Salute Friend

If you’re like the many small business owners I know, you
probably apply a different set of criteria when running your
family versus when running your business. That’s fair. You could always get different colleagues or employees, but you’d like to keep your family together if you could! But that doesn’t mean that you couldn’t use some of the same techniques with your family that help you keep your business running smoothly especially in the area of people management.

The success of your family is very much dependent on how you
pull your family together as a team - much like the success of
your business depends on you and your employees working as a
team.

The keys to achieving this are as follows:

• Make sure everyone knows what they’re supposed to be
  doing on a daily basis. If you can, create a daily plan for
  each family member well in advance. The more notice you give
  the better. This is an often-overlooked first order of business for parents. As a manager, you make sure your employees know what they’re supposed to be doing don’t forget to do the same at home.
• Train your family members to follow the plan. This is
  going to be the hardest part, but trust me, it’s worth every
  bit of effort. This is like teaching someone to fish - versus
  giving them food. Once they get in the habit of following your
  plan, then you’ll be thankful for sticking to your guns on
  this issue.
• Continually reward and motivate. Once the system is in
  place, don’t take it for granted - or you risk losing them
  again. Keep the idea of following the plan fresh.

If this sounds daunting, don’t worry. You can find plenty of
sources for help. If you have a computer (and who doesn’t
these days), there is now a good choice of easy-to-use
software to help you with the planning, reminding, and
tracking. If you prefer other kind of help, you may want to
talk to a life or executive coach.

If you’re not comfortable with these, you could use a
traditional paper-based wall planner or any one of many “mom
organizers”.

© 2005 by Saro Saravanan.

Saro Saravanan is the Founder-CEO of Mediabee, which
makes Mediabee Family Dashboard, a free family
management tool built to address the needs of busy families
and their organizers. Be sure to read the rest of his articles
on Family, Time, and Small Business Management - especially
the companion article Run Your Business like You Run Your
Family. Download Mediabee Family Dashboard today at
http://mediabee.com and streamline your family life.

Free Patent Search Training in Free Patent Database online

The first step to find out if you invention can be patented is to conduct a free patent search online in any free patent information database online. How can you do a free patent search to find out if your invention can be patented?

Some of the most popular free patent databases in the world are http://www.uspto.gov, http://ep.espacenet.org, http://www.wipo.int and http://www.surfip.gov.sg.

We will briefly discuss in this article how you can conduct a Free Patent Search in USPTO database. This is the first of the seven articles that we will write to teach any one to use USPTO website to conduct patent search.

USPTO database contains over 33 million patent documents and is updated every week. The website is probably the largest patent website in the world. It provides a free patent search facility for both beginners and advanced users.

How can I conduct Patent Search at USPTO?

The answer to this question is given in a technical way in many websites. We will try to avoid the jargon and we will try to enable even a layperson that is not exposed to search databases regularly to do it easily.

The USPTO deals with conducting a Patent Search using its freely searchable patent database through the Internet. The instructions are given at
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/ptdl/step7.htm The USPTO stresses the importance on 7 Steps each one to be done one after the other.

The Patent Search website Tmpsearchers.com has started a patent training course online. We can train you online wherever you live and the lessons and exercises are sent on a daily basis for three weeks. We teach a simplified version of methods to our students using Free Patent Databases. Although a paid database is more users friendly, the official free databases are updated with regular data and the expensive paid databases take some time (a short time) to update themselves to be current. Therefore it is necessary to conduct a search in the official free patent databases online even after using paid patent databases. A proper training and search strategy for free databases is therefore very important.

One problem is that the USPTO does not allow you to do the free patent search on patents granted prior to 1976 unless you start the patent search with the class and sub class alone. So you need to identify the classes and then do a patent research of pre 1976 patents also.

Our method slightly differs from the methodology advised by USPTO and consists of 9 Steps.

1. Start the search with some relevant keywords

When you do a search using USPTO you will go to the search inter-face at http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html Start with the issued patents and start with using some keywords, which are relevant to your invention. You may use either the quick search method or the advanced search method. Be sure to study the help pages at http://www.uspto.gov/patft/help/help.htm and especially the page at http://www.uspto.gov/patft/help/helpadv.htm if you are going to use the advanced search method.

