Archive for November, 2007

Silver 25th Anniversary Party

Tuesday, November 27th, 2007

By Gail Leino Does someone you know have a silver Anniversary coming up? If so, a theme party is the perfect way to celebrate their big day. You can stick to a silver theme, or use any theme the couple likes such as a luau or a costume party. Every store with party supplies will have 25th Anniversary supplies. Plates, tablecloths, cups, napkins and decorations all come in silver colors. Wedding bells and hearts also coordinate to celebrate the wedding Anniversary. Invitations can have bells, hearts or other wedding related themes to send out. Have guests bring in their favorite memory from the wedding (if they attended!) If they were not acquainted with the couple then, write down their favorite current memory. Put these memories into a silver guest book or scrapbook for a gift to the couple. Sharing the memories during the party depends on how much time you have and how many guests are present. If it is an Open House style party, sharing at one time would be difficult with people coming and going. Games to play during an Anniversary game are limited if it is a formal event. Many times dinner parties to celebrate dont include many children, if any at all. If it is a looser theme party, pick games to coordinate with your theme. Personalized gifts can be given to the honorary couple. Picture frames, picture albums and silver bowls or trays can all be engraved to mark the special occasion. Party supply stores and gift stores will direct you to a personalization place if they cant provide it. Take pictures of every guest with the couple celebrating their Anniversary. Send them out in thank you cards after the party and let them know how much you enjoyed them celebrating your day. The pictures can also be used in scrapbooks later. Mrs. Party… Gail Leino is the internet’s leading authority on selecting the best possible party supplies, using proper etiquette and manners while also teaching organizational skills and fun facts. More ideas, games, favors, decorations and Anniversary Party Supplies at the Party Supplies Hut for a roaring good time. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gail_Leino http://EzineArticles.com/?Silver-25th-Anniversary-Party&id=155369 order xanax online from mexico order xanax xanax online prescriptions cheap low cost prescription xanax valium fast

God Gives Grace to the Humble and God Resists to Proud James 4-6

Sunday, November 25th, 2007

By Matthew Robert Payne James 4:6 6 But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble. I am not sure about you but sometimes I find it really hard to sit in a church week after week and listen to sermons that dont add anything to you. I sat in a church for two years and did that and then in one angry phone call with the pastor I left. If you havent guessed it already, I had pride issues and still need a bit of counselling to get right down to the bottom of it. When you proud though its amazing how other people pick it up in your manner.I know a person that is really proud. I think he has a bigger problem then me. I have to laugh as though God measures pride in degrees like us humans. Anyway this guy is so hard to have a conversation with and unless you are agreeing with him he doesnt want to know you. I often wonder how people that are so proud ever get over it. I know God has chastised me with an affliction and somewhat he has calmed me down over the last six months and I seem to be travelling batter. God is not the only one that resists the proud, I find that pastors seem to give you a wide birth when you are proud. Let me say I am not proud of being proud! Hey thats a joke are you laughing. I used to look at a passage in 1 Peter for years. Jesus would constantly pint me toward it when I was questioning him . It follows exactly after the same verses quoted by James. 1 Peter 5:5-6 5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble. 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,I used to ask Jesus how long I had to be humble under the mighty hand of God before He would exalt me. Its obvious that He will exalt me, but my idea of due time and His idea of due time might be two separate things. I have to confess Jesus has given me much grace I have had a life where for twenty years I had a sexual addiction and Jesus gave me a tremendous amount of grace. I speak of how I overcame that in other articles yet I have to say that Jesus still gives us grace and power from the throne to resist temptation. I enjoy obeying the Holy Spirit when the Holy Spirit gives me a direction. With all my faults I like to do things right. I know when the Holy Spirit tells me to do something that I am pleasing God when I do it.I have really a loving Father and in the past year I have been able to have conversations with the Father in heaven and He really is a wonderful God to know. I have a friend called Yianni that operates the prayer site below that has taught me a lot about having a simple relationship with God. To be able to converse with the creator and ask Him simple questions and chat about things and have simple faith to pray. God really does delight in giving us grace if we would bow down to Him and submit to Him and our leadership in humility. All leadership no matter how bad it is to us comes from God and we need to respect it. Can I pray for you? Dear Father You are aware of this persons life. You know their need and you know if they need to humble themselves before you. I pray that you inspire them through my simple writings to get a little more honest with themselves and You. I pray that you touch them today and that you answer their prayers in a new way and put the words in their mouth to pray and that you lead them to Yianni for prayer if need be. In Jesus Name I ask Amen Matthew shares his heart in these articles and can be found at http://www.online-prayer.net You can read more of his articles at his link below. If you want a copy of his upcoming book of articles which will have the first sixty of the articles on this web-site called “The Musings of a Mad Prophet” please contact Matthew via email so he can contact you around February 2007 to tell you of the progress of the book. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matthew_Robert_Payne http://EzineArticles.com/?God-Gives-Grace-to-the-Humble-and-God-Resists-to-Proud-James-4-6&id=493104 online pharmacy tramadol pharmacy prilosec prescription ultram cheap tramadol without prescription pharmacy tramadol

Electroconvulsive Therapy - Updates from Harvard Medical School - What Are the Benefits and Dangers?

