Laws and police procedures vary from city to city and state to state. The information given here is of a general nature and is not intended in any way to replace the procedures and recommendations of your law enforcement agency. Refer to your law enforcement agency if there is any doubt as to the procedures to be followed.
Help The Police Help You
1. Keep inventories of all valuables including descriptions, the items’ serial numbers and photographs.
2. Mark TV, VCR, computers, etc., with your driver’s license number preceded or followed by your two-letter state abbreviation. (or use whatever ID number your department suggests such as social security number). A driver’s license number is probably best. A police officer a thousand miles away finding your TV in the trunk of a car will have your name in a matter of minutes using the driver’s license number. If you have reported the theft to your department, the description and ANY serial number will be entered into the National Crime Information Center computer. If you don’t know the item is missing and have not reported it, then the driver’s license number becomes more valuable. The police in any state can teletype your police department and have them contact you about any questionable property.
Calls for Service
1. Know the telephone number for your police department. Not just 911 but the regular number for routine business.
2. Use 911 only for emergencies involving imminent danger to life and/or property. Most agencies do not have unlimited personnel to answer 911 calls. If several people are using 911 to report their cat in the tree or their neighbor’s loud music, then your real emergency will have to wait until a line comes open.
3. Don’t get upset when you call to report an incident or inquire about a case and are switched to several different people. The larger the agency, the more specialized it is. Your call may be routed to the division handling your type of problem or question such as traffic, juvenile, detectives, burglary, and the list goes on. You may have to talk to several people before finding the officer actually assigned to your case, or to take your report.
4. Don’t request that an officer come to your house if the report you wish to give can be handled over the phone. If there is nothing for the officer to see at your home or other location, then give the report over the phone. Many agencies have hired and trained civilian employees to give information and take simple reports over the phone.
If your car has just been stolen, give the information by phone as quickly as possible using 911. Officers on the street can be notified immediately and the information entered into the national computer. Demanding to see an officer in person will only delay this process and who’s to say the officer wont pass your car on the way to your house to see what kind of car you own! It has happened!
This goes for burglary and other crimes where an officer will need to know what he’s looking for. Always give all the information you can on the phone. Even though an officer must come to your home to make a burglary report, he may be able to spot your stolen blue and purple “fratastatic wobulator” while he’s en route if you gave the dispatcher that information.
Document All Calls
5. If you have a problem important enough to call the police for, insist that a report be made, and ask for the case or report number. Refer to this number when inquiring about your case. If you want to take action against your neighbors for their loud parties or barking dogs, you’ll be in a better position to do so if all your calls to the police concerning these matters are documented. This goes for other types of “problem” cases also.
6. Don’t expect police to make arrests for minor offenses that are not occurring when they arrive. Police must usually observe any minor violations in order to make an arrest. Reports must be written, witnesses interviewed , evidence reviewed and warrants obtained. Felonies may be a different matter. If you point to a fleeing suspect and say “he just robbed me” or “he just broke into my house”, there will probably be an arrest made if the suspect can be caught.
7. Police generally have no authority in “civil” matters such as landlord/tenant disputes, property line disputes, breaches of contract, employer/ employee disputes over pay and other matters, and similar disputes. The police will respond to prevent violence if necessary, and will inform involved parties of their need to consult attorneys, small claims court, etc.
Information Usually Released To The Public
1. Details of a crime, including the location, date and time.
2. The name of the victim.
3. The facts surrounding an arrest such as any resistance encountered, and if any weapons were involved.
4. Identifying facts about a suspect. (except name until formally charged)
5. A general description of evidence.
6. Names of investigating and/or arresting officers.
7. The nature of the charges to be filed and the court they will be filed in.
Information Not Usually Released To The Public
1. Names of witnesses.
2. Information about confessions and statements, etc.
3. Lab results.
4. Criminal history information
5. Names of juveniles.
6. Names of persons killed or injured until next-of-kin have been notified.
7. Any information that, if released, would jeopardize an investigation.
Tips To Remember
1. Mark all valuables when practical with an engraving tool. (your police agency may have a program allowing you to borrow one) Know the license number and have the Vehicle Identification Number recorded for your vehicles.
2. Secure your property.
3. Document all calls for police service by having a report made.
4. Get good descriptions of suspects and vehicles.
5. Consult your police agency or district attorney and find out what your rights are concerning family violence and crime victim compensation.
6. When you withhold information about a crime, you’re not hurting the police; only the crime victim!
Lee Porter an author and entrepreneur for HealthSufficiency, a continuing health, personal development and life dynamic education and business development company helping people to be meet their potential to lead healthy, prosperous and successful lives.
Tags: Crime fighting, police department, reporting crime, protection, safety, stolen property, property identification, securing property
Tags: Safety
What’s more American than Mom, apple pie, and baseball? Would you believe Mom, apple pie, and casinos? It’s true. Americans are visiting casinos more than they visit Major League baseball parks!
With all this participation, are Americans becoming expert at gambling? Do they know their odds and the ways to improve their odds the way they used to know baseball stats? If we are to judge by the billions of dollars dropped in casinos each year, the answer is a resounding “no.”
If winning at the casino is the new American dream, it seems to be a dream that comes true for very few - except the owners of the establishments. We’ll assume you are not an owner. Then what can you do to improve your chances of winning a piece of the American casino pie? How can you change your luck?
Would you believe that your “luck” is really only one factor in the game, that there is a lot more going on here than just plain old- fashioned apple pie luck?
First, let me ask you a couple more questions. Do you spend more than you intended to on most of your visits to the casino, stay longer than you had planned, win far less money than you would like to win? Are you frustrated by your inability to really get ahead but find yourself going back again and again?
If you answered “yes” to these questions, you are solidly in with the vast majority of people who visit casinos. But, let’s look at what “yes” answers imply. Notice that what you are really saying is that you don’t seem to have as much control over your “luck” and your behavior at casinos as you would like to have. Why?
