they offer more choices than HMOs and PPOs.

On the other hand, HMO health plans offer a network of health care professionals you can see and be covered for at a lower cost. With HMOs, you need to choose a primary care physician (PCP) who will be your main doctor; any other health care professionals you need to see within the network must first be approved by your PCP. He or she will then give you a referral.

PPO health plans also offer a network of health care professionals, but there is a bit more freedom when choosing the health care professionals you want to see. That freedom brings extra costs, but the opinions of some policyholders are that the extra cost is worth it.

When shopping for health insurance, take your health, finances, and the pros and cons of each health plan into consideration before you make your final choice.

Why Get Paid For Your Opinions?

What can I do to make extra money? This is the question that many stay at home moms and people seeking a supplementary income stream are asking today. Often it can be difficult on a family’s financial state to have only one income and sometimes just a little more income could make a huge difference.

You can earn income from online surveys. You can work as long or short a period of time as you want, and they are especially easy to work into people's busy schedule.

Just about every big and small company conducts online surveys. Surveys basically delve into the minds of people to reveal how well a company’s product or even service, is doing out in the market. With the help of these surveys a company is able to make an assessment concerning their current status (or demand in the market) and also the potential of their product/service via these feedback.

There are paid surveys and trials that moms can take quickly and still have time to care for their children and run all the many errands they have to do each day. Most moms want something to bring in a little cash that will not take hours of their time.

There isn’t such a thing as a fixed day or even a fixed timing from which an individual is required to work. The job can be taken up part time or as a full time occupation. In fact, people from any background – from a housewife and mother of 3 kids, a graduate, an individual working in a corporation, to a retiree who’s able to participate in these surveys.

The answer to a stay-home mom's financial problems can be as simple as earning income from online surveys. A few minutes online, and a few questions later you have earned some money for the family. It is that simple.

Paying surveys like the ones above are available all over the internet, but the problem has always been that it takes too much time to track down the really good ones that will pay well.