Mobile Car Wash Business; Keeping Employees From Stealing Your Cash

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A mobile car wash business is an excellent business indeed. It is simple; no inventory, no location and for the most part a cash business too. Yet with all its simplicity one has to ask the obvious question; How on Earth do you keep the workers in your mobile car wash business from stealing your cash when you are not there? Well, indeed, the human level of integrity makes one wonder sometimes, as you give someone a job and then they go and steal from you? It is a rather sad state of affairs isn’t it? But do not let this get you down, as there is a way to prevent employee theft of the daily cash.

The best way to solve this issue of missing dollars is to use the human innate characteristics of such want to prevent them from stealing. For instance; Run a crew of two; one truck manager and one worker. Give your crew a $10.00 bonus for signing car wash customer up via credit card for 12 washes in advance. Then give the first wash on the spot to the customer for free. This will mean you have the money in advance so there will be less actual cash trading hands, therefore it cannot be stolen. The crew will want to sign many customers up on a pre-pay to get the bonus each week.

Next you need to pay the man riding shotgun, the worker $8-10 per hour and the crew leader (manager of the truck) a salary plus commission of what that unit does. If the crew leader starts stealing money the $8-10 per hour man will turn him in so he can have the better job after you fire the truck manager for stealing. The crew leader would not allow the $8-10 per hour worker to steal because it would come out of his perceived entitlement, the bonus? The bonus can be as little as 15% for this to work. Also keep switching crews a lot, so each $8-10 per hour worker learns the routes and do not be afraid to fire cheaters, liars or thieves.

Hello my name is Lance Winslow and I am the Founder of the Car Wash Guys, this is what we do and it works. If you are worried or are currently having problems with your employees stealing your cash, please think on this.

Feed The Tree – The Genealogy of The Pixies, Throwing Muses, The Breeders and Belly

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One of my very favourite sub-scenes of music is the interweaving family tree that includes The Pixies, Throwing Muses, The Breeders and Belly. I could write endlessly about any of these bands, even about individual songs, so I am going to try to strictly limit myself to a very potted history and include a few example videos by each band, as well as a diagram that explains a great deal more (well, that’s if you can read it…it’s sharp as a pin on my computer, but the quality doesn’t seem to be so great in Blogger). The diagram, too, could be endless, and there is much that is not incuded…but that should inform a healthy comments debate of additions eh?

Recording during the late 1980s and the 1990s, I believe that these artists, and in particular The Pixies, really added something new to the musical landscape; and they have certainly been very influential on other musicians.

I shall start with The Pixies, as they are probably the best known of the bunch, and are really the ‘daddy’ of this scene (although Throwing Muses were around before The Pixies formed). Headed by Charles Michael Kitridge Thompson IV (!) under the pseudonym Black Francis, they were formed in Boston in 1986. Their full-length debut, Surfer Rosa, recorded by Steve Albini, was released in 1988 (following the release of EP Come On Pilgrim), and was quietly successful, particularly in the UK (more so than in their native US), and won both Melody Maker and Sounds’ Album Of The Year title. They supported fellow Bostonians Throwing Muses on tour early on in their career, which introduced them to industry professionals and the wider public.

I would describe their sound as alternative, guitar-based surf punk. Their albums displayed a wide range of song styles and The Pixies seemed to have a really novel, original and unique way of doing things. Strange sound collages crash against surreal imagery on subjects as diverse as UFOs, Mose Allison, incest and biblical references, and the albums are peppered by lyrics in Spanish as well as in English. These lyrics are often ‘spacey’ or violent, yet it is clear that their author is eloquent and articulate. Their use of volume and dynamics is also of note, with quiet, lazy, restrained sections contrasting with loud hell-for-leather, beat-the-crap-out-of-your-guitar choruses, and guttural growlings interspersed with sweet, almost falsetto, tunefulness. They were of particular influence on the grunge music scene of the early 1990s (Nirvana claimed, in interview, to have been trying to emulate their sound with Smells Like Teen Spirit), and have been cited by many, including David Bowie, U2 and Radiohead, as one of their favourite bands.

Black Francis, now rechristened Frank Black, has since been prolific, both solo and with his band Frank Black And The Catholics.

And so, before we move on, here are a couple of interesting tidbits for you…

The song Debaser (from the album Doolittle – which was provisionally titled Whore) was inspired by the film Un Chien Andalou, by Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali…anyone that has seen this film will remember the eyeball-slicing scene vividly! The song Ana (from Bossanova) is an acrostic – the first letters of each of its six lines spelling out S-U-R-F-E-R.

