Thursday, September 27, 2007

Belichick Scandal - The NFL Doesn't Want the Truth!

How is it that Bill Belichick can be caught cheating in a regular season NFL football game and the NFL doesn't ask him the obvious question:
Bill, have you done it before?
If a grade school teacher catches a student cheating on a test, the first question asked is whether this was the first test the student cheated on.
The question is obvious and yet NFL Commissioner Roger Goodall seems not interested in asking it.
I wonder why?
Actually, I don't wonder at all. I'll tell you why the NFL isn't interested in pursuing that question.
The reason is because the increasingly obvious answer is that Belichick and the Patriots have been cheating for years. Apparently, the Patriots have been taping the signals of opposing teams, observing what play is run when a particular signal is called – and, the next time they see that signal, bingo, they know what to expect.
Since the Spygate Scandal broke, numerous accounts of the Patriots taping signals (and electronically jamming the headsets of opponent coaches) have come out of the woodwork. Yet, incredibly, "no comment" from the Patriots, Belichick or the NFL.
Stonewall, whitewash, silence.
The Patriots have enjoyed remarkable success this decade, winning three Super Bowls. Belichick has "earned" a reputation as a genius. Quarterback, Tom Brady is supposedly one of the most clutch QB's in history.
But, maybe, their apparent genius and clutch plays were due to the fact that they knew what the other team would do in advance. Even I could hit an open receiver if I knew ahead of time who would be left open.
Did the Patriots win those three Super Bowls because they cheated?
That's the unasked and unanswered question at the moment.
The answer, if we ever get it, will likely challenge the fundamental integrity of NFL football since the Belichick era began.
That's why the NFL doesn't want to go there.
If you think the NFL should fully investigate the Belichick Spygate Scandal, let the football world know at Belichick Spygate Scandal: Unanswered Questions Mo Johnson is editor of http://www.secsportsfan.com
Mo Johnson

Monday, September 24, 2007

Animal Coffee

While searching the many resources of the internet today on coffee, I found a very interesting coffee...blend we'll call it. The coffee is made with animals' stomachs and is called Luwak Coffee. The process as how they get their coffee is simple.

Coffee beans are harvested and fed to animals that live in the Sumatran forest. After the animals have done their business, workers walk around the forest and collect the remains to be brewed into "fresh" made coffee. The actual coffee is owned by the company AnimalCoffee, which is based in Indonesia. The coffee apparently is very popular and is considered to actually be Gourmet Coffee. The beans come from various places around Indonesia but they can offer both Arabica and Robusta type coffees. The company is so far only online based but does have offices in Indonesia as well and is run by someone with the name Troy Davis but they have been in operation for 13 years as of yet. Currently he lives in Australia but his company is starting to pick up steam and the word is spreading.

Big orders are being placed for these coffees so perhaps there really is something to it. If you would like to try some of it, you can always request a sample. If you are into animal stomach type foods don't forget there is also Haggis and I'm sure lots of other types of companies that sell animal organ related foods as well. But then again, some just don't have the stomach for it.
Eric Hartwell

Investment Clubs Debunked - Even Groups of Average Investors Aren't Very Good

A lot has been written about individual investor underperformance - the little guy, on average, just doesn't fair very well against the market. In this study we set our sights on investment clubs and show that when individual investors work together (think "internet forums") they don't do much better...or perhaps even worse.

Between 2001 and 08/2007, investment clubs in our study underperformed the market by a gut wrenching 4.5% a year; and that was before accounting for commissions, taxes, and other costs of trading.

What is an investment club? An investment club is a group of individuals who pool their money and invest together. The club buys or sells based on a majority vote or some other agreed upon method. In the U.S. alone, clubs control tens of billions of dollars.

How We Performed Our Study

To perform our study we turned to one of the largest providers of investment club accounting software, Acme Co. That's not their real name of course, but we don't want to run afoul of anyone's crack legal team, so for the purpose of this study they're Acme Co.

Acme maintains an index of the holdings of the thousands of clubs using their software, representing several tens of millions of dollars in holdings. The index is hailed by Acme as a completely scientific tool for determining how well investment clubs pick stocks. The index is weighted based on club holdings, is rebalanced monthly, and ignores trading costs such as commissions.

Now, Acme Co was not so kind as to provide a handy-dandy-graph depicting how well clubs underperformed versus the market (that would be kind of self-defeating wouldn't it), but they were kind enough to provide a daily snapshot of the value of the investment club index since its inception. Our ingenious and not a little devious programmers simply wrote a software program to record this information daily.

And what did we find? Between 2001 and 08/2007, the index underperformed the S&P 500 by 4.5% annually (again, that's before accounting for transaction costs). This abysmal performance was consistent across the entire period sampled.

Perhaps we're focusing too much on returns - maybe these investors are a risk-averse bunch investing in lower returning investments to decrease their level of portfolio risk? That would be a negatory - the monthly standard deviation on the club portfolio was 5.2%, 35% higher than the S&P 500.

