Car Hire - What Not To Do

This is my experience in hiring a rent a car and this is what not to do. My misadventure happened in the late 1980s. I wanted to visit some friends several hundred miles away. At the time I lived in a small town in the country. I didn't own a car and there was no direct convenient bus or train service to where my friends lived. I decided to take the bus, then rent a car, at the nearest place available.

I traveled to the town where the car hire or rent a car place was located. By the time I arrived at their business to rent the car, the sun had set and it was dark. I went in to the business, to enquire about renting a car. The owner had one ready to go. It was a compact blue station wagon. Being dark outside I couldn't see the car too well, but it seemed ok, so we went back to the office to do the paperwork. The car hire form had details about the car, how long I expected to rent the car for, and the insurance coverage choices, so the business owner filled out all that. I was sure that I chose to have the car and myself covered in full by insurance. I thought the insurance box was checked, as covered. He took an imprint of my credit card to pay for the car hire and that was it. He gave me the car keys, and I drove away.

I had a long way to drive in the dark. My route took me through rugged mountainous rural country side, to a large lake, where there was a ferry crossing.

At night when you're driving in a rural mountainous area always be on the lookout for deer, moose and other animals roaming along the road side. You want to see their little shining eyes, so you can slow down and be ready to swerve to avoid hitting them. Sometimes deer become alarmed by the noise and headlights of the car approaching and they want to dash across the highway in front of you. You want to be ready to slam on the breaks, so as not to damage the hired car you're traveling in.

Another good idea, especially if you are driving at night, is to take a highway map of the area you are traveling through. Then you can mark off where you are and the places to turn ahead, so you don't make a wrong turn, like I did.

I made a wrong turn some where along the way. Instead of taking the direct route to my destination, I ended up taking an indirect route. It was dark and snowy, and I realized that the road and country side, didn't look like where I should be. I kept driving and a sign appeared with the next town ahead and how far to go to get there. Then I realized, it was just a slight detour or side trip for me. I felt a lot better when arriving at the next town, and knew which direction to go. The remainder of my trip went well and I arrived safely at my destination.

I had a good weekend with my friends, catching up, going out to dinner.

The return trip was more interesting because it was day time. I could enjoy the beautiful country side. Every thing went well to begin with. I arrived at the last town before the lake ferry and I thought it might be a good idea to put gasoline in the car, at that point, since it was a long distance to the next town with a gas station.

I checked the time, and it looked like there was just enough time to reach the ferry by driving a little faster than usual. That was a mistake. Give yourself more than enough time when using a car you've hired. So again I'm driving over mountainous rural terrain at the edge of a lake rushing to catch the ferry. I'm watching the scenery and my watch, making calculations of where it is I should be, and how long left to drive to catch the ferry. It looks like I need to go faster, so I do. I step on it. I'm hoping to cut my time of travel down to just arrive before the ferry leaves.

This is definitely not the thing to do when driving a rented car, especially in a rural area where there are birds around. As I am speeding down a hill a rather large dark coloured bird darts in front of the car. This is a big bird, about the size of a chicken. At the high speed I am traveling at I hit the bird. There was a sickening popping sound as the car and bird collided. The feathers and bird flew up and to the side of the car. I keep going and get to the ferry on time. I drive on the ferry and park. Getting out to inspect the car grill, I get a shock. There was a large hole in the plastic car grill. Broken pieces of plastic and feathers showed what had happened. So now I'm sick about the damage.

I continue on my way to return the car to the rental company. When I arrive at the car rental place I have to tell the owner about the bird collision. He's not too impressed. We look at the rental form where the insurance section is not checked as covering the damage. The owner wants several hundred dollars and that charge goes on my credit card too. So don't do what I did.

Go to a major name car rental company. Be absolutely sure of your insurance coverage details. Check that you are covered for all damage. Know what the insurance deductible amount is. That is the amount that you will need to pay, before the insurance pays the balance of any damage. Read the form over carefully a couple of times before you sign it. Be a careful driver, and take your time. Have a great trip in the car you hire.


Car Rental Port Macquarie Airport

Port Macquarie Airport Car Hire

The Xbox 360 –a gamer’s dream machine

The Xbox360 is a video game console that is visionary. It competes with the Sony Play Station 3 and Nintendo Revolution. A gamers’ dream machine, the Xbox 360 is sold in two versions a premium edition that has a hard drive, a wireless controller, headset, Ethernet cable, a HD AV cable, and an Xbox live silver subscription and a core system.