Divinyl’s tip for best introductory album = Doolittle.

Throwing Muses were formed in 1983 by Kristin Hersh and her step-sister Tanya Donelly. They self-released a set of demos (The Doghouse Cassette) in 1984, also releasing a self-titled EP later that year. Their debut album proper (again eponymous) was released in 1986. Muses were the first American act to be signed to British record label 4AD, which has housed all of these key bands, as well as lots of other great artists. 4AD is also responsible for one of my favourite compilation albums, which came free with the magazine Uncut in 1998 and features Lush, His Name Is Alive, Dead Can Dance, Lisa Germano, Mojave 3, Red House Painters and others. (Check out their website for a fuller overview of their artists/releases.)

Hersh has an extremely distinctive vocal style and the lyrics are quirky, sung over tempo shifts and catchy guitar hooks. This is still somewhat anguished ‘alternative rock’ (e.g. lots of references to mental illness in their lyrics – Hersh suffers from bipolar disorder and is compelled to write by auditory hallucinations which ‘force’ songs upon her), but it is tuneful, poppy and accessible. Hersh continues to record solo today – a more acoustic sound and stunning songwriting – and also, in 2003, formed the power rock trio 50 Foot Wave. She has been kind enough to share free-to-download mp3s from her solo career, as well as songs from Throwing Muses and 50 Foot Wave at her website Throwing Music.

Divinyl’s tip for best introductory album = Limbo.

Best introductory Kristin Hersh album = Hips And Makers (which was co-produced by Patti Smith guitarist Lenny Kaye).

Kim Deal of The Pixies formed The Breeders (taking the name from the teenage band of she and twin sister Kelley, also in this incarnation – the word being one which homosexuals use to refer to heterosexual people) with Throwing Muses’ (with whom they had been on tour) guitarist Tanya Donelly and bassist Josephine Wiggs of Perfect Disaster. Formed in 1989 and releasing their first full album, Pod, in 1990, this was a much more girl-based sound, where angular guitar-playing and feedback are complemented by the melodic singing voices of both Deal and Donelly (don’t get me wrong, these women can howl too!). They were signed to 4AD after Ivo Watts-Russell heard their demo, and their debut was recorded (again by Steve Albini, with whom Deal had worked when she was in The Pixies) in only one week. And so to a fact, before we leave The Breeders – with their album Title TK (2002), they heralded the “all wave” philosophy of recording analogue instruments and vocals and eschewing computer technology and digital recording techniques.

Divinyl’s tip for best introductory album = Last Splash.

Whilst The Breeders are still going (or at least haven’t officially split – the last album they released was Title TK), Tanya Donelly (the most ‘capped’ in this pantheon) left in 1991 to form…

Belly. Who were a much more chart- and MTV-friendly band who fit nicely into the division of early 90s indie rock that also included groups such as Lush, Echobelly and Dubstar. Belly are, in my opinion, under-appreciated. Their first EP, Slow Dust, was released in 1992 and reached number one on the British indie chart. There followed two albums – Star in 1993 and King in 1995. And that was it (but it was enough to garner Grammy nominations)…unless you count a (great) album mixing ‘best of’/B-sides and rareties not released until 2002. Their sound was much more ‘pop’ than their sibling bands, at times dreamy, at times thrashy, the lyrics still replete with weird, haunting and surreal imagery. They had their biggest success with the single Feed The Tree.

Donelly continues to work as a solo artist and has made some lovely songs; however, in my opinion, her solo efforts have varied widely in quality – it’s all a bit hit-and-miss. You can visit her website, where there are free downloadable demos from Belly’s album Star and also from her solo catalogue.

Divinyl’s tip for best introductory album – Star. And by Tanya Donelly as a solo artist – Whiskey Tango Ghosts.

N.B. All still images original by Divinyl.

Book Review Of Millionaire Fastlane

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Book Review of Millionaire Fastlane by M.J. Demarco

This book is one of the best books on Entrepreneurship in which the author lays out five commandments to be on the Millionaire Fastlane. According to the author, until and unless the business complies with the five commandments, they are not destined to be successful. These commandments are:

Commandment of Need, Entry, Control, Scale and Time (NECST).

