Monday, December 31, 2012

What Should You Do With Your Parents' Home If They Are Put Into Care?

Putting a loved one into care is an incredibly emotional and stressful experience; I know, we had to do make the decision on behalf of my mum when dad was suffering with Parkinsons and dementia.

In mum's case we were lucky, she could still afford to stay in their home even when paying for dad to be in a special care home. As mum's home was big enough to create a bedroom downstairs and we had a loo on the same level, eventually as dad's illness progressed, we were able to bring him home for the last few months.

However, not everyone is as lucky as we were so I've written a quick guide to different circumstances you may find yourself in so you know what options are available to you and you can try to work out what the best thing to do is.

What Should You Do With Your Parents' Home If They Are Put Into Care?

Lone parent goes into a residential/nursing home or hospital temporarily

Firstly, despite some horror stories, if your loved one is in a home or nursing home for however long, no one can force you (or them) to sell the property. However, what will happen is if your parent is getting financial support to help for care at home, that money is likely to be stopped after four weeks of being in hospital.

It is important to remember if you have a loved one in temporary care and they are feeling poorly and frail, what happens to their home while they are away could be quite stressful. As a result, it is a good idea to put their mind at rest and either discuss a plan of action or let them know what you are going to do.

Sadly another fact of life is that if your parent hasn't been very well, and especially if they are suffering with any dementia related illnesses, that they have managed to keep up to speed with all their bills such as phone/gas and electricity/TV licence etc. Check with each service what you can do to keep the power/line active while keeping the bills as low as possible.

Whatever you decide, the first thing to check is your parent's home insurance. If the property is going to be unoccupied for more than 30 days and you do not advise your insurance company, the insurance may be invalid. Speak to the insurance company to see what you can do or go to specialist companies such as Towergate who will insure the property cost effectively.

Once you've sorted the insurance, then it's important to decide whether you are going to leave the property empty or whether another family member might stay there (who your parent will trust) or you can consider renting the property out.

Leaving a Property Empty Long Term

If you leave the property empty, then follow our 'empty property checklist' to make sure that you keep it as safe as possible for when your parent returns:-

Empty Property Checklist

1. Make sure the property is insured for being empty for more than 30 days (or whatever the current home insurance covers).

2. Turn off the gas, water and all plugs so the property is kept safe.

3. Cancel or redirect as many deliveries as you can, such as milk, newspapers or other mail.

4. Ensure you have an alarm or something that would alert YOU or neighbours if they are around, that the property was being broken into.

5. Either ask a neighbour/friend to visit the property a couple of times a week or do it yourself and ensure all post is read and throw away (or cancel) anything that is no longer needed.

6. Make sure that the curtains or blinds are closed/opened regularly.

7. Enhance security by having lights/radio etc coming on at different times of the day.

8. Ensure that the garden is kept in as good an order as possible. Contact 'Help the Aged' as they may be able to suggest a good value gardener that's been checked by them.

9. In summer months, be on the lookout for unwanted visitors such as ants.

10. In the winter, check that the boiler still works.

Finally, when your mum or dad does come home, check the place over thoroughly a few weeks or so beforehand, especially if your parent may need some help or changes to the property post nursing/hospital care.

Renting an Owned Property

If you want to rent a property out, you are likely to have to do this for six months or more. You will also need to incur costs to let the property legally such as:-

Energy Performance Certificate Gas Safety Certificate Electrical Safety Certificate OR self certifying that the electrics are safe

You also need to bear in mind that if you take a tenant on, you will need:-

1. An up to date tenancy agreement.
2. To protect deposits in a tenancy deposit scheme.
3. To carry out credit checks on the tenant.

You can legally do all this yourself, but if it's your first time, it's wise to use a recognised service as otherwise you may fall foul of the law or end up with a tenant that causes more hassle than it's worth.

When the tenant moves in, you'll need to:-

1. Make sure all furniture and appliances are checked independently to meet fire safety legislation.
2. Have an inventory, ideally from a member of the The AIIC.
3. Secure specialist buy to let insurance to protect the property from rogue tenants and any damage.

Finally, remember that any excess rental income versus allowable costs your parent receives could be taxable, so you'll need to check this out too!

What to do if a lone parent is moved into a residential/nursing home permanently

This is such a tough time for everyone. Sometimes it's a relief all round, other times it can be very tense. Depending on your circumstances, you have two courses of action: to sell the property or rent it out.

Whether you decide to rent out the property or sell it often depends on three factors:-

1. Is your parent 'happy' to let go of the property or do they still think they will come home at some stage? This can be the case especially if people have dementia.

2. The state of the market. If the market isn't particularly buoyant, for example at the moment, then it might not be the ideal time to sell.

3. Whether you and your parent want to sell the 'family' home.

Essentially, if you haven't already, you'll need to deal with issues such as 'Power of Attorney' to allow you to take over your parent's affairs. The Alzheimer's Society explains this quite well, although your parent doesn't need to have dementia to have a Power of Attorney, but you will need their consent.

It is important to speak to your parent on a 'good day' and ask them what they would like to do, explaining all the different options and the pros and cons of each of them.

Pros and Cons of Different Options

Buying your Parent's Home
You might decide to rent out your own home (or sell) and buy your parent's home instead as it might be bigger, and just what you are after. Before you do this, you need to talk to a legal expert and an inheritance tax expert to find the best way for you to do this, for your circumstances.

Sometimes this option can be a real bonus to a parent as when they come to visit they are still coming back to their own home. However, it's more complicated if there is more than one sibling.

Pros
Your parent can come back for visits to their own 'home'.
May mean you secure the property you want for your family.

Cons
Difficult option if you have brothers/sisters as you might not be able to agree on a fair settlement.
Need to seek tax and legal advice which will cost several hundred pounds.

Equity Release
If you don't want to sell your parent's home now and renting it out won't cover care fees, then you could consider releasing some equity until you decide what you want to do longer term.

For more information about equity release, read our Equity Release guide. Make sure that any company you contact about equity release is a member of SHIP.

Pros
Relatively easy and quick to secure funds
Can help if money is tight during a stressful time

Cons
Can be more costly than selling up or renting
It's not an instant solution, so will take some weeks to set up

Selling your Parent's Home
In some cases you may have little choice but to sell the home to help fund your parent's costs of being in residential/nursing care. There have been some media reports of people having to sell their homes to fund their hospital care.

Pros
Makes a clean break with the home so your parent can move on.
The money can help support your parent while in care, helping to choose which home they go into.

Cons
May be too stressful for your parent to let go of the property.
If selling in a poor market, it may mean that it takes a while to sell the property and you have to sell at a discount to find a buyer.

Renting out your Parent's Home
This might be a good option if your parent hasn't yet accepted that they need to sell their home, or it's the right thing for them. It may also be helpful if the market isn't very good and it's taking some time to sell a property.

Pros
Leaves your options open so you have some time to decide what to do with the property.
Can help fund care costs if required.

Cons
Renting a home requires checks and changes to the property and will incur costs prior to renting.
Tenants could cause problems or damage the property.

What are your options if you have one poorly parent and one well parent?

On the one hand this can make things easier, as often, the parent who is well will be able to help make the decisions and they will often want to either stay in the home or move, so it takes renting out of the equation.

Ideally you'll need to discuss with both parents what they want to do, but it's important not to rush into anything. Many people making decisions at times like this when stress levels are high, end up making the wrong decision and then incurring more cost later on as they 'change their mind'.

As a result, it's important to consider lots of questions and then decide on some options which, ideally, can be trialled.

For example, when you have two parents, one of whom is ill either temporarily or long term, it's important to think through not only the next few months and the next year, but also what happens when only one parent is left. A hard thought I know, but it's often what people don't think through and the consequences of not working this out can incur further unnecessary costs later on. I know this is hard to do, but some may be better off staying in their own home, others may be better off downsizing and some may be better off moving close to a family member.

Top 10 Things to Consider when one parent is poorly or needs care

1. How 'attached' to the area are your parents? Are all their friends there? Do they have hobbies such as bowling/theatre nearby that they would miss if moved?

