May 31st, 2008
Sailing as a sport, relaxation or used as a corporate device is greatly fulfilling. There are also exceptional sailing and powerboat events that make it equally stimulating and can be something that the whole family can go & take advantage of at the same time. One of the main weeks of the yachting diary is the Skandia Cowes Regatta Week; this boating event takes place every year & has been operating since eighteen twenty six that makes it the longest running regatta in the world. With more than five hundred powerboats & 8000 opponents taking part, being studied by well over one-hundred thousand viewers every day Cowes week has earned the reputation as 1 of the primary yachting business hospitality and social occasion of the entire year.
The 8500 contestants occupy Olympic and European class practised sailors to learner sailors. Still if you are not taking part yourself, watching the yachting, benefiting from the parties and live attractions and to be involved in the unique setting, makes it a one of a type event.
With Ondeck Yachting, two-thousands & eight sees the opening of their hottest Regatta Division. Building on their strong position within the yachting and sailing charter marketplace, this has seen Ondeck Sailing School, run quite a lot of triumphant sailing events for businesses, they have currently joined-up with Britannia Events, the head organisers of industry regattas in the UK.
The direction of the sailing event itself will differ each time as reasons like that of the climate circumstances, tidal surges & haste of each division of sailing boat is taken into account. A representative Cowes Event has over thirty five commences each day for members of cruiser racers, one designs & keelboats; ending with over 800 powerboats. For the duration of this period the Solent which is an extensively busy business waterway, is bursting with powerboats of all makes & is principally bright as a result of the spinnakers. As talked about before on top of the yachting activities the week comprises of a huge number of onshore activities like that of live festivals & cocktail parties. From private or commercial residential parties & nominally private sailing clubs & boats, there are gigantic marquees put up in the ports offering canap©s & drink. If you’re planning to go to Cowes this year then check out Ondeck’s events for the Cowes Regatta.
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May 31st, 2008
I have had PMS almost since the moment I started menstruating. When I was about 15 years old, my mother decided to put me on birth control pills “just in case”. I’m not really sure what she meant by that since I didn’t even have a boyfriend at the time but the doctor told me it would help with my acne so I was happy to get them. I stayed on the pill until I was about 24 years old. That was back when they encouraged you not to stay on longer than 7 or 8 years and I was approaching 10, but what harm could it do? The doctors kept telling me that if I stopped taking them, my PMS symptoms (which were pretty bad) would get much worse.
Shortly after I stopped taking the pill my PMS, especially my depression that often accompanied my period started to get better. But I still had a long way to go.
That experience got me thinking that there had to be more than what the doctors were telling me. Now I’d like to share a little with you about what I have learned in the 10 years since.
What is PMS?
Let’s break it down. Pre Menstrual, meaning before menstruation, typically indicates the week or two prior to the onset of menstruation (your period). Syndrome is a word used to indicate a series of symptoms that can not be identified as having any other source. These symptoms may include but are not limited to…
• breast swelling and/or tenderness,
• bloating or water retention,
• irritability,
• moodiness or depression,
• anxiety,
• food cravings,
• headaches,
• increased susceptibility to yeast infections,
• acne or other skin blemishes,
• constipation followed by diarrhea.
I Have PMS, What Can I Do?
PMS is actually rather simple to manage. As a result of a basic lack of good nutrition, PMS symptoms can be reduced or eliminated. Estrogen is the number one factor in most PMS symptoms. Decrease your levels of estrogen and you are likely to find immediate improvement in your life.
Where Do I Start?
There are many factors which contribute to women (and men) having an excess of estrogen. Here are some things you can do to reduce your estrogen levels.
• Start eating organic meats and diary, hormones are injected into animals to increase their output.
• Reduce the amount of plastics you use. Plastic food and beverage containers leak chemicals called xeno-estrogens that are stronger than the strongest natural estrogen produced by our bodies.
• If at all possible, find an alternative to hormone birth control methods such as the pill, shots or patches. These have a great deal of estrogen and even the “low dose” versions give your body more of what it really doesn’t need.
