The Crocodile Cage

Prefinished vs. Unfinished Wood

Dan — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 16:03:49 +0000

When deciding to install a wood floor in your home, many things need to be taken into consideration. The first is, of course, your budget. Second should be if you want to tackle this project yourself (and perhaps save a bit of money) or hire a professional. Lastly, you need to decide if you want the wood prefinished or unfinished. ‘What’s the real difference?’ you ask yourself. Below is a description of each type of flooring along with a list of pros and cons to both prefinished and unfinished hardwood floors.

Prefinished flooring is a product that has been manufactured to be ready for installation with no further set-up required. The floor has been engineered with pieces of wood glued and pressed together then cut into strips. The sanding, varnishing, staining and coating has all been done before it is shipped to the retailer. Simply open and install.

Unfinished hardwood flooring is quite different. Usually, this is a solid piece of wood (such as plank flooring) that has not been glued or pressed together, hence the name “solid”. This strip of wood is in its natural state; no stains, varnish or coatings have been applied. This will all be done “on-site” which is another term for “inside your home”. Unfinished flooring is also available in grades (which the pre finished is not) allowing your more freedom to select the clarity of your wood floor and the appearance.

List of Pros and Cons:

Prefinished	Unfinished
Easy/quick installation	Installation time 1-2 weeks
No sanding or varnishing	On site sanding & varnishing
Less expensive	More expensive
Engineered style (pressed wood)	Solid wood strips
Visible bumps from subfloor	No visible bumps
Beveled edging	Perfectly smooth “tabletop”
Difficulty fixing repairs (unable to sand down)	Easy to fix repairs (sanding)
Limited flooring choices	Unlimited options

There are several more pros and cons to each type of hardwood floor, these are the most important.

When determining your budget, the prefinished flooring is the best immediate choice due to the quick installation, the ability to utilize your floor as soon as it’s installed and the lower cost. However, depending on your situation, whether you plan to live on this floor for the next 20 years or move, the repairs on a prefinished floor are more costly than an unfinished floor. Prefinished can’t be sanded down and stained to match the color perfectly, where the unfinished floor is one solid piece that can easily be sanded down a few layers and stained to make the flaw disappear completely. Short term savings with prefinished do not factor long term maintenance costs.

Hiring a professional to install either unfinished or prefinished floors will be costly, yet unfinished flooring requires more steps and commands several days to complete. The labor costs for unfinished flooring will be significantly higher.

These are a few things you must consider when deciding on a hardwood floor. Only you know what type of lifestyle you have and which floor will work best for your particular situation. What works well for others may not apply to you. As with any big project, do your homework and list your own pros and cons. After that, your decision will be an easier one.

For hardwood flooring go to:

True Hardwoods
516 West Belmont Drive
Calhoun, Georgia 30701
(877) 657-4400

What Is A Cosmetic Spa?

valis101 — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:00:15 +0000

You have probably heard the term “cosmetic spa” many times before. Cosmetic and laser spas are popping up all over the world, offering services such as laser hair removal, laser skin treatment, spray tanning, facial treatments, chemical peels and more. Cosmetic and laser spas are popular in areas like Los Angeles, where celebrities frequent them on a regular basis in order to maintain a youthful and attractive appearance. But you don’t have to be a celebrity in order to go to a cosmetic or laser spa. If you are interested in making changes to your appearance, you can go to a cosmetic and laser spa to explore your options.

Cosmetic and laser spas employ talented medical professionals who are experienced in a variety of cosmetic procedures. Their main goal is to provide customers with the latest technology in laser and cosmetic procedures. Any reputable cosmetic spa will stay abreast of new and innovative advanced skin care procedures, equipment and products. It’s important to note that not all cosmetic and laser spas are created equal — some are better than others. But going to an unprofessional cosmetic or laser spa isn’t the same as going to an unprofessional hair salon. You can always fix a bad haircut, but you can’t fix facial damage. You should always research a cosmetic or laser spa before you decide to have a cosmetic procedure. A trustworthy facility will allow you to come in for a free consultation before you undergo any treatment. That way you will be able to meet with the medical staff and ask certain questions about the procedures and treatments the spa offers.