2. You will get some results and by using more relevant keywords you can reduce the number of patent titles to a minimum of about 40. Please keep a record of all the keywords that you used.

3. Please note all the classifications of cited in these patents. Note both the US Classification and the International Classification of Patents. This is a must.

4. Repeat the patent search with the Published Applications using http://appft1.uspto.gov/netahtml/PTO/search-adv.html Again record the search queries and the classifications.

5. Now study the classifications that are repeated time and again in your results and try to narrow down the invention to some particular classifications. It is not very difficult to do although it will take some time.

You may learn the other four steps by in our patent training web page.

These steps should give you a very comprehensive picture of the free patent search that can be done at USPTO.

A similar strategy can be followed at other free patent databases online using the International classifications that you have identified.

Working at the Free Patent Search website Tmpsearchers.com we find that we are able to find patents easily when we do patent search this way, but the key here is to master the keywords to be applied to conduct the patent search. If you want to know more or learn other advanced techniques of patent search using the free patent search interface of USPTO patent database, please contact us for any help needed.

Copyright 2005 Tmpsearchers.com

Ramaswami a Patent and Trademarks Attorney in India provides free counseling in Patents and trademarks in India. Know more about the services you can ask for at http://www.tmpsearchers.com/contact.asp

The following article is offered for free use in your ezine,
print publication or on your web site, so long as the author
resource box at the end is included. Notification of publication
would be appreciated.

Title: The Five Best Gifts to Give Your Family Author: Margaret
Paul, Ph.D. E-mail: mailto:margaret@innerbonding.com Copyright:
© 2003 by Margaret Paul Web Address: http://www.innerbonding.com
Word Count: 744 Category: Parenting, Relationships

THE FIVE BEST GIFTS TO GIVE YOUR FAMILY By Margaret Paul, Ph.D.

When we think of giving gifts, we usually think of things to buy
for people. Yet if you think back on gifts you’ve been given, it
might not be the material gifts you received that are foremost
in your mind - it might be the kind of gifts that deeply touched
your heart and soul. It might be various ways, other than
material things, that people expressed their love to you.

There are five gifts of love that we can give to our families
that can make a huge difference in their lives.

THE GIFT OF CARING AND COMPASSION

We all yearn to feel cared for, yet many of us withhold caring
and compassion for others. A profound gift we can give to our
loved ones is to listen with our heart, to understand and accept
rather than to judge, and to stay open to learning rather than
to protect against being hurt.

Think about the last time someone actually listened to you and
gave you understanding and acceptance. The feeling of being
understood and accepted with caring and compassion is one of the
best feelings in the world. Instead of focusing on getting this
from others, why not focus on giving it to others? You might be
surprised at how wonderful you feel in giving this gift to your
family.

THE GIFT OF COURAGE

One of the best gifts we can give our loved ones is our own
courage. This means being having the courage to stand in our
truth, to be honest about what we want and don’t want, what we
will do and won’t do, what is and what is not acceptable to us.
It means having the courage to take good care of ourselves, even
if others don’t like it. It means not succumbing to our
controlling behaviors that come from fear: anger, withdrawal,
compliance, resistance, but instead being honest and above-board
about ourselves. It means being willing to face conflict rather
than give ourselves up to avoid it.

When we have the courage to face conflict and tell the truth, we
not only provide our family with a role model for courage, but
we provide opportunities for our loved ones to step up to the
plate in the face of our truth and learn to be courageous too.

THE GIFT OF SERVICE

We are on this planet to learn to love ourselves and each other,
and to help each other. One of the best gifts we can give our
family is to role model this by doing service. Helping others
fills the heart and soul in ways that nothing else can. If
children do not see their parents doing service and helping
others, they may never learn the great joy and fulfillment that
comes from giving. One of the best gifts we can give to our
family is to provide ways of doing service.

