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The last ten years has seen massive wealth growth in the United States. This brings up the issue of wealth planning, particularly from a tax perspective.

Got Wealth?

There is little doubt that the overall wealth of a significant percentage of Americans has grown like a weed in your garden over the last 10 years. There are a variety of reasons for this growth. Real estate appreciation has set historical records. Stock options are creating massive paper wealth, while also creating tax nightmares. Demographically, a bulge in our population, the baby boomers, are reaching retirement age. Regardless of the reason, wealth planning is becoming a big issue for many people.

Wealth planning strategies tend to be very detail oriented. They also tend to be an option only for certain situations. As a result, you need to speak with a professional regarding each particular strategy to determine if they are of assistance to your situation. These techniques are not universal solutions like stuffing money into a 401k, so dont take them as such. Lets take a look at one popular strategy.

Once wealth planning strategy that is very popular deals with real estate. The strategy focuses on making a fixed asset, the equity in your home, grow. Many homeowners do not realize that the equity in their home is not growing. Instead, it is the value of your home that grows, which creates ADDITIONAL equity. Lets look at an example.

Assume I own a home worth $1,000,000 and have $500,000 in equity. The equity is just sitting there. It does not grow. If the value of the home drops to $900,000, I still have the same amount of equity. If the home appreciates by $100,000, I get an additional $100,000 in equity because the house increased in value, not because my original $500,000 grew in any way. If you can get your mind around this concept, you will realize the problem.

The strategy for this situation involves turning the equity in your home into a growing asset without taking on any additional risk. The process is very simple, but a masterful one. You refinance the home to remove as much of the equity as possible. The equity is then put into no risk custom life insurance product. It grows tax free in the product, which is based on the performance of the stock market. If the stock market has a negative annual return, the insurance policy is tailored to eliminate the risk by setting your annual gain or loss at zero. Put another way, if the market loses 10 percent this year, you lose nothing.

This simple strategy is a tremendous way to double the wealth you gain on your home. Instead of just being happy with the appreciation, you get both appreciation and the tax free gains in the insurance policy. In laymens terms, this lets you leverage your property for double gains.

Wealth planning strategies are very subject specific. The above one works with real estate, but no other subject. To identify the best solutions for your situation, you should consult with a top tax attorney, financial planner or accountant.

Your wife finally said yes. After years of begging on your knees, buying flowers, and taking out the trash you are finally allowed to shop for a home theatre system. Know that you got the chance; do you know what is out there and how to go about buying A/V (audio and video) equipment? Most consumers see the rows of big screen televisions in their big lot stores. They stand there drooling only to find that dont understand what brand audio will go with the best brand of video. It is a logistic nightmare if you want to learn all the information about the product and then when you get home you dont know how to set it up.

For the most part, I loved my childhood. I loved growing up in a house full of brothers and sisters. I always had a playmate and there was never a dull moment. We had great family time and my mother was the most amazing cook. We all had to take lessons of all kinds from the time we were really young. I remember being forced into trying piano and clarinet.from around the time I started elementary school. At first I was quite excited about the piano and quite hesitant about learning the clarinet.

My feelings changed rather quickly, however, when I began showing a natural talent for the clarinet. I had trouble mastering the ivories of the piano and my mouth and fingers just naturally worked together on the clarinet in a way that my mom said sounded just like magic. I think she might have said that simply because she wanted to inspire me to stick with the instrument for her own listening pleasure.

I’m not exactly sure when it happened, but eventually I came to enjoy playing the clarinet as much as my mother loved hearing me play. I guess I liked it because it was the one way I stood out from among my siblings. In a large family, I had to take any opportunity I could get to stand out and make a name for myself. Clarinet was my opportunity and I grabbed ahold of it with all I could.

I signed up for private lessons after school and I became a part of every local band and orchestra that would accept me. I guess my perfectionism was evident even from these early years. All of my hard work paid off when I was offered a scholarship to a well known music conservatory where I went for three years after high school. My parents could not be more proud of me, except I think they were a little concerned that I would not make a career out of clarinet and would be stuck poor and leaning on them.

My time in the conservatory led me to get a master’s in music education and I have found my calling as a teacher of clarinet at a local university. It is my privilege to use my love for the clarinet and my talents to help other students achieve their dreams with the clarinet as well. So follow your dreams, whatever they are. For me, it was the clarinet. I’m so glad that I grew up playing it.

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Recent exploration of sediment deep beneath the Artic Ocean has led geologists to estimate that approximately 1/4 of the worlds untapped oil and gas reserves are located there. After evaluating the impact of the news, the U. S. may seek membership in OPEC.

