Exercising Your Brain is Going to Keep it Functioning at Peak Capacity
Your brain needs exercising just as your body does.
CITE: Neurobics.com
Imagine your brain doing calisthenics. Yep. The brain can and should be exercised. Doing this is called braining training or neurobics.
To qualify as neurobic exercise the activities that you are undertaking must involve one or more of your senses in a one-of-a-kind setting. For example, walk around your house with your eyes closed or eat with your left hand if you are right handed. Smell baked bread while you are looking out at your back yard or touch sandpaper while you are listening to music. You are combining two or your senses, which is something that you aren’t always cognizant of doing.
Do something that is unusual for you. If you never swim, go swimming. What you decide to do must be fun or unforeseen or even a bit scary, which induces emotions such as happiness, love, fear or anger.
When you do this, you are purposely breaking your normal way. When you change patterns, you are exercising your brain.
For example, try writing with your non-writing hand. This is a tremendous challenge. When you write with the right hand the cortex located on the left side of the brain controls the pen. When you switch to your left hand, the portions of the brain that are needed when writing with the left hand and, which are located on the right side of your brain bolt into action. Your brain may say, hey, wait a second, but in time it begins to adjust to this unfamiliar task. Brain training helps your brain in many respects. It also helps your brain learn how to compensate if it must. If you are in an accident or have a stroke and need to learn to write with your left or right hand the brain is plastic or changeable, and it will step up and help you make this difficult transition.
When your brain knows exactly what to do and expect you don’t pay attention any more. You are on auto polite. To exercise your brain, which keeps it in top-notch form you have to take your brain out of its comfort zone every now and then and give it a good shock, making it work. When you do something new or unfamiliar, you have to pay attention, and this makes your brain develop new patterns of connections because it cannot rely on those stored patterns that are already in the brain.
MY TAKE:
It’s easy to do neurobics. Brush your teeth with the hand that you don’t normally use. Take a different route to work. This prevents you from being on auto-pilot. Many times people drive the same route so frequently that when they reach their destination, they don’t even remember making the drive.
Changing it up exercises the brain, which is a wonderful way to keep the brain youthful and functioning at top capacity.
Education is the Answer for Those who Have Lost Their Jobs and Desperately Need to get Back to Work
Displaced (unemployed) workers greatly benefit from education, particularly that which teaches them how to use technology
CITE: U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Many people stupidly blow off a formal education, and some don’t even finish high school for various reasons, including youth, naivete, not realizing the importance of getting an education, or perhaps they are young, unmarried parents and can’t continue going to school because of parental responsibilities.
Those who opted for these choices 20-, 30 or even 40 years ago and now find themselves unemployed after years of steady and decent employment are realizing a little late in the game that the only thing that may rescue them from unemployment and poverty is education.
The economy is the worst that it has been in a half century. Far too many workers lost their jobs as a result. These workers may be middle-aged or even post-middle-aged and, some may not have much educational background. Only now, in the midst of dire financial circumstances, are they recognizing the importance of an education in regard to getting a job and, hope-beyond-hope, keeping it. What they considered a low priority in their youth is now the number one priority in their life.
Going back to school helps the self-esteem of displaced workers who are struggling with depression and loss of self-confidence, as well as improves their skills and increases the odds that someone is going to hire them.
Unfortunately, states are cutting funds to classrooms right when untraditional students — those who have lost their place in the workforce – need instruction the most. Smart classrooms, that include technology and instructors to teach it benefits the entire country.
Displaced workers need to learn about technology and how to run computers and various other types of high-tech machinery. Many out of work people are opting for online classes because they can attend classes while at home and have interaction via the Internet with their instructor and fellow students. This type of schooling is preferred by older students who have children and various responsibilities that make traveling to a bricks and mortar school prohibitive.
When schools improve their networking systems, buying new computers, putting up overhead projectors and smart boards, this gives the students the very best education and makes them viable and marketable in the work force.
Many businesses are downsizing and laying off employees which means they certainly can’t afford to send those employees that they have for additional education, let alone the ones that they laid off.
MY TAKE:
There is help out there for displaced workers, including the Federal Pell Grant that is given to unemployed people who want and need to improve their skills and get more education so that they can find a job. The individual does not have to repay this grant. Information about Pell Grants is available at Fafsa.ed.gov.
There is also the WIA which is the Workforce Investment Act provided by the U.S. Department of Labor and available to all displaced and disadvantaged unemployed workers, who can receive as much as $4,000 in job training. Contact the Labor Department to get more information on this grant.
Poor Customer Service can do in a Company
If this is what the customer service rep looks like, you're in trouble!
