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Tag Archives: Baltimore Ravens

What We Have Here is a Failure to Communicate

There are certain classic movie lines that apply to life.  One such scene occurs in the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke.  A captain played by Strother Martin is talking to a stubborn prisoner played by Paul Newman.  Following a frustrating exchange, the captain comes to the realization that you can’t reach everyone.  This dialogue ends with the famous words, “what we have here is a failure to communicate.”

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry, Colossians 3:5.

Last Sunday the National Football League played a game in London, England as the Jacksonville Jaguars soundly defeated the Baltimore Ravens.  Prior to the game, both teams took a knee during the playing of the National Anthem.  Moments later, each rose to their feet to honor Great Britain’s anthem, God save the Queen.  As I watched this live streaming the game on Yahoo, I was confused.  While I heard the reasons for this public display during postgame press conferences, I feel like the captain in Cool Hand Luke, not sure why a foreign flag was honored with your home flag shunned.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you, Matthew 6:33.

In the end, it doesn’t matter what I think.  What’s important is for leaders to come together, get into a room and come to a clear understanding.  Instead of speculating on opposing views, exaggerating, gossip and slander isn’t helping anyone.  Before healing begins, conservatives, democrats, progressives and republicans need to clear the air and start from scratch.  Unless this conversation begins soon, I’m afraid America might not be able to recover from this divisive climate.  May spiritual leaders see the big picture by seeking God’s kingdom and righteous first.

by Jay Mankus

Judge, Jury and Executioner

If you follow Twitter, listen to Talk Radio or watch Cable News, then you have a slight inclination on what’s wrong with this country and the world as a whole.  Countless individuals have forgotten the words of Jesus in John 8:6-9, “let him who is without sin throw the first stone.”  Blinded by hypocrisy, ignorance or simply oblivious to their spiritual condition, many are acting as judge, jury and executioner, piling on with stone after stone.

In view of TMZ’s release on their website earlier in the week of Ray Rice striking his soon to be wife in an elevator, the media has stirred the masses into a tizzy.  With one person down, Ray Rice, kicked to the curb on Monday after being release by the Baltimore Ravens, the next victim is Roger Goodell, commissioner of the NFL.  People are lining up in droves to take their shots, putting pressure on Goodell to resign.  As radio and television analysts comment on the hot topic of this week, abused women, there’s an eerie silence for the unborn child, killed every day because the law says its okay.

The only person in the media who has made any sense this week is Steve Smith, veteran wide receiver of the Ravens, formerly a member of the Carolina Panthers.  Steve reminded the press that God is the only true judge.  Although citizens like to pretend to be the judge and part of the jury, God will hold everyone accountable based upon what they have done on earth, Matthew 12:36-37.  Before another human being in thrown under the bus this week, refrain yourself the next time you have an urge to trash someone.  For if you do, you will likely reap what you sow and one day you will be at the mercy of the judge, jury and executioner.

by Jay Mankus

Making Sense of Domestic Violence

Unless you’ve been out of the country on vacation, most talk shows listeners and television viewers have gotten an earful from the Ray Rice saga.  After videos showed the Baltimore Ravens star running back beat up his girl friend during the NFL off-season, a recent 2 game suspension for Rice has been perceived too lenient in the public’s eyes, creating a back lash against NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.  As Hall of Fame Induction weekend has arrived, the topic of domestic violence won’t go away.  Even Steven A. Smith wasn’t exempt from criticism, given this week off by ESPN after claiming woman shouldn’t provoke men.

Anyway, as ESPN, Fox Sports and local sports channels replay Ray Rice’s apology earlier this week, commentators are at a loss, unable to comprehend Rice’s actions.  Well, to be honest, if everyone’s actions we’re video taped like Jim Carrey in the Truman Show, there would be a lot of hand scratching going on.  Nonetheless, there is an important biblical lesson to learn from this unfortunate incident, often the mind and body do things without any logical or rational explanation.  The apostle Paul makes this clear in Romans 7:7-20 as he confesses to losing control despite being disciplined and spirit filled.

Whether you are a pastor, law abiding citizen or criminal, no one can escape the reality of Romans 7:15.  Beneath the surface, souls are losing an invisible battle, Galatians 5:16-18, enabling the flesh to take over.  Once in the driver’s seat, the ugliness of mankind rises to the forefront in the form of acts of the sinful nature.  If you add alcohol to this equation, the probability of violence escalates.  Colossians 3:1-17 gives a blue print for overcoming domestic violence or any other sinful behavior.  If you want answers, the truth can be found in 1 Thessalonians 4:1-2.  Eliminating domestic violence from your life starts with a Christ-like attitude and ends with fruits of the Holy Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23.  May the transformation detailed in Ephesians 5:1 prevent you releasing your anger on or toward another individual.

by Jay Mankus

Searching for a Place of Rest

During a majority of 2012, I spent most of my free time filling out job applications, combing the internet for new opportunities and stressing over the reduced income my wife and I were bringing home monthly.  Although I am usually laid back when it comes to finances, I forced myself to forgo the luxuries of life until I obtained a new full time position.  Since I am still waiting, my search for a place of rest continues in 2013, draining my energy like heat and humidity on a warm summer day.

5 days ago

At an oasis, a morning meeting at Dunkin Donuts, my good friend Spencer shared a story which led me in the right direction.  Last Sunday, Ray Lewis, a linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens, played his final home game, announcing his retirement at the end of this NFL season.  Following the Ravens 24-9 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, cameras surrounded Ray, recording his final moments on the field at M&T Bank Stadium.  When Ray took off his Ravens jersey, he was wearing a Black T-Shirt with a passage of the Bible, Psalm 91.  Aware of this chapter, I couldn’t wait to refresh my memory of the truth inside on my way home.

Psalm 91:1 states He who dwells in  the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  As I was trying to find rest, I was looking in all the wrong places.  I searched for satisfaction through employment.  I dedicated 2 months, sacrificing time away from my family to earn as much money as possible to try to get caught up on bills.  Yet, I was dwelling in the wrong house.  In the silence of no work, its time to find my way back toward God’s fortress.  The moment I enter this refuge for burdened and weary souls, Matthew 11:28-30, I will rest my head in peace in the shadow of the Almighty God.  There is plenty of room in this inn, retreat now while there is still time!

by Jay Mankus

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Announcement: NEW Training Video Libraries for Accounting Software (Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks)

MYOB Accountright & MYOB Essentials online training course video library logo 2

THE DEFINITION OF a training course has changed a lot over the last 20 years. With new online internet technologies comes new ways of learning. The concept of the “micro course” is gaining momentum as students look for information when they need it, known in the industry as “just in time learning”.

There are lots of time and cost pressures for students as they juggle part-time work, kids and mortgage payments. As a result, we’re launching a brand new Online Training Service for past EzyLearn students AND new students — EzyLearn’s Video Training Library Membership.

Continue reading Announcement: NEW Training Video Libraries for Accounting Software (Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks)

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Are EzyLearn students just like YOU?

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‘Social proof’ is testimonials, reviews and feedback of others, that vouches for the product or service we’re thinking of buying. Social proof backs up the fact that what we’re considering buying is what it says it is.

Come see some social proof about EzyLearn by meeting some students from the past few weeks
— you just might have a lot in common with them.

Continue reading Are EzyLearn students just like YOU?
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The smart cover letter to get your next accounting job

Use a smart cover sheet to get an accounting job using Xero & MYOB training course skills online

So you’ve switched on the job alerts with SEEK and accounting jobs, part-time or contract accounting jobs are coming into your Inbox! Jobs galore! Everyone needs accounts people, right?

IF YOU’RE RECEIVING the job alerts everyday — indeed, you may even have applied for some jobs already — but you’re still not getting called up for interview, then the following questions of doubt may be brewing:

  • Why haven’t they picked me?
  • Have I been filtered out for some reason?
  • Was my cover letter not good enough?
Continue reading The smart cover letter to get your next accounting job
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Introduction to Bookkeeping Basics: What’s a Journal Entry?

Journal entries and general ledger skills for bank reconciliation training courses in MYOB, QuickBooks and Xero

In our educational guide, Bookkeeping Beginner Basics, which you can download from the EzyLearn website for free, you’ll learn how to record journal entries in your accounting software, whether you’re using MYOB, Xero or QuickBooks. Most bookkeeping newbies don’t know what a journal entry is, though, which is what this blog post – the latest in our Bookkeeping Beginner Basics guide companion series – is going to help you to understand.

The journal vs. the general ledger

An accounting journal is the record that keeps accounting transactions in chronological order (i.e., as they occur), while the general ledger is a record that keeps accounting transactions by the account – see our previous post on the chart of accounts [Bookkeeping Beginner Basics: The Chart of Accounts] if you need help understanding what the term ‘account’ means in this context. Before computers, bookkeepers used to log all the financial transactions of a business in paper journals, and then at the end of the month transfer these journal entries into the general ledger, which was divided into various accounts that is now called the chart of accounts, and all the transactions were posted to these accounts using a method called double-entry bookkeeping.

Journal entries using accounting software

Today, however, accounting systems, such as MYOB, Xero, QuickBooks and the like, will automatically record most business transactions into the ledger immediately after the software prepares sales invoices, issues cheques to creditors, or processes receipts from customers, and as such you don’t have to create journal entries for most of your business’s transactions.

That being said, some journal entries still need to be processed, in order to record transfers between bank accounts and to record adjusting entries. You would need to make a journal entry, for example, at the end of each month to record depreciation or to record interest accrued on a bank loan.