President Bush, smiling and joking with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia at a press briefing in Nome, Alaska, stated, Since it looks like weve got about as much oil off Alaska as our good friend the King here has in the Saudi desert, it seems like a pretty good idea for America to consider membership in OPEC. The least you can say is, maybe then well have more influence on prices at the pump.

King Abdullah, who flew in to tour the newly oil-rich region with President Bush and Vice President Cheney, commented, Until now, I thought a country had to have a lot of sand to have oil. Now, I see it can also have a lot of snow. If America wants to join OPEC, we will be very happy to consider the application. But, of course, we only have one vote.

Reaction across the Middle East was not unmixed, even in Saudi Arabia. A member of the nations delegation to OPEC, speaking on condition of anonymity so he could remain in the employ of the King, cited Allahs usual ways to man in terms of the oil trade, saying, The eternal wisdom of Allah has provided that no part of the world is able to have more oil than Saudi Arabia. But our King likes to visit George Bush at his ranch in Crawford or wherever he is, so if we see enough gushers blacken the Artic Ocean, I suppose we will bring ourselves to consider U. S. membership.

The Iranian representative was, expectedly, evasive while definite. If the U. S. wants to join OPEC, we may say no or yes, never or maybe, later or now. There is, of course, more likelihood that we will say yes or maybe sooner if the U. S. agrees that our proud and progressive Islamic nation has the right to develop nuclear weapons for peaceful purposes.

When asked about possible opposition to U. S. membership in OPEC, President Bush made no maybes about his intentions, turning to the King first, and saying, Excuse me for saying this, but you how Im always forthright. Then he turned to the reporter, and stated, We have a backup plan. If the other nations who control OPEC vote against American membership, we intend to form an oil cartel with Canada, which, like our own state of Alaska, borders on the Artic Ocean. Greenland, which also has a presence there, has indicated interest in the cartel, which, by the way, weve given the working name of APEC, with the A standing for Artic. I also plan to invite Russia, which, as you know, borders on the other side of the Artic Ocean, to consider the benefits of membership in APEC.

Vice President Cheney, flashing his usual fleeting acidic smile at the King, took his turn at the skillful conduct of international relations, adding, Its quite a relief to know weve got as much oil up north as we do, and frankly, I kind of like the idea of APEC. So just let me say that, with all due deference to the King, the choice for OPEC is clear. Its their cartel or ours.

Environmentalists were widely distressed. A leading researcher of the multinational team that extracted the deep cores which indicated the vast reserves said, Its disheartening to think that our discovery of how much oil and gas lie under the Artic has led to a desire to extract it. I would have thought everyone would just appreciate the wisdom of leaving it there. Now, I shudder to think how much the combustion of the reserves will contribute to global warming, which, unfortunately, will make it even easier to pump out the oil, since there wont be any ice left to get in the way.

Eskimos generally applauded the news, with many expressing an eagerness to trade in their traditional garb for Arabian dress. One Eskimo confided, If you want to know the truth, I like global warming. Weve had it cold long enough.

Everyday Americans at the pump were ecstatic about the prospects of a domestic oil glut. Wow, just think, an American SUV driver, who was at a gas station pumping out his wallet, said, if the U. S. is part of OPEC or forms its own cartel, I might even be able to keep my gas guzzler.

Improve memory easily? Yes, there really are some simple techniques, and you can start using them right now. Here are a few to get you started.

1. Tell yourself to remember. When you first learn a person’s name, for example, tell yourself, “remember that”. This signals your unconscious mind to rank this input higher in importance.

2. Know why you want to remember something. For example, to remember a person, think about how that person will be important to you in the future. If you want to remember fact about something, think about how you’ll will need them someday.

3. Visualize the future. Imagine where you’ll see a person next, and anything you notice about them. Use this with the last technique. The additional associations will set the memory more firmly in your brain.

4. Retrace your steps. When you forget something, like where you put your keys, you probably retrace your steps. This works, but try it in your mind, as if you were watching yourself from a distance. This can help keep you from blanking out parts of your route, as you did when you first set the keys down.

5. Plan your memory. When you set down the keys on the chair, see yourself walking in and setting the keys on the chair. You could also quickly imagine someone asking where you put them and you answering “on the chair.” You’ll remember where they are if you do this.

Improve Memory With Proven “Tricks”

I went to a birthday party as a child. A party contest involved looking at a table covered in 15 various items for a few minutes. Then the things were taken away, and then we each got a piece of paper and a pencil. We had to write down as many items as we could remember. I recalled seven or eight, but one little boy got all 15 items, and won the prize.

