price « WordPress.com Tag Feed

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Melissa Bailey — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 13:15:51 +0000

FREEDOM MEANS RESPONSIBILITY

Freedom is the right to live as you wish.
If you wish to free yourself from enslavement,
you must choose freedom and the responsibility it entails.
There's a price for every freedom,
something to be given up for every liberty.

It's up to you to weigh the price you must pay
for each of your freedoms.
And everything you want has a price.

Freedom is the opportunity to make decisions.
It's the capacity to take a hand in your own development.
Freedom is the right to choose.
It's the right to create for yourself the alternatives of choice.

No one is free who is not the master of himself.
You are free to do whatever you like.
You need only face the consequences of your actions.

The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived

alpinebluesky — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 06:25:32 +0000

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1990, Cuba's economy went into a tailspin. With imports of oil cut by more than half – and food by 80 percent – people were desperate. This film tells of the hardships and struggles as well as the community and creativity of the Cuban people during this difficult time. Cubans share how they transitioned from a highly mechanized, industrial agricultural system to one using organic methods of farming and local, urban gardens. It is an unusual look into the Cuban culture during this economic crisis, which they call "The Special Period." The film opens with a short history of Peak Oil, a term for the time in our history when world oil production will reach its all-time peak and begin to decline forever. Cuba, the only country that has faced such a crisis, the massive reduction of fossil fuels, is an example of options and hope...

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-66172489666918336]

Price cuts through inflation

mikalmus — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 13:51:47 +0000

Inflation is everywhere we turn. Its there when we go to fill up our cars, its there when we do our weekly food shop and its there when we pay our utility bills. It may seem like everything is going up in price but there are some items that have resisted the effects of inflation and have been able to maintain their price, effectively receiving price cuts year after year, day after day.

Here's a look at one of them and what inflation has done to their price in real terms.

iTunes single

On the 15th June 2004 Apple's iTunes music store was launched in the UK. The pricing model followed that of the US store by having one flat rate for all songs, in this case 79p.

At the time, and to this day, this was seen as too expensive, especially considering its main competitor was free, albeit when obtained illegally.

In early 2008 Apple was ordered to lower the price of the its songs because they were found to be significantly more expensive than in their other European stores, where the songs were priced at 99c. Since then the Euro has strengthened to the point where the prices are effectively equal and Apple has decided keep the UK price unchanged.

Here's a look at what has happened to the real price of a song on iTunes since its launch.

Date	RPI Index*	Real iTunes Price (2004 £s)

June 2004	100.0	0.79
June 2005	102.9	0.77
June 2006	106.3	0.74
June 2007	111.0	0.71
June 2008	116.1	0.68


*(June 2004 = 100)

Source

As you can see the price of an iTunes song in real terms has fallen 11p in June 2004 value, or a 14% price cut. Another way to illustrate the effect of the fall in the value of the pound is to say that if the price of a song on iTunes had risen with inflation it would now be priced at 92p.

With the RPI measure of inflation running at well over 4% and no indications that Apple has any intentions to raise prices, songs on iTunes should continue to offer better value as time goes on.

Made

hyperface — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:48:00 +0000

"Leaders aren't born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that's the price we'll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal." - Vince Lombardi (1913-1970)

You can achieve what you want and hard work brings success. Your made, not born.

1991 TOYOTA CELSIOR E-UCF11

hrsjapan — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 00:08:51 +0000

1991 TOYOTA CELSIOR E-UCF11
SALE　FROM　JAPAN. SALE　OUT!!

Please buy the used car with our confidence.

Model：E-UCF11 AT Gray RHD gasoline 145,000KM 4,000 cc
4door fully loaded,engine missiion good working condition.

LAST PRICE. FOB JAPAN JPY 270,000-

This is the last price. Please do not become cheap any further, and buy it.

HRS Japan.
Japanese uesd cars exporter

Maneger,Director　Hiroshi.Emori
#3F Minoya, 22-34-4 Hoshida
Katano-City, Osaka Japan 576-0016
http://www.hrs-trade.com
webmaster@hrs-trade.com

fax +81-72-893-5090
tel +81-72-894-2227
Mobile +81-90-7356-1437 (Speak Chinese ok!!)