The most popular treatments offered at cosmetic and laser spas are laser hair removal, Botox injections and facial treatments. Laser hair removal treatment can significantly impact your life in a positive way, because you won’t have to bother with needless shaving, plucking, pulling, waxing or tweezing anymore. It’s a safe and effective treatment that removes all of the hair in a designated area of your face or body. You can essentially have laser hair removal treatment on any part of your body that you wish. Botox is also popular because it helps return aging skin to a natural, youthful appearance. It is often used to treat problem areas in the face and body. Botox is derived from a protein which, when used correctly, will smooth out the wrinkles in your face such as crow’s feet and unsightly forehead lines. Cosmetic and laser spas offer many other services and procedures to help you improve your appearance. You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to achieve the personal changes you have always dreamed of making.

Private Investigators and Missing Persons

Frank Stevens — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:27:58 +0000

Let me ask you, have you ever known someone who was a victim of a crime? How about a victim of a violent crime? Have you ever known a murder victim? How many Americans a year do you think would answer yes to these questions? In my opinion, far too many would.

How many of the perpetrators do you think were brought to justice? Most of us would agree that not nearly enough were. The fact is that our American law enforcement agencies are the best in the world. They are trained well, dedicated to the job, and thrive on seeing someone answer to Lady Justice.

That being said, the agencies these dedicated men and women belong to have finite resources. While federal agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation are well funded, they are still limited in resources. State agencies across the country have even fewer funds. Local agencies are the most limited of them all. That being said, most crimes are initially investigated by these cash-strapped local agencies. Think about that for a moment.

If a murder occurs in a small rural city and a kid steals a six-pack of beer from a convenience store, which crime do you think will get more of these finite resources allocated to it? The murder of course, as it well should. Now let’s make the comparison of a murder and a jewelry store theft in a more metropolitan area. The more sophisticated police force may have a separate unit for the murder and burglary, but make no mistake, the murder still wins. The murder will win every time.
Now let’s ask the tough question. What if you have a loved one who never came home? Say it’s your wife, mother, sister, daughter, son, husband, or father. You know that this person is someone you could set your watch to; they are always home by dinnertime and always show up for church on Sunday. Then the day comes that they don’t.

Until 24 hours missing, the authorities can do nary a thing for you. How far can you walk in a day? How far can you drive? What if the vehicle only stopped for fuel? Your loved one could be half way across the country by the time you even realize they are gone. That is if they are still alive.

You could rely solely on the police to find your missing person, but why limit the number of people looking? This is where private investigators can be of great service. Many investigative firms are comprised of ex-law enforcement and ex-military professionals. These men and women can assist you when it may seem that your loved one is just another file to a government worker. While the law enforcement agencies have access to records, financial and otherwise, that can give an indicator of a person’s last known location, they can only chase down so many leads at a time. A private investigator can interview (or re-interview) potential witnesses, suspects, and even informants.

If it were your loved one, would you call someone in to help or not? I would.

Give Your Favorite Shoes a New Lease on Life!

Frank Stevens — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:04:52 +0000

Most people probably buy into some part of the stereotype that women own too many pairs of shoes. It’s a common stereotype. We see it portrayed on television, in books, movies, print ads, and commercials. But it’s not always the women that have too many pairs of shoes. I wish the people that propagate this stereotype could meet my husband.

My husband is a shoe addict. He is constantly searching for the perfect pair of shoes. And in the process, he is constantly purchasing pairs of shoes. And no type of shoe is safe when it comes to my husband. Once, he decided he needed to find the perfect pair of house shoes and ended up buying four different pairs of shoes… yes, shoes that would be worn nowhere besides the house. And two the four pairs of shoes were exactly the same. Yes, two of the four pairs of shoes were the exact same brand, size, and color. He had what seemed to himself like a reasonable explanation for these four pairs of house shoes, but for the life of me, I can not remember the reasoning behind them.

