Comparing Business Insurance Quotes Online

If you are in business you will need insurance to cover all your activities against loss, damage or liability. However before you buy insurance you will need to obtain business insurance quotes which provide details of the cover offered and the premiums to be paid.

If you were to have a claim your insurance company will insist that you provide them with at least three quotes for repair or replacement, so it makes sense to obtain at least three quotes before committing your business to a particular insurance company or policy.

Fortunately it is now a simple and quick process to obtain quotes from many different sources using the Internet. Some of the many price comparison sites that exist today will offer you in excess of twenty business insurance quotes, and if price is your major consideration, then the choice of policy and provider is as wide as it ever has been.

There are three different types of provider of business insurance online, all which will provide a quote or more.

The first type of provider is a business insurance broker or intermediary with an online presence. These traditional brokers have web enabled their back office systems to allow them to compare quotes from their panel of providers, for the information that you supply about your business, in the online form on their websites. More often than not these systems compare the quotes on your behalf and only provide you with one quote, which is issued on a policy in the name of the brokers. Using a broker to obtain business insurance quotes has the advantage of being able to speak to an expert on the phone, if you have problems with the online quotation system.

Another type of intermediary is the business insurance price comparison website. In the UK this market is dominated by the big three price comparison websites and a number of smaller brokers who have made the leap to online comparison systems.

Obtaining quotes from a price comparison website is a quick and useful method of determining average market prices and cover for your particular line of business. If you are self-employed or a small business with under fifty employees, getting quotes online can be rewarding and save you a lot of time and money, but only if your business type fits the standardised policy wordings.

A good price comparison system will offer a wide range of quote prices and covers for all types of business insurance, however it is worthwhile trying a few of these out, as the suppliers tend to vary with each different site.

Finally it is also worth getting a quote direct from a major business insurance company.They often have special offers available for certain business types that they are trying to attract.

Whichever route you take to get business insurance quotes you will need to provide some basic information to apply online. This will include details of your risk address, your business type or profession, the number of people the business employs, your annual turnover and the value of any business property such and buildings, contents or stock.

Quotes can be obtained online from all sources with various levels of cover for public liability insurance, employers liability insurance, professional indemnity insurance, business property insurance and specialist trade or professional packages offering both liability and building and contents covers.

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Residential Landlord Insurance

If you own a second property that is let for rent you will require what is known as a residential landlords insurance policy. This type of insurance provides coverage for risks that might cause damage or loss to the let property buildings or contents.

A landlords insurance policy is similar to a domestic household policy and offers basic buildings, fixtures and fittings cover with the option to add contents insurance to cover the landlords possessions in furnished let properties.

All policies will include cover against the major perils of fire, flood, storm and theft where contents covers have been included for furnished lets. For an additional premium buildings and contents accidental damage cover can be added.

Covers can also be added for loss of rent and alternative accommodation in the event of a claim for example, for a fire. Most policies will also provide escape of water cover, loss of keys cover and property owners liability cover. Legal protection cover and claims assistance, can usually be added for an additional fee.

Many policies currently offer additional services such as landlords emergency cover which provides twenty-four hour on-site assistance for events such as a broken down central heating boiler or a burst pipe.

In order to get quotes for the let property building, a landlord will need to consider the rebuilding costs which becomes the policy sum insured. It is important that the buildings are insured for the correct rebuilding amount, not the re-sale value of the property. Failure to declare the actual rebuilding value of the let property would mean that any claim would be subject to what is called the 'average clause'. This would reduce the amount of the claim proportionally by the amount of under-insurance.

In the UK the rates, terms and conditions of a landlord insurance policy are governed by the type of let. Risk types include professional lets, DSS and unemployed lets and holiday home lets. Rates are then determined by the type of property which can be anything from a semi-detached house, detached houses, bungalows, cottages, multi tenure buildings, houses of multiple occupation, flats, studio flats, pods and various types of holiday home let.

Specialist buildings such as thatched cottages let for short-term or vacation purposes, long-term lets and grade 1 and 2 listed buildings can also be covered by a residential landlord policy.

Specialist all risks landlord insurance and let property insurance packages are widely available today from a variety of sources, including high street commercial insurance brokers and online from price comparison websites and direct landlord insurance companies.

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Change A Teen Through Unconditional Acceptance

You may have heard of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. In a nutshell, if we are to ever to ascend the summit of our true potential, and live a happy and fulfilling life (self-actualization), we must first provide ourselves the basic needs of, as Maslow puts it, Esteem, Love/belonging, Safety, and Physiological.

One of our most primary needs is ACCEPTANCE. It falls into the "Love/Belonging" and "Esteem" categories.

Acceptance is never more important than during the teen and preteen years - when they are clamoring, ever so awkwardly, toward adulthood and on their way to the summit of self-actualization (their true potential).

Many of us believe the basic need of Acceptance can only be supplied by others. That it is something that comes to us, and something others must provide for us.

"BZZZZZZZZT!" Wrong! Or, in the words of Alex Trebek, "Oooooo... sorry."

One thing I stress to teens as I travel across the country is that if they spend their time expecting other people to make them happy, they'll never be happy.

The same thing is true with Acceptance.

The person who should be the most accepting of you... is you.

Why do you think teens make so many stupid decisions? Even adults for that matter?

When people are hungry for acceptance and seek after validation, they make choices that they wouldn't normally make. They believe that by acting a certain way it will help them to be noticed and accepted by the person or group they're trying to impress.

Why do you think:

kids get involved in gangs there is a bullying epidemic in schools across our nations there are as many as 850,000 teen pregnancies reported each year 20% of teens have seriously considered suicide in the last 12 months 80% of 12th graders and 51.7% of 8th graders use alcohol as their drug of choice 1.3 million students fail to graduate each year

... and on and on.

To help a teen accept themselves, they must feel unconditional acceptance from you.