Oris Watches - A Review Of The BC3

fashionteen — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:00:02 +0000

Oris watches are very affordable, beautiful Swiss watches. They feature mechanical movements - some with automatic winding - with a trademark red rotating red rotor. The range of Big Crown watches is a particular favorite of mine and, while I was initially drawn to the Big Crown with Pointer Date collection, I've now shifted to the more modern styling of the BC3 collection.

I had my heart set on the Big Crown with Pointer Date. I wanted a large watch with a black face and black leather strap and this Oris watch seemed to fit the bill, in terms of price and design. There is a choice of case size but, to my mind, the large crown is best complemented by a large case. I liked the largest case in the collection - 40mm model reference. Oris is well known for its pointer date watches and I really liked the red-tipped horseshoe shaped pointer. I loved the simple Arabic numerals at each hour mark and the day numbers on the outer rim.

However, there is one feature I don't like, and that is the hour and minute arms. They seem slightly too ornate. By this I mean, the minute hand has straight sides that taper out slightly before forming a wedge at the top; this wedge is then topped with a slim needle-like pointer. The hour hand is smaller and features straight, slightly outwardly tapered sides that then change into an oval shape that is topped with another needle-like pointer. The overall look of the watch is very nice but I just would prefer simpler hands.

This brings me to the Oris BC3 - the 3 stands for third generation of pilot's watches. This collection is unequivocally modern in design. There are currently two models in the collection; each comes with a matt stainless steel casing, black dial and either a black rubber strap or stainless steel bracelet. Both models come with a day aperture at the 12 o'clock position and a date aperture at the 6 o'clock position.

There are two sizes of case; 40 or 42mm. The shape of the casing is the same for both, with a slightly raised though flat bezel - the Pointer Date watch comes with a fluted bezel. I really like the simpler lines of the case and bezel of the BC3. The simplicity of design is carried through on to the dial. Both the hour and minute arms are the same in design - with the hour being shorter. They are simple straight, thickish and end in 'long' wedges.

The design of the dial differs slightly on the two models. While both have Arabic numerals at each hour, one watch has a small luminescent dot above the numeral (with two above the 12), whereas the other, features dashes (rectangles) above the numerals with two appearing above the 12. My preference is for the dashes, as they better complement the straight, plain arms and general smooth-edge design of the watch.

If you're a lover of big crown, big watches then the big crown collections of Oris watches will certainly appeal. The Big Crown with Pointer Date will be for those who like a more traditionally style of watch but for those like me who want a more contemporary looking watch the Oris BC3 will be the first choice.

Another "I told you so"

wedeclare — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:52:50 +0000

I know. Nobody likes to hear "I told you so." But I'm a candidate for public office, and I'm supposed to toot my horn about such things as, well, being right.

The price of gas is more in the news now than it was four years ago when I wrote this press release (that never made the news, of course):

Price Gouging, or Bad Planning?

It wasn’t so long ago that Democrats wanted European-like prices for gasoline. They reasoned that if gasoline were more expensive, then more people would ride bicycles, walk, or use public transportation and, in general, conserve this energy resource as if it were finite. Expensive gas would promote the development of alternative fuels and energy sources, and probably fuel a new wave of technological breakthroughs. While we may not like the idea of expensive gas, the long-term reasoning is actually pretty sound.

Sadly, Democratic politicians abandoned this reasoning when they lifted gasoline taxes before an election (the late Governor O’Bannon in 2000), suggested that we tap into our Strategic Oil Reserves (several Democrats on state and federal levels), or (as Rep. Julia Carson had done this past June) call for an investigation of the oil industry at the first hint of rising gasoline prices.

Ms. Carson has voted for federal price controls, though this policy has proven disastrous every time, and in every country, and every market that it has been tried. Ironically, she’s also voted against fuel alternative incentives and raising CAFE standards, two common liberal rallying points.

Ms. Carson isn’t a policy wonk, to be sure. But her ideas on energy consumption are inconsistent, illogical and counterproductive. Without better representation in this key policy area, and soon, our future looks grim.