• Use natural home cleaners such as vinegar and lemon oil or tea tree. You can find many brands such as Seventh Generation or Earth Friendly that do not contain chemicals and do as good as and sometimes even better job. The chemicals in home cleaners and laundry products are also estrogenic.
• Avoid pesticides and herbicides.
Other Options
Sometimes all of these changes may not be possible. Here are some additional things you may want to consider.
• Increase your intake of fiber. Most adults need between 25 and 30 grams per day but only get 10 to 12. Fiber will bind with the estrogen to help flush excess from your body.
• Do a liver cleanse and continue to support your liver even afterwards. The liver is the primary location that estrogen is processed for removal from the body. If it is sluggish or under-functioning, the body will not remove the estrogen.
• Supplement with Indole-3-Carbinol. Derived from the cell wall of cruciferous vegetables, this supplement has very mild estrogenic effects which will prevent the uptake of stronger estrogens that cause the nasty symptoms. A side benefit of using Indole-3-Carbinol is that it is being shown to be effective for many different types of cancer prevention including breast and ovarian cancer.
While there are supplements available that will help alleviate various symptoms of PMS, wouldn’t it be nice if you actually had to check your calendar to see when you were due because you had no PMS alarm clock warnings?
Nicole Bandes is a Natural Health Coach whose passion is educating individuals about natural alternatives available to them. Nicole publishes a weekly column of health tips at http://www.naturemadeez.com
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May 30th, 2008
Football teams ranging from the high school level down to
the youth football level will never be successful passing
the ball.
Do you believe this? Many coaches and football bystanders
do. I do not.
In my experience, if you’re trying to have success with five
or seven step drops, then my opening statement is true.
However, if you implement the shorter three-step drop and
roll-outs, you can definitely have success passing the ball
with youngsters.
Let’s take a closer look at the types of roll-outs you can
use with your youth football team to gain those crucial
yards necessary to move the chains.
1) Basic Wide Roll-Out
The basic idea behind the roll-out is to create pressure on
the defenders to make a decision on whether to defend the
run or pass. At the snap, your quarterback runs to the left
or right behind the line of scrimmage instead of dropping
straight back.
As your quarterback “rolls out”, the cornerback or
linebacker in coverage to that side must make a decision: Do
they commit to stopping the quarterback from running or stay
in pass coverage?
If the defender stays in coverage, the quarterback can throw
if the receiver is open or take off and run if the receiver
is covered. If the defender decides to come up to stop the
run, you may have a wide open receiver for your quarterback
to pass to.
2) Short Roll-Out
On a short roll-out, you’ll instruct your quarterback to
move just past the tackle. This type of roll-out gives you
the same advantages as explained in the “wide” roll-out with
the added option of the throwback pass to the side opposite
that of your quarterback’s roll-out direction.
3) Sprint-Out
The sprint-out is a roll-out where your quarterback will
take a quicker and more shallow route along the line as he
moves behind the running backs. Usually, you’ll have two or
three receivers (half-back, tight end, flanker) on the play
side run quick outs or hooks so the quarterback can get the
ball out quickly. You can also have the quarterback give a
quick pitch to a half-back rolling out in front of the QB.
4) Bootleg
Whereas in the previously mentioned roll-out types your
quarterback moves in the same direction as the running
backs, on a bootleg he moves in the opposite direction. At
the snap, your quarterback will fake to a running back, then
roll to the opposite side of the field.
A bootleg is good in short yardage situations or at the goal
line. As the defense reacts to the flow of the play in one
direction, your quarterback is moving with the ball in the
opposite direction and will usually find an open area in
which to run or pass into.
Some teams will have a lineman pull out to provide extra
protection while some run a pure “naked” boot where only the
quarterback rolls opposite the initial flow direction.
5) Waggle
There are different opinions on what constitutes a waggle.
Some coaches call it a waggle when the quarterback fakes to
one or two running backs and then rolls behind the backs as
they all move in the same direction.