Powerful and futuristic the Xbox360 includes HD gaming, perfect sound, and sensational graphics. The system offers high-end gaming with several exciting possibilities. It revolutionizes video game consoles and is, in actuality, a computer dedicated to gaming. It is not just a gaming machine it is a media center that allows you to play games, network with other gamers around 360 of them, rip, stream, and download high definition movies, music, digital pictures, games, music, and play DVDs and CDs. It is what makes dreams into realities.

The Xbox360 has around 18 titles in the US including games like Call of Duty 2, Dead or Alive 4, Every Party, FIFA 06, NBA live, Kameo, Perfect Dark Zero, and Project Gotham Racing 3. Technically, it has advanced graphics and a 115 GFLOPS theoretical peak performance. All games support a six channel Dolby Digital Sound with no voice echo.

Apart from video and DVD playing the X box 360 live market place allows the user to connect to Xbox live even if offline. Users can view messages and game invites sent by other Xbox live members. The live market place allows download of avatars, trailers, as well as game demos.

With the Xbox360 a person can view a complete record of games played, play games downloaded from marketplace, play game demos, watch movie as well as game trailers, listen to music customized for the user, view pictures as well as videos stored on a camera or any other portable device, and activate the media center extender.

The Xbox 360 has backward compatibility and so, users can play games originally developed for the earlier versions of the box. Wireless connectivity and wireless controllers offer great freedom and connectivity at large distances. And, you can download and play arcade style games using the Xbox Live Arcade. Game demos and trailers are offered free but full versions of games have to be purchased using Xbox Live Marketplace using Microsoft points which can be bought through Live or via game cards sold retail.

Technically a few small glitches have been reported. There is what is known as the Xbox360 screen or death which is an error screen. This stops the console and the user is requested to contact technical support. Another problem is that of the Xbox 360 freezing due to overheating. To solve this, users are requested to ensure proper airflow and a cooler environment. If the Xbox is moved from its vertical to its horizontal position while reading a disc, the movement causes the pickup assembly to brush against the disc resulting in radial scratches. Often the Xbox displays red lights instead of a green ring of light to indicate errors.

The X box360 transforms gaming experience into something futuristic and exciting.

Buy an Xbox 360 for that special child for Christmas.

Children And Divorce

A recent statistic shows that almost half of all marriages end in divorce. Divorce is difficult for everyone involved, but maybe the hardest on children. Most often they experience many feelings that they do not understand. They go through a range of emotions and need their parents to understand. If you are going through a divorce getting to understand how your children are dealing with it is important.

When parents divorce they often put their children in the center of arguments and a game of emotional tug of war. To avoid this sort of thing parents need to work together. Even though their marriage is over they are still parents together. The child needs to understand many things about the divorce. Parents need to keep in touch with their children and understand the many feelings they may be having. Older children, especially, can go through periods where they act out as a way to cope with the divorce. Many times children feel the divorce is their fault. They may worry about the future and how to deal with other events, like parent’s day at school. Both parents need to show the children that they can work together and not fight. At the same time it is important to let the children know that you are not getting back together. Establishing some sort of family structure is a necessity to help children get back to “normal”.

Children will react different depending on their age. The following list explains a little about each age group and how they react to divorce.

Age 3-5: Regression to a more infantile state, problems sleeping, fear of separation

Age 6-8: Fantasies of parents getting back together, open emotions

Age 8-11: Anger, treat one parent as good the other as bad, take a caregiver role

Age 12-18: Depression, violent actions, judgmental of parents, develop anxiety about own relationships

Learning to help your children cope through divorce is possible the most important step in the divorce process. Children have no choice in the matter and may feel completely left out if their feelings are not recognized.


Learn where to get authoritative information on how to win child custody court cases.

Finding Unique Baby Gifts

A baby shower is an occasion for parents-to-be to receive useful gifts for their new baby. Often, this is in the form of the basics for the first year, such as bodysuits, baby t-shirts, blankets, diapers, and stimulation toys like black, white, and red mobiles. But in some cases, especially if these parents are having their second or third child, you, as a guest, might need to get creative, as these parents are probably equipped with hand-me-downs and have seen one-too-many diaper cakes and bodysuit sets. Some might suggest furniture as a unique baby gift, but here are some suggestions for arriving with a unique baby gift without spending a large amount of money.