Years later I learned how he did it. His father taught him a simple technique that none of us other kids knew. The trick is to tie the items together in an imaginative story. Let’s say you want to remember the following things: milk, soap, forks, honey, and flowers.

You create a story, and see it vividly in your head: At the bathroom sink, you reach for the soap, but the soap dish is filled with milk, so you wash your hands with that, then comb honey into your hair with a fork, pick up a bouquet of flowers and smile at yourself in the mirror. Repeat each item to yourself as you review this “movie” in your imagination, and you’ll remember all five things, even the next day.

Create Good Memory Habits

Guess what the biggest problem with memory techniques is? Remembering to use them. Seriously, there are many great methods, but if you don’t have the habit of using them, you’ll forget to when you need them most. With any technique, make a conscious effort to use it until it becomes automatic. That’s how to improve memory.

Bob Marley tends to be attracted to people who are not quite what they seem. Gullible, romantic and rather easily seduced, Bob frequently falls in love with an image in his own mind, which he then projects onto the object of his affections, only to discover later that this person never really had the lovely qualities he endowed her with. Bob Marley also confuses love relationships with pity, sacrifice, or misplaced notions of selfishness, thereby setting himself up to be taken advantage of. He is capable of great devotion to a spiritual cause, for he is actually seeking some sort of transcendent or mystical experience through love.

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Americas National Pastime reached its Zenith of glory by 1860s. Alexander Joy Cartwright modernized the game in 1845 to almost its present form. However, the specifications to baseball bats kept changing with each innovation and need. The innovations changed bat materials to the present aluminum alloy from the classical wooden.

Although whole of baseball gear has undergone a complete makeover, nothing has changed as much and as fast as the bat. There are many different kinds of bats designed for Little Leagues, Senior Leagues, college, and pros. Each coalition has a congeal of parameters for keg diameter and loop dimensions. It can be unconditional overwhelming when you consider the variety of baseball bat brands, materials, styles, and qualities.

Bat Materials

Basically there are three categories but enough for new comers to get bowled over.

Wood: generally willow wood from Canada and Australia goes into making bats for their good grain and fibrous structure. Seasoned wood is used to make bats which can be evidenced by the long fibers of wider nature. One biggest advantage of wooden bats is customizability as regards to barrel and grip. Contrary to beliefs, heavier wooden bats produce greater impacts than lighter bats by virtue of the momentum. But these are not crack free and the sweet spots get reduced after endured usage.

Aluminum alloys: Get ready to spend about $200 on these. These are stronger yet lighter and help generate greater swing speeds. The general alloy used here is 7046; but special alloys like CU31/7050 with higher zirconium, magnesium and copper content gives higher strength and durability. Ask for more choices in this category. Construction depends on the selling price; so we have single/double layered bats in different alloys for higher impacts, rebounds etc. In addition, cryogenically treated bats give lesser vibration and increased distance.

Graphite/Titanium lined: Beauty of this option is the lightest weight bats. Thinner walled bats lined with titanium/graphite provide desired strength and help reduce the impact shock of hitting the ball away from the sweet spot.

Specifications

USA Baseball, the governing body, issues charts for bat selection which benefits fresher. The bat can be chosen either by age or by your height. The charts are available at every baseball club and over the internet.

For age between 5-7 years the bat length recommended is between 24″-26″ which reaches 34 level for ages above 17 years. The other chart starts for a height of 36-40 with 26 bat till 73+ having recommended a length of 34.

Bats are just part of the game and not the game within themselves. Remember the saying, you can take the horse till the lake, but drinking water is his prerogative.

Living Quarters: Canadian Options

As with most countries, Canada offers a wide variety of options when it comes to choosing a place to call home. The choice you make will depend on several factors, including your budget, your space needs, and your desired location.

Below are some of the options you may want to consider:

- Room for rent Some individuals who own a house or an apartment may rent out separate rooms in those dwellings. All of the tenants share the bathroom(s) and the kitchen.

- Studio apartment These apartments are small and were primarily designed for just one person. Most consist of a single large room that contains the kitchen and bedroom and a separate bathroom.

- Apartments Larger apartments are also available. These can range in size from one to three bedrooms. They also have separate living rooms, kitchens, and bathrooms.

- Duplex A duplex is a single home that has been divided into two separate living areas. Each area is completely separate from the other, but residents may share a yard or driveway.

- Townhouses Townhouses are small houses which are built in rows, so that they form a chain. Most of the homes in the chain are similar in appearance.