Would you believe good old-fashioned American psychology? It’s true - psychology is planned into the casino business!
First of all, there is the general psychology of society’s changing attitude. Gambling has increased in popularity in good part because it is no longer perceived as terribly immoral - even the government has given its approval. Since you’re, in effect, looking through society’s view of gambling as an acceptable form of entertainment, it’s easy to let your guard down. It’s just an acceptable, harmless way to have some fun. This is fine, as long as you either have inexhaustible funds to throw away or you can keep enough control to spend no more than you can afford. But if you want to make your casino visits pay, then you must change the way you look at gambling. To make it pay you must look at the casino as your adversary. Now, that’s not to say it can’t be fun - after all, wouldn’t it be more fun to walk away from your casino-adversary with bucks in your pocket and a smile on your face than it is to walk away from your casino-friend with empty pockets?
But the psychology part is more involved and complicated than just analyzing your attitude and society’s attitude. Casinos consciously and deliberately exploit known psychological responses to control your gambling behavior. Knowing some of their methods will help put you back in control.
We all know that casinos are set up to give the casino a mathematical edge. They are in the business to make money, after all. What you may not know is that your mathematical odds of winning are affected by the length of your visit. The longer you stay, the poorer your odds of winning are. That’s mathematical. The casinos, then, use psychological methods to persuade you to stay longer - the longer you stay, the greater the odds that they win.
The design of the casinos - the colors, the lighting, the space, the chairs, the smells in the air, everything - is analyzed for maximum comfort and appeal. The operators figure that anything that can keep you playing just another five minutes each visit can add millions to their take.
Let’s take a critical look at some common casino practices.
Special promotions, for instance. Some are designed to get you into the place, others to keep you there just a little longer.
The free or cheap meals - an all around winner for the casino - will bring some people in for a bargain meal. How many will leave without dropping at least some money in the games? Most will end up paying dearly for that “cheap” meal, but will forget that the next time they want to go out for a nice, “cheap” meal. But there’s another aspect to it. If you are already at the games, a cheap meal conveniently available in the casino will keep you in the building at mealtime. You’ll be away from the games for a minimum length of time.
The fairly new bill acceptors on slot machines keep you at your play. When you are out of change, you don’t have to wait around or walk to the change booth for more coin. This adds to your playing time - your playing time is money - for the casinos.
Casinos operators carefully plan their lighting. You may have noticed that when you are in a casino it is difficult to determine whether it is day or night. This is deliberate. Remember, they like you (or your money) so much they want you to extend your visit. If they can get you to drop you usual time consciousness, you’ll stay longer.
Colors are chosen to trigger automatic responses. Slot machines are outfitted in colors that will attract and hold gamblers. Sophisticated color combinations are used to minimize the time you will spend slot hopping.
Many casino operators add a scent to the air. Think that’s silly? In an experimental test the scent was shown to increase substantially the number of coins customers dropped into the slots - very substantially, about 45 percent.
Most of these techniques add greatly to your comfort as well as sometimes triggering an automatic psychological response. If your visit is pleasant, you will stay longer, play looser with your bankroll, and come back again.
Other techniques have little or nothing to do with your comfort and are simply exploitive. You are simply the “white rat” - the unsuspecting victim of psychological games.
For instance, the payout system of the slots. In the last thirty years, psychology has even been applied to that. The system of paying tiny winnings often is that new. How was it done before? Well if you won, you won a reasonable amount, but the payoffs were infrequent. What is the advantage of frequent small payoffs? It is the psychological “promise” of a big win. You will be enticed into staying longer and risking more money.
Putting in a few “hot” machines is also an application of psychology. Your search for the “hot” machine is motivated by the psychological “promise” of a lucky streak. Again, you’ll stay longer and risk more.
Some casinos will give you small denominations as change for large bills or, at the tables, small denominations of chips. The reason? Because, as we all know, it is easier to spend a dollar than it is to spend a twenty. Psychological? Of course.
Ever notice how wins are played up? The real coin that’s dropped into metal slot pan when someone wins is deliberate. The noise excites you. The bells and whistles that attend a really big win are also deliberate attention-getters and exciting. The casinos make a big deal over wins - but losing is pretty quiet. The excitement of the noise stirs you to try to win. But there is more. All the attention given to winning makes it seem like there is more winning going on than there really is.
OK. Now you know that in the eyes of the casino you’re merely a “white rat” from whom they are trying to extract the most they can. What can you do about it? Although occasionally casinos go too far and a practice is outlawed, you really can’t do much about changing their use of tricks. But when you are aware of them, you can guard yourself against reacting automatically. You can put yourself back in control.
So, is being in control going to change your “luck”? Well, it will help. But you have to know how to use that control to your advantage.
First, you know that your odds of winning decrease in ratio to the length of your visit at the casino. So with your new control you will make your visits shorter. You will be aware of your surroundings and try to note the tricks the casino is using to influence you. Conscious awareness will make them less effective. Pick you games according to your own system – not according to the casino’s planned influence.
But you must also be aware of the things you can do to increase your odds in a given game. We will discuss a couple of the most popular games.
Slot machines
Most slot machines have three reels. The number of combinations for lining them up depends on the number of symbols on each reel. Most machines have between 20 and 28 symbols per reel. To figure out how many combinations there are, you multiply the number of symbols on each reel times itself as many times as there are reels. For instance, the fewest combinations that there probably are on a three reel slot are: 20 symbols per reel with 3 reels - so we take 20 times 20 times 20 - or 8000 combinations. So theoretically a certain winning combination would, on the average, appear once in every 8000 spins of the reels.
Each machine can be set for a rate of payback. Let’s say a quarter machine has a payback of 90 percent (the usual rate on quarter machines is 86 to 90 percent). That would mean that for every 100 quarters dropped into the machine it would pay back 90 quarters. The dollar machines often pay back between 97 and 99 percent.