Giving a teen unconditional acceptance means regardless of what they've done, who they are, what they say, or where they come from, you make them feel understood instead of judged. And that's not always easy. We're human. It's natural to pass judgment.

Don't confuse acceptance with approval.

Accepting a teenager unconditionally doesn't mean you have to accept their reasoning, the premise of what they're saying, their poor behavior or bad attitude, their disrespect, their playing the victim card, or their oft-times poor sense of judgment.

But the simple act of showing them that you accept them for who they are, as a person - their weaknesses, strengths and all - is the first step to helping them build their own self-acceptance. This will lead to their building a more positive self-esteem and self-confidence. It will open the door of a truly meaningful relationship in inspiring and influencing the life of a teen.

Understanding Kids With Bedwetting Problems

Parents have to know more about nocturnal enuresis or adult bedwetting. Simply dismissing it as a natural occurrence may work at times, but parents should also think about other possible causes that would need medical attention and treatment. Some of the cause of bedwetting among children can include stress or constipation. Children with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) may also experience wetting the bed at night. A few children may have sleeping disorders such as sleep apnea and some have problems with infections that may cause the same problem.

Although parents can let their children wear baby diapers, they have to think of other ways of helping them with the problem especially if they are more than three years old. Though it may ease the problem, children may develop negative feelings about their inability to control their bladders that they have to be treated as babies. Parents may have to bring their kids for proper diagnosis if the problem persists longer than expected. They should refrain from punishing or making comments that tend to degrade children and make them feel shame and guilt. The ill effects of this kind of experiences will have lasting effects on their development until they grow up as mature individuals.

It may not be too difficult for parents to explain to their children what really happens during their sleeping time and the reasons why they are not able to wake up when their bladder is full they need this bedwetting alarm. Parents may enlist the cooperation of their kids so that it would easier for them to wake them up during the night to go to the bathroom. It will be a little sacrifice on the part of the parents but they have to help their children lessen the problem without harming their emotional and psychological well-being. Children on the other hand, may learn that they too have a responsibility in keeping themselves dry as much as possible. They may also respond better if parents know how to deal with the problem without getting angry and without showing signs of frustrations and other negative emotions.

Parents can also employ practical means of alleviating the bedwetting problems of their kids. They can put some plastic covering on the beds before putting the top covers so that the mattress would not be soaked in urine in case children accidentally wet their beds. They can also check some alarm systems placed in the underpants that can wake up their kids in case moisture starts to build up while they are sleeping. There are still lots of things that parents can do in order to help their children to stay dry throughout the night. However, they really need to have the patience in helping their children get over their bedwetting problem.

When Can Patients Sue a Hospital for Negligence?

When can you sue the hospital or its employees for negligence?

A hospital can be sued for negligence for mistakes that harm or kill a patient. When an employee of the hospital is guilty of negligence, you can sue the hospital. When a doctor working for a hospital makes a mistake, both the doctor personally and the hospital as a whole can be sued. However, doctors can only be sued if they were present and could have prevented the negligence. You cannot sue every doctor in the Emergency Room or surgical floor, only the one who administered or oversaw your treatment. Hospitals can also be sued when a doctor with a history of negligence and medical mistakes was kept on the payroll, thus enabling them to continue harming patients.

What constitutes neglect?

Neglect occurs when someone does not do their job as a normal and competent professional would. Negligence includes not verifying instructions, not following checklists, failing to assist patients in need and not take immediate action in an emergency. There are greater tolerances for mistakes made in life threatening emergencies than general care situations. Malpractice and negligence can arise from a failure to properly diagnose a condition or injury. Negligence can occur when someone is given the improper treatment or the correct treatment is administered incorrectly. Nurses administering the wrong medication and therapists following the wrong protocols are examples of this.

Failing to risk patients of negative outcomes from a medical treatment or side effects of the treatment is also negligence. Recommending a surgery to cure cataracts that can also leave a patient blind is an example of this concept. To sue for negligence, the risk must be significant enough that the patient might have chosen not to have the procedure or treatment if they had known and must have suffered that negative outcome.

Can you sue medical professionals other than doctors at the hospital?

Yes. Any medical professional affiliated with a hospital can be sued for negligence. This includes nurses, physical therapists, medical technicians and pharmacists. First responders such as paramedics and firefighters have broad protection from medical negligence claims, due to the difficulty of acting during emergencies, unless they are employees of the hospital and provide care at the facility. Good Samaritans are rarely sued for negligence unless their actions are reckless.

What types of damages are available when someone sues a hospital for negligence?

There must be a specific injury as well as actual damage to sue for negligence. You cannot sue a hospital because you were unhappy with the level of service.

Physical pain and suffering Medical bills with other medical facilities or practitioners to treat the condition caused by the hospital's neglect, injuries caused by the hospital or diagnose what the hospital failed to find. Lost income due to the inability to work or lost income of the individual who died Medical bills resulting from additional treatment at the hospital if the patient had received the proper course of treatment. Costs of physical therapy or assisted care while recovering Why the Fear of a Malpractice Lawsuit May Be Causing Malpractice   How The Compensation Claim Process Works   Have You Acquired Hepatitis?   

Medical Malpractice Happens When Foreign Bodies Are Left in a Patient After Surgery

You would think the surgeon operating on a patient would keep track of the sponges. They did not in this case.

This case is the one of the nightmarish ones. You go to a hospital for an operation and someone leaves a foreign body inside the operating site. If you are lucky, they catch it and it is removed. Not that it makes the mistake any easier to swallow when you have to have two operations instead of one and that your doctor messed up big time.

This wrongful death lawsuit was filed after the death of a man who went to hospital experiencing pain, and other symptoms, as a result of acute diverticulitis of the sigmoid portion of his colon. He needed surgery. The hospital was happy to oblige and he had his operation. He subsequently died a few days later, much to the bafflement of the surgeon and hospital staff that had transferred him to another area hospital to treat his declining medical condition. It turned out the surgeon had left a laparotomy pad inside the man. Despite emergency surgery upon finding the pad, intensive care and specialized treatment, the man died.

