twitter

There really are zillion ways to use these social networking sites. If you think Twitter is just a simple social networking site, think again. Somebody actually found a job through twitter. I’m not sure if I can mention the name but some of you has probably read her story. Anyway, she chose the right information to put in her profile, made some really interesting tweets, followed the right people or the right company and soon enough she got a job that even pays her more than her past job. I have to say she must be really smart to use this tweeting site the best possible way.

This social networking sites are really useful for job hunting. In twitter, I believe, you just have to be specific in your profile. Who are you and what you do best. You can search for the right people by keywords, then you follow them and usually, they follow back. Then you make some really interesting tweets about what’s on your mind or what you’re doing. Keep your tweets professional though but with personality. Don’t get too negative about your past experiences of your past jobs if your goal is to get a job. In this way, your followers can get an idea on what kind of person you are. Your viewers who are possibly employers will get an idea about what kind of an employee you are. Just be smart and strategic with your tweets. Whatever you write on that small space is very important. Every word of it.

You can also make friendly conversations with others who are also in the process of getting a particular job. It’s okay to ask them how they’re doing and maybe you can exchange ideas.

President Obama

Americans need help in saving money. The president realizes this so he announced some new ideas on how to make it easier for workers to save more. Several changes has been done in the treasury department because the president saw some really alarming statistics which concerns the peoples’ finances. It’s nice to know that some leader has finally see this.

Obama said in his weekly radio and internet address that before this recession hit, the savings rate was essentially zero,while borrowing had risen and credit card debt increased. I’m sure many of us agree to this fact. He said tens of millions of families have been, for a variety of reasons, unable to put away enough money for a secure retirement and that we cannot continue on this course. Hopefully this changes in some rules will change some lives.

The following are the changes and most of them will take effect immediately because of the rule changes made by the Treasury Department.

Auto Enrollment in Retirement Plans: The administration will clear up some hurly-burlies in the paper work hurdles so that it will be easier for the smaller and medium-sized employers to automatically enroll workers for retirement plans. Employees could still choose to opt out of the retirement plan, though I suggest they should for this could be very useful for future use.

Saving tax refunds: The IRS will allow tax filers in 2010 to recoup their refund by issuing U.S. saving bonds. This will make it easier for those owed tax refunds to save.

Sick days and vacation time become 401(k) money: The White House will make it easier to convert unused vacation and sick leave pay into 401(k) contributions.

Based on government statistics, Americans have not been good savers in recent decades. Hopefully the administration’s changes will work for us. However, some say this will be modest because the changes are voluntary for employers and employees.

I hope Americans will take advantage of this new ways because it’s for our own good, but still this is a free country.

advanced vehicle

The U.S. Department of Energy made an announcement just recently that could really be beneficial for our cities. The department will provide $300M in stimulus funds to 25 projects aimed at putting 9,000 more alternative-fuel vehicles of America. These projects is also aimed at building the infrastructure needed to power them, including 542 fueling and charging stations across the country. These are big projects indeed under the banner of  the DOE’s “clean cities” program.

This is surely a novel concept. It could cut petroleum use by up to 38 million dollars a year. That’s nearly a million barrels of oil. That’s good for the country’s economy, good for nature and definitely good for the people.

But before the money is given, each of the 25 projects need to raise twice the matching funds allocated for them. This will allow more capital-intensive projects. The bulk of the funding will be used to advance adoption os hybrids, electric vehicles, plug-in electric hybrids, as well as natural gas and biofuel-powered vehicles.  Imagine these vehicles running around America. I wonder what it’s like to have one of those?

Of course having this different type of vehicles means needing different type of refueling stations. That’s why part of the plan is to have refueling stations designed to power cars running on natural gas, propane, biodiesel, ethanol and electricity. Right now, the designers of this concept are probably having interesting imaginations.

DOE is not awarding the money on companies tackling in these areas. It, instead, funds the local government organizations assigned with greening transportations in their jurisdiction.  It also encourages recipients to introduce these advanced vehicles with industry partners in order to incite eventual commercial adoption. If this concept is starting to be realized, I’m sure it will not be hard to commercialize.

