Do Women Suffer Hair Loss During Pregnancy?

It is very uncommon for women to suffer hair loss during pregnancy. This is due to the fact that during pregnancy, a woman often experience growth spurts in her body including the hair. At one point or another, a woman will notice that her hair is shinier and thicker during pregnancy than at any other time. However, in very rare cases, a pregnant woman may suffer hair loss. In these rare cases, hair loss may be severe and would occur in round or oval patches. If this happens, consult your doctor immediately as this be a sign that you are suffering vitamin or mineral deficiency. Vitamin or mineral deficiency in pregnant women should always be addresses immediately as this may cause some side effects on both the woman and the baby.

Where hair loss is very rare in pregnant women, it can be very common after childbirth. In most cases, after a woman give birth, a large number of follicles shed hair at once causing a rather alarming rate of hair loss. Excessive hair loss in women who have just given birth could be really unsettling and should not be ignored by people close to her. Although excessive hair loss after giving birth is normal, women who have just given birth are often very sensitive and emotional; thus, the horror of going bald could be so real and frightening to them. It is best to deal with the situation gently and with great understanding. Keep in mind that pregnancy and childbirth are very taxing events on women, often leaving her very tired and distressed.

Asthma Natural Remedies With No Side Effects

There are many causes of asthma and each person can have different asthma attack triggers. So, each person may need to use a different medical approach and different asthma natural remedies.

Using drugs to control your asthma makes sense when you first discover that you have asthma provided your asthma is well established or life threatening. Once you have your prescriptions and your doctor's instructions, you should consider looking at or experimenting with natural remedies to control or even eliminate your asthma, since drugs are not a cure.

No matter what type of drug or inhaler you are using, they all have their side effects. The longer you use drugs or an inhaler, the less effective they become and most likely you will see side effects.

You should use asthma natural remedies when you are having an asthma attack or when asthma is under control. There are four areas you need to concentrate on when examining asthma natural remedies.

1. Reduce mucus
2. Reduce inflammation
3. Reduce emotional and stressful situation
4. Improve immune system
   

Reduce Mucus

By using various herbs you can control and remove mucus from your bronchi oles. Test various herbs or herbal combinations to determine which work best for you.
Drink carrot and celery juice and drink plenty of water daily to help dilute and move mucus out of your body.

Reduce Inflammation

There are quite a few different nutrients that can help you reduce inflammation. You should consider using more than one at a time. Start with these and then experiment with the others.

• Add omega-3 to your diet by using flax seed oil or fish oil
• Use MSM supplements
• Take vitamin C supplement
• Systemic enzymes, try Vitalize
• Digestive enzymes

Reduce Emotional and Stressful Situation
Reducing stress in your life is a difficult area to deal with since some situations in your life are strongly anchored, like your job, your family, your friends, or marital situation. But if these areas are causing your stress and you frequently have asthma attacks, then you have to decide which is more important for you, your job or your health.
If your job is deteriorating your health, then start looking for a way out. This may require you to look for another job or to go back to school to get training for something you might like to do. Just take action and start changing your life.

Improve Immune System

Improving your immune system is accomplished through diet, through taking nutritional supplements, by reducing stress, and eliminating those conditions that overwork you body.
The fewer things your immune system has to react to and get under control, the stronger it is to take care of an asthma attack when it occurs. When your immune system has to deal with toxins in your colon and throughout your body, then it is weakened and not able to neutralize pollen or pollution you inhale from the air which can trigger an asthma attack.

Use drugs when you first discover you have asthma can make sense. But, if your asthma is light, then finding asthma natural remedies to control it, instead of using drugs, also makes a lot of sense.

Historic Guitar Virtuosos

One thing that has always interested me has been the history of the guitar and the legendary guitar players.

When I started playing I tried to find the original innovators of each style to learn from because I felt guitar knowledge was cumulative.

So I assembled a list of guitar players that I felt would lead me towards the modern era that I could build on and eventually add to.

Here is the list:

Early Jazz Guitar: Charlie Christian - I dig Charlie because not only did he bring the electric guitar to center stage,he is mythical in that he set the world on its ear at the young age of 21 and then died at age 23. His playing still holds up today. If you subscribe to my newsletter you will find his biography posted.

Jazz Guitar from another planet: Tango - I was fortunate enough to have an in depth discussion with Jerry Garcia about Tango and he said it best:

`You just can`t cover the cat`.

Despite having only 2 working fingers on his fretting hand he was able to to play riffs and runs most people with 4 fingers (and thumb) still can't play.

Country finger picking: Chet Atkins - His beautiful melodic style held up for over a half a century.

Bluegrass: Lester Flatt - Flatt and Scruggs - one of the reasons bluegrass music is successful today There are few guitarist/lead singers who are better known in bluegrass music than Lester Raymond Flatt—probably none.

Blues: B.B. King - His reign as King of the Blues has been as long as that of any monarch on earth.

General all around: Les Paul - An innovator both as a musician and as a technician.

Modern influences:

Carlos Santana - His blend of rock and Latin music sets him apart from other guitar players of the modern era.

Jerry Garcia - His playing covered every style and created whole genre.

Clapton, Page and Beck - Major influences of Rock. They brought the blues into the mainstream. The early blues man owe as much to them as they owe the early blues man.

These are the guitarist that influenced me.

Learn Why Are Background Checks So Important

We typically think of background checks as being used by companies as part of an interview process, or perhaps by a local or national government agency tending to security issues. It is true that background checks are used heavily for both these purposes, but as they become more widely available, their uses are expanding.

With the expansion of online dating services, more and more people are possibly meeting strangers. To counter this increased vulnerability, more singles are considering running background checks on the potential partner before they are emotionally invested or physically at risk.

Additionally, the Internet has become a worldwide marketplace, giving rise to scam artists and making us all vulnerable to identity theft and traditional film-flam scams. The new twists of these scams as played over the Internet have shown the importance of doing research prior to sharing any personal information. Background checks on companies you want to do business with over the net can be done online and bring you peace of mind as well as protect you financially.

A background check will typically include the following:

• Credit History Check - To check if the person has any financial liabilities.
• Criminal Record Check - To check if the person has ever been convicted of crime.
• Past Employment Check - To check if all the information provided by a candidate on his resume is correct. This generally comes into frame when an employer wishes to hire a person for a post in his company.
• Driving Record Check - To check if the person has committed any driving offences in the past.
• Bankruptcy and Tax liens check - To check as to how loyal has the person been to state laws and how sound is the person, financially. Paying taxes on time is mandatory for every 'taxable' citizen in the USA and defaulting on them would mean your rating on the Background check databases suffering hugely.

