June 2008
Monthly Archive
Gardening Hub20 Jun 2008 08:56 pm
Be healthy and kind to the environment
The new climate change website has launched a new fantastic green domain. It focuses on combating climate change and focuses into organic skincare. Sales of organic onions are growing on the backend of professed benefits to humans health and the British environment. Organic mushrooms are definitely made according to a tough production standard. In olden times organic farms have been reasonably little family run farms- that is why organic salads was once just available in tiny specialist shops and markets. Brent Cross Market in East London is one of the choicest farmers markets around. On a Sunday lunch time there is a big queue of hungry locals at the organic salad bar. Currently folk can buy organic bread from a generous range of organic shops.
Since the early 1990’s organic tomatoes has had growth rates of around fourteen percent a year, far ahead of the rest of the food industry, in the developed and developing nations. For countless customers there is an understanding that consuming organic apples can improve your health, various people have differing opinions on that. One fact that could be proved is that organic farming uses a much smaller amount of pesticides than normal agriculture. Buying organic pasta isn’t just about health, for various people it’s about helping to save the planet. Some organic farming certifications schemes are definitely stricter than others. The Soil Association are most rigid, particularly for chicken & ham. Soil Association certifies turkeys are held in smaller flocks, and appreciate more space indoors and out than others. The majority of other organic chicken standards are really closer to free- range. Discover Organic Foods with BBC Green, the new site for green issues.
Organic eye shadows is now something that is popularly used. With organic it means it is all natural ingredients. Organic skincare are definitely much more popular and more effective than some ingredients situated in normal day to day skin care. With naturally organic ingredients organic skincare will work in harmony with your body and skin to enhance your body’s natural healing and regenerative capabilities. Just like when you feed your body bad food, it will let you know its not happy- your skin is no different.
Your Transnational Real Property Marketplace — Accomodated by The Property Index Online Company
Property Index sell a range of villas and apartments, take a look at their site if you are looking for overseas property investment, click here to view the properties.
Despite the fact that the Property Index online service is still a recent establishment, they were incorporated only in March of 2007, they have established their expertise very quickly. They are actually a fairly unceremonious establishment focusing entirely on offering informed instructions to everyone who is designing to sell, buy, rent, etc. assets across the globe. Their affirmation: to lend you a hand to determine bang-on what’s looked for fast as well as, of course, sans hassle. Real estate can be bought in a wide selection of areas across the globe these days, maybe the choicest area being properties available in Spain. It should really be simply to specify the tremendous real estate available for sale in Spain, the reason for picking realty here is the houses and apartments you can purchase and the mega cool option of living surrounded by such a high-spirited, eager and great people.
This is one of the most sought after regions of the world these days, and considering the overall attractiveness and wonderful weather surrounding you all year, how could you say no! Real estate in Spain is very rich in history and culture, this realm of the world has always been home to quite a number of civilizations. About 25-30 years back you’d find merely a tiny number of English people in search of real estate in Spain. Ask anyone who has relocated to Spain and they’ll substantiate it. Lots of people would see it as a fad and others see it as a as something approaching a fetish… People set on migrating to this area range from young urban professionals looking for a life perspective to older customers who want to enjoy being retired.
Do bear in mind, though, that there can be hitches when looking to acquire real estate overseas — you’ll want to cope with a hundred steps to ponder when budgeting, calling in or buying and completing. If you miss out on but a single action that is liable to easily kick up impassable hitches plus, preeminently, financial loss. As you will likely have anticipated with this popular place, real estate might well be dear in this location which is just caused by the wide spread market pressure. Notwithstanding the client is definitely quite spoilt for choice in a location determined by pleasant terrain. Presently it can boast everything a buyer could feasibly relish and plenty more.
Unassigned19 Jun 2008 06:38 pm
Is Self Improvement Important? - Part 2
There are people who consider ongoing education essential, who think that in order to really feel alive, they must be growing, developing and learning. They may not be even be seeking self improvement as such, or looking to make any changes in their lives. They may just have a thirst for knowledge and feel that lifelong learning is a goal in itself.
Not everyone is that way inclined, but any person whose personal knowledge is not, at the very least, keeping up with the general knowledge and developments in their field, runs the risk of losing their job, and then having difficulty in finding a new one.