There hasn’t been a new oil refinery built in the USA since 1976. So instead of doing the math of supply and demand with our own resources, we turned to global markets that have their own agenda in global politics. This has made us dependent upon foreign intervention as an energy policy, and raises the possibility that third-world nations may soon pass us in terms of energy efficiency and robust delivery/point of use generation…and this could mean even further erosion of USA industry and technological prowess.

We’ve built our cities for cars and cheap gas; so we have seas of parking lots and miles and miles of ugly boxes we call buildings. Such unsightly, inefficient building lowers our quality of life, steals our leisure time, and makes us a nation of red-faced road-ragers. Oh, and of course, like most federal policies of the last forty years, this lack of clear-sighted policy has cost us tens of thousands of jobs.

We must do better. We’re past-due for some forward-thinking in energy and transportation policy, and I will make free-market investment, innovation and infrastructure development a high priority on day one.

###

Vodafone To Bring Apple iPhone 3G Ahead Of Airtel In India

allhailmike — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:51:29 +0000

According to speculations, the Apple iPhone 3G will be available next month in India and the first company that will release it will be Vodafone. This is due to the universal deal between Vodafone and Apple. [Read More]

People Want Cheaper Services Than We Provide.

Stuart Ayling — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:12:43 +0000

Our seller says: I find that a large number of people call our office looking for free or cheaper services than we provide.

OK - first up let me say, in this case we must assume the prices for services provided are at a fair market rate for what they are.

When prospects are calling you for the first time your job is to qualify them. Will they be a good client for you? Do you have your qualifying factors pre-arranged? (This technique is covered during the Selling With Confidence workshop)

Then you can ask a few questions to try and quickly establish whether they will be a good fit for you. Such as:

Do they have a problem you can solve?
Do they want your 'level' of help?
What do they expect to pay?

If the people calling you want cheaper or free services, think about this...

What is your marketing message saying to create this expectation?
Do you want to waste your time talking to them if they wont be buying?
How can you quickly sort out those who are serious?

Don't waste your time on people who are not a good fit and will never make a good client.

Seriously... suggest they go to another provider who is better suited, or send them to your competitors!

Customer Thinks My Proposal is Expensive.

Stuart Ayling — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:03:37 +0000

Our seller explains: I talk to customers about their needs, and explain to them the process we go through. (Note: for this question the 'product' is a website but the same situation can occur for all products and services). Customer asks for a proposal. Upon receiving the proposal most customers think it is too expensive. I don't think I do a good enough job of explaining the Return On Investment (ROI).

Answer: The core problem here is NOT setting the right expectations.

The proposal should be summarizing what was discussed during the sales conversation. The seller should be asking about the available budget (or at least discuss the customers expectations of what they should be paying).

This information is then formatted in the proposal. But the proposal should not be guesswork - and it should not catch the customer by surprise.

The best way to resolve this problem is to openly discuss budgets and likely costs as part of the sales discussion.

Fortunately website development can be broken down into various modules, depending upon the design and functionality required. So an experienced web designer should be able to discuss the cost/benefit (ROI) of including or excluding certain features.

Ultimately this means the web designer can discuss prices with the customer before submitting the proposal.

Don't be scared of discussing price. Just make sure you first get a clear understanding of what the customer requires.

In some cases, for more complex processes or custom-designed products you may not be able to talk about prices on the spot. You may need (or want) to do some homework to get a clearer understanding of what is required.

So do the homework first, and then discuss it with your client before confirming it in a written proposal. Proposals are very difficult to 'take back' once you have submitted them.

De Beers Gloomy Despite Big, Fat Punjabi Weddings

Vinod Kuriyan — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 05:05:05 +0000

Everybody else has been saying it for some time now, but De Beers finally came out and admitted during the presentation of its half-yearly results that what remained of 2008 didn’t look good for diamonds, because “in the credit crunch, new bling is one of the first luxuries to go.” De Beers also admitted that “strong growth in China, India, Russia and the Middle East could not offset the fall in the west.” It’s all here in the Evening Standard’s news briefs.

