When in the market for new blinds, the one stop shop is Next Day Blinds. They have all sorts of great window blinds and their staff is really knowledgeable. I waited and waited to get new blinds because I thought it was going to be very expensive.

Next Day Blinds is really reasonably priced and there are several ways to shop. You can go into one of their showrooms. You could shop online. Or you can have a Next Day Blinds associate come to your home–that’s what I did.

Shopping for new window treatments is actually really fun and with the ease that Next Day Blinds provides, you’ll discover that you enjoy it too.

Choosing the right tires for your car shouldn’t be difficult. And it’s not when you go to the right place. I wanted discount tires and I wanted the right ones for my car. I never had to shop for tires before so I didn’t know what I was doing at first, then I learned how to choose the right tires.

I was torn between Toyo tires and Nitto tires. I finally decided and made the purchase. PPT helped me select the right tires and nothing else. I didn’t feel like they were trying to sell me a bunch of stuff that I didn’t need.

I was so impressed that I went back when I was ready to buy rims for my car. Now I have shiny chrome rims and I stayed within my budget.

Speaking in front of a large group or even a small group can be very stressful for those that suffer from glossophobia, or a fear of public speaking. But this fear can be overcome with a course and a little understanding. Many people that have great leadership skills do not advance in their careers because this fear prevents them from being able to make the speeches they need to deliver in order to advance.

Confidence is something that people with a fear of public speaking must gain in order to be successful. Luckily, with a bit of practice and a few tricks, speeches become enlarged conversations and making them can be satisfying and even invigorating. You don’t have to be brilliant or perfect to be successful at speaking to groups. There is no need to try to control the audience’s behavior—they can’t be controlled.

The first two minutes can make or break your speech but it is very possible to learn how to stay in control, be yourself and be comfortable while talking to groups of people. One key ingredient to being a good speaker is to replace memorization with knowledge. When you know your topic inside and out, you will find your confidence grows and you can easily speak about it.

Fear of public speaking can be overcome. Taking a course will be a great start and one that will help you advance your career.

The U.S. Open tennis tournament will begin in a couple of weeks and I am very excited, as are most tennis fans. Rafael Nadal won the French Open and the Wimbledon. I bet he also has his sights set on the U.S. Open.

But what really has me excited it the fact that the U.S. Open overlaps with the Olympics. This means that tennis season is extended because it will be covered and the players will not be on the schedule they are used to, which could lead to some upsets.

I think not having an adequate break in between will be a catalyst for many as they get injured. And as the professional exit the Olympics they will have to attempt to rest up and recuperate from any injuries, then jump into the U.S. Open tennis tournament.

But no matter what happens, the 2008 tennis season is going to be interesting…

I just got a set of Nitto tires for my car and I am very excited to put them on. I’ve been needing new tires for a while but I didn’t want to spend a lot of money. I found a site online with wheel and tire packages that were discounted.

Performance Plus Tire had just what I was looking for and everything they had was reasonably priced. If I would have known how simple it was going to be, I would not have waited so long. One of my friends told me he couldn’t believe I didn’t have a blowout.

Next time I need to fix something on my car, I’m not going to wait. I’m going to drive straight to PPT and I know they will have exactly what I want. And it won’t cost me a fortune.

No, “Censorship and the 2008 Summer Olympics” isn’t the title of a new educational book that will be used in schools this fall, nor is it a drama laden young adult novel. Still, with the Olympics being held in China this year, for those following the event it has been neigh impossible to escape from dramatic circumstances or situations.

The latest controversy in Beijing takes place in the Olympic Press Center. According to a story featured in The New York Times, there are allegations of Internet access to certain websites being blocked. The article mentions that such actions would be in direct violation of promises made by the Chinese government to allow uncensored access to information for all members of the media.

One of the major websites that the media had trouble accessing was the official site for Amnesty International. The human rights group has been very forward about their disappointment regarding human rights issues in China and the lack of significant progress before the start of the games.

I just got a couple of rugs for my house and at first I didn’t think I needed rug pads. I figured they were just a way to spend your money. Soon I found out that they are indeed necessary. In fact, my living room area rug kept bunching up, causing me to trip. I’m lucky that I didn’t hurt myself.

So, after I fell I got rug pads for every area rug in my house. The shag rug in my guest bedroom now has one as does the outdoor rug I use in the dining room. I am so sure of the necessity of rug pads now that I insisted my mother and father invest in that for their home.

Rug pads are inexpensive and they come in a lot of sizes. You can even cut them if you have an odd-sized rug. They resist mildew and mold naturally and when it’s time to replace them, you just toss the old one in the trash and you lay down another one.