People who are ambitious and have plans for their future know that the most important and valuable work they will ever do is the work they do on themselves. To quote Jim Rohn - “To Have More Than You’ve Got, Become More Than You Are”.
Self Improvement is undoubtedly important, and anyone really can have anything they want from life, and be anything they want to be, if they’re prepared to make the plans, take the actions, and pay the price.
Time and money spent on furthering your own education, skills and knowledge will be the best investment you’ll ever make for your future. It’s been said many times that leader are readers. It’s also been said that any problem that you could ever have has been solved by someone, and that the solution will have been recorded for posterity. Whatever it is you want to know, you can almost certainly find recorded it in a book, on the internet, or in another medium. You can gain knowledge that would otherwise take you many years of experience and trial and error to obtain simply by reading a single book written by an expert.
No matter what you want to achieve from your life, there is no doubt that the more books you read, the more audio programs you listen to, the more seminars or courses you attend, the more you will know about your specialist field or area of interest. You will become highly employable and earn more within your chosen field, or will be well placed to move into new areas, or to set up and successfully run your own business.
Only you can decide what you want from your life and what will make you happy. Nobody else is responsible for your happiness, your success, or what you make of your life. And nobody else is responsible for your lack of happiness or success, or if you do nothing more with your life than just about get by.
The important thing to realize is that it’s all your choice, and that your attitude to personal development, growth and self education will be one of the most decisive factors in how your life turns out.
“If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place.” - Nora Roberts
About The Author: Garry Zancanaro is the founder of http://www.SelfImprovementDirectory.com a website dedicated to all aspects of Personal Development, and to helping people live more successful and fulfilling lives. Visit to claim a FREE copy of Napoleon Hill’s classic THINK AND GROW RICH.
Advertising Industry17 Jun 2008 09:44 pm
Baby Bratz Dolls: Fashionable Babies
Baby Bratz are part of the cool line of dolls manufactured by MGA: the Bratz dolls. But don’t think for a moment these are your typical, oblivious baby boys and girls, because as with the teenage dolls, the Baby Bratz have a passion for fashion, and it shows in every set of clothes available for them.
The Baby Bratz are supposed to be the Chloe, Yasmin, Jade and Sasha Bratz dolls when they were babies. They each have a large head - even bigger than their teenage counterparts - which makes sense considering babies often have heads that appear to be too big for their tiny bodies! Kids (and even some adults) find the Baby Bratz to be cute and adorable, especially when you dress them up for the winter fun.
The price of the baby Bratz range from $7 to $11 each, depending on where you buy them, while their clothes are around $5 - $6 per pack. They have a lot of available accessories, which can go from as low as $8 to as high as $30, depending on which accessories you purchase.
A Baby Bratz doll is a terrific gift for most young girls, and is especially recommended if you are a mom or dad who is not fully happy with the teenager Bratz dolls’ looks and attitudes. If you don’t think that the excess of makeup and the arguably trashy looks are good influences for your little girl, then give her a Baby Bratz doll, and she may be equally happy.
As for the durability, these great dolls are resistant to a number of children’s typical “abuses.” I have accidentally stepped on a baby Yasmin once, and it didn’t break (but she may just have been a lucky baby!). Other than that, I have seen Baby Bratz being thrown, having “traffic accidents” with toy cars, and even getting chewed by a dog, and I never saw them break under the abuse (unless you count dog teeth marks as breaking).
Whether you are a fashion dolls collector or you are just looking for a great doll to give to your daughter, you simply can’t afford not to check out the nice baby Bratz line of dolls. They are a great way to bring tons of fun to your daughter without spending too much. It is possible to buy a Baby Bratz doll and two different sets of clothes for less than twenty dollars, which in today’s economy isn’t that bad.
The Baby Bratz line of cute dolls and accessories can be found in almost every store on the country, and is currently exported to a huge number of countries around the entire world. Once you get to know one of these adorable dolls, you will probably want another one, and soon you will have a preferred Baby Bratz. My favorite Baby Bratz is Jade; what’s yours?
Copyright © Jared Winston, 2006. All Rights Reserved.
