Archive for the ‘Life’ Category

More than 60% of the waste produced can be recycled, by taking part in recycling you can help to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. The materials you recycle could be passed on to reprocessors so they can turn them in to new products. Using recycled materials to manufacture new items can be cheaper than using raw materials and could mean less energy used. By recycling you will be helping to preserve natural resources and to protect the environment for you and for future generations.

All man-made products incorporate raw materials to create the finished product. This involves harvesting the earth’s natural resources (e.g. wood, metal) in order to acquire the raw materials.

Deforestation is a prime example of how harvesting natural resources is harming the environment. This could be reduced if we recycle more paper and old wooden products.

Deforestation is a major issue today. This is because man is using natural resources to fulfill his needs. The increase of these demands has led to increasing levels of destruction of our natural resources. These resources being limited, a day would probably arrive when we don’t really have anything to turn towards. Think about all the trees that are being axed in the forests today. Your habits of wasting paper could be one of the million reasons that contribute towards such problems.

Practicing the concept of recycling will benefit us in our everyday life. Have you given a thought to the amount of energy you waste on an everyday basis? Do you really require the light to be switched on at your sink in the morning? Therefore, reduce the use of energy. This is simply because, a lot of materials are required to manufacture new products that require energy and these are not always biodegradable. The more number of non-biodegradable products or materials added to the environment means more matter in landfill areas. This in turn creates more issues due to lack of space in such landfill sites that cannot really accommodate non-biodegradable objects. A time will soon arrive when there would really be no more space on earth to accommodate all the junk we add on an everyday basis!

The more we recycle, the more we can help to reduce the burden on local and national landfill sites. As population levels increase, we will need to find more landfill sites, which will harm the surrounding environment and wildlife.

This is another important reason why we should recycle more, in order to reduce the impact landfills have on the surrounding environment.

We all have flaws, although many of the factors affecting self confidence are beyond your control, there are a number of things you can consciously do to build self confidence. Even if your physical appearance or social skills aren’t what you wish they were, that doesn’t have to stop you from being confident. Here’s how to believe in yourself.

Dress Well and take care of yourself - When you don’t look good, it changes the way you carry yourself and interact with other people. Use this to your advantage by taking care of your personal appearance. This doesn’t mean you need to spend a lot on new clothes. One great rule to follow is “spend twice as much, buy half as much”. Rather than buying a bunch of cheap clothes, buy half as many select, high quality items. Also eat a healthy diet and get enough exercise. Don’t abuse your body, don’t overload it, and don’t deny it any of the things it needs. At the same time, don’t obsess.

Improve your posture - Similarly, the way a person carries herself tells a story. People with slumped shoulders and lethargic movements display a lack of self confidence. They aren’t enthusiastic about what they’re doing and they don’t consider themselves important. By practicing good posture, you’ll automatically feel more confident. Having good posture can actually make you feel more confident. Good posture also helps with deep breathing, which helps with feeling calm and relaxed.

Find your passion - Whether it’s football, martial arts, dancing, or basket weaving, you will feel confident pursuing that endeavor by recognizing what you enjoy doing the most. More importantly, you’ll be enjoying your progress.

Know your strengths and weaknesses -Learning who you are doesn’t happen overnight.

A good start is to identify your strengths and weaknesses and then weigh those against what you enjoy. (If you’re great in sales, but you actually can’t stand sales jobs, then it doesn’t really matter if you have confidence there. Unless it’s all about ego—but does that really make you happy?) It might help to list five things you do well that you enjoy, and five things you’d like to do well. Make an effort to utilize some of the first list and work on some of the second every day. As you use your strengths and improve where there’s room to grow, you’ll develop both confidence and fulfillment simultaneously.

Feeling Depressed? You may be having a quarter life crisis! It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are a lot of things about yourself that you didn’t know and may or may not like. You look at your job. It is not even close to what you thought you would be doing or maybe you are looking for one and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and are scared. Everyone that you have grown up with around you seems to be doing so well, yet you are nowhere near where you thought you would be at this age. You start to panick and ask yourself how did I get here?

