How to Fix a Bad Relationship with your Mother-In-Law

             For some women, at one point or another yo may find yourself in a place where you will need to fix a bad relationship with your mother-in-law. It may be a sudden disagreement, or a long term dislike, yet working to create peace and acceptance can be done the same way. Use just four simple steps to help fix a bad relationship with your mother-in-law
The problem may seem to be between you and your mother-in-law alone, yet it will take both you and your spouse to solve it. Make an agreement that you are going to work together to fix the bad relationship with your mother-in-law. Any steps that you choose to make should be together, and your spouse needs to be willing to support you when necessary.
Going towards the bad relationship with a united front makes it harder to pit one person against the other, which can further strain ties. Your spouse can use his or her place to help promote closeness between you and your mother-in-law, reminding each other of the positive traits each of you have.
Having unclear and uncertain boundaries can lead to a bad relationship forming. You and your spouse should discuss what boundaries your family need to have to maintain a peaceful co-existence with your mother-in-law. Issues such as visits, gossip, and certain conversations may need to be discussed.
Different families need different things, and it may even be possible that the issue that is bothering you is not as obvious to your mother-in-law. You may need to explain the reasoning for your boundaries to prevent any further hurt feelings on either side. When you and your mother-in-law know what is and is not acceptable it can be a positive step to fix a bad relationship with your mother-in-law.
It can be easy to sink to hurtful comments and actions. No matter how bad things may seem, or how much pain there already is, if you truly want to fix a bad relationship with your mother-in-law you will have to start with yourself. Be as polite and respectful as possible, even when you feel angry.
Of course, this does not mean that you have to allow yourself to be a doormat. You can politely hold set boundaries and choose to ignore negative comments and advice given. Acting in a polite manner, even when things seem to be very bad, can have a positive impact on the entire relationship. It may even make an unhappy mother-in-law begin to soften towards you. When both sides are acting respectfully, you will see huge improvements in efforts to fix a bad relationship with your mother-in-law.
Past comments and actions have a funny way of placing themselves back in the light when new problems surface. For the sake of working to fix a bad relationship with your mother-in-law, you may need to work on moving past old hurts. Learning to forgive and forget can ease tensions between you and your mother-in-law, as well as make new problems easier to deal with when they arise.
Bad relationships can happen between anyone, but when it happens between two family members it can create stress and pain for the entire family. Taking steps to fix a bad relationship with your mother-in-law is important to ease family tensions. Working with your spouse to create boundaries and making an effort to be polite are simple steps that anyone can take when things seem bad. If all else fails, learning to forgive and forget may be the best way to move past old hurts and create a new, happier relationship.

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Downhome Pinoy Blues, Intersecting Life Paths, and Heartbreak Songs

Got my TV up for repo,
Same for the stereo too.
The lawyer sent the paperwork I got to sign,
And it all has got to do...
With losin' you,
With my losin' you.
Lordy I know it's got to do
With my losin' you

As "FOPs" (Friends of Pearl) probably know by now, I got a blues jones that goes way back (see, for example, Hellhound on my Trail). Some of you may remember my earlier writings about Lampano Alley, the Pinoy-true blue seventh wonder of the musical world ensemble often referred to as "Asia's Blues Band" (see Sweet Sweet Music). As promised in last month's column, following find a free association/rambling random reflection on their newly released album, Songs from the Alley, featuring just for fun the classic heartbreak lyrics of a tune written by none other than Binky Lampano himself. (I'm spinning this out as quickly as possible while listening to the disk in order to distribute advance copies of the column at tonight's launch party/gig at Kidd Creole in Greenbelt 3; so hang on to your horses, a-waaay we go...)

When I wrote Sweet Sweet Music, I had been regularly catching Lampano gigs at the Hobbit House. the traditional home of folk, rock and blues music located down Mabini way. At the time, Lampano was doing lots of covers of classics by folks like Willie Dixon, John Lee Hooker and Brook Benton, a sprinkling of deep blues, and a few originals. My immediate take on Binky was that he was the veritable reincarnation of Muddy Waters, what with his deeply authentic voice, intuitive just off-the-beat phrasing, and intriguing stage presence. Unfortunately, Lampano Alley has been in hiatus the last three years as Binky went to the states to care for his ailing father (who has now crossed the River Jordon) and Tom Colvin (AKA Tomcat, past master of the Mississippi Sax) began splitting his time between the Philippines and Mexico. Now, however, they have come together for a brief period for gigs around town and are - at long last - releasing their CD. It is a revelation, both in terms of production quality and content of the all-original sound track (it has also led me to reassess the Muddy parallel in favor of broader characterizations).

However, classifying Lampano Alley is not an obvious process given their diverse influences. The band has a strong R&B flavor, with diverse jazz and blues influences intersecting in strange yet elegant combinations. Of course they are electrified, but their phrasing is so sharp and the sound so wraparound warm that it almost sounds acoustic. There's always a little of that Delta-filtered-through the smoky Chicago bar influence , but I seem to have picked up on a bit of New Orleans (Dr. John), Kansas City (Jay McShann) and West Coast blues (Lowell Fulsom, Philip Walker, Charles Brown). The band's sophisticated mix of swing, blues and advanced harmony is about as good as I've ever heard, and that covers major bar hanging-out and friend-of-the-band roles earlier in life in towns like the Big Easy, San Francisco, Nashville, and Los Angeles.

Although Binky's voice is often out front, the band is always oh-so-tight with him, and the intuitive interplay of Tomcat's vibrato harp, Edwin's razor-sharp guitar riffs, and Simon's just-right off-the beat bass shuffling along makes one wonder how the heck this band sprung up in Old Manila.

Guess it just had to be.

Like myself, Binky grew up in a religious environment (see Yuletide Reflections and Faded Memories). But not of the Catholic variety, rather reflecting the Baptist missionary influence. The Reverent L.D. Woosley, a good ole boy Baptist preacher who subscribed to the Book of Hebrews' admonition to "provoke unto love and good works," journeyed to Manila in 1954 to save a few souls, and ended up staying until his death almost half a century later and building the Bethany Baptist Church from a fledgling congregation down on Taft Avenue into a thriving network of over 100 churches and numerous Bible colleges in the Philippines. Binky grew up in that setting and learned to sing joyfully in a choir ("Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away", Isaiah 51:11). In fact, Binky's singing style sometimes reminds me of preachers I have known... Of course, he didn't just listen to church music. He listened to lots of jazz, R&B, Van Morrison, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, and there's a little bit of each of them in his much-evolved voice today.

Binky started singing with Manila bands in the mid-1980s, most notably with Dean's December (they had three well-received albums) and the Newly Industrialized Combo (NIC) beginning in 1992. At around that time, Tom Colvin, an erstwhile professional at the Asian Development Bank, was regularly jamming with featured bands at a series known as "Weekends Live!" at the Atrium. Stephen Lu, a well-regarded producer, introduced Colvin to Binky Lampano - they jammed, magic happened, and the rest, as they say, is history. Colvin's jams with NIC soon led him to take on the highly appropriate moniker "Tomcat".

Lampano Alley started gigging in 1996, with a long run on Saturday nights at the Hobbit. Unfortunately, Lampano's current reunion tour has a certain melancholy quality to it, as Binky will soon be returning to LA to pursue his business degree (a sad commentary on the inability of one of the country's most gifted artists to carve out an economically viable living here doing what he loves to do and what he does better than damn near any blues singer I ever heard) and Tomcat will be off to Mejico again.

Maxed out on my credit
Seen my life go down the drain
I got a message from the bank
That tells me so
Though I cain't just don't explain
Why I'm losin' you
Why I'm losin' you
Lord it just can't just damn explain
Why I'm losin' you

One of the great experiences of my teenage years was the first time I heard the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. By the late 1960s, a fair amount of derivative white blues was being marketed throughout America, but it tended to be either solo folk music or enthusiastic (but not particularly good) covers by British invasion bands like the Stones, Yardbirds, and the Animals. Then along came the Paul Butterfield Blues Band...

Butterfield was a young white boy with the gumption to play mouth harp in seedy blues clubs on the South Side, near the University of Chicago where he was a student - obviously something you could only pull off if you were damn good. The racially integrated band, playing 'lectric Chitown blues with intensity and grit, obviously worshipped the Hoochie Coochie Man (Muddy).

Butterfield himself, significantly influenced by Junior Wells, Little Walter, and Big Walter Horton, developed a unique harp style featuring much longer and drawn-out phrases than your typical Chicago blues harp player. His heavily amped Mississippi sax sounded a whole lot like Little Walter, but also owed a musical debt to James Cotton's rich tone and lung power; he also used his hands actively for nuance and effect, something Tomcat would later turn into a trademark in the Philippines.

Speaking of Tomcat (here's another one of those eerie intersections in unknown time and space), he had grown up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. After graduating from college, Tom was drummer for a jazz quartet, which became a long-time hobby in between pursuing his "real" career as English and History teacher. He went on to study education and history in graduate school at Duke, then went on to teach for a dozen years, but always with that musical back story.