There is also the constant search for the perfect dress shoe. This search has been an ongoing quest spanning many years and many pairs of shoes. I wish I could give you a number, but I have lost track of the number of pairs of dress shoes my husband has owned. Granted, my husband does have some specific needs when it comes to dress shoes. His job requires that he looks professional, yet he is on his feet for a large portion of the day. At the same time, the number of pairs of shoes my husband has gone through in this search is bordering on psychopathic.

Once, my husband purchased a pair of shoes that looked like casual dress shoes. They were black leather, lace up, borderline tennis shoes; just dressy enough to wear to work, but constructed for comfort. When he tried them on in the store I think he actually said they were the most comfortable pair of shoes he had ever worn in his life. I am not sure what happened between the store and home, but the next time I saw him wearing these shoes, he was gardening. And now these shoes sit by our back door caked in mud.

You can imagine my joy when after at least seven years of searching, my husband finally found a pair of dress shoes! He liked these shoes so much that when he wore out the soles, he purchased another pair exactly like them. Now he has two pairs of shoes that are exactly alike, and the perfect pair of dress shoes, both having soles so worn out they can not be worn anymore. Thankfully, he does not need to keep spending over two hundred dollars every six months to replenish his stock of the perfect dress shoe, because we have discovered NuShoe. NuShoe is a wonderful company that will refurbish the soles and other parts of your shoes for less than half of what you would pay to purchase a pair of replacement shoes. Now, if I could just figure out what to do with his four pairs of house shoes.

Apartment Friendly Dog Breeds

Frank Stevens — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:50:10 +0000

Just because you live in an apartment does not mean you have to miss out on the joys of having a canine companion. The key to having a dog in an apartment is being smart about your decision on what breed to get and making sure you are able and willing to change your lifestyle to accommodate your new dog. Even if you find the laziest most low-key dog known to man, you will still need to be able to provide the amount of exercise needed by that particular dog. Do your research and make sure you find the perfect companion for your personal living situation. This way you and your dog are both as happy as can be.

Just because you live in a smaller space does not mean that you are limited to a tiny dog. Some small dogs are incredibly high-energy; however, some small dogs do extremely well in smaller apartments because they are able to get a decent portion of their exercise inside through playing and interacting with you or their toys. A few great examples of small dogs that are relatively high-energy but can tolerate indoor activity fairly well are Yorkshire Terriers, Poodles, Chihuahuas, Pomeranians. Lhasa Apsos, Maltese, or Shih-Tzus.

If you are on the less active side and are looking for a companion dog that will have a little less energy you should look into getting some type of bulldog or a pug. Both of these breeds need exercise, like all living creatures, but their idea of exercise is a little less rambunctious than other breeds. Bulldogs and pugs do not tolerate extreme heat nor do they tolerate extreme exercise. If you want to go running in the heat for 5 miles a day with you, these are not the breeds for you. This does not mean that these breeds to not need exercise. As I said, all dogs require exercise. A nice easy paced stroll around your apartment complex followed by a fun game of fetch will suffice. They like to run and play, and you will need to watch out for overheating or wheezing and make sure they have a cool place to rest and calm down after an outing.

If you have your heart set on a Lab or another larger breed, just look at your lifestyle and make sure you are willing to make the commitment. If you are an avid runner and are fully committed to taking your dog for a nice jog every day, then go for it! If you live in an apartment and take your dog out for a run on a regular basis he or she will likely be better off than the same kind of dog that is just set loose in the backyard to fend for themselves, so just make sure you are making smart decisions and are fully committed to the task at hand.

