Internal and External Glazing Repairs

Many areas of our homes and businesses are made from glass, not just the windows. However, with glass being fragile, it is prone to breakages. There is a common conception that once the glass element of a window, door or furniture item breaks the whole unit needs to be replaced. This I not the case as quality glazing repair companies are able to fix this problem without changing the whole unit.

Window Repairs

Windows are the most abundant glass product in our homes and therefore the chances of it being broken or in need of repair at some point are almost inevitable. If a double glazed window gets smashed, unfortunately the sealed unit itself will need replacing, not simply the glass. Be aware that the unit itself can be removed from the overall window frame and replaced easily. Do not be fooled by double glazing companies that may insist that the whole window needs replacing e.g. if you have a bay window and only one of the panes of glass gets destroyed.

A broken window can happen at any time of the day or night and cannot be left unattended to as it will result in a cold, unsecured property. Ensure that you know a local glazier who offers a 24 hour emergency repair or boarding service so that should you need them, you know who to contact.

Internal Glass Door Repair

Internal doors often feature a glass element as it allows light to pass through thus making the house more illuminated as a whole. It can also compliment the décor of the rooms, particularly if the glass is patterned.

The only issue with having glass in interior doors is that they often get slammed shut, causing the glass to weaken and sometimes shatter as a result. Also, children playing in houses often have little or no regard for the breakable items around them, occasionally leading to a stray toy smashing the door glass.

Many people panic when the glass element of a door is broken, thinking that the whole door will need to be replaced; this is not the case. A reputable glazing company will be able to replace the broken glass at a reasonable cost. A quality company will use only top quality glass products such as Pilkington Texture glass to complete the repair.

Mirror Repairs

According to superstition, breaking a mirror brings with it 7 years of bad luck; this bad luck can begin with having to pay the cost of a whole new mirror and frame. Glazing repair companies are able to replace mirrors without having to change the frame, reducing the overall repair costs.

Whatever your glazing repair needs, ensure that you use a local glazing company that you can trust for quality and price. Ensure that they have a good reputation for service and value for money.

The Dream Act Vs Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals

It's important not to confuse the two programs because they are not one of the same. The Dream Act, otherwise known as "Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors," is a legislative proposal, if enacted, would have afforded conditional permanent residency to certain undocumented immigrants. This law would have required that eligible applicants are of good moral character, graduate from an American high school, obtain a GED, are admitted to a community college or a four-year university, join the military, arrive in the United States before age 16, be between the ages of 12 and 35 at the time the bill is enacted, live in the country continuously for at least five years prior to the date of arrival, and if male, register with the Selective Service.

For the first six years, successful applicants would be given "conditional" status to live and work in the United States. They would further be required to satisfy at least one of the following three conditions prior to being permitted to obtain permanent residency: 1. graduate from a two-year community college; 2. complete at least two years towards a four-year degree; 3. serve two years in the U.S. military. Upon successful completion, the applicant would become eligible to apply for permanent resident status to legally reside in the United States. During this conditional period, though the approved applicant would not be eligible to apply for federal grants, he/she would be permitted to apply for student loans and work study. At the end of the conditional period, if the applicant satisfies all of the conditions, in addition to permanent residency, the applicant would eventually be permitted to become a U.S. citizen.

Because Congress has not been able to enact this bill after multiple attempts, on June 15, 2012 the President of the United States signed an executive order known as the "Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals" (DACA) to provide some of the same benefits to the undocumented immigrants who would have benefited under the Dream Act. The eligibility requirements under DACA are the same as those in the proposed Dream Act. But unlike the dream act proposal, DACA only provides two of the benefits in the Dream Act to eligible applicants: removal of the fear of deportation for two years, and the opportunity to apply for work authorization. It does not, however, confer any legal status on eligible applicants or provide a path to legalization. Moreover, because DACA is an executive order, unlike the Dream Act, the president of the United States can change it at any time without congressional approval.

Ten Commitments for Men by Tom Massey: Book Review

Tom Massey, who is a long time corporate leadership trainer, has produced a truly excellent book on how to navigate through life with commitments to high standards, integrity, enthusiasm, and good health. His ten points offer a road map based on wisdom and experience, his and others. The book is well written and organized, at the same time being an enjoyable read.

As a retired Chief of Police and the author of my own book, Leading beyond Tradition, it was my responsibility to provide the employees and citizens with such a map for their safety and work experience, as well as the quality of life for the community. I have taught leadership extensively in the public and private sectors and recognize there is, at best, inconsistency in what leadership actually is and how to make it work in today's world. Leadership is about people and Mr. Massey clearly recognizes those principles that constitute success.

