It would be an apt description to say Peter Sutherland is a physically domineering man with wide strong shoulders having played a pivotal role in the UCD team as a prop in his youth. He played for Lansdowne and was captain there as well. A tough, domineering forward, his nose was broken several times. His great regret was that he wasn’t chosen for Ireland (it’s one of two - he has always regretted not becoming the European Commission president). School, college and rugby - they were the three main passions of his youth. Even now, after all the money he has earned, his home is in Donnybrook, just a mile from each, he also has a flat in South Kensington and a house near Marbella.

He was a rising star of the Dublin Bar, combining a gregarious nature with a competitive streak and impressive intellect. But life as a barrister was never going to be enough. Sutherland was cut out for big-time business and politics, for the hazy interface of wealth and power. In 1981 Garret FitzGerald made him Ireland’s Attorney-General. He was just 35 - the youngest in the country’s history.

Back then was also a time of great political turbulence - and violence. He was heavily involved in the first extradition case of an IRA member to Northern Ireland. “He’s totally opposed to physical force - he’s not a traveller,” said someone who knows him well.

It was back in 1985 that he became Ireland’s European commissioner. It was a key moment. “Going to Brussels heralded the most significant part of my life,” he said. He was completely pro-European and became a close colleague and friend of the French EC president Jacques Delors. As well as this he was also architect of the EU’s new competition policy and to his enormous pride, he was the first commissioner to be given the Gold Medal of the European Parliament during his tenure.

Sutherland never landed the position he most desired however. Three times he was put forward as a candidate for EC president and on every occasion he was knocked back. What sets Sutherland apart from the rest is that he doesn’t let setbacks get in the way of whichever goal he has set his sights on. Only time will tell what challenge will come next for the man who has achieved so much already.

Going out to sea with top executives of your company can be a morale boosting experience — especially if its aboard a yacht. Indeed, spending time together onboard, taking part in water sports, relishing an exquisite dinner and clinking of glasses at sea, or partying while you cruise along a vast stretch of ocean — these activities generally tend to improve colleagues’ relations.

Yacht charter companies have come up with a range of corporate yacht charters, which includes corporate sailing events, corporate yachting events, corporate hospitality and team building activities.

Yacht racing, onboard dinners and cocktail parties, team sailing events are some of the offerings meant exclusively for corporate entities to not just bolster the spirits of their employees but also to strike deals and sign contracts with business partners.

Luxurious interiors, a smart crew, sparkling lounges and deck, state-of-the-art cockpit and captain’s cabin all give a plush look to the yacht’s environment and add to the image of the corporate that charts the vessel.

Multi National Corporations (MNCs) are known to charter luxury yachts for cruises along enchanting routes with their senior executives as incentive for achieving their goals. Event management companies are engaged to organize special entertainment programs aboard yachts for MNCs to catch the attention of the world media and gain publicity mileage.

Movie production houses are also making use of luxury yacht charters increasingly to shoot at exotic locations near myriads of archipelagos, lagoons and islands.

Yacht Charters Info provides detailed information about yacht charters, including Caribbean and Mediterranean yacht charters, as well as luxury, crewed, motor, private, and corporate yacht charters. Yacht Charters Info is affiliated with Business Plans by Growthink.

There are 147 million registered users on eBay, and tens of millions of those are desperately fighting to make sales on eBay. When trying to make their auction listings as powerful as possible, many sellers use ill-advised tactics. They think that if they entertain buyers, they are more likely to get a sale. And as the Internet becomes more multi-media, there are many temptations thrown in our way, especially the use of sound.

Using background music or sounds, unless you’re selling music, is probably a bad idea. If you are going to include music or even an audio product pitch, you are wise to include a command panel that will allow the viewer to listen or not as she pleases. Do not! Do not! Do not! set up your auction listing so that a potential customer is greeted with loud music as soon as they click on your page. Here’s why:

1. Potential buyers are there to see your Gucci handbag or Oakley sunglasses, not to be entertained. Making a buying decision is serious business and you to do not want to take their attention away from your merchandise. Instead, the entire focus of your page should be directed at whatever you are selling. Music is simply a distraction.

