Jig Jag Blog – Random Pieces of Text

Now that I’m self-employed I need to kit myself out with a work bag, a backpack for when I ride to work and a laptop bag for interstate travel.

There’s so many to choose from these days. I guess my criteria are: looks good, is long-wearing, has lots of compartments (especially the backpack), is waterproof, is light and meets airline baggage size restrictions.

I think I’ll shoop online to find the perfect items. Shopwiki seems to have a good range or products and product suppliers.

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Adelaide’s CBD measures just one square mile. Wherever you are in the city, it is within the heart of Adelaide. Festivals, food, arts, culture, shopping and sports, this is Adelaide. Whether you want to party or relax on your next holiday, South Australia’s capital has it all. With vibrant inner-city districts, sophisticated architecture and plush gardens, plenty of hotels and motels to choose from, Adelaide is the perfect destination for a wide variety of holiday activities.

Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, located on the Torrens River and surrounded to the east by the ranges and to the west by the beach, it prides itself on its live music and arts scene, its historic building heritage and its central location to one of Australia’s best known wine grape growing regions, the Barossa Valley.

You might prefer to follow in the footsteps of sporting champions at the world-famous Adelaide Oval. Or retreat to the seaside suburbs of Henley Beach, Glenelg & Semaphore. As Adelaide is situated on the coast, its beaches are many. One can choose between city beaches or quieter out-of-town beaches about half an hour from the city centre.

Since Adelaide is situated in a gulf, the beaches are calm and safe. For those who enjoy surfing, the open sea beaches are about one hour away. Since the beaches face west, one can enjoy the most magnificent sunsets.

There is no doubt that Adelaide Oval is indeed one of the most iconic and photographed cricket grounds in the world. Australians take their cricket extremely seriously, and Adelaide is without doubt an important member of the Australian sporting scene.

Residents of Adelaide can play or watch a number of sports including Aussie Rules Football, swimming, tennis, netball, soccer, hockey, cycling, horse racing and a variety of water sports. South Australians pride themselves on their level of involvement in sport and have a proud tradition of participation and winning in a wide variety of sports.

The mighty Murray River is an hour’s drive from Adelaide. It is a favorite aquatic location for South Australians and provides many diverse leisure activities such as skiing, angling and swimming.

At the University of Adelaide the new Business School creates a stimulating multidisciplinary learning environment that fosters the pursuit of leadership and excellence in both research and education.

South Australia has over 78,000 small businesses. Of these an estimated 55,000 are located within the Adelaide metropolitan area. Almost 40% of these employ between 1 – 19 people making small business a major source of regional employment within Adelaide.

Adelaide offers a diversity of food, wine & culture, it offers a thriving sports scene and growing small business sector. When planning your next holiday destination or a new residential location take a close look at Adelaide. When in Adelaide don’t hesitate to use the Adelaide Locality Directory to find everything form community groups, hospitals, restaurants, accommodation, employment and much more.

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Fun, sun and images of a blissful beach vacation, these are ideal ingredients for a holiday of your life when you holiday in Cairns and tropical North Queensland.

Gifted with a holiday climate all year-round, featuring temperatures in the Summer months (October-April) of 29-33 degrees C, and Winter months (April-October) 25-29 degrees C, Cairns is home to some of the earth’s most interesting natural attractions, the reef, the rainforest and the Australian Outback, and they are all here awaiting your visit.

The very friendly locals of Tropical North Queensland will display the kind of warm and efficient service that has become the standard to aspire to for other tourism hot-spots. Adventure tourism, night life, fine dining and shopping add to the variety and attraction of this unique place.

If you have been here previously, welcome home. If you are here for the first time, bathe in our attractions and enjoy your vacation.

Australia’s premier regional city, Cairns is the world’s gateway to Tropical North Queensland. It is an exciting cosmopolitan place with warm, sunny tropical days balanced by cooling ocean breezes. Enjoy a stroll along the iconic Esplanade or satisfy your lust for food in one of Cairns’ many multi-cultural, diverse and award-winning eateries.

Cairns provides access to the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics Rainforests as well as the Australian Outback. Cairns, with its international and domestic airport, is the first stop for most visitors who want to see the authentic Australia.

Relax on the sandy beaches, dive on the reef and experience the unique tropical rainforests that date back to when the continent was part of ancient Gondwanaland, thousands of years ago.

Take a swim in the relaxing Cairns Esplanade lagoon, then look across the calm waters of Trinity Inlet and you will discover coastal mountains and mangrove habitats that have changed little since the site was branded by Captain James Cook in 1770.

The beautiful Esplanade Lagoon is the perfect place to spend a sultry day soaking up the sun and dipping in the lagoon’s cool and inviting shallows. There are many shady spots to escape from the sun in the heat of the day, as well as barbeque facilities. The boardwalk has unique displays of Cairns’s local history and has many exercise facilities for those keen on getting a bit more active.

