Job Boards Are Completely Useless

We have used online job boards for over a decade - you go to one of them, put a few keywords that you feel describe the position you might want to pursue, or the candidate you are looking for, click search....and....nothing. Well, not exactly nothing - the vast majority of the "matches" that you get are only remotely close to what you might want, and you know that finding that right position or that right candidate is like finding a needle in the haystack.

Candidates and hiring companies looking to find each other often have the inclination to resort to one of the major job boards to find the right position or candidate - where else can one find what he/she is looking for....job boards are extremely easy to use, and contain a massive database of candidates and positions just waiting for you. Well, at least that's what job boards try to make us think.

In reality, however, job boards are nothing more than messy storage areas, very much like my own garage space, where on the surface it looks full of valuables, but when you start looking a bit closer you find out that most of its contents are basically of little or no value to you. Finding the right position or candidate out of massive amount of information primarily indexed by keywords is very much like trying to find a book you might want to read based on the words it contains...

Looking for the right position or the right candidate is a complex process that requires much more than a keyword search. It involves areas of interest, culture, personality, experience, skills and many other factors. In fact, in many fields it is almost impossible to find the right position or candidate simply by means of searching for keywords, and people that attempt to do so generally only waste their time.

With job boards having only up to a 3% success rate of filling positions, what still pushes hiring companies and candidates to use job boards - I believe that this comes from three main reasons - massive amount of marketing exercised by job boards to convince us all that they can deliver upon their promise, lack of decent alternatives, and finally a failure, particularly of hiring companies, to measure and realize the effectiveness of these services.

Job boards have been with us for many years, but it's time for better suited recruiting means to emerge and accommodate the complexities and challenges of the hiring process. We need to let job boards finally "rest in peace" and be left for the pages of history.

Is There a Better Way to Collect Charitable Contributions Then Web Donations?

Perhaps one of the greatest boons to come along with the introduction of the internet is the ability to transfer funds quickly and securely from one account to another. As critical as this is for conducting everyday commerce, it is an even more critical development in the world of charitable organizations whose life's blood is derived from financial donations from benefactors. Those nonprofits that rely heavily on the generosity of others from web donations to continue their operations, and provide support and services for their clients, are in seventh heaven when it comes to the direct transfer of funds from someone's account into their coffers.

Although nonprofits still rely on cash contributions from fund raising activities associated with canisters placed on store countertops, pass the hat activities, checks coming from donors responding to print ads, television, or radio commercials, corporate fund raisers, mail campaigns, and the like, nothing beats a direct contribution made to the nonprofit via web donations. Immediate and complete, a direct funds transfer leaves nothing to the imagination. No waiting for a patron to receive your request in the mail to make out a check for their telethon pledge amount, no "the check is in the mail", and no insufficient funds to worry about.

Crisp, clean, and simple. A direct transfer from one account to another. Immediate cash flow. No questions left to gum up the works. This is the real beauty of being able to solicit funds from donors via web donations directly associated with your nonprofit website. Those nonprofits that fail to recognize the true raw power of being able to market their charity via a website, the ability to easily direct an interested party to a fast and simple way to make web donations, while providing a simple way to complete the financial end of the transaction simply haven't gotten the memo. In today's world, not only is all of this very easy to accomplish, it is now expected!

There are two major ways in which one's website can be setup to handle these fast and effective funds transfer transactions:

Establishing a merchant account with the major credit card processing companies for the posting of funds against a credit card (or a withdrawal from the ever increasingly popular debit card). Setting up the ability to accept funds from electronic cash clearing houses.

Web donations are quickly becoming an exceptional way to generate funds to support relief efforts for major global disasters. After a tsunami hit South Asian and African and created tremendous devastation, it is estimated that over $5 billion dollars was raised through web donations to support relief efforts.

Vinay Bhagat, co-founder and chief strategy officer (CSO) of Convio, says the vast majority of Americans are making donations via the Internet. "There has been a shift in the acceptance of the Internet to make donations, rather than relying on traditional methods, such as telethons,"

Those nonprofits that fail to recognize the power of web donations are doing themselves, and their clients, a great disservice.

