Archive for July, 2011

Secaucus Self Storage

July 4th, 2011

Secaucus self storage is just another name for security and peace of mind. The concept of self storage is all about finding a safe place to store your belongings for a certain period of time, in a secure location because you do not have any space to store them in your own home or when you need to temporarily store your goods someplace else. You have all the options to choose from – you can choose the self storage unit which is just the right size to store your goods and for the period of time you require that facility. Self storage units come in different sizes right from a small 5′x5′ unit up to extra large 10′ x 20′ units. That’s not all, if you are looking for space to temporarily store your car, boat, yacht or RV you can still get storage units for them.

Things that “just accumulate” in the house over the years are not just objects that occupy precious space. They are actually a part of your life and every single thing that’s in your home has some fond memory attached to it. Nothing can be worse than to throw them away, donate them to charity or to sell them. Sometimes people even think of moving to a bigger home just so that they can store more things at home. Secaucus self storage is the ultimate solution to all these problems – if you don’t have space at home, just rent a self storage unit and store your goods as long as you need it. For the small rent you would be paying, you get facilities that are beyond compare.

Secaucus self storage facilities are completely secure and run by highly experienced professionals. There is round the clock surveillance using state of the art equipment. That apart, there are security guards too, who physically monitor all movement in and out of the facility. If you have a storage unit in one of these facilities, then you would be the only person who would be given access to your unit. Even your own access would be electronically monitored. Of course, if you need additional access to your storage unit, you can have that organized by talking to the Sales Manager who will be present in these facilities.

Security apart, the Secaucus self storage units are completely clean and free from dirt and dust. For certain goods, like wooden furniture, documents, antiques etc, you can even choose to rent a climate controlled unit. These are units where you can store your precious goods at just the right temperature and humidity so that your goods are protected from the elements. If you are going to be storing your cars or boats in these facilities, you can rest assured that they will be properly maintained and will be handed over to you when you need them, in the same condition you brought it in. The potentials of self storage units are far too great to be discussed in one short article. But it would be a good idea to try it out!

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Carbon Fiber Body Kits – For Style With Performance

July 4th, 2011

There is a thing about desirable qualities working against one another in many things in life. An actress who looks very beautiful cannot carry all emotions across to the audience as a more plain looking one can. A fighter aircraft that is very agile and maneuverable is not as stable while cruising as a passenger plane is. Some people will even say that the tastier the food is the less healthy it is. In general it often happens that two desirable qualities are not able to co-exist. Take for example a car that has been done up to look even more stylish and also to improve its aerodynamics. Though a well chosen set of body kit components will surely do a great job of enhancing the looks and improving the aerodynamics, since these components are externally mounted they will add to the weight of the car. This additional weight will bring down the power to weight ration of the car and make the car relatively sluggish and less lively.

Of course the benefits of the improved aerodynamics would be there but of all the qualities of the car the liveliness is amongst the most desirable ones and if the power to weight ratio is coming down significantly then you need to do something about it. And the good news is that there is something you can do to keep the style and aerodynamic enhancements and not add much weight to the car either. This can be done by choosing carbon fiber body kits. Carbon fiber is a light yet strong material that has revolutionized many industries including the aircraft industry. This high strength reliable material also looks great and can be molded into desirable shapes. Therefore for performance cars the popular car body kits are made of carbon fiber. If you will go online you will find carbon fiber body kits are available for a vast range of car models and you should be able to find a range to choose from for your car. Although carbon fiber kits are more expensive than those made of other materials but they do give you a strong benefit in the form of a much lesser additional weight.

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Knowledge About Incandescent Light Bulbs

July 4th, 2011

Incandescent bulb, also known as the electric lamp, named after the way light is developed. Incandescent is the term for heat driven light emissions – an electric current through a thin filament, heating it until it produces light. With this type of lamp is a glass house used to prevent oxygen from reaching the hot filament. If this were done, the hot filament destruction by oxidation. Incandescent lamps have low manufacturing costs and are available in a wide range of sizes and voltages ranging from 1.5 volts to 300 volts. Requiring no external regulating equipment, these lamps work well on either alternating or direct current and are widely used for household and commercial lighting. Incandescent light bulbs come to us as a blessing, especially when there was no way to illuminate our space at night.

