6 Simple Ways to Stay in Touch

Maintaining intimate connections with your loved ones while you are working, travelling overseas or have moved can be difficult. There are a number of easy ways to keep important personal connections thriving that don’t take much effort at all. Although social networking sites are extremely convenient they can often lack intimacy. Connecting with your loved ones regularly and acknowledging special occasions with messages, letters or a bouquet of flowers will prove satisfying and will also strengthen relationships. Here are 6 simple ways to stay in touch with your loved ones.

Use a Calendar

It sounds basic and that’s because it is. Take some time to put your loved ones’ special milestones, anniversaries and birthdays into your calendar each year. It will certainly make a lasting impression. Whatever way you chose to recognise the occasion you can be sure they will be impressed and in awe of your thoughtfulness.  Acknowledging your friends and families special dates doesn’t take much time out of your day and what you get out of it, apart from respect and gratitude is more intimate connections and lasting friendships.

Online Flowers

There is nothing easier than selecting a beautiful bouquet of flowers online to have delivered directly to your loved ones on their special occasion. Flowers are the perfect gift for birthdays and other anniversaries and they are scientifically proven to make your loved one feel good. Studies show that giving and receiving flowers improves social behaviour and reduces the receivers stress levels. The mood lift provided by receiving flowers can last for a few days after their arrival so this makes them the number one way to make a connection. 

Letters

Letters may be old fashioned however this is what makes them so special. Knowing that your friend or loved one has taken the time to write to you and then send it through the post can be quite thrilling. Also, a letter it is something that they can hold onto and provides them with a vivid sensory experience of you. The handwriting, ink colour, paper choice even the picture on the stamp give your loved one a whole range of experiences that connect them to you. It may take a little more time however the effort will not go unnoticed.

Telephone Cards

If you happen to be somewhere isolated where internet connection is slow or even costly then a telephone card is a smart option. Telephone cards allow you to call overseas at an affordable rate and talk for hours to your friends and family.

Email

Email is instant, available almost everywhere and free so it is a perfect way to make regular contact with your friends and family. On special occasions you can write or send an electronic card. There are e cards for almost every occasion and every type of relationship which makes reaching out, honouring a milestone or birthday fun and easy.

Video Chat

Video chatting can be a lot more intimate than a phone call. An instant visual impression of your loved one allows you to communicate on a much deeper level. There is less room for misunderstandings and you have the ability to read each others facial expressions. Eye contact is great for creating intimacy and if you are missing your family, friends or partner there is nothing quite like just seeing their face and knowing that they are seeing you too. Video chatting can be the next best thing to having the person right there in front of you. 

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Glowing in the Dark

Different with our eyes that work well in day light, the cat’s eyes can function well in very low light situation. In the dark, cat’s eyes only need about one-sixth of the light required for human sight as the cat’s elliptical pupil are able to open as wide as possible to allow the light entering the eyes.

Tapetum lucidum that located at the back of the cat’s eyes –behind the retina- performs like a mirror that will reflect back the light onto the light sensor cells in the retina. That’s why when those eyes are caught in a ray of light at night, we see two amazing glowing eyes!

Camera Critters

source:google

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A Brief History of Silver-Service Dining

Despite the fact that it has been around for hundreds of years, unless you eat at high-end restaurants or live in an affluent household, you may have never experienced silver-service dining. For generations, upper class British people have been elaborately served in a style known as silver service, which has become the benchmark of fine dining across much of the world. The following is a brief history of silver-service dining.

What Is It?

Silver service is a form of dining where the food is brought to your plate, rather than being plated in the kitchen and then brought to you. Food is served by the waiter from the diner’s left side. It is generally served with a fork and a spoon, or two forks. The waiter or server uses the utensils to create a pincer-type action for transferring food to the guests’ plates, usually from a large silver dish or tray.

Origin
Silver service is also known as English service or butler service, and originates in the country manors and high-class estates of England during the 17th and 18th centuries. Silver service is thought to have evolved out of the practise of giving waiting staff Sunday evening off, meaning the butler was required to serve the food instead. Usually, Sunday dinners would have consisted of leftovers from a big Sunday lunch. The butler would go from guest to guest, serving them from a larger platter directly onto their plates. This type of table service became popular in high-end restaurants and at fancy functions and is still used in many top-class restaurants to this day.