2. How adaptable is the home they are in? Does a downstairs bedroom/bathroom facility exist or can it be created?

3. Is it possible or practical to have care at home in the short or long term? How much would this cost?

4. Are there people nearby that can help in an emergency?

5. If one of your parent's is a carer of the other, how would you manage if they became ill?

6. If your parents do trade down, what equity would be left over after the sale to buy another home?

7. Would an ordinary property be OK or would your parents benefit from retirement living in specially built properties or warden aided facilities? What would be the additional costs of this type of property?

8. What facilities would the new property need to have? What is it likely to cost?

9. If a parent needs regular hospital/residential care, what transport facilities would be required long term? A car may be fine now, but can your parents get their easily by public transport/taxi?

10. How much can you as a family help with the care, what's practical, what other help and support can you secure?

There are lots of organisations that can help you with these decisions, for example 'Help the Aged'. Alternatively, your local social worker should be able to help and you should be allocated one during your loved ones stay in hospital or care. It's important to liaise with social workers as they understand the rules and regulations of funding short and long term care, and what other financial or home support help you are entitled to.

What Should You Do With Your Parents' Home If They Are Put Into Care?
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I am one of the UK's top property experts being regularly quoted in the press including the Telegraph, Independent, Times, Daily Mail and Express and have appeared on BBC2, featured on BBC Radio 4, Channel 4 and a number of local BBC Radio stations.

I have been a consultant to the property sector for a number of years and renovating properties for over 20 years. I have also written a number of books, including four for Which? - Buy, Sell, Move House, Renting and Letting, Develop your Property and the Property Investment Handbook.

For answers to all your property questions, contact me at Designs on Property on 0845 838 1763 or visit our website and blog using the links below:-

http://www.designsonproperty.co.uk/

http://factsnotheadlines.blogspot.com/

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Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Impact of Social Media on Society

"Do you have Facebook?"
"Yes, of course. But I don't think you can find me, as there are too many people who have the same name as me. Try searching with my surname as well."
"Hey, you celebrated your birthday in K-Box, right? I saw the photos in your Facebook."
"Bro, I saw your comments about the YouTube video that I've posted in my blog. I'm happy that you are also deeply moved by the 'Dancing Peacock Man' as well."

Social media or "social networking" has almost become part of our daily lives and being tossed around over the past few years. It is like any other media such as newspaper, radio and television but it is far more than just about sharing information and ideas. Social networking tools like Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and Blogs have facilitated creation and exchange of ideas so quickly and widely than the conventional media. The power of define and control a brand is shifting from corporations and institutions to individuals and communities. It is no longer on the 5Cs (e.g. condominium, credit cards and car) that Singaporeans once talked about. Today, it is about the brand new Cs: creativity, communication, connection, creation (of new ideas and products), community (of shared interests), collaboration and (changing the game of) competition.

In January 2010, InSites Consulting has conducted an online survey with 2,884 consumers from over 14 countries between the ages of 18 to 55 years old on social networking. More than 90% of participants know at least 1 social networking site and 72% of participants are members of at least 1 social networking site. On the average, people have about 195 friends and they log in twice a day to social networking sites. However, 55% of the users cannot access their social network websites at work. In the past, not many adults were able to make more than 500 friends, but with social media, even a child or teenager can get to know more than 500 people in a few days by just clicking the mouse. Social media has devalued the traditional definition of "friend" where it means trust, support, compatible values, etc. Although we get to know more people, we are not able to build strong bond with all the people whom we met as our available time is limited. Hence, there is an upcoming social trend of people with wider social circles, but weaker ties (people we don't know very well but who provide us with useful information and ideas).

Impact of Social Media on Society

Social media also influences people's buying behaviours. Digital Influence Group reported that 91% of the people say consumer reviews are the #1 aid to buying decisions and 87% trust a friend's recommendation over critic's review. It is thrice more likely to trust peer opinions over advertising for purchasing decisions. 1 word-of-mouth conversation has an impact of 200 TV ads. With the prevalence use of social media, there is numerous news related to it from the most viewed YouTube video on "Armless pianist wins 'China's Got Talent'" to Web-assisted suicide cases (e.g. New Jersey college student who killed himself after video of him in a sexual encounter with another man was posted online). Thus, does social networking make us better or worse off as a society?

Positive Effects of Social Media

Besides having opportunity to know a lot of people in a fast and easy way, social media also helped teenagers who have social or physical mobility restrictions to build and maintain relationships with their friends and families. Children who go overseas to study can still stay in meaningful contact with their parents. To a greater extend, there is anecdotal evidence of positive outcomes from these technologies.

In 2008, President-elected Obama won the election through the effective use of social media to reach millions of audience or voters. The Obama campaign had generated and distributed huge amount of contents and messages across email, SMS, social media platforms and their websites. Obama and his campaign team fully understood the fundamental social need that everyone shares - the need of being "who we are". Therefore, the campaign sent the message as "Because It's about YOU" and chose the right form of media to connect with individuals, call for actions and create community for a social movement. They encouraged citizens to share their voices, hold discussion parties in houses and run their own campaign meetings. It truly changed the delivery of political message.

Obama campaign had made 5 million "friends" on more than 15 social networking sites (3 million friends on Facebook itself) and posted nearly 2,000 YouTube videos which were watched over 80 million times. At its peak, their website, MyBarackObama.com, had 8.5 million monthly visitors and produced 400,000 blog posts. In order to ensure that their contents were found by people, the Obama campaign spent .5 million on Google search in October alone, 0,000 on Advertising.com, 7,000 on Facebook in 2008, etc. Currently, Obama's Twitter account has close to 6 million followers.

In 2010, after the earthquake happened in Haiti, many of the official communication lines were down. The rest of the world was not able to grasp the full picture of the situation there. To facilitate the sharing of information and make up for the lack of information, social media came in very handy to report the news about the affected area on what happened and what help was needed. Tweets from many people provided an impressive overview of the ongoing events from the earthquake. BBC covered the event by combining tweets from the work of its reporter Matthew Price in Port-au-Prince at the ground. Guardian's live blog also used social media together with the information from other news organisations to report about the rescue mission.

It has been two years since CNN officially launched iReport as a section of its website where people can upload video material, with contact information. During the Haiti crisis, CNN had published a range of social media material but not all the materials were verified. The editorial staff would vet the reports from the citizen journalists and labeled them differently compared to unverified contents. On Facebook, a group, named "Earthquake Haiti", was formed to show support and share updates and news. It had more than 14,000 members and some users even pleaded for assistance to the injured Haitians in the group. Using email, Twitter and social networking sites like Facebook, thousands of volunteers as part of Project Ushahidi were able to map reports sent by people from Haiti.

The most impressive part of the social media's impact on Haiti is the charity text-message donations that soared to over million for the victims in Haiti. People interested in helping the victims are encouraged to text, tweet and publicize their support using various social networking sites. The Global Philanthropy Group had also started a campaign to ask wealthy people and celebrities, like Ben Stiller and John Legend to use Twitter and Facebook to encourage others to give to UNICEF. An aid worker, Saundra Schimmelpfennig, allowed the advice from other aid workers and donors to post on her blog regarding to choosing which charitable organisations to support. In the meantime, donors were asking questions in Twitter, Facebook and blogs about their donations and endorsements of their favourite charities. After every crisis, the social media for social cause becomes a more effective medium to spread the word.

Negative Effects of Social Media

There are always two sides of every coin. Social media is just a tool or mean for people to use. It is still up to the users on how to use this tool (just like a knife, can help you to cut food or hurt others). Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project and Elon University's Imagining the Internet Center conducted a study on "The Future of Online Socializing" from the highly engaged, diverse set of respondents to an online, opt-in survey consisted of 895 technology stakeholders and critics. The negative effects presented by the respondents included time spent online robs time from important face-to-face relationships; the internet fosters mostly shallow relationships; the act of leveraging the internet to engage in social connection exposes private information; the internet allows people to silo themselves, limiting their exposure to new ideas; and the internet is being used to engender intolerance.