Commandment of Need:

Millionaires affect lives of millions of people by adding some values to their lives and hence are millionaires. If the marketplace does not care about your product or service then it is not going to add value to the marketplace and it is a failed venture before it takes off. So, every business should first figure out if there is a need for the service or product your business is going to deliver or not.

So, we have seen test products being sold for free to test the water. All they are doing is trying to figure out if there is any demand or not.

People often start business with wrong reasons. They are good at something and very skilled and open a business about it. But if the marketplace does not care about it, it’s going to be a failure because marketplace is a selfish place. It does not care what you want, what you have, how good you are. All it cares about it is what is it for them. If it adds some value to their lives then they will buy it otherwise not. So, it’s a big eye opener for me and could be for so many budding entrepreneurs.

Commandment of Entry:

This is the second commandment to successful business. If the barrier to entry is very easy it means millions will be doing the same thing and you will not have the ability to scale your business but rather will have to decrease the price and compete those millions. Usually war of price harms all the parties. For example if creating a website and writing a blog and generate income is your business then there is not enough barrier to entry unless you try to add something extra value to the marketplace which not anyone else has added yet. An example which the author gives few times is when he thought about starting Limo business. He found it failed both the first and second commandments. There was no need for one more limo business and barrier was very low to enter into this business.

Commandment of Control:

If you have no control over your business and you have given entire authority to another party, you are doomed to failure.

Many entrepreneurs start a company and then hire a CEO or CFO to completely take control of operation or finance. They know nothing about what is going on and that is the recipe to failure. Especially when entrepreneurs do not have any basic financial knowledge like what is loan mortgage, how to calculate simple interest but hire an expert to help them make decisions. Since they themselves cannot take a second look at the decisions made by their advisers, chances are that they might screw up and entrepreneur will have to bear the loss.

One of the examples given in the book about the benefit of controlling the business is given as the following. If you are a doctor working at a private-care facility it’s natural to think that you are on the fastlane because your magnitude (price/unit) is large and that will increase the net profit and hence wealth. But, the control of the private care facility is not held by the doctors but by the owner. So, it’s him who is on the fastlane not the doctor who depends on his intrinsic value to increase the wealth.

Commandment of Scale:

The author gives an example of a burger stall outside a supermarket. No matter how much the owner tries, he cannot scale his business and reach out to customers outside of the supermarket. So, this business violates the commandment of scale. But an e-store that sells some product in the internet has unlimited number of customers and hence has the capacity to scale his business to unlimited level. However, if the entrepreneur can create franchise of any burger store then he has the ability to scale and will be on the fastlane.

The author gives an example of a quote by the billionaire Mark Cuban who said it only one business to be successful. So, it’s important that we undertake projects which can be scaled up. In baseball terms, take swing for home runs not singles. If you do decide to play singles, you have to replicate the effort many more times.

The Fastlane wealth equation is:

Wealth = Net Profit + Asset Value

Net Profit = Units sold * Unit Profit

The leverage is created by the units sold. If you are selling burgers on the supermarket lot, you are limiting the leverage and hence you are on the speed limit of 15 mph road. Also, you cannot increase the price of the burger so the unit profit cannot be controlled as well.

So, either you have to be able to reach millions of people to increase the Units Sold quantity or sell at very high price to extra wealthy clients to increase the unit profit values.

Commandment of time:

Time is the scarcest resource we have. Most people spend money frugally and time freely. That according to the author is exactly the wrong way to the road to wealth. Time is limited and money is abundant. Only difference between successful and unsuccessful people is the way they spend their time. The former value each moment of their life and spend it to increase their self-worth. The latter waste it on fulfilling their immediate desires like watching TV series, indulging in games etc. for long period of time etc.

As per the author, fastlane is not an easy path but sure it should be a fast way to earn wealth.

As a fastlaner, our goal should be to automate the travel. If you have a business which requires you to dedicate each moment of your life all the time and always have to trade time for money, it’s a job masked as a business. It’s a money tree that never grows.

It’s normal to work more than 80 hours per week in the starting phase of a business but it’s not normal to work like that for the rest of the life which is a normal for most of the people working normal life. One of the famous quotes from the book which is often used outside as well is about how most of the people define as normal. Normal is to wake up at 6 am, fight traffic, work 8 hours or slave 8 hours Monday to Friday, save 10% and repeat for 50 years. Normal is to believe that stock market will make us rich and fastest car and bigger house will make us happy. The definition of normal is corrupted by the society and we are conditioned to believe that. In short, the author believes, normal is modern day slavery and that’s why only few have the courage and the intelligence to come out of normalcy and drive on a millionaire’s fastlane.