THE GIFT OF CREATIVITY

All of us are born with various ways of expressing our
creativity. Expressing creativity is a profound way of
connecting with Spirit, since expressed creativity is a direct
expression of Spirit. Providing your family with many ways of
expressing their creativity is a great gift. Creativity can be
expressed in so many ways - cooking, crafts, building things,
music, art, movement, telling stories, writing, humor,
photography and video - the possibilities are endless! Creative
family projects are especially wonderful in creating family
closeness.

THE GIFT OF LIGHTNESS OF BEING

Lightness of being - fun, joy, laughter, playfulness - is a
great gift to give to others. Lightness of being is infectious -
our laughter and playfulness can help others take life less
seriously and “lighten up.”

Lightness of being is one the results of all the other gifts -
of caring, courage, service and creativity. When we give these
gifts, we feel a wonderful lightness within, the lightness that
is the result of fully giving from the heart. Our own lightness
of being can bring lightness into our whole family. Children
love it when their parents are playful, funloving and joyful.
Laughing together as a family is one of the most precious
experiences in life.

We need to focus of giving these gifts each day, not just during
a holiday season or special occasions. These gifts are far more
important than any material thing we can buy for someone. In
fact, we might not be so focused on material gifts if we
frequently give the gift of love - of caring, compassion,
courage, service, creativity, and lightness of being.

The Lakota tribe of Native Americans has no word in the language for “I” or “me,” only “we” or “us.” Mahatma Gandhi insisted on traveling in third class carriages (on the train)because, as he explained, ‘there is no fourth class.’ “

Certainly personal desires are not a primary consideration for leaders. Quality leadership demands focus on the vision, the project, the operational need … not on any personal need (other than perhaps the personal need to excel as a leader!).

This observation is closely allied to the need to harness the ego. The personal satisfaction will be achieved when the objective is met through quality leadership. Success on the financial, social need, employee contentment and even spiritual levels will follow automatically with such leadership.

Some years ago I counseled a business manager who was given to supervision through harping and unjust criticism of subordinates. I was unable to lull him away from the myopic profit motive that he might see the grandeur and increased profitability to be gained by compassion, complement and appreciation for, of and with employees. He was in denial of his rigidity.

When I confronted him with the quintessential evidence of my argument, he replied that each of the employees was untrustworthy, incompetent, unappreciative or unskilled. A rather stunning example of ego and dysfunctional management.

Leadership means giving service … this notion of service is more a metaphysical consideration than an operational thought. It is true, of course, that the service ends up being of some practical value and achievement. But that is not the point of service. We are here by the grace of God, and we experience the joys of life, of being, of learning, of sharing with loved ones, of making the world a better place than we found it and of enjoying earthly pleasures . We are the beneficiaries of the new technologies … all of these joys and wonderments are ours for the asking.

They are gifts, and, in return we are obligated to serve. Thus, by this continuous process of receiving and giving, the world is made a better place for all, not the least of which is the path we carve for our progeny. So “service” applies particularly at the “top,” where it becomes the model … when the leader serves, so will the others. And that aura will snowball into a productive euphoria, even in the mundane workplace.

Excerpts from a new book, “Looking for a Better World.” Read more at:
http://www.buybooksontheweb.com/description.asp?ISBN=0-7414-2134-8

Dr. Malkin holds a B.Sc. in Business and a Masters and Ph.D. in Religion. He has made hundreds of visits to schools with a moving and effective motivational presentation, urging teens to do their personal best. His mentoring programs have empowered many, many children. His quest for years has been to teach the power of Right Action, working towards the goal of a better world.

Paul Zane Pilzer a world renowned economist became a millionaire
before the age of 26 after starting many entrepreneurial
businesses. He defines the term “wellness” as money spent to
make you feel healthier even when you aren’t “sick” by any
standard medical terms. He says that the next trillion dollar
industry is the wellness industry.

Wellness is on the increase as today people are becoming much
more aware of preventative healthcare and alternative medicines
than 15 or even 10 years ago.

Wellness simply means taking steps to prevent illness such as
eating a healthy diet,taking nutritional supplements,self
improvement,keeping fit,and using personal care products that
are non toxic to you or the environment.

