As a former safety manager in petrochemical plants I am a strong believer that ALL injuries can be avoided with proper planning, tools, and safety equipment.

I didn’t always think this way. When I began as a young carpenter building scaffolding up to as high as 600 feet, I thought sometimes accidents were just inevitable. As I gained more experience and saw accidents firsthand however, I changed my position. ALL accidents are preventable.

Most accidents occur from three reasons. The worker hasn’t take the time to assess the situation and decide on the best course of action to complete the task at hand or the worker is rushing to try to beat some kind of deadline or get a task finished before quitting time. The third is not having the proper equipment or tools to complete the job safely.

Let’s analyze these individually. When I worked in the petrochemical plant, workers usually worked in teams of at least two or three people. What we advised an instructed was for them to openly discuss the job at hand, the different methods to get the job done and the items needed to do the job safely. Nothing was done until they had agreed upon all of this and had acquired everything that was needed to accomplish the job in a safe manner. We had several thousand employees and went two years without a lost work day accident in an environment that is highly susceptible to accidents.

There is never a reason to rush a job at the expense of safety. Rushing inhibits proper planning and clear thinking and invariably will result in an accident, poor workmanship, or both. It doesn’t make sense to rush when you know that the odds are if you get through it without injury you will have to do it over or even worse, you may not survive it.

There is never a reason not to have the proper tools and equipment to do a job. The rule is quite simple, if you do not have the tools and equipment to do the job safely don’t begin the job. This is one of the big contributors I have seen to injuries in the workplace and it is usually in combination with rushing.

These are the basic suggestions I will make to you if you want to return home with everything you came to work with.

Wear appropriate gloves to protect your hands from cuts, burns, and abrasions.
Wear safety glasses to prevent foreign objects from getting in your eyes.
Wear ear plugs to keep noise levels from permanently damaging your hearing.
If you are involved in work that involves heavy lifting, wear a back support.

Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in the coastal town of Navarre Florida with his 16 year old son.
For all of your tool and equipment needs go to www.toolsandequipmentplus.com

The exertion of driving to a real casino should be reason enough to give it up if it can be avoided. Those traffic jams, the exertion, and task list this entails are too much nuisance only for the opportunity to place your bets at real casino, nonetheless, in case you are the kind that is the ideal fan of gambling then heading for games of luck using the World Wide Web would probably be the more obvious answer. There’s no necessity for you to leave your familiar desk to experiment with online poker or other games of choice because you’ll do all this from your domestic environment assuming you possess a servicable computer with access to the Internet. In spite of this, before setting out, there’s many important things that you will positively want to get familiar with in regards to online poker or other games of choice, especially if you happen to be a greenhorn in this space.

The topmost thing that a smooth internet gambler like yours truly will make sure to pursue is an online poker or other games of choice host of the type capable of offering top winnings. Make sure that the online poker or other games of choice host has partnered up with a legitimate bookkeeping firm so as to appraise their actual casino games’ pay-out odds on a monthly basis. You must always take care to check that the online betting host is actually licensed, e.g. by investigating the licensing information as filed on the casino site. Should you be unable to ferret out any licensing information on a targeted online betting host, don’t try to gamble with that establishment. Why wait? Get the top online casino sign up bonus over here!

Beyond, further advice is obviously to gamble at first in low amounts instead of using up too much off the cuff. Check first the integrity of this particular online betting operation before provoking any dangerous injury- especially in regards to money! Finally, do mind this particular cue in regards to online roulette. It is, expectably, never to forget that online gambling is about pleasurable recreation and much less about becoming rich. Betting in online casinos isn’t a vocation, but a pastime that is intended to help you become ecstatic and your overall life amusing. So simply having gone along with all these tips, now go and give in to the beguilement of online betting…

There are rumors and opinions that the Las Vegas real estate market is heading for a crash. I beg to differ. I agree that the rise in rates has not been as high lately as it was in the dizzy days of the past two years, but that is because certain projects were overpriced and if there is a drop, it is only making the prices more realistic. Investors in Las Vegas properties will still make a decent profit because the number of people coming to Las Vegas is only increasing everyday. Las Vegas real estate investors should expect a lower rate of appreciation compared to the last two years.

Nevada has shown the fastest population growth in the nation for the past eighteen years and in 2005, about 7,200 people moved here every month making that almost 86,500 in just one year. The number of tourists in 2005 touched a staggering 40 million.