From the original Bratz dolls to the newer additions such as Baby Bratz, there is no denying this expansive toy line is exploding in popularity. Stop by our fansite dedicated exclusively to the Bratz to learn what all the fuss is about.
Can You Still Make Money Investing in Real Estate with Fixers?
Real estate investors have made money by buying fixers, fixing them up, and then selling them for years. It’s not a new real estate investing method. But what if you live in an area where homes sit on the market and sell at less than full price? Can you still make money investing in real estate by fixing houses under such market conditions? The simple answer is yes, if you do your research, find the right seller, and follow proven strategies.
Real Estate Market
It’s been a sellers’ market in America for a number of years, with more buyers than houses, which meant that sellers weren’t as motivated as they were back in the 80s, when interest rates were sky high, inflation was running rampant, and mortgage lenders were more cautious. Today’s market is shifting towards a buyer’s market and real estate investors find home sellers more willing to bargain, because like in every age, people get into trouble for various reasons.
You must know what houses sell for, under what terms the property sells, the conditions of houses sold, and how long the average home sits on the market. Once you know your market, you will know how much to offer a motivated seller.
Find the Right Home Seller
You might think you’re looking for a bargain house, but what you’re really looking for is a motivated seller. Look for sellers that have found themselves in financial distress, for whatever reason, and who need to sell quickly. Sellers with difficult situations have motivation, and will be willing to work with you to overcome the difficulties they face. Those are the houses that will make you money, regardless of the overall market in that area.
If you look at houses on MLS, tell your agent to request that the seller be present. This way, you have the opportunity to talk to the home seller and see what problems prompted the home sale. You can also run ads that say “We Buy Houses.”
Fix the House Right
To give yourself the edge when you go to sell your home, don’t just paint everything white and have boring beige carpeting installed. Today’s home buyers look for a home that makes them feel “at home.” Learn how to profile your home buyer and make decorating choices to target that buyer. You don’t need to spend extra money fixing up the house; just make wise design choices.
Sell Your House
Since most home buyers look for houses with real estate agents, don’t waste your valuable time trying to sell on your own unless you have sold many houses and know exactly how to manage all the disclosures and paperwork. Find an agent who is willing to show the house, not just place a lock box and forget it. Every time the house is shown, it needs to be staged with lights on.
You can still make money investing in real estate in today’s market. Do your homework, learn as much as you can and follow proven strategies.
Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher
Jeanette Fisher teaches interior design secrets for fixing houses. For more Real Estate Investing Information for beginners, visit DoghousetoDollhouse.com — the Internet’s largest library of real estate investing tips and articles for beginners. Free ebook and teleseminars: http://doghousetodollhouse.com/real_estate.htm
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Health16 Jun 2008 01:37 am
FDA Orders Search Engines to Stop Online Pharmacies
How Does Online Pharmacies Affect Pharmacy Leaders?
With cheaper drugs made available online, big pharmacy companies are losing control of their monopolistic control over the pharmacy industry. They are not able to compete with these online pharmacies with their exorbitant drug prices. FDA moves in and tries to protect these companies from online pharmacies by trying to censor online information from users. What FDA does not know about the internet is: nobody controls internet and the spread of information over the web. Even major search engines like Google have no control over the use of information on the web. Google protects and encourages free speech on the web and that is why searching online for products is so good- you can find anything online these days. If major pharmaceutical leaders cannot compete with online pharmacies’ prices, they should look to resolving the situation themselves, not use FDA or use political pressures. What good is the internet if certain products are censored?
How Good Can It Get?
Buying medicine online is the way of the future. They do away the need for extensive pharmaceutical company structures and hundreds of drug salesmen stalking hospitals and clinics every day. When comparing online pharmacies and pharmaceutical leaders, it is similar to comparing Toyota and BMW. Online pharmacies work just like Toyota- cheap and more effective. They are safer and better than BMW in many ways while BMW represents the prestige of owning a continental car.
Clearly, we should present cheaper drug alternatives via online pharmacies to internet users as well as brand name drugs. So far, US pharmaceutical industry is infested with drug lords and BMWs, but why can’t there be more online pharmacies and Toyotas?
Bobby Stark works in an established US pharmacy for 10 years and spends his spare time on his Online Pharmacy Review site to guide buyers in choosing their medical products.
http://www.cheaprxmedsonline.com/
He enjoys outdoor activities like swimming, running and pilates.