Double-entry bookkeeping

If journal entries and general ledgers and the double entry bookkeeping method sound a bit too much, and you think you’d rather stick to the cash-based accounting method instead, prepare yourself for bad news: all businesses, whether they use the cash-based accounting method or the accrual accounting method, use double-entry bookkeeping to keep their books, and all accounting software applications, by default, are set up to adhere to the double-entry method, too. The double-entry bookkeeping method reduces errors and also ensures that your books balance, so as complicated as it may seem, it’s much easier in the long run.

If you still feel a little out of your depth, however, you can hire a reliable bookkeeper to manage your bookkeeping system and deal with all the journal entries and double-entry business for you, instead. Visit the National Bookkeeping website for to find a highly qualified bookkeeper whose experience and skills suit your business needs.

This blog post is part of our Bookkeeping Basics series, which are being published to complement our new educational guide, also titled Bookkeeping Beginner Basics, which you can download for free from the EzyLearn website.

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Introduction to Bookkeeping Beginner Basics: The Chart of Accounts

We created a free educational guide, called Introduction to Bookkeeping Beginner Basics, which is available to download from the EzyLearn website, and to complement that guide, we’ve been publishing a series of blog posts, also titled Bookkeeping Basics. We’re now three posts in, and we’re going to be look at the chart of accounts, which is the foundational element of every business’s accounting system. The Bookkeeping Basics guide will take you through how to set up a chart of accounts in your accounting software, whether you’re using Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks, while this blog post is going to explain why it’s important.

What is a chart of accounts?

The chart of accounts (COA) is an organisational tool that lists every account in a business’s account system. In the context of bookkeeping, ‘account’ is used to refer to a unique record for each type of asset, liability, equity, revenue and expense. So a chart of accounts, then, is just a system that organises your finances so that your reports make more sense and you can easily see the financial health of your business.

A well-designed COA helps the business to comply with financial reporting standards, and should be flexible enough so that a business can tailor its chart of accounts to best suit its needs. Within the categories of operating revenues and operating expenses, for instance, the accounts might be further organised by business function or by company divisions. As such, a COA can be as large and as complex as the business itself.

Understanding your ‘accounts’

When you set up your chart of accounts, it will be organised the same way every other company does – your banks accounts come first, then all assets, liabilities, equity, income, and expenses in that order. Here’s what each of those accounts mean:

Your accounts receivables are considered an asset, as is your income, but the two are completely different things. Accounts receivables are business claims against the property of a customer that’s occurred following the sale of goods and/or services, and income is what you have collected from the sale of those goods or services.

In other words, if you invoice a customer and give them time to pay, then that’s ‘accounts receivable’. When you collect the money and deposit it into your account, it’s ‘income’.

Learn about Accounts Receivables tasks in the Daily Data Entry Transactions courses for MYOB, Xero or QuickBooks Online.

Liabilities are notes owed by the business. If you lease anything or you’re buying anything on credit – this includes suppliers who extend a line of credit to you – then it’s considered a liability.

An equity account would be any equipment the company has paid for, or would receive money for if it is sold. Cars, machinery, and certain office equipment are all considered equity. If you had a loan on a business vehicle, the payments you make would be considered a liability, but the vehicle itself would be equity. Each time you make a payment, the liability goes down, while the amount of the equity account would increase. To keep your balance sheet accurate, you need to track both.

Finally, expenses are just that: the money paid by the business for the operation and production of goods and services that are paid for immediately. This includes things like stationery or fuel for a business vehicle, which are paid for at the point of sale, is an expense, where a telephone bill that allows you 14 days to pay, on the other hand, is a liability.

Why a chart of accounts is important

Whether you’re using an old fashioned pencil and paper, an excel spreadsheet, or more sophisticated accounting software, such as MYOB or Xero, it’s important to know where your money is coming from and where it’s going to. A chart of accounts is the organisational tool that allows you to do that. And it’s important to keep it up-to-date, so that, if for any reason, you want a picture of how your business is performing financially, your reports will be accurate.

This blog post is part of our Bookkeeping Basics series, which are being published to complement our new educational guide, also titled Bookkeeping Basics, which you can download for free from the EzyLearn website.

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Bookkeepers Need to Know All Cloud-Accounting Systems

GONE ARE THE DAYS when a bookkeeper only needed to know their way around MYOB. Since the internet democratised the accounting software market, abundant MYOB rivals have appeared.

But while there are close to a dozen cloud accounting systems on the market, most bookkeepers — thankfully — will only need to know their way around three: Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks. If you’re looking for a course or training resource on these programs we have a combo offer.

Continue reading Bookkeepers Need to Know All Cloud-Accounting Systems

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Bookkeeping Basics: Payroll and Paying People

EOFY is nearly here — can you manage payroll?

woman studying myob payroll xero payroll quickbooks payroll online training courseIN OUR FREE, EDUCATIONAL GUIDE, Bookkeeping Basics, we feature a section that discusses payroll, which we thought was worthy of being expanded upon on here.

You might also like to go back and revisit our other blog post that complements the free beginners guide, Bookkeeping Basics: Cash vs. Accrual Systems, if you haven’t already.

In this blog I explore some of the rudimentary knowledge for payroll administration jobs.

Continue reading Bookkeeping Basics: Payroll and Paying People

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3 Things You MUST Do in Excel!

Business owners and job seekers take note!

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Excel isn’t just for budding bookkeepers; it’s a great tool for all business owners to know.

MICROSOFT EXCEL IS THE most widely used spreadsheet application in modern computing. That said, it’s also one of the more difficult programs of the Microsoft Office Suite to learn, which is why we recently updated the content of our Excel training courses.

A lot of people do our Excel training courses to help them “skill up” to find a job, find a position better suited to them, or develop their career path. However, Excel is a fantastic tool for small business owners as well.

But whether you use Excel to create a pivot table or a database, there are a few things you should do each time you open an Excel document. Here we present you with three:

1. Vertical align: always centre

Always align the text in the cells of your Excel spreadsheet to the centre, or the top in certain circumstances. But never, ever align it to the bottom. It’s hard on the eyes and, when you’re looking at lots and lots of data in lots and lots of cells, it becomes difficult to know which row, column, etc, you’re looking in. Centre alignment, always.

2. Build error-checking into formulas

There should never be an instance where one of your workbooks is showing a #DIV/0, #N/A, #REF, #NAME?, #NUM!, or #NULL! error. This is especially true if you’re sharing these workbooks with your business partners or accountant or whomever.

Seeing an error in a financial report may cause the reader to doubt the accuracy of the entire workbook, so ensure your workbooks remain error free by using the simple IFERROR() error-checking function in Excel.

3. Print preview your work

Again, if you intend to share workbooks with other people, you should always ensure that your Excel workbooks can be printed nicely and easily, even if you don’t intend to ever print the document yourself. This is easy enough to do via File > Print Preview and adjusting the print margins before sharing (or printing) the document.

However, judging by the number of times I’ve printed an Excel document only to collect 87 sheets of paper off my printer to read the contents one 4×4 table, the function is seldom used by anyone else but me!

For more Excel formatting tips and tricks, download our FREE Beginners’ Guide to Excel, or enrol in our intermediate or advanced online Excel training courses to learn how to create databases, pivot tables, charts, graphs, and much more…

Read more about our beginners, intermediate and advanced Excel training courses on our website, or enrol to start learning by 5pm tomorrow!

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At EzyLearn, we’re committed to helping students of our MYOB, Xero and Quickbooks courses gain employment as a bookkeeper or even start their own bookkeeping business; it’s why we provide you with lifetime access to our online cloud-accounting training courses as part of our commitment to continuing professional development

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New Financial Year, New Financial Habits

Help us help you get your business financials set up right

account set up with xero online training learning course
Taking time to set up your accounts correctly at the outset and recording your reconciliations regularly will save you time, money and a nasty, aching headache!

SO WE’RE INTO THE new Australian financial year. With the start of each financial year comes the chance to right last year’s financial habits and avoid repeating them again. You know what they say about people who repeat the same actions over and over again expecting different results …

If you had a crazy end of financial year, try starting off the next 12 months (well, 11 now, can you believe it!) on a positive footing, with these good financial habits.

Check your accounting software is set up correctly

Something that causes businesses and their owners countless headaches at tax time is accounting software that’s been setup incorrectly or not set up completely. Transactions that are coded wrong or bank feeds that are connected to the wrong account — or too few accounts — can leave you in the middle of a bookkeeping nightmare come June 30.

Spend some time sorting this out, or employ a bookkeeper to get you set up correctly. It’s worth that little bit of extra time now to get it right, truly!

Aim for daily reconciliations

Reconciling your business accounts regularly is important for a number of reasons, fostering good habits being chief among them. You may not need to reconcile your accounts each day, but it’s certainly a lot easier to find 10 or 15 minutes two or three times a week, rather than two or three hours once a month. The most often you do your bookkeeper the more unlikely it is that you’ll leave it pile up, eventually requiring costly rescue bookkeeping. You’ll also have a much better picture of your business’s performance with current accounting data.

Monitor cash flow

Positive cash flow is the marker of a healthy business. Negative cash flow is not. There are plenty of seemingly profitable businesses suffering negative cash flow that threatens to put them out of business. Don’t let yours be one of them. Create your own cash flow forecast reports in Excel or use a cash flow forecasting or expense app to determine if you’ll have enough money in the bank to meet your ongoing commitments (which includes paying yourself a living wage to meet your personal commitments).