2. At this time, we cannot count on the quality of audio technology. Buyers have different browsers, different connections and possibly antiquated equipment. Even worse than unwanted music is unwanted music that sounds terrible, that is scratchy, too loud or of awful quality.

3. You will most likely not know what kind of music your perspective buyer wants to hear. If you are selling to teens you can be reasonably certain that they do not want to hear Big Band music. But can you know whether they prefer Eminem or Travis Twitt? Obviously not.

4. Consider the situation of your buyer. He might be prowling eBay while he is at work and is not supposed to be surfing the net. Sudden blaring music as the Vice-President of the company walks by is the last thing he wants. Or a Mom might have just gotten her colicky baby to sleep and when your music wakes up a cranky infant you can be certain you will never get a sale from that irate parent.

5. Audio files take longer to download than text. If your prospective customer has dialup instead of a high-speed connection, they will most likely be gone before your auction page has even loaded.

Ignore the temptation to make your auctions ‘more exciting’, and instead, concentrate every element on the page on your merchandise. The last thing you want to do is distract a serious buyer who might decide to purchase. Let them find their entertainment elsewhere!

Learn how to sell on eBay with 16 hours of online instruction taught by a 10 year eBay veteran. Own an eBay business instead of an eBay hobby.

With the compensation civilisation growing all over the planet, having public liability cover is turning out to be ever more & more necessary. If you don’t at present have professionally indemnity insurance written-in into your building insurance, then now is possibly the moment in time to look at buying suitable insurance. Here is some suggestions about why you require cover, & what to pay attention to.

What is public liability cover: Professional Indemnity cover is an insurance policy that protects you from claims that other people may perhaps make against you in the likelihood of an accident. If someone damages their possessions or harms themselves in or around your property or business then the public liability insurance will protect you for any compensation claims that might possibly arise. Insurance generally ranges from two hundred and fifty pounds up to one million pounds. Purchase public liability insurance for small business at Insured Risks.

What are you protected against: Insurance will insure cover against accidents or loss that others may experience in or around your home or business site. You are covered from claims from intruders, and injury that might take place to a person from falling items or employees carrying out maintenance. If a disaster takes place on your property and someone claims against you, your insurance will help you to pay any damages.

What’s included Various contents or property insurance policies have in-built liability insurance. You should check with your insurer whether this is the case, and if so what extent of cover you have. Even if the insurance is already included, you need to make sure that you are suitably covered for any particular accidents that may perhaps crop up.

Premiums: The payments that you pay depend on the kind of protection you need. If you just insure your home, then the costs are extremely likely to be much lower than if you are covering a business. Nevertheless, payments are relatively cheap for the amount of cover that you have to pay for, & it is as a result necessary for any individual running a business.

I have seen many unsuccessful site auctions here recently, and most of those can be attributed to insufficient information being published by the seller.

A good site description will make potential buyers feel comfortable in bidding on your web site. The more you can tell a potential buyer, the more potential buyers you will have. And, of course, a larger number of bidders will naturally raise the selling price.

Bidders are willing to pay more for a well-documented site, because they are more comfortable that they will be able to avoid hidden surprises after the purchase.

Here are a few tips to help you create a winning auction for your web site:

State Your Revenue

The simple majority of website buyers are looking for revenue-generating properties.

State your revenue numbers up-front and you won’t have to deal with a steady stream of questions regarding those numbers during the sale.

List all of the sites revenue streams, including AdSense, YPN, Commission Junction, and Link Sales.

If a revenue stream (such as a link sale) is scheduled to end at some point, document that point.

For sites costing over $500, be prepared to show proof of revenue for the previous twelve months. For sites costing over $5,000, be prepared to show proof of revenue over the previous three years.

List Your Obligations

If you have traded or sold links, those links should be maintained. Document this for the prospective buyer.