The progressive slots are linked together so that a coin played in any of the link-up will increase the size of the jackpot. You don’t have a chance at the jackpot unless you play the maximum number of coins. Since the large jackpot games must reduce the amount paid in smaller winnings, you would be better off playing other machines unless you are willing to put in the maximum and go for the jackpot.
The best odds are on the dollar slots. They usually have the greatest payback - as we said, payback is between 97 and 99 coins for each coin played.
Some slot methods to increase your odds
Start out with only an amount of money you can afford to loose. Keep these coins separate from any other money, including your winnings. Play all your start-up coins. Now tally up your winnings. If you have less coins than you started with, go to a different machine, and using these coins start over. If you have more than you started with, put your start-up amount in your pocket. Then put an additional percentage in your pocket - 10 percent would be good, but whatever percentage you decide on, make the decision before you begin playing and stick with it. Now whatever you have left after pocketing those amount you use for your start-up coins and begin again. Then in each additional round you will pocket half the winnings. As you can see, if you come out ahead in the first round and stick to the method, you will go home a winner. After the first round you will be playing strictly on winnings. If you don’t come out a winner on the first round, you still have a chance to win and you will loose no more than the amount you originally decided you could afford to loose. But you need to be in control - this method will be of no help if you decide to change your rules in the middle of the game.
Another way to play the slots for better winning odds is to form a slot club with other players. Each person puts up a predetermined amount – make sure it is an amount each of you can afford to contribute regularly. The amounts put up should be the same for each player. Then you track the progressive games - you should track them for a while before you make attempts to win them. Keep records so you learn the characteristics of each progressive game. From these records, your team decides at what point each game is pregnant for a payoff. When the jackpot of a given progressive reaches that predetermined point, a team made up of some or all of the members takes the club bankroll and plays until they win or go broke. The key to winning here is to gauge the payoff point.
Slots are not easy to beat and the odds are never in your favor but by putting yourself in control and using these techniques you will have a better chance of beating the odds than you had before.
Video poker
Video poker is a popular variation of the slot machine. But it is not a slot machine. The odds on a video poker game are greatly dependent on you skill as a player.
First, choose only those machines that pay full scale winnings. Each category of payoff is important, but a rule of thumb is 250 coins for a royal flush or 4000 coins for a royal flush under a 5 coin play. If the other payoffs are in line with the royal flush payoff, and you are a very skilled player, theoretically you could have odds VERY slightly in your favor. But you must know what you are doing.
For instance, when you are playing Video Jacks or Better - Keep any full house or better. Hold a flush or straight except when drawing to a four card royal flush. With a four card flush, three card royal flush, four card straight, three card straight flush, three of a kind, two pair, single pair empty your hand to these holds and draw to fill. Draw three to two high cards and draw four to one high card. Always play the maximum coins to take advantage of the bonus for a royal flush.
Black Jack
Black Jack is another very popular casino game in which it is possible to tip the odds very slightly in your favor, if you know what you are doing. It takes a serious and determined player to master the strategies to accomplish this, however. never think that because you can tip the odds in your favor that you will win all of the time. everyone looses some of the time so never play with money you can’t afford to loose.
Blackjack, as played in the world’s casinos, has a number of variations - certain rules that apply in one casino may not apply in another. You will have to learn to adjust your game, if you travel from one casino to another. Some of the variations highly favor the casino, so to keep the odds favorable, you must avoid those variations and options that cut your odds.
OK. Most of the Black Jack games you will find are multiple-deck games. A single deck does give you slightly better odds. We will assume you are playing in a single deck game. With your new control, we will also assume you are playing with a bankroll that you have determined you can afford to loose. Now, you will need some real strategy to lower the odds against you.
First since the ace is countable as either one or 11, any hand you hold that contains an ace is a special hand - it can be counted low, with the ace as one, or it can be counted high, with the ace as 11. This two-way hand follows needs some special strategy rules.
First, start out counting it as a high hand. Then if the dealer’s showing card is an eight, nine, ten, or ace, you should stand on a count of 19 or more and draw to a count of 18 or less. But if the dealer’s showing card is a two, three, four, five, or six, stand on a count of 18 or more and draw to a count of 17 or less.
Using this strategy for a two-way hand, you will never stand until your count is 18 or more. When you draw to a two-way hand, if your high count goes over 21, you then begin a low count. At this point you will, in effect, no longer have an optional two-way hand so you will begin using the strategy for a regular hand.
The strategy for a regular hand is a bit more involved. Whether you stand or draw is always determined by the dealer’s showing card.
If the dealer is showing a two, three, or four, you stand on 13 or more.
If the dealer is showing a five or six, you stand on 12 or more.
If the dealer is showing a seven, eight, or nine, you stand on 17 or more.
If the dealer is showing a ten or ace, you stand on 16 or more.
Notice that in using this strategy, you will always draw to a count of two to 11 and always stand on a count of 17 or more as long as you are not holding a two-way hand.
When you are offered the option of doubling down use it in this manner:
When you are holding nine, double down when the dealer is showing a two, three, four, five, or six. When you are holding ten, double down unless the dealer is showing a 10-count or an ace. When you are holding an eleven, always double down. When you are holding a two-way hand with a count of 12, 13, 14, 15,16, or 17, double down when the dealer is showing a six.
When you are offered the option of splitting pairs:
Split twos and threes when the dealer is showing an eight, nine, ten, or ace. Never split fours, fives, sixes, or tens. Split sevens when the dealer is showing two, three, four, five, six, seven, or eight. Split eights unless the dealer is showing a nine or ten. Split nines unless the dealer is showing a seven, ten, or ace. Never split tens. Always split aces when it is an option.
When you are offered the option of doubling down:
When you are holding a count of ten double down unless the dealer is showing a 10-count or an ace. When you are holding a count of eleven always double down. If you are holding a two-way hand with a count of 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, or 17, double down when the dealer is showing a six. Don’t double down on other counts.