When he was 30 or so - a couple of years after I heard the Butterfield Blues Band and started searching for the roots of the white boy blues - Tom was driving along a highway somewhere on the Atlantic seaboard when he heard a band come on the radio, a slightly latter-day Butterfield group, during a period when Butterfield had evolved from the original straight Chitown blues of the original incarnation to a bigger sound featuring a couple of saxes and heavily jazz-like charts. Butterfield himself let it all hang out in long, drawn-out, jazzy solos, very far indeed from the typical riff-based blues playing...

Tomcat immediately saw the light - he knew that playing the harp was in the cards for him. I reckon the rich, vibrato-laden acoustic style he employs today originated on that long-forgotten radio broadcast about three decades ago.

Need no medication
I know I'm gonna be alright
It's just another case of never missin' the water
Till the well ran dry
Though I cain't just don't explain
Why I'm losin' you
Why I'm losin' you
Lord it just can't just damn explain
Why I'm losin' you

Aside: Returning to that theme of gospel and the blues, I've always had a thing for both types of music, even though in the deep South in the early years of this century the two were considered totally contradictory (never the twain shall meet, see Legba and Aswang). There were many traveling bluesmen in the South; they lived a rough and sinful lifestyle, traveling from town to town singing in juke joints ("jooks", generally nothing more than a sharecropper's shack with the front room furniture removed so folks could dance while the bluesman played). They always had lots of women and were notorious for getting shot at and such by jealous husbands and girlfriends (the most famous/notorious being Robert Johnson, who was poisoned by a jealous girlfriend).

The Reverend Gary Davis, born in South Carolina, recorded some blues on '78 vinyl back in the 1930's but never made much money at it. When he got saved he said "I ain't a-gonna sing no blues no more" and didn't. He spent the next 25 years singing on the streets of New York City and preaching in storefront churches, although he was originally re-recorded by musicologists like Moses Asch starting around 1955. In the early 1960s, one of Peter, Paul, or Mary (I forget which one) heard him singing "Samson and Delilah" and "If I Had My Way" on the street. They recorded his "If I Had My Way", allowing him to buy himself a house on Long Island that he called "The house that Peter, Paul, and Mary built".

Reverend Davis' incredible projection of voice and instrument, the raspy, loud singing style and the rhythmic pounding on the guitar, reflected decades of singing on New York streets. I've always loved the way the Reverend could segue in and out in a duet with the box, talking to her (the guitar) and tenderly calling her "Miss Gibson".

In that same vein, I've always been a fan of the Reverend Robert Wilkins. He began recording with Ralph Peer of Victor Records as early as 1928, then with Vocalion, he recorded on a field unit in Memphis. Among other songs was "That's No Way To Get Along", which the Rolling Stones covered and renamed "Prodigal Son". Wilkins, by then an old man, earned not a centavo, as the copyright had been usurped by a music publishing house.

In 1935, Wilkins was already tired of witnessing violence occurring around the edges of his jook joint gigs when he got saved and joined the Church of God in Christ. He promptly became a preacher specializing in faith healing and herbal remedies and turned away from "the Devil's Music". However (and here's the good part), he kept right on playing the same licks on his guitar while adapting the lyrics to praise the Lord (like changing "My Baby" to "My Lord"). Now that's flexibility!

My favorite is probably the Reverend Louis Overstreet and his sons with the congregation of St. Luke's Powerhouse Church of God in Christ, rockin' Black Holy Rollers recorded by Chris Strachwitz, founder of Arhoolie Records, in 1962. In the late '50s, Reverend Overstreet had spent his evenings driving around the bad neighborhoods of Baton Rouge, Louisiana until he found a sufficiently seedy locale, whereupon he took his amp and electric guitar our of his beat-up old car and talked the bartender of some beer joint into letting him string an extension cord inside. He then proceeded to preach, pray, shout, and sing to the pounding rhythm of his guitar and various percussion instruments (snare drum, tambourine) played by his four sons, trying to save the souls of the sinners and keep them from spending eternity in fire and brimstone territory.

Man may lose all his possessions
All the letters to his name
He gives a sweet hot deal to the devil himself
Just to be with you again
When he.s losin' you
When he's losin' you
Gotta be with you again
When he's losin' you

To close this ramble out, and to make specific reference to the "Losing You" lyric that I'm hooking this Pearl around, I've always been a sucker for a good heartbreak song. Many of my favorites tend to fall in what most would deem the hick category, whether that be Commander Cody ("my dog died just yesterday, and left me all alone; the finance company dropped by today and repossessed my home; but that's just a drop in the bucket, girl, compared to losin' you, I got the down to seeds and stems again blues"), Dwight Yoakum ("It don't hurt when I fall down from this barstool"), or any of a dozen Hank Williams or Willie Nelson gems.

Binky does it up just right in this song, which is Track #3 on the disk. His distinctly wry sense of humor reminded me a whole lot of the seeds and stems again blues. Lead guitarist Edwin Vergara and bassist Simon Tan drive the endeavor. Edwin's tone is clear as a bell, smooth chords and a pealing lead, with plenty of openness in between phrases due to the clean style. Simon's groove is nonpareil, with more than a few surprises for those expecting a standard straight ahead beat (i.e., excursions into off-the-beat jazzlike places, counter-rhythms where you least expect them, but then realize they had to be there as an organic whole). The band is fleshed out by sax players Rancis de Leon and Dan Gil and long-time Lampano collaborator Butch Saulog on keyboards.

Jeez, I just realized that Binky also has a touch of Mark Twain influence in there somewhere, I'm thinking of a Pinoy Huck Finn, given the gospel influence filtered through the latter day blues, and the music with its various and sundry hints of seduction, betrayal, double entendrés, evangelism and the missionary spirit, and self-realization. Anyway, to purchase the album, contact Tomcat directly (Tomcat@i-next.net) or visit http://www.narecords.com/lampano. The disk will also be available at the Magnet Gallery/Magazine Stands at Greenbelt 3, Paseo Center, ABS-CBN loop in Quezon City, Music One [Megamall and Greenbelt 3] and Tower Records, Glorietta.

Down to my last drop of whiskey
Hear the bartender yell last call
I got to move along
But I can't just seem to find my feet
But that don't compare at all...
To my losin' you
To my losin' you
Hey that don't compare at all...
To my losin' you

Credit: "Losing You". Lyrics by Binky Lampano; Music by LAMPANO ALLEY.

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How to Fix a Bad Relationship with your Partner

                    Sometimes even the best relationships can turn sour. When one or both people in a couple begin to feel that things are no longer as happy as they once were, it may be time to consider how to fix a bad relationship with your partner. Making an effort to make things right can turn a potential break-up back into a loving, happy relationship.
One of the quickest ways to ruin a good relationship is to fight with each other. Using juvenile tactics, such as name calling and insults, may make you feel superior but do nothing positive for both sides. Instead, think about communicating in a clear and open manner. That does not mean that yo will both always agree with each other, but it does stop the hurtful things that can tear a couple apart.
Do not bring up past incidents that have little or nothing to do with the current situation. Stick to the problem now, and be willing to hear the other side's thoughts even if you disagree. If you want to fix a bad relationship with your partner, you must be willing to accept that your partner may seem the same disagreement through a different perspective.
When things seem bad, they can quickly become worse. One simple way to fix a bad relationship with your partner is to call a temporary truce and let tempers decrease. Forcing yourself to stop, calm down, and refrain from saying or doing anything negative can help you to look at the relationship from a new perspective. Some couples have mandatory truce times, such as ending a fight before going to bed or before leaving for work.
A pause from fighting for even a short period of time may make the relationship seem less negative later on.
Love between partners is more than something you have, it is also something you do. When it seems as if the feelings of love are gone, acting with love can be a huge step towards fixing a bad relationship with your partner.
Do something that shows love for your partner every day. It can be as simple as serving a favorite meal, buying a gift, or just being physically attentive. A gentle touch on the arm, a hug, and a kiss can carry a couple through a temporary bad relationship. When we act with love, the feelings can begin to grow stronger again. Showing that you still care is always important when trying to fix a bad relationship with your partner.
For some, a bad relationship may be un-fixable. Knowing when it s best to let go can be one of the hardest things to do, but also the most loving thing for your partner and yourself. If you are making efforts to fix a bad relationship, yet things continue to become worse, it may be time to move on.
Making an effort to communicate rather than fight, calling truces when things seem bad, and acting with love are simple things that anyone can do to help fix a bad relationship with your partner.

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Child Electrical Safety

          For parents of young children, it is vitally important that matters of child electrical safety are dealt with. There are many dangers in the home that could easily kill or harm a young child. Of those, electricity is one of the most dangerous and most common. By looking for safety issues in the home, parents can take steps forward in addressing child electrical safety concerns.

The most basic and useful product to have is an electrical outlet cover. These small, plastic caps fit into electrical outlets and prevent children from placing things in the slots. They can be purchased at most hardware store and general stores for very little cost. Using these covers in any unused outlet in the home is the easiest way to prevent electrical dangers.

The modern kitchen has many electric appliances that can pose hazards to young children. From the toaster to the microwave, any appliance that plugs in could be a potential safety problem. Parents need to make sure that there are no cords in reach of children, and that all appliances are far enough back that children could not reach them.
Water and electricity are a dangerous combination, so all appliances that plug-in need to be away from the sink and any other sources of water. The best child electrical safety measures are to keep appliances unplugged when not in use. This prevents the risk of children becoming shocked from appliances they can reach.