Clothing is one of the first things people think to get for a baby gift, especially as parents will need as many pairs of baby basics for the first year as possible. While a basic baby gift is getting a pack of bodysuits in blue or pink for the respective sex, this notion of pink-for-girls and blue-for-boys can be shaken up a bit, especially as other colors exist on the market. Why not find sets of bodysuits in red, yellow, or green for either sex or find something patterned that doesn't use either blue or pink? Aside from bodysuits, babies often need socks, and a set of a half-dozen socks goes a long way for parents. Keep in mind that a baby grows fast and sizing ranges from under six months to six to twelve months.

Baby toys are another common baby gift, but instead of a mobile, many other baby toys - both fun and educational - can be found through various baby retailers. As stimulation toys are all the rage for parents, pick out other developmental toys, such as a soft stuffed toy with various textures and sounds. Not all stuffed toys are designed with black, white, and red in mind, so a stimulation toy not in these colors is a change of pace for the parents and the baby. Aside from actual toys, books are another option. Instead of Goodnight Moon, which the parents probably have already, look for an interactive book. Some books designed with babies in mind even have different textures on the page, which the child can touch as the parent reads.

Many options for baby gifts can be found through baby and gift retailers. Instead of arriving with a basic gift, add some variety to the selection of baby gifts the parents will receive with your unique present.

For the best unique baby gifts, visit Simply Unique Baby Gifts where you will find a large selection of baby gift baskets free shipping for boy, girls, unisex and twins.

Appropriate Gifts For A Baby Shower

Celebrating the upcoming birth of a child by arranging a baby shower has become more and more popular. What better way to celebrate the arrival of a new little person to the world, than to have a nice little party for close friends and family.

It is customary to bring the new parents and their baby some gifts on this joyous occasion, and in this article we will look at some appropriate the gifts that will prove truly useful.

When buying gifts for a child, toys are usually the first thing that springs to mind. However, there are also many other items that are suitable. Also, remember that baby shower gifts need not only be for the baby. It is equally thoughtful to get something for the parents to be.

Buying toys

If you have decided to purchase a toy, or at least something playful, consider buying something that is educational and will boost the baby's brainpower. There is a rich selection of classic baby books and educational cd's and DVD's to choose from. For example, the Brainy Baby and Baby Einstein DVDs are highly recommended. And a visit to the local bookstore will surely provide you with many great alternatives. You may even find that some of the favourites from your own childhood are still available in reprinted edition, as well as books from many new authors. Choose books with many bright and bold pictures in them.

As for actual toys, there are many entertaining alternatives available. If you find something you like, you can certainly buy a toy for older babies that the baby can use when it grows a bit older. But just to be safe, stick to the toys for kids aged 3 and under.

Practical gifts for baby and parents

Some people are under the impression that a gift can't be something "useful and boring". However, while something like disposable diapers may not be the most fancy gift to give for a baby shower, it would definitely be a most thoughtful gift and most appreciated.

Diapers are expensive and babies will use them up very quickly. The new parents will appreciate them. Even those parents who opt to use cloth diapers may also find disposable diapers useful when travelling. A tip when buying diapers, pick the larger size ones instead of newborn diapers. After all, babies nowadays grow very fast and the newborn-size diapers may not be useful for very long. And while you are at it, why not thrown in some baby wipes as well.

Since hygiene is so important for little infants, a nice selection of baby bathroom essentials would also make a very thoughtful present. This does not have to be "boring" at all, as there are many things like cute baby puppets that may also double as scrubbing tools, or bubble bath with a soothing lavender scent will make bath time an entertaining experience for both the baby and parents. A hooded towel and some sweet smelling baby cologne or lotion is also suitable bath time goodies gifts.

Other usable items are pacifiers and bottles. However you should be aware that some babies prefer to use only a particular brand or shape for these items. If the parents-to-be have specified in the baby registry a brand or shape of bottles, nipples, and pacifiers, these items may be a safe choice for a baby shower gift. Otherwise, just steer clear from these baby items.

Finally, clothes is something that every baby needs - and will grow out of quickly. For this reason it may be a good idea to choose somewhat larger sizes than newborn sizes. Knowing the season the baby will arrive, and if at all possible the baby's gender, is also most helpful in choosing the clothes that will be just right.