The lawsuit stated the hospital and the surgeon failed to keep track of their surgical instruments, laparotomy pads, sponges and other devices used in the initial surgery. A medical expert, retained by the plaintiff in this suit, indicated the care the deceased received did not meet the accepted standard expected at the hospital, and expected by other patients in similar circumstances. Clearly, if the surgeon leaves a foreign object behind in someone they operated on, this is a major mistake. That mistake caused this man's death due to abdominal sepsis. It doesn't get any more straightforward than that.

While there are rarely open and shut cases in wrongful death and/or medical malpractice lawsuits, this case comes close. It is obvious that but for the negligence of the surgeon, the man would still be alive today. If you feel you have been the victim of medical malpractice, and lived to tell about it, do not waste any time in contacting a Manchester personal injury lawyer about the case.

If you leave your doubts on the shelf too long, you may face losing the right to file a lawsuit, because you have missed the deadline for filing under the state statute of limitations. Medical malpractice/wrongful death lawsuits are no walk in the park, but some of them are clear enough on the evidence that they will not take as long as they could to settle or come to a resolution. Discuss your situation with a Manchester personal injury lawyer, and find out where you stand.

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The Future of Obamacare After Oral Arguments

When it comes to the future of Obamacare, now that a month has passed since the oral arguments were presented to the Supreme Court, we wait passively, lulled to sleep by the slow process of our judicial system (and this case is being pushed through quickly!) There's a false sense of security when it comes to Obamacare that this is an all or none proposition. Somehow, we have come to think if the SCOTUS decision is unconstitutionality on the individual mandate that the legislation just magically disappears. We tend to forget if the Supremes say "Not Constitutional" there's still the matter of severability, the idea that a portion of the bill can be struck down, while the remainder remains intact. Apparently, reporters at the hearing tweeted that "Kagan indicated if a choice between leaving half-a-loaf and no loaf, half-a-loaf wins." And the Wall Street Journal's Janet Adamy tweeted, " Ginsberg: If they must choose between wrecking operation and salvage job, salvage job is more conservative." The Associated Press reported that "Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Chief Justice John Roberts, and Antonin Scalia were open to the idea that the wide-ranging law contains provisions that can be saved," even if the individual mandate requiring Americans purchase health insurance is struck down.

And then there's the small problem that every day that passes, there's more and more of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act being implemented, slowly and methodically, piece by piece. To simply expect each and every one of those changes to simply be reversed, or done away with, even if the Court said the entire bill is unconstitutional and must go. And, of course, there's the little matter of Congressional repeal required to actually strike down the current legislation, not a "gimmee" by any means.

Within the PPACA there are requirements for health insurance companies to cover everyone at reasonable costs, regardless of any pre-existing or debilitating medical conditions. This falls under the "guaranteed issue and community rating provisions" within the bill. In fact, only Sotomayor questioned the need to keep this provision, and so it's assumed that the Court has already decided if they strike down the individual mandate, they should also do away with the guaranteed issue and community rating provision, as they recognize that this provision is unsustainable, impractical, and will ultimately result in private insurance companies ultimately failing and declaring chapter eleven.

Can we accurately read between the lines? Has the High Court tipped their hand? Do we now get a sense of their voting conscience? Using plain old deductive reasoning, it does appear that the Justices are hinting to us that they may indeed declare the individual mandate unconstitutional. Certainly, if they don't it presents a whole host of new problems for them. What requirement will the government place upon the American people next? But, a vote against the constitutionality of the mandate is now beginning to suggest that the absence of the severability clause is likely going to be overlooked. From the justices initial reactions, it seems they have decided that they can strike down certain portions of the legislation, while leaving the bulk of the law intact.

Of course, if they go about exercising their apparent right to "line-item veto" individual parts of the law, they may end up backing the American people into a corner they aren't anxious to reside. If the individual mandate is struck down, and I do believe the Congress has overstepped its boundaries with this requirement, then how can the law effectively improve the issues we currently have with our health insurance system. If the "45 million" Americans who are uninsured simply choose not to purchase health insurance, as the individual mandate had been removed from the PPACA, then what good is anything else in the bill? And, didn't we initially begin this discussion of health reform back in the 1990's under the Clinton administration. If the main reason to even consider health reform for America in the first place was to assure that all Americans had insurance, and if the requirement to purchase or acquire health insurance is removed, what prevents those citizens within the uninsured pool who have made the conscious decision to not carry health insurance for whatever the reason form now sticking to their previous stance of not having any health insurance. And certainly, the remainder of the PPACA is not so overwhelmingly attractive that this subgroup of the uninsured will now suddenly be unable to live without the government's health plan.

And, basically, I'm only looking at one of the many tenets of Obamacare, and one can see how the "line-item veto" approach to judicial matters, is fraught with its own set of problems. Even though I am completely opposed to the PPACA, for it to have any chance of accomplishing anything positive at all, it must be passed in its entirety, or removed in its entirety. A cafeteria approach to "fixing" this legislation only causes even more chaos and complication. If you asked me, I'd suggest the only real solution is for Congress to repeal the entire PPACA, in spite of any oral arguments taken before the Supreme Court, and then we start over with a reasonable and realistic health reform plan, that maintains its roots in the private sector, as does the Ryan plan. But, I doubt that this is the course of action we'll take, as its way too logical and practical.

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All One Needs To Know About PHP Smarty Development

Website development if done in a systematic way and by integrating all the essential elements is not at all a daunting task. Today, having a website up and running is not enough; it must also be attractive, informative and interactive to appeal the online visitors. In order to create dynamic and feature packed website, developers prefer using PHP over other programming languages. PHP is a server-side scripting language that can easily be embedded within the HTML for website development.

