Kalmia Records Blog

Yahoo Search Marketing (searchmarketing.yahoo.com) has recently announced its advertisers of a new policy to be implemented as of March 1st 2006, concerning the use of trademarks within their products and services *.

Under the new policy, no reference to a trademark can be made (except for ads placed by the trademark owners themselves, obviously), and consequently no bids can be make for keywords containing such trademarks. Exceptions refer to usage of trademarks in non-competitive ads, such as those made by re-sellers, or in informative (and still non-competitive) ads.

The previous policy allowed references to competitors’ trademarks and comparisons as long as they were “objective and informative” - the formulation makes me cringe, as it is clearly troublesome trying to evaluate one’s objectivity when speaking of business competitors. As for the “informative” side of it… the probability for someone to actually PAY for an ad to be informative of someone else’s product/service, that’s as believable just like the existence of Santa Claus.

It is really good to see Yahoo making a big step forward in regulating abuse and misuse of trademarks, even though that probably translates in some revenue loss for them, by having certain advertisers migrate to a “friendlier” place such as Google. According to Google’s policies, “[…] advertisers may select trademarked terms as keywords or use them in the content of the ad. As a provider of space for advertisements, Google is not in a position to arbitrate trademark disputes between advertisers and trademark owners. As stated in our Terms and Conditions, advertisers are responsible for the keywords and ad text that they choose to use. Accordingly, Google encourages trademark owners to resolve their disputes directly with the advertiser, particularly because the advertiser may have similar ads on other sites. However, as a courtesy to trademark owners, Google is willing to perform a limited investigation of reasonable complaints.”

The question is why would Yahoo change its policies and apparently offer Google an even bigger bite from the SEM cake? It is way too early to say now, and their official explanation is not entirely believable: Yahoo states to have had the users’ best interest in mind, by providing them with a better experience when searching terms that contain trademarks. Though this would make a laudable initiative with a good PR potential, experts know the search market is driven by large publishers and advertisers and not by the little surfing guys. Numerous speculations can be made: threats of large legal actions from trademark owners, pressure from certain groups of interests are among the most vehiculated ones. However, a more plausible one is that Yahoo makes preparations for a much larger scale movement destined to influence the market in a manner we cannot anticipate just yet.

Until further industry news, there’s one thing to rejoice: from now on, no “better than Botox” ads on Yahoo and their partner sites!

* - the products and services covered by the new policy are: Sponsored Search, Local Advertising, Search Submit, Product Submit, Travel Submit and Directory Submit.

The art of the schmooze, small talk, gift of gab, these are all descriptions given to a special talent some people have. It’s the ability to make conversation with a chunk of tanzanite if one had to. I’m not talking about loud mouths, conversation hogs, salespeople and the like. Folks with the gift of gab are people who engage others to talk, not themselves. At parties, they seek out the meek, timid, and shy to test their skills. They can find something in nothing. Every gathering needs them. I’m allegedly such a person. Allegedly!

Here is an example of the art form. It occurred at a party at a neighbor’s home not long ago. It was a surprise birthday party for someone I did not know. Not surprisingly, I did not know anyone else at the party either, other than the host and two or three stragglers. It was a challenge. People with the gift like challenges.

The trick is always the same, talk about something innocuous until you hear a trigger word that can segue into a nightlong conversation. This particular time, I moved into action almost immediately. My target was the wife (assuming) of some hoopin’ and hollerin’ guy. They are easy targets because they are just dying for someone to listen to them. As usual, she was left to fend for herself, sitting alone near a cheese platter. She seemed a bit self-conscious of being alone too. Perfect. It was going to be like taking candy from a child. It was time for me to do my thing.

I sauntered over to the platter and studied the assortment of cheeses.

“Anything you recommend?” I asked calmly, as I picked up a piece of provolone by the toothpick.

“Um, I’m not really a cheese person. I’m lactose intolerant.”

Okay, there’s a piece of information but I don’t know much about the subject.

“What is lactose exactly? Is it that mold part? Can you scrape it off?” Ah, the art of disarming stupidity. It’s the finely honed tool of a conversational craftsman.

She smiled.

“No, it’s in the cheese itself.”