Our cloud accounting training courses will show you how to set up your accounting software correctly. Learn how to use Xero, Quickbooks or MYOB with our online training courses and be able to invoice customers on time, reconcile your account and run financial reports, including cash flow statements. Visit our website for more information.

cashflow reports in xero and excel

Xero for less…

Our Xero online training courses include EVERYTHING for ONE LOW PRICE. Furthermore, if you select our Lifetime Membership option, you’ll have LIFETIME access to our ongoing course updates. All EzyLearn courses are accredited by the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB) and can be counted towards Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points. Find out more about our Xero online training courses.

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Why are there More Expense Tracking Apps for Xero than MYOB?

Less complicated accounting software, like Xero, connects better with mobile apps

The robust nature of MYOB can make it harder to link with mobile apps that track your expenses and cash flow and the like.

WE RECENTLY PUBLISHED A blog examining the different expense tracking apps you can connect with Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks, but during our research it became clear that most expense apps integrate with Xero or QuickBooks, but not MYOB.

That’s not to say there are no expense apps that integrate with MYOB. There are. Receipt Bank is one, Squirrel Street is another, and there are probably a lot more on the MYOB marketplace (or add-ons page). Probably the best expense tracking application we found is ExpenseManager, and it only integrates with MYOB.

MYOB is a robust, yet complicated system

As anyone who’s ever used MYOB can attest, it’s a complicated piece of software to navigate, even if it is a robust one. When Xero came along, it aimed to be both robust and easy-to-use, and for the most part it succeeded (it’s probably not as easy as QuickBooks, but then QuickBooks isn’t quite as robust).

Behind the scenes, there’s also a lot of complicated code driving MYOB that’s not easy to integrate with, unlike QuickBooks and Xero which rely on third-party integrations to deliver payroll and other services, so Xero and QuickBooks can keep the cost of their platforms down.

MYOB is used by accountants and bookkeepers

MYOB doesn’t really go after to same market that Xero and QuickBooks do (small and micro businesses), which is reflected in MYOB’s price. It’s aimed at medium sized businesses, which employ accountants and bookkeepers, and that’s not really the market expense apps like Expensify and Xpenditure are targeting.

Xero is one of our most popular training courses

That’s why Xero has become one of our most popular training courses. It’s robust and once you understand the principles of bookkeeping, fairly easy to use. And it integrates with a tonne of third party applications developed to make the life of the small business owner much easier and more efficient.

Keep an eagle eye on your expenses by using Xero and an expense app, and you’ll be able to see precisely where your business is the most profitable and where it’s not, so you can modify it accordingly.

Our Xero training courses will show you have to track expenses in Xero and how to connect third party apps to your Xero account. You can also brush up your MYOB skills or learn how to use MYOB with our MYOB online training course, incorporating 5 courses and 12 months’ access — all for one low cost. Visit our website for more information covering our ONE LOW COST for ALL LEVELS course options.

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Our Xero online training courses include EVERYTHING for ONE LOW PRICE. Furthermore, if you select our Lifetime Membership option, you’ll have LIFETIME access to our ongoing course updates. All EzyLearn courses are accredited by the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB) and can be counted towards Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points. Find out more about our Xero online training courses.

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EOFY: Organise Your Reports and Records

We Show You The Reports to Generate Now for End of June

profit and loss statements P&Ls
Now’s time to take stock of the reports that need to be generated to keep you GST and tax compliant.

THE LAST QUARTER OF the 2016/17 financial year is upon us, so now is the time to organise your reports and records; including Profit and Loss Statements, Accounts Receivable and Payable, PAYG and Super payments. We’ve previously written about writing off stock and inventory and getting your business expenses in order. In this post we’ll take a look at the reports and records you’ll need for EOFY, which you’ll learn how to produce in our MYOB BAS Reporting and GST or Xero GST, Reporting and BAS training courses.

Profit and loss statement

Depending on the structure of your business, you may be legally required to include a P&L statement with your tax return or activity statements. Your tax agent will be able to advise you if your business will be required to file a P&L, which  requires all of your bookkeeping to be up-to-date before you can run it.

Even if you don’t have to file one with your activity statements or tax returns, it’s still a good idea to run a P&L for your own sake. A P&L statement identifies whether your business has made a profit or loss and which accounting period these occurred.

Accounts receivable, payable

Find out who owes money to your business and to whom your business owes money. This is obviously part of the credit management process, which any good business will have in place already, but it’s a good idea to keep a steady eye on what’s coming in and what’s going out as EOFY approaches.

PAYG, superannuation

The end of each quarter brings a lot of PAYG and superannuation reporting, but EOFY brings a double whammy of activity statements tax returns and PAYG and superannuation compliance. You’ll need to run these reports so your bookkeeper can complete the payroll component of your returns.

Inventory stocktake

If you sell goods, you’ll need to complete a stocktake of your business’s inventory so that any missing stock can be written off, and to ensure you’re starting a clean slate for the new financial year.

Learn how to run the reports you’ll need for EOFY with our MYOB BAS Reporting and GST online training course or our Xero GST, Reporting and BAS training course.

Xero online training course

At EzyLearn we offer online training courses to help you up-skill and find employment. Choose from our range of cloud-based online accounting software courses, to business start up and management courses, to marketing and sales courses, or update and further your skills in a range of Microsoft Office programs (ExcelPowerPointWord) or social media and WordPress web design).

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EOFY: Get Your Business Expenses In Order

bookkeepers fixed price quotes

We Show You 2 Steps You Can Take — Right Away!

WE’VE ENTERED QUARTER 4 for the 2016/17 financial year, so we’ve been writing about the things your business should be doing this quarter in preparation for the end of the financial year. In our last post we wrote about writing off stock and inventory. Now we’re looking at business expenses.

Our MYOB BAS Reporting and GST online training course or our Xero GST, Reporting and BAS training course will show take you through the necessary steps in your accounting software.

Here’s what you can do now to make sure you’re prepared come tax time? Continue reading EOFY: Get Your Business Expenses In Order

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End of Financial Year: Writing Off Stock

We show you how to write off stock and inventory before the EOFY

how to write off stock before eofy in xero myob
Do you know how to make inventory adjustments? Our Xero and MYOB BAS and GST Reporting courses can show you how.

IT’S A GOOD TIME TO START  looking at any slow-moving or obsolete stock that your business (or your client’s business) may be holding, as we’ve reached the end of Quarter 3 and have now started Quarter 4 for the 2016/17 financial year — which means the end of the financial year is fast approaching.

Writing off stock in MYOB or Xero is known as making an inventory adjustment, and our MYOB BAS Reporting and GST or Xero GST, Reporting and BAS training courses take you through the steps to do this. But first, you need to identify which items aren’t selling. We’ve created this case study to help you understand how.

Understanding your inventory’s performance

Every business needs to understand how their inventory is performing, and how it impacts their business. If the business owner is too busy to stay on top of this, then they should employ a bookkeeper to help.

A good example of why understanding inventory is important to a business is to look at an air conditioning company. This business makes money two ways:

  1. Selling air conditioning units
  2. Installing / maintaining air conditioning units

The margin on the sale of an air conditioning unit is not much, a few percent on top of the wholesale price. Where the business makes its money is in the installation or maintenance of the units it sells.

The business purchases three dozen units, of varying brands, models, price points, etcetera. It now needs to know which units are most popular with customers and why; which units aren’t popular with customers and why; whether it’s profitable for the business to continue to stock the unpopular units; or, conversely, whether it’s profitable for the business to continue stocking the popular units.

Inventory reporting

The business’s bookkeeper regularly runs a number of reports in their accounting software, including profit and loss reports and stock-on-hand reports. These reports are used to identify which units sell quickly, as well as the units that take longer to sell, and the profit margins on each.

The units that sell quickly don’t require a technician to install them. Although they’re responsible for the majority of sales, they don’t generate more revenue for the business. The units that sell slowly, do generate more revenue as they require installation and maintenance, however too many units were ordered and they’ve now been discontinued by the manufacturer. Some units have hardly sold, and, although not discontinued, have been superseded by newer models.

Stock write offs and future orders

Because the bookkeeper regularly runs these reports, s/he has been able to export them into Excel for further analysis. By the end of Q3, the bookkeeper can make suggestions to the business owner about the future of the business.

In particular, the bookkeeper suggests that the units that have been superseded are marked down to clear as much stock as possible, and cease any new orders. Likewise, the discontinued models will be marked down.

Orders for the units that replaced the discontinued models will halve the order volume. Likewise, order volumes for the top selling units will reduced. The profit margin on these units is very low and they result in no additional revenue from installation or maintenance. The profit that would be earned on the additional units is negligible, however by reducing the unit volumes, the business improves its cash flow.

Act NOW for EOFY

If your business sells stock or a combination of stock and services, like the air conditioning business does above, start looking at your inventory now. Markdown any slow-moving stock at the end of Q3, to give your business time to move the remainder of it. If it doesn’t sell, write it off at EOFY.

Our MYOB and Xero training courses have recently been updated to include a workbook on how to write off inventory. Learn more about our MYOB BAS Reporting and GST or Xero GST, Reporting and BAS training courses at our website.

find a local bookkeeper

We feature our own online directory of local bookkeepers looking to add to their customers. Visit National Bookkeeping to find a suitable and experienced person available to work in your area, or able to work anywhere in the cloud. Alternatively, if you are a bookkeeper looking to expand your client list or find contract work, you can register and become part of our network for free

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Basic Bookkeeping Reports in Xero: Profit and Loss

Learn How to Run a P&L Using Xero

Profit and Loss statement
Profit and loss statements should be run by businesses regularly and are required by law.

