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Our 25^th Year of Useful Information For Your Business and a

Couple of Laughs to Make Your Day Brighter!

Signals To Buying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Recognizing signals to buy is the first step toward a close in the science of selling. Listen to the buyer. He or she will give you signals. Your job as a pro, is to recognize the following buying signals and convert them into a sale:

Regeneration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A magic bullet for deafness? Chickens might one day unlock a cure for the hearing impaired. That’s the hope of scientists at Stanford University, who are studying the fowl to try to learn how they regenerate the tiny hair cells in their inner ear. Those cells convert sound into electrical impulses, which travel to the brain and produce hearing. Because chickens and other feathered creatures can regrow these cells after injury, there is no such thing as a deaf bird. The researchers have figured out how to take embryonic stem cells from mice, implant them into the ears of chick embryos, and coax them to differentiate into hair cells. They’re working on perfecting a similar procedure for deaf humans. (BusinessWeek)

Do you have a Will? . . . . . . . . People are usually rational, but sometimes we do something that is the financial equivalent of shooting ourselves in the foot: We fail to create a will or to use tax planning. Believe it or not, 60% of American adults don’t have a will. But without a will, you can lose control over what happens to what you own. Some judge will decide who gets what based on the laws of your state. And your estate may pay a fortune in avoidable taxes. Get together with a trusted attorney and create a will (and perhaps a revocable living trust), and you will do your family a huge favor. (Kiplinger’s Personal Finance)

A Man . . . . . . . . A man, standing nude, looks in the bedroom mirror and says to his wife, “I feel horrible, I look fat, ugly and out of shape. Pay me a compliment.” The wife replies, “ Your eyesight’s darn near perfect.” (LaFree)

Taken From February’s Kiplinger Personal Newsletter: Bush’s FY 2008 budget includes war costs for the first time since the U.S. invaded Afghanistan and Iraq. Previously, war spending was largely "off budget," making federal expenditures appear lower than they really were. But members of both parties are still skeptical of budgeted war costs, believing they’re too low. Our table shows changes in priorities from FY 1968 and FY 1983. Direct payments to individuals are double their budget share of 1968, while defense’s share is less than at the height of the Vietnam War and in the middle of President Ronald Reagan’s defense buildup.

Getting Down To Brass Tacks . . . . . . . . . . . . From Main Street To Wall Street, “Let’s get down to brass tacks” refers to getting down to work to finish the business at hand. This phrase originated from an old practice in the retail dry-goods business. Before machines were invented to measure and cut the yard goods sold in retail stores, every dry-goods merchant has at least one counter where business was transacted. Along this counter’s edge, brass tacks were placed at quarteryard intervals. These brass tacks were indispensable as measurement instruments, and a merchant knew that when his customer told him to use the brass tacks to measure off a quantity of material, he had made a sale. Hence, he was anxious to hurdle the preliminaries and “get down to brass tacks.” (Common Phrases and Where They Come From)

Microwave Safe and Glue . . . . . . If you are not sure if a dish is microwave - safe, use this test: Place in the microwave oven both the dish you are testing and a glass measuring cup filled with 1 cup of water - set the measuring cup either in or next to the dish. Microwave 30 to 45 seconds at high. If the dish heats, it should not be used for microwaving. If the dish remains cool and only the water in the cup heats, then the dish is microwave-safe. AND - when you purchase glasses or plates and they put those pricing labels on them - that you normally can’t take off without leaving the glue residue still stuck to the glass . . . . .use a hair dryer on the label to heat the sticker and then take the label off. It should come off and leave just a minimum of glue behind. (SSL & Fine Cooking)

How To Buy an HDTV . . . . . . . . . You let the Holidays come and go without pulling the trigger. But March Madness looms, not to mention the new season of The Sopranos. You know it’s time to go high definition, but with all the 1080p’s and HDMIs and whatever, buying the right TV seems as straightforward as buying the right nuclear submarine. Good news, now that prices, and the technology have stabilized, HD is officially a no-brainer. So take this guide and pick your set:

LCD: Up to 40 inches or so - LCD flat panels are the best option. They provide the brightest HD picture at the best price and are also the most energy-efficient. Higher-end models will serve gamers well and double as computer monitors. Cost: $250 - $6,000

PLASMA: From 30 inches to 70 inches - For big rooms, plasma still wins on price-to-performance, though LCDs are catching up. Screen “burn-in” problems are mostly fixed. Live in the mountains? Be careful: Some plasmas overheat at high altitudes (not enough air). Cost: $1,000 - $8,000

REAR PROJECTION: From 40 inches to 70 inches - Of the three flavors of rear-projection TV, the most popular is DLP. DLP screens are more affordable than plasma but are also much bigger and heavier - and the picture fades noticeably when viewed from the sides. Cost: $1,000 - $5,000

FRONT PROJECTORS: From 70 inches and up - For those with a big budget and plenty of wall space, a high-definition projector will dish up that magical movie theater experience. But bear in mind: massive screen and awesome speakers sold separately. Cost: $1,000 - $35,000 (Fortune)

Why is the Area of a Ballpark Where the Pitchers Warm up Called a Bullpen? . . . . . . .

No one is entirely sure how this term came to be. The most probable explanation is that, in the old days, pitchers used to loosen their throwing arms along the sides of the playing field, between the foul lines and fences. The Bull Durham Tobacco Company was a big baseball advertiser at the time. Their signs, which sported a huge bull staring down at the field, were placed on the fences of ballparks in 1909. In many ballparks the pitchers warmed up directly in front of these giant bulls. Hence, that area of the field became known as the bull pen. Another possible explanation is that in the late 1800's spectators stood in confined, roped-off areas near the outfield fence, called bull pens. As grandstands were eventually build in more and more ballparks, this area was no longer needed for spectators. Some ballparks utilized this area for pitcher warm-ups. (The Book of Totally Useless Information)

Lighting Control ● Home Automation ● Security ● Home Theater ● Distributed Audio/Video ● Central Vacuum

Home Technology, Simplified: One-Touch Automation is a full service home technology company. Simplify your daily routines with an automation system. Imagine your security, lighting, heating/air conditioning working together to save you both time and money. No more setting back the thermostat at night and running around turning off all of your lights before bed. Simply push a button labeled "Goodnight" and let your home automation system do the work. By simply arming your security system "Away", have all of your lights turn off and your heating/air conditioning set back. With one-touch of a button called "Entertain", have all your lights go to a preset level while your favorite music turns on at a soft level throughout your home. Don't forget, you can control your home from anywhere in the world via the internet. The possibilities are endless!