If you are offered the option of early surrender:
When the dealer is showing an ace, surrender 5, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 unless you have a two-way hand. When the dealer is showing a 10-count, surrender 14, 15, 16 unless you have a two way hand. When the dealer is showing 9, surrender 6, 7, 9, 10.
If you are offered the option of insurance bets:
Don’t use it unless you are a skilled card counter.
There have been some new options offered recently in some casinos. Be very wary of these, especially the ones with attractive pay-offs. Most of them have very poor odds for you.
It is a good idea to find a table where the casino is not doing too well. When you find a winning table, play it. There is, of course, no guarantee that the house loosing streak will continue.
You must exercise control. When you are having a day when the cards just aren’t working, leave the table and go home. Under no circumstances increase your bets in hope of recovering losses. When you are having a good day and your cards are running strong, go ahead, increase your bets. When things begin to sour, leave the table and go home. Using this method, you will always cut your losses and always retain a portion of your winnings.
No strategy will work well if you don’t know every rule. You must study and practice your strategy so that you can make the right decisions at the table. And remember, your bankroll should never exceed what you can afford to lose.
Lee Porter an author and entrepreneur for HealthSufficiency, a continuing health, personal development and life dynamic education and business development company helping people to be meet their potential to lead healthy, prosperous and successful lives.
Tags: Casino, gambling, special casino promotions, blackjack, poker, video poker, slot machines, winning, losing,,
Tags: Fun stuff
Children cannot be expected to grasp concepts above their age stage so it is helpful to understand their levels of understanding, for what they should be able to be responsible and the boundaries that can be applied. Expecting too much or a child or placing no expectations at all on them confuses them with mixed messages. Some trying to overstep rule boundaries can be expected as they test your and their reactions. Appropriate setting of standards helps the child feel secure in their home life.
0 - 1 YEAR
At this stage in life, the concepts of right and wrong are not possible to teach. Rather, an infant who is shown warmth, cuddling and loving attention is likely to grow into a healthy and happy adult.
1 - 2 YEARS
Rather than scolding a child or arguing with him about misbehavior, try to take preventative measures beforehand. If you don’t want him pulling things out the cupboards, make sure they are secured. At this age of short attention span, discipline beyond a simple “no” is unnecessary and can have undesirable effects.
2 - 4 YEARS
Children of this age, unable to understand abstractions such as generosity and truth, imitate their parents. So set an example. Be firm in disallowing undesirable behavior, but do so in a kind and friendly manner, without attempting to explain why.
4 - 6 YEARS
This is the time where you can really take some positive steps to reinforce your child’s positive behavior. Give him lots of praise when it’s due. Children of this age respond well to simple reasoning and explanations. Concepts such as truthfulness and generosity can be introduced. Continue to set an example of acceptable behavior. The child at this stage wants to please you and wants to be liked by others.
5 - 8 YEARS
Children develop a greater social awareness at this age. They understand the basic rights of others when taught fairness, values and the need to follow certain rules of behavior. Rules and limitations not only seem just to the child, but give him a good feeling of security.
8 - 11 YEARS
Due to natural growth and influences outside the home, your child has likely become more independent. He may begin to question your decisions, contradict or argue. You must remain firm in the important matters and flexible in less important ones. Demonstrate and discuss the child’s duties and responsibilities to friends, relatives and society. Set examples of moral behavior. Sex education can also be important at this stage.
12 - 17 YEARS
These are normally rebellious years for most teenagers. In fact, teenagers who never rebel are probably in emotional trouble. As a parent you must weather the storm when your teenager begins to question and test conventional values, rules and beliefs. If you’ve instilled a sense of values at an early age, chances are he still retains many of those ideas. Try to keep lines of communication open and don’t push the panic button. If communication does break down and tensions mount considerably, seek professional help.
18 YEARS AND OVER
At this stage most young adults are forming, or have formed, their own set of values. However, life still holds for them many unanswered questions, and a warm yet honest relationship can still go a long way in helping them reach mature adulthood.
Lee Porter an author and entrepreneur for HealthSufficiency, a continuing health, personal development and life dynamic education and business development company helping people to be meet their potential to lead healthy, prosperous and successful lives.
Tags: children, standards, morals, child growth, child development, positive reinforcement, childhood, child rearing,
Tags: Personal Development
Based on information published in national magazines and papers, it is believed a minimum of somewhere near fifty million dollars is given away each year in prize contests. Is it any wonder that smart people, men and women of all ages in about every walk of life, are taking home these prizes? Some devote their full time to solving contests for money (or prizes), usually of extremely sizable amounts and value. Refer to about every magazine you see, a large number of newspapers, about all TV and Radio stations - to name a few - plus some publications which are 100% Contest News.
Many persons receive many times larger yearly total earnings devoting their full time or a generous part of their spare time to solving the contents which come to their attention. They do it year after year as their ONLY occupation. Others like to try their hand solving contests whenever they feel in the mood, but do no have any regular time schedule to tie them down.
An article in the Wall Street Journal stated that many spare time contest men and women receive over $600 year after year. One article I read states that someone they knew had earned in excess of $40,000 and had solved more than 2,000 contests for prizes. Another item I read says some other contest solver won over 80 different contests to receive over $25,000 within Twelve Months.
However, a study of winning contests proves for the most part that it is not based on luck. Therefore, it is wise to find out what the true fundamentals are before one starts. That way alone, it is possible for one to compete with the others working on the solution of the same contest. You’ll find the necessary (easy-to-understand and follow) instructions in this text.
A. Be sure that you carefully read the rules of each contest -and understand before you start - that these rules must be followed, in every particular, in order to win, or be one of the top winners. Almost half of all contests entries are thrown out, with hardly more than a single “glance” by the contest headquarters, for the sole reason, that the sender did not follow the clearly printed rules. It pays to be extremely careful when working on any contest. Check and recheck it with the rules before you mail it in.