Other coaches call it a waggle when the quarterback makes
the fake and then moves out in the opposite direction as
explained above in the “bootleg” section. Usually, the
pulling lineman is employed in this type of roll-out.
I’ve often found that young offensive lineman have trouble
holding out defenders long enough for the five and
seven-step drops. Plus, the roll-outs described above will
most likely open up more receivers for you as many youth
defenders will get confused on whether to come up for the
run or stay back in coverage.
It’s up to you, but if you desire success with passing the
football in the youth leagues, I highly recommend you get
good at employing some form of the roll-out into your
playbook.
Matt & Dave run
http://www.football-plays-and-drills.com/rollout and enjoy
teaching football players and coaches more about the
football plays, drills, fundamentals and tips that result in
individual and team success. For our free report, “5 Keys
to Discovering the Successful Coach Inside You”, plus an
additional free report, send a blank email to
mailto:footballtips@aweber.com.
We give full permission for you to use this article in your
newsletter or on your site as long as you include our
Resource Box with our website link and email link included.
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May 30th, 2008
Media training is a ‘must do’ professional development program for any serious leader or manager.
Media interview training provides you with the skills to effectively deal with the media.
Media relations training, with a specific focus on media presentation training for television can be seriously nerve wracking for first timers.
Here’s why you should consider doing a media training course and some essential tips from our media skill training courses.
If you go to the archives of any commercial television station and pull out footage from a news bulletin from the 1960s and view that footage with a stopwatch, you will find the average length of the quote (known as a sound bite or news grab) from the person being interviewed for the story is around 60 seconds.
If you watch commercial television tonight with your stopwatch at the ready, and measure each sound bite or news grab, the average length will be seven seconds.
This is why its being called McNuggett News! Its quick, slick, fast and tasty, but not very satisfying.
There are three reasons for this shortening of length.
1. Increased competition for our ever diminishing attention spans,
2. Increased choice, noise and clutter in our lives, and
3. The merging of information and entertainment dressed up as news.
So how do you get your message across about a complex, detailed issue through the media in seven seconds?
Well, you need to work out your key message and deliver it flawlessly as a media friendly quotable quote.
Remember, you have only one chance to get it right. The professional TV news crews I work with are constantly telling me about people who ring them after the interview and say “can you come back, I forgot to say this and that?”
Of course, the media are so time poor and deadline driven they never come back.
So you only have one opportunity to maximise your media moment.
How do you do this, especially for TV? Here are my Top 10 Tips:
1. Dress Well.
In the powerful visual medium of television you will be judged by your appearance. Clothing patterns and colours will contribute to the impact of your on camera interview. Avoid clothes with lots of designs or patterns. A dark jacket (blue, black, charcoal or navy) with a white shirt/blouse always looks good on camera. Take your cue from what TV newsreaders are wearing. Heed my mother’s advice: “it is better to pay the extra and buy one really good suit than have many of inferior quality.”
2. Warm Up Your Voice.
Tiger Woods wouldn’t go and play a championship round of golf without warming up. You, as a professional communicator and official spokesperson should never engage with the media without warming up your voice.
3. Speak With Increased Energy.
Speak at a higher volume, range, tone and pitch than you would normally. Imagine having a conversation with someone and speaking at a slightly more animated level than you would normally.
4. Anchor Your Feet and Slow Deliberate Movements.
The more you move around the more your body language will distract from your message. Doing interviews standing, even radio interviews, will change your whole physiology and give your more energy and authority. Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart and firmly anchored to the ground. It is hard to sound credible standing on one foot.
At the book launch of Understanding Influence For Leaders At All Levels, I learnt from co-author Des Guilfoyle that slow, fluid and deliberate movements will give you more referent power, charisma and personal magnetism.
TIP: Watch your interviews with the sound off to get a better idea of what your body language is doing in the interview.
5. Keep Calm.
Assertive, aggressive, even angry reporters will fire off questions at you quickly, like bullets spitting from a machinegun. Their speech patterns will be intense and fast. Do not get drawn into mirroring and matching these patterns. In these situations, take a breath and speak more slowly than the interviewer.