Set a BIN Price

Set a BIN (Buy It Now) price, and make it a reasonable one.

Many buyers will ignore auctions without a BIN price.

A BIN price which is too high will discourage potential buyers because they will believe that you are not negotiating in the proper range.

A BIN price which is too low can cost you considerable lost revenue. If your site sells for BIN on day one, you set your BIN price too low!

Set an Auction End Date

All seasoned web site buyers will ignore an auction with no set end date.

In addition, a set end date raises last-minute interest — which is where prices really go up.

Set a Starting Price

Setting a starting price informs buyers of the low-end of the price range for the web site and makes them much more comfortable in placing a bid.

Remember, you know more about your web site than any potential buyer.

Document Outbound Co-Op Weight

Many buyers are looking to buy web sites with significant weight in the Digital Point Co-Op.

If your site has 500 or more pages, put the on it so that you can tell potential buyers how much Co-Op weight they will receive.

Document Inbound Co-Op Weight

If you are pointing Digital Point Co-Op Weight at the website, this will boost the Page Rank, traffic, and revenue of the web site.

Document how much Co-Op weight you are pointing to the site and how long you are willing to maintain that arrangement after a sale.

Document Links from Other Sites in Your Private Network

If you have links from your other web sites pointing to the site you are selling, document those links. Tell prospective buyers how long you will maintain those links after a sale.

Mention Your PageRank

Mention your PageRank, to save everyone from having to look it up. The easier you make it for a prospective buyer to place a bid, the more bidders you will have and the higher the final closing price will be.

Mention Your Page Count

Document your page count in each of the major search engines: Google, Yahoo, and MSN.

Document the Registration Date

Document the date your domain was registered.

Document the Technical Requirements

If the site is built upon a CMS, document the CMS.

If the web site was built using a script, mention that script.

If the site can only run under Unix, document that. Do the same if the site can only run under Microsoft Windows.

Document the Bandwidth Costs

For download, graphics, and proxy sites, document the sites bandwidth usage and what you are paying for that bandwidth.

Concerns over the cost of bandwidth discourage many bidders from those types of web sites.

Place AdSense on the Web Site

Even if the web site has never used AdSense before, place AdSense code on the site to show to bidders that the site has not been banned from AdSense.

Document Rights Which You Will Retain

If you intend to retain the right to use the content of the web site elsewhere, document that. Do the same if you intend to resell the web site content again.

On the other hand, if you are selling the web site and exclusive rights to the content — mention that too. That can significantly raise the price of the web site.

Conclusion

These tips should help you to receive maximum value for your web site.

These tips will also help to prevent a stream of warning messages from potential buyers from derailing your auction thread.

In addition these tips are designed to prevent misunderstandings and the resulting loss to your reputation which will arise if a buyer becomes uphappy after a sale.

Best wishes on the successful sale of your web site!

Will Spencer is the author of The Internet Search Engines FAQ, Buying and Selling on eBay, and Entrepreneur Support.

Light is a major requirement of all living beings. No matter where we go, be it for comfort or necessity, we need light. To provide portable, bright light, flashlights exist in our lives. Hundreds of companies fill the markets and offer a huge and amazing range of flashlights for us to choose from.

Flashlights are available in different sizes, shapes, and light colors. Different types such as rechargeable flashlights, mini flashlights, keychain flashlights, sports flashlights, no-battery flashlights, and many more flood the markets.

Bright Guy, Streamlight, Flashlights Unlimited, ZBattery, Cop Quest, Tactical Flashlight Shop, Online Discount Mart, Cops Plus, The Battery Station LLC, Wilderness Survival, Cool Flashlights, SureFire, Target, Quality Items Online, Forever Flashlights, First Alert, Night Star 1, The Led Light, Photon Light, Thomas Distributing, Rayovac, The Sharper Image, Circuit City, Sports Authority, 125 West, Summit Hill, and many, many more are companies which provide multitudes of different flashlights in different sizes, colors, and shapes, all suited for different purposes.