These checks do not comprise of a more exhaustive list of background checks that are done on a person. What is more important is for the request or of a background check to understand their requirements out of a background check.

These background checks could be done by you. It can also be done by taking the help of companies who specialize in conducting background checks. And just in case, if the none of the two options fit in what you want to do, you could get an online database and get the background check done. You should remember that before you do a Background check on a person, you must take his permission without which it may be possible that you get yourself in legal hassles.

One objective of a background check is to not intrude on any one's privacy. Another is to ensure that you exercise caution before meeting or hiring a completely unknown person, especially if the person is going to be significant to your professional or personal cause.

Will You Get Excited About XSitePro?

The answer to that question is maybe! When I bought XsitePro at the beginning of May I had gone through a very frustrating few weeks trying to design several websites. Even more frustrating because I was designing sites for customers and myself 5 years ago but dropped out because of other commitments.

I decided to start up another Internet business earlier this year and could wait to get my own site up and running again. That was when my frustrations started. OK the sites that I designed before were exactly top of the notch professional; they were sort of like the Grandma Moses of the Internet. But, they were attractive, easy to navigate, well visited and different!

Using my old html editor Front Page I expected to have a site up and running quickly but found that I had forgotten most of what I’d known about using Front Page for building sites. What I did remember was that initially I struggled to build a site even after learning html because I don’t understand ‘easy to understand instructions’. This time round I was having the same old problem.

I persevered and was getting somewhere but then I decided to buy the latest Macro media package and have a bash with Dream weaver. Do! it might be wonderful but I did’t have a clue where to start even after reading the instructions. I turned back to Front Page with a mental note to myself to try again when I had more time.

A friend told me about XsitePro and I was curious enough to take a look at their site. It was’t long before I regretted splashing out on the Macro media package, but I couldn't justify another spend so I regretfully left the site armed with a free affiliate link.

During the next week I kept going back and drooling over what might have been. The $197 asking price grew smaller with every visit until click …I finally reasoned that I had earned as much as that in overtime in my day job the previous week and if I could design sites more quickly and easily it would pay for itself.

After downloading XsitePro I couldn't’t wait to get started. I worked my through the tutorial which has you building an opticians site and was totally pleased and relieved to find that I understood the tutorial and that my practice optician site was as it should be.

Next I decided to design my own site and took a look at the website and sales letter templates provided. A good selection but I must admit to thinking that although eminently usable they were a bit boring to me. I have found since that there are several sites offering some stunning XsitePro templates for sale at very reasonable prices.

I made up my own design for my first XsitePro effort and managed to express my old cheerful style quite easily and much quicker than I would have done with Front Page or Dream weaver. As with both of those site builders XsitePro is a What You See Is What You Get editor and as with both of them I find that you do need basic html knowledge to build effective sites. Courses are freely available on the Internet.

Time Saving Differences

I could’t believe how quickly I was able to add Google AdSense ads to my pages. All I had to do was initially add my AdSense id to the software and then after that right click wherever I wanted the ads placing. I was given a choice of ad sizes and colours to enable the ads to integrate with my site and there they were. Much better than trawling through the AdSense site every time I wanted to place ads.

Another time saver is the Affiliate Wizard, you add your affiliate links and thereafter a couple of clicks and your links are on your web pages.

Optimisation for the search engines is excellent for an impatient bod like me. Every time I add an image I’m reminded to include an image alt keyword. When a page is finished I click on the CEO page and I’m told what I still need to do to improve optimisation. I might have missed an image alt keyword, or I might not have included the main key word enough in the text, or not enough words in the body. A few minutes and the page is fully optimised and a chore that I did’t completely understand before is done.

If I want to change the look of my site it’s easily and quickly done on every page at once and I don’t have to figure out style sheets. I can create pop ups, pop under and pop ins with a few clicks, add redirect pages, add scripts and lots more useful things.

The Verdict

I love working with XsitePro and am really glad that I gave into temptation and bought it. I find it easier and quicker to work with than any other html editor that I used and I’m always pleased with the results. I’m sure that it will have it’s limitations but I haven’t found any yet.
The only downside is the not so hot templates, but everything else makes up for that in spades. I don’t get excited about XsitePro but I am delighted with my investment.

Wireless Networks

Wireless networks can be used for school, office and even at home. They are simple to setup and the equipment is fairly inexpensive. An individual can accomplish various tasks using this type of setup. Each person will be able to use a different computer to accomplish the task they need to do. It is a simple process that anyone can complete. A school uses wireless networks in their dorms and classrooms, so every student is able to use a computer for homework, study and play. A company is filled with different styles of departments and computer usage. It is vital that all the sections can communicate with one another to do their jobs correctly. An individual may desire wireless networks in their home as well. Every member of the family can have and use a computer at the same time. The family can work, do homework or play games with each other or by themselves. The benefits of wireless networks are extensive.

A person will be able to setup a simple link in their home. This is fabulous for people that do not want wires strung all over the home to hook each computer up to the Internet. A person can work on their laptops, do homework in their room while other are shopping or playing games. In an office situation, the company relies on fact communication and links to each department. An individual can be called in to setup extensive wireless networks throughout the whole company. It is vital for college students to be able to access the Internet and the schools information system directly from their dorm room. This is simple to achieve and everyone will get a fantastic use out of it. With wireless networks every computer can be on the Internet at the same time. A person will be able to send links, files and programs to other members on the network without much effort. A person can even setup their computer to be able to remotely access another one in the dwelling.

Wireless networks are a wonder method in using a computer and Internet to its fullest potential. It is a simple process to setup and the usage could not be more easy and straightforward. A person can do various tasks while other is on their respective computers. The prices for cards and wireless networks are fairly inexpensive and a home will be cord free.

The 3 Elements of Viral Marketing

You may have already realized that viral marketing is an essential component to the success of your Internet business. But the next question to ask is this: what makes marketing viral? There are three keys.

Key One: It must be Buzz-Worthy

Basically, it just means notable, interesting. There is a story around it. You must have the juicy tidbits that stars like Britney Spears and Madonna are known for. If you cannot get the people to be convinced that it is something new, juicy and revolutionary, you cannot expect to pass the viral marketing standard. If you really want it to sell like pancakes, it must be something substantial and extremely intriguing enough for the user.