If you, in spite of all these ideas and suggestions, can't come up with anything that you think would make an appropriate gift, a last resort could be to simply give the new parents a gift certificate for buying what they want themselves.

Overall, it is also a good idea to speak with some of the other guests of the baby shower well before the event takes place. You wouldn't want EVERYONE to bring disposable diapers, would you?


Simply Unique Baby Gifts

Seven Tips for Marketing Yourself

Here's our crash course in the art of selling yourself, with seven tips to help you cope with the real estate market's new realities.

Assess Your Soft Skills

In 2004, two years of experience as an agent might have gotten you hired. No longer -- not when you are competing against hundreds of candidates with skills similar to yours. Candidates must now assess their soft skills. "This is about doing a little bit of soul-searching," Wilson says.

Ron Peterson, branch manager at a St. Louis office suggests agents ask themselves about core competencies, especially mentoring and team-building. "Intangibles are going to sell this individual," Peterson notes.

Develop an Elevator Pitch

The elevator pitch is a brief self-marketing statement to be delivered at job fairs, conferences or other networking events. The pitch should echo the summary of a resume, according to Wilson, focusing on four key points designed to attract employers' attention. The pitch should sound informal and unrehearsed. To practice, deliver it to your answering voice mail, Wilson advises.

Learn to Network

As any salesperson understands, who you know is essential to finding leads. Networking is about being able to connect from person to person to person, Wilson says. "It's about building a web of relationships, until you meet someone who's looking for what you do," he adds.

That means attending conferences, classes, broker open houses, realtor organization functions, and special networking events designed for real estate pros. Even civic organizations, such as arts groups and other nonprofits, can be useful. Plan lunches or after-work meetings with former colleagues and others.

"Try to be out there and make an effort to be known," says Wesley Jost, who has retooled his networking efforts after being laid off. "If you sit around and wait for something to happen, you're going to be disappointed."

Seek a Support Structure

In order to learn, or relearn, networking and interviewing skills, look to organizations offering workshops or classes, such as NOVA, a one-stop career-development organization.

Know Your Audience

Selling yourself effectively means learning everything you can about a company, from the time you write a cover letter to interview day. To get an inside track, you "need to have researched the prospect, be able to speak intelligently about them, and offer a skill set to solve their problems," says Barry Mills, national recruiting director for MATRIX Resources, a national staffing company.

Be a Closer

Mills suggests people use a traditional sales tactic for closing the sale. At the end of an interview, ask the interviewer, "Based on this interview, is there anything that would keep you from hiring me for this position?" As Mills notes, "It's very much a sales-type question." What's more, send a follow-up note to the individuals you've met at the company, thanking them for their time.

Practice Patience

Finally, don't be discouraged if landing that client takes weeks or months. "Practice patience each and every day," says Jost. "You won't be handed opportunities like you were a year ago." Put it this way: If you stop looking, you're out of the game. As any salesperson knows, perseverance is essential to closing the sale.

Good luck,

Read more content marketing tips to attract and keep customers in your B2B company.

Hacking the Body Via PDA Wireless Device

First I would like to stress I am condoning the art of hacking. Nor am I condoning the control and manipulation of the human race by way of frequencies interacting with the biological systems, which run the human body. We all know that the brain runs on chemicals and waves. We know from medicines, vitamins, alcohol, drugs and food intake that we can alter those chemicals. And most of us understand that brain waves are about allow for the process of cognition. The computers we use also run on frequencies which are use to hearing about for instance Pentium Chips running 1.2 GigaHertz. Cell phones run 800 MHz approximately. Also the power supply in a computer runs on a certain cycle creating another set of waves.

You can also put a thought into someone’s mind through the waves and frequencies at this level with a little fine-tuning. Meaning you could communicate without speech. And this has uses in Space travel, Under Water Exploration and even in special teams, which need quietness to fulfill mission.