Saturday, November 24th, 2007

By Charles Donovan Memory loss attributed to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) may to a large extent be associated with how the treatment is administered, according to a study of patients referred to one of seven hospitals in the New York metropolitan area for ECT. “The team found that electrical waveform and electrode placement had marked cognitive effects. Sine wave stimulation resulted in pronounced slowing of reaction time, immediately and 6 months following ECT. Bilateral ECT resulted in more severe and persisting retrograde amnesia than right unilateral ECT.”The above paragraph is not easy to understand. The message is that if you are contemplating ECT for your depression, it is critical that the ECT clinician be highly skilled, experienced and up-to-date on the latest ECT techniques. Dr. Harold Sackeim of New York State Psychiatric Institute commented that ECT is currentlythe most effective short-term antidepressant and its adverse cognitive effects can be substantially reduced, if not eliminated, by adoption of advances in technique.”The results were reported in the February 2007 issue of Neuropsychiatry. ECT Effectiveness In February of 2007, Harvard Medical School published a special report investigating the effectiveness of ECT and explaining its dangers. Here is a quick summary: ECT does not cause any damage visible on brain scans The most common complaint is short-term memory loss Memory retrograde( events that occurred before treatment) declined with each treatment Memory anterograde(ability to absorb new knowledge) declined with each treatment Memory usually returns to normal within a few weeks, but not for all patients and all respects Researchers have agreed that most patients suffer some permanent memory loss In controlled studies, ECT had a response rate of about 70%, even though it usually isn’t attempted until other treatments fail. “Like other treatments for depression, ECT is no cure. About half of the patients relapse within a year and require maintenance ECT treatments. The high relapse rates are not surprising given that most people who undergo ECT have particularly severe symptoms” What are the dangers? Here is a quick summary: ECT does not cause any damage visible on brain scans The most common complaint is short-term memory loss Memory retrograde( events that occurred before treatment) declined with each treatment Memory anterograde(ability to absorb new knowledge) declined with each treatment Memory usually returns to normal within a few weeks, but not for all patients and all respects Researchers have agreed that most patients suffer some permanent memory loss. According to the special 2007 Harvard Medical School report, the placement of the electrodes and the type of electric current make a big difference in improving patient outcomes and memory loss. Originally, electrodes were placed at the templates on opposite sides of the head( bilateral placement). Two new innovations: Placement of both electrodes on the same side( unilateral placement), usually the right A new ECT machine that produces brief intermittent pulses instead of continual electrical stimulation. This allows for an electrical dose that can be adjusted so that it just is strong enough to cause a seizure. Researchers determined that these newer procedures greatly reduced the memory loss. There is still more extensive research required about these new ECT procedures. If you are considering ECT, I think that three things are critical: 1. Your psychiatrist should clearly identify you as a good candidate for ECT 2. The clinician that administers the ECT must be highly skilled with extensive experience in ECT 3. The anesthesiologist should be up-to-date on the latest strategies when administering the muscle relaxant and the anesthesiology It should be noted that there is no relationship between the potential effectiveness of vagus nerve stimulation and lack of effectiveness with ECT. I had a series of fifteen unsuccessful ECT treatments in 1998. Thankfully, in April of 2001, I was implanted with the vagus nerve stimulator. The therapy completely changed my life, I still have the implant, I don’t feel the stimulation, the remarkable response has been sustained (i.e. “Prozac poop out) and there was no absolutely no cognitive impairment. Charles Donovan was a patient in the FDA investigational trial of vagus nerve stimulation as a treatment for chronic or recurrent treatment-resistant depression. He was implanted with the vagus nerve stimulator in April of 2001. He chronicles his journey from the grips of depression thanks to vagus nerve stimulation therapy in his book: Out of the Black Hole: The Patient’s Guide to Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Depression His all inclusive book prepares depression sufferers to make an informed decision about this ninety-minute out-patient procedure. It is a “must read” before you discuss this treatment with your psychiatrist. A prescription for the procedure is required from an M.D. and it is covered by most insurance plans. He is the founder of the http://www.VagusNerveStimulation.com Web Site and Bulletin. His blog is http://www.MyDepressionSpace.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charles_Donovan http://EzineArticles.com/?Electroconvulsive-Therapy—Updates-from-Harvard-Medical-School—What-Are-the-Benefits-and-Dangers?&id=492822 us credit card debt elimination credit card debt eliminator credit card debt consolidation debt elimination debt relief credit card debt law credit card debt elimination procedure