The “Clean Cities” program is not created by the stimulus package. It is said that 15 years ago, the goal of this program has always been to cut the country’s petroleum consumption in transportation. With this new stimulating concept, “Clean Cities” program will be a step closer to it’s goal.

Facebook

Facebook explained on its blog that its okay to not to accept all requests. Including friend requests. If you worry about your privacy, it’s best to accept friend requests only from those you know. The person who requested you will not be notified about it. Likewise, if you accept someone as a friend, but later decides to un-friend them, they will not be notified. This means that they will no longer be able to see your information, nor you will be able to see their’s. If you don’t want to accept them and also don’t want them to attempt to friend you again, Facebook suggests that you leave their requests pending. I’m abit confused on this part though. If we leave their requests pending, then we will keep seeing their requests on our home page.

There are, I guess, rumours  that Facebook is very close to launching their location funtionality. I’m not sure if this would create a positive response from users because this will make it easier for other people to know your location, besides your status, your links, etc.

Also many users use this social networks with a major purpose of spreading and sharing information and links & also to let other people know what they are doing. This makes protecting privacy complicated & confusing. You want to accept as many friends as possible to let them know the updates of your life but also, you want your privacy protected. This I believe is the challenge that Facebook is trying to solve.

Facebook is approaching 300 million users. Along with this growing number of users is the growing number of challenges and issues which I believe Facebook is happy to face. Having 300 million users is a kind of problem that any social networks would like to have.

As for the individuals who think privacy is more important than the leisurely experiences in Facebook, better accept only the request of those you know. And always remember that it’s okay to click “Ignore”.

meat

This is a cool concept that would keep the markets honest about the foods’ expiration dates. This idea must have come out after a few scandals in Japan involving food providers tampering with expiration dates.

It is a Fresh Label Sticker that  would detect ammonia emanating from the product within and fades out accordingly. Once the ammonia level reaches a level deemed unsafe, the label will no longer be readable. I have to say it’s really a smart system that can’t easily be manipulated.

Since it’s reasonably cost-efficient, we could see it being adopted in large scale. However, since these stickers never lie, some think that some meat industries might not want to adopt this. I’m confident though that our beloved meat industries in the US do have serious sanitary procedures to ensure good food quality.

Some also think that this is a good idea but there are always some geniuses who could find ways to manipulate this. Some also argues that just like many other good ideas, it’s not usually as good when it becomes a reality. There are always some flaws, maybe the cost, maybe it will not work as good as we thought. But despite many opposing opinions, many still think that it’s a great & useful concept. One of them is me.

However, since this is still a theory and not yet a reality, for now we still have to rely on our noses to smell fresh food.

Recently, the International Monetary Fund released a statement that “Global recovery has started”. A chief economist of IMF said that United States finally improves its economy by focusing on exporting products in parallel to the importation done by Asia.

But, is it an overstatement to say that economic recovery is at hand? Well, probably all nations are starting to recover from the economic crisis but there is still a problem as to how to sustain this so-called recovery.

According to the article released by Olivier Blanchard, before there was a financial crisis, the potential economic result may be lesser. He admits that for US to return back to its stable economy, it has to go through a diffucult process. And even if it will turn out positively, there will always be “a deep scar” left which can affect the future supply and demand.

Due to this economic crisis, about three-forths of US household has gone through losses. In fact, Americans no longer follow their “free-spending ways”. Not just the US constituents, but all people around the world have a difficult time adjusting to this economic difficulty.

In my own opinion, this event has taught all of us to save money. Previously, everyone is happy-go-lucky and would mostly spend. But since the crisis, with prices starting to soar while salaries are stuck at the same rate, everyone learned a good lesson.

I just hope that what the IMF said is true. Hopefully, their economic technique of focusing on exporting rather than importing will always be implemented. This is one way to keep the Dollar purchasing power on the top among all other currencies. May we able to sustain the global recovery.