A basic, yet vitally important, report for every business owner is a profit and loss (P&L) statement. A profit and loss statement, as the name suggests, shows whether a business is running at a profit or a loss over a given period. We’ve written about why running multi-period P&Ls before in QuickBooks and MYOB is a good idea for businesses with inventory, but single period P&Ls are equally important for all businesses.

If you’re a bookkeeping newbie, a profit and loss statement, which sometimes goes by other names — income statements, earning statements, revenue statements, operating statements, statement of operations, or statement of financial performance — is a basic report you’ll learn to run in our Xero Daily Reconciliations Course. If you’re planning to work as a contract bookkeeper, you should get in the habit of running P&L statements for your clients regularly (if you’re a business owner, ask your bookkeeper to run them).

P&Ls are required by law

Depending on how a business is structured, it may be required by law to complete a P&L. A P&L shows how the revenue of the business is turned into net income by subtracting all expenses from income. They’re also useful for understanding a business’ net income, which helps with the decision making processes. A business will also need a P&L if they’re applying for a small business loan.

The contents of a P&L

profit and loss statements P&LsAlthough the process of running a P&L differ between accounting software packages, they usually all contain the same elements, depending only on the business itself. In the first section, the cost of sales is subtracted from the revenue, which highlights gross profit. The business’ operating expenses are then subtracted from the gross profit, which leaves the operating profit. Now, all of the non-operating revenues and expenses must be factored into account, after which the business’ profit or loss will be displayed.

Because P&L statements are often used by a business’ owner to make financial decisions, to inform shareholders of the business’ performance, apply for a business loan, or as proof of income in the sale of a business, it’s important that you understand how to create one correctly. Our Xero Daily Reconciliations Training Course covers P&L statements, and much more. Visit our website to learn more or to enrol.

online bookkeeping courses to earn cpd points

Did you know that EzyLearn Excel, MYOB and Xero online training courses count towards Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for bookkeepers and accountants?We’ve been an accredited training provider of the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers ever since the organisation started in Australia. Find out how CPD points can be of benefit to you.

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Are You a Bookkeeper Who Needs More Clients? Want My Advice?

FINDING PROSPECTS AND converting them into clients involves selling and most of us hate doing it, but wait…

If you are a bookkeeper, selling online MYOB training courses to your clients could be the perfect complement to your business.
If you are a bookkeeper, selling is as important to you as it is to, say, a real estate agent.

For those of us in small business, be it as a bookkeeper, real estate agent, sales rep or the like, most of us are selling every day of our lives.

This means we get pretty good at it. We develop techniques that we can replicate and that become part of our daily lives.

The process of selling is really no longer about selling per se; it becomes about a systemised process of:

  • sourcing new leads (using content marketing, networking and advertising)
  • educating those leads about their services (using websites, social media, white papers, property reports)
  • understanding whether the lead would in fact be a good buyer or potential client (using face-to-face meetings, phone conversations and emails)
  • closing the sale (via offer and acceptance, funds transfer, receipts and after sales support).

With the growing power of modern cloud-based technologies, more people are taking the plunge to start their own businesses, but people who do so must constantly:

  • stand out from their competitors (say, other bookkeepers) to get discovered by people needing help with their books, either remotely or in their home/office
  • do an efficient job in managing their schedule and dealing with clients, and
  • market their services effectively.

Content Marketing takes the “salesy” out of selling

I’ve written a lot about content marketing lately because content marketing is simply imperative for anybody looking to sell their products and services and source new clients.

The beauty of content marketing is that, as a system to source new leads, you can cover all the steps of the selling process without it seeming like a chore and, best of all, without feeling “salesy”, cheesy or inauthentic. It’s focus is about the potential client — it’s about providing them with relevant information that will benefit them — not ramming a sales pitch down their throat.

Good sales people realise that sales and the very process of selling is not about just “closing” a sale. Rather, it’s about understanding what the customer needs, seeing if your product is a good fit and then offering a solution to a customer’s problem.

content marketing is most of the new sales funnel for real estate agentsHow much of sales is Content Marketing?

To this end, content marketing is about 80% of the selling process or 80% of the sales funnel (as corporate sales people like to call it).

This is because content marketing involves information gathering; it involves seeing if your product and YOU are a good fit for your client.

These are the content marketing stages:

  • creating relevant and interest website content
  • ‘call to action’ that results in email or mobile number capture
  • email or SMS marketing
  • social media profiles to engage with your prospects
  • CRM’s to manage the final parts of the selling process.

When you implement these systems you can sit back and watch it work and then focus on your conversion rate or what industry experts call CRO – Conversion Rate Optimisation.

Do you really want to be an online marketing professional? Let us manage it for you

Start a bookkeeping business not a franchiseMost of our students are looking for bookkeeping work, or want to start a bookkeeping service business — that’s why they use our services for MYOB Training Courses, Excel Training Courses, Xero Courses and Small Business Management Training.

Our recently updated bookkeeping directory is matching small business people to bookkeepers for a fair rate (for instance, if you want a level 3 bookkeeper, you pay for a level 3 bookkeeper). The National Bookkeeping directory is aimed at helping people (our students primarily) find bookkeeping work or start a bookkeeping business, but it’s also a great way for small businesses to find bookkeepers located close by, or who have the skills they require but who don’t necessarily need to come into the office and can assist them in the cloud.

To find out how you can be more than just a bookkeeper, and start your own bookkeeping business and promote your valuable bookkeeping services to a wider circle of potential clients via content marketing, read about listing yourself on National Bookkeeping or becoming a licensee.

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The Secret to an Error-Free BAS Report

What To Do So You Don’t Lose Money When Doing Your BAS

lodging correct business activity statements
Why pay more money to the ATO at your expense? A good bookkeeper may save you money when it comes time to lodge your BAS.

If your business is registered for GST, it means you have to file regular activity statements with the ATO, usually each quarter. A lot of business owners export their Business Activity Statement (BAS) data straight from their accounting software, like MYOB or QuickBooks, and quickly prepare their BAS’ that way. But this is an imprecise method, and one that could be costing you money.

Tracey Marino, an experienced bookkeeper based in Rockingham, WA, knows how important it is that businesses of all sizes keep their Business Activity Statements error-free so as not to end up costing business owners money.

An Error-Free BAS in 6 Steps

Here’s six steps you can take for an accurate BAS:

  1. Check to ensure all bank, credit card, overdraft, loan, and petty cash accounts are reconciled with the original bank statements at the end of every BAS quarter.
  2. Print your monthly profit and loss (P&L) report for the respective BAS quarter, and check for abnormalities in income or expenditure over the three months. You should also compare this quarter’s P&L report with the P&L report from the previous quarter (in the same financial year), as well as the P&L report from the same quarter in the previous financial year to detect any unexpected transactions.
  3. Print out the balance sheet as at the end of the BAS quarter. Note the balances for the wage and salary, payroll, payable, super expense and payable, and PAYG and GST accounts, and investigate any abnormalities.
  4. Generate the general ledger exceptions report to review any abnormal transactions. This report will indicate any differences in the GST codes for the same types of purchases or sales by comparing the current transactions with previous transactions.
  5. Print your BAS and compare with it with last quarter’s BAS, as well as the BAS from the same quarter of the previous year, and ensure that your GST, PAYG, sales, and purchases are consistent across all three BAS’.
  6. Lodge and pay your BAS on time to avoid penalties, and remember to record the BAS payment in your accounting software.

Although this may appear to be ‘double handling’, in fact, it eliminates double handling by ensuring that the activity statements you lodge with the ATO are correct and error-free. Typically, the mistakes this method turns up are ones that would be of benefit to the ATO and not to the business owner. So rather than give the ATO more money than you need to, make sure you follow this method for an error-free BAS lodgment.

An Experienced Bookkeeper in WA

Tracey Marino is available to provide bookkeeping services in the Rockingham area of WA.

Looking for a reliable and accurate bookkeeper to manage your business’ daily or weekly bookkeeping and accounts, either in the cloud (remotely) or in-person?

Tracey Marino is available to service businesses located in Port Kennedy, Warnbro, Baldivis, Secret Harbour, Golden Bay, Safety Bay, Shoalwater, Rockingham and Cooloongup, WA. Tracey is a an expert in MYOB AccountRight, QuickBooks and Microsoft Excel and can prepare and lodge your company’s BAS, set up credit management systems, along with carrying out all manner of day-to-day accounting functions for small to medium businesses. Find out more about Tracey’s experience at her profile page.

Our National Bookkeeping website has recently undergone a significant upgrade so keep a look out for more stories about featured bookkeepers in forthcoming blogs. Join now and we can feature YOU in our articles too.

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You can’t put a time limit on great softball.

Our staff spent many years as players, parents and coaches, traveling the country playing in a variety of events. We agreed that we did not need another “Showcase or Exposure” tournament; we needed a strong tournament with good competition. We concluded that games should be real 7-inning games, not on a time limit. We realized that all games should have two umpires and be scored accurately. Thus, F7 was born.

We invite you to consider attending these great events. FastpitchNews.com will be covering each tournament in-depth, reporting on top performances, interviewing players and coaches, and capturing video to be promoted nationwide. F7 uses modern tournament software so you have easy access to scores and results. And of course, college coaches are always welcome to attend, but our focus in on the teams, coaches, parents and fans.

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Kathie Lee Gifford Couldn't Hold Back Tears While Watching Her Kids' Tribute On Her 'Today' Last Day

Date December 25, 2019 14:15

After Kathie Lee Gifford announced in December 2018 that she would retire from Today in 2019, after 11 years on the show, weeks flew by in the blink of an eye!