Cairns is extremely well suited to walking, or travel by bicycle. Well trodden routes and dedicated walking tracks are abundant or a visit to the Cairns Botanical Gardens is not to be missed. 38 hectares of native Australian gardens are maintained to lush standards, and many plants found here cannot be seen elsewhere. Located among the plants is a coffee shop and restaurant, it is open every day for breakfast and lunch. Admission to the gardens is free.

Looking for Cairns tours? Check out what’s available at http://www.attractionscairns.com.au

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Known to the Ancient Egyptians as Abu or Yabu, meaning elephant, Elephantine Island is a truly ancient site resting as it does at the First Cataract of the Nile, and creating a natural boundary between Egypt and Nubia.

Being the largest island at Aswan, it was easily defensible and at one time was thought to be a major ivory trading centre, possibly giving rise to its name. But rumour has it the name may also arise from the elephant-shaped granite boulders lying around its shores.

It is said that Khnum, the ram-headed god of the cataracts, dwelled in caves beneath the island and controlled the waters of the Nile. Nowadays, the southern tip of the island holds the ruins of the Temple of Khnurn, which was rebuilt in the 30th dynasty. Up until 1822, there were also temples to Thutmose III and Amenhotep III here, but the Ottoman government in their wisdom destroyed them.

Elephantine is an exquisite island, steeped in ancient history and blessed with significant artifacts. Transported instantly back in time, you wander under banana trees and date palms through colourful Nubian villages with narrow, dusty alleyways and mud houses painted or carved with crocodiles and fish.

On the edge of the island is one of the oldest Nilometers in Egypt. It is a stone `yardstick’ used to measure the height of the River Nile. It was last reconstructed in Raman times and was still in use as late as the 19th century. Its 90 steps, leading down to the river, are marked with Hindu-Arabic, Roman and hieroglyphic numerals, and inscriptions carved deep into the rock during the 17th century can be seen at the water’s edge.

Elephantine Island is a green, flower-festooned oasis of calm lapped by the turquoise waters of the Nile and clinging quietly to its exotic past.

For cheap airfares on Singapore airlines visit Flight Centre today. We also have cheap domestic flights, including flights to Melbourne.

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Lake Malaren is the third largest lake in Sweden, located near the town of Stockholm. The lake’s area is 1,140 square km and its greatest depth is 64 metres. Its numerous islands contain an incredibly rich heritage, a gorgeous lush historical landscape with palaces, old churches, rune stones, forty castles, and two World Heritage Sites – the Palace of Drottningholm on the island of Lovo and the Viking sites of Birka on Bjorkb and HovgArden on Adelso.

The Royal domain of Drottningliolm with its Chinese pavilion, timber theatre, and Baroque gardens is a stunning 17th century palace complex, modeled on Versailles and set in the pastoral landscape of Lovo. Birka, Sweden’s oldest city, and one of its most famous historic monuments, is situated on Bjorko — an island that today has a romantic, desolate air about it.

Birka was founded at the end of the 8th century and for nearly 200 years was at the centre of European commerce In the late tenth century the build up of silt made the lake too shallow for ships to negotiate and the city was abandoned.

Hovgarden, the kings farm on the neighbouring island of Adelso, remained in use until the late Middle Ages. Today these lovely islands are beautiful places in which to walk and ride as well as see the incredibly well preserved Viking ruins.

The landscape of Lake Malaren was formed at the end of the lee Age when the land started to rise as a result of the gradual melting of the ice-cap lifting the tons of pressure that had been bearing down on it.

Quite apart from the cultural heritage contained in these islands, the moraine ridges and lush valleys are scenically lovely. They include rolling farmland dotted with oak trees, pine forest on cragy hills, and trees and grasses growing right down to the water’s edge.

Looking for student travel deals? Maybe exciting ski holidays to New Zealand or Europe are more your style? Contact Student Travel for cheap flights and holiday packages.

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Everyone is aware that Rhode Island, actually the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is the smallest state in the USA. But not everyone knows that the state and island that gives it a colloquially abbreviated name are not one and the same.

Indeed, the Rhode Island part of the longest state name in America is unofficially called Aquidneck Island to differentiate from the state as a whole.

Now that’s cleared up, what of Rhode Island? It is the largest of several in Narragansett Bay, with its southern shore facing the Atlantic Ocean. The area of this well developed island is 117 sq km (45 sq ml) and it is connected to the mainland by three bridges.

The Newport Bridge goes to Jamestown on nearby Conanicut Island, and thence to the mainland on the western side of the bay. The Mount Hope Bridge in Portsmouth connects the northern side of the island with Bristol. The same area is served by the Sakonnet River Bridge over a narrow saltwater channel to Tiverton. The nearby Stone Bridge was destroyed by Hurricane Carol in 1954. The island is divided into three municipalities: Newport, Middleton and Portsmouth.

