Traveling the world is exciting, energizing and educational, but it also can be a miserable experience if you get sick. Whether you’re going cruising in the Caribbean, fishing in Alaska or bicycling in Europe, it’s smart to take some precautions. Here are 7 tips to help you and your family have a healthy trip:
See your doctor. Schedule your visit six weeks before you leave, in case you need any immunizations. Make sure you have a supply of your medications in their original containers, and carry them with you on the plane. For international travel, you should carry the actual prescription or other proof that the medications are legal (especially if you take a narcotic).
If you’re going on a cruise, check the ship’s “Report Card” on the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention site at www.cdc.gov. Even though the risks of getting a virus on a ship are small, be vigilant about germs and wash your hands thoroughly for at least 30 seconds in warm to hot water.
On long plane flights, stay hydrated, avoid alcohol and caffeine, and stretch your arms and legs by walking around the cabin.
Eat smart. Travel can bring you in contact with things your body isn’t used to. So as much as you’d like to try the unusual, you’re better off sticking with what you know. Drink bottled water, make sure meat and fish are properly cooked, and be careful about food from street vendors.
Pack a personal “health kit.” It’s always good to have sunscreen, insect repellent, hand sanitizers, antacids, motion sickness medication and first aid essentials, and it’s probably cheaper to buy these items at home.
Do your research. If you’re going somewhere “exotic,” visit www.travel.state.gov for Country Specific Information. Consider joining (for free) the International Association for Medical Assistance to Travellers, which lists English-speaking doctors in 125 countries.
Take along your common sense. Get plenty of rest, relax and enjoy!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Can You Buy Happiness?
It turns out that the conventional wisdom is wrong: It is possible to buy happiness – when you spend your money on others.
Researchers at the University of British Columbia and Harvard University found that people who buy gifts for others and make charitable donations report being happier than people who spend their money primarily on themselves. The scientists studied 630 men and women and asked them to rate their general happiness, their annual income, and their monthly spending including bills, gifts for themselves, gifts for others, and charitable contributions.
Researchers also measured the rates of happiness for people who received bonuses in varying amounts from their employers. Again, they found that it was not how much money the participants received that predicted happiness levels, but rather how the recipients spent the money. Those who donated more of their bonuses to charity or used it for gifts for others rated themselves as happier than those who did not.
In a third look at this phenomenon, the researchers gave participants a $5 or a $20 bill and asked them to spend it before 5pm on the same day. Half were given the instruction to spend the money on themselves, half to spend it on others. The half who spent their money on others reported feeling better at the end of the day than those who didn’t. The researchers say that even spending a small amount on someone during the day can significantly improve our feelings of happiness.
Now to the most important part:
WHO WANTS ME TO SEND THEM MY WISH LIST? ;b
Researchers at the University of British Columbia and Harvard University found that people who buy gifts for others and make charitable donations report being happier than people who spend their money primarily on themselves. The scientists studied 630 men and women and asked them to rate their general happiness, their annual income, and their monthly spending including bills, gifts for themselves, gifts for others, and charitable contributions.
Researchers also measured the rates of happiness for people who received bonuses in varying amounts from their employers. Again, they found that it was not how much money the participants received that predicted happiness levels, but rather how the recipients spent the money. Those who donated more of their bonuses to charity or used it for gifts for others rated themselves as happier than those who did not.
In a third look at this phenomenon, the researchers gave participants a $5 or a $20 bill and asked them to spend it before 5pm on the same day. Half were given the instruction to spend the money on themselves, half to spend it on others. The half who spent their money on others reported feeling better at the end of the day than those who didn’t. The researchers say that even spending a small amount on someone during the day can significantly improve our feelings of happiness.
Now to the most important part:
WHO WANTS ME TO SEND THEM MY WISH LIST? ;b
Saturday, April 9, 2011
When Is “Generic” Good?
The word “generic” has something of a bad reputation; many people think of it as synonymous with bland, boring, ordinary. But at the grocery store and pharmacy, “generic” can mean saving money without giving up on quality. Here are some generic products that the consumer finance Web site WalletPop counsels shoppers to embrace:
• Medicine. Pharmaceutical makers are required to include the same ingredients in generic medications that are used in name brands, making them just as effective and safe – and less expensive.
• Cereal. Generic breakfast cereal generally runs about 25 to 50 percent less than the name brand, and it frequently has the same taste and comes in larger boxes.
• Basic cooking staples. Flour, salt, sugar, and other pantry items are exactly the same no matter what name is on the package, making generic flour, for example, more economical than a name brand.
