March, 2008

general — No Comments
24
Mar 08

Let the Buyer Beware!

Well we are now into a new year and well past a Christmas where here in Australia over a billion dollars was spent on unwanted presents alone. Ponder that for a moment. A billion dollars!….hmmm…Now that you have finished pondering I would like to tell you a story. A story that we either all know, or should know, yet like a flock of mindless sheep follow along, seemingly not knowing any better!

This is the story of the consumer who is seduced and conditioned by the tales of the marketing merchant. Yes you know the one, that’s the one with all those nice goodies that glitter with gold, shimmer and sheen and seem to activate some learning disorder in us all. It is a psychological phenomenon in which we seem powerless to control. The ‘wanting to want‘ syndrome I call it. Whether we need those nice goodies or not, we just have to have them. Yes it’s something that with the right parameters in place leads us to make decisions that are really not in our better long term interests. You see it in the major department stores during the post new year sales where people not only forget their manners but are downright violent and aggressive in pushing and shoving to get to that all important consumable which is selling at a seemingly impossible discounted price.

It was only on the news recently that a particular and now most unpopular person bought a boat load of very cheap air conditioners from China and went on a rampage akin to a travelling fire sales road show, through the outback country towns and sold these units like hotcakes. They were so cheap that these good country people bought them like bananas. Not just one at a time, but in bunches. Now some months down the track our friend has disappeared with lots of money owing and now, one by one, those brand new shiny air conditioners are breaking down like a stressed out executive suffering a mid- life crisis. What recourse to the law do these people have, apparently none. Product warranty, you ask? No knight in shining armour to the rescue there either. The owners of these once most prized commodities are left facing repair costs that will double the cost of their original investment and in the end still leave them with an inferior built product. Their only use now is as a boat anchor, except most country folk don’t own boats!

So what had just happened? These air conditioners had looked good, had a catchy name and were cheaper than a nest full of chicks. With false promises of a comprehensive warranty and product reliability, the town’s folk bought them with hardly a question only too happy to depart with their well earned cash. The sales pitch told what they wanted to hear and with the prospect of a free lunch (well almost) threw their discerning minds aside and put on their sheep’s coats to be led like lambs to the slaughter.

Now a bit closer to home in my own field of expertise nothing is different except the names of the players and the ingredients of the products. I have been practicing Aromatherapy for nearly 20 years and in regard to natural skincare products and essential oils, I can say that oils ain’t oils. See my other article on “Would You Like Some Chemicals With That?”

I am often bewildered by how easily people are mislead with the marketing hype that colours their perception. I include myself as well, knowing all too well of having bought things that were not as they seemed. Several products come to mind where plenty of money had been spent on an extensive marketing which included $1000+ advertisements in high profile glossy magazines. It seems crazy that given a choice, people would rather pay for the marketing glamour of a high profile product name of average quality than for a low profile product of high quality. This is especially so if the product has celebrity endorsement and at what cost!

Seemingly an increasing number of products are no longer made to a quality standard and are having this standard cheapened by price constraints. The economic rationalism of cutting costs at all costs so as to remain competitive. Is this a product of deception or is it driven by an insatiable consumer demand of wanting to pay the least and blindly expecting the best? Price does not always reflect quality either and sometimes paying more does not necessarily equate to improved quality. It’s a mine-field out there! One needs to be cautious, do their homework and use their common sense. It makes me realise that not much has changed since the latin phrase “caveat emptor” was coined, let the buyer beware!

So the next time you look at purchasing something see if you can be the first person in recorded history to break this psychological phenomenon by becoming more discerning in your product purchase. If the product is heavily marketed then those costs (which can be as high as 30-50% of overall costs) will have to be reflected in the price. If they are not then ask yourself, how can this product still be reasonably priced if it is so extensively marketed? By now I would think you know the answer to that one, do you not?

general — No Comments
14
Mar 08

Healthy Relationship Guidelines

Relationships can be the biggest determining factor in quite a few things. Your self esteem, motivation, outward appearance. Finding a good relationship is tough, keeping it is even tougher. For some, they just cannot seem to keep the spark of interest for more than a month or two. While others, have a knack for holding the attention of others. Myself, I won’t date anyone I don’t see a future with. With every relationship, there are two sides to it for both partners. Sexual and emotional, for today, we are just going to focus on the emotional sides.