Training
Silver service has always been taught in hotel school, and while it is not exactly a common style of dining, silver service is still a feature of modern-day hospitality training. For those who want to go into high-end restaurant or catering work, being proficient in silver service is mandatory.

Benefits
The biggest benefit is for those being served, as they feel special having the food served right to their plates. However, it also makes bringing food to the table a little easier for the waiter. If you are hosting a dinner, silver service can also be a sneaky way to control portions of food, so that you can ensure there is enough to go around.

Future
While you shouldn’t expect to see silver service offered at your local cafe anytime soon, there has been a gradual move back towards silver-service dining in restaurants catering to the middle and upper classes. As a way to offer an extra-special dining experience, silver service remains a timeless classic, and will likely continue to be a fixture of high-end dining for years to come.

Silver service has a long and impressive history at the dinner tables of the upper classes, and is a great way to make a dinner an extra special occasion. If you are planning a lavish wedding or special celebration, think about the waiting service you will be providing for your guests. When you are booking your marqueehire, it is worth also exploring the catering services that event hire companies offer. Providing silver-service dining is sure to give your guests an experience they will never forget!

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Suitable Insurance Policies for the Elderly

It used to be impossible to get life insurance as an elderly person. The obvious reason for this is that there is a huge risk involved. As the population has aged, however, this market has become a very large one and now an increasing number of insurers are reaching out to benefit from it. It now seems like it is never too late to get insurance, but you do have to expect larger figures for your life insurance quotes as you age. This article considers some of the options for elderly insurance to ensure that you are covered for any eventuality.

Deferred Life Insurance

The main reason that elderly people seek life insurance is to prevent themselves from leaving debts behind for the ones they love.

Debts, sadly, do not get wiped clean when you die and they can pass on to your children or even grandchildren if you are not careful. Deferred life insurance is one of the best ways to avoid this and it is a good system for the elderly.

To avoid high premiums, deferred life insurance works on the basis of repayment only to begin with. In the first three years of such life insurance a death will simply result in the repayment of premiums that have been paid to the company. This will not clear debts but a life that exceeds this three-year period will become fully insured and covered comprehensively.

Guaranteed Life Insurance

As we get older our health deteriorates and this can cause serious problems for the elderly and their premium costs. Guaranteed life insurance is for the elderly who expect that their health may deteriorate. Once you reach 50 you can get life insurance that is guaranteed. This means that you make a steady premium payment for 20 or 30 years in the knowledge that your benefits and premiums will remain the same regardless of your health deteriorating over this time.

Guaranteed life insurance is a great thing for those aged over 50 to opt into. It means that during the period wherein you are most likely to deteriorate in health, you will be secure in knowing that your premium will not change. This offers security and one less worry in your final years.

Take Care

There are policies that are offered to seniors that simply aren’t worth applying for. It is important that all policies are scrutinised closely and it is worth discussing them with younger family members and beneficiaries for advice too. Be sure to get the policy terms in writing before agreeing to anything so that you can ensure that the deal is actually worthwhile.

Disclosure

It is vitally important to seek full disclosure of costs when opting for cover. This is particularly important when opting to change policies because there are usually costs involved in doing so. Often, the new company hides these charges and they will adversely affect your fund without you even realising it. Demanding full disclosure of all costs in writing will prevent companies from neglecting to inform you about this and can potentially save significant amounts in benefits.

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SmartStocks

In days of old (15 or so years ago) stock market education often came the hard way, learning from losses and filling days and nights with analyzing market data to better predict potential investments. Theories involving the stock market are a dime a dozen, with the more known being The Dow, Elliot Wave, and Fibonacci Numbers Theory. However, in order to better test these theories paper trading came into play. Paper trading is the practice of using simulated money (whether paper or not) to mimick buys and sells. While cutting the risk of monetary loss, this paper trading helped upcoming market innovators properly test and execute their trading theories.

In the modern day of infinite information accessible through a device held in the palm of your hand, a more efficient way of learning the market has emerged. Virtual stock market games allow management of multiple portfolios while receiving the latest information on trades almost instantaneously. One of the greatest features these games offer is the community aspect of what once was a fairly widespread demographic. It's even been said that investment firms will look at those who consistently do well at these stock market games and factor that into their hiring process.

Utilizing the community aspect of the stock market simulator is essential, as it allows you the opportunity to challenge friends and compete in the virtual market, many times companies will offer prizes to those who lead the ranks of investors. While many games exist, there are only a few that allow management of multiple portfolios, with the ability to play against your friends and create groups specified for friendly competition.

