Rescuing your pet

With all the bad weather that we have had lately there have been warnings issued not to go onto ice on rivers and ponds because of the fact that it may look thick it may not be. So many condemned a man who stripped down to his underwear and crawled across the ice to rescue his dog whilst he was successful many called him foolish and irresponsible for the risk he took. Other instances where dogs have fallen into the ice have not had such a happy ending.

I guess it raises the issue of what would you do in that situation? I personally can’t answer that I as to be perfectly honest I don’t know what I would do, I suspect that I probably wouldn’t take the risk as I have to small children to look after. The advice says that a dog can survive a lot longer in the ice than a human and in most cases will make their own way out. If your dog becomes trapped phone the fire service who will advise you what to do.

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Stress

At some point in your life you will have to deal with some form of stress whether it be mild or chronic. Whilst stress in the short term is unpleasant if becomes long term it can have a negative impact on your health, the symptoms of stress include:

  • irritability
  • feeling anxious
  • low in self-esteem
  • have a low mood
  • have racing thoughts
  • worry constantly
  • imaginine the worst
  • go over and over things
  • having temper outbursts
  • drinking more
  • smoking more
  • on the go all the time
  • talking more or faster
  • changing your eating habits
  • feeling unsociable
  • being forgetful or clumsy
  • being unreasonable
  • struggling to concentrate
  • headaches
  • muscle tension and pain
  • stomach problems
  • sweating
  • feeling dizzy
  • bowel or bladder problems
  • breathlessness
  • dry mouth
  • sexual problems

The list above was taken from the NHS website initially it is recommended that you try various self help techniques, this includes things like relaxation. It is important to recognise stress and address it because if left untreated stress can cause complications including insomnia, peptic ulcers, stroke, hypertension, aneurysm.

There is plenty of help and support out there if you are suffering with stress here are some useful websites that contain plenty of information and places you can go for support.

NHS Choices
Work Related Stress
The Stress Management Society

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When does a house become a home?

I don’t know if many people have ever thought about this, but I’ve been living in my current house for 2 years and it hit me that it doesn’t feel like home- not entirely sure why this is the case. Some argue that it’s the memories that make a home, whilst I can see the logic in that, the place I have the most memories is my grandparents house yet that doesn’t feel like home either. I have lots of memories of having my 2nd daughter, birthdays, Christmases etc. Others say putting photos on the wall, got numerous photos of the kids, pets etc dotted round the house and that hasn’t made any difference either.

One theory that might explain why despite all the memories and the personal touches that it is somewhere that you feel settled. I don’t know if it is because I moved a lot as a child because my father was in the army but I never really feel settled anywhere. Oh well looks like it’s back to the drawing board to see if I can find something that will make me feel at home.

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Business Help

At the moment there are literally thousands of books, websites and courses on how to run a business and help on various aspects of a business. It is very easy to get overwhelmed with all the information out there, the best thing I have found is trust your instincts, the information is there as a guide so you will need to think about how it applies to your business; in some cases it wont but in others it will just need adjusting slightly.
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The only things that all businesses will need to do is register as self employed and ensure that you meet all the legal requirements, other than this the business is yours to do what you want with. I have found that I am always learning something new; in most cases I try to apply the new found knowledge to my business and assess whether it will be of any benefit.

The main help is learning from mistakes, at the end of the day all business owners are human and will make mistakes it is only natural, the question is what you do when you make a mistake. It is very easy to get wrapped up in the fact that you made a mistake but this tends to be destructive, the best thing is to identify the mistake and then attempt to rectify it.

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What do people search for?

I currently do marketing for 3 pubs. The strategy I have implemented is based on research that has been done into what people are actually searching for. However I recently had the owner of the 3 pubs in question ask me why he wasn’t on the 1st page for phrases like “pub Ashbourne”? I patiently explained that this was because no one actually searches for things like that.