Military Simulation Combat Paintball – As Real As It Gets

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Games set up like real life military missions offer the chance to get lost in the scenario; forgetting you are only playing paintball, the adrenaline is much higher and the play is much more fun. Tactical scenario paintball will only allow total immersion however if your gear is as realistic as possible. When shopping for the best equipment, you have the choice of how authentic you want to get by choosing paintball guns that are life like replicas of real rifles, camouflage gear and high tech accessories. Depending on how far you’re willing to push the envelope (and how much you’re willing to spend), you can show up at the battlefield like a special ops paintball ninja decked out with the latest weapons and accessories for an experience you will never forget!

When it comes to paintball gear, there are lots of items you’ll need and want but the main piece is your marker. For a total immersion into the world of scenario paintball, choose a paintball marker that’s a realistic replica of a rifle or machine gun used in actual combat. Fortunately, there are tons to choose from, allowing you to not only cater to both your sense of style but also the position you play on the field. If you prefer the fast action of close quarter fighting seen on the front lines, choose a compact paintball sub machine gun for speed and mobility. If you’d rather pick your shots from a safer distance, sniper paintball rifles are fun to shoot and much more accurate if you like a stealthy advantage. If you want to keep your options open, try an M4 carbine replica dressed up with the coolest accessories to roam the field and be effective from both close or distant ranges.

Perhaps the most realistic tactical paintball guns on the market recently are magazine fed. Instead of the traditional hopper that sits clumsily on top of the gun, magazine fed paintball markers use functional magazines just like real rifles. While these guns behave nearly exactly like the real thing, there is a trade off for carrying less ammo; most paintball gun magazines carry no more than 20 balls. Another fun aspect of using tactical paintball guns is their ability to accept accessories and parts from real guns. Most tactical markers have military spec rails that are compatible with any scope, sight, laser, grips or carry handles that would work any real firearm. This makes customization totally fun as there are tons of accessories available to offer virtually unlimited options for what you can transform your marker into. These accessories not only make your tactical paint gun look the part but can also improve aim and accuracy for better results on the field.

Other than a paintball gun, hopper and air tank, there is only one more piece of equipment that’s mandatory to play, a protective mask. Masks are the only mandatory paintball protective gear required to keep the game safe. While getting hit by a high velocity paintball anywhere in the body is not dangerous, it can cause permanent blindness if one hits the eye, so masks are must-have gear no matter which type of game you play. Since you have to have one, you might as well choose a paintball mask that will enhance your tactical outfit while you’re at it. There are many styles and colors to choose from including army colors and camouflage patterns to match the rest of your realistic gear. Choose a paintball mask that will not only give you a fierce tactical look, but also perform well too. The best paintball masks have anti-fog lenses and plenty of ventilation so you don’t overheat and won’t muffle your voice when calling commands to your team. For the coolest look, choose dark lenses and make sure you pick a mask that will fit under a paintball helmet.

After your gun and goggles, choose a tactical outfit that will glue it all together for a cohesive look. Camouflage clothing can be bought at a military surplus store however best equipped for your sport from a paintball supplies store that carries woodsball gear. There are several brands of paintball jerseys and pants made specifically for this type of play; this style of clothing is your best bet because they have pockets designed for carrying specific pieces of paintball equipment. They are also made with certain features to cater directly to certain actions commonly performed while playing, like extra padding over the knees and hips to offer more protection when crawling or sliding. When choosing a camouflage outfit, it’s best to try and match the color pattern with the specific environment you’ll be playing in whenever possible to take full advantage of the invisibility they could offer.

If you want to look (and play) like a special ops paintball ninja, pay attention to the details. For a complete costume, covering your hands and feet with matching cool accessories is the way to go. Paintball gloves will not only offer more protection for your hands against scuffing them up in the woods, but will also take the sting out of getting nailed in the hand with a paintball. Camouflage tactical gloves make a nice addition to your matching scenario paintball uniform while also improving your grip when holding your gun or other gear preventing you from dropping and losing valuable items. Gloves come in various styles including full finger, two finger or fingerless depending on how free you like your trigger fingers to be. You can use any type of shoes for scenario woodsball but the best type of paintball footwear for this game is combat boots. High top combat boots will not only give you a realistic soldier look but are great for providing plenty of support when running around in the bush and uneven ground common to this game.