Trade Show Traffic Builders - Qualifying Recipients

Saturday, November 24th, 2007

By RJ Williams Promotional Products Will Drive Traffic to Your Booth OK, so youre looking for hoards of people to gather to your booth for your next trade show and looking to brand your product /service. Well, heres how to do it. Studies show 71.6% of trade shows attendees can recall the name of the company they received a promotional product from. Unfortunately you are not going to be able to speak to every attendee walking the show floor. Many people are going to slip through the cracks during peak exhibit times. Theres no denying it. Promotional products are great tradeshow traffic builders and will draw a crowd to your booth. But what items should you be looking for?You want inexpensive items that have high retention rates, are re-useable and that work. Heres another tip. Make your trade show giveaways available and make sure your contact info is on the product and any message you are focusing on at the show. You would be surprised at the amount of promotional items given out WITHOUT contact information what a waste! The fact is, promotional products are great for getting a targeted message to a designated recipient on a repetitive basis. If nothing else, the exposure will help brand these attendees for future shows. And thats not all. Studies show people receiving promotional items think favorably of the companies that gave them to them. Keep in mind; this is great if EVERYONE at your next show is a potential buyer or prospect. But what if they are not? Who is a Qualified Recipient? Sure, you may want hoards of people to your booth to get some exposure, but remember thisWhen talking abouttrade show promotionalproducts one thing is clear. You need to know WHO your targeted prospects are your QUALIFIED recipients. So WHO should you be looking for out of the masses? The obvious answer is that you want the decision maker, right! Well consider this How about other people who may be exposed to the decision maker? What about people who can influence the decision maker? Picture this. If my assistant was wearing your logoed baseball hat everyday, chances are I would take notice. The reason you should include those around the decision maker is to take advantage of the opportunity to influence them with your brand exposure on that promotional item. In the case of the logoed hat Dont you think that continued exposure would be worth the $5 investment! Trick or Treat It would be a simple world for you as an exhibitor if every person walking the show floor was a buyer of your product or service. The unfortunate reality is that this is not the case. Heres a common scene at trade shows. Companies simply put out their promotional items for everyone to stop by and pick up. The result? They waste a ton of money that will never bring them a return. Theres a saying The guy with a big bag of tchotchke aint buyin. You know the type, right? The attendee who goes from booth to booth to gather as much free stuff as possible. Yup, that guy hes not buyin. So do yourself a favor, do not wasting valuable time talking to unqualified leads who are talking to you solely to add to their overflowing bag of free stuff. Promotional Products Can Drive OUT Disqualified Traffic Ok, you might be thinking, Whats this guy talking about? He just got finished telling me how great promotional items were for drawing traffic TO my booth. Truth is, if you are prospecting for qualified leads, you can also use promotional items to quickly get unqualified traffic OUT OF YOUR BOOTH. It all comes down to this. If everyone at the show is not a potential buyer it is just as important to disqualify people as it is to qualify them. If an attendee is not qualified he or she is not a prospect. Whats more, they will cost you money by taking time away from prospecting good leads. Your show time is finite and must be managed to maximize results. RJ Williams, is the owner of Poor Richards Promos. Our goal is to help educate exhibitors and give them the tools to maximize their trade show results.poorrichard@poorrichardspromos.comEmail for free marketing tips, 52 Ways to Trade Show Wealth. For a copy of our full report, 7 Deadly Mistakes Exhibitors Make When Purchasing Promotional Products for Trade Shows visit www.poorrichardspromos.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=RJ_Williams http://EzineArticles.com/?Trade-Show-Traffic-Builders—Qualifying-Recipients&id=371180 phentermine 37.5 no prescription needed where to order phentermine phentermine online dr phentermine no prescription free shipping