During Kathie’s last appearance as Hoda Kotb’s co-anchor on April 5, 2019 was full of bittersweet moments.

One particular moment that overwhelmed the Today veteran with emotion is especially memorable. It was a touching tribute from her children, Cody and Cassidy.

The Gifford kids’ heartfelt tribute to mom

Cody and Cassidy talked about their beloved mom in a video shown in the Today studio. Cody started out by saying:

To you, our mom is a TV legend. To us, she’s a legendary mom.

He recalled what it was like being raised by Kathie and called her “kind, generous, giving, and wonderfully talented.”

Cassidy added that their mom is “one of the kindest people on the planet.”

The two then recalled their late dad, Frank Gifford, and how they would sit at home and watch mom on Today. Frank never failed to remind Kathie how proud he was of her, the kids remembered.

They went on to give special thanks to Hoda, who isn’t just Kathie’s co-anchor – she’s a dear family friend.

After the video finished, Kathie was so touched she couldn’t hold back tears! She came up to her son and daughter and gave them a big hug.

Kathie’s touching goodbye present to Hoda

Kathie gave her co-anchor the best present she could wish for!

Kathie surprised Hoda with a portrait of her and her daughter, Haley Joy. Hoda was so touched by her friend's sweet gift that she cried!

This gift just perfectly describes what kind of person Kathie is. She is a gifted and talented television personality, as well as woman with a great heart!


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Most Wild Conspiracy Theories Around The Royal Family Supported With The Real Facts

Date August 20, 2018 10:57

The leader of any country can’t be ideal for the simple reason of being an ordinary person. However, a person may behave so perfectly that the public starts generating various conspiracy theories, trying to accuse their leader of certain sins. As for the British royal family, we have already considered some scandalous incidents in its history, but what about even more wild rumors.

1. The plan to conquer America

After Harry and Meghan’s wedding ceremony, the couple received their long-awaited titles – Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The divorced American officially became a part of the royal family.

Most of the people were delighted with the new international union, but there were some who didn’t consider anything pleasant in this marriage. Thus, on the day of the engagement announcement, Twitter users witnessed an amusing theory revealing a long-term plan for Britain to conquer the United States.

Harry’s children will be Americans. What if one of them will run for the US president and at the same time receive the right to become the owner of the throne? The wildest conspiracy supporters suppose the British play the long-term game and want to return America under their control.

READ ALSO: Why Will Meghan And Harry’s Future Children Never Be A Princess Or Prince?

2. Harry’s real father

The fact that both of Diana’s sons look more like her and her close relatives is clear evidence. However, it is also a well-known fact the Windsors, unlike the young Princes, are mostly dark-haired.

This gave the reason to think that Harry is the princess’ illegitimate child. The most possible “real” father for the Duke of Sussex could be James Hewitt, Diana’s close friend. Both men bear external similarities, creating another conspiracy theory. However, the alleged beloved immediately denied the rumors. Moreover, Prince Charles would have hardly ever taken care of someone else’s son.

3. Queen Victoria’s love child

Royal family members have always been suspected of having extramarital love affairs, and in some cases, the accusations were confirmed. The story of Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret is the most recent vivid example. However, even more mysterious story happened during the reign of Queen Victoria. People started calling the confusing experience “Mrs. Brown child.” Historian Steven Runciman reported that he had found evidence of a marriage between the two beloveds in archival documents. He also claimed Victoria had given birth to a girl exactly from this relationship, from mysterious John Brown.

READ ALSO: Spy Papers: Queen Elizabeth II Survived Assassination Attempt In New Zealand

4. Diana and Charles’s daughter

Just a few months after the wedding, Prince Charles and Princess Diana announced they were expecting their first child. However, some media soon reported that newborn William had already had an older sister named Sarah!

The background of the story was quite reasonable. Before the engagement, the royal family had to make sure about Diana’s ability to become a mother. According to rumors, the girl and her future husband were asked for genetic material. To finish the inspection the experts developed viable embryos in laboratory conditions.

It was believed Charles ordered to get rid of them after the experiment, but one of the experts who had access to the materials secretly made his wife a surrogate mother for the miraculously saved biological child of the Prince.

5. Diana’s fourth pregnancy

The tragic death of Princess Diana in 1997 became a grief for the whole country, and not just for her relatives. The fact that the circumstances of the incident haven’t yet been clarified (or not made public) opened the way for dozens of conspiracy theories that could probably satisfy the public curiosity. One of them claimed that Charles' former wife was pregnant from her new lover, Dodi Al-Fayed.

6. Prince Charles is a vampire

The first in line for the British throne, Queen Elizabeth’s heir has an extraordinary sense of humor. A good joke allows him to avoid unpleasant conversations or evade a topic that he doesn’t intend to discuss. Some time ago, it was revealed that Charles helped develop tourism in the Transylvanian direction and even claimed about his distant relationship with the real Romanian leader, who became the prototype for the legendary character Count Dracula. And guess what, he was soon offered the title – Prince of Transylvania. Most likely, these were all jokes, but since that time, Charles was sometimes regarded as a vampire.

7. Diana was afraid of her husband

Some publications reported that in one of her letters Princess Diana hinted that her husband was preparing a murderous assault. The note allegedly was addressed to Paul Barrel, Diana’s former butler, who kept it until 2003. However, the authenticity of this document is questioned.

Of course, the royal family life is still a great mystery. It is always interesting to know what happens behind the closed palace doors. However, some rumors simple amaze with their improbability, and will forever remain just legends.

READ ALSO: Prince Charles And Lady Diana Had A Whirlwind Romance Before Getting Married

Family Support Family Royal Family


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Meet The New Boss, Worse Than The Old Boss?

In the last few years it’s become apparent the music business, which was once dominated by six large and powerful music conglomerates, MTV, Clear Channel and a handful of other companies, is now dominated by a smaller set of larger even more powerful tech conglomerates.  And their hold on the business seems to be getting stronger.

via Meet The New Boss, Worse Than The Old Boss? -Full Post | The Trichordist.

Very long, but if you are interested in “publishing” music worth the read. I wonder how much different the book publishing game might be?

Features we'd want in an Amazon used ebooks marketplace

All ebooks should retain their marginalia

via Three features we’d want in an Amazon used ebooks marketplace | Macworld.

Hmmm. I am not at all sure that I want my notes kept with the book. One of the really good features is “my notes are mine”. I can get them even if I no longer have the book (think a library book that is annotated and returned).

I like unlimited lending.

I am not at all sure about the sale of “used bits”.

I vote for unlimited lending, but not sale of used.

PowerPoint Makes Us Stupid

PowerPoint makes us stupid, Gen. James N. Mattis of the Marine Corps, the Joint Forces commander, said this month at a military conference in North Carolina. (He spoke without PowerPoint.) Brig. Gen. H. R. McMaster, who banned PowerPoint presentations when he led the successful effort to secure the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar in 2005, followed up at the same conference by likening PowerPoint to an internal threat.

via Enemy Lurks in Briefings on Afghan War – PowerPoint –

Most modern programming languages do not consider white space characters (spaces, tabs and newlines) syntax, ignoring them, as if they weren’t there. We consider this to be a gross injustice to these perfectly friendly members of the character set. Should they be ignored, just because they are invisible? Whitespace is a language that seeks to redress the balance. Any non whitespace characters are ignored; only spaces, tabs and newlines are considered syntax.

via Whitespace.

The Pushbutton Web: Realtime Becomes Real – Anil Dash

Pushbutton is a name for what I believe will be an upgrade for the web, where any site or application can deliver realtime messages to a web-scale audience, using free and open technologies at low cost and without relying on any single company like Twitter or Facebook. The pieces of this platform have just come together to enable a whole set of new features and applications that would have been nearly impossible for an average web developer to build in the past.

via The Pushbutton Web: Realtime Becomes Real – Anil Dash.

We could just tick off Sprint and call it “Direct Connect”. It’s a lot like the PTT with a group receiving end.

Bourne Into Oblivion

Cleaning Up

From a high level, the Bourne script would essentially ssh into each target machine, do its thing, and then exit. As part of its “thing”, the designer of the framework wanted to make sure the script cleaned up after itself so subsequent runs of the framework would not re-process old data. To accomplish this, one of the enhancements after the initial release was to add two cryptic variables that redundantly contained the project name and the version being tested. Utilizing an unpatched flaw in sudos setup to gain real root access, the script would then do the following as part of the clean up:

rm -rf $var1/$var2

Ordinarily, this worked just fine, but the co-op student was unaware these SPECIFIC variables needed to be set. With them being left blank, the following was the end result upon execution of the script:

rm -rf /

With the script running as root on a setup with NFS which, in turn, granted access to everything on the entire UNIX/Linux network and a few Windows Servers via SAMBA, the script had a chance to do a good bit of damage… and it did. Home directories, file repositories, customer data, test results, all seemingly evaporated into nothingness.

via Bourne Into Oblivion – The Daily WTF.

My favorite shell commands

Nanoparticles Explored for Preventing Cell Damage

In a nanocrystalline form, cerium oxide is a powerful antioxidant because its latticework crystal structure has many vacancies that can capture oxygen, and the material has a large surface area. Self showed that nanoceria mimic the activity of superoxide dismutases (SOD), an antioxidant that can stop the deadly chain reactions caused by ROS.

Nanoceria are also able to regenerate their antioxidant abilities. “Due to this catalytic property,” explains Seal, “repeated dosing with nanoceria may not be needed, as it is with certain antioxidant vitamins.”

via Nanoparticles Explored for Preventing Cell Damage – US News and World Report.