Parents + Kids14 Jun 2008 10:47 pm
Pregnancy - The Third Trimester
The third trimester of your pregnancy really becomes exciting. As your due date gets closer, your anticipation and anxiety levels rise considerably. You may even be a bit scared. This is all perfectly normal.
When you get to week twenty-nine of your pregnancy, your baby’s head will be in proportion with the rest of the body. Also, the brain can now control the baby’s temperature as well as primitive breathing. During the next few weeks, the infant will change positions so that the head is at the bottom. This is to prepare for birth!
As you get to week thirty, your baby will weigh almost three pounds! During this time, the baby will spend lots of time practicing closing and opening their eyelids and can even produce tears! The brain is growing larger and larger so be sure you talk to your baby as well as expose them to music and literature.
When you get to week thirty-one, the physical growth rate of your baby will slow down. However, he will still gain a lot of weight as the pregnancy goes on. Studies have shown that babies during this period will often move to the rhythm of music and actually prefer certain types of music already. The average baby is 16.2 inches long now and weighs 3.3 pounds.
When you get to week thirty-two, you might notice that your baby isn’t moving around as much as before. This is perfectly normal. It’s just that there isn’t much room left in the womb to move around. All five of your baby’s senses will now be working which will be very fascinating to the infant. The average baby weighs 3.75 pounds now and is 16.7 inches long.
During week thirty-three, your amniotic fluid will be at the highest level of your entire pregnancy. Your baby will now start to take intermittent breaths of water! This will exercise the muscles and get the infant ready to breathe air. If you have a boy, his testicles will drop into his scrotum now. The average baby now weighs 4.23 pounds and is 17.2 inches long.
As you get to week thirty-four, your baby will start to have a more regular sleep pattern and will also have their eyes open when awake and closed when sleeping. Your baby has also learned to blink and can see more clearly. Most babies are about 17.7 inches long now and weigh about 4.7 pounds.
When you get to week thirty-five, your baby’s hearing will be completely developed. Talk to your baby as much as you can. Some studies show that babies like higher pitched voices better. This may be why people seem to automatically talk to young children in higher voices. Most babies weigh about 5.3 pounds now and are 18.2 inches long.
As you get to week thirty-six, the only organ left to mature in the baby is the lungs. Your baby may drop down in to the birth canal now. This will make it easier to breathe for the mom. The average size of a baby is 5.78 pounds and 18.66 inches long.
Week thirty-seven is when your baby is officially considered to be full term. However, every day the baby stays in the womb makes him healthier. Your baby will develop a definite daily activity cycle. You will also want to get yourself on a regular schedule to get your baby used to this. If you don’t do things on a schedule, your baby may get his days and nights mixed up after he is born.
When you get to week thirty-eight you may notice that your baby is hiccupping a lot. Because they are breathing water, fluid gets into the windpipe causing these hiccups. Your baby might have a full head of hair now. It can even be over an inch long! The average baby weighs about 6.8 pounds now and is 19.6 inches long.
As you get to week thirty-nine, your baby’s lungs will be maturing and preparing for birth. You infant weighs about 7.25 pounds and is about 19.9 inches long.
Week forty is when you are due to deliver. Any day you will be meeting your son or daughter for the first time. Your baby continues to grow and develop each day. This is one of the most exciting moments of your life. Be sure you cherish it.
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Pregnancy
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Books For Life14 Jun 2008 06:49 pm
How To Get Your Article or Ebook Started Fast… Time Saving Tips To Get Your Writing Moving..
As we have all heard time and again (and it’s very, very true),
writing articles for ezines/newsletters and ebooks is a great
way to increase your exposure, brand your name, establish
yourself as a Subject Matter Expert (SME), increase your
subscriber/optin base and ultimately, increase that so-longed
for amount of cash in your bank account.
For some people writing comes easy, others have gone to
school and studied how to write. What about you?
To be honest, in my case, it kind of comes and goes. As you may
already know from my blog, I not only write articles and
ebooks on a variety of business related matters, but I also
like to write fictional stories with a hint of a Dungeons and
Dragons quality (mind you, even those stories have an under-
lying message hidden away - have you found it yet?)