Key Two: It must be useful to the person you are sending it to.

Otherwise, it is like some chain letters that you get. It is like, “Why do this person send it to me? Delete. It is gone.” If it is useful to the person that gets it and the person that read it initially forwards it to others who might find it useful too, it continues a self-perpetuating cycle. If you do not establish this, the first man or woman that gets it will treat it as junk and press the delete button. So, it does not go on. But if they think it is useful and they know you personally, chances are you have some similar interests. It might be interesting to you and it gets forwarded around and the message just spreads.

Key Three: It must be easy to pass on.

This is actually the most important key of the three, but it will not work without the first two. You have to have all three, but this is the thing that really makes it viral. A “Tell a Friend” script might be another good example.When you visit a website and you think it is really cool, often, they will have a thing where it says tell a friend, and you can type in the e-mail addresses of two or three of your friends. They get a link to the site saying, “Hey, so and so, with your name, sent your link to the site. Come and check it out.” Those are examples of tools that make your material easy to pass around. There are various viral examples. If you can get that kind of viral movement which is synonymous to having multiple branching out levels as in an old Pert commercial, it does not really take very long to spread your message, but you have to have the three keys that we just talked about. Another example is reports. You see a lot of people in Internet doing this. They will create a report that has great content. Inside the report you can have links to back end products, your affiliate links, and you can brand it like with your brand saying sometimes if it is your report, you brand it however you want. This is already instant viral marketing for you. Tools such as viral pdf.com help you create those reports.

Internet Marketing: How Chords of Feelings Strike For Your Business

Feelings are very important when you are dealing with your prospects. You need to first go beyond the surface and know how they feel. You can only provide satisfaction to your customers if you are able to meet their primary need.You do not really need a psychology degree to read minds. There are also various books and resources on body language, negotiating tips and tactics, among many other things. Remember that what you are dealing with in your business are people and you can never implement things that are devoid of emotion and expect that it will gain loyalty and approval of your leads. If you really want to be able to succeed, you have to be able to reach out somehow on an emotional level. Most people advocate sound reasoning in making purchases. But the reality of the matter is that most buyers act based on feelings or emotional correspondence. If you really want to succeed in your business, you need to really learn how feelings are elicited in your target market and use them effectively.

Life from their Vantage Point or Perspective
The life perspective of your target market in general affects the way they make decisions. You must know what the consensus of your target niche is when it pertains to this topic. Their perspective on life will give you ideas on what products they want to buy. Whether your product is promising, you will not expect people to like it if it is not tailored to suit their inherent tastes or goes with their life principles.

Actual Needs

Their actual needs may be something subconsciously communicated to you. There are things not explicitly stated but are more valuable than those that are obvious to the physical realm. The actual needs of your target market must be different from people who have other priorities. For example, investors are more for getting favorable passive returns while those who are working on a 9-5 day job are more inclined to consider active income as their barometer of success.

Pressures and Stresses

What causes hassles to your target market? Know them, and make ways to help them avoid it, and I swear, your target niche will love you. Some degree of stress is important in any endeavor, but if the stresses are starting to interfere with productivity and many other things that disrupt their daily activities, they will appreciate if someone can identify the problem and help them find a viable solution to diminish, if not completely remove it from their midst.

Fears

What are your target market’s fears? Insurance policies are one of the best examples of companies who are able to harness the feelings of fear properly from people in all walks of life. It may seem morbid, but if you are marketing your services, you must be able to provide a drawback if people do not avail of your products or services. This is part and parcel of creating a need and making buying from you and subscribing to you a top priority for them if you got to convince them.

Dislikes

What to avoid is another aspect you need to consider as an Internet Marketer. If you are unknowingly sabotaging your business with a tactic in which your target market considers dirty and distasteful, then you cannot really expect them to look forward to buying from you.

Advertise For Free - Thats Perfect For Me!

I saw a question on a forum the other day that reminded me of when I first started my home business ten years ago. A guy wanted to advertise his business offline and did’t have much money, he was asking for suggestions.

When I started out I was seriously broke, thought I was going to lose my house. I found biz ops an area that was often called ‘the poor man’s business’ and in an act of desperation started my own home business.

I bought a couple of information products but then realised that I couldn't’t afford to buy enough stamps, envelopes and photocopies to put together a big enough mailshot to earn anything. The act of buying the information products got my details on mailing lists and biz op magazines and ad sheets turned up in my mail.

Being a careful Yorkshire lass I realised that cheap subscriptions to the magazines would get me free monthly ads and that the ad sheets were cheap enough to place my learning ads on. I also saw lots of adverts for free ad placements so used my few stamps and envelopes for whatever freebies I could get.

The free and cheap adverts got me more sales and follow up sales than I would have ever got if I’d spent my money on mailshots. They also taught me how to advertise and it was’t long before others were copying my headlines.

The most important thing was that I figured out very quickly that getting my name
known would increase my sales. It’s a fact that people are more likely to buy from a name that they know, and if you deal honestly your good reputation will be built up as your name gets known.

Within a few months I launched my own quirky little ad sheet. As soon as the idea was finalised I sent copies off to all of the magazine editors. That got me more free advertising in the form of excellent reviews.

I then published my own home business guide and got more wow reviews from the magazine editors and more free advertising. The buyers advertised it for me on commission so their sales cost me nothing to promote.

Six of the editors asked me to write regular articles for them and I decided to write monthly for the best magazine with the widest circulation. Guess what? I chose to get free full page advertising instead of cash for my articles.

I wrote for that magazine for 18 months and then quit to write articles for my own magazine. Yes I published a magazine and got lots of free advertising; all paid for by my advertisers and subscribers.

Somewhere along the way I started a leaflet design service and as at the bottom of every leaflet I was able to place ‘Designed by Patricia Jones and my telephone number’ I got more free advertising. It reached a point where a large percentage of the biz op mailshots and magazines in the UK had something with my name on.

When I think back I paid very little for my advertising for the 5 years that I had a mail order business. My creativity earned me masses of free advertising, but that would’t have happened to such an extent if I had’t sent copies of everything new that I did for the magazine editors to review.

I’ll stress again that getting your name known is important. Even if I was advertising a website I always added my name to the advert and that created more interest. If you can write reasonably well submit articles to magazines, it really is worthwhile. If you have any ideas for new products act upon them, they might just work and they might just get you lots of free advertising.