Some respondents also highlighted that there will be development of some new psychological and medical syndromes that will be "variations of depression caused by the lack of meaningful quality relationships", and a "new world society". The term, "Social Networking", has begun to deceive the users to believe they are social creatures. For instance, spending a couple of hours using Farmville and chatting with friends concurrently does not convert into social skills. People become dependent on the technology and forget how to socialise in face-to-face context. The online personality of a person might be totally different from his/her offline character, causing chaos when the two personalities meet. It is apparent in online dating when the couple gets together in face-to-face for the first time. Their written profiles do not clearly represent their real-life characters. It is more enticing for people to type something that others want to hear than saying the truth.

Besides the "friendship", creators of social networking sites and users redefine the term, "privacy" in the Internet as well. The challenge in data privacy is to share data while protecting personally identifiable information. Almost any information posted on social networking sites is permanent. Whenever someone posts pictures or videos on the web, it becomes viral. When the user deletes a video from his/her social network, someone might have kept it and then posted it onto other sites like YouTube already. People post photographs and video files on social networking sites without thinking and the files can reappear at the worst possible time. In 2008, a video of a group of ACJC students hazing a female student in school on her birthday was circulated and another video of a SCDF recruit being "welcomed" (was hosed with water and tarred with shoe polish) to a local fire station made its way online.

Much news has been reported about online privacy breach in Facebook and Facebook is constantly revising their privacy policy and changing their privacy controls for the users. Interestingly, even when users delete their personal information and deactivate their Facebook account, Facebook will still keep that information and will continue to use it for data mining. A reporter asked whether the data will at least be anonymized. The Facebook representative declined to comment.

In the corporate world, human resource managers can access Facebook or MySpace to get to know about a candidate's true colours, especially when job seekers do not set their profiles to private. Research has found that almost half of employers have rejected a potential worker after finding incriminating material on their Facebook pages. Some employers have also checked the candidates' online details in Facebook pages to see if they are lying about their qualifications. Nowadays, younger generations have a complete disregard for their own privacy, opening doors to unwelcome predators or stalkers.

Impact of Social Media on Society
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Raymond Tay
Founder & Trainer of Leader's Wheel LLP

Having strong interest in personal development and helping others.

My Company Site: http://www.leaderswheel.com
My Learning Blog: http://www.leaderswheel.com/raymondtay

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Friday, November 16, 2012

Top 7 Best MPG Mopeds

Are you looking to find the best mpg mopeds on the market? Are you wondering which are the best gas powered scooters? Would you like to conduct a gas scooter USA comparison, between available models - in order to know, which are the best mpg mopeds that might fit your needs perfectly?

Are you looking at purchasing a moped with a specific number of cc's, for example the best scooter 150cc gas moped that you can find? Here we hope to provide you with the Top 7 best mpg mopeds available right now on the market today, in order to help you come to making a more informed purchase.

We provide specific details on the best mpg mopeds and the best gas powered scooters, your very own gas scooter USA comparison between models, exploring their individual strengths and further details about each moped in a very easy to read and perfectly clear, understandable format!

Top 7 Best MPG Mopeds

Right, let's get started!

1/ First off the block for your best mpg mopeds is the:

Retro Scooter 150cc RR150RT RoadRunner i-Scooter.

The 2007 150cc Retro vespa style Scooter is an awesome looking gas powered moped, it's fast, reliable and has plenty of legroom for those of you who are somewhat taller.

This retro scooter is an i-Scooter; it comes with a good sized rear trunk to put whatever you need to into it, an alarm system with remote, disk lock anti-theft and comes with a scooter cover. This scooter is low maintenance. Returning 73 miles to the gallon, it has a 1.4 gallon gas tank which will give you a good range. It's air cooled, 1 cylinder, 4 stroke, 2 valves and maximum speed is 60mph. Transmission is continuously variable and is fully automatic. Fuel is Premium 89 + octane only. Oil capacity and type: 0.9 liters / 15W/40 motorcycle grade. The oil change is done after the first 300km and thereafter every 1000km.

The weight of this i-Scooter is 89kg or 196lbs. It's maximum load is 145kg or 320 lbs. The total length is 191cm or 75". Seat height is 73cm or 29". Handlebar height is 93cm or 36". Comes in a range of colors. A great one for the category of best mpg mopeds returning as mentioned above an economical 73 miles to the gallon. This scooter is street legal in every state except California, be sure to check out local laws. If bought new, it comes with 24 months (2 years) power train parts only guarantee. New prices start around 00 or thereabouts.

2/ Second up in the best mpg mopeds and best gas powered scooters top 7 is the:

50cc Speedster Scooter.

Returning a whopping 100 miles to the gallon plus, this is an ideal scooter for all your home errands around town. Achieving a respectable 40+ mph, this is the perfect city commuters bike. This is a reliable scooter. This is a reliable, quality scooter; it's fun to ride and road handling is superb, a very easy scooter to get used to surprisingly quickly. Saves a lot on gas this one! - This is a very, very economical method of transportation!

It's power comes from a 49.5cc air cooled, 1 cylinder, 4 stroke, 2 valves engine which is pretty quiet too. Transmission is continuously variable and is fully automatic. A touch over a 200 mile range on one tank of fuel (2 gallons capacity). Gas - Premium 89 + octane only. Brakes front and rear. The maximum load of the 50cc Speedster Scooter is 145kg / 320lbs. The toal length is 167cm / 69". Seat height is 75cm / 30" and the handlebar height is 105cm or 41 inches. An excellent nippy little scooter which qualifies for our top 7 best mpg mopeds of choice. It is street legal in all states except California, check local laws first and comes with a power trains guarantee of 12 months (1 year).

This model will cost you brand new about 0. How long before these best gas powered scooters pay for themselves and start earning You money?!

3/ Next up in the Third pole position is the:

Road Queen 250cc iScooter by RoadRunner

This is truly one of the best mpg mopeds that you can buy, another qualifier for our top 7 ratings of best gas powered scooters. If a gas scooter USA comparison needs to be made, this choice could be high up on your list!

The manufacturer is: RoadRunner.

Boasting a top speed of 75-80mph and returning around 60 miles to the gallon this is a great fun scooter / moped to ride! Comes in a range of awesome eye catching colors, it is very stylish too with it's sleek, aerodynamic design. These best mpg mopeds are perfect for so many uses, whether commuting to work on a daily basis or even for those slightly longer trips on the road. It will give you a smooth ride with good acceleration.

The engine type is water cooled, 1 cylinder, 4 stroke, 2 valves. Transmission is continuously variable and fully automatic. Fuel type is Premium 89 + octane only. The maximum load is 180kg or 400lbs. It's total length 222cm or 87 inches. Seat height is 73cm or 29 inches. The handlebar height is 103cm or 40 inches.

This is one of the best mpg mopeds that you can get for the money, saving you not only lots of money on gas but giving you a great stable and fully enjoyable ride experience also. Perfect for most adults. It comes with an alarm too. 24 months power train parts only guarantee and street legal for every state except CA, check local laws first.

Prices from close to 00.

4/ Mid way through the range of best mpg mopeds and best gas powered scooters is the moped / scooter taking our 4th position on the starting grid of mopeds or scooters seriously worth looking at with a view to making a purchase and it is the:

Race Scooter 250cc 19HP - RR i-Scooter, manufactured by RoadRunner Scooters.

Prices for this lean, mean racing machine also start at an amazingly low 00. With a top speed of 85mph this scooter really does take some beating supplied from it's 19HP engine. With this supremely quick scooter you need not balk at the idea of wasting money on gas, for it still will return for you, a very cool and surprisingly very high number of miles to the gallon.

This scooter is the epitome of stylish good looks and comes in a range of great awesome colors, something to suit everyone's individual tastes. Acceleration is smooth and very quick at picking up speed. Transmission is continuously variable and once again, fully automatic. The engine type is water cooled, 1 cylinder, 4 stroke, 2 valves. Very, very little vibration even at higher speeds. Great specification package. If you are wanting to know which moped is right for you, these best mpg mopeds are certainly worth your very serious consideration. Perfect for near everyone!