“What does it do if you eat it? Turn you into a Democrat?” Now this is what I call a conversation revealer. It’s geared deliberately to expose potential topics. I win either way. If she is a Democrat, she’ll ask me if I’m a Republican in which case I’ll tell her no way. Then I’m off to the races in a hundred directions of my choosing. If she is a Republican, she’ll chuckle and I will have learned what to stay away from. She struck me as a Republican.

“Oh God not that!” She laughed.

I was right. I am too tricky for my shirt. I also learned that she could be a little engaging and forthright, again, as I had figured. She was probably all bottled up by that no-goodnik she married. Good to confirm because I can take some chances now.

“Are you?” She asks.

“I’m not real political. Gotta lot of opinions but I try to stay away from the party stuff.” I needed to dump this path licketty split. Politics, unless shared, is risky at best. I got back to the cheese thing right away.

“So seriously, what is lactose intolerance?” I really was smooth.

“It’s like an allergy to lactose, a byproduct of dairy products.”

“Do you swell up like a blimp? Like if I go in the other room and look in here later and you look like a Macy’s Parade balloon, I should call 911?”

She laughed.

“It’s more like a digestion thing.”

“A digestion thing?” This was another gimmick. I repeated the sentence, as if in thought. Instead it was intended to buy some time while I ran a few potential lines through my head. I wondered if I should use a projectile vomiting line. I decided against it too much, too soon. I didn’t have enough confidence to be sure it would work. So I slowed it down some more.

“Hum, digestive thing.” I played my last stall card. I decided to move on.

“Oh well, I won’t eat cheese in front of you, okay?”

“Don’t be silly. It’s all right.” She seemed very agreeable.

Okay, let’s see, Republican, not that shy, laughs, lactose intolerant, agreeable. Hmm, I know.

“Is it something that is passed from generation to generation?”

“Actually, I have one daughter who is fine and a son who has the problem.”

“By the way, my name is Bob and yours?”

Bingo! Match over! I must be in the front row! Kids are one of the gifts in the gift of gab. They can take a conversation a million ways. I nodded my head in smiling approval for hours as she talked about kid issues, interrupted by me only to inject some humor to redirect the subject. It was fun.

I look at the whole ordeal like a slot machine. I drop about ten lines in and if nothing comes up, I take my questions to the next person. Usually, I can find something. I just need to find the slightest little opening and I can bring out the stars. Having said all that, there is one conversation killer I have yet to figure out. It stops me dead in my tracks. It goes something like this (maybe it’s happened to you).
Let’s use the same scenario.

I saunter over to the cheese platter.

“Anything you recommend?” I ask calmly as I pick up a piece of provolone by the toothpick.

“Um, I’m not really a cheese person. I’m lactose intolerant.”

“What is lactose exactly? Is it that mold part? Can you scrape it off?”

She smiles.

“No, it’s in the cheese itself.”

“What does it do to you? Does it turn you into a Democrat if you eat it?”

“Not if my savior Jesus Christ has anything to do with it!” she laughs. “Praise the Lord.”

“Alrighty then. Do you know where the bathroom is. Had a little too much beer.”

I’m not good with Jesus Christ types, not that there is anything wrong with that. I just don’t know how to listen. Well, it’s more than “how to”. I can’t. My mind swirls when I hear verse numbers and stuff. Look, I want to make this clear. It’s not their fault. It’s my problem, pure and simple. I think it exposes me for the fraud I really am. I can’t claim to have the gift of gab if I can’t engage a Bible quoter.

I think what really makes me less than an honorable human being is that I’ve been known to dump a bore or two by playing the Jesus Christ card myself.

On one occasion, I managed to engage one rather self-important, recent, first-time mom. I just got done listening to her one hour story about delivering her baby in a vat of salt water from Atlantic Ocean. She cruised through the first twenty days and seemed hell bent on dragging me through the next sixty. I had to do something. My head could not nod encouragingly anymore.

“So let’s see, I told you about how my daughter was already walking by the age of three weeks. We decided to enroll her in “foreign language first” school for exceptional one month olds. The idea is to expose infants to a foreign language before they learn English. Edwin and I think it is the right thing to do. She was number one in her”

“Jesus Christ is Lord!” I clasped my hands.