The island’s population shrank by 20 percent in the ten years after the US Navy reorganized its major base at Newport in 1973, but is growing again, with over half its area now built over as housing demand increases. But wetland and woodland still occupy a third of the island and there is an active preservation society trying to keep it that way.

After the navy base, the island’s principal source of revenue is tourism. Narragansett Bay is a honeypot for visitors and they come to Aquidneck Island mainly for the beaches and coastline, enjoying related water activities like sailing, kayaking, sailboarding, diving and fishing.

Looking for cheap flights to the USA, or cheap domestic flights? For Australia flights and overseas flights, contact Student Flights today.

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Ranging from Bratislava to Korman in southwestern Slovakia, Zitny Ostrov (Rye Island) is Europe’s biggest river island. It is so large that most visitors are not aware of being on one. It lies between the Danube, and its slower running tributary the Little Danube, in the Danubian Plain.

Several rivers flow across it and the rich alluvial deposits make it the most fertile land in Slovakia. The island also contains central Europe’s largest storage of high quality potable water and it has the warmest and driest weather in Slovakia.

A beautiful area of marshes, natural and man-made lakes and rich farmland, the south has been deemed a Protected Landscape. The calm waters of the Little Danube provide excellent recreational boating through the alluvial forests. While on the water, the controversial hydroelectric dam at Gabcikovo may also be visited.

Zitny Ostrov has two main towns, both of which have deep Hungarian cultural influences. DunajskA Streda has a majority Hungarian population, though the only reminder of a significant Jewish minority is a memorial erected in 1991. There is also evidence of Bronze Age settlement here.

In the late 1990s the town centre was rebuilt with distinctive white buildings topped by towers and elaborate tiled roofs. A large thermal park offers year-round bathing in naturally heated water.

Komarno, Slovakia’s principal port, lies on the Hungarian border — a bridge leads into Hungarian Komarom, which used to be part of Komarno. Here 66% of the population speak Hungarian and the street signs are bi-lingual.

Europe Place is a large shopping and leisure centre built in a variety of European architectural forms. A native son of Komamo, Franz Lehar, is honoured with a biennial music festival, whilst the annual Komarno Days Festival celebrates Slovak and Hungarian culture.

Looking for cheap airfares, holiday deals or cheap domestic flights? Escape Travel are the leaders in travel packages for honeymoons, recreational travel or short breaks. Call or visit Escape Travel today.

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Fun in the Sun
Israel’s summer months, which occur during the winter for Australians, are completely dry. If you are coming for the sun, beaches and water sports, you can rest assured that not even one day of your visit will be interrupted by rain.

Israel boasts hundreds of miles of beautiful beaches dotted with world-class beach resorts. Para-gliding, wind-sailing, snorkeling and scuba diving opportunities are abundant. Scuba enthusiasts will especially enjoy the unique opportunity to dive among ancient Roman-era ruins in the shallows of the Mediterranean Sea, or enjoy the grand coral displays nestled in the clear blue waters of the Red Sea.

Israel also caters to hikers with vast networks of marked, but largely untouched hiking trails crisscrossing geographical locations as diverse as deserts, pine forests and snow-covered mountains. Come during Israel’s winter months and you can even ski!

A Culinary Experience
Israel has something special to offer the culinary tourist as well. Home to Jewish immigrants from around the world and Arab clans from all reaches of the Middle East, Israel’s national menu is as diverse as they come. Chefs who compete at the highest levels in European competitions stand ready to serve up this wide array of specialties at an every growing number of gourmet establishments.

Complementing Israel’s rich assortment of foods is a local wine industry that is starting to grab the attention of top international critics. Wines from many of Israel’s boutique and larger wineries – all of which offer tours and tastings – continue to win international awards and accolades.

Historical Crossroads
Having played host to some of the world’s most ancient civilizations, Israel is a paradise for history buffs. Just about every patch of dirt in Israel has some bit of history underneath it, often making construction of new structures a nightmare.

Fully developed archeological sites providing a glimpses of life in pre-historic times, the biblical period, the Roman era and the Middle Ages – to name just a few – abound in Israel. Each and every historical site carries a unique story that could fill books, and many have.

A special bit of history for Australians is the famous charge of the Australian Light Horse Brigade during the Battle of Beersheba in 1917, widely reputed as the last successful cavalry charge in history. The charge effectively broke the Ottoman Empire’s southern defenses, allowing British General Lord Edmund Allenby to advance on and capture Jerusalem and marking a major turning point in World War I.

A memorial to the Australian Light Horse has been erected in the southern Israel city of Beersheba, and more than 1,000 Australians, New Zealanders and Britons came to Israel in 2007 to reenact the charge on its 90th anniversary.