Taking this one step further, if we generously assume that trading costs run somewhere around 2%/year as is in the actively-managed mutual fund industry, that brings the underperformance to somewhere around 6.5% a year…and well, that just makes me want to cry.

Implications

The only conclusion we can draw from these results is that investment clubs (and by proxy, groups of individual investors) just aren't very good at managing a portfolio. Not just the meager 2% underperformance we see from “professionally managed” mutual funds mind you, but a dizzying 6.5% kind of underperformance.

I think the implication for investors is to be careful who you toss around investment ideas with - the fine folks on that internet bulletin board may seem like a savvy bunch, but the numbers show that on average, they probably aren't. So do your due diligence and expect empirical results - not just anecdotes.

Happy Trading,
MarketSci.com

Credit Card Debt Help

Most people prefer credit cards when they have to make huge amounts of payment. The issuer of credit card provides money to the users, through credit card network between the retailer and the bank. It allows the consumer to hold onto to their cash and buy on credit, at the cost of having interest charged. Debt is granted with expected repayment and interest. But debt is not easy to manage. Everyday million of consumers face credit card debt problems, and they need credit card debt help.

Credit card debt is an example of unsecured consumer debt. Debt results when a client of a credit card company acquires an item or service through the card system. Debt mounts up via interest and penalties when the consumer does not pay the company for the money he or she has spent. In credit card debt help sites there are financial experts who specialize in finding the proper form of debt help for each and every consumer, in any kind of dire financial circumstances.

People generally think that they will use their card astutely, at the end of the month they will pay it all off, and build their credit. But often quite the opposite happens. Statistics prove that in North America an average family has $12,000 of credit card debt.

Follow the simple credit card debt help tips below to help yourself out of financial crisis:

-You have to stop spending with the cards. Before you can get out of the hole, first you need to stop digging deeper.

-Make a budget. Having a budget will help you in your financial priorities, and to set them in order. While making the budget keep in mind your credit card debt payments.

-Discuss with credit card debt help services, about your credit debt problems. Try to negotiate with the credit card company on the interest rate. They often lower it as they do not want their consumers to transfer the balance to another credit card with a lower interest rate.

-It is a common though that debt consolidation is an easy way to get rid of credit card debt and other debts problems. But this is not true for all kinds of debt. If you have a personal credit card debt problem it is best to go to an expert credit card debt help service for the right information and guidance.

Credit card debt help can bring welcome relief if your credit card debt is getting beyond your personal control. When you select debt help services, do some research so that you select a bonafide company with just the right services that suit your needs.

With a good credit card debt help service you can consider making one payment with an affordable, lower interest rate instead of several payments each month, each with varying and much higher interest rates. This will help you cut down the outstanding dues by almost half as well as lower interest rates by 50%.

Debt Help Finance provides debt solutions to improve your credit ratting. Debt Help Financial marketplace connects consumers with multiple debt relief companies that compete for your business. For more information please visit Credit Card Debt Help
Martin Lukac

How To Build An Unstoppable Belief System

Why do we make the choices we do? What makes some people persevere and take risks to achieve their goals while others seem stuck or locked into an unfulfilling position for years? Here is the answer, my friend: Your beliefs shape your life and behavior!

We become what we think about, what we wish we were; and when we’re possessed by an exciting goal, we reach it. It’s as simple as that! That is why it has been said: ‘Be choosy, therefore, of what you set your heart upon. For if you want it strongly enough, you will get it.’

Goals are the very basis of any success – the definition of success itself! Yet success does not lie in the achievement of a goal, but in the journey toward that goal. We are successful as long as we are working toward something we want to bring about in our lives. That’s when the human being is at his/her best.

Being successful is not far off place. It’s even closer than we think if we have the mindset to see the opportunities to our best life. Being successful is not about making the right move every time; it’s about ‘maximizing’ those moves.

The first step in preparing for this ‘success voyage’ is believing in yourself; if you don’t think well of yourself, no one else will and you will surely miss some opportunities. So the way you feel about yourself matters and has a direct influence upon your success, which, as a result of a positive attitude, would enter your life easily and effortlessly from all around you. Wouldn’t we all like that? Just think about it!

Even though scientists have not completely figured out where thoughts come from, psychologists state that thoughts are generated by our beliefs. So, if you believe you are worthy of something, you will think thoughts to support that belief and draw it into your life.

You have to believe you deserve it, to feel worthy of success and welcome it into your life! Start making a plan, visualize it and verbalize your desire. Then, just as your thoughts and intentions call new opportunities you must be willing to act upon their arrival. Make a plan, include the necessary steps in achieving the success you desire and start moving to that direction! I know…this may imply serious changes in your daily routine, a certain amount of effort, maybe a series of things you have neither done before nor thought of. Are you getting nervous about it already? Come on! Be flexible and stay open, for as long as you believe you can do it, you will. You might even discover that your plans have been too small and life has something better in store for you. You are entitled to adjust your plan to the newly-encountered situation. Think even bigger! You know you are worthy of what you desire.