De Beers’ mood contrasts sharply with that of Indian jewellery and luxury apparel purveyors who are rejoicing because the institution of the “big, fat Punjabi wedding” is working wonders for their business. Mind you, even in the Indian bridal market, there are signs that expenditure is being cut back. Indian jewellery retailers are also nervous about the upcoming Diwali festival season, when typically they make 70 per cent of their annual sales, because the signs don’t look good. But all in all, the Indian market is in much better shape than the US or Europe.

But it isn’t all gloom for the diamond industry – even if base metals have assumed more importance to miners. London’s Financial Times commented: “De Beers is an iconic brand that is intricately linked to the history of the Anglo American group. However, its importance to its parent company has been overtaken by less glamorous products such as copper and iron ore. Diamonds were the smallest earner of Anglo’s six business divisions last year, contributing $239m of underlying earnings compared with $3.1bn from the base metals division and $605m from ferrous metals. But Anglo continues to see diamonds as a core business and will keep backing De Beers for the foreseeable future. De Beers is expecting its production volumes to pick up as new mines in Canada come on stream, and in spite of the gloom surrounding the impact of a US slowdown on jewellery demand, the group is optimistic about long-term diamond prices.”

If you’re a member, you can check out the FT’s full report here.

ราคาน้ำมัน วันนี้ วันที่ 24 กรกฏาคม 2551(24/07/2008)

oildaily — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:01:14 +0000

ภาพที่ 1 ราคา น้ำมันตลาด nymex (capture ณ วันที่ 24/07/2008 เวลา ประมาณ 9.20 ในประเทศไทย)

น้ำมันที่ nymex ลดลงเหลือ 124.30 ดอลล์ต่อบาร์เรล จาก เมื่อวานประมาณ 127.79 ดอล์ต่อบาร์เรล คือ ประมาณ 3.5 ดอลล์ต่อบาร์เรล

ภาพที่ 2 ราคาหน้าปั้ม ptt ณ วันที่ 24 กรกฏาคม 2551

ราคาในประเทศยังไม่มีการปรับลง (อย่าลืมปรับลงด้วยนะ ptt พุงกาง จนจะแตกอยู่แล้ว)

-.-

ลองไปค้นราคา nymex ย้อนหลังดูว่า ล่าสุดที่อยู่ใกล้เคียง 124.30 ดอลล์ต่อบาร์เรล(จาก ราคา nymex รายวันตั้งแต่ปี 1983) คือวันที่ 3 มิุถุนายน 2551(3 June 2008) ราคา อยู่ที่ 124.31 ดอลล์่ต่อบาร์เรล ข้อมูลตามภาพครับ ผมวงให้ดู

ภาพที่ 3 แสดงราคา nymex ณ วันที่ 3 มิถุนายน 2551 ซึ่งราคาเท่ากับ 124.31 ดอลล์ต่อบาร์เรล ซึ่งราคา nymex วันนั้น ประมาณเท่ากับวันนี้ พอดี

คราวนี้เราลองมาดูราคา ของ ปตท ณ วันที่ 3 มิถุนายน 2551 กันบ้างครับ ไปที่ http://www.pttplc.com/th/nc_oi.aspx

ดูราคาของวันที่ 3 มิถุนายน 2551 ตามภาพที่ 4

ภาพที่ 4 แสดงราคา หน้าปั้ม ปตท ช่วงวันที่ 24 พฤษภาคม 2551 ถึงวันที่ 30 มิถุนายน 2551

จากภาพ ช่วงเวลานั้น ปตท มีการปรับราคา 31 พ.ค. 2551 กับ 9 มิ.ย. 2551 เพราะฉะนั้นเราเทียบราคา ณ วันที่ 3 มิถุนายน 2551 ก็ต้องใช้ราคาที่มีการปรับขึ้น ณ วันที่ 31 พ.ค. 2551 ผมจับเอาราคา diesel มานะครับ(ที่วงสีแดงไว้) เท่ากับ 39.04 บาท ต่อลิตร

แต่วันนี้(24 กรกฏาคม 2551) diesel ราคา 42.24 บาทต่อลิตร ต่างกันอยู่ 3 บาทต่อลิตร นะครับ