Too many parents underestimate the electrical risks that can be fond in the bathroom. However, the large volumes of water that can be found in the sink, bathtub, and shower makes this room a potentially risky place. All outlets in the bathroom need to be covered with child electrical safety caps, and any small appliances that are used in the bathroom need to be kept out of reach. Hair dryers, curling irons, and chargers for electric razors can all be dangerous items when dropped into water.

Yong children should not be left alone in the bathroom, especially when water is present. This goes beyond child electrical safety, as other safety issues can come from young children and water.

There are times when electrical safety needs to be heeded outside as well. Power lines outside can pose serious dangers for children who play too near them. Power lines can often be near trees and rooftops. Children that climb can become tangled in lines, or attempt to climb onto the wires. Tree branches can also fall or break, causing the electrical wires to fall as well. Tree branches need to be trimmed back to prevent this from happening. Children should also be taught the child electrical safety guidelines of never touching or going near a power line.

Some outside toys, such as kites or toy gliders, can become trapped in power lines by children. The best child electrical safety guideline is to only play with these toys in areas where there are no power lines, such as a park or open field. If toys do become tangled children should not attempt to get them down themselves. Parents should call their local electricity company to have a professional retrieve the items. 

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Introducing the Lexus CT Hybrid

Lexus is going to try to sell the CT as a value proposition. “For just $1,000 more than the cost of a non-luxury hybrid, buyers can indulge in a CT 200h with our proven Lexus Hybrid Drive technology,” said Mark Templin, group vice president and general manager, Lexus Division. He says Lexus hybrids currently make up 90% of all luxury hybrid sales in the U.S.
Hybrid Namplate
Let’s break down that name. The “ES” portion is obvious enough, as is the appended “h,” which is attached to the end of every Lexus hybrid nameplate. We can safely assume that the “300? in between—like the digits in other Lexus hybrids—refers to a faux engine displacement. Fearless prediction: an ES300h would use a four-cylinder engine paired with Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive system. This could either be a straight swiping of the
Low Cost Of Entry
In some ways it’s not surprising that the Lexus CT 200h bears such a low cost of entry. The vehicle is clearly youth-oriented, in a way that only the brand’s IS sedan, coupe and convertible have been up until this time, and its small dimensions would also seem to suggest a more affordable sticker. However, the CT 200h is a hybrid, and in the luxury world gasoline / electric automobiles are almost always saddled with higher than average price tags. Not only that, but the CT 200h is also positioned as a hybrid that offers an engaging, even sporty driving experience, qualities that frequently command a premium. This combination of affordability, enthusiast-oriented design and hybrid drivetrain serve to mark the Lexus CT 200h as a unique player in the eco-luxury segment.
Power
However, seeing as it’s the power that Lexus is boasting about, we pretty much have to focus on how the new engine improves the LS 460. Umm, it doesn’t, actually. It’s still as great as ever, not noticeably any quicker, and as quiet and pampering as you’d expect. Maybe the six-and-a-half second sprint to 100kph should mean something to me, but I spent all my time with the LS 460 as any normal owner would; wafting about at quarter-throttle and nodding off at every traffic light. I did like the ‘eco mode’ feature, but that’s always been there, and even with it on you hardly save any fuel shoving a 1,945kg heap of steel down the highway.
SOURCE: AOMIDNews
http://aomid.com/lexus-is-really-making-2011-the-year-of-the-hybrid/225327/

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Globalization Circa 2003: Random Reflections