He is a best selling author and has written several books one of
which is called “The Wellness Revolution, how to make a fortune
in the next trillion dollar industry”

The internet presents an ideal opportunity to develop a business
in the wellness industry as more and more people are buying
online.The number of people purchasing goods online has doubled
over the past year to 20 million.

A large proportion of these people are known as baby boomers.
They are reaching middle age and on the whole are concerned with
their health and diet,and are younger in appearance and attitude
than their parents were at that age.

They are looking to skin care products, vitamins and fitness
programs to keep them young.

Find a company with high quality, consumable products, and a
generous compensation plan to ensure your success.

To start an online business you will need a website or webpage
to show the products and the business. This may include a
shopping cart to enable visitors to purchase online.

Designing your own site is very easy now with the simple to use
software available. You don’t need to know HTML programing
anymore.

Some companies may provide you with your own homepage linked
into their main site. This would enable you to present the
products and business opportunity without the trouble and
expense of designing your own site.

This is great as you can produce business cards and flyers with
your address and promote both the products and business
opportunity to people who may be interested without the need to
hand out catalogues or leaflets.

The downside is that you don’t have control over the look of the
page which could make it very limiting.

The internet enables you to widen your search for customers and
potential distributors. Visitors will find your webpage and
approach you about the products and business opportunity. They
will be pre-qualified having read about your business
opportunity and products on your site.

The downside is that you don’t have control over the look of the
page which could make it very limiting.

Promotion of your site or webpage is vital to get traffic, and
there are many ways on and offline to do this including,

submitting your site to the main search engines and directories,

Producing a newsletter,

writing articles and submitting them to ezine directories,
handing out business cards with your website address on them to
people you meet,

placing ads in local newspapers, health magazines, your local
gymn or fitness centre.

Printing out flyers and leaving them everywhere including
cafe’s, on car windscreens, in newsagents windows etc.

Facilities form the non-core services of a corporation or any organization. Non-core services can include managing administration function, property management, and managing contract services such as cleaning and security. A major portion of the assets of an organization is in the form of infrastructure, like buildings and equipment. Hence, the maintenance of physical assets is a major function of facilities management.

The role of facilities management is to help businesses concentrate in their core competent areas. Facilities management takes on the role of providing routine, non-value-added services which are essential and important for the effective running of an organization.

Facilities management in its widest sense can be applied to any industries. The industries range from public services such as schools, universities and parks, to private services such as manufacturing. Anything that can be outsourced to a third party can be termed as facilities.

Since most of functions of facilities are routine, the role and capacity of IT is precisely suited for that function. IT provides end-to-end solutions for an enterprise. ERP and EAM systems take on the role of MRP systems to streamline operations and help reduce costs.

Physical assets such as buildings, equipment and IT installations require regular maintenance; therefore, the role of IT in providing maintenance solutions is a major part of the portfolio of ERP providers. Maintenance is a major function of facilities. According to a study, properly planned and maintained services can lead to a 20 percent reduction in the operating cost of a firm.

The level and scope of functionality varies in the maintenance management system, according to the type of industries and physical assets. Therefore, except for standard functions like maintenance audits and down-time calculators, most of the software functionalities should be customized.

These are many software vendors available, each of whom has an internet presence. The futuristic vision of maintenance management systems is already implemented by some vendors who provide on-demand remote maintenance services, thereby reducing the costs of installing of maintenance systems further.

Maintenance Management Software provides detailed information on Equipment Maintenance Management Software, Facility Maintenance Management Software, Fleet Maintenance Management Software, Foundation Maintenance Management Software and more. Maintenance Management Software is affiliated with Fleet Maintenance Software.

Your baby is depending on you to make healthy food choices during your pregnancy. It is important that you eat nutritious foods, be aware of the key nutrients of concern and gain an appropriate amount of weight during your pregnancy. Eat Healthful Foods! Now is the time to get your diet in check!