One of the best additions to any realistic scenario outfit is a tactical vest. These garments come in all typical military colors including various camouflage patterns to match your underlying BDU’s exactly. Tactical paintball vests not only give you a fierce look, but offer many pouches for carrying tons of gear in a very balanced way. If you use a magazine fed paintball marker, a vest with pouches to carry extra magazines is essential. Tactical vests can be customized with pouches to cater to whatever types of gear you need to be effective for the particular position you play on the field. Vests are the best way to pack tons of extra ammo for extended play and still be able to run and be active without feeling unbalanced from all the extra weight. Customize your vest with pockets to carry your paintball air tank, grenades, extra parts for your gun or even supplies for your teammates.

Reggaeton Songs Featuring Mainstream American Rappers – A Top 5 Playlist

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The urban style of Latino music known as Reggaeton, a lively mix of traditional Latin styles and R&B, Hip Hop and Electronica, is really taking off in the United States. It makes sense, then, that numerous popular American rappers and R&B artists are recording collaborations with these up-and-coming Reggaeton artists.

Here is a short playlist featuring some of the best songs. This list can be useful for those interested in musical fusion as well as an entry point for rap fans to become familiar with a new genre of music that is becoming increasingly popular.

1. Daddy Yankee featuring Snoop Dogg – Gangsta Zone Daddy Yankee is a Latin Grammy Award winner and is both one of reggeaton’s pioneers as well as one of the hottest artists today. This song gives off a hard, street vibe and features a great verse by West Coast rapper Snoop Dogg.

2. Wisin y Yandel featuring 50 Cent – Mujeres en el Club Reggaeton duo Wisin and Yandel are one of the most active collaborators with artists in other genres, as they have recorded songs with numerous big names in Hip Hop, R&B as well as Pop. The beat has the feel of a 50 Cent song and the controversial rapper from South Jamaica, Queens delivers a characteristic verse.

3. Don Omar featuring Juelz Santana – Conteo The “Don” of Puerto Rican Reggaeton music is immensely popular and this song features a verse by Harlem native Juelz Santana. Juelz Santana’s father was Dominican, and he uses a few Spanish sentences in the song.

4. Daddy Yankee featuring Young Buck and Lloyd Banks – Rompe (Remix) Rompe is one of Daddy Yankee’s most popular singles, and he recorded a remix featuring the two G-Unit members. It is an upbeat, high energy song and has been used as the walk-up music of several Latino MLB players.

5. Wisin y Yandel featuring T-Pain – Imaginate This song represents the slower, more R&B influenced style of Wisin y Yandel, and it features T-Pain, complete with his characteristic Auto-Tune audio pitch adjuster.

This list will only get you started in the exciting world of Reggaeton, so be on the lookout for more collaborations, and expect many more in the near future.

Stock Market Investment: Reliable or Gambling

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There is an old metaphor saying, “Money makes money”. This can be literally applied now a days to capital generation through stock market investment. Generally, people have savings in the form of cash or jewelry. But it is going to do nothing if the economy gets hit with inflation or currency value falls. So, what can be a safe investment which is reliable as well as productive? Well the answer is stock market investment. The stock market comprises of a system where partnership or shares of publicly trading companies are bought, issued and sold. But for a few people it is no better than a dark chasm and nebulous casino of savings gambling. Contrary to the common thinking, the stock market is a far better investment option than classical investment areas like fixed deposits and gold bonds.

Basics one should learn before starting stock market investments

It is a great pain to lose money and that’s why nobody wants to lose their savings collected by hard work. Moreover, some people have a greater investment threshold than others. If a person is considering to divert his/ her savings as stock market investment and he is upset about the loss that might occur, he shouldn’t have invested in the first place. However, before investing one should have his mind clearly on a few things.

Here an investor sells any particular security owned by him too, another who is interested in buying it. Since both the investors cannot be absolutely correct, it can be called an adversarial system. For better understanding we can assume that, one investor will be profited and the other will definitely suffer loss.

The opinion of major investors, natural calamities, political and social instability, demand and supply, risk, and the abundance of or lack of alternatives. These factors compile with the relevant information released, which create a general sentiment (i.e. Bearish and bullish) thus influencing corresponding buyers & sellers.

Real profit lies in the price gradient of buying and selling a stock. The best time for buying is when other investors are pessimistic. Concurrently, the best time for selling is when other investors are optimistic.