Now I’m doing it all again on the Internet, betcha it won’t cost me much now that I have found article marketing!
Seriously though, everything that I did offline can be emulated in some form or another online with patience and perseverance. You can get free adverts on lots of sites on the Internet, and build up your link presence. Drop into forums and join in the discussions.

You can publish your own books at little or no cost. Instead of submitting articles to magazines there are article directories. Article Marketing is a great free way to boost your promotions.
I guess that instead of leaflets you could design websites, but to gain from the same power of duplication you would need to have a cracking idea that masses of people would want to promote.

For anyone who has ideas the Internet is a great place to test them out and at little or no cost, just try to make the ideas a little different to help you grab more attention. Whatever you do shout about it from the rooftops – success is standing out from the crowd!

Speak for Success

An important aspect of business success today is the ability to communicate effectively. Not only with the written word but to be able to stand out and deliver a speech or presentation with confidence will set you apart.

As a business educator, I have the opportunity to meet some great speakers from around the world and learn more about how to grow my business. Like others in the audiences I am most impressed by presenters who not only impart relevant information but do it in an interesting and entertaining way. Do you make compelling presentations? If not here's a few tips that may help.

What makes a great presenter? Confidence is usually the initial response and I agree. The number one characteristic that shines through is confidence. Acquiring this quality alone will put many ordinary presenters into the "good" category. What could you do then to go that extra step forward?

1. Awareness of what works for you and what doesn't and the willingness to build on those foundations. Feedback is incredibly important whether you tape or record yourself and analyse your own performance or have someone else critique for you. But here's the catch. Most of us only dwell on what didn't work, try to fix those problems and don't work on their strengths. By recognising what works for you, acknowledging and building on that base will give you the confidence to improve and become a great presenter.

2. Practice makes perfect, so they say. But practice also makes permanent. It's important to try new things, experiment, take risks and most importantly to add variety to your presentation. Variety can be built into your presentation through storytelling, humour, use of props, audiovisuals, group exercises or audience involvement. Variety in your voice – try soft, loud, fast and slow. Try a range of techniques to keep your audience energised and interested.

3. Have a clear outcome in mind of what you want the audience to take away from your presentation. Remember it's about them and how they feel. It could simply be they feel comfortable with you to provide a particular service, or you've convinced them your product is the best on the market. It could be to motivate them to do something or inspire or challenge them to try something new.

4. Organise your speech into "chunks". Rather than try to memorise or read a 30 minute speech (or a 3 hour one!) if you have several chunks that deliver a particular message it is easier for you and your audience to remember. As an example 30 minutes could be broken up into a 5 minute opener with a story, 3 chunks of 7 minutes where you talk about 3 different points using some variety while delivering those messages. Then a closer of 4 minutes perhaps to give out handouts or take a question or two then finish big with a call to action.

5. Use your body wisely. It's okay to jump up and down and be energetic if that is your style. Many of you would have been to an Anthony Robbins or other motivating style of presentation and seen how they use their bodies. At other times a speech delivered with poise and stillness from a lectern is appropriate. What isn't appropriate is distracting movement such as pacing up and down for no reason, gesticulating wildly for no purpose, rocking back and forth or playing with your hair (girls) thrusting hands in your pockets (boys) or scratching or picking at imaginary fluff on your jacket.

These are just a few of my observations and techniques I've learned while practicing to become a great presenter. I hope these tips help you next time you need to make that great client presentation.

Diversity Success Strategies

In today’s fast growing and global economy, businesses risk falling behind as leaders in their key sectors if they continue to be reactive and not proactive in relation to diversity and equality.

By 2010, 50% of the UK workforce in urban areas will come from diverse backgrounds. With the word ‘Global’ following the word ‘Economy’ in almost every business case, diversity a key government initiative companies cannot afford anymore.

The following are constantly a reminder of why diversity is key to the success of every business in the UK today:

1. Age discrimination
2. Bullying and harassment
3. Disability
4. Equal pay
5. Ex-offenders
6. Race discrimination
7. Religious discrimination
8. Sex discrimination
9. Sexual orientation

Here at Diversity Success, we focus on developing and equipping people from diverse backgrounds with the soft skills required to help employers gain a competitive edge in today’s global economy while helping employers understand the following:

1. Diversity and the business background
2. Understanding diversity and its effects on employers
3. The impact of diversity on business performance
4. The consequences of failing to manage workforce diversity
5. Key factors that influence the effects of diversity
6. Diversity and the business case
7. Understanding and implementing diversity measures
8. Successfully measuring the impact of diversity to make progress.
9. And using diversity to gain a competitive edge over competitors.

For example, Halifax Building Society increased profits by £130,000 at six branches trialling an older workforce and Nationwide Building Society saved £7million in staff turnover costs by widening the recruitment age.

I met up with Celia Ole, one of UK’s leading Diversity & Equality consultants for the Job Centre Plus and after hours of sharing ideas and opinions, we came up with a number of critical points to implementing a successful diversity and equality strategy.

It is not ground breaking news that we are in the people business and people buy into people before they buy from them. Global diversity has come of age and in today's constantly changing business environment, a multicultural Britain with different cultural values, beliefs and standards, if you are not recruiting the right people, i.e. people who understand your customers, then you are not ready to succeed in a global and diversified business economy.

In order to increase sales, improve customer loyalty and satisfaction then employers must be proactive in adapting a workforce that spans across time, space, cultures, and geographies.This means that managing global diversity effectively is imperative for businesses that want to be faster, better, and more cost effective in the chaotic and complex global marketplace.
During my informal chat with Celia Ole, I finally came up to the following 7 conclusions for a successful diversity success strategy:

1. Where the head directs, the body follows: Global Business thinkers recognise that implementing a diversity success strategy is a business and social opportunity to increase productivity and growth. As a result, it should be high on the priority list when business leaders are determining the financial success and growth of the business. If the head does not direct the body, the body can do nothing. Business leaders must therefore invest the time and money needed to develop, implement, monitor, and review a diversity strategy that will have a positive impact on business, employees, suppliers, customers, products, and services.

2. Birds of the same feather flock together:In order to win and retain more customers who are constantly from diverse backgrounds, then you need to see, speak, hear and understand their language and way of life. To do this you need a diversified team – A global team that can speak the language and understand the way of life of your customers. Their key role must be to identify, define, design, and launch a successful global diversity initiative for your organisation. Include participants who represent diverse regions, countries, cultures, and languages already existing in your community. Let every implemented initiative be focused on creating a workforce that reflects the economy.