I definitely am not a trained writer (I have even been chewed
out by some very well educated readers about my style) and
I write from the heart and soul. My focus is to try and get the
message across, that’s all that matters to me.
There are some awesome writers and copywriters out there
that create some incredible manuals, wildly entertaining
stories and order-pulling sales pages. I am not one of them.
But I hope to be one day and the only way I know how is to
keep writing and asking all of my readers for their opinions.
As they love to say, practice makes perfect.
But, I know that the writing sometimes comes very hard and
can almost drive you insane because you are suffering from
information overload, or are just plain stuck.
So what can you do when that happens?
A variety of things that I hope will help you too, have saved
my bacon in the past on countless occassions.
First off, I need to clear my mind, so I can totally focus on
what I am doing. There are tons of ways to do this and I am
not going to give you this massive list, but in my case,
a walk out in the forest, or my headphones and some
tunes (depending on my mood) can work wonders.
The next part that always is just waiting to attack me, like
that big mutt behind the fence waiting for the mailman, is
the outline and direction.
Here I use a couple of different methods to bite the big mutt
back as hard as I can.
If I am writing one of my fictional stories, I try to envision the outcome, the end, and then reverse engineer to the beginning.
By knowing the desired ending of the book or story, I can
figure out what had to happen to get to that point, then I fill in the blanks until I am at the introduction.
Sometimes I just start writing, it doesn’t matter what direction
it takes, I can always work other segments in later that tie
everything back together.
Another thing that helps me quite often, especially with
business related articles and ebooks is good, old-fashioned
brainstorming. I take out a piece of paper and write down
everything and anything I can think of that relates to the topic
(I even did it for this article).
It doesn’t matter if I think it’s relevant or valuable or not. Don’t think about what you are writing down, just do it.
Then I sit back after a nice cup of coffee and read through the
list a few times, making little notes on the side of the main
points I see tucked away all over the page.
Finally, I just add the remaining keywords under the main
topic that they belong.
Bingo, my outline is complete. Not only do I have my chapters
ready, even my sub points are in place.
The only last thing before I start letting the creative juices flow is that I try to order them into a logical sequence of some
type. Depending on what I am writing, I might make it more
intriguing to draw the reader in deeper, I might align it to be
more sequential and logical, so it has a smooth flow to it.
The choice is really yours. There are tons of options and
many writers have their own ‘thing’ that helps them get past
the hurdles that all of us come across (and I mean all of us).
From here, it’s bound to be a lot easier to write your story,
article or ebook. All the foundation and legwork is already
done, in place and finished.
Well, there you have it and I hope my past experiences can
help you on your path to success.
Here’s to your success,
Xavier
Xavier Nelson is the publisher of eBusinessCornerNews, your source for reviews, articles, free resources and more. Get your free subscription at http://blog.makemoneymarketingonline.com today.
Also, proudly presenting “The Complete eBusinessCollection”. Visit http://www.MakeMoneyMarketingOnline.com right now for a great collection of tools and resources that will take you to the next level and a very generous and free 2-tier affiliate program you can actually make money with!
Intro to Internet Sports Gambling
Join two of people’s dominating leisure actvities and you’ll display a rage that’s named a sportsbook bets web site. Well: what could be more inventive. Picture a gathering of sports fanatics clapping for their local sports heroes, and regularly wagers will be geared up complementing the bluster. So keen to get a bit of the pleasure, on-lookers commonly essay to guess who is most likely to win the upcoming meetup. This all is set to turn into a fun little meetup called sportsbook bets web site.
Granted that it might easily appear dependency forming, but indeed sportsbook wagers is, in reality, simply diverting and to bond with one’s buddies. You can bet a a piddling quantity of pesos and still enjoy an outstanding time. Here’s a number of facts to help everyone get started sportsbook wagers.
To wager, you’ll want to search out a sportsbook bets web site, that’s to say a place which tenders sportsbook bets web site. In the U.S., there’s currently a total of no less than four states where to do sportsbook wagers lawfully, but inofficially you can try it wherever assuming that you can pinpoint a bookie and you happen to be legally of age. Included sporting contests you’ll have a choice of wagering on are professional aside from college class football + college class basketball, pro baseball and hockey, aside from betting on. Clients could bet money on the global result of a game, in what round any given contester will go under, and even whether a given coin toss in a game lands heads or tails.