Only the candles and oil lamps were brought to our partners in the dark. In this perspective, you can call one of the most important discoveries in the history of mankind. Construction Incandescent light bulbs are made of tungsten filament child and especially on glass. The base consists of two wires that connect the strands passing an electric current. An inert gas is used to fill the bulb to prevent oxidation of the filament. Incandescent Incandescent lamps are the most important part, or a part of every incandescent bulb. Since its discovery, has invested heavily in its decision making and development. Initially, it began to carbonized paper filament lamps or carbon filament.

Thomas Edison came out with the carbon filament, which lasted forty hours. He continued to experiment with different materials and off-filament of bamboo, which lasted more than 1200 hours. A few years later, the General Electric Company came out with tungsten filaments. Although it was expensive, it outperformed all other types of filaments. Lamp Components Incandescent bulbs have components like the mother, the contact wire connection and support for tungsten filament yarns, insulation and electrical contact. The electrical contacts are arranged in many ways. You may have a screw base or bayonet base. Some lamps have electrical contacts on each end.

Motor vehicles and special purpose lamps have screw terminals for electrical connection. The phasing out of incandescent Bulb Fluorescent lamps are rapidly begun to replace incandescent lamps. The reason is that they are more efficient than incandescent bulbs. A typical fluorescent lamp is 4-5 times more efficient than light bulb 12 to 15-watt fluorescent leaving the same amount of light as a 60-watt bulb. Another feature of the fluorescent bulb is smarter than life. Fluorescent bulbs have been found over the last 10 times longer than incandescent lamps. Even if the fluorescent bulb is 4-5 times more expensive than incandescent light output is still research to be cheaper because of their low power consumption and longer life. In an effort to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, in many countries such as Ireland, Switzerland, Cuba and many others have prohibited the sale of incandescent light bulbs, or are being phased out.

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Paying Attention to The Right Things

July 4th, 2011

As the economy continues to struggle, and unemployment is at an all-time high, I find myself speaking to groups of people that are confronted with economic realities harsher than anyone in America has faced since the Great Depression. These folks have often watched their homes, cars, and certainly their savings slip through their fingers, and many of them feel that their once-stable lives are out of their control. I speak to each group for their own specific purposes, of course, but in many cases I find myself weaving a second message into my original: a message of attention. Back in early 2002, business for motivational speakers was slow. The 9-11 disaster had stolen a lot of the power of hope and motivation, and as a whole, we had moved from serving people to searching for people to serve. I attended a gathering of some of the top names in professional speaking. We talked about how hard things were for us and for the country, and the irony of the need for hope spiking just as the demand decreased.

An expert took the stage, someone who was supposed to tell us how to survive. Instead, she told us that there “was no problem”. She told us about professional speakers that were overbooked, and had more clients than they could serve. She pointed to the need for hope, and told us that we were paying attention “incorrectly”. The concept has been in the public sphere for centuries, under a variety of different names. The most current ‘phenomenon’ surrounding this simple concept is called The Secret, but in fact there’s no secret to it. As a group, our attention was focused on the problem — on the lack of business. Our attempts to get more clients were focused on our own empty calendars. The busy speakers paid attention not to their own schedules, but to the needs of their clients. They approached each call not from a ‘please, I need you to hire me’ perspective, but from a ‘how can I assist you?’ point of view. Her words moved me deeply. I knew, intellectually, that we create in our lives that which we focus on the most. If you devote your attention to your problems, they will multiply. If you pay attention to your successes and blessings, they will multiply. So what does of this have to do with the people I talk to today?

Simple: most of them are paying attention incorrectly. The economic realities that we face today are challenges — but every challenge comes with opportunity built-in. Instead of focusing on the fact that your job is tenuous (or even already gone), focus on what you can do with your time and skills if you’re not locked in to your current position. One personal friend of mine lost a valuable job as a sales director for a major international entertainment company – and his response was to relax, cut back (of course), and start doing what he had wanted to do since his college days — play with Photoshop. Today, he makes good money as a well-known freelance Web graphics designer. By focusing on the opportunity that his change afforded him, he turned a disaster into a success. Leadership speakers have known about this basic psychological tool for generations, but as my story above demonstrates, even we lose focus from time to time.