Most people care about the person they love, but actions can either draw them closer or push them farther away. Some of this you’ll find out by trial and error, while others you’ll need to snap yourself out of it and break the routine. Mix it up a little and see what really spices up your relationship, but let’s get on with the easy things:

Have you found yourself feeling repetitive? Feels kind of boring, doesn’t it. Like you’re doing the same thing you did yesterday…only it’s a new day. Create a spark of fun, there are many cheap ways to have a blast. Has it snowed? Go have a snowball fight, or make snow angels together. Nice spring or autumn day? Drive to a local scenic park, walk around, have a good time enjoying each others company. Give them a hug or a kiss out of nowhere, the goal is to make the other person feel appreciated and happy, because a change in routine is nice. Holding hands never gets out of style folks, no matter how old you are.

Pay attention to details. For me, the small things will either keep me or drive me far far away from a relationship. I take mental notice of the small things more than the big things. Did they get a hair cut? Nails painted a new style? What about a sexy new dress? Compliment them, and appreciate the view, they like to be noticed. Giving or not giving attention will make or break your relationship, trust me.

Overly Clingy Alert!!! Are you clinging too much? If you can’t stand for one moment to be out of your partners attention spectrum or view and would rather cling to their leg, you’re being too clingy. It is healthy to be clingy sometimes, as us men like to feel needed in a small way, but over-doing it will land you in the friends zone or worse. Another example is excessive PDA (Public Display of Attention). Ever saw a couple standing in front of you with their tongues down each others throat and thought it was fairly tacky?

Get her flowers on special occasions, don’t be dense. It’s not a requirement, but it can set a good mood even better. Isn’t a few dollars worth the happiness? Now, you shouldn’t be buying her flowers every day, because you might send her the “stalker” signal, but flowers on like mothers day, birthday, valentines day are very acceptable.

Take your time. There is no need to rush a relationship unless you really are wanting it to go bad. Enjoy their company, smile. A term I was told a long time ago, is that I could make her smile like a fool without being around. It feels good to know you make your loved one happy to the core of their inner being, I would get light headed and happy just knowing how happy I made her.

Buy her/him something nice every now and again. Even if they tell you that they dislike being bought stuff, it doesn’t hurt to give them something. Don’t shower them with gifts though, giving them a material gift a day is for gold diggers. Get her a pair of earrings for her birthday…or for Christmas, something that they can remember just how much you love them every time they wear them.

Honesty. Never lie to your loved one, trust is HUGE. Even if it’s a tiny little lie, don’t do it. I’d rather someone hate me a little for knowing the truth than to despise me for having told a lie.

Be sensitive, but not overly sensitive to their needs. Sometimes you will need to pamper them a little. Rub their feet, their back, calves, shoulders, neck. If you can’t pamper them and treat them well, why should they return the favor when you need it? When they’re sick, make them some food, help them get better faster. Chances are they’ll do the same for you.

Go out with them often. Don’t sit around the house day after day…go for a walk…go to the movies, or for a drive. You don’t have to spend much money to have a good time. Something to consider as well, cuddling, or spooning. Create a strong emotional bond with the one you love, give them that layer of comfort that just screams “I’m safe”.

Joking around is healthy as long as you it’s not something done constantly. Call them little love names to provoke a response. I get called “bigfoot” or previously “grampsquatch” because I have very large feet. I know it’s teasing and I never take offense to it. On the other hand joking around calling someone a jerk too much could cause hurt feelings. Have lots of fun with him/her just treat them how you wish to be treated.

Above all, follow your heart. Looks should never be the determining factor of a relationship. If you have problems opening up, it might take losing big time to figure out where you need to be going. So make sure it’s what your heart wants above all else, and never jump ship because of a stupidly small problem. Make all efforts to work out the small kinks so that big ones are easier to take care of.

general — No Comments
4
Mar 08

Creativity – Don't Let Those Ideas Get Away

As a woodcarver for over 25 years, I’ve carved over 200 original, cartoon-like characters in wood, and a few wildlife and religious pieces as well.