Prices start at an amazingly low price under 00!

Well able to covey most adults in comfort and with ease even upon winding roads or hilly terrain. Loaded with features also which include:

MP3 player, Speakers, Over-Sized Trunk, Pre-Installed Alarm with Remote, Disk Lock and Waterproof Cover. What a great package!

Maximum load is 400lbs. Length is 77 inches total. Seat height 31 inches. Handlebar height 40 inches. Street legal in every state other than CA, check your local laws first and comes with a 24 months, 2 years guarantee for the power train parts only.

An awesome scooter - perfect for someone like you!

Heading towards the back of the grid now, but certainly not least are our final 3 best mpg mopeds and best gas powered scooters. These final three choices will complete our first part gas scooter USA comparison review and best advice, buying tips guide.

In fifth place then, number:

5/ Engine rip roaring to go in the line up of the top 7 best mpg mopeds in fifth position (remember, these are presented to you in no particular order), is the:

150cc Racer Scooter by TANK.

A well balanced and perfectly well behaved scooter returning a good top end speed of 65mph and returning just for you, a quite awesome and astonishing 90 miles to the gallon. Just three dollars of gas in this scooter will take you far. Perfect for light shopping trips or quick errands around your city. Never get stuck in traffic again! Not only will you save money on gas but you will save time too, which means that you can either make even more money from each day or spend the valuable time saved with your family and friends, doing what is more important to you, rather than sitting in a traffic jam wasting gas and time getting frustrated.

These best mpg mopeds, the 150cc Racer Scooter by TANK is a great all round model to choose for the average user. Acceleration is smooth, the road handling is very good, the ride stable, very little vibration, great rider comfort, just perfect for breezing around on these hot summer days and nights. This scooter is not only very well balanced and designed, it is very low maintenance and comes at a very economical best deal price new at around ,250 - now that's what I call a bargain!

Capable of carrying most adults in comfort, the bike comes with extra accessories too.

Engine is Single Cylinder, 4 Stroke, 149.7CC 8.84 HP. Air cooled. Electric or ignition start. Transmission is automatic clutchless centrifugal belt drive. Front brake is hydraulic disc brake with ABS and the rear braking system is a hydraulic disc brake. Wheel base 53". Seat height 30". Ground clearance 6". Warranty is 1 year engine and drive train parts only. Alarm and remote control are included.

At around ,250 this moped / scooter is a steal and will pay for itself in no time at all!

Highway legal in CA and most other states - Check local law. Motorcycle license required in most states.

6/ Second to last in our recommendations in sixth place for the best mpg mopeds and best gas powered scooters is the:

Honda CT70 Replica - Street Legal Mini Bike 110cc

Not intended for highway use (although can be used on highways if you wish), check local laws (see below). This one is ideal for private estates, gated communities, RV and camping grounds, light trail use etc and returns a whopping and incredible 108 miles to the gallon! Certainly it's not going to set the world alight with any blisteringly hot world records for speed, nevertheless it will return for you 55 miles per hour and can easily convey all you big guys around with a degree of comfort.

Looks wise, it's not bad, in fact, some might call it pretty stylish in it's own inimitable way. With a 110cc 7.1hp engine, 4 stroke and manufactured by Lifan, reliability itself is assured for you.

Electric and kick start, 4 speed manual clutch, drum brakes, 7" ground clearance, it comes with a warranty of 1 year parts only engine & drive train - 30 days limited labor.

Street and highway legal in all States - Check local law. Not legal in California. A motorcycle license required in most States. A great little machine guaranteed to give you years of pleasure and use.

Cost just under 00!!

Last but not least in our top 7 best mpg mopeds and best gas powered scooters is finally our number:

7/ And what a beautiful looking and totally awesome best mpg moped we have here, the one and only:

Lifan motorcycle Enduro Trail Bike 200cc.

Yours for just under ,450. This is a proper full size dual purpose Enduro dirt bike. If you have been looking for a wickedly cool dual purpose bike to cruise around and go off road, then you need look no further, we've got your ultimate motor bike right here. This is an awesome, supreme, top quality motorcycle by Lifan. It has style, speed and complete and utter reliability. The Lifan 200 cubic centimeters 163FML-2 mono cylinder 16.1 HP motorcycle engine punches out plenty of power to the rear wheel making it not only quick but lots of fun too, to ride on or upon off road conditions. Top speed is a little over 65mph. And if you want to save on gas, this motorcycle is very fuel efficient, deliverly an astonishing 102MPG. Can you better that?! That's fantastic!

Engine is Single cylinder 4 Stroke, 196.9CC model 163FML-2. Maximum power is 16.1 HP at 8000 RPM. Max Torque 14.5 N.m at 6500 RPM. Electric and kick start. 5 speed manual clutch on the transmission. Chain drive. Steel frame. Hydraulic disc brake on the front, on the rear, drum brake. Seat height 29 inches. Ground clearance 8 inches minimum. A standard warranty: 6 months parts only engine & drive train - 30 days limited labor. Speed 60-70mph. Over 100 MPG. Highway legal in most states - Check local law. Motorcycle license required in most US states. Color choice is red or blue.

This concludes out top 7 best mpg mopeds article, which we hope has been useful to a good degree for you.

Remember, before taking to the highway, it is highly advised that you undertake some level of training first by fully qualified instructors, this will ensure your safety to a better degree and the safety of other road users too. Also remember that protective clothing is there to do just that, protect you - a safety motorcycle helmet is recommended at all times.

We hope that you have enjoyed our top 7 best mpg mopeds review guide to the best gas powered scooters, so that you can now make a more informed decision upon the gas scooter that will fit your needs perfectly.

Buying a gas powered scooter potentially will save you shed loads of cash and the savings made, particularly with today's very high gas prices, given time will be quite considerable.

When out on the road, whatever your mode of transport do please ride with care, concentration and consideration for others at all times!

Top 7 Best MPG Mopeds
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Mark P Andrews is the co-owner of UltimateMotorbikes.com

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Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Which is the Easiest Language to Learn? Rating the 14 Most Popular Course Offerings

Which is the best language to learn? Which is the easiest?

Two different questions, often uttered in the same breath. But that's okay, because there will be only one answer. Whichever language you wholeheartedly choose to study will be both the best and the easiest. However, here's some help choosing.

The choices.

Which is the Easiest Language to Learn? Rating the 14 Most Popular Course Offerings

Here is the Modern Language Association's 2002 list of the most commonly studied languages at university level in the United States. I have not included ancient languages like Latin, Biblical Hebrew, or Sanskrit, special purposes languages like American Sign Language, or U.S. heritage languages, like Hawaiian or Navajo since the choice of those languages follows a different dynamic:

1. Spanish
2. French
3. German
4. Italian
5. Japanese
6. Chinese
7. Russian
8. Arabic
9. Modern Hebrew
10. Portuguese
11. Korean
12. Vietnamese
13. Hindi/Urdu
14. Swahili

Difficulty, according to Uncle Sam

First, consider some cold facts. The U.S. State Department groups languages for the diplomatic service according to learning difficulty:

Category 1. The "easiest" languages for speakers of English, requiring 600 hours of classwork for minimal proficiency: the Latin and Germanic languages. However, German itself requires a bit more time, 750 hours, because of its complex grammar.

Category 2. Medium, requiring 1100 hours of classwork: Slavic languages, Turkic languages, other Indo-Europeans such as Persian and Hindi, and some non-Indo-Europeans such as Georgian, Hebrew and many African languages. Swahili is ranked easier than the rest, at 900 hours.

Category 3. Difficult, requiring 2200 hours of study: Arabic, Japanese, Korean and the Chinese languages.

Will you get a chance to practice this language?