The Holy Land
Israel is best known to travelers as the Holy Land, an area central to all three of the world’s monotheistic religions.

Jerusalem is the heart of the Holy Land, hosting the Temple Mount, Western Wall and the Garden Tomb where Jesus is said to have been buried. But the rest of the country is not left wanting for religious significance.

Jesus’ boyhood home of Nazareth and his base of ministry on the shores of the Sea of Galilee are sites not to be missed. Nor would any tour be complete without visits to locations in Israel’s southern desert and central mountain regions that the biblical patriarchs called home.

All in all, Israel is a well-rounded travel destination for every kind of tourist, and is second to none for those interested in history and religious pilgrimage.

For cheap flights and cheap airfares from the world’s most popular travel agent, contact Flight Centre today. Presented by Google College.

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I’ve just finished reading Ross Macmahon’s sales training manual titled “40 Days to sales Excellence”.

Although not an easy read, because is is so jam-packed full of vital information, there are some excellent strategies explored for seasoned professionals as well as people new to the profession.

Topics include:

* Do The 2% challenge to double your results
* Become the “Lucky Salesman” to easily lift results
* Create Questions that get you closer to the sale
* Investigating and developing company, product and personal USP’s (Unique Selling Points).
* Creating ‘radio adverts’ (elevator pitches) for all parts of the sales presentation.
* Learn the secrets of the Lazy Salesman “Free Accelerators” – power techniques to quickly and easily lift results.
* Learn the importance of creating personal measure to get continuous improvement
* Performing proposals and how to create them
* Personal PR – How and why
* Breaking the Procrastination cycle to put more time in your day
* Partnership to success
* Performance presentations for the professional sales professional
* Getting your momentum back
* Qualification to enhance your selling by up to 10% or more
* First impressions – we can all do better
* Referrals and creating a program to make it happen
* The internal sale – is it your most important sale?

For more information, please visit the sales training book web site. You will be pleased you did. The accompanying sales training course is available here.

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“I can’t sell”, I hear you say. Rubbish, everybody can sell. If you ever got hired, sold your car or sold yourself to another person (ie. got married or formed a relationship), you have demonstrated an ability to sell. We sell ideas to other people all the time, we just don’t see it as selling.

The role of a sales person is to find out what the prospective client wants rather than whether the customer wants something at all. Once this is done, a sales professional should then help the customer satisfy that need to the customers’ satisfaction. The principle skills a winning salesperson needs are:

* Putting your customers in a acceptance state of mind, making them feel at ease and unpressured.
* Showing interest in their questions or issues.
* Using opinions as selling points (both yours and theirs).
* Supplying facts and helpful information.
* Meeting objections in a positive way and never becoming defensive or aggressive.
* Agreeing with customers.
* Suggesting additional products or services.(Value adding)
* Building repeat business.

It’s important that you learn to apply these skills, although if you use courtesy, friendliness, honesty and you know what you’re talking about, you’re 90% there. Not very hard when you think about it.

I know of quite a few small business people who would never consider themselves sales people but have remarkable success at selling their products and services by just being themselves. Is this being a good sales person? Probably.

An old friend of mine, Rastass owns a pet store in one of Perth’s trendier suburbs. He spent many years of his life working for a hospital. It never ceases to amaze me, and his business partner, how this “untrained” person can sell products by just being himself. He is a natural salesman.

On the days he looks after the shop instead of his partner, the numbers are always up compared to when he’s not there. If you were to ask him if he thought he was a good salesman he would probably say no, but the sales figures speak for themselves.

He does it by being a friendly, genuine guy that loves a joke and a talk with his customers. Most of his clients would never go elsewhere because they like him. I’m sure even if he put his prices up, he would still attract the same customers because they have a relationship with him. They feel good about shopping at his shop; he makes sure they do. Everybody can sell, simply use your own personality and be friendly and courteous. Treat customers the way you would like to be treated.

Top sales people make a point of remembering regular customers’ names, ensuring each time they come to the store they receive a small discount or offering other little extras like helping them to the car with their parcels. As I mentioned before with my friend, he fosters friendships with his regular customers. This fosters loyalty to the business by the customer, quite often regardless of price, because they get preferential treatment. You’ve probably had the feeling yourself when you constantly use a particular business and each time you walk in the people don’t just ask for the order.

Generally, sales people feel awkward about asking the customer for the order. These sales people will never be really successful in sales. A lot of sales are lost simply because the sales person doesn’t put the onus back on the customer to make a decision, they simply leave the whole matter up in the air which allows the potential customer to quietly move out the door without having to commit themselves to a decision. How many times do you do this? I do it all the time and think to myself, “I’m glad nobody put me under pressure, I probably would have spent money”.

This article supplied by forex trading, sales training and web design brisbane.

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