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I bought my initial Palio cutter a couple of several years back. In that time, it speedily started to be my favorite cigar cutter. Truthfully, the Palio cutter started to be my favorite cigar cutter the very first day that I utilized it. I had been utilizing the cheap cigar cutters that cigar shops provide you with should you purchase a bunch of cigars. They did a decent work, but they would boring extremely swiftly, or fall apart before it obtained dull. As an alternative in the cutter giving me a clean minimize, the uninteresting blade truly split the wrapper.
Following throwing aside a $8 cigar, I made a decision to have a very good high quality cigar cutter. I went into a local shop and spent $20 on a brand new cutter. I figured for $20, I will be acquiring some thing good. Truth is it was not much better than the affordable cutter that had ruined my cigar. So I started out seeking on the web cigar forums for some opinions. The name “Palio Cutter” kept having pointed out over and over again as getting the finest cutter. So I took the plunge and bought a Palio cutter. I was not disappointed.
The Palio cutter offers an incredible minimize. The blades are sharp and match tight, but operate smoothly. A good tight fit with no sloppiness towards the construction. It really is a solid and excellent item that you can just really feel. It carries a very sleek and precise cutting operation. It also carries a sleek appear to it, and also the ergonomics are perfect. It is the most comfy cigar cutter your hands will actually feel. In addition , it comes in the great leather situation to retain you cigar cutter seeking like new.
Besides my original black Palio cutter, I’ve also purchased additional for myself, and as gifts. While they all function exactly the same, and give exactly the same fantastic lower, my new preferred palio cutter could be the carbon fiber accomplish Palio cutter. It looks like it belongs in the spaceship with that magnificent carbon fiber carry out. I have also bought the Burl finish Palio cutter for my dad. He says it may be the ideal looking and best performing cigar cutter actually.
Someone needs to invent a simple machine to entertain house cats!
I have two cats and they constantly pester me to play with them. I would think in this day and age there would be some kind of electronic mechanical toy someone could invent that would keep the little beasts occupied for at least a couple of hours per day.
There are several approaches that I think hold promise. Whatever the machine is, it probably needs to move quickly if it moves. It also should be relatively small, or at least parts of it should be. Cats like small things that move quickly.
Perhaps a very tiny autonomous robot that would interact with the cats would work out well. I don’t know how small hobby type robots are these days… maybe I’ll investigate that. To provide interactivity one of these new micro-controllers would be idea. They require very small amounts of current and need very little support circuitry.
A couple of sensors and motors, and micro controller and some transistors or relays and you’re in business.
Another interesting approach to a simple machine for a cat toy would be some type of device that could launch small objects into the air, and then reel them back in via strings attached to the object.
By incorporating one of those microprocessors and an infrared detector you could have it launch an object whenever the cat got close enough to be detected. As it tries to reel back the small object it could sense how much resistance there was and stop reeling when it met resistance, or reel faster, or you could even ad random actions triggered by sensors to keep the cats off balance.
The machine could also make noises and or move under its own power. Your imagination is the only constraint.
Launchers could be made in a variety of ways, spring loaded, air powered, centrifugal force powered are possible ways. One method I’m thinking about is using a small tube about ¼ to 3/8 inch in diameter and maybe 6 inches long, connected at one end to a small air chamber or tank through a valve. A small aquarium type compressor could charge the tank and when the valve opens it would blow the small light object out of the tube.
The object would be connected to a string which would be used to reel the object back in. The string could thread through a small hole in the bottom end of the tube and attached to a reel powered by a small motor. The reel could be rigged with a sensor to detect when the object was being pulled on by a feline. In response it could have a number of responses pre-programmed into the microcontroller. For instance, it could stop reeling in the object and simply wait until the object was not being pulled on by the cat, and then resume reeling. It could also trigger the base unit to move in some way, or perhaps rotate, or even launch a second object.
The cat toy invention could also be programmed to play a variety of sounds in response to combinations of the sensor inputs. Flashing lights are also a possibility.
I may or may not get involved in a project to build a simple machine invention for the purpose of entertaining my cats depending on how much time I think I could spare for such a project. I probably should do it because if I could get myself a couple of hours a day without being pestered by the cats my productivity would undoubtedly improve substantially.
In the mean time if one of you closet inventors can come up with such an invention I would be happy to buy one for my cats!