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What to Look for in Learning Management Systems

Integrated business software solutions have grown to include so many elements of business, such as business accounting, online induction, content management, and learning management systems. Corporate compliance is an extremely important area of any business. It is even more so when we are handling a lot of confidential information. Here are some essentials of what you need when you are considering the purchase of a learning management application, and what you are going to need after that purchase. In the world of technology, everything has a very limited lifespan.

●      Your vendor should know business. The company that is providing the software should be more than one that knows how to develop software, they should know how well it works in business. Developing your own software can be very expensive, and so off-the-shelf applications that can be modified are a very good option. You don’t want someone who is just selling you an application for the sake of a sale to be dealing with you. You want a provider who knows business, knows the software, and who has experience. It is even better if they have experience in your particular industry. Some providers will have a number of consultants who specialise in certain fields.

●      Willing to spend time with you. While a software package can be bought, installed and used immediately, this is obviously not what you are looking for. You are looking for a company that is willing to spend time with you to make sure you are purchasing what you need.

●      Ability to modify. Software that can be tailored to suit your needs is a must. Every company will have a certain amount of individuality, and this must be catered for. You also want software that you can modify yourself. Content management systems that are used for websites can also be applied to staff training and compliance training content. This way you can create your own testing, training and compliance pathway for operations. Flexible software that grows with your needs is essential.

●      Training. An extensive and sophisticated training system has to be taught by those who know how to train. The company that provides the software should also have qualified trainers who can demonstrate to your people. Just because they know the application does not mean they are good at showing you and your people how to use it.

●      Up-to-date. There is nothing static about your business, and there is nothing static about the law. Software that is regularly upgraded to stay in tune with technology and workplace requirements is of an absolute must. When you purchase software, you should essentially be purchasing a long-term service. You are not making a one-off buy.

A sophisticated learning system requires much more support than many expect. You should make sure you are not just dealing with a salesman, but with an experienced consultant who has your interests at heart.

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Planning for Holiday Trip Abroad

Whether you are planning a trip to Europe or to Australia the planning process is largely the same. For those simply planning a holiday sitting on the beach or for anyone wishing to work their way around the world by volunteering, prior planning can make the difference between success and failure.

Where to Go on Holiday

The most important consideration when planning a holiday is where you want to go. If you are thinking about doing international volunteer work, there are many locations throughout the world. When deciding on where you wish to do your volunteer work, you will need to decide what sort of volunteering you wish to do, any specific places you wish to visit and whether you want to volunteer for an ongoing project or one that will be completed whilst you are there.

If you wish to work with endangered animals, where to go on your trip may be determined by the animals you wish to work with. Those wishing to volunteer with children will be able to choose their location based on their own personal preferences rather than location of those children.

Planning What You Want to Take

When you are looking at your holiday itinerary you can make plans of what to take with you on your holiday. If you are going to be volunteering on your holiday, the type of work you are doing and where you are going may dictate what you pack on your travels. If you were travelling to a Muslim country, it would be advisable for women travellers to pack a headscarf. For those working on building projects on their holidays, you need to pack practical working clothes, suitable for the climate that you will be working in. Make sure that you travel with enough money, or access to money, so that you do not have to put yourself in a situation that could jeopardise your safety.

Staying Safe on Holiday

Whilst you are travelling and volunteering you will want to make sure that you are safe and protected. Before you travel you will need to make sure that all your immunisations and any other vaccinations needed for the country you are travelling to are all up to date. Whilst there, make sure that you always tell someone trustworthy where you are going, who you are with and when you expect to be in your next location. Whilst volunteering, take care not to upset any local customs or traditions.

In conclusion, whilst you are travelling around the world, you should be able to relax and have fun. This can easily be achieved if you have fully planned your trip before taking it. Whether you are planning on being away for a few weeks or a whole year, planning every eventuality that could occur will mean that if anything does happen you will know exactly what to do and how to react. Planning your journey will mean that you have a great holiday.

AUTHOR BIO:

Dean Aberworth writes regularly on international volunteer jobs for a range of volunteering organisation websites and blogs. Dean has spent many years travelling the world as a volunteer working in many different locations. He now gives advice to would be volunteers on how best to plan their time spent abroad.

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