Slumming in Los Angeles; Mexican Food for the Poor in Pocket, But Rich in Taste

Friday, November 23rd, 2007

By Jeremy Kaplan Part I: Mexican Food: Muy Barato When I moved to Los Angeles in 1992, I had a roommate named Lynn. Lynn was a man who would drink two beers, matriculate to several lines of cocaine, and then culminate the evening with a perilous motorcycle ride across Hollywood to El GRAN BURRITO on Virgil Avenue. There he would order and consume a burrito, taco, and horchata. He never invited me to sit behind him on the motorcycle, and I foolishly neglected to ask. I did ask Lynns friend Celso, the first Hispanic man I met in L.A., where to find the best Mexican restaurant. He frowned and said: What am I, a food critic? Go to El Gran Burrito, knucklehead. I might just as well have asked my inebriated Irish roommate with the feminine name, but it seemed wiser to inquire about Mexican culture from a Mexican person. In any case, I listened to Celso and boarded my roommate’s motorcycle. For $4, I ate the Lynn Special: a burrito carnitas, a carne asada taco, and a large Styrofoam cup of horchata. My five year experiment with vegetarianism was conclusively resolved. My pursuit of great Mexican food in Los Angeles had commenced. El Gran Burrito was discovery #1. The Burrito. The ideal burrito is the al pastor, filled with marinated pork, and complimented by rice, beans, cilantro, and onions. EL TAURINO on Hoover Street serves an al pastor burrito that is “primo” to the Greek gyros and the Armenian shawarma. Like the gyros and shawarma, El Taurinos marinated al pastor is sliced from a crispy chunk of meat on a rotisserie, and then rolled into a big tortilla with the aforementioned ingredients. Like any great burrito, the beans are whole, not refried. The slender pieces of meat crunch and melt as you masticate. The al pastor at EL TAQUITO MEXICANO, located above the 210 freeway in Pasadena, relies less on texture than marinade. The meat is saturated in a dense sauce that resembles the wonderful rendang dish of Indonesia. The flavor is smoky and juicy, with taste and texture augmented by grilled onions. YUCA’S, a tiny hut located in a Los Feliz liquor store parking lot, exemplifies the regional cochinito pibil burrito of the Yucatan region of Mexico. By definition, cochinito pibil is a young, pit roasted pig. While verifying the age of a pig subsequent to pit roasting is regrettably beyond my know-how, Ive many times contemplated the age issue as the tender meat slowly dissolved in my mouth. If young is good, than Yucas cochinito pibil is a puerile beast. Speaking of young meat, I brought my two sons to Yucas after a morning of forced sprints up a Silverlake staircase, and had the honor of watching them shed tears over a burrito. Asada devotees heretofore, the tomato influenced pork juice that dribbled from their possessed lips changed their ways. Now whenever we leave the house for an outing, regardless of where we go, the kids say, Great, we can go get a pibil burrito at Yucas! But were going to Oxnard, I remind them. Isnt that close to Los Feliz? Close enough. The Huarache. In the world of attire, a huarache is a sandal. In the culinary world, it is a flat, crisp, chewy, sandal-shaped slab of masa. At EL HUARACHE AZTECA in Highland Park, a huarache is topped with meat, cilantro, and crumbled bits of white cheese (cotija, me thinks). I usually request al pastor or chicharrones on mine, but all sorts of flesh suffice. Chicharrones, deep fried pork skin with unhealthy doses of fat and meat attached (kind of like a chunky rendition of bacon), are normally sold ala carte in panaderias. On the huarache, the chicharrones are stewed in a spicy red sauce, so that their texture is more reminiscent of tendon. Tendon reminds many people of Jell-o, just chewier. Its an acquired taste; you might opt for pork, beef, or chicken. The white cheese that melts into the meat is rich and somewhat dry, similar to a parmesan or feta. The contrast of crunchy and chewy, juicy and dry, create a sensation deliciously unique in Mexican cuisine. The Tamale. There are almost as many tamale vendors in this metropolis as there are burrito trucks. Some people swear by Lilianas in East L.A., while loyalists in El Sereno love The Tamale Man. Its all good stuff, but I tend to spend my tamale money at East L.A.s LA MASCOTA BAKERY. They make three essential tamales (rojo chile, verde chile, and queso), and one that I just dont get (dulce), so I just dont get it. The rojo is filled with pork in a red salsa, and the verde is chicken in a green salsa. The contents are crucial to the superiority of one tamale over another. The rojo at La Mascota consists of several tender pork chunks that one dreams about finding in a carnitas burrito. The cheese in the queso tamale is soft, rich, and permeated with green chile. I wouldnt be able to prove it in a culinary court, but Im pretty damn sure it is panela cheese. The masa that encases the contents is dense and flaky; it feels light, yet it firmly holds its load (mmm!) without crumbling apart. The Gordita. What cant you do with masa, the Mexican wonder dough? At ANA MARIA’S, a food stall at Grand Central Market, they mold the masa into flat, grilled cakes that they split and stuff with so much stuff, its like eating a taxi cab with an endless supply of clowns but even tastier! This is a gordita. Its basically meat, beans, cilantro, salsa, and a crema that tastes like the tzatziki with which the Greeks douse their gyros. The best meat here is the carnitas, which are oily, stringy, and plentiful, like a pulled pork sandwich. Between the meat, beans, and fried masa, a $2.50 gordita can assuage and punish an empty stomach for hours. Being as dense as a gordita myself, I often order two. The Hot Seafood. There are many consistently solid mariscos restaurants in Los Angeles serving variations of fried and grilled fish, and Ive yet to decide upon one as being transcendent. SENOR FISH has a very nice scallop burrito, and seafood quesadillas that are remarkably excessive. Senor is not as good as its reputation, nor as inexpensive as it used to be, but its still a damn good meal. VIA MAR, in Highland Park, is an inexpensive, ordinary mariscos stand that serves one extraordinary item. Their langostino burrito is filled with buttery, sauted crawfish, green peppers, and rice. The langostino meat is the nearest thing to the taste of lobster. The succulent pieces detonate in buttery bursts of indulgent gratification. For value and consistency, the SIETE MARES chain of mariscos restaurants may very well be the best in Los Angeles. Most branches consist of a taco stand and a sit down restaurant. Go to the taco stand for fish and shrimp tacos, burritos, and ceviche tostadas. The restaurant is a good place to sweat over a big bowl of siete mares soup, or a plate of fried or grilled fish with rice and beans. The Cold Seafood. Rays is the legendary pizza joint in New York City that was voted Best Pizza a few decades ago. Soon afterward, dozens of Rays Pizzas popped up throughout Manhattan, leaving the neophyte unsure as to the location of the original Rays (Original Rays also being a frequently repeated pizzeria name). I think the original is on 11th Street & 6th Avenue, but I cant prove it. Its kind of like the Tommys & Tomys scenario in Los Angeles, or the Mexican seafood trucks that line Figueroa Boulevard alongside Sycamore Grove Park in Highland Park. Only one of them is legendary, but luckily each truck has a different name. You want the one labeled LA MAR AZUL. La Mar Azul serves seafood cocktails (cocteles de mariscos) and several variations of ceviche on tostadas. The cocteles are fresh, inexpensive, and generous of portion. The ceviche (raw, citrus marinated seafood) tostadas are sublime. You can order abalone, pulpo (octopus), camarones (shrimp), jaiba (imitation crab), or mixta (combination of all the above). The meat is heaped upon a bed of rich creamy, cilantro laden sauce (sour cream? mayo?) that combined with the cool seafood is ineffably tasty. The crisp, salty, foundation of the tostada effectively supports the substance. One tostada will bring your belly to a standing ovation, and two will close the show at a tab of no more than $5.00. Your tummy will reminisce for days to come, but without the painful reminders of a gluttonous love affair such as experienced over the gordita. This is a healthy relationship. The Taco. What do you want with a taco? Get a burrito, silly. Its bigger, and its got beans. If the burrito doesnt quite fill your tank, or youre an anti-beanist, then purchase a taco for supplemental succor. Any of the aforementioned burrito joints can make a tasty and efficient taco. REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST Soon after I discovered El Gran Burrito, it moved west to Santa Monica Boulevard and Vermont. I followed. They expanded the dining room and added additional rooms, but the place still looks the same. Its progressive growth from small dump to big dump brings to mind the modifications in Steve Martins childhood home in “The Jerk”. Success changed the size of El Gran, but it didnt alter the substance. Its still an inexpensive dump serving great food to patrons wondering in off the street. It wasnt until a year or two ago that they finally raised the prices of their burritos (from $2.50 to 3.00 or 3.50), which are still gran in quality and quantity. Much like my children cry over Yucas pibil, I still blubber over my El Gran carnitas burrito. Let it be known that I, being of satiated body and mind, request they cater my funeral. Wah! LOCATIONS o Ana Maria’s/ Grand Central Market, 317 S. Broadway o El Gran Burrito/ 4716 Santa Monica/ 323-665-8720 o El Huarache Azteca/ 5225 York/ 323-478-9572 o El Taquito Mexicano/ 467 N Fair Oaks/ 626-577-3918 o El Taurino/ 1104 S Hoover/ 323-738-9197 o La Mar Azul/ Sycamore Grove Park, Figueroa Street between Ave. 45 & 49 o La Mascota Bakery/ 2715 Whittier/ 323-263-5513 o Senor Fish/ Alhambra, E Rock, L Tokyo, S Pasadena o Siete Mares/ Silver Lake, Lincoln Heights, Whittier, etc… o Via Mar/ 5111 Figueroa Boulevard/ 323-255-4929 o Yucas/ 2056 N Hillhurst/ 323-662-1214 Jeremy Kaplan is a recovering school teacher, and sometimes martial arts instructor in the Eagle Rock neighborhood of Los Angeles. He practices martial arts in an effort to increase his appetite, so that he can indulge in the various ethnic cuisines available in Los Angeles. Please visit his website at http://www.eaglerockkarate.com. 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Attention all Operators! What is a Dollar Really Worth? by Restaurant Consultants, Inc.