Remember that many dogs end up living in shelters because their owners did not make smart decisions. Dogs are not going to instantly change their make-up just because you put them in a certain situation. If you make a poor decision and do not give your companion the exercise it requires then neither of you will be happy, and you will only have yourself to blame. Do your research and make a smart dog decision and you will have a happy companion for years to come.

Learn a Trade

Frank Stevens — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 05:58:32 +0000

Too many of us graduate high school and then have no idea what to do with our life. Should we go to college? Should we work? Should we do both? Should we do neither? Where should we go to college? What should we study? Where should we go to work? What are we qualified to do? If you are truly stuck, and leaning towards going to work, you might to best taking a little time to learn a trade. Getting a targeted education to learn the job you want will help you get hired and help you earn more money.

Trades are industries that hire skilled professionals. Common trade jobs include construction, ironwork, electrical work, electronic repair, truck driving and other forms of transportation, and mechanical repair. Tradesmen are skilled craftsmen who have an expert level of knowledge in their craft. You cannot achieve the expert level of knowledge without a solid education, unless you are willing to work from the very bottom up and take many years learning the ropes on the job. This is acceptable to some people, but it does not do you any good to delay your success, and it does not do a company that hires tradesmen any good to have to teach you everything you need to know to do the job.

Many of the most well known trades have levels of expertise. While learning the job, you are considered an apprentice. Once you have completed your apprenticeship (education substitutes for the traditional on-the-job apprenticeship), you are ready to strike out on your own as a journeyman. A journeyman is one who has all the skills to do the job, but still likely works for somebody else. Once you become an expert, you are considered a master of your craft. At this point, you will likely have your own business, be a teacher, or be very high up in a company with journeymen and apprentices working under you.

The education required to learn a trade is often shorter and more targeted than a general college degree. Technical and vocational schools are usually the educators of choice when a student wants to become a tradesman. These programs usually confer an Associate’s degree or a certificate of completion upon graduation, not a Bachelor’s degree like a four-year college or university would. The classes are geared towards teaching specific, usable skills, rather than theories and concepts. The programs are often split between classroom study and laboratory work, where the students can get hands on experience with the tools they are learning under expert supervision. Towards the end of the educational program, the students will often go through an internship, where they spend time working with a company in the industry learning how a real business operates. After graduation, many schools help students find employment in the industry.

Skilled tradesmen are always in demand. If you want a career that pays well and lets you do something you enjoy, consider learning a trade and taking the path towards becoming a master tradesman.

Your Ancestry Uncovered in a Blood Test?

Frank Stevens — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 09:50:54 +0000

Many people enjoy researching their family history. Genealogy research can be an informative and exciting hobby. There are many ways for people to gather information about their family tree. Some people prefer to research their genealogy through archives and microfilm at their local library. Other people enjoy looking into their ancestry by scouring records and databases on the internet. Still others like to research their family history by talking to other people, maybe contacts they have met online, while performing research, or others with a shared interest in genealogy research. There are even courses available on genealogy research. Some schools, such as Boston University online, offer an online genealogy program in which you may earn your Certificate in Genealogy Research.

Needless to say, there are many ways a person can go about looking into his or her family history. Leave it to modern technology to find yet another innovative way to take a peek into your family’s past. Did you know you may be able to uncover information about your heritage using your DNA? We all know that DNA can be used in criminal or paternity cases, but DNA testing can also be useful in genealogical research.

There are several companies that offer DNA testing for the purpose of finding distant relatives and most of the companies work in basically the same manner. You request a DNA submission kit and submit a sample of your DNA to the company of your choice. This is usually done by a simple swab of the inside of your mouth to get a sample of cheek cells, and this procedure is painless if done correctly. Once you have collected this DNA sample on the swabs provided by the company you chose, you mail the swabs back to the company. A few weeks later, the company will have a genetic profile created for you. Most of the companies have a database of this genetic information in which profiles are compared and you can theoretically find people you are related to.