Everyone does — the important part is to recover quickly and shift your attention back to the opportunities as firmly as you can. John Hersey is a successful business owner, published author and motivational leadership speaker.

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New Models of Pickup Trucks Are Added To The Site Usedtruckonline.com

July 4th, 2011

Pickup trucks are having absolutely stunning demands in the truck operators these days as they have been making the jobs of truck drivers easier and smoother. These trucks are having better rear beds and are the most fascinating and performance based truck models that can be used quite dynamically for the transportation purposes. These Pickup trucks are also having better performance in traveling to the remote and rogue areas. These trucks are also available in used trucks form and are having larger demands in this section as the truck lovers can get the lowest priced truck models with better performance based models.

There are many websites that are making the sale of used trucks more reliable and reputed in the online business. One of the highlighted names in this list is the Usedtruckonline.com. This site has created many records in the online industries since formation as the number of visitors and registered members have increased to higher level. This site is also making new exposure to the trucks dealers who are displaying on the site as they offer free registration, free classification and free display facilities to the dealers. These dealers are having exclusive coverage of trucking and also are having the best models of used trucks that can be achieved by the truck buyers at nominal prices.

The recent news of the company says that hundreds of used Pickup truck models are added to the site with qualified trucking qualities. These truck models are offered with smashing qualities. Also they are representing plenty of truck manufacturing units like the Ford, Volvo, Nissan and many more. These names are the world wide leaders in Pickup truck manufacturing and also due to the longer lasting facilities of the truck models; they are called the best used Pickup truck models in the truck lovers. Also the used Pickup trucks that are represented here at the site are having affordable prices as the dealers or even the truck owners are saving the money of advertising and promoting these used Pickup trucks.

This news are truly inspiring for the Pickup truck buyers as they can get the most surprising and stunning varieties of trucking with the help this site Usedtruckonline.com.

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Small business growth: business training courses-choose a product

July 4th, 2011

What Do Your Customers Want? The Money to Pay for Your Products? What a ridiculous concept. Why would I possibly give my customer the money to buy my own product? If I gave the customer the money to buy my products, then I wouldn’t have any money left. What kind of business advisor are you? As crazy as it seems, the concept of giving your customer the money to buy your product is actually one of the most fundamental financial concepts that exist in the market today. How many products are in the marketplace that the customer simply does not have the money to buy; but that customer wants those products very badly? Left to his or her own devices, the customer would never be able to accumulate the resources to be able to buy the product or service that the vendor or supplier is selling. Consequently it has become very commonplace in our consumer-driven world for the seller to provide the financial resources to the customers as a necessary accommodation to them. Now this doesn’t mean that we reach into our pocket, give the customer the money, and then ask the customer for the money back. Giving the customer the money means that we help to facilitate the financial side of the transaction so that the customer can make it possible to make the purchase from us. Think about all of the industries where this happens. Take cars for example. If a customer walks into a car dealership and picks out the car of their dreams, how many of them would actually be able to take out their checkbook and buy that car – right on the spot? If the car dealerships had to rely on people paying cash for every item that is purchased from them, they wouldn’t sell very many vehicles. So in response, the car dealerships have built financing right into their selling program: the last step in the purchase process includes a visit to the finance department. When the customer enters the finance department, he or she knows what to expect. Sure, there will be a few upsell attempts, but for the most part, the purpose of the finance department is so that the car dealership can help the customer get the money they need to buy the car. The dealership evaluates the credit of the buyer and then attempts to secure offers for financing from the various financial institutions, all on behalf of the customer.

