It’s important to remember that earthquakes don’t only cause injuries and death through direct damage. In many cases, earthquakes can create conditions that are hazardous to human life. For example, earthquakes can lead to tsunamis, fires, flooding, looting, disease outbreak, civil war, societal breakdown and a variety of other problems. While the United States does have a very good support infrastructure, it’s important to remember that certain natural disasters can challenge even the US government.

For example, Hurricane Katrina caused a variety of problems in New Orleans. In the city, martial law was declared. Several dozen looters were killed by the National Guard and police in the city. In addition, crime rates surged in the aftermath of the disaster. While an earthquake is not the same as a tornado, it can result in many similar problems.

When setting up an earthquake preparedness kit, it’s a good idea to make sure that it has a deluxe first aid kit. This kit should be equipped with cold packs, antibiotics, antiseptics, surgical gloves, band-aids, rubbing alcohol, cotton swabs and other common first aid tools. In addition, it’s essential to make sure that a first aid kit is equipped with medication to keep one healthy. While some medications, like antibiotics, are prescription-only, it’s a good idea to stockpile an extra bottle in the event of an emergency. Some doctors may be willing to write a prescription for an emergency-use bottle of antibiotics.

It’s also important to make sure that one has several flashlights, radios, flares, transceivers and other tools that can be used for communication. Since power can be out for several weeks after a natural disaster, it’s essential to make sure that one has enough batteries to last for at least 20 days.

In addition, it’s essential to make sure that one has access to non-perishable food. For example, canned foods can be a great choice for an earthquake preparedness kit. In addition, freeze-dried foods can be a great choice. In many cases, freeze-dried foods will last for up to 10 years in an earthquake preparedness kit. However, this can vary based on storage temperatures.

It’s also a good idea to make sure that one has access to a weapon. While many people may have varying opinions on gun ownership, it’s important to remember that 911 services may not be available after an earthquake. If looters try to enter one’s home after an earthquake, police may not be able to provide immediate assistance. Because of this, it’s a good idea to have access to a handgun in the event of an emergency. However, it’s a good idea to make sure that one practices his or her shooting skills every few months. This will ensure that one can use a gun if needed.

While an earthquake can be a challenging time for many people, the right tools can increase the chance of survival.

Having helped several of our staff with the task, we’ve become the local defacto experts on the issue, and have some ideas that may help:

The first thing to consider is whether or not you’ve got a valid claim in the first place.  Find the letter that you submitted with the company, and go over it as a impartial third party would. A few tips:

Make sure the letter does not contain any impolite or emotional language.  While it might feel good to vent your feelings on the topic, it may actually hurt your chances of approval, as it’s a distraction from the matter at hand…getting your money back.

Also check that you’ve included all the relevant information.   If you’ve missed, for example, putting in the loan number, or ppi policy number, that may be the issue.   The most crucial piece of information, however, is the list of valid reasons that confirm that you were mis-sold the PPI. Your best approach is to use the reasons listed in the official documentation verbatim, rather than using your own language.  This article from the Telegraph is a great resource in that regard.    While the following is only a partial list, it does cover several valid indicators that you were mis-sold ppi:

• If you were under the age of 18, or over the age of 65
• Your employment was part-time (less than 16 hours per week)
• You were a temporary or contract employee at the time you purchase the PPI coverage
• You run your own business, or were otherwise self-employed when the PPI was sold to you
• The lender did not inform you that the PPI policy does not cover certain stress-related conditions, despression, or chronic back pain.

Be Honest with Yourself

The most common reason for a claim being denied is a specific exclusion in the terms and conditions of the PPI policy.  For example, most PPI policies specifically exclude payment for any pre existing medical condition.  If the company was able to determine that the illness that prompted your claim existed before you sign the policy…then your claim is invalid. While  denied benefits can be frustrating, there are some situations where the provider is in the right.

Should I file a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service?

That’s your right, but it is usually a better idea to give the original business you bought the PPI from a second chance to look into the complaint.  The ombudsman is a great resource, but it is not a fast one.   In most cases, resubmitting your claim, as outlined above is your fastest path to get the problem solved.