3. Assumption can be the mother of all failures: Knowing your current workforce culture and its effects on previous, current and future customers is key to identifying key diversity issues; globally, regionally, and by country. If your employees cannot engage your customers at all levels, then your competitors could be winning over your customers. Identify the barriers in the environment that prevent people engaging your employees and vice verse. You can do this by working with locals to find out what differences make a difference in their country or region and learning how those differences help or hinder people from performing to peak potential.

4. Communicate don’t tell A well thought out communication plan must involve learning how to listen to the needs and requirements of employees and customers alike. Consider the responses and not the reactions of local communities by understanding local preferences. This ensures the support of a global diversity initiative. Make sure you understand the business objectives of Senior leaders and be ready to present how a diversity led initiative can help meet their business goals.

5. If you are doing it – Front it Creating awareness for your diversity led initiatives among employees and communities will secure the success and growth of not only the initiative but also the business. You can do this by educating the workforce to increase awareness and build the skills needed to lead, manage, and team effectively in a globally diverse organization.

6. Accountability can secure proactively. Where people are held accountable, an answer is always expected for every action. If it can be measured, dated and recorded, it can be analysed, assessed and improved. Evidently companies succeed by making their employees and departments accountable. A diversity led initiative should be no different if you are to sustain a successful campaign.

7. Reflect! Reflect!! Reflect!!!If you have an end date in mind, then you might as well mark that date as a drop in profitability and sales. Globalisation is here today. It’s always been here and it’s not going to go away. To remain in it is to effectively and continually manage your Diversity led initiatives. It is a continual process that is integral to the success and future of the business. An open ended project not a closed one. Always work in terms of outcomes and communicate these outcomes to Senior leaders, departments and the communities involved. Remember, your mission is to sustain the loyalty and satisfaction of your customers. You can only do this by communicating feed backs to all parties involved.

Is Article Marketing a Must?

If you are seeking a way your website to get high ranked in major search engine, it is well known that you need as many back links as possible. Article marketing is one of the most effective forms of free advertising you can do online. Article marketing is not a new practice but, it is still a very popular means of generating website traffics, and also of improving the Page Rank of specific web pages.

Article marketing is the act of writing short articles related to a respective industry or about a topic with the goal of getting the readers to come to your website. Because the technique behind article marketing is back linking, it became a common practice to submit articles to many different article directories to get many one way inbound links in order to optimize a website. Article marketing is also well known as a white hat technique and it is one of the best accepted ways to optimize a website for search engines.

Article marketing is all about good content. Writers or publishers need to put their names out there by sharing their knowledge and information. This means that your article has to be good enough to get published because none of the article directories guarantees to publish your article.

Downside of article marketing is that it takes so much time. Article marketing can be pretty easy if you already spend a lot of time writing for your blog. But, it will be a really time a consuming job to most of people. Some people feel that article marketing is a waste of time, but the bottom line is that if done correctly it can greatly increase traffics.

Article marketing is the most effective way to promote your web business and to generate quality back links. The true key to good article marketing is to remain constant and consistent. It is a long-term strategy but, it is a powerful tool to success online.

Work A Home Computer Jobs Are Plentiful

Work A Home Computer Jobs Are Plentiful

You must be careful when selecting a work at home computer job. There are many companies that seek to rip off their customers and offer high hopes and little else. Be weary of offers that sound too good to be true. They probably are.Before you invest money in a work at home computer job, be wise and contact the Better Business Bureau or the Small Business Administration for advice on selecting a work at home computer job.

There are work at home computer jobs that use every talent imaginable.Here are some work at home computer jobs that you may wish to check into: consumer opinions, data entry, freelance artists, legal assistant, medical transcription, translators, and web surfers.

Even though some work at home computer jobs are scams, most are legitimate. Estimates say that approximately 40 million people work at home in some capacity. With the Internet thriving, many of those home jobs are work at home computer jobs.

Starting a home computer business will enter you in the ever-expanding e-commerce universe. Business to-business sales over the Internet will account for $2.7 trillion for the year 2004. Consumer products purchased over the Web will exceed $119 billion. With such growth, no wonder more and more people are considering starting a work at home computer job.

The Basic Of Engineering Careers

The Basic Of Engineering Careers

Basically engineering careers are a service type of jobs. Meaning that as an engineer, you are going to assist and serve your community. You basically help other people to live more comfortable in this world. This must sound weird to you but read on the rest of the article to learn more about this career.

How can you make sure the engineering industry that you choose meet your expectations?

It is true that this line of work can produce you with a handsome pay each month. Nevertheless, choosing the best engineering job really need you to do some research on your part, unless you are certain of what you want to be, you could be left puzzled with the huge number of choices. Options like civil, mechanical, electrical, software, computer, aeronautical and the list goes on.

Since there are too many options, you really need to go deep into your heart and find the one that suit you the most. This is one job that you do not want to mess with. Listen to this story for example. John is a civil engineer who is given a task to design one bungalow. If John does not design the bungalow properly since he is still wondering why he become a civil engineer while his interest is more on mechanical things, surely that poor bungalow might collapse or crack all over the place.

If you have a knowledge for computers, then computer engineering could be what you are looking for. Also, you need to have a list of expectations and then see whether the task you like really matches the one you fill comfortable with. If you really have no idea on what step you need to take, try to seek advice from a career advisor or do plenty of research to help guide you.

Will engineering provide you with a lot of money in the future?

Of course yes. There are many successful engineers in this world who have a luxurious life after working for just several years. But you have to understand this, if you would like to be one, you should know that you have a very challenging career ahead of you. It is a very tough career and therefore, the person searching for this job should know exactly what they are letting themselves in for.

If you think about it, engineering careers will definitely raise up your level of thinking and communication skill simultaneously. You are just not only going to be respect by other people, but you will fill a lot of satisfaction once you are really master at what you do.

To learn more about this challenging career and get into more details about life as an engineer, visit engineering careers.

Creating Money Out of Thin Air

Creating Money Out of Thin Air

As my friend Ida says, "Money is Easy." Creating more income or abundance in our lives is that simple, but most of us try to make it harder or more complicated than it is.

The hardest thing about our relationship with money is giving up our idea of what that income is or where it will come from. We must focus on what it CAN BE. For example, most people would argue that they are on a fixed income and there is only so much money they receive each month. Others say their monthly paycheck is CZ dollars and they don’t want to get a second job.

In the first example above, the person has defined the boundaries of their income and they do not allow the space for other income to flow. In the second example the person has defined a limited channel of how and where the money is to appear. To create more money out of thin air we must be willing to let go of our limited thinking, remove the boundaries around our abundance and stop outlining how it is to appear in our life.

