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Whether you are currently working at home or are seriously considering the possibility, setting up & properly maintaining your home office should be part of your overall plan. Don't make the mistake of overlooking the importance of a home-business friendly environment. It may even determine your level of success.

The following list constitutes some items that are of the utmost importance when setting up your home office. Many people often overlooked these when starting a home business.

LOCATION: Where you set up your home office will depend on your particular situation, but if at all possible use a spare room. Your best bet will be to set yourself off from the rest of the house in order to afford you some privacy. If this isn't an option in your home, try to find the next best place where this could be accomplished. You need not be totally secluded from all intrusions, but you'll want the option to be able to keep distractions to a minimum when necessary.

LIGHTING: If your office has a window you'll receive natural lighting during the day. But if you plan to work in the evening or you don't have the option of using a window, you will want to provide good artificial light that's friendly to the eyes. Special light fixtures and bulbs made just for reading are readily available and could make a world of difference for a few extra dollars. Whether you choose overhead fluorescent lights, desk lamps or another type of fixture, be sure your office has plenty of good lighting.

DESK: The best scenario here would be to have a nice, professional-type desk. That's not always possible, nor affordable, for many who are just starting out. If your work area will not permit it, or it's just not in the budget at the moment, do whatever you can with what you have available. In time you'll want to invest in a good desk with plenty of work and drawer space for your PC, files, supplies, etc. You don't have to spend a small fortune to upgrade. I've found a few solid models at second-hand shops that needed only minor touching up. Check with your local Salvation Army Thrift Shop or on Yahoo Groups Recycle lists for your area, as people often donate desks they no longer have a need for in their homes/offices.

CHAIR: It may not sound like a major thing, but if you sit at a desk for long periods of time (and you shouldn't do that anyway - take a five minute break every hour!) you'll want to invest in a good chair with support for your lower back. Once again, you can find some really good deals if you keep your eyes open for them. Also, be sure to replace your chair when the padding is worn or you may start experiencing increasing back pain over time.

SUPPLIES: Know beforehand what you are going to need to run your business smoothly and then always try to have them readily available. It is inevitable that at some point you are going to run out of that thing you forgot to pick up at the store at just the wrong time. Nothing defeats productivity more than having to stop mid-stream, go pick up supplies and then try to get started back on your project again.

ORGANIZATION: I know that no matter how well-organized an office starts out being, there are some people that are just not going to let it stay that way. They aren't, and never have been, organized themselves. With that said, do your best when setting up your office to keep organization in mind. Have the things you use often close by. Try to keep your files in the same location so that when you need to locate one, it's where its' supposed to be and you won't find yourself running all over the house looking for it.

As for filing, this can be the worst and most-dreaded (but necessary) part of office work. My best advice: keep up with it. Set aside one time-slot each week to do the filing, or any other type of paperwork drudgery that's necessary to keep it from piling up around you. Your job will be must easier in the long run.

PHONES: Depending on the type of business you have, the phone system you choose may not be a major issue. If you rely heavily on your telephone, find one with the functions you need. Likewise, if the phone is merely a source of interruption to you, then invest in a phone that offers a built-in messaging system. For many home business owners, a standard cordless phone is sufficient for their office also. A word to the wise: keep an "old-fashioned" corded phone on hand to use during power outages.

COMPUTER: If you rely on your computer for your home business, get the best one you can afford. It need not be expensive, but it MUST be reliable. If all that you can afford right now is a PC that's considered to be outdated & slow, so be it-as long as it won't cost you more money and time in repairs than you cannot afford while you're just starting your business. Old & slow is fine for the interim, but beaten & broken is not. You don't need major technical problems rearing their ugly heads while you're in the middle of a project. When you can work it into your budget, upgrade to something a little more current, but don't settle for something in the meantime that isn't reliable.

IN CONCLUSION: Most everything you have in your office, from your chair to the lights, will affect your productivity in some way. While staying within your budget, try to get good equipment and furniture. Keep in mind that many of these items can be purchased second-hand. Along that line, eBay is another option to keep in mind. (Tip: always check a seller's feedback rating before making a purchase online from someone you don't personally know to be reputable.)

Your office space should be user-friendly, comfortable and private. Whatever you do with the space you have set aside for your office, keep these things in mind and you'll be more productive over the long-term.

Copyright 2006 Craig Binkley

Craig Binkley is a husband, father and home business owner. Visit our Work From Home Directory located @ http://www.workfromhomehelper.com for legitimate work from home opportunities.

A variation on the traditional body massage is the so-called "chair massage." Unlike the usual therapy which is performed on a massage table where the client lies in a prone or supine position, the chair massage only needs the person to sit on a comfortable chair.

