(FT) — Microsoft’s top search technology executive on Wednesday all but dismissed the likelihood that the company would pay newspaper owners and other publishers for removing their content from Google.

His comments came a week after it emerged that Microsoft had been in talks over a News Corp-led initiative that would have paid publishers to leave Google as a way to boost Microsoft’s own search engine, Bing.

Meanwhile, Google extended another olive branch to the news media on Wednesday, with a new technology tool to make it easier for those that do not want to be included in Google News to be able to remove their content from the service.

The move came a day after Google allowed publishers to set new limits on the amount of free content they make available while still being included in the Google search index, and was the the latest indication of efforts to appease publishers who have complained that the search company is damaging their online efforts.

Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s senior vice-president for online services, refused to comment directly on talks with News Corp, but said that Bing was not looking to get a leg-up on Google by securing preferential access to information.

“That’s not at all a focus for us,” he said, adding: “We generally are not focused on getting non-Google content.”

He also said that keeping information off Google was “not the thing that would be a benefit to us in the long run”.

Although it distanced itself from the idea on Wednesday, Microsoft’s earlier willingness to discuss the anti-Google plan with News Corp, and also to make similar proposals to other online publishers, highlights the urgency of its efforts to gain a stronger foothold in search.

Since relaunching its search service under the Bing brand in May, backed by an expensive marketing campaign, Microsoft said that in the US its number of unique visitors had risen by 16 per cent to 83m, while its share of internet searches had grown by 1.9 percentage points, to 9.9 per cent.

Microsoft claimed that those relatively modest gains had marked a successful first five months for Bing. “Ever since Google launched, no one [else] has grown five months in a row or gained a point of market share,” Mr Nadella said.

Josh Cohen, business product manager for Google News, denied that his company’s latest efforts to win over news publishers had been prompted by a backlash from media organisations such as News Corp. “Having paid content online, and being in Google, are not mutually exclusive,” he said.

Last week’s online journalism lecture was by Rob Andrews of paid-for advice site paidcontent.org – just as Johnston Press makes the news for introducing paywalls on stories like Guide dog is Heanor woman’s lifeline – Premium Article! (I haven’t linked to it. Guess why.)

What he showed us was a depressing array of statistics about paywalls. It seems like the comments on this pro-paid content piece by Tim Luckhurst in the Guardian, which I actually lost some sleep and sweated a lot over, do reflect public opinion. A poll of 1,800 consumers found 91% of people don’t want to pay for their news. 72% want to pay less than £10 a year if given the choice. And newspapers are making a third less than this time last year. That’s last year. Recession year.

I met up with a good friend on Thursday and he said, “So what’s the deal with newspapers then?” It was then I realised the truth of what Rob Andrews, and all our previous lecturers, have been telling us. We, the twentysomethings, are the ones who have to work it out. And fast.

Rob Andrews, digital guru, and kitten: proof of what the internet holds

So what tips do I have for the next generation? Am I going to save news, singlehandedly? Not quite. But I do have three not-quite-original ideas which could help soften the eventual blow.

1) Stats change.  At the moment, only 9% of people say they’ll pay for news. But polls like this are misleading. Say to me: “Would you like to give me some money,” and there isn’t anywhere near a 9% chance I’ll say yes. Nobody wants to pay for anything. But the market might force it on them, just as it’s forcing it on us. If the Times goes behind a wall, others will follow.

Even the Guardian, big shouty standard-bearers of free (gratis) speech, might go too. Last Friday I asked Peter Preston, its editor for 20 years, when it would cave. His answer was: “Thankfully, I don’t have to have a say on that any more”. And as perceptions change, so do the number of people resisting. Just look at Itunes.

2)  Ads could be better. This was a recurring theme among comments on the Guardian article (see above). Not a surprise – as Guardian ads particularly are the least targeted on Earth. Most are for Guardian-sponsored events. They need to take a leaf out of the big book of Facebook, which offers me (‘Interested In Men’) extremely targeted ads – ‘M2M Dating in Cardiff’, 50 times a day, anyone? While it’s extremely irritating, bills need to be paid. I’m sure even the ivory-tower (and trust-funded) Guardian could stoop that low. Software analysing peoples’ reading habits would be a piece of cake to build, and wouldn’t be Big Brother, yet.

3) Lure people back to paper. Nobody’s so tech-savvy they don’t still appreciate the beauty of a paper copy. It’s just too much effort, that’s all. So make it easier. The single ray of light in those surveys was 48% of people would pay for online news if it included a free or discounted paper subscription. Hello! I think this is people trying to tell us something. You need more brand loyalty than ever to do this – but it would be worth a try. And the possibility of keeping half the readers? That’s better than anyone’s daring to dream.