- Houses Homes of all shapes and sizes are available throughout Canada. You can also choose to have a home built specifically to your specifications on an available lot.

- Condominiums Condos are essentially apartments or townhouses that are owned, not rented. Owners are responsible for all of the internal upkeep on the property and must pay property taxes. They also pay a condo association fee which covers the costs of outdoor maintenance, such as lawn mowing.

Besides these options, there are also two other important choices you need to make: furnished or unfurnished and rent or buy.

Furnished or Unfurnished

In Canada, you can find homes and apartments that are furnished. This means that all of the necessary furnishings are included in the living area, such as beds and chairs. Furnished apartments and homes may be a good option when you are first moving to Canada, especially if you are immigrating from a distance. The cost of transporting your own couches and beds could be quite expensive.

Most people, however, choose to live in an unfurnished dwelling so that they can decorate in a manner they see fit. Some unfurnished homes and apartments will still come with kitchen appliances, such as refrigerators and stoves.

Rent or Buy

This is an important decision because it will also influence which types of property from the list above you focus on during your search for a place to live. Most new permanent residents choose to rent an apartment or home initially, so they can get a feel for the area, find a steady job, and do some leisurely research on the real estate available in their price range. However, there are also many newcomers to Canada who jump right in and purchase a home.

If you do choose to buy a home, townhouse, duplex, or condominium, then be aware that you will need to have money for a down payment. Most banks and mortgage providers will require a down payment of at least 10% of the total cost of the house. That means if you want to buy a $100,000 home, you’ll need a $10,000 down payment.

If you opt to rent an apartment, a room, a home, or a duplex, then you will also need to be prepared to pay some money upfront. Most landlords in Canada expect you to pay first and last month’s rent after you sign the lease. Many landlords will also require you to provide a reference’s contact information. The reference MUST be someone living in Canada. Your employer, for example, may be a good reference.

Regardless of whether your rent or buy, you can expect to pay between $350 and $2000 a month depending on the living quarters you select. As a general rule, you shouldn’t spend more than 50% of your income on housing costs, including your utility bills and mortgage/rent payments. That means you’ll want to establish a budget before you start house/apartment hunting in Canada.

Also, keep in mind that housing costs vary considerably, even within the same province. You can save money on your housing if you do some research and focus on areas outside of major cities.

Giving Total Strangers Your Personal Information
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How often would you say you trust total strangers with some of your most confidential information? I think I can answer this question for just about everyone. The answer is, nearly everyday. To illustrate this, I recently made a list of people or organizations that I have provided the following information to;

My social security number;
Birth date;
Tax Identification number;
Bank account numbers;
Medical information;
Checking account number

Just to name the top few forms of personal identification and confidential information. The list of those other than my self that have access to this information is made up of but not limited to the following;

My doctors office;
Banks that have issued me credit cards;
Computer stores (Best Buy, CompUSA, CDW, Circuit City);
Online music purchases through Wal-Mart (Formerly Liquid Audio);
Restaurant staff;
Hospitals;
Medical procedure companies (X-ray’s, Ultra-sounds,….
And many more…

Be careful When Giving Your Credit Card Number Over The Phone
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It seems like almost everyday someone is asking me for my social security number. I think most of us just get use to provided this information to various people and companies.

I recently ordered Italian food for dinner from one our favorite local restaurants. Every time I place an order the person taking the phone order repeats, out loud, my credit card information as I provide it to them over the phone. This includes the account number, my name, and expiration date. Every item that someone standing in line waiting to pick up their Pizza needs to purchase anything they wish online with my credit. I know why they do this, to make sure they are getting the right information. However, I finally told the person to please stop repeating this information out load. They were a little confused at first of why I made this request but after explaining to them my concern they said Wow, I never really thought about that before. “How in the world can you remember all these things about computers?” Sometimes I wonder this myself.

To share another, more serious experience with you here is something that happened to me in just the last week or so. My wife walked into my office after returning from the mailbox and the first words out of her mouth was Are you ready for this. When ever she utters that phrase I know its not something pleasant. The letter she was holding was from our mortgage company. A company we have been doing business with for many years. It turns out that approximately 4 months ago a computer they were shipping from one office to another was stolen in transit. This computer contained my mortgage account number, balance, credit lines, social security number, business tax identification number, and much more.