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Loading Events

Meet, connect and socialize with other community members at our weekly Checkout Drinks.

Our dear friends from Warsteiner and FactoryKitchen will help us organise an event for the books. Warsteiner will bring their amazing, and fresh beers for the delight of our senses, and FactoryKitchen will prepare us a wonderful BBQ to fill our bellies with love before the weekend.

Prepare your disco shoes because we will have our excellent DJ from the community: Mushlex

Join us in our Courtyard 1, located on the Ground Floor in our Görlitzer Park Location.

August 30, 2019

5:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Member Event


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50 Random Facts List #176

- Sponsored Links -

1Gary Gygax

American game designer Gary Gygax's wife was convinced he was having an affair so she followed him to a dimly lit basement and burst into the room only to find him and his friends hunched over hand-drawn maps. Gary would go on to invent the role-playing game "Dungeons and Dragons."

2. Martin Short, Steve Martin, and Tom Hanks have regular ‘colonoscopy parties’ where they prep together overnight and share one car on the ride to get their colonoscopies the next day.

3. The reason paper cuts are so painful because, at a microscopic level, the paper is actually quite rough. A knife makes a straight cut, but paper acts like a saw blade and does more damage to cells and nerve endings. Paper also leaves behind tiny fibers and chemical residues, irritating the wound even more.

4. Sodium Citrate is the secret ingredient to make any cheese into smooth, creamy nacho cheese sauce. Coincidentally, Sodium Citrate's chemical formula is Na3C6H5O7 (NaCHO).

5. The scientists who first discovered the platypus thought it was fake. Although indigenous Aboriginal people already knew of the creature, European scientists assumed an egg-laying, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed, venomous mammal had to be an elaborate hoax.

6Chad Varah

A priest named Chad Varah started the first suicide hotline in 1953. He did so after the first funeral he conducted early in his career, which was for a 14-year-old girl who took her own life because she had no one to talk to when her first period came and believed she had contracted an STD.

7. A retired Navy Seal named Don Shipley has spent much of his post-service life exposing individuals who falsely claim to be SEALs. According to the FBI, there are over 300x more impostor Navy SEALs than actual SEALs.

8. Teddy Roosevelt regularly staged boxing matches in the White House, taking on anyone he could - including professional boxers. He only stopped boxing when his eyesight was permanently damaged by a punch from his military aide, Colonel Daniel T. Moore.

9. In 1833, Britain used 40% of its national budget to free all slaves in the Empire. The loan for the Slavery Abolition Act was so large that it was not paid off until 2015.

10. Florida repealed its helmet law in 2000. In the 30-months after, helmet use in Florida dropped from 99% to 53%. The number of riders under 21 who were killed (despite still being legally required to wear a helmet) nearly tripled, from 35 to 101. Hospitalizations increased by 40%.

- Sponsored Links -

11Dodge Chargers

Dukes of Hazzard was destroying '68-'70 Dodge Chargers at such a rate that planes had to be used for the aerial search for replacement cars among the populace.

12. The "fresh is best" culture led consumers to wrongly see frozen produce as lower quality. It turns out frozen fruit and vegetables are equally nutritious. The freezing process slows nutrient loss which occurs after harvesting. Researchers found no real nutritional differences overall.

13. Measles can wipe out the body's immune system "memory" of other diseases for years.

14. “Schnapsidee” is the German word for a ridiculous idea that only sounds good when you are drunk.

15. Daniel Radcliffe's parents initially turned him down for the role of Harry Potter in 'The Philosopher's Stone' because the initial plan was to shoot 6 films in Los Angeles. They accepted the role after filming was moved to the United Kingdom and the contract reduced to 2 movies.

- Sponsored Links -

“Jaywalking” was invented by car companies in the early 1900s to shift blame for accidents from motorists to pedestrians.

17. Nirvana's album cover on “Nevermind” was almost rejected by the label because you could see the babies’ penis. Kurt Cobain then said the only compromise he would take is placing a sticker over the penis saying “If you're offended by this, you must be a closet pedophile.”

18. Alexander Graham Bell offered to sell his telephone patent to Western Union for $100,000 in 1876. The committee appointed to investigate the offer concluded the telephone was "hardly more than a toy" and "inherently of no use to us."

19. Pregnancy physically changes a woman's brain structure. Grey matter volume is decreased in certain areas, giving mothers a higher capacity for empathy to help better understand their baby.

20. After Fyre festival failing miserably and facing a class action lawsuit of $100 million, the company actually threatened legal action against attendees for tweeting negative comments about it.

21Toilet Duck

A toilet cleaner in the Netherlands was advertised using the slogan "We, the people at Toilet Duck, recommend Toilet Duck." The slogan is still being used as today a general saying to dispute the independence of an expert when his statements align with his self-interest.

22. 25% of Spongebob Squarepants viewers are adults with no children.

23. George Lucas was fined $250,000 and "The Empire Strikes Back" was nearly pulled from theatres because he put screen credits at the end of the movie (which was rare) to preserve the dramatic opening sequences.

24. Olympic and professional figure skater Brian Boitano went to the South Park movie alone, had never met Stone or Parker and felt surreal when the theater reacted with appreciative laughter to the question of What Would Brian Boitano Do and the song along with it. It has since become a big part of his life that he seems to embrace it.

25. Rory McCann ('The Hound', Game of Thrones) was incredibly anti-social until he learned that fellow actors in the show's group, the 'Brotherhood Without Banners' (Thoros, Lord Beric) were musicians, and formed a band called 'Brotherhood Without Banjos' with them.

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The Fairy Princess is pleased to announce that she will be a Keynote Speaker at the LA Stage Alliance’s Stage Day Conference on May 18, 2013!

Wait, I have to do a speech? Awww nuts....

Wait, I have to do a speech? Awww nuts….

This is SO exciting! I mean, we will get to shoot the breeze and talk about all those silly kerfuffles that happened with Asian American representation in Theater over the last year, and oh MY will we laugh because it was all so….

Sorry, wait a minute – what’s that you have there?

Ah yes, Drama Desk nominations – so exciting, The Fairy Princess knows so many on this list, let’s take a look:

Billy Porter for KINKY BOOTS – well, naturally – he is amazing in that show. Christiane Noll for CHAPLIN – she’s so talented, remember her turn in RAGTIME as Mother? Oh, I loved it so much…

The Cast of WORKING is getting recognized! Nice!

Oh look, HERE LIES LOVE which is now at The Public is getting quite a few nods – Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Director of a Musical, Outstanding Lighting Design, Outstanding Lyrics and Outstanding Music – oh they must be so pleased!

Yeah, they look pretty happy

Yeah, they look pretty happy

Ok, going down the list and going down the list and….ummmm – hold please….let me look at this list for Best Featured Actor and Actress in a Musical….oh dear.

I thought we agreed!

I mean AAPAC made a statement!

The Roundabout Theater agreed to a close door meeting to discuss this…this…the…’Brownface’ and the faux Bollywood accents and the…I feel like I am Foghorn Leghorn and all the Award Committees are trying to prove they are chicken hawks!

Lemme get this straight Drama Desk Awards – in a musical about Asians, played by Asian Americans, there are no Individual Nominations (And btw, that is totally fine and happens a lot and it is not the reason for the following outburst).

But the people wearing heavy makeup and using crazy Bollywood gestures have Nominations for Best Featured Actor and Actress in A Musical!

For being directed to inhabit their roles with what the The New York Times said was “…silly imitation exoticism …in absurd burnt-umber makeup”

(The Fairy Princess wants to be quite clear, that no Actor or Actress takes the stage and gives any sort of performance in a Broadway revival without direction, so she is fairly certain that the choices made to portray Neville and Helena Landless were not from the Actors. This is not about the talent or a personal attack on these particular actors)

(Obviously the Actors do not go around their daily lives striking these kinds of poses – that would be RIDICULOUS)

Those two have the nominations, not these two…

Mr & Mrs. Ferdinand Marcos as played by Jose Llana & Ruthie Ann Miles

Mr & Mrs. Ferdinand Marcos as played by Jose Llana & Ruthie Ann Miles

Again, so we are clear…these two

Rather unfortunate photo

Hmm, -Rather unfortunate photo

And NOT any of the people pictured here

HERE LIES LOVE...and Asian American Love

HERE LIES LOVE…and Asian Americans…er…Asian American Love

The Fairy Princess has a question for the Drama Desk Nominating Committee – If you nominate Caucasians made up to resemble what is a stereotype of an Asian person, isn’t that, well…endorsing the use of stuff like….oh, I don’t know….

Or, well….

Oh Drama Desk Committee, you have many, many things to worry about, so I will give you the answer…it’s not B.

Because you see, the makeup is only a few kick ball changes away from..(.and I so hesitate to use this photo because, well, it’s AWFUL), but you see, by endorsing those kinds of performances with such a distinguished award, oh Drama Desk Nominating Committee, you are only a few shades away from endorsing…uh…THIS

Yeah, remember when people thought THIS was ok? (TOTALLY NOT OK!)

Yeah, remember when people thought THIS was ok? (TOTALLY NOT OK!)

Aha! THIS is the part where everyone is going to get mad, and argue that using Brownface or Yellowface is fairly standard in our industry – alive and well since the 1800’s, and that Caucasians wearing exaggerated makeup to resemble Asians is, in no way, comparable to Minstrel performances that characterized and dehumanized African Americans shamefully in this country.

Because… let’s face it – everyone did The Mikado in High School, and they LOVED wearing the Yellowface, they thought it was fun! They did not, and do not think absurd shuffling, and forgetting consonants and wearing eyeliner from the corner of their eye till it nearly touches their ear was bad! They had a good time!…. And then they went and lost their virginity at the Cast Party afterwards – and yeah, they were probably still wearing the makeup because…’that’s hot’.