Inventions and Patents :
Inventing, patenting, and marketing new inventions:
Well the Nintendo company is one of the greatest gaming companies the world has ever seen will many popular gaming devices available from the super Nintendo to the wii. This company really knows its stuff about gaming. Well when they release the Nintendo Ds and it was extremely popular so they brought out the new version the Nintendo Dsi. Well many people have been trying to get the most out of their Dsi and try to figure out on how to download Dsi games on to it. So they go to these free sites and find out that they are not really worth their time and nothing of quality is free. The only thing is free in life is problems.
Well I was fooled by the great sound of free Dsi Downloads and decided to use these free sites and ended up downloading a virus on my Nintendo Dsi. So I formatted my Dsi and swore to myself IL never harm my beloved Dsi with these dodgy free Dsi download Sites. The fact remains these free Dsi download sites are not funded in anyway and cannot assure you their Dsi downloads are safe. So this is not a great choice to get Dsi downloads.
You can use the Nintendo Dsi shop for safe downloads, but the program with the Dsi download shop is that you have to spend time building up points to get a download. In most cases the serious gamer doesn’t want to waste their time building points if they can be playing on their Dsi. So if you have the time to build up points the best bet is the Nintendo o Dsi downloads shop.
I do not use the method above I have no need to build up points just to download one fringing game. So I luckily I came across a site called the DSI Download Center. I have tried many pay download sites but most of them are just rip offs and you will be spending your money on air. So when I found this site I was sold when they told me it was a onetime lifetime fee. So then I thought if it was like the other sites why would they offer this? Then I saw that DSI Download Center has full money back guaranteed and they were certified to give Nintendo Dsi downloads. So then I signed up for life time membership and all it cost me was $39.
DSI Download Center contains over 250,000 Downloads making it the Biggest Database for the DSI! DSI Download Center is complete database where you can find the newest and your favorite Games, Movies, Music, Software and much more totally for free! You can join now and get all the benefits from DSI Download Center and start enjoying your DS,DSI and DSI LL as never before!
You can be watching all your favourite TV shows games and software for your Dsi in a few minutes from now. This site is funded really well and can assure you safe Dsi downloads for life with new updates all the time. This Dsi Download membership site is the best way how to download Dsi games on your device.
contains over 250,000 Downloads making it the Biggest Database for the DS, DSI and DSI LL!
is complete database where you can find the newest and your favorite Games, Movies, Music, Software and much more for your DS, DSI and DSI LL!
Residential real estate is one the best investments available today. PERIOD. I’m not suggesting that you should invest your 401K in the junk foreclosure next door. But I am suggesting that investing in the mortgage on that foreclosure is a GREAT idea. And it is an ultra safe, secured investment as I’ll explain a little later. In spite of the horror stories you have heard in the past year about banks and foreclosures, NOW is the time to buy. While the market is flooded with an excess of homes, the pricing has never been better. Whether you feel the bottom is here and prices are soon going to rise or you think the slide will continue, we have an for you.
For the faint of heart who just want a guaranteed high return on a safe, secured investment, check out this scenario:
We buy houses in the Atlanta area and have gotten pretty good at buying at DEEP DISCOUNTS.Sometimes we don’t have time to wait 4-6 weeks for a bank to process a loan, so we find private investors with some cash to invest. This can be from a self directed IRA or 401K or perhaps an inheritance. Your trustee wires the funds to the closing attorney who issues the same documents furnished to a Commercial Lender; title insurance, a security Deed to the property and a Mortgage paying you or your plan, the highest, guaranteed interest rate you are likely to find today. Your investment is very safe because we do not borrow more than 50% to 60% of the current market value of the property. So even if real estate prices slide another 20%, your $50,000 mortgage on a $100,000 house is still secured with a property worth $80,000. That is about as SAFE and SECURE an investment as you can make. The demand for housing is guaranteed as the U.S. population continues to grow and Atlanta is still among the fastest growing in the Nation. Prices may continue a little further decline, but no one is expecting a 50% drop. For a detailed description of this program, visit our website and if it appeals to you complete the contact information form.
If you are a little more agressive and can tolerate a little risk, you will love this plan. Become a partner with us and share in the profits. Banks are eager to sell foreclosed homes for 40-50% of current market value. The banks must get these homes off their books as soon as possible and with private investors, we can close very quickly so we get many deals even when we are not the highest bidder. The Private Investor is protected by the mortgage, title insurance and Security Deed, just as any Commercial Lender would require.