If you feel like you have exhausted all other options, an appeal with the Ombudsman is usually successful, if a bit slow.  When brought to appeal through the Ombudsman, approximately 98 percent of PPI claims are overturned in favor of the borrower.  That’s significantly higher than their average of about 70 percent in favor of the consumer in other, non-PPI related matters.

What about using a 3rd party to resubmit my claim?

Many PPI filers are choosing to use commercial claims services. Since April of 2007, these claims-management companies must, by law, be authorised by the Ministry of Justice. Going with an authorised company reduces your risk of getting poor service.   Before you sign on with anyone offering to file a claim on your behalf,  check the list of approved companies on the Ministry’s website.

Also make sure you understand their fee structure and terms.  Some firms charge a percentage, while other charged a fixed fee.  Doing the math beforehand will ensure that you don’t have any surprises.

The Final Word

The process can be frustrating, and so, it might make sense for you to have a look at your PPI policy and determine how much you paid into the insurance.  The claim amount cannot exceed what you’ve paid in, so having a look at the  total may help you decide if appealing, or refiling your claim is worth the amount of time and effort that you will need to put into it.   If you feel like the work is worth more than the reward, then you should consider either dropping the matter, or outsourcing it to a 3rd party claims company that will do the work for either a flat fee, or some percentage of any recovered funds.

We took some time to investigate the claims of  some of the best HGH supplements, and the general background on HGH.   Here’s what we found:

The Claimed Benefits

Companies that are selling HGH products are generally restating benefits that have been uncovered in medical studies.   More about that later, but there is some hard science behind the idea that HGH can increase lean body mass, and decrease your body fat percentage.  For now, note that this isn’t the same thing as weight loss, in fact, it’s arguably better.  Lose fat, and increase muscle, versus just “losing weight”.

The general premise being sold is that this hormone, naturally present in your body, can be taken in powder, pill, or injection form, and stimulate both muscle growth and weight loss.

 The History of HGH

HGH does occur naturally in your body, and is basically the catalyst that spurs cell growth and development.  The earliest uses of HGH were as a treatment for children with unusually stunted growth due to a few specific illnesses, and goes back to the mid-eighties.    Over time, more uses for the drug were identified.  For example, there’s a condition known as “short bowel syndrome”, where patients that are eating normally don’t absorb enough nutriets because of a naturally short, or removed section of intestines.

Eventually treatments spread to two other patient types, both with issues in either muscle loss, or excessive body fat.   The studies related to using HGH on these patients is likely what ignited companies to try and sell it as a general solution for weight loss.

The first patient type was a subset of  HIV/AIDS patients that were losing muscle mass in their bodies, typically losing over 10% of their overall body mass.  HGH as a treatment for these patients was very successful.  They were given a daily dose of HGH, and over a 3 month period, saw significant increases in both their body weight and overall muscle mass, more than was observed with other treatments, including testosterone and weight training.

The second study focused on patients with pituitary gland deficiencies.   This was an obvious study to perform, as the naturally occurring HGH in your body is produced by the pituitary gland.   Thus, patients with pituitary issues would be experiencing the symptoms of low HGH, which include decreased strength lower energy, weight gain, loss of  muscle mass, and depression.

The study, predictably, showed marked improvements in the symptoms, as the injections of synthetic HGH were supplementing the low levels of their naturally occuring HGH.    Patients did lose body fat and gained lean muscle mass.

The question is, of course, whether these beneficial effects of HGH apply to otherwise healthy adults, or if the benefit really only helps those patients with specific disorders and conditions.

An Evidence Shortage

Really, the issue at hand is that there’s not a wealth of studies available documenting HGH’s effect on people that are overweight, but have no other significant health issues.