Thursday, November 22nd, 2007

By Kevin Moll A recent analysis of 120 of the largest publicly traded restaurant companies in the United States shows that the average net profit is 11.71%. That led me to contemplate what operators have to do to actually get that eleven cents to the bottom line, and its harder than most people realize. Selling a million dollars worth of burritos that cost you a million dollars equals a waste of time. Profitability is critical to a restaurant operator, and essential to the growth of your business! As an operator, you actually do three things with your money: You generate it, you spend it, and you save it. Lets concentrate on the spending and savings components for a moment, and youll see how closely tied in they are to each other. For ease of understanding, lets assume that an average operator makes an average of 10% net operating profit. That is no small feat, and my compliments go out to those that can keep up these numbers month after month! Based on the above assumption of 10%, for every dollar you keep, you have to make $10.00. Where does the other $9.00 go? Ill list a few places, and Im sure you can add a few of your own: Labor, benefits, taxes, cost of products (food, liquor, supplies), equipment, uniforms, repairs & upkeep, cleaning supplies, phone, bank and credit card fees, utilities, vacations, advertising, rent, mortgage, lease payments. As a consultant, I frequently hear clients say, I want to make more money, and I challenge them by responding, How much money did you save today? To illustrate this point further, if you can save $5.00 on a laundry invoice, at 10% net operating profit, that $5.00 translates into $50.00 of income that did not have to be earnedjust to pay for that laundry. Worldwide, there are approximately 8 million food-service establishments. Just imagine if each one saved just one dollar a day in operating expenses. The figures can quickly become mind-boggling. Then why is it so hard to generate additional profits on the monthly profit and loss statement? Its because as operators, we become conditioned to running our restaurants in the same way, day after day. We become familiar with the same vendors, charging what appears to be a reasonable cost for the product or service supplied. Have you ever thought about a complete overhaul of your financial thinking? What would happen if you evaluated each vendor and their pricing structure one by one? What would happen if you looked at your operation with a critical eye towards expenses and revamped the way you actually do business? Could you really save $50.00 or $100.00 a day or more? Remember that $50.00 translates into $500.00 and $100.00 translates into $1,000.00. If you could save $100.00 a day in operating expenses combined, in a seven-day period that becomes $7,000.00. Over the course of 365 days, that becomes $365,000.00 you dont have to earn! Heres some tips on how to increase your net income and bring more money to the bank, step by step: 1. Your profit and loss statement–did your accounting firm create this form for you? Are they negotiable in their fees? What other preparation options are available to you? 2. Look at your top costs. For most operators, they will be food and beverage. Break these areas up, and address the costs with each vendor. Schedule a time to negotiate better pricing, bulk buys, or other methods of reducing the total cost of your products. Are you getting the best deals on product, considering the services rendered? Are you comparing prices to keep honest vendors honest? 3. Turn your scheduling upside down. How can you save money on your labor? Can you have hourly staff come in one hour later? Can you combine efficiencies to reduce your staff costs? Are your people cross-trained to handle multiple tasks, thereby reducing the need for specialized help? Is your management staffing optimized for efficiency? 4. Property and real estate costs. Have you evaluated each area for cost savings or deals? Is your landlord willing to drop the cost of rent in exchange for services or a longer lease? Can you convert into a triple net lease, and lower your fixed rent? 5. Utilities. Are you turning on kitchen equipment all at the same time, creating a peak spike in energy costs? Can you delay equipment usage by a half hour a day? How about air conditioning and heating? Can you use these more effectively by turning them on later, or turning them off earlier? Can you use more energy efficient lighting throughout the operation? 6. Contracted services, including laundry and cleaning services. Are these areas that you can negotiate the fees? Will they drop the costs if you agree to a long-term usage agreement? 7. Bank, credit card, and other financial fees. Are you getting the best deal on your credit card discount rate? Have you shopped for lower rates recently? Are you being charged excessive bank fees for basic banking services such as a checking account? All of these fees are negotiable, and youll quickly save by shopping around. 8. Telephone charges. Do you have long distance costs controlled? Who can make long distance calls and why? Unless your chef is ordering fresh fish from Hawaii, there is no need to use long distance services. Virtually all vendors have 800 numbers, or theyll make accommodations for you to place your orders toll free. 9. Supplies, small wares, and other controllable expenses. Do you have a purchase order system in place? Who has access to petty cash? Who has the authority to purchase these items? Unless systems are in place, youre loosing valuable assets. 10. Menu design. Are you selling the most profitable items possible? Are they placed in the right spot on your menu? Unless your menu is costed out correctly, and laid out properly by an expert, you are selling yourself short. (May I humbly pitch our services? We’re great with menus!) 11. Marketing plans. Unless you have a well-conceived and thoughtfully crafted marketing program in place, you will probably be throwing good money away on temporary promotions. 12. Rewards in place for creating additional profitability. It takes work to create profit. How about creating profit teams? Take key staff members and make them responsible and accountable for various financial components of your operation. When they realize a cost savings, reward them for their diligence, and you will reap the rewards, line item by line item. Remember, its not what you make, its what you keep. By concentrating on keeping more of your money in your pocket, youll increase the profitability and value of your business. *************************************************************** Also, a lot more free tips are available on our web-site at www.restaurantconsultant.org *************************************************************** Kevin Moll, President, Restaurant Consultants, Inc. 875 S. Colorado Blvd. Suite 684, Denver, CO 80246 Toll Free: 1-800-961-6005 http://www.restaurantconsultant.org Kevin@restaurantconsultant.org Kevin Moll is the President of Restaurant Consultants Inc.Published author with over 30 years in the restaurant business, his firm specializes in restaurant startups and troubleshooting, both domestically and internationally. 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Crocheting Benefits: Why People Love To Crochet