The customer expends very little effort beyond filling out a simple credit application. A few minutes later the car dealership comes back to the customer and informs them where they will be mailing their monthly check and how much that check will be for. Other industries do it as well. How often do we see appliance companies that offer a “zero interest” credit card on the spot for the customer to make the purchase? The seller gives you the money and sometimes you don’t have to make any payments for a long time. It is very common in our consumer environment that we operate this way. If the money were not available, and if it were not easy for the consumer to acquire the money, how many sales would these businesses be generating? Why doesn’t the information world operate this way? Why is it that so few of us know the tricks of the trade as it relates to securing financing for our customers? Lets take a look at another business where financing is critical to the success of the marketplace. The housing market is all together different than the vehicle marketplace and as information marketers, we don’t want to follow the example of that business. Imagine a prospective homebuyer that walks into a home that they love and prepares to make an offer. It is incumbent on the buyers to get their own financing from their own source. Sure there are mortgage brokers, and the real estate agent might have a suggestion or two, but at the end of the day, it is incumbent on the home buyer to secure the financing. If they can’t get it, they can’t buy the house. The seller has no influence and no control, and they really have no way of helping the buyer to purchase the house unless the seller himself wants to extend financing, which most cannot do.

The point for an information marketer is this: don’t leave the buyer to his own devices to figure out how to pay you. The best way to immediately increase revenue if you are an information product seller, a professional speaker, an author, or someone who is moving high-priced intellectual property, is to provide the financing to your prospective customers yourself. You will need to arrange for the financing in advance so that when the customers show up and are ready to buy, you can offer them a cash or credit option. There aren’t very many sources for financing of information products, but if you want to move forward and offer a credit solution, be prepared to package your services in a manner that is both understandable by the lender and desirable to the lender. The basic issues and parameters that you must understand are as follows: # Generally, financing for information products is only offered by specialty finance companies. # Financing sources will normally only finance something that is complete. If you offer a work in process, such as a coaching service that promises a certain outcome, then there can be a dispute by the customer who says that the work was never fully delivered, the product was never thoroughly built, or there was some defect in the service or product they bought. The financing source needs to be able to verify that in fact the product was fully delivered, that the services were rendered according to the agreement, and that the buyer of those services received what they expected. Once that happens, the buyer of the services can then advise the financing company that the terms of the agreement have been met and that they agree to assume the responsibilities of the finance contract in full. # The seller of the information services usually receives his or her money after the services have been rendered. Although it is possible to arrange for an earlier release of funds in some cases, most of the cash will be paid out at the end. Again, how you package your services and present it to the lender will make a giant difference in how you are paid by the lender. # The lender will probably hold back a reserve account for people who do not pay so you won’t get all of your money right away. #

Finally, be prepared for the cost of the program. Making money costs money and although most of the burden will be carried by the customer, you as the information seller will still incur some of it. Therefore, you may want to adjust the price of your program for people to take the credit option. The bottom line is this, as you are working everyday to grow your business, it may be incumbent upon you to find a source of financing for your customers so that they can buy your products. Especially if you sell high-priced products, it is even more important that you help your customers find a way to acquire the financing or the capital so that they can buy the excellent products and services you sell. You must “give them the money.” Otherwise, how can they benefit from what you

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Accord Hood – Better Style Better Performance

July 4th, 2011

When you have a great car you enjoy the driving performance. You also enjoy the luxury and the feeling of being safe and secure. And you are proud of the style of your car as well. However as time goes by you start to take the plus points of the car for granted. The looks also become familiar and don’t quite set your pulse racing as they did when you first bought that car. At such a time it will be just great if you can come up with a cost efficient way to bring back some excitement to your car and boost its looks and performance. At the same time you do not want to undertake a complex exercise that requires a lot of time and effort and may adversely affect other aspects of the car. There is good news for you. There is one such product.

The latest Accord hood. With the help of the latest Accord hood you will be able to bring back excitement to the looks of your car. That is easy to understand. The hood is located very visibly right at the front of the car and a cool new design will surely augment the looks of the car. What is not so obvious is that it can also improve the performance of your car. If you go in for a carbon fiber hood you will reduce the weight of your car. This is because carbon fiber is light and strong. That will increase the power to weight ratio of the car and the car will feel more lively when you drive it. And since the weight is reduced at the front of the car there will be less load on the front wheels of the car. Since you steer the car with the help of the front wheels the steering will feel lighter and the car will be more responsive. As you can see a simple product with no moving parts can do a lot for your car. You get great value for your money. You can choose an Accord hood conveniently by going online.