6. Memorise Your Three Key Points.
You must be able to deliver these flawlessly without reading notes. Firstly, write them down. Writing things down helps fix them in the mind and seeing them written down also helps. Then compose a visual picture of the actual words. Visually place them in the top left part of your brain. When remembering these points, look to the top left hand part of the brain and they will come to you instantly like magic.
In technical terms, brain experts have shown the left-side of the prefrontal cortex (just behind the forehead) experiences increased blood flow as new information enters our episodic memory. In fact, the brain’s thesaurus is dispersed in many separate parts of the left cerebral hemisphere (Source: The Odd Brain by Dr Stephen Juan, Harper Collins, 1998).
7. Never Say No Comment.
Journalists will believe ‘where there is smoke there is fire’. Say no comment, but back this up with a valid reason.
8. Drink Plenty Of Water.
Keep hydrated and avoid caffeine and milk prior to an interview. Milk gums up your saliva glands leading to a dry mouth. This manifests itself in the common nervous habit of licking dry lips.
9. Get In The Moment.
Elite athletes talk about and practice getting in the zone to achieve peak performance. You need to do the same.
Try this: Relax, close your eyes and take three deep breaths, focussing on clearing your mind. Then visualise a moment in the past where you felt very motivated and very confident. Capture this moment in your mind and anchor those feelings. Place this mental picture inside your right hand and clench making a fist. Cover this fist with your left hand. Repeat this process until you can instantly put yourself into a state of peak performance.
10. Review, Evaluate and Improve.
After each media interview always review:
What worked well?
What could be improved?
What will I work on for next time?
Thomas Murrell MBA CSP is an international business speaker, consultant and award-winning broadcaster. Media Motivators is his regular electronic magazine read by 7,000 professionals in 15 different countries.
You can subscribe by visiting http://www.8mmedia.com. Thomas can be contacted directly at +6189388 6888 and is available to speak to your conference, seminar or event. Visit Tom’s blog at http://www.8mmedia.blogspot.com.
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May 30th, 2008
Hampton Court Palace is placed to the south west of London City, on the banks of the River Thames, boarded by wood & attractive private grounds. Hampton Court Palace, Henry VIII?s incredible water shore dwelling is situated in over 600 acres of park and private grounds.
Inducing the feeling of well over 450 years of history, uniformed artists can be found throughout Henry 8’s and King William thirds fabulous own accommodations. The sights, noise and pong of the elegant Tudor kitchens where royal feasts were organised for Henry?s court of over 500 guests can also be viewed.
Hampton Court Palace has been divided into six unique routes or excursions. The Maze at Hampton Court Palace that is located on the Thames to the west of the City is possibly the most well-known hedge maze on this earth.
Hampton Court palace has a horrific legacy & is said to be occupied by quite a few ghosts, including 2 of Henry 8ths late wives and a nursemaid to his kids. Hampton Court Palace owners & personnel will be on hand to show visitors to their elected state dwelling for a sparkling wine & canap?s introduction. Fancy dress callers will broadcast the evening meal and visitors will be invited to locate their reserved seats for an amazing 2 course meal with hand-picked fine white wines. Discover Hampton Court London, one of the many wonders to visit in London.
Hampton Court Palace has sixty acres of ceremonial private grounds on-top-of the five-hundred acres of royal woodland. The palace private grounds date back to the sixteenth Century, when the original Privy Garden was put down between fifteen-thirty & fifteen thirty-eight for King Henry the eighth.
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May 29th, 2008
Pain and injury avoidance techniques for snowboarding are invaluable but not well known. If you know how, you can avoid the two biggest mistakes that first time snowboarders make. A positive experience your first few times out will make you more likely to stick out the hard times until you learn enough to really have fun!