You’ll notice that I am interchanging the word money, income and abundance. The first step of creating money is recognizing that money is abundance. I know you can create more abundance in your life. Sometimes that abundance appears as money that you can spend. Sometimes abundance is someone taking you to lunch or getting an unexpected rebate or discount on a purchase you made.

The following rules will help you expand your thinking and break down any boundaries that you have about money or abundance.

RULE#1

Money is energy. It follows the Laws of Nature and like the tides of the ocean it has a natural rhythm of flowing in and out. When we allow money to flow to us and not restrict or define how it is to come to us then we become the masters of abundance. We restrict the flow of abundance when we do not allow someone to take us out to lunch… "Oh no, you shouldn't pay for lunch." We restrict the flow of abundance when we don’t pick-up the penny that we find on the street. You ask the Universe for more abundance and it is given to you at your feet but it is beneath you to pick-up change that you find lying on the ground. [Note: When I started to pick-up money on the street the denomination and amount increased!] Or we restrict the flow of abundance with limited thinking. Every time you say I only earn CZ dollars you are defining a boundary and limiting more abundance to flow.

RULE#2

Money is impersonal. Money is not good or evil. It has no values or beliefs except what we put on it. Money does NOT care who you are or what your background is or what your past family history was. This follows Rule#1 because money is energy and only that. It can be used for any purpose that we want. Money can be used to help people and it can be used to harm people. But how we use it or what we think about money does not change the nature of money, which is energy.

RULE#3

Money is unlimited. When we understand Rules One and Two, then money or abundance can freely flow to us as much as we will allow it. For example, in this past year there have been several natural disasters where thousands of people have lost their homes and needed help to rebuild their lives. People rallied together to help those displaced and said we need CZ dollars. Within hours, millions of dollars poured in from all sources. Imagine and KNOW that you too can do the same. Create the need, open the energy and let the Universe provide all the good into your life.

OPENING THE FLOW

I know you can create more abundance in your life because your Being is Energy and Money is Energy. The first step is developing a relationship with money. Each night before you go to bed write in your journal at least ten things that you are grateful for. Recognize, write and give thanks for all the monies that you have. Give thanks for that person that took you out to lunch. Give thanks for Spirit, God or Universe for the money that you found on the street. Give thanks for that person that smiled at you on the bus. This simple exercise takes only ten or fifteen minutes to do. Give yourself permission to try this and see what opens and flows into your life. If you forget to write in your journal for a couple of days or week, take notice how the flow may have slowed up or stopped. Pick-up the pen and start writing again in your journal and develop a habit.

YOUR JOURNAL

As you develop this new fun habit you can begin creating new sources of income to appear. TRUST ME THIS WORKS. I found $640 in cash on the street last year! You can create what you want to appear in the future, but always write in the present tense. Remember NOT to create boundaries and remember NOT to define the outcome.

Here are examples of phrases you can write in your journal even BEFORE they appear:

1. I give thanks for all the unlimited income that flows in my life.
2. I give thanks for my new job that is financially rewarding and is a short drive from home.
3. I give thanks for all the monies I have.
4. I give thanks for the overflowing financial abundance in my life.
5. I am grateful to receive abundance and all the good in my life.
6. I am grateful for my all paid vacation to Hawaii.
7. I give thanks for the opportunity to be open to receive all the good in my life.
8. I am grateful for my health.
9. I am grateful for my wonderful body that functions healthy and perfectly.
10. I am healthy whole and complete am grateful for right and perfect health.
11. I am grateful for all the relationships in my life.

Creating more income or abundance in our life is easy. Let go of boundaries and limiting thoughts and allow all the good to flow into your life. Soon you will be telling others how to create money out of thin air. Napster

Developing a Profitable Web Business Concept

Developing a Profitable Web Business Concept

The first step to starting a profitable online business of your own is developing a topic for your website. You want to select from a list of topics that interest you since you are going to have to write original content for your website.

Too many "green" webmasters make the mistake of choosing a website topic that they think will make them a lot of money instead of one that interests them. They spend their time thinking about how to monetize their site before they actually have any visitors.

What is the end result? A website that feels like a commercial. You have to remember that people are not using the Internet to find your sales pitch they are using it to find information.

What does this tell you? If you want to be a successful web business owner then your website should provide your users with valuable information resources related to your target keywords.

Ask yourself, am I more likely to buy a product from a trusted information source whose website I find useful and visit frequently or a website loaded up with banners and links to every way man has invented to make money? Build your user's trust by providing valuable original content on your website.

If you choose a topic that interest's you and that you are passionate about, the content will be much easier to develop. When developing your site concept choose 4-5 broad topics at first until you identify which one has the most profit potential through keyword analysis techniques.

The top benefit of writing your own website content is that the search engines love it! If you want to get free targeted traffic to your website (of course you do, right?) having original, information filled website content makes the search engines very happy.

As you continue to add valuable original content to your website you will start to notice other websites linking back to you. This will bring both free targeted traffic and higher link popularity with the search engines depending on the quality of the sites that are linking to your site. Search engine's see back links to a site as an indicator of how "popular" a site is.

If you have a large number of websites linking back to your content you must be important, right? There is a lot to learn on this subject that goes beyond the scope of this article.

Visitors to your website will already be prey-sold since the blinks you will receive should be from "related websites”, or from “Internet searches” performed on keywords related to your website content. Incorporate links to the products and services you are promoting within your website content and you have a powerful sales tool.

This strategy will not "explode" your income overnight but will provide you a steady stream of pre-sold, targeted visitors from the search engines within 3-6 months.

Make a Striking Sign Banner

Make a Striking Sign Banner

Designing a banner from scratch is the most difficult task involved when shopping for sign banner. When a customer gives us the basic message and asks us to be creative, we need to be exclusive every time. Since the primary goal of a sign banner is to grab the viewers attention and then pass on the message, the banner needs to be readable and visually attractive. You can follow the below given steps to start an appealing and attractive banner, and to maximize its effectiveness.

Select compatible font styles.

Avoid using more than two kinds of styles when making sign banner. Fonts such as Old English Text and Engraved are just impossible to read easily from a distance and should only be used when the viewer is stationary for a period of time like in any conference hall, meeting room or at any retail store. So you need to use compatible font styles.