Cuz to us….

Cindy Cheung & Christine Toy Johnson at La Jolla's talkback...they look so pissed off I feel like I need to go practice piano and bring home an A plus.  TIGER ACTRESSES! RRROOOOWWRRR

Cindy Cheung & Christine Toy Johnson
at La Jolla’s talkback…they look pissed, huh?

Yellowface or Brownface is the SAME as Blackface.

It really, really is.

Because what it says is – and think about this just a bit before everyone flies off the handle and starts bashing me on – (and yes, I have seen the posts – nice grammar, Crackpots) – when you erase Asian faces from roles where they are possible, have them played in heavy makeup by Caucasians whose very portrayals mock their heritage, and then endorse those portrayals with an AWARD, it tells us one thing – loud and clear.

It tells us we don’t count.

And here’s the thing…if there is one thing we are known for, it’s being able to count.

It says “We are so used to not seeing you, that when we do see you, well…you are not as we had imagined, so we’d rather just forget the you that is you, and you know…make it up.”

Etcetera, Etcetera, Etectera….

I mean, if you can see this from space….

But when you go to the theater where there is a South Asian character and you don’t see this…

You see this…

Something is rotten, and we are nowhere near Denmark.

What are ‘we’ supposed to think? What would YOU think?

The Fairy Princess is NOT calling The Drama Desk Awards racist, because that would be absurd!

There have been many past winners of the Drama Desk Awards who are, in fact, Asian American – Francis Jue for David Henry Hwang’s YELLOWFACE

(In context, a title disturbingly appropriate.)

Deborah S. Craig won for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee for her breakthrough performance as Marcy Park.MV5BMjI4MTA4MDU1M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNTExNzQ3Ng@@._V1._SX467_SY700_

So it is NOT that The Drama Desk Awards are racist – and let’s stop throwing that word around like a frisbee – it is that…it is that they are so used to seeing Caucasians play Asian, that it didn’t mean a damn thing to them. And that is the saddest part of all.

Theater is supposed to break the stereotypes, not endorse them.

It’s supposed to lift you up, and by ‘you’, I mean everyone.

The Drama Desk Awards DO have 3 Nominations this year for Asian Americans –

Joel de la Fuente: OUTSTANDING SOLO PERFORMANCE – Hold These Truths

Jane Wang – OUTSTANDING MUSIC IN A PLAY – Strange Tales of Liaozhai

Eugene Ma – OUTSTANDING MUSIC IN A PLAY – The Man who Laughs

The Fairy Princess wishes them well. She actually wishes everyone well – but truthfully what would be great is if the cast of HERE LIES LOVE sits right in front, so no matter WHO wins, they are seen.

We. Are. Seen.

And, scene.

Finally, for all the people who comment, who are sooooo threatened by the ability to see something a different way, I just ask you – why do you like theater? Do you like it because you learn something when you go? Do you like it because it can make the world brighter? Or, do you just like calling me a bitch?

Because the reason I write this is not because I ‘like’ theater, it is because I love theater. I have devoted my life to it. I just want it to be better, for everyone. I want people of all races to be able to GO to the theater and see themselves.

Seeing yourself is powerful. Seeing yourself is empowering. Seeing yourself is halfway to becoming the person you want to be.

I had a friend who is unfortunately gone now, and what he always used to say is “If they knew better, they would do better” – and this blog is to point out that sometimes people do not know, and I just try to explain to them that they need to do better. So simple. I just say it…well….

In a really snarky way.

Because…that’s me.

Anyway, this is a thrilling awards season, and I wish all the Nominees of everything well, besides….


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Reel Expressions Youth Film Fest

REEL Expressions

YOUTH under 19 can sign up for a FREE ticket on this website at

Spark Media Project (previously Children’s Media Project) provides media literacy education and workforce development programming in after-school and school-based settings for the youth of Poughkeepsie and the Hudson Valley.

Join us in honoring Donna Reyer with a Spark Media Award at this year’s Reel Expressions Youth Film Festival at the Bardavon (Poughkeepsie) on Saturday, September 26, 2014 at 5pm.  See more about Reel Expressions (including a video recap of last year’s event):


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Fantasy Baseball

2019 Fantasy Baseball Week 16 Drop List

We are now a week into the second half of the 2019 Fantasy Baseball season. It’s time to drop that dead weight!

Injuries continue to pile up and MLB Trade Deadline is rapidly approaching.

We have already seen Andrew Cashner get traded to the Boston Red Sox, Homer Bailey sent to the Oakland Athletics and the Chicago Cubs acquire veteran catcher Martin Maldonado with Willson Contreras landing on the injured list.

Pay close attention to the rumor mill and be proactive in making moves to stay one step ahead of your competition!

2019 Fantasy Baseball Week 16 Drop List

Looking for a Fantasy advantage? Get the ultimate in-season edge with customized Fantasy Baseball advice for your team using MyPlaybook from FantasyPros.

Dee Gordon, 2B/SS/OF, Seattle Mariners

Embed from Getty Images
Nearly half of Dee Gordon’s counting stats have come from the first 30 games of the season. He hit .300 in March/April but in May, June and currently in July has hit in the .230’s.

Gordon stole eight bases in the first 30 games, and just eight since.

He scored 12 runs in Mar/Apr and has crossed the plate just 25 on the season.

Part of the problem might be that he is no longer hitting two ground balls for every fly ball. When you are a speed guy, hitting the ball on the ground is your best bet. Gordon’s FB% is currently 28% compared to 21% for his career.

I can’t for the life of me understand why he is 71% owned on Yahoo!

Nomar Mazara, OF, Texas Rangers

Rumor has it that the Rangers were considering sending Mazara down to the Minors instead of Willie Calhoun.

In three of the last five weeks, Mazara has posted a wRC+ below 30, including a -29 to end June.

In that same time span, his strikeout rate has been as high as 52% and twice more above 30%.

We all know Mazara has tremendous power, with one of the longest home runs ever recorded in Statcast history, but he has hit just 12 homers this year. He has not hit a home run since hitting three between June 21/22.

All of his numbers are right at his career averages so I think what we have here is we know exactly who Nomar Mazara is. A guy that will hit 20 home runs, drive in 70 runs, scored 60 runs and hit .260 with a .315 OBP.

He is on pace to hit 20 home runs for a fourth straight season, but you can find eight more home runs from numerous other OF eligible player in Fantasy, who can help in other categories as well.

Joey Gallo, Shin-Soo Choo and Hunter Pence are all back in the Texas Rangers lineup and with Danny Santana and Delino DeShields producing, we might see Mazara get extra days off in the coming weeks.

Wil Myers, 3B/OF, San Diego Padres

Myers has not started a game for the Padres since July 4th. The Padres prefer to roll out a combination of Franmil Reyes, Hunter Renfroe and Josh Naylor in the corner outfield positions. Manuel Margot owns center field, despite a .240 batting average.

Myers doesn’t play against left-handed pitching and can’t hit righties.

His 36% strikeout rate is terrible…even for him!

Marco Gonzales, SP, Seattle Mariners

Embed from Getty Images

Gonzales has seen his SIERA creep up to 5.10, despite decent June numbers.

Among the 72 qualified starting pitchers, according to FanGraphs, Gonzalez owns the 14th worst ERA and 16th highest WHIP. Add to that the 8th lowest K% and you get a pitcher that should not be on your roster for more than a streaming start against the perfect opponent.

His next start is against the Texas Rangers on July 22nd.

Compared to his career numbers his K% is down and he is allowing more fly balls instead of generating groundouts.

Six of his last 10 outings were not quality starts.

Want to see where these players rank at their position for the rest of the season? Take a look at the latest updated version of the 2019 Fantasy Baseball Rest of Season Rankings

Week 16 Waiver Wire Suggestions

About Keith Lott

We have one goal, to help you win your league. It does not matter if you are a fantasy rookie or a veteran. Everyone has questions, and we have opinions. Lot(t)s of them! How I Went Undefeated In Fantasy Football

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Salah Chart

(2 customer reviews)

£5.99 £4.99

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Add to Wishlist

This salah chart has been carefully created (by a mum) to help fellow parents like you who are facing the following dilemma…How can I get my kids to remember to pray without nagging or telling them off?

Each Salah Chart contains:

• 1 large A3 size glossy wall chart
• 96 reusable salah and wudu stickers
• instruction sheet with tips and guidelines

How to use the Salah Chart
Depending on your child’s age set a realistic target number of salah they should pray in a week. The chart is wipeable so you can personalize the target for your child each week. Place a salah timetable in their bedroom to help them remember the salah times. You will probably need to remind them as well. Each time they do their wudu and perform their salah they a place a sticker on the chart. They will be motivated when they see their chart filling up with stickers.

Having the chart in the room will help them to remember to pray and check if they have forgotten to pray. To keep your children motivated agree on a special treat they will get if they achieve their target, re-member the goal is to be positive and help them take responsibility for their salah. At the end of the week they can put the stickers back on the sticker sheet and you can set them a new target and use the reward chart all over again.

Sign up to our free salah routine for kids course

I’ve created a free kids salah course just for you! If you are struggling with motivating your kids to pray, my ‘Salah Routine for Kids Course’ will help you teach your children to pray. Yes, really. I’ve seen my tips work time and time again for parents. I know it can work for you too.