Source: CNNmoney

obama's yes we can

Digitizing health records is a big part of the Obama administration’s health reform agenda, with the president arguing that EHR (Electronic Health Records) will save taxpayers from wasteful spending by making health care more efficient. Well, this sounds like an idea.

A recent study at the Christiana Care emergency room in Wilmington, Del., showed that just having the ability to download and print out a file with a patient’s medical history saved the ER $545 per use, mostly on reduced waiting times. “Doctors are paid by the minute, and they don’t have a clue who the patients are,” said David St. Clair, chief executive of health tech company MEDecision, which conducted the Christiana Care study. “Anything the system can tell them makes workflow easier and faster.”

This is great. It saves money and if waiting time is reduced, doctors can be more productive and, thus, will be able to attend to more patients. But how much does it? Is it as good as it sounds?

The health-care system, as currently devised, allows savings for the health insurers. Electronic health records cost tens of millions of dollars upfront for a typical hospital to implement. They also take years to set up and hours to train physicians. “I’m still shocked that there is a business argument for electronic medical records because it kills the very thing that makes hospitals money,” said David Brailer. “The way we pay for health care penalizes efficiency.”

The first step is usually the hardest to take. The health care industry is poised to realize huge savings by implementing electronic health records systems, but who really benefits is up for debate. Whatever is the result of this idea, I hope it’s the best for America.

marriage picture from everystockphoto.com

Marriage is the union of two people. Spending the rest of your life with the one you love would be one of the happiest moments that can happen in your lifetime. In every story there is always a happy ending. But in marriage not all couples live happily ever after. It is not like any usual fairy tale. In the ceremony of marriage there is a statement that the couple will say “To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, and I promise My love to you forevermore…” But other marriage couples cannot live through the poorer state although their love may live forever.

Successful couples view their marriage as a permanent union. And when problems arise they’d rather solve the each problem than use it as an excuse to end or abandon the marriage. Statistics show that financial problems in marriage often contribute to destruction of family. Well, I know quite a few number of couples who due to financial difficulty often have this “war”. If you are among the millions of couples who’s marriage is affected by economy, the following tips might help:

1. Set the right priorities
We must admit, in these days we always aim to earn as much as we can. Some couples aimed too much. As a result, they can’t have much time for their spouse and kids. If you are one of these guys, you better set the right priorities. Know which should come first. Truly, we have to work but there should be proper time management and “do first things first”.

2. Value “Commitment”
How do you view your marriage? Is it like a financial investment or financial relief or an escape, perhaps? If this is how you viewed your marriage, sorry to say, but it might not last long. If not, it might be burdensome for both parties. Let us view marriage as a permanent union. It is not a way to escape whatever problem or financial burden you have. Valuing marriage as an important and permanent union will strengthen your relationship. For sure, it won’t be shaken by any economic problem that you will face.

3. Value “Teamwork”
Have you watched a team sport like basketball? The victory of the team is contributed not just by one person but by all of the members in the team. Both husband and wife should work together, not just in earning for the family but also in handling the kids. Better think twice if you are used to “one-man band” kind of thing.

4. Have respect for each other
If you respect your spouse, you will always consult him/her any decision that you are going to take. For example, you won’t have a mortage without letting your spouse know about it.

5. Be reasonable.
Basically, it means that you are willing to give ‘allowances for each other’s mistakes’. Don’t just focus on your spouse’s weakness. But instead, pay attention to his good virtues.

6. Learn how to forgive
Nobody is perfect. Every now and then a spouse will make a mistake. Therefore, learn how to forgive.

When couples are struggling to make ends meet, there is much tension and anxiety in the marriage. One of the biggest reasons for divorce is money. Marriages very rarely survive when there are serious money struggles, unless the couple learn to overcome those struggles.

Spouses who once smoothed over spats with a little shopping therapy can no longer afford to fill that prescription. “It’s the biggest stress on married couples in the past 60 years,” says  Margaret Shapiro, a clinical social worker in Philadelphia.