Myles Valentin has written #11 Asian girls, #15 Yoga, #30 Wrigley Field, #31 Snowboarding, #44 Public Radio, #45 Asian Fusion Food, #56 Lawyers, #57 Juno, #66 Divorce, and #74 Oscar Parties. However, Valentin is rarely mentioned in articles about the blog Stuff White People Like, except being credited as Christian Lander's Filipino friend. Even Racialicious, an anti-racist blog about race written from the perspectives of people of colour, credits Christian Lander as the "The Man behind Stuff White People Like" and makes no mention of Myles Valentin.

While it is true that Lander wrote 90.7% of the full list and Valentin wrote only 9.3% (89.1% and 10.9% respectively before the official book deal announcement), it nevertheless seems unfair that Valentin received no book deal, is rarely mentioned, has never been interviewed, and is not the co-author of the book that spawned from the blog. A white man receives 100% credit for roughly 90% of a blog, and his friend, an Asian man, receives 0% credit for roughly 10% of the blog.

This may appear only slightly unfair, but what if it was a white man that received 100% credit for roughly 90% of a blog, and his friend, another white man, that received 0% credit for roughly 10% of the blog? Ceteris paribus, we expect that everyone should get their fair share, even if the inequality is not tremendous. If Valentin was a white man, we would expect him to sue for his share of the profit, and we would not disagree with the lawsuit as a means to uphold "meritocracy" and protect white man's intellectual property.

Asians are stereotyped as uncreative, lacking a sense of humour, and as people who are unable to criticize social conventions. When an Asian writes successful satire of white culture, why is his contribution forgotten?

Christian Lander's name may go down in Web 2.0 history, but will anyone remember the name Myles Valentin? Will white people still ask, "Where are all the bloggers of color?"

Synaura's mantra is "Free The Possibilities." It is not exclusive to the possibilities of wealth and physical well being. It is inclusive of all things possible for us. Possibilities are limited only by the self imposed limitations in our mind and our willingness to move forward or not.

Synaura's vision is to unleash a vehicle of possibilities that is inclusive of all who want to dream again. A vehicle that rewards those with the courage to move forward no matter how many times in the past they have been set back. No matter the odds.

Remember, all that is known to be possible today was once thought to be impossible. By turning on the light and tearing down the walls, Synaura hopes to expose all that is possible in each of our lives.

Our First Company Founders Call Last night was a  successful, hope you guys join us next  time.

One of the most frequent questions I am asked is ‘why is it that some people can handle stress better than others?' My answer is that everyone has their own unique inner threshold, which determines how stressed we let ourselves get and how we deal with it, and this is no different in business life.

The most common problem faced by business owners is balancing their perception about how much they can cope with and when they need to buy in external help, be it freelance or permanent employees. Whilst this is not a problem in itself, when the economy begins to shift and costs go up, employees can put additional strain on the business and threaten its ability to operate as the market continues to shrink. This is why it is crucial to work out exactly how much you can manage before you take on additional staff.

Are you working  beyond your inner threshold?

The typical symptoms of being beyond your threshold include; problems concentrating, lack of focus, not getting things done, being clumsy and accident prone, poor sleep, inability to relax, minor illness, irritability, aggression and angry outbursts for small things.

There are many things that contribute to a reduced inner threshold and these include; confused unfocused thinking, unresolved negative emotions, unresolved events from the past, inner conflict, limiting beliefs, failure to take action and poor physical condition.

These things take up your valuable mind and thinking space, as the more mental clutter you have the less capacity you have for creative thinking, problem solving and inspired decision making. If it gets really bad you will find yourself unable to focus on important information being given to you or current events. You might even miss something vital; this is one way that accidents happen.

To raise your threshold you could heal up emotions from the past. Turner strongly advises releasing them using a proven technique, rather than simply suppressing (ignoring) or expressing (talking about them). Although suppression or expression are more common they have been proven to be ineffective at raising your inner threshold. Unresolved events from the past also affect your threshold as you will always have that particular event replaying in your mind and you will sometimes find it occurs at inappropriate times e.g. at work, in a meeting, during a speech etc.

Coping with a busy business

First and foremost, you need to be able to figure out what tasks you should focus on most i.e. the ones which will benefit you most. You should also take time to meditate or sit in silence so you can gather thoughts together and to push negative thoughts out, this will allow you to concentrate more on your work and with that slightly shorter list of tasks you can do it easily by yourself/within your team.