One day, I was driving around town, and I saw a bill board for Octopus Car Wash, and I wanted to carve a similar one, with a goofy look on it face. So, that’s what I did…I cut out nine pieces of wood, and shaped the pieces and glued the pieces together. The friendly octopus measured about 8 inches across and about 4 inches tall. It was painted with a dark brown stain and a dark green wash. The people at Octopus Car Wash actually bought one of these pieces from me, and hung it on the ceiling in the place of business.

Over many years, I have participated in over 40 arts and crafts shows all around the state of New Mexico (USA) where I live. The octopus was my “attention-getter” at all the shows, and it would sit at the top of my display, and it certainly got its share of attention.

All of my wood carvings were photographed, and almost all had captions; headlines and a story about the piece. Many of them were photographed in a natural setting. For example: The wildlife and birds were photographed in the forest; a fisherman would be photographed near a stream or pond; a snowy owl would be photographed in a snowy scene and so forth.

During this long period of time, I managed to photograph all my wood pieces…except one…the octopus! How would I photograph an octopus in a natural setting? It couldn’t be photographed in an aquarium…for that would be cheesy! A stream or lake was out! The only thing I could think of, was to build a seascape for it…but how? Week after week went by, and I couldn’t figure out how to build a seascape for the octopus!

Over several weeks, I kept notes on the project in my home office, to keep the idea in the forefront of my mind. But, the more time would elapse, the harder it was to focus on the problem and to come up with the answer. Three to four months went by…and NOTHING!

For over ten years, and as a technician, I worked for a large engineering company. Many of the small parts, that we manufactured, like sensors and probes, had to be filled with foam to keep the parts inside from moving and to keep the elements out, etc.

One day, I was pouring foam into a sensor and…BINGO…I lit up like a Christmas tree! “THAT’S IT!” I thought to myself! FOAM…to make the seascape for the octopus! Why didn’t I think of this sooner! But, it’s one thing to come up with an idea, and quite another to make it work. I knew the foam would work…but the question now was how would I do it!

The juices inside me were working now, because I had been working on this idea (in my mind) for four months and now I could get started. For the seascape, I decided to use an ordinary cardboard box, which measured about 3 feet by 3 feet. I cut all the flaps off the box, and I cut it in half…diagonally…from corner to corner. Now, I had the housing for my seascape!

For all of you who are not familiar with 2-part liquid foam (A-B), after mixing the two parts, it dries very quickly. So, it has to mixed in small amounts and poured very quickly where you want it. I knew for this project, there would be several pours, etc. I knew that the center or corner of the box would be for the den of the octopus, so I would have to pour heavy and then carve out the den after the foam dried.

I mixed a half a paper cup of foam, and started on one side of the cardboard box, pouring the foam down the side of the box. It would take several pours to get the right thickness and consistency . The foam was a “sand color,” so it already began to look like a seascape right away. It took about 40 minutes to do all the pouring…from one side of the box to the other, and all along the flooring of the box had to be built up, too.

Because foam dries so fast, I took an x-acto knife right away, and started carving and shaping the foam. Sandpaper was also used to shape the foam. Some of the decorative swirls what were made while pouring, were left alone, which added to the beauty of the scene.

After carving out the den of the octopus in the corner of the box, I sprayed the hole with black spray paint, to give it a shadow-like effect, and the entrance to the den was painted with a dark brown and dark green wash.

I set the wooden octopus down in front of the entrance to the den, and it fit perfectly! WOW! Was this seascape shaping up! To add a little humor to the scene, I cut a piece of hard board, which measured about one inch by 2 inches, and I wrote on it, “Home, Sweet, Home” on the little sign, and I glued it over the den of the octopus! We need a little humor in everything, right?

After all the shaping of the seascape was complete, I sprayed the entire scene with some light-colored “sand” color to high-light the scene. At the hobby store, I bought some artificial mini-plants; some grass powder, which I sprinkled all over the scene; small pieces of drift wood; small rocks; and twigs; and many pebble-size rocks added to the scene. And, I bought a hand full of sea shells about the size of a dime, and completed the project. WOW! Did it look realistic…I couldn’t believe how good it looked!

I photographed it, and when the photos came back…it looked great! This was one of my best projects…ever! Mind you, there aren’t many people out there looking to build a seascape anytime soon, but the message here, is to stay with your ideas, and keep them in the forefront of your mind. And, you too, may have fire crackers going off in your head, in the form of ideas that you have been looking for! GOOD LUCK!