“Do you know where the bathroom is? I’ve had a little too much Perrier with lemon.” She left abruptly.

I’m going directly to hell and I’m not collecting two hundred dollars on the way. Am I?

This article was written by humorist Robert Crane. Author of “Still Living in the Sixties” and “The Single Adventure of Inlin Freebosh”, Robert also writes a popular blog of casual observations and polical commentary, almost always unfair and never balanced, all of which can be freely read at his website located in the outer edges of the “internets”: http://www.cranelegs.com

Global warming and the financial crisis, these double risks have saved the S. Alps, at least for this Christmas. But it could have been so altogether contrary. In the weeks before Christmas ski resorts in the La Tania locale were cut off when snow rained down. Road passes such as the busy Col du La Plagne were severed. There was no electricity or telephone lines, home owners had to be evacuated to make shift accommodation, it seemed like a repeat of 1995.

It seems that all publicity is good publicity. Les Menuires featured nightly on the French news. Immediately mains was repaired inquiries commenced to arrive, attracted by the great snow.

Megeve and nearby Les Gets claim virtually 4 feet snow depth on the higher areas at 2300 metres elevation and 2.40 meters at the base of the pistes. Currently the deepest in the French Alps. Les Gets says that there is three metres at the top of the resort. Unluckily a snow storm has swept away a pylon of the lift that serves the sector. It will be out of action until the middle of Feb. Elsewhere in the Alps reservations are up 18% in Chatel, Tignes and Alpe d Huez. Chastreix-Sancy has 99.7% tenancy and distributed a record breaking number of passes last Saturday. This is welcoming for luxury ski resorts and big ski businesses.

There is no question the fact that the triumph of a company in the end is because of the hard work of the workforce, yet one misfortune can wipe out your work & shrink the income to dust. Thus, to avoid such an occasion, you are suggested to insure your company, whether it is a small organisation or a giant corporation. Nonetheless, please note that SMEs are considerably more probable to require business insurance protection in today’s world. This is largely as SME owners will have put their total lives & pay straight into the organisation. Protect yourself against legal action with professional indemnity insurance.

A number of the topics normally covered by the majority of business insurance covers include: natural catastrophes, fires, machine or apparatus fault that closes down the company, loss of money attributed to worker blunder and litigation brought against the company.

There are several insurance businesses, which have covers that combine protection for all important property & legal risks in one complete package. You can also select a separate policy. Such cover is often labelled as a business owners’ policy (BOP). Larger enterprises might acquire a commercial policy cover.

BOPs comprise of office insurance for buildings & tools belonging to the company. If there is any loss of earnings due to disruption of functions and production because of accidents such as volcanoes, it can be protected under the Business Interruption policy.

There are a number of specific liabilities, which insure the businesses legal accountability for the damage it may well inflict to others. It is the effect your businesses failure to do the business operations. It can also be the physical injury or property damage caused because of malfunctioning products, faulty fittings and slips in services provided.

Still, BOPs do not protect against professional liability, auto insurance, workers’ re-payment or health and disability cover. With this in mind, separate policies are critical for professional services, vehicles & employees. In general, floods, earthquakes & terrorist attacks are not covered in the business cover. Please make sure before you acquire!

“I forgive you.” These three words can be the most freeing words spoken. They offer immediate release, immediate acceptance and immediate love and compassion.

These words need not even be spoken aloud. They can be a silent statement - a thought, almost a prayer. When we forgive someone for a wrong they have committed, we not only free the other person of guilt, responsibility and perhaps pain - more importantly, we free ourselves.

Of course, to forgive someone means we have decided that they wronged us, hurt us or interfered with our wishes. It also means that we judged them to be wrong and hold them responsible for some offense. This in itself may not be fair or right - because, who are we to judge another? Who are we to impose guilt and remorse? Who are we to impede the freedom of another by holding them accountable? It is the judgment itself that inhibits. It is the judgment itself that stifles.

So, how do we not judge another? Each of us has certain expectations - many of them are implied by societal norms. The many expectations, in and of themselves, restrict certain freedoms and actions. How do we not judge? Perhaps we can simply allow.