If you find yourself feeling a bit down and energy-less, you could do some exercise as the mind and the body effect each other so by increasing your physical strength your also building up your mental strength. Exercising has many neurological benefits including triggering the reduction of stress hormones and the production of endorphins plus other "happy" hormones and neurotransmitters.

Also, try spending 10-30 minutes sitting in silence, this will remove all of your mental clutter and make you feel a lot more mentally lighter, also another quick tip is too look up when you feel upset because looking down takes you into your emotions.

On the other hand, I intend to document all of the local races and marathons and post them at Hutshot. So if you are an avid participant in all of these marvelous runs, I invite you to join our wonderful on-line community catering to sports and fitness enthusiasts! This includes all of my gym friends at Fitness First as well. Hehe. I'll just keep on posting starting with the PMI…Proudly 60!…Run at UP Campus this coming September 21, 2008. See you there!

P.S. I'm also looking for live test subjects (read as aspiring models or just cheapskates who would like to abuse me back just to get decent pictures taken for free!) in order for yours truly to improve his craft (craft?). Haha!

I've always loved this song.  Best of all when Lily Tomlin sings it in the movie.  I like it as much as when Tony Bennett croons "I Left My Heart in San Francisco."  I guess I've always enjoyed the idea of parts of me being lost to passion.

But somehow the passion of greed doesn't enter into that fantasy.  Like, say, losing my identity to the lowest kind of white collar criminal.

My husband and I are enrolled in the local Citizen's Police Academy, which has been quite fascinating.  Especially when you get to wander around the evidence room and peek in the prisoner toilet (don't worry, no one was making use of it at the time.)

Our lecturer yesterday evening was in charge of the Investigations Department, and during his talk he highly recommended that everyone have identity theft insurance.  This got my drawers in a twist, but I managed to shrug it off and focus on his presentation which covered the number of violent crimes committed in our community last year and how one might go about solving them.  

FYI- if you need to bludgeon someone to death but are unable to procure yourself some gloves, use a bumpy rock as the police will be unable to lift your fingerprints off of it.

On the way home though, the thing that sprang to my mind was not the crime scene photo of a decaying corpse but my irritation at the suggestion of identity insurance.  I still cannot precisely articulate my emotional position (my intellectual position is something along the lines of: "Sigh.  What else.") but I realize that I am getting closer to complete awareness of where I stand on this important issue.

It goes something like, "You have to be f&%#ing kidding.  I'M going to pay YOU so that I get to maintain control over the ONLY g-d thing in this world that TRULY belongs to me, during my life and beyond the grave?  I'm going to hand over wads of cash so that I get to continue being me instead of some lowlife immoral F#$% being me?"

Only I'm a lot angrier about it in private.

The idea that I would have to fight to re-establish the fact that I am me and that I have only done the things that I have really done, only bought the things I've bought... this conflict strikes me as fundamentally absurd.  I'm not denying that it happens, or that the threat is real.  I am sickened by the fact that we all carry on every day even though it happens, that many of us choose to submit to insurance sharks, that an authority figure in the police station would recommend that we pay to protect ourselves, INSTEAD OF TURNING THE SYSTEM UPSIDE DOWN SO THAT THERE IS JUSTICE.

Sorry, didn't mean to yell.

I don't have a whole lot in this world.  I have my kids, and they are the greatest thing I will ever have, but I don't truly possess them because ultimately they are their own individual selves who will grow up to steer their own destinies.  Someday when they are big something will "steal" them from me, whether it is a spouse or a career or their own kids, and that's how it should be.

I own some cool toys, like a computer and a van and a few shelves full of books, but I recognize that all the physical stuff is ephemeral and I have to enjoy it while I can because it could disappear at any moment, and anyway, I can't bring it along.

All I really have is my reputation, my integrity, my identity.  How have we evolved a system in which it is possible for this basic unit of selfhood to be stolen?  And how is it that we allow it to be so inhumanly difficult for someone who has done nothing wrong to prove that they are actually the victim?  

And how can we allow people to PROFIT off of this absurd situation?

"Your goodbye left me with eyes that cry.
How can I go on, dear, without you?
You took the part that once was my heart,
So why not take all of me?"

But leave my ID alone, thanks all the same.

Think space intensive, vertical growing systems!