                                      The word "globalization" seems to have evolved into a cliché and handy dandy fighting word for ideologues. I plead guilty to Johnny-come-lately hood - by the time I wrote the first Pearl columns about the topic three years ago (see Globalization Part 1 and Globalization Part 2), the topic was already old hat. Yet the issues under discussion are fundamental and important, not to mention flash points for politicians, economists, populists, and activists. The alternative (and often conflicting) definitions and interpretations are enough to make you dizzy.
As documented elsewhere, my own interest in globalization goes way back, to days when the term didn't even exist. Instead, the international economics debate was framed in terms of buzzwords like interdependence (in the mainstream) and core and periphery (on the left). Earlier globalization Pearls (see The Globalization Archives) were informed primarily by that dated academic immersion, backed up with spotty updating of current debates in academia and elsewhere. I suppose I was motivated by a perverse, belated desire to return to the academic trenches and a professional involvement in the outsourcing industry here in the Philippines, which was at the time just emerging.
Over the last couple of years, I have continued my involvement in the outsourcing space (often identified with call centers, but also including medical transcription, animation, and business process outsourcing (BPO)). At the same time, my consulting work has come full circle to focus on the development sector, which is what brought me to the Philippines 20 years ago. Indeed, I consider myself fortunate to be doing work that may have some positive impact on the lives of poor people in Asia (albeit tempered by an awareness that thinking Big Picture strategy and writing documents in the inimitable jargon of development agencies is not quite the same as serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in a rural Cambodian village or digging wells for poor families in Afghanistan).
Thus, please excuse the following free associations about globalization, reflecting my own experiences and intellectual idiosyncracies, with sincere apologies to Immanuel Wallerstein and envious glances at Thomas Friedman. Also note that, consistent with the Pearl ethos, I am wont to make logical leaps that may or may not stand up to critical analysis, try hard to balance often conflicting points of view (which is not quite the same as saying I never take a firm position on anything), and give new meaning to the word "oversimplification". Sorry 'bout that.
One of the flashpoints, as often expressed in the street actions aimed at the nearest McDonalds or Starbucks, is the ongoing homogenization of global culture. Traditional cultures and the values that go with them are in dire straits, and many blame the rapid spread of American culture (Hollywood movies, web sites, pop music, advertising icons), all part of the endless feedback loop of economic, political, and cultural globalization.
Most of the symbols and icons that dominate advertising messages in media ranging from billboards to MTV to movie product placements are associated with the United States and the norm of conspicuous consumption. The generation that grew up during the Great Depression had internalized strong values of thrift, avoiding debt, and living within your means. But the post-war years saw an explosion of consumerism as the boys came home from the war, went to work for corporate America, and bought Levittown-type houses made of ticky-tack in suburbs around the country. The Madison Avenue admen hit their stride as they developed dynamite ad campaigns selling everything from cigarettes (Winston tastes good like a cigarette should) to cars (see the USA in your Chevrolet) to soap (99 44/100% pure). While social critics like Vance Packard pointed out the shallow core of consumerism and crass materialism, few were listening.
Although my own boomer generation came along and rebelled against many of those symbols and the perceived hypocrisy of our parents, that rebellion ultimately turned out to be superficial and non-sustainable. How many earnest young hippies of 1970 are, in middle age, striving to reach the top in this or that profession? How many middle-aged parents now gripe at their kids about that "noise you call music"? (Gulp, sounds like... well, me). Many of the values we espoused that seemed so radical at the time are now as mainstream as you can get - "do you own thing" begets "just do it", Beatles and Stones songs now soundtracks for slickly produced TV ads, and Mick singin' Street Fightin' Man as he celebrates his 60th birthday. Holy cognitive dissonance!
Certainly many of the red, white, and blue symbols (and brands) are immediately recognizable by a large proportion of the world's population, from Chicago gangbangers to Uzbek gangsters to Lagos street kids. Think Levi's 501 jeans, golden arches, Coca Cola. People around the orb share a repertoire of fantasies and phantasmagoric images, with the sun sinking gloriously in the west as the Marlboro Man gracefully leans forward in the saddle to fire up a cancer stick. Indeed, it often seems that Mickey Mouse and Ronald McDonald are tag-teaming the developing world, with the outcome carefully scripted to bring about the inevitable triumph of capitalism and its associated imagery. (None of the stiffs ever beat Hulk Hogan in his WWF prime either).
The ubiquitous images provide a global point of reference for displaced and no-longer-centered people around the world. As traditional culture deteriorates, poor people move from their villages to the metropole, watch TV and the Terminator (Pinoy street kids who speak little English know how to say "hasta la vista, baby" as part of their cops and robbers games in dingy Manila streets), and participate vicariously in the throbbing beat of MTV culture. Here in the Philippines, most popular music is imitative Los Angeles a few months late and the word "signature" takes on new meaning as everybody tries to keep up with the Santos family (keeping up with the Jones's having been one of those older generation things my generation rebelled against). The fact that 90% of the designer brand products may be knockoffs is beside the point to the Pinoy shopper, as long as the well-displayed logo is the right one.
To play devil's advocate, one could argue that American ad campaigns have, at least in certain historical and cultural contexts, fulfilled a liberating function (say in the transition economies of Eastern Europe in the early-to-mid 1990s when teenagers and young adults were exposed for the first time to messages like "it's OK to rebel against your parents/Big Brother") Whatever spin you put on it, global culture has taken on a life of its own and now exists without specific reference to the point of origin. One could use postmodern terms like decontextualized, I suppose, although I would tend more towards side references to McLuhanville...
Icon #1: Marlboro man. Elsewhere, I have dealt at some length with the imagery of the wild west (see The Wild Wild West and the American Psyche). One of the more famous images reflecting a vision of America as great and endless empty spaces is that of the utterly deserted roadside gas station along Route 66 or its equivalent, arid desert all around and stunning sunset in progress, a Corvette pulls into the station to fill 'er up, a coverall-clad hick sucking on a toothpick pumps the gas, while a curvaceous blonde thumbs a ride conveniently nearby. Ah, the wonder of the beckoning wild blue yonder. A couple of years ago, a Dutch non-alcoholic beer (Stender) used more or less that imagery to great effect, despite the fact that the majority of the target audience had probably never been any closer to Arizona than London. But they knew what the images signified.
Note also that those same Western/empty space images have now been transferred to outer space and action flicks (Schwarzenneger as John Wayne?). Not a coincidence that the action genre accounts for the most profitable products of the Hollywood mill (action movies don't even need to turn a profit stateside, the real bucks are in the residuals). Such flicks have simple plots (plot? what plot?), don't require a great deal of English fluency to follow, and appeal to gut instinct and the desire to bash folks who piss you off. At the same time, they reinforce American values of good triumphing over evil and the means justifying the end. Call it ongoing propaganda in support of the American dream, now morphed into a globalized vision of shared icons, distorted values, and subtle angst about one's own reality never quite measuring up.
Icon #2: His Airness. Everybody on the planet knows Michael Jordan, and I don't begrudge him his wealth or fame. As a lifelong hoopster (see Pinoy Hoop Dreams), I have long appreciated his magic. So it was a bit disorienting a few days ago when I was walking towards the elevator in a Makati five-star, only to find myself suddenly surrounded by five very tall dudes, four of 'em black with dreadlocks, the other a blonde white guy, all between 6'3 and 6'8 or so, all lugging bags of freshly purchased athletic gear from the ritzy mall across the streets - mostly Nike, but I also spotted some Adidas and And 1 boxes - swaggering a bit as they enjoyed the undisguised stares of the folks in the lobby (note that Filipinos never disguise their stares, at least when aimed at foreigners not likely to go amok on them).
I was hoping they would take the other direction, but they were also headed upstairs, so I crowded into an elevator with the whole grip. They seemed to be conversing in grunts, which is the norm in hip-hop culture, so I at first figured them for a visiting team from the states. But I did a quick double take when I realized the grunts were actually colloquial Francais and possibly Italiano - holy Euro invasion! My neurons came to the rescue as I remembered that there was a troupe of traveling European and African (ex-French colonies) dunksters in town to do acrobatic stunts and flying cartwheels at various malls around town. I reckon that's gotta be globalization of one type or another.
Let's make an abrupt shift of gears and briefly touch on the complex interrelationship amongst globalization, poverty, and inequality (see the Globalization Files for more detailed ruminations in this vein).
When I was a graduate student, there was a lot of talk about the "trickle down effects" that would result when you supported economic growth in a developing country. Initially, it was seen as inevitable that the upper classes would derive the demonstrable benefits of economic development. When you support development based on import substitution, you work with domestic élites; when you support agriculture in essentially feudal countries, you support the plantation owners; and when you invest in assembly plants, you make the industrialists richer.
Walt W. Rostow made a career out of arguing that all countries march through certain stages of development, approximately the same ones that the Western countries went through beginning with the industrial revolution. The traditional development economics argument was that it is necessary early on to create economic growth, even if it temporarily increases inequality. Not to worry, the economic benefits will eventually trickle down in the form of job creation, small business opportunities, whatever.
That theory was gradually discredited and few commentators today dare make such a bald case for working solely with domestic élites and ignoring the poor. However, many theorists and development agencies continue to perceive globalization is the greatest thing since sliced bread, with international trade and capital flows leading the way to a better world. London's Centre for Economic Policy Research conducted a review of research on globalization and concluded that most globalization critics were "poorly informed about the historical record, and appear not to be aware of the contribution played by globalization in the struggle against poverty". According to these eminent economists, the primary benefits (in terms of reducing poverty) derive from integration (better economic ties among countries), reduced tariffs and increased international trade, and freer flows of investment.
The World Bank has issued numerous reports with fancy statistical analyses showing that globalization is the key to "curing poverty". Indeed, the principles of the Doha Round (now referred to as "fair markets") are thoroughly integrated into the global development agenda. Much of the money funneled through the multilateral development banks is lent contingent on compliance to those principles and IMF loans have long been pegged to opening markets.
There has been some progress in alleviating global poverty over the last two decades or so (although how much of that success can be attributed to globalization is another question). According to a Columbia University study ("The World Distribution of Income"), 550 million people (17% of global population) lived below the dollar-a-day line in 1970, as compared to 350 million (6.7%) today. In the Philippines, poverty decreased by about 1% a year through the 1990s, but has increased again since 1997 (see Notes on Poverty in the Philippines). The global figures, however, are hard to interpret because the world two largest countries (China and India) grew by leaps and bounds; since they were "very poor" in 1970 and are no longer considered so, their rapid rise makes the overall average income higher.
But inequality is another story. Cross-national comparisons of national income statistics show an ever-increasing dispersion of average incomes. If you compare the ratio of the average income of the highest income countries (US, Western Europe) with the poorest countries (sub-Saharan Africa). The gap has never been larger. At the same time, the gap between rich and poor within countries like the Philippines continues to widen.
Such evidence supports the arguments of globo-critics (globophobes), primarily academics and activists from developing countries. From this perspective, globalization contributes to ever-greater inequality, concentration of income, environmental degradation, exploitation of labor (especially poor and female workers), and the undermining of fiscal viability of developing country governments (especially their ability to raise taxes to improve social services). Critics are also quick to point out that today's near-instantaneous flows of capital create tremendous instability in the global system, with the victimized party often being a developing country that suddenly fell out of favor with investors (case in point Thailand 1997). Indeed, according to the 1999 Human Development Report: "...When the market goes too far in dominating social and political outcomes, the opportunities and rewards of globalization spread unequally and inequitably... The past decade has shown increasing concentration of income, resources, and wealth".
The bottom line: Globalization is a theoretical, abstract, origins-in-academia construct that has been overused, oversimplified, and deeply misunderstood. Globalization excludes some and includes others; marginalizes some and elevates others; forces some below the poverty line and makes other wealthy. A couple of years ago, everybody was arguing (like me?) that globalization has taken on a life of its own, a veritable freight train of global integration that can never be stopped. Now, what with SARS, Iraq and the closing of America's borders, and brewing problems in the international economy, globalization seems to have lost a bit of momentum. But even so, there is little chance of going backwards and, even if the pace of integration slows a tad bit, this state of "globalization" (however defined) will continue to define our reality for the foreseeable future.

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The LA Auto Show: Hybrid Battery Replacement and Winterizing

                           The thirtieth meeting of the Milwaukee Hybrid Group (MiHG) on Saturday December 18 featured Wayne Gerdes’s eagerly anticipated report on the Los Angeles Auto Show, lively discussion of new projects for the five year old organization, and comparison of mileage and winterizing methods among the members.
Gerdes, organizer of CleanMPG.com, advocates ending American dependence on imported oil entirely. He supervised a staff that test drove and examined cars at the LA show, which featured 20 world debuts of new car models, and 30 American debuts. While reporting on the features of the new Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf, Gerdes played up mid-size high-mileage gasoline cars, and mid-size or luxury electric and hybrid models, such as the Volvo C30 electric, Lexus CT 200h, Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, and Honda Fit EV. He expects these cars to attract many drivers who are not interested in the Prius or the Chevy Volt.
“Range anxiety” is a new term discussed at the meeting, a concern to those who will be driving cars powered solely by an electric battery. Randy Mays, a member of the MiHG planning committee, observed that Milwaukee commuters do not have to drive the distances of Chicago or LA drivers, and that he rarely drives more than fifty miles in a day. The Nissan Leaf has an EPA estimated range of 73 miles without needing to be recharged.
Gerdes related that Nissan is experimenting with direct current (DC) Level 3 charging equipment at Cracker Barrel parking lots near the Nissan plant in Tennessee that will be producing the Leaf, which can bring a battery to eithy percent of capacity in half an hour – less than the time it takes to eat lunch. This equipment is not likely to be available for individual home use for several years.
Owners of current hybrid models were glad to hear about a company called ReVolt, based in North Carolina, that provides replacement batteries. A member who arranged a battery swap at the Green Drive Expo in Madison last summer reported paying $1700, about half the price a dealer would charge. Gerdes observed that the company has a good reputation, and offers Gen II cells in replacement batteries, an upgrade from the Gen I cells in older Prius models.
More immediate practical discussion for the winter included use of standard foam pipe insulator material, available at most hardward stores, to block the flow of cold air through the grill. Cutting tubes of insulation in half, then fitting strips into the grill, can save a few miles per gallon.
Debbie Anders’s Ford Escape Hybrid continues to amaze with an average of 40 miles per gallon, and a couple from Fond du Lac reported their Toyota Highlander gets 29 mpg if they keep the speed under 55 miles per hour. Anders and Gerdes trained drivers for the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sanitation District in the MiHG Drive $mart program, resulting in a sixteen percent mileage improvement. MiHG Bradlee Fons continues to hold one of the top records, with 88.8 average mpg in his Honda Insight.
SOURCE: Examiner.com
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The New Customers Are In Town

         The new customer-supplier supply chain has been altered dramatically over the last few years. The "new economy" has had a great impact on the way we view the predictable ways of this once status quo-ish aspect of American business called customer service. With downsizing, rightsizing, reengineering and dreaded mergers and acquisition, not to mention the latest political hot potato called outsourcing, the new business landscapes have created a "new customer" - an emergent breed that seemed to have sprung from a yet undefined gene pool.