Bearing all the hallmarks of the midlife crisis, this phenomenon – characterised by insecurities, disappointments, loneliness and depression– is hitting twenty- and thirtysomethings shortly after they enter the “real world”, with educated professionals most likely to suffer.

“Quarterlife crises don’t happen literally a quarter of the way through your life,” said lead researcher Dr Oliver Robinson, from the University of Greenwich in London. “They occur a quarter of your way through adulthood, in the period between 25 and 35, although they cluster around 30.”

This tends to be the age where regets about decitions made in School, College or University become more appart. The classes one didn’t take, or could have tried harder in, the teams one didn’t try out for, and wished they had and so forth can sometimes cause a lot of regret and even resentment of those that are doing things one wishes they’d done.

Some people will respond to a quarter life crisis by rushing into various landmark type goals in life (ie, getting married, moving out from your parents house, getting your first house, getting your first real job, having kids). You wonder how you will ever find job security/afford a house at today’s prices/find a partner if you’re working all the time/get out of your parents’ house if your debt is costing you every dime you make/afford rent while it keeps going up/find a job that pays the bills/pay off your debt/all of the above. Usually all of the above.

Basically, you wake up one morning and think to yourself, “Man - I’m totally screwed.”

As we go into the new year we are going to see rail fares go up by an average of 5.9%, with some commuters even finding their season tickets rising by almost 11%. Chief executive Anthony Smith said they should not have to keep paying for a “fractured, inefficient industry”. Whilst the association of train operating companies (ATOC) claim the increases will help pay for better services.

The average rise for all rail tickets - including unregulated fares such as advance and business tickets - is 5.9%. However, the cost of a Chester-Crewe annual season ticket goes up 10.6%, as does a season ticket for travel between Llandudno and Bangor in Gwynedd and Port Talbot Parkway and Swansea, will increase by 8.7%.

With the price of UK train fares being the most expensive in the EU its hardly surprising the majority of the general public are in uproar at these ridiculous increases. The rises are bad enough for commuters who mostly cannot hope to match the fare rises with comparable salary increases. Yet things could have been even worse, as the Government had originally intended to raise the January 2012 annual increase for regulated fares from RPI inflation plus 1% to RPI plus 3%.

However the Government is apparently still planning to operate a RPI plus 3% formula for January 2013 and January 2014, leaving us hard-up passengers to hope that promises of a reduction in inflation will be fulfilled. There was a similar “reprieve” for London travellers who had faced Tube and bus rises of around 7% from today until an extra £136 million of Government was found to limit the London increases to an average of 5.6%.

Michael Roberts, chief executive of the Association of Train Operating Companies (Atoc), stats money raised through fares helped pay for improved services. “For a number of years, the government has sought to sustain investment in the railways by reducing what taxpayers contribute and increasing the share that is paid for by passengers,” he said. “The focus of the whole industry is to keep on reducing the overall cost of running the railways as a way of limiting future fare rises and providing taxpayers with better value for money.”

Campaign groups and transport unions have bemoaned the 2012 increases which come at a time when rail regulators have warned Network Rail about poor punctuality on some long-distance routes.

Last week, the Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) released figures showing that passengers in Europe can pay between three-and-a-half times and nearly 10 times less for their annual season tickets on routes of around 23 miles than their British counterparts. But the Government, train companies and London Mayor Boris Johnson have all stressed that fare rises are necessary to sustain investment in Tube and main line systems that are attracting more and more passengers.

Why is it so difficult for the majority of people to let their waiter know that they are less than satisfied with what’s on their plate?! Its seems that the dining public has such a fear of letting the restaurant know that they were not satisfied with an aspect of their dining experience, that they would rather sit quietly through the meal than speak up. This often results in the diner going away feeling disappointed and unsatisfied, and often bad mouthing the restaurant.