Allowing a mistake on the part of another, so there is no need for forgiveness, is a place we can all come to. Allowing an occasional misspoken word, allowing a thoughtless act, allowing an uncharacteristic, unkind moment. If we could always keep top of mind the basic goodness and light and love of the person before us, then perhaps we could allow a misstep or an error in judgment, words or deeds. Allowing helps to free everyone in the interaction - the doer and the receiver.

Perhaps too, the most important allowing we can do is with ourselves. Allowing our own growth through a less than optimal situation. Allowing our own growth in a relationship while trying, stumbling and floundering around for the best words, the best actions. Allowing ourselves to indulge a bit now and then. Allowing ourselves to rest, to make a few mistakes here and there and to not push so hard.

Allowing is forgiveness in advance.

Allowing automatically provides freedom. It bypasses the anger, frustration and guilt. It softens the expectations. It heads off the bitterness before it grows.

Is it possible to go into each day, each new interaction openly and with an attitude of allowing? Can we allow the faults of another in advance? Can we also allow our own?

Allowing is the open door to freedom and action.

Now, that’s Powerful!

Sue Urda is the Co-Founder of Powerful You! Women’s Network and a two-time Inc. 500 Fastest-Growing Private Companies honoree. Her vision is to contribute to a global consciousness of women helping women succeed in business and in life. Sue’s mission is to create venues for women to grow their businesses, nurture relationships and to foster empowerment, gratitude and self-development. http://www.powerfulyou.com 973-248-1262.

Wreaths are like rings. They represent the Universal Circle (”Let the circle be unbroken …” as the song lyric goes) and also the idea of circulating love, wealth and prosperity for yourself and neighbours. Usually they are hung on the front door, over the fire place or over the dining room table to commemorate special occasions or the changing of the seasons.

To make the frame for your wreath you will need strong thread, glue and branches from the appropriate tree. Try to make your wreath from branches you find on the ground, however if you can’t, be sure to thank the tree if you end up breaking off any its limbs. However, probably the easiest way is to buy a pre-fabricated frame for it at Walmart or a local craft store. Most craft stores sell very nice circular frames made from varnished grape vines that look very natural and authentic.

A wreath can be complicated and hung with a cornucopia of herbs, fruits and flowers or it can be as simple as a bunch of pussy willows braided together and formed into a circle. Below I have made a few suggestions for different wreaths you can make to suit different purposes.

LOVE DRAWING WREATH

For this you all you need is some kind of circular armature, or the above mentioned grape vine wreath. However if you want to make your own circle, the branches from any fruit tree (apple, cherry, or orange) are perfect. Leave as many leaves on the branches you can and make sure they are thin and pliable enough so you twist them into a the circle. Once you have constructed the circle decorate it with dried roses. Pink and red are the best colours. The darker the red, the more sexy the wreathe. You can dry your own roses in advance. However, if you have no dried roses available, fabric flowers will work just as well. Tie the buds of the roses into the wreathe and then decorate it with pink, red and white ribbons, Although kind of lush and girly, it is designed to bring love into your life.

PROSPERITY DRAWING WREATH

This little wreath is beautiful, simple, classy and it smells great. Use a grapevine armature and intertwine sprigs of basil, rosemary, thyme, parsley, sage, and bay leaves. All of these herbs draw wealth to the home. You may attach small oranges or kumquats. For an added dash of spice to your life, stick each orange with pins which have been threaded with cloves - an orange stuck with cloves is an ancient way of drawing money to you fast.

CHINESE PROSPERITY DRAWING WREATH

Use dried or fresh red, orange and yellow chrysanthemums, which symbolize autumn, protection and money. With this one you can use a Styrofoam board backing to affix the flowers to the backing. Or you can tie them to a grapevine armature. Decorate with red ribbons.

PROTECTION WREATH

Take long thin branches of holly that still have berries on the vine and braid and twist them into a circle. Holly is known to protect from evil spirits and bring blessings to the home. Decorate with a white ribbon.

CORNOCOPIA OF THE GODS WREATH

Take pine or spruce branches and using wire and players, twist them into a circle. Decorating this is not unlike decorating a Christmas tree, only you are going to attach pomegranates, oranges, walnuts in their shelves, kumquats, pine cones, acorns, bay leaves and chocolate covered coins. I like using fresh stuff, but there are many versions of the wreath that could be made using plastic replicas of food such as grapes strawberries and oranges. Finish this masterpiece off with gold, yellow and green ribbons.