A recent customer service-training program conducted at the AT&T facility in Pleasanton, California provided a stark reality that not all those who produce a product or service understand who the real customer is. This unconscious incompetence - a take from Kilpatrick's learning model, for those familiar with teaching adults - offers a vivid picture that old line companies and even those who beat their breasts for being in the Fortune 500 ranks may rate woefully low in the customer service performance scale. AT&T workers, hopefully after learning what the true meaning customer is, thanks to the class, can now relish the notion that their customers transcend the traditional customer profile of one who simply has money to spend, one who is a whining, demanding outsider, and one who unreasonably needed the service yesterday.

Not a hop, skip, and jump away from AT&T's Pleasanton, campus is Wells Fargo Bank whose television commercials glamorize the traditionally personalized banking delivery service of the Pony Express of the 1800's. However, after leaving the bank it is not hard to feel as if you've stepped on something that makes you cringe and fume at the same time for dragging it into your living room. Populated with "newbies", they'd rather bet their lives on a linear, mechanistic, depersonalized treatment of their customers than venture out to the realm of the socially and relationally sane; that is, their customers' real world. They hide behind the lamest yet most common refrain of "it is the bank policy".

These two conditions underscore what is happening in the marketplace. Better yet, they exemplify what is NOT happening in the marketplace. Some organizations take the bull by the horn and lead the way. Others, however, are taken by the bull's horn and are led away.

The Evolving Breed Of Customers

This begs the question: "Is customer service declining?" Or, "Are customers becoming better consumers?" The Sloan Management Review once published that customers want reliability (30%); responsiveness (20%); assurance (20%); empathy (16%); and tangibility (7%). This survey was published in 1991 but these demands are as true today as they were then. Knowing these statistics and underlying behavioral implications, why on earth then are we not able to render simple, quality service to those deserve it? Well, perhaps the best place to start - that is, if we are to find even a modicum sensible response - is to look at the changing formulations of the traditional face of the customer.

People buy products and services. These products and services in turn meet their idiosyncratic needs and wants. Also, people exhibit styles and tastes, and there are as many styles and tastes as there people. Purveyors of products and services, meanwhile fight tooth and nail to grab market share and brand positioning to help insure their survival in today's Darwinistic marketplace.

For starters, let's look at old people. Without sounding pejorative for the perfunctory use of the word "old", we know that they are the fastest growing population in America - and they have money to spend. It is no wonder drug companies like Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and Bayer/GSK makers of Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra respectively scramble to provide products for the aging male population. Factor in the advancement of medical technologies that help people live longer, we can only surmise that the growing senior population will need to be catered to for years to come.

Women meanwhile, play an ever-increasing role in today's economy. Faith Popcorn's website that highlights future trends has these to say: women purchase 75% of all over-the-counter drugs; they hold the household purse-strings and thus control 80% of all purchases in the household; in the last year alone, 50% of all personal computers were purchased by women and are now as Internet savvy as men; women-owned businesses are growing at an unprecedented speed with a forecast that by the year 2005, 40% of all businesses in America will be female-owned.

African American buying power has continually changed advertising and marketing strategies of image purveyors along Madison Avenue. Consider the following facts. African Americans are the largest ethnic segment in America and as their population continues to grow positive results emerge. An increasing number of African Americans are starting and expanding business resulting in gains in buying power. The Census Bureau also shows that the 25-29 year-old-group of blacks now completes their high school education equipping them with better credentials and skill sets needed to become competitive in the workplace and fill jobs that provide better wages. What's more astounding is the finding that they spend more of their disposable income than their white counterparts.

Asians buy rice, tofu, fish (heads, eyes, and all) and a whole lot more. The collectivist mindset also keeps them perpetually tied to relatives' hips in the old country for which they steadily purchase products that they send back home. For example, this practice has accounted for the continuous growth of Philippine-based enterprises like LBC and Alpha Cargo whose monetary backbones rest on Balikbayan box shipments to Manila and outlying provinces. Incidentally, US Census declares that they (Asians) are the fastest growing ethnic segment and have the highest average household incomes and level of education in the US thus securing further the market niche for companies that cater to the home country. Although Asians comprise a younger market than the general buying populace, they still do prefer to communicate and consume media channels in the native language. Case in point, this preference for the mother tongue has spurred the slow but gradual entry of ABS-CBN's The Filipino Channel into Filipino American homes. Notably, as well, Saigon Television captures the viewing time of Vietnamese communities up and down the state of California everyday at 6PM with metronome accuracy. Combined with their work ethic and the value they place on newfound opportunities, purveyors of products and services see them as a veritable goldmine.

Projected to be the largest ethnic segment in the US by 2005, the Hispanic population will be flexing its buying muscle to the tune of $460 billion and beyond. This emerging consumer powerhouse speaks the monolingual medium of Spanish. Given a few more years it wouldn't be a stretch to claim Univision as the "fifth network". Hispanics are also younger than its general market and ethnic counterparts. By far it has a young population who, for all intents and purposes, will be dependent on healthcare services like child and adult care. Furthermore, Hispanic females will reach 48.92 million in the year 2050 - about 25% of the total US female population. That's why when Hispanic-owned Molina Healthcare, Inc., went public, it snatched more than $115 million during its IPO - a testimony to the public's trust and confidence in a business model focused toward the health care concerns of the Hispanic market.

These are simple vignettes of the changing countenance of the consumer not only in the US market but also across the rapidly evolving global economic landscape.

So, Who Really Are These New Customers?

White-Anglo Americans, African Americans, Hispanics, Asians and peoples of other national origin, ethnicity, and persuasion today wield a powerful spending stick that commands attention from even the most indifferent and economically self-assured enterprise. They are the new customers. They are the evolved kind transformed from the once staid and laconic state of substandard expectations. They come to the marketplace each day with greater and more sophisticated demands and ample money to spend. They have expected performance outcomes of customer service providers that far surpass the old ways of doing business. They want responses now and products delivered yesterday. These new customers are in town and they are here to stay. And this town as we once knew it is no longer a day's travel for them nor is it even an earth's spin away any longer. This town as we know it is merely a click of a mouse away.

To boot the new customers are smarter and more insistent than ever. These new customers in town are no longer beholden to the buying ties of the past. These new customers are both young and mature - what a dichotomy! But who are we to complain? The customer is king remember? And these new customers have funds. These new customers are also technology savvy; armed with the power of the Internet these new customers can travel great distances within the contiguous United States or leap across bodies of ocean to exercise a buying power that is second to none.

These new customers transcend physical and cultural barriers. Today, they may hail from Main Street, Chicago; tomorrow they may come knocking from the dirt streets of Sandakan, Borneo.

Behold the new customers, they're coming.

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Nasal Spray Testing System

        Upon being granted a patent for the core elements of its hardware and software spray pattern and plume geometry measurement systems, ImageTherm has announced availability of SprayVIEW version 4.

SprayVIEW automates, accelerates and increases the accuracy of the testing of pharmaceutical spray drug products, including nasal spray pumps, metered dose inhalers, and oral spray pumps, in accordance with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) testing recommendations announced April 2003. SprayVIEW's objective testing methodology enables innovator and generic pharmaceutical companies to more quickly and effectively evaluate drug formulations with a 98 percent accuracy and repeatability rate. It reduces overall lab testing time by 10x, as compared to earlier methods, helping to bring safe and effective pharmaceutical spray drug products to the consumer market faster.

"Since 1999, SprayVIEW has helped pharmaceutical companies, such as GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and 3M, become more agile and competitive by streamlining their testing and analysis processes," said Dino J. Farina, president of ImageTherm. "We have already seen proven results from 60 worldwide end-user customers throughout North America, Europe, Asia and the United Kingdom using SprayVIEW."

For decades, the pharmaceutical industry has endured the use of thin layer chromatography (TLC)-plate spray pattern, still image photographic testing and paper-based records as drug characterization and reporting techniques. Meanwhile, the FDA now recommends the electronic and automated documentation of spray characterization data for drug products. With existing archaic and time-consuming techniques being very qualitative and subjective, and with the industry's need to address current and future FDA guidelines, pharmaceutical companies require a methodology and associated technology to analyze spray characterization automatically, non-destructively and quantitatively. The unique, patented technology in SprayVIEW enables completely non-intrusive and objective measurements of spray pattern and plume geometry for pharmaceutical sprays.

Version 4 of SprayVIEW improves the acquisition, handling, analysis and reporting of spray test data and allows pharmaceutical companies to maintain compliance with the 21 CFR Part 11 regulation. It revolutionizes test data management and reporting by incorporating a secure Oracle client-server database architecture.