When Should A Company Notify You That Your Personal Information Has Been Stolen?
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The letter indicated that they were just notifying me now because law enforcement asked that they not contact any customers at the time the event took place, several months prior to receiving the letter, because it may impact the investigation. Well, they never found the computer or the thief so they decided to start notifying the affected customers. The letter also stated that the stolen computer had two levels of security and that they were not overly concerned that the thief would gain direct access to my information. Being in the computer security business, I thought to myself Lets see, two levels of security, well that could be a password to logon to the computer, and Anti-Virus software, or maybe they were using whole disk encryption and some sort of 1024bit pass-phrase to access the system. Quite frankly, chances are the system was not protected by anything as sophisticated as whole disk encryption. Of course they would not give me this information when I called. They did have a plan of action though to help me. You ready for this, a 1 year free subscription to Equifax (A Credit Reporting Agency) to alert me if someone is using my stolen information. That is about it. Oh, and they would assist me in the event that something showed up on my credit report. Its nice to see a multi-billion dollar company taking responsibility for the theft of my financial information.
I know I’m not the only person that has these little “moments”. My New Years resolution this year was to simplify my life. I’m not embarrassed to say that I’ve not made much progress yet but I am not going to give up. I am going to bring harmony to my life if it kills me in the process.

I share this information with you for several reasons. First, in the computer security business we are constantly talking about trusted and un-trusted computers and networks. Trusted networks are under a local administrators control and un-trusted networks are under the control of someone else. The same situation exists in real life. I keep safe my personal and private information as much as possible. but there are others that have this information as well. How well do they safe guard this information? I have no idea, but I am forced to trust them. Second, to show you that even security professionals, people like me who tend to be slightly more paranoid then the rest about our private information are just as much at risk as everyone else. Finally, to get you thinking about your confidential and private information, how many people have access to it, and why you need to take more than reasonable steps to keep it confidential?

Conclusion
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Dont for one minute think that identity theft or fraud cant happen to you. In fact, I would say that it is not if but when it will happen, at least to one degree or another. Keep your private information confidential as much as possible. When people ask you for this information, ask them why they need it and how they plan to keep it secure. Also, keep track of who you give this information and for what reason. Finally, monitor your credit report frequently. Trans Union, Equifax, and Experian, the three largest credit reporting agencies, now offer inexpensive monthly services that can provide you with important information that could alert you to various forms of electronic fraud.

You may reprint or publish this article free of charge as long as the bylines are included.

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Fashion is all encompassing. Do you make fashion, or fashion makes you? How much are you affected by the latest trends?? Let us look at this issue impersonally. Please view some old photographs dating about hundred years old. You will see men and women wearing different types of clothes then now. Today, the trend is different.

The word trend, latest and in fashion take away our originality. We have stopped thinking about what kind of clothes we want to wear, so that we look good and feel comfortable. Instead we find out what the celebrities are wearing. We look at the latest collections of fashion designers. We make our choice from these. We don’t make our own fashion.

This does not apply to our thinking, our motions and our value systems. In these, we have our own standards. But when it comes to fashion, we fall in queue. Why? The designers are persuading us that if we don’t follow the latest fashion, we are backward and not up to date. Friends may laugh at us. Many of us display the latest acquisitions of designer clothes that we but at exorbitant prices. We don’t question the prices of top designers. Why?

It has to do with some amount of brainwash all of us have undergone by the marketing companies. If everyone becomes independent and makes his/her own fashion, how will they survive? Many of us buy the latest clothing, wear it once or twice and then never wear it again, because it has gone out of fashion. We spend money again and buy the latest. Fashion has affected us to such an extent that we don’t question about these issues. We simply follow the herd.

Let them eat cake.

So said Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, upon being told that the peasants were rioting in the streets because they had no bread. It has been cited for over two centuries as an indictment of the arrogance of the aristocracy but in reality, the young queen may simply not have understood why, lacking bread, a person would not turn to cake. Such was the separation between the tables of the privileged and those of the poor.

Nowhere was that separation so evident, though, than it was in Russia of the last century. While the wealthy dined on caviar, pheasants, creamed chicken and ice cream, the peasants developed their own cuisine that is unequalled for its versatility and variety in the face of the resources at hand. When Russian cuisine first moved beyond its own borders, it was the dishes of the royal table that defined the food of the nation. But it is the so-called peasant cuisine that is the true heart of the nation.

There is no other nation or region in the world that makes so much of soup. Russian regional cuisine features at least seven broad categories of soups, based on ingredients and regions. From thin vegetable broths flavored with herbs, to thick, hearty stews rich with meat and vegetables, soup is a mainstay of Russian cuisine. In many homes, a pot of shchi stood on the back burner of the stove, simmering throughout the day. Although it is technically cabbage soup, the method of cooking gives shchi a flavor that is indescribable, but unmistakable. In poorer households, shchi might have no ingredients other than cabbage and onions, simmered on the stove and then placed in the oven to draw the flavors. A more fortunate household might add anything from beans to sausage to fish to vegetables, to make a savory, soured soup that sticks to the ribs and wakes the taste buds.