Smarty is a popular template engine for PHP, which further allows division of visual appearance from application logic of a website. PHP Smarty Development helps you to have a website that is highly flexible, dynamic and fast loading. In addition, the websites based on Smarty are search engine optimized, cross-browser and cross-platform compatible.

Website Design The design of website is one of those vital elements that greatly influence the development of any website. Smarty framework is very well-known for its designing features and offers plenty of superb and visually attractive templates. A PHP programmer can customize the Smarty template design such that it truly reflects your business' identity and matches your online branding needs. In case, you have an existing Smarty template design and you are interested in modifying the overall look and feel of your website, you need to hire developers as they can do the same for you.

Website Development PHP Smarty web development offers its users the flexibility of separating the presentation elements from original code, thus making it easier to code, edit and update. Smarty development allows you to look over the tasks such as, HTML code segments generation (tables, pop-ups, drop downs etc), looping over arrays of content, formatting text for e-mail output and displaying content from other templates in-line.

Installation and Configuration Smarty is easy to use and install. Still, it is advisable to hire Smarty programmer to make sure that this wonderful template has been successfully implemented. PHP Smarty offers brilliant features, when it comes to security. Additional functionality can easily be added with help of AJAX and J-query.

Support and Maintenance Smarty based websites are easy to keep up with and hence, you need not to worry about your websites maintenance. Also you will be not required to pay extra amount for maintenance. In addition, it also ensures that your website is up and running smoothly on the web.

In case you want to update the content or change the look of your website or want to add /remove a page then, either you can do it by yourself or can hire Smarty programmer.

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Tips To Improve Coding And Web Development

There are members of the web development industry who spend their days writing code that could be considered a work of art, then there are members who spend their days altering this code to meet their own demands. If you are a developer that falls into the latter category, the following tips might prove to be highly useful in helping you to improve the way that you code:

Don't use developer tools After running into an issue, the first instinct of many in the web development industry is to turn to a developer-related tool (like Firebug or some other extension). You should learn how to debug coding problems without the assistance of these fancy tools, however, as you never know when they are going to become unavailable to you. Write your own framework Whilst doing so will take you a number of long hours (something like a few weeks or even a few months), the lessons that you will learn will make it worth the hassle. Even if you eventually scrap the framework and don't use it on a real project, the fact that you took the time to write it will teach you coding skills you could only dream of. Re-invent the wheel Anyone who works in web development will understand that most projects will require code to be written that has already been written a million times. Instead of copying the code from a past project, try writing it out yourself again. Make changes so that the element will appear slightly different, maybe even better. Don't use a browser Most developers take the approach of coding a few elements and then switching to a browser to see how they look. Why not try something a little different? Try coding the entire web page and then checking it in the browser to see how it looks. This will help you to visualise how the code is meant to look as you go, which is a vital skill. Don't use a code generator Whilst most members of the web development industry are pretty adept at writing their own code, others like to save some time by using generators to achieve this for them. Not only will writing out every single line of code yourself ensure that you understand how it works, it will also minimise the chances of mistakes occurring.

At the end of the day, many who work in the web development industry will look at the above tips and proclaim that the author is crazy; there is no way that anyone can do all of these things all of the time. Whilst it is true that writing out new code for every single project will make the development process run slowly, by using the above tips on smaller or less important projects you will keep your skills in check.

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The Positives and Negatives of Online Auctions

Internet auctions have become increasingly popular over the years for a number of reasons, from their broad geographical reach to their absence of time limits. If you are contemplating moving into this area of selling there are a wide variety of attractive benefits to consider, but also some negative aspects to take account of. Here is an outline of some of both the pros and cons:

Cost-effective

Auctions can be one of the most cost-effective ways of selling goods online. There's a plethora of cost saving measures sellers and auctioneers can take. It is considerably cheaper to organise an online auction than an offline auction event - with an offline auction money needs to be spent on a venue, a professional auctioneer, item storage and various other necessities. There are comparatively few expenses to worry about online... Auctions can also be an excellent way of liquidating old or excess stock. Selling these items by auction tends to bring in significantly higher profit margins than selling them off at a fixed discounted rate. Marketing is another area in which Internet auctions can save on costs. Marketing materials in the offline world can be costly and time-consuming to produce and distribute. Online marketing is relatively cheap, and has numerous other advantages.

High profits

Online auctions are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They can go on for weeks (or even months). This is in contrast to physical auctions, which typically last for no longer than a few hours. This lack of time constraints is a great asset. It means that bidding can carry on for longer and thus lots are likely to sell at a higher price. Bidders find the competitive environment of auctions exciting and exhilarating. This is true of Internet auctions just as it is of auctions in general. This atmosphere can encourage participants to bid for items at significantly higher prices than they would in other situations. It is not surprising that online auctions have often been compared to gambling. As in gambling, participants can become caught up in the excitement of the event and become increasingly reckless with their money. This can lead to prices being driven well above and beyond market value.

Wide reach

Whereas in the offline world auction attendance is limited to those who can manage to physically be present at the event, auctions on the Internet can potentially be accessed by a vast and diverse audience of people from every corner of the globe. Items can be sold to people sellers would never have had access to previously. The larger the number of participants in an auction, the higher the prices that items are likely to sell for. There can also be a larger number of products up for auction. The increased reach of online auctions can allow sellers and auctioneers to create new specialist markets within their sector. Online auctions provide an astonishing degree of access to unusual or niche items that rarely turn up for sale in normal circumstances. For example, in the offline world machinery tools may become available for sale only occasionally and go for a high price when the do come up for sale. There is a wide geographic market for these items online. If marketing is targeted effectively, you can make lucrative sales.