Tuesday, November 20th, 2007

By JB Anthony There are many reasons why people love to crochet. For one, crocheting is therapeutic. Because of its calming, rhythmic movements, many studies have shown positive results for people suffering from chronic depression, Alzheimers disease, dementia and schizophrenia. Crocheting is also for common ordinary people who simply enjoy the feeling of accomplishing something with their after-work, idle time. Crocheting relieves stress and muscle tensions after a hard day at the office as crocheting easily takes your mind off from work and draws you deeper into a solitary hobby where you can collect your thoughts as you let your fingers and the crochet hook do their work. Yarn colors also have positive effects on the eyes too. Colors in soft, fuzzy materials provide a diversion to the cold, hard and glaring screens of your office computers that you have been staring at for the whole day. Aside from the psychological and emotional benefits of crocheting, it also provides material benefits. I have known three housewives who have gone into crocheting, first as a hobby, and then into business, making sweatshirts, shawls and pillowcases in different designs and different colors. Of course, the income may not be as high as when you sell hotdogs during baseball season but it does add a considerable amount of cash into the household income, not to mention the personal satisfaction of having been able to consign and sell your own handiwork in small, local shops. Other items that can be made by crocheting are cellular phone cases, fashion bag parts, tablecloth, and coasters. Crocheting can also bond people. It provides a healthy venue for women and even young girls to come together to share thoughts and exchange views while exchanging crocheting patterns. It is both a social as well as a solitary hobby. While some people like to meet friends through this common interest, some people are also more comfortable working independently on their crochet and their work comes out just as fine. Most of all, people who are into crocheting simply enjoys the fact that crocheting tools are small and handy and can be easily kept in purses to take out when a good crocheting diversion is called for. JB Anthony is the webmaster of http://www.crochet.hottestniches.com For more articles, information, tips, guides, updates on crochet books and crochet patterns, please visit the site http://www.crochet.hottestniches.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=JB_Anthony http://EzineArticles.com/?Crocheting-Benefits:-Why-People-Love-To-Crochet&id=361049 where can i purchase valium without prescription no prescription pharmacy diazepam buy valium online legally mail order valium arrest defense

Cost Saving Tips for Favours

Monday, November 19th, 2007

By Christine Rozon DIY Favours Do it yourself DIY favours are a great way to cut costs. You can buy some cheap packaging such as small favour boxes, truffle boxes, Chinese takeout boxes or organza bags and fill them with candy, chocolates or almonds. Decorate them to match your wedding theme with decorations and ribbons from a local dollar store. To personalize the favour - make up a small gift tag with your names and wedding date and attach it to your favour. Other ideas include homemade jars of jam, preserved fruit, honey, and dry cookie mixes that your guests can take home and make themselves. DIY gifts are better for smaller weddings unless you have a lot of help. You dont want to be canning 300 jars of Grandmas famous jam 2 weeks before the wedding! Double Duty Gifts Double duty gifts are a great way to save money. A great example is a picture frame: it can hold seating arrangements at the wedding and your guests can then take it home and put in their favorite photo. This saves you the cost of creating a seating chart and buying a favour. Want something a little different? Try our new coasters that have a spot for a photo! They can be used as a place holder to display seating arrangements, display a favorite photo after the wedding, and of course, are coasters! Give One per Couple There is no set ruling to giving a favour. Save a little money by giving one favour per couple or per family. This tends to be better for larger items or more valuable items. Buy Discontinued Items Many stores have sales and discontinue things year round, especially right before Christmas. A great way to save some cash is to purchase items that are being discontinued. Just make sure you buy enough for the wedding incase you have last minute additions to your guest list. You dont want to be searching for a discontinued item last minute because Uncle John brought a guest. Buy Items off-Season Purchase your favours off-season. The store clerk is more likely to give you a discount on fall items in the winter and vise-a-versa. Also, try not to shop during peak wedding season which is from April to the end of September and sometimes into October. December is the best month to buy favours. Since most brides are thinking about the approaching Holiday Season and not their weddings, wedding stores often find themselves in a quiet period right before Christmas and New Years. This should give you a little bartering room with store clerks. Wellit never hurts to ask! Christine Rozon Owner http://www.weddingfavours.ca/ Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christine_Rozon http://EzineArticles.com/?Cost-Saving-Tips-for-Favours&id=467463 ultram order prescription buy discount tramadol online purchase tramadol buy cheap tramadol 120 cod