Stanford Law School’s Mills Legal Clinic invites applications for the position of Director of the Criminal Defense Clinic (CDC).  The appointment will begin for the 2009-2010 academic year.

Interested applicants should send a cover letter and resume (with at least three references) by mail or e-mail to:

Professor Lawrence Marshall
Associate Dean for Clinical Education
Stanford Law School
559 Nathan Abbott Way
Stanford, CA  94305.
Email: lmarshall@stanford.edu

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled, but applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their materials by December 31, 2009.  See flyer for more information.

England’s top-flight clubs spent more than 70m on agents’ fees between October 2008 and September 2009, according to Premier League figures…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: world cup history soccer. The blog is also related to: soccer betting.

I was cleaning out a closet. And underneath a suitcase, in the corner, almost under the floorboard, I found a hundred dollar bill. I have no idea whether to save or spend it.

What would you do if you suddenly had an extra hundred dollars?

The top app is… Monopoly! They releced it because people were complaining that the here and now version was not like monopoly.

Azi am descoperit cum sa cumpar aplicatii platite din Android Market.

Desi Android Market nu permite cumpararea aplicatiilor decat din cateva tari (in restul tarilor, printre care si Romania, in Market, nu apar aplicatiile platite), am gasit o solutie.

Exista o aplicatie – Market Enabler, ce permite “falsificarea” locatiei telefonului.

Aplicatia este doar pentru telefoanele rooted!

Astfel, Android Market nu isi mai da seama ca sunt din Romania, ci folosesc telefonul in US prin T-Mobile sau oricare alta locatie imi convine.

Market Enabler ma lasa sa imi salvez (sa fac un backup al locatiei curente), sa imi aleg o noua locatie sau sa restaurez locatia originala.

Inainte de a instala si configura aplicatia, trebuie sa aveti setat contul de Google Checkout (prin care se fac toate platile) folosind adresa de email pe care o folositi si pe telefon.

Odata setata metoda de plata (Visa/Visa Electron/ MasterCard/ Maestro) puteti instala aplicatia, falsifica locatia si deja puteti vedea in Market toate aplicatiile (free / paid)

I came up here to help out my family a couple weeks ago now, and will be up here, maybe permanently….
I’m staying in the West Shore area, near Harrisburg, but of course, I am always willing to travel!

Ohai!

Guess what I did? I got a job! What is my job you ask? Well it’s blogging of course! One of my uni tutors forwarded our class an email about a website called Alltern8 which was looking to employ people to blog and write articles for their website. Me being the blogging type I decided to apply, using my Killing Floor review as an example writing piece. Something in there must have impressed them, because I got the job! You can check out my first ever post for the site by clicking here.

Blogging counts as a job?! OH SNAP!!

Good times my bru, good times. Not much else has happened recently, although I did sign onto the lease on tuesday to live with Chris and the others next year, something so unfathomably awesome that God himself can’t even begin to understand it.

Short post today, I’m heading out into town to do some Christmas non-shopping (non-shopping is where I don’t buy anything, just earmark things to get for people when I do have money).

TechCrunch reports that Twitter will begin testing a premium subscription service in Japan.

UPDATE: …..Nevermind

This is an article from Microsoft small business  advice and informs on how to make money from your blog in 5 tips.

How to make money from your blog: 5 tips

Do Free Surveys and earn money easy, here is a list of the top US Survey sites.

Source:http://www.internetpaidsurveys.com/

Brand Institute

Brand Institute is a leading online market research firm dedicated to the strategic and innovative development of brand naming and identity solutions. They are most active in the healthcare field. Their surveys aid in the development and naming of new drugs, healthcare and other products. If you are a doctor, nurse or pharmacist, you will have tons of earning opportunities by taking paid surveys with Brand Institute. Even otherwise you can join the panel as a consumer – you can get lots of paid surveys as companies want to know their opinion on brands. Their surveys pay well, usually ranging form $10 to $30 or more. You can receive payments by paypal or check. If you opt for paypal, your paypal account gets automatically credited 4 to 8 weeks after you complete a survey. Join Brand Institute via Online Global Recruiting to get started.
Join Brand Institute here