CITE: Smallbusinesssuccess.biz
If a company’s customer service is lousy that company isn’t going to be in existence for long or if it does manage to survive, it is not going to be able to compete with those companies where customer service is a priority.
The demand for good customer service may be stronger than ever before. Many people are making purchases online. When they receive excellent customer service, feed back, quick questions to their answers, and easy way to return items, they are apt to go back to this particular site and shop more in the future. However, if the customer service is lousy, and you will stumble up some online businesses as well as bricks and mortar businesses that fall squarely into this category, there is no chance in Hades that the customer will deal with them again.
Good customer service means that the company absolutely meets customer expectations, which requires that the specific customers of that company are identified, and plans are made to provide them with predictable and unswerving results. Quality can be measured by asking customers to fill out a survey that tells whether they are or are not satisfied with the services they received and why or why not.
A company must empower its employees to make decisions because this leads to customer happiness. In order for employees to be have authority, management must allow this to happen which in turns empowers management.
Companies are very much aware of social media and how they can be dinged on Facebook or twitter if they fail to meet customer expectations. They don’t want to be the fodder for this kind of criticism so most companies are making every effort to provide good service to their customers, which they hope entices new customers and keeps the old ones combing back.
Often, it seems as though the wrong employee is working in customer service. They can be rude, downright, nasty and impossible to deal with. If this happens to you, get their name and tweet about them. That should get the company’s attention. There is no excuse for an employee to behave this way, and it is highly doubtful that the owner of the company appreciates this type of behavior upon learning of it through social media. A consumer can get a terrible impression of a company if the customer service representative is hateful. That kills the deal right there and that equals loss of revenue for the company. There have been many lost transactions lost due to the unacceptable behavior of customer reps who are supposed to be helping the customer, not giving him a migraine.
No company wants to be on the end of a consumer rant on either of these social media platforms.
Customer furor over such things as efforts by Verizon, Netflix and Bank of American to change services or raise fees was so successful that the companies backed down. When consumers connect online they have influence.
MY TAKE:
Most companies now recognize the power of social media as well as the competition that there is for online for business. More businesses than ever before are providing topnotch online customer service which keeps their online customers happy and willing to do repeat business. Bricks and mortar business should do likewise because they too can run off paying customers if their customer service department and reps aren’t people-friendly.
Many are Opting to Postpone Retirement Because They Can’t Afford to Retire
It's not like it was when Beaver was a kid. The middle class is shrinking and people aren't retiring as early.
CITE: Careerbuilder.com
Remember when your parents or grandparents retired in their early or mid-sixties and that was that? Their remaining years were retirement years, and they did as they pleased and weren’t strapped for money.
That is no longer the case. At least one-quarter of middle-class Americans will work until they are 80-years-old, according to a report by Wells Fargo, and 20 percent of wealthy Americans also think they will be working until they are octogenarians. One-fifth of those in the 60 to 75 age group don’t have any idea when they will be able to retire.
Approximately, 10,000 Baby Boomers turned 65 in 2011. Sixty-five is when retirement is supposed to start, but it didn’t for many of these Boomers.
As much as they may have liked to say adios to their jobs and join the ranks of the retired they couldn’t afford to quit and attempt to get by on Social Security (SS) benefits because these benefits barely cover one-half of what an individual needs to survive, which is approximately 70-to 80 percent of his income. Social Security benefits equal about half that amount.
Consequently, people are delaying retirement because they don’t want to rely on their savings to keep them afloat, which they would have to do if they retired and went on Society Security.
Individuals are opting to hold off on collecting Social Security until they are 70 years old because each year that an individual postpones his retirement after the age of 62, the person gets eight percent more per annum in benefits.
Currently, the full retirement age for the majority of baby boomers is age 66. At that time, they start getting the full benefits from the SSA. Those who start claiming SS before then may find that they can’t survive and need to get back into the workforce.
When that happens, their benefits are cut by $1 for every $2 more than $14,160 that is earned in a year. However, if a person waits until full retirement age to collect SS, he can earn whatever he likes without it having an impact on his SS benefits.
Those in this age category may want to consider phased retirement, which means decreasing your work hours to be part time, during which you start adapting to your smaller income and eliminate some of your expenses before jumping head-first into full retirement.
MY TAKE:
When a person starts claiming SS benefits at the age of 62 this locks in monthly payout for the remainder of the person’s life. If possible, hold back on getting SS benefits because your checks will be higher if you do. Then again, percentage increases stop altogether at age 70.
If you can postpone retirement for a few years you will get more benefits so try to do this if possible. If you can’t, you can’t.