MARTHA STEWART’S OSHUN HAPPINESS WREATH

I stole this one off of Martha Stewart who probably didn’t realise that she was inventing something that would honour the African Orisha of the Rivers, Love, and Wealth, Oshun. It is Oshun who takes care of love and relationships, money, and all the things that make life sweet.

For this one you will need hundreds of pins, and bags and bags of pink, orange and yellow gumdrop candies. Use the pins (or use glue) to press these candies onto their backing. The effect is a sunburst of joy. Finish it off with a big bow of pink, yellow and orange ribbons, However save this one for the mantelpiece. Oshun is not the only being that loves sugar. You don’t want an army of birds or squirrels attacking your front door!

Samantha Steven’s articles have been published in many high-standing newspapers and she has published several books. If you wish to buy Samantha’s books about metaphysics click here
http://www.insomniacpress.com/author.php?id=110
You can meet Samantha Stevens at http://www.psychicrealm.com where she works as a professional psychic. You can also read more of her articles at http://www.newagenotebook.com

Civilization 4 and Why I Hate My Office Phone

If you’re familiar with the strategy PC gaming series “Civilization”, you probably know that it’s only slightly less addictive than crack. I’ve never tried crack, but the “word on the street”, so to speak, is that it’s a bit hard to let go of. I recently purchased Civilization 4, which is the latest in the Civilization series. That in itself isn’t so interesting, but what happened to me at my job as a result of it most certainly is. I work as a network administrator for a large insurance company in Illinois.

Part of my job is to repair PC’s as needed, which is quite often considering how many there are around this place. I informed my coworker, also a big civilization fan that I had the game and he suggested I bring it in for a little test run. Against my better judgment, we decided to play a hot seat game during work. “Hot seat” means that one player takes a turn, followed by the other, which is only possible with turn based games such as Civ. We both figured that there would always be one of us to answer the phone in our little repair-shop cubbyhole so we didn’t see how we could possibly get caught. Boy were we wrong! About four hours into a game things started getting interesting.

My civilization found his civilization and we started going to war against each other, as one might expect. I sat down for my turn and my coworker decided to head off to the bathroom. The phone rang, and I didn’t pick up so that whoever was on the other end wouldn’t hear the Civ theme music or the explosive sound of my Panzers running over his infantry. What I failed to remember is that our advanced phone system allows anyone to communicate with us on an open speaker phone provided we aren’t on the phone already. My boss utilized this function since no one answered while I was taking my turn…o.k., actually while I was taking my turn and bragging out loud to myself about how well I was doing in the game. I found myself in his office that afternoon, but luckily I was only reprimanded and not fired. Not only did I get into trouble, my coworker continues to make jokes about it at my expense.

I hate my office phone.

With rising automobile insurance rates, automobile owners everywhere are looking for ways to get lower car insurance quotes. And why not? If it can save you some money then go for it, right? Well, there are many ways to get price reductions on car insurance. Try to check if you or your car is eligible for the following deductions but remember that these are general deductions, you have to inquire with your insurer if they offer them.

Individual Auto Insurance Discounts

Person-related discounts are ones that depend on the driver’s own personal situation, status and driving record.

Vehicle Based Insurance Price Reductions

It doesn’t come as a shock that when getting a automobile insurance policy, the insurance agent takes a look at your car. Some of these automobile insurance price reductions are given because you’ve installed additional safety features.

1. Air Bags. They present an added safety feature to your car and insurance agents love these.
2. Anti-Lock Brakes System (ABS). Many automobiles on the road today are equipped with ABS. Many automobile insurance firms offer price reductions if your car is furnished with this type of braking system and many states even require the insurance agent to do so.

Installing Anti-Theft Devices. Any type of add-on to deter somebody from breaking into or stealing your automobile can also provide you with cheaper insurance costs.

Choose the Best Anti Aging Wrinkle Cream

Wrinkles and signs of aging is something we all need to face sooner or later, and the best anti aging method is first of all prevention. Taking good care of your skin by using the right preventive anti aging wrinkle cream can make a big difference.