The bookies count on statistics to assist you guess which sports heroes you may sense is most likely to win. First, there’s the spread, or specific lead as expressed in points tallied to the inferior competitor presumed to be beaten by X number points. Evidently, this constitutes the sportsbook setup’s modality of enabling antes for a sports book. E. g., we may bet on a party presumed to be beaten and and still win the bet assuming that the competitor loses by X number of points.
We can select loads of different systems of wagers- parlays, i.e. combined wagers on several sports activities, straight bets, over-unders, teasers, etc., the straight being the most common in sportsbook wagers.
Well, why not experiment with it, and enjoy the recreation at one fell swoop. Just take pains to ensure that you won’t get too enthusiastic and deplete your entire retirement fund on a whimsy… If not, you’ll probably find yourself feeling sorry all your life…
Learn the best online sports bet tips at this hot web venue today.
Future Shock: Voice Recognition Identification Technology
Dateline: Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Location: Teterboro, New Jersey
The Schedule: N714JA, a Gulfstream V in Jet Aviation’s Private Fleet, is scheduled to take off at 0830 for LAX. Crew of three with fourteen pax.
Backgrounder: Kay Hughes, flight attendant for today’ s non-stop coast-to-coast flight is busy checking her catering order and prepping the cabin. Bob Harmon is the captain and Jeff Mortowski is his first officer. Both are situated in the cockpit going over the pre-flight checklist. The pax are from various companies in the New York area or individuals on personal business who have bought seats on his flight.
The Story: Kay woke up with a start as the alarm on her clock radio blared. Reaching across her pillow, she noticed the time, 5:15, and hammered the snooze button in the hopes of grabbing another five minutes of sleep. Tired as she was, her mind began to race as she considered the day ahead. In less than four hours she would be enroute to L.A. with an aircraft full of passengers. Slowly the thought of additional sleep became less important as she considered all that she had to do before leaving Teterboro. Quietly she slipped on her robe and slippers, poured herself a cup of coffee, and slinked into the shower.
As Kay walked across the tarmac, she saw the fuel truck pulling up to her aircraft and the caterer at the gate waiting for a security clearance. It was 6:48 and already she could feel the heat lifting off of the pavement. Another scorcher she thought; at least L.A. will be cooler.
Kay greeted Jeff who was busy overseeing the fuel delivery; she then climbed onboard the G-V and gave a similar greeting to Bob who was occupied with updating paperwork. Bob finished what he was doing and briefed Kay with the day’s schedule. Minutes later Kay turned to assist the approaching caterer with the day’s order. Within the hour, the first of the passengers began to arrive. Each sat in the lobby of the FBO waiting to be boarded. At precisely 8:00 a.m., Kay left the aircraft and walked down the ramp to the FBO. She whispered to the waiting security agent who signaled to the FBO customer service representative to make the boarding announcement. “Ladies and Gentlemen, Jet Aviation Flight #001 departing TEB for LAX is now boarding. Please present your identification card and boarding pass to the security agent. Once you are cleared, you will be boarded. Thank you for flying Jet Aviation and enjoy your flight.”
Kay turned and left the FBO and walked back to the aircraft. Both pilots were onboard completing their preflight preparations. Kay stood at the bottom of the steps leading up to the aircraft waiting for the security agent to bring the passengers to the plane. She knew that with fourteen passengers the security clearance would take a bit longer than normal.
Kay considered waiting inside the cabin to keep cool, but knew that it was important that she greet the passengers at the base of the steps in case one of them needed assistance climbing up.” It must already be 85 degrees out here,” she thought as she watched the heat vapors rise off the pavement.
After what seemed like an inordinate delay Kay’s hair was slowly losing style in the heat Bob poked his head out of the cockpit and said, “Sorry for the delay, but we caught another one.” Startled, Kay stammered, “You mean one of the passengers failed security clearance?” Bob replied, “Not only that but he is on the FBI’s wanted list of suspected terrorists. The remaining passengers checked out okay, but we’ll be delayed until the agents finish interviewing them to see if they knew the guy.” Despite the heat, Kay shivered as she thought of the potential chain of events a terrorist onboard the aircraft might unleash.