Pros and cons of stock market investment

Similar to any other investment option, the stock market has its advantages and disadvantages too.

Advantages

1. Great opportunity of extremely good returns in a short time window.

2. Minority ownership. It may sound like exaggeration, but putting money in the stocks of a reputed company also makes the person a part owner of the firm. It doesn’t matter if the investment was large or small.

Disadvantages

1. Brokerage commissions. Every time a person trades his shares, he becomes liable to pay a certain amount to the stockbroker’s commission and it kills the margin of the profit.

2. Time consuming. Investing in the market is not same as putting money to win a lottery. Here one has to fulfill multiple formalities, hence it becomes time consuming.

Review of The Offspring

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Offering a read that simultaneously compels, repels, and excites, author Bill Pinnell’s The Offspring, peers into the dark side of human nature via family relationships, secrets, and racism, shown through a multi-layered, multigenerational, multi-perspective lens bringing together a set of characters whose lives intersect in interesting and at times intense ways.

First, the curiosity is piqued by an intriguing prologue which fundamentally sets the tone of this complex character-driven story, as a vivid memory quickly turns from pleasure to horror, within the mind of a character seemingly beguiled by scenes from the past. Next focus moves to the backstory of the romance between Lemuel Decker and Irene Baxter. Both are students at Logan High School during the 1940s in rural Nebraska. Set apart by an age gap and personality the two almost seem to be polar opposites while Lemuel is a shy athletic farm boy, Irene is pretty, popular, and outgoing. Because of the difference in age in school their paths rarely directly cross. However, once they do each makes an impression on the other not soon to be forgotten. Shy farm boy Lemuel holds a soft spot for the pretty and friendly Irene, but his timid demeanor continues to keep him seemingly hopelessly infatuated and at a distance.

However, after Lemuel graduates, fate comes into play creating a set of circumstances combining love and chivalry that would bring the two together to build a life as a family but with Irene pregnant, leaving a cloud that hangs over the relationship, an unspoken secret within the family dynamic. Moreover, as time goes on, the happiness fades as life for the Decker family dissolves into dysfunction with life becoming increasingly difficult for the couple as the financial stressors of managing a farm and a family lead to arguments and tension which clouds the atmosphere of the once happy couple. Also, at play is the way the sons are raised with son Tommy (the oldest) always at odds with the preferential treatment that brother Hughie always seems to get especially from their father Lemuel. Consequently, life takes a turn for the worse as things deteriorate when Irene, longing for a different life away from the farm, leaves the family. The Decker boys wind up growing into very different people without their mother and stuck with an irascible father.

Next, the story focuses on Harold Simpson, the sheriff in Milrose county. He is one wicked racist son of a gun. His backstory, although somewhat sad, leaves no room for excuse for his wicked, self-satisfying antics and interactions with the people he is supposed to protect. As the story progresses, his presence stimulates a deep desire to see him get his just desserts as he terrorizes the people within his jurisdiction essentially, he is the town bully with a badge and a gun.

Moving on the narrative brings into view the Lake family, Joseph and Audrey, and sons Kenny and Sammy. Originally from Chicago, the family gets the opportunity to move from city life to a farm in Nebraska; however, they are the only black family within a hundred-mile radius and are neighbors to the Deckers. The Deckers are friendly to them with an amicable relationship ensuing between the two families, especially for sons Hughie Decker and Kenny Lake, who become quite close and what follows after is a journey through self-discovery, for the boys which culminates into a longtime friendship and holding onto a secret that remains submerged in the murky waters of the past.

Altogether, I enjoyed The Offspring. It was a read that held my interest until the intense finale. I enjoyed going through the layers of this intriguing tale, replete with well-developed characters, and an interesting storyline written with a crisp, eloquent style that keeps you engaged. This would make a great summer read and I look forward to more works by this author.

Bottleneck Slide Guitar and the History of the Blues

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The moody, haunting sound of slide or bottleneck guitar has become ever more popular in film soundtracks, television advertising and TV programmes. Think of the film Paris Texas and you will recall the eerie, plaintive sound of Ry Cooder’s famous accompanying soundtrack.

The origins of the slide style of playing guitar can be traced to a one-stringed instrument that originates from West Africa. This ultra-basic musical instrument developed, in America, into what is called a diddley-bow. This is a single-stringed instrument, usually home made, consisting of a wire stretched between two screws or pegs along a length of wood. The string is plucked while the pitch is established using a piece of bone, metal or glass. Some diddley-bows were made by attaching the single-string to the wall of a shack or house. Lonnie Pitchford, a Mississippi bluesman, was well known for demonstrating his diddley-bow which used two nails hammered into a beam that formed part of his front porch. The headstone of his grave is designed with a playable diddley-bow on its side.