******************************************

A 1,000 acre U.S. corporate farm growing genetically engineered crops nets an average of $39 an acre.
In contrast, a four-acre family farm nets, on average, $1,400 per acre.
Small organic farms are proving to be even more profitable. With oil prices on the rise, growing food without petroleum-based pesticides/fertilizers, and delivering that food to local markets will quickly prove to be the most affordable food available.
Source: New York Times
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_12216.cfm

The production of manufactured goods has moved steadily from the United States to emerging economies like India and China over the last decade. Lower wages, rapidly growing local markets and what used to be a stable global economy made for successful offshoring transitions in the minds of multinational managers. Recent turbulence in the global economy is changing the winds of promise. In fact, new global conditions and the weakened economy in the United States are undermining the profitability of job offshoring for many multinationals.

Because conditions are changing, the time to consider scaling back offshoring, moving to better emerging economies or returning jobs to the United States is a real possibility for some multinational corporations. The high cost of fuel and increasing inflation has changed global logistics and profitability, requiring a shift in strategies.

Crude oil is up since 2004, but has more than doubled from the average cost of crude oil since 2007, from $64.20 to more than $110. Because of the higher costs, moving a 40 foot shipping container has tripled.

Fuel costs have also increased the costs of raw materials over the pressure of increased inflation. The devaluation of the dollar combined with inflationary pressures has contributed to “wage inflation.” The other reality of “wage inflation” is the gradual increase of wages in a sufficiently up-and-coming regional economy to avoid worker turnover and as an incentive for improvement. Wages in an emerging economy always start out very low, but increase because of competitive pressures coupled with regional monetary issues over time.

Distance matters with the increased cost of logistics. Products made in China several years ago are no longer profitable because of freight and wage increases. The same product could be made more cost effectively at a closer location offshore or in a completely new emerging economy. Changing economic conditions can quickly eliminate the advantages of offshoring and that is the reality that multinational business is quickly running into as former emerging economies develop sophistication and business in the United States dwindles.

Will business begin to return to the United States or will multinational corporations find and victimize new emerging economies in an effort to restore profitability? Expect to see new changes and shifts in economies in a very visible way within the next year in response to new global realities. However, because of the ransacking of the very economy that most often supports consumption, multinational corporations are faced with diminished profits even with further reduced costs. The bottom line is that continually chasing and demanding top profits to the detriment of workers and consumers ultimately exhausts the system and is unsustainable for the long term. Business and economies are a continual give and take. Times change and so do realities. ~ E. Manning

Metoda "magica" de promovare online

Daca esti in cautarea unei metode de marketing online "magica" care sa-ti asigure traficul de care ai nevoie fara efort si gratis, iti voi spune ceva care iti va economisi mult timp si bani: Nu exista asa ceva! Tot asa cum nu exista o astfel de metoda nici in marketing-ul offline.

Metode peste metode

Metode de promovare web site, servicii sau produse online sunt multe, unele functioneaza, altele mai putin, unele sunt mai potrivite pentru firmele mari(au costuri ridicate, rezultatele se vad in timp), altele sunt mai potrivite pentru firmele care ofera o gama variata de produse, unele sunt optime pentru un target 9-18 ani, altele au efect numai pe o anumita regiune geografica, unele se adreseaza celor care ofera produse si servicii celor cu studii superioare, etc. De aceea este foarte usor sa te pierzi si este si mai usor sa investesti bani intr-o campanie care nu isi returneaza investitia si nu aduce rezultatele scontate.

Nu trafic ci profit

Nu orice campanie este buna si nu orice trafic este profitabil. De exemplu daca ai potrit o campanie publicitara pe web site-uri care au trafic foarte mare (de genul 1.000.000 vizitatori pe saptamana) care se adreseaza tinerilor si promovezi masini agricole, este posibil sa ai un numar mare de vizitatori si tu la randul tau( curiozitatea este o caracteristica pregnanta a acestui grup de vizitatori), dar foarte putini sau nici unul nu se vor transforma in clienti.

Citeste mai departe

PR: wait... I: wait... L: wait... LD: wait... I: wait... Dir: wait... wait...

Hi all holistic practitioners and coaches!                           

Watch this space!  I will be having a show focusing on the different marketing principles of how to get clients!  This will be on Monday the 8th September at 7pm EST.