B. Be sure your entry is as neatly presented as possible. This is extremely important. Whenever possible typewrite your entry, as this adds greatly to the neatness requirement. If you do not have a typewriter or a friend who would type it for you, and you are obliged to mail it in longhand, write neatly, and only with a pen and ink - never with a lead pencil.
C. Mail your entry in a suitable large sized envelope, even if you have to go to your nearest store to buy it.
D. If the contest requires a box top or label, coupon, etc., make sure that you do not forget to enclose it in the envelope. (You may be surprised to learn that many do forget - so their entry is discarded - even if in all other ways it is the best, qualifying for the top prize money.)
You’ll find that your chances for winning are multiplied ten fold if you own or rent from a library the latest unabridged dictionary as well as a copy of a thesaurus.
Some of the winners of the larger contests are strong in their feeling that one should have a Rhyming Dictionary, an Almanac, Atlas, and one of the many editions of a Crossword Puzzle Dictionary. Most folks have a dictionary and encyclopedia. Both are needed to properly enter most contests. Time and time again, one or the other of the books will come up with the word or answer your seek to solve the contest.
However, for folks just starting, and with limited money to spend, you should confine yourself to the books named above that you may now have and buy the others as you win smaller contests and can afford to.
E. Visit your nearest (or best) public library and ask the clerk to help you locate their various books, magazines, etc., relating to contests. Make notes on the winners of contests - their style or entry - for your future thoughts and guidance. Jot down in a notebook the things you want to remember or refer to, or think you would be likely to want to consider at some future date. It will most likely prove priceless to you much more quickly than you think. It will help you to think of first prize winning steps to take, etc.
F. An ever-increasing number of larger firms feel contests help them put their items or offers in the right hands with the best results. They therefore often start a new contest almost as soon as their last one is completed. This is especially true in contests where a wrapper, label or box top, bottle cap, etc. Is requested. This method is usually very successful in getting more people to try their product than any other form of advertising.
G. Above all else, make a point of having your entry worded as briefly as you can. Many contests even ask for an opinion within an specified number of words. In other words, the advertiser wants you to tell him briefly why you prefer his product to any other
Example:
“Wheatne is preferred by me because it tastes better than any other breakfast cereal, has less calories, sugar and other fattening items, with a much higher food value.”
“I buy ZOKA soap because it suds best in hard water, and pampers one’s skin. ZOKA keeps my complexion youthful looking as if I had used the costly creams.”
Always study the product completely and make notes on your scrap pad of all the ways it pleases you, over competitive brands. Make your story clean-cut with clearly understood “selling” phrases. Be enthusiastic, but always sincere and truthful. Whenever possible, tell about your personal results in using the item.
Don’t be in a rush to mail the entry to the contest headquarters firm - professionals put their first drafts to one side, then refer to it “tomorrow” or the next day, rewriting it over and over again (usually) until they feel it is their very best work. Then, they mail it in. It pays and pays big to follow the methods of the professionals.
Perhaps just about every entry sent in on any contest is “Point Rated”. If you checked your entry, before mailing it in, comparing it to the 8-point method below, you could know in advance if your entry has a far above average opportunity of being one of the winners - perhaps even the top grand prize.
1. References to the accomplishments of the product or item.
2. Expression of thought, new ideas, originality.
3. Effective combination of words, sentences, etc.
4. Truthfulness - or is it believable.
5. Creativeness by fresh thoughts or comments
6. Briefness, easily understood by all.
7. Arouse thoughts, create emotions.
8. Make a sales-promoting image, text creates a “picture”.
I think most folks would not need teaching on jingles or limericks, where you are asked to insert the last line of a poem. These are popular and much money could be made adding the last line. The best method would be to almost memorize the lines given to you first, then make your last line either clever, or unusual, (or both). Your rhyming dictionary will be of tremendous help in winning top prizes in this form of contest.
Picture and Number Puzzles are always popular. These contests (in my opinion) do not need instructions beyond one’s common sense. The chief thing to remember is to carefully read the rules and to follow the instructions of the advertiser. This type of contest does require considerable time, thought and study. Take your time. Go over all rules time and time again. When you feel confident your entry is your best work, then and only then mail it in. This kind of contest almost always seems to wind up with a sizable number of tied contestants, requiring another “run off” to decide the winner, and sometimes more than one “run off”. For this reason, it is not the most popular with the professionals. Usually “beginners” try their hand at them.
Name contests are always popular - a manufacturer wants the public to select a good name for one of his items, and offers a sizable award for the entry he or his advertising agents regard as the best of all. Remember to tie the sponsor’s item or product into your reply of the name you feel is best. Make it catchy and easy to remember for the best possibility of being the winner.
Guessing contests, as the name implies, are in my opinion, at least 90% luck. Professionals rarely enter them. The idea is, of course, to guess how many cans of a specific brand of condensed milk is in a barrel, or how many boxes of a maker’s breakfast food is wedged into a telephone booth, etc. These are 90% luck, combined with an estimation of count.
Contests asking for the creation of slogans are always worked out by the professional with the use of a dictionary. These contests are the ideal ones to enter.
Contests in the field of photographs are both interesting and profitable, so enter when you use the instruction and guidance in this instruction text.
Contests for an essay as well as for word building are always of keen interest to the professional. Instruction in this text points the way to become a professional. With this set of instructions to refer to as you tackle each contest, you should have a far above average chance of being a top prize winner in an extremely short period of time. Good luck.
Lee Porter an author and entrepreneur for HealthSufficiency, a continuing health, personal development and life dynamic education and business development company helping people to be meet their potential to lead healthy, prosperous and successful lives.
Tags: Contests, Games of Chance, Luck, Winning, Winner, Competitions, writing the winning entry, winning entry,
Tags: Fun stuff
Every pet owner should be aware of how to help save your pet’s life if he or she has been bitten by a snake. Most snakes generally just want to be left alone and will avoid unnecessary conflict with any person or animal. Adult sized cats and dogs are generally too large to be considered worthy of being part of their food chain.