Your investment is still safe and secure but we can’t guarantee a particular rate of return. Your return is likely to be much greater than with our guaranteed program.
Many economists are predicting Hyper Inflation in the very near future and they recomend investing in hard assets like real estate. I remember in the 1970′s when inflation was 20% per year, house values would double every 2-4 years. With all the money being pumped into the U.S. economy now, I’m betting 20% inflation will look mild in 2-3 years. Now is the time to invest in safe, secure real estate. Whether you want a guaranteed hight rate of return or you want a chance to see your funds increase even faster, fill out the contact information form and
Full time Real Estate Investor and Professional Home Buyer, we specialize in buying houses in Lilburn GA, Snellville, Lawrenceville and Loganville, GA. We frequently use Pension Plan money of other investors to fund our purchases.
“You have to pay your dues,” is what my friend Fred replies when someone asks him for stock market advice. I know Fred well enough to be able to testify that, when it comes to dues, he has indeed paid his. Like many others, Fred lost a great part of his investments in the June 2002 market crash. That’s when share prices of internet companies collapsed, sinking the rest of the market and keeping it down during the following twelve months.
“For me, the whole mess was a blessing,” Fred smiles when he tells me the story for the hundredth time. He knows that I am going to listen attentively to his words, since I belong to those who never get tired of receiving uncomfortable, but invaluable advice. Why do I love to hear Fred’s story? Because he is one of the few persons I know who is going through the 2008-2010 financial crisis without a scratch. What, I must add regretfully, is not my case.
“I was living in an illusion,” recounts Fred. “The 2002 stock market crash woke me up. It made me ask myself hard questions about my investment style and objectives.” He tells me that, for him, the most difficult was to admit that many of his cherished ideas about investment were radically false. “I was a great believer in traditional theories and I was wrong,” Fred summarizes.
Thanks to Fred, I have come to realize myself that most of my ideas about investment are fairy tales, although pervasive ones. Who could blame me for believing what is daily propagated by so many alleged experts? “I used to spend lots of time selecting stocks that I intended to keep for the long term,” Fred confesses, shaking his head. “I was well aware that market corrections and crashes take place from time to time, but I had learned to see them as inevitable.”
After losing 60% of his liquid assets in 2002, Fred threw away his previous theories. Pain had pushed him to change. He was determined to reshape his investment practices and take control of his life. He promised himself that, whatever happened in the future, he would not be paralysed again, he would not be playing sitting duck any more.
“I learned to look at facts with an open mind,” Fred explains. “The change of mentality was not easy, since I had been brainwashed to ignore the contradictions in my thinking.” Fred’s explanations illustrate how hard was for him to change his mind. “It took me several weeks of thorough self-examination to reach the conclusion that my achieving long-term investment growth had nothing to do with how long I kept stocks in my portfolio.”
“The 2002 market crash changed my view of the world,” remarks Fred pensively. “It forced me to abandon old myths that didn’t work. It put me back on the right track. It made me choose between giving up altogether or acquiring the habits of a professional investor.”
Today in 2010, I can see clearly which choice Fred made. He is going through the current financial crisis completely unscathed. While a storm is wiping out investors all over the world, Fred’s annoyance from the market is comparable to a ripple in the water.
“If you had to condense all you’ve learned in ten rules, which ones would you choose?” I asked him, taking notebook and pencil out of my pocket. “Could other investors apply the lessons that were so hard for you to learn?” These were Fred’s responses:
1. Develop long-term ambitions and work on their implementation by devoting daily a fixed amount of time to supervising your investments.
2. The major difference between professional and amateur investors is that professionals are always willing to recognize their mistakes. If facts turn against your theories, drop the theories. Be ready to sell your shares when it becomes obvious that you have made a mistake.
3. In stock market investments, like in real estate, the easiest profits are made by purchasing attractive assets at a low price.
4. You don’t need to spend hours on end doing research in order to achieve high investment returns. The cost of a few superb investment newsletters is negligible compared with the time you’ll save.
5. The cheapest way to avoid catastrophic losses in the stock market is to place stop-loss orders in every share in your portfolio. It’s up to you to decide whether you are ready to take a loss of 10% or 20% before recognizing a mistake.
6. Never invest more than 5% of your assets in one single share or venture. Even if you devote all the care in the world to select your investments, you will never be able to rule out all risks.
7. There are dozens of stock markets in the world. If you live in the US or Europe, take a look at Brazil, China, Australia, or New Zealand. The costs of investing internationally are lower than you may think.