Research shows that there are certain brands that are very popular, as they offer excellent-quality flashlights of different types. Some popular brands include the following besides others: Streamlight, SureFire, MagLite, Garrity, Vector, Energizer, Roadpro, Brinkmann, PLATT, Pelican, Coleman, Inova, and Princeton Tec.

Rechargeable flashlights are those which can be charged and used again and again for a certain number of times. They are available in different shapes like ‘lantern style’, ‘pistol style’ and others.

No-battery flashlights usually have to be shaken for some seconds before they can emit any light. They are an easy option for which we don’t have to reload our flashlights with batteries time and again.

Mini flashlights can be carried safely in a pocket or bag. They can even be clipped to belts. Very compact, they provide excellent light and can be easily and conveniently taken everywhere. Keychain flashlights are an effective way to carry light too.

Especially suited for sporting purposes are the sports flashlights.

The aforementioned companies usually offer flashlights with guarantees ranging from a year to limited and sometimes unconditional lifetime warranty. Certain companies such as Professional Equipment and Altitude Sports also offer a 30-day money refund policy, if required.

Shipping of the flashlights normally requires an additional fee, but some companies provide free shipping too.

Is it possible to build an articulating boat one whose hull will wave with its own wake? Why not build a boat, which wiggles through the water like a fish. But you ask how could not be possible and how on earth would you build a boat in which the hull moves in such a way?

Well, after much thought on this matter I propose a dual hull system where the outer hull moves with the flow of water across the surface of the hull and the inner hull remains rigid. This should not be too hard to contemplate considering we already have oil tankers with dual hulls, the only difference being that in this case the outer hull would be flexible and perhaps made out of carbon nanotube construction, super strong and long lasting polymer or made in sections like a robotic fish.

And while we are at it why not make submarines and UUV or underwater unmanned vehicles in the same way. And as long as we’re talking unmanned vehicles, why not make fuselages on unmanned aerial vehicles in this way, so that at low speed they might take on one shape and high-speed another shape. Where the waves are further apart and then become closer together as the air becomes more turbulent and/or speed decreases or increases.

This would prevent induced drag and allow a smoother airflow or waterflow across the surface and decrease the friction in UAVs, UUVs, submarines, ships and/or private boats. Please consider this if you are a design engineer of such things.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Even if you haven’t had a run-in involving your pet of late, pet insurance has probably crossed your mind. And if you have, the bill for any non-routine care may have cost you anywhere from a cool couple hundred to nearly a grand.

You might have wondered why people have health insurance and most pets don’t, when the medical costs seem practically the same! And yet, navigating through the underbrush of fine print involved in pet insurance may have put you off. Is it worth the money? What do insurers really cover? And why do some plans cost the moon while others seem much more affordable? We’ll try to clear a path through the paper jungle.

Tip #1: Get Them in Young

Ideally, you’ll want to identify right pet insurance plan for you, and get your pet in young while she’s still quite healthy. The reason is, should your pet develop a long-term health issue such as a thyroid problem, she won’t be eligible for many programs, having a “pre-existing condition.” If you stick with one quality program, though, you’ll probably be fine.

Tip #2: You Get What You Pay For

This may stick in the craw a bit, when you start looking at insurance premiums. Some of them cost an awful lot! Be sure to look ahead too, at estimated increases down the road. The older your pet grows, the more the premiums will cost. They will get quite stiff for an older pet, even a healthy one.

So why should you pay out a mint for plan A, when plan B offers coverage for half the price? The answer is: lack of nasty surprises.

Let’s face it, no one but an insurance adjuster can tell what the fine print means when it comes to covering your pet. But we do know this: on the cheaper plans, unhappy things happen. Let’s give an example — let’s say you have two pugs, both covered by an inexpensive plan. One sadly breaks his leg and needs several surgeries, costing two thousand altogether.