Now when someone is carrying a personal electronic device there are ways to get to these frequencies. One way is to find the difference between the two components of the device, for instance the motherboard and the CPU, and get that device to one of the numbers near or around 5-50 Hz or 8 KHz. This can be done by sending information or energy to the device from somewhere else. This can be done by first pinpointing the device by GPS or other line of sight means and then sending pulses to the device, which will boost or lower the devices output or by sending a signal to the device under normal conditions that the device uses to operate. Microwave, Terabeam, Sound, laser, etc. may all be used for such. Now then once you spike one of the components of the device close to the other components range and get the difference within the range of the human bodily functions frequencies you can then introduce the desired result. For instance put the person to sleep slowly by lowering the difference between the waves of the device. You could increase it causing anxiety and possible even introduce information into the brain. For instance, you could contact the brain and auditory function and say “Run” or “This is Allah, killing Americans is wrong, put down your weapon and return to your family and be a good father and knock it off.”

We already know that wireless devices can be easily hacked into as we have been reading. For instance the new WiFi freedom also has associated flaws and potential risks. You might want to Google these companies also on the subject: Airdefense, Atheros, LXE, and Airmagnet.

HIPPA issues medical data could be at risk without scrutiny since Hospitals and First Responders must rely on mobile devices to help save lives and remain efficient in those times of critical need. The medical industry is certainly discussing the HIPPA issues with wireless mobility. How can they have the information rapidly available and also maintain complete privacy when the information goes over the airwaves?

As speed increases and add ons occur security issues need to be continually reviewed and upgraded procedures. Blackberry is concerned and diligently working on the problems. Other Wireless Security Issues Include some below and this is just the beginning really, after all we cannot even get rid of SPAM.

While tapping information from normal citizens you can see the problems. Then the people in the know will export the hacking technology and then the same companies working in defense will have these people employed there, then those people will teach others who are our potential enemies and then we are in trouble.

As this technology becomes more advanced it is quite possible to read people’s minds, enter thoughts into their heads, put them to sleep, increase heart rates to non-possible levels, cause anxiety or disrupt nerve impulses and mobility. All by using their on board PDA, Cell Phone or other electronic device. It is even possible now to send information this way using the skull and jawbone as an antenna and the vibrations are picked up by the inner ear.

The PDA wireless device or cell phone is merely an amplifier and since it has it’s own power source maybe used in such a way as these companies are discovering and consumers seem to be happy to use. By reducing the amount of energy in the device itself batteries will last longer since lower volumes will be needed. The energy could come from the sender entirely, therefore batteries draining are no longer an issue. If people have RFID implants they could hook themselves up to a machine at night running on 8Hz which could super charge their immune system along with a once per week tablet of super vitamin C with is said to be 100 times more potent than the Vitamin C Fred Flintstone Chewables our kids take. Having a pace making device to steady one’s system while performing extraordinary tasks could be good for adrenaline burn on nerves, NASCAR drivers, Apache Attack Helicopter Pilots, Astronauts, etc. by stabilizing the body and allowing the mind to focus on the event in a clear headed way.

If an enemy set of troops has implanted RFID tags we could stimulate the bodily functions by way of external impulse waves and help them change their minds to fight. Therefore Blue and Red Force tracking issues would be in our favor even if they had identical systems which were bought by pirated software from the DOD by a rogue nation. We could disable and over power implanted devices and therefore they would show up as another color, the enemy would see it’s “Blue-friendly” turn to “Red Bad-guy” and thus not know who is who and kill their own men or be so confused that they stopped giving orders of what to shoot at and in the confusion and hesitation you have the time on your side and all options meaning, a decisive victory is in sort order of said battle.

It may appear to be rather a difficult task to take control of a body, but really it is not since the body is merely an organic robot and it works on a set of principles. You only have to change those few things. When we recently discussed the use of Long-range wireless tasers for crowd control we could see what we are technologically advancing in this regard. We know that we can stop human armies by way of bullets, explosion, harmonics, microwaves. We can blind them, nuke them, sterilize them and even make them fall down and cry.

But using this methodology of using portable devices on that person, we could essentially control them by phone lines half way around the world. Once access is giving or even overwhelmed by electronic power you would have control of that person’s thoughts, central nervous system and heart rate. An interesting concept in that a doctor could have a patient on the phone and stabilize their blood pressure, heart rate or even put in settings for super healing while they sleep. Or in the case of conflict you could bring an army to it’s knees and completely immobilize it, put the rank and file into deep sleep, end the natural lives of those participating trying to kill you or make them think twice about what they were doing. This is not science fiction we are nearly here, we need to stay "Heads UP" on these issues.

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