The system: Enables 21 CFR Part 11 Compliance - SprayVIEW 4 allows pharmaceutical companies to fully comply with 21 CFR Part 11 regulations for electronic records and electronic signatures. In SprayVIEW 4, test data and images are collected in a compliant manner and form the basis of the electronic records submitted to the FDA.Offers Improved Data Handling Capabilities - In SprayVIEW 4, all spray data are stored in a secure Oracle database, Version 10g, alleviating companies from the burden of storing large individual files. In addition, the software architecture allows for future inclusion of data from other actuation events (i.e. unit dose measurement, droplet size distribution and cascade impaction).Includes a Method Editor - SprayVIEW 4 decreases the amount of operator time and intervention required during measurement taking by introducing a method editor that automates data acquisitions tasks. The method editor helps the user define the test instructions and then automatically execute them. Automatic system checks and calibrations ensure data integrity.Incorporates Advanced Reporting and Analysis Tools - Advanced software functionality enables users to easily sort, compare and analyze spray data in a Windows-based graphical user interface.

ImageTherm was the first company to develop an integrated hardware and software system for pharmaceutical spray characterization and analysis. R&D directors, lab managers and production managers at innovator and generic pharmaceutical companies use this unique system to simplify the testing of spray pattern and plume geometry by using a laser light sheet to illuminate a non-intrusive plane of spray droplets or particles, enabling faster product time to market with significant improved quality control and regulatory compliance. To date, more than 30 pharmaceutical spray drugs, including Flonase, FluMist, Rhinocort Aqua and Proventil have been tested using ImageTherm's technology.

"With SprayVIEW 4, ImageTherm is setting a new standard for automating the collection and analysis of testing data for spray and aerosol drugs," said Rob Lewis, laboratory services manager at Fleming & Company Pharmaceuticals, makers of Ocean saline nasal spray. "SprayVIEW 4's advanced data handling capabilities, 21 CFR Part 11-compliant methodologies and integration of an Oracle database makes a very impressive package for companies seeking a more efficient, effective way to test and characterize nasal spray and pulmonary pharmaceuticals."

ImageTherm delivers innovative testing and development systems and services that are advancing the science of nasal and pulmonary spray delivery of pharmaceuticals.

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How to hold an effective family meeting

        Family meetings can be important events for any family. When you hold an effective family meeting, you give everyone in the family a chance to discuss issues and decisions that effect everyone. From simple disagreements to planning upcoming opportunities, having effective family meetings are a great way to keep everyone connected and on the same page.

Keep The Focus On the Family Meeting

Many people today stay connected to the world around them at all times. Cellphones, laptops, and portable games can all be distracting, not only to the person using actively using them. Set specific rules on focusing during a family meeting. It is much easier to hold an effective family meeting when everyone is paying attention.

Even in families, it can be common for conversations to be dominated by one or two people. Personalities and passions can make some people more likely to speak up, while others go unheard. Give every member of the family a chance to speak up if they wish. They may not have a thought or opinion to add, but allowing them a chance will make them fee more comfortable if they do wish to speak up later. When everyone has the opportunity to be heard you are more likely to hold an effective family meeting.

Some families may feel more inclined to use family meetings to discuss problems that have happened recently in the family. Repeatedly using this time to focus on the negative can be stressful for many people. To hold an effective family meeting, there needs to be a balance of positive and negative topics being discussed. Encourage kids to share things that happened during the week that they enjoyed. Kids can also use the time to practice complimenting each other, a good way to reduce sibling fighting and promote bonding.

It is difficult to hold an effective family meeting if everyone in the family is tired, cranky, hungry, or feeling rushed. Plan the meetings for times when everyone can be present and in their best attitude. Mornings can be better than evenings, as they give everyone a chance to sleep on previous issues and not be weighed down by new stresses of the day.

If family meetings are sporadic, they are less likely to be truly effective. To hold an effective family meeting, they should be a regularly scheduled event for the family. Once a week is a good schedule that many families use. This allows your family a chance to air grievances and discuss upcoming events in a timely fashion. Families that are extremely busy, or have erratic schedules, will need to make family meetings a priority.

If your family seems unhappy or uninterested, this can make it more difficult to hold an effective family meeting. Plan activities that the entire family can enjoy after your family meetings. Board or card games, family crafts, or family movie times will promote bonding between family members. When these meetings become associated with fun activities, your family becomes more interested in joining the meetings. Their willingness helps you to hold an effective family meeting.

Family meetings can be good ways for families to connect, discuss, and share openly with each other. Families of all sizes can benefit from having regular meetings. Using these simple tips, you can hold an effective family meeting. 

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Conscious Sedation

"It was 7 or 8 years that I had avoided the dentist. I took a pill an hour before and then I don't remember anything about the procedure. Now my teeth are in good shape. It works for me." said Donna.

Thousands of people who avoided the dentist are getting their dentistry done while they relax in the chair, thanks to a new development in dentistry called pill dentistry, technically known as oral conscious sedation.

"More than 90 million Americans are afraid of the dentist and are putting off work that could save their smile," said Dr. Michael Silverman, president of the Dental Organization for Conscious Sedation.

"Use of this procedure has grown rapidly. Almost one million procedures have been done," said Dr. Silverman.

John said, "sedation dentistry is the way to go if you are afraid of the horror stories you've heard about going to the dentist. It was a four hour procedure and I don't remember one single thing. My jaw wasn't sore at all. It was a drastic improvement to my smile."

"The dentist gave me two pills. Next thing I remember, I was finished. It's like going to sleep, waking up and having a mini-makeover. It's fantastic," said Christopher.

"Pill dentistry does more than let patients relax while getting their teeth fixed. It also lets them get their treatment done in fewer visits," said Dr. Silverman. "Dentistry that would have taken many visits to do, now only take a few."

Patients can ask their dentists if they are qualified to perform this new technique. Or they can search to find a qualified dentist.

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Not All Jobs Belong To The White Man: Asian Minorities, Affirmative Action, And The Quest For Parity At Work

Any honest attempt by a minority worker to climb to the top of the of the corporate ladder in any organization in America should arguably be a discrete case study in itself whose rightful place rests in the bosoms of scholars enwrapped in academia and technocrats engrossed in policy studies. With minorities now vastly represented in the workforce all around the country, one would think that there would be sufficient data by now for scholars and policy makers to design policy notes and forceful initiatives to make sure that past racial offenses against minority workers are no longer repeated on one hand, and that opportunities in the workplace are effortlessly available to each worker who hail from every conceivable race and ethnic background on the other. But the truth is, even the sharpest constitutional minds agree - and disagree - that it may take a generation before court-assisted policies on race-conscious hiring can once and for all be eliminated.

The sad reality is that minorities, even in this day and age, must fight for every inch of advancement in the workplace. The illusion that the "good-old-boy-network" that had permeated corporate boardrooms and influenced hiring decisions for generations has faded in the pages of history still remains, sadly, an illusion.

Although a smattering of Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Indians, Thais, and others may crow about seeing their kind sitting in prominent positions in corporations and organizations, these accomplishments become mere cultural high-fives and ritualistic chest-thumping goaded and impishly patronized by "mainstream society" - the milder and gentler term for the white-dominated populace. The true test of parity and acceptance of Asians and their accomplishments by the folks in the boardrooms and society as a whole is when promotions and awards are afforded without the tolerated fanfare and the implicit sanction of pinstriped, crossed-armed male Caucasians standing by the sidelines acting as if they need to be congratulated for allowing the promotion or hiring to happen in the first place.

Many a reason has been given why minorities fail to get to the plum positions either in state-run agencies or those self-professed well-meaning corporations. The most prominent reason given is that "no minorities in the pool of current workers are qualified". How convenient! In fact, what a perfect set up. It seems that the most effective means to get employers to pay attention to racial and ethnic bias in the workplace these days is hit them with lawsuits. WalMart, the world's largest retailer got a dose of reality from various court actions inspite of its down home next-door-neighbor image. The reality they woke up to is that insidious bias and prejudice ran rampant in their hiring practices prompting numerous lawsuits by aggrieved workers. Echoing this predicament is the coast-to-coast discrimination lawsuit filed against Microsoft. One was filed in Seattle through the flamboyant Johnnie Cochran, while seven former employees filed the other lawsuit in Washington D.C. Microsoft claims (their defense) that the level of minorities in the tech industry, thus Microsoft included, is lower than other industries. This lame excuse validates the "waiting room" notion that whites have traditionally enjoyed.

Many companies and even civil service-supported bodies do not possess a bona fide pool of workers composed of minorities who can be tapped to fill in slots that are often given to whites. Why? The answer is quite obvious. On the surface, it is antithetical to the alleged espoused policy of racial equality to which these corporations and state agencies are expected to adhere. But there is never a shortage of whites to fill vacant jobs especially those that are in management category and pay better. It raises the conundrum of where and when did it ever come to pass that the white man (in most cases) is always the best person for the job in the first place. An unwritten entitlement rule (this is a white man's land) seems to be the guiding heuristic that guides senior managers and executives in solving even their simplest hiring challenge. And implicit to this entitlement rule is the perpetuation of the good-old-boy-network. This is the luxury that most male white workers are afforded - rightly or wrongly - regardless of skills, abilities, and competencies. The consequence of this perverted entitlement is that minorities - Asians, Blacks, South Americans, and Women - end up carrying their white colleagues and superiors on their backs while they (white managers and associates) sweet talk and hobnob their way up to the top.