Most restaurant owners want to know if you have an issue with the food or service so that they can improve it, as reputation is everything to them. They will often look at replacing the dish, and sometimes even chuck freebies in to make up for your misfortune. A friend of mine recently ate at a local restaurant that has a rather good reputation, however somehow this particular dish was not best cooked. My friend very politely sent it back and got a free drink, along with an improved dish in return. The staff where very friendly and apologetic about the whole situation and my friend left the restaurant with a positive outlook about eating there again.

Now I know not all restaurant staff will be this helpful, but unless you give them a chance to fix your issue you cannot truly be aware of whether the restaurant you have dined at was really that bad. A few various scenarios where the problem would lie with the restaurant includes: when your meal is the wrong temperature, stale, has a foreign object (a hair or something similar) in it, or is not what you ordered. In this case the fault lies purely with the restaurant, which means that you are entirely within your rights to send your order back (that is to say, you shouldn’t receive any complaints or trouble from your waiter).

If any of the above problems arise whilst dining you should politely request a replacement, and make sure that you are specific about what you would like to be changed. This means you should know whether you want the meal to be fixed, or cooked entirely from scratch. Another few tips to remember are -
•Be Light-hearted and smile, smiling cures everything. A kitchen is busy and people make mistakes.
•Never demand a server to work for you. Remember, they are handling your food.
•Unless they are having a bad day, most servers will not care if you send back food. As long as you’re not rude and ask politely, they should be happy to help.
•Your Server is not 100% to blame - if there is something wrong with your food, remember you are tipping on service.

Giant tobacco firm Philip Morris is suing Australia for new laws set by their parliament, which have been set to ensure that after December 2012 all cigarette and tobacco products must be sold in plain olive-brown packets that will only display graphic health warnings.

Canberra quoted that the law was “one of the most momentous public health measures in Australia’s history”, but Philip Morris responded by saying that “the move breached a bilateral investment treaty” and “it had served a notice of arbitration under Australia’s Bilateral Investment Treaty with Hong Kong”. PMA’s Australian affiliate Philip Morris Ltd (PML) will also pursue claims under Australian domestic law.

Anne Edwards a spokesman for Philip Morris was also quoted saying; “The government has passed this legislation despite being unable to demonstrate that it will be effective at reducing smoking and has ignored the widespread concerns raised in Australia and internationally regarding the serious legal issues associated with plain packaging.”

Philip Morris is also expecting damages to be billions of dollars, but the legal process could take anything between two to three years to complete.
“We are confident that our legal arguments are very strong and that we will ultimately win this case,” Anne Edwards also quoted.
British American Tobacco Australia was also quoted earlier this month saying it would launch a challenge in the High Court as soon as the laws were granted royal assent, and that the company will argue it is unconstitutional for the government to remove its trademarks and other intellectual property without any compensation.
Under the new Australian law, the only thing that will distinguish tobacco brands on their packets will be their brands name in a standard colour, position, font size and style. Nicola Roxon from Australia’s Minister for Health and Ageing said – although the tobacco industry is “fighting to protect its profits, we are fighting to protect lives. We know that packaging remains one of the last powerful marketing tools for tobacco companies to recruit new smokers to their deadly products. In the future, cigarette packets will serve only as a stark reminder of the devastating health effects of smoking,”.

Borough Market, South London

A favourite with hungry Londoners, this market is open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. It is a favourite of many celebrity chefs, and can be found under the railway arches between Southwark Cathedral and Borough High Street. With a range of around 150 food stalls including fish, game, artisan cheeses, rare-breed meats and ales.

St George’s Market, Belfast

A beautiful Victorian market that is a must do for any visitor to Belfast. The food market is open on Saturdays only, and sees local delights such as fresh organic veg, Armagh beef, fish landed at Portavogie and Irish farmhouse cheeses. World foods such as Mexican snacks to Italian olive oils can also be found here.