Efficient marketing

Trading online offers the opportunity to market products in an exceptionally efficient and effective way. Data from your website can be used to identify customers' and visitors' buying and viewing habits. This means you can make highly informed decisions based on your customers' interests and tendencies, and target your marketing activities more accurately. Social networking and blogging are very useful tools for anyone with an online business. Social networking can provide a steady stream of contacts and sales leads, as well as allowing you to publicise your auction site in a general way. If you frequently take part in online discussions relevant to the goods you sell you can offer your advice and expertise in the area and encourage people to put their confidence in you as an auctioneer or business partner. Writing a blog can also provide excellent publicity and customer interaction, as well as another route to your site for search engines.

Downsides

However, Internet auctions can also have their downsides...

• All websites are vulnerable to technical glitches. Technical glitches could cost you significant amounts of money, and customers who encounter a glitch when using your site may be permanently put off from buying from you.

• Criminal activities are something else to which e-commerce websites can be susceptible. If customers pay for items through your own site it is important that you scan the server for any potential security risks and comply with PCI DSS requirements.

• It shouldn't be forgotten that there is still a significant number of people (particularly older people) who are not adept at, or not enthusiastic about, using the Internet to buy goods. Basing all commercial activity online may cause companies to lose these customers.

• Online auctions tend to lack the bustling, highly-charged, highly competitive atmosphere of auctions in the real world. This could lead to less competitive bidding and thus lower prices. Online auctions tend to see a dramatic surge in bidding activity towards the end of the auction, rather than sustained competitive bidding throughout the auction.

• Some bidders engage in a practice known as "sniping" - not placing any bids until the very last moment of an auction (when it is impossible for other participants to place competing bids) so as to avoid a bidding war that will drive the price higher. Naturally, this is not very beneficial for sellers and can result in lots selling for well below market value when in a physical auction they would have sold for a higher price.

Overall, the benefits of online auctions tend to outweigh the risks and downsides. However, it is important to research and consider all aspects of online auctioning before making the decision to move into this area of commerce.

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More People Are Now Shopping At Online Auction Sites

Everyone is familiar with the online auction phenomenon. Indeed more and more people are joining every day to make the most of what these websites have to offer. However, there are also several other online auction sites, including new generation auction models running different formats, which are also growing rapidly and becoming ever more popular.

The best place to get a bargain.

There are countless stories of people who have sought out amazing bargains on these various online auction sites. It is often quite possible to buy brand new items at a fraction of their normal price, and good quality second hand items are also changing hands at low prices.

Is this the place to buy more unusual items as well?

Since these bidding websites are used by people of all ages and cultures all over the world, it is easy to see why there is such a comprehensive mix of items that can be bid on or purchased. Whatever you might be looking for, you can be sure there is a chance of finding it on an online auction site somewhere, whether it is one of the larger well known or smaller alternative sites.

Has the economy made online auction sites more popular?

It may well have done. Saving money has become even more important for most people. In many cases you can buy items and even bearing in mind postage costs, you can still get them at greatly reduced prices. It is not always necessary to buy things brand new, and people are more willing to get second hand items especially if it means they can save a lot of cash while doing so.

Auction sites have also kicked off many successful home businesses.

Of course this hasn't only provided people with the opportunity to save money. They have also provided many people with the opportunity to set up profitable businesses in their own right.

There are two ways to do this and reap financial rewards. Many people start by buying second hand items at a discount. Typical examples include job lots of books and toys (sometimes from the auction sites themselves). Then they list the items individually and make a profit on as many of them as possible. Lots of people also find it easy to offload their own unwanted items to make more money. Not only is this a fantastic way of de-cluttering the home, it is also a great way of bringing in more cash.

Other people have gone the extra step and bought wholesale stock to re-sell on these sites, however this method does require an upfront investment to begin with. But it has allowed many people to operate a business from home with little hassle and trouble.

Plenty of reasons to try online auction sites.

As you can see, people use various online auction sites for lots of different reasons. But it all boils down to two things - saving money or making it. In the current financial climate it is no big surprise that online auction sites are becoming ever more popular. If you haven't tried them yet, now may be the best time to do so.

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Girls Softball Drills: Pitching Machines Hinder More Than Help

Attention all girls softball coaches and hitters. This will explain why performing softball drills with pitching machines hinder more than help. Due to pitching machines, most girls softball  hitters never really reach their greatest hitting potential!

Girls softball teams use pitching machines because it is very difficult to throw strikes from a live hand in batting practice. A pitching machine is the tool most used in softball drills for helping hitters practice their swing mechanics. The reality is that the machine alters a players swing and timing more than it helps.

It is commonly known to most, if not all, baseball hitters and coaches, to stay away from pitching machines. Pitching machines do not have the same action that a live hand does when the ball is delivered in either sport. The spitting action that a pitching machine depicts when the ball flies out of it, is deceptive to the hitter. This deception adversely affects the hitter's timing and, ultimately, the hitters' swing.

Although baseball players and coaches know this intuitively, the message has not been made clear to women's fast pitch softball and girls softball. Women and girls softball relies on these machines far too much.  Most girls softball coaches have not figured out the proper way to use the pitching machines for softball drills or how to help players improve their confidence when using a pitching machine.

Softball drills for hitters should always be performed at a slower speed and the human pitcher or pitching  machine should be a good 3 to 5 paces in front of the pitching rubber. This is the only way to improve the confidence of the hitter. The hitter should have every opportunity to know what it feels like to connect with the ball efficiently; this type of set up will give the hitter that opportunity.

Unfortunately, in girls softball, the pitching machine is placed to close to the pitching rubber and the coaches set the speed of the pitch near the speed of what the hitter would see in a game. This does not help the hitter for 2 reasons:

1. The machine "spits" the ball harder when the machine is turned up and causes even more deception. Most hitters have to change the mechanics of their normal swing just to be able to contact the pitch. Because of this, hitters tend to throw their hands at the ball and do not have the time to adjust to the timing of the machine. This can only lead to improper use of their body and hips, not to mention, the hitter is practicing incorrect swing mechanics that will not be used during a game. Over time, continued use of pitching machines in softball drills will train a hitter's muscles to consistently swing the wrong way, even during games. This results in decreased levels of performance as well as confidence.