-.-

คราวนี้ลองกลับไปที่ nymex อีกครั้งว่าถ้าหากก่อนวันที่ 3 มิถุนายน 2551 เป็นวันไหนที่ราคาอยู่ที่ประมาณ 124.30 ดอลล์ต่อบาร์เรลอีก ไปดูที่ ราคา-nymex-รายวันตั้งแต่ปี-1983 อีกครั้งครับ จะได้เป็นวันที่ 14 พฤษภาคม 2551(ย้อนไปประมาณ 2 อาทิตย์) ดูที่ภาพครับ ผมวง สีน้ำเงินไว้

ภาพที่ 5 แสดงราคาน้ำมัน nymex 124.22 ดอลล์ต่อบาร์เรล ณ วันที่ 14 พฤษภาคม 2551

จากภาพทำให้ทราบว่าวันที่ nymex มีราคาระดับเดียวกันกับวันนี้คือ 124.30 ดอลล์ต่อบาร์เรล คือวันที่ 3 มิถุนายน 2551 กับ 14 พฤษภาคม 2551 เราไปดูราคาที่ ปตท. ขายน้ำมันให้เรา ณ วันที่ 14 พฤษภาคม 2551

ภาพที่ 6 ราคาขายน้ำมัน หน้า ปั้ม ปตท ณ วันที่ 14 พ.ค. 2551

จากภาพ วันที่ 14 พฤษภาคม 2551 ปตท. ขาย ดีเซล(ตัวอื่นไปดูเองนะครับ เน้นดีเซล) 34.44 บาทต่อลิตรครับ

แปลจากที่แสดงมาทั้งหมดก็คือ ในระดับที่ราคาน้ำมันตลาดโลกเดียวกัน(124.30 ดอลล์ต่อบาร์เรล)

วันที่ 14 พฤษภาคม 2551 ปตท. ขาย ดีเซลให้เรา 34.44 บาท ต่อลิตร

วันที่ 3 มิถุนายน 2551 ปตท. ขาย ดีเซลให้เรา 39.04 บาท ต่อลิตร

และ ณ วันนี้ 24 กรกฏาคม 2551 ปตท. ขาย ดีเซล 42.24 บาท ต่อลิตร

สรุป ราคาตลาดโลกเท่ากัน(124.30 ดอลล์ต่อบาร์เรล) ปตท. ขายแพงขึ้น 42.24-34.44 = 7.8 บาทต่อลิตร

เืกือบ 8 บาทนะครับ

สรุปของสรุป คือ ตอนนี้(วันที่ 24 กรกฏาคม 2551) เราควรจะใช้ดีเซลที่ ไม่แพงกว่า 35 บาทต่อลิตรครับ

Tarina Tarantino “Hippie Princess Barbie”

dollsaga — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 02:25:11 +0000

if you are interested in these 6 Barbie Collector Dolls designed by Tarina Tarantino, they are now up for auction.

The opening bid prices were ranged from $700 to $1000, but none of them has got a single bid for the first a few days, now the start prices have been lowered to $350. Very Very Stupid strategy, isnt it?

Opening price should always reflect the true value of the dolls, the cost of these dolls is 10 times less than the start prices. $1000 just turned people away

the auctions should have started at $79.99, same price as the gold label Tarina Barbie in the market, if people like the dolls and also want to support the charity, let them bid up. lower start prices attract more people to bid, once the bidding war gets started, the prices could jump mcuh higher than $1000. for many people, it's their pride to win, to conquer other bidders, how much the dolls truly worth? it's less important!

B-Sky-B and Universal join forces - an indie label's thoughts

alcopop — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:32:40 +0000

I’ve always thought, since the dawn of all things Alcopop almost 2 years ago, that its been rather a good time to be running an indie label… With musical talent emerging in the UK faster than we can press music (no I don’t buy the ‘naysayer opinion’ that there are no decent artists around these days – look further than the end of your nose damnit), and fatcat majors having choked upon their cream and concentrating on downsizing rapidly – there seems to be quite the space in the market for small labels who are willing to work with people they believe in passionately. Especially with the amount of ace industry people, hard-working distributors (in our case Shellshock) and more willing to support the likes of Alcopop, BSM, Smalltown, This is Fake DIY et al.