The economy is booming here because of tourism and the construction jobs available. A growing economy and population will continue to drive real estate prices upward. Inflated prices have created a demand for housing under $200,000 and there are over thirty high-rise condominium projects currently under construction. This has also led to the conversion of 15,000 apartment units to condos. Out-of-town buyers will pick up most of these condominium units that range in price from the low $200,000s to several million dollars.

The high-rise development has not had a direct affect on the local housing market. The strong economy has seen to that but the dramatic increase in price of starter homes has resulted in many young families and retirees seeking rented accommodation. The city has a growing labor force of construction workers and workers to fill new positions in the growing entertainment and hospitality industry. Most of them seek rental housing at least to begin with. There is an acute shortage of apartments in Las Vegas and apartment demand is expected to increase rapidly. One of the most incredible rises in the real estate market was the 346-unit apartment complex that sold for $12,750,000 in April of 2004 and then resold in January for $40,500,000.

There is very little land available for development in the central part of Las Vegas and if you are working in the city, you may not want to move too far out. In east central Las Vegas near Stewart Avenue and Mojave Road, you could find just what you are looking for in Cedar Village Apartments on East Cedar Avenue. This is a gated community with a gated entrance having remote controlled access. Security is further enhanced by the presence of foot patrol. The apartments range from one to three bedrooms and have large eat in kitchen, well equipped with dishwashers etc. The rooms are fitted with vertical blinds, air conditioning and free satellite TV. Most have either a balcony or a patio and there is laundry facility as well.

Common facilities include playgrounds, a swimming pool and hot tub and spa and there is convenient public transport as well. The only snag for animal lovers is that they have a no pets policy. Nevada Housing Division recommends the complex and assists in finances.

During recent times, there has been an increased demand for outdoor fire pits. There are hundred different types of outdoor fire pits that are currently available in the market made up of a variety of materials and in all sizes depending on the needs of the customers. However, not each one of these provides a similar kind of benefits. There are certain important aspects that one must consider before buying an outdoor fire pit.

Before buying an outdoor fire pit, one must understand his/her own needs. Fire pit designs that exclusively provide warmth are different from those that can be used both for cooking and generating heat. Next aspect is the type of fuel that must be used. Fuel sources are the normally used in a fire pit include wood logs, natural gas and propane. Depending on these, designs vary. Fire pits that use wood emit smoke and ash. People, who are allergic to these, can prefer pits that use propane. One can even consider a chimney as an alternative. Type of material is also an important point. Fire pits made of wrought iron will rust over a period of time. There is no such problem for fire pits made of stainless steel or copper. Other important factors are height of the fire pit and the portability.

If you are refinancing your mortgage your lender will require title insurance when closing on the new mortgage. Here is what you need to know about this insurance policy.

Mortgage lenders require title insurance to protect them against third party claims on a property. Title insurance protects from losses due to a disputed title.

There are two varieties of title insurance. Mortgage lenders require you to purchase title insurance that protects them; this title insurance does not protect the homeowner. The second variety protects the homeowner and is generally not required by the mortgage lender. Lender title insurance expires when the mortgage is repaid; homeowner title insurance is valid for as long as you own your home.

When you apply to refinance your mortgage the lender will order a title search to make sure you are the rightful owner of the property. Your lender will charge you a fee for this title search. The purpose of the title search is to uncover any liens that may have been placed on the property. A lien on the property for example could be for unpaid property taxes.

Title insurance costs vary regionally depending on where you live. You may be able to save money by shopping around for a better deal. Refinancing you mortgage may enable you to find a cheaper rate for your title insurance; the insurance provider may discount the re-issue rate of your policy.

Louie Latour specializes in showing homeowners how to avoid common mortgage mistakes and predatory lenders. For a free copy of “Mortgage Refinancing - What You Need to Know,” which teaches strategies to find the best mortgage and save thousands of dollars in the process, visit Refiadvisor.com.

Claim your free guidebook today at: http://www.refiadvisor.com

Chicago Mortgage Refinance

Casino slot machines easily account for nearly 70% of yearly casino income. Beginning and expert gamblers alike enjoy the fun and excitement of pulling the lever at a casino slot machine. Casino slot machines require no special skills, nor are there any strategies for winning. Winning at a casino slot machine depends entirely upon luck. We have all heard stories of people striking it rich after depositing only a few coins. Those of us who have played casino slot machines also know how easy it is to keep feeding the machine because playing is so much fun.