Swansea Market

Wales’s most famous market is famous for selling Welsh laverbread, cockles and Welsh cakes (made from griddle and meat and vegetables). It is open Monday to Saturdays and it is the largest, and possibly the friendliest, indoor market in Wales.

Moseley Farmers’ Market, Birmingham

The BBC’s food magazine, Olive, recently listed Birmingham as the UK’s foodiest town, so it is hardly surprising this is in our top ten. It is a monthly market that see’s traders selling produce from all over the Midlands. You can find Balti dishes that are made famous by the city.

Winchester Farmers’ Market

This takes place on the second and last Sunday of each month, just outside Winchester’s magnificent cathedral. It is the biggest farmers’ market in the UK. Everything sold is top quality local produce, and you can even find the likes of water buffalo meat and Hampshire honey and peppery local watercress.

Kirkwall Farmers’ Market, Orkney

Kirkwall maket takes place on the last Saturday of every month you can find this market in front of the magnificent St Magnus Cathedral. You’ll find organic vegetables, herbs, local fish and beef as well as a craft market.

Edinburgh Farmers’ Market

Taking place in the beautiful surrondings of Castle Terrace under Edinburgh’s ancient fortress, you will find this market open every Saturday. You will find many orgainic foods such as organic mushrooms from the Highlands and Scottish venison.

Broadway Market, East London

Possibly East London’s coolest market, open every Saturday you’ll find traders stalls selling everything from locally baked bread to artisan scotch eggs and Vietnamese coffee.

Orton Farmers’ Market, Cumbria

Set in the small village of Orton, Cumbria; you’ll find this market open on the second Saturday of each month. With around 40 local farmers and traders selling everything from home-brewed cider to trout pate.

Shipbourne Farmers’ Market, Kent

This market takes place every Thursday morning and boasts around 20 stalls. You can pick local foods up including tangy chutneys and Kentish apple juice and it can be bought with Shipbourne’s own currency. Using your card to buy Shipbourne farmers’ pounds at the local pubs then spending them at the market.

The job market has never been so competitive. With the credit crunch still looming overhead and a skilled people taking lower paid jobs just to gain employment, the best option can be to gain extra skills and improve one’s employability.

There are a range of opportunities available to enhance your skill set, and below will list a few of the options available to get started.

1.      Think about what you want to do. Think about what kind of job you want. Gaining skills can be beneficial to develop your all-round employability, but it should be a priority to focus on skills that will benefit your future career.

2.       Pay a visit to a career centre. Career centres are designed to offer advice and direction for those who are seeking to gain employability skills. Once enrolled, you can begin a course which is specific to the skill you require.

3.       Spend time searching the internet. There are a wealth of resources and advice available on the internet that can help you. Online courses are also available and many are free.

4.       Visit your local library. There are a range of books available to help improve skills and employability. Books on skill set development and employability will often have sections which engage the reader in undergoing tasks to develop their skills.

5.       Find out which skills are currently required by employers. By reading up-to-date literature on what businesses are looking for in a person’s skill set, you can stay ahead of the game.

6.       Engage in a typing course. By taking a typing course, you will improve your typing speed an accuracy. This is beneficial to modern day businesses, as most jobs require at least some typing skills. The better equipped your typing skills are, the more productive an employee you will be.

7.       Find out the most popular interview questions. There are some interview questions that will be used in most interviews. Use the internet to research common interview questions, then develop clear, structured and intellectual answers. Next, practise the answers in front of a mirror, a friend or a family member to become confident in your answers.

Most of the options available above are available for free, so there’s no reason to hesitate. Don’t just sit around, waiting for the next opportunity to be perfectly tailored to your abilities; tailor yourself to the job you want!

Job Security

Are you worried about keeping hold of your job through the recession?  Are you finding that you are constantly worried about getting fired because the economic downturn is forcing your business to make cut backs?