“There’s no reason that adults shouldn’t snowboard and have as much fun as kids” says self-proclaimed Snowboard Evangelist Lauren Traub Teton who admits to being “in her 40s”. “I have been riding a snowboard for four years, and am having the most fun of my life!”
She feels that the only thing stopping “oldsters” (in their mid-30s and up) from embracing snowboarding in a big way are the inevitable hard falls experienced during the short steep learning curve. She says “there are easy ways to avoid the pain. They are just not well known.”
The reason “snowboard pain avoidance” is not more widely discussed has to do with the history of snowboarding. To some snowboarders, pain and injury are cool. This is obvious if you the read the hundreds of war stories on snowboard websites.
This viewpoint has its roots in the fact that snowboarding is stylistically a descendant of skateboarding and embraces some of the same traditions. For example, doing a grab, where the rider reaches down and grabs the board while airborne, is more of a necessity in skating than in snowboarding, because the skateboard is not attached to the feet. But grabs have morphed into a popular trick and a way to show style in snowboarding too.
The other tradition that has carried over from skating is the tradition of pain. In skateboarding, injury from accidental impact with the hard ground is a common occurrence and gives a skater bragging rights (as well as bruises and breaks.). A lot of skaters are also snowboarders, and so the tradition of absorbing pain as part of “paying dues” remains.
Another factor keeping some adults away from snowboarding may be the reputation for wildness on the slopes that snowboarders have. That probably comes from the fact that when the equipment was first invented, it was technologically primitive, with little ability to steer or stop. That’s how snowboarding got its image as an extreme sport and snowboarders got their reputation as outlaws of the snow. Now snowboards have evolved technologically into precision devices that can turn and stop easily, when operated under control.
With older snowboarders hitting the slopes, the culture of injury and pain has outlived it’s origins. Adults don’t equate injuries with status. People who start riding as adults want to stay upright and uninjured. Some skiers switch over because it seems like more fun and less stress on the knees. Again, the goal is to stay whole!
I learned by trial, error and luck how to avoid injury. In fact, a fine young gentleman working at the guest services desk on Whistler Mountain (B.C.) offered to let me borrow his Rollerblade wrist guards and knee pads, one day when I was learning, and I was hooked on safety and comfort from that moment.
Don’t make the two biggest mistakes new snowboarders often make when you do decide to take up this wonderful sport. To be safe, comfortable, and happy, you MUST
1. Take a lesson given by a professional your first time out.
and
2. You MUST wear padding, on your knees, butt, and wrists.
Come now, why try to reinvent the wheel? If you want to learn to snowboard, then a snowboard lesson with a trained instructor will teach you IMPORTANT basic snowboarding skills that you will use every day for the rest of your riding life.
So learn them right, right from the start. Forget about teaching yourself how to get on and off a lift safely on a board. This is what teachers are for.
And the padding is a must because falling is an inevitable part of the learning process. You WILL fall at first. But if you are padded properly, you will not have to hurt yourself. And don’t chuck the padding once you have mastered the basics. You will need it when you progress to jumping and tricks!
About The Author
For Lauren Traub Teton, snowboarding is the only sport she has ever been successful at. She loves to ride the halfpipe, race, and jump (a little!). She writes the popular free “Snowboard Szine” newsletter. Sign up for it on her site http://www.SnowboardSecrets.com
SnowboardSecrets@aol.com
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May 28th, 2008
There have been many new developments that have come about as non-surgical ways to perform facelifts. Lasers, creams and radio frequencies have been becoming more and more effective at tightening the skin around the face and improving ones’ appearance without the pain from surgery. These techniques have also been shown to improve recovery times, but surgery still remains the best way to combat all the visible signs of aging.
Thermage treatment is one method of performing non-surgical facelifts which have been revolutionizing cosmetic surgery as we know it. This is a relatively painless procedure that uses radio waves to stimulate natural collagen production which will lift and tighten the skin naturally. Anesthesia is not used in this process and the procedure only takes a few hours to complete. When completed, it can last anywhere from six months to two years. Of course this all depends on the person. Be sure an ask your doctor how long he expects it to last before your treatment.