Prompt efficient treatment and administration of the correct venom antidote is the key to saving your pet’s life. It is helps speed treatment if you can identify the snake. If the snake is dead take it with you for identification but do not try to kill the snake yourself. If you get a glimpse of it, observe its size, colouring and scale pattern if you can but if you cannot see it don’t waste time trying to find it. There is a specific anti-venom for each snake. Your vet should have a snake detection kit to identify the correct anti-venom. Your priority is to the welfare of your pet.
In most cases the snake attack is never seen. Owners are often only aware that something is wrong when the symptoms begin to manifest which can be immediately after the attack or (particularly in the case of cats) many hours later.
Snake venom causes paralysis, bleeding disorders and tissue damage. The animal presents with symptoms of sudden collapse, weakness, paralysis, bleeding and difficulty breathing.
Dogs and cats usually are bitten around the face or neck so application of a pressure bandage is rarely helpful.
Emergency steps to take:
Carry your pet to the car and keep them calm, quiet and still.
If your pet stops breathing, apply mouth-nose resuscitation.
Get to a veterinary surgery as fast as possible.
Prevention is the best treatment. If you and your pet are anywhere in the vicinity of snakes (or there is the slightest possibility they could be close) make a noise, stomp when you walk, beat the long grass with a longer stick ahead of your path so that they can detect your vibrations and get out of your way.
Be aware of where the variety of snake/s that lives in your neighbourhood, their habitat, food preferences and habits. Then avoid clashing with them because they have also have a right to life and a place in the greater scheme of things.
Spring is a time when snakes, people and pets often clash. They are cold and sluggish and need the sun to warm them – they might not be sufficiently awake or active to avoid you.
Cut down long grass, reeds and bamboo especially if you live close to a river or other damp areas. It is becoming more common for snakes to be found in residential areas especially those that are built in their natural habitat and hunting grounds. Snakes are being forced to adapt by sharing their territory with the human interlopers and attracted by the rodents who live off human waste and rubbish. Eliminate dark cool places in which they can hide under the house, in the shed or garage.
Keep control of rats and mice on your property. Many snakes are attracted to the smell of rodent urine and may travel several kilometres using their sensitive tone to “taste” the smell in the air. Rodents like to set up nests close to aviaries or stables if they can feed on spilt or surplus seed so it is desirable to remove unused or dropped seeds and husks at night. Keeping grain in metal bins with tight fitting lids will prevent rats and mice getting at the food.
There are many cases of pets that have raised the alarm to get help and saved their owner’s life when they have been bitten by a snake. Few animals “play” with snakes but are trying to protect their family and get rid of what they instinctively perceive a threat. Don’t encourage them to fight snakes but thank them for protecting you. And, most importantly, if they get bitten, get them to help fast.
© L.Porter 2008
Lee Porter an author and entrepreneur for HealthSufficiency, a continuing health, personal development and life dynamic education and business development company helping people to be meet their potential to lead healthy, prosperous and successful lives.
Tags: dogs, cats, snakes, snake bite prevention, pet mouth-nose resuscitation, first aid treatment, pet first aid, veterinary surgery, veterinarian surgeon, vet,
Tags: Pet health
It is not always necessary to hire a private investigator to search for a missing person. In fact, the time consuming task of investigating a missing person can be done by almost anyone.
As long as a person understands and follows the procedure provided herein, they can do the job of searching for a missing person as well as a hired detective.
Before beginning, realize that you must maintain a detailed record of your investigation. Keep this and copies of any correspondence in a file.
Begin your investigation at the point where the subject was last seen and radiate in ever-growing circles. When you come up with a solid lead, your search will then go only in one direction.
Contact the subject’s immediate family very early in your investigation. See if they have any ideas. From there you should contact your subject’s closest friends and then the neighbors.
Now widen your search further by questioning other associates of the subject, like the hairdresser, bartender, gas station attendant or newspaper boy. These people must not be overlooked as they are all sources of possible information.
More than likely, when you have completed the task of speaking to all these people, you will have some good leads. But if you wish to further the investigation, use as many of the ten following sources as you need.
Post Office
Send an envelope to the last known address of the missing person, with your own in the upper left corner and write on the envelope, do not forward - address correction requested. If a forwarding address has been left, you will be notified of it.
Superior Court Docket
By writing to the Court Clerk in the county in which the subject was last known to reside, you can find out if the subject was involved in any legal proceedings. There will be a small fee for the search.
Telephone Records
You can check with the telephone company to find out if the missing person made any long distance calls just prior to departure. You can check with the people called for any leads.
Department Of Motor Vehicles
Request that a search of the department’s files be done for the missing person’ driver’s license as well as his/her address. There will be a fee for this service and the missing person’s full name and date of birth are required to conduct the search.
City Directory
Your local public library has a city directory which lists people by name, address and occupation. They also have a cross reference for phone numbers. Check back for several years,.
Voter Registration
Voter registration records are open to the public and these records show name, address and date of registration.
County Recorder
This county recorder records all types of legal documents, like marriage certificates and wills. A letter to this office may open up some leads.
County Assessor
This office is in charge of tax collection. If your subject owns any property, he will be listed with this office.
City Business License
If your subject owns a business he will have his license on file with this office. Run a check on the name of the business and
the subject’s name.
Fraternal Associations
If the missing person is a member of any type of organization, a letter of inquiry to the local chapter can be helpful.
Under certain conditions, the Social Security Office will assist in locating a missing person. You must send a letter stating your reason for wanting to find a person to the Department of Health, Education & Welfare, Social Security Administration, Baltimore, Maryland. They do not assist insurance companies or bill collectors.
By going through the right channels, you can conduct your own investigation for a missing person. Good luck and good hunting!
Lee Porter an author and entrepreneur for HealthSufficiency, a continuing health, personal development and life dynamic education and business development company helping people to be meet their potential to lead healthy, prosperous and successful lives.