How to Leverage Your Most Powerful Marketing Tool

Saturday, November 17th, 2007

By Kelly O’Brien Second in a series of three articles: What if you could reach thousands of prospects, build fruitful, pro-active relationships with them, and stay top-of-mind with them on a regular basisand not spend a fortune in the process? If this sounds too good to be true, then youve not mastered the art of leveraging your firms online strategy. A web site is one of the most unique and powerful marketing tools you have, if you develop and use it correctly. It can also be a huge drain of wasted money and resources if you dont know what youre doing. High Tech is High Touch There are two components to this powerful marketing tool the website itself, coupled with a well thought-out online strategy. Done right, heres what a website and online strategy can do for you: Build relationships. Marketing your law firm is about creating and sustaining a trust-based relationship with your intended and current clients. A good website and online promotion strategy can do just that, without requiring more of you precious billable hours to be present in your clients and prospects lives. Tap new markets. Why do clients come to you in the first place? Is it because they have a real problem, an immediate need, and no choice but to hire an attorney? What if you could tap a less crisis-driven, more pro-active market that provided you with more predictable and longer-term cash flow? Amazingly, an integrated online/offline marketing strategy, centered around your website can do that for you. Accelerate your sales cycle. By the time someone calls you, chances are theyve already visited your website. With the right online approach, you can increase a prospects confidence that your firm is the right one to call, reduce the number of unqualified prospects, encourage a call to action, and begin a long-term relationship. Stay in sight and top of mind. The adage, out of sight is out of mind is true, even in legal matters. There is simply no guarantee that an existing client will return to your firm the next time they need similar services. Too many variables and influences can intercede, particularly if a lot of time passes between needs. Your website and online strategy can painlessly bridge the gap between more time consuming, off-line keep-in-touch activities (i.e., phone calls, direct mail, customer surveys) that are often hard to carve out time to do and expensive to implement. Turbocharge your business development efforts. A well-constructed website can be the hub of your firms presence in the marketplace. Ideally, your website is the first place prospects go when they learn about your firm through a referral, while networking, in the press, or perhaps a direct mail piece. Once theyre on your site, you can educate them, build their loyalty and confidence, demonstrate your results, and motivate them to take actionall for a fraction of the time, energy, and money these things require off-line. Manage your marketing dollars more wisely. Wouldnt it be great if you could tell which off-line marketing activities pay off and which ones dont? With the right approach, you can do just that, using your website and underlying technology as a tool for measured marketing. Youll never have to wonder if the money you spend on direct mail, networking, or publicity is really worth it again youll know for sure! The Essentials The money you spend on a website and promotional strategy is only as good as the work they do for you to turn surfers into real clients. For a website that works hard and gets results, heres what to consider. 1. Function over form. There are plenty of visually appealing websites that fall far short of what clients and prospects are really looking for. When someone visits your site, they want it to load quickly be easy to read provide a range of information (not everyone will read it all, but everyone is attracted and motivated by different things so youve got to offer it all) make it easy to contact you not distract or waste their time with unnecessary effects be easy to print out perhaps teach them something they didnt know. Graphic design is a very important element of any website, but it should not be what drives content, navigation, and usability. At most, it should weigh in equally with content and navigation. 2. Long, well-written copy sells. Believe it or not, if what you say speaks to your target audience in language thats about them, their problems, their world, and their needs, theyll read a lot more than youd think. The key, though, is that what you say has got to be about them, not your firm at least not initially. This goes back to the laws of marketing discussed in the first article of this series, How to Put Law & Order into Marketing Your Law Firm. (on our website at http://www.growyourlawfirm.com under Free Resources: Articles). Most professional service firms break this ruleand end up sounding alike. Differentiate your firm by writing website content that speaks to your clients worldview, not yours. Educate them, motivate them, soothe them, convince them, inform them, and move them to action. 3. Load up on value. Give visitors to your site a reason to stick around and to bookmark your site because its so darned valuable. Increase their knowledge and help them feel competent every time they go to your site, and theyll fall in love with your firm. Ironically, the more you share about what you know, the more people are drawn to your work and will trust that your services are highly valuable, not a necessary evil, and worth every penny they pay. 4. Integrate online with off-line. Think about how you get new clients now word of mouth? Referrals? Networking? A letter of introduction? Quoted in the press? Usually its through off-line activities. While youre at it, invite people to visit your website and let it do the initial relationship-building work for you. Follow up an initial introduction with an email link to your site and an invitation to subscribe to your firms free e-newsletter. Attach an article youve written that specifically addresses the concern they approached you about. Follow up with a phone call to see if they got the article and continue your conversation. Maybe you get a new client right away, but if not, you keep in touch through your monthly e-newsletter that reminds them of how valuable you are, and drive them back to new content on your website. Before you know it, you do have a new client, and a lot of the heavy lifting was done by your great website. Even if your firm has a website, take a look at how hard it works for you. Remember, marketing is about creating and sustaining a relationship with your target audience and current clients. Leverage the power of a well-crafted website and online strategy, and that process gets a lot easier! TurningPointe Marketing, Inc. helps professional service firms attract more clients, stabilize their business, and take their practice to the next level. To learn more about our website audit services, Marketing Your Professional Services Firm Clinic, market strategy coaching, 3-hour market strategy analysis, and one-day learning and strategy session, please visit our website http://www.GrowYourLawFirm.com. (c) 2004 TurningPointe Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved. Marketing educator, Kelly O’Brien, is creator of the “Create a TurningPointe!” Marketing Bootcamp. To learn more about this step-by-step program, and to sign up for FREE how-to articles and 20-page marketing guide, visit http://www.turningpointemarketing.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kelly_O’Brien http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Leverage-Your-Most-Powerful-Marketing-Tool&id=7160 phentermine to order order phentermine no prescription purchase phentermine cod where to buy phentermine without