The feeling of worth is one of the foundations of a worthy self-esteem. When you feel you are worthy, you believe it is your right to be happy and get the reward that you deserve for your efforts. When your self worth is low, you may believe that you are not entitled to what is on offer and you may walk away from a life-changing opportunity and even let other people take advantage of you unfairly.

Self worth is a positive thing, which, of course, does not mean we are superior to other people and they must be eliminated from the competition of life. It is inwardly focused on us, it means we respect ourselves and deserve the respect of others, it means that our happiness or fulfillment is worth pursuing.

When you start believing in your potential, you can clearly get that vision of your future in the shape you really want it to be, because you know you deserve it, you are worthy of what’s best in this life.

You might ask yourselves: ‘How the heck are we supposed to get to believe we are worthy?’ Hello!... It is not quite a difficult process. We must simply start by doing the exercise called "You are worthy of success". Write down a few things that you are either grateful for or proud of. They don’t have to be very big things, you may not have had the opportunity of proving to the world how special you are just yet, but you know it, you know there have been some moments in your life when you felt proud of something you said or did that reflected in other people’s eyes and those moments meant something to you and to others. Then think of other moments when you felt grateful for something that life (or somebody) had just offered you and - I assure you - they were not just ‘accidents’, you really deserved them, they were not gifts, but rewards for being yourself, saying or doing what you did.

With this ‘powerful’ list in your mind you will become aware of your value as a human being and start thinking even further and trying yourself much more, for the more you believe in yourself the more you are likely to prove you can do!

Looking back to the history of mankind, to the greatest leaders of nations who climbed the highest peaks that mortals could, we can draw this one very sane conclusion: They could not have achieved their goals in life unless they had strongly believed in their power to change things, to reach certain levels, unless they had seen themselves worthy of what they desired, worthy of success. You don’t have to be a leader to think big and move mountains for the sake of mankind; you must only think of yourself and what is best for you; set the appropriate goals ahead of you and start pursuing those goals believing that you can do IT! If you believe it, it will be!

To sum up, there are some basic elements that lead to the desired outcome: You, your plan or path, the actions and behavior and the goal itself.

The belief you will develop around each element will form a winning belief system that will empower you in achieving anything you really want in life. This is how to build unstoppable confidence and self-esteem. When we talk about the Law of Attraction, it all comes down to beliefs. When we talk about dreams, goals, independence, freedom, it all comes down to beliefs. If you truly believe in yourself, you can do ANYTHING!
Sam Santiago

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Simple Ways To Relieving Stress And Anxiety In Our Lives

Why are we so stressed, why are we so full of anxiety these days? Is there so much pressure on us these days that we have to conform to every one else in society that we have forgotten who we are as people and that we have forgotten what we want in our life.It seems life of today is just one big competition of keeping up with the ego.

The media of today are always throwing so many ads on TV on how you can get this great car, stereo, Plasma TV, house, house extension or just more money and buy what you want for this interest free period and how easy it is to get ourselves into more debt. Then there’s more stress and anxiety in our lives because of debt.

People of today have forgotten how to think for themselves, they spend so much time in front of the TV that they don’t have to think, it’s all put in front of them. There are so many subliminal messages coming from the TV. Go do a search on subliminal messages on the TV; you would be surprised on how you are being programmed. Do you want to be programmed?

How about giving up TV all together. I gave up TV 4 years ago now and don’t miss it at all. I gave up newspapers and radio. Now I don’t have the media portraying to me how I feel today I make the decision how I feel today. People ask me but how do you know what’s going in the world? If I really want to know I can look it up on the internet and I read the story for myself, you always know what’s going on around the world but you know what you want to know not what the media thinks you should know. Yes we do have choices and options in this world and if we are in control of what is being fed to our brains then the less anxiety and stress we are going to have in our lives because we are taking control. Wouldn’t it be an interesting concept that if we had a no TV for a week campaign.

So what do you do instead of TV, how about some music, think about it, when one of your favorite songs come on the radio how do you feel, you feel great and you smile. Then there are other songs that can make you feel sad. So if music can do that to you what is TV doing to you. So for a week try playing all your favorite music every night for a week, play music that is relaxing while you unwind from work and eat your dinner don’t watch the news.

Then after dinner you can play high vibration music and turn it up loud let the music vibrate through your body dance around the house and sing, the worst that can happen while you’re doing this is you will probably let go, let go of what? Well that’s it isn’t? Let go of all that doesn’t really matter anyway and you will feel good again and that’s what is important it’s about you not anyone else. Learn to let go it’s the only way to go in getting rid of stress and anxiety in your life.

This article was written by Cynthia Kerry for more information on how to conquer anxiety in your life and a list of high vibration music you can play to let go: http://www.anxiety.guide-7.com
Cynthia Kerry