I noticed when I was attending a networking group comprised mainly of holistic practitioners and coaches - that the biggest issue for them was around marketing and how to get clients!   This is a combination the coaching aspect - getting past your own fears or blocks, but also have the basic principles of getting out there in the right way and speaking to the right people.  This will be an exciting opportunity to grow your business especially what can be seen as a shaky economic climate.  I am hoping to have someone to interview on this topic - TBA!    Looking forward to meeting you on the air!   (See link for radio show on side of page)   Don't forget that if you can't listen live, then click on the same link and listen to the archived podcasts of this or previous shows - a mine of information!

On a mission!

Coach Louise Crooks

July 24, 2008 – Revised September 3, 2008

Allstate Corp, the largest publicly traded U.S. home insurer, said on Wednesday net income plunged in the second quarter, hit by the highest level of second-quarter catastrophe losses in its 77-year history.

Catastrophe losses for the quarter rose more than 60 percent to $698 million, fueled by unusually high tornado activity, similar to the first quarter, as well as a surge in wind and hail storms, said Chief Executive Tom Wilson.

After a respite in 2006 and 2007, the United States has been pummeled by natural disasters so far in 2008. Insurance trade group ISO earlier this week said second-quarter catastrophes alone were expected to cost insurers more than $6 billion.

The worst may be yet to come with the third quarter typically the most active period for U.S. catastrophes. Wilson said Allstate had already deployed 3 mobile response units to Texas where the second hurricane of the season, Dolly, came ashore earlier on Wednesday.

Dolly, the second hurricane this year, is stirring concern that the 2008 season could be more active than usual since hurricanes typically form later in the season, which runs through November.

Modeling firm AIR Worldwide on Wednesday said insured losses from hurricane Dolly were, based on early information, estimated at between $300 million and $1.2 billion.

Tropical storm Fay did significant damage to Florida, and some forecasts call for Hanna, currently forming to the east, to do likewise. In addition, storms Ike and Josephine have already formed, and some forecasts also call for them to pass through Florida

Allstate, which sells insurance to 17 million American households, said net income slid to $25 million, or 5 cents a share, from $1.4 billion, or $2.30 a share, in the year-ago quarter. Operating earnings at the Northbrook, Illinois-based insurer fell about 36 percent to $683 million, or $1.24 a share, short of Wall Street expectations.

Allstate said its standard brand auto policy sales were comparable with the same period a year ago, and homeowner policies fell about 0.8 percent.

Excluding catastrophe claims, the company's combined ratio was 94.4 percent for the quarter, up from 87.6 percent in the second quarter of 2007.

Since January, Allstate shares have fallen roughly 10 percent, compared with a decline of more than 23 percent in the Standard & Poor's insurance index.

One of the main aspects uniting the business world today is the exchange of information.  Indeed the world has become a global village as interaction becomes more efficient across geographical boundaries aided by the internet.

Information is the one sort after commodity that has made online interaction an integral part of the business world and for that matter all human relations.  When one considers that at any given time millions across the globe are logged onto the internet searching for information in whatever form, it becomes evident that possibilities for the information entrepreneurs are vast.

The challenge is to position oneself to be a participant in the information global exchange chain.  The challenge is our ability to package the right information at the right time in the right format and above all to reach the intended audience at a profit to us.   This includes, but is not limited to researching, writing, publishing, marketing and selling – all essential components of information processing.

These components may be likened to a manufacturing process.  The difference is anyone anywhere can be an information entrepreneur. The challenge is to find one’s niche within the whole process.  With so much online resources at our disposal, we surely can all be participants in this global village if we put our minds to it.

Doesn’t that attain you wonder? That is inflation at work. Gold is inflation proof. Man has had an current fuck intimacy with metallic since instance began. Every society has valued it.

Columbus didn’t ordered conceive to encounter America. He came hunting for gold.

Gold is the exclusive actual accumulation of riches not the essay we call money. Dollars hit depreciated most 50% in continuance over the time 18 years. It is hornlike to actualise as it sneaks up on us that apiece period that our dollars are worth inferior in purchase power. Wealth is purchase power.

The agent polity prints money that has no championship added than their word. Each note is patterned downbound as the publication presses turn. Every struggle is financed with essay money not gold. If wars were financed with metallic there would be less wars.

People were not fascinated in California. It was likewise farther and likewise hornlike to intend to, but when the scream of ‘gold’ went up thousands prefabricated the travelling to accomplish it rich. One industrious Negro in San Francisco institute conceive most the accomplish and did not nous for the dweller River to belittle for riches. He bought up every pan, garner and containerful in municipality and them went conceive to distribute the word. The pans he paying 15 cents for he resold for $15. In a hebdomad he prefabricated $36,000. In those life that was big, bounteous money.