SurveyHead

SurveyHead is a new online survey panel where you have the chance to take part in interesting online paid surveys. If you fit the demographic for the current surveys, you can immediately get started with a survey today. Even if you do not qualify, you wil get an instant reward of $5, as soon as you join the panel. Survey Head provides you with real market research studies and you will get paid for your participation. Once you are a member, you will be invited for future studies for which you qualify. For each survey you complete, your account will be credited with cash. Once you have reached $25, you can withdraw your earnings via paypal. Check out the link below to see whether you qualify for the current surveys.
Join SurveyHead Here

SurveySavvy

Surveysavvy is the online division of Luth Research, a leading market research firm. SurveySavvy has paid members more than $14 million for participating in paid surveys. You can get paid up to $20 or more for completing a survey. Surveysavvy offers great earning opportunities especially for IT and computer professionals. They also have a good referral program. You get paid $2 for each survey completed by your direct referral and $1 for each survey by your indirect referral. Join Surveysavvy where intelligence adds up and start earning for your opinion!
Join Surveysavvy here

GlobalTestMarket

Global test market is another site which sends a lot of survey invites. It was founded in August 1999 as a division of Global Market Insite, Inc. Members are rewarded for taking paid surveys in the form of Market Points – which are convertible to cash. Each survey typically offers 50 to 100 marketpoints. The number of MarketPoints rewarded depends on the length of the survey. MarketPoints are redeemable for cash once you have accumulated 1000 or more MarketPoints in your account. 1000 marketpoints are equivalent to $50. With the number of survey invites they send, the payout is easy to reach. Payments are sent by check mailed to your address.
Join Globaltestmarket here

NFO MySurvey

NFO (National Family Opinion Panel) MySurvey is considered to be one of the best paid survey sites. Established in 1946, NFO is the second largest market research firm in the world. Many reputed companies depend on them for market research. They send members frequent paid surveys and reward you handsomely for each survey. You are compensated for surveys in the form of reward points which can be later redeemed for cash. There are daily drawings for $100 (10,000 points) and monthly drawings for $10,000.
Join the NFO MySurvey Panel Here

Toluna USA

Toluna panel was previously known as Your2cents. One adult per household is allowed to join Toluna. You can become a member by completing a short registration form. Once you complete the main profile, you will be entered into a drawing for $5,000 cash and will receive your first $1 in bonus rewards. Every panelist who qualifies for and completes a paid survey will earn $1 to $5 or more. There are many bonus rewards and many chances to win $5000 cash sweepstakes periodically. You can request payment by check when you have at least $5 in your account.
Join Toluna here

Lightspeed Research

Lightspeed consumer panel pays you for your opinions. As soon as you register, you’ll automatically be entered in a $5,000 Lightspeed Sweepstakes. When you take paid surveys, you will earn Lightspeed Points, which can be redeemed for cash, prizes, or online gift certificates. Every day a panelist will be chosen to win extra points in their 5,000 Points-A-Day Giveaway. Every time you participate in a survey, Quick Match, or mini-poll, you earn an entry in the $5,000 Lightspeed Sweepstakes given away every 3 months. When you earn at least 600 points, you can redeem them for online gift certificates, a deposit into your PayPal account, or one of many prizes.
Join Lightspeed Research Panel here

Ipsos Surveys

Ipsos i-Say panel is managed by Ipsos Insight which is one of the largest professional marketing research firms in the world. Established in 1979, Ipsos Insight is one of North America’s leading market research and public opinion company. Ipsos i-Say currently uses a points-based reward system. Members earn reward points for taking surveys. Once you’ve earned 50 (or more) points, you can redeem your points for merchandise and gift cards offered by popular retail merchants. Each time you complete a survey, you are also invited to play “It’s Your Luck Day Instant Win Game” where you can win several great prizes instantly. Members are also entered in sweepstakes: You could win $5000 just for joining the Ipsos i-Say Panel. Most loyal members (members who take most or all of the surveys they are offered) become members of our VIP club and are automatically entered to win a car in the annual contest.
Join Ipsos i-Say panel here

Mindfield Online Internet Panels

Mindfield Online, a McMillion Company, is one of the market research industry’s leading online data collection companies.  At Mindfield you are always paid for your opinion when completing client surveys – no drawings or gimmicks for your participation.  Even those not qualifying for surveys have the opportunity to win some great prizes such as IPODS, IPHONES, Laptop computers and much more.  The Mindfield experience is really a great earning opportunity and a great deal of fun as you have the opportunity to help manufacturers make multi-million dollar decisions.
Join Mindfield today