When you are pregnant, your body needs extra nutrients and extra calories to keep up with the growth of your fetus, maternal tissues, larger blood supply, and preparation for lactation. Health Canada’s Eating well with Canada’s Food Guide is a resource that is designed to meet the nutritional needs of women during pregnancy. Visit Health Canada’s website for a copy of the food guide for your use. Top Nutrition Concerns for Women: Folic Acid According to Health Canada, women who are contemplating pregnancy should take 400 μg (0.4mg) of folic acid daily as part of a multivitamin or prenatal supplement. Folic acid is important to reduce the risk of neural tube defects and to support increased blood volume and growth of maternal/fetal tissues. Folic acid is also found in foods such as green leafy vegetables, orange juice, beans/legumes, and enriched grains. Calcium & Vitamin D Calcium and vitamin D help to ensure you keep your bones strong during pregnancy while providing skeletal development for your baby as well as for the production of breast milk. The best sources of calcium include milk, yogurt, cheese, and fortified soy/rice milk. Good sources of vitamin D include fatty fish like Salmon, milk, fortified soy/rice milk, margarine, and egg yolks. Talk to your doctor or dietitian to ensure you are getting enough. Iron Iron needs are high during pregnancy to support the increase in your red blood cells and to supply the growing fetus and placenta. Your doctor will be taking blood tests throughout your pregnancy to monitor if you are getting enough iron. The best sources of iron most easily absorbed by the body include meat, poultry and fish. Other sources of iron include vegetables, fruit, grains, nuts, eggs, iron-enriched cereals and pastas, although the iron in these foods is not as easily absorbed by the body. Omega-3 Fats Omega-3 fats are healthy fats for your heart but also for fetal brain, eye and nervous system development. Be sure to eat foods rich in omega-3 fats during your pregnancy such as fatty fish, walnuts and canola oil. References: Health Canada. Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy: National Guidelines for the Childbearing Years. Ottawa: Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada; 1999.

Your home: It’s probably your biggest asset. Having a home to back you up when you need a loan is one of the greatest advantages of home ownership. In recent years, there has been a major increase in the amount of people looking to use their homes as a way to get access to extra money when they need it most. One of the best ways to do this is through a second mortgage.

A second mortgage is exactly what it says it is - a loan made in addition to your first mortgage, and it’s based on the amount of equity you have built into your home. Many people use them to fund home renovations, to pay off credit cards, or to put a child through college. Since you’ve already been through the process once, the underwriting required to get a second mortgage is much simpler than it was the first time around, and the cost of the transactions involved will be significantly lower. This usually makes up for the fact that interest rates on the second mortgage are a bit higher than they were on the first one.

On a second mortgage, you will borrow a fixed sum of money against your home equity, and pay it back over a specified amount of time. The amount you borrow will be combined with the amount you still owe on your first mortgage.

It all sounds pretty simple. There are just a few things to keep in mind. First of all, don’t take out a second mortgage on your home unless you’ve built up a fair amount of equity in the property already- that is, made payments on the original mortgage balance for a good amount of time. You may still be able to get a second mortgage if you don’t have much equity, but your rates will be so much higher, and the amount you can borrow so much lower, that it will essentially be a waste of your time and money. This is one of those things that is worth waiting for.

Also, look into the other options of borrowing against the equity of your home, including a home equity loan and a home equity line of credit. All of these options allow you to borrow against your equity, but there are slight variations among them that mean one of the three may be the best option for you. It will depend, for the most part, on your particular financial standing, the amount of money you need to borrow, and the amount of home equity you currently have.

Joseph Kenny is the webmaster of the loan information sites www.selectloans.co.uk/ and also www.ukpersonalloanstore.co.uk. At the Personal Loan Store you can find all the different loan types explained.

Each and every year, tens of thousands of people from around the world engage in the sport of paintballing with regularity. Perhaps you are one of those people who either now enjoy or are interested in taking up paintballing. If that is the case, it is necesary for you to obtain the required paintball gear, including protective paintball gear. Indeed, having high quality protective paintball gear is a must before you take off on a game of paintballing.

The need for high quality, effective protective paintball gear cannot be understated. While paintballing can be a safe sport, safety depends on your having the correct kinds of paintball gear.