The ten commitments Mr. Massey lists and describes are really what it takes to not only lead, but live your life to its fullest with honor and dignity. The criticality of each commitment cannot be overemphasized, and by combining all ten the practitioner lives the behaviors and models them to everyone. It has been demonstrated that people who associate with negative people themselves become negative and cynical. One's attitude is a choice, solely that of the individual, and the commitments in Mr. Massey's book are the guide to follow. While they are nothing new, they are what is necessary. Every successful person over the ages has believed in and practiced these commitments.

It has been said that once a person stops learning, they languish in the past, while one who commits to continuous learning and improvement stays current and able to live well and contribute at a higher level. The anecdotes provided in Mr. Massey's book are relevant and aligned with delivering his message. This is a book that should be read by everyone. It should be part of every home library, public library, and educational institution. These are the principles that made us great, made us what we are. We need to know them, understand them, and live by them.

Thank you Mr. Massey, for remembering them and bringing them home once again.

Boost Your Email Marketing Capability Using Autoresponders

Studies show that only 15% of people will buy at the first time when they first visit a website. It means that, if there are 10 people coming in, you may end up with 1 - 2 people buying your product. While other business owners will focus on getting more people to come to their website in order to make more sales, this is not the right way to do so.

The key question you should ask is: how do we capture, contact and communicate with the other 85% of people who do not buy?

The answer: collect their contact information and communicate with them frequently until they know, like and trust you, by using an autoresponders program.

What is an autoresponders?

This is an automated software developed specific for email marketing purpose. With autoresponders, you can send email newsletter at a specific time automatically, or send out a series of email messages by just setting it up once, and manage your email list easily.

Autoresponders represent a new way of doing email marketing and communicate with your prospects or clients. It can provide specific information to your customers efficiently and effectively without any trouble, and then follow up with pre-written email messages at specific time intervals, which is also very easy to manage

Enhance your email marketing capability

Because of the existence of autoresponders, many things that cannot be done before is now feasible. Here are some ways for business owner to maximize the power of autoresponders.

Publishing a newsletter: It is the most common way of using autoresponders, but most of the time it is misused. One of the mistakes that business owners made are that there newsletters are all about selling stuff. However, if prospects do not have trust or reliable relationship with your business at first, they would not buy from you. Therefore the best way of using newsletter is 95% content, 5% selling message, or even 100% content. Remember, people opt-in to your list not because they want to buy something from you, they are seeking a valuable relationship. And if you can provide that valuable relationship, they will reward you with business. This is the correct way of using newsletter.

Distribute free stuff: Suppose that you are providing a free coupon or discount on certain services. When people opt-in, an email will be sent out to confirm their subscription and later send them a coupon/discount/any free stuff. Then later on you send them a series of email talking about specific topics through autoresponders. This is another use of autoresponders, but most business owner does not have this information.

Make a sale: When you think that it is the right time, or if you are running a product launch, this will be the time to sell them something. Being too sales-oriented is not a good practice, but being too content-oriented is not a good practice either. That why you are suggested to sell them something, either an affiliate product or your own product, and see what is the response. Don't be afraid of "losing" them when you sell them something. If they don't like it, or even feel "offended", they will not buy from you. If you don't sell them, they don't buy from you either. So you have nothing to "lost"! So sell them something and test your offer, when your offer is right and you get good response, sell it to the public and make a lot of money!

Legal Pointers to Help You Choose the Right Piece of Land

The one area that comes to mind when we think about how too many choices make our decision hard is Real Estate. There are too many options available in terms of commercial and residential property. Whether it is a flat, independent house, villa, booth, plot, etc., there's something lucrative and appropriate for everyone. Many people buy plots for commercial purposes. They may want to build a shop or a booth there, or a place for their tuition or dance center. Endless business ideas culminate in buying a plot as the first step. But it is not a joke. Serious consideration and effort must go behind the purchase of a commercial plot.

Commercial plots are much harder to look for and buy as compared to residential ones. The location for your business must be a prime one, the transportation should be such that your place of business is accessible and I should be financially viable. Once your money is given away for the purchase, it could a real hassle for you if the choice turns out to be the wrong one. To avoid all that, you must make sure that you do research on your plot, compare with others, ascertain the market rates and ensure that your location suits your business and company as well. A wrong choice could harm your business. So take your time, there is no hurry.

The legal hassles involved in buying a plot are many. The seller should give you all the original legal documents beforehand so that you can scrutinize properly. Some of the legal tips are -

* Make sure you acquire the services of a good lawyer who can help you avoid some major or minor loopholes that property documents entail.

* Confirm the legal status of the plot before even thinking of purchasing it.