Watchouts

If you decide to try HGH, there’s three major watchouts:

1. Pills and Poweders: Don’t bother with buying HGH in pill or powder form.  HGH is a protein, and the acid in your stomach easily breaks it down into digestible material before any HGH enters your bloodstream.  If you buy HGH in this form, it’s not going to do anything at all other than pass through you.
2. Shady Operators: Since the only form available that will have some effect is an injection, you’ll need to have it both prescribed, and administered, by a doctor.   If you don’t have one of the specific medical conditions that HGH is FDA approved to treat, you may have a difficult time finding a reputable physician that will agree to do this.   That makes the temptation to take injections from an unlicensed individual high…but don’t do it.   If an unregulated and unlicensed clinic is willing to do this, there’s no guarantee that you’re actually getting HGH, and also no guarantee that they are following other rules, like using only new needles and monitoring your physical health.
3. Side Effects:  There are a number of documented side effects of HGH use, some of them potentially severe, like insulin regulation issues that can result in diabetes, and joint issues, including carpal tunnel syndrome.  Ensure that you’re talking with your doctor and being monitored for side effects.

Recommendations

It is our strong recommendation to avoid HGH use unless you’ve been diagnosed by a licensed and reputable physician.  If you’re trying to lose weight, there are a number of more well documented treatments that have proven success.

Without getting into too much detail, what we needed was a way to collect information in a structured way, and then get the resulting data into a format that we could use later…and a nice-to-have was a way to collect an optional donation via Paypal at the end of the process.

We started out with WuFoo’s form service.  It certainly filled the bill on collecting information, but fell short in two areas.  First, the forms don’t actually run on your webserver.  They run on WuFoo’s server.   There are plugins where you can sort of mask this, but in the end, the integration with WordPress is very superficial.  Any processing of the data requires logging into WuFoo.  Secondly, when you get into a certain volume, or need extra features, like Paypal integration, you are forced into a monthly plan.  We certainly don’t mind paying for functionality, but paying for it month-to-month isn’t ideal for us…we would rather pay once.

After searching around for something less expensive, we did find additional hosted solutions.   JotForm, in particular, was initially attractive, as it’s pricing was much lower than WuFoo.    They had a paypal-integration solution for less than $10 per month, as compared to WuFoo’s nearly $30 per month.   JotForm’s feature list was smaller, but it did everything we wanted it to.   We were very close to selecting and moving forward with JotForm when a friend let us know about Gravity Forms.

It wasn’t cheap, but it was a one-time payment, and it’s fairly easy to find a discount code to take some of the sting out of the $199 developer license.   They do have a $39 personal license, as well as a $99 business license, but we really wanted the developer license so we could get the Paypal integration.

Aside from having the one-time licensing payment, Gravity Forms was also attractive because it really runs on your server, and is a native wordpress plugin.   No trickery involved to keep users on your site.  It also gains the benefit, since it runs in wordpress, of deep integration.  It has the ability to leverage shortcodes, creates it’s own wordpress compatible php function calls, creates widgets that can be used in your theme, and so on.  It even has support for hooks, filters, and permissions by role.

It also supports some features that not every form builder offers, like multi-page forms with a progress bar, limits on number of entries (great for contests), image and file upload, and smart fields like dates, times, and so forth.

That’s a lot to consider all at once, and perhaps sounds a little complex.   It’s true that using some of the advanced features can take a bit of trail and error, but the tool does a decent job of keeping simple tasks simple.   Here’s a screenshot of a simple, but common task, creating a “contact us” page:

“Contact Us” page being built with Gravity Forms

You can see from the screenshot that the interface, for simple tasks, is pretty straightforward.  Lesser-used controls are hidden behind a tab keeps them at hand, but not in your face.  The right side of the screen shows some of the “Advanced Fields” that come with built-in smarts and validation.   For example, there’s a “Date” field that will ensure only valid dates are able to be input.

Here’s another advanced type field, in this case an address field:

Advanced Field – Address

You can see several options here that will save you a lot of time, like the ability to use either a localized address type or an international type. There’s also basic validation in place that will ensure collected addresses are more accurate.

And finally, the paypal integration were were after in the first place:

Paypal Configuration Screen

A little more complex than just building a form, but Gravity Forms does lead you down the path, prompting you to enable IPN on your paypal account, then leading you to define your product(s), and finally, the screen shown above for configuring your paypal Account info, and general preferences for checking out.  Paypal is what we needed, but they also offer integration for Authorize.Net if you need to tie in a real merchant account.