Sure, the days of finding one breaking artist, receiving a fat pay-off and assimilating yourselves into a major seem to be diminishing – but here at Alcopop we’ve always rather dug our ‘fiercely independent’ tag. Now don’t get me wrong - while I’m not suggesting that if someone came along and offered to help us pump a whole heap of their cash into our dearly beloved artists, I would dismiss it out of hand. But we very much enjoy the freedom to work with bands we know are clearly awesome, and watch them grow knowing that we’re supporting them not just because we think they will sell records…

Indeed, what we lack in cash I hope we make up for in work ethic and creativity – and while major’s deal with the fickle bunch who will turn on an artist who wears the wrong outfit in Heat Magazine, we’re lucky enough to be appealing to people who know their shit – and have supported us since the beginning, by buying the stuff they genuinely like.

However, a new *albeit foggy* threat seems to have emerged today, with well known musical pioneers (ahem) B-Sky-B teaming up with Universal to offer a pay-by-month way of downloading songs. Now although the details are sketchy and only one unwieldy corp has signed up thus far, if a whole heap more put pen to paper, and the subscription fee is reasonable, the most independent artists, who I imagine would seem of little interest to Rupert and his cronies, could lose out – if the world and their dog take to subscribing and using his system, forcing iTunes to its knees.

That's a bif IF though, and for sure It’s not all doom and gloom though. As Spence on norockandrollfun.com sarcastically puts it "Amy Winehouse, U2, Kanye West, Duffy, Rihanna, Eminem, Elton John and Abba - Wow!!!! I've been waiting for a resource from which I could buy stuff from these cutting edge artists for ages!!!”, and like any advance in downloading illegal/ripping MySpace songs – I still firmly hold on to the belief that genuine music fans will buy music/ support live shows… After all – what’s 3 quid on a limited edition debut 3” Data.Select.Party single, or 7.90 on the new My Awesome Compilation album (from Smalltown Records by the way).

I’m conscious I’ve written a lot of words now – and I don’t want to bang on unnecessarily, but I guess I just wanted to address the issue of the day, and in a way – a hearty thank you all for supporting us. I’m not naïve enough to suppose that the good name of Alcopop will be forever and divinely protected against whatever tempestuous wave of uncertainty the music industry is propelled headlong into next, but I feel pretty safe for now. So I'd like to raise an Alcopop to you – and the fact that man (pictured) doesn't totally dominate the music industry just yet!

Lv Jack PoP

Why The Corvette is the Ultimate Car

pacer521 — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 22:39:51 +0000

With today’s economy problems, many sports car enthusiasts have already given up their golden dream of once owning a 200+ Ferrari, rolling down Beverly Hills while blinded by cell phone camera flashes by awestruck, sidelined civilians that own beat-up Honda Civics. And now, they themselves have become part of the crowd, the daring ones maybe getting a hold of a Nissan 350Z or a low-end Mustang. But when they are standing on the sidewalk with their buddies, staring at a beautiful red Corvette cruising by, they would just laugh and imagine the driver’s face after filling up day after day. But little do they know that the driver of that supercar won’t be pulling in for gas anytime soon, for their 430 brake horsepower beast gets 27 to 30 miles per gallon on the highway. No joke. That’s why I’m calling the Corvette Z51 the ultimate car. There is no other car in the world today that has the satisfaction and looks of a supercar, the performance (ziltch to 60 in 4.25 seconds), outstanding efficiency, and above all – a price that won’t make you keel over. The Z51 packs a better punch as cars twice its price ($56,185 as tested). So why haven’t people taken the bait yet? I don’t know. With a car so good looking you’d swear its Italian, performance so good you’d swear it was Italian, and a price tag that is everything but Italian, you’ve got one thing for sure – I’m saving up for my 16^th birthday already.

Freebies Remaining EXPIRED

Pamela — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:12:52 +0000

We have the following free, discounts or specials remaining:

Senior Portrait Sessions: 2 free sittings remaining @ friends print prices
Trash-the-Dress Sessions (prom, bridal or evening gown): 3 free sittings remaining @ friends print prices

Please contact us at artists[at]serenityphotos.biz to inquire and schedule a time.

ADDENDUM: No more sessions are available.