This is just 1 example of a common problem, the business owner deciding that they want to be top of Google for various phrases most of which are not what potential customers would type into a search engine to find them. The best advice I can give to anyone is RESEARCH! Don’t assume you know what they will search for; there are numerous tools out there to get these answers. At the end of the day it is up to you how you run your business but in order for you to be successful it is better to spend money, time and resources on things that will actually work, it doesn’t take much effort in most cases just a bit more thought. I promise you that this extra thought can make a difference and you are unlikely to regret it.

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Never Let Me Go

Released in 2010, the story focuses around a group of clones who have been created purely for organ donation. For the full synopsis see IMDB’s page on the film I think that the film is quite controversial as it implies that some people’s life are worth less than others not only that but it sounds like a breeding farm where the clones are expendable and they don’t really seem to have much of a life, very few reach middle age, their fate is inevitable they have no choice with regards to their donations. There are numerous films and books out there that have covered this issue for example The Island.

Whilst the idea of creating people purely for their organs is considered controversial, why is it that a lot of the scientific advancements are not considered as such despite them being in the same league, for example test tube babies. I have no objection to organ donation providing that it is done willingly. I guess it is purely an ethical debate and some of you may say that the ideas of clones for organ donation is purely fictional and there for the purpose of entertainment. However I wonder if it is possible that the ideas are put out there when the idea is in its early stages to gauge people’s reaction to it?

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Funding the business – Grants

This is one of the biggest questions for many businesses is how am I going to fund my business? One way to finance a business is through a grant, these are available through many agencies. The benefits of this are that you gain finance whilst retaining 100% ownership of your business and you don’t have to worry about repaying it.

Here are just a few of the millions of companies offering grants:

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Protecting the Brand

Every small business worries about people stealing their ideas; however protecting your ideas is a lot easier than most people think.
There are 4 different forms of IP (Intellectual Property) that can be protected:

      Patents – These protect how something works.
      Trademarks – These protect logos etc
      Designs – This tends to be used a lot in fashion
      Copyright – This is automatic right on anything written or recorded

If you want more information on this or to register your ideas visit:
UK Intellectual Property Office’s Website

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Too many bills not enough money

As the Quick Quid advert states no matter how careful you are with money it never seems to go far enough. I know this to be true all too well however there is light at the end of the tunnel TALK TO YOUR CREDITORS! They are human and the vast majority are willing to help and so will work with you to achieving an affordable repayments as they want their money back.

Whatever you do don’t bury your head in the sand the problem will not go away by itself. If you don’t have the confidence to talk to your creditors then there are debt management packages out there. I personally chose to deal directly with my creditors because that way firstly I am not paying the debt management company, which ultimately means that I can pay off my debts quicker.

I made a list of all of my debts and included the name of the company and how much I was paying, I then spent a little time on Google and got a contact number for each of them. I then worked my way through the list speaking to all of my creditors and explained my circumstances and arranged an affordable repayment with each of them. I also cancelled any unnecessary things like Love Film subscription, this took the stress out of managing my money and it has also had a positive effect on my health as am less stressed. Talk to someone I promise you it is worth it.

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Swede gets fine cut by Norwegian Police

A Swedish Trucker had a fine cut in half by Norwegian police on the grounds that “Swedes earn less than Norwegians”. Ulf Ander Andersson, who was stopped by police who found that his brakes were not in order was fined £857 ($1,323) received a letter last month saying the “sum had been reduced due to his nationality.” Mr Andersson claimed that whilst he was grateful he found it strange.

“In their letter to Mr Andersson, Norwegian police said they had taken the fact that he was Swedish into consideration, and therefore reduced the 8,000-kroner fine “with regard to your income level”.” Mr Andersson also pointed out: “I actually make more than my Norwegian colleagues since the Swedish krona is weak and I live in Sweden. They should be able to figure that out.”

To me this seems ridiculous as am willing to bet that this man openly admits to being paid more than his colleagues so what difference does his nationality make. Also surely the fine should have been issued to the Norwegian company Mr Andersson works for as am sure that like most companies that use lorries, the lorries are the property of the company therefore it should be their responsibility to ensure that their vehicles are in full working order?

[Source: BBC News]

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