You can play casino slot machines at various casinos across the country. For those in the Southeastern United States, Tunica, MS is a grand hotspot for casino slot machines. Every year, thousands of people from surrounding, non-gambling states pile onto charter buses to spend a night or weekend gambling their time away. Casino slot machines are one of the primary attractions. Other gamblers will agree that Las Vegas casinos are the best place to play slot machines. You will certainly find no shortage of casino slot machines in Vegas.

Casino slot machines were first thought to be a very effective means of occupying the bored wives of the high-rolling gamblers of Vegas. The first casino owners who came up with this brilliant plan certainly had no real idea of what was in store for casino slot machines. Little did they know that those menial machines would eventually account for millions of dollars in revenue each year. Slot machines are now a big business and appeal to people from all walks of life. Young people who are experiencing their first time in a casino to the seasoned gambler, everyone is certain to find a casino slot machine that is invigorating.

Slot Machines Info provides detailed information about free slot machines, slot machines for sale, as well as online, casino, and antique slot machines, and multi-hand poker slot machines. Slot Machines Info is the sister site of Roulette Web.

For hundreds of years African-Americans have made significant contributions to our nation. The month of February is designated to recognizing their contributions to it. Black History Month was the brainchild of historian Carter G. Woodson, who wanted to bring national attention to the large contribution of African Americans to the history of their country. He chose February because in this month Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass and Langston Hughes were born. Actor Morgan Freeman recently expressed disapproval of Black History Month, remarking that “the history of black people is the history of America.”

In many ways, Freeman is right-African-American history should not be relegated to one chapter in textbooks, one month of the year. But is this writer’s opinion, until U.S. history classes and books include the history of African Americans throughout their pages, it is still important to focus on African-American history during February.

One patriotic African-American who deserves to be honored is Harriet Tubman, who is perhaps most well known as a Underground Railroad’s “conductors.”

During a ten-year span, it is said that she made 19 trips into the South and escorted over 300 slaves to freedom. And, as she once proudly pointed out to Frederick Douglass, in all of her journeys she “never lost a single passenger.”

This patriot, Harriett Tubman was born a slave in Maryland’s Dorchester County around 1820. It is said that at age five or six, she began to work as a house servant. Seven years later she was sent to work in the fields. While she was still in her early teens, she suffered an injury that would follow her for the rest of her life.

Always ready to stand up for someone else, Tubman blocked a doorway to protect another field hand from an angry overseer. The overseer picked up and threw a two-pound weight at the field hand. It fell short, striking Tubman on the head. She never fully recovered from the blow, which subjected her to spells in which she would fall into a deep sleep.

Around 1844 she married a free black named John Tubman and took his last name. (She was born Araminta Ross; she later changed her first name to Harriet, after her mother.) In 1849, in fear that she, along with the other slaves on the plantation, was to be sold, Tubman resolved to run away from white captivity. She set out one night on foot. With some assistance from a friendly white woman, Tubman was on her way. She followed the North Star by night, making her way to Pennsylvania and soon after to Philadelphia, where she found work and saved her money.

She returned to Maryland and escorted her sister and her sister’s two children to freedom. She made the dangerous trip back to the South soon after to rescue her brother and two other men. It is reported that on her third return, she went after her husband, only to find he had taken another wife. Undeterred, she found other slaves seeking freedom and escorted them to the North.

Harriett Tubman returned to the South again and again. Tubman even carried a gun which she used to threaten the fugitives if they became too tired or decided to turn back, telling them, “You’ll be free or die.” By 1855-1856, Tubman’s capture would have brought a $40,000 reward from the South. On one occasion, she overheard some men reading her wanted poster, which stated that she was illiterate. She promptly pulled out a book and feigned reading it. The ploy was enough to fool the men who would like to capture or kill her for the reward.

By all estimates, Harriett Tubman had made the perilous trip to slave country 19 times by 1860, including one especially challenging journey in which she rescued her 70-year-old parents. Of the famed heroine, who became known as “Moses,” Frederick Douglass said, “Excepting John Brown — of sacred memory — I know of no one who has willingly encountered more perils and hardships to serve our enslaved people than [Harriet Tubman].” Harriett Tubman Became friends with the leading abolitionists of the day. She took part in many antislavery meetings. During the Civil War Harriet Tubman worked for the Union as a cook, a nurse, and even a spy. After the war she settled in Auburn, New York, where she would spend the rest of her long life. She died in 1913.

Harriet Tubman arose out of the bonds of slavery to become one of the strongest leaders of African-Americans. She was fiercely patriotic because she did not hide from the truth, as most Americans did at the time. Harriet Tubman embodied the very definition of Blacks in America: She was honest, upright, unafraid and loving-a true patriot.