One of the best features of this procedure is that it will allow you to return to work the same day you receive treatment. There is no invasive surgery or anesthesia and virtually no pain at all. Because of this, thermage facelifts are slowly becoming more popular than regular cosmetic surgery facelifts.
To learn more about Sacramento cosmetic surgery, Modesto cosmetic surgery or Stockton cosmetic surgery please visit http://www.resource4cosmeticsurgery.com This article may reprinted as long as this resource box is included and all live links stay intact as hyper links.
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May 28th, 2008
TikiWiki is open source software it is written in PHP, uses phpAdmin for mySQL database administration, and uses the Smarty Template Engine.
Installation - Since our host installed the TikiWiki, I cannot comment on ease of installation.
While TikiWiki has many features, only the features used on the Spotlight on Lake website will be reviewed.
Administration - It is hard to determine what some features are and do, such as the Ephemerides feature. Documentation is sadly lacking! The most complete documentation is for Version 1.6, and Version 1.9 is the current release so many of the newer features do not have any documentation. While there are Forums and a documentation website, the “Search” feature does not work for either site! Many Forum questions are not answered in a timely manner or incorrect information is supplied. Asking a question with IRC chat may also be an exercise in futility or frustration. On the plus side, it is a simple process to turn features on and off by unchecking or checking a box.
User Rights It is easy to set user rights to groups or individuals.
General Preferences - While you can add the site’s title in this section, you cannot add metatag keywords or description. In order to add this information, you will need to modify the “header.tpl” file.
Theme If you want to create a custom design or to modify an existing CSS theme, be sure to select the “moreneat” theme. After basing my design on a different style, I was later informed, “The others are buggy at best, use ‘moreneat’ as it’s the most stable CSS template”.
Home Page Do not select the “custom home” option. I originally selected this option, and was told “It doesn’t work correctly - don’t use that feature”.
The Wiki This section was easy to set up and use. If you have never used a Wiki before there are several items of note: (1) to create a link to a new Wiki page, do not use any spaces in the link text and add double parentheses before and after the link text; (2) use the question mark (”?”) link, to add content to the new Wiki page; (3) with spellchecking, there are times when the Wiki will place a question mark after a business name or word. To avoid this, use double parentheses around the word.
Articles and Submissions This section was also easy to set up. It was also easy to add new Types and Topics. However, it is difficult to display only one Type or Topic on the Articles page. It was easier to use phpAdmin to modify the database tables than it was to use the Articles Administration Section to make this simple type of modification.
Calendar There are 2 calendars: one is for private use in the “My Tiki” section; the other is for public use. The public feature Calendar is “buggy”. There are so many steps to complete in order to add an event to the Calendar that I found it was necessary to include “How-To-Use” instructions on the Calendar page.
Banner Ads Simple to set up and allows text or image displays. There are several options for frequency and you can set the zone where the add is to be displayed.
Featured Links, Forums, and Polls These features were also easy to set up, and no problems were encountered.
Category System There are 2 Category Systems. One is for the Directory feature, and the other is for the Wiki.
Directory The Directory feature automatically checks for URL validation.
Email The Email system uses only a very basic form with input boxes for user email address and comments.
Ease of Modification
With college courses in C and C++, it has always been easy to read and understand other programming languages. However, the Smarty Template Engine code was a new experience. Quite a few hours were spent searching through the Smarty site, my PHP books, and both of the TikiWiki sites. I even asked the assistance of a friend who is a PHP whiz, and he couldn’t figure out the problem.
Modifying the existing TikiWiki code should only be attempted by experienced programmers. After many hours searching through the Development section of the TikiWiki website looking for a flowchart, I was finally able to find a section that contained file relations.
With perserverance, I was able to modify the Directory, to build a Listing feature based on the modified Directory, and to include a customized Email system for the Advertising Contact page. By modifying the database, I was able to have only Articles listed on the Articles page and only Events on the Events page.