This is recommended for those who have certain types of injuries or who need to be relieved of muscle stress on certain parts of the body such as the shoulders, neck, head, back, and the extremities. The sitting position is more ideal for massage to these areas as the masseur as well as the client would be more comfortable.

A chair massage typically lasts from 10 minutes to about half an hour, but the client may feel as rejuvenated as when he gets a full body massage, depending on the skills of the masseur. Usually, a session is started from the head proceeding downwards to the neck, shoulders, back, and on to the limbs, as if drawing all the knots and tense muscles away from the body.

Many clients also prefer the chair massage because it can be done virtually anywhere. In fact, masseurs are more receptive of home service massages for chair massage sessions because all one would need to administer it is a comfortable chair.

And because it doesn't last long, it's a quick and efficient way to help you survive the day. You can have a chair massage during your lunch break, in the comforts of your office. You can also have a chair massage at the salon while you're having your hair done!

Nowadays, you can even see people availing of chair massages in public places such as malls, airports, and hotels. A new feature of conventions which last for a couple or more days are chair massages offered to participants for a minimal fee. This is a fantastic way of relaxing the delegates because everyone knows that seminars in conventions can sometimes go on till the wee hours of the morning.

A chair massage would help ease the tensions in the body caused by sitting for extended periods or being immobilized for hours straight. Additionally, the owner of the chair massage business would benefit a lot as he would be generating income from hundreds of customers in so little time.

Chair massages have also been revolutionized by ingeniously designed massage chairs which feature a battery-operated cushion. With the touch of a button, you can select the type of wave or vibration you want applied on your body. You can also adjust its speed, depending on whether you want to be stimulated or to be relaxed.

The invention of the massage chair makes it possible for individuals to have a chair massage in the privacy of their homes anytime they want it and all they have to pay for that soothing session is the minimal electricity it consumes.

You can also find more info on Hand Massage and Hot Stone Massage. knowbodymassage.com is a comprehensive resource to know about Body Massage.

Mesothelioma is indeed one of the most talked-about diseases of this century. This is because more and more people are being afflicted by the ailment and there are lawsuits being filed linked to the diagnosis.

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that is developed in the mesothelial tissue, or the sacs that surround the body's internal organs. When unlikely matters accumulate in these tissues, a tumor may arise.

Mesothelioma is often diagnosed in the chest area. It is caused by the inhalation of asbestos, a construction material widely used in the past for insulation purposes. Because asbestos is disintegrative in nature, when exposed to air, it slowly breaks down into very fine fibers that also goes with the air.

When a person inhales the air that contains the micro-fibers of asbestos, the substance will proceed to the lungs and then to the sacs surrounding the lungs.

There are problems arising from the diagnosis of mesothelioma. Often, there are failures in proper and immediate diagnosis of the disease. A person will surely develop mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos for at least about a month or two. The problem is that mesothelioma does not abruptly and easily develop and manifest symptoms.

On the average, it takes about 20 to 30 years after exposure to asbestos before a person is diagnosed with the disease. Worse, symptoms usually show up when mesothelioma is already at the terminal stage. This is the cause of problems for mesothelioma patients who are aiming to seek compensation from asbestos firms.

Why lawsuits can fail

When a patient is diagnosed with mesothelioma, chances are often that he or she is already in the final phase of the cancer. That means, it will only be a year at the maximum for the patient to live. It is only after diagnosis that any mesothelioma victim can file a lawsuit.

You know how long litigation processes take. It will take at least more than a year before a lawsuit is taken to court or at least be given initial hearing. If the mesothelioma patient is only given a year to live, how would he be able to seek justice for the damage done to his health?

Often, asbestos damage lawsuits are junked or stopped after the complainant dies. Not unless the family of the victim will pursue the case, which would just be harder, more tedious and more costly, asbestos damage claims often fail.

Failure to diagnose mesothelioma on time raises much concern among potential mesothelioma victims. But how can justice be served to the victims? How can compensation be awarded appropriately to the patients?

If there are controversial legal cases getting into the headlines nowadays, they could be among those rare instances wherein the complainants lived up longer than the usual year-long life expectancy after the diagnosis.

Some patients live to pursue lawsuits

Not all diagnosed mesothelioma cases end up in death. Some patients, especially those diagnosed with epithelial malignant mesothelioma, can overcome or survive the disease. When these patients do, their chances of seeking proper compensation and damages against asbestos companies are greater.

The fact that their lives have been altered by mesothelioma also makes the case more inclined to be in favor of the complainant. The few numbers of asbestos firms worldwide have spent most of their corporate lives defending themselves against such lawsuits that most of these companies have already folded up and filed for bankruptcy.