2. The hitters confidence goes down because most hitters swing and miss or just foul off the majority of the pitches when a machine is improperly placed and the speeds are increased. If you are a believer in achievement through visualization, then you should agree that a hitter who gets continuous images in their head of swinging and missing or bad hits, will not get better, but worse.

The key is to pitch batting practice out of a live hand if at all possible. Just pitching under hand close up with the L-screen at a slow pace will greatly improve the confidence and skills of the hitter. If you have no choice but to use a pitching machine for softball hitting drills, please adhere to the following proper use guidelines.

Proper Use Guidelines for Pitching Machine Drills When using a pitching machine for softball drills, set the machine between 30-40 mph depending on the age of the player. Place the machine 3-5 strides ahead of the pitching rubber. This will simulate the right pace that a hitter needs to see and feel in order to get her rhythm, timing, and swing down.

Proper use of pitching machines will also improve a hitters confidence and enable the coach to instruct much more efficiently. There is no reason why female softball hitters cannot be just as consistent as male baseball hitters. From a training perspective, this is the reason why baseball players experience more success with batting average and slugging percentage than softball players do. Most baseball players practice off live arms and if a tosser is not available, the player, more often than not, knows how to use pitching machines properly.

Girls softball needs the machines because it is hard to throw strikes from a live hand in batting practice. Use them properly and hitting will improve dramatically.

BBSing, Computing and Networking Before the Internet, and Softball in Tampa, Florida

Act I -- Setting The Scene

Computer geeks with baseball bats? Whose crazy idea was that?

Let us drop back in time to roughly 1987. There was no Internet, but we had the BBS scene. Some kind soul would buy a computer, hook it up to a modem running at 300 baud, and publish the phone number. Other folks who owned computers and modems would dial it up and post some stuff. Heavy on text, virtually no graphics.

Note that these aren't Mb or even Kb. These are b. When the BBSes began upgrading from 300 baud to 1200 baud, that was a major event for those of us who could afford 1200 baud modems.

Logging onto a BBS cost the same as a telephone call. Thus, the BBS would get a lot of local calls but not much long distance. CompuServe was the only nationwide service back then, but I was too cheap to use it.

I lived in Tampa, Florida, which had roughly 50 BBSes. For three months, one was mine. I wrote it myself, in BASIC, just to see if I could. Once I was sure it worked, I shut it down because I missed my old Commodore 64.

Yeah, I'm a computer geek. I remember fellow geeks like Steve Cramer, Jack Stevens, Keith Cooper, W.R. Caudle, Jim Moran, Don Johnson, Mark "The Zookeeper" Adams, Tandy Way, Anda Lee, Tom Preedom, P.J. Poyntz, and ET, initials for Eric somebody that started with a T. Plus many others who didn't run BBSes but who were regular users. Scattered BBS weddings and romances, but not many because most of these computer geeks were guys. And geeks.

Act II -- The Softball Tournament

One day, this here geek right here had an inspiration. Here we were, users of roughly 50 BBSes who had never met before, all living in the same city. Let's meet! Let's play softball, BBS vs BBS, and see who's the best.

We wound up with four teams. I coached MIS/Shamrock because nobody else wanted the job. One BBS was called MIS (Medical Information Service), and another was called Shamrock. It took both BBSes to generate a single team. No single BBS had enough users interested in softball to field a team by itself. All four teams were mergers.

The rules were simple. Just show up and play. Our opponent didn't follow the rules. A bunch of macho teenagers who practiced, assigned positions based on ability, and just tried to be quite professional.

My team didn't do that. Send me an email. What position do you want to play? It's yours. Oh, more than one guy at the same position? We'll rotate. I had lots of right fielders, and I was one myself. It's where everyone with no ability wants to play, because the ball never goes over there.

At age 24, I was the youngest guy on the MIS/Shamrock team. Earl was next. A jazz musician at Busch Gardens who turned me onto some great music, the only black man on the team, and just a damn good guy. A Facebook friend before I pulled the plug on Facebook.

I had Ed, from MIS, lined up as pitcher. But then Jim, the Shamrock sysop, showed up unannounced. (Sysop means it was his computer running the place, usually with software he wrote himself.) Jim also wanted to pitch.

Ed was a muscular sucker. Semi-pro softball player, as were some other MIS guys. Jim was a pear-shaped old dude. Ed, the only guy who resented me being coach in the first place, kindly stepped aside. He figured Jim could pitch the first inning and then he'd take over.

Jim struck out the first three batters on the other team. Inning over. What nobody knew was that, back when Jim was a military man, his team was all-European softball champions. And yep, Jim was their pitcher.

"Michael," said Ed, "let Jim keep pitching. I'll play catcher."

Okay. Our turn at bat. I did badly. Somebody or other on my team said, "Choke up on the bat." I HATE those words. I always have. Back in my school days, when I was the most unathletic kid ever, the one chosen after the fat guy, some bozo would tell me to choke up on the bat. I'd rather choke up on the screaming idiot. Anyway, I struck out. Choking up on the bat wouldn't have made any difference.

Next up, some of Ed's teammates from his semipro team. Sysop's kid, and some dude named Vince who I doubt can use a computer even today but who was deadly on a softball field. And Ed himself. Those dudes racked up three runs. I think we scored seven. Hard to remember.

Top of the second inning, Jim struck out three more guys. Bottom of the second, here's Michael again. The problem before, I'd decided, was that regulation-length bat. I went to the back of my old red Pinto and pulled out my secret weapon, a Little League bat. I used it to prop my hatchback open. It was battered and beaten, because little brother Barry had used it when he was an MP and then a cop. It had never seen action in an actual game. He used it one-handed to bust skulls. I used it two-handed in the softball game.