Now, consider another important factor: accessibility. To be a successful learner you need the chance to hear, read and speak the language in a natural environment. Language learning takes an enormous amount of concentration and repetition, which cannot be done entirely in the classroom. Will you have access to the language where you live, work and travel?

The 14 most popular courses according to a combination of linguistic ease and accessibility.

1. Spanish. Category One. The straightforward grammar is familiar and regular. It is also ubiquitous in the Americas, the only foreign language with a major presence in the insular linguistic environment of the U.S. Chances to speak and hear it abound. It is the overwhelming favorite, accounting for more than fifty percent of language study enrollment in the MLA study.

2. French. Category One. Grammatically complex but not difficult to learn because so many of it's words have entered English. For this vocabulary affinity, it is easy to attain an advanced level, especially in reading. It is a world language, and a motivated learner will find this language on the internet, in films and music.

3. German. Category One Plus. The syntax and grammar rules are complex with noun declensions a major problem. It is the easiest language to begin speaking, with a basic vocabulary akin to English. Abstract, advanced language differs markedly, though, where English opts for Latin terms. It values clear enunciation, so listening comprehension is not difficult.

4. Italian. Category One. It has the same simple grammar rules as Spanish, a familiar vocabulary and the clearest enunciation among Latin languages (along with Romanian). Italian skills are easily transferable to French or Spanish. You might need to go to Italy to practice it, but there are worse things that could happen to you. It is also encountered in the world of opera and classical music.

5. Russian. Category Two. This highly inflected language, with declensions, is fairly difficult to learn. The Cyrillic alphabet is not particularly difficult, however, and once you can read the language, the numerous borrowings from French and other western languages are a pleasant surprise. It is increasingly accessible.

6. Arabic. Category Three. Arabic is spoken in dozens of countries, but the many national dialects can be mutually incomprehensible. It has only three vowels, but includes some consonants that don't exist in English. The alphabet is a formidable obstacle, and good calligraphy is highly valued and difficult to perfect. Vowels are not normally written (except in children's books) and this can be an obstacle for reading. It is ubiquitous in the Muslim world and opportunities exist to practice it at every level of formality.

7. Portuguese. Category One. One of the most widely spoken languages in the world is often overlooked. It has a familiar Latin grammar and vocabulary, though the phonetics may take some getting used to.

8. Swahili. Category Two Minus. It includes many borrowings from Arabic, Persian, English and French. It is a Bantu language of Central Africa, but has lost the difficult Bantu "tones". The sound system is familiar, and it is written using the Latin alphabet. One major grammatical consideration is the division of nouns into sixteen classes, each with a different prefix. However, the classes are not arbitrary, and are predictable.

9. Hindi/Urdu. Category Two. The Hindustani language, an Indo-European language, includes both Hindi and Urdu. It has an enormous number of consonants and vowels, making distinctions between phonemes that an English speaker will have difficulty hearing. Words often have clipped endings, further complicating comprehension. Hindi uses many Sanskrit loans and Urdu uses many Persian/Arabic loans, meaning that a large vocabulary must be mastered. Hindi uses the phonetically precise Devanagari script, created specifically for the language. Predictably, Urdu's use of a borrowed Persian/Arabic script leads to some approximation in the writing system.

10. Modern Hebrew. Category Two. Revived as a living language during the nineteenth century, it has taken on characteristics of many languages of the Jewish diaspora. The resultant language has become regularized in grammar and syntax, and the vocabulary has absorbed many loan words, especially from Yiddish, English and Arabic. The alphabet has both print and script forms, with five vowels, not normally marked. Vowel marking, or pointing, is quite complex when it does occur. Sounds can be difficult to reproduce in their subtleties and a certain amount of liaison makes listening comprehension problematic. It is not very accessible outside of a religious or Israeli context.

11. Japanese. Category Three. Difficult to learn, as the vocabulary is unfamiliar, and the requirements of the sound system so strict that even the many words that have been borrowed from English, French and German will seem unrecognizable. With three different writing systems, it is forbiddingly difficult to read and write. Also, social constraints may impede useful interaction.

12. Chinese. Category Three. Whether your choice is Mandarin or Cantonese (the MLA survey does not make a distinction, oddly enough). It is the most difficult language on this list. It includes all of the most difficult aspects: unfamiliar phonemes, a large number of tones, an extremely complex writing system, and an equally unfamiliar vocabulary. Personal motivation is absolutely essential to keep the student on track. On the positive side, it is easy to find, since Chinese communities exist throughout the world, and Chinese language media, such as newspapers, films and TV, are present in all these communities.

13. Vietnamese. Category Three. This language belongs to an unfamiliar family of languages, but it does borrow much vocabulary from Chinese (helpful if you already speak Chinese!). It has six tones, and a grammar with an unfamiliar logic. It's not all bleak, however, Vietnamese uses a Latin derived alphabet. The chances of speaking this language are not high, though there are 3 million speakers in the USA.

14. Korean. Category Three. Korean uses an alphabet of 24 symbols, which accurately represent 14 consonants and 10 vowels. However, the language also includes 2000 commonly used Chinese characters for literary writing and formal documents. Speech levels and honorifics complicate the learning of vocabulary, and there is liaison between words, making them hard to distinguish. The grammar is not overly complicated and there are no tones. It borrows many Chinese words, but the language is unrelated to other languages of Asia.

The most important factor of all: personal motivation

The third, most important factor is up to you. The easiest language to learn is the one that you are most motivated to learn, the one you enjoy speaking, the one with the culture that inspires you and the history that touches you spiritually. It is useless to try to learn a language if you are not interested in the people who speak it, since learning a language involves participating in its behaviors and identifying with its people.

So, consider all three factors: motivation, accessibility and linguistic ease, in that order, and come up with the final list yourself. The bad news is that no language is really easy to learn, but the good news is that we humans are hard wired for a great amount of linguistic flexibility, as long as we know how to turn on the learning process. If the rewards and benefits of the language are clear to you, you will be able to get those rusty language synapses sparking in your head and start the words rolling. Bonne chance!

Which is the Easiest Language to Learn? Rating the 14 Most Popular Course Offerings
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Dominic Ambrose has taught languages for over twenty years, from Middle School to Community College, from adult ed to ESL to TOEFL training. He has also traveled as a teacher educator to many Eastern European countries as well as South America, including three years with the Romanian Ministry of Education. Presently, he lives in Paris writing full time, mostly about film and fiction, but he is still fascinated by languages. To see his blog, click on the link: http://dominicambrose.wordpress.com

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Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Thinking of Buying a Used Mobile Home? 18 Steps For What to Watch Out For and How to Do it Right

If you are thinking of buying a used mobile home, there are things you need to watch out for. Buying a mobile home is not like buying a regular stick built. You need to know what to watch out for before you buy a used mobile home. Here are 10 things to watch out for when buying a used mobile home. These tips will guide you to make the right decision and/or how to negotiate in your best interest. Better safe than sorry. My seven years of selling used mobile homes has taught me a lot. I am now passing on that information to you so that you can make an educated choice.

1. Age. If your finances are tight, do not buy anything older than 1977. That is the cutout time for good financing and also the year a lender can determine if the used mobile home is a HUD home. 1976 and older were registered with DMV and not built to code. Therefor, lenders requires a 20% down on a 1976 or older. The term will be no longer than 15 years and the rate will be somewhere around 11-12%. That is a lot to pay. 1977 or newer requires only 10% down, you can get 20 years of financing and the rate is 1-2% lower. That is a much better deal. If the home is newer, the rate can be as low as 8%. Preferable, look for a home that is no more than 15 years old.

2. Park. Not all parks are approved by the lenders. Before making an offer to purchase, get yourself loan approved for that particular park. If the space rent is too high or if there are too many foreclosures in the park, lenders might say no to financing.

Thinking of Buying a Used Mobile Home? 18 Steps For What to Watch Out For and How to Do it Right

3. Rent control. Is it or is it not? Most parks are but some are not. If not, make sure yo fully understand what kind of yearly increase the park will impose on you. You might not mind paying that extra increase per year but each time the space rent is raised, the value of your mobile home WILL go down. Its like a car, depreciating. Still, it beats renting an apartment with people above, below, left and right.