Bread is another staple of Russian regional cuisine, and theres nothing in the world to compare to Russian black rye bread. Heavy and meaty, with a characteristic sour taste, Russian rye bread is nearly hearty enough to be a meal in and of itself. Its the perfect bread to offset salted meats, pickled cabbage and sauerkraut. Toasted and slathered with butter, its the perfect breakfast to start a day off well, and dipped in soup, it adds texture and flavor to anything from the thinnest broth to the thick, hearty stews of the northern steppes.

Its impossible to speak of Russian cuisine without mention of borscht. Another soup, this one based on red beets, it is served in many ways throughout Russia. In the Ukraine, for instance, borscht often is made with tomatoes, and has pork and sausage added as well as beef. In Kiev, borscht is often served with sour cream and a sprinkling of caraway seeds. Each region has its own version, and each is fiercely proud and protective of it.

Russian cuisine, like Chinese and US and European regional cuisine, is in reality a cornucopia of styles and recipes, with a dish in Chechnya bearing little resemblance to the same dish in Leningrad. It is wonderful, varied and hearty fare fit for more than the tables of kings. It is fit for the tables of the people.

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The sewing machine has been around for more than two hundred years now and is still as popular today. Most households have a sewing machine, whether its for ornamental use or for taking care of those sewing chores.

The sewing machine was invented to help join fabric together using thread in order to make clothes. In order to create stitches, which are used to join pieces of fabric together, these machines take two threads and join them together within the machine and put them through the fabric.

There are many different model sewing machines available today and many of these can produce a great variety of both plain and patterned stitches that include cross stitch, chain stitch, and zig zag stitching. Regular sewing machines use what is called a lockstitch. This is a stitch that is created using two threads. Older model sewing machines have been known to use chain stitches and sergers.

There are hundreds of models of sewing machines and they all vary considerable in both price and performance. The more expensive models are sophisticated electronic machines that are also computerized. Even with all this technology however, these machines still work based on one main principle, and that is the loop stitching system.

Sewing machines consist of a number of different components and these include the electric motor, the spool holder, the tension disc, the drive wheel, the bobbin holder, the needle, and the foot pedal. Of course these are only the basic components, there are many more. The motor on sewing machines is controlled by the foot pedal and this lets the user vary the speed they require when sewing.

Like most devices, sewing machines do take a little bit of practice and patience especially when it comes to threading your machine. Perseverance however does have its rewards and in no time you could be mastering the art of sewing and creating your own garments.

A couple of years ago, I visited an organic vegetable farm in southeast Minnesota, not far from the Mississippi River. Nestled in a valley that sloped down from rolling pasture and cropland sat Featherstone Fruits and Vegetables, a 40-acre farm.

Featherstone was part of a local food web in the upper Midwest, selling at a farmers’ market, through a CSA (community supported agriculture) and to co-op stores in the Twin Cities. But the partners, Jack Hedin and Rhys Williams, who began in 1995, were having a tough time economically and realized they would have to boost sales if they were to become viable. The farm earned about $22,000 a year — split between the two partners — so they had to take on debt to keep going; this, after a 60 to 70 hour work week.

Hedin told me he made some calls and eventually landed a deal with Whole Foods to supply the natural foods chain with organic heirloom tomatoes. When I visited, they were in year two of the contract, picking the tomatoes before their peak ripeness, then shipping them to Chicago for stores in the Midwest. The deal had become the biggest sales channel for their farm; while still “local,” they were not as local as when they sold in their backyard.

There was a lesson here, one that often gets lost in the debate about which is better, local or organic? Too often this is understood as a zero sum game — that the money you spend on organic food at the supermarket will mean less for local farmers. After all, the food you buy is being shipped from who knows where and then often ends up in a processed food product. I’ve heard the argument that if all the money spent on organic food (around $14 billion) were actually channeled to local food, then a lot more small farms would survive and local food networks could expand. Well, Featherstone was doing precisely the opposite: it had entered the organic wholesale marketplace and then sent its tomatoes hundreds of miles away to survive as a small and, yes, local farm.

As consumers, it’s hard to understand these realities since we’re so divorced from the way food is produced. Even for conscious consumers who think about values other than convenience and price – avoiding pesticides, the survival of small farms, artisan food, and, of course, the most basic values, freshness and taste — choices must be made. Should we avoid pesticides at all costs or help small local farmers who may use them? Should we reduce food shipment miles, or buy food produced in an ecologically sound manner regardless of where it’s grown? These questions arise because we want to do what’s right.