• Electronic cables. Your brand-new big screen plasma TV doesn’t really need the most expensive brand of cables on the market. Salespeople may suggest a particular manufacturer, but you’ll get the same signal transfer with a generic.
• Cosmetics. Makeup and other beauty products aren’t patented, so drugstores and manufacturers can offer duplicates at about half the price.
If you find articles like this interesting, you should subscribe to my monthly newsletter, Joel Javan's Home News. Click here to find out how you can have it delivered to your door every month for FREE.
• Medicine. Pharmaceutical makers are required to include the same ingredients in generic medications that are used in name brands, making them just as effective and safe – and less expensive.
• Cereal. Generic breakfast cereal generally runs about 25 to 50 percent less than the name brand, and it frequently has the same taste and comes in larger boxes.
• Basic cooking staples. Flour, salt, sugar, and other pantry items are exactly the same no matter what name is on the package, making generic flour, for example, more economical than a name brand.
• Electronic cables. Your brand-new big screen plasma TV doesn’t really need the most expensive brand of cables on the market. Salespeople may suggest a particular manufacturer, but you’ll get the same signal transfer with a generic.
• Cosmetics. Makeup and other beauty products aren’t patented, so drugstores and manufacturers can offer duplicates at about half the price.
If you find articles like this interesting, you should subscribe to my monthly newsletter, Joel Javan's Home News. Click here to find out how you can have it delivered to your door every month for FREE.
Monday, March 7, 2011
How Sellers Price Their Homes
How Much Should I Offer?
Clients often ask, “How much under the listing price should we offer?”
The best way to understand market value is through comparative research. Professional real estate consultants review and study at least 40 to 60 listings, visit 10 to 20, and inspect 5 to 10 properties to develop a sense of relative worth for properties in a given area.
Additionally, a professional appraisal factors into determining the fair market value of the home. An appraisal protects you because Lenders want to make sure that you don't overpay for a home. If the home value does not meet the sale price in the eyes of the appraiser, they’ll let you know. At that time, the Realtor can renegotiate the sale price or void the agreement and refund your earnest money deposit.
There are four basic factors that influence how sellers price their homes.
1. Sellers Get Poor Advice
Some real estate agents inflate the value of the seller’s home in an effort to obtain the listing. There’s a natural tendency on the part of sellers to list with the real estate agent who gives them the promise of the highest selling price.
When homes are overpriced, they
* Stay on the market longer
* May not sell
2. Sellers Set an Unrealistic Price for Emotional Reasons
These sellers believe their home is worth every penny of their asking price for personal reasons. Sometimes they lose their objectivity and focus on features that seem more valuable to them (rather than to the buyer). For example, the suede wall-covering in the master bedroom may not appeal to potential buyers.
Additionally, some sellers, anticipating reticence to buy, feel it’s a good idea to leave a little “negotiating” room in the asking price.
3. Sellers Price their Home at Fair Market Value
These sellers carefully and realistically study other homes for sale, and may consult with a real estate professional. They price their home competitively, and it usually sells quickly at (or very near) the asking price.
4. Sellers are Motivated to Sell
When sellers want a fast sale, they price their home below fair market value. These homes usually sell right away, at or above the listed price. There are usually competing offers.
I'll help you determine the fair market price for any home. My job is to ensure that you have the tools and information you need to make an informed decision. I’ll help you every step of the way — you will be treated like a family member!
FREE, quick, over the net home valuation: Click here.
Clients often ask, “How much under the listing price should we offer?”
The best way to understand market value is through comparative research. Professional real estate consultants review and study at least 40 to 60 listings, visit 10 to 20, and inspect 5 to 10 properties to develop a sense of relative worth for properties in a given area.
Additionally, a professional appraisal factors into determining the fair market value of the home. An appraisal protects you because Lenders want to make sure that you don't overpay for a home. If the home value does not meet the sale price in the eyes of the appraiser, they’ll let you know. At that time, the Realtor can renegotiate the sale price or void the agreement and refund your earnest money deposit.
There are four basic factors that influence how sellers price their homes.
1. Sellers Get Poor Advice
When homes are overpriced, they
* Stay on the market longer
* May not sell
2. Sellers Set an Unrealistic Price for Emotional Reasons
These sellers believe their home is worth every penny of their asking price for personal reasons. Sometimes they lose their objectivity and focus on features that seem more valuable to them (rather than to the buyer). For example, the suede wall-covering in the master bedroom may not appeal to potential buyers.
Additionally, some sellers, anticipating reticence to buy, feel it’s a good idea to leave a little “negotiating” room in the asking price.
3. Sellers Price their Home at Fair Market Value
These sellers carefully and realistically study other homes for sale, and may consult with a real estate professional. They price their home competitively, and it usually sells quickly at (or very near) the asking price.