I wish I would have known how great they are before. I could have saved myself from a couple of falls.

The Food and Drug Administration cautioned consumers to avoid fresh tomatoes in a salmonella outbreak early this summer. Recently, the warning labels came off of tomatoes and have now been placed on jalapeños. The San Francisco Chronicle gives an excellent overview of the current bacteria crisis, going through the history of the problem over the past few months and delving into the current situation. Texas has been the state impacted the most. According to the article, over 400 cases of illness have been reported in the state. The FDA and Center for Disease Control are investigating the origins of the outbreak, with suspicions currently resting on farms in Mexico.

Until the epidemic is resolved, consumers are cautioned to avoid the pepper to avoid illness. In summary pickled, cooked and pasteurized jalapeños have been cleared for consumption, whereas putting the pepper in fresh salads could be more dangerous.

Court two is known for the upsets that come out of the matches on it at the Wimbledon tournament. And the United States’ only hopes for winning the tournament are with Venus and Serena Williams. Both are scheduled to have all of their tennis matches on this court.

I think that they will be okay though. They have been playing consistently and improving at every match. I just hope that it’s not these two playing each other for the title. I bet it’s extra difficult for them to play each other and I bet it’s very difficult for their father since he doesn’t want to favor one over the other.

I was looking around the web the other day for ideas on how to spruce up the look of my house when I ran into a Next Day Blinds commercial. It showed some really great ideas. For instance, I forgot about Roman blinds until I saw their blinds and all of the things they offer. Next Day Blinds will even come to your house for an in-home consultation. And I read a press release that said as they replace their vehicle fleet, they are replacing it with hybrids. I don’t think you can beat that. Someone with great selection, that will come to your home and they care about the environment.

People love their cars, trucks and SUVs. They even love them when it’s costly to fill up. In fact, most Americans would say that they love their automobiles so much they prefer to work on them themselves, rather than paying a mechanic to do it for them.

And these same people love fixing up their cars too. By ordering chrome rims or even a custom wheel or chrome wheel one at a time, they can increase the value of their cars overnight. The ROI, or return on investment, is considerable. And this is not even mentioning the joy they get from doing the work themselves.

Since gasoline prices are so high and they only seem to be getting higher, people really want to stretch their dollars as far as possible. By increasing the value of their cars, trucks and SUVs, people feel better and they feel great doing it themselves.

Working on cars is not just something for mechanics. In fact, there are thousands, possibly millions, of car enthusiasts around. And because of the growing interest in people fixing their own cars and restoring older ones, everything a person could ever need is available to them.

This holds true for people that work on hot rods. Of the many products available, hot rod wheels, hot rod wheel polishing accessories and anything else relating to the oh-so-important tire parts is available with just a few clicks from your mouse.

In addition to that, you can order anything from a set to a single hotrod hubcap or a set of tires to a single hot rod tire. You can order mufflers, books with instructions and even car wax from companies that specialize in hot rods. And the things that these companies sell usually include things you will need for your own maintenance and repairs.

Training for leadership development can make you not only look  good in the eyes of your employer, it can and will help you to perform your job better and more efficiently. I lead a team of about 30 people and I want a promotion.

I am also planning on taking a course in training for management leadership to help me even more. If I can lead my team better, they will perform their jobs better and that will reflect on me in a positive way.

I am going to encourage my team to enroll in a sales training program. They will learn how to make more sells and connect with our customers better. Professional development can help you no matter what stage in your career you are in.

I always catch the French Open tennis tournament results on the The Tennis Channel when I have to miss some of the important matches. They always have great commentary and the hosts of many of the shows are or were professional tennis players.

I like the French Open coverage a lot because I am always busy toward the end of May since I teach and that is when I have to finish everything up and get grades done. So, I catch up on what happened in the evening.

I also love the Roland Garros tournament because it inspires me to grab my racket and hit the club for a set or two, and just get some exercise. I’m hoping the French Open tennis coverage is great again this year because I have a ton of papers to grade.

The Japan Society of Northern California is an important part of the Japanese-American community. And Arthur Trueger is an important part of that society. While he may not be Japanese, he is learning how to speak the language.

Arthur Trueger is also an important patron of the San Francisco Ballet. He is at most of their opening nights and he seems to always participate whenever they have something publicized. It is not often that you see successful business men involved in the arts so heavily.

Arthur Trueger is also a part of many social networks. He is on linkedin.com and naymz.com. His blog is even passed around from people to people. He is known in all circles and that is why he is an important member of JSNC.