If every African-American or better yet, if every “American” would exhibit the patriotic traits of Harriet Tubman, the racial inequities that infect our nation would soon dissolve and be healed. That is my opinion. What’s yours?

Vanished are the periods where the best place you yourself would be able to see comedy tickets would be the box office of the actual venue of the fine show that one were going to watch. There are now lots of different ways for people to acquire concert tickets without even trying to leave the joy of your very own house.

Theatre tickets for attractive artists such as Pussy Cat Dolls are nowadays becoming harder & harder to buy hold of. There are the large outlets like Timeout for which you can get breathtaking musical tickets for everything. Timeout is the most famous practice to find tickets. Timeout just acts as a ticket agent selling the ballet tickets that the client makes more available to them. One of the 1st ticketing trades to supply music tickets on the internet, Timeout now sell an enormous % of its theatre tickets online, some via telephone sales and a percentage through its legions of ticket retailers. Buy the latest show tickets from Time Out and click here.

Ticket resale is the act of reissuing festival tickets for entry to events. All this is furthermore more normally known as ticket touting. You yourself might normally acquire ticket touts based enveloping the event venue before the show or pop concert starts. Be very careful when purchasing from a tout as sometimes the touts will be selling stolen music tickets that cannot get people into the venue.

There is a redesigned facility that is known as SMS tickets. This is a cheap priced ticketing method that delivers music tickets by txt messaging (SMS) & print at home e-tickets. Just show your SMS ticket or print at home electronic ticket to the venue it will then get looked at and you’re in. You’re saved pennies by never being charged postage and packaging parcel costs, plus the pop concert booking costs are likewise always kept cheap. There are legions of advantages to text message ticket tickets; people get your musical ticket sent to you yourself then and there, there’s no hanging around for the postman or courier. People can get new comedy tickets sent free if one lose them & you can get in speedily, there’s no waiting around for an entrance guard to manually check your comedy ticket.

Camping is essentially for those of us who love the outdoors and can do without all of the comforts of home for a short while. However, just loving the outdoors is not enough to guarantee that the experience will be a fun one. The essentials of having fun in the great outdoors are preparation and an open mind. Preparation is easy, if you follow some simple rules.

When you are getting ready to plan a trip, you must select a convenient time that will give you flexibility of one to two days. This will make the trip more about you, and less about your timetable. You may run into weather problems or you may just want to camp for an extra day. Next, choose a location and make it specific. Don’t just choose a county where you saw a campground. Call the campground or the park office and get reservations or information about the time you have allotted. Many parks are happy give you information and tips about what to expect. The most complicated step in preparation is making a list of what to bring. Making a list is essential and your list will change dramatically the more you trips you take.

The first thing you need to put on your list of things to take is the things that will get you there. If you are hiking to a campsite, list the number of backpacks. If you are simply driving to a site, list the number of cars. Then you must plan your shelter and sleeping situation.

Remember, tents are a luxury and heavy to carry. Hikers usually bring a plastic tarp that can shelter up to four people. With a tarp, you can tie it between trees for cover from the elements. Many time you won’t even need that but you can always lay the tarp on the ground to designate a clean sleeping area. After this has been set, you will go over what food you will need. We stress need here. Stray from fresh produce and meets because they spoil easy and their scent attracts animals and insects. Stick to dried food and canned items. Canned items will add weight, but they are more calorie rich and very easy to cook in multiple situations. Most of your food should be snacks, so that you don’t have to cook very much. Trail mix and yogurt covered raisins will fill you up more than you think, and they are a cheap alternative to buying food from camping stores that hike up the price on dried meals.

The last things you will put on your list are what will make you comfortable. Minimal clothing is best. One of each type of outfit is best. One pair of shorts, pants, sweatshirt, tee, and a couple pairs of undergarments including socks is enough. One poncho will take up minimal space. Small LED flash lights will get you around at night if you stray from the fire. Then make sure you have some things to keep you busy. Books, playing cards and a nerf football are all light and can be very entertaining for hours on end. As long as you don’t start dragging along things that aren’t meant for the outdoors, you should be fine. Remember that everything will be at home when you get back. Most importantly make a not of the things you didn’t use and the things you wished you brought. That will make each trip you take more enjoyable and different than the last.

More great information on camping is available at www.best-camping-resources.info

The most difficult and easiest task of all writing is the Short Story. It’s easy if you have a great idea. It’s impossible if you don’t. To me the best short story ever written is The Book of Job. The most beautiful short story is The Book of Ruth. The best modern short story is Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea.