Tags: Missing Person, Private Investigator, Post Office, Superior ‘Court Docket, Telephone Records, Department of Motor Vehicles, City Directory, Voter Registration, County Recorder, County Assessor, City Business License, Fraternal Associations,
Tags: Safety · Self-Help Tips
While we don’t like to talk about it - or even think about it - crime is on the increase in America, and throughout the world. The number of burglars, muggers, auto thieves, robbers, purse snatchers, etc. is growing at an alarming rate. Now you, as a resident, working with neighbors can help reduce the crime rate.
How? By organizing and/or joining a neighborhood program in which you and your neighbors get together to learn how to protect yourselves, your family, your home and your property. Working together, you can get the criminals off your block and out of your area.
There’s safety in numbers and power through working with a group. You’ll get to know your neighbors better, and working with them you can reduce crime, develop a more united community, provide an avenue of communications between police and citizens, establish on-going crime prevention techniques in your neighborhood, and renew citizen interest in community activity.
“Citizens Safety Projects” are set up to help you do this. It is a joint effort between private citizens and local police. Such programs have been started all over the country. Maybe one already exists in your community.
These organizations don’t require frequent meetings (once a month or so). They don’t ask anyone to take personal risks to prevent crime. They leave the responsibility for catching criminals where it belongs - with the police. This is not a “vigilante” group!
These groups gather citizens together to learn crime prevention from local authorities. You cooperate with your neighbors to report suspicious activities in the neighborhood to keep an eye on homes when the resident is away, and to keep everyone in the area mindful of the standard precautions for property and self that should always be taken. Criminals avoid neighbourhoods where such groups exist.
Through cooperation with local law enforcement agencies, some of the things you will learn - and all free - are:
1. What to do in an emergency.
2. How to best identify a suspicious person.
3. How to identify a vehicle being used in a suspected criminal activity.
4. Signs to watch out for before entering a house or apartment that may be in the process of being burglarized.
5. What to do in case of injury.
6. What to do about suspicious people loitering on your street.
7. How to identify stolen merchandise.
8. How to recognize auto theft in progress.
9. How to protect your house or apartment.
10. How to recognize a burglary in progress.
11. How to protect yourself and family - and much more.
It’s easy to get your group started. All you have to do is contact your neighbors and arrange a date, place and time for the first meeting. Hold the meetings at your home or that of a neighbor. Try to plan a time that is convenient to most of your neighbors - preferably in the evening.
Then call your local police department. They will be happy to give your group informal lectures, free literature - and in many instances, window stickers and I.D. cards. Remember, police officers can’t be everywhere. Your cooperation with them is for the benefit of you, your family, your neighbors and your neighborhood.
Lee Porter an author and entrepreneur for HealthSufficiency, a continuing health, personal development and life dynamic education and business development company helping people to be meet their potential to lead healthy, prosperous and successful lives.
Tags: NeighborhoodWatch, Citizens’ Safety Projects, Burglars, Muggers, Auto Thieves, Robbers, Purse Snatchers, Family Protection, Home Protection, Property Protection, Crime Prevention,
Tags: Safety
How To Remember Names
You’ve just called the TV repair shop and the voice on the other end of the line tells you “This is Don Smith”. About 5 minutes later you tell your wife that “this guy” will be out to fix the TV in the morning. You can’t think of his name although you know he mentioned it on the phone.
This happens all the time to just about all of us unless we have learned to concentrate and implant the name in our memory right at the time we hear it. To do this you first must make a habit of repeating the name back to the person. This action will remind you to store the name in your “Memory banks” each time you hear someone’s name, and, within a matter of a short time the “repeating” process can be discontinued.
When you meet someone in person use the same procedure, and in addition, visualize something different, unusual from the ordinary, or “ridiculous” about their appearance, position, or actions that “ties in” with their name. You may have to put the descriptive information on one side of a card or piece of paper and the name on the other side for a while until it is imbedded in your memory permanently. Look at it repeatedly, see the “picture” in your mind’s eye as you look at the name, or when you see the name visualize the “picture” you have assigned to the name.
Getting this system to work will require certain changes in your thinking and it may take several days or several weeks to become proficient. After all, you have developed a “Bad Habit” over a period of many years and it is difficult to turn it around overnight.
This method also works with anything else worth remembering, not just names. When you have occasion to remember something, jot it down and incorporate it into your list . . . No complicated formula . . . Just a system that works with a little concentration.
How to Remember Anything!
As mentioned above a person may train their memory by associating names with specific illustrations. This works just as well with written information.
There are several key words or a key thought in each paragraph of printed matter that can be associated with an illogical or ridiculous illustration. It is much easier to remember and recall ridiculous associations than it is to recall normal and uneventful relationships.
As you proceed through any text choose one or several Key words or key thoughts from each subject and relate the same to a ridiculous cartoon or illustration. Actually “see” it in your minds eye as it relates to the key word or key thought.
When you have occasion to remember a particular matter, the “picture” should automatically appear to you and the entire thought should be recalled. Be sure to see the ridiculous picture associated with the printed matter you wish to recall.
As you proceed through a book, practice seeing a picture and relate it to the key words or the main thought of the written material. This method of learning should improve your ability to retain what you read. With sufficient “practice” using this method, many individuals will be able to develop a “photo-Type” memory.
The Key to this memory system is to “see” the “picture” in your “mind’s eye”. After you have practiced and mastered the system and are able to get instant flashback recall you should be able to read most any text material and visualize ridiculous pictures to associate with the thoughts expressed in the printed materials.
We suggest you prove this system to yourself. As you read the first several pages of information, “see” a picture related to the words or thought. It may be rather difficult to “see” at first but by constant effort and concentration amazing progress can be made. When you have seen the picture, just go on reading the following subject matter and repeat the process. Don’t be concerned that you will forget the prior subjects! They should remain imprinted on your mind and recalled later, instantaneously and clearly.
After you have read several pages, recall the first few “mind-pictures”. If you originally “saw” the picture as related to the key thought of the printed material, you should remember the basic information.