In any case, the product does much more than we will ever do with it.   Everything was reasonably straightforward, and the product documentation fills in whenever a specific task was difficult.  There’s also a reasonably active forum where you can get support.   We were certainly happy with it, and give it an honest thumbs up.

There’s now a new option, from Virgin Mobile, that makes getting a prepaid iPhone more straightforward.   There are some upfront charges to contend with, but you may be able to reduce the cost with a Virgin mobile promo code.  Here’s how it works…

Virgin Mobile, the partner that Sprint uses as a  pre-paid provider, just unveiled their prepaid iPhones. Their contract works this way: You pay a higher initial price for the iPhone 4, since it’s not subsidized by the plan, and then, you spend about $30 per month for unlimited text messages,data and a basic allotment of 300 minutes. For $10 more per month, you  get 1,200 minutes, and finally, a $50 rate bumps you up to unlimited talk.  If you like to use your phone as a mobile wifi hotspot, it’s an additional $15 per month.

Sounds good so far, right?  Are you wondering what the catch is?  The catch is that the handset cost is pretty high.  We’re all used to carriers like AT&T and Sprint offering us an iPhone for $200 or so.   Well, the only reason they can do that is because you have to commit to a 2 year contact to get the pricing.   The phone is costing them well over $200, so they make up the loss with what they charge you over two years.   And boy, do they charge you.  Not just what’s in the contract, but a plethora of overages, undocumented fees, etc.

Now, enter Virgin, who have little ability to recoup money from you on a prepaid plan.  If you opt for that $50/month plan where everything is unlimited, that’s all you pay, ever.   So, the tradeoff ends up being the upfront price.   It’s $649 if you want the 16GB model or $549 if the 8GB phone will do.   If you’re suffering from sticker shock, do the math.   An excellent article from the Christian Science monitor does the math for you, and says you’ll save about $750 over a two year time period.

Many perceive the program as coming directly from the taxpayer’s pockets.  This isn’t technically true, however.   The program is funded under the auspices of the Universal Service Fund, administered by the Federal Communications Commission.   It’s funded by payments that all telecom companies are required to submit to the Fund.  In practice, however, these companies just pass the charge directly to their customers, usually in the form of a line item labeled “Universal Service Fee”.

There’s already several stories circulating that take the side of “shutting it down”, so we wondered if there was a compelling story for keeping the program in place.   As it happens, a young woman named Clair, an active participant in the program, was willing to share her story with us”

“While everyone seems to think that all of us getting a cell phone provided for by the U.S. government program are getting some kind of perk or  luxury…and a luxury that low-income people should not have if they are already receiving some other form of government assitance. Here’s what they don’t  understand.  Even in today’s times  there are some  who cannot afford phone service for their home.

I happen to know this, as I have lived in subsidized  housing and received SSI and disability assistance for the past 15 years. Although I am myself, fortunate enough that I can afford home phone, many of my neighbors cannot.  The cell phone provided to them by the Lifeline program is their one, and only phone.  Most of these people are elderly, and that phone is the only thing they have available to them in an emergency.  God forbid they fall and break a hip.  Are they supposed to crawl to a pay phone?  Has anyone even seen a working payphone lately?  I mean honestly…the plan provides about $10 of benefits every month.  Enough for 200 minutes.   This is not a case of ‘benefits gone wild’”

It’s certainly a refreshing viewpoint, and goes to show that not everyone on the plan is taking advantage.   Many are, as the program intended, using it as a “Lifeline”.

The distinction between science, engineering and technology is not always clear. Science is the reasoned investigation or study of phenomena, aimed at discovering enduring principles among elements of the phenomenal world by employing formal techniques such as the scientific method.[13] Technologies are not usually exclusively products of science, because they have to satisfy requirements such as utility, usability and safety.

Engineering is the goal-oriented process of designing and making tools and systems to exploit natural phenomena for practical human means, often (but not always) using results and techniques from science. The development of technology may draw upon many fields of knowledge, including scientific, engineering, mathematical, linguistic, and historical knowledge, to achieve some practical result.