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Westport Honda Accord Drivers Laud The Civic GX

July 4th, 2011

With hard times comes change. The change in the face of the auto industry is apparent in the progression of fuel technology, and a surprising name is leading the charge. You may be thinking that the Japanese mammoth Toyota is the brand that would top the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy’s list of greenest cars for 2011. Westport Honda Accord dealers would beg to differ with you. The annual list was released this year with much fanfare for the Honda Civic GX, a car that employs compressed natural gas to power it up and down roads across the country. It is by far the greenest car on the road, with the Nissan Leaf trailing closely behind and the Prius logging in a four-spot. The release of this information struck quite a blow in the marketing plan for the Chevy Volt, which was being hailed as the second coming (of the Prius) with better fuel efficiency, of course. Brewster Honda Accord dealers are pleased to get the recognition they so well deserve, and we’re glad to hear it over here as well. The rankings prove that electric driving isn’t quite as sustainable as we thought it might be before hitting the market.

Westport Honda Accord drivers are quick to point out that they drive some of the most economical cars on the market. Following that logic, it’s no surprise that Honda has been able to pinpoint an effective technology for reducing emissions; the question is whether or not it’s affordable for drivers. The list speaks for itself. According to a recent article in CNet, “The nonprofit organization released its 14th annual environmental ratings list yesterday with the Honda Civic GX, which runs on compressed natural gas, once again winning first place. The ACEEE ranked the all-electric Nissan Leaf second, with the Smart Fortwo in third, and the Toyota Prius in fourth. The Chevy Volt was ranked last at No. 12.” One of the major problems with electric driving is that generating electricity through a coal-powered mill lets off plenty of its own emissions. So, knowing that, it’s safe to conclude that electric cars won’t do their part for the environment the way that some EV enthusiasts expect them to do. Brewster Honda Accord dealers are happy to contribute to brands that don’t jump into unknown territory before it has been explored.

For Westport Honda Accord drivers, the time is not yet ripe to make the switch over to electric driving. We don’t know exactly when that time will be, but you can bet it’ll be in the near future. For now, the Honda Civic GX will continue to dominate the green category and win the hearts of the friendliest pundits of the environment. Brewster Honda Accord dealers are proud that their brand holds this honor on its own. In the next few years, you can expect that the industry will look a lot different, and it may be up to compressed natural gas to swoop in and save the day.

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If You Want to Quit Smoking, You Have to Know About Associative Learning

July 4th, 2011

As I have discussed in other articles, the driving force behind smoking is not the cigarette/nicotine. The thing that keeps a person smoking is the Psychological Smoking Mechanism. The foundation for this mechanism is consciously laid by the beginning smoker at an early age. However, it is strengthened over the years by Associative Learning.

In this article, I will explain how the smoker uses Associative Learning to reinforce the Psychological Smoking Mechanism which in turn, makes it hard to quit smoking.

The History of Associative Learning

The concept of Associative Learning was discovered by the Russian physiologist, Ivan Pavlov. He started out researching the gastric function of dogs but in examining salivary secretion, he discovered that saliva flowed before food was presented. Finding this more interesting, he gave up the gastric research and explored this phenomena.

He found that he could trigger a physical response, e.g. flow of saliva, by pairing a neutral stimulus with the active stimulus, in this case, food. The most noted neutral stimulus that he used was ringing a bell. (Remember the old fashion dinner bell?) After pairing the bell ring with the food, eventually, just ringing the bell caused the saliva to flow. Thus was born the psychological construct of Classical Conditioning.

Common Examples of Classical Conditioning

Before we get into the various ways Associative Learning strengthens the Psychological Smoking Mechanism, I want to give some everyday examples that apply to both smokers and nonsmokers.

When most people go to the theater or sit down to watch their favorite program on TV, what is one of the first snacks they think of? Popcorn!