1. What a anti aging wrinkle cream can do for you

What about the anti aging creams? Are we wasting our money or can they really do anything to repair the damage? Well, the ingredients found within many anti aging wrinkle cream do have proven effects on the skin.

Here are some ingredients that anti aging wrinkle cream should contain.

• Vitamin C has a brightening effect as it can help to boost circulation and collagen production.
• Collagen, elastin and antioxidants.
• Alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs or ‘fruit acids’) improve the skin’s appearance by speeding up the shedding of old, dead cells from the skin surface.
• Retinoids can make the skin produce new cells more quickly, making it thicker and more compact. After a month or two of use, the skin becomes smoother and fine wrinkles are reduced.
• Vitamin A can help diminish the depth of wrinkles, thanks to its light inflammatory action which ‘puffs up’ the skin to make wrinkles look less deep.

2. Role of collagen in your anti aging wrinkle cream

Across Japan, a growing number of “beauty” restaurants, are very devoted to serving collagen on their menu. Dishes which are naturally rich in collagen are pigs trotters, shark fin and chicken. Japanese people attempt to keep young but eating collagen is no more effective an anti-aging method than consuming any other protein-rich food.

Collagen is essential to maintain the skin firm, and therefore prevent wrinkles. But it does not work when applied topically, as the collagen molecules are way to big to be absorbed by the skin. What most creams don’t do is tell you just this. But there are some, such as Revitol anti aging wrinkle cream that contain ingredients known to stimulate the skin’s own production of collagen.

3. Is an anti aging wrinkle cream a preventive measure?
Yes, it can be. Imagine a hydrating formula that helps to block and mend the look of lines and wrinkles .
If you look up for the right ingredients, it is possible.

A huge number of bettors have seen the expression “offshore sports betting” in recent months, though a good number of them maybe aren’t entirely sure what that stands for exactly. A foreign betting website primarily operates outside the administration of any distinct land alternatively it could also be a net based gaming website deploying their servers inside the boundaries of a land in which computer accessible betting is not at this time forbidden. Briefly then, it’s a betting website doing business extraneous to the nation of the clientele. World wide web based gambling web pages are currently modulated through three governing bodies. These are named the OSGA (the Offshore Gaming Association), IGC (Interactive Gaming Council) and the Fidelity Trust Gaming Association (the FTGA).

The OSGA are a nonpartisan watch-dog body which supervises the thriving offshore sports betting trade with the objective to also present sports gamers an avenue to easily find reliable organizations to play gambling games with. The authority aims to defend the rights of bettors, and also they charge no enrollment costs.

The agency is a proficient not to mention nonpartisan third party administration that formulates unprejudiced conclusions, built on customer feedback, unprejudiced scrutiny, telephone chats, insider advice and additionally to deliver inside gossip.

The IGC are a non-profit-making administration. The administration has been designed to allow a platform for interested participants to address subjects also to collective interests in the global online gaming business, in an effort to establish sportsmanlike and also steadfast trade standards and systems that enhance customer certainty in world wide web based wagering commodities and utilities, also to aid as the industry’s public procedure advisor and in addition the Interactive Gaming Council operates as an info clearinghouse.

The Interactive Gaming Council has made a name for reliability, moral practise also plausibility thanks to the rigid standards of integrity it presents, and also its allure to businesses of honest ethics. The IGC regularizes offshore gaming through upholding a special 10 point set of instructions furthermore charges gambling web sites license fees for displaying the council’s logo. Disappointed gamers can, if they like, disclose their arguments to the Interactive Gaming Council.

The FTGA was formed in a venture to present a benchmark to upgrade the procedures of web based sports gaming internet sites. The council suggest that through affiliating only with reputable companies, they can fabricate an alliance of the most ethical and professional overseas gaming businesses worldwide.

So, there are governing bodies who observe the practises exercised by internet based betting and which should with luck assist to allay any insecurities felt by gamers. On-line sports betting websites are absolutely free from pitfalls, due to the fact that private details are not demanded and also the returns not to mention the odds are usually as uniform and reasonable as common Vegas-type sports bet. They cut down travel expenditure, but nonetheless preserve of a casino, but today you are in a position to game in your own home.

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