Avoid using more than two kinds of styles when making sign banner. Fonts such as Old English Text and Engraved are just impossible to read easily from a distance and should only be used when the viewer is stationary for a period of time like in any conference hall, meeting room or at any retail store.

So you need to use compatible font styles.

Logos, clip art, borders, etc. can well be used to grasp the viewer's thought, but need not overwhelm the sign's chef message. If the viewer is only focusing on the cool clip art or graphic, then the message has been lost. As you walk around your community look around all the banners vying for your attention. Concentrate on the one that stands out. Just take a note on one or two elements of the sign banner design or road sign that attracts you, and then those could be well applied appropriately when you are designing you sign banner.

Use best color combinations

Your customers might already have a color blend they desire to use for their sign banner or Vinyl Banners. Sometimes this is a real good thing, and sometimes it is as well bad. The best scenario could be when your customer asks you for assistance in choosing apt colors for their sign banner.

Although these are good common guidelines, they may not always offer desired visual results. Use your own carefulness and intuition to assist your customer. Creating attractive and successful signage is necessary for your customers' satisfaction and is certain to guarantee repeat business.

Life Settlement

The life settlement industry was propelled into popularity by the vertical settlement industry. History has shown us that the early adopters of life settlement were those who were suffering from AIDS and who had only a couple of years to live. They sold their insurance policies assuming they would get immediate cash in return from the person who bought it. When medical breakthroughs found their way to fight the AIDS virus, these senior citizens lost out because they had to pay premiums for a long time. Some fraudulent companies also resorted to marketing this concept in order to make a fast buck by giving senior citizens the hope of further investment.

Life settlement occurs when the holder of a policy willingly sells the same for a price to the buyer, who then becomes the sole owner of the policy. The new buyer has to pay for the premiums from the date of purchase. It is common for senior citizens above the age of sixty-five to opt for life settlement, especially if there has been a negative change in their health situation. The immediate cash option is attractive because the seller is then able to fund his medical bills and take care of other responsibilities.

If you are planning a life settlement then it is best to take advise from experts who know the market. Accountants, Charitable Trust Officers, Financial Planners and Attorneys are just some of the people you can contact. Since they know the regulations and formalities involved, you will be able to make a more informed decision. The idea behind life settlement is to get a high bid for your policy. This could take a lot of work if you are working alone. A broker is sometimes arranged to find the right seller who can offer a fair market value. The benefit of hiring a broker is that you can get bids from different sellers. Thus you can choose the most favourable bid among the offerings. It sometimes becomes necessary to provide your medical history in order to secure a good bid.

Once the life settlement bid is accepted by the buyer, he then returns any confidential papers that he might have taken for perfecting. Change of ownership forms are then exchanged and the final deal is closed.

Some authorized life settlement agents are Action Advisers Inc, Advanced Settlements Inc, All settled Group Inc, Berkshire Settlements Inc, Brown & Brown Associates PC, Darrell L Tate, Don Kan's Insurance Agency Inc, Fair market Life Settlements Corp, etc. To find an agent in your area there are several listings on the Internet. Brokers will also give you a free consultation so you can freely and confidentially discuss your financial situation.

Life settlement is done when a person wants to sell his or her policy in return for cash. The reasons behind this could be high premiums, medical problems, employment changes, bankruptcy, etc. It is wise to be well informed about the process and even more important to find a broker or a financial advisor who can make your life settlement worth your while.

Robert co-founded Insurance4USA.com, an insurance quote shopping service - http://www.insurance4usa.com , in 1999. He has been a licensed insurance agent in New York State since 1990.

A Tough Love approach to Health and Fitness

Yesterday at the grocery store, I came across a child, who was about 8-years-old. She was lying on the floor flailing her arms and legs yelling I want a chocolate bar. I could have predicted the outcome. The child continued to scream until mom put a chocolate bar in the cart. The crying ceased instantly.

As they passed, I took note of the contents of the grocery cart - Coco Puffs cereal, soda, 3 bulk bags of potato chips, chocolate covered granola bars, macaroni & cheese, hot dogs you get the drift. Try as I might I couldn't help but feel scared for that child's future

You see, a long time ago I was that obese little girl. I was unhappy with my body, but I dulled the pain by eating chips, chocolate bars, hot dogs. I threw tantrums because I knew my mother didn't have the patience and would just give me what I wanted.

By the age of 12 I was 4-foot, 11-inches and 135-pounds. My doctor put me on a restrictive diet. However, I would steal money from my parents to buy candy. It didn't make sense to me. I was allowed to eat those foods before. Why were punishing me? I hated myself more.

In the early 80s, being a fat child was rare. However in 2006 one in three North American kids are overweight. Both parents likely have full time jobs, which means less time for healthy meals and exercise. Fast food and activities have taken over the family roost.

I'm sorry I have to lay this responsibility on the parents, but kids only practice what you preach. If they see you eating poorly, they follow suit.

Practice what you preach by adopting and enforcing these Fitness Gear101.com family lifestyle changes:

• Explain the difference between health food choices and non-healthy food choices.
• Sit down and compile a weekly grocery lists with your child.
• Let them go with you to the grocery store and shop only for the foods on the list.
• Get kids involved in preparing healthy meals, so they adopt healthy habits for life.
• It's normal to shelter our kids from ridicule. However if your child is obese their health is at risk and tough love encouragement is needed, for example: honey, you are overweight, but I believe in you and I support you because I love you.
• Never use food as a reward. Instead reward them with mini-golfing or baseball.
• Ditch the clean-plate policy. If your child is full, don't force them to finish.
• Institute an open policy about food. Kids should be comfortable telling you when they are hungry and not hungry without fear you will get mad.
• Don't eliminate snacks. It will lead to lying and binge eating outside the home. Instead plan a cheat meal once a week when there allowed any foods they want.
• Encourage physical activity. It will get them up and out and encourage them to socialize with other active kids.
• Never allow eating in front of the TV. This encourages passive eating, and the child wont concentrate on how much they are eating or when they're full.
• Limit TV or video games to 1 hour per day. The rest of the time, keep them busy with outdoor activities.

Are You Setting Limits for Your Teen?

July 14, 2006 Most teens claim not to want limits, but, deep down, they really do. Parents need to decide and agree upon the limits that are absolute - what they expect their teenager to do or not to do - and make these very clear to the teen, with an understanding of what the consequences will be if these limits are not respected. At the same time, teenagers need an increasing amount of autonomy and decision-making power.