Opinion Outpost

Opinion Outpost is part of a large market research company and has been conducting market research data collection since 1987. Opinion Outpost is rated as one of the best among top 10 paid survey panels. Opinion Outpost members receive many survey opportunities each month. Members generally earn up to $5 per survey completed depending on the length and difficulty of the survey. Earnings are in the form of opinion points which are later converted to cash. Payments are made by check.
Join Opinion Outpost here

E-Poll.com

E-Poll offers a place to express yourself and and to test new products, and you can earn $5-$30 gift cards for your participation. Rewards are in the form of points, and you can redeem the points for gift certificates of major retailers including Best Buy, Target, Starbucks, iTunes, McDonalds, Home Depot, Amazon, and more. You can also win other cool gifts like ipods. Their surveys are fun and easy.
Join E-Poll Rewards here

Thanks for reading my blog.  I try hard to respond to every email I receive, but I receive more and more every week.  It is getting hard to keep up.  I started a forum that will address tenant debt and tenant screening issues to help answer the commonly asked questions.  Please help me get the forum off the ground by registering and posting your questions.

The forum url is: www.theinformedlandlord.com

Thanks,

Bill Gray

Bill@thelandlorddoctor.com

www.thelandlordoctor.com

To the work with the computer a software is needed. Without it carrying out straight and more advanced activities with using the computer won’t be possible. After installing the operating system some useful programs are coming the hard disk across, of which possibilities they will be enough for less advanced users, they can also be used through certain period of time in basic cells. Later as a rule they are being replaced by the more extended software. It is possible to download programs from the Internet, they are these are mainly demo versions or a shareware, housemaids for making oneself acquainted with the functionality and possibilities of the product. The fact that after the certain time they are stopping acting is a flaw in exchanged versions and it is necessary to purchase the unabridged version or they have the limited number of available options. Differently a thing is had with providing the type software freeware, are these are completely free, offering very interesting functions often and quite not worse than their paid counterparts programs. Versions apart from companies and professional programmers form the freeware fan-autodidacts which want to have their contribution to the development of computer technologies. Persons which can afford the purchase of the any program can select a programme from a huge amount of the application or remain faithful for one company and constantly to buy the software from it. Different versions of application they are being attached also to magazines about the computer subject matter and therefore it is worthwhile sometimes looking around stands or different points of sale of the press.

Every user of the computer has his preferences concerning the software. It is often addicted to the profession carried out by a given person or his interests. Who is writing a lot will need the professional word processor who must deal with financial transactions certainly will install the extended spreadsheet. Younger will interest games and teachwares.

START HERE:

Dear Stock Photography Professionals, Amateur Photographers, Illustrators and Graphic Designers

“Success” is relative …

It was just over two years ago I started to research how to sell my photography when I caught “The Bug” to start selling my images online. In September of 2007 I decided to dedicate two years to explore the possibilities of the incredible world of stock photography. I felt that two years would be enough time to give me a chance to sink my teeth into training myself from any and all sources and to get up to speed, starting basically from scratch, on this rapidly expanding and growing industry. At the time I had never even picked up a photography book or taken a photoshop tutorial. It is now two years later, and while I feel I have come very far and achieved many successes, I find that there is always more to learn. I absolutely love this work !

In July of 2007 I relocated to Washington State after accepting a transfer to work at The Boeing Company’s Commercial Airplane Headquarters in Renton, Washington just outside of Seattle, Washington. Analyzing Market Research was my specialty. Driving out to Washington from Colorado during the course of my relocation I captured a few thousands pictures on a Canon SD750 camera. At that time I was interested in seeing if I could market my images by selling prints of them at festivals, art shows and galleries. It was during this period of research that I discovered the world of commercial stock photography.

My first site that I was approved as a contributor at was BigStockPhoto in September of 2007. For that reason alone I will always have a special place in my heart for them. I found that their entry criteria was not as strict as some of the larger sites. The same applies for 123rf so these are both excellent places to get your first exposure to in selling your photography online. That being said you will want to get into Shutterstock and iStockPhoto as soon as possible. This took me many months to achieve as I was starting from nearly complete scratch with the exception of strong information technology background.  FYI: Recently BigStockPhoto was acquired by the subscription based microstock giant Shutterstock .

Stock Photography Sites are often referred to by short abbreviations. It was more than a little confusing to myself when I first started researching microstock on the various forums so I will list a few abbreviations that you may find useful to know your first time encountering them:

• SS = Shutterstock
• IS = iStockPhoto
• DT = Dreamstime
• FT = Fotolia
• BSP = BigStockPhoto
• MP = MostPhotos
• BME = Best Month Ever
• WME = Worst Month Ever
• BDE = Best Day Ever
• MSG = Microstock Group
• EL = Extended License
• RF = Royalty Free
• Glass = Camera Lens for a DSLR Camera ex. Canon 55-250 IS
• IS = Image Stabilization

My first sale came from the second site that I was approved at as a contributor which was Dreamstime. I initially sought out DT during a time when BigStockPhoto was halting uploading over the weekends. This is just one small example of the kind of roadblocks one faces when it comes to trying to build up an approved portfolio at a microstock agency.