4. Crime. Does the park have a security program? Is the park patrolled regularly by a security patrol company? If not, you probably should stay away. Yes, it is true, all residents have to follow the rules and regulations but if there is no security, many things can happen. A security patrol is a deterrent, crime will go elsewhere. Call the park manager and inquire. You can also call the local police office and ask for a crime report. Strongly recommended.

5. Pets. What is the parks policy? Your 80 ldb golden retriever might have a VERY hard time getting approved. Same for your pitt bull or any other so called "vicious breed". Most parks will NOT approve them. There is only one park in the Santa Clarita Valley that will approve a large dog, even two. However, no "vicious breeds". How stupid. Recently, I had a dog trainer with good credit, a large down payment and a German shepherd. That dog was the most well trained German shepherd but no, considered "vicious". So are dobermans, boxers, pinchers, chows and a couple of more. Inquire with the park BEFORE looking at any used (or new) mobile home. Save yourself the time (and your agents) by finding out first.

6. Neighbors. Most people are nice. However, since you are going to be living in tight quarters (most mobile home spaces are small and set very closely together), go and talk to the neighbors. Both the ones next door and some a few doors down. The ones a few doors down are the ones that will tell you what REALLY is going on. Maybe the couple next door do not get along any more. Maybe there is an alcohol problem. Maybe the kids play too loud. You need to know. Drive by in the evening, hang around for a while. Do the same for the weekend. Spend an hour on a Saturday night, driving around the mobile home park, you will then now if this is a place for you.

7. Managers. Do they do a great job? Do they care? Do they make the residents follow the rules and regulations? Do they arrange get togethers every now and then? Any holiday dinners? Do they publish a newsletter to keep you updated? Do you feel welcome in their office? Most managers take great pride in their park and are happy to try to help you. Make sure that is the case.

8. Trash. An old toilet sitting at the end of a car port? Knee-high weeds? A car jacked up and being worked on in a carport? You do not want that. What you should want, is a clean, manicured park community where the residents take pride in their mobile homes and keeps their surroundings clean. A carport is not supposed to be used for storage (or a back yard). A shed is where you keep your excess belongings, period.

9. Mobile home values. Holding steady? Going up? Declining? Have your Realtor find out for you. Buying a used mobile home is very much like buying a used car. A seller can set any price but is it worth it? Please do not over-pay. If you need to finance your used mobile home, you are then in a much safer position. You are then required to pay for an appraisal to find out the REAL value of the mobile home. However, if you are planning to buy your mobile home for cash, watch out. No appraisal is required but I would recommend you pay the 0 to the appraiser. It could save you thousands. The choice is yours.

10. Health and Safety. What condition is the mobile home in? The basics should all be there. If not, it is the sellers responsibility to have it done. That includes;

A. Smoke alarms. Each bedroom needs one, that is the code. And, it needs to be working!

B. Water heater. Needs to be double-strapped and not with those tiny metal bands that has little wholes in them. Is there a pressure release valve? If it where to over-flow, does the pipe go underneath? Should not. It needs to extend out to the side of the skirting. Is the water heater closet dry-walled? Has to be. Any leaks?

C. Steps. Are they solid? No rips in the carpeting (trip hazard)? What about the railing? Is it loose? Can not be. How far apart are the rails? Should not be more than 4" so that a small child can NOT get stuck in between.

D. Cooling system. Does it work? It is not really a health and safety issue but if it were me, I would insist on it or ask for a reduction in price. Who wants to live in a used mobile home, maybe with metal siding as well, and summer comes around and it is 105 degrees outside.

E. The furnace. When was it last serviced and how dirty is the pad? Take a good look and make sure it works. Have someone come and take a look at it.

F. Plumbing. Any leaks? Should not. Run all faucets and look underneath.

G. Electrical. Does all the outlets and the switches work? Make sure they do. GFI's? You do not want the risk of being electrocuted. Both kitchen and bathrooms needs GFI plugs.

H. Roof. Any leaks? Look around carefully to see if there are any water stains in the ceilings or around the upper walls. How old is the roof?

I. Earthquake bracing. Does it have it? Bring a flashlight and open up the access door in the skirting. There should be (on a double wide mobile home), two in the front and two in the back. Compare them to the regular piers and jacks. Are they beefier? Bolted to the I-beam? They should be. Surprisingly enough, there are still some used mobile homes out there who do NOT have them. On top of that, it is not considered a health and safety issue and it is perfectly legal to sell a used mobile home WITHOUT them!

If you do buy a used mobile home without earthquake bracing and later on decides that it was not the smartest idea, a contractor will charge you about 00 to install them. Not cheap. If it does not have it, ask for a price reduction and then order the escrow company to set aside 00 to the contractor. At the close of escrow, your contractor will come out and install them for you. If you can have him install it the day BEFORE close of escrow even better. Because, if you just take a price reduction, you are going to be so busy moving and exited about your purchase of your mobile home. You'll "forget" about the bracing and end up buying new furniture instead!

Ideally, you should hire a health and safety inspector who KNOWS how to inspect a mobile home

8. Once you are park-approved, it is time to schedule your health & safety inspection. You are free to use any licensed health & safety inspector for your inspection or I can recommend several to you. Besides the health & safety inspection , I would strongly recommend you have an electrician look over the home. Sometimes, a regular h&s inspector can not really know what's going on. These inspections are not free and depending on who it is, they all charge slightly different. When we go to see the inspectors at your future home, please bring your check bock. Once the inspection is over, the inspector will go over his findings with you.

9. It is now 24-48 hours after that the health & safety inspection took place and now we are holding the report in our hands, going through it together. It is the sellers responsibility to cover any health & safety issues, such as electrical, plumbing, roof, smoke alarms, double-strapped water heater and so on. Anything cosmetic is just that, cosmetic and the seller does not have to do anything. However, you could always try to negotiate if you strongly feel there is something you want the seller to do and of course, I am there for you, every step of the way.

10. Termites? Pesky little critters and they are usually EVERYWHERE! We would absolutely want to have the home inspected for that too. We will get a written report with a diagram, showing their findings. Anything that they find that is classified as a SECTION I, has to be taken care of and hopefully, the seller is willing to do that. If not, it's on you. I have a very strong opinion in regards to termites. That is, if I were buying a home, why should I have to pay for somebody else termite problem? I never lived there. I did not invite them. So, why pay? On the other hand, if I got the home at a very good deal, I would probably pay for it. It is your decision and hopefully we will not run in to this problem if the seller gladly pays. SECTION 2 are recommendations from the termite inspector of things that will need attention in the future and are not items that has to be taken care of now. Termite inspections are paid through escrow.

11. Time to order your appraisal. An appraisal will be necessary if you are going to finance your purchase, the lender will require it. This is an expense that can not be financed and you will have to pay it upfront either by meeting the appraiser at your future home or by simply writing the check to the appraiser and let me handle it for you.

12. Your loan conditions. When you first got pre-approved, we submitted certain papers to the lender. There might also be additional paperwork they are asking for and whatever that is, now is the time for us to do that.

13. Your home has now been appraised and hopefully, it did appraise. If not, we might need to either re-negotiate with the seller or you might have to come up with a larger down payment, whatever is the case or we might have to look for another home for you.

14. Your loan documents are now ready to be signed and there will also be additional paperwork from escrow to sign, such as hazardous disclosures. We live in earthquake country, there are massive rains sometimes and we get flooded. You might be close to a prison or maybe an airport. These things are hazardous, we all live with them. Escrow wants you to know this,and you already do. When you go to sign all this papers, please bring your cashiers check for the balance of the down payment. Before you do, I will give you an estimated closing statement so that you know how much to bring. There will be an overage, meaning escrow will ask for a little bit more, just in case. We do not want to delay closing escrow because they are a few dollars short (maybe they needed to over-night a package twice).