This type of DNA testing can do more than simply find people you may be related to. These tests may also reveal your genetic origins. Many of our ancient human ancestors migrated out of Africa and other continents almost two hundred thousand years ago. Throughout the ages, these ancient ancestors moved all throughout the world and their DNA diversified and they became genetically distinct from one another. Today, it may be possible to track these differences through DNA testing. These test results may provide a peek into how your ancestors moved throughout the world and which populations they belonged to.

While companies that provide ancestry related DNA testing services can give you a wealth of information, not all DNA derived information is supplied by these services. Most of these services do not provide distinguishing information about specific individuals such as eye color or hair color. Most of these services do not provide information or test results sufficient for paternity testing and the like.

Securing User Adoption

Dan — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:36:51 +0000

One of the most common causes of failed IT implementations – across the whole IT sector, not just in HR – is lack of buy-in from stakeholders, whether senior executives or line managers and employees. This is a particular risk for self-service, where the whole rationale behind implementation is to reach out beyond the HR function and encourage participation at every level of the organisation.

There are a number of well-established techniques to encourage adoption, including:

- Involving representatives from relevant parts of the organisation. Self-service projects shouldn’t get bogged down in lengthy consultations, but building an inclusive steering committee from the design phase onwards helps broaden buy-in and gives a voice to all constituencies

- Harnessing critical users and enthusiasts at the start of the project and letting them shape the project. These “power users” play a big role in evangelising the concept and assisting in the physical rollout

- Focusing on the people who matter most in a change management process, not those with the loudest voices. Michael Hammer, the management consultant most famous for developing the concept of business re-engineering, argues that in any change management project 20 per cent of people will be enthusiastic, 20 per cent will fight it and 60 per cent will be undecided. Most companies focus on the 20 per cent who resist it – but the battle is really won among the 60 per cent who can be swayed either way

- Carrying out usability testing

- Generating quick wins that bring tangible benefits to end-users and senior management as well as the HR or finance department.

- Providing online payslips and encouraging employees to post emergency contact information online are both effective ways of encouraging adoption

The order in which self-service applications are implemented can also be important. Allowing employees to change their name and address is relatively simple, but it’s also relatively low-value, since employees move house so infrequently. Distributing payslips online, by contrast, is a relatively simple one-way transmission process, yet it has tangible benefits all round.

Employees usually receive their pay information earlier, which allows errors to be corrected sooner (something that’s also important to Finance). From the organisation’s perspective, online payslips reduce print and distribution costs and are an effective means of encouraging employees to use the self-service systems.

It’s also important to bear in mind that different employees have different priorities. Speed and process efficiency will appeal to some, particularly in areas such as faster error correction in payroll or quicker approval of training course enrolment, while others will appreciate 24×7 access to their compensation history or benefits so they can study their options from home. These different drivers need to be aggregated and weighted. Organisations that conduct extensive surveys of their workforce prior to rollout are often surprised by the findings, so this kind of preparation may deliver results in the long-term.

Finally, while these issues are important in securing buy-in, organisations should also prepare themselves for the opposite reaction – overwhelming enthusiasm. Many self-service adopters have found that once employees and line managers begin to see tangible benefits in one area, demand for new services rapidly escalates faster than they can be delivered.

Computers In Personnel Ltd
28-30 Chapel St
Marlow, SL7 1DD
0870 366 2345

Our New Fireplace

Frank Stevens — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 06:18:14 +0000

When I was 10, my family went on our first family skiing vacation to Breckenridge, Colorado. There were several of us including some extended family. Some had skied previously, some had not. We made memories, learned to ski and all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Since that year, we have tried to have a skiing vacation each year. Because of kids school schedules we’ve had to always have our trips on during Christmas and/or Spring Break. Several times we’ve had at least some of us go both times. Since the family was enjoying our vacation time together so much, but having to work around work and school vacation times, we decided to focus on going to a more convenient driving location. After several experimental excursions to places like Red River and Taos, New Mexico, the family settled on our favorite location of Angel Fire, New Mexico.