It was in the Mississippi Delta region that the African influences on American music really took hold. Many emancipated slaves moved to the area after the American civil war bringing with them their love for rhythm, dance and accessible musical instruments, one of which was the diddley-bow.

Many have speculated that the Mississippi Delta is the birthplace of the blues. The first documented blues tune was heard by WC Handy in either 1895 or1903 while at the train station in the town of Tutwiler, Mississippi. He is reported to have witnessed a poor black man in ragged clothes and worn out shoes playing a guitar by pressing a knife against the strings to vary the pitch, very much like Hawaiin guitarists would use steel bars. The tune the man played was a haunting and melancholy melody that made quite an impression upon WC Handy.

It was during the 1890s that some well known American folk-blues tunes are thought to have originated including “Joe Turner Blues” and “Frankie and Johnnie”. One well known exponent of the style who originated at this time was Charley Patton. His precise birth date is unknown but thought to have been between 1885 and 1892. He learned his musical skills from the people around him including one Henry Sloan who was a fellow resident of the Dockery plantation in Ruleville, Mississippi. Some say that Henry Sloan is actually the mysterious black slide guitar player who’d been heard at the train station in Tutwiler by WC Handy.

It wasn’t until 1929 that Patton was discovered by H.C. Spier, the white talent scout who famously auditioned notable blues performers in the back of his furniture store in Jackson Mississippi. In June of that year he recorded 14 tracks for Paramount records including the well known blues classics “Pony Blues,” “Banty Rooster Blues,” “Bo Weavil Blues,” “Screamin’ and Hollerin’ the Blues” and “A Spoonful Blues”. Pony Blues with Banty Rooster went on to sell 10,000 copies making Patton a significant star for Paramount records.

Another fantastically influential blues man who made recordings for Paramount records in 1930 was Son House. His distinctive playing style, which featured a strong, repetitive, hypnotic rhythm, was to be enormously influential in forthcoming decades. His guitar playing was accompanied by his unique vocals which were derived from the laments and hollers of the chain gangs, probably influenced by the time he’d spent in jail after allegedly killing a man.

No discussion of the blues and bottleneck guitar playing would be complete without mentioning Robert Johnson, probably the most famous of the many influential Delta Blues men. He made a host of landmark recordings between 1936 and 1937 and his guitar playing skills and song writing talents have influenced countless thousands of blues and rock-and-roll artists in the decades since his untimely death at the age of only 27.

The bottleneck or slide guitar style is synonymous with the blues. It is a style of playing that enables notes to tremble, to sound uncertain, to sound like the human voice or someone crying. It’s a style of playing that doesn’t require any fancy or expensive equipment making it immediately accessible and appealing. The slide guitar sound is immediately engaging but at the same time can evoke feelings of sadness and melancholia. Slide guitar is what the blues is all about.

Retail Malls and Shopping Centres – How to Make a Leasing Proposal Really Work

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Retail investment property is special when it comes to leasing. There are special elements to handle in the marketing package if you are a real estate agent.

When leasing and managing a shopping centre, the creation of a marketing package for leasing is a frequent event. What we can do here is help you with that lease process and marketing document.

To start off we should say that the leasing of retail premises is not just about the rent and the area to be leased. A retail property is an investment to not just the landlord but also the tenant. The tenant runs a business and the retail property has to help them do that.

This is where the marketing package has to really handle the opportunity for the tenant. A well designed marketing package can also be reflected in the design of a brochure or flyer that is distributed to your target market of tenants.

Here is a checklist to help you design a great marketing package for the retail property vacancy.

  1. Area of the premises together with plans
  2. Details of the permitted fit out designs and qualities of finishes and materials to be used
  3. Rental asked and a breakdown of expenditure or outgoings that are in addition to the rental
  4. Details of the term of lease sought and any available options for the tenants
  5. Site plan including car park detail, access roads, and public transport drop off points.
  6. Demographics of the local shopper that visits the centre and the surrounding area
  7. Definition of trade area where 80% of your trade is sourced
  8. Tenant Mix across the property including plans of and to those locations
  9. Customer counts on different days of the week
  10. Trade patterns by retailer type over 12 months
  11. Trade patterns by days of the week
  12. Details of services and amenities available to the tenants and the customers
  13. Details of changes and improvements to the property that are known or expected
  14. Details of the common area and usage patterns.
  15. Details of property promotion and marketing for the tenants
  16. Details of signage and tenancy design as it applies to the subject tenancy
  17. Details of the anchor tenant and their lease permanence.