That is another problem. If asbestos firms responsible for mesothelioma incidences in an area collapses, how can the patients be compensated? Luckily, some governments are mindful and responsible enough to handle such cases.

The governments either seize the company or assign administrators so the remaining assets would be spend to compensate existing and potential mesothelioma complainants. Several state governments in the United States and Australia are doing such acts to protect the interest of asbestos exposure victims.

Diagnosis of mesothelioma, or failure of it, often becomes problematic and stalled. But if you think you have been exposed to asbestos in the past, do initiatives to monitor your health and seek legal advice regarding the situation. Asbestos firms for their part, should be responsible in providing assistance and compensation to mesothelioma victims.

For more information on mesothelioma please go to:
http://www.greatmesotheliomalawyer.com/failure-to-diagnose-mesothelioma-lawsuit.html
http://www.greatmesotheliomalawyer.com
http://www.drnathaliefiset.com

For The Next Twenty-Three Years

I have been a practicing public accountant for twenty-three years. I cant think of anything I would rather do to make a living (except for professional golf maybe) and consider myself quite fortunate. The one thing that I have come to dislike is the way people act. This will include clients as well as other accountants practicing in the trade. Accounting firms are very cheap these days and beat their staffs unmercifully. Eighty-five hours plus a week are the norm during tax time with a stressful killer schedule for the rest of the year. As for the clients, they wine and complain and expect to be treated as if the accountant is the indentured servant. Never again will I put up with cheap owners and overbearing and demanding clients.

The fees at the se firms are too high relative to the benefit received. Tax preparation has become a compliance exercise with very little time given to being proactive and planning ones financial future. When I was reviewing returns at my last job, I would often make suggestions on steps the client could take to save more on taxes and strengthen their respective portfolios. Oh My God I thought as my opinions and concerns fell upon deaf ears. My colleagues, the very people I thought would share my enthusiasm for practicing our noble trade, tossed me to the side and told me to stick with the routine. People want to be dealt with on their time tables and it is more important to meet this goal than it is to offer major tax planning ideas. I think some clients just like to watch their accountant bow and jump through hoops when they come-calling. I once had a colleague tell me that he would bleed for a client. Not this boy. I know that high fees are frustrating, but the client should take a more active role in his or her tax planning and preparation and be willing to go on extension to encourage proper planning. As for the heads of these accounting firms, cut back on your client base maybe to match with the manpower on hand. There are fewer people going into public accounting and this will be a fact of life for the next generation. As for the $125 bonus my last firm gave me after tax season, it in no way rewarded me for the lack of work life benefit that was promised.

For the next twenty-three years, I am going to revolutionize the way we deal with getting accounting help. I am taking my message to the people on radio and will tell you want you want to know and how to do your own financial and income tax planning. I will help you run your business, educate your children, build your portfolio, and save for retirement. There will be no wining tolerated by the listeners and no bowing from me. I will encourage the people to prepare their own tax returns and to seek help from me when they are stuck. This is how I intend to practice the trade I so dearly love over the next twenty-three. My guess is, many would like to see a change in the way they receive financial guidance.

Ron Piner, CPA Host of Better Business Saturday Mornings at 10ET On WBIS AM 1190 http://www.wbis1190.com http://www.mwibonline.com taxguy9@hotmail.com

The skies were clear and blue across the nation on the day that plumes of white and gray smoke rose over lower Manhattan.

Although many people were in our office building on that morning, it seemed quiet and empty. Radios in cubicles conducted a somber commentary about the unfolding horror as a crowd of coworkers huddled around a small television on the countertop. Some individuals sat in isolation, making phone calls in an effort to contact friends and family. Others went home early, picking up children from school so they could be with their families. And still others, with no family members to go home to, stayed in the office building and the comfort of being with familiar faces. Each person reached out in their own way to be together with a family member, a friend, a coworker or the memory of someone.

It is hard to imagine how it must have been for the hundreds of people who had started September 11 in the World Trade Centers as just another day at work. How much had those collective individuals contributed to the lives of the people that they had touched? How much more could they have done in these years that have passed?

The men and women of the New York Police Department and Fire Department epitomized the ultimate self-sacrifice during and after the collapse of the buildings. Their bravery, single minded focus and unrelenting efforts continued past the point of human exhaustion during the search for life in the rubble.

The nameless masses of strangers epitomized the spirit of New York and the soul of humanity. Countless stories of delivery truck drivers that used their vehicles to shuttle people anywhere they wanted to go, families who opened their hearts and their homes to give travelers a place to stay, and heroes who pulled or carried others to safety without ever knowing their names.