15. Time for us to do a final inspection of the home. We want to make sure that everything that needed to be taken care of, has been done. We will do a final walk-through together.

16. You are now going to go to your appointment with the park to sign your lease, read and sign the park rules & regulations and pay your space rent and deposit. This takes about 1 ½ hour. If this is in the middle of the month, escrow will pro-rate the space rent. Parks do not take partial payment, only full. The deposit is refundable after paying your space rent on time for 12 consecutive months. You can then, in writing, ask for it back.

17. The loan has now funded, the money has been received by escrow, every single piece of paper has been signed by all parties involved and escrow is now closed. CONGRATULATIONS! YOU ARE NOW A HOME OWNER.

18. I will give you your final closing statement from escrow and possibly a check too, together with the keys to the home, TIME TO START MOVING IN!

Again, congratulations. Let me know when the movers are coming, I want to order you some take-out and something to drink, you are going to be too busy and besides, who has time to cook while moving.

Thinking of Buying a Used Mobile Home? 18 Steps For What to Watch Out For and How to Do it Right
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Thursday, September 6, 2012

POS Automated Membership Schemes Make Winery and Cellar Door Clubs Easy

Up to the minute point of sale systems have full loyalty toolkits bundled in. Powerful customer databases, sms, email and campaign functionality make reward schemes easy to set up and run.

Treating members as special and rewarding for loyalty and recognizing preferences is key to repeat business. Once you know the profile of every customer, what they order, buying habits, it is much easier to target loyal customers with specific promotions. Knowing customer preference also helps the overall design of membership or wine club schemes.

Automating the issue of rewards helps make loyalty schemes easy to run and more appealing to join. A menu of rewards can be planned out and precisely targeted via the POS system. Text or email makes communicating with customers easy. Staff also become more confident suggesting customers join.

POS Automated Membership Schemes Make Winery and Cellar Door Clubs Easy

A POS integrated customer database stores customer profile data and purchasing habits. Promotional tools help compile rewards as simple as a birthday voucher, personal discounts, exclusive promotions or more complex cumulative purchase schemes.

Reward issue can be triggered automatically by customer behavior, membership status, product specials or other selected variables. Communication can be via a pre-defined email template, sms message or mailout letter.

By tracking the purchasing history by customers, membership schemes using points, card or other cumulative purchase schemes are all possible.

Targeted email and sms messages are a newer, simpler way to communicate. Vineyards can shift aged stock or promote high margin products i.e. New wines matching their tastes or news of forthcoming events.

Detailed profile data also lends itself to 'soft rewards' which front of house staff can offer. Recognition and the best seat in the house costs nothing but has high value in the eyes of the customer.

Impulse purchases can also be encouraged with instant reward vouchers printed at point of sale. Vouchers can be targeted to specific customers, promote future events, multiple purchase discounts or prize draw tickets for members.

All of this membership activity can be linked with the wider day to day operation of the vineyard or cellar door. Integrated POS systems can cope with the many diverse business requirements of a venue. Every function is usually included to manage stock control, staff, memberships, reservation, table layouts and menu design.

Fully configurable screen layouts and business processes can usually be tailored to exactly match each business's unique operations. Menu design, table layouts, touch screen layouts, user defined reporting are all flexible, bespoke to each venue's day to day operations.

Massive inventory lists are easier to manage with PDA integrated stock control modules. Powerful inventory control clearly shows what's in stock, what's on order, purchasing history and future. Supplier activity is tracked in full and re-orders set automatically to pre-defined stock level. Any stock variances are reporting in real time and stock takes can be run quickly with a PDE during trade hours.

Suites of standard reports allow management to analyze precise data on hourly sales, discounts, cancellations, voids, account payments and many more stats from the night before. Even though staffs are trusted, full variance reporting and wristband logos give owners and manager full transparency in case of any issues. If cctv is integrated with the POS system, video images can be overlaid with live transaction data offering irrefutable evidence of variances or incidents.

Other newer technologies make order taking and processing management quick inside and outdoors. Same screen and operating logic touch screens and handhelds cut down on staff training. Handhelds or mobile POS terminals also reduce order transmission errors and keep staff out on the floor selling.

Paddle and coaster pagers can be directly integrated with the POS system to service wine terraces or beer gardens. Long range paging systems and handheld devices maintain first class service levels in the furthest away beer gardens and usually pay for themselves quickly with incremental orders taken

POS systems built on a solid scalable architecture can manage group vineyard operations. Reporting, menus, stock, screen layouts and pricing are centrally managed and controlled. Roll-out of POS terminals and software is modular and quick as new venues come on stream. Consolidated reporting at head office level gives staff a complete view of operations and drill down capability to venue level.

Vectron's latest POS system is already installed at some of Ausralia's leading wineries and cellar door operations. See http://www.vectron.com.au for details on all their POS systems.

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Vectron's POS solutions are installed in over 1500 venues including some of Australia's leading cellar door and wineries. Highly scalable; wine groups can manage several venues as easily as one. New systems can also be installed on a rental basis, minimizing the cost of upgrade for boutique wineries.

For more information email: sales@vectron.com.au or call 1300 789 366 or see http://www.vectron.com.au

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Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Top 25 Undergraduate Schools

With competition rising fiercely for admission into a good undergraduate school and the choice of subjects, school curriculum expanding with it, choosing the best undergraduate school can be confusing. There are large, small, public, private, urban and rural undergraduate schools to select from; while some are appealing because of their inviting locale in a countryside setting or in the midst of a cosmopolitan setting others lure the students with their state-of-the-art facilities and distinguished host of teachers.


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The list of top 25 undergraduate schools listed below have many diverse traits and distinct characteristics, however the common thread running through them is that of the promise of the best education ever. The undergraduate school curriculum of these top 25 schools is unparalleled and makes them stand apart as the institutions of great learning.

Best Ivy undergraduate school

Top 25 Undergraduate Schools

Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut Yale president Richard Levin is a leader and a visionary and has been tireless in his efforts to change ED admissions policies, making it a one of the many reasons for it being the vied for the number one position and topping the student's list for admissions. A big attraction of the undergraduate experience for students is the residential-college system. Students live in one of twelve colleges, each with its own distinct personality, under the guidance of a master and a dean.

Best School for Entrepreneurs

Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa.

Six of the campus's 10 undergraduate schools offer entrepreneurship courses. The Smeal College of Business and the College of Engineering are the most natural partners, with joint programs to show engineers how to run businesses and to teach business students the latest technology. Hotel-management students operate two on-campus hotels and conference centres where they're involved in everything from food service to staffing the front desk while the College of Communications focuses on entrepreneurship in the Information Age.

Big 10 School - Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill

Comprising of six undergraduate schools, Northwestern University attracts students with diverse aspirations including budding actors, journalists, engineers and teachers as well as a host of liberal-arts students. Each school is world renown and attracts the best minds from across the globe. Set in Evanston at the edge of the bustling Cosmo polis of Chicago, Northwestern offers its students the best of both worlds.

Best Architectural School - Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts

President Charles Vest initiated an ambitious billion construction program at MIT which includes the Steven Holl's Simmons Hall, a aluminium-clad dormitory as well as the Fumihiko Maki's expansion of the Media Lab. The more famous building is that of the Stata Center, a computer-science landmark by Frank Gehry containing labs for the "intelligence sciences" and connected corridors and public spaces to encourage spontaneous collaboration. MIT calls it an "intellectual village."

Best school of for Arts - Juilliard School, New York, N.Y.

With a history of more than a hundred years, Julliard is known as one the most famous undergraduate school of arts and can boast of an impressive alumni list the likes of the actor Kevin Kline, violinist Itzhak Perlman and choreographer Lar Lubovitch. To celebrate this glory, the school has introduced new choreography, productions and performances. Only a few select students comprising of musicians, dancers and actors get chosen every year to showcase their talent in the Juilliard Theatre right next to Lincoln Centre. That's the best inspiration for any aspiring star.