Alcoholism recovery can be very challenging. It’s hard to take that first step and admit there is a problem. It is also hard to find the right program out of all of the addiction recovery programs that are around. The choice can be made simpler when you take into consideration the important things that the center should offer. If one that you are considering does not offer any of the following, please reconsider.

The facility should have a place for you to go through the detoxification process or they should tell you where to go to have that done. They alcohol and drug abuse rehabilitation center should also offer individual, group and family therapy. If they do not offer any of these, they are not taking into consideration all of the aspects of your life and those different areas could very well be full of triggers that could cause you to relapse.

Many treatment centers also do not have age restrictions. If you are a teenager, you should not be in treatment with people in their forties. They are not in the same place as you and it could be dangerous. Likewise, most young adults do not have the same issues as older adults and the older adults need to examine those things.

Overall, when choosing a rehab, ask questions and make sure you are comfortable with the place you choose.

I have been learning how to fix up old cars. I started getting into this hobby because I’ve always enjoyed classic cars and classic car shows. I find that I’m a lot happier when I have a hobby and I feel more physically fit.

I really enjoy looking at the custom truck wheels that are on display that the shows. People spend a lot of time beautifying their automobiles. My son enjoys looking at the big rims because some of them seem bigger than him. He’s only three so I bet they look really cool in his imagination.

After I got into this hobby and I started to fix up my classic Corvette, I got inspired to put on 20 inch rims. That made it look a lot better, especially considering that its still waiting to be painted. I’ll take them off when I paint it but it looks better to me with them on, for right now.

Every time I take a vacation, I end up bringing home a ton of stupid souvenirs. I always think that I am going to use them but they just end up collecting dust and I end up feeling guilty for wasting money. That’s why I decided to go about my souvenirs in a different way.

When I went to Hawaii, instead of bringing home a hula girl, I brought home the map of Hawaii that I used to get around the big island. It worked out great. My luggage wasn’t any heavier than it was when I arrived and I actually used my souvenir. I’m going to hang it on the wall of my den.

After that trip I went to Mexico and I did the same thing with my maps of Mexico. I did end up bringing my husband a sombrero home though. I also used my map of California as a souvenirs instead of getting anything else.

I feel a lot better now and I don’t feel as wasteful.

I went to a classic car show this past weekend and I saw many gorgeous automobiles. There was a perfect ‘66 Mustang with cherry-red paint and black interior. It had Cooper tire and chrome rims. It was perfect.

I also saw a beautiful corvette. She was silver with black-tinted windows. The custom rim and tires were superb and those 20 inch wheels made her look so sleek.

I love car shows. I make it a point to go to as many as possible because I enjoy them so much. I am slowly fixing my car up and I’ll enter in one of these soon. It will be great to have people drooling over my car the way I drool over their cars.

I love this time of year. The French Open tennis tournament is my favorite of the Grand Slam tournaments. I love it because I feel that the athletes that win it have superior skills compared to those that cannot win it. This is because of the clay surface that it is played on.

Clay surfaces slow the ball down and produces a high bounce in comparison to the grass and hard surface courts. It takes a special set of skills to win this and many of the world’s greatest tennis players cannot attain this championship.

As of 2007, the last 8 French Open men’s singles champions were won by men that did not win any other Grand Slam tournaments.

I’m off to Las Vegas next week.  One of the things I am really looking forward to is seeing some Las Vegas shows.  The last time I was there I saw the Blue Man Group.  It was a great show but I had a really hard time getting my hands on tickets before the show.

One of my friends turned me on to getting hard to find tickets online.  i must say it makes life a lot less complicated.  Now if I’m searching for Las Vegas show tickets I simply go online and buy them there.

Next week I have XBurlesque tickets (at the Flamingo) and An Evening with Dean and Friends tickets (at the Riviera).  I’m all prepared so I am looking forward to a nice relaxing, stress free visit to Las Vegas!!

Liberty League International is holding their annual conference in Rome, Italy, this year. I have always enjoyed hanging out with those guys. Since I found Liberty League Intl on the web, I have started to become financially free.

I’m really looking forward to Rome this year, as Liberty League holds fascinating conferences and I feel inspired when I am there and I take it with me when I go. Liberty League Int fills each day with a great amount of knowledge that I can easily apply to my life.

I plan on visiting the Vatican while I’m there and visiting all of the touristy areas. I bet those guys from Liberty League Int will know the right places to visit and that they really make use of their time there.

I studied law at school quite a few years ago.  I have always found it very interesting even though I have never worked in the legal field.  I also enjoy legal novels, movies such as The Firm and TV shows such as Boston Legal.  One are I find particularly interesting is news relating to class action lawsuits.