Expect the potential tenant in a retail property to visit your property before they make a decision to lease. Any retailer knows that trade varies on different days of the week and they will want to check that themselves and with other tenants.

Given that tenants in a retail property always talk to each other, the high value of good tenant relations with the landlord and property manager cannot be understated. Unhappy tenants in a property can detract or derail your endeavours to lease any vacancy.

This marketing package for a retail lease vacancy is comprehensive and will answer many of the tenant’s questions before they raise them. It also shows you to be the professional retail leasing expert.

Professional Dealing With Illegal Electronic Surveillance

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Not so long ago surveillance has been considered a government or spy agency priority. However a lot has changed. The rapid research and development in information technologies and electronic devices, along with their shrinkage in size has made surveillance obtainable to each of us. All you have to do is Google for GSM tracker, spy camera, hidden voice recorder. Don’t be surprised to see hundreds of thousands or even millions of espionage gear offers. And it only depends on the commitment and financial constraints for one to start secret surveillance. Thanks to the Chinese manufacturers tiny cameras, microphones and other tracking devices have become easily obtainable at a ridiculous price. The statistics of such equipment sales shows that many people are taking advantage of this hassle free access to modern eavesdropping technologies. The temptation to spy on the surrounding comes not only to perverted maniacs.

This article focuses on surveillance carried in interest of businesses, politicians and simple ordinary (or not so ordinary) people.

The threat of eavesdropping & information loss has never been greater. Nowadays most exposed to eavesdropping are famous people, individuals with access to highly confidential information, companies and individuals as objects of corporate espionage, offices and individuals involved in political campaigns, investment bankers and other investment companies.

Here’s the list of those who intercept most:

  • Competitors or partners
  • Employers against their employees
  • Subordinates against their colleagues and superiors
  • Tenderers against other bidders or against the clients
  • Spouses and lovers
  • Intrusives, maniacs
  • Neighbors

The most commonly used espionage tools and methods are:

  • Micro video cameras and recorders, often disguised as various household items such as watches, key chains, lighters, etc.
  • Wireless and wired microphones of various types (radio, Wi-Fi, GSM, Bluetooth, laser, infrared, stethoscope, parabolic or shotgun microphones, etc);
  • Eavesdropping software monitoring GSM phones, computers, laptops and tablets.
  • Microphones transmitting information through the electrical grid, internet cables or security systems wiring.
  • Devices intercepting the electromagnetic radiation of the computers, phones and other equipment for data processing and communication.

All the listed methods and devices can be considered just an illustration, as the actual number of can hardly be enumerated.

What’s common for the above listed methods and devices that they are widely available, quite cheap to buy and their operation does not require any special technical skills. The equipment having the access to internet either through Wi-Fi, cellular or stationary networks could be operated in any part of the World.

Detecting the bugging devices is not an easy and simple work. The term describing this type of activity is TSCM which is the abbreviation of Technical Surveillance Counter Measures. TSCM survey is a service provided by qualified personnel to detect the presence of technical surveillance devices and hazards and to identify technical security weaknesses that could aid in the conduct of a technical penetration of the surveyed facility. A TSCM survey normally consists of a thorough visual, electronic and physical inspection inside and outside of the surveyed facility. In conducting surveillance protection one has to be familiar with the tapping methods; hardware and software products; engineering solutions used for this purpose as well as their unmasking signs. Without this knowledge it is not possible to detect a well hidden bug.

For the successful implementation of this activity is necessary to have a properly trained personnel, good working methodology and appropriate set of technical means.

As there are lots of methods of eavesdropping and much more devices used for each method, there are lots of instruments to detect a bug. Example of the necessary equipment for the detection of radio microphone is radio frequency spectrum analyzer, wideband radio receiver and a nonlinear junction detector ( NLJD ). And this should be considered an absolute minimum.

The issue of interception and eavesdropping protection is a complex. Both activities are developing very dynamically. Unfortunately there is no way to point all aspects in one article. Practice shows that the systematic work and the funds invested for eavesdropping protection are sooner or later paid off.