Through advertising both in the theater and on TV (remember Jiffy Pop? How about Orville Redenbacher with his red bow tie?), popcorn has become associated with enjoying a movie or TV show. The aroma of hot, buttered popcorn greets the theater goer as soon as they enter the building. You have to walk right past the concessions to get to the movie theaters. If that doesn’t stop you to buy, the commercials before the show encourage the purchase and many people get up and go buy popcorn. Because of this programming and the subsequent Associative Learning, for many people, when they sit down to watch something enjoyable at home, making popcorn is part of the process. This is an example of Associative Learning. The positive qualities of taste and smell strengthen the urge to buy or make popcorn to enjoy the show!

The more you enjoy the movie or TV show, the stronger the association with popcorn. This is because it adds the power of emotion as well as good taste and smell.

A slightly different example of associative learning is provided by the following example.

Suppose when you were growing up, you parents owned a blue Toyota. This car was used to take you places that you enjoyed. Perhaps they kept this car for a number of years. When they got a new car, like most people, they bought the same brand. So over time, you begin to associate your parents with Toyota cars. As an adult, whenever you see a Toyota, you will have thoughts about your parents.

Of course, it doesn’t take a long time for this type of association to develop if there is a great deal of emotion behind it. Suppose you fall madly in love with someone and they drive a Mustang. In short order, whenever you see a Mustang, you will think of the person you love. This is Associative Learning!

All these examples show how Associative Learning works. You have a neutral stimulus, such as a brand of car, going to the theater for a movie or a favorite TV show such as a football game, paired with something that you love. In the case of popcorn, it tastes good and eating it is rewarding. In the case of the brands of cars, people that we love drive them. So, when we see the cars or go to the theater, it brings about the good feelings provided by what we love. It is this mechanism that makes the Psychological Smoking Mechanism strong.

When you First Learn to Smoke

No one simply picks up a cigarette and starts smoking. It is a learning process that is miserable. However, there is much motivation to smoke and the person sticks with it until they “learn” to smoke. This of course means that they use their mind to turn off the protective mechanisms that the body uses to alert you when something hazardous has entered your body. In this case, hot, polluted, chemical smoke into your delicate lung tissues that were only designed for clean air. They create the foundation of the Psychological Smoking Mechanism.

It is so hard to smoke, each cigarette requires the smoker to actively suppress their body defense mechanisms. Since smoking is really an unpleasant activity, the smoker looks for ways to justify the extreme effort to smoke each cigarette. This is where Associative Learning takes place. unconsciously, the smoker is looking for positive things to pair with the act of smoking. Using Associative Learning, the smoker begins to attribute the positive qualities of an event or act with smoking and over time, the smoker assigns these qualities to the cigarette. These associations provide rationalizations to the smoker. Let’s look at some common ones.

Smoking and Coffee

If the smoker is a coffee drinker, you can be certain that a cigarette will be part of the process. A perfect example of this is found in the movie, “Walk, Don’t Run” starring Carey Grant and Samantha Eggar. In a morning scene, a female friend who carpools to work with Eggar’s character arrives early and since there is extra time to chat, she offers her a cup of coffee. The friend says she’d love another cup of coffee and a cigarette! This movie was released in 1966, when about 44% of the American population smoked.

Coffee by itself is a pretty powerful drink. Many people use the caffeine as a pick me up and many people drink coffee after a meal (Just think about how many times you are offered a cup of coffee after a meal in a restaurant). Coffee has become associated with aiding digestion! Does it really work? Well, years ago, I was having some gastrointestinal tests run. Before the x-rays were taken, the doctor told me, if I liked coffee, to think about it as it would cause my digestive juices to flow. Yes, coffee is a powerful drink.

So what happens when you pair the powerful effects of coffee with a cigarette?. When you drink the coffee, it produces it’s powerful effects, whether by the caffeine buzz or stimulating digestion. Throw in the cigarette and over time, it is assigned the effects actually produced by the coffee. The cigarette actually doesn’t do any of the things that coffee does but in seeking justify the Psychological Smoking Mechanism, the smoker awards the qualities of coffee to the cigarette. Qualities the cigarette didn’t earn.