Well, now you shouldn’t have to worry anymore.  Despite the recession there are some sure fire ways to make sure that you get to keep your job while others get the chop.

Making Or Saving

There are two types of employees that will definitely be in the same job when the recession goes away - those that save money for their business and those that make money for their business.  If you fit into one of these categories then you’re golden!

Even if you aren’t in a position to save big bucks for the business then you should still think about how you can do things on a small scale for the business.  For example if you can save money on printing you will get noticed and when it comes to time to get rid of someone on your level you will be that much safer.

Be Indispensible

Don’t hide away from the office, embrace it!  You need to tackle things head on when it comes to projects and activities.  You need to be the one employee who is indispensible so that when it comes time to getting rid of people, you are immediately made safe.

Think about transferring to a more critical area where you can make a difference.  Try and get involved with serious projects where you can take more responsibility.  Do anything to get stuck in…

Are You In The Best Position

Although it might sound like a good opportunity to go from a production role to a junior management role you should stand back and take a look at the economic climate.

If you decide to take the job as a junior manager you may suddenly find that you are getting all the blame for the company going under due to the recession - that’s hardly classed as a successful promotion.

Education

You should think about getting more education under your belt to increase your profit value - by having many more skills in your cap you may have what it takes to beat off the others when it comes to redundancy time.

If you are lucky your company may even have a policy in place of reimbursing employees when it comes to education so check it out.  You won’t be losing anything, you’ll be gaining an employable skill!

Friends

There is nothing more important than your friends when it comes to trying to stay in a job.  You should find out who you haven’t spoken to in a while and then make it an aim to speak to them again.  This way you are staying fresh in everyone’s mind and when you do need a favour you won’t just be springing on them out of the blue.

Keeping your job?

Are you going to be in a job this time next year?  Are you worried?  Let us know…

Networking The Right Way

Networking can be a great way of either looking for a job or getting ahead in your career.  However there is some certain unspoken etiquette involved with networking that should be kept in mind…

Below we list some of the most important aspects of networking etiquette that you should keep in mind if you want to get that job you’ve been eyeing up for the past 4 months…

Know Why

You should be able to identify why you have decided to network - you should know exactly what you want from the experience.  Otherwise you will be wandering the networking scene aimlessly and pointlessly.

Have aims of what you want to achieve and realise connections available to you that you can use to get your to specific employers.

Homework

You should make sure that you know as much as possible about the contacts you network with - you should do your research prior to any communication as you should never be asking your contact any questions about their background and company.  The more you know, the more impressed they will be!

Leave Desperation Out Of It

Any contacts that you meet will be much more willing to help someone who has a positive outlook ad vibrant attitude over someone who is miserable and moaning about the lack of opportunities.

Take It In

Make sure that you take in everything that is being said to you - advice doesn’t always come for free and if someone is taking the time out to supply you with their hard learned advice then you should listen properly.

Don’t forget your manners either - be polite and send your contact a thank you note and try and fit in a hint to show that you were listening to what they were saying.

Respect

You should provide your contact with the appropriate respect needed - don’t just rock up at their office and expect pearls of wisdom.  You should make an appointment and even when on the phone you should ask to make sure the contact has time to talk.  If possible don’t rush into talking business straight away, try and work your way into it with polite conversation.

Small Doses

Don’t ask for everything all at once.  It can be annoying to be asked tons of questions all at once.  Think instead about planning to ask questions in stages to make the whole process easier for your contact.  Don’t bombard your contact, there is always next time to ask more questions.

Permission

The aim of networking is to meet more and more people - however, before using your contact’s name to introduce yourself to someone new, make sure you get permission.  Otherwise you can come off looking foolish and immature as they might not have wanted to be included in your next meet…

Networking Properly?

Are you networking to find a job in today’s troubled economy?  Have you found our advice useful?  Let us know…