Most people have vivid personal memories of what they were doing at the exact moment that this tragedy occurred. Many of us can remember how we held our friends and family a little closer in the days and weeks that followed. There was a greater unspoken appreciation for the life and love that can be taken so unexpectedly. There was a greater understanding of how coworkers and neighbors can be shelter in times of trouble.

As we remember the bravery and the strength of human character that was portrayed by the citizens of New York, we should also remember the closeness shared with those around us. There was no shame or embarrassment in expressing compassion. What a beautiful way to honor the memory of the lives of the innocents lost in the tragedy of September 11, to make a conscientious effort to recognize those people who are an important part of your life. Don't take a chance on regret, take time to express your appreciation today.

http://www.spaceimaging.com/gallery/9-11/

This one-meter resolution satellite image of Manhattan, New York was collected at 11:43 a.m. EDT on Sept. 12, 2001 by Space Imaging's IKONOS satellite. The image shows an area of white and gray-colored dust and smoke at the location where the 1,350-foot towers of the World Trade Center once stood. Since all airplanes were grounded over the U.S. after the attack, IKONOS was the only commercial high-resolution camera that could take an overhead image at the time.

Stories of September 11

http://www.911digitalarchive.org/stories/

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Words of Wisdom

"Take care and enjoy every day, do not worry about the last day." - John Keyser

"A man does what he must, in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles, of dangers and pressures, and that is the basis of all human morality." - John F Kennedy

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardships, support any friend, oppose any foe in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty." - John F. Kennedy

"That a few depressed individuals could have such disregard for the value of life for so many innocents is not terrorism, it is tragedy. We can not take back that which has been lost, but we can honor them by the way that we cherish the lives of those people that we hold dear today." - John F. Mehrmann

About the Author:

John Mehrmann is an authority on emotional intelligence, talent management and organizational development. He is a consultant, coach and trainer with Executive Blueprints Inc., an organization devoted to improving business practices and developing human capital. His materials are available from http://www.InstituteForAdvancedLeadership.com

http://www.ExecutiveBlueprints.com provides resource materials for trainers, sample Case Studies, educational articles and references to local affiliates for consulting and executive coaching.

Have you ever considered Southern Africa for a golfing vacation? If you haven't, you may want to. South Africa offers some wonderful golfing, and as you can probably imagine, many other things to visit and explore when the golfing is done. But back to the golfing for a moment. South Africa has many world class golf courses (over fifteen to be exact) for you to enjoy. And the year round good weather doesn't hurt anything either. And how about when the golfing is over for the day? Or you want to take a day or so and see what South Africa has to offer (and you will)?

Robben Island this island is a must-see for anyone visiting South Africa. This is where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for decades because of his views during the Apartheid era. Former inmates take visitors on tours of the island now.

Beaches South Africa boasts more than 3000 km of coastline for a person to enjoy. There are some of the most beautiful beaches that you've ever seen.

Namaqualand every spring, the Northern Cape comes alive with huge fields of daisies. The vivid color is absolutely beautiful. Fed by winter rains, the flower grounds of Namaqualand become a must see fro anyone carrying a camera.

Table Mountain Table Mountain is home to South Africa's most breathtaking views. You can take a guided walk up one of the many trails, or simply ride the cable car to the top. No visit to Cape Town will be complete without a visit to Table Mountain.

Cradle of Humankind The cradle of humankind includes the Sterkfintein Caves, where anthropologist Dr. Robert Broom discovered the skull of Mrs. Ples, a 3-million year old humanoid, in 1936. At the time of discovery, she was thought to be evidence of the 'missing link'.

Kruger National Park This is the greatest of South Africa's national parks and attracts the greatest number of visitors. You can go on a guided walk or drive yourself; the choice is up to you. This is one of the places that visitors have the best chance of seeing one of the Big Five animals. Elephant, lion, leopard, rhino, and buffalo are all abundant within the park. Seeing as how witnessing one of these animals in the wild is a once in a lifetime experience, Krueger National Park should be a place you visit.

The Drakensberg Mountains This mountain range is an adventure tourist's playground. The range is also great for nature photography, and easy walking. There are also challenging peaks and majestic waterfalls throughout the Drakensberg range. The view will compete with anything you've seen anywhere in the world.

With all of this to do other than golf, you may be thinking will I even have time to golf? Of course you will, and you won't be disappointed in the least. South Africa has some of the most beautiful and challenging courses that you'll find anywhere. Hopefully you'll keep it in mind as a destination for your next golf getaway.

Trevor Kugler - Co-founder of JRWfishing and founder of yourmoneyconnection.com Trevor has more than 15 years of business experience and currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country - Montana.

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