TikiWiki Rating
If I were to rate TikiWiki on a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it an 8. This is due to the lack of documentation and also due to the fact that “buggy” sections are included. In my opinion, if a feature does not work correctly, it should not be included as an option!
Diane Hildebrandt owns MsDetta, Inc., a Northwest Indiana web development firm. Diane has a B.S. in Computer Science and believes that websites should be designed to be accessible by every visitor. Diane also emphasizes relationship marketing - turning a visitor into a potential customer of your product or service. Web development services include scripting, programming, Flash and graphic design, ecommerce solutions, database management, and content management systems.
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May 27th, 2008
During a sales presentation, one of my colleagues made the statement “if you are telling you ain’t selling.” These wise words started me thinking about selling from an entirely different perspective.
When sales people stop telling and start listening, they can begin to separate the suspects from the prospects. Depending upon your sales cycle (the time from the first contact to the actual closing of the sale), removing wasted time is another benefit when changing your approach to double your sales results.
Now that you know you have a prospect (someone who has a need) you can sharpen your listening skills to hear what is not being said. As you ask open ended questions and probe for your prospect to begin to share all of his or her challenges (what some sales experts call pain), you are actually facilitating a dialogue where you are building a relationship. During this rapport building conversation, the focus is on the prospect and off your services or products.
As the conversation continues and this may be over the course of several meetings, your goal is to demonstrate the measurable results that you bring to the table not the products or services that you are selling. Remember, there are at least 100 people standing on the same corner, wearing the same clothes and selling the same “stuff.” So if you take the traditional approach to selling by telling, you are now even more like everyone else.
By changing your belief and focusing on the results that you deliver for your clients, you have made yourself stand out away from the crowd. As the old adage goes, “No one likes to be sold, but everyone loves to buy” works with this new sales belief. Maybe it’s time to listen to Madison Avenue from “It’s so clean it squeaks” to “Finger licking good” and start looking at the results instead of your product or service.
Copyright 2005(c) Leanne Hoagland-Smith, M.S.
This article may be freely published. Permission to publish this article, electronically or in print, as long as the bylines are included, with a live link, and the article is not changed in any way (grammatical corrections accepted).
If doubling your results or performance in real time is important to you, then visit http://www.processspecialist.com/smallbusinesses.htm/ to learn some additional secrets and tips. Sign up for a free monthly newsletter. Please feel free to contact Leanne at 219.759.5601. If you truly don’t believe doubling your results is possible, read some case studies where individuals and businesses took the risk and experienced unheard of results at http://www.processspecialist.com/press.htm/
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May 26th, 2008
Late last month, The Washington Post ran a half-page story about Daniel Blejer, a 52-year-old who died of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (a human version of mad cow disease). The article pulled at the heartstrings, and captured his personality so well that you wanted to share a beer with him.
He may have contracted the disease due to contaminated surgical devices used when he underwent a series of brain operations in the late 1970s. The article goes on to say that dozens of patients over the past five years have potentially been exposed to the very deadly brain disorder due to the infectious agent which remained on the reused medical instruments despite sterilization.
After reading about the tragedy his family and others have had to endure, the article ran a quote from a neurologist at Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center. After pointing out that reusable biopsy forceps cost $800 each, the doctor said, “That’s a lot of money. There’s a cost-benefit ratio.”
Assuming he’s right, it still sounds like a cold dismissal of a person’s life to a large portion of the public. And it was an unnecessary comment, since the hospital changed its policies and will no longer use disposable instruments more than once in cases where uncertainty exists.
Here’s what he could have said instead: “After looking at the evidence, we decided to take an additional precaution and change our hospital’s policies to provide our patients with an even safer facility.” It may not be Hemmingway, but it’s a lot better than offending a large swath of the public.
Brad Phillips is the founder and president of Phillips Media Relations. He was formerly a journalist for ABC News and CNN, and headed the media relations department for the second largest environmental group in the world.
For more information and to sign up for free monthly media relations, media training, and presentation training e-tips, visit http://www.PhillipsMediaRelations.com.
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