Key to the protective paintball gear that you will need to obtain before playing paintball is eye protection. There are a number of different types of protective glasses that have been designed for paintballers. In addition, eyewear that is suitable for sports such as racquetball may also be suitable for use in paintballing, depending on how the eyewear is constructed.

Protective eyewear for paintballing must provide full coverage. In other words, the protective eyewear needs to completely cover and shield the eye area. A mere pair of regular glasses, including a pair of sunglasses, simply will not provide enough protection. Again, when it comes to eyewear on your protective paintball gear list, the glasses must have side blinders to make sure that you are completely protected from flying projectiles which are a common component or paintballing.

In addition to taking the time to find the most appropriate kind of eyewear, there are other protective paintball gear items that you will want to consider. Your clothing choices also are important when it comes to paintballing. You will want to make sure that you have clothing that is or a decent thickness to protect your body itself from damage from flying paintballs. Short paints and short sleeved shirts simply are not appropriate for paintballing, no matter how hot it might be outside.

Some people also insist on wearing headgear when it comes to their protective paintball gear regimen. People tend to be most concerned about protecting their ears from being damaged by flying paintballs.

Many of the commercial paintball gaming centers have specific requirements regarding protective paintball gear. In other words, unless you are wearing the correct protective paintball gear you will not be able to play.

There are a number of different resources in both the brick and mortar world and online where you can obtain appropriate protective paintball gear. In the real world, sporting good stores, some general discount retailers and paintball specialty stores maintain inventories of protective paintball gear.

There are an array of different sites on the Net that carry all of the necessary protective paintball gear that you will need to begin playing. Sporting goods, paintballing specialty, overstock and auction sites likely will all maintain the types of protective paintball gear that you will need in order to enjoy the sport of paintballing without being injured in the process.

Shell Gellner is the webmaster at http://www.rifles-n-rods.com
A Great Resource For Discount Sporting Goods

Have you always dreamt of a white Christmas but thought skiing in Europe was only for investment bankers, movie stars and royalty?
Many youth travel specialists offer great skiing package that will allow independent travellers to join the jet set and experience the magic of Christmas in the Austrian Alps.

White Christmas
The 7 night Ski Hopfgarten Xmas package, which departs from London on the 23 December, costs R3 280 per person on a B&B basis. In addition you need to add on your ski pass (R1 350) and equipment hire (from R375). If you are a beginner, then ski or snowboarding lessons are strongly recommended, and these cost from R750. Anybody purchasing a ski package will also receive the following discount options from Snowscape: 10% discount on shop purchases, 15% on clothing hire, first lesson free and 20% on extra lessons booked.
Add in your flights to London from R3825 (ex Jhb, student and youth fare excl airport taxes) and you are looking at around R9000 for your most memorable Xmas ever!

On the Slopes
The idyllic Austrian village of Hopfgarten lies at the foot of the Hohe Salve Mountain, which rises to a peak of 1829m. It is everything you’d expect a ski resort in the heart of the Austrian Tyrol to be: traditional fairy-tale wooden chalets cluster around a twin-turreted church, snow-laden fir trees nestle beneath the impressive Austrian Alps.

Youth travel specialists have been taking skiers to Hopfgarten for over 20 years and now with a large investment by the Ski Welt region, Hopfgarten and its neighbouring villages are part of one of the largest network of artificial snow making machines in Europe - ensuring the best possible snow conditions over all 250km of piste.

Hopfgarten is great for all levels of skiers and snowboarders and the friendly and informal atmosphere of the village makes it the perfect destination for young travellers. In addition, if racing down a mountain is not enough to get your adrenaline pumping then you can try some of the optional excursions on offer which include tobogganing, sleigh rides, tandem paragliding or ice skating on a frozen alpine lake. And after an energetic day on the slopes the fun really starts with the town’s infamous nightlife offerings.

http://www.statravel.co.za STA Travel is the world’s largest travel company catering specifically to the needs of students and young people. STA and Contiki Holidays are offering a 7 night ski package to South African travellers this Christmas.