Inter-State Business Tax Bill Goes Through House Committee

The United States House Judiciary Committee approved legislation which aims to simplify the collection of business taxes across state lines.

The Business Activity Tax Simplification Act was designed to resolve the issue of states seeking to collect business activity taxes from businesses located in other states. The act sets specific guidelines for when an out-of-state business can be charged a tax for business done within another state.

Many states have recently sought to collect business activity taxes from businesses in other states. The problem has been that different states use different standards for determining what justifies taxation.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), explains that the differences between states has resulted in businesses being deterred from expansion into other states for fear of taxation. The issue is of specific concern for internet-based companies.

"This legislation sets specific guidelines for when an out-of-state business may be charged a tax for doing business in a state," Goodlatte said. "This legislation focuses on allowing the Internet and the commerce that it facilitates to expand, by eliminating excessive taxes that harm on-line growth."

The bill creates a "bright line" test to determine whether or not an out-of-state business is obligated to pay taxes to another jurisdiction. There would also be a physical presence test established. For example, a state may only tax an out-of-state business if the out-of-state business has a physical presence in the taxing state.

This physical presence could be defined as leasing or owning real or tangible property in the state or the assignment of one or more employees in the state for over 21 days.

The bill should be voted upon by the House by the end of summer.

Problems Involving the Gall Bladder

The gall bladder, a pear-shaped sack hanging between the lobes of the liver, is a reservoir for bile. A small, V-shaped canal, or duct, carries bile from both the gall bladder and the liver to the small intestine. When food containing fat leaves the stomach, hormones cause the gall bladder to empty by inducing vigorous contractions in its muscular walls and simultaneously stimulate the liver to produce more bile at an accelerated rate. A diet rich in B vitamins also stimulates the emptying of the gall bladder by increasing energy production.

The bile contains water, lecithin, cholesterol, minerals, acids, and pigments. Its lecithin content breaks fats into microscopic droplets that can be surrounded by enzymes, digested, and absorbed; and its bile acids are essential before digested fats, carotene, and vitamins A, D, E, and K can be carried across the intestinal wall into the blood.

Inadequate Bile Flow

When a diet is high in refined carbohydrates and low in protein, little bile can be produced. If the amount of bile is insufficient or the gall bladder is not made to empty itself and the liver is not stimulated to produce bile, fats remain in such large particles that enzymes cannot combine readily with them; hence fat digestion is incomplete and fat absorption markedly reduced.

Part of the undigested fat quickly combines with any iron and calcium and iron; thus these minerals are prevented from reaching the blood, causing overly firm stools, bring about constipation. If this condition is prolonged, it can cause porous bones, spontaneous fractures, severe anemia, and the crumbling or collapse of one or more vertebrae. Poor elimination associated with gall bladder problems invariably indicates a major loss of vital minerals.

Most solid fats obtained in foods quickly melt at body temperature. If little bile is present, this melted, undigested fat coats all foods, preventing enzymes from combining efficiently with proteins and carbohydrates, thus decreasing their digestion. Simultaneously, the lack of bile acids prevents the absorption of carotene and vitamins A, D, E, and K and whatever fat has been broken down by enzyme action; hence deficiencies of linoleic acid, carotene, and the fat-soluble vitamins are produced. People with insufficient bile flow are usually so deficient in vitamin A that they have difficulty in driving a car at night, sewing, or doing other close work.

Intestinal bacteria enormously multiply on this huge mass of undigested food, releasing quantities of gas and histamine, which cause discomfort, foul-smelling stool and halitosis. Much undigested food is usually lost in the stools, and becomes a serious problem when the calorie requirements are high and proteins badly needed for repair.

Dangers of a Low-Fat Diet

The purpose of any diet must be to build health, yet to prevent the gall bladder from emptying by adhering to a low-fat diet can actually be harmful, though such a diet may be temporarily desirable before and after surgery to keep the gall bladder quiet until healing has occurred.