The problem, though, is that these questions set up false choices. What Hedin and others showed me was that when it comes to doing the right thing, what really mattered was thinking about the choice — to be aware, to stay informed, and to be conscious of our role as consumers. But what you actually chose — local or organic — didn’t really matter.

Hedin, for example, was competing against farmers he actually knew on the West Coast, who also supplied organic produce to Whole Foods. I met one, Tim Mueller of River Dog Farm, in the one-bar town of Guinda, California. His farm sold produce at the Berkeley Farmers Market about 90 minutes away, but he was also tied to wholesale markets. (I saw River Dog’s heirloom tomatoes in western Massachusetts.) For these organic farmers, selling wholesale was a foundation for economic sustainability.

Moreover, by expanding the organic market, we may be actually helping local farmers. The USDA surveyed farmers’ markets and found that about a third of farmers selling direct were organic — local and organic, that is. In comparison, just one percent of all American farms practice organic agriculture. So for smaller-scale farmers selling direct, organic food has become a key component of their identity. By bringing more people into the organic fold, through whatever gateway they happened to choose, the pool of consumers considering local food would likely increase too.

That’s at least what Jim Crawford, a farmer from south central Pennsylvania believed. His 25-acre operation, New Morning Farm, works two farmers markets in Washington, D.C., and Jim played a key role in the growth of local foods in the region, having started out as an organic farmer in the 1970s. He told me he worried when Whole Foods opened a supermarket near his farmers’ market location in Washington because he thought he would lose customers. But over time, he noticed, sales kept rising. He thought the supermarket, which stocked a lot of organic produce from California, was actually converting customers to organic food and they in turn were finding their way to his market.

But what about companies that have pursued the organic marketplace without any concern for local food? What about, say, Earthbound Farm, which has grown into the third largest organic brand and the largest organic produce company in the nation, with its bagged salad mixes in three-quarters of all supermarkets? The company fiercely competed with other organic growers who later went out of business; its salad was grown organically but with industrial-scale agriculture; and the trucks that shipped the salad around the country burned through a lot of fossil fuel.

But Earthbound was competing with the likes of Dole, Fresh Express and ReadyPac in the mainstream market to offer consumers an organic choice. It did little for local food (a saving grace, since it left the market to smaller players). But Earthbound farmed on 26,000 acres of certified organic land, which meant that 267,000 pounds of pesticides and 8.4 million pounds of chemical fertilizers were being removed from use annually, the company estimated. And as studies repeatedly show, organic farming also saves energy (since the production of fertilizer and pesticides consumes one-third of the energy used in farming overall). Earthbound’s accomplishments should not be ignored — even if they are anything but local.

Which brings me to a final point: How we shop. Venues like Whole Foods are not fully organic because people are often unwilling to spend more than a small portion of their grocery budget on organic foods. It’s too expensive. This is one reason why organic food accounts for just two percent of food sales — one percent if you include eating out. Similarly, local foods, though important, total 1-2 percent. So arguing over local or organic is a bit like two people in a room of 100 fighting over who has the more righteous alternative to what the other 98 people are doing. It doesn’t really matter, because the bigger issue is swaying the majority.

When I shop, visiting the Dupont Circle farmers market in Washington, D.C., on Sunday morning and then going to the supermarket, I make choices. I buy local, organic, and conventional foods too, because each meets a need. Is the local product “better” than the organic one? No. Both are good choices because they move the food market in a small way. In choosing them, I can insert my values into an equation that for too long has been determined only by volume, convenience and price. While I have nothing against low prices and convenient shopping, the blind pursuit of these two values can wreak a lot of damage — damage that we ultimately pay for in water pollution, toxic pesticide exposure, livestock health, the quality of food and the loss of small farms. The total bill may not show up at the cash register but it’s one we pay nonetheless.

So what’s my advice? Think about what you’re buying. If you want local food, buy local. If you want organic, buy organic. The point is to make a conscious choice, because as we insert our values into the market, businesses respond and things change. There’s power in what we do collectively, so is there any reason to limit it unnecessarily?

Samuel Fromartz 2006, reprinted by permission

Author
Samuel Fromartz is a business journalist who has written for Fortune, Business Week, and Inc. Organic Inc. is his first book. He lives in Washington, D.C.

For more information, please visit www.fromartz.com

Every good business person knows that one of the best ways to boost sales and traffic to their product is to allow for multiple payment options. By offering many different methods of payment, you allow the masses to all be equal in the purchase of the same goods. This eliminates the upper scale clients from having this product while keeping the less than fortunate from going without. There are many fashions of payment these days that can accommodate just about everyone.