The true in-crowd of any Caucasian corporate clique is not the public face that one sees in the press and television after a promotional announcement. The true in-crowd is systemically formed in the transitional "waiting rooms" of workforce replacement pools. One can simply look at current organizational programs or corporate agenda whether these "waiting rooms" are staffed with the appropriate faces that represent the minority population. When these pools appear anemic of the minority crowd, these sets up the convenience excuse of "there are no minorities" qualified for the job (shades of Microsoft).

The color and ethnic lines are still drawn no matter what most people say to the contrary. However, one will always find a staunch advocate of how discrimination had ended with the martyrdom of Martin Luther King, the pronouncements of Frederick Douglass, and the sacrifices of James Chaney and two of his Jewish associates, Michael Schewerner and Andrew Goodman. On the other hand supporters of the "discrimination is dead" position argue that significant advancements by numerous people of color clearly belie a myth that is perpetuated by various self-interest groups whose only aim is to capitalize on an episode in history that has been rectified and continually being vigilantly guarded from ever happening again. These self-styled parity seekers who trumpet a one-nation indivisible belief prey on racial attitudes that were frowned upon then and visibly disdained now.

Discrimination is a two-way affair. It is pernicious when propagated by those who dominate mainstream society. It is just as deleterious when perpetrated the other way by those who bark out for group rights and entitlement for historical hurt. A classic example is allotment based on race and ethic position. It is this set-aside notion for a group that casts aspersions upon any well-meaning effort by those involved in Affirmative Action. The concept of meritocracy thus occupies a stepchild status because a cloud of suspicion and the idea of allotment taint any advancement by any hard working minority worker. So called civil rights activists look at individual achievement with a scornful eye. They thrive under a gang mentality hoping that a common cry of current pain and past maltreatment, no matter how old or outmoded, will serve as their meal ticket to special treatment and allocations. These pressure groups work to ossify long forgotten hurts and misdeeds and use them as collection plates that are incessantly passed around in government and corporate spheres. This begs the question of "who are the true racists?"

Affirmative Action: The Racial Prophylaxis

There is a camp of activists however, who find that the country is well on its way to healing the racial and ethnic wounds that have polarized the country for over a century. Consequently, we do not have to hide behind lobby groups and special interest organizations merely to see that minorities today are competing on equal footing with the white dominated workforce. Let's take a look at Affirmative Action promulgated under Title VII of the Civil rights Act of 1964. This provision under the law prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, and national origin. This dates back to the Kennedy administration when it mandated that all companies doing business with the government to actively weed out racism and discrimination from their operations. The term has since metamorphosed into a form of social reengineering sporting various stripes of political agenda.

Thus affirmative action, as had been originally conceived, and as a form of a prophylactic rule, protects the Equal Employment Opportunity practice its own self. Affirmative Action is viewed as the guardian of equal opportunities designed to prevent past injustices against minorities and to ensure that historically oppressed groups are not discriminated against when it comes to hiring and admissions in schools, business, and industry. In some rather suspicious glance, detractors of affirmative action see its underlying message as a form of preference; it is a counterintuitive notion that can do more harm than good toward the quest for parity and respect among minorities.

Just recently the Supreme Court of the United States issued two rulings in the case of University of Michigan's college admissions policies. For one, the court acknowledged the pivotal role of diversity in the social life of the school but came short of issuing prescriptive guidelines. By a vote of 5-4 the law school was allowed to select students in part on race. However, with regard to the University's undergraduate admissions policies which automatically give points to all minority applicants, the Court ruled 6-3 against it. This ruling strikes at the heart of the quantification of race which on first pass appears unconstitutional. Meanwhile, the first ruling by the Court provides a plus factor for race if the applicant happens to be a minority. Their formula - in line with the Affirmative Action spirit instituted 25 years ago - applies a fluid and inexact rule which gives extra consideration to minorities. The caveat to this provision is that the Justices recognize that this race-oriented policy may not go on forever.

Affirmative Action At A GlanceNote: Affirmative Action was initiated in the 1960's to rectify past discrimination practices against minorities. Women were later included.1961. President John F. Kennedy orders Affirmative Action involving hiring in federal programs. The idea is to eliminate racial bias.1964. President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act. This law prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, and national origin.1969. President Richard Nixon signs the "Philadelphia Order" guaranteeing fair hiring programs for the construction industry.1978. The Bakke case limits ethnic quotas making a point for "reverse discrimination" proponents.1987. The Alabama State Police allows to grant strict hiring quotas to correct long history of discrimination.1989. The Supreme Court directs the state of Virginia to make a cogent case for implementing Affirmative Action.1996. The Supreme Court affirms lower court decision that bars Texas colleges from using race in admissions decisions.1996. Proposition 209 wins in California banning Affirmative Action in state employment, education, and contracting.1998. Initiative 200 abolishes Affirmative Action in the state of Washington.2000. Florida enacts law to eliminate race as a primary factor in college admission.2003. The Supreme Court allows University of Michigan law school to use race as a "plus factor" for admissions but rejects the undergraduate practice of giving minorities points bonus.Source: Columbia University Press.Quo Vadis Equal Employment Opportunity

The Equal Employment Opportunity Act articulates the doctrine that Americans are created equal and therefore requires the same treatment under the law regardless of skin color, ethnicity, religion, national origin, and creed. Although this provision appears sincere and benign, it has its own tyrannical side however. Since those responsible for instituting this equality happen to be those who also who dominate mainstream society (Remember, this is the euphemism for the white majority) and eventually responsible in meting out rewards and punishments. Affirmative Action prevents those whose who happen to wield power to be "too equal" with their own kind.

It is a hard pill to swallow seeing blatant incompetent or borderline competent white workers leapfrog over more deserving Asians when it comes to hiring and job promotions. When one looks at those who wield power and authority, it confirms the mutterings of justice seekers since the same people in power are made up of the male white variety, who for all intents and purposes appoint workers (consciously or unconsciously) of their kind and skin color. Exacerbating this condition is when a white worker is fired or disciplined, it is treated as an individual case. Meanwhile when an Asian is terminated, the matter tends to apply to the entire ethnic group.

On the surface, Affirmative Action may represent what is good about America and how noble its intentions are when it comes to matters of recompense and redressing past social ills. Affirmative Action displays a moral balance and justice that paints a picture of more than a thousand words where White advantage is neutralized by minority advances apportioned in the form of quotas, set asides, allocations, and preferences. Moralistic proponents - especially those who hold that Affirmative Action is a mere window dressing, and that it does more damage against a minority's self-image and psyche - not only push for the abolition of Affirmative Action but more significantly advance the idea of an equal playing field where hiring and job promotions be performed on the basis of a meritocracy. However, one thing is certain: detractors and sycophants alike do not have a common platform that advances the plight of minorities. It is clear that proponents and advocates tend to make Affirmative Action a political football where each side demagogues its cause among those who can claim a historical hurt, and using the ballot as the means to gain an edge at the expense of reasonable debate and civilized discourse. The latest ruling by the Supreme Court on Affirmative Action where their votes were split 5-4 and 6-3 affirms in screaming fashion that even the most prominent constitutionalists of the land do differ on the issue; that their decisions cut deep along individual and philosophical lines when it comes to the matter of race.

Critical Questions Remain Unanswered

Is Affirmative Action a friend or fiend to minorities? Are quotas, set asides, and preferences the types of gate passes minorities need to get a leg up in the workplace? Can an Asian walk and lift his or her head with pride knowing that if one ever gets ahead in life it is because of a "push" that carries with it a stigma of implied inferiority?

What detractors of Affirmative Action constantly argue is its subtle yet insidious creep toward becoming a social instrument for racial parity. It capitalizes on color, ethnic origin, and nationality as its determinants of action regardless of its relevance to the ideals of equal opportunity and justice. It puts the cart before the horse. Instead of instilling pride, drive, and motivation as critical elements of one's character that are necessary for success, it posits Affirmative Action as a pre-requisite for acquiring those traits. Advancing along the corporate ladder by virtue of race casts aspersions on the beneficiary of the preferential treatment and paints the individual unfairly along with one's race or ethnic affiliation. Hence despite of one's advancement as a result of personal achievement, race and ethnic background can unfairly drag one down to the stereotype that may be ascribed to it thus negating a person's individual accomplishments.

Discrimination will be around us for as long as ignorance and prejudice find unwashed minds that act as breeding pools of hate, in the same manner that disease-carrying mosquitoes find haven in the shallow puddles of stagnant waters. Asians have the responsibility to see to it that if Affirmative Action is to work, it should be made vigilant against the sins of human treatment and not against the offenses of race. That essence of equality is found in the way we treat one another, not by how much allocation we give one race or the other. Furthermore, Asians ought to develop a taxonomy that delineates the factors that truly constitutes racial discrimination against the context of Asian culture, beliefs, mores, and values. For years, Asians have followed the lead of Blacks with regard to issues of discrimination. What is racial discrimination against Asians? What are the subtle nuances and indicators that constitute racial discrimination that are inherent to the Asian people?

