Ten "Travel" Commandments – Travel
Ten "Travel" Commandments
Marli Davis
I. Thou shalt pack HALF the clothes you want.
II. Thou shalt take TWICE the money you will need.
III. Thou shalt pack an abundance of Patience.
IV. Thou shalt NOT count calories, especially on cruises.
V. Your extra large luggage shalt have wheels.
VI. Thou shalt NOT feel guilty if you don
The NFL Needs a New Tiebreaker – Recreation
The NFL Needs a New Tiebreaker
Terry Mitchell
After enduring that disgusting final weekend of the NFL regular season, I have come to the conclusion that a new tiebreaker is needed. How a team performs during the final weekend should be the first tiebreaker, with all the current tiebreakers falling in line after that. A team that won its final game would hold the first tiebreaker advantage against a team theyre tied with that lost its final game. If they both lost, both won, or both tied their final game, then the current tiebreakers would take effect in the order that they currently exist. That would accomplish at least three of positive things.
First, a team with a one game lead for a playoff spot, headed into the final weekend, would have more difficulty "backing in" to the playoffs the way Minnesota did this year. By all rights, New Orleans should have made the playoffs instead of the Vikings. They finished with identical records. However, the Saints won their final game, while the Vikings lost theirs. In fact, under the NFLs current crazy tiebreaker system, the Vikings loss, while ultimately not damaging their own playoff hopes, ironically was one of the major factors that kept the Saints out of the playoffs! Under my proposed rule, the Saints would have been in and the Vikings would have been out.
Second, it would keep more playoff berths/positions open going into the final weekend and maintain more excitement and suspense all the way to the end. Currently, a team with a one game lead for a playoff berth, bye, home field advantage, and/or seeding can have that position clinched before the final weekend if they own the tiebreaker over the teams they lead. Under my proposal, that would not be possible. That position would still be open through the final weekend of the season. For example, the Pittsburgh Steelers would not have clinched the home field advantage in the AFC until they beat Buffalo in the final weekend, instead of having it already clinched going into that game.
Third, it would also keep teams with one game leads from having de-facto "byes" during the final weekend. Take Indianapolis for example. The Colts game against Denver this weekend was meaningless to them, even though it meant everything to the Broncos. Although the Colts had only a one game lead over San Diego for the number three seed in the AFC, they owned the tiebreaker over the Chargers. I dont care what anyone says, the Colts, with their lack of effort, effectively rolled over and allowed the Broncos to win, which wasnt fair to Jacksonville and Baltimore, the teams competing with the Broncos for the final AFC playoff spot. Under my proposal, the Colts would have had to win to maintain their third seed in the playoffs.
About The Author
Terry Mitchell is a software engineer, freelance writer, and trivia buff from Virginia, USA. He operates a website - http://www.commenterry.com - on which he posts commentaries on various subjects such as politics, technology, religion, health and well-being, personal finance, and sports. His commentaries offer a unique point of view that is not often found in mainstream media.
terrymitchell@verizon.net
Customer Excellence Returns to Web Site Hosting! – Marketing
Customer Excellence Returns to Web Site Hosting!
Robin Nobles
For those of you with Web sites, you probably know what a "host" is. Its a company that provides a location, or address, on the Internet where your Web site resides.
In other words, just like a physical business needs an address, so does a Web site. You cant have a Web site and just "stick it up" on the Web. Unless you want to set up your own server, you have to go through a hosting company who gives you that address, including server space and bandwidth, that enables the search engines and visitors to find your site.
Lets look at some common problems we often have with hosting companies:
You can never find an actual person to talk to! They may have a 24-hour customer service line open, but you can never get through to a real person.
Hosting companies often think that the "lowest price" will always get the sale, but they fail to realize that what people really want is excellent customer service, servers that are up almost 100% of the time, and a variety of services that come with the hosting package.
Many hosting companies dont provide any other functionality other than Web site hosting. They dont provide a "control panel" full of goodies such as PGP secure e-mail, shopping carts, log analysis, database creation, etc.
Guess what Technical support people often dont make the best "customer support" people. They may be technical gurus, but their main interest lies in their high tech servers and other functionality, rather than solving the simple problems of their customers.
In other words, weak customer service is a major problem with the majority of hosting companies these days. Solution:
I recently had the pleasure of being introduced to Combustion Hosting Company, and to say I was impressed is a vast understatement.
Here are some things that struck me as unbelievable. When the phone rings, whoever answers the phone is required to stand up to answer it and talk. After all, the sheer act of standing up requires that theyre alert and are listening to your problems and concerns. And, you actually speak to a "real" person!
With Combustion, if you have a problem, they dont just "tell" you how to solve it, they solve it for you! Also, their services certainly arent limited to "hosting." They can set you up with an account to where you can access the Internet through local access numbers no matter where you travel.
Their prices are extremely reasonable -- much better than I had been paying previously. Plus, the "extras" Ive received by going with Combustion are amazing.
But the one thing that makes Combustion shine over most Web hosting companies is their devotion to providing good customer service, and this is an area in which they truly excel.
So, if youre in the market for a new Web site, or if you arent pleased with your current host, consider Combustion Hosting. It will be one of the smartest moves you could ever make for your Web site. http://www.combustionhosting.com/moreinfo
If you want further proof as to the benefits of using Combustion, read: this article.
About The Author
Robin Nobles is the Co-Director of Training of Search Engine Workshops with John Alexander. They teach 2-day beginner, 3-day advanced, and 5-day all-inclusive "hands on" search engine marketing workshops in locations across the globe. She also teaches online search engine marketing courses through http://www.onlinewebtraining.com, and she