First pitch, wide right, and I didn't care. Wham! The ball flew funny, since I was using a Little League bat in an adult game. And I freakin flew to first base. As a student, I was slow on the sprint. But not today, baby! Age 24, and finally all my moves were coming together. Today a base hit, next week puberty.

Next up, the way I'd lined them up, the three semipro guys. Base hit, base hit, Vince's grand slam over the fence home run.

We would eventually beat this bunch of well-rehearsed teenagers 19 to 3. We quit keeping our own score after inning three of the seven, which is why we only scored 19.

Then a semipro team showed up because they had the field reserved for practice. We played against them and lost 2-1. Not bad for a thrown together bunch of computer geeks, eh?

Act III -- A Good Thing Falls Apart

There were some issues on the MIS/Shamrock team. Someone from MIS accused our pitcher of being a ringer. He was not. He ran Shamrock. If there were any ringers, it was Ed's buddy Vince.

Ed also thought I should yank The Punisher out of right field. The Punisher was 6'9" and big-boned. And stocky. And, let's just come right out with it, fat. And slow. And he let a ball or two get away. But when Ed questioned me as coach, I decided to leave The Punisher in all game. The Punisher tired easily, but I didn't care. Jim was pitching. There wasn't much else for the rest of us to do, except hit the ball and score more points than Peyton Manning.

Ed also asked, "Who invited the nigger?" That would be Earl, my mate, and very much a BBSer. Damn right I invited him. Strike three against Ed.

Finally, Ed had the audacity to claim that MIS won the game, not Shamrock. Pitcher Jim, The Punisher, Earl, and I all came from Shamrock. Plus, Ed resented that I was the coach of this misfit bunch. So that would be strike four.

The best-ever team in Tampa BBS history split itself in two. Another day, another contest.

The MIS team was full of youngish macho hunks. Shamrock, aside from Earl and myself, boasted the over-40 crowd. Both teams had picked up a few players from the team we vanquished, since they also used Shamrock and MIS anyway. I coached against embittered Ed, and I let him keep ringer Vince.

I got a base hit every time, but I was just a minor player in this drama. I stayed in right field on defense. And I coached, even though I'm a football junkie. I don't remember the final score, but I know we kicked some he-man butt that day. I suspect that when the game was over, and everyone had gone home, Ed broke down and cried.

Network Security - I Have a Firewall, So I Am Safe From Hackers, Right?

Wrong. How many high profile organisations have been hacked in recent months? We are talking about Government, DoD, Security Companies, Sony! You can bet your cotton socks that these guys have more than one Firewall protecting their network(s) plus a whole load more protective controls.

So, if they have so much Security, how on Earth were they hacked - what was the weak link? Human Beings, a wireless Printer, Surveillance Bugs?

Well frankly it could be any number of things. A Human can be tricked into providing restricted information such as their user credentials. A printer might be running an old version of firmware susceptible to man in the middle attacks or a bug could be planted in the IT Room to eavesdrop on useful information.

The point here is that placing a Firewall on your Network or installing a Laser Beam Alarm Systems in the building is not enough. You need to put yourself in the shoes of a Hacker and think the way they do. Why break into a building at night when they can walk into to the building during the day and impersonate an employee? Why hack the firewall when they can plant a USB stick on the floor for an employee to pick up and connect to their PC punching a hole straight through the firewall?

What do we have to do in order to protect ourselves from these attacks? Well, I would start by having a carefully thought out Security Policy. Sounds a bit tame doesn't it? Well its the equivalent of a having a plan. Do you think the USA ever went into a War without a plan - actually don't answer that! Having a well thought out plan makes your life so much easier by providing you the path that you need to follow rather than trying to feel your way through. An Employee education programme would be a good place to start. It may include guidelines like:

'NEVER provide your User Credentials to ANYONE'. All seems quite obvious but you'd be amazed at how easy it is to pose as an IT Support member and blag a password out of someone. Another one might be to forbid the use of unauthorised external media such as USB Sticks. A quarterly staff or departmental presentation to educate staff on Security and explain why these controls are being put in place - Believe it or not it helps for the staff to know why they have been asked to act in a certain way.

Read more in Part 2 of this document so keep a look out!

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An Explanation of CISPA for Small Businesses

Recently, the House of Representatives passed CISPA, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act. With the SOPA debate that occurred earlier this year, not to mention its sister PIPA and several other lesser-known initiatives, 2012 seems rife with technology legislation for small business owners to wade through.

Although some are comparing SOPA and CISPA, there is little similarity. While SOPA was an attempt to prevent copyright infringements on the internet, CISPA is trying to reduce cyberattacks through data sharing. The bill allows private companies to share data about potential cyberattacks; this data can be shared with other companies or with the federal government.

SOPA was almost universally rejected in the tech world (in some cases quite vehemently). CISPA, on the other hand, has garnered more support. Microsoft and Facebook (at least as of this writing) have both expressed open support of the bill. Companies in support of CISPA maintain that the legal right to share data will help them better defend their networks against cyberterrorism. Even tech giant Google has declined to take a formal position on the bill, thus giving it tacit support, according to some. The only major player in the technology space that openly opposes CISPA is Mozilla, the creator of the popular Firefox web browser.

Why does Mozilla stand as one of the lone opponents to CISPA? One word: privacy. Mozilla sent a statement to Forbes summarizing its official viewpoint: "The bill infringes on our privacy, includes vague definitions of cybersecurity, and grants immunities to companies and government that are too broad around information misuse."

CISPA's effect (if it passes the Senate in its current form) will probably be felt mostly by individuals. Of course, anything that affects individuals will affect the small businesses run by those individuals. Do you use Salesforce for customer relationship management? Your data could be shared with other companies if it's deemed useful to investigations of cyberattacks. Even your email could be subject to this, unless it is hosted on a server you own and not in the cloud.