After several trips to Angel Fire, my immediate family decided to look into purchasing a condominium or town home there. After much financial research and legal advice, we decided that it would offset the cost of our vacations and serve as an asset. This would allow us to always have a guaranteed place to stay on our trips while affording us the luxury of a yearly vacation together that we enjoyed so much.

After contacting a realtor, we discovered that there was a condo for sale in a complex that already had a management company set up. All we would have to do furnish the condo with their requirements such as dishes, pots, pans and furniture and linens. Then, we would pay them a fee each month as part of our agreement that they would handle the reservations, cleaning and some maintenance. We purchased the condo and began our adventures in mountain real estate just in time for spring skiing.

Before the spring could turn in to summer that year, we had a huge problem that we didn’t anticipate. A family renting our condo decided to build a fire and somehow caught the living room on fire! There was considerable damage to some furniture and carpet, but luckily the rest of the condo and other condos in the building were fine. However, the fireplace was going to cost at least $1000 to fix appropriately.

We discussed this problem with other condo owners in the building and were advised to install an electric fireplace insert. They all had a Classic Flame Electric Fireplace and highly recommended it. This would give off heat for cold vacationers, but would allow for a certain level of ease for those renters that either did not know how to properly start a fire or operate a chimney. It would alleviate the worry for another fire. There are many advantages to this electric fireplace insert that we didn’t even realize. They have little maintenance, no chimney cleaning, no smoke smell, and no wood to buy. Also, we spent the same money we would have spent fixing the wood-burning fireplace. It’s been a perfect investment for our family vacation home.

Price Computing Scales for Your Business

Frank Stevens — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:56:53 +0000

There are many types of businesses that may use a certain type of scale called a price computing scale. A price computing scale is a scale that weighs and item or quantity of items and can determine a price for the total weight based on preprogrammed computations. Retail, restaurant, and shipping industries are a few examples of industries that may use price computing scales. Price computing scales can be used by delis and butchers for weighing meat and poultry items, they can be used by sellers of produce for weighing fruits and vegetables, and they can be used by candy sellers to weigh and price quantities of candy. These are just a few examples of businesses that could use price computing scales, but this is by no means an exhaustive list. Basically, any business that sells quantities of items, priced by weight, can make use of a price computing scale.

There are several different types of price computing scales, some with similar features, some with unique features. Think about how your business might use a price computing scale, what types of items it would be weighing and pricing, and you can easily determine which price computing scale is right for you. Below are a couple of examples of price computing scales available on the market today and a description of each scale.

A&D makes a series of price computing scales called the SBR Series Business Scale. This would be an excellent choice if your business is related to the shipping industry. The Series Business Scales are fully compatible with shipping manifest software systems such as UPS Worldship. These scales are also compatible with various point of sale (POS) software systems, including OPOS. This scale would also be very useful in a warehouse for stock control, check-weighing, and more. The Series Business Scales are capable of interfacing with a computer or printer. These scales come in various weight capacities including thirty pound, seventy pound, and one hundred and fifty pounds. The pan size on these scales vary from 10.2 inches by 13 inches to 13 inches by 13 inches. The price range of these scales is between about $400 and $500.

A&D also makes a couple of retail scales, the SF Series Retail Scale and the SG Series Retail Scale. These scales are ideal for retail, produce, deli, or candy store applications. Both of these scales have an easy to use, intuitive design, with easy touch keypad entry. These scales are capable of interfacing with a computer and / or printer. The SF and SG Series Retail scales have stainless steel pans that are easy to clean, and the keypad is splash proof so you do not have to worry about damaging your scales while weighing items that have moisture. The SF and SG series price computing scales have a very quick computation time, so your customers will not be kept waiting and your checkout lines will move quickly. There are many models in this line to choose from and they range in price from about $319 to $417.