The American Medical Association suggests that a diet for people with gallstones, obstruction of the bile duct, and gall bladder diseases contain 25 per cent of the calories in the form of fat. It emphatically states that low-fat and fat-free diets should be avoided, pointing out that such diets both under supply and prevent the absorption of essential fatty acids, carotene, and vitamins A, D, E, and K, thus causing deficiency states that may be far more devastating than gall bladder problems.

Individuals who have suffered acutely while passing a gallstone or when the gall bladder has been inflamed often become so fearful of food that they frequently live on self-imposed, severely restricted diets free from all fats without realizing that they are making their condition continuously worse.

What Are Discount Dental Plans?

Discount dental plans are a great alternative to dental insurance for individuals or families who don't need dental work very often.

What are Discount Dental Plans?

Discount dental companies don't pay benefits. Instead, they pre-negotiate discounts on most dental procedures. When you go in for a cleaning or other types of dental work, you pay a discounted rate based on the procedure(s) you have done. It's an excellent way to save money and protect yourself, or your family, at the same time.

Here are the main advantages of discount plans over dental insurance:

Save Money

One of the biggest advantages of discount dental plans is how affordable they are. Discount dental plans often cost less than two months of dental insurance premiums, and that's for a whole year of discount protection.

Keep Quality Dental Protection

Although discount programs are affordable, they offer quality protection for most dental procedures. Many plans give you discounts of 10% to 60% on most dental services. It's much better than going without insurance (completely uninsured) yet it still provides a good amount of protection.

Easy to Use

Discount cards are easy to sign up for and use. You can compare plans in your local area and sign up online. Your will receive your cards and plan packet in the mail shortly afterward. When you make an appointment, you simply choose a dentist on the network and make your appointment. When you leave the dentist office, you show your discount card and pay the discounted rate for the service or services you had done. It's that easy!

These plans are an affordable alternative to dental insurance that give you the opportunity to save most of the money you may have otherwise spent on dental insurance premiums. On top of that, they offer you or your family quality dental protection, in the case that dental work is needed.

How Much Interest Do I Pay On A Car Loan?

The length of the average car loan depends on the term of the loan. According to buyingadvise.com, 45 percent of Americans are financing cars for 5 years. This means that you would pay 60 payments during the average car loan.

Furthermore, buyingadvise.com states that the average American gets a new car every 5.5 years. Using these statistics to calculate this, most Americans only go without a car payment for 6 months each 6 years. The reason that most people do this is to stretch out the loan making the monthly car payments lower.

When buying a car, the car buyer should take into consideration the total amount paid for the car versus the monthly payments alone. This could save a lot of money over the term of the loan.

You and the dealership you are working with determine the amount of payments you make over the life of your loan. There are terms anywhere from 12 months to 84 months. It is a wise decision to do your homework before going to the dealership to purchase your next car. The shorter your can loan the quicker you can pay off your car which will save you interest and give you more months without a car payment.

Fortunately, there are many websites out there that contain calculators for you to figure the difference between a 36-month and a 60-month loan term. Go and Google "car loan calculator" and find a website with a calculator that will figure your monthly payments for you. All you need to do is put in the numbers.

Let me show you an example that demonstrates this difference. If you take a loan for a new car for $21,325.00 making 36 payments (3 years) and paying 5 percent interest you will pay $639.13 per month and pay $1,683.66 in interest. Using that same amount of $21,325.00 at 5 percent interest for 60 payments (5 years) you will pay $402.43 per month and pay $2,820.74 in interest. You end up paying $1,137.08 more in interest because of the longer term.

So in this example you can see how even though the monthly payments may be higher for the short term car loan versus the average car loan term of 60 months, you will pay more in interest over the life of the loan. Yes it will cost you more per month for your car but the savings can be well worth the extra payments each month. If you find yourself looking at a car that you must finance for over 60 months just to be able to afford the car payment; then look for a less expensive car that fits your budget.

The next pit-fall to longer term loans has to do with the car's depreciation. If you finance the average car loan over 60 -72 months, you risk the possibility that you will be upside down on the auto loan when you go to trade your car in. Being upside down is when you owe more on the balance of the loan than the car is worth in value. This happens because the car is depreciating faster than you are paying it off with a long-term loan.