You may think your inexpensive plan — which happily, covers 2K of expenses — will handle it all. But when you submit your claim, you discover that 2K is the maximum coverage for both dogs, and your pug is only eligible for half. Even worse, but very common, is a lower limit per incident. In this case, Low Cost Pet Plan will respond that it only covers $500 for this “incident,” but if your poor pug breaks his leg three more times this year, they’ll be happy to help.

Tip #3: You Get What You Pay For

Yes, we know we said that already — but we didn’t say it enough.

Here’s a horror story that can happen on a low-cost plan: you have an insurer. You pay your premiums. But one day, your aging pet develops diabetes. That year, when it comes time to renew the plan and update the premiums, your insurer sticks in an exclusion. As of that moment, they no longer cover diabetes in your pet. Yes, they can do that — and you’re out in the cold.

No less common — and no more pleasant — is the limited payout per condition problem. Your low-cost insurer may cover the first three years of your diabetic pet’s vet bills, but after that, you’ve run through her lifetime allowance for diabetes. Now in her golden years, all her medical costs come straight from your pocket.

What you want is a reputable company that agrees to insure your pet for life, period. No tricks, no last-minute exclusions, no lifetime condition limits. But to have these things, you’ll need to pay for them.

Tip #4: Follow the Wagging Tails

Pet insurance costs too much to be throwing darts in the dark. You need to know which plans will come through for you down the road after you’ve paid their premiums for years. So do your research — look for good word of mouth. You can learn a lot with some smart surfing and Googling.

Although we haven’t used either, we found many satisfied buyers with PetPlan and Marks & Spencer. There are other good plans as well, and plans that are best avoided. The tip we like most is to ask your vet what she uses. Yes! — many vets insure their beloved animals, and are scrupulous in who they choose.

Tip #5: Do You Even Need Insurance?

There’s an argument — and it’s a good one — that pet insurance really serves no purpose. You can see the force of this line of thought when you check out the premiums of quality, reliable plans — they’re high. So why should you pay out all that cash for what *might* happen, instead of stashing it each month in your own high-interest savings account and simply withdrawing what you need?

The answer is simple: discipline. Some people have the discipline to pay their premiums, but not to establish a separate account they won’t touch except for emergency pet expenses. Other than discipline, there’s probably no real reason why you shouldn’t self-insure.

With one exception — liability. Some plans offer extra coverage if your dog injures someone and you get sued. These aren’t the kinds of things you can effectively save up for on your own, so if you think it might be a problem, pet insurance might truly be the route for you.

Tip #6: One More For the Road

Is your pet a prize purebred, with a pedigree reaching back before William of Orange? Expect more vet costs over its lifetime — it’s just a statistical fact. Perhaps this subtle factor will help you decide whether you should self-insure or go for a plan.

Peace of Mind: Priceless

We’re animal lovers. And in the back of our minds lurks the fear that Fido will someday come down with something we can’t afford to treat — simultaneous renal failure and diabetes, for example (to cite a sad chapter from my own pet annals). The peace of mind in knowing you can afford to care for your furry companion, no matter what the future brings, is profound. That’s why insurance was developed, and that’s why pet insurance might be the right choice for you.

About the Author: Blake Kritzberg is proprietor of Poodle-oo: Fashion for Toy Dogs. Stop by for toy dog couture and home decor, free toy dog postcards and the Toy Dog Blog. http://www.poodle-oo.com/ Learn more about pet insurance: http://www.poodle-oo.com/pet-insurance.htm

Source: www.isnare.com

Choosing your Boxer Dog

An easier and more pleasant journey with your chosen Boxer starts with checking out the parent dogs for unbecoming traits like aggression, hyperactive and extreme shyness.

This is easier to do when you get your Boxer from a reputable breeder or from a pet shop that get their animals only from known breeders.

Exercise prudence if you are getting your Boxer puppy from pet stores, which often get their supply from breeders of unknown reputation.

These “puppy mills” as they are called are not known to put much emphasis on the quality and health of pups they are producing.