At its most basic level, getting started in microstock photography takes just a few basic steps …

• Check-out the various stock photography links on this blog
• Browse the microstock sites and become familiar and get a feel for the photography on them
• Prepare 3-10 of your best images in accordance to the respective standards of the site you wish to join
• Submit your applications to become a contributor (a.k.a photographer) and get approved to contribute
• Shoot Pictures. Post Process Images in Photoshop. Upload Photos to all sites for review. Repeat.
• Collect the revenue from sales made each month across all sites over the years for the life of the image. Large subscription based sites such as Shutterstock will ultimately produce daily sales for you after your portfolio of approved images grows to a modest size of a few hundred images however credit based sale sites such as iStockPhoto will yield higher commissions at a much slower rate. There is constant debate over which is best. Most stock photographers submit all of their work to each of the most profitable microstock sites.
• Receive your payout after reaching a threshold for each respective site. (ex. $50, $75, $100)

I believe a quick recap of where my interest in photography as a child came from will prove insightful to some readers …

Photography had been an interest of mine since I first began taking snapshot photos with “hand me down” cameras from my parents I was about 9 or 10 years old. It was probably around 1979-1981 ish when I first started using 110 film cameras that I usually borrowed from my mother. The first camera that I actually owned was a Polaroid One Step instant camera. I remember having to pay for my own film. Early on I mowed lawns and later on I worked for the family gas station starting at the age of 10 working for $2.00 / hour. At the very least I know I was responsible for paying for the cartridges of film which were very expensive for around ten photos if I remember correctly. This limited my ability to take pictures as I was saving up to pay my way for a $750.00 30-Day bus tour trip across the country with the Boy Scouts to the National Jamboree in Virginia in 1981. Since the film for my instant camera was so expensive my mother allowed me to borrow her Sony Disc Camera. I took both cameras on my 30-day bus tour “Reunion with History” to the Jamboree. The Statue of Liberty was getting a makeover during our tour but it was still amazing and one of my favorite subjects. However, when I went to the top of the “Twin Towers” World Trade Center, that was my favorite scene. The bridges and skyscrapers of New York City fostered my love for architecture and structures which I later studied at length. I plan to dig up a couple of those first photos of mine from that trip, scan them, and post them here as a point-of-reference …

TIMELINE FOR KEY EVENTS THAT HAD AN IMPACT ON MY STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY:

1981 “Reunion With History” 30-Day Bus Tour of various historical sites of United States with Boy Scouts. Kodak Disc Camera borrowed from parents when I was 12 years old.

1985 Exposure to Mac Paint Graphic Programs on first Macintosh which parents bought 1986 Drafting  1,2,3 Architecture & Architecture Classes 1987-1991 Travel the world while serving in the United States Navy taking photos every step of the way. 1991 Leave the Navy to study Architecture at the University of Arizona. Learn AUTOCAD. 1999 First Photoshop and Image Ready exposure working with web design. 2000 Graduate University of Phoenix Bachelor of Science in Business  Major: Information Systems

2005 May Bought Digital Camera: Canon SD750

2007 July: Relocate to Washington State road trip from Colorado. Research Selling Prints / Selling digital files online.  Research Selling digital negative files

2007 September: Accepted into BSP

2007 October: Accepted into DT / Forum participation

2007 November: Thanksgiving Day 2007 was my 1st Microstock Sale at DT Accepted into Fotolia . BME across all sites. Joined Microstock Group Forum (MSG). 1st SS Application Rejected. Read Photography & Photoshop Books. Study free tutorials from The MIZ and many others.

2007 December: Join Featurepics. Make plans to buy my first DSLR camera by April or May 2008. New BME across all sites. Bus Travel  from Seattle Washington to Denver capturing many photos on this journey. Caught severe flu and ear infections after many winter weather related travel delays.  That took me out of action for most of January and the first part of February …

Illness contracted from December / January travel …

2008 January: New BME across all sites. Stock sales happen even when your down and out sick …

2008 February: Joined MostPhotos . Joined Zymmetrical.  BME’s at DT, BSP, SXP, Met stock photographer suwanneeredhead (Stacey Lynn Brown) through interactions as two of the first few Americans on MP . New BME across all sites.