A Contested Divorce is Contentious, Time Consuming and Costly
Divorce can get ugly and all too frequently it does.
CITE: Divorcesupport.com
The gig is up. You and your spouse are getting a divorce. You’ve both tried everything you could think of to save the marriage but it didn’t work. If things are thorny between you and your spouse, you may face a contested divorce which is far different from a dissolution where both sides agree on the terms.
A contested divorce occurs when the divorce proceedings do not go smoothly and the two parties squabble, hiss and spew, unable to agree on anything. A contested divorce can mean that one of the parties doesn’t want a divorce and is hoping to avert it. The actual divorce, rather than the conditions of the divorce, is being contested. Mostly, a contested divorce refers to cases where the parties both want to end their marriage but simply cannot agree on the issues.
When a divorce is un-contested or not contested the parties do not need the court’s intervention when it comes to agreeing on custody, division of assets or even spousal support.
A contested divorce is adversarial, which means there is much conflict. The parties fight over virtually everything. Due to this behavior, the court has to jump in and referee.
When a divorce is contested, the actual process includes serving the divorce petition on your spouse; your spouse then must respond after which discovery is held.
Discovery requires that each spouse must provide information about their income and assets and anything that is relevant to the case. Discovery is achieved via document requests, depositions and written interrogatories. Spouses can make requests for temporary alimony or child support at this time.
The parties may have to hire an appraiser to determine the value of their assets and home. Additionally, a custody counselor may be introduced into the proceedings. The counselor helps the court decide on child visitation and child custody after talking to the parties involved and their children.
The judge will try to make every effort to get the parties to reach to an agreement, or a settlement, rather than going to trial. The judge may encourage mediation, using a third, neutral party whose job is to assist the couple in resolving the issues. If this doesn’t pan out, the case goes to trial. At the trial, each side will give testimony, and each will be cross-examined. Witnesses will appear.
MY TAKE:
Divorce can be litigious so it is not surprising that contested divorces are more widespread than uncontested ones. When a couple is not able to reach a resolution, the judge will look at the facts and determine the outcome for them. If the parties involved can conceivably set their divorces aside and get along this saves a lot of times, money and hardship for all involved, particularly the children.
Yes, Senior Citizens Can Learn New Tricks Even Though Technology Scares Them
Cite: BillBirnhaum.com
Many senior citizens struggle with technology but want to learn how to use it. Their children and grandchildren may laugh at their ineptitude when it comes to using a computer (forget about the Internet!) or a cell phone. Don’t even mention texting to the older person. That makes them break out into a sweat.Don’t laugh at their fear. Instead have some compassion. Senior citizens did not grow up with these new-fangled contraptions and by the time these items were on the market many of these individuals were well past mid-life and settled. They’d figured out how to use cordless phones and the TV remote, and that’s that. They were done, or so they thought.
Adapting to change gets more difficult when you are older and that’s a fact, although it doesn’t mean that an old dog can’t learn new tricks. He simply needs some assistance from a patient tech-savvy younger person.
Older people often do not see or hear as well as younger people. They may have arthritis and have lost some of their agility. They may have allowed their brains to atrophy a bit because they weren’t using their noggin enough, but they can learn how to use technology if they really want to.
The cell phone called Old Faithful was designed specifically for older people. The numbers are big, so they can be readily seen. The dial buttons are larger. This phone is user-friendly for people with poor eyesight, arthritis and rheumatism. The icons are large and bright, so they can be read easily.
Additionally, this cell phone provides key confirmation and speech time information for those users who don’t hear well. The phone also consists of a flashlight that is easily activated or deactivated.
Emergency numbers can be preset into the phone. If you are not able to speak after pressing the emergency number, a SMS text message is automatically sent to the person you are trying to call and tells them that you are in need of help ASAP.
MY TAKE:
This is the ideal phone for someone who is scared of technology and/or who has never used a cell phone. Keep in mind that your grandparents or grandparents were not introduced to computers in the first grade as most of the younger generation was. They may not have worked in fields that required technological expertise so they didn’t have to learn how to use these new-fangled contraptions, but now they want to learn so they can keep up with their family and friends.
Tagged with: afraid of technology, computers, Internet, Old Faithful cell phone, older people, senior citizens, technology,texting, vision and hearing problems.
Cardiovascular Issues Can Create Problems for You in the Bedroom
Love and sex are not the exclusive domain of young peole
CITE: The Chart.blogs.Cnn
If things have cooled down in the bedroom, you might consider that the male partner, who may be experiencing some issues, such as ED (erectile dysfunction) may, in fact, have issues with his heart, or his cardiovascular health, according to Dr. Madeleine Castellanos.