I have been involved in a lawsuit relating to a class action and although it is for from being over i am taking a real interest in the stages of it.  I’m also following developing lawsuits such as this class action involving Walmart.

In the venture capitalist world there are a few names that you hear a lot. Arthur Trueger is one of them. I often hear about Arthur Trueger because he has made over a billion dollars with his company in profits.

He’s very well respected for his business life and for his love of the arts. He’s a well-known patron of the San Francisco ballet. I’ve heard of people being introduced to him there or running into him and that he’s very charming.

I have also read that he speaks French and German and some Japanese. I can’t imagine speaking another language fluently but he’s working on his fourth. Arthur Trueger is a name that people don’t forget and I know that I haven’t.

I get distracted easily while I’m at work. Last week I started to look in a desk drawer to find staples and I ended up going through a sorts of maps from past trips and trips that I have planned. Needless to say I didn’t get much else done for the rest of the day.

I found a map of United States that was well-worn with stains from coffee and wrinkles from unfolding and folding it for the long drives that I took. From that same trip I found my map of California. I love the state of California. There is so much diversity in the weather and the people there.

I also found geographical maps from all over the US. Those maps showed me anything like mountains that a certain area has. I love the mountains. Climbing them really makes me feel alive and I never tire of daydreaming about that trip.

The Wimbledon coverage will begin once again later in June. This is my favorite of the Grand Slam tennis tournaments since the courts are made of 100% rye grass. This makes the running game much slower and I think it makes the athletes work harder.

The Wimbledon follows the Australian Open, then the French Open but it’s before the U.S. Open. The funny thing about this British tournament is the irony it has to the Brits. No English man has won a single’s event since Fred Perry did in 1936 and no English woman has since 1977 when Virginia Wade won.

I love this time of year when all of the tennis tournaments are coming up and we really get to see who is the best since all four events use a different kind of court. And though I like the clay used in the French Open, I think that Wimbledon will always be my favorite.

Over the summer I decided to take my truck and cruise around the west coast. Everything was going great until I pulled up next to some teens and they were laughing at my truck. Now my truck is in good shape but they were laughing because I had stock tires and rims.

After I drove back home I went out and bought some custom truck wheels. I was feeling pretty good until my daughter’s boyfriend pointed out that my tires were old and worn looking. He took me out and I got some nice cheap tires that look great with my black truck rims.

Now next summer when I cruise the west coast no teenagers will be laughing at me. Then I’ll be able to really enjoy my vacation and my daughter won’t be embarrassed of me either.

Lately, hardly a day goes by at Marketing Daily without a press release on some celebrity-designed product crossing our desks. Not just a celebrity endorsement, mind you–that good old-fashioned “We paid this movie star big bucks so we could slap her picture on the box and have her shoot three commercials”–these deals imply creative collaboration and actual celebrity input.

Lots of them make sense to us, and always have, pairing a celebrity’s area of expertise with a related product–Rachael Ray’s cookware, for example, or Tony Hawk’s skateboards.

But many just evoke a disconnect, and seem destined for the “70% off!” rack. Like pop star Avril Lavigne, who just signed up with Kohl’s for a new line of juniors clothing, and who told Newsweek: “I actually am the designer. I try everything on and approve it all.” (That’s funny–we thought designers did something with sketches, scissors and swatches and so forth.)   Read more

On my travels around the world I like to pick up maps.  In fact I collect maps and they serve to remind me of my trips. On my desk at this moment I have a map of Puerto Rico, a map of Rome, and a map of London.  After a trip I like to file my maps along with my travel journals, photographs and other souvenirs.

During the coming summer months I am planning a long journey that will take me to Spain and then down to South Africa.  Therefore I have already obtained my map of Spain and my map of South Africa in preparation for my trip.

I look upon maps as a way to document my journey.  I mark down the things I see and the places I eat.  I also make notes of the people I meet so that I can arrange to see them again if I am in their locale again.  Some of my favorite maps are pretty battered!  They have been on more than one trip and hold a host of both information and memories.

A key measure of consumer confidence dropped significantly in February, to the lowest level in more nearly five years, amid mounting concerns about jobs and slowing business activity.

The New York-based Conference Board said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index plummeted to 75, the lowest level since March 2003 (see below), from a revised 87.3 in January. Analysts had expected a decline to 82, according to Briefing.com.

The index rose slightly in December, but has now declined for a second-straight month. The 12.3 point monthly decline was the largest since September 2005.

Consumers claiming business conditions are “bad” rose to 21.8% from 20%, while those claiming business conditions are “good” decreased to 18.5% from 20.7%.  Read more