2008 March: set-up first home studio. Continue to improve work for next SS and IS applications as these are the two largest revenue producing sites for a microstock photographer.  BMEs at DT, FT, 123RF, MP . New BME across all sites. 5th BME in a row.

Got my first DSLR …

2008 April: Buy first DSLR:  a used Canon Rebel XTI a.k.a 400D continue to shoot and begin working with fractals for part of my SS applications.  Not a BME … streak broken …

2008 May: Accepted into Shutterstock the last week of the month after to many applications to count.

2008 May: BME at DT.

2008 June: BME’s at SS, BSP, 123RF, MP. First Full month of Revenue from SS. New BME across all sites.

2008 July: BME’s at DT, BSP, FP, FT. WME at 123RF. Begin using Cushy Stock management software

2008 Sep:  September 25th propose marriage to suwanneereadhead (Stacey Lynn Brown)

2008 Oct:  Mark Payne (mwp1969) & Stacey Lynn Brown (suwanneeredhead) married in Seattle, Washington. First Extended License Sale on SS …  it must have been a belated wedding gift

2008 Dec:  Canon 55-250 IS lens received as Christmas gift from my beloved wife

2009 April: Accepted into iStockPhoto

2009 May: Upgrade to DSLR Canon Rebel XSI a.k.a Canon 450D

2009 June: Began doubling and tripling my upload efforts to all of the sites that I was behind on …

2009 September: Achieve my 300th image approval at SS.

2009 October: BME for number of sales at DT. Close to BME at SS & IS. Past 400th approval at SS …

2009 Nov: Achieve next level raise at SS . BMEs at both SS & IS. Roll-out initial microstock related blog.

2009 Dec: Achieve my 500th approval at SS at the beginning of the month.

I am always happy to help a newbie try to break into stock photography by submitting their work for sale online.  This is a painstaking task if you try to do it all on your own. I offer my own  trials and tribulations to you so that you might be able to avoid some of  them yourself along your way. Thank you in advance for checking out my image and design portfolios.

If your interested in submitting your own images and want to try and get started right away  you can do so through the links I have provided below.  These links will help you get started with some of the most favorable and profitable microstock photography sites. The commissions from the sale of your own images will pay you again and again for the rest of the life of the image so delaying your decision to start by a day only delays you getting paid by a day down the road.

Best of Luck !

My Referral Links to Top Producing Microstock Photography Websites:

http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery.mhtml?id=144463

http://www.dreamstime.com/Mwp1969_info

http://www.istockphoto.com/mwp1969

http://www.123rf.com/profile_markpayne

http://us.fotolia.com/partner/200479231

http://www.bigstockphoto.com/?refid=HW16kzhvJX

Midstock Photography Sites:

http://www.mostphotos.com/mwp1969

Our Website:

www.PayneImages.com

]]> http://challengesworthnoting.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/a-strange-noise-in-the-night/ Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:43:11 +0000 giadreams http://challengesworthnoting.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/a-strange-noise-in-the-night/

Today was one of those days when I’ll get paid for doing next to nothing at work. Unless you count sitting down at my desk and managing to muster enough energy for pretending to look incredibly busy, as work.

For the first couple of days this week I’m averaging a very poor 6 hours of sleep per night. Not getting the recommended amount of sleep is not something I make a habit of doing regularly. However, certain predictable and a few not so predictable events have occurred lately, resulting in my present predicament.

Day One: On Monday I re-introduced the gym back into my life after a far too long absence. A notable point here is the fact that I went to the gym at 8:30pm, which surprise, surprise, actually works to wake me up instead of sending me into a deep peaceful sleep as hoped. Lesson learned – an unproductive day at the office later.

Day Two: The time is 11:30pm, I’m in the moment and fully engrossed in a rather wonderfully moving DVD film, while sitting at the top right corner of my bed. This is where I usually position myself to watch movies – something I do often; when suddenly I hear a strange noise coming from within my room. It sounds like wood slowly breaking… A few seconds of wonderment later; with a powerful thud and an immediate realization, the mystery is solved. The top right hand corner of my bed had just given way and completely collapsed to the floor, taking me down with it.

An uncountable number of expletives coupled with a few self indulgent moments of “WHY ME?” later, I checked myself for visible signs of injury (of which thankfully, there were none) before finally resigning to the reality of what had happened and deciding to deal with it. Following several failed attempts, I did at last find a way to prop up the collapsed corner (don’t ask how). Call me a princess if you must but sleeping on the floor is never an option if I can help it. This time I could so I did.