Time and Space - Which Runs Out First

Friday, November 16th, 2007

By Michael Bresciani Both science and the Bible speak of a cessation of time but each in their own peculiar way. The only difference is that the Bible view doesnt stop after time has stopped. In fact that is just the beginning. To be fair we will have to present the equation for both science and the Bible to show that both come to the same conclusion. Unfortunately one leaves man hopeless and the other carries man to a realm where hope becomes reality. To travel anywhere in space man needs to increase the speeds of our craft to nearly the speed of light. Unknown to most is that presently we have only managed to propel payloads to the neighborhood of about 30,000 miles per hour. To get our little rocket ware to the speed of light we will secondly have to ignore an inconvenient truth. (Not Al Gores) Simply stated, physical objects lose their mass in equal and direct proportion to which they approach the speed of light. That is to say that they become pure energy or metaphysical or as the Bible says spirit. Gene Rodenberry had to ignore this fact in the creation of his famous Star Trek series but science cannot. In fact since one inconvenient truth was overlooked why not overlook it nine times over? Why not imagine warp speeds of nine times the speed of light? But lets get back to earth long enough to carry the equation to its end. Even here we will have to engage the imagination. If we could get our spacecraft to approach the speed of light lets take a short trip and see how this is going to work. To make a roundtrip voyage to the very closest star system to the sun, Alpha Centauri, it will take approximately eight light years provided we can reach the speed of light. Heres the rub. When the rocketeers and their craft reach the speed of light, time runs out. Yes, time stops cold at the maximum speed of light. When the travelers return to earth (if they can return to a physical state after reaching the speed of light) and depending on how close to the speed of light they came the planet will be approximately 37,000 to 400,000 years older so for everything they ever knew before the trip began, time has run out. If we set our sites for a star system only on the far reaching edges of our own Milky Way Galaxy by the time we returned to the earth it would not just be older, it would be gone. The sun will have burned out and the earth will have most likely ceased to exist altogether. What a surprise for the weary travelers. Once again that old pesky time has run out. The final product of our equation is clearly that time runs out. This is derived from known science not from Gene Rodenberrys imagination. A recent television show asks adults to put their intelligence to the test against some rather brilliant fifth graders. The adults are not doing well. If you are having trouble seeing how our equation plays out perhaps you might want to discuss it with a fifth grader. No insult intended to the reader. This is just a way of saying this stuff is common knowledge. But hey, I have met M.I.T. students who still think when a space craft passes by in space it makes a whooshing sound. With no air in space that is impossible and there are a few fifth graders who know that. It isnt enough that science has dismissed accountability to a creator by insisting we came from monkeys which sounds hopeless enough but then comes part two. This is where man brings his monkey business into outer space and is found fighting planetary wars and producing the same mayhem found on earth throughout our entire history. It is much like the analogy of a civilization that burned the candle at both ends but when it burned out instead of blowing the smoke in Gods face it blew back into their own face. Thanks to the Star Trek, Star Wars mentality we have unwittingly driven hope from our youth. Of course no one dares associate the presentation of sciences conclusions with the rise in teen suicides. How ungrateful of our children to not appreciate the notion of future sterile but warring Orwellian societies smattered across the universe. Perhaps we think they should be thankful to just get out there since it is quite a leap forward after starting out as a mere monkeys. The Biblical equation comes to the same conclusion as the scientific one but the end product is not hopelessness. The Bible also says time runs out but it is just the beginning. It is a beginning where time almost doesnt matter at all but life does and it goes on without wars and mans worst behavior. Time as we know it runs out at the second coming of Christ. The world does not end and the sun doesnt burn out. Christ takes up rule from Jerusalem (Irans Ahmadinejad not withstanding) and those who followed him throughout the ages will have been transformed and rule with him with bodies that are eternal and not subject to death etc. as before. This period lasts for one thousand years and is commonly referred to as the Millennial Kingdom. Eternity in a new earth is scheduled to begin at the end of that period. My eschatological escapade ends here so the point which is that time runs out will not be lost. The Bible says time as we know it on earth will not go on for unending centuries or millennia but will end just before man is gathered to face judgment. Mankind, the Bible says, will be gathered whether living or dead from the earth and the sea but not the stars. Not only does the Bible say that we will meet with God before we travel to the stars but science does as well. Although much more reluctant to admit it, science has summarily concluded that time runs out long before space. Science says the universe began with a bang and our world will end with a bang. The Bible says that the universe began by the silent determination and will of God and the world will end with a whimper not a bang. Time will run out for which some have got the good sense to be thankful. And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: Revelation 10: 5-6 Rev Bresciani is the author of two Christian books one that is entirely on the second coming of Christ. He is a contributing columnist for several online news and commentary sites. His articles are read throughout the world. 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