Without metallic I don’t conceive there would be an dweller Calif. today as it was claimed by Mexico.

Alaska is added region that brought the dreamers and schemers because of the attractiveness of gold. Good pad were bare in 1949 and more in 1914. Thousands came to rest and resolve this ostensibly ravaged country.

Men move to see the follower for this artful metallic maiden. Very whatever encounter it. Others embellish entrepreneurs who attain their phenomenon from the metallic seekers.

How you essay your riches is an individualist choice, but the owlish ones who do accomplish it flush modify whatever of the newborn institute riches into the metallic metal to protect their riches from the sorrow of inflation.

Al Thomas' book, "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!" has helped thousands of grouping attain money and ready their profits with his ultimate 2-step method. Read the prototypal chapter at http://www.mutualfundmagic.com and conceive ground he's the Negro that Wall Street does not poverty you to know. Copyright 2006 All rights reserved.

But that's not the whole story.

Less than a year after I bought my condo, my job moved from the suburbs to downtown Washington, D.C.  It was a real uncomfortable commute.  I had to drive about 12 miles!  Too much for this twenty-something year-old.   Plus DC was a happening place!  Why was I living way out in the suburbs?  What had I been thinking?

I rented out my condo to a woman about 20 years older than me.  She was just getting a divorce and couldn't believe she could call me for any maintenance issues.  Fortunately for me, she was on good terms with her ex-husband, and she called him for any property malfunctions.  I still can't believe my luck with her!

I went on to rent a row house in Georgetown.  Now I owned investment property and could depreciate it each year on my taxes.  The only thing is it would come back to haunt me after the sale.  I had to pay capital gains taxes.  At that time they were about 30%.

A profit?  Well, sort of.

Over the course of this last week I have talked about the decision making process. This process can help us in making difficult decisions. The process forces us to take action and to move from one step to the next in a continuous flow. Standing still has to be avoided at all times. From a business perspective, not being able to make critical decisions or to keep delaying them, will eventually lose you any competitive advantage you may have had. The world unfortunately does not wait for us to find the right time or right opportunity to make a decision. Listed below is a methodology I use for decision making:

1. Objective Clarification: The first step when making a decision is to look at the larger picture. Decision making is not an isolated process of just meeting specific needs, it is one in which broader goals and aims have to be taken into consideration for the future. It is only after clarifying what we hope to gain or learn from the decision we take, do we move to the next step. To learn more on how to clarify objectives behind a decision please click here.

2. Data Collection: The second step involves getting all the facts and figures required to make a decision. This could include, research, surveys, feedbacks or any other form of data collection which would provide us with information to help make a decision. The truth is, it is not possible to have all the facts and figures specially in a time bound situation. Life is about making optimal choices based on, often incomplete information. One must not let lack of data hinder us from making decisions. To learn more about data collection please click here.

3. Listing Options: Once we have adequate data about decisions we have to make, the next step in the process is to develop a list of alternatives. The purpose of this list is to put down on paper different options available.There will always be several possible alternatives available when one has to make a decision.Making an endless list of possible alternatives is not wise, and frankly, will waste a lot of time. Be specific in what you want and develop your alternative list accordingly. To learn more about developing an option list please click here.

4. Evaluating Options: I use a simple model which helps rank options according to our objectives and weight-ages given to specific factors. This enables us to rank each option in an unbiased manner and helps to gauge how they compare against each other on a holistic level. This model is developed on the basis of the prior 3 steps discussed. To learn more about the model and how to use it for your decision making process please click here.

5. Making a Decision: After successfully completing the four steps outlined above, we reach a point where we should have enough information to make a decision. Most of the time, we will not have all the information required, life is all about making optimal choices based on incomplete information. We should not let this affect our decision making process. Once a decision has been made, one needs to take responsibility for it and ensure follow through. To learn more about the final step in the decision making process please click here.

If one were to look back at life, there are bound to be decisions which, in retrospect were not the correct one. The important thing to remember is not the fact that one made a wrong choice, but whether we learned from the mistake or not. We should not let past failures inhibit us from making similar decisions in the future. If one were to take such an approach,  very little progress forward would be made. As mentioned earlier, life is short, we need to have the courage of our decisions, confidence to trust our gut instincts, and keep moving forward. I wish you all the very best on all your life decisions in the future.