  • Learn how to adopt a positive mindset before you begin teaching your children salah
  • My secret ‘don’t get angry’ tips most parents don’t know about
  • The easiest way to get your child excited about salah
  • Be inspired by my favourite parenting hadith

2 reviews for Salah Chart

  1. admin

    nailakhan11 (verified owner) – June 13, 2018

    Mashaa Allah got it today Alhamdulillah very Beautiful. Very good quality of the chatt Mashaa Allah. Jazak Allah khair sister ? I wil defently shop at with you again Inshaa Allah

  2. admin

    Maria – February 21, 2019

    Absolute best thing I have ever purchased for my child. Just to put a sticker on the chart he reminds me that he needs to read and doesn’t argue when I tell him it’s time for Salah . Alhamdulliah jazakallah khalid my sister.

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Market News, Press

Farmview Fosters Education, Grows Leaders: Scholarship Program

Farmview Scholarship Program

We love learning at Farmview Market. Our goal is to foster opportunities for growth for both our guests and our team members. In support of education, Farmview has established a scholarship program.

An annual program, scholarships will be awarded at the end of each school year to qualified Farmview Market team members, at the discretion of the review panel.

Farmview Schoolhouse Pruning ClassOur Education Philosophy

Education is one of the fundamental concepts behind the Farmview brand. Through educational offerings and clear information about food and food sources, we are empowering consumers to make smarter, healthier decisions. We want everyone that enters our doors to leave with a deeper desire to learn more about their food. And, inspire them to be as excited as we are!

We want to inspire learning in all aspects of a healthy, sustainable life. Through Farmview Schoolhouse, we are providing an avenue for understanding and awareness in many areas including nutrition and food, farming and gardening, homesteading and artisan craftsmanship.

Our PeopleTaylor Guy, Farmview Scholarship Program Recipient

Our people are our biggest asset. We are a group of warm, enthusiastic, service-oriented individuals, of different backgrounds, but like-minded in our passion for people and food. We know that to attract and retain exceptional talent its important for us to provide opportunities for growth.

This year, we were pleased to present our first scholarship to Taylor Guy. Taylor works in the grocery department and has been with Farmview since we opened, February 2016. We found Taylor at a job fair at Morgan County High School as a senior. Taylor now attends Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville. Taylor is a stellar team member, and is very service minded in her approach. She works hard and has a great attitude.

Scholarship Program Guidelines

Students may be eligible if they are a high school senior in good standing to graduate in the current school year; have been accepted to college, university, technical school or other certificate program; OR currently enrolled in a college, university, technical school or other certificate program; and meet the program requirements. Eligible team members must also submit an application.


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CIO confusion. SecDef William Cohen who should have more insight than anyone into the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 (except for Clinger) waited until June 2 - one business day after Emmett Paige Jr. departed the building as ASD/C3I - to send out a policy memo designating the ASD/C3I as the DOD CIO. This approach to policy-making ensures that no one will tinker with the intent of the act or the Cohen memo because the memo appeared after the slot was vacated. Cynics say this shows a real Hill approach to making policy: Anything goes as long as you have the right paperwork. Optimists believe the memo serves as a strong indication that Cohen has abandoned the notion of splitting ASD/C3I into a CIO organization and an ASD for intelligence. Don't look for anything to happen on this front soon as Cohen has other priorities such as developing dating rules for the armed forces.

* Airborne NT. My Fort Bragg antenna site has picked up strong signals that the entire Airborne Corps has signed on to Windows NT as its next-generation architecture along with the usual add-ons of Exchange 5.0 and Internet Explorer which probably has WebTV and Comcast cable service thrown in by Peter Hayes and the gang over at Microsoft Federal. I'm picking up faint signals that all computers in the Airborne will yell "Geronimo" when booted up.

* GTSI and Stamis II? Look for GTSI to broaden its reach beyond the box business with a concerted bid for the $400 million-plus Army Stamis II contract with former Zenith Data Systems Corp. pooh-bah and now GTSI VP Joel Lipkin leading the charge. The box portion definitely dovetails well with GTSI's current business - an assortment of laptops desktops and servers that the Army wants to buy at ridiculously low prices. But Stamis II also has a strong systems integration and services component which amounts to a new line of business for GTSI. Other potential bidders include services and integration veterans Telos Corp. and BTG Inc. Don't look for a bid from Electronic Data Systems Corp. on this one.

* Gauss to N6. My Courthouse Road mobile unit has picked up medium-strength signals that Rear Adm. John Gauss soon will leave DISA for the Navy Space and Electronic Warfare shop headed by Vice Adm. Arthur Cebrowski. This will make Gauss the boot admiral at N6 which already has quite a collection of admirals including deputy N6 Rear Adm. Richard Wilson and Rear Adm. Robert Nutwell director of allied and fleet requirements.

* Hot ticket. AFCEA has tapped Barbara Connor president of Bell Atlantic Federal Systems as the speaker at the Advanced Technology Luncheon during the annual TechNet confab at the D.C. Convention Center next week. This marks the first time a woman has spoken at an AFCEA Technology luncheon. Connor is definitely not your usual inside-the-Beltway type but rather a former Bell Atlantic treasurer who decided to stop counting the money and start making it.

  • Acquisition
    network monitoring (nmedia/

    How companies should prep for CMMC

    Defense contractors should be getting ready for the Defense Department's impending cybersecurity standard expected to be released this month.

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    Volcanic Tablelands Calif BLM Bishop Field Office employee. April 28, 2010

    BLM begins move out of Washington

    The decision to relocate staff could disrupt key relationships with Congress and OMB and set the stage for a dismantling of the agency, say former employees.

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Let’s all be honest, we don’t make it to the gym every time we want to.  We don’t even make it outside for a run even if we want to, and maybe there isn’t even time to take the dog on a long walk.  For those times where a formal workout just isn’t going to happen, there are still ways to get yourself moving enough so by the time you hit the pillow that night, you can rest assured knowing that you did something good for yourself and you had a balanced, healthy day.

Keep in mind, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that for important health benefits, the average adult needs 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity (like brisk walking) per week.  Sound like a lot?  It’s actually just 2 hours and 30 minutes that you need to carve out of your WEEK!  This really isn’t that much, and you can totally do it.  Easily.

Here are my gym-free everyday activity tips (you might have heard of some of them before or they might be obvious, but they’re worth mentioning again!):

Salute the Sun

First thing after you wake up, get things moving and stretch by doing some sun salutations.  They only take a few minutes and you don’t need a mat, but the after effects are lovely.  And just think, you’ve already started your day off on a great foot!

Increase Your Foot/Bike Time

When you drive, park farther away from the entrance of the building.  When you walk or ride your bike, take the longer, scenic route or make an extra lap around the block.  And if you take public transportation, get off one stop earlier so that you walk a bit further.

Take the Stairs

You’ve probably even thought of this yourself, and that’s because you’re smart!  Give yourself a pat on the pack. 🙂  Taking the stairs is a guaranteed way to get that heart rate up.  Now taking 30 flights might not be possible, but even walking up to the 2nd floor of your building (whether that be home or work) makes a difference!  You can also take a few extra minutes and go up and down the stairs once or twice.  Might as well sneak a bit more exercise in while you’re at it.

Lift It

Got something heavy to lift?  Maybe there’s the water cooler at the office that needs to be replaced, there’s the pet, the child, the box…trying lifting it (of course, be careful and don’t try to overdo it!) a few times using proper body mechanics.  Bend your knees to lower yourself to the ground instead of bending at your back, transfer your bodyweight into your heels, brace your core, think about using your abs for strength, and exhale through the mouth as you lift.  Look at you, Popeye!

Move at Your Desk

Many of us spend all day long working at a desk, the kitchen table, or somewhere sedentary with little opportunity to move.  Good news though, here’s a list of some fabulous exercises that can be done from your workstation, whatever it might be.

Ok this is cheesy but I do this all the time.  Put some of your favorite tunes on, and dance!  The addition of music can make household chores like tidying up, cleaning, and dinner making dare I say it…fun.  Well I think making dinner is fun, but that’s just me.  Anyway, just move around  as you do what you gotta do and before you know it, you’ll be out of breath and totally prepared for the next time you hit the dance floor.

Stretch Before Snoozing

To help ease yourself into sleep, hit a couple of these bedtime-friendly yoga stretches.  They only take a few minutes and can be done on a mat, carpet, or a rug.  Ah….relaxing.

Though having a set amount of time to dedicate to exercise is ideal, it just isn’t a reality every day.  If you incorporate just one of these tips though, you’re already lapping everyone on the couch.

What are some of your favorite ways to get your heart rate up without a formal workout?

Laissez les bons temps roulez et bonne santé,

If you enjoyed this post, please share it via social media or email!

PS By the way always check with your primary healthcare provider to make sure that any of the above suggestions don’t interfere negatively with your healthcare program!


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VIDEO: Cooking with Drag Queens, Sharon Needles & Asian Breakfast Tacos

Mar 15, 2013 · 128387 views

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If you hold up a mirror and say Sharon Needles’ name three times, she will appear. Check out this fabulous Cooking with Drag Queens video where we make Asian inspired breakfast tacos with Sharon Needles. […]

  1. Joan Coady says:

    Yaaaaaasss, Henny!! Get Coco and Isis on to talk about their recent appearance with Willam, Detox and Vicky Vox in Scotland. I’m sure they’d appreciate the opportunity to promote their bid for a spot on the Drag Queens At Sea Cruise.

  2. Enrique says:

    you boys are too funny! ur muscles are rippling in that outfit Fausto, You look anything but a skeleton

  3. Wowa says:

    Can we get the recipe in text, please? 🙂

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