Now you will say, The Old Man and the Sea is a short novel. Well you are right and I’m right. Let’s keep it that way so that we remain friends. The Old Man and the Sea has the elements needed in a good short story except as you said, it’s too long if you put a length limit on short stories. My novels are “short” stories if you compare them based only on length to War and Peace. They do not have the elements of a short story. Well, maybe the first chapter of Revenge on the Mogollon Rim does.

In a novel you can wonder hither and yawn and your readers will not only enjoy it, but they will forgive you. In the short story, you must stick to the point. The “point” is the whole purpose of the short story.

Edgar Allen Poe was the greatest writer from Boston. I put it that way as to not offend the other greatest writers. I hope it doesn’t offend Poe. I don’t want him haunting me every night. Some of his poems are short stories that he didn’t stretch out. His short stories are weird but poignant. He invented the detective story.

Poe was found delirious in a Baltimore gutter and died on October 7, 1849 (see http://www.online-literature.com/poe/). Also, Hemingway shot himself up the road a few miles from here. One mustn’t take short story writing too seriously. That is why I’ve remained a hack writer. I call myself “Taylor Jones, the hack writer” to remind me of that fact.

Hemingway learned his writing techniques from the Kansas City Star. He said, “Those were the best rules I ever learned for the business of writing. I’ve never forgotten them.” Here are the rules: short sentences, short paragraphs, active verbs, authenticity, compression, clarity and immediacy. (See http://www.lostgeneration.com/childhood.htm.) Go sit in a corner and memorize these rules. You will need them to write a good short story.

A short story is usually less than 35,000 words (a good deal less). It combines economy with unity. I know this is true because my old college text says so. Economy means it is short. Long character descriptions are out. Long scene descriptions are out. Please, no panoramic war scenes. Unity means that you don’t leave anything “important” out. It must be there in brief form or implied. If I say a man is a railroad worker, I don’t have to put him in overalls, do I?

You must remember emphasis and subordination. My old text says so. In other words, “What’s hot and what’s not?” Emotions, settings, the theme (only one allowed), must be fused snugly together. Here are some examples:

The Book of Ruth: A clever lady snags a husband.

Heart of Darkness: A weird jungle tale by Joseph Conrad. Speaking of MOOD! The horror!

Miss Brill: Katherine Mansfield tells of an old lady losing her self esteem due to thoughtless comments of youngsters. This story is sad.

The Killers: Hemingway’s famous story about how Nick Adams is more concerned about death by assassination then is the elected victim.

For Esmé-with Love and Squalor: The story about a little girl and a soldier. You must read this story by J. D. Salinger. Have a hankerchef at the ready.

The Book of Job: The devil picks on God’s servant, Job.

Let’s write a short story now.

First, take an idea, hook one end to the shady side of your barn and the other end to your mule walking south. Your idea is a wide rubber band. As the mule walks and stretches the band, the band narrows. When it reaches what we engineers call its elastic limit, it will break. Just before it breaks, it is War and Peace. When stretched thin, it is still a novel. Somewhere before that you have a short story.

Now think of point of view. First person is good. Poe liked this view. At any rate, don’t go beyond what the protagonist can see and hear with his or her own eyes. Remember this if you write in the third person as did Hemingway. You must not stand back and look at your story through a telescope. It must be intimate.

The protagonist is the main character. Who is the antagonist? You may need one in your story to be mean, nasty, cruel, uncaring, or having some other less than wonderful human trait. (You don’t need an antagonist in every short story. Most but not all such stories are called “boring.”)

Okay, let’s take an idea and run with it.

The sun beat down on the soggy field. Trevor was soaked from the rain, but now the warmth of the sun was quickly drying him. He slapped Bossy on the rump and said, “Let’s get to the barn, Bossy. If I don’t get you milked before Pa comes home, I’ll get the stick.” That’s when Trevor slipped on a cow patty and slid down the hill into the irrigation ditch. Bossy stared at the irrigation ditch for a while and then went back to chewing her cud.

John T. Jones, Ph.D. (tjbooks@hotmail.com, a retired VP of R&D for Lenox China, is author of detective & western novels, nonfiction (business, scientific, engineering, humor), poetry, etc. Former editor of Ceramic Industry Magazine, Jones is Executive Representative of International Wealth Success. He calls himself “Taylor Jones, the hack writer.”

More info: http://www.tjbooks.com

Business web site: http://www.bookfindhelp.com (IWS wealth-success books and kits and business newsletters / TopFlight flagpoles)