* You must know who the plot belongs to. The ownership should not ever be a grey area.

* Make sure nobody else is involved in selling the property. You should opt to see the plot's previous deeds as well.

* Make inquiries in all the official places to see if there is something that has been hidden from you.

* Beware of being handed over a liability by checking if all the taxes have been paid so far or not.

* Any balance payments, in fact, must be paid already by the seller like the electricity and water bills. No notice or requisition related to your property should be outstanding.

* Check from the registrar office if your plot has any dues or complaints of the legal nature.

* Make sure that if the seller had bought the plot on loan, then he should have returned the whole amount that was due.

* Measure the plot. This is important. Many property dealers exploit the trust you put in them. You select a plot and are content that is exactly what you will own after the purchase. But before the purchase, ascertain the size that you had specified. Keep visiting your plot location regularly so that nobody can rob you of even an inch of your property.

Buying a plot is a decision taken with patience and calm. Start off your commercial success by buying a safe and good commercial plot.

Barbecue Success With The Rule Of Thirds

Ever been to a barbecue party where the 'chef' placed as much food as he could possibly fit onto the barbecue grill, every so often stabbing the food with a fork and juggling it around so that it cooks evenly? Ever noticed how, within a few minutes, the flames start gently flickering under the food, the chef proudly standing back admiring the char grill effect that he's creating? Ever notice the panic that sets in when the flames suddenly leap up and around the food burning it black on the outside and leaving it raw on the inside?

The difference between great char grilled barbecue food and burnt offerings lies in a few small precautions. The chef that we've just described made a few fatal errors that could easily have been avoided. Before discussing the errors though, lets consider the equipment that we're talking about. Although the same can happen with gas as with charcoal, gas grills can be turned lower, or off, when the flames start getting out of control. The flames can also be controlled if the barbecue grill has a tight fitting lid, as with a Weber kettle grill. However most people seem to cook on an open top barbecue grill with the lid, if it has one, open. Note that we're talking about a barbecue grill here, where the food is cooked directly over the hot coals. True barbecue uses indirect heat with the food fully enclosed as though in an oven. So, the barbecue grill that our imaginary chef is using is an open top, charcoal, barbecue grill.

Now lets have a look at our imaginary chef's errors.

First, he filled the grate with charcoal along its entire length, providing a constant heat source, with no area of lower heat to place food if it started to burn. A simple solution is to use the rule of thirds. Imagine the grate of your barbecue being in thirds. Fill two thirds of the grill with charcoal and leave the remaining third empty. Cook your food over the hot coals and when your food is ready, or starts to burn, or creates out of control flames, move it over to the section above the empty grate. The food will stay warm but won't cook any more (or possibly it will but much more slowly), and wont cause any flare-ups. A further refinement can be had, if you've a large enough grill, by placing a double level of coals in one third of the grate, a single level of coals in the middle, and no coals in the final third. You now have three levels of heat!

A further mistake was to overfill the grill. Completely filling it leaves no room to manoeuvre the food. You're not able to turn it for even cooking and you've no space to move the food to a lower heat. Assuming that you're using the rule of thirds as described above, , when you first start cooking, leave empty the area of the grill above where you've placed no coals. You've then space to move the cooked food into. Secondly, don't pack the cooking part of the grill with food. Leave room to comfortably turn your food.

A second problem caused when over filling the grill is to use foods that require different cooking times. When the coals are first ready to use, they're at their hottest. This is the time to cook small, thin items of food that can be cooked in a short time with a high heat. These include items like sausages, burgers, kebabs and small pieces of meat off the bone. Don't forget that food, such as burgers and sausages, drip fat and juices onto the charcoal during cooking and it's this that causes flare-ups. So you'll need to constantly watch the items of food and move them to an area of lower heat if necessary (did I mention the rule of thirds? ). After the heat has died down somewhat, start grilling food that takes a little longer to grill like chops and steaks and meat on the bone. Finally when the heat is even lower, grill food like fruit kebabs that really only need heating through.

Last, but not least, our imaginary chef stabs his food with a barbecue fork to turn it over. During the initially few minutes of grilling, the heat seals the surface of the meat, sealing in the juices. When the meat is stabbed the juices flow out onto the coals, causing the meat to dry out and become tough, and producing a flare up which burns the food. When turning food, always use barbecue tongs.

With a charcoal barbecue controlling the heat is difficult. Instead you need to ensure that you cook your individual items of food at the most appropriate time and that you have separate areas of heat. Use the rule of thirds to provide separate areas of heat. When cooking your food, first grill quick cook food when the coals are at their hottest. Second, cook food that requires cooking at a mid temperature for a longer time. Thirdly, cook food that needs a low hea