Smoking and Sex

Probably the most powerful drive in humans is the sex drive. There are many psychological and physiological reasons why this is so. Sexual fulfillment is a powerful force for both males and females. It is no wonder that the smoker works to associate this powerful positive fulfillment by smoking afterwards.

Contemporary movies are a good indicator of current trends. I mentioned “Walk, Don’t Run” earlier in this article as an example of smoking with coffee. A more recent movie that demonstrated the association of smoking after sex was the comedy “Zapped” with Scott Biao, released in 1982.

In this movie, set in a high school, a lab accident gives a nerdy, shy student telekinetic powers and of course chaos ensues. The exceptional abilities gives him confidence to do things he wouldn’t otherwise do such as approach the girl that he’s had a crush on but afraid to talk to. The new confidence leads to him having sex with his girlfriend in the lab and afterwards, he uses his telekinetic powers to retrieve and light two cigarettes which they both smoke.

There is a powerful message here. A person with powerful paranormal abilities has sex and then, both the boy and girl have to smoke afterwards. The message is clear, no matter how powerful you are, you must have a smoke after sex to make it “complete”.

Conclusion

There are many other examples of Associative Learning that the smoker uses to strengthen the Psychological Smoking Mechanism to keep smoking. If you think that smokers go out of their way to associate pleasant events and experiences with smoking, you are right! It is actually an inner drive to make these associations to justify engaging in an aversive and unpleasant behavior.

The Psychological Smoking Mechanism is initially built by desire but it is strengthened by positive association using Associative Learning. Remember this the next time you smoke a cigarette after something pleasant!

© 2009, R. Michael Stone

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Sports Insurance – For Every Active Life

July 4th, 2011

Mainstream insurance companies can, frankly, be a little unfair. One is urged to lead an active life; to participate in sport; to stay off the booze and generally keep fit. This, one is told, will promote health, happiness and a long life. Which really ought to be all to the good, as far as insurance companies are concerned. So, when one gets told that one’s participation in said sports could actually void one’s life insurance/health insurance, one feels, perhaps, a little ticked off. Well, un-tick and listen up, because there’s good news at the end of this particular annoying tunnel. Sports insurance, thanks to the egalitarian nature of the World Wide Web, is now readily available even for the enthusiastic amateur – which means his or her slavering insurance company now has no choice but to pay up when payment is due. Hooray!

One can understand the position of the bog standard insurer, of course. If the clients are off throwing themselves down ice-covered slopes, or charging around in the mud with a lot of enormous men, for example, then it’s only logical that standard premiums might not do the trick any more. One can’t take out personal injury insurance and then dive into a boxing ring against a 19 stone Neanderthal: it just doesn’t work. The unfair bit comes when one considers that, without sports insurance, a personal injury policy may not pay out for the sports man or woman even when he or she is nowhere near the sport of his or her choice. Effectively, if he or she routinely does get in the ring with a 19 stone ape, then he or she may not be covered for, say, slipping on an icy pavement and rupturing a disc – even if the aforementioned gorilla is nowhere to be seen and there isn’t a pair of boxing gloves in sight.

Companies like Lockton Sports, who have made a very special name for themselves by brokering insurance deals for all sorts of sports, at all levels of competition and involvement, are now publically available for the average man or woman in the street. That means that sports insurance designed by professionals and negotiated by the top men and women in the game can be bought by anyone – and that, in turn, means that normal insurance policies have to pay out when they ought. No common or garden insurer, be he or she however so picky, can baulk at full cover against any eventuality for the sport a person is regularly involved in. The message is clear. If one’s private life (or professional life, for that matter) involves leaping into the squared circle and going 10 rounds with a chap who looks like a freight train – get the right sports insurance and protect the rest of one’s accident liability. Properly covered, a person can do anything without fear that his or her actions will nullify a normal insurance policy.

The only way to be properly covered, of course, is to go to a sports insurance provider that knows what it is about. Choose a professional company that routinely insures actual athletes as well as Sunday leaguers. That way, there’s no room for error: and, with insurance, that’s exactly the kind of margin a person needs.

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