8. Dividend-paying shares with a long history of increasing dividends every year are usually solid investments if you can buy them at a reasonable price.
9. Never invest in something that you don’t understand. Avoid obscure companies with unidentifiable sales and profits.
10. Use the internet to the maximum. The amount of investment information available for free is mind-boggling. Nevertheless, remain sceptical, compare sources, and check everything several times.
Investment mistakes are no different from others. Marketing failures will allow you to improve your product targeting next time. Human resources blunders should help you hire better candidates in the future. The validity of the lessons we learn is often commensurate with the pain caused by our mistakes. Mismanaged assets, like mismanaged advertising, may lead to a financial loss, but if the loss teaches you a great lesson for the future, nothing has been wasted.
JOHN VESPASIAN writes about rational living and is the author of the novel He has resided in New York, Madrid, Paris and Munich. His stories reflect the values of entrepreneurship, tolerance and self-reliance. See about rational living.
JOHN VESPASIAN writes about rational living and is the author of the novel He has resided in New York, Madrid, Paris and Munich. His stories reflect the values of entrepreneurship, tolerance and self-reliance. See about rational living.
As we all live in the present, it is very hard to fully assess the future implications of decisions supported or made by political and business leaders. An extraordinary game of geo-strategy is under way to lock in long-term agreements, notably in the energy sector. At a global level, the transit routes of future oil & gas pipelines become the object of a power struggle involving not only the suppliers and end-users but also the transit countries. Intensive courtships are under way where a ménage à trois, or more, may be the best option to prevent any country from being in a dominating position to rule a region and exercise political or economic pressure.
Let’s take a practical example and look at some of the dynamics behind the Nabucco pipeline and at the different interests involved.
Nabucco and the competing projects
Nabucco is a 3,300 km natural gas pipeline going East to West, with a capacity of 31 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year that would reduce Europe’s dependency on gas supplied by Russia. It will go from Turkey to Austria via Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary. That project would be in direct competition with the Russian-endorsed South Stream pipeline, with a capacity of 63 bcm per year, that would start from Russia and end in Austria but with two prongs: one via Bulgaria, Greece, and Italy, and one via Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia. Nabucco’s estimated cost is about €8 billion with a completion date of 2014 while south Stream’s estimated cost is from €19 to €24 billion with a completion date of 2015. South Stream was launched in 2007 when Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev was then Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gazprom, Russia’s largest company and the world’s largest gas producer.
Nabucco and the supplier countries
Formidable battles have been taking place between the Nabucco and South Stream backers to sign supply agreements, not only to guarantee that the much needed gas will be made available – as underutilizing the pipelines is not a viable option – but also to secure a political and financial will for the projects. Gazprom is engaged in a battle to preempt gas supplies and to keep European countries from what it considers as a Russian natural chasse guardée such as Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, though both countries have pledged to supply Nabucco as they understand their vulnerability by not having several export routes.
The courtship is ongoing and in October 2009, Alexey Miller, Chairman of Gazprom, personally went to Baku, Azerbaijan to sign a long-term natural gas purchase and sale contract with the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR). Following the signature, Miller made a statement, which gives a good insight on what is at stake: ”Russia and Azerbaijan have a common border and have already been connected by the unified infrastructure. This enabled Gazprom to propose the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic the most attractive commercial terms and conditions of gas purchase. Our partnership is logically consistent and fully meets our mutual interests. I am confident that in the coming years the volume of Azerbaijani gas supplied to Russia will increase.”
This statement and contract are interesting because the agreement provides for a supply of 500 million cubic meters starting in January 2010, with potential increases depending on Azerbaijan’s export potential. This comes at a time when Gazprom has interrupted its deliveries of gas from Turkmenistan since April 2009, arguing a lesser demand from Europe. A few days after being in Azerbaijan, Miller was meeting with the President of Turkmenistan but no decision was reached regarding resumption of gas imports from Turkmenistan.
Who is holding whom by the tail?
The dynamics around Nabucco when looked at closely highlights a web of sweet deals corresponding to a complex reality of entangled needs.