All that was left to do now was take to my newly ‘fixed’ bed and wish ever so desperately for sleep to come and take me. 20 fruitless minutes of wishing and hoping passed before I gave up and called Sarah, my long suffering friend now living in Sydney Australia. By the time Sarah and I had stopped laughing and we’d said goodbye, it was past 2am. Not so bad for Sarah because her day was just beginning. But for me, well… I closed my eyes, crossed my fingers and thankfully this time, I managed to drift off to sleep.

What seemed like only half an hour of sleep passed before the violent shrieking of my reliable alarm clock forced me to get out of bed and out of the door on the way to work, at 7am.

As I walked to the bus stop while yearning for my once perfect, warm and cozy bed, I wondered just how tired I must have looked at that precise moment. There I was thinking that my ‘troubles’ were firmly behind me for the day, when the very next second, a surely evil fly decided to zoom in at what felt like break-neck speed and lodge itself ever so firmly into my left eye. As if my eyes weren’t red and puffy enough from lack of sleep. Now the shade of my left eye would surely take on the hue of the very ripest of red cherries. I tried desperately to get it out but failed because I couldn’t exactly carry my brand new suede handbag, hold my hand mirror, peel down my bottom eyelid and fish out the fly, all at the same time. At least not without causing further injury in the way of an even redder eye than I started with. Or, God forbid that another fly should lodge itself into either eye.

With all my attempts to remove said fly, the only thing I managed to do successfully was move it to an unreachable place somewhere behind my eye ball; where it then decided to sting ever so fittingly for the duration of my journey to work (45 minutes) and, for the better half of the morning. As I sat on the bus with eyes as red as can be and the longest face never seen on a horse, I wondered what on earth could possibly be next.

It was later in the evening, after Popstar’s siblings had already gone to bed. We were snuggling in the family room when Popstar turns to me and states

“Mommy, I hate your school.”

Wow, we were having such a nice night, then wham! “Why do say that?” I asked, already knowing the answer. She went on to question why I can’t just quit school, forget about getting a job, and stay at home with her.

Breaks my heart every time this comes up. How do you explain in seven year old language, why I need to work. I’ve told her how much I enjoy school and I want her to see how rewarding a fulfilling career can be. She doesn’t care. I remind her that our lifestyle, including all of her fun activities, is more enjoyable when both mommy and daddy work. She doesn’t care. I try to make time for some one-on-one time daily, but it’s never enough.

I don’t want to burden her with details that shouldn’t concern her, so how do I know how much information to share. She will ask things like, how much does our house cost? Or, how much did our truck cost? I don’t think she should be concerning herself with these things and sharing them with her friends, but at the same time, I want her to appreciate and respect these necessities. I guess her concept of money and appreciating it’s value isn’t real strong, yet.

Is seven the right age to start receiving an allowance? Maybe that would help Popstar start connecting value to purchases. My hesitation is that I do not want her to expect to be paid for contributing to the household. As a member of our family, she needs to want to share the responsibilities; not be bribed into it.

What do you do? I’d love to hear from you.

In the world of work, you will always be paid in direct proportion to three things, says Brian Tracy in ‘Something for Nothing’ (www.jaicobooks.com ). “First, the work you do; second, how well you do it; and third, the difficulty of replacing you.”

The key to your future, therefore, is to choose the right job for your special talents and skills, become very good at doing that job, and then make yourself indispensable, he explains. To earn in the current, continually changing marketplace, each person is responsible for regularly upgrading the skill-set, the author advises.

We create our own jobs, no one can make another person more productive, he avers. “A company can only create an environment where a productive person can utilise more of his potential to contribute value. But the individual is always personally responsible for his level of production and the amount he earns or fails to earn.”

From the day you take your first job until the day you retire, no matter who signs your paycheque, you are the president of your own entrepreneurial business, selling your services into a competitive market, urges Tracy. “As the president of your own personal services corporation, you are totally responsible for training and development, productivity and quality control, personal promotion, and financial management.”

The book looks at the common craving of ‘something for nothing’ as an obsession with free money, a virus that can destroy the economy. When people strive to get rewards without working, riches without contribution, recognition without achievement, or power without service, they are manifesting the dark side of greed, the author rues.

On the other hand, “when the entrepreneurial and creative energies of people motivated by greed are directed and channelled into productive activities, greed becomes a powerful and positive social good. It drives people to innovate and create newer, better, faster, and cheaper ways to provide products and services for others.”