Try it! It’s interesting! After you have mastered this learning system, it should be easy to file various programs away in your memory and recall them as needed to progress in your search for success.
Memory and Public Speaking Tips!
The same system mentioned on the previous page may be used to memorize a speech by linking a series of thoughts to a series of ridiculous pictures in sequence.
Proper preparation of your speech is half the battle. Know you subject thoroughly then make an outline for the introduction, main body and conclusion. Start your speech with something to startle your audience into complete attention such as a weird statement or funny happening.
In presenting the main body of your speech get the confidence of your audience by letting them know you know your subject very well. Get your points across without argument.
In making your conclusion you can briefly sum up what you have just stated then end with a big bang; recommending action your audience should take or suggesting they change their viewpoint on the subject etc.; finalize with a joke that fits the circumstances, or powerful word pictures they will remember after they leave the meeting.
Make your outline in large print with plenty of space between lines so you will be able to look up without losing your place on the sheets. Rely on your memory for the most important points, including the opening and closing lines.
Practice your speech with an audio recorder and in front of a mirror before the meeting. Work out any apparent speaking problems or things that don’t sound just right. Know what you are going to do with your hands and determine the better body movements to go with your personality. Continually make eye contact back and forth across the room.
Take time to think before answering questions. If you don’t have the answer, ask another question, refer it to someone else better qualified to answer, answer in general terms, or change the subject (like politicians do) complimenting the person asking the “impossible” question, or by telling a “clean” joke that relates to the key word or key thought.
Lee Porter an author and entrepreneur for HealthSufficiency, a continuing health, personal development and life dynamic education and business development company helping people to be meet their potential to lead healthy, prosperous and successful lives.
Tags: Memory, Memory improvement, Memory training, public speaking, remembering anything, remembering names, memory banks, answering questions, speech preparation, memory system,
Tags: Personal Development
A shy child need not necessarily be treated with kid gloves.
There are a few points about shyness in children which will help you better understand the best approach in dealing with your child.
First of all, are you sure your child really is shy? Some children like to size up a situation before they jump in. Caution should not be misunderstood as shyness.
Don’t call your child “shy”. Studies have shown that often a child will grow to fit a label.
Parental pressure on the shy child can cause anxiety and insecurity, leading to a worse problem with shyness. Don’t push your child to achieve above his or her individual level.
Never compare your shy child with other children in a negative way. And never allow anyone else to hurt your child in this way.
Take your child’s ideas seriously. By lessening the importance of a child’s concerns you lessen the child.
Encourage your shy child to get involved in activities with others. Don’t allow too many isolating activities, like watching TV.
Never push your shy child to do things he or she would find unbearable. Rather, make suggestions, but realize your child may not be ready. Be patient.
You need not handle your shy child with kid gloves, but be aware of how he or she feels and show that you understand.
Lee Porter an author and entrepreneur for HealthSufficiency, a continuing health, personal development and life dynamic education and business development company helping people to be meet their potential to lead healthy, prosperous and successful lives.
Tags: personal development, shyness, children, encouragement, positivity,
Tags: Personal Development
The “art” of picking pockets is among one of the world’s oldest professions. Author Charles Dickens’ Artful Dodger is probably among the best known pickpockets. However, all are not juveniles - and all are not males!
The skilled pickpocket is not the seedy character you’d expect to find lurking in a dark doorway. He (or she) appears about as average as you and I, in appearance and manner. Because they make a study of how to “blend” into the crowd, pickpockets usually remain undetected and can practice their activities with little hindrance.
Pickpockets follow no regular schedule. They operate equally well during daylight hours as well as at night. And if you have been led to believe that picking pockets takes place only in crowds, forget it! The only known fact is that they generally focus on the public during times when they might be carrying more money than usual, such as during pre-holiday spending sprees, store sales, at fairs, carnivals, horse races, gambling casinos, near bank entrances, etc.
While many pickpockets work alone, there are also teams of two or three which sometimes involves a female accomplice. A team with nimble fingers is next to impossible to apprehend. The first team member removes the valuables from the unsuspecting victim’s pockets. He then secretly passes them on to the next member who quickly disappears. When a female member is also employed, she generally engages the victim in conversation to distract or delay his attention.
Contrary to what most think, experiences pickpockets do not place their hands all the way into the victim’s pockets. Rather, the expert criminal reaches into the top of the pocket, takes up a pleat in the lining, then makes a dozen or more tiny pleats, folding the lining with swift dexterity between his fingers. The shortening pocket lining moves the valuables upward so that they emerge at the mouth of the pocket. The entire act takes place in a second or two.
The best protection for foiling pickpockets is to remove the opportunity of becoming a victim…
For Men:
1. The target areas are back trouser pockets, and suit coat and sports jacket pockets, located inside and out. A pickpocket who values his freedom avoids front trouser pockets, and especially buttoned or zippered pockets.
2. If it is necessary to carry your wallet in an unbuttoned pants, coat or jacket pocket, be sure it contains only what you can afford to lose. Keep large sums of money, credit cards, ID’s, etc. in your front pants’ pocket or any buttoned or zippered pocket; keys on a chain attached to your clothing.
3. Never “pat” your pocket to see if your wallet is still there. This notifies the criminal of the location of your valuables.
4. Larger size “pocket secretaries” are especially inviting to pickpockets - and relatively easy to steal.
For Women:
1. Do not carry your wallet in your purse. Conceal it in a coat or sweater pocket where it does not show a bulge.
2. Use a purse that is difficult or time consuming to open.
3. Never let your purse lie unattended on a store counter or in a grocery shopping cart.
If you have been victimized by a pickpocket, immediately notify police and give the best description you can.
Lee Porter an author and entrepreneur for HealthSufficiency, a continuing health, personal development and life dynamic education and business development company helping people to be meet their potential to lead healthy, prosperous and successful lives.
Tags: safety, protection, mugging, pickpockets, thief,
Tags: Safety · Self-Help Tips