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HIV Drugs

Decision Resources forecasts that the HIV drug market will grow to more than $8 billion by 2013. Novel therapeutic classes that augment treatment options for the treatment-experienced population will drive the market.
The new Pharmacor study entitled Human Immunodeficiency Virus finds that, despite advances in therapy, the HIV drug market is constrained by social and political pressures on the pharmaceutical industry.
"HIV is a highly politically and socially charged disease, this factor has important implications for drug developers," said Aarti Raja, Ph.D., analyst, Decision Resources. "Pharmaceutical manufacturers have been under increasing public pressure to address the global HIV crisis by drastically reducing drug prices for developing countries. Beyond the profitability concerns directly related to the developing world, manufacturers worry that the high price differentials created by such a move may increase price pressure in the major markets."
Since its identification in the early 1980s, HIV has become one of the most serious epidemics of modern times and a significant source of morbidity, mortality, and cost to society. Beginning in the late 1980s, advances in the understanding and treatment of HIV, particularly the development of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), have substantially halted the progression of HIV and reduced mortality from AIDS.
Pharmacor is a unique family of studies that assesses a host of market- impacting factors and analyzes the commercial outlook for drugs in research and development.
Decision Resources provides research publications, advisory services, and consulting designed to help clients shape strategy, allocate resources, and master their chosen markets.
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Electronic Prescribing

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina chose DrFirst's award-winning Rcopia electronic prescribing solution for a collaborative program that will target a thousand physicians to promote the adoption and use of electronic prescribing technology. The focus of the program is on improving patient safety, reducing costs and improving the overall quality of care in the delivery of prescription drug benefits in the state of North Carolina. Electronic prescribing helps accomplish this through increased decision support for providers at the point of prescribing and better communication and connectivity between physicians, pharmacies, and payer organizations.
In the first phase of the program, DrFirst will recruit 500 high prescribing providers selected by BCBSNC and issue DrFirst Rcopia ePrescribing licenses, handheld PDA devices, and WiFi wireless network hardware. To further enhance rapid adoption, DrFirst will also offer a full patient demographic data upload, training, implementation, and workflow consulting services to participating practices.
"Electronic prescribing significantly simplifies the process and lets doctors check for adverse drug interactions or allergies at the point of prescribing, which improves patient safety and enhances efficiency. It also prompts consideration of generic drugs where appropriate, which will ultimately lower health care costs" said Dr. Robert T. Harris of BCBSNC.
DrFirst will provide its Rcopia Insight reporting tool and consulting services to deliver deep analysis of the actual results of the program and its impact in key areas. The program will evaluate success based on the ability of electronic prescribing to enhance patient safety through decreased adverse drug events, increased formulary compliance and improved efficiencies in the prescription writing process. Improvements in these areas are expected to lower health care costs while improving the general quality of care.
DrFirst's Rcopia is an end-to-end electronic prescribing system that manages the prescription writing process electronically by connecting physicians to critical patient information and key health care stakeholders at the point of prescribing. Rcopia delivers a patient's insurance information, medication history, allergies and pharmacy preferences to physicians at the point of care. In addition to these capabilities, Rcopia was chosen for its ability to share data between physicians in order to improve continuity of care along with its ability to tightly interface with other systems such as electronic medical record and practice management systems.
Physicians can use DrFirst Rcopia via the Internet and on handheld devices. True mobility is delivered using the Rcopia PDA allows physicians anytime/anywhere access to patient information and prescription writing functionality whether connected or disconnected to the Internet.
BCBSNC delivers health care services to more than 3.3 million members.
Using Internet, security, wireless, web and Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) technology, DrFirst provides the healthcare community Rcopia, a full-featured stand alone electronic prescription management system.

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Toyota to Launch Prius Plug-in by 2012 in all Major Markets

                       “Green Thinking” and development of nature friendly hybrid cars in the coming years is going to become a top priority for all the automakers. So says the Japanese company Toyota, which is one of the pioneers in the field of ‘green’ cars and is planning to bring hybrid car Prius by 2012 in a big way.

Now, while evaluating the results of this year, it is evident that Toyota has made huge investments in the development of innovative, and nature friendly technologies. In order to explore vast potentials of eco-cars, the company has set before it a large number of tasks for the next two years.
By the end of 2012, the world should see 11 brand new and updated hybrid models. Also in 2012, the company plans to begin intensive selling of Prius Plug-in model simultaneously in Europe, Japan and the U.S.: it is estimated that they will be able to sell about 50 thousand cars per year. In 2015, Toyota plans to release a model with a hydrogen engine mounted under the hood. Next year 2011, for strengthening the positive image of alternative technologies, Toyota iQ (in the electric version) will be included in the European program of road tests.
This year, as in the past, Toyota continues to develop new technologies. One of the promising areas is its development of new generation of batteries, which by their performance will be much better than the currently available lithium-ion batteries. These batteries are now being used in Toyota Prius Plug-in models. By the way, in order to evaluate the use of new generation of batteries in the automotive industry, earlier this year the company created a special organizational unit, bringing together a team of 100 people.
Toyota’s management is confident that eco-cars can have a positive effect on the state of nature, only if they would be used by maximum possible people in the world. Moreover, if the demand will be higher, more people will opt for the cars with new technologies thereby eventually leading to lowers costs.
SOURCE: Seer
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Penny Stock Trading

A well picked Penny Stock can be a remarkable investment.  If you are fortunate enough to be able to get in on a Penny Stock with a bright future before the secret gets out, the capital growth can be enormous.  But before you dive in and invest in Penny stocks, consider these potential pitfalls:

Liquidity is essential to an efficient market.  If a stock is traded infrequently, it can be very difficult to get a feel for which way the share price is headed.  The gap (called the spread) between the highest buyer and the lowest seller can be large enough to distort the pattern of the trades.  This can make it very difficult to gauge the true "market value" of a penny stock.

There are shady characters out there who make a very good living from promoting rumour and gossip about penny stocks.  These professionals might choose to "ramp" a stock by flooding stock message boards or by person to person gossip.  It only takes a few people to buy a parcel of shares in a thinly traded penny stock to spike the price enough to make a fat profit from a Penny Stock.

Some penny stocks get to seemingly impossibly low levels.  The chart shows they have dropped so far you can hardly think it possible for them to drop further.  It's easy to get swept away with the psychology of "this can't possibly go any lower" or "this must be a bargain" simply because the shares are only a few pennies each.  It is just as important to consider the underlying earnings and cash flow for a Penny Stock as it is for the broader market

There is no point trading Penny Stocks if your broker is charging you premium rates on each trade and eating into your profit margin.  There are some very good brokers out there offering very low prices per trade.  Zecco and Choicetrade are two excellent options as they both have efficient trading platforms and very low trading fees (Zecco offer 10 free trades a month).  I also know of people who swear by Trade King, but I have never used them myself.  I'd recommend setting up a free account and having a look around.

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How to Tell if Your Relationship Will End

Except for a few, rare people, most of us will have to face a relationship ending. When things begin to feel off, you may begin to wonder how to tell if your relationship will end. Whether it is just a feeling you have, or a few significant signs adding up, understanding how to tell if your relationship will end. 

Talking Becomes Rare

Couples need to communicate with each other, both to stay on the same page and to bond. When these conversations become few and far between, it may be a sign that your relationship will end. Couples on the end of their time often stop talking completely, or limit themselves to meaningless conversations such as the weather.

Couples should connect in conversations every day. These can be deep, personal discussions, or light-hearted talks about things you both enjoy. The act of talking to each other strengthens bonds and helps to forge new ones. Fewer and fewer of these can be a sign when wondering how to tell if your relationship will end.

Early in relationships, most couples spend hours together. From having dates to hanging out, time spent together is an important part of a relationship. When this time together becomes virtually nonexistent, it can be a way to tell if your relationship will end.

It is easy for life to get in the way and make the frequent dates of early relationships difficult. However, if one person in the relationship seems to never have enough time and is not interested in making time for the relationship, it might be over. This drifting apart is a common way of how to tell if your relationship will end.

Those little quirks, the ones that were once so cute, can start to seem huge as it becomes more obvious that a relationship will end. Because of this, fighting and bickering can become more common for the couple. Increased arguments is a simple way of how to tell if your relationship will end.

For some couples, it may seem as if one person is purposely starting fights frequently. This could be a sign that the person wants out of the relationship, but does not want to be the one that leaves first. Looking for fights can tell you if your relationship will end.

There is no denying that couples have a physical attachment as much as an emotional one. The two can often be wound into each other tightly. Thus, when one person's emotional attachment starts to fade, the physical intimacy fades as well. Noticing this may be how to tell if your relationship will end.

Losing intimacy does not have to mean just sexual intercourse. Hugging and kissing area just as tied into the emotional attachment a couple has. Even simple moments of contact, such as touching an arm or back, can provide small amounts of intimacy for a couple. Look for these things disappearing as yo look for how to tell if your relationship will end.

Most relationships will end at some point. Many of us have to work through several before finding the one relationship that is meant to last. Understanding the signs that occur near the end can help you know how to tell if your relationship will end. 

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