Decide which issues are negotiable - and sit down and work out some compromises with your teen. For example you may decide that she can date with certain restrictions - e.g., the boy must be her age or not more than a year older, no unsupervised parties, no car dates, etc. When she feels that she has some power to make choices in some areas of her life, she will be more likely to observe the limits you set.

You may decide that she can date with certain restrictions - e.g., the boy must be her age or not more than a year older, no unsupervised parties, no car dates, etc. When she feels that she has some power to make choices in some areas of her life, she will be more likely to observe the limits you set.

In the absence of peer pressure to engage in dangerous or particularly undesirable behavior, it may be best to say little beyond this, to encourage more positive friendships and to let the questionable friendships unravel in their own time, as they probably will. (On the other hand, if you show continual, obvious distaste for a friend, the teen may cling even more tightly to that friendship.)

Regarding friends you don't approve of: let your teen knows that you have some reservations about some friends and tell them why, then invite them to tell you how they feel about these friends. Listen without interrupting or arguing. Talk with your teen. Without attacking their friends personally.

Remember that teens have mixed feelings about limits that mirror their developmental position between childhood and adulthood: while they may balk at limits, argue with them and claim to have the maturity to make all of their own choices, they feel quietly reassured when parents step in and let them know what they expect of them. Deep down, most teenagers see limits as reassuring, as a sign of ongoing parental protection, and as proof that their parents really care.

History of Legends

Above all other holiday resorts in Malaysia, Langkawi boasts of the existence of various legends and myths. The following are the most popular.

Legend of Mahsuri

Surpassing them all is the well-known – and well-beloved – story told time and again of the Princess Mahsuri who lived in Langkawi in the fourteenth century. Mahsuri laid a curse on the islands following the wrongful accusation that she had committed adultery while betrothed to the Sultan of Kedah. When a soldier pierced a kris (dagger) into her bosom, he drew white fluid instead of blood, this viewed as a sign of her innocence. Others are of the opinion that a white mist that suddenly enveloped the spot of her execution was an illustration of mourning over her undeserved punishment.

Mahsuri laid a curse on Langkawi for the act of injustice. Thus, for seven generations, it had been a land of isolation and misfortune.

Gunung Raya and Gunung Mat Cincang In the heart of the main island are these two familiar mountains. Adding to, yet seeming to separate, them is a third called Bukit Sawar. The trio are believed to be human beings going by the names of Mat Raya, Mat Cincang and Mat Sawar.

Mat Raya – of bad repute – married Mat Cincang’s daughter against the latter’s wishes. A fight with pots and pan flying, ensued during the wedding feast. A big pot of gravy broke and its contents spilled onto the ground. The spot the contents spilled is known as Kuah (gravy) and where the pot broke, Belanga Pecah (broken pot). A couldron of hot water was likewise spilled, hence the spot known as Air Panas (hot water).

The fight between the two families continued until intervened by Mat Sawar. Following reconciliation, all three decided to turn themselves into their present forms.

Caves of Legends

There are several stories associated with caves. Gua Cerita – the cave with a legend – is actually two fascinating limestone caves in the northeast of Langkawi, one above the other, both facing the sea. The story tells of the failed ploy by the legendary Geruda (phoenix) to thwart the “marriage” of the children of the Roman and Chinese emperors.

Gua Langsair (Cave of the Banshees)

Is believed to be a haven for vampires.

Telaga Tujuh

Are the seven wells believed to be the favourite haunts of mountain fairies who frequently bathed there in the absence of human beings.

Tasik Dayang Bunting

What would an island near Langkawi be without a legend. In this case we have even more than one.

First Legend

One version has it that Dayang Bunting was a giant guardian spirit that kept watch over the islands. The lady's defenses include her pet lion and poison from the tuba root, potent weapons for her protection. Hence, the two islands closest to Pulau Dayang Bunting, whose silhoutte resembles that of a reclined pregnant giant, are named Pulau Singa Besar (Great Lion Island) and Pulau Tuba (Poisonous Root Island.The story goes that, a group of rude merchants failed to pay the obligatory respects to Dayang Bunting as they passed by the islands. Rudely awakened by the intrusion, she summoned her pet lion to despatch the trespassers. She roused the spirits of wind and water, stirring up a tropical storm that unleashed its fury on the incoming fleet of sailors.

The howling winds and tossing waves threw and dashed vessels on Pulau Jong (Junk Island), hence the remains of wrecked vessels. In the stormy affair, a cargo of black and white water buffaloes escaped to Pulau Gubang Darat (Land Stable Island) and Pulau Gubang Laut (Sea Stable Island) while the white buffaloes sheltered at Pulau Balar (White Water Buffalo Island). Yet other boats, laden with rice, was stranded at Pulau Beras Basah (Wet Rice Island).

Second Legend

The second version of Dayang Bunting is closely associated with the romantic exploitery of Mambang Sari, a beautiful female genie and Mat Teja, a male genie. Mambang Sari used to frequent the island accompanied by her maids. Their favourite spot was Pasir Teluk Air Tahun and Teluk Lawak. One day Mat Teja saw Mambang Sari and was struck by her beauty.

He fell in love with her and used to follow her wherever she went. Once while on a lookout for her, he met Tok Diang an old man from the village. Mat Teja told him of his love for Mambang Sari but just did not know how to reveal this secret. He feared that his love might not be reciprocated.

Tok Diang asked Mat Teja to get the tears of a mermaid from the sea and to wipe them on his face the next time he met Mambang Sari. He did just that and when Mambang Sari saw him she fell in love with him. They often met at various places to enjoy the beauty and serenity of these spots. They became more intimate and as a result Mambang Sari became pregnant.

She chose to retire at Tasik Dayang Beranak (Lake of Born Maiden) to give birth. Unfortunately the child died after seven days. Saddened by the death Mambang Sari took the child's body and threw it into the lake, Tasik Dayang Beranak. The lake later came to be known as Tasik Dayang Bunting.

Some people believe the water of the lake possesses some mystical power of helping barren women to bear children.

Beras Terbakar

Kampong Raja at Padang Matsirat was the ancient capital of Langkawi. During the heyday of Langkawi the island's rice granary was located there.

During the Siamese invasion of Langkawi in 1821 the Chieftain of Langkawi, Dato' Karma Jaya, ordered the granary to be burnt in order to starve the enemy. Remnants of the burnt rice could still be seen today at the very spot of the burnt granary which is known as Beras Terbakar (Burnt Rice).

The burnt rice is said to have been buried a few metres below ground but often appears on the surface after a rainy day.