If the heart is not functioning optimally, there is a good chance that a man is not going to be as sexually healthy as he once one. The heart has to be working well in order for a man to have the ability and stamina to perform in the bedroom.
Engaging in sex requires that the individuals, particularly the male, have efficient blood flow throughout the body. If not, a man may not be able to get or maintain an erection, and he may be slow to arouse.
A healthy body is one in which the blood is flowing well. Blood feeds the body and keeps humans energetic because it carries nutrients and hormones to the cells and tissues in the body.
When one part of the body is specifically being used or exercised, such as the penis is used during the act of sex, more blood flows to that specific area of the body. Genitals cannot function optimally if there is not enough blood getting to that region of the body. The brain, of course, is the biggest sex organ. If there is not enough blood flowing to the brain, which enables the flow of hormone signals between the brain and the genitals, the sex may not be good or may not happen at all.
When blood flows to the penis that’s when an erection occurs. When the blood flows to a woman’s genitals, the size of the clitoris increases and sensation is improved.
When blood flow lessens this can cause erectile dysfunction. In fact, many men with ED have been found to have cardiovascular (heart) disease.
Blood flow is restricted when a person’s arteries become hardened or clogged because of atherosclerosis. Additionally, if the nerves in the body aren’t functioning as they should be, there will be loss ofsensation in the genitals. Nerve damage is often caused by high blood sugar and diabetes.
If a person rarely has sex it is possible to lose muscle tissue in the genitals. The more frequently you have sex the better a person’s sexual function is because the muscle tissue stays stronger.
Studies are being done on the use of L-arginine, which is present in protein-rich foods, such as meats, legumes, walnuts, seafood and peanuts and how it may benefit both men and women sexually. L-arginine makes the body produce more nitric acid, which improves blood flow.
This particular supplement, when taken by a healthy person, does not appear to have side effects such as hearing problems or visual disturbances, which can occur when an individual takes PDE inhibitors such as Viagara. However, anyone who has cancer or kidney- or liver failure should not take L-arginine.
MY TAKE:
Get over your embarrassment and have a serious discussion with your partner and your physician about any sexual problems or issues you may be experiencing.
It is possible for older people to have satisfying sex lives, even though there are many physical factors working against you. Do not deprive yourself of a sex life, which may turn out to be better than what you experienced when you are younger. Women no longer have to worry about pregnancy. There are no longer children in the next bedroom. You have more time, freedom and privacy to engage in something that was probably what attracted you to each other in the first place.
Many People Want to Own Their Own Business
Buying a business is an exciting AND scary proposition
CITE: Kiplinger.com
Are you thinking about going into business for yourself? If so, you are not alone.
People get tired of working for someone else or like the idea of joining the family business. Some make the leap because they want more control over their work lives and their future, and some opt to become self-employed because they have lost their previous job due to lay-offs or downsizing. Owning one’s own business isn’t for the weak of heart.
Although initially, it may appear that you will have more freedom and get to be the boss for a change, most business owners spent a whole lot of time on the job and work very, very hard. People often buy businesses to change their lifestyle and this step will certainly do that.
In order for a business to sell there must be a seller and a buyer. In tough financial times which the U.S. is facing and has been facing for a while, the buyer of a business is not comparable to the buyer of 10 or 20 years ago. He does not take risks and is very concerned about the price he is paying for a business.
Today’s buyers are choosy and very concerned about the financial aspect of the business they are purchasing as well they should be. Most business buyers are first-time buyers (90 percent) and are novices.
The majority of the buyers have between $50,000 and $100,000 in liquid funds which they use to make a down payment. The typical cost of the business they are looking forward to buying is between $100,000 and $150,000.
When an individual is really serious about purchasing a business, he is accommodating and very willing to listen to the seller and to anyone else involved in the transaction. The serious buyer wants to buy the business quickly or within the next few months, and is very heartfelt and pragmatic in his reasons for wanting to buy a business.
The buyer has the money to make a down payment and is decisive but also adaptable when it comes to the location and type of business that he will consider purchasing. There are the traits that sellers should look for when selling their business.
If the seller intuits or suspects that the buyer isn’t genuine or may present a high risk of some kind, turn away from the negotiations and find a better buyer for your business.
MY TAKE:
Most people who are considering buying a business are dead serious about it, although, at least initially, they may be a little naive about the process and the actual running of a business once they purchase one. If a new business owner is willing to put in the time, effort and hard work needed to get a business off to a good start and to maintain it, the chances are good that he will succeed.