Reputable breeders would adhere to the accepted standards for Boxers in terms of uniformity in the breed, good health, temperament, size and color.

Reputable breeders would be able to show the pedigree and registration papers and/or pictures of the parent dogs that may reside somewhere else.

Professional breeders are also there to produce dog show champions or prospects.

Even if you are not looking to raise a show champion Boxer, known breeders can provide you with some “best buy” puppies because not all the puppies in a litter are show prospect/champion materials.

But the full litter would have had benefited from the same proven bloodlines, nutrition and medical care. So you can choose from among the good-looking brothers or sisters of potential champion for a bargain.

Your other source option is animal shelters that in the US alone receive up to 12 million homeless dogs and cats every year, and about 25% of them are purebred. Paying the adoption fee is a lot cheaper than the price you will pay to a breeder or pet store, and you will be saving a life.

The definition of good stock or purebred must include beauty, and in a Boxer good look means the coat is fawn and brindle, with the white markings or “flash” covering not more than one-third of the entire coat.

Sometimes the distribution of the “flash” alone may make the difference between a show champion and just a pet Boxer.

The all-white Boxer or “check” is prone to blindness and deafness, and the American Boxer Club members are not to register, sell or use the “whites” for breeding.

When it comes to choosing male or female Boxers, there are not much clear-cut differences in their personalities.

At times, the male is calmer, more tolerant of other dogs, willing to hold still for those hugs than the female. But at other times, the female can be so. One owner said the female Boxer is hyper and more aggressive especially toward other females, and that the aggression has increased as the female gets older.

Need products and supplies for your dogs? Visit http://www.mypetanimals.com/Dogs/ today!
This article is provided courtesy of MyPetAnimals.com - http://www.mypetanimals.com - a large site devoted to helping you find all the pet and animal products you need! This article may be distributed and published on any website, as long as this statement and URL remain intact, and the website address is linked properly.

About the Author

This article is provided courtesy of MyPetAnimals.com - http://www.mypetanimals.com - a large site devoted to helping you find all the pet and animal products you need! This article may be distributed and published on any website, as long as this statement and URL remain intact, and the website address is linked properly.

Most Popular Christmas Gifts

When it comes to Christmas gifts, many parents have no idea what the most popular Christmas gifts are for that year. The kids know, and may be wishing for something special, but many times parents are completely knocked for a loop when it comes time to shop. If it turns out the gift your daughter has been dreaming of is a popular one, it may be hard to find. If you are looking around December 24th, you may not find it at all. When this happens, parents panic. That one special gift is important, and if you can’t find it, you feel like you may have let your child down.

Understandably, many parents try to keep away from the commercialism of Christmas, and try to teach their children there is more to this holiday than getting the most popular Christmas gifts under the tree in the morning. This is wonderful, but it doesn’t mean you can’t find a few special things that they have been wishing for. No matter what your religious convictions are, getting that special present is still part of the magic of Christmas.

When your child has their heart set on a gift that just happens to be one of the most popular Christmas gifts available that year, you may have to search high and low to find it. This can be spending hours on the phone trying to find a store that has it, and then racing there in hopes that it is still on the shelf. There hasn’t been a huge shortage since the Tickle Me Elmo days, but popular toys are still on short demand on occasion.

Long before December 24th, find out what you kids are wishing for, and find out if you can find the one gift they want the most. It may be one of that years most popular Christmas gifts, and you don’t want to be left empty handed. If you can’t find the item in the stores, order it online. If the toy is extremely popular, you may have to go to eBay to find it, and you may find yourself paying double for the toy. You may be able to back order the toy from another website, but in that case, your child may have to wait until after Christmas to get it.

The most popular Christmas gifts may not be the ones you see on a popular toys list online or in the paper. What ends up being your child’s favorite gift might be something unique that no one around them has. You can find many unique and novelty gifts at specialty stores and on the Internet. It is nice when you can find the perfect gift for your child without spending days on end searching for it.