Russia has very aggressively pursued locked-in supply agreements for extensive periods of time. The initial idea is that getting a deal in first could work towards keeping other players out. That approach did not end up creating exclusive relationships as countries such Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan appear to have enough supplies to satisfy multiple parties. Pricing agreements were also locked in for specified periods of time but the tumble in world energy prices put Gazprom in a dire situation: Gazprom is reported to have been paying $375.50 per thousand cubic meters (tcm) for Turkmen gas while only paying $217/tcm for Kazakhstani gas and $210/tcm for Uzbek gas. An “unfortunate” explosion in April 2009 that the Turkmens blame on Russia hit the pipeline connecting the two countries and deliveries have stopped. Gazprom stated it had not intention to resume purchasing Turkmen gas in 2009. Turkmenistan is said to be losing $1 billion/month over this issue. With Turkmenistan, Gazprom has a 25-year sale and purchase agreement Turkmenneftegaz signed in 2003. Prices were locked below world market prices, at less than half the price Europe was paying for its gas. Subsequent price increases were negotiated but in exchange for the promise of higher delivery volumes with 60 bcm of gas in 2007, 60-70 bcm in 2008 and subsequently export up to 80 bcm annually through 2028.
Needless to say that Turkmenistan’s announcement in July 2009 of its willingness to provide gas to Nabucco does not come as a surprise in this context. Similarly the completion in October 2009 of $400 million 188-km section in Turkmenistan of a 7,000 km natural gas pipeline that will reach China is an important step towards diversification. The Turkmen government stated: “Getting gas supplies to China will mark another important milestone in the successful implementation of Turkmenistan’s strategy of diversifying energy export routes to world markets.”
Turkmenistan has been assiduously courted because of it immense gas reserves. In 2008 the oil advisory firm Gaffney Cline & Associates (GCA) conducted a study on the South Yolotan-Osman field and determined that that field alone was the fifth largest in the world, with an estimated 4 trillion to 14 trillion cubic meters of gas. That good new was tampered in October 2009 when reports surfaced that GCA may have been misled (see article: “Turmen Gas – Caveat Emptor” http://www.oilprice.com/article-turkmen-gas-caveat-emptor.html In any event, the potential of Turkmenistan should not be underestimated.
Nabucco and the transit countries
Several Eastern European countries have been turning their back to Russia and have joined the European Union, espousing the EU’s energy security objectives to reduce its dependency on Russia gas. The January 2009 showdown between Russia and Ukraine, which resulted on the gas supply to be cut to most of Europe in the midst of winter, could only serve as a wake-up call for the need to diversify energy routes. Bulgaria – which has the ambition to become an international gas hub and that is a party to both the Nabucco and South Stream projects – will benefit from that situation, notably by increasing its bargaining position to negotiate better energy agreements with Russia. It could, among other things, threaten to raise transit fees. Ukraine is using this threat against Russia and in September 2009, Gazprom expected Ukraine to increase gas transit fees by up to 58% in 2010. The stakes are high as transit fees represent a bonanza. While visiting Bulgaria in 2007, Vladimir Putin estimated that Bulgaria could earn up to $2.5 billion per year in transit fees alone.
Russia: just another shrewd player but…
One may think that Russia pockets the difference from rates below market prices, but the reality is that Russia uses the discounted gas for its own domestic needs. It also has been using it to supply Ukraine under very favorable terms, and Ukraine has been very vocal in resisting Russia’s attempts to raise prices. Note must be made that Ukraine imports the bulk of its natural gas from Turkmenistan via Russia. Countries like Russia and Ukraine have been resisting passing on price increases to end-users to avoid social unrest and have been struggling to keep non-competitive industries afloat. One way of doing so is by keeping the cost of energy low. The adverse effect is that Ukraine is one of the most energy inefficient countries in Europe.
A point must be made that Russia should not just be perceived as a natural bully but more as a wounded bear. Russia, like any country, is looking after its own interests and is not always subtle about it, even more so as it feels that everyone is ganging against her, rightfully or not. Russia is also confronted with its own economic reality, most notably the over reliance of its economy and state budget on oil & gas revenues. Efforts to diversify the economy have failed to generate visible results. It is therefore essential for Russia to secure a guaranteed income flow from the sale of it oil and gas, and from the oil and gas of its neighbors, that it buys to resale at a profit or that it routes through its extensive pipeline network for a fee. But things change: sourcing oil and gas from or routing it via Russia is no longer the only option.
… a new transportation mode is emerging
As the gas pipeline battles are under way, a new trend is emerging which is the transition towards Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). That transportation mode of natural gas through seaborne tankers will open new markets, alleviate the dependency of some countries on existing pipeline routes, and reduce the number of players able to impact proper delivery and pricing.
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