A blunt point from Tracy is that people at work generally like to take it easy. He bemoans the fact that once a person has a job and feels relatively secure in that job, what happens is a movement up the hierarchy of needs to comfort and leisure, with the employee doing everything possible to enjoy more comfort and leisure at work.

The book cites an alarming finding of Robert Half International, that fully 50 per cent of working time today is wasted, mostly in idle chitchat with co-workers, personal business, and extended coffee and lunch breaks.

“The average workweek in America today is 32 hours, even though most people are paid for 40 hours. Not only is much of that time wasted, but the time when the employee is actually working is often spent on low-priority tasks that contribute limited value to the employer.”

In a chapter titled ‘welfare, entitlements, and society’ the author differentiates between short- and long-term approaches to benevolence. The former is about taking money away from people who have earned it and giving it immediately to people who need it at the moment, whether or not this robs them of their self-esteem and makes them dependent on government in the long-term, explains Tracy.

In contrast, the long-term approach to benevolence believes that the best welfare programme is a good job. “The best citizen is a proud, independent, self-reliant person who is in control of his own life. People who think long-term do everything possible to encourage a vibrant business system that creates jobs, growth, hope, and opportunity for more people.”

This isn’t a free application, but it is definitely convenient.

I got this application fron MacHeist which is a service that gives away free software and donates a tonto charity. Plus, it’s completely legal.

So, you want to share something on your screen with your friends.

You would do -Shift-4, selectwhat part of the screen you want, release, and put the file automatically saved to your desktop in the email or IM application. Then you have to wait for it to transfer, which is alwys slower than FTP or HTTP connections.

In fact, my skype transfers usuallly run 20kbps. SLOW.

TinyGrab solves the problem. Launch TinyGrab, and it will show up as a little cloud in the menubar.

Now, just take a screenshot as you usually would.

You can also use -Shift-3 to take a picture of your whole screen, or -Shift-4 and then when you get the cross-hair press space to select a whole window to take a screenshot of.

Next thing you know, the icon in the dock will change and have a blue arrow on it, and will have an orange arrow on the menubar icon.

The dock icon will look like this:

TinyGrab Uploading

And momentarily, it will make a “Boodeep!” sound, and the icon will look like this for a short moment before returning to normal.

TinyGrab is done uploading

So, it’s on the internet. Where is it now?

The answer is in your clipboard… literally.

After the icon has a chckmark, than go into any application and press -V.

The link will be http:/grab.by/*.

Th HTTP connection is much faster than the connection through skye transfer or IM.

TinyGrab is about 12 dollars, or exactly £10.

TinyGrab Homepage

TinyGrab Free Trial Download

The poor economy has caused landlords and property managers to take drastic measures to lease units and keep them occupied. Some of the measures are understandable, considering the circumstances, but others make absolutely no sense at all.

This week I reviewed approximately 80 files from previous tenants who left a large residential property in Sarasota, Florida, owing money. I sat with the manager and discussed how the residential housing market has been turned on its ear, and in some ways seems to be in a downward spiral. I noted that not only had the number of debtor accounts more than doubled, the amount of the average debt had increased by at least a third.

The manager explained that the property had tried to increase its occupancy by allowing tenants to try and work out payment arrangements. As I looked at her over this mountain of files, I asked her, “How did that work out for you?” She understood my sarcasm and explained that the owners of the property had pressured her to do something to keep their residency rates up. She agreed that allowing tenants to pay late had only delayed the inevitable and increased the amount of bad debt the property must now write off.

I would argue that in such cases, if closely analyzed, the cost is actually even higher. The tenants she allowed to get behind on rent grew accustomed to management’s tolerance. When she finally drew the line and required payment, she was then often forced to file eviction proceedings before these tenants would leave the property. The cost of filing these evictions must be added to the lost rent and damages, etc. What if she had evicted the tenant after the very first month the rent was not paid and found a new tenant that did pay the rent on time? I realize this question is easy to ask in hindsight, but it is a question that should be asked when these kinds of management changes are considered.

I explained to her that not only had the new policy cost the property money in bad debt, the policy had also made the debt less collectible. As the amount each debtor owes increases, so do the odds that they will never pay. The amount becomes so high that many debtors will simply throw up their hands and live with the debt, rather than come up with a plan to pay it.

I understand that these are very trying times and difficult decisions must be made; but please make decisions with your eyes wide open and with an understanding of what the subsequent consequences could be.

Contact me with your tenant debt and screening issues.

Bill Gray

http://www.thelandlorddoctor.com

Bill@thelandlorddoctor.com