Both opponents and supporters of CISPA agree that we need to continue the fight against cyberattacks. Many entities-especially non-profit privacy advocate groups-see CISPA as a step too far, infringing the basic rights of American citizens. Others, like tech companies that stand to lose the most from hacking and other cyberattacks, see CISPA as a step in the right direction. Interestingly, the White House has threatened to veto the bill, should it reach the President's desk in its current form. Where do you stand on this issue?

Protect Your Privacy With Reputation Management   Top 5 Reasons to Check Website Security   Why Ignoring IDS Could Lead to Substantial Damage for Businesses   

When Does a Money-Making Endeavor Become a Business?

People who run small side businesses from their homes often downplay their need for commercial insurance products because of the limited revenues their businesses bring in. The size of your profit does not necessarily represent the size of your risk exposure though. In fact, it's those small businesses with the lowest revenues and limited resources to pay out-of-pocket for damages that may most benefit from the protection afforded by commercial insurance policies.

Liabilities Know No Limits

One of the biggest concerns for any business owner is their exposure to bodily injury and personal property liabilities. For example let's say you own an Etsy shop from which you sell small homemade items such as pillows. Through this shop you sell a few handmade pillows each month to people all over the country. In all you profit about $3000 per year. It's not a lot, but it definitely helps out and is extremely rewarding.

Now, let's say that some of your pillow designs include embellishments such as buttons. One of your handmade, button-covered pillows is sold to a family with a small child and, after receiving the pillow and displaying it proudly on their sofa, the family's toddler pries a particularly loose button off the pillow and swallows it. Next comes a frantic 911 call, an ambulance ride, emergency room treatment, and a month's worth of follow-up doctor visits. The parents of the injured toddler don't care that your business only brings in $250 a month. They care that they have high medical bills due to what they see as improper construction of the pillow and they decide to sue you.

The costs of defending yourself in court and paying any subsequent claims that the court demands will be impossible to cover with your existing pillow sales. Not only that, but you may lose future sales because the parents of the injured infant can spread the word online about what they see as a design flaw in your pillow and the stress of dealing with the court case and the claim may leave you so exhausted you don't have the energy to make pillows or fulfill existing customer orders.

There are various types of coverage including product liability and commercial liability that could, if you had them, help you handle all of these expenses. The only cost is a small monthly premium that still allows you to turn a profit on your pillow-making business.

The Dangers of Working from Home

Many small and micro business owners who operate their companies out of their homes assume that their home insurance policy will cover any commercial liabilities or damages to their business property. Unfortunately, operating a business out of your home without notifying your home insurance company can result in a rescinded policy, not happily covered claims. Instead you must either secure a separate policy for your commercial property and liabilities or talk to your home insurance company about adding an endorsement for commercial contents coverage.

It's Not about Giving Up, It's about Being Prepared

If you are a small or micro business owner looking for simplicity in your home business, the example above may make you cringe and give up on your dreams of business ownership all together. But really it shouldn't. Insurance gives all business owners the underlying protection they need to confidently go after the realization of their dreams. The knowledge that you need insurance, no matter how small your business is, should encourage you because it is a solution to an exposure problem.

The lines of commercial insurance coverage that you need may vary depending on the type of business you operate. In our example, in which a business sells tangible goods online, there are different liability and property insurance coverages that should be explored. Other small businesses such as those conducting social media for companies could benefit from cyber risk liability insurance, equipment breakdown insurance and property insurance to cover catastrophes that damage their computer equipment and furniture. There is no single policy that is right for every business. You must work with an insurance agent who can help you find all of the individual risks faced by your type of business and the way you operate it, and then cover it from there.

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Tradesman Tools And Equipment Risks And Insurance Cover

Tools and equipment insurance for tradesmen provides continuity cover for small businesses in as much as it replaces lost or damaged items and allows trade to continue. This type of cover is rarely sold as a standalone product but is often attached to a standard combined tradesman liability package as an optional extra.

Every type of tradesman will have a collection of tools that are unique to their trade, whether it be a set of paintbrushes for a painter and decorator, a mobile phone and a laptop for a real estate agent or a high-powered vacuum cleaner for an industrial office cleaning contractor.

Without these tools a tradesman cannot perform their trade and the cost of replacing all the essential working equipment in one go, due to a loss, could cripple a small businessman who has built up a set of unique tools over the years. All tools are at risk of theft, loss or accidental material damage, some more than others dependent upon the trade type.

By the very nature of their work, tradesman in the course of their daily business activities are required to travel to various clients premises. The risk of loss or damage to their tools is highly dependent upon the type of working environment that the tradesman finds themselves in and also the desirability and value of the tools they use. Insurance companies take these 'risk exposure' considerations into account when calculating premium rates for each different type of trade.

For example, the risk of loss of an expensive electric hand-held woodworking drill is far less if a carpenter or joiner is working in a private domestic premises as opposed to on a large building or construction site. On a building site there will be less security and many different people and workers coming and going with an opportunity to steal tools and equipment. Tradesman need to be extra vigilant for theft and most policies will exclude claims for the loss of tools left lying around, unsecured in the open.

A standard tools insurance policy will cover loss of or damage to hand tools and hand-held portable tools owned or hired in by the insured or any person working manually in the business. Most tools insurance policies today will provide cover for mobile phones, notebooks and other electronic gadgets used in running a business.

Typical exclusions to cover are theft from unattended motor vehicles, loss or damage whilst lent or hired out, loss or damage from wear and tear, rust, breakdown, cleaning, repair or restoration. Many comprehensive tradesman insurance policies and packages will cover theft of equipment from unattended vehicles under a goods in transit section, however there usually has to be forcible or violent entry for a claim to be considered.

The level of indemnity cover required by a tradesman should be adequate to replace the tools and equipment as new, allowing for a reduction for wear and tear or depreciation. Often polices will limit coverage to a fixed amount per single item of equipment. Tradesman should also be aware when purchasing cover that excesses are applied per claim. In some cases where there is not a total loss, the excess amount when deducted from the indemnified amount, could exceed the value of the items lost.

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