Her fears gradually subsided when Jeff reminded her that the VOICE RECOGNITION IDENTIFICATION TECHNOLOGY (VRIT) unit in the FBO was flawless in the nearly six months of use. Over that time, twenty-six people with a criminal element were pulled, most of whom had been charged previously with petty crimes [such as tax evasion] and were either on the run or would be in violation of their parole restrictions had they left the state. Today marked the first time that a suspected terrorist was caught and as the squad car sirens wailed, Kay knew that this day would be anything but normal.
The above account is fiction, but it pre-supposes a couple of things that could occur in the intervening years that would bring about similar results, i.e., additional and more widespread terrorist attacks being a primary consideration. In addition, a change in the way we do business, i.e., selling seats to individuals instead of selling the entire flight to a company or an individual would have to occur no longer would you have a lead passenger who could identify all of the other passengers. VRIT is now within reach and will, more than likely, become the norm of the day. Essentially, it works this way: a person speaks into a device that immediately matches the voice pattern with one in the database. The database identifies the person and when a match is made, the person is cleared [unless the database turns up a warrant for their arrest].
Naturally, in order to get onboard a flight we would require passengers to be part of that database. This could occur if VRIT becomes as mandatory as holding a social security number or a driver’s license. Foreign nationals would have to be keyed into the same system to make it work, so the potential for a worldwide Orwellian-type system would be great.
Recently, I had the opportunity to meet with Russ Cooper, a managing partner with COMPUTEK, a Wall Street company that has developed the latest generation of VRIT. He shared with me that both the FBI and CIA use an older generation of VRIT and his company is marketing the current one. Their customer base potential is impressive: government agencies, security firms, airports, airliners, automobile manufacturers, you name it. Wherever a positive i.d. on a person is needed, their technology might be utilized.
According to Russ, the technology is fail-safe. When I mentioned that a voice impersonator like a Richard Little type could sneak by, he claimed that VRIT would still know who he was even with the “Richard Nixon” voice. Apparently, voice patterns are distinguishable even when disguised.
We did not discuss “price” as he was not marketing his product directly to me. I can only imagine that the costs involved would be significant, but then I began to think that they could possibly be offset by lower insurance premiums if insurance companies see the benefit of “guaranteeing” passenger security.
So what role could the flight attendant play in utilizing VRIT? Perhaps in lieu of a security agent [especially in out of the way places like Bozeman, Montana], a VRIT unit would be assigned to your aircraft much like a cardiac defibrillator monitor and you would greet each passenger as they boarded the aircraft. Before the aircraft could be cleared for takeoff, the passengers would speak into the handheld VRIT and be given a security clearance on the spot.
Let’s return to our story and amend it with the security check being placed directly in the flight attendant’s hands:
Kay walked down the G-V’s steps carrying her mobile VRIT device and waited as the passengers exited the FBO and made their way to the aircraft. She announced, “Welcome onboard Jet Aviation flight #001 bound for Los Angeles. Please speak your name into the VRIT unit. Once you have been cleared, you may proceed up the steps. The first officer will take your boarding pass and you may be seated. If you need additional assistance, the captain will be glad to help you.”
One by one the passengers filed by, stating their name and waiting for the green clearance light to flash. As they spoke, a signal was transferred to an orbiting satellite and then beamed to VRIT headquarters in Washington, DC. As the last of the passengers approached, Kay continued to greet each one and wait for clearance. Finally, when all passengers were cleared, she climbed the steps and had both pilots speak into the VRIT unit. At last, Kay placed the unit in the First Officer’s hands in order to have him run clearance on her. Kay cleared her throat, spoke her name, but after an extended pause, the VRIT beeped loudly and signaled red. The color in Kay’s face drained away and she turned to flee. Within moments several arms reached forward to apprehend her as sirens wailed in the background.
All she could think about was running away…
Startled, Kay awoke from her dream as the snooze alarm blared away.
Copyright 2005 — Matthew Keegan is The Article Writer who writes on a variety of topics including: advocacy, automobiles, aviation, business, Christian themes, family, news, product reviews, travel, writing, and more. Samples from his portfolio are available right online.
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