4. Sellers are Motivated to Sell
When sellers want a fast sale, they price their home below fair market value. These homes usually sell right away, at or above the listed price. There are usually competing offers.
I'll help you determine the fair market price for any home. My job is to ensure that you have the tools and information you need to make an informed decision. I’ll help you every step of the way — you will be treated like a family member!
FREE, quick, over the net home valuation: Click here.
Monday, January 3, 2011
RARE TASTE OF SNOW IN SANTA CLARITA VALLEY
I am not going to offer another theory about 2012. We have read and heard way too many theories about 2012, which includes end of the world, polar shifts, etcetera. These theories or "expert opinions" are based apparently on the Mayan calendar that does not go beyond December 12, 2012. People interpret this as being the end of the world, I think something just happened that made the Mayans move out of their villages which made it impossible for them to continue working on their calendar. Then there's the Photon Energy theory that shortens our days, so that instead of having 24 hours in a day we only have about six or eight hours. I just wanted to share something that I have noticed several years ago and have told my wife and she agreed with my observations.
Back in 2000, the year we moved to our current home, my wife and I were still smokers. We would go to our back patio by the pool with our coffee and cigarette and watch the sunrise. This will be our morning routine every working day — we needed to get up earlier than most Canyon Country residents, because we used to work in Woodland Hills, which is a 33.77 miles or 40 minutes drive according to yahoo maps. The drive easily doubles when you get caught by the rush hour traffic even if you drive in the carpool lane.
The first picture (A) shows from where we used to see the sun rise. The last time we ever smoked a cigarette was on December 31, 2002 and we have been smoke-free since January 1, 2003. Some time in 2005, I noticed one weekend, when I woke up early to clean the pool, that the sun rose from another spot (see second photo B). This is about the same time when I remembered that before we moved in to the house that I held a wooden stick vertically with one end touching the ground outside the front to see the orientation of the front door — Feng Shui told me that it is auspicious for me to be in a house with the front door facing West, which according to the shadow cast from the stick, this house has that orientation. So on the day that I noticed that the sun rose from a different spot, I made sure I did the stick test just before sunset. Sure enough the shadow tells me that West points to a different direction than it did back in 2000. The third picture (below) is a stitched image of the first two. This is to show where we see sunrise these days in relation to where we used to see it at least 10 years ago.
Some experts say that the rate at which the earth's magnetic fields are decreasing is not steep enough to cause a shift or reverse in polarity. This is good news as "a reversal could mean vast flooding, tidal waves, food shortages due to climate changes and crop shortages and worldwide competition for declining resources." Based on my observations, however, something changed, our front door now faces Northwest.
We also have been experiencing weird weather patterns this last few years. Last time it snowed here in Canyon Country was 2007 and that time the snow did not stick that long. Before 2007, some older residents say the last time it snowed in the SCV was in 1990. Yesterday, January 2, 2011, it snowed in the Santa Clarita Valley, we had about 1 to 3 inches of snow, as some local news reported, throughout the valley and did not melt until late Monday morning the next day. It's nothing compared to what one will probably experience in Utah or Colorado or the east coast for that matter, but I think it's the best Southern California snow we'll ever experience. Enjoy the video below!
Related Articles:
From The Signal
From KHTS
Click here to watch video on youtube.
Back in 2000, the year we moved to our current home, my wife and I were still smokers. We would go to our back patio by the pool with our coffee and cigarette and watch the sunrise. This will be our morning routine every working day — we needed to get up earlier than most Canyon Country residents, because we used to work in Woodland Hills, which is a 33.77 miles or 40 minutes drive according to yahoo maps. The drive easily doubles when you get caught by the rush hour traffic even if you drive in the carpool lane.
 |
| A) Taken around 9:30 a.m. Jan. 3, 2011 |
 |
| B) These days, this is where we see the sunrise |
 |
| The orange circle approximates the area where we used to see the sunrise, the green circle is where we see it now. |
We also have been experiencing weird weather patterns this last few years. Last time it snowed here in Canyon Country was 2007 and that time the snow did not stick that long. Before 2007, some older residents say the last time it snowed in the SCV was in 1990. Yesterday, January 2, 2011, it snowed in the Santa Clarita Valley, we had about 1 to 3 inches of snow, as some local news reported, throughout the valley and did not melt until late Monday morning the next day. It's nothing compared to what one will probably experience in Utah or Colorado or the east coast for that matter, but I think it's the best Southern California snow we'll ever experience. Enjoy the video below!
Related Articles:
From The Signal
From KHTS
Click here to watch video on youtube.
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