Best Library- Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Harvard's library system ranks with the best of any kind in the country, even as compared to the Library of Congress. The collection which includes more than 15 million volumes, 5.5 million microforms, 6.5 million manuscripts and 5 million other research materials such as photographs, maps and recordings is the largest in the world. Harvard's digital collection is particularly strong, and is hugely beneficial for students who want access to any existing online journal

Best Riding School - Hollins University, Roanoke, Virginia

Situated in the breathtaking locale of Virginia's horse country, Hollins undergraduate school is known for its exceptional training for equestriennes. The school is a regular winner of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship, and the Hollins team has won ten times in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association. Although many Hollins students work with horses after graduation as trainers, riders or veterinarians, the school also offers a strong liberal-arts program and a highly regarded creative-writing curriculum. It is famous for its celebrity alumni the likes of Margaret Wise Brown, Annie Dillard and Lee Smith.

Best undergraduate school for diversity-Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut

Dean of Admissions Nancy Meislahn believes that only a large cross section of society from across the globe can contribute to the intellectual diversity of an educational system. Wesleyan's student population comprises of one third coloured people and 7% international students. An additional 15% are the first in their family to attend a four-year college. It offers a huge diversity of shared learning and wide range of perspective to the classroom.

Best Tech Savvy School - Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H

This undergraduate school has been in the forefront of technological revolution ever since professors John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz, forty years ago, not only realized the importance of computers but were responsible for creating the computer language BASIC. It is known to have the first e-mail programs and an early campus computer network. Dartmouth was also the first Ivy to install WiFi on campus. The school offers free software to students so they can turn their laptops into telephones using the school's WiFi.

Best Fitness School - University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia

Following the adage of Thomas Jefferson, the founder of UVA, who advocated that a strong body makes the mind strong, UVA offers both varsity competitors and weekend warriors some of the best fitness facilities in the country. Students benefit hugely from the four indoor recreation centres, which together make up 300,000 square feet of pools, running tracks, weight rooms and classrooms for yoga and kickboxing. The school also maintains a 23-acre park for outdoor field sports and jogging.

Best Honor Code - Haverford College, Haverford, Pa.

The honor code is central to the college's values and includes every aspect of academic and social life. Rob Killion, Director of Admissions says that the founder, Haverford expects people to learn from one another, debate and argue with one another--but to do so respectfully. It is an academically rigorous liberal-arts college that advocates take-home and non-supervised exams as well as students living in dorms, without resident advisers

Best school for studying abroad - Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts

The mission at Tufts is simple - to teach students to be world citizens. Tufts likes students who want to study abroad which translates into a strong language requirement, and a chance to learn a new culture in one of Tufts's own centres in countries like Germany, Chile, China or Ghana. About 40% of Tufts juniors are travelling across the world during the academic year.

Best School for Politics - George Washington University, Washington, D.C

With a campus close to the World Bank and a stone's throw away from the White House, GWU is a dream college for every Political Science major. Many of the professors are consultants to top government officials thus bringing a real, practical and intelligent perspective to the classroom. The school also encourages internships at government agencies, think tanks and advocacy organizations.

Best school for Double Majors - Rice University, Houston, Texas

Rice allows its students to explore their passions and requires them to commit to their majors only in the Junior Year unlike most schools who ask for it in the Sophomore Year. With an ambitious student body, many of them go for double majors. The most common combination is science and humanities. The school is best known for its engineering and science curriculum, but the social sciences are also becoming strong.

Best school for Greeks with brains- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich

Michigan is known for its multi-disciplinary approach including everything from music to medicine. A good eclectic mix of academics and a lively social life, it offers its students everything. About 15% of undergrads go Greek, which students say helps them find a friendlier community within the vast student population. Fraternities and sororities are especially popular with the many out-of-state students.

Best school for Hot and Dry - Pomona College, Claremont, Calif.

Pomona is one of five colleges of the Claremont University where students experience the best of both worlds - the academically challenging environment of a small New England liberal-arts college with year-round California sunshine. A combination that is attractive and motivating, the applications are up by almost 30% in the last few years. Students also can explore the academic and social resources of the other Claremont colleges, including Pitzer, Harvey Mudd and Scripps. But none of the colleges will be tapping a keg during "dry week," a tradition at the start of the year during wherein no alcohol is allowed on campus.

Best State University - University of Texas at Austin

Although University of Texas Austin has attained the distinction of a laid-back campus, it is no place for slackers. With 50,000 students (more than any other school in the country), UT boasts some of the nation's best business, law and engineering schools. Besides football, it has 900 student organizations that should keep you going.

Best school for landing a job - Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pa

Practical approach and hands-on experience is the most important part of life at Carnegie Mellon. The school has 12 programs including computer science, engineering and drama which are very famous. The school takes pride in being on the cutting edge in every field and encourages students to think about applying what they learn to the real world. About 70 percent of Carnegie Mellon students have a job offer when they graduate.

Best school for Health Careers - University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C.

One of the top public universities in the US, UNC-Chapel Hill offers students a choice of more than 50 majors. But the main attraction for future doctors, nurses and other health professionals is the opportunity to study at a campus with all health disciplines in one place. The School of Nursing and the School of Public Health both have undergraduate programs. At the School of Medicine, undergrads can earn degrees in radiology science or clinical laboratory practice.

Best school for Individualists - Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio

Oberlin comprises of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Conservatory of Music. It has a unique approach to life and learning and the undergraduate school curriculum offers innovative subject matter like - Death and the Art of Dying, American Mixed Blood, and Destination: L.A. The student-run Experimental College lets undergraduates teach courses of their own creation, like Making Your Own Mobile or Mythology and Epic Storytelling in "Lord of the Rings." This eccentricity is very rewarding and Oberlin graduates have more Ph.D.s than alumni of any other liberal-arts college.

Best school for city haters - Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.

Cornell's rural, upstate New York campus is bounded by deep gorges, spectacular scenery and a beautiful rural setting. However, it has one of the most rigorous and challenging curriculum that draws only the best minds. The school's greatest attraction is its academic diversity, with top-ranked undergraduate schools of engineering, arts and sciences, architecture, hotel administration, industrial and labour relations, agriculture and human ecology.

Best school for city lovers - New York University, New York, N.Y.

With the Olsen twins Mary-Kate and Ashley lending NYU some of its fame, it is a school loved by the urban and the hip. Despite the 9/11 catastrophe, it continues to draw crowds of talented students. One of the top attractions is the Tisch School of the Arts, which nurtures future actors, dancers and screenwriters. The business school is also highly rated, and students can take advantage of internships on Wall Street. The campus of NYU is not structured in the strictest sense; in fact buildings scattered throughout the Greenwich Village, most students like to believe that they have the whole city as the campus to explore.

Best Military School - U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md.

The four-year undergraduate curriculum at Annapolis is tough and technically oriented, with core requirements in engineering, natural sciences, humanities and social sciences. Traditions play a huge part in campus life. "When you first show up for classes in the fall, students begin counting down the number of days until the Army-Navy game," says Cmdr. Tim Disher, admissions officer. Graduates become commissioned officers in the Navy or the Marine Corps.

Best undergraduate school for scholarships - Berea College, Berea, Ky.
The 1,500 students at Berea come from families with average household incomes of only ,000, and 80% have grown up in southern Appalachia, a region that spans nine states with some of the most remote and poor rural communities in the country. Berea's mission is unique in that it believes in promoting education by giving scholarships to the poor but deserving. All students get full-tuition scholarships, although they do have to pay for their room, board and books. However, scholarships are available for those as well. Students are required to work--many of them at jobs on campus that help to keep Berea's costs down.

Best Surf and Ski School - University of California, Santa Barbara

It is known to be the most beautiful campus located at the edge of the Pacific. UCSB also boasts Nobel Prize winners on its faculty, top research centres in science and technology and an extensive study-abroad program. Aside from the top academics, the various recreation programs offered attract many of the students. The campus has its own beaches where students can surf, and the Big Bear ski resort is just a few hours' drive away.

Top 25 Undergraduate Schools

William Brister - [http://www.plato.tv] - Federal Financial Aid

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