Technology is often a consequence of science and engineering — although technology as a human activity precedes the two fields. For example, science might study the flow of electrons in electrical conductors, by using already-existing tools and knowledge. This new-found knowledge may then be used by engineers to create new tools and machines, such as semiconductors, computers, and other forms of advanced technology. In this sense, scientists and engineers may both be considered technologists; the three fields are often considered as one for the purposes of research and reference.

The exact relations between science and technology in particular have been debated by scientists, historians, and policymakers in the late 20th century, in part because the debate can inform the funding of basic and applied science. In the immediate wake of World War II, for example, in the United States it was widely considered that technology was simply “applied science” and that to fund basic science was to reap technological results in due time. An articulation of this philosophy could be found explicitly in Vannevar Bush’s treatise on postwar science policy, Science—The Endless Frontier: “New products, new industries, and more jobs require continuous additions to knowledge of the laws of nature… This essential new knowledge can be obtained only through basic scientific research.” In the late-1960s, however, this view came under direct attack, leading towards initiatives to fund science for specific tasks (initiatives resisted by the scientific community). The issue remains contentious—though most analysts resist the model that technology simply is a result of scientific research.

The ability to make and use tools was once considered a defining characteristic of the genus Homo. However, the discovery of tool construction among chimpanzees and related primates has discarded the notion of the use of technology as unique to humans. For example, researchers have observed wild chimpanzees utilising tools for foraging: some of the tools used include leaf sponges, termite fishing probes, pestles and levers. West African chimpanzees also use stone hammers and anvils for cracking nuts, as do capuchin monkeys of Boa Vista, Brazil.

Technology is properly defined as any application of science to accomplish a function. The science can be leading edge or well established and the function can have high visibility or be significantly more mundane but it is all technology, and its exploitation is the foundation of all competitive advantage.

Technology-based planning is what was used to build the US industrial giants before WWII (e.g., Dow, DuPont, GM) and it what was used to transform the US into a superpower. It was not economic-based planning.

Project Socrates determined that to rebuild US competitiveness, decision making through out the US had to readopt technology-based planning. Project Socrates also determined that countries like China and India had continued executing technology-based (while the US took its detour into economic-based) planning, and as a result had considerable advanced the process and were using it to build themselves into superpowers. To rebuild US competitiveness the US decision-makers needed adopt a form of technology-based planning that was far more advanced than that used by China and India.

Project Socrates determined that technology-based planning makes an evolutionary leap forward every few hundred years and the next evolutionary leap, the Automated Innovation Revolution, was poised to occur. In the Automated Innovation Revolution the process for determining how to acquire and utilize technology for a competitive advantage (which includes R&D) is automated so that it can be executed with unprecedented speed, efficiency and agility.

Project Socrates developed the means for automated innovation so that the US could lead the Automated Innovation Revolution in order to rebuild and maintain the country’s economic competitiveness for many generations.

According to archaeologists, the wheel was invented around 4000 B.C. probably independently and nearly-simultaneously in Mesopotamia (in present-day Iraq), the Northern Caucasus (Maykop culture) and Central Europe. Estimates on when this may have occurred range from 5500 to 3000 B.C., with most experts putting it closer to 4000 B.C. The oldest artifacts with drawings that depict wheeled carts date from about 3000 B.C.; however, the wheel may have been in use for millennia before these drawings were made. There is also evidence from the same period of time that wheels were used for the production of pottery. (Note that the original potter’s wheel was probably not a wheel, but rather an irregularly shaped slab of flat wood with a small hollowed or pierced area near the center and mounted on a peg driven into the earth. It would have been rotated by repeated tugs by the potter or his assistant.) More recently, the oldest-known wooden wheel in the world was found in the Ljubljana marshes of Slovenia.

The invention of the wheel revolutionized activities as disparate as transportation, war, and the production of pottery (for which it may have been first used). It didn’t take long to discover that wheeled wagons could be used to carry heavy loads and fast (rotary) potters’ wheels enabled early mass production of pottery. But it was the use of the wheel as a transformer of energy (through water wheels, windmills, and even treadmills) that revolutionized the application of nonhuman power sources.