Anyone who limits the acceptable payment methods to a mere few can easily be losing business and in turn losing money. As word of mouth on the net is a very fast river, that mentality of limited payment options can easily hinder your success online. The bottom line is you must allow for convenient ways for your customers to pay for the product, or you will loose out on business. The method of paying by credit card is by far the biggest payment method going right now, with over 90% of all sales coming this way. It is clear and by far the most used method of payment, and a company would be ill advised to eliminate that fashion of payment from their options. It is not a difficult chore to set up your site to accept credit card payments; actually it is much easier than you think. There is a new contender in the payment option ring today; this payment method is the Pay Pal account.

This handy account has a completely revamped system that has eliminated all the quirks and bugs of its previous version, and is now very simple to use. This great tool is very safe for the transfer of funds to you, so there is minimal worry by the client. It also has a very good tracking system in place to protect you as well as the clients themselves. Again this is not the only contender in the ring, as the debit card seems to be gaining momentum. It is said that this will be the vehicle of fund transfer for the future; clearly it is here to stay. It would not be advisable for any business owner to exclude these payment methods off their list. Toll free number and order forms still find their way into this option list of payment, as they have been reliable in the past and easy to keep track of. This is what is known as an offline transaction.

When it comes down to it, the idea of business is not to merely get by it is to succeed. If you limit yourself you are then opening the door for the competition to succeed and in turn shut you down. After all, a sale is still and always will be a sale.

One common element whenever human beings gather is the need to talk and share experiences. Often that need turns into something a little more fun, a little more dangerous — gossip. Gossip is often fun but it can also be dangerous because it spreads quickly (because it is fun) and often distorts or even completely avoids the truth. Gossip creates myths in many fields and professions, and the field of writing is especially prone.

The top five myths about writing are:

Myth 1: Writing is easy for some people. Let me tell you that is just about the biggest myth going. I have been a professional writer for going on three decades now. I also know many other professional writers of various ages, experience, and income. I don’t know a writer that will tell you that writing is easy. Writing is brutal, hard work and there are times when I think it would be easier to simply open a vein as Red Smith said. However experience and practice can make many writing tasks easier. There are some writing tasks that I can almost accomplish on autopilot because I have written that specific format and/or topic a lot.

Myth 2: Writing requires talent. I won’t lie. Talent can certainly help and talent is what separates the great writers from the good writers. But the truth is that talent is not enough to make a writer great or even good and talent is not a necessary requirement to be a good writer. Writing is a skill that can be learned, developed and honed. If you practice your craft, if you read the writing of others to learn more about your craft, and if you seek and accept guidance and suggestions about your writing then you will improve and grow as a writer. Dedication harnessed with talent can create amazing results but if I had to pick just one then I would go with dedication. You can always increase your skill level through dedication.

Myth 3: Writing isn’t a useful skill. I have made my living as a writer for my entire professional life but even if you don’t intend to make your living with words you will need this crucial skill. There simply isn’t a profession that does not involve writing. Perhaps the form will vary, but written communication is the cornerstone in every professional field. Your writing ability will often impact landing a job as well as advancing in your career. Today written communication is even more crucial in professional and personal relationships.

Myth 4: You can’t make a living as a writer. I can remember when I told my father that I wanted to be an English major in college. He was very worried that I wouldn’t be able to support myself. The truth is that I have never had trouble finding a job and today I own my own business because of this flexible and important skill. Not only can you make a living as a writer but writing is an essential tool for many other careers and professions.

Myth 5: Writers block is alive and torturing writers as you read this. I’m not dismissing the difficulties inherent in dealing with writers block but whenever I talk with writers purportedly suffering from it they fall within two general groups. The first group actually creates their own block by insisting on the perfect place, mood, or alignment of planets in order to write. This is beyond ridiculous. One of the many benefits I gained from years of newsroom experience is the ability to write in almost any condition or mood. Deadlines will teach anyone how to give writers block short shrift. The second group I have more sympathy for as their problem really is internal in nature. Usually the problem is that the particular story (whether fiction or nonfiction) they want to tell is not yet finished cooking in their brain. In this case, while the writing may be stalled I don’t agree that it is blocked. The writer must listen to that inner voice and respond appropriately. Sometimes the idea needs more time to percolate and sometimes more research and/or planning is necessary. Once the proper adjustments are